MY WORLD: Democracy vs. Communism (Test writting)

Democracy is better than communism. Why? There are some reasons that can answer this questions.

In democracy, people are able to vote and elect their representatives. They can be rich if they get the chance to improve their situation.It's not that way in communism. Everyone is equal and can't improve and be completely successful in their lives.

My opinion on politicians is that, at this moment, they're not trying hard enough to get ou of the economic crisis and that a change is needed in their ideas. They have to free their minds to the new possibilities of ou time.

Elections are better than politicians. They let the people express their will in a free way, and that's really nice.

Democracy

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Communism

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MY WORLD: One of my favourite books!

Last summer I read Daughter of smoke and bone. I really really loved it and it has become one of my favourite books. I also read the second part of it: Days of blood and starlight.

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Daughter of smoke and bone is about the story of Karou, a girl with blue hair that lives with three chimaeras, strange creatures with parts of different animals. They all live in Prague in a secret workshop where Brimstone, one of the chimaeras, exchanges wishes for teeth of different animals, or even human teeth. One day, in Marrakech, Karou meets Akiva, an angel that tries to kill her.

She discovers then that angels exist, and that they have been in war against the chimaeras for thousands of years. But Akiva sees something in her, she seems familiar to him, and for that he doesn't kill Karou.

Because of this strange meeting, their worlds will change a lot and nothing will ever be the same. Karou and her family are in mortal danger, and she will do anything to save them.

I really really love this book because it's very original and different from any other book I've ever read. At the beggining it seems a little bit strange, but once you get used to the story it's really enjoyable. i love the main character, Karou. She's strong and independent, and she's such a mistery!

I totally recomend this book and, if you read it, I'm sure you'll appreciate it too, even if you don't get to like it!

Here you have some booktrailers that I found on Youtube!

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NEWS: A frightening flight

http://www.newsinlevels.com/products/teenager-on-a-plane-level-3/

The news that I've chosen is about a teenager that tied himself in the wheel of a plane. The Somali boy wanted to go to Africa to find his mother, but the destination of the plane was Hawaii. The authorities didn't notice him when the plane took off in California. Surprisingly, he survived to really cold temperatures and to really low levels of pressure. He nearly ran away of oxygen. When the plane arrived to Hawaii, the boy confronted the airport workers, but was send to the hospital immediately. He was taken under protective custody and is now getting better.

I find that this is unbelivable. How did he survived to the flight? He must be Superman! And hasn't anyone thought about the planes landing? The wheels touch the floor during the landing, he should have died! This is totally amazing and a bit funny at the same time. How is it that the authorities didn't notice him? Well... I guess this is the kind of things that happen because of a lot of coincidences.

Here are the new words I've learned!

CCTV: security camera.
Stowaway: somebody who hides in a vehicle.
Lodge: place himself somewhere.
Brave: someone who can deal with a dificult situation.
Ordeal: difficult experience.
Protective custody: being kept somewhere for the person's own protection.

And here are some images from the security camera!

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MY WORLD: Nananana BATMAN!

Yesterday I was at home, just relaxing, when my mum came up with the idea of watching the "The Dark Knight Rises", the last movie of Batman. I had watched it a long time ago, but I've always liked the movies of Batman, so I agreed with my mother and we wached it.

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The film continues with the story of "Batman: The Dark Knight". We can see a very devastated Bruce Wayne because of the death of the woman he loved. The city of Gotham doesn't need nor want Batman anymore. Then a new terrorist called Bane appears and, frightens the city and takes control over it, threatening with a bomb that will destroy everything. Gotham becomes a strange world of "justice", as claimed by Bane, where all the once powerful people will be judged. Bruce has to find a way to stop this, and to do that, he needs to become Batman again.

I really liked this film because it's very dramatic and surprising. It's very different from the other Batman films but I think that it's great. Also, there's a new character that I found funny, it was Catwoman! More over, Christian Bale (the actor that plays Bruce Wayne) does a very good job, and so does the rest of the cast.

