TEEN 4 B:

We were also giving our opinions using comparatives and superlatives. So here you can read them:

• I am Camilo and in my opinion River is bigger than  Boca but OLIMPIA is the biggest of all.
• Hi, I`m Abby and in my opinion Robert Pattinson is more handsome than Jonny Deep but Ian Somerhalder is the most handsome of all.
• I am Maria Jose, I think that Coldplay is better than McFLY but the best of all is The Killers. 
• I am Melissa and in my opinion  Skins is more popular than Modern family but Glee is the most popular of all.
• Hey! my name is Leti and for me French is easier than German, but, English is the easiest of all.
• Hi, my name is Gaby in my opinion Daniel Radcliffe is more famous than Kim Kardashian but William Windsor is the most famous of all.
• My name is Claudia, in my opinion  J-Lo is more famous than Jennifer Aniston, but Megan Fox is the most famous of all.
• Hi! my name is Leissa, for me, New moon is more famous than Garfield, but Eclipse is the most famous  film of all.
• hi, my name is Juanjose,in my opinion, Guarani  is more difficult than History but, Maths is the most difficult of all.

Well, we are looking forward to your comments!!
DO YOU AGREE WITH US?

Rapid 7: Blur

  BLUR is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure (1991) incorporated the sounds of Madchesterand shoegazing. Following a stylistic change—influenced by English guitar pop groups such as The Kinks, The Beatles and XTC—Blur released Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995). As a result, the band helped to popularise the Britpopgenre and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a famous chart battle with rival band Oasis dubbed "The Battle of Britpop". 

Lyric  one of Blur`s most famous songs:

There is no other way

There's No Other Way

You're taking the fun

Out of everything

Making me run

When I don't want to think

You're taking the fun

Out of everything

I don't want to think at all

There's no other way

There's no other way

All that you can do

Is watch them play

You're taking the fun

Out of everything

You're making it clear

When I don't want to think

You're taking me up when

I dont want to go up anymore

I'm just watching it all

There's no other way

There's no other way

All that you can do

Is watch them play

I'll watch you play

Watch the video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbukFGBQETI
and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdrFpPJgxC4

Graham Leslie Coxon (born 12 March 1969) is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter. He came to prominence as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and occasional lead vocalist of rock band Blur, and is also a critically acclaimed solo artist, having recorded seven solo albums. His artistic and musical contribution is featured on all seven of Blur's studio albums, from 1991's Leisure to 2003's Think Tank. Although credited as a songwriter on most Blur tracks, his most significant lyrical contributions appeared on the hit singles "Tender" and "Coffee & TV"; a number of tracks in the band's catalogue were also penned mainly by Coxon. The cover of 1999's 13 was designed by Coxon. 

In 2002, he left Blur, following a bitter dispute with the other members, notably Damon Albarn. As a result, he played guitar and was credited as a songwriter on only the final track for the following year's Think Tank. In September 2007, Graham Coxon rejoined the band and in late 2008 Damon Albarn announced that the band would reunite 2009 for a number of shows. Of Coxon's seven solo albums, four of them were recorded while a member of the band. Coxon is capable of playing several other instruments, besides guitar, and is famous for recording his albums single-handedly, without much help from session musicians. An innovative lead guitarist,other notable British guitarists such as Jonny Greenwood and Noel Gallagher have lauded Coxon's musicality and talent, with the latter calling him "the most gifted guitarist of his generation."He was voted the 15th greatest guitarist of the last 30 years in a national 2010 BBC poll

Here is his official site:
http://www.grahamcoxon.co.uk/

WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ABOUT THE BAND?

TEEN 4 A: These are our opinions!

.

Today were were talking about our preferences using comparatives and superlatives. We talked about sports, school subjects, actors and celebrities, cars, computers, PCs and TV programs....
We compared the following:
Maths, History, Science.
Basketball, Football, Ping Pong.
Jim Carrey, Will Smith, Black Jack
Megan Fox, Julia Roberts, Angelina Jolie.
Ferrari, Audi, M. Benz.
ACER, TOSHIBA, HP.
Yingo Py, Glee Project, Bailando.

