Advanced C1.1: January 2023

EF C1.1 p 30. English Spelling is Broken. Let's fix it! Word Formation

English spelling is broken. There are (1)____________ (COUNT) examples, such as comb, bomb, and tomb, or height and weight. The English Spelling Society exists to repair our broken spelling. The Society is working on a way to (2)_____________ (SIMPLE) current English spelling in order to improve access to (3)_______________ (LITERATE).

Why English spelling is (4)_______________ (EXCEPTION) (5)____________ (REGULAR)

English as a language is (6)______________ (RELATIVE) simple to learn. But its spelling system is (7)______________ (POSSIBLE) the most irregular of those based on an alphabet. Not only is it hard to predict the spelling from the pronunciation, but it is not always possible to predict the pronunciation from the spelling, for example thorough.

English words derive (8)_____________ (MAIN) from old German and Norman French, and its alphabet of 26 letters makes it (9)________________ (POSSIBLE) to represent each of its 46 speech sounds with just one symbol. But that is not the only reason why many English spellings are irregular. In other languages, as pronunciation changed, the spelling changed too. However, in spite of the many ways in which English pronunciation has evolved over the centuries, words have often maintained their original spelling, which reflects the original pronunciation, but not how many words are pronounced today. For example, blood /blʌd/ used to be pronounced to rhyme with good /ɡʊd/.

The (10)_____________ (ECONOMY) and social costs of English spelling

Children in English-speaking countries take almost twice as long to learn to read and write compared to children in other countries. A (11)___________ (LONG) time needed for learning to read and write means less time for other subjects.

There has been much expensive research into how to teach reading and writing in Anglophone countries, but there is no standard method, and much (12)_______________ (AGREE), about how best to teach English literacy.

Education is the (13)____________ (PROVE) best way to prevent (14)____________ (CRIME) from (15)____________ (OFFEND). In countries where the literacy rates of (16)____________ (PRISON) are (17)____________ (GENERAL) higher, improving their education while behind bars is also much easier. The poor literacy skills of many English-speaking (18)_____________ (OFFEND) make this more difficult, and repeated returns to jail more likely.

1. countless

2. simplify

3. literacy

4. exceptionally

5. irregular

6. relatively

7. possibly

8. mainly

9. impossible

10. economic

11. longer

12. disagreement

13. proven

14. criminals

15. reoffending

16. prisoners

17. generally

18. offenders

EF C1.1 p 28. Early Childhood Memories. Listening

Part 1. (2.3)

Speaker 1

- He had been to a (1)____________.

- He had been bought a (2)____________.

- He (3)______________ on purpose.

- He felt (4)________________.

- The new one didn't (5)_____________ him.

Speaker 2

- Her uncle, instead of reading, was (6)____________, which made her (7)_____________.

Speaker 3

- The carpet was a (8)________________

- The (9)_________________ were made out of glass.

- She felt (10)________________.

Part 2 (2.4)

- It's impossible to remember being in your (11)_____________.

- Before the age of two we don't have a (12)_______________ of ourselves as individuals.

- Not until we have an (13)_________________ can we begin to have memories.

- Our first memories (14)_________________ the development of linguistic skills.

- The fact that many early memories are related to frightening experiences (15)______________ the evolutionary theory that the human memory is linked to self-preservation.

- First memories are almost (16)________________ described as pictures rather than smells or sounds.

- Our first memories can be (17)_______________.

- Stories we have been told can be (18)________________ our memory.

Part 3 (2.5)

- Piaget's first memories seem to have been of a man trying to (19)________________ him.

- Piaget's nanny returned the watch when she (20)_________________ to making up the story.

KEY

mind over matter the use of the power of your mind to deal with physical problems. Used to say that you can use your thoughts to control physical feelings or an unpleasant situation.

E.g.

He said that keeping running in spite of the pain was just a question of mind over matter.

I’m scared, yes, but it’s a case of mind over matter.

1. fun fair

2. helium balloon

3. let go

let go to stop holding something or someone. Sp. soltar.

E.g.

Let go! You’re hurting me

4. (absolutely) devastated/ heartbroken

heartbroken: extremely sad because of something that has happened

E.g.

He was heartbroken when she left him.

Friends are tonight trying to comfort the heartbroken teenager.

