Tuesday, April 24, 2012


WELCOME GUYS


La Comunidad Gabrielita con orgullo comparte los resultados del premio Internacional de innovación educativa en donde participamos aproximadamente 2.000 trabajos de 29 países deferentes y después de un largo proceso de evaluación clasificamos de semifinalista, finalista y por último siendo ganadores del segundo premio a nivel internacional con el blog  "http://tearidiz.blogspot.com/ en la Modalidad B categoría III
Los invitamos a conocer a todos los ganadores en todas las modalidades y categorías a través de este link
Y a los ganadores de la categoría III modalidad B en la que participamos: 
http://premioeducacion.fundaciontelefonica.com/ganadores2012-mod-b-III
Conoce la opinión de los jurados  https://www.dropbox.com/s/5z0ejz4qucm1rl3/Acta_del_Jurado.pdf
Conoce nuestro proyecto http://tearidiz.blogspot.com/
Agradecemos a todas las personas de nuestra institución que de una u otra forma contribuyeron al desarrollo del proyecto, al profesor Francisco Montañez, estudiantes de los grados 7,8 y 11 por su esmero y dedicación en el desarrollo de las diferentes actividades realizadas tanto dentro como fuera del aula. Uds. también son ganadores.
Muchas Gracias.
Atte., Licenciada  Teresa de Jesús Ariza Díaz
       Docente de  Ingles.



3. COMPRENSION AUDITIVA
EXPRESIONES CON ALIMENTOS - Parte 2/2. Interesante artículo que presenta 16 expresiones idiomáticas basadas en palabras de alimentos (frutas y verduras). Para tu comodidad hemos intercalado vocabulario bilingüe a lo largo del texto. 

Pulsa la palabra "AUDIO" para escuchar. Para descargar acerca la flecha del ratón a "AUDIO" y 
con botón derecho selecciona la opción "Guardar Archivo (o Destino) Como" y guarda el archivo en tu computadora.
FOOD EXPRESSIONS - Part 2/2
Now, the VOA Special English program "Words and their stories". We received a list of expressions about food from Elenir Scardueli, a listener from Brazil.

Today we will talk about some good things to eat. If something is new and improved, we say it is the best thing since sliced bread. In the past, bread was only sold in loaves in baked goods stores. Today, American supermarkets sell sliced bread in plastic bags. Many people thought this was easier because you did not have to cut the bread yourself. The person who makes the most money in a family is called the breadwinner.
the best thing since sliced bread: sliced bread (pan en rebanadas) was first sold in 1928 and it was advertised as "the greatest forward step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped." This led to the popular phrase "the greatest thing since sliced bread"; breadwinner: sostén económico de la familia;

Bread and butter issues are those that are most important to Americans and affect them directly – like jobs and health care.
bread and butter issues: los problemas esenciales para el sustento, el pan de cada día;

Half a loaf is better than none means that getting part of what you want is better than getting nothing at all. If you know which side your bread is buttered on, then you know what your best interests are and will act to protect them.
half a loaf is better than none: más vale tarde que nunca, mejor pájaro en mano que cien volando; you know which side your bread is buttered on: cada uno sabe qué cosa le conviene y qué cosa no;

Many Americans like their bread toasted. Toast is cooked with dry heat until it starts to turn brown. But you are in big trouble if someone tells you you’re toast.
you're toast: estar en problemas;

If you say something is a piece of cake, it means something is really easy, like a test you take in school. Cakes are often covered with a sweet topping, called icing. Icing on the cake means something good that happens in addition to another good thing. Another expression says you can’t have your cake and eat it, too. This means you cannot have everything your way, especially if two wishes oppose each other.
a piece of cake: pan comido, juego de niños; icing on the cake: el incentivo, el toque final, la guinda del postre; you can’t have your cake and eat it, too: quererlo todo, querer el oro y el moro;

Hotcakes are also called pancakes. They contain flour, eggs, milk and baking powder. You cook them in a frying pan and eat them with fruit or a sweet topping. If a new product is popular and selling well, you might say it is selling like hotcakes.
baking powder: polvo de hornear; frying pan: sartén; sweet topping: ingrediente dulce adicional; selling like hotcakes: vendiéndose como pan caliente (rápidamente);

But if a friend of yours did something bad, you might stop being friends with him immediately or drop him like a hotcake.
drop him like a hotcake: lo rechazas como un panqueque caliente;

Flat as a pancake describes something that is, well, really flat.
flat as a pancake: completamente plano;

A tough cookie is not something you want to eat. It is a person who is difficult to deal with, and would do anything necessary to get what he or she wants. This person could be a sharp cookie or someone who is not easily fooled. Very often things do not go the way we planned. Instead of getting angry or sad, you might just accept it and say that’s the way the cookie crumbles.
a tough cookie: persona fuerte que no se deja manipular; a sharp cookie: persona astuta; that's the way the cookie crumbles: así es la vida, así son las cosas;

Many pies are also good to eat. If something is easy to do, you could say it iseasy as pie. But if you do something wrong or bad, you might have to apologize and show you are sorry. In other words, you might have to eat humble pie.
easy as pie: muy fácil de hacer; to eat humble pie: retractarse, pedir disculpas;

If you have an idea or plan that is not really possible, someone might say it ispie in the skyIf something is really easy to do, you might say it is like taking candy from a baby. But that would not be a very nice thing to do!
pie in the sky: castillos en el aire (promesa vacía); taking candy from a baby:arrebatarle un dulce a un niño.

This program was written by Shelley Gollust. I'm Faith Lapidus.



3. COMPRENSION AUDITIVA
EXPRESIONES CON ALIMENTOS - Parte 1/2. Interesante artículo que presenta 16 expresiones idiomáticas basadas en palabras de alimentos (frutas y verduras). Para tu comodidad hemos intercalado vocabulario bilingüe a lo largo del texto.

Pulsa la palabra "AUDIO" para escuchar. Para descargar acerca la flecha del ratón a "AUDIO" y
con botón derecho selecciona la opción "Guardar Archivo (o Destino) Como" y guarda el archivo en tu computadora.
FOOD EXPRESSIONS - Part 1/2
Now, the VOA Special English program "Words and their stories". A listener from Brazil, Elenir Scardueli, sent us a list of popular expressions about food. So today we will talk about expressions that use vegetables and fruits.
For example, a cucumber is a long, green vegetable that people often eat in salads. You might say a person is as cool as a cucumber if he never seems to worry about anything and stays calm in a stressful situation. If you put a cucumber in a solution of vinegar and spices for a long time, it becomes a pickle. But if you are in a pickle, you are in trouble or a difficult situation.
as cool as a cucumber: tan fresco como una lechuga; in a pickle: en un lío, en apuros;

If two people are very similar, you might say they are like two peas in a pod.
like two peas in a pod: como dos gotas de agua, idénticos, gemelos;

There are several expressions about beans. If someone is very energetic, you might say she is full of beans. If you say something does not amount to a hill of beans, you mean it is of little importance. I might say you don’t know beans about a subject if you do not know anything at all about it. But if you spill the beans, you tell something that was supposed to be a secret.
full of beans: lleno de energía, lleno de vitalidad; does not amount a hill of beans: no tiene nada de valor (no vale más que una pila de porotos); you don't know beans: no sabes nada de nada; spill the beans: soltar la lengua, contar todo, revelar un secreto;

Potatoes are a popular food in many areas. But something is considered small potatoes if it is not important. You probably would not want to hold a hot potato in your bare hands. This also means a problem or issue that no one wants to deal with. Someone might call you a couch potato if you sit and watch television all day and get little or no physical exercise.
small potatoes: cosa poco importante; hot potato: asunto candente, tema delicado; couch potato: teleadicto, persona muy sedentaria;

Like potatoes, turnips are root vegetables that grow in the ground. Here is an old saying: you cannot squeeze blood out of a turnip. That means you cannot get something from a person that he or she is not willing or able to give.
you cannot squeeze blood out of a turnip: no puedes sacarle sangre a un nabo (dinero a quien no lo tiene);

Farmers have to separate the valuable parts of their crops from the waste. So separating the wheat from the chaff means keeping what is valuable and rejecting what is worthless.
separate the wheat from the chaff: separar el grano de la paja;

