My First day in DisneyLand Paris

 I remembered that the only thing that I wished for as a kid was, going to Disney. My whole childhood was based on watching a Disney movie every night. I even forced my parents to buy me every Disney princess dress. It was that bad!

So my parents had to get me a little family trip to Disney. It was a dream come true. As soon as I stepped on the plane I was feeling the chills. When we arrived at the Old Eastern hotel, (which I think is the cheapest one, now that I realize it) I was thrilled, everything was Disney-inspired, you could see Woody from Toy Story at the entrance. We left our luggage in the room and we went to the attraction park. That day was wonderful and to wrap it all up we went to have dinner at an American-inspired restaurant where the waitresses wore rollerskates and that had delicious burgers and milkshakes.

(HOW MY LIFE HAS CHANGED SINCE I CAME TO LONDON)

My lifetime dream has always been living in another country.And last year I fulfilled it. As I had good grades and I was so persistent with my parents, they finally send me to study abroad. 

London was always in my bucket list, yet I preferred Dublin because I have family in Ireland. Yet, it was already full, so I had to stick to London. However, it didn't disappoint. When I arrived to the campus everyone was so welcoming. I soon began to make friends from all over the world. For starters, my Italian friend Sveva, she is the one that I trust the most here, apart from Carmen that is Spanish and came here too. I when to trips around London. Visited the London Eye, the Big Ben and saw the Royal Palace. I must say that I miss Spanish food. These people’s food lack taste in my opinion, however I can not complain about stew or tea because, as soon as I go back to Spain I will surely miss them. I love the classes here because it is more fun than in Spain , and also you get used to listening all of the time in English. That is a plus for me and for the degree that I am studying.

(E-MAIL)

Nowadays, e-mail is still in use. It is not the leading way of communication, yet it is crucial. For starters, when subscribing to a website because you wish to know the latest news. In fact, by subscribing, you can get many discounts.

On another note, e-mail is meant for school. It is mostly used to send class assignments. And, if you have doubts about a specific subject, you will be able to ask your teacher anywhere. Another thing that exists is pen-pal friends that write to each other by email. However, this last option is substituted with other social media platforms. E-mail, for teens, is day by day disappearing, we prefer to communicate by Whatsapp, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat. I would say that the ones that use it the most are older people, as they were used to this platform before than anyone and, mainly it is for work.

Practice 11 Problem-Solution Paragraphs

 

Problem:Development of a tourism industry can bring social and environmental  drawbacks.

Solution A: Target wealthier holidaymakers

Arguments against solution A: market requires considerable investment in infrastructure and training

Solution B: Rigorously control the environmental standards of any development.

Conclusion in favour of B:  Requires effective governments agencies,but is likely to ensure the best outcome for both tourists and locals

(BEING ON TIME)

 

Certainly, this topic is very ample, so I will share my opinion and my experience.

I always aim to be on time. Organizing always plays a big part in my routine, and I try to avoid procrastination. Yet, no matter how hard I try, I always end up being the last one in the family getting out of the house and everyone has to wait for me. Do not get me wrong, I do not care about being the last one.

Thus, the issue comes when my mum is ready to go, every other person in the house has to be ready to go. If we are not ready, she starts mumbling that we are leaving late and makes everyone anxious. 

She stresses me out and, to prevent that, I always make everything faster. But as soon as I depart my house, I notice that I have forgotten something crucial, like, my keys. All because I was hearing my mum’s rants instead.

Rarely do I arrive late, and I realize how waiting for someone can be stressful, but indicating that "we are going to be late"  every 2 seconds, is not going to change anything. Apart from making the other people nervous.

(CELLPHONES)’ disadvantages

This devices have some considerable disadvantages. Studies have shown that ADHD rates are arising. Since kids are exposed to these devices earlier than ever before. On another note, they become addicted to likes, and views and they constantly check their socials. This is a common addiction that nobody cares about. Because we are all trapped in said reality. Their body image might as well be affected by all of the perfection they see. Not only that, but it goes hand in hand with mental health issues, bad grades, and, all in all, information overload that might be harmful. To prevent harm, we have to be educated about the dangers of the Internet. For starters, catfishing, social media stalking, and information robbery. Imagine falling in love with a stranger that turns out to be a different individual. Or being stalked to know where you live or in what place you are currently. Or perhaps, having all of your bank account passwords leaked.

