ANIMAL IDIOMS

Animals feature strongly in idioms. This is logical if we consider the various habits and characteristics of animals that we have lived side-by-side with for centuries.

a sly fox / to be as sly as a fox

Someone who is very experienced and has acquired a lot of guile.
You can’t trust him; he’s as sly as a fox.

to let sleeping dogs lie

To leave well alone and refrain from starting trouble.
You must have known that mentioning his ex-wife would upset him. You should have let sleeping dogs lie.

as stubborn as a mule

Someone who is unwilling to listen to reason or change his mind.
It’s a waste of time trying to get him to change his mind; he’s as stubborn as a mule.

a dark horse

A person of unknown abilities or a person who has kept his abilities to himself and may surprise everybody. This is a racing metaphor which says that an unknown horse which could win the race unexpectedly.
Who would have thought George would win the competition? He’s a real dark horse.

no room to swing a cat

A very small, cramped place. The original phrase was probably ‘not room to swing a cat-o’nine-tails’, and dates from the time when sailors were flogged (whipped) on ships. The floggings took place on the deck because the cabins were too small.
This room’s not big enough to swing a cat in.

to put/set the cat among the pigeons

To provoke a quarrel.
You shouldn’t have criticised the boss in your speech; now you’ve really put the cat among the pigeons.

a dog’s-body

One who does the routine or mechanical work, especially that which no one else wants to do.
When I worked in the factory I was the dog’s-body; I was given all the worst jobs.

as weak as a kitten

Feeble, very weak, having no strength.
After her operation she felt as weak as a kitten.

THE NEXT VICTIM

Today, we present the first title of our collection of MyPlaceforEnglish's Readers in English:

Title: The Next Victim.
Author: R. Alcolea Harold.
Genre: Mystery, vampires.
Pages: 50.
Level: Intermediate (A2, B1) / Bachillerato (1,2)
Price: 0.89€ / $1.19
Link to buy the Ebook  at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/THE-NEXT-VICTIM-ebook/dp/B00DESIHXC/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1371597773&sr=1-3&keywords=the+next+victim

This text is appropriate to be used in EFL Classroom. It includes questions for the understanding of the story and further activities to be carried out in class.

También podéis adquirirlo en Amazon España o cualquier país del mundo. Este libro es el primer título de la colección de lecturas para estudiantes de Inglés de nuestra web. Esperamos os guste. Se puede descargar y trabajar en clase por su económico precio.

Enlace de Amazon españa: http://www.amazon.es/THE-NEXT-VICTIM-ebook/dp/B00DESIHXC/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1371597532&sr=1-3&keywords=rafael+alcolea

WEATHER IDIOMS

Idioms can be confusing for non-native speakers. Someone might have said to you that you look a bit under the weather. Or perhaps you heard someone say they were snowed under. What did they mean
Well, they definitely weren’t speaking about the weather. They were using an idiom, i.e. a phrase whose collective meaning is different to the meaning of its individual words.
Here are six common weather idioms to impress your friends with.

 

Frases idiomáticas sobre el Tiempo meteorológico.

raining cats and dogs

This is used to describe very heavy rain.
It’s terrible weather outside; it’s raining cats and dogs.

to weather the storm

To get through a difficult time and survive.
The government is in a crisis but they look like they will weather the storm.

to be snowed under

To have too much work or things to do.
Oh, no! Not another new project. I’m already snowed under. I don’t have time to do any more.

every cloud has a silver lining

You can always find something positive in a bad situation.
Don’t worry about losing your job, it might be the best thing that’s happened to you. Remember, every cloud has a silver lining!

stormy waters

To be in trouble. To be going through a period of problems.
The government is in stormy waters over its new transportation policy.
I’m in stormy waters with my girlfriend; I didn’t get home till 2 o’clock this morning.

to be a bit under the weather

To feel ill, sick; not feeling completely well.
I’m taking the day off work today – I’m feeling a bit under the weather.
You look a bit under the weather, John. Aren’t you feeling well?

UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS OFTEN CONFUSED

 

10 uncountable nouns / Nombres incontables que solemos confundir :

1. advice 2. news 3.information 4. equipment 5. luggage

6. experience 7. progress 8. traffic 9. trouble 10.accommodation

 

 

 

Before uncountable nouns we often use some or any:

• I need some advice.
• We don’t have any news.
• He doesn’t have much experience.

We can also use a lot of, a little, very little and much:

• There is a lot of information.
• They only have a little equipment.
• They don’t have much luggage.

