Money

The point I want to make with these two examples is that there's nothing inherently valuable about a dollar or a stone or a coin. The only reason these things have any value is because we've all decided they should. And because we've decided that, they do. Money is about the exchanges and the transactions that we have with each other. Money isn't anything objective. It's about a collective story that we tell each other about value. A collective fiction. And that's a really powerful concept.

In the past two decades, we've begun to use digital money. So I get paid via direct deposit, I pay my rent via bank transfer, I pay my taxes online. And every month, a small amount of money is deducted from my paycheck and invested in mutual funds in my retirement account. All of these interactions are literally just changing 1's and 0's on computers. There's not even anything physical, like a stone or a coin. Digital money makes it so that I can pay someone around the world in seconds.

That's because digital money isn't really mine, it's entries in databases that belong to my bank, my credit card company or my investment firm. And these companies have the right to say "no." If I'm a PayPal merchant and PayPal wrongly flags me for fraud, that's it. My account gets frozen, and I can't get paid.

We're about to enter a new phase of money. (Estamos a punto de entrar en...)

Cryptocurrencies are the first step of this evolution. Cryptocurrencies are digital money that isn't run by any government or bank. It's money designed to work in a world without intermediaries. Bitcoin is the most ubiquitous cryptocurrency, but there are hundreds of them. And these things are real money.

So what the banks used to give us -- trustworthy digital money transfer -- we can now get with a clever application of cryptography. And this means that we don't have to rely on the banks anymore to secure our transactions. We can do it ourselves.

MONEY. Vocabulary:

Invest money in / spend money on

Be in credit / be overdrawn (al descubierto)

Get into debt / get out of debt

Buy-get something on credit / pay cash for something

Get a loan / repay a loan (a la persona),

Pay back (devolver a alguien el dinero prestado) / pay off (devolverlo al banco)

 Have a good credit rating (calificación de crédito) / have a bad credit rating

Take out (contratar un préstamo, arrange to get a loan, morgage…) from a bank

Get high interest rate (tasa de interés) / get a low interest rate

Have a current account / have a saving account

Be well off / be short (of money). We also can say: be in debt

Take-get money out of an account / put money into an account

 Más formal para sacar o meter dinero: withdraw / deposit

Go down: caer. Price have gone down

Come to (ascender, precio total): The house repair come to about 1200 euros

Put down on (rebajar, dar una entrada o adelanto): He’s put 2.000 euros down on a new flat

 Come into (heredar): She came into a lot of  money when her aunt died 

Take off (rebajar): The shop took off 50 euros off the table because it was damaged 

Save up (ahorrar) Rip off (timar): $8 for an ice cream? He’s ripping people off. 

A deposite

To be rolling in Money

To be broke: estar en bancarrota = be out of money

To be bankrupt: ser insolvente. Bankruptcy: quiebra, bancarrota

Property es incontable

The equality of gender nowadays

She

She speaks very clearly

HeForShe: what we share is much more powerful than what divides us.
It is not our gender that defines us, but ultimately, our shared humanity.

A perennial American question: why has gun control failed?

(ADAPTED FROM THE GUARDIAN)

The gunman who killed 58 people and wounded 527 in Las Vegas on Sunday night qualified as a “super-owner” – one of the estimated 7.7 million Americans who own between eight and 140 guns.

Little is yet known about Stephen Paddock and his motives. But the apparent ease (facilidad) with which he acquired his arsenal – 42 guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition, according to police – has renewed the urgency of a perennial American question: why can’t the United States effect sensible gun control?

Look at Australia, which enacted  (promulgaron) a ban (prohibición) and mandatory (obligatorio, forzoso) buyback (recompra)of more than 600,000 long guns following a mass shooting (tiroteo) in 1996, effectively ending the problem of mass shootings (already rare) and halving (to halve: reducir a la mitad) gun deaths. Why can’t the United States do that?

From one angle, the answer is complicated. It involves the powerful gun lobby, political partisanship (partidismo político), the hundreds of millions of guns already in US civilian hands, the fact that mass shootings, while horrifying, represent only a sliver of US gun deaths, and a national mythology attached to guns.

From another angle, the answer is simple. The United States could, in fact, adopt gun control – if the public felt strongly enough about it. “If public opinion does not demand change in Congress, it will not change,” Barack Obama said in June 2014.

