LITERARY COMICS

Dracula: Bram Stoker's (1847-1912)

London, end of April, 1880. Mina Murray accompanies her fiancé, Jonathan Harker, to the station. The young notary must go on business to the wildest part of Europe, to Transylvania, deep in the heart of the Carpathian region. There he must meet Count Dracula, a strange character who wants to buy a large property on the outskirts of London. Jonathan is going to suggest that he buys the magnificent Purfleet estate.

Mysterious and tormented: that's what we know about Bram Stoker, the creator of Dracula. And, indeed, that is how he must have been to imagine such a bloodthirsty creature. 104 years later, the author is perhaps not so well remembered but Dracula is certainly still as famous as ever. It's a case of a character that has "eliminated" its author!

beloved: estimat

go mad: tornarse boig

frighten: espentar

either: tampoc

safe and sound: sa i estalvi

seem: semblar

this way: així

drag: arrestrar

soul: anima

wound: ferida

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Mark Twain (1835-1910)

The story takes place in the USA, around 1860, in St Petersburg, a little town on the river Mississippi. The main character, Tom Sawyer, lives with his Aunt Polly, who tries to educate him and show him good manners but without much success...

The author spent his childhood in little town next to the river Mississippi, and he left school when he was 12 years old. He was a typographer, a steamboat pilot, and a gold digger, before becoming the most famous American writer of his time.

freedom: llibertat

liking: gust

rather: bastant

show off: presumir
good manners: bons modals 
smartly dressed: ben vestit
on his own: sol
chance: oportunitat
suddenly: de cop
thrilling: apasionant

2012 and TOMORROW

1. AUGMENTED REALITY

The real world will become part of the game. Point your iPhone at another object and watch them interact.

2. 3D AND VIRTUAL REALITY

The Microsoft Xbox 720 could be out in 2014. It is a secret, but the new console could produce graphics similar to the film Avatar.

3. MOTION-CONTROL

The popularity of the Wii will continue in 2012 with the WiiU, a Wii controller with a screen. Move your arms and legs, but be careful not to hurt yourself when you play!

4. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

New consoles like the PlayStation 4 will include computer characters with greater intelligence. Speak to them and you'll see that they have their own personalities. 

5. BRAIN GAMES

In 2005, Sony developed the technology to project video games into your brain. Players will taste and feel the video game experience for real. Super Mario fans are excited at the idea of tasting the mushrooms. Mmm!

5 POPULAR GAMES OF THIS YEAR:

-Angry Birds

-L.A. Noire

-Call of Duty

-Legend of Zelda

-Just Dance 2

The TITANIC: A tragic story

100 years after the Titanic tragedy, the world's most famous ship still fascinates us. This April, discover the legend in the new 3D version of James Cameron's film Titanic. 

What was the Titanic?

The Titanic was the largest passenger ship in the world when it was built in 1912 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was like a floating town with passengers from all social classes. Third-class passengers paid 3£ to 8£ for a one-way ticket to America. First-class passengers paid 30£.

Inside the Titanic

The Titanic was a luxury ship. Rich passengers paid 865£ for a suite decorated in elegant styles. There was also the famous Grand Staircase which is in the film Titanic too.

The Titanic's destination

The Titanic's first voyage was from Southampton, in England, to New York City, USA. The ship left on 10 April 1912... but never arrived at her destination.

 

The Tragedy

On 14 April, four days after leaving Southampton, the titanic was in the North Atlantic. The sea was calm but visibility was low. At 11:40 pm, a lookout saw a large iceberg near the ship. 37 seconds later, the Titanic hit the iceberg and water entered the ship. At first the passengers didn't panic... two hours and 40 minutes later, at 2:20 am, the Titanic sank...

 

Who died?

Of the 2224 people on board, only 710 survived: there were not enough lifeboats. Most survivors were women, children and the rich: 60% of first-class passengers survived. But only 42% of second-class and less than 25% of third-class passengers survived.

Titanic on film

The wreck of Titanic was found in 1985, about 4km under the sea. James Cameron made his 1997 film, Titanic, using real images of the wreck. It was the highest-grossing film of all time until Avatar (2009).

Film

IN TIME:
Imagine a future where you pay for things with time, not money. That's what happens in this acion-thriller. To live beyond the age of 25, people must work to earn time. A poor man, Will Salas (Justin Timgberlake), in accused of murdering a rich man to steal his time. Can Will escape from the police?

Magazine:

VALENTINE'S DAY

14 February

 

Did you know that people spend 336 hours of their life kissing?¿ In the USA, people don't just kiss their girlfriends and boyfriends on Valentine's Day. They also give cards and presents to friends, teachers and pets!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

Magazine:

THE DESCENDANTS (Los descendientes)

If you're a fan of George Clooney, this family drama is for you. George plays a rich lawyer, Matt King, whose wife goes into a coma. Suddenly matt must look after his two difficult young daughters on his own. And there are other famiy problems waiting for Matt too..

GEORGE CLOONEY plays the father of two difficult girls.

 lawyer: advocat

wife: dona

look after: cuidar

Magazine:

7 BILLION

That's the number of Earth's inhabitants. The continent with the most people is Asia (4 billion). Oceania has the smallest population (36 million), so if you like lots of spacel, you should go and live in Australia!

7 billion=mil millions

(7.000.000.000)

inhabitants: habitants

Magazine

TANGLED (Rapunzel)

This is 3-D story of Rapunzel is different from the classic fairytale. When a bandit, Flynn Rider, hides in a mysterious tower, he is kdnapped by Rapunzel, a princess with long golden hair. She has been locked in the tower for years and wants to escape. Rapunzel makes a deal with Flynn, and the two go on a big advendture.

