Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Culture: Bonfire Night
On November 5th British people remember the spectacular attempt to blow up the Houses of
Parliament by celebrating ‘Bonfire Night’. All over Britain there are firework displays and bonfires
with models of Guy Fawkes which are burned on the fire. It’s normally quite cold on Bonfire
Night so people wear warm clothes, hats, scarves and gloves to spend the evening outside.
Traditional Bonfire Night food is jacket potatoes and toffee apples. This year is the 400th
anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot and there are special events being held in London to
remember the events of 1605.
In November 1605 a group of men decided to make a plot to blow up the Houses of
Parliament in London. The men were angry about the way the Catholic people were being
treated in England. At this time the King of England was James the first. The plot is known as
the ‘Gunpowder Plot’ and the leader of the plot was called Guy Fawkes. The men put 36 barrels
of gunpowder in the Houses of Parliament and they waited for the King to open Parliament. Guy
Fawkes was the man who was going to light the gunpowder and cause the explosion. However,
police found the gunpowder before it could be exploded and they caught all the men involved in
the plot. The men were tortured and killed.
Parliament by celebrating ‘Bonfire Night’. All over Britain there are firework displays and bonfires
with models of Guy Fawkes which are burned on the fire. It’s normally quite cold on Bonfire
Night so people wear warm clothes, hats, scarves and gloves to spend the evening outside.
Traditional Bonfire Night food is jacket potatoes and toffee apples. This year is the 400th
anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot and there are special events being held in London to
remember the events of 1605.
In November 1605 a group of men decided to make a plot to blow up the Houses of
Parliament in London. The men were angry about the way the Catholic people were being
treated in England. At this time the King of England was James the first. The plot is known as
the ‘Gunpowder Plot’ and the leader of the plot was called Guy Fawkes. The men put 36 barrels
of gunpowder in the Houses of Parliament and they waited for the King to open Parliament. Guy
Fawkes was the man who was going to light the gunpowder and cause the explosion. However,
police found the gunpowder before it could be exploded and they caught all the men involved in
the plot. The men were tortured and killed.
Story: Modern day Princess and the Pea
Modern day Princess and the Pea
Once there was a businessman who lived in a wealthy city. When he had reached the proper age his mother the owner's company decided the time was right to find a bride. The businessman however was determined not to marry just any girl, and decided that only a "real" woman (no plastic surgeries) would do for his future wife. Therefore he set off to travel through all the world to find her, and although he searched in all the cities and met lots of women it didn’t quite go right. There were many women, but how was he to know whether they were real? There was something not quite right about them all. Eventually he came home again unsatisfied and unhappy, because he wanted to have a real woman so much.
Then one night a terrible storm blew in. The rain poured down and the lightning was so bright that it lit up the house as though it were daytime and the thunder was so loud that it set all the house dogs to howling. In the middle of the storm there was a knocking at the house door. The businessman’s father went to open it, and who should be there but a girl claiming to be a true woman. She was a terrible sight with her hair all over the place and her clothes soaked through, but she was invited in to stay for the night.
The businessman’s mother didn’t believe for a minute that she was a real woman and so she decided to test the young girl's claim. Without saying a word to anyone she went into the guest bedroom, took all the bedding off the bed, and laid a single pea on the bottom; then she took twenty mattresses and piled them on top of the pea, and then she laid twenty eiderdown quilts on top of the mattresses. On this the woman had to sleep all night. The next morning when the girl woke up, the businessman’s mother asked how she had slept.
"Oh, very poorly!" she said. "I scarcely closed my eyes all night. Heaven only knows what was in the bed, but I was lying on something hard, and now I am black and blue all over my body. It's horrible!"
They could see she was a real woman without a single plastic surgery because only a true woman could have such delicate skin as to feel a pea through twenty mattresses and twenty more quilts.
So the businessman decided to marry her immediately, because he knew he had found a real woman.
