2.

0 FINDING LANGUAGE ITEMS IN THE RELEVANT TEXTS

TEXT 1: THE INCOMING CALL

When I got up I checked the letterbox. I hadn’t checked my mail in three days and
there were lots of bills and letters. One of the letters was from Orange. I opened the
letter to make sure that everything was fine, but it wasn’t. They were charging me
350 Euros for one month! That was wrong because one month before I had taken a
monthly plan, which was 30 Euros for all calls and messages.

I immediately dialed the Customer Service number, which was a free number. I said
I wanted to speak to the billing Department, and they said that I had to call a 902
number. I decided to use my landline, because calling a 902 from a mobile is very
expensive. I called several times but the line was engaged.

I finally decided to go to the Orange central office to make a formal complaint in

person. When I got on the bus everybody was texting or talking on their mobile
phones. Everybody was using their phone. I wondered if they had also taken a
monthly plan. I tried to call the 902 number once more, but now I didn’t have signal
or the signal was so weak that I couldn’t make the call.

After a couple of minutes my phone was ringing. The ringtone was extremely loud,
which was inexplicable because I always kept the volume of my ringtone low, and
because the previous night I had switched the ringtone to vibrate in the cinema. I
looked around and everybody was looking at me with very angry expressions. It
took me a minute to grab the phone because I had kept my phone in my bag, which
was full of rubbish. It made the people on the bus were looking at me angrily and
muttering things.
I finally took the phone and answered it. “Hello”. The voice at the other end of the
line was terrifying.

“You owe us 350 Euros, kid!”

Simple Past Tense

Past Continuous Tense

Past Perfect Tense

TEXT 2: FRANK’S BUSY DAY

Frank's day begins at 6.30 a.m. He gets up, takes a shower and gets dressed. He
always has breakfast and drinks a cup of coffee. Then he goes to the university for
his classes. When he finishes his morning classes, he usually eats lunch at 12.00
p.m in the cafeteria. At lunch, he sometimes talks with his friends. After lunch he
goes to his afternoon classes. He usually goes home at about 5.00 p.m. He eats
dinner and relaxes for a while. Sometimes he takes a walk or goes running. For
the rest of the evening he reads books and does homework. Frank goes to bed
about 11.00 p.m. What a busy day!

Simple Present Tense

 TEXT 3: LETTER TO SOPHIA

55, Dream Road,

89666 New York City,

New York.

Dear Sophia,

How are you? How is London? I am having a very good time in New York.
It’s Sunday and it’s sunny and warm. Now it’s ten in the morning and we are
enjoying our time in Central Park. I am sitting under a tree, I am listening to my
radio… and I am writing to you, of course.

My Canadian cousin Rosemary is here with us, she is reading a comic.

She’s very pretty. She’s tall and slim and she has got long wavy brown hair. Her
parents are in Toronto.

My father is reading The New York Times, an American newspaper. My

mother is playing with my little brother Jimmy on the grass and they are eating
popcorn.

There are many people in the park. Some men are jogging, two girls are
walking their dogs, and an old man is skating! And he can do that quiet well.

We often come to this fantastic park, in this wonderful city because we are
relaxing here. But sometimes we visit other interesting places: museums, shops…

New York is great! There are many fantastic skyscrapers and there are
people everywhere!

Love,

Sarah

Present Continuous Tense

 TEXT 4: A LOOK AT THE INTRIGUING HISTORY OF SNOWBOARDING

To say who actually invented the sport of snowboarding would be impossible

because people have always loved to slide down a snow-covered hill. Soaring
through the snow on some kind of seat or board is nothing new. The ways to enjoy
the snow are numerous, and people have devised ways to turn garbage can lids
and cardboard into ‘snow boards’ to enjoy an afternoon frolic outdoors. The various
ways to glide through snow have became more sophisticated and have evolved
into using polished boards or skis in much the same manner as a surfboarder would
ride a wave.

There have been many attempts at developing a modern snowboard. In

1965, the ‘Snurfer’ (a word play on ‘snow’ and ‘surfer’) was developed as a child’s
toy. Two skis were bound together and a rope was placed at the front end to afford
control and stability. Over 500,000 ‘Snurfers’ were sold in 1966 but they were never
seen as more than a child's plaything even though organized competitions began to
take place. The year 1969 brought a slightly more sophisticated snowboard based
on the principles of skiing combined with surfboard styling.

