Police Mystery Story-Responding in English

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New Theory: Jack the Ripper Was a Woman

NEW BOOK CLAIMS DOCTOR'S WIFE DID THE DIRTY DEEDS

By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff

Posted May 10, 2012 9:30 AM CDT | Updated May 13, 2012 9:58 AM CDT

(NEWSER) – The sadistic killer who struck London in 1888, killing five prostitutes over a 10-week span may have been ... a woman? A new book (titled the says-it-all Jack the Ripper: The Hand of a Woman) puts forth a new theory: That Jack the Ripper was indeed a female, specifically one named Lizzie Williams, wife of royal physician Sir John Williams. Author John Morris tells the Birmingham Mail that "numerous clues scattered throughout the crimes, taken individually, may mean little, but when grouped together a strong case for a woman murderer begins to emerge."

What are these clues? For one, Lizzie was unable to bear children, which makes the fact that three of the prostitutes' wombs were removed suspect. Morris believes a crazed Lizzie Williams decided to take revenge on those who could have children, and notes that she suffered a breakdown after the murders. Supporting Morris' case: The women weren't sexually assaulted, and bits of a woman's cape, skirt, and hat were recovered from the fireplace of the final woman to die, Mary Jane Kelly. Except Kelly had never been seen wearing the items—and she was reportedly having an affair with Sir John Williams, who was himself considered a prime suspect. Lizzie Williams died in 1912, having never been interviewed about the murders.

What do you think?

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Student Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor

The Unemployment problem is the most important issue in my city, it´s true that it is very common in the world, but I think in Madrid is more detrimental. There is a lot of people that have had to travel to other countries to find a job. If you are young it´s very difficult because companies require that you have experience.

Now days if you have a job, you are always afraid of it´s stability. If you go to the unemployment office it´s not useful in finding a job. Usually the jobs that are available only offer you a temporal contract of six months or less. 
If you use the jobs websites there is a problem, because you receive a lot of publicity for courses or Masters programs which you don´t need.

Finally I think the government has to create good measures that can improve the job opportunities, then the people would be able to find a job.

Sincerely,

Jose D.

Israeland Palestineneeds your attention

Dear Editor,

Everybody knows about Israel-Palestine conflict. Everybody has heard about it, but no one takes a minute to listen to it.  It’s incredible; we have gotten accustomed to hearing about attacks, murders and deaths of civilians. We have accepted that Israelis and Arabs are going to live faced forever.

In that region, just five hours away from us, to be alive or dead is sometimes a matter of luck, and so we see it as habitual. Death of an Israeli or death of a Palestine is no longer news. In contrast, if it is the death of a European, life freezes.

Sincerely,

Begoña

Dear Editor:

A few days ago a Brazilian comedy tv show was on the news because of a bad joke. In this case, people had to enter into the lift, but suddenly it stopped and lights were turned off. When lights were turned on again, they realised that a strange little girl, who looked like a ghost, she had just appeared into the lift. What were people’s reactions? Everyone wanted to get out of immediately. Most of them suffered anxiety attacks so severe that they needed medical attention.

These days we know of the nurse’s death, the one who attended Kate Middleton during the time she stayed at King Edward VII´s Hospital in London. Again, an Australian radio show made an innocent prank just to have fun. But the result was much different from what they could have ever expected it. I understand, this radio programme hasn’t got the whole responsibility for this terrible loss, but they have been the last straw.

For these reasons, newspapers, television and radio shows should understand that not everything is ok when it comes to people’s entertainment. There must be an ethical code and laws, which provide common sense to programmes that try to make this type of humour. Sometimes they could end in bad circumstances like these ones.

Sincerely,

Elena H.