It is possible to make the following nouns countable by saying:

• a piece of advice
• two pieces of news
• three pieces of information
• four pieces of equipment
• five pieces of luggage.

The nouns experience, progress, traffic, trouble and accommodation cannot be made countable in the above way.
 
N.B. Experience also exists as a countable noun, as in this sentence: ‘We had a lot of good experiences on our trip’.

COLOUR IDIOMS

Colour idioms are very common in English. We’ve chosen ten common ones for this list.
At the bottom of the page there is a little quiz to see how many you can remember.



black and white

Thinking of everything or judging everything in a simple way and seeing it as either good or bad.
The situation isn’t as black and white as it seems; it’s much more complicated.

to black out

To darken by putting out the electric lights or covering over the windows.
Londoners had to black out their windows during the German bombing raids at the beginning of the war.

to black out

To lose consciousness.
He blacked out after standing up for three hours in the parade. A doctor had to attend to him.

to be blue in the face

To be very angry or upset; to be excited and very emotional.
She argued with her husband until she was blue in the face but he wouldn’t see her point of view.

to be green

To be inexperienced and/or immature.
He’s a bit green – he still believes that someone is going to come and help him out of his situation. He doesn’t realise he has to do it himself.

the grass is always greener (on the other side)

When a place that is far away or different seems better than the place where we are now.
He must be crazy to leave the company; he’s got a great job and a great salary. He really should stay where he is but he can’t see it – the grass is always greener on the other side.

to be green with envy

To be very jealous and full of envy.
I was green with envy when I heard that she was going on holiday to Spain for a week while I had to stay and work.

to be in the red

To have debts.
The company has been in the red for two years now. We now owe over $500,000 to our suppliers and the bank.

red tape

Excessive bureaucracy.
Many businesses complain about the amount of red tape that they have to deal with in Russia.

to come out of the blue

When something happens without a warning and by surprise.
His decision to leave the company came completely out of the blue. No one expected it at all.

KING ARTHUR AND HIS KNIGHTS

KING ARTHUR AND HIS KNIGHTS. This is the first book of a series of Cheap Graded Readers for Students. Due to the difficult times we are living in we cannot spend too much money in school books, so this is our economic proposal.

This books has also activities carried out by INTERMEDIATE students ( A2, B1, Bachillerato 1, 2) or by those who want to update their "English" reading comprehension .This book can be use in the English classroom in an easy and effective way, since the students can dowload the book at home and print it for the cheapest price. They don't have to wait to get the book for two weeks , they will get it in five minutes!

If you want to read the book press the cover.

 

 

Nota para España:

Este libro pertenece a una nueva colección de lecturas graduadas para el estudiante de Inglés. La Leyenda del Rey Arturo, está destinado a estudiantes de nivel intermedio (A2, B1) y alumnado de Bachillerato 1º y 2º o Escuela Oficial de Idiomas.

 

Esta nueva colección pretende ofrecer versines muy económicas para que el alumnado pueda descargar desde casa una copia del libro y poder leeerlo sin tener que desemb



LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS practice

Indicate the Language Functions in the following dialogues:

1.Kristin : Hello, Vijaya, Happy Deepavali to you and your family !
Vijaya : Thank you. Do come in. I'm glad you have come.

(A) To wish
(B) To request
(C) To welcome
(D) to inform

2. Keane : The race will start at 8 a.m., won't it ?
Clerk : That's right. After registration, you have to assemble at the starting line in the field.

(A) To inform
(B) To greet
(C) To request
(D) To describe

3. Lily : Lehman fell while climbing up the rambutan tree.
Rose : I shouldn't have asked him to pluck the rambutans.

(A) To complain
(B) To regret
(C) To apologize
(D) To advise
4. Ronnie : Our team played badly, especially I.
Mat : It's all your fault. You have let the team down.

(A) To advise
(B) To blame
(C) To warn
(D) To protest

5. David : Hello, Sam. You look worried. can I help you ?
Sam : Could you lend me twenty dollars ? I need it urgently.

(A) To inform
(B) To describe
(C) To offer
(D) To request

6. Billy : Why don't you borrow Aileen's bicycle ?
Sarah : Her bicycle has a flat tyre.

(A) To offer
(B) To explain
(C) To advise
(D) To instruct

Aswers / Keys : in the comments section.

SAY AND WRITE NUMBERS IN ENGLISH

Numbers in english are a bit confusing , these are some tips not to get lost! / Los números en inglés son un poco confusos y podemos perdernos, aquí tenéis alguna información útil.

