OK I am BACK

Been told I've been missed- well, my blog has.
Sorry about hiding my blog for a while. I thought no one would use it again.
Now I know some really need it.
So go ahead, but please leave a comment after your visit, will you?

Thanks for taking advantage of my work and welcome, whoever you are and wherever you come from, I hope this blog helps you improve your English while you enjoy yourself.

Blogs I am working on at the moment:

Intermediate 1
Intermediate 2

Cheers!

Dulce

Need More?

CC AA en Las Que Se Imparte y Certifica El Nivel C1

Enjoy your Sunshine Summer :-)

Hey, the course is gone and done.

Congrats to all of you whether you did it or not, everyone has surely done their best... and that's what realy matters. :-)

You'll be missed.

Hoping you keep your English alive, I'll also keep this blog alive, but close for the so needed summer holiday!

Enjoy ALWAYS! and remember to
Let the good vibes get a lot stronger

To all of you, this forever great hit song.

Dulce

G..... is the word

Frankie Valli

Grease Lyrics




LISTEN and choose the correct word:


I solve my problems and I see the (LIGHT or LIES?)


We gotta plug and think, we gotta (FEEL or FEED?) it right

There ain't no ( DAMAGE or DANGER?) we can go to far

We start believing now that we can be who we are

Grease is the word

They think our love is just a (GROWING or ROARING?) pain

Why don't they understand, It's just a crying (SCENE or SHAME?)

Their lips are( LYING or LINING?) only real is real

We start to find right now we got to be what we (FEEL or FEED?)


Grease is the word

Grease is the word, is the word that you heard

It's got groove it's got meaning

'Cause Grease is the time, is the place is the (MOTION or EMOTION?)

Grease is the way we are feeling


We take the (PROCEDURE or PRESSURE?) and we throw away

Conventionality belongs to yesterday

There is a chance that we can make it so far

We start believing now that we can be who we are


Grease is the word

Grease is the word, is the word that you heard

It's got groove it's got meaning

Grease is the time, is the place is the (MOTION or EMOTION?)

And Grease is the way we are feeling

This is the life of (ILUSION or DELUSION?)

Wrapped up in trouble laced with (ALUSION or CONFUSION?)

What are we doing here?

We take the( PROCEDURE or PRESSURE?) and we throw away

Conventionality belongs to yesterday

There is a chance that we can make it so far

We start believing now that we can be who we are


Grease is the word

Grease is the word, is the word that you heard

It's got groove it's got meaning

etc

Grease is the word
Is the word
Is the word
Is the word
Is the word
Is the word
Is the word
Is the word

Listening Test Practice

Bribes 
    bribe/brʌɪb/

▶verb dishonestly persuade (someone) to act in one's favour by a payment or other inducement. ▶noun an inducement offered in an attempt to bribe.

 

Click HERE to listen

ACTIVITIES

A.  Choose the correct answer:

1) Aiman has worked in _______ .

a) finance
b) IT
c) many fields

2) He says people might pay a bribe for ____.

a) anything
b) few things
c) nothing

3) What does he give as an example? .

a) driving
b) speeding
c) making a wrong turn

4) How much would a bribe be?

a) One dollar
b) Fifteen dollars
c) Fifty Syrian pounds

5) He says ______ ask for bribes.

a) policemen
b) doctor
c) officials

       

    B.    Complete with

bring up • come up with • standards
supplement • out in the open

1. We need to a good idea for the party.
2. I never politics when I first meet someone new.
3. The secret is now for everyone to know about.
4. She tries to her diet by taking vitamin pills.
5. The work at that company are very high.

Check answers in comment #1

Source: elllo

Ends...

Hey!

It's time to relax and have some fun!
:-)

Hoping you are all doing well at your final tests...

--

Is English Changing?

Mr Crystal and myself :-)

In my last trip to Madrid-  where the VII Congress for EEOOII took place, I happened to meet David Crystal!!!!

I  listened to the outstanding speech he gave about the language of text messaging and ITCs in general. I was astounded by his confidence and correct English and I was lucky to get a photo of myself with him (and also I told him  a bit about my blogs...) :-)

Anyway,  I think he is a genius whose knowledge and wisdom broadly support the work of us teachers.


Hoping you enjoy the video, which is only part of a quite interesting interview!

David Crystal is a writer, editor, lecturer, and broadcaster. He published the first of his 100 or so books in 1964, and became known chiefly for his research work in English language studies, in such fields as intonation and stylistics, and in the application of linguistics to religious, educational and clinical contexts, notably in the development of a range of linguistic profiling techniques for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. He held a chair at the University of Reading for 10 years, and is now Honorary Professor of Linguistics at the University of Wales, Bangor. These days he divides his time between work on language and work on internet applications.

