Homework AyF 31st October.

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Politeness is treating people with respect. Respect makes people feel good. People who feel good will do things for you.

It is safe to say that politeness should be present in all of our basic daily interactions, isn't it?  AyF students, you should pay special attention to this skill. Politeness is something that can be trained, practiced and easily put into action. Those of you who will be making business in a not-so-distant future need to learn how to get people to do things for you. 

That's what business is about, isn't it?

Try and solve the following exercise:  In each case you need to ask someone to do something for you. What do you say? The first one has already been done for you. 

Keep in mind that we don't use the same degree of formality with everyone: you won't speak to a friend the same way you would do to your boss. 

1. You have lost your calculator. Ask a colleague to lend you his.

- Could you lend me your calculator, please? I've lost mine. 

2. You want your secretary to type a letter for you. Her name is Morgan. 

3. You want somebody in your department to finish writing a report for you by Friday. 

4. You can't meet John McClane tomorrow because you've suddenly got to go to Paris on business. Ask a colleague to meet John McClane instead. 

5. You want your friend to get you a coffee. His name is Kevin. 

6. You can't attend the meeting tomorrow because you have a doctor's appointment. Ask your boss to postpone the meeting.

Politeness strategies are something to be learnt, do the exercise the best you can and we will go over it and other politeness-related issues on Tuesday.  

Enjoy your weekend!

Homework GAD 31st October. ANSWERS

Here is what you need to do to practice what we have done in the last lessons. All of the exercises will be marked on Tuesday. 

Look at the map below and answer the following questions (click on the image to make it bigger).

                                                                                                ↑You are here
                                                                  
Exercise 1. Choose the correct name of the building.

1.Take the first street on the left. Take the next street on the right. Go straight on and cross the road. It's on the left.

2. Take the first street on the left. Go down the street. Turn on the right. Take the next street on the right. Go straight on and cross the road. Go straight on. It's in front of you on the other side of the road.

3. Take the first street on the left. Take the next street on the right. Take the next street on the right. Pass the Fire Department. It's on your left.

Exercise 2. Fill in the missing preposition.  

Use: opposite - on the corner - behind - between - next to

1. The Women's wear is            the Jewelry Store.

2. The Movie Theater is         the Book Store.

3. The Women's wear is         the Jewelry Store and the Sporting Goods.

4. The Toy store is             of Main Street and Forest Street.

5. The Jewelry Store is          the Italian Restaurant. 

Enjoy your long weekend!

Answers. Ex 1.1: Furniture; 2: Italian Restaurant; 3:Police Station
Ex 2.  1: next to; 2: opposite; 3: between; 4: on the corner; 5: behind.

Congrats AyF students!!

So, here's a post to say well done to everyone today. You all did a great job, your startups were creative, totally realistic and AWESOME.

Aaand something really important: everybody was able to talk with an audience and explain what their businesses were about. Once again, congratulations!!

Here's a picture to wish you a happy Halloween, too:

Recognize any of your own?

Click on the image to make it bigger

Did you know....?

Homework GAD 24 October. Past Continuous

Use the Past Continuous to complete these sentences.

1. When I phoned my friends, they ___________ Monopoly. (play)

2. Yesterday at six I _______________ dinner. (prepare)

3. The CEO _______________ about expanding the company in Asia. (think)

4. The ladies ______________ at the front door when it suddenly began to rain. (speak)

5. We ______________ our bosses yesterday. (not see)

6. Aaron ___________ (work) in his office when he received the call.

7. I tried to explain the business plan but they ___________. (not listen)

8. What __________ yesterday? (you/ do)

9. The music was on, but they _______________. (not dancing)

10. I called him, but Luke ___________ yesterday. (not working)

11. ________ Ashley_________ on the computer last week? (work)

Have a nice weekend!

GAD Homework 17 October. Past Simple.

