A group of Madrid Teachers discuss cocktails and how to make them, which gives us a chance of going over the strategies native speakers use in oral communication.
What's your favorite cocktail and you’ve got a favorite cocktail?
To be honest it really depends on the situation and for me it comes down to what kind of liquor am I trying to drink, white or brown and if it's white I have to go a gin martini dry unless it’s bad gin then I’ll go to dirty, but if it is Brown it’s gonna be a Manhattan.
A Manhattan and so what's a Manhattan?
They call it the king of cocktails. It’s… nowadays bourbon although I think it started as wry and a little bit a red vermouth and so angostura bitters, a dashing too.
I'm not a big fan of cocktails but I generally have a screwdriver, you know, vodka and orange
It’s a refreshing drink!
Yeah! I actually looked it up on the Internet the other day, I was actually finding out about the origins of the screwdrivers. Engineers in the States they used to have orange juice in their break, their work breaks, and then they used to put in a bit of Vodka, engineers in their breaks seemed to have vodka, orange juice in their breaks and then they used to put in a bit of vodka and then they would stir it with their screwdrivers.
Oh, there’s the name!
Screwdriver, yeah.
Thanks man I’m going to remember that.
Next time you ask for a screwdriver ask for a real screwdriver too so that you can stir your drink.
What about you, Duncan?
I don’t know… and they've all got such funny names these cocktails. My favourite is probably a Bloody Mary.
Ah, that’s great in the morning.
Yeah, it’s a great one in the morning.
Do you have yours with Tabasco or Worcestershire sauce?
A little bit of tabasco, a little bit of Worcestershire sauce, tomato juice I do something, a stick a celery to stir it around.
Of course.
That’s a classic.
There’s just so many wonderful drinks with a… with gin, I mean, the Tom Collins is it a wonderful refreshing drink…
And it's quite funny that there’s different versions of the Tom Collins.
Yeah, of course.
… like the Juan Collins is like the same thing but with tequila instead of gin, I think that’s funny too.
Tequila is fantastic too.
And then the American Collins. They put fruit in it.
Fruit, and they keep the gin…?
That’s with gin but they add the fruit.
Okay, the American Collins and then the…
Never heard of that.
… sort of quite funny. And the John Collins is with bourbon.
Ah, okay.
I’d like to give that a try.
What’s the difference between a bourbon and a whiskey?
I was just about to ask that. I’m sure our American friends here will be able to tell us the difference.
I I know that there's something having to do with the, the distillation process but really the difference that you notice in the glass is the bourbon is a lot smokier because they use the American oak barrels to age it.
Okay.
And American oak is a burned oak rather than the French oak which is a lot smoother and older, so it
imparts a really different…
Because it’s got a very different taste.
Yes, they do, they are certainly worth.
Interesting.
Interesting.
So you’ve got a favorite cocktail?
Well the only the only thing I drink is a little bit of Bailey's with my coffee.
I do like Bailey’s. Bailey’s is good. Have you ever had an Irish coffee?
No, I haven’t had hardly anything…
Oh, you’ve got to try real Irish coffee.
…it’s all over my head.
The best Irish coffee I’ve ever had was sitting outside, it was in December, it was in a plaza, in a square… really, really cold day in the morning having an Irish coffee that was the best Irish coffee I’ve ever had.
Where were you?
In Segovia
The best Irish coffee you’ve ever had was in Segovia?
A bit strange, yeah. It was more the setting being outside and it was really cold, it was just like sitting outside in the bar, wrapped up and then drinking this Irish coffee. So it set me up for the whole day. It gives you that nice warm inner glow plus the coffee gives you a boost.
…coffee house this Irish coffee has in it?
It’s got whiskey.
Whiskey.
And this special and then cream I think there’s a special way of pouring the cream that is when you pour…
I used to work in a in a café, so I have actually made Irish coffee
Oh, tell us how to make Irish coffee!
So, yeah you will start with the whiskey at the bottom of the glass, add the coffee…
Yeah.
…and then the trick: if you get the cream in an empty plastic bottle, for example, shake it first so it’s slightly thicker and then pour it over the back of the spoon and it floats on the top, and that’s how you get the black coffee with the white flan on the top. Just shake it and....
I’m telling you it’s a killer drink.
And does the whiskey stay at the bottom, does it?
No, no, the whiskey mixes in.
