Lupe

Saint Valentine's Day

2009-02-07T14:58:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day History
Pagan festivals, Christian saints, Chaucer's love birds, and the Greeting Card Association of America
by Borgna Brunner
Roman Roots
The history of Valentine's Day is obscure, and further clouded by various fanciful legends. The holiday's roots are in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, a fertility celebration commemorated annually on February 15. Pope Gelasius I recast this pagan festival as a Christian feast day circa 496, declaring February 14 to be St. Valentine's Day.
Valentines Galore
Which St. Valentine this early pope intended to honor remains a mystery: according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, there were at least three early Christian saints by that name. One was a priest in Rome, another a bishop in Terni, and of a third St. Valentine almost nothing is known except that he met his end in Africa. Rather astonishingly, all three Valentines were said to have been martyred on Feb. 14.
Most scholars believe that the St. Valentine of the holiday was a priest who attracted the disfavor of Roman emperor Claudius II around 270. At this stage, the factual ends and the mythic begins. According to one legend, Claudius II had prohibited marriage for young men, claiming that bachelors made better soldiers. Valentine continued to secretly perform marriage ceremonies but was eventually apprehended by the Romans and put to death. Another legend has it that Valentine, imprisoned by Claudius, fell in love with the daughter of his jailer. Before he was executed, he allegedly sent her a letter signed "from your Valentine." Probably the most plausible story surrounding St. Valentine is one not focused on Eros (passionate love) but on agape (Christian love): he was martyred for refusing to renounce his religion.
In 1969, the Catholic Church revised its liturgical calendar, removing the feast days of saints whose historical origins were questionable. St. Valentine was one of the casualties.
Chaucer's Love Birds
It was not until the 14th century that this Christian feast day became definitively associated with love. According to UCLA medieval scholar Henry Ansgar Kelly, author of Chaucer and the Cult of Saint Valentine, it was Chaucer who first linked St. Valentine's Day with romance.
In 1381, Chaucer composed a poem in honor of the engagement between England's Richard II and Anne of Bohemia. As was the poetic tradition, Chaucer associated the occasion with a feast day. In "The Parliament of Fowls," the royal engagement, the mating season of birds, and St. Valentine's Day are linked:
For this was on St. Valentine's Day, When every fowl cometh there to choose his mate.
Tradition of Valentine's Cards

Over the centuries, the holiday evolved, and by the 18th century, gift-giving and exchanging hand-made cards on Valentine's Day had become common in England. Hand-made valentine cards made of lace, ribbons, and featuring cupids and hearts eventually spread to the American colonies. The tradition of Valentine's cards did not become widespread in the United States, however, until the 1850s, when Esther A. Howland, a Mount Holyoke graduate and native of Worcester, Mass., began mass-producing them. Today, of course, the holiday has become a booming commercial success. According to the Greeting Card Association, 25% of all cards sent each year are valentines.

VOCABULARY

2009-02-07T14:45:00.000-08:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/ask_about_english/090203/

QUIZZ

2009-02-07T14:37:00.000-08:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/worldservice/quiznet/quizengine?ContentType=text/html;quiz=954_up_date_4

