KARAOKE "WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

It's Christmas Eve, ClickOnEnglish wishes you all a very Merry (not "morry") Christmas & a Happy New Year! And for some practice, here's a karaoke for you to sing along with the melody.

Audio-karaoke "WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS..."

MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Today, we're all starting our Christmas holiday. It's good to have a break. Hope you enjoy it together with your loved ones and come back full of  enthusiasm for the new term. 

Click on the picture to read this Christmas story by Jackie Lawson.

DICKENS' "CHRISTMAS CAROL"

Ending 2012, the year that commemorates the 200th birthday of British novelist Charles Dickens, IES "Rafael Dieste" is going to close the school term showing a film based on his classic novel "A Christmas Carol". Here we're including some reference about the novel and the film we'll be watching on Friday at 12:30 for 1st & 2nd ESO students.

A Christmas Carol is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, first published on 19 December 1843. The story tells Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation resulting after the supernatural visits from Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. The novel was instant success and critical acclaim.

The book was written and published in early Victorian era Britain, a period when there was both strong nostalgia for old Christmas traditions and an initiation of new practices such as Christmas trees and greeting cards. Dickens's sources for the tale appear to be many and varied but are principally the humiliating experiences of his childhood, his sympathy for the poor, and various Christmas stories and fairy tales.

The story is about Ebenezer Scrooge. At the beginning of the book he is a mean old man who runs a business lending people money. These people are poor and often cannot pay him back. He pays his clerk Bob Cratchit badly.

On Christmas Eve, Scrooge refuses an invitation to his nephew's house for Christmas dinner, telling him he hates it (he calls it a "Humbug"). He then refuses to give money to two men who are collecting for charity.

Later that evening, he is visited by the ghost of his dead business partner Jacob Marley, who went to Hell because of his bad life. He tells Scrooge that the same future will happen to him unless he changes and that during the night he will be visited by three more ghosts. These will show him where he went wrong in his life, and how to be a better person in the future.

The first ghost is the Ghost of Christmas Past. This ghost shows him where he went wrong in the past, showing him his unhappy childhood and how he did not get married.

The second ghost is the Ghost of Christmas Present. This ghost shows him things which are happening now, such as how his clerk, Bob Cratchit, is having a nice Christmas despite not having much money. He also shows him Bob's youngest son, Tiny Tim, who is crippled. Later, the ghost shows him how his nephew is having a good Christmas, and how Scrooge is missing out.

The third ghost is the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. This ghost shows Scrooge what Christmas will be like in the future if he does not change. Firstly, people are shown celebrating a man's death and robbing from his house. The ghost also shows him that Tiny Tim has died. Scrooge is then shown his own grave, and realizes that the celebrations were for his death.

On Christmas morning, Scrooge wakes up and realizes that he has to change. He decides to celebrate Christmas, and help Tiny Tim get better. Through the ghosts' help he becomes a better man.

The tale has been viewed by critics as an indictment of 19th-century industrial capitalism. It has been credited with restoring the holiday to one of merriment and festivity in Britain and America after a period of sobriety and sombreness. A Christmas Carol remains popular and has been adapted to film, stage, opera, and other media many times. It is still a relevant story nowadays.

A Christmas Carol (named on-screen and in promotional material as Disney's A Christmas Carol) is a 2009 3D computer animated motion-capture holiday fantasy comedy-drama film written and directed by Robert Zemeckis. It is an adaptation of the Charles Dickens story of the same name and stars Jim Carrey in a multitude of roles, including Ebenezer Scrooge as a young, middle-aged, and old man, and the three ghosts who haunt Scrooge.

Video trailer of "A CHRISTMAS CAROL" (2009):

More on Dickens at these links:
- Previous post about Dickens at ClickOnEnglish.
- Dickens 2012: Website celebrating his 200th birthday.
- A Galician version of this post @ ArquivosDoTrasno.

