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

Future Holiday Plans: England Adventure

On my next holidays, I am going to go with my family and my best friend, Erica.

We plan to go in February and stay for around three weeks. I hope the weather will be good.

Actually, the first country I should have visited is England because English is the language I speak best. Unfortunately, I went to Italy instead. It wasn't terrible there, but I didn't enjoy it very much because I couldn't practice any languages (at that time, I hadn't studied Italian yet).

So, on my next holidays, I'll go to England, and I'm going to improve my English a lot. I'll see the famous Stonehenge. I'll spend the whole day speaking English, and I'm going to forget my Spanish completely. Maybe I will do a course on make-up. I...

Mall of America Robbery: Two Injured, Suspect in Custody

George was tired because he had been working all day. So, he decided to spend his night watching television. He put on the news channel. Instantly, he was very surprised...

Two men were injured during a robbery at the Mall of America on Sunday night, and the suspect is in custody, the police said.

One of the victims confronted Abdi, the criminal, who then took out a knife and injured him, according to the investigators.

The police said the man began to scream, and his family rushed to his side. It is believed that the second victim was a family member or a close friend trying to help the first victim. It is expected that both men will survive.

The reporter added that the police told everyone...

Informal Email, Friend

19 Gran Via, Murcia 30004, Spain, 7th February 2017
From: Raquel
To: Maria
Subject: Thanks

Hi Maria,
I’m really sorry for not writing earlier, but I’ve been very busy since I got back! I’m writing this email to say thanks for a wonderful weekend with you in London. I loved being in that nice city, and I had a good time. I’m very happy to meet your new English friend, Sophie, she’s intelligent and very friendly. I have really good memories. I’ve been living in Murcia for 3 weeks. I miss you a lot but I’m very happy in this city. I’ve been a bit stressed this week, because I’ve started studying at university and I’ve the exams soon. Also, I’m working in a private academy with primary students, they are very...

Workbook Exercises: Relative Clauses and Grammar

Page 50: Relative Clauses

• 1a. Our headteacher is the person who we’ll have to get permission from.
• 1b. Our headteacher is the person from whom we’ll have to get permission.
• 2a. I am having a clothes-swapping party to which I want to invite 15 people.
• 2b. I am having a clothes-swapping party which I want to invite 15 people to.

Sentence Practice

1. These shoes that I bought last week are not comfortable.
2. I begin work at 6:00 pm, when most of my friends are just coming home.
3. The people with whom I had coffee today are my customers.
4. This shop, which opened last year, has become very successful. / This shop, which has become very successful, opened last year.
5. This area, where a lot of young artists once lived,

Passive Voice Transformations (Student Exercises)

Page 38, Exercise 3: Passive Voice Solutions

1. They have been shown the new offices (by Muriel). / The new offices have been shown to them (by Muriel).
2. It is known that hard work is necessary for success. / Hard work is known to be necessary for success.
3. We should have been paid more money. / More money should have been paid to us.
4. It is believed that psychometric tests are quite accurate. / Psychometric tests are believed to be quite accurate.
5. You might be sent the new business cards tomorrow. / The new business cards might be sent to you tomorrow.
6. The best customers are being given special prices. / Special prices are being given to the best customers.
7. It is said that Clara earns a very high salary.

Passive Voice

• Present Simple:
  • (A) I write a letter.
  • (P) A letter is written by me.
• Past Simple:
  • (A) I wrote a letter.
  • (P) A letter was written by me.
• Present Continuous:
  • (A) I am writing a letter.
  • (P) A letter is being written by me.
• Past Continuous:
  • (A) I was writing a letter.
  • (P) A letter was being written by me.
• Present Perfect Simple:
  • (A) I have written a letter.
  • (P) A letter has been written by me.
• Past Perfect Simple:
  • (A) I had written a letter.
  • (P) A letter had been written by me.
• Future Simple (Will):
  • (A) I will write a letter.
  • (P) A letter will be written by me.
• Be Going To:
  • (A) I am going to write a letter.
  • (P) A letter is going to be written by me.

Reported Speech

When we refer to what one person has said to another:

• Affirmative or Negative Sentences:
  • Peter

Broadway Show League: A Unique NYC Tradition

Most Broadway show teams, comprising actors and technicians, play softball every Thursday in what is known as the Broadway Show League.

Antonio's First Impressions

• He didn't know much about softball, but it sounded as if Antonio and José L. did. It was nice for him to speak in his own language.
• People lined up early to get their free tickets and organized picnics in the field next to the theatre while waiting. Sometime between 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM, a representative from the theatre distributed tickets for that evening's performance.

New York Yankees: A Professional Baseball Experience

During the summer, José L. was in charge of writing about the New York Yankees baseball team for his newspaper, which...

Level 1

VOCABULARY

1. 1. commute
2. 2. sort
3. 3. fire
4. 4. shift
5. 5. share
6. 6. qualifications
7. 7. field

2. 1. fast learner
3. 2. like clockwork
4. 3. good at multitasking
5. 4. regardless of
6. 5. job offer
7. 6. run a business

3. 1. deal with unhappy customers
4. 2. he gets fired
5. 3. to make money
6. 4. buy something at the cafeteria
7. 5. buy some bread and milk
8. 6. listen to everybody
9. 7. quits his job
10. 8. deserve an equal share

GRAMMAR

4. Free samples (of the product) are being offered to customers.
5. Customers are being offered free samples (of the product).
6. In my opinion, she should be given another chance.
7. In my opinion, another chance should be given to her.
8. The employees have been given a longer holiday (by the company).
9. A longer holiday has been given to the employees (by the company).
10. His ideas were said to be

Jack and Jamie

"You are a wonder, Auggie; you are a wonder," Auggie's mom whispers in his ear. "You really are a wonder, Auggie. You are a wonder." When she does, she's marveling at how beautifully August has adapted to middle school despite having had a year full of struggle and suffering. He has learned to fight his own battles. He has earned friendship and admiration from people who at first couldn't even handle the idea of accidentally brushing against him. And most importantly, he has accomplished everything simply by being himself.

Vocabulary and Example Sentences

• Wiped: He wiped the tears from his eyes.
• Wink: She winked at me to let me know she understood.
• Blow something up: The wind blew dust in my eyes.
• Mean: Julian was very mean to Auggie.

1

a) Professor Schaefer’s new hypothesis about the cause of Cleopatra’s death was made known through a specialized magazine.

FALSE “Now Christoph Schaefer, a German historian and professor at the University of Trier, has presented evidence on a television programme that drugs and not a snake were the cause of death”

b) Experts in poisons told Schaefer that a snake bite causes immediate death.

FALSE “He said that the bite of a snake would have given her an agonizing death over several days”

2

a) Why is Mark Antony mentioned in the text?

Because he was Cleopatra’s lover and he also killed himself.

b) What made Professor Schaefer think that a snake bite was not the cause of Cleopatra’s death?

Because the snake’s poison would have killed...