Spot the sound differences

Pronounce the following sentences as your partner does.

Spot the differences with him/her:


She told me to talk about the e-waste.

The words "world war" are finally in our leaders' decisions.

The mention of nature is good 
for the volunteers of your country.

The aim of the owner of the building 
is to be constructed this century 
as he has always promised.

The vehicle for the guardian of my aunt 
is powered by natural cable energy.

The three expeditions wished to raise
 the awareness for the true archeological Egypt.

Those press articles deal with the changing reading taste
in the society of modern libraries.

There aren't many Irishmen registered in Spain
because the text mentioned only 12.530.

There is a mild climate in another island 
of the Pacific ocean.

Houses for all -documentary by Gereon Wetzel -towards our Polar Bear Star

 HOUSES FOR ALLDocumentary by Gereon Wetzel, 52 Min., Germany 2013

Shortly after the real estate bubble had burst in the United States Spain was struck by the same fate. In total 3,6 million housing units - ranging from completed houses to ruins or half developed lots - are facing an uncertain future. How will man and nature reclaim those spaces? 

A bus driving school … on the empty streets of a ghost town, … a guardsman... a shepherd herding his flock between the ruins, English tourists that play golf on a totally abandoned course and illegal immigrants that settle in the naked skeleton of an high rising apartment building. 

CASAS PARA TODOS (Houses for all) deliberately avoids a journalistic approach. Neither is it important where the filmed places are actually located nor what specific reasons were responsible for their downfall. The idea is that all places share a common history which is one of a society that is uncontrollably longing for status.

Spanish property: Polaris golf resort homes crash to a third of original price

Murcia's credit-fuelled building spree ends in rash of repossessions, empty villas and roads to nowhere

• Miles Brignall, in Murcia
• The Guardian, Friday 25 May 2012 18.20 BST

Spain's building boom once enticed investors hoping to profit from the popularity of the country's southern regions. Photograph: Miles Brignall

They were once Europe's most ambitious holiday homes projects, vast developments financed by supersized loans from Spain's cajas and banks. The properties were widely advertised on television in the UK to entice investors chasing the good life in the sun and hoping to profit from the property boom.

But five years on, the Polaris World holiday dream of sun-drenched apartments overlooking golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus has turned sour. Apartments that once sold for €200,000 (£160,000) are struggling to fetch €60,000. The last resorts built are now ghost villages.

Welcome to Murcia, the very heart of Spain's property boom and bust, where repossessions are sweeping the region and where losses are straining balance sheets of almost every Spanish bank.

How to Spot a Fake at CNBC

Wine

An increasing number of wealthy collectors are investing in art, rare collectibles and even wine. But when buying rare, trophy bottles, even the most educated connoisseur can get duped. Jamie Ritchie, President of Sotheby's Wine in the U.S. and Asia, explains how to spot a fake.

ART

Did you know the world's most valued treasures are vanishing in a multibillion-dollar black market business? 

From artwork and counterfeit wine to valuable pieces of history -- we'll take you inside the business that is 'Ripping off the Rich.'

===

cnbc -fakes   Published: Monday, 11 Mar 2013 

By: Colleen Kane  

Some fake paintings have been so convincing, they've made it all the way into auctions at Christie's and Sotheby's auction houses.

A lot of the fakes and forgeries today — Warhols, Da Vincis and more — are made in China. In this clip from the CNBC reality series "Treasure Detectives," art detective Curtis Dowling, says that famous artworks are copied by the thousands in places like Shenzen.

In an age of perfect digital reproductions that can be doctored to look like valuable original paintings, there are a few factors buyers can consider to determine a painting's authenticity.

First, Dowling says, potential buyers need to know the artist and their body of work. Look at the signature and the frame to see if anything is off. Look at the colors in the painting – not all paint colors were available in the past. That's why savvy buyers will bring a color chart to see if they spot a color that wasn't possible in the era the painting was made. 

