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Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

When the film begins, Captain America is living peacefully in Washington D.C. But a special agent is attacked and soon Captain America finds himself with a dangerous new mission to accomplish.
Captain America and his colleague, the Black Widow, recruit the Falcon to help them. They will have to work together to save the world.


Robin Hood - The book

  • Robin Hood becomes an outlaw when the cruel Sheriff of Nottingham killed his father. Then Robin escaped to Sherwood Forest with his servants.
  • One day Robin meets Little John at the bridge. They fight and then became good friends.
  • Robin met Friar Tuck when the fat friar was fishing.
  • One day, King John spoke to all his people that he would paid a hundred pieces of gold for Robin Hood.
  • Maid Marian met Robin when they fight in the forest, because she escaped to Sherwood Forest when her father said to her that she'll marry with Sir Guy of Gisbourne and Marian didn't want to marry him. 
  • The Sheriff went alone to the dark Sherwood Forest. There Robin invited him to eat with he and the outlaws. After the meal, the Sheriff was obliged to give them everything he wore.
  • After that, the Sheriff wanted to capture Robin. He decided to make and archery competition. Robin was there and won the silver arrow.
  • Robin and Marian met Aland a'Dale near the river. They helped him to marry with Alice at Papplewick Church.
  • Robin met King Richard in the forest and everyone was happy for the King Richard's return.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Pharrell Williams

HE GOT LUCKY!

The music producer, songwriter and singer has had hit songs with "Get Lucky" and "Happy". Stars around the world think he's a genius; Pharrell thinks he is just lucky. Someone must have helped him to become so successful. But who?

1. HIS GRANDMOTHER

When Pharrell was in seventh grade at school, his grandmother persuaded him to take a music class because he used to clay drums in her kitchen. "I used to take all of her little pots and pans and the whisk and the soup spoons", he says. "And she just said to me, "You like the drums, so why don't you learn?"".

2. HIS NEIGHBOUS

Pharrell grew up in a multicultural community in Virginia, USA. He thinks that this influenced him a lot. He met Chad Hugo, his songwriting partner, there. Pharrell and Chad have different origins - Chad's family were from the Philippines, Pharrell's family were black American - but  they connected through music.

3. A MUSIC PRODUCER

When Pharrell was in high school, music producer Teddy Riley opened a studio next to his school. Pharrell was lucky to meet him and work with him: he was in the right place at the sight time! "It looks like things were just sent my way", says Pharrell.

4. HIS BRAIN

When Pharrell hears music, he sees it in colour. This is called "synesthesia". Pharrell says that many great artists and mathematicians have synesthesia. "The way they process information is slightly different", he explains.

5. POP STARS

Pharrell has worked with mega stars from Beyoncé and Shakira to Jay-Z, Robin Thicke and Daft Punk. They rely on him to produce and write their hits, but Pharrell says he has never created and artist. He compares himself to an interior decorator and says that the musician is the house... he just adds some colour.

6. HIS FANS

Pharrell is modest. He says it's the fans, not him, that create a hit. If fans don't buy a song or share it with their friends, it won't be a success. "I'm not special or different", he says. So is Pharrell just an interior decorator or is he a modern musical genius? What do you think?



Music

KATY B

After Adele and Amy Winehouse, Katy B is the newest English diva. She studied at the famous BRIT School for the Performing Arts in London and has had hit songs in Britain. Her musical style is a mix of dubstep, R&B and UK garage. Katy's second album, Little Red, was Numer One in the UK. Can she be successful abroad too?


GAGA THE JAZZ SINGER

Lady Gaga has a new musical style. She has moved away from pop to jazz music and found a jazz partner, Tony Bennett. The duo recorded a song called "We're doing a seguel" for the Muppets' film. They also made an album called Cheek to Cheek with classic songs from famous jazz singers.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

One Direction at Madame Tussauds

Recently, One Direction were transformed into wax figures at the famous London museum, Madame Tussauds. It was a big honour for the group!

