viernes, 19 de mayo de 2023

The Coronation of King Charles III

 

Andrea Montiel y el alumnado de 2º bachillerato B/C del IES Augusto G. Linares de Santander


Besides King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla, the entire Wales family was present at the Coronation, with Prince George acting as one of the Pages of Honour during the service. Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis were also in attendance, travelling with Kate, William and George in the carriage procession back to Buckingham Palace after the ceremony. The Duke of Sussex was among the congregation, too, although he kept a low profile, while the Duchess of Sussex remained at home in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

The ceremony was held on 6 May – more than eight months after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and shortly before the 70th anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation. While the late monarch acceded to the throne on 6 February 1952, she wasn’t crowned until 2 June 1953, after a period of national mourning for her father, King George VI – a tradition that King Charles chose to follow.

Guests began to arrive at Westminster Abbey from 9am, with King Charles III’s procession setting off from Buckingham Palace at 10.20. The Coronation ceremony then began at 11 – going off without a hitch. Afterwards, the King boarded the Gold Stage Coach at 1pm and returned to Buckingham Palace to appear with the other royals on the balcony before cheering crowds.

Following Queen Elizabeth II’s declaration in 2022 that it was her “sincere wish” that the former Duchess of Cornwall take the title of Queen Consort when Charles acceded to the throne, Camilla was crowned alongside her husband. She is the first Consort to be crowned since the Queen Mother in 1937.

More than 2,000 guests were invited to Westminster Abbey on 6 May. Among them were members of the royal family (and other members of royal families around the world), representatives from the Houses of Parliament and the Church, and prominent politicians from the Commonwealth and beyond. The number of Coronation invitees is actually relatively small, given that more than 8,000 people attended the Queen’s service in 1953.

 

Question 1: (2 points). Indicate whether the following statements are TRUE or FALSE and write down the sentences or part of the text that justifies your answer.

a) The Duke of Sussex played a vital role at the Coronation.

b) The ceremony took place over eight months after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.

c) Only members of the royal family were invited to Westminster Abbey.

d) There has never been a coronation with more invitees.

 Question2: (2 points) Answer the following questions in your own words according to the text.

a) Why was Queen Elizabeth II crowned on June 1953?

b) What was the sincere wish of Queen Elizabeth II?

 Question 3: (1,5 points) Find words or phrases in the text that correspond to the words and definitions given.

a) Gathering (par. 1)

b) Service (par. 2)

c) Grief (par. 2)

d) Begin a trip (par.3)

e) Obstacle  (par. 3)

f) Well-known (par. 5)

Question 4: (1,5 points) Choose the correct option – a, b, c or d – for each question.

1. When did the parade take place?

a) On 2 June.

b) On 6 May.

c) On 6 February.

d) On 8 May.

2. There was a period of national mourning because...

a) It was a custom.

b) It was King Charles’ willing.

c) It is a law.

d) It was decided by the British population.

3. Camilla is the first Consort ...

a) to be crowned for many decades.

b) not to be crowned since 1937.

c) to be crowned in British history.

d) to be crowned in the 20th century.

Write a short essay on the following topic.  (3 marks)

Traditions are important and should be preserved?  Do you agree?  

 

 KEY:

Question 1.

a. False "The Duke of Sussex was among the congregation, too, although he kept a low profile"

b. True "The ceremony was held on 6 May – more than eight months after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II "

c. False "Among them were members of the royal family (and other members of royal families around the world), representatives from the Houses of Parliament and the Church, and prominent politicians from the Commonwealth and beyond."

d. False "The number of Coronation invitees is actually relatively small, given that more than 8,000 people attended the Queen’s service in 1953."

Question 2.

1. She wasn’t crowned until 2 June 1953, after a period of national mourning for her father, King George VI – a tradition that King Charles chose to follow.

2. Her “sincere wish” that the former Duchess of Cornwall take the title of Queen Consort when Charles acceded to the throne, Camilla was crowned alongside her husband.

 

Question 3.

a) congregation

b) ceremony

c) mourning

d) set off

e) hitch

f) prominent

Question 4.

1. B

2. A

3. A

 

 

lunes, 23 de mayo de 2022

DON’T FAKE HAPPINESS

When I see people smiling warmly in pictures, when I see them grinning cheekily through filters, when I see them partying as if there is no tomorrow, and when I see them laughing as if their heart isn’t choked up with sorrow, a question popsin simple words, the answer is “No, they are not really happy. Theyjustpretendto be.”

How do I know that or who am I to assume things? The first thing we need to wrap our heads around is the reality of happiness. What is happiness? Wikipedia refers to it as a feeling of satisfaction and joy. A positive and pleasant emotion. But everyone has their own way of thinking, so there must be multiple different definitions of happiness. Nonetheless, we all experience happiness in one way or another.