But don't just look at the front. Flip that painting over. What surface is it painted on, and how does it sit on that? How does it feel and does it look aged enough? Considering these aspects are a few ways to avoid paying too much for a copycat.

Check out the clip and see if you can learn how to spot a fake.

(Read More: Slideshow: Fakes and Forgeries That Fooled the Experts)

the news behind the lines - Politics of the NEWSROOM

the newsroom -quotes 

Q1. What is the first question Jenny asks?
Q2. What are the first two answers to her question?
Q3. How does the moderator react when Will snaps " The New York Jets"?

Q4.  When the moderator  insists on a straight answer with 

 I'm not letting you go back to the airport without answering the question." 

what does Will say about 

US Constitution .............  

James Madison ................... and 

 The Declaration of Independence  ........................

Q5. How does Will emphasize the US are NOT 

the only ones in the world who have freedom? 

Q6. How does Will states that there is NOT

 evidence to support her initial  statement?

world figures in these concepts: 

 literacy 

 math 

 science

life expectancy. 

 infant mortality. 

 median household income

labor force exports. 

Q7. Which are the only three categories the US excell?

Q8. How does he emphasize the sentence 

"you are a member of the worst generation" 

Q9. Why does Will say "Yosemite?"?

Q10. How can you solve a problem according to Will

Explain what is his real idea about his country.

............................................

.............................................

............................................

.............................................

............................................

KEY: 

Q1. Jenny:  Can you say in one sentence or less...what... you know what I mean:

“Can you say why America is the greatest country in the world?”

Sharon: Diversity and opportunity.

Louis: Ah freedom and freedom, let’s keep it that way.


Q3. Debate Moderator: No, I’m gonna hold you to an answer on that. 

Q4. our Constitution is a masterpiece. 

James Madison was a genius. 


The Declaration of Independence is for me

the single greatest piece of American writing....

Q5. (to Lewis): And with a straight face, you tell students that America is so star-spangled awesome that we're the only ones in the world who have freedom? Canada has freedom. Japan has freedom. The U.K. France. Italy. Germany. Spain. Australia. 

BELGIUM has freedom. (laughs) out of 207 sovereign states in the world, like,  180 of them have freedom.

Q6. We're seventh in literacy. Twenty-seventh in math. Twenty-second in science. Forty-ninth in life expectancy. A hundred and seventy-eighth in infant mortality. Third in median household income. Number four in labor force and number four in exports. 

Q7. We lead the world in 

Number of incarcerated citizens per capita, 

number of adults who believe angels are real, 

and defense spending, where we spend more than the next twenty-six 

countries combined, twenty-five of whom are allies.

Q8.  you nonetheless are without a doubt a member of the worst, period, generation, period, ever, period. 

Q9 . Physical empty space !! Ironic

Q10. First step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one. 
America is not the greatest country in the world anymore



For a full activity on accuracy homework, visit  119eng.com

soothsayers had the very best

Don't go West young man. (Advice to Columbus.)

I. A Voyage to Asia would require three years.
II. The western Ocean is infinite and perhaps   

         unnavigable.
III. If he reached the Antipodes he could not get back.
IV There are no Antipodes because the greater part 

   of the globe is covered with water, and because 

  St. Augustine said so.
V. Of the five zones, only three are habitable.
VI. So many centuries after the Creation,

    it is unlikely that anyone could find unknown lands      of any value.

- Report of the committee organized in 1486

 by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella  to study Columbus' plans

Aeroplanes and fear of flying

Samuel Langley's experiments with airplanes

Comment in the New York Times one week before the successful flight of the Kitty Hawk by the Wright brothers:

"...We hope that Professor Langley will not put his substantial greatness as a scientist in further peril by continuing to waste his time and the money involved, in further airship experiments. Life is short, and he is capable of services to humanity incomparably greater than can be expected to result from trying to fly....For students and investigators of the Langley type there are more useful employments."