Students often have to take a difficult test to gain entrance to a special school. So you could say the ones who are chosen are the best ones, or the cream of the crop.
the cream of the crop: la creme de la creme, la flor y nata, el mejor de todos;

There is an old saying that forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest. That means some people get pleasure from doing something that they are not supposed to do.
forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest: la fruta prohibida es siempre la más dulce;

Bananas are a popular fruit to eat. But if you go bananas, you are wild with excitement or worry.
go bananas: estar chiflado, volverse loco, perder la chaveta;

Finally, let us talk about lemons. Lemons have a sour taste if you eat them plain. But lemons make a nice drink when you mix their juice with sugar and water. So here is an expression about lemons that we like: If life gives you lemons, make lemonade. This means you should always try to make the best of a bad situation.
If life gives you lemons, make lemonade: Al mal tiempo, buena cara.(Si del cielo te caen limones, aprende a hacer limonada).

This program was written by Shelley Gollust. I'm Faith Lapidus.


SEPTEMBER

LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP DAY


candy by Yomi955
In Colombia, people don't celebrate Valentine's day on February 14th, but instead, celebrate the whole month of September with the peak during the third weekend.  On these days not only romantic couples give each other presents, but friends also get together for drinks or to eat, and one of the most frequent ways to celebrate the month is through gift exchanges, quite common in workplaces and classrooms.

It is the month when people, friends, couples and lovers get together to spend a month of happiness, joy, harmony and life. In some parts, people play secret friend, the game consists that in the beginning there is a monitor in charge of the game who gives a bag with names and each person has to pull out a paper, in this paper is written the name of the person who will be your secret friend, you can't tell any of your friends who you got because the fun in the game is not revealing who your friend is, because it wouldn't be secret any more. Then each day you need to give your secret friend something, for example in one day you have to give something salty, the next something sweet, the next something sour, the next a joke and so on until the last day of the game arrives when there is a special present. In Colombia it is one of the most expected months and the most special one in the year.

Still today I'm tormented by nightmares from my times at school, having to buy a gift for a “secret friend”, that no matter how much effort I put into it, was always going to be underappreciated. All this just so that at the end of the matter, the jerk who was supposed to give me a present, would gift me any piece of crap bought in a hurry.
 the Zarco (meaning someone with blue eyes), explains why he doesn't play secret friend anymore. The character of el Zarco represents many of the youth that live in marginal areas of the city of Medellin, and speaks with a specific slang called parlache. In the video, he explains his reasons for not playing secret friend.

The reasons El Zarco gives are the following:
  • it is a comercial invention and as such, it requires money, which he doesn't have
  • he gets picked by the laziest one who doesn't make an effort.
  • effort is not rewarded, and gifts given are not similar in value
  • picking out names from a bag and getting someone he dislikes is annoying
  • getting IOUs instead of candy from lazy secret friends.
  • not getting candy but having to give, and seeing everyone else get theirs.
  • day of unveiling secret friends is annoying, people holler cat call and expect kissing and hugging.
  • he is always single and depressed during love and friendship month but…
  • if he  is not single, he has to split himself between friends, girlfriends and lovers.
At the end the Zarco proposes making this month a time to spend with friends and loved ones, taking the time to make peace with anyone with whom we don't get along very well, but not a time for these meaningless games… however, he admits that he will be playing this year again.
The game has taken an online tint as well. Secret Follower (or #FollowerSecreto) is the new method by which Colombian twitters are participating with their friends from the popular micro-blogging platform.  The methodology is explained in this page and through this tool, people can send their secret follower messages, and anyone can also check out their own present. Click on the menu button and select a twitter user to see the types of gifts they have received: phrases of friendship, images of cute animals or candy, videos, poems and more.


JULY


EXPRESIONES REFERIDAS AL DINERO. Interesante artículo que presenta 26 expresiones idiomáticas basadas en la palabra MONEY o en lo que ésta expresa. 

