sábado, 28 de agosto de 2010
Conversation Workshop: Earthquakes
- Have you ever experienced an earthquake?
- When was the last earthquake that you remember?
- Has your house been damaged by an earthquake?
- What preparations should you make before the earthquake hits?
- What happens during an earthquake?
- Were you frightened the first time you experience an earthquake?
- What areas of the world have many earthquakes?
- What preparations should you make before the earthquake hits?
- What kind of injuries are caused by earthquakes?
- How do you treat these injuries?
- What frightens people most after an earthquake?
- How can you prepare for a possible earthquake?
- How can you deal with post traumatic stress resulting from an earthquake?
- Where is the best place to go during an earthquake?
- Is it possible to know in advance that an earthquake is coming?
- What kind of strange phenomenon occurred just prior to the Great Hanshin earthquake in Kobe, Japan?
- Is an earthquake always followed by a tsunami?
- What causes a tsunami after an earthquake?
- How do you measure earthquakes?
- Is your home built to withstand earthquakes?
- Where in your house would you hide if there were an earthquake?
- What causes aftershocks?
- Do you live in an area that has earthquakes?
- Are you afraid to be living in an earthquake prone place?
- Have you thought about moving?
martes, 24 de agosto de 2010
GRAMMAR WORKSHOP: The Use of Large Letters (Capitals)
The Use of Large Letters (Capitals)
Each letter of the English alphabet may be written as a small letter (abc...) or as a large or capital letter (ABC...). Here is a full list of capital letters.
In English, we do not use capitals letters very much. We use them mainly for the first letter of sentences, names, days and months as well for some abbreviations. In addition, of course, we always write the first person pronoun as a capital I.
It is not usual to write whole sentences in capitals. A sentence or paragraph written in capitals is extremely difficult to read. Did you ever see a book or newspaper written completely in capitals? Of course not! We cannot easily read large amounts of text in capital letters. Lawyers know that capital letters are difficult to read. That is why some legal texts are written completely in capitals.
When do we Use Capital Letters?
1. Use a capital letter for the personal pronoun 'I':
• What can I say?
2. Use a capital letter to begin a sentence or to begin speech:
• The man arrived. He sat down.
• Suddenly Mary asked, "Do you love me?"
3. Use capital letters for many abbreviations and acronyms:
• G.M.T. or GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)
• N.A.T.O. or NATO or Nato (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
4. Use a capital letter for days of the week, months of the year, holidays:
• Monday, Tuesday
• January, February
• Christmas
• Armistice Day
5. Use a capital letter for countries, languages & nationalities, religions:
• China, France
• Japanese, English
• Christianity, Buddhism
6. Use a capital letter for people's names and titles:
• Anthony, Ram, William Shakespeare
• Professor Jones, Dr Smith
• Captain Kirk, King Henry VIII
7. Use a capital letter for trade-marks and names of companies and other organizations:
• Pepsi Cola, Walkman
• Microsoft Corporation, Toyota
• the United Nations, the Red Cross
8. Use a capital letter for places and monuments:
• London, Paris, the Latin Quarter
• the Eiffel Tower, St Paul's Cathedral
• Buckingham Palace, the White House
• Oxford Street, Fifth Avenue
• Jupiter, Mars, Syrius
• Asia, the Middle East, the North Pole
9. Use a capital letter for names of vehicles like ships, trains and spacecraft:
• the Titanic
• the Orient Express, the Flying Scotsman
• Challenger 2, the Enterprise
10. Use a capital letter for titles of books, poems, songs, plays, films etc:
• War And Peace
• If, Futility
• Like a Virgin
• The Taming of the Shrew
• The Lion King, Gone With The Wind
11. Use capitals letters (sometimes!) for headings, titles of articles, books etc, and newspaper headlines:
• HOW TO WIN AT POKER
• Chapter 2: CLINTON'S EARLY LIFE
• LIFE FOUND ON MARS!
• MAN BITES DOG
Why Are Capital Letters Difficult?
