Happy Holidays!

One last step for this year and... holidays!

It's a sense of counter feelings when one reaches this part of the year: on one side, "holidays" is the most wanted word, and on the other side... we have spent quite a lot of time together, learning, discussing, worrying, laughing... that it will be strange not to meet each other twice a week over the next weeks.

I would like to thank you all for your time, your dedication, your efforts, your contributions and your criticism.

And I encourage you to value all you have gained, you deserve it, it has not been easy many times. Keep it alive, make it grow!

It has been a fantastic year and I've enjoyed sharing it with you all! Happy Holidays!

Animal Farm - Chapters 8 and 9

We are approaching the end of the book!
As a guide, try to answer these questions with as much information you can recall.

Chapter 8
1. Describe some changes in Napoleon’s behavior in this chapter. What do these actions suggest about his personality?
2. Why do you think Napoleon forbids the pigeons from visiting other farms? 
3. Describe the Battle of the Windmill. How does it end? 
4. If you were an animal on Animal Farm, would you consider the Battle of the Windmill a victory?
5. Squealer announces that Napoleon is dying. Is he really? Why do this pigs jump to this conclusion? 

Chapter 9 
1. How does Boxer react to being injured? 
2. Do you think the animals are better off now than in Mr. Jone’s days? Explain. 
3. The pigs seem to be getting more and more special treatment and privileges. What are some of the things they now enjoy that the other animals do not? 
4. What are some of the items the animals need to purchase? 
5. Why might Napoleon (or any leader) encourage celebrations even when times are hard? 
6. What might the raven Moses represent in the history of Russia? Does Orwell present Moses as a positive or a negative figure? 
7. Where do the pigs get the money for another case of whisky? What does this suggest about Napoleon’s personality and priorities?

Animal Farm - Chapter 7

Chapter 7.
Answer these questions:

1.  How do the hens react when Napoleon says their eggs must be sold? How does Napoleon stop them?
2.  According to Squealer, what did Snowball try to do at the Battle of the Cowshed?
3.  In general, why are the animals executed? 
4.. According to Boxer, who is responsible for the animal executions?
5.  What has been abolished by Napoleon at the end of the chapter? Why?
6.  We haven’t heard anything out of Mr. Jones in a while. Imagine that you are a reporter and have been assigned to interview Mr. Jones for the local paper. 
      a) Write three questions that you would like to ask him. They should start with a question word, such as "what", "where", "how", etc.
      b) Then, write the answers that you think Mr. Jones would give to your questions.

Unit 7 - Grammar and vocabulary revision exercises

Complete these exercises. The answers will be discussed in class.

GRAMMAR - Choose A, B, or C to complete the sentences.

1 You  ________ spent so long in the sun. You look as if you’ve got sunburn. 
A  might not have          B  couldn’t have          C  shouldn’t have      

2 I ________ some Indian food. Shall we get a takeaway? 
A  feel like          B  feel as if          C  feel      

3 I suppose Jane ________ just forgotten it was your birthday, but it’s not like her. 
A  should have          B  could have          C  ought to have      

4 I think I ________ lost that CD Jack lent me. I’ll look for it again tonight. 
A  may have          B  must have          C  should have      

5 This duvet ________! It makes me want to have a sleep now! 
A  feels like so soft          B  feels as if so soft          C  feels so soft      

6 You ________ asked before you borrowed my car! I thought it had been stolen! 
A  must have          B  ought to have          C  may have      

7 I think the kids ________ gone swimming. They’ve taken towels from the bathroom. 
A  must have          B  should have          C  couldn’t have      

8 You ________ picked a worse time to call – I’m in the middle of making dinner! 
A  shouldn’t have          B  may not have          C  couldn’t have      

9 This shirt ________ it’s made of really good quality cotton. 
A  feels          B  feels as if          C  feels that      

10 I think we’re lost! I ________ my satnav with me. 
A  should bring          B  should brought          C  should have brought      

11   You ________ seen Helen. She was standing right next to you at the party! 
A  must have          B  can’t have          C  couldn’t have      

12   You ________ you’ve had some bad news. Are you OK? 
A  look like          B  look          C  look as like      

13 They ________ have got lost. I gave them very clear directions. 
A  might          B  mustn’t          C  can’t      

14   That cake ________ delicious. Can I try a piece? 
A  smells like          B  smells          C  smells as if      

15 Suzy’s flight ________ cancelled. There’s a lot of fog in the London area this morning. 
A  might have been          B  can’t have been          C  may not have been      

16 I ________ bought so many clothes. I don’t get paid until next week. 
A  shouldn’t have          B  can’t have          C  might not have      

17 Fred ________ gone out. His car is in the garage. 
A  must have          B  can’t have          C  might have      

18   You look freezing! You look ________ you’ve been in the Arctic! 
A  if          B  as if          C  as      

19 These shoes aren’t stylish but they ________ very comfortable. 
A  feel as if          B  feel          C  feel like       

20 This jacket looks exactly ________ the one I used to have when I was a teenager! 
A  like          B  as if          C  as


VOCABULARY - Choose A, B, or C to complete the sentences.

1   I wish you wouldn’t ________ all the time. 
A  deny          B  discuss          C  argue      

2 How do you  ________ people downloading your photos illegally? 
A  avoid          B  prevent          C  refuse      

3 I’ve used the gym twice and it ________ really good. 
A  seems          B  looks          C  notices      

4 I ________ you would stop tapping your fingers on the table! 
A  hope          B  expect          C  wish      

5 I think my team have a good chance of ________ yours this year. 
A  winning          B  beating          C  losing      

6 Kevin ________ that he’d broken the window. 
A  refused          B  argued          C  denied      

7 Unless they ________ my salary I’m going to look for another job. 
A  rise          B  raise          C  higher      

8 He ________ a bank in that film, but of course, he’s a good guy really. 
A  robs          B  thieves          C  steals      

9 Could you ________ me how to apply for a place on that course? 
A  warn          B  discuss          C  advise      

10 ________ me to email Danny. I need to give him directions to your house. 
A  Remind          B  Remember          C  Notice

Animal Farm - Chapters 5 and 6

How much can you remember from these chapters?
Write T (for "true") and F (for "false") in the following statements:

The Windmill

___1. Mollie spent time looking at herself in the water.
___2. Mollie let a man from a neighbouring farm pet her.
___3. Napoleon spoke better than Snowball.
___4. Snowball has plans to build a new barn.
___5. Napoleon urinates on Snowball’s plans.
___6. Napoleon wants the animals to learn how to shoot firearms.
___7. Snowball wants to use pigeons to create more rebellion.
___8. Squealer turns against Napoleon.
___9. Napoleon and Snowball are chased off the farm by a pack of dogs.
___10. The animals trust Mr. Whimper.
___11. The pigs moved into the farmhouse.
___12. Muriel realizes that the pigs have broken a commandment.
___13. The pigs start working harder every day.



Give shorts answers:
14. Two items Mollie keeps in her stall
15. What happens to Mollie?
16. Boxer’s two mottos
17. What two commandments does Napoleon break?
18. What was placed at the base of the flagstaff?
19. What was the next year like for the animals?
20. What happened when Napoleon made a high pitched squeal?

Animal Farm - Chapter 4

Answer these questions in just one short sentence.

They have been arrange in groups according to the main facts in the chapter.

The news about the Rebellion

1. How did the animals spread the news about the Rebellion?

2. Who was in charge of that?

3. Where was Mr Jones at this time?

The effect on other farms and humans

4. What were the names of the neighbouring farms? Who owned them?

5. What effect did the news about Animal Farm have on them?

6. What was the effect on the other farms in the area?

7. What did the humans think when they heard the song?

The attacks and the invasion

8. What happened “early in October”?

9. Who was in the first attack?

10. Who was in the second attack?

11. Who does Jones kill?

12. Complete the quotation: “The only good human being is…”

13. What award do Boxer and Snowball get?

14. What do the animals call the battle?

Animal Farm - Chapter 3

Before reading this chapter and doing these exercises, read the following definitions

By heart – (remember, memorize by heart) remember very well
Committee – a group chosen to complete a specific task
Implements - tools
Indefatigable – tireless, cannot be made tired
Maxim – a well-known phrase that expresses an idea or rule
Obstinate – refusing to change your beliefs or ideas
Parasitical – like a parasite; taking advantage of
Resolution - a formal statement that expresses the decision of a group
Windfall – things (like fruit) that fall because of wind

Comprehension Questions

1. What are the animals proud of?
2. Who can read?
3. Who aren’t hard workers?
4. Who can eat apples? Why?
5. Who will raise the dogs? Why?
6. Summarize Animalism in one sentence.

