Wednesday, March 25, 2015

25-26/3/15


Homework: p.84 grammar (C)

scholarship /ˈskɒləʃɪp/ noun
1 MONEY [ EDUCATION ] [ C ] an amount of money given to a person by an organization to pay for their education, usually at a college or university
2 STUDY [ EDUCATION ] [ U ] when you study a subject for a long time

grant  /grɑːnt/ noun [ C ]
Word partners for grant
apply for / get / receive a grant • a grant for / towards sth • a research grant
[ FINANCE ] an amount of money provided by a government or organization for a special purpose
They received a research grant for the project.

age 1 /eɪdʒ/ noun
Word partners for age
reach the age of [18/60/75, etc] • at / from the age of [8/12/60, etc] • [8/25/70, etc] years of age • at sb's age • an age limit
1 HOW OLD [ C , U ] the number of years that someone has lived, or that something has existed
The show appeals to people of all ages.
She left India at the age of 12.
Children under 10 years of age must be accompanied by an adult.
She's about your age (= the same age as you) .
2 HISTORY [ C ] a period of history
the Ice Age
We're living in the age of electronic communication.
3 OLD [ U ] when something is old
Some wines improve with age .
4 under age
too young to do something legally
See also: the Middle Ages , old age

All Sunday
Hide and seek
Go everywhere
When I was a child
What I was told
Feed the ducks
Go to a park to play

We are six brothers and sisters, me included.

The Past ↴

used to /ˈjuːsttuː/ modal verb
used to do/be sth
If something used to happen or a situation used to exist, it happened regularly or existed in the past but it does not happen or exist now.
I used to go out every night when I was a student.
Monica used to live in Glasgow.
He used to be a lot fatter.

WOULD
8 OFTEN used to talk about things that happened often in the past
He would always turn and wave at the end of the street.


I would like a piece of cake ≠ When I was with my grandma I would eat /ate / used to eat her delicious cake.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

23-24/3/15




dropout [countable]
someone who refuses to take part in ordinary society because they do not agree with its social practices, moral standards etc

intense adjective                                  
someone who is intense is serious and has very strong feelings or opinions - used to show disapproval:
She's a little too intense for me.

/ˈnɔːti/ /dɪˈtɜːmɪnd/ /ˈstʌbən / /ˈsɪəriəs/

SUCH
FOR EMPHASIS used to emphasize a quality of someone or something
She's such a nice person.
It's such a shame that he's leaving.

SO
VERY used before an adjective or adverb to emphasize what you are saying, especially when there is a particular result
I was so tired when I got home.
I love her so much. [+ (that)]
I was so upset that I couldn't speak.



Wednesday, March 18, 2015

ni2 18/3/15


drought /draʊt/ noun [ C , U ]
a long period when there is no rain and people do not have enough water
A severe drought ruined the crops.
the ˈ ozone ˌ layer noun
[ ENVIRONMENT ] the layer of ozone high above the Earth's surface that prevents the sun from harming the Earth
monsoon /mɒnˈsuːn/ noun [ C ]
[ GEOGRAPHY ] the season when there is heavy rain in Southern Asia
pollute /pəˈluːt/ verb [ T ]
[ ENVIRONMENT ] to make water, air, soil, etc dirty or harmful
We need a fuel that won't pollute the environment.
pollutant noun [ C ]
a substance that pollutes water, air, etc
flood 2 /flʌd/ noun
Word partners for flood
catastrophic / devastating floods • flood damage / victims / warnings
flood
1 WATER [ GEOGRAPHY ] [ C ] when a lot of water covers an area that is usually dry, especially when a river becomes too full
The flood destroyed thousands of homes.
2 AMOUNT [ C ] a large number or amount of things or people that arrive at the same time
a flood of letters/calls
3 in floods of tears UK
crying a lot
She collapsed in floods of tears.
flake /fleɪk/ noun [ C ]
a small, flat, thin piece of something
flakes of paint/snow
scenario /sɪˈnɑːriəʊ/ noun
1 [ C ] a description of a situation, or of a situation that may develop in the future
2 worst-case scenario
the worst situation that you can imagine

We are to blame for global warming.
Global warming is our fault.

