INTERMEDIATE LEVEL NEWSLETTER 22nd April 2011
OUR RECENT NEWS
EURO C1 (Advanced) language exam Would you like to take an advanced level language exam? The next EURO C1 exam is going to be on 7th May (application deadline was 8th April). Are you ready? If not or you think you can be better, enrol on our special exam-preparation course between 26 April – 6 May. Check our website for more information or send us an e-mail.
EURO B2 (Intermediate) language exam Would you like to take an intermediate level language exam? The next EURO B2 exam is going to be on 14th May (application deadline was 15th April). Are you ready? If not or you think you can be better, enrol on our special exam-preparation course between 2 – 13 May. Check our website for more information or send us an e-mail.
Recruitment period We are at the beginning of our recruitment period and we are happy to get your applications for our Study-tours due to be organized in the summer of 2011. Destinations and dates: Plymouth, England, 19 June – 3 July 2011 Plymouth, England, 3 - 17 July 2011 Dublin, Ireland, 17 - 31 July 2011 Edinburgh, Scotland 31 July - 13 August 2011 Malta 14 – 28 August 2011 Visit our website for more information!
AND NOW, IT’S TIME TO PRACTISE YOUR ENGLISH!
Little Jim: "How did you get that bruise on your arm?" Little Sam: "I ate some Easter candy." Little Jim: "Eating Easter candy won't give you a bruise." Little Sam: "It will if it's your big brother's candy!"
The Chilling Tale of Easter Island About 2,000 miles from the nearest continent, and 1,400 miles from the next closest inhabited isle, lies a tiny piece of land only 65 square miles in size. It is the most isolated, inhabited place in the world, Easter Island. When the explorer Jacob Roggeveen found it on April 5, 1722 (Easter day, that’s why the name), the natives, numbering about 2,000, had no idea that other peoples, beside themselves, existed. This is not surprising since the islanders had no boats or canoes capable of crossing the sea. What Roggevenn did find surprising was the presence of 200 amazing stone statues that lined the coast. Some were as high as 33 feet and weighed 82 tons. Abandoned in stone mines or along roads were another 700 statues, some 65 feet tall and weighing 270 tons. Roggevenn observed that Easter was a barren island with no trees for rolling the statues or plants for making heavy ropes. How could such massive monuments be carved and erected by such a small group of people lacking basic materials? Many people have wondered the mystery of Easter Island. Now archaeologists exploring Easter have pieced together a history that is almost as strange as an alien encounter and perhaps more frightening. When the first Polynesians landed on Easter Island, around 400 to 700 A.D., what they found was far from a barren land. The Island was a sub-tropical paradise. Thick forests of palm trees covered the hills. Other plants including the hauhau tree, which can be used to make ropes, were also numerous. Seabirds, including the albatross, used the Island as a nesting place. Porpoises played in the waves. With conditions so fine on Easter the human population quickly grew. The islanders soon had enough time left to start building the huge statues that cover the island. These were probably erected by rival clans each one wanting to have the largest and most numerous statues as a sign of status and wealth. The Islanders started cutting down the palm trees to make rollers to move the statues. They cut the hauhau trees to make the ropes needed to pull and erect the monuments. When the last palm was cut down there was no longer the wood to make the heavy canoes needed for long sea voyages or to hunt the porpoises that were an important part of the Islanders diet. Starvation resulted, the government collapsed and cannibalism appeared. By the time Roggeveen arrived there were no living animals on Easter except the humans and a few domesticated chickens. And over the barren landscape stood the cold, stone statues, the
strange proof that a great civilization once must have existed on the island. What makes this story so frightening? It is a warning tale to all of us. It is quite possible to destroy a closed ecological system by overusing its resources. It happened on Easter Island and it could happen to our own planet Earth.
VOCABULARY floor plan – alaprajz to construct – felépíteni construction work – építkezés building site – építési terület hoist – emelıszerkezet, csiga lever – emelıkar, emelırúd pulley – csiga spirit level – vízszintezı brick-layer – kımőves workman – segédmunkás scaffolding – állványzat housewarming party – házavató buli building material – építıanyag concrete – beton brick – tégla gravel – sóder cement – cement plaster – vakolat whitewash – mész to whitewash – meszelni mortar – habarcs sand – homok tile – cserép slate – pala plank, board – deszka beam – gerenda insulation – szigetelés to redecorate – lakást felújítani belülrıl (tapéta, festés stb.) to renovate – házat tatarozni
GRAMMAR BITS ’Due to’, ’owing to’, ’on account of’ and ’because of’ – Miatt, következtében
Annak kifejezésére, hogy valami egy másik dolog miatt vagy annak következtében, illetve annak köszönhetıen következik be, az angol nyelv több megoldást is ismer. Ilyen „megoldások” a ’due to’, ’owing to’, ’on account of’ és a ’because of’ szerkezetek használata.
