1 Remove part or all of the underlined word or phrase to avoid repetition or insert a short substitute word/phrase in its place. 1 A: Have you been to that new art gallery yet? B: Yes, I went to the gallery just last weekend. 2 A: Do you reckon that Simon and Julie will get married? B: No. I don't think they'll get married. They're too young anyway! 3 A: Please don't forget to pick up some more butter from the shops! B: Of course I won't forget to get some. It's on my list. 4 A: I haven't sent her a birthday card yet. B: Don't worry. I also haven't sent her a birthday card. 5 A: I'm probably going to buy that camera we saw yesterday. B: Which camera? We looked at hundreds! 6 A: Do you imagine they'll ever forgive me for what I did? B: Yes, I think they will forgive you for what you did eventually. 2 Delete any words in the following sentences that do not need to be there. 1 Take as much time as you need to take. 2 I'm sorry Sir. We don't have any silk sheets left. Just cotton sheets. 3 I don't know whose that car is. This car is mine. 4 I'm surprised that he forgot to ring you. I'm sure that he had intended to ring you. 5 I thought she would have got me a present but she hasn't got me one. 6 She is excited by the new job but she is also a little apprehensive about it. 3 For questions 1-6, read the following text and then choose from the list A-J the best phrase to fill each of the spaces. Each correct phrase may only be used once. Some of the suggested answers do not fit at all. The exercise begins with an example (0). ANIMAL FAMILIES Hissing and grunting loudly, a 'mute swan' belies its name (0) J. . Should a suspected foe approach too closely, rhis great white bird can deliver a knockout blow with its powerful wings, (1) ... . Many animals protect their young, though not all so aggressively. Some birds, such as plovers, (2) ... . Either parent may feign injury, careering across the ground with one wing held out as if broken, to lure the predator, such as a fox or stoat, away from their young. Some birds fly off (3) ... : a rail will carry them, one at a time, in its bill, while a woodcock carries them between its feet. Mother crocodiles too, carry their young. After hatching from the eggs laid on the river bank, the young crocodiles are vulnerable to predators such as marabou storks and hornbills. The mother picks her young up with remarkable tenderness in her great toothed jaws, (4) ... . Few other reptiles show such gentle care. Fish generally leave their eggs and young to fend for themselves. The mouthbrooders are an exception. The female or male, or both, depending on the species, take the eggs into their mouths. Protected from predatory fish and from fungi and bacteria, the eggs hatch in the mouth and the baby fish swim out, (5) ... . Even some insects show a surprising degree of parental care. Earwigs remain with their eggs until they have hatched. Among bees, wasps, ants and termites, a queen does all the laying of eggs, and then the workers (sterile females) care for the eggs and the larvae (6) ... . A with their chicks from the danger area B and takes them down to a safe stretch of quiet water C until they turn into adults D although they do learn from their mistakes E capable of breaking a person's arm F teaching them various hunting techniques G try instead to outwit a predator H not needing to sleep more than two hours at a time I though they will rush back in should danger threaten in defence of its young against an intruder 8 As luck would have it Speaking: merely superstition? Discuss the following questions with other students. 1 The objects above are considered by some people to be symbols of good luck. What other things do you know that are supposed to bring good luck? 2 Do you believe in luck? Some people say that 'you make your own luck'. Do you agree with that? WTien was the last time you had some good or bad luck? 3 What is a coincidence? Have you ever heard of or experienced any strange coincidences? Reading ► PI,Pt3 (multiple choice) 1 Read the article below quickly. Is the main point of the article to say that: 1 there are more coincidences in life than we imagine? 2 scientists don't take coincidences seriously enough? 3 there are normally reasons behind coincidences? 