Summer Reading

SUMMER READING LIST

Pilar asked me for a list of books to read in English this summer and she specifically asked for original version books, not adapted readers. Obviously if you’re reading in English to pick up everyday language, starting off with Jane Austen or Shakespeare is probably mistake. Their books are undoubtedly masterpieces, but their use of language is a bit outdated and if a native speaker heard you use words like “thither” or “brethren”, they’d probably have a tough time holding back a smile.

Your best choice is probably a young adult book of some sort or really any contemporary novel that is not sprinkled with too many dialectal words or phrases.  I tried to come up with a short list of books that are both engaging and fairly easy to read, so here you are…

•     The Giver – Lois Lowry
•   The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Mark Haddon
• High Fidelity – Nick Hornby
• The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemmingway
• The House On Mango Street – Sandra Cisneros 
• Number the Stars – Lois Lowry
• A Wrinkle In Time – Madeline L’engle
•   Charlotte’s Web –E.B. White
• Harry Potter – J.K. Rowling
• The Hobbit -Tolkien

Food for thought

Here is the video we saw in class the other day from Michael Pollan.

 Julia Child makes an omelette

If you want to expand a little bit on the topic of food I also recommend the following:

Unlocking the Mysteries of Good Cooking

Julia Child On France, Fat and Food on the Floor (Julia Child was a famous American chef whose specialities were French dishes that she learned living in France. A movie starring Meryl Streep was made about her life a few years ago.)

FOOD IDIOMS

Just for fun!

I don't know whether or not you are suffering from the post-vacation blues, but either way, here are a few inspirational commencement speeches from American universities to brighten your spirits. See you all tomorrow!

Travel Conversation with Mitch and Leslie

1. What countries did Mitch visit?
2. Why did Mitch have to go to London?
3. What does Mitch do?
4. What did they do in Spain?
5. What kind of food did they eat in Zurich?
6. What is Switzerland known for?
7. How did they get around?
8. What was the weather like in Switzerland?
9. Where did they stay in London?
10. What did they see in London?

Music and Tarantino

Music and Quentin Tarantino  

Are you familiar with Quentin Tarantino and his films? Do you have a favorite? What do you think of his soundtracks? Why are they so popular? 

Vocabulary: 

Soundtrack: the recorded sound accompaniment to a film. 

Score: is original music written specifically to accompany a film.  

Get chills: tener escalofríos 

Hands down: sin lugar a dudas 

By the way: Por cierto 

Geek: friki 

Watch the video and answer these questions: 

1. Where did Tarantino get the idea for “Stuck in the Middle with you” for the ear cutting scene in Reservoir Dogs?  

2. Where was Tarantino working when he got the idea for the song for the lap dance scene in “Death Proof”? 

3. According to Tarantino, what’s the most important track to get right when making a film? 

4. How many music tracks were used in the first four Tarantino films? 

5. What movie is his favorite opening song from? 

6. Why did he prefer to have a soundtrack, as opposed to an original score, in his films? 

7. How long has he loved music? 

8. What is the significance of the jukebox he mentions at the end?

Geography

How well do you know the counties and countries in the U.K. or the American states? 

When a handful of Brits were asked to label the states in the U.S. this was the result:

When several Americans were asked to label European countries the results were equally disastrous.

While it's true that not all Americans and Brits are totally clueless when it comes to geography; it is definitely something that we tend to forget if we haven't looked at a map since 5th grade social studies lessons.

Don't let that happen to you! Here are a few websites with interactive geography games:

England

Scotland

United States 

You don't have to limit yourself to these English-speaking countries...

The world

American Government and Elections

Regardless of where you live in the world, it is highly likely that you are constantly being bombarded by commercials, radio annoucements and newspaper articles with coverage on the American elections. If you are interested in finding out a bit more about how the American government is set up and the latest scoop on the elections here are a few links that may be of interest. 

Learn about how the American government works here with these interactive games

Are you a democrat or a republican? Take this online quiz

Here is a five-minute video that explains the election process

A cheat sheet that describes the candidates and what they represent

Winners and losers after the Iowa vote from BBC---short and sweet

A funny video where Brits and Americans are asked to see how much they really know about the elections and election terms

Video: Who is Donald Trump?

Sophisticated Donald Trump speaking with a posh British accent