Writing Unit 9: An accident

Something happened a couple of weeks ago which was a real test of my honest. I was with some friends and we were plating basketball in a street basketball camp near town. When I was walking I found an envelope with €1000 inside it and one of my friends appeared.

'What is it?' he asked. We looked at each other.

'I'm not sure what it is,' he said. I wasn't exactly telling the truth and I knew that I had to say something.

'I find an envelope with € 1000, I shouted. 'Surprisingly, one policeman listened me and he forced me to give him the envelope.

In the end, nothing happened about the money. The policeman was very good about it. I felt that I'd done right thing.

Writing Unit 8: A happy ending

This time last year, things weren't going too well for me.  I'd failed one exam at school, and I also had an argument with my best friend. Friends invited me out, but I didn't really want to see them. I spent a lot of time on the computer playing games.

Everything changed for me the day I saw a programme about the people of the third world . The programme talks about the poverty. When I saw this I realized that I should be a bit more positive.

These days, I fell much happier. If I hadn't seen the programme, I'd never have had the opportunity.

Writing Unit 7: Changing laws

The government plans to introduce a new law which will mean to introduce school on Saturday. In my view, this would have some negative consequences. In the first place, In my opinion this would have positive consequences for our education consequences but it won't be a good idea for teenagers. It will probably improve our level in all the country .And now, this is not good knowing we are in crisis. There is an alternative method to achieve the government's aims that approve a new law .Finally, the alternative methods about the plans to introduce school on Saturday are with internet or like always, going to the school. The results shouldn’t be agreed for guys. If the aim of the government is to lower the number of people who leaves the studies, it seems to me that there’s a better alternative: if they remove bad results, education in this country would be safer.

13 May 2013: Pope creates new saints

At a ceremony in Rome, Pope Francis has created the first saints of his reign. They include 800 Italians who were beheaded for refusing to convert to Islam after their city was captured by Turks six centuries ago.

It's taken more than six centuries for the Catholic Church to officially recognise the heroism of hundreds of citizens of Otranto, a small town in the south of Italy who were executed by an invading Turkish army when they refused to convert to Islam.

But there was no hint of any anti-Islamic sentiment in the homilythat Pope Francis delivered before tens of thousands of worshippers gathered in St Peters Square. Martyrs, he said, inspire Christians who are still suffering violence in many parts of the world, to respond to evil with good. He refrained from naming any single country, although the Catholic Church is deeply concerned about attacks on Christian communities in the Middle East and in East and West Africa.

Later this month an Italian priest murdered by the Sicilian mafia twenty years ago will be beatified - the last step before he too is declared a saint. Pope Francis, following the example of his immediate predecessors, is continuing the process of honouring a new generation of modern as well as historic martyrs. He wants to remind the world that thousands of Christians are still beingpersecuted for their faith and sometimes being killed in circumstances related to their religion.

Vocabulary:

heroism : actions that show great bravery

to convert : (here) to change your religious belief

sentiment: feeling or attitude

homily: short speech on a moral or religious subject

martyrs: people who suffer or are killed because of their religious beliefs

refrained from: stopped himself from (doing or saying something)

beatified: (after someone's death) said by officials in the Catholic Church to be an especially good or holy person

honouring: publicly showing respect

persecuted: treated very badly or unfairly for a long time   

25 February 2013: Hotel living

A Hong Kong hotel has sold individual rooms to be used as homes. It's one of the ways residents are trying to cope with soaring housing prices, which are among the highest in the world.

The hotel suites are cheaper than apartments in Hong Kong. Hundreds of people lined up for hours to buy a unit at the Apex Horizon Hotel this week. It's not clear whether investors can legally live in the suites but buyers are still eager.

Voice of Hong Kong man:The developer had lawyers look at it thoroughly so I'm not worried.

Voice of Hong Kong woman: At these prices the hotel suites are cheaper to buy than public housing.

The hotel was able to sell all 360 of its suites in two days - a sign there is a demand for affordable housing. Hong Kong's low interest rate has attracted hordes of mainland Chinese investors.

It pushed home prices to record highs last year. Flats cost an average of US$14,000 per square metre in central locations. Many residents feel they can no longer afford to buy apartments.

Vocabulary:

Lined up: queued up in a row

Eager: very keen, enthusiastic
Affordable: something ordinary people have the money to pay for
Hordes: a large group or crowd
Cope: deal with the issue
Makeshift: poor quality, made of whatever material is available
Hutches: small structures, used for keeping small animals in, especially rabbits
Cool down:  slow down the increase in

Speaking Unit 9:How to explain and clarify a situation

Arnau: Hi guys, How was your party?
Pau: Hi Arnau
Francesc: Not bad, thanks. Why do you ask?
Albert: Yes...
Arnau: Because you told me that you were staying in on Saturday
Pau: Who told you that?
Francesc: Júlia said that she'd seen you. How come you didn't tell me about it?
Albert: 'Cause I was only there for a few hours. My sister asked me to take my brother.
Arnau: Are you telling me the truth, Francesc?
Pau: Honestly, is it true?
Francesc: Yes,nigga.
Arnau: OK, OK: I believe you. Sorry, Albert.
Pau: That's OK. 

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift's personal pop songs are loved by millions of fans...But it's her positive attitude and generosity that make her a real star.

Early succes: in 2006, at 16 Taylor released her fist single "Tim McGraw" about one of her ex-boyriends. Love has been a theme of her music ever since. Taylor's public appreciated her intimate, autobiographical songs and in 2008 she was nominated for her first Grammy award.Then at the 2010 Grammy awards, she became the youngest singer to win Album of the Year at the age of 20.

International start:the talented singer now has an international reputation. Taylor's third album, Speak Now, was Number One in the USA, and Taylor has also toured North America, Europe and Australia.
Taylor loves playing live shows and speaking with her fans.
"Fans are my favourite thing in the world" she says. " I'll hang out with them after the show. I'll hang out with them before thw show."

Love life:recentrly, Taylor has been the subject of speculation about her relationship with One Direction's Harry Styles. She says she is embarrassed that people talk about her love life. In the past, Taylor has had lots of famous boyfriends such as Joe Jonas, Taylor Lauthner and Jake Gyllenhaal. So does she always go out with famous boys? "I really don't have any rules when it comes to height, age, career choice, she says.

Positive influence :like other pop artists such as Shakira, Taylor Swift likes to help others. She gives money to schools and recorded the Hope for Haiti Now album for the victims of the disaster there. She also has a good influence on young people: Taylor avoids alcohol and cigarettes. " I don't drink to get drunk because tha'ts just not cute" and I don't want to smoke anything because I sing.

Taylor the actress:Taylor Swift isn't just a contry singer... she is an actress too! Taylor has had roles in Valentine's Day, The Lorax and the TV series CSI. She also played herself in the film Hannah Montana: The Movie. With a successful music career and all her Grammy awards, perhaps the next step for Taylor Swift is to win an Oscar.