Leccin 1: Reading

Holiday

1. Before you read the passage, answer these questions:

Have you ever been on holiday? If so, where? What did you do? What did you
eat? Did you enjoy yourself?

2. Read the passage through to find out what it's about. DO NOT use a
dictionary.

In August 1987 I went on holiday with my family, to a small Greek Island. We

were going to spend two whole weeks basking in the sun, eating traditional
Greek food and relaxing on the beach. Everything was going to plan until one
day, in fact the eigth day of my holiday, the sky changed from being a bright
blue to a dark grey colour. It started to rain. I really believed that the rain
would last maybe an hour or two. I retreated back into the hotel to take a little
rest. I closed the shutters, got into bed and set the alarm clock to go off in two
hours time, a siesta, why not?!

When the alarm clock went off, I jumped out of bed, opened the shutters and
to my total dismay it was still raining. The rain was falling quite heavily. On
the ground there were huge puddles, "How strange!", I said to myself. I had
been abroad many times but I had never experienced heavy rain. I decided to
walk up to the entertainment room, to see if I could pass the time. On my way
there, I was presented with quite a shock. The path to get there was
completely flooded and covered with a thick mud.

The next day when I woke up, it was still raining and the hotel was completely
flooded. The corridors leading in to the apartments were filled with water, at
least 1 metre deep. People with hotel rooms next to the mountain had been
evacuated because mud had fallen down from the mountain. The dining room
had water running down the walls. There wasn't any food because there
wasn't any electrical power. My holiday had turned into a disaster.

That day, the hotel manager announced, "Due to the circumstances, everyone
is to evacuate the island as soon as possible". Later that day, boats were sent
from Greece to come and collect us. As soon as I arrived at main land Greece
I sighed a sign of relief, I was safe and sound!
Leccin 1: Composition

Informal Letter

------ ooo O ooo ------

Remember:

1. Your address on the right hand side of the page.

2. Leave one space and write the date underneath your address.

3. Leave one space and write the introduction, e.g. Dear.,

4. Write an introduction, main body and conclusion.

5. To end the letter either write:

With love from / Love from / Love to all (If you wish to send love to
somebody's friends/family) / All my love

Useful Phrases:

Thank you for your letter

It was nice to hear from you

I'm sorry I haven't written for so long

Hoping to hear from you before too long

I'm afraid to say that I won't be able to

I would be most grateful if you could

Do you think you could?

I regret to inform you that we are unable to

I am writing to inquire whether it is possible

I will have great pleasure in

Leccin 1 (cont.): Grammar

The Past Simple

a) Form

1.- Regular verbs: Bare Infinitive + ed

Examples:
Present Past

Watch I work every day I worked every day

Work I watch television at the I watched television at the
weekend weekend
Play I play football at school I played football at school
2.- Irregular verbs: ver leccin 10 Curso de Ingls (www.aulafacil.com)
b) Use

1.- To talk about things that happened in the past:

I stayed in that hotel last week

He worked all night and finished the project

2.- To talk about the general past and about regular actions:

We lived in Rome for a year when I was a child

Our friends often visited us there

EJERCICIOS

Indique el tiempo "past simple" de los verbos entre parntesis.

I ________ very long hours (Work)

I ________ to London in 1920 (Go)

My mother ________ ill when I was 12 years old (Be)

I ________ work at 09:00 am and I finished at 19:00 pm (Start)

In the 1920s I ________ my summer holiday in Scotland (Spend)

He ________ me just last month (Visit)

Last night I ________ Lord of the Rings at the cinema (See)

My grandfather ________ last year (Retire)

CORRECCIN

I worked very long hours/ I went to London in 1920 / My mother was ill when
I was 12 years old / I started work at 09:00 am and I finished at 19:00 pm./ In
the 1920s I spent my summer holiday in Scotland / He visited me just last
month / Last night I saw Lord of the Rings at the cinema / My grandfather
retired last year
Leccin 1 (cont.): Vocabulary

Holidays (las vacaciones)

A holidaymaker: un veraneante Wave: la ola

A festival: una fiesta Sand: la arena

Fortnight: quince das Sandy: arenoso

Easter: Pascuas Tide: la marea

Holy Week: Semana Santa Light-house: el faro

Christmas: Navidad Entertainment: la distraccin

Abroad: en el extranjero Season: la temporada

Beach: la playa To go on holiday: ir de vacaciones

Coast: la costa To relax: relajarse

Sunglasses: las gafas de sol To enjoy oneself: divertirse

In the open air: al aire libre To have a good time: pasarlo bien

Isolated: aislado To have a bad time: pasarlo mal

A trip: una excursin To go camping: hacer camping

Souvenir: el recuerdo To take a photo: sacar una foto

Travel agency: una agencia de To have a snack: merendar

viajes
To sunbathe: tomar el sol
Tourist office: una oficina de
turismo To get a suntan: broncearse

A brochure: un folleto To rent: alquilar

A plan: un plano To remember: acordarse /

recordar
Climate: el clima
To forget: olvidar
Atmosphere: el ambiente