Revision Conjunctions

2007-01-31T02:03:00.000-08:00

Las Conjunciones

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La conjunción se utiliza básicamente par enlazar dos oraciones. También puede enlazar frases o palabras dentro de una oración.
Go and look for him / Vete a buscarle
Gramaticalmente, las conjunciones se dividen en coordinantes y subordinantes (dependiendo que coordinen o subordinen dos palabras u oraciones). De igual forma, tanto las conjunciones coordinantes como las subordinantes se subdividen a su vez gramaticalmente. No obstante, vamos a hacer un estudio de las mismas menos teorizante y vamos a ver en detalle las conjunciones y locuciones conjuntivas que por su importancia o dificultad merecen una atención especial.
AS
Se usa para expresar:
a.) Tiempo
She trembled as he spoke / Temblaba mientras hablaba
b.) Modo o manera:
Leave the room as you find it / Deja la habitación tal como la encuentres.
c.) El comparativo de igualdad:
He is not so tall as you are / Él no es tan alto como tú
d.) Contraste:
Rich as he is, he isn't happy / Por muy rico que sea, no es feliz.
e.) Causa:
As you weren't there I left a message / Como no estabas, dejé un recado.
AS WELL AS
Se corresponde a la española tan(to).... como
She does not speak French as well as you do / Ella no habla francés tan bien como tú
BECAUSE
Equivale al 'porque', 'a causa de'... español (causal).
Because he was busy he couldn't go to the party / Por estar ocupado no podía ir a la fiesta.
BOTH ... AND
Both, cuando va acompañado de la conjunción and, se usa para recalcar dos hechos de igual importancia:
Both Elizabeth and Helen… / Tanto Elizabeth como Helen…
BUT
Se corresponde:
a.) Al pero español:
She is rich, but unhappy / Ella es rica pero desgraciada
b.) Con el 'sino' español
He's not only conceited but also selfish / No es sólo engreido sino también egoísta
c.) A la preposición española excepto:
Nobody but you could be so stupid / Sólo tú podrías ser tan tonto
EITHER... OR
Either usado con or corresponde a las conjunciones españolas o..,o
He must be either drunk or drugged / O está borracho o drogado
FOR
Ya que...
They were tired, for they had worked all day / Estaban cansados, porque habían pasado todo el día trabajando.
IF
a.) Puede expresar una condición o suposición:
I'll stay if you help me / Me quedaré si me ayudas.
b.) Opción:
I'll see if he's in / Voy a ver si está.
c.) Petición de forma cortés
If I could just interrupt you there… / Si me permite que le interrumpa…
LEST
Para que no, por miedo a
I didn't do it lest he should beat me / No lo hice por miedo a que me pegase
A veces se usa ' lest' detrás de los verbos 'fear', ' be afraid' 'of', etc en lugar de ' that''Lest' es muy formal y no se utiliza habitualmente en el inglés corriente.
LIKE
Como
He acts like he owns the place / Se comporta como si fuera el dueño.
NOT ONLY... BUT ALSO
Se usa cuando se quiere dar mayor importancia al segundo de los hechos:
Not only I read English but also I write it / No sólo leo en inglés, sino que también lo escribo
OR
Puede tener tres significados muy distintos:
a.) Equivalente al 'o' español
There were 35 or 40 people there / Había 35 ó 40 personas
b.) o, si no
Hands up or I'll shoot! / ¡Arriba las manos o disparo!
c.) ni
He can't read or write / No sabe leer ni escribir.
WHILE
Tiene el significado de 'mientras', 'aunque'.
She only saw him twice while he was staying there / Le vió solamente dos veces mientras él estaba allíWhile I admit it is difficult, I don't think it is impossible / Aunque reconozco que es difícil, no creo que sea imposible
EJERCICIOS
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Revision Verb To Be

2007-01-31T01:59:00.000-08:00

A) - Escríbe las frases completas usando la forma correcta del verbo 'To be':

1. These bags heavy.
2. I an engineer. My wife a nurse.
3. This house not very expensive.
4. My books on the table.
5. you a good teacher?.

B) - Traduce las siguientes frases al inglés.

1. ¿Dónde estabas ayer a las 4?

2. Estuve en la escuela hasta las 8

3. ¿Hizo buen tiempo ayer?

4. Tengo hambre. ¿Puedo comer algo?

5. Mis padres no son italianos.

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Revision Verb To Be

2007-01-31T01:57:00.000-08:00

Revision Prepositions

2007-01-31T01:52:00.000-08:00

Ejerc. Preposiciones

- Elige el significado correcto.
1. after - ? - junto a debajo de después de
2. behind - ? - excepto con detrás de
3. above - ? - excepto por encima de desde
4. through - ? - a través de por encima de detrás de
5. up - ? - hacia arriba junto a hacia abajo 6. under - ? - cerca de por debajo de después de
7. between - ? - entre (dos o más) entre (tres o más) dentro de
8. about - ? - cerca de excepto alrededor de
9. with - ? - sin con de
10. from - ? - desde hasta excepto

Lee las siguientes frases, y escribe otra frase con un significado parecido a la primera. Sigue el ejemplo.
You must drink water to live. / You can’t live without drinking water.

1 He plays football very well.
He’s good at .
2 She wouldn’t let me pay the bill.
She insisted on .
3 I appreciate the money you lent me.
Thank you for .
4 Is golf the only sport you play?
Besides , are there any other sports you play?
5 It took me two years to learn to swim.
After two years I succeeded in .
6 I don’t intend to change my job.
I have no intention of .
7 Craig was a farmer before he became a teacher.
Craig was a teacher after .
8 I had a shower after I played tennis.
I played tennis before .
9 The flat was expensive, but we bought it.
In spite of , we bought the flat.
10 ‘Why don’t we go for a pizza?’ said Ruben.
‘How about ?’ said Ruben.
‘Do you feel like ?’ said Ruben.
‘What about ?’ said Ruben.

SOLUCIONES

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Revision Comparison

2007-01-31T01:51:00.000-08:00

Ejerc. Comparativo

- Escribe el comparativo
Ej. small - smaller

1. good
2. intelligent
3. old
4. dark
5. bad
6. large
7. narrow
8. new
9. easy
10. funny

SOLUCIONES

- Completa las frases usando un comparativo.

Ej. My flat isn’t very big.- I want a bigger flat.

1. My motorbike isn’t very fast. I’d like .
2. My husband isn’t very rich. I need .
3. Your computer is old now. You need .
4. His camera isn’t very good. He needs .
5. It isn’t very hot today. It was yesterday.
6. I’m not very interested in football. I’m in tennis.

SOLUCIONES

- Escribe frases que signifiquen lo mismo usando ‘as………as’.

Ej. A Porsche is faster than a Skoda. – A Skoda isn’t as fast as a Porsche.

1. Football is more popular than cricket in Spain.
Cricket isn’t
2. I work harder than you.

3. My car’s newer than yours.

4. His watch is more expensive than hers.

5. Your flat’s nicer than ours.

6. Paris is colder than Casablanca.

SOLUCIONES

- Completa las frases con un superlativo.

Ej. He’s a very good footballer. He’s the best footballer in Europe at the moment.

1. She’s a pretty girl. She’s girl in my class.
2. There are many exciting cities in North America, but I think New York is .
3. August is a hot month in Spain. It’s usually month of the year.
4. I was so happy when I got married. My wedding day was day of my life.
5. It’s such an expensive restaurant. I think it’s the restaurant in Madrid.
6. It’s a very interesting book. It’s one of the books I’ve ever read.

SOLUCIONES

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Revision Saxon Genitive

2007-01-31T01:49:00.000-08:00

Ejerc. Posesión

Forma frases con las palabras entre paréntesis y pon ' s ' / 'of ' según convenga.

I like Philip's car. ( the car - Philip )
I cried at the end of the film. ( the film - the end )

1- Do you like ? ( Anne -the coat )
2- Put his name at (The end - the page ).
3- I hate ( the car - Bob ).
4- The bar opens at ( the end - the winter ).
5- What is (the first day - the month)
6- What was ( the price - the flat ).
7- Which is ? ( the bag - Craig ).
8- is not very interesting. ( the Church - the Holy Grail).
9- is not far from de sea. ( the flat - Andy ).
10- What is ( the size- this T-shirt )

SOLUCIONES

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Tutoría

2007-01-30T02:36:00.000-08:00

Los alumnos que no hayan traido los boletines de notas, por favor traiganlos esta semana y el que tenga firmado la hoja de las vacunaciones también.