01 - Cuadernillo de Cátedra Introductorio 2019 PDF

Introducción a la Lengua Inglesa
Universidad Nacional del Comahue

Facultad de Lenguas
Profesorado y Traductorado en Inglés
Cuadernillo de Cátedra Introductorio
Introducción a la
Lengua Inglesa
Equipo de Cátedra
Prof. Mg. Ma. del Mar Valcarce Prof. Mg. Ma. Jesús Luna
Prof. Ma. Adela García Álvarez Prof. Carla Valls
Prof. Esp. José Andrés Sobrino Prof. Nadia Fernández
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Table of Contents
 Introducción a la vida universitaria………………………….…….. 3
 Useful tips ……………………………………………………………….…….. 7
 Reading comprehension …………………………………………………. 12
 Use of English …………………………………………………………………..22
 Writing ……………………………………………………………………….…….27
 Punctuation ………………………………………………………….………... 37
 Sample tests ……………….…………………………………………………..40
 Bibliographical References ………………………………………….…..45
 Appendix - Vocabulary……………………………………………..…….. 46
 Appendix - Grammar………………………………………………..…….. 77
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Carta para Ingresantes a la Universidad
Vida Universitaria... ¿Vida?
Queridos ingresantes:
Como el título lo indica, el ingreso a la universidad implica un gran
cambio en la vida de cualquier estudiante. En nada se compara la "vida universitaria" con las
rutinas estudiantiles de los niveles secundarios. El propósito de esta carta no es ahuyentarlos. Al
contrario, queremos prepararlos de antemano, advertirlos y mostrarles un camino con menos
obstáculos.
Un montañista bien preparado llegará exitosamente a la cima.
Dicho cambio no sólo tiene que ver con los hábitos de estudio, sino también
con la adopción de conductas y actitudes un tanto más maduras, más
responsables y más autónomas. Estas conductas son muy necesarias para lograr
un exitoso comienzo y desempeño en esta nueva vida universitaria.
¿Te animás?
Creemos que tomaste la decisión correcta. La decisión de ingresar a la

universidad demuestra tus aspiraciones por superarte, progresar, y poder trabajar
de lo que elegiste en un futuro cercano.
¡Felicitaciones!
Estás a punto de comenzar un importantísimo proceso de transformaciones en tus

conocimientos, tus habilidades, tus hábitos de estudio y tu persona.
Como regalo de bienvenida, te regalamos las siguientes herramientas para que este
proceso de transformaciones sea inevitablemente exitoso...
¡Actitud positiva y optimista! Confianza en que contas con las capacidades de

lograrlo.
 ¡Fuerza de voluntad! En especial, cuando nos distraemos del objetivo.
 Constancia y preseverancia en el estudio y en la asistencia a clases.
 Organización de los tiempos de estudio, de los materiales y de los apuntes.
Una buena organización nos asegura un mayor control de nuestros tiempos y
nos ayuda a ordenar los pensamientos y los aprendizajes. ¡Una mente
ordenada rendirá mejor!
La asistencia a clases es fundamental, no sólo por un requerimiento para obtener la

regularidad, sino porque la construcción de aprendizajes se ve favorecida enormemente. Cursar
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una carrera es un compromiso que decidís tomar con tu futura vida profesional. Por eso, es
necesario que la asistencia a clases sea puntual para no interrumpir su dictado y la
concentración de tus compañeros, y para respetar la circulación de conocimientos en el aula. Es
importante que tu asistencia sea constante, dedicada y respetuosa, evitando salidas de las
aulas, el uso de celulares o distracciones que interrumpan o perjudiquen los procesos de
enseñanza-aprendizaje.
Luego de cada clase, es fundamental dedicar tiempo todos los días para estudiar los temas
vistos en clases. ¿Leíste bien?... Todos los días... Es decir, ¡todos! ¿Cuántas horas? Durante 4
(cuatro) o 6 (seis) horas por día. -¿Tanto?!! -¡Sí!-
ACTIVIDAD: ¿Qué es Estudiar? Lée los siguientes enunciados y marca cuál define "Estudiar
en la universidad":
a. Leer una o dos veces los contenidos vistos el día anterior al examen.
b. Leer analíticamente los contenidos trabajados, todos los días,

resaltar
información importante, re-organizar y reescribir la información,
realizar cuadros, redes conceptuales, síntesis, resúmenes, enriquecerlos con material extra,
conectar las ideas entre sí, retenerlas para poder aplicarlas.
Si elegiste la opción "b", el partido ya casi está ganado. ¡Felicitaciones, nuevamente!
La opción "b" responde, tal vez, la pregunta planteada en el título. La vida universitaria
requiere mucho esfuerzo, pero el esfuerzo puede llevarte a grandes satisfacciones y excelentes
logros en tu vida personal ¿Vale la pena? Claro que sí.
A continuación, te presentamos un material de estudio acerca de cómo abordar

sistemáticamente un libro de texto.
¿Cómo estudiar un libro de texto?
Gran parte de nuestra tarea universitaria estará dedicada al trabajo con material de lectura, los
libros, procurando comprenderlos para asimilar sus contenidos, ya que son los elementos claves
de todo proceso educacional de nivel superior.
¿Cómo abordar sistemáticamente un libro de texto?
Para empezar debemos adquirir una idea general de conjunto. Primer paso: “examinar”. Es
conveniente que comencemos por el examen del libro en su totalidad, sin omitir el título y el
sub-título. A continuación, es muy orientador que leamos el Prólogo y el Prefacio, pues allí el
autor suele explicar qué pretende, por qué y para quiénes
escribió el libro. Esto nos ayuda a tener una idea del material con
el cual contamos y vamos perfilando el modo de abordarlo.
Terminado el examen global del libro, debemos pasar a la
inspección de cada capítulo también como un todo, antes de
emprender la lectura corrida de la obra. Aquí también son
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importantes los títulos y sub-títulos porque indican las ideas principales y su organización
relativa del conjunto. En resumen, el primer paso consiste en examinar todo el libro,
globalmente, y luego, capítulo por capítulo, leyendo preferentemente los comienzos y las
conclusiones, y todo lo que el autor haya querido hacer resaltar como importante.
Segundo paso: “preguntar”. Esta etapa está muy relacionada con la anterior del “examinar”,
porque al tener una idea general del contenido de todo el libro y de los capítulos, estamos en
condiciones de ejercitar un método activo. En efecto, el examen, precisamente nos debe haber
dado ocasión de formularnos algunas preguntas. Es importante tener en cuenta estas preguntas
que nos hacemos sobre el libro para abordar el texto de diferentes perspectivas como lector
crítico.
Tercer paso: “Leer”. La lectura del libro no es una lectura fácil, sino que es la aplicación activa
del método que se pretende. El objetivo ahora es establecer un diálogo con el autor. En esta
etapa, leemos todo para captar las ideas principales en los diferentes niveles.
Cuarto paso: “Fijar". El estudio de un texto no termina con la lectura. Por más que hayamos
comprendido lo que hemos leído, este hecho no nos garantiza que podamos retener y recordar
en un tiempo posterior. Un modo eficaz de recordar consiste en escribir lo que se recuerda
después de haber leído las secciones intermedias de cada capítulo. De este modo, las ideas
principales de lo que leímos toman forma y las vamos aprendiendo e incorporando.
Quinto paso: “Repasar”. Es importante repasar para comprobar si lo que hemos comprendido es
correcto. Con este fin, leeremos nuevamente el texto comparándolo con las notas escritas, y
haciendo los ajustes necesarios.
Lo expuesto hasta el momento será útil para abordar el estudio de libros

de texto de asignaturas teóricas. ¿Pero cómo abordar el aprendizaje de un
idioma? En cuanto al aprendizaje del inglés, existen diferentes formas de
adquirir vocabulario, aprender las reglas gramaticales y practicar la
pronunciación de las palabras. A continuación, detallamos algunas de las
más comunes:
En relación al vocabulario, podemos registrar en un cuaderno lo que vamos aprendiendo día a

día en diferentes formas:
 Hacer listas de palabras con su pronunciación y significado categorizándolas por color.

