Coasteering

Coasteering

 

Lily Carter had no idea what present she wanted for her 14^th birthday. But she’d always been keen on challenging sports, especially to do with water, like surfing and sailing. So when her parents heard about an activity called coastering – exploring rocks along the coast by climbing and swimming – they thought Lily would love it. They found a course offered at an activity centre called Porthdean, just along the coast from the family home, which was perfect. So after checking it was led by experienced instructors, they signed her up.

 Lily had seen a TV show about coasteering, and was interested in doing it, although she’d thought only adults could take part But then she discovered that on coures of Porthdean, there’d also be people her age jumping from rocks into the sea, and also exploring caves – which was never normally allowed to do, so she really wanted to go. But she still asked her dad to go along too and, although he wondered whether he’d like coasteering himself, he knew how much Lily wanted someone to accompany her, so he agreed.

Lily and her dad drove to Porthdean, where they attended a session with their instructors to learn basic safety and techniques and be given helmets and special websuits to keep the cold out. The group they joined was quite small, which meant they got lots of individual attention. Says Lily, ‘The entire trip was awesome – although the water was freezing! But our instructors encouraged the whole group so much, we were ready to try absolutely all the challenges, even stuff we hadn’t expected at all, like jumping off high cliffs! I must admit, the one I jumped off wasn’t that high, but Dad went much higher!’

 

‘Anyway, Dad and I hadn’t realsied how hard it would be physically, so we were glad we were fit,’ explains Lily. ‘Evven so, afterwards, we actually felt like we’d done loads of hard exercise in the gym! But I’ll keep the memories of that trip forever, I reckon. And the instructions are going to put a video of it onto the website, so my friends will see it. They’d never believe me otherwise!’

B1 Writing Task: Write an Article About Your Favorite Clothing Store

B1 Writing Task: Write an Article About Your Favorite Clothing Store

Imagine you are writing an article for a local magazine to share your favorite clothing store with readers. Write about 100 words describing the store and why you love it. Include:

1.- The store’s name and location – Where is it located? Is it popular in your area?

2.- Style and variety – What kind of clothing do they sell (casual, formal, sportswear, etc.)? Do they have a large selection?

3.- Quality and prices – Is the quality good? Are the prices affordable or expensive?

4.- Personal experience – Why is it your favorite store? 

5.- Recommendation – Would you recommend it to others? Why or why not?

Be sure to make your article interesting and engaging for readers.

Department Stores

 

Eight Films Showing at the Film club}

 Eight Films Showing at the Film club}

 

A.- Land

 

If you enjoy the romance of the high seas, this film is for you. Teenager Tom Dudley hides on a ship sailing to the Americas. He hopes to become rich but that’s not how things end for Tom. Although made in the 1970s with none of the special effects we expect today, this film is a fine piece of story telling.

 

B.- The Tower

This movie was in cinemas last year and it is director Blake Cole’s best film. The film is very close to the original book and the main characters are played beautifully by two unknown actors. They bring the past back to life and make you really care about them. So when they eventually marry you’ll have a tear in your eye!

 

C.- Blaze

This film may not be full of Hollywood stars but it’s full of high-speed chases, amazing computer graphics and fantastic music. In the year 4638, Jonas leaves the world he loves to look for work on a distant planet. However, he finds more than he expected. This film is based on the popular cartoon novel by Toshio Yoshida.

D.- Net Worth

Vince is a science geek who spends al his time playing computer games. So everyone is surprised when he suddenly becomes a millionaire after inventing a new game that people can play on the internet. Laugh out loud as Vince enjoys himself being the new ‘Mr Popular’ at school.

 

E.- Star Child

Sunny Jones, played by Bonny Wild, is a teenager who finds herself in the land of Zorn, under the spell of an evil queen. Although it’s not in colour, the singing and dancing and Wild’s wonderful voice bring the film to life and make it as enjoyable today as it was back in 1941, when it was made.

  

F.- Download

In director Guss Halls first film, Katie’s life is controlled by the tracks she’s listening to on her iPod. She falls in love with Toby while she’s listening to love songs but things go wrong between them when she starts listening to modern jazz! Well-known stars Hedd Gold and Jake Myers keep the laughs coming throughout the film.

