Language courses abroad
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LONDON - MALTA - DUBLIN - NEW YORK - MIAMI - TORONTO
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Monday, 21 March 2011
Thursday, 17 March 2011
Key: Unit 6
G1 1
1 was studying 2 worked 3 was checking 4 called 5 were searching 6 was 7 was living 8 was wearing 9 were planning 10 kept
G2 2
1 c 2 a 3 e 4 b 5 d
G1, 2 3
1 had seen 2 'd applied 3 was trying 4 had invested 5 gave 6 had already gone 7 was working 8 had had 9 went 10 was looking
KL 5
1 would 2 placing 3 afraid 4 paid 5 check 6 feel 7 sounds
V1 6
1 staff 2 customer 3 invest 4 profit 5 partner 6 price 7 taxes 8 wholesaler
V2 7
1 go bankrupt 2 launch a company 3 launch/introduce a product 4 make a profit 5 negotiate a contract
1 was studying 2 worked 3 was checking 4 called 5 were searching 6 was 7 was living 8 was wearing 9 were planning 10 kept
G2 2
1 c 2 a 3 e 4 b 5 d
G1, 2 3
1 had seen 2 'd applied 3 was trying 4 had invested 5 gave 6 had already gone 7 was working 8 had had 9 went 10 was looking
KL 5
1 would 2 placing 3 afraid 4 paid 5 check 6 feel 7 sounds
V1 6
1 staff 2 customer 3 invest 4 profit 5 partner 6 price 7 taxes 8 wholesaler
V2 7
1 go bankrupt 2 launch a company 3 launch/introduce a product 4 make a profit 5 negotiate a contract
Monday, 14 March 2011
Japan Earthquake and Tsunami
Can you understand the meaning of the highlighted words without using a dictionary?
Message from the American Red Cross
Earthquake and tsunami in the Pacific - What you can do
Friend,The pictures coming out of Japan today are just devastating. This epic 8.9 magnitude earthquake off the nation's shores set off a series of giant waves that devastated its northern coast and spawned tsunami warnings in dozens of other countries in the Pacific, including the U.S.
As I write this, the Japanese Red Cross is deploying relief workers, emergency supplies, and other assistance to help ease suffering. Other Red Cross societies in the Pacific region have provided early warning messages and assisted in evacuating those at risk. The American Red Cross opened temporary evacuation centers across the West Coast and Hawaii, providing a safe place for nearly 2,500 people to stay while they watched and waited for possible tsunami impact.
Emergency relief is needed right now for the mounting critical needs of the masses suffering such grave loss. Please donate now to support the Japan earthquake and Pacific tsunami effort:
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The early reports we're receiving indicate this disaster has taken hundreds of lives and devastated thousands more.
As part of the global Red Cross humanitarian network of more than 13 million volunteers and 186 Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, we're uniquely positioned to manage catastrophic emergencies and provide assistance to those affected by emergencies like this enormous disaster.
The American Red Cross stands ready to extend support beyond the U.S. and its territories to assist other nations. Our warehouse in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is fully stocked with pre-positioned relief supplies for thousands of families, and our disaster specialists are standing by in case their assistance is requested.
Please help us do everything we can to assist in this time of great tragedy, give generously now.
Sincerely,
David Meltzer
Senior Vice President, International Services
American Red Cross
Thursday, 10 March 2011
On the net: What makes a good school
A BBC Newsround forum (2004) featuring the opinions of British teenagers and children in response to the question ‘What makes a good school?’
A BBC article (2005) on Rudolf Steiner schools, a group of independent schools that have their own distinct educational philosophy.
A BBC article (2006) on improvements to girls’ education in Afghanistan after the ousting of the Taliban regime in 2001.
Another BBC Newsround forum (2006), this time asking young people ‘Do teachers tell you off too much?’
What makes a good school
These are the opinions of four students about what makes a good school. In class we did it as a cloze, here you have the complete texts and some exercises for further practice.
Hannah (15)
What makes a good school is a balance between discipline and fun.
You don’t want to learn if the lessons are boring and all you do is memorise facts – you only become interested in a subject if it is taught in an enjoyable way. My favourite teachers are the ones who encourage us to be creative and think for ourselves.
However, it’s also really important that pupils respect the teachers and each other. No one can learn if there are people messing around all the time – teachers should be able to exclude troublemakers from classes.
Paul (13)
A good school would be one where you only have to study stuff you’re interested in. What’s the point of studying subjects you don’t like and you know you are never going to use later in life, like foreign languages? I don’t think there should be any compulsory subjects at all, apart from basic maths and learning to read. I don’t see the point of exams, either.
It’s important to be healthy, though, so I think schools should have good sports facilities and also proper school meals, not chips and burgers all the time.
Amy (18)
Schools can only be as good as the education system allows them to be.
I reckon the problem in England is that we have too many tests, and worrying about passing a test can destroy your interest in a subject – I’m sure kids would want to learn more if there was less pressure on them.
We also specialise too early in our system. Unlike in some other countries, after the age of 16 you only continue studying three or four different subjects – but at 16 do you really know what you want to do as a career? I certainly didn’t, and still don’t.
Ryan (16)
I think a good school is one where the teachers know when to be strict but can also have a laugh with you sometimes as well.
I also think schools should crack down on bullying – no one should be afraid to go to school in the morning because of the risk of being bullied by other kids.
It’s also important for boys and girls to study together, like in most schools. Some people say single-sex schools get better exam results, but I reckon a mixed school is a better preparation for real life.
Exercise 1
Decide for which of the four young people (Hannah, Paul, Amy, Ryan) the following statements are true.
1. They mention teachers.
2. They mention tests or exams.
3. They mention some form of bad behaviour by pupils.
4. They mention food.
Exercise 2
Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F), or if the text doesn’t say (D).
1. Paul thinks foreign language classes should be compulsory.
2. Amy thinks there should be fewer tests in schools.
3. Hannah thinks teachers should be able to exclude some pupils from classes.
4. Ryan thinks teachers should be serious all the time.
5. Paul has to do lots of exams at his school.
6. Amy thinks pupils should be able to study a greater number of different subjects after the age of 16.
7. Hannah doesn’t think pupils should have to memorise facts all the time.
8. Ryan does not believe single-sex schools get better exam results.
Exercise 3
Answer the questions below.
1. What does Ryan think it is very important for schools to try to prevent?
2. What does Amy think can make pupils less interested in a subject?
3. Paul mentions three subjects, or kinds of subjects, that pupils would study in his idea of a good school – what are they?
4. What does Hannah seem to mean by teaching ‘in an enjoyable way’?
5. What does Amy say she doesn’t know?
Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Education Helps Keep Blood Pressure Down
Cloze based on a piece of news from 28.02.2011
A new (1) ____ shows that staying in education for a long time helps blood pressure. Scientists have found a link between the number of years spent studying and (2) ____ blood pressure. The research looked at data from 4,000 people in the USA. They found that (3) ____ who had a university education had lower blood pressure (4) ____ people who did not enter higher education. Study leader Eric Loucks said people who left school (5) ____ were more likely to have a stressful job and low income. He said both these things contributed (6) ____ stress.
Many people think it is more stressful to stay (7) ____ in education. University exams are famous for causing students lots of stress. It also (8) ____ strange that people with university degrees have lower blood pressure than those without. Graduates usually become managers in companies, or teachers and those (9) ____ are very stressful. The report looked (10) ____ blood pressure levels at the end of a 30-year period. It (11) ____ be that people who were in education longer were richer and had a better standard of living. Money worries often (12) ____ lots of stress.
Put the correct words from this table into the article.
| 1. | (a) | studying | (b) | studied | (c) | study |
| 2. | (a) | low | (b) | below | (c) | lows |
| 3. | (a) | them | (b) | those | (c) | they |
| 4. | (a) | than | (b) | from | (c) | by |
| 5. | (a) | fast | (b) | quick | (c) | early |
| 6. | (a) | at | (b) | to | (c) | on |
| 7. | (a) | on | (b) | at | (c) | with |
| 8. | (a) | seem | (b) | seen | (c) | seems |
| 9. | (a) | position | (b) | positions | (c) | post |
| 10. | (a) | at | (b) | on | (c) | in |
| 11. | (a) | will | (b) | going to | (c) | could |
| 12 | (a) | because | (b) | cause | (c) | course |
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