ENGLISH PORTFOLIO 2016-2017: September 2016

Sunday, September 25, 2016

WEEK 6 READING-TRAVEL WRITING

TRAVEL WRITING

https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/reading-comprehension-on-travel-writing-6098821

Bill Bryson- A walk in the woods

Bill Bryson

Not long after I moved with my family to a small town in New Hampshire I happened upon a path that vanished into a wood on the edge of town.

A sign announced that this was no ordinary footpath, but the celebrated Appalachian Trail. Running more than 2,100 miles along America’s eastern seaboard, through the serene and beckoning Appalachian Mountains, the AT is the granddaddy of long hikes. The Virginia portion alone is twice the length of the Pennine Way. From Georgia to Maine, it wanders across fourteen states, through plump, comely hills whose very names – Blue Ridge, Smokies, Cumberlands, Catskills, Green Mountains, White Mountains – seem an invitation to amble. Who could say the words

‘Great Smoky Mountains’ or ‘Shenandoah Valley’ and not feel an urge, as the naturalist John Muir once put it, to ‘throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence’?

And here it was, quite unexpectedly, meandering in a dangerously beguiling fashion through the pleasant New England community in which I had just settled. It seemed such an extraordinary notion – the idea that I could set off from home and walk 1,800 miles through woods to Georgia, or turn the other way and clamber over the rough and stony White Mountains to the fabled prow of Mount Katahdin floating in forest 450 miles to the north in a wilderness few have seen. A little voice in my head said: ‘Sounds neat! Let’s do it!’

VOCABULARY :

To beckon (ed) - to signal someone with your arm or hand

comely -attractive

to amble (ed)-to stroll, to walk slowly

beguiling-interesting and attractive but not to be trusted

to clamber over -to climb using hands and feet

prow-the front section of a ship

1. Find two adjectives to describe the Appalachian trail.

2. Why do you think it is described as “the granddaddy of long hikes”?

3. Why are the names an “invitation to amble”?

4. What persuasive technique can you see at the end of the second paragraph?

CONCLUSION

Can you spot the features of the travel type of writing ?

Now check if they are the same as here :http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/standard/english/close_reading_texts/autobiographies_travel_writing/revision/3/

WEEK 5 WINDOW ON CANADA; MAP OF THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING WORLD

LINKING SENTENCES USING PAST PARTICIPLES

Joining two sentences using a past participle

Two sentences can be made into one by using a past participle. Study the following examples carefully.

The car was damaged in the accident. It needed a new door.
Damaged in the accident, the car needed a new door.

He was deceived by his friends. He lost all hope.
Deceived by his friends, he lost all hope.

I was impressed by his performance. I congratulated him.
Impressed by his performance, I congratulated him.

He was driven by hunger. He killed himself.
Driven by hunger he killed himself.

Read more at http://www.englishpractice.com/children/ways-joining-sentences-part-iii/#cy0Mw6ODT4LwWpgi.99

LET'S WATCH THE NEXT VIDEO AND NOTE DOWN 10 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CANADA AND THE USA

http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-top-ten/countries-with-most-english-language-speaker-map.html

Saturday, September 17, 2016

WEEK 3 CROSSING BORDERS

http://sites.psu.edu/imanspassion/wp-content/uploads/sites/6762/2014/03/travewannn.jpg

SO/SUCH

Such + a/an + adjective + singular noun
 It was such a beautiful day yesterday

Such + adjective + plural / uncountable noun
 They are such good friends
* It is such expensive furniture

So + adjective / adverb + that ….
 It was so cold that we stayed in
* He ran so fast that he won

So much + uncountable noun + that
 There was so much noise that I couldn’t hear him

So many + countable noun + that
 So many people came that we needed more chairs
too + adjective / adverb (+ to-infinitive)
 It’s too hot (to work) too + adjective / adverb + a/an + noun (+ to-inf.)
 He is too weak a person (to fight)
(as a person, he is too weak to fight)

enough + plural / uncountable noun
 There is enough soup

adjective / adverb + enough
 The soup is hot enough
He ran fast enough (to win)

Fill the gaps with the suitable form: so / such / too / enough
1. He’s __________ excellent worker! he deserves to get promoted
2. mmm… This pizza is _________ tasty. I think I’ll have another piece.
3. That wall is _________ high for me to climb. I need a ladder.
4. They had __________ terrible weather in England that they came back in two days.
5. It was __________ hot coffee that I couldn’t drink it.
6. You don’t need to hurry up, we have __________ time to finish this exercise
7. It was __________ small a car for all of us, so we had to go in two cars.
8. Alonso didn’t drive fast __________ to overtake Schumacher in the last race.
9. Don’t worry about her. She is clever _________ to realise what she has to do
10. She didn’t speak loudly __________ for the audience to hear her.

Source:http://valmeenglishcorner.blogspot.ro/2010/02/so-such-too-enough-i.html

http://www.englishpage.com/minitutorials/sosuchexercise.htm

http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=5763

Rephrase the sentences to replace such with so and vice versa, depending on the context

Example: It was so lonely there. -> It was such a lonely day there.

1. You have such a big and comfortable house! _______________________________________________

2. Her Swiss watch is so unique and expensive. _______________________________________________

3. She had such a busy preparation for her wedding. _______________________________________________

4. Your room is so untidy and not cozy.

_______________________________________________

5. It was such an obvious decision for you.

________________________________________

VI. SO - SUCH

66. The weather was so warm that I didn’t need a coat. It was such…

67. The lesson was so boring that she fell asleep. It was such…

68. The stories are so good that nobody moves. They are…

69. She speaks with such a strong accent that people can’t understand her. Her accent…

VII. TOO - ENOUGH

70. The weather is too bad for camping. The weather isn’t…

71. The town was too small to be marked on the map. The town wasn’t…

72. He speaks too quickly for me to understand. He doesn’t speak…

73. The bridge is too narrow for trucks to pass. The bridge isn’t…

74. He couldn’t reach the button because it was too high. The button…

75. The window was very small. He couldn’t get through it. The window wasn’t…

76. The suitcase was very heavy. She couldn’t carry it. The window wasn’t…

77. These shoes are very small. I can’t wear them. The shoes aren’t…

Rephrasing SO / SUCH

SO - SUCH

1. The girl was so beautiful, everyone stared at her.

She was.............................. girl that everyone stared at her.

2. It was such hot weather, I sat in the garden all the day.

The weather was ................................ that I sat in the garden all the day.

3. It was such a surprise I didn’t know what to say.

I was so .............................................. I didn’t know what to say.

4. The box was so heavy that we couldn’t lift it.

It was such .................. ........................... that we couldn’t lift it.

5. They were such naughty children that they were punished by the teacher.

The children were ........................... that they were punished by the teacher.

6. The English language is so important that many people learn it every day.

English is ...................................... language that many people learn it every day.

7. Sarah was such a young girl that her parents wouldn’t leave her alone.

Sarah was ........................... that her parents wouldn’t leave her alone.

8. These people are so poor that they always need help.

They are ........................... ........................... that they always need help.