Describing someone physically

Here you have an interesting website with some slides explaining how to describe people physically:
slides describing people
illustrated pictures with vocabulary

Here you have a poem by William Carlos William an American writer in which a child is being described.

Sympathetic Portrait Of A Child

The murderer's little daughter
who is barely ten years old
jerks her shoulders
right and left
so as to catch a glimpse of me
without turning round.
Her skinny little arms
wrap themselves
this way then that
reversely about her body!
Nervously
she crushes her straw hat
about her eyes
and tilts her head
to deepen the shadow—
smiling excitedly!

As best as she can
she hides herself
in the full sunlight
her cordy legs writhing
beneath the little flowered dress
that leaves them bare
from mid-thigh to ankle—

Why has she chosen me
for the knife
that darts along her smile?

An explanation to the poem

 Williams describes a little girl, “who is barely ten years old”, by using great imagery tactics as he depicts her shyness and excitement . The above quote painted a picture for me due to its very realistic image. When children are shy, due to a variety of different reasons, they tend to hide themselves behind objects, like the little girl’s straw hat, as they believe that as long as they cannot see other individuals; those individuals cannot see them as well. It protects them from whatever harm, insecurity, or uncomfortableness they may feel. In this poem, I believe the little girl is being shy and tries to playfully cover herself up, but only to secretly smile as she innocently covers her eyes.

Since Williams calls the little girl’s father a murderer, it leads me to believe that her father was not a man who gave much attention to the girl, nor did he care much. Therefore, her shyness towards another man could have built upon from this lack of affection and attention from her father. The little girl noticed that the speaker was looking at her and displayed some interest in her being. . Although the poem seems lively in nature at a quick glance due to its innocent portrayal of a child, it also shows the effects of a neglected girl who does not know how to react to fondness from another adult.

The last three lines in the poem, “Why has she chosen me/ for the knife/ that darts along her smile?” play a key role in the poem . Some people are told to have a “killer smile”, which I believe is the description Williams is portraying in the last three lines.

DESCRIBING A PERSON YOU ADMIRE

Here you are some interesting information which will help you with the preparation for the oral and written essay on the topic: Describing  a person you admire.
Here you are some helpful links:
a model essay, someone you admire
sample texts


testimonies-someone-you-admire
Here you are a video of someone describing about the person he most admires and the reasons for it.Listen to it and try to catch up what he´s saying!

WORKAHOLICS

Workaholics

INTRODUCTION

Why did I choose to write about workaholics? The main reason is that the general picture about these people is bad, but there are a lot of them around us and very often we admire them. They are doing exactly what they love : work  and they can never have enough of it. Although they spend most of their time working, surprisingly they are happy. They show so good results in what they do. But the consequences are great. Family life is disrupted, intellectual horizons narrow and the consequences to the workaholic's health are severe: fat, lack of exercise and stress. Why do people become workaholics? When a person becomes workaholic is there a way back? How should people around him act in order to keep both him and themselves happy? Lets start explaining what workaholics are, how they act and then we'll get answers to this questions.

WHAT AND WHO ARE WORKAHOLICS?

The definition of workaholism from a dictionary would be someone who has a compulsion to work all time and a workaholic is someone who loves to work or who is addicted to work. How can this people work throughout the whole day and be happy and never tired knowing that they sleep only for 4-5 hours a day. Perhaps the main reason for this is that people evaluate themselves more on measurable things such as personal achievements and financial worth ,not emotional wellness. People often tend to feel guilty if they are not constantly being productive, as they tend to consider relaxation a waste of precious time. They need work to feel good. Workaholics are people who put the work on first place. Usually they need to prove themselves to the their colleagues or their bosses so they would praise them. Sometimes workaholism occurs because the person works to avoid the pain. Workaholism is addiction and all addictions are in a way avoidance of pain. They work just to cover the pain and not deal with it.

Avoidance-prevention, a way or mean to escape of something( evasión o vía de escape)
Read the  lyric below while you watch the video WORKAHOLIC by 2 Unlimited

[1st PERSON:] Ok, let's go to work!
[2nd PERSON:] Who the fuck are you?!
[3rd PERSON:] The workaholic!

[3rd PERSON:] The workaholic!

[RAY:] The workaholic he works every day
24 hours, no time to play
He won't quit; he's addicted to work
I think he's going out like a jerk
Working, working, what can you do?
See the light from a different point of view
Ready in the morning for the bell to chime
I think he's glad it's working time!