I would recomend this film. Here's the trailer!

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Describing a picture

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This picture was taken by Rahul Talukder in the Rana Plaza, in the city of Savar, when a building collapsed, killing over 1,100 people.

In the picture I can see that the Rana Plaza is totally crowded around the wreckage of the buildings. In the foreground, on the left, there's someone pointing at the disaster, and in the background there's the ruined building. There are lots of people trying to help in the sorrounding buildings. There's even a crane trying to remove some of the wreckage. In the upper part we can see the city of Savar and the people watching from the rooftops. The people in the picture seem really worried about those who may be dead or hurt. They're rushing over the destroyed building to help.

I think that this picture is very dramatic and sad. I don't know why did the building fall, but it's a disaster. I feel sorry for everyone in the picture:for the ones that were in the building and for the worried people that are trying to help. I think that the photographer tries to show how dramatic it is by making the picture in black and white.

Interview to tourists in Barcelona!

INTERVIEW

Me: Excuse me, do you speak English?
Tourists: Yeah, a little bit.
Me: Do you have a minute? It's for a project for school.
Tourists: We are tourists emm...
Me: Yes, it's for tourism. Could we ask you some questions?
Tourists: Yes.
Me: Where are you from?
Tourists: Germany, Hannover.
Me: Is it the first time that you are in Spain?
Tourists: The second or third.
Me: How did you come here? By plane, ship or train?
Tourists: Yeah, by plane.
Me: Why are you in Barcelona?
Tourists: For holidays.
Me: How long are you going to stay here?
Tourists: One week.
Me: Are you travelling with family or friends?
Tourists: My mother, family.
Me: What have you visited up to now?
Tourists: We want to go to the tourists bus. It's our first day here we want to make a sightseeing tour.
Me: What do you like the most?
Tourists: Barcelona is very beautiful. Not seen very much...
Me: Have you bought any presents?
Tourists: Not yet.
Me: How do you get around in the city, by underground, car, bus or foot?
Tourists: First time today... We go to the bus now. For walk and there's the bus.
Me: Do you know any words in Catalan or Spanish?
Tourists: Yes. Hola, qué tal... No.
Me: Have you tried any tipical Spanish or Catalan food?
Tourists: No.
Me: Do you think Barcelona is expensive?
Tourists: No, it's normal.
Me: Do you see any differences from your country?
Tourists: Everything! The people, the buildings, the cities, the food... Yeah, of course.
Me: Is there anything you don't like?
Tourists: No.
Me: Would you recommend Barcelona to your family or friends?
Tourists: Yes.
Me: Will you come back again?
Tourists: Sure.
Me: Thank you very much for your time. Enjoy your holidays, goodbye!

SUMMARY

This is the interview that I made to two german tourists. They were mother and daughter, and it was the daughter who answered our questions. They were from Hannover, Germany, and it was the second, third time that they had been in Spain. They came by plane and were in Barcelona for holidays. They were staying one week and, of course, they travelled with family. They hadn't visited anything at that moment because it was their first day. They were going to take the tourists bus later, for a sightseeing tour. Althought they hadn't seen very much of Barcelona, they said it was beautiful. They hadn't bought any presents. They got around the city by bus and on foot. They didn't know many words in Catalan nor Spanish, just "hola", "qué tal"... They hadn't tried the food yet and they didn't find that Barcelona was expensive. They thought that everything was different from their country: the people, the buildings... There wasn't anything they didn't like, they would recommend Barcelona to their family and friends and they surely come back again.

PODCAST: Interview to tourists in Barcelona!

listen to ‘Entrevista a turistes en anglès’ on Audioboo

Berlin, Berlin

Our trip to Berlin has been extraordinary, I really enjoyed it. The city is very beautiful and at the same time very different from any city I've ever been before. There was something special: the lifestyle, the buildings, the wide streets... I really loved the fact that the streets were full of graffitis, some of them really nice.

