504 Absolutely Essential Words: Lesson 13.

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Complete the sentences. Use the present simple passive form of the verbs.

1. This book isn’t written (not write) in English

. 2. Many films are produced (produce) in Hollywood.

3. The Olympic Games isn’t held (not hold)every year.

4. Chocolate is made (make)from cocoa beans.

5. Thousands of Beatles CDs are sold (sell) every year.

6. How many cans of coke are bought(buy) every day?

7. How often is the World Cup held (hold)?

b. Complete the sentences. Use the correct form of let or be allowed to.

1. We let (+) our dog go into the living room, but she isn’t allowed to (-) go into the bedrooms.

2. We aren’t allowed to (-) eat in class.

3. My parents let (-) me play footbal in the garden.

4. You are allowed to (+) take photographs here.

5. My brother let not(+) me use his camera.

6. In Britain, when you’re 17 you are allowed to (+) drive a car.

c. Complete the sentences. Use the correct form of the present perfect simple and for or since.

1. I haven’t eaten (not eat) any fast food since last month.

2. My dad has been(be) ill in bed for four days

. 3. My cousins have lived (live) in their house for 20 years.

4. I haven’t seen (not see)Jane since 10 o’clock.

5. I really like this CD, but I haven’t listened (not listen) to it for a long time.

6. My sister’s boyfriend has phoned (phone) her eight times since Friday!

7. We haven’t eaten(not eat) anything since breakfast.

Adult

Young

Child

Middle

Elderly

Pensioner

Teenager

b. Complete the sentences with make or have. Use the correct forms. 1. Come on, Ken. These jeans look awful. Don’t make a fool of yourself. 2. She’s delightful. She always makes me smile. 3. I think it’s great to be with friends and have a good laugh! 4. Are you haveany new plans since we last met? 5. You cannot always have a good time. Life isn’t always easy!

Prepositions of time

Complete the sentences with the correct preposition.  Choose in, on or at.

1. I wake up at 7.00.
2. I sometimes work on Saturdays.
3. I never work at the weekends.
4. I see my family on Christmas.
5. I go on holiday in August.
6. I go to bed at 11 p.m.
7. I watch TV in the evening.
8. I do my English homework at night.
9. I read the newspaper in the morning.
10. I have lunch at 1.30 p.m.
11. I always go out on Friday nights.
12. I go to a restaurant on New Year’s Eve.
13. I start a new school year inSeptember.
14. I go skiing in the winter.
15. I was born in 1977.
16. I get up late in Saturday mornings.
17. I usually have a cup of coffee in the afternoons.
18. My birthday is in July.
19. The party is on the first of October.
20. We have a meeting on the first Thursday of the month.

II. Fill in the correct form of the verb given.

1. Who is he writing to? – He is writingto his sister Maria, who is usually in England at this time of the year. (HE WRITE, WRITE, BE)
2. Marty was smoking just when his mother came into his room. (SMOKE, COME)
3. She left an hour ago and hasn’t comeback yet. (LEAVE, NOT COME)
4. I usually drink tea with milk, but I like to have my coffee black. (DRINK, LIKE)
5. When I was in school, I knew a student who hadn’t failed a test in his whole life. (KNOW, NOT FAIL)
6. You can’t go into her room. She is sleeping and you shouldn’t wake her. (SLEEP)
7. I have never felt better in my life. I hope it stays that way. (NEVER FEEL, STAY)
8. We didn’t go outside yesterday because it was raining the whole day. Maybe we will go tomorrow. (NOT GO, RAIN, GO)
9. While Mom was working in the garden, she hurt her back. She went to the doctor who told her that she wouldhave to rest for a few days. (WORK, HURT, GO, WILL)
10. My sister has working hard for school recently. She’s got a few tests coming up next week. (WORK)
11. The results were better than I had expected. (EXPECT)
12. Nobody was in the car, even though the engine was running. (RUN)
13. I went into the garden to see what the boys were doing. (DO)
14. All your fingers are brown. You smoke too much. (SMOKE)
15. When I saw him last, he hadn’t beenmarried for so long. (NOT BE)
16. I have just heard that his brother has been travelling around in Australia. (JUST HEAR, TRAVEL)
17. Do you sleep the whole morning? – I have been trying to call you for over an hour. (YOU SLEEP, TRY)
18. After he had read the letter, he threwit away. (READ, THROW)
19. I haven’t read today’s newspaper. – Have you seen it anywhere? (NOT READ, YOU SEE)
20. Jake has been coaching my sister for over a year. She is had some very good results lately. (COACH, HAVE)

