Expressions and collocations UoE 7/5

to closely resemble

to feature prominently

to be an object of happiness/fear (an emtion)

a force for good/evil

to set fire (subject)

to catch fire (object)

a preventative measure

to be in the public eye

to be worth (gerund)

a long way from = far away from

it was high time he + past simple

Answers to Reading and Use of English done in class (Mr. Humphris's class)

Answers to reading test 2

•Part 5

•31B

•32A

•33C

•34D

•35B

•36A

•Part 6

•37C

•38D

•39A

•40A

Answers to Use of English Test 1

•Part 1

•1B

•2D

•3C

•4A

•5D

•6B

•7C

•8D

•Part 2

•Anybody/one

•Like

•Make

•For

•By

•Have/stand

•Up

•Out/on

•Part 3

•Favourable

•Unexpected

•Beginners

•Desperation

•Endanger

•Solution

•Alternatively

•Mountaineer(s)

•Part 5

•Not to let her / the children / kids watch

•Make it illegal to drive

•Tom / he had left on / in time OR Tom / he had been on / in time leaving

•To be (a) thorough revision to / of / revising of

•Was a gradual rise / increase / improvement in

•Was of no consequence OR was not / wasn’t of (any) consequence

Answers to reading test 1

•41C

•42E

•43G

•44A

•45F

•46D

Week 21 Use of English expressions

Cycling

Damaging to

•Shout abuse at

•Get on a bike

•Cornered by

•Trespass on

•To overcome a barrier

•Increase in

•Bad/unhealthy for

•To impede progress

Birds

•In response to

•To keep to a minimum

•To enable someone/something to

•To prevent something/someone (from) (+ing)

•To suit needs

•On its own terms

•Of its own accord

Reflexology

•To point to something

•With the aim of (+ing)

•Correspond to

•Simulated by

•The short duration of

•To gain qualifications

•To claim to have (past participle)

•Improvements to

Review Writing Homework (Mr. Humphris's class)

Task:

Write a review of a concert/performance/gig you have recently been to in 220-260 words. Remember to describe the event and clearly state your opinion.

Include:

•3 categories areas of the event you can comment on.

•3 emotive adjectives per paragraph.

•At least one complex grammatical structure per paragraph.

•Write the interesting first line.

Write the final line stating your recommendation.

E-mail to:
james.profesor@gmail.com

Language for speaking part 3 and part 4 questions

Language for speaking part 3

Giving your opinion

The problem in question ...

The main problem centres around ...

It's my belief ...

For my part ...

As I see it ...

As I was saying ...

I forgot to mention ...

I'm of the opinion that ...

To my mind ...

To my way of thinking ...

I am convinced that ...

I am inclined to believe that ...

Agreeing/disagreeing

I couldn't agree more.

I agree up to a point.

I think I see what you mean, but ...

I'm in two minds about it. / I'm ambivalent about ...

I don't see eye to eye with you here ...

That's true in a way, I suppose, but ...

I don't feel convinced ...

That's one way of looking at it. On the other hand ...

Moving on and conclusion

Don't get me wrong but shouldn't we ... ?

Judging by ... they must be ...

... is a separate issue.

Moving on to ...

Taking everything into account ...

Perhaps we should put ... first? What do you think?

A strong point in favour of ... is that ...

What do you think should go next?

Are you happy with this order then?

Do you go along with that?

Part 4 questions

•Do you think that everyone should achieve at least something in their life?

•Are material achievements more important than social ones?

•Are achievements by famous people more important than those by normal people?

•Is it worth studying to graduate from university in the current economic climate?

•How can you measure the size of an achievement?

•How important is communication to success?

Review Model (Proficiency Level)

Task: Your local newspaper is asking its readers to write a review of a restaurant where you have eaten recently and would recommend to others.

The Open House Polo Restaurant

(Name/location)

The ‘Open House’ is a restaurant situated in the heart of a small village between three national forests and close to the horse´s capital city, Chantilly. It is the favourite hangout place for people from the polo, horse races, and golf world.

(Atmosphere/decor)

As you enter the place you are welcomed by a magnificent setting, a delightful marriage of antique cut stones and the luxuries of modernity.  Sitting in any table you have a wonderful view of the workshop-like kitchen where you can see the chefs working. For those who do not book a table and are waiting, there is a cosy lounge with aged leather armchairs and pictures of polo players displayed on the walls.

(The menu/dishes)

The menu offers a wide variety of mouth-watering starters. I had the white asparagus accompanied by a mousseline sauce and poached eggs, while my friend tried the zucchini carpaccio served with sundries tomatoes and a mozzarella strudel. They were exquisite. The main course consisted in a risotto with scallop cooked in cream and a cassolette of coley with mussels, which really thrilled us. It all was followed by a delicious apple pie served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert.

(The ingredients/the wine/the prices)

All the products were fresh and the dishes had the warmth of home-made food. The chefs takes great care in selecting the best quality ingredients. The restaurant also caters for all tastes by providing a large selection of the best wines of the region, which are pricy but worth sampling.

(The service/the waiters/the owner)

What a pity that the service does not accompany the high quality of the cooking. You can hardly get a smile out of the waitresses. Thankfully the owner and hostess, a middle-aged charming woman, is always around willing to exchange some kind words with all her clients.

(Recommendation)

Despite the high price of the food and the not so attentive waiters´ service, I had a pleasant dining experience with food of the most exquisite flavours. For this reason I highly recommend going to the Open House restaurant.

Report Model

Pegasus International Exchange Programme

Report homework task and useful expressions

Task

You have been studying in an English speaking country for some time as part of an educational exchange. The director of the exchange is interested in improving the experience for future students. He has asked you to write a report outlining why you have been doing the exchange, describing what you like and dislike about it and making recommendations for how it could be improved. Write your report in 220-260 words.

Email your work to james.profesor@gmail.com

Useful language

In the introduction

- The aim of this report is to...

- The purpose of this report is to outline...

-        This report will also provide some recommendations on...

In the conclusion

- I strongly recommend...ing

- It would be highly advisable to...

- I would no doubt suggest...ing

- I also believe we should...

Other expressions from model

•The aim of this report is to…

•To give/provide an insight into…

•The growing enthusiasm for s.th. is such that…

•No need to say that…

•Additionally to…

•Not only (inversion)…

•Due to s.th. we are going to…

•Expenditure (uncountable noun)

•Our activity is really blooming…

•To be in good stead…

•Trouble free

•To undertake s.th.

•It can be said that…

Model report

You belong to an international film club and have been asked to write a report for the club members including information about the main events held over the last twelve months, the present plans for activities in the coming years and a summary of the current financial position of the club in respect of money received and payments made.

•

The international film club annual report (title)

•

The aim of this report is to give our club members an overview of the current annual activity and inform you of our future projects for the coming year. In addition, we have included an insight into our financial annual budget. (Note: Reports tend to be formal in style, so avoid using contractions)

Events of the year (subheading/ or subtitle)

•

The growing enthusiasm for Italian films is such that we considered necessary to organise a whole weekend on the subject. No need to say that organising it was really worth the effort. We had a high number of members participating who enjoyed a wide range of films courtesy of our Italian partners.

Additionally to this event, we achieved great success in our annual dinner. Not only new contracts were signed with our current international partners but also with many new ones.

Extending our video library (subheading/ or subtitle)

Due our successful meetings, which included a talk by a famous film director, we are now going to be able to provide our club with a large quantity of new films.

For that, we plan to build an extension of the video library for next year with a section dedicated to all these new Italian films.

Healthy finances (subheading/ or subtitle)

It can be said that our financial position this year is in good stead:

- We have been granted 15000€ by the national organisation to help us develop a more enriched library.

- 32 new members have subscribed this year.

As a result, the coming money amounts to more than 20000€ this year

Regarding the expenses:

- The films rentals cost no more than 5000€ this year

- We have reduced  on stationery  expenditures spending only 700€

Conclusion

Our activity is really blooming and there is no doubt that our project will be undertaken for the coming year trouble free. We also believe your ideas will be helpful to make the club still more enjoyable. Therefore we suggest taking a bit of your free time to fill in the idea form available at the entrance of the club.

Essay writing feedback

The examiner marks you on four categories:

•Content (relevance to question, length, repetition)

•Communicative achievement (register, essay style language, holding reader’s attention)

•Organisation (cohesive devices, linkers, paragraphing, ordering of ideas)

•Language (complexity of grammatical structures, wide vocabulary, errors in language)

Content

•Use examples in the body of the essay. Some of you did not use enough.

