Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for English

FESTIVALS AND FESTIVITIES

In our country we have lots of festivals and festivities, but I’ ll focus on Burriana’s festivities and festivals.

First of all, every year in August, the festival “Arenal sound" takes place in Burriana.

Burriana is completely changed during this festival. Many music bands come to Burriana for a week and people goes to these concerts by the sea and many people stay during all the festival sleeping in tends on the beach. The city is completelly  full of tourists during the festival, but I don’t really like going out when  the “Arenal sound” is taking place because I just like to be at home, however my children love this festival.

Secondly, we have a festivity called  “las fallas” . Fallas is a traditional

English Grammar Transformation Exercises

Practice your English skills with these sentence transformation exercises, covering various grammatical structures.

1. Relative Clauses

• Original: Albert is coming back from hospital tomorrow. He has just broken his ankle.
• Transformation: Albert, who has just broken his ankle, is coming back from hospital tomorrow.

2. Reported Speech

• Original: “How much is this T-shirt?”, she asked.
• Transformation: She asked how much that T-shirt was.

3. Modal Verbs

• Original: If you want my advice, don’t eat so many cakes!
• Transformation: You shouldn’t eat so many cakes.

4. Wish Clauses

• Original: I’m sorry I didn’t work hard enough last year.
• Transformation: I wish I had worked hard enough last year.

5. Contrast Connectors

• Original:

Harriet Noble's 1824 Migration Account

As told to Elizabeth F. Ellet (1856)

Author: Harriet Noble | Date of Migration: 1824

The Reality of Pioneer Migration

In 1856, Elizabeth F. Ellet published the book Pioneer Women of the West, a compilation of histories of pioneer women, including the account of Harriet Noble, who emigrated from New York to Michigan in 1824. Like the majority of women undertaking overland migration at that time, Noble had little choice about whether to go or not; her husband made the decision for her.

During the journey, men generally drove the wagons while women and children walked behind in a cloud of dust. Noble expressed that her feet were already so swollen she could not walk anymore. Finally, the family arrived in the... Continue reading "Harriet Noble's 1824 Journey: Pioneer Life in Michigan" »

Using 'Make' and 'Do' Correctly

1. I need to do the shopping this evening.
2. It's hard to choose a gift for Mum, but we'll have to make a decision soon.
3. It was a pleasure to do business with you.
4. Could you do me a favour and call Katie?
5. I'd like to make an appointment with the doctor.
6. Rachel hopes to make a lot of money when she works in London.
7. We will do our best to finish the project on time.
8. Sue and Mike have started to make plans for their wedding.

Shopping Vocabulary: Value and Perception

1. You paid too much for that television. It was a rip-off.
2. Everyone is wearing these expensive shoes. They have become a status symbol.
3. The shopping center wants to attract younger people, so it's trying to change its image.
4. This diamond isn't real. It must be a fake.
5. These

Passive Voice Transformation Exercises

Part 1: Active to Passive Conversions

• 1. All students must be given an identity card.
• 2. The fires are being started deliberately.
• 3. He is said to be the greatest drummer alive.
• 4. The results will be sent out in six weeks.
• 5. Nothing can be done about it without a receipt.
• 6. It has been decided that three students will be interviewed.
• 7. That chair has just been given to me by my grandmother.

Part 2: Sentence Transformation Practice

1. 1. The wine should be opened about three hours before you use it.
2. 2. Steps in the ice had been cut by previous climbers.
3. 3. My shoes had been cleaned and my suit was brushed.
4. 4. This room is only used for special occasions.
5. 5. Nails must not be hammered into the walls without permission.

CHARACTERS:   Hiro Adachi: Main character, is a Japanese student, studying in England with a study abroad program.

Akiko: Hiro's ex  The Shark / Erik Bjornson: the grandfather Hiro meets on the train to Koln Berlin Karl Meier: A German man in Berlin   Franz Schubert: A bodyguard

-His girlfriend Akiko, broke up with him for having a picture of his dog as a wallpaper. -

-Hiro is from Japan but he is studying in England with a study abroad program and now on his summer holidays he has used an InterRail ticket (ticket to travel anywhere in Europe).

-Hiro met Akiko in the same course in England, they were going to make a trip to the South of Spain and some friends but when he got angry for wanting to take the dog on a trip, everything took a turn... Continue reading "Encounter at Brandenburg Gate: A Tale of Deception and Survival" »

Essential English Irregular Verbs (R-W)

This table provides a comprehensive list of essential irregular verbs in English, covering forms from R through W, along with their Spanish meanings. Memorizing these forms is crucial for correct past tense and perfect tense construction in English.

The Modern Shopping Experience: Malls, Sales, and Consumer Culture

The Rise of Shopping Centers

For the past few years, malls and shopping centers have become increasingly successful ways of purchasing in our lifestyle. They are huge buildings built on the outskirts or in commercial areas of our cities.

The Appeal of Retail Environments

First of all, the stores have very attractive window displays. Everything is designed to make customers spend their money, indulge in a shopping spree, and return for their subsequent purchases. Key features include:

• Pleasant background music
• A wide range of products
• Prices clearly marked

Malls as Leisure Centers

Besides, malls offer many facilities to make shopping easier. The mall is a leisure center where you can... Continue reading "The Psychology of Shopping: Malls, Sales, and Retail Therapy" »

Speech Analysis: Rhetoric & Audience

Personal Dynamics

• Active / Energetic
• Insistent / Persistent
• Aggressive
• Ambitious
• Successful

Mood

Passionate; calm / self-controlled; choleric; melancholic

Self-confidence

With strong nerves; brave / courageous

Moral Attitude

Honest / truthful

Social Aspects

Sociable; open / frank; modest; open-minded; friendly

Argumentation

First of all, I think... | On the one hand,... On the other hand... | Let me give you an example... | As I already indicated... | In other words,... | I should like to emphasize that... | Summing up, it can be said that... | In my opinion...

Rhetorical Devices

• Simile (comparison)
• Personification
• Metaphor
• Symbol
• Hyperbole (exaggeration)
• Euphemism (replace a violent expression)
• Antithesis (opposition of two

English Vocabulary & Phrasal Verbs: Unit 1

Emotions, Qualities & Actions

• Mood: humor (estat d'ànim)
• Tough: dur, resistent
• Approach: enfocament, mètode
• All the rage: molt de moda, popular
• Remain: romandre, quedar-se
• Accurate: exacte, precís
• Firm: ferm, sòlid
• Trigger: desencadenar, provocar

Sensory Vocabulary

• Mouth-watering: que fa venir ganes de menjar
• Scent: olor (agradable)
• Weird: estrany, peculiar
• Nasty: desagradable, lleig
• Purchase: adquirir, comprar
• Take advantage of: aprofitar-se de, treure avantatge de

Phrasal Verbs: Start & Set

• Started out: començar (una activitat, carrera)
• Started over: tornar a començar
• Startup: muntar una empresa, posar en marxa
• Set off: provocar, iniciar (un viatge, una alarma)
• Set back: endarrerir, costar (diners)

Phrasal