Key to conditionals (photocopy)

     

Conditional sentences (photocopy) _ key

a

1.                   ü

2.                   if the camp wasn’t/weren’t so crowded

3.                    ü

4.                   ü

5.                   If she hadn’t got injured

6.                   ü

7.                   They wouldn’t have got divorced

8.                   If the storm hadn’t been at night

9.                   ü

10.               If I’d known I was going to have so many problems

b

1.                   Provided / providing

2.                   Even

3.                   As long as

4.                   Had the rebels not surrendered

5.                   On condition that

6.                   Whether

7.                   Even if

8.                   Supposing

9.                   Whether

10.               Had the plane not caught fire

Next Thursday, Brexit conference at the EOI

Key to SO & SUCH

And now you can check here the key to the exercises you got in class to practise so and such:

So & such_key

Key to Conditionals 1

Get the key here:

Conditionals 1_ key

EU citizen registration in UK could become 'new Windrush', say migration experts

Migration experts have warned that the post-Brexit system for registering EU citizens living in the UK could become a new “Windrush scandal” as the scheme to register an estimated 3.5 million EU citizens living in the UK begins.

From Monday, the third phase of testing will open to EU residents in the UK, who will be able to register for the new post-Brexit “settled status”. The Home Office is extending its live trial to all EU citizens who hold a valid passport and any non-EU citizen family members who hold a valid biometric residence card.

Critics have warned that thousands could be left without legal status to remain in the UK if applications are not processed quickly and effectively.

Maike Bohn, founder of the3million which campaigns for EU citizens in the UK to retain their existing rights after Brexit, warned trust in the government was low.

“The Windrush people trusted the Home Office and many of them got deported because they were citizens but couldn’t prove it,” she said.

The expansion of the scheme follows two “private” test phases. The second phase saw 29,987 applications submitted with 27,211 decisions made. Of those, no cases were refused. However, the second phase was open to 250,000 people in selected universities, health and social care bodies.

The Home Office said 70% of applicants had been granted settled status with the remaining 30% granted pre-settled status, which is given to those who have been in the country for fewer than five years. There was positive feedback from 77% of applicants.

The immigration minister, Caroline Nokes, said: “From the very beginning we have been clear that securing the rights of EU citizens living in the UK is our priority.

“The report into the second private test phase of the EU settlement scheme shows clearly that we are well on track to deliver a system that will make it easy and straightforward for EU citizens to obtain status once we have left the EU.

“We are now in a position to proceed with the wider public testing of the scheme, which will provide us with further valuable insight before the full launch of the system by the end of March. We are grateful to those individuals and organisations that have participated in the testing so far.”

The rollout comes weeks after a series of bugs were exposed in the phone app, which does not work on iPhones, including complaints that the passport recognition function did not work on all Android models.

Politicians, migrant thinktanks and charities have warned the UK could face “another Windrush” if the settled status scheme fails.

Chai Patel, legal policy director at the joint council for welfare of immigrants, said: “EU citizens who do not pay to apply for settled status by 2021 will lose their right to live in the UK and become undocumented.

“This is a major obstacle in the way of achieving the government’s promise that every EU national currently in the UK will be welcome after Brexit. By charging a fee and by setting a time limit for applications the government is making it certain that some people will not get settled status.

“And with 3 million to 4 million people needing to register, that means creating tens or hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants overnight. The poor, the elderly, [and] those with illnesses or disabilities will be particularly affected as the government is failing to set aside enough resources to help them.

“We therefore urge the government to do everything in its power to make sure everyone’s rights are protected after Brexit. Instead of creating a system that defaults to removing rights if a person does not pay for an application, the government should today grant a free and permanent legal right to stay to all EU nationals resident in the UK.

“The Home Office should then provide a free and simple process by which people can obtain documents proving that right.”

Jill Rutter, director of strategy for British Future and co-author of the report, said: “The Home Office must invest in getting the EU settlement scheme right from the start. Failure to do so could cause massive problems in years to come, on a far bigger scale than the ‘Windrush scandal’.

“The application system should work simply and efficiently for the vast majority of EU citizens. But there will always be more complex cases where people find it harder to navigate the system or to prove their residency – and the sheer scale of this task means even a low rate of failure equates to tens of thousands of people.

