Reading Comprehension: Potluck

POTLUCK

Potluck parties are an ideal form of entertaining for the contemporary host or hostess who would like to gather with friends but is too busy running between the office and the soccer fields to host a formal party. Whenever the impulse to host a casual get-together strikes, you can call up your friends, neighbors or family, tell them you're organizing a potluck, and ask them to bring along one dish to share with the rest of the group.

Although the term "potluck" suggests a random assortment of dishes, it's likely to turn out better when the host does a little bit of organizing. If you don't want to risk the chance that all of your guests will bring only desserts, begin by assigning your guests a specific course to bring along. Next, ask each guest to commit to a general category of food even if they're not prepared to tell you the exact recipe. After all, as much as I love brownies, five plates of brownies wouldn't give much variety to your potluck and there would be a lot of leftovers!

When you're the host, remember to dig out extra serving platters, baskets, and utensils before your guests arrive. Not everyone brings food ready to be served. You don't want to be distracted from your guests because you're pulling things out of your attic or cabinets.

Don't forget that someone needs to be responsible for beverages. The host can supply them, or ask everyone to bring something they would like to drink with their dish.

As host you can choose what your contribution will be. If enough people are coming, providing the location for the party can be enough. Sometimes the host will stock the bar with alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks including juices, water and soft drinks. Often the host will provide the main course such as a turkey, hamburgers on the grill, or an egg casserole (depending on the time of the party) and ask guests to bring side dishes and desserts. It's really up to you based on the size of your guest list.

1. Decide whether the following sentences are True or False and copy the evidence from the text. 2 points

1. The host must prepare everything.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. The guest should assign the dishes to the guests.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2.  Answer the following questions according to the information in the text using your own words. 2 points

1. What is a potluck?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. When do people celebrate a potluck?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Find synonyms in the text. 2 points

1. Modern__________________p.1       5.Tools___________________ p.3

2. Get together _______________p.1     6. Cupboards_________________p.3

3. Courses __________________p. 2   7.Drinks ____________________ p.4

4. Remains __________________p.2     8. Sodas____________________ p.5

 

Reading Comprehension: Who reached the south pole first?

WHO REACHED THE SOUTH POLE FIRST?

                In 1900 there were two places in the world that were not explored. These were lands of snow and ice- The North Pole and the South Pole.

                As a young man in Norway, Roald Amundsen read about explorers who tried to reach the North Pole, and he wanted to reach it, too. It became his dream. The first step was to learn how to sail, so Amundsen went to sea as a worker on a ship when he was 22. Later, he worked on a ship that went to Antarctica. Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth. The South Pole is in the center of Antarctica. It was an exciting trip, but they did not reach the South Pole.

                He sailed on many ships and worked his way up to the top jobs. In 1903, he was the captain of a ship on its way to the Arctic. This ship was the first to sail the Northwest Passage. The Northwest Passage was important because it helped people to travel from Europe to Asia.

                Amundsen was now a famous explorer, and he started to plan his voyage to the North Pole. Then he learned that an American named Robert Peary was already there. Amundsen wanted to be first, so he changed his plans and went to the South Pole instead. He heard that an English explorer named Robert Scott was on his way to the South Pole, so Amundsen sent him a message. He said that this was now a race.

                When Amundsen reached Antarctica, he and four of his men started toward the South Pole. There was only ice and snow, and the wind was freezing. He had teams of dogs to pull sleds full with food and tents. They climbed mountains of snow and fell through holes in the ice. Finally, they were near the South Pole. They didn’t know whether Scott was already there. They reached the South Pole on December 14^th, 1911, and there was no sign of Scott.  Amundsen won the race. 

                Scott and his group were on their way, but they were not prepared for the extreme weather. They did not have the right clothes, and Scott had horses instead of dogs. The horses were not used to the freezing weather of Antarctica, and the men had to shot them. The men then had to carry everything. Scott and his men finally arrived at the South Pole, but 33 days after Amundsen’s group. Scott saw the Norwegian flag and was sad. He and his men returned to their camp. On the way, one man died. At the camp the four men didn’t have fuel for heat.