•Do not repeat ideas you have already mentioned. Use new ones and make sure they are relevant.

•Inventing statistics is fine but everything in proportion.

•Focus specifically on the question. Mention “young people” in your answer.

Communicative achievement

•An essay should always be formal. That means no contractions, “…”, “well” or “let me give”.

•Give your opinion but try to make the essay as objective as possible. Use plenty of passive structures.

•Questions are good but do not include too many. Too many questions make it sound like an article.

•Your conclusion should paraphrase and summarise the ideas you have already mentioned.

Organisation

•The essay should have 4 paragraphs: Introduction, Body 1, Body 2 and Conclusion.

•The essay should be balanced and give both points of view equal weight.

•Leave a clear line between paragraphs to make it obvious to the examiner.

•“On the other hand” can only be used after “on the one hand”

Language

•Use a large variety of grammatical structures: third conditionals, passives, inversion, unreal past tenses.

•“Not only do young people believe…”

•“No sooner have people become famous than they turn to drink and drugs”.

•“Michael Jackson is believed to have been addicted to several drugs”

•“It’s high time that people woke up and realised that being famous is not the be all and end all”.

•Don’t repeat vocabulary and make it varied. 

Common errors

•Belief (n) – believe (v)

•To provide s.b. with s.th

•“A 40% of people think…” WRONG – “A shocking 40% of people think…” RIGHT

•Los propios jóvenes = young people themselves

•Materialistic

•It is related TO – it is linked TO – it is connected TO

•8 OUT of 10

What you know or who you know?

I strongly believe that having the right skills and qualifications is essential in order to get a good job and succeed in life. However, with the large numbers of people competing for jobs nowadays, aren’t social connections equally important?

Some parents encourage their sons and daughters to keep up with the academic work in order to acquire the necessary knowledge to get into college and obtain a well-paid job one day. These young people do their best to be the first student in the class, they quit their social life and have very few friends. But then when they finish their studies, despite their impressive marks, they struggle to find a job.

On the other hand we can find a group of people who were not necessarily brilliant at college but who have the right connections. They are the ones who get a good place in a company because they know the right people. Having knowledge is undoubtedly important but I think we all need a little push from others to succeed in today´s society.

Nevertheless I want to make it clear that I believe that getting a job only because you have connections is not fair and people should not be given a job if they do not have the right qualifications. The way I see it both, knowledge and connections, are equally important.

Useful phrases from class

This comes down to...

On the one hand...

Without a shadow of a doubt...

To put into practice

Concerning the discussion...

It is much more valuable to...

It opens a lot of doors for you

Nevertheless,

Likewise

On no condition should someone be hired without...

It is of the utmost importance    -   it is paramount to

It is a well-know fact that...

Crucial

Nonetheless

To sum up,

Moreover,

Regarding

Ms Peart and Mr Sellick´s Thursday Classes

Learn the following 17 CAE Sentence Transformations for a test next lesson:

17 Sentence Transformations

Week 14 (Mr. Humphris's class) - new vocabulary and expressions

turning point

to neglect

to jump on the bandwagon

livid (adj)

leap (noun) = jump

mannerisms

to be a burden

to burst into tears

to boo

cross (adj)

crude (adj)

to be paid peanuts

venue

demise

to be high time

to be in with a chance of (verb -ing)

to make an impression on

to grow as a result of

a change for the better

to come as a surprise to somebody

Week 14 transcript from part 3 listening (Mr. Humphris's class)

You’ll hear part of a radio interview in which the comedian and writer Jane Clarkson is talking about her work. For questions 15–20, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which fits best according to what you hear. You now have 1 minute to look at Part 3. PAUSE 1 MINUTE — *** —

Int: Today I’m with the much-loved comedian and writer Jane Clarkson. Obviously Jane, this year has been quite a turning point for you ...

Jane: Well, I’ll never stop doing comedy, but there were practical reasons for wanting to take some time off and write a book. I felt my daughter had been neglected. She was just about to make the tricky transition from primary to secondary school and I thought she needed her mum around. I seem to have spent most of her life in a van touring from venue to venue for my comedy act. And I did enjoy being at home for a bit, although I missed the applause and the laughter. When I finished writing in the evening, I’d turn the computer off and there’d be nothing, which was hard to get used to.

Int: How was your novel received?

