.:My World:.

The trip to Madrid was pleasant because we visited fairly important places like "Reina Sofia" or "Museo del Prado", "El Palacio Real", "La Cibeles", "El Parque del Retiro"... The last one was lovely because it's extremely big. It's like a wood, with quite fantastic trees, fountains, one big lake, etc. There was an atmosphere of calm and we could go for a walk for hours.

 But the most important thing that happened was meeting Lina, a Chinese friend who left school one year ago to go to Madrid to work. We hadn't seen her for one year and when Océane, Lea and me were walking near "La Plaza Mayor" Lina called us and she said that she would be there in a few minutes. At that moment I was very nervous and happy! "This is fantastic" I thought.

 After a moment Lina and her friend met us. We were so happy! Then we went shopping and after that we went to "La Plaza Mayor". We were talking a lot while we were watching the amazing square. We took lots of photos together. After that, we walked along the commercial streets, laughing and speaking and all of us had a big smile on our faces.

 Finally we arrived at "La Plaza Mayor" again and we walked around it. We spent a pleasant time together but after a short time Lina and her friend had to leave. I hugged them and we promised Lina to see her once a year. After that I was very happy but a little sad. We went to the lodging because after Madrid we had to visit Bilbao, Burgos and Atapuerca!

What a stressful trip!  But it was worth!

Paula

ARE OUR ZOOS CRUEL TO WILD ANIMALS?

I think that our zoos are extremely cruel with wild animals. One example is the Barcelona zoo. If you go there you can understand why.

 Fist of all, the place is very noisy and small. It's noisy because the zoo is in the middle of the city and it's too small for all the animals that live there.

 There are many types of animals, and their life conditions are dreadful. Many of these are closed in cages and they can't move sufficiently. For example, cheetahs need a lot of space to run, to move, to hunt, etc. They haven't enough space to do it and they become dependent animals, like pets.

 The same thing happens with aquatic animals. They are living in a pool instead of living in the ocean. In addition, I remember that the water is not at all clean.

 I believe that the hardest thing is what happens to the cold climate animals. When I visited the zoo, the polar bears had to resist extremely hot temperatures like 35ºC, the normal temperature in summer.

 One thing that I can't stand is to see people feeding these animals as if they were their pets. As far as I'm concerned, this should be forbidden. I hope that people who really love animals have to stop doing that stupid things.

To sum up, people who take care of the zoo realize that the animals aren't in good conditions in these places, and they have to solve it.

 I think that it could be a great improvement going forward with the new projects designed for the Barcelona zoo.

Jane Austen was born in Steventon, a village of England in 1775. Her parents were called George and Cassandra.

 After ten years, Austen went to the Abbey School, in Reading (England) with her sister Cassandra for two years.

 In 1790 Austen started to write her juvenilia which she finished three years later.

 Two years later she wrote an original version of "Northanger Abbey", "Sense and sensibility" and "Pride and prejudice". The last two novels had a lot of success.

 At the age of 22 she tried to publish "First Impressions", an original version of "Pride and Prejudice" but a London publisher rejected it.

 In 1801 she moved to Bath with her family, because of her father's retirement.

 When she was 28, a publisher bought "Susan", the original version of "Northanger Abbey", but it was never issued.

 One year later Austen began "The Watsons", but she decided to abandon it and a year after her father George died.

 Two years later she moved to Southampton with her mother and her sister.

 From 1809 to 1817 she lived with them in the village of Chawton, situated in southern England. They lived in a small house that her wealthy brother Edward provided.

 In that place Austen began to revise the original versions of "Sense and Sensibility" and "Pride and Prejudice".

 Finally, the two novels were published in 1811 and 1813.

 In 1814, another Austen novel was published, "Mansfield Park" and she began to write a new novel "Emma".

 When "Emma" was published, she continued writing and she wrote "Prince Regent", later called "George IV" at his request. Later she completed "Persuasion".