1. Decide whether the following sentences are True or False and copy the evidence from the text. 2 points

1. Amundsen never wanted to reach the North Pole.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Scott used horses to pull his sleds.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2.  Answer the following questions according to the information in the text using your own words. 2 points

1. Where did Amundsen’s  ship go in 1903?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What happened with the horses?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Find synonyms in the text. 2 points

1. Get to_____________________p.2         5. Competition__________________ p.4

2. Journey ____________________p.2        6. Sledge ______________________p.5

3. Prepare ____________________p. 4        7. If _________________________ p.5

4. Alternatively_________________p.4      8. Combustible _________________ p. 6

Reading Comprehension: Travelling

TRAVELLING

 The government has recently presented its plans for air travel. It wants to make the two London airports bigger. Some people have already started complaining. They say that planes already make too much noise and cause too much pollution. They also say that the air travel is very cheap and easy. They think that the government should make air travel more expensive and stop people travelling by plane.

Of course there are problems with air travel but there are also so many good things about it.

My grandparents never went abroad and they didn’t know much about the rest of the world. They thought that the north of England was a foreign country. My life is very, very different. I work for a German company, so I often need to travel to Germany, I live with my Argentinean wife, and we go to Japanese, Italian, Spanish restaurants. We watch films from all over the world. We speak three different languages.

 Long ago it took days to travel from Europe to America and only rich people could travel, but now things have changed a lot. You can find very cheap tickets in the Internet. We sometimes go to Holland to spend the weekend –or France or Spain.

1. Give full answers to the following questions:

a) What are the plans the English government has?

 b) Do people agree with those plans? Say why/why not?

 c) What do they say about airplanes?

d) How different is the writer’s life from his grandparents?

e) Where does the writer sometimes spend the weekends?

2. Say if these statements are true or false. Provide some evidence from the text.

1. My grandparents thought that the south of England was a foreign country.

2. People can find cheap tickets in the Internet.

3. Find words or phrases that mean:

1. Contamination

2. In a foreign country

3. Business

4. 1 Change into the passive voice: “ The government has recently presented plans for air travel”

4.2 Write the question for the underlines part of this answer: “Some people have already started complaining”

4.3 Write the following sentence into the reported speech: “ My grandparents never went abroad and they didn’t know much about the rest of the world”

Practicar Writing: Escribir sobre un blog

Esta practica pauta los pasos para poder escribir un Writing sobre "My Blog". Espero que os ayude!

Reading Comprehension: SPAIN’S WATER WARS

Este es otro examen propuesto por la Universidad de Salamanca. En este caso nos dan una palabra de glossary para que nos resulta más fácil el texto. Pero la estructura general sigue siendo la misma.
Suerte!

Reading Comprehension: A UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE TO RACISM

Este texo es una propuesta de la Universidad de Salamanca para la selectividad del 2004. El formato con la actual EVAU no ha cambiado tanto, así que esta propuesta es una práctica útil para repasar vocabulario y practicar las respuestas a las preguntas.

Prezi: Writing Skills

Hacer una redacción en inglés es algo complicado de primeras porque en muchas ocasiones nos centramos en saber hacer ejercicios de gramática y dejamos esto un poco de lado.

Para comenzar a hacer un buen writing, lo primero que tenemos que hacer es lo que se conoce como "brainstorming", esto es escribir todas las palabras que nos vengan a la mente, tengan que ver o no con el topic que vamos a escribir (ya tendremos tiempo de no usarlas si no son necesarias).

Una vez hayamos hecho esto, hay que pensar cómo vamos a dividir nuestro writing. Lo normal son 4-5 párrafos.

De todos modos hay varios tipos de writings con diferentes estructuras, que iré colgando poco a poco. De momento este sirve para hacerse una idea general de cómo organizar nuestras composiciones.


Espero que este Prezi os ayude.


https://prezi.com/urvrngrowvhm/writing-skills/

Enjoy it!