Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!

Please take my advice and relax during the holidays. It is well deserved.

Carolina

What is Asperger's syndrome?

The main character in Mark Haddon's novel, Christopher, has Asperger's syndrome and if you would like more facts about this neurobiological disorder you can check out the link above. The one below claims to have facts about famous people with Asperger's.

http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/article_2086.shtmlcts

ASSIGNMENT AFTER READING THE CURIOUS INCIDENT…

Imagine you are either Christopher’s father or mother. You want to explain why you have acted a certain way towards him. Let your answer indicate that you have read the required pages, and that you have understood them. Write between 100 and 300 words.

ASSIGNMENT AFTER READING “RIDING THE WHIP”

Explain who Jay, Natalie, Julie and Rita are, and how they know each other. Also discuss where the story takes place, and what happens that night. Then answer the following questions in more detail:
1) Why does Jay want to go on the Whip more than once?
2) What do you think happens to Jay’s sister?

AFTER READING THE FIRST TWO PARTS OF "THRILL AND SUSPENSE"

Plaese answer the following questions, and if you have time write an introduction and ending, and indicate clear paragraphs too.

"A Crime in the Neighborhood"
1. When and were does the first story take place?
2. Why is it surprising that a violent crime is committed in that area?
3. Describe the boy and what happend to him?
4. Why did Miss Crepo not notice so much?
5. Who is I in the text?

"Pressured by Time"
1. What are the names of the main characters, and what do they do for a living?
2. How has the situation they are in now happend?
3. What has the man taken, and can you think of any reasons for doing so?
4. Why are some parts written in italics?
5. Do you think the man is caught?

AFTER READING THE FIRST TWO PARTS OF MARK HADDON'S NOVEL

Please answer the following questions in an order that suits you, and write this as a text with an introduction and ending (and clear paragraphs, and a title that evokes interest).

What is Christopher like? What are his interests? What about his family? Friends? School mates? What do you make of his thoughts and actions? Be descriptive in your presentation and tihnk of including details that show that you have read all the assigned pages.

You are reading a book about someone writing a book. What are Christopher's views of what he is writing? What novel does he compare his story to? Why, do you think?

Ett besök av polisen

Tisdagen den 12 oktober besökte Patrik Kvist och aspiranten Cindy klassen på mattelektionen (tack för det, Gert!). Patrik pratade om yrket och svarade framför allt på era frågor, som handlade om allt från lönen till polisens utrustning (som totalt väger ungefär 12 kilo).

Ett lyckat inslag var när han exemplifierade från klassen, och det uppkom ett alldeles nytt kärlekspar (!) som blev oväns på Jägers. Detta påhittade fall fick visa hur poliser kan få jobba. Sedan visade han också – tack vare Philip och Love – hur det kan se ut i praktiken ibland. Tyvärr krånglade kameran lite, och bilderna till höger gör inte riktigt tilldragelsen rättvisa. Vill ni se en mer rättvisande bild av Patrik kan ni istället klicka på länken ovan.

Jag tyckte att föreläsningen var mycket lyckad, och är dessutom ganska säker på att ni också tyckte det med tanke på att ni lugnt satt kvar fastän Patrik drog över tiden med mer än en timme – när ni redan hade slutat egentligen.

READ A NOVEL: MARK HADDON'S "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time"

Now that we have tossed the textbook (...) you are asked to read a novel and discuss it in school each week (always on Mondays). If you want to hang on to the textbook (it is a bit easier) you can, and then I will provide a separate schedule for you.

You will read approximately 70 pages a week starting week 42 (up to page 68, as a matter of fact) and finish off week 46. These are the important dates to keep in mind:

Monday the 18th of October: read as far as 68 (lecture from Transfer)
Monday the 25th of October: read as far as page 138
Monday the 8th of November: read as far as page 213
Monday the 15th of November: complete the reading (page 268)
Wednesday the 24 of November: hand in analysis + word test

As you can tell you will not be given time to answering questions on the 18th, but you will however be asked to do so on the 25th (that is from the beginning of the text to page 138). There are many brilliant sites you can visit, and this is one example to get you started: http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/curious/

I will test you on the words, and expect you to hand in an analysis as well (I will get back to what you are supposed to do later…) on the 24th of November by emailing it to me: carolina.ignell.eslov.se

Concluding comments on your "Pirate" texts

Thank you for rewriting your analyses and posting them on the blog (and in some cases emailing them to me). A special “thank you” goes to Kristoffer who posted his entry more than once…

Most of you wrote original texts with clear paragraphs, interesting titles and introductions as well as clear conclusions which is good! There are a few general comments I’d like to make:

• all titles have capital letter in English (for example Captain)
• some words are used in a generic sense in English but not in Swedish (for instance love, hunger and unemployment)
• the apostrophe is next to the “ä” on your keyboard

We will discuss generic use and the apostrophe in class next week.

