Grammar: -ing form

We use the -ing form

• as the subject of a sentence. Reading a book is more tiring than watching a movie.
• after avoid, appreciate, consider, continue, deny, go (+ activities), imagine, keep, miss, save, suggest, practice, prevent, spend/waste (time/money) on, etc.                                               Can you imagine working in a chocolate factory? 
• after prepositions. I am interested in going to the book festival.
• after verbs that express like/dislikes, such as: can't stand, like, enjoy, etc.  I like reading novels.
• after phrases such as: can't help, look forward to, it's no use, it's not worth, have difficulty. I can't help laughing at the joke.

Grammar: (to-) infinitive

We use to-infinitive

• to express purpose. She went to the newsstand to buy a paper.
• after would like, would prefer, would love. I'd like to see a movie on the weekend.
• after too/enough. It's too hot to work.
• after ask, decide, explain, want, hope, promise, expect, refuse, etc. She wants to hang out at the mall.

We use the infinite without to

• after modal verbs. Sally can dance really well.
• after the verbs let, make. Let me give you my number.
• after would rather. I'd rather order take out than cook tonight.

Description of a book: Beautiful Disaster

The new Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance from the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University’s Walking One-Night Stand. 

Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby wants—and needs—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.

Unusual buildings

1. Kansas City Public Library (Missouri, United States)

This project, located in the heart of Kansas City, represents one of the pioneer projects behind the revitalization of downtown.

The people of Kansas City were asked to help pick highly influential books that represent Kansas City. Those titles were included as ‘bookbindings’ in the innovative design of the parking garage exterior, to inspire people to utilize the downtown Central Library.

2. Cubic Houses (Rotterdam, Netherlands)

The original idea of these cubic houses came about in the 1970s. Piet Blom has developed a couple of these cubic houses that were built in Helmond.

The city of Rotterdam asked him to design housing on top of a pedestrian bridge and he decided to use the cubic houses idea. The concept behind these houses is that he tries to create a forest by each cube representing an abstract tree; therefore the whole village becomes a forest.

3. Hang Nga Guesthouse a.k.a Crazy House (Vietnam)

The house is owned by the daughter of the ex-president of Vietnam, who studied architecture in Moscow.

It does not comply with any convention about house building, has unexpected twists and turns, roofs and rooms. It looks like a fairy tale castle, it has enormous “animals” like a giraffe and a spider, no window is rectangular or round, and it can be visited like a museum.

4. Forest Spiral – Hundertwasser Building (Darmstadt, Germany)

The Hundertwasser house “Waldspirale” (”Forest Spiral”) was built in Darmstadt between 1998 and 2000. Friedensreich Hundertwasser, the famous Austrian architect and painter, is widely renowned for his revolutionary, colourful architectural designs which incorporate irregular, organic forms, e.g. onion-shaped domes.

The structure with 105 apartments wraps around a landscaped courtyard with a running stream. Up in the turret at the southeast corner, there is a restaurant, including a cocktail bar.

5. The Basket Building (Ohio, United States)

The Longaberger Basket Company building in Newark, Ohio might just be a strangest office building in the world. The 180,000-square-foot building, a replica of the company’s famous market basket, cost $30 million and took two years to complete. Many experts tried to persuade Dave Longaberger to alter his plans, but he wanted an exact replica of the real thing.

Grammar: Like / As

like = similar to He's an athlete, like his father.
such as = like Some sports, such as sky diving, are dangerous.
as = in the same way Do it as I've shown you.

Compare: He works as a teacher. (NOT: like a teacher) (He's a teacher.)
He works like a slave (NOT: as a slave) (He isn't a slave, but he works very hard.

Grammar: Present perfect simple (Affirmative & Negative).

Form: have/has + past participle

We use the present perfect for:

• actions which started in the past and continue to the present. They have been here since 2008.
• life experiences (time isn't started) I've tried Chinese food.
• actions that happened in the past and we can see their results in the present. She's broken her leg (When? We don't know, but we can see that her leg is in a cast.)

Note: When we use never in the negative we use have/has.

I have never eaten papaya. (NOT: I haven't never eaten papaya.)

Compare: He has gone to Madrid (He's still there).

                 He has been to Madrid (He's back now).

Superstitions in México

Mexican superstitions run as deep as the rich cultural and religious history of the nation. Superstition and religion both delve into the realm of the unknown, using tradition and faith to give creedence to customs and claims that can't be verified in practical ways. While religion sometimes keeps superstition at bay, superstition has its own way of twisting stories and truths in order to keep the public in awe of its power. 

One traditional superstition is that if a pregnant woman walks outside during a lunar eclipse, she runs the risk of giving birth to an infant who is part wolf or who has a cleft palate. 

Another common Mexican superstition has to do with the evil eye. Called "mal de ojo" in Spanish, the evil eye can cause all sorts of calamities to people and also to material items.

In reality, the evil eye can be condensed down to jealousy and desire. If a stranger looks upon your child or baby with either of these emotions in her eyes, she has just given your child the evil eye. To keep the evil eye at bay, whenever a person looks at a baby and offers a compliment, she must touch the child at the same time.

Other widespread superstitions include the following:

• Never walk beneath a ladder.
• Never cross a black cat's path.
• If you drop a tortilla, you will have lots of company.
• If you cut a baby's fingernails before the age of one year, the child will have impaired eyesight.
• Tuesday is unlucky; never start a journey or anything important on this day