ALL THINGS CHRISTMAS: EVERYTHING ABOUT CHRISTMAS TIME

If you want to get completely into the spirit of Christmas, here are some links to webpages where you'll find everything about Christmas and even more... traditions, printables, games, songs, decorations, recipies, stories, cards... and all in English for you to practice. Browse around...

ALL THINGS CHRISTMAS.
CHRISTMAS SONGS IN ENGLISH.
CHRISTMAS VOCABULARY GAME
DIFFERENT NAMES FOR FATHER CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD.
A CHRISTMAS ADVENT CALENDAR.
THE BRITISH CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS ADVENT CALENDAR.

CHARO & TIM ARE BACK

Once again, Charo Pita and Tim Bowley are back at IES Rafael Dieste with their stories in Galician & English versions. The same story in two languages. They'll be with us today. Students of 1st & 2nd ESO will meet them at our assembly hall ready to listen to their stories from different parts of the world. Welcome back, Charo & Tim.

"ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU" A CAPELLA

More Christmas songs. This one is quite original, it's a classic Christmas song "ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU", which has been sung by many famous artists. This is an original version with no instruments, the band NOTA performs it a capella.

Video "ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU", Nota:

Lyrics:
I don't want a lot for Christmas
There's just one thing I need
I don't care about presents
Underneath the Christmas tree
I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
All I want for Christmas is you.

I don't want a lot for Christmas
There is just one thing I need
I don't care about presents
Underneath the Christmas tree
I don't need to hang my stocking
There upon the fireplace
Santa Claus won't make me happy
With a toy on Christmas day
I just want you for for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
All I want for Christmas is you
You baby

I won't ask for much this Christmas
I won't even wish for snow
I'm just gonna keep on waiting
Underneath the mistletoe
I won't make a list and send it
To the North Pole for Saint Nick
I won't even stay awake to
Hear those magic reindeer click
'Cause I just want you here tonight
Holding on to me so tight
What more can I do
Baby all I want for Christmas is you
You

All the lights are shining
So brightly everywhere
And the sound of children's
Laughter fills the air
And everyone is singing
I hear those sleigh bells ringing
Santa won't you bring me the one I really need
Won't you please bring my baby to me

Oh, I don't want a lot for Christmas
This is all I'm asking for
I just want to see my baby
Standing right outside my door
Oh I just want him for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
Baby all I want for Christmas is
You

All I want for Christmas is you baby
All I want for Christmas is you baby

TRAIN: "SHAKE UP CHRISTMAS"

Here's a Christmas song by the band Train, "SHAKE UP CHRISTMAS".

Video "SHAKE UP CHRISTMAS", Train:


Lyrics:

Ho, ho, ho
Shake up the happiness
Wake up the happiness
Shake up the happiness
It's Christmas time

There's a story that I was told
And I wanna tell the world
Before I get too old
And don't remember it
So let's December it
And reassemble it oh yeah

Once upon a time in a town like this
A little girl made a great big wish
To fill the world full of happiness
And be on Santa's magic list

Chorus
Shake it up
Shake up the happiness
Wake it up
Wake up the happiness
Come on y'all
It's Christmas time

Ho, Ho, Ho
Ho, Ho, Ho
It's Christmas time

At the same time miles away
A little boy made a wish that day
That the world would be okay
If Santa Claus would hear him say
I got dreams and I got love
I got my feet on the ground
And family above
Can you send some happiness
With my best to the rest
Of the people of the East and the West and
Maybe every once in a while you
Give my grandma a reason to smile
Tis the season to smile
It's cold but we'll be freezing in style
And let me meet a girl one day that
Wants to spread some love this way
We can let our souls run free and
She can open some happiness with me

Chorus

I know you're out there
I hear your reindeer
I see the snow where
Your boots have been
I'm gonna show them
So they will know then
Their love will grow when
They believe again

