Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Área: Idiomas
Curso: Inglés Intermedio - Alto (B2)
Edición: Diciembre 2011
INDEX
1.1. Introduction
1.2. Listening
1.2.1. Listening 1
1.2.2. Listening 2
1.2.3. Exercise
1.3. Vocabulary
1.3.1. Describing character
1.3.2. Feelings
1.3.3. Social expressions, courtesy and gratitude
1.3.4. Exercises
1.4. Grammar
1.4.1. Past Continuous
1.4.2. Past Simple
1.4.3. Present Perfect
1.4.4. Exercises
1.5. Reading
1.5.1. Text
1.5.2. Reading Comprehension
1.6. Speaking
1.7. Practice
1.7.1. Vocabulary
1.7.2. Grammar
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Listening
2.2.1. Listening 1
2.2.2. Listening 2
2.2.3. Exercise
2.3. Vocabulary
2.3.1. Means of transport
2.3.2. At the airport
2.3.3. In the office
2.3.4. Exercises
2.4. Grammar
2.4.1. Present Perfect Continuous
2.4.2. Past Perfect Continuous
2.4.3. Comparatives and superlatives
2.4.4. Exercises
2.5. Reading
2.5.1. Text
2.5.2. Reading Comprehension
2.6. Speaking
2.7. Practice
2.7.1. Vocabulary
2.7.2. Grammar
3.1. Introduction
3.2. Listening
3.2.1. Listening 1
3.2.2. Listening 2
3.2.3. Listening 3
3.3. Vocabulary
3.3.1. Famous places and monuments
3.3.2. Telephone calls
3.3.3. Exercises
3.4. Grammar
3.4.1. Future
3.4.2. Question Tags
3.4.3. Too/enough
3.4.4. Exercises
3.5. Reading
3.5.1. Text
3.5.2. Reading Comprehension
3.5.3. Text
3.5.4. Reading Comprehension
3.6. Speaking
3.7. Practice
3.7.1. Vocabulary
3.7.2. Grammar
4.1. Introduction
4.2. Listening
4.2.1. Listening 1
4.2.2. Listening 2
4.2.3. Exercise
4.3. Vocabulary
4.3.1. Body language
4.3.2. Sport and culture
4.3.3. The animal world
4.3.4. Exercises
4.4. Grammar
4.4.1. Passive
4.4.2. To have something done
4.4.3. Prepositions
4.4.4. Exercises
4.5. Reading
4.5.1. Text
4.5.2. Reading Comprehension
4.6. Speaking
4.7. Practice
4.7.1. Vocabulary
4.7.2. Grammar
5.1. Introduction
5.2. Listening
5.2.1. Listening 1
5.2.2. Listening 2
5.2.3. Exercise
5.3. Vocabulary
5.3.1. ¡At the bakery
5.3.2. Opposites and negative prefixes
5.3.3. Exercises
5.4. Grammar
5.4.1. Relative clauses
5.4.2. Phrasal verbs
5.4.3. Exercises
5.5. Reading
5.5.1. Text
5.5.2. Reading Comprehension
5.6. Speaking
5.7. Practice
5.7.1. Vocabulary
5.7.2. Grammar
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Listening
6.2.1. Listening 1
6.2.2. Listening 2
6.2.3. Exercise
6.3. Vocabulary
6.3.1. Outdoor activities
6.3.2. Health and medicine
6.3.3. At the Chemist/doctor
6.3.4. Exercises
6.4. Grammar
6.4.1. Modal verbs
6.4.2. Reported Speech
6.4.3. Exercises
6.5. Reading
6.5.1. Text
6.5.2. Reading Comprehension
6.6. Speaking
6.7. Practice
6.7.1. Vocabulary
6.7.2. Grammar
7.1. Introduction
7.2. Listening
7.2..1 Listening 1
7.2.2. Listening 2
7.2.3. Exercise
7.3. Vocabulary
7.3.1. At the bank
7.3.2. At the office
7.3.3. Exercises
7.4. Grammar
7.4.1. The 3rd conditional
7.4.2. Unless/in case /As if
7.4.3. For/during/while/like/as
7.4.4. Exercises
7.5. Reading
7.5.1. Text
7.5.2. Reading Comprehension
7.6. Speaking
7.7. Practice
7.7.1. Vocabulary
7.7.2. Grammar
8.1. Introduction
8.2. Listening
8.2.1. Listening 1
8.2.2. Listening 2
8.2.3. Exercise
8.3. Vocabulary
8.3.1. Housework
8.3.2. Internet
8.3.3. Exercises
8.4. Grammar
8.4.1. Verbs followed by gerund
8.4.2. Verbs followed by infinitive
8.4.3. Verbs + -ing or to
8.4.4 .“Prefer”/ “would rather”
8.4.5. Exercises
8.5. Reading
8.5.1. Text
8.5.2. Reading Comprehension
8.5.3. Text
8.6. Speaking
8.7. Practice
8.7.1. Vocabulary
8.7.2. Grammar
SOLUTIONS
1.1. Introduction
I am sure you will improve your English playing some games and learning a
little about the city where Susan and I are spending some days.
