To tell you the truth, I'm fond of comedies and Christmas so I chose Love Actually
which is a cute Christmas-themed romantic comedy with a charming cast.
DIRECTOR, RELEASE
It was written and directed by Richard Curtis and released in 2003. As far as I know it became a box office hit.
LOCATION
It was filmed on location in London, which is another thing that I adore about this movie.
WHEN AND WHERE DID YOU SEE IT?
As I have already mentioned, it was released 18 years ago and I have probably seen it a hundred times on DVD and Netflix. I reckon that watching films at home has a lot of advantages so I am not a regular cinema-goer.
SET IN ...
The film is set inpresent day London (or rather 2013 London) before Christmas. We follow the lives of different characters ranging from the new British Prime Minister to a Portuguese housekeeper.
CHARACTERS
If you ask me, everybody can find a character they can relate to or sympathise with.
My favourite character is Jamie, the writer - played by one of my favourite actors, Colin Firth - who has just broken up with his cheating girlfriend. (To make matters worse, he finds out that she is having an affair with his brother.)
PLOT
Crushed, Jamie withdraws to his French cottage, where he unexpectedly falls in love with his Portuguese housekeeper. Although he cannot speak Portuguese and she cannot speak English, they have great chemistry between them therefore this storyline ends well: Jamie proposes to Aurelia in broken Portuguese and she she accepts the proposal in broken English. You see, learning languages is not a waste of time!
WHO DO YOU RECOMMEND IT TO?
I recommend this movie to everybody who is fond of this genre, Christmas and London. On the other hand, I do not think people who like action or horror films will like it very much. They might find it sickeningly sweet.
The story starts like this: Margo didn't like her office job ..."
She had been working as an accountant for 15 years and she was fed up with everything: her barren office, the computer, her low salary and the greedy boss. 'If I had a million dollars, I would be the happiest person in the world. I would invest the money wisely and would not have to work another day in my life' - she thought.
That's why she decided to play the lottery on her way home. She thought she could win the jackpot and change her life for the better.
Luckily, the following day she did win the jackpot. She could not believe her own eyes when she saw the check for 1 million dollars.But instead of investing the money - as she had planned - she went on a shopping spree.
First, she bought an expensive sportscar even though she did not have a driver's licence.
Then, she contacted a real estate agent and purchased the most expensive mansion in the neighbourhood.
Unfortunately, she became addicted to gambling and drinking and had to sell her everything to pay her debts.
One day, she woke up in a hospital bed all alone. Her friends had disappeared and let her down. She was left to her own devices and had to figure out what to do next.
In spite of not having any money, she did not feel depressed. She decided to turn over a new leaf.
Then, she had a brainwave. She dialled the number of her former boss and asked him to hire her.
It turned out that the boss missed her a lot because she was the best bookkeper he had ever met. He did not only gave her her old job back but also gave her a bonus and a promotion.
All's well that ends well. Margo was fond of her job, saved a lot of money and was able to buy a simple car and a small house with a beautiful garden.
Listen to Steve Job's Commencement Speech. The speech has 3 parts. Listen to the FIRST part (it ends at 5 minutes 40 seconds) and say whether the following statements are TRUE, FALSE or NOT STATED.
1. Steve Jobs has a university degree.
2. In his speech he would like to share three stories about the University of Stanford.
3. He dropped out of college after 3 months.
4. His biological mother was single.
5. He was adopted by college graduates.
6. His adoptive parents promised that he would go to university.
7. He went to a very expensive college.
8. He regrets that he dropped out of college.
9. In spite of dropping out of college, he still took a calligraphy course.
Listen to the second part of the story (starts at 5 minutes 40 seconds) and fill in the missing words (which you can find down below)
My second story is about love and loss.
I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents’ garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple .....(1)..... grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4,000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year .....(2)....., and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the .....(3)..... began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided .....(4)..... him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had .....(5).... the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.
I really didn’t know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down — that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize.....(6)..... screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not .....(7)..... that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.
I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that .....(8)....... have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.
During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, .....(9)........ company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the world’s first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of .....(10)....., Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple’s current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.
I’m pretty sure none of this .....(11)..... have happened if I hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was ......(12)..........I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets .....(13)..... and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.
Words to use in the gaps:
another, been, better, changed, could, earlier, events, for, future, had, that, with, would
Before you listen to the third part of the speech (starting at 9 minutes 5) fill in the gaps at the beginning of each paragraph with sentences marked A - H. When you are ready listen and check
My third story is about death.
.........1............. It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
.........2............. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
.......3............. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn’t even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor’s code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.
..........4............ Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I’m fine now.
............5.......... Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:
..........6......... Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
.........7.......... Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
.........8......... It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960s, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors and Polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: It was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.
.........9........ It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.
A: Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.
B: About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer.
C: When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation.
D: When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.”
E: I lived with that diagnosis all day
F: This was the closest I’ve been to facing death, and I hope it’s the closest I get for a few more decades.
G: Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.
H: Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue.
The Iberian lynx is a wild cat species which is found in southwestern Europe. The lynx has been …1… the international Red list of endangered species …2… many decades. …3… the beginning of the 21st century, the wild cat was …4… the point of extinction, …5… only 90 surviving cats recorded.
1 a inb intoc on
2 a forb inc of
3 a Aboutb BycWith
4 a atb on cto
5 a by b for c with
This was mainly due …6… the fall in the population of the European rabbit, which the lynx eat.
6 a from b of c to
As a result …7… this crisis, strict conservation measures began to be taken. Rabbits were brought back, and the land where the lynx lives was protected …8… humans by putting up fences. New plants and trees were planted in order to attract the rabbits. These simple measures have worked: 350 lynx were counted …9… 2012, with numbers increasing ever since, and an additional 200 kittens born already this year. Risks remain, but the World Animal Protection Organisation is positive …10… the future.
1. Asia is the largest and most extreme continent on the planet. Animals there face .....
deserts, tallest jungles and highest mountains found anywhere on Earth.
a hottest b the hottest c hotter
2. Reptiles have existed ..... the history on earth.
a for b since c throughout
They have covered the surface of the Earth ........ 300 milion years.
a for b since c throughout
However, things have changed significantly ........ they first appeared.
a for b since c throughout
3. In some northern countries, ......... you look up to the night sky you don't only see darkness or stars but something much more interesting.
a when b where c which
I'm not talking about a plane ........ holiday passengers or a satellite.
a carried b carrying c is carrying
In some areas, you can see something very special: the Aurora Borealis, ........ is also known as the Northern Lights.
a what b which c who
4. There was a terrible crash. ........ snow came rushing past the window.
a Afterwards b Moreover c Obviously
We were safe in the cabin ........ we didn't go outside.
a although b as long as c even though
5.Europe's mild climate ......... by the Gulf Stream from the Atlantic.
a have been influenced b is influenced c will be influenced
However, in the last hundred years a rise in the temperature of 1C ........ by scientists.
a has been recorded b were recorded c will be recorded
In future, the continent ..... by more droughts, floods and other natural disasters.
a has been hit b will be hit c will hit
6 ......... would have guessed 50 years ago that climate change would become such a major issue?
a Whatever b Whenever c Whoever
7 I decided today: I want to on on a safari to Africa while there is still enough wildlife. I think I ......... the prices when I get home.
a 'll check b I'm checking c 'm going to check
8 She ... to see a film about climate change with her friends last night
a did go b didn't go c has been
because she ........ it before.
a had seen b hadn't seen c saw
9. Europe will finance a network of satellites to monitor carbon dioxide pollution across the globe. .......... monitoring CO2,
a Although b And c As well as
the satellites will .......... prepare the way for journeys to the Moon and Mars.
a also b although c but
10 Coal is being sent to China, India and other growing Asian markets via Russia's far east. The problem is that this is Russsia's largest nature reserve. If these deliveries ........ in the future,
a continue b continued c had continued
they .......... thousands of wildlife species.
a will have threatened b will threaten c would threaten
If these deliveries ........ sooner, the situation would not have become so serious.
a had stopped b would have stropped c would stop
11 Last night there was a leopard here wandering around looking for a pig to steal. A local boy said that he ........... .
I've just seen this great wildlife program about the mayfly! I know it may not sound interesting, but it takes place every year in spring and summer on the Tisza River here in Hunagry. .....1..... in huge clouds, they take flight, lay their eggs on the river's surface and die - all in just one day. And the species .....2..... mayfly in Hungary is Europe's .....3..... , with males measuring up to five inches in length.
1 Risen b Rising c To rise 2 a for b from c of 3 a larger b largest c most large
..... 4......, the fishermen on the river always know from experience when the mayfly...... 5........ Well, I hope you don't mind, but I've registered both of us for the next time they film the mayfly. We'll spend three days ......6...... to film a national wildlife documentary. We will .......7........ an email and then we have to confirm that we can still attend. The man I spoke to told me that if we could go, the film crew ......8........... accommodation for us.
4a Although b Apparently c Even so 5a are appearing b will appear c would appear
6 a helping b to be helping c to help 7 a be sent b have c send
8 a booked b had booked c would book
Don't you think it's a great opportunity? In fact, at the moment I ......9...... of studying biology, as the more volunteer work I do, the more interested I become in our natural environment.
Anyway, let me know if you can join me. If you can, I'll go ahead with the registration. Then we'll just have to wait to be contacted. In the meantime, we can read the articles on mayflies I found online. I've added the links below. I ......10........ heard of mayflies before I watched the program last night.
I am writing to e...... my dissatisfaction with the Model X tea kettle ..... I bought on February 28, 2019, at your store located at 1616 Sixteen Avenue. T...... the kettle looks fine, it leaks when filled with water. When I at......... to return it to the store on March 2, 2019, the employee on duty, George Burns, told me that he would not accept the it..... because he didn’t see any da....... .
To resolve the issue, I would like you to refund the full a......... that I paid ($29.86, including tax) to my Frequent Customer account. I am e................. a copy of the original r..........
I look f............ to your reply. Please contact me at the address above or by telephone at (555) 555-5555 within the next two weeks.