(A SPECIAL SKILL YOU HAVE) makeup

In today's society, makeup has quickly gone from one trend to another in the blink of an eye. I have followed these trends and become good at it doing so. Some might disagree with how much  I put on. However, I see it as a form of art and self-expression. Makeup for me is not for hiding your imperfections but embracing your features. As time has gone by, my style has developed a lot. At first, I loved full brows with subtle eyeshadow and pinkish lipstick colors. Yet, now I like to shave the tail of my brow to make them look upwards. Also, I do a thick winged eyeliner with a powerful eyeshadow and brown nude glossy lips. Still, I'd love to put on some false lashes but, I have never managed.

My experience(LEARNING TO PLAY SPORTS)

When I was little I did not like any sports but swimming. I tried tennis but you had to be fast and have great coordination with all of your body. You had to jump a lot and to know how to use the racquet. I hated it. I also tried football and basketball but it was all for of the same for me. I liked running but it was quite boring if you did not have any music playing meanwhile. It was all until I found myself liking swimming. I do not know why but I think that it is because you only need your body and a great coordination technique. It was relaxing and challenging to dive into the water and swim. I may contradict myself a little because now, my favorite sport is also powerlifting, for which you only need a barbell, weights and your strength. So at the end of the day, it might just be that I like individual sports because I can focus on my technique better.

( MY LAST DAY IN IRELAND)

I have been to Ireland five times. The first 4 with my English academy to Westport, and the last one to Cork to visit my Cousins.

 To the last one, I went by myself. My father´s cousin, Encarna, went to Ireland when she was young and, she married an Irish man, Martin, and had two children. So, whenever we go to Ireland, we have somewhere to stay.

I have a strong connection with their children Aaron and Rebecca. When I went to spend a month in their house, I met some of their closest friends. We went to the mall together, made a lot of trips and celebrated my birthday.

Sooner than later, the last day came and, they threw me a party where we drank Irish beer. We had a great time together and, I am eager to go back to Ireland again and visit the city with them for the sixth time.

Practice 10 Argument and Discussion

 

• Discussion vocabulary

1.

a. advantages

b. drawbacks

c. negative feature

d. benefits

e. disadvantages

f. plus

• Organisation

2.

Vertical and horizontal format have various plusses. For instance, in vertical paragraphs you would be able to see your thoughts abbreviated all at once. Yet, in the case of horizontal format, each notion is developed, so no element will be forgotten while writing.

3.

A. Brainstorm: 

+ Pros

- No time spent commuting to work

- Comfort of your home, you can even work in pajamas.

- Kids can be taken care of if you are a working parent

- Cons

- You cannot communicate face to face with others, less socialisation

- Solitude and isolation

-Health problems because, less movement is needed.

B.

Working from your house it's been a growing phenomenon ever since Covid began. Humanity had to go on quarantine and go on working inside .Yet currently , some want proceed with this, because of its multiple benefits.

 As we all assume,that time you spend on your way to work vanishes, so you can rest longer and get more sleep. As you don't leave your home, you can wear pajamas and comfortable clothes, which is beneficial  for those who spend hours sitting. For parents, this is a plus too, as kids can be taken care of while working .

Yet, staying at home is not a walk in the park. Isolation goes hand in hand with less socialisation. Studies have shown that mental illnesses have arisen since the Pandemic. Less movement is involved so your health may be also endangered. So both mental and physical health are threatened.

• Counter-arguments

5.

Counter-arguments

1. Some people believe that home workers become isolated.

2. Mental health is likely to be threatened.

3. Some parents need working from home in order to take care of their youths.

Your position

1. But this can be avoided by holding weekly meetings for all department stuff.

2. Still, videocalls with a therapist are available , physiologists also have to work. And suicide prevention lines are always open.