5. console /kənˈsəʊl/

6. making it up

7. (quite) annoyed

8. dark green check

check: a pattern of squares, usually of two colours. Sp. estampado de cuadros.

E.g.
Do you prefer checks or stripes?

a check shirt/suit

a yellow and red check skirt

a shirt with brown and black checks

9. baubles

bauble: /ˈbɔːbl/ a decoration for a Christmas tree in the shape of a ball.

10. resentful

resentful: /rɪˈzentfl/ feeling bitter or angry about something that you think is unfair

E.g.

    a resentful look
    resentful of/at/about something They seemed to be resentful of our presence there.
    She was resentful at having been left out of the team.

11. pram or cot

pram: a small vehicle on four wheels for a baby to go out in, pushed by a person on foot. Sp. cuco.

E.g.

She was pushing her baby along in a pram.

cot: (AmE crib) a small bed with high sides for a baby or young child

a travel cot (= one that can be moved around easily, used when travelling

12. clear sense

13 awareness of self

14. coincide with

15. bears out

bear somebody/something out
(especially British English) to show that somebody is right or that something is true. Sp confirmar, corroborar.

E.g.

The other witnesses will bear me out.

The other witnesses will bear out what I say.

Evidence bears out the idea that students learn best in small groups.

These figures bear out the fact that more children are becoming obese nowadays.
Sp. Las cifras confirman que más niños se vuelven obesos en la actualidad.

16. invariably

invariably /ɪnˈveəriəbli/ always. without fail

E.g.

This acute infection of the brain is almost invariably fatal.
This is not invariably the case.
Invariably the reply came back, ‘Not now!’

17. unreliable

18. incorporated into

19. kidnap

20. confessed

confess to (doing) something She confessed to the murder.
confess (that)… He confessed that he had stolen the money.
confess to somebody (that)… She confessed to me that she had known his true identity for some time.

EF p 190. An Article about Childhood. Word Formation

Children’s lives have changed (1)____________ (ENORMOUS) over the last 50 years. But do they have (2)___________ (HAPPY) (3)____________ (CHILD) today?

1 It’s difficult to look back on one’s own childhood without some element of (4)_____________ (NOSTALGIC). I have four brothers and sisters and my memories are all about being with them, playing board games on the living room floor, or spending days outside with the other (5)_______________ (NEIGHBOUR) children, racing around on our bikes or exploring the (6)___________ (NEAR) woods. My parents (7)_____________ (HARD) ever appear in these memories, except as (8)_____________ (PROVIDE) either of meals or of severe reprimands after some (9)______________ (PARTICULAR) (10)________________ (HAZARD) adventure.

2 In the UK at (11)__________ (LITTLE), the nature of childhood has changed (12)______________ (DRAMATIC) since the 1970s. First, families are (13)______________ (SMALL) and there are far more only children these days. It is common for both parents to work outside the home and far (14)____________ (FEW) people have the time to bring up a large family. As a result, boys and girls today spend much of their time alone. Another major change is that (15)_____________ (YOUNG) tend to spend a huge proportion of their free time at home, inside. This is often due to the fact that parents worry much more than they used to about real or imagined dangers, so they wouldn’t dream of letting their children play outside by themselves.

3 (16)____________ (FINAL), the kinds of toys children have and the way they play is (17)____________ (TOTAL) different. Computer and video games have (18)____________ (PLACE) the board games and more active (19)____________ (TIME) of my childhood. The fact that they can play the games on their own (20)_______________ (FAR) increases the sense of (21)___________ (ISOLATE) felt by many young people today. The irony is that so many of these games are called ‘(22)___________ (ACT)’.

4 Do these changes mean that children today have a (23)___________ (LITTLE) (24)__________ (IDYLL) childhood than I had? I personally believe that they do, but perhaps every generation feels (25)__________ (EXACT) the same.

key

1. enormously

2. happier

3. childhoods

4. nostalgia /nɒˈstældʒə/

5. neighbourhood

6. nearby

7. hardly

8. providers

9. particularly

10. hazardous /ˈhæzədəs/

hazardous: Involving risk or danger, especially to somebody’s health or safety.

hazardous waste/materials/substances/chemicals

They endured a hazardous journey through thickening fog.