 At the age of 42 she started the fragment of "Sandition", but Austen had to abandon it because she had an incapaciting illness. In May, she moved to Winchester for a medical care, but she died there on 18^th July.

 On 24 July she was buried in Winchester Cathedral.

In 1818, after her death, "Northanger Abbey" and "Persuasion" were published jointly in a four-volume edition that included a biographical preface of Austen, written by her brother Henry.

Austen was and is one of the world's best writers. At the moment, people still remember her because of the films based on her novels.

1.Look at the front cover and observe it. How do you relate the title to the picture?

The title of the book talks about two lives and we can observe two people held at the front of the cover. This image could symbolize the meaning of the title.

2.Most of the story takes place in Tredonald, Wales. Find information about this coal mining village.
With the Industrial Revolution ( 17th and 18th c ) , coal mining, a tiny industry in the 15th century, became a national and international industry. Thus, the 19th century was a century of massive expansion for the coal industry in Wales. But the end of the 20th century brought almost universe closure. Find information about 1984 miners' strike.

Tredonald is a small coal mining village situated in the south of Wales.

The miner’s strike of 1984-1985 was a big industrial action against the British coal industry. It was a very important moment in British industrial relations. It was also seen as a big political and ideological victory for Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative Party.

3.Chapter 1: Two young lives

-" Life was not easy for the Thomas family." Why ? ( 3 lines )

Life was not easy for Thomas family because they had to work in a mine. They haven’t got anything else to do in Tredonald, and they needed money as son as possible. They haven’t good food and Gareth and Huw’s father was drunk.

- Richard Thomas had been killed while fighting in North Africa in 1943. Which war was it ?

He had been killed in the Second World War.

- In chapter 1 we know that Megan and Huw are good friends. Describe the moment.

Chapter one describes a little bit the friendship between Megan and Huw. At the end of the chapter, the narrator says that they had been friends for years and now they relationship was stronger than before.

4. Chapter 2 : The friendship continues

-In this chapter Megan and Huw take a decision about their relationship. Explain it. Why do they take it?

They take the decision to become a couple. They do it because they are in love and they want to spend more time together.

5. Chapter 3: Romance grows

-"This Saturday was going to be a night to remember." ( page 15 ) Why?

The narrator says "This Saturday was going to be a night to remember” because in one hand, it was the first time that they got out together to the cinema and when they arrived at Tredonald Huw gave her a beautiful silver necklace. It was a wonderful night for them. But, in the other hand the night became terrible because after that, they heard a loud noise out of the mine. Some hours later, Huw and his father knew that Gareth, Huw’s brother, was died out the mine while he was working during the night.

6. Chapter 4: Death at the mine / Leaving Tredonald

-After the first four chapters, how would you define the relationship between Huw and his brother?

After the first four chapters, I would say that the relationship between Huw and his brother Gareth was harder because they had to survive with they own resources. Also, their father was drunk because he was not able to face up the reality.

7. Chapter 6: A surprise find

-Megan finds the letters Huw had sent her 50 years before, in 1946 and 1947. Imagine Meg's father was still alive and that you are Meg. What would you tell him?

I would tell him that he couldn’t do it because it was my live and I could decide what I wanted to do with it. I was free to choose the one who could give me love and happiness.

In the first letter Meg asks Huw: " Do you think he wanted me to find them when it was to late?". What do you think?

I think that perhaps he wanted Megan find these letters when it was too late for them. If he had wanted that, her daughter couldn’t find them. He could have burned them, but he didn’t do it.

8. Chapter 7: Time to decide

-Before leaving Tredonald, Huw told Megan : "in a year ...I'll come back here and we'll get married..." ( pag.23 ); but things turned out to be completely different. Why ?

This thing turned out to be completely different because they lived their own lives in different countries for fifty years, and they didn’t know anything of each other.

9. Chapter 8: Telling Beth

-Find some information about Cardiff ( 3 lines ) and post a picture

Cardiff is the capital of the most populous county in Wales. It has a commercial centre and also it’s the base for many national cultural and sport institutions. The most popular destination in the country is the Welsh Assembly Government.