Eric Ramirez Rodriguez
Once there was a businessman who lived in a wealthy city. When he had reached the proper age his mother the owner's company decided the time was right to find a bride. The businessman however was determined not to marry just any girl, and decided that only a "real" woman (no plastic surgeries) would do for his future wife. Therefore he set off to travel through all the world to find her, and although he searched in all the cities and met lots of women it didn’t quite go right. There were many women, but how was he to know whether they were real? There was something not quite right about them all. Eventually he came home again unsatisfied and unhappy, because he wanted to have a real woman so much.
Then one night a terrible storm blew in. The rain poured down and the lightning was so bright that it lit up the house as though it were daytime and the thunder was so loud that it set all the house dogs to howling. In the middle of the storm there was a knocking at the house door. The businessman’s father went to open it, and who should be there but a girl claiming to be a true woman. She was a terrible sight with her hair all over the place and her clothes soaked through, but she was invited in to stay for the night.
The businessman’s mother didn’t believe for a minute that she was a real woman and so she decided to test the young girl's claim. Without saying a word to anyone she went into the guest bedroom, took all the bedding off the bed, and laid a single pea on the bottom; then she took twenty mattresses and piled them on top of the pea, and then she laid twenty eiderdown quilts on top of the mattresses. On this the woman had to sleep all night. The next morning when the girl woke up, the businessman’s mother asked how she had slept.
"Oh, very poorly!" she said. "I scarcely closed my eyes all night. Heaven only knows what was in the bed, but I was lying on something hard, and now I am black and blue all over my body. It's horrible!"
They could see she was a real woman without a single plastic surgery because only a true woman could have such delicate skin as to feel a pea through twenty mattresses and twenty more quilts.
So the businessman decided to marry her immediately, because he knew he had found a real woman.
Eric Ramirez Rodriguez
Culture: Hallowe'en
Hallowe'en
The origins of the name
The festival of Hallowe'en has its roots in Celtic and Roman traditions. Over 2,000 years ago the Celts in Britain, Ireland and parts of France celebrated Samhain to mark the beginning of winter. When the Romans invaded, they merged this with Feralia, their celebration of the passing of the dead. As Christianity spread, the Church tried to replace these pagan feasts with official Church holy days. One of these was November 1. It was called All Saints Day, or "All Hallows", and October 31 was known as "All Hallows' Eve", and then Hallowe'en.
Hallowe'en traditions
In the past there was a tradition called "souling". Poor people went around houses asking for food. In exchange, they promised to say prayers for the dead. People no longer go souling, but the habit has been transformed into a modern Hallowe'en game for children in America, who dress up as ghosts, witches and monsters and go around people's houses, asking for sweets. This game is called “Trick or Treat’.
Witches
Hallowe'en wouldn't be fun without witches. Witches have always been part of popular folklore. Shakespeare's play "Macbeth" opens with three witches. A witch was someone - usually a woman - who had special powers and had dealings with the devil. The American town, Salem, in the state of Massachusetts, is famous for the "witchcraft trials", which took place there in 1692.
Pumpkins
The pumpkin has become a symbol of Hallowe'en. People empty a pumpkin, cut a face into the side, and put a candle inside to make a lamp. It's known as a Jack O' Lantern, from an Irish legend about a man called Jack, who made a deal with the devil.
Animals
Black cats, frogs, mice and spiders are just some of the animals associated with Hallowe'en. Generally, the more unpleasant the animal, the stronger the Hallowe'en connection. Nocturnal animals like bats are particular favourites, and if, as is the case with vampire bats, they like drinking blood, they are high on the Hallowe'en list.
The origins of the name
The festival of Hallowe'en has its roots in Celtic and Roman traditions. Over 2,000 years ago the Celts in Britain, Ireland and parts of France celebrated Samhain to mark the beginning of winter. When the Romans invaded, they merged this with Feralia, their celebration of the passing of the dead. As Christianity spread, the Church tried to replace these pagan feasts with official Church holy days. One of these was November 1. It was called All Saints Day, or "All Hallows", and October 31 was known as "All Hallows' Eve", and then Hallowe'en.
Hallowe'en traditions
In the past there was a tradition called "souling". Poor people went around houses asking for food. In exchange, they promised to say prayers for the dead. People no longer go souling, but the habit has been transformed into a modern Hallowe'en game for children in America, who dress up as ghosts, witches and monsters and go around people's houses, asking for sweets. This game is called “Trick or Treat’.
