NHOM TAC GIA TEAM AMBROSIA (Ngvyén Vo Hoang Tén, Diép Dinh Khong, Trén Hai Anh, Chieu Kim Guynh, Nguyén Mint Long, Dang Thi Hodl Linh, Tedn Nguyen Duy Thong, Le Gia Huy, Nguyén Huy Higu, Nguyén Thi Bich Ngoc} VISOYUYSEWV SC AY PAL Jdeisvn NATIONAL ENGLISH COMPETITION DiN 0 NHA XUAT BAN HONG DUCPART ONE: LISTENING Part 1 in the National English Competition is usually adapted from the IELTS Listening (any sections) with complete or partial revisions. This part comprises 5 questions, which can be in any forms ranging from gap-filling, true-false, multiple-choice,... These questions are generally easy, yet they require meticulous concentration as some may be tricky. In order to get a prize, maximum score on this part is a prerequisite. Tips to conquer this part are as follows: fb.com/iloveambrosia | 5MASTER the ART of NEC Ml ees 1. Fina quality IELTS books There are manifold types of IELTS books catered for students of all levels. NEC participants should pay more heed to advancedt-level books which will match the difficulty level ofthe real exam. Students can obtain books by buying them in bookstores (not too feasible because of the extravagant costs and the limited range of books in Vietnam) or downloading them from the Intemet (highly recommended). Some credible books are IELTS Practice Tost Plus 1, 2, 3, Complete IELTS Band 6.5-7.5, IELTS Trainer, Succeed in IELTS, IELTS Essentials, IELTS Simulation, IELTS Actual Tests, etc. 2. Search for IELTS listening exercises on Youtube There is an abundance of IELTS listening exercises with wide-ranging levels of difficulty on Youtube. One obstacle is that students have to spend a large amount of time looking at computer soreen, which can cause eye strain and exert a detrimental influence on overall health so follow this approach just for a suitable amount of time. Here are some of trustworthy Youtube channels for IELTS listening exercises: IELTS Listening Channel, IELTS Galaxy, IELTS Tips, The IELTS Listening Test, etc. 3. Practice with friends Studying with frends proves to be a boon to students’ learning process since it will furnish them with greater learning motivation, either by dint of peer pressure or mutual encouragement. In this method, students and their ‘iends can leam from each other's both strengths and weaknesses for the sake of setf-amelioration, Therefore, students can set aside a certain amount of time on group study to further improve their skills. U. Take it less seriously This means that students should listen not just for doing exercises but also for other purposes. IELTS listening ‘exercises are abundant, many of which are truly informative or entertaining. Thereby, students can listen to IELTS audio just to obtain useful information and background knowledge without having to complete any kind of exercises in order to relax themselves. Terai eer) I. Not using prediction skills Some of the answers can be anticipated from the contexts of the questions so it is crucial that students make ‘some predictions in order to find the answers more easily. However, the anticipated answers should be for reference only and don’t let them cloud your judgement. 2. Lose pace of the track Some questions may be alittle bit more difficult than the rest and take you more time. However, if students stil find the answers murky, do not focus on it too much and move on straight to the next questions in order to keep up with the listening tracks or else you will lose pace of the listening tracks and miss out on the entire following questions. 3. Rush to answer the questions When test-takers think that they find out the answers, take them with a pinch of salt because these may not be the ultimate answers due to possible distractors ahead. Therefore, pay more attention to distraotors and decide fon the eventual answers careful. U. exceed the word limits Some of IELTS listening oxercises require students to write TWO or THREE words or even ONE word only so read the instructions carefully before doing any exercises. Even if your answer is correct, you wil stil be penalized if you exceed the word limit 5. Grammar mistakes Pay close attention to grammar elements lke plural forms, subject-verb agreement or verb tenses in order to have a grammatically correct answer. 6 | fb.com/iloveambrosiaWME MASTER tho ART of NEC Please access the link below and download the audio files in order to complete the listening exercises: http://bitly/2ohWiz9 IL. (vec 2017 Listening Part 1- Source: Succeed in IELTS) FAIRVIEW LAKE CAMPING CENTRE Three functions of the center: Conference center Te Recreation activities ‘The customer wants to bring children who (2) Academic courses: Maths, Sciences, Languages, (3) Sports: sailing, windsurfing, volleyball, rowing, athletics, (4) Accommodation facilities: ‘The Birch Unit 8 people Greenback Row © Cabins 1-3 10 people each Cabins 5-6 12 people each 2. (NEC 2018 Listening Part 1 - Source: IELTS Cambridge 7) For questions 1-5, listen to a telephone conversation between a passenger and an official at the land transport information service at Toronto Airport and decide whether the statements are True (T) or False (F). Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided 41, Milton is about 150 miles southwest of the airport. 2, The woman can afford to get to Milton by taxi 3. The Greyhound bus departs only once a day at 11:30 AM. 4, Aretumn ticket for the Shuttle bus costs $69. 5. The Shuttle bus can be reserved through the official 3. choose the correct answer A, B or 1. Speakers have to know A. their material B. their audience . their limitations 2. Experienced speakers A. always try to wing it B. never arrive unprepared . give the best preparations 3. You should always rehearse A. with friends who can advise B. with all the equipment C. more than once 4, Itis a good idea to ‘Abe discreet with the audience —_B, meet your fans ©. welcome your audience 5. Taking a few deop breaths bofore you begin A.will provent panic attacks B, will quarantee a relaxing ambience 6. will transform tension into energy 1B. (source: IELTS TRAINER) Listen to the recording and do as follows. Which attitude is associated with the following people during the conversation? Choose 6 answers from the box and write the correct letter, A-H, next to questions 1-6 fb.com/iloveambrosia | 7MASTER the ART of NEC Ml 1. Cressida’s fellow students A amused 2. Cressida B critical 3. Ainsley Webb forgetful 4, DrErskine D impatient 5. Professor Jenkins, E polite 6. TVnews centre staff ne F relaxed G sympathetic H unrealistic (Question 7-10) Choose the correct letter A, B, or C 7. What was Cressida asked to do at the beginning of her replacement? A. Go out to buy things for the production team B. Run errands to other part of the TV news centre ©. Meet visitors and escort them to the studio What was fortunate for Cressida? She was familiar with a piece of equipment. She spent a lot of time in the editing suite. She was given a chance to interview someone. ‘What does Cressida feel she needs to improve? Her understanding of business |. Her organisational skills ©. Hor ability to work in a team 10. What has given her an idea for her final assignment? ‘A. Ameeting with a public relations professional B. Seeing a politician speaking to an audience G. Adisagreement with a TV presenter 5. tasks. For questions 1-7, listen and answer the following questions with NO MORE THAN FOUR WORDS. 4. What was found to emerge during the times of ancient Greece and Rome? BPpoopPpe (Gource: IELTS Essentials) Listen to a talk about waste and waste treatment and complete the following 2. What enables the absorption of organic waste into the nature? 8. What did science link with waste? 4, Which invention is the biggest problem for the environment? List THREE factors which led to the increase in waste Pee eee eae eee eee eee 6. ee ae SEE For questions 8-10, choose A-F from the box which country uses the highest proportion of each method of waste disposal. 8. incineration: _ A, Denmark S.landfil: B, Germany 10. recycling: cuit ©. Japan D. Switzerland E.UK 8 | fb.com/iloveambrosiaGMM MASTER the ART of NEC G. (Gource: Succeed in IELTS) Listen to four business colleagues discussing a takeover proposal and complete the following tasks. For questions 1-7, listen and fill in the missing information with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS. BIZZ-EDUCATORS INC. Upsides Downsides -A(t) BEES eH ee eeeeee - The company’s desire to be (6) - An industry leader makes this a hostile - Great respect from others and a great name takeover. - Alot of goodwill - A production-based company = A profit of over 500,000 pounds with a (2)|-A(6)__ - Lack of synergy and cost savings a - Very high (4) for 2012 and 2013 The official decision on whether to buy Bizz-Educators will be taken at tomorrow's (7) For questions 8-10, choose THREE letters A-G. What THREE requirements are there for the takeover of Bizz-Educators to go ahead? ‘A. Assurances of no opposition from the management of Bizz-Educators — g B. An independent mediator be used to broker the deal a C. An audit of the company's books 10. D. That a study of the company's projected profit margin be conducted E, That the deal be kept secret until itis finalised F, That an analysis of the company's goodwill assets be carried out G. That the asking price be lowered 7. (Source: IELTS Test Practice Book) Listen to a student, Eric, talking to his lecturer, Mrs Harris, about some study difficuttios and fill in the missing information with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS. Struggling with (1) , the student is advised by the lecturer to have a succinct rundown of (2) ________ This should not be a (3) ___but contain the main point or (4) after which he can add supporting ideas and (5) _ Conciseness is the most important issue in ‘summary. ‘Some tips to write a summary ~ Actual summary begins with the (6) __ eee ~ With (7)__ . utilise bullet points to avert the impression of (8) __and also to use them later whenever there is a need to (9) _ or ___from the text. = Older books require a justification about why they are used. -(10)_______and__ orders are both acceptable in data storage. 