POST 5: BOOKS AND READING

When I was a kid my father used to keep all the newspapers he bought in a room, along with some magazines, books and the notebooks my brothers and I had worked with in the previous years, and also old cards and toys. Everything in this messy little room (huge for a little six / seven year old boy like me) was laid on some improvised shelves my dad had built, and, for some unknown reason, he forbade us to get into it. So being in that room was thrilling and exciting, because we suspected something misterious was hidden in there, lurking somewhere in the books or in the magazines. That way, after stealthily closing the door behind us, we sat on the floor of this room and read most of the stuff that got into our hands and, without noticing it, we became magazine and book worms.

This week you have chosen to write about Literature and Books, so below you will find a sample post and some questions to guide your writing. Please choose one or two questions to write the introduction and about the things you like reading, but answer all the four questions about a book you have read recently.

Introduction: Your reading habits.
-Are you a book worm or do you only read books from time to time?
-Did you read books when you were a child?
-How many books have you read in your life?

Things you like reading.-What sort of books do you enjoy reading? Do you prefer fiction or non-fiction?
-Who is your favorite writer?
-What is your favorite book?
-Who is your favorite character from literature?

Tell us a little about a book you have read recently:
-Did you enjoy it?
-How long did it take to read?
-Briefly, in one or two sentences, what is the story about?
-Who would you reccomend it to?


Make sure you write at least 220 words and leave comments on three of your classmates’ posts.



I want those two books! I answered decidedly when my father, who had taken me to a bric-a-brac street market, asked me what I wanted him to buy me. I was around six years old back then and, since we didn’t have a TV set at home, reading was my favourite thing to do, and I devoured Disney cartoons, fairy tales, short stories and kid’s novels. So, answering Dad’s question was easy. I still wonder were those two books ended up.
Now I enjoy reading short stories and novels. I really like Julio Cortazar’s short stories, so I think I’ll start rereading them one of these days, and I enjoy reading both fiction and non-fiction novels. I have read a lot of detective stories written in English lately, mainly by Ruth Rendell and P D James, but my favourite writers are some Latin american authors, such as, Mario Vargas Llosa, Gabriel García Marquez and Isabel Allende.
I recently read a book called “A Special Relationship”, by Douglas Kennedy. It’s about an American journalist in her late thirties who gets pregnant to a British correspondent she meets in the middle of a war. Everything is a bed of roses at the beginning, but suddenly things change dramatically and her life becomes miserable. It didn’t take me too long to read this novel because the story is very catchy and is surprisingly well written, especially considering the fact that the author of this book is a man, but the main character and first person narrator is a woman; he is able to write as if he were a woman very convincingly. I wouldn’t hesitate to reccomend this book to you.

SECOND VIDEO PRESENTATION

Video 2:

A JOURNEY YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE

Record a for 2 –minute mobile phone video presentation* about a journey you would like to make

Say:
-Where you would like to go,
-Who you would go with,
-What you would do there,
-Why you would like to make this journey.
-Mention anything else you think is important.

°A mobile phone video presentation is a video of you talking directly to the camera.
Please feel free to practice and record as many versions as you see fit in order to complete the task. However, the final video must be in one take (i.e. it must not be edited).
Remember: you mustn’t be wearing sunglasses or read when you do the video.

The deadline to send your video is next Tuesday, 29th October.

POST 4: SUMMARY FROM A CAREER.RELATED ARTICLE.

SUMMARY FROM A CAREER-REL​ATED ARTICLE FROM THE GUARDIAN (ONLINE NEWSPAPER)
In order to write today’s post you have to go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/ . Once there you have to:
> Select a piece of news connected to your area of studies / future career.
> Write a summary of it.
> Provide the link to your piece of news.
> Leave a comment on 3 of your partners' posts.

Remember:
•Do not rewrite the original piece. Don’t copy and paste.
•Keep your summary short.
•Use your own wording.
•Refer to the central and main ideas of the original piece.
•Read with who, what, when, where, why and how questions in mind.
•Do not put in your opinion of the issue or topic discussed in your summary.

Make sure to write about 220 words.

