Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Spain plans to build casino city



Reading
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8020523.stm

The Spanish region of Aragon is due to approve a law that would allow the biggest casino and entertainment centre in Europe to be built.
The planned complex near the village of Ontiñena has strong local support despite giant casino operators in Macau and Las Vegas struggling with the economic crisis.
Danny Wood reports.

Watch the video
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8019874.stm

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Food Idioms



http://www.learnenglish.de/vocabulary/foodidioms.htm

St George's Day


The St George's Cross is the national flag of England


The 23rd April is St George's Day and all over England people are proudly celebrating their patron saint and their country. Britain's population is extremely diverse and is made up of many different cultures and nationalities, so what makes someone feel British? Join Kate and Jackie as they discuss national identity and the different ways of defining it?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/general/sixminute/2009/04/090423_6min_st_george_page.shtml

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

In Praise Of Slow Food



"Slow food" is more of a philosophy than a cuisine -- it's defined by how a meal is prepared, and how it should be enjoyed. It's also the name of an international movement, founded in Italy, with more than 65,000 members across the globe. NPR's Jacki Lyden speaks with Corby Kummer, author of a new book on the movement. View three "slow food" recipes.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1152040

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Learning English with Obama

.
The speeches of the new United States President Barack Obama are proving to be a popular aid to learning English in Japan. A special compilation has gone on sale, quickly becoming a national bestseller.

Vocabulary notebooks and word maps




http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1143_exams/page10.shtml

Vocabulary Mind Map


According to Wikipedia, a mind map is 'a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged radially around a central key word or idea' .
Mind maps are a great tool for organising and learning vocabulary. You can draw them by hand or create them on your computer.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Bob Marley: The Man, The Myth, The Brand



More than 25 years after his death, the singer is still the king of reggae — and a counterculture icon. Now, his family is looking toward its own legacy. Last month, family members announced an ambitious plan to capitalize on the Marley legend by introducing a line of Marley-branded products, including salad dressing and a video game.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101674745

Monday, April 6, 2009

Family and relationships.

Single Children Families



Are only children the way of the future?
The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show a steady rise in the number of only children. How does being an only child affect us? Does it create a more motivated adult, a spoilt adult or make no difference. What are the long term consequences of smaller families for us as a society with an ageing population? Sheila McClennon is joined by Damon Syson, journalist and father of one, Ann Richardson, a psychotherapist specialising in single child adults, and an only child herself, and Anastasia De Waal Head of Family and Education at Civitas, and youngest of five.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/03/2009_14_mon.shtml

Writing a report

Model answer.
From: Advanced Expert CAE: Ed. Pearson/Longman



Writing an article


Model Answer

From: Advanced expert CAE. ed. Person/Longman



Friday, April 3, 2009

Marie Douglas-David demands $100m divorce settlement

Read the following article and then watch the video.

