Skills in English for the non-native professional
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  • Skills in English for the non-native speaker
    • Native Proficiency: La filosofía.
    • Native Proficiency: La metodología.
    • PLANNING YOUR LEARNING: WELCOME TO COACHING FOR ENGLISH
      • TRAINING FORMATS
      • Modalidades de formación
    • THREE LAYERS: UNDERSTANDING THE NATIVEPROFICIENCY APPROACH
      • LANGUAGE SKILLS
      • COMMUNICATIVE SKILLS
      • PROFESSIONAL SKILLS
  • Contacto – Acerca de esta web / Contact – About this website

Skills in English for the non-native professional

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El poder del orden en inglés (2): los complementos directo e indirecto.

written by Francisco Sanjurjo

Seguimos ordenando: el orden de los complementos después del verbo. Los complementos directos e indirectos.

En cualquier frase en inglés, es después del verbo donde se amontona la información normalmente. En este post voy a hablar de como distingue el inglés – mediante el orden – el complemento directo y el indirecto.

Antes de continuar, revisemos esos conceptos (por si acaso):

El complemento indirecto se refiere a quien o qué recibe el efecto de la acción del verbo. El complemento directo es aquello que constituye el efecto. Por ejemplo:

María regaló un coche nuevo a su marido.

En este frase, el complemento indirecto (en verde) es “a su marido” ya que es quien recibe el efecto de la acción. Por otro lado “un coche nuevo” es el complemento directo (en azul) que es lo que el marido recibe como resultado de la acción de comprar.

¿Está más o menos claro? Vamos a por ellos.

Complemento directo e indirecto en inglés tienen un orden por defecto. Eso no quiere decir que no se pueda cambiar el orden. Sin embargo, igual que en español, habrá que etiquetarlos de alguna manera.

Mary gave her husband a new car.

En esta frase aparentemente no tenemos ningún elemento que nos indique qué es cada cosa, más allá del sentido común. Sin embargo, si que hay un elemento: el orden. En ausencia de preposiciones que nos indiquen cual es cada elemento, el primero de los dos complementos será siempre el complemento indirecto y el segundo el complemento directo.

Como ya adelantaba más arriba, esto no quiere decir que no se puedan cambiar de orden, pero si se cambian, habrá que “etiquetar” uno de ellos para que la frase siga siendo inteligible. Si cambiamos el orden pero no etiquetamos mediante una preposición uno de ellos, nos pasan cosas como:

*Mary gave  a new car her husband.”

Si cambiamos el orden de la frase sin más, solo el sentido común evitará que la gente piense que Mary ha entregado a su marido al coche (¿será un “transformer”? ). Sin embargo, si etiquetamos el complemento indirecto con la preposición “to”, ya sabemos que lo que viene después es el complemento indirecto.

Mary gave  a new car TO her husband.

 La otra opción en inglés es la preposición “for”. Usamos “to” cuando el complemento indirecto recibe los efectos de la acción directamente (en este caso, recibe el coche llave en mano). Sin embargo si el destinatario de la acción no la recibe directamente del sujeto, usamos “for” (para):

Mary bought a new car FOR her husband.

¿Por qué tener dos posibilidades para hacer una cosa cuando una de ellas es más sencilla? El inglés es un idioma que saca mucha rentabilidad al orden de los elementos. Un orden “por defecto” implica que hay otro que no es por defecto, y por lo tanto que destaca. El orden, cuando se altera llama la atención: se usa para hacer énfasis. Todo lo que se sale de lo normal, automáticamente destaca. Si no hubiese un orden por defecto, las alternativas no destacarían.

Y ahora, con pronombres.

Una de las ventajas del orden por defecto es la tranquilidad de saber quien es quien o qué es qué cuando usamos pronombres para referirnos a elementos ya mencionados.

Karen: Will gave Grace two tickets for Wicked on Broadway.

Jack: Why would he give her them? He should have given them to me!

De esta manera es mucho más fácil seguir las referencias.  Y como se puede ver en la respuesta de Jack, utiliza el cambio de orden  – adecuadamente etiquetado con “to”- para expresar su indignación.

Como siempre, espero que os haya servido de ayuda, para entender un poquito mejor cómo funcionan las cosas en inglés. Y si aún tenéis dudas, preguntas, peticiones… ¡escribid insensatos!

info.nativeproficiency@gmail.com

El poder del orden en inglés (2): los complementos directo e indirecto. was last modified: November 15th, 2018 by Francisco Sanjurjo
16th November 2018 0 comment
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El poder del orden en ingles (3): el orden de los complementos después del verbo. Los complementos circunstanciales.

written by Francisco Sanjurjo

En el orden de la frase en inglés, hay a veces aparentemente grados de flexibilidad, pero básicamente todo tiene un sitio o unas opciones bastante limitadas y siempre con una razón detrás. Uno de esos casos es el de los complementos adverbiales, es decir, aquellos que no son ni el directo ni el indirecto.

¿De qué parte viene usted, del novio o de la novia?

Tenía que hacer el chiste para presentar lo primero que afecta a la posición de un complemento adverbial. Lo primero es saber a qué afecta ese complemento. Porque hay varias opciones:

  1. Que afecte a toda la frase. Puede ser una circunstancia global como “Ayer mis amigos y yo fuimos al cine.” En este caso “ayer” afecta a toda la frase.
  2. Que afecte solamente al predicado. Nota: el predicado es lo que va después del sujeto y que incluye al verbo. O dicho de otra manera, lo que le pasa al sujeto.
  3. Que afecte solamente al verbo.

Si afecta a toda la frase, podrá ir al principio, antes del sujeto, como si fuera el prólogo de un libro. Si el complemento es muy largo o complejo, irá al final de la frase. Esta regla es conocida como “end-weight” (por si os la encontráis con este nombre en algún manual). En resumen, que lo gordo se manda al final. Esto tiene lógica porque a veces cuando se hace un paréntesis muy gordo en mitad de una frase, luego no se sabe por dónde íbamos.

Si afecta solo al predicado, entonces irá después de los complementos directo y/o indirecto (si los hay). Si hay varios complementos circunstanciales de este tipo, podremos ordenarlos entre si a nuestro criterio.

Si afecta solo al verbo, irá junto a él. Por ejemplo:

I usually go shopping on Tuesdays.

¿Cuantos complementos adverbiales tiene esta frase? ¿Es uno, son tres? ¡Que lío!

