TALKING ABOUT ROLES AND ROUTINES

1. Select the appropriate word for each blank. Write the numbers of the blanks in the boxes.

a combines hall hours organised

an do hall in takes
another does he in tutorials
by fifteen he lives week
campus final honours only writing

Ruwan Karunaratne is in his final year at the University of Peradeniya, where he is studying
Chemistry. He hopes to obtain first class ….. 1 ….. in his final examinations so that ….. 2 …..
can continue with post-graduate work ….. 3 ….. Photochemistry. Ruwan is very well ….. 4 ….. ,
and he follows a routine which ….. 5 ….. work and study with recreation.

Ruwan ….. 6 ….. in a university hall on ….. 7 ….. , and he generally has his meals ….. 8 ….. the
canteen there. It takes Ruwan ….. 9 ….. ten minutes to walk from the ….. 10 .….. to the
Chemistry Department. Twice a ….. 11 ….. , Ruwan attends tutorials with several other … 12 ….
Year students. Each tutorial lasts for ….. 13 ….. hour, and Ruwan discusses work set ….. 14 …..
his tutors. Ruwan also attends six ….. 15 ….. of lectures each week. In addition, ….. 16 …..
works in the laboratory, where he ….. 17 ….. practical work and experiments. He has ….. 18 …..
hours of laboratory work a week. He ….. 19 ….. about the same amount of time ….. 20 ….. his
laboratory reports. He prefers to ….. 21 ….. this in his room in the ….. 22 ….. . Ruwan also
spends about ten hours ….. 23 ….. week reading, mostly in the library, and ….. 24 ….. three
hours preparing for his ….. 25 ….. .

Ruwan does not spend all his time working, though. He is a member of the Photography Club,
and last year he was the president. On Wednesday afternoons, Ruwan generally takes part in
sporting activities.

At weekends he spends some time relaxing. On Saturday nights he usually goes to a party with his
girlfriend, Srima, but occasionally he takes her to a cinema or a play in Kandy. He generally visits
his parents during the vacations.

2. Write the letter corresponding to each activity.

Ruwan's Activities
Attending tutorials
…….

f a Working in laboratories …..

Attending lectures ……

Writing reports ……..

e
Reading …….
b
d c Preparing for Tutorials …..
3. The description of Ruwan’s routine deals with two kinds of activities: activities he does when
he is studying and activities he does when he is not studying. In other words he plays two main
sets of roles: as student and as non-student. Make a list of Ruwan’s activities under the following
headings. Student Role e.g. He attends tutorials
Non-student Role: e.g. He visits his parents during the vacations.

4. Now prepare two lists of activities under the following headings:

 What I do at home e.g. I cook our meals
 What I do at work e.g. I answer the phone

5. Frequency Adverbials:

When we describe a person’s routine we use frequency adverbials. They answer the question,
“How often ?”. We can answer this question with a definite frequency adverbial or an indefinite
frequency adverbial.
Indefinite frequency adverbials:
Positive: occasionally sometimes often usually always
Frequently generally
Regularly

Negative: rarely hardly ever never

When we want to be more precise about frequency, we use definite frequency adverbials. E.g
On Saturdays once a week three times a year
• Underline all of the indefinite frequency adverbials in the text.
• Box all of the definite frequency adverbials in the text.

6. In groups think of someone’s job. Then make up a description of his work routine. Without
saying what the person’s job is, describe his routine to the other groups. The other groups try to
identify the person described. E.g.

She works inside.

He works inside.
She wears a uniform.
He wears a suit.
She frequently worksworks
He sometimes during the
at night.
night.
She looks afterand
He gives people.
receives money