Рекомендации по подготовке к экзамену студентов-старшекурсников специальности ''Связи с общественностью'': Методические указания по английскому языку для студентов гуманитарного факультета

Федеральное агентство по образованию Государственное образовательное учреждение высшего профессионального образования

Ульяновский государственный технический университет

Рекомендации по подготовке к экзамену студентов-старшекурсников специальности «Связи с общественностью»

Ульяновск 2005

Федеральное агентство по образованию Государственное образовательное учреждение высшего профессионального образования

Ульяновский государственный технический университет

Рекомендации по подготовке к экзамену студентов-старшекурсников специальности «Связи с общественностью» Методические указания по английскому языку Составитель Н.А. Дербышева

Ульяновск 2005

УДК 802.(076) ББК 81.2. Англ. – 923 я7 Р 36 Рецензент доцент кафедры «Иностранные языки» УлГТУ, кандидат филологических наук, доцент Т. Г. Пятышина Одобрено секцией методических пособий научно-методического совета университета

Р 36

Рекомендации по подготовке к экзамену студентов-старшекурсников специальности «Связи с общественностью» : методические указания по английскому языку для студентов гуманитарного факультета / сост. Н. А. Дербышева. – Ульяновск : УлГТУ, 2005. – 60 с. Методические указания подготовлены с целью сориентировать студентов на успешную сдачу экзамена. Указания содержат примерные упражнения и тексты, распределенные по степени сложности, что соответствует критерию оценки знаний студентов. Первый уровень предполагает упражнения подстановочного характера, узнавание несложной грамматики, упрощенные тексты и краткий пересказ без собственных высказываний и пр. Второй уровень выявляет более глубокие знания и владение грамматикой и лексикой. Соответственно подобраны упражнения и тексты. Второй уровень рассчитан на свободное владение языком, т. е. высказывание собственных суждений по предлагаемым текстам, обобщение текста или, наоборот, расширение его в более сложную форму с применением сложных грамматических конструкций. Упражнения требуют обширных знаний языка. Данные методические указания составлены для студентов, изучающих профессиональный английский язык, и ранее не издавались. Работа выполнена на кафедре «Иностранные языки». УДК 802.(076) ББК 81.2. Англ. – 923 я7

© Н. А. Дербышева, 2005 © Оформление. УлГТУ, 2005

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FOR SENIOR PR STUDENTS

This manual is for those who would like to excel themselves in the Final Exam in English. To do this perfectly and easily means that you have to meet some very important requirements. Like what? I will tell you. First of all you must know Grammar properly and use it in your speech. But good knowledge of Grammar is not enough. Who is better to be listened to: one who speaks in the right way but who stumbles every instant to check if he is right or not from the grammatical point of view, or another who speaks with fluency and what is more valuable trying to express his own thoughts? No wonder, you will answer the second one. This manual will help you to develop the abilities of the second one. Let us start with a very simple exercise. No doubt, such verbs as “take “ and “give” are very familiar to you. Supply correct forms of these verbs in the following sentences: a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) i) j)

I think I’ll …… a bath before we go out. When are you going to …… the exam? Just …… a look at this! You don’t get a lucky break in life unless someone …… you an opportunity. I’m glad someone competent is going to …… charge of this company. Miss Tomkins …… driving-lessons for a living. I …… six lessons from Miss Tomkins and passed my driving-test first time. When driving in France, you have to ……way to traffic on the right. Would you like me to ……you a lift to the station? The new regulations …… effect from tomorrow.

It would be wonderful if you could give explanation to every set expression which you have used in the exercise, for example: to give somebody a lift means to get somebody to the place of his destination in your car. Another exercise is not too difficult either, you will enjoy yourselves while doing it. Supply “out of” or “outside” in the following sentences: a) Someone has left a parcel for us……… the front door. b) He went straight ……. the front door and never came back.

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c) I’m afraid you can’t speak to Mr. Jones. He’s …… his office at the moment. d) As children, we often had to stand …… the headmaster’s study. e) Don’t play silly games in here. Why don’t you play ……? f) John doesn’t have any interests …… his work. g) What are you going to get …… this? h) We’ll go …… for five minutes or so, to let you discuss the matter privately. i) You should never throw anything …… the window. Well, now you can wind down and read the following text. Get ready to answer a question afterwards. ANOTHER DAY BEGINS The day on which Emily Stockwell Turner fell out of love with her husband began much like other days. As usual, Emmy lay in bed twenty minutes later than she should have done, with her son Freddy playing cars over her legs, and when she finally got up it seemed as if things would never be sorted out. But somehow breakfast was made; Freddy was fed and dressed and sent off to nursery school in the car pool, and at length Emmy stood outside the house watching her husband leave for work on time. “Looks like snow,” said Turner, an instructor in the Languages and Literature Division at Convers College, as he stood beside her on the frozen lawn in his overcoat. It was a chilly, dark morning early in November, and Emmy wore only an old cashmere sweater and slacks, but she was the kind that never feels the cold. “Oh, good; do you think so? But it’s only the first week in November. I’m afraid it’s much too soon”. “It probably snows early here”, Holman said, and climbed into his car and shut the door. Through the glass he could see Emmy look round at the clouds, smiling. What a magnificent creature she is, he thought as he frequently did. She was a big girl, tall, tanned like a gypsy, and with a high colour. Her heavy, bright-brown hair had not been yet done up for the day; it hung down over one shoulder in a thick braid. She was twenty-seven, and still had, as on the day he married her, the look of a carefully bred and beautifully groomed animal kept permanently at the peak of its condition for some high use which has not yet arrived and possibly never will arrive. Emmy continued to stand beside the car, waiting for her husband to roll the window down, so he rolled it down. “Goodbye, darling”, she said, stooping to kiss him. “So long, baby”, Holman replied. He rolled the window up again and drove away down the drive. Task: first go over the text once again to make sure that you remember the main points, then try to record your rendering. While listening to the recording correct

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yourself. In the end try to think on the problem: is there anything in the text that makes you believe that Emmy has fallen out of love with her husband? The next task can be done either in writing or orally, make your choice. Supply the articles (a; an; the; zero article) in this paragraph. …… Harvard Business School is …. ark of the tabernacle in …. management education. ….. many schools more or less ape the HBS, especially its “case study” method of ….. instruction – though mulling over ….. out-of-date business anecdotes is about as helpful in …. actual management as waging war by tramping over …… old battlefields. …… specific management element in these mind-bending studies is hard to isolate. Although …… managers should be numerate (and many are not), they don’t require …… skills in ……higher algebra; and …… many great businesses have been created by …… men who all but count on their …… fingers. …… story tells of ……two schoolboy friends, one brilliant at …… math, one innumerate to the point of idiocy, who meet much later when …… first is …… professor and ……second …… multimillionaire. Unable to control his curiosity, …… professor asks ……figureblind dunderhead how he managed to amass his fortune. “It’s simple”, replies …… multi-millionaire. “ I buy …… things at one pound and sell them for two pounds, and from that 1% difference I make…… living”. In the next exercise you will be dealing with prepositions. Only two of them should be supplied in here, they are: “with” and “in”. So go ahead! a) He was described to me as a tall man …… a red beard. b) She was …… red shoes …… a large red handbag to match. c) Which man do you mean? The one …… the grey coat, or the one …… the umbrella? d) Will I look all right this evening …… a long dress, or should I wear something less dressy? e) …… your blue eyes and a bit of make-up you’ll look smashing …… that outfit. f) If you think I’m going through Customs …… so much stuff in my pockets, you’re mistaken. g) …… a suit like that and …… a moustache you’ll look at least ten years older. h) A man …… a white dinner-jacket was standing …… his back to the room. If you do the next exercise it will be just fun, unless you make any mistakes. You are only to circle the item that fits the space. Minty knew the moment that he got up in the morning…… this was one of his days.

a)as

b) that

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c) for He sang gently to himself…… he shaved. c) along …… he had a new blade he didn’t cut himsel c) although once; he shaved cautiously…… closely, c) rather …… the pot of coffee, c) just as …… his landlady had brought him, grew cold. c) whom Minty liked his coffee cold …… c) then …… stomach would bear nothing hot. A c) he’s spider watched him under his tooth glass; …… c) which had been there five days; …… had expected c) which his landlady to clear it away.

a)as

b) during

a)if so

b) even

a)instead

b) rather than

a)while

b) during

a)who

b) which

a)so a)his a)who a)it

b) because b) whose b) it b) he

This exercise ensures that you review the grammar which you have already learned, so it won’t seem too difficult for you. Supply the missing prepositions (on, at, in) in the following sentences. a) I was born … a Friday … 5 … the morning. b) He claims he could read … the age of 3 from a book he received … his third birthday. c) I’ll see you … the morning … around 10 o’clock. d) He was arrested … the morning of Friday, April 24 … precisely 10 a.m. e) The roads are so crowded … August, we’ve delayed our holiday till September. f) Did you say you saw him … May 25th, or … 31 May? g) He’s so predictable. He does his washing … Mondays and his shopping … the weekend. Read the following text, take your time to laugh and do a few exercises afterwards. HEROIC FAILURES Tired of the 10 large molehills that flourished on his lawn, Mr. Oscar Ejiamike decided to remove them. After a vigorous campaign of bombing, gassing and waiting round in the dark with a raised shovel, he found that the 10 molehills survived intact. There were also 22 new ones.

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At this point our man decided to “surprise the moles” with a midnight poisoning raid. In May 1984 he drove his Jaguar 2.4 automatic to the edge of the lawn and trained the headlamps upon the enemy zone. While reaching across for the poison, Mr. Ejiamike knocked the car into reverse and accelerated through the walls of his cottage, knocking over the electric heater, bursting his petrol tanks, setting fire to his newly decorated sitting room, and wrecking his car. While this certainly surprised the moles, it had no effect on the 32 molehills. Next morning Mr.Ejiamike bought 22 bags of ready-mixed cement and announced that he was going to concrete the lawn over. Exercise 1: put the words in the right order in each sentence. a) tired; Mr. Ejiamike; was; large molehills; on his lawn; of the 10; flourished; that; b) decided; to remove; he; them; c) his Jaguar 2.4 automatic; drove; in May 1984; the edge; he; of the lawn; to; d) the headlamps; the enemy zone; trained; upon; he; e) was; Mr. Ejiamike; across; reaching; for the poison; f) the car; knocked; he; into reverse; g) through; of his cottage; accelerated ; the wall; he; h) over; he ; the electric heater; knocked; petrol tanks; and; burst; his; i) his; set fire; sitting room; he ; newly decorated; to; j) his; wrecked; car; he; Exercise 2: join the above sentences adding some linking words. Give rendering of the text. Exercise 3: what do you call the verbs “said” and “announced” in the following sentences? a) He said that he was going to concrete the lawn over. b) He announced that he was going to concrete the lawn over. Report the following statements using one of the following verbs in place of “said”: announced, complained, concluded, replied, promised, suggested. Keep in mind the rules which should go hand in hand with the reporting verbs. a) b) c) d) e) f)

“I’m going to get engaged,” he said. “We should go by taxi if we want to be on time,” she said. “I’m not at all satisfied with this car,” ha said. “They must be out,” she said. “I really don’t agree with you,” he said. “I’ll phone you back tomorrow,” she said.

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In the next exercise try your intuition. You will be dealing with so-called phrasal verbs. Rewrite these sentences changing the position of the object where possible. The example is given. Ex.: I knocked the heater over. I knocked over the heater. a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) i)

I paid the money back. We rang Carlos back. The teacher hurried the children along Bring your own food along. I invited my friends down for the weekend. Let the people off the bus. He boy pulled off his jumper. Ask your friends round. Pass these chocolates round.

