NOTES for Module 8

NEW THAT’S ENGLISH. Module 8

143.81a Never too old to learn

Grammatical aspects:

  • CONDITIONAL SENTENCES (3 types, unless...)

  • Rather / far / too + adjective (too old)

Vocabulary:

  • To apply for a grant/scholarship to pay for the course, career, you’ll miss the deadline, accounting course

Functions:

  • Offering and requesting for information, asking for help

144.81b What course shall I do?

Grammatical aspects:

  • CONDITIONAL SENTENCES part 2

Vocabulary:

  • Job market, challenging

  • Adult learning (lifelong learning): full time, part time, distance learning, evening class.

  • A wide range of vocational courses, to cater for

That’s Britain:

  • St Andrews (in Scotland) >>> golf, university & seaside town

145.82a Money problems

Grammatical aspects:

  • PASSIVE VOICE used to describe a process (Examples: My card was eaten by the cash machine, the loan has been approved, You weren’t given permission by the bank, I’m sure you’ll be given the loan)

Vocabulary:

  • MONEY & BANKS: Fill in a form to ask/apply for a loan, spend over my credit limit, to be overdrawn (= in the red), cash flow problems (problemas de liquidez), to borrow/lend, business advisor, high interest rates, bank charges (they charged him £60), cash machine, teller (cajero dentro del banco con persona), your account, customer, savings, mortgages, piggy bank

  • An old friend of mine , You’re still waiting for the call , Maybe they are very busy , How much profit...?

Functions:

  • Expressing opinions >>> I hope he’s right , Do you think...? , I’d like to point out that... , The thing is that... , As far as I’m concerned,.... , It seems to me... , I’m quite sure that/about...

  • Agreeing and disagreeing >>> I know what you mean , So / Neither/ Nor do I , I don’t,

146.82b Can we live without banks?

Grammatical aspects:

  • PASSIVE VOICE part 2 (to be fed up with the banks, The Lewes can always be spent...)

Vocabulary:

  • Local currency system (Lewes currency), legal currency, local economy, traders, local residents, This helps boost the local economy, to be fed up, paperwork, environmentally... , 24/7

That’s Britain:

  • Glasgow

147.83a Save our trees

Grammatical aspects:

  • MODAL VERBS IN THE PAST

  • SO/SUCH... : It is such a waste of water

  • I do care about it.

Vocabulary:

  • Environmental issues, collecting bottle tops, recycle, reuse, reduce, wildlife, eco-friendly, environmentally friendly, scrap paper, pollution from cars, global warming, greenhouse effect, acid rain, ozone layer, cut down these trees, fewer green areas

  • Disapproval, organize/make a protest, sign up a petition

  • I don’t have to go to Greece for my holidays, We’ll use public transport instead, That was a good trick she played

Functions:

  • Modal verbs expressing possibility, regret and disapproval in the past: I could have had a shower, You should have thought about the environment, They may/might have written this morning, You could have washed the dishes

  • Expressing continuing change: The wider, the better; petrol is getting more and more expensive

  • Expressing worry: I’m worried/concerned about...., My worry is..., I’m afraid of...

148.83b Protect our planet

Grammatical aspects:

Vocabulary:

  • Soil, plant, heather (brezo), hedge (seto), bees, pollen

  • Biodiversity, to help protect the wildlife (The Environmental Stewardship Scheme), to improve the landscape/the countryside, massive change, droughts, high temperatures, waste, too much fishing, protect land against flooding

  • Thankfully, producing a crop, It’s the best thing I’ve ever done, We are more aware of...,

That’s Britain:

  • Harrogate (North Yorkshire) The Stray: willow branches, willow weaving

149.84a What a bargain!

Grammatical aspects:

  • Exclamatory sentences: What a bargain! What a nightmare! How dreadful! How sweet!

  • MODAL VERBS in the past: MUST / CAN’T HAVE

  • PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS to make emphasis: You’ve been shopping again!