3. This is rather advantageous, since single parents or couples that have mixed shifts ( morning/night shift) can be looking after their kids if needed

• Providing evidence

6.

1. Claims for 'digital natives'

2. Arguments against

3. Writer's viewpoint

7.

As we may well assume , scientists need to collect information in order to understand the universe. To illustrate, space engineering has produced plenty useful discoveries. For instance, the satellites that have lead to communication. Not only that, but with space stations,explorations have provided healthy co-operation between nations.

However, huge amounts of money are spent with no apparent result.Sadly, national space programmes are spending said money on testing missiles and potential weapons.Instead, resources should be spent in the Earth’s needs, like disease control.

(THE BEST CAR I OWN)

I have had two automobiles in my whole life, and I have not gotten a chance to drive any of them yet. Sadly, I have not taken my driver's license yet.

I can not remember what brand was the first car that my dad had when I was little, but I remember that it was grey and had beige seats. It was a second-hand car, so it was breaking a lot. So my dad sold it when I was 4 and bought his first BMW. It was pretty big and dark blue. This car also began to give us some issues 2 years ago, but I enjoyed it a lot since it was the car that drove us on many family trips to the North of Spain. That is why that was the best car I have ever owned.

Practice 9 Analyzing a TED Talk + Opinion Paragraph

What’s the topic of the TED talk? What’s the main idea? When does the speaker introduce his idea? How?

The educational system kills creativity

What are  the means of support used  by the speaker to convince us that his opinion is right? Provide examples.

These are some:

All kids have tremendous talents that shy away because of what the system wants.Kids are not frightened of being wrong ,yet we make them.We all get educated out of creativity (art and music are the least important subjects)

The ultimate goal in the system is to produce university professors (ironically he is one).We are told that we are never going to get a job by liking music or arts.

Soon degrees will not be worth anything because too many people are getting one. It is not special anymore.

He states that imagination is diverse ,dynamic, and distinct. And we must start to use wisely the gift it is.

What’s the speaker’s conclusion? How does he “conclude”?

He concludes that we have to rebuild society’s concept regarding the potency of our capacities, an, with it, our education system. Because our existing education will not be useful in short.

Opinion paragraph 

To briefly understand my viewpoint, as a creative and hard-working person, my aspirations in life have always been diminished into hobbies. For instance, becoming an illustrator or a personal trainer is the frustrated dream of many. You are told you will never be good enough, or you will not make a living out of it. Yet, a ton of people have managed to do such thing. In the meantime, whoever wants to succeed in these fields, also study degrees that reassure that they would somehow get a job. Thus, with having to study a lot for said degrees, this creative skills shy away into past-time activities.

(TEENAGERS) and how today's advertising affects them

Today's youngsters, as we know, are prominently exposed to continuous advertising. These can either influence for the better or, the worse.

In the meantime, publicity thrives in our daily screen time. Whether it is on TV, radio, newspaper, or any social media. Accessibility to this kind of content has never arisen in this particular way. Said aggressive marketing strategies, not only accomplish the result that the marketers want. But also, cookies are developed to suit each profile and their likings. Several screen pop-up ads or commercial breaks will give us the chance to get to know brand-new items and services. Few show us profound topics that we may never give attention to. For illustration, UNICEF’s advertising campaigns. These raise awareness of human rights and how they are still violated all over the globe.

Nonetheless, this constant information overload is no good. Remarkable scientific studies have demonstrated that the capabilities of juveniles to concentrate, have been diminished by this phenomenon. Undoubtedly, their brain now multitasks and can not focus on specific information. This generation has also begun to make trends last less than a day. Society feeds them on nonexistent needs. And urges of buying unuseful items and services are created.

Yet this new generation is more aware of every injustice happening in the world. As mentioned before, conscious advertising is more than ever before representing topics that require addressing. Any International Organization fighting for nature, human liberties, and a better life on earth are crucial. Usually, companies such as Inditex promoting their products are exploiting humans behind the scenes. Massive marketing campaigns with great images and celebrity endorsements are launched to cover dirty rugs.

