IInnttrroodduucccciióónn aa llaa LLeenngguuaa IInngglleessaafadelweb.uncoma.edu.ar/ckeditor_assets/attachments... · libros, procurando comprenderlos para asimilar sus contenidos,

Introducción a la Lengua Inglesa

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Universidad Nacional del Comahue Facultad de Lenguas

Profesorado y Traductorado en Inglés

Cuadernillo de Cátedra Introductorio

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LLeenngguuaa IInngglleessaa

Equipo de Cátedra

Prof. Mg. Ma. del Mar Valcarce Prof. Ma. Adela García Álvarez Prof. Esp. José Andrés Sobrino

Prof. Mg. Ma. Jesús Luna Prof. Carla Valls Prof. Nadia Fernández


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Table of Contents Introducción a la vida universitaria………………………….…….. 3

Useful tips ……………………………………………………………….…….. 7

Reading comprehension …………………………………………………. 12

Use of English …………………………………………………………………..22

Writing ……………………………………………………………………….…….27

Punctuation ………………………………………………………….………... 37

Sample tests ……………….…………………………………………………..40

Bibliographical References ………………………………………….…..45

Appendix - Vocabulary……………………………………………..…….. 46

Appendix - Grammar………………………………………………..…….. 77


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Carta para Ingresantes a la Universidad

Vida Universitaria... ¿Vida? Queridos ingresantes: Como el título lo indica, el ingreso a la universidad implica un gran

cambio en la vida de cualquier estudiante. En nada se compara la "vida universitaria" con las rutinas estudiantiles de los niveles secundarios. El propósito de esta carta no es ahuyentarlos. Al contrario, queremos prepararlos de antemano, advertirlos y mostrarles un camino con menos obstáculos.

Un montañista bien preparado llegará exitosamente a la cima. Dicho cambio no sólo tiene que ver con los hábitos de estudio, sino también

con la adopción de conductas y actitudes un tanto más maduras, más responsables y más autónomas. Estas conductas son muy necesarias para lograr un exitoso comienzo y desempeño en esta nueva vida universitaria.

¿Te animás? Creemos que tomaste la decisión correcta. La decisión de ingresar a la

universidad demuestra tus aspiraciones por superarte, progresar, y poder trabajar de lo que elegiste en un futuro cercano.

¡Felicitaciones! Estás a punto de comenzar un importantísimo proceso de transformaciones en tus

conocimientos, tus habilidades, tus hábitos de estudio y tu persona. Como regalo de bienvenida, te regalamos las siguientes herramientas para que este

proceso de transformaciones sea inevitablemente exitoso... ¡Actitud positiva y optimista! Confianza en que contas con las capacidades de

lograrlo. ¡Fuerza de voluntad! En especial, cuando nos distraemos del objetivo. Constancia y preseverancia en el estudio y en la asistencia a clases. Organización de los tiempos de estudio, de los materiales y de los apuntes.

Una buena organización nos asegura un mayor control de nuestros tiempos y nos ayuda a ordenar los pensamientos y los aprendizajes. ¡Una mente ordenada rendirá mejor!

La asistencia a clases es fundamental, no sólo por un requerimiento para obtener la

regularidad, sino porque la construcción de aprendizajes se ve favorecida enormemente. Cursar


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una carrera es un compromiso que decidís tomar con tu futura vida profesional. Por eso, es necesario que la asistencia a clases sea puntual para no interrumpir su dictado y la concentración de tus compañeros, y para respetar la circulación de conocimientos en el aula. Es importante que tu asistencia sea constante, dedicada y respetuosa, evitando salidas de las aulas, el uso de celulares o distracciones que interrumpan o perjudiquen los procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje.

Luego de cada clase, es fundamental dedicar tiempo todos los días para estudiar los temas

vistos en clases. ¿Leíste bien?... Todos los días... Es decir, ¡todos! ¿Cuántas horas? Durante 4 (cuatro) o 6 (seis) horas por día. -¿Tanto?!! -¡Sí!-

ACTIVIDAD: ¿Qué es Estudiar? Lée los siguientes enunciados y marca cuál define "Estudiar

en la universidad":

a. Leer una o dos veces los contenidos vistos el día anterior al examen.

b. Leer analíticamente los contenidos trabajados, todos los días, resaltar

información importante, re-organizar y reescribir la información, realizar cuadros, redes conceptuales, síntesis, resúmenes, enriquecerlos con material extra, conectar las ideas entre sí, retenerlas para poder aplicarlas.

Si elegiste la opción "b", el partido ya casi está ganado. ¡Felicitaciones, nuevamente! La opción "b" responde, tal vez, la pregunta planteada en el título. La vida universitaria

requiere mucho esfuerzo, pero el esfuerzo puede llevarte a grandes satisfacciones y excelentes logros en tu vida personal ¿Vale la pena? Claro que sí.

A continuación, te presentamos un material de estudio acerca de cómo abordar

sistemáticamente un libro de texto.

¿Cómo estudiar un libro de texto? Gran parte de nuestra tarea universitaria estará dedicada al trabajo con material de lectura, los libros, procurando comprenderlos para asimilar sus contenidos, ya que son los elementos claves de todo proceso educacional de nivel superior.

¿Cómo abordar sistemáticamente un libro de texto?

Para empezar debemos adquirir una idea general de conjunto. Primer paso: “examinar”. Es conveniente que comencemos por el examen del libro en su totalidad, sin omitir el título y el sub-título. A continuación, es muy orientador que leamos el Prólogo y el Prefacio, pues allí el autor suele explicar qué pretende, por qué y para quiénes escribió el libro. Esto nos ayuda a tener una idea del material con el cual contamos y vamos perfilando el modo de abordarlo. Terminado el examen global del libro, debemos pasar a la inspección de cada capítulo también como un todo, antes de emprender la lectura corrida de la obra. Aquí también son


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importantes los títulos y sub-títulos porque indican las ideas principales y su organización relativa del conjunto. En resumen, el primer paso consiste en examinar todo el libro, globalmente, y luego, capítulo por capítulo, leyendo preferentemente los comienzos y las conclusiones, y todo lo que el autor haya querido hacer resaltar como importante.

Segundo paso: “preguntar”. Esta etapa está muy relacionada con la anterior del “examinar”, porque al tener una idea general del contenido de todo el libro y de los capítulos, estamos en condiciones de ejercitar un método activo. En efecto, el examen, precisamente nos debe haber dado ocasión de formularnos algunas preguntas. Es importante tener en cuenta estas preguntas que nos hacemos sobre el libro para abordar el texto de diferentes perspectivas como lector crítico.

Tercer paso: “Leer”. La lectura del libro no es una lectura fácil, sino que es la aplicación activa del método que se pretende. El objetivo ahora es establecer un diálogo con el autor. En esta etapa, leemos todo para captar las ideas principales en los diferentes niveles.

Cuarto paso: “Fijar". El estudio de un texto no termina con la lectura. Por más que hayamos comprendido lo que hemos leído, este hecho no nos garantiza que podamos retener y recordar en un tiempo posterior. Un modo eficaz de recordar consiste en escribir lo que se recuerda después de haber leído las secciones intermedias de cada capítulo. De este modo, las ideas principales de lo que leímos toman forma y las vamos aprendiendo e incorporando.

Quinto paso: “Repasar”. Es importante repasar para comprobar si lo que hemos comprendido es correcto. Con este fin, leeremos nuevamente el texto comparándolo con las notas escritas, y haciendo los ajustes necesarios.