Discussion Question

1. What do we learn about these characters abilities and personalities:

• Boxer
• Snowball
• Napoleon - What are Napoleon’s ideas about education? Why do you think he believes this? 
• Squealer
• Mollie
• Old Benjamin

Read the extract from Chapter 3 below. It is Squealer’s explanation of why the milk and apples are being kept by the pigs.

“Comrades!” he cried. “You do not imagine, I hope, that we pigs are doing this in a spirit of selfishness and privilege? Many of us actually dislike milk and apples. I dislike them myself. Our sole object in taking these things is to preserve our health. Milk and apples (this has been proved by Science, comrades) contain substances absolutely necessary to the wellbeing of a pig. We pigs are brainworkers. The whole management and organisation of this farm depend on us. Day and night we are watching over your welfare. It is for YOUR sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples. Do you know what would happen if we pigs failed in our duty? Jones would come back! Yes, Jones would come back! Surely, comrades,” cried Squealer almost pleadingly, skipping from side to side and whisking his tail, “surely there is no one among you who wants to see Jones come back?”

1. What reason does he give for the pigs needing milk and apples?
2. How does he make the pigs sound unselfish and dedicated?
3. What are some persuasive techniques he uses?
4. What threat does he use to convince the animals?

Animal Farm - Chapter 2

Read this list of words that appear in chapter 2 and that may not be very familiar to you.

Find the sentences where they are used in the chapter for the first time, copy them and try to use the word in sentences of your own.

1. vivacious

2. capered

3. expounded

4. disciples

5. reproached

6. lowing

7. maltreating

8. gamboled

Animal Farm - Chapter 2 Audio

And here's a recording of chapter 2! Enjoy listening to it while you re-read the chapter!

Animal Farm - Vocabulary

Animal Farm - Chapter 1

Answer these questions and get ready to discuss them in class.

1. What is the setting for the story?
2. What four characteristics are noted about Boxer the horse?
3. What comment does Benjamin the donkey make that shows his cynicism and bad temper?
4. How does Clover help the other animals at the meeting?
5. What does Old Major say is the reason the animals have such miserable lives?
6. What is Major’s prediction about Boxer.
7. What decision is made concerning the status of wild creatures such as rats and rabbits?
8. What is the name of the song Old Major teaches the animals?
9. What are the main ideas expressed in Major’s speech?
10. What indications does Orwell give in this chapter that indicate the pigs may be superior to the other animals?

Welcome back!

Hello group!

So happy to see you back from our winter break.

Just some fun for this starting week...

Extra activities units 4 A and B

Find below the answers to the extra exercises from last class.
Hope you've done a good job!

Happy Winter break!

Winter break is just round the corner!
Enjoy these two weeks with friends and family, relax and take your time to make a pause and restart in August with renewed enthusiasm!

Unit 3 Colloquial English - Workbook exercises

Here are the answers to the workbook exercises for this part of the unit.
Check them and don't forget to bring your questions to share with the class.

Frankenstein: Chapters 1 to 4

Activities:
Look at the picture on the right. What part of the story does it describe? Can you retell the facts associated to this image?

Exercises in the book:
Go to pages 20-21 and complete 

• Exercise 2 - Reading
• Exercises 5 & 6 - Grammar

Look at pages 34-36 and complete

• Exercise 2 - Reading
• Exercise 5 - Vocabulary and
• Exercise 6 - Writing

Look at pages 49-50 and do

• Exercise 3 - Reading and
• Exercise 6 - Writing

Go to pages 62-64 and complete 

• Exercises 1 & 2 - Reading
• Exercises 4 & 5 - Grammar

A short story: The Open Window

The Open Window

"My aunt will be down presently, Mr. Nuttel," said a very self-possessed young lady of fifteen; "in the meantime you must try and put up with me."

     Framton Nuttel endeavoured to say the correct something which should duly flatter the niece of the moment without unduly discounting the aunt that was to come. Privately he doubted more than ever whether these formal visits on a succession of total strangers would do much towards helping the nerve cure which he was supposed to be undergoing.

     "I know how it will be," his sister had said when he was preparing to migrate to this rural retreat; "you will bury yourself down there and not speak to a living soul, and your nerves will be worse than ever from moping. I shall just give you letters of introduction to all the people I know there. Some of them, as far as I can remember, were quite nice."