Witches
Hallowe'en wouldn't be fun without witches. Witches have always been part of popular folklore. Shakespeare's play "Macbeth" opens with three witches. A witch was someone - usually a woman - who had special powers and had dealings with the devil. The American town, Salem, in the state of Massachusetts, is famous for the "witchcraft trials", which took place there in 1692.
Pumpkins
The pumpkin has become a symbol of Hallowe'en. People empty a pumpkin, cut a face into the side, and put a candle inside to make a lamp. It's known as a Jack O' Lantern, from an Irish legend about a man called Jack, who made a deal with the devil.
Animals
Black cats, frogs, mice and spiders are just some of the animals associated with Hallowe'en. Generally, the more unpleasant the animal, the stronger the Hallowe'en connection. Nocturnal animals like bats are particular favourites, and if, as is the case with vampire bats, they like drinking blood, they are high on the Hallowe'en list.
Translation: Laughter
Laughter, The Best Medicine
Tutti gli esseri umani ridono: a qualsiasi latitudine, a qualsiasi età. E quasi sempre delle stesse cose. Fin dai due mesi di vita la risata è uno dei mezzi che più usiamo per esprimere i nostri sentimenti e comunicare. Ridere è infatti soprattutto un fenomeno sociale, di gruppo, capace, a volte, di diventare più contagioso del raffreddore. Qualche anno fa un comico francese, Henri Salvador, faceva sbellicare dalle risa sulle poltrone milioni di spettatori televisivi semplicemente ridono sullo schermo per cinque minuti di fila.
Ma nonostante la sua diffusione e importanza, sui meccanismi del ridere la scienza conosceva fino a pochi anni fa ancora molto poco. Se quello che avviene nel corpo mentre si ride è ormai abbastanza chiaro, più difficile è stato definire quali sono le cause esterne che possono provocare il riso.
All human beings laugh: at whatever level, at whatever age, and nearly always at the same things. From two months old the laugh is one of the most common ways to express/show our emotions and communicate. In fact laughing is, above all, a social phenomenon and sometimes, in a group, can become more contagious than a cold. Some years ago, Henri Salvador, a French comedian, used to make viewers split their sides laughing simply by laughing on screen for five whole minutes.
But even though its diffusion is important, until a few years ago, science/the scientific world knew very little about its mechanisms. If what occurs in the body while you laugh is clear, it has been more difficult to define what the external causes that can provoke/trigger laughter are.
Tutti gli esseri umani ridono: a qualsiasi latitudine, a qualsiasi età. E quasi sempre delle stesse cose. Fin dai due mesi di vita la risata è uno dei mezzi che più usiamo per esprimere i nostri sentimenti e comunicare. Ridere è infatti soprattutto un fenomeno sociale, di gruppo, capace, a volte, di diventare più contagioso del raffreddore. Qualche anno fa un comico francese, Henri Salvador, faceva sbellicare dalle risa sulle poltrone milioni di spettatori televisivi semplicemente ridono sullo schermo per cinque minuti di fila.
Ma nonostante la sua diffusione e importanza, sui meccanismi del ridere la scienza conosceva fino a pochi anni fa ancora molto poco. Se quello che avviene nel corpo mentre si ride è ormai abbastanza chiaro, più difficile è stato definire quali sono le cause esterne che possono provocare il riso.
All human beings laugh: at whatever level, at whatever age, and nearly always at the same things. From two months old the laugh is one of the most common ways to express/show our emotions and communicate. In fact laughing is, above all, a social phenomenon and sometimes, in a group, can become more contagious than a cold. Some years ago, Henri Salvador, a French comedian, used to make viewers split their sides laughing simply by laughing on screen for five whole minutes.
But even though its diffusion is important, until a few years ago, science/the scientific world knew very little about its mechanisms. If what occurs in the body while you laugh is clear, it has been more difficult to define what the external causes that can provoke/trigger laughter are.
