The (Sensible) Outsider's View

Seven minutes of good sense from the European Parliament. It's worth listening to. With Spanish subtitles
PS: Deception means "engaño" in Spanish, not "decepción", which is disappointment. 
It is a false friend which the translator clearly missed

Seville European Film Festival

A new edition of the Seville European Film Festival is coming up! Watch films in English and in other European languages, in the original version and with digital quality (mostly at the Nervión Plaza cinemas), at the SEFF. Don't miss a good opportunity to see and hear a selection of quality European films and improve your language skills either by listening to films in English (with Spanish subtitles) or by reading the English subtitles of films in other languages. It is good value for money (a student pass allows you access to 15 films for only 20€!). Come and enjoy the festival's international atmosphere. See you there :)

Pronunciation of -ed endings

PRONUNCIATION RULES OF THE PAST SIMPLE TENSE OF REGULAR VERBS

1) After the sounds /f/, /k/, /p/, /s/, /sh/, /ch/ or /x/, the -ed syllable is pronounced /t/: look > looked (pronounced /lukt/); watch > watched; laugh > laughed; stop > stopped

2) After other consonants and vowel sounds, the –ed is pronounced /d/: live > lived; play > played; die > died; love > loved; clean > cleaned; marry > married

3) Verbs ending in the sound /t/ or /d/, add an extra syllable, pronounced /-id/: decide > decided; want > wanted; hate > hated; visit > visited; start > started

To practise these endings, watch the following lesson on YouTube.

WHO DID WHAT? 
Do you want to know more about 1 Pablo Picasso, 2 Albert Einstein, 3 Rudolf Nureyev or 4 Wolfgang Amedus Mozart? Match each activity with one of these four celebrities. Example: G2 = Einstein couldn't read until the age of 8. Then, say which past tense is pronounced /-tid/, /-vd/, /-zd/, /-ld/, /-rd/, /-pt/ or /-st/. Finally, read each sentence aloud for pronunciation practice.

A He came from a Jewish family.
B He painted the Guernica for the Spanish Republic.
C He emigrated from Russia to Paris.
D He escaped the Nazis and survived.
E He criticised Franco’s dictatorship all his life.
F You can find his face on some 50-cent coins.
G He couldn’t read until the age of 8.
H He died of Aids.
I He failed his Physics exam at school.
J He died young and poor.
K He invented cubism.
L He was the best dancer of his time.
M He composed a wonderful Requiem.
N He discovered the relativity theory.
O He died in exile.
P He wrote music for several kings.
Q His paintings are sold for millions.
R His mediocre competitor, Salieri, hated him.
S He never danced at the Maestranza theatre.
T He had the reputation of being a Latin lover.

ANSWER KEY:
A Einstein came from a Jewish family.
B Picasso painted the Guernica for the Spanish Republic.
C Nureyev emigrated from Russia to Paris.
D Einstein escaped the Nazis and survived.
E Picasso criticised Franco’s dictatorship all his life.
F You can find Mozart’s face on some 50-cent coins.
G Einstein couldn’t read until the age of 8.
H Nureyev died of Aids.
I Einstein failed his Physics exam at school.
J Mozart died young and poor.
K Picasso invented cubism.
L Nureyev was the best dancer of his time.
M Mozart composed a wonderful Requiem.
N Einstein discovered the relativity theory.
O Picasso died in exile.
P Mozart wrote music for several kings.
Q Picasso’s paintings are sold for millions.
R Mozart’s mediocre competitor, Salieri, hated him.
S Nureyev never danced at the Maestranza theatre.
T Picasso had the reputation of being a Latin lover.

Hablemos = Let's Talk = Parlem

ALL WE NEED IS TALK

Canadian Culture and Management Class Assignment

Our short film "Bonjour Ji" has been winning awards at several film festivals around North America. However, collectively, as a team, we felt it was more important to show this film about race & humanity, than to win more awards. Our true award would be for you to watch it and to share it with everyone, irrespective of race, religion, or color. Thank you for watching!

With it's unique culture, Quebec has been home to almost half a million visible minority people for decades. Quebecois are known to open their hearts and homes to people who value their language and culture. This film doesn't represent general Quebec citizens, neither promotes or glorifies any particular ethnic group. It is just a story of two people who struggle with a hard day and finally realize there is more than what we assume about others, there are more ways to unite than to divide. Quebec is one of the most welcoming places in Canada and that was our inspiration for this film. 

