12. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF HAVING A HOUSE WITH A GARDEN. (SIX compositions - BACHILLERATO 1))

Nowadays, almost everyone who lives in a flat would love to have a garden in order to spend peaceful evenings looking after his plants; but, are garden owners as happy as we would expect them to be?

On the one hand they are, as they have lots of space for relaxing in summer. Garden owners have the freedom to decide whether they want to build their own pool or to build a basketball court. In addition, a garden is really useful in terms of having a pet, as a dog might get a little too stressed living in a flat.

On the other hand, garden owners are not that happy, since having a garden requires a lot of economical and physical resources. Let's be honest, houses with a garden are, generally, much more expensive than flats, and maintaining one is pretty costly as well. 

Concerning its use, it is quite rare to spend time in a garden during cold seasons, and that is in fact really frustrating as some people find it unfair to pay such a huge amount of money for something that they are just going to be able to use and enjoy four months a year.

The question is: is it worth to have a garden? Will you use it frequently or will you forget about it? The answers to these questions are personal, so each one of us can decide on his own if he wants to have a garden or not in the future.

                                                                      By S.P.A

Everyone dreams of the house they will have when the grow up, and most people would prefer one with a big well-cared garden. Almost nobody thinks about its disadvantages, only in its advantages.

On the one hand, I want to have a big house with a garden in the future, since there, I’ll be able to give a lot of parties during the summer and, also, I’ll build a small basketball court where I’d train.

I like gardening so I will have some trees and flowers, which I will be always looking after.

 On the other hand, living in a house with a garden can be stressful, as if you plant lots of trees, you will have to go one by one watering them. But, if you don’t have too much time, what would you do? You can hire a gardener; but it costs money.

When the weather is rainy; the garden gets muddy and it is all full of ponds; therefore, you can easily get dirty.

To sum up, I would prefer a house with a garden because of the fact that it is wonderful: you can have a great time with your friends, and the most important, you can do whatever you want there, because it’s part of your house.

                                                                                      By J.B.

If you imagine the house of your dreams, you will probably choose a big and impressive one, surrounded by a colourful garden full of trees and flowers. And with a little fountain in the middle of it; why not? It would be wonderful if it came with a gardener included, but we know in real life we have to look after our garden.

There are many good aspects of having a garden; most of them, I would say. It is a beautiful place to have lunch in, or to sunbathe on deckchairs when it is sunny. No matter if you have a small place or a big area. If you like gardening, you can decorate your garden with all kind of flowers, little stones and cute objects spread around the garden. It will make you happy to see your little piece of art every day.

On the other hand, having a garden requires some cares. You can’t abandon it since it won’t keep beautiful on its own. You must mow the lawn, water the plants and do everything necessary to keep it “healthy”. Taking care of a garden can become boring if you prefer doing other things instead.

All in all, if you don’t have enough time or you think that you will get tired of having a garden, buy a house without one. However, I believe that it is a place which can furnish you with great moments and where you can relax. Personally, I couldn’t live without my garden.

                                                             By M.S.

I have always wanted to live in a big house with a swimming-pool, a big garden and an enormous living-room, so I find more advantages than disadvantages in living in a house with a garden. However, it is true that it also has some cons.

On the one hand, if you live in a house with a garden, you have to clean it every day, and that is a lot of work. You also need to buy products to maintain the garden clean, and it costs a lot of money. But from my point of view, if you really want a house with a garden, you have to know the consequences of having it and know how to solve the problems.

On the other hand, having a garden is fantastic. Imagine one day in summer. The temperature is very high but you don’t want to go out. You can stay in the garden sunbathing and taking a bath in the swimming-pool. Another reason is that if you love plants and flowers, you can plant lots of different flowers in the garden.

In conclusion, considering if living in a house with a garden has more advantages or disadvantages depends on the person. If you like it, you won’t have any problems, but if you don’t, you won’t see anything except a waste of time.

                                                                                                                                                                By S.E

I've lived in a house with a garden since I was one, so I can talk from experience when I say that the effort you make to keep it beautiful is worth it.

When I was a child, I used to play in the garden and I learnt to swim in my pool, and now I've grown up, I invite my friends to have parties in summer and we have a lot of fun, so for me, that's an advantage.

My mother loves plants, so it is another advantage for her to have a garden to plant trees in, and my father loves fresh air and taking a dip on hot summer days. Besides, I like sunbathing in the garden and then swimming in the pool.

But, as everything in life, living in a house with a garden has some disadvantages too. One of them, for example, is that my father has to take care of it: he had to mow the lawn, clean very often the swimming pool, and take care of the vegetetable garden. But he decided to hire a gardener to carry through these labors, so he has more free time to enjoy it.

To sum up, having a garden requires a lot of work, but, as I said before, it is worth it.

                                                                                                                                                                              By A.D.

I live in an apartment and I’m not happy because I would like to go out to the garden and enjoy the fresh air at some point of the day.

In my opinion, living in a house with a garden has lots of advantages. First, in summer you can go sunbathing while you are reading a book or just enjoy the sun. For example, every summer I go to Burgos, where my parents bought a house next to a river, and every morning I go to the big garden. I usually read lying in a hammock while I listen to the sound of the river or I practise some exercises. My parents bought my brother a basketball hoop, so I play basketball too. I also play table tennis and table football in the porch. One of the things I love most is my swimming-pool.

Some of the disadvantages that come with having a garden are that you have to take care of the garden very often. In my case, I hate the amount of insects that there are in my garden since there is a river next to it.

I would be able to live the whole year in a house with a garden because I love it!

                                                      By A.R

11. REPORTING A HOTEL. (THREE compositions - BACHILLERATO 1)

Dear Sir,

During my stay in the Candem Hotel, I came to the conclusion that this hotel has lots of aspects which should be changed.

First of all, the decoration of the main hall is not the appropriate one. When clients arrive at the hotel, this is the first thing that they see, their first impression. The whole wall has a deteriorated aspect, as if it hadn’t been cleaned for a long time. The same happens with the main door, which needs to be repainted too.

Although the service is not bad at all, it could be better. Some of the employees don’t care about the needs of the guests. I think that a warning would be enough. I am sure that nobody wants to be fired, but it must change, or consequently, clients won’t accommodate at the hotel in the future.

In contrast, people who stay in the Candem Hotel are really happy with the food service. They also believe that the location of the hotel is great.

In conclusion, the Candem Hotel is a good hotel to host, but it needs some changes immediately.

                                                                                                                                                    By S.E

Dear Sir:

As you know, I've been to the Candem Hotel to check its quality, and I've been able to prove what I had heard a long time ago.

So to start, what surprised me the most was the service and its bad performance. When I got to the hotel and went to reception to check-in, it was empty! No one was there, and I had to wait for ten minutes until a person appeared. Then, she was very rude and unexperienced. And the rest of the service was exactly the same. Furthermore, some of them wore dirty uniforms.

I don't have much to say about the facilities of this hotel. During my stay, there was a disabled man and he could not get into his room or into the hotel on his own.

Apparently, the food looked good, but when you tasted it, it was disgusting. If this wasn't enough, there was a hair in my lasagna! I had to ear in the restaurant next to the hotel.

So to sum up, I think you should do something about it so this doesn't happen to anyone else again.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     By A.D.

Dear Sir:

I am writing this report to inform you about the conditions of the Candem Hotel. I have been sent there for a whole weekend and I have made my own conclusions.

Firstly, I was assigned the suite room, the best one of the hotel. To my disappointment, it was not as big and elegant as it boasted. The furniture was old, the mattress was so uncomfortable and the cleanliness was not what I had expected.

Some of the facilities were not what they should be for a four-star hotel. At the swimming pool, there were not enough deck chairs for all the guests sunbathing there. Besides, it was necessary to bring your own towel as the hotel doesn’t provide the customers with one. Another disadvantage I noticed was the limited number of lifts, which are important since the hotel has got six floors.

The staff was quite friendly and polite, although it was obvious that some of them were not formed enough for a hotel of this category.

To sum up, there are some aspects that have to be necessarily improved if the hotel’s management wants to keep their four stars. Otherwise, they should adapt their price and advertising campaigns to the real conditions of their establishment.

                                                                        By M.S.

10. WHY I LIKE CHRISTMAS. (Seven compositions - BACHILLERATO 1).

Christmas is one  of the most important and praised festivities of the year.

On the one hand, it is a convenient situation in order to see all your family as we all have dinner together. 

I have two cousins who live in Tarragona and in spite of not coming last Christmas, I would like to see them this year. In addition to that, my oldest cousin has just had a baby so she will be the center of attention this year.

When I was a child , I used to love Christmas due to the presents. However, when I found out who the Three Wise Men were, I lost illusion and interest. I strongly believe that the most precious fact about Christmas is spending time with your relatives and appreciate the atmosphere of love and affection.

                                                     By L.B

I like Christmas. It's one of my favourite times of the year, as for me thinking about Christmas, means thinking of a cosy sofa, a blanket and a romantic film. Another reason why I like Christmas is that I love cold weather as I like going out in the rain without a hat and getting soaked. I think that people like Christmas because they see all their family, it snows and they sit around the chimney. Well, I might be strange, because I celebrate Christmas with my mum, I have no chimney and it doesn't snow here, and taking this into account, I still love Christmas.

I also love how streets are decorated, I love going to Santander wearing a thick coat and a scarf, and looking everywhere how it has been decorated, so cute, so romantic. It is a time of the year in which I would love to have a boyfriend, as it feels so romantic. And I may be very stupid, but I love all those small details, such as walking with the boy that captures your heart near the beach, with all the Christmas lights around us, and cuddling on a sofa watching a film, or just the night of Christmas eve, having a romantic dinner. It may sound very corny, but it is one of my goals in life.

                                                                                                By Anonymous

During my childhood, I have always loved Christmas time and it was not just because of the fact of receiving wonderful presents. There were lots of aspects that I liked. However, as I grew up, I have realised that it is not a so happy period for everybody. It can be a torture for people who are alone in life to spend Christmas without their family or friends.

Apart from that, I still love Christmas. The first special event is to set the Christmas tree the first week of December. At home, we do it all together, and I enjoy hanging those glowing Christmas balls and decorating the whole house every year. The next things that arrive home are Christmas sweets, and later, when the holidays start, you can see all the town illuminated by colourful lights. Besides, Christmas is a special time when my family gathers and we sing Christmas carols and have delicious meals.

All in all, I still enjoy Christmas nowadays, although I know there are people that suffer loneliness. I think that we should concentrate more on the human factor, enjoy being with our relatives, without focusing on the amount of presents we get.

                                                                                                                                                                                         By M.S

Christmas is one of my favourite festivities since I don’t have to go to the high school, I can go out with my friends and I can also relax.

On the one hand, Christmas is, in my opinion, a celebration in which we realise that we are one year older and life passes by very fast. However, being older has some nice aspects, as you have less limitations and more liberty.

On the other hand, it’s one of the festivities that my family celebrates. All of us meet at my grandparents' house in Muriedas. There, I can see my cousin, who is studying photography in Madrid; my uncle and aunt, who live in Guadalajara; and my aunt, who has recently moved to Finland, where she is going to live with my uncle. He isn't there since he hasn’t found a job yet, so he is still working in Barcelona. I hope he finds a job soon, since I don’t like seeing him so far from his daughter, my little cousin Sofía.

Another positive fact about Christmas Day is that Santa Claus comes that night and he brings us presents. Now, I don’t feel as when I was a little boy, when I tried to get up the first to open my presents alone and, then, wake up my family showing them my gifts. But I can’t say that seeing the presents under the tree doesn’t make me feel happy. Inside me, I’m still a child.

To sum up, Christmas is one of my favourite festivities for two main reasons: I can spend some days with my family and the feeling of opening Santa Claus’ presents is wonderful.                                     

                                                                    By J. B                                                                                   

I have loved Christmas since I was a child. I think that it is a great holiday which is full of happiness and hope, even for adults.

When I was a child, my family and I used to be together on Christmas day and it was awesome as we all live in different provinces and it was the only period of the year when we were all together. Nowadays, it is not the same because some members of the family live very far away, but the rest of us are together. On Christmas Eve and New Year I am only with my parents and my older sister as we don’t have family here in Cantabria.

One of the reasons why I love Christmas is going shopping. I like going with my mum and looking for presents for my cousins. I really like when they open them and they are full of happiness while they play with their new toys. I don’t have little brothers nor sisters, so in some way I don’t feel the emotion that I had when I was younger. However, I always buy presents for my parents and my sister and they do the same, so I am a bit nervous the previous day to see what they have bought me.

Christmas is my favorite period of the year for many reasons, and I don’t think that it has any negative aspects.

                                                                                                      By S.E.V.

When I was younger, I used to love Christmas. But now I've grown up, I have realised what Christmas is in fact.

Christmas started as a religious festivity, because that's what it is. We are all celebrating Jesus' birth, or at least we were, since now it is becoming a commercial festivity.

On the one hand, Christmas is a pretext to spend time with our family, what I really enjoy. But on the other hand, it seems to me that we don't need a pretext to have dinner with our whole family.

I believe my hate to Christmas started because of those who say that the entire world becomes a better place at Christmas. The saddest aspect is that when Christmas is over, people are all the same as they were before it had started. Why should anybody change in a specific festivity ? I feel that a person ought to try to be better all year long.

However, what I dislike the most is the unnecessary waste of money, as the Christmas lights that light up many cities in the world. What I mean is that it's beautiful, of course it is, but it's also something we don't need. Not as much as millions of people need food. So, in this sense, we are a bit mean.

Furthermore, during this festivity we are all stressed and worried about what to buy to our family and friends and we don't realise that all they need is us and our love.

So, in my opinion, we should try to demonstrate our loved ones that we are there for them all year long, and not just on a special day or festivity.

                                                  By  A. D

Christmas is supposed to be a family holiday when children are happy and enthusiastic about it. You can see that children live on their own world while believing in magic.

For me, it is an important holiday. I honestly don't believe in magic, but this does not mean I cannot have a Christmas spirit or look forward to it every year. I love listening to Christmas carols and buying gifts to my close family. I really enjoy laying on the sofa drinking a hot chocolate and watching a Christmas film with my mother.

Every Christmas, I wake my brother up early in the morning to open together our gifts. Therefore, I absolutely love spending time with my family and Christmas is the time to be with my family all together. And although not all of them will be here, I think we should celebrate for what we have and remember what we have lost. Christmas is definitely my favourite time of the year, as the streets become happier with a lot of people walking and shopping and the lights shining.

                                                                                  By P.R.

9. IS SPAIN A NOISY COUNTRY ? (Tree compositions - BACHILLERATO 1)

Spain can be considered a very noisy country if you compare it to other European countries.

In Sweden, for example, you must stop all the noises which could disturb the neighbourhood at 9.00pm, and everybody respects that rule. However, in Spain you might have a party at home, and music can be on until 3 or 4 in the morning. In the streets, and in public places such as restaurants and cafes, there is also much more noise in Spain.

In my opinion, being a noisy country is good, because I love music and noise but, sometimes, I just want to be silent and calm. Nevertheless, there will always be noise, such as your mother cooking, the neighbour's lawnmower, or somebody's TV, which is on.

                                    By A.S 

 

If someone asks you if Spain is a noisy country, the answer will be, most of the times, “yes”. This is because of our stereotype of noisy, lazy and fun loving people.

On the one hand, it is true that Spaniards are really noisy; the problem is that we don’t realize and when people say it to us, we don’t believe them. It is because we are used to the noise as it is something natural in our lifestyle, so we consider it something normal. Spanish people aren’t conscious that they are noisy until they go to another country (like Great Britain or Canada) and they see how they speak in public places.

On the other hand, not all Spaniards are noisy. There are people who don’t like speaking so loud or making noise, and they speak in a low tone of voice. However, I don´t think that Spanish people are as other foreigners believe. We like parties and we can be noisy, but when we have to, we are hardworking people. There are also other foreigners who are like us, so we are not one of the worst countries.

In conclusion, Spanish people are noisy of you compare them to other foreigners, but they aren’t conscious of it.

                                                                                              

                                                                                                   By S.E.V

Spain is obviously a noisy country and I don’t really know why. Spain is known for its loud parties and the way we speak loud.

When I went to London with my high school everybody was quiet and focused on their business; on the other hand some of the Spanish students were all the time speaking very loud and being a little impolite.

I think it is because of politeness since British people are more polite and silent. However, I’m not really sure if that’s the real reason since when we went to France, maybe we were a bit more mature, so we behaved correctly.