A majority of US gun owners – 74% – say the right to own a gun is “essential” to their freedom, while only 44% believe that the ease with which people can legally obtain guns contributes at least a fair amount to gun violence. The disagreements only expand from there.

In the wake of the most deadly mass shooting in the United States, here are key features of the American gun control debate.

How outrage fizzles (desaparecer, esfumarse)

Opponents of gun control feared new restrictions after the killing of 20 six- and seven-year-olds at Sandy Hook elementary school in December 2012. The national outrage was intense, and legislators who previously were not interested in gun control measures suddenly were.

Two senators, Democrat Joe Manchin and Republican Pat Toomey, sponsored a bill (proyecto de ley) that would have imposed universal background (antecedentes) checks for commercial gun purchases, including at gun shows and over the internet. Eighty-four percent of Americans favor such a law.

But after participating in initial negotiations over the bill, the National Rifle Association came out in strong opposition and falsely claimed the bill would lead to a national gun registry.  “The gun lobby and its allies willfully lied about the bill,” Obama said in a furious Rose Garden speech.

‘Successes’ at gun control

While the national focus on gun control always intensifies after mass shootings, mass shootings account for only a small proportion of US gun deaths annually. Gun violence instead is concentrated in the country’s poorest, most racially segregated neighborhoods, with African Americans, who represent 13% of the total population, making up more than half of overall gun murder victims.

Is it all the NRA’s fault?

Obama said that senators who had not dared to support the bill have the worry that that vocal minority of gun owners would come after (perseguir) them in future elections.

NRA members are known for being politically active – showing up at public meetings, bombarding congressional offices with telephone calls, and for voting.

What kind of gun control?

One hurdle (obstáculo) to effective gun control measures in the United States is a disagreement over what kind of action is needed. Focus on a new military-style weapons ban may detract from a potential ban on high-capacity magazines, which may be the more effective measure to limit the terrible toll of mass shootings. Researchers also call for (exigen) more investment in threat assessment (evaluación) and intervention programs. Community advocates urge more funding (financiación) for local programs that have been shown to reduce gang-related murder. Health experts urge the public to recognize that mental health is a serious factor in gun suicide.

Are there simply too many guns are out there?

There were about 265m, at last count – more than one for every adult American. That means that any new gun control measure in the United States advances against an ominous (amenazante) reality, of a country already flooded with guns. That reality is the core of gun advocates’ claim that new legislation to limit gun ownership would not increase public safety while funneling (to funnel: canalizar, encauzar) gun possession toward lawbreakers.

The American gun mythology

Debate rages as to whether  (se ha desatado un debate en torno a) the  framers (legislador, artífice) of the constitution drafted the second amendment, which enshrines (recoge) the American right to bear (tener) arms, as a hedge against private militias; as an affirmation of the country’s revolutionary roots; as an acknowledgment (reconocimiento) of a divine individual right; or as all of the above. From the revolutionary war to the genocide of Native Americans to the taming (to tame: domesticar) of the western wilderness (tierra salvaje) to the ratification of the code of anti-government American individualism, US history is filled with guns. The future may be, too.

Nature's best

suitable- unsuitable /sútebol/ (apropiado-inapropiado)
harmless (inofensivo)
faithful (fiel)
eager: (í:ga/ entusiasta, impaciente
affectionate: cariñoso
lucrative
outrageous /áurei3es/ indignante, intolerable
fierce: fiero
endangered /índeied/(en vías de extinción)
frightening:/fraitning/ aterrador, que da miedo

Swans and wolves are the most faithful animal species. They only have one mate and never change partner.
Some types of dogs, such as pit-bulls, are considered unsuitable pets for families.
My friend scrams (grita) when she sees a spider or a bee.
Most of the animals are harmless if you leave them alone.
She's eager to get a cat, but her husband thinks they aren't affectionate.
Buying and selling exotic animals is lucrative, but it is also outrageous.
Mosquitoes are not quite annoying as bees and wasps as far I'm concerned (No son tan molestos como... en lo que a mí respecta)
Crocodiles look very dangerous and fierce.
Tigers are slightly (un poco) more endangered than wales
Leopards are nowhere near as beautiful as tigers. (NO son tan hermosos como)

