Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for English for Baccalaureate

What Should Have Been

"Chief, what should be. Go get me the bill."

I was going to ask the painful question, but I feared that in this case, besides the pain, there would be relief. Just as we saw, some time ago, both of us together, hand in hand, her and me.

I always dined alone at tables of ten. This time, it was reserved, and even less for two. We chose the most romantic, isolated table, the only one we thought had never been used.

We came hungry for many things, willing to quench every thirst. Boredom was never an option. Staying with desire wasn't on the menu.

For a while, everything was deconstructed, all wrong. We ate with our eyes, touched with our lips, and tasted with our skin. We were in all shifts, over and under the tablecloth, and there...

English Vocabulary Essentials

Appearance & Accessories

• bracelet (wristband)
• dyed hair (hair colored artificially)
• earrings (pendientes)
• glasses (anteojos)
• makeup
• necklace (collar)
• piercings
• ring
• sunglasses
• tattoo

Common Phrases & Expressions

• I looked upset (I appeared unhappy or distressed)
• That hat does not suit you (That hat doesn't look good on you)
• Are they coming with us? (Will they join us?)
• Who's calling? (Asking who is on the phone now)
• Who called? (Asking who made a phone call in the past)
• We often sit and talk for a very long time (We frequently have long conversations)

Places & Transport

• block of flats (apartment building)
• bridge
• motorway (UK) / freeway (US)
• advertisement (ad)
• recycling bin (recycling container)
• car park (UK) / parking lot (US)

Reported Speech

When reporting what someone said, verb tenses and other elements often change. Here are common transformations:

• Present Simple (work) → Past Simple (worked)
• Present Continuous (is working) → Past Continuous (was working)
• Present Perfect (has worked) → Past Perfect (had worked)
• Past Simple (worked) → Past Perfect (had worked)
• Future Simple (will work) → Conditional (would work)
• Can → Could
• May → Might
• Must → Had to

Examples of Reported Speech

• Direct: "How long have you been waiting?" she asked him.
• Indirect: She asked him how long he had been waiting.
• Direct: "Eat your food," the mother said to the boy.
• Indirect: The mother told the boy to eat his food.

Passive Voice

The passive voice is used when the focus is on the action rather...

A Personal Update and Language Practice

A Letter from Melody

Hi Mary,

Sorry I haven't written before, but I've been very busy with my exams. Thanks for your email. I liked your photos very much!

I'll tell you a bit about myself. I like surfing the internet, watching TV, and listening to music. My favorite sport is climbing, so I often go climbing with my friends at the weekends.

I live in a big house with my family. I've got one brother; he is twenty-three years old. I also have four dogs.

Write back soon and tell me more about you.

All the best,
Melody

Vocabulary Building

Common Adjectives and Their Antonyms

• Honest (Dishonest)
• Rational (Irrational)
• Legal (Illegal)
• Interesting (Uninteresting)
• Patient (Impatient)
• Reliable (Unreliable)
• Sincere (Insincere)
• Mature

Key Phrasal Verbs and Action Vocabulary

These examples demonstrate common phrasal verbs and strong vocabulary usage:

• Economizing: They got into financial trouble and had to economize. They had to tighten the budget.
• Dismissal: She got sacked because she was rude to a customer.
• Conflict: Kim's teacher was annoyed when Kim answered back so rudely.
• Depletion: We had run out of money by the end of the holiday.
• Self-Advocacy: You should stand up for yourself instead of letting others tell you what to do.
• Persuasion: My friends talked me into going to the party.
• Success: I'm glad Frank's career has finally taken off.
• Cancellation: The festival has been called off because of the weather.

Essential Idioms and Everyday Expressions

• Overrated: The restaurant isn'

A Rainy Day Reunion

It had been a long and rainy day. Michael had been working all day and was very tired and hungry.

He decided to go and have dinner at a restaurant which was very near his office. He put his raincoat on, took his umbrella, and headed to the street.

The restaurant was full. So, he decided to sit at the bar and order some fish and chips. While Michael was waiting, he looked around and saw a familiar face.

Wow, he thought, that's Margaret. I haven't seen her for ages. Margaret had been his classmate at secondary school.

They both smiled at each other and Michael said hello. They talked about their lives.

To Margaret's surprise. Michael is engaged to Hanna. She was Margaret's flatmate when they were at university.

Job Interview Preparation:

Verb Tenses and Forms

Below are common verb tenses and their basic forms:

• Present simple: Infinitive (3rd person singular -s)
• Present continuous: be + -ing
• Past simple: Infinitive + -ed (irregular verbs have different forms)
• Past continuous: was/were + verb + -ing
• Present perfect simple: have/has (3rd person) + past participle
• Past perfect simple: had + past participle
• Future simple: will/won't + infinitive
• Future continuous: will/won't + be + -ing
• Future perfect: will/won't + have + past participle
• Future perfect continuous: will/won't + have + been + -ing
• Present perfect continuous: have/has + been + verb + -ing
• Past perfect continuous: had + been + verb + -ing

Conditionals

• Zero conditional (0): If/when + present simple ... present simple
• First conditional

If I have to tel you about the worst day in my life that would be my last birthday, the last 10th of january.

The Landlady: A Chilling Tale of Suspense

I enjoyed The Landlady because it is a story where the true horror remains hidden until the very end. The narrative follows a young man named Billy Weaver, who arrives in a new city for work. Although he is recommended to stay at the hotel "The Bell and the Dragon," he discovers a seemingly cozy boarding house along the way and decides to spend the night there.

The Mysterious Encounter

As soon as Billy rings the bell, the landlady opens the door. She claims there is no one else in the house, leaving the space entirely to them. She shows him to a room that was already prepared for him, which strikes Billy as strange since he had not planned to stay there. Following this, the lady asks him to sign the guest...