Translation: videoclip selection
Ormai era l'unica occasione rimasta per scrivere una vera lettera su un foglio di carta, da mettere in una busta bianca e affrancare: la lettera di presentazione, spedita, insieme al curriculum, da chi si candidava per un lavoro. Ma ora anche questo metodo probabilmente farà la stessa fine della cartolina delle vacanze e del biglietto di auguri. Le aziende usano sempre più una nuova forma di selezione, il videoclip, che è lettera, curriculum e colloquio tutto in uno. Non solo permette ai datori di lavoro di vedere la persona e sentirne la voce, ma di capire anche molte altre cose. Quindi il mercato del lavoro si sta adattando alle nuove tecnologie, no? I giovani di oggi sono abituati a vedersi sullo schermo, caricano su YouTube filmati girati in casa per puro divertimento, vengono ripresi col cellulare. Ma è giusto pretendere che tutti diventino piccoli attori? La selezione del personale di un'azienda non rischia così di assomigliare ai casting per i reality show?
It was virtually/almost the only remaining opportunity/chance to write a real letter on a piece of paper, put it in a white envelope and put a stamp on it: the cover letter, sent, together with a CV, by job applicants. But now even this method will probably go/end up the same way as postcards and greetings cards. Companies are (increasingly) using a new form of selection more and more, the videoclip, which is a letter, CV and interview all in one. This not only allows employers to see the person and hear their voice, but also understand a lot of other things. So is the workforce/job market adapting to the new technology? Young people today are used to seeing uploaded YouTube films on the screen, made at home for pure enjoyment and recaptured by mobile phone. But is it right to expect everyone to become little actors? Doesn’t the company selection process risk resembling/looking like casting for a reality show?
It was virtually/almost the only remaining opportunity/chance to write a real letter on a piece of paper, put it in a white envelope and put a stamp on it: the cover letter, sent, together with a CV, by job applicants. But now even this method will probably go/end up the same way as postcards and greetings cards. Companies are (increasingly) using a new form of selection more and more, the videoclip, which is a letter, CV and interview all in one. This not only allows employers to see the person and hear their voice, but also understand a lot of other things. So is the workforce/job market adapting to the new technology? Young people today are used to seeing uploaded YouTube films on the screen, made at home for pure enjoyment and recaptured by mobile phone. But is it right to expect everyone to become little actors? Doesn’t the company selection process risk resembling/looking like casting for a reality show?
Summary: Knowing how to argue
Knowing how to argue is a useful skill. We use it on ourselves in order to arrive at decisions; we use it with others as we discuss business strategies or policy changes on committees, as members of the local PTA, a law office, an environmental action group; we use it as fundraisers for a cause, like saving whales, we use it in applying for foundation grants and in drafting a letter to the editor of our hometown paper. We use it when we discuss child abuse, toxic waste, tax cuts, pothole repair, working mothers, and university investment policies. Our ability to express opinions persuasively—to present our views systematically as arguments—will allow us to make some difference in public life. If we lack the necessary skills, we are condemned to sit on the sidelines. Instead of doing the moving, we will be among the moved; more persuasive voices will convince us of what we must do.
Vocabulary
PTA = Parent Teachers Association
Fundraisers = charity workers (collecting money for a cause e.g. save the children fund)
Hometown paper = local newspaper
Pothole = holes in the road where the tarmac has come away (because of e.g. rain)
Topic Sentence: Knowing how to argue is a useful skill.
Choose the main points from the passage in the selection of sentences/phrases below.
1. “We must use it on ourselves in order to arrive at decisions”
2. “members of the local PTA”
3. “we use it with others”
4. “drafting a letter to the editor of our hometown paper”
5. “Our ability . . . will allow us to make some difference in public life”
6. “we are condemned to sit on the sidelines”
7. “saving whales”
In addition to the topic sentence, numbers 1, 3, and 5 represent the more important points in this paragraph.
Sample Summary
The ability to argue is valuable because we use it for so many reasons: both to make choices for ourselves and to persuade others. Without this ability to argue we lose our power to affect change.
