Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for English for Secondary education

The Escape and the Druid's Secret

Mattius imprisons Lucia and Michel but manages to escape in the pouch that carries the two axes, leaving in search of the third. He rides for two days through the middle of the forest until he meets the last existing druid. This druid provides information about the Circle of Druids, where the Axis of the Past is hidden.

The Discovery at the Circle

Lucia enters the forest and, after hours, reaches the Circle of the Druids. She digs next to a flat stone and finds a wooden box containing the third axis. She places the three axes on the stone, and they begin to glow. Alinor arrives, seizes the axes, and kills Garcia and the gentleman accompanying him. Mattius, Michel, and Sirius, the dog, jump on Garcia and kill him....

The Story of Dracula: Key Plot Points and Characters

Chapter 1: Jonathan Harker's Journey

• Who is Jonathan Harker and where is he going? Jonathan is a young English lawyer traveling through Transylvania to meet with Count Dracula.
• Why do the people at the hotel look frightened? Because Jonathan mentioned Castle Dracula.
• What does the old woman give Jonathan? She gives him a gold cross.
• Why is Jonathan keeping a diary? Because he wants to share his experiences with Mina.
• How does Jonathan feel while traveling towards Castle Dracula? He is increasingly frightened and begins to have a terrible feeling about going to the castle.

Chapter 2: Meeting Count Dracula

• What does Dracula look like? He is an old man, but very strong. His ears are pointed, he has

Present Simple

It has the same form as the infinitive for all persons, except for the third person singular, which usually adds an -s.

• A: I eat a lot
• N: I don't eat much
• I: Do you eat much?

Present Continuous

Formed with the simple present of the verb to be + main verb + -ing.

• A: I am eating a hot dog
• N: I'm not eating a hot dog
• I: Am I eating a hot dog?

Past Simple

Formed by adding -ed to the infinitive. Negation and interrogation are formed with the auxiliary did. Remember that didn't is the contraction of did not.

• A: I played in the park
• N: I didn't play in the park
• I: Did I play in the park?

Past Continuous

Formed with the past tense of the verb to be + main verb + -ing.

• A: I was sleeping in the park
• N: I wasn't sleeping in the park
• I: Was I sleeping in the

Vicente Risco: passion for the occult and satire

Vicente Risco narrates a passion for the occult in the case of Doctor Aveiros. The humorous story centers on a protagonist with great esoteric knowledge at the border of life and death. Episodes include the release of the mummy of Tutankhamen into the market, the wolf people who seize the gold, and the crossbar of alkitran — all inspired by legends and folklore.

The novel also contains satirical elements. The character Don Celedonio, a grocer from Castile, embodies the bourgeoisie and eventually becomes mayor of a town. The text contrasts the materialism of the bourgeois world (portrayed as Portuguese/Bulgarian in some passages) with the intellectual stance of Doctor Alveiro, who corresponds...

Common English Collocations

Catch

• A bus: coger un bus
• A cold: coger un resfriado
• Fire: prender fuego
• One's breath: recobrar el aliento
• Sight of: ver
• Someone's eye: llamar la atención

Take

• A photo: sacar una foto
• Charge: hacerse cargo
• For granted: asumir
• One's time: tomarse tiempo
• Pride in: orgullecerse
• Someone by surprise: sorprender a alguien

Go

• Abroad: irse al extranjero
• Bald: quedarse calvo
• Blind: quedarse ciego
• Mad: volverse loco
• Missing: desaparecer
• Wild: desmadrarse

English Verbs and Phrasal Verbs

Verbs

Emerge (emerger), Fool (engañar), Gossip (cotillear), Pursue (perseguir), Worship (adorar), Avoid (evitar), Ban (prohibir), Destroy (destruir), Devote (dedicarse), Emit (emitir), Ingest (ingerir), Inhabit (habitar).

Phrasal Verbs

• Break down: venirse abajo, estropearse
• Bring

Theme 1

• Question 2: What was the sailor …? Answer: The sailor asked whether strangers had come to that village.
• Question 3: What did the captain…? Answer: He told us stories, frightening stories, about storms at sea, about people drowning, and about pirates and mutiny.

Theme 2

• Question 1: What were the doctor's …? Answer: The doctor told the captain that if he didn't stop drinking rum he would die soon.

Theme 3

• Question 1: What did the captain…? Answer: He liked one glass of rum.

Theme 4

• Question 1: Why were Jim …? Answer: Because they wanted to go to look for the sea chest.
• Question 2: Where was the way to …? Answer: On the string round the captain's neck.
• Question 3: Where will Mrs. Hawkins …? Answer: Mrs. Hawkins and Jim stayed at Mr.

Romeo and Juliet: The Balcony Scene

Romeo: But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief that thou, her maid, art far more fair than she.

The Beauty of Juliet

Romeo: See how she leans her cheek upon her hand! O, that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!

• Romeo: She speaks! O, speak again, bright angel.
• Romeo: Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?
• Romeo: I take thee at thy word! Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized.

A Name and a Vow

Romeo: Neither, fair saint, if either thee dislike. With love's light wings did I o'erperch these walls; for stony limits cannot hold love out.

Romeo: Alack,...

Unit 1: Advanced Adverbs and Phrasal Verbs

Vocabulary and Synonyms

• By and large: largely
• Staunchly: resolutely
• Swiftly: promptly
• Purportedly: supposedly
• Effectively: essentially
• Untidily: roughly
• Paradoxically: ironically
• Extensively: widely
• Unambiguously: categorically
• Forwards: onwards
• Vaguely: loosely
• Apprehensive: nervous
• Baffled: perplexed
• Disenchanted: disillusioned
• Eager: enthusiastic
• Petrified: terrified
• Reluctant: unwilling
• Uptight: tense
• Remorseful: repentant

Grammar: Essential Phrasal Verbs

• Break down, turn down, allow for, put up with, cheer somebody up, come across somebody, get away with something, go for somebody, pass out, set off, tear something up, do away with something, drop off, fall out with somebody/something, get away, go through something,