All in all, youths are exposed to ads that can either, create useless yearnings or attain consciousness in problems that exist often ignored

(MY BELIEFS) about winning the lottery

When lottery tickets are purchased, nobody truly foresees winning the bobby prize. Yet, when they do, appealing and unpleasant situations arise.

As we may anticipate, a sum of money is always welcome. This sudden win will help cover our necessities for long. It will mean a steady income in your life. And, as a result, we would sort out our debts if we ever had any. Not only that, but it will also allow us to indulge in ourselves. Perhaps buying that luxurious garment, car, or mansion that we have always daydreamed of.

However, with great power comes great responsibility. It is statistically foreseen for a lottery winner to throw money around, waste it on unuseful things. Suddenly, your money is gone, that newfound status too, and bankruptcy will be waiting for you around the corner. Regardless of managing your money wisely, other issues will emerge. For instance, envy and treason from those you thought you trusted. Or perhaps, people that might want to be your colleague after noting you possess wealth. Thus there is a simple remedy, do not ever go public.

Supposing being wealthy makes you feel guilty. Donating to charity is the way to go. In the meantime, humanity needs a little help. And, because of capitalism, substantial damage to third-world countries is inflicted. As an illustration, UNICEF is the charity that helps these countries to get the Covid-19 vaccine with the COVAX program. Besides, they similarly help to give schooling, food, and nursing to these people.

All in all, lottery winners must use their money wisely and often watch their backs. If you are not a bit frugal with your fortune, it would not be a walk in the park. 

(A GOOD FRIEND)

 Dani has always been my best friend ever since we were 13.

We both enjoyed art, memes, sharing our experiences. Talking for hours and not stopping. Until we started to stop talking as much and hanging out. It was a bit sad because I remember sharing with him the guys I liked and him helping me to figure things out. And it is also sad because he went to live and study in Madrid. That meant even less contact. I am happy for him though. Because I know now he is the happiest he’s ever been. He can be independent and study what he wants while discovering himself.

And I know that as soon as I talk to him he will always be there. Just like I do. I miss him a lot and I want to tell him all about my life currently.

What I resemble from(THE PEOPLE THAT I LIVE WITH).

Some families might differ from others in the similarities between their members. In my case, I have picked a little from each part in distinct ways. 

When you look at my father and me, you are confident that we are related. You would see the same chiseled jawline, fair hair, eye color, nose shape, and mouth. Still, I bear a striking likeness to him when he was younger. The same thing happens with my biological mum. Yet, my appearance is like hers because she was a portly woman. Or else, that is what they have always told me. We both have the identical body type. However, I similarly appear like my stepmom, although we are not blood-related. She has blonde hair, blue eyes and, and she is a tall woman. 

Aside from the looks, I resemble members of my family personality-wise. You can not either doubt that I am as bossy and moody as both my dad and stepmom. They two have a strong temper and are very serious. However, this is not a bad thing, as they know what they want from life and have clarity in their mind. They like to set high standards in everything around them, are creative and perfectionists. My dad, like me, likes to joke around, is chatty, and can not stop talking about random facts. Besides that, my stepmom and I share qualities such as; putting others first, being very giving, attentive, and responsible.

Nevertheless, my favorite household member is my beloved 9-year-old brother. We look extraordinarily alike, although he has fair curly hair, and his mom is my stepmom. And character-wise, he and I get on well since I have shown him my likings, and he wants to imitate me. We share interests, music taste, humor, and we love playing video games jointly. Plus, we can have a good laugh at topics that older people in our house would not understand. Though we are ten years apart, that does not stop us from having a great bond. Indeed, my brother is my pride and joy.

In brief, my looks and character are very much like my parent’s, but I molded my little brother into my very own personality traits and interests.

(AN ACCIDENT)

 I think that most menstruating people have had this problem. It is commonly known as an accident but should it?