     Framton wondered whether Mrs. Sappleton, the lady to whom he was presenting one of the letters of introduction came into the nice division.

     "Do you know many of the people round here?" asked the niece, when she judged that they had had sufficient silent communion.

     "Hardly a soul," said Framton. "My sister was staying here, at the rectory, you know, some four years ago, and she gave me letters of introduction to some of the people here."

     He made the last statement in a tone of distinct regret.

     "Then you know practically nothing about my aunt?" pursued the self-possessed young lady.

     "Only her name and address," admitted the caller. He was wondering whether Mrs. Sappleton was in the married or widowed state. An undefinable something about the room seemed to suggest masculine habitation.

     "Her great tragedy happened just three years ago," said the child; "that would be since your sister's time."

     "Her tragedy?" asked Framton; somehow in this restful country spot tragedies seemed out of place.

     "You may wonder why we keep that window wide open on an October afternoon," said the niece, indicating a large French window that opened on to a lawn.

     "It is quite warm for the time of the year," said Framton; "but has that window got anything to do with the tragedy?"

     "Out through that window, three years ago to a day, her husband and her two young brothers went off for their day's shooting. They never came back. In crossing the moor to their favourite snipe-shooting ground they were all three engulfed in a treacherous piece of bog. It had been that dreadful wet summer, you know, and places that were safe in other years gave way suddenly without warning. Their bodies were never recovered. That was the dreadful part of it." Here the child's voice lost its self-possessed note and became falteringly human. "Poor aunt always thinks that they will come back someday, they and the little brown spaniel that was lost with them, and walk in at that window just as they used to do. That is why the window is kept open every evening till it is quite dusk. Poor dear aunt, she has often told me how they went out, her husband with his white waterproof coat over his arm, and Ronnie, her youngest brother, singing 'Bertie, why do you bound?' as he always did to tease her, because she said it got on her nerves. Do you know, sometimes on still, quiet evenings like this, I almost get a creepy feeling that they will all walk in through that window - "

     She broke off with a little shudder. It was a relief to Framton when the aunt bustled into the room with a whirl of apologies for being late in making her appearance.

     "I hope Vera has been amusing you?" she said.

     "She has been very interesting," said Framton.

     "I hope you don't mind the open window," said Mrs. Sappleton briskly; "my husband and brothers will be home directly from shooting, and they always come in this way. They've been out for snipe in the marshes today, so they'll make a fine mess over my poor carpets. So like you menfolk, isn't it?"

     She rattled on cheerfully about the shooting and the scarcity of birds, and the prospects for duck in the winter. To Framton it was all purely horrible. He made a desperate but only partially successful effort to turn the talk on to a less ghastly topic, he was conscious that his hostess was giving him only a fragment of her attention, and her eyes were constantly straying past him to the open window and the lawn beyond. It was certainly an unfortunate coincidence that he should have paid his visit on this tragic anniversary.

     "The doctors agree in ordering me complete rest, an absence of mental excitement, and avoidance of anything in the nature of violent physical exercise," announced Framton, who laboured under the tolerably widespread delusion that total strangers and chance acquaintances are hungry for the least detail of one's ailments and infirmities, their cause and cure. "On the matter of diet they are not so much in agreement," he continued.

     "No?" said Mrs. Sappleton, in a voice which only replaced a yawn at the last moment. Then she suddenly brightened into alert attention - but not to what Framton was saying.

     "Here they are at last!" she cried. "Just in time for tea, and don't they look as if they were muddy up to the eyes!"

     Framton shivered slightly and turned towards the niece with a look intended to convey sympathetic comprehension. The child was staring out through the open window with a dazed horror in her eyes. In a chill shock of nameless fear Framton swung round in his seat and looked in the same direction.

     In the deepening twilight three figures were walking across the lawn towards the window, they all carried guns under their arms, and one of them was additionally burdened with a white coat hung over his shoulders. A tired brown spaniel kept close at their heels. Noiselessly they neared the house, and then a hoarse young voice chanted out of the dusk: "I said, Bertie, why do you bound?"

     Framton grabbed wildly at his stick and hat; the hall door, the gravel drive, and the front gate were dimly noted stages in his headlong retreat. A cyclist coming along the road had to run into the hedge to avoid imminent collision.

     "Here we are, my dear," said the bearer of the white mackintosh, coming in through the window, "fairly muddy, but most of it's dry. Who was that who bolted out as we came up?"