Vocabulary
PTA = Parent Teachers Association
Fundraisers = charity workers (collecting money for a cause e.g. save the children fund)
Hometown paper = local newspaper
Pothole = holes in the road where the tarmac has come away (because of e.g. rain)
Topic Sentence: Knowing how to argue is a useful skill.
Choose the main points from the passage in the selection of sentences/phrases below.
1. “We must use it on ourselves in order to arrive at decisions”
2. “members of the local PTA”
3. “we use it with others”
4. “drafting a letter to the editor of our hometown paper”
5. “Our ability . . . will allow us to make some difference in public life”
6. “we are condemned to sit on the sidelines”
7. “saving whales”
In addition to the topic sentence, numbers 1, 3, and 5 represent the more important points in this paragraph.
Sample Summary
The ability to argue is valuable because we use it for so many reasons: both to make choices for ourselves and to persuade others. Without this ability to argue we lose our power to affect change.
Dictation: Stress
STRESS
Stress is a disease of our times. Life has never been faster and jobs have never been more demanding than they are today. People have to perform more and more work under increasingly difficult conditions so that the number of people suffering from stress and related illnesses is constantly rising. As the condition is more widely recognised, however, there should be fewer comments such as: "He's had a nervous breakdown," or "Can't take the pressure!". This is because more people are aware that stress is a natural reaction to problems from either the outside world or the inner world of physical organs. A certain amount of stress helps us to cope, it's the excess that can lead to illness or depression and needs to be avoided.
Stress is a disease of our times. Life has never been faster and jobs have never been more demanding than they are today. People have to perform more and more work under increasingly difficult conditions so that the number of people suffering from stress and related illnesses is constantly rising. As the condition is more widely recognised, however, there should be fewer comments such as: "He's had a nervous breakdown," or "Can't take the pressure!". This is because more people are aware that stress is a natural reaction to problems from either the outside world or the inner world of physical organs. A certain amount of stress helps us to cope, it's the excess that can lead to illness or depression and needs to be avoided.
Dictation: Adolescence
ADOLESCENCE
The way in which we understand adolescence has been changing slowly over the last few years. To some extent this has happened as a result of social changes in the west, many of which have had a direct effect on young people and drawn attention to this particular group within society. Equally important, however, is the fact that new and valuable research is being carried out. These advances have led to a more realistic, as well as more sophisticated, view of the teenage years, a time of our lives which psychologists now consider crucial to later development.
The way in which we understand adolescence has been changing slowly over the last few years. To some extent this has happened as a result of social changes in the west, many of which have had a direct effect on young people and drawn attention to this particular group within society. Equally important, however, is the fact that new and valuable research is being carried out. These advances have led to a more realistic, as well as more sophisticated, view of the teenage years, a time of our lives which psychologists now consider crucial to later development.
Passive Forms
Active to Passive:
1)We are going to launch our new product in July
Our new product is going to be launched in July
2)The managers are making a decision
A decision is being made by the managers
3)People can now do their shopping online
Shopping can now be done online
4)You have to put out your cigarette before you go in a public place
Your cigarette has to be put out before you go in a public place
5)Teachers make students do homework
Students are made to do homework by their teachers
Use of Passive:
1)To create an impersonal style.
2)To focus on the action or object of the action rather than on the agent (performer).
3)To give new information at the end, rather than beginning of sentence (‘given/new’ rule).
‘Given/new’ rule:
e.g. On the left, you can see a portrait of Elizabeth Cook
a)her husband painted it
b)it was painted by her husband
Active to Passive:
1)We are going to launch our new product in July
Our new product is going to be launched in July
2)The managers are making a decision
A decision is being made by the managers
3)People can now do their shopping online
Shopping can now be done online
4)You have to put out your cigarette before you go in a public place
Your cigarette has to be put out before you go in a public place
5)Teachers make students do homework
Students are made to do homework by their teachers
Use of Passive:
1)To create an impersonal style.
2)To focus on the action or object of the action rather than on the agent (performer).
3)To give new information at the end, rather than beginning of sentence (‘given/new’ rule).
