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MONOLOGUES

MONOLOGUE 11

Thinking about a recent disaster, L'Aquila earthquake came to my mind. It was at the

beginning of the Easter holidaysand my sister was visiting Rome at that time. LAquilapeople were woken at about half past three in the morning by severe tremors that shook

the earth violently. The consequences of the earthquake were considerably serious:

nearly 300 people were dead, 1500 injured and 50000 homeless. In addition, several

historic buildings were seriously damaged. Even some buildings that were believed to

be "earthquake-proof" were damaged

There are several earthquake survival tips, even though maybe they are not so useful if

the earthquake destroys nearly everything around you. Some of them are:

Keep food and water supplies on hand to take care of your loved ones for a

period of 72 hours before the help arrives.

Record the emergency telephone numbers by every phone and teach children

how and when to call police, fire department or hospital.

Turn off gas, electricity and water.

Define some Safety Zones: in your home (against inside walls, under tables or

desk) or outside your neighborhood.

Locate your nearest fire and police stations and emergency medical facility.

In my opinion, maybe the government should have listened to some of the earthquake

prediction, even though nowadays measurements of radon emissions are more or less

worthless as earthquake prediction For example an earthquake was predicted to occur at

Sulmora about 30 km from LAquila on Sunday 29 March - but it didnt! A week later,

however, on Monday 6 April an earthquake did occur at LAquila. What would have

happened if the inhabitants of Sulmora had been evacuated to LAquila for shelter?

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MONOLOGUE 12

In my English class we read an article called How I trained my husband in which an

American wife showed how she achieved her dream of getting an obedient husband

when nagging failed.

She wondered how to get her husband to pick up his dirty clothes, to stop leaving his

dirty dishes in the sink or to just take the initiative with anything related to housework

and, finally, her dream came true. For this purpose, she used the same technique that the

one used to train a dolphin:

She studied the strengths and weaknesses of her husband and used this knowledge in an

appropriate way to achieve her aim. She rewarded good behaviors, even the smallest

ones and ignore the bad behaviors.

Sometimes, if he annoyed her when she was doing the housework, she gave him

something else to do in order to redirect the unwanted actions.

She was proud about her experiment in spite of the fact that she had treated her husband

like an animal. How would she feel if she discovered that he had treated her in the same

way? In my opinion, the power of the human brain and our capacity of communication

make us different from the animals so she should have used the dialogue to make him

see sense. (Entrar en razn)

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MONOLOGUE 13

Body language has a relevant importance in human communication. The gestures,

postures, and facial expressions can show different physical, mental, or emotional states

and help us to communicate non verbally with others.

Often words are not enough to transmit a suitable message to someone. To make the

meaning of our words clear we usebody language, for example, looking someone in the

eyes means something different than not doing it. Usually body language occurs

unconsciously. Even some groups have developed a whole specific such as gay people,

people in slavery, prisoners, etc.

It is relevant to note thatbody language has different meanings in different cultures. The

interpretation of thebody language depends on the situation, the culture, the relationship

we have with the person as well as the gender of the other. This means that there is not

one signal that has the same meaning all over the world. If you do not take this into

account you may get yourself into some serious trouble!

If we give an overview of the meaning associated to frequent gestures in different

countries we can be surprised:

a) For example beckon with index finger means Come here in some cultures

meanwhile in others can be insulting or even obscene and it is better to beckon

with the whole hand waving.

b) Make a "V" sign means "Victory" in most of Europe. However, when you make

this sign with your palm facing you it is rude in countries such as The United

Kingdoms.

c) When people nod their head up and down to say Yes can be misunderstood in

Turkey or Greece where this gesture means No.

Body language is used especially to express feelings. For instance if we do not like

someone, it is often difficult to say that directly to the person. However we can make it

clear either intentionally or unintentionally throughbody language.

http://www.selfgrowth.com/bodyl.htmlhttp://www.selfgrowth.com/bodyl.htmlhttp://www.selfgrowth.com/bodyl.htmlhttp://www.selfgrowth.com/bodyl.htmlhttp://www.selfgrowth.com/bodyl.htmlhttp://www.selfgrowth.com/bodyl.htmlhttp://www.selfgrowth.com/bodyl.htmlhttp://www.selfgrowth.com/bodyl.htmlhttp://www.selfgrowth.com/bodyl.htmlhttp://www.selfgrowth.com/bodyl.html

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MONOLOGUE 14

In my everyday life I dont usually listen to music. When I lived in Ciudad Rodrigo, in

Salamanca, I used to drive 10 kilometres per day to commute and, sometimes I listened

to music in my car, but, little by little, I got used to listening to the news or discussion

programmes on the radio, I found it more entertaining and helped me to be awake. I

should also recognise that I have never had a good ear for music, even though I enjoy

listening to it sometimes.