1.2.1. Listening 1
Hello friends! Today we have arrived in Las Vegas. We were all day visiting this
fantastic place, so we needed a shower and a rest in our hotel room. After that
we have met in the hotel bar.
Matthew: Hi, Susan. Here I am. Have you waited for a long time?
Susan: Hi Matthew! No, don’t worry. I have just arrived. I have just ordered.
What will you have? A beer? Wine? I am having sparkling water. I feel tired and
I need bubbles!!
Susan: Matthew! Don’t be so rude! You haven’t been very polite; Have you say
“Yeah???” And…have you forgotten to say “please”? Where are your good
manners? Treat to speak to others as you would like to be spoken to!
We are having a good time in the bar. It is always a pleasure to talk to Susan.
Would you like to know what are we saying? Then, listen to us chatting.
Matthew: Susan. You have never told me anything about you when you were a
child. Any anecdote?
My sister and I got on very well. In fact, she gets on well with most people.
And when she was happy I was happy, and when she was angry or sad I had
the same mood. Really, it happened! Her emotional state influenced my own.
We thought that happiness and sadness was contagious.
Anyway, were you a good boy when you were a child?
Matthew: I was a good boy, but a little stubborn and moody. I can say about
myself that I am honest and romantic…
What about learning some vocabulary? In this topic we will learn some
vocabulary related to people’s character, feelings, social expressions, courtesy
and gratitude.
So that, you will be able to describe people’s character, talk about your feelings
and know how to be polite.
Let’s start!
Half-hearted Unkind.
Happy-go-looking Happily unworried or unconcerned.
Honest Truthful.
Immature Not yet matured.
Independent Not dependent on others.
Intelligent Clever.
Jealous Envious. Desirous of another's advantages.
Kind Friendly.
Lifelong learner. Keeps and open mind to new information.
Loving Showing love.
Loyal Faithful, truehearted
Mature Fully considered. Sensitive
Modesty Not talking about one's abilities.
Moody Temperamental.
Optimistic Expecting the best.
Organizad Methodical and efficient.
Patient Able to wait.
Here you are a list of some adjectives to describe character, and their
explanation. Try to understand it.
Let’s learn now some social expressions, and also about courtesy and gratitude.
We are studying that in two groups.
1.3.4. Exercises
Social expressions
Here we will see a list of some social expressions used in English. Click on each
word and you will see the translation.
Cheers. ¡Salud!
Goodbye, bye-bye. Adiós.
Welcome. Bienvenido.
Good luck. Buena suerte.
Good night Night-night. Buenas noches.
Good afternoon. Buenas tardes.
Good evening. Buenas tardes, noches.
Good morning. Buenos días.
How sorry I am! ¡Cuánto lo siento!
Congratulations. ¡Felicidades!
Happy New Year! ¡Feliz Año Nuevo!
Happy Birthday! ¡Feliz cumpleaños!
Merry Christmas! ¡Feliz Navidad!
Thanks! ¡Gracias!
See you tonight ¡Hasta la noche!
See you later. ¡Hasta luego!
See you (soon) ¡Hasta pronto!
Hello!/ Hi (there)! ¡Hola!
Hi. What's up? / What's new? ¡Hola! ¿Qué hay?
Excuse me! /Sorry! ¡Perdón!
How do you do?/ How are you? ¿Cómo está usted?/¿Cómo estás?
How are things? ¿Qué tal?
