Two forms of energy for touristic islands Ensuring the availability of energy is one of the topics which causes a greater concern to developed countries’ governments. This problem is even bigger when the country or region is an island, due to the inconveniences associated with the limited resources and space, the need of importing fuels and the importance of tourism in many of that places. Two of the forms of energy which are being used to overcome these troubles are nuclear power and wind turbines. On the one hand, big economies such as Japan tend to use nuclear power. It allows a sustained supply of energy thanks to the small quantity of fuel required and the possibility of storage it. In this cases nuclear power facilities can besides be placed far from the touristic places so it does not affect their attractive. However, that is not possible in small islands. A good solution for that kind of places are wind turbines. As an example it could be taken the island of El Hierro in Las Canarias, Spain. Using wind turbines, it has become the first island capable of producing all the energy needed by their inhabitants in the same year in which a greater number of tourists have visited the island. To sum up, nuclear power produces a lot of energy from little fuel, so it is a good option for big islands. Nevertheless, wind turbines should also be considered, especially in small islands, since they have been proven to produce enough energy with no impact over tourism.

Report practice: A cooking course Cooking course report Introduction The aim of this report is exposing my views about the cooking course I have recently taken as well as providing contrasted advices for its future improvement. Strengths of the course The course takes place in a wide range of hours, so everybody willing to take it will not have schedule troubles. The formation acquired after the course is solid and broad, as the classes are imparted by high-skilled chefs with an undeniable knowledge not only about cooking but also about teaching. Aspects which needs to be improved When asked at the end of the course, some participants showed quite satisfied. Nevertheless, others displayed their disappointment. Asked if they would take the course again, most answered negatively even between those who were satisfied with the course. Further questioning, a too high level of classes –which made them not only hard to follow, but also difficult to apply in homemade cooking- as well as an inexistent encouragement by the teachers, resulted to be the causes of the criticism towards the course. Therefore, it would be advisable to better warn people of the great sophistication of the techniques taught. Besides, new ways of teaching, more practical and less theoretical could be implanted in order to encourage the participants and get them enjoy their learning.

Essay practice: Two important facilities for my city It is obvious that the perfect city does not exist. Majors and the rest of local authorities have to constantly look for ways to answer citizens’ requests. Two of the facilities which are being demanded lately in every city with a fast growth of population are car parks and sport centres, and ours is not an exception. Car parks are an undeniable necessity. Lots of people have cars as the only way of moving around the city, going to work or picking up their children from school. Rich people can afford paying for a garage or even having one at home, but less fortunate people often have great difficulties in parking and usually spend even several hours a day looking for parking spots. That suppose a considerable declension of people’s life quality. But if car parks can improve people’s life, even more can a sport centre. It has been scientifically proved that playing sports make people healthier physically –by strengthening the heart, lungs and muscles- as well as psychologically –releasing the mind from stresses and worries-. Of course building a sport centre will not ensure that people will play sports, but not having it would certainly prevent it. In conlusion, car parks and a sport centre are both useful and worth of taking into consideration. However, priority should be given to the sport centre, since it directly involves citizens’ health, which from my point of view should be the main concern in every city plan.

Formal writting practice 3: Letter of complain to a hotel manager Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing this letter in order to complain for the conditions of the hotel you manage, which has not fulfil our expectations created by the information in your website. First of all, you claim that your hotel is a quiet place where the client can enjoy a relaxing time. However, corridors were crowded at night and people making noises were not asked to stop it in any moment. Besides, when a bedroom for four people is booked, it is expected that it has four beds but instead of that you provided us only two and not large enough for two people to sleep comfortably. The receptionist was asked to set additional beds and promised she would fix the issue, though at least his word resulted to be worthless. As a result of our decreased rest, we were unable to enjoy the activities which we had prepared for the weekend, and the supposed holidays ended being rather stressing than relaxing. For the reasons exposed, I hope you find reasonable my request of refunding, as it will also be an opportunity for you to recover some of the lost reputation. Nevertheless, further actions have to be taken to make sure that no other tourist will see his holidays ruined by the disorganization and lack of discipline displayed in your hotel. Very faithfully yours,