4 it's surprising that we don't experience coincidences more often? e IBWS G example is the 'small world' effect, where 50 two strangers at a party discover they have a friend in common. People at parties tend to be from the same social class, level of education, income bracket and the same area. So, the 55 likelihood of meeting someone with whom you share a trait is higher than it might seem. Sociologists have found that individuals typically have around 150 60 people whom they regard as 'close'. Therefore each of us typically has an entourage of around 23,000 'friends of a friend'. Say we have about five acquaintances for each close friend, the 65 number swells to 600,000. The chances of meeting someone on a train with whom you share an acquaintance are therefore surprisingly high: for the UK population, it's around one in a 100. If you also 70 include socio-economic factors that boost the numbers of people from particular backgrounds travelling by train to particular destinations, the chances rise even higher. 75 There is another effect at work behind some coincidences. They often seem surprising because we mix up two different probabilities: one - the chances of something interesting happening, and 80 two — the chances of something interesting happening after it has been given many opportunities to occur. i c eroe 25 Last year an amazing set of coincidences put Paula Dixon in the headlines - and saved her life. On a flight from Hong Kong to London, she began to feel ill. A call went out to any doctors 30 on board the plane, and two — Professor Angus Wallace and Dr Tom Wong -duly emerged. The presence of two doctors was fortunate but not so unusual. However, Paula had a potentially fatal 35 collapsed lung — Professor Wallace was not only an expert in accident surgery but had just finished doing a course specifically dealing with precisely this type of crisis. Dr Wong turned out to 40 have with him the one textbook needed to help them carry out the surgery. They saved Paula's life and won world-wide acclaim. But scientists claim coincidences are 45 simply the result of people remembering a few 'amazing' confluences of events, but conveniently forgetting all the times when nothing amazing happens. A classic 5 s. e Hamilton was working lone in her office when the fax achine broke down. Unable o fix it, she decided to call her olleague Jason Pegler, who had set off home a little earlier. Finding his home number pinned up on a notice board, she called him and began to explain the problem. But Jason quickly 10 stopped her saying any more: 'I'm not at home,' he explained. I just happened to be walking past this phone box when it rang, and I answered it!' The number Sue found on the notice 15 board was not Jason's home number at all. It was his employee number — which was the same as the number of the phone box he was walking past when she called. It was a bizarre coincidence, one of those 20 that fascinate and perplex us. From a chance meeting with a long-lost friend to weird parallels between world events, coincidences hint at 'spooky' laws in our universe. unit 8 As luck would have it 3 Which attitude do scientists have towards the significance of 'strange coincidences' in everyday life? A disbelief B respect C curiosity D confusion 4 Mendeleev made his discovery because A of his desire for fame. B he took a seeming 'coincidence' seriously. C of his obsession with organisation. D no one else took the behaviour of electrons into account. 5 Crick and Watson won the Nobel Prize because they A discovered a new chemical. B noticed how DNA reacted under certain conditions. C built on someone else's discovery of a coincidence. D learnt new things about certain chemicals. 3 Tell another student your reaction to the article. Do you agree that coincidences usually have a rational explanation? 4 Read the text again and make questions for the following answers. EXAMPLE: Because she couldn't repair the office fax machine. - Why did she call Jason? 1 Jason's home telephone number. 2 London. 3 Because they managed to save Paula's life under very difficult circumstances. 4 Because people who go to the same parties will generally have a lot in common anyway. 5 150. 6 50:50. 7 1871. 8 Crick and Watson's discovery of the double helix of DNA. 5 Talk to another student about things you have in common. You have five minutes. Give yourselves • half a point for an easy similarity e.g. you both have blue eyes. • one point for a medium similarity e.g. you are both 22. • two points for an unlikely similarity e.g. you both have a father called Antonio. See which pair of students can score the most points! 2 Read the article again and choose the correct alternative in each case. 1 The first coincidence in the text is surprising because of the A time that Jason left the office. B fact that Jason wasn't at home. C number that Sue phoned. D position of the phone box. 2 The second coincidence is surprising because A both doctors were experts in the particular area. B one of the doctors had written a textbook about this kind of problem. C there were so many doctors on the flight. D of the combination of fortunate factors. For example, the chances of getting a 'double six' in a single throw of two dice is one in 36. But the probability of getting at a least one from 25 attempts is 50:50. The more you try, the better your chances — but it's easy to forget the number of tries' involved in real-life coincidences. How many millions of people walk past phone boxes each day, but never find a friend ■n the other end of the line if it happens to ring? ■ Although scientists have little time for everyday coincidences, they treat them seriously when they occur in science. Apparent coincidences in nature have often led to major scientific breakthroughs. When the chemical elements are arranged according to their atomic weight, for instance, they seem to fall into groups with similar properties. Coincidence? The Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev didn't think so - and in 1871 published his Periodic Table', now found on the walls of countless laboratories. It emerged that the 'coincidence' was the result of a deep principle controlling the behaviour of electrons in atoms. The famous discovery of the double helix of DNA2 also benefited from a coincidence. In the early 1950s, an Austrian biochemist noted that the amounts of key chemicals in DNA — odenamed A, T, G and C - seemed to follow a rule. If the amounts of A and T were combined, they always equalled the levels of G and C. Cambridge scientists Crick and Watson thought this was a clue, and used it to find the structure of DNA. This 'coincidence' won them a Nobel Prize and aunched the whole field of modern genetics. ' Periodic Table = a list of elements (simple chemical substances) arranged according to their atomic structure 2 DNA - an acid that carries genetic information in a cell Grammar plus: verb patterns (2) 1 Find examples of the following verbs in the 'Laws of Freak Chance' text on pp.92-93. Which are followed by the -ing form? Which are followed by the infinitive form? Which can be followed by both? decide begin stop happen seem finish need 3 Give the appropriate heading to each set of verbs in the box below by numbering each column. 1 verbs followed by -ing or infinitive (with to) with different meanings 2 verbs followed by -ing or infinitive (with to) with small or no difference in meaning 3 verbs normally followed by infinitive (with to) 4 verbs normally followed by -ing 5 verbs normally followed by object and infinitive (without to) 6 verbs followed bv an object and infinitive (with to) □ 2 Six of the following sentences are incorrect. Find the mistakes and correct them. avoid, detest, beg, dare. allow, attempt, imagine, keep on, mind, miss, put off, risk encourage, invite, persuade, urge deserve, expect, fail, manage, neglect, threaten □ forget, go on, like, regret, remember, stop, try make, let, help begin, continue, intend, propose, start 10 She doesn't remember to learn to ride the bicycle. I couldn't imagine to live in a big city. Do you miss having contact with colleagues now you work from home? I like to get up an hour before I have to leave for work. What do you intend doing after you leave school? Surely you are not allowed to know the exam questions in advance? I'm sorry but they made me to tell them where I had hidden the money. Why don't you try memorising new vocabulary just before you go to sleep? They encouraged me starting playing the piano from a very early age. Don't forget to phone your grandmother this evening. We didn't expect you being home so soon. He went on to say how much he had enjoyed the evening. They begged to lend them the money they needed. We intend to start work on the new concert hall as soon as planning permission has been received. John tried hard to open the window but it was stuck. 4 Choose the correct alternative in the brackets in each case below to finish the rule correctly. 1 Verbs followed by an infinitive e.g. / expect to see him tonight often refer (back to the past) (forward to the future). 2 Verbs followed by -ing e.g. I remember locking the front door when I left this morning often refer to an action or state (before the main verb) (after the main verb). 5 Complete these sentences using the verbs in the box in the correct form. (You may need to add an object.) 1 She (persuade/ask) my boss if I could have some extra time off. 2 Do you {regret/leave) school at 16? 3 Will you {let/help) you cook dinner? 4 Apparently they {expect/work) every evening until this deal is signed. 5 How did you (avoid/have) to do military service? 6 You should (.try/see) a hypnotherapist. It really helped me give up smoking. 7 We (intend/be) home before midnight but we missed the last train. 8 We (.urge/reconsider) our proposal. 9 You don't (deserve/treat) so badly by your so-called friends. 10 I'm afraid (neglect/keep) in contact with many of our friends. 