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

Mastering English Grammar & Vocabulary

Essential Vocabulary

• Life-related Terms

  • Lifeguard: A person who protects swimmers.
  • Life sentence: A prison sentence for the rest of one's life.
  • Life jacket: A buoyant vest to keep a person afloat.
  • Lifelike: Appearing to be real or alive (e.g., a realistic statue).
  • That's life: An expression of resignation to the difficulties of life.
  • Life is difficult: A common observation.
  • Life-threatening: Posing a serious risk to life (e.g., a mortal threat).
  • Private life: One's personal affairs.
  • Lifelong: Lasting for one's entire life (e.g., a lifelong friend).
  • Lifetime opportunity: A unique chance that may only occur once.
  • Life expectancy: The average period that a person may expect to live.

• General Verbs

  • Reflect: To show an

Defining True Friendship: Essential Qualities

A best friend is a cornerstone of personal well-being, offering unwavering support and understanding. This section explores the fundamental qualities that define such a valuable relationship.

The Pillars of Enduring Friendship

Firstly, a best friend always has to listen when you need it, allowing you to discuss anything and everything. They must be honest with you, offering truth without hurting your feelings. Trust is essential; if you need to share your worries, they will help you navigate them. A best friend is someone who shares adventures but is also there for you during difficult times, offering much-needed support.

Key qualities that foster a strong friendship include:

• Reliability: Someone you

Nowadays, one of the most talked about topics is the free and illegal downloads of music, movies, books, etc. All this is downloaded through the internet. Many artists, whether they are singers, actors, or writers, are not very satisfied with what is happening because it is affecting them economically, as people no longer buy their albums, books, or movies. Now everyone resorts to illegal downloads. This can have advantages and disadvantages.

Some of the advantages of downloading on the Internet are that people who do not have a lot of money can also enjoy watching a movie with their family, or listening to music whenever they want, or reading any book without having to spend a lot of money. There is also another advantage, but not for consumers,...

British vs. American English Vocabulary

• Biscuit: Cookie
• Mobile phone: Cell phone
• Toilet: Restroom
• Film: Movie
• Cinema: Movie theater
• Secondary school: High school
• Holiday: Vacation
• Rubbish: Garbage
• Car park: Parking lot
• Chips: Fries
• Lift: Elevator
• Sweets: Candy
• Flat: Apartment
• Petrol: Gas
• Queue: Stand in line
• Trainers: Sneakers
• Underground: Subway
• Pavement: Sidewalk
• Tap: Faucet

Verbs Followed by Infinitives (to + verb)

• Be able (to swim)
• Afford (to buy a flat)
• Agree (to help someone)
• Arrange (to meet)
• Choose (to do something)
• Decide (to buy a new computer)
• Expect (to fail an exam)
• Forget (to lock the door)
• Help (to cook dinner)
• Hope (to go to university)
• Learn (to swim)
• Manage (to escape)
• Need (to leave early)
• Offer (to do the washing up)
• Plan (to start a family)
• Pretend (to be

Rules for Converting Direct to Reported Speech

Tense Shifts in Reported Speech

When converting direct speech into reported speech, the tense usually shifts backward (known as backshift), provided the reporting verb (e.g., said) is in the past tense. The following table illustrates these changes:

Social Interactions: Participants and Occasions

Participants in Social Events:

Takes part in:

1. Acquaintances (ezagunak)
   • a. Blind date 1, 12, 13
2. Business associates (socios)
   • b. Business meeting 2, 3
   • c. Celebration meal 2, 3, 6, 7, 11
   • l. Conference call 2, 3
   • m. Social-networking site 1, 2, 3, 5, 11, 13
3. Clients
   • b. Business meeting 2, 3
   • c. Celebration meal 2, 3, 6, 7, 11
   • l. Conference call 2, 3
   • m. Social-networking site 1, 2, 3, 5, 11, 13
4. Delegates (politikoak)
   • d. Conference 2, 3, 4, 9, 10
5. Ex-classmates
   • e. Dating website 12, 13
   • j. School reunion 5, 6
   • m. Social-networking site 1, 2, 3, 5, 11, 13
6. Friends
   • c. Celebration meal 2, 3, 6, 7, 11
   • f. Dinner party 6, 7, 11
   • i. Housewarming party 6, 7, 8, 11
   • j. School reunion 5, 6
7. Guests (gonbidatuak)
   • c. Celebration meal 2, 3, 6, 7, 11
   • f.

1. Vocabulary Completion

Complete the sentences with the words and phrases below. There are more words than you need.

1. courage
2. wiped out
3. cheated
4. fur
5. ridiculous
6. discovery
7. brand new
8. expected

1. It takes a lot of courage to say what you really feel.

2. Logical Sentence Construction

Choose the correct answer. Then, write a second sentence that logically follows the first one.

1. Ellen decided to skip her last lesson. (b – She wasn’t feeling well.)
2. (a – She thought he’d be great.)
3. (a – After that you can drop out if you want.)
4. (b – I want to send them an e-mail.)
5. (b – It was very interesting.)

3. Verb and Noun Matching

Match the verbs in column A to a noun or phrase in column B.

• 1. make up – f
• 2. – a
• 3. – e
• 4. – b
• 5. – c
• 6. – g
• 7. – d

4. Contextual

The Talent-Spotter Interview Process

LARA: Hello! Welcome to P.S. Management. I’m Lara, the director of this business.

ÁNGEL: Nice to meet you! I'm Ángel.

LARA: Okay, let’s start the interview. How did you know we were looking for a new talent-spotter?

ÁNGEL: I saw it in the newspaper; also, I’ve been hearing about P.S. Management for many years.

Candidate Background and Experience

LARA: Okay. Now, you may know that P.S. Management is the most important agency for famous people worldwide.

ÁNGEL: Yeah, I know.

LARA: So, why should we hire you?

ÁNGEL: I think that I have the necessary charisma that this job requires. Also, I’ve worked in other agencies before, so I have experience in this field. I’ve represented people such as Macarena

Missing Words

Each question has one word missing:

1. Where do you come from?
2. Where and when were you born?
3. Do you live in a house or a flat?
4. Why are you studying English?
5. Which foreign countries have you been to?
6. What did you do yesterday evening?
7. What are you going to do after this lesson?

Adjectives and Adverbs

• Mexican life is so hard.
• Can you walk slowly, please?
• Real Madrid is playing badly.
• Please, listen carefully.

Much (Uncountable) and Many (Countable)

• How much soda do we have left?
• How many students do you know?
• I have much money in the bank.
• How many children are there in the classroom?
• How much time do we have left?

Should and Shouldn't

• I've got a sore throat, so I should drink water.
• I've got the flu, so I shouldn't go to school.
• I've got diarrhea, so I

Sample Complaint Letter: Amsterdam City Tour

Dear Sir/Madam,

My husband and I have just returned from one of your “special city tours” in Amsterdam (August 31 – September 10), and I am writing to complain about the holiday we were given.

To begin with, the hotel was not at all what we had been led to expect from your brochure. You advertise air-conditioned rooms with a mini-bar and private bathroom, but what we got was a tiny room with none of the promised appliances. The room only had a washbasin, and we had to share the sanitary installations with five other parties on our floor. The temperature was 90° every day, so you can imagine the comforts of a room with nothing but the cold water tub for cooling. As for the hotel staff, whenever...