I believe you remember that according to the English Grammar some verbs require an –ing form after them and other verbs require only an infinitive. Look at these two columns of verbs and consider in which cases you would use an -ing form and where you would supply an infinitive. admit avoid consider deny dislike enjoy excuse finish imagine report suggest

aim apply can(‘t ) afford fail hasten hesitate hurry long manage offer refuse

Task: now try to supply the necessary forms in the following sentences. a) Because of my age I no longer feel like …… up and down. (jump) b) She wanted …… the truth and nothing could stop her in her efforts to.(know) c) You will have to wait for ages for another driving test if you fail …… this time.(pass) d) The people in the flat below have refused …… the Residents’ Association.(join) e) Kate doesn’t really enjoy …… in public. (sing) f) Jill thinks we should phone now, but John suggests …… later.(phone)

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g) I think you should stop …… and leave at 5 p.m. like everyone else. (work) h) I don’t want to join them on holiday. I can’t afford …… money the way they do.(spend) i) He dislikes …… called Fatty.(be) j) Who offered …… all the shares? (sell) k) You can avoid ….. mistakes if you are aware of this grammar. ( make ) You must have learned already that some verbs in English require a particular preposition after them like “to depend on”, “to deal with” etc. The problem is to remember which preposition is associated with which verb. This awareness can only come from experience. Try to practice in the following exercise. Task: supply the missing prepositions. a) He often suffers …… a bad back. b) What time did you arrive…… Bangkok? c) I must apologize …… my mistake. d) I’ve borrowed some money …… the bank. e) You can always rely …… me. f) He confessed …… everything in the end. g) I advise you …… going to law. h) My hands smell …… soap. i) What’s become …… old Mrs. Harris? j) He quarrels …… with everybody. k) I insist …… knowing what happened. l) I read ….. it in the papers. m) Success is something you dream ……. n) She takes …… her mother. o) I can’t deal …… this problem. p) This article refers …… you. q) Who’s going to pay …… all this? r) He’s failed …… his efforts to find her. s) They all laugh …… me. t) How dare you interfere …… my work! The text ahead is very informative and evokes consideration. You are offered to read it thoroughly; if you need to look up some words in the dictionary don’t hesitate to do it.

LITTLE QUEENS SWEEP THE BOARD “Hot-housing” is the technical word for it – but the precocious Polgar sisters from Hungary, who have been zapping the male chess community, certainly don’t look like overbred hot-house blossoms.

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Judit, 12, who won men’s international master status at the unprecedented age of 11 (three years earlier than Bobby Fischer and Gary Kasparov), and Zsofi, who has just become a women’s grandmaster at 13 ( another record), started playing chess before they were five, never went to school, were educated by their parents, and now put in five or six hours a day at the board. They seem very natural children. Between moves in the Duncan Lawrie mixed tournament which ends today at London’s Ecclestone Hotel, they jump up for gossip or a joke together. Their elder sister Zcuzca, back in Budapest, is halfway to men’s international grandmaster status at the age of 19. The three girl, who will represent Hungary at the Chess Olympiad in Salonika in two weeks’ time, have begun to demolish the assumption that at the top level of world chess men will always prevail. Their father, Laszlo, once a lecture in psychology, now their business manager, wanted to test the hot-housing theory: that if you subject a normally intelligent child to intensive, specialized training in a particular discipline at a very early age, you will produce excellence. His claim that his daughters were not endowed by nature with any special intellectual gifts is central to his argument. The girls’ mother, Klara, a language teacher, says:” It’s improbable that three children in the same family would all be naturally gifted. They are normal- just like other children, except that they spend more time concentrating on chess. We hope one of them will be world champion one day.” The Polgar blitz on male dominance has subverted some old physiological and psychoanalytical explanations on women’s inferiority in top level chess, and is likely to encourage other parents to push their daughters. Sooner or later this should produce a woman world champion.

The article is debatable, isn’t it? What is meant by “hot-housing”? Do you think the parents were right having had their daughters put in 5 or 6 hours a day at the board? The next exercise will be a creative one. You should match a word in column A with a word in column B, afterwards write sentences with them. A thickly highly utterly painfully gravely bitterly desperately incredibly

B respected disappointed ill covered stupid embarrassed inquisitive confused

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No doubt, you have been taught that Type 1 conditionals require the use of “will” Ex.: If the weather is nasty on the weekend we will stay at home. In fact, any modals can be used in Type 1 conditionals to express ability, possibility, advisability, necessity, etc. Task: rewrite these sentences using modals (will, may, might, must, ought to, etc.) a) If you catch an early train, it’s certain you’ll get to the meeting on time. b) If you want good accommodation in Brighton, it’s advisable to book in advance. c) If you leave here too late, it’s possible you’ll miss the bus. d) If it’s fine tomorrow, we would be able to go on an excursion. e) If you want him to succeed, it is advisable to urge him all the time. f) If you want to spend the weekend here, it’s necessary for you to let me know in advance. g) If you don’t want the neighbors to complain, it’s necessary to turn the music down. h) If I don’t go to the sales soon, it’s possible I won’t find anything I like. Many adjectives like verbs are associated with particular prepositions. The problem is to remember which prepositions. The awareness can only come from experience. Task: supply the necessary prepositions in the following sentences. a) I’m sorry …… the trouble I’ve caused. b) The south is different …… the north. c) Don’t trust him, he’ capable …… cheating. d) I was surprise …… his response. e) You can have this free …… charge. f) I’m curious ……Tony’s background. g) Old Jeff is very careful …… his money. h) We are quite safe …… danger. i) Bill is now married …… to the girl next door. j) No businessman can be completely certain …… success. k) Contrary …… expectations she won. l) I was aware ….. Pam’s absence. m) This magazine is full …… ads. n) Frank’s quite careless ….. danger. o) We are very sad ….. Jane’s departure. p) It’s no good being angry …… me. q) John is jealous …… his wife’s success.

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r) s) t) u)

We should be kind ……dumb animals. I’m very fond …… anything sweet. We are really excited …… her wedding. Who wouldn’t be good …… it!

You will get interested in the text ahead, because it is about a young man of around your age, who has already made his career and is making his first million of pounds. A-LEVELS OR ONE MILLION OF POUNDS? When at the age of three David Bolton began using a calculator, his proud parents foresaw that he would do well at school. They couldn’t have anticipated the problem he would face 14 years later. While most pupils his age are struggling with A-levels, he is trying to perform an uneasy balancing act between schoolwork and making his first big money from a computer consultancy. He is meeting his headmaster tomorrow for a showdown that could mean he will have to leave school. Since his early days Bolton has progressed from computer to computer with such ease that He now sells his own programmes to property firms and to doctors waiting to put their patients’ records on disk. “It’s a quandary,” said the schoolboy, who has turned up for morning assembly in his Porsche 924. “The business opportunities may not come again if I don’t seize them now, and I also understand why my parents and my headmaster would prefer me to stay at school. However, I cannot concentrate on my lessons if I need to meet clients, and sometimes the problem will not wait.” Since Bolton is over 16, he can legally decide whether or not to stay on at school. He is apprehensive that business opportunities, if not immediately exploited, may not be repeated, but he doesn’t want to destroy his parents’ dream of him achieving a Cambridge degree. Bolton is a pupil at Wilson’s, a highly academic grammar school (founded 1615) in Wallington, Surrey. Last week he was plunged into controversy when his father, Bill Bolton, a retired hospital worker, told John Simpson, the headmaster, that his son wished to leave so that he could devote himself to his computer consultancy (which the boy runs from his bedroom). Bolton Junior has made it clear that he will quit unless the school rules are modified to allow him to attend urgent business meetings. At school, meanwhile, Bolton sat 10 GCSEs a year early and obtained four A grades, four Bs and two Cs. He also wrote persuasive letters to companies offering himself as a computer consultant – usually omitting to mention his age. After you have read the text and pondered over the fantastic abilities of the 16year old boy, you may do a few exercises to brush up your English.

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Exercise 1: combine modals (can, may, etc.) with the verbs in brackets. In each case give a reason for your choice. If you fail in any case you may look above and find it in the text. When, at the age of three, David Bolton began using a calculator, his proud parents foresaw that he (do) …… well at school. They (not anticipate)…… the problem he (face) ……14 years later. While most pupils his age are struggling with A-levels, he is trying to perform an uneasy balancing act between schoolwork and making big money from a computer consultancy. He is meeting his headmaster tomorrow for a showdown that (mean) …… he (have to)…… leave school. “It’s a quandary,” said the schoolboy who has turned up for morning assembly in his Porsche 924. “the business opportunities (not come) …… again if I don’t seize them now, and I also understand why my parents and my headmaster (prefer)…… me to stay at school. However, I (not concentrate)…… on my lessons if I need to meet clients, and sometimes the problem (not wait)……. You must have already learned that in Type 1 conditionals “if…not” can be replaced by “unless” but only in the case when the meaning is “except on the condition that”. Exercise 2: among the following sentences find those in which “unless” can be used in place of “if….not” and make the necessary changes. a) If she doesn’t apply for a university place soon, she’ll be too late. b) The atmosphere is bound to get warmer if we don’t stop producing so much dioxide. c) It will be really amazing if the present government doesn’t win the next election. d) I’m really surprised if you aren’t upset by all this bad news. e) If we don’t all follow the same fishing rules, there won’t be many fish left in the sea. f) It would be better for everybody if we didn’t take too many fish out of the sea. g) Some companies wouldn’t make so much profit if they weren’t monopolies. Exercise 3: highlight the difference between these two sentences and do the rest of the exercise according to the example. My headmaster would prefer to stay at school. My headmaster would prefer me to stay at school. a) I don’t want to write to him.(I’d prefer you ) ……… b) I don’t want to phone her. ( want one of the colleagues)……… c) I’m not going to make the supper. ( I’d like you)………

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d) I don’t intend to answer this letter. (expect the boss)……… e) I don’t want to speak to him. (suppose him)……… f) I’m not going to remind him of his commitment. (I’d prefer the judge)……… g) I don’t intend to move out of this flat. (I expect the neighbor)……… In the following exercise you are offered to practise Passive Voice a little. Put all these sentences into the passive. In one of them two versions of the passive are possible. a) b) c) d) e) f) g)

They described him to me. They explained the situation to me. They entrusted the money to her. They have mentioned the case to me. They are reporting the matter to the police. They have already said something to him. They suggested an alternative idea to him.

Read the text ahead in which you will come across a few unknown words. Look them up in a dictionary and try to memorize. Many years later, in 1952, at a cocktail party in Hollywood, I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin. He took me aside and began to talk about his boyhood in London when he used to see Tree’s productions from the gallery at His Majesty’s. For some reason we talked about Eleonora Duse. Chaplin described an occasion on which he saw her act. He began to imitate the actor who had appeared that night with Duse. He whipped out a chair and sat astride it and began to jabber bogus Italian. In a brilliant mime he showed how the actor was enthralling the audience with a long speech when suddenly the curtains behind began to move and a little old lady came out very quietly and glided across the stage and put her hands towards the fire. Duse. And at this point the poor actor who had seemed so remarkable a moment before was completely blotted out. Try to look for the words which have the same meaning with: to blot out; to jabber; to enthrall; to imitate; to whip out; to glide. By this time you must have learned that the words “hard” and “hardly” are completely different and can’t be interchangeable. In the following sentences you are to use “hardly”. a) b) c) d)

I was so moved, I couldn’t speak. But that isn’t what I wanted. You don’t really know Shakespeare. She isn’t the person for the job.

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e) Trains in this country aren’t ever on time. f) Jeff isn’t tall enough to be a policeman. g) Speak up, I can’t hear what you are saying. Think thoroughly over the following sentences. In what sentences would you use “between” and where is “among” more preferable? a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) i) j) k)

I’m at my best …… 7 and 11 in the morning. …… the people I know there’s no one who sings as well as you do. Is there a doctor …… the audience? Don’t interfere! Let them sort it out …… themselves. Where do you find all that spare time …… raising a family, writing a book and holding down a full-time job? I try very hard never to eat …… meals. …… the four of them, the boys managed to collect 500 pounds for the new nursing home. I found the ticket stuck …… the pages of the book. What do we find in common …… the major oil companies? As an anthropologist, she specialized in finding tiny communities and living ……them. I think your application must have got lost …… our records.

