10
Mar
2010
Do you remember people when you see them again? You may not remember their names, but do you remember if you've seen them before and when you saw them?
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Try this test. You have to pay attention!1. Look at the faces and try to remember them.
2. Look at a 2nd group of faces and try to remember them.
3. Answer the questions:
- Have you seen the faces before?
- Were they in the first group or the second?
I was very surprised. I know that I'm terrible at remembering names and I assumed that I was just as bad at remembering faces. However I got a perfect score, 100% on the first part: recognizing faces, and 92% on the second part: when I'd seen them. Let's see how well you do.
Wendy http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sleep/tmt/instructions_1.shtml
Vocabulary:
Try: probar
Pay attention: prestar atención
try to: intentar
score: puntuación
I remember faces! 
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05
Mar
2010
What do you think about this car-plane the "Transition" which is expected to be available in 2011? Terrafugia has completed its flight testing of the Transition POC (Proof of Concept). It's a plane that you can land at the airport, fold up the wings and drive home. Great idea! 20 years from now will we all have "Transitions"? Just think of the traffic jams in the sky! Check out Terrafugia.
Vocabulary:
available: disponible
flight: vuelo
proffo: prueba, comprobación
land: aterrizar
fold up: doblar
wings: alas
traffic jams: embotellamiento
sky: cielo
23
Feb
2010
It's raining. The raindrops fall into the pond or lake, puddle or pool. And in the same place drops of water pop up. Are these the same drops that fall? 
Where do the droplets come from?
For non PhD's: There's a thin layer of air separating the drop from the water below. It's like an elastic sheet. The connection is pinched off and a smaller droplet is formed, again and again until the tiny droplet can be absorbed.
Once I was swimming and the rain was falling. The sunlight was coming in horizontally and the water drops were popping up all around me. It was quite an amazing sight! Wendy
Click here: Water Drop at 2000 Frames per Second
raindrops: gotas de lluvia
fall into: caer dentro de
pond: lago pequeño, charco
lake: lago
puddle: charco muy pequeño, como en la calle o en un camino
pool: piscina, charco de agua limpia
tiny droplet: gotita de agua
pop up: saltar para arriba
sight: vista
22
Ene
2010
We all know about the tragedy in HAITI: a major earthquake, tremors, aftershocks, another earthquake. Can you IMAGINE what it's like to be in HAITI right now?
The Haitian people need our help. Contribute! Donate a Euro; donate 50. Drop a few coins in the box as you come and go. It will all add up. And now UEM and Laureate International Universities havepromised to double our donations!
You'll see students in red VOLUNTEER vests collecting money in Building B today. There are collection boxes at the reception desk in each building.
IMAGINE what it would it be like if the ground in your hometown shook like that? Would the buildings collapse? Would your life change dramatically in a few minutes. Help the RED CROSS help the HAITIAN people. You are a citizen of the world. Do what you can do to help the cause.
Wendy
VOCABULARY
Drop: dejar caer
coins: monedas
add up: sumar
promise: prometer
vests: chalecos
ground: la tierra
hometown: pueblo natal
shook: sacudió (Pasado de shake)
buildings: edificios
citizen: ciudadano
11
Ene
2010
The International Space Station is often in the news,and has been since 1998. We know that there was a basic structure and that other components have been added over the years. We hear about the people on board, the difficulties they have, the experiments that are carried out. We know the ISS is up there and that it is quite an achievement.
Watch this presentation via computer graphics. You'll see the components come together piece by piece. What a difference from the original project. Open it full-screen so you can see the information onthe sides too. This is really neat, cool, awesome, sweet....chuli, chachi, guay, alucinante. O sea, mola mazo!
VOCABULARY:
The news: las noticias
carried out: llevar a cabo
come together: juntarse
full-screen: pantalla completa
the sides: los lados
neat/cool/awesome/sweet: maravilloso
http://i.usatoday.net/tech/graphics/iss_timeline/flash.htm
08
Ene
2010
Happy New Year! Happy 2010 ! Oh, that looks futuristic just like 2000 or 2001 did a decade ago. And what about 1-1-2010? That looks really strange, doesn't it? Well, a week has already passed and we're still sitting here, writing 2009 by mistake and staring at the computer screen, wondering what the future will hold.
Have you made your New Year's Resolutions yet? Are they the same ones you made last year and the year before? Is this THE YEAR when you're finally going to get it together? Did you start the year off right, start in on your fitness program, your diet, your personal Stop Smoking campaign, or are you waiting for a more auspicious date like maybe 10-1-2010 or as the Americans would write it 1-10-2010? Shall we procrastinate perhaps until the day before exams begin, or till next semester, or possibly till Groundhog Day or your birthday or.....1-1-2011 (ouuu, that looks really cosmic. That's only 11+ months from now. Maybe we should just leave our great plans for personal development till next year.