Por ejemplo, los verbos de un color, los adjetivos de otro color, y los sustantivos de otro.
 Agrupar las palabras según los prefijos o sufijos de las mismas.
 Organizar, en el mismo cuaderno, las palabras por frases tales como „go shopping‟, „go
swimming‟, „go skiing‟.
 Clasificar los verbos según su patrón, agrupando los verbos que van seguidos de un
infinitivo, „ing‟, o una preposición.
 Combinar los adjetivos por oposición: „young-old‟, „tall-short‟.
Con respecto a la gramática del inglés, en el mismo cuaderno, podemos:
 Escribir diferentes ejemplos de cada tiempo verbal. Por ejemplo, en el caso de estar
aprendiendo el Presente Simple, se pueden crear ejemplos propios y a la vez profundizar
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sobre estos temas consultando libros de gramática, por ejemplo el libro Essential
Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy.
 De las producciones escritas: hacer una lista de los errores más comunes y la versión
correcta de los mismos. Antes de escribir una composición, revisar los errores más
comunes para no volverlos a cometer.
Finalmente, para practicar y pulir la pronunciación:

 Agrupar las palabras que comparten el mismo sonido: „pot-ought‟, „book-cook‟; o por
contraste de sonidos „ship-sheep‟, „cat-cut‟. Consultar la siguiente página:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/sounds/vowel_short_1.shtml
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Being a good learner of English means applying some strategies.

Here are some.
CLASSROOM RULES
Don’ts
 Don´t speak Spanish unless it is absolutely necessary.
 Don´t translate every single word you come across. English and Spanish
are different languages, so you may find equivalent expressions but not
identical ones.
 Don´t constantly resort to the bilingual dictionary.
 Don´t be pessimistic!
Dos
 Try to use the English you know, even if you make mistakes. We learn
through mistakes!
 Ask the teacher what a word means, or look it up in a monolingual
dictionary, or try to figure out the meaning of a word by the syntax of
the sentence, or by the overall meaning of the text.
 Practise your English regularly by:
a. Re-reading the notes taken in class;
b. Doing the homework every day;
c. Listening to audio material;
d. Watching TV and films in English;
e. Reading, reading and more reading.
Be positive! Take a positive attitude to language learning. Success is not remote!
There is no way to learn a second language without devoting time

to it, not just a good block of time each day, but rather a
significant segment out of the learner’s life.
(M.J. Wallace in Action Research for Language Teachers)
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Establishing good habits of study

Remember
Learning a foreign language requires small portions of attention and careful
study every day!
 Find a time when you are free to study and keep to it.
 Decide where you will work and keep to it.
 If you miss a study session, make it up. Don‟t postpone your work and get
behind.
 Make a plan of your study schedule, counting down from the
examination/test day, week by week until it is full.
 Be businesslike in your record keeping: have a working folder or file, and
date it each time you add to it.
 Complete work as you go along. If you have unfinished work, it will worry
you and so make it hard to proceed.
 Be disciplined about spending your scheduled time studying – not half of it
making coffee, or mate, and phone calls to friends-.
 Review what you have achieved each week. Make a note of where you
intend to start next session.
 Re-read the notes you have taken in class. Make a clean copy of them all,
completing them with more examples of your own or with examples taken
from reference books or dictionaries.
 Allow some time for the unexpected. You may be able to have a second
try at a piece of work that was on the wrong lines.
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Improving your level of English
READ IT
 Read as many English books, newspapers and magazines as you can find.
 The WWW is another resource waiting for you. Most of the information is in English!
 Choose English in the language settings of your social network accounts.
LISTEN TO IT
 Get hold of the audio-visual material the teacher presents to you. Re-listen to it or
review it at home, at your own pace.
 Watch films in English. Try not to read the subtitles, or try to match what you get
from the subtitles and what you hear.
 Concentrate on the general meaning, gestures, visual clues to help you along.
 If you drive, listen to audiofiles (music, podcasts, news, etc.); if you walk or jog,
listen to your MP3.
SPEAK IT
 Talk to friends who are also learning English. Make a rule that perhaps for an hour, or
when you go out together, you will only speak English to each other.
 If you meet English-speaking people, try to chat with them.
 Make use of Internet sites for learning English with native or non-native speakers.
WRITE IT
 Writing will help you consolidate what you have learnt.

 It will also help you organize your thoughts and ideas.
 It will help you remember vocabulary as well as structures, idioms and phrasal verbs.
STUDY IT
 Go through the notes the teacher gives you.

 Write down the phonetic script of each new word you come across.
 Copy each new work after you look it up in the dictionary.
 Make an intelligent use of the dictionary.
 If you need to know how to say a specific word in English, go to a bilingual dictionary.
Then go to an English-English one to check how it is used, how it collocates and how
it is pronounced.
 Copy from the dictionary a good example of a particular word in context. Then
provide one or two examples of your own.
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Getting ready for exams

 Go to bed early. Try to relax and don‟t revise late.
 Have a good breakfast and set off early so that you won‟t panic if you
are delayed on the journey.
 Remember that it is natural to be nervous.
 When you get the test, read all the instructions carefully once or
twice.
 Notice which questions have more marks. Do those first.
 Check if there are any word limits. If so, keep to them.
 Make sure you keep to the point. Check for relevance.
 If you make mistakes, cross out boldly what is wrong and rewrite it.
 Time your answers so that you will finish your test in due time.
 Try to leave some minutes to look over your answer as éditor´ to pick
up any careless errors –especially in the composition-.
 If you have written continuation parts – afterthoughts- make sure they
are already labeled with the number of the question they relate to.
 Finally, you can hand your test in, feeling that you have tried to do
your best!
Adapted from Cripps E. (1997). Longman English Tips Book. London: Longman.
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This section presents a set of texts from different sources that

illustrate diverse genres (a letter, a book page or a magazine
article). Some texts are preceded by a few pre-reading
questions, which prepare the ground for what is to follow.
There are some reading tasks to develop microskills such as
reading for a gist, skimming and scanning. The post-reading
activities aim at developing other microskills such as
understanding specific points, selecting relevant information
and identifying supporting details. So that you can read and
understand the main idea(s) of the text without knowing every
single word, some exercises focus on guessing the meanings of
key words from the context they are in. Finally, we have
included some questions that relate the topic to your personal
experience. Always try to focus on the content of the texts and
also on the layout and conventions used in different genres in
the English-speaking world.
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Text 1: An Interview
1.1. Read the title of the interview. Who is Melanie Brandon? How old is she?
Interview with Melanie Brandon, 14, Teen

Volunteer at Green Park Zoo
Melanie, what does a teen volunteer do?
Teen volunteers work in the zoo but they don’t work with animals. They interact
with visitors.
What do you do on a typical work day?

I get up at 7 a.m., do my homework and go to the zoo. I get there at 12 p.m. First,
I work at the information centre. Then, I walk around the zoo and talk to visitors
about the animals. At 2 p.m., I work at the “Fun Spot,” a place for children. I read
animal stories to them, I play games with them and I do face painting. The park
closes at 4 p.m. and I go home.
Do you work every day?

No, I don’t. I go to school from Mondays to Fridays and I work at the zoo four
hours on Saturdays. Sometimes, I work on Sundays, too. I don’t work on rainy
days because there aren’t many people at the zoo on rainy days.
Do you like your job?

Yes, I do! I learn lots of things. I like animals and I like children. When children
come to the zoo, they are very happy. The zoo is a great place to work and learn!
Source: Tiberio, S. C. 2008. What’s Up? Starter. Longman.
1.2. Write T (true) or F (false) next to each of the following sentences.
a. Melanie works with animals at Green Park Zoo. _____________

b. She doesn‟t do her homework at weekends. _____________
c. She starts work at 12.00. _____________
d. She always works on Saturdays and Sundays. _____________
e. Green Park Zoo is closed on rainy days. _____________
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1.3. Read the interview again and correct the false sentences.
Melanie doesn’t work with animals. She interacts with visitors.

__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
1.4. Put the events in the correct order:
a. _________ She walks around the zoo.

b. _________ She works with children.
c. _________ She goes home.
d. _________ She gets to work.
e. _________ She does her homework.
f. _________ She works at the information centre.
1.5. Think of three questions you would ask Melanie.
________________________________________________________________________ ?
________________________________________________________________________ ?
________________________________________________________________________ ?
1.6. Give your opinion:
Do you like zoos? Why? Why not?