What is your opinion about all of them? 

TEEN 4 PRESENT PERFECT

Present Perfect Simple

The present perfect simple expresses an action that is still going on or that stopped recently, but has an influence on the present. It puts emphasis on the result.

Form of Present Perfect

	Positive	Negative	Question
I / you / we / they	I have spoken.	I have not spoken.	Have I spoken?
he / she / it	He has spoken.	He has not spoken.	Has he spoken?

For irregular verbs, use the participle form (See your list in the last page of the book). For regular verbs, just add “ed”.

Exceptions in Spelling when Adding ‘ed’

Exceptions in spelling when adding ed	Example
after a final e only add d	love – loved
final consonant after a short, stressed vowel or l as final consonant after a vowel is doubled	admit – admitted travel – travelled
final y after a consonant becomes i	hurry – hurried

Exercise on Present Perfect Simple

Positive Sentences in Present Perfect Simple

Write positive sentences in present perfect simple

The following people have just completed an action.

1. Bob / visit / his grandma 
2. Jimmy / play / on the computer 
3. Sue and Walter / wash / their car 
4. Andrew / repair / his bike 
5. Phil / help / Anne with maths 
6. Brad and Louise / watch / a film 
7. Tamara / talk to / her best friend 
8. Bridgette / draw / a picture 
9. Carol / read / a computer magazine 
10. Tom and Alice / be / to a restaurant 

TEEN 7 Have something done

Have something done

If you 'have something done', you get somebody else to do something for you.

• I'm going to have my hair cut.
• She's having her house redecorated.
• I'm having a copy of the report sent to you

In informal English, we can replace 'have' by 'get'.

• We're getting a new telephone system installed.
• They will be getting the system repaired as quickly as they can.
• I got the bill sent direct to the company.

We can also use 'have/got something done' in situations where something bad has happened to people or their possessions. This is not something they wanted to happen.

• John had all his money stolen from his hotel bedroom.
• We had our car damaged by a falling tree.
• I got my nose broken playing rugby.

This is a link where you can practice

HAVE SOMETHING DONE EXERCISES

HAVE SOMETHING DONE 2

THE BET (TEEN 3 and 7)

HI my beloved students!!!!!!!!! Here is the link to read the story you were assigned....Remember to read AT LEAST two chapters for Friday (Teen 7) and Saturday (Teen 3)
See you!!

T. Norma

The BET

R7 Reading comprehension

ALL ABOUT QUEEN AND FEDDIE MERCURY

B)     Reading Comprehension

Who was Freddie?

1)     Complete with the correct form of the verb

Freddie Mercury, originally named Faroukh Bulsara, ____________ (grow up) in India and __________ (move) to Britain in 1964 to work for a time in Heathrow airport.

Initially a vocalist in a band called Wreckage, Mercury, he ________ (join) Queen in 1971. At this point, the band ______ (be) made up of ex-Smile members Brian May on guitar and Roger Taylor on drums. John Deacon ___________ (answer) an advert in the music press to become the band’s bassist.

Their early career _________ (see) them release the poorly received album 'Queen' in 1973, and go on tour extensively, supporting Mott the Hoople.

Their second album, 'Queen 2', ___________ (give) them their first hit single: 'Seven Seas Of Rye'. They gradually ___________ (find) a loyal audience in a difficult time for music; Freddie _______ (make) a charismatic front man and the band __________(work) together as a skilful team.

2)     Complete the text using the correct form of the word given

'Sheer Heart Attack' and 'A Night At The Opera' followed, the former bearing '__killer____ (kill) Queen', the __later______ (late) 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. This epic ________ (sing) was a record breaker, remaining the _________(long) running number one for twenty years.

Mercury wrote the catchy number 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love', from the album 'The Game', released in 1980, the same year that the band ________ (pen) the score to 'Flash Gordon'.

