Tài liệu Skkn topic based vocabulary teaching to students majoring in english.

SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐỒNG NAI Đơn vị: Trường THPT chuyên Lương Thế Vinh Mã số:....................... SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM TOPIC-BASED VOCABULARY TEACHING TO STUDENTS MAJORING IN ENGLISH Người thực hiện: HỒ THỊ THẢO TRINH Lĩnh vực nghiên cứu: Quản lý giáo dục ................................................................. Phương pháp dạy học bộ môn tiếng Anh Phương pháp giáo dục Lĩnh vực khác Có đính kèm:  Mô hình  Phần mềm ............... .................................................... .......................................................................  Phim ảnh  Giáo án điện tử Năm học 2011 - 2012 2 SƠ LƯỢC LÝ LỊCH KHOA HỌC I. THÔNG TIN VỀ CÁ NHÂN 1.Họ và tên: HỒ THỊ THẢO TRINH 2.Ngày tháng năm sinh: 28 tháng 11 năm 1973 3.Chức vụ: Đảng: Chính quyền: 4. Đơn vị công tác: Trường THPT chuyên Lương Thế Vinh II. TRÌNH ĐỘ ĐÀO TẠO Trình độ: Thạc sỹ Tốt nghiệp: Victoria University III. KINH NGHIỆM KHOA HỌC Đã trực tiếp tham gia giảng dạy: 16 năm Sáng kiến kinh nghiệm trong 5 năm gần đây: o Using role-play to encourage students’ active participation during speaking activities at LƯƠNG THẾ VINH HIGH SCHOOL o Teaching grammar in light of communicative language teaching o Applying communicative activities in english reading class 3 SỞ GD&ĐT ĐỒNG NAI CỘNG HOÀ XÃ HỘI CHỦ NGHĨA VIỆT NAM Trường THPT chuyên Lương Thế Vinh Độc lập – Tự do – Hạnh phúc _____________ _______________ Biên Hoà, ngày ..03.. tháng 05 năm 2012 PHIẾU NHẬN XÉT ĐÁNH GIÁ SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM Năm học: 2011 – 2012 Tên chuyên đề: TOPIC-BASED VOCABULARY TEACHING TO STUDENTS MAJORING IN ENGLISH Họ và tên tác giả: HỒ THỊ THẢO TRINH Tổ: Ngoại ngữ Lĩnh vực: Quản lý giáo dục....................  Phương pháp dạy học bộ môn tiếng Anh.............. Phương pháp giáo dục ...........  Lĩnh vực khác....................................................... 1. 2. Tính mới - Có giải pháp hoàn toàn mới ................................................................ - Có giải pháp cải tiến, đổi mới từ phương pháp đã có.......................... Hiệu quả Hoàn toàn mới và đã triển khai áp dụng trong toàn ngành có hiệu quả cao  - Có tính cải tiến hoặc đổi mới từ những giải pháp đã có và đã triển khai áp dụng trong toàn ngành có hiệu quả cao  - Hoàn toàn mới và đã triển khai áp dụng tại đơn vị có hiệu quả cao  - Có tính cải tiến hoặc đổi mới từ những giải pháp đã có và đã triển khai áp dụng tại đơn vị có hiệu quả  - 3. Khả năng áp dụng - Căn cứ được các luận cứ khoa học cho việc hoạch định đường lối chính sách: Tốt ......... Khá .......... Đạt ........... - Đưa ra các giải pháp khuyến nghị có khả năng ứng dụng thực tiễn dễ thực hiện và dễ đi vào cuộc sống: Tốt ......... Khá .......... Đạt ........... - Đã được áp dụng trong thực tế đạt hiệu quả hoặc có khả năng áp dụng đạt hiệu quả trong phạm vi rộng: Tốt ......... Khá .......... Đạt ........... XÁC NHẬN CỦA TỔ CHUYÊN MÔN THỦ TRƯỞNG ĐƠN VỊ 4 .I Introduction Nowadays, it is widely accepted that vocabulary plays an important part in language teaching and should be at the centre of language teaching. More and more researchers have realized the importance of vocabulary acquisition in second language teaching. According to McCarthy (1990), without words a learner cannot communicate or read. David Wilkins (cited in Thornbury, 2002), when mentioning the shift of focus from grammar as the central anchor of language teaching to the lexicon, emphasizes the importance of vocabulary acquisition as follows, “ without grammar very little can be conveyed; without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed.” Traditionally, the teaching of vocabulary was mostly incidental, limited to presenting new items as they appeared in reading or sometimes listening texts. This indirect teaching of vocabulary assumes that vocabulary expansion will happen through the practice of other language skills, which has been proved not enough to ensure vocabulary expansion. Today, it is widely accepted that vocabulary teaching should be part of the syllabus, and taught in a well-planned and regular basis. Some authors, led by Lewis (1993) argue that vocabulary should be at the centre of language teaching, because “language consists of grammaticalised lexis, not lexicalized grammar.” Read (2004) emphasizes that a more direct and organized study of vocabulary and vocabulary instruction will be helpful for second language learners although they certainly acquire word knowledge incidentally while engaged in various language learning activities. The more their word knowledge increases, the more their other language skills (reading, 5 writing, listening and speaking) will develop. With this thought in mind, many researchers conducted their research dealing with vocabulary. They inspired me to continue with this topic for my vocabulary teaching to students majoring in English. .II Literature