BBC Learning English 
Words in the News  
Sleepy teenagers 
19 April 2012

Teenagers are renowned for enjoying lengthy lie-ins in the morning. But contrary to 
popular belief, their reluctance to get out of bed may not be just down to laziness alone. 
Jenny Hill reports. 
This bedroom is a battleground. Morgan's 17, and like most other teenagers, she 
struggles to surface. 
Noelle Delaney, Mother:
Some days it is very difficult…you know I have to go in there two, three times. I have 
been known to pull her by her feet out of her bed.  
Morgan Delaney, Student:
It's too early to get up in the morning, especially in the winter when it's quite dark out. It 
just seems like you're getting up in the middle of the night, you just want to be back in 
bed. 
And that's why sleep scientists studied Morgan and her friends for two weeks. These 
wrist-mounted sensors monitored their every move – waking and sleeping. 
Analysis of that data surprised the scientists. They found that consistently the 
teenagers get just six and a half hours sleep a night. Most adults need at least eight. 
When the clocks moved forward to British Summer Time the youngsters got even less 
– just six hours a night.  
Joanne Bower, University of Surrey:
You've got something inside you called your circadian rhythm [body clock] which insures 
the same thing happens the same time every day and one of those things is the 
secretion of melatonin which is the hormone that makes you sleepy. Now for an adult 
you expect that to be early evening, in teenagers it happens much later so even if you 
put your teenager in bed at say ten at night it may be that they don't secrete their 
melatonin until midnight, one o'clock, so they're staring at the ceiling just not sleepy. 
   
Consistent sleep deprivation can affect concentration, memory or even mood. The 
scientists behind this study say more research is needed because, like Morgan, most 
teenagers have busy lives - what they're not getting is enough rest. 



Vocabulary and definitions
battleground -------------a place where conflicts or fights take place 
to surface ---------------to wake up
sensors -----------------devices that can recognise movement 
monitored --------------watched or checked
analysis -----------------detailed study  
consistently--------------repeatedly
British Summer Time-----------a time zone in the UK where clocks are put forward 
                                                by an hour in summer to make the most of the 
                                                daylight hours
secretion-----------------------the process by which a liquid or a chemical is 
                                                released by the body
hormone ----------------------a chemical produced in the body that influences how 
                                               the cells and tissue function
sleep deprivation --------------lack of enough sleep



More about a related topic: 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17755357

Monitoring the internet

"The worry is that this information is very powerful information because it's such intimate information. People actually tell to the web, in a way, sometimes more intimate than they tell to the people in their own family. So the worry is that this powerful information will be recorded and will be sitting there and there won't be much control on how it is used. Whereas in the past if the government had wanted to go and search somebody's house then they would have to go and get a court order to go and do that."

"This is critical infrastructure. This is something we have to keep open; we have to keep it neutral. It's like, interfering with Her Majesty's mails. It's a no-no. For the country to work the mail has got to work, you've got to send a letter from A to B. Similarly if I connect to the internet at A and you connect at B we've got to be able to talk without either large companies or governments intervening and that's going to be a battle and I think it's going to be a battle until we establish some very strong rules of behaviour from governments and agreements about how the internet will be used."

"Talk to your friends; make sure they are aware of this concern. And if necessary get out there in the streets waving banners. Unless it is significantly altered to preserve the rights of the citizen then I think it will be necessary to protest."

BBC Learning English Words in the News Drugs scandal hits China

State media in China say police have seized seventy-seven million drug capsules on
suspicion that they were made from industrial waste. They say eighty production lines
have been closed and many people arrested. BBC Correspondent Viv Marsh reports:

The mass confiscations of suspect capsules show the authorities' determination to be
seen to be acting promptly after the scandal was uncovered a week ago.
Chinese television reported then that several companies were making drug capsules from
industrial gelatin, containing potentially toxic levels of chromium and retrieved from
discarded scraps of leather.