11 I (threaten/tell) Sarah if he doesn't stop seeing Melanie. 12 They (dare/do) a bungee jump and I did! 13 You shouldn't (attempt/lift) that box by yourself. 14 We had to {stop/check) the oil level several times. 15 Do you (miss/talk) to your brother now he's left home? 11 12 13 14 unit 8 As luck would have it 6 Take it in turns to ask another student questions using the verbs from Exercise 3 on p.94.The other student should answer truthfully. Use a different verb each time. EXAMPLE: Student A: Is there anything that you really regret doing recently? Student B: Yes. I really regret not having studied English harder at school! 4 Complete each sentence with an appropriate word in the correct form from the table in Exercise I. 1 In order to.....................available power, solar panels are placed on the highest part of the building. 2 She stared up at the great glaring moon and the.....................stars. 3 It is.....................British behaviour to suffer in silence rather than complain. 4 It's.....................that the missing children could have survived so long without food. 5 Many of the factory workers signed up for overtime to.....................their meagre wages. 6 There's no skill in a game like roulette. It's all ...................... 7 The cars are.....................tested for safety and reliability before leaving the factory. 8 .....................scholars before Copernicus had suggested that the earth went round the sun. 9 The idea of travelling to other solar systems may sound.....................but scientists now see it as a real possibility. 10 You're going to Bermuda? What an amazing......................So am I! 5 Now find one approximate synonym for each of the following words. (Refer to a thesaurus or a dictionary such as the Longman Language Activator.) Make a note of any differences in meaning with the original word. Then compare your synonyms with other students. • a meeting • to remember • interesting • a problem • quickly 6 Record in your vocabulary notebook all the new words you have learnt. Take care to note the exact meaning and context when particular words can be used. Grammar reference pp. 197-198 Vocabulary: synonyms Look at the words in the left hand column of the table below and tick the column which contains an approximate synonym (a word with the same meaning). A B C D E chance many normally unlikely increase boost far-fetched typically countless maximise coincidence inconceivable generally luck numerous 0 2 Now listen to the words used in context and check your ideas. 3 Work in groups. I Each group should take one group of synonyms from Exercise 1. Refer to dictionaries and find out what, if any, differences exist between the meaning of each word in the group. _ Explain your findings to students from other groups. 95 Listening: five bizarre tales ► P4, Pt4 Listen to these sentences from the extracts. Complete the missing part. 1 Who........................................but when he eventually called back ... . 2 Well,........................................when we discovered that they were his first cousins. 3 and then,........................................, it turned out that our brothers were both born on July 5, 1960. 4 Would........................................? She was standing right next to me. 5 Well,.........................................In a passageway were two large tea chests filled with very old, torn magazines. 4 Listen again and repeat the extracts with similar intonation. 5 Prepare to recount a surprising incident to another student. Use something that has happened to you or invent an incident based on one of these situations. • You met someone today at your school/college/ work who you have just discovered was born and brought up in the house next door to yours, where you lived for the first ten years of your life. • You stood behind a famous TV personality at the supermarket today and had a short conversation with them. 6 Now tell your story to another student. Include at least one of the expressions you learnt above. Begin like this: You'll never guess what happened to me today... Grammar check: reported speech f Put the following into reported speech. 1 // was the most amazing coincidence! 2 I'll never forget the day 3 I've often wanted to I had a premonition that find out what happened I should phone my dad. to my cousins. 4 Are you married to a Cancerian? 