<![CDATA[Miriam's ESL Club - Class Blog]]>Tue, 25 Jun 2024 14:14:36 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Marks review session]]>Tue, 08 Sep 2015 16:17:42 GMThttp://miriameslclub.weebly.com/class-blog/marks-review-session1Remember to bring back your book loans, please!
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Results for B2 CAL group will be published when the oral exams are finished today, sorry!
]]><![CDATA[Time schedule for speaking tests in September]]>Fri, 03 Jul 2015 18:40:32 GMThttp://miriameslclub.weebly.com/class-blog/time-schedule-for-speaking-tests-in-september
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]]><![CDATA[Marks Review Session]]>Sat, 20 Jun 2015 22:56:55 GMThttp://miriameslclub.weebly.com/class-blog/marks-review-sessionREMEMBER TO BRING BACK THE BOOK LOANS, PLEASE!
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]]><![CDATA[End-of-year Party @ EOI Carlota Remfry de Linares]]>Thu, 18 Jun 2015 18:55:44 GMThttp://miriameslclub.weebly.com/class-blog/end-of-year-party-eoi-carlota-remfry-de-linares
]]><![CDATA[B2 tests for further practice]]>Fri, 29 May 2015 08:36:03 GMThttp://miriameslclub.weebly.com/class-blog/b2-tests-for-further-practice
The links below provide you with a handful of B2 tests from other regions in Spain. It's worth practising at home before the 8th June:
- Asturias
- Catalonia
- Murcia
- Madrid
- Basque Country
- Navarra
- Galicia
]]><![CDATA[Lookback Section 9]]>Thu, 28 May 2015 08:33:05 GMThttp://miriameslclub.weebly.com/class-blog/lookback-section-9
-ING FORM AND INFINITIVE
1. doing
2. to check
3. being
4. falling
5. to find

6. shaking
7. drinking
8. to phone
9. seeing
10. to do
CRIME
A. 
1. stalking
2. kidnapping
3. hacking
4. arson
5. tax evasion
6. vandalism
7. bribery
8. mugging
9. counterfeiting
10. identity theft

11. shoplifting
12. pickpocketing
13. fraud
14. littering
15. drink driving
16. fare-dodging
17. car theft
18. bag snatching
19. joyriding
20. speeding
etc

B.
1. arson, vandalism...
2. stalking, kidnapping, mugging, pickpocketing...
3. hacking, counterfeiting, identity theft...
4. tax evasion, bribery...
5. shoplifting...
SYNONYMS
1. distract you
2. grab
3. pose as somebody
4. deceiving
5. fallen for

MODALS OF DEDUCTION
A.
1.
b) His friends might / could / have sent mail to the old address.
c) The postman can't / couldn't have delivered the letters.

2.
a) She might have been practising in an empty concert hall.
b) She must have been deaf, so no-one clapped.
c) The audience can't / couldn't have liked the music

B.
- Someone else must have taken the letters
- The lock on his post box might have been broken, so they fell out and blew away
- The pianist must have asked the audience not to clap for some reason
- It might have been in a country where the custom is not to clap
Etc

DESCRIBING AN INCIDENT
2. reminded
3. realised
4. went
5. happened
6. didn't catch
7. happened
8. crossed
9. if
10. like
]]><![CDATA[week 26: Summary]]>Thu, 21 May 2015 23:20:56 GMThttp://miriameslclub.weebly.com/class-blog/week-26-summary
The topic this week, as part of the introduction seen in class last week, deals with scams and crime. We talked about memory and witnessing when reporting a theft or a crime, as well as vocabulary related to it.

Find here an excellent compilation of vocabulary exercises on fraud, business crime and scams: collocations, definitions, word formation, phrasal verbs. In addition, here you are a link to check your knowledge on crimes, agents and verbs. This interesting link, on the other hand, includes also vocabulary related to law.
If you feel like practising your listening skill, try out the following listening comprehension exercises:
- Elllo 1
- Elllo 2
- Elllo 3
- Elllo 4
- Listen to the first part of this podcast and fill in the gaps with the missing words (minute 1:40). Once you've listened to it twice, listen to the whole podcast to learn the meaning of the expressions in bold.

I read an article in the newspaper this morning about a man who had been on the lam for 12 years. He was wanted by the police because they believed he (1) _______   ____________   ____   ____________. But before the man could ____  ____  ________, he bolted and left the country. He has been on the (3) “______    __________” list in this state ever since. 

How did he (4) ______  _________? The police had confiscated his passport, but he wore a disguise and became a stowaway on a ship heading for China. While on the boat, he (5) ______  _____  _____   _________  and was holed up in the cargo section of the ship the entire time. No one even had an inkling that he was on the ship! When the ship arrived in China, he got off and immediately (6) ______________   _____  ______  ____________ . At first, he didn’t have any identification and he had to go underground, but eventually, he made enough money to buy a passport (7) ____  ____  _______  __________. 