Grupo GH

-GH a final de palabra:
         /f/ cough /káf/ , laugh /láf/, rough /ráf/ (áspero) o
          no se pronuncia: sigh /sái/ (suspirar), weigh /wei/, high /hái/
-GHT a final: solo se pronuncia la  /t/
          thought /zót/, bought /bót/, caught /kát/, sought /sót/ (to seek: buscar) o
          height /háit/ (altura), weight /wéit/
GH- al principio de palabra: /g/ ghost /góust/, ghetto /gétou/
-GH- en medio
     /f/ cough-coughed /kóft/- rough (áspero) roughest /ráfest/- laughing /láfing/
     no suena: higher /háia/; sighed /sáit/; weighed /wéit/
- En palabras compuestas: egghead (intelectual)/éged/ bigheaded (creído) /bighédid/

Plastic and carbon foodprint

The supermarkets sell too much plastic packaging to consumer. They should commit (comprometerse) to a plastic-free aisle /ail/ in their stores. But they prefer not to talk about the amount of plastic packaging /pácki3ing/ they put on the market. The top supermarkets are creating a plastic waste (desperdicio) problem of more than 800.000 tonnes each year. There is a mounting (creciente) public concern about the damage (daño) that plastic does to the natural world.

Supermakets in the UK keep their plastic footprint (impacto) secret.

Supermarkets in the UK keep their plastic footprint secret with a confidentiality agreement signed /saind/ with the agencies involved in the British recycling compliance (cumplimiento) scheme. It means the amount of plastic packaging created by each supermarket and the money they pay towards its recycling is kept out of the public domain.

Maybe Britain should adopt the French system of "bonus-malus" where supermarkets are taxed more for using material which is not easily recyclable and less for sustainable and recyclable packaging.

While supermarkets like Co-op has cut its plastic packaging by 4% in the last 10 years, and they has introduced key changes which others have followed...

Iceland would eliminate plastic packaging on all its own-brand products within (dentro de) five years.

This is vertiginous the way plastic production is growing. Supermarkets are shamed (avergonzados) for plastic packaging.

It's something we do every day: open the lunchbox (fiambrera), unwrap our food and throw away the packaging. But all that waste can really start to add up (sumar, ascender).

That's one of the reasons why people were outraged (indignado) /autrei3/ when they saw this photo from the US of a peeled mandarin in a plastic container. Many said it was really wasteful (derrochador),  given the mandarin's peel was already a natural packaging.
We should leave mandarins, babanas in their natural packaging: the peel./pi:l/.
We`re lost our minds and we need to think about what we're buying.
A lot of so called convenience food is really light stuff that can easily blow out of our bins or blow around and get into thw waterways.

Some schools have made a switch (cambio) to something called "nude food". It's a food without wrapper (envoltorio), so you could put it in a reusable container, It reduces the amount of rubbish that we have, and if that rubbish doesn`t get put in the bin, it blows around and can end up in the ocean, and some animals like turtles can think it's jellyfish (medusas) and eat that and that cab be bad for their body.

Unnecessary packaging
The peel is a natural packaging
to wrap- to unwrap- a wrapper
envolver-desenvolver-envoltorio
packet /pákit/

These days we're all becoming more and more concerned about the effect our lifestyle has on the environment. Our carbon footprint tells us how much land and water is needed to support the way we live. It takes into account things like the food we buy, the amount of traveling we do, the amount of rubbish we throw away and how much energy we consume.

Forty percent of food produced in the US isn't eaten. Landfills are a terrible place for food. Trapped without oxygen under a mountain of garbage, a head of lettuce takes 25 years to decompose. While scraps (sobras) in compost piles transform quickly into valuable fertilizer, in landfills (vertedero) they instead produce methane (a greenhouse gas).

Compost: abono.

To compost: usar como abono, convertirse en abono, fertilizar

    You can compost all vegetable peels and fruit skins.

Composting is a simple way to add nutrient-rich humus which fuels (aviva, alimenta) plant growth (crecimiento) and restores vitality to depleted (agotado) soil (tierra). It's also free, easy to make and good for the environment.

You can buy or build a compost bin.