1 You will hear five short extracts in which various people are talking about their experiences of strange coincidences. First, match the extracts as you hear them with the people, listed A-H, who are speaking. Remember, there are five extracts and eight speakers to choose from. TASK ONE A a father B a hospital worker C a boss D a wife E a friend F a grandchild G a guest H an aunt 1 2 3 4 5 2 Listen to the extracts again and this time match them with the correct topics A-H below. Make a note of any key words or phrases that help to justify your choices. TASK TWO A photographic evidence B an old boyfriend C homework research D encounter with a stranger E a weird premonition F fire brigade rescue G a family reunion H an illness reveals all 6 7 8 9 10 5 / couldn't believe my eyes when I realised who it was. 6 / don't know why but I must go to this address tomorrow morning. EXAMPLE: 1 He said it had been the most amazing coincidence. unit 8 As luck would have it 2 Complete each of the following sentences with one of the prepositions from the box. of for on with from 1 Tom apologised.....................being late. 2 They congratulated her.....................doing so well in her exams. 3 Sam pleaded.....................her not to leave. 4 Mike reminded Jane.....................the last time they w ent away on holiday together. 5 They tried to discourage her.....................leaving school early. 6 He blamed himself.....................what happened at the party. 7 Simon accused his best friend.....................lying to him. 8 Sarah insisted.....................going round to her boyfriend's flat to see if he was in. 3 Use the reporting verbs in the box to report the following sentences. admit suggest warn accuse remind apologise promise deny agree EXAMPLE: 1 She reminded him to get his father a birthday card. 1 Don't forget to get your father a birthday card. 2 You really shouldn't hang around with those boys. 3 Why don't we go out to that new Italian restaurant? 4 I'm sorry I borrowed your car without telling you. 5 I will help you with your essay tomorrow, honestly. 6 I didn't steal any money from the till. 7 It was you who took my CD, wasn't it? 8 Yes, it's true, I have been seeing a lot of Debbie. 9 Yes, OK, I'll come and help you with the shopping if you really want me to. D Vocabulary: word formation (prefixes) My brother is the unluckiest person I know! 1 Use a dictionary if necessary and write down two words whose negative can be begun by: un- dis- im- il- ir- 2 Contradict each of the following statements using the word in brackets with one of the prefixes above. EXAMPLE: This chair is quite (comfortable). Actually, I think it's quite uncomfortable! 1 What you're saying is completely (relevant). 2 That dog is always (obedient). 3 I found his story quite (believable). 4 This argument is completely (logical). 5 He's very (mature) for his age. 3 Look at the prefixes in bold in each of these sentences. Match them to their meanings below. 1 I'm sure you misunderstood her. She definitely wants to go to university. 2 He says that astrology is just a pseudoscience. 3 I'm afraid you'll have to retype this letter. It's full of mistakes. 4 You wouldn't think from his behaviour that he was an ex-Prime Minister. 5 I hope you won't think I'm antisocial but I don't feel like coming out tonight. 6 The post-mortem revealed very little about the way that Mills had died. 7 They live in a small semi-detached house in the suburbs. 8 The garden is getting terribly overgrown. 9 It's probably the best political autobiography I've ever read. 10 Have you got a monolingual dictionary? a) former f) not real/false b) too much g) against c) again h) one/single d) of or by yourself i) after e) half j) badly/wrongly 4 Now decide which of the prefixes in Exercise 3 can be added to each of these words. circle graduate syllable pilot build clockwise estimate pronounce intellectual husband ► Exam Maximiser 4 Think of a) an interesting conversation you had recently or b) part of an interesting dialogue you heard on a TV programme or film recently. Report it to another student. EXAMPLE: I met a friend from school last weekend. I hadn't seen her for nearly five years. She told me that she had given up her teaching job and had decided to travel around South America. I asked her how long she was thinking of going for and she said that... 97 Speaking ► P5, Pt2 (comparing and contrasting) 1 Discuss with another student. What are the four parts of Paper 5 Speaking? What usually happens in Part 2? How long does each candidate have to speak? (If you need help look back at the Speaking Section in Unit 2.) 2 Tell another student about the last time you had a piece of really good news. What was it? How did you feel? 3 Work with another student. Look at Pictures 1 and 2. Decide which of the sentences (I-3) might be appropriate to use in comparing and contrasting these pictures. 1 In the first picture I can see a man wearing glasses, boots and a heavy winter coat. He's got brown hair and he could be in his forties or fifties. The same man is on the left in the second picture. 