Energy efficient

Monday, March 16, 2015

ni2 16-17/3/15

Homework: grammar p. 79 (B)


smuggle /ˈsmʌgl/ verb [ T ]
[ LAW ] to take something into or out of a place in an illegal or secret way
He was arrested for smuggling cocaine into Britain.
smuggler noun [ C ]
drug smugglers
smuggling noun [ U ]

and so on/forth
used after a list of things to show that you could have added other similar things
She plays a lot of tennis and squash and so on.

lynx plural lynx or lynxes [countable]
spe‧cies plural species [countable]
a group of animals or plants whose members are similar and can breed together to produce young animals or plants:
Seven species of birds of prey have been observed.

Greyhound- galgo

reserve /rɪˈzɜːv/ noun
AREA [ ENVIRONMENT ] [ C ] an area of land where animals and plants are protected

See also: nature reserve 

The PASSIVE
In English, many sentences use the active form of the verb. The performer of the action, or the agent, comes first and is the subject of the verb that follows. The receiver of the action is the object of the verb, and it comes after the verb. For example:
The builders took down the shelves.
The builders painted the wall.

In these sentences, the builders are the agent of the action. The wall and the shelves are the object of the verb, the receiver of the action. The verb is in the active form.

The passive form is used when we want to focus attention on the receiver of the action, not on the agent of the action. In this case, the receiver of the action becomes the subject of the verb, which is now in the passive form. For example,

The shelves were taken down.
The wall was painted.


Making the passive form:

To turn a verb from the active form to the passive form, we use the past participle of the main verb, preceded by the verb 'to be'. The receiver of the action comes before the verb in the passive form. The verb 'to be' agrees with this subject.

Subject + to be + past participle of the main verb

The shelves were taken down
The wall was painted

In order to change the tense, you change the form of 'to be'

Present simple: Many clothes are made in China these days. (China makes many clothes)
Present continuous: The redecoration work is being done. (SB is doing redecoration work)
Present perfect simple: The bath has been changed. (SB has changed the bathroom)
Past simple: The wall was painted. (SB painted the wall)
Modal forms: The flat should be modernised.
(SB should modernise the flat)
In order to make a negative, you use 'not to be' in the correct form.

The computer wasn't delivered yesterday. (SB didn’t deliver the computer)
The children weren't collected from school. (SB didn’t collect the children…)

The agent:

When you use the passive form, if you want to give the agent of the action, you use 'by'.

The report was written by David.

Choosing to use the passive form:

You can use the passive form when...

...the agent is unknown

My bike was stolen 2 weeks ago.

In this example, the person who stole the bicycle, the agent of the action, is unknown.

...the agent is unnecessary or unimportant

Then, one week later, the thief was arrested.

In this example, we do not say 'by the police' because we do not need to. Only the police can arrest people, so we don't need to mention them in this sentence.

...our focus is on the receiver of the action, not the agent

Football is the number one sport in the world. It is played in most countries and it is loved by people of all ages, from 7 to 70.


In this sentence, our focus is on football, so we choose to use the passive form. This keeps football as the subject of the sentence.

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

ni2 11-12/3/15

Homework: grammar p. 77 and reading p.78-79

PARTICIPIAL CLAUSES (a type of relative clauses)
           
      A participial clause, starting with –ed or past participle, is used instead of a relative pronoun plus passive voice. Study these further examples:
Food sold (= which is sold) in this supermarket is of the highest quality.
Anyone found touching (= who is found ) these priceless exhibits will be escorted out of the museum.
The tailback on the A34 caused (= which was caused / which had been caused) by the head-on collision stretched for over 20 miles in both directions.
It took the ambulances called (= that were called / that had been called) to the scene over half an hour to get through.
                       
      A participial clause, starting with -ing is used instead of a relative pronoun plus active verb, continuous or simple.
The train now arriving (= which is now arriving) at platform 1 is the 6.36 from Newcastle.
There are delays for people travelling to work (= who are travelling to work) on Southern Region trains this morning.
Anyone touching (= who touches ) these priceless exhibits will be escorted out of the museum.
The boy driving (= who was driving) the BMW was underage, unlicensed and over the limit.

tailback /ˈteɪlbæk/ noun [ C ] UK
a line of cars that have stopped or are moving very slowly because of an accident or other problem on the road in front of them

geyser /ˈgiːzə r / /ˈgaɪzər/ noun [ C ]
[ GEOGRAPHY ] a hole in the ground that hot water and steam come out of


NB2
famous /ˈfeɪməs/ adjective
known or recognized by many people
a famous actress
New York is a city famous for its shopping and nightlife.