Three of these sentences contain an extra word. Cross out the extra words where necessary, and say why you have done so. 1 The specific management element in these mind-bending studies is hard to isolate it. 2 Even although managers should be numerate (and many are so), they don’t require skills in higher algebra; and many great businesses have been created by men who all but count on their fingers. 3 It is also full of clever fools who work out elaborate discounted cash flow sums for to justify projects that a one-percenter would laugh out of sight. 4 “ I buy things at one pound and sell them for two pounds and from that 1% difference I make a living.”

Supply the right forms of the verbs “lie” and “lay” in these sentences. a) b) c) d)

He took off his glasses and …… them on the table. I know it’s Sunday morning, but how long do you intend to …… in bed/ It’s now clear that one of the witnesses …… to the jury. We’ll have to …… the case before the jury and let them decide.

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e) I hope your goose has …… a golden egg. f) These eggs have …… under this bush for some time. g) When are you going to …… the table?

Rewrite the following sentences in the past making only necessary changes. The example is given: Jo must believe fares are going up or he wouldn’t be buying a season ticket. Jo must have believed that fares were going up or he wouldn’t have been buying a season ticket. a) It’s a standard rule in our office that we must be seen to be working when the boss comes in. b) Our letter is unanswered, so John can’t have seen it: he must be away. c) The company secretary must know that the latest accounts will be found unacceptable. d) I tell him that I really must know what has been happening in my absence. e) From what he says I can only conclude that he must be lying. f) We don’t have much time to get to the airport because we must be checking in before 8a.m. g) I don’t follow what you are saying; I must be thinking of something else. Rewrite the sentences beginning with “if” to respond to these statements. The example is given: We might be able to achieve this and save millions of pounds. Yes, if we could achieve this, we could save millions of pounds. a) We might be able to anticipate what’s going to happen and make a lot of money. b) We might have been able to stop and avoid the accident. c) We might be able to meet tomorrow and discuss the matter. d) We might have been able to take an earlier train and get to the meeting on time. e) We might be able to spend the night in Brighton and not have to drive back to London.

You are offered to fill in the missing words in the following text. You are supposed to have learned enough words to perform the task.

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PATIENTS GET THE MESSAGE Patients recover more …… from surgery when tapes with hypnotic suggestions are …… to them on the operating table, doctors at St. Thomas’s Hospital, London, have found. While under anaesthetic, they were told:” You will not feel sick. You will not have any …….”. Those given such suggestions had …… complications than others after surgery and left …… sooner. The experiment was …… at St. Thomas’s after doctors found …… could sometimes recall things said during operations. In a study at another hospital many patients who were told during the operation that they should touch their ears at a later interview with a doctor did so. The experiment at St. Thomas’s was …… on 19 women …… had consented to it and were played a 12-minute recording repeated six …… . Most of the tape gave details of the normal procedures following the surgery and how to cope …… them. It said, for example: “ How quickly you …… from your operation depends entirely on you – the …… you relax, the …… comfortable you will be.” This was followed by two minutes of direct convincing the …… that she would feel well after the surgery. Then came a minute of third-person suggestions, for example: ”The operation seems to be …… very well and the patient is …….” A control group of patients was played blank …… . Patients who received the suggestions were …… from hospital 1.3 days earlier on average. If this could be achieved as a routine, the health …… could save millions of pounds a year.

Look up the words in caps in a dictionary and suggest meanings for them as you can see in the example: The Robinsons have recently COME INTO a lot of money. (inherited)

a) Everything TURNS ON point 7b in the contract. b) I GATHER FROM our neighbors there’s going to be a power cut. c) He intends to pay the bill himself, but I won’t HEAR OF it. d) Frank is always DIGGING AT his wife in public. e) Two of my aunts are DESCENDING ON us next weekend. f) I can’t understand why you did that! What CAME OVER you? g) John keeps FALLING FOR every pretty girl he meets. h) I just hate the idea of RUNNING INTO debt. i) Do you think we can BANK ON his support? j) I can really DO WITHOUT sarcastic comments from you. k) I wouldn’t TOUCH ON this subject if I were you. l) It’s time we SAW ABOUT this fence. m) We’re late and we really have to STEP ON IT.

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n) I wish you’d stop HARPING ON your past successes. o) If you think I’m going to FALL FOR that trick, you’re mistaken. p) We won’t GO INTO all that now. Try to join the following groups of sentences using the linking words. 1 Pigeons can recognize individual human faces and the expressions on them. This shows that they are more intelligent than hitherto suspected. A psychologist said this yesterday. 2 They were rewarded with pinches of grain for each correct answer. They all learned to identify the person and the emotion correctly. 3 Each bird was shown the expression on one face. It was shown another photograph. It was “asked” whether the new face had the same expression. 4 The birds recognized the expressions. They never mistook them.

Supply the right forms of the verbs in brackets. Variations are possible. In each case give your reason for the form you have chosen. In each experiment a bird (show) the picture and (teach) to reply by pecking at one of four keys. “After (reward) with pinches of grain for each correct answer they all (learn) to identify the person and the emotion correctly,” he (say). If they (make) a wrong identification they (punish) by (not give) the grain. “To make it more difficult the faces (photograph) without any special distinguishing features such as clothing or jewellery.” Can you distinguish the verbs “tell” and “say”? Do you know all the cases to use them properly? Try to supply them in their correct forms in the following exercise: a) b) c) d) e) f)

The children always like me to …… them a story before they go to sleep. They can …… the difference between a genuine passport and a fraud. At the end of the meeting the chairman stood up to …… a few words. Jimmy mentions everyone in the family whenever he …… his prayers. George Washington told his father that he could never …… a lie. I don’t know how you distinguish between those two. I just can’t …… apart. g) When in doubt, it’s best to …… nothing.

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A more complicated task suggests that you know the difference in meaning between the phrases: Darwin speculated that some birds might have this ability, but it’s amazing to have proved it. Darwin speculated that some birds might have this ability, but it’s amazing to have it proved. If you haven’t got a slightest idea about the difference, it will be easy enough to remember that the first phrase suggests that we proved it ourselves. (The action is performed by us). As for the second phrase, it stresses the fact that we’re causing someone else to perform a service for us. To practise what you have just learned you should supply the right forms of the verbs in brackets using suitable forms of “have” where necessary. a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) i) j)

They claim that they (test it) by experts. I was curious about this new car and I was invited (test it) myself. If you want to get a job done properly, it’s best (do it) yourself. We couldn’t possibly tackle this job ourselves, so we (do it) by a local firm. She shows such talent for swimming that her father (train her) by professionals. Surely you (explain the process) to you before? I don’t think you’ve quite understood. I’ll just (explain the process) to you again. When (repair the car) last time? I don’t believe you (wall-paper the room) on your own. Earlier you always ( do it) by hand workers. How wonderful to (tidy up the room) by the time of your arrival from a long business trip!

The next exercise can be regarded as continuation of the previous one, but the task will be to respond to the statements beginning with the words in brackets. a) b) c) d) e) f)

My hair really needs cutting. (Why don’t) I thought no one would repair your car. (I finally) Surely his book’s unpublishable! (No, he) This lock needs fixing. (Why don’t) My will needs changing. (Yes, you should ) This car needs servicing. (Yes, I must)

Respond to these statements beginning in the affirmative and replacing active by passive.

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The example is given. a) Have you dealt with the problem? dealt with. b) Has someone sent for the doctor? c) Has anyone paid for these goods? d) Have we kept to the rules? e) Did anyone turn off all the lights? f) Did someone give out the exercise books? g) Did you write down what he said? h) Have they approved of the plan? i) Is anyone looking after the children? j) Have you filed away the documents?

Yes, the problem has been

In order not to get bored of doing all these exercises you may switch to reading a short enjoyable text. After you’ve read it, try to give a brief rendering paying attention to the facts you’ve never known before. FAX-MAD NEW YORKERS Not so long ago the typical New York sign-off used to be “have a nice day.” It’s fast being replaced by a new one “What’s your fax number?” From Tokyo to London and farther to Los Angeles the craze of the facsimile machine is sweeping the world, but no city seems to have gone as fax mad as New York. Radio stations, for example, are taking record requests by fax – the advantage is that office workers can do it without the boss hearing them telephone. To order lunch you can zap off a completed “le fax menu” to your favorite restaurant. If you are looking for a partner for the evening you fax your needs to a fax-dating service. Down in Greenwich Village there are even artists busy developing the genre of fax art. Half the telephone calls from New York to Japan are between fax machines. This being New York, you can also, of course, use the machine to communicate with your “shrink” for some fax therapy. While rendering the text, it would be a good idea to use such linking phrases as: according to the article; no wonder that; isn’t it amazing that; it was all news to me; anyway; whatever is; no doubt that; I’m sure; therefore; etc. Do you know all the cases where you’d rather use infinitive instead of gerund or vise verse? Supply the correct verb form. Think over the usage of - ing form or to+inf. a) Can’t you see I’m busy (get) the dinner ready? b) It’s difficult (find) work in some rural areas. c) It isn’t easy (speak) in public.

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d) e) f) g) h)

We’re all fed up (wait) for visas to visit our friends in the West. Hazel was fully occupied (work at) her painting. It’s boring (be) at sea for days on end. I got bored (be) at sea for days on end. It’s really strange him (behave) like that.

In the following sentences you have to pay special attention to the grammar structures used and supply the right forms of the verbs in brackets. a) As he never returned from Vietnam, (presume) to be dead. b) She (consider) to be an expert on animal behavior and often appears on television. c) We hardly know him but he (suppose) to have been a spy in World War II. d) According to the radio, many of the passengers (believe) to be still alive. e) After his death his fortune (estimate) to be in excess of $ 5,000,000. f) All the documents he produced (show) to have been forgeries. g) No one (can find) to be guilty without a proper trial. h) The expensive picture (declare) to be a fake.

Supply prepositions or particles where necessary; translate the sentences. a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h)

At the first recess a large boy approached …… him. “Come ……, Chicken, ley’s see if you can fight.” He suffered …… no serious damage. After recess he sat …… his desk. Miss McGladdery was angry …… him. She was soldiering ……her reaching career. She ruled …… the leather strap that was issued …… the school board. She had only to take it …… a drawer and lay it …… her desk to quell any disobedience.

Say what part of speech the -ed forms are in the following sentences and translate them. a) b) c) d) e) f) g)

The attack without warning was a case of naked aggression. This sherry has been aged in oak casks. It is now my responsibility to look after my aged parents. You have to be a learned professor to understand what he says. What we learned at school didn’t equip us for life. She crooked her little finger and he came running. Plastic surgery won’t straighten a crooked nose.

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h) This was the last letter received from my beloved husband. Supply suitable phrases using “enough”. The example is suggested in the first sentence. a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) i)

Is the water hot enough for me to have a bath? We can’t have such an expensive holiday if we haven’t got …… . I can’t carve this meat. The carving knife isn’t …… . Have we got …… and forks for our guests? I don’t think she runs…… to take part in this race. Would you be …… to give her a message? There just isn’t …… in my room to fit in another piece of furniture. A man will take his wage and think it …… . I haven’t got …… to get a bus ticket.

If you are not entirely sure about the position of “enough” in the above sentences you ought to review that adjective+enough means a degree, whereas enough+noun means a quantity. Rewrite the following sentences beginning with “it”. Remember that in the English language such sentences are called “Cleft sentences” and they are normally used to focus attention on a particular piece of information. (He started the quarrel, not she. – It was he who started the quarrel, not she.) a) b) c) d) e)

Freda phoned last night, not Rita. Angela signed the cheque, not her husband. John arrived last Wednesday, not Thursday. I wrote to Frank, not his brother. I use a laptop computer, not a desktop.

Now you are offered to read two texts which both contain interesting information from the world of science. You are to read them up to the end and consider which one is worth being retold to your friend as a piece of valuable information. PIGEONS ‘NOT SO BIRD-BRAINED’ Pigeons can recognize individual human faces and the expressions on them, showing that they are far more intelligent than hitherto suspected, a psychologist said yesterday. “We showed the birds black-and white photographs of four people, each exhibiting four emotions – happiness, anger, surprise and disgust,” said Professor Edward Wasserman of the University of Iowa.

