Friday 15 February 2013

Allora te la cavi con l'inglese?


Chiunque abbia mai studiato la lingua inglese sa bene quanto sia difficile percorrere la strada che porta dalla conoscenza della grammatica alla capacità di parlare o scrivere. Mettete alla prova le vostre capacità comunicative tentando questa serie di sfide linguistiche.


A. Senza l'aiuto di un vocabolario o di un libro di grammatica, prova a elaborare, in due minuti, quante più risposte possibili alla domanda "What do you do in your free time?" .

B. Prova ad abbinare ogni domanda a una risposta:
1) What time do you get up?
2) What do you have for breakfast?
3) How do you get to school/university/work?
4) Where do you have lunch?
5) Do you ever sleep after lunch?
6) How often do you go out?
7) What do you do in your free time?
8) How do you spend your evenings?
9) What time do you usually go to bed?
 
a) Around midnight.
b) I don’t have any free time.
c) No, but I always feel sleepy.
d) By train.
e) Either watching a DVD or playing games on the computer.
f) Never later than half past six.
g) In the canteen with my colleagues.
h) I never feel hungry in the mornings.
i) Three or four times a week.

C. Senza l'aiuto di un vocabolario o di un libro di grammatica, prova a elaborare, in sei minuti, una risposta personalizzata a ognuna delle 9 domande dell'esercizio precedente.

D. Prova ad abbinare ogni inizio frase (1-10) con una fine (a-j):
1) I get up at…
2) I usually just grab…
3) I rarely…
4) One of my colleagues…
5) Where I have lunch depends…
6) I don’t think my boss would approve…
7) I go out…
8) I spend most of my spare time…
9) By the time I get back…
10) I don’t really have…

a) …a quick coffee
b) …gardening.
c) …a fixed routine.
d) …pretty much every day.
e) …gives me a lift to work.
f) …have time for breakfast.
g) …the crack of dawn.
h) …on how long I have.
i) …if I slept at work.
j) …it’s too late to do anything.

E. Prova a completare le frasi usando le parole fornite sotto:
1) I get up when the ______________ goes off.
2) A ______________ of cereal does me for breakfast.
3) I go to school on ______________ .
4) I grab a quick ______________ for lunch.
5) I like to get my ______________ down for half an hour after lunch.
6) I go out far too often for my parents’ ______________ .
7) I go to the ______________ three times a week.
8) In the evenings I hang out with my ______________ or just collapse on the ______________ .
9) I go to bed around ______________ .

- alarm       - bite        - bowl        - foot       - friends
          - gym      - head       - liking       - midnight         - sofa


F. Abbina a ogni risposta una delle domande dell'esercizio B:
1) __________________________________________________ ?
I have lunch at my grandmother’s.
2) __________________________________________________ ?
I never seem to have any free time.
3) __________________________________________________ ?
I catch the bus.
4) __________________________________________________ ?
Every Saturday night.
5) __________________________________________________ ?
I sometimes cat-nap in the afternoon.
6) __________________________________________________ ?
When my mother calls me.
7) __________________________________________________ ?
When my eyes start closing.
8) __________________________________________________ ?
Most evenings I have to study.
9) __________________________________________________ ?
It depends what time I get up.



LE SOLUZIONI



A. Alcune possibili risposte:
I don’t have any free time.
I listen to music.
Sleep, mostly.
I go running a lot.
I play in a band.
I never seem to have any.
I spend most of my spare time gardening.
I’m trying to write a book at the moment.
It all gets taken up with the children.
I like to get out in the fresh air.
When I’m not helping my mother, I hang out with my friends.

B.
1) What time do you get up? Never later than half past six.
2) What do you have for breakfast? I never feel hungry in the mornings.
3) How do you get to school/university/work? By train.
4) Where do you have lunch? In the canteen with my colleagues.
5) Do you ever sleep after lunch? No, but I always feel sleepy.
6) How often do you go out? Three or four times a week.
7) What do you do in your free time? I don’t have any free time.
8) How do you spend your evenings? Either watching a DVD or playing games on the computer.
9) What time do you usually go to bed? Around midnight.

D.
1) I get up at…the crack of dawn.
2) I usually just grab…a quick coffee
3) I rarely…have time for breakfast.
4) One of my colleagues…gives me a lift to work.
5) Where I have lunch depends…on how long I have.
6) I don’t think my boss would approve…if I slept at work.
7) I go out…pretty much every day.
8) I spend most of my spare time…gardening.
9) By the time I get back…it’s too late to do anything.
10) I don’t really have…a fixed routine.

E.
1) I get up when the alarm goes off.
2) A bowl of cereal does me for breakfast.
3) I go to school on foot .
4) I grab a quick bite for lunch.
5) I like to get my head down for half an hour after lunch.
6) I go out far too often for my parents’ liking.
7) I hang out with my friends .
8) I go to the gym three times a week.
9) I tend to just collapse on the sofa.
10) I go to bed around midnight .

F.
1) Where do you have lunch? I have lunch at my grandmother’s.
2) What do you do in your free time? I never seem to have any free time.
3) How do you get to school/university/work? I catch the bus.
4) How often do you go out? Every Saturday night.
5) Do you ever sleep after lunch? I sometimes cat-nap in the afternoon.
6) What time do you get up? When my mother calls me.
7) What time do you usually go to bed? When my eyes start closing.
8) How do you spend your evenings? Most evenings I have to study.
9) What do you have for breakfast? It depends what time I get up.


Tutte queste attivita (e le relative soluzioni) sono prese da 1000 Real Answers – English Phrasebook & Self-Study Guide. Il libro è disponibile sia in brossura che in versione elettronica (per Kindle, iPad, iPhone, PC, Mac, ecc.) su amazon.it
http://www.amazon.it/1000-Real-Answers-Language-Questions/dp/1481278525/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356087726&sr=8-1

e anche sui seguenti siti: amazon.com, amazon.uk, amazon.de, amazon.fr, amazon.es, amazon.ca, amazon.co.jp e amazon.com.br.


Sunday 10 February 2013

Are you good at English?


- Yes, I think I am.
- Not really.
- I’m getting better.
- Not as good as I’d like to be.
- I get by.
- No, I’m completely hopeless.
- People say I am.
- I’m probably not the person to ask.
- No worse than any of my friends.
- I’m good at reading and writing but I find listening and speaking more difficult.
- I can usually make myself understood.
- My teacher doesn’t think so.
- I’m sorry, I didn’t understand what you said.