Un hablante nativo, con la práctica, desarrolla la habilidad de filtrar los complementos adverbiales. Nosotros lo hacemos en nuestra lengua materna (porque las necesidades expresivas son las mismas). En cualquier caso, a veces las cosas parece que no cuadran. Pero cuadran, saber cómo, ese es el problema.  Vamos a por los ejemplos:

via GIPHY

(Mary y su marido rumbo a las rebajas del concesionario)

María regaló un coche a su marido el sábado porque había rebajas en el concesionario.

Mary gave her husband a car on Saturday because there was a sale at the car dealer.

En esta frase hay dos complementos circunstanciales (en dos tonos de naranja). Ninguno de los dos es estrictamente necesario, por lo que los podemos mover. Todas las opciones a continuación son correctas. Lo único que cambiamos es el énfasis. Al mover cada uno de los complementos fuera del sitio donde se espera que estén, automáticamente los estamos enfatizando.

On Saturday Mary gave her husband a car  because there was a sale at the car dealer.

Because there was a sale at the car dealer Mary gave her husband a car on Saturday.

On Saturday, because there was a sale at the car dealer Mary gave her husband a car.

Sin embargo de las combinaciones posibles, hay algunas que intuitivamente nos resistimos a usar.¿Qué es lo que decide el órden entre ellos y dónde van dentro de la frase?

Vamos a darle una vuelta a la frase a ver si nos da una pista:

Mary gave her husband a car because there was a sale at the car dealer on Saturday.

Si cambiamos el orden y lo dejamos así, “on Saturday” pasa a ser parte del complemento circustancial causal: que las rebajas fueran en sábado es relevante como causa de la decisión de Mary. Todo lo que sigue a “a car” es un único complemento circunstancial de causa.  Pasa de ser contexto temporal de la frase a ser una de las causas de la compra. Casi nada.

Lo que ha ocurrido en realidad, es que “there was a sale at the car dealer on Saturday” forma una frase con coherencia interna. “On Saturday” ya no es complemento de “Mary gave her husband a car” sino que es complemento circunstancial de “there was a sale”.

Podemos “desguazar” la frase aún más, y conseguir que “at the car dealer” se convierta en “contexto espacial”. Cortamos por aquí, pegamos por allá…

Mary gave her husband a car on Saturday at the car dealer because there was a sale.

En esta nueva versión de nuestra frase se ha producido un cambio muy importante de significado: ya no es estrictamente necesario que las rebajas fuesen del concesionario concreto al que fue Mary, quizá las había en otros concesionarios. Hemos pasado a tener no uno ni dos, sino tres complementos adverbiales: “on Saturday” (temporal), “at the car dealer”(espacial) y “because there was a sale” (causal). Lo que hemos hecho es ordenar los complementos de forma que no se puedan entender como parte de una frase subordinada (because…) sino que están al mismo nivel. estamos diciendo tres cosas sobre “Mary gave her husband a car”.

Mary gave her husband a car on Saturday. (Ocurrió ese día.)

Mary gave her husband a car at the car dealer. (Ocurrió allí.)

Mary gave her husband a car because there was a sale. (Ocurrió por esa razón, porque había rebajas).

¿Qué sacamos en conclusión?

  1. La posición de los complementos adverbiales depende de a quien complementan. No es lo mismo que complementen a toda la frase, solo al predicado o solamente al verbo.
  2. Si un complemento adverbial es muy largo (o lo que es lo mismo, muy pesado) se pone en posición final.
  3. Si ponemos el complemento en una posición que no sea la que cabía esperar, creamos énfasis de forma automática.
  4. Hay que tener cuidado con el orden de los complementos, no sea que formen entre ellos frases y den lugar a equívocos.

Como siempre, espero que os haya servido para entender mejor como funcionan las cosas en inglés. Si tenéis dudas… ya sabéis:

info.nativeproficiency@gmail.com

 

El poder del orden en ingles (3): el orden de los complementos después del verbo. Los complementos circunstanciales. was last modified: November 15th, 2018 by Francisco Sanjurjo
19th November 2018 0 comment
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El inglés no tiene futuro.

written by Francisco Sanjurjo

REALIDAD Y FICCIÓN

Me ha quedado un título provocador. Si has leído mi post sobre los verbos auxiliares en inglés ya sabrás de qué hablo. Me refiero simplemente a que el sistema verbal de inglés, la parte que es equiparable al español al menos, incluye exclusivamente los tiempos verbales que se refieren al presente y al pasado. Entre los auxiliares “to be”, “to have” y “to do”, quedan cubiertas las necesidades de descripción de actos pasados y presentes.

Atención: esto se pone un poco filosófico. ¿Por qué? Porque opino que entender por qué pasan las cosas ayudar a aprender mejor. Entender el mundo nos da esquemas en los que encajar lo que aprendemos. Esto hoy en día se llama coaching.

En mi post sobre los auxiliares hablo del concepto del tiempo y eso es parte de la visión de la realidad que tiene cada cultura, y los idiomas reflejan eso. Cuantos más idiomas y culturas conozcas, más te darás cuenta de que cada cultura tiene una versión de la realidad, una visión del mundo diferente. En diferentes grados y diferentes áreas. Una de las más importantes es la visión del tiempo y del espacio. En el caso del inglés, lo que se describe sin más es el pasado y el presente. Lo que es comprobable.

En gramática del español hablamos de modos (indicativo, subjuntivo, imperativo…). Salvando las distancias, el modo indicativo del inglés cubre solamente pasado y presente. En español, el modo indicativo integra completamente el futuro, como un tiempo más.

EL MISMO PERRO CON DISTINTO COLLAR.

There's more than one way to skin a cat.

Hay gente que no ve más allá de sus narices y no se dan cuenta que para muchas cosas, hay diferentes formas de hacer las cosas y obtener el mismo resultado. Uno de esos ámbitos son los idiomas: tenemos tantos idiomas como formas ha encontrado la gente de comunicarse entre ellos.

Lo que voy a decir ahora mismo es mi hipótesis personal, sujeta a que cualquiera venga con datos y me la desmonte, pero a mi me ayuda a entender por qué el inglés y el español se organizan de forma diferente: el inglés, hasta la llegada de los normandos, llevaba unos cuantos siglos funcionando (lo que hoy en día se llama en lingüística “old English”) y no tenía una influencia tan fuerte de los conceptos cristianos, incluyendo el concepto de que se puede corregir como se han hecho las cosas hasta ahora, con lo cual el futuro no tiene por qué ser igual que el pasado o el presente.

