Workbook -4-5 (class date 23.10.2023)
1.1. What is it about? - The text is about N'Kisi, an African grey parrot living in New York, known
for its exceptional ability to hold conversations. The parrot has a vocabulary of nearly 1,000
words, has mastered basic grammar and sentence construction, and is believed to be the first to
develop its ability to create its own language. The owner, Aimee Morgana, describes the parrot's
conversational abilities, including making up sentences 15 words long and considering past,
present, and future tenses.
1.2. Who are the main characters? - The main characters in the text are N'Kisi, the African grey
parrot with remarkable linguistic abilities, and Aimee Morgana, the owner and an artist with an
interest in animal behavior. Professor Donald Broom is briefly mentioned as an expert on the
cognitive powers of animals.
1.3. Where do you think the text is taken from? - The text does not explicitly state its source, but
it appears to be a news or feature article, possibly from a science or animal behavior-related
publication. It could also be from a popular media outlet reporting on the unique abilities of
N'Kisi, the African grey parrot.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2.1. Where does N'Kisi live? - in New York
2.2. What can he do that other parrots can't? - N'Kisi can hold conversations and is believed to
be the first parrot to develop its ability to create its own language. This goes beyond the typical
mimicry of human speech seen in other parrots.
2.3.What else, besides speaking, have African greys been known to do? - Besides speaking,
African grey parrots have been known to carry out complex tasks, such as completing jigsaws
when the pieces fit into shaped holes. They can also respond to circumstances, like saying
'good night' when the lights are turned off or 'goodbye' when a coat is put on.
2.4. How many words does Aimee Morgana think N'Kisi knows? 5 How old is N'Kisi? - Aimee
Morgana believes that N'Kisi's vocabulary is in the region of 972 words.
2.5. How old is N'Kisi? – 6 years old.
2.6. What has the parrot had difficulty doing? - The parrot has had difficulty with some linguistic
conventions, as mentioned in the text. For example, when trying to put 'fly' into the past tense,
N'Kisi said 'flied' instead of 'flew,' similar to the way young children might make grammatical
errors.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3.1.a running commentary - Continuous narration or ongoing commentary
3.2.to mimic - Imitate
3.3.making up - Creating or inventing
3.4.cognitive powers - Mental abilities or intellectual capabilities
3.5.to carry out - Execute or perform
3.6.complex - Complicated or intricate
3.7.chipped in - Contributed or added
3.8.linguistic conventions - Language rules or language norms
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4. He is believed to be the first to develop this ability into creating his own language.
The bird, according to her, takes into account past, present, and future tenses.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5.
Infinitive
Past Tense
Past Participle
take
took
taken
teach
taught
taught
make
made
made
form
formed
formed
be
was/were
been
spend
spent
spent
find
found
found
say
said
said
use
used
used
speak
spoke
spoken
give
gave
given
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6.
1.Progress has been made recently on plans for the new IT building.
2.Last year, more money was spent on new computer terminals than on anything else in the
department.
3.It is said that more research is needed into whether mobile-phone masts are dangerous to
health.
4.Latin is rarely spoken nowadays.
5.Grey parrots are known to speak.
6.When you enroll next Tuesday, you will be given more details of the course.
7.Ice forms when the temperature of water is below freezing point.
8.Information on a range of subjects can be found on the Internet.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7.
1,2. It is very common to send a text message to a friend these days.
3. N'Kisi has learnt to talk.
4. The Principal will give a speech at the end of term.
5. In order to be heard, you need to speak clearly into the microphone.
6. I often call my friends to have a chat about college.
7. It's good to have someone you can have a conversation with.
8. Give me a call sometime, and we'll arrange to go out somewhere.
9. If you want to attract someone's attention from a distance, you can always yelling.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8.
tell - c) an answer
whistle - f) a tune
ask - a) a question
speak - b) a foreign language
offer - d) advice
make - h) a speech
have - g) a lie
express - e) surprise
Class date: 30.10.2023
3.1 exercise 2 questions 1 and 2:
1–C
2–C
Questions 3 – 9:
Pears – A
Microsoft – I
Procter & Gamble – C
Ford – G
Yamaha – F
Tesco – H
Coca Cola – K
Class date: 13.11.2023
4.2 exercise 2 questions 1 – 4:
1 – conformity
2 – status
3 – norm
4 –evaluation
Questions 5 – 7:
5–D
6–B
7–C
Class date: 04.11.2023
5.1 exercise 5 questions 1 – 10:
1 – performance and value
2 – meat
3 – resist
4 – 3.74 kgs
5 – 50 %
Questions 6 – 10:
6 – sandwich bag
7 – bread industry
8 – garbage
9 – 1973
10 – 15 cents
Class date: 11.12.2023
6.2 exercise 2 questions 1 – 8:
1–C
2–A
3–B
4–C
5–B
6–A
7–C
8–B
Class date: 18.12.2023
7.2 exercise 2 questions 1 – 4:
1–D
2–E
3–C
4–B
Questions 5 – 9
5–E
6–A
7–D
8–B
9–F