So, where were you on New Year's Day? Were you sleeping it off?
Were you outside, enjoying the day from beginning to end?
This is where I was as the 1st day of the year 2010 came to an end. Wendy
VOCABULARY:
staring: to stare: mirar fijamente
wondering: preguntándome
will hold: ofrecerá, sostendrá
get it together: organizarme
start X off right: empezar con buen pie
auspicious: prometedor
procrastinate: dejarlo para el último minuto
Groundhog Day: día de la Marmota
sleeping it off: reculperándose
Last year's NEW YEARS post:
http://comunidad.uem.es/shakespeare/2009/1/7/new-year-s-resolutions-2009
21
Dic
2009
Ideas! Needs! New products! You could create a new product, find a market for it, and become the entrepreneur the world has been waiting for. Think Bill Gates and the personal computer you may be using right now. You have great ideas. Work on them.
Just think of the people who stumbled upon Post-Its. They created a glue that didn't stick very well. It was useless. "No....wait....maybe this could be useful." Add it to note paper Wow! The POST-IT was invented.
And the people who created Velcro. They invented a great product which started out as a clothing fastener, and quickly became one of the most versatile inventions of the century.
You have good ideas too! Put some of them to work for you. Be inventive. If you see there is a need, find a solution.
Just think about those rich people who are behind Microsoft,VELCRO or POST-ITS.
You CAN do it too. Think big!
-Wendy
Vocabulary:
entrepreneurship: espiritú emprendedor
entrepreneur: empresario
stumbled upon: encontró por casualidad
glue: pegamento
stick: pegar
fastener: una cierre
*If you have a good idea, look at the "Blog de Emprendedores":
http://comunidad.uem.es/eicaran/posts
17
Dic
2009
You hear many songs in English every day: on the radio, in the department stores, in the mall, on CDs and DVDs, in the cinema and on TV. You might know a few words but do you know ALL the words to the most famous songs?
Here's one I know you'll recognize, and have probably heard recently. Do you know the name of it? Who's the composer? You can learn the words if you watch this link."
VOCABULARY:
department stores: grandes almacenes
the mall : centro comercial
link: enlace
Wendy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCFCeJTEzNU&feature=player_embedded
02
Dic
2009
Water-colors, long-handled brushes, and clay paint-pots.
A few tables placed on end and covered with brown paper.
Some pertinent verbs like "draw" and "design". Nouns like "easel" and "the hunt".
Expressions used when asking for something--"Pass me the brush please", when offering something--"Here's another color," and when complimenting other cave artists--"Good job! Nice work!"
Art and English:English and Art.
Active participation: verbal/artistic communication.
Vocabulary:
long-handled brushes-pinceles de mango largo
clay paint-pots- cuencos de barro para pintura
draw-dibujar
easel-caballete
the hunt-la cacería
For more photos: https://portal.uem.es/portal/page/portal/UEMLAB
06
Nov
2009
We have a 3-day weekend! There's a holiday this Monday. All holidays should be on Mondays. In fact, in the U.S. most holidays are celebrated on Mondays so that everyone who can, gets a 3-day weekend. We should do that in Spain!
And then there's Thanksgiving. That's a 4-day weekend! Yep, it's always a 4-day weekend, because Thanksgiving is the 4th Thursday in November so that everyone who wants to can get home for the weekend. The airports, train stations, bus depots and highways are crowded because Americans are all "going home" to see the family and have a Thanksgiving Feast.
All of you at the UEM campus are invited to our THANKSGIVING PIE TASTING FEAST. We can't put on a whole Thanksgiving dinner, but everyone is encouraged to try our APPLE PIE and PUMPKIN PIE and to contribute a home-made dessert. You could be the winner of the "Best Cook at the UEM" Award ! We'll cut all the desserts up into little pieces so that you can try a lot of them. If you don't contribute a dessert, you can try them anyway for 1 Euro.
All the money collected will go to the NGO: FUNDACIÓN RAIS, an "ONG" which helps the homeless in Madrid.
Hope to see you here in Building A on November 26th 13:30-15:30.
Wendy
Some of the dessert contributed in 2008
Grammar: 3-day weekend, 4-day weekend.
Notice that "day" is singular: There's no "s". This is because it is used as an adjective and adjectives in English are NEVER PLURAL.
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