If I were a rich man

This could be the scene you select for the Cineforum at the Jornadas Culturales...

Some technological news

Xbox One has technical problems on day one 
(26th November, 2013)

Read the news on Sky News and  The Guardian watch and listen to different videos on the same page with reviews of the console.

You can do some exercises related to the news here.

Amazon.com testing drone delivery service 

(4th December, 2013)

Read the news and watch a video about it on Sky News, CNN and USA Today.

You can do some exercises here.

Jade Rabbit sends photos from the Moon 
(18th December, 2013)

Read the news on English People Daily and Xinhua News.

You can do some exercise here. 

A technological review

Watch and listen to this video with a technological review.


You can read more about it here, or look for some more reviews on youtube.

Money Homework

Taken from Ainoa's blog... (I recommend you visit it)

Here's your homework for the weekend (with KEY):

Living without money article (Listening and reading)

Billionaires add to poverty article (Vocabulary, reading and other exercises)

Money makes the world go round: vocabulary (Vocabulary)

Addicted to Social Networks?

Hello again!

Related to the topic of TECHNOLOGY, read these two articles:

www.thedailybeast.com

1. About the impact of technology  in our daily lives...

The Influence of modern technology on society: Good or bad?

2. About Internet addiction... (with interesting links to visit)

¿Sufrir por ti? ¡Ja! ¡Ni que fueras internet cuando se va!

And finally, look what I found here... National Day of Unplugging, next 7-8 March!

MONEY Idioms

Tighten your belt.	If you need to tighten your belt, you must spend your money carefully.  "Another bill?  I'll have to tighten my belt this month!"
Burn your fingers	If you burn your fingers (or get your fingers burnt), you suffer financially as a result of foolish behaviour.   "Jack got his fingers burnt playing on the stock market."
A cash cow	A product or service which is a regular source of income for a company is called a cash cow.   "His latest invention turned out to be a real cash cow."
Cash in your chips	If you cash in your chips, you sell something, especially shares, either because you need the money or because you think the value is going to fall.   "Andy cashed in his chips as soon as business started to slow down."
Other side of the coin	When you want to mention a different or contradictory aspect of a   situation, you refer to the other side of the coin.   "The house is lovely and spacious, but the other side of the coin is that it is far from shops and schools."
Cost an arm and a leg.	If something costs an arm and a leg, it is very expensive!   "The house cost us an arm and a leg, but we have no regrets."
Go Dutch	To go Dutch with somebody means to share the cost of something, such as a meal or a concert.   "Young people today tend to go Dutch when they go out together."
Feel the pinch	When someone feels the pinch, they begin to suffer from a lack of   money.   "With the drop in tourism, hotels and restaurants are beginning to feel the pinch."
Hard up	If you are hard up, you have very little money.   "We were so hard up we had to sleep in the car."
Keep your head above water.	To keep one's head above water means to try to survive by staying out of debt, for example a small business.
On the house	Something which is "on the house" is offered free of charge, usually in a bar or restaurant.   "The new owner offered us a drink on the house."
Kickback	This expression refers to money paid illegally for favourable treatment.  "The property developers were accused of giving kickbacks to the local authorities."
Live beyond one's means	If someone lives beyond their means, they spend more money than they earn or can afford.   "The cost of living was so much higher in New York that he was soon living beyond his means."
Lose your shirt	If you lose your shirt, you lose all your money or possessions, especially as a result of speculation or gambling.   "He lost his shirt when the bank went bankrupt."
Look/feel like a million dollars	If you look/feel like a million dollars, you look/feel extremely good.  "With a tan and a new hairstyle, she looked like a million dollars."
Money burns a hole in your pocket	To say that money burns a hole in somebody's pocket means that they are eager to spend it quickly.  "As soon as she's paid she goes shopping.  Money burns a hole in her pocket!"
Money to burn	People who have money to burn have so much money that   they can spend it on anything they want.
Money doesn't grow on trees	To say that money doesn't grow on trees means that it is not   plentiful or easily obtained.  "Be careful how you spend your money David.  It doesn't grow on trees you know!"
Put money where your mouth is	To put money where your mouth is means to give financial support to activities or causes that you believe are right.
Money talks	Money talks means that people with a lot of money have power and influence.
Nest egg	If you have a nest egg, you have a reserve of money which you put aside for future needs.   "Our parents consider the money from the sale of their house as a nest egg   for their old age."
Be paid peanuts	If you are paid peanuts, you have a very low salary.   "Anne has a very interesting job but she's paid peanuts. Her salary is very low."
Pick up the tab	If you pick up the tab, you pay the bill or pay the cost of something.   "There was a celebration lunch for the group and Bill picked up the tab."
Pretty penny	If something costs you a pretty penny, it costs you a lot of money.   "That new car must have cost him a pretty penny!"
Price oneself out of the market	If you price yourself out of the market, you charge such a high price for your goods or services that nobody buys them.   "He was so eager to make money that he priced himself out of the market."
From rags to riches	If you go from rags to riches, you start off being very poor and become very rich and successful.  "By renovating old houses in the right places, he went from rags to riches."
Rake in the money	If you rake in the money, you make money in large quantities.  "Bob's business is so successful that he's raking in the money."
Rob Peter to pay Paul	If a person robs Peter to pay Paul, they pay one debt with money   borrowed from somewhere else, thus creating another debt.  "David borrowed money from a friend to cover his overdraft; a typical case of robbing Peter to pay Paul!"
See the colour of somebody's money	If you want to see the colour of somebody's money, you want to make sure that the person in question has enough money to pay you before you accept to do something.   "I want to see the colour of his money before shipping the goods."
On a shoestring	If you do something on a shoestring, you do it with very little money.   "When I was a student I lived on a shoestring."
Splash out	If you splash out on something, you spend a lot of money on it.    "Sarah's parents really splashed out on her wedding."