Lo expuesto hasta el momento será útil para abordar el estudio de libros de texto de asignaturas teóricas. ¿Pero cómo abordar el aprendizaje de un idioma? En cuanto al aprendizaje del inglés, existen diferentes formas de adquirir vocabulario, aprender las reglas gramaticales y practicar la pronunciación de las palabras. A continuación, detallamos algunas de las más comunes:

En relación al vocabulario, podemos registrar en un cuaderno lo que vamos aprendiendo día a día en diferentes formas:

Hacer listas de palabras con su pronunciación y significado categorizándolas por color. Por ejemplo, los verbos de un color, los adjetivos de otro color, y los sustantivos de otro.

Agrupar las palabras según los prefijos o sufijos de las mismas.

Organizar, en el mismo cuaderno, las palabras por frases tales como „go shopping‟, „go swimming‟, „go skiing‟.

Clasificar los verbos según su patrón, agrupando los verbos que van seguidos de un infinitivo, „ing‟, o una preposición.

Combinar los adjetivos por oposición: „young-old‟, „tall-short‟. Con respecto a la gramática del inglés, en el mismo cuaderno, podemos:

Escribir diferentes ejemplos de cada tiempo verbal. Por ejemplo, en el caso de estar aprendiendo el Presente Simple, se pueden crear ejemplos propios y a la vez profundizar


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sobre estos temas consultando libros de gramática, por ejemplo el libro Essential Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy.

De las producciones escritas: hacer una lista de los errores más comunes y la versión correcta de los mismos. Antes de escribir una composición, revisar los errores más comunes para no volverlos a cometer.

Finalmente, para practicar y pulir la pronunciación:

Agrupar las palabras que comparten el mismo sonido: „pot-ought‟, „book-cook‟; o por contraste de sonidos „ship-sheep‟, „cat-cut‟. Consultar la siguiente página:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/sounds/vowel_short_1.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/sounds/vowel_short_1.shtml


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Being a good learner of English means applying some strategies. Here are some.

CLASSROOM RULES

Don’ts

Don´t speak Spanish unless it is absolutely necessary. Don´t translate every single word you come across. English and Spanish

are different languages, so you may find equivalent expressions but not identical ones.

Don´t constantly resort to the bilingual dictionary. Don´t be pessimistic!

Dos Try to use the English you know, even if you make mistakes. We learn

through mistakes! Ask the teacher what a word means, or look it up in a monolingual

dictionary, or try to figure out the meaning of a word by the syntax of the sentence, or by the overall meaning of the text.

Practise your English regularly by: a. Re-reading the notes taken in class; b. Doing the homework every day; c. Listening to audio material; d. Watching TV and films in English; e. Reading, reading and more reading.

Be positive! Take a positive attitude to language learning. Success is not remote!

There is no way to learn a second language without devoting time

to it, not just a good block of time each day, but rather a

significant segment out of the learner’s life.

(M.J. Wallace in Action Research for Language Teachers)


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Establishing good habits of study

Remember

Learning a foreign language requires small portions of attention and careful study every day!

Find a time when you are free to study and keep to it.

Decide where you will work and keep to it.

If you miss a study session, make it up. Don‟t postpone your work and get

behind.

Make a plan of your study schedule, counting down from the

examination/test day, week by week until it is full.

Be businesslike in your record keeping: have a working folder or file, and

date it each time you add to it.

Complete work as you go along. If you have unfinished work, it will worry

you and so make it hard to proceed.

Be disciplined about spending your scheduled time studying – not half of it

making coffee, or mate, and phone calls to friends-.

Review what you have achieved each week. Make a note of where you

intend to start next session.

Re-read the notes you have taken in class. Make a clean copy of them all,

completing them with more examples of your own or with examples taken

from reference books or dictionaries.

Allow some time for the unexpected. You may be able to have a second

try at a piece of work that was on the wrong lines.


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Improving your level of English

READ IT Read as many English books, newspapers and magazines as you can find. The WWW is another resource waiting for you. Most of the information is in English! Choose English in the language settings of your social network accounts.

LISTEN TO IT Get hold of the audio-visual material the teacher presents to you. Re-listen to it or

review it at home, at your own pace. Watch films in English. Try not to read the subtitles, or try to match what you get

from the subtitles and what you hear. Concentrate on the general meaning, gestures, visual clues to help you along. If you drive, listen to audiofiles (music, podcasts, news, etc.); if you walk or jog,

listen to your MP3.

SPEAK IT Talk to friends who are also learning English. Make a rule that perhaps for an hour, or

when you go out together, you will only speak English to each other. If you meet English-speaking people, try to chat with them. Make use of Internet sites for learning English with native or non-native speakers.

WRITE IT

Writing will help you consolidate what you have learnt. It will also help you organize your thoughts and ideas. It will help you remember vocabulary as well as structures, idioms and phrasal verbs.

STUDY IT

Go through the notes the teacher gives you. Write down the phonetic script of each new word you come across. Copy each new work after you look it up in the dictionary. Make an intelligent use of the dictionary. If you need to know how to say a specific word in English, go to a bilingual dictionary.

Then go to an English-English one to check how it is used, how it collocates and how it is pronounced.

Copy from the dictionary a good example of a particular word in context. Then provide one or two examples of your own.


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Getting ready for exams

Go to bed early. Try to relax and don‟t revise late.

Have a good breakfast and set off early so that you won‟t panic if you

are delayed on the journey.

Remember that it is natural to be nervous.

When you get the test, read all the instructions carefully once or

twice.

Notice which questions have more marks. Do those first.

Check if there are any word limits. If so, keep to them.

Make sure you keep to the point. Check for relevance.

If you make mistakes, cross out boldly what is wrong and rewrite it.

Time your answers so that you will finish your test in due time.

Try to leave some minutes to look over your answer as éditor´ to pick

up any careless errors –especially in the composition-.

If you have written continuation parts – afterthoughts- make sure they

are already labeled with the number of the question they relate to.

Finally, you can hand your test in, feeling that you have tried to do

your best!

Adapted from Cripps E. (1997). Longman English Tips Book. London: Longman.


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This section presents a set of texts from different sources that illustrate diverse genres (a letter, a book page or a magazine article). Some texts are preceded by a few pre-reading questions, which prepare the ground for what is to follow. There are some reading tasks to develop microskills such as reading for a gist, skimming and scanning. The post-reading activities aim at developing other microskills such as understanding specific points, selecting relevant information and identifying supporting details. So that you can read and understand the main idea(s) of the text without knowing every single word, some exercises focus on guessing the meanings of key words from the context they are in. Finally, we have included some questions that relate the topic to your personal experience. Always try to focus on the content of the texts and also on the layout and conventions used in different genres in the English-speaking world.


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Text 1: An Interview

1.1. Read the title of the interview. Who is Melanie Brandon? How old is she?

Source: Tiberio, S. C. 2008. What’s Up? Starter. Longman.

1.2. Write T (true) or F (false) next to each of the following sentences.

a. Melanie works with animals at Green Park Zoo. _____________ b. She doesn‟t do her homework at weekends. _____________ c. She starts work at 12.00. _____________ d. She always works on Saturdays and Sundays. _____________ e. Green Park Zoo is closed on rainy days. _____________

Interview with Melanie Brandon, 14, Teen Volunteer at Green Park Zoo

Melanie, what does a teen volunteer do? Teen volunteers work in the zoo but they don’t work with animals. They interact with visitors.

What do you do on a typical work day? I get up at 7 a.m., do my homework and go to the zoo. I get there at 12 p.m. First, I work at the information centre. Then, I walk around the zoo and talk to visitors about the animals. At 2 p.m., I work at the “Fun Spot,” a place for children. I read animal stories to them, I play games with them and I do face painting. The park closes at 4 p.m. and I go home.

Do you work every day? No, I don’t. I go to school from Mondays to Fridays and I work at the zoo four hours on Saturdays. Sometimes, I work on Sundays, too. I don’t work on rainy days because there aren’t many people at the zoo on rainy days.

Do you like your job? Yes, I do! I learn lots of things. I like animals and I like children. When children come to the zoo, they are very happy. The zoo is a great place to work and learn!


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1.3. Read the interview again and correct the false sentences. Melanie doesn’t work with animals. She interacts with visitors. __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

1.4. Put the events in the correct order:

a. _________ She walks around the zoo. b. _________ She works with children. c. _________ She goes home. d. _________ She gets to work. e. _________ She does her homework. f. _________ She works at the information centre.

1.5. Think of three questions you would ask Melanie. ________________________________________________________________________ ?

________________________________________________________________________ ?

________________________________________________________________________ ?

1.6. Give your opinion: Do you like zoos? Why? Why not?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

What do you think about Melanie‟s job?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________


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Text 2: Lee and Yuriko

2.1. Read about Lee and Yuriko and fill in the missing information in the chart:

Source: Oxenden, C. and P. Seligson. 1999. English File I. OUP.

Lee Yuriko

Home: place/type

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student

Work: place

Transport

Chinese

Mineral water

At weekends:

2.2. Complete the questions and answers: 1. ____________ Lee live in a flat? Yes, he does. 2. ____________ Yuriko study? No, she doesn‟t. 3. ____________ Lee and Yuriko speak Chinese? Yes, ____________ ____________ 4. Does Yuriko ____________ alcohol? No, she ____________. 5. Does Lee ____________ ? No, he ____________. 6. Does ____________ ____________ on Saturdays? No, ___________ ___________. He

____________ to discos. 7. ____________ ____________ ____________ to discos at the weekend? No,

____________ ____________. She ____________ at home with her children

Lee Hung Suk is twenty-three years old. He lives with his family in a small flat in Hong Kong. He studies psychology. Every day he goes to university by bus. He speaks only Chinese. He doesn’t drink coffee or milk but he loves Chinese tea. He doesn’t smoke and he doesn’t have a car. On Saturdays, he goes to discos and on Sundays, he plays his favourite sport: table tennis. Lee’s sister is called Yuriko and she is thirty. She is married and has two children. She doesn’t live in Hong Kong, she lives in London because her husband is English. Apart from Chinese, she speaks English very well. She works as a part time nurse in a hospital near her home. She goes to her job in her small car. She doesn’t drink alcohol, she only has mineral water. At weekends, she stays at home with her children and takes care of the garden.


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Text 3: Piranhas

3.1. Before reading: What do you know about piranhas? Are they mammals or fish? ___________________________________ Are they big or small? ___________________________________ Are they friendly or dangerous? ___________________________________

Source: Myers, C. and S. Jackson. 2007. What’s Up? I. Longman.

3.2. Read the first paragraph. Are the following sentences True or False? 1. Piranhas are not very big.

___________ 2. Piranhas live in oceans and seas.

___________ 3. Piranhas are always aggressive.

___________ 4. Piranhas have sharp teeth.

___________ 5. All piranhas are carnivorous.

___________ 3.3. Read the second paragraph. Choose the correct option:

1. The Amazon Indians… a. Hunt and sell piranhas b. Buy and eat piranhas c. Hunt and eat piranhas 2. They use the teeth to… a. Cut hair b. Brush hair c. Dry hair 3. They use the scales to… a. Make food b. Make paint c. Make clothes 4. Some people… a. Play with piranhas b. Swim with piranhas c. Talk to piranhas

3.4. Complete the chart about the piranhas:

The Piranha

Habitat

Food

Size

Uses

Piranhas are a very special type of fish. They are usually small,

about 5 to 10 centimetres long.

Their natural habitat is the Amazon River. People think

piranhas are always aggressive and eat everything they find, but

this is not true. They can be dangerous and have lots of sharp

teeth, so you mustn’t put your fingers near a piranha’s mouth.

They can transform a chicken into a skeleton in two and a half

minutes! But not all piranhas are carnivorous. Some species don’t

eat meat. They are herbivorous and eat aquatic plants.

The Amazon Indians hunt

piranhas for food. They usually cook them with vegetables and

eat them with their fingers. They also use piranhas for other things.

They use the sharp teeth to cut hair and the scales to make paint

and to decorate their faces. Piranhas are useful because they

clean the water of dead animals in the rivers. Some people love

piranhas and don’t think they are dangerous, they go swimming

with them but we don’t recommend it.


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Text 4: Latin American Hero

4.1 Before you read. What do you think rock and pop stars do in their free time? ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4.2 Now, read the article.

Source: Abbs B. And I. Freebairn (2007). In Focus 3. Longman.

Hunky Ricky Martin is a very popular Latin singer. He sings in Spanish and English and is famous in almost every country in the world.

He sings Latin pop, and likes soft ballads. “The words are very important to me,” says Ricky. He doesn‟t always sings alone but he often works with other famous singers. He once did a recording with Madonna. “Madonna is very professional to work with. She‟s quite tough and often makes you do things again and again but that‟s good. I respect that.” Ricky‟s parents are from Puerto Rico but he lives in Florida, USA. He lives in a very large house in Miami Beach. He has many friends but he likes having time to be alone. He loves travelling. “Some friends of mine have a house in the mountains in Alabama and I often go there to be by myself.” In his free time he likes to keep fit. ”I do rock climbing three or four mornings a week. I also like yoga.” He doesn‟t go out to discos or parties very much. “I like reading. I always have a book next to my bed but the best part of the day for me is the evening. I sit and watch the sunset in the bay.” Ricky always looks good on stage. He especially likes Armani clothes and likes to create a simple effect with dark colours and black trousers. After a show, Ricky never goes straight to bed. He usually goes to a restaurant to relax. He likes good food. In fact he owns his own restaurant which serves gourmet Spanish food. Ricky has everything -good looks, voice, personality. But is he really perfect? “No, not at all,” he laughs, I sometimes snore but that isn‟t a problem because I never hear it.”


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4.3. Comprehension. Read the article again and correct the notes: Ex.: Ricky only sings in Spanish. No, he doesn’t. He sings in English.

a. Ricky usually sings alone. ........................................................................................................ b. He lives with his family in Puerto Rico. ....................................................................................................... c. He hates travelling. ....................................................................................................... d. He goes out a lot. ....................................................................................................... e. He wears old clothes on stage. ....................................................................................................... f. After a show, he goes straight to bed. ....................................................................................................... g. He hasn‟t got any bad habits. .......................................................................................................

4.4. Scan the text again and underline all the adverbs of frequency. Then put them in the correct place:

Adverbs of Frequency

always

_________________

_________________

_________________

_________________

_________________

_________________

__

Text 5: Ferdinand de Magellan (1840-1521) 5.1. Read the following text and answer the questions.

Source: Spencer, D. and D. Vaughan (2001). Teamwork 1, Heinemann.

1. Was Magellan Spanish? ............................................................................................................... 2. How many ships were there at the start of the expedition? ............................................................................................................... 3. What were the birds? ............................................................................................................... 4. Where was Magellan in 1521? ............................................................................................................... 5. Who was the second captain? ............................................................................................................... 6. How many ships were there at the end of the expedition? ............................................................................................................... 7. Who was the first person to go from the Atlantic to the Pacific? ............................................................................................................... 8. Who was the first person to go round the world? .............................................................................................................. 9. Where are the Magellan straits? ...............................................................................................................

Who exactly was Ferdinand de Magellan? He was a Portuguese explorer who was famous because

he was the first person to go from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.

Magellan was Portuguese but his expedition was Spanish. There were 265 men on the expedition, and

there were five ships: the Trinidad, San Antonio, Concepción, Victoria and Santiago. The journey

was very difficult. The sea between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean was very dangerous

because the weather was terrible.

When the ships were in Patagonia, the sailors saw some very strange animals. “The animals are black

and white. Maybe they are birds, but they can’t fly. They eat fish,” said the sailors. Now we know

they were penguins!

The expedition continued to the Philippines. Magellan died in the Philippines in 1521. A man called

Juan Sebastian Elcano was the new captain of the expedition. He continued the voyage, and the

expedition arrived back in Spain in 1522. He was the first person to go round the world. At the end of

the voyage, there were twenty-one men and only one ship – the ship was called Victoria!


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Text 6: Genius

6.1. Read the text:

Source: Harris, M. and D. Mower. 2002. Opportunities Elementary. Longman.

6.2. Vocabulary work: Underline the nouns and verbs (here expressed in the infinitive form) in the text and then match them with their corresponding meaning.

a. (v) move - Stop living or existing b. (v) design - A picture made using paint. c. (n) building - Structure with walls and a roof d. (v) carry - Go and live in a different place e. (n) painting - Have something with you all the time f. (v) travel - Make or draw plans for (something) g. (v) die - Make a journey, usually over a long

distance

6.3. Read the text and find:

Professions and Jobs Names of places

Leonardo Da Vinci (1472-1519) worked as an architect, artist, mathematician, and

scientist. The young Leonardo liked school. He was a good musician, but he hated Latin.

In 1466, his family moved to Florence and Leonardo finished school. In 1482, He started

to work for the Duke of Milan. He also designed buildings and studied mathematics. His

drawing of the Anatomy of Man shows he was a great biologist. He also worked as a

military engineer. In 1502, he returned to Florence and painted the Mona Lisa. He carried

his painting with him when he travelled. From 1514 to 1516 he lived in Rome and

continued his scientific experiments. He died in France in 1519.


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6.4. According to the text, what happened in these years? 1452 Leonardo was born

1466

1482

1502

1514 -16

1519

6.5. Write questions for these answers:

a. ________________________________________________________________ ?

In 1519. b. ________________________________________________________________ ?

In Florence. c. ________________________________________________________________ ?

The Mona Lisa. d. ________________________________________________________________ ?

Latin. e. ________________________________________________________________ ?

Yes, he was.

This section contains a set of contextualised tasks for recycling, practice and consolidation of previously studied grammatical and lexical areas such as verb tenses, verb patterns, articles, prepositions, collocations and so on. As the activities are text-based, always read and try to understand the content of the whole text before completing the empty slots. Sometimes there is more than one single option to fill in the gaps, so try to experiment as you go along in order to develop awareness of the task requirements. This, in turn, will help you review your work more efficiently. If you can, work with another student, check each other’s work and suggest improvements.


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PREPOSITIONS

a. Complete the following text with the correct preposition:

Dan Ford lives (1) ……… a flat (2) ……… the second floor, (3) ……… 38 Pine Street, (4)

……… the north of London. He works (5) ……… the city center and goes there (6) ……… bus.

He wakes up (7) ……… 7 o’clock (8) ……… the morning, has breakfast and then goes to

the bus-stop to take the bus. He is (9) ……… the office (10) ……… 8.30am (11) ……… 5pm.

(12) ……… the evening he goes back home. Then he watches TV or listens (13) ………

music. He goes to bed late (14) ……… night. (15) ……… Saturday he doesn’t work.

b. Complete with the correct preposition:

Maria Lopez is a secretary. She is (1) ……… Mexico but now she is working (2) ……… a big

firm (3) ……… Los Angeles.

Maria was born (4) ……… the west (5) ……… Mexico. When she was 8 years old, her parents

moved (6) ……… Acapulco, a tourist resort famous (7) ……… its beaches and visited by many

people every year. She went (8) ……… school, where she had English lessons (9) ……… the

afternoon (10) ……… Mondays and Thursdays. She studied hard because she wanted to speak

English (11) ……… the American tourists. She made a lot (12) …….. friends and when she was

twenty years old, she moved (13) ……… Los Angeles. Now she is living there, (14) ……… a small

house (15) ……… her office.

c. Complete with the correct preposition:

If you visit Kenya, don’t worry (1) ……… the language. Everybody here speaks English.

These are some of the things you can do when you come to visit us.

You can lie (2) ……… the white sand or swim (3) ……… the warm blue water (4) ………

the Indian Ocean. But don’t spend all your time (5) ……… the beach. This is Africa and

Africa means safari. You can go (6) ……… safari to one (7) ……... the national parks, where

you can see all kinds (8) ……… wild animals. There is a nice restaurant (9) ……… the park

where you can have lunch (10) ……… people (11) ……… different parts (12) ……… the world.

You have to go through the park (13) ……… car because it is very dangerous to go (14)

……… foot. You will remember this visit (15) ……… ever.

Adapted from: Hutchinson T. (1991). Hotline. Starter. O.U.P. p.62


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d. Complete with the correct preposition where necessary:

Mrs. Brown was talking (1)

……… a friend (2)

……… the living-room (3)

……… her

new house. This is the dialogue they had:

Mrs. Brown: “Next month my family and I are going (4)

……… holiday. We’ll stay (5)

……… a small hotel (6)

……… Lake Tahoe. Last year we went there too and we really

liked it. We met (7)

……… a lot of nice people and we made many good friends. We

went (8)

……… picnics, we swam (9)

……… the lake and we walked (10)

……… the

mountain that is (11)

……… the lake.”

Friend: “How long are you staying there?”

Mrs. Brown: “We’d like to spend two weeks, but it depends (12)

……… the weather.

(13)

……… half an hour I’m going shopping (14)

……… buy all the things we’ll need (15)

……… the trip.”

Friend: “Enjoy your holidays.”

VERB TENSES

a. Fill in the gaps with the verbs in the suitable tenses:

Bobby Best (1) …………… (be) a football player. The following is his weekly routine:

“Sunday and Monday are my weekend. On Sunday I (2) …………… (go) out with my

girlfriend, Jenny. She (3) …………… (be) twenty years old and I (4) …………… (be) twenty-

five. She (5) …………… (have) blue eyes and fair hair. We (6) …………… (get) on really well.

On Monday I (7) …………… (get up) late and I (8) …………… (play) in the afternoon. From

Tuesday to Friday I (9) …………… (walk) to the club at 9 o’clock. On Tuesday the team

doctor (10) …………… (see) all the players. On Wednesday the manager (11) ……………


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(show) a video of Saturday’s match. When we (12) …………… (practise) on Thursday, the

manager (13) …………… (watch) all the players. In the afternoon he (14) ……………(choose)

the new team. The match (15) …………… (start) at 2.30 on Saturday.

b. Fill in the gaps with the verbs in the suitable tenses:

Mike Prize (1) …………… (be) from Phoenix, Arizona. At present he (2) …………… (work)

as a journalist for Time magazine. He (3) …………… (live) with his wife, Sofia. They (4)

…………… (not have) children. Mike (5) ………………... (leave - always) home at about 8

o’clock. Sofia is a shop-assistant. She (6) …………… (not like) her job, so she (7) ……………

(look) for another one at the moment.

