Showing posts with label questions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label questions. Show all posts
Wednesday, 8 April 2020
Wednesday, 25 September 2019
Thursday, 18 July 2019
Tuesday, 28 May 2019
Subject and object questions
Most questions are object questions. They ask about an object.
SOME MORE EXERCISES:
- Where do you live?
- Who did you see?
- Who plays football in this class?
- What happened?
- Which machine did Marconi invent?
| Form | Examples |
| Object Questions wh- + auxiliary + subject + main verb | Where do you live? What will you do? When is she coming? |
| Subject Questions wh- (=subject) + auxiliary + main verb Notice that this structure is like affirmative sentence structure without the question word. | Who loves you? Which car will arrive first? What type of food costs less? |
SOME MORE EXERCISES:
Monday, 27 May 2019
Friday, 4 January 2019
Reading comprehension: Ten Study Techniques That Work
READ THE TEXT:
Studying effectively is not a matter of chance. Educators and psychologists have researched study methods for years. Some of the best studies come from the top universities: Stanford, Indiana, and Chicago where precise experiments with student groups have shed light on the most effective study methods. Students who follow these methods learn more easily, retain material for longer periods of time, and save themselves hours of study time. The ten study methods researchers have found that work are:
1. Making and Keeping a Study Schedule
Set aside certain hours of each day for study just as you do for nourishment and sleep. Keep the same schedule faithfully from day-to-day. The amount of time needed for study will vary for each individual based on skills with the subject matter. An average of two hours of study each day for each hour in class is recommended. Going to class is only the beginning; the real work begins afterwards!
2. Studying in an Appropriate Setting — Same Time, Same Place, Every Day
If concentration is your problem, then the right surroundings will help you greatly. Your study desk or table should be in a quiet place – free from as many distractions as possible. You will concentrate better when you study in the same place every day. It’s a mind set. For example, when you sit down at the kitchen table, you expect to eat. When you sit down in an easy chair, you watch TV, etc. Developing the habit of studying in the same place at the same time everyday will improve your concentration.
3. Equipping Your Study Area With All the Materials You Need
Your study desk or table should be equipped with all the materials you might need to complete the assignment, e.g., pencils, pens, erasers, paper clips, stapler, dictionary, snacks, and liquid refreshments, etc. For some assignments, you may require a calculator or other supplies. With your materials at hand, you can study without interruption. If you have an answering machine, let it do its job during your study time. You can return the calls after you have finished studying. Taking your snack food and drinks to the study location will eliminate those endless trips to the kitchen which break your concentration.
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| Image by Luana Fischer Ferreira - Banco Imágenes INTEF |
Can you imagine an athlete-in-training waiting for inspiration to strike to practice in preparation for an event? Of course not. They train daily to stay competitive whether they want to or not. Like the athlete, you must get in training for tests and examinations by doing the assignments and preparing daily through review to be ready for the action.
5. Keeping a Well-Kept Notebook Improves Grades
Researchers tell us that there is definitely a relationship between orderliness and high grades. Knowing where to find your materials when you need them is crucial. Keep a special section for each subject in your notebook as well as a semester calendar so that you can write down all important assignments as they are announced. Having all of this information together in one place is vital to your success. A well-kept notebook is a part of good time management. If you’ve ever misplaced an important assignment, you know how much valuable time can be lost looking for it.
6. Keeping a Careful Record of Assignments
Put it down in black and white—including the details—and keep it in your notebook. Knowing just what you are expected to do and when you are expected to do it is the first giant step toward completing important assignments successfully and on time.
7. Making Use of “Trade Secrets”
Flash cards aren’t just for kids! They are a legitimate study tool. Use the front of the card to write an important term, and on the back, write a definition or an important fact about that term. Carry your flash cards with you. Use them during “dead time,” such as standing in a check-out line, waiting in a doctor or dentist’s office, riding a bus, or waiting at the Laundromat. Keep a set in the glove compartment of your car for long lines at your favorite fast food drive-in restaurant or bank. Post them on your bathroom mirror to review while shaving or applying make-up. You’ll be surprised how much you can accomplish during those otherwise “dead times.” Think about developing your own “trade secrets” that will improve your study skills.
8. Taking Good Notes as Insurance Against Forgetting
Learn to take good notes efficiently as your instructors stress important points in class and as you study your assignments. Good notes are a “must” for just-before-test-reviewing. Without notes, you will need to reread and review the entire assignment before a test. This may require you to read anywhere from 100-300 pages of material in one sitting. With notes, you can recall the main points in just a fraction of the time. The time you spend in note taking is not lost , but in fact, is a time-saver.
