English in Madrid

Who annoys you most? A. People with prams (11%) B. Couples holding hands (0%) C. Cyclists (22%) D. Dog owners (66%) All of the above annoy me. I can't stand people who push their prams as if they were armoured tanks and flatten all that is in their way. I have nothing against people holding hands with their partner but please leave it for a romantic walk in the countryside. Many pavements in Madrid are very narrow and many couples seem to have their hands superglued to each other. And I won't walk in the gutter for anyone! Bike manufacturers seem to be doing a roaring trade. Suddenly everyone is riding around the city centre. I applaud that but please, learn some manners. Red lights mean stop for you too and pedestrians have right of way when crossing a zebra crossing. If  the road is dangerous, cycle on the pavement but don't expect me to jump out of your way. I wish I could have a dog but I am not really in favour of keeping dogs in the city centre. A...

Source: Wikipedia (OsvaldoGago ) Protestor pockets $1.8m lotto win  A demonstrator camped in a central Madrid square to protest the economic crisis has won 1.3 million euros in the national lottery.  "The prize of 1.3 million euros ($1.77 million) has been attributed this weekend. We tried in vain to get in touch with the winner all day on Sunday," said Ignacio Garcia, the head of Serviapuestas, the website of the Spanish lottery. "We were finally able to speak to him today (Monday) and he told us that he was in the encampment in the Puerta del Sol, so that is why he had not been able to reply by telephone or check his emails," he said. The winner is a 34-year-old man from Madrid. Protests over the economic crisis and soaring unemployment began in Madrid on May 15 and fanned out to city squares nationwide as word spread by Twitter and Facebook among demonstrators also known as "M-15", "Spanish Revolution" and "Real Democracy Now...

Video: itnnews (You Tube) key words: shortest man 60 centimetres Philippines man crowned world's shortest A teenager from a poor family in the rural Philippines has been declared the world's shortest man as he turned 18 . Guinness World Records presented Junrey Balawing, who is 59.93cm (23.6 inches) tall, with a certificate at his birthday party. Source: BBC News Vocabulary : a s______ (formal) - a brother or a sister to c____ - to give a loud shout of approval or encouragement s_____ (adj) . weak , unhealthy and often ill a c_____ - what you find on top of a birthday cake a w___-w_____ - a person who encourages you and supports you a r_____ h______ - someone who is the best or fastest etc at something m_____ (adj) - (of amounts or numbers) very small or not enough to b___ ___ - to stop a flame from burning (with air) s______ - the money you keep in a bank or similar organization an i____ - a small measurement of lengt...

Schoolboy in a skirt: Pupil protests at rule forcing boys to wear trousers during hot weather It's not necessarily a photo Chris Whitehead’s parents will be framing and keeping on the mantelpiece .  But they are certainly proud of him. The 12-year-old wore a skirt to school yesterday to protest against ‘discriminatory’ rules which ban boys from wear ing shorts.  He says it is unfair that girls can change into skirts during the hot weather, while boys have to swelter in long trousers. This, he says, affects their concentration and ability to learn.  The schoolboy is taking advantage of a ‘silly loophole ’ in the uniform policy at Impington Village College, near Cambridge, that means boys can wear skirts as the school would be guilty of discrimination if it tried to stop them. ‘In the summer months, girl students are allowed to wear skirts but boys are not allowed to wear shorts,’ Chris explained yesterday before his protest. ‘It discriminates against boys. I will ma...

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...

Germany admits Spanish cucumbers are not to blame for E coli outbreak Source of outbreak that has killed 16 people remains a mystery as row spreads across Europe and Spain counts cost of ban on its vegetables The mystery E coli outbreak that has killed 16 people escalated into a pan-European row on Tuesday as Germany admitted that tainted Spanish cucumbers were not the source of the outbreak after all. Spain's minister for agriculture of the Andalusian regional government, Clara Aguilera, ate a homegrown cucumber on live television as she railed against a suggestion by Hamburg scientists last week that Iberian cucumbers were likely to blame for the outbreak, which claimed its first non-German victim on Thursday when a Swedish woman died shortly after returning from Germany. "Germany accused Spain of being responsible for the E coli contamination in Germany, and it did it with no proof, causing irreparable damage to the Spanish production sector," said Spain's agricult...

Here are six sentences that use either the first or second conditional. Write the sentences that you hear. Use the pause button and listen as many times as you like.

* Source: tigerpride (You Tube)   K ey words christian lion befriends *Video is no longer available so can you guess the missing words. The answers are in  the comments, Collocations are underlined.   In 2008 a lion named Christian became an international sensation, thanks to the internet.    “I think it’s absolutely wonderful how it has (1) the imagination of a whole new generation of people.” Christian’s amazing journey began in 1969. Two young Australians, Ace Bourke and John Rendall were soaking up the (2) and sounds of London. Around Christmas they wandered into Harrods department store and discovered a lion cub for sale in a (3). It is a practice that would shock most people today. Ace and John bought the lion and called him Christian. Christian was a friendly, outgoing cub. John and Ace took him all over London. The two men kept him in the furniture shop in which they worked. Christian needed plen...

Nurses wear the trousers in Spain Nurses who have been told they can wear trousers are still facing disciplinary action for getting rid of their skirts. Following a three year battle over uniforms the Spanish Constitutional Court has ruled that it is unconstitutional to force nurses at a private clinic in Cadiz to wear skirts. However the San Raphael Clinic has ignored the ruling and has since sent letters to five nurses who have started to wear trousers. In the letter the clinic warns the nurses they face new sanctions if they do not observe the company's strict dress code which includes a skirt, apron and nurses cap. And despite the Constitutional Court consider ing the uniform policy to be "discriminatory" and "belonging to another time", the clinic claims they can still appeal the ruling. It comes after the earlier decision by the High Court which found in favour of the clinic, defending their right to impose a uniform, was overturned . The u...

Source: You Tube (Jordi Salvia) Key Words: I ndignats Desallotjament Plaça Catalunya Spanish police clash with protesters over clean-up  Violence breaks out around Barcelona's Plaça de Catalunya, the first trouble after 12 days of protests Riot police clashed for the first time on Friday with protesters who have camped out in Spanish squares for the past 12 days after authorities dismantled a camp in the centre of Barcelona.  Police and clean-up trucks moved into the Plaça de Catalunya, with about 200 protesters being corralled peacefully in the centre of the square.  Protesters were told they were not being evicted and would be allowed back, but municipal workers took away tents, mattresses, tarpaulins, computers and materials used to build the camp.  Trouble erupted when thousands of supporters arrived and blocked access roads. Police cleared routes out of the square by using batons, reportedly injuring 99 people and arresting two.  Video footage filmed in th...