LETTER TO A FRIEND Write a letter to a penfriend and invite him/her to spend Saint Johns Eve with you.

Tell him/her about this tradition, too.

Dear Laura, How are you? Im writing this letter to tell you about Saint Johns Eve, because I would like to invite you to spend this party with me and my friends. Saint Johns Eve is a summer solstice festival, which is celebrated on the longest day of the year: 23 June. The celebration starts with sunset. It is a very special, important and traditional festival in my country. There are a lot of fireworks and bonfires everywhere. Everybody is dancing, jumping and singing songs around the bonfires. We eat typical Saint Johns food like coca (a pie or cake with sugar and fruits). This celebration represents purification and rejuvenation. We celebrate it all night, because it is the shortest night of the year. We really enjoy it! I would like you to come, because you and I havent met since last year. You have some weeks to think about it and you are just one hour away by plane! Please, call me soon! Regards,

Your friend. Write an informal letter to a friend telling him/her all about your last holidays. Dear Xiaoyi and Khira, How are you? I miss you very much. Im writing this letter to tell you about my last holidays. I was on holiday In India with my family. We were there for two weeks and we had a very good time. We went to Taj Mahal, it is in Agra. It is a very beautiful place; there are a lot of foreign visitor who spend their holidays here. We went to my cousins wedding. We went to New Delhi to join another cousins party (at night). We were dancing for a very long time and there were a lot of different kinds of food, all of them were really delicious. Later, we went to the hotel really exhausted from all that dancing. The worst of this trip was when we went by bus, because this trip lasted eight hours. But it was worth it, because it was the funniest trip of my life. Im looking forward to hearing from you. Yours, Amrit

CONTINUE THE STORY It was a special night. I was about to meet the most important person in my life... It was a special night. I went to Martas house to have dinner with her and other friends. After that, at ten oclock we went to the main street in our village. I was about to meet the most important person in my life while I was drinking vodka. In the street there were a lot of people, bonfires and fireworks and there was a big party in the street when I noticed that a handsome boy was looking at me. After a short time, he came next to me, he knew Marta, so Marta introduced him to me. We started to talk. We talked for a long time and ,finally, he caught my hand. He stayed with me all night and he was very nice. We fell in love, he said Ill love you forever! I went to his house and I slept with him all the morning. Since that night, we have been together and we remember that party very well. Next year, well get married.

I was on the plane back from London when suddenly a voice from a loudspeaker said Mr. Peterson, come to the check-in desk, please Mr Peterson? What happened? I thought. Suddenly I realised that my second handbag was lost, I forgot my handbag in one of the fifteen bathrooms of the station. It turned out that the airport police found it and they wanted to return it to its owner. When I arrived there, they wanted me to describe my handbag. I told them that my bag was blue and it had six pockets. It also had Mr Peterson written on it. Immediately they showed me one bag and asked me: Is it your bag? I looked at it, and I told them it wasnt mine, even if it was very much like mine. But that bag had Mr Petersson written on it and my name is Mr Peterson. Then the policeman opened the bag to have more information to know who its owner was. I was very frightened and shocked when I saw a plastic bag of weed. They were surprised, too. Thanks God everything was an error. They mistook my bag for the bag of a drug dealer.

It was a beautiful summer day and I was peacefully sailing along the coast, when suddenly I saw an enormous creature swimming towards my boat I was very scared, and I picked up all my things very quickly while I was asking for help. Nobody heard me, I was alone in the sea. I thought I would die, but suddenly the strange monster disappeared. I was a little relaxed and I told myself If I live, Ill go home and never go to the sea again I tried to leave from there as quickly as I could. But five minutes later, an unusual thing happened: the boat went up and down, up and down, and I was terrified. I told myself that maybe it was the wind, because the monster didnt appear again. No, my God! I shouted when I saw the monster next to the boat.

I was very frightened and I didnt know what to do, I was only crying and crying. Why did this happen to me? I shouted. Suddenly I had a good idea. I fed the monster with my meal to distract him. Perhaps I can escape from him, I thought. While he was eating, I tried to leave from there again, but the strange monster started to come towards me. I saw his big mouth open and suddenly, I woke up! It was a horrifying dream,

INTERVIEW You are a journalist from a local newspaper. Write an interview with Ellen MacArthur. Ask her about her experiences as a solo sailor around the world and about her future plans.

Hello, Ms MacArthur. I would like to interview you. Yes, of course Why did you decide to go on this trip? Because I always liked to travel and especially by ship. But the reason which made me decide was that one of my dreams was to travel around the word. How long were you preparing for the trip? I was preparing this trip for 1 year approximately. How long were you sailing on the sea? I was sailing on the sea for three years, I started in 2006. What did you eat every day? Did you eat a lot of fish?

I ate a lot of sandwiches and pasta. I rarely ate vegetables and meat. I ate fish and shellfish every day. Could you communicate with your family or other people? I had a radio with which I could speak with my family. Did you feel alone? Yes, especially at night and when there were strong storms Did you have a lot of free time?

Yes, I did. I watched the horizon and the seascape. I played with the computer and chatted with my friends. I read a lot of books and I played the guitar, too. Did he see an iceberg?

Yes, it was very beautiful and spectacular. I took a photo, it was the first time that I saw an iceberg. The weather was very cold. When you finished the trip and you knew that you had broken a record, how did you feel? I was very happy to be able to go sailing around the world and, of course, to break a record. Are you going to continue your life as before? Im going to continue my life with my family and my job.

FORMAL LETTER Write a formal letter to Cherly Shawer telling her that you would like your pet to join the Animal Actors Studio. Explain the reasons why and ask for more information.

6 Woodside Road Woodford 1X365PW 18th April 2009 Animal Actors Studio 8 Suffolk Street Manchester SW3K2NP Dear Mr. Shawer, I am writing to you because I would like my pet to join your Animal Actors Studio. I think that my pet could be a fantastic actor, although it is small, it is very intelligent and very interesting. It is different from other animals, it puts its ears on its eyes at the same time and it also puts its ears in its mouth. Its ears are very very long, it is very funny. And it can also have a terrifying look. For this reason, I think it could especially act in, for example, horror films and thrillers. I think my pet could become a star and it would also be extra money for me. Our question is, what do we do so that you can meet our special dog? Would you like us to send you a photo or video about it? I already have a video and I think that this video would interest you very much. I would be grateful if you could send me information about you Studio. If you have any question about my pet, please do not hesitate to contact me. Yours faithfully,

DISCUSSION ESSAY Write a essay discussing the following statement: Animals are only pets and shouldnt be used to work There are a lot of different types of animals.

On the one hand, there are a lot of animals around the world, but some animals are dangerous and other animals are peaceful. A lot of people use animals: domestic animals or pets to keep them company. Other people mistreat or abandon them. But some people use animals to work in bad conditions and exploit them, which can cause them psychological harm, especially in cases such as animal fights, where people gamble a lot of money, a practice which is illegal. On the other hand, some animals can be used to work, because they have always been used, and it isnt harmful for them. Apart from that, I think that it is not bad that animals work, because they need to do sports, too, because if they dont move they get angry and nervous easily. If they work for a circus, films, or television, I think it is good for them, because while they are attending acting classes with a specialized trainer, they can cultivate their feelings with them. At the same time they can learn new things, although sometimes it is a little hard for them, too. In conclusion, I think some animals can be used to work when the work they have to do is not harmful for them, but many others cant work, because they are not used to it.

DESCRIPTION Write a description of a tradition in your city or area.

The tradition in our village which is celebrated every year for the towns festival on Saturday night is butifarrada, this is when the people of the village get together in the main square and eat sausages. Some teenagers prepare the tables and cook the sausages and serve the sausages, a glass of wine, bread and a napkin for everybody. Later, the teenagers clear the tables. After dinner, a band plays a concert which lasts all night. Every year a different band comes. This night is very enjoyable, because there is nearly everybody in the village. You cant meet a lot of people if you are friendly. The next morning some of the people of the village go down to the river, where there is a race in boats. The people make the boats themselves, and there are different prizes for the fastest boat and for the most original. The participants have different ages and they are usually relatives, so its very funny, because you can see them arguing and joking at the same time. ____________________________________________________________________________ We live in Olot and every year, during the town festival, we celebrate the Turinada, until now we havent lost it. The Turinada consists in running in the middle of the streets while the people from the balconies of their homes throw buckets full of water and people dance under the balconies. Usually, thousands of people take part in Turinada. This tradition is mostly celebrated by young people who are usually drunk, but sometimes there are older people who enjoy it as well. When the Turinada finishes, dance hour starts. During dance hour everyone is dancing very wet. Responsible people go to change their clothes when the Turinada finishes, because, otherwise, it is

possible that you get a cold. After the people have changed, the party continues, because there are concerts in different places in the town. All in all, this party is the best party in Festes del Tura.