She's very good/bad at geography.
SUCCESSFUL, or able to do something well
Anne's a good/bad at cooking.

angry /ˈæŋgri/ adjective
having a strong feeling against someone who has behaved badly, making you want to shout at them or hurt them
He's really angry at/with me for upsetting Sophie.
I don't understand what he's angry about .

different /ˈdɪf ə r ə nt/ adjective
1 NOT THE SAME not the same as someone or something else
Jo's very different from her sister, isn't she?
UK.- The house is different to how I expected it to be.
2 SEPARATE [ always before noun ] used to talk about separate things or people of the same type
I had to go to three different shops to find the book she wanted.
differently adverb
See also: a different ball game

She's always been very nice to me.(kind and friendly)

I want to learn Chinese.
I can speak Chinese.
I like watching Chinese films.
I look forward/’m looking forward to going to China

THE TO INFINITIVE:

Verbs followed by to infinitive:
Decide ([+ to do sth] She's decided to take the job.), hope (Dad hopes to retire next year.), need ([+ to do sth] The doctor said I might need to have an operation.)…

Adjectives followed by the infinitive:
necessary /ˈnesəs ə ri/ adjective
needed in order to achieve something
[ + to do sth ] Is it really necessary to give so much detail?
nice /naɪs/ adjective
1 PLEASANT pleasant
They live in a nice old house on Market Street.
We could go to the coast tomorrow, if the weather's nice.
[ + to do sth ] It was very nice to meet you.
 important /ɪmˈpɔːt ə nt/ adjective
1 VALUABLE valuable, useful, or necessary
My family is very important to me.
[ + to do sth ] Listen, Donna has something important to say.

To infinitive after question words:

I don’t know…
…where to sit. (Where can I sit?)
…what to say. (What can I say?)
…when to visit her. (When can I visit her?)


To /tə/
REASON used to give the reason for doing something (para) (IMPORTANT: always followed by a verb)
I'm just going out to get some milk.
He came to ask me a question.
They left at ten to arrive early.

BE CAREFUL: when we have a noun we use for:
That’s a present FOR me/Peter/my parents/the neighbour…


THE GERUND:

Subject of a sentence:
Doing exercise is good.
Speaking English is difficult/easy.
Eating homemade food is healthier.

After some verbs:
I love watching plays.
I hate eating vegetables.

After prepositions:

He is interested in going to the USA.
She is obsessed with eating pizza.
He came after finishing her homework.




Tuesday, March 10, 2015

ni2 9-10/3/15

Itchy scratchy

stroke  /strəʊk/ verb [ T ]
to gently move your hand over a surface
to stroke a cat/dog
He stroked her hair.

puppy /ˈpʌpi/ noun [ C ]
a young dog
a litter of puppies

cockroach /ˈkɒkrəʊtʃ/ noun [ C ]
a large, brown or black insect that can live in houses and places where food is prepared

cricket /ˈkrɪkɪt/ noun
2 INSECT [ C ] an insect that jumps and makes a noise by rubbing its wings together

furry /ˈfɜːri/ adjective
covered with fur or with something that feels like fur

fur /fɜː r / noun
1 HAIR [ BIOLOGY ] [ U ] the thick hair that covers the bodies of some animals like cats and rabbits
2 CLOTHES [ C , U ] the skin of an animal covered in thick hair and used for making clothes, or a piece of clothing made from this
fake fur
a fur coat/hat

peacock /ˈpiːkɒk/ noun [ C ]
a large, male bird with long tail feathers that it can lift up to show a lot of colours

dove 1 /dʌv/ noun [ C ]
a white bird, sometimes used as a symbol of peace

pigeon /ˈpɪdʒən/ noun [ C ]
a grey bird which often lives on buildings in towns

fin /fɪn/ noun [ C ]
[ BIOLOGY ] a thin, triangular part on a fish, which helps it to swim


mouse /maʊs/ noun [ C ] plural mice

rodent /ˈrəʊd ə nt/ noun [ C ]
an animal with long, sharp teeth, such as a mouse or rabbit