Written and Directed by Satinder Kassoana 

WIMBLEDON MEN’S SINGLES FINAL 2008

MR RAFAEL NADAL vs MR ROGER FEDERER 

6 July 2008. On a typical grey English summer’s day, the Centre Court at Wimbledon was packed to the rafters in anticipation of what would turn out to be one of the most nail-biting championship finals in tennis history. For the players, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, there was so much to lose and even more to gain: A win for Nadal would mean being the first since Björn Borg in 1980 to win both the French Open and the Wimbledon Championship back to back; a win for Federer would make him the first man to win six consecutive Wimbledon men’s singles titles. 

Nadal, who had been defeated by Federer in the previous two Wimbledon finals, got off to an incredible start, taking the first two sets before summer rain interrupted the third. But when the skies cleared, and play resumed, the weather seemed to refuel the Swiss. Taking the third set on a tie breaker, and repeating the tactic in the fourth, Federer made it evens with Nadal at two sets a piece. Everything rested on the fifth set, the most tense and dramatic anyone had ever seen. Finally breaking serve and nailing the set 9-7, it was the Mallorcan Nadal who finally came up trumps, breaking Federer’s 5 year winning streak and catapulting both himself, and the match into tennis history – for at four hours and 48 minutes, it had been the longest Wimbledon final ever played. 

One of Nature's Most Beautiful Homes

By NICHOLAS DE LACY-BROWN

Walking in the woods is one of my favourite things to do. There is something truly magical about a tightly packed forest of trees. It’s almost like walking along a bustling street in Manhattan - so alive are the soaring trees with insects and birds, reptiles and rodents - and yet at the same time you feel utterly soothed by the tranquil sensation of calm which only nature can provide. When the light filters through the leaves and hits the forest floor, the fractured illumination is like a disco without sound. It can be dazzling, disorientating, mesmerising. There is nothing quite like getting lost in a vast natural hallway of trees. There is always something new to discover, to enchant the mind. 

Occasionally these walks take a turn for the unexpected, when on an energetic stroll across fallen pine needles and leaves you suddenly encounter something beautiful on the forest floor. With its branches perfectly interwoven, it is like the work of a true craftsman, or an expert milliner. But this is not the work of a human hand. It is the intricately woven handiwork of a bird. For on approaching the object which has appeared amongst a carpet of needles, you find a bird’s nest – perfectly intact, but many metres from where it should be. 

There is something utterly breathtaking about finding a nest. It fills you with all sorts of wonder as you observe the mastery of its creation, and admiration at the fragility of its perfectly balanced construct. Usually you can never get so close to a bird’s nest – these things are the preserve of the treetops way up high. So this inspection feels privileged, an exclusive moment, as you take tentative steps towards the nest to discover what lies within.

More often than not, the nest is empty. A feeling of pathos replaces the initial excitement of discovery. What has happened to the nest to make it fall so far? And what of the bird whose efforts are so visible in this craftsmanship? It feels like the discovery of a masterpiece abandoned in the middle of the effort of its creation, like a sculpture, painfully close to completion, yet forsaken by the artist when some natural disaster intervenes. For a moment you ponder, should I climb the tree, and take the nest back to the top? Is there anything I can do to put this wrong to right? But no, this is a narrative which must be left to nature’s will. This nest, now too heavy for a bird to carry, will be abandoned to the forest floor, becoming one more victim in the relentless circle of life. But perhaps it’s better that way: for it is with trepidation that we approach this perfect creation, scared to touch it, in case the fragility of the work crumbles beneath our fingers. 

But just as it did when creating this masterpiece, so the bird will commence the slow intricate process of fashioning another nest one day soon, artfully interweaving branches and forest fodder to create one of nature’s most beautiful and perfect homes.

CAPPUCCINO GRAND PAPIER, Volume 9, pp 46-47

Dunkirk_film

Dunkirk serves up emotionally satisfying spectacle, delivered by a writer-director in full command of his craft and brought to life by a gifted ensemble cast that honors the fact-based story. The film of the year and one of the greatest war films ever made. Christopher Nolan's war epic is a must-see!