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In each experiment a bird was shown the picture and was taught to reply by pecking at one of four keys.” After being rewarded with pinches of grain for each correct answer, they all learned to identify the person and the emotion correctly,” he said. If they made a wrong identification they were “punished” by not being given the grain. “To make it more difficult the faces were photographed without any special distinguishing features such as clothing or jewellery.” The people pictured were all about the same age; two men and two women, one of each fair-haired, the other dark-haired. Their slightly exaggerated expressions showed happiness with broad grins; anger with furious threatening scowls; surprise with wide open mouths and staring eyes and disgust with twisted lips and screwed-up eyes. After each bird had been shown an expression on one face, it was shown another photograph and “asked” whether the new face had the same expression. Once the birds had recognized the expressions they never mistook them. “The experiments show that pigeons are more intelligent than any animals except for dogs and primates,” Professor Wasserman said. “We suspected this since in the countryside they can tell the difference between a man with a shotgun and a man carrying a walking stick. They showed the same amount of intelligence as human babies who are not born with the ability to recognize the expressions of people’s faces but have to be taught it. Charles Darwin speculated in the last century that some birds might have this ability but it’s amazing to have it proved.”

OUR TRIBAL PAST The genetic “footprints” of ancient tribal ancestors have been uncovered among the bustling populations of the world’s cities. Some of the most intriguing evidence of this startling new finding has just come from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since atom bombs were dropped in 1945, their citizens and their genes have been studied in extensive detail. Scientists have been searching for signs that mutations triggered by the A-bomb blasts had passed on to survivors’ children. A study of tens of thousands of parents and children, involving the investigation of several thousand genes which control the manufacture of proteins in the body, was carried out. Against all expectations researchers led by Professor James Neel of Michigan University found no sign that any new mutated genes created by the blast were passed on to offspring. But to their great surprise the researchers did find evidence of other mutations, once laid down by the ancient tribes that had established their cities 6,000 years ago when Nagasaki was founded by the Jomon culture and Hiroshima by the Yayoi people. The Jomon and the Yayoi evolved independently and carried genes that varied distinctively. Scientists found these genes still persist among modern Japanese.

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Nor is Japan alone in displaying its ancient genetic heritage so openly. Italy provides another striking example. By testing blood groups and other genetically determined features scientists have found significant differences between regions in the south, established by ancient Greeks, and further north round Orvieto which was the center of the Etruscan civilization. In other words, the genes of ancient Greeks and Etruscans still flow noticeably – through the veins of modern Italians. It is even possible to determine differences in spoken dialect between natives of these two regions, ones that exactly correlate to their separate genetic histories. Scientists now believe that all countries display such characteristics. “There are certainly noticeable differences in blood groups and other genetic features between modern Scots, English and Welsh – for all the intermingling that has gone on over the ages,” said Dr Jones.

The next exercise is referred to the phenomenon which is known to you as “Complex Object”. Actually, we’d rather call it objective infinitive construction. Here you are to deal with this construction after verbs of perception. You should remember that the following verbs can be followed by a noun or pronoun object + bare infinitive or the - ing form: feel, hear, listen to, look, notice, observe, perceive, see, smell, watch, taste. The bare infinitive generally refers to the complete action, whereas the –ing form generally refers to an action in progress. Task: join these pairs of sentences. a) b) c) d) e) f)

John was cycling down the street. I saw him. He promised to take the children to school this morning. I heard him. The children were coughing all night. I could hear them. The factory was burning. I went out to watch it. The raindrops were dripping under my collar. I felt it. She looked around a few times before she tapped on the door. The neighbor watched her. g) Something very tasty was being cooked. He smelt it right away as soon as he walked in. Give the opposites of the adjectives in the following sentences: a) Her behavior is very agreeable. b) Isn’t this court order legal? c) What you’re asking me to do is just possible. d) I can’t imagine he’s honest. e) Is a state of war really thinkable? f) I think his behavior is quite moral. Before you do the next exercise it would be a good idea to highlight the difference between prepositions “to” and “at”. The former after a verb often

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suggests direction (we ran to the gate); the latter after a verb or adjective often suggests aggression (we ran at him; she’s angry at me) Task: supply “at” or “to” in the following sentences: a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h)

He raised the gun and aimed …… the target. The shepherd threw a stone …… the wild dog. Please throw the ball ……me not ……me. Hasn’t anyone ever told you it’s rude to stare …… people? When they tried to stop him, he drove straight …… them. I’ll drive …… the station and pick up your father. Don’t shout …… me! He went fast …… the crowd of people to find out what was going on there.

In the following exercise I encourage you to consider over the verbs in capital letters and try to suggest your own meanings for them. What sort of verbs are they? The first is given as an example. a) Don’t go so fast. I just can’t KEEP UP. (stay equal with you) b) I can’t argue my case if you’re always CUTTING IN. c) Look who’s just BLOWN IN. d) I want to post this parcel. Could you PULL IN by a post-office. e) In the middle of the conversation she suddenly RANG OFF. f) You really have to learn how to WIND DOWN after work. g) Every time I raise the subject, he just SWITCHES OFF. h) I don’t think Jim and his wife really GET ON. i) Are you going to DRESS UP for this party? j) Has Susie SETTLED DOWN in her new school? k) We had to CLEAR UP the mess, so we all SET TO. l) I’ll say what I think and you won’t get me to SHUT UP. m) If you get the opportunity, don’t HOLD BACK. n) If you knew what I know, you’d really want to SPEAK OUT. o) What time did you KNOCK OFF last night? p) Grandad always DROPS OFF in front of the TV. q) I tell you I just can’t answer your question; I can’t reveal some one’s secret. Just LAY OFF! r) When she told us what had happened we all FELL ABOUT.

Do you know that in many cases there is difference between American and British English? Sometimes the spelling can differ, in other cases completely different words are used, in more rare cases even grammar varies. Here are two lists of American English words below. Try to look for the British English variants:

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Stove Apartment Truck Faucet Pharmacy Sidewalk Hall of residence Neighborhood Just to amuse yourself read this:

cookies elevator gas pants thrift liquor store moviehouse railroad

What’s Cookin’? I came across a health-food restaurant in Cambridge, Mass., with a billboard proclaiming, “Eat here and live a long life!” The barbecue pit next door posted its response:” Eat here and die happy!” I believe you’ve grasped the ironical core of the joke above and enjoyed yourself. Now try to do a very simple exercise which takes you back to the basics of English Grammar. Task: supply the plural forms of the nouns in brackets only where necessary. From prehistory through the present day dumping has been the (means)….. of disposal favored everywhere, including in the (city)….. . The archaeologist C.W. Blegen who dug into Bronze Age Troy in the 1950s found that (floor)…… had become so littered that periodically a fresh supply of (dirt)……. or (clay)……. had been brought in to cover up the (refuse)…… . Of course, after several (layer)…… had been applied the (door)…… and (roof)……. had to be adjusted upward. Have you got interested in the information you’ve just learned? If so, you’re offered to read and consider the whole text about garbage and how people tried to make efforts to dispose it through the long history of human society. GARBAGE For most of the past two and a half million years human beings left their garbage where it fell. Oh, they sometimes tidied up their sleeping and activity areas, but that was about all. This disposal scheme functioned adequately because hunters and gatherers frequently abandoned their campgrounds to follow game or find new stands of plants. Man faced his first garbage crisis when he became a sedentary animal – when, rather than move himself, he chose to move his garbage. The archaeologist Gordon R. Willey has argued only partly in fun that Homo sapiens may have been propelled along the path toward civilization by his need for a class at the bottom of the social hierarchy that could be assigned the task of dealing with mounting piles of garbage.

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This brings us to an important truth about garbage: there are no ways of dealing with it that haven’t been known for many thousands of years. These ways are essentially four: dumping it, burning it, converting it into something that can be used again, and minimizing the volume of material goods – future garbage – that is produced in the first place (“source reduction”, as it is called). Every civilization of any complexity has used all four methods to varying degrees. From prehistory through the present day dumping has been the means of disposal favored everywhere, including in the cities. The archaeologist C.W. Blegen who dug into Bronze Age Troy in the 1950s found that floors had become so littered that periodically a fresh supply of dirt or clay had been brought in to cover up the refuse. Of course, after several layers had been supplied the doors and roofs had to be adjusted upward. Over time the ancient cities of the Middle East rose high above the landscape on massive mounds called tells. In 1973 a civil engineer with the Department of Commerce, Charles Gunnerson, calculated that the rate of uplift owing to the accumulation of debris in Bronze Age Troy was about 4.7 feet per century. If the idea of a city rising above its garbage at this rate seems extraordinary, it may be worth considering that “street level” on the island of Manhattan is fully six feet higher today than it was when Peter Minuit lived there. After you have read the text and fully understood it, try to find the appropriate explanations to a few word combinations. So, what is the implication for: a) disposal scheme: 1) a garbage tin; 2) a way to dispose the left-overs and no longer necessary things; 3) a way to look for new clean areas; b) a sedentary animal: 1) an animal trained and shown in circus; 2) an animal which lives at his master’s; 3) a saying which characterizes a human being that has started to settle down; Think over the question which historical facts have been revealed by archaeological explorations and then render the text on the whole. Another task: what’s the difference between these two sentences? a) Over time the ancient cities of the Middle East rose high above the landscape. b) You know your boss thinks very highly of you, don’t you?

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The problem is that many students can’t tell one adverb from another, therefore it seems to be a common mistake. “High” is an adverb referring to height. As for “highly”, it’s an adverb meaning “in the highest degree.” So they are completely different. Read each sentence below, then write a sentence of your own to each one given using the – ly form of the adjective or adverb. 1) I can’t imagine anyone sharing the view of the hard left or the hard right. 2) Our candidate was just a few votes short of winning a place on the board. 3) I always feel very full indeed whenever I eat pies. 4) The most direct route from here to Nottingham is also the most expensive. What do you remember about the construction with “be supposed to “(be expected to; be hoped to)? Normally it is used to mean “there is a reason to believe that” or sometimes to suggest failure or inability to perform a duty. Task: supply suitable constructions with “be supposed to”. The verbs given in brackets are supposed to be clues for the completion of the sentences. a) b) c) d)

I’m sorry. I’ll have to phone you later.(work)……….. at the moment. You’d better ask Henry. (know)……….. how this computer works. We’d better hurry. The train (arrive)……… at two minutes past four. Just look at the questionnaire! How (we| answer)………. questions like this? e) I don’t think there are any buses today. There (be) ……… a strike. f) We’re already late. We (submit) ……… this report five days ago. g) Don’t breathe a word to anybody. (You| not know) …….. anything about it. Practise some nouns which are supposed to be uncountable in English. Would you use the indefinite article or “some” or no article at all? a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) i)

Don’t believe what he says. It’s (a rubbish; rubbish) I’d like (an information; some information) please. Have you brought a lot of (luggage; some luggage) with you? Please give me (an advice; some advice; some advices). Your (furnitures ; furniture ) looks so beautiful! Have (some fruits; a fruit; some fruit) and you’ll feel better. Don’t talk ( nonsense; nonsenses) in public! Could I have some more (macaronis; macaroni) please? Listen to (all those thunders; all that thunder) roaring on and off!

