REVIEW: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 is the last film of the Hunger Games saga. It follows the story of Katniss Everdeen, who's become the face of a rebelion against the Capitol. She has one last chance to end with the horror of President Snow's government and to finish with the oppression the 13 districts of Panem are under. This is a stunning end to the series that will keep you in tension until the very end.

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Katniss Everdeen has survived two editions of the Hunger Games, and her actions are seen as rebellious. After the destruction of her hometown, she decides to be the Mockingjay of the districts, the face of the rebelion. Even though the rebels have gained a lot, the Capitol still stands with Snow as a president. Katniss believes that the only way to end everything is through Snow's death, so she will do whatever it takes to get to the front line of the battle that's just about to begin.

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I read the whole series of the Hunger Games so one thing I liked about this movie it's that it is a great adaptation of the novel. They didn't supress any of the scenes and they remained loyal to the story. As a reader, I really appreciate that. Also, the action sequences were really exciting, with great effects that made it seem like you were there. Throughout the story you could also see the characters in a deeper way that helped you to connect with them and with the story. The cast also did a great job, specially Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss) and Josh Hutcherson (Peeta). I was really stunned with their performances.

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One thing I didn't like about the film is that it was really long. However, this is because of the loyalty to the book's storyline and action scenes, so I'm glad that they did it this way.

As a conclusion, if you are a hunger games fan or if you have seen the other movies, I'm sure you'll like this one. It's easy to see that both the cast and the production crew put a lot of effort in this movie. I even teared up a bit because I really this saga and I didn't want it to end, but I am really happy with the final product. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 reached the high standards that were demanded for the end of such a great series, at least for me. So next time you go to the cinema keep in mind that this is an entertaining movie to watch.

Oh, and here's the trailer. Enjoy!

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YOUR SAY: Wattpad

Wattpad is a quite popular social network amongst young writers. It allows you to post long lenght texts that you have to divide by chapters. The point of this website is that you're able to post a whole book if you want and for free.

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One of the most attractive features of Wattpad is the feedback. If you like to write but you're not sure of whether your work is good enough or not, this network can get you new readers. Whoever reads your posts can comment on them and also like the story, so that way you can see how your writing is received by other people. Stadistics say that this website is getting 16,9 milion visitors every month, so you can imagine the huge possibilities this can give you.

Also, the chapter-by-chapter mod to upload the content creates a serialization of your work that will help you to make your readers engage with the story. There's an option in Wattpad to "become a fan" of a writer, something like following another user's work so you can keep up with it. As a consequence, you must be active and post regularly so you won't lose your followers. This feedback mentality will connect you to people with your same interests.

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You can also add links to your book or, even, to your Amazon profile so they could buy it. Recently, Wattpad included a new feature in their website which is "Fan Funding". If you are a writer and you have a dream that you really want to become true but don't have the money to pay for it, your readers can support you now by donating money for your project.

Wattpad's Fan Funding from Wattpad on Vimeo.

The dominant genres in Wattpad are Science Fiction, Fantasy and YA (this stands for Young Adult Literature).

However, there are some people who are afraid of having their work stolen by someone else, as it's posted on the internet and access free. Even if you are the one putting your writing online, it's terrible to see that your stories are being used without your consent. That's why Wattpad has a copyright report section where you can denounce a plagiarist.

I personally fell in love with this network. I'd like to become a writer someday so I would give this website a go and try to post some piece of writing on it, just to see what happens. I think that it's great to be able to have feedback from other people who are interested in your stories. It would be a really good test to a writer's ability.

My reaction when I found out about Wattpad.

ORAL PRESENTATION: Mr. Bean

Here's the oral presentation that Sandra and I did about Mr. Bean for the humour project. Enjoy!

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TED TALKS: The key to success? Grit

The key to success? Grit is a TED Talk that psychologist Angela Lee Duckworth made on 2013 for TED Talk Education.

Angela Lee Duckworth went to teach math to seventh graders in New York public schools when she was 27 years old. After teaching them for a while she noticed that their grades weren't necessarily related to IQ. Some of her best students didn't have an awesomely high IQ and some of the students with the highest IQ struggled with grades. She started wondering why this happened, if the key to succeed in grades wasn't to learn quickly but something else.

