Curso intensivo de entrevistas de trabajo en inglés

Curso intensivo entrevistas inglés from

Escuela de Lenguas Vivas

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Los que no pudieron seguir el anterior curso, aquí tienen esta oportunidad para optimizar tu entrevista de trabajo.

Be water...

Intermediate Level, Video

Thanksgiving Day

The exact historical origin of the Thanksgiving Day is uncertain. Although the Americans commonly believe that Thanksgiving first took place at Plymouth Plantation, in Massachusetts, in 1621. In Canada, also, there is strong evidence for earlier celebrations in 1578 and in 1565 by Spanish explorers in Florida. Moreover, Thanksgiving Day is also observed in Leiden, the Netherlands. In the island of Grenada, there is a different holiday however which is celebrated at a similar time of year using the same name.

In the United States:

Thanksgiving is observed on the every fourth Thursday of November. The holiday is celebrated in remembrance of the pilgrims and in order to give thanks.

2010 - Thursday, November 25^th

2011 - Thursday, November 24^th

2012 - Thursday, November 22^nd

2013 - Thursday, November 28^th

In Canada:

The Canadian Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of the month (the reason for the earlier date in October is their earlier harvest occurring farther to the north).

The Canadian holiday comes from different traditions although it is now meant to convey thanks for their harvest.

2010 - Monday, October 11^th

2011 - Monday, October 10^th

2012 - Monday, October 8^th

2013 - Monday, October 14^th

 

Passive Voice (Chart 2)

Passive Voice (Chart 2)

Specific uses of Passive Voice

1. Passive Voice used as impersonal sentences = verbs with to objects: For us, Spaniards it rather odd not to be able to hide the subject using impersonal sentences. It is being shown in Chart 1, how using passive voice you can omit the subject. But, what about what is called in Spanish “passive refleja”? Also, “Impersonals” are simple sentence structures starting with “SE (dice/piensa…)” in Spanish. We can find an equivalent in passive voice sentences whose verb has two objects (direct and indirect)

Structure: Indirect object + passive verb + direct object + etc. Meaning: These sentences give priority to the person/thing… which receives the action from the verb. At the same time hides who is responsible of the action.

Examples: Active Voice: Somebody gave the books to the teacher Passive Voice: The teacher was given the books

2. Verbs/structures with passive meaning or passive structure: Certain actions in English require the verb “to be” or “get”

A)    to be born: I was born in March

B)    Get: sometimes get is used instead of “be”: He doesn’t often get to choose first, that’s why he is so happy about it.

C)    Get married / get divorced / get dressed: this passive structure doesn’t have a passive meaning.

D)    To borrow: this verb is rather peculiar for Spaniards because “the lender” is not the subject but the person who is taking the thing from the lender.

3. Causative verbs/structure: In Spanish we distinguish when someone does an action for themselves (so the subject and the recipient of the action are the same) and when somebody else is doing an action promoted by the subject. We just simply use “reflexives pronouns” or “reflexive verbs” in the first case, and omit the reflexive in the second case. In English it is different, “reflexive verbs” don’t exist. Example: I have cut my hair (the subject cut it him/herself)/ I have my hair cut (somebody cut the subjects hair because the subject put the action in motion)

The most common causative verbs structures are:

a) Have/get something done = have/get + object + past participle	Examples: She always has her food delivered                           Object
b) Have/get someone do something = have+ agent + base verb form without to	Example: I had the mechanic check my car               Agent

Pink Prison Policy

Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Phoenix Arizona had a problem; he had to transfer 700 criminals from their old prison to the new penitentiary three kilometres away. How could he do it without any of the inmates escaping? No problems for Joe. He dressed them all in ankle-chains, flip-flops and pink underwear so that they would be too embarrassed to escape. Stupid idea? Well, it worked.

Anecdote from Think in English nº 71

Audiobook 1

Escuela de Lenguas Vivas aim is to foster the habit of using English in everyday life among our clients. It is for this reason that we recommend listening to audiobooks during different activities such as jogging, ironing. People who do not get distracted by listening to the radio while they drive can listen to an audiobook instead. This should only be done if this does not cause any distraction while driving.