Source: New York Times, December 10,1903, editorial page

I confess that in 1901 I said to my brother Orville
that man would not fly for fifty years.
Two years later we ourselves made flights.
This demonstration of my impotence as a prophet
gave me such a shock that ever since
I have distrusted myself and avoided all predictions.

- Wilbur Wright (1867-1912) 

[In a speech to the Aero Club of France (Nov 5, 1908)]

Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value.

- Marshal Ferdinand Foch, French military strategist, 1911. He was later a World War I commander.

Space travel

• A rocket will never be able to leave the Earth's atmosphere.

The New York Times, January 13, 1920.
The Times offered a retraction on July 17, 1969, (Apollo 11)

 Nuclear energy

There is not the slightest indication that [nuclear energy] 

will ever be obtainable. It would mean that 

the atom would have to be shattered at will.

- Albert Einstein, 1932.

 

manufacturing cars

• With over fifteen types of foreign cars already on sale here, 

• the Japanese auto industry isn't likely to carve out a big share of the market for itself.           Businessweek, August 2, 1968.

Computers

There is no reason for any individual 

to have a computer in their home.

- Kenneth Olsen, president of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977.

The planet in numbers: urban life outgrows rural life

A new vision for the city of the future

As the world population expands, cities will have to transform to meet the challenge. Here come foldable cars and flexible apartments.

By Alex Konrad, reporter

FORTUNE -- A small vehicle that looks like a Jetsons version of a smart car rests in a room at MIT's Media Lab. Here's how it works. When parking, the rear of the electric CityCar slides under the chassis, allowing the body to fold up into a compact shell. Once folded, the CityCar will fit into a space just one-third the size of a standard parking spot. A single door on the front of the car pops open, allowing the driver to step out onto the sidewalk.

The CityCar is just one example of how MIT's Changing Places group envisions the urban lifestyle of 2022. In October the world population hit 7 billion, and now for the first time in history more than half of the world's population lives in urban centers. MIT is studying how to house and move all those people in ways that will make urban living still bearable. Says Kent Larson, the program's director: "We're focusing on more efficient uses of resources, on ways to lower costs and energy use and at the same time increase personal space."

                      Debate 

Agree and disagree

Arguments Against:

• Large modern cities are too big to control.
• Trains are packed; streets are crowded; busses are full. There are bus queues and traffic jams everywhere.
• Unforeseen events (e.g. power-cut, heavy snowfall, etc.) can cause conditions of utter chaos.
• City-dwellers are barely conscious of seasons. 
• The cost of living is higher in big cities.
• Cities breed crime and violence; houses are burgled; bicycles stolen.
• Tension in big cities shortens people's lives.
• Pollution in big cities is becoming dangerous to your health.
• City people are not a warm-hearted and friendly as country people.
• The country is a better place for children and much safer.
• People lose too much time getting to work.
• Contagious diseases become a serious health hazard.
• Too many temptations present potential trouble for young people.
• Too many evil people flock to the cities for better opportunities for their crimes.

Arguments in Favor:

• Modern man is too sophisticated for simple country pleasures.
• Commuting does not affect those who live in cities; it is only a small inconvenience.
• People easily adapt themselves to city life; noise, traffic, etc. are hardly noticed.
• there are more places for entertainment.
• Life is never dull; there is always something to do.
• There are better schools and services in big cities.
• There is a greater range of jobs and the pay is higher.
• There is more opportunity to succeed in life.
• There is more opportunity to meet a variety of interesting people.
• The educational level is higher; it is a better place for children.
• There is more choice of schools.
• The shopping has a wider variety and prices are better.

B2 -tests links

Try these three links to train for the B2 tests

Cambridge First Certificate in English - FCE

oficial site CAE

Sample papers and other materials are available for all the exams listed on the page. 

The FCE has samples of Speaking performance. These enable you to hear what a typical learner at that level can achieve in terms of spoken communication

1. English Tests

2 Full Tests here

2. Exam English ✓

What is the FCE test like?

The test has five sections. Try these three:

1. Reading - 60 minutes
2. Use of English - 45 minutes
3. Listening - 40 minutes