Week 3: Brownie Points

Brownie Points

Listen to the following podcast entitled “Brownie Points,” which was taken from BBC Learning English. Answer the following questions below. And don’t forget to print a copy of this exercise to be checked in class.

Brownie Points /’brawniy poynts/ definition: 1. 2.
01. Why did William buy a box of chocolate and a bunch of flowers?
02. What are some of the activities William has this weekend at his in-laws’ house?
03. According to Feifei, what is William trying to do?
04. What does the British expression “brownie points” mean?
05. Why is it that William is not sure if he is liked by his mother-in-law?
06. Gary is also trying to get some brownie points. Why does he volunteer to do work for the bosses?
07. When was the last time Feifei tried to earn some brownie points?
08. How is William planning to get to his in-laws’ house?
09. When was the last time you tried to earn some brownie points with someone?
10. Transcribe the following words taken form the conversation	a) English /’ɪŋglɪʃ/
	b) spending
	c) weekend
	d) praise
	e) impress
	f) really
	g) train
	h) beginning
	i) selfish

Taken from BBC Learning English http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/ and adapted for educational purposes

Get a copy of the worksheet by clicking over here.

For a copy of the conversation script, click here.

For a copy of the original podcast, click here.

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Week 2: A New Book on Stealing Rembrandts

A New Book on Stealing Rembrandts

The following podcast was taken from VOA, -the Voice of America-. Listen to the recording, and fill in the blanks with the missing information. Print a copy of this listening exercise, and bring it to class.

Provide the right information to complete each statement.
1	A drawing by Rembrandt was stolen from a hotel in ____________________.
2	The artwork by Rembrandt was valued more than ____________________.
3	The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston was robbed. The thieves stole ____________________.
4	The artworks stolen from the museum included pieces by: (check three artists) * Picasso * Manet * Velazquez * Vermeer * Degas * Van Dyke
5	After more than 20 years, the artworks can be seen ____________________.
6	The book written by Anthony Amore and Tom Mashberg about the history of thefts of Rembrandt works is called: “____________________: The Untold Stories of Notorious Art Heists.”
7	Mr. Anthony Amore’s occupation is ____________________.
8	Mr. Tom Mashberg’s profession is ____________________.
9	Mr. Amore found out through his investigation that art thieve are ____________________.
10	According to Amore, these thieves were involved in many types of thefts such as: * bank robberies * casual holdouts * armored car robberies * robbing in drugstores * car theft * breaking into houses
11	In the last 100 years there have been approximately __________ cases of Rembrandt artworks thefts.
12	The second most stolen artist in the world is _______________.
13	To avoid being captured by the police, says Mr. Mashberg, the thieves _______________.
14	One of the problems with stolen artworks is that ______________.
15	Mashberg says that in several cases the criminals left the artworks in _______________ or in _______________.

Taken from VOA at http://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/home/arts-entertainment/A-New-Book-on-Stealing-Rembrandts-and-Other-Artworks-129331918.html and adapted for educational purposes.

Download a copy of the exercise HERE.


Get the answers here!

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Week 7: Words in Contrast

Words in Contrast

/ɔ/ vs. /ow/

Now you will hear some pairs of words which differ in their vowel sounds: the first has the /ow/-sound as in know; the second has the /ɔ/-sound, as in saw. Pronounce the words while listening to the recording, and don’t worry if you don’t understand some of the words. You can check their meaning later on.

/ow/	/ɔ/	/ow/	/ɔ/
so	saw	oat	ought
low	law	cold	called
toll	tall	choke	chalk
owe	awe	ode	awed
mode	Maude	oaf	off
pose	paws	close	clause
Joe	jaw	goes	gauze
phone	fawn	row	raw
droll	drawl	coast	cost
scroll	scrawl	slow	slaw
loan	lawn	hole	hall

Sentences

Now, carefully read the following sentences that include some of the words above.

01. A local phone call costs ten cents.

02. Now’s the time to show us how.

03. Do cows cause tuberculosis?

04. Now Paul, drive downtown slowly.

05. I saw Maude by a boat near the coast.

06. When Joe woke up, his oatmeal was cold.

07. I ought to phone the office; the sercice is rather low in quality and slow.

08. Ken bought a new rain coat to work on the l

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Week 10: Listening Comprehension Exercise 2

Listening Comprehension Exercise 2

Listen to the following recording about a trip Sergi and his college friend took to Florida. Decide if the following statements are true (T), false (F), or possible (P). If false, indicate why they are not correct.

01.	T	F	P	Both of them ate ravioli the day in which they got to Florida.
02.	T	F	P	At MGM they got to understand how some movies were made.
03.	T	F	P	After arriving in Key West, they slept for about 5 hours.
04.	T	F	P	At MGM they got a chance to see stunt masters.
05.	T	F	P	They got to Key West before August 1st.
06.	T	F	P	Sergi and his friend are studying in a university located outside Florida.
07.	T	F	P	They left Orlando at about 8 p.m.
08.	T	F	P	In his house in Key West, Hemingway wrote The Old Man and the Sea.
09.	T	F	P	Nightlife in Key West is not really exciting.
10.	T	F	P	They stayed in Florida for about 6 days.
11.	T	F	P	At Daytona Beach they got suntanned.
12.	T	F	P	They didn’t eat seafood in Key West.
13.	T	F	P	There are musicians performing lively outdoors.
14.	T	F	P	While snorkeling they saw a barracuda.
15.	T	F	P	Cars can still race on Daytona Beach today.
16.	T	F	P	The first thing they did in Key West was to find a place to stay.
17.	T	F	P	At the beginning of this century people raced on the beach.
18.	T	F	P	Once the trip to Key West was over, they went back to the university.
19.	T	F	P	Key West is an archipelago.

Florida State

Download a copy of the exercise here!

Have it ready for discussion in class.

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