The safety of food and drugs is a constant public worry in China, with frequent outcries
over fake medicines and substandard products. Government investigators have now
been sent to Zhejiang, Hebei and Jiangxi provinces; state media said large amounts of
industrial gelatin were confiscated there and in the province of Shandong.
Among those detained are a local official and a sales manager from Hebei, who are
suspected of ordering a factory to be burned down to destroy the evidence.

Songbird by glee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljySrnvsI1o   (songbird)

I hope you enjoy it!!!!

Because/ So

Use because to give a reason:Micha was tired because she worked all night.


Use so to show a result:Micha worked all night, so she was tired.


Excercises:

--THE DINNER PARTY---
Write BECAUSE or SO in the blanks below. Don't forget the comma!

1. Ruby enjoys cooking __________ she invited all of her classmates over for dinner.
2. Everyone enjoys a good home-cooked meal __________ everybody went to Ruby's house.
3. Taka ate two plates full of food __________ he was very hungry!
4. Larena and Tammi shared a plate of food  __________ they like the same things.
5. Maria is a professional bartender __________ she mixed drinks for everybody.
6. There were lots of lemons on the table __________ Sam brought a big bag full of lemons.
7. Sara is a musician __________ she played the piano and sang to entertain everyone.
8. Leo and Kazu danced in the middle of the livingroom  __________ they love to dance.
9. Filiz asked for the recipe __________ she loved the dinner.
10. Delma also loved the dinner  __________ she asked for the recipe too.
11. Ruby's recipe is a secret family recipe  __________ she couldn't give it away.
12. Filiz and Delma were disappointed __________ Ruby wouldn't share the recipe, but they understood why.
13. Ruby worked very hard to prepare the meal __________ she was very tired.
14. Lenny, Sandy and Sassy cleaned off the table __________  the dishes could be washed.
15. Abrahim, Hiro and Kadir offered to wash the dishes __________ poor Ruby was really tired.
16. All the classmates said, "Thank you!"  __________ they enjoyed the dinner.
17. It was getting late  __________ everybody started leaving.
18. Ruby slept for two days  __________ she was exhausted!
19. When we are giving a reason, we use ________ .
20. When we are showing results, we use ________ .

English Pronunciation

Guía de la pronunciación del idioma inglés.

Temas importantes

Diferentes sonidos de la “i”Diferentes sonidos de la “a”Pronunciación de la terminación “ed”Palabras Homófonas - Página 1Palabras Homófonas - Página 2Palabras Homófonas - Página 3

Palabras con patrones de letras para ciertos sonidos

Sonido “ái”line, night, fly, lie, find, …Sonido “éi”tail, place, stay, eight, …Sonido “óu”gold, coat, hole, slow, …Sonido “áu”round, out, down, now, …Sonido “iú”cube, use, new, view, …Sonido “éar”care, rare, fair, pear, …Sonido “éer”learn, turn, bird, sir, …Sonido “íar”fear, near, beer, here, …Sonido “áier”fire, hire, dryer, flyer, …Sonido “óo”ball, law, cause, fraud, …

Palabras con letras mudas (Silent “letters)

Silent “b”debt, doubt, subtle, …Silent “c”muscle, scene, science, …Silent “d”handkerchief, handsome, …Silent “g”gnome, sign, foreign, …Silent “h”heir, honest, ghost, …Silent “k”knee, knife, knot, …Silent “l”could, half, folk, palm, …Silent “n”autumn, column, hymn, …Silent “p”cupboard, corps, receipt, …Silent “s”aisle, island, debris, chassis, …Silent “t”castle, listen, ballet, depot, …Silent “w”wrap, wreck, answer, sword, …

Important Topics in English Grammar

Temas importantes de la gramática inglesa: There be, to ge, to be able to, las contracciones, el gerundio, etc..

