Humor4u

Playa de los Cristianos (Tenerife) has been named the best winter sun holiday destination in Europe by Holydo , a holiday rental search engine in the UK. Spain tops the list of winter sun destinations, but other featured destinations are Agios Nikolaos in Greece, Siracusa in Italy, Luz in Portugal and Cala Rossa in France. A list of the sunniest cities in Europe  has also been published by Holydo Magazine , and, surpisingly enough, Zaragoza ranks number 12 in Europe! In this article, which is suitable for B2 students, you can find descriptive adjectives and other interesting words like: average , whopping , dreamy, charming, a coastal [town], to beat , to check out, waterfront [restaurants], nearby [abandoned castles], stunning [streescapes], breathtaking [beaches], impressive [cliffs], turquoise [waters]. If you are already looking for ideas to travel in 2023, or you just want to do a little bit of online travel while it is cold and foggy outside, you can read this article f...

Travel + Leisure magazine  has just published the  50 Best Places to Travel in 2022 , for their affluent American readers, featuring Alaska (left) among other national and international destinations.  C1 students can do some virtual travel with the article 50 Best Places to Travel in 2022 , they can look at the beautiful pictures and pick up English words galore, as the text is packed with descriptive adjectives, nouns and verbs like: a far-flung destination, a thrill, travel restrictions galore, albeit, to cross off [destinations], the hospitality industry was hit hard, downtime, to venture, to reap [the benefits], valiant [efforts], to teem with [fresh-air activities], to be raring, to make up for, splashy, hard-hit destinations, buzzy, stateside, to hold back, wellness, farm-to-table living, to stretch, overlooked, unspoiled [villages], picturesque, stunning, sleepy, underdog, harbinger, an eco-lodge, glamping, a [food] hotspot, local produce, an eager [traveler], vast...

The British Museum has recently opened the exhibition "Female Power: the Divine to the Demonic" which shows how women have been represented throughout history in various mythologies around the world. Here you can find a 3 hour lesson plan about Art , which complements unit 7B of  English File C1.1 , O.U.P.  The first lesson includes some speaking activities to discuss Art, exhibitions and Public Art; a power point presentation of local Public Art in Zaragoza and an intensive listening comprehension task, based on a clip of  Today programme on BBC Radio 4 (17/05/22) , which is more suitable for C2 students.  The second lesson is focused on Street Art and it includes some conversation questions about Art, education etc., and another power point presentation about Street Art in Zaragoza . You can access the list of key words below in Word format here and  the 5' recording of the Today radio report here . Some of the key words you will come across in the recordin...

On International Women's Day, Rappler , publishes the video " In Contested Cybercrime Laws, Activists and Women Are in Dange r" (6':49") about the repression of women's activism around the world.  Authoritarian regimes and dictatorships have passed cybercrime laws that punish feminist activists and other dissidents with imprisonment like Loujain-Al-Hathloul in Saudi Arabia, but also in other parts of Asia, like Myanmar, Thailand, Fiji, or the Philippines, where María Ressa, the CEO of Rappler   and winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize for Peace ,  has been accused of "ciber libel" and has been jailed for writing critical articles against President Rodrigo Duterte's brutal anti-drug policies. At the end of the video, three women activists leave a final message: Momoko Nojo (Japan), Marine Maiorano Delmas (France) and Frida Guerrero (Mexico).  This video with subtitles contains a lot of legal vocabulary, but the subtitles can allow even B2 students t...

  Australian social media celebrity  Supercar Blondie  shows us round a luxury villa in Dubai with a snow room in the extreme heat of the desert. Check it out! If you have $24 million, you may consider buying it! This short video below (9':15") can be watched with subtitles and it is suitable for B2 students and above. The language is cool and informal, and you will find few difficult words: to hang out, a desalination plant, sustainable, an irrigation system, stitching, the hustle and bustle, I feel like a million dollars, soak it up!, an infitity pool, tidal, super VIP, to wave [hello], inspirational [neighbours], a villa, solar power, the groceries, the mainland, make it happen!, a [Swedish] bunker, a sauna, a gym, a massage room, no way!, "glitzer" (a German word which means "glitter" or "purpurina"), ridiculous, layers.

