English in Madrid

Source: Photo by Artem Makarov on Unsplash Spanish courts challenge law that forces parents to provide financial support to their unemployed adult children The vast majority of young adults in Spain live with their parents In a victory for parents struggling to support burdensome adult children, Spanish courts have upheld appeals against a civil code requiring divorced parents to support their grown-up offspring .  Known as  Ninis , from  ni estudia ni trabaja  (not studying or in work), some older children in Spain  lived extensively off their parents for many years while not studying or searching for a job. As people attempting to claim benefits in Spain must have worked for at least six months, many Ninis are not entitled to them, leaving the burden on their parents.  The country has the second-highest  youth unemployment rate in Europe at 45 per cent, second only to Greece. Like Greece, Spain has been hard-hit...

Welcome to Formentera, the island that wants all its cars electric  The tiny Mediterranean island of Formentera has  taken  delivery  of  six electric cars as part of an ambitious plan to be the first island in Europe to  banish  traditional cars from its  shores . At 12 miles (19km) from end-to-end and with a population of about 12,000, Formentera is the smallest of Spain’s Balearic Islands. In summer, however, 15,000 cars are in circulation, arriving by ferry or rented on the island.   The six e-Mehari cars  were donated by  Citroën as part of a pilot scheme for transport on the island to be all electric,  although  no  target date  has been  set . As the distances are short, the e-Mehari’s  range  of 124 miles is  not an  issue .   The first stage consists of offering hotels and tourist apartments tax incentives to install  charging points , as there are only 14 o...

Source: Nelson Ndongala on Unsplash Here are some of Muhammad Ali's quotes. Complete them. Think what kind of word is missing - none of them are difficult words.  If you are struggling , at the end of the post I have put the answers (though in the wrong order). And you have to choose between two options. "When will they ever have another fighter who writes poems, predicts rounds, beats everybody, makes people laugh, makes people cry, and is (1) tall and extra pretty (1) me? In the history of the world and from the beginning of time, there’s never been another fighter like me. Eat your words! Eat your words! I am the greatest." "I am the greatest, I (2) that even before I knew I was. I figured that if I (2) it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest."  "I'm so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed (3) the room was dark."  "If you even dream of beating me, you'...

Source: mohamed_hassan from Pixabay I've been looking through the comments from last month and I've collected together some of the mistakes. Correct the following sentences: A. I had a nice holiday but I didn't enjoy so much this year. Not only he plays rugby but he also runs marathons. The match was called off for the bad weather. He's got the same car that me. I went for a walk by my old neighbourhood. What a surprise! I didn't wait for see you here. I like listening to songs in English for learn new expressions. Hiking to the top of the hill is worthy. The views are fantastic. It wasn't so bad day in the end. I can't listen the radio. Can you turn it up? B. The travel took 8 hours. It would have been quicker by train. What is the best form to improve your English? I don't mind to watch the programme again. They told us don't make a noise. I think it is a good news that they are getting married. I love Italy. I think is a ...

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Source: You Tube (El Publicista) Key Words: habla español Grey RAE Spain launches campaign to stop English 'invasion'  The Royal Spanish Academy is fighting against the anglicization of Spanish with a new campaign. The Spanish language has, over the past few years , been soaking up more and more anglicisms – from slang words to business vocabulary – these days many sentences in Spanish are peppered with a good dose of English… much to the distaste of the academy responsible for overseeing the Spanish language.  The Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) is so disgruntled by the wave of English words being used in Spanish that it has launched a campaign to fight against this so-called "invasion". The campaign, called 'There’s only one mother tongue', features two fake adverts, full of anglicisms, which plays on the fact that many Spaniards do not actually understand the real meaning of the English words "invading" the Spanish language. The ...

Barcelona fans to wave Saltires at cup final after Spain bans Catalan flag  Fans of Barcelona will fly Saltires at the Spanish cup final after be ing banned from displaying a pro-independence Catalan flag. Supporters of the current La Liga champions have been warned by police in Madrid - where the game takes place on Sunday - that their traditional symbol, the Estelada, is "inflammatory". Police have even said they will search fans as they enter the ground. So activists have decided to carry Scottish flags instead as a protest. "They can take our flags but they can never take our freedom," says a social media campaign launched on Friday. Campaigners hope to distribute 10,000 Scottish flags to fans attending the game. The Estelada is not the official flag of Catalonia, which is simply made up of yellow and red stripes .  The Estelada has an extra blue triangle with a white corner superimposed on the simple Catalan flag and is carried by suppor...

Source:  Blaz Erzetic en Unsplash Stolen Columbus letter about discovery of new world returned to Italy Original copy of explorer’s 1493 letter was found in US Library of Congress, with the one held in Florence proved to be a forgery A rare copy of a letter   written by Christopher Columbus in 1493 that was stolen from a library in Florence has been returned to Italy after US investigators discovered it was in the collection of the Library of Congress. The return of the letter, which had been sent to the king and queen of Spain, describing the Italian explorer’s first impressions of the new world, was hailed by US and Italian officials. But the mystery of how it ended up in the Library of Congress after be ing sold at auction at Christie’s in the early 90s is still being investigated by the US Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. The letter had been stolen from Florence’s Riccardiana library and replaced with a forgery that n...

Translate the following sentences. They all contain expressions with the verbs make and do. A. He hecho cambios en el documento. Ha sido un placer hacer negocios con usted. El año pasado la empresa obtuvo un beneficio de diez millones de euros. Me puedes hacer un favor? Asegúrate que la puerta está cerrada. B. No se me dio mal para ser la primera vez. Me molesté tanto que decidí hacer una reclamación. Haces mucho ejercicio? Es solo un poco de tos. No montes un número. Estoy bien. Lo pillaron conduciendo a 70km/h en una zona residencial. C. Mi jefa me dio las gracias por hacer un gran trabajo. Haré lo posible por llegar a tiempo. Voy a hacer un curso de buceo. . No estuvo de más preguntar una segunda vez. Qué desastre su decoración del salón. D. Sólo tengo que hacer una llamada rápida Está muy nervioso con la charla que tiene que dar.. Puedo hacer una sugerencia? Qué tal si nos reunimos el viernes? Creo que daría lo mismo que vengas o no. Quién te ha pe...

Source: No-longer-here from Pixabay Bad owners to sweep streets in Madrid's war on dog poo  Madrid’s mayor has unveiled harsh new penalties for dog owners who fail to pick up after their pets; pay a €750 fine or spend the weekend sweeping the streets.  The left-wing mayor, who was elected to office last May, said the city was preparing a raft of new bylaws in the battle to clean up the capital. A fine of €750 will be imposed on owners who fail to pick up after their pets, a fine that can be converted into hours spent cleaning the streets at weekends instead. But the penalties are not reserved exclusively for irresponsible dog owners. The same punishment awaits those caught spitting or littering in public areas, including the disposal of cigarette butts  and chewing gum. Washing a car in the street, shaking a rug out of a window or allowing plants to drip water into the streets also carry the €750 fine . But those who are caught urinating or ...