David Crystal's authored works are mainly in the field of language, including several Penguin books, but he is perhaps best known for his two encyclopedias for Cambridge University Press, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language and The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Recent books include A Little Book of Language and Begat: the King James Bible and the English language (both 2010) and a linguistic autobiography, Just a Phrase I'm Going Through (2009). Co-authored books include Words on Words (2000, a dictionary of language quotations compiled with his wife and business-partner, Hilary - Wheatley Medal, 2001) and Shakespeare's Words (2002) and The Shakespeare Miscellany (2005), the last two in collaboration with his actor son, Ben.

Other Shakespeare work includes a regular article for the magazine of Shakespeare's Globe, Around the Globe. Think On My Words, an introduction to Shakespeare's language, appeared in 2008. All Shakespeare books can be viewed at The Shakespeare Portal. A new version of the glossary went live in 2008: see Shakespeare's Words.

Synonyms

Lots of words we tend to confuse... 

Learning synonyms can help us improve our advanced vocabulary.

HERE is an interesting link to practice on different topics. Starting with Business & Employment.

Inversion?

Inversion is used to give emphasis or to be rhetorical in more formal situations, in political speeches, on the news, and also in literature.  Some native speakers may also use them occasionally in day-to-day conversation.  

Look at these examples, and then try the exercises at the bottom of the page.

At no time e.g.  At no time did I say I would accept late homework.     Not + object e.g.    Not a single word did she say.    Little Little did I know that he was a compulsive liar. Little does she know what surprises we have in store for her.    On no account/Under no circumstances On no account should you be absent from your seminars.	Hardly........when >  used to refer to an event that quickly follows another.  It is usually used with the past perfect. Hardly had I got into bed, when there was a knock at the door. Hardly....before. Hardly had I left before the trouble started.    Not until e.g.   Not until January will I have a holiday.    Nowhere Nowhere had Susan seen a more beautifully decorated room.	So......that This is a common inversion, usually used with an adjective & the verb `be`. So exciting was the soap opera, that I forgot to do my English homework. So much did she adore John, that she would not give him up.    Such.. that > Used with the verb `be` and a noun, it means so much or so great... Such was the popularity of the soap opera, that the streets were deserted whenever it was on.
No sooner.....than>  used to refer to an event that quickly follows another.  It is usually used with the past perfect, but sometimes with the simple past. No sooner had I reached the door than I realised it was locked. No sooner did I reach the door than I realised it was locked.	Only alter >usually used with the simple past. Only after the film started did I realise that I'd seen it before.    Only then/if/when/later >usually used with the simple past. e.g.   Only then did I know what I had got myself into	Not only.....but also Not only do I know the answer to the question but  also have I decided no to tell you...

Rarely/Seldom/Never    
    These are most commonly used with the present perfect or past perfect,  & with modals such as can and could.  The present simple can also be used.
Seldom have I seen him looking so miserable.
Never in her life had she experienced this exhilarating emotion.

Scarce.ly/Barely....when > used to refer to an event that quickly follows another.  It is usually used with the past perfect
Scarcely had I arrived home when there was a knock on the door.

Also, we can use inversion for emphasis.

• Little did she know how much work was left.
• On no account must you sleep at school.
• Never should you remember who's your boss.
• Only then can you belong to me.
• Here comes the sun.

SOURCE  Karen’s Grammar

http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/karensgrammar.html

PRACTICE

Reformulate the following sentences using inversion.

    Example :   She at no time said she was vegetarian. 
                 > At no time did she say (that) she was vegetarian.
 

           1.       John had hardly begun to apologize when the door closed .
           2.        I have seldom heard such a talented singer.
           3.        If I had known that she liked curry, I would have brought her to an Indian restaurant.
           4.        The artist rarely paid any attention to his agent's advice.
           5.        He had never felt so depressed.
           6.        The shop can in no way be held responsible for customers' lost property.
           7.        The couple had no sooner arrived than the priest started the ceremony.
           8.        Tom only understood the meaning of the comment when he saw his wife's face.
           9.        She never at any time said that she was allergic to cats.
          10.       The restaurant cannot accept animals under any circumstances.   

SOURCE Learn English Today

 http://www.learn-english-today.com/lessons/lesson_contents/inversion-ex.htm

ANSWERS:  In Comment # 1

Little did we know the day we said hello

That you'd be the one for me

Little did we dream our hearts would play a theme

That soon was a symphony

Little did we know one sweet caress

Would lead the way to happiness

Yes, little did we know the love we'd share

That now we'd know how much we care

...

...

.

As blind as a bat...

Loca como una cabra...

If you tell someone 'he is as crazy as a goat', they won't understand what you are talking about... because

This Spanish idiom expression does not exist in English as such. It so happens with most idiomatic expressions of the like: they have not an equivalent in our language or viceversa. 



I've found this link which will help you study some of these so called 'similes' > as ..... as/ like...

Eg. He is as cool as a cucumber...

      I've got a head like a sieve...

 

 

(C) Dulce               :-)