Vocabulary:

  • Going shopping: shopping trip, charity shop, outlet shop, a clear-out, designer clothes, shopping habits, good value, on the sales, reduced price,

  • Materials: leather, silk, suede,

  • Items: top, high heels, dark brown leather cowboy boots, platform shoes, biker jacket, party dress

Functions:

  • Giving a good excuse: “I can’t. I’m meeting Carla for a coffee.”

  • Expressing sympathy (lástima): I’d go crazy

  • Making past deductions based on evidence: You can’t have been thinking straight when you bought them, she must have hundreds of pairs,

  • Invitations: Would you like to try them?

150.84b What shall I buy?

Grammatical aspects:

Vocabulary:

  • Shopping: complaining (to take an item back to the shop, to get a refund, to exchange it, customer service), pretend to be shopper (mystery shopper), to focus on sth, retail manager, key requirements

That’s Britain:

  • York (going shopping)

151.85a Rock on!

Grammatical aspects:

  • RELATIVE CLAUSES: defining and non-defining (extra-information)

  • Subject & object questions: Who did Sylvia call? Who invited some friends to the gig (concierto)

  • What? / Which?: What kind of music...? Which track shall I play first?

Vocabulary:

  • MUSIC: to go for an audition, gig, I used to play the bass guitar, the rehearsal

  • What do you want to do that for? , Whose MP3 player is this? , Who’s she talking to? , Shall we carry on with the rehearsal? , all day long , to be into sth.

Functions:

  • Giving information & asking for information

  • Expressing certainty: That must be...

152.85b Making music

Grammatical aspects:

    • RELATIVE CLAUSES (i)

Vocabulary:

  • Music in the digital age: Why don’t you want them any more?, downloading music, promote her own music, the only way to make money from music is by performing alive, I rely on social media, a wide range of music, folk music, live music, venues, buskers

That’s Britain:

  • Newcastle: I’m on my way to Newcastle, the Angel of the North (made of steel), The Gateshead Millennium Bridge, nearby, Do you mind if I...?

153.86a My perfect job

Grammatical aspects:

  • REPORTED SPEECH (statements and questions)

  • Since then we’ve been working harder

Vocabulary:

  • WORKING: dispatch department, overtime, I was sacked (fired), employee/employer, sales figures, delivery dates, huge pay rise, my fault, they take much too long, so long days, slavery, to retire early (early retirement), Why bother?, fed up with their working conditions, overworked, stressed, a good reference, hardworking, efficient, lead a team, what she thought of him, available, commitment, job satisfaction

  • Most important of all,

Functions:

154.86b Homeworking ( teletrabajo )

Grammatical aspects:

Vocabulary:

  • Homeworker, to oversleep, miss the bus, traffic jams, staff, the trains break down, you get / feel anxious, head/branch office, smaller premises, hot desk, hot-desking, social interaction, video conferencing technology, Just pretend, new communication tools, the most in-demand job , flexi-time , online meetings, office space, get a piece of the pie

That’s Britain:

  • Loch Lomond (Scotland) >>> whisky distillery, malting, Scotch whisky, top class (=very good)

155.87a The age of the internet

Grammatical aspects:

  • REPORTED COMMANDS AND REQUESTS: I asked s.o. to give me sth. , I told him not to close

Vocabulary:

  • THE INTERNET: Search engine, What would Jade’s website provide for (provision) the community?, starting a website, the domain, We can think about apps (applications), tags (etiquetas), English teaching blog, updated, upload/download photos, browsing the page (navegar, hojear, curiosear)

  • Social skills, to socialize, it sounds like a good idea, it does look interesting, recipe, I’ll give it a try, contents you can quickly look up, his accountant

Functions:

  • Expressing ignorance: I don’t know..., I haven’t a clue..., I have no idea..., I don’t know... how to advertise the café.

  • Asking for clarification: What exactly do you mean? , Let me get this clear.

