READING AND SPEAKING. TARIFFS

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/uOtIFSt8HzE 

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nhYoPA_eHgk

Use of English. Revision.

Workbook practice

Linking words:

https://test-english.com/grammar-points/a2/however-although-time-connectors/2/

Participle clauses:

https://test-english.com/grammar-points/b2/participle-clauses/

Relative clauses:

https://ielts.idp.com/prepare/article-ielts-grammar-exercises-relative-clauses

Reading, Wrting (formal/informal email) and speaking

• https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/writing/b2-writing/informal-email
• https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/writing/b2-writing/more-formal-email

https://edubenchmark.com/blog/place-ielts-cue-card-speaking-part-2/

Pau test practice:

Go it alone: solo trip on the rise as travellers opt for “me time”

More Britons are choosing to travel on their own, using apps and social media, as it means a holiday without compromises.

Solo travel is on the rise as a growing number of holidaymakers opt for trips that allow them to “do what they want”. Around 15% of travellers took a trip on their own in the last year, according to the Association of British Travel Agents (Abta). The figure is up from 12% last year.

The age range that showed the biggest increase was that of 35-44 year olds, with more than 16% taking a trip alone: the figure for 2017 was just 5%. Having the opportunity to do whatever they wanted was the most common reason given by three-quarters of people surveyed in all age groups, while taking time out and meeting new people have become less important, according to the report.

The upward trend over the last decade is attributed to improved technology and a growing number of apps (alongside social media) that enable travellers to navigate the world with more ease and confidence alone: from instant language translation, free global messaging and other roaming options, to apps that connect people with other solo travellers or local hosts for dinner, tours or a bed for the night.

Travel companies have responded to demand by offering a range of options for people booking by themselves. Tour operators, such as Intrepid Travel, have doubled its offering of independent trips this year and say “solos” now represent 50% of its customers. Its small group tours for solo travellers aim to offer a “ready-made group of friends”

Abta reported that, overall, the number of British people taking a holiday remained high, with 86% of respondents taking a holiday at home or abroad in the 12 months to August 2018. Package holidays remain a popular choice for holidays abroad and city breaks were still the most popular type of trip: 48% of those surveyed having taken one this year, closely followed by beach holidays (40%).

Despite the positive figures from Abta, the British tourist authority chairman Steve Ridgway’s response had a note of caution, in light of Brexit: “We face a number of significant challenges, the most important, the UK’s departure from the European Union. We want to ensure that the future relationship keeps our borders as frictionless as possible for visitors, our aviation as connected as ever and our economic stability on track, because tourism depends on this.”

Adapted from The Guardian 9th October 2018

 

Question 1: [2 P] Indicate whether the following statements are true or false and write down which part of the text justifies your answer.

a)    More and more travellers want to feel free when choosing their holiday activities.

b)    Agents have had no reaction to solo travelling.

c)     British people no longer choose holidays which include everything they need to travel.

d)    Future political changes may affect the tourist industry.

Question 2 [2 P] Answer the following questions in your own words.

a)    Why are more and more people taking a holiday on their own?

b)    How does technology help solo travellers?

Question 3: [1,5 P] Find words or phrases in the text that correspond to the words and definitions given.

to choose (par.2)           

chance (par.3) 

ascending (par.4)          

variety (par.5)               

to confront (par.7)

Question 4: [1,5 P] Choose and write the most suitable answer (a, b, c or d) according to the text and write the sentence onto your worksheet

1. The British tourist authority is cautious...

a) although the positive figures from Abta.                                     

b) however, Abta gave positive figures.

c) even though Abta gave positive figures.                                     

d) due to the positive figures from Abta.

2. Solo travellers would not feel so confident...

a) unless they have apps to help them.                                          

b) if they used apps to help them.

c) whether they used apps to help them.                                        

d) if they did not have apps to help them.

3. Social media and apps help solo travellers...

a) to contact their local agent.                                                        

b) talk to their group partners.

c) help them with the language barrier in foreign countries.             

d) book a table at a restaurant.

 

KEY

Question 1: [2 POINTS] Indicate whether the following statements are true or false and write down which part of the text justifies your answer.

a)    TRUE “Solo travel is on the rise as a growing number of holidaymakers opt for trips that allow them to “do what they want” OR “Having the opportunity to do whatever they wanted was the most common reason given”

b)    FALSE “Travel companies have responded to demand by offering a range of options for people booking by themselves”

c)    FALSE “Package holidays remain a popular choice for holidays abroad”

d)    TRUE “Despite the positive figures from Abta, the British tourist authority chairman Steve Ridgway’s response had a note of caution, in light of Brexit”

Question 2 [2 POINTS] Answer the following questions in your own words.

 

a)    There is a growing number of people travelling alone since this way of travelling offers them the freedom to choose what they can do; whereas before they wanted to have time for themselves or just meet new friends.

b)    Technology helps solo travellers as they feel they can rely on it if they have problems with the language and can communicate easily with other people travelling on their own; what’s more, they can even contact locals, who they can meet for dinner or for accommodation.

Question 3: [1,5 POINTS] Find words or phrases in the text that correspond to the words and definitions given.

a)    to opt for

b)    opportunity

c)    upward

d)    range

e)    to face

Question 4: [1,5 POINTS] Choose the most suitable answer (a, b or c) according to the text.

1. c) ...even though Abta gave positive figures.

2. d) if they did not have apps to help them.

3. c) help them with the language barrier in foreign countries.

Describing trends. Statistics

  Describing changes. The world of statistics

 

Verbs to describe an upward trend

The following verbs can be used to describe a trend or pattern that goes up.

• climb (past: climbed)
• go up (past: went up)
• grow (past: grew)
• increase (past: increased)
• jump (past: jumped)
• rise (past: rose)
• rocket (past: rocketed)

Sentence examples using words that show an upward trend:

• The number of enrolments increased significantly between 2005 and 2010.
• Production rose from 800 units in May to 1000 units the following month.

Verbs to describe a downward trend

The following verbs can be used to describe a trend or pattern that goes down.

• decline (past: declined)
• decrease (past: decreased)
• drop (past: dropped)
• fall (past: fell)
• go down (past: went down)
• plummet (past: plummeted) = to fall or drop suddenly in amount or value
• plunge (past: plunged) = to fall or drop suddenly in amount or value

Plunge and Plummet, when describing trends, have the same meaning.

Sentence examples using words that show a downward trend:

• Prices of Model X dropped significantly once Model Y became available on the market.
• Company profits decreased in 2013 by 15%.

Words and phrases used to describe a stable trend

To describe a more or less stable pattern, you can use the following expressions:

• maintain (past: maintained)
• remain (past: remained)
• stay (past: stayed)
• constant
• stable
• steady
• unchanged

Adverbs used when describing trends

Adverbs describe HOW something happens. They usually come after a verb.

• sharply, rapidly, quickly, steeply
• considerably, significantly, substantially
• steadily, gradually, moderately
• slightly, slowly

Nouns used when describing trends

• decline
• decrease
• dip (a momentarily small drop in the level of something)
• drop
• fall
• fluctuation (= an irregular rising and falling in number or amount; a variation)
• growth
• increase
• peak (= the highest point)
• rise
• slump (= a severe or prolonged fall in the price, value, or amount of something)
• variation (= a change or difference in condition, amount, or level)

Prepositions for graphs,trends and statistics 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15cS6FiHe9BJyvXBiBwC9lncSQ3zpwoxw/view?usp=drive_link

Describing graphs and trends. 

• https://eslflow.substack.com/p/a-deep-dive-into-the-language-of
• https://eslflow.substack.com/p/visualizing-data-the-communication
• https://ielts-up.com/listening/ielts-listening-sample-7.3.html
• https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1oApiKaCDITP-FfPrHpLpvhsBCQz0rtkPWjkOldC9vog/edit#responses
• https://preply.com/en/blog/how-to-describe-graphs-in-english/

Use of English. Relatives & connectors

We use relative clauses to give additional information about something without starting another sentence. By combining sentences with a relative clause, your text becomes more fluent and you can avoid repeating certain words.

How to Form Relative Clauses 

Imagine, a girl is talking to Tom. You want to know who she is and ask a friend whether he knows her. You could say:

A girl is talking to Tom. Do you know the girl?

That sounds rather complicated, doesn't it? It would be easier with a relative clause: you put both pieces of information into one sentence. Start with the most important thing  – you want to know who the girl is.

Do you know the girl …

As your friend cannot know which girl you are talking about, you need to put in the additional information  – the girl is talking to Tom. Use „the girl“ only in the first part of the sentence, in the second part replace it with the relative pronoun (for people, use the relative pronoun „who“). So the final sentence is:

Do you know the girl who is talking to Tom?

Relative Pronouns 

relative pronoun	use	example
who	subject or object pronoun for people	I told you about the woman wholives next door.
which	subject or object pronoun for animals and things	Do you see the cat which is lying on the roof?
which	referring to a whole sentence	He couldn’t read which surprised me.
whose	possession for people animals and things	Do you know the boy whosemother is a nurse?
whom	object pronoun for people, especially in non-defining relative clauses (in defining relative clauses we colloquially prefer who)	I was invited by the professor whom I met at the conference.
that	subject or object pronoun for people, animals and things in defining relative clauses (who or which are also possible)	I don’t like the table that stands in the kitchen.

Subject Pronoun or Object Pronoun? 

Subject and object pronouns cannot be distinguished by their forms - who, which, that are used for subject and object pronouns. You can, however, distinguish them as follows:

If the relative pronoun is followed by a verb, the relative pronoun is a subject pronoun. Subject pronouns must always be used.

the apple which is lying on the table

If the relative pronoun is not followed by a verb (but by a noun or pronoun), the relative pronoun is an object pronoun. Object pronouns can be dropped in defining relative clauses, which are then called Contact Clauses.

the apple (which) George lay on the table

Relative Adverbs 

A relative adverb can be used instead of a relative pronoun plus preposition. This often makes the sentence easier to understand.

This is the shop in which I bought my bike.
→ This is the shop where I bought my bike.

relative adverb	meaning	use	example
when	in/on which	refers to a time expression	the day when we met him
where	in/at which	refers to a place	the place where we met him
why	for which	refers to a reason	the reason why we met him

Defining Relative Clauses 

Defining relative clauses (also called identifying relative clauses or restrictive relative clauses) give detailed information defining a general term or expression. Defining relative clauses are not put in commas.

Imagine, Tom is in a room with five girls. One girl is talking to Tom and you ask somebody whether he knows this girl. Here the relative clause defines which of the five girls you mean.

Do you know the girl who is talking to Tom?

Defining relative clauses are often used in definitions.

A seaman is someone who works on a ship.

Object pronouns in defining relative clauses can be dropped. (Sentences with a relative clause without the relative pronoun are called Contact Clauses.)

The boy (who/whom) we met yesterday is very nice.

Non-Defining Relative Clauses 

Non-defining relative clauses (also called non-identifying relative clauses or non-restrictive relative clauses) give additional information on something, but do not define it. Non-defining relative clauses are put in commas.

Imagine, Tom is in a room with only one girl. The two are talking to each other and you ask somebody whether he knows this girl. Here the relative clause is non-defining because in this situation it is obvious which girl you mean.

Do you know the girl, who is talking to Tom?

Note: In non-defining relative clauses, who/which may not be replaced with that.

Object pronouns in non-defining relative clauses must be used.

Jim, who/whom we met yesterday, is very nice.

How to Shorten Relative Clauses? 

Relative clauses with who, which, that as subject pronoun can be replaced with a participle. This makes the sentence shorter and easier to understand.

I told you about the woman who lives next door. – I told you about the woman livingnext door.

Do you see the cat which is lying on the roof? – Do you see the cat lying on the roof?

Exercises on Relative Clauses

Relative Pronouns and Relative Adverbs

• Exercise on Relative Pronouns 
• Subject Pronouns or Object Pronouns? 
• Relative Pronouns – Necessary or not? 
• Relative Pronouns – Necessary or not? 

OTHER LINKS AND EXTRA INFO:

http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/relative-clauses.html

CONNECTORS:

Expressing contrast and concession

Connectors are very important to make the texts we write more cohesive.

There are many different types, but today we are simply going to sonsider the ones used to express contrast or concession, that means when ideas seem to diverge.

Look at the list below:

They all introduce a note of  contrast and disagreement, but they have different ways of being used in the sentences. For example their placement may vary. Some are more often used at the beginning, some at the end and others in the middle.Besides their position, they also require different types of completion. Note the differences in the explanation below:

Although / though / even though  (need a full clause (subject + verb).

Despite /In spite of  – take a Gerund (ing form) or noun

Despite the fact that… / In spite of the fact that …. – full clause (subject + verb)

Yet / Still /However / Nevertheless – need a comma (,) and come in the middle of two clauses.

Exercises.  Exercise 1     Exercise 2     Exercise 3     Exercise

Linking Words Quiz: Contrasting Ideas: https://www.espressoenglish.net/linking-words-contrasting-ideas/

Worksheet Linkers homework

Worksheets Rephrasing homework