     "A most extraordinary man, a Mr. Nuttel," said Mrs. Sappleton; "could only talk about his illnesses, and dashed off without a word of goodby or apology when you arrived. One would think he had seen a ghost."

     "I expect it was the spaniel," said the niece calmly; "he told me he had a horror of dogs. He was once hunted into a cemetery somewhere on the banks of the Ganges by a pack of pariah dogs, and had to spend the night in a newly dug grave with the creatures snarling and grinning and foaming just above him. Enough to make anyone lose their nerve."

     Romance at short notice was her speciality.

By Saki (H. H. Munro)

Answer:

1. What is the problem with Mr. Nuttel?
2. What is it with Mrs. Sappleton's niece that causes Mr. Nuttel additional distress?
3. Describe in your own words what happens from the time Mr. Nuttel comes into the Sappletons household, to particular attention to why things happen as they do?
4. What is the highest point of the story and at what point do we understand what the niece is really like?

Air Travel - Unit 3

As we advanced through the unit, we learned some interesting vocabulary about air travel. It is very important to know the safety instructions given by the cabin crew so that any inconvenience during the flight is easily handled.
Some time ago, safety instructions were given directly by flight attendants, but nowadays, airlines tend to attract their passengers' attention by showing them lively videos.
The following clip (reduced only to the English language parts) is part of the safety instructions video currently played during intercontinental flights by a very well-known airline.
Enjoy watching it and answer the questions that follow:

1. Is the video only for passengers' safety on board?
2. Apart from safety, the flight attendant gives another reason for fastening your seat belt. Which one?
3. Is there anywhere you would be allowed to smoke on this flight?
4. What does she say about  a "non-smoking flight"?
5. Where are the exits usually located?
6. What should you do in case of an evacuation?
7. How can you operate the life jacket?
8. What should you do if you are not using your electronic devices?
9. At take off, what is the position of the seatback?
10. Is there any extra material where you can refer to these safety informations?
11. Which is the airline that shows this video on their flights?

Clothes and fashion - Vocabulary bank exercises

Unit 2 B

After doing the exercises on page 153, here you can check your answers by listening to the audio files.

Just click on the coloured words to open each file.

1.Describing clothes
a) Match the adjectives and pictures
b) Match the phrases and pictures

2.Adjectives to describe the way people dress
a) Complete the sentences with an adjective

3.Verb phrases
a) Match the sentences

Easy, difficult? How did you do?
Post a comment about your performance! How many did you get right?

Talking about... interviews

Watch part 1 of 3 by clicking this link Colloquial English 1. Talking about... interviews. Part 1

After watching, click this link to answer some questions about it.

Good luck!

1B Grammar Bank - Auxiliary verbs

Hi! 

In the link below you will find two slides with the answer key for exercises a) and b).

Check the answers and post your comments here!

Good luck!

Click here for the answers

1B Do you believe in it? Reading & Listening

Here is the first part of the story we read in class...

Read it again to remind yourself of the introduction.

And the link below opens an audio file with the rest of the story:

The coffee cup reading

Click on the link to open the audio file and listen to it.

After you have listened to it once, play the audio again and answer the questions on page 9, exercise d.

In class, we will discuss your answers and the end of the story!

Building Bridges - Reading Comprehension exercise answers

Hi!

See below the answers to the reading comprehension exercise that we started last class and get them ready for discussion in class on Thursday, March 26th.

Good luck!
1. C             4. B
2. B             5. A
3. C

Our books

Hey! Have you checked the books we are using this year in this course?

Both Student's book and Workbook available at York!

Take with a pinch of salt

           

Would you take a cup of tea... 

with a pinch of salt?

Listen again to the conversation between Helen and Neil and post your comments below following these questions:

Click here for listening (a new tab opens)

• Why did Helen invite Neil to that café?
• How did Neil react to Helen's request?
• What opinion does Neil have about John, their colleague?
• How did the confusion arise?
• What explanation did Neil give about the phrase "take with a pinch of salt"?

Click here for more information about this idiomatic expression (a new tab opens)

• Can you think about a short situation/dialogue where you can use this idiom? Post it below to share it with your classmates.

That's all for now! 

Stay blogged in for more everyday expressions! 

The Power of Words

It's not only what we say, but how we say it as well.

Welcome to Adults 6!

Welcome!