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Making an Impact Vocabulary

Quizlet Games

activists	(n.) people, usually outside of government, who actively promote a political party, philosophy, or issue they care about
apathetic	(adj.) showing little or no emotion or animation
be aware of	(v.) know about
circumstances	(n.) facts and conditions that affect a situation
escapists	(n.) someone who likes to fantasize and dream of a different or imaginary life
generation	(n.) all the people living at the same time or of approximately the same age
issues	(n.) topics or problems under discussion
motivated	(adj.) very eager to do or achieve
visionary	(n.) a person with unusual powers of foresight
business as usual	Things are happening as they usually do, even though there is a reason why you might expect them not to happen normally
do your part	Contribute a fair amount of the work, share the responsibility for accomplishing something
hack into	Break into a computer system
public service announcements	(PSA) a message created to educate people about an issue
raise awareness	To help people know that something exists and is important
solution	The method or process of solving a problem.
speak out against	To state or show publicly that you oppose something.
think outside the box	To think of new, different, or unusual ways of doing something, especially in business

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Personalities Vocabulary

Quizlet Games

assertive	(adj.) Inclined to be bold and confident
driven	(adj.) Strongly motivated to succeed
easygoing	(adj.) Taking life easy; not stressful
introspective	(adj.) Contemplating one's own thoughts and feelings; inward looking
nurturing	(adj.) Helping to grow or develop with care
optimistic	(adj.) Expecting the best; with a positive outlook
peaceful	(adj.) Not disturbed by strife or turmoil; serene
refined	(adj.) Suggesting taste, ease, and wealth
systematic	(adj.) Characterized by order and planning
unpredictable	(adj.) Not having expected actions
control freak	(adj.) Someone with a compulsive desire to exert control over situations and people
early riser	(adj.) Someone who gets up early in the morning
go-getter	(adj.) Someone who is likely to be successful because they are very determined and have a lot of energy
hothead	(adj.) Person who does things too quickly without thinking
overachiever	(adj.) Someone who always works hard to be the best at everything
pushover	(adj.) Someone who is easily taken advantage of
risk taker	(adj.) Someone who likes to take risks
self-starter	(adj.) A person who is able to work on their own and make their own decisions without needing anyone to tell them what to do

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Vocabulary - Unit 2

Practice this vocabulary with Quizlet Games

anonymously	(adv.) without giving a name
at stake	(adj.) at risk; in danger
automatically	(adv.) in a mechanical manner; gets done without a person's deliberate control
benefit	(n.) something that aids or promotes well-being; (v.) to aid or promote well-being
device	(n.) an instrumental invented for a particular purpose
display	(n.) a visual representation of something; (v.) to show
embed	(v.) to fix in a surrounding mass
privacy	(n.) the condition of being concealed or hidden
track	(n.) a distinct selection of music from a recording or a compact disc; (v.) observe or plot the moving path of something; (n.) the act of participating in an athletic competition involving running; (n.) the path runners run on; (v.) the act of leaving footprints; (n.) footprints
unique	(adj.) one of a kind; unequaled; unusual; found only in a given class, place, or situation
dependence	A state in which there is a compulsive or chronic need, as for a drug
impersonal	lacking human emotion or warmth
information overload	A condition in which information inflow exceeds an individual's processing capacity
interaction	A relationship in which the effect of one factor (such as biology) depends on another factor (such as environment).
liberating	feeling free and able to behave as you like
multitask	An operating system feature that allows more than one application to run at a time.
promote	further the progress of (something, esp. a cause, venture, or aim); support or actively encourage
recipe for disaster	situation that will lead to serious trouble
sedentary	(adj.) characterized by or calling for continued sitting; remaining in one place

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Unit 1 - Simple Past vs. Present Perfect

Grammar- Simple past and present perfect


The simple past is used to talk about actions that began and ended in the past.

My mother was a teacher for five years.

The present perfect is used for actions that began in the past and continue in the present.

My mother has been a teacher for ten years.  For the past five years she has worked as a primary teacher.

Additional Resources

 Present Perfect

English Grammar Online

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Unit 4 English - Modal and phrasal modals

Modals and phrasal modals

Could is used to say that someone was able to do something in general at any time:

She could read music by the time she was three.

Was/were able to is used to indicate someone managed to do something once:

He was able to finish the race in under an hour.

May and can  are often used to give permission.  There is no past form of may for giving permission.

You may use your dictionaries to complete this exercise.
You may / You're allowed to park here after 7 pm

Must is used to express an obligation or sense of urgency.  Have to is more commonly used to express necessity, especially when spekain in the past tense.

It's not safe here.  Everyone must leave the building immediately.
At the lecture last night, I had to show my identification card to enter the building.

Should have is used to show regret about the past:
I should've gone to Hawaii when I had the chance.


Additional Resources

Great Powerpoint Presentation on Modals and phrasal modals

Modals from GeorgeKnapman

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