At the weekend Mike and Sofia (8) ……………………(have - usually) lunch in their

garden. They (9) …………… (love) it. Today the sun (10) ……………… (shine), the birds (11)

……………… (sing) and they (12) ……………(enjoy) a beautiful moment together.

Mike: “(13) ……………… (you - know) why we are so happy?”

Sofia: “Because we (14) …………… (love) each other and we (15) ……………… (not –

worry) about anything else in the world.”

c. Fill in the gaps with the verbs in the suitable tenses:

Last Monday Marcel (1) ……………… (go) to London for the day. He (2)

……………… (get up) at 6.30, travelled to Calais and then (3) ……………… (sail) to

Dover. The boat (4) ………………(be) late and he (5) ……………… (not - arrive) in Dover

until 9 a.m. When he (6) ………………(arrive) in London at 11.15, he (7) ………………

(walk) to the museums but they (8) ……………… (not - be) open because it was

Monday. He (9) ……………… (have) lunch in a restaurant and then (10) ………………

(visit) the Tower of London but there (11) ……………… (be) lots of tourists there and he

(12) ……………… (not – see) very much.

He (13) ……………… (stay) in England for two days and then he (14) ………………

(fly) to Scotland where he (15) ………………(spend) the rest of his holidays.

Adapted from: Abbs B. and I. Freebairn (1992). Blueprint One. Workbook. Essex: Longman. p.34.


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d. Fill in the gaps with the verbs in the suitable tenses:

In 1993 my wife and I (1) ……………… (go) to a friend’s wedding in Italy. We (2) ………………

(drive) to Sorrento and then, after the wedding, we (3) ………………(do) some sightseeing and (4)

……………… (take) some photographs. Then we (5) ……………… (decide) to go to a nearby beach.

We (6) …………… (change) into our swimsuits and (7) ……………… (leave) our clothes, passports

and cameras in the car. When we (8) ……………… (get) back to the car park at four oćlock, we (9)

……………… (can) not find the car. We (10) ……………… (have) nothing except our swimsuits and

a little money. We (11) ……………… (buy) some cheap clothes to wear and (12) ……………… (tell)

the police. They (13) ……………… (find) the car two days later quite near the beach. In the car there

was a note which (14) ……………… (say): “Thanks for the ride! We (15) ……………… (like) the car

very much. Ciao!”

CLOZE

a. Complete the following story with a suitable word:

I just moved (1)

…………… a new house in Miami Beach. My place is (2)

……………

the ocean and I really (3)

…………… living there. It has nine rooms. (4)

…………… is a

living room, a dining room, a (5)

…………… where we cook and (6)

……………

breakfast, two bathrooms and (7)

…………… bedrooms.

My (8)

…………… room is the living room. There (9)

…………… two very (10)

…………… windows and I like to sit (11)

…………… them and look (12)

……….. the

ocean. On (13)

……………walls, I have a lot of photographs (14)

…………… my friends

and from my movies (15)

……………… I’m an actor.

b. Complete the following biography with a suitable word: His name was Michael Jackson, super-super-star!! Have you got any Michael Jackson´s

CDs? Perhaps you have got one of 1__________ hit albums or videos. Millions of people all

over 2________ world liked Michael Jackson. Michael 3_______ three sisters and five

brothers. The boys 4________ all in the band called The Jackson Five, but Michael was the

international superstar. 5______ did people like him? They liked his music, 6________ liked

his songs and they liked his dancing. They even liked his clothes: his boots covered


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7_________ sequins, the silver glove on his left hand, and his blue and gold sequined

jacket 8________ black trousers.

On stage Michael was 9_______ star but at home he was quiet and shy. He lived in a

very big house 10___________ Encino, California with his mother, Katherine, and two of his

sisters, Janet and La Toya. He loved animals. He had a lot 11_________ animals in his

private zoo, including 12__________ eight-foot long snake called Muscles and a sheep

called Mr Tibbs.

c. Read about Jim Stamp, a handsome man in his forties who is a night nurse at a hospital

and he describes his working routine. Try to fill in the blanks with a suitable word.

Jim Stamp’s Day

I usually wake ............ at 8:30 or 9 p.m. I ............ up slowly, take a ............ and get dressed.

I always put ............ jeans, a knit sport shirt, and white leather running ............ . Then I go to

the ............ for something to eat. While I am ............ I talk with my wife, Barbara. After my meal

I go into ............ living room to watch TV with my 13-year-old ............, Mike, and my 15-year-old

daughter Angela. Soon, it is time to ............ for work. Barbara ............ me in the car. It ............

us about 15 minutes to get there. As soon as I get to the ............ I change into white pants from

my locker. ............ I’m ready for work.

My job ............ at 11 p.m. I check all about my patients and give medications. ............ I do

paperwork. While I do the writing, I ............ with Victor and Kay, the other night ............ . Every

hour on the hour I ............ around with a flashlight and ............ the patients. I also stop at my

locker to have a quick snack of raisins or crackers. At 1:30 a.m. I take ............ coffee break. My

time for lunch break is ............ 4 to 5 a.m. Sometimes I go to the cafeteria, but other times I

............ a nap. Afterward, I am very ............ with blood pressures, temperatures, medications, and

more ............ . Finally, at 7:30 my job ............ I change into my jeans and ............ the hospital.

I take ............ bus home. ............ I get to the bus stop, I buy a newspaper. It ............ at least 35

minutes to get home, ............ I read the paper on the ............ . As soon as I get home, I give

Barbara a big ............ and ............ put on my running clothes. I run five miles and ............ great.

After I take a shower and have ............, I frequently ............ things around the house. Occasionally,

I go ............ with Barbara. After lunch, I start to feel ............ . At 2:30 I go ............ bed. Mike and

Angela ............ home from school about that time. ............, they often forget that ............ trying to

sleep and make lots ............ noise with their radios and records. Too soon it is 9 p.m., and I have

to start a new day.

I don’t like ............ work at night, but I’m the ............ nurse at the hospital. I can’t sleep well

during the day, so I generally feel ............ . Most of all, I ............ go bowling with my team in the

evening. ............ a good bowler, but I ............ go bowling when I work at night. I ............ that next

year I’m going to work more during the ............ .

Adapted from: Ingram B. and C. King (1990). From Writing to Composing. Cambridge: C.U.P.


28

The elementary level exercises in this section start with a focus on short pieces of writing –paragraphs-, which can be seen as building blocks to be grouped together as the traditional ćomposition´, that is, a short text on a single topic or theme. The emphasis lies on the development of basic descriptive and narrative pieces. Our approach takes a text as the point of departure to familiarise the learners with the type of writing they are going to practise. The different activities are aimed at brainstorming ideas, selecting the most relevant ones, organising them, providing connections or links and adequate punctuation. Writing is not just an opportunity to reinforce grammar and vocabulary; it is a useful skill to discover what we think and to learn how to express our ideas in a clear way.


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1. Writing descriptions

When you describe something, you are trying to give your reader an exact and detailed impression of something in your experience. As regards words and phrases, descriptions are concerned with detail. Thus, the larger and more precise your vocabulary, the better your descriptive writing will be. You should certainly be adequately equipped in the following categories:

a- Place and position; direction b- Measurements: weight, size/volume,

and distance c- Shapes and patterns d- Colours and textures e- Materials and substances f- Technical vocabulary: faces and bodies,

character, clothes, buildings, weather and so on

g- Use and value Most descriptions concern universal qualities or constant and habitual processes, and thus the present simple tense is in constant use.