8. (source: IELTS Simulation) Listen to a talk by health study lecturer on anxiety and complete the following tasks. For questions 1-3, write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer. Write your answer in the space provided. 4. Someone in an anxiety state has worse than normal 2. A phobia may stem from heredity or 3. The reason for the final breakdown is generally linked with like the loss of a loved one or a health crisis. fb.com/iloveambrosia 19MASTER the ART of NEC Ml For questions 4-10, match the lettered phobic state to each symptom. Write your answers (A, B, C or D) in the corresponding numbered boxes. 4, Feeling extremely shy in company ‘A. Single phobia 5, Liking to sleep with the lights on B. Agoraphobia 6. Fear of leaving the house ©. Claustrophobia 7. Getting sweaty hands D. Social phobia 8. Fear of a particular creature 9. Fear of small places 10. Having difficulties speaking in front of people 10 | F.com/iloveambrosiaWME MASTER the ART of NEC In recent years, unlike other parts, part 3 listening of the NEC has remained unchanged. This part always draws its source from the Part 8 Multiple-choice Listening in the CAE or OPE test, although the level of dificuity varies each year. For example, part 3 in the NEC 2017 is pretty easy, yet that of the 2018 is not a simple task. This part requires you to comprehend the long extract as a whole so it is not necessary to catch all the words. You will often be asked about the opinions and points the speakers make. Sometimes, especially with tough questions, inference is necessary to deduce the right answer. Here are some tips for this part. TIPS FOR MULTIPLE CHOICE LISTENING Part 2.gap-filing in CAE/GPE also appears the test but the frequency is lower. However, we will still cover that paar in this course to leave nothing to chance. The partis not so hard but occasionally, even good listeners can miss some words or choose the wrong words to fil in. The tips for this part are similar to those of IELTS gap-fling, but with some additional advice. FOR GAP-FILLING LISTENING fb.com/iloveambrosia | 1LT MASTER the ART of NEC Mill andere Here at Ambrosia, we have compiled a list of useful ways to practice your listening skill for specific task and During your training session... - Try to undorstand the extract as a whole. By this we mean do not just look for signposts all the time. Information can sometimes be scattered around in many sentences, and you may miss it if you do not have a good grip of what the speaker is saying. Listen to what the speaker has to say. When you have a good understanding of the context, you will be able to anticipate what the speakers might discuss next and even make educated guesses for your missed answers. - Some useful methods to practice this can be found In the Mini-challenges section. There are also complomentary exercises. These are methods that will help you improve your overall listening ability: = Listen to radio podcasts. We cannot stress enough the importance of listening to as many materials as you ‘can. We find the best (and most relaxing) way to do this is by listening to Internet podcasts. There are a myriad of podcasts available online and they cover a wide range of subjects and topics, anything you lke from science ‘to movies, Some are actually very close to the actual listening tests, and unlike them, you can choose the topics that suit your taste and listen to them leisurely - as you are surfing the web or taking a shower. We highly recommend you to listen to at least one podcast a day (about 15-20 minutes), preferably as you go to sleep. = Enrich your vocabulary. On many occasions, especially in gap filing questions, the reason you miss the answer is not so much that you fail to identify the words as that you do not know what they mean (and how they are spelled). Therefore, it's important that you familiarize yourself with words from as many topics as you can. Along with listening to podcasts, listening to English news and reading newspaper will also help. - Finally, practice so that it becomes second nature. How much you listen is just as important as how you listen. We suggest you practice listening with any form of media you are exposed to during the day, whether they are in the form of your favorite TV series or just random videos you see every day on Facebook or Youtube. This way, you will not feel like you are wasting your time, and for a studying method, nothing gets more entertaining than that 4h [Fit doesn't challenge you, it doesn’t change you. yf - Fred DeVito ‘The next time you are in a listening training session, try the following mini-challenges. These are fun and unconventional challenges that you can do to make the test more challenging as well as more interesting. Done correctly and you will be surprised with how much your listening has improved Practice answering without referring to the choices. Take a piece of paper and cover the choices to the questions. Force yourself to come up with the answers to the questions on your own. Practice summarizing short extracts (5-10 minutes long). Try to summarize the content of whatever you are hearing in bullet points. You can take note as you listen. This will help you identify key information of any recording. You may also work in pair and discuss the answer with a friend. ‘Transcribe the extract sentence by sentence. After each sentence is delivered, pause the recording and try to repeat after it until you get it as exactly as possible. Check the transcript to see how well you did. 12 | fb.com/iloveambrosiaWMBMASTER the ART of NEC A Please access the link below and download the audio files in order to complete the listening exercises: http://bit.ly/2PbYRMW. Mini-challenge 1 Source: Cambridge Certtcate of Proficiency in English 2) You will hear a radio interview with a music critic, Hazel Fisher, about some classical music awards. Answer the following questions in the form of short notes. 4. According to Hazel what is bad about the current situation in the music business? 2. In Haze''s opinion the list of nominations suggested that a purpose of the awards was to___ 3. What is Hazel's main criticism of the way the winners will be chosen? 4, One of Hazel's objections to the nominations themselves is that 5. Hazel sees it as ironic that the record companies. Mini-challenge 2 (Source: TOEFL TPO Test 24) ‘You will hear a lecture about how crocodiles use their vocal abi the main ideas of the lecture. jos to communicate. Listen and summarize Mini-challenge 3 (Source: CPE Practice Tests) ‘You will hear the introduction to a radio program about the arts and science in Britai the listening extract. Listen and transcribe NAcc) Please access the link below and download the audio files in order to complete the listening exercises: httpi//bitly/2MyPKjr 1. (Source: NEC 2017 Listening Part 3 ~ Objective Proficiency Workbook) For questions 1-6, listen to the discussion and choose the correct answer A, B, C, or D which fits best according to what you hear. 41. Its expressed that brands should seek to utilize something visually unusual. symbolize something people enjoy. represent more than just a business proposition eam to be more cooperative with others. When talking about globalization, both agree that major sporting events are well-meaning but flawed. the positive symbols outweigh the negative ones. C. people are right to take the benevolent view. D._ the Internet has a huge influence. pPYypopPr fb.com/iloveambrosia | 13EE MASTER the ART of NEC Mill What point does Ivana make about language? speakers of a language use symbols without realizing that writers use symbo's in the same way everybody does. there is some debate as to what constitutes a symbol. some languages are particularly disposed towards symbols. What does David say about the symbol in his hockey team’s name? It was initially misinterpreted. It was somewhat misleading It should really be changed. It puts pressure on the team. What does both speakers find absurd about color symbolism and cars? the contradictory arguments used by one insurer. the notion of linking a writer's character with car color. the idea that a red cars any easier to see. the suggestions that insurer are influenced by cultural symbols. pORrPosODrADOBPRS 2. (Source: NEC 2018 Listening Part 3 ~ Proficlency Expert Student's Resource Book) For questions 1-5, listen to the discussion and choose the correct answer A, B, C, or D which fits best according to what you hear. 1. Lols agrees with John's point that ‘A. the psychological effects of unemployment can be overstated B. some people are better equipped to deal with unemployment than others. . problems arise when unemployment coincides with other traumatic events, D. most people dread the prospect of unemployment 2. Lois agrees with the listener who suggests that Ht ‘A. people should prepare for redundancy as they would for retirement. B. voluntary work may be more rewarding than paid work ©. not everybody can expect a high evel of job satisfaction. D. work is only one aspect of afulling ie. 3. What is John's attitude towards people who see work as a moans to an end? A. He accepts that they have made a valid point. B. He feels they may be missing out on something important. ©. He doubts their level of commitment tothe jo. D. He fears it wil lead to difficulties for them later. 4. When asked about so-called "slackers" at work, John points out that A. their views are unacceptable ina free labor market. B. such an attitude has become increasingly unacceptable. . people often jump to unfair conclusions about them D._ they accept the notion that work is a necessary evil 5. Lois quotes psychologists Freud in order to zB ‘A. provide a contrat tothe idea of Bertrand Russell. BB. quostion the idea that a desire to work is a natural thing ©. show how intelectual ideas have shifted over tine. . lend weight to John's ideas about increased social mobiity 3. (source: Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English 3) For questions 1-5, listen to the discussion and choose the correct answer A, B, C, or D which fits best according to what you hear. 4. According to Professor Marshall, leisure is increasingly being saen as a way of A. convincing people they have freedom of choice B. helping people to understand themselves better. ©. encouraging people to perform better at work. . dissuading people from challenging authority. 