Spanish advertising regulators say Metro advertisements are misleading

The follow-up story to the Madrid Metro ad campaign.

It is only short so should´t take long to read.

Useful phrases:

Complaints are upheld (the past of uphold): the complaints are said to be valid complaints

Plastered across: an area is covered with, in this case, graffiti

Misleading "subway users could be misled": tending to confuse or be deceptive

Withhold information: to not give all the relevant information, to hold it back.

the watchdog: an organization acting as a protector against illegal practices

New year, new fake partners for China's young singletons with parents to please

Not only Eithiopian girls are under pressure to get married,  Chinese twentysomethings  have resorted to hiring partners to placate impatient parents.

Interesting phrases:

twentysomethings: people in their twenties

go into overdrive: do something with great enthusiasm and determination.

fake: false

matchmaking: to try and put a boy and girl together for marriage

to get hassle from someone:  to be caused trouble 

haggling:  to argue over the price of something in order to reduce it

to vet: to inspect for approval

chores: simple tasks you don´t usually want to do

filial: expected of a son/daughter

reluctant to do something: you don´t really want to do something

A Spanish success story and model in the fight against violence against women

Interesting Vocabulary

wage a war against

a pioneer in the field

battered women, women who are beaten

to make an empty threat, say you´ll do something bad towards someone and then you don´t do it. 

handcuffed esposado
bruising / swollen, moretónes / hinchado

commit a crime

Apple Suspends iPhone 4S Sales in Mainland China Stores

Crowds outside the Apple store in Beijing waiting to buy the iPhone 4

Interesting vocabulary:

flagship store- the latest most modern shop in a chain of shops

jacked up prices - inflated prices

to be bussed in - a large number of people transported by bus

to cordon off - to separate an area by means of a rope or tape

a fast-growing market

scalpers - People who hold a position or buy a product for a short period and then sell it on to someone else.

Ethiopia: girls available for marriage

In 1º Bach. we were talking about women´s rights after reading the news about  Gulnaz the Afghan woman who was ordered to marry her rapist. This is an easy to understand video about the improving situation of some young girls in Ethiopia with regards to women´s rights.

Here is my selection of phrases and idioms that you might not know:

in-laws: your husband´s or wife´s parents

to leave scars

to have nightmares

people skills: the ability to get along with people

to rule the roost: to dominate or be in charge

through thick and thin: through good times and bad times

to sow the seeds of hope

to be better off: to be in a better situation than before

Merry Christmas (again)

In this blog I found called Trans-Iberian I like the writer´s observations on Spain´s extended Christmas holidays and on the Spanish concept of fiestas.

Some interesting vocabulary:

blow something (clean) out of the water: to (completely) defeat someone or destroy

someone´s ideas.

all and sundry: everyone

40-strong: forty residents in the village

élan: enthusiastic vigor or a distinctive style. (I confess I looked this one up in the dictionary) 

Madrid Metro: More for less?

An interesting article about the rise in ticket prices on the Madrid metro. It includes a couple of  nice phrases  "launch a campaign" "sparks a backlash", the word "refute", which I am told is the same in Spanish, as well as a "no sooner" construction.


Anyway, are you convinced it is more for less?