Chorus

It's Christmas time
Chorus

"JOY", TRACEY THORN'S CHRISTMAS SONG FOR 2012

 

Every Christmas, a British or American popstar comes around with their own Christmas album or Christmas song. This Christmas isn't going to be different. They usually cover traditional Christmas songs. This time it's Tracey Thorn's turn. Tracey Thorn was the voice of the 80s duo Everything But The Girl, which she formed together with Ben Watt, after meeting in 1981 at Hull University. The have worked as a duo until 2003. In 2007, Tracey started a solo career. Now, she has made up her own Christmas album "TINSEL & LIGHTS", collecting not so much traditional Christmas songs, but songs that have a Christmas or wintery atmosphere to them, where snow, cold or Christmas concepts are mentioned. And here's the video-single from it "JOY". The video was shot in Lille's traditional Christmas Market in France. En-joy!

 

Video "JOY", Tracey Thorn:

Lyrics "JOY", Tracey Thorn:
WHEN SOMEONE VERY DEAR
CALLS YOU WITH THE WORDS "EVERYTHING'S ALL CLEAR"
THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR
BUT YOU KNOW IT MIGHT BE DIFFERENT IN THE NEW YEAR
THAT'S WHY, THAT'S WHY
WE HANG THE LIGHTS SO HIGH
JOY
JOY

YOU LOVED IT AS A KID
BUT NOW YOU NEED IT MORE THAN YOU EVER DID
IT'S BECAUSE OF THE DARK
YOU SEE THE BEAUTY IN THE SPARK
THAT'S WHY, THAT'S WHY
THE CAROLS MAKE YOU CRY
JOY...

THE TINSEL ON THE TREE, YES I SEE
THE HOLLY ON THE DOOR, LIKE BEFORE
THE CANDLES IN THE GLOOM, LIGHT THE ROOM
THE SALLY ARMY BAND, YES I UNDERSTAND

SO LIGHT THE WINTER FIRE
AND WATCH AS THE FLAMES GROW HIGHER
WE'LL GATHER UP OUR FEARS
AND FACE DOWN ALL THE COMING YEARS
AND ALL THAT THEY DESTROY
AND IN THEIR FACE WE THROW OUR JOY
JOY...

IT'S WHY WE HANG THE LIGHTS SO HIGH
AND GAZE AT THE GLOW OF SILVER BIRCHES IN THE SNOW
BECAUSE OF THE DARK WE SEE THE BEAUTY IN THE SPARK
WE MUST BE ALRIGHT IF WE COULD MAKE UP CHRISTMAS NIGHT"

OUR CULTURAL & NATURAL HERITAGE (4th Cultural Week)

This year's cultural week (the 4th) is going to be devoted to our cultural and natural heritage.

Heritage refers to something inherited from the past. The word has several different senses, including:

• Natural heritage, an inheritance of fauna and flora, geology, landscape and landforms, and other natural resources
• Cultural heritage, the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society: man-made heritage
• Food heritage
• Industrial heritage, monuments from industrial culture
• Tradition, customs and practices inherited from ancestors. 

Britain is a country that is proud of its cultural and natural heritage and preserves it excelently. Here are links to pages. You'll see that they are much more successful and aware of their heritage and its protection than us.

- ENGLISH HERITAGE

English Heritage is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It was set up under the terms of the National Heritage Act 1983. Its functions for maintaining ancient monuments and advising on the care of the historic environment in England. English Heritage's best known role is managing over 400 significant historical and archaeological sites, from Stonehenge to the world's earliest iron bridge. It directly owns some historic sites and also collaborates with private owners of others that are managed under guardianship arrangements. It has major responsibilities in conservation, giving advice, registering and protecting the historic environment. It also maintains a public archive: the English Heritage Archive.  English Heritage complements the work of Natural England.

- NATURAL ENGLAND

Natural England is the non-departmental public body of the UK government responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, freshwater and marine environments, geology and soils, are protected and improved. It also has a responsibility to help people enjoy, understand and access the natural environment.