This section covers the following areas:

1.a Describing people (physical descriptions, character, etc.) 1.b Describing places (towns, cities, villages) 1.c Describing routines

1.a. Describing People

The following areas may all form part of a personal description:

i. physical attributes (hair, eyes, complexion, facial shape, other facial features, build, height, gesture, dress) and related descriptive notions: size, colour, style)

ii. emotional (e.g. warm, aloof, nervous...), intellectual (e.g. clever, mediocre, perceptive...)

iii. and moral (e.g. trustworthy, greedy...) attributes iv. habitual attributes (behavioural and emotional habits, opinions, gestures and

expression)

1. a. Read the following composition. Suggest a title for it. b. What is the main idea in each paragraph? Use the following set of topics and

complete the gaps.


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THE WRITER’S OPINION – HOBBIES AND INTERESTS PHYSICAL APPEARANCE – FAMILY BACKGROUND

Adapted from: Whitney N. (2001). Open Doors 3. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

2. Place the following words into four separate lists: Hair, Eyes, Complexion and General Appearance. Some of the words will go into two or even three of the lists.

dark thin long straight bald pale fair auburn green

thick short wavy moustache fat tall curly beard dull almond-shaped bright


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HAIR

EYES

COMPLEXION

GENERAL APPEARANCE

3. How old do you think these people are? Make sentences from the table

He‟s

She‟s

(about)

in

35 (years)

his

her

old. (early) (mid)

(late)

teens. twenties.

thirties

Source: Doff A. and C. Jones (1998). Language in Use. Pre-intermediate. Cambridge: C.U.P

B. I think I’m getting a bit old to have a

baby now. A. I’ve been teaching for 25 years now.

D. Only one more year at university

and you’ll have to start looking for a

job.

E. I’m buying him a razor for his

birthday –he’s just started shaving. C. I was just a baby during the Second

World War.

F. She was born in 1955.

G. I’m really looking forward to

retiring next year.


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4. Match the sentences with the character adjectives in the box.

shy generous

selfish 1 friendly

modest Self-confident

mean Bad-tempered

honest Easy-going

lazy Hard-working

Source: Doff A. & C. Jones (1998). Language in Use. Pre-intermediate. Cambridge: C.U.P.

5. Make notes about your best friend.

6. Use your notes to write a description of your friend.

.............................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................

MY BEST FRIEND

Paragraph A

Family background

Paragraph B

Physical appearance

Paragraph C

Hobbies and interests

Paragraph D

Why I like this person?

1… always smiles and says hello when we meet.

2… doesn’t like giving away money.

3… gets angry quite a lot.

4… is afraid to speak to strangers.

5… isn’t afraid to speak to strangers.

6… usually stays late at the office.

7… always tells the truth.

8… doesn’t get upset if things go wrong.

9… doesn’t work very hard.

10… always brings you a little present.

11… doesn’t boast.

12… is only interested in himself/herself.


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1.b. Describing Places

The description of places is fairly difficult to organise (compared

with for example, the description of people) since all the places

whether large (town, city or country) or small (park, river bank,

garden, square, beach, forest) are distinctive in layout, and in the

relation of one part to another.

Apart from the lexical items associated with towns and cities

(roads, amenities, public buildings, green areas etc.) or with

smaller areas, the most important language in this sort of

descriptions is that of location, spatial relations and special

features:

Location:

- here, there, everywhere, inside, outside

- over, beyond, in, at, by, near, etc.

- to the east, in the centre, in the western part of, north of, etc.

- is situated, located, found, surrounded by, covers, extends, flows, etc.

- at the background, at the foreground and vice versa

Existence:

- there is/are

- you can find / discover / see

Special Features:

- ... of special interest is/are

- one of the really/most interesting parts/places...

- the ... is famous/popular/etc.

- you shouldn‟t miss (seeing/going to)...

- tourists should/ought to see/visit...


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1. Read the text about the place where Neil lives and rearrange the paragraphs in the correct order.

Adapted from: Whitney N. (2001). Open Doors 3. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

2. Now complete the following chart with information from the text.

Introduction

1 name of town/city ........................................ 2 location ....................................... ....................................... 3 age .....................................

Main part: people

4 size of village ......................................... 5 population ........................................ 6 jobs .......................................

Main part: facilities

7 buildings ........................................ 8 transport .......................................... 9 shops ........................................... 10 education ........................................... 11 industries ......................................... 12 entertainment .......................................

Conclusion: opinions

13 writer‟s opinion ....................................... 14 reasons ......................................

The Place Where I Live

A. There is a beautiful church, called St Helen’s, in the

centre of the village. There are no bus stops and no

railway station. There are only two small shops.

The nearest supermarket is about 5 km away. There

used to be a school here, but it has closed because

the population is too small. The main industries are

agriculture and farming. Unfortunately, there are no

cinemas or theatres.

B. I like our village because it is small and quiet. But

my older sister doesn’t like it. She would rather live

in a large city, where there are more cinemas and

discos and teenagers.

C. North Thoresby used to be a big village, but now it

is quite small. These days, only about four hundred

people live here. A lot of families have left the

village. They have gone to work in larger towns

and cities where there are more shops.

D. The place where I live is a village. It is called North

Thoresby. It is in Lincolnshire, in the east of

England. The village is very old. It was founded in

the fifteenth century.


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3. Make a plan about your hometown.

Introduction

1 name of town/city ................................... 2 location ................................... ................................... 3 age ....................................

Main part: people

4 size of village ...................................... 5 population ..................................... 6 jobs ....................................

Main part: facilities

7 buildings ...................................... 8 transport ...................................... 9 shops ....................................... 10 education ........................................ 11 industries ...................................... 12 entertainment .....................................

Conclusion: opinions

13 your opinion ....................................... 14 your reasons ......................................

4. Now change your notes into sentences and paragraphs and write a description of your native town.

THE PLACE WHERE I LIVE

............................................................................................................

............................................................................................................

............................................................................................................

............................................................................................................

............................................................................................................

............................................................................................................

............................................................................................................

............................................................................................................

............................................................................................................

............................................................................................................

............................................................................................................


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1.c. Describing Routines

To describe the way people do things and the way things always happen you should take into account the following aspects:

Use the present simple: He goes to work at eight o’clock every day, They live in a flat in the city, etc.

Follow a chronological sequence. Mention how often you do things. Use frequency adverbs and time prepositions. Give reasons for some of your daily activities. Use connectors (e.g. but, because,

and or so). Use expressions such as like / hate / enjoy / love / + ing to describe likes and

dislikes. End with a general remark or comment.

Bart Simpson’s Daily Routine (activities designed by Silvia Pereira)

Hello,

My name is Bart Simpson and I’m going to tell you all about me. I’m 10 years old and I live in a small

town called Springfield in the U.S.A with my parents, my two sisters: Lisa and Maggie and my cat

“Snowball”. I go to Springfield Elementary school and I’m on the 4th year. I must say that I’m not a

very big fan of school because I don’t like studying. What I really like is skateboarding and I do it all

the time. I also like reading comics and playing baseball with my friends.

Every day I get up at seven o’ clock and I take a quick shower. Then, at twenty past seven, I get

dressed and at twenty to eight I have breakfast: cereals, a glass of milk and two pieces of toast.