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She decided to go back to graduate school and got a degree in Psychilogy. She and her partners did a lot of studies in different areas to try and predict which people would be successful after a long period of time and which would not. They did this in places like the military, business companies, etc. Finally, she found a common base in all of these studies: people who were successful had grit.

Grit is perseverance and passion for the things you do, it is to be brave enough to not give up on them. Grit helps you to give your future perspective a wider range: it is to look forward to succeed over the years rather than over the week or the month. When you put effort and perseverance in the things you do, in your ideas, in your dreams, that's when you become successful.

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Something else that she talks about is the ability that we all have to grow midset. We need to change our mentality when it comes to things like studies because we give up too fast. The brain is expanding its knowleadge all the time and if we perservere we'll realize that we have that ability to do things with effort.

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Personally, I think that grit is a very important thing when it comes to success. You can't be successful if you don't keep up with what you do and put passion into it. If you have a dream you won't see it become true if you don't work hard to make it your reality. Angela Lee Duckworth is right when she says that the educational system is too focused on IQ and that it should be more oriented on helping children to be grittier so they won't give up on their studies and on themselves.

Here's the video!

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PODCAST: Joke

Here's my joke for the humour project!

NEWS: Forget Fitbit, track your fitness using a TATTOO: Flexible circuits worn on the skin monitor heart rate, stress levels and more

This piece of news was written by Gian Volpicelli for the Daily Mail online newspaper on the 27th November of 2015.

The news is about Tech Tats, a new technology developed by a Texan company callled Chaotic Moon. This wearables' function is to track heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, stress levels... They can do this with their biometrical sensors that are connected to the skin through the tattoo. Tech Tats are made with electrically conductive paint with LED lights and also include the biometrical sensors and a controller. One of its advantages in front of fitness trackers such as FitBit is that they can be worn in any part of the body, as they blend with the skin perfectly. The Tech Tats last for a year.

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Chaotic Moon has also said that these device could also be used as a location tracking system for children, for military operations or to keep ID and bank account information (this would allow us to pay for things with our Tech Tat). More over, they can connect via Bluetooth with a smartphone.

Personally, I think that this device can be a little bit problematic, specially with the bank account and tracking system functions it has (would it only be used by parents to track their children?). The good thing about them is that they can warn you when something is wrong with your vital signs and, for example, send a notification to your smartphone if it's connected with it. That way we'd know when something is wrong. The other plus it has is that they are temporary, so if you want to make them disappear you can. Regardless of my personal opinion, I think that it's quite a step forward in technology. 

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VOCABULARY

unwieldy: used, handled, or managed with difficulty because of size, shape, weight, or complexity.

to keep tab(s) on something: to keep a watch over something.

track: to follow the course of something.

NEWS: Silicon Valley professionals are taking microdoses of LSD at work to increase productivity

This piece of news was written for the Daily Mail online newspaper on the 27th November. However, the article doesn't include the name of the reporter.

The news is about how some workers at Silicon Valley are taking microdoses (between 10g and 15g) of LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) to give a boost to their creativity. The amount of the drug consumed every morning allows them to feel more awake and concentrated on their activities. People like John Andrew said that they felt a lot of clarity and that their work was a lot better after a few months of taking LSD or realted drugs. James Fadiman, author of The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide informed that the number of people taking these kind of drugs to improve their efficiency has increased a lot since 2011, specially amongst workers in their twenties.

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On the other hand, Matt Johnson, a psychologist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, says that taking microdoses could have a bad effect on a long-term consuming routine. The article also talks about the death of Arthur Cave, a teenager who died falling off a cliff after taking LSD.

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Personally, I think that this could become dangerous. As Matt Johnson said, consuming these drugs on a regular basis could lead to unhelthy effects later on, which would be bad and unproductive. Also, I think that we should consider working on our own, without having to take any drugs, because maybe there would come a day where we would actually need these drugs because we wouldn't be able to work without them. If everyone started to consume drugs for their work then what's the point on even putting some effort? Isn't that the reason why drugs in sports are banned? We should all try to trust our own capacities before jumping to something like this.

VOCABULARY

uber: the ultimate, above all, the best, top, something that nothing is better than.

assess: to determine the amount of something.

dose: an amount of medicine to be taken at one time.

