INGLÉS INTERMEDIO BAJO
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Área: Idiomas
Curso: Inglés Intermedio Bajo
Edición: Noviembre 2009
ÍNDEx
UNIT 1. GETTING TO BOSTON!
1.1. Introduction
1.2. Listening1.2.1. Listening 1
1.2.2. Listening 2
1.2.3. Exercise
1.3. Vocabulary1.3.1. Family
1.3.2. Jobs
1.3.3. Sports
1.3.4. Exercises
1.4. Grammar1.4.1. Present Simple vs. Present Continuous
1.4.2. Past Simple vs. Past Continuous
1.4.3. Possessive Adjectives
1.4.4. Saxon Genitive
1.4.5. Exercises
1.5. Reading1.5.1. Text
1.5.2. Reading Comprehension
1.6. Speaking
1.7. Practice1.7.1. Vocabulary
1.7.2. Grammar
1.8. English World
I.1Inglés Intermedio Bajo - Índice
UNIT 2. OUR FUNNIEST HOLIDAYS
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Listening2.2.1. Listening 1
2.2.2. Exercise
2.3. Vocabulary2.3.1. Holidays
2.3.2. Festivities
2.3.4. Exercises
2.4. Grammar2.4.1. Present Perfect
2.4.2. Present Perfect vs. Past Simple
2.4.3. Adjectives: order
2.4.4. Adjectives: comparison
2.4.5. Exercises
2.5. Reading2.5.1. Text
2.5.2. Reading Comprehension
2.6. Speaking
2.7. Practice2.7.1. Vocabulary
2.7.2. Grammar
2.8. English World
Inglés Intermedio Bajo - ÍndiceI.2
UNIT 3. WHERE IS THE HARBOUR?
3.1. Introduction
3.2. Listening3.2.1. Listening 1
3.2.2. Listening 2
3.2.3. Exercise
3.3. Vocabulary3.3.1. Places in town
3.3.2. Describing places
3.3.3. Ask and give directions
3.3.4. Exercises
3.4 .Grammar3.4.1. Future
3.4.2. Question words
3.4.3. Prepositions: place and time
3.4.4. Compound nouns and adjectives
3.4.5. Exercises
3.5. Reading3.5.1. Text
3.5.2. Reading Comprehension
3.6. Speaking
3.7. Practice3.7.1. Vocabulary
3.7.2. Grammar
3.8. English World
I.3Inglés Intermedio Bajo - Índice
UNIT 4. I WISH I WERE…
4.1. Introduction
4.2. Listening4.2.1. Listening 1
4.2.2. Listening 2
4.2.3. Exercise
4.3. Vocabulary4.3.1. Shops and clothes
4.3.2. Sizes and width
4.3.3. The weather
4.3.4. Exercises
4.4. Grammar4.4.1. Uncountable and countable nouns
4.4.2. Quantifiers
4.4.3. Conditional sentences
4.4.4. Exercises
4.5. Reading4.5.1. Text
4.5.2. Reading Comprehension
4.6. Speaking
4.7. Practice4.7.1. Vocabulary
4.7.2. Grammar
4.8. English World
Inglés Intermedio Bajo - ÍndiceI.4
UNIT 5. HIKING THE GRAN CANYON
5.1. Introduction
5.2. Listening5.2.1. Listening 1
5.2.2. Exercise
5.3. Vocabulary5.3.1. Interests and activities
5.3.2. Countries and nationalities
5.3.3. Travelling
5.3.4. Exercises
5.4. Grammar5.4.1. Verbs + infinitive/gerund
5.4.2. Relative clauses
5.4.3. Exercises
5.5. Reading5.5.1. Text
5.5.2. Reading Comprehension
5.6. Speaking
5.7. Practice5.7.1. Vocabulary
5.7.2. Grammar
5.8. English World
I.5Inglés Intermedio Bajo - Índice
UNIT 6. I WAS ROBBED
6.1. Introduction
6.2. Listening6.2.1. Listening 1
6.2.2. Exercise
6.3. Vocabulary6.3.1. Make and Do
6.3.2. Justice and crime
6.3.3. Exercises
6.4. Grammar6.4.1. One/ones
6.4.2. Adverbs of manner
6.4.3. Past modal verbs
6.4.4. The passive
6.4.5. Exercises
6.5. Reading6.5.1. Text
6.5.2. Reading Comprehension
6.6. Speaking
6.7. Practice6.7.1. Vocabulary
6.7.2. Grammar
6.8. English World
Inglés Intermedio Bajo - ÍndiceI.6
UNIT 7. I SUGGESTED GOING TO…
7.1. Introduction
7.2. Listening7.2.1. Listening 1
7.2.2. Exercise
7.3. Vocabulary7.3.1. Cinema
7.3.2. Theatre
7.3.3. Exercises
7.4. Grammar7.4.1. Reported Speech
7.4.2. Reported verbs
7.4.3. Used to/ be used to/ get used to
7.4.4. Exercises
7.5. Reading7.5.1. Texts
7.5.2. Reading Comprehension
7.6. Speaking
7.7. Practice7.7.1 Vocabulary
7.7.2 Grammar
7.8. English World
I.7Inglés Intermedio Bajo - Índice
UNIT 8. I FELL IN LOVE
8.1. Introduction
8.2. Listening8.2.1. Listening 1
8.2.2. Listening 2
8.2.3. Exercise
8.3. Vocabulary8.3.1. Informal language
8.3.2. Relationships
8.3.3. Exercises
8.4. Grammar8.4.1. Idioms