It would be hazardous to invest so much.

hazardous to somebody/something

a list of products that are potentially hazardous to health

11. least

12. dramatically

13. smaller

14. fewer

15. youngsters

16. Finally

17. totally

18. replaced

19. pastimes

20. further

(adv)

to a greater degree or extent Sp. más, más a fondo.

to develop/increase/enhance/improve something further

to strengthen/support something further

Costs must be further reduced.

The police decided to investigate further.

My life is further complicated by having to work such long hours. She was getting further and further into debt.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Their share price fell further today.

21. isolation

22. interactive

23. less

24. idyllic

25. exactly

MEH p 17. How 'The War of the Worlds' Radio Broadcast Created a National Panic. Extra Word Formation Cloze

Look at this photo and predict the story:

Orson Welles' radio drama is the most famous broadcast in radio history.

As the clock struck 8 p.m. in New York City on the Halloween night of October 30, 1938, Orson Welles stood on a podium inside a Madison Avenue radio studio. The 23-year-old (1)______________ (THEATRE) star prepared to direct 10 actors and a 27-piece orchestra for the Columbia Broadcasting System’s (2)_____________ (WEEK) “Mercury Theatre on the Air” programme. Millions of Americans, as they were every night, huddled around their radios, but (3)___________ (RELATIVE) few of them were listening to CBS when it was announced that Welles and his fellow cast members were presenting an original (4)_____________ (DRAMA) of the 1898 H.G. Wells science-fiction novel “The War of the Worlds.” Instead, most of the country was tuned in to NBC’s popular “Chase and Sanborn Hour,” which featured ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his dummy, Charlie McCarthy. Channel (5)____________ (SURF), however, was not a modern-day (6)___________ (INVENT), and (7)____________ (ORIENTATION) listeners who stumbled onto the “Mercury Theatre on the Air” without having heard the (8)____________ (CLAIM) at the top of the radio play were thrust into the middle of an hour-long drama that left some believing that the country was under attack. The CBS programme opened (9)___________ (SERENE) with dulcet dance music played live by an orchestra.” Then, an actor (10)____________ (PORTRAY) an (11)_____________ (ANNOUNCE) broke in with a fake news report that several explosions of incandescent gas had occurred on Mars. In quick (12)____________ (SUCCESSIVE) came a series of (13)______________ (INCREASE) (14)____________ (ALARM), suspense-building newsflashes that culminated with Martian spacecrafts crashing into a farm in Grovers Mill, New Jersey. For the rest of the hour, terror crackled over the airwaves. (15)_____________ (BREATH) reporters detailed an (16)_____________ (TERRESTRIAL) army of squid-like figures that killed thousands of (17)___________ (EARTH) with heat rays and black clouds of poison gas as they penetrated into New York City. Welles and the rest of the cast (18)___________ (PERSON) (19)_____________ (ASTRONOMY), state militia officials and even the Secretary of the Interior, who sounded like President Franklin D. Roosevelt. At the end of the hour the director wrapped up the radio drama by telling his audience, “This is Orson Welles, ladies and gentlemen, out of character to assure you that ‘The War of the Worlds’ has no (20)__________ (FAR) (21)______________ (SIGNIFY) than as the holiday offering it was intended to be. The Mercury Theatre’s own radio version of dressing up in a sheet and jumping out of a bush and saying ‘boo!’”

KEY

1. theatrical

2. weekly

3. relatively

4. dramatization

5. surfing

6. invention

7. disoriented

8. disclaimer

disclaimer: a statement in which somebody says that they are not connected with or responsible for something, or that they do not have any knowledge of it. Sp. declaración de limitación de responsabilidad.

E.g.

They protect themselves by issuing various disclaimers.

9. serenely

serenely: /səˈriːnli/ in a calm and peaceful way.

E.g.

a serenely beautiful scene
She smiled serenely.

dulcet /ˈdʌlsɪt/ sounding sweet and pleasant.

E.g.
I thought I recognized your dulcet tones (= the sound of your voice).

10. portraying

11. announcer

12. succession

13. increasingly

14. alarming

15. Breathless

16. extraterrestrial

17. earthlings

earthling: (in science fiction stories) a word used by creatures from other planets to refer to a person living on the earth.