And you? ¿Y tú?
Farewell. Adiós (definitivo)
To thank. Agradecer.
OK/ okay. Bien/ Vale.
Fine, thanks. Bien, gracias.
Good intentions. Buenos deseos.
Don't mention it. De nada/ ¡Faltaría más!
Exercise 1. In the following sentences, fill in the gaps with the correct word
about people’s character:
8. She went to live alone very young. She is very __________and she
doesn’t need her parent’s help.
9. The gym’s timetable is very __________. There are many times when you
can go.
7. They don’t like to share money with the rest. They are very…
selfish proud arrogant dangerous
9. His girlfriend is very _______.He doesn’t like she goes out with other boys.
patient shy jealous confident
10. He is very________. She doesn’t mind explain things the times you
need.
half-hearted arrogant dangerous patient
Now it’s grammar time. In this topic the grammar we are studying is related to
some verbal tenses, such as the Past Continuous, Past Simple and Present
Perfect.
We use the Past Continuous to talk about something that was happening in a
particular time in the past.
It is formed with the past of “to be” (was/were), and the main verb ended in –
ing.
Form:
SUBJECT+WAS/WERE+VERB (-ING)
E.g.: The animal was jumping.
AFFIRMATIVE
The boys were playing tennis.
The students were studying.
SUBJECT + WAS NOT/ WERE NOT +VERB (-
ING)
SUBJECT + WASN’T/WEREN’T + VERB (-ING)
NEGATIVE
E.g.: The animal wasn’t jumping.
The boys weren’t playing tennis.
The students weren’t studying.
WAS/WERE + SUBJECT+VERB (-ING)…?
E.g.: Was the animal jumping?
INTERROGATIVE
Were the boys playing tennis?
Were the students studying?
We use the Past Simple to express past actions, finished, and sometimes
located in time.
There are two kinds of verbs: regular and irregular. Let’s study that and the
form of the Past Simple and some complements.
Regular verbs
In regular verbs we add to the root (the infinitive without “to”) the ending “ed”
to form the past. They have the same form in the Past and in the Past Participle.
These are a group of verbs that don’t form the past adding “ed”, but they have
a different form for the past and the participle. (You can study them in the list
of irregular verbs)
For example:
SUBJECT+PAST VERB+COMPLEMENTS
AFFIRMATIVE E.g.: Columbus discovered America in 1492.
I wrote a letter last night.
SUBJECT+DIDN’T + INFINITIVE
VERB+COMPLEMENTS
NEGATIVE
E.g.: Columbus didn’t discover America in 1492.
I didn’t write a letter last night.
DID+ SUBJECT+ INFINITIVE
VERB+COMPLEMENTS
INTERROGATIVE
E.g.: Did Columbus discover America in 1492?
Did I write a letter last night?
Complements
The Present Perfect tense is used to express actions that happened in the past
and still last in the present. The action itself is more important that the moment
when it happened.
Concrete time adverbs are not used with this tense. If we want to say when
something happened in the past we use the Past Simple.
Form
We form the Present Perfect tense with the verb “to have” followed by the past
participle of the main verb.
SUBJECT+HAVE/HAS+P.PARTICIPLE
AFFIRMATIVE E.g.: I have eaten an apple.
He has gone by bus.
SUBJECT+HAVEN’T/HASN’T+P.PARTICIPLE
NEGATIVE E.g.: I haven’t eaten an apple.
He hasn’t gone by bus.
HAVE/HAS+SUBJECT+P.PARTICIPLE….?
INTERROGATIVE E.g.: Have I eaten an apple?
Has he gone by bus?
Uses
1. To express actions that happened in the past and the action itself is more
important than when it happened. Indefinite time
2. To express actions that happened in the past and the action itself is more
important than when it happened. Indefinite time
3. To express an action that happened in the past and maybe it will happen
again in the future.
4. For actions which has just happened. In this case it is common to use this
tense with “just”.
Complements
Exercise 1. Write sentences in past continuous. Use the following words and
put the verbs in the correct form.
