1. Personal life

Actividad de lectura
Te presentamos a Laura, una chica italiana que actualmente reside en Londres. Lee el siguiente texto para conocer sobre su vida personal y profesional. Intenta traducirlo y comprueba los resultados pulsando en el "Pulse aquí", donde también encontrarás algunos consejos de traducción.
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Laura is from Torino, a lovely old village in Italy, but now she lives in London with her husband and their four children. She is 37 years old and she is tall and thin. She has got big blue eyes and very dark hair. Laura's children are bilingual because Laura's husband is English, so they speak Italian and English fluently. Now, they are even learning German at school!
Laura and their family live in a very big old flat in the city centre. The flat has got four rooms, a large kitchen and two bathrooms. The children go to an elementary school near their home. They start at 8.00, have lunch there and come back home in the afternoon. Laura is a modern working woman. She starts very early. From Monday to Friday she gets up at half past six and has a shower and a cup of coffee for breakfast. She usually leaves home at 7.00 a.m. She is a journalist at a local newspaper. She gets to the office at 8.00 and finishes at 4.00 p.m. Then, she goes shopping and she usually meet some friends at a cafeteria in the city centre. Her husband Paul, gets home at 5.00 p.m, then they read the newspaper and do some cooking. After having dinner, they usually watch television and then go to bed.
At the weekend they like going swimming in a lake near their house and going to the movies.
Laura likes living in London because it is a very big and exciting city. There are many historical buildings and museums. She also enjoys watching musicals and plays at the many theatres you can find in the West End.

Importante
¿Te has fijado en la parte subrayada? Sí, se trata del verbo To Be (ser, estar en español). En inglés es uno de los verbos más importantes y nos ayuda a expresar sentimientos, emociones y a transmitir información personal. Recuerda que la edad se expresa con este verbo (Laura is 37 years old). El verbo marcado en negrita es el verbo Have got, lo usamos para referirnos a la posesión, para hablar de la familia y decir lo que tenemos o no.
Fíjate en esta frase del texto: She usually leaves home at 7.00. Con ella expresamos lo que Laura hace todos los días, para hablar de la rutina y acciones habituales. Para ello usamos el verbo en Presente Simple y lo complementamos con adverbios de frecuencia para indicar cuándo realizamos una acción. ¿Recuerdas la forma?
Aquí tienes unos enlaces para poder repasar el uso y forma de estos verbos:
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¡Recuerda!
- Verbo to be: Ser o estar. Formas:
Am, is, are
Am not, isn´t, aren´t
Am I?, are you?, is he?
- Verbo have got: Tener. Formas:
Have got, has got
Haven´t got, hasn´t got
Have you got?, has he got?
- Presente simple. Ej: yo trabajo (work). Formas:
Work, works
Don´t work, doesn´t work
Do you work?, does he/she work?

Actividad de lectura
Mira el siguiente vídeo. El cantante Rod Stewart interpreta "I'm sailing". Si quieres puedes ir leyendo la letra de la canción. Es muy sencilla y abajo encontrarás la traducción.
I am sailing, I am sailing,
home again 'cross the sea.
I am sailing, stormy waters,
to be near you, to be free.
I am flying, I am flying,
like a bird 'cross the sky.
I am flying, passing high clouds,
to be with you, to be free.
Can you hear me, can you hear me
thro' the dark night, far away,
I am dying, forever trying,
to be with you, who can say.
Can you hear me, can you hear me,
thro' the dark night far away.
I am dying, forever trying,
to be with you, who can say.
We are sailing, we are sailing,
home again 'cross the sea.
we are sailing stormy waters,
to be near you, to be free.
Oh lord, to be near you, to be free.
oh lord, to be near you, to be free,
oh lord.

Importante
A lo largo de la canción se repite el verbo I'm sailing (estoy navegando). ¿Reconoces esta forma verbal? Efectivamente, es el Presente Continuo. Junto al Presente Simple, es uno de los tiempos más importantes en inglés. Se traduce por la perífrasis "estar +gerundio" (= estar comiendo, estar navegando...). En inglés lo usamos para expresar acciones que estamos realizando justo en el momento de hablar o para acciones temporales.
¡Recuerda!
- Present continuous. Formas (am flying):
am reading, am not reading
is reading,isn't reading
are reading, aren't reading
am I reading?, is he reading?, are you reading?
En este enlace podrás practicar la forma y uso de este tiempo verbal del presente.
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