In the modern digital world, everybody is talking about algorithms, but what are they exactly? Where can you find them? What can they do? How do they work? Should we be scared of algorithms? Can algorithms think for themselves? What do they look like? Can they do a job better than humans? This 7':53" BBC Ideas video with subtitles explains all about algorithms in a lively and attractive way.  It is accessible to B2 students and above. The most difficult words you will find in the video are: algorithm, search engines, dating apps, to be baffled [by science], a riddle, overwhelming, to pick her brains (informal), a set of instuctions, to enable a computer programme [to do something], billions, a server room, a bunch of [blocks] (informal), to be concerned about [something], to drag and drop [blocks], a drone, a flip, a challenge, a hoop, a lap, no offence (informal), to take over the world, to take our jobs, to deskill [humans], dependent upon [them], trusting of [them], on the ...

As de-escalation progresses around the world and the economy starts to activate, people are slowly starting to plan their holidays in times of a global pandemic, and the first question is "Is it safe to travel now?" This National Geographic article answers some of the questions people are asking themselves, like "Should I get on a plane?", "Should I head to a national park?", "Should I rent a cottage by the sea?", "Should I stay in a hotel?" "Should I use a public restroom (American English for "toilet")? etc.   This article can be easily read by B2 students. I would like to thank my student María A. for sending me this article. The travel industry is taking a proactive strategy to increase safety standards that can guarantee its customers' health and peace of mind.  This Arab News report explains the new measures that have been introduced by Emirates airline to increase hygiene from check-in to disembarkation.  This ...

Shavuot is a Jewish holy day that marks the beginning of the harvest (" Bikkurim"  or the collection and offering of " The First Fruits " to the Temple in Jerusalem) and also the reception of the Torah , with the 10 Commandments, given to Moses at Mount Sinai, 7 weeks after the departure from Egypt in Passover ( Shavuot  means " Festival of the Weeks " in Hebrew).  So, originally, Shavuot had an agricultural origin, which is kept in the tradition of decorating the house with greenery and flowers, or having a pic-nic in the woods or in your garden.  Later, when the Jewish people became more learned, some rabbis added to the festivity the practice of an all-nighter, " Tikkun ", which involves staying awake all night and reading the Torah (the 10 Commandments, Ruth's or Ezekiel's books etc), having social debates about Arts & Culture etc. In 2020, Shavuot is celebrated from sunset May 28th to nightfall May 30th.  If you want to know more...

Eid-al-Fitr is the first day of  the month of  Shawwal and the day Ramadan ends, so it is celebrated by Muslims around the world: people dress in their best clothes, exchange gifts, attend communal prayers, listen to a sermon ( khutba ), practice charity with the poor ( zakat al-fitr ), and they greet with the words " Eid Mubbarak! " ( Holy Feast! ) as you can read on this web page. In Turkey, this year's  Eid 's celebrations will be severely restricted to fight the spread of the coronavirus epidemic: a strict 24-hour curfew has been ordered in 83 provinces for two days and worshippers will not be allowed to pray in mosques, as you can read in this Aljazeera report and video, which is accessible to B2 students and above. But the epidemic has also brought "amazing signs of solidarity" like the Berlin church that has hosted Muslim worshippers to help them maintain physical distancing rules while they pray together in Eid-al-Fitr , as Aljazeera reports in this ...

Gender violence is a growing concern all around the world.  This NPR story reports on the state of affairs in Turkey, where feminist groups are leading the protests in the streets against male violence, they are fighting for women's rights in the courts and they are volunteering to create more women's shelters to protect the victims of domestic violence. This report could be classified as C1for its extension and vocabulary.

It's Nowruz, Persian New Year, a celebration of Spring for more than 300 million people around the world, including Iran, Tajikistan, Russia, Turkey, India and Iraq. Find out more about the celebrations, Persian style, in this short BBC video with subtitles which is accessible from B2 level.