1. John/ chocolate/eat
8. dog/eat/ The
Exercise 2. Fill in the gaps with the right past simple verb:
3. She ______ her keys last night and she couldn’t enter home.
Exercise 3. Fill in the gaps with the correct Present Perfect verbs:
Exercise 4. In the following sentences decide if the verb/s must be in the Simple
Past tense or in the Present Perfect:
7. My aunt __________in Greece all her life, and still lives there.(live)
1.5.1. Text
This is the Reading section. Read this following short magazine article about
“Good manners” that Susan has read. She thinks everybody has to have good
manners as social human beings that we are! Once you have read it, do the
exercise!
Good manners
Good manners are the first mark of good education and culture, and reflect
directly on a person’s upbringing. They are civilized behaviour. You must
consider other people. Manners are little rules that help us act with respect
toward one another.
Let’s read these steps, as an example. We can follow them to make a good
impression when speaking:
To have good manners is very important and, moreover, they make social
interaction more pleasant. But be careful, you should learn about cultural
differences of other countries. Eye contact, greetings, actions and many other
social behaviours may vary from one country to another. Therefore, they can
vary within different regions in a country.
For example, we will talk now about Japanese hospitality. When people visit
each other in Japan, they usually give a present to the host. This can be a cake
After reading the text do the following activity. Say if these sentences are true
(T) or false (F):
There are 26 letters in the English alphabet but 44 sounds in the English
language. That is, the number of sounds in a word is not always the same as
the number of letters.
-And you? How do you think you are dealing with character?
- When you disturb someone, and you want to apologize, what should you
say?
- Ok! It’s enough for now. I will see you again in the next unit! Enjoy!
Bye bye!!
Let’s do the following exercises to practise the vocabulary and grammar taught
in this unit.
1.7.1. Vocabulary
1. Arrogant Self-important
Neat and tidy
Without fear
3. Confident Pleasant
Convinced
Hard working
2. Quiet Calm
On time
Expecting the worst
3. Rude Ill-mannered
Showing reason
Honest
4. Sensible Thoughtful
Respectful and devoted to one’s country
Calm
5. Shy Timid
Not generous
Able to feel and perceive
7. Stingy Pathetic
Friendly
Not generous
1.7.2. Grammar
Exercise 3. Write the correct form of the verb (Past Simple) in each sentence:
Exercise 5. Choose the correct option Past simple or Past Continuous. Write the
correct form of the verb in each sentence:
Exercise 6. Choose the correct option Present Perfect or Past Simple. Write the
correct form of the verb:
2. The police _____ the thief that _____ the jewels. (catch/steal)
4. She _____ with them before she _______ to work with us. (work/come)
12. When Paula _____ at university she decided to learn flamenco. She
__________ it ever since. (be/dance)
13. I _______ this T-shirt yesterday, but I don’t like it now. (buy)
15. How long ____ she _____ there before coming here? (live)
My first impression was that it was a very different city and it had very different
people…
Las Vegas is the most famous and big city in the U.S.
state in Nevada. A city for gambling, shopping and
entertainment situated on the arid desert floor within
Clark County. When you visit Las Vegas, there are a lot
of attractions to see, so you'll want to plan your time.
Don’t waste it!
This is our first day here and we have already planned our two next days in
this fantastic city. Some people think Las Vegas is just a place for specific people
that come here just to play and gamble, but it is also interesting for other
things.
Among these things we can include seeing the world's largest gold nugget at
the Golden Nugget Hotel, the Cirque du Soleil at the Bellagio, the MGM Grand
and at Treasure Island, and Bette Midler at the Caesars Palace. With this much
to see and do, there is never a boring moment when staying or visiting at Hotels
in Las Vegas. You can also find here museums, galleries and wedding chapels!
The Las Vegas Strip is one of the best places to go. It refers to Las Vegas
Boulevard a distance of 4 miles, about 6.6 kilometres. You could stay on the
famous Las Vegas strip for two months, go out every night and not visit the
same place twice. However, Matthew and I don’t like too much going out.
There are 113 hotels in Las Vegas. On the Las Vegas Strip itself, there are
approximately 38 large hotels for you to choose from. Most of these include at
least 1,000 rooms, although MGMGrand has 5034 rooms. A few of the popular
hotels on the Strip include the Wynn Las Vegas, the Venetian, the Bellagio, the
Hard Rock, the Sahara, Paris Las Vegas, Caesars Palace and Mandalay Bay. Off
All hotels are nice. We stayed at the Hard Rock for two nights. It has good
rooms and pool.