So, if we wonder why do people listen to music?, On the one hand the answer to this

question is simple, because they like it and also, because today, we can have music

whenever and wherever we want. However, on the other hand, the answer can be also

more complex because we listen to music in a variety of different ways that satisfy

specific needs at certain times. For example, the pleasure we can get attending to an

orchestra concert is completely different from the one obtain by hearing a violin in the

background during a romantic dinner. Normally, music produces a feeling of euphoria

but it can also produces a feeling of sadness or make us experience a great number of

thoughts.

From my point of view, the main reasons why human beings listen to music are:

a) As a way to calm down when they feel nervous

b) As a background sound for our lives: we play music in weddings, religious

ceremonies in general, parties and other social events.

c) It should be mentioned that some specific group of people concentrate on the

music itself: the rhythm, the melody, the lyrics, etc.

In conclusion, nowadays we can take advantage of the fact that we can listen to music

wherever we want but, in my opinion, it is a pleasure that we must enjoy without

annoying our neighbours

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MONOLOGUE 15

Nowadays, we live in a 24-hour society where sleep deprivation is extremely common:

shops and services must be available all hours; we spend longer at work that we used to

and more time getting to work. It means, the more the speed of the society increases, the

more sleep deprivation become more common. And why? Because the easiest solution

to get the time we need to do everything we have to do during the weekdays is to sleep

less.

Sleep deprivation can have serious effects on our physical and mental health. In fact,

sleep is so important to our health that total sleep deprivation has been proved to be fatal

in lab rats.

Not only the job keeps us away from our beds, but also the new technologies such as:

the Internet or the mobile phones or even the late-night TV programs. Im keen on

watching this kind of programs, especially the Spanish TV series, what makes me

difficult to get up in the mornings and to keep awake in some situations such as

meetings or every task I have to do after having lunch.

The older we get, the more likely it is that we will suffer from some kind of sleep

disorder.I usually sleep like a log whenever I can and I dont have any nightmare but

anyway, I would like to improve my sleep habits: keeping consistence in my sleep and

wake times, even on the weekends, avoiding caffeine or removing the TV from my

bedroom. That time Im convinced that Ill increase my activity and be all the time in a

better mood.

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MONOLOGUE 16

I get pleasure from every kind of news stories except the dramatic ones. For example, in

the mornings, when I commute I like listening to the news or discussion programmes on

the radio I found it more entertaining than listening to music.

I should also recognise that Im keen on sports, especially football so, what I enjoy the

most on Sunday afternoons is listening to the sports programs such as: Carrusell

Deportivo, even though the football team I support (Recreativo) wont play in the stars

league next year.

On the other hand, I also get used to watching the TV news bulletin to be informed

about what happens in the world. I usually pay attention to most of the news, except the

ones related to traffic accidents, terrorist attacks or politicians insulting to each other.

On Friday evenings I often watch a celebrity gossip program called Donde ests

corazn. I used to enjoy watching it but, little by little, Im getting fed up with it. In my

opinion, the Spanish law isnt strong enough to defend the rights of the Spanish famous

people so, everyone can go to the TV and tell whatever she/he wants without any

problem.

My favourite newsreader is Matas Prats and, related to my opinion about the TV

channels; of course, it is obvious and everybody agrees that they are biased when they

broadcast news so that the channel four tends to the left-wing and the channel three

tends to the right-wing.

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MONOLOGUE 17

Do you think that people living in cities enjoy a better living standard than people

who live in villages or small towns?

Its certainly true that living in a city, for example in Seville, has several advantages.

For example, people can normally go to their jobs on foot or public transports so that

they dont need to use their cars and spend a long time in a traffic-jam. They also live

surrounded by some of the most well known monuments, gardens and museums. And

have a variety of amenities and servicesavailable, they can reach the shopping center

easily where they have the opportunity to comfortably visit several shops, supermarkets,

restaurants, hairdressers, and cinemas. In addition there can find close nurseries and

schools.

On the other hand, if you live in a village or a small town, maybe you dont have so

many services to your disposal but you can live comfortably in a big home for the same

price that you would pay for a tiny flat in the city centre. You have more room and your

children can grow up in a marvellous atmosphere: playing on the streets with friends

and in contact with the nature. You can also find park easily and the cost of living is not

as high as in the city.

In my opinion, living in the outskirts is not a disadvantage if the city has a suitable

public transport system and, of course, it is always depends on the area. For example,

living in las tres mil viviendas in Seville is not the best option.

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MONOLOGUE 18

I graduated in Chemistry at the University of Seville. When I was in the school, I used

to enjoy studying mathematics, biology and chemistry. In general I liked all of the

scientific subjects but I felt fascinated by the chemistry so that I made up my mind to

study it.

Throughout the history scientists have risked their health and their lives in their search

for new discoveries; for example Marie Curie discovered the radiation and died due to

the risk of her experiments.

