Andrea's text on music

Did you know that music making is part of what makes humans human? Every culture makes music. Not only that, every past culture has made music too. Musical instruments are amongst the oldest man-made objects ever found.

Compare this with reading and writing. The earliest forms of writing are no more than about 3500 years old. And many cultures of the world still do not read or write.

Scientists have recently discovered that music affects many parts of our brain very deeply. But you don’t need to be a scientist to understand that! Trying singing ‘Happy Birthday’ or a Christmas song and you will understand. What do these tunes make you think of? How do they make you feel? You’ll be filled with all sorts of memories and feelings when you hear these tunes—many more than would if you simply said the words ‘birthday’ or ‘Christmas’.

Music gets under your skin. It creates strong feelings. And it creates strong memories.

Music is a language. It is a language for all humans. It is a language that is there when normal language is of little use.

1.       Music is the Key to Creativity.

2.       Music makes Education more enjoyable.

3.       Music is the Language of the Universe

4.       Music can Create a Mood and make you feel Emotion.

5.       Music Brings People Together

1)       True or false:

    a)      Not in every culture there is  music.

    b)      Everyone knows how to read and write.

    c)       It creates strong memories.

2)      Answer the questions.

a) How does the music make you feel?

b) Does the music affect any part of our brain?

c) Does it affect your feelings?

3. synonyms:

a) Harmony (para 1)

b) Between (para 1)

c) Tradition (para2)

Mikel's text on The Simpsons

The Simpsons is an American comedy serie in animation format created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company and aired in several countries. The series is a satire of American society that chronicles the life and daily life of a middle class in this country (which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson) who lives in the fictional city of Springfield .

The family was conceived by Groenin and soon debuted in a series of animated shorts produced by James L. Brooks Groening created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after members of his own family, substituting Bart for his own name. The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987, after three seasons but decided to turn them into a series of half-hour episodes in prime time. It was a success for Fox and was the first series of this channel to get to be among the 30 most watched season 1992-1993 in the United States.

Since its debut on December 17, 1989 were issued 547 episodes until April 27, 2014, with its twenty-fifth season in the end of the eighteenth season, on May 20, 2007, was issued in America episode 400 : You Kent Always Say What You Want. In most of the world on 26 and 27 July 2007 premiered The Simpsons Movie, which grossed nearly $ 526 million worldwide.


True or false :
1. Marge and Homer's children are Maggie, Lisa and Nelson.
2. The Simpsons Movie grossed nearly $ 526 million worldwide.
3. The Simpsons is an American drama serie.

Look for the synonyms of these words:
a) earned (par. 3):
b) various (par. 1):
c)premier (par.3):
d)made up (par.2):

Questions:
How many films are there about the simpsons?
How many episodes are there from 2014?
Who created The Simpsons series?
What are The Simpsons?

Exercises for the exam

Hi, guys!

These are some webpages in which you may find many exercises to practice the contents of the exam. Have a nice weekend and, you know... STUDY! :D

http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/grammar-exercises.html

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises_list/alle_grammar.htm

Alberto G's text on Apple Inc.

Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Cupertino, California, that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, online services, and personal computers. Its best-known hardware products are the Mac line of computers, the iPod media player, the iPhone smartphone, the iPad tablet computer, and the Apple Watch smartwatch. Its online services include iCloud, the iTunes Store, and the App Store. Apple's consumer software includes the OS X and iOS operating systems, the iTunes media browser, the Safari web browser, and the iLife and iWork creativity and productivity suites.

Apple was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne on April 1, 1976, to develop and sell personal computers. It was incorporated as Apple Computer, Inc. on January 3, 1977, and was renamed as Apple Inc. on January 9, 2007, to reflect its shifted focus towards consumer electronics. Apple (NASDAQ:APPL) joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average on March 19, 2015.

Apple is the world's second-largest information technology company by revenue after Samsung Electronics, and the world's third-largest mobile phone maker. On November 25, 2014, in addition to being the largest publicly traded corporation in the world by market capitalization, Apple became the first U.S. company to be valued at over $700 billion. As of 2014, Apple employs 72,800 permanent full-time employees, maintains 437 retail stores in fifteen countries and operates the online Apple Store and iTunes Store, the latter of which is the world's largest music retailer.

Apple's worldwide annual revenue in 2014 totaled US$182 billion (FY end October 2014). Apple enjoys a high level of brand loyalty and, according to the 2014 edition of the Interbrand Best Global Brands report, is the world's most valuable brand with a valuation of $118.9 billion. By the end of 2014, the corporation continued to manage significant criticism regarding the labor practices of its contractors, as well as for its environmental and business practices, including the origins of source materials.


1. TRUE OR FALSE:

- Cupertino is where Apple Inc. is headquartered.

- Edward Snowden collaborate with the FBI.


2. Open questions:

1. When was Apple Inc. founded?

2.How many shops did Apple Inc have in 2014?


3. Synonyms:

1. Organisation (p.1)

2. Laptops (p.1)

3. Customer (p1)

4. show (p.2)

Dani's Text on Mini

MINI

The Mini is a small economy car made by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s.

Its space-saving front-wheel drive layout – allowing 80 per cent of the area of the car's floorpan to be used for passengers and luggage – influenced a generation of car makers. The vehicle is in some ways considered the British equivalent of its German contemporary the Volkswagen Beetle, which enjoyed similar popularity in North America. In 1999 the Mini was voted the second most influential car of the 20th century, behind the Ford Model T. 

