Podcast del mes anterior:

You are going to listen to a man talking about his school days.
Before you listen, lets practise some vocabulary. Listen to some words in Spanish and their English translation. Then, repeat the word. or phrase, to practise pronunciation

Rasgar(se) - to tear – to tear paper or material. Tear is an irregular verb. Tear – tore – torn. There are also a phrasal verbs to tear up. I tore up the ticket. I tore it up. To tear off – I tore off the label. I tore it off.
Mangas – sleeves. Shirt sleeves. The sleeves on a dress or a jacket, for example.
Cortar - to cut. Cut and paste – cortar y pegar. Why don’t you cut the cake?
Piezas o trozos – pieces – cut the cake into pieces.
Amigos - mates
Gustar a alguien o sentirse atraído por alguien. - to fancy . I really fancy her. I think she’s gorgeous!
Una gama diversa - a diverse range – the company has a diverse range of products
Bastón - walking stick
Doloroso – painful – my leg’s really painful. I need a walking stick
Comportarse mal – to behave badly or to misbehave

Now listen to some questions and try to answer them while you’re listening.

1. Did the man like his school uniform?
2. Which two games did he have to play in the games lessons?
3. Which subject did he like best at school? And why?
4. Do you think his experiences at school are mainly positive or negative?

I went to a grammar school in London. It was an all boys school and we had to wear a uniform. I remember that the uniform was quite expensive. Black trousers, a brown jacket and a brown and yellow tie. I hated it. When I left school at 17, I remember tearing off the sleeves of my jacket and cutting it into pieces.

We lived a long way from the school and my mum used to take me in the car. I hated that, too. Most of my friends went by bus or walked to school. I would look carefully from inside the car before I kissed her goodbye in case any of my friends were watching.

In the third year, when I was about 14, the school changed from an all boys school to a mixed school – boys and girls. Although the girls were three years younger than us, we were all really excited. We gave the girls marks out of ten for attractiveness and sexiness, and it wasn’t long before some of my mates had girlfriends in the school. I fancied two or three girls, but I was too shy to tell them.

In the games lessons were had to play rugby in the winter and cricket in the summer. Rugby was okay, but most of us hated cricket. It’s such a boring game. We played football whenever we could. Before school, after school, in the break time and during the dinner hour. We lived and breathed football.

We had a diverse range of teachers. They were all different. Some we liked, some we hated, some we feared and some we fancied. I was in love with my French teacher, Mrs. Cooper. Although she was married, I always sat at the front of the class and fantasized about us making love to her in Paris. French was my favourite subject! My classmates preferred the younger, and single, Miss. Etheridge. Possibly because of her larger breasts.

For English we had Mr. Wells. He was an extrovert homosexual who wore a purple jacket and used to hit us hard on the head if we behaved badly. Once, he broke his leg and came to work with a walking stick. When we misbehaved, he would hit us with the stick. That was really painful.

I enjoyed school. I think I was probably lucky to have gone to a good school and to have had a lot of friends. I’m still in touch with some of them, despite the fact that I left school more than 30 years ago. Are school days the best days of your life? Well, maybe not for everyone, but I think for me they were.

Did you answer the questions? Lets check.

1. Did the man like his school uniform? No, he didn’t
2. Which two games did he have to play in the games lessons? Cricket and rugby
3. Which subject did he like best at school? Why? French, because he fancied the French teacher.
4. Do you think his experiences at school are mainly positive or negative? Mainly positive. He says they the best days of his life.

Used to and would can be used to talk about past habits.
Listen: My mum used to take me in the car.
I would look carefully from inside the car.

Would can be used for past habits but NOT for past situations. I can say I used to live in London when I was a child, bit it’s not correct to say I would live in London when I was a child.

Listen and repeat the following words and sentences.
My mum used to take me in the car.
I would look carefully from inside the car.
I used to go to school by bus
I would walk to school
We would play football before school
I used to hit the teachers
I would sit at the front of the class
We used to give the girls marks out of ten
He would hit us with the stick

Listen:
I remember tearing my jacket
Please remember to buy milk and bread

When remember is followed another verb, the verb can be a gerund (ing) form or an infinitive form with ‘to’.
When it’s followed by a gerund, it usually refers back to the past;
I remember having lunch in the classroom.
I remember fancying a girl in my class.
I remember going home by bike.

When it’s followed by the infinitive form, it usually refers to the future.
Remember to close the door before you leave.
I must remember to phone her tomorrow.
Please remember to turn off the computer.

Repeat:
I must remember to phone her tomorrow.
I remember having lunch in the classroom.
Remember to close the door before you leave.
I remember going home by bike.
Please remember to turn off the computer.
I remember fancying a girl in my class