Below you will find a list of audiobook titles organized by levels. They have all been used successfully in our classes and some of the audiobooks can be rounded off with a movie adaptation. Please watch this space for a list of movies classified by levels.

Basic Levels

Beginners:

John Escott, The Missing Coins. Penguin Readers level 1

The Teacher's Secret and other Folk Tales. Dominoes one.

Stephen Rabley, Between Two Worlds. Penguin Readers

Elementary:

O. Henry, New Yorkers (Short Stories). Oxford Bookworms, Stage 2.

Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn. Oxford Bookworms, Stage 2.

L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables. Oxford Bookworms, Stage 2.

James Fenimore Cooper. The Last of the Mohicans Penguin Readers - level 2

J. Verne. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Penguin Readers - level 1

Three short stories of Shelock Holmes - Penguin Readers - level 2

John Scott Dead Man's Island. Oxford Bookworms, Stage 2.

To prepare PET:

Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat. Vivens Vives (Black Cat Collection). The highest level to prepare PET (with exercises).

Mark Twain The ₤1,000,000 Bank Note. Vivens Vives (Black Cat Collection). The highest level to prepare PET (with exercises).

Baroness Orczy, The Scarlet Pimpernel. The Adventures of the Secret Spy. Vivens Vives (Black Cat Collection). The highest level to prepare PET (with exercises).

Intermediate

To prepare First Certificate:

Jacques Futrelle, The Problems of Cell 13. Vivens Vives (Black Cat Collection). It’s intermediate level to prepare FCE (with exercises).

Pre-Intermediate

Richard Macandrew, A Puzzle for Logan. Cambridge University Press, English Readers, Level 3 (Although the book doesn't have any exercises, its level could be appropiated to prepare Pet).

Edgar Alan Poe, The Black Cat and other stories. Penguin Readers Level 3

Oscar Wilde, An Ideal Husband. Penguin Readers Level 3. It’s very witty as every Oscar Wilde plays. The plot is a bit difficult to follow for some pre-intermediate students.

Alexander Dumas The Count of Montecristo, Oxford, Dominoes 3

A. Brontë, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. MacMillan Readers 4

Intermediate:

Colin Campbell, The Lady in White. Cambridge University Press, English Readers nº4 (This mystery book may be a bit difficult because of the plot).

Helen Taylor, In the Shadow of the Mountain. Cambridge University Press, English readers nº 5. Although it’s graded as Upper-Intermediate the quite simple plot makes it easier to understand. Sometimes students find difficult the British-English accent in it.

Rod Neilsen, The Sugar Glider. Cambridge University Press, English Readers nº5 (Adventure/Thriller). Vocabulary is in connection with the outdoors in Australia, pilots, planes and, social and family conflicts.

Charles Dickens, Nicholas Nickleyby. Penguin  Active Readers Level 4. (There are useful exercises in this book for the first stages of First Certificate Preparation; an English teacher will be needed to correct the exercises). 

Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Grey. Vicens Vives (Black Cat Colection) The topic is a bit difficult which make the book suitable for students in the later stages of the First Certificate Preparation. An English teacher will be needed to correct the exercises.

Upper-Intermediate

Richard Preston, Officially Dead, Macmillan Readers, Level 6. There is an interesting thriller with some vocabulary about business.

Scott Fizgerald, The Great Gatsby. Macmillan Readers, Level 5. This book is harder than the previous one because it gets deeper in the characters and the recreation of the historical period. (The movie should be watched after finishing the book. This will allowed the students to get a step forward in their understanding of English)

Charles Dickens, Great Expectations. Oxford Bookworms n.5. Period drama whose main difficulty is the old fashioned language and historical atmosphere.

John Grisham,The Testament. Penguin Readers.

Advanced

Daphne du Maunier, Rebecca. Macmillan Readers, Level 6. This book is excellent due to an interesting plot and the depth of the characters. (The Hichtcock black and white movie should be watched after finishing the book. This will allowed the students to get a step forward in their understanding of English)

Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence. Oxford Bookworms n. 5. (There is an excellent movie –stared by Winona Ryder, Daniel Day-Lewis and Michelle Pfeiffer- which should be watched after finishing the book. The subtleties of the language and the complexity of the feelings and characters make this movie a useful exercise of comprehension).