How did he (8) _____   ___________? He tried to reenter the United States and the security officers at the airport saw that his passport (9) _____  __________. He was nabbed right away and he’ll be going to trial soon. That is, unless he (10) ______________ ! 

Answer key (highlight to see them): 1. had committed a murder - 2. go to trial - 3. Most Wanted - 4. get away - 5. kept out of sight - 6. assumed a new identity - 7. on the black market - 8. get caught - 9. was forged - 10. escapes

As for the grammar points, we reviewed past modals of deduction, dependent prepositions and some verb patterns (verbs followed by infinitive with to and -ing form).
- Past modals of deduction: link 1, link 2, link 3
- Dependent prepositions: link 1, link 2, link 3
- Verb patterns: link 1, link 2
Although we didn't go through section 8.4., it's relevant to point out that cultural differences must be taken into account in our daily encounters if working with international companies or when travelling. Culture shock may arise at any time. Click on the link before to try doing a reading comprehension exercise on culture shock. Below I'll include a BBC documentary on child marriages in Bangladesh for you to enjoy:
By the way, I've noticed you still find it difficult to distinguish the verb patterns of very common verbs: advise - suggest - recommend. Have a look at it to avoid making mistakes.
]]><![CDATA[Lookback Section 8]]>Wed, 20 May 2015 14:51:06 GMThttp://miriameslclub.weebly.com/class-blog/lookback-section-8CONDITIONALS
1. 
a) might have studied
b) wouldn't have gone
c) wouldn't be

2.
a) wouldn't take
b) would choose
c) would find

3. 
a) would be
b) spenD
c) have ended up

COLLOCATIONS
1. analyse, postpone
2. weigh up, come to
3. examine, putting off
4. stick to, go against

FEELINGS
1. groggy, alert
2. wide awake
3. cringe
4. sharpest, lowest ebb
5. despise, passion

-ING FORM AND INFINITIVE
1. travelling
2. to learn, hearing
3. to be
4. to do
5. Riding
6. making
7. being able to watch
8 Having to wear

AWKWARD SITUATIONS
2. There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about...
3. Look, I don't want you to get the wrong idea, but...
4. It's just that I've noticed that...
5. I'd feel better if...
6. How would you feel about that?]]><![CDATA[Reading answer key 9: 'Memories on Trial' + Vocabulary: Idioms]]>Wed, 20 May 2015 14:50:21 GMThttp://miriameslclub.weebly.com/class-blog/reading-answer-key-9-memories-on-trial-vocabulary-idiomsREADING EXERCISE
A.
1. seeing a video of the bus exploding in the 2005 terrorist attacks in London.
2. Seeing a white van or truck leaving several of the crime scenes during sniper attacks in Washington DC area in 2002.
3. Seeing video footage of the moment Princess Diana's car crashed.

B.
1 F - Even in these days of DNA tests and other forensic techniques, witness testimony still plays an important part in court cases.
2 F - Forty percent of people claimed to have seen this nonexistent footage BUT some even went on to describe what happened in vivid detail (i.e. some of the forty percent).
3 T - But what Ost's study clearly demonstrates is just how easily influenced our memories are.
4 T - In many cases, an unreliable memory is not a problem. It just means we forget to send a birthday card...
5 T - in 1998, an American study calculated that in ninety-five percent of felony cases - the more serious crimes - witness evidence (people's memories) was the only evidence heard in court..
6 F - witnesses reported seeing a white van or truck fleeing several of the crime scenes.
7 T - In twenty percent of cases they pointed to a volunteer.
8 F - Our memories may be poor and are usually fragmented. A good example is how in car crashes....

C.
2. It could well be a mental image of a red double-decker bus in Tavistock Square with its (red double.-decker bus) roof ripped off by the force of the explosion.
3. Do you remember seeing a video of the bus (red double.-decker bus) exploiding?
4. But what about CCTV footage? What can you see in that (CCTV footage) video?
5. Well, the truth is, you shouldn't be able to see anything in your mind's eye because such CCTV footage simple doesn't exist.
6. Many of us think we have a good memory. After all, it's (a good memory) got us through the occasional exam.
7. In many cases, an unreliable memory is not a problem. It (an unreliable memory) just means we forget.
8. When they were caught, the sniper suspects were actually driving a blue car.


VOCABULARY BANK: IDIOMS

2A.
1a     2b     3c     4d     5e     6f     7g     8h

2B
1f     2b     3d     4e     5c     6h     7a     8g
]]><![CDATA[Answer key: further practice on participle clauses]]>Tue, 19 May 2015 16:50:58 GMThttp://miriameslclub.weebly.com/class-blog/answer-key-further-practice-on-participle-clauses
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