GOALS , GOALS !!!

COMMENT 17

Personal goals are wishes that we resolve to carry out to improve ourselves and be better people. We usually put a limit time to get them ,about a year but, do you know that short-term goals and micro-resolutions also exist ?.

When New Year comes , we usually set our goals and try to achieve them at the end of the following year but most of the time we don´t carry them out because we forget them and we stop doing them. So, the first thing you have to do is to change the way you think and, above all ,be motivated and be perseverant with what you do.

But , if you are a person who forgets quickly, micro resolutions are for you. Micro resolutions are like long-term goals ,but easy things that you can do in a short period of time. You can do them in a month instead of a year, so this is such a good idea to motivate yourself and achieve more goals .

In my opinion, personal goals are so important in life because they make us strive to what we want to achieve.

VALENTINE´S DAY IS GETTING CLOSER AND CLOSER

COMMENT 15

On February 14th we celebrate Valentine´s Day . It is a day to celebrate love and friendship where people usually give roses or letters to the people they love .

Sometimes we forget that we also celebrate friendship on this day and it is the reason that makes some people feel a little sad because they only remember the word "love" and they get depressed because they don´t have a boy/girlfriend. So , don´t forget that we celebrate both.

On St Valentine´s Day , many people like giving flowers , letters, teddies or they just invite their partners to go out and have a romantic dinner . Other people also like giving chocolates box or candies . In my school people can send roses and letters to other people.

I think that there is no need to celebrate love and friendship on a special day because we should celebrate it everyday. You should give love each day .

SMART ANIMALS ARE !!!

COMMENT 14

Sometimes we think that animals are stupid and not too smart . Also the ones we don´t treat so well are actually , the most smart , like pigs or chickens . But ,what if animals were not so different from humans in intelligence ? .

According to a study , chickens are much more intelligent than we thought because they have better numeracy and spatial awareness skills than us and also they have the ability to think and apply logic. In addition ,a fish for example , can be trained to associate a sound with feeding times, that´s crazy !.

Something very curious is that a sheep can recognize their food with different colours and shapes and also they can remember the faces of 50 fellow sheep and human faces too . So , it is obious that animals have more inteligence than we thought .

To sum up , we should´t question the intelligence of animals because it can alter the way people think about them .

COFFEE

COMMENT 13

CoffeE is a type of drink that contains caffeine which can be addictive. Many people like drinking coffee in the morning, in the afternoon or even at night and they think that drinking a lot of coffee can be bad for your health , but , do you know that coffee could help you to lose weight ?.

Scientists from the University of Nottingham have discovered that drinking a cup of coffee can stimulate brown fat . Brown fat is one of two types of fat found in humans , whose main function is to generate body heat by burning calories (sugar and fat). Moreover,only children have this type of fat , but recently it was discovered that adults can have brown fat too.

But , obviously, drinking coffe is not the best idea to lose weight . It´s always much better to do exercise and carry a healthy life , as well as eat healthy food rich in fiber and protein . In addition, you shouldn´t drink coffe before you go to sleep because it contains a lot of caffeine and that gives you so much energy that you don´t need when you go to bed.

I think that drinking coffe is fine but no more than a cup a day . From my point of view ,it is better to doexercise if you want to lose weight .

CAR-FREE CITIES

COMMENT 12

Can you imagine a life without cars?. I can´t . Cars are the vehicles we use the most but also the ones that pollute the most , so, it could be quieter not to see cars in the cities.

On the one hand , a city without cars could be a quieter and a walkable city , where people could walk without danger and children could play freely. In addition we would pollute less and we would have a cleaner city . Maybe , there would be more space in cities and we could build more buildings ,shops.

On the other hand ,a life with cars is more stressful , with a lot of traffic and pollution . The number of accidents increases and also the noise of the city , so , it could be a good option to go on public transport because it reduces the pollution , the stress and sometimes you can save money and time.

To sum up , I think the best option to reduce the pollution is using public transport ,bycycles, scooters and why not , on foot.

AN INFORMAL LETTER

COMPOSITION 5

Hi Grandpa ,
How´s life in Canada ? Sorry for not having written you for a while , but I was very busy with school, you know.  I also had a very important competition of basketball the last days of school .

But I don´t want to think about school because it´s finished . At the moment , I´m thinking about what I´m going to do during the holidays . I´m planning to see some friends because it is so long ago since I last saw them and I´m pretty nervous.

I also thought about going camping with my cousins , we could go to Málaga . We´ll go to the beach there , we´ll have a party and by the end of the holiday , I´ll go to Los Angeles . If my aunty had come with me , I would have gone to her pet shop , but she was on holiday too .

Well , see you soon with your news !
Take care , Grandpa .
Bye Bye
Marina .

WISHES AND REGRETS

- wishes for change in the present  (I wish + PAST SIMPLE / PAST CONTINUOUS)  

I wish I were rich / we were spending our holidays in Honolulu this year.

- regrets about something in the past (I wish + PAST PERFECT)        

I wish At Madrid had defeated Real Madrid in the Champions League Final in 2014.

- complaints about a thing or situation and that you would like it to change in the future.        

I wish my students would listen to me (Actually they don't do it, but I would like them to do it).

Here's a similar structure, although it is a bit stronger:

 

- If only... (si al menos)    to express a strong wish that things could be different. It may be used for past, present and future unreal situations.

We use if only + past verb forms to talk about a wish for the present:

If only he could speak English properly. (he can't, but he wishes he could)

If only there was some snow to ski.

Remember we can use were instead of was in more formal situations:

If only I were (was) in the Alps (when our protagonist was back in Uganda).

To talk about a wish for the future or to show a contrast between how things are and how we would like them to be, we use if only + would + infinitive without to:

If only all the students would follow the teachers' advice.

If only it would rain more during the spring.

We use if only + past perfect to talk about a wish to change something that has already happened:

If only Benitez had kept his position as Real Madrid coach. (but he didn't.)

If only Andrea had come to Chester. (but she didn't come.)

ANIMAL ABUSE

COMMENT 11

Nowadays animals are used by scientists to carry out experiments . The most common animal is the mouse because in them we can study the evolution and the treatment of many diseases that can affect us and also because they are small .

We can´t forget that they are living beings just like us . When we are experimenting with them , it causes them suffering because although we don´t believe it , they also have feelings. Another point against is that the benefits for humans are not insured. In addition , when someone works with an animal he can feel bad and have moral problems .

A point in favor is that we can get benefits for humans that we can´t get with other methods . With the help of animals , scientists can discover new ways to cure diseases or to prevent them . Moreover, experimenting with them is acceptable if we reduce suffering .

A week ago my classmates and I had an anatomy class where we make a mouse fall asleep and then we made it a cut to see its organs . It was incredible to see inside a mouse´s body but it was also a bit sad. We could learn a lot of things about that .

From my point of view , it could be a good idea to use cells instead of animals or maybe study with voluntary humans to try not to use animals all the time .