Formal writting practice 2: Letter of applycation for a dream job Dear Hiring Manager, I am addressing you this letter in order to apply for the job as caretaker of the Islands of Barrier Reef, whose availability was announced in the Daily Telegraph of the past Monday, where I could get informed about it. I think that I could fit in the referred job not only because I gather the requested abilities of swimming, diving, etcetera, but also because my formation, as well as my vocation would be fully satisfied if I could pursue the occupation I am applying for. I really enjoy the observation of the natural flora and fauna–whether terrestrial or marine- and, of course, the ones of such a privilege emplacement as the islands of the Coral Barrier Reef are not an exception. Therefore, it would be for me not only a pleasure, but also a privilege to take care of the mentioned animals and plants, as well as the environment they live in. Besides, I am perfectly qualified for that purpose since I oriented my education through Biological sciences in order to, someday, getting to achieve a job as the one which occupies us. So there is nothing else for me to say that just thank you truthfully for your time and for the attention payed and informing you that you can address this same email any pertinent answer for this letter. Very faithfully yours,

Formal writing practice 1: A letter to help new undergraduate students Dear website director, The purpose of this email is providing my opinion about the advices which should appear in the website that you manage as it has been requested. I would like to help in improving the available information for new students since I have felt the confusion of being a new-year student and being absolutely lost about everything related with university life. First of all, the importance of having achieved some skills before the university starts is undeniable. Those skills include listening for some hours without stopping paying attention, taking notes and summarizing them, sometimes even simultaneously. It may seem obvious that students at this level of education have those abilities, but some students reach the marks needed to enter the university just learning subjects by heart. That is absolutely impossible at university, sometimes because the subjects are too broad or even sometimes because it does not exist a written text to be studied. However mentioned academic skills are indispensable, life skills can be even more for new students because, if they are not got, it may lead the student to anxiety, depression and some other mental issues that can not only hamper the academic development of the student, but also his health. For that reason is important to choose a well-located place to live. While picking a residence or apartment near the university can be the first-thought option, it may be a better choice a place where you can enjoy yourself after classes and meet other people. Making friends is also an important question. In that order joining a club or playing collective sports can be useful, but just speaking with the class mates at the end of the class or on the breaks can be just enough at the beginning to start sharing other activities non-related with academics. At last but not least, finances will be a never affronted problem for most of the new students. However, it does not have to be a problem thanks to the scholarships offered by the national and regional government, as well as by the university itself. Whether you dispose of a high or a small amount of money, having a detailed control of how it is wasted and how much is left in every moment can help reaching the payday. So in conclusion university life is not easy as it prepares people for adult life. Nevertheless, the previous hints will surely make it more affordable, so they cannot be missing from your website.

How to live life to the full First of all, it’s important to point that this is a hard question because, in my opinion, the best way of living life to the full is being the happiest you can. As people find happiness in a wide variety of activities from just stay at home watching TV with the family to travel the world without stopping for a moment of rest, it’s impossible to establish rules which you can follow to achieving happiness or, what from my point of view is the same, living life to the full. However, there are some objective advices you can follow to try to make the best of your life. First, you have to maintain a healthy way of life. Obviously if you feel sick or tired you won’t be able to enjoy your life. For that reason, you should play sports some times a week, eat fruit and vegetables and avoid fast food and his fats. Other aspect that has to be cared is social life. You may imagine a lot of different ways in which you can be happy, but probably none of them include you being alone. For that reason, habits which make you stay too much time isolated from your family and friends should be avoided when possible. The most evident example is working too hard, but sometimes hobbies, which are necessary to get a healthy style of life since they avoid getting stressed, can also become a reason of isolation, as in the case of people who get obsessed with their images and spend a lot of time in the gym. So to sum up, I have intented to dismount the myth which affirms that living life to the full is equal to travelling and having new experiences because as long as you are happy, you will be living your life to the full.

Kids and pets In the last few years, with the exponential expansion of the Internet and an increasingly number of homemade videos being viewed every day, we are getting able to taking conscience of the wide range of relationships which people establish with their pets in different cultures. Those that involve a child or even a baby and an animal are specially followed, but are not free of discussion. While some people claim against the risks that a close contact between the animal and the kid suppose, others, including many scientists and education experts defend the benefits that a child who looks after a pet can enjoy. The main aspect which is deserved to be mentioned is the fact that the child will get some values which are essential for every good citizen of our time. He will learn the capacity of animals to feel, so that will make him see the importance of protecting animals and the environment they live in. Having a pet could also lead the kid to develop a sense of responsibility, so in the future taking tasks and completing them will not be difficult for him. Besides, having a pet could also prevent the child of having some commons affections related with sedentary life. For example the kid who knows that he has to take the dog on a walk will do, at least, that physical exercise and therefore it will be less likely that he turns overweight or addicted to videogames. To sum up, pets are intended to be not only friends and mates, but also a good help for the society to face the challenges that our time presents in bringing kids up.