10. Chapter 10: Writing back

-Meg is about to get married. In spite of that, she lets Huw visit her and her daughter. Why does she act that way? Do you think she does it for Beth or for herself?

She acts that way because Megan still loves Huw and he prefers don’t tell him anything about Paul, her future husband. I think that she does it for herself. She is very confused because Huw appears in her life and she is about to get married with Paul.

11. Chapter 11 : A new star

-What's Meg's present job?

The Meg’s present job is tourist guide. She sometimes takes groups of visitors on tours down the mine.

-Why does Huw tell her " you always were a fighter, weren't you?" ? ( pag.48 )

Megan was a fighter person because she always get ready to help other people and she had a very hard personality.

-Do you think two people can still be in love after 50 years without seeing each other?

I think that it’s difficult but it’s possible because love is a very strong feeling.

12. Chapter 17 : Time to go

-Imagine the conversation between Paul and Megan the moment she tells him that she is still in love with Huw. Write it down

Paul: -What are you thinking about, Megan? You are very quite…

Megan: -Nothing…

Paul: -Tell me…Are you happy with me?

Megan: -Yes, but there’s something that’s make me confused.

Paul: -Why my love?

Megan: -Do you remember that there was a man that I knew many years ago, when I was sixteen?

Paul: -Yes…But what does it mean? Is he still important for you?

Megan: -Paul, yesterday I found some letters from him. My father was hiding them for years, you know… He was my boyfriend when I was sixteen, but my dad didn’t agree with our relationship because he was a miner. He thought that he wasn’t suitable for me. Now we have the opportunity to meet again.

Paul: -Are you telling me that you’re still in love with him?

Megan: -Paul, I love you but…He is the love of my life.

13. Did you like the book? Why ? What did you learn by reading it?

Yes, very much, because it transmits a lot of emotions: happiness, sadness, love,…

I learnt a lot of words and vocabulary expressions, sentences’ structure, etc. I also learnt that I’m able to read an English book without help.

I learnt a little bit of history about living in a coal mining village as Tredonald. I didn’t know how much had people to suffer to survive.

1-Who was Serralonga?

He was a bandit who lived in Catalonia during 17th century. He was born in Viladrau and he married the heiress of the Serrallonga “masia”. He was forced to robb from the rich and battled royalist forces. In the end he was executed in 1634 in Barcelona.

2-Who was Robin Hood?

He was an England’s bandit that, as literary legends say, he robbed from the rich and gave money to poor people.

3-What things did they have in common?

They were both “good” bandits, because they fought against the power and had the support of the population.

I would like to talk about one of my friends, Tom. We often meet when we have free time. We can stay chatting for hours at the bar. I think that he’s a very nice person.

He has got long brown hair and brown eyes. He’s average height and slim. He usually wears jeans and informal T-shirts.

First of all, Tom can be a bit shy. He’s the kind of person who likes tranquility. He’s very sensitive, patient, generous and sociable. The best thing about him is his sense of humor. When I’m with Tom, I can’t stop laughing.

In general he’s very good at languages. We do the same subjects, but we are at a different Secondary School.

We love music and he teaches me to play the guitar. He’s a very good musician.

To sum up, Tom is a very interesting person and I like spending time with him. He is my best friend

Dear Sarah,

It was great to get your letter before going on holiday to Ireland. Now, I’m glad to tell you something about this beautiful country and its people.

I’m travelling with my parents and another family and we’ll stay here for 10 days. I’m enjoying the landscape very much because we are in a rural area and all is green, very green. The weather is not good but, what can we do? There are a lot of sheep, small villages and lots of castles, many of them in ruins. We are next to the coast and it’s very impressive with cliffs and small islands.

Well, I’m coming back next Wednesday morning. Will you come over on Wednesday evening?

I miss you.

Love,

Paula