‘Given/new’ rule:
e.g. On the left, you can see a portrait of Elizabeth Cook
a)her husband painted it
b)it was painted by her husband
Tag Questions
Tag questions
Falling intonation = checking information
Rising intonation = to ask a real question, unsure, requests
Positive statement, negative tag
Negative statement, positive tag
Exceptions:
1)I’m: use tag aren’t I?
(however, I’m not: use am I?)
2)Negative words e.g. hardly ever, never, nothing, rarely etc. use positive tag
3)Nobody, somebody, everybody: use pronoun they in tag
4)Use will/can or would/could after positive imperatives e.g. open the door, will you?
Also, negative imperatives, use will you? e.g. don’t forget, will you?
5)Let’s: use shall e.g. let’s go to the concert, shall we?
6)Use same way tags to express interest, surprise, anger or concern e.g. so you want to leave the company, do you?
Falling intonation = checking information
Rising intonation = to ask a real question, unsure, requests
Positive statement, negative tag
Negative statement, positive tag
Exceptions:
1)I’m: use tag aren’t I?
(however, I’m not: use am I?)
2)Negative words e.g. hardly ever, never, nothing, rarely etc. use positive tag
3)Nobody, somebody, everybody: use pronoun they in tag
4)Use will/can or would/could after positive imperatives e.g. open the door, will you?
Also, negative imperatives, use will you? e.g. don’t forget, will you?
5)Let’s: use shall e.g. let’s go to the concert, shall we?
6)Use same way tags to express interest, surprise, anger or concern e.g. so you want to leave the company, do you?
Comparative & Superlative Forms
Comparatives
1)with countable nouns = more/fewer e.g. there are fewer cars in the country.
2)with uncountable nouns = more/less e.g. there is less grass in the city.
Modifying words:
(quite) a bit, a little, much, slightly, (quite) a lot, far
e.g. there is quite a lot of pollution in the city
The + comparative, the + comparative
(= shows that one thing is the result of another)
The more you study, the more you learn
The more I go to that bar, the less I like it
Superlatives
1)with countable nouns = the most/the fewest e.g. this room has the fewest chairs.
2)with uncountable nouns = the most/the least e.g. this company has the least profit.
Modifying words:
By far, easily, far and away
She’s easily the best student
It’s far and away the most beautiful country
It’s by far the most difficult question
As + adjective/adverb + as
e.g. I’m as good as him
The same as
e.g. they look the same as each other
The same + noun + as
e.g. It’s the same book as we used last year
Not such + adj/uncountable nouns/plural nouns
Not such a + adj/singular countable nouns
e.g. It isn’t such cold weather as yesterday.
It isn’t such a cold day as yesterday.
Like + pronouns/nouns/gerunds
e.g. He’s just like his father
It’s like going to the cinema when we watch a dvd at your house.
As + verb phrases
e.g. We studied verbs, as we did last year.
1)with countable nouns = more/fewer e.g. there are fewer cars in the country.
2)with uncountable nouns = more/less e.g. there is less grass in the city.
Modifying words:
(quite) a bit, a little, much, slightly, (quite) a lot, far
e.g. there is quite a lot of pollution in the city
The + comparative, the + comparative
(= shows that one thing is the result of another)
The more you study, the more you learn
The more I go to that bar, the less I like it
Superlatives
1)with countable nouns = the most/the fewest e.g. this room has the fewest chairs.
2)with uncountable nouns = the most/the least e.g. this company has the least profit.
Modifying words:
By far, easily, far and away
She’s easily the best student
It’s far and away the most beautiful country
It’s by far the most difficult question
As + adjective/adverb + as
e.g. I’m as good as him
The same as
e.g. they look the same as each other
The same + noun + as
e.g. It’s the same book as we used last year
Not such + adj/uncountable nouns/plural nouns
Not such a + adj/singular countable nouns
e.g. It isn’t such cold weather as yesterday.
It isn’t such a cold day as yesterday.
Like + pronouns/nouns/gerunds
e.g. He’s just like his father
It’s like going to the cinema when we watch a dvd at your house.
As + verb phrases
e.g. We studied verbs, as we did last year.
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