Hailo - cabbies and capitalists

It's hard to think of many UK tech firms that have gone global in recent years - but a business started by three entrepreneurs and three London cab drivers may well be the cream of the crop.

Hailo, a mobile phone app which allows you to virtually hail a cab, has unveiled a major new investment and plans to launch in New York and Tokyo.
The app was launched in London in November 2011. Its success was by no means guaranteed, as at least half a dozen similar ideas were already on offer to the capital's taxi and minicab users.
I've been chatting to Hailo's chairman, American entrepreneur Ron Zeghibe, and to Russell Hall, one of the three cabbies involved from the start, about what really made a difference.
Ron, who's spent 20 years outside the US launching various businesses, explains that he and two other entrepreneurs had come up with an idea for a taxi app. But they realised that the key to success would be an intimate knowledge of the cab trade, and that's when they met up with Russell Hall and his two colleagues.
The cabbies had already been operating their own web-based service, Taxilight, for a couple of years but wanted to move it on to a new level. The two groups clicked.
"We sat in a cafe in Charlotte Street," says Russell, "and chatted for hours on end about the moans and groans of cabbies and customers, and after endless cups of teas and rounds of toast we shook hands on a new concept."

The key appears to have been making the Hailo app work first as a useful tool for cabbies, even before it was launched to consumers. Ron says what they came up with was "a working tool for drivers, with a whole series of aspects which made their working day more useful and effective".
This meant that when they did launch to customers, they already had hundreds of drivers signed up - so when you clicked to request a taxi there was a fair chance of getting one.
Today, more than 10,000 London cabbies are using the app - that's probably at least half of those who are actually out on any one day.

Tell me about your favourite apps in your mobile phone. 200 words

New York Times 'hit by hackers from China'

Hackers from China have "persistently" infiltrated the New York Times for the last four months, the US paper says.

It said the attacks coincided with its report into claims that the family of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao had amassed a multi-billion dollar fortune.
The hackers used methods which have been "associated with the Chinese military" to target the emails of the report's writer, the paper said.
China's foreign ministry dismissed the accusations as "groundless".
"To arbitrarily assert and to conclude without hard evidence that China participated in such hacking attacks is totally irresponsible," said spokesman Hong Lei.
"China is also a victim of hacking attacks. Chinese laws clearly forbid hacking attacks, and we hope relevant parties takes a responsible attitude on this issue."
Beijing has been accused by several governments, foreign companies and organisations of carrying out extensive cyber espionage for many years, seeking to gather information and to control China's image.
'China-based subterfuge' According to the Times, the hackers first broke into their computer system in September, as the report on Mr Wen was nearing completion.
The report, which was dismissed as a "smear" by the Chinese government, said Mr Wen's relatives had amassed assets worth at least $2.7bn (£1.7bn) through business dealings. It did not accuse the Chinese premier of wrongdoing.
China is sensitive about reports on its leaders, particularly when it comes to their wealth.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-21271849

Would you like break into someone´s personal  computer? Don´t be shy, tell me whose and why in 200 words. What would you like to get to know?

Chatting with Obama

President Obama has had his ceremonial inauguration, he has taken oath for his second term and  gun control, debt and immigration are just three of the key issues he is facing. Imagine you could talk to him in the White House, what topics would you choose and why? Write 200 words

Puppy room

Considering their reputation for eating homework, dogs may not seem like the ideal study buddies.

But for hundreds of Dal students eager for a break from the stresses of exam period, the Dalhousie Student Union’s “Puppy Room” was just the friendly, furry reprieve they were looking for.

By the time the doors opened Tuesday afternoon for the first of three Puppy Room sessions this week, more than 100 students were in line to hang out for a few minutes with a Labradoodle, a Sheltie and a Golden Retriever — all volunteering their time through the non-profit Therapeutic Paws of Canada.

“We ran from class,” said Megan Sommerville, a commerce student who was first in line with her friends.

“Puppies are pretty much the best thing ever,” added fellow student Trisha McWilliams.


Lee más aquí


Can you tell me in 200 words other ways you know to relieve from stress in exam period?

Norway's rakfisk: Is this the world's smelliest fish?

I was looking up a new post at the BBC website when I found this article and I remembered when I was teaching my 1º Bachillerato students about British food two weeks ago and how some said "¡qué asco!" to some meals. I reminded them that you can´t say that to meals, you should say "I don´t like it", "I´d rather have another thing" or any other non-hurting comment, and suddenly I found this meal which everybody agrees stinks. Read about it:

Norway's five million people enjoy one of the highest standards of living, not just in Europe, but in the world. Could the secret of the country's success be connected to the local appetite for some exceedingly smelly fish?

