english3facso2016

My favourite book is "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexander Dumas. Dumas is one of the most prolific French authors of all times. He was born in 1802 and he wrote hundreds of novels, dramas and short stories, as well as articles and even travel books! The Count of Montecristo is probably one of Dumas's most famous books along with the "Three Musketeers" and "The man in the Iron Mask".

"The Count of Monte Cristo" is the story of Edmond Dantes, a merchant sailor who is betrayed by three of his acquaintances: Danglars, Fernando Mondego and Villefort. Because of this betrayal, Dantes is forced to spend six years in prison but without really knowing why he is there.

While Dante is in prison he meets Abbe Faria, a highly intelligent priest who is also a prisoner. Thanks to Abbe Faria and his intelligence, Edmond is able to realise why he was put in prison. Together with Abbe Faria, Edmond starts plotting his revenge against Mondego, Villefort and Danglars and becomes The Count of Monte Cristo, a mysterious nobleman that charms French society.

I like the Count of Monte Cristo because it's highly entertaining and full of surprises and suspense. Although it's a very long book, it's very easy to read and understand-let's not forget it was written in the 19th century! Among its different themes we can find romance, revenge, redemption, selfishness, ambition and more!

The Count of Montecristo has been adapted into plays, films, audio adaptations even video games and soap operas in Latinamerica! And it's been referenced to in lots of films. For example, here's a video of a reference to The Count of Montecristo in the movie "V for Vendetta".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFCSYhCjHLQ

Thursday, May 26, 2016

A photograph (its story)

Hello Class!

Today, the post entry is about a photograph from your life.

In your post you should include the following information:

Who took it
What it shows
When it was taken
Why you like it
What happened before and after the photo was taken
Upload it too

This is my photograph. I don't remember exactly who took it but it was probably our tour guide or somebody from the trekking group.

My husband and I spent a month travelling in Peru in February 2013. In this photo we were on our way to Machu Picchu on a trek called Jungle trail. There is a more famous trek called the Inka trail but it's usually closed on February because of the rain. The Jungle trail included four days and three nights trekking from Cusco to Aguas Calientes, the town where Machu PIcchu is.

I like this photo because we look very adventurous like those old pictures of explorers or anthropologists but modern. This was my second time doing Machu Picchu and I hope it's not the last! The first time I climbed Machu Picchu I did it with lots of friends in 2009 and I remember the same day we climbed the mountain I came down with tonsilitis. I expected this second time to be better. But it wasn't!

After this picture was taken we stayed in a town called Santa Teresa where we had dinner. The next day, I woke up feeling very ill and weak because I had got food poisoning from the meal we had the night before! By the time we got to Aguas Calientes I only wanted to go to bed and sleep.

Fortunately, the day we had to climb Machu Picchu I was feeling a little bit better but this time I didn't climb it, I just took the bus!

Friday, May 20, 2016

You are going to spend a week in London evaluating tourist locations for an end of year study trip.

Here is a list of things you want to do while you are there. Follow the links and fill in the table.

Half Day Outings

London Eye

http://www.londoneye.com/

The British Museum

http://www.britishmuseum.org/

The Tower of London

http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/ (including Crown Jewels)

Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum

http://www.madametussauds.com/london/

The Natural History Museum

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/

The Tate Modern Art Gallery

http://www.tate.org.uk/

Full day

Kew Gardens

http://www.kew.org/

Camden Market

http://www.camden-market.org/

For each location say:

What day you will visit,

How much you will have to pay to get in,

Which Tube station you will travel to (nearest to location), and the zone it is in.

What will you do on the other days? (2 full days or 4 half days or 1 full day 2 half days)

Search the web for other things to do in London.

What is the total cost?

Friday, April 29, 2016

Free Post

This week's post is free!! You can write about whatever you want. You can write about something you like, for example, a book, a film, a place. Or you could talk about somebody you know or somebody you admire. I'm just giving you ideas! Because again, this is your choice!

Remember you should leave a comment on my post and at least two on your classmates'.

I decided to write about my favourite film: Muriel's wedding.

The first time I saw this film I was about 17 years old and it was the first Australian film I had ever seen. I remember they showed it on Chilevision- when Chilevision showed interesting films and programs.

Muriel's Wedding is the story of Muriel (Toni Collette), the underdog among a very popular group of girls. Muriel is bullied by her friends and family all the time because she's chubby, naive and also a fan of the Swedish band ABBA. Muriel's friends are all blonde and popular and they all have boyfriends or are getting married.

Her biggest ambition is being loved and getting married. But everything's about to change when she goes on a trip to Hibiscus Island where she meets Ronda (Rachel Griffins). This character completely changes Muriel's life and perhaps also her priorities.

I really like Muriel's wedding because it's very funny and it's got a very positive message for women. More than about a woman whose only dream is to get married, it's also about friendship, independence and enjoying life...and ABBA!

Muriel's wedding meant a lot to me too because it was then that I developed a fascination for Australia. Many years after watching Muriel's wedding for the first time, I had the chance to study in Australia and get to know some of the locations where this movie was filmed. For example, there's a street in Sydney called Parramatta Road, where there are many bridal shops, and that's where Muriel goes to try on dresses for her fake wedding ceremonies!

Here you have Muriel's wedding trailer for you to watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLDcevp5w5o

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Dear students,

Next week you have your Oral Presentations. Here I will post some important information about this evaluation.

1. You can't read! If you have slides, you can look at them every now and again but DO NOT READ directly from the slides.

2. If you DO READ, the highest mark I can give you is a 3.5.

3. Your Presentation must have some visual aid (Power Point, Prezi, etc): BUT it should not have more than 6
words in it.

4. The presentation accounts for the 20% of your final mark.