English Recordings

The Notion of Progress
What is progress? It is the idea that the world can become increasingly better in terms of science, technology, modernization, liberty, democracy, quality of life.....
What effect does this progress have on our society? Does it have a positive or a negative effect?
Do certain new technologies bring people closer together or do they alienate us?
What effect does this progress have on our culture?

1. Scientific Progress
- Medical advances, cures for illnesses, cloning, performance enhancing drugs, genetically modified organisms.
2. Technological Progress:
- New technologies to slow down climate change such as hybrid cars, wind turbines, solar panels, biofuel.....
- advances in communication: the internet, social media, mobile phones, video games - how they have changed our lives and the dangers of these modern ways of communication
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3. Social Progress:
Changes in the quality of life - how does progress affect our society? Education, employment, equality, family life
Women's rights, human rights, minority rights ......
The idea of liberty, freedom, democracy

In class we studied many texts and saw many examples of progress.

First of all with the film Gattaca and the selection of embryos to create the perfect individual.
The film also raises the crucial issue of identity. Do genes really determine our future life and chances of success?

Also we saw that we can now use a 3D printer to design and print our very own objects. We can very easily personalize trainers, clothes and accessories..

We also studied the negative impact of technology and progress with a campaign to prevent texting and driving. It shows us how dangerous it can turn out to be when surely a text can wait.

The Tower of London was built by William the Conqueror. At first it was a fortress, later a palace, then a prison. Now it's a great place to visit.

You can get to the Tower of London by underground, by bus, by train or even by boat. The Tower is near the river Thames and is open every day except from December 24th to 26th and on January 1st.

During your visit, you will see "the Beefeaters". These men are easy to spot in their blue and red uniforms.If you want to learn about the Tower, you can also join a tour.

One of the most famous attractions to see is "the Crown Jewels". In the photo you can see the crown that the English queen ot king wears at the opening of the Parliament year... it's very heavy!

When you are inside the complex, spot some big black birds, they are the famous ravens of the Tower. A legend says that if they leave, the Tower and the kingdom will fall, so the birds are very well teated here.
Listen to this traditional song...

Here is the "White tower".it's The oldest part of the complex. The walls are made of stone, they are very thick. The fortress was difficult to attack and it was difficult to build too....

Don't miss the "Traitors' Gate". Many prisoners entered the Tower through that gate. They arrived by boat, they passed under London Bridge, where the heads of recently executed prisoners were displayed. Sounds awful, doesn't it?

The cells were small and dark....there are messages on the walls. Look at this message... Perhaps it was about Lady Jane. She was excecuted when she was only 16....

Here is the "excecution site". Seven famous prisoners were killed here. Among them, The second wife of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn that you can see in the picture.

Another interesting thing to see at the Tower of London, is the collection of royal armours. Look at how large Henry VIII was, or how short many of the Kings actually were.

Do you know that the Tower of London was also Britain's first zoo? there were lions, bears, monkeys,alligators and even an elephant! The animals were offered as royal gifts and kept at the Tower.

Before leaving you might pay a visit to the souvenirs shops, there are several!

A．Have you been working on your essay?
B．Oh, my gosh！ I've forgotten about that. When is it due again?
A．Next Tuesday.

A．I can't find my library book.
B．Oh, no. When is it due?
A．It's due today.

A．Let's go to Disneyland next week.
B．Again?
A．We have annual passports. We have to get our money's worth.

A．Everything was delicious.
B．I ate too much.
A．Me, too. I got my money's worth.

The document is a painting. It is entitled "Day in the Life of a Little Girl". It was completed in 1952. It appeared on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post published August 30th, 1952. It was painted by Norman Rockwell who was an American artist. Norman Rockwell was born in New York City in 1894 and he died in 1978. He was a painter and an illustrator. His paintings appeared on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post. Rockwell liked painting the daily life of ordinary people. He lived through and painted pictures from an amazing time in history through the Industrial Revolution to World Wars, the Great Depression, the Baby Boom, the Civil Rights Movement and over a dozen presidents.
The document is called a sequence painting because it is composed of lots of little images that are combined to tell a story. It shows the daily life of a little girl. The painting presents a sentimental idealized view of everyday life.
Day in the Life of a Little Girl.
Yesterday Mary slept late. She woke up at 9. Then she fixed her hair in the mirror and headed out the door. She wanted to enjoy her summer vacation. She ran to the swimming-pool, her pigtails trailing behind. She also enjoyed a banana for a snack. She put her swimming cap on, she held her nose, raised her right arm and dived into the water. As she surfaced, a boy she knew, pushed her head back under the water. She resurfaced with an angry expression and she pointed her index finger at the boy. Then she returned the dunk to the boy. Then things got interesting. The boy offered her a bite from his lunch, a hot dog.
After that, the boy and the girl rode on his bike. They went to the movies. The boy paid for the movie. The little couple sat in the darkened theatre, they ate popcorn and they watched the movie wide-eyed. After the movie, the boy dropped the girl off at her house. In the afternoon, the girl had a shower, she fixed her hair, and she went to a birthday party. She played a party game with the same boy from the pool and the movies. After the party the boy walked the girl home. But he stopped and kissed her on the forehead. She was surprised. Back in her bedroom, the girl wrote in her diary and smiled as she remembered her eventful day. She really liked the boy's affections and attentions. Finally she said her goodnight prayers and went to bed, she fell asleep, her party favor and her party whistle on her bed.

One of the many fascinating features of our language is how often words with pleasant associations are also quite pleasing on the tongue and even to the eye, and how many words, by contrast, acoustically and visually corroborate their disagreeable nature —look no further than the heading for this post.

Enrich the poetry of your prose by applying words that provide precise connotation while also evoking emotional responses. (Note the proportion of beautiful words to ugly ones in the compilation below;

it’s easier to conjure the former than the latter, though I omitted words associated with bodily functions, as well as onomatopoeic terms.)

Notice how often attractive words present themselves to define other beautiful ones, and note also how many of them are interrelated, and what kind of sensations, impressions, and emotions they have in common.

Also, try enunciating beautiful words as if they were ugly, or vice versa. Are their sounds suggestive of their quality, or does their meaning wholly determine their effect on us?

Preface to Milton

And did those feet in ancient time,
Walk upon Englands mountains green:
And was the holy Lamb of God,
On Englands pleasant pastures seen!

And did the Countenance Divine,
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here,
Among these dark Satanic Mills?

Bring me my Bow of burning gold:
Bring me my Arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my Chariot of fire!

I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand:

Till we have built Jerusalem,
In Englands green and pleasant Land.

My favourite place is a shoe shop called « Kicker's ». It's next to the train station, right in front of the bakery. It's the best shoe shop in town! I like it because they sell all sorts of shoes : trainers, boots, sneakers and sandals. I really enjoy red shoes.