Para tu comodidad, hemos intercalado un vocabulario bilingüe a lo largo del audio-texto (términos ingleses en celeste y términos franceses en amarillo). Descarga el audio a tu reproductor portátil y practica inglés mientras viajas.
Pulsa la palabra "AUDIO" para escuchar. Para descargar acerca la flecha del ratón a "AUDIO" y con botón derecho selecciona la opción "Guardar Archivo (o Destino) Como" y guarda el archivo en tu computadora.
MONEY EXPRESSIONS
Now, the VOA Special English program "Words and their Stories".

I think people everywhere dream about having lots of money. I know I do. I would give anything to make money hand over fistI would like to earn large amounts of money. You could win a large amount of money in the United States through lotteries. People pay money for tickets with numbers. If your combination of numbers is chosen, you win a huge amount of money – often in the millions. Winning the lottery is a windfall.
make money hand over fist: hacer mucho dinero en poco tiempo; to earn: ganar (dinero); large amounts of: grandes cantidades de; you could: uno/a podría;lotteries: lotería, juegos de azar; is chosen: es elegida, sale sorteada; huge:enorme; in the millions: en el orden los los millones de dólares; winning: ganar; a windfall: un golpe de fortuna, una ganancia inesperada;

A few years ago, my friend Al won the lottery. It changed his life. He did not have a rich family. He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouthInstead, my friend was always hard up for cash. He did not have much money. And the money he did earn was chicken feed – very little.
born with a silver spoon in his mouth: nacido con una cuchara de oro en la boca (o "en cuna de oro"); instead: en cambio; hard up: en estado de pobreza, sin dinero, sin blanca; he did earn: que realmente ganaba; chicken feed: insignificante (alimento para las gallinas);

Sometimes Al even had to accept hand-outsgifts from his family and friends. But do not get me wrong. My friend was not a deadbeatHe was not the kind of person who never paid the money he owed. He simply pinched penniesHe was always very careful with the money he spent. In fact, he was often a cheapskateHe did not like to spend money. The worst times were when he was flat broke and had no money at all.
hand-outs: dádivas, limosnas, algo de dinero prestado; do not get me wrong: no me malinterpreten; deadbeat: aprovechado, gorrón, caradura; paid: pagaba; he owed:que él debía; pinched pennies: cuidaba el dinero; he spent: que él gastaba;cheapskate: tacaño, avaro, agarrado; the worst times: los peores momentos; flat broke: sin un centavo, sin un duro; at all: en absoluto;

One day, Al scraped together a few dollars for a lottery ticket. He thought he would never strike it rich or gain lots of money unexpectedly. But his combination of numbers was chosen and he won the lottery. He hit the jackpotHe won a great deal of money.
scraped together: juntó a duras penas, logró ahorrar; lottery ticket: billete de lotería; strike it rich: hacerse rico; gain lots of: conseguir parvas de; unexpectedly:de buenas a primeras; he hit the jackpot: acertó el gordo, se hizo rico; a great deal of: una gran cantidad de;

Al was so excited. The first thing he did was buy a costly new car. Hesplurged on the one thing that he normally would not buy. Then he started spending money on unnecessary things. He started to waste it. It was like he had money to burnHe had more money than he needed and it was burning a hole in his pocket so he spent it quickly.
excited: emocionado; costly: costoso; splurged on: se dio el lujo de; would not buy: no compraría; spending money on: gastar dinero en; to waste it: a derrocharlo; money to burn: exceso de dinero; it was burning a hole in his pocket:le quemaba las manos (literalmente, el bolsillo);

When we got together for a meal at a restaurant, Al paid every time. He would always foot the billand pick up the tab. He told me the money made him feel like a million dollarsHe was very happy.
when we got together for: cuando nos juntábamos para; paid: pagaba; foot the bill: hacerse cargo de la cuenta; pick up the tab: correr con los gastos; made him feel like a million dollars: lo hacia sentirse millonario, sentirse extraordinariamente;

But, Al spent too much money. Soon my friend was down and out again. He had no money left. He was back to being strapped for cashHe had spent his bottom dollarhis very last amount. He did not even build up a nest egg.He had not saved any of the money.
too much: demasiado; down and out: empobrecido, arruinado; he had no money left: ya no le quedaba dinero; he was back to: volvió a; being strapped for cash:andar falto de dinero; had spent: había gastado; bottom dollar: su último dólar; he did not even: él ni siquiera; build up a nest egg: ahorrar algo de dinero;

I admit I do feel sorry for my friend. He had enough money to live like a king. Instead, he is back to living on a shoestring – a very low budget. Some might say he is penny wise and pound foolish. He was wise about small things, but not about important things.
I do feel sorry for: siento sincera pena por; like a king: como un rey; instead: en cambio; live on a shoestring: vivir con lo mínimo; very low budget: bajísimo presupuesto; some might say: algunos podrían decir que; penny wise and pound foolish: inteligente para las cosas pequeñas y muy tonto para las grandes.

"Words and their Stories" in VOA Special English, was written by Jill Moss. I’m Faith Lapidus.



MAY


My Favorite Mother’s Day Memories


Mother’s Day is almost here and it got me to thinking about my favorite Mother’s Days memories.
Ok..let me back up a little..get this…when I was growing up in Mexico, the typical Mother’s Day included tons of folks heading over to my grandma’s house, where my grandma, my mom, and all the rest of the mothers in the extended family spent all day, prepping, cooking, serving, and cleaning up after a large Mother’s Day family meal!!  Really? Really!  Well, I say, no way to that!
Now that I’m a mother, my stand out favorite Mother’s Day memories were quiet, peaceful days, when I had both time just to myself and time with the people I love most, my husband and kids.
And my favorite memories always somehow involve plants.  Strange, right?
Having time for myself is important to me.  I’m talking about time to recharge my batteries and focus on my wellbeing.  It can mean a nap, reading a book, watching a show, having a pedicure with my friends, or even taking a long, hot shower.  My husband is so good, he usually takes the kids out of the house so I can have this time just for me.
My favorite gifts are usually the most meaningful ones; handcrafts from my kids, good books, and music are some of my favorites. And then there’s the plants, I love it when my boys buy plants and flowers and plant them in our garden for me.  See, I love flowers and vegetable gardens but I don´t think I´m particularly good to them.  My husband and kids take the time to water the plants and take care of them, while I, and I love this part, enjoy the results!
What are your favorite Mother’s Day memories? What are you giving your mom on Mother’s Day? What would you like to receive for Mother’s Day?

THIS SONG FOR ALL MOTHERS




INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY






MARCH 8TH/12




M








3. LECTO-COMPRENSION
TRES MUJERES COMPARTEN EL PREMIO NOBEL DE LA PAZ. Interesante artículo para celebrar el "Día Internacional de la Mujer". Para tu comodidad, hemos intercalado un vocabulario bilingüe.
THREE WOMEN SHARE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

Three women shared 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for their "non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights, to full participation in peace-building work." 
shared: compartieron; prize: premio; struggle: lucha; safety: seguridad; rights:derechos; full: íntegra; peace-building: orientado a la paz;

The recipients are Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, activist Leymah Gbowee of Liberia, and activist Tawakkul Karman of Yemen. The 1.5 million dollar prize was equally divided among the three female laureates. In a statement announcing last year's winners, the Norwegian Nobel Prize Committee said, "We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society."
recipients: beneficiarias; Liberian: liberiano/a (nativo de Liberia, Africa); activist:militante; equally: a partes iguales; among: entre (más de 2 personas, animales o cosas); laureates: laureadas, premiadas; achieve: lograr, alcanzar; lasting:duradera; unless: a menos que (las); obtain: consigan; as men: que los hombres;developments: evoluciones, desarrollos; at all levels: en todos los niveles;

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is Africa's first democratically-elected woman president.  Since her inauguration in 2006, she has contributed to securing peace in Liberia, to promoting economic and social development, and to strengthening the position of women.
since: desde; inauguration: asunción presidencial; to securing peace: para asegurar la paz; to strengthening: para fortalecer;

Leymah Bgowe is responsible for mobilizing and organizing women across ethnic and religious dividing lines to bring an end to the long war in Liberia, and to ensure women's participation in elections.
responsible for: responsable de; mobilizing: movilizar; across: en todos los; ethnic and religious lines: frentes étnicos y religiosos; to bring an end to: para poner punto final a; to ensure: para asegurar; in elections: en las elecciones (voto);

Tawakkul Karman played a leading role in the struggle to attain women's rights and for democracy and peace in Yemen, both before and during the Arab Spring.
played a leading role: desempeñó un papel de liderazgo; to attain: para lograr; Arab Spring: Revolución Árabe;

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton congratulated the three Nobel Peace Prize winners saying, "they are shining examples of the difference that women can make and the progress they can help achieve when given the opportunity to make decisions about the future of their societies and countries."
shining examples: destacados ejemplos; when given: cuando se les concede;

She added: "The unflinching courage, strength and leadership of these women to build peace, advance reconciliation, and defend the rights of fellow citizens in their own countries provide inspiration for women’s rights and human progress everywhere. This recognition of their extraordinary accomplishments, reflects the efforts of many other women who are promoting peace and security in their countries and communities."
unflinching courage: coraje firme; strength: fortaleza; leadership: liderazgo; fellow citizens: compatriotas; provide: proporcionan; recognition: reconocimiento;accomplishments: logros; efforts: esfuerzos; promoting: impulsando.

                  






Jennifer Jeffs - Jennifer Jeffs
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JENNIFER JEFFS

Connecting the Americas for prosperity

Special to Globe and Mail Update

In the global economic turmoil since the last Summit of the Americas in 2008, Europe has navigated upheavals that threatened its hard-won economic union and the U.S. has faced tumult that meted out social and economic adjustment. Canada has fared reasonably well, but Latin America appeared to exhibit particular resilience in the face of global economic disorder. The Economist lauded the region a few months ago for weathering the storms relatively unscathed, and for producing relatively strong growth trajectories of about 5 per cent annually.










But don’t be fooled. While recent decades have seen significant development of infrastructure and institutions, political reforms and an explosion in the numbers of people moving up to the middle class, much of the recent hardiness of the region is due to unsustainable factors such as access to cheap money from rich countries, and record high prices for natural resource and commodity exports, fuelled chiefly by strong demand from Asia.
Despite their apparent escape from the financial turmoil experienced in Europe and the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean remain among the regions with the highest economic inequality levels in the world. In Colombia, the host country of this year’s summit, per capita income of the richest 10 per cent of Colombians is 25 times higher than that of the poorest 40 per cent. While widening differentials are explained by the fact that increases in wealth far outpace increases in poverty, it remains true that, although recent growth in the region has benefited the poor, it has benefited the rich more.
To achieve long-term economic sustainability, Latin America needs to confront the challenge of maintaining economic gains while addressing the persistent high levels of poverty and inequality. Commodity price fluctuations are inevitable, but reliance on natural resource revenues, even as they ebb and flow, tends to stymie investment in the human capital needed to further develop the economies of resource-exporting countries. Meantime, as inequality persists or increases, the potential for social, political and economic disruption escalates, dampening the appetite of international capital for that country that may be buoyed in times of high commodity prices, but quickly evaporates when prices fall.
Traditional production structures in the economic systems of natural resource-endowed developing countries make it difficult for those industries to move up the value chain. Without the significant investment in education and technology it would take to develop the economies of many Latin American countries, gaping inequality threatens to remain a feature of many of the region’s resource-based economies.
Leaders meeting this weekend in Cartagena would thus be wise to address two of the summit’s key challenges – inequality and access to technologies – in tandem. Summit participants, from the business forum to the civil society groups, should consider the importance of integrating value and production chains in order to develop a variety of industries – high-tech to community based – that work in relation to natural resource industries, raising demand for human capital in resource-related services.
This year’s Summit of the Americas – Connecting the Americas: Partners for Prosperity – offers a practical, logical and convenient forum for discussing co-operation, partnership and integration tactics that would take advantage of today’s revenues from natural resources to relieve future vulnerabilities caused by inevitable commodity price fluctuations; invest in human capital while creating programs for worker training and education; and develop science, technology and research partnerships that bring the resources of wealthier countries together with the ambition and enterprise of less developed ones.
Creating programs that design frameworks for integration and co-operation that are flexible and anticipate change, development and evolution of societies throughout the Americas is the route to connecting the Americas in partnership for prosperity.
Jennifer Jeffs is president of the Canadian International Council.




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