Money Proverbs and Quotes

Discuss the following sayings and quotations about money. Do you agree with them?

PROVERBS AND IDIOMS

- Money makes the world go around. (Lyrics here)

- Money is the root of all evil. (The love of money is the root of all evil. The Bible. Timothy, 6. 10.)

- Money doesn’t buy happiness.

- The best things in life are free.

- Money doesn’t grow on trees.

- If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

- He who pays the piper calls the tune.

- A fool and his money are soon parted.

- A penny saved is a penny earned.


QUOTES

- A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don't need it. (Bob Hope)

- There's no money in poetry, but then there's no poetry in money, either. (Robert Graves)

- Money often costs too much. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

- Money is power, freedom, a cushion, the root of all evil, the sum of blessings. (Carl Sandburg)

- Lack of money is the root of all evil. (George Bernard Shaw)

- Money can't buy you happiness but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery. (Spike Milligan)

- When I was young I used to think that money was the most important thing in life. Now that I am old, I know it is. (Oscar Wilde)

Jornadas Culturales 2014

Find here the program and all the information you need to participate in our "Jornadas Culturales" which will be celebrated on April 2 and 3. Please, participate in something, you have the key for the success of our Jornadas!!!

#CulturEOI2014

Program
Concurso de Twitter
Concurso de Micro Relatos
Cine Forum
Campañas de promoción del aprendizaje de idiomas

Love English Awards 2013

Macmillan has organised a competition you might want to have a look at...

Vote for your favourite blog about the English language!

Please have a look at all nominated blogs below and select your favourite here.

You might find interest blogs you can follow from now on and use for your English practice. So far, I've selected English with a twist. I've added it to the list of Websites of Interest you can find on the right.

Have a look at the post HOW TO TALK ABOUT MOVIES IN ENGLISH, useful for your reviews. 

Good luck for your speaking test!

Feb 2014 Speaking Exam Calendar

Still some spaces to fill in...

MONDAY 10^th February

16:40	Isabel Jiménez	Jorge Martín
17:00	Victoria Pérez	Mª Dolores Guillén
17:20	Belén Cava	Patricia López
17:40	Inma Parra	Ana Candela
18:00	Isa García Mateos	Vicente
18:20	Toñi	Ginés Llamas
18:40	Carmen	Victoria Vicente

WEDNESDAY 12^TH February

16:40	Marisa García Bermejo	Jorge Domínguez
17:00	Ana Belén Aznar	Paco
17:20	Cristina Lizarán	Pura
17:40	Ines Caro	Marisol
18:00	Antonio	Manolo
18:20
18:40