off the top of your head: spontaneously, improvising (ES: A bote pronto, sin pararse mucho a pensar)

Off the top of my head, I can’t remember the name of that actor.

Put the verb in brackets in the correct tense, Present Pefect Simple or Present Pefect Continuos

I’m exhausted. I (1. work) all the morning.
How many exercises (2. you/correct)?
I (3. correct) fity more or les..

I (4. paint) the living room for a week. It’ll be finished soon.

My neighbours are always quarreling and shouting at each other. They (5. have) five rows this week.

I know that someone (6. eat) my sandwich! It’s nearly gone

You are really dirty! Look at your clothes! What (7. you, do)?

I (8. try) to lose weight for ages. I (9. lose) ten pounds so far.

Tricia is getting married to Arthur next September.
Really? How long (10. they/know) each other?

Vocabulary

Row: (informal) argument (ES: pelea)

Keys

1) have been working
2) have you corrected
3) have corrected
4) have been painting
5) have had
6) has been eating
7) have you been doing
8) have been trying
9) have lost
10) have the been knowing

Write the PASSIVE for the following senteces in active voice:

1) People think that he works in the same building as you.
1) He

2) People said that you studied Medicine at university for six years.
2) You

3) They suppose that they married in that small church near your village.
3) They

4) People know that I am living with my parents at the moment.
4) I

5) They say she lost one of her children during the war.
5) She

6) They think that our soldiers will come back in two weeks
6) Our

Keys

1) He is thought to work in the same building as you
2) You were said to study Medicine at university for six years
3) They are supposed to have married in that small church near your village
4) I am known to be living with my parents at the moment
5) She is said to have lost one of her children during the war
6) Our soldiers are thought to come back in two weeks

Today we are going to do an exercise based on a Times article about “job seekers”. Just the opposite of what the protagonists of this song does.

You must choose which of the paragraphs A-G match the numbered gaps in the extract from a newspaper article (From the Times). There is a one extra paragraph which does not belong to any of the gaps.

Job hunters are abandoning the suit and dressing in outrageous clothes in order to stand out from the other candidates.

1______________________________

Another candidate, determined to show the prospective employer how desperately he needed the job had large holes in his shoes.

2______________________________

“Examples of odd interview attire offered by managers taking part in a survey we conducted varied from the merely inappropriate to the provocative, and even revolting: earrings, pony tails, shorts, bright yellow suits and pink corduroys were listed. And that was just for men.”

3______________________________

In a slightly different approach, another man tried to unsettle the interviewer by refusing to take off his overcoat although it was a sweltering hot day and the interview room was warm.

4______________________________

One woman showed how much she felt at home in the office by finishing off her interview attire with a rather delightful pair of gold slippers. Laddered tights, loud and revolting ties, sunglasses and tattoos were cited as pet hates on the interview circuit.

5______________________________

‘In creative environments such as advertising, people can get away with more unconventional dress than within, say, accountancy,” he explained.

6_____________________________

‘You are likely to score more points in that crucial time by looking smart and professional rather than by trying to stand out from the crowd with a style of dress that may be alien and ridiculous to the interviewer.’

A)

Mr Grout said: ‘To increase your chances of getting a job at the interview stage, you need to play the interview game and ensure that you are appropriately dressed for the profession and the position.

B)

Jeff Grout, Managing Director of Robert Hall, the financial recruitment specialist, said: ‘Many interview candidates are abandoning the conservative suit and sensible shoes for a look that is bound to get them noticed – but for the wrong reasons.

C)

While the men tended to be unconventional or just plain scruffy, the women dressed to kill.

D)

Another female candidate, who was extremely thin, managed to turn up in a suit which she had apparently borrowed from a friend several sizes larger.

E)

‘However, as the decision to hire is made within the first five minutes of the meeting, possibly before the candidate has spoken, dress and personal presentation are the key to the decision-making process.

F)

One young hopeful sped into the interview room on a skateboard.

G)

Other male candidates made their mark at important interviews by turning up in a boiler suit, baseball boots or different colour socks.

Vocabulary

Outrageous:  extravagant (ES:  escandaloso, vergonzoso, atroz)

ill-suited: not suitable; inappropriate (ES: inapropiado, mal vestidos)

Attire: clothes (ES: vestimenta, atuendo)

Revolting: repulsive, disgusting (ES: horrible, asqueroso, repugnante)

Corduroys : type of cotton fabric (ES: de pana)

To stand out: to be much better than other similar things or people or to be very noticeable (ES: destacar)

Turn up == show up (ES: Aparecer)

Speed into (ES: entrar corriendo)

Unsettle: trouble, make uneasy (ES: desconcertar, inquietar, perturbar)

Skateboard (ES: monopatín)

Scruffy: untidy person (ES: desaliñado)

Ensure (ES:asegurar)

Slippers: (ES: zapatillas de andar por casa)

Finish off : complete, perfect (ES: rematar)

Laddered tights (ES: pantys con carreras)

Pet hates:  something that annoys you a lot (ES: cosas odiosas)

Maths is my pet hates

Swelter:   be uncomfortably hot (ES: hacer un calor sofocante,)

Boiler suit: (Es: mono de trabajo)

Be bound +to + infinitive (ES: muy probable que) == Be certain == Be like + to + infinitive (ES: es probable que)

They are like to buy a new car

She is like to get married next summer

Keys

1) F

2) B

3) G

4) C

5) A

6) E

The Bee’s knees:Very good, the best (ES: algo o alguien es perfecto, “eres un crack”)

No matter what happened, we still think you’re the bee’s knees

Skipper: leader, captain (ES: capitan)

skipper

The skipper of the team called a time-out.

Fill each of the numbered blanks with one suitble word:

When the Stone of Destiny came back to Scotland, it was the culmination of a 700-year campaign to (1) it returned.
The Stone, which is little (2) than a lump of rock of no great commercial (3) or artistic merit, is of great (4) to the Scottish people, who, according to legend, could never be free while it was still (5) held on foreign soil.

It had originally being stolen by the English King Edward I in 1926. Prior (6) its repatriation, it was kept in Westminster Abbey in London, where it was used during coronations of English monarchs and on other ceremonial (7) but its absence from its (8) home was a continual (9) of grievance to the Scots.

The return of the Stone has once again raised the question of (10) should be done about other national treasures held in museums and private collections abroad. Sometimes the (11) under which an item was (12) make the decision simple; if it was stolen; it should go back. But more often that not the situation is far (13) straightforward. Artistic treasures may have been bought from colonial goverments who had no moral (14) to sell them, or donated by principalities and countries that no (15) exits.

There is also a moral problem here. The Getty museum, with its vast resources, could in all (16) buy the entire artistic heritage of Bangladesh quite legitimely, and (17) this would (18) most reasonable people being questionable. The (19) of every work of art being returned to its country of origin are remote, but nations should have right to house traseures of supreme cultural significance. As the return of the Stone of Destiny shows, this can be achive, but not (20) a struggle.

Vocabulary

Lump: mass (ES: masa)
Straightforward: simple, uncomplicated (ES: simple, claro, directo)
Strike [sb] as [sth] : give the impression (Es: dar la impresión de que algo es)

Anna’s story strikes me as an exaggeration.

Keys

1) get
2) more
3) value
4) importance
5) being
6) to
7) occasions
8) true
9) source
10) what
11) circumstances
12) acquired
13) less
14) rights
15) longer
16) probability
17) yet
18) strike
19) chances
20) without

Edge: the part farthest from the middle of something. A border (ES: borde)

Hedge: A row of bushes growing close together (ES: seto)

hedge

I’m on the edge of glory

Anna is sitting on the edge of the bed

To stand out: to be much better than other similar things or people or to be very noticeable (ES: destacar)

Your experience with Excel stood out to me

We had lots of good applicants for the job, but one stood out from the rest

One of the best ways to stay healthy and fit is to exercise regularly. Not only will you look better, but you will feel great and your health will thank you.
I signed up for the gym today. In my induction they asked me what I want to do (like tone, lose weight ect) and then they gave me a program. It took about half hour.