Ms Douglas-David's expenses include $4,500 for clothes, $8,000 for travel, $700 for limousine service and $1,570 for horse care
A 36-year-old countess is demanding that her husband double her divorce settlement to $100 million (£69 million) as she hasn’t enough to cover weekly expenses of more than $53,000. Marie Douglas-David wants to tear up /tɛər/a postnuptial agreement with George David– formerly one of the most respected chief executive officers in American corporate life, and 30 years her senior – under which she would receive just $43 million.
She says she was coerced ( pressure) into signing the agreement by her husband, the former head of United Technologies Corporation, who is worth an estimated $329 million, during their six-year marriage.
The Swedish countess, previously an investment banker, says she has no income and has listed her weekly expenses in a court document. These include $4,500 for clothes, $1,000 for hair and skin treatments, $1,500 for restaurants and entertainment, $8,000 for travel, $700 for limousine services, $2,209 for an assistant, $1,570 for horse care and $600 for flowers.
Accusations of infidelity, bullying and extortion have been flung (thrown) back and forth (backward and forward)at the divorce hearing in a Connecticut courtroom this week as the pair have fought for the sympathy of the judge.
The couple met when Countess Marie Douglas, a descendant of Grand Duke Ludwig I of Baden, was 30 and an asset manager for Lazard Asset Management, investing in United Technologies stock. Mr David, who had divorced his first wife and mother of his three children several years earlier, built United Technologies, the Connecticut-based conglomerate that owns a wide range of businesses from aerospace manufacturing to lifts, into an international success.
The couple joined the New York charity set and jetted around the world. They separated initially in 2004, allegedly over her infidelity. In 2005, after a series of reconciliations, the couple signed a postnuptial agreement giving Ms Douglas-David $43 million should they divorce. Mr David, 67, was accused in court of coercing her to sign it by preying (being a victim of) upon her fears of being divorced and childless.
William Beslow, a prominent New York divorce lawyer, who represented Marla Maples in her divorce from Donald Trump, said his client thought that she was in “a loving, sound(untroubled) marriage” when her husband pushed her into signing the deal. “He put a [figurative] gun to the back of her head,” Mr Beslow told Judge Stephen Frazzini in his opening statement.
Ms Douglas-David wants nearly $100 million in cash and shares, plus about $130,000 a month in alimony(maintenance) payments. Her expenses include maintaining a Park Avenue apartment and three homes in Sweden.
Mr Beslow accused Mr David of pushing his wife into quitting her job so that she could travel and entertain with him. “He ridiculed her as a professional. He diminished her self-confidence,” he said. Mr Beslow said the final straw for his client came in 2008, when she found e-mails disclosing an affair between her husband and a younger woman.
Mr David’s lawyer, Anne Dranginis, accused Ms Douglas-David of nagging (criticizing) and hounding(acosar) her husband with “extensive, long diatribes”(criticism ) over little things “like how he held his fork or how he drafted (designed) invitations”.
Mr David, who stepped down (resigned) as United Technologies chief executive in 2008, argues that he and his wife have already fulfilled some of the terms of the agreement, and that she had tried to have it enforced during a previous court case. He says those facts support the agreement’s validity and is asking the judge to uphold (preserve) the agreement and order his wife to vacate their Park Avenue apartment.
In his court filings, Mr David said that he spends more than $200,000 a week, including $95,943 to own and operate his 90ft yacht. He spends $18,042 a week on charities, $7,491 on travel, $7,125 on entertainment, $2,500 on clothing and $1,773 on food.
Outside court, Ms Douglas-David said: “I’m just very sad that we are where we are.”

tear up: to cancel or annul

formerly:previously

Her senior: older or elder

back and forth: the back-and-forth movement of a clock's pendulum.

Jetted:to transport by jet plane

Quit:to cease from doing something; stop

the last straw
The last in a series of grievances or burdens that finally exceeds the limits of endurance: “The management has given me nothing but trouble since I took this job, and now they've cut my benefits! Well, that's the last straw: I quit!” It comes from an old expression, “the straw that broke the camel's back.”

to diminish:to make or cause to seem smaller, less, less important, etc.; lessen; reduce.


Thursday, April 2, 2009

Love and marriage


How important is it to say ‘I love you’?
Telling your partner that you love them every day has just been revealed as one of the secrets of a happy marriage – but for many people such declarations don’t come naturally. Some would rather show their affection through actions rather than words, and others feel it cheapens feelings to express them too often. So what happens when you and your spouse feel differently about those three little words? Journalist Angela Epstein and Paul Taylor, senior lecturer in communications theory at University of Leeds join Jenni to discuss.

Patti Smith: Because the night

Take me now baby here as I am

pull me close, try and understand

desire is hunger is the fire I breathe
love is a banquet on which we feed
come on now try and understand
the way I feel when I'm in your hands
take my hand come undercover
they can't hurt you now, can't hurt you now, can't hurt you now
because the night belongs to lovers
because the night belongs to love
because the night belongs to lovers
because the night belongs to us
have I doubt when I'm alone
love is a ring, the telephone
love is an angel disguised as lust
here in our bed until the morning comes
come on now try and understand
the way I feel under your command
take my hand as the sun descends
they can't touch you now, can't touch you now, can't touch you now
because the night belongs to lovers ...
with love we sleep
with doubt the vicious circle
turn and burns
without you I cannot live
forgive, the yearning burning
I believe it's time, too real to feel
so touch me now, touch me now, touch me now
because the night belongs to lovers ...
because tonight there are two lovers
if we believe in the night we trust
because tonight there are two lovers ...