2. According to US sociologists, ‘serous leisure" is an activity which A. is detrimental to someone's work 14 | Fb.com/iloveambrosiaWE MASTER the ART of NEC B. becomes a financial burden. C. becomes the central focus of someone's life, D. helps a person to achieve a higher income. 3. Professor Marshall believes that as people become more involved in their chosen leisure activities, ‘A. they are loss afraid of the dangers. B. they place a great value on routine. C. they worry less about the rules. D. they want more scope for personal development. 4. According to Professor Marshall, television ‘A. provides a useful basis for social interaction. B. can disrupt other leisure activities C. iso more than a very passive activity. D. destroys meaningful conversation, 5. Professor Marshall says that having to wear special olothes to take part in a leisure activity may ‘A. improve the participants’ respect for each other. B. redefine the participants’ social roles. C. increase the participants’ self-esteem. D. reflect the priorities of the participants work environment, §B. (Source: Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English §) For questions 1-5, listen to the discussion and choose the correct answer A, B, C, or D which fits best according to what you hear. 4. According to Richard, comments on a client's personality traits should only be made if the graphologist _ ‘A. is sure that the sample of handwriting is genuine, B. is sure his results are supported by the rest of the team. €. can back up his initial findings with further evidence. D. can confirm his findings in different handwriting samples. What is Maria's view of the conclusions which graphologists arrive at? ‘The rules of interpretation are not clear. ‘The connections have not been proved, More detailed interpretation is needed. Research is needed into the way handwriting is taught. ‘What, in Richard's view, is the key to an understanding of a client's personality? ‘The way in which the client learnt to write. ‘The variations in the client's individual letters. ‘The way the client's handwriting has developed. ‘The influence of current trends on the client's handwriting, According to Richard, some businesses with North American links se graphology reluctantly in recruitment. are unwilling to disclose that they use graphology. are skeptical about the value of graphology. are trading more successfully because of graphology. ‘What does Maria conclude about the use of graphology? Ithas become a source of discontent. Itis used by few serious psychologists. . Its educational value has not been proved. D. tis not appropriate for use as a recruitment tool. presosomPrE poRPsoo Bre 5. (Source: Proficiency Practice Tests Plus) For questions 1-5, listen to the discussion and choose the correct answer A, B, C, or D which fits best according to what you hear. 1. Why did John agree to extend his contract as a newsreader? ‘A. Audiences had asked to have him back. fb.com/iloveambrosia | 15MASTER the ART of NEC Mill Another channel was keen to appoint him. He thought he'd miss being in the public eye. His suggested replacement was unpopular. What does John say about the early days of newsreading? News programs occurred less frequently. Anews reader's job was more straightforward. Audiences focused on style and presentation. Mistakes were sometimes embarrassing. In John's view, competition between news programs is something which irritates the viewing public. affects their outward appearance. detracts from the quality of the content, reinforces negative views about news programs. In considering how opinions are formed, John points out that __ reporters may present a biased view. people sometimes misinterpret the facts there are pros and cons to watching the news television operates under certain constraints. John implies that he finds the general public's attitude towards the news disheartening. B, enlightening. ©. surprising. D. appreciative. POBPADOBP>SSOBPENSOB ps 6. (source: Practice Tests for the revised CPE 1) For questions 1-5, listen to the discussion and choose the correct answer A, B, C, or D which fits best according to what you hear. 4. In Karl's view, he is drawn to the jungle —_ A. for its natural beauty. B, because it gives him a sense of well-being ©. because the more you go, the more you love it. D. for reasons he cannot justify 2. What annoys Karl about ‘world-traveller’ he meets is that eB A. insists on attaching himself to the group. B. teases local natives with his stories. seems happy to live off other people, D. runs from difficult situations. 3. What shocks Karl about Steve's case is that he had __ A. been infected with the parasite for so long. B. known about the parasite and done nothing, . not taken precaution against diseases at the time. D. contracted the parasite in Peru. What distinguishes ‘ethno’-biologists from ordinary scientists is the aims of their research, that they focus on particular types of illness. that their concem is to educate indigenous peoples. the starting point of their research. During his time in Haiti, Karl _ only confirmed previous Japanese research. learned about a potentially dangerous drug. witnessed phenomena he could not explain. identified for locals a potentially poisonous type of fish. pegos> pos 16 | fb.com/iloveambrosiaMBE ASTER ART © NEC papain ssa asi RAREST AR SRS | 7. (Source: Practice Tests for the revised OPE 2) For questions 1-5, listen to the discussion and choose the correct answer A, B, ©, or D which fits best according to what you hear. 1. Jack is bemused by his character's popularity because __ A. he never thought Arthur would be attractive to adults. B, aardvarks aren't particularly loveable, €. Arthur has drawn so many families closer together. D. Arthur is rather old. 2. According to Jack, Arthur's charactor ‘A. came to him, as he was reading to his child. B. doveloped slowly over a period of time. C. was meant to cheer up his recuperating son. D. was meant to mirror an actual person, 3. According to Jack, Arthur A. made him wealthy when he first appeared B. has appeared in children’s theatre G._ stil important in hs son's ite. D. was so popular that he continued creating stories. 4, Jack says he stopped touring when ‘A. abook was written about Arthur B. he met Carol Greenwold after a TV broadcast. ©. Arthur happened to be discovered. D. he was asked to appear on a TV program, 8. The Arthur cartoon series seems to have ‘A. enjoyed incredible success from the outset B. exhausted its possibilities. ©. not done very well in a popularity poll D. boon used as a vehicle for advertising goods. 8. (source: NEC 2016 Listening Part 4 (Expert Proficiency Teacher's Resource Book) For questions 1-10, listen and th a word or short phrase. THE LANGUAGE OF PIRAHA Mara defines the way of life of the Piraha people as fitting into the (1) __ category. Mara explains that because most speakers of Piraha people are (2) , the language is not under complete the sentence imminent threat. Professor Everett was surprised to discover that the Piraha language has no words for ideas like (3) " ad or “number*. From his experiments, Professor Everett found that Piraha people couldn't understand the concepts of number because (4) were not needed in their daily ives Mara thinks that the Piraha language sounds more like (5) __ than speech, The (6) used in the Piraha language are thought to have originated in another language. As the Piraha have no written language, very few storytelling traditions, and no decorative art traditions, and concentrate on their present needs, they do not have a (7) _ Professor Everett gives the example of the Piraha's superior (8) ______ to support his idea that they are not unintelligent. Different from Professor Chomsky's ideas about a universal grammar, Professor Everett thinks that the (9) of the Piraha is not determined by the inborn system of grammar. ‘According to Mara, not many people can (10) or _ Professor Everett's theory because fb.com/iloveambrosia | 17MASTER the ART of NEC Mi the Piraha language is hard to learn. |. (Cource: Now Proficioney Testbulder) For questions 1-9, listen and complete the sentence with a word or short phrase. ‘At the end of her first work experience, Karen spent two days (1) _ and checking rooms with the floor housekeeper. Her last work experience was spent in the hotel's (2)___. The subject of Karen's next course was (3) _ During her HND course, the subjects she had top study were business studies, hotel management, human resource management and (4) The topic of her report was (5) __ in hotels, In her report, she wrote reviews of various (6) She joined an organization with the initials (7) ‘She got information from a magazine called (8)____- In her present job, she has to deal with problems caused by the hotel being (9) _ : 10. For questions 1-9, listen and complete the sentence with a word or short phrase. “Content analysis’ focuses on (1) which provides insight into people. Businesses use content analysis to identify how (2)____are changing, For governments, content analysis can be a source of (3) Bs A fingerprint word is a word that (4)_____in someone's speech. In correspondence from the client, the young lawyer noticed (5) used by the client which showed him tobe quite literary People who use ‘' a lot in their speech are often thought to be a (6) 5 ‘The images of ‘staying on course’ the speaker's uncle uses reveal his (7) as well as his general philosophy. Experts can tell as much from pauses in spooch as they can from (8) __. Content analysis is no substitute for common sense but it may be used to (9) _ it. 18 | fb.com/iloveambrosiaWM MASTER the ART of NEC SS News listening is the adjustment of authentic listening materials from news and speeches, for example, which are originally used for other purposes but then adapted for educational purposes. News listening usually covers 2 out of 4 exercises in the listening section, accounting