review There are two main approaches to teaching vocabulary: incidental learning often known as implicit learning and intentional learning often referred to as explicit learning (Rieder, 2002). Incidental vocabulary acquisition can be defined as a “by-product” of any language learning, whereas intentional vocabulary learning is defined as “any activity geared at committing lexical information to memory” (Hulstijn,2001 p.271). Incidental vocabulary learning could be attained by extensive reading, whereas intentional vocabulary learning could be attained by implementing a lexical syllabus based on word lists. In a case study, Pigada and Schmitt (2006) indicated that vocabulary acquisition is possible from extensive reading. The authors asserted that extensive reading leads to enhancement of knowledge about the spelling, meaning and grammatical behaviour of words in the text. They concluded that extensive reading leads to substantial vocabulary learning, but it is not consistent across all word knowledge types (i.e., form, meaning, and use). All three word knowledge facets were enhanced in only 6% of the cases studied. This seems to justify the suggestion of many researchers that incidental learning should be followed up with intentional learning (Hulstijn, Hollander and Greidanus, 1996) and explicit vocabulary teaching (Nation, 2005). A study of EFL Indonesian students by Nurweni and Read (1999) verified that given that students had little access to resources for acquiring English outside the classroom, direct teaching of high-frequency words was an efficient way to expand their vocabulary knowledge and thus to achieve better coverage of the running words in 6 academic texts. The authors pointed out one of the reasons of the limited vocabulary knowledge of the students was little attention to vocabulary teaching, thus they assumed that more focused in-class vocabulary teaching would bring about positive outcomes. Another argument in vocabulary teaching is whether or not vocabulary should be taught in or out of context. Qian (1996) conducted research to test which approach to vocabulary teaching is more effective in terms of retention of target words. His results, as well as other research on the same subject, imply that learning words out of context results in better retention than learning words in context. However, Qian concludes that both approaches should be integrated in the classroom. Tozcu and Coady (2004) also conducted research with two groups of students, the treatment group studied frequent vocabulary explicitly through CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning), whereas the control group studied the same vocabulary implicitly by reading texts and doing reading comprehension exercises. Both groups showed gains in vocabulary acquisition. However, the treatment group showed significantly greater gains. There is no doubt that both methodologies need to complement each other for best results. A combination of both implicit and explicit approaches is introduced in Hunt and Beglar’s (2005) framework for EFL vocabulary development. In this framework, implicit instruction and learning strategy includes “meaning- focused reading” which is aimed at increasing learners’ vocabulary size through extensive reading and development their fluency. Explicit strategies include “studying decontextualized lexis”, “using dictionaries”, and “inferring vocabulary meaning from context.” The main purpose of explicit instruction are learners’ acquisition of new vocabulary knowledge. In applying both explicit and implicit pedagogical approaches in the framework, Hunt and Beglar (2005) demonstrated their belief that such a combination is mutually beneficial and offers the most effective means for promoting lexical acquisition in EFL contexts. 7 .III Aims of the research This research aims to find answers to the following questions: 1. Is there significant vocabulary development if topic-based vocabulary is taught? 2. Is there improvement in the students’ attitude towards learning English if they are taught topic-based vocabulary? .IV Rationale and justification of the research Krashen (1989) believes that vocabulary is best attained through a large amount of extensive reading. A learner has to be exposed to a tremendous amount of reading for incidental learning to occur, and relying only on reading would mean that it would take too long for learners to acquire the lexis needed to reach higher vocabulary thresholds (Laufer, 2003). This could be done by implementing an extensive reading program to encourage learners to read as much as possible. For high school students in Vietnam, however, this seemingly couldn’t be done because they have to focus on many subjects. Therefore, English vocabulary they acquire is mostly from the textbook. I am teaching English in Luong The Vinh high school, Dong Nai province. This is the seventh year I am performing the new curriculum for high school students. Each unit in the new English textbook, which