- BRITAIN'S HERITAGE CITIES

This video is about one of the most famous English heritage sites and wonders of the world. Stonehenge is estimate to be as old as 3100 BC. There is no record on how primitive humans could have put together such a large and hefty monument.

Video "STONEHENGE" - English Heritage:

The school's English Department wants to participate in this year's cultural week with a photo exhibition of our own personal cultural and natural heritage. Photos of our villages, our own nearby monuments, buildings, private landscapes... together with a personal description of each of the photos in English to be displayed at the school's hall during the event. So start taking photos...



VOSCREEN: A NEW WEBPAGE TO LEARN ENGLISH THROUGH VIDEOCLIPS

Voscreen is a new website for English learners. There are thousands of short video clips from movies, documentaries, songs, cartoons, TV shows, etc...

Just watch the video and test your understanding. You have the possibility of subtitles in your mother language.

Follow these instructions below:

1- Sign up (It's free) or start as a guest.

2- Selective your mother language.

3- Play the video where a sentence is said.

4- Click on "I understand" or on "Show me ths script".

5- There are two versions but only one is correct.

6- Click next and move on to the next video clip.

The link to Voscreen is also on our Skills practice list on the right hand sidebar for whenever you want to go.

THANKSGIVING 2012 (Links to old posts + new activities & pages)

Today's the fourth Thursday in November, that means it's Thanksgiving Day in the USA (In Canada, it's on the second Monday of October), so here's a quick post to link you to:

- Posts in this blog from previous years devoted to THANKSGIVING: click on

1) 4th Thursday in November: Thanksgiving in the USA.

2) Black Friday: the day after Thanksgiving.

- This year's NEW LINKS on THANKSGIVING: click on

3) ACTIVITIES ON THANKSGIVING.

4) TEN INTERESTING THANKSGIVING FACTS.

5) TEN THANKSGIVING MYTHS DISPELLED.



FEELINGS: HOW DO YOU FEEL?

HAPPY OR SAD?

MAD OR SICK?

SLEEPY OR HUNGRY?

WORRIED OR FRUSTRATED?

SILLY OR OK?

SURPRISED OR AFRAID?

...

Here you can practice this vocabulary and more on feelings and emotions with some online exercises. Links to exercises:

Feelings & the verb TO BE

Senses & feelings.

Emotions.

Feelings & emotions.

READING IS...

STUDENT'S ATTITUDE TO LEARNING IS VERY IMPORTANT

IT'S A BOOK!

 

It's not such a strange thing... It can't text, but it's got text. It can't blog, scroll or tweet... It doesn't need wi-fi, you can use it anywhere... It's (simply) a book... but there's so much inside... just open one...

 

Video 1 (in English without subtitles):

Video 2 (with Spanish subtitles):

Galician version of this post @ ArquivosDoTrasno.



OBAMA REELECTED FOR FOUR MORE YEARS: "THE BEST IS YET TO COME" (His victory speech)

Barack Obama has been reelected for a second term with another four years as President of the United States of America. After winning in Ohio, Obama was sure of his victory over Mitt Romney. Here's a video of how it was shown on American TV and of his victory speech at Chiacgo last night.

Video Obama's 2012 election victory on ABC News:

 Video Obama's Victory Speech 2012:

The following is a transcript of President Obama's reelection speech.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Tonight, more than 200 years after a former colony won the right to determine its own destiny, the task of perfecting our union moves forward.

It moves forward because of you. It moves forward because you reaffirmed the spirit that has triumphed over war and depression, the spirit that has lifted this country from the depths of despair to the great heights of hope, the belief that while each of us will pursue our own individual dreams, we are an American family and we rise or fall together as one nation and as one people.

Tonight, in this election, you, the American people, reminded us that while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back, and we know in our hearts that for the United States of America the best is yet to come.