There be - haber (de existir)there is/are; there was/were; there will be; …
To get - conseguir, ponerse, volverse, etc.to get tired, to get sick, to get angryTo be able to - ser capaz de, poderI will be able to speak English.Used to / Would - solerI used to smoke a lot when I was younger.To be/get used to - estar acostumbrado a / acostumbrarse aI am not used to flying.To have/get something done - mandar a hacer algoI had my house painted.I want you to do - quiero que tú hagasShe doesn't want us to call her.Do or make - hacerDo me a favor. Make some tea.Verbos seguidos por gerundiosI enjoy/miss/avoid/detest/… living in New YorkVerbos seguidos por gerundios o infinitivosThey started/like/stopped… running/to runEl gerundio - La forma "ing" del verboto run - running; to go - going; to work - workingContractionsShe's left (she's = she has). She's here (she's = she is)Agreement - yo también, yo tampocoShe likes baseball and I do too - She doesn't like rugby and I don't either

Conditionals

Los "conditionales" son ciertas estructuras del inglés en las cuales, si cierta condición, situación o circunstancia es verdadera, entonces sucede un resultado específico. Aquí veremos varios tipos usuales de "condicionales"

Zero Conditional - (Type Zero) - Situación siempre verdaderaIf you freeze water, it turns into ice.First Conditional - (Type I) - Situación real o posibleIf it rains today, I'll stay at home.Second Conditional - (Type II) - Situación hipotéticaIf I won the lottery, I would travel around the world.Third Conditional - (Type III) - Situación hipotética del pasadoIf I had won the lottery, I would have traveled around the world.Conditional: wish + past simple- Deseo sobre una situación irrealI wish I were rich (but I am not)Conditional: wish + past perfect - Deseo sobre el pasadoI wish I had learned English when I was younger (but I didn't)Conditional: wish + would - Expresando desagrado o irritaciónI wish you would stop making that noisePalabras para expresar condiciones: unless, provided, …You won't pass the exam unless you study harder.

Principal verbs in English

Los verbos en inglés más importantes son: El verbo "to be", el verbo "to have", los verbos modales: "can, could, may, might, should, must, ought to" y los verbos auxiliares: "will" y "would". Aquí encontrarás ejemplos de esos verbos traducidos al español.

Verbos Primarios

Verbo "to be" - ser o estarI am / I was / I have been / I had been / I will be / …Verbo "to have" - haber o tenerI have / I had / I have had / I had had / I will have / …

Verbos Modales

Can - puedoI can dance.Could - podría / pude / podía / pudieraI could dance if I could practice.May - podría / quizás / puede queIt may rain today.Might - podría / quizás / puede queThey might come tomorrow.Must - debo / debo deI must go. - She must be crazy.Should - debería / tendría queI should study more.Ought to - debería / tendría queI ought to study more.

Verbos Auxiliares

Will - (convierte en futuro al verbo que le sigue)I will speak English.Would - (convierte en potencial al verbo que le sigue)I would speak English.

Connectors/Conectores

Los conectores o conjunciones son palabras que usamos para unir dos o más frases o dos palabras dentro de la misma oración. Aquí tienes los conectores más comunes agrupados en categorías.

Copulativosand, not only … but also …, not only … but … as well, both … and …, no sooner … thanDisyuntivosor, either … or …, neither … nor …, whether … or …, else, otherwiseCondicionalesif, whether, unless, provided, providing, as long as, in case, in case ofConcesivosalthough, though, even though, even if, despite, in spite of, not even if, regardless ofConclusivostherefore, hence, thus, so, consequentlyContinuativosthen, moreover, furthermore, besides, in addition toAdversativosbut, however, nonetheless, yet, still, on the other hand, instead, instead of, on the contraryCausalesbecause, for, because of, as a result of, due to, owing to, since, asComparativosas, as … as …, not as … as …, not so … as …, just as … so …, as if, as thoughFuncionalesso, so that, so as to, so as not to, in order to