A CHRISTMAS CAROL, a good read

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens: read online (and free download) from Project Gutenberg, a site that offers hundreds of books that can be read online and downloaded free of charge because their copyright has expired.

A Christmas Carol: audio version

A Christmas Carol: online quiz

Remember that you should have finished reading this wonderful book by the second week of December in order to enjoy the different activities we, the Avanzado 2 teachers, are preparing for you (a lecture, film viewing and more).

A lot different adaptations have been made of this classic, not only films but also one-off episodes from popular TV series such as Doctor Who or Blackadder.

Doctor Who A Christmas Carol Official Trailer: 2010 Christmas special

Doctor Who: Official Website and Classic Series

Blackadder's parody of A Christmas Carol (Pleasant Ebenezer Blackadder is turned into a cruel and witty miser after seeing visions of his ancestors and descendants). Narrated by Hugh Laurie, here you can see an eight-minute clip.

Ebenezer:
Can I help?

Spirit:
[speaks with Scottish dialect] No thanks, no, no no... I just popped in to say `hello'. [shakes Ebenezer's hand] Spirit of Christmas; how do you do. Just doing my usual rounds, you know: a wee bit of haunting, getting misers to change their evil ways. But you're obviously such a good chap [pats Ebenezer on the knee], there'll be no need for any of that nonsense, so I'll just say `cheery-bye'. Cheery-bye! [turns to leave]

Ebenezer:
Well, can I get you a cup of tea or anything?

Whole script here.

Finally, for those of you who could be described as book lovers, here you have a direct link to the BBC Radio 4 Programme A Good Read, where guests are invited to discuss their favourite books.

SMART GOAL SETTING AND LANGUAGE LEARNING HABITS

Why learning a language is a daily commitment. 7 ways to develop good habits in language learning. How to set SMART goals in language learning . 7 Ways to Develop Good Language Learning Habits from Transparent Language, Inc. Top ten reasons to learn a language. Fawlty Towers (tv series). Top ten Fawlty Towers moments (watchmojo.com video) Hilarious!!!

TODAY IS ... REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY

Remembrance Day in the UK Remembrance Sunday: veterans march past the Cenotaph in memory of the fallen and defiance of terror (The Telegraph) Events to remember servicemen and women who died in conflict VIDEO (BBC News) When is Remembrance Sunday 2016? Why do we wear poppies to remember war dead? (Sunday Express) British War Poets Wilfred Owen: Dulce Et Decorum Est Top ten war poems (The Guardian) Remembrance Sunday READING EXERCISE

Big Brother, the thought police, the two minutes’ hate, doublethink, unperson, 2+2=5 and the ministry of truth.

"It was a bright cold day in April," goes the first line of 1984, "and the clocks were striking thirteen" George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four opening sentence. Another 35 years have elapsed since then, and Nineteen Eighty-Four remains the book we turn to when truth is mutilated, when language is distorted, when power is abused, when we want to know how bad things can get. Nothing but the truth: the legacy of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four (The Guardian)