I want to thank every American who participated in this election ... whether you voted for the very first time or waited in line for a very long time.

By the way, we have to fix that. Whether you pounded the pavement or picked up the phone...

... whether you held an Obama sign or a Romney sign, you made your voice heard and you made a difference.

I just spoke with Governor Romney and I congratulated him and Paul Ryan on a hard-fought campaign.

We may have battled fiercely, but it's only because we love this country deeply and we care so strongly about its future.

From George to Lenore to their son Mitt, the Romney family has chosen to give back to America through public service and that is the legacy that we honor and applaud tonight.

In the weeks ahead, I also look forward to sitting down with Governor Romney to talk about where we can work together to move this country forward.

I want to thank my friend and partner of the last four years, America's happy warrior, the best vice president anybody could ever hope for, Joe Biden.

And I wouldn't be the man I am today without the woman who agreed to marry me 20 years ago.

Let me say this publicly: Michelle, I have never loved you more. I have never been prouder to watch the rest of America fall in love with you, too, as our nation's first lady.

Sasha and Malia, before our very eyes you're going up to become two strong, smart beautiful young women, just like your mom.

And I'm so proud of you guys. But I will say that for now one dog's probably enough.

To the best campaign team and volunteers in the history of politics...

The best. The best ever. Some of you were new this time around, and some of you have been at my side since the very beginning.

But all of you are family. No matter what you do or where you go from here, you will carry the memory of the history we made together and you will have the life-long appreciation of a grateful president. Thank you for believing all the way, through
every hill, through every valley.

You lifted me up the whole way and I will always be grateful for everything that you've done and all the incredible work that you put in.

I know that political campaigns can sometimes seem small, even silly. And that provides plenty of fodder for the cynics that tell us that politics is nothing more than a contest of egos or the domain of special interests. But if you ever get the chance to talk to folks who turned out at our rallies and crowded along a rope line in a high school gym, or saw folks working late in a campaign office in some tiny county far away from home, you'll discover something else.

You'll hear the determination in the voice of a young field organizer who's working his way through college and wants to make sure every child has that same opportunity.

You'll hear the pride in the voice of a volunteer who's going door to door because her brother was finally hired when the local auto plant added another shift.

You'll hear the deep patriotism in the voice of a military spouse whose working the phones late at night to make sure that no one who fights for this country ever has to fight for a job or a roof over their head when they come home.

That's why we do this. That's what politics can be.

That's why elections matter. It's not small, it's big. It's important. Democracy in a nation of 300 million can be noisy and messy and complicated. We have our own opinions. Each of us has deeply held beliefs. And when we go through tough times, when we make big decisions as a country, it necessarily stirs passions, stirs up controversy.

That won't change after tonight, and it shouldn't. These arguments we have are a mark of our liberty. We can never forget that as we speak people in distant nations are risking their lives right now just for a chance to argue about the issues that matter, the chance to cast their ballots like we did today.

But despite all our differences, most of us share certain hopes for America's future. We want our kids to grow up in a country where they have access to the best schools and the best teachers.

A country that lives up to its legacy as the global leader in technology and discovery and innovation, with all the good jobs and new businesses that follow.

We want our children to live in an America that isn't burdened by debt, that isn't weakened by inequality, that isn't threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet.

We want to pass on a country that's safe and respected and admired around the world, a nation that is defended by the strongest military on earth and the best troops this -- this world has ever known.

But also a country that moves with confidence beyond this time of war, to shape a peace that is built on the promise of freedom and dignity for every human being. We believe in a generous America, in a compassionate America, in a tolerant America, open to the dreams of an immigrant's daughter who studies in our schools and pledges to our flag.

To the young boy on the south side of Chicago who sees a life beyond the nearest street corner.

To the furniture worker's child in North Carolina who wants to become a doctor or a scientist, an engineer or an entrepreneur, a diplomat or even a president -- that's the future we hope for. That's the vision we share. That's where we need to go -- forward.