Mercury's solo work included material for the soundtracks to '________ (electricity) Dreams' and 'Metropolis'. ___________ (he) version of 'The Great ________ (pretend)' was a hit in 1987. He recorded an album and single, 'Barcelona', with opera diva Montserrat Caballeri, for the Barcelona Olympics.

The group worked together again on 'The Miracle' and 'Innuendo', which was the last material to be released before Freddie's _________(tragedy) death from AIDS in November 1991. He only admitted he was ___________ (suffer) from the virus the day before his __________ (die).

3)     Choose the correct word

(At-On-In) 22 November 1991, Mercury had called Queen's (manager-director-representer) Jim Beach over to his Kensington home, to (argue-discuss-fight) a public statement. The next day, 23 November, the following (announcing-announced-announcement) was made to the press:

“Following the (enormous-that-good-small) conjecture in the press over the last two weeks, I wish to confirm that I have been tested HIV positive and have AIDS. I felt it (well-fine-correct) to keep this information private to date to (cover-hide-protect) the privacy of those around me. (And- However, -In spite of) the time has come now (in-to-for) my friends and fans around the world to know the (true-verdict-truth) and I hope that everyone will join with my doctors and all those worldwide in the fight against this (disgusting- terrible-annoying-comforting) disease.

 4)     Complete with one word

________ privacy has always been very special __________ me and I_______ famous for my lack of interviews. Please understand this policy will continue.”

A little over 24-___________ after issuing the statement, Freddie Mercury _________ at the age of 45. The official cause of death __________bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDS.

___________ 1995, _____________ last Queen album, 'Made In Heaven' was released, which made use ___________ some of the unfinished work Mercury left unused ___________ he died.

5)     True, False or DK? Correct the false ones

1.      Freddie Mercury died in the 21^st century

2.      Freddie sang with an opera singer

3.      He gave a lot of press conferences during his career

4.      His illness was well known

5.      Queen was his first band

6.      Freddie Mercury won a lot of awards

7.      Queen composed Flash Gordon´s soundtrack

8.      The world knew about Freddie´s illness a day before he died

9.      Queen´s first record was Radio Gaga

10.    'Seven Seas Of Rye' is a part of Queen´s second album

6)     Imagine that you have the opportunity of ask three questions to the band….Write down the questions.

1.      _______________________________________________________________

2.      _______________________________________________________________

3.      _______________________________________________________________

7)     Explain the following expressions with your own words

Penned the score to “Flash Gordon”

They worked as a skilful team

A public statement

8)     Write 50 words about the article

TEEN 7 Samples for the writing part of the exam

Writing Samples

INFORMAL LETTER
Dear (first name),

 Beginnings

Thank you/Many thanks for your (recent/last) letter/postcard.
It was good/nice to hear from you recently.
I’m sorry I haven’t written/been in touch for such a long time.
It’s ages since I’ve heard from you. I hope you’re/you and your family are well.

Asking
Hi! How are the things? How are you? How’s it going?

Referring to their news
Great news about … Glad to hear that … Sorry to hear about …

Giving news
Listen, did I tell you about … You’ll never believe what …
Oh, and another thing … This is just to let you know that …
I thought you might be interested to hear about/know that …
By the way, have you heard about/did you know that …

Apologies
I’m writing to apologise for missing your party but I’m afraid I was with flu.
I’m really sorry that I forgot to send you a birthday card but I was busy with my new job.
If you let me know where you bought it/how much it cost I’ll gladly pay for it/replace it.
Please let me know how much the bill is and I’ll gladly pay it.