8.4.2. Phrasal verbs
8.4.3. Connectors
8.4.4. Conjunctions
8.4.5. Prepositions
8.4.6. Exercises
8.5. Reading8.5.1. Text
8.5.2. Text
8.5.3. Reading Comprehension
8.6. Speaking
8.7. Practice8.7.1. Vocabulary
8.7.2. Grammar
8.8. English World
ANExO I: SOLUCIONES A LOS CASOS PRÁCTICOS
Inglés Intermedio Bajo - ÍndiceI.8
UNIT 1. GETTING TO BOSTON!
1.1. Introduction
Hello and welcome to this English course! I hope you learn and enjoy doing it!
This Unit is called GETTING TO BOSTON!
In this unit you will revise the vocabulary related to: family, jobs and sports.
Hope that you learn more new vocabulary and improve your English!
We will also revise some verbal tenses, such us, the Present simple, the Present
continuous, the Past simple and the Past continuous.
In case you do not remember how to use the saxon genitive in this lesson I
will explain it.
Anyway, you will have the opportunity to practice all the vocabulary and the
grammar doing all the exercises that you will find in the Practice section!
The Listening and the Reading sections given in this unit will help you to
practice these skills.
Finally, I am sure you will improve your English playing some games and
learning a little about Boston, Massachusetts, where Susan and I are spending
some days.
Try to learn as much as possible!
1.1Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston!
1.2. Listening
In this part of the unit we will practice the listening.
Listen to these conversations and make sure you understand them.
After listening you will find an exercise to practice.
1.2.1. Listening 1
Susan and I have just arrived in Boston from New York where we spent some
days and Susan’s family lives. By the way, they are very kind and lovely.
In our first day in Boston, we have decided to go to a baseball match, the
Boston Red Sox. On our way we are talking about Susan’s family.
Matthew: Susan, thank you for those days in New York. I really enjoyed there.
Your family is very nice. Your mother and father were very kind to let me have
dinner with their family.
Susan: Matthew, they were very happy to meet you, too. You know what? We
can meet my sister again since she studies at Harvard University. Tomorrow we
can go to visit her there. As you know, the University is located at Cambridge.
Cambridge is a city in the Greater Boston area. It has this name in honor of the
University of Cambridge in England. Cambridge is most famous for two
prominent universities, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology.
Matthew: It’s a great idea to visit Harvard and to see your sister once again! It
sounds good! But…Susan… I think you are not very happy with the idea of
coming to see The Boston Red Sox. But you are coming because you know it is
a dream for me …
Susan: You are right! When you told you wanted to come and see this match I
couldn’t say not, but to tell you the truth I don’t like baseball so much. Look
inside my handbag! I have a magazine, ha, ha, ha.
Anyway, are you a true Red Sox fan? Are they a very important team?
Matthew: I love the Boston Red Sox, of course, they are important. The Boston
Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston! 1.2
Red Sox are a professional baseball team based here in Boston. The Red Sox
are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern
Division.
Susan: Matthew, maybe I wait for you in the bar…
1.2.2. Listening 2
Right now, Susan and I are in Cambridge. We are waiting for Molly, Susan’s
sister. She is doing a summer course at Harvard University.
Susan: Here we are in Cambridge! Do you like this city? I love Boston this is
my third time here. You know with my job as a tourist guide I travel a lot.
Matthew: I see. It is very nice. Why do you like so much Boston?
Susan: There is a lot to do in Boston. It is a very old city with many historical
sites to visit. Boston also has many smaller neighbourhoods which are very
beautiful.
Matthew: Which is your favourite neighbourhood to visit while you are here?
Susan: My favourite is Cambridge and Harvard University is located here and
it is a beautiful campus. They also have many delicious restaurants in
Cambridge.
Molly: Hi Susan! Hi Matthew! Nice to meet you again.
Matthew: Nice to meet you again, too!
Susan: How are you Molly? I see you look great! When did you start your
summer course? Is it interesting?
Molly: I came two days ago, but I started yesterday. It is so interesting!
Susan: Great! Hey guys, we can go for a walk to show Matthew the yard, what
do you think?
Molly: It’s a good idea. And later we can go to have dinner.
1.3Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston!
1.2.3. Exercise
Exercise 1. Listen to the dialogues again (without reading them) and answer
these questions with short answers:
1. Are Susan and Matthew in Boston?
2. Does Susan like baseball?
3. Is Matthew happy he is watching a baseball match?
4. Is Matthew a true Red Sox fan?
5. Is Molly Susan’s sister?
6. Did Matthew meet Molly before?
7. Did Matthew visit Harvard University before?
8. Are they enjoying their visit?
Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston! 1.4
1.3. Vocabulary
In this part of the topic we will learn some vocabulary. In this case it is voca-
bulary related to the family. We will learn the names of the members of a fa-
mily. We will also learn about jobs, and sports, as well as the verbs that go
with each sport (play, go, do).
Pay attention and study the new vocabulary!
1.3.1. The family
Let’s learn vocabulary related to the family. Here you will learn the family
member’s names. Are you ready?
The Family
1.5Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston!
Grandparents abuelos Husband marido
Grandfather abuelo Wife esposa
Grandmother abuela Son hijo
Parents padres Daughter hija
Father padre Nephew sobrino
Mother madre Niece sobrina
Aunt tía Relatives familiares
Uncle tío Twins gemelos/as
Cousin primo/a Stepmother madrastra
Brother hermano Stepfather padrastro
Sister hermana Brother in law cuñado
Mother in law suegra Son in law yerno
Father in law suegro Daughter in law nuera
Sister in law cuñada
1.3.2. Jobs
Here we will learn jobs and professions:
Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston! 1.6
Accountant Analyst Architect Astronaut Actor
An accountant
looks after
finances.
An analyst
studies
financial
data.
An architect
designs
buildings,
An astronaut travels in a
spaceship.
An actor is a man
who acts in films.
Actress Baker Barber Barmen/ Barwomen Butcher
An actress is a
woman who
acts in films.
A baker
bakes bread.
A barber shaves
and cut hair to
men.
They serve drinks in pubsA butcher sells
meat.
Banker Bartender Bus driver Chambermaid Chef
A banker works
in a bank.
A bartender
works in a
bar.
A bus driver
drives busses.
A chambermaid cleans
rooms.
A chef prepares
food.
Chemist Cook Chauffeur Construction worker Dentist
A chemist
prepares and
serves
medicines.
A cook cooks
and prepares
food.
A chauffeur
drives a car.
A construction worker
builds buildings.
A dentist looks
after teeth.
Doctor FishmongerFlight
attendantFireman Fisherman
A doctor looks
after people’s
health.
A fishmonger
sells fish.
A flight
attendant looks
after
passengers.
A fireman works in a fire
brigade.
A fisherman
catches fish.
FarmerHair
dresser
Human
Resources
Manager
Judge Jeweller
A farmer works
in a farm.
A hair
dresser looks
after people’s
hair.
He or she works
in Human
Resources.
A judge judges and
sentences people.
A jeweller sells
jewellery.
1.7Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston!
LawyerManagingDirector
Nurse Optician Office worker
A lawyer
defends and
prosecutes
people.
A managing
director is the
boss.
A nurse looks
after
patients.
An optician looks after
people’s eyes.
An office worker
works in an
office.
Porter Programmer Professor Pharmacist Pilot
A porter
carries
people’s
luggage.
He or she
makes
computing
programs.
A professor
teaches at
the
university.
It is the American
word for chemist.
A pilot drives
planes.
Policeman Priest Plumber Politician Photographer
A policeman
looks after
people’s
security.
A priest is a
religious man.
A plumber
repairs pipes,
etc.
A politician works in
politic affairs.
A photographer
takes
photographs.
ReceptionistSalesAssistant
Secretary Surgeon Shopkeeper
A receptionist
is in the
reception.
