Back into English March 29° Dear Diary, I’m writing this in my room – it’s almost midnight and I have to get up early tomorrow, but I can’t sleep. I have to think about my future! Every day my parents ask me, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”. The problem is: I don’t know! My mum always says, “Be a doctor!”. But she doesn’t understand – to be a doctor you have to study for a long time and that’s not my idea of fun. Also I’m really bad at Biology at school. My dad often says, “Be a pilot!”. Is he crazy? He knows I hate flying! Well, I’ve got Some ideas, of course. I really want to be a rock star. I like listening to music, too. I don’t play any instruments and I sing really badly – but there are lots of rock stars like that. Now I’m getting tired and my fingers are hurting, too. So I’m going to bed. Sometimes it’s easier to think about future in bed. I get my best ideas when I’m lying down. Or perhaps one more computer games? Decisions, decisions, decisions! Life is never easy! January 13° My mail Dear diary, I’m writing this in my room – it’s almost midnight and I have to get up early tomorrow, but I can’t sleep. I have to think about my future! Every day my parents ask me, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” . The problem is… I don’t know. My mother always says, “Be an architect!”. But she doesn’t understand. To be an architect you have to study for a long time. My father says, “Be a swimming coach!”. Is he crazy?!? He knows I hate swimming! Well, I have got some ideas of course. I really want to be an actress. I really like drama but I don’t sing and don’t dance very well. But there are a lot of actresses like that. Now I’m getting tired, so I’m going to bed. Sometimes it’s easier to think about future in bed. Or perhaps one more computer game? Decisions, decisions, decisions life is never easy! Back into English Hi Olivia, You can’t immagine what happened last night! Dad took us to a famous restaurant, but there weren’t many people there last night. “An unforgettable experience”, their website says. Well, it certainly was unforgettable. We ordered the “exotic surprise”. The first course was chicken and chips! The cicken was bad, but the chips were worse. Yuck! Than they gave us the “picnic-style special ham with strowberries”. You won’t believe what happened next. The waiter tried to put the plates on the table, but he dropped one. He picked the sandwich up the floorand gave it to mum. Mun asked him to throw the sandwich away. “Aren’t you hungry?” the waiter asked. My dad got really hungry and told him off. But he only laughed! I tried with the dessert. Icecream. No comment! Next time we’ll take you to the same restaurant! Love, Thomas My mail Hi Michael! You can’t immagine what happened last night. Mum took us to the circus, because my sister loves that, but there weren’t a lot of people there last night. “An unforgettable experience” the newspaper says. Well, it certainly was unforgettable! During the show there were horses, lions, elephants and dogs. Finally there was a clown… he was really funny! He had to do a magic show and he wanted three volunteers: two boys and a girl. And that girl was I! I danced and the boys played the guitar! It was fantastic! I loughed a lot! Next time we’ll take you to the same magic show! Love, Martina P.S : Those boys and I are in the same school! Unit 1 Objectives Grammar: • Past continuous • Past continuous vs. past simple • When / while Vocabulary: • Phrases with get • Music Functions: • Describing past activities Unit 1 - Vocabulary Inventions Invenzioni Boot Chewing gum Dishwasher Mouse trap Needle Remote control Roller skates Trye Wheel Windscreen wipers Scarpe, stivali Chewing gum Lavastoviglie Trappola per topi Ago Telecomando Pattini Pneumatico Ruota Tergicristallo Hi Jean! My mail How are you? I’m fine. Do you know how was made the chewing gum, for example? Well, yesterday, during my English lesson, the teacher was talking about inventions. She said that it was invented by Thomas Adams in 1869 while he was trying to produce rubber out of the juice he got from Mexican sapodilla trees. He wanted to produce toys, rain boots and bycicle tyres, but he experiment didn’t work. While he was thinking about why his experiment failed, he took a piece of the rubber he was working on and put it in his mouth. Do you know how was made the windscreen wipers? It was invented by Mary Anderson while she was going to New York with a friend on a rainy day in 1903. Mary was watching other people driving their cars when suddenly, she got an idea: she invented a moving arm made of metal with a piece of rubber on it because they had to open their car