Fractions and decimals


We say simple fractions like this:

1/8 = one eighth

5/7 = five sevenths

2/5 = two fifths

3/4 hour = three quarters of an hour


More complex fractions are usually expressed by using the word over.

218/576 = two hundred and eighteen over five hundred and seventy six

We say and write decimals like this:

0.278 = nought point two seven eight (US zero point two seven eight)

(NOT nought point two hundred and seventy eight)


Nought, zero, nil etc


The figure 0 is usually called nought in British English, and zero in American English. When we say numbers one figure at a time, 0 is often called oh.

My phone number is nine three two five oh six (= 932506)

In measurements of temperature , 0 is called zero in both British and American English.

Zero scores in team games are called nil. In tennis and similar games, the word love is used for zero.


And the score is: Brazil three, Italy nil.

Forty-love: Nadal to serve

Telephone numbers


Each figure is said separately. There is usually a pause after groups of three or four figures. If the same figure comes twice, British people usually say double.


657 4481 – six five seven, double four eight one (British)

- six five seven, four four eight one (US)

Roman numbers

The names of kings and queens are still written in Roman numbers.

It was built in the time of Louis XIV.

Queen Elizabeth II

Henry V

Cardinal and ordinal number

The numbers one, two, three, four etc., are called cardinal numbers

whereas the numbers first, second, third, fourth etc., are called ordinal numbers.

Ordinal numbers are used before nouns. After a noun, we use cardinal numbers.


the fourth chapter – chapter four

the third act – Act Three

PASSIVES PRACTICE B1 LEVEL

This activity seems to be easy , but it has its difficulty, DON'T RELAX!!
You can check your answers with the keys in the comments section of this post.

(Parece un ejercicio fácil de pasivas, pero cuidado! comprueba tus respuestas en los comentarios de la entrada)

1. Change the following sentences into passive voice.

1. I know him.


2. His conduct will surprise you.


3. His failure disgusted his parents.


4. One must endure what one cannot cure.


5. They say that honesty is the best policy.


6. He had to pay the fine.


7. What does this box contain?


8. I want you to do this.


9. I expect you to help her.


10. Women like men to adore them.


11. One should help the poor.


12. The farmer grows vegetables.

REVIEW OF ENGLISH TENSES

This worksheet gives a general vision about the commonest English tenses. This quick guide is ideal for revising Grammar before your final exams.
(Esta ficha os permite tener una visión rápida y general de los tiempos verbales ingleses para exámenes finales de gramática.)

Review of English Tenses

READING IN THE ENGLISH CLASS : SPARKY THE BABY DRAGON

READING COMPREHENSION: SPARKY , THE BABY DRAGON

PRESENT PERFECT (EXPLANATION AND ACTIVITIES)

The PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE:

The present perfect simple expresses an action that is still going on or that stopped recently, but has an influence on the present. It puts emphasis on the result.

Form of Present Perfect:

[has/have + past participle]

Examples:

I have seen that movie twenty times.

I think I have met him once before.

There have been many earthquakes in California.

People have traveled to the Moon.

People have not traveled to Mars.

Have you read the book yet?

Nobody has ever climbed that mountain.

A: Has there ever been a war in the United States?B: Yes, there has been a war in the United States.

For irregular verbs, use the participle form (see list of irregular verbs, 3rd column). For regular verbs, just add “ed”.

Use of Present Perfect :

1.Puts emphasis on the result

Example: She has written five letters.

2. Action that is still going on

Example: School has not started yet.

3. Action that stopped recently

Example: She has cooked dinner.

4. Finished action that has an influence on the present

Example: I have lost my key.

5. Action that has taken place once, never or several times before the moment of speaking
Example: I have never been to Australia

TEST ABOUT PRESENT PERFECT ( LEVEL 1)

TEST ABOUT PRESENT PERFECT (LEVEL 2)

TEST ABOUT PRESENT PERFECT (LEVEL 3)

DOWNTOWN- vocabulary related to the city.

Downtown
Central district of a city where the main cultural, economic and commercial activities are carried out.

Did you know all the terms that appear in the picture? they're really useful for travelling but if you're learning the directions and the buildings in a city, that's a great picture.

PAST SIMPLE AND PAST CONTINUOUS PRACTICE

Past Simple and Past Continuous

HALLOWEEN HANDOUT AND ACTIVITIES

A, AN, THE, Zero Articles HANDOUT

Too , So and Very

I'll try to help you to differentiate between these three adverbs with this worksheet :

Too Very So Handout