“The Home Office needs to make sure that people hear about the scheme, that it works well and that errors are remedied quickly when they are made. It must also overcome a legacy of mistrust created by the previous permanent residency scheme.

“This is an important test for the Home Office. The stakes are high. Get it right and the UK sends a strong message that EU citizens are welcome and the government is in control. Get it wrong and the consequences are dire.”

Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said: “No one seriously believes that the Home Office will be able to grant settled status to everyone who’s eligible within two years. Thousands will be left effectively undocumented and subject to Theresa May’s hostile environment.

“Liberal Democrats demand better for the Europeans who’ve made their lives here and contribute so much to our economy, our public services and our society. They must not become the victims of a new Windrush scandal.”

The Guardian 21 Jan 2019

Newspapers or tabloids

Have you ever wondered about the difference between a newspaper and a tabloid? Do you know how they deal with the news stories in The Guardian or The Sun? You have here a really interesting text to see clearly the differences between them.

In the world of print journalism, the two main formats for newspapers are broadsheets and tabloids. Strictly speaking, those terms refer to the size of such papers, but both formats also have colorful histories and associations. The difference between broadsheets and tabloids provides an interesting journalistic journey.

History of Broadsheets and Tabloids

Broadsheet newspapers first appeared in 18th-century Britain after the government began to tax newspapers based on how many pages they had, making big papers with fewer pages cheaper to print than smaller, easier-to-hold ones, says Kath Bates, writing on the website Oxford Open Learning. She adds:

"As few people could read to the standard required of those early broadsheet editions, they soon became associated with the aristocracy and more well-to-do businessmen. Even today, broadsheet papers tend to be linked with a higher-minded approach to news-gathering and delivery, with readers of such papers opting for in-depth articles and editorials."

Bates adds that, by comparison, tabloid newspapers—perhaps due to their smaller size—have always been associated with shorter, crisper stories. Tabloids date to the early 1900s when they were referred to as "small newspapers," which contained condensed stories that were easily consumed by everyday readers. Tabloid readers traditionally came from the lower-middle and working classes, but that has changed in the past few decades, and it's also a bit of a misconception. The New York Daily News, the most widely circulated tabloid in the United States, for example, has won 11 ​Pulitzer Prizes, journalism's highest honor, as of June 2018. Still, even with the blurring of clear distinctions between the economic or class status of their readership, advertisers continue to target different markets when buying space in broadsheets and tabloids.

What Are Tabloids?

In the technical sense, tabloid refers to a type of newspaper that typically measures 11-by-17-inches, is usually no more than five columns across, and is narrower than a broadsheet newspaper. Since tabloids are smaller, their stories tend to be shorter than those found in broadsheets.

And while broadsheet readers tend to be upscale suburbanites, tabloid readers are often working-class residents of big cities. Indeed, many city dwellers prefer tabloids because they are easy to carry and read on the subway or bus.

One of the first tabloids in the U.S. was the New York Sun, started in 1833. It cost only a penny, was easy to carry, and its crime reporting and illustrations proved popular with working-class readers.

Tabloids tend to be more irreverent and slangy in their writing style than their more serious broadsheet brothers. In a crime story, a broadsheet will refer to a police officer, while the tabloid will call him a cop. And while a broadsheet might spend dozens of column inches on "serious" news—say, a major bill being debated in Congress—a tabloid is more likely to zero in on a heinous sensational crime story or celebrity gossip.

In fact, the word tabloid has come to be associated with the kind of supermarket checkout aisle papers—such as the National Enquirer—that focus on splashy, lurid stories about celebrities.

But there's an important distinction to be made here. True, there are the over-the-top tabloids, but there are also the so-called respectable tabloids, such as the New York Daily News, the "Chicago Sun-Times," and the "Boston Herald," that do serious, hard-hitting journalism. As noted, the "Daily News" has won nearly a dozen Pulitzers.

In Britain, tabloid papers—also known as the "red tops" for their front-page banners—tend to be much racier and sensationalistic than their American counterparts. Indeed, the unscrupulous reporting methods employed by some tabloids (or tabs) led to the so-called ​phone-hacking scandal and the closing of the News of the World, one of Britain's biggest tabs. The scandal has also resulted in calls for greater regulation of the press in Britain.