The ‘Flying Yellow Banana’ was developed in 1977. This was nothing more
than a plastic shell covered with a top surface like that of a skateboard, but at the
time it was considered a major advance in the little known sport of snowboarding.
The first national snowboard race was held in the area outside Woodstock and was
known as ‘The Suicide Six.’ The race consisted of a steep downhill run called The
Face in which the main goal was probably mere survival.

Snowboarding continued to increase in popularity over the next several years.

In 1985 the first magazine dedicated specifically to snowboarding hit the newsstands
with huge success and furthered the popularity of this exciting sport. Hoards of fans
began to organize regional events and pretty soon snowboarding events were held
in all parts of the world. In the year 1994 snowboarding was finally declared an
Olympic event, much to the delight of fans. The not-so-new sport of snowboarding
was finally recognized and meant a huge victory for serious snowboarders across
the globe.

A collection of snowboarding tricks and stunts was released on video in 1996.

Filmed in Alaska, the breathtaking beauty and captivating snowboarding techniques
featured in the video exposed snowboarding to a new generation, and by 1998
snowboarding constituted almost 50% of all winter activity. Today, nearly all ski
resorts accept snowboarders. There are still a few holding on to the past but this is
unlikely to continue as the number of snowboarders continually increases.

From the first crudely built snowboards to the advanced and specialized
models available today, snowboarders have carried a ‘bad boy’ image. This rebel
reputation is still common today in spite of the fact that snowboarding appeals to
men, women, and children of all nationalities and social groups. At most major ski
resorts you can find snowboarding gear, information, and lessons. Olympic and
world wide snowboarding events are among the most popular of winter sports and
the competition to be the best is fierce.

Retailers nationwide and around the world carry many types of snowboards,
and the choice in specially made snowboarding gear is immense. Snowboarders
have participated in the X Games and even charity events such as Boarding for
Breast Cancer. From its early meager beginnings snowboarding has progressed
into a fully recognized sport, and large numbers of people are turning to
snowboarding for adventure, fun, and professional recognition.

Present Perfect Tense

 TEXT 5: ADVERTISEMENT

Advertisements are important part of modern business and industry. It is therefore

not surprising that we are confronted by them wherever we go. We see them in
newspapers and magazines, on television and the Internet; and we even hear them
over the radio. We also see them on buses, taxis and trains.

Advertisements are created by sellers of goods and services to boost the

sales of their products and are often published or broadcast repeatedly in the media.
The idea is that through repeated reminders, a customer comes to remember the
product and, hopefully, ends up using it frequently.

Advertisements gives benefit to consumers in certain ways. For example,

consumers are exposed to a variety of brands for a given product. They are then
able to compare the choices available carefully and select the one that suits them
best.

Businesses also use advertisements to introduce new products. Consumers

therefore receive information on the latest goods and services available in the
market. As more and more new products become available, businesses need to
produce goods of better quality and improve the level of their service to keep up with
the competition. The availability of better quality goods and services obviously
benefits consumers.

The cost of making advertisements is usually very high. Businesses have to

spend large sums of money to get consumers to notice and recognize their products.
Part of this money goes to the production of the advertisement, packaging of the
product and buying of advertisement space in newspapers and magazines, on
billboards, television and the radio. The cost of advertising is partly borne by
consumers, who end up paying more for a product..

Advertisements can be misleading. To boost sales, they are made to appeal

to the purchaser’s vanity-this expensive face cream will make you look beautiful;
that vitamin supplement will help you stay young; these pills will make you slim
without the need for exercise. Such claims are often exaggerated but many
believed the claims completely.

We can safely say that advertisements have become a part of our daily lives
and are here to stay. They can be both a helpful source of information and an
unwelcome distraction. What we need to do is develop the ability to tell the
difference between fact, exaggeration and outright lies to safeguard our wallets and,
perhaps, even our lives.

Future Tense

TEXT 6: THE UGLY DUCKLING

Once upon a time down on an old farm, lived a duck family, and Mother Duck had
been sitting on a clutch of new eggs. One nice morning, the eggs hatched and out
popped six chirpy ducklings. But one egg was bigger than the rest, and it didn't
hatch. Mother Duck couldn't recall laying that seventh egg. How did it get there?
TOCK! TOCK! The little prisoner was pecking inside his shell.

"Did I count the eggs wrongly?" Mother Duck wondered. But before she
had time to think about it, the last egg finally hatched. A strange looking duckling
with gray feathers that should have been yellow gazed at a worried mother. The
ducklings grew quickly, but the Mother Duck had a secret worry.