18. impersonated

19. astronomers

20. further

21. significance

The National Panic That Followed The War of the Worlds

The fright that Welles put into America, however, was much greater than he thought. Although the program included a reminder at intermission that it was a dramatization, thousands of anxious and confused listeners believed it to be real. They besieged police departments, newspapers and CBS with phone calls. In New Jersey, ground zero for the fictitious invasion, national guardsmen wanted to know where they should report for duty, and the Trenton police department fielded 2,000 calls in under two hours. In Providence, Rhode Island, hysterical callers begged the electric company to cut power to the city to keep it safe from the extraterrestrial invaders. Fear and anxiety had become a way of life in the 1930s, and it took little to rattle jittery Americans. The Depression had emptied their wallets, the gathering crisis in Europe threatened to ignite into war and just weeks earlier the Hurricane of 1938 had roared ashore. Plus, the Hindenburg disaster, which had been broadcast over the airwaves just the year before, was still fresh in the country’s collective psyche. The newspaper industry also felt unease from the increasing popularity of radio as an informational and advertising medium, and seeing a chance to strike back at its growing rival, it gleefully collected the sporadic reports of individual confusion generated by “The War of the Worlds” and weaved them into a narrative of “mass hysteria.” Newspapers reported suicide attempts, heart attacks and exoduses from major metropolitan areas. The New York Daily News printed the feverish headline “Fake Radio ‘War’ Stirs Terror Through U.S.” along with the photograph of a “war victim,” a woman in a sling who had heard the reports of black gas clouds in Times Square and ran out from her midtown apartment into the street where she fell and broke her arm. Similar stories of woe were printed from coast to coast and unleashed a media frenzy. Orson Welles' Response With threats of lawsuits swirling in the press, CBS went into damage control. At a hastily called press conference, a doe-eyed Welles displayed his theatrical acumen and expressed his remorse and shock at the public reaction. “I can’t imagine an invasion from Mars would find ready acceptance,” he said when asked if he pranked the country. Decades later, however, Welles admitted, “The kind of response was merrily anticipated by us all. The size of it, of course, was flabbergasting.” The Federal Communications Commission did not sanction CBS or Welles, and the radio dramatist quickly spun his Halloween trick into a treat. Thanks to what became known as the “panic broadcast,” the radio program signed Campbell’s Soup as a sponsor, and soon after, Welles inked a deal to direct “Citizen Kane,” named by the American Film Institute as the greatest movie of all time.

Orson Welles’s “War of the Worlds” radio play is broadcast

“The War of the Worlds”—Orson Welles's realistic radio dramatization of a Martian invasion of Earth—is broadcast on the radio on October 30, 1938. Welles was only 23 years old when his Mercury Theater company decided to update H.G. Wells’s 19th-century science fiction novel The War of the Worlds for national radio. Despite his age, Welles had been in radio for several years, most notably as the voice of “The Shadow” in the hit mystery program of the same name. “War of the Worlds” was not planned as a radio hoax, and Welles had little idea of how legendary it would eventually become. The show began on Sunday, October 30, at 8 p.m. A voice announced: “The Columbia Broadcasting System and its affiliated stations present Orson Welles and the Mercury Theater on the air in ‘War of the Worlds’ by H.G. Wells.” Sunday evening in 1938 was prime-time in the golden age of radio, and millions of Americans had their radios turned on. But most of these Americans were listening to ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his dummy “Charlie McCarthy” on NBC and only turned to CBS at 8:12 p.m. after the comedy sketch ended and a little-known singer went on. By then, the story of the Martian invasion was well underway. Welles introduced his radio play with a spoken introduction, followed by an announcer reading a weather report. Then, seemingly abandoning the storyline, the announcer took listeners to “the Meridian Room in the Hotel Park Plaza in downtown New York, where you will be entertained by the music of Ramon Raquello and his orchestra.” Putrid dance music played for some time, and then the scare began. An announcer broke in to report that “Professor Farrell of the Mount Jenning Observatory” had detected explosions on the planet Mars. Then the dance music came back on, followed by another interruption in which listeners were informed that a large meteor had crashed into a farmer’s field in Grovers Mills, New Jersey. Soon, an announcer was at the crash site describing a Martian emerging from a large metallic cylinder. “Good heavens,” he declared, “something’s wriggling out of the shadow like a gray snake. Now here’s another and another one and another one. They look like tentacles to me … I can see the thing’s body now. It’s large, large as a bear. It glistens like wet leather. But that face, it… it … ladies and gentlemen, it’s indescribable. I can hardly force myself to keep looking at it, it’s so awful. The eyes are black and gleam like a serpent. The mouth is kind of V-shaped with saliva dripping from its rimless lips that seem to quiver and pulsate.” The Martians mounted walking war machines and fired “heat-ray” weapons at the puny humans gathered around the crash site. They annihilated a force of 7,000 National Guardsman, and after being attacked by artillery and bombers the Martians released a poisonous gas into the air. Soon “Martian cylinders” landed in Chicago and St. Louis. The radio play was extremely realistic, with Welles employing sophisticated sound effects and his actors doing an excellent job portraying terrified announcers and other characters. An announcer reported that widespread panic had broken out in the vicinity of the landing sites, with thousands desperately trying to flee. The Federal Communications Commission investigated the unorthodox program but found no law was broken. Networks did agree to be more cautious in their programming in the future. The broadcast helped Orson Welles land a contract with a Hollywood studio, and in 1941 he directed, wrote, produced, and starred in Citizen Kane—a movie that many have called the greatest American film ever made.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-War-of-the-Worlds-novel-by-Wells

