About Liam Hemsworth

He's ready for another battle!

Thanks to the Hunger Games films, Liam Hemsworth is now a big star. But Liam's family have also influenced his career...

Love before Hunger Games

Two years before Liam appeared in the first Hunger Games film, he was in The Last Song with Miley Cyrus. Liam and Miley's characters fall in love in the film, and the actors fell in love in real life too. Liam and Miley were a star couple until they separated in 2013.

A big challenge

Hollywood directors noticed Liam when he was Miley's boyfriend. He got offered the role of a lifetime: Gale Hawthorne, Katniss's best friend, in The Hunger Games. Suddenly, Liam became the idol of millions of fans. But he was faced with a challenge: playing Gale as readers had imagined him.

Work and play

You'll see Liam dressed in armour everywhere this month, to promote the third Hunger Games film, Mockingjay. Liam adored making the film set was like being back in high school. The actors had so much fun that, some days, it was impossible to do any work.

Brothers and rivals

Liam is the baby of the Hemsworth family.  He has two elder brothers, Chris and Luke, and all three brothers are actors. Liam says that without them he wouldn't be an actor today. But, he also admits that there's rivalry in the family and, at times, this competition is difficult. For exambple, before Liam's Hunger Games success, he auditioned to play Thor in the film Thor... but his brother Chris got the role!

Hemsworth's brothers

About a problem in my town

I'm writing because there aren't enough shops in our town. There aren't cinemas or bowling alleys where teenagers can entertain either.

I think there is one reason for this. There are other cities near here where we can go shopping and have fun, but it's not very comfortable to take the bus every time.

We must do something about this situation. Maybe the council doesn't have much money. I don't know, but we must definitely do something to help bored teenagers.

About TV highlights

The highlight of this week's TV was definitely the film "The book thief". It's a movie based on the best seller by Markus Zusak.

The book thief

Boing's cartoon The awesome world of Gumball was also worth watching. In Wednesday's episode every member of the Waterson family wanted the TV's remote control. Funny stuff!

Finally, something which also caught my eye was a documentary about butterflies. It was very interesting and the images were beautiful and colorful.

Angelina Jolie

Angelina and her husband, Brad

This year, Angelina Jolie plays the villain in the film Maleficent. But the Hollywood actress has spent much of her life doing good...

A difficult start
Angelina always wanted to be an actress. She got her first film role at age seven, but she was teased by the other kids at school in Beverly Hills, LA. She became a rebellious teenager, wearing black clothes, getting tattoos and listening to punk music. Often, film directors didn't choose her because her image was "too dark".

The Lara Croft heroine
Angelina's first big success came in 2001 with the film Lara Croft Tomb Raider. It's an adaptation of the Tomb Raider video game. Angelina had to speak with an English accent and do intensive martial arts training. She became an international action star, but the film changed Angelina's life in another way too...

Helping the world's children
While filming Lara Croft in Cambodia, Angelina met children who were landmine victims. She was shocked and so she started visiting refugee camp worldwide and became a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador. In 2002, she adopted a baby boy from Cambodia who she named Maddox. Since then, she has helped construct schools and health centres in Cambodia.

Angelina and Brad
Angelina adopted two more children Zahara Marley from Ethiopia, and Pax Thien from Vietnam. But this time the children had a dad too - The actor Brad Pitt. Brad and Angelina met when they where filming Mr & Mrs Smith.

Glamour and generosity
One of Hollywood's most glamorous actresses, Angelina has also been named the most beautiful woman in the world. But she is still committed to humanitarian causes. When Angelina and Brad Pitt had their biological children, they sold the first photos to celebrity news magazines for millions of dollars and then donated the money to charity.

"I think we all want justice and equality, a chance for a life with meaning."

Magnificent Malificent
Malificent is the fairy story of Sleeping Beauty, but told from the point of view of the bad fairy, Maleficent. She is betrayed by the king and takes revenge. Angelina is magnificent in the role. This time, her "dark" image made her the perfect choice. And, even if it's normal in a Disney film, Angelina  is very good at fighting injustice.

"I'm still at heart - and always will be - just a punk kid with tattoos," Angelina says.

Happy Halloween!

What is Halloween?
Halloween is an annual holiday. It has roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian holiday of All Saints. It is celebrated on the 31st October. It is celebrated on this day because it was the end of the harvest season and the new year for the Celts. Halloween is a religious celebration. It became a dangerous celebration when there was vandalism. So then, the children, started travelling door to door for treat as an alternative to troublemaking.Trick-or-treating, costume parties, apple bobbing and ghost tours are two Halloween typical activities.

• What does the word Halloween mean?

The word itself, "Halloween", actually has its origins in the Catholic Curch. It comes from a contracted corruption of All Hallows Eve. November 1, "All Hollows Day" (or All Saints Day), is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints.

• How do people celebrat it today?

Now, Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, wearing costumes and attending costume parties, ghost tours, bonfires, visiting haunted attractions, telling scary stories, and watching horror films.

If you want to know more about Halloween... Click here!

Vocabulary

1. Apple bobbing: players try to catch an apple with their teeth. Using hands is not allowed.  

Apple bobbing

2.  Apparition: a transparent, ghostly figure.

3.  Bat: a small flying mammal, with leathery wings. According to legend, vampires are said to be able to turn into bats. 

4.  Broom or broomstick: a type of brush with a long wooden handle, said to be used by witches to fly, according to legend.

5. Corpse: a dead body

6. Creepy: Unsettling, or scary

7. Graveyard: a place where dead people are buried.

8. Howl: a high pitched noise made by dogs and wolves.

9. Nightmare: a scary, bad dream.

10. Wand: a stick used for casting magic spells.

11. Warlock: a male witch

12. Werewolf: a person who turns into wolf whenever there is a full moon.

13. Wicca: an ancient religion, practised by witches.

14. Spooky: mildly scary, though often in a fun way.

You can find more Halloween vocabulary here!

Halloween Food!

• Candy apples, candy corn, candy pumpkins
• Caramel apples
• Caramel corn
• Soul cakes
• etc

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein - Film trailer

Nintendo!

And the Mario phenomenon

This year Nintendo is 125 years old. For the last 30 years Nintendo and its most famous character, Mario, have dominated the video game industry. Here is their story...

Mario the star
Mario is the most famous video game character in the world. He has appeared in more than 200 different video games. He is so popular that a survey found that American children recognized Mario more than Mickey Mouse.

Donkey Kong and the creation of Mario
Mario first appeared in the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong, but he was called Jumpman. And he wasn't a plumber, he was a carpenter! It was a fun game where a man with a moustache had to jump over obstacles to save a princess. The game was Nintendo's first big video game success.

Nintendo is 125 years old!
Nintendo was created in 1889 in Japan. For 70 years the company made only one thing: playing cards! In the 1960s, it tested new business ideas - from taxis to toys. Finally in the 1970s, it found success when it started making video games.

The Nintendo revolution
In 1984, the new Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) revolutionized video games. The console had new games like Super Mario Bros., where Mario had to run and jump through a mushroom kingdom. Players could now control how high Mario jumped and how fast he ran. And there were different levels, so they could play the game for longer. It was voted the most important game in video game history.

Game boy and the DS
In the 1990s, Nintendo created a new concept, the Game Boy. Kids everywhere wanted to have one. This portable console was the first to have cartridges, so it could play many games, including mario, Pokemon and Tetris, an addictive puzzle game. Then in the 2000s, a better version of the Game Boy was invented: the DS. It was the first portable console with dual screens.

The Wii
In 2006, the Wii changed the video game experience. For the first time, the whole family could play together and have fun controlling the game with phyisical gestures. Sometimes poeple have accidents and break furniture when playing the game! The most popular Wii games are Wii sports, like table tennis, canoeing, golf and bowling. This summer Mario Kart 8 was a best selling game for Wii U.

Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran is one of England's top young stars. He has had mega success with his second album, X, this year. In its first week of release, X was number one in 12 countries. Ed writes for other artists too, like Taylor Swift and One Direction. Who will he work with next?

