Form 10

Forms of the Infinitive

Lesson online "What kind of news do you prefer?"

Word Formation (rule)

Word Formation (test)

Online test

Conditionals, practice

Conditionals 3, 4 Grammar

Conditionals 0, 1 sentences 

The role of education

Unit 8, Lesson 2, Ex. 3b

A. Melissa Hu: I love music so giving up my iPod was definitely a challenge. I listen to it during car rides, when I’m eating at restaurants, and sometimes when I’m supposed to be sleeping.

The first few days were the worst. I was trying to study at the library when this guy started talking nonstop to one of his friends. I wanted to reach for my iPod so I wouldn’t have to listen to him, but I couldn’t. So I tried to do my work but finally moved to another table.

This challenge was especially difficult when I was at home. My parents were installing a floor, so they were constantly using the nail gun. The noise was terrible.

After a couple of days, it got easier. I paid more attention to the things around me and was more productive. I noticed a cat in my backyard bushes. I read books like Sybil and Dubliners.

Without my iPod, I started remembering songs that I had forgotten about. I had always skipped one of my former favorite songs, Green Day’s “Jesus of Suburbia,” after years of wearing it out.

I realized I spend too much time using my iPod and feel like I need to always have it with me. I am going to try to use my iPod less by not bringing my earphones with me everywhere I go. Hopefully I’ll be more attentive.

B. Alma Sanchez: I decided to do this challenge because I watch a lot of TV. In the summer, the first thing I did after waking up was turn on the TV in the living room. Sometimes it didn’t matter what show it was, as long as I could pass time and not be bored. I thought this challenge would help me get more done, but giving up TV for a week was harder than I thought.

On Monday as soon as I woke up I thought about the shows I’d be missing like I Love Lucy and a Spanish soap opera. I killed time by going on the Internet. In the afternoon, my mom and I went to the supermarket, where there was a TV screen in every corner of the store! “How can they do that to me, don’t they know I’m not suppose to watch TV!?” I turned away immediately but I still felt bad.

On Tuesday, I went to my aunt’s house next door and before I knew it I was staring at the video game my cousin was playing. Then I went to the bedroom where my other cousin was switching channels and I left immediately. I went home and read 1984, my summer reading. The book was full of suspense and I couldn’t put it down. I didn’t think about TV at all.

On Wednesday I even saw a TV on the bus that showed news clips, games and ads. I took a book to read on Friday to avoid watching.

On the other days, I could control not watching TV by staying in my bedroom. Instead of watching TV, I cleaned my desk, looked through college brochures and finalized my college list. I felt more productive but I wanted to watch TV with my family because I could hear them laughing.

When the challenged ended, I wanted to keep going because I did more that week than any other week in the summer. But I knew I would eventually cave and want to watch TV.  I realized that TV distracted me and that not watching it helped. Now I only watch my favorite shows and skip boring ones.
С. Elliot Kwon: I always knew that I depended way too much on my phone. But I didn’t know how much, so I decided to do this challenge to find out.

Every morning since I got a smartphone, I’ve used The Weather Channel to figure out what to wear. On the first morning I had to dress without guidance, but thankfully I was able to predict that the day would be cold and foggy by looking out my window. When was the last time I did that … eighth grade?

I also lost track of time. I haven’t worn a watch for more than a year, because my phone showed the time. So I was late picking up friends who took the bus for two hours to come from Santa Monica to Palos Verdes. I also was late to my tutoring job. And even worse, I couldn’t call people to tell them that I was running late.

Getting places was harder, too. I got lost because I couldn’t use the GPS on my phone. My driving, though, got a lot safer because I no longer had my phone in one hand checking directions while driving with the other.

But the number one problem was not having my contact list. I forgot to write down my friends’ and family members’ phone numbers before I started the challenge. It was sad to realize that I couldn’t remember my brother’s and my mom’s cell phone numbers.

In the midst of all the problems, however, I found peace not worrying about missing a text message or an e-mail.

This challenge was a great learning experience. It surprised me how I’d overlooked even the simplest things like remembering phone numbers. We all should take some time to think about how we can depend less on our cell phones.

Home text 22.01.2020

Unit 7, Lesson 5, Ex. 4

… From geography to psychology, there are many examples of people collectively doing it wrong by learning fiction as truth. Here are four of the biggest errors walking around masquerading as well-known facts.

Number 1: Christopher Columbus’ crew had a lot to be worried about as they set sail. There was the possibility that they might fall ill with scurvy or get into a weather front, and of course there were all those warnings about monsters.

But falling off the edge of the planet? Not so much. The idea that Columbus was trying to attempt the unimaginable and become an international celebrity for not falling off the world is false.

People have known since the learned and logic-laden age of the Greeks that they lived on a great, big globe. There were lots of obvious clues, like the way ships sailed over the horizon and how the Earth cast a crescent shadow on the moon.

Number 2: Baby birds usually don't leave the nest until they're ready (or at least readyish) to fly. But, just like how well you drive during your very first driving lesson, they typically stink at flying at first. But that doesn't mean the parents aren't supervising their offspring. They're probably in a nearby tree shuddering as their little dunce forgets all the lessons they taught it. And if you leave the baby bird alone, chances are they'll be there soon to smack it upside the head and tell it to pay more attention during the next round of flying lessons.

Plus, its parents have invested way too much time and energy raising it to go away at the first opportunity, no matter how the little guy smells.

Number 3: Lots of people think different parts of the tongue are fine-tuned to detect different tastes. More recently, however, we've found out that the whole zones theory was pretty much nonsense. It turns out people can sense different tastes all over their tongues.

Then there's the fifth basic taste that doesn't get a lot of PR, and that's umami. Auguste Escoffier, the famous chef in 19th century France, came up with this idea. Foodies swooned over it – it's been described as savory and meaty – but scientists stuck to the sweet/salty/bitter/sour taste tetrahedron.

Even though umami was a familiar taste in Japan, the "fifth taste" idea didn't get much traction there, either. That is until Kikunae Ikeda, a whiz-bang Japanese chemist, decided to get to the bottom of what umami was all about. He figured out the taste came from glutamic acid, and he called it the Japanese version of yummy.

No one at the time believed him, though, and it wasn't until the end of the 20th century that scientists decided to look into it. They realized Ikeda was right all along.

Number 4: We hear what you're saying. We see your point of view. We feel your pain. Also, you smell bad and possibly taste funny.

But if you believe these are the only five ways you can detect information about your environment, we're going to punch you in the face. There. Boom. You will feel it thanks to nociception, the ability to sense pain.

There are lots more, too, although the lists vary and the final number-of-senses record is in great dispute. So let's skip those. More interesting is proprioception, which helps you pass the "close your eyes and touch your nose" test. Basically, it's what lets two parts of your body connect without visual confirmation. If you accidently smacked yourself in the forehead instead, you experienced a proprioception fail.

Apart from those, hunger and thirst can count according to some, as can feelings of hot and cold. Itch, interestingly, is apparently independent from both touch and pain. It's annoying on so many levels!