It mixes in.
More shitty
I just saw, I just saw a photo the other day of Irish coffee and looked like the whiskey was at the bottom, the coffee was in the middle and the cream on the top.
Really?
Well maybe you don’t stir it, I’m not sure.
martes, 5 de mayo de 2015
lunes, 4 de mayo de 2015
The firefighters' workout
A workout designed to help firefighters stay heart-healthy focuses on functional fitness exercises like stair climbing. Here’s how members of the New Brunswick, N.J., fire department stay fit.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and say whether the statements below are true or false.
1 A firefighter's day is unpredictable.
2 40 to 50% of firefighters die as a result of exposure to fumes.
3 Fire, fire, fire fitness provides training programmes for New York firefighters.
4 The gear firefighters have to carry weighs 60 to 70 kilos.
5 Functional fitness training is a new trend in American fitness craze.
6 The pales the firefighters are carrying in the exercise weigh 32 gallons.
7 The stress level for a firefighter is very high.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and say whether the statements below are true or false.
1 A firefighter's day is unpredictable.
2 40 to 50% of firefighters die as a result of exposure to fumes.
3 Fire, fire, fire fitness provides training programmes for New York firefighters.
4 The gear firefighters have to carry weighs 60 to 70 kilos.
5 Functional fitness training is a new trend in American fitness craze.
6 The pales the firefighters are carrying in the exercise weigh 32 gallons.
7 The stress level for a firefighter is very high.
Living a day as a firefighter would probably blow a lot of Americans’ minds. We live together, we eat together, and now we work out together. One of the things I love about this job is that I never know what’s going to happen.
Forty to fifty per cent of firefighters that are killed in the line of duty have been of heart attacks. Trying to get that number reduced is really our mission. Fire, fire, fire fitness is a firefighter funded charity. We started out as a Facebook page just providing free workout to firefighters across the country.
The workout that we did today was a four men style workout. We took a high-rise pack or a hotel pack and one man will shoulder that and he will run upstairs. Our turn out gear weighs anywhere between sixty and seventy pounds, so having a little bit of extra weight on you when you’re doing stairs just conditions your body to utilize those muscles.
Functional fitness training is kind of the newer trend in the American fitness craze and it just works out great for our type of job because it involves full body movements, you know, there’s no bicep curl at a fire ground, you’re always depending on each other and you’re all suffering together and that camaraderie is perfect for the fire service.
And we’ll go from the staircase run over to the battling ropes, except we don’t use rope, we use inch-three quarter fire hose, and that’s basically a core gaser. It works every muscle in your body, even those you didn’t know you had.
When you’ve left that, we went over to do your traditional firebox jump but instead of using a box we use the back bumper of the fire engine. The guys can tailor that, so if they’re not very good at jumping they will just do step-ups, and that’s another great thing with the functional fitness style workout is that we can scale every exercise.
After you’ve finished your box jump, you move on to our farmer’s carry. We were using 32-gallon foam pales, so it’s really challenging your grip strength for when we’re carrying ladders or even if you’re dragging out a victim, that grip strength comes in key.
The stress level of our job is super high with some of the things we see and do, and after a grueling workout like that together we just feel better.
Key:
1T 2F 3F 4F 5T 6T 7T
Key:
1T 2F 3F 4F 5T 6T 7T
domingo, 3 de mayo de 2015
Extensise Listening: A very British Airline
British Airways is one of the UK's most visible brands, selling Britishness as a mark of quality. But in the last decade, the business has faced financial crisis and today more people fly Easyjet than BA. As the airline reaches a turning point, the BBC's cameras have been allowed unique access to its inner world, from top level decisions to the daily challenges of a global operation in a three-episode documentary series.
Episode 1 explores how the airline tries to persuade people to spend more to fly, revealing the world found behind the 'millionaire's door' at Heathrow Terminal 5, a lounge, restaurant, spa and champagne bar reserved for those select few who are happy to part with small fortunes to fly in the airline's First Class.
Also this episode, a look at how the airline is playing catch-up with some of its rivals as it brings its first A380, the world's biggest passenger plane, into service. Plus, the programme follows 18 anxious new recruits on their journey to become cabin crew with British Airways. With exacting standards of dress, behaviour and knowledge, not all of them will make it through the 6-week training course, designed to uncover who is, and who is not, BA.
You can read the transcript for the first ten minutes of the episode here.