Take a selection of over-ripe cheeses. Place them in the midst of a pile of dirty, wet soccer kit. Leave for a week. Now you have the nose-numbing smell of rakfisk, one of the great Norwegian delicacies.
I am in the small town of Fagernes, about three hours from Oslo. There is snow, spectacular scenery - and that odour, ever present, hangs in the air.
Rakfisk is trout sprinkled with salt and fermented in water for - depending on how smelly you like your fish - up to a year.

Continue reading the main story

I want you to write 200 words about a food you don´t like, describe it, or write about any uncomfortable experience you have had with food in a restaurant or wherever.

Myths

Do we only use ten per cent of our brain?
It’s amazing just how many medical myths there are to choose from, but one part of the body seems to attract more than its fair share, and that’s the brain. One of my favourite brain myths is the idea that we only use 10% of it. It’s an appealing idea because it suggests the possibility that we could become so much more intelligent, successful or creative, if only you could harness that wasted 90%. This might inspire us to try harder, but unfortunately that doesn’t mean there’s any truth in it.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20121112-do-we-only-use-10-of-our-brains


There are lots of the so-called "urban-myths", can you tell me one of them, or any other myth?  (200 words)

Preu-students and a teacher at Halloween night

Happy Halloween!

I hope you have enjoyed the video. I have two different activities and you can do one of them, or both!

-option A: write the words you haven´t understood from the video with the translation and explain what a      Jack o´lantern is.
-option  B: send to my e-mail a photo of yourself in your halloween costume (your face must be shown), I´ll publish it on the blog!

Happy Halloween!!!!!!

Accidents

Even for the Spanish, cutting a good slice of air-cured ham, one of their popular traditional delicacies, can be a risky business.

One Spanish medical foundation claimed last week that 57,000 domestic accidents involving ham knives – which have blades over a foot long – take place annually.
But maybe not for long: as Christmas approaches (when the largest percentage of the 4.5 million ham legs purchased every year in Spain are sold), Juan Carlos Gomez, the Spanish National Champion of Hamcutting, has been touring Spain giving master classes in how best to tackle a jamon serrano.
Mr Gomez most recently showed up in Malaga, revealing to the winners of a competition organised by Navidul, one of the country's biggest Serrano producers, secrets of the trade such as whether to hang the leg with the hoof pointing up or down when cutting and which part of the ham to cut first.
For those unable to attend his classes, Mr Gomez, has even written a bluffer's guide (rather more cruelly called a "guide for the clumsy" in Spanish) to ham, as part of a popular series of self- education books covering everything from childbirth to wine tasting to, somewhat less predictably, neurolinguistics.
Apart from eager and rookie cutters having an injury-free ham-eating experience, the ultimate aim of his classes and book is to carve out the perfect slice of serrano.
This apparently is 3cm to 5cm long – "not so big that we have to fold it over or so small that it doesn't taste of anything," Gomez told the newspaper Ideal.
In: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/postcard-from-malaga-8224140.html


We are not surprised about it, are we? I´m sure we know someone who has had this accident while trying to produce a wonderful dish of this delicious food, but I want you to write 200 words about any other accident you have had or another member of your family, or, why not? a friend. Remember this is a narrative and you will have to use past tenses and connectors of sequence.Go on!

New record for world's oldest man Jiroemon Kimura

Do you remember that selectividad text "The world´s oldest woman"? I do, in fact I have worked it  with 1º Bachillerato this year. The curious thing is that I was looking for some news to write here and I found this video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7-eUmY0sSg , I would like you to watch the video and answer this question with 200words:


"Would you like to live so long? Write advantages and disadvantages.

Yujuuuuuuuuuu! Here we are again!!!!!!!

Yes, and so very happy to have the chance to meet so many new students eager to learn English!
I think that if this is going to be a tool to help you with your English you´d better know it well from the beginning so I´m proposing you some questions whose answers are in the blog, at the beginning of it, here they are:
1. Why did I choose this name?
2.What is the date of the first post?
3.Why did I decide to begin the blog?
4.Do you know the name of one of my favourite songs?
5.Which health problem did I have when I began the blog?

El descanso del blogsodepaula

Shhhhhhhh! Hasta septiembre 2012 no volverá a estar en uso, no sirve para el examen de septiembre y hay que dejarlo descansar después de un año tan ajetreado.