I haven’t gone through any bad experience with animals

reptile /ˈreptaɪl/ noun [ C ]
[ BIOLOGY ] an animal whose body is covered with scales (= pieces of hard skin) , and whose blood changes temperature, for example a snake

laugh/shout/scream, etc your head off
to laugh/shout/scream, etc very much and very loudly

lizard, tortoise, turtle, crocodile, eagle, vulture, stork (cigueña), owl, hawk – falcon, boar, hedgehog, seal, mole, grasshopper, hare, crow, deer, wolf-wolves, squirrel…

chipmunk.- ardilla listada
morena.- moray, moray eel n
cienpie.- centipede

chase 1 /tʃeɪs/ verb
1 CATCH [ I , T ] to run after someone or something in order to catch them
The dog was chasing a rabbit.
See picture chase
2 chase sb/sth away/off/out, etc
to run after a person or animal to make them leave a place
I chased the cat away.

Sorry for
Sympathetic /concerned about

ni2 5-6/3/15

/ˈfjuːʒən/
/skwɒd/
/kɑːst/
/bɜːθ/
/ɔːˈθentɪk/
/ɪksˈkluːsɪv/

End up phrasal verb
To finally be in a particular place or situation
I never thought he'd end up in prison. [+ doing sth] He always ends up doing what Alan wants to do.
She'll end up unemployed.





Wednesday, March 04, 2015

ni2 4-5/3/15

Homework: writing activity, p. 128 – 129, grammar, p. 75.

behalf /bɪˈhɑːf/ noun
on sb's behalf
If you do something on someone's behalf, you do it for them or instead of them.
We are campaigning on behalf of thousands of refugees.
Will you accept the prize on my behalf?

On the whole.- generally
We've had a few problems, but on the whole we're very happy.

Schedule  /ˈʃedjuːl/ /ˈskedʒuːl/ verb [ T ]
to arrange that an event or an activity will happen at a particular time
[ often passive ] Your appointment has been scheduled for next Tuesday.
a scheduled flight

alternatively /ɔːlˈtɜːnətɪvli/ adverb
used to give a second possibility
We could go there by train or, alternatively, I could drive us.

I was sure my final exam was going to be more difficult than we expected.





Monday, March 02, 2015

2-3/3/15

Homework: Reading, p. 72.73

terrific /təˈrɪfɪk/ adjective
1 EXCELLENT excellent
a terrific opportunity
I thought she looked terrific.
weird /wɪəd/ adjective
very strange
I had a really weird dream last night.
dull 1 /dʌl/ adjective
1 BORING not interesting
a dull place
a dull person
2 NOT BRIGHT not bright
dull colours
dull weather

It’s not really my kind of thing.
I don’t really feel like it.
I’m not really in the kind of mood for that thing.
It sounds a bit too trendy for me.
It looks a bit too touristy for me.
It sounds a bit too weird for me.
I had a great time

How to organise an oral presentation for the exam.

Connectors
Correct
Variety vocab + structures

Topic: going out

What I did?

See what’s on
Latest Sponge bob  showing
dubbed
daughters really into

Did I like it?

plot
terrific, great fun (for them)
(although) expect better
Absolutely packed
Supposed to (little kids/adolescents)
‘d rather see    
In the end … glad


Conclusion

To sum up
Tend to… enjoy
I’m used to going … experience

If I were you

____________________________________



Installation art
noun. 1. art that is created, constructed, or installed on the site where it is exhibited, often incorporating materials or physical features on the site. 

Third time’s the charm/ the third time lucky

The latest

To be in labour/go into labour, labour pains
BIRTH [HEALTH] [C, U] the stage of pregnancy when a woman has pain in the lower part of her body because the baby is coming out

sightseeing /ˈsaɪtsiːɪŋ/ noun [ U ]
Word partners for sightseeing
do some / go sightseeing • a sightseeing tour / trip
the activity of visiting places which are interesting because they are historical, famous, etc
a sightseeing tour of London

get the most of it

Topic: houses (your dream house)

Coherence and cohesion (connectors)
Correct
Variety of vocabulary and structures

-     My current house
Nowadays Detached – outskirts
Not posh – not intimacy – low crime rate – not run down
Night life - annoying

-     My dream house
If I won the lot…
Could get used to living     villa
Isolated – desert island – overlook Pacific Ocean
Good sized room: Bathroom twice the size… must
Fully furnished

-     Conclusion

To sum up
Though happy
Get used to living
Commuting

Tend to take decisions - regret