III. Fill in the correct form of the words in brackets (comparative or superlative).

1. My house is bigger than yours.
2. This flower is more beautiful than that one.
3. This is the most interesting book I have ever read.
4. Non-smokers usually live longer than smokers.
5. Which is the most dangerous animal in the world?
6. A holiday by the sea is batter than a holiday in the mountains.
7. It is strange but often a coke is more expensive than a beer.
8. Who is the richest woman on earth?
9. The weather this summer is even wore than last summer.
10. He was the cleverest thief of all.

Changing plans

Preparation

Write the words in the correct groups.

a ballet, an artist, a concert, a show, a band, a group, a theatre, a play, a musician, a cinema, an opera house, a gallery

Entertainment events

• a concert
• a ballet
• a play
• a show

Places for entertainment

• a theatre
• an opera house
• a cinema
• a gallery

People and entertainment

• a band
• an artist
• a musician
• a group

Reading text

Francesco: Sachi? Sachi? Sachiko!
Sachi: Francesco! Is everything OK?
Francesco: Yes. Yes. Sorry, I saw you and I was across the street … I ran.
Sachi: I see. What’s up?
Francesco: Do you have the tickets … for the play?
Sachi: No, I don’t. I’m going to buy them this afternoon.
Francesco: Oh good, good. Listen, don’t buy tickets for this Friday.
Sachi: Oh? Why not?
Francesco: I can’t go to the theatre on Friday. Something’s come up. I have a concert this Friday.
Sachi: Another concert? But you said …
Francesco: I know, I know. I’m sorry. I forgot.
Sachi: Francesco!
Francesco: How about next week? Are you free then? I can definitely go next Friday.
Sachi: Francesco. You did this two weeks ago, remember? I had cinema tickets for the new Marvel movie and you changed the plans then too. For band practice.
Francesco: I know, and I …
Sachi: We also missed my favourite dance group. Because your band was playing at some child’s birthday party.
Francesco: It was my nephew’s birthday …
Sachi: Ha!
Francesco: OK, why don’t we go out for dinner before my concert? Then, next Friday we can go to the play.
Sachi: Oh …
Francesco: Come on, Sachi. Just this one more time.
Sachi: OK, but promise me next Friday. OK?
Francesco: I promise. I promise!

Tasks

I. Listen and choose Francesco (the man) or Sachi (the woman) to complete the sentences.

1. Francesco runs across the street.
2. Sachi is going to buy tickets for the play.
3. Francesco can’t go to the play this Friday.
4. Francesco is a musician.
5. Sachi isn’t happy about the situation.
6. Two weeks ago Sachi had tickets to the cinema.
7. Sachi likes dance shows.
8. Francesco suggests that they go out to dinner.

II. Complete the sentences with the phrases in the box.

go next Friday, next Friday, the theatre on Friday, out for dinner, I forgot, free then

1. I can’t go to the theatre on Friday.
2. How about next Friday?
3. Are you free then?
4. I can definitely go next Friday.
5. Why don’t we go out for dinner?
6. I’m sorry, I forgot.

Fake news, homework

Tasks

I. Circle the best title for the text.

a. Experts share dangers of fake news
b. Experts share top tips for resisting fake news
c. How to create fake news: a guide
d. Tips on how to read the news online

II. Circle the correct answers.

1. Which reason is NOT given for an online fake news story?

a. To convince people of a political view
b. To make people angry or sad
c. To plant a virus in your computer

2. The text says some fake news …

a. is easy to recognise as fake.
b. is funny.
c. comes from the political right.

3. Which of these may mean that a news site should not be trusted?

a. The text is well written.
b. The site has a variety of other stories.
c. The site’s ‘About’ page does not clearly describe the organisation.

4. Some images on fake news …

a. are real images, but come from a different website.
b. are images that have been changed.
c. both the above

5. Fake news stories …

a. are usually only on fake news sites or social media.
b. are not on any websites, only in social media.
c. are often hidden on real news sites.

6. Many fake news stories are written …

a. without capital letters and with terrible spelling.
b. in a way that makes people upset.
c. inside of advertisements that pop up on your screen.