9. Overlearning Material Enhances Memory
Psychologists tell us that the secret to learning for future reference is overlearning. Experts suggest that after you can say, “I know this material,” that you should continue to study that material for an additional one-fourth of the original study time. The alphabet is an example of overlearning. How did you learn it? Probably through recitation which is the best way to etch material into the memory trace. Manipulate the material as many different ways as possible by writing, reading, touching, hearing, and saying it. In an experimental study, students who overlearned material retained four times as much after a month than students who didn’t overlearn.
10. Reviewing Material Frequently
A student who does not review material can forget 80% of what has been learned in only two weeks! The first review should come very shortly after the material was first presented and studied. Reviewing early acts as a safeguard against forgetting and helps you remember far longer. Frequent reviews throughout the course will bring rewards at test time and will alleviate pre-test anxiety.
Although these ten study methods do work, there is one other component needed when using all of them – taking responsibility for studying by following through on assignments. All the study methods in the world won’t help you if you don’t help yourself. As with most everything in your life, your motto should be, “I’m responsible for my success!”
If you put forth the effort to study effectively, the improved skills will soon become a habit and be just as natural as breathing. The result can be better grades, greater knowledge, and higher self-esteem. These skills will also serve you well in your professional and personal life.
ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS:
- Choose the most important three techniques in your opinion.
- Which other technique or techniques would you add?
- Which is the least important? Why?
- According to the text, what should you do in class?
- And, what should you do at home?
- What will happen to a student who does not work after school times?
- How can ICTs (Information and Computer Technologies) help you follow the advice given in the text?
Sunday, 11 November 2018
Singles' Day
Singles' Day or Guanggun Jie is a holiday popular among young Chinese people that celebrate their pride in being single. The date, November 11th (11/11), was chosen because the number "1" resembles an individual who is alone. The holiday has also become a popular date to celebrate relationships, with over 4,000 couples being married in Beijing on this date in 2011, compared to an average of 700 a day.
The holiday has become the largest offline and online shopping day in the world, with Alibaba shoppers exceeding 168.2 billion yuan (US$25.4 billion) in spending during the 2017 celebration.Rival JD.com hosts an eleven day shopping festival as well, which garnered US$19.1 billion, bringing the Chinese total to US$44.5 billion.
Origins
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| Image by Chrionexfleckeri1350 |
Chinese Singles' Day, or Bachelors' Day, originated at Nanjing University in 1993. Singles' Day celebrations spread to several other universities in Nanjing during the 1990s. The holiday was named "Singles' Day" because its date, 11/11 (November 11), consists of four "ones," representing four singles.
There are several theories explaining the creation of the Singles' Day festival.The most widely accepted theory is that the holiday grew out of Nanjing University's dorm culture. One origin story is that in 1993, four male students of Nanjing University's Mingcaowuzhu ("All single men") dorm discussed how they could break away from the monotony of being single and agreed that November 11 would be a day of events and celebrations in honor of being single.These activities spread through the university and eventually made their way into wider society. The spread increased with social media use, and the event has become increasingly popular within contemporary Chinese culture and society.
An apocryphal theory is based around the love story of a Nanjing University student called Mu Guang Kun, known as Guang Gun. The story goes that his girlfriend was diagnosed with cancer during his second year at the university and eventually died. The distraught Guang Gun took to placing candles on nearby rooftops in memory of his lover, and on his birthday in the subsequent year, his roommates joined him to keep him company. After this, the day became a holiday at the university and grew to become the national, commercialized festival that is celebrated today.
Description
Singles' Day serves as an occasion for single people to meet and for parties to be organized. The holiday was initially only celebrated by young men, hence the initial name "Bachelors' Day." However, it is now widely celebrated by both sexes. "Blind date" parties are popular on this day, in an attempt to alter the single status of the participants. Some universities organize special programs to gather singles together for the celebration. Singles may take on an annoyed or self-deprecating attitude in response to remaining single as a university student, but university initiatives have helped curb that negativity.Although this date is meant to celebrate singlehood, the desire to find a spouse or partner is often expressed by young Chinese people on this date, while other love-related issues are discussed by the Chinese media.
Shopping
The event is not an officially recognized public holiday in China, although it has become the largest offline and online shopping day in the world. Sales in Alibaba's sites, Tmalland Taobao, have reached US$5.8 billion in 2013, US$9.3 billion in 2014, US$14.3 billion in 2015, US$17.8 billion in 2016, and over US$25.4 billion in 2017. JD.com also achieved a sales record of US$19.1 billion in 2017, while Lazada drums up US$123 million.
As more people join in the celebration of this holiday many companies have taken the opportunity to target younger consumers; including businesses such as restaurants, karaokeparlors, and online shopping malls. For example, the Chinese online shopping mall Taobao sold goods worth 19 billion CNY (about US$3 billion) on November 11, 2012.