NEWS: Li-Fi: 100 times faster than Wi-Fi, tests prove

This piece of news was written by Adam Boult for the Telegraph online newspaper on the 25th November of 2015.

Thw news is about Li-Fi, a new alternative to Wi-fi that can send data information throught the air at 1GBPs of speed, which is 100 times faster that Wi-fi. It was invented in 2011 by Professor Harald Haas of the University of Edinburgh.

The way Li-Fi works is with VLC, which stands for visible light communication. The data information travels trough light with no need of wires and through the air. In the article, the author makes a comparison with the well known fibre optic networks. The great difference between these two kinds of connections is that fibre optic networks need optic fibre wiring while Li-Fi is wireless.

Professor Harald Haas

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There are a lot of projects to test this kind of connection regulated by Velmenni, mostly in industries who are looking for a faster and safer way to transmit information. An example of these industries are airlines, to improve on in-flight connectivity and others. It is also being studied for personal internet connection.

Personally, I think that this is a great progress for technology. It would change our internet connections a lot if the information we send and receive was travelling 100 faster than it is now. Not only that, but also the fact that the wiring connections would disappear after some time, because they wouldn't be needed anymore. And also, if this system works with light (like light bulbs) i wonder if we could produce the energy needed with renewable energies. On the whole, I think this is a great thing that we should all keep an eye on.

VOCABULARY

beam: to transmit (a signal) in a particular direction.

pilot: serving as an experiment before full-scale operation.

flickering: quality of something that appears quickly and briefly.

Here's Professor Harald Haas talking about Li-Fi in a conference:

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NEWS: This 7-Year-Old Blind Girl Was Banned From Using Her Cane At School

This piece of news was written by Taylor Ortega for the Elite Daily online newspaper on the 18th of November of 2015.

It is about a seven-year-old  blind girl named Lily-Grace Hooper whose walking stick was banished from school, the Hambrook Primary School, for health and safety. The reasons why this was done were that the teachers and students could trip over it while walking around the school. The mother was infuriated by this and told the Bristol Post that her daughter needed her cane to guide herself and that the measure was discrimitation. Even though Geoff Cox, head of the Health and Safety executive public sector team, agreed with Lily-Grace's mother that the little girl needed the walking stick, the school suggested getting an all day adult assistance for her. This was totally refused by the mother, who held that she wanted her daughter to grow as an independent girl. Finally, the school said that the banishment of the cane would be temporary until they could speak to Lily-Grace's mother to talk about it.

Lily-Grace Hooper with her mother

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Personally, I think that what the school did to Lily-Grace Hooper is awful. The walking stick is a measure that helps her walk around and it's something used by a lot of blind people. I don't see how it is a danger for teachers and students that she uses it. The school said that someone could trip over the cane and that it was a safety problem. Well, I say that you can trip over a lot of things at school. Why don't they ban pencils or scissors or football balls, for example? Those can cause harm too. I agree with Lily-Grace's mother, it really is a ridiculous and unnecessary measure. I hope that this little girl was finnaly allowed to bring in her cane because it's an important tool that helps her deal with her disability.

VOCABULARY

round-the-clock: lasting or continuing throughout the entire 24 hours of the day; continuous.

ban: to prhibit, forbid or bar; interdict.

cane: a short staff used to assist one on walking.

EXAM COMPOSITION ABOUT BEAUTY

"No woman is a genius. Women are a decorative sex. They never have anything to say, but they say it charmingly" comment. How have the roles of women changed in our society in the last 100 years?

There has been a great evolution over the centuries when it comes to the roles of women and how they're seen in society. However, there's still more change to do.

in the last century, women have gained the right to vote, they've been encouraged to be the ones creating a path for their own lives, they've shown the world that they are as valuable as any man... For example, as we can see in the statement that Lord Henry makes in the novel, in the Victorian times (as in the majority of times) women are only a beautiful thing to look at, a maid to take care of the house and the children, an object of display for her father or husband to show around. She does nothing. As men tell her, she doesn't need to study or work, as that is not her duty. She also can't speak her mind, as her opinion is unwanted and useless.

This kind of oppresion is not healthy for society. Still now, women keep fighting for themselves, as there are things like wages, for example, which are unfair. But it's not only them. Nowadays everyone, both women and men, seems to be objectified, molded by the interests and desires of the media and society.

Regarding all this, what I think is that objects can be decorative, but humans can't.

YOUR SAY: Life's playlist

Music is everywhere we go and is one of the most global ways of art. Every single person in this world can be emotionally moved by music, find a genre that they like, or even the most creative ones, express themselves with its composition.

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Different kinds of music can induce to certain atmospheres: relaxing, sad, happy, angry... Our brain connects the sound of it to emotions and feelings, creating a deep understanding that can differ from one person to another. That is to say that music has two meanings: the main one that can be fathomed by everyone and is about the mood it sets, and the personal one, that is related to our inner interpretation of the feelings it can provoke. A specific song can make us remember a moment of our lives like, for example, an afternoon that we spent with friends having lots of fun. It can also bring to mind a person, a place...

Let's continue with our behaviour when it comes to music. When we are sad, we tend to either listen to sad music and probably end up crying or happy music to get cheered up. Something that happens to me, for example, is that whenever I'm going to a party I put some club-like music to get in the mood (specially when I'm really tired and don't feel like going).

How music can change a film

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Also, when it comes to lyrics, a song can be really sincere and heartfelt with some particular topics. These are less interpretable, but can also be produce very personalized feelings and emotions.

For me, music is something incredibly awesome. It can make you cry, but it can also make you smile. I believe that every song is a story that is different for each person, and while we all enjoy it in different ways and genres, we all need it, because it speaks when words can't.

YOUR SAY: Fright night!

"Hey do you want to come over to my house? We could watch some people get killed, haunted by ghosts, getting a nice exorcism done... You know, just a lovely afternoon activity to have a good sleep at night."

"Emm... How about no?"

I think I'm not that good with examples, but I just can't help it, horror movies weren't made for me. On the other hand, there are people who really enjoy this kind of films. If you think about it, it's quite a strange thing that we like to sit at home or at a cinema sweating in pure terror while we cover our faces with whatever comes in hand. But, what's most unbelivable is that, although we know that we're going to get scared, we keep watching.

Even if I'm not quite fond of them, I can see that there are good things in horror movies that even a chicken like me can notice. Firstly, they give us a great rush of adrenaline due to the tension we are under. More over, it's probably one of the few movie genres that can get us really involved in the story and empathize with the characters.

Of course, I'm only considering good films, and not the ones that would make you burst out laughing instead of scaring you. The skills of the director are really important in these movies, because they must have the ability to set the right atmosphere and mood while mantaining the tension throughout the film.

Personally, I'm quite reluctant when it comes to horror movies, but I do like some of them. Do I get really scared? Yes. Do I sleep at night? No. Is that suspicious shadow just my chair or is it a murderer? It's obviously a murderer but if I don't move a muscle and cover myself with a blanket he or she won't be able to hurt me. But the more I watch a horror movie, the more I like it (probably because I already know in which scenes I can get scared), and althought that wouldn't be a great point, it's my own way to enjoy them.

What a lot of us do after watching a horror movie.

YOUR SAY: "Knock knock. Who's there?"

Nowadays technology has taken over many fields (if not all) of our lives. We use it for everything. Specially, human comunication has changed completely. Whether it's on our computer or over the phone, we can talk to other people instantly and at long distances.

This kind of comunication has also allowed the appearance of a new kind of relationship: internet friends. Now, being able to meet new people with your same interests from every corner in the world is a great thing. It's a really enriching experience that we can all profit greatly from. It won't be so weird iff someone tells you that they met their best friends or their soulmate through the internet.

Here's a beautiful compilation of internet friends

meeting for the first time.

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But, like every technologic progress, it has its bad side too. In the last decade, approximately, the number of people who've had problems with internet users who held a fake identity has increased a lot.  The term to describe this kind of emotional hustle is "catfish". To be "catfished" means to be fooled, and that's exactly what this concept is about. It consists on a very personal relationship between two people through the internet, with the inconvenient that one of them is faking his or her identity in order to bully the other person (cyberbullying), to swindle them or just for fun. This "so called friend" usually adapts his or her personality to draw the victim to them, building a relationship based in lies.

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There is a show on MTV, Catfish, that shows how many people follow the thread of this internet friend to discover their real identity. Sometimes (very rarely), they end up being happy because their friend didn't lie to them, as was suspected. In most of the episodes, though, they discover a diferent person from the one that was expected.

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Personally, I think that being catfished must feel really bad. Anyways, I don't think that I'd trust someone so much over the internet. I mean, you can make very good friends, I have some of my own that I really appreciate, but you must always be careful. Not everyone out there has good intentions towards us, even if we haven't done anything wrong.

So, to end this post I thought that it would be a good idea to include a video of the TV show Catfish. Enjoy!

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YOUR SAY: Inked

Now that we're nearly eighteen we start planning the many things that we'll do. But, nowadays, a lot of us would answer the same thing: "Mom, Dad, I don't care what you think. I'm getting a tattoo done."

In recent years, tattoos have become the new fashion trend. People used to get them out of love, representing their hobbies or the important things in their life. Now, they get it done for nearly anything. Is it a bad decision though?

Notice the musical motives?

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I believe that tattoos are beautiful as a way of art. They allow us to externalize our inner self in any way we want. We make our skin a canvas to paint the story of our lives or the world that's in our heads. Despite the fact that some part of society finds them irresponsible, it's another artistic form that retains personal emotions, just like music or paintings.

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On the other hand, I personally would never get a meaningless tattoo done, as many people seem to enjoy doing. I sometimes wonder if they actually think it through or they just choose whatever drawing or quote comes to their mind. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that they shouldn't do it, let people express themselves in the way they want! As long as they're okay with bearing that tattoo all their lives, it's fine.

Just wow.

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As a conclusion, I think that when out skin starts to get wrinkly as we grow old, we should never feel ashamed of the tattoos that we decided to get done some crazy day. Instead, we should feel proud about them and say: "Mom, Dad, look. This tattoos represent the greatest work of art that I'll be able to inspire: my soul."

Different lives, different meanings.

If you want to have a laugh you can also check out this gallery of tattoo fails!

I just can't figure out what they were thinking.

Is humour necessary?

Regardless of our personality, we've all laughed at something at least once in our lives. We all know how it works, doesn't matter if we're funny or not, if we like dark humour or farce... But do we need humour in our lives? Is it necessary? I think it is.

Humour is probably one of the few human features that can make us feel full of joy, even if it's just for a few seconds. Laughter allows us to forget our problems and, nowadays, with all the stress that we're under 24/7, that's quite difficult.

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Not only does it help us to forget our issues, but also it allows us to talk about them from a different point of view. We can be as harsh as we want using dark humour, but we can also put our witty comments more lightly (apparently) with sarcasm or irony.

And what about what others feel about humour? A good hearty laugh can release tension in an awkward or difficult situation. We seem more friendly (of course, if we don't use humour as an offense) specially if we learn how to laugh at ourselves.

If we share a joke with someone, it creates a bond with them and a friendly feeling.

To sum up, humour is necessary because it allows us to relax and to take our problems less seriously. It binds people together and is suitable for anyone. At the end of the day, we all look better with an honest smile across our face, don't we?

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Email to my teacher

Hello Sònia,

I believe that everyone has a dream inside of them. It doesn't matter if you don't know what to do with your life or if you have a lot of plans and no time to concentrate in any of them, there's always this little something to which your soul aims to.

I am one of those few people who knows what their dream is, and I feel really lucky because, sadly, not everyone can say the same. In my case, I've always known that I wanted to become a writer. Above all things, that's been my goal since I was a little kid writing messed up stories in my father's office.

Wherever I go, there's always a lot of stories growing on my mind, expanding until I think that I'm not capable to control them anymore. Because of this, my main objective in life is to become a successful writer and be able to live off of it. Sometimes I even fantasize that one of those stories could make it to the big screen as a great movie.

Anyways, that's not my only dream. I could say I have many that vary from time to time, but the following are the most persistents.

 I'd like to live in more than one foreign country for long periods of time (Australia, the UK or Germany... perhaps the US), because I've always wanted to know new cultures and people from all over the world. 

Another dream of mine would be to go to a lot of concerts and meet some of my favourite singers and actors. Probably this would be the most difficult of all but hey, it's called "dream" for a reason. 

Last but not least, I'd love to see that, in the future, everyone in my family and in my group of friends is doing well. I know it may sound a bit corny, but I think that being with the ones you love and knowing that they're happy with their lives is the most important thing anyone could ever wish for.

As a conclusion, I think that, althought dreams can seem hard to accomplish, we must work hard so that they become our reality. We can't just sit all day waiting for a miracle that will change our lives without any effort. Any time is a good time to start working on our dreams, because, at the end of the day, that's what will make us feel satisfied.

Sincerely,

Míriam.

NEWS: New blood alcohol sensors could make cars shut down if they sense drivers are over the legal drinking limit

This piece of news was written for the online version of the Daily Mail in 6th June. It doesn't say who wrote it. It talks about a new system for the car industry that makes it posible to shut down the car when it detects a high level of alcohol in the driver's blood.

The DADSS (Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety) programme started in 2008 and now the first mock-ups are showing up. The device has been created by the collaboration of the National Highway Safety Administration, for the blood alcohol detectors, and the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety.

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The invention is based in two detectors of blood alcohol. The first one is the breath-based system, which measures the levels of alcohol molecules in the driver's breath. The second one is the touch-based system, which makes a near-infrared tissue spectroscopy to detect alcohol molecules in the driver's blood by the transpiration of his or her touch. This mode works with the use of light intensity to detect the alcohol molecules, as alcohol only absorbs certain wavelenghts. These two methods cause the car to shut down if the alcohol levels are at 0.08% (the legal limit) or higher.

Some of the mock-ups were presented in the Congress with representatives at the U.S. Department of Transportation.

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Personally, I think this is a great device for vehicle industry. It is amazing that we can improve safety so much with it. The cause of many vehicle crashes accidents is that one of the drivers was drunk. As a consequence of the introduction of the DADSS to the industry, there will be less accidents. The best thing we can do in this sector of technology is not to improve in faster and fancy vehicles, but to improve in safer vehicles.

Here you have the video of the news!

VOCABULARY

wavelength: the distance, measured in the direction of a wave, between two successive points in the wave that are characterized by the same phase of oscillation.

pinpoint: to locate or describe exactly or precisely.

mock-up: a model, often full-size, for study, testing, or teaching.

NEWS: British tourists face travel chaos as strikes by Spanish air traffic controllers threaten to disrupt holidays

This piece of news was written by Neil Sears and Gerard Couzens for the Daily Mail in the 7th June. It is about the several walkouts that Spanish air traffic controllers are planning and how it affects British tourists.

On Monday, thousands of British tourists started to get worried about their holidays in Spain because Spanish air traffic controllers started a series of two-hours-long walkouts planned for the week. Holidaymakers are hurrying up to book rooms for them because they'll have to deal with delays or cancellations of their flights.

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The eight walkouts planned will be two hours long. The first two were performed on Monday, but there are more planned for Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The Spanish law says that there has to be at least 70% of the air controllers' staff during walkouts but many will say that they're sick so they can stay home. The reason of these strikes, organised by USCA (the Spanish air controllers' association) is to protest against the sanction given to 61 air controllers that made a walkout facing Aena back in 2010 (the military force's procedure was needed then). They were initially planned for May but were put off because of the Germanwings plane crash.

Many tourists will lose their money because the services that they've hired can't change their dates (hotels, trips, flights...). Air controllers' say that it's their only alternative to do a walkout despite the economic damage for their country and tourists. Some airlines have the intention to maintain all their flights, althought they might be delayed.

Personally I think that air controllers shouldn't stop air traffic for several days like that. I don't mean that they can't do a walkout. If they want to, it's their right. But I think that it is quite exaggerated to stop working for several days, leaving all the tourists without their dreamt (and paid) holidays.

Here you have the video of the news!


VOCABULARY

strike: work stoppage. Walkout also means the same.

holidaymaker: somebody on vacation, tourist.

stranded: unable to leave.

spokesman (spokesperson): speaker for a group.

REVIEW: Jane Eyre

I've read Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë. The book is about the romance between Jane Eyre, a governess at Thornfield Hall, and Edward Rochester, the master of the house. Jane arrives there aged eighteen after a hard childhood, and meets Mr. Rochester, a man in his late thirties with a difficult temper. They slowly fall for each other, but some impediments will make their relationship seem imposible.

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As jane Eyre, it's not so easy for me to open up to people I don't know. Just like her, I'd rather be guided by common sense, putting it over my emotions.

I loved the book, but I think that not everyone would like it because some of the character's feelings may seem too subtle, specially Jane's. My favourite part of the book was when Mr. Rochester disguised as a gipsy woman and pretended to make Jane jealous of Miss Ingram. He was in some way telling her that he was interested in her, Jane! My least favourite part was Jane's childhood at Lowood because I found it boring. I don't think that I wouyld change anything in this book. It is what it has to be,

The jane Eyre film of 2011

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I liked the fact that neither Mr. Rochester nor Jane were perfect on their own, but they complimented each other really well. It didn't matter the age gap between them, not their different economic and social situation, they loved each other. Also, I liked the fact that Jane decided to put her dignity over her feelings. It was really difficult for her but she was really strong.

NEWS: Germanwings crash: co-pilot 'treated for depression'

On the 27th of March there was a terrible plane crash in the Alpes. This piece of news talks about the cause of the accident.

Police have recently found evidence that Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot of the Lufthansa crashed plane (A320), suffered from severe depression back in 2009 and that he probably caused the plane crash deliberately, killing 150 people.

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Andreas Lubitz started the pilot training in 2008 but gave it up for several months in 2009 after he continued with it. Althought he passed all the tests and was considered completely re-established from his depression, police have find clues of mental illness in Lubitz's flat and, for that reason, they've taken away the co-pilot's belongings to examine them. They have found an important clue. Althought thay won't say what it is they have assured that it is not a suicide note.

The plane's Black box has revealed crucial information about the tragedy. The pilot left the cockpit to go to the toilet. When he came back, the door was barred and Lubitz didn't open it. The pilot tried to break the door with an axe without results. In the recording, Lubitz seems to want to crash the plane.

For this reason, most airlines have announced a rule that establishes that there can never be just one crew member or person in the cockpit.

Alexander Lubitz

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His parents are really hurt about this tragedy. They have a huge trauma, not only because their son has died, but also because he is responsible of the plane crash and the death of so many people.

Personally, I don't understand how someone could do such a terrible thing. He must have had a very serious illness to do that so cinically.

VOCABULARY

cockpit: the compartment in a small aircraft in which the pilot, crew, and sometimes the passengers sit

black box: an electronic device, such as a flight recorder, that can be removed from an aircraft as a single package.

axe: a hand tool with one side of its head forged and sharpened to a cutting edge, used for felling trees, splitting timber, etc

YOUR SAY: Horoscopes

We all know what horoscopes are. There are twelve signs and you are assigned one according to the date of your birth. The signs are all represented in star constellations that change with the seasons of the year. Each sign has a personality that can be extended to anyone with that sign. Also, the stars are supposed to tell the future of each sign and that's how horoscopes become so popular in magazines and newspapers. Whether it is monthly, weekly or daily, horoscopes tell people what will happen to them in the future. They are usually divided in different topics and the most common ones are love, friendship, family and work. They are also used to measure the compatibility between signs comparing their personality traits. But, do you think that horoscopes really apply to people?

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There are a lot of people who think they do. They truly believe that the future that is being told for their signs is actually real. Althought sometimes it does seem like what is being told to you kind of relates to your present situation, horoscopes are just made by a bunch of people who have to invent something different for each sign every month/week/day and are probably typing whatever comes to their minds. It's not the stars plan if you're going to "find that special someone in an uncommon situation" or "you should work a little bit more or you might get fired at your job". The thing is that we make our own destiny. If we live up to horoscopes and have so much confidence in what they say, we will stop making decisions for ourselves. Of course, I'm not saying that everyone does that. In fact, I don't think that there's much people out there that believe so much in this things.

Whenever someone doesn't like their horoscope

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More over, there's the signs personality traits. I am a Sagittarius (my birthday is on 7th December) and, for example, I'm supposed to be adventurous, honest (a little too much and can come up as rude), too independent and moody, creative, generous, careless... The list goes on, but I think you can understand what I'm talking about. I do consider myself honest, but I don't think that I'm tactless. Careless? Well that doesn't sound like me, but I guess if my horoscope says so... Independent? Okay maybe a little bit. I don't disagree with everything there is on the list, but that's the problem: we are more than a list of virtues and flaws. And those qualities that we own can't define us. It is what we do with our qualities, time and experiences what really tells the world who we are and builds up our destiny. Not the stars, not our birth date, but ourselves.

