Is greed the real engine of human progress? Given all the current events around the “Occupy Wall Street” protests, let’s revisit the “greed is good” speech by the movie’s main protagonist: Gorden Gekko (played in 1987 by Michael Douglas). Here are his words in court:

Tapescript here

In its sequel, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, one of the best scene was when Gordon Gecko was giving a lecture to some students about greed. What he did in about three minutes was to describe the cause of the financial crisis almost poetically: why the economy is in a mess. It was a bit dramatic but it was one of the best explanations for the financial crisis in summary form and he popularized the term NINJA: no income, no job, no assets:

Tapescript here too

Last February, Gordon Gekko, the ruthless financier played by Michael Douglas in the movie Wall Street, was back. This time he is working for the FBI and has a new mantra – “Greed is not good”. In a new FBI ad, actor Michael Douglas says his Gordon Gekko character was wrong — greed is not good after all. The commercial denounces corporate greed and Douglas is now asking corporate employees and financial traders to report insider trading and securities fraud to the FBI.

Now let’s talk MONEY!

Oral exam provisional lists

Good luck!

You see, you speak English  as well as those guys, just be confident and well prepared.

For the monologue, plan some good lines of introduction to impress the examiners and set a relaxed atmosphere, humour is always a good ice breaker but don’ overdo it,  ie:

My job is to talk to you, and your job is to listen. If you finish first, please let me know. Harry Hershfield

You have by now been exposed to a lot of excellent structures to negotiate your way in an oral exam, tidy up your notes and come up with a list of good sentences to use:

I would like to point out …Let me start by stating the current state of affairs/status quo….If you don´t mind me saying so,……If I may interrupt …If I may change  the subject…If you can keep a secret…If you see what I mean…If I understand you correctly…Having said that, let’s move on to another side of the argument …

Do you remember these ones from last year`s blog?

The BBC has a great series called How to…? where they go through the language needed in different communicative situations:

How to …. discuss: making suggestions, making a point, disagreeing, expressing uncertainty, ….

How to … instructions, explanations & advice: asking for and giving directions, showing understanding when you are listening to explanations, ….

How to …. good news, bad news: congratulating someone on good news, responding to someone’s bad news, …

How to … conversation: extending a conversation, closing topics, talking about things you like, …

How to … requests, offers & invitations: asking for permission to do something, inviting someone in an informal context, making polite invitations, …

How to … complaints, apologies & excuses: making a complaint, saying sorry, accepting an apology, pointing out the positive …

How to … hello & goodbye : greeting friends, greeting people in more formal situations, introducing people, small talk and follow-up conversations, saying goodbye,…

And if you want to improve your pronunciation follow this advice and check out this good blog from a nice Spanish woman, Iciar, living in London who gives tips on how to get rid of the Spanish accent.

Let’s get talking!

Here is some advice on how to improve your performance during role plays

1.-Read the rubric well and get into the character you are playing. Take a pen and make a note of keywords.If it says you and your partner this is a euphemism for a couple. So act as a member of a couple even if it is the first time in your life you see the person in front of you. Get into your role.

2.-Start the conversation by stating what the situation is, so that is clear you both understand what you are doing eg. As you know we have just had a medical check up and my results were terrible, so my doctor has recommended a change in lifestyle so I was thinking….

3.-Make sure you interact and ask questions eg What is your opinion on this point? or How do you feel about living in the outskirsts? etc, make comments Hummm quite an interesting idea! or Hum I hadn´t looked at it that way etc and of course take turns don´t take over the whole conversation and react to what the other person is saying: Do you really believe that? or Great I never thought about that! etc

4. Don´t talk about all your points at once, but state one and explain or justify your opinion. Illustrate with an example: I have been considering taking up dancing , I did salsa lessons once  and found it really therapeutic, exercising to music. You should try it.

5.-The points in the card are only a guidance you can think outside the box and add other arguments and suggestions.

6.- Don´t make the most terrible mistakes:

Here you can see the criteria we followed last year when we marked your exam.

Take a look so you can see what examiners are looking for.

I leave you here examples of the oral tasks from last year´s certificate exam to practise.

Dialogues 1 2, 3, 4, 5,6,7,8

Our governments and institutions are worried about the state of the environment and there are many NGOS dedicated to defend our Planet’s interests, click on their logos:

Revise the vocabulary with this links:Vocabulary 1,with model sentences, with images and sound for you to explore click here 2. some extra 3. Now you are ready for some practice

Quiz 1, 2, 3

In case you need help thinking about what you can do for the planet take this quiz, and check out this mind map.

To be continued…

Could you talk about each of those topics for a minute? Let’s talk about ENVIRONMENT-…

Just think about all the things you know and take a look at our old blog and these 2 posts:

Celebrities and the environment + Your classmates’ eco tips

Pharma business- profitability, to prescribe, clash, physician, side effects, act, superbugs, Med Rep, medical officer, overmedication, disease mongering, property rights, generic drugs, patent protection, clinical trial, blockbuster drug, triple F (flattering, food, friendship) ,…

CCTV: surveillance - misdemeanour, bring down the crime rate, to object, to deter, to trash, deterrent, to enhance, infringement, footage, to scrutinize, …

Boston Bombing – lockdown, manhunt, bast,…

Princess Cristina – to have a bellyful of.., once upon a time, letdown, a blow, spokesman, allegations, money laundering, to come in very handy, to buckle, courthouse, household, prosecutor, abetted, crooked, …

North Korea – ceasefire, whimsical, not to be my cup of tea, commercial partner, surrender, agreements of peace and cooperation, to impede,…

Cuts - downturn, health centre, to withdraw, medical care, coverage, redundancies, to renew contracts, Xray, welfare state, unattended patients, awareness, deficit, austerity measures, income, strike, trade unions, retirement pensions, public spending, lack of grants, overcrowded classes, to be on the dole,…

Chavez - headlines, dictatorship, poisoning, constitution, polonium, spy, socialistic, to merge, subtle, unionist, interim, inner circle

Spain within Europe – deflation vs inflation, housing bubble, construction vs manufacturing, free trade, deficit vs surplus, devaluation, default, GDP (Gross Domestic Product), labour mobility, fiscal integration, competitiveness, to roll over, self-fulfilling, panic,…

Home

Although it has some harsh facts of how we are contributing to global warming and the oil crisis, it ends on a positive note.

The movie was released simultaneously on June 5, 2009 in cinemas across the globe, on DVD, Blu-Ray, television, and on YouTube. Opening in 181 countries, the film broke the world record for the largest film release in history. As of April 2010, the French, English, German, Spanish, Russian and Arabic versions on Youtube logged a total of more than 14 million views

The film has no copy right and is carbon offset which means that all the CO2 emissions created while making the film are calculated and offset by sums of money used to create clean energy for those who don´t have any.

Take a look at our home from a different angle at

You can see Yann Arthus-Bertrand in a TED talk discussing his views on ecology and his work with a charming French accent.  We hope you like it too.

We use wish + past Tense (simple and continuous) to express regret about present situations:

- I wish I was taller = (I’m not very tall)

- I wish I was going with you = (but I’m not)

- I wish you were more help. = (you are not)

I wish I were can replace I wish I was. To many people, I wish I were sounds more correct:

I wish I were taller.

We use wish + could to express a wish for a present situation to be different:

 I wish I would tell her about it. I wish I could tell her about it.

Past Simple + present I wish I knew the answer. (= I don’t know)

Past Simple + present I wish I was /were better at sports. (= I’m not)

Past Continuous + present I wish I was /were going with you. (= I’m not)     

Could + present  I wish I could give you an answer. (= I can’t)

Would + future  I wish you would be quiet. (= Your talking irritates me.)

Past Perfect + past  I wish I had known you then. (= but I didn’t)

Could have + past I wish I could have explained. (= I wasn’t able to)

Wishes about the future

We use wish + would to say how we would like somebody to behave in the future:

X I wish you to stop talking. I wish you would stop talking.

X I wish that they will stop arguing. I wish they would stop arguing.

• We can also use this pattern in situations that do not involve people:

I wish this car would go faster.

Wishes about the past

We use wish + Past Perfect when we have Regrets about the past:

I wish I hadn’t taken your advice. (= but I did)

I wish she could have come. (= but she didn’t)

If only

If only can be more emphatic than I wish. The verb forms after if only are the same as the patterns with wish:

If only I had more money! (= but I haven’t)

If only I was going on holiday with you!

If only you were here. (= but you’re not)

If only you could be here! (= but you’re not)

If only I‘d listened to you! (=but I didn’t)

If only he could have explained! (=but he wasn’t able to)

Exercises 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6

A nurse has recorded the most common regrets of the dying, and among the top ones is ‘I wish I hadn’t worked so hard’. What would your biggest regret be if this was your last day of life? top-five-regrets-of-the-dying