is task-based, consists of five parts in order: Reading, Speaking, Listening, Writing and Language focus. Compared with the old curriculum, the new has been welcomed by both teachers and students. However, it has received many complaints from the students majoring in English. In the survey of students’ attitude towards the new English textbook (class 10) at the end of the last school year, more than two-thirds of 10th grade students majoring in English said that 8 teachers should focus more on teaching vocabulary to help them have more word knowledge, be able to use vocabulary appropriately in writing and speaking, and understand the messages more deeply from advanced reading and listening texts. Especially, if they master more vocabulary, they will be more confident to participate in many examinations for good students. Through the survey, we teachers find it necessary to implement topic-based vocabulary teaching with careful compilation to help them concentrate on learning English more enthusiastically and confidently. There is no doubt that vocabulary acquisition is one of the most important needs of any ESL learners. Therefore, topic-based vocabulary teaching in classrooms should be carried out to help students acquire vocabulary and have positive attitude towards four language skills: reading, speaking, listening, and writing. Previous studies have been done much valuable work in the field of vocabulary teaching. The present study, which is being implemented in my class (11 English 2), aims to examine the effect of topic-based vocabulary teaching on students’ vocabulary acquisition and their attitude towards studying English. .V Methodology .V.1 - Participants The subjects of this research are 20 students of class 11 English 2 in Luong The Vinh high school. .V.2 - Research instruments Two main research instruments are used. The first is a questionnaire whose aim is to discover students’ attitudes towards studying English. This questionnaire is completed 9 on the first day of the school year. Another questionnaire is filled out on the last day of the school year to test their attitude towards studying English after a period of learning topic-based vocabulary. The second is a multiple-choice vocabulary test. .V.3 - Materials 20 lessons with up-to-date topics: Leisure activities, Travel and movement, News events, Places, Media and advertising, The natural world, Work, Business and money, People and relationships, Social problems, Entertainment, Government and society, Health and the body, World issues, Thinking and feeling, Technology, Quality and quantity, Education, The energy crisis, The Green revolution, Urbanisation are compiled from some sources such as Advanced Language Practice ( Michael Vince), Vocabulary for IELTS (Paulyne Cullen)… .V.4 - Procedure a. 20 students of grade 11 English 2 are given a multiple-choice vocabulary pretest before learning topic-based vocabulary. They do the test for 45 minutes. The contents of the test are from the sources mentioned in V.3. The first questionnaire is given out prior to the pretest and only after the subjects complete the questionnaire are they able to begin the test. b. The papers are graded and are never given back to the students. Any type of feedback are not provided. c. At the end of the school year, the same test are administered. After the test, the students fill out another questionnaire to test their attitude towards studying English. 10 .V.5 - Results For the pretest, there are 5 papers got from 8 to 8.5 marks, 7 papers got from 6.5 to 7.5, and 8 papers got from 5 to 6. Most of them showed their attitude that the teacher should teach them more vocabulary which is based on interesting topics. For the test at the end of the schoolyear, 4 papers got 10 marks, 15 papers got from 8 to 9.5, and 1 paper got 7.5. All of the students felt more active in learning English and confident in participating in English tests and examinations. .V.6 - Discussion Research question 1: Is there significant vocabulary development if topic-based vocabulary is taught? Teaching English is a hard job, but teaching English to gifted students is a harder one. Teachers endlessly study, try to find many ways to teach them effectively and create inspiration among those students. Gifted students can generally communicate well, having learnt all the basic structures of the language. However, they need to broaden their vocabulary to express themselves more clearly and appropriately in a wide range of situations. Designing topic-based vocabulary lessons clearly contributes to enriching their vocabulary, which later helps them take part in other skills more actively. For my gifted students, their ability to use words correctly is being more and more improved. Research question 2: Is there improvement in the students’ attitude towards learning English if they are taught topic-based vocabulary? Without a careful compilation of vocabulary, students will have difficulty in reading, speaking, writing and listening and then become tired of learning English. By learning topic-based vocabulary, they find out many interesting things about meanings and usage of words. Their attitude towards learning English is, therefore, more 11 enthusiastic. Concerning students’ participation and attitudes in the classes, it is proved that students’ motivation rises when they get engaged in every activity during the classes. That is to say, they become active participants in the whole process.The reason for increased motivation is that they learn vocabulay based on interesting topics, helping them pay more attention to the use of words in right contexts and remember vocabulary more easily. What is more, the fact that they are given the opportunity to do more practice tests about vocabulary that they have learnt is an effective way to keep them more confident of learning English and participating in the exams for gifted students. .VI Conclusion It is obvious that the students’ scores on the posttest are significantly improved. The result suggests that topic-based vocabulary teaching leads to significant vocabulary development that, according to the students, makes reading, speaking, listening, and writing easier and more enjoyable. Topic-based vocabulary teaching also makes students more confident in performing tasks given in each part. It is hoped that the more words they know, the more interested they are in learning English. 12 REFERENCES 1. Decarrico, J. S. (2001). Reading for academic purposes: Guidelines for the ESL/EFL teacher. In M. Celce-Murcia (Ed.), Teaching English as a second or foreign language (3rd ed., pp. 285-299). Boston: Heinle & Heinle. 2. Hulstijn, J.H. (2001). Intentional and incidental second language vocabulary learning: a reappraisal of elaboration, rehearsal and automaticity. In Robinson, Peter (ed.). Cognition and second language instruction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 258-287 3. Hulstijn, J., Hollander, M., & Greidanus, T. (1996). Incidental vocabulary learning by advanced foreign language students: The influence of marginal glosses, dictionary use, and reoccurrence of unknown words. The Modern Language Journal, 80, 327339. 4. Hunt, A., & Beglar, D. (2005). A framework for developing EFL reading vocabulary. Reading in a Foreign Language, 171 (1). 5. Krashen, S. (1989). We acquire vocabulary and spelling by reading: Additional evidence for the input hypothesis. The Modern Language Journal, 73, 440-464. 6. Laufer, B. (2003). Vocabulary acquisition in a second language: Do learners really acquire most vocabulary by reading? Canadian Modern Language Review 59(4), 565-585. 7. Lewis, M. (1993). The Lexical Approach. Hove, UK: Language Teaching Publications 8. McCarthy, M. (1990). Vocabulary. Oxford: Oxford University Press 9. Nation, I.S.P. (2005). Teaching vocabulary. The Asian EFL Journal Quarterly, 7(3), 47­54.   Retrieved   October   23,   2006,   from  http://www.asian­efl­ journal.com/September_2005_EBook_editions.pdf 10. Nurweni, A., & Read, J. (1999). The English vocabulary knowledge of Indonesian  university students. English for Specific Purposes, 18, 161­175. 11. Pigada, M., & Schmitt, N. (2006). Vocabulary acquisition from extensive reading: A case study. Reading in a Foreign Language, 18(1). 12. Qian, D.D. (1996). ESL vocabulary acquisition: Contextualization decontextualization. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 53, 120-142. and 13. Read, J. (2004). Research in reaching vocabulary. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 24, 146-161. 14. Rieder, A. (2002). Implicit and explicit learning in incidental vocabulary acquisition. VIEWS 12 (2), 24-39. 15. Thornbury, S. (2002). How to teach vocabulary. Essex: Longman 16. Tozcu, A. and Coady, J. (2004). Successful Learning of Frequency Vocabulary through CALL and Benefits Reading Comprehension and Speed. Computer Assisted Language Learning. 17(5), 473-495 13 APPENDIX VOCABULARY 1 – 1 Leisure activities Read the text and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each space. It is now generally recognised that stress is a major (1) ...C ..... of heart disease, and contributes to many other illnesses. Stress is increased by (2) ...................... such as worry, overwork and lack of exercise or relaxation. For it is just as important from a psychological point of (3)...................... to relax as it is to (4)......................physical exercise. Relaxing does not necessarily mean just lazing about and doing nothing. The benefits of a weekend away or the diversion of sporting activities are considerable. If you are suffering from high stress (5)......................, or wish to (6) ...................... after a trying day, it is generally advisable to have a change of (7)......................Although there are some individuals who (8)......................on stress, for most of us, it can lead to exhaustion, mood swings and even severe depression. 