Episode 1 explores how the airline tries to persuade people to spend more to fly, revealing the world found behind the 'millionaire's door' at Heathrow Terminal 5, a lounge, restaurant, spa and champagne bar reserved for those select few who are happy to part with small fortunes to fly in the airline's First Class.
Also this episode, a look at how the airline is playing catch-up with some of its rivals as it brings its first A380, the world's biggest passenger plane, into service. Plus, the programme follows 18 anxious new recruits on their journey to become cabin crew with British Airways. With exacting standards of dress, behaviour and knowledge, not all of them will make it through the 6-week training course, designed to uncover who is, and who is not, BA.
You can read the transcript for the first ten minutes of the episode here.
sábado, 2 de mayo de 2015
eViews
This is the way eViews describes itself:
"eViews is for people with good English but who may have problems understanding native English speakers, and could benefit from English listening exercises. Sometimes it's because the other person has a strong accent or an accent you're not familiar with. Or somethimes because you have studied English as a Second Language (ESL) in your own country but haven't had much contact with native English speakers. Typically eViews is for someone at the level of the Cambridge First Certificate and looking for idiomatic expressions (English listening and comprehension practice)."
eViews offers over 50 interviews with a wide range of accents and subject material together with listening activities, a glossary of terms, comprehension exercise and transcription.
"eViews is for people with good English but who may have problems understanding native English speakers, and could benefit from English listening exercises. Sometimes it's because the other person has a strong accent or an accent you're not familiar with. Or somethimes because you have studied English as a Second Language (ESL) in your own country but haven't had much contact with native English speakers. Typically eViews is for someone at the level of the Cambridge First Certificate and looking for idiomatic expressions (English listening and comprehension practice)."
eViews offers over 50 interviews with a wide range of accents and subject material together with listening activities, a glossary of terms, comprehension exercise and transcription.
viernes, 1 de mayo de 2015
Stories from Holiday Inn® Hotels: Majora Carter
Social entrepreneur Majora Carter is a woman on a mission to end poverty in the US. She's shared her story on this video.
I lived through the era that was called the Bronx is Burning. Landlords were torching their own buildings, to collect insurance money, because that was more profitable. The buildings at either end of my block burned down, and my brother was killed in a gang related murder. Overnight, tons of people that I knew were just gone and I never saw them again. That's when I started planning my escape. I knew I was a pretty smart kid, and I knew that education was a pathway out. I was going to go someplace big and I was never going to look back at this neighborhood.
This is the block I grew up on. I went to Wesley University, but I was really broke and had to move back in with my parents. It was one of the worse feelings of defeat I have ever experienced in my life. All the things I thought about my community and thus myself, that it was somehow just inherently wrong, and bad, and worthless. One way to really put a stake in the ground, was developing a park that was on a waterfront that was formerly used as a dump.
She said, "I'm doing all of this work restoring the Bronx River, we're turning this old vacant lot into a beautiful park, we need people to use it." I said, well that's amazing because we are trying to build boats but we don't have a body of water to put them in. We are a youth and community development organization in the South Bronx. It's not about teaching kids how to build boats, its about using these tools as mediums to help them grow and empower responsible adults and successful people.
For all of my life my home was blocks away from the river but I had never seen it.
She brought me down here, I checked it out, I was like oh my God! This is the spot.
I remember feeling that this was the way to go, developing this community. This corner, where there used to be a burned down building, now holds Startup Box. Startup Box South Bronx is a technology entrepreneurship project. Right now in low income communities, what you often find is lots of people using technology but not making it. We can train people to do quality assurance in the games industry. It's a good idea, I want to take it and spread that message so my being able to travel allows me to spread all the good news that I get and do it in a good way.
I probably spend about a third of the year on the road. A lot of hotels. What I look for is a place that clearly somebody cared about when they designed it. This is going to be your home away from home. Is this the neighborhood I want to live in? For that night, that's my neighborhood, and I want to feel indelved by this sense of calm, and that's a great hotel for me. When you don't want to leave, you know you've got something great to go to. That's what I'm trying to do, create these happy, healthy communities where folks feel as though they can afford to be productive, and gracious, and kind, and loving to themselves and to other people.
