English in Madrid

Source: Wikipedia (Zarateman )  Spanish church slammed over 'frightening' sculpture restoration   A lick of paint can do a lot to lift a drab interior, but when it comes to historic sculptures it turns out the job is best left to experts.  That is what a church in Spain discovered after hiring an arts and crafts teacher to freshen up a 16th-Century wooden sculpture of St George.  Images shared on social media showed the warrior with a transformed pink face and bright coloured armour.  Cultural officials have blasted the botched attempt as "frightening".   "We cannot tolerate more attacks on our cultural heritage ," Spain's art conservation association (ACRE) said in a statement . "It shows a frightening lack of training of the kind required for this sort of job."  The parish priest in the northern town of Estella simply wanted the sculpture to be cleaned and did not intend for it to be restored , the Efe news agency reports....

Source: Edge2Edge Media on Unsplash Have a look through previous posts on linkers to remind yourselves how to use them. Then have a go at the following questions. A: Are these sentences right or wrong? Correct the ones that are wrong. Rob can somehow afford to go on holiday despite he doesn't have a job. In spite of  the pain, he was able to finish the marathon. Although he's been a colleague for two years now, I don't know much about him. She didn't get the job even she had all the necessary qualifications. The plan has a lot of support among the public. There are, however, certain risks involved. He was a ruthless dictator, yet many people admire him. He has had a number of health scares. It hasn't stopped him smoking, though. Mopeds are great for getting around the city. On the other side, they are involved in many accidents. Unlike most of my colleagues, I don't come to work by car. People from the North tend to be reserved whereas people from the South ar...

Confederate and Columbus statues toppled by US protesters Statues of Confederate leaders and the explorer Christopher Columbus have been torn down in the US, as pressure grows on authorities to remove monuments connected to slavery and colonialism. A statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis was toppled in Richmond, Virginia, on Wednesday night. Elsewhere in the city, a statue of Columbus was pulled down , set alight and thrown into a lake a day earlier. Anti-racism protests have re-ignited debates over US historical monuments. Memorials to the Confederacy, a group of southern states that fought to keep black people as slaves in the American Civil War of 1861-65, have been among those targeted by demonstrators taking to the streets after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody. A three-metre tall (10ft) bronze statue of Italian explorer Columbus was also toppled in Saint Paul, Minnesota on Wednesday. Statues of Columbus in Boston, Massachusetts and...

Source: Long Truong on Unsplash Even is a word you will hear often. As an adverb, it can mean something is surprising or unexpected (hasta, incluso, ni siquiera) and is used for emphasis. Everyone danced, even Graham. (Graham never dances) A: He works every day.    B: What? Even on a Sunday? (It's unusual to work seven days a week) She didn't even say thank you. (At least she could have said thanks) Don't even think about it! (¡Ni lo pienses!) It's easy. Even I can do it. (emphasizes that everyone can do it) No-one disagreed, not even the boss. (The boss normally disagrees with everyone else) N.B. Even alone cannot be used as a conjunction (i.e. join two clauses together). It needs to be combined with if or though to connect two clause. He often behaves like a child even he is 25 now.   😡  He often behaves like a child even if he is 25 now .   😍  Even she survives, she'll never fully recover.   😡  Even if she survives...