__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
What do you think about Melanie‟s job?

__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
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Text 2: Lee and Yuriko
2.1. Read about Lee and Yuriko and fill in the missing information in the chart:
Lee Hung Suk is twenty-three years old. He lives with his family in a small flat in Hong Kong. He studies
psychology. Every day he goes to university by bus. He speaks only Chinese. He doesn’t drink coffee or
milk but he loves Chinese tea. He doesn’t smoke and he doesn’t have a car. On Saturdays, he goes to
discos and on Sundays, he plays his favourite sport: table tennis.
Lee’s sister is called Yuriko and she is thirty. She is married and has two children. She doesn’t live in Hong
Kong, she lives in London because her husband is English. Apart from Chinese, she speaks English very
well. She works as a part time nurse in a hospital near her home. She goes to her job in her small car. She
doesn’t drink alcohol, she only has mineral water. At weekends, she stays at home with her children and
takes care of the garden.
Source: Oxenden, C. and P. Seligson. 1999. English File I. OUP.
Lee Yuriko
Home: place/type
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student
Work: place
Transport
Chinese
Mineral water
At weekends:
2.2. Complete the questions and answers:
1. ____________ Lee live in a flat? Yes, he does.

2. ____________ Yuriko study? No, she doesn‟t.
3. ____________ Lee and Yuriko speak Chinese? Yes, ____________ ____________
4. Does Yuriko ____________ alcohol? No, she ____________.
5. Does Lee ____________ ? No, he ____________.
6. Does ____________ ____________ on Saturdays? No, ___________ ___________. He
____________ to discos.
7. ____________ ____________ ____________ to discos at the weekend? No,
____________ ____________. She ____________ at home with her children
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Text 3: Piranhas
3.1. Before reading: 3.2. Read the first paragraph. Are the
What do you know following sentences True or False?
about piranhas?
1. Piranhas are not very big.
Are they mammals or fish? ___________
___________________________________ 2. Piranhas live in oceans and seas.
Are they big or small? ___________
___________________________________ 3. Piranhas are always aggressive.
Are they friendly or dangerous? ___________
___________________________________ 4. Piranhas have sharp teeth.
___________
5. All piranhas are carnivorous.
Piranhas are a very special type ___________
of fish. They are usually small,
about 5 to 10 centimetres long. 3.3. Read the second paragraph. Choose
Their natural habitat is the the correct option:
Amazon River. People think
piranhas are always aggressive 1. The Amazon Indians…
and eat everything they find, but a. Hunt and sell piranhas
this is not true. They can be b. Buy and eat piranhas
c. Hunt and eat piranhas
dangerous and have lots of sharp
teeth, so you mustn’t put your
2. They use the teeth to…
fingers near a piranha’s mouth.
a. Cut hair
They can transform a chicken into b. Brush hair
a skeleton in two and a half c. Dry hair
minutes! But not all piranhas are
carnivorous. Some species don’t 3. They use the scales to…
eat meat. They are herbivorous a. Make food
and eat aquatic plants. b. Make paint
The Amazon Indians hunt c. Make clothes
piranhas for food. They usually
cook them with vegetables and 4. Some people…
eat them with their fingers. They a. Play with piranhas
also use piranhas for other things. b. Swim with piranhas
They use the sharp teeth to cut c. Talk to piranhas
hair and the scales to make paint
and to decorate their faces.
Piranhas are useful because they 3.4. Complete the chart about the
clean the water of dead animals in piranhas:
the rivers. Some people love
piranhas and don’t think they are The Piranha
dangerous, they go swimming Habitat
with them but we don’t Food
recommend it. Size
Uses
Source: Myers, C. and S. Jackson. 2007. What’s Up? I.
Longman.
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Text 4: Latin American Hero
4.1 Before you read.
What do you think rock and pop stars do in their free time?
.............................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
4.2 Now, read the article.
Hunky Ricky Martin is a very popular Latin singer. He sings in Spanish and English and is
famous in almost every country in the world.
He sings Latin pop, and likes soft ballads. “The words are very important to me,” says Ricky. He
doesn‟t always sings alone but he often works with other famous singers. He once did a recording with
Madonna. “Madonna is very professional to work with. She‟s quite tough and often makes you do things
again and again but that‟s good. I respect that.”
Ricky‟s parents are from Puerto Rico but he lives in Florida, USA. He lives in a very large house in
Miami Beach. He has many friends but he likes having time to be alone. He loves travelling. “Some
friends of mine have a house in the mountains in Alabama and I often go there to be by myself.”
In his free time he likes to keep fit. ”I do rock climbing three or four mornings a week. I also like
yoga.” He doesn‟t go out to discos or parties very much. “I like reading. I always have a book next to
my bed but the best part of the day for me is the evening. I sit and watch the sunset in the bay.”
Ricky always looks good on stage. He especially likes Armani clothes and likes to create a simple effect
with dark colours and black trousers.
After a show, Ricky never goes straight to bed. He usually goes to a restaurant to relax. He likes good
food. In fact he owns his own restaurant which serves gourmet Spanish food.
Ricky has everything -good looks, voice, personality. But is he really perfect? “No, not at all,” he
laughs, I sometimes snore but that isn‟t a problem because I never hear it.”
Source: Abbs B. And I. Freebairn (2007). In Focus 3. Longman.
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4.3. Comprehension.
Read the article again and correct the notes:
Ex.: Ricky only sings in Spanish.

No, he doesn’t. He sings in English.
a. Ricky usually sings alone.
........................................................................................................
b. He lives with his family in Puerto Rico.
.......................................................................................................
c. He hates travelling.
.......................................................................................................
d. He goes out a lot.
.......................................................................................................
e. He wears old clothes on stage.
.......................................................................................................
f. After a show, he goes straight to bed.
.......................................................................................................
g. He hasn‟t got any bad habits.
.......................................................................................................
4.4. Scan the text again and underline all the adverbs of frequency. Then put them in
the correct place:
Adverbs of Frequency
always
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
__
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Text 5: Ferdinand de Magellan (1840-1521)
5.1. Read the following text and answer the questions.
Who exactly was Ferdinand de Magellan? He was a Portuguese explorer who was famous because
he was the first person to go from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.
Magellan was Portuguese but his expedition was Spanish. There were 265 men on the expedition, and
there were five ships: the Trinidad, San Antonio, Concepción, Victoria and Santiago. The journey
was very difficult. The sea between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean was very dangerous
because the weather was terrible.
When the ships were in Patagonia, the sailors saw some very strange animals. “The animals are black
and white. Maybe they are birds, but they can’t fly. They eat fish,” said the sailors. Now we know
they were penguins!
The expedition continued to the Philippines. Magellan died in the Philippines in 1521. A man called
Juan Sebastian Elcano was the new captain of the expedition. He continued the voyage, and the
expedition arrived back in Spain in 1522. He was the first person to go round the world. At the end of
the voyage, there were twenty-one men and only one ship – the ship was called Victoria!
Source: Spencer, D. and D. Vaughan (2001). Teamwork 1, Heinemann.
1. Was Magellan Spanish?