EF C1.1 p 16. Eliza Carthy. Listening

Part 1

- Eliza's dad was (1)_____________ in building the sixties folk club scene in London.

- Eliza had a hippy (2)____________.

- Since she was brought up on a farm she grew up basically (3)________________.

- Eliza's family had a lot of (4)________________ musician friends.

Part 2

- Eliza's mum quitted her job in order to (5)____________ her.

- Eliza in the end followed in her dad's (6)_____________.

- No sooner had the first song started than Eliza (7)_________________ on her father's leg.

- Eliza is currently (8)_____________ by the school terms.

KEY

1. instrumental

instrumental: important in making something happen.

E.g.

The Conservation Trust performs an instrumental role in the protection of rural environments.

instrumental in (doing) something

He was instrumental in bringing about an end to the conflict.

They were highly instrumental in bringing the business to Newtown

2. upbringing

3. self-sufficient

4. touring

5. raise

6. footsteps

follow in somebody’s footsteps: to do the same job, have the same style of life, etc. as somebody else, especially somebody in your family She works in television, following in her father's footsteps. He wanted to follow in his mother's footsteps and be a ballroom dancer.

7. tugged

tug: to pull something hard, often several times. Sp tirar (de)

E.g.
tug (at/on something) She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention.
tug something The baby was tugging her hair.
tug something + adj. He tugged the door open.

8. bound

bound: forced to do something by law, duty or a particular situation. Sp. obligado.

E.g.

bound by something

We are not bound by the decision.

You are bound by the contract to pay before the end of the month.

They are legally bound to appear in court

MEH p 14. Art and Entertainment. Extra Speaking

A. Have a conversation as natural as possible with a partner about the topic. Use the pictures above and the questions below to help you.

1. What do you like doing in your free time? What places do you normally go to when you want to have a good time?

2. Pablo Picasso once said that all children are artists and that the problem is to remain one when you grow up. Does this idea hold any truth for you? Why? Why not?

3. Has watching a documentary changed your perception on a given topic?

4. Do you think books will still be widely read in the future?

5. Can you recommend us a thought-provoking film or book?

B. MONOLOGUE

Student A

1. Do you think modern artists are deceiving the public?

2. Do people find it hard to accept new trends in art? Why do you think this is so?

3. Do you agree that one man's entertainment can be another man's torture?

Student B

1. Do you think that reading has improved your English? How? What else do you do to improve your English?

2. Do you think that music, dancing and art should have a more prominent place in the school curriculum? Why?

3. Do you think the younger generations are very different from their ancestors as far as art and entertainment are concerned?

Vocabulary
hot off the press: freshly printed; just released by a publisher. E.g. Here is a copy of the new Mark Haddon novel. It's hot off the press. I've got it hot off the press-he's resigning. This design is hot off the press.

unconventional: /ˌʌnkənˈvenʃənl/ very different from the way people usually behave, think, dress. etc. E.g. unconventional views

thought-provoking: making people think seriously about a particular subject. E.g. a brilliant and thought-provoking play.

moving: making you feel strong emotions, especially sadness or sympathy. E.g. a deeply moving experience. A moving story/ speech.

bleak: without anything to make you feel happy or hopeful. E.g. a bleak outlook/ prospect. The future looks bleak for the fishing industry. The medical prognosis was bleak. They faced a financially bleak Christmas. A bleak landscape.

impressive: makes you admire it because it is very good, large, important, etc. E.g. an impressive building with a huge tower. An impressive performance. One of the most impressive novels of recent years. She was very impressive in the interview.

compelling: very interesting or exciting, so you have to pay attention. E.g. Her latest book makes compelling reading. A compelling story. A compelling film.

charming: very pleasing or attractive. E.g. The cottage is tiny, but it's charming. She's a charming person. A children's book with charming illustrations. There are lots of charming little restaurants along the river.

well-received: accepted with enthusiasm. e.g. by critics. E.g. a well-received book/ play

poignant: /pɔɪnjənt/ making you feel sad or full of pity. E.g. a poignant image/ moment/ memory, etc. A poignant film.

overrated: not as good or important as some people think or say. E.g. In my opinion, Hirst's work has been vastly overrated. A highly overrated film.

offbeat: unusual and not what people normally expect, especially in an interesting way. Unconventional. E.g. offbeat humour. An offbeat approach to interviewing. She’s a little offbeat but she’s a wonderful actress.

stylish: attractive in a fashionable way. Elegant and attractive. E.g. a stylish restaurant. It was a stylish performance by both artists.

amusing: funny and entertaining. E.g. an amusing story/ game/ incident. She writes very amusing letters. I didn't find the joke at all amusing. An amusing article/ comment. I don't find that type of humour very amusing at all.

striking: attractive in an unusual way that is easy to notice. E.g. striking good looks. She was undoubtedly a very striking young woman. She is naturally striking. A striking landscape.

dramatic: /drəˈmætɪk/ exciting or impressive, so that people notice. E.g. They watched dramatic pictures of the police raid on TV. Dramatic mountain peaks.

stunning: extremely attractive or beautiful. Impressive. E.g. You look absolutely stunning! A stunning view of the lake. His performance was simply stunning.

heart-breaking: making you feel extremely sad or disappointed. E.g. a heartbreaking story. They live in heartbreaking poverty. It's heartbreaking to lose a pet.

subtle: not easy to notice or understand unless you pay careful attention. E.g. subtle colours.
There are subtle differences between the two versions. His language expresses rich and subtle meanings.

poignant /ˈpɔɪnjənt/ (adj) (poignancy /ˈpɔɪnjənsi/ (N) E.g. Of particular poignancy was the photograph of their son with his sisters, taken the day before he died; poignantly /ˈpɔɪnjəntli/ (adv) E.g. Their experiences of war are poignantly described.)

subtle /ˈsʌtl/ (adj) (subtlety /ˈsʌtlti/ (N) E.g. It's a thrilling movie even though it lacks subtlety; subtly /ˈsʌtli/ E.g. Her version of events is subtly different from what actually happened.)

EF C1.1 p 13. Emma's Jobs. Listening 1.13

- Emma managed to get the jobs thanks to (1)________________ and (2)___________________. She also wrote (3)____________ letters among other things.

-The interviewer was curious to know whether with only two weeks she could (4)________________________ what a job was like in the long run.

- Emma says that those two weeks were enough to get a (5)________________ of a job.

- Emma says she didn't need any qualifications because she was actually work (6) _______________

- Her favourite job seems to have been (7)_________________ in Cornwall because it challenged all of her (8)__________________ about farming nowadays.

- The farmer sold (9)________________ luxury children’s clothes to department stores.

- She found (10)_______________ very challenging.

1. networking

2. cold-calling

3. cover

4. get a feel for

get/have a feel for something to get/have an understanding of something or be naturally good at doing it She has a real feel for languages.

5. flavour

6. shadowing

7. alpaca farming

8. assumptions

9. high-end

high-end/ˌhaɪ ˈend/expensive and of high quality.

E.g.

Those are considered to be high-end personal computers.

10. copy-editing

copy-edit (something) to correct and prepare a text for printing