ADVICES FOR 2ºBACHILLERATO

If you are doing 2ºBach next year, these are my tips for you:

-You should do all the comments during the summer.

-You should also hand in your compositions in time because if you don't, you will not have time to finish them all

 -I reckon that reading the books in summer and doing the projects is also very useful, because you will be less busy during the year.

-Do always your homework, even if you are very busy.

-Pay attention in class and follow Albert’s recommendations.

-I believe that you should write all you notes in your blog, as it will easier when it comes to studying.

-Practise for exams doing grammar exercises from Albert’s site, and there are mock exams, too.

-You should also post all your comments in your blog.

I hope these pieces of advice will help you next year, although you are maybe feeling a little overwhelmed with all the things you have to do. I wish you a wonderful year and good luck!

     

EARTH DAY

First of all, when did Earth Day begin? It is known that Earth Day is an annual event created to celebrate the planet's environment and raise public awareness about pollution. The first Earth Day was in 1970. Senator Gaylord Nelson, after seeing the damage done by a 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, it was inspired to organize a national "teach-in" that focused on educating people about the environment.

It is an open secret that the transport is one of the main causes of pollution. Big cities like Madrid, Barcelona and Granada are places where pollution is more serious due to the huge amount of people who use their car everyday. Although governments are taking action to face this issue, it is getting more and more serious. In fact, monuments like La Alhambra are getting black due to traffic.

What can we do to try to help the enviroment? There are a lot of ways to solve this problem, and most of them are really easy, such as: turn off your tap when brushing your teeth; stop using plastic bags; use public transport or a bike instead of your car; recycle; don’t waste food; use a refillable water bottle...

To conclude, I think that we have to raise awareness and try to do something for changing these alarming problems, as it's our responsability and by the time we are old we will be able to say that we have looked after the planet. 

THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER

Today I am going to write about “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”. The story is about a boy called Tom, who is known for his bad behaviour, and is always looking for more exciting ways to spend his time. In their search for adventure, Tom and his friend Huckleberry Finn run away to live on an island as pirates, look for a buried treasure and track down some real robbers. 

Despite the fact that it looks like as a novel for children, actually it is also appealing for adults who looks back on their own childhood with fond reminiscences. In fact, in his preface to the first edition, Twain wrote, "Although my book is intended mainly for the entertainment of boys and girls part of my plan has been to pleasantly remind adults of what they once were themselves, and what they felt and thought."

What about the author? Everyone knows him by the name of Mark Twain, but actually his real name was Samuel Longhorne Clemens. He was born in Florida, Missouri, on 30^th November, 1835. Although his family was not wealthy, Twain apparently had a happy and secure childhood. It is known that during four years Twain piloted riverboats along the Mississippi. During this time, he became familiar with the towns along the mighty River and met the characters who would be in his future novels, especially Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. The begining of his literary career started in 1865 with the launched of "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County".

From my point of view, there is a large number of character and most of them are unimportant, but all of them bring something different due to their respective personalities and characteristics, for example: aunt Polly shows what is unconditional love. However, if I had to choose one of them I would choose Tom Sawyer, since he is adventurous and kind as he never made fun of Huck for being poor like the other children, and Huckleberry Finn, because he reckons that money is not neccesary in order to be happy.

To conclude, I would like to add that Twain is not only known for “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”, he also has a huge amount of novels that have been succesful and celebrated around the world, such as: “The Prince and the Pauper”. One interesting fact about Mark Twain is that he was born in 1835 during the appearance of Haley's Comet, and he died during the next appearance of Haley's Comet, 75 years later.

FALKIRK

What is Falkirk? Well, it is a town in Scotland's central belt, located between Edinburgh and Glasgow in the Forth Valley, which is bursting with brilliant contrasts and outstanding attractions.

Falkirk is well-known for being the location where films like Hamlet, starring Mel Gibson, and TV series like Outlander have been filmed. However, its fame comes from the real battle that took place in this city. In 1298 the army of William Wallace fell to the English under Edward I but in 1746 Bonnie Prince Charlie defeated the Hanoverians in the other battle of Falkirk.

In addition, Falkirk is also famous for its large number of monuments, for example: the Kelpies (they are the world's largest equine sculptures and they were designed by Andy Scott) and The Falkirk Wheel ( it is the world’s only rotating boatlift, which is used to connect the Forth & Clyde and Union canals in central Scotland).

To conclude, I would like to say that Falkirk looks like a fantastic place to visit since it is full of atracctions, art galleries, events, activities, historical treasures and modern wonders for people of all ages.

Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking was born on the 300th anniversary of Galileo's death, on 8^th January, 1942, in Oxford, England and he is considered to be one of the most influential and important theoretical physicists of the twentieth century. He wanted to study maths at university, but he chose physics and chemistry instead, because Oxford didn't have a math degree at the time. After his graduation, he went to Cambridge to study for his PhD.

Unfortunately, while he was still a student, he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," a degenerative disease of the nerve cells that control muscle movement. Hawking eventually became unable to move except for his fingers, and in the early 1980s he also lost the ability to speak, for this reason he had to communicate with the aid of a talking computer.

Nonetheless, he was able to form a family (he married twice, and has three children from his first marriage) and succeeded professionally. His theories of black holes and his search for a grand unification theory, which would link the theories of relativity with those of quantum mechanics, have propelled him into the scientific ranks of Sir Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. But, it was in 1988 whe he attracted public interest with his book “A Brief History of Time”.

To conclude, I would like to say that Hawking is an example of overcoming, since despite all the difficulties in his life, he never gave up. Finally, I would like to add that he has also appeared on numerous TV shows, including The Simpsons, Futurama and The Big Bang Theory, and he had his own film called “The Theory of Everything”.

DO YOU FANCY MERMAIDING?

Firstly, what is mermaiding? Well, mermaiding is exactly what it sounds like – swimming like a mermaid. Using a monofin and often a tail, made of fabric, neoprene or silicone.

Mermaids and other kind of magical creatures have become more and more popular over the years due to the great amount of TV shows, books, legends, documentaries and films about them, such as: H2O: Just Add Water, or Splash. Nevertheless, the most well-known one is Christian Anderson’s story “The Little Mermaid”.

Although, mermaiding is often seen to go hand-in-hand with cosplay, it is also a sport known for the large number of benefits that come from it, for example: stronger core muscles, higher endurance, higher flexibility in shoulders, spine and hips, and less back pain. This is also recommended as hobby to relax and get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday.

To conclude, I would like to say that I reckon that this sort of activities are very interesting for people of all ages as a way to chill and practise a sport at the same time. I would like to do this activity as I have been always fascinated by mermaids.

THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER