Frank Sinatra's songs + lyrics

OM SINATRA is a very enjoyable section of an Argentinian website for learners of English. Frank Sinatra's voice and his clear diction are perfect ingredients for practising English, so this section provides wide possibilities for ESL students and teachers. Here you will find 50 best lyrics, together with audios, some videos, glossaries and explanations. Choose your favourite song with on-screen original lyrics. Don't miss such classics as My Way, New York, New York or Strangers in the Night!

Los estudiantes en la escena pública

Los universitarios no están al margen de lo que ocurre. Hacen política pero de manera distinta a la que se realiza a través de los partidos. Quieren una democracia de verdad y desearían participar en un ágora limpia.

FRANCISCO FERNÁNDEZ BUEY
El País, 12 de noviembre de 2009

Desde hace ya muchos años se viene diciendo que los estudiantes universitarios pasan de la política o la desprecian. Pero ¿realmente es así? Los estudios sociológicos que se han hecho en España y en otros países parecen confirmar esa impresión. Y lo que se escucha al respecto en las universidades parece ir en la misma dirección. La mayoría de los profesores universitarios que tienen contacto directo con los estudiantes fuera de las aulas estaría de acuerdo en que es así. Y algunos de estos profesores lo han dicho en las últimas décadas, unas veces describiendo sin más lo que ven y lo que oyen en las universidades, y otras, con cierta preocupación por lo que consideran desafección de los jóvenes respecto de las instituciones democráticas. También yo he tenido experiencias en estos últimos años que van por el mismo camino. No hace mucho, al anunciar un curso sobre ética y filosofía política, varios estudiantes vinieron a preguntarme de qué iba a tratar en realidad, y ya antes de que empezara a describir el temario, me adelantaron: "Porque si va a tratar usted de ética nos matriculamos, pero si va a hablar de política no nos interesa". Más claro, agua. (...)

Francisco Fernández Buey es catedrático de Filosofía Moral y Política en la Universitat Pompeu Fabra.

L1 Vocabulary Bank: Families

1. Rafael Ramos is a Mexican doctor from a little village in the north of the country. He’s married to María Sánchez. They got married in a Catholic church. They have two children. His wife is a nurse. She’s 35. They both speak English because they use it at work with their foreign patients.

2. Yasmina Kamal is an Egyptian girl from Cairo. She is an engineering student at Cairo University. She’s 19 and she’s single. She's a Muslim. She has one sister and two brothers. Her parents were born in Cairo, too. She wants to learn English because it’s an international language.

3. Angela, Anne´s mother, isn’t married; she is a single mother. They live in a lovely house on the beach. They love the sea. Angela has an exciting job; she’s a fashion model. She travels all over the world. She wants her daughter to learn English because she wants to give her a cosmopolitan education.

4. Kevin and Lucy married in 1985. Their marriage was very unhappy, so they divorced in 2000. In 2003, Kevin met Julia and remarried. They have twins, John and Peter. His first wife, Lucy, moved to a different city after their separation. She now works at the Town Hall. She’s a civil servant.

5. Alejandro met his boyfriend Juan at a friend’s party. They married last summer. All their friends and relatives were at the wedding. They are planning to adopt two children. Alejandro is a very famous film director and Juan is a doctor. They own one flat in Madrid and another in Seville. They both speak French and English fluently.

6. Emma and Virginia are another same-sex couple. They are businesswomen and they live together in Barcelona. They want to get married next year. Emma has two sons, Julian and Oscar, from her previous relationship. Her mother-in-law is called Susan. She’s 60 and she loves her grandchildren very much. She doesn’t speak English at all.

50 Dead Men Walking_trailer

L3 Composition 2 Format

Follow this format to write Composition 2: email a friend about a recent film you've seen and that you recommend seeing. Use vocabulary from Module 2 in New Opportunities. Write the required 150-160 words, double-spaced.

Tomás Pérez García
English 310
Composition 2
17th November 2009

Hi John,
You already know what a film buff I am, so let me tell you about The Hours, a stunning film I’ve seen recently, starring Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Ed Harris. The film, which is based on a novel, is about British writer Virginia Woolf’s literary career and her influence on successive generations of readers. I found the story a bit confusing at first. The Australian actress is absolutely fantastic in the part of Virginia Woolf; she puts on quite a beautiful British accent. The window scene between Streep and Harris —when he jumps off the window ledge— is quite touching. (I remember first seeing this American actor in the unforgettable The Truman Show, did you see that one? What a brillant script that was! The sets in that film were superb, too.) This one is a must-see film!It is definitely worth seeing.
Email me back and tell me if you have seen any good films that I shouldn’t miss.
Cheers,
Tom
(160 words)

Quoting Groucho Marx :)

I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.

I never forget a face, but in your case I'll be glad to make an exception.

Military intelligence is a contradiction in terms.

Military justice is to justice what military music is to music.

Money frees you from doing things you dislike. Since I dislike doing nearly everything, money is handy.

My mother loved children -- she would have given anything if I had been one.

She got her looks from her father. He's a plastic surgeon.

Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others.

I don't have a photograph, but you can have my footprints. They're upstairs in my socks.

Age is not a particularly interesting subject. Anyone can get old. All you have to do is live long enough.

Either this man is dead or my watch has stopped.

President Obama's Speech on Equal Rights