for half of the points. Because news listening exercises are the relatively harder parts in the section, they will be the deciding factors in distinguishing excellent students from the average students. The two types of news listening are matching and gap-filing, both of which will be discussed in this section. ee elas) Matching was first introduced in the exam paper of NEC in 2016, Prior to this, NEC's listening test only focused on gap-filing and multiple-choice questions. In 2016 and 2017, matching was added to diversify the way that gifted students are tested, The question, however, is what distinguishes this specific format from others found. in IELTS Listening Test. IELTS fanatics must have known that matching may cover a broad range of topics. IELTS Listening part 2 may consist of matching in the form of maps, where candidates are required to listen attentively and decide which letter goes with what place on the map. IELTS Listening part 3 and 4 revolve around academic content, so matching's difficulty is also raised to ft. Nevertheless, matching in NEC is derived from authentic sources (as in 2016 was a BBC report on Korean education and in 2017 was a speech of Mark Zuckerberg on the development of Internet), which is a remarkable doparture from standardized tests. Another distinctive feature is the number of alternatives that students are faced with. To illustrate this, consider the following example. In the matching section of 2016, the first question required students to choose three correct answers among seven. If this had been a matching exercise extracted from the IELTS papers, the number of choices would have been confined to only six at its maximum. Below are some tips for the students: NEWS LISTENING MATCHING fb.com/iloveambrosia | 19SAAN! MASTER ART ot NEC Ml TA kcheced Due to the fact that authentic source is a key player in news listening matching, students, with a view to excelling at this section, have to practice listening to materials outside the book's content. Recommended sources are BBC podcast, CNN news, PBS Newshour, VOX, The Daily Conversation, TED-ed,.. While practice listening, you should try to outline the ideas of the extract. Take note and then divide the extract into certain main ideas with explanation and supporting evidence followed, The matching exercise invariably requires students to choose the supporting ideas and evidence for a main idea; therefore, practicing in this way will familiarize you with the real test. You can also consult the IELTS matching exercise for practice. Yet bear in mind that itis much easier than the News Listening matching, CMersrerua ce) I, Practice goes astray at times Some students who work on authentic sources try to make out sophisticated vocabulary and phrases without close attention to what the speaker is trying to convey. However, in order to achieve high score at this section, itis the meaning of every sentence that counts. In fact, 4 listening parts in NEC are ordered according to ] .. That seven planets are simultaneously discovered is considered a startling fact. |. It takes 40 years travelling at the speed of light to reach these planets. It is predicted that human beings will soon establish themselves on outer planets. A giant telescope will be the only way that helps to provide new clues about alien life. 7. Listen to a report on the project of poly dome. For questions 31-87, choose the letters on the right that address the questions on the left. Write your answer in the corresponding numbered space. What lies among the problems posed by monoculture? ‘A. concern for the origin of food B. under-capacity of current logistios network ©. disruption in supply chain D. impediment to natural cycles E._damage to ecosystems 31 32, 22 | Fb.com/iloveambrosiaBL MASTER the ART of NEC a What possible steps are taken as part of the poly culture based solution? ‘A. build a highly cost-effective greenhouse i B. arrange crops and animals based on their heat compatibility ©. grow vegetables in liquid nutrients 34, D. optimize soil quality E. adopt multi-layered farming method 35. F._ streamline harvest through external logistics systems G._ collect data on agricultural products Two likely effects of poly dome are ... ‘A. resultant emergence of several niche markets 36. B. ecstatic growth in export's profit margin C. severe damage to the labour market Ste . general increase in consumer surplus E._ extensive solution to food security problem 8. Listen to a report about Russia's ban in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. For questions 38-42, choose the correct letter to fill in the numbered space. What is true about the I0C’s ban imposed on Russia? Choose THREE letters from A-G. How do Russi at. 42. A B. C. Some Russian athletes can be ratified to compete under the country's flag if they meet D. E, F, :. Russian representative in the IOC has also been prohibited from attending future Olympic G. The blanket ban will reinforce the anti-doping system even further down the road, No athlete representing Russia will compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, ‘The ban comes as no surprise to sports lovers around the world. certain standards. 10C’s decision is based on evidence emerging from the previous Summer Games. ‘A.50-million-dollar reimbursement for investigation expenses will be paid by the ROC. Games. ian sports officials react to the ban? Choose TWO letters from A-E a BB, They threaten to take revenge on the IOC. . They regard themselves as being discredited D. They are discontented with the unjust decision. E. They hit back at the OC immediately after the decision is made. ‘They refuse to attend any Olympic Games in the future. Listen to a report that details the most expensive-to-live-in city in the world, Singapore. For questions 43-48, choose the letters on the right that address the questions on the left. Write your answer in the corresponding numbered space. (5 points) What are the reasons for Singapore's high cost of living? ‘A. monopoly on clothing products BB. high markup on low-end goods . tax on certain beverages D. competition with other cities E, excise tax on cars F. certificates to purchase a vehicle desire to go green fb.com/iloveambrosia | 25|e RA ASN NR A aaa 4A STER ART o” NEC What actions are taken to benefit low-income citizens? ‘A. discrimination in taxing B. free meals distribution C. minimum-wage policy D. investments in social security programs E, regulations on its elderly's retirement pay 46. 41. 10. Liston to a report that etaborates on Paris Climate Agreement. For questions 48-52, choose the letters on the right that address the questions on the left. Write your answer in the corresponding numbered space. 5 points) What lies among the concems for Paris Climate Agreement? ‘A, ‘reluctance to make a trade-off unwillingness to reach a consensus on common goals 48. i C. huge carbon footprints among BRIC nations D. E. 49. ). lack of binding time constraint ._ pledges from better-off countries to back others up, What are the likely impacts of Paris Climate Agreement? ‘A. unanimous message conveyed between committed nations 50. rapid adoption of eco-friendly technology CC. different approach from conglomerate businesses ict D. excessive resources pooled into constructing poliution-free plants. E, national movement to boycott the use of fossil fuels, F._unprecedented funding for green energy developmentME MASTER the ART cf NEC NEWS LISTENING: GAP FILLING usec In the listening section, gap filing is the most prevalent exercise and has always been a fixed part in the national English examination for the gifted, There will be approximately 10 questions in this par. Involving numerous accents and recorded at faster-than-normal speed, gap filing from news listening, to many students, is the most challenging and thus, most competitive exercise in this test. Therefore, in most cases, whoever excels at this section will stand a better chance of reaping higher prizes in NEC. Despite its demanding nature, there are stil a multitude of effective approaches to this kind of exercise. Here are some of the most fundamental tips from experienced test- takers: | fb.com/iloveambrosia | 25ES BML RL EASE SIRNA SSIES NS RANEY ARRAS! MASTER ART CT NEC SED How to practice 1. Increase exposure to news listening ‘One major problem upon doing this kind of exercise is unfamiliarity withthe reel-ife speech pattems, which are a world of difference compared to listening audio from books like IELTS, CAE, CPE in terms of speed, accents, etc. This feature requires all NEC students to acquaint themselves with a range of speech patterns in order to fulfill the tasks etfectvely, which can only be realised by day-by-day exposure to divergent sources of news listening for a fixed amount of time. 2. Go step by step ‘This approach means that itis not advisable to jump straight into difficult news listening exercises since this will easily shock students and strike fear into their heart whenever they attempt to do these assignments. To prevent their efforts trom going down the drain, test-takers should instead go for some easy news listening exercises in the frst place, Once guaranteeing a solid consolidation of listening skills, they can try to do some a litle more dificult tasks and then increase the difficulty levels of the exercises. For example, should one be a beginner, he or she can start off by listening to BBC Leaming English and then CNN Student News and finally, BBC or CNN. |. Focus on one topic One of the biggest obstacles in news listening is the wide range of vocabulary. In an endeavour to enrich vocabulary efficiently, students should acquire new advanced words in accordance with specific topics instead of expanding vocabulary in a disorganised way. For instance, NEC participants can allocate a certain amount of time (usually one week) to a particular topic and listen to a bunch of news bulletins related to this topic. The range of topies is considerable but students should take more heed of topical and latest issues such as environment, technology, large-scale and epoch-making events around the world, which are what the Ministry of Educetion and Training always aim at in NEC. {Utilize teamwork IF students find themselves in a scarcity of gap filing exercises of news listening, they can form a study group with their friends. Then, together they can design news listening assignments for each other on a regular basis. This, in tum, helps not only the students themselves but also their friends retrieve a vast source of exercises to complete and boost one another's news listening capability 5. Relax by news listening You should not take news listening too seriously just as a way of honing your listening skills and gaining a higher prize. Rather, you can still sense the therapeutic effects of news listening if you regard it also as a means of entertainment by watching TV shows, your favourite celebrities’ interviews or listening to English-speaking videos with fun contents. In this way, news listening feels much more natural and relaxing, which can fuel your motivation to ameliorate your command of news listening further. oracle cc} .Exceed the word limit: As is above-mentioned, the resolution isto read the instructions carefully. 