It's difficult to write down the best moments of the trip, because there were too many. I really liked the monuments and museums. The Reichstag, the History Museum of Berlin (which was surprisingly funny), the bunker, the Wall, the Brandenburger Tor, the Jewish Museum, the zoo, Sachsenhausen (this one was very sad)... I loved walking around the city, even when my feet ached, because we saw something new everyday. In our spare time we went through the streets discovering Berlin, going shopping or just going for a walk... Probably the monument I liked the most was the Brandenburger Tor, because it was very beautiful.

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Brandenburger Tor

In the Reichstag, there was a glass dome at the top of the building with amazing views. We could see all Berlin!

The monuments and museums dedicated to the jews that we visited were really sad. I got very emotional because we could read letters that some jews wrote to their families, and there was so much to read and see...

When we went to Sachsenhausen, a concentration and extermination field, it was heartbreaking. There weren't many buildings left, but it was enough for me. The thing that I didn't like about it was that the buildings were too much restaurated.

I remember that the History Museum of Berlin was funny in some way, because the place was decorated like the time that it represent (the time of the war, the medieval times...).

I got a bit of claustrophobia when we where at the bunker. I was shocked because there were a lot of beds (if it could be called a bed) and there wasn't much light. I felt relieved when we went outside, back to the street.

I enjoyed the zoo because it was a sunny day and it was something very different from the other activities that the teachers had prepared for us.  They told us there was a panda so we spent quite a lot of time searching and asking for it, but sadly it had died. I felt sorry for the animals, though, all day trapped there when they could be in the nature, where they belong. For example, when we saw the polar bears, there was one that moved his head up and down all the time because he was "insane". Who wouldn't be in its situation?

I remember that one day, when we where walking through the street, some girls stopped us and asked if they could make us an interview. It was an interview just like the one we did to tourists in Barcelona!

The best of all was being all together in a unique experience. We had a lot of fun: in the hostel, in the dinners at the restaurant (paper balls flew everywhere, it felt like a battlefield sometimes), in the spare time, in the bus... We became more of a group and got along really well. I think that we got to know each others better than we did before, both students and teachers.

I remember the food of the restaurant we always went for dinner to. I'm only going to say that I'm not going to eat meat with potatoes in a long time, because I had enough of it in Berlin. The potatoes were cooked in different ways, but it was tiring eating them everyday.

I also learned a bit of German. For example: ausgang means exit, bären means bear, eingang means entrance, hallo means hello, tchus means goodbye...

Bye, bye Berlin!

MY WORLD: Ruined weekends

Lately, I've been feeling a bit unlucky. Everything started a week ago when my parents told me that we were going to Barcelona on the weekend, and that we would stay the night in my sisters' place (they study in Barcelona so they live there). I was very happy and I spent all the week thinking about it. When, on Friday, I finished school and went outside at two o'clock, my parents were waiting for me in the car.

We started our trip. While my parents were talking about a lot of things, I turned on the radio and sang to every song. It didn't bothered them, so I kept singing until we arrived to Barcelona. I had to go with my parents to a turism fair, because they work in turism and had invitations to go there. It was really interesting because there were stands representating a lot of countries. But after nearly two hours I was really bored, thought my father was really amazed of some hats that the Cuba stand was selling. I had to wait a lot more until he got one.

When we went outside I was getting sick. There was too many people and it was too hot. More over, we had to return to my sisters' place by metro, and I thought I wouldn't survive to it (just kidding, but I really felt horrible). When we arrived I could only lie on the couch for five minutes, because they wanted to go out for dinner. I'll only say that I didn't like dinner.

After, at late night, I woke up with headache and neck pain. I couldn't sleep and, in the morning, when my mother found me on the sofa, she checked my temperature with a thermometer. I was sick. Therefore, I couldn't go shopping. I kept telling my mum that I could go out, but she wouldn't let me, so I didn't go. That day my mother and I returned home while my father stayed.

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I spent all the weekend sick at home but, lucky me, I got well on Sunday afternoon and was able to go to school on Monday.

It's not fair.