Tuesday 25 October 2016

Halloween worksheet (Luke Vyner-Onestopenglish) & Youtube


Visit www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween and read the first section
entitled Ancient origins of Halloween. Look for the answers to these 13 (unlucky for some)
questions.

1. Where is the celebration of Halloween thought to have come from?
2. The Celts occupied an area of land covering three modern-day countries or regions. Which
are they?
3. Why did the Celts celebrate ‘Samhain’ on the night of 31 October?
4. What did the Celts believe the ghosts of the dead would cause damage and trouble to?
5. To commemorate the event, what did the Druids build?
6. What costumes did they wear?
7. What did they re-light to help protect them from the coming winter?
8. By 43 AD, who had mostly conquered the Celts?
9. What two other festivals were combined with ‘Samhain’?
10. After many changes due to the spread of Christianity, what new celebration was created
in 1000 AD?
11. What were the similarities between this day and ‘Samhain’?
12. What was another name given to this celebration?
13. What was the night before called and what did this finally become?

Jack-o’-lantern
Read the introductory paragraph at www.history.com/topics/jack-olantern-history and look for the answers to the following questions.

1. The jack-o’-lantern tradition originated from which Irish myth?
2. What did Jack do with the coin instead? Why?
3. Under what condition did Jack free the devil?
4. What trick did Jack play the following year and how did he prevent the devil coming
down from the tree?
5. What happened soon after?
6. What problem did Jack then face?
7. What did the Irish call Jack’s ghost?
8. What did the Irish then begin to make and place in their windows and doorways and why?
9. What did the vegetable become in America?

Apple-bobbing
Read the first paragraph of this website link about the rules of apple-bobbing:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_bobbing. Answer the following questions.

1. How do you set up the game?
2. Why are apples used?
3. What do players use to catch the apples?
4. Which part of their body are they prevented from using?

Trick-or-treating
Read the first two paragraphs of this website link about the tradition of ‘trick-or-treating’:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trick-or-treating and answer the following questions,

1. What do children ask for when they travel from house to house?
2. What do children say when they arrive at a house?
3. What is usually the ‘trick’?
4. Since when has this tradition been practised in North America?
5. What do homeowners who wish to participate sometimes do to their houses?
6. Since when have people in Britain and Ireland practised the tradition of asking for food
at Halloween?
7. What else have they done since then?
8. Trick-or-treating has become prevalent in countries outside of America – what do the
children ask for in Mexico?

Friday 21 October 2016

Environment-Natural Dissasters



Natural disasters are constantly in the news and provide a good topic of conversation.
Internet links: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4588149.stm - animated guide to extreme weather phenomena.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/natural-disasters - Guardian archive of articles about natural disasters and extreme weather.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/search?v2=true&q=natural_disasters#keypoints - Key facts about natural disasters.

Wednesday 19 October 2016

Skills: Writing: Letters and emails




Grammar: Simple Past vs Continuous

Form

Simple PastPast Progressive
irregular verbs: see 2nd column of irregular verbs
I spoke
regular verbs: verb + ed
I worked
past form of 'be' + ing form of verb
I was speaking
you were speaking
he / she / it was speaking
we were speaking
they were speaking
Exceptions
Exceptions when adding 'ed' :
  • when the final letter is e, only add d.
    Example: love - loved
  • after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is doubled
    Example: admit - admitted
  • final l is always doubled in British English (not in American English)
    Example: travel - travelled
  • after a consonant, final y becomes i. (but: not after a vowel)
    Example: worry - he worried
    but: play - he played
Exceptions when adding 'ing' :
  • silent e is dropped (but: does not apply for -ee)
    Example: come - coming
    but: agree - agreeing
  • after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is doubled
    Example: sit - sitting
  • final l is always doubled in British English (not in American English)
    Example: travel - travelling
  • final ie becomes y.
    Example: lie - lying
Use

After another or at the same time?

Do you want to express that the actions in the past happened one after another or at the same time?
Simple PastPast Progressive
after another
She came home, switched on the computer and checked her e-mails.
at the same time
Simon was playing on the computer while his brother was watching TV.

New action or already in progress?

If you want to express that a new action happened in the middle of another action, you need both tenses: Simple Past the new action and Past Progressive for the action already in progress.
Simple PastPast Progressive
new action
My mobile rang (when I was sitting in a meeting.)
action already in progress
While I was sitting in a meeting, (my mobile suddenly rang.)

Only mentioning or emphasising progress?

Do you just want to mention that an action took place in the past (also used for short actions)? Or do you want to put emphasis on the progress, e.g. that an action was taking place at a certain time?
Simple PastPast Progressive
just mentioning
Colin played football yesterday.
emphasising progress
Yesterday at six o'clock, Colin was playing football.

Certain Verbs

The following verbs are usually only used in Simple Past (not in the progressive form).
  • state: be, cost, fit, mean, suit
    Example: We were on holiday.
  • possession: belong, have
    Example: Sam had a cat.
  • senses: feel, hear, see, smell, taste, touch
    Example: He felt the cold.
  • feelings: hate, hope, like, love, prefer, regret, want, wish
    Example: Jane loved pizza.
  • brain work: believe, know, think, understand
    Example: I did not understand him.
  • introductory clauses for direct speech: answer, ask, reply, say
    Example: “I am watching TV,“ he said.

Signal words

Simple PastPast Progressive
  • first
  • then
  • If-Satz Typ II (If I talked, …)
  • when
  • while
  • as long as

Exercises on Simple Past and Past Progressive



Sunday 9 October 2016

Columbus Day

Questionnaire:
  1. When and where did Columbus arrive with his explorations?
  2. How many trips did he do?
  3. When did the first inhabitants live in America?
  4. Who was Leif Erickson?
  5. What were the names of the ships in the expedition?
  6. When and who declared it a national holiday in America?
  7. Where and why did he want to go with his voyage?

Columbus Day

Here's a tip - discover some new land. That's the reason Columbus Day is celebrated. The holiday is in honor of the explorer who first came to the New World on October 12, 1492. Since 1920, it has been an annual holiday.President Franklin Roosevelt set aside October 12th as Columbus Day in 1937. Later, President Richard Nixon declared Columbus Day a national holiday to be celebrated on the second Monday in October. In 2014 Columbus day is October 13th

Columbus Day: Holiday with Many Names

In the States there's always a parade down New York's Fifth Avenue. Smaller towns and cities also have parades and put on plays. In the last several years, the holiday has been rejected by many people. Columbus wasn't the first person to visit America and because of this, some places call the holiday Native America Day. Many Latin American countries call it Dia de la Raza - Day of the Race. Another name for it is Indigenous Peoples Day.

Columbus Day: A Very Brief History Lesson

On August 2, 1492, Christopher Columbus set out from Palos, Spain to find India. He went in search of spices, silks and wealth. Columbus took three boats with him, the Santa Maria - the biggest one, was 80 feet long and carried 40 men. The Pinta carried 26 men and the Nina had 24 men.  After stopping at Canary Islands, Columbus and his men didn't see land for a many months. When they did, they sailed along the shoreline for a while. They established some camps along the way and met the natives - some friendly, some not. Columbus thought he had discovered India but it was really North America. The "newly discovered" land became known as the New World.

Quantifiers



Monday 3 October 2016

Present Perfect vs Progressive

Present Perfect Simple – Present Perfect Progressive

Form

Present Perfect SimplePresent Perfect Progressive
irregular verbs: form of 'have' + 3rd column of irregular verbs
Example:
I / you / we / they have spoken
he / she / it has spoken
regular verbs: form of 'have' + infinitive + ed
Example:
I / you / we / they have worked
he / she / it has worked
form of 'have' + been + verb + ing
Example:
I / you / we / they have been speaking
he / she / it has been speaking
Exceptions
Exceptions when adding 'ed' :
  • when the final letter is e, only add d
    Example:
    love - loved
  • after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is doubled
    Example:
    admit - admitted
  • final l is always doubled in British English (not in American English)
    Example:
    travel - travelled
  • after a consonant, final y becomes i (but: not after a vowel)
    Example:
    worry - worried
    but: play - played
Exceptions when adding 'ing' :
  • silent e is dropped. (but: does not apply for -ee)
    Example: come - coming
    aber: agree - agreeing
  • after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is doubled
    Example: sit - sitting
  • after a vowel, the final consonant l is doubled in British English (but not in American English).
    Example: travel - travelling
  • final ie becomes y.
    Example: lie - lying
Use
Both tenses are used to express that an action began in the past and is still going on or has just finished. In many cases, both forms are correct, but there is often a difference in meaning: We use the Present Perfect Simple mainly to express that an action is completed or to emphasise the result. We use the Present Perfect Progressive to emphasise the duration or continuous course of an action.

Result or duration?

Do you want to express what has happened so far or how long an action has been going on yet?
Present Perfect SimplePresent Perfect Progressive
Result (what / how much / how often)
I have written 5 letters. / I have been to London twice.
Duration (how long)
I have been writing for an hour.

Certain verbs

The following verbs are usually only used in Present Perfect Simple (not in the progressive form).
  • state: be, have (for possession only)
    Example: We have been on holiday for two weeks.
  • senses: feel, hear, see, smell, taste, touch
    Example: He has touched the painting.
  • brain work: believe, know, think, understand
    Example: I have known him for 3 years.

Emphasis on completion or duration?

Do you want to emphasise the completion of an action or its continuous course (how has somebody spent his time)?
Present Perfect SimplePresent Perfect Progressive
Emphasis on completion
I have done my homework. (Meaning: My homework is completed now.)
Emphasis on duration
I have been doing my homework. (Meaning: That's how I have spent my time. It does not matter whether the homework is completed now.)

Result or side effect?

Do you want to express that a completed action led to a desired result or that the action had an unwanted side effect?
Present Perfect SimplePresent Perfect Progressive
desired result
I have washed the car. (Result: The car is clean now.)
unwanted side effect
Why are you so wet? - I have been washing the car. (side effect: I became wet when I was washing the car. It does not matter whether the car is clean now.)

Time + negation: last time or beginning of an action?

In negative sentences: Do you want to express how much time has past since the last time the action took place or since the beginning of the action?
Present Perfect SimplePresent Perfect Progressive
since the last time
I haven't played that game for years. (Meaning: It's years ago that I last played that game.)
since the beginning
I haven't been playing that game for an hour, only for 10 minutes. (Meaning: It's not even an hour ago that I started to play that game.)

Permanent or temporary?

If an action is still going on and we want to express that it is a permanent situation, we would usually use the Present Perfect Simple. For temporary situations, we would prefer the Present Perfect Progressive. This is not a rule, however, only a tendency.
Present Perfect SimplePresent Perfect Progressive
permanent
James has lived in this town for 10 years. (Meaning: He is a permanent resident of this town.)
temporary
James has been living here for a year. (Meaning: This situation is only temporary. Maybe he is an exchange student and only here for one or two years.)

Signal words

Present Perfect SimplePresent Perfect Progressive
  • how often
  • ... times
  • how long
  • since
  • for

Exercises on Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Progressive

Tests on Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Progressive