SHELL SHOCK

Shell shock was a term used to describe the reaction of soldiers in World War I to the trauma of battle. It has been described as a reaction to the intensity of the bombardment and fighting that produced a helplessness appearing variously as panic, or flight, an inability to reason, sleep, walk or talk. "Simply put, after even the most obedient soldier had enough shells rain down on him, without any means of fighting back, he often lost all self control."^[1]

During the War, the concept of shell-shock was ill-defined. Cases of "shell shock" could be interpreted as either a physical or psychological injury, or simply as a lack of moral fibre. While the term 'shell shock' is no longer used in either medical or military discourse, it has entered into popular imagination and memory, and often identified as the signature injury of the War.

In World War II and thereafter, diagnosis of "shell shock" was replaced by that of Combat stress reaction, a similar but not identical response to the trauma of warfare.

Source: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

LANGUAGE IS MUSIC

ACCIDENTAL VOCABULARY (6) 


a "bicycle/bike/cycle lane" is in an urban setting and is a separate lane (carril) on a street that also carries cars, buses, etc., whereas a "bicycle/bike/cycle path" tends to be a completely independent road specifically for use by cyclists, often in the countryside.


SOURCE: http://forum.wordreference.com/

ACCIDENTAL VOCABULARY (5)


golddigger: Any woman whose primary interest in a relationship is material benefits. A woman who cares more about a man's bank account than she does about the man. 

The closest male equivalent is a gigolo or boytoy.

"That golddigging tramp was never in love with him; she was in love with his money."

SOURCE: http://www.urbandictionary.com/

FINAL EXAM DATES

Friday, July 6th "Reading and Writing Sections"

Tuesday, July 10th "Grammar Section"

Friday, July 13th - Feedback 

QUOTES

Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.

Groucho Marx

Listening Logs

Source: Adapted from Tapestry 4

Ø       What is a Listening Log?

It is like a journal. It is a small booklet or section of your notebook in which you write information and your thoughts about what you listened to on TV or the radio. At least twice a month (to agree in class), you will watch or listen to programs and take notes. You will put your notes into your log and then write a short summary of what you saw and heard. After that, you will write your reaction to the program in a short paragraph.

Ø       What should go into my log?

§         The name of the program

§         The date of broadcast

§         Your notes, in list form

§         A short summary in your own words- no more than one paragraph. Just main idea and a few details

§         Your personal opinion of the program in a separate paragraph

Ø       Why should we keep listening logs?

§         Listening outside of class helps you to learn English and understand other cultures.

§         You practice the important skills of note taking, summarizing, and writing down your reactions. Then, in class you have opportunities to express your ideas orally in a small group.

§         It encourages you to be aware of good programs, to search them and listen to them regularly.

Ø       How often should I turn in my log?

It depends on your course, needs and possibilities. You will decide together with your teacher. In our case, it would just be once for our OOA #2

Ø       What should I do if I don’t understand what I’m listening to?

You should write a note to your teacher in your log that you didn’t understand a particular program. Then try to find something else to listen to.

Log Example

General Information:

NPR

April 27, 1993, 5:30-6:00 p.m.

Denmark’s child care system

Notes / Expressions (words / phrases) to share in class

Careers and Motherhood:

Denmark’s second largest city

Nursery –elementary school

Rich- pay on-third of operating cost

Poor –pay nothing

Summary:

Denmark’s second largest city has a wonderful child care system. Mothers who juggle careers and motherhood really love this system. The program is subsidized by the ministry policies. These child-care centers are no different from regular kindergartens. They take care of children from the age of three months, and will even care for elementary schoolers after school. The only difference is that better-off families pay one third of operating cost and less well-off families pay nothing.

Personal Reaction:

Many women have to struggle to keep their jobs while raising children at the same time. The government or individual communities in the U.S. should develop a program like the one in Denmark. This would help reduce the hardship of balancing working with parenting

Debate Question/s:  Should mothers work when their children are so young?

Log Template

Student’s Name:

Course:

General Information:

Name of the program:

Date:

Time:

About:

Notes / Expressions (words / phrases) to share in class:

Summary:

Personal Reaction:

Debate Question/s: 

Implications of being in a classmate reunion  - Gisela Algaze

When you finish school, you only wish you would not loose touch your best friends. However, new duties (e.g.: University, work) appear in our life and time to meet our friends from school is less than ever. Thanks that our school organizes every 2 years a classmate reunion I am able to catch on them time to time. It is an idea that I really take to.

I participated in the last reunion. It really was an interesting experience because we met again after 2 years without seeing each other; the meeting brought plenty of surprises. Many of my friends were married, some of them had kids and others were divorced. I came down to my friends’ lives changed a lot and I was still the only one that continued with the same one. I am a single woman with no kids, who is working every day in the same company for about 10 years; I can say that I can get by, but I am not millionaire. To be honest, I was a little sad by putting my life together with the others.

However, I came across to the most beautiful girl in the school of that time. She did the reunion living up. She is 1 or 2 years younger than me and I was surprised that she looked like a woman of 40. I felt a little more comfortable by watching that my life was not so bad! I can say that I felt that I get thought something.

FAMOUS HOAXES

For more examples see museum of hoaxes

ACCIDENTAL VOCABULARY (4)

INDIGENT -though archaic and formal, it exists!

Synonyms:  destitute, poor, impoverished, needy, penniless, poverty-stricken, down and out, in want, down at heel (informal), impecunious, dirt-poor, straitened, on the breadline, short, flat broke (informal), penurious, necessitous

Antonyms: rich, wealthy, prosperous, affluent, well-off, well-to-do

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Composition

Homework Page 21 – 8

Buenos Aires is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

It is a place where you can find everything: culture, good restaurants, nice places to go out and have fun!.

If you are planning to visit Argentina, Buenos Aires is a must.
I suggest coming to Buenos Aires for at least 5 days.

You can take buses that let you visit the main sights of the city. These tours can also be made by bicycle with companies that handle them.

I personally recommend visiting:

- Palermo: it is divided into Palermo Hollywood, Palermo Soho, and Plaza Armenia. This area is good for eating in good restaurants and going out for drinks as there are excellent bars and dancing clubs. There are also good markets where you can buy nice gifts.

- Las Cañitas: other places to eat and walk.

- Puerto Madero: another must. An area to see the river, walk and eat. There is a large park by the river called the “ecological reserve” where you can also practice sports. There are restaurants specialize in attending foreign people.

- La Boca and San Telmo local places you should not miss.

One thing to be aware of is thieves. There are plenty of them in the city. You should watch you things all the time.. specially cameras and cell phones. Also, try not to take taxis from street!, ask to call them!

I hope you will enjoy Buenos Aires as I do!...Come and visit us!

PICTURE DICTIONARY (seafood and etc.)

Click HERE to learn some vocabulary on FOOD

ACCIDENTAL VOCABULARY (3)

Estrella fugaz: shooting star

BRITISH WRITER

You may be interested to know better about Julian Barnes

NEWSPAPERS AROUND THE WORLD

I love the organization of  kiosko.net 

PHONETIC SYMBOLS

Visit the following link http://www.phonetizer.com/

Type or cut and paste a text, then click on the 'Transcribe' 

button and the text will appear on the right with the phonetic symbols under each line.

Start practising!

StoryCorps

PASSIVE VOICE

Click HERE and start practising!

ACCIDENTAL VOCABULARY (2)

Debut y despedida = first and last time

ACCIDENTAL VOCABULARY (1)

Molinete (para pasar en el subte por ej.) = turnstill

Puerta giratoria (en un edificio) = revolving door

Molinillo (de café) = coffee grinder (AmE) or coffee mill (BrE)

VERB TENSES

VERB TENSE TUTORIAL AND EXERCISES

WELCOME!

This is the material we will be using during our course:

-Course book and workbook: Total English Advanced (Longman Pearson) - Units 1 to 3

-Skills 13

-Extensive reading: Ishiguro, K. The Remains of the Day

The Remains of the Day (1989) is Kazuo Ishiguro's third published novel. The work was awarded the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 1989. A film adaptation of the novel, made in 1993 and starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson, was nominated for eight Academy Awards.

As in Ishiguro's two previous novels, the story is told from a first person point of view. The narrator Stevens, a butler, recalls his life in the form of a diary while the action progresses through the present. Much of the novel is concerned with Stevens's professional and, above all, personal relationship with a former colleague, the housekeeper Miss Kenton.

Plot summary

The Remains of the Day tells the story of Stevens, an English butler who has dedicated his life to the loyal service of Lord Darlington (mentioned in increasing detail in flashbacks). The novel begins with Stevens receiving a letter from a former colleague, Miss Kenton, describing her married life, which he believes hints at an unhappy marriage. The receipt of the letter coincides with Stevens having the opportunity to revisit this once-cherished relationship, if only under the guise of investigating the possibility of re-employment. Stevens's new employer, a wealthy American named Mr Farraday, encourages Stevens to borrow his car to take a well-earned break, a "motoring trip". As he sets out, Stevens has the opportunity to reflect on his immutable loyalty to Lord Darlington, on the meaning of the term "dignity", and even on his relationship with his own late father. Ultimately Stevens is forced to ponder the true nature of his relationship with Miss Kenton. As the book progresses, increasing evidence of Miss Kenton's one-time love for Stevens, and of his for her, is revealed.

Working together during the years leading up to the Second World War, Stevens and Miss Kenton fail to admit their true feelings towards each other. All of their recollected conversations show a professional friendship which at times came close to crossing the line into romance, but never dared to do so.

Miss Kenton, it later emerges, has been married for over 20 years and therefore is no longer Miss Kenton but has become Mrs Benn. She admits to wondering occasionally what a life with Stevens might have been like, but she has come to love her husband and is looking forward to the birth of their first grandchild. Stevens muses over lost opportunities, both with Miss Kenton and with his long-time employer, Lord Darlington. At the end of the novel, Stevens instead focuses on the "remains of [his] day", referring to his future service with Mr Farraday.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/