A sales
assistant sales
and looks after
customers.
A secretary
organise
meetings.
A surgeon operates
people at the hospital.
A shopkeeper
works in a shop.
Scientist Student Solicitor Salesperson Technician
A scientist
investigates
about science.
A student
studies a
degree.
Is the
English word
for “lawyer”
A salesperson is in
charge of the sales.
A technician
repairs things.
Tailor Vet Waitress Waiter Shoemaker
A tailor makes
clothes.
A vet looks
after animals.
A woman
who serves
food and
drink.
A man who serves
food and drink.
A shoemaker
makes shoes.
Bookseller Miner Dustman Journalist Painter
A bookseller
sells books.
A miner works
in a mine.
A dustman
cleans the
rubbish.
A journalist works in a
newspaper.A painter paints.
1.3.3. Sports
Let’s learn about sports. Depending on the sport or activity, we use a verb (do,
go, play) Here you are some sports and the corresponding verbs.
With “DO”
In general, DO is used with martial arts, and some sports you can do in group.
Taekwondo Karate
Yoga Judo
Athletics Gymnastics
Aerobics Kungfu
E.g.: My cousin does athletics in the sports centre.John used to do gymnastics when he was younger.I do aerobics twice a week.
With “PLAY”
PLAY in general is used for competitive sports in which you play to win.
Badminton Rugby
Basketball Football
Golf Tennis
Hockey Volleyball
E.g.: Helen plays volleyball on the beach every summer.My brother plays football with his friends.I play tennis when I have some free time.
Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston! 1.8
With “GO”
GO is used with verbs ending in –ing, and normally you can do those alone.
Jogging Swimming
Skiing Ice-skating
Diving Cycling
E.g.: My grandfather goes jogging every morning.My family goes swimming every Tuesday.I go fencing with my sister.
1.3.4. Exercises
Exercise 1. Identify the family members. Fill in the blanks with the right family
member:
1. My mother’s sister is my __________
2. My father’s brother is my __________
3. Your aunt’s daughter is your __________
4. Her uncle’s son is her__________
5. His mother’s brother is her __________
6. My wife’s mother is my__________
1.9Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston!
7. Her husband’s father is her __________
8. My father’s wife is my __________
9. My husband’s brother is my __________
10. My sister is my husband’s __________
11. Two brothers who were born the same day are __________
12. My father’s mother is my __________
13. My brother’s mother is my __________ too.
14. My brother is my grandfather’s __________
15. My sister is my grandmother’s __________
16. My brother’s daughter is my __________
17. My sister’s son is my __________
18. My parents’ son is my __________
19. My father’s daughter is my __________
20. My aunt’s children are my __________
Exercise 2. Write the verb: go, play, do. Then match the sentences with the
corresponding picture.
1. I __________ aerobics when I get up in the morning.
2. My father often __________ tennis on Sunday.
3. Do you __________ gymnastics in your free time?
4. My cousins __________ windsurfing when they are on the beach.
5. I don’t __________ fencing because I don’t like that kind of sports.
6. My grandfather usually __________ athletics after having lunch.
Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston! 1.10
7. Sarah __________ horse riding when she is in the village.
8. My friends __________ basketball.
9. John __________ squash every Saturday.
10. My sister __________ badminton.
1.11Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston!
1.4. Grammar
In this topic we will study grammar related to some verbal tenses, such as the
Simple Present and the Present Continuous. Remember that the Simple Present
is used for habits and the Present Continuous is used for things that are
happening at the moment of speaking.
We will also study the Past Simple and the Past Continuous, and also we will
study the possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, our, your, their).
And at the end we will see the Saxon genitive in order to talk about possession.
Let’s start studying grammar!!
1.4.1. Present Simple vs. Present Continuous
Here we will study the difference between the Present Simple and the Present
Continuous and when we use each tense.
Present Simple
We use the Present Simple to talk about:
Habits
E.g.: He goes jogging every morning.I always go to work by bus.
General truths
E.g.: You get money in a bank.The sun shines.
Permanent situations
E.g.: I live in Madrid.My father works in a factory.
Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston! 1.12
Do you know…?
Present Continuous
We use the Present Continuous to talk about:
Actions happening right now
E.g.: He is writing a letter for his cousin.I am washing the car.
Plans for the future.
E.g.: I am going to London in June.They are visiting their family next month.
Temporary situations
E.g.: I am living in New York during the summer.My car is broken, so I am going to work on foot.