"I can't understand how this ugly duckling can be one of mine!" she said to
herself, shaking her head as she looked at her last born. Well, the gray duckling
certainly wasn't pretty, and since he ate far more than his brothers, he was
outgrowing them. As the days went by, the poor ugly duckling became more and
more unhappy. His brothers didn't want to play with him, he was so clumsy, and all
the farmyard folks simply laughed at him. He felt sad and lonely, while Mother Duck
did her best to console him.

“Poor little ugly duckling!" she would say. "Why are you so different from
the others?" And the ugly duckling felt worse than ever. He secretly wept at night.
He felt nobody wanted him. “Nobody loves me, they all tease me! Why am I so
different from my brothers?

Then one day, at sunrise, he ran away from the farmyard. He stopped at a
pond and began to question all the other birds. "Do you know of any ducklings with
gray feathers like mine? But everyone shook their head in scorn.

"We don't know anyone as ugly as you. "The ugly duckling did not lose
heart, however, and kept on making inquiries. He went to another pond, where a
pair of large geese gave him the same answer to his question. What's more, they
warned him: "Don't stay here! Go away! It's dangerous. There are men with guns
around here!” The duckling was sorry he had ever left the farmyard.

Then one day, his travels took him near an old countrywoman's cottage.
Thinking he was a stray goose, she caught him. “I’ll put this in a hutch. I hope it’s a
female and lays plenty of eggs!” said the old woman, whose eyesight was poor. But
the ugly duckling laid not a single egg. The hen kept frightening him.

"Just wait! If you don't lay eggs, the old woman will cut your neck and pop
you into the pot!" And the cat chipped in: "Hee! Hee! I hope the woman cooks you,
and then I can gnaw at your bones!" The poor ugly duckling was so scared that he
lost his appetite, though the old woman kept stuffing him with food and grumbling: "If
you won’t lay eggs, at least hurry up and get plump!”

"Oh, dear me!" moaned the now terrified duckling. "I'll die of fright first!
And I did so hope someone would love me!”

Then one night, finding the hutch door ajar, he escaped. Once again he
was all alone. He fled as far away as he could, and at dawn, he found himself in a
thick bed of reeds. "If nobody wants me, I'll hide here forever." There was plenty of
food, and the duckling began to feel a little happier, though he was lonely. One day
at sunrise, he saw a flight of beautiful birds’ wing overhead. White, with long slender
necks, yellow beaks and large wings, they were migrating south.

"If only I could look like them, just for a day!" said the duckling, admiringly.
Winter came and the water in the reed bed froze. The poor duckling left home to
seek food in the snow. He dropped exhausted to the ground, but a farmer found him
and put him in his big jacket pocket.

"I'll take him home to my children. They'll look after him. Poor thing, he's
frozen!" The duckling was showered with kindly care at the farmer's house. In this
way, the ugly duckling was able to survive the bitterly cold winter.

However, by springtime, he had grown so big that the farmer decided: "I'll
set him free by the pond!" That was when the duckling saw himself mirrored in the
water.

"Goodness! How I've changed! I hardly recognize myself!" The flight of

swans winged north again and glided on to the pond. When the duckling saw them,
he realized he was one of their kind, and soon made friends.

"We're swans like you!" they said, warmly. "Where have you been hiding?"

"It's a long story," replied the young swan, still astounded. Now, he swam
majestically with his fellow swans. One day, he heard children on the river bank
exclaim: "Look at that young swan! He's the finest of them all!"

And he almost burst with happiness.

Question Forms
 TEXT 7: THE TRIP

My Dad is a trip, an off your rocker maniac. I think that sometimes he has ants in
his pants. Sometimes he comes home from work and says: "I hear that the fishing
is really good at Clear Lake.” So we go off to the lake to fish, and come back at
eleven o’clock. Sometimes at school I feel like a fish out of water at school
because I don’t go to school that much. Today I came home happy because it was
Friday and I just a got my new Xbox 360 on Thursday. My friends were coming over
tonight; then we would play together 'til Sunday night. My dad had different ideas for
the weekend. The next day I found myself at Mount Hood snowboarding. I guess I
bit off more than I could chew because I found myself snowboarding down a black
diamond all by myself down going like 40 m.p.h. All of a sudden I saw rock cliff
straight in front of me, and I thought that I was a dead duck. But then I quickly
turned and made it by the skin of my teeth. After that I was extremely scared so I
stopped on the side of the trail. Two teenagers stopped and asked if I was ok. When
I got down the hill I decided that I should check what I’m trying to I bit off. My Dad
was as mad as a wet hen about what I did, so I just hung out like a lazy dog at the
lodge. I am now enjoying seventh heaven in my warm and fuzzy house.

Idiomatic Speech

Figurative Speech