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j) She’s bought lots of new (clothings; clothing) recently. I believe you haven’t forgotten yet the problem described in the previous text. Civilized society is supposed to know the ways of coping with this problem. One of the ways is suggested by Cameron Walker, the author of the following article. TIPS FOR AN ECO-FRIENDLY HOLIDAY Christmas holidays bring what seems like an environmentalist’s worst nightmare: tons of extra garbage, millions of chopped-down trees, and megawatts of flashing lights. With a little tweaking, however, everything from holiday gift-giving to light-stringing can celebrate the environment too. Here are some tips how. GIVING GREEN Between Thanksgiving and new-Year’s day Americans throw away millions of extra tons of garbage each week, including holiday wrapping and packaging, according to Robert Lilienfield. Lilienfield is a co-author of the book “Use less Stuff: Environmental Solutions for Who We Really Are.” So why not recycle holiday gift wrap? Lilienfield, who has published a newsletter on reducing waste since 1996, notes that if every family reused just 2 feet (0.6 meter) of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles (61,000 kilometers) of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet. And not all gifts need wrapping. “Think back to your three favorite holiday memories,” Lilienfield said. “I’m willing to bet that they all involve time you spent with your family and friends.” By giving gifts that can be experienced, like tickets to a baseball game or a homemade dinner, you can minimize wrapping and still win points with the receiver. “People like these gifts just as much,” he said. FAKE FIR For many Christmas wouldn’t be the same without a live, fragrant Christmas tree in their home. Today nearly all of the trees sold at seasonal Christmas-tree lots are grown on the farms. So forests aren’t hurt by choosing a cut tree, said Jeff Olson, the vice-president of marketing and development for American Forests, a Washington D.C.-based conservation nonprofit. While potted trees might seem like a green option, they often don’t fare well in unseasonably warm homes. “The last thing you want to do is bring it into the house,” Olson said. He plans to get a potted tree this year and keep it outside for the holidays. Artificial trees, he noted, consume significant energy and petroleum-based materials during their manufacture. But Lilienfield, the “Use Less Stuff” co-

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author, noted that a one-time purchase of an artificial tree can save gas otherwise used for annual trips to the local tree-farm. TREE RECYCLING Recycling fresh tress after Christmas can make a huge difference in reducing holiday waste. Instead of taking up space in the landfill, trees can be ground into wood chips, which can be used to mulch gardens or parks or to prevent erosion at a local watershed. The National Christmas Tree Association, an organization which represents Christmas tree growers, has teamed up with Scottsdale, Arizona-based conservation group Earth 911 to point consumers in the right direction with their trees. On the Web site, you can enter your zip code to find the nearest of 3,800plus spots nationwide that accept old trees. LOW-ENERGY LIGHTS The newest energy-saving stars on the holiday scene are Christmas lights made with light-emitting diodes, or LEDs. First introduced in 2001, LEDs incorporate the same computer-chip technology used to light calculators and watches. The lights, which use semiconducting material rather than incandescent filaments, are 90 percent more efficient than traditional Christmas lights. According to one U.S. Department of Energy study, if everyone replaced their conventional holiday light strings with LEDs, at least two billion kilowatthours of electricity could be saved in a month. The savings would be enough to power 200,000 homes for a year, according to Littleton, Colorado-based Holiday Creations, which makes and distributes a popular line of LED light strings. Karyn Atwood, Holiday Creations’ director of domestic and commercial sales, notes other added bonuses: the LEDs release little heat, and they last about 200,000 hours. In the unlikely event that one LED does burn out, she said, the rest of the lights keep on glowing. I believe the article is worth consideration. It gives the right ideas how to make yourself more concerned about nature and that huge world around. You can turn into environment friend easily or making little efforts. Now try to answer a few questions based on the information from the article: a) Have you used a lot of wrapping paper on Christmas or New Year gifts? Where has it gone? b) Is there any difference between a fake tree and a potted tree? Which one would you like to decorate your home with? c) What is a LED? Why does it seem to be advisable to use these LEDs instead of conventional Christmas lights? d) Have you got an idea what a conservation group Earth 911 can be?

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Supply suitable verb forms with “used to”, “be used to” or the past progressive. a) When we were children we ……… … (spend) our holidays on a farm. b) I seem to be more aware of the traffic noise these days. I ……. (never mind) it. c) When I ………. (drive) to work this morning, the streets were almost empty. d) As I live in the center of the city, I ……… (hear) traffic noise all the time. e) I ………(drive) a 20-ton truck when I was in the army. f) I ………(drive) in a heavy traffic: it doesn’t bother me. g) You can’t blame them for pushing. They ……… (not wait) in queues. h) I ………(wait) all morning for a telephone call from you. i) I ………(be) patient, but as I get older I can’t suffer fools gladly. j) You must give her clear instructions. She ………(be told) what to do. Supply “after” or “afterwards”. Alternatives are sometimes possible. a) b) c) d) e) f)

So you took the children to the zoo. Where did you go ……..that? …………. a walk through the park we visited the zoo. I watched the car-chase on TV but I didn’t see what came ……….. . We had a very long wait for our flight……….. we arrived at the airport. According to most fairy stories, everybody lives happily ever ……… . Let’s have a meal first, ………. we can watch this video.

Circle the item that fits the space: Iris like my former wife…………. 1 so 3 in that ….. she sleeps she sometimes has nightmares. 1 when 3although She thrashes around in her bed during the night …. 1 but 3 and wakes in the morning ……… with sweat, 1 drench 3 to drench the nightgown ……. to her body. 1 to stick 3 sticking And, like my former wife, she wants …… me 1 tell 3 telling her dreams in great detail and speculate …… 1 as 3 for

2 that 2 during 2 she 2 drenched 2 stick 2 to tell 2 as to

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…… this stands for or that portends. 3 which

1 who

2 what

Since you’ve been learning English for some years already you must know that the verb “get” has a vast range of meanings. The basic one is “to receive” or “to obtain” but there is a whole list to be added here. Task: suggest approximate meanings for “get” in the following sentences. a) How did you get the idea? (obtain) b) Where did you get that lovely jacket? c) Did you get your money back in the end? d) Which train did you get on? e) I’m getting very fed up with the weather. f) How did you get her to tell you what happened? g) Don’t park there. You’ll get fined. h) I had no key and got in through a window. i) I got that ominous sense of the coming tornado from watching the animals’ behavior. Supply either “is” or “are” (“have” or “has”) depending on whether you use singular or plural noun. 1. There’s been an accident and the police…….. .. already turned up at the scene. 2. The committee ……… going to consider the proposal this morning. 3. I believe the jury ……… at last come to a decision. 4. The crowd ……… been waiting for hours to see the princess. 5. The company ……… announced the record profits for the first half-year. 6. How many people ……… waiting to see me? 7. Everybody knows the clergy ………. very poorly paid. 8. The whole family …….. gathered together for the first time in years. Translate the following sentences which contain the verbs of “saying” and “believing” in the passive constructions. (You’re more aware about this as “Complex Subject”) a) b) c) d)

Prices are expected to rise if interest rates remain high. Most of the passengers are believed to have survived the air crash. The bisquits are thought to date from the Second World War. The two young men are alleged to have introduced a virus into the computer system.

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e) Muriel is said to pay less income tax than she should. f) Until nowadays AIDS is supposed to be an incurable disease although some patients suffering from it are known to have lived many years with it. g) This is the way she is supposed to look like after the facial surgery. What do you know about public schools in UK? I guess after so many years of dealing with English you’re believed to know much on this issue. Anyway, there is some information ahead which possibly will draw your attention. Read the text through and afterwards try to concentrate on three or four points, which you haven’t known before. Start with “I didn’t know that”… PUBLIC SCHOOLS --- FOR WHOM? About five per cent of children are educated privately in what is rather confusingly called public schools. These are the schools for the privileged. There are about 500 public schools in England and Whales, most of them single-sex. About half of them are for girls. The schools such as Eton, Harrow, Rugby and Winchester are famous for their ability to lay the foundation of a successful future by giving their pupils self-confidence, the right accent, a good academic background and, perhaps, most important of all, the right friends and contacts. People who went to one of the public schools never call themselves the school-leaves. They talk about “the old school tie” and “ the old boy network”. They are just old boys and old girls. The fees are high and only very rich families can afford to pay so much. Public schools educate the ruling class of England. One such school is Gordonstoun, which the Prince of Wales, the elder son of the Queen, left in 1968. Harrow School is known as the place where Winston Churchill was educated, as well as six other Prime Ministers of England, the poet Lord Byron, the playwright Richard Sheridan and many other prominent people. Public schools are free from state control; they are independent. Most of them are boarding schools, in which the pupils spend most part of the terms. The education is of very high standard and the discipline is strict enough. These schools accept pupils from preparatory schools at about 11 or 13 years of age usually on the basis of an examination known as Common Entrance. There are three sittings of Common Entrance every year: in February, June and November. Scholarships are rarely awarded on the results of Common Entrance. The fundamental requirements are extremely high, so at 18 most public schools-leaves gain entry to universities. Have you found any points, which you’d mention as unknown to you before? Will you share this information with your classmates? Do you have anything, sort of public schools in your country?

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When in your opinion should parents start thinking about getting funds to provide education for their kids? YOU CAN AFFORD UNIVERSITY FOR YOUR KIDS Getting a degree has never been so expensive. But whether you are planning 18 years or 18 months ahead, here’s how to fund it. Baby Jude reaches from the high-chair to grab his mother’s finger. Looking at him now it’s hard to imagine him going to a university in 18 years time. “It’s a long way off,” says his mother Louisa Broad, a social worker from London, “ but Jude will grow up in a higher education system very different from the one I knew. I was lucky enough to get a grant, but he’ll have to pay fees.” Jude’s father, life coach Nick Tyrrell, agrees, ”We know we should start saving now.” There is no doubt that university education is a great asset. Not only will your children learn and grow but, according to Department for Education and Skills figures, on average someone with higher education earns 50% more in a lifetime than someone without. But in the last ten years the cost of getting a degree has more than doubled. And it looks as if things are only going to get worse. Maintenance grants were abolished in 1997 and tuition fees introduced for students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. From 2006, the Government plans to let universities “top up” their fees. However, with sound planning you can provide your children with this opportunity of a lifetime. 18 Years to go. This is what you should do. If you’re a new parent, remember that the earlier you start saving, the less you have to pay each month and the greater your return. Money will give you flexibility about where your children study and the course they choose. But how should you invest? There’s no simple answer, though there’re a number of options. The Children’s Mutual offers a package targeted at parents of young children. The company is part of a “friendly society”, the Tunbridge Wells Equitable, which means you can save up to 25 pounds a month tax-free. “Relatives are often happy to contribute too, “says chief executive David White, “as each adult can make use of the 25 pound tax-free allowance.” But if you need to close a plan like this before maturity there will be financial penalties. And even though the investments are held within your child’s portfolio, each contributor retains the money in his or her name – and remains free to spend it.

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So how much should Louisa and Nick be putting aside for young Jude? The National Union of Students estimates that the average undergraduate needs about 23, 000 pounds to finance three years at university. Based on this figure The Children’s Mutual projects that when Jude is university age (in 2021), the cost will be just over 36, 000 pounds. To get that figure they suggest his parents start saving 110 pounds per month. 7 Years to go Even though your child has just started secondary school, your options are becoming limited. Evelyn Sharp and Rob Day live on the south coast and have two boys, Ryan, 11, and lee, 12. “I’ve thought about saving for the boys’ university education,” she says, “but at the moment I don’t have the money. I changed careers two years ago and I’m studying at night school to pass accountancy exams. I hope that by the time the boys are 18 my salary will be high enough to help support them through university – so in a way my career is my investment.” Part of Evelyn’s plan is the option of encouraging her sons to study locally and save money by living at home, because almost 80% of the costs students incur are living expenses (rent, bills, food, travel, laundry, leisure). If you consider only course fees, books and equipment, you would need to save 57 pounds a month to fund a degree by 2010. 5 Years to go If your child is 13 and you haven’t begun to save, there’s no time to waste. But you should think creatively about how you’ll send your son or daughter to university. Lorraine Billings has a 13-year-old son. “Robert saw a careers adviser and has now decided to join the Royal Air Force,” says Lorraine. “His idea is to get the RAF to sponsor him through university, then he’ll fly fighter jets and after that work in the public sector as a commercial pilot.” Sponsorship from the armed forces is an option hundreds of students take every year. The RAF, for example, will sponsor students up to 4,000 pounds per year. But this involves a minimum service commitment; for the RAF it’s at least four years. If Robert fancied a vocational subject such as engineering or law, he could also consider a “sandwich” course. This normally involves a paid, yearlong placement in the industry that you’re studying plus the normal time at university. You get experience in your chosen field plus a year’s salary. One year to go If you haven’t put aside money by now, your teenager will almost certainly need to get a student loan – by far the best way for him or for her to borrow. Last year

