viernes, 19 de diciembre de 2008

Conditional clauses

Here you have a Power Point presentation in which the first, the second, and the third type of conditional sentences are explained. It includes some activities to practise them.

Conditional Clauses
View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: subordinate conditional)

Lift or elevator?


When you have to go to the thrid floor in a building and you don't want to use the stairs, what do you use, a lift or an elevator? Remember: "lift" is British English, and "elevator" is American English. People in the United States will tell you that they use the elevator and people in Britain will tell you they use the lift, but it's the same thing!

Sequence connectors

Here you have a short Power Point presentation about sequence connectors. You will probably find it very useful when you have to write essays.

Father Ted

In order to do this exercise you will have to watch a short fragment of the sitcom "Father Ted". In this segment, Father Ted (the grey-haired priest) is explaining Father Dougal (the younger and brown-haired priest) how they are going to cheat in a raffle that they are preparing. Then Mrs Doyle comes whith a tray of sandwiches that she has made. Whatch the video a couple of times and answer the multiple choice questions below. You will find the video in the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jve7jfb6NdE

1. What is the agreed number that Father Ted suggests to cheat?
a. Twenty-four
b. Eleven
c. Eighty-one

2. Where will the tickets be?
a. In a hat b. In a box c. In a vase

3. What is the price of the raffle?
a. A computer b. A TV set c. A car

4. What did Mrs Doyle forget to do?
a. She forgot to vacuum the house
b. She forgot to buy milk
c. She forgot to do her test for the sandwiches

5. What does Mrs Doyle do if the sandwich she tries does not meet her standards?
a. She puts the lot of them in the bin
b. She adds mayonnaise to them all
c. She eats them all and makes better ones

Answers: 1 b, 2 a, 3 c, 4 c, 5 a.

miércoles, 17 de diciembre de 2008

Read the news

This is a reading exercise. Read the piece of news that you will find in the link and answer the questions below. Remember that the point of reading is learning some vocabulary, so do not hesitate to look up some key words in the dictionary.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/17/burger-king-perfume



1. What is Burger King offering for a limited time in America?

2. What is the name of this perfume?

3. How does the company describe it?

4. How much does it cost?

5. Where can it be bought?

6. What does the Burger King's website boast about?

martes, 16 de diciembre de 2008

Whisky or whiskey?


Maybe you have seen this word writen both ways, but, are there any differences between them? They sound the same (/'hwɪski /or /'wɪski/). However, "whisky" is especially Scottish, whereas "whiskey" is especially Irish or American. So now you can know the origin of a bottle of this drink just by reading how it is written on the label.

Colloquial expressions exercise

Here you have an exercise to learn some colloquial expressions. The answers include the equivalent expressions in Spanish, which may help you, but don't look at them before doing the exercise, otherwise it will be useless!

Match the colloquial expressions with the corresponding definition.
1. a wet blanket.............................a. something disturbing, boring, etc.
2. a pain in the arse........................b. somebody who spoils a party or a good moment
3. to chat someone up....................c. not to know anything at all about something
4. cheers!......................................d. to like eating sweets
5. not to have a clue.......................e. what you say when you drink a toast
6. to pull somebody's leg.................f. to flirt with somebody
7. to have a sweet tooth ........ ...... g. to be fired
8. to get the sack............................h. to cheat somebody


Answers
1 b (un aguafiestas)
2 a (un coñazo)
3 f (ligar con alguien)
4 e (¡salud!)
5 c (no tener ni idea)
6 h (tomarle el pelo a alguien)
7 d (ser goloso)
8 g (ser despedido del trabajo)