Superstitions

These are some common Western superstitions. Many of them originated during a time when there were no scientific explanations for events that happened. People used to believe in witches, magic, dragons, and fairies. There are still people who continue to believe in superstitions and live their lives according to these beliefs.

Superstition	Meaning
Baseball Bat	Spit on a new bat when using it for the first time to make it lucky.
Bed	It’s bad luck to put a hat on a bed.
Bell	When a bell rings, an angel has received its wings.
Cats	If a black cat crosses your path, you will have bad luck.
Clover	It’s good luck to find a four-leaf clover.
Knives	If a friend gives you a knife, you should give him/her a coin.
Ladybugs	It is bad luck to kill a ladybug.
Ladder	It’s bad luck to walk under a ladder.
Mirror	If you break a mirror, it’s seven years bad luck.
Salt	If you spill salt you must throw some over your left shoulder.
Umbrella	It’s bad luck to open an umbrella in the house.
Wood	Knock on wood anytime you mention good fortune.
Yawn	Cover your mouth so your soul doesn’t go out of your body.
Itchy Ear	Someone is talking about you.
Friday the 13th	This day is traditionally unlucky unless you were born on it.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What should you do to a bat to make it lucky?

2. What shouldn’t you put on a bed?

3. How can cats be unlucky?

4. What kind of clover is good luck?

5. If a friend gives you a knife, what should you give in return?

6. How can ladders be unlucky?

7. How can ladybugs be unlucky?

8. What can give you seven years bad luck?

9. If you spill salt, what should you do?

10. How can umbrellas be unlucky?

11. When should you knock on wood?

12. What should you do when you yawn?

13. What does an itchy ear mean?

14. How can Friday the 13th be lucky?

this, that, these, those

Practice exercises: CLICK 

We use this (singular) and these (plural) as pronouns:

- to talk about people or things near us:

This is a nice cup of tea.
Whose shoes are these?

- to introduce people:

This is Janet.
These are my friends, John and Michael.

WARNING:
We don’t say These are John and Michael.
We say This is John and this is Michael.

- to begin a conversation on the phone:

Hello, this is David, Can I speak to Sally?

Why do we use that and those?

We use that (singular) and those (plural):

- to talk about things that are not near us:

What’s that?
This is our house, and that’s Rebecca’s house over there.
Those are very expensive shoes.

- We also use that to talk about something someone said or did:

·         - Shall we go to the cinema?
- Yes, that’s a good idea.

·         - I’ve got a new job.
- That’s great.

·         - I’m very tired.
- Why is that?

this, these, that, those with nouns

We also use this, these, that and those with nouns to show proximity

We use this and these for people or things near us:

We have lived in this house for twenty years.
Have you read all of these books?

… and that and those for things that are not near us:

Who lives in that house?
Who are those people?

How to grow a flower...

Number the sentences below according to the right sequence. 

_____ Next a plant grows. It needs water and light.
_____ After that bees come to the flower and the flower makes new seeds.
_____ Finally, new plants, flowers and seeds grow again.
_____ The seeds fall to the ground again and the wind takes the seeds to new soil.
_____ First, seeds fall to the ground and their roots grow into the soil.
_____ Then, a flower grows.


Answers
First,seeds fall to the ground and their roots grow into the soil.
Next a plant growsIt needs water and light.
Then, a flower grows.
After that bees come to the flower and the flower makes new seeds.
The seeds fall to the ground again and the wind takes the seeds to new soil.
Finally, New plants, flowers and seeds grow again.

Understanding Quotes

A "quote" is usually a short text - perhaps one or two sentences - written or spoken by a famous person and often repeated or at least known by others. Every language has its famous quotes, and they range from highly amusing to deadly serious. Often they express a deep truth in a short, clever way - even the amusing ones. Have a look at them and try to understand them:

Dorothy Parker:

"The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity."

"The only ism Hollywood believes in is plagiarism."

"I don't care what is written about me as long as it isn't true."

"Sorrow is tranquility remembered in emotion"

"I've never been a millionaire but I just know I'd be darling at it."

"If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to."

"That would be a good thing for them to cut on my tombstone: Wherever she went, including here, it was against her better judgment."

Francis Bacon

"Hope is a good breakfast, but it is a bad supper."

"Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man and writing an exact man."

"Discretion in speech is more than eloquence."

"He of whom many are afraid ought to fear many."

"In taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior."

"Silence is the virtue of fools."

"The worst solitude is to be destitute of sincere friendship."

"In charity there is no excess."

"Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed and some few to be chewed and digested."

The Rebound: Present Perfect

This romantic comedy is much better than I had expected it to be. It is a story about prejudice and dealing with adversities. I really enjoyed it. It is perfect to practice the present perfect tense.








I. Watch the movie segment and write down HE if the activity was performed by the male character. Write SHE if she did it. The main characters used to be lovers but they have spent the past 5 years apart, doing different things.

( ) 1 Visit Paris

( ) 2 Interview several people

( ) 3 See the kids play baseball

( ) 4 Travel to third world countries

( ) 5 Broadcast the news as a TV anchor

( ) 6 Travel to New York

( ) 7 Drive across the desert

( ) 8 Go on a safari

( ) 9 Go to fancy parties

( ) 10 Teach needy children in Africa



II. Now write down what both of the them have done while they have been away from each other.

Ex: She has interviewed several people



III. Work in pairs and discuss the following questions:

1. How different have their lives been?

2. Who had a happier life? Why?

3. What kind of life would you rather have? His or hers? Why?

4. Do you think that such different couple can be happy together? Explain it.









Answer key:
HE - 1 - 4 - 7 - 8 - 10
SHE - 2 - 3 - 5 - 6 - 9
1 he has visited paris
2 she has interviewed several people
3 she has seen the kids play baseball
4 he has traveled to third world countries
5 she has broadcasted the news as a tv anchor
6 she has traveled to new york
7 he has driven across the desert
8 he has gone on a safari
9 she has gone to fancy parties
10 he has taught needy children in Africa

Springtime

Fill in the blanks below with words from this box:
sprouts buds weather tulips build season wakes warm crops		cherry countryside hatch seeds eggs melts showers flowers return	sunshine bears frogs hibernation white pink birth worms
Spring Weather Spring is the _______________ when the whole world ______________ up. The cold days of winter turn into the __________________ days of spring. In March, the snow ________________ in the mountains. In April, _______________ soak the ground and the ___________________ of May brings new growth everywhere. People say that April showers bring May _________________. Spring Plants One of the earliest signs of spring is the new ___________ growing on the trees and new __________ emerging from the ground. The ___________ blossom tree is one of the first to bloom with blossoms of ____________ and ____________. Spring is also the season of __________ and daffodils.  In the ____________, farmers sow their ______________ into the ground and hope for good ___________. With luck, they will have good __________ to harvest in fall. Spring Animals As the weather gets warm, ____________ and ___________ come out of their long winter sleep called _______________. Many animals in the forest give ____________ to babies.  Birds ___________ from the south. They ___________ nests to lay ___________ in. When the eggs _____________, the mother bird busies herself finding ____________ to feed her young.

Answers Spring Weather Spring is the season when the whole world wakes up. The cold days of winter turn into the warm days of spring. In March, the snow melts in the mountains. In April, showers soak the ground and the sunshine of May brings new growth everywhere. People say that April showers bring May flowers. Spring Plants One of the earliest signs of spring is the new buds growing on the trees and new sprouts emerging from the ground. The cherry blossom tree is one of the first to bloom with blossoms of white and pink. Spring is also the season of tulips and daffodils.  In the countryside, farmers sow their crops into the ground and hope for good seeds. With luck, they will have good weather to harvest in fall. Spring Animals As the weather gets warm, bears and frogs come out of their long winter sleep called hibernation. Many animals in the forest give birth to babies.  Birds return from the south. They build nests to lay eggs in. When the eggs hatch, the mother bird busies herself finding worms to feed her young.

Past Simple Spring Time Exercises

Regular verbs

Remember:

Most verbs get –ed

v  work – worked

Spelling ruled to add -ed

Add –d- when the verb ends in –e-

>  bake – baked

Add –ied- to the verb when the verb ends in –y- and before the –y- there is a consonant. You must also drop the –y- before adding –ied.

>  cry- cried

You do not drop the

 –y- and add –ied- if there is a vowel (a-e-i-o-u) before the –y. Then you simply add –ed-

>  play – played

Add the last consonant + ed when the three last letters of a verb are as follows : consonant – vowel – consonant.

>  stop –stopped

You do not add the last consonant if they are- x-w-y-z-

>  chew- chewed

Irregular verbs

Learn the following verbs

be – was/were

bring – brought

buy – bought

come – came

draw - drew

drink – drank

drive – drove

eat – ate

fall – fell

find – found

give – gave

go – went

have – had

hear – heard

know – knew

leave – left

make – made

put –put

read – read

ride – rode

run – ran

say – said

see – saw

sing – sang

sit – sat

sleep – slept

spend – spent

sweep -swept

swim – swam

take – took

teach - taught

tell – told

wear – wore

win – won

write - wrote

Clue words for the Past Simple

Yesterday (..) - He studied for the test yesterday night .