Happiness is a raw emotion. A genuine one. When it appears in its truest form, you just “feel” it. You don’t fake it. You don’t put fake smiles, or let out laughs. You just feel it surging through your whole body, in your heart, in your veins. And this emotion is sometimes too raw that you even cry as well.

We are living in the age of social media. You share something on it, and magically, it flies till the other end of the world. You start doing it just for fun. Sharing little things about you. You love boasting: hanging out with pals, late movie nights, sun-kissed pictures, shopping, funny vlogs, and what not! An escape from the tiresome studies and work. But then, you don’t even realise and it plants its roots in you. On the contrary, people know how you look, your family, your house, how you present yourself. They see your videos and see how you are in person. People criticise you and those people surrounding you, and you don’t want them to know that your life is not all rainbows and sunshine.I can see right through the faces that are morphed into fake happiness. we don’t want others to suspect anything is wrong with us.

The people, who you admire on social media, also go through the exact same issues. They get anxious and depressed as well. They also have this fear of people judging them. Happiness, before anything else, is an emotion. And so is sadness, and anger. You are not obliged to be happy all the time. Be happy, for yourself. Not for the world to see.  Happiness can be found anywhere and everywhere. You can feel it while working, suddenly realising how much you love your job. You can feel it when you see your pet running around your house. Nothing else should matter. This is genuine. This is raw.

Today, I want you to make a promise to yourself, that you’ll at least try to not fake your happiness; that you’ll try to not let social media and other people around, affect you; that you’ll try to be really happy. Just promise that you’ll try. And once you’ll try it, you will know how pure and ecstatic that feels.

Published in Dawn, Young World, January 15th, 2022

 Question 1: [2 POINTS] Indicate whether the following statements are TRUE or FALSE and write down the sentences or part of the text that justifies your answer. No points will be given if the evidence is not correct.

a)     For Wikipedia happiness hasn’t got a positive meaning.

b)    People begin to use social media to deal with essential matters

c)     Even celebrities are scared of critics

d)    You can find happiness in your daily life.

 

Question 2: [2 POINTS] Choose and answer only TWO of the following questions in your own words according to the text.


a)     According to the author, why do people need to post so much information in social media?

b)    What are the drawbacks of posting so much information?

c)     What does the author recommend?

Question 3: [1,5 POINTS] Find words or phrases in the text that correspond to the words and definitions given. You only need to have five correct answers to get 1,5 points.


a)     Fulfilment (par.2)

b)    Exhausting (par.4)

c)     Guess (par.4)

d)    Misery (par.5)

e)     Authentic (par.5)

f)     Guarantee (par.6)

Question 4: [1,5 ] Choose the correct option – a, b, c or d – for each question and COPY both the letter and the sentence that follows onto your answer sheet.

                   1. When the author sees someone smiling in a picture, he thinks…

 

a)     …that person shows real happiness.

b)    …that person wants other people to think he is happy

c)     …that person doesn’t care about others.

d)    …that person loves parties.


2. People who you admire on social media

 

a)     are worried about posting bad quality pictures

b)    …are worried about being criticized as well.

c)     …are worried about judging other people

d)    …are worried about getting depressed

 

      3. The author asks the reader…

 

a)     …not to fake pictures in social media.

b)    …not to show family pictures in social media.

c)     …not to make an influence on others through social media.

d)    …not to get influenced by social media


QUESTION 5: [3 POINTS] Write a short essay (about 120-150 words)  on the following topic. Essays up to 200 words won’t be penalized.

Advantages and disadvantages of social networking.

 

 KEY

 Question 1

a)     FALSEWikipedia refers to it as a feeling of satisfaction and joy”

b)    FALSE “You start doing it just for fun.”

c)     TRUE “They also have this fear of people judging them”

d)    TRUE “Happiness can be found anywhere and everywhere. You can feel it while working, suddenly realising how much you love your job. You can feel it when you see your pet running around your house”.

 Question 2

 a)     People disconnect from daily routine, they want to transmit an image of happiness with friends, trips, love, free time activities…

 b)    They know everything about you. There is a lack of privacy. They can criticize you

 c)     He recommends being happy for yourself not for the rest of the people, avoid faking pictures, do not try to be happy 24 hours a day…

Question 3

a)     Satisfaction

b)    Tiresome

c)     Suspect

d)    Sadness

e)     Genuine

f)     Promise

Question 4

b) that person wants other people to think he is happy

b)…are worried about being criticized as well.

d)    …not to get influenced by social media.


 

 

 

jueves, 19 de mayo de 2022

ACTIVE, PASSIVE OR CAUSATIVE?