Composting offers a natural alternative to chemical fertilizers and reduces landfill waste.

waste: desecho, desperdicio

To waste: desperdiciar

wasted: desaprovechado, desperdiciado

wasteful: derrochador, desperdicio

e-waste: electronic waste

household waste: desechos familiares (viejos muebles, TV...)

planned obsolescence

to put on the rubbish at night

to throw away

To sort/classify the rubbish

junk, junk food, junk mail (=spam)

biodegradable

renewable

sustainable

garbage (AM)- rubbish (UK): basura

trash (incontable): basura

Vídeo y práctica sobre environment

Ejercicios de pronunciación

Página con muuuuchos ejercicios:
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/pronex/pronex.htm
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/pronex/pron3.htm

Websites

Universidad de Iowa: tiene muchos recursos, explicaciones, consejos...
https://uiowa.edu/google-search?search=pronunciation
engvid

5Typical mistakes

Words starting with B

 word-curd (cuajada)-nerd(empollón, ratón de biblioteca)-heard /b3:d/



here- near- clear- fear- dear- peer (par, colega) - tear- ear- gear (engranaje, velocidad) /bie/


 bare (desnudo)

Pronunciation – DU – education, schedule, individual, procedure… · engVid

Pronunciation – DU – education, schedule, individual, procedure… · engVid: How do you pronounce duck and education? Is the spelling du in both words pronounced the same? In this video, I will teach you how and when to pronounce du like a j in North American English. We will practice the pronunciation of many words, and we will do some fun tongue-twisters to make sure youve got it. Watch this lesson and make sure you dont make this very common pronunciation mistake again! Dont forget to check out the University of Iowa Library of English site that I mention in this lesson.

Learning English - Lesson - VULNERABLE

English Pronunciation - "The Chaos" by Dr. Gerard Nolst Trenité

Hace casi 100 años un hombre escribió un poema en el que se sirvió de su pericia para hacer algo así como un retrato sonoro del idioma y sus cualidades. Curiosamente el autor no fue un angloparlante, sino un holandés, Gerard Nolst Trenité, alias Charivarius


Para practicar y distinguir los sonidos:
http://www.ompersonal.com.ar/omphonetics/phoneticalphabet.htm
Página muy completa de explicación y ejercicios:
http://pronunciaringles.com/ejercicios-ingles/
Los sonidos en inglés:
http://www.mansioningles.com/recursos17.htm
Ejercicios para practicar:
https://www.ejerciciosinglesonline.com/pronunciation/vowels/

EW. Los verbos irregulares acabados en cte+r/l+ew se pronuncian /u:/

Blow   BLEW  /blu:/         Blown (Volar)
Draw   DREW /dru:/         Drown (dibujar)
Fly       FLEW  /flu:/         Flown
Grow   GREW  /gru:/       Grown (crecer)
Know  KNEW   /nu:/,/niu:/ Known
Slay    SLEW    /slu:/         Slain (matar) (You slay me: me matas de risa)
Throw THREW /zru:/       Thrown (lanzar, tirar)

A review

How to write a review:
Puede ser de una película, un libro, un restaurante...
Es importante pensar a quién va dirigido para encontrar el tono (audience)
Se escribe en estilo informal
Al comienzo hay que captar (capture /kápcha/) la atención del lector.
La crítica puede ser positiva, negativa o equilibrada (balanced)
Se debe escribir en 4 párrafos:
- Primero: introducción con los datos generales
- Segundo: the plot. Se cuenta el argumento en presente. No se deben revelar datos del final.
- Tercero: comentarios especiales del autor sobre los efectos especiales,, la calidad de los actores o de los personajes si es un libro
- Cuarto: recomendación o no de verla y razones. Es la opinión personal a modo de conclusión.