Last …………….. - You read that book last month.

A …………..ago   – I ate an apple a while ago.

Change the following verbs to the past form

1) have – _________    11) judge - _________   21) buy- __________

2) drip –  _________   12) mix -  _________     22) skip - ________

3) copy – _________   13) drink -  _________   23) sweep - _______

4) beg –   _________   14) move -  _________  24) thank - _______

5) give - _________    15) wish - _________    25) teach - _______

6) ride- __________   16) cry- __________    26) write - _______

7) spend - _________ 17) smile - _________   27) chew - ________

8) look - __________  18) hear - _________   28) know - ________ 

9) use - -__________  19) win - __________   29 ) sit - _________

10) put - __________ 20) pet - __________   30 ) say - _________

Put the verbs in the Past Simple tense.

1) My grandma (bake) ____________ some cookies last week.

2) His brother (go) ___________ on a field trip a week ago.

3) Mom (mix) __________ the ingredients a moment ago.

4) This girl (knit) _________ a long scarf last winter.

5) My teacher (teach) __________ us the Past Simple yesterday.

6) This dog (bark) ___________ all last night.

7) The saleslady (find)___________ the lost shirt a moment ago.

8) My family (drive) ____________ to the beach yesterday.

9) These pupils (be) ___________ late a lesson ago.

10) The little boy (draw) _________ a nice picture yesterday.

11) His dad (tell) __________ him the sad news a moment ago.

12) My dog (chew) __________ on his big bone a while ago.

13) Their neighbor (win) _________ the lottery last month.

14) I (swim) __________ in the cold water last spring.

15) Her sister (stop) __________ her work a moment ago.

16) The kids ( visit) __________ this old lady yesterday.

17) The birds (sit) __________ on that branch last time.

18) Your family (have) _________ a party last night.

19) The animals (run) __________ around the yard yesterday.

20) She (write) __________ him a love letter last night.

Spring cleaning

   It is spring again. Flowers bloom everywhere and all the trees have new green leaves. And we have … spring cleaning!

  Last week we all (help) 1)___________ our mom around the house. Dad (tidy) 2) ___________ the garage. He (put) 3)______ back all the tools at their place. He (fix) 4) ___________ some broken machine and (paint) 5) __________ three old chairs. Then he (go) 6) _________ into the garden. He (plant) 7)_______ roses in new flowerpots and (water) 8) __________ them. Finally he (polish)

9) ________ his car. He(come) 10)_________ back into the house and (say) 11)________"I (finish) 12) ________ my spring cleaning!"

  My older brother (clean) 13)___________ the windows of the rooms upstairs. Then he (organize) 14)____________ all the stuff in his room. In a thick book he (find) 15)_________ some money and many old letters his girlfriend (write) 16) __________ to him the year before. He (sit) 17)___________ down on his bed and (read) 18) ________ them all and ……(fall) 19) __________ asleep.

My sister (prefer) 20) ________ to help downstairs. She (sweep) 21)_________ the floors and (dust) 22) _________ the furniture. Then she (scrub) 23) ____________ the kitchen sink. She also (decide) 24)_________ to clean the fridge but when  she (open) 25)_______ the  bottom drawer and (discover) 26)_______  a box of chocolates. She (take) 27)________ the box into the garden and (eat) 28)________ them one by one. Then she (be) 29)______ to full to do any more work!

  I being the youngest (tell) 30)__________ my mom I would take care of our dog's kennel. First I (wash) 31)_________ the walls and the floor of the kennel with soap. Then I (dry) 32)_________ it off with a clean towel. My dog (run) 33) _________ around me and (try) 34) ________ to catch the towel. So I (leave) 35)______ the kennel to dry in the sun and (play) 36) __________with Bonzo. I (teach) 37)________ him a new trick and (spend) 38)_________ a lovely time with him.

And my mom! She (work) 39)__________ hard all day. She (have) 40)_________ to do all the laundry. Then she (iron) 41)________ the dry clothes. She (drive) 42) _________ to the mall to buy some cloth and at home she (make) 43)__________ pretty new curtains for our kitchen.

At last the house is clean.  Last night mom (give) 44) ________ us all a big hug and (thank) 45)_________ us for helping. I (knew)

46) _________we could all have a rest till …. next spring!