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the maximum yearly loan was 4, 930 pounds inside London and 4,000 pounds elsewhere. The limit generally increases each year with inflation. There are two reasons why the loan is so attractive: firstly, the index-linked interest rate is very low, far lower than you’d get from a bank. Secondly, you don’t have to start paying it back until you’ve left university and your income reaches a threshold – currently 10,000 pounds a year, increasing to 15,000 pounds in April 2005. Borrowers then pay 9% of their income above the threshold. According to the Associate of Graduate Recruiters, the average starting salary for graduates is 20,300 pounds – form this, after April 2005, the repayment will be just about 40 pounds a month. Carmel May, a single mother and clerical worker in Manchester, has done some research about financial help for her daughter Hannah, who’s 17 now. Carmel should ensure her daughter is getting all the funding to which she is entitled. There are no longer automatic grants across the board, but many categories of students are still eligible and, where the household income is less than 20,000 pounds, there is no tuition fee. It’s vital that students check every bit of assistance they’re entitled to, because it can be the deciding factor between going to university or not. Answer the following questions: 1. Does it matter when parents start saving for their kids’ education? Why? 2. What are the possibilities of getting funds? 3. Do you admit taking a loan a reasonable way to get higher education? 4. Is there anything similar to it in this country? 5. Do young people tend to get higher education? Why? Now after you’ve considered the pros and cons of different possible ways to get higher education in Britain, you’re offered to do some more exercises in order to brush up your English. What is the effect of “keeps” in this sentence? - Developers have built towering skyscrapers, but the space crunch keeps getting worse. If it seems difficult to explain, here’s a tip: “keep” + -ing suggests continuity. Sometimes “keep on” is used for greater emphasis. A few other verbs require – ing form after them. They are: admit, avoid, consider, deny, dislike, enjoy, excuse, finish, imagine, keep, postpone, report, suggest, understand. Task: respond appropriately using the verbs in brackets. a) What do you think? Should I try to pass my driving test again? (keep)

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b) What shall I do? Shall I wait any longer before writing to them again? (suggest) c) What does John say? Did he take the ledger from my desk drawer? (deny) d) What should we do? Should we travel in this bad weather? (postpone) e) What were the doctor’s recommendations on this medication? (avoid) f) I’m quite at a loss! I’ve tried on so many outfits and still can’t make up my mind! (finish) g) What do you think about eating out on a week-end? (enjoy) h) Do you think I like being questioned in this way? (excuse) i) Just fancy! Bob appears to be involved into it! (admit) Supply the missing prepositions in the following text about Japan’s perspective of having underground facilities to arrange a normal life. Underground. The word brings many unsavory adjectives to mind: dark, dank, clandestine, illegal. But …… Japan the “underground” is becoming the new frontier and the best hope …… solving one …… the country’s most intractable problems. …… a population nearly half the size ……the U.S.’s squeezed …… an area no bigger than Montana, Japan has virtually no room left …… its teeming cities. Developers have built towering skyscrapers and even artificial islands …… the sea, but the space crunch keeps getting worse. Now some …… Japan’s largest construction companies think they have the answer: huge developments ……the earth’s surface. Supply so, so many, so much, or such a (an). Alternatives are sometimes possible. 1 It’s been …..quiet here since the children left home. 2 There are …….. parking restrictions in out town that I prefer to go on foot. 3 I feel …… … better now that I think I can go back to work on Monday. 4 Weddings can be very formal and you must have the right clothes for …… occasions. 5 Dumping waste in the sea aroused ……… hostility, the government had to think again. 6 Halley’s Comet was last seen in 1989. ……. Occurrences are eagerly awaited. 7 Few projects have required ……colossal investment as the Channel tunnel. 8 I can’t explain why I’ve been feeling …….. run down. Supply possible adverbs or prepositions in these sentences.

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1. 2 3 4 5

The accident happened because you cut in ……. me. I don’t like people who drive close ……… behind you. Will you boys please get down ……. .that tree! The noise is coming from …… the floorboards. I’d like to drive on …… the next service station before stopping for a break. 6 There’s a stationer’s just four shops along …… the left. 7 We’re …….on our holidays next week. 8 We’re entertaining our neighbours …… across the road next Sunday. 9 We were thrown …… against the wall by the blast. 10 I think we’re going to have to walk back …… the jungle. Circle the item that fits the space. In a river valley not …… Houston, Texas, a team of away away from American scientists have found geological evidence…… that A vast tidal wave…… the whole Caribbean sweeping Region 65 million years ago, … the Cretaceous period along with - the age of the dinosaurs – was ending. ….. in the writing latest issue of the US journal Science, the geologists claim …… a tidal wave on this scale could only what have been caused … the impact of an asteroid, with probably five to ten kilometers in diameter, … plunging by plunging through the Earth’s atmosphere.

far from which

far who

had swept

swept

until

just as

wrote

written

that

so that

by

from to plunge

Is this a stunning information for you? What does it remind you of? The next exercise must get you interested in particular, because you’ll be correcting mistakes. Sometimes a wrong word has been used or added. Delete the wrong word and suggest a replacement where necessary. However Henry Wilt took the dog for a walk, or, to be more accurate, when 1…… the dog took him,or, to be exact, when Mrs Wilt told both them to go and take 2……

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themselves out of the house so that she did her yoga exercises, he always 3…… took the same route. In fact the dog followed the route and Wilt followed 4…… the dog. They went down passed the Post Office, across the playground, under 5…… the railway bridge and out of on to the footpath by the river. A mile along 6…… the river and then under the railway line again and backwards through 7…… streets where the houses were bigger as Wilt’s semi and where there 8…… were large trees and gardens and cars were all Rovers and Mercedes. 9…… It was here that Clem, a pedigree Labrador, evidently feeling more at home, 10…… did his business, while Wilt stood and looking around rather uneasily, 11…… conscious that this was not his sort of neighbourhood and wished it 12…… was. It was about the only time during their walk that he was at all 13…… aware of his surroundings. It was in fact a journey of wishful 14…… thinking, a pilgrimage along trails of remote possibility involving 15…… with the irrevocable disappearance of Mrs Wilt, the sudden acquisition 16…… of wealth, power, that he would do if he was appointed Minister of Education 17…… or, better still, Prime Minister. It was partly concocted of a series 18…… of desperate expedients and partly in an unspoken dialogue so that 19…… anyone watched Wilt at that moment might have seen his lips 20…… moved occasionally and his mouth curl into a sardonic smile. 21……

Match a word in column A with the most likely word in column B A 1 spoilt

B goods

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2 paid 3 stolen 4 sworn 5 frozen 6 forbidden 7 burnt 8 fallen 9 shrunken 10 sunken 11 hidden 12 broken

food offerings angel head child ship fruit enemy assistant promise catch

Make up sentences of your own with the matching words. What is the function of the past participle in each phrase? Check your notion of the confusing verbs raise and rise. Fill in the gabs in the following sentences. a) This legislation will …… the cost of some consumer goods. b) We can’t get better-qualified employees without …… standards of education. c) It isn’t often I get the opportunity to see the sun …… . d) Your loaf looks as if it has …… nicely. If you take interest in astronomy you may read and consider the text below. If you take no interest in this subject, you may omit the text flipping over to a more interesting one. THE CENTER OF OUR GALAXY On a clear, moonless night the shimmering light of the Milky Way glows especially bright toward the constellation Sagittarius. For years astronomers have been aware, from the distribution of groups of stars and from measurements of stellar motions, that objects in our galaxy must travel in orbits around a center located in that direction. Astronomers have also found that in most cases other galaxies are especially bright toward the center because the density of stars increases markedly there. In many instances the central regions also seem to be the sites of intriguing behaviour, including the generations of enormous quantities of energy, peculiar radiations and other unusual effects. More and more, it seems that massive, unimaginably dense objects – black holes – lie at the heart of some of these galaxies. Could our own galaxy also harbor such an exotic object at its center? The central region of the Milky Way has fascinated astronomers for many decades. After all, our galactic center is only about 25,000 light-years away as opposed to millions of light-years for centers of the nearest other galaxies, and so it is the one astronomers might reasonably hope to see and to understand best.

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Yet for a long time there was no direct way to see the center of our galaxy or to learn much about it, because it is cloaked in large and dense clouds of gas and dust. Recent discoveries and new technologies have made it possible at last to study the center of our own galaxy in some detail. These developments include improved techniques for collecting and analyzing astronomical radio waves and infrared radiation as well as space flights above the earth’s atmosphere, which have made possible the detecting of energetic X-ray and gamma-ray radiation emanating from the center of the galaxy. Questions: Which points mentioned in the article seem the most interesting for you? Why does the center of a galaxy normally arouse the greatest interest? Has it become possible to study the center of our galaxy in detail too? Supply the missing prepositions after the adjectives: a) I think Celia is very angry ……… me. b) He’s really ashamed ……… what he did. c) We’re really very obliged ……… you. d) I think he’s capable ……… anything. e) This service is free ……… charge. f) Some people are very bad ……… spelling. g) He’s quite careless ……… ganger. h) The went ahead contrary …….. my advice. i) We’re quite safe ……… danger here. j) You were wrong ……… the election results. k) Are you aware ……… the cost of this service? l) We’re grateful ……… you ……… all your help. m) I’m not afraid ……… taking risks. n) How long have you been absent ……… class? o) I hope you’re satisfied ……… my work. p) Jane’s busy ……… baby at the moment. q) I know you’ll be annoyed …….. me. r) I’ve been so anxious ……… you all these hours! The item ahead may come in handy. Even if it may not, it’s worth reading because of its vivid colloquial language. DIAL A FRIEND A list hangs on my refrigerator, anchored by a bagel-shaped magnet. I could take it down, since the phone numbers are memorized, but I keep it there for

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comfort. It’s a remarkable list, really, reminding me that life is unpredictable, and not always in a bad way. One day in the summer of 1992 , when my son was six months old, I got a letter. It was handwritten, the kind you get only often enough to keep you sorting through the junk mail. I read it three times. The writer, A.J.Blye, was a mother of two who recently had moved to Baltimore from California. She had gotten our name and address from the diaper service we used, she said, and she had an idea. I was on maternity leave and was beginning to realize how tough it was to make new friends who’d want to spend time watching me mix up rice cereal. I’ve never been one of these people who can knock on doors and introduce themselves, striking up lifelong friendships. But A.J. was. So my husband and I walked a few blocks to her house one Saturday and met seven neighborhood couples who all had children still in diapers. In a few hours we put together a baby-sitting co-op and agreed to a regular Friday-evening exchange in which two couples would watch all the kids while the other six couples went out. I came away with my list. At first the numbers – as unfamiliar as the people on the other end of the line – had no personality. So I was a little nervous about dialing, afraid I would call at a wrong time or reach someone who wasn’t quite sure this co-op thing was a good idea. In a way, we trusted each other before we really knew each other. Moreover, I sensed that people willing to share their children with me probably could be trusted with mine. But the friendships took time. Every Friday evening I learned more about the names on my list as we broke up rumbles over toys or went out together on our off days. The numbers became familiar, almost dialing themselves, and all the kids and mothers became something special – the kind of extended family I didn’t have nearby. The list changed my life. I realized that while having lunch with three other mothers and four children one summer day. Pieces of hot dogs and french fries littered the floor as we talked about books, movies and teething. I realized that I would have liked these people as friends regardless of whether they had children. When I look at the juice-stained paper under the bagel magnet now, I see what anchors me to the neighborhood. I’ve moved around quite a bit since college – five cities in nine years – and none of them felt like home. But what made my mother’s house a home? It wasn’t the framed photographs or the piano or the fireplace. It was the phone numbers she could call whenever she needed a friend to plan a party, to give one of her four children a lift or just to yak into the night. There is power in my list, power in its ready feedback and in the confidence it gives me. If I have a party, someone will come to help me. There was a time when such a list would have compiled itself, as people grew up in their respective neighborhoods, settled down and had children. And