Ezek a szerkezetek nagyon hasonlóak egymáshoz, de ahogy a magyarban is, köztük is vannak apró különbségek. Mind a négy szerkezet elöljárószónak minısül és egy fınévvel állnak együtt. Mindegyikük annak kifejezésére való, hogy valami történt valaminek a következményeként vagy hogy tudassák velünk, valamely esemény minek hatására következett be: He was kept in after school due to/owing to his bad behaviour. He was kept in after school on account of/because of his bad behaviour. Rendetlen magatartása miatt az iskolában tartották. Due to/Owing to a broken propeller, the new cruise liner returned immediately to the port. The new cruise liner returned immediately to port because of/on account of a broken propeller. A törött hajócsavar miatt az óceánjáró azonnal visszatért a kikötıbe.
A négy említett szerkezet gyakran fordul elı mellékmondatban is, a „to be” igével közösen: It is due to/on account of all his hard work over the winter months that he has passed the exam with such a good grade. A téli hónapok kemény munkája miatt (kemény munkájának köszönhetıen) ment át a vizsgán ilyen jó eredménnyel. It was owing to/because of the traffic congestion on the road leading to the airport that I missed my flight. A reptérre vezetı úton lévı forgalmi dugó miatt (forgalmi dugónak köszönhetıen) késtem le a gépemet.
A fenti hétköznapi mondatokban az elöljárószavak használata a létigével meglehetısen formális, hivatalos csengést ad a mondatainknak. A hétköznapi beszélt nyelv elıszeretettel alkalmazza inkább a „because” kötıszót, ám figyelj rá, hogy a „because” kötıszó, vagyis két mellékmondatot kell összekapcsolnia: We had to give up the idea of a boat trip because it started to pour with rain. Fel kellett adnunk a csónakázás ötletét, mert elkezdett esni az esı. Owing to the heavy rain, we had to give up the idea of a boat trip. A heves esızés miatt fel kellett adnunk a csónakázás ötletét.
Az utolsó „owing to” példamondat, mint már megállapítottuk, egy kissé formálisan hangzik és talán furcsán is egy hétköznapi beszélgetésben. Az alábbi példában azonban egy látszólag formális szerkezetet (on account of) látsz, amely azonban mégsem lesz hivatalos íző, mivel sokkal tömörebb és kifejezıbb. Hasonlítsd össze az utána álló informális változattal és máris megérted:
Why are you so late? On account of the traffic. Incredibly heavy! Miért késtél ennyit? A forgalom miatt. Elképesztıen nagy! Why are you so late? Because the traffic was so incredibly heavy on the road into London. Miért késtél ennyit? Mert a forgalom olyan elképesztıen nagy volt a Londonba vezetı úton.
EXERCISES Write ’due to’, ’owing to’, ’because of’ or ‘because’ into the gaps. 1. The shop will be closed …………. tax violation. 2. We didn’t get a good place ……………. we arrived too late for the concert. 3. It is …………… your laziness that you failed to pass the exam. 4. ……………. the terrible storm we had to cancel our barbecue party yesterday. 5. We had to cancel our barbecue party ………….. the terrible storm. 6. We had to cancel our barbecue party ……………. there was a terrible storm yesterday. 7. ………………. the constant rise of the oil price the airlines had to increase the prices of their tickets. 8. She went there ……………….. she wanted to meet him again. 9. The competition ended …………….. the fact that several athletes used doping. 10. It was …………… the usage of doping that the competition ended.
Choose the correct answer A, B, C or D to fill the spaces. 1 The car swerved to avoid ............ the pedestrian. A hitting B to hit C that it hit D not to hit 2 My teacher admitted ............ the answer to the question. A to not know B that he not know C that he didn't know D that not knowing
3 Would you like ............ another piece of cake? A have also B having C that you have D to have 4 I hope one day ............ my own house. A own B to own C owning D that I own 5 I'd rather ............ the children decide for themselves. A to let B allowing C to allow D let
You can find the keys to these exercises at the end of this newsletter on the last page.
Well, that’s all for now. We hope you enjoyed our material and you are eager to receive the new one next week. Have fun and see you again soon! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to write to us at
[email protected]
Best regards, Shetland UK Nyelviskola 1192 Budapest, Kábel utca 10. 281-0822, 280-3123, 06-30-952-1202 www.shetland.hu
SEE ANSWERS BELOW
Here are the correct answers for the exercises above: Write ’due to’, ’owing to’, ’because of’ or ‘because’ into the gaps. 1. due to / owing to 2. because 3. because of 4. Because of 5. because of 6. because 7. Due to / Owing to 8. because 9. due to / owing to 10. due to / owing to / because of
Choose the correct answer A, B, C or D to fill the spaces. 1 A, 2 C, 3 D, 4 B, 5 D