What Are Broadsheets?

Broadsheet refers to the most common newspaper format, which, if you're measuring the front page, is typically around 15 inches wide to 20 or more inches long in the U.S. (though sizes can vary around the world). Broadsheet papers are usually six columns across.

Broadsheets have come to be associated with a high-minded approach to the dissemination of news, as well as with an upscale readership. Even today, broadsheet papers tend to employ a traditional approach to newsgathering that emphasizes in-depth coverage and a sober tone in articles and editorials. Broadsheet readers are often fairly affluent and educated, with many of them living in the suburbs. Many of the nation's most respected and influential newspapers—The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal—are broadsheet papers.

However, in recent years many broadsheets have been reduced in size to cut printing costs. For instance, The New York Times was narrowed by 1 1/2 inches in 2008. Other broadsheet papers, including USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post, have also been trimmed in size.

Broadsheets and Tabloids Today

Newspapers—whether broadsheets or tabloids—are experiencing difficult times these days. Readership has slipped for both types of newspapers as many readers have turned to the internet for their news. Readers can now easily obtain up-to-the-minute news from a variety of online sources, often for free. For example, AOL, an internet portal, offers online news articles on everything from mass shootings, Supreme Court decisions, and international issues to sports and weather events—all at no charge.

CNN, also known as Cable News Network, is known mostly for its on-air coverage of domestic and international issues. But the cable news service also has a well-established news website that provides free articles, and even video news clips, of nearly all major domestic and foreign news stories. It's difficult for broadsheets and tabloids to compete with organizations providing such wide-ranging and cost-free coverage, especially when papers have traditionally charged readers who want access to the news and information stories they offer.

Between 2000 and 2015, annual advertising revenue at all U.S. newspapers, both tabloids and broadsheets, tumbled from $60 billion to $20 billion, according to Derek Thompson writing in The Atlantic. And a Pew Research Center study noted that circulation for all U.S. newspapers—both print and digital—has fallen every year for the past three decades, including an 8 percent decline between 2015 and 2016.

The Pew Center study did note some positive gains, however, for the nation's largest broadsheet papers. The New York Times added more than 500,000 online subscriptions in 2016, the most recent year for which figures are available, a nearly 50 percent jump from the previous year. In that same period, The Wall Street Journal added more than 150,000 digital subscriptions, a 23 percent rise.

Online Changes

Of note, though, the online versions of those broadsheets are more tabloid-like in format; they are more linear and with flashier headlines than the print editions of these broadsheets for the same editions. For example, The New York Times online edition is only four columns wide, similar to a tabloid, though the second column tends to be wider than the other three.

The main headline for The New York Times online edition of June 20, 2018, was: "Trump Retreats After Border Outcry," which was splashed in flashy italic type above a main story and several sidebars about the public debate over a U.S. policy that separated parents seeking to enter the country from their children. The print edition for the same day—which, of course, was one news cycle behind the online edition—featured a much more sedate headline for its main story stating, "GOP Moves to End Trump's Family Separation Policy, but Can't Agree How."

As readers gravitate to briefer stories and instant access to news via the internet, broadsheets may begin to adopt tabloid formats online. To survive, the broadsheets—at least online—seem to be taking a page out of the tabloid playbook: brief stories, flashy headlines, attention-grabbing color, and more graphics. As technology increases the ability of readers to access news in an instant, newspapers may be moving to return to the format of the very first tabloids. The name of the game seems to be capture readers' attention with tabloid techniques rather than offering more in-depth broadsheet-like serious news stories.

By Tony Rogers, July 2018

Newspapers andTabloids

Key to cleft sentences

Better late than never.

Key to the exercises of the review

n. 2
1 based - set
2 rhyme - collection
3 album - encores
4 sets - choreography
5 abstract - sculptures
6 production - plot
7 technique - partner
8 prose - multi-layered
9 orchestration - role
10 symphony - finale

n. 6
1 b 
2 d
3 f
4 e
5 a
6 c

Conference about Scotland

Tomorrow there is going to be a conference at school for our students of English. Although you don't have classes tomorrow, you are kindly invited to learn more about this interesting topic.
Here you have all the details.

Topic: Scotland
Speaker: Eleni Papantousia
Place: SUM (Sala de Usos Múltiples)
Date: 16th January
Time: 19.00

I hope you can join us.