This distinctive two-door car was designed for BMC by Sir Alec Issigonis. It was manufactured at the Longbridge and Cowley plants in England, the Victoria Park / Zetland British Motor Corporation (Australia) factory in Sydney, Australia, and later also in Spain (Authi), Belgium, Chile, Italy (Innocenti), Malta, Portugal, South Africa, Uruguay, Venezuela and Yugoslavia.

The Mini Mark I had three major UK updates – the Mark II, the Clubman and the Mark III. Within these was a series of variations, including an estate car, a pick-up truck, a van and the Mini Moke – a jeep-like buggy. The Mini Cooper and Cooper "S" were sportier versions that were successful as rally cars, winning the Monte Carlo Rally four times from 1964 through to 1967, although in 1966 the Mini was disqualified after the finish, along with six other British entrants, which included the first four cars to finish, under a questionable ruling that the cars had used an illegal combination of headlamps and spotlights.

On introduction in August 1959 the Mini was marketed under the Austin and Morris names, as the Austin Seven and Morris Mini-Minor. The Austin Seven was renamed to Austin Mini in January 1962 and Mini became a marque in its own right in 1969. In 1980 it once again became the Austin Mini and in 1988 the Rover Mini.

1.-True or False:

a) The Mini was first made in 1960.

b) It was manufactured only in England.

2.- Questions:

a) Who was the distinctive two-door car designer?

b) What year was the Mini voted the second most influential car of the 20th century in?

3.-Synonyms:

         a) car (paragraph 2) 

         b) made (paragraph 3)  

         c) finish (paragraph 4) 

         d) renamed (paragraph 5)

Ana's Text on Heissenberg

Toy store stops selling drug-dealer dolls (24th October, 2014)

The store Toys R Us has stopped selling a drug-dealer doll because of an online campaign. The store was selling action figures from the popular American TV series 'Breaking Bad'. One of the figures came with bags full of drug money and blue crystal drugs. A mother, Susan Myers, started an online petition to get Toys R Us to stop selling the toys. More than 3,000 people signed the petition and the store took the dolls off of its online store. Ms. Myers wrote on Change.org: "Toys ‘R Us is well known around the world….However their decision to sell a Breaking Bad doll, complete with a detachable sack of cash and a bag of [drugs], alongside children's toys is a dangerous [move away] from their family-friendly values."

Ms. Myers explained that although Breaking Bad was a popular show with adults, dolls from the show did not belong on a toy store shelf next to Barbie dolls and Disney characters. She said: "Parents and grandparents around the world shop at Toys R Us, online and in stores, with their children. They should not be forced to explain why a certain toy comes with a bag of highly dangerous and illegal drugs, or why someone who sells those drugs deserves to be made into an action figure." A Toys R Us spokesperson said: "The product packaging clearly notes that the items are intended for ages 15 and up. The toys were located in the adult action figure area of our stores." 

Source: http://news.sky.com/story/1356927/breaking-bad-dolls-spark-online-petition

1. TRUE / FALSE 

a.	A toy store was selling dolls to drug dealers.	T / F
b.	A toy store was selling a doll based on a TV series about a drug dealer.	T / F
c.	The doll came with a bag of pretend drugs.	T / F
d.	Over 30,000 people signed an online petition against the dolls.	T / F
e.	A woman said the drug-dealer doll should not be next to Barbie.	T / F
f.	The woman asked the toy store to teach children that drugs are bad.	T / F
g.	The box the doll comes in says the product is unsuitable for under-18s.	T / F
h.	The store put the dolls in the adult section of its stores.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article. 

1.	stopped	a.	wrapping
2	well known	b.	ceased
3.	detachable	c.	standards
4.	cash	d.	removable
5.	values	e.	very
6.	popular	f.	famous
7.	highly	g.	well liked
8.	packaging	h.	section
9.	intended for	i.	money
10.	area	j.	aimed at

Álvaro's Text on Rafa Nadal

R AFAEL NADAL

Rafael Nadal was born in Mallorca on June 3, 1986, is a Spanish tennis player and is the current

number 3 in the ATP world rankings. Considered one of the best players in the history of tennis

and the best of all time on clay courts.

  To date he has been champion in 14 Grand Slam tournaments, which is to be the second

professional player with the most titles "big" in the history of tennis with Pete Sampras and

Roger Federer. He has won the tournament at Roland Garros in nine editions, being the player

who has won more times, Wimbledon Championship twice, Australia Open once and the US

Open twice. It has also managed to Spain the gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics and is

part of an international player of Team Davis Spain Cup since 2004, having won the victory on

four occasions, where he managed the final point for the team Spanish. On three occasions he

has finished the year as the best player in the world in the ATP ranking.

He is the youngest in history to achieve the career Golden Slam in men's tennis player and the

gold medal of the Olympics not obtained in the same year. It is the only male player to have

won in a single year (2010) three Grand Slam in three different surfaces of the history of men's

tennis.


1. true or false

 A- Rafael Nadal has won 17 grand slam tournaments.

B- Rafael Nadal won the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics games.


2. Questions

A- In which year was born rafa nadal?

B-How many grand slam titles won in 2010?


3. Synonyms

A- competition (P2)

B- athlete (P3)

C- trainer (P2)

D-male(P3)