Alan Maley, He Knows Too Much. Cambridge English Readers nº 6. This audiobook is one of the hardest in the list due to the plot, vocabulary and speed of the language. It has been very celebrated and enjoyed by most business people.

Proficiency

At this stage we recommed none abridged books combined with audiobooks and movies. Right now audiobooks are still rather expensive but it's the only way to continue the immersion process. 

Bernhard Schlink,  The Reader. New York, Vintage Books, 1997. Excellent book, very useful for English Reading Clubs. The Audiobook could be found in Amazone. There is also a movie based, more or less, in the story. It's not difficult for students with a minimun level of proficiency.

Lisa Lee, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. New York, Random House Trade, 2006. The only audiobook we could find is abridged but it's quite good. There seems to be a movie based on the book but none of the ELV teachers have watched it. The language is not too difficult but the chinesse customs could make it harder for lower levels of proficiency.

Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables. New York, Aladin Classics, 2001. This is a very difficult book due to the language although the story is easy to follow. There are several series based on this book. This book could be recommended to students with the highest levels of proficiency.

Dental Humor

Dental Humor

Patient: How much to have this tooth pulled out?

Dentist: $ 120.

Patient: for a few minutes of work?

Dentist: I can extract it very slowly of you like.

 Word Trivia 

 An electronic company once introduced a curling iron into Germany with the name “Mist-Stick”, which translate into German as “Manure Wand”.

(both from: Hot English nº 57)

Passive Voice (Chart 1)

Passive Voice (Chart 1)

General Information: The Passive voice is used in the following circumstances:

1. When the agent responsible of the action is omitted because it’s unknown, irrelevant or wishes to be unknown.

2. When it’s a general saying, rumour, etc. (Subordinate sentences)

1. General Structure: The object of the verb becomes the subject and the subject responsible for the action disappears. The verb structure changes, placing “to be” in the position and tense of the main verb and adding the main verb at the end of the sentence in past participle.

2. Adding “to be” to a structure: When there is a previous structure, the verb “to be” always takes the position and tense of the main verb but the structure is kept.

3. Modal Verbs (can/could, may/might, must, should, etc.): The verb “to be” is placed after the modal verb.

4. Subordinate clauses: These are the equivalent to impersonal sentences in Spanish. There are two main options:

a) It is said that… /It’s believed that…

b) Indirect object + to be + past participle.

NOTE: Sometimes there are two objects: direct and indirect (it’s commonly used the indirect object as subject) (Example below and Chart 2)

General Structure Susan         helps              Peter Subject       Present simple         Object Peter is helped by Susan To be = present simple + past participle Adding to be to a structure We will buy the car tomorrow   Main Verb The car will be bought tomorrow   To be + past participle The boss is going to fire three workers tomorrow   Main Verb Three workers are going to be fired tomorrow To be + past participle

Modal Verbs (can/could, may/might, must, should...) The children can open the door   Modal  The door can be opened Modal + be + past participle Subordinate clauses a)  The police are looking for the missing boy. It’s believed that the boy is wearing a white pullover and blue jeans. b)  The boy is believed to be wearing a white pullover and blue jeans.

NOTE: Everyone gave the writer a warm welcome→Indirect Objet → The writer was given a warm welcome

Recipes

CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA BREAD

2 Cups unsifted all-purpose flour (= 500 grms)

1 Cup sugar (= 250 grms)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt (optional)

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 Cup mashes ripe bananas

            (about 3 small)

½ Cup shortening (olive oil) = 150 ml

2 eggs

1 Cup Semisweet Chocolate

1 Cup chopped walnuts

9 x 5 x 3 –inch loaf pan

Grease the loaf pan (or cover the inside part of the pan with wax paper); set aside. Combine all ingredients except the chocolate chips and walnuts in large mixer bowl; Blend well on medium speed. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.

Pour into the prepared pan. Bake at 230º F (170 º C) for 60-70 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.