English in Madrid

Two operations, round-the-clock care and an offer of a lift home to Antarctica... the loneliest penguin is making a lot of friends A young Emperor penguin that took a wrong turn and swam 4,000 miles to New Zealand has survived two operations - and been offered a ride home. The black and white bird - nicknamed Happy Feet - came ashore on a beach in the south of the North Island last Monday - miles from his natural habitat in Antarctica. The stranded creature was taken into care and remained on an intravenous drip yesterday. It faces another procedure on Monday to remove more sand from its digestive system. If Happy Feet does pull through , a businessman wants to take it by boat to Antarctica next February. The perplexed penguin arrived on Peka Peka Beach, around 40 miles (65 kilometers) northwest of Wellington, last Monday, * the first time in 44 years that one of the birds has been spotted in the wild in New Zealand. Typically, emperors spend their entire lives in and arou...

Source:  Wikipedia   Saudi Facebook campaign sees women drive cars The call to defy the ban that spread through the social networking sites is the largest en masse action since November 1990, when a group of 47 Saudi women were arrested and severely punished after demonstrating in cars. * "We've just returned from the supermarket. My wife decided to start the day by driving to the store and back," said columnist Tawfiq Alsaif on his Twitter page. "I took King Fahd Road (Riyadh artery) and then Olaya Street, along with my husband, I decided that the car for today is mine," Maha al-Qahtani tweeted. Her husband Mohammed al-Qahtani tweeted that she carried her necessary belongings "ready to go to prison without fear." Another woman posted online a video of her driving after midnight Thursday as the first woman to answer the call for protest. The veiled woman drove along nearly-empty main roads until she parked at a supermarket. "All that we need is...

Man with 'face that makes children cry' splits from woman he met on website for the aesthetically challenged The self-confessed 'ugly' couple who got engaged through Britain's first dating agency for the 'aesthetically challenged' have split up. Tom Clifford and Janine Walker, who shared a mutual love of junk food and TV dinners, parted company last month following a whirlwind online romance.  The couple hit the headlines last October after meeting on www.theuglybugball.com.  They became engaged after only four dates and less than a month after joining the site. Mr Clifford, 37, and Miss Walker, 32, were originally planning a winter wedding near their respective homes in Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, but postponed the date and have now separated.  Friends believe Mr Clifford - a carpet fitter who has a 'face that makes children cry' - may have got cold feet.  Jessie Bridge, 31, who has known Miss Walker since childhood, said: 'All I'l...

We use the Present Perfect form (have + past participle) to talk about our experiences. We do not specify the time of the action(s). I have been to Florida. RIGHT I have been to Florida last year. WRONG I went to Florida last year. RIGHT He's worked for some of the top companies. RIGHT We've seen this film three or four times. RIGHT We saw this film three or four times. WRONG They've met the King of Spain. RIGHT They've met the King of Spain when he visited Cantabria. WRONG She's lived in a few different countries. RIGHT Have you eaten in this restaurant before? RIGHT In the above examples we only talk about the experiences without specifying when the action(s) happened. We can use "ever" in a question to ask about life experiences: Have you ever ridden a horse? Has she ever studied languages? Has anyone ever climbed that mountain? We use "never" to say that we don't have the experience: She's never been to the opera...