Jane: Well, a lot of male comedians had written books, so there was a bit of a bandwagon waiting to be jumped on, but with my impeccable timing I jumped slightly late, when everyone was starting to get heartily sick of comedians’ books. Also there’s a kind of fury coming from some journalists about comics writing books. They’re absolutely livid, as if they see your book in a bookshop and they jump up and down, shouting, ‘It’s not fair! Why should she make money out of writing as well as performing?’

Int: Was it a difficult transition?

Jane: Well, if you think logically, writing is the obvious step. I’ve spent years trying to make people listen to my anecdotes, so that must count for something! Also, if you’ve been an observational comedian, which I am, it’s not a great leap to use those skills you’ve developed, like observing odd mannerisms to use for jokes, and turn them into a book. At least that’s what I felt, but you don’t become a writer instantly. I’ll have to wait and see whether it was just beginners’ luck.

Int: I think why people give you a hard time about the novel is surely because we’re so trapped into thinking Jane Clarkson is a comedian. It’s as though, you know, you can’t do anything else, which is quite ridiculous because you’ve been writing radio comedy for years.

Jane: Yes, people do become obsessed about what you are. The character I adopted for my comedy act became rather a burden after a while. When I started going on stage alone, I was very young and I wasn’t entirely convincing as a comedian because nervous young women on stage actually frighten audiences. They’re convinced you’re going to fail and burst into tears, which will be very embarrassing. So there’s a palpable tension in the room and some audiences actually boo the female comedians off the stage.

Int: How did you deal with that?

Jane: Well, I had to counteract that stereotype so I started coming on shouting and being madder and crosser than any audience could ever be and that defused the tension. In fact, I rather overdid it and my character got cruder than I ever really intended. I got so good at it that people got confused between the everyday Jane and the stage Jane.

Int: What attracted you in the first place to performing, and particularly to making people laugh?

Jane: Oh, from an early age, I knew I wanted to be an actress. I innocently thought I was going to be a glamorous film star. The reason I started to do comedy acts was that in the 1980s a lot of small provincial theatres closed down. In the past, girls would’ve come out of drama school and if they had a leaning towards comedy they’d join one of these small theatres and play a variety of comedy roles in all sorts of plays from Shakespeare to contemporary stuff. All of a sudden, with the demise of these theatres, rooms above pubs opened up and comedians started telling jokes and developing their acts there. It was cheap, one performer one microphone, and anyone could do it. In some ways, it’s a healthier performance art than acting, because with acting you’re at the mercy of everybody else deciding whether you can work or not. With stand-up comedy, you might only get paid peanuts, but nobody can stop you from just driving to a venue, often hundreds of miles in terrible weather, and going on stage.

Int: But what is it when you’re actually on stage … [fade]

Week 13 vocabulary

Vocabulary from class

to take sth at face value
to get your foot in the door
approach (noun)
setback
shortcomings
get your money's worth
a probing question
to master
to get up to speed
to be fired up
wary (adjective)

Week 13 - Use of English HOMEWORK and reading part 8 tips

Carlos really should get someone to mend his bike.
HIGH
It's______________________________________ his bike mended.

Do you think Noelia is likely to win the competition?
CHANCE
Do you think Noelia is in_________________________________ the competition?

I've been greatly impressed by the way Jasper deals with problems.
MADE
Jasper's way of dealing with problems has _______________________________ me.

The reduction in the price of the magazine led to growth in sales.
RESULT
Sales of the magazines___________________________________ the reduction in the price.

I think the weather will improve next week.
CHANGE
I think there'll be_____________________________________better in the weather next week.

Phoebe was surprised to be offered a place on the course.
CAME
The offer of a place on the course__________________________________________ Phoebe.


•Look at the title and pictures to get an idea of the subject and style. Don’t read the text until you have analysed the questions.

•Read the questions carefully and underline the key expressions in each one to help focus your mind on what you are reading for.

•Remember these key expressions as you read the text at a reasonably fast pace.  Some of the answers will be obvious as you read, fill in your answer sheet as you go along.

•Be careful that your answers match all of the information in the question. Sometimes the question will be looking for more than just one criteria so you need to be careful.

•Go back to the unanswered questions, look at the key expressions you underlined and try to remember which area of the text had material related to them. When you scan the text, keep several questions in mind at once to make more efficient use of your time.