Esta idea de que el futuro sea diferente, tan cristiana, viene ya integrada en el español desde su formación, porque la península ibérica ya estaba cristianizada cuando el español comienza a formarse (de hecho, los primeros textos escritos que se conservan son conservados en monasterios). El inglés sin embargo tiene un comienzo pagano que probablemente tenia un concepto cíclico del tiempo. con lo cual el futuro como algo distinto del pasado y presente, no se tenía ni como hipótesis.

¿Podemos hablar sobre el futuro en inglés hoy en día? Rotundamente si. Pero al contrario que en español, en inglés el futuro no entra en el modo indicativo, sino que tiene modo aparte: el “modo futuro”, que se expresa con el verbo modal “will”.

Si, “will” es un verbo modal.

AQUÍ LLEGAN LOS FONTANEROS: LOS VERBOS MODALES.

Quizá el sistema verbal del español sea más elegante, pero no es la única solución a los problemas. Y algún británico podría decir: “¡A ti te quería ver yo cuando tuvimos que apañar esto!” cuando alguien critique su gramática.

¿Qué son los verbos modales? Seguro que te has hecho esa pregunta muchas veces. Los verbos modales son los verbos que señalan el modo gramatical. En mi post sobre los verbos auxiliares, señalaba que estos solo se ocupan del pasado y el presente. Lo que de verdad ha ocurrido.

Para todo lo demás Mastercard verbos modales.

Los modos… ¿y eso qué es? ¿Te suena de cuando estabas en clase de lengua y te hablaban del modo indicativo, subjuntivo, imperativo… ?¿Te suena eso? Pues eso es lo que indican los verbos modales. Lo que ocurre es que está estructurado de forma diferente que en español.

En inglés el equivalente al indicativo lo forman los tiempos que manejan los tres auxiliares, “to  be”, “to have” y “to do”.  Esos tres manejan la realidad. Pero hay muchos más universos llenos de cosas que no se han materializado: el de lo que es obligatorio, lo que está prohibido, lo que es posible, lo imposible, lo probable… y todo ese tipo de situaciones las manejan los verbos modales, incluida una muy importante: el futuro. El futuro hasta que no se materializa no es real. Por eso la gramática inglesa lo mete en el mismo saco de todos estos universos paralelos.

UN FUTURO DIFERENTE

Lo del título de este post era una excusa para que os leáis este rollo. Este rollo es un intento de aclarar un poquito más como funcionan los tiempos verbales en inglés, para que los manejéis con soltura en vez de dar palos de ciego. Y si aún os quedan dudas, ya sabéis:

info.nativeproficiency@gmail.com

 

El inglés no tiene futuro. was last modified: October 27th, 2018 by Francisco Sanjurjo
27th October 2018 0 comment
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Nicky Minaj’s lyric videos

written by Francisco Sanjurjo

One of the useful things about the internet is that you can find almost anything and that also applies to sources of information and learning materials, whatever your needs might be. If your needs are learning about your favourite artist’s lyrics, no matter how bizarre they are, you can find that out too!

The first source of information is obviously the artists themselves: lyrics still come with the CD, don’t they? But if you like an artist and you don’t have the CD… there is still hope for you!

One of the trends for artists to promote themselves has been to create lyric videos: it is cheaper and you help your fans or potential fans learn your lyrics which may bring them to attend your concerts. Let’s face it, concerts bring the money today, not selling records.

Anyway, in order for a lyric video to be successful you need to mix two ingredients: appealing lyrics and good visuals.

Some artists like Katy Perry have taken this seriously. Others have great material… but they did not do it themselves! It was the fans instead. This is the case for Nicky Minaj’s song starships. A fan made this video, which I think is visually great. Judge for yourselves!

Now this is real fun, isn’t it? It also helps you teach some stuff:

1) Lyrics are well timed with the sound so you can use them to work on stuff like vowel length or even intonation.
2) If your students often whine about not learning “real English” and fancy themselves streetwise, this is something you can retaliate with.

Now about the lyrics themselves, as you may have noticed there is a couple of problems: first, non-standard spelling (you can also use that to teach pronunciation as well as to emphasize how there is a place for bad spelling but out of it you should use the correct one!). Besides, you can challenge your students to find out where the video-maker went wrong with the lyrics: at some point in the lyrics he writes nigga, where Ms Minaj says “my name is Onika, but you can call me Nicky”. A great example to work on the difference between /k/ and /g/.

Additionally you can use the contents you will find on Rapgenius:

Rapgenius.com Nicky Minaj’s “Starships”

This is an interesting source for both teachers and students: it is a kind of wikipedia for lyrics. There is a lot of debate between comments and that is a great excuse for discussion in class.

Now, sit back and enjoy!

Nicky Minaj’s lyric videos was last modified: September 17th, 2018 by Francisco Sanjurjo
3rd October 2013 0 comment
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Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes (BBC NEWS article)

written by Francisco Sanjurjo

Here’s my third in a series of articles that I woudl use for reading comprehension practice. This time it is about babies. Even if you do not have a baby, you can benefit from learning more about babies, mothers and related stuff. Enjoy!

Thanks to the writer and the BBC for this wonderful article.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22751415

By Helena LeeBBC News

For 75 years, Finland’s expectant mothers have been given a box by the state. It’s like a starter kit of clothes, sheets and toys that can even be used as a bed. And some say it helped Finland achieve one of the world’s lowest infant mortality rates.
  1. Expectant mothers: women who are going to have a baby (so they are pregnant already!)
  2. starter kit: a collection of things given to someone who is going to start something: for example this.

 

It’s a tradition that dates back to the 1930s and it’s designed to give all children in Finland, no matter what background they’re from, an equal start in life.
The maternity package – a gift from the government – is available to all expectant mothers.
It contains bodysuits, a sleeping bag, outdoor gear, bathing products for the baby, as well as nappies, bedding and a small mattress.
  1. To date back: to start or originate at a specific date.
  2. Outdoor gear: clothes and equipment used outside buildings.
  3. nappies: pieces of clothing or synthetic material used by babies to control pee and poo.
  4. Mattress: the thick surface on the bed where people sleep.  

 

With the mattress in the bottom, the box becomes a baby’s first bed. Many children, from all social backgrounds, have their first naps within the safety of the box’s four cardboard walls.
Mothers have a choice between taking the box, or a cash grant, currently set at 140 euros, but 95% opt for the box as it’s worth much more.
The tradition dates back to 1938. To begin with, the scheme was only available to families on low incomes, but that changed in 1949.
  1. Cardboard: a material stronger than paper and weaker than wood.
  2. Cash grant: an quantity of money given to a person in order to pay for something. That money must be given back but without paying an interest or at a very low.
  3. Opt for: choose something.