Why are words written in capitals more difficult to read than words in small letters? There are two basic reasons:
• Firstly, at least for native English speakers, children usually learn to read and write small letters before capital letters.
• Secondly, and more importantly, words written in capital letters have no "shape". Words with small letters go up and down. Some small letters have "ascenders" (like the letter b). They go up. Some small letters have "descenders" (like the letter p). They go down. Some small letters have no ascender or descender. They stay in the middle. So small letters vary in height. But all capital letters are the same height (BP).
When we read text, especially when we read fast, we do not read each individual letter. Instead, we read whole words and phrases. And we recognize these words and phrases partly by their shape.
Word Shape:
A word written with small letters has a special "shape". Look at these words. They have different shapes:
But a word written all in capital letters has no special shape. Look at these words. They have virtually the same shape:
Well, Let’s practice :) …
Each letter of the English alphabet may be written as a small letter (abc...) or as a large or capital letter (ABC...). Here is a full list of capital letters.
In English, we do not use capitals letters very much. We use them mainly for the first letter of sentences, names, days and months as well for some abbreviations. In addition, of course, we always write the first person pronoun as a capital I.
It is not usual to write whole sentences in capitals. A sentence or paragraph written in capitals is extremely difficult to read. Did you ever see a book or newspaper written completely in capitals? Of course not! We cannot easily read large amounts of text in capital letters. Lawyers know that capital letters are difficult to read. That is why some legal texts are written completely in capitals.
When do we Use Capital Letters?
1. Use a capital letter for the personal pronoun 'I':
• What can I say?
2. Use a capital letter to begin a sentence or to begin speech:
• The man arrived. He sat down.
• Suddenly Mary asked, "Do you love me?"
3. Use capital letters for many abbreviations and acronyms:
• G.M.T. or GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)
• N.A.T.O. or NATO or Nato (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
4. Use a capital letter for days of the week, months of the year, holidays:
• Monday, Tuesday
• January, February
• Christmas
• Armistice Day
5. Use a capital letter for countries, languages & nationalities, religions:
• China, France
• Japanese, English
• Christianity, Buddhism
6. Use a capital letter for people's names and titles:
• Anthony, Ram, William Shakespeare
• Professor Jones, Dr Smith
• Captain Kirk, King Henry VIII
7. Use a capital letter for trade-marks and names of companies and other organizations:
• Pepsi Cola, Walkman
• Microsoft Corporation, Toyota
• the United Nations, the Red Cross
8. Use a capital letter for places and monuments:
• London, Paris, the Latin Quarter
• the Eiffel Tower, St Paul's Cathedral
• Buckingham Palace, the White House
• Oxford Street, Fifth Avenue
• Jupiter, Mars, Syrius
• Asia, the Middle East, the North Pole
9. Use a capital letter for names of vehicles like ships, trains and spacecraft:
• the Titanic
• the Orient Express, the Flying Scotsman
• Challenger 2, the Enterprise
10. Use a capital letter for titles of books, poems, songs, plays, films etc:
• War And Peace
• If, Futility
• Like a Virgin
• The Taming of the Shrew
• The Lion King, Gone With The Wind
11. Use capitals letters (sometimes!) for headings, titles of articles, books etc, and newspaper headlines:
• HOW TO WIN AT POKER
• Chapter 2: CLINTON'S EARLY LIFE
• LIFE FOUND ON MARS!
• MAN BITES DOG
Why Are Capital Letters Difficult?
Why are words written in capitals more difficult to read than words in small letters? There are two basic reasons:
• Firstly, at least for native English speakers, children usually learn to read and write small letters before capital letters.
• Secondly, and more importantly, words written in capital letters have no "shape". Words with small letters go up and down. Some small letters have "ascenders" (like the letter b). They go up. Some small letters have "descenders" (like the letter p). They go down. Some small letters have no ascender or descender. They stay in the middle. So small letters vary in height. But all capital letters are the same height (BP).
When we read text, especially when we read fast, we do not read each individual letter. Instead, we read whole words and phrases. And we recognize these words and phrases partly by their shape.