windows and put their heads out to see better. Do you know any other inventions? Speak you soon, Martina Unit 2 Objectives Grammar: • Comparative and superlative adjectives • Intensifiers with comparatives • Adverbs / comparative adverbs Vocabulary: • Adjectives and their opposites • Sport and sports rules Functions: • Making comparisons • Describing sports events Unit 2 - Vocabulary Sport Sport Archery Basketball Football High jump Javelin Marathon Match Sprint Team Volleyball Tiro con l’arco Basket Calcio Salto in alto Giavellotto Maratona Partita Scatto Squadra Pallavolo Hi Mark! My mail Do you know what is my favourite sport? It is basket and I have loved it since I was a child. My father was a basket coach and his team was very important for him. One of the most important champions is Michael Jordan, of course, and I hope that I will be like him in the future. I think he is the best player that I have ever seen and he’s very funny! This can be crazy, but my mother hates basket!! She loves swimming and she think that Federica Pellegrini is one of the best swimmers in the world. Do you like sport? If yes, who is your favourite player? Love, Martina Unit 3 Objectives Grammar: • Will / won’t, might / may (not): predictions • If / unless + first conditional Vocabulary: • The environment Functions: • Predicting future events • Talking about future possibility • Discussing environmental problems Unit 3 - Vocabulary The environment L’ambiente Air Atmosphere Cycle lanes Dam Destroy Factory fumes Global warming Pollution (levels) Rubbish Solar panel Temperatures Aria Atmosfera Piste ciclabili Diga Distruggere Fumi industriali Riscaldamento globale (livelli di) Inquinamento Spazzatura Pannelli solari Temperature Dear Sirs, I am writing to express my opinion on some of the changes you have introduced the last month. First of all, I would like to say that I agree with improving all public transport and I think that the new electric buses will be very successfull. The new cicle lanes may also help to reduce the level of pollution because I am sure that more people will cycle if they feel safe. I would also thank you for introducing the recycling banks. However, I am not happy about the plan to build an underground railway. It will take a long time and it will be too expensive. I hope you will consider my opinion and willcontinue to listen the people who voted for you. Yours faithfully, Steve Jones My mail Dear Sirs, I am writing to express my opinion on some of changes you have introduced the last month. First of all, I would like to say that I agree with improving all public transport and I think that the new buses will be very successfull. The new recicling banks will also help to reduce the level of pollution in the air city. However, I’m not happy about the plan to build new flats in the city centre. It will take a long time and it will be too expensive. I hope you will consider my opinion and that you will continue to listen to the people who voted for you. Yours faithfully, Martina Friuli Unit 4 - Vocabulary North American English British English Italiano Apartment Cab Candy Cookies Elevator Pants Soccer Subway Vacation Flat Taxi Sweets Biscuits Lift Trousers Football Underground Holiday Appartamento Taxi Caramelle Biscotti Ascensore Pantaloncini Calcio Metropolitana Vacanza Hi there! My name’s Ben Barners, I’m 15 year old. My interests are music, computers and travelling. I play the lead guitar in a band called Cool Cats, and after only a year we’ve already had quite a lot of success. We haven’t made a CD yet, but that is next on our agenda. I spend a lot of time using the computer and I’ve just bought a new one that we can use for recording. The software is quite complicated, so I haven’t really worked out how to use it yet. I’ve already travelled quite a lot. I’ve just recently come back from a really great holiday in Barcelona. Have you been there? It’s great! Well, that’s all for now, folks! Get in touch! Love, Ben My mail Hi there! My name’s Martina Friuli, I’m 15 years old. My interests are dancing, travelling and music. I have synchro-dance and hiphop twice a week in a school called “Shall we dance?”