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grandparents would probably have been nearby, ready to offer a weekly night out. But that’s increasingly rare today. Of the 16 adults in our group only two grew up in Baltimore and still have family there. So the list, always tacked on the fridge, has taken on that role. It means I’m home. Questions: 1. What features of the American culture are presented in the item? 2. Can’t the woman in the item memorize the phone numbers instead of keeping them stuck to the fridge? 3. What is her notion of a home? 4. Would you easily leave your baby at someone who isn’t your kinsman? 5. Is putting together a baby-sitting co-op a good way to make friends? Read one more piece of information about kids and entertain yourself. As a real-estate agent I was showing several homes to a young couple with a toddler. We went over the houses thoroughly, examining each room and opening every closet and cabinet. The toddler followed her parents quietly until we arrived at the final home of the day. Pulling a pacifier from her mouth the child asked in exasperation, “What are we looking for?” Both items above deal with kids and they consequently contain specific words like: teething, diaper, diaper service, pacifier, baby-sitting co-op, toddler, maternity leave. Try to make up sentences or rather a situation with them. In this way you’ll remember them easily. Read two more points to ponder over the human relationships. They are good to make use of. 1. No birth certificate is issued when a friendship is born. There is nothing tangible. There is just a feeling that your life is different and that your capacity to love and care has miraculously been enlarged without any effort on your part. It’s like having a tiny apartment and somebody moves in with you, but instead of becoming cramped and crowded, the space expands, and you discover rooms you never knew you had until your friend moved in with you. 2. An old man sat outside the walls of a great city. When travelers approached they

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would ask him, “What kind of people live here?” And the old man would answer, “What kind of people lived in the place where you came from?” If the travelers answered, “Only bad people lived in the place where we came from,” then the old man would reply, “Continue on, you will find only bad people here.” But if the travelers answered, “Only good people lived in the place where we came from, “ then the old man would say, “Enter, for here, too, you will find only good people.” Explain in your own words the implications of the above mentioned points. Supply the missing prepositions after the adjectives: a) She’s so clever …… solving problems. b) I’m really amazed …… your behavior. c) I’ going to be late …… work again. d) I hear you’re very keen …… football. e) Why is he so jealous …… his sister? f) The twins are different …… each other. g) Jane is very careful …… her money. h) Alice is kind …… everybody. i) We lost and we’re very sad…… it. j) Be careful …… talking to strangers. k) You need to be certain …… your facts. l) We’re ready …… action. m) The issues are separate …… each other. When asked about the most enjoyable activity just a few people would answer honestly that it’s having a nap. Normally people are ashamed of it, although in everyday day just a few people would avoid an opportunity to doze a bit during the day. Read the article written by Janmes Gorman just to get persuaded that spontaneous snoozing is very beneficial. GO ON, HAVE A NAP Today’s society is not nap-friendly. In fact, says sleep specialist David Dinges, “There’s even a prohibition against admitting we need sleep.” Nobody wants to be caught napping or found asleep at his post. To quote an obscure proverb: “Some sleep five hours, nature requires seven, laziness nine and wickedness eleven.” Wrong. The way not to fall asleep inopportunely is to take naps when you need them. “We need to change completely our attitude towards napping, “says Dr William Dement of America’s Stanford University, the godfather of sleep research.

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A recent commission led by Dement identified an “American sleep debt,” which one member said was as important as the national debt. The commission was worried about the dangers of sleepiness: people causing industrial accidents or falling asleep while driving. This may be why there is a new sleep policy in the White House: according to recent reports, President Bill Clinton tries to take a half-hour snooze every afternoon. About 60% of adults do nap when given the opportunity. We seem to have “a mid-afternoon quiescent phase”, also called “a secondary sleep gate.” Sleeping for fifteen minutes to two hours in the early afternoon can reduce stress and improve alertness. Clearly, we were born to nap. We Superstars of Snooze don’t nap to replace lost shut-eye or to prepare for a night shift. Rather we “snack” on sleep whenever and wherever we feel like it. Call it somnia. I myself have napped in buses, cars, planes and on boats, on floors, sofas and beds, and in libraries, offices and museums. There is an exquisite pleasure in giving oneself over to drowsiness, particularly if you ought to be doing something else. And we should all note that napping is one of the few pleasures left that are not life-threatening. The pathologically alert like to think they get more done than nappers. Wrong again. Winston Churchill slept every afternoon when he was the wartime prime minister. Napoleon napped on the battlefield. If there is to be a transformation of sleep behavior, we nappers, must share our “sleeping skills” with those less fortunate – the nap-impaired. For starters, here are a few of my favorite naps. At work: nap freedom to me is as great an incentive as money or power. Sleeping at work is superbly satisfying, and in some cases necessary. Lorry drivers should pull over at the first sign of drowsiness - as should anyone operating heavy machinery, including a word processor. At a concert: sleeping (discreetly) at a concert can be among life’s great experiences. One rides the music, wafted this way and that on themes and leitmotifs. Wagner in particular promotes vivid dreams. Best nap of all: my all-time-favorite way to snooze is in a shady hammock, on a mild summer day and – this is what makes it perfect – a huge, important book on my chest, open and unread. Such napping says much about the principles by which we live and sleep. There is the story told about a young playwright who once asked a famous author to view a rehearsal of his new play. The author slept through the whole thing. Afterwards the young man complained, saying he really had wanted the author’s opinion. In a pithy summation of the committed napper’s view of waking life, the author replied,” Sleep is an opinion.” So what do you think of the article? Questions:

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1. In your opinion, does the author bring up a rather serious problem in his article? 2. Would you agree with the author to every point of it? 3. What is the author’s manner to describe the essence of the problem? 4. Which passages or separate sentences (words) make you desperately discontent? 5. Which passages or separate sentences make you ponder over them? 6. Can you quote the proverb, which is defined as an obscure one in the article? Why, do you think, it is defined so? 7. How often, according to your watching yourself, do you doze during a day? 8. Would you like to give up this habit or, quite on the contrary, take to it? 9. The author’s statement: “There is an exquisite pleasure in giving oneself over to drowsiness, particularly if you ought to be doing something else,” puts you on the wrong line, making you idle and awfully irresponsible, doesn’t it? 10. Would you like to share all these points with someone else? After so hard thinking and probably intensive debates you are offered to switch on a simple exercise. Task: suggest meanings for the phrases with off, the example is given. You should keep in mind that this preposition has a basic sense of “removal”, “detachment” or “separation” and this meaning is apparent in the many phrases it occurs in. a) Well, see you later on. We’re off. b) Have you heard about tomorrow’s match? It’s off. c) I’ve checked the cooker. It’s off. d) I’d like fish, please. – I’m afraid it’s off. e) Just smell this meat. It’s off. f) His behavior is a bit off, isn’t it? g) Where’s Nelly? – She’s off today. h) John’s off sick. i) She’s off her head. j) Another button’s come off my jacket. k) We live well off the main road. l) Are you off your food? m) Our new neighbors seem to be quite well off. n) Which direction is off? Up or down? o) Can you help me get my boots off? p) She put it in her bag and just walked off. q) We manage to get to the theatre off and on.

(We’re leaving).

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Another task which also must draw your attention is: give the implications of the following sentences. The first two sentences are done. a) I remembered to post your letters. I didn’t forget to post your letters. b) I remember meeting him years ago. I met him years ago. c) You must remember to give him my message. d) We all remember them having one of the first television sets. e) I remember taking that photograph on your birthday. f) I’ll remember to lock the door next time. g) I remember being given a prize for sewing at school. h) I ought to remember the regulations at our office. i) Am I going to remember his wedding party? j) Could you remember this recipe for me? Are you concerned about the environment? Do you read the latest reports about the situation with global warming? Can your anxiety be in vain? Read another article on the point. WHAT’S WRONG WITH GLOBAL WARMING? We’ve all read global-warming scare stories. Though some scientists insist there is a cause for alarm, evidence indicates otherwise. Global warming may be coming, but if it does, it won’t necessarily be extreme. And it might actually be a boon for the environment. Now researchers say that the earth is likely to warm by about three degrees Fahrenheit during the next century. That may sound like a lot, but it isn’t. The world has experienced approximately that much warming fairly recently in history. And we loved it! Between A.D. 900 and 1300 the earth warmed by some three degrees, according to the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine. Scholars refer to that period – one of the most favorable in the human history – as the Medieval Climate Optimum. Food production surged, many scientists believe, because winters were milder and growing seasons longer. Key agricultural regions experienced fewer floods and droughts. There was more rainfall, but it evaporated more quickly. Death rates declined in many places, partly because of the decrease in hunger and partly because people spent less time huddled in damp, smoke-filled hovels that helped spread tuberculosis and other infectious diseases. Prosperity stimulated an outpouring creativity – in architecture, art and practical invention. In Europe artisans built the soaring cathedrals that even today stun tourists with their beauty and engineering excellence. In Southeast Asia the Khmer people built the huge temple complex of Angkor War. The windmill and spinning wheel entered daily life, while new iron-casting techniques led to better tools.

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Trade flourished, in part because there were fewer storms at sea. The Vikings discovered Greenland around 950. It was so warm there that colonists supported themselves by pasturing cattle on what is now frozen tundra. Farming moved farther north in Scandinavia, Russia and Japan. England was warm enough to support a thriving wine industry. And in North Africa there is some evidence that the Sahara shrank in response to the increase in rain. There were negatives, of course, but over all, the medieval experience with global warming should reassure us greatly. The latest evidence supports such optimism, say many scientists. The prospective warming is expected to moderate low nighttime and winter temperatures rather than raise day and summertime highs. Thus, it will produce little added stress on plants, trees or people. The expected increase in carbon dioxide levels due to the burning of fossil fuels could create a “plant heaven, “ because carbon dioxide acts as a fertilizer for plants. More than a thousand experiments with food crops in 29 countries show that doubling the world’s carbon dioxide would raise crop yields by half. And forests all over the world should be more robust, allowing them to support more wildlife. It may seem paradoxical , but a modest warming in the normally cold and dry polar regions will actually mean more arctic ice, not less. If temperatures warm a few degrees, there will be more moisture in the air, more snowfall, more polar ice. Global-warming scaremongers have also claimed that a warmer world could suffer more extreme weather. This too is unlikely. S. Fred Singer, professor emeritus of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia says, ”One would expect severe weather to be less frequent because of reduced equator-to-pole temperature gradients.” In other words, the smaller the temperature difference between the North Pole and the equator, the milder the weather. Most of the warming, if it occurs, will be toward the poles, with very little increase near the equator. Thus, there would be less of the temperature difference that drives big storms. History and science climatology indicate that we have nothing to fear. Any global warming in the 21st century should be modest, bringing back one of the most productive environments humans and wildlife have ever enjoyed. Questions: 1. Does the author sound very optimistic about the global warming? 2. Is there any convincing evidence that the global warming once affected positively the development of humans and flourishing of the wildlife? 3. Do you agree with the author that doubling of carbon dioxide in the air is only for good? 4. Which points from what is stated above would you disagree with the author if you had a chance to talk to him?