After having breakfast, I go to school in the school bus. My first lesson starts at eight o’ clock. I

have classes until midday. Then I have lunch at the school canteen with my friends. After having

lunch, I have classes until four o’ clock and I arrive home around a quarter past four. From half past

four until six o’ clock I usually do my homework. After that I go skateboarding with my friends until

half past seven. At eight o’ clock, I have dinner with my family and around half past nine I go to bed.

What about you? Tell me about your daily routine!

Best wishes,

Bart Simpson

A.Read the text carefully and say if these sentences are true ( T ) or false ( F ). Correct the false ones. 1.Bart lives in the U.K. ________ 2.He doesn’t like school. _______ 3.Bart has a dog called “Snowball”.________ 4.He has classes until one o’ clock. ________ 1.____________________________________________________________________________ 2.____________________________________________________________________________


37

3.____________________________________________________________________________ 4.____________________________________________________________________________ B. Answer the following questions. 1. What time does Bart get up? ______________________________________________________________________________ 2. What does he do at twenty past seven? ______________________________________________________________________________ 3. Does he have breakfast at school? ______________________________________________________________________________ 4. What does he have for breakfast? ______________________________________________________________________________ 5. When does he do his homework? ______________________________________________________________________________ 6. What time does he go to bed? ______________________________________________________________________________ C.Fill in the blanks with the verb to be. 1.Bart ______ a ten-year-old boy that lives in Springfield. 2.Lisa and Maggie _______ Bart‟s sisters. 3.Marge Simpson _______ Bart‟s mother. 4.Bart has a cat. It ______ called “Snowball”. 5.Skateboarding ________ his favourite hobby.

D. Look at Bart’s week and write sentences about it. Use the adverbs of frequency.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Have a shower in

the morning

Play tennis Skateboarding

Read the newspaper Do homework

Eat soup at dinner

Follow the model: Bart always has a shower in the morning. 1. ____________________________________________________________________________ 2. ____________________________________________________________________________ 3. ____________________________________________________________________________ 4. ____________________________________________________________________________


38

5. _____________________________________________________________________________

E. Replace the words in bold by the correct personal pronoun.

1.Bart rides his bike on weekends. __________________________________________________

2.Lisa and Maggie have breakfast at home every day. ___________________________________

3.“Snowball” is Bart’s dog. _________________________________________________________

4.Bart’s mother cooks very well. ____________________________________________________

A.

F. Now, write in schedule form what you do or what somebody you know does every day.

..................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................

G.Use the schedule to write a composition. Don‟t forget to give a title to your piece of writing.

..................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................


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..................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................

PUNCTUATION

When you hand in a paper for any course, it will probably be judged first by its format. It is important then, to make the paper look attractive, neat, and easy to read. Here is a checklist you should

use when preparing a paper. If you are going to hand in a handwritten paper: Use a blue or a black pen. Be careful not to overlap letters or make decorative loops on letters Make your letters distinct. Pay special attention to: a, e, i, o, u Make your capital letters distinct from small letters

Title Centre the title on the first page of your paper Don‟t use quotation marks (“ ”) and don‟t underline it Capitalize all the words except for small connecting words like:

of – for - the – and – in – to Skip a line between the title and the first line of the paper Use indentation. The first line of each paragraph should be 5 spaces from the left-hand margin Remember the title is NOT part of your composition

Capital letters Use capital letters for: The first word in a sentence or a direct quotation: E.G.: The corner grocery was robbed last night. The alien said, “Take me to your leader.” Names and the word „I‟: E.G.: Last night, I saw a hilarious movie starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy Names of particular places:


40

E.G.: Although Bill dropped out of Port Charles High School, he eventually earned his degree and got a job with Atlas Realty Company. BUT: Use small letters if the specific name is not given: E.G.: Although Bill dropped out of high school, he eventually earned his degree and got a job with a real estate company. Days of the week, months and holidays: E.G.: On the last Friday afternoon in May, the day before Memorial Day, my boss is having a barbecue for all the employees. BUT: Use small letters for seasons –summer, fall/autumn, winter, spring. E.G.: Most people feel more energetic in the spring and fall. Names of commercial products: E.G.: My little sister knows all the words to the jingles for Oscar Mayer hot dogs, Diet Pepsi, Meow Mix cat food, and McDonald‟s hamburgers. BUT: Use small letters for the type of product (hot dogs, cat food, hamburgers, and so on) Titles of books, magazines, newspapers, articles, stories, poems, films, television shows, songs

and papers that you write. E.G.: We read the book Hiroshima, by John Hersey, for our history class. In the doctor‟s waiting room, I watched All My Children, read an article in Reader’s Digest, and leafed though the Miami Herald. Names of companies, associations, unions, clubs, religious and political groups and other

organizations. E.G.: Joe Naples is a Roman Catholic, but his wife is Methodist. The Hilldale‟s Square Dancers‟ Club has won many competitions.

Brian, a member of Bricklayers Local 431 and the Knights of Columbus, works for Ace Construction.

Names that show family relationships: E.G.: All his life, Father has been addicted to gadgets. I browsed though Grandmother‟s collection of old photographs. Aunt Florence and Uncle Bill bought a mobile home. BUT: Do not capitalize words like mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, uncle, aunt, and so on when they are preceded by a possessive word (such as my, your, his, her, our, their) E.G.: All his life, my father has been addicted to gadgets. I browsed though my grandmother‟s collection of old photographs. My aunt and uncle bought a mobile home. Titles of persons when used with their names E.G.: I contributed to Senator McGrath‟s campaign fund. Is Dr. Gregory on vacation? Professor Adams announced that there would be no tests in the course. BUT: Use small letters when the titles appear by themselves, without specific names. E.G.: I contributed to my senator‟s campaign fund. Is the doctor on vacation? The professor announced that there would be no tests in the course. Specific school courses: E.G.: The college offers evening sections of Introductory Psychology I, Abnormal Psychology, Psychology and Statistics, and Educational Psychology.


41

Languages E.G.: My grandfather‟s Polish accent makes his English difficult to understand. Geographic locations E.G.: He grew up in the Midwest but moved to the South to look for a better job. BUT: Use small letters in directions. E.G.: Head west for five blocks and then turn south on State Street. Historical periods and events E.G.: During the Middle Ages, the Black Death killed over one-quarter of Europe‟s population. Races, nations and nationalities E.G.: The questionnaire asked if the head of our household was Caucasian, African American, Asian, or Native American. Tanya has lived on army bases in Germany, Italy, and Spain. Denise‟s beautiful features reflect her Chinese and Mexican parentage. Opening and closing of a letter E.G.: Dear Sir: Sincerely yours, Dear Ms. Henderson Truly yours,

Numbers Spell out numbers that take no more than two words, otherwise use the numbers themselves.

WATCH OUT: Be consistent when you use a series of numbers in a sentence or paragraph. Use numbers to show dates, times, addresses, percentages and chapters of a book.

EG: The burglary was committed on October 30, 1995, but not discovered until January 2, 1996. Before I went to bed, I set my alarm for 6.45 am. (spell out the numbers before o’clock: I didn‟t get out of bed until seven o‟clock) The library is located at 45 West 52nd St. When you take the skin off a piece of chicken, you remove about 40 per cent of the fat. The name of the murderer is revealed in chapter 8 on page 236.

Source: Langan, J. (1985). College Writing Skills with Readings. McGraw-Hill Higher Education

Prof. García Alvarez, María Adela


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Exercises:

A. Circle the words in the following sentences that need a capital letter. There are 25.

1. my favorite books are green eggs and ham and horton hears a who. 2. on sunday, i will see the movie star wars and eat at taco bell. 3. terry and louis went to central park last july. 4. she has a friend from london, england. 5. did you know that abraham lincoln was the sixteenth president?