In my opinion, one of the most important discoveries of recent years has been the onerelated to the stem cells. The stem cells have the ability to renew themselves through

mitoticcell divisions. Their power is in the fact that they arent still specialized. Stem

cells can now be grown and transformed into specialized cells with characteristics of

several tissues such as muscles or nerves. The main sources to get them are umbilical

cord blood andbone marrow and they are used in medical therapies.

On the other hand, I think all of the scientific discoveries have been positives for the

development of the humans. The world has always been damaged for the mans actions

using these discoveries in an inappropriate way but not for the discoveries themselves.

Thinking about the future, I wish someone would invent something to see properly

without glasses or surgery.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitosishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_divisionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbilical_cord_bloodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbilical_cord_bloodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_marrowhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitosishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_divisionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbilical_cord_bloodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbilical_cord_bloodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_marrow

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MONOLOGUE 19

I dont really like wondering about my regrets in life because it makes me feel sad and,

as my husband says: If your problem has a solution, solve it and, if it doesnt have,

forget about it because itll only cause you a headache. For me, speaking about this

topic is similar to the meaning of this sentence because, from my point of view,

regretting things or actions you did or didnt do its worthless and a waste of time, even

though, obviously, you can often learn something from your past mistakes.

Anyway, no matter what you do in life, youre always going to regret something.

Whether it was taking a wrong way, trusting someone, or letting someone go, you will

regret something. In my opinion what counts it is what you do with your regrets. We

need to learn from our mistakes instead of regretting them. For example, in my case, if I

could go back in time:

Firstly, Id try to keep in contact with my current friends and loved ones, because my

experience tells me that its really easy to give up mailing or phoning and lose the

contact.

Secondly, if I had known that I liked being a teacher in a high school, I would have

studied the exam to be a civil servant before.

Also, If I hadnt been so fearful about everything, I would have enjoyed more my life.

University degrees-wise, maybe I shouldnt have studied Chemistry but, who knows if

my job or my life would have been better than now?

MONOLOGUE 1: SPEED DATING

Speed dating is a formalized matchmaking process ordating systemwhose purpose is

to encourage people to meet a large number of new people. Its origins are credited to

Rabbi Yaacov Deyo ofAish HaTorah, originally as a way to help Jewish singles meet

and marry.[1][2][3] "SpeedDating", as a single word, is a registeredtrademarkof Aish

HaTorah. "Speed dating", as two separate words, is often used as a generic term for

similar events.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matchmakinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dating_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dating_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aish_HaTorahhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aish_HaTorahhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_dating#cite_note-history-0%23cite_note-history-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_dating#cite_note-1%23cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_dating#cite_note-2%23cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademarkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademarkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matchmakinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dating_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aish_HaTorahhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_dating#cite_note-history-0%23cite_note-history-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_dating#cite_note-1%23cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_dating#cite_note-2%23cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark

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The first speed-dating event took place at Petes Caf in Beverly Hillsin late 1998.[1]

Soon afterward, several commercial services began offering secularround-robin dating

events across the United States. By 2000, speed dating had really taken off, perhaps

boosted by its portrayal in shows such asSex and the City as something that glamorous

people did. Supporters argue that speed dating saves time, as most people quickly

decide if they are romantically compatible[citation needed]

, and first impressions are oftenpermanent[citation needed].

Organization

Men and women are rotated to meet each other over a series of short "dates", usually

lasting from 3 to 8 minutes depending on the organization running the event. At the end

of each interval, the organizer rings a bell or clinks a glass to signal the participants to

move on to the next date. At the end of the event participants submit to the organizers a

list of who they would like to provide theircontact informationto. If there is a match,

contact information is forwarded to both parties. Contact information cannot be traded

during the initial meeting, in order to reduce pressure (especially on women) to accept

or reject a suitor to his or her face.

These events typically require advance registration, often an online prepayment by

credit card. However, they may accept a few walk-ins when needed to balance the

gender ratio. Some services make use of waitlists when signing up to strive for exactly

the same number of men and women, while others have a more "party" atmosphere and

only aim for an approximately matching number.

There are many speed dating events now in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the

United States. Many of these simply specify an age range for ladies and gentlemen;sometimes a slightly older range is specified for men. On the other hand, many

organizers offerniche events such as nights forgraduatesonly, gays and lesbians, older

men with younger women and vice versa, book lovers, ethnic events, and religious

affiliation such as Christian speed dating[4].

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Hills,_Californiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Hills,_Californiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_dating#cite_note-history-0%23cite_note-history-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round-robinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_and_the_Cityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_and_the_Cityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Address_(geography)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Address_(geography)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niche_markethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graduationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graduationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_grouphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_religions_and_spiritual_traditionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_religions_and_spiritual_traditionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_dating#cite_note-3%23cite_note-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Hills,_Californiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_dating#cite_note-history-0%23cite_note-history-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round-robinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_and_the_Cityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Address_(geography)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niche_markethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graduationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_grouphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_religions_and_spiritual_traditionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_religions_and_spiritual_traditionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_dating#cite_note-3%23cite_note-3