Unit 1
AROUND THE WORLD IN 94 DAYS. Ellen MacArthur. Page 7
Single-handed: on your own with nobody helping you.
Fêted /ˈfeɪtɪd/: admired, honoured and entertained.
Runners-up: a person or team that does not finish first in a competition or race, but that wins a prize.
To reverse roles: to exchange the positions or roles of two things.
Barely: just; certainly not more than (a particular amount, age, time, etc.).
To sum up: summarise.
Mood: the way a group of people feel about sthg; the atmosphere in a place or among a group of people.
Headline: the title of a newspaper article printed in large letters, especially at the top of the front page.
Achiever: a person who achieves a high level of success, especially in their career.
Unpromising: not likely to be successful or show good results. Poco prometedor.
Landlocked: surrounded by land. Sin salida al mar, sin litoral.
Merchant seaman: a member of the merchant navy or a sailor on a ship below the rank of an officer.
Tenuous: weak, easily proved false.
To spark off: to cause sthg to start, especially suddenly. Desencadenar, despertar.
Lifelong: lasting or existing all through your life.
Fibreglass:/ˈfaɪbəɡlɑːs/fibra de vidrio
Dinghy: /ˈdɪŋi/a small open boat that you sail or row. Bote, velero.
To set your sights on sthg / on doing sthg: to decide that you want sthg and to try very hard to get it
To undertake: to make yourself responsible for sthg and start doing it.
Voyage: a long journey, especially by sea or in space.
Feat: an action or a piece of work that needs skill, strength or courage. Hazaña, proeza.
To request: to ask for sthg formally and politely.
In terms of: used when you are referring to a particular aspect of sthg. En cuanto a, desde el punto de vista de.
Thoroughness: meticulousness. meticulosidad, esmero.
To lead up to: to be an introduction to or the cause of sthg.
Helm: a handle or wheel used for steering a boat or ship. Timón.
Fleet: a group of ships fishing together.
To negotiate: to successfully get over or past a difficult part on a path or route. Sortear, salvar, superar.
Gale-force winds: extremely strong winds.
To endure: to experience and deal with sthg that is painful or unpleasant, especially without complaining. Soportar, aguantar.
Blistering: extremely hot in a way that is uncomfortable. Abrasador.
Doldrums: a lack of activity or improvement.
Bursts: a short period of intense activity or strong emotion that often starts suddenly.
Sore: a painful, often red, place on your body where there is a wound or an infection. Llaga.
Desalinator: device for removing salt from sea water.
To cheer: to shout loudly, to show support or praise for sby, or to give them encouragement.
To step off: to lift your foot and move it off a particular direction; to move a short distance. Bajarse, apearse.
Composed: calm and in control of your feelings. Sereno, tranquilo.
Adulation: excessive flattery or admiration. Adulación
To take sthg in stride: to accept and deal with sthg difficult without letting it worry you too much. Tomarse algo con calma.
To fulfil: to do or achieve what was hoped for or expected.
Sole: only.
Savour: /ˈseɪvə/to enjoy the full taste or flavour of sthg, especially by eating or drinking it slowly.
Take the lead: tomar la delantera
Eventual: final, último
To assert: to state clearly and firmly that sthg is true. Afirmar.
Deep down: if you know sthg deep down, you know your true feelings about sthg, although you may not admit them to yourself.
Mast: a tall pole on a boat or ship that supports the sails.
Black and blue: amoratado
Encore: an extra short performance given at the end of a concert or other performance; a request for this made by an audience calling out.
Endurance: the ability to continue doing sthg painful or difficult for a long period of time without complaining. Resistencia, aguante, fortaleza, entereza.
Reluctance:desgana, renuencia, a regañadientes. Reluctant: hesitating before doing sth because you do not want to do it or because you are not sure that it is the right thing to do
Take on: adopt. Adquirir
Go to great lengths: hacer lo posible
Overwhelm: affect deeply in mind and emotion. Abrumar.