In the name of our bleeding ovaries, we must normalize these little accidents. Sometimes, staining seats, clothes and so much more with our blood is seen as something to be ashamed of. Periods are treated like unnatural and awful. The reality is that is something that we have to go through every month. It is necessary to have great hormonal health and to remain healthy until it goes away. We must learn to help people that have these accidents and not make them feel more uncomfortable than they must already be. We also should educate people that do not have them on how it works, the phases, and how we are truly feeling in said process. Although is not the same for everyone.

Practice 8 Punctuation

Article:

From a pandemic to plastic surgery: how Covid changed the way we see our faces

- Jane, a 40-year-old mental health professional from Cork, never worried too much about how she looked. (Inserter)

-But when her job went fully virtual, she found herself dreading Microsoft Teams meetings.(Introducer) 

-Her face looked rounder, her nose looked bigger, and her top lip looked thinner than she’d ever noticed in the mirror.(Coordinator)

-“I’ve always thought I was attractive, and people would always compliment my looks in person,” she says.(Coordinator & Introducer)

- “But on video, nobody was saying how nice it was to see my pretty face.”(Introducer)

EDITING PRACTICE:

1.People are more likely to live long, enough to get old in wealthy countries than in poor countries. 2 In rich countries people have nutritious food, modern medical care, good sanitation, and clean drinking water; but poor countries lack these things.  As a result, the mortality rate, especially infant mortality is very high.  4 Citizens of Ethiopia and Yemen ,which are two of the world's poorest countries, 1. have an average life expectancy of 35-39 years.  Citizens of Japan, Hong Kong ,Singapore ,Australia ,Iceland, and Sweden, in contrast ,have an average life span of more than 80 years.  Japan has the highest; Yemen has the lowest.  7One exception is Saudi Arabia, one of the world's wealthiest nations.  Having an average life expectancy of 45-49 years, Saudi Arabians live about as long as Bangladeshis and Cambodians.  ° Surprisingly the United States is not among the highest rated nations ,having an average life expectancy of only 77 years.  10 Compared to other mammals humans have a relatively long life span.  11 The average life span of elephants is 70 years, of dogs 18 years, of cats 14 years, and of horses 20 years.  12 The life spans of other species are as follows 2 eagles, parrots, and owls ;60 years parakeets; 12 years guppies; 5 years; and box Somo plants such as treos live much longer than animals.  tortoises 100 ycars.  13 14 Redwood trees for example live more than 3,000 years and bristlecone pine trees can live over 4,000 years.

1The life expectancy of people who live in industrialized societies is increasing rapidly, in fact it has doubled in the past hundred years.  1When comparing males and females, one finds that women generally live longer than men.  1TH oldest person in the world until recently was a French woman, Jeanne Calment.  1At her death de ella Madame Calment was both blind and deaf, but ella had not lost her sharp wit for which she had become quite famous.  1Asked what kind of future she expected :she replied A very short one.  2Bragging about her smooth skin de ella she said: ella l've only had one wrinkle in my life and l'm sitting on it.

My worst habit

 I have many bad habits. Starting by the one that affects me the most is, procrastinating. You do it too, right? 

I procrastinate on everything; on tidying up my closet, walking the dog, my assignments, making dinner. Well, for this blog I'm trying my absolute best to make it immaculately perfect and have it all on time. But on everything else, I'm an absolute mess. Another bad habit of mine is my urge to buy. And the worst thing is I'm trying to save up money. But as soon as I open Amazon, Vinted, etcetera, I have to get something.

But the one that probably my mum hates the most is, me not remembering to wash the dishes and fold and iron my clothes.

At the end of the day, I'm a responsible little girl. But you have to remind me to do things otherwise I  forget.

Spanish (CUSTOMS THAT YOU LIKE AND DISLIKE)

 Spanish culture is one of the richest in the world. In my liking, food from Murcia is so awesome and flavourful. I love zarangollo, paparajotes, murcian salad, murcian cocido etcetera. Spanish food in its whole is pretty wide and it has a lot to do with the location in the peninsula. But let's be real if we had to choose one Spanish food it would be Spanish tortilla. Although there is a discussion between those who like it with onions and those who don't, we all love it.