IOC selects three cities as candidates for 2020 Olympic Games

(CNN) -- The International Olympic Committee announced Wednesday that Istanbul, Tokyo and Madrid have made it on to the short list of cities bidding to host the 2020 Olympic Games. Baku and Doha were rejected for the second time in a row after failing to make the 2016 games.

"The executive board has decided that the following cities can continue to the next phase and become candidates for 2020. In the order of drawing lots: Istanbul, Tokyo, and Madrid," said IOC spokesman Mark Adams.

The three remaining candidate cities will enter into Phase 2 of the selection period. Files from the cities will be submitted to the IOC by January 7, 2013. Following an official visit by the IOC Evaluation Commission between February and April of 2013, a report will be made to the 2020 IOC Evaluation Commission and candidate cities will brief IOC members.

The election of the host city of the XXXII Olympic Summer Games will take place on September 7, 2013, at the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires.

In culling the field from five to three cities, the IOC executive board relied "on application files, the report of a working group of experts which is formed to assess the application forms of each city, the city's compliance with elements like the World Anti-Doping Code, and other criteria," said Adams.

Doha, the capital of the Gulf state of Qatar, had proposed changing the games to October 2-18, to mitigate the extreme temperatures athletes would have to experience during the usual July-August summer games. Based on a 10-year average, Doha temperatures in October range from 30 to 36 degrees Celsius (86 to 96.8 degrees Fahrenheit).

The working group also decided against Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan, for its infrastructural limitations. The "games planning and experience," were "not sufficiently developed at this stage," according to the report.

Of the five candidate cities, only Tokyo has hosted the Olympics before, in the XVIII Olympiad held in the summer of 1964.

What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of Madrid in this contest? Write more than 200 words. 

Conmemorating Expo92

20 years!!! It´s a long time... It´s been even celebrated on the portada of the feria de Sevilla. It was a great event. Hundreds of words have been written about it, you can have a look on the internet but there are about 210.000.000 entries about it. No, I don´t want you to copy any of these articles or information., I would like you to ask any in your family to tell you something about it from his/her personal experience, it maybe an anecdote, his/her opinion, in 200 words.

Enjoying a film

Some friends, my daughters an myself spent last weekend by the seashore. The weather was not very good so we had to do some activities in order to have an enjoyable time instead of going to the beach as it was impossible. One of the things was going to the cinema. The female group of us decided on this film because it was fine for both, girls with less than eight years old and "girls"with more than eight. We had a nice time, it is a different version, they have made some changes in the story but it is still a fine, lovely fairy tale and we all laughed and smiled with the film, which was the aim.
I won´t tell you the film as it is not fair, but I would like you to tell me the last film you have watched. Remember to use connectors to show sequence as they appear on page132 on the book of 2º Bachillerato and on page of the book of 1º Bachillerato. About 200 words :)

Holy week

It´s coming! Yeah! What does it mean for you? People have different thoughts about our holy week, it may mean a period of the year to rest, go to the beach, visit family...For others it has a deep religious feeling and they enjoy watching "pasos", sharing activities with their "hermandades" and taking part in their respective "estación de penitencia". Also there are some people who mix this religious feeling with resting and making other several and different things like myself. Can you write 200 words about what it means for you or what you usually do?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2YvB_k4DNE&feature=youtu.be

Man´s best friend

Can you write a composition (200 words) about why the dog is man´s best friend?

Bullfightings

I have just read a piece of news about bullfighting, about children watching it or not. What do you think of this? Try to write advantages and disadvantages in 200 words.

St Valentine

I have several exercises for you to celebrate St Valentine. You must copy the exercises,the lyrics, the poem and fill in the blanks. This is the link:

http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=6557

Freezing!!!!!

Yes! It´s really cold outside, I have seen it through the window. People wear thick coats and walk looking down at the pavement, they look like they are in a hurry, looking forward to getting home. Tomorrow it will be very cold again and we won´t go out. Can you write about 200 words suggesting things to do at home while it is freezing outside?

Phrasal verb exercises

The first exercises for this year are related to phrasal verbs.
1.The first one is writing each of the sentences above in English and next to it its translation into Spanish.

2. The second exercise is rewriting the text in the following site: http://www.mansioningles.com/practica_rick01.htm with the corresponding phrasal verbs.

Pay attention to the instructions and good luck!

;)

New Year´s Purposes and Wishes

Every year, when it is ending, most of us think about the next year and start formulating wishes which turn into purposes. Some people want to give up smoking, others, like myself want to do more exercise or start a healthy diet. Use the future tenses and write four sentences with each of the futures expressing your purposes, wishes and predictions for the next year. I will give you a grammar tip to help you, it is on http://www.preuniversitaria.com, go to "secretaría virtual", then to "materiales para los alumnos", "Ingles I" and in "Unit 4" there is a table with future tenses.

I´m feeling blue...

Yes, some of you will be leaving in June, sadly, others in September, and the rest, the rest of students who are in 1º the next year, and I don´t know what you are going to study, why or where.
Can you write 200 words telling me about it?

I´m late!

Sorry! Sorry!I´m a bit late for this post! Can you tell me that special time when you got late?

London UFOs: Multiple People Capture Odd Occurrence Over British City

While many of these types of UFO videos can often be easily written off, the emergence of two separate recordings of the same event could give you pause.

Even more incredible is just how similar they seem. Both videos show a group of three white discs floating over the city, namely over the BBC building and Tower Bridge.

Both were taken late last week, and in one of the videos you can see at least a few people looking up at the objects, adding some credibility to the cameraman.

Whether or not there's a better explanation is a matter of opinion at this point.

Last October, many New Yorkers were astonished to witness several alleged UFOs maneuvering in the sky above the Chelsea section of Manhattan - in the middle of the afternoon.

While the FAA received many reports about the strange objects and radar returns couldn’t explain the UFOs away, it turned out that they may have simply been a bunch of balloons that had been intended for a party north of the city. The balloons reportedly got away from the party, and were carried along by air currents that eventually brought them to the Big Apple.

Could this also explain the London UFOs? Or is it a Photoshop hoax depicting alien-type vehicles in the sky? Tell me what you think about UFOs.

http://youtu.be/wQmut0XtD3s

Would you marry a millionaire?

http://youtu.be/8ZRs__rmYMc

I´m sure you have thought about it more than once, well, this is your chance to share it with us. Write more than 200 words about it, and, you don´t have to be sincere ;)
Below is the same song but just the lyrics:

http://youtu.be/rDyqJDJKtFc

People´s opinion

There is an article, about the Spanish elections in this website: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/05/22/spain.elections/index.html

And there is the opinion of protest spokesman Juan López who said:” It's just before elections when the Spanish politicians usually hear the voice of the people.”

What would you tell these politicians? What would you ask for? What would you advise or suggest? Write more than 200 words without writing about politics, please

;)

Invent a holiday!

Write 200 words coming up with a new holiday: what does the holiday celebrate? When is it? Does the holiday have any fun tradition (like wearing green on St. Patrick´s Day or giving out cards and chocolate on Valentine´s Day)?

Horror stories

This is a very easy exercise, you just have to write a horror story, something to tell at the night of Halloween, really, really creepy....

Your Bucket List!

In this post I want you to write a Bucket List of not less than 200 words. Do you know what a bucket list is? In case you don´t, play the following video and discover it...!

Nivel 11 - Ingl�s Avanzado - Making a bucket list | Clases de Inglés Gratuitas

If you can´t read all what she is saying then click:http://www.englishtown.com/community/Channels/lesson2.aspx?lesson_id=679&lesson_no=350

Teenage craze!

I know, I know, this is not just a craze, because they are cheaper to communicate and they are not just "teenage" as I have seen many adults using them. But what about the following? Isn´t this a a trendy fashion (although now they are "out")? Who escaped from them?


The exercise for this week is writing 200 hundred words about any other trendy fashion(s) you followed.
:)

The Amish lifestyle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOfZLb33uCg

Can you write (without pasting) more than 200 words about things that the Amish can and can´t do, where they live, how they live and why they live that way?

Happy new school year 2011-2012!!!

I know it almost sounds like Christmas but obviously it is not, anyway I sincerely wish you a happy and successful school year, I hope you can make the most of it and pass without any problem, this is one of the main targets of this blog as you know.

This is the first valid post for this year:


The Fun Pages Advice Column






In some newspapers and magazines each week, the Fun Pages Advice Column invites a panel of children to give advice to other children who write in with their problems.

Dear Fun Pages: I have frizzy hair and I don´t know what to do. Help! Hair troubles

Dear Hair trouble, Having frizzy hair isn´t so bad. In fact it´s kind of neat, even distinctive to have hair a little different from most. Are you a boy or a girl? You could try putting your hair bak in a pony tail. If you are a boy (or girl), try mousse or gel to get your hair to hold its natural style. You may want to keep your hair shor or experiment by combing it different ways.


Dear Fun Pages: Some kids in my class are always picking on me. What can I do to stop them? Picked on

Dear Picked on, try not to let them know it bothers you. They will pick on you more if they think it´s working. The kids who pick on you are insecure about their own popularity. Children who pick on others are uneasy and think they will feel better if they make someone else feel bad. We understand that it makes you mad. The best thing you can do to stop the teasing is to ignore it.

Now you are Fun Pages and you have to advice the following people (write at least 50 words for each of them):

1.Dear Fun Pages, I have to go to a party and I have nothing to wear and no money. Poor Undressed
2.Dear Fun Pages, my nails are very weak and they always break.
Hand Gloved
3.Dear Fun Pages, I stutter when I like a girl.
Word-Breaker
4.Dear Fun pages, I am very timid with boys.
Bashful
5.Dear Fun Pages, I am short-sighted and use thick glasses.
Four Eyes

Tests

What about telling me the results you get in the following tests? I am telling you my results, read them. And remember to write about the five of them!!!!!
(Click where it says "Take this quiz")

1.

Which dance suits your personality?

My Quiz Result: The dance genres which suit your personality are - Salsa, Tango, Jive, etc.

Take this quiz: Which dance suits your personality?

Take more quizzes, myspace quizzes and fun quizzes on personality, love and other topics.

2.

Find your movie personality

My Quiz Result: Your movie personality is - a mix of action, romance and comedy.

Take this quiz: Find your movie personality

Take more quizzes, myspace quizzes and fun quizzes on personality, love and other topics.

3.

The superhero test

My Quiz Result: You don't wish to be a superhero or at least you don't care about being one.

Take this quiz: The superhero test

Take more quizzes, myspace quizzes and fun quizzes on personality, love and other topics.

4.

Know your spending style

My Quiz Result: You are a wise spender. You enjoy life but also save for a secure future. You maintain a balance with your money. Carry on the good work.

Take this quiz: Know your spending style

Take more quizzes, myspace quizzes and fun quizzes on personality, love and other topics.

5.

Which profession are you inclined towards?

My Quiz Result: You need to be sure about where your basic interest lies. You should make a choice of what pleases you the most. Accordingly you should pursue your interest and pick a profession.

Take this quiz: Which profession are you inclined towards?

Take more quizzes, myspace quizzes and fun quizzes on personality, love and other topics.

Unit 6 2º Bachillerato, Unit 7 1º Bachillerato

Open publication - Free publishing - More grammar

Open publication - Free publishing - More grammar

Disney Princesses

Oooops! I´m afraid it cannot be seen very well, so here you are:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMB1SECUSq8&feature=player_embedded


Have you seen the video yet? Isn´t it sweet?

The exercises I propose for this post is writing....

a. The 5 pieces of advice you have liked most to make a guy like you.

b. Which is your favourite Disney film? Why?

Holy week shot show

The post for this week is the same as last year. You can either send me a photograph you have taken this holy week describing what it is ( a "paso", a holiday place, something unusual,...)or you can comment any of the pictures which have been already published for this post.

Ooops! I almost forget, first of all you must send the photo and the description to my e-mail (p_vallejo@preuniversitaria.com ; hay un guión bajo entre la p y vallejo)and I will publish it as a post. I´m looking forward to your photos!!!!

Enjoy your holidays!

Ejercicios voluntarios 1º Bachillerato

Open publication - Free publishing - More notes

Jesse

Jesse is an amazingly useful and intelligent Jack Russell Terrier, who loves helping around the house. Can you tell me at least 20 tricks this dog can perform?

Baby talk....

Can you guess what they are talking about?
Why don´t you write about ten lines and tell me? I have been able to distinguish "sock", "my baby bottle", "naked" and that´s all!

The crane

Have you heard about the relationship of the crane and the Japanese disaster?

The exercise suggested for this week is to answer the former question and to make a crane and give it to me in class following these instructions:

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/291919/the_crane_origami/

Suggestion: Use a beautiful piece of paper as in origami

Ejercicios voluntarios de 1º y 2º

Open publication - Free publishing - More 1bach

Open publication - Free publishing - More 2bach

Tell me a story....

Tell me a story about these two pictures.

I want to know in ten lines how they got there!!!! Come on, use your imagination and make up a story.