Outcome: Resultado
Ready for CAE p 6. CHALLENGES AND MOTIVATION. Speaking
Speaking. Ready for CAE. Unit 1
Challenges and Motivation 1
Useful language:
She is talking to a priest.
She is wearing a polka dot dress
The man is wearing slippers.
He is going bald.
He also has some stubble on his face.
Couch /kaʊtʃ/
Lie (lying) lay lain (intransitive verb)
He is lying on the couch
Lay laid laid (transitive verb)
They are laying the rubber ring on the ground.
They are dragging the rubber ring down the lake.
They are wearing life vests
They are using ropes and wooden sticks for tying or pulling the rubber rings
They are climbing poles
They are wearing helmets
They are wearing a harness /ˈhɑː(r)nɪs/ around their waists
It was an overnight success
It was a resounding success
It was a roaring success (tremendous)
I was assured of success
I was delighted that he could do it
I was elated /iˈleɪtɪd/(very happy) by the prospect of the new job ahead
She was thrilled to bits (= extremely pleased) that he’d been offered the job
He was overjoyed (extremely happy) at my success
The English Department is astounded, amazed, taken aback, flabbergasted, dumbfounded, stunned, shocked, astonished, bowled over and staggered that we have such wonderful students...
It posed a challenge (to create a challenge that has to be dealt with)
It was a major challenge
I had to confront a big problem
I was a little apprehensive /ˌæprɪˈhensɪv/(worried or frightened) about the effects of what I had done
I felt a bit tense (nervous or worried)at first
He was always on edge (nervous) before an interview
I had to strengthen my motivation
My main ambition was…
I had always pursued my greatest ambition
It was an outstanding achievement
It was a remarkable achievement at first
It was doomed to failure from the start
It was a dismal failure
I was close to tears.
I was feeling weepy (sad)
Challenges and Motivation 1
Useful language:
She is talking to a priest.
She is wearing a polka dot dress
The man is wearing slippers.
He is going bald.
He also has some stubble on his face.
Couch /kaʊtʃ/
Lie (lying) lay lain (intransitive verb)
He is lying on the couch
Lay laid laid (transitive verb)
They are laying the rubber ring on the ground.
They are dragging the rubber ring down the lake.
They are wearing life vests
They are using ropes and wooden sticks for tying or pulling the rubber rings
They are climbing poles
They are wearing helmets
They are wearing a harness /ˈhɑː(r)nɪs/ around their waists
It was an overnight success
It was a resounding success
It was a roaring success (tremendous)
I was assured of success
I was delighted that he could do it
I was elated /iˈleɪtɪd/(very happy) by the prospect of the new job ahead
She was thrilled to bits (= extremely pleased) that he’d been offered the job
He was overjoyed (extremely happy) at my success
The English Department is astounded, amazed, taken aback, flabbergasted, dumbfounded, stunned, shocked, astonished, bowled over and staggered that we have such wonderful students...
It posed a challenge (to create a challenge that has to be dealt with)
It was a major challenge
I had to confront a big problem
I was a little apprehensive /ˌæprɪˈhensɪv/(worried or frightened) about the effects of what I had done
I felt a bit tense (nervous or worried)at first
He was always on edge (nervous) before an interview
I had to strengthen my motivation
My main ambition was…
I had always pursued my greatest ambition
It was an outstanding achievement
It was a remarkable achievement at first
It was doomed to failure from the start
It was a dismal failure
I was close to tears.
I was feeling weepy (sad)
Ready for CAE p 6. Nietzche on Hardship - A Guide to Happiness. Extra Listening
Since the late 1990’s, Alain de Botton has been breaking down difficult philosophical and literary ideas and seeing how they apply to people’s everyday lives. The episode above delves into Nietzsche’s belief that happiness only comes about with great effort and hardship. You can watch the remaining 5 episodes neatly displayed on one page here.
