English in Madrid

Spain's hot summer election: A simple guide Spain is holding a highly unusual election next Sunday at the height of a scorching summer, after four years of left-wing rule . Current Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the vote in response to a dismal performance at the May local elections in which his Socialist party came second to main rival, the conservative Popular Party. No general election in Spanish history has ever been held so late into the summer, in this country of 48 million people. The timing of the 23 July vote has been widely  criticised when temperatures in many parts of Spain have reached 40C and up to 10 million Spaniards are on holiday. The Popular Party (PP) under Alberto Núñez Feijóo have their eye on victory but their lead has narrowed in the polls . To win a majority, they need to secure more than half the 350 seats in the lower house of parliament. Spaniards will also vote for their upper house. Neither the PP nor the Socialists are projected ...

00:00 Back in New York, I am the head of development for a non-profit called Robin Hood. When I'm not fighting poverty, I'm fighting fires as the assistant captain of a volunteer fire company. Now in our town, where the volunteers supplement a highly skilled career staff, you have to get to the fire scene pretty early to get in on any action. 00:19 I remember my first fire. I was the second volunteer on the scene, so there was a pretty good chance I was going to get in. But still it was a real footrace against the other volunteers to get to the captain in charge to find out what our assignments would be. When I found the captain, he was having a very engaging conversation with the homeowner, who was surely having one of the worst days of her life. Here it was, the middle of the night, she was standing outside in the pouring rain, under an umbrella, in her pajamas, barefoot, while her house was in flames. 00:53 The other volunteer who had arrived just before me -- let's call...

Double comparatives are phrases commonly used in English to say that when something increases or decreases, it causes something else to change as a result (cause and effect). It can be used with nouns, adjectives and adverbs. The word order is different than a normal sentence. The comparative + subject (+ verb) – the comparative + subject (+ verb) THE + MORE / LESS / -ER ….. THE + MORE / LESS / -ER The more I think about the idea , the less I like it. The less you spend on eat ing out , the more  (money) you'll have for your summer holiday. The older I get , the less patience I have. The longer you leave it , the harder it will be. In other words - don't procrastinate! The more he drinks , the more he talks. The louder  he shouts, the less attention I pay. The closer to the city centre a flat is , the more expensive it will be. The lower  the price , the worse  the quality. The better your grades, the greater  your choices. The more carefully ...

00:01 Let's play a game. Mena says, clap once. 00:04 (Audience claps) 00:06 Great, well done. Mena says, high-five someone next to you. Very good, OK. Mena says, touch the hair of the person in front of you. 00:17 (Audience laughs and talks) 00:19 I'm serious. 00:20 ( Laughter ) 00:22 OK now, touch the hair of the person next to you. Guys , guys. Mena didn't say that time, come on, you know the rules. Thank you for playing. 00:35 Just want to see by show of hands , how many of you just had your hair touched by someone you've never met before? Yeah, it's quite a lot of people. And just by show of hands, how many of you were like , " Nah , I'm not touching anybody's hair today." I'm with you guys. 00:51 I launched the "No, You Cannot Touch My Hair" campaign survey in the summer of 2017. And just under half of the respondents said they had their hair touched on a monthly basis by people they've never met before. And within that,...