Put these sentences into Past Simple: 

1. We open the door
2. Richard plays in the garden
3. Jaime doesn't speak English
4. She doesn't like salads
5. Do you see the cat?
6. Does he go to the gym?
7. You write poems

Have a nice weekend!!

AyF Homework 17 October. Madagascar Reading. Now with answers.

Read this text about Madagascar and answer the True/False questions.

MADAGASCAR - WHEN TO GO

Madagascar has two seasons, a warm, wet season from November to April, and a cooler dry season between May and October. However, different parts of the country have very different weather.

The east coast is hotter and wetter, with up to 4000mm of rainfall per year. In the rainy season, there are strong winds, and these can cause a lot of damage.  Avoid visiting eastern Madagascar between January and March because the weather can make road travel very difficult.  The dry season is cooler and more pleasant.

The high, central part of the country is much drier and cooler. About 1,400 mm of rain falls in the rainy season, with some thunderstorms, but the summer is usually sunny and dry, but it can be cold, especially in the mornings, with freezing showers, and it may snow in mountain areas above 2,400m, and even stay there for several days.

The west coast is the driest part of the island. Here, the winter months are pleasant with little rain, cooler temperatures and blue skies. The summers can be extremely hot, especially in the southwest.  This part of the country is semi-desert, and only gets around 300mm of rain per year.

Questions:

1. Madagascar has four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter

2.There is more rain in January than in June

3.The wet season is colder than the dry season

4. It hardly ever rains in central Madagascar

5. The wettest part of the island is the east

6. January-March is a good time to visit eastern Madagascar

7. The centre of Madagascar is the coldest part

8. Snow sometimes falls in Madagascar

9. The west coast has the best weather in December

10. The north-east is hotter than the south-east.

Have a nice weekend!!

Answers: 1FALSE, 2TRUE, 3FALSE, 4TRUE, 5TRUE, 6FALSE, 7TRUE, 8TRUE, 9TRUE, 10FALSE

20 better words to use in your vocabulary

Using the word 'very' can sometimes give the impression of being lazy. 

To avoid this, and also to come across as someone with a wide range of vocabulary, CLICK HERE and zoom the image to see an interesting list. You will be redirected to something like this - but longer: 

If you find this interesting, you can search the web for more examples - there are many lists similar to this one.

Telling the time - Revision

Never confuse education with intelligence

Interesting...

A couple of weeks ago there was a debate contest between inmates from a prison in New York and students from Harvard University. Any guess who won?

WINNERS!! =><==WINNERS!!

The thing is that while in prison, inmates have the possibility of attending a variety of different lessons. In these lessons, the standards for passing exams are vey high - the same any university would hold. 

Click here to check this news in the British newspaper The Telegraph to read a bit more about this (there is a video at the end, too).

Wake up and smell the coffee

Coffee... love it or hate it. A couple of facts about the beverage.

Americano, espresso, macchiato... there is quite an impressive variety of ways to prepare a coffee to match everyone's taste. Check this image and find what's the English name for your favourite. 

Click here to make the coffee poster bigger so you can actually read it.

The following image shows the areas of the COFFEE BELT (also known as the Bean Belt). It has been given that name because it is where almost all of the coffee plants in the world are grown.

And click here to have a closer look at the map.

 PD: Including idioms in your vocabulary helps you sound like a native. Any idea what the one in the title means?

Book for Administración y Finanzas

Administración y Finanzas students, this is the book we will be using in our lessons: 

in company 3.0 

Macmillan  

ISBN: 9780230455115

 

Have a nice weekend!

Present Continuous Review- II Grammar Friday

We will go over these exercises first thing on Tuesday:

Make sentences using the Present Continuous tense (positive, negative or question).

1. (we / go to the cinema later) We are going to the cinema later 

2. (they / work now) They are working now

3. (you / not / walk)

4. (they / learn new things)?

5. (when / he / start work)?

6. (why / I / stay at home)

7. (it / get dark)?

8. (we / not / win) 

9. (the dog / not / play with the ball)

10. (you / think)?

Have a nice weekend!