Work out your grammar!

1.Past Continuous practice: click these links:
#1
#2

2.Past Continuous vs Past Simple. Click:
#3 
#4

3.Comparative/Superlative. Click:
#5

#6

4.Good work! Now (and only now) let´s see how good you are at History with this quiz (here).

Australia Day or Survival Day? (E1C)

Do you remember Meghan´s presentation on Australia day? You must know the following key points, they may appear in our next literacy exam!
-What does the flag above represent?
-70% of Australian territory is .........................
-How many languages are spoken by Australian Indigenous nations?
-What happened in 1770?
-Who was James Cook? How did he die?
-What kind of people were the first European settlers?
-What is the "stolen generation"?
-What movement began in 1972?
-What was the "Tent Embassy"?
-Who was Mabo?
-Who is Kevin Rudd? What is his relation with this issue?
-We read the poem Let Us Not Be Bitter by Oodgeroo Noonuccal in class. Read it again (follow this link) and check the main topics and vocabulary.

Isaac Asimov: teaching, learning and computers.

Gattaca stills

Let´s comment on these Gattaca stills: What´s going on in them? In which moment of the story do they happen?

Toadaroo or Kangaroad, that´s the question.

Do you remember the beginning of the poem "The Toad and the Kangaroo" by Shel Silverstein?


Said the Toad to the Kangaroo,

"I can hop and so can you,
So if we marry we'll have a child

Who can jump a mountain or hop a mile

And we can call it a Toadaroo"

Said the hopeful Toad to the Kangaroo.


Said the Kangaroo, "My dear,

What a perfectly lovely idea.

I would most gladly marry you,

But as for having a Toadaroo,

I'd rather we call it a Kangaroad",

Said the Kangaroo to the frowning Toad.
  
 
These are some of the endings you have made up for the poem:

"Said the kangaroo to the toad

'my lovely toad,

why don´t we take your hand

and leave the lucky coin spin

while you pray hopping

in your mind'.

Finally the coin stopped

and hopefully the toad won". (by Víctor R.)

"In the end, someone had to give up

because they wished a little child

only one name could have

or one of the parents would become sad.

Said the toad to the kangaroo:

'But how are we going to have a baby?

That´s something that is making me crazy!'

Said the kangaroo:"I think you´re very lazy!

If a child you want to have, just we´ll call it Daisy'

So in the end Daisy the child was called.

It was a strange mixture of a toad and a kangaroo,

a strange child from a strange couple". (by Eva B.) 

"They told a bird their story,

and the bird smiled happily.

'I have a plan

First, you have to calm.

If you have two babies,

I think maybe,

one could be called one way, the second the other,

they would be brothers'.

So since that moment for a lot of generations

they lived happily with the bird´s lessons". (by Lidia J.)

"So they argue all the days

because they want first their names.

Finally they stopped arguing.

They didn´t want to have a child,

they only wanted to marry

and have a happy life". (by David J.)

"As they disagree on each other´s idea

the toad went to Korea.

There he found a beautiful frog,

but she was in love with a dog!

So he continued looking for someone to love.

When he arrived in Japan,

he found a beautiful elephant.

But his father, who was very big,

wanted his daughter to marry a pig!

The toad returned to the kangaroo,

Their love was finally true.

So they got happily married,

and had one baby,

called Kangaroad,

as wished the toad." (By Paula J.)



Good work to you all! I love your endings, they are much happier than Shel Silverstein´s. Here it is:

"So they argued but couldn't agree
On Rangatoo or Kangaree
And finally the Toad said, "I don't give a dang
If it's Rootakoad or Toadakang--
I really don't feel like marrying you!"
"Fine with me," said the Kangaroo.

And the Toad had no more to say,
And the Kangaroo just hopped away.
And they never married or had a child
That could jump a mountain or hop a mile.
What a loss--what a shame--
Just 'cause they couldn't agree on a name". 

Gattaca quiz

Hi B1A! Next week is going to be "Gattaca week": On Tuesday 24 we´ll do a quiz about the film. On Wednesday 25 Vanessa will do a presentation about the topic and on Friday 27 we´ll do the exam (2 points at stake!).

These are some of the questions I´ll make in the Tuesday´s quiz (the other questions are secret, but they all are about the plot):

-Would you like to live in a world like the one the film shows? Why/why not?
-What is Vincent´s key to success?
-Why hasn´t Vincent´s brother reached as far as Vincent having better genes?
-Why does Jerome commit suicide at the end of the film?
-Why does Vincent leave hair at his desk every day? Whose hair is that?
-What is special about the pianist in the film?
-What does Jerome have round his neck when he dies? Why?
-What is a "borrowed ladder"?
-What is a "God-child"?

-What do we discover about the doctor at the end of the film?
-Who murdered the man in Gattaca? Why did he do it?
-Watch the alternative ending of the film HERE and explain it.
-Which moment makes Vincent think he can achieve anything if he fights for it?
-Who is a "Valid"? and an "In-Valid"?
-What is the difference between Vincent and his brother Anton?
-Why was Vincent operated on his legs?
-Search for this information in the internet: Who is the director of this film? Say two other films he has directed. When was this film released?

We´ll do the quiz in groups, the two groups which get the most points will get extra marks.

"There is no gene for the human spirit"

Shel Silverstein´s Poem (E1C)

Said the Toad to the Kangaroo,
"I can hop and so can you,
So if we marry we'll have a child
Who can jump a mountain or hop a mile
And we can call it a Toadaroo"
Said the hopeful Toad to the Kangaroo.

Said the Kangaroo, "My dear,
What a perfectly lovely idea.
I would most gladly marry you,
But as for having a Toadaroo,
I'd rather we call it a Kangaroad",
Said the Kangaroo to the frowning Toad.


That´s the beginning of the poem we saw in class. Remember to write an ending for Monday (use alliteration and rhyme). The best titles for the poem are:

-"Strange Lovers" (by Elena R.)
-"A complicated pair" (by Eva B.)
-"Toad vs Kangaroo (in Love)" (by Jorge O.)
-"Impossible name" (by Daniel P.)

-"The two frowning animals" (by Esther L.)

The title is "The Toad and the Kangaroo", not very original (I prefer yours!)

Don´t forget the legend presentation for Monday. Have a nice weekend!

Gattaca

You are going to watch the trailer of the film Gattaca. Read these questions, you´ll have to answer them after watching it:
-What´s genetics?
-In the future, what will determine everything about us?
-How many fingers have the hands we can see in the trailer got? Why?
-Why will a drop of blood, saliva or a single hair be so important in the future?
-In that future society, what will determine success?


Trailer here (go to "clips" and then "trailer").

Happy 2012