NEW YORK: Ten years after the tragedy

On 11 September 2001, the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York were destroyed in a terrorist attack. Four young people from the USA, the UK and France remember that terrible day...

Lyle, age 25, Memphis, USA:

I was 15 on the day of attack. I was at school, and saw the second plane hit the Twin Tower live on TV. We didn't feel the trauma in the same way as the people of New York, but we were angry. I also felt scared. My country was under attack and I thought I was going to see armies in the streets.

Olivia, age 25, France:

I was 15 on the day of the attack. I watched it on TV in France. Cameras were doing close-ups on the people whio were jumping from the Twin Towers. I felt shocked and sad when I understood what had happened. But I wasn't worried about France. They cleared the Montparnasse Tower because it's the highest point in Paris. It didn't seem safe.

Tyler, age 24, New Jersey, USA:

I was 14 on the day of the attack. I saw the second plane hit the Twin Tower live on TV. I felt like I was seeing something that would matter for the rest of my live. I felt adrenaline and disbelief, and wondered what would happen next. Many people from my town worked on Wall Street. Friends lost uncles in the attack. Later that day, 45 miles from New York, you could see smoke in the sky.

Ben, age 26, England:

I was 16 on the day of the attack. I saw the events on TV. Journalists said that it might be a terrorist attack but I couldn't belive it. When I saw the buildings collapse, I felt shock and disbelif. My dad told me abut a colleague's daughter who was in New York and was going to the World Trade Center. I crossed my fingers for her.

Me, age 13, Catalonia:

I was 3 on the day of the attack. I guess I saw the events but I don't remember because I was very small. I guess that was a tragedy old the people of the world, because it's in New York a famous city in the world.

The video of the tragedy:

This is a video of the Twin Towers tragedy. It's very very tragedy.

JADEN AND WILLOW SMITH:

American actor: age 12 and singer: age 10

Son and daughter of Will Smith

A few months ago, most people didn't know Willow smith. But today, she is everywhere. Willow suddenly became a star with  her first single "Whip My Hair". Willow's brother Jaden, aged 12, is also famous: he was in the films The Pursuit of Happyness and The Karate Kid.

Willow and Jaden's parents are actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith.

They have been criticized for pushing their children into the world of the stars. But Willow and Jaden seem comfortable with fame. They are talented and ambitious: Willow says she wants to work with pop star Lady Gaga! Jaden and Willow are proving that the kids of stars can have success on their own!

New vocabulary:

fame- fama

pushing- empènyer

success- èxit

ambitious- ambicios

criticized- criticat

MINI CAKES

The English love tea and cakes. But you can't eat these cakes! They were made by Stephanie Kilgast, aged 24, who uses pins and toothpicks to make food from clay. Stephanie was looking for a new hobby: "I tried painting, knitting... but I really felt a passion for sculpting miniature food," she says. Her ideas come from cookery books... that's why they look so delicious!

New vocabulary:
toothpicks-escuradents,clay-argila, knitting-,fer punt, cookery-cuina.

CHINESE LONDON

Chinatown is like a small piece of China in London's central Soho district. Chinatown has many souvenir shops, supermarkets selling Asian food, and Chinese restaurants serving dishes like dim sum and crispy Peking Duck. Every year, tourists come to Chinatown to see the Chinese New year Parade, which is on of the biggest in the world. With their bright lanterns and exotic dragon dances, Chinese people know haw to celebrate in style.
New vocabulary:
piece-peça, dim-fosc, bright-brillant.

MERRY CHRISTMAS IN NEW YORK!

In December, New Yorkers got to the Rockefeller Center to do their Christmas shopping. They also go ice-skating and admire the Christmas tree. The tree has more than 25.000 coloured lights which are lit in an important ceremony in early December. Last year, special guests included Alicia Keys and Shakira.
THE ROCKEFELLER CENTER is a complex of 19 buildings in Manhattan, with shops, restaurants and offices. It was built in the 1930s by the Rockefeller family and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987.
LIGHTS lighting the Christmas tree at the Rockefeller Center is an important signal to New yorkers: the Christmas season has started! In 2008, the tree was kit on 3 December.
THE TRADITION the first Christmas tree was placed here in 1931, before the Rockefeller Center was built. It was decorated with garlands and tin cans.

NEW VOCABULARY:garlands-garlandes, built-construït, tin-estany.

EMMA WATSON

The Harry Potter films have made Emma Watson rich and famous. But now this British star wants to concentrate on her education and helping people...
Rich and famous: The Harry Potter films have made Emma Watson the highest paid female star in Hollywood she earned 23,5 million€ in 2009! But Emma says her education is as important as her career. She hesitated before making the final Harry Potter film because she was worried about her studies.
A perfect student: When Emma was on harry Potter film sets, she saw a tutor for five hours every day. She also went to school in Oxfordshire and got excellent grades in English Literature, Geography and Art. Emma has always been positive about being a child actress, but she never wanted to leave school to act full time: "School life keeps me in touch with my friends.... with reality", Emma says.
New vocabulary: Full time-temps complet, keeps-manté, earned-bestiar, worried-preocupat.

Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Aniston

New York to Hollywood:

Jennifer grew up in New York City. She always dreamed of becoming an actress. Her father was an actor and wanted her to be a doctor or a lawyer. "When I told him I wanted to be an actress he made a funny face," she says. His main concern was my heart breaking because it can be a very hard job.

Jennifer's first roles:

In 1989, Jennifer got her first TV role in a series called Molloy. But her big chance came in 1994 when she did an audition for a new TV show called Friends. She got the role of Rachel. Thanks to Friends, Jennifer became famous. Even her hairstyle was famous it was called "The Rachel". Then, in 2000, she married Brad Pitt women all around the world wanted to be Jennifer Aniston.