27 mayo, 2008

A REPORT

Hi fourths, I'm posting this report by Luis Nuñez ( 4th A), which I think it could be interesting to read.

LISTENING, AN URBAN LEGEND

The aim of this report is to summarize the results of the last exam of fourth level in February. It is based on information made available by the EOI Rivas and on views expressed by the teacher and students. 39 people were involved.

The first part of the survey consists of an analysis of the general results including the four criteria necessary to pass the exam. These criteria were reading, writing, listening and speaking. Only 7 were successful, four of them belong to group A, the other three are in B.

Results
Reading has been the skill where the majority passed, near 60 per 100, followed, and perhaps surprisingly by listening and writing which 21 and 20 people passed. Finally, the poorest exercise was speaking, since less than 50% were successful.

Pupils in B have a better command of grammar than their classmates in A, 13 and 11 pupils respectively passed, and are better at listening, 12 compared to 9. However, it is said that students in group A have better skills to pass the speaking part, 11-8, and above all, to take the written exam because 60 per 100 of all people who passed with flying colours belong to this class.

It was no surprise that the results were similar to those of years before. Four in every ten pupils usually are successful in all the criteria. Paying attention was rated as the most important factor in an exam, but speaking clearly and fluently coming second.

On the evidence of this survey it was found that there is an urban legend about the difficulty of listening. Many people found it the main reason to fail their exam.

Perhaps students should consider the possibility of working out a plan to improve their skills. In short, it is recommended to read newspapers and watch TV international channels every day, to create our own vocabulary with new words which could be used when we send an email or to write some paragraphs, and, finally, we might consider studying two or three hours daily.

Comparative & superlative adjectives

Comparative adjectives
A 1 bigger, 2 more careful, 3 more expensive 4 better 5 fatter 6 more famous 7 newer 8 more modern 9 younger 10 cheaper 11 more delicious 12 richer 13 longer 14 hungrier 15 nicer 16 happier 17 more difficult 18 older 19 more beautiful 20 friendlier 21 hotter 22 more wonderful 23 worse 24 smaller 25 sadder.
B 1 A is colder than S 2 S is hungrier than J 3 W is smaller than NY 4Mary is happier than Mike 5 I’m younger than my brother 6 film stars are richer than teachers 7 Peter is friendlier than Chris.
C 1 than 2 more 3 is 4 Queen Anne/ King John 5 expensive 6 slower 7 King John/ Queen Anne 8 longer.

Superlative adjectives
A 1 M is the friendliest city in England 2 M is the most expensive restaurant in New York 3 The Nile is the longest river in the world 4 Granada is the most beautiful city in Spain 5The Mona Lisa is the most famous painting in the world 6 Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in Europe.
B 1 the worst 2 the funniest 3 the tallest 4 the best 5 the most beautiful
C 1 The JJ is the shortest 2 The RD is the fastest 3The JJ is the slowest 4 the most expensive 5 the least expensive.

25 mayo, 2008

George Orwell

Hi Fourths, Last week we were talking about Orwell's 1984. I've found this page about it.
http://www.bibliomania.com/1/7/251/1982/frameset.html.
it could be interesting if you want to read it.

22 mayo, 2008

Grammar bank 8

Hi there!
As most of you know, there's a written assignment for next week.
Elementary (B&C): for those who have not learnt about the text structure in class you can look at page 85 (INSTRUCTIONS) in your book. The DEADLINE is MONDAY, MAY 26th.

Grammar bank 8
Grammar bank 8 A
a 1shorter 2 more 3 more 4 noisier 5 thinner 6 nearer 7 easier 8 richer
b 1 C is bigger than B 2 T is prettier than D 3 D is more dangerous than F 4 My English is worse than your English 5 This chair is more comfortable than that chair 6 Her husband is younger than her 7 Buses are cheaper than trains 8French Wine is better than English wine.

Grammar bank 8 B
a 1 the smallest 2 the highest 3 the most expensive 4 the oldest 5 the most difficult 6 the driest 7 the prettiest 8 the poorest
b 1 the tallest 2 the oldest 3 the best 4 the hottest 5 the most famous 6 the worst 7 the most difficult 8 the prettiest

Grammar bank 8 C
a 1 I’d like to be 2 would you like to be famous? 3 I wouldn’t like to go up 4 he would like to learn to cook 5 she wouldn’t like to be on TV 6 would they like to have children 7 I wouldn’t like to live in a foreign country 8 we would like to buy a bigger flat.
b 1 to have 2 to go, flying 3 to be 4 seeing, to go 5 to get 6 to open, cooking 7living 8 to learn

Grammar bank 8 D
a 1 slowly 2perfect 3quickly 4 good 5 carefully 6 safely 7 well 8 terrible
b 1 badly 2 slowly 3 quietly 4 easily 5 hard 6 carefully 7 healthily 8 beautifully

What do you remember 8

Grammar
1 a 2 b 3 b 4 a 5 a 6 b 7a 8 a 9b 10 b
Vocabulary
a 1 quickly 2 dangerous 3 badly 4 quiet 5 the worst
b 1 tall (not personality 2dangerous (not climate) 3 leader (not adjective) 4 friendly (not adverb) 5 safe ( not a negative adjective for a town)
c 1 in 2 of 3 for 4 up 5 than
Pronunciation
a 1 car 2slowly 3 boring 4 serious 5 big
b ag’gressive, am’bitious, ad’venture, po’litely, ‘dangerously
Can you understand this text?
b 1 a 2 b 3 a 4 c
Can you say this in English?
b 1 did 2do 3 would 4 does 5 do 6 are 7 is 8 were

21 mayo, 2008

Revise and check 7

What do you remember?
Grammar

1 a 2 b 3 b 4 a 5 b 6 a 7b 8 a 9b 10 a
Vocabulary
a 1 stay 2see 3 get 4 meet 5 move
b 1 dessert (not a meal) 2 strawberries (not vegetables) 3 sugar (not a drink) 4 tomatoes (not connected with potatoes) 5 coffee (not a dessert).
c 1 in 2 of 3 for 4 with 5 on.
Pronunciation
b 1steak 2 tea 3 true 4 go 5 move
c de’ssert, ‘menu, ‘vegetables, ba’nana, ‘biscuit
Can you understand this text?
a 1 c 2 b 3 a 4 b

19 mayo, 2008

REVIEW

Hi there!
As most of you know, there's a written assignment for next week.
Advanced (4th A& B): I’ve given the photocopy and some instructions for your review about the book you’ve chosen for this term. You have to write around 150 words.
The DEADLINE is Tuesday, MAY 27 Th (4th A&B).

10 mayo, 2008

Grammar bank 7

Grammar bank 7 A
a 2 an orange 3 a biscuit 4 some peas 5 an ice cream 6 some cake 7 some coffee 8 some cheese 9 some chips 10 a pine apple.
b 1 some 2 some 3 an 4 any 5 some 6 any 7 an 8 any 9 a 10 some

Grammar bank 7 B
a 1 How many 2 How much 3 How much 4 How many 5 How many 6 How much 7 How many 8 How much.
b 1 a lot of 2 much 3 many 4 none 5 quite a lot of 6 Not much

Grammar bank 7 C
a 2 she’s going to speak Italian 3 she’s going to stay in a hotel 4 she’s going to take (some/ a lot of) photos 5 she’s going to eat spaghetti 6 she’s going to see the Colosseum.
b 1 is going to cook 2 I’m going to study 3 Are (you) going to buy? 4 aren’t going to fly 5 is your (brother) going to do 6 isn’t going to have.

Grammar bank 7 D
a 1 It’s going to rain 2 she’s going to have a baby 3 He’s going to have an accident 4 They’re going to play tennis
b 1 ‘re going to win 2 isn’t going to pass 3 ‘s going to be 4 ‘re going to have 5 ‘re going to break 6 ‘s going to wake up.

07 mayo, 2008

Writing a postcard

C we’re having arrived we’re staying went visited we’re sitting is are go have

Revise and check 6

What do you remember?
Grammar
1b 2a 3b 4a 5b 6b 7a 8b 9b 10a

Vocabulary
a 1 make 2 play 3 have 4 book 5 take
b 1 shelf (not a room) 2cooker (not in a living room) 3 there (not a Preposition)
4 town hall (a building) 5 square (not a building)
c 1 with 2 on 3 on 4 of 5 to

Pronunciation
a 1 near 2 know 3 floor 4 church 5 theatre
b ‘opposite be’tween be’hind ‘cupboard mu’seum

Can you understand this text?
a 1B 2F 3E 4A 5D 6G 7C
b 1T 2F 3F