...............................................................................................................
2. How many ships were there at the start of the expedition?
...............................................................................................................
3. What were the birds?
...............................................................................................................
4. Where was Magellan in 1521?
...............................................................................................................
5. Who was the second captain?
...............................................................................................................
6. How many ships were there at the end of the expedition?
...............................................................................................................
7. Who was the first person to go from the Atlantic to the Pacific?
...............................................................................................................
8. Who was the first person to go round the world?
..............................................................................................................
9. Where are the Magellan straits?
...............................................................................................................
Text 6: Genius
6.1. Read the text:
Leonardo Da Vinci (1472-1519) worked as an architect, artist, mathematician, and

scientist. The young Leonardo liked school. He was a good musician, but he hated Latin.
In 1466, his family moved to Florence and Leonardo finished school. In 1482, He started
to work for the Duke of Milan. He also designed buildings and studied mathematics. His
drawing of the Anatomy of Man shows he was a great biologist. He also worked as a
military engineer. In 1502, he returned to Florence and painted the Mona Lisa. He carried
his painting with him when he travelled. From 1514 to 1516 he lived in Rome and
continued his scientific experiments. He died in France in 1519.
Source: Harris, M. and D. Mower. 2002. Opportunities Elementary. Longman.
6.2. Vocabulary work:
Underline the nouns and verbs (here expressed in the

infinitive form) in the text and then match them with their
corresponding meaning.
a. (v) move - Stop living or existing

b. (v) design - A picture made using paint.
c. (n) building - Structure with walls and a roof
d. (v) carry - Go and live in a different place
e. (n) painting - Have something with you all the time
f. (v) travel - Make or draw plans for (something)
g. (v) die - Make a journey, usually over a long
distance
6.3. Read the text and find:
Professions and Jobs Names of places
20
6.4. According to the text, what happened in these years?
1452 Leonardo was born

1466
1482
1502
1514 -16
1519
6.5. Write questions for these answers:
a.
________________________________________________________________ ?
In 1519.
b.
________________________________________________________________ ?
In Florence.
c.
________________________________________________________________ ?
The Mona Lisa.
d.
________________________________________________________________ ?
Latin.
e.
________________________________________________________________ ?
Yes, he was.
21
This section contains a set of contextualised tasks for
recycling, practice and consolidation of previously studied
grammatical and lexical areas such as verb tenses, verb
patterns, articles, prepositions, collocations and so on. As
the activities are text-based, always read and try to
understand the content of the whole text before completing
the empty slots. Sometimes there is more than one single
option to fill in the gaps, so try to experiment as you go
along in order to develop awareness of the task
requirements. This, in turn, will help you review your work
more efficiently. If you can, work with another student,
check each other’s work and suggest improvements.
PREPOSITIONS
a. Complete the following text with the correct preposition: 
Dan Ford lives (1) ……… a flat (2) ……… the second floor, (3) ……… 38 Pine Street, (4)
……… the north of London. He works (5) ……… the city center and goes there (6) ……… bus.
He wakes up (7) ……… 7 o’clock (8) ……… the morning, has breakfast and then goes to
the bus-stop to take the bus. He is (9) ……… the office (10) ……… 8.30am (11) ……… 5pm.
(12) ……… the evening he goes back home. Then he watches TV or listens (13) ………
music. He goes to bed late (14) ……… night. (15) ……… Saturday he doesn’t work.
b. Complete with the correct preposition: 
Maria Lopez is a secretary. She is (1) ……… Mexico but now she is working (2) ……… a big
firm (3) ……… Los Angeles.
Maria was born (4) ……… the west (5) ……… Mexico. When she was 8 years old, her parents
moved (6) ……… Acapulco, a tourist resort famous (7) ……… its beaches and visited by many
people every year. She went (8) ……… school, where she had English lessons (9) ……… the
afternoon (10) ……… Mondays and Thursdays. She studied hard because she wanted to speak
English (11) ……… the American tourists. She made a lot (12) …….. friends and when she was
twenty years old, she moved (13) ……… Los Angeles. Now she is living there, (14) ……… a small
house (15) ……… her office.
c. Complete with the correct preposition: 

If you visit Kenya, don’t worry (1) ……… the language. Everybody here speaks English.
These are some of the things you can do when you come to visit us.
You can lie (2) ……… the white sand or swim (3) ……… the warm blue water (4) ………
the Indian Ocean. But don’t spend all your time (5) ……… the beach. This is Africa and
Africa means safari. You can go (6) ……… safari to one (7) ……... the national parks, where
you can see all kinds (8) ……… wild animals. There is a nice restaurant (9) ……… the park
where you can have lunch (10) ……… people (11) ……… different parts (12) ……… the world.
You have to go through the park (13) ……… car because it is very dangerous to go (14)
……… foot. You will remember this visit (15) ……… ever.
Adapted from: Hutchinson T. (1991). Hotline. Starter. O.U.P. p.62
23
d. Complete with the correct preposition where necessary: 
Mrs. Brown was talking (1)

……… a friend (2)
……… the living-room (3)
……… her
new house. This is the dialogue they had:
Mrs. Brown: “Next month my family and I are going (4)

……… holiday. We’ll stay (5)
……… a small hotel (6)

……… Lake Tahoe. Last year we went there too and we really
liked it. We met (7)
……… a lot of nice people and we made many good friends. We
went (8)
……… picnics, we swam (9)
……… the lake and we walked (10)
……… the
mountain that is (11)
……… the lake.”
Friend: “How long are you staying there?”
Mrs. Brown: “We’d like to spend two weeks, but it depends (12)
……… the weather.
(13)
……… half an hour I’m going shopping (14)
……… buy all the things we’ll need (15)
……… the trip.”
Friend: “Enjoy your holidays.”
VERB TENSES
a. Fill in the gaps with the verbs in the suitable tenses: 
Bobby Best (1) …………… (be) a football player. The following is his weekly routine:
“Sunday and Monday are my weekend. On Sunday I (2) …………… (go) out with my
girlfriend, Jenny. She (3) …………… (be) twenty years old and I (4) …………… (be) twenty-
five. She (5) …………… (have) blue eyes and fair hair. We (6) …………… (get) on really well.
On Monday I (7) …………… (get up) late and I (8) …………… (play) in the afternoon. From
Tuesday to Friday I (9) …………… (walk) to the club at 9 o’clock. On Tuesday the team
doctor (10) …………… (see) all the players. On Wednesday the manager (11) ……………
24
(show) a video of Saturday’s match. When we (12) …………… (practise) on Thursday, the
manager (13) …………… (watch) all the players. In the afternoon he (14) ……………(choose)
the new team. The match (15) …………… (start) at 2.30 on Saturday.
b. Fill in the gaps with the verbs in the suitable tenses: 
Mike Prize (1) …………… (be) from Phoenix, Arizona. At present he (2) …………… (work)
as a journalist for Time magazine. He (3) …………… (live) with his wife, Sofia. They (4)
…………… (not have) children. Mike (5) ………………... (leave - always) home at about 8
o’clock. Sofia is a shop-assistant. She (6) …………… (not like) her job, so she (7) ……………
(look) for another one at the moment.
At the weekend Mike and Sofia (8) ……………………(have - usually) lunch in their
garden. They (9) …………… (love) it. Today the sun (10) ……………… (shine), the birds (11)
……………… (sing) and they (12) ……………(enjoy) a beautiful moment together.

Mike: “(13) ……………… (you - know) why we are so happy?”
Sofia: “Because we (14) …………… (love) each other and we (15) ……………… (not –
worry) about anything else in the world.”
c. Fill in the gaps with the verbs in the suitable tenses: 
Last Monday Marcel (1) ……………… (go) to London for the day. He (2)
……………… (get up) at 6.30, travelled to Calais and then (3) ……………… (sail) to
Dover. The boat (4) ………………(be) late and he (5) ……………… (not - arrive) in Dover
until 9 a.m. When he (6) ………………(arrive) in London at 11.15, he (7) ………………
(walk) to the museums but they (8) ……………… (not - be) open because it was
Monday. He (9) ……………… (have) lunch in a restaurant and then (10) ………………
(visit) the Tower of London but there (11) ……………… (be) lots of tourists there and he
(12) ……………… (not – see) very much.
He (13) ……………… (stay) in England for two days and then he (14) ………………
(fly) to Scotland where he (15) ………………(spend) the rest of his holidays.
Adapted from: Abbs B. and I. Freebairn (1992). Blueprint One. Workbook. Essex: Longman. p.34.
25
d. Fill in the gaps with the verbs in the suitable tenses: 
In 1993 my wife and I (1) ……………… (go) to a friend’s wedding in Italy. We (2) ………………
(drive) to Sorrento and then, after the wedding, we (3) ………………(do) some sightseeing and (4)
……………… (take) some photographs. Then we (5) ……………… (decide) to go to a nearby beach.
We (6) …………… (change) into our swimsuits and (7) ……………… (leave) our clothes, passports
and cameras in the car. When we (8) ……………… (get) back to the car park at four oćlock, we (9)
……………… (can) not find the car. We (10) ……………… (have) nothing except our swimsuits and
a little money. We (11) ……………… (buy) some cheap clothes to wear and (12) ……………… (tell)
the police. They (13) ……………… (find) the car two days later quite near the beach. In the car there
was a note which (14) ……………… (say): “Thanks for the ride! We (15) ……………… (like) the car
very much. Ciao!”
CLOZE
a. Complete the following story with a suitable word: 
I just moved (1)