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 2 3 A reason A factors A fact A make A rates A hold up A scene A bloom B motive B aspects B departure B have B layers B wind down B location B prosper C C C C C C C C cause elements view undergo ratios draw back sight thrive D purpose D items D return D take D levels D peter out D place D flourish Choose two items from the box which are used in each activity (a-h). a) Gymnastics ......................horse................. ......................bars...................... b) Scuba Diving ................................................ ................................................... c) Fishing ................................................ ................................................... d) Walking ................................................ ................................................... e) Photography ........................................... .............................................. f) Do-It-Yourself .................................................. ..................................................... g) Swimming ................................................ ................................................... h) Cycling ................................................ ................................................... Both options make sense. Underline the one which forms a common collocation. Last week well over a thousand people (1) took place in/took part in our local roundthe-city 10-kilometre fun run. This kind of race doesn't normally (2) appeal to me/amuse me, as, frankly, I'm not really (3) cut out for/right for long distance running. But I've got two friends who are dead keen runners and who keep going on about the (4) 14 beneficial/positive effects of running. So I decided to run, partly for that reason and partly to (5) earn/raise money for charity. Friends and colleagues agreed to (6) sponsor/support me, and pay for each mile I completed. Well, I hadn't done much training for the big event, and after two kilometres I was (7) gasping/panting for breath, so I settled down to a slow jog and resigned myself to plodding along with the (8) strugglers/stragglers at the back of the race. At least I finished, and was very pleased with myself, as I didn't need to stop. I timed myself with a stop-watch, and reckon I (9) crossed/arrived at the finishing line in 43 minutes - not bad for a novice. The heat proved too much for a few people who'd gone off too fast for their capabilities and ended up (10) suffering from/showing exhaustion. Apparently, the course was very fast, and both of my friends ran a (11) personal best/personal record. The winner (12) surpassed/broke the course record. I was actually very impressed with the whole event; the organisation was first-class, with medical volunteers (13) on duty/on standby throughout, and drinks (14) stops/stations every few kilometres of the route. So now the charity of my choice is £150 the richer, and as for me, I'm well and truly bitten by the running bug. I go running with my friends regularly now, and I'm actually starting to (15) catch up with/get near to them! 4 Complete each sentence with a word formed from the word in capitals. a) The new leisure centre doesn't quite come up to EXPECT my ...expectations.............. b) There was a bare ............................... of people at the youth club. HAND c) Helen's solo crossing of the Pacific was a ............................... feat. REMARK d) We ............................... go to the pub before lunch on Sunday. VARY e) All the runners, with the ............................... of Mark, were exhausted. EXCEPT f) Our club has just purchased new sports ...................... EQUIP g) Our city has some open spaces but they are not very ...................... ACCESS h) Is it possible to ............................... between a hobby and an interest? DISTINCT i) Nowadays ............................... numbers of people are taking up INCREASE jogging. j) Leisure habits won't change much in the...................... future. 5 SEE Read the text and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best completes each collocation or fixed phrase. Very few popular (1) ...C..... sports today remain amateur in any sense of the word. In the past, even in cases where payment to players or athletes was forbidden, many sports tolerated what became known as 'shamateurism', and even the sports governing (2) ......................turned a blind eye to such (3)......................as the paying of 'expenses'. More recently, sport has become, in effect, a (4)......................of the entertainment industry, and the elite (5)......................in sports such as swimming, tennis, football and track athletics can expect to become very rich. This worries some people, who complain that the old Olympic 15 ideal has been lost, but the fact is, sport has become more and more professional in the wider sense, not only requiring total dedication from (6)......................champions, but also expensive facilities, training and nutritional advice. 