At this moment I was thinking of all the fun expressions and phrasal verbs that are used in English to describe different types of exercises. Below you will find a description of equipment you can find at the gym, vocabulary and expressions:

Most people who go to the gym want to “get in shape“. It means to have a good body, and also to feel healthy. They want to breathe easier, be able to walk or run for a longer time, they want to feel good about their physical condition. (ES: ponerse en forma).

We could also use the prashal verb: “Shape Up“.

Another expression is “Be out of shape“: Not physically healthy enough for difficult exercise because you have not been involved in physical activities. (ES: estar de baja forma física)

“When I started this dance class, I was really out of shape.”

• To be in good shape
• Be out of shape
• Shape up
• Get in shape

In good shape, feel healthy (ES: en forma)

“She goes to the gym every day and is very fit“.

Some people want to get “toned”. They want some lines, showing muscles, a little bit less showing fat. (ES: tonificado)

Adjective describing someone that has well-defined muscles. You see all the lines where all the muscles are or should be, because you’ve worked out a lot.

Very very cut : means well defined muscles especially in the arms and abs (ES: musculado)

Well defined abdominal muscles in the configuration of a six pack of canned drinks. (ES: tableta chocolate)

Six pack abs / Abdominales definidos

“He took off his shirt to reveal a well-defined six pack.”

An extemely thin person; looking skeletal and unhealthy (ES: Saco de huesos)

He was a bag of bones before he started working out to build his bod up a little

When you do exercise, you can say you are going to “work out”. This is an American expression but we also use it in Britain too. (ES: hacer ejercicio)

“I’m going to the gym tonight to work out. I need to exercise after eating too many ice-creams!”

– Exercise (ES: ejercicio, entrenamiento)

a bulge of fat around the waist (cintura)

The areas of extra fat that hang or slightly bulge from the sides, and are also the little rolls on the lower back

Anatomy: thigh joint. A projection of the pelvis and upper thigh bone on each side of the body in human beings and quadrupeds (ES: cadera)

The part of the human body below the ribs and above the hips, often narrower than the areas above and below. (ES: cintura)

What can you do at the gym?

Stretching / Estirar o Calentar

I need to stretch my legs before I run the race

To lift weights (ES: levantar pesas)

Push ups are when you push your body up and down while you face the ground

Pushups / Flexiones

When you pull your body up off the ground, it is called a chin up or a pull up. Exercise for upper body (ES: dominada)

Pullups / Dominada

Physical exercise. Crouch or sit with one’s knees bent and one’s heels close to or touching one’s buttocks or the back of one’s thighs. (ES: sentadilla)

Squats / Sentadilla

Propel a boat using oars. (ES: remar)

Riding a stationary bike or exercising on a rowing machine are examples of resistance training.

It is short of “Repetitions”. A rep (or repetition) is a single movement of any exercise (ES: Repeticiones)

Set(s): A set is a series of reps of an exercise done in sequence (usually without rest). (ES: Serie)

So how much do I rest between sets?

Gym Equipment

Walking or running machine. This is a machine where you stand on. It’s like a belt. (ES: cinta para correr)

Tread mill / Cinta para correr

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK_zwl-lnmc

Elliptical / Elípitica

A short bar with a weight at each end, used typically in pairs for exercise or muscle-building (ES: pesa)

Dumbbell / Mancuernas

Barbell / Pesas

kettlebell

Exercise Ball / Pelota de Ejercicio

Mat / Colchoneta

Core : (ES: músculos del torso)
Abs: Abdominal muscles (ES músculos abdominales)
Personal Training: (ES: entrenador)