Listening comprehension - casinos

Here's the track we listened to the other day.

Contents from the textbook

Hello:

As the end of the school year is coming up, I've thought of reminding you of the parts of the textbook that we've covered so far.

Unit 1: sections B, C and D
Unit 2: the whole unit
Unit 3: sections A, B, C (only the vocabulary part), and D
Unit 4: the whole unit
Unit 5: sections A, C and D
Unit 6: section D
Unit 7: the whole unit, except the reading on page 71
Unit 8: section A (only the grammar part), B, C and D
Unit 10: listening in section B, speaking in section C and listening and speaking in section D
Unit 11: listening and grammar in section D
Unit 12: section A

Review unit 8

Here are the answers:

1 1 nature; light   2 streak; high    3 attitude; easy    4 sense; loud     5 lack; short     6 type; hard     7 tendency; late     8 nature; wide

2 1 terms     2 family    3 relations/links     4 breakups     5 rapport     6 links/ relations

3 1 five days' holiday/ a five-day holiday; end of March
2 company's chief executive/ chief executive of the company; man of great integrity; corruption scandal; source of shock
3 referee's decision/ decision of the referee; last night's cup final; outbreak of violence
4 diamond wedding ring; coffee mug; kitchen cupboards/ cupboards in the kitchen
5 look of surprise; people's faces/ the faces of people; women's clothes, fancy dress party

4 1 for one thing    2 on top of   3 Mind you    4 Actually   5 After all   6 Anyway   7 ironically     8 At least   9 To be honest    10 Surely    11 mean    12 Besides    13 fact    14 Ultimately

Short story

Click here to download the short story you have to read during the holidays.

An evening of entertainment - Thursday 3rd April

Here's the programme for Thursday 3rd April.

There are a few places left for the visit in English to Fernando Alonso collection on Wednesday 9th April. It's just 1 euro.

Review Unit 7

Sorry for the delay! Here are the answers:

1 1 A popular television actor convicted of dangerous driving
2 John Hope, known to television viewers as 'Pricey'
3 leaving a trail of destruction
4 Hope, said to be depressed
5 causing extensive damage to the property
6 suffering from multiple fractures
7 when arrested by police
8 shouting
9 (When) Passing sentence
10 Having heard the evidence
11 Speaking to journalists after the trial, Hope's Lawyer announced

2 1 orderly 2 rowdy 3 disruptive, lenient 4 best, foul, serious

3 1C 2 D 3C 4B 5 A

4 The following words can be omitted:    A Would you B I A Is there B I've got, It A Have you B I'm A It B I A Is there B Have you A Are B I was
5 1, 8, 10, 4, 7, 2, 9, 3, 5, 11, 6

Fernando Alonso collection

Here's the information, if you are interested in going to see the exhibition with a guided tour in English.

Where? Centro de Exposiciones Arte Canal Paseo de la Castellana 214 (Plaza de Castilla)
When? Wednesday 9th April
What time? The visit begins at 20:00. You have to be there 15 minutes before.
Prize: 1 euro.

Please, give your name and your euro in Secretaría before the 1st April so we can reserve a place for you.

Participle clauses - answer key

Here's the answer to the exercise I handed out in class:

Looking through a newspaper one day, he saw a cottage for sale in a picturesque rural area. Situated in a small village near the church, it had a conservatory and a large garden containing fruit trees: it seemed perfect. Not known for his decisiveness, Charlie surprised everyone by putting down a deposit on it the very next day. Having seen it once, he immediately made up his mind to buy it.

 

Having moved into the cottage, he soon realized it was not the peaceful rural idyll he had expected. Chiming every hour on the hour, the church bells kept him awake at night. Also, the village being in an area of outstanding beauty, coachloads of tourists arrived every weekend disturbing the peace and quiet. Worst of all, objecting to the presence of outsiders in the village, the locals were unfriendly towards him. Having lived there for six months, Charlie decided to move back to the city.

'Chilling reads to look out for' - Answer key

Here are the answers:

20B     21E     22C       23D    24F        25B          26C        27E         28C          29B           30A      31F      32E     33D     34D

Review Unit 5

Here are the answers:

1 prototype 2 logo 3 return 4 idea 5 business plan 6 backing 7 supplier 8 deal

2 1 sorely/ accutely disappointed 2 practically impossible 3 pitifully/ acutely inadequate 4 fiercely competitive 5 vehemently/ fiercely/ fully opposed 6 perfectly/ fully capable 7 acutely embarrassed 8 fully aware

3 1 If he'd said 2 If only you had/'d come 3 If it hadn't been for that hold-up 4 Had he given 5 Imagine/ Supposing 6 we'd have been able

4 1 why 2 what 3 which 4 who 5 whose 6 where 7 which 8 when 9 which 10 where 11 which/ that 12 which

5 1f 2h 3d 4c 5e 6a 7g 8b

An interview with Chris Hadfield on life skills

Here's an interview with  former Commander of the International Space Station on the life skills  which he considers important in his daily life back on earth. Watch it without subtitles first.

Review unit 4

Here are the answers:

1 1C 2A 3B 4D 5C 6D 7A 8B 9C 10D 11D 12C 13A 14A

2 1 might/ may not have understood you or might/ may have misunderstood you
2 couldn't/ can't have been speeding
3 could have saved a piece of cake for me
4 may/ might as well throw it away
5 could have danced all night
6 might want to live in a flat but I don't

3 1 asked to be moved
2 insisted on buying
3 suggested (that) we (should) leave or advised/ recommended us to leave
4 refused to buy him
5 admitted to stealing
6 denied having

4 Your own answers

4C Reading comprehension answer key

Here are the answers:

2 1 Mostly good       2 No

3 1 was apprehensive about seeing the film
2 was not only assessing Firth's portrayal of a stammerer
3 calmer
4 memorize a speech
5 was no better than stammering
6 surprised
7 realized the true extent of his stammer
8 he was not confident of his excess

By the way, a 'prep school' is a private school which prepares boys (and now girls) between the ages of five and eleven for life in public schools (expensive, fee-paying private schools)

Silent meals

Following the discussion we had in class last week, why don't you read this article on a New york restaurant where dinners are silent?

You can write your reaction in the comments.