Word Shape:
A word written with small letters has a special "shape". Look at these words. They have different shapes:
But a word written all in capital letters has no special shape. Look at these words. They have virtually the same shape:
Well, Let’s practice :) …
Conversation Workshop: Adoption
- What is adoption?
- Do you know anyone who was adopted as a child?
- Do you know anyone who has adopted a child?
- What are some of the reasons people choose to adopt?
- What is the difference between domestic and international adoption?
- What are the views of adoption in your country?
- How would someone interested in adopting a child go about doing so?
- Where do children available for adoption come from?
- What happens to children that are not adopted?
- How do you go about adopting a child?
- Would you want to adopt a boy or a girl? Why?
- Do you think brothers and sisters should be separated in adoptions?
- Are adoptions common in your country?
- What are some organizations that help with adoptions?
- Should you tell the child that he or she was adopted? If so at what age? Or when?
- Should adopted children have the right to know their biological parents?
- Should families with birth children also adopt?
- Is the real parent the birth parent or the adoptive parent?
- Should adoptions be between children and families of the same race and or culture?
- How or should the adoptive parents maintain the adopted child's cultural identify?
- In your country are the legal rights of an adoptive child different from that of a birth child?
- What are the legal consequences of adopting a child from a different race or country?
- Why don't more people adopt a child?
- What makes a family, genetics or environment?
- Do you support an open adoption policy where the birth parents can choose to be involved in the child's life?
- Do you believe there is discrimination within the adoption organizations?
- Do you think a person should be able to adopt a child of a different race?
- Should a gay or lesbian couple be allowed to adopt a child?
- Should there be an age restriction for the adoptive parents?
- Should a single man or woman be able to adopt a child?
- If you were to find out that you were adopted and not really from the country where you are a citizen, which nationality would you hope would be your true mother country? Why?
- When is the right time for a child to be told that he/she was adopted?
- Do you think it is preferable to adopt or to use artificial reproduction technology?
- Would you agree to an open adoption or closed adoption? Why?
- What is an open adoption?
- Would you want to find your birth family? Why or why not?
GRAMMAR WORKSHOP: Inversions
Inversions
What is an inversion? An "inversion" is a changed order of things. If X usually comes before Y, the inverted order will be Y first, then X. When looking at the grammar of the English language we see inversions for instance in the normal order of the subject and the verb in a sentence. To explain what an inversion is in English, first think of a simple sentence like: "Graffiti is ugly." In sentences like this the subject (graffiti) must come before the verb (is). This is the normal order. The most common example of the inverted order of the subject and the verb is seen in questions such as: "Is graffiti ugly?" The English language often uses this kind of inversion to make a question, but this is not the only time that the normal order of the subject and the verb in a sentence is inverted.
In the ECPE grammar section there will be a few questions where you have to spot the correct order of the words. Sometimes an inversion is needed; sometimes not.
1 Questions and sentences that might look like questions
The ECPE grammar section might try to trick you with a sentence that might look like a question when it isn't.
They are bound to ask us _____.
a. if has been cancelled the order
b. why the order was cancelled
c. why did we cancel the order
d. the reason to be cancelled the order
We need "why" to complete this sentence but option c is wrong because this sentence is not a question (so we don't want the inverted verb-subject word order). The correct answer is b.
Don't be caught out by longer questions that have the inversion in an initial phrase such as: "Could you tell me..." "Would you mind..." etc. If there is an inversion at the beginning like this, there won't be another inversion in the main part of the sentence. For example:
Would you be so kind as to tell me where the money is? (Not "...where is the money")
And don't be caught out by sentences used to make enquiries that are not really questions.
"I wonder if you could tell me when the next train to Houston is due." (Not "...when is the next train to Houston due")
2 Inversions with "so", "neither" and "nor"
When "so", "neither" and "nor" are used to make short agreements they are followed by an inversion.
"I am not into hip hop."
"Neither am I." (Or: "Nor am I.")
"I am fond of flamenco dancing."
"So am I."
Or they can be used in the following way (also including an inversion).
Jennifer buys only organic fruit and vegetables, and so does Hugh.