  • Expressing interest: Really? , Is that so? , I was particularly interested in... + NOUN / V-ing (I was particularly interested in those stories = Those stories interested me)

  • Expressing wishes (hypothetical): I wish we were....

  • Hesitating in a conversation

156.87b How can the internet help us?

Grammatical aspects:

Vocabulary:

  • NHS (National Health Service): Health care centre, telehealth, telecare, sneezing, stomach cramps (náuseas), cramps (calambres), a check-up, pulse, blood sugar level, teleoperation

  • I forgot to record the programme, social networking, to evolve (evolution)

That’s Britain:

  • Yorkshire Dales >>> moors, cattle, to run a farm, What do they breed sheep for?

157.88a Democracy in action

Grammatical aspects:

  • REPORTED SPEECH: suggest/recommend doing sth. , offer/order/promise to do sth. >> You promised to cut taxes and you have increased them by 20%, you promised not to raise taxes, you ordered us not to vote for him, he’s offered to give a talk

Vocabulary:

  • POLITICS: I’m starting a new political party, I’m going to stand at the next local elections, main parties: Conservatives (Tories), Liberal Democrats and Labour, policy, old-fashioned, fresh ideas, politicians should really care for the important issues, constituency (distrito electoral), local issues (housing, green spaces, sports facilities, vandalism), mp (member of Parliament), PM (Prime Minister), independent candidate, so far they’ve ignored our protests, to hang around in the streets, the developers (real estate developer > promoter, land developer), to ask the Council, it’s a waste of a vote

  • Politicians should be fair, reliable, honest (honesty), caring, open-minded

  • to put it briefly, will you turn down that volume, please? , there aren’t enough buses, in the meantime, thank you for calling

Functions:

  • Generalising: using indefinite pronouns such as EVERYBODY, NOTHING, ANYWHERE... , one can’t always trust politicians, someone has to do the job

158.88b British Parliament

Grammatical aspects:

Vocabulary:

  • POLITICS: Houses of Parliament (House of Commons & House of Lords > the members are appointed (nombrados), Parliamentary debate, two chambers, monarchy, head of state, sovereign, to be involved with politics, to struggle for the independence

That’s Britain:

  • Stirling (William Wallace) >> the bagpipes

159.89a I’m a celebrity

Grammatical aspects:

    • REPORTED SPEECH: statements, questions, commands

Vocabulary:

    • CELEBRITIES: celebrity news, gossip, privacy, hounded by the press, star-struck (fascinated by a celebrity), stylish, lavish (lujuso) lifestyle

    • What’s the point of talking to her?, it must be difficult to be a teenager, I wish I had a hair like that

Functions:

    • Expressing emotions

160.89b Who do you look like?

Grammatical aspects:

    • Reported speech

Vocabulary:

    • I was once told that..., I looked like..., celebrity lookalike, and so do I, meet and greet, mix and mingle, reality shows

That’s Britain:

  • Edinburgh: Edinburgh Fringe Festival, famous writers (literature)

161.810a The voice of the age and experience

Grammatical aspects:

  • REVISION OF TENSES

Vocabulary:

  • TELEVISION: you look very smart, news presenter, job interview, a talk show host, wrinkle free, age discrimination, breaking news, gossip, biased (sesgado) against older, wear make-up, people, on serious issues, news coverage, telly

  • There won’t be any women over 50 left. Wish me luck! The older you get, the better you get, audience figures went up by 30%, on average...

Functions:

  • Various

162.810b Let’s listen to the radio

Grammatical aspects:

  • Revision of tenses.

Vocabulary:

  • RADIO: radio stations, public broadcasting, licence fee, dramatic storyline, no swearing, to allow s.o. to do sth., the longest running soap opera in the world,

  • You spotted me in the documentary, the information is relevant and hopefully entertaining, cooking show

That’s Britain:

  • Bradford: National Media Museum, interactive galleries, wool, digital technologies, Newsroom

163.811 Full programme >>>> REVISION