7. What should you do with fake news?

a. Report it to the police
b. Make a note of it for reference
c. Not show it to other people online

8. What is the purpose of this article?

a. To complain
b. To inform
c. To entertain

Easter in our family

Easter is very important day for us. In the morning we go to church. It’s very important tradition for us. Then we start paint eggs and baking Easter cakes. For every Easter we eat eggs, fish, rise and cabbage rolls. Then at 5pm mom alone goes to church. Before that she 47 days was fasting and in church she gets blessing and the fasting ends. Then we take our cooked dishes and drive to grandma’s house to eat that all. Wine is most important alcohol. My mom thinks, that everyone, who was fasting, in Easter must drink wine. Our day passes fast and so good. Easter is one of my fav celebrations, because in this day I feel protected and connected with church and Jesus.

Easter

The meaning of Easter

Easter is a Christian festival which marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For many Christians, Easter is a celebration of the triumph of life over death, and a very important time of the year. Many non-Christians also have a holiday at this time, so it is a popular time to travel or spend with friends and family. We see lots of symbols of new life at Easter, especially eggs, chicks, flowers and rabbits. These symbols go back to ancient pagan traditions which celebrated fertility, rebirth and new growth after the long, winter months.

When it is celebrated

The dates of Easter change from year to year but it usually falls sometime between the end of March and the end of April. In Western Christianity, Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring, which starts on 21 March. The Eastern Orthodox churches, which use a different calendar, have a slightly different way of calculating Easter and usually celebrate Easter a little earlier or later.

Holy Week

The week before Easter is called Holy Week. The first day of Holy Week is Palm Sunday, which is the Sunday before Easter. Many Christians celebrate this as the day that Jesus entered Jerusalem and people threw down branches from palm trees on the road to welcome him. Four days later is Maundy Thursday, which marks the Last Supper, when Jesus ate bread and drank wine with his twelve disciples. The following day is Good Friday, which is significant for Christians as the day that Jesus was put to death on the cross. Many Christians believe that Jesus was killed and buried in a tomb on the Friday and that God raised him from the dead on the Sunday. So Easter Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. 

How Easter is celebrated

In many countries there are religious processions during Holy Week, and practising Christians attend special church services. On Palm Sunday, many churches bless palm branches and people put them on the ground during processions to mark the day that Jesus arrived in Jerusalem. The Last Supper on Maundy Thursday is celebrated in many Christian traditions in the form of the Communion, when believers share bread and wine. Good Friday is traditionally a day of fasting, reflection and sadness. A lot of church services start at midnight the night before Easter Sunday with the lighting of candles or, in Greece, fireworks. This represents the triumph of light over darkness. On Easter Sunday, churches are filled with flowers representing new life, and at home chocolate Easter eggs are given as presents.

Other Easter traditions

There are many different Easter traditions around the world. In some places, people eat lamb on Easter Sunday, but there are many other foods, such as hot cross buns – spiced, sweet bread buns made with raisins – that are traditional in the UK. 

In some places in Eastern Europe, boys and girls throw water at each other, while in Corfu, Greece, there is a tradition of throwing pots and pans out of windows and from balconies, breaking them on the street. In the United States, a tradition of wearing new clothes at Easter has evolved into making Easter bonnets – fancy hats decorated with flowers, rabbits and other symbols of spring. For fans of crime fiction, Norway is the place to be at Easter, when it has become traditional to read crime novels and solve mysteries.

Eggs are a popular part of Easter celebrations. Traditionally, people paint chicken eggs and decorate them with bright colours to give as presents. Nowadays, chocolate eggs are more popular than the traditional kind, especially with children. They are often hidden around the house and garden so that children can find them in an Easter egg hunt.

Task 1

Task 2

Digital habits across generations

Today’s grandparents are joining their grandchildren on social media, but the different generations’ online habits couldn’t be more different. In the UK the over-55s are joining Facebook in increasing numbers, meaning that they will soon be the site’s second biggest user group, with 3.5 million users aged 55–64 and 2.9 million over-65s.

Sheila, aged 59, says, ‘I joined to see what my grandchildren are doing, as my daughter posts videos and photos of them. It’s a much better way to see what they’re doing than waiting for letters and photos in the post. That’s how we did it when I was a child, but I think I’m lucky I get to see so much more of their lives than my grandparents did.’

