Friday, February 15, 2013

Practice time

Multiple Choice

Choose the best answer
 
 
1. Teresa _________ French at evening classes this term.
A. is studying
B. studies
C. study
 
2. I don’t know what this sentence _____________.
A. is meaning
B. means
C. mean
 
3. Kevin was driving into town when he _______________ into his friend Keith.
A. was running
B. run
C. ran
 
4. I don’t enjoy computer games now, but I ___________ like them when I was younger.
A. was used to
B. used to
C. would
 
5. We expected Keith at 7.30 but he _____________ yet.
A. hasn’t arrived
B. has arrived
C. didn’t arrive
 
6. The film started ____________ so you’ve missed quite a lot.
A. for half an hour
B. half an hour ago
C. since half an hour
 
7. When ____________ the picnic, they went for a swim in the lake.
A. they’d been eating
B. they’d eaten
C. they’ve eaten
 
8. ____________ my sister three times today but her number is always engaged.
A. I’d phoned
B. I’ve been phoning
C. I’ve phoned
 
Key:

1.       a

2.       b

3.       c

4.       b

5.       b

6.       b

7.       b

8.       c

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Key Word Transformations

Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given.     (includes key)


1. It took her a long time to recover from her illness.

over

It took her a long time ______________________ her illness.

 

2. I regret saying that to him.

wish

________________________ that to him.

 

 3. I’m sure that wasn’t Tony we saw. He’s in London.

can’t

It ____________________Tony we saw. He’s in London.

 

4. It is important that I post this letter tonight.

need

I ____________________ this letter tonight.

 

5. I’m sure the children have been doing something terrible while we’ve been out.

up

I’m sure the children ________________ something terrible while we’ve been out.

 

6. The mechanic checked the tyres on my car.

had

I ___________________ on my car.

 

7. I think you should go to bed now.

time

It’s _________________ to bed.

 

8. It was difficult for me to read the number plate in the fog.

make

I couldn’t _______________ the number plate in the fog.

 

9. Please don’t tell Andrew about our conversation.

rather

I’d __________________ Andrew about our conversation.

 

10. Unless you start studying now, it’s possible that you will fail the exam.

could

You _______________you start studying now.

S

   C

      R

         O

            L

      L

D

  O

     W

         N
KEY:


1.TO GET OVER

2.I WISH I HADN’T SAID

3.IT CAN’T HAVE BEEN

4. NEED TO POST

5. HAVE BEEN UP TO

6.  HAD THE TYRES CHECKED

7. TIME YOU WENT

8. MAKE OUT

9. RATHER YOU DIDN’T

10. COULD FAIL IF YOU DON’T

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Conditional Practice

Help Michael and Susan find the correct verb form.



(answer key follows)


Michael: Sharon, I am having some problems at work, and I was wondering if you might be able to give me some advice.
Sharon: Sure, what's the problem?
Michael: The computer sales business is more difficult than I thought. When customers (come) _______in to look at the new computer models, they often (ask) _______me which model they should buy. If they (ask) ________me to suggest a model, I (be) __________usually quite honest with them. Most computer users don't need a very advanced computer; they just need a basic model which they can use for word-processing, bookkeeping and Internet access. If I am honest and I (recommend) ________one of the cheaper models, my boss (get) __________angry at me. He always says that a good salesperson can convince a customer to buy one of the more expensive advanced models. I don't really feel comfortable doing that. What would you do in my situation? Isn't it wrong to make them buy something which they don't need?
Sharon: I think you should help your customers make an intelligent decision. If I (be) _________you, I (educate) _________the customers. I (teach) _________them how to make a good decision by themselves. I (make, not) _________the decision for them. When a customer (ask) _________a question, answer it honestly. You don't need to lie to the customer, and you don't need to make the decision for them.
Michael: When I (sell) _________an inexpensive computer to a customer, my boss (complain) __________that I am not trying hard enough. What would you tell him?
Sharon: If I (be) _________in your situation, I (tell) _________him that I wasn't comfortable forcing customers to buy products which they don't need. Tell him that you don't want to lie to honest people, and that you want to provide them with good service. Remind him that when customers (get) _________good service, they (return) _________to a store and spend more money.

Michael: I think that's a great idea. He (might) _________change his mind if I said that to him. Maybe he (realize) ________that good service is the most important thing to consumers. And, of course, I (feel) ________much more comfortable if I (be) ________able to be honest with the customers. Thanks for your advice.

Check your answers.


Michael: Sharon, I am having some problems at work, and I was wondering if you might be able to give me some advice.
Sharon: Sure, what's the problem?
Michael: The computer sales business is more difficult than I thought. When customers come in to look at the new computer models, they often ( ask me which model they should buy. If they ask me to suggest a model, I am usually quite honest with them. Most computer users don't need a very advanced computer; they just need a basic model which they can use for word-processing, bookkeeping and Internet access. If I am honest and I recommend one of the cheaper models, my boss gets angry at me. He always says that a good salesperson can convince a customer to buy one of the more expensive advanced models. I don't really feel comfortable doing that. What would you do in my situation? Isn't it wrong to make them buy something which they don't need?
 
This part of the conversation is all in the 0 conditinal-present tense-Micahael is explaining his current situation. Now notice how Susan uses the past tense (1st conditional) to make the situation hypothetical. As they continue the conversation, the go back and forth between real and unreal.

Sharon: I think you should help your customers make an intelligent decision. If I were you, I would educate the customers. I would teach them how to make a good decision by themselves. I wouldn't make the decision for them. When a customer asks a question, answer it honestly. You don't need to lie to the customer, and you don't need to make the decision for them.
Michael: When I sell an inexpensive computer to a customer, my boss complains that I am not trying hard enough. What would you tell him?
Sharon: If I were in your situation, I would tell him that I wasn't comfortable forcing customers to buy products which they don't need. Tell him that you don't want to lie to honest people, and that you want to provide them with good service. Remind him that when customers get good service, they return to a store and spend more money.

Michael: I think that's a great idea. He might change his mind if I said that to him. Maybe he would realize that good service is the most important thing to consumers. And, of course, I would feel much more comfortable if I were able to be honest with the customers. Thanks for your advice.

Friday, February 1, 2013

Got Flu?

Teaching About the Flu With The New York Times



“Flu Attack! How a Virus Invades Your Body,” a video from NPR
Lesson Plans - The Learning NetworkLesson Plans - The Learning Network 
The flu has recently reached epidemic levels in the United States and has spread to at least 10 cuntries in Europe In New York City pharmacies are struggling to meet demands for the vaccine.

First, Get the Facts and learn about how flu attacks the body as well as how to prevent and treat it.
Then, read this article on the 2013 flu
  • Are there different kinds of flu this year? What are they?
  • How well does this year’s flu vaccine match the strains out there? Who should get one?
  • What is the norovirus?
  • Why do doctors think that the numbers of deaths and hospitalizations due to the flu are likely to rise in the coming weeks?
  • What should people who are already sick do?
Spread the Word
If public health officials asked for the help of young people to help prevent the spread of flu among school-aged children and teens, what could you do?
First, read about steps undertaken this year to control the flu in New York, then, perhaps with a partner or group, develop a public health campaign.
What will your message be? How will you make sure it is medically sound? How will you sort facts and hype about the flu, and flu vaccines, from myths? How will you reach your target audience?
Consider creating anything from a YouTube video to a social media campaign for Twitter or Facebook; an informative brochure or Web site to inform families of English language learners; public-service ads designed to appear in public transportation; or a program for an assembly at your own school or an elementary school nearby.
Understand Today’s Flu Vaccines — and the Vaccines of the Future
Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press
“If I had the perfect answer as to how to make a better flu vaccine, I’d probably get a Nobel Prize,” says Dr. Joseph Bresee, the chief of prevention and epidemiology for the C.D.C.’s flu branch in this article about this year’s flu and the vaccine developed to fight it.
How do vaccines work? Why do we need to get a new flu shot every year? According to this article scientists are moving closer to Dr. Bresee’s dream–a long-lasting, universal flu vaccine that works by attacking a part of the virus that changes little from year to year.

Work With the Data
Flu-related visits to New York City health care providers are making up a much larger share of visits this flu season (red line) compared with other recent years. Go to related post »
N.Y.C. Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene Flu-related visits to New York City health care providers are making up a much larger share of visits this flu season (red line) compared with other recent years.
Along with spreading misery, flu outbreaks also provide a wealth of data. By watching for a spike in Web search terms like “cough” and “fever,” technologists have been able to speed up efforts to detect and map flu outbreaks.
Read about the development of flu trends.Then, report your own family flu data using a crowd-sourced site called Flunearyou. Or, check out a variety of apps that allow you to track the flu across the country. You might then create a graphic of some kind, like the New York City data chart above, to show what you have learned about flu in your local area.
Our lesson plan inspired by the movie “Contagion” suggests more ways and tools to crowdsource disease outbreaks and work with what you discover.
Act Like Epidemiologists Through Gaming and Drills
Real-life flu fighters — epidemiologists, public health experts, virologists and others — routinely engage in cross-disciplinary efforts that integrate a wide range of technologies, from mapping to social media to digital gaming.
To get ready for your own flu-fighting projects, read about real-life virus hunters like Dr. W. Ian Lipkin. What habits of mind, specialized knowledge, and collaborative skills are required to track down the world’s more virulent viruses?
Then, put your gaming know-how to work. Public health experts use an approach called agent-based modeling — similar to games like Sim City — to run scenarios and think more critically about who should be vaccinated first to reduce the spread of flu. You might play a game like the Great Flu  in teams, then reflect on which strategies worked, or didn’t, to control the contagion. How do your strategies compare to the approach hospitals are taking this year  to curb the spread of flu?

Compare Today’s Flu With the Pandemic of 1918
Victims of the 1918 influenza outbreak in Kansas.
National Museum of Health and Science Victims of the 1918 influenza outbreak in Kansas.
What if a Flu Like 1918’s Broke Out Now? asks a 2008 Times article. It begins:
When an outbreak of the Spanish flu spread worldwide in 1918, a doctor in Newark advised his patients that they could cure their illness with red onions and coffee. In Atlantic City, the authorities closed amusement parks and theaters indefinitely. And in upstate New York, public health officials distributed a poster warning people against “careless spitting, coughing, sneezing.”
Those precautions had mixed results, and an estimated 675,000 Americans died during that outbreak, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
What do you know about the 1918 flu and its wide-ranging effects? What did we learn from it? Read a Times article from 1918  that describes how New York City fought the flu that year, then read one from 2009 that tells how a 24-year-old graduate student used newspaper archives to learn more about the city’s response that year.

Another resource for learning about other flu pandemics in history? This timeline.
Decide What You Would Do if You Were the School Principal
Let’s say that with flu outbreaks on the rise, your school district is considering cancelling an upcoming public event (for example, a basketball tournament or musical performance).
Applying mathematical modeling and an understanding of how contagions spread, how would you advise the district on whether the event should be a go or no-go? (If it’s a go, you should also recommend precautions to minimize risk, and provide a breakdown of costs and potential benefits.)
Include visual representations of data that help to support your arguments.
Read, or Write, Flu Humor
Go to related Opinionator post »Kristian Hammerstad
If after everything you’ve learned so far you can still laugh about the flu, you might read Teddy Wayne’s Flu Season Health Precautions. Here’s one:
Cover your mouth when you cough. Sneeze into your shoulder. If you sneeze again, sneeze into your opposite shoulder. If you’re one of those people who always sneezes three times in a row, you’re really annoying.
If you’re inspired, write your own satirical set of Flu Season Health Precautions specific to your school, friends or family.

authority

noun
An authority is a public organization that controls an area or certain activities. (noun)
A corporation that provides bus service in a city is an example of a transit authority.

An authority is a person who is considered an expert in his field. (noun)
A philosophy scholar who publishes books is an example of an authority.

Examples in a sentence:

  • You must notify the enforcing authority without delay i.e. by telephone.

  • Capital receipts: money received by the local authority from the transfer of housing stock.

  • The licensing authority will take over responsibility for granting gaming machine permits from the courts.

  • Authority various prosecuting authorities, not only the cps, could benefit from such an order.

  • Competent German authorities are able to give further information about this.

  • For German translation click here