Ed Sheeran

About Birdy

Jasmine van den Bogaerde (Birdy) is an English singer and songwriter. She's made two albums. She lives in Lymington, Hampshire, UK.

Birdy isn't very tall. She's got brown hair and blue eyes. The good thing about her is that she's friendly and talented, although she can also be a bit shy. Her mother is a concert pianist and birdy grew up loving music. She sings and plays the piano.

Her first single was a version of Bon Iver's “Skinny love”. She contributed three songs to the soundtrack for the movie “The fault in our stars”: “Tee shirt”, “Best shot” and “Not About Angels”.

Birdy

About a friend

Elisabeth and I are friends. She lives near me here in Banyoles. She lives in a modern big flat. We go to the same school.

Elisabeth is fourteen years old. She's very tall and she's got long brown hair. The good thing about her is that she's sweet and friendly, although she can also be sensitive sometimes. She's very funny and we've got lots of things in common.

Elisabeth is happiest when she's chatting and joking with friends. She likes going out and meeting new people. There's a big lake here in town and we often go there. She also likes shopping, and sometimes we do that together.

Elisabet and I

About my last summer

Hi. My name's Elisenda and today I'm going to talk about my last summer. Last summer I spent a week in an English Camp called l'Arcada. I've been there for three summers and it's been great. Every year I meet new people and have fun with American and Spanish friends that I already know. This year, the camp was about the '50s.

I also went to Avinyonet de Puigventós for three days with my best friend. We stayed in an old big house with her father and her little sister. I had so much fun and, most of all, I loved going to “El pantà de Darnius”. That was on early July.

On August I went to Sweden with my family. That place has my heart, it was just so beautiful. We spent half of the trip in Gotland, an island. The other half, in Stockholm. We saw lots of great things: a very old viking boat, the Nobel Prize Museum, reindeers, bears, wolfs, endless forests... One day, during a beach walk, my mum scream “A dead man!” but it was just a seal. Unfortunately it was dead. Apart from that I loved Sweden. It's probably the country I've visited that I liked the most.

On September I stayed in Banyoles. I spent a lot of time with my friends and also at a summer playscheme (La Barca) with little kids. It was a very nice experience.

So, basically, I had a great summer.

About my last summer

PRESENTATION:

WRITING:

Hi. My name's Elisenda and today I'm going to talk about my last summer. Last summer I spent a week in an English Camp called l'Arcada. I've been there for three summers and it's been great. Every year I meet new people and have fun with American and Spanish friends that I already know. This year, the camp was about the '50s.

I also went to Avinyonet de Puigventós for three days with my best friend. We stayed in an old big house with her father and her little sister. I had so much fun and, most of all, I loved going to “El pantà de Darnius”. That was on early July.

On August I went to Sweden with my family. That place has my heart, it was just so beautiful. We spent half of the trip in Gotland, an island. The other half, in Stockholm. We saw lots of great things: a very old viking boat, the Nobel Prize Museum, reindeers, bears, wolfs, endless forests... One day, during a beach walk, my mum screamed “A dead man!” but it was just a seal. Unfortunately it was dead. Apart from that I loved Sweden. It's probably the country I've visited that I liked the most.

On September I stayed in Banyoles. I spent a lot of time with my friends and also at a summer playscheme (La Barca) with little kids. It was a very nice experience.

So, basically, I had a great summer.

MY CLASSMATES:

Clàudia V - She went to an English Camp. She also visited Jaén and Córdoba.
Maria S - She went to Burgos and Santander by car.
Mariona R - She stayed in l'Estartit at the beggining of summer.
Núria F - In September she spent time with her friends.
Jordi - He visited a futbol stadium in Portugal.
Laia T - She visited Manchester and Hundsford. She also went to an amusement park.
Maria Planas - She went to France three times.
Clàudia G - She spent many days in Platja d'Aro.
Quim - He didn't like his pucket lunch in England.
Maria Port - She went shopping with her cousin.
Cèlia Estudis - In August she stayed in Banyoles and did homework.
Joan C - He participated in the Spanish Rowing Championship.
Elisabet - She spent many days in Llançà and Caldes de Malavella.