 Invitations

I’m/We’re having a party on Friday 19th and I/we hope you’ll be able to come.
Would you like to come/go to see ‘Room With a View’ with me at the weekend.
I was wondering if you’d like to go to the theatre/come on holiday with us?
Could you let me/us know if you can come/you’d like to join us?
Thank you vary much for your invitation. I’d love to come.
Thank you for asking/inviting me to … but I’m afraid I won’t be able to …

Requests
I’m writing to ask for your help/you (if you could do me) a favour.
I wonder if/I was wondering if you could help me/do me a favour.
I hope you don’t mind me asking but could you (possibly) …?
I’d be very/really/terribly grateful if you could …

Thank you
Congratulations
Good Luck

I’m writing to thank you for your hospitality/the wonderful present.
It was so kind of you to invite me to stay with you.
I really appreciated all your help/advice.

Congratulations on passing your exams/your excellent exam results!

I  wish you good luck/Good luck in/with your exams/your driving test/your interview.

Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll do well/pass.
Do be on time, won’t you, and don’t forget to …

Making suggestions and recommend.
Why don’t you …? Maybe you could …? How about …?
You can’t leave New York without doing sth
I’m sure you will enjoy doing sth If you like, we can …
Do visit somewhere Don’t forget to do sth (Imperative -> Strong Recommendation)
I’m told that … People say that … (If you heard sth is good)

Endings
Give my love/regards to … Say hello to … Hope to hear from you soon.
See you soon! Write soon. Once again, thank you for all your help.

Signing off
Love,
Lots of love,
Yours,
Best wishes,

First name

FORMAL LETTER
 Dear Mr/Ms (surname), Dear Sir/Madam/Sir or Madam,

Remember that in informal letters we use:

•   Informal vocabulary, including phrasal verbs
• ‘go on’ instead of ‘cont
• Simpler sentence structure
  I’ll be late for the party. It’s because of my French exam.
• Punctuation using exclamation marks
  If you’d been at the wedding, you’d have loved the food!

ARTICLE
Heading
Freezing! (dramatic)
My Lone Walk to the North Pole (a summary)
Rescue from the rapids (a summary)
What’s the big idea? (a question)
Seven banks a day are robbed in LA (a surprising)
You’re already well equipped to prevent crime (a surprising)

Opening
Did you know …?
What would you do if …?

General Structure
Give your article a heading or headline which makes the subject clear and also catches the reader’s attention.
Divide the article into paragraphs to help the reader follow the argument.
Begin with an interesting introduction – an example, perhaps, or a question.
End with an overall comment or concluding.

STORY

Beginnings and endings
A narrative needs an interesting beginning to catch the reader’s attention and encourage him or her to read on, and a clear ending to round the story off satisfactorily. A weak beginning or ending can spoil the effect of the story, so it’s worth spending time working out how to start and finish.

Verb tenses
We use:
The simple past to describe the main events:
I ran to answer the phone but it stopped ringing as I picked up the receiver.
The past continuous to set the scene:
It was raining heavily as we set off.
The past perfect to describe events which happened before the main events:
When I got on the bus all the seats had been taken.
Preset participles to show two actions which are linked:
Noticing that she looked lost, I asked if I could help.
Perfect participles to show that one action was complete before another started:
Having reported my stolen passport to the police, I returned sadly to the hotel.

Time Links
before …. then … at first, … next …
later … during … after that … afterwards …
when … finally, … as soon as … eventually, …
immediately … in the end, … once …
A few days earlier … Just after that … Some time later …
Following the accident … Later on …

Adding variety and interest
Try to use different adjectives to convey the atmosphere. For example, if you want to convey the idea of fear, you could use frightened, terrified, scared.

Varying the length of sentences can be effective.
Use direct speech occasionally for dramatic effect (remember to use inverted commas correctly: “No,” he yelled, “don’t touch that switch!”)

Contrasting points
On the other hand ...
Other people think ...
An opposing argument is ...

Giving opinions
I personally feel that ...
I find it hard to see why ...
I certainly don't believe that ...
It is difficult to believe that ...
I object to the cloning of animals.

Organising and linking your ideas
First of all, … Secondly, … In addition, …
Moreover, … Furthermore, …
So … As a result, … Therefore, …
However, … On the one hand … on the other hand …
On the whole … While it is true to say …
Finally, … To summarise, … In conclusion