Wednesday 24 February 2016

WRITING TASK


Write a report for visitors coming to Palma, saying what would be the most interesting and useful for them to know about sports and entertainment facilities in your area, and why.

Give advice about which facilities you think are the best. Justify your opinions. 

Divide up your report using suitable headings.

150-180 words.

Please send it to me by emal as soon as possible, as the EOI teacher wants to see these writings too: gabytorrens@hotmail.com

STRUCTURE:


 Here are the main sections of the standard report writing format:
  • Title.
  • Introduction - You will explain the problem and show the reader why the report is being made.  
  • Body - This is the main section of the report. There needs to be several sections, with each having a subtitle.  Information is usually arranged in order of importance with the most important information coming first. . 
  • Conclusion - This is where everything comes together.        
  • Recommendations - Explain your recommendations, putting them in order of priority.



USEFUL VOCABULARY:

Sports facilities HERE

Entertainment: places to go HERE


ROAD TO B1: LESSON 11


1. Look at the table. What food from the table have you recently cooked/ ordered/ eaten? Make some sentences.

tuna, broccoli, lamb, spinach, courgette, coconut, steak, ice- cream, cake, vegetarian sandwich, 
cereal, grilled fish, omelette, curry, sushi

2. Read the conversation. Who prefers/ used to prefer what?

Rajiv: Hey, Naomi, how about sushi on Friday?
Naomi: Hm, I’m not sure sushi is such a good idea…
Rajiv: But you used to love sushi?! What happened?
Naomi: I still do. But yesterday we had some with Tina, and …
Rajiv: OK, I see. Well, then I have a better idea. Call Tina and let’s have a potluck party. I will prepare some spinach soup. It’s amazing. I used to like it a lot when I was a kid.
Naomi: Really? I used to hate spinach when I was a child. Tina still does, though. Maybe I can prepare some Napolitan spaghetti. You like them, don’t you?
Rajiv: Sure, just skip the bacon. I am vegetarian, remember?
Naomi: For you I will make some without the bacon. And Tina will probably bring some of her delicious whole-wheat cookies.
Rajiv: Oh, I would eat piles of those when Tina and I were room-mates last semester.

3. Read the recipes. Circle the ingredient that does not fit.

  • Broccoli and cashew crunch
  • 25g grated Parmesan cheese
  • 450g fresh broccoli
  • 40g salted cashews, lightly chopped
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 tbsp melted butter
  • 2 eggs
  • garlic
  • black pepper
  • salt
Preheat the oven to 200C. In a small bowl combine the Parmesan cheese, cashews, lemon juice, garlic and salt. Place the broccoli on a baking sheet. Drizzle with butter and toss. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Roast in the oven until broccoli begins to caramelize, about 20 minutes. Remove, and toss the broccoli with the cashew mixture. Serve warm.
Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 100 g feta cheese
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
In another bowl, combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar and butter. Beat together the butter and sugar until they are light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat them into the butter and sugar mixture. Add in the vanilla as well.
Gradually add the flour mixture into the butter/sugar mixture. Mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks and walnuts. Spoon the cookie dough by 2 tablespoon-size balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 to 13 minutes.

4. Refer to the recipes from Exercise 3. Mark the statements T for true, and F for false.

  1. For the Broccoli and cashew crunch, combine the Parmesan cheese, cashews, lemon juice, garlic and chocolate in a bowl.
  2. The Broccoli crunch is quite an easy recipe.
  3. Roast the broccoli dish in the oven until broccoli begins to caramelize for about 20 minutes.
  4. We need 1 cup rolled oats to make the cookies.
  5. For the cookies, we add the chocolate chunks and walnuts last.
  6. The oatmeal cookies are baked for 10 to 13 min.

Grammar Box


Used to + verb expresses that an activity was a past habit that occurred at an earlier stage of life. 
Also, it can be used to describe past states.
E.g. We used to have English breakfast every morning.
E.g. He used to be a professional dancer.



Would + verb shows a frequently repeated activity, or typical behaviour
Would + verb cannot be used to talk about past states.

E.g. I would go to the beach and pretend I knew how to swim.

1. Underline the correct word/ phrase.
  1. When I was in kindergarten, I would pretend/ would to pretend to be sleeping in the afternoon.
  2. When Tammy was in high- school, she used to/ would to go to drama club.
  3. In my forties, I used be/ used to be much more organized, and motivated than in my twenties.
  4. When my father was a boy, kids would walk/ used to be for miles, just to get to the school.
  5. After college, I used to be/ would be unemployed for a very long time.
  6. When I was little I used to like/ used like the steak well done.

2. Make negative sentences from the examples below.

  1. I used to like fruit when I was a kid.
  2. Ornella used to fry noodles in a special pan I gave her as a present.
  3. Jay would practice piano every day for at least three hours.
  4. Ever since he was a child, his family would encourage him to become an artist.
  5. They used to play soccer every Thursday.
  6. This restaurant used to be very popular with its Japanese style noodles.
ANSWER KEY HERE

ROAD TO B1. LESSON 10



Vocabulary Topics. Exercises.

These are the important words you need to know to pass an exam at B1 level:
Buildings | 
Clothes | 
Colours | 
Education | 
Shopping | 
Sport | 
Weather | 

ROAD TO B1: LESSON 9



B1 Grammar topics. Exercises and explanations.

These are topics you need to study to pass an exam at B1 level:
Past continuous
Past perfect
Past simple
Past tense responses
Phrasal verbs, extended
Prepositions of place
Present perfect continuous
Present perfect/past simple
Reported speech (range of tenses)
Simple passive
Wh- questions in the past
Will and going to, for prediction

Wednesday 17 February 2016

ROAD TO B1: LESSON 8








1) HERE's a list of adjectives to describe the taste and texture of food.

2) VIDEO- LISTENING task, with a multiple choice quiz and answer key: The Great British Menu: Fish and Chips" (03:20) HERE

3) Tasks in class to put into practice the language related to food:

Reading: "Are Brits becoming more adventurous in the kitchen?"

HERE you have this and more activities, with all of the answers.


Speaking:

DOWNLOADS: WORD | PDF

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show to Student B)
1)What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘food’?
2)How often do you think about food?
3)Can you eat anything?
4)Can you go without food for a whole day?
5)Do you have to watch what you eat?
6)What is your favourite breakfast, lunch and dinner?
7)Do you think your country’s food is the best?
8)Do you think “you are what you eat”?
9)What do you think about canned, frozen and processed food?
10)What kinds of international cuisine do you like?
  
 
STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show to Student A)
1)Are you fussy or particular about the food you eat?
2)Have your favourite kinds of food changed over the years?
3)Do you like fast food and slow food?
4)What do you think about food additives?
5)Do you care where the food you eat comes from?
6)What national dishes from your country would you recommend to the world?
7)Do you worry about the rising cost of food?
8)Do you think the world’s food will ever run out?
9)What do you think of genetically-modified (GM) food?
10)Is your food bill big?


Wednesday 10 February 2016

ATENCIÓ, PROVES LLIURES EOI!


Ja us podeu inscriure a les proves lliures EOI. Només ho heu de fer si pensau que podeu aprovar un curs més del que estam fent ara (Intermedi 1). En aquest cas us heu d'inscriure a la prova per obtenir el certificat del Nivell Intermedi. Si pensau que no aprovareu el curs que estam fent ara i voleu obtenir un títol, us podeu inscriure a la prova per obtenir el Nivell Bàsic, que és un curs menys del que estam fent enguany.




Consultau les instruccions i els preus per a la inscripció AQUÍ. Heu de fer un pagament (pagau com a nous alumnes) i entregar la documentació a l'EOI Palma. 

Inscripció fins dia 19 de febrer a les 22h. Inscripció online des d'aquest ENLLAÇ


- Prova de Nivell Bàsic: 19 de maig, 17h. EOI Palma (opció de recuperar parts suspesses al setembre)

- Prova de Nivell Intermedi: 17 de maig, 16h. EOI Palma (opció de recuperar parts suspesses al setembre)





ROAD TO B1: LESSON 7

READING

"In Britain, pupils wear a school uniform. As well as a particular skirt or pair of trousers, with a specific shirt and jumper, they also have a school PE kit (clothes that they wear to play sports at school).

Most children go to state-run primary and secondary schools. Schools are mostly mixed (girls and boys sit in the same classes), although there are some single-sex schools (schools for girls or boys only) and a few schools are private, where parents pay school fees.

Schools try to have clear rules for acceptable behaviour. For example, pupils (school children) have to show respect to their teachers. Often they have to stand up when their teacher comes into the classroom and say "Good morning". If pupils break the rules, they can expect to be sent to the headmaster or headmistress, or to do detention, when they stay behind after the other pupils go home.

Most schools have lessons in the morning and in the afternoon. Pupils can go home for lunch, or have their lunch in school. Some have a packed lunch (where they bring lunch from home, such as sandwiches, fruit etc) and some eat what the school prepares. These "school dinners" vary in quality, and there has recently been a lot of media interest in providing healthy school dinners for pupils.

Pupils can expect to get homework for most subjects, and there are regular tests to check progress. At the end of each of the three school terms, teachers give each pupil a report. Schools also have a parents' evening each year, when the parents can meet the teachers to discuss their child's progress.

School isn't just lessons and homework though. Most schools arrange a sports day once a year, as well as school trips to places of interest."


SPEAKING: What sort of student are you?


stellar = a star performer
hard-working = someone who tries
straight A = a student who always gets top marks
plodder = someone who works consistently, but isn't particularly brilliant
mediocre = not bad, average
abysmal = terrible


Exercise to practise connectors in a descriptive essay, with its key: HERE


MOCK EXAM: Use of English. Two "multiple choice" exercises: Choose A, B, C, D to fill in the text. You have some here that you can practise at home:

English grammar tests, each with 20 questions, in order of increasing difficulty:

HOMEWORK:

WRITING TASK: Write a description of the school you go to (120-140 words). 

Include the following information (it's important to talk about ALL of the topics mentioned):

- a brief introduction: the type of school, size, location, your age when you started there, the number of students in each clas...

- Teachers, discipline, homework, uniform

- Your favourite subjects and the subjects you don't enjoy as much. Write why you like/dislike them.

- Your opinion of the school. Is it a good school? Why?


HERE you have a template that you can use as a writing reference.

More VOCABULARY related to Education


You can send your composition to: gabytorrens@hotmail.com or give it to me at school. The sooner the better, thanks.