Do you know…?
1.13Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston!
Remember that the Simple Present tense is formed with the verb in
infinitive (without “to”). In the 3rd person singular we have to add –s to
the verb (E.g.: He plays tennis)
In interrogative we put “do” or “does” (3rd person singular), then the
subject and the verb.
E.g.: Does he play tennis?
And the negative is: subject + don’t/doesn’t + verb
E.g.: He doesn’t play tennis.
Remember that the Present Continuous tense is formed with the verb “to
be” (am, is, are) and the main verb in gerund (-ing)
E.g.: They are listening to music.Are they listening to music?They aren’t listening to music.
1.4.2. Past Simple vs. Past Continuous
Here we will study the difference between the Past Simple and the Past
Continuous and when we use each tense.
Past simple
We use the Past Simple to talk about a finished past action.
E.g.: Mike was in London last year.When I was a child I played the piano.
Past continuous
We use the Past Continuous to talk about an action that was taking place in
the past. It is not very important if the action is or isn’t finished.
E.g.: When my mother arrived home I was having a bath.While I was tiding the room, John was washing the car.
Sometimes in a sentence there are two simultaneous actions that took place
in the past. In that case, we use Past Simple to talk about the action that was
finished, and the Past Continuous to talk about the action that was happening
when the first one took place.
E.g.: Yesterday when you called me I was watching TV.When you knocked the door he was listening to music.
Do you know…?
Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston! 1.14
Remember that the Past Simple is formed with the verb in the past (regular
verbs: -ed/ irregular verbs: the list) The auxiliary for the interrogative is “did”
and in the negative “didn’t”
E.g.: They listened to music.Did they listen to music?They didn’t listen to music.
The Past continuous is formed with was/were and the verb in gerund (-ing)
E.g.: I was walkingWas I walking?I wasn’t walking.
1.4.3. Possessive Adjectives
We use possessive adjectives to indicate to whom the subject or object belongs
to in the sentence.
They go before a noun or a nominal group, as other adjectives. They never go
alone.
Here we are the possessive adjectives in English:
Interesting…
1.15Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston!
My I have a pen. It’s my pen.
Your You have a son. He is your son.
His This is John’s car. It’s his car.
Her Susan has a friend. She is her friend.
Its My cat has a toy. It’s its toy.
Our We have a dog. It’s our dog.
Your You have a telephone. It’s your telephone.
Their They have a problem. It’s their problem.
Notice that possessive adjectives in the second person singular and plural
have the same form: YOUR. You will know which one is referred to by the
context.
In Spanish we have the same possessive form for the 3rd person singular:
“su”, but in English there is one for masculine (he): his, and other one for
feminine (she): her.
When we talk about an animal or thing, we use the possessive adjective
“its”.
1.4.4. Saxon Genitive
The possession
In English we have two ways for expressing possession:
With “of”. We use this form when the possessor is not a person.
E.g.: The door of the house.The window of the car.
Saxon Genitive. It is a special structure used when the possessor is a person.
It is formed adding an ‘s to the possessor.
E.g.: This is Susan’s cat.Mathew’s suitcase is broken.
The pattern for the Saxon Genitive is:
E.g.:
The Saxon genitive is also used with:
Animal names
E.g.: The dog’s noseThe duck’s feathers
Countries
E.g.: England’s taxis.France’s visitors
Some time, weight, place, distance, etc. expressions.
E.g.: Last week’s meetingA kilometre’s road
Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston! 1.16
POSSESSOR + ‘S + THE POSSESSED THING.
My brother ’s house
Diana ’s cat
Now let’s see some rules for the ‘s in the Saxon genitive:
1. When there is one possessor: possessor + ‘s + the possessed thing.
E.g.: Peter’s computer
2. When the name ends in –s, we can both: add another –s, or add just the ‘.
E.g.: Luis’s bird = Luis’ bird.
3. When there is more than one possessor, we only put ‘s in the last name.
E.g.: Patrick and Mary’s house.
But be careful! Because if each person has his or her own thing, we put ‘s in
both.
E.g.: Paul’s and Miriam’s car (= Paul has a car, and Miriam has another
different car, it’s not the same)
1.4.5. Exercises
Exercise 1. In the following sentences decide if the verb should be in Present
Simple or Present Continuous, and fill in the blanks with the correct verb form.