 


Complete the passages with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Use the active, passive and causative forms.

      A. Katie 1. …………………… (know) how to get people to do things. She 2. …………………… (elect) head of the annual party committee last month. She 3. …………………… the entertainment …………………… (arrange) by Tom because he 4. …………………… (manage) several bands in the past. She 5. ………………… (convince) an expensive restaurant to give us a discount.
Later on today, her assistant 6. …………………… (call) everyone to remind them of the party.
Her assistant 7. …………………… (do) this during her lunch break. No one 8. …………………… (refuse) Katie’s requests.

      B. Mr Jones 9. …………………… (collect) records since he 10. …………………… (hear) the Beatles as a teenager. His favourite records 11. …………………… (find) at second-hand shops or car boot sales. More recently, he 12. …………………… (ask) his children to search for bargains on Internet sites. They 13. …………………… (not mind) doing this because they 14. …………………… (pay) by their father for each record. Mrs Jones 15. …………………… (often complain) about this hobby in the past before they 16. …………………… (move) to a bigger house two years ago. Mr Jones 17. …………………… shelves …………………… (build) in the attic and his enormous record collection 18. …………………… (keep) there now.

 







KEY

     1. knows

    2. was elected

    3. had / got … arranged

    4. had managed

    5. convinced

    6. is going to call / is calling

    7. is going to do / is doing

    8. refuses

    9. has collected / has been collecting

10.  heard

11.  are found / can be found

12.  has asked

13.  don’t mind

14.  are paid

15.  had often complained

16.  moved

17.  had … built

18.  is kept


jueves, 12 de mayo de 2022

Hundreds of crimes reported at royal palaces in London since 2019




Hundreds of crimes have been reported at royal palaces in London over the past three years, a freedom of information (FOI) request found. In total, the Met said 470 offences - including theft, arson and violence - were recorded at Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, St James’s Palace and Clarence House between 2019 and 2021. As many as 380 of the offences were for theft, 25 for possession of weapons and 17 for drug offences, according to the data.

Less than one per cent of the crimes led to someone being charged, cautioned or fined, according to the data. Only nine out of the 470 crimes led to someone being charged or summonised, the FOI request obtained by Sky News revealed. In addition, the data said police did not manage to identify any suspects in 404 cases.

Meanwhile, the FOI found arson and criminal damage comprised 15 reports, another 15 for violence against a person, 8 public order offences and 7 robberies.

Dai Davies, a former Head of Royal Protection and a former Divisional Commander in the Metropolitan Police Service, told Sky News that the number of crimes reported is “frightening”. He said: “If you can steal or cause incidents at or near the royals, what does that say about the current security? If these offences have an impact on the personal safety of the royals, that would give me great concern." However, the number of offences plummeted following the coronavirus pandemic as only 64 were reported in 2020 and 23 in 2021.

A Met Police spokesman said: "The Met has responsibility for security in and around the Royal Palaces, but we will not comment on matters relating to security. In common with other crowded locations, the majority of offences committed at or within the vicinity of the Palaces were thefts. Officers will always endeavour to pursue all viable and proportionate lines of enquiry.”

QUESTION 1:  Indicate whether the following statements are TRUE or FALSE and write down which part of the text justifies your answer.

a) Only a small number of offenders were ordered to appear in court.

b) All those who committed crimes at royal palaces have been found.

c) All the offences reported were against property.

d) The fact worries an ex-policeman who was in charge of the security at royal places.

e) Because of a more intense action from the Met Police, there have been fewer crimes in the last two and a half years.

f) People usually take advantage of being in a crowd to steal.

QUESTION 2: Find words or phrases in the text that correspond to the definitions given.

a) criminal setting of fire (par.1)

b) warn (par.2)

c) today's (par.4)

d) big effect (par.4)

e) decrease (par.4)

f) nearness (par.5)

g) make an effort (par.5)


KEY

Question 1

a) True." Only nine out of the 470 crimes led to someone being charged or summonised,"

b) False." ...the data said police did not manage any suspects in 404 cases."

c) False. " Meanwhile, the FOI found arson and criminal damage comprised 15 reports, another 15 for violence against a person, 8 public order offences and 7 robberies."

d) True." Dai Davies, a former Head of Royal Protection and a former Divisional Commander in the Metropolitan Police Service, told Sky News that the number of crimes reported is “frightening”.

e) False." However, the number of offences plummeted following the coronavirus pandemic as only 64 were reported in 2020 and 23 in 2021."

f) True." In common with other crowded locations, the majority of offences committed at or within the vicinity of the Palaces were thefts."

Question 2

a) arson

b) cautioned / to caution

c) current

d) impact

e) plummeted / to plummet

f) vicinity

g) endeavour