Ready for CAE p 6. Alain de Botton: A kinder, gentler philosophy of success
Alain de Botton examines our ideas of success and failure -- and questions the assumptions underlying these two judgments. Is success always earned? Is failure? He makes an eloquent, witty case to move beyond snobbery to find true pleasure in our work.
Readers for Advanced 2
Your assignments are:
A) You will choose one book from the list below. Tell your teacher which book you have chosen. (Deadline: 16 Oct). You will then read the book.
B) You will prepare a short presentation about it. (December)
C) After you hear everybody's presentations you will choose another book from the list. Tell your teacher which book you have chosen. (Deadline: 23 Dec). You will then read the book.
D) You will share your favourite quotes from the book with the rest of the class. Add some explanations (March).
E) Finally, you will choose a book different from the ones on this list. Tell your teacher which book you have chosen. (Deadline: 31 March). Read it!
F) Convince the class that the book you have chosen should (not) be on the Reading List next year. (May)
Reading List 2009-2010
1. The Hours is a 1998 novel written by Michael Cunningham. It won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It tells the stories of three women. The first is Virginia Woolf writing Mrs. Dalloway in 1923 and struggling with her own mental illness. The second is Mrs. Brown, wife of a World War II veteran, who is reading Mrs. Dalloway in 1949 as she plans her husband's birthday party. The third is Clarissa Vaughan, a lesbian, who plans a party in 1998 to celebrate a major literary award received by her good friend and former lover, the poet Richard, who is dying of AIDS.
2. Crossing to Safety is a 1987 novel written by Wallace Earle Stegner. It established itself as one of the greatest and most cherished American novels of the twentieth century. Tracing the lives, loves, and aspirations of two couples who move between Vermont and Wisconsin, it is a work of quiet majesty, deep compassion, and powerful insight into the alchemy of friendship and marriage.
3. The Brooklyn Follies is a 2005 novel by Paul Auster. The 60-year-old Nathan Glass returns to Brooklyn after his wife has left him. He is recovering from lung cancer and is looking for "a quiet place to die". In Brooklyn he meets his nephew, Tom, whom he has not seen in several years. Tom has seemingly given up on life and has resigned himself to a string of meaningless jobs as he waits for his life to change. They develop a close friendship, entertaining each other in their misery, as they both try to avoid taking part in life.
4. The World According to Garp is a 1978 novel by John Irving. The book was a bestseller for several years. Garp's world is filled with "lunacy and sorrow." His mother is a radically independent nurse who conceives him by taking advantage of a brain-damaged soldier. His best friend is a transsexual who was formerly an American football player for the Philadelphia Eagles. Garp struggles vainly to protect the people he loves. His life is both hilarious and ultimately tragic.
5. To Kill a Mockingbird is a 1960 novel by Harper Lee. It won the Pulitzer Prize. The story takes place during three years of the Great Depression in the fictional "tired old town" of Maycomb, Alabama. The narrator, six-year-old Scout Finch, lives with her older brother Jem and their widowed father Atticus, a middle-aged lawyer. Jem and Scout befriend a boy named Dill who visits Maycomb to stay with his aunt for the summer. The three children are terrified of, and fascinated with, their neighbor, the reclusive "Boo" Radley. The adults of Maycomb are hesitant to talk about Boo and for many years, few have seen him. The children feed each other's imaginations with rumors about his appearance and reasons for remaining hidden, and they fantasize about how to get him out of his house.
6. The Catcher in the Rye is a 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger. Holden shares encounters he has had with students and faculty of Pencey, whom he criticizes as being superficial. After being expelled from the school, Holden packs up and leaves the school in the middle of the night after an altercation with his roommate. He takes a train to New York, but does not want to return to his family's apartment immediately, and instead checks into the dilapidated Edmont Hotel. There, he spends an evening dancing with three tourist girls and has a clumsy encounter with a prostitute; he refuses to do anything with her and tells her to leave, although he pays her for her time. She demands more money than was originally agreed upon and when Holden refuses to pay he is beaten by her pimp.