On Singles' Day 2017, Alibaba set a world record for most payment transactions during the festival. Its mobile wallet app Alipay processed 256,000 payment transactions per second. A total of 1.48 billion transactions were processed by Alipay in the entire 24 hours, with delivery orders through Cainiao (Alibaba's logistics affiliate) reaching close to 700 million, breaking the previous record set in 2016.The event is now nearly four times the size of America's biggest shopping days, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
2011 marked the "Singles Day of the Century" (Shiji Guanggun Jie) as this date had six "ones" rather than four, increasing the significance of the occasion.In 2011, an above-average number of marital celebrations occurred in Hong Kong and Beijing on November 11.
Symbolism
The following symbolism has been associated with the special date:
"1": The digit 1 symbolizes an individual, a single person
"11": Two individuals, finding each other, and being together on one side of the special date (11.11)
2 x (11): A celebration of 2 (and more) different and separate couples, each comprising two single individuals finding each other on the special date (11.11)
In addition to meaning "single", the Chinese pronunciation of 11/11 sounds similar to the pronunciation of the expression "one life, one lifetime" ( 一生一世, yi sheng yi shi), a basis for the date's popularity for celebrating relationships among couples as well.
Outside China
Singles' Day has since been popularized through the internet and is now observed at several places outside of China as well. The holiday has particularly grown in Southeast Asia, with customers in the Lazada's Southeast Asian marketplaces ordering 6.5 million items in 2017. This is in part thanks to heavy promotions by the Lazada group in this region.
Mediamarkt, a German company, promotes Singles' Day in their stores. Belgian Mediamarkt also participates, but reactions have been negative since the 11th of November is the anniversary of the Armistice of 11 November 1918 that ended World War I, and the day is associated with somber commemoration of the war dead in Belgium.
text taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singles%27_Day
QUESTIONS:
- Why is Singles' Day celebrated today (on November 11th)?
- What other festivity is celebrated on the same date in Europe?
- Is this date just a commercial event?
- Who benefits from this celebration?
- Do you know any similar celebrations? Which ones? Why are they similar?
Sunday, 14 October 2018
Giving directions
QUESTIONS:
- Where is a/the ...?
- Where can I find...?
- Where can I buy...?
- Where can I do/go/eat...?
- Where is the best ... in Lugo?
- Are there any... in Lugo?
- How do I get to...?
ANSWERS:
Directions 3-4 de Ana Arias Castro
- Sure / Of course
- Take the first/second/third turning on the left/right
- Go straight on / Go straight ahead
- Turn right / Turn left
- It's next to...
- It's opposite...
- It's near...
- It's between the ... and the ...
- It's on the corner.
- It's on your left / right
Directions 3-4 de Ana Arias Castro
Tuesday, 25 September 2018
Speaking topics about food and nutrition
- Do you like cooking? Is the food you cook at home better than convenience foods?
- Which healthy food do you like?
- Which unhealthy food do you like?
- Do you think that you eat a “balanced diet”? What is a “balanced diet”?
- What does the “Mediterranean diet” include? What does it NOT include?
- What advice would you give somebody who wants to have a good, balanced diet?
- Do you take any action to consume less salt, fat or sugar? Do you think people should reduce their salt, fat or sugar intake?
- Do you think that a vegetarian diet could be healthy? In what ways do you think it might be good and in what ways bad?
- What is "junk food"? Why is it called "junk"? Is there a difference between junk food and fast food? If so, what is it?
- If you had to chose between junk food and your heath? Which would you go for ? Why is it so tasty/popular?
- How does advertising influence the way we eat?
- If you have a garden do you grow your own fruit or vegetables? Which ones?
- How much difference is there between things grown at home and those bought at the supermarket?
- How has food, eating and drinking culture changed in the last decades?
- Why have cooking TV programmes become so popular?
Tuesday, 26 June 2018
Wednesday, 9 May 2018
Subject / Object questions
Most questions are object questions. They ask about an object.
SOME MORE EXERCISES:
- Where do you live?
- Who did you see?
- Who plays football in this class?
- What happened?
- Which machine did Marconi invent?
| Form | Examples |
| Object Questions wh- + auxiliary + subject + main verb | Where do you live? What will you do? When is she coming? |
| Subject Questions wh- (=subject) + auxiliary + main verb Notice that this structure is like affirmative sentence structure without the question word. | Who loves you? Which car will arrive first? What type of food costs less? |
SOME MORE EXERCISES:
Tuesday, 8 May 2018
Directions: Where is...?
QUESTIONS:
- Where is a/the ...?
- Where can I find...?
- Where can I buy...?
- Where can I do/go/eat...?
- Where is the best ... in Lugo?
- Are there any... in Lugo?
- How do I get to...?