. I have already had a lot of success, in fact I won a lot of competitions. I usually travel three times a year with my parents. I love Italy and my favourite city is Rome. I spend a lot of time listening to various kind of music like modern, and house. I also like going to the disco with my friends on some Saturdays night. Well, mum is calling me so I can’t write any more. Love, Martina Unit 5 Objectives Grammar: • Present simple passive • Let / be allowed to Vocabulary: • Describing a person’s age Functions: • Describing a ceremony • Talking about permission Unit 5 - Vocabulary Ages Età Baby Child Elderly person Lifespan Lifetime Middle – aged person Pensioner Teeneger Toddler Young adult Neonato Bambino Anziano Arco di una vita Durata della vita Persona di mezza età Pensionato Adolescente Bambino piccolo Ragazzo MY MAIL Hi Daniel! I was surfing on internet this morning and I was reading about the Niowra tribe and its rites and I want to talk to you about this. On the island of Papua New Guinea, the Niowra tribe lives near Sepik river, which is full of crocodiles. These people believe that crocodiles made the Earth and its people. When it is time for a teenager boy to become man, an unusual and painful ceremony takes place: a crocodile ceremony. The boys are taken to a hut called The Crocodile Nest that is full of skulls and crocodile teeth. The boys are treated very badly and bamboo is used to make cuts on their chests and their backs. Knives are not used because bamboo is When the ceremony is over and the boys are out of the hut, there is singing and dancing. Do you know another tribe with unusual rites? Speak you soon, Martina Unit 6 Objectives Grammar: • Present perfect simple with ‘for’ and ‘since’ • For vs. since Vocabulary: • Verb and noun pairs Functions: • Talking about unfinished situations Unit 6 - Vocabulary Verb and noun pairs Espressioni verbo + sostantivo Have a drink Have a good time Have a good laught Have an argument Have fun Make a fool of yourself Make a joke Make friends Make funny faces Make plans Bere qualcosa Divertirsi Farsi una bella risata Litigare Divertirsi Fare la figura del cretino Fare una battuta Fare amicizia Fare le smorfie Fare progetti Hi Jason! My mail Yesterday I was reading my sister’s English book and I discovered some information about the power of humor. Do you know that the old saying “Laughter in the best medicine” is true? Well, doctors have found that it is true. People in England, every two years in spring, put on a red nose and do things to make themselves and others laugh. People can buy a red nose in supermarkets or in other shops and parts of the money goes to the Comic Relief wich is an organization that helps people in need. This organization has helped people for more than twenty years now. In New Zeland, for example, people have made big red noses which they put on in front of cars and even buildings! What do you think? Love, Martina Unit 7 Objectives Grammar: • Past simple passive • A / an, the or zero article Vocabulary: • Disasters Functions: • Talking about natural disasters Unit 7 – Vocabulary Disasters Disastri Avalanche Car crash Drought Earthquake Flood Greenhouse effect Homeless Huge Hurricane Locust Valanga Incidente stradale Siccità Terremoto Alluvione Effetto serra Senzatetto Enorme Uragano Locusta Hi Carl! My mail I am really worried about the climate changes. Today, during Geography lesson, our teacher was talking about the global warming and especially of Tuvalu. It will soon become the first city to be uninhabitable because of the climate changes and the rising sea levels. Tuvalu is near Fiji, that is a group of nine islands. Geograhically, the tiny country is the fourth smallest in the world after Monaco, Vatican and Nauru. In the summer Tuvalu gets severe hurricanes that have recentely become more frequent and they have damaged houses and buildings. They also have killed the fish in the seas around the island. The fish are an important source of food for this people. The Tuvalu government has begun a programme to reduce the level of the emission of greenhouse gases, but this will not change the situation, and eventually, the Tuvaluans will have to leave their island. What do you think? Speak you soon, Martina Unit 8 Objectives Grammar: • Too much / too many: not enough • Will vs.be going to Vocabulary: • Homes Functions: • Describing quantity • Talking about the future: decisions and promises Unit 8 - Vocabulary Homes Case Accomodation Basement Block of flats Bungalow Camper van Caravan Cave Cottage Detached house Semi – detached house Alloggio Seminterrato Condominio Casa ad un solo piano Camper Roulotte Caverna Casetta di campagna Villetta unifamiliare Casa bifamiliare Hi Jason! My mail I am just returned from a holiday in a cave of Granada. It was unforgettable! If you are looking for a different kind of holiday, I am sure that in this historic caves you will have a holiday that you’ll never forget! There have been cave dwellers for more than thousand years. A cave house in Andalusia can be anything from a small country cottage to a fully equipped cave guesthouse. Some caves have a swimming pool too. You won’t want to leave because the