Why the French are turning to fast food

Food in France is really appreciated, and there are some of the important restaurants which are well known around the world. 

But nowadays, 54% of total restaurants are becoming fast food and sandwich shops because people don’t want to spend a lot of money with food. There is the example of Balthazar de la Boude who opened a sandwich shop four years ago and he said that the crisis had been what has caused this change. 

A lot of people prefer to eat in an ordinary restaurant paying a low cost than to go to a good qualified and at the same time expensive one. Also, there are a lot of people who prefers to eat in the office and to don’t waste time at work.

On the other hand, the prices on the fast food restaurants have raised but it doesn't seem to affect the level of business.

MY OPINION

It’s true that sometimes we prefer to go to a fast food restaurant than to an expensive and well known one. Maybe because we are living a bad economic moment and we’re looking for cheap prices, or maybe because of the time.

We live in a stressed world and everybody wants to do their issues in a minimum time as possible. During the week, we don’t have time to go to a restaurant and sit down for a long time for eat, so we prefer to eat fast and in a cheap way. 

All in all, I think it’s not such a strange thing to read this type of news, but I agree fast food restaurants are not good for the health.

  

Rare: poc cuit
Bargain: oportunitat “ganga”

Outstripped: superar

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25111208

HUMOR PRESENTATION

For this term we had to do a presentation about: beauty, humor, or new technologies. I’ve done this task with Tura and Marina and we chose the humor as a topic. 

I think we did a good presentation and I’m proud of our job. Like always there are things we can improve:

- We did some grammar mistakes. Also we have to improve our pronuntation because it’s an important thing we have to consider on an oral presentation. 

- About myself, I want to improve my movements. I have to learn and practice how to pose in front of the audience. 

- And finally, I want to say I would like to do another kind of topics. For example, things which are common on the teenagers’ life, or well…, I know it’s a difficult task to find a good topic to talk about in front of a group of classmates I think. 

FINAL MARK: 8.2

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

Body piercing controls wheelchair

A group of American scientist has come up with an incredible idea. The development is about the control of the movement of that kind of people who can’t walk or haven’t a normal life. They think they can transform the way people who has a paralysis live. 

Body piercings have been the solution, because it could be the way to control wheelchairs and computers. Especially they talk about the tongue piercings, because they think they the tongue it’s an amazing part of the body and a piercings on it could get important solutions.

The researchers believe they will be able to have a command for every tooth in the mouth. They say the piercing in the tongue produces an effect that changes the tongue movement.  

MY OPINION 

Every day I’m more and more fascinated by a huge number of scientists and researchers can get these impressive things. It’s really amazing how far they can go with the science and how many solutions they can discover. 

It’s not easy to find out something like what I have talked about, and I think we have to be so thankful to those groups of doctors and professionals who are working hard to solve some problems nowadays we have in our society. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25118896

Reticence: desconfiança
Charity: caritat 
Harnessing: arnès 

Protective measures are a 'death sentence' for rare dolphin say campaigners

Last 30 November of 2013, it was told that one of the world’s smallest and rarest type dolphins needs an extremely protection. It’s an important breed, even though there is a lot of people who isn’t conscious about that and they try to capture the animals.

Days ago some scientist found that there were approximately 55 Maui's left (it’s the name of the dolphin breed) above the age of one. This news is really alarming because it shows that the Maui's could be extinct within 20 years.

Maui’s dolphins are known to habit on the coast of New Zealand, but there, there is a huge number of people who goes there to fishing. But the New Zealand government has decided to make new restrictions on this activity.

“New Zealand's failure to protect the world's smallest and rarest dolphin is a bitter blow to marine conservation”, said Dr Barbara Maas. 

MY OPINION 

I think one of the worst things the humans can do is to destroy what we have on earth. I can’t imagine being a person who only want to get what he or she wants, without to think about the consequences or just about what can get hurt.

Hearing this type of news for me it’s horrible and I can’t express what I feel. It’s something I get really upset about, even I can’t do anything. Well, I suppose I can do something, at least I can inform around the world and to make everybody to be noticed about that. Luckily there are a big number of associations and groups which are doing this task really well. 

To feel threatened: sentir-se amenaçat

Cetacean: animal de mar

Seismic: sísmic

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25145805

A new menu

A group of creative cooks like Michelin or David Faure offers an alternative menu in some of their restaurants in Paris. They have wanted to introduce in the current gastronomic world some insects as food.  
They have found some new sources of food where, for example, scorpions are the protagonist. To have an idea, these are some examples of what they offer in the restaurant; water scorpion with preserved peppers and black garlic, or grasshopper with quail's eggs. Most of the material and the insects come from Thailand.
They don’t want to use the insects as sauce; they want to make snacks with them where we can appreciate the taste, the textures and the colors of these animals. To eat this kind of menu it’s not cheap, because every snack costs 10€, even though they have succeeded. 

MY OPINION

I have chosen this news to talk about it because I found it really amazing. I can’t believe how a person can eat insects, or what’s more, to pay money to eat a scorpion with some sauces… I haven’t eaten nothing like that, and I think I won’t ever do it.


I know it depends on the culture, because there are some other cultures really different from ours and some countries where they use to eat insects every day, like we eat tomatoes or meat (for example). Even though, I think it’s one of the worse think you can eat in your life, it’s really disgusting…  I know some people who have travelled to Thailand, for example, and they have tasted it. There, it's a typical food and everybody who lives in this country eat it as a meal.  

To final I want say that they also use pate de foie gras for some of the meals, which for me it's really funny and shocking.

CRICKETS= any insect of the orthopterous family Gryllidae, having long antennae and, in the males, the ability to produce a chirping sound by rubbing together the leathery forewings.

GARLIC= a hardy widely cultivated Asian alliaceous plant.

MEALWORM= the larva of various beetles of the genus Tenebrio, esp T. molitor, feeding on meal, flour, and similar stored foods

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24912602

The sun people

Last week in class we did an interesting activity, and I want to do a post talking about it.

First of all, we had to think and choose which kind of people we think we are (I have to say I didn’t spent a lot of time thinking about it). I know myself and I also know what my personality is, what I want in life and what I really like of me. We could choose between the sun, the tree, the air or the earth people, four important elements of our lives.

I chose to be the sun people and now I want to explain you why. As a lot of people who know me says I’m a cheerful person and someone who always draws a smile face, and that’s something I really like to hear of me. It’s true, I like to share good moments with my friends, who I can laugh for a long time with and never get tired of.

A legend says “Life’s too short to be serious”, so I follow the instructions very carefully and I try to never get upset in vain, and always be in a good mood. The sun it’s something we think means happiness, life, joy, humor… it’s one of the reasons I chose it for.

Another trait of sun people is one I really like. We are this type of friend who is the only one who always is one time, and then he or she has to wait for the rest of the group. It’s obvious the sun is really timely; I don’t like to be late and make the others have to wait for me, so I always try to be already on time.

These are some of the characteristics of the sun people, even though I have to say I’m a person and sometimes I make mistakes. It’s true I’m not always happy and in a good mood and sometimes I get angry about silly things, and also it’s true I’m not ALWAYS on time. But I try to do it as well as possible. I hope if someday I fall sleep and I’m not on time, someone wouldn’t want to take me off of the group of sun people.

Where's the magic?

Magic always has been one of the things I have been fascinated by during all my life. Since I was a child, I have been to lot performances where magicians have done things which are incredible. They are under pressure, even though most of the times they do it well and all the observers want to know how they can do such an amazing thing.

I remember being amazed by a magician for the first time at a friend’s birthday party when I was six. I remember this experience because I was really surprised when a rabbit appeared on the table in front of me. It had not been there before!  

I’m seventeen and I continue to be amazed even though I know it’s all an illusion. One day I watched a TV program where some magicians showed the truth, it’s shocking when they show you that sometimes it’s only a simply thing.

I like to think that there’s still a bit of real magic left in the world for children like the six-year-old I was some years ago. 

What about climbing?

Last weekend I was with my group of friends and we decided to do something different from all the things we usually do. What about climbing? I hadn’t tried yet and I had heard talking about it a lot. I really enjoyed the experience, it was so funny.

This type of sport keeps you fit and gets the adrenaline, also you can do it indoors and outdoors, so it’s a sport you always can do it.  It involves your mind, body and emotions because it’s not easy and you have to be so concentrated. Some climbers say “It’s one of the few sports where you compete against yourself”.

 A lot of people are scared of this sport because there is the risk to fall or get hurt, even though falling is not a problem at climbing centers. They know they are attached by a harness and there are other persons who are around them. Well, of course there is the possibility to fall or to live an accident, but before to do it you have to be sure that you are safe.

I recommend doing this sport because it’s really interesting, and what’s more, if you are with your friends I have to say it’s very funny. 

Hanna Montana is dead

The last VMA (Video Music Awards) was focused in Miley Cyrus. Her performance was really surprising; she wore amazing clothes which were really judged by everyone and she didn’t act how everybody expected. During the performance her tongue was wagging all the time. Even though she is not sorry concerned about it, after the VMA she said:

"I don't apologize for my VMAs performance. If I owe anybody an apology, it's the people who make the bottom half of shirts. There are a few subjects I'm not going to get into tonight: I'm not going to do Hannah Montana, but I can give you an update. She was murdered."

With these words it’s easy to think that she likes to act out on the stage.

Some ages ago, Miley was an actress of Disney and the idol of thousands of girls around the world; actually, most of them are really disappointed after this situation.

MY OPINION

Personally, I have to say that I wasn’t this kind of girl who had all her bathroom with posters of Hanna Montana, but I knew who she was,  a pop star loved by everyone. It’s really confusing how a person can change radically with only one or two years, but it’s not surprising when we are talking about young famous people. I think when they are (or they suppose to be) at the top, they lose their control and they do things like Miley has done. In my opinion, her performance was unpleasant and I don’t think that it was correct, she was really rude.

All in all, what I think it’s wrong from her is what she said after the performance and when she saw everybody was against her. The best thing that she had to do was be sorry and excuse her, but she didn't do anything correct.   

Subsequent: occurring after; succeeding (posterior)

Winking: to close and open one eye quickly, deliberately, or in an exaggerated fashion to convey friendliness, etc... (moviment de pestanyes)  

sketch: a short evocative piece of instrumental music, esp. for piano (actuació)

Link: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/06/showbiz/celebrity-news-gossip/miley-cyrus-snl/index.html?hpt=hp_c5

Where is Matt?

I don’t know if yesterday I was a little bit sensitive or it’s because the video which I’m going to talk about it’s amazing. I was searching on the internet without any idea to research for, I just wanted to spent time without thinking about work, problems and routin. And at the end, I found something special and I want to share it with you.

It’s a video made by Matt Harding, an American traveler and video game designer which is known for his videos. One day, when he was taking pictures on the streets of Hanoi, Brad who is one of his friends who he was travelling with, said “"Hey, why don't you stand over there and do your stupid dance. I'll record it." Matt did it there for the first time, but then he thought it was hilarious, so he kept doing it everywhere he went.

It was a fantastic idea which is known all over the world. To watch the video is incredible, on one hand, because I can’t believe how a person can travel to hundred of different countries like Matt is doing. And on the other hand, it’s amazing to watch people dancing, laughing, sharing moments with another people and spend time doing stupid things like everyone does on the video.

Now, watch these videos and enjoy them!