ANSWERS:
Directions 3-4 de Ana Arias Castro
- Sure / Of course
- Take the first/second/third turning on the left/right
- Go straight on / Go straight ahead
- Turn right / Turn left
- It's next to...
- It's opposite...
- It's near...
- It's between the ... and the ...
- It's on the corner.
- It's on your left / right
Directions 3-4 de Ana Arias Castro
Sunday, 6 May 2018
Wednesday, 25 April 2018
Monday, 23 April 2018
Sunday, 22 April 2018
Earth Day Doodle
Watch this video (without or with subtitles) and try to answer the following questions:
SOME QUESTIONS:
- Can you say something about Jane Goodall's childhood?
- How did Jane feel one day at Gombe National Park?
- What is her message to all of us?
Wednesday, 7 March 2018
Sunday, 18 February 2018
Basic vocabulary about geographical features
What is it?
It's an island.
It's a mountain.
It's an ocean.
It's a lake.
It's a river.
It's a desert.
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| Image by Pais / Frysch - CC-BY-SA-3.0 |
It's an island.
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| Image by Paxson Woelber - CC-BY-SA-3.0 |
It's a mountain.
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| Image by Tiago Fioreze - CC-BY-SA-3.0 |
It's an ocean.
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| Image by Daniel Mayer (Mav) - CC-BY-SA-3.0 |
It's a lake.
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| Image by Prankster - CC-Zero |
It's a river.
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| Image by Wonker - CC-BY-2.0 |
It's a desert.
Saturday, 6 January 2018
Reading comprehension text: How to Save Money
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| image from Wikipedia |
- Record your expenses. The first step to saving money is to figure out how much you spend. Keep track of all your expenses—that means every coffee, newspaper and snack you buy. Ideally, you can account for every penny. Once you have your data, organize the numbers by categories, such as gas, groceries and mortgage, and total each amount. Consider using your credit card or bank statements to help you with this. If you bank online, you may be able to filter your statements to easily break down your spending.
- Make a budget.Once you have an idea of what you spend in a month, you can begin to organize your recorded expenses into a workable budget. Your budget should outline how your expenses measure up to your income—so you can plan your spending and limit overspending. In addition to your monthly expenses, be sure to factor in expenses that occur regularly but not every month, such as car maintenance.
- Plan on saving money. Now that you’ve made a budget, create a savings category within it. Try to put away 10–15 percent of your income as savings. If your expenses are so high that you can’t save that much, it might be time to cut back. To do so, identify non-essentials that you can spend less on, such as entertainment and dining out. We’ve put together ideas for saving money every day as well as cutting back on your fixed monthly expenses.
- Choose something to save for. One of the best ways to save money is to set a goal. Start by thinking of what you might want to save for—anything from a down payment for a house to a vacation—then figure out how long it might take you to save for it. If you need help figuring out a time frame, try Bank of America’s savings goal calculator. Here are some examples of short- and long-term goals:
- Short-term (1–3 years)
- Emergency fund (3–9 months of living expenses, just in case)
- Vacation
- Down payment for a car
- Long-term (4+ years)
- Retirement*
- Your child’s education*
- Down payment on a home or a remodeling project
- Decide on your priorities. After your expenses and income, your goals are likely to have the biggest impact on how you save money. Be sure to remember long-term goals—it’s important that planning for retirement doesn’t take a back seat to shorter-term needs. Prioritizing goals can give you a clear idea of where to start saving. For example, if you know you’re going to need to replace your car in the near future, you could start putting money away for one.
- Choose the right tools.Ask your bank about the best financial products for your needs.
- Make saving automatic. Almost all banks offer automated transfers between your checking and savings accounts. You can choose when, how much and where to transfer money to, or even split your direct deposit between your checking and savings accounts. Automated transfers are a great way to save money since you don’t have to think about it and it generally reduces the temptation to spend the money instead.
- Watch your savings grow. Check your progress every month. Not only will this help you stick to your personal savings plan but it also helps you identify and fix problems quickly. These simple ways to save money may even inspire you to save more and hit your goals faster.
SOME BASIC VOCABULARY:
- budget: an estimate of expected income and expenses
- to record: to set down in writing or the like
- savings: money saved by economy and put in a safe place:
- income: the monetary payment received for goods or services, or from other sources, as rents or investments.
- savings account: a bank account on which interest is paid, traditionally one for which a bankbook is used to record deposits, withdrawals, and interest payments.
- expenses: a cause or occasion of spending
- goal: the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end:
- long-term: covering or involving a relatively long period of time:
- short-term: covering or involving a short period of time:
QUESTIONS:
- Do any of the tips above apply to you? How could you save money?
- Which other ideas would you add?
Tuesday, 10 October 2017
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