I know what it feels like to feel as though you don't matter. All I really want to do is help people understand that they do
I lived through the era that was called the Bronx is Burning. Landlords were torching their own buildings, to collect insurance money, because that was more profitable. The buildings at either end of my block burned down, and my brother was killed in a gang related murder. Overnight, tons of people that I knew were just gone and I never saw them again. That's when I started planning my escape. I knew I was a pretty smart kid, and I knew that education was a pathway out. I was going to go someplace big and I was never going to look back at this neighborhood.
This is the block I grew up on. I went to Wesley University, but I was really broke and had to move back in with my parents. It was one of the worse feelings of defeat I have ever experienced in my life. All the things I thought about my community and thus myself, that it was somehow just inherently wrong, and bad, and worthless. One way to really put a stake in the ground, was developing a park that was on a waterfront that was formerly used as a dump.
She said, "I'm doing all of this work restoring the Bronx River, we're turning this old vacant lot into a beautiful park, we need people to use it." I said, well that's amazing because we are trying to build boats but we don't have a body of water to put them in. We are a youth and community development organization in the South Bronx. It's not about teaching kids how to build boats, its about using these tools as mediums to help them grow and empower responsible adults and successful people.
For all of my life my home was blocks away from the river but I had never seen it.
She brought me down here, I checked it out, I was like oh my God! This is the spot.
I remember feeling that this was the way to go, developing this community. This corner, where there used to be a burned down building, now holds Startup Box. Startup Box South Bronx is a technology entrepreneurship project. Right now in low income communities, what you often find is lots of people using technology but not making it. We can train people to do quality assurance in the games industry. It's a good idea, I want to take it and spread that message so my being able to travel allows me to spread all the good news that I get and do it in a good way.
I probably spend about a third of the year on the road. A lot of hotels. What I look for is a place that clearly somebody cared about when they designed it. This is going to be your home away from home. Is this the neighborhood I want to live in? For that night, that's my neighborhood, and I want to feel indelved by this sense of calm, and that's a great hotel for me. When you don't want to leave, you know you've got something great to go to. That's what I'm trying to do, create these happy, healthy communities where folks feel as though they can afford to be productive, and gracious, and kind, and loving to themselves and to other people.
I know what it feels like to feel as though you don't matter. All I really want to do is help people understand that they do
jueves, 30 de abril de 2015
My City: St Petersburg
Watch this BBC World video on St Petersburg, which is part of the series My City, and answer the questions below about it.
My City - St Petersburg from Owain Rich on Vimeo.
1 How old is St Petersburg?
2 What does 'three' refer to?
3 Apart from chimneys what else can you see from rooftops that makes a stunning picture?
4 When did transport come to a standstill in St Petersburg?
5 What means of transport has a special meaning in the city?
6 What's the new life of the naval base on the island of New Holland?
7 Apart from freedom and rebellion, what other concepts does the presenter mention at the end?
Presenter
St Petersburg, just (1) three hundred years old but with a history as rich as any ancient city in the world. St Petersburg is my city. A city of great culture - a city of great conflict. A city looking out to the future - a city rooted in the past. St Petersburg has had (2) three different names in the past century, and it is still searching for its real identity.
People here have always enjoyed looking at their city from a different perspective. Some, by taking to the rooftops and viewing the beauty and sometimes the ugliness of the urban panorama.
Mikhail Markevich, local historian
People go up on the roofs because the city can be dominating and unfriendly, it's a chance to conquer the city. You are on top and the city is at your feet. Also, from the rooftops you can survey the beauty and sometimes the ugliness of the city: chimneys, (3) stone walls and sunsets can be a stunning picture, an internal vision.
Presenter
Today for many young people climbing on the roofs is an adventure. It is an act of defiance and an assertion of independence. It's also a new way of meeting friends.
The heritage of St Petersburg is central to the city's identity.
This is the old tram depot of Vasiliyevsky Island - now a museum housing some of the old vehicles that threaded the streets of the city for more than a century. (4) In 1941 when the city - then Leningrad - was blockaded by Nazi Germany, transport came to a standstill. But within a few months the trams started to run again despite the devastating bombing. Seeing them back on the streets gave people hope of liberation.
Kyrill Nyqvist, Electric Transport Museum director
For many generations (5) trams in St Petersburg and Leningrad had a very special meaning for people. Many had romantic assignations on the trams: they would arrange to meet at a certain tramstop or would go to a park by a certain route. At one time, trams ran through the whole of the city... wherever you travelled, it would be by tram.