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After you have read and considered the text above, it is a good idea to practise in grammar again. Task: supply the right active and passive forms and tenses of the verbs in brackets. My mother arrived at the port of Harwich some time in February and immediately (apprehend) …… by the British authorities for having filled up her landing form with undue accuracy. To the question: Where born? she (answer) …… St. Petersburg. To the question: Where educated? she (reply) …… Leningrad. The immigration authorities ( convince) …… that she ( make) …… light of the questionnaire, and I feel bound to add with a certain pride that it was only my presence that (save) …… her from further unpleasantness. This tendency to answer official questions too literally (seem) …… to run in the family, perhaps owing to the many frontiers we all (cross) …… since such encumbrances were invented. Once she (release) …… by the pernickety British authorities, my mother traveled to London by train through a thick industrial murk, which (culminate) …… in a swirling yellow fog, impenetrable, choking and claustrophobic. She records that she ( never see or smell) …… such filth in her life. Before the names of the stations entirely ( obliterate) …… towards the end of the journey, the impression of Kafkaesque horror (increase) …… by the fact that every station (seem) …… to be called Bovril. It is necessary to explain to the uninitiated that Bovril was and ( be) ….. a most excellent beef-tea. Being the fruit of private enterprise in a highly competitive capitalist society, it ( have) …… bright and brilliant advertisements. Task: fill in the missing words in the following sentences. SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS TO ALZHEIMER’S AD is known as an especially cruel ……. It not only …… a person’s mind - it robs them of their memories. A mother may not …… her only son’s name. A husband may not …… his wife after 30 years together. Longtime friends are …… . An estimated 4 million American men and women suffer with AD. As the population of older Americans …… so will the number of people at risk for …… disease. The ray of hope is that over the past several …… AD has emerged from the shadows as a …… health problem. AD is far more than misplacing the phone book or forgetting the …… name. It is the disease that …… the brain and results …… impaired memory, thinking and ……. The disease ……first described by Dr. Alois Alzheimer in 1906 and has become the fourth leading …… of death among adults in the U.S. between the ages of 75 and 84 (after heart disease, cancer and stroke). It eventually leaves a

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person less resistant to …… and other illnesses, which are often the ultimate cause of death. Before AD can be diagnosed and ……, the possibility that any other disorder may be causing the symptoms must be eliminated. The …… associated with AD can mimic stroke, minor head injury, effects from high ……., poor nutrition, adverse drug …….. depression and thereby cause …….So a comprehensive medical examination must be …… . Some researchers now ……. that AD is a cluster of diseases that, like diabetes and heart disease, may have more that one fundamental cause. It may actually be easier to say what doesn’t cause AD. Although the possibility of …... the disease doubles in each decade after 65, it isn’t caused simply by old age, and it isn’t contagious. You are offered to read another article concerning health. It is sure to attract your attention. THE PILLS WE TAKE A recent medical seminar disclosed some sensational data: up to 60% of pills that we swallow are utterly ineffective. Furthermore, drug manufactures invent nonexistent diseases in order to maintain their profits. Nearly half of Moscow residents use nootropil to stimulate their brain function: with the current hectic rhythm of life the little gray cells need additional support. And the brains are working better. But it isn’t nootropil that does the trick. At least,Prof. Pavel Vorobyev, MD, head of the Hematology and Geriatrics Department at the I.M. Sechenov Moscow Medical Academy argues: nootropes – extracts from cattle blood – have no effect whatsoever. Also ineffective are numerous ointments that are offered by drug manufactures in abundance. Last year the Una cream became a subject of special research, which showed that it had a zero effect. The situation with vitamins is even worse. Pavel Vorobyev has credible evidence suggesting that 60% of vitamins on the market are ineffective. Their producers without a twinge of conscience cash in on our desire to keep up with the civilized world in pursuit of a healthy lifestyle. Meanwhile, doctors advise people not to succumb to the latest craze and use vitamins in natural form – fresh fruit and vegetables. Over the past 10 or 15 years pharmaceutical giants have felt rather depressed. They have tapped the market to the full and now there seems to be no more growth potential for them. True, there are still a dozen or so diseases that humankind, try as it might, has been unable to find a cure for. After long consideration manufacturers came to a “wise” conclusion: to get on they need to invent new diseases. “First a drug is created and then a disease is invented to match. It’s an absurdity, which has become the norm and an effective marketing policy,” Prof. Pavel Vorobyev says.

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You invest a couple of million dollars in molding public opinion around some scourge of humanity and create a big stir around a new wonder pill, and you walk away with one billion. Questions: 1. 2. 3. 4.

What did the recent medical seminar disclose? Why do people take so many pills or even vitamins? How honest are pharmaceutical companies? What policy is being pursuit by these companies and why?

Anyway, I believe you will agree that laughter is the best medicine and at least smile at the following joke. “Doctor,” Esther begs the psychiatrist,” you’ve got to help my husband. He thinks he’s a race-horse. He wants to live in a stable, he walks on all fours – he even eats hay.” “I’m sure I can cure him,” the shrink replies, “but it will take a long time and be very costly.” “Oh, money’s no object,” Esther says. “He’s already won two races.” The following article is worth reading because it is devoted to the morality principles, which should be not just fashionable or politically correct but without any doubts right. HOW TO BE TRUE TO YOURSELF My grandparents believed you were either honest or you weren’t. There was no in between. They had a simple motto hanging on their living-room wall: “Life is like a field of newly fallen snow; where I choose to walk every step will show.” They didn’t have to talk about it – they demonstrated the motto by the way they lived. They understood instinctively that integrity means having a personal standard of morality and ethics that does not sell out to expediency and that is not relative to the situation at hand. Integrity is an inner standard for judging your behavior. Unfortunately, integrity is in short supply today – and getting scarcer. But it is the real bottom line in every area of society. And it is something we must demand of ourselves. A good test for this value is to look at what is called the Integrity Triad consisting of three key principles. Stand firmly for you convictions in the face of personal pressure. There is a story told about a surgical nurse’s first day on the medical team at a well-known hospital. She was responsible for ensuring that all instruments and materials were accounted for during an abdominal operation. The nurse said to

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the surgeon, “You’ve only removed 11 sponges, and we used 12. We need to find the last one.” “I removed them all,” the doctor declared. “We’ll close now.” “You can’t do that, sir,” objected the rookie nurse. “Think of the patient.” Smiling the surgeon lifted his foot and showed the nurse the 12th sponge. “You’ll do just fine in this or any other hospital,” he told her. When you know you’re right, you can’t back down. Always give others credit that is rightfully theirs. Don’t be afraid of those who might have a better idea or who might even be smarter than you are. David Ogilvy, the founder of the advertising firm Ogilvy & Mather, made this point clear to his newly appointed office heads by sending each a Russian nesting doll with five progressively smaller figures inside. His message was contained in the smallest doll: “If each of us hires people who are smaller than we are, we shall become a company of dwarfs. But if each of us hires people who are bigger than we are, Ogilvy & Mather will become a company of giants.” And that is precisely what the company became – one of the largest and most respected advertising organizations in the world. Be honest and open about who you really are. People who lack genuine core values rely on external factors – their looks or status – in order to feel good about themselves. Inevitably they will do everything they can to preserve these external factors, but they will do very little to develop their inner value and personal growth. So be yourself. Don’t engage in a personal coverup of areas that are unpleasing in your life. When it is tough, do it tough. In other words, face reality and be adult in your responses to life’s challenges. Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others. Integrity means you do what you do because it’s right and not just fashionable or politically correct. A life of principle, of not succumbing to the seductive sirens of any easy morality, will always win the day. It will take you forward into the 21st century without having to check your tracks in a rearview mirror. My grandparents taught me that.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

QUESTIONS: What are the main principles described by the author? Do the examples he gives sound convincing to you? Do you know examples, which could illustrate this article? What is meant by integrity here? Do you think you can make use of the article?

In the exercise ahead you are to supply the gaps with the missing words. It touches familiar topics, so you are very likely to fulfill the task. TWIST OF FATE

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Oscar-winning actress Mira Sorvino, daughter of actor Paul Sorvino, says her father didn’t want her to go into professional …… . “He felt it was too full of pain and rejection,” she says. Indeed, Mira Sorvino, who …… in AT FIRST SIGHT, might have taken a …… path in her life if world events had not changed her course. Sorvino had been …… in China ever since she read Pearl Buck’s THE GOOD EARTH as a child. In 1985 she went to Harvard, …… in East Asian studies and learning Mandarin. In her junior year she …… to live in China. “ …… I was lonely, but after I made some ……, I had a great sense of happiness and positivism about having started a …… life.” She studied in Beijing and was close to the nascent pro-democracy student movement. After about eight months she …… to Harvard, fully expecting to go back to China to teach. Then a massacre in Tiananmen Square …… . “It shut a door,” she said. “If this terrible thing hadn’t …… done, my life might have happened in China.” ************* During my high-school days I was …… to work at the municipal park, cutting …… and trimming weeds. On the first day the park superintendent …… me to the parking lot about 200 yards from a large statue of an Indian. Around the …… was a work crew of three other summer-help …… cutting weeds by hand. The group would work for a …… of minutes, then stand around …… for a while, obviously unaware that we were watching them. The …… didn’t say anything, but I could tell he was …… mad. Finally he spoke to me: “Son, how would you like to be my assistant for the summer?” “You bet I would, sir!” I replied …… at the prospect. “You can count ……me!” “Good!” he responded. “For years we’ve only had one statue standing out there on that hill. Your first …… as my assistant is to get those other three …… to work.” *************** When a photographer first spotted Cindy Crawford in a mall and suggested she …… about modeling, the family didn’t have the $500 for head …… to create a portfolio. But he had planted the seed of an idea, so they began …… . The lure wasn’t the glamour – it was the earning potential. Cindy …… modeling as a way to raise …… for tuition at Northwestern University. But she became successful so …… that her academic …… went up in smoke. “I always wanted to make a …… in life,” says Crawford, “but I never ……it to be in modeling. That was just a good …… to make money. It was never my dream.”

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If you read the text ahead you might smile at it or you might get annoyed by it or you might possibly get puzzled what on earth it is about. I suggest you ponder over it thoroughly. Does peril seem to wait round every corner? Is it true that the corners aren’t exactly safe either? Unless you are too annoyed, try to think about family relationships, according to the text. To put it in simpler words, is the article only about an abnormal anxiety? MY DAD, THE WORRIER My father and I were watching a videotape in which my two-year-old nephew, Cameron, ran into view with a spoon sticking out of his mouth. I knew exactly what Dad was going to say; I practically mouthed the words along with him: “He’ll trip and that spoon will go right into his throat.” In the next scene Cameron raced around the coffee table. “He’s going to split his head open on the table,” my father said with alarm. “They should pad the corners.” “I know,” I replied. “I can’t believe they decided to have furniture!” Dad smiled as accustomed to my mocking his cautions as I am to hearing his warnings about even the most mundane hazards. If my father could, he would pad all sharp corners in the world. Like most parents, he has always tried to protect his children. And as a doctor who specializes in public-health issues, he is especially conscious of the seemingly innocuous dangers surrounding us. I remember stuffing raw cookie dough into my mouth at a friend’s house once and being surprised that nobody said a word about salmonella poisoning. At home, “Are you choking?” was uttered as often as “Did you wash your hands?” Restaurants, Dad warned, presented myriad risks, from careless waiters who might drop hot coffee on your head to employees who didn’t wash their hands. If we scoffed, he would cite examples from his days as New York City’s commissioner of health. Fashion, too, could be dangerous. A few years ago he confiscated my coat because I hadn’t had it hemmed sufficiently. Sometimes I ask about it, as I might about an eccentric family member banished to live in the attic. Dad will put on the coat to demonstrate how serious the problem it is. “Look – it’s too long even on me. And this material is so heavy, it would pull you down.” “I have never heard of anyone being injured by too heavy a coat.” “Do you want to be the first? Just cut it off here,” he would say, drawing his hand across his knees. The weather was only one of the many natural menaces from which we had to guard ourselves. To this day when I walk within yards of tree branches, I blink as I hear his voice: “Watch your eyes!”

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Of course, as children we did not always listen to Dad. We had our broken bones, near chokings, electric shocks, car accidents and illnesses, some of which might have been avoided if we had heeded his advice and not jumped from the tops of slides, run around while eating, yanked the plug while the vacuum cleaner was on, driven too fast and kissed dogs. When my brothers and sisters and I reminisce these days, we recall Dad’s telling us not to jump on the trampoline in the gym class, because of the possibility of spinal injury, and the driving directions he devised to minimize left turns. Now we find ourselves uttering similar admonitions. We phone my brother to tell him that we read about someone dying from the same allergy he has; or my sister to warn her about the high lead content of certain mini-blinds. And now Dad has a new generation to guide. His grandchildren have caught on quickly, knowing to wag their fingers and say “That’s dangerous!” at the sight of cleaning fluid. “That’s too big a bite – you’ll choke