A Practical Joke

Funny Stuff, Students' Corner

According to the definition of the Wikipedia a practical joke or prank is a stunt or trick to purposely make someone feel foolish or victimized, usually for humor. The term “practical” refers to the fact that the joke consists of someone doing something (a practice), rather than a verbal or written joke.
In Western culture, April Fools’ Day is a day traditionally dedicated to performing practical jokes. Another day common for pranks and practical jokes is Halloween, in the form of Trick ot Treat.
And… I fell prey to practical jokers, namely , my closest friends. . I’ll tell you what happened.

It was Christmas time and I had decided to invite my friends for dinner on New Year’s Eve. They were about 14 people .My friends tried to put me off the idea of celebrating at home because they thought it was going to be too much work for me. But I happily told them that I was going to have everything delivered to me by the Corte Inglés Catering Service.So, I called this company and agreed on the menu and on having it delivered on the afternoon of the 31st .And I proudly told my friends that I had everything under control. Silly of me!
On the morning of that very same day I got a phone call, very businesslike by the way, where a very professional voice, or so it seemed to me, asked to talk to Ms Cabal and told me that she was going to put me through the Catering Department of El Corte Inglés. I thought it was to confirm the delivery time. To my surprise , I was told that my menu could not be delivered as I had failed to book it within the deadline. Politely, I told them I had phoned them within the right period but they apologised and said it couldn’t be done. The more I tried to convince them, the angrier I got until finally I threatened to sue them. I was so angry and frustrated. I asked to talk to whoever was in charge of The Customer’s Service .When they put me through and I started to complain I heard people laughing. It had all been a practical joke from my friends phoning from the office they work in and everybody in the office had listened to me as they had set the phone in the hands-free mode and about 10 people were laughing at my frustration.
What about you? Have you ever played a practical joke on someone or maybe been the victim of one?

Piano Man

Music, Students' Corner,

Sent by Mario Pelaez, one of my students. Thanks a lot, Mario.

“I’ve liked this song since I was a child” Mario says. It was released in 1973. The title track is one of Joel’s signature tracks and a seminal song in piano rock. It remains a concert standard, and is the source of Joel’s nickname, Piano man.

About the song…well, I think it’s so moving. It’s a song about people who are disappointed with a part of their lives, about people who still believe in their dreams even thought they haven’t been able to make them come true, and the central character of the song is the pianist, the “piano man”, who plays to alleviate their pain, to make them forget about their lives for a while…

Roald Dahl

Listening, , , ,

Roald Dahl was one of the world’s most beloved children’s authors. Not only did he create such memorable characters as Willy Wonka, Danny the Champion of the World and The BFG, but he also had a very successful career writing short stories for adults. Many of his stories, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach, have become classics in their own time.

He was born in Llandaff, Wales. His parents were Norwegian. He did not have a very happy time at school. As soon as he could, he went abroad, first to Newfoundland at 18, and then to East Africa, to train with the Shell Oil Company.
In World War Two Dahl became a Royal Air Force pilot, fighting Italian planes over the Libyan Desert. He started writing after his plane was shot down, and the description of this adventure was so successful that he became a full-time writer in the US.
He was a successful screenplay writer, working on movies like James Bond’s You Only Live Twice. Dahl moved back to England in 1960’s.
If you want more information about this author, click here to visit his website, one of the funniest I’ve ever visited.

http://www.roalddahl.com/

There is also a listening activity which you might want to try in my website. Click here