Please have a look at my sample post below to get an idea.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 0 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Private universities complain of insecurity (By Anna Fazackerley) , The Guardian, Monday 1 October 2012 19.30 BST http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/oct/01/private-higher-education-reforms . This article is about the complaints made by private higher education providers, in spite of the fact that they are doing well, and the reaction of their critics. While some in the public sector resent the freedoms given to private providers, these, in turn, acknowledge the fact that they feel they have benefitted from the policies of the new coalition government and are doing good business, but they fear insecurity and claim that if the current system doesn’t change they might be affected. Although public universities have now to restrict to a certain number of applications, private institutions can recruit as many students as they want and these students are now entitled to get public loans. Notwithstanding this, Alain Jenkins, of the the Edge Hotel School, acknowledges that there is less hostility towards private institutions, but says that some new policies are still not friendly. While the number of applications in the whole sector has declined and the participation of for-profit institutions across the sector is still small, the latter have dramatically increased the number of recruits. Regardless this, Prof Terence, Kealey of Buckingham, states that many of his colleagues feel the system is unfair, and Paul Marshall, of Business Schools, points out that private providers fear that expansion is risky because a new Labour government might affect investors. Besides, some people from the private sector are annoyed because, although their institutions succeded an accreditation proccess to have degree-awarding powers, they have to reapply every six years. On the other hand Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, accuses private providers of being shameless because while they are making demands, they are said to be committing several frauds. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 0 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Here you have some useful words and expressions to help you write your summary.The article is about… / deals with… / presents… / describes… / explains…In the text / excerpt / story/ article the reader gets to know…/ is confronted with / is told about
The author / Mr X / · says / states / points out that …· claims / believes / thinks that…· describes / explains / makes clear that· uses examples to confirm / prove that· agrees / disagrees with the view / the thesis· contradicts the view…· criticises / analyses / comments on…· tries to express…· suggests that…· compares X to Y· doubts that…· tries to convince the readers that…· concludes that…

POST 3: JAPANESE ANIMATION

The world should be divided into two groups: the people who like Walt Disney’s cartoons and those who enjoy Japanese animation. I belong in the former group, (so you can easily tell how old I am, ha, ha). I know very little about Japanese anime but I know it has had a big impact on some younger Chilean people who have become fans of Japanese culture after watching such animations.

I guess my favourite Japanese anime is Marco, which is about an Italian little boy whose mother has left Europe for Argentina to look for a better job. The anime shows all the adventures and misfortune that Marco goes through in search of her mother. The story is based on a book by Miguel de Unamuno, and it’s a very sad one because when Marco finally finds his mother she dies soon afterwards.

I can’t say that japanese anime has influenced me in any way, but Walt Disney surely made a significant impression on me as a child, because it developed my imagination and my interest in reading, but, on the other hand, it filled my mind with much confusion.

What I liked the most about Marco is the soundtrack. Even though the main song is a very sad one, it’s very beautiful and moving. I don’t remember any other Japanese anime song, but I know many songs form Walt Disney’s movies.

One of the first animes I ever saw was Cinderella, by Disney, -you all know what the story is about, and I remember I was really impressed by it, so impressed that a few years ago I bought the DVD because I was craving to see it again.

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This week you have chosen to write about Japanese animation, so here you have some questions to guide you when writing your post.

1) Do you know what anime is? If yes, explain.

2) - If you have watched anime in the past do you have a favourite? Tell us about it.
- What aspects of anime do you like most? or, what makes you watch anime?)


3) Has anime influenced your life in any way? Has anime made you interested in other areas of Japanese culture?


4) -Have you ever bought/listened to any songs from anime soundtracks? If so, which ones?

5) -What was the first anime you ever saw? What was it about? Did you enjoy it?

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Remember to write 180 words and make commentrs on three of your classmates' posts.

POST 2: A COUNTRY I WOULD LIKE TO VISIT

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” This quote was written by St. Augustine and I absolutely agree with him on this one. Travelling is one of the things I enjoy the most in life. I’ve been to many places but Guatemala is one of the countries I have always wanted to visit but have never been to.

I’d like to visit Guatemala because I have heard lots of people say that antigua and Chichicastenango –two of the most important touristic places there- are even more colourful and interesting than some Mexican cities that I have already visited. Antigua is a city which was destroyed by an earthquake centuries ago, but then it was rebuilt and became the most beautiful colonial Guatemalan city, and Chichicastenango is a place that has an important market where you can buy good fruit and vegetables, along with high quality handcraft –which is something I’m very interested in.

If I went there I would like to walk around the places, eat in nice restaurants, talk to the locals, visit the museums and buy some textiles and pottery. However I wouldn’t like to work or live there, because I think that after spending a few months there I would probably get bored -I’m a city person and I would surely miss the things that a big city like Santiago can offer.

As the saying goes: Where there's a will, there's a way, so I'm saving money and one day lady luck will knock at my door and help me make another dream come true.
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What about you? Is there a place you have always wanted to visit but haven't had the chance?
Today you’re supposed to write about a country you would like to visit. Make sure you answer these questions when you write your post.

A COUNTRY I'D LIKE TO VISIT
- Which country would you like to go to? Why?
- What do you know about it?
- What would you like to do there?
- Would you like to study/work/live there? Explain.

- Make comments on 3 of your classmates’ posts
- Word Count: 170 words
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VIDEO 1: A PRESENT I RECEIVED

A PRESENT YOU RECEIVED
Record a 2 minute mobile phone video presentation* about a present you received as a child.
Say:
What the present was,
Who gave it to you,
Why they gave it to you,
How you felt when you received it.
Mention anything else you think is important.
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°A mobile phone video presentation is a video of you talking directly to the camera.
Please feel free to practice and record as many versions as you see fit in order to complete the task. However, the final video must be in one take (i.e. it must not be edited).
Remember: you musn’t be wearing sunglasses or read when you do the video.