That's where we need to go.

Now, we will disagree, sometimes fiercely, about how to get there. As it has for more than two centuries, progress will come in fits and starts. It's not always a straight line. It's not always a smooth path.

By itself, the recognition that we have common hopes and dreams won't end all the gridlock or solve all our problems or substitute for the painstaking work of building consensus and making the difficult compromises needed to move this country forward. But that common bond is where we must begin.

Our economy is recovering. A decade of war is ending. A long campaign is now over.

And whether I earned your vote or not, I have listened to you, I have learned from you, and you've made me a better president. And with your stories and your struggles, I return to the White House more determined and more inspired than ever about the work there is to do and the future that lies ahead.

Tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual.

You elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours. And in the coming weeks and months, I am looking forward to reaching out and working with leaders of both parties to meet the challenges we can only solve together. Reducing our deficit. Reforming our tax code. Fixing our immigration system. Freeing ourselves from foreign oil. We've got more work to do.

But that doesn't mean your work is done. The role of citizen in our democracy does not end with your vote. America's never been about what can be done for us. It's about what can be done by us together through the hard and frustrating, but necessary work of self- government. That's the principle we were founded on.

This country has more wealth than any nation, but that's not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military in history, but that's not what makes us strong. Our university, our culture are all the envy of the world, but that's not what
keeps the world coming to our shores.

What makes America exceptional are the bonds that hold together the most diverse nation on earth.

The belief that our destiny is shared; that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations. The freedom which so many Americans have fought for and died for come with responsibilities as well as rights.

And among those are love and charity and duty and patriotism. That's what makes America great.

I am hopeful tonight because I've seen the spirit at work in America. I've seen it in the family business whose owners would rather cut their own pay than lay off their neighbors, and in the workers who would rather cut back their hours than see a friend lose a job.

I've seen it in the soldiers who reenlist after losing a limb and in those SEALs who charged up the stairs into darkness and danger because they knew there was a buddy behind them watching their back.

I've seen it on the shores of New Jersey and New York, where leaders from every party and level of government have swept aside their differences to help a community rebuild from the wreckage of a terrible storm.

And I saw just the other day, in Mentor, Ohio, where a father told the story of his 8-year-old daughter, whose long battle with leukemia nearly cost their family everything had it not been for health care reform passing just a few months before the insurance company was about to stop paying for her care.

I had an opportunity to not just talk to the father, but meet this incredible daughter of his. And when he spoke to the crowd listening to that father's story, every parent in that room had tears in their eyes, because we knew that little girl could be our own.

And I know that every American wants her future to be just as bright. That's who we are. That's the country I'm so proud to lead as your president.

And tonight, despite all the hardship we've been through, despite all the frustrations of Washington, I've never been more hopeful about our future.

I have never been more hopeful about America. And I ask you to sustain that hope. I'm not talking about blind optimism, the kind of hope that just ignores the enormity of the tasks ahead or the roadblocks that stand in our path. I'm not talking about the wishful idealism that allows us to just sit on the sidelines or shirk from a fight.

I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting.

America, I believe we can build on the progress we've made and continue to fight for new jobs and new opportunity and new security for the middle class. I believe we can keep the promise of our founders, the idea that if you're willing to work hard, it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or where you love. It doesn't matter whether you're black or white or Hispanic or Asian or Native American or young or old or rich or poor, able, disabled, gay or straight, you can make it here in America if you're willing to try.

I believe we can seize this future together because we are not as divided as our politics suggests. We're not as cynical as the pundits believe. We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions, and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are and forever will be the United States of America.

And together with your help and God's grace we will continue our journey forward and remind the world just why it is that we live in the greatest nation on Earth.

Thank you, America. God bless you. God bless these United States."



SAMAIN:THE GALICIAN HALLOWEEN

It's Halloween, once again. This year we're going to talk about it from a Galician point of view: the Samain.

