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ESTUDIO CASO REAL-UD3-TEXT 1

QUESTIONS

1. How was the contrast between the roadway and the footpaths?
The roadway is described as a huge, stormy river of vehicles going back and forth while
footpaths are teemed with people depicted like hurrying black insects.

2. What was Holmes hobby? Can it be described as a normal hobby? Why?


Holmes hobby was to remember every detail of London city such as the order of houses in
that area. I would not define it a normal hobby as it would take out of the ordinary
analytical mind and memory, I would rather define it an extra-ordinary hobby.

3. Do you think Holmes liked music? Why?


Holmes did not like music, he was enthusiastic about music. The author describes the state
of bliss in which he fell while playing.

4. Was Holmes a talented musician?


He was very talented not only as performer but as composer too.

5. How can you contrast Holmes as detective and Holmes as a musician?


Holmes was endowed with a dual nature: the one of inflexible, extremely meticulous
criminal agent and the languid, poetic nature of the musician who plays lost in music.

6. How could you describe Holmes moods?


Focused and absorbed by his analytical thinking process or lost in vague, contemplative
thoughts.

7. How did Holmes reach the intuition level?


Swinging from extreme languor to devouring energy, suddenly he was hit by the lust of
the chase and thanks to his brilliant mind he reached the intuition level.

8. Was Holmes dangerous for criminals?


The author says to feel that criminals haunted by Holmes are going to take a beating.

DEFINE USING YOUR OWN WORDS


Double tide inward and outward
A constant movement back and forth.

Stagnant
Immobile, not moving, static.

Vegetarian
A person or animal that does not eat meat.

Conundrums
Puzzling situations.

Sleuth-hound
A haunting dog trained to follow tracks; detective; investigator.
YOU ARE NOW A TEACHER
You are in charge of a 1st year Bachillerato group. Try to give your students 5 clear hints
proving the narrative character of this text.

The purpose of a narrative text is usually to entertain through story-telling. It describes a series of
real or imaginary events and can be written in the first or third person. It should entertain the reader
in some way, for example by being funny or sad or strange.
Details, such as exotic settings, intricate plots and finely drawn characters can add to the appeal of
the story. When we describe something, it is the details we give that bring it to life. These details
can be factual (It was one of the main arteries which conveyed the traffic of the City to the north
and west) or descriptive (the footpaths were black with the hurrying swarm of pedestrians).
One of the key action in writing a narrative is to set the scene: by saying where and when the story
takes place (the road in which we found ourselves as we turned) and giving details about the
main characters (My friend was an enthusiastic musician.; Holmes, the sleuth-hound, Holmes the
relentless, keen-witted, ready-handed criminal agent; In his singular character the dual nature
alternately asserted itself; etc.)
Developing the story by describing what happens (we turned round the corner; standing at the
corner and glancing along the line; weve done our work, so its time we had some play; etc.)
Sequencing by using a variety of past tenses (found - past simple-, had just quitted - past
participle-, have often thought present perfect-, had been lounging past perfect continuous;
present simple in direct speech; present and past continuous) to link the events with suitable
sequence words (as, while, then, etc.).

TRANSLATE INTO SPANISH


La calle en la que nos metimos al dar la vuelta a la esquina de la Plaza apartada de Saxe-Coburg
presentaba con esta tanto contraste como el derecho de un cuadro con el revs. Se trataba de una de
las principales arterias por donde circulaba el trfico de la City hacia el norte y hacia el oeste. La
carretera estaba bloqueada por el inmenso ro de trfico comercial que flua en ambas direcciones, y
las aceras eran de color negro por la multitud de peatones que corran.

GRAMMAR
Red-headed, keen-witted, ready-handed are compound adjective of the type adj+noun-ed. This
type of compound adjectives (adj+noun-ed) is mostly used when describing a physical (blue-eyed)
or mental (bad-tempered) characteristic. This physical characteristic does not only apply to people
but can be found in animals (short-winged, red-tailed) or objects (red-roofed, sharp-pointed).
In order to form a compound adjective of the type adj+noun-ed:
1- the noun should be able to transform into a reasonably comprehensible ed-adjective
temper tempered (sb with a temper, seems OK)
chair (n) chaired (doesnt seem to make sense)
2- the adjective in the first part of the compound word must fit with the noun-ed adjective.
a blue-eyed boy seems OK
a blue-tempered boy doesnt seem to make sense
Adjectives that precede nouns are called attributive adjectives (e.g., an angry man). Adjectives
ending in -ed or -ing are called participial adjectives because they have the same endings as verb
participles. However, not all participial adjectives end with -ed (past participle) and -ing (present
participle), if a compound adjective contains an irregular verb than it will take the past participle
ending.
a hand-written letter
a candle-lit dinner
an easily-misunderstood question
a built-up area
Often a compound adjective is written with a hyphen, especially if it precedes the noun. Many
participial adjectives have no corresponding verb, in which case they are formed by combining a
noun with a participle:
alcohol-based chemicals
a short-handed team
a short-tempered man
a kind-hearted girl

Compounds formed by a noun ending with -ed are hyphenated in any position in the sentence
hence, the first example could be rewritten as chemicals that are alcohol-based likewise a
short-tempered man and a man who is short-tempered. But in the case of
a man with a short temper
in this phrase, there is no compound adjective, short is an attributive adjective qualifying the noun,
temper. Consequently, many of the given examples can also be rewritten without using a compound
adjective and a hyphen
a girl with a kind heart.

Adjectives ending in -ing are used to describe:


the effect that something has on someones feelings
He lives in a charming house just outside the town.
She always has a warm welcoming smile.
a process or state that continues over a period of time
Increasing prices are making food very expensive
the characteristic of a person or a thing
My boyfriend is boring

Adjectives ending in -ed describe peoples feelings


My boyfriend is bored. - (My boyfriend feels bored)

THINK OUT OF THE BOX


One of the most famous tv dramas recently broadcasted has been House M.D. Do you think
there is any similarity between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Greg House?

The creators of House MD, David Shore and Paul Attanasio, were fans of Sherlock Holmes and
deliberately based the character on Arthur Conan Doyles legendary detective. Also, Houses friend
and colleague Dr. James Wilson was patterned after Holmes loyal friend and partner-in-crime-
fighting Dr. John Watson.
There are many similarities between the two characters: first of all the names, Holmes is very
similar to Homes. Therefore, the TV doctor got the name House, even the partners have similar
sounding names (John Watson/James Wilson).
Both characters are anti-social narcissists, shunning the company of other people (except their one
friend) and looking down at others in their field (police in Holmes case, other doctors in Houses
case) as incompetent.
Both Holmes and House will reject cases unless they are sufficiently challenging as easy cases bore
them.
Both are obsessed with mysteries; they both find intellectual stimulation in unraveling mysteries, be
it a medical mystery or a crime.
Both have a gift for observation; Holmes can deduce numerous facts about a person with incredible
accuracy just by looking at him/her, House can diagnose an serious illness by noticing a tiny
gesture.
Both men are addicted to drugs; Holmes is a cocaine addict, while House is addicted to pain-killers.
Both are indifferent to their clients/patients as human beings; they are only interested in solving the
mystery. They see people more like necessary annoyances that supply them with an intellectual
challenge to overcome. Once the case is over, they lose any interest in the person they saved.
Both have musical talent; Holmes played the violin, while House plays the guitar and the piano.
They have the same street address for their apartment; both live at 221 (in Holmes case, its 221-B.).

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