 

“Not only was it offered to all mothers-to-be but the new legislation meant that in order to get the grant, or maternity box, they had to visit a doctor or municipal pre-natal clinic before their fourth month of pregnancy,” says Heidi Liesivesi, who works at Kela – the Social Insurance Institution of Finland.
So the box provided mothers with what they needed to look after their baby, but it also helped steer pregnant women into the arms of the doctors and nurses of Finland’s nascent welfare state.
In the 1930s Finland was a poor country and infant mortality was high – 65 out of 1,000 babies died. But the figures improved rapidly in the decades that followed.
  1. Mothers-to-be: pregnant women.
  2. to steer: to make something go in a specific direction: a car, a ship, a group of animals. (Steering wheel: what a driver uses to move the car right or left.
  3. nascent: something that started recently.

 

Mika Gissler, a professor at the National Institute for Health and Welfare in Helsinki, gives several reasons for this – the maternity box and pre-natal care for all women in the 1940s, followed in the 60s by a national health insurance system and the central hospital network.
At 75 years old, the box is now an established part of the Finnish rite of passage towards motherhood, uniting generations of women.
Reija Klemetti, a 49-year-old from Helsinki, remembers going to the post office to collect a box for one of her six children.

 

  1. Welfare: socially accepted conditions that are needed by everyone. Usually found in the expression “welfare state“.
  2. Rite of passage: an event or activity that is considered necessary to start a new period in life, typically adulthood. (note: “-hood is a very frequent ending that signals an abstract noun, such as: neighbourhood, childhood, parenthood…”)
“It was lovely and exciting to get it and somehow the first promise to the baby,” she says. “My mum, friends and relatives were all eager to see what kind of things were inside and what colours they’d chosen for that year.”
Her mother-in-law, aged 78, relied heavily on the box when she had the first of her four children in the 60s. At that point she had little idea what she would need, but it was all provided.
More recently, Klemetti’s daughter Solja, aged 23, shared the sense of excitement that her mother had once experienced, when she took possession of the “first substantial thing” prior to the baby itself. She now has two young children.
“It’s easy to know what year babies were born in, because the clothing in the box changes a little every year. It’s nice to compare and think, ‘Ah that kid was born in the same year as mine’,” says Titta Vayrynen, a 35-year-old mother with two young boys.

 

  1. Eager: excited about a future event; looking forward to something.
  2. to rely (heavily) on something: to use something as help. If you rely heavily on something it means that you are using it a lot as help. For other meanings of rely on, please look here.
For some families, the contents of the box would be unaffordable if they were not free of charge, though for Vayrynen, it was more a question of saving time than money.
She was working long hours when pregnant with her first child, and was glad to be spared the effort of comparing prices and going out shopping.
“There was a recent report saying that Finnish mums are the happiest in the world, and the box was one thing that came to my mind. We are very well taken care of, even now when some public services have been cut down a little,” she says.
When she had her second boy, Ilmari, Vayrynen opted for the cash grant instead of the box and just re-used the clothes worn by her first, Aarni.

 

  1. unaffordable: so expensive that you can’t pay for it. (to afford: to be able to pay for something)
  2. free of charge: you don’t have to pay anything.
  3. to be spared the effort: if you are spared the effort, you don’t have to do something that would have been an effort for you. See spare.
  4. to take care of: to make sure that something or someone is in good condition, safe, healthy.

 

A boy can pass on clothes to a girl too, and vice versa, because the colours are deliberately gender-neutral.
The contents of the box have changed a good deal over the years, reflecting changing times.
During the 30s and 40s, it contained fabric because mothers were accustomed to making the baby’s clothes.
But during World War II, flannel and plain-weave cotton were needed by the Defence Ministry, so some of the material was replaced by paper bed sheets and swaddling cloth.

 

  1. deliberately: something has been done with a specific intention.
  2. fabric: a clothing material elaborated in a specific manner: cotton, wool, polyester, spandex, flannel…
  3. flannel: a fabric used very commonly for things such as winter pyjamas or shirts. Very warm.
The 50s saw an increase in the number of ready-made clothes, and in the 60s and 70s these began to be made from new stretchy fabrics.
In 1968 a sleeping bag appeared, and the following year disposable nappies featured for the first time.
Not for long. At the turn of the century, the cloth nappies were back in and the disposable variety were out, having fallen out of favour on environmental grounds.
Encouraging good parenting has been part of the maternity box policy all along.
“Babies used to sleep in the same bed as their parents and it was recommended that they stop,” says Panu Pulma, professor in Finnish and Nordic History at the University of Helsinki. “Including the box as a bed meant people started to let their babies sleep separately from them.”

 

  1. ready-made clothes: clothes which you buy in the shop, instead of buying the fabric and making them at home. 
  2. stretchy fabrics: fabrics such as spandex (lycra) which are very useful for some baby clothes.
  3. sleeping bag: you sleep in one of these when you go camping.
  4. disposable nappies: one-use nappies which you buy at the supermarket.
  5. Cloth nappies: nappies made of cloth (usually cotton or linen) which are washed and re-used.
  6. fall-out of favour: something which people used to like, but not anymore.
  7. on environmental grounds: for reasons connected with the protection of the environment.
  8. to encourage: to motivate someone to do something, helping them, creating favourable conditions…
  9. Parenting: the activity of being a parent (being a father or a mother).
  10. all along: from the beginning to the end without relevant interruptions. See along.
At a certain point, baby bottles and dummies were removed to promote breastfeeding.
“One of the main goals of the whole system was to get women to breastfeed more,” Pulma says. And, he adds, “It’s happened.”
He also thinks including a picture book has had a positive effect, encouraging children to handle books, and, one day, to read.

And in addition to all this, Pulma says, the box is a symbol. A symbol of the idea of equality, and of the importance of children.

 

  1. to remove: to take away from a place or situation.
  2. breastfeeding: giving a baby its mother’s milk.
  3. picture book: usually a children’s book, with very little or no text.
  4. to handle: to use and manipulate. Typical in boxes “handle with care“.
Additional reporting by Mark Bosworth.
Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes (BBC NEWS article) was last modified: September 17th, 2018 by Francisco Sanjurjo
3rd February 2014 0 comment
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DDT linked to Alzheimer’s

written by Francisco Sanjurjo

A new post in my series dedicated to reading skills, we will have a look at an interesting article about the connection between DDT, a banned pesticide in most countries, and the current epidemics of Alzheimer’s disease.

See below the link to the original article. Thanks to BBC News and the article’s writer for the excellent work!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25913568

BBC NewsHEALTH

28 January 2014 Last updated at 00:32 GMT

DDT: Pesticide linked to Alzheimer’s

By James GallagherHealth and science reporter, BBC News

Exposure to a once widely used pesticide, DDT, may increase the chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease, suggest US researchers.
A study, published in JAMA Neurology, showed patients with Alzheimer’s had four times as much DDT lingering in the body as healthy people.
Some countries still use the pesticide to control malaria.
Alzheimer’s Research UK said more evidence was needed to prove DDT had a role in dementia.
  1. Exposure: contact with something, like a chemical product or radiation or UV rays…
  2. once: in the past
  3. widely used: many/most people used it.
  4. researchers: scientists looking for some information.
  5. four times: a multiplying factor. e.g. He earns four times as much as I do: I earn 20,000 he earns 80,000.
  6. evidence: something that proves a theory or a crime, etc… in this context “scientific evidence”.


DDT was a massively successful pesticide, initially used to control malaria at the end of World War Two and then to protect crops in commercial agriculture.

However, there were questions about its impact on human health and wider environmental concerns, particularly for predators.
It was banned in the US in 1972 and in many other countries. But the World Health Organization still recommends using DDT to keep malaria in check.
  1. massively: very widely and in big quantities.
  2. crops: plants grown by humans in a systematic way.
  3. concern: if you are concerned about something, you are interested, usually because you are affected. Also a little worried.
  4. to keep (malaria) in check: to control malaria, to keep it under control.

 

Not clear

 

DDT also lingers in the human body where it is broken down into DDE.
The team at Rutgers University and Emory University tested levels of DDE in the blood of 86 people with Alzheimer’s disease and compared the results with 79 healthy people of a similar age and background.
The results showed those with Alzheimer’s had 3.8 times the level of DDE.
However, the picture is not clear-cut. Some healthy people had high levels of DDE while some with Alzheimer’s had low levels. Alzheimer’s also predates the use of DDT.
The researchers believe the chemical is increasing the chance of Alzheimer’s and may be involved in the development of amyloid plaques in the brain, a hallmark of the disease, which contribute to the death of brain cells.
to linger: to stay longer than expected or needed. Click here for more information.
Prof Allan Levey, the director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centre at Emory, said: “This is one of the first studies identifying a strong environmental risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease.
“The magnitude of the effect is strikingly large, it is comparable in size to the most common genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s.”
Fellow researcher Dr Jason Richardson added: “We are still being exposed to these chemicals in the United States, both because we get food products from other countries and because DDE persists in the environment for a long time,” .
Dr Simon Ridley, the head of research at the charity Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “It’s important to note that this research relates to DDT, a pesticide that has not been used in the UK since the 1980s.
“While this small study suggests a possible connection between DDT exposure and Alzheimer’s, we don’t know whether other factors may account for these results.
“Much more research would be needed to confirm whether this particular pesticide may contribute to the disease.”
  1. Strikingly: surprinsingly.
  2. onset: start to develop
  3. chemicals: chemical products.
  4. charity: a charity is an organization that wants to do positive things for other people. 
  5. relates to: is connected to
  6. suggests: says, but not directly
  7. whether: if 
DDT linked to Alzheimer’s was last modified: September 17th, 2018 by Francisco Sanjurjo
3rd February 2014 0 comment
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Language SkillsLearning MaterialsLearning TipsListening SkillsMusic Video reviewSong review

Katy Perry’s Lyrics Videos

written by Francisco Sanjurjo

Hello everyone,

When I was a teenager, listening to music helped me a lot in order to boost my confidence in speaking and to improve my listening. Usually people tend to listen to some music over and over, because they are their favourites. That means they end up memorizing some songs and those can become a very good guide to expand your abilities in those two skills.

In this post I am going to use as an example one of the most popular artists in pop music these days, Katy Perry. She is probably the artist who has made most official “lyric videos” (as they are known). You can find many of these videos for many artists, but they are usually made by fans. For each of them, there is a conventional video, of course.

PART OF ME

The first video is for the song “part of me”. The conventional video features a story about a girl who finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her and leaves him to start a new life… as a Marine! The lyric video transmits the energy and determination which can be found both in the lyrics and in the story told in the video.

But the reason I have chosen this video is, obviously, because we can learn english with it! The most interesting thing about this song is how packed it is with … phrasal verbs! I keep repeating to my students how phrasal verbs are useful, condensed pieces of meaning and that is why native speakers use them so often. So here is a list of the interesting vocabulary in this song, including its phrasal verbs:
  1. To drive away: to go away, to leave a place driving a car. Other similar phrasal verbs include sail away (by boat), fly away (by plane or helicopter…), run away, and many other possible combinations with similar meanings.
  2. Shadow: it is easy to confuse shadow and shade. Shadow is the shape projected by something which stands in the sun or any other source of light. Shade is the effect created by a shadow or also a reference to very small differences in colours. See “50 shades of Grey”. Check out the word nuance, with a similar meaning.
  3. To fade: to disappear gradually.
  4. To chew up: to chew (break in pieces with your teeth) something completely. Here in the song she is referring to how she felt her boyfriend treated her. There are probably hundreds of phrasal verbs in which “up” creates a similar meaning (doing something completely or with great intensity).
  5. To spit out: to expel from the mouth. Spit is also the liquid we produce in the mouth to prepare food for digestion. Someone or something which is nearly identical to another thing or person is said to be its “spitting image“. By the way: it is an irregular verb: spit-spit-spit or spit-spat-spat.
  6. Like I was: In red because you need to be careful. This is a colloquial way of saying “As if I were“. Feel free to be colloquial, but be aware of it!
  7. You drained me down: the lyric video effect at this point is perfect, because to drain down means to extract all liquids from a place or thing. What a vampire would love to do with your blood, actually!
  8. To take away: extremely common phrasal verb. Also found as a noun: tonight we are having Chinese takeaway; or as an adjective as in “Chinese takeaway food”. 
  9. Throw your sticks and stones: a reference to a nursery rhyme in english “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”. The meaning is that if you are insulted that does not really hurt, only physical violence.
  10. Throw away: another phrasal verb. Get rid of something by putting it in the garbage bin.
  11. Find out: another phrasal verb. I lost count, honestly!
  12. To rip someone off: To rip means to separate two things which are naturally connected. For example to rip a piece of clothing in two pieces. To rip someone off has the meaning of making someone pay an abnormally high price for something which should be much cheaper. In this case the price is not money, but the singer’s unhappiness. 
  13. Tearing at the seams: this means that something is at full capacity and a little more. Seams are the connections made with thread between pieces of clothing, for example at the side of a pair of trousers. So if something is tearing at the seams, it is probably near breaking.
  14. To let down: to make someone unhappy because they expected something better from you.
  15. To put out: to extinguish a fire.
  16. It don’t mean nothing: again a colloquial, grammatically incorrect expression. It should be “it doesn’t mean anything.