…………… a new house in Miami Beach. My place is (2)
……………
the ocean and I really (3)
…………… living there. It has nine rooms. (4)
…………… is a
living room, a dining room, a (5)
…………… where we cook and (6)
……………
breakfast, two bathrooms and (7)
…………… bedrooms.
My (8)
…………… room is the living room. There (9)
…………… two very (10)
…………… windows and I like to sit (11)

…………… them and look (12)
……….. the
ocean. On (13)
……………walls, I have a lot of photographs (14)
…………… my friends
and from my movies (15)
……………… I’m an actor.
b. Complete the following biography with a suitable word: 
His name was Michael Jackson, super-super-star!! Have you got any Michael Jackson´s
CDs? Perhaps you have got one of 1__________ hit albums or videos. Millions of people all
over 2________ world liked Michael Jackson. Michael 3_______ three sisters and five
brothers. The boys 4________ all in the band called The Jackson Five, but Michael was the
international superstar. 5______ did people like him? They liked his music, 6________ liked
his songs and they liked his dancing. They even liked his clothes: his boots covered
26
7_________ sequins, the silver glove on his left hand, and his blue and gold sequined
jacket 8________ black trousers.
On stage Michael was 9_______ star but at home he was quiet and shy. He lived in a
very big house 10___________ Encino, California with his mother, Katherine, and two of his
sisters, Janet and La Toya. He loved animals. He had a lot 11_________ animals in his
private zoo, including 12__________ eight-foot long snake called Muscles and a sheep
called Mr Tibbs.
c. Read about Jim Stamp, a handsome man in his forties who is a night nurse at a hospital
and he describes his working routine. Try to fill in the blanks with a suitable word.
Jim Stamp’s Day 
I usually wake ............ at 8:30 or 9 p.m. I ............ up slowly, take a ............ and get dressed.
I always put ............ jeans, a knit sport shirt, and white leather running ............ . Then I go to
the ............ for something to eat. While I am ............ I talk with my wife, Barbara. After my meal
I go into ............ living room to watch TV with my 13-year-old ............, Mike, and my 15-year-old
daughter Angela. Soon, it is time to ............ for work. Barbara ............ me in the car. It ............
us about 15 minutes to get there. As soon as I get to the ............ I change into white pants from
my locker. ............ I’m ready for work.
My job ............ at 11 p.m. I check all about my patients and give medications. ............ I do
paperwork. While I do the writing, I ............ with Victor and Kay, the other night ............ . Every
hour on the hour I ............ around with a flashlight and ............ the patients. I also stop at my
locker to have a quick snack of raisins or crackers. At 1:30 a.m. I take ............ coffee break. My
time for lunch break is ............ 4 to 5 a.m. Sometimes I go to the cafeteria, but other times I
............ a nap. Afterward, I am very ............ with blood pressures, temperatures, medications, and
more ............ . Finally, at 7:30 my job ............ I change into my jeans and ............ the hospital.
I take ............ bus home. ............ I get to the bus stop, I buy a newspaper. It ............ at least 35
minutes to get home, ............ I read the paper on the ............ . As soon as I get home, I give
Barbara a big ............ and ............ put on my running clothes. I run five miles and ............ great.
After I take a shower and have ............, I frequently ............ things around the house. Occasionally,
I go ............ with Barbara. After lunch, I start to feel ............ . At 2:30 I go ............ bed. Mike and
Angela ............ home from school about that time. ............, they often forget that ............ trying to
sleep and make lots ............ noise with their radios and records. Too soon it is 9 p.m., and I have
to start a new day.
I don’t like ............ work at night, but I’m the ............ nurse at the hospital. I can’t sleep well
during the day, so I generally feel ............ . Most of all, I ............ go bowling with my team in the
evening. ............ a good bowler, but I ............ go bowling when I work at night. I ............ that next
year I’m going to work more during the ............ .
Adapted from: Ingram B. and C. King (1990). From Writing to Composing. Cambridge: C.U.P.
27
The elementary level exercises in this section start with a

focus on short pieces of writing –paragraphs-, which can be
seen as building blocks to be grouped together as the
traditional ćomposition´, that is, a short text on a single topic
or theme. The emphasis lies on the development of basic
descriptive and narrative pieces. Our approach takes a text as
the point of departure to familiarise the learners with the type
of writing they are going to practise. The different activities
are aimed at brainstorming ideas, selecting the most relevant
ones, organising them, providing connections or links and
adequate punctuation. Writing is not just an opportunity to
reinforce grammar and vocabulary; it is a useful skill to
discover what we think and to learn how to express our ideas
in a clear way.
28
1. Writing descriptions
When you describe something, you are trying to give your reader an exact and
detailed impression of something in your experience. As regards words and phrases,
descriptions are concerned with detail. Thus, the larger and more precise your
vocabulary, the better your descriptive writing will be. You should certainly be
adequately equipped in the following categories:
a- Place and position; direction

b- Measurements: weight, size/volume,
and distance
c- Shapes and patterns
d- Colours and textures
e- Materials and substances
f- Technical vocabulary: faces and bodies,
character, clothes, buildings, weather
and so on
g- Use and value
Most descriptions concern universal qualities or constant and habitual

processes, and thus the present simple tense is in constant use.
 This section covers the following areas:

1.a Describing people (physical descriptions, character, etc.)
1.b Describing places (towns, cities, villages)
1.c Describing routines
1.a. Describing People
The following areas may all form part of a personal description:
i. physical attributes (hair, eyes, complexion, facial shape, other facial features,
build, height, gesture, dress) and related descriptive notions: size, colour, style)
ii. emotional (e.g. warm, aloof, nervous...), intellectual (e.g. clever, mediocre,
perceptive...)
iii. and moral (e.g. trustworthy, greedy...) attributes
iv. habitual attributes (behavioural and emotional habits, opinions, gestures and
expression)
1. a. Read the following composition. Suggest a title for it.

b. What is the main idea in each paragraph? Use the following set of topics and
complete the gaps.
29
THE WRITER’S OPINION – HOBBIES AND INTERESTS
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE – FAMILY BACKGROUND
Adapted from: Whitney N. (2001). Open Doors 3. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
2. Place the following words into four separate lists: Hair, Eyes, Complexion and General
Appearance. Some of the words will go into two or even three of the lists.
dark thin long straight bald pale fair auburn green

thick short wavy moustache fat tall curly beard dull
almond-shaped bright
30
HAIR EYES COMPLEXION GENERAL

APPEARANCE
3. How old do you think these people are? Make sentences from the table
(about) 35 (years) old.
He‟s his (early) teens.
in (mid) twenties.
(late) thirties
She‟s her
B. I think I’m getting a bit old to have a A. I’ve been teaching for 25 years now.
baby now.
G. I’m really looking forward to D. Only one more year at university

retiring next year. and you’ll have to start looking for a
job.
F. She was born in 1955.
E. I’m buying him a razor for his C. I was just a baby during the Second
birthday –he’s just started shaving. World War.
Source: Doff A. and C. Jones (1998). Language in Use. Pre-intermediate. Cambridge: C.U.P
31
4. Match the sentences with the character adjectives in the box.
shy generous 1… always smiles and says hello when we meet.

selfish 1 friendly 2… doesn’t like giving away money.
3… gets angry quite a lot.
modest Self-confident
4… is afraid to speak to strangers.
mean Bad-tempered 5… isn’t afraid to speak to strangers.
honest Easy-going 6… usually stays late at the office.
lazy Hard-working 7… always tells the truth.
8… doesn’t get upset if things go wrong.
9… doesn’t work very hard.
10… always brings you a little present.
11… doesn’t boast.
12… is only interested in himself/herself.
Source: Doff A. & C. Jones (1998). Language in Use. Pre-intermediate. Cambridge: C.U.P.
5. Make notes about your best friend.
Paragraph D
MY BEST
FRIEND Why I like this person?
Paragraph A
Family background
Paragraph C
Paragraph B Hobbies and interests
Physical appearance
6. Use your notes to write a description of your friend.
.............................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................
32
1.b. Describing Places
The description of places is fairly difficult to organise (compared

with for example, the description of people) since all the places
whether large (town, city or country) or small (park, river bank,
garden, square, beach, forest) are distinctive in layout, and in the
relation of one part to another.
Apart from the lexical items associated with towns and cities
(roads, amenities, public buildings, green areas etc.) or with
smaller areas, the most important language in this sort of
descriptions is that of location, spatial relations and special
features:
Location:
- here, there, everywhere, inside, outside