6 1) A audience B watching C spectator D viewing 2) A associations B confederations C authorities D bodies 3) A practices B occurrences C acts D operations 4) A branch B division C wing D limb 5) A doers B players C makers D performers 6) A hopeful B aspiring C striving D wishful Complete each sentence with the most appropriate word from the box. board draw lap referee runner-up dive fan oar round whistle a) While I was rowing across the lake I lost one .....oar….. b) Neither team deserved to lose and the match ended in a...................... c) Ruth was well out in front by the end of the fifth ..................... d) After the rugby match David was attacked by an angry ...................... e) Brian impressed everyone with his ...................... into the pool. f) Our gym teacher used to make us stop by blowing a ..................... g) During the chess game Carol knocked all the pieces off the ..................... h) Our team was knocked out of the competition in the second ..................... i) During the match one of the spectators offered the ...................... his glasses. j) Denise won the race and her sister was ...................... 7 Complete the spaces by finding one word which fits in all three sentences. a) Later in the programme we have highlights of two big matches played earlier today: Ajax met Juventus while Barcelona . ...took… on Porto. The weightlifter who allegedly ...took… performance-enhancing drugs has been named today. On my doctor's advice, I ...took…. up yoga in order to relax. b) The transfer of Mario Rossi to Manchester United has been approved by the ...................... of directors. The new pool has a slide, water chute and diving ...................... In any game of chess, the queen is the most powerful piece on the whole c) Right now Evans is very ....................... in confidence; she needs to start winning a few races again. There was a disappointingly ...................... turnout for the youth club's open day. When you're cycling up a steep hill you will need to be in a ...................... gear. 16 d) ...................... the earth down around the roots after you've planted the flower. Jim's Dad took him out into the middle of the pool and showed him how to ...................... water. I've got my photos drying out on the kitchen floor, so whatever you do, don't ...................... on them! e) Unbelievable - what an amazing ...................... around! Smith has come from behind to take the gold medal! As I'd never played this card game before, the others let me have another ...................... and Walton showed a ...................... of speed that left his opponents for dead. 17 VOCABULARY 2 – 1 Travel and movement Read the text and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best completes each collocation or fixed phrase. Most big cities were built long before the heyday of the private car. As a result they rarely have enough space for moving traffic or parked vehicles, and long queues of (1) ...C..... vehicles are a common sight. Indeed some cities end up being almost permanently (2)...................... during the day. Those that have a relatively free (3)...................... of traffic at non-peak periods of the day do not escape either. The (4)...................... hour of early morning or early evening can easily see traffic brought to a (5)...................... The effects of exhaust (6) ...................... on air pollution in cities has been well documented. Buses might be seen as the solution, but they move slowly because of the sheer (7)......................of other traffic, thus encouraging more commuters to abandon (8)......................transport. 1) A standing B settled C stationary D static 2) A stuffed B saturated C crammed D congested 3) A flow B current C tide D flood 4) A push B rush C hasty D hurry 5) A standstill B hold-up C jam D freeze 6) A smells B odours C fumes D stinks 7) A size B volume C breadth D depth 8) A civic B mass C public D popular 2 Match each person from the box with one of the comments. a ) I love wandering through the countryside along deserted footpaths. b ) I'll bring you your drink in just a minute, madam...................... c ) I've been waiting all morning at this roundabout for someone to stop...................... d ) I was just walking down the street opposite the bank when I saw it happen...................... e ) I've spent the last half an hour looking for a spot. It's hopeless..................... f ) I'll ring the bell for you, love, when it's time to get off..................... g ) The sign clearly says two hours only and you've been here all day..................... h ) It's just impossible getting across the road here. We need a subway, ...................... i ) Do you think you could go a little more slowly, I'm a bit nervous..................... j) 3 This train is late every morning. It has been for years...................... Complete