CLICHÉS PERFORMANCES

Thank you for your excellent performances today in class! Unforgettable scenes include the one where Eldar shoots Gustaf (A cat has nine lives), and when Elin-Soley follows Nathalie's lead but are told off (Don't do as I do, do as I say). Here are the clichés, or sayings followed by an explaination.

The writing on the wall
something that is about to happen, something that is obvious

To pull an all-nighter
to study or work all night

Pearls of wisdom
wise words or advice

Too much of a good thing
generally used when saying that's impossible to be too happy, or lucky

Curiosity killed the cat
Don't be too inquisitive, it can be dangerous

Don't do as I do, do as I say.
Used when someone points out that you are being hypocritical (doing one thing while insisting that others that thing differently)

Let sleeping dogs lie
don't look into (investigate) something that was troublesome in the past, but in which people are not currently interested

A cat has nine lives
someone might be having problems now, but they are many chances to do well or succeed.

Moment of truth
the moment in which something important will be shown or decided.

Think outside the box
someone who thinks differently sees things from a new perspective.

Keep in touch
try to stay in touch with someone who you don’t see very often.

For the record
it's meant to be known and remembered in the future. It is a warning, and people usually use it when they are mad.

A few good examples from your analyses

Thank you for your analyses of scenes in Pirates of the Caribbean. I have chosen a few quotes from all of your texts, but I actually could have each and every one of you! Today you will be given part of the lesson to correct/change your text and then post it on the blog!
HEADLINE

Escape or die?


INTRODUCTION

If you like fast-paced, funny comments, love and a bit unreal events this is the perfect film for you. “Pirates of the Caribbean” shows many different feelings, events and personalities. There is much action in this movie, and many things you think about after you’ve seen it and it’s very well executed.

Suddenly a shot is fired and you can almost taste the gunpowder in your mouth. The air feels very damp and you almost get blinded by all the gold in the background, but these thing are not nearly as important as the vision when it began to drain blood from the pirate’s heart..


DESCRIPTION/ANALYSIS

Though she has everything she could ever dream of she’s missing something in her life. Excitement, spontaneity, true love - all the good stuff doesn’t exist until William Turner (Orlando Bloom) floats up by the ship

It is frightening how much a person’s life can change over a short time. You barely have time to blink until everything is gone. To lose everything you have fought for and knowing that you probably never will see your old life again is probably the worst thing a man can experience.

Grattis!

Grattis till en välgenomförd Kick Off gör ekonomiklasserna på Berga! Dessutom vill jag rikta ett stort grattis för att ni vann brännbollen även i år. Ni är och förblir obesegrade - åtminstone tills nästa år...

WRITE ABOUT A SCENE IN PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN

You have watched a future classic, Pirates of the Caribbean – The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) The cast includes actors and actresses like (as you probably know…) Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley and Geoffrey Rush.

Your job is to pick one scene from the film and:
• Describe shortly (no more than 100 words, but preferably less)
what happens
• Describe the persons that are in the scene
• Describe the place
• Analyse what is hinted in the scene and answer the question: What
will happen next?

Write between 400 and 600 words, and don’t forget a headline, an interesting introduction and a clear summary. I also expect you to use clear paragraphs. Hand in your text after English class on the 13th of September.

THANK YOU!

What an excellent start, and what good texts you have provided for me! Please look at my comments that include quotes from your texts.

Headlines are the first thing you notice, so think twice before writing just about anything. It was also interesting to notice that two students had the same headline but in different languages! Here are two examples:
"The lack of jobs forced her to repaint the sauna!". Or you can start off with a quote from a song (and in this case also a film starring for instance Sarah Jessica Parker): "Girls just wanna have fun"

I found authentic news story material in your text which was impressive. Here goes: (the mentioning of the persons' ages.): "It was on the 29th of July that Elin Sóley Ólafsdóttir , 16, and Nathalie Nilsson ,17". You can also include an interview: "Hallo Martin! What have you done all summer? /- Not so much actually. Just played some football with friends and things like that.". Here is a final example of an interview: "”The taste were undescribable disgusting” says one of the daughters."


Dates are to be included in news stories, and often work like introductions. They might look like this: "It was the 9th of July 2010, the soccer field was crammed with people from all around the world " and "Last night thousands of people wich most were teenagers gatherd at Stortorget in Malmö" and "That was the day then Simon forgot his computer at a hotel on Crete". And also "It was the night between 22 and 23 August when four teens decided go down to the beach for swimming in the sea"

Introductions are always important, because if they don't evoke interest people might stop reading. Here is an example of a good way to start: "Have you do something you never will forget?". Another example is: "Lo and behold, the day when the sun was highest in the sky and the heat was unbearable, a girl name Emma Einarsson was expected to start her new summer work".

Descriptions are crucial in news stories and here are a few: "The ocean was crystal clear", and "But by night the city transformed and the centre became a huge crowded place for people to party". And also: "The ride to the cottage it felt like flying, the feeling you have with the ones you love the most is magic", and "It was the night 7th july when two teens and they are also a couple would go out and take a drink and see a footboll game together"

Conclusions are as important as introductions, and here is one example of a funny one: "A typical example of the difference between smalltown people ans urban people. How hard can a busride be?"

Words/phrases
a lot of you have looked up words and that is something I encourage. I could quote many texts but have chosen one (not knowing if this particular student looked this word up..):
"It was a coincidence that Eldar saw his big idol"

Humour always works! Thank you for these:
"My new BFF" and "say the best quote you can say when you're a teenager 'we do it tomorrow instead'"

Structure
Here is an example of a student who linked her headline ("Don't stop thinking") to her last paragraph: "when you start drinking you stop thinking, said a police officer from Eslöv" which always is a good strategy...
Another aspect to think about is linking paragraphs to each other. One student starts her new story with a quote and continues the next paragraph like this: "This is just some of the words that a girl used when she was describing her night, or should I say her amazing night as she told me"

NEWS STORY

Your job today is to write a news story using 100-150 words. You are asked to write about something that you did during the summer vacation. The information should be about one of your experiences but you will write it like a news story. Publish your text on the blog so your readers are your fellow students in the class.

A news story is structured like an upside-down pyramid, with the most important information first. Think of a headline that evokes interest! The lead is the first paragraph. It contains most of the story’s vital information, but must also keep the reader’s interest so that he or she wants to go on reading. The next part is the body gives details about the five W’s and the H (see below). You can organize things chronologically, or in order of importance. Please include the following:

Tell about an incident, a meeting or an experience
Answer these six questions:
• Who was involved
• What happened?
• When did it happen?
• Where did it happen?
• Why did it happen?
• How did it happen?
Report on other people’s opinions without taking sides or making judgements.
Have an interest-catching headline.

Be prepared!

The national test date is almost here (Wednesday), and you'll start off with writing. You are very well prepared for this part, but I want to direct your attention towards linking words - that is words that you use to link statements and phrases into sentences. One example is: "I wanted to chatch him" and "he fell". Add a "but" as a linking word to make a sentence. But it can also be words that you use to link sentences to each other. For instance "My first argument is that...". My second argument is that..." Look at the examples below that illustrates how linking words work. Best of luck on the test on the 28 of April 8:05-9:45 in "aulan". See you there,

Carolina

When writing essays - focus on linking words

Giving examples
For example
For instance

The most common way of giving examples is by using for example or for instance.
Adding information

And
In addition
As well as
Also
Too
Furthermore
Moreover
Apart from
In addition to
Besides
Ideas are often linked by and. In a list, you put a comma between each item, but not before and.
"We discussed training, education and the budget."
Also is used to add an extra idea or emphasis. "We also spoke about marketing."
You can use also with not only to give emphasis.
"We are concerned not only by the costs, but also by the competition."
We don't usually start a sentence with also. If you want to start a sentence with a phrase that means also, you can use In addition, or In addition to this…
As well as can be used at the beginning or the middle of a sentence.
"As well as the costs, we are concerned by the competition."
"We are interested in costs as well as the competition."
Too goes either at the end of the sentence, or after the subject and means as well.
"They were concerned too."
"I, too, was concerned."
Apart from and besides are often used to mean as well as, or in addition to.
"Apart from Rover, we are the largest sports car manufacturer."
"Besides Rover, we are the largest sports car manufacturer."
Moreover and furthermore add extra information to the point you are making.
"Marketing plans give us an idea of the potential market. Moreover, they tell us about the competition."
Summarising

In short
In brief
In summary
To summarise
To conclude
In conclusion
We normally use these words at the beginning of the sentence to give a summary of what we have said or written.
Sequencing ideas

The former, … the latter
Firstly, secondly, finally
The first point is
Lastly
The following
The former and the latter are useful when you want to refer to one of two points.
"Marketing and finance are both covered in the course. The former is studied in the first term and the latter is studied in the final term."
Firstly, … secondly, … finally (or lastly) are useful ways to list ideas.
It's rare to use "fourthly", or "fifthly". Instead, try the first point, the second point, the third point and so on.
The following is a good way of starting a list.
"The following people have been chosen to go on the training course: N Peters, C Jones and A Owen."
Giving a reason

Due to / due to the fact that
Owing to / owing to the fact that
Because
Because of
Since
As
Due to and owing to must be followed by a noun.
"Due to the rise in oil prices, the inflation rate rose by 1.25%."
"Owing to the demand, we are unable to supply all items within 2 weeks."
If you want to follow these words with a clause (a subject, verb and object), you must follow the words with the fact that.
"Due to the fact that oil prices have risen, the inflation rate has gone up by 1%25."
"Owing to the fact that the workers have gone on strike, the company has been unable to fulfil all its orders."
Because / because of
Because of is followed by a noun.
"Because of bad weather, the football match was postponed."
Because can be used at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence. For example, "Because it was raining, the match was postponed."
"We believe in incentive schemes, because we want our employees to be more productive."
Since / as
Since and as mean because.
"Since the company is expanding, we need to hire more staff."
"As the company is expanding, we need to hire more staff."
Giving a result

Therefore
So
Consequently
This means that
As a result
Therefore, so, consequently and as a result are all used in a similar way.
"The company are expanding. Therefore / So / Consequently / As a result, they are taking on extra staff."
So is more informal.
Contrasting ideas

But
However
Although / even though
Despite / despite the fact that
In spite of / in spite of the fact that
Nevertheless
Nonetheless
While
Whereas
Unlike
In theory… in practice…
But is more informal than however. It is not normally used at the beginning of a sentence.
"He works hard, but he doesn't earn much."
"He works hard. However, he doesn't earn much."
Although, despite and in spite of introduce an idea of contrast. With these words, you must have two halves of a sentence.
"Although it was cold, she went out in shorts."
"In spite of the cold, she went out in shorts."
Despite and in spite of are used in the same way as due to and owing to. They must be followed by a noun. If you want to follow them with a noun and a verb, you must use the fact that.
"Despite the fact that the company was doing badly, they took on extra employees."
Nevertheless and nonetheless mean in spite of that or anyway.
"The sea was cold, but he went swimming nevertheless." (In spite of the fact that it was cold.)
"The company is doing well. Nonetheless, they aren't going to expand this year."
While, whereas and unlike are used to show how two things are different from each other.
"While my sister has blue eyes, mine are brown."
"Taxes have gone up, whereas social security contributions have gone down."
"Unlike in the UK, the USA has cheap petrol."
In theory… in practice… show an unexpected result.
"In theory, teachers should prepare for lessons, but in practice, they often don't have enough time."

Skrivtips för att förbättra sitt språk

Den tråkiga rubriken till trots är detta viktig information, för hur gör man egentligen för att få ett högt betyg på sitt språk och sin hantering av det i sina uppsatser? Svaret är enkelt: ta till dig dessa tips!

Undvik småord! Granska din text och stryk småord som inte behövs och ersätt också småord med längre ord när så är möjligt. Var speciellt varse om småordskonstruktioner där många småord förekommer.

Använd dig av exakta uttryck. Skriv inte ospecifika ord som grej, sak, och detta, denna, dessa eller de(t) här utan efterföljande led.

Skriv i presens.

Använd personers efternamn när du inte känner dem personligen.

Undvik upprepningar av ord i samma stycke.

Se över dina meningsinledare så att du varierar dem, och i största möjliga mån inte inleder med sammanfogande ord (till exempel men, så, att, och och)

Skriv ut alla förkortningar. Du har tillräckligt med plats för det i din uppsats. Placera dem inte heller sist i en mening.

Skilj mellan de och dem. De är i subjektsform och dem är ett objekt. Är du ändå osäker så kom ihåg att de är betydligt mycket vanligare än dem.

När du skriver så skriver du! Undvik alla former av talspråk och citat som personer kan tänkas säga (det kallas för pseudocitat).

IRREGULAR VERBS

Perhaps it doesn't sound interesting, but to achieve a good result on the national test you need to know your irregular verbs in English. Practice on the following, and if you want extra material, I will provide it for you.

Total score: 28 points
Pass: 16 points


Translate the following sentences into English (10):


1. Jag valde fel väg när jag körde till höger och det känns jobbigt.

2. Hade jag vetat att pappret låg på marken skulle jag ha sjungit.

Write the three correct forms of the verbs in English (18)!

1. tala

2. simma

3. skriva

4. rida

5. gömma sig

6. frysa

IDIOMS

Expressions don't always translate well word for word, and a funny example it the Swedish phrase: "If there´s room in your heart, there´s room for your ass" that seems vulgar, rude and is impossible to understand for an English speaking person. Look at the English expressions, and make a list in a Word document where you write the missing (only one!) word.


1. He said it was hard, but it was really a ………………..of cake.

2. Tell me what she said, I am all …………………

3. Stop it, I am ………………..up with you!

4. Please tell me what happened, don’t ………………..around the bush.

5. She is really behind with her project. She has bitten off more than she can ………………..

6. I hope you do well on the job interview. Break a ………………..!

7. I can’t do this by ………………..

8. He has to start earlier next time. This time he only finished by the skin of his ………………..

9. The discussion lasted many hours. The bottom ………………..
was that the company isn't for sale.

10. Joe broke his mother's ………………..when he dropped out of school

11. It's late and you've accomplished a lot. Why don't you call it a ………………..?

12. This brochure about Tahiti caught my ………………..when I was at the travel agency

13. A: Your new car is really nice.
B: "It should be. It cost (me) an arm and a . ……………….

14. Joe should have finished his project a week ago. Why is he dragging .his ……………?

15. In your essays, please write on every ……………line. That will make the
essays much easier to read.

16. That story's pretty. …………… Nobody's going to believe it

17. Traffic was really slow on the freeway this morning because of a . …………… in one of the westbound lanes.

18. Where's Marie? I haven't seen her for . ……………

19. I really get a . ……………out of listening to children talk. They say some very funny things.

20. I know you like that song, but it's getting on my…………... Can you play something else?"

Muntlig redovisning i svenska

När du har läst din valfria roman ska du prata om den inför klassen. Din uppgift är att hitta ett tema i boken (som exempelvis kärlek, hat, vänskap eller död) och illustrera det med hjälp av musik. Du kan välja all sort musik, men poängen är att texten och musiken ska ha samma tema. Däremot kan de skilja sig åt beträffande sitt budskap (så som ”Jump” skiljer sig från Holdens ängslan i Räddaren i nöden – han vill förhindra att någon faller, och Van Halen tycker att man borde ta steget och hoppa).

Presentera både romanen och låten (det vill säga vad de heter, och vem som har skrivit dem). Läs upp ett stycke ur romanen där temat tydliggörs, och spela ett utdrag från låten/stycket du har valt. Texten till den del av låten du har valt ska finnas tillgänglig för klassen (på overhead eller i PowerPoint) Jämför texterna med varandra och här visar du prov på din analysförmåga, så arbeta mycket med jämförelseledet. Redovisningen ska vara mellan 3 och 5 minuter.

Redovisningarna äger rum den 19 (Flickan från ovan och Hej Dolly) 11:00 till 12:40 (observera tiderna!) och den 20 april 14:05 – 14:55 (Möss och människor) enligt ett schema som du får senare.

Team work - help each other with English

1. What is the difference between “that” and “who”?
What would you use in the following cases, who or that?:
The woman
The dog
The girl
The world
The old man

2. When do you use “an” and in what situations is “a” the best option? Discuss a grammatical rule for the usage, and write the correct alternatives to:
old man.
glass of orange juice.
hour in the sunshine.
apple tree.
umbrella.
uniform.
Italian restaurant.

3. Explain the difference between: they’re and their
too and to
who and how
hole and whole
were, where and we’re
guy, guy’s, guys’ and guys
you’re and your
buy and by
which and witch
this, that, those and these

4. You know the basic principal, but sometimes you can need to repeat it. What is the plural to these words (e.g. one cat, many cats)? Also discuss the basic rule behind the plural.

one boy, many one bush, many
one baby, many one knife, many
one hero, many one foot, many
one match, many one sheep, many
one man, many one goose, many
one key, many one fly, many

5. When you own something, you write a ‘ in English. Put the ‘ in the correct places!
Flickans motorcykel The girls motorcycle
Mina kaniners tänder My rabbits teeth.
Mammans dotter The mothers daughter.
Karins vita hänst. Karins white horse.
Hundens svans The dogs tail.
Pojkarnas kepsar. The boys hats.
Deras grannars hus. Their neighbours houses.
Vissa chefers loner. Some bosses wages.
Volvos nya bil Volvos new car
Min dotters tandvärk. My daughters toothache.

6. How do you write dates in English? Try the following:

Sarah born 1992 October 24.

7. Finally translate the following into English:

Valarna håller på att bli utrotningshotade och människor gör inget åt det.

Var tredje sekund dör ett barn av svält. Vi måste förhindra att hungern sprider sig som en sjukdom.

Alla människor har fördomar. Det är ofta på grund av hudfärg och alla måste hjälpas åt att stoppa rasismen.

Analyse a song - practice

Before you start analysing your own song we will do another one together. It is the Danish artist Medina's song "You and I". You will first hear the song, and then discuss it in small groups. Don't forget to quote the text in order to motivate your answers to the following questions:

Who is the text about? What information do you find about the person/s?
What is the text about (in short)?
What is the message of the text?
What do you make of the title?

Here are the lyrics for the song:

"You and I lyrics"

Nothing left for me to say
There's no more wicked games to play
It's time for me to walk away
I am alright

I feel like I'm on a high
A new beginning that is my life
I'm turning to the rhythm of the night
I am alright

The music is making me growing
The only thing that keeps me awake is me knowing
There's no one here to break me or bring me down
And no one here to hurt me or fool around

I have no more time for you to hurt my feelings
Done enough to prove I'm all that I believe in
We are at the end no more stupid lies
I'm better off without you here by my side

So no there is no longer you and I - you and I
You and I - you and I
You and I - you and I
You and I
There is no longer you and I - you and I
You and I - you and I
You and I - you and I
You and I

Don't care what other people say
I know you fool around all day
Now it doesn't hurt me anyway
I am alright

And when the day turns into night
I'm in a club forgetting you and I
And when I'm think of how you treated me
You proved me right

The music is making me growing
The only thing that keeps me awake is me knowing
There's no one here to break me or bring me down
And no one here to hurt me or fool around.

I have no more time for you to hurt my feelings
Done enough to prove I'm all that I believe in
We are at the end no more stupid lies
I'm better off without you here by my side

So no there is no longer you and I - you and I
You and I - you and I
You and I - you and I
You and I
There is no longer you and I - you and I
You and I - you and I
You and I - you and I
You and I

Analysis of a song

Your job is to pick a song you like, and find the lyrics for it. Look at all the words and explain (in English) all the ones that are hard. Your analysis should include:

An original title
A clear and interesting introduction
Clear paragraphs
A short summary about the artist/group (approximately 5 lines)
A clear ending

Answer the following questions:

Who is the text about? What information do you find about the person/s?
What is the text about (in short)?
What is the message of the text?
What do you make of the title?

The main thing is to motivate your opinions from the text. Write between 1 and 2 pages and email your analysis to me. Please remember to include the lyrics.