- over, beyond, in, at, by, near, etc.
- to the east, in the centre, in the western part of, north of, etc.
- is situated, located, found, surrounded by, covers, extends, flows, etc.
- at the background, at the foreground and vice versa
Existence:
- there is/are
- you can find / discover / see
Special Features:
- ... of special interest is/are
- one of the really/most interesting parts/places...
- the ... is famous/popular/etc.
- you shouldn‟t miss (seeing/going to)...
- tourists should/ought to see/visit...
33
1. Read the text about the place where Neil lives and rearrange the paragraphs in the
correct order.
The Place Where I Live
A. There is a beautiful church, called St Helen’s, in the

centre of the village. There are no bus stops and no
railway station. There are only two small shops.
The nearest supermarket is about 5 km away. There
used to be a school here, but it has closed because
the population is too small. The main industries are
agriculture and farming. Unfortunately, there are no
cinemas or theatres.
B. I like our village because it is small and quiet. But
my older sister doesn’t like it. She would rather live
in a large city, where there are more cinemas and
discos and teenagers.
C. North Thoresby used to be a big village, but now it
is quite small. These days, only about four hundred
people live here. A lot of families have left the
village. They have gone to work in larger towns
and cities where there are more shops.
D. The place where I live is a village. It is called North
Thoresby. It is in Lincolnshire, in the east of
England. The village is very old. It was founded in
the fifteenth century.
Adapted from: Whitney N. (2001). Open Doors 3. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
2. Now complete the following chart with information from the text.
Introduction Main part: people
1 name of town/city ........................................ 4 size of village .........................................
2 location ....................................... 5 population ........................................
.......................................
6 jobs .......................................
3 age .....................................
Main part: facilities Conclusion: opinions
7 buildings ........................................ 13 writer‟s opinion .......................................
8 transport .......................................... 14 reasons ......................................
9 shops ...........................................
10 education ...........................................
11 industries .........................................
12 entertainment .......................................
34
3. Make a plan about your hometown.
Introduction Main part: people
1 name of town/city ................................... 4 size of village ......................................

2 location ...................................
5 population .....................................
...................................
3 age .................................... 6 jobs ....................................
Main part: facilities Conclusion: opinions
7 buildings ...................................... 13 your opinion .......................................
8 transport ...................................... 14 your reasons ......................................
9 shops .......................................
10 education ........................................
11 industries ......................................
12 entertainment .....................................
4. Now change your notes into sentences and paragraphs and write a description of your
native town.
THE PLACE WHERE I LIVE
............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
35
1.c. Describing Routines
To describe the way people do things and the way things always happen you should take into
account the following aspects:
 Use the present simple: He goes to work at eight o’clock every day, They live in a
flat in the city, etc.
 Follow a chronological sequence.
 Mention how often you do things. Use frequency adverbs and time prepositions.
 Give reasons for some of your daily activities. Use connectors (e.g. but, because,
and or so).
 Use expressions such as like / hate / enjoy / love / + ing to describe likes and
dislikes.
 End with a general remark or comment.
Bart Simpson’s Daily Routine (activities designed by Silvia Pereira)
Hello,
My name is Bart Simpson and I’m going to tell you all about me. I’m 10 years old and I live in a small
town called Springfield in the U.S.A with my parents, my two sisters: Lisa and Maggie and my cat
“Snowball”. I go to Springfield Elementary school and I’m on the 4th year. I must say that I’m not a
very big fan of school because I don’t like studying. What I really like is skateboarding and I do it all
the time. I also like reading comics and playing baseball with my friends.
Every day I get up at seven o’ clock and I take a quick shower. Then, at twenty past seven, I get
dressed and at twenty to eight I have breakfast: cereals, a glass of milk and two pieces of toast.
After having breakfast, I go to school in the school bus. My first lesson starts at eight o’ clock. I
have classes until midday. Then I have lunch at the school canteen with my friends. After having
lunch, I have classes until four o’ clock and I arrive home around a quarter past four. From half past
four until six o’ clock I usually do my homework. After that I go skateboarding with my friends until
half past seven. At eight o’ clock, I have dinner with my family and around half past nine I go to bed.
What about you? Tell me about your daily routine!
Best wishes,
Bart Simpson
A.Read the text carefully and say if these sentences are true ( T ) or false ( F ). Correct the
false ones.
1.Bart lives in the U.K. ________

2.He doesn’t like school. _______
3.Bart has a dog called “Snowball”.________
4.He has classes until one o’ clock. ________
1.____________________________________________________________________________
2.____________________________________________________________________________
36
3.____________________________________________________________________________
4.____________________________________________________________________________
B. Answer the following questions.
1. What time does Bart get up?

______________________________________________________________________________
2. What does he do at twenty past seven?
______________________________________________________________________________
3. Does he have breakfast at school?
______________________________________________________________________________
4. What does he have for breakfast?
______________________________________________________________________________
5. When does he do his homework?
______________________________________________________________________________
6. What time does he go to bed?
______________________________________________________________________________
C.Fill in the blanks with the verb to be.
1.Bart ______ a ten-year-old boy that lives in Springfield.

2.Lisa and Maggie _______ Bart‟s sisters.
3.Marge Simpson _______ Bart‟s mother.
4.Bart has a cat. It ______ called “Snowball”.
5.Skateboarding ________ his favourite hobby.
D. Look at Bart’s week and write sentences about it. Use the adverbs of frequency.
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Have a shower in
the morning     
Play tennis     
Skateboarding     
Read the newspaper     
Do homework     

Eat soup at dinner 
    
Follow the model: Bart always has a shower in the morning.
1. ____________________________________________________________________________
2. ____________________________________________________________________________
3. ____________________________________________________________________________
4. ____________________________________________________________________________
37
5. _____________________________________________________________________________
E. Replace the words in bold by the correct personal pronoun.

1.Bart rides his bike on weekends. __________________________________________________
2.Lisa and Maggie have breakfast at home every day. ___________________________________
3.“Snowball” is Bart’s dog. _________________________________________________________
4.Bart’s mother cooks very well. ____________________________________________________
F. Now, write in schedule form what you do or what somebody you know does every day.
..................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................
G.Use the schedule to write a composition. Don‟t forget to give a title to your piece of writing.
..................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................
38
..................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
PUNCTUATION
When you hand in a paper for any course, it will probably be judged first by its format. It is
important then, to make the paper look attractive, neat, and easy to read. Here is a checklist you should
use when preparing a paper.
If you are going to hand in a handwritten paper:

 Use a blue or a black pen.
 Be careful not to overlap letters or make decorative loops on letters
 Make your letters distinct. Pay special attention to: a, e, i, o, u
 Make your capital letters distinct from small letters
Title
 Centre the title on the first page of your paper
 Don‟t use quotation marks (“ ”) and don‟t underline it
 Capitalize all the words except for small connecting words like:
of – for - the – and – in – to
 Skip a line between the title and the first line of the paper
 Use indentation. The first line of each paragraph should be 5 spaces from the left-hand margin
 Remember the title is NOT part of your composition
Capital letters
Use capital letters for:
 The first word in a sentence or a direct quotation:

E.G.: The corner grocery was robbed last night.
The alien said, “Take me to your leader.”
 Names and the word „I‟:

E.G.: Last night, I saw a hilarious movie starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy
 Names of particular places:
39
E.G.: Although Bill dropped out of Port Charles High School, he eventually earned his degree
and got a job with Atlas Realty Company.
BUT: Use small letters if the specific name is not given:

E.G.: Although Bill dropped out of high school, he eventually earned his degree and got a job with a
real estate company.
 Days of the week, months and holidays:
E.G.: On the last Friday afternoon in May, the day before Memorial Day, my boss is having a barbecue
for all the employees.
BUT: Use small letters for seasons –summer, fall/autumn, winter, spring.
E.G.: Most people feel more energetic in the spring and fall.
 Names of commercial products:

E.G.: My little sister knows all the words to the jingles for Oscar Mayer hot dogs, Diet Pepsi, Meow
Mix cat food, and McDonald‟s hamburgers.
BUT: Use small letters for the type of product (hot dogs, cat food, hamburgers, and so on)
 Titles of books, magazines, newspapers, articles, stories, poems, films, television shows, songs
and papers that you write.
E.G.: We read the book Hiroshima, by John Hersey, for our history class.
In the doctor‟s waiting room, I watched All My Children, read an article in Reader’s Digest, and
leafed though the Miami Herald.
 Names of companies, associations, unions, clubs, religious and political groups and other
organizations.
E.G.: Joe Naples is a Roman Catholic, but his wife is Methodist.
The Hilldale‟s Square Dancers‟ Club has won many competitions.
Brian, a member of Bricklayers Local 431 and the Knights of Columbus, works for Ace
Construction.
 Names that show family relationships:

E.G.: All his life, Father has been addicted to gadgets.
I browsed though Grandmother‟s collection of old photographs.
Aunt Florence and Uncle Bill bought a mobile home.
BUT: Do not capitalize words like mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, uncle, aunt, and so on
when they are preceded by a possessive word (such as my, your, his, her, our, their)
E.G.: All his life, my father has been addicted to gadgets.
I browsed though my grandmother‟s collection of old photographs.
My aunt and uncle bought a mobile home.
 Titles of persons when used with their names

E.G.: I contributed to Senator McGrath‟s campaign fund.
Is Dr. Gregory on vacation?
Professor Adams announced that there would be no tests in the course.
BUT: Use small letters when the titles appear by themselves, without specific names.
E.G.: I contributed to my senator‟s campaign fund.
Is the doctor on vacation?
The professor announced that there would be no tests in the course.
 Specific school courses:

E.G.: The college offers evening sections of Introductory Psychology I, Abnormal Psychology,
Psychology and Statistics, and Educational Psychology.
40
 Languages
E.G.: My grandfather‟s Polish accent makes his English difficult to understand.
 Geographic locations
E.G.: He grew up in the Midwest but moved to the South to look for a better job.
BUT: Use small letters in directions.

E.G.: Head west for five blocks and then turn south on State Street.
 Historical periods and events

E.G.: During the Middle Ages, the Black Death killed over one-quarter of Europe‟s population.
 Races, nations and nationalities

E.G.: The questionnaire asked if the head of our household was Caucasian, African American, Asian,
or Native American.
Tanya has lived on army bases in Germany, Italy, and Spain.
Denise‟s beautiful features reflect her Chinese and Mexican parentage.
 Opening and closing of a letter

E.G.: Dear Sir: Sincerely yours,
Dear Ms. Henderson Truly yours,
Numbers
 Spell out numbers that take no more than two words, otherwise use the numbers themselves.
WATCH OUT: Be consistent when you use a series of numbers in a sentence or paragraph.
 Use numbers to show dates, times, addresses, percentages and chapters of a book.
EG:
The burglary was committed on October 30, 1995, but not discovered until January 2, 1996.
Before I went to bed, I set my alarm for 6.45 am. (spell out the numbers before o’clock: I didn‟t get out
of bed until seven o‟clock)
The library is located at 45 West 52nd St.
When you take the skin off a piece of chicken, you remove about 40 per cent of the fat.
The name of the murderer is revealed in chapter 8 on page 236.
Source: Langan, J. (1985). College Writing Skills with Readings. McGraw-Hill Higher Education
Prof. García Alvarez, María Adela
41
Exercises:
A. Circle the words in the following sentences that need a capital letter. There are 25.
1. my favorite books are green eggs and ham and horton hears a who.
2. on sunday, i will see the movie star wars and eat at taco bell.
3. terry and louis went to central park last july.
4. she has a friend from london, england.
5. did you know that abraham lincoln was the sixteenth president?
B. Write the following sentences correctly.

1. every december, i can hardly wait for santa claus.
2. friday is the best day because we order pizza from domino's.
3. the best television shows are spongebob and ed, edd, and eddie.
4. my favorite song is we will rock you.
5. king arthur ruled over camelot.
C. Put an X if the sentence is capitalized incorrectly and a C if it is capitalized correctly.

1. _____ Big Ben of London is a clock.
2. _____ I drove east to the city and turned north.
3. _____ My family supports the American cancer society.
4. _____ Yellowstone National Park is a great Park.
5. _____ I work for the New York Times.
6. _____ She is a republican and proud of it.
7. _____ The Emancipation proclamation was issued in 1862.
8. _____ Buddhists have been around a very long time.
9. _____ The Sidney Opera House is a Gorgeous Building.
10. _____ The Bronze Age lasted for several thousand years.
D. Circle all the words that need to be capitalized. There are 25.
i have the coolest book called encyclopedia of the world. it shows pictures of africans, asians,
animals, and architecture. it explains how the coliseum in greece was built and why the leaning
tower of pisa leans. my dad likes reading about the war of the roses and the russian revolution. it
also explains about different groups of people, like catholics, protestants, and jews. Also included
is information about zoos, including the san diego zoo.
Taken from https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/
42
INTEGRATIVE TESTS
The tests in this section have been included as an opportunity to practice and
consolidate your previous English-learning experience in an integrated and
effective way. Each test has three parts -reading-comprehension, use of
English and writing- which aim at reinforcing the linguistic aspects revised in
the previous sections. Some samples have been included so as to give you an
idea of the expected output. As you will see, the general features of these
texts are the cohesive and coherent development of ideas, the use of a simple
yet correct range of vocabulary and grammatical structures, and the clear
organization of the information.
43
Sample Test 1 
PART1. READING COMPREHENSION
1.1. Read the text below. Then do the activities that follow.
U.N. CELEBRITIES MAKE A DIFFERENCE
This week’s article in our series The Rich and Famous gives you some surprising facts about
our favourite Stars. Their lives are not just about parties, expensive clothes and big houses.
Many of them work very hard to give something back to the world.
We all know about the work of the United Nations Organisation (the UN) and its agencies like
UNICEF. We also know the famous celebrities in the photos. But did you know about their UN
charity work? They didn’t earn any money for their work and they didn’t do it to become more
famous. They just wanted to help the millions of poor, sick and hungry people in developing
countries.
Many UN celebrities come from the world of sport, films and music. In 2003, football stars
Ronaldo and Zidane organised a charity game in Switzerland to raise money. Then they gave
the money to the UN to help the world’s poor people. Ronaldo said, “When I was a child, I was
often hungry. Now I want to help.”
Famous musicians also organise charity events. Luciano Pavarotti is well-known for his
Pavarotti and Friends concerts in Italy where U2. Sting and Ricky Martin were some of the
performers. These concerts made millions of dollars for the UN. The Colombian singer Shakira
is another UN celebrity. About 120 million children in the world don’t go to school and UNICEF
wants to give them a basic education. In 2004, Shakira visited many developing countries to
help UNICEF with this plan.
The American actress Angelina Jolie is one of the many film stars who also helped the UN. She
went to many different countries and talked to refugees. Then she wrote a book about her
experiences called Notes from My Travels. She earned a lot of money from the book and
donated it all to the UN refugee agency.
In 2001, the UN and its Secretary General, Kofi Annan, won the Nobel Peace Prize. These
celebrities all helped the UN to make a difference.
44
1. 2. TRUE OR FALSE?
Go through the text and then read the following sentences. Answer true or false. If false,
please provide the correct version.
a. The celebrities only want to help poor children.
b. Zidane and Pavarotti were poor when they were kids.
c. Kofi Annan has received an award for his contribution to world peace.
d. Angelina Jolie gave money to the UN for the people they protect.
e. Shakira travelled to developing countries to present her new album.
1.3. Answer the following questions.

a. What do celebrities do with their money?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…..
b. How did Pavarotti contribute to the UN?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……………..
c. Why does Ronaldo want to help poor people?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………..
d. Did all the celebrities earn money for their work?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………
e. Is UNICEF part of the UN?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..….
1.4. Now ask questions about the article.
a. …………………………………………………………………………………………………..……………….?
In 2003.
b. …………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………?
In Italy.
c. …………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………?
About 120 million.
d. ………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………?
Because they wanted to help people in developing countries.

