FCE SIMULATOR ACTIVITIES  1. WOMEN IN HISTORY

Is the history of the world in urgent need of correction? Some historians, mostly women, argue that insufficient attention has been paid to a very important group: women. These historians want history textbooks to be revised so that they show accurately the role played by women.

According to the history books, cavemen provided most of the food for their families through hunting animals. But the evidence shows that 80% of the diet of prehistoric humans was vegetarian and it was collected by females. In addition, women's efforts in fighting in wars or leading revolutions have been ignored. Textbooks concentrate on men such as Hannibal or Che Guevara and neglect outstanding women such as Théroigne de Méricourt, an opera singer who led the storming of the Bastille in 1789, or Mariya Bochkareva, a Bolshevik who organised a well-trained and highly successful troop of 2,000 fighting women during the Russian revolution in 1917. Women rulers are also forgotten. Between 962 and 1582 there were at least 16 women rulers in countries ranging from Italy to Angola.

Women make up half the human race. If there is no reference to their contribution to history in the textbooks, then the real story is not being told. However many male historians deny that important female figures have been kept out of the history books. 2. ENGLISH SPELLING Why does English spelling have a reputation for being difficult? English was first written down when Christian monks came to England in Anglo-Saxon times. They used the 23 letters of Latin to write down the sounds of Anglo-Saxon speech as they heard it. However, English has a wider range of basic sounds (over 40) than Latin. The alphabet was too small, and so combinations of letters were needed to express the different sounds. Inevitably, there were inconsistencies in the way that letters were combined. With the Norman invasion of England, the English language was put at risk. English survived, but the spelling of many English words changed to follow French patterns, and many French words were introduced into the language. The result was more irregularity. When the printing press was invented in the fifteenth century, many early printers of English texts spoke other first languages. They made little effort to respect English spelling. Although one of the short-term effects of printing was to produce a number of variant spellings, in the long term it created fixed spellings. People became used to seeing words spelt in the same way. Rules were drawn up, and dictionaries were put together which printers and writers could refer to. However, spoken English was not fixed and continued to change slowly - just as it still does now. Letters that were sounded in the Anglo-Saxon period, like the 'k' in 'knife', now became silent. Also, the pronunciation of vowels then had little in common with how they sound now, but the way they are spelt hasn't changed. No wonder, then, that it is often difficult to see the link between sound and spelling. 3. REWRITING SENTENCES  1. Richard seldom fell ill when he was a child. hardly Richard was  HARDLY ever ill in (during)  his childhood. 2. Drunk driving causes many accidents. by Many accidents   are caused BY drunk driving. 3. Why don't you stay in bed for a few days? I If I  were you, I'd (I would) stay in bed for a few days. 4. You seem to have a terrible cold. as It looks  AS if (AS though) you have  a terrible cold. 5. Take this medicine and you'll soon feel better. you If you  take this medicine, YOU'll (YOU will)  soon feel better. 6. Apples are better for you than cakes. you Cakes are not   as good for YOU as  apples. 7. Can I borrow your hot water bottle? mind Do   you MIND lending  me your hot water bottle? 8. The new doctor is going to give me a health check. going I  am GOING to be given  a health check by the new doctor. 9. Before you buy a boat, you ought to learn to swim. had Before you buy a boat, you   HAD better learn  to swim. 10. I prefer having an injection to feeling the dentist's drill. rather I'd  RATHER have an injection than  feel the dentist's drill. 4. TRAVELLING ALONE Marina Blum, a    student, travelled by herself for MEDICINE ten months last year in South America. 'I wasn't    FRIGHTEN by the idea of doing a long trip without a  . Some COMPANY people think that travelling alone is a sign of  , SELFISH but you are freer when you can make all the    on DECIDE your own. When I was ill, I    felt lonely, but I made OCCASION many friends. However, I was    to avoid obviously CARE   situations. In some countries people stared and DANGER made rude comments. Sometimes I reacted  , but  AGGRESSION I never worried about my  .  I will definitely travel SAFE like that again. Next time I will be more    and I PATIENCE won't try to do so much.' 5. ELSA SCHIAPARELLI (1896-1973) The innovation of a top fashion designer can greatly influence the public's taste in dress. Elsa Schiaparelli was a French designer whose ideas shocked the fashion world of the 1930s. Today she is mainly remembered for making the padded shoulder popular and introducing to the fashion world the colour 'shocking pink'. Schiaparelli was Italian by birth, but attended French, Swiss and English schools before working in the United States. In 1920 she went to Paris where she made friends with Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau and other surrealist artists who influenced the design of the clothes she made for herself. As a result of wearing her own striking black and white sweaters, Schiaparelli began receiving/getting orders from an American store. In 1929 the store's managers were so impressed that they decided to set her up in business. Soon she was able to expand into jewellery, perfume, cosmetics, lingerie and swimsuits and to commission her artist friends to create further fashion ideas. After the war, it was not clear what was going to happen to the fashion industry. But by 1947 Schiaparelli and others had re-established Paris as the heart of the fashion world. She continued to spread the city's fashions across the world on a large commercial scale until/till her death in 1973.

A PECULIAR FAMILY

You are going to listen a conversation between Jane Gordon and Rex Courier, the counsellor on a radio phone-in programme. First of all, listen just for a gist and choose the most appropriate title for this conversation from the menu. Then check the correct answer.