As a conclusion, I think that horoscopes are funny and entertaining but not real at all. If everyone could be classified by their birth dates and personality traits this could be the next Divergent movie. We all skip the pages of our magazines to read our horoscope (you know you do that, everyone does) because we are curious, but I don't think that many people take it seriously.

YOUR SAY: Into the blue

Now that summer is approaching  I'm sure that everyone has been preparing their swimsuits and towels to head straight up to the beach as soon as this schoolyear ends. The thing is that we don't really know what lies under the sea. Many biologists say, actually, that the surface of the moon is more well-known than the depths of the oceans. Strange, right? How could we not know everything about our planet? Specially about the water environments that cover about 71 % of the Earth's surface.

Yeti crab

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In the last decade more than a thousand new animal species have been discovered in the deep seas, and there are yet a lot more to be found. The Census of Marine Life and the World Register of Marine Species has registered the existence of really strange creatures that can survive in places where sunlight can't reach. There are about 228,000 species known to scientist, but they estimate that the real number is over 2 million species. Everyday, new strange creatures are entering the list. Who knows what may lie in the depths of our oceans?

There are even some scientists that believe that many of these species could be specimens of early evolution. That could easily be true, knowing the fact that some of these creatures are enormous and would have hardly had any predators down there.

Young icefish

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Polychaete Carpet Worm

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The deep blue sea is a world unknown to us, and its landscapes and inhabitants remain a mistery hard to resolve. It strikes me that having the ability to create a lot of advanced technology, there isn't more application of it in the discovering of new creatures in places humans can't reach. It's also a bit scary for me. Whenever I'm bathing at the beach I always wonder if there are any fishes or animals and it makes me really nervous. Knowing that there might be "sea monsters" that no one knows about swimming somewhere under my feet makes it even worse. I'm not saying that we should avoid the beach so we won't meet any of these creatures, I'm just really surprised and curious of it. Personally, I don't like marine species a lot  and I guess that's why it frightens me a little bit, but I do think that there should be more grants for biologists so we can widen our knowleadge of the Earth.

So now... Well, you know, you can go pack your things and go to have a nice, relaxing and quiet bath in the nearest beach! I wish you have a really good time!

YOUR SAY: Building a better world

We all know that our planet is going out of resources at a faster speed every year. One of the industries that has caused a lot of damage to our planet is the construction sector. It has sped up the process of deforestation and also pollution. Nowadays, there is an alternative that is changing and renovating this sector. It is known as ecoarchitecture. But what is ecoarchitecture?

Ecoarchitecture consists of building sustainable buildings that blend into the environment without causing any damage to it. It can be summarized with seven points:

• All the energy that is used in the house must come from renewable energies.
• Have a water supply that can "recycle" water by a cleansing process.
• There has to be a control of noises and toxic emissions.
• Waste management must be harmless for the planet.
• The materials used to build the construction must be appropiate and natural.
• The building must blend into the environment, adapting to it instead of making the land adjustable to our wants.
• It must have a good quality-price relation.

Park Royal, Singapore

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I believe that ecoarchitecture is something that should be encouraged by all governments. It's an efficient and nice way to take care of our planet and think of future generations. Althought this kind of buildings are more expensive at first, in time they come up as a solution to save money as well due to the energy and supply systems that they use. They can be a compensation somehow for all the damage that the construction sector has caused to the environment and a way to avoid that damage  to go on. Ecoarchitecure is also a good thing to reduce pollution. Specially in big cities, where everything is really crowded, these green buildings with vegetation and gardens in them would suppose a reduction of the levels of CO2 because of the increase of oxygen in the atmosphere.

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As a conclusion, I think that this is the future of architecture and the construction sector. We have to take care of our planet and what could be a better way to do it that to start from our homes? Incentivazing this constructions we can take a step forward for a more sustainable world. I know, it is only one step, but in that way we will have already started the path.

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