B. Write the following sentences correctly.

1. every december, i can hardly wait for santa claus. 2. friday is the best day because we order pizza from domino's. 3. the best television shows are spongebob and ed, edd, and eddie. 4. my favorite song is we will rock you. 5. king arthur ruled over camelot. C. Put an X if the sentence is capitalized incorrectly and a C if it is capitalized correctly.

1. _____ Big Ben of London is a clock. 2. _____ I drove east to the city and turned north. 3. _____ My family supports the American cancer society. 4. _____ Yellowstone National Park is a great Park. 5. _____ I work for the New York Times. 6. _____ She is a republican and proud of it. 7. _____ The Emancipation proclamation was issued in 1862. 8. _____ Buddhists have been around a very long time. 9. _____ The Sidney Opera House is a Gorgeous Building. 10. _____ The Bronze Age lasted for several thousand years. D. Circle all the words that need to be capitalized. There are 25.

i have the coolest book called encyclopedia of the world. it shows pictures of africans, asians, animals, and architecture. it explains how the coliseum in greece was built and why the leaning tower of pisa leans. my dad likes reading about the war of the roses and the russian revolution. it also explains about different groups of people, like catholics, protestants, and jews. Also included is information about zoos, including the san diego zoo.

Taken from https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/


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INTEGRATIVE TESTS

The tests in this section have been included as an opportunity to practice and consolidate your previous English-learning experience in an integrated and effective way. Each test has three parts -reading-comprehension, use of English and writing- which aim at reinforcing the linguistic aspects revised in the previous sections. Some samples have been included so as to give you an idea of the expected output. As you will see, the general features of these texts are the cohesive and coherent development of ideas, the use of a simple yet correct range of vocabulary and grammatical structures, and the clear organization of the information.


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Sample Test 1

PART1. READING COMPREHENSION

1.1. Read the text below. Then do the activities that follow.

U.N. CELEBRITIES MAKE A DIFFERENCE

This week’s article in our series The Rich and Famous gives you some surprising facts about our favourite Stars. Their lives are not just about parties, expensive clothes and big houses. Many of them work very hard to give something back to the world. We all know about the work of the United Nations Organisation (the UN) and its agencies like UNICEF. We also know the famous celebrities in the photos. But did you know about their UN charity work? They didn’t earn any money for their work and they didn’t do it to become more famous. They just wanted to help the millions of poor, sick and hungry people in developing countries. Many UN celebrities come from the world of sport, films and music. In 2003, football stars Ronaldo and Zidane organised a charity game in Switzerland to raise money. Then they gave the money to the UN to help the world’s poor people. Ronaldo said, “When I was a child, I was often hungry. Now I want to help.” Famous musicians also organise charity events. Luciano Pavarotti is well-known for his Pavarotti and Friends concerts in Italy where U2. Sting and Ricky Martin were some of the performers. These concerts made millions of dollars for the UN. The Colombian singer Shakira is another UN celebrity. About 120 million children in the world don’t go to school and UNICEF wants to give them a basic education. In 2004, Shakira visited many developing countries to help UNICEF with this plan. The American actress Angelina Jolie is one of the many film stars who also helped the UN. She went to many different countries and talked to refugees. Then she wrote a book about her experiences called Notes from My Travels. She earned a lot of money from the book and donated it all to the UN refugee agency. In 2001, the UN and its Secretary General, Kofi Annan, won the Nobel Peace Prize. These celebrities all helped the UN to make a difference.


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1. 2. TRUE OR FALSE? Go through the text and then read the following sentences. Answer true or false. If false, please provide the correct version. a. The celebrities only want to help poor children. b. Zidane and Pavarotti were poor when they were kids. c. Kofi Annan has received an award for his contribution to world peace. d. Angelina Jolie gave money to the UN for the people they protect. e. Shakira travelled to developing countries to present her new album. 1.3. Answer the following questions. a. What do celebrities do with their money? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..….. b. How did Pavarotti contribute to the UN? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………….. c. Why does Ronaldo want to help poor people? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……….. d. Did all the celebrities earn money for their work? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………… e. Is UNICEF part of the UN? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…. 1.4. Now ask questions about the article. a. …………………………………………………………………………………………………..……………….?

In 2003.

b. …………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………? In Italy.

c. …………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………? About 120 million.

d. ………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………?

Because they wanted to help people in developing countries. e. …………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………?

A book called Notes from My Travels.


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PART 2. USE OF ENGLISH 2.1. Verb Tenses and Forms Fill in the blanks with the verb in the suitable tense or form.

2.2. Cloze Test

Read the whole text carefully to understand the general meaning. Then complete each blank with one word: prepositions, pronouns, articles, etc.

Dear Caroline,

We ………………… ( 1. have ) a wonderful time in Cancun at the moment. I……………….. (2.

write) this postcard from the balcony of our hotel room . Every day we …………………. (3. go ) to the

beach and ………………….( 4. have ) lunch there. Brad …………………… (5. play) beach volley

every afternoon and yesterday he ……………….(6. win) a match. To celebrate we ……………….. (7.

decide ) to go on a two-day boat trip . There we ……………….… (8. meet ) a lot of people ,

…………….… (9. take) a lot of photos and ………………(10. drink) caipirinha. The food

there………………… (11. to be ) delicious and the people …………………….( 12. to be ) very

friendly.

See you soon. A huge hug

Alice

Last summer, Peter and I travelled to Africa _______(1) holiday. We

flew there ____________(2) Air France. We stayed there

_____________(3) a month and had (4) ____________ fantastic time !.

…….hotel was comfortable and ______________(5) room was the only one

with a view to the beach. The tourist guide took ___________ ( 6) to

a national park in the area. When we arrived ___________(7), we found

a baby gorilla, we bought some food and fed _______________(8)


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PART 3. WRITING Look at the pictures and write a story of approximately 120 words. Begin like this: “Last Sunday, Paul…”

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BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES

Abbs B. and I. Freebairn (1992). Blueprint One. Workbook. Essex: Longman.

Abbs B. and I. Freebairn (1992). Blueprint One. London: Longman.

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Doff A. and C. Jones (1992). Language in Use. Pre-Intermediate. Self-Study Workbook A. Cambridge: C.U.P.

Doff A. and C. Jones (1998). Language in Use. Pre-intermediate. Cambridge: C.U.P.

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Harris M. and D. Mower (1993). World Class. Level 3. London: Longman.

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Soars J. and L. Soars (2000). New Headway Elementary. Workbook with Key. Oxford: O.U.P.

Stephens M. (1986). Practise Writing. London: Longman.

Strange D. (ed.) (1997). Little Women. Penguin Readers Level 3. London: Penguin Book.

Swan M. and C. Walter (1992). The New Cambridge English Course 1. Cambridge: C.U.P.

Swan, Michael (2008) Practical English Usage. Third Edition. Oxford.

Tice J. (1997) The Mixed Ability Class. Richmond Publishing;

Viney P. (1989). Sunnyvista City. Streamline Graded Readers. Level 3. Oxford: O.U.P.

Warshawsky D. (1992). Spectrum 1. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall Regents.

Warshawsky D. (1992). Spectrum 2. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall Regents.

Whitney N. (2001). Open Doors 3. Oxford: O.U.P.


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The following are some units taken from McCarthy M. and F. O’Dell

(1999). English Vocabulary in Use. Elementary. Cambridge: CUP.


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The Family. A family tree for some of Anne and Paul Mason’s relatives or relations.


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