In the French school nobody talked in the corridor, so when they came to our school one of the French students told me that in their school it would be impossible to see someone speaking as loud as we usually do, and if somebody does it, he is frowned upon.

In my opinion, we are louder and noisier than the rest of the people, because we want to be like that. Nobody tells us to shout, so I guess each one has to be careful and talk lower. 

                                                       Anonymous

                                                                                                                      

All around Europe, or even all around the world, you will hear Spain is one of the noisiest countries. Well, it is true that when you travel abroad you realise that nobody talks loud or at the same time, as we do in Spain. But it is also a fact that they don't talk to each other as much as we do here. Everyone is in his own world.

In my opinion, Spain is a noisy country and we should change this because it is unhealthy, but we definitely should not stop being as friendly as we are. Maybe we should just realise how loud we talk. I think that this is the problem. We don’t realise how much noise we are making since we are used to it.

Another reason that makes us such noisy people is that we like interrupting people while they are talking. So we all start talking louder to be heard. Adults should teach children to respect people's turn of talking.

                                                                                      By P.R.

Imagine you go into a café in Spain. The first thing you can see is a lot of people talking in a loud voice, noise everywhere. Sitting at your table, you can hear the conversation of the people next to you and, even though you don’t want to listen to, you end up finding out about your neighbour’s life. Now, imagine you enter another café, but this time in France or Germany. The main difference is the silence. People talk in a quiet voice, without having to speak loudly to communicate to each other.

Noise is one the most typical features of the Spanish character. We have to talk in a strident tone, both when we are angry and when we are happy, whereas people in most European countries are quieter than us, a fact that provides them good manners. Spanish people can be considered rude by foreigners just for speaking loudly.

I think noise is like a tradition here in Spain, a thing that you get from your parents and that your children will get from you. That happens since silence is something not much appreciated, although we should value it more. The person who you are talking to will understand you even if you don’t cry your speech.

                       By M.S.

8. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE LIFE OF A RELATIVE: (Three compositions - BACHILLERATO 1)

My grandmother Dorotea is a hardworking woman. She also takes care of her family, her most cherished thing. She is always worried about us and trying to do her best.

She married my grandfather, who passed away some years ago due to smoking. They had five children. One of them is my father. The other ones are my three aunts and my uncle, the oldest of them. She has five grandchildren too, three boys and two girls.

When she was a child she was brought up in order to be a “good woman”. My grandmother hasn’t studied because when she was born, the role of a woman was to stay at home taking care of the children cleaning and cooking. At that time machismo was very common.

She always wanted to be a doctor as she loves helping people and assisting  poor people in her city. She was also very interested in science and maths.

                                                                          Anonymous

My grandmother's name is Rosario. She was born in Santander, in 1945, so now she's 69. She was brought up in a modest family. Her father was a carpenter and her mother a housewife. 

My grandmother didn't go to school. When she reached the age of 10, she started to help my great-grandmother with the housework.

She had a brother when she was 11, but he died one year later from a terrible disease.

She continued helping her mother until she was 20, when she started working as a dressmaker at a famous workshop, where she was also taught to paint by Calderón de la Barca, a really famous and good painter. That same year, she met my grandfather and a year later, she was pregnant of my mother, and when my mum was 2, she had twins.

My grandmother lived a dramatic moment when my aunt and uncle were two months, as my grandfather abandoned them, so she had to bring her children up alone.

Since that moment, she worked until the age of 60, but she still paints beautiful paintings and she shows them in exhibitions. 

So to sum up, my grandmother has been a hard-working woman who has dedicated her life to her children.

My grandfather is called Juan. He was born in Seville in 1938. Since the moment he was born, he had to get through lots of problems and difficulties due to the poverty of that time.

His father died when he was six therefore his mother had to bring up four children alone. That is the reason why my grandfather started to work at the age of seven by taking care of a farm. He had known my grandmother since his childhood as they were neighbours.

They had their first son at the ages of 17 and 23. My mom was the second and the last one who was born in Seville since they moved to the north of Spain in order to find a better job so they’d get a better quality of life.

Since that moment, he continued working very hard. At the same time, his family was growing until his children got married and he could retire.

He always tells me how hard life is and that I should appreciate more the efforts which my parents make in order to satisfy my needs.