[3rd PERSON:] The workaholic!

[CHORUS:]
[ANITA:] Work your body, baby work your soul
Keep on workin' workin' to the bone
Work your body, baby, work your soul
I'm a workaholic when I'm on the floor!

[3rd PERSON:] The workaholic!

[RAY:] First like a jerk, why you always work?
Messing up your mind with that paperwork?
The only think you need is to break ball is work, and yo, and that's all
They do it for money, but he for fun
he won't get away until the job is done
Drinkin' drinkin' like an alchoholic
The guy is just a workaholic!

[3rd PERSON:] The workaholic!
[3rd PERSON:] The workaholic!

[3rd PERSON:] The workaholic

SIR GUY FAWKES and the BONFIRE NIGHT 5th NOVEMBER

In 1605, thirteen young men planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Among them was Guy Fawkes, Britain's most notorious traitor.

After Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603, English Catholics who had been persecuted under her rule had hoped that her successor, James I, would be more tolerant of their religion. James I had, after all, had a Catholic mother. Unfortunately, James did not turn out to be more tolerant than Elizabeth and a number of young men, 13 to be exact, decided that violent action was the answer.

A small group took shape, under the leadership of Robert Catesby. Catesby felt that violent action was warranted. Indeed, the thing to do was to blow up the Houses of Parliament. In doing so, they would kill the King, maybe even the Prince of Wales, and the Members of Parliament who were making life difficult for the Catholics. Today these conspirators would be known as extremists, or terrorists.

To carry out their plan, the conspirators got hold of 36 barrels of gunpowder - and stored them in a cellar, just under the House of Lords.

But as the group worked on the plot, it became clear that innocent people would be hurt or killed in the attack, including some people who even fought for more rights for Catholics. Some of the plotters started having second thoughts. One of the group members even sent an anonymous letter warning his friend, Lord Monteagle, to stay away from the Parliament on November 5th. Was the letter real?

The warning letter reached the King, and the King's forces made plans to stop the conspirators.

Guy Fawkes, who was in the cellar of the parliament with the 36 barrels of gunpowder when the authorities stormed it in the early hours of November 5th, was caught, tortured and executed.

It's unclear if the conspirators would ever have been able to pull off their plan to blow up the Parliament even if they had not been betrayed. Some have suggested that the gunpowder itself was so old as to be useless. Since Guy Fawkes and the other conspirators got caught before trying to ignite the powder, we'll never know for certain.

Even for the period which was notoriously unstable, the Gunpowder Plot struck a very profound chord for the people of England. In fact, even today, the reigning monarch only enters the Parliament once a year, on what is called "the State Opening of Parliament". Prior to the Opening, and according to custom, the Yeomen of the Guard search the cellars of the Palace of Westminster. Nowadays, the Queen and Parliament still observe this tradition.

On the very night that the Gunpowder Plot was foiled, on November 5th, 1605, bonfires were set alight to celebrate the safety of the King. Since then, November 5th has become known as Bonfire Night. The event is commemorated every year with fireworks and burning effigies of Guy Fawkes on a bonfire.

Some of the English have been known to wonder, in a tongue in cheek kind of way, whether they are celebrating Fawkes' execution or honoring his attempt to do away with the government.

Words to Guy Fawkes Rhyme

"Remember, remember,
the fifth of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
We see no reason why
Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!"
 

Why do British people  have Guys and Fireworks on Bonfire Night?

The Guy (effigy) is made out of old clothes stuffed with paper or straw. The Guy is a reminder of Guy Fawkes.
The fireworks are a reminder of the gunpowder Guy Fawkes hid in the cellar of Parliament.

Traditional Bonfire Night Food

Jacket potato in foil as well as burning effigy of Guy Fawkes, the bonfires are used to cook potatoes wrapped in foil and to heat up soup for the crowds that come to watch the fireworks.

The traditional cake eaten on bonfire night is Parkin Cake, a sticky cake containing a mix of oatmeal, ginger, treacle and syrup.

Other foods include sausages cooked over the flames and marshmallows toasted in the fire.

In main town and cities, torch-lit processions are also popular on this night too. The procession leads to where the bonfire and firework displays arePenny for the Guy

During the days before Bonfire Night, children used to take their home-made guys out on the street and ask for "a penny for the Guy" for fireworks.