2. Grammatical Mistakes: Forget the ending sound “ed” and "s” Minor as these mistakes may seem, they can cost you dearly. Not only should you pay particular attention to the ending sound while listening but you should also rely on the context to decide the tense or the plural form. 3. Lose the pace of the extract Sometimes you may lose your concentration and thus, being unable to comprehend the rest ofthe extract. In case of this, pull yourself together, listen carefully to the next pointlargument of the extract to re-catch the pace and move on to the next questions, Bear in mind that you can listen twice U. Get distracted by background information: Some extracts have excruciatingly long irrelevant background information to demoralize you. However, you should concentrate all the time since the required phrases may appear anytime, 5. Brood over after finishing listening: 26 | fb.com/iloveambrosiaWM MASTER the ART of NEC (bg a ‘Some students are still preoccupied with the listening part after the second time listening. However, at this point, remember that you practically cannot do anything to change that part. Thus, focus on finishing the other parts because the NEC is becoming longer. IV, Exercises Please access the link below and download the audio files in order to complete the listening exercises: http://bit.ly/2LA7gP1 (Source: NPR) Listen to a piece of news about people's employment prospects in the modern era and fil in the missing information with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS. ‘America has lost more than 7 milion (1) __ since the late 1970s, and yet the amount of stuff the U.S. produces is at an all-time high. Michael Hicks, an economist, says (2) _ ___ is responsible for the loss of these jobs. indiana has been in the (3) ____ of this recently because of the Carrier plant and now the interviewer wants to know how Professor Hicks fathoms President-elect Trump's representation that hundreds of jobs were saved. {As the plant probably goes through an automation period, we just don't know how many of the workers that are there now are going to be able to fit into the new, highly (4) of 2020. ‘Tho interviewer asks Professor Hicks whether he believes people that talk about our (5) _ haven't accounted for the powerful impact of automation in industry Professor Hicks thinks that there is a real disconnect between what they talk about, which is jobs floating overseas to Mexico and China and Vietnam, and the reality, which is that automation and (6) have really accounted for the vast majority of job losses in Indiana nationwide. a _____ of a production process is going to make things quicker and more efficient so we don't need as many autoworkers as we did a generation and a hatf ago. ‘There are certain new jobs being created, but they are harder to see. Between the time that manufacturing peaked in 1977 and today, we're down about 7 and a half milion manufacturing jobs, but we're up about 9 and a half milion 8) da It’s difficult to ask a 56-year-old guy who hasn't been around middle schoo! math since the early '70s to jump into fa training program at our community technical college or with our (9) _____ board and get retooled for a technology job or to work in a health care setting. 2016 is a year of (10) _ _____in the United States. 2. (Source: ABO) Listen to a piece of news about the thaw in the North ~ South Korea relationship and fill in the missing information with NO MORE THAN FOUR WORDS. Thousands of reporters around the world come to South Korea, sitting in an) (1) to witness a historic and emotional summit never seen before Weeks ago, the whole region seemed to be under the (2) looks completely different. Surrounded by bodyguards, Kim Jong-un emerged from the northern side of DMZ and then strode alone toward the (@)___—_that marks the border. ‘There are certain ceremonies and symbolism acts taking place such as a (4) _ ___. which is a shared Korean cultural trait 2s a grim joke, Kim Jong-un promises South Korean leader that he won't interrupt his sleep anymore with (6) just but now the picture: Ultimately, the two leaders reach a (6) _ ____ sign and celebrate it with a handshake and ahug. The two leaders declare that by the end of the year they will reach a (7) , bringing a formal end to the Korean wer. They will denuclearize the Korean peninsula and (8) cee The location for the summit between Trump and Kim Jong-un turned out to be (9) because Kirn Jong-un's airplanes are so old and have limited range in part {b.com/iloveambrosia | 27ee MASTER the ART of NEC All Holding a summit between the USA and North Korea in the Koreas is undesirable because one or the other would took (10) a 3. (source: Wall Stet Journal) Listen to a piece of news about COP 24 and fill in the missing information with NO MORE THAN FOUR WORDS. Why is Cop 21 considered to be so significant? Negotiators hope their efforts over the next two weeks will steer the planet away from what many here believe could be the (1) _ oe In some countries, the US, for example, many politicians question whether the costs of (2) for climate change are worse than the disease. What are negotiating teams’ assumptions? The way to stay below the (3) ____is to keep humankina's total tally of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere since the dawn of the industrial revolution below 1 tlio tons, Do negotiators hope to divide what remains of the carbon budget here in Paris? Leading up to the conference, more than 180 countries have (#)_—_———__forhow much they would limit their COz emissions over coming decades. The (5) between what the UN says is required, and what countries are putting on the table, is often referred to as the gap. So how will negotiators try to close the gap? Closing is widely considered at least here in Paris unrealistic but many officials hope countries will agree to a five- year review on target to later (6) ambition on cutting emissions. What are the (7) oe a in these negotiations? Most of developed countries have already (8) their CO2 emissions. And these developing countries have (9) of their own that the more wealthy developed countries which already used up way more oftheir fair share ofthe planets carbon budget, should help pay the high cost of shifting to (10) '. (Source: 88¢) Listen to a speech by Angelina Jolie on the refugee system and fill n the missing information with NO MORE THAN FOUR WORDS. Providing protection for refugees is the underlying working principle of the (1) __ ‘The groups of refugees that suffer the most can be (2) as ‘third country’ and then migrate. ‘The escalation of conflicts and (3) are what mainly accounts for the current breakdown in the refugee system. This can be seen in the fact that in the past six years, 15 conflicts have (4) eee 20 years (5) ____has now become a common thing for displaced people. That the UN appeals are (6) makes millions of regugees have to live without adequate food and proper shelter. Angelina Jolie deems this refugee crisis as a large-scale trial of (7) i According to Angelina, America is neither at the flux of the refugee crisis nor the ones (8) European nations are currently (9) 10 resettle 10 percent of refugees from just one conflict: Syria while other countries are (10) ____with millions of refugees from muttiple conflicts. ‘5. (Source: TED-ed) Listen to a piece of news about a new type of war possibly in the future and fill in the missing information with NO MORE THAN FOUR WORDS. That new type of war in the future is cyberwarfare along with the traditional wars but the problem is that it is not present in the (1) and does not have any exact definition. To decipher cyberwarfare, one way is to (2) where new international laws may be needed. In this way, a gunman who could (3) __without any firing is put forward as an example. In this example, a wireless device can be hamessed to send asignalto (4) by anindividual working for the government, which will eventually lead to fatal consequences. 28 | fb.com/iloveambrosiaMASTER the ART cf NEC In the second example, an image of some allied nations (5) ___ the computer systems of their rivals" nuclear warship is conjured up. Then, (6) ___is the answer to the above action, causing a power failure in the allied nations. Not only is that power failure derived from the assault but itis also compounded by downgraded power grids, (7) bee eee ered eee eee eeeee itis stil ambiguous as to whether who should accept lability for cyberwars, whether itis (8) _____, the IT experts or the commander. Under the current legal frameworks, dropping atomic bombs, employing gas weaponry or (9) —____ all are actions of war crimes. To conclude, the speaker poses a question that with the (10) of cyberwarfare, what other deeds should be included in the laws to make the concept of oyber-warfare more transparent 6. (Source: Now This World) Listen to a piece of news about India’s development and fill in the missing information with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS. The reporter uses the phrase '(1) ___"to depict the status of India today. ‘Some domains that show India’s increasing power: © Economy: multiple (2)__were implemented — considerable GDP rise — having the third strongest (3) _ aes ° (4) ________is another factor + Threefold increase in (5) ___ + Intentions to augment (6) _ — + Being among a few (7) + the fourth most powerful military + strong geopolitical alliances, exemplified by India's intervention in the (8) __of the US © Greater role in the United Nations * Large population © The largest single democratic nation ‘Some issues that India needs to address: * Corruption and bribery ° (9) Acute (10) ___ © Social class division fb.com/iloveambrosia | 29EE MASTER the ART of NEC Mill LISTENING CONSOLIDATION Please access the link below and download the audio files in order to complete the listening exercise: ttp://bit.ly/2LCzVTm Part 1, Listen to a news bulletin about North Korea nuclear crisis. For questions 1-10, fil in the missing information with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS. Write your answers in the space provided. Russian president Putin has warned of a global catastrophe if (1) with North Korea continue to increase, ‘As North Korea is unlikely to give up its nuclear programme, South Korea has been holding more (2) pace and showcasing its naval power. ‘The South's president said he is (3) but now it is not the right time. in Notth Korea nuclear Dandong ~ a Chinese city, is a very good place to (4) crisis, i saeetaaneran is an essential export of China to North Korea. ‘The reporter uses the word (6) z to describe North Korea's energy infrastructure, China fears that pushing North Korea to regime collapse can bring about chaos, instability and (7) ee or even wars, Therefore, there is no chance of China opting for a (8) talks and military actions. Vladimir Putin says that imposing further sanctions is a (9) i He is also very strong in terms of (10) that was being whipped up over the nuclear crisis, Part 2, Listen to an interview with Simon Lessing, a leading expert on the phenomenon of modern piracy. For questions 11-15, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which best fits what you hear. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes. 411, What distinguishes modern pirates from those of previous generations is___. ‘A. the degree of advanced planning B. that they use more than one form of weaponry ©. that victims are often murdered D. the targeting of ships with a certain type of crew 12, Common sources of information for pirate gangs are people who ___ ‘A. work for shipping companies B. operate computer networks C. Work for multinational corporations D. handle the payroll 13. In Lessing's view, the problem with ‘flags of convenience’ is that they ___ ‘A. are bought for a low registration fee B. can be used at open sea C. make hijacked ships harder to identify D. help pirates identify easy targets 14. Lessing implies that piracy is a more widespread problem than it used to be because __. A. of the forms of disguises pirates now adopt 30 | fb.com/iloveambrosia(MME MASTER the ART of NEC LRT B. it affects more than just merchant vessels ©. the method of counting and recording incidents has changed D. pirates have stopped targeting major sea lanes 45, Lessing feels that romantic notions of pirates ‘A. have never been accurate B. still apply to modem piracy in some of its forms ©. are appropriate to those who used riddles to indicate the location of their loot D, persist in madern times because of hidden treasure Part 3. For questions 16-25, listen to a news bulletin about Indian economy and complete the following tasks. For questions 16-21, choose SIX letters A-K. Which factors contribute to the fast growth in Indian economy? Write your answers in the space provided. eS ‘A. large numbers of young and educated citizens B, huge amounts of imported oils 7 . richer countries’ supplies of modern equipment D. more open economic regime E. attraction of international finance 18. __ F. increasing popularity of automation G. plummeting oil prices ae H. the arrangements of work for outside people |. Donald Trump's attention for Indian economy J. capability for emulation of foreign technology 20. IK. occupation of 15% of global wealth a. For questions 22-25, answer the following questions with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS or/and A NUMBER for each answer. Write your answers in the space provided. 22, What is the current growth rate of the US's economy? 23. What is a difference between Indian and US economy besides working days and retirement age limit? 24. What does India have to sactifice to produce much more goods? 25. What is the most prominent sector that economic growth cannot reflect? fb.com/iloveambrosia | 31PART TWO: LEXICO - GRAMMAR Grammar exercises are omnipresent in every English Competition from the NEC to The 30-4 Olympic English Contest and the NEC team selection test of many provinces and cities. In the NEC (National English Contest), together with lexical questions, they account for around 10% of the total score. This is not a difficult part (C1 level) but cannot be underrated, Below are some tips to conquer the Grammar exercise: Oke) Although writing in English and attending classes in linguistics might not be of much interest to many students, it is very important to spend some time reviewing the fundamental rules and principles. This is especially important when you write some kind of academic paper. If you are inattentive to details, you will fail to do the work properly as the very meaning of your message to the audience might be distorted due to the incorrect use of grammar. At times we have to reread some parts of our writing to fil the gaps with required information. It is also important to prootread your paper aloud, because it gives a chance for you to see what mistakes you have made. 32 | fb.com/iloveambrosiaWBS MASTER I] ART. NEC eiiAitiiistalGRSORGGIas ROSAS RASUSER OST SSSIRSREI If you want to master grammar, you need to read such resources as textbooks, classic literature, fiction, scientific books, blogs, articles, essays and biographies. You should pay attention to what tenses are used in different cases and how sentences are structured. 5. Practice a tot. There are many useful resources, both printed versions and online, that will help you to improve your grammar skils. A simple internet search provides access to a great variety of websites where you can study grammar by doing exercises and practicing with the help of games. CTS a=Cll= ced gde Dalal) MLN r= Reale eee) ABSOLUTE PHRASES: is a phrase that modifies a whole independent clause (a full sentence); not just one word. It generally combines a noun and a participle, so it can be as short as two words, or sometimes have other modifiers and objects, too. Ex (The absolute phrases are shown in bold) Sally waited for her fends to arrive, muffins baking in the oven. ‘Muttins baking in the oven, Sally waited for her frends to arrive. Her muttins freshly baked, Sally waited for her friends to arrive. Sally waited for her fends to arrive, her muffins freshly baked and ready. a. Parts of absolute phrases: Nouns: A noun is a person, place, thing, object or idea. A sentence's subject is pretty much always a noun. In an absolute phrase, the noun is what is doing the present or past participle. The noun in an absolute phrase is very often (but not always) accompanied by a pronoun. Ex: Her Muffins baking Particles: An absolute phrase almost always has a past or present participle. Adding “ed to the end of regular verbs makes the past participle; adding “ing” to the end of all verbs makes the present participle, Objects: An object is the word affected by the verb or preposition in a sentence. Objects are usually nouns or pronouns that answer questions lke “who,” “what,” *where,” and “when?” Ex: Sally baked muttins. What did Sally bake? Saly baked at home. Where did she bake? Sally baked this morning. When did she bake them? Modifiers: A modifier is an adjective or adverb that “modifies” or affects other words in a sentence to make it more descriptive. b. Types of absolute phrases: Past Participles: Past participles are different for regular and irregular verbs, but all past participle forms of regular verbs end in “ed. Absolute phrases using a past participle follow the form Noun + past participle: Ex: The batter mixed, Sally was ready to bake her muffins. Muffins baked, it was time for the brunch to begin. ‘Muffins eaten, it was time for Sally to serve the fru, Fruit served and enjoyed, Sally could now rest. ‘The past participles show that since something has happened, something else can happen. Without the past participle, we wouldn't know any other details about the main clause. For example, since the batter is mixed, Sally ‘can make muffins; since the muffins are baked, brunch can start. Present Participles: ‘AS you know, a present participle form of a verb always ends in “ing,” Absolute phrases using a present participle follow the form Noun + present participle: Her mixer mixing the batter, Sally could soon aad bluoberres. Sally prepared the tables for brunch, her muftins baking in the oven. ‘Muffins cooling on the counter, they would soon be ready to eat. You knew the muifins were homemade, the whole house smelling of blueberries, fb.com/iloveambrosia | 33MASTER the ART of NEC Mill ‘The present participles show that something is happening right now that affects the full sentence. For example, the muffins are cooling, so soon they can be eaten; or, Sally prepares the tables, while the muffins are baking. Other Phrases as Absolute Phrases Sometimes an absolute phrase doesn't have a participle. When it doesn’ prepositional phrase that modifies a whole sentence. it can instead be a noun phrase or Ex: A wondertul baker, Sally made fresh muftins for her friends. Noun phrase Last night, Saily made fresh muftins for her friends. Prepositional phrase You can see that both of the absolute phrases modify the whole sentence. “A wonderful baker” makes the fact that Sally baked muffins more important and meaningful —we know that they will be delicious. Likewise, “last night” tells us when Sally baked the muffins. 