Questions about the reading exercise ("Mansion del ingles")

  Read the article about a North American wine company and answer the following questions.
1. What is Paul Jones responsible for?

2. Who heads the company?

3. Is the company successful?

4. What reason does Tony Swan give for distributors buying more wine produced in the US last year?

5. Does Tony Swan think that the average American expects a bottle of wine that costs $10 to taste good?

Reading basic ("Mansion del ingles")

 Swan and Lewis

 
Greentree Wine Company, California, USA

Greentree Wine Company has been producing premium wine in the Napa Valley since 1980 and markets wine under the Brown Canyon, Swan & Lewis and Stratclith labels. In addition, GWC produces several private labels for both domestic and international customers. Last year, GWC bottled over 500,000 cases between their own brands, private labels and custom bottling contracts.
The Swan and Lewis label, which retails for about $10, grew by 53 percent in 2012. Swan and Lewis includes a Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Zinfandel and Pinot Noir. The package was recently updated and includes the slogan, "Stick your nose in our business."
The company is headed by Tony Swan and Glen Lewis who created the Swan and Lewis label in 1990. Paul Jones is responsible for wine production and has worked exclusively for the firm since 1992.
The primary reason Swan & Lewis experienced record growth last year is that key distributors got behind the brand. Swan said the secret of their rapid growth was "being with the right distributors at the right time." He credits the rise in the value of the euro relative to the U.S. dollar for making reasonably priced California wines more attractive to distributors that previously were interested mostly in imports. "A lot of our distributors were strong in imports but felt it wasn't a bad idea to have something from California," he said.
"We need to be with medium-sized distributors, and we need to be with medium-sized distributors that actually care about us, which is not the same thing."
Swan commented that with many wines designed to retail for $10, much of the emphasis is on marketing instead of what the wine tastes like. "We depend on the wine," he said. "I think $10 is an interesting price point," Swan said. "It's a price where almost anybody can afford to buy but high enough where you can do something slightly interesting as far as the wine is concerned. I think the American consumer has become more sophisticated and is looking at interesting wines for around $10."

Listening exercise basic ("Mansión del inglés")

 

Escucha y contesta a las siguientes preguntas. (Haz click sobre el altavoz o "speaker". Si tienes problemas para escuchar consulta nuestras preguntas más frecuentes) Audio 1. What’s the name of the airline company? 2. What time does the plane take off? 3. How long is the flight? 4. What countries does the plane fly over? 5. Which of the following is NOT on the lunch menu? steak fish chicken 6. What is the name of the featured movie?

LYRICS: "MARIA"- BLONDIE

 

She moves like she don't care
Smooth as silk, cool as air
Ooh it makes you wanna cry
She doesn't know your name
And your heart beats like a subway train
Ooh it makes you wanna die

Ooh, don't you wanna take her?
Ooh, wanna make her all your own?

Maria, you've gotta see her
Go insane and out of your mind
Latina, Ave Maria
A million and one candle lights

I've seen this thing before
In my best friend and the boy next door
Fool for love and fool on fire
Won't come in from the rain
She's oceans running down the drain
Blue as ice and desire

Don't you wanna make her?
Ooh, don't you wanna take her home?

Maria, you've gotta see her
Go insane and out of your mind
Latina, Ave Maria
A million and one candle lights

Ooh, don't you wanna break her?
Ooh, don't you wanna take her home?

She walks like she don't care
You wanna take her everywhere
Ooh, it makes you wanna cry

She's like a millionaire
Walkin' on imported air
Ooh, it makes you wanna die

Maria, you've gotta see her
Go insane and out of your mind
Latina, Ave Maria
A million and one candle lights

Maria, you've gotta see her
Go insane and out of your mind
Latina, Ave Maria
A million and one candle lights

Maria, you've gotta see her
Go insane and out of your mind
Latina, Ave Maria
A million and one candle lights

Maria, you've gotta see her
Go insane and out of your mind
Latina, Ave Maria

LYRICS: "CALL ME"-BLONDIE

SONG: CALL ME, BLONDIE

Color me your color, baby
Color me your car
Color me your color, darling
I know who you are
Come up off your color chart
I know where you're coming from

Call me (call me) on the line
Call me, call me any, anytime
Call me (call me) I'll arrive
You can call me any day or night
Call me

Cover me with kisses, baby
Cover me with love
Roll me in designer sheets
I'll never get enough
Emotions come, I don't know why
Cover up love's alibi

Call me (call me) on the line
Call me, call me any, anytime
Call me (call me) I'll arrive
When you're ready we can share the wine
Call me

Oooh, he speaks the languages of love
Oooh, amore, chiamami, chiamami
Oooh, appelle-moi mon cheri, appelle-moi
Anytime, anyplace, anywhere, any way
Anytime, anyplace, anywhere, any day, any way

Call me

Take me out and show me off
And put me on the scene
Dress me in the fashions of the 1980's
You're a man, no in-between
You know what your words can mean

Call me (call me) my love
Call me, call me and we'll take a ride
Call me (call me) on the line
Call me, call me in to overtime
Call me

Call me (call me) my love
Call me, call me any, anytime
Call me (call me) for a ride
Call me, call me for some overtime
Call me (call me) in my life
Call me, call me in a sweet design
Call me (call me), call me for your lover's lover's alibi
Call me (call me) on the line
Call me, call me any, anytime

Call me, ah-ha, call me, ah-ha-ha
Call me, ah-ha-ha, call me any day or night
Call me, ooh-ooh-ah-ha-ha, ooh-ooh-ha-ha-ha
Call me, ah-ah-ooh
Call me, my, my, my sleek design
Call me for a ride, call me inside
Call me, ah-ha, call me, ah-ha
Call me
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ah-ah-ah

Call me (call me) my love
Call me, call me any, anytime
Call me (call me) for a ride
Call me, call me for some overtime
Call me (call me) in my life
Call me, call me in a sweet design
Call me (call me), call me for your lover's lover's alibi
Call me (call me) on the line
Call me, call me any, anytime
Call me (call me)
Ooh, call me, mmm-hhmm
Call me (call me) my love

NOUNS ( Sustantivos contables y no contables, teoria)

 

Los sustantivos en inglés se clasifican como "contables" (es decir, que se pueden contar y que se pueden ir precedidos del artículo indeterminado) e "incontables" (los que no pueden contarse y a los que no se les puede anteponer el artículo indeterminado).

Clasificamos pues en el grupo de contables todos los nombres que forman elementos individuales por sí mismos y que pueden formar grupos con otros elementos del mismo tipo y por tanto ser enumerados. Como lo mejor es el ejemplo, vamos con ello.

oranges - naranjas, potatoes - patatas, bottles - botellas, computers - ordenadores, fridges - neveras, cars - coches, etc.

En el grupo de incontables incluimos generalmente todas las sustancias y materias y también las cualidades "abstractas":

salt - sal, sugar - azúcar, water - agua, wood - madera, lead - plomo, silver - plata, wine - vino, poverty - pobreza, music - música, patience - paciencia, money - dinero (en términos genéricos, no así las monedas o billetes. Por ejemplo, los dólares, los euros y las libras esterlinas son contables), etc.

¡Ojo!. Decimos que es incontable la sal, pero no así un paquete de sal. Decimos que es incontable el café, pero no así una taza de café. Decimos que es incontable el hierro, pero no así una viga de hierro. Decimos que es incontable la leche, pero no así una botella de leche.

Milk (Uncountable)                    Two bottles of milk (Countable) Esta distinción en inglés entre contables e incontables, aunque puede parecer confusa aparentemente, es fundamental gramaticalmente hablando: USOS - Los sustativos incontables tienen únicamente forma singular. Salt / Sal    Money / Dinero    Wood / Madera - Los nombres incontables no se pueden acompañar con el artículo a / an. Deben ir precedidos si quieren individualizarse de alguna palabra con valor partitivo: A piece of bread / Un trozo de pan A glass of wine / Un vaso de vino A cup of tea / Una taza de té

Algunos sustantivos pueden ser contables e incontables dependiendo de la función que desempeñan.

                               
    Cake               A piece of cake                         Paper             A Paper ( a newspaper)

Cake (Tarta, pastel) es incontable, pues indica una sustancia. A piece of cake (un trozo de tarta, un pastel) es en cambio contable pues lo individualiza e identifica como un elemento concreto.

Paper (papel) es incontable. Es en cambio contable a piece of paper (una hoja de papel) así como a paper, en cuyo caso está refiriendo un periódico, (también newspaper).

Bueno, que no se nos desespere nadie que lo dificil ha acabado.

- Los sustantivos contables pueden ser singulares y plurales, estando precedidos del artículo a / an en su forma singular.

A House, houses / Casa, casas    An apple, apples / Manzana, manzanas

- Para cuantificar un sustantivo incontable debe ir precedido de una palabra con valor partitivo.

a piece of cake - un trozo de tarta
a slice of bread - una rebanada de pan
a loaf of bread - una barra/hogaza de pan
a bar of soap/chocolate - una pastilla de jabón/chocolate
a chunk of cheese - un trozo de queso
an item of clothing - una prenda de vestir

Fuente: Sitio web. La mansión del Inglés

Use of prepositions exercises (La Mansión del ingles)

 1. I'm usually in bed before twelve o'clock.
2. We had drinks on the balcony.
3. I'm going out for a drink after work with Barry.
4. I'll meet you tomorrow at eleven o’clock.
5. He got on the bus and I waved goodbye.
6. Can you pass me my mobile. please? It's on the table.
7. Buckingham Palace is in London.
8. My mum's birthday’s on August 21st.
9. I met my wife in Valencia in 2001.
10. We arrived at the airport an hour late and nearly missed the flight.