Presenter
Peering into history - the naval strength of the Russian Empire was forged behind these walls, on the island of New Holland. It was only at the beginning of this century that New Holland was handed over to the St Petersburg authorities and a mysterious and secretive naval base began a new life - open to everyone - as (6) a huge complex for the arts.
Polina Fradkina, musician
When I was a little girl I studied near here, every morning I would walk past it and it was always so attractive and mysterious, it was like a fairy castle, I always wondered what was inside and now I can see a lot of children, happy people, just, normal life going on.
Presenter
Freedom and rebellion. (7) Memory and hope. Concepts and symbols deeply entrenched in St Petersburg. And its continual search for identity is what ensures the vibrant and imaginative spirit of My City.
My City - St Petersburg from Owain Rich on Vimeo.
1 How old is St Petersburg?
2 What does 'three' refer to?
3 Apart from chimneys what else can you see from rooftops that makes a stunning picture?
4 When did transport come to a standstill in St Petersburg?
5 What means of transport has a special meaning in the city?
6 What's the new life of the naval base on the island of New Holland?
7 Apart from freedom and rebellion, what other concepts does the presenter mention at the end?
Presenter
St Petersburg, just (1) three hundred years old but with a history as rich as any ancient city in the world. St Petersburg is my city. A city of great culture - a city of great conflict. A city looking out to the future - a city rooted in the past. St Petersburg has had (2) three different names in the past century, and it is still searching for its real identity.
People here have always enjoyed looking at their city from a different perspective. Some, by taking to the rooftops and viewing the beauty and sometimes the ugliness of the urban panorama.
Mikhail Markevich, local historian
People go up on the roofs because the city can be dominating and unfriendly, it's a chance to conquer the city. You are on top and the city is at your feet. Also, from the rooftops you can survey the beauty and sometimes the ugliness of the city: chimneys, (3) stone walls and sunsets can be a stunning picture, an internal vision.
Presenter
Today for many young people climbing on the roofs is an adventure. It is an act of defiance and an assertion of independence. It's also a new way of meeting friends.
The heritage of St Petersburg is central to the city's identity.
This is the old tram depot of Vasiliyevsky Island - now a museum housing some of the old vehicles that threaded the streets of the city for more than a century. (4) In 1941 when the city - then Leningrad - was blockaded by Nazi Germany, transport came to a standstill. But within a few months the trams started to run again despite the devastating bombing. Seeing them back on the streets gave people hope of liberation.
Kyrill Nyqvist, Electric Transport Museum director
For many generations (5) trams in St Petersburg and Leningrad had a very special meaning for people. Many had romantic assignations on the trams: they would arrange to meet at a certain tramstop or would go to a park by a certain route. At one time, trams ran through the whole of the city... wherever you travelled, it would be by tram.
Presenter
Peering into history - the naval strength of the Russian Empire was forged behind these walls, on the island of New Holland. It was only at the beginning of this century that New Holland was handed over to the St Petersburg authorities and a mysterious and secretive naval base began a new life - open to everyone - as (6) a huge complex for the arts.
Polina Fradkina, musician
When I was a little girl I studied near here, every morning I would walk past it and it was always so attractive and mysterious, it was like a fairy castle, I always wondered what was inside and now I can see a lot of children, happy people, just, normal life going on.
Presenter
Freedom and rebellion. (7) Memory and hope. Concepts and symbols deeply entrenched in St Petersburg. And its continual search for identity is what ensures the vibrant and imaginative spirit of My City.
miércoles, 29 de abril de 2015
Talking point: Travel
This week's talking point is travel. Before getting together with the members of your conversation group, go over the questions below, so that ideas flows more easily when you meet up with your friends and you can sort out vocabulary problems beforehand.
- When was the last time you went on a day trip? Where did you go?
- Does anyone you know ever go on business trips?
- Have you ever been on a shopping trip, a school trip or a hunting trip?
- Do you usually travel light?
- Do you know anyone who has been travelling for a few months? Where did they go?
- What's the longest journey you've ever taken?
- Has anything strange or scary ever happened to you while travelling?
- Have you ever had a terrible journey? If so, how was your journey?
- Have you ever had to get a visa to visit another country?
- Have you ever hired a car to make a journey? How did you go about it?
- Have you ever had some sort of problem when boarding a plane or at an airport?
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