Apart from food, I love how us Spanish celebrate everything, we have a lot of national festivities that have to do with our catholic background. Siesta is also another favourite of mine, yet, this year I can't sleep through that time in the day because I have classes.

I would say that what I dislike from Spanish culture are bullfights.I can not fathom how some enjoy watching an animal getting tortured and eventually killed for fun.

(SHOPPING)

Nowadays shopping for something you want can be done in the wink of an eye. Smartphones and the internet have given us this advantage over any other society that came before ours.

This rather practical tool allows us to get anything from takeaway, clothing, furniture, to even pets. Online services such as Amazon and Aliexpress are the ones who patented this method of shopping. And due to this reason, almost every shop now has this kind of selling strategy. If they did not, these would likely die away into silence. Imagine anything more comfortable than getting whatever thing delivered to your front door.

However, some might disagree on this matter. Since the quarantine was over, who was not looking forward to going on a shopping spree? Seeing some beautifully arranged clothing shop, and later getting in and touching, and trying on those same pieces. It is the dream of many to feel these items. Jointly with choosing the best apple from the supermarket shelves. These lovers of physical touch are most likely to be senior citizens. Yet, some teenagers like to go shopping as a plan with their mates.

Technology has event modernized 2nd hand shopping. Apps like, Vinted, Wallapop, and Facebook-Marketplace, not only provide us with a better chance to get cheaper clothes. But also they contribute to clothing waste, and to cease exploitation from textile industries.

To sum up, in our capitalist society shopping is a day-to-day chore that has been adapted to reach us all, and suit our liking.

Practice 7 Describing Paragraph

If I was there how would i feel?

Why would I feel that way?

Would I prefer being elsewhere?

What will i think if I encountered this scenario?

Would i like being there?

When seeing this scenario emotions may vary. At first, emptiness is the notion since these rather urbanistic streets are likely to be crowded. Then the feeling is confusion, as Madrid is never this lonely. Still, Covid restrictions might be the reason. However, you wouldn't prefer to be elsewhere, after all, these streets are yours now. Inside these streets, you would feel small yet free. Some may feel fearful out of the loneliness of this rather cloudy day and this wide and unoccupied pathway. Nonetheless, not a single soul is invading this peacefuy and grey venue. Loneliness and emptiness are not bad sentiments if you like them.

Practice 6 Describing Paragraph Exercises

 1.

A) 

a) instrument

b)organs

c)organisation

d)process

e)behabiour

f)process

g)period

h)grains

B)

Lecture: It is usually an educational speech given by a professor or teacher, for those who are interested in the said matter that is about. Like the ones given in a university class. Nonetheless, a lecture is also a synonym of a long, tedious reprimand.

Tuberculosis: It is an infection that can affect almost any tissue of the body, specially, the lungs.

The Red Cross:It is a ONG that provides help to those that suffer from war and natural disasters 

An idiom: It is a group of terms that when put together have an specific meaning, but when separate they have a different one.

2.

A)

a) failed project

b) development 

c) attachment

d) self brightening 

e) globalisation 

B)

Capital punishment =It is a retribution of death for a crime, or as we know it, the death penalty.

E-books=They are electronic devices that provide readers with plenty of books in it's screen.We can also find said E-books format in our smartphones and tablets, in apps such as Kindle, Apple Books and ePub

Obesity= It is a condition in which someone is very fat or overweight.

Volcanic eruptions in La Palma(A STORY IN THE NEWS)

The ongoing volcanic eruptions in La Palma ( Canary Islands) it is still causing terrible damage to the island. It has been registered as the most damaging volcanic activity to ever happen in Spain. To understand how the system of islands exists, we must look into science.

Volcanologists believe that there’s a "hot spot" below the Canary Islands, an extremely hot magma reservoir, constantly looking for a way out, generating earthquakes and bending the island's surface until it ruptures. These cracks allow magma to pass through the earth's crust to form volcanoes. This is the same type of volcanic activity that formed the Hawaiian Islands in the United States. However, the hot spot theory is controversial because it cannot fully explain all activities in the Canary Islands; for example, the recent volcanic eruptions on ancient islands such as Lanzarote.