*** Consejos para escribir a book review:
https://www.booktrust.org.uk/books/writing-tips/writing-tips-for-teens/how-to-write-a-book-review/

HOBBIES AND INTERESTS

SEE-LOOK-WATCH

Functional language

As/like

Such as = like para poner ejemplos
As es para una profesión. He's a teacher
Para dar énfasis:
  so + adjetivo: The play was so good I saw it twice
  such a + adjetivo + sustantivo: That book has such an exciting story
  so much/so many: I can see why so many people admire him
Cuando algo "se usa como" algo: as+ sustantivo. He usesTV as a way of getting to sleep
"En el papel de": as. D. Craig is amazing as James Bond
"Parece como si": look like. He look like he'd run a marathon

THE MEDIA TV/FILMS/SONGS VOCABULARY

A CRITIC writes reviws (he writes about the good or bad qualities of books, films, concerts. theatre,..)
a REPORTER
a FREELANCE JOURNALIST
a NEWSREADER es un presentador de noticias (TV or radio)
a PRESENTER  es un presentador (TV or radio)
a COMMENTATOR es un comentarista ( radio or TV) que describe un deporte mientras está teniendo lugar. Tb puede ser un political commentator.
EDITOR
PAPARAZZI
AGONY AUNT

A REPORTING (reportaje, información) can be:
            SENSATIONAL, BIASED /baiest/, OBJECTIVE, ACCURATE/akiuret/ (riguroso)... or it can be CENSORED /sensed/

An episode (n):a specific TV program that is part of a series in which the same story is continued each week

 A critic: a journalist who writes reviews.

 A series (n): a continuing weekly TV show which has the same characters.

 Audience: spectators

 Audition:(as a noun) a short performance where you sing, dance, or act so that someone can decide if you are good enough to perform in a film, play, concert etc

 A TV channel (n): a television station and its programs.

Example: CBC is on channel 3.

 A TV pilot (n): the first episode of a TV series

 A network (n): a group of radio or television stations, which broadcast many of the same programs, but in different parts of the one country.

 A commercial (n): a television advertisement

 A character (n): a person in a TV show, movie or story.

The main character (n) the most important person in the TV show, film or story.

A news anchor: presentador de noticias.

A remote control (n): a handheld device you use to change channels on TV :  a clicker

A studio (n): room where TV programs or films are made and broadcast or where music is recorded

A take: recording of a scene. Toma

A viewer (n):a person who watches TV or films. Espectador

A viewership: audiencia televisiva

A season (n): a specific period of time when a TV series is shown.

A role (n): the part an actor plays in a TV show, film or play.

A script (n): the written part of a TV show, play or story.

A sequel: a film that continues the story of a previous film.

A host/ a presenter (n): someone who introduces and talks to the guests on a television or radio program. Presentador 

Broadcasting (n): the business of making television and radio programmes. Radiodifusión
To broadcast: emitir.

A broadcast ( n) / to broadcast-broadcast-broadcast a television or radio program, to put a TV show on a TV network, channel or the internet so that people can it. Programa, emisión, transmisión.

 Budget: monetary limit

Cast (n./ v)the category name for all of the actors who play characters in a TV show, film or play. Each character is a cast member (miembro del reparto) 

Casting: the choice of actors. 

Celebrity culture: the lives and activities of people who are famous and the people who are interested in them.

Captions: words printed below a picture in a book or newspaper or on a television screen to explain what the picture is showing. Leyenda, pie de foto, subtítulo.

Costume: the set of clothes used by actors.

Dubbed: when the original spoken language of a film or television program is changed into another language. Doblado

Film lover: cinephile

London’s West End: an area of central London that has many famous theatres.

Prime time (n): the time on TV between 7:00 and 10:00 when the highest number of people are watching TV. This is when networks put on their best shows.

The tube (n) an informal word for television or TV. “What did you watch on the tube last night?”

Ratings (n): a measurement to see how many people are watching a particular TV show. Ratings help networks to decide which shows should continue. Cuota de pantalla, índice de audiencia.

Rehearsal: prepare and practise for a public performance of a drama or piece of music.

To release: make available for people to see or buy. A premiere

To shoot-shot-shot: to film

To zap (v): to use a remote control device or "clicker" to switch channels, turn down the sound or turn off the TV.

Surfing or channel surfing (n): when you change from one television channel to another, only watching a few minutes of any programme.

Programming (n): the planning of TV shows, series or broadcasts. 

The Winter Olympics received over 160 hours of television programming.

Subtitles (n): the words printed under the TV show or movie in a foreign language to translate what the actors are saying. Subtitled.

Stunt: a dangerous action that is done to entertain people, especially in a film or a TV program (car chases…) Stunter. Escena peligrosa. 

The set (n): a place where a film or television programme is filmed. Be set in. “The film is set in New York in the 1940s.” Plató, escenario.