Samain is the most important Celtic origin festival of the pagan period, which dominated Europe until its conversion to Christianism. It's celebrated on the night of October 31st and November 1st as the end of the harvest season and it was considered as the Celtic New Year and the beginning of the dark season. Etimologically, the word Samain means the end of summer.

The person who rediscovered this tradition in Galicia was a primary school teacher from Cedeira (A Coruña), Rafael López Loureiro. He realised that this tradition still existed all over Galicia less than thirty years ago. He also discovered its suvival in areas of Caceres, Zamora and Leon, where Galician language and traditions are alive.

He also studied the relationship between the pumpkin tradition and the death festivities similar to British traditions. He even discovered some peculiar things, like in Quiroga (Lugo), where the emptied pumpkins are left to dry and kept to be used as masks at Carnival (Entroido).

Nowadays, Samain is still celebrated year after year in many cities and villages in Galicia, such as A Coruña, Ferrol, Cedeira... The village of Ribadavia (Ourense) celebrates the "noite meiga" (the witches' night), when the village gets full of ghosts, witches, vampires and Ribadavia's castle is the perfect setting for this terrifying landscape.

Happy Samain! Happy Halloween!

More posts about Halloween @ ClickOnEnglish here.

Galician version of this post @ ArquivosDoTrasno here.

Links to Halloween Fun activities.

HURRICANE "SANDY" HITS NEW YORK & EASTERN AMERICAN COAST

New York City has come to a standstill as millions prepared for the arrival of hurricane Sandy. Public transport has been shut and people living in low-lying areas have been told to leave their homes. Hurricane Sandy hit land on Monday evening and converge with two other weather systems. Here is how it was shown on the news.

Hurricane Sandy: New York – the city that never sleeps – shuts down

They say that New York is the city that never sleeps. But throughout Manhattan on Sunday night,many businesses were preparing to shut down, perhaps for days. A monster of a hurricane, potentially the largest on record, was barrelling toward the city, threatening business owners with catastrophic damages, huge flooding and power outages that could last for days. In Times Square, restaurants, electronics shops and perfumeries were sending employees home before 7pm, when the city's subways closed.

Video Hurrican Sandy blows into NY:

PHRASAL VERBS: TRYING TO MAKE THEM EASY

Phrasal verbs are one of the most difficult things for students learning English.     

Phrasal verbs may have many meanings or uses and often seem very confusing. The term phrasal verb is commonly applied to 2 or 3 different but related constructions in English: a verb and a particle and/or a preposition forming a single semantic unit. This semantic unit cannot be understood based upon the meanings of the individual parts alone, but it must be taken as a group. The same verbs with different prepositions or adverbs have very different meanings.

Phrasal verbs are mainly used in spoken English and informal texts. (The more formal a conversation or text, the less phrasal verbs are found.)

Remember there's a separate page in this blog where you can find phrasal verbs listed alphabetically.

Phrasal Verbs can be followed by Prepositions or Adverbs particles.

look up (preposition)
run up

run away (adverb)
get away

1) You will have to look up the word.
2) He ran up a big bill at the hotel.
3) He ran away from the dog.
4) He got away by jumping a fence.


The meaning is often not clear from the verb alone. You must use a dictionary.

Phrasal verbs appear in 3 types, these types define where the object of the verb, if there is any,  goes.

intransitive don't have objects:

He ran away because he was scared.
He got up and went out.


Transitive (Non Separable)
These verbs only have objects at the end:

I have looked for my keys everywhere.

Transitive (Separable)
These verbs have objects in the middle or end:

I broke up the fight.
I broke the fight up.
The fight was getting rough so I broke it up.

Look up the word in the dictionary.
Look the word up in the dictionary.
Look it up in the dictionary. ( it - only in middle)

Video explanations on phrasal verbs (1):

Video (2):
Video (3):

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