temperature in the cave is around 18-20° C and you’ll sleep better in a cave than in a normal hotel. You won’t believe how calm you feel! Try it! Love, Martina Unit 9 Objectives Grammar: • Determiners • Must / mustn’t vs. don’t have to Vocabulary: • Sleeping and waking • Multiple intelligences Functions: • Talking about memory • Talking about obligation, prohibition and lack of necessity Unit 9 - Vocabulary Sleeping and waking Dormire e svegliarsi Be asleep Be awake Bedtime Dream Get up Go to bed Go to sleep Nightmare Sleep in Talk in your sleep Wake up Essere addormentato Essere sveglio Ora di andare a letto Sognare Alzarsi Andare a letto Addormentarsi Incubo Restare a dormire Parlare nel sonno Svegliarsi Hi Phil! My mail Yesterday I was surfing on Internet and I founded some information about our brain. The brain is very light and makes up the only two per cent of total body weight, but it needs about 20% of the oxygen that the body takes in. After five to ten seconds without oxygen, we lose consciousness: this means that we can’t think well in rooms that are stuffy. When you read something that you want to remember, tell a friend about it. Don’t over–train your brain and it’s better to study a lot of material for a small amount of time than a small amount of time for a lot of time! If you have to remember something big, break it down into smaller sections. One of the best ways of remembering is to make “pictures” on the “movie screen” of your mind in fact experts say that our brain works a lot in pictures. Nice, isn’t it? Reply soon, Martina Unit 10 Objectives Grammar: • Present perfect continuous • Present perfect simple vs. continuous Vocabulary: • Music and musical instruments Functions: • Talking about unfinished situations • Talking about repetition and continuation up to now Unit 10 - Vocabulary Music and instruments Musica e strumenti Acoustic guitar Clarinet Classical Drum group Drums Electric guitar Flute Jazz Keyboards Percussionist Songwriter Chitarra acustica Clarinetto Classica Gruppi di percussioni Batteria Chitarra elettrica Flauto Jazz Tastiere Batterista Autore di canzoni Hi Sarah! My mail I am just returned from Salvador! It was a fantastic holyday! If you take a walk in the streets of Salvador, you’ll soon hear music - probably the amazing rhythm of drum groups, or the sound of a berimbau. Most tourists don’t go to the small neighbourhood of Candeal. Candeal is where Carlinhos Brown was born in 1962. Carlinhos became a musician and has had a lot of success. Since 1982, he has been a major player on the Brazilian pop scene. In the 90s, he became known internationally as the leader of the musical group Timbalada. They recorded eight albums and toured various countries around the world. Unit 11 Objectives Grammar: • Defining relative clauses • Used to Vocabulary: • Medicine Functions: • Talking about past habits • Talking about health Unit 11 - Vocabulary Medicine Medicina Ambulance Backache Disease Headache Infection Pill Skin disease Smallpox Stomach ache Toothache Vaccine Ambulanza Mal di schiena Malattia Mal di testa Infezione Pillola Malattia della pelle Vaiolo Mal di stomaco Mal di denti Vaccnino Hi Carmen! Yesterday, I was surfing on Internet and I discovered some information about medicine in the past. Since the beginning of time, people have had illnesses and doctors have tried to cure them. In the days when people knew very little about medicine, some very strange and horrible cures were tried. Here are some of the worst! TOOTHACHE Ancient Egyptians who had toothache, used to find a dead mouse and put it in their mouth, leaving it there for a few hours. But who knows if it take the toothache away? BACKACHE People who suffer from it can experience a lot of pain. Sometimes it’s because a vertebra is out of position. In Ancient Greece, doctors used to tied the patient to a ladder, pulled the ladder up high and then let it fall to the ground. The vertebra went back to the right place. But this ‘cure’ probably caused more backache than it cured! BALDNESS Men whose hair is falling out are never happy about it. The Ancient Egyptians took the fat of a lion, a hippopotamus, a cat and a snake, mixed them together - and then rubbed the mixture into the man’s head. Maybe it stopped baldness, maybe not. SCROFULA In the middle age people who had scrofula, a common skin disease could easily get rid of it - they just had to get the king or queen to touch them. Love, Martina Unit 12 Objectives Grammar: • Second conditional Vocabulary: • Information technology and computers Functions: • Talking about immaginary situations Unit 12 - Vocabulary Information technology Informatica Adaptor Copy Download Headