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

English Vocabulary Practice

Vocabulary Extension 1

Exercise 1: Matching

1. f
2. c
3. b
4. g
5. d
6. a
7. e

Exercise 2: Word Completion

1. activities
2. advertise
3. blame
4. collection
5. humorous
6. pollution
7. quarrel
8. native speaker

Exercise 3: Collocations & Phrases

1. foreign language / pronounce
2. join / talk into / worthwhile
3. championship / countless / sensible
4. equality / doubtful
5. fluent / get the message across / accent / slang

English Grammar Practice

Grammar Practice 1

Exercise 1: Verb Tenses

1. had rented / will have found
2. had gone / have ridden
3. has gone shopping / will have bought
4. had taken / was taking / will have repaired

Exercise 2: Verb Tenses & Time Expressions

1. has just called
2. had finished solving the problem when the bell rang
3. had been cleaning the garage for two hours
4. got to the station after the train

Tattoos

History of Tattoos

1. B 2. B

3. True. It is thought they were part of a medical healing process.

5. False. They began adorning themselves with body marks in discreet places.

6. True. After World War II, tattoos had a terrible reputation because newspapers reported stories of blood poisoning and other diseases.

7. Reduce 8. Laughter 9. Bravery

10. About 11. Evidence

12. Have been working

13. They don't have to attend the lecture.

14. A falling rock hit him while skiing in the mountains.

On-Screen Dinosaurs

The Reality Behind Movie Dinosaurs

1. B 2. C

3. False. Velociraptors were much smaller than in Jurassic Park, about the size of a large chicken.

4. True.

5. True. It doesn't matter very much if Jurassic Park and other movies change some facts to add...

Essential Vocabulary and Phrasal Verbs

General Vocabulary

• Ancestors: Relatives who lived a long time before you.
• Poisonous: Causing death or illness if you eat or drink it.
• Buds: Taste buds (papilas gustativas).
• Pinch: To hold tightly between your thumb and first finger.
• Disappear: To fade into obscurity.
• Retailers: People or businesses that sell goods to the public.
• Decline: To become less important.
• Good deed: A generous act.
• Treat: To act (comportarse).
• Blatant: Done in an obvious way (descarado).
• Strive: To exert oneself (esforzarse).
• Achieve: To accomplish (alcanzar o lograr).
• Overcome: To defeat (vencer).
• Willing: Happy or prepared to do something.
• Junkies: People who are addicted to something.
• Culprit: The thing that is responsible for something.
• Stroke:

Comprehensive List of Irregular Verbs

Verb Conjugations

This list provides the base, past simple, and past participle forms of common irregular verbs in English.

• Be / Was, Were / Been - ser/estar
• Beat / Beat / Beaten - vencer
• Become / Became / Become - llegar a ser
• Begin / Began / Begun - empezar
• Bite / Bit / Bitten - morder
• Break / Broke / Broken - romper
• Bring / Brought / Brought - traer
• Broadcast / Broadcast / Broadcast - transmitir
• Build / Built / Built - construir
• Burn / Burnt/Burned / Burnt/Burned - quemar
• Buy / Bought / Bought - comprar
• Can / Could / (been able to) - poder
• Catch / Caught / Caught - coger
• Come / Came / Come - venir
• Cost / Cost / Cost - costar
• Cut / Cut / Cut - cortar
• Do / Did / Done - hacer
• Draw / Drew / Drawn - dibujar
• Dream / Dreamt/Dreamed

Working Abroad: Advantages and Disadvantages

(Thursday, May 6, 2015)

I would like to work abroad because I think it is a very interesting experience. There are many advantages and disadvantages related to working in another country.

Key Advantages of International Work

The advantages of working internationally are numerous. They include:

• Experiencing new cultures.
• Learning new languages.
• Gaining valuable professional experience.
• Visiting other countries and cities previously unknown to us.
• Learning about local customs, such as the use of public transport or bicycles.
• Observing different opinions on everyday things, such as the recycling of plastic, glass, or organic waste.

These points would certainly extend and enrich our knowledge.

Challenges and Disadvantages

However,...

English Exam Solutions: 2009–2014

2009/2010 Exam Results

Option A

• 1. a) True ('And he tracked... on maps') b) False ('And so he abandoned... study animals')
• 3. a) creatures b) trust c) detachment d) wave
• 4. a) believes / eating - to eat b) about / must c) You don't have to dissect an animal to know a lot about it. d) Rogers told the bear not to worry.

Option B

• 1. a) True ('Ever since the great... like dust') b) True ('By 1870,... and deprivation')
• 3. a) wealth b) dust c) peak d) famine
• 4. a) that / longest b) from / meant c) long / takes d) Its / defeating

2010/2011 Exam Results

Option A

• 1. a) False ('With someone... human interventions') b) True ('Because the robot... consumption')
• 3. a) harder b) actually c) reducing d) proof
• 4. a) bought / hasn't stopped

English Grammar Essentials

Understanding Passive and Active Voice

Active Voice: Subject + Verb + Complement (Object)

Passive Voice: Complement (Object) + To Be + Verb (third column/past participle) + by + Subject

Examples of Passive Voice Forms:

• Simple Passive: are arrested / were arrested
• Continuous Passive: are being arrested / were being arrested
• Perfect Passive: have been arrested / has been arrested
• Infinitive Passive: to be arrested

Impersonal Passive Constructions

These constructions are used when the agent of the action is unknown or unimportant, often starting with "It is said that..." or "He is thought to...".

1. You can use It is said, believed, etc. + that + clause.
2. You can use He, The man, etc. (i.e., the subject of the clause) + is said, believed,

The Passive Voice

Present Simple: (teach) - (is taught)
Present Continuous: (is teaching) - (is being taught)
Present Perfect: (have taught) - (have been taught)
Past Simple: (taught) - (was taught)
Past Continuous: (was teaching) - (was being taught)
Future Simple: (will teach) - (will be taught)
Be going to: (is going to teach) - (is going to be taught)
Can: (can teach) - (can be taught)

Verbs with two objects: ask, buy, give, lend, offer, play, promise, refuse, show, sell, send, teach, tell.

Reporting verbs: accept, believe, claim, expect, hope, know, predict, report, say, think, understand. Structures: (subject + reporting verb + to + infinitive) / (it + reporting verb + that + clause)

Causatives and Conditionals

Causative Passive: (have/get...

Bertie Changes His Mind: A Jeeves and Wooster Tale

Another cheerful joke in the Wooster canon, this time narrated by Jeeves himself. This performance, recorded in front of a live audience at the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham by Martin Jarvis, depicts Bertie Wooster's desire to adopt a child. His plans are abruptly thwarted due to an unfortunate incident at a remote girls' boarding school, where he was asked to give a guest conference but proved grossly inadequate for the task.

To make matters worse, he was caught passing cigarettes to one of the girls, Peggy, whom he had befriended with the hope of returning to the school without being caught (and later stopped) by the formidable director, Miss Tomlinson. Bertie had no choice but to retreat...

Environment

The Importance of Plants

According to the text, "Without plants, man could not survive." This highlights the crucial role of plants in our ecosystem. The text also emphasizes the urgency of the situation, stating, "We are destroying our life-support system at such an alarming rate that it has already become a crisis." Horrifyingly, some flowering species are on the brink of extinction.

Vocabulary

• Desert: A very hot and dry environment.
• Rainforest: The Amazon is the largest rainforest in the world.
• Remain/Stay: To continue to be in a particular place.
• Medicines: Drugs used to treat illnesses.
• Wild: Untamed or undomesticated (e.g., a wild dog can be dangerous).

Common Questions

• Are you from...?
• Have you been to London many times?
• What do you