Ironically, Sheila’s grandchildren are less likely to use Facebook themselves. Children under 17 in the UK are leaving the site – only 2.2 million users are under 17 – but they’re not going far from their smartphones. Chloe, aged 15, even sleeps with her phone. ‘It’s my alarm clock so I have to,’ she says. ‘I look at it before I go to sleep and as soon as I wake up.’

Unlike her grandmother’s generation, Chloe’s age group is spending so much time on their phones at home that they are missing out on spending time with their friends in real life. Sheila, on the other hand, has made contact with old friends from school she hasn’t heard from in forty years. ‘We use Facebook to arrange to meet all over the country,’ she says. ‘It’s changed my social life completely.’

Teenagers might have their parents to thank for their smartphone and social media addiction as their parents were the early adopters of the smartphone. Peter, 38 and father of two teenagers, reports that he used to be on his phone or laptop constantly. ‘I was always connected and I felt like I was always working,’ he says. ‘How could I tell my kids to get off their phones if I was always in front of a screen myself?’ So, in the evenings and at weekends, he takes his SIM card out of his smartphone and puts it into an old-style mobile phone that can only make calls and send text messages. ‘I’m not completely cut off from the world in case of emergencies, but the important thing is I’m setting a better example to my kids and spending more quality time with them.’

Is it only a matter of time until the generation above and below Peter catches up with the new trend for a less digital life?

Task 1

Task 2

How does laughter help our health?

Studies have shown that a sense of humor can improve your mental and physical health, boost your attractiveness, and improve your leadership skills.

There are a variety of theories and styles of humor, each of which can improve your understanding of the subject.

Humor may be a critical life skill, but can it be taught?

Mark Twain said that “Humor is the great thing, the saving thing after all. The minute it crops up, all our hardnesses yield, all our irritations, and resentments flit away, and a sunny spirit takes their place.” He’s certainly not wrong. Humor may very well be the great thing. It touches upon nearly every facet of life—90% of men and 81% of women report that a sense of humor is the most important quality in a partner, it’s a crucial quality for leaders, and it’s even been shown to improve cancer treatments. There’s no doubt that humor is a life skill that everybody needs. But how do we define humor, and can it be taught?

What is humor?

The best way to kill a joke is to explain it, but psychologists have tried to do so anyhow. There are three main theories on what humor is and where it comes from. Relief theory argues that laughter and humor are ways of blowing off psychological steam, a way to release psychic energy. That’s why jokes told at funerals are often met not with the silence that a somber occasion like that would merit but with uproarious laughter instead.

Exercise B p48

Doctors think that laughing has no effect on health. FALSE

Red nose day is celebrated in England every spring. FALSE

People have celebrated the Red Nose Day for more than 40 years. FALSE

Comic Relief collects money to help poor people. TRUE

Some people in England have put big red noses on the fronts of cars and houses. TRUE

exercise C page49

2. My mum has worked in this hospital for 3 years.

3. Has Maria lived here for a long time?

4. How long have your parents been married?

5. I haven’t seen my friend Tom for a long time.

6. Diana and Jenny have been friends since 2004.

exercise D

For-

a week, an hour, a month, a long time, days, two years

since-

yesterday, Christmas, 1999, Saturday, I was 11, last weekend

A weather forecast

Hello and good morning! Well, we’re off to a good start in the south this week, as most of the rain from the weekend has disappeared – just a few patches of cloud and maybe some showers here on the east coast. They’ll all clear up by lunchtime, though. Over the next day or so, London and the area around Kent can expect a couple of isolated showers, but mostly dry through until Thursday.

It’s not such good news for the north-west this week, I’m afraid: more wet weather, and not a lot of sunshine. Some of today’s showers will be heavy – and even thundery in Manchester and across the Pennines. Leeds will escape the thunderstorms, with drizzle and light rain only throughout the rest of the day and tonight.

Elsewhere it becomes dry today, but with some foggy patches towards Wales. In England, tomorrow morning will see a dry, bright start in most places, with high temperatures throughout the week. We might see one or two thunderstorms appearing as the week goes on, with temperatures everywhere at 29 to 30 degrees. 

By the weekend, unfortunately, the dry weather will make way for mostly cloudy skies and rain. The rain will move from Scotland, down towards the north and reach the south coast by Saturday afternoon. Temperatures, at least, will stay mostly warm at around 21 degrees for the weekend. It might feel like a nice change from the high twenties and early thirties we’ll see in the week. That’s all from me until tomorrow. Enjoy the mini-heatwave while you can!

Task 1

Task 2