 

G.- Making it

Fran is a real young pop singer who dreams of being famous in this documentary drama. The director, Bob Johansson, chose to film this movie in black and white and the final effect is wonderful. The film shows just how hrd it is to make dreams come true.

 

H.- Catch

Harry Black is a spy, at least he says he is, but then he meets and falls in love with Greta who might actually be a spy. There are some amusing, high-speed conversations in this film, so listen carefully and enjoy the action. Are they spies or not? You’ll only find out in the final scene.

Teen writers on TV hit Catch

 Teen writers on TV hit Catch

 

Dan Finelli is a normal teenager from north London, he goes to school, enjoys hanging out with his mates and only occasionally misses his classes. But Dan also happens to be a writer for the popular teen drama, Catch. The second series starts this week and the one-hour episode that Dan wrote, his very first for the show, will be on screen later in the year. This will make him one of the youngest writers of a peak-time drama over.

Catch is about the lives of a group of 16-18-year-olds in a sixth-form college. The school doesn’t really exist, but the whole show does feel very true to life. There’s an episode every week and each one concentrates on an individual member of the group and tells his or her story.

The idea for the programme came from an unusual source, a father-and-son pair of writers, Ken Thomas and his son Callum. They took their idea to a TV company and were very surprised when the company said they were keen to make it. Now, Ken and Callum are central members of the writing team but in order to build that team. Ken had to go to theatre companies, and writing groups all over London to find both writers and teens to advise on the stories.

 

One writer he approached to join the team of the second series was Lizzie Wise. She had never heard of Catch when Ken first invited her to write. But Ken thought she would be right for the show because he’d read one of her plays and thought she was a very strong writer. Lizzie is only nineteen but has lots of valuable theatre experiences. She says, ‘I’ve watched much more TV than I’ve ever watched plays, so it wasn’t difficult for me to change to TV writing. What’s most challenging on Catch is the number of scenes in which there’s hardly any talking and where the story’s told through the looks the characters give each other and their body language only. These scenes take a long time to get right but they look great on the screen.’

These scenes take a long time to get right but they look great on the screen.’

Conversation to be commpleted

Choose the correct verb forms to complete the conversation.

When I (9) get / am getting  home from school, I hate (10) start / starting my homework straightaway. I like (11) relax / relaxing for a while and (12) not do / not doing anything! What about you?

I (13) have / am having drama club after school on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I don’t mind (14) be / being so busy, but I often (15) get / am getting quite tired. So, on Tuesdays and Thursdays I enjoy (16) not do / not doing much at all. After I (17) finish / am finishing my homework, I love (18) lie / lying on the sofa listening to music.

Ice-cream farm

Part 1.- For questions 1-8, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C, or D) best fits each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0).

Ice-cream farm

 

Deep in the heart of beautiful Irish countryside (0)_C) lies_ Willow Farm café. Its proprietor is Marth Lindsay, wife of farmer Dereck who has a heard of 100 cows. It is an extremely popular (1)______ for tourists with young families because of the wonderful ice cream it sells. There are 20 regular flavours, but the number one bestseller is Willows Own, a unique vanilla-based recipe whose contents are a (2)________ guarded secret! Everyone tries it (3)________ for its rich, creamy, natural taste – one that mass-produced ice cream cannot (4)________. The café also sells teas and cakes to (5)_______ for the tastes of older customers.

The ice cream is made using only natural ingredients from the farm, including milk, eggs, and even strawberries or apples, which give each product its (6)________ flavour.

 

The café is hard to (7)_________ to, but Martha reckons this is all part of the attraction for visitors. Certainly, it is well worth the (8)_______ as the views of the surrounding countryside are stunning.

 

0

A.      sits

B.      rests

C.     lies

D.     falls

1.-

A. visit

B. objective

C. intention

D. destination

2.-

A. narrowly

B. precisely

C. closely

D. thoroughly

 

3.-

A. praises

B. compliments

C. thanks

D. congratulations

4.-

A. balance

B. match

C. compare

D. measure

 

5.-

A. supply

B. offer

C. deliver

D. cater

6.-

A. divided

B. disconnected

C. distinct

D. dissimilar

 

7.-

A. arrive

B. come

C. reach

D. get

8.-

A. effort

B. task

C. feat

D. act