all - Merry Christmas

I would like to wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Thanks to everyone who brought food and drink on the last day of the term. I hope you enjoyed yourselves.

For those of you who believe in the Christmas spirit, and for those who don't, this is a fantastic example of it (Thanks, Mercedes C.). Watch and enjoy!

See you on Thursday 8th January (eagles and flamingos) or Friday 9th (angels and alligators)!

angels, eagles & flamingos - homework for Christmas

Hi there,

I would like you to do the following at Christmas:

1. Read the story My wife is a white Russian by Rose Tremain.

2. Revise what we have done so far by using the workbook and the CD_ROM.

3. If you haven't visited the blog yet, take the chance to do so during the holiday and do the listening exercises.

4. Check this page to learn more about Christmas.

angels, eagles & flamingos - DIY

Last week we talked a bit about DIY (Do It Yourself). Most of you seemed to be quite handy, but would you buy a house and renovate it by yourselves? Listen to John and do the exercises.

CONSOLIDATION - ANSWER KEY

Vocabulary:
1 a spectacular b world-wide c blend d siblings
2 a inept b shy c grotesque d dull
3 a low-fat b self-esteeem c bad-tempered d co-ordination
4 a wealthy b optimistic c penniless d valuable
5 a life jacket b lifeguard c social life d private life
6 a set out b under-dressed c took off d I was so terrified I could barely / nervous wreck
7 a aggressive/bossy/stubborn b articulate/co-operative/sympathetic/practical/self-confident/intuitive
8 a make up your mind b Mind your own business! c never mind d you've got something on your mind

Active and passive verb forms
1 was arrested 2 tricked 3 was telling/told 4 persuaded 5 had been placed 6 to be removed 7 returned 8 found 9 had disappeared 10 had been taken 11 arrested 12 was boarding 13 had been paid for 14 am not usually deceived 15 said 16 was returned

Forming nouns and adjectives
b creative c determined d enthusiastic e fit f good-looking g honest h optimistic i persistent j self-confident k talented l wealthy

alligators - headlines

We've been doing some work on newpaper language today. Your headlines were really professional, well done! To get a bit more practice, have a look at this news archive and do the following:

1. choose a piece of news (some of them are quite funny) and listen to it.

2. rewrite the headline in 'proper' English

3. write a short summary of the story

4. post it in a comment

By the way, I've added a link (on the right) for you to have access to newspapers online.