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 .

RUBBISH !

COMMENT 8

Nowadays we waste too much food when we are cooking or when we eat and all of this waste isn´t good for the planet. There is rubbish everywhere , at school , at street and especially at sea .

On the one hand , the rubbish we generate usually comes from food and if we don´t recycle it, it can get to the sea and when this happens, it can be a big problem because animals like fish and turtles can suffer form indisgestion if they eat it . Furthermore , plastic waste is the most common kind of rubbish that we can find in the ocean and it can cause the death of many sea animals .

On the other hand,we have all the organic trash which is produced by restaurants. It is not only the waste from food that people eat but also the gases that are produced when chefs cook . In fact , in Paris the food waste that comes from restaurants is mixed with pieces of wood and is transformed in plants fertilicer .

From my point of view , it is so important to recycle and we all should do it to save the planet and to avoid generating rubbish .

WHO TAUGHT YOU THE MOST THINGS ?

COMMENT 6

My mother is one of the most important people in my life and also my dad, but she is probably the person who taught me all the things that I needed to know about life.

If you ask me , do you take your mom´s advice ? I will answer you that not all the time , and probably your answer will be the same as me. Once a time , when I was a child , my mother told me to pick up my toys but that time I didn´t do it . Now, if she asks me something , I will surely do it because now I know that my mum is right.

Obviously , not all the time mothers are right, but most of the times. Sometimes they are wrong too but you know she is right when you also think the same as her and you agree with her. My mother says that no metter how we look on the outside , the important thing is our actions and behaviours and this is what defines us .

I think you should follow your mother´s advice because she knows what is good or what is bad for you.

PERMAFROST : ANOTHER VICTIM OF CLIMATE CHANGE

COMMENT 5

Climate change is nowadays one of the most serious problems that are happening on Earth. If you don´t give any importance to it , our planet will change. So, an only action from you can destroy the Earth.

Do you know what the permafrost is ? Well, it is the layer of the Earth which is permanently frozen by natural causes, not because of an accident. It is found in very cold areas like Canada , Alaska or Siberia. This layer contains full of toxic gases like methane and carbon dioxide which are being released because of the thawing of this part of the earth. This is because of global warming.

In addition, on top of this layer, there is life ,so if it is thawing, this life can be destroyed and disappear and it can also affect the forests, the ecosystem and the environment. Although the thaw can take lots of years , we should do everything possible to save the planet.

I think we can contribute and stop this by recycling , using less plastic , using public transport...

TEENAGE GAMBLING

COMMENT 4

  Today , children under the age of 18 like gambling , but they play games that are not appropriate for them and the problem is that they don´t realize the risks that this can produce .

Playing fruit machines is the most popular form of gambling , followed by playing cards with friends and that´s only because they want to get money. Scratchcards are also bought or used to gamble. Studies say that in the last 12 months , 39% of teenagers about 11-16 have spent their own money by playing and 6% have gambled online using a parent account.

Nowadays, there are so many games like "fortnite", which are addictive ,in fact, this is one of the most common risks of playing video games. Some people have been diagnosted with this problem of addiction. They spend money as they need it and this becomes a big problem . They get a lot of money , however, they have to pay more than they win .

In conclusion, children shoudn´t play games if their parents don´t want , but if they do it , they should be careful .