1. Look! A thief ____________(escape) from de Police.
2. My father____________ (go) to work by car everyday.
3. I ____________(go) to London next year. Do you want to come with me?
4. Susan ____________(love) pop music.
5. Paul isn’t at home right now. He ____________(study) in the library.
6. Every week John ____________(play) football with his friends.
7. Look through the window! It____________(snow)!
8. My aunt ____________(hate) chocolate.
9. Normally I ____________(live) with my parents, but this month I
____________(live) with my uncle.
10. She never ____________ (eat) meat. She is vegetarian.
1.17Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston!
Exercise 2. In the following sentences decide if the verb should be in Past
Simple or Past Continuous, and fill in the blanks with the correct verb form.
1. What ______you______ (do) when the police arrived?
I ______(tell) them all the truth.
2. While I ______(have) a bath, Peter ______(watch) TV.
3. Paul ______ (go) to visit his parents but they ______ (be) not there. They
______(go) for a walk.
4. Nobody ______(listen) to the boss when he (give) a conference.
5. While we ______ (travel) around the world my parents ______ (work) a
lot here.
6. This morning I ______ (wake) up at 7:00 o’clock.
7. While my father______(have) breakfast in the kitchen, my mother
______(listen) to her favourite song.
8. Penelope ______(switch) off the lights and ______(go) to bed.
9. Last month we ______ (go) to New York.
10. My car ______(break) down and I ______(go) on foot.
Exercise 3. In the following sentences replace the personal pronouns by the
right possessive adjectives:
1. Susan lives in New York with (she) _____ family.
2. Do you know where are (you) _____ friends at this moment?
3. I have a photograph from (I) _____ friend Jenny.
4. (She) _____ son has a girlfriend.
5. (He) _____ wife gave him a present.
Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston! 1.18
6. (They) _____ cousins study in Germany.
7. I want to visit (I) _____ family next year.
8. (It) _____ food was not enough.
9. (We) _____ project is delayed.
10. (I)_____ husband and I want to have three children.
Exercise 4. Rewrite the following sentences using the Saxon Genitive:
1. The doll of the girl __________________________
2. The magazine of my mother _____________________________
3. The cars of my uncle __________________________
4. The class of the children __________________________
5. The books of Mary and John_____________________________
6. Peter is the husband of Ann __________________________
7. The girlfriend of Mike _________________________________
8. The house of my dad _________________________________
9. The bike of my cousin _________________________________
10. The glass of Lorain __________________________
1.19Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston!
1.5. Reading
1.5.1. Text
Now it is time to read a text. It is very easy. Please pay attention and read it
slowly.
Remember it is very important to understand the reading and do correctly
the comprehension exercises.
Read the following text that Susan read yesterday when she was at the base-
ball match. She was so bored that she went to the bar to read an article that
she found in her magazine People.
People
Hi. My name is Mercedes Wall. I am 33 years old. I am married to a wonderful
man named Christopher and I have two beautiful children. Chris and I got ma-
rried six years ago. We live in Brielle, New Jersey. It is a small town long the
river and close to the shore.
I was born in Lima, Peru. I have one brother. His name is Harry. He is three
years older than me. We lived in Peru until I was eight years old. My parents
made plans to move to the United States because they felt we could have better
educational opportunities. It was very difficult to leave my friends, family and
pets but we knew it was for the best.
In Peru I lived in a small community where there were many children. I had
many friends. My school was within walking distance of my home. I enjoyed
going to school every day to see my teachers and classmates. My favorite sub-
ject was Language Arts. I enjoyed reading stories and discussing them with
my family and friends.
I have a large family. On my father’s I have ten cousins and many second cou-
sins. My cousins are Carla, Carmen, Carlo, Julio Cesar, Martha, Marco Antonio,
Tony, Gina, Melissa and Roger. They all live in the United States. My cousins
on my mother side live in Peru. There I have more than 20 cousins. I miss my
family in Peru very much and I hope to return there with my husband and chil-
dren in the near future.
Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston! 1.20
My children are Christian Alejandro and Sofia Mercedes. They are four and
three years old. They enjoy going to school and seeing their friends and tea-
chers. Sofia takes ballet class every Wednesday. On Monday she also has art
lessons. Her favorite activity is playing “Pretend” with her friend Madeline.
Christian takes basketball on Fridays with his best friend Casey. My children
are growing up speaking to languages, Spanish and English. I hope they con-
tinue to study Spanish in school.
My husband Chris is a very good man. We met after college in New Brunswick,
New Jersey. Chris and I started going to Spain when we first met. We loved
it so much we decided to buy a house there. Now we go every year. Christian
and Sofia love going to Spain too.
Chris and I enjoy hiking and visiting historical cities. Our last trip we took was
to the Cazorla mountains in Spain. We love hiking the old trails and seeing the
views from tops of mountains. Our children enjoyed having a picnic at the top
of a tall cliff. They had a wonderful time. We hope to explore mountains closer
to home. Next time we will hike Harriman mountain in New York.
1.5.2. Reading Comprehension
1. Read this part of the previous text. This time it has wrong words. Correct
these words underlining them and then write the correct ones.
My children is Christian Alejandro and Sofia Mercedes. They have are four and
three years old. They enjoy go to school and seeing their friends and teachers.
Sofia take ballet class every Wednesday. On Monday she also has art lessons.
Her favorite activity is playing “Pretend” with her friend Madeline. Christian
takes basketball in Fridays with her best friend Casey. My children are growing
up speaking two languages, Spanish and english. I hope they continue stud-
ying Spanish in school.
1.21Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston!
1.6. Grammar
Now it’s time of speaking. Here we will learn some essential things about pho-
netics in English. In this topic we will learn some vowel sounds.
Then you will speak to Susan. She will ask you some questions and you will
answer her.
Are you ready? If so, come on!!
Introduction
In English there are 44 sounds, but the English alphabet has 26 letters. The
rest of the sounds can be found in the called “Phonetic alphabet”, in which each
sound has a symbol.
In this topic we will learn some vowel sounds, and some words where they are.
They are 12, but here we will study 6.
Vowel sounds
Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston! 1.22
1.7. Practice
1.7.1. Vocabulary
Exercise 1. Choose the correct option. Who is this that person?
Aunt My father’s sister
My mother’s brother
My father’s daughter
Cousin My aunt’s brother
My uncle’s son
My grandparent’s son
Step-mother My mother
My grandmother’s niece
My father’s wife but not my mother
Sister-in-law My sister’s husband
My sister’s daughter
My husband’s sister
Niece My brother’s son
My sister’s daughter
My cousin’s father
Nephew My brother’s son
My sister’s daughter
My cousin’s father
Grandparents My father’s brothers
My mother’s sisters
My mother’s parents
Father-in-law My husband’s father
My mother’s mother
My son’s wife
1.23Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston!
Exercise 2. Mark the correct answer:
1.7.2. Grammar
Exercise 3. Present simple and present continuous.
Make negative sentences:
1. Our cat likes eating fresh fish.
____________________________________________________________
2. Mary looks like her sister.
____________________________________________________________
3. Most people of sixty looks old
____________________________________________________________
4. The directors are going to the school
____________________________________________________________
5. Are you playing basket on Saturdays?
____________________________________________________________
6. The man in blue comes late in the morning
___________________________________________________________
7. My mother and my father look old
____________________________________________________________
8. Spanish people work 8 hours a week
_____________________________________________________________
Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston! 1.24
9. Alice is practicing tennis tomorrow evening
___________________________________________________________
10. This pianist plays the piano
____________________________________________________________
11. Two nurses come to my house on Monday to see my grandmother.
____________________________________________________________
12. I have got a colour television
____________________________________________________________
13. I love dancing and drawing in my free time.
____________________________________________________________
14. I speak English much better than you.
____________________________________________________________
15. The customer is buying a product
____________________________________________________________
16. The planes are taking off in five minutes
____________________________________________________________
Exercise 4. Write the saxon genitive (‘s) or Plural –s
See the example:
(toy) My sister has got a lot of____. My sister has a lot of toys.
1. (Peter) Is this _________ brother?
3. (Ann) _____ house was quite expensive.
4. (interest) Have you got many_______?
5. (mother) That is my _____ wallet.
6. (game) Why don't you play with these _____?
7. (teacher) This is my ________ book.
1.25Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston!
8. (Ms. Smith) Do you know Ms. ________address?
9. (father) I met my ________ doctor at home
10 (uncle) My _____ racket is very good and expensive
Exercise 5. Make the possessive form of the nouns given.
See the example:
1. My _______ house is in London. (brother) My brother's house is in London.
(brother)
1. My ____________shirt is purple. (friend)
2. The _______________books are on the desk. (girls)
3. It's __________birthday on Monday. (John)
4. Do you have ___________newspaper? (today)
5. The __________________bags are in the bedroom. (children)
6. My ________________office is next to mine. (boss)
7. Your uncle is your ______________brother. (father)
8. Your aunt is your ____________________sister. (mother)
9. My ________________birthdays are next month. (friends)
10. A ____________________tail is long. (monkey)
Exercise 6. Past simple or Past Continuous?