2. INVERSION: happens when we reverse (invert) the normal word order of a structure, most commonly the subject-verb word order. For example, a statement has the subject (s) before the verb (v), but to make question word order, we invert the subject and the verb, with an auxiliary (aux) or modal verb (m) before the subject (s). WHEN DO WE USE INVERSION? When we use a negative adverb or adverb phrase at the beginning of the sentence. Usually, we put the expression at the beginning of the sentence to emphasize what we're saying. it makes our sentence sound surprising or striking or unusual, It also sounds quite formal. f you don't want to give this, impression, you can put the negative expression later in the sentence in the normal way: Solciom have | seen such beautiful work. (‘Seldom’ is at the beginning, so we use inversion. This sentence emphasizes what beautiful work iis.) have seldom seen such beautitul work. (‘Seldom' is in the normal place, so we don't use inversion. This is a normal sentence with no special emphasis.) Common adverbs and adverbial phrases used for inverted emphasis: Seldom, rarely, never, scarcely, on no account, in no way, hardly, only then, no sooner, only later, nowhere, litle, only etc. Common adverbial phrases in which the inversion must go in the second clause: Only by, only after, not until, only when, not since Examples of ‘emphasis with inversion’, with the emphasis being inserted in the second clause: ‘Only by knowing your enemy, ean you learn about him/her. Only after graduating from university with a master’s degree, did I manage to find a job. Not until | left the building, could I see the rain clouds. ‘Only when you reach twenty-nine years, willl allow you to live here. Not since Jamie found a job, has he been so happy. 4 We can use inversion instead of‘ in conditionals with ‘had! 'were' and ‘should’. This is quite formal: Normal conditional: /iad been there, this problem wouldn't have happened. Conditional with inversion: Mad! / been there, this problem wouldn't have happened. Normal conditional: /fwe had anived sooner, we could have prevented this tragedy! Conditional with inversion: Had we arrived sooner, we could have prevented this tragedy! 4 We can use inversion if we put an adverbial expression of place at the beginning on the sentence. This is also quite formal or literary: On the table was all the money we had lost. (Normal sentence: All he money we had lost was on the table) Round the corner came the knights. (Normal sentence: The knights came round the comer.) HERE AND THERE: Inversion can happen alter hore, and atter there when itis as an adverb of place. After here and there, we can use a main verb without an auxiliary vert or modal verb: Hore comes the bus! Here's your coffee. opened the door and there stood Michael, all covered in ruc. She looked out and there was Pamela, walking along arm in arm with Golaie Expressions beginning with not We also invert the subject and verb after ot + a prepositional phrase or a clause in initial postion: Not for a moment did I think | would be offered the job, $0 | was amazed when | got it 34 | fb.com/iloveambrosiaMMM MASTER the ART of NEC Not til | got home did I realize my wallet was missing. 3. REDUCED ADVERB CLAUSES: refer to the shortening of an adverb clause to an adverbial phrase of time, causality of opposition, Advert clauses may be reduced only i the subject of both the dependent the advert clause) and independent clause are the same. Reduce Only Certain Types of Adverb Clauses: There are a number of adverb clauses in English such as adverb clauses of time, causality, opposition, condition, manner, and piace. Not all adverb clauses can be reduced Only adver ciauses of time, causality and opposition can be reduced. Here are some examples of each type of adverb clauses which can be reduced Reducing Adverb Clauses of Time ‘Adverb clauses of time are reduced in a number of ways depending on the time expression used. Here are the most common: Before/After / Since + Koop the time word + Remove the subject + Change the verb to the gerund form OR Use a noun Ex: Aiter he took the test, he slept fora long time. -> Alter taking the test, he slept fora long time. OR Alter the test, he slept fora fong time. Since | moved to Rochester, | have gone to the Philharmonic a number of times. -> Since moving to Rochester, ! have gone to the Phihharmonic a number of times. As + Delete ‘as! + Remove the subject ‘© Change the verb to the gerund form ex: AAs / was faling asleep, | thought about my friends in Italy. -> Falling asleep, | thought about my triends in Italy. ‘As she was driving to work, she sawa deer in the road. -> Driving to work, she saw a deer in the road. As soon as + Delete as soon as and replace with ‘upon’ or ‘on’ + Remove the subject + Change the verb to the gerund form Ex: As S00n as she finished the report, she gave it to the boss. -> Upon finishing the report, she gave it to the boss. ‘As soon as we woke up, wo got our fishing poles and went to the lake, -> On waking up, we got our fishing poles and went to the lako. 4 Reducing Adverb Clauses of Causality Advert clauses of causality (providing the reason for something) are introduced by the subordinating conjunctions ‘because’, ‘since’ and ‘as’ + Each of these reduce in the same manner. + Flemove the subordinating conjunction + Remove the subject Change the verb to the gerund form Ex: Because he was late, he drove to work. -> Being late, he crove to work. Since she was tired, she slept in late. -> Being tired, she slept in late. NOTE: When using the negative form of the verb, place ‘not' before the gerund when reducing. Ex: As he didn't want to disturb her, he lett the room quickly. -> Not wanting to disturbs her, he lett the roorn quickly. Because she didn't understand the question, she asked the teacher for some help. -> Not understanding the question, she asked the teacher for some help. % Reducing Adverb Clauses of Opposition fb.com/iloveambrosia | 35SE MASTER the ART of NEC Ml ‘Adverb clauses of opposition beginning with ‘though’, ‘although’, of ‘while’ can be reduced in the following manner. + Keep the subordinating conjunction Remove the subject and the verb ‘be’ Keep the noun or adjective © OR Change the verb to the gerund form 5 adjective) White he was a happy man, he had many serious problems, -> While happy, he had many serious problems, (noun) Though she was an excellent student, she failed to pass the test. -> Though an excellent student, she failed to pass the test. (gerund) Although he had a car, he decided to walk. -> Although having a car, he decided to walk. H. CONJUNCTIONS: are words that connect words, phrases, or clauses TYPES OF CONJUNCTION: Coordinating conjunctions Coordinating conjunctions may join single words, or they may join groups of words, but they must always join similar elements: .g. subject+subject, verb phrase+verb phrase, sentence+sentence. Comes usually in the middle of a sentence, and a comma is used before the conjunction (unless both clauses are very shor). The English language has seven coordinating conjunctions, and they'te easy to remember if you can just remember FANBOYS: For - Explains reason or purpose (ust like "because") 11go to the park every Sunday, for Llove to watch the ducks on the lake, ‘And - Adds one thing to another 11go to the park every Sunday to watch the ducks on the lake and the shirtless men playing soccer. Nor - Used to present an alternative negative idea to an already stated negative idea Idon't go for the fresh air nor really for the ducks. Honestly, ust ike the soccer. But - Shows contrast The soccer in the park is entertaining in the winter, but it's better in the heat of summer. Or - Presents an alternative or a choice The men play on teams: shirts or skins. Yet - Introduces a contrasting idea that follows the preceding idea logically (similar to “but") Lalways take a book to read, yet I never seem to tum a single page. So - Indicates effect, result or consequence ve started dating one of the soccer players, so now I have an excuse to watch the game each week. % Subordinating Conjunctions A subordinating conjunction is a word that connects a main clause to a subordinate clause. A main clause is an independent clause that can stand alone by itself as a sentence. In other words, a main clause does not need any additional information to operate as a sentence. Below is a list of subordinating conjunction: A: after, although, as, as if, as long as, as much as, as soon as, as though B: because, before even, even if, even though tif, if only, if when, if then, inasmuch, in order that J: just as Lelest N: now, now since, now that, now when once P: provided, provided that Ri rather than S: since, so that, supposing 36 | fb.com/iloveambrosiaBR MASTER” ART | NEC | S:Ranibsneeanencents sata aameGR SRR NUSEERAS Se RMR TT: than, that, though, till Us unless, until |W: when, whenever, where, whereas, where if, wherever, whether, which, while, who, whoever, why NOTE: Only use commas if the subordinating conjunction is the first word of a sentence, Place the comma after the first clause. Cortelative conjunctions Correlative conjunctions are always used in pairs. They join similar elements and show the relationship between ideas expressed in different parts of a sentence - and thus make the joining tighter and more emphatic. When joining singular and plural subjects, the subject closest to the verb determines whether the verb is singular or plural. Below is a list of correlative conjunctions: jas... as, either... or what with... and Just as... 50 neither ... nor whether ... or both... and not only... but also hardly ... when if. then no sooner ... than scarcely... when not... but rather... than % Conjunctive Adverbs ‘They are often used as a linking device between ideas. They show logical relationships expressed in clauses, sentences or paragraphs. Conjunctive adverbs ate very emphatic, so they should be used sparingly. Similar to And I ‘Similar to But Similar to So However Also Nevertheless a, Besides Nonetheless beens Furthermore Stil Meanwhile Likewise Conversely Then Moreover Instead Therefore Otherwise vero Rather ‘SPECIAL CASES OF CONDITIONAL SENTENCES “Mixed tense” in conditional sentence: Frequently, the time in the conditional clause and the time in the result clause are different: one clause may be in the present and the other one may be in the past. Past and present time are mixed in such sentences, in the sense that one of the verbal forms may express a real action and the other a hypothetical action. Ex: If he were a good student, he would have studied for the test yesterday. If had eaten breakfast this morning, ! would not be hungry now. Other words and phrases with the same meaning ~if 4. Unless: Conditional clauses can begin with unless. Uniess means something similar to if... not’ or ‘except if’. The verb forms in the examples are similar to sentences with if: we use the present simple in the unless-clause and shal, should, will, would, can, could, may or mightin the main clause: Ex: Unless I phone you, you can assume the train's on time. (If do not phone you /except if | phone you, you can assume the train is on time.) Warning: We don't use unless for impossible conditions. 2. If-+ were to In formal situations, we can use if + were to when we talk about things that might happen but which we think are unlikely: Ex: If the Prime Minister were to resign, there would have to be a general election within 30 days. Note: In even more formal styles, we use were + subject-verb inversion + to-infintive. 3. As long as, so long as, providing, etc. fb.com/iloveambrosia | 37MASTER the ART of NEC Mill ‘Sometimes wo noad to impose specific conditions or set limits on a situation. In these cases, conditional clauses ‘can begin with phrases such as as /ong as, so fong as, only if, on condition that, providing (thad), provided (that). ““As long as" is more common ini speaking; so /ong as and on condition that are more formal and more common in writing: Ex: You can play in the living room as long as you don't make a mess. So Jong as a tiger stands stil, it invisible in the jungle. The bank lent the company 100,000 pounds on conaltion that they repaid the money within six months. “Providing (that)” is mote common in speaking; provided (that) is more formal and more common in written language: Ex: You can get a senior citizen's reduction providing you've got a raileard. They may do whatever they like provided that itis within the law. 4, Or and otherwise We often use orand othenvise with conditional meanings: Ex: You've got to start studying, or you'l fai all those exams. (ff you don't start studying, you wil fail the exams.) 5. Supposing “Supposing” may be used with a conditional meaning. tt can be used in first, second or third conditional sentences. The speaker invites the listener to imagine a situation: Ex: Supposing | don't arive til after midnight, wil the guest-house sti be open? (magine if | don't arrive til after midnight ...) ‘Supposing you lost your passport, you'd have to go to the embassy, wouldn't you? ‘Supposing he hadn't recognised us - he might never have spoken to us. 6. f-meaning (although “4f* can be with a similar meaning to (although in a rather formal style of English. In this case, ifdoes not give so much importance as (ajhough to the contrast, exception or concession that is referred to. Ex: His style, if mannered, is pleasant to read. The profits, ifa little lower than last year's, are stil high. 6. sussunctives: The subjunctive is a specific verb form. It usually expresses something that you wish for, or a hypothetical rather than actual situation: Ex: If only | wore ten years younger. Tlonly wish that what you say were true. Itis also used to indicate that something is being suggested or demanded: Ex: The report recommends that he face the tribunal Itis important that they be aware of the provisions of the Act. WHEN IS IT USED ? + In that-clauses Itis probably most frequent in thaf-clauses with verbs like demand, insist, pray, recommend, suggest, and semantically related nouns/adlectives, ©.g. essential, important, insistence, proposal, et. Ex: She declined a seat beside Charles on the sofa. She insisted that Jane sit there. It was suggested that he wait until the next morning. It is important that they be aware of the provisions of the Act. Note: In most such cases it can be replaced by should + infinitive or by the indicative form of the verb: Ex: She dectined a seat beside Charles on the sofa, She insisted that Jano sat there. It was suggested that he should wait until the next morning. Its important that they are aware of the provisions of the Act. The use of the subjunctive instead of those alternatives is very frequent in American English, In constructions of this type, any negation not (or never etc.) is normally placed before the subjunctive verb: (One essential quality for a holiday novel is that it not be too light. Irecommend that we not approve this letter Asif..., as though... if. After if(or as if as though, unless) in hypotheses or comparisons: Ex: If that were so, things would be very different. 38 | fb.com/iloveambrosiaWARE MASTER | ART 11 NEC RIRIRRIRERI= 5:55 DmRURRE TaN ANSE ASSN SAAASE SCORER It was as if Sally were disturbed in some way. His voice strained as though he were waiking on a wire above a pit of sharks. The indicative may also be used, Le. was instead of were, in al the examples above, but the subjunctive arguably conveys the hypothetical sense more forcefully. % —— Atthe head of a clause This kind of construction, with the subject after the verb, is more typically found in writing than in speech, where it might be considered rather formal. Ex: Were I to get drunk, it would help me drown my anguish. Unlike rival international faits, be they in London, New York or Maastricht, the Biennale has enormous popular appeal. Source: Collection Book of Olympic 30/4 (2014,2015,2016,2017y; Destination C186? (Mecmilan) tt , the meeting began. fe ‘8S a money-market account, a A. Allofus seated certificate of deposit is recommended by B, Allof us had taken the seats financial experts for its high yield. C. Allof us have been seated A. Although it is not such a liquid investment D. Allof us having seated B. Although not as liquid an investment 2, The authorities, at the potential for ©. Though no liquid an investment dissont, tried to outlaw the coffee houses. D. While not being so liquid an investment ‘A. alarmed 8 The thiof has been arrested. B. who alarmed ‘A. who took her bag ©. alarming B. taking her bag D. who was alarming ©. who had taken her bag 3, His hat ____and pride Alan asked D. having taken her bag his former boss for his job back. pecs in shopping malls, restaurants ‘A. had been in hand ~ had been in check with similar price ranges and menus can make B. being in hand - being in check profits. ._inhand ~ in check ‘A. each uncluttered next to the other D. was in hand- was in cheok B. each cluttering next to the other 4, Her original intention, in C. each cluttered next to another Paraguay till Christmas, still seems like the best D. each decluttered next to the other one to me. 10. A food stylist prepares the food A. which is staying B. which is to stay ‘A. to be photographed ©. which was staying B. which will be photographed 5. Honour stil unsatisfied, they got back into their C. which are photographed lorries and were off again this time D. Aand B are correct ft toedge __intoa 11. | crouched in the alleyway, my eyes deep ravine that fell away at one side of the ae ___In the darkness. road, A. straining A. each to try ~ the other B. had been strained B. each trying - one another C. was strained ©. each trying - the other D. strained D. each tried - other 12, Rather than the team inthe rain, the E, totry each — another match was postponed. 6. The work in next month's A. playing exhibition is all by young French photographers. B. toplay ‘A. being shown c. play B, tobe shown 13. After scoring, Fowler fell to the floor as ©. which will be shown it by a bullet. D. Aand C are correct A. he were hit B. hit fb.com/iloveambrosia | 39A LT TA TTR MASTER |. ART | NEC Re C.hewas hit D. Aand Bare correct 14, We don’t anticipate from the anti-hunting lobby. ‘A. There being B. There was C. There to be D. Aand C are correct 415. “T'lnever finish this by five.” any resistance “if , I'll work overtime.” A. isneeded B. need tobe ©. needing D. need be 416, “Is she coming back to Florida soon?” *____within the next six months.” A. Intime B. Sometime C. Sometimes D. Atsome times 17. or one am not sorry. He should have than to lend them money. ‘A. thought more B. been better ©. known more D. known better 18, Gaining all this weight is probably because of exercising recently ‘A. me stopping B. stopping C. Ihave stopped D. having stopping 19. “It's been decided that consideration __to the issue at next wook's meeting. ‘A. is being given B. was to be given C. will be given D. will have given 20. “who did you say morning?” A. did he come B. had he come c. D. to see me this .. was coming 1. will he come 21. The law stipulates that new cars a with seat bells. A. are fitted B. be fitted c. are fit D. fit 22. “ Has Bob made any suggestions for the new project?” 40 | fb.com/iloveambrosia BooeP BORE No, all he does is, complain complaining to be complaining complained about it. “This is a really boring topic!” Yes, | didn’t want to read the assignment, prepare a presentation on it.” Apart from Even Much less Rather not _______work last week, but something happened and | couldn't. I could start IF wore to start Iwas started | was to have started he was seeing his daughter off to Australia The lest I heard Last | heard Hast heard I heard last you like about her, she's the most capable employee this company’s ever had Say what Tell me what Say which Tell me what ______ account should you leave the building without notifying a member of staft. Of litte Of no Not on any Not on your IF it's all the same to you, | have a preference ___ateight. Start tostart for starting starting gone to the wedding would have tumed the whole family against me. Not to have Having not Had I not Ithad not “Shouldn't you be in your math class now?" "Uh, oh! didn’t ce hear the bell to ring hear the bell ring hear the bell having rung