 The setting (n): the place where something is or where something happens, and the general environment.

The media: television, radio, newspapers, magazines and the internet, used to provide information and entertainment

Soundtrack: all the music played during a TV show or movie(usually as background).
The score: música, partitura (tb es "tanteo)

Stage name: the name, different from his or her real name, that an actor or performer is publicly known by:” David Bowie is the stage name of the singer David Jones”. Nombre artístico.

Star: famous singer, actor or sports player

Starred: the main actor in a film, play or story

Trailer: a short extract from a film, TV programme.

IDIOMS AND EXPRESSIONS

A couch potato (n): a person who spends a lot of time sitting or lying down watching television. “Don´t lie around like a couch potato. Get up and do something productive”.

A rave review: to praise (elogiar) a film, a book... # Poor review. Crítica entusiástica.

Breakthrough: /ˈbreɪkθruː/an event which starts a successful period in someone’s career. Make an advance. The Beatles´ breakthrough single was released in 1962. Descubrimiento, primer single o libro exitoso.

Five minutes of fame: being famous for a short period of time (but not literally five minutes!)

Make headlines: become famous by being reported in newspapers and in the news.” The crisis is making headlines around the world”. Hacer titulares.

Rise to fame: the process of becoming famous. Llegar a la fama.

SORT OF FILMS/PROGRAMS

Classic: a very good, or well-known, example of a category. ‘I like classic English novels, by writers like Jane Austen or Charles Dickens.’

Documentary :film, radio or television programme that gives facts about something.

Historical: connected to the historical past. “I also like non-fiction; especially books about interesting historical characters”.

Indie movies: A movie produced by an independent studio.

Musical: a film or play that uses songs and music to tell the story

Romcoms: informal name for romantic comedy films

Remake: film new version of a similar old one.

Reality TV show: television programme using ordinary people, not actors, in real life situations

Spin-off: a TV programme involving characters from a previous TV programme.

Sitcom (a situation comedy) (n): a half hour show that usually shows the life of a family or a group of friends. Most of the time these are comedies.

Soap opera (n): a TV show about the daily lives and relationships of the same group of people, which is broadcast every day. Telenovela.

Version: a form of the TV show that is slightly different.

Stand-up comedy: a style of comedy performance where one person stands on the stage and talks to the audience (El club de la comedia)

Talkshow: a TV programme in which people are interviewed and/or talk about a topic

Snuff movie: fims that show real deaths. Película de asesinatos reales.

Road movies: a genre in which the main character is travelling.

Fantasy; Western; Epic; Adventure; Thriller, Fantasy

PHRASES AND ADJECTIVES TO DESCRIBE FILMS/PROGRAMMES/SONGS

Awful, Dreadful: terrible, unpleasant /únplézant/

Blockbuster: very successful. “After his blockbuster first film, the director was never again able to achieve that degree of success”.

Catchy: instantly appealing. “Catchy pop melodies”. Pegadiza

Commercial

Disturbing: unpleasant, that makes people feel anxious or upset. Perturbador.

Dull: boring. Aburrido, soso.

Family friendly (adj.): shows that are O.K. for children to watch. These shows don't show sex or violence.

Far- fetched: very unlikely, a made up story, cock and bull story. Improbable, disparatado.

Gripping: exciting, fascinating #dull. Fascinante

Global celebrity status: with fame round the world

Hit song: a tune that is very successful

Hilarious: very funny

Lead singer: main singer in a group.

Memorable: likely to be remembered 

Moving: emotionally touching.

Number one record: a song that sells better than any other.

Predictable

Sentimental

Stirring: full of emotions. Excitante, estimulante, emotivo

Pop sensation: a singer who is very popular and causes a lot of excitement.

Overrated: overestimated. #underrated. Sobrevalorado.

Over- the- top: excessive, exaggerated. Exagerado, excesivo.

Scary: frightening

Uplifting: emotional, inspirational. Inspirador.

Weird: strange

When we speak, we use pairs of adjectives with similar meanings to emphasize what we mean and we often repeat the adverb with each adjective.

“The musical was so inspiring, just so uplifting”

“The play is just incredibly moving, incredibly touching”

Ejercicios para estudiar el vocabulario

https://quizlet.com/18963620/tv-vocabulary-flash-cards/