A) You will choose one book from the list below. Tell your teacher which book you have chosen. (Deadline: 16 Oct). You will then read the book.
B) You will prepare a short presentation about it. (December)
C) After you hear everybody's presentations you will choose another book from the list. Tell your teacher which book you have chosen. (Deadline: 23 Dec). You will then read the book.
D) You will share your favourite quotes from the book with the rest of the class. Add some explanations (March).
E) Finally, you will choose a book different from the ones on this list. Tell your teacher which book you have chosen. (Deadline: 31 March). Read it!
F) Convince the class that the book you have chosen should (not) be on the Reading List next year. (May)
Reading List 2009-2010
1. The Hours is a 1998 novel written by Michael Cunningham. It won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It tells the stories of three women. The first is Virginia Woolf writing Mrs. Dalloway in 1923 and struggling with her own mental illness. The second is Mrs. Brown, wife of a World War II veteran, who is reading Mrs. Dalloway in 1949 as she plans her husband's birthday party. The third is Clarissa Vaughan, a lesbian, who plans a party in 1998 to celebrate a major literary award received by her good friend and former lover, the poet Richard, who is dying of AIDS.
2. Crossing to Safety is a 1987 novel written by Wallace Earle Stegner. It established itself as one of the greatest and most cherished American novels of the twentieth century. Tracing the lives, loves, and aspirations of two couples who move between Vermont and Wisconsin, it is a work of quiet majesty, deep compassion, and powerful insight into the alchemy of friendship and marriage.
3. The Brooklyn Follies is a 2005 novel by Paul Auster. The 60-year-old Nathan Glass returns to Brooklyn after his wife has left him. He is recovering from lung cancer and is looking for "a quiet place to die". In Brooklyn he meets his nephew, Tom, whom he has not seen in several years. Tom has seemingly given up on life and has resigned himself to a string of meaningless jobs as he waits for his life to change. They develop a close friendship, entertaining each other in their misery, as they both try to avoid taking part in life.
4. The World According to Garp is a 1978 novel by John Irving. The book was a bestseller for several years. Garp's world is filled with "lunacy and sorrow." His mother is a radically independent nurse who conceives him by taking advantage of a brain-damaged soldier. His best friend is a transsexual who was formerly an American football player for the Philadelphia Eagles. Garp struggles vainly to protect the people he loves. His life is both hilarious and ultimately tragic.
5. To Kill a Mockingbird is a 1960 novel by Harper Lee. It won the Pulitzer Prize. The story takes place during three years of the Great Depression in the fictional "tired old town" of Maycomb, Alabama. The narrator, six-year-old Scout Finch, lives with her older brother Jem and their widowed father Atticus, a middle-aged lawyer. Jem and Scout befriend a boy named Dill who visits Maycomb to stay with his aunt for the summer. The three children are terrified of, and fascinated with, their neighbor, the reclusive "Boo" Radley. The adults of Maycomb are hesitant to talk about Boo and for many years, few have seen him. The children feed each other's imaginations with rumors about his appearance and reasons for remaining hidden, and they fantasize about how to get him out of his house.
6. The Catcher in the Rye is a 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger. Holden shares encounters he has had with students and faculty of Pencey, whom he criticizes as being superficial. After being expelled from the school, Holden packs up and leaves the school in the middle of the night after an altercation with his roommate. He takes a train to New York, but does not want to return to his family's apartment immediately, and instead checks into the dilapidated Edmont Hotel. There, he spends an evening dancing with three tourist girls and has a clumsy encounter with a prostitute; he refuses to do anything with her and tells her to leave, although he pays her for her time. She demands more money than was originally agreed upon and when Holden refuses to pay he is beaten by her pimp.
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