Agatha Christie, better known as the Dame of Crime, was born 15 September 1890 and died 12 January 1976. She is one of the most popular British writer and she is the best-selling novelist of all time.
She was famous for his murder stories and her two detectives: Hercule Poirot, an eccentric Belgian detective and the old spinster Mrs. Marple.Like Conan Doyle, Christie didn’t seem to like her great detective very much. «Curtain», last Poirot’s novel,was written in the early 40s, although it was published in 1975.
«Murder in the Orient Express» and «The Murder of Roger Ackroyd» are perhaps the best black novels written by Christie. In them, she deconstructs some of the conventions of the genre, as she used to do in most of her works.
Christie also wrote one of the most successful plays in London: «The Mousetrap» where a group of people get trapped in the only company of a murderer.
Christie’s works are highly-enjoyable: they are full of plot twists, shocking deaths, red herrings and, at the end, of course, the meeting with all the suspects, gathered by the detective to deliver the final explanation and solution to the case.
If you like her novels, you can also watch the BBC series starring David Suchet as Poirot.
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This week we continue Black History Month, with the song «If you wanna be happy» by the American singer Jimmy Soul. The song reached #1 on the American charts for a week in 1963. For the songs of the week, I try to pick songs with interesting lyrics. I feel that this week’s song can be quite funny if you put the effort in to understanding the words. Good luck and enjoy the song!
Here is the clip on YouTube (with lyrics in the comments section):
and the lyrics as usual in English and Spanish. Again, this is a GUIDE only, and they are not 100% accurate:
http://www.traduceletras.net/es/jimmy-soul/if-you-wanna-be-happy/82082/
Also for those studying French, the artist Claude Francois recorded a French version of the song in 1963 titled «Si tu veux etre heureux»:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpwK-CPAKe8
And even for our Dutch eTwinning friends we have this version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4D1oaNs3cU
til next time,
paul
This week’s artist continues the theme of «black history month.» Unfortunately, we are again focusing on an artist who recently passed away. On February 11, 2012, Whitney Houston died in Los Angeles, California. I have chosen perhaps her most famous song. It is titled «I will always love you,» and is appropriate for Valentine’s Day this week as well. The song was featured in the movie, «The Bodyguard,» in which Whitney Houston also starred. «I will always love you» was a massive success and is one of the best selling singles of all time.
As usual, below is the link to the song. However, this week I want to introduce something different. The website is called «lyrics training» and it allows you to complete the lyrics for famous songs while you listen to them. I think it’s an entertaining way to practice your English listening skills while listening to new music as well. I hope you enjoy both the song and «lyrics training.»
(if you do not know the word that goes in the blank, you can press the «tab» key on your keyboard to skip the word)
http://www.lyricstraining.com/play/60/whitney_houston/i_will_always_love_you
til next time,
paul
Hello again everyone. It is the month of February, and in the United States, February is designated as «black history month.» During this month there is a greater focus on the historical accomplishments and the culture of African-Americans. Though the idea of ‘black history month’ (and even the terms ‘black’ and ‘african-american’) are slightly controversial, the practice continues. For the rest of this month, I have decided to highlight black artists for the Songs of the Week.
This week’s song is by the group Kris Kross. Kris Kross was an American rap duo consisting of Chris «Mac Daddy» Kelly and Chris «Daddy Mac» Smith. They were only 14 and 13 years old when their first hit «Jump» was released in 1992.
The song I have chosen is titled «I missed the bus» and is about the experience of missing the school bus and being late for school. Even though I do not normally like this type of music, I find the lyrics funny.
As usual, here are the lyrics for the song:
http://www.traduceletras.net/es/kris-kross/i-missed-the-bus/372789/
And the music video:
kris_kross_i_missed_the_bus_official_music_video
til next time,
paul
We want to thank here on behalf of our High School and English Department the visit of our Dutch colleague Eefke, from the Adelbert College in Wassenaar. She visited our centre as part of the project we are developing together through twinspace. We also discussed about a possible exchange for next year.
She talked to the three classes involved in the project (1º Bilingüe, 2ºA and 2º Bilingüe).She told us about her school, about their activities and about their town. Our students were fascinated about everything she told us and they are excited about the possibility of knowing from first hand so many interesting things she talked about.
We showed her our centre too, and we took her to some beautiful places like the beach, the coast and the harbour. Unfortunately, they were cold and rainy days!
We hope she liked our town and we are looking forward to seeing her again soon.
Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England, 7th February1812, that is, exactly two hundred years ago.
Next 21st February our High School will begin the so called «Semana Cultural». The English Department will organize for this reason a showing based on the best Victorian author. Our students will desing some posters which must include biographical data, famous works or famous cinema and TV adaptations. The best poster will be exposed in this site.
It’s not the first time we talk about Dickens in this blog. Remember «A Christmas Carol»?
Well, that’s not the only famour works by Dickens: you may have heard about «Oliver Twist». «David Copperfield» or «A Tale Of Two Cities». Dickens was well-known by his portray of the working classes in the Victorian period. His characters were at first too simple but his works were growing in depth until he became one of the most critical and serious writers in the English literarature. Nevertheless, his books were always highly enjoyable and full of exciting incidents.
We hope this showing will be useful to get closer to this big author and to his work.
Hello again everyone! As you may know, tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday. Are you ready for some football!? To celebrate this, this week’s song is called «The Super Bowl Shuffle.» It was recorded and performed by members of the 1985 Chicago Bears football team before the Super Bowl in 1986. They were the first sports team to have their own rap video! That year the Bears went on to win the Super Bowl, beating the New England Patriots by a score of 46-10.
In addition to their success on the field, the song reached #41 on the US Billboard charts, sold over half a million copies, and was even nominated for a Grammy award!
Below is the music video for the song. All people in the video are actual members of the football team. It is really quite funny to see them «dance.» I’m sure they had fun making it. (notice the different uses of «fun» versus «funny»)
And as usual, here are the lyrics in English and Spanish. Remember, the translation is only a guide, and often they are not very good!
http://www.traduceletras.net/es/1985/chicago-bears-_-super-bowl-shuffle/504412/
Have a great weekend,
-paul
Today in the United States, we celebrate Groundhog day. It is not a very big holiday, but every year in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania a groundhog predicts the weather! It works like this.
If Phil (the Groundhog) sees his own shadow, there will be 6 more weeks of winter.
If Phil does not see his shadow, spring will soon be here.
Large crowds gather outside, in the cold, to see this event. Below is a photo of Punxsutawney Phil,
There is also a movie titled Groundhog Day, with Bill Murray. In Spanish, the movie is called Atrapado en el Tiempo.
So, will Phil see his shadow today?