1.	Jane is now living ...
	A.    with her second husband. B.    with the father of her first two children.  C.    with the father of her third child.
2.	Jane's teenage son is feeling ...
	A.    jealous towards her new baby. B.    jealous towards the father of the new baby.  C.    is jealous towards the baby's behaviour.
3.	The son feels angry because he ...
	A.    wants to be the only child. B.    hates the father of the new baby.  C.    is jealous of what the baby is getting.
4.	What do we learn about the boy's own father?
	A.    He made life difficult for his son. B.    He chose to leave his wife.  C.    He preferred his daughter to his son.
5.	Jane's son is directing his anger towards his mother because he feels ...
	A.    she shouldn't have had another baby. B.    he will never be able to love the new baby.  C.    he can't express his anger towards his father.

http://www.ompersonal.com.ar/firstcertificate2/listening/fce04a.htm

Making Differences

WORK

•  People sometimes don`t like to work on mondays! 

WORKS 

• When are works on the street the traffic it`s terrible. 

WOOD

• It's a beautiful toy made by wood. 

WOODS 

• Would you like to go to a camp in the woods? 

DAMAGE

• Your Raccoon damaged my roof. 

DAMAGES 

• These the money for damages that my Raccoon did. 

PEOPLE

• People look like these when going to work. 

SEX AND THE CITY: 3RD CONDITIONAL - UNREAL PAST EVENTS

Write True or False next to each of the statements below according to the information presented in the movie segment.

1) The little girl hid Carrie's cell phone. (T)

Carrie didn't receive any calls. (F)

2)Carrie didn't know where her phone was. (T)
Carrie didn’t receive Big’s messages and phone calls. (T)

3) Big wasn’t confident enough to walk into church all by himself. (T)
Big quit getting married. (T)

4) Big took too long to apologize. (F)
Carrie hit him with her wedding bouquet. (T)

5) Carrie’s friend didn’t let Big explain himself. (T)
Carrie went home in a state of shock. (T)

6) Carrie and Big didn't get married. (T)

They both had a horrible afternoon. (T)

Now fill in the blanks of the sentences saying how things would have been different if the characters had acted differently. Use the 3rd conditional.

Ex:
1) If the little girl hadn't hidden (hide) Carrie's cell phone, shewould have received (receive) Big's calls.

2) If Carrie had known (know) where her phone was, she would have recieved (receive) Big’s messages.

3) If Big had been (be) confident enough to walk into church all by himself, He wouldn't have quit (quit) getting married.

4) If Big hadn't taken  (take) too long to apologize, Carrie wouldn't have hit (hit) him with the wedding bouquet.

5) If Carrie’s friend had let (let) Big explain himself, Carrie wouldn't have gone (go) home in a state of shock.

6) If Carrie and Big had gotten (get) married, they wouldn't have gone (go) through a horrible afternoon.

Informal letter from my childhood toy

Hey dude: 

i`m in shock with your letter and i`m feel so bad to read all the bad situations that you have been passing, because i never could imagine that the orphanage children are so brutal with you.

i made the desicion to give all of you because my mom told me that in this place people were taking care with you and the others.

I'm so sorry with you and i can't believe that you don't have 1 leg and that those people did damage all your accesories and your clothes, please forgive me and give me your address. i think i can go for you and bring you to home again, i promise never leave you alone or with other people. hugges.

Daniel!     

ESL-LAB ACTIVITY : SUMMER CAMP 

I. PRE-LISTENING EXERCISE.

In this story, a young man describes his mishaps (accidents) which occurred while he was at summer camp. Make a list of possible problems which might have happened to him before you start the listening.

Answer: When the man was in the summer camp might have happened accidents like:

1. People might have found insects or animals like bears that are a common problem in united states when the peoples go to a wood.
2. The Bus that are going to the place of the camp might have crashed.
3. A person who are organizes the camp might have sick. 

II. LISTENING EXERCISE. 

First, listen to the conversation by pressing the "Play Audio" button and answer the questions. Press the "Final Score" button to check your quiz.

1. What does Brad have to do before he eats breakfast?
A. clean his sleeping quarters
B. go down to the stream to get some water
C. feed the rooster and the other animals

2. What happened to Brad when he went fishing?
A. A tree branch fell on him.
B. He lost his fishing pole.
C. He slipped and lost one of his shoes.

3. What did he eat for dinner?
A. steak
B. hot dogs
C. beans

4. What was Brad doing when he got lost in the forest?
A. He was running away from a bear.
B. He was searching for wood.
C. He was wondering around looking for the cabin.

5.How did Brad like summer camp?
A. He had a great time.
B. It was okay.
C. He didn't have fun.

III. POST-LISTENING EXERCISE

Now retell the story from several points of view in their own words (e.g., the young man, the parents, one of the counselors at camp, etc.). What physical and psychological benefits can come from attending a summer camp? How can parents benefit from sending their children to these summer events?

Answer: viewing this problem from the father's eyes this can be a terrible experience for his childrens but i think that going to a camp isn't for be comfortable and the accidents are the best part of the experience (except when is a dangerous accident that could affect the health or the life of the person), but it is good because camps are good spaces when people could have a good time to think about a lot of situations of his lifes and to reflect about that. 

Source: http://www.esl-lab.com/dear/dearrd1.htm 

Idioms: CALL THE SHOTS!

MEANING: make the decisions

EXAMPLE: While our boss is on vacation, Bob will call the shots.

ORIGIN OF THE IDIOM: The first refers to someone practising with a rifle and indicating where their target is going to be by calling it out in advance. You might think of clay pigeon shooting where the person in charge of the machine is told to pull and thereby release the clay pigeon for the rifle user to fire their gun and try to hit it.

Another theory is that it comes from the game of billiards where the player announces in advance where they are going to hit