WHO WAS MADAME TUSSAUD?

London's famous wax museum is named after a French woman, Marie Tussaud. Marie had special talent for making wax models. In the early 1800s, she came to Great Britain with her wax models. In 1835, she opened a permanent exhibition. Today, Madame Tussauds is one of London's most popular attractions!

1D WAX FIGURES

In 2013, the five members of One Direction had two sittings with the sculptors who were to create their wax figures for Madame Tussauds. The sculptor's biggest challenge was to capture the boys'playful, cheeky smiles and show their true personalities.

TAKING HARRY'S MEASUREMENTS


Here, Harry is having his head measured by the sculptor's assitants They took around 200 measurements and photos of each of the 1D boys. Zayn, Liam, Louis, Niall and Harry loved the experience!


MOULDING LOUIS' HAND

Here, Louis is placing his hand in a box filled with alginate - the material dentists use to make teeth impressions. After two or three minutes, the alginate becomes a solid mould. This mould is then filled with plaster to produce a replica of Louis' hand.

SCULPTING ZAYN'S HEAD

This is Zayn's head... in clay. To create it, the sculptors made a wire frame. They they worked the clay on the frame to form Zayn's head and face. They constantly checked the star's measurements using callipers.


LIAM'S PERFECT SMILE

To make the teeth for Liam's wax model, Liam had to bite into dental resin. The mould was then sent to a dental company which specializes in false teeth. The company spent four days making a set of teeth to reproduce Liam's perfect smile.

NIALL'S EYE COLOUR

Niall is having fun choosing froms Tussauds' collection of 200 glass eyes. To create the eyes for Niall's wax model, the eye-making wxperts measure his eye ball, pupil and iris. They then have to find the exact colour for his eyes. After ten hours, the eyes are ready. They have to be perfect - it's the eyres that will make Niall's model look real!


LOUIS' COOL HAIR STYLE

The hair experts are trying to find the same colour as Louis' hair. Each hair is individually inserted into the model's head. and they use real human hair that has beed donated to the museum. The hair is then washed cut and styled.

IT'S LONG BUT FUN!

Liam and the other 1D boys returned to the studios when the clay heads were ready. They spent 40 minutes sitting beside their models so that the sculptors could perfect them.

READY AT LAST!

At Madame Tussauds the wax models' skin looks real! This is because the colourists colour each head with layers of oil paint. The paint absorbs into the wax and makes it translucent, like human skin. Eyelashes and make-up complete the face. The final touch is to clean and shine the eyes, teeth and lips, then dress the model in the star's real clothes.

WHAT 1D THINK

1. How does it feel to have your own statue?

Niall: Super excited!
Zayn: This is insane!
Louis: It's an amazing honour!
Harry: It's crazy!
Liam: Hmm...

2. Your wax figure is going to be kissed by a lot of people. How does that make you feel?

Harry: They might get a bit waxy!
Louis: I think it's cool... but I hope it's hygienic!
Liam: That's quite mad and one day I might trade places with them!
Niall: They're quite fun to look at, but I don't know about kissing them!
Zayn: Pretty cool!


Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Cool Charlie Chaplin born 16 April 1889



Charlie Chaplin was born to a poor family in London 125 years ago, but he became a cinema icon. His character the Tramp is the most famous hero of the silent film era. The Tramp retired after the silent film Modern Times, in 1936. Watch it today - it's still very funny and very modern!



8. A formal letter

7th May 2014
Dear Sir or Madam
I am a cycler in Girona, Catalonia. I am writing to you because I am planning a cycling competition and I am looking for sponsors.
The competition will take place in July in Barcelona. Cyclers and fans from all around the world are going to come to the competition, and I think it will be good publicity for your company.
Please contact me if you are interested in sponsoring me or if you need any more information. I look forward to hearing from you.
Your faithfully

Maria Port.