Extra Listening: Chapter 5 - Being Different

For extra listening practice try the follwing exercises from Randall's Cyber Listening Lab. The Listening Episode and Quiz are entitled Visiting A Japanese Bath and the level is said to be 'medium'.

Visiting a Japanese Bath

CD of the Week: Devendra Banhart: Rolls Down Thunder Canyon

This weeks CD is Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, the new one from Devendra Banhart which was released September 25th, 2007. This album features more instrumentation than his previous ones as well as exploring a few more genres.

Devendra Banhart (born May 30, 1981, in Houston, Texas, U.S.) is a folk rock singer-songwriter and musician. As wikipedia notes, "Banhart's music has been classified as indie folk, psych folk, Naturalismo, and New Weird America; his lyrics are often surreal and naturalistic"

He is a key figure in what has been called the neo-physc folk movement and therefore should be heard.

To hear the CD go here: CD
To read a revie of the CD go here: review
To see a video of Devendra in action go here: video

Audio Files: Chapter 5: Lesson A

Please find below links to the audio files for Chapter 5: Lesson A from the text "How To Behave".

Listening
Pronunciation
Speaking

Workbook: Chapter 5: Lesson A

Find below the pages from the workbook for Lesson A, Chapter 5 entitled "How To Behave"

page 1
page 1
page 3

Song of the Week: Blur: Girls & Boys

This weeks' song of the week is Girls & Boys by British rock band Blur. It was released on the 7th of March 1994 as the first single from their CD Parklife and charted at #5 in the UK Singles Charts (see 1994 in British music). The single was the band's first Top 5 hit.

Blur formed in Colchester in 1989. Originally named Seymour, the band were comprised of vocalist/keyboardist Damon Albarn, guitarist/vocalist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. The group became one of the biggest bands in the UK during the Britpop movement of the mid-1990s

To download the song go here: song
To see the lyrics go here: lyrics
To see the video go here: video

Online Resources: Chapter 4: Men & Women

Find below links to some other resources and actvities related to the theme for Chapter 4: Men and Women.

World Link 3 Resources
Dating Vocabulary, Phrases and Slang
Best Dating Ideas
Conversation Questions Beauty and Physical Attractiveness
Views on Tattooing and Plastic Surgery

Audio Files: Chapter 4: Class B

Please find below links to the audio files for Chapter 4: Lesson B from the text "Dating".

Listening

Workbook: Chapter 4: Class B

Find below the pages from the workbook for Lesson A, Chapter 4 entitled "Dating"

page 1
page 2
page 3

CD of the Week: Radiohaed: In Rainboows

This week's 'CD' of the week is In Rainboows - the new 'CD' by what is regarded by many as the greatest rock band in the world, Radiohaed.

Released today - Wednesday the 11th of October - the 'CD' has garned a lot of press over the last week or so becuase it has been made available on the band's web site for download first with fans being asked to pay what they want for the music.

To download the CD go here: In Rainboows [music]
To read a review of the CD go here: In Rainboows [review]
To see a video of one of the tracks off the Cd go here: Nude [Video]

Extra Listening: Chapter 4: Class A

Extra listening practice try the follwing exercises from Randall's Cyber Listening Lab. The Listening Episode and Quiz are entitled The Ideal Woman and the level is difficult.

The Ideal Woman

Audio Files: Chapter 4: Class A

Please find below links to the audio files for Chapter 4: Lesson A from the text "How Do I Look?".

Listening
Pronunciation
Speaking

Workbook: Chapter 4: Class A

Find below the pages from the workbook for Lesson A, Chapter 4 entitled "How Do I Look?"

page 1
page 2
page 3

Song of the Week: Sunday Papers: Joe Jackson

This week's 'song of the week' in Joe Jackson's hit from 1970 Sunday Papers.

Born in 1954,Joe Jackson is an English musician and singer-songwriter who along with Elvis Costello and Graham Parker, was a part of the trio of British-based artists that challenged the punk scene and brought a New Wave sound to the United States in the late 1970s. He was, as wikipedia notes, "popular for his power-pop and New Wave sound early on before moving to more eclectic, though less commercially successful, pop/jazz/classical musical pieces".

To download the song, go here: Sunday Papers [Song]
To see the video, go here: Sunday Papers [video]
To read the lyrics, go here: Sunday Papers [Lyrics]

Audio Files: Chapter 3: Lesson B

Please find below links to the audio files for Chapter 3: Lesson A from the text "In The News".

Listening

Workbook: Chapter 3: Class B

Find below the pages from the workbook for Lesson B, Chapter 3 entitled "In The News"

page 1
page 1
page 3

CD of the Week: Dashboard Confessional : The Shade Of Poison Trees

This week's CD of the week - The Shade of Poison Trees - comes from Dasboard Convention. Posted in iuts entirety on the band's MySpace page on September 28, it was released on the 2nd of October.

Dashboard Confessional is an American band from Boca Raton, Florida, led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Chris Carrabba. While Dashborad Confessional have not exactly set sales records for their CD releases, they have been amongst the most higly regarded alternative rock bands of the decade.

To listen to the CD go here: The Shade Of Poison Trees

To see the video of the single go here: Thick As Thieves

To hear the song with the lyrics for here: Thick As Thieves with Lyrics