 

WIDE AWAKE
Here the video is cleverly structured as a Facebook timeline. Here are the interesting expressions in this song:

 

  1. I’m wide awake: it means that you are completely awake, not sleepy and your eyes are wide open.
  2. I was in the dark: I was completely ignorant.
  3. To read the stars: to be able to predict the future or to find which way to go, as sailors do.
  4. ain’t: this verb form is colloquial and it is used instead of “aren’t”, “isn’t”and “am not”. 
  5. to dive in: Literally to jump head first into the water. Instead of water it could be any kind of situation.
  6. to bow down: to lower your head showing submission or respect.
  7. falling from cloud 9: cloud 9 means a place or situation of extreme happiness. So to fall from cloud 9 is very bad, isn’t it?
  8. I’m letting go tonight: to let go means to eliminate self-control.
  9. to lose sleep: as in spanish, it refers to the idea of not sleeping for an unimportsnt reason.
  10. to pick up every piece: after something falls to the floor and breaks, you pick up every piece. In this case, it must be her heart.
  11. To land on your feet: what cats are supposed to do when they fall! See here.
  12. born again: after some traumatic experiences, people feel they are born again.
  13. the lion’s den: where a lion and his family sleep. A very dangerous place.
  14. thunder rumbling: the sound of thunder. 
  15. castles tumbling: to fall rolling on itself. So a combination of rolling and falling. Also what ice cubes do in a tumbler, which is a kind of glass used for drinks such as whiskey. After you wash your clothes, you can put them in a tumble dryer, and they will come out all warm and dry. Your clothes tumble inside it. For an example of a building (not a castle) tumbling down, see here.
  16. To hold on: to stay in a position or situation, for example on the phone.
  17. To see the bright side: to be optimistic. See the expression “every cloud has a silver lining”. (Lining, the inside protection layer of some clothes like jackets, coats, etc. )

 

ROAR

 

http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/e9SeJIgWRPk&source=uds

This one, “roar”, is a bit tricky. The “emoji” icons from the well known app “whatsapp” are used but you can still follow the meaning. As with the other videos we can discover or review a number of useful words and expressions.

 

  1. To bite my tongue: exactly the same as in Spanish. What you do when you would love to say something but if you say it the effects will be negative.
  2. To hold my breath: to stop breathing. For example under water. Here it is a figurative meaning. 
  3. Rock the boat: to rock means to move from side to side. If you rock a boat what happens? And this is a rocking chair.
  4. To make a mess: to make something dirty, disorganized, chaotic or create a problem which is difficult to solve.
  5. To push someone past the breaking point: to annoy or make someone suffer so much that they can’t stand it anymore.
  6. To stand for something/anything/nothing: to defend something, to show that you are in favour of it.
  7. To brush the dust: Usually when you fall to the ground, you get dirty and you need to brush the dust from your clothes. If you fall in a metaphorical, non-physical way, when you recover you brush the dust too.
  8. The eye of the tiger: from a song in the 70’s which became famous for being part of the film “Rocky”. It means absolute focus.
  9. Stinging like a bee: bees have stings at their back, so they can defend themselves or their beehive (colony).
  10. To earn your stripes: the expression comes from the military. The more stripes you have, the higher ranking you are and the more merits you have made to achieve it. Also, bees have stripes and fight (a reference to the previous expression.

 

Katy Perry’s Lyrics Videos was last modified: September 17th, 2018 by Francisco Sanjurjo
8th February 2014 0 comment
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App ReviewBook ReviewLanguage SkillsLearning Materials

Practical English Usage: The book and the App.

written by Francisco Sanjurjo
Probably if you are reading this, you are already familiar with Practical English Usage as a book, and know how practical it is. There are many other interesting, well-known books, like Quirk and Greenbaum’s A Student’s grammar of the English Language which I used in college. There are plenty of books on grammar geared specifically either to students or to their teachers.
Other grammar books include exercises. I have already spoken in one of my old posts about the classic English Grammar in Use which continues to be an excellent reference book for students and teachers, either in its original form or in its manifold reincarnations.
But this one is just there to help you solve doubts. It is clear, easy to use and to the point. And now there is an app and for which I gladly paid a little over 20€. The opening screen looks definitely familiar.

The look and feel inside is equally practical and nifty. Since it is an app, the in-built instructions on how to navigate it are welcome:

 

The app offers you several “views” or approaches to the information. Watch out for the icon (flower? cabbage?) which appears on the front of the book and to the right of the word index in the following screenshot. (To the right of the word “index”):

Here the same icon appears next to “contents overview”,  but transformed, because it is a different view.

Yet another view, the topic index search. Again, the icon tells you which environment you are in.

Do you remember that grammar point you searched a while ago? The app remembers it for you.

And if you want to keep tabs of the grammar points you like, you can create favourites. Remember your old book full of bookmarks and highlighted sections?

Although I wonder what this is doing in a grammar book, I think it is very welcome anyway in a reference book.

All in all, it is as complete as the book on which it is based, the interface is simple and practical and it allows to manage the information in useful ways. The creators seem to have had in mind what people use the book for, and so the result is really functional. Because I am a sentimental, sometimes I go back to my old paper version, but I can carry this around with me, even in my phone!

Practical English Usage: The book and the App. was last modified: September 15th, 2018 by Francisco Sanjurjo
9th February 2014 0 comment
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GrammarLearning MaterialsReading Comprehension Skills

Google pays for the ride

written by Francisco Sanjurjo

Reading skills are important! Today, I will look at this article about how authorities and corporations can collaborate to benefit the community.
See below the link to the original article, from a great newspaper, the New York Times (NYT for short!) Below the link you will find the article chopped in pieces (not pretty, I know!) With my comments. Feel free to leave your opinions in the comments section or contact me directly here.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/27/google-pays-for-the-ride/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
Google, which has been at the center of a controversy in San Francisco over tech company shuttles using public infrastructure, is giving $6.8 million to fund a city transit program.
Shuttle :a transport service between two points. Usually a bus (although spaceships that go to the orbital station are also called shuttles!)
To fund: to provide (give) money for some activity or project.
The program, whose city funding runs out in June, provides monthly bus and streetcar passes to 31,000 low-income San Francisco youths ages 5 to 17. It began last year after the San Francisco school system reduced the use of buses transporting students to and from school. The program gets youths to school, after-school programs and jobs.
To run out: to use completely some resource or supply. “We will run out of petrol, we need to go to a petrol station soon.
Streetcar: a vehicle , between train and bus, that runs on electricity from a cable, usually on rails, on the streets. They are an iconic image of San Francisco.
Low-income: it applies to people whose salaries are low.
Youths: young people.
 
Mayor Ed Lee’s office called the gift “one of the largest private contributions towards direct City services in San Francisco history.” Google will fund the program for two years.
Towards: in a specific direction.
Protests against Google began with anti-eviction activists, angered by the increasing gentrification of San Francisco, blocking its commuter shuttles that run down to the valley. The private shuttles use city bus stops to load and unload their passengers, which prompted lots of ire among less privileged residents. A resolution worked out with the city means Google and other tech companies will pay $1 per stop.
Eviction: to make someone leave their house or office because they can’t pay it.
To anger: to make someone angry
Gentrification: a process by which an area’s population changes and only richer people live in it. (From gentry=aristocracy and/or rich people)
To load: to put something in a place, usually a vehicle or something that moves like an elevator or machine. You can load a truck (BrE: Lorry), a car, a computer. Other connected words are unload (the opposite) and download/upload used to talk about files and the internet.
To prompt : to motivate, to make something happen, to cause something to start. A teleprompter is a machine used on TV by presenters which will show them the text they need to say.
Ire: extreme anger.
 
On Feb. 15, members of Heart of the City interrupted the Wisdom 2.0 conference. As three Google speakers introduced a presentation on “Three Steps to Build Corporate Mindfulness the Google Way,” demonstrators rushed the stage with an “Eviction-Free San Francisco” banner.
 
Demonstrators: people who walk on the streets to protest against something. This action is called a demonstration.
To rush the stage: to occupy the stage quickly.
Banner: A (usually big) piece of cloth or plastic with a message written on it. Also a very common form of advertising on websites.
“San Francisco residents are rightly frustrated that we don’t pay more to use city bus stops,” said Meghan Casserly, a Google spokeswoman. “So we’ll continue to work with the city on these fees, and in the meantime will fund Muni passes for low-income students for the next two years.”
Rightly (frustrated): you have a solid reason to feel frustrated (or any other feeling).
Fees: amount of money paid for a service.
In the meantime: the period that happens between to points in time, two events. Synonym for “while”.
Passes: A card or similar document that allows you to use a service by paying only once a month or once a year. Common for means of transport.
 
San Francisco Muni (Municipal) passes. (Photo credits: About.com)

Google pays for the ride was last modified: September 17th, 2018 by Francisco Sanjurjo
9th March 2014 0 comment
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GrammarLanguage SkillsLearning MaterialsLearning TipsReading Comprehension SkillsVocabulary

Hackers and fridges… internet security!

written by Francisco Sanjurjo

Here you have, yet another article: here some investigators found that among the devices used by hackers in an attack there was… a fridge. Yes that’s right. Here is an article (see the link below for the original) about what happened.

Warning: the topic is very interesting, but the article is very advanced and has incredible quantities of vocabulary…

http://www.theguardian.com/media-network/media-network-blog/2014/feb/28/internet-things-hacked-security

Hacked by your Fridge? When the Internet of Things bites back

In the rush to embrace the Internet of Things and weave connectivity into every aspect of our everyday lives, security must not be forgotten argues Stephen Bonner
 
To hack: to cut into something with a heavy weapon like an axe. In internet vocabulary to access without permission a website or network, by breaking their security barriers.
Internet of things: a recent concept which means that “things” (computers, kitchen appliances or climate control systems) use the internet to “talk” to each other, without interaction with humans.

To bite back: to defend yourself by biting, like a dog, when you have been bitten first.
Rush: impuse to do things quickly, often with the risk of making mistakes.

to weave: the traditional way to make some kinds of clothing or carpets, by inserting different threads or yarn, forming patterns. See here.
To argue: to defend an idea by giving arguments to support it. 

A man holding open the world's first touch-screen fridge

Security first: are we forgetting the risks in a rush to embrace the Internet of Things? Photograph: Martin Argles for the Guardian
The common kitchen fridge has always been a potential source of trepidation. Most people will admit that, at some point in their lives, they have opened the fridge door fearful of finding food well past its ‘best before’ date, leading to the scuppering of well-made dinner plans, or worse infecting the household with unfortunate viruses.
 

Trepidation: being nervous or worried about something.
Fearful of: feeling fear that something will happen or appear.
well past its “best before” date: the best before date is the recommended date to consume some products. If it is “well past” it is probably dangerous to consume that product.
scupper: to ruin

As technology advances, so too it seems does our fear of fridges. Only last month there were reports of web-enabled domestic devices (including fridges) being hacked and used to generate spam email messages.
 

Only last month: “Only” here is used as “just” to reinforce how recent this happened.
Web-enabled: Devices that can connect to the web.

It led to wonderful headlines such as “Help! My fridge is full of spam!”, but the humour belies a simple truth. We live in a world where ever more devices are becoming network enabled. Just a few days ago, for example, a heating ventilation contractor was alleged to be under investigation as the possible source of intrusion into a major retailer’s electronic point of sale terminals. Remote monitoring of store temperature and energy consumption is commonplace in the retail sector and might have provided a possible route in.


It led to: to lead/led/led. To give directions, guide or give someone example. also to introduce the consequences of some action. Here the funny headlines are a consequence of the hacker attack. Also, a person who leads is a leader.
to belie: to contradict and invalidate. e.g. What the police found out belies what the criminal declared in court.
Ever more: constantly increasing quantities
heating ventilation contractor: a contractor is a supplier that provides you some services, like building or maintenance. And you have a contract with them.
Alleged: not necessarily true or false but people think so. The alleged thief (we don’t know if he was the thief or not).
Point of sale terminals. A point of sale is a place were things are effectively (* check second meaning) sold, usually with machines that can manage money or credit cards. Those machines are called terminals nowadays because they are connected to a central computer.