WRITING TASK

TEACHER MAN - AFTER READING ACTIVITY

Writing task

Choose ONE of the following options:

a)   Describe in which way Frank McCourt is an unconventional teacher.

b)  Write the review of the book for a bookclub webpage.

c)   Read some reviews published about the book and summarize them for a university magazine.

Does an extra hour of sleep matter?

Almost all of us do it. We get up early to go to the gym. We stay up too late responding to work emails. Or we end up bingeing on Netflix in bed.

Whatever it is, we often cut corners when it comes to sleep.

Yet if you want to kick 2019 off on a stronger, healthier note, you need to make more time for sleep. Because if you can squeeze in even an extra hour, it will almost certainly make you look better, feel better and be better at your job.

But an extra hour should be just the beginning, experts caution. The real benefits of sleep come from setting a personal, optimal sleeping schedule – and sticking to it no matter what.

Why skimping matters

It turns out that the benefits of more sleep – and consistent sleep – are diverse and plentiful.

“You’re going to feel better, you’ll have more energy, you’ll have better ideas, you’ll contribute to your team or organisation in a better way,” says Rachel Salas, an associate professor of neurology who specialises in sleep medicine and sleep disorders at Johns Hopkins University in the US.

“Your mood’s going to be better, you’ll have better reason to engage and share ideas,” she says. It will also show on the outside – skimp on sleep and you may find yourself “gaining weight and looking tired with bags under your eyes”.

In 2013, the BBC partnered with the University of Surrey’s Sleep Research Centre for an experiment that found an extra hour of sleep improved participants’ mental agility in computer tests.  

But multiple studies make it clear that optimising sleep is about more than tacking on an extra hour. Sleep is crucial, not something to be squeezed in for convenience.

An American study last month showed that students who slept for eight hours a night performed better in final exams. One from the University of Michigan in October found that a lack of sleep affected memory and job performance in fields as varied as baking and surgery.

Another study found that two nights in a row of less than six hours’ sleep could make you sluggish for the next six days. And a Swedish study published this year which looked at over 40,000 participants for 13 years found that those who slept for short periods had higher mortality rates than those who don’t, especially among over-65s.

Most reasonable people already know that more sleep is good for them. The problem is that life – work, children, friends, fitness – often gets in the way. And since they’re able to function on a day-to-day basis, people end up underestimating the power of an extra hour. 

So you might get six hours a night – a little less than the UK average – and assume that’s all the sleep you need. But experts say that’s a big mistake. Sometimes, Salas says, people’s bad habits drag on so long they end up with accumulated health issues that eventually bring them to her sleep clinic.

Problems that appear over the long haul could be weight gain, migraines or constant fatigue. It could be sleep apnoea or even what she calls “microsleeps” – when your brain briefly shuts down during the day for just a few seconds, sometimes with your eyes open (an obvious danger to drivers, for example).  

Consistency counts

But what’s better: an extra hour of sleep or a consistent sleep schedule? Salas says ideally you should do both.

Reut Gruber, an associate professor of psychiatry at Sleep Lab at McGill University in Montreal, says while there is no magic number people should hit, there is a way people can work out how much sleep is right for them.

When you’re on holiday or have no commitments the next day, go to bed at a reasonable time and let yourself wake up naturally. Note how many hours you sleep: that number is your new nightly goal. Also note when you fall asleep and when you wake up. Those times are important.

“Once this [number] has been determined, stick to it no matter what,” says Gruber. “Schedule everything else so that it allows you to go to bed on time” and keep on the schedule at which your body naturally woke up.

That may very well be an extra hour, but for many it could be longer. Experts say many people are sleep deprived and don’t even know it ­– if you’re sleeping for four hours a night, you’ll probably need the power of many more hours to function normally.

There are caveats, of course: choices during the day inform how well you’ll be able to sleep as you try this out for yourself. That means avoiding excessive coffee or alcohol, which could affect your body’s circadian rhythm – your internal clock that determines when you naturally fall asleep and wake up.

To read the end of the article, click here: BBC_ sleeping an extra hour

Britain, Great Britain, UK?

You can watch again the video we saw yesterday. Very clear!

England_Britain_UK