2 In the first picture, there's a man staring at the ground and holding some kind of machine. I think he's probably looking for something as he's concentrating hard, so the machine might be a metal detector. The second picture seems to suggest his efforts have paid off. 3 The first picture looks as if it might be in England. It's a very muddy field with a few trees and houses in the background. It looks quite cold and cloudy. I can see the same field in the second picture but here there is also a tractor in the background. 4 Decide who will be Candidate A (Pictures I and 2) and Candidate B (Pictures 3 and 4). In turn: 1 Compare and contrast your pictures. Say what is happening in each picture and how people are feeling. 2 Say whether you found the task easy or difficult and how you could have done it better. 98 unit 8 As luck would have it English in Use ► P3, Pt5 (register transfer) An English student wants to get a summer job working for the magazine Would You Relieve It? For questions 1-13, complete the formal letter to the editor of the magazine, using the advice given in the informal letter from a friend who is a journalist for the same magazine. Use no more than two words for each gap. The words you need do not occur in the notes. LETTER FROM A FRIEND Dear Sally, This is just to let you know what I've found out about possible summer jobs here at the magazine. Firstly, you ought to write a letter to the Editor (Susan Renshaw) explaining that you are looking for work over the university holiday period. It's probably a good idea to mention my name and mention that I said you should write to her. Tell her about your university course and also that you do the sports bit for the student newspaper. Do explain that you're really interested in getting into this area after university and that this would give you a great chance to learn. Emphasise you can work almost any hours they want and that you don't mind doing any kind of job. Make sure you tell her how to get hold of you and suggest she gets in touch if there is anything else she needs to know. Really hope this helps and that it all works out! Love, Renzo. LETTER TO MAGAZINE EDITOR Dear Ms. Renshaw, I am writing to (0) enquire whether you might have any (1) for temporary employment at Would You Believe It? magazine over the summer period? I'm actually writing at the (2) of Renzo Crace (an old family friend). I am currently doing a (3) ... in English at Manchester University and I also write a regular sports (4) ... for the student newspaper. I should say that I am seriously (5) ... doing a course in (6) after my B.A. and 1 feel this would (7) ... me with some very valuable (8) .... I would be extremely (9) ... in terms of my hours of availability and I am quite (10) ... to take on any type of work that you might be able to offer. I can be (ID ... at the above address for the next 4 weeks. Please (12) ... me know if you require any further (13) .... Yours sincerely, Sally BraitftMjitt-Sally Braithwaite Writing: competition entry 1 In Paper 2, Part 2 you may be asked to write an entry to a competition of some kind.'Competition entries' are not a separate text type but can involve writing a description, an article, a review or a narrative. It is important to make what you write as interesting and engaging for the reader as possible. 2 Look at these different examples of'Competition entry' tasks. Discuss with another student which one you would prefer to do and why. The COMPETITION MAGAZINE March Adverts & competitions B A FUNNY THING HAPPENED TO ME THE OTHER DAY! ******* A Years FREE Fitness Centre Membership! Fitness For All magazine wants you to share your experiences of getting fit. If you've had some success at getting and staying fit, we want you to tell others about it. In about 250 words tell us what you do to stay fit and how you keep motivated. The writers of the best accounts will receive a year's free niembersliip of the fitness centre of their choice. Have you had a strange or funny experience recently? Has there been an odd coincidence in your life or an unexpected piece of luck? If there has, why not tell us what happened? We are offering a prize for the 3 most interesting, well-written 250-word accounts. The best entries will be included in the June edition of The COMPETITION magazine. Get away from it all! Is there somewhere you've always dreamed about travelling to but have never had the chance? Tell us where and why you would like to go and you could win a week's, all-expenses paid holiday to the destination of your choice. If you are interested in taking up this opportunity, write to: Explore The World, PO Box 412, Newcastle Upon Tyne.