In the labs, we have already seen attacks against Insulin Pumps and Pacemakers; with the Food and Drug Administration in the US issuing guidance on the cyber security of medical devices. At home, it might be the Internet connection on your television or games console, the smart meter talking to your domestic devices over a home area network, or your car providing remote diagnostics and maintenance information back to its manufacturer.


labs: places where scientists work making experiments.
insulin pumps: devices that supply insulin to patients, usually fixed inside their bodies.
pacemakers: devices that help the heart regulate its rhythm in patients who have a history of cardiac arrest.
smart meter: devices that measure your utility consumption (e.g. water, electricity, natural gas) and send the information wirelessly to the supplier. Therefore they don’t need to send anyone to read the meter regularly.
home area network: the area and electronic devices connected to a local area network (LAN) in a house. 
remote diagnostics: using electronic devices to diagnose medical conditions without going to a hospital.

In our commercial environments we see intelligent printers and photocopiers, sophisticated building management systems, and now, the advent of Bring Your Own Device – at this stage ‘only’ a phone, but who knows what employees will wish to connect to the corporate network longer term.
 

Bring your own device (BYOD): Option some companies and schools choose, where they let workers or students use their own hardware (laptops, tablets…) for work or to attend classes. 


Bring Your Own Device
Analysts suggest that this explosion of multi-connected devices, known as ‘the Internet of Things’, will grow to over 26 billion connected devices by 2020, a thirty fold increase on today’s figures, and a market valued at over a trillion dollars.


thirty fold: Thirty times: if you multiply something by a factor of thirty, you make it thirty fold.
a trillion dollars: the number ONE followed by twelve zeros. A spanish billion. Compare:

1,000,000 = a million
1,000,000,000 = a billion (USA); a thousand million (Spain)
1,000,000,000,000 = a trillion (USA); a billion (Spain)

Yet, before we become too excited about the prospects offered by new connectivity, it is worth pausing to think about security.


Excited: anticipating or feeling something intensely. (sexual excitement is called arousal and the verb is to arouse/to be aroused).

On many occasions we have seen functionality fielded first, with security following as an afterthought. For example, we are now seeing industrial control system security rise to the top of the list of concerns, even though the first SCADA systems were fielded in the mid 1960s, albeit with very much more restricted network connectivity.


to field: to deal with something, usually a problem or some work. (= to address a problem)
afterthought: something added, casually, after something has been said and finished.
e.g. He signed the contract and as an afterthought he said: Maybe I should have read the contract more carefully, but what’s done is done.
albeit: however

In my experience, attackers, whether they are Nation-State driven or organised crime, can be surprisingly innovative in their choice of attack technique. An unprotected device can provide the first toe-hold for an attacker, allowing them to establish a presence in your company or home network, before moving on to their final, more lucrative, target.


nation-state: a state where all citizens are supposed to have a feeling of belonging to the same nationality. e.g. France
to drive: to lead, to make something or someone move in a specific direction. In this case crime motivated by the government of a country.
toe-hold: a very minimal contact or support point. This expression takes its meaning from the sport of climbing, where you use your feet – and your toes, if you are barefoot – and you hold to the mountain wall with your hands and your feet. Usually foothold is the word used. In contrast toe-hold means that the position is very weak and unstable. 
Note: toes are the fingers in your feet. In your hands in contrast, we have eight fingers and two thumbs (the big, thick opposable fingers).

While we will never conceive of the whole range of attacks when we first design a device, it does make sense to spend a little time thinking about the dependencies it introduces, how it might fail, and what might be done to counter the more obvious attacks including some basic design changes.


to counter: to compensate for something, for example by defending yourself from an attack.

At the risk of complicating how our devices work, some basic use of encryption to protect communications against tampering would help, along with authentication to ensure that only authorised users can interact with or manipulate devices.
 

to tamper: to manipulate something in an inappropriate manner, by someone who doesn’t know how to do it or to make it stop working properly.
to ensure: to make sure. (contrast: to insure: to sign a contract with an insurance company to protect people or goods; to assure: to make someone feel sure about something with words or evidence.

We may also need more flexible approaches to how we protect our networks. For instance, our home computer may be well protected behind a firewall and running malware detection, but possibly segregated from guest networks which host less well protected devices such as our fridge and games consoles. Corporate networks often now make use of Network Access Control, which ensures that only devices which are patched and running anti-virus are allowed to connect to the network. We could see these approaches extended to home networks.
 

Firewall: a protective system in computer networks. Also a wall in a building which will prevent the spread of a fire.
To run: to operate, to make something work. Often used with computer sofware.
Malware: a kind of computer software whih is designed to attack or damage computers an/or networks.
To host: a term used when talking about computer servers, to speak about the information or software that is stored in it. The collocation “host server” is common.
to host also means: to let someone stay in your house or to organize an event, such as a party, in your own house. People attending a party are the guests. A TV host is a TV presenter. 
To patch: to fix a hole by using a piece of material that is applied on the hole to cover it. Traditionally in clothes.

Perhaps we should also be a bit more picky about which traffic leaves our networks. Many security professionals have been surprised at just how many different internet sites our devices choose to talk back to, even when we think they are idle or even switched off.
 

Surprised at: surprised in a “negative way”.
idle: not working, but ready to do so, like the engine of a car at a traffic lights
switched off: completely disconnected.
grammar point: it is quite common to find prepositions at the end of a sentence in English. Usually there is some kind of complement that is before in the sentence. For example here the object of “talk back to” is “how many different internet sites”.

 
So, in short, the innovative new business model you are adopting around the latest smart device may not just benefit you or your organisation. Expect organised crime to exploit the opportunities they offer as well. It means you have to think like an attacker. You’ll be surprised what comes out of the process and it’ll certainly give you a different perspective on your fridge.
Stephen Bonner is partner for Information Protection & Business Resilience at KPMG
 
in short: an expression to introduce a summary of ideas previously expressed.

Grammar point: in contrast with Spanish, in English complements to a noun go before it in most ocasions. Moreover, those complements introduced in Spanish by “de” are also moved to the front, and they do not need any preposition: a noun in English can be modified by another noun. Here we have a noun “model” modified by a combination of a noun and two adjectives which modify it.

Hackers and fridges… internet security! was last modified: September 18th, 2018 by Francisco Sanjurjo
2nd April 2014 0 comment
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