They don't mind the higher prices, and neither do we. (Or: ...nor do we.)
3 Inversions after negative adverbials
There are some words and phrases that function as adverbials that sometimes need an inversion. Look at these two sentences.
Bob rarely speaks to himself.
Rarely does Bob speak to himself.
The adverb here is "rarely". If it comes after the subject, there is no inversion (as in the first sentence), but if it comes before the subject, we need an inversion.
The word order is inverted and in the case of the sentence about Bob we use the auxilliary verb "does" in the same way we do in questions (although this isn't a question).
The sentence with the inversion sounds more formal or more literary, and sentences like this are less common in ordinary conversation.
Here are some examples with other phrases used in the same way.
Seldom does Bob get invited to parties. (seldom = rarely)
Never have we seen such a breathtaking view.
At no time did the prisoner look as if he might confess.
Not only is she a great dancer but she is also an amazing mathematician.
Not until she took up rock climbing did she overcome her fear of heights.
Under no circumstances* will prisoners be allowed to give interviews to the media.
Little** did she realize that her grandmother was really a wolf.
* This is used to describe rules for which there are no exceptions. The alternative without the inversion is: Prisoners will not be allowed to give interviews to the media under any circumstances.
** This means that the girl didn't realize at all that her grandmother was really a wolf.
N.B. Remember that no inversion is possible if the adverbial doesn't come before the subject. Compare the following sentences with the corresponding sentences above.
She is not only a great dancer but she is also an amazing mathematician.
It was not until Effie left Brooklyn that she realized how attached she had become to the place.
The following three are used to describe an event that happened immediately after another.
Hardly had he stepped outside when it started to rain.
Scarcely had he stepped outside when it started to rain.
No sooner had he stepped outside than it started to rain.
Note that the past perfect tense is used to describe the event that happened first.
The following sentences with "only" include inversions. Note that it is not always the first verb that is inverted.
Only after he arrived at the airport did he look for his passport.
Only if you look through this dark glass will you be able to see the spots on the sun.
We accepted the invitation. Only later did we suspect it might be a trap.
Only by threatening extreme physical violence was the teacher able to control the class.
Note that there is no inversion when "only" is used in the following way.
Only Fiona knew the answer to the question.
3 Conditionals with inversions
In conditional (hypothetical) sentences we can sometimes drop "if" and use an inversion.
Should you see Nigel, give him my regards.
Were I in your shoes, I would make a formal complaint.
Had I known it was her birthday, I would have bought her a gift.
Note that "should", "were" and "had" are the only verbs that can be inverted in this way. (And "were" is also used with he, she and it.)
4 Inversions with "as"
Elisabeth was too shy to dance, as was Gerald.
She decided to leave early, as did Gerald.
In these sentences "as" indicates the similarity between two things.
5 Inversions with "so" and "such"
So excited were they that they couldn't sit still.
Such was their excitement that they began to jump up and down.
Note that "so" is followed by an adjective and "such" can be replaced by "so great" (So great was their excitement that...).
6 Inversions after adjectives
A few very literary sentences begin with an adjective and include an inversion.
Blessed are the children who are still unaware of what the future holds.
Gone* are the days when I could have been happy.
* Here the past participle is used like an adjective.
However there is no inversion in the following sentence.
Strange as it may seem, we were sorry to leave in the end.
Turn the following into inverted sentences.
1. The matter could be explained in no other way.
2. We had hardly started when it began to rain.
3. I have seldom heard such beautiful singing.
4. I shall never forget your kindness.
5. I saw only then the danger we were in.
6. We had no sooner left the house than it exploded.
7. He didn't realize that he had lost the key till he got home.
8. They not only robbed you, they smashed everything.
9. Half a dozen apples fell down.
10. If an emergency should arise, dial 999.
11. If Rex were a little more hardworking, he would not have failed.
12. If Mr Chan had been kinder to his employees, his business would not have collapsed.
ANSWERS
1. In no other way could the matter be explained.
2. Hardly had we started when it began to rain.
3. Seldom have I heard such beautiful singing.
4. Never shall I forget your kindness.
5. Only then did I see the danger we were in.
6. No sooner had we left the house than it exploded.
7. Not till he got home did he realize that he had lost the key.
8. Not only did they rob you, they smashed everything.
9. Down fell half a dozen apples.
10. Should an emergency arise, dial 999.
11. Were Rex a little more hardworking, he would not have failed.
12. Had Mr Chan been kinder to his employees, his business would not have collapsed.
What is an inversion? An "inversion" is a changed order of things. If X usually comes before Y, the inverted order will be Y first, then X. When looking at the grammar of the English language we see inversions for instance in the normal order of the subject and the verb in a sentence. To explain what an inversion is in English, first think of a simple sentence like: "Graffiti is ugly." In sentences like this the subject (graffiti) must come before the verb (is). This is the normal order. The most common example of the inverted order of the subject and the verb is seen in questions such as: "Is graffiti ugly?" The English language often uses this kind of inversion to make a question, but this is not the only time that the normal order of the subject and the verb in a sentence is inverted.
In the ECPE grammar section there will be a few questions where you have to spot the correct order of the words. Sometimes an inversion is needed; sometimes not.
1 Questions and sentences that might look like questions
The ECPE grammar section might try to trick you with a sentence that might look like a question when it isn't.
They are bound to ask us _____.
a. if has been cancelled the order
b. why the order was cancelled
c. why did we cancel the order
d. the reason to be cancelled the order
We need "why" to complete this sentence but option c is wrong because this sentence is not a question (so we don't want the inverted verb-subject word order). The correct answer is b.
Don't be caught out by longer questions that have the inversion in an initial phrase such as: "Could you tell me..." "Would you mind..." etc. If there is an inversion at the beginning like this, there won't be another inversion in the main part of the sentence. For example:
Would you be so kind as to tell me where the money is? (Not "...where is the money")
And don't be caught out by sentences used to make enquiries that are not really questions.
"I wonder if you could tell me when the next train to Houston is due." (Not "...when is the next train to Houston due")
2 Inversions with "so", "neither" and "nor"
When "so", "neither" and "nor" are used to make short agreements they are followed by an inversion.
"I am not into hip hop."
"Neither am I." (Or: "Nor am I.")
"I am fond of flamenco dancing."
"So am I."
Or they can be used in the following way (also including an inversion).
Jennifer buys only organic fruit and vegetables, and so does Hugh.
They don't mind the higher prices, and neither do we. (Or: ...nor do we.)
3 Inversions after negative adverbials
There are some words and phrases that function as adverbials that sometimes need an inversion. Look at these two sentences.
Bob rarely speaks to himself.
Rarely does Bob speak to himself.
The adverb here is "rarely". If it comes after the subject, there is no inversion (as in the first sentence), but if it comes before the subject, we need an inversion.
The word order is inverted and in the case of the sentence about Bob we use the auxilliary verb "does" in the same way we do in questions (although this isn't a question).
The sentence with the inversion sounds more formal or more literary, and sentences like this are less common in ordinary conversation.
Here are some examples with other phrases used in the same way.
Seldom does Bob get invited to parties. (seldom = rarely)
Never have we seen such a breathtaking view.
At no time did the prisoner look as if he might confess.
Not only is she a great dancer but she is also an amazing mathematician.
Not until she took up rock climbing did she overcome her fear of heights.
Under no circumstances* will prisoners be allowed to give interviews to the media.
Little** did she realize that her grandmother was really a wolf.
* This is used to describe rules for which there are no exceptions. The alternative without the inversion is: Prisoners will not be allowed to give interviews to the media under any circumstances.
** This means that the girl didn't realize at all that her grandmother was really a wolf.
N.B. Remember that no inversion is possible if the adverbial doesn't come before the subject. Compare the following sentences with the corresponding sentences above.
She is not only a great dancer but she is also an amazing mathematician.
It was not until Effie left Brooklyn that she realized how attached she had become to the place.
The following three are used to describe an event that happened immediately after another.
Hardly had he stepped outside when it started to rain.
Scarcely had he stepped outside when it started to rain.
No sooner had he stepped outside than it started to rain.
Note that the past perfect tense is used to describe the event that happened first.
The following sentences with "only" include inversions. Note that it is not always the first verb that is inverted.
Only after he arrived at the airport did he look for his passport.
Only if you look through this dark glass will you be able to see the spots on the sun.
We accepted the invitation. Only later did we suspect it might be a trap.
Only by threatening extreme physical violence was the teacher able to control the class.
Note that there is no inversion when "only" is used in the following way.
Only Fiona knew the answer to the question.
3 Conditionals with inversions
In conditional (hypothetical) sentences we can sometimes drop "if" and use an inversion.
Should you see Nigel, give him my regards.
Were I in your shoes, I would make a formal complaint.
Had I known it was her birthday, I would have bought her a gift.
Note that "should", "were" and "had" are the only verbs that can be inverted in this way. (And "were" is also used with he, she and it.)
4 Inversions with "as"
Elisabeth was too shy to dance, as was Gerald.
She decided to leave early, as did Gerald.
In these sentences "as" indicates the similarity between two things.
5 Inversions with "so" and "such"
So excited were they that they couldn't sit still.
Such was their excitement that they began to jump up and down.
Note that "so" is followed by an adjective and "such" can be replaced by "so great" (So great was their excitement that...).
6 Inversions after adjectives
A few very literary sentences begin with an adjective and include an inversion.
Blessed are the children who are still unaware of what the future holds.
Gone* are the days when I could have been happy.
* Here the past participle is used like an adjective.
However there is no inversion in the following sentence.
Strange as it may seem, we were sorry to leave in the end.
Turn the following into inverted sentences.
1. The matter could be explained in no other way.
2. We had hardly started when it began to rain.
3. I have seldom heard such beautiful singing.
4. I shall never forget your kindness.
5. I saw only then the danger we were in.
6. We had no sooner left the house than it exploded.
7. He didn't realize that he had lost the key till he got home.
8. They not only robbed you, they smashed everything.
9. Half a dozen apples fell down.
10. If an emergency should arise, dial 999.
11. If Rex were a little more hardworking, he would not have failed.
12. If Mr Chan had been kinder to his employees, his business would not have collapsed.
ANSWERS
1. In no other way could the matter be explained.
2. Hardly had we started when it began to rain.
3. Seldom have I heard such beautiful singing.
4. Never shall I forget your kindness.
5. Only then did I see the danger we were in.
6. No sooner had we left the house than it exploded.
7. Not till he got home did he realize that he had lost the key.
8. Not only did they rob you, they smashed everything.
9. Down fell half a dozen apples.
10. Should an emergency arise, dial 999.
11. Were Rex a little more hardworking, he would not have failed.
12. Had Mr Chan been kinder to his employees, his business would not have collapsed.
LRI.MICHELLE LIMON
http://liclimon.blogspot.com
michellina_@msn.com
http://liclimon.blogspot.com
michellina_@msn.com
sábado, 14 de agosto de 2010
CONVERSATION WORKSHOP: Are you good at...?
Are you good at...?
- Are you good at climbing trees?
- Are you good at singing?
- Are you good at speaking English?
- Are you good at computer games?
- Are you good at playing the piano?
- Are you good at playing dodgeball?
- Are you good at playing basketball?
- Are you good at playing volleyball?
- Are you good at speaking English?
- Are you good at computer games?
- Are you good at Tetris?
- Are you good at cooking noodles?
- Are you good at math?
- Are you good at telling jokes?
- Are you good at making people smile?
- Are you good at writing in your first language?
- Are you good at solving problems?
- Are you good at drawing pictures?
- Are you good at art?
- Are you good at music?
- Are you good at imitating others?
- Are you good at reading maps?
- Are you good at whistling?
- Are you good at remembering song lyrics?
- Are you good at fixing things?
- Are you good at sending text messages?
- Are you good at making new friends?
- Are you good at finding places?
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