the text with words formed from the words in capitals. The Manager Transworld Air Portugal Street 18 London Dear Sir or Madam, I travelled last week on a Transworld Airbus from London Gatwick to Copenhagen. This was the (1) ….outward……journey of a holiday in Denmark, OUT a (2)...................... tour arranged through a company called 'Sunset'. My PACK (3)..................... was due to leave at 8.20 am on Tuesday 25th November, but did FLY not in fact leave until 20.30, a delay of more than eight hours. The reason given was that vital (4) ......................work had to be carried out. Although all MAINTAIN passengers were given a free meal, no other offer of (5)......................was given. ASSIST Such a long delay is totally 6)......................, and I feel justified in the ACCEPT circumstances in requesting some form of financial (7) ...................... COMPENSATE I have written to the tour (8) ......................, who denied responsibility and OPERATE advised me to write to you. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours faithfully, Charles Rogers 4 Both options make sense. Underline the one which forms a common collocation. a) We managed to complete our journey ahead of/in front of schedule. b) On our way to York, we divided/broke our journey in Peterborough. c) As I wasn't coming back by train, I asked for a single/simple ticket. d) The two coaches collided/bumped, but luckily no one was injured/wounded. e) There has been widespread public enmity/opposition to the plan for a new road. f) 5 My car skidded/slipped off the road and hit a tree. g) The train was packed, and there was standing place/room only. h) Look at that enormous goods/industrial train - it must have 20 or 30 wagons! i) The police accused Donald of breaking the speed limit/restriction. j) The Chairman made a brisk/flying visit to the company's new office in Brussels. Read the text and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each space. Anyone who has gone on a skiing holiday at a ski (1) ….D… of any size will be familiar with the age-old problem - the eternal wait for ski lifts and cable cars. Well, there is an alternative. If you feel like something just a little different why not try heli-skiing in Canada? Somewhere in the snowy wastes of the Rocky Mountains the helicopter will deposit you and your group onto a slope of virgin snow that you have all to yourselves. It is all a (2)...................... cry from the busiest slopes of, say, Switzerland, France and Italy. You are fifty miles from the nearest town and there is nothing remotely (3)...................... a ski-lift, so you have to (4)...................... on legs, skis and the chopper. You might see the (5).....................mountain-goat or grizzly bear, but there won't be (6)...................... of 19 other skiers. There are one or two disadvantages. Your friendly helicopter pilot might just put you down in a five-metre snow (7)...................... And freezing weather might ground your helicopter and leave you (8)...................... in the wilderness. 6 1) A spot B haunt C refuge D resort 2) A different B strange C far D long 3) A resembling B appearing C seeming D looking 4) A count B trust C rely D reckon 5) A occasional B sometime C incidental D irregular 6) A bunches B hordes C throngs D swarms 7) A dune B pile C mound D drift 8) A deserted B stranded C marooned D aground Replace the words underlined in each sentence with a form of one of the words given. It may be necessary to use a plural or a particular verb form. 7 a) Ann got off her horse and picked up her riding hat. b) As the plane went faste r down the runway, David began to sweat nervously. c) Without realising it, Jim drove backwards into a lamp post...................... d) In thick fog, the two ships ran into each other outside the harbour. e) Passengers who wish to get off at Hove should travel in the front coach. f) Please do up your safety belt before we begin the journey. g) The captain refused to put at risk the safety of the crew. .. h) The balloon rose up gracefully into the summer sky. Complete the spaces by finding one word which fits in all three sentences. a) It only takes one small accident to .....w?fa…… up the traffic for several hours. The new Atlantic airbus will … ..№.W…… about 700 passengers. Like it or not, it is the train and not the car which will ...w.'ff…. the key to the future of domestic travel. b) Why don't you just get the goods delivered to your house, and...................... yourself two-hour car journey into the city-centre? By driving at 70 km/h instead of 100, you can ...................... a lot of petrol. I'm trying to ...................... up for a trip to Canada, so I can't afford to buy much at the moment. c) The Department of Transport have ......................a deadline of 1 June for completion of the new motorway. Because of the strike by air traffic controllers, delays are ......................to continue 20