1. Mary ____ for me when I ______. (wait/arrive)
2. When I ______ younger, I _____ to be a lawyer. (be/want)
3. She _____ to the other way, so she _____ see me. (look/can not)
Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston! 1.26
4. We ______ a chat while we _____ for our train. (have/wait)
5. We _____ what to do yesterday after the accident.(not know)
6. Peter ______ a photograph of me when I _____.(take /not look)
7. The television ______ on, but nobody ______ it. (be/watch)
8. When I last ______ him in London, he _______ to find a job
there.(see/try)
9. I _____ somebody followed me, so I ______ to run. (think/start)
10. The bell ______ while I _____ my hair. (ring/dry)
11. Paul and I ______ tennis yesterday. He _____ easily.(play/win)
12. The movie ____ very good, I _____. (not be/not enjoy)
13. I _____ at home, when my phone _____. (study/ring)
14. He ____ his coffee when he ___ his uncle. (drink/see)
15. Peter and his wife____ to their room while I_____. (go/pay)
16. Carla ____ the accident when she _____ to the store.(see/walk)
17. The doctor _____ what to do in that situation. (not know)
18. When a friend ______ me home, he _________ his car. (drive/crash)
19. They ____ their homework when their mother ____ (do/arrive)
20. _____ you in Mexico when I ____ in New York? (be/be)
1.27Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston!
1.8. English World
Enjoy reading and listening interesting things about Boston
My first impression is that Boston is authentic and a cultural city. I wanted to
investigate more about it, so I surfed the net and had a look its website
http://www.cityofboston.gov
And also I found some information about Cambridge and Harvard University!
Boston
Boston, first incorporated as a town in 1630, and as
a city in 1822, is one of America's oldest cities, with
a rich economic and social history. What began as a
homesteading community eventually evolved into a
center for social and political change.
Boston has since become the economic and cultural
hub of New England.
As the region's hub, Boston is home to nearly 590,000 residents, many
institutions of higher education, some of the world's finest inpatient hospitals,
and numerous cultural and professional sports organizations. Boston-based
jobs, primarily within the finance, health care, educational, and service areas,
numbered nearly 660,000 in 2002. Millions of people visit Boston to take in its
historic neighborhoods, attend cultural or sporting events, and conduct
business.
Susan wants to tell us what to do in Boston
Things To Do in Boston
I love Boston. I'm not sure when it happened, but somewhere in the last three
years Boston won my heart. Although I didn’t spend enough time to explore
everywhere.
In Boston you can see museums, parks, sports…people in Boston like sports,
they are vital to the city's character. Historical walking tours can be also
Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston! 1.28
interesting.
A tour bus plunging into water is not something you see everyday, but in
Boston, Duck Boats-amphibious vehicles designed to travel on both land and
water- are common.
Boston has a lot of history, great restaurants and nightlife. For kids visiting
Boston should be fun, the Boston’s children museum is good spot for them.
Franklin Park Zoo is fun for both adults and children. For adults, there is a large
variety of animals.
Anyway, Boston is difficult to get around by car or bus so the best way to get
to know the city and its history is through a walking tour on foot.
Susan is giving me some information about Cambridge and Harvard University.
Listen to her and you will know more about them.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
The people of Cambridge want to inform the world
that their city is not a neighbourhood of Boston.
There we can find Central Square as the social
center or Harvard Square that is the grand cultural
and geographical nucleus of Cambridge with
theatres, cinemas, museums, restaurants and
stores along with its storied history as the home to Harvard University. Just
north of Central Square, we can find Inman Square, more residential with food
shops, bars and restaurants along with locals and national jazz acts. Two more
places that we can enjoy in Cambridge are Kendall Square and Porter Square.
Harvard University
Harvard University is the oldest institution of higher
learning in the United States.
Harvard College was established in 1636 by vote of the
Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay
Colony and was named for its first benefactor, John
Harvard.
Today, Harvard has the fourth largest library collection in the world and the
1.29Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston!
largest financial endowment of any academic institution. It lists over 6,000
undergraduate and 13,000 postgraduate students as well as a staff of 2,300.
Its well-known motto is "veritas" or truth. Since 1875, the official school color
is crimson and that's also the name given to Harvard sports teams as well as
the daily school newspaper, The Harvard Crimson Tide.
Inglés Intermedio Bajo. Getting to Boston! 1.30