e. …………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………?
A book called Notes from My Travels.
45
PART 2. USE OF ENGLISH
2.1. Verb Tenses and Forms

Fill in the blanks with the verb in the suitable tense or form.
Dear Caroline,
We ………………… ( 1. have ) a wonderful time in Cancun at the moment. I……………….. (2.

write) this postcard from the balcony of our hotel room . Every day we …………………. (3. go ) to the
beach and ………………….( 4. have ) lunch there. Brad …………………… (5. play) beach volley
every afternoon and yesterday he ……………….(6. win) a match. To celebrate we ……………….. (7.
decide ) to go on a two-day boat trip . There we ……………….… (8. meet ) a lot of people ,
…………….… (9. take) a lot of photos and ………………(10. drink) caipirinha. The food
there………………… (11. to be ) delicious and the people …………………….( 12. to be ) very
friendly.
See you soon. A huge hug
Alice
2.2. Cloze Test
Read the whole text carefully to understand the general meaning. Then complete each blank
with one word: prepositions, pronouns, articles, etc.
Last summer, Peter and I travelled to Africa _______(1) holiday. We

flew there ____________(2) Air France. We stayed there
_____________(3) a month and had (4) ____________ fantastic time !.
…….hotel was comfortable and ______________(5) room was the only one
with a view to the beach. The tourist guide took ___________ ( 6) to
a national park in the area. When we arrived ___________(7), we found
a baby gorilla, we bought some food and fed _______________(8)
46
PART 3. WRITING
Look at the pictures and write a story of approximately 120 words. Begin like this: “Last Sunday,
Paul…”
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
47
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES
 Abbs B. and I. Freebairn (1992). Blueprint One. Workbook. Essex: Longman.
 Abbs B. and I. Freebairn (1992). Blueprint One. London: Longman.
 Abbs B. and I. Freebairn (1994). Discoveries Book 2. Essex: Longman.
 Arnold J. and F. Heyworth (1982). Kernel Lessons Intermediate. Workbook. Longman.
 Beaven B. with Liz and John Soars (1995). Headstart Beginner. Oxford: O.U.P.
 Bolton, D & Goodey N. (1996). English Grammar in Steps. Richmond.
 Byrne D. (1988). Just Write! Visual Material for Project Work. London: Macmillan.
 Casas,G. (2006). Introducción a la Vida Universitaria. LDM Editorial.
 Cripps E. (1997). Longman English Tips Book. London: Longman.
 Doff A. and C. Jones (1992). Language in Use. Pre-Intermediate. Self-Study Workbook A. Cambridge: C.U.P.
 Doff A. and C. Jones (1998). Language in Use. Pre-intermediate. Cambridge: C.U.P.
 Greenall S. (1997). Reward Starter. Oxford: Heinemann ELT.
 Harris M. and D. Mower (1993). World Class. Level 3. London: Longman.
 Heyer, S. (1994) Very Easy True Stories. Addison Wesley Publishing Company.
 Hutchinson T. (1999). Lifelines Intermediate. Oxford: O.U.P.
 Hutchinson T. (1991). Hotline. Starter. Oxford: O.U.P.
 Ingram B. and C. King (1990). From Writing to Composing. Cambridge: C.U.P.
 Jeffries L. and B. Mikulecky (1998). Reading Power. New York: Longman.
 Langan, J. (1985). College Writing Skills with Readings. McGraw-Hill Higher Education
 McCarthy M. and F. O‟Dell (1999). English Vocabulary in Use. Elementary. Cambridge: CUP.
 Mitchell H.Q. and J. Scott (2000). Say Yes! to English 2. London: MM Publications.
 Murphy Raymond. (1997) Essential Grammar in Use. 2 nd Edition
 Richards J. (1994). Interchange. Cambridge: C.U.P.
 Seal B. (1987). Vocabulary Builder 1. London: Longman.
 Soars J. and L. Soars (2000) New Headway Elementary. Student´s Book. Oxford: O.U.P.
 Soars J. and L. Soars (2000). New Headway Elementary. Workbook with Key. Oxford: O.U.P.
 Stephens M. (1986). Practise Writing. London: Longman.
 Strange D. (ed.) (1997). Little Women. Penguin Readers Level 3. London: Penguin Book.
 Swan M. and C. Walter (1992). The New Cambridge English Course 1. Cambridge: C.U.P.
 Swan, Michael (2008) Practical English Usage. Third Edition. Oxford.
 Tice J. (1997) The Mixed Ability Class. Richmond Publishing;
 Viney P. (1989). Sunnyvista City. Streamline Graded Readers. Level 3. Oxford: O.U.P.
 Warshawsky D. (1992). Spectrum 1. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall Regents.
 Warshawsky D. (1992). Spectrum 2. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall Regents.
 Whitney N. (2001). Open Doors 3. Oxford: O.U.P.
48
The following are some units taken from McCarthy M. and F. O’Dell
(1999). English Vocabulary in Use. Elementary. Cambridge: CUP.
49
The Family. A family tree for some of Anne and Paul Mason’s relatives or relations.
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Introducción a la Lengua Inglesa

Universidad Nacional del Comahue

Cuadernillo de Cátedra Introductorio

 Introducción a la vida universitaria………………………….…….. 3

 Useful tips ……………………………………………………………….…….. 7

 Reading comprehension …………………………………………………. 12

 Use of English …………………………………………………………………..22

 Sample tests ……………….…………………………………………………..40

 Bibliographical References ………………………………………….…..45

Carta para Ingresantes a la Universidad

Vida Universitaria... ¿Vida?

Un montañista bien preparado llegará exitosamente a la cima.

Creemos que tomaste la decisión correcta. La decisión de ingresar a la

Estás a punto de comenzar un importantísimo proceso de transformaciones en tus

¡Actitud positiva y optimista! Confianza en que contas con las capacidades de

La asistencia a clases es fundamental, no sólo por un requerimiento para obtener la

b. Leer analíticamente los contenidos trabajados, todos los días,

Si elegiste la opción "b", el partido ya casi está ganado. ¡Felicitaciones, nuevamente!

A continuación, te presentamos un material de estudio acerca de cómo abordar

¿Cómo estudiar un libro de texto?

¿Cómo abordar sistemáticamente un libro de texto?

Lo expuesto hasta el momento será útil para abordar el estudio de libros

En relación al vocabulario, podemos registrar en un cuaderno lo que vamos aprendiendo día a

 Hacer listas de palabras con su pronunciación y significado categorizándolas por color.

Con respecto a la gramática del inglés, en el mismo cuaderno, podemos:

Finalmente, para practicar y pulir la pronunciación:

Being a good learner of English means applying some strategies.

Be positive! Take a positive attitude to language learning. Success is not remote!

There is no way to learn a second language without devoting time

(M.J. Wallace in Action Research for Language Teachers)

Establishing good habits of study

 Decide where you will work and keep to it.

 Make a plan of your study schedule, counting down from the

examination/test day, week by week until it is full.

 Be businesslike in your record keeping: have a working folder or file, and

date it each time you add to it.

you and so make it hard to proceed.

 Be disciplined about spending your scheduled time studying – not half of it

making coffee, or mate, and phone calls to friends-.

intend to start next session.

from reference books or dictionaries.

try at a piece of work that was on the wrong lines.

Improving your level of English

 Writing will help you consolidate what you have learnt.

 Go through the notes the teacher gives you.

Getting ready for exams

are delayed on the journey.

 Remember that it is natural to be nervous.

 Notice which questions have more marks. Do those first.

 Check if there are any word limits. If so, keep to them.

 Make sure you keep to the point. Check for relevance.

up any careless errors –especially in the composition-.

 If you have written continuation parts – afterthoughts- make sure they

This section presents a set of texts from different sources that

Interview with Melanie Brandon, 14, Teen

What do you do on a typical work day?

Do you work every day?

Do you like your job?

Source: Tiberio, S. C. 2008. What’s Up? Starter. Longman.

1.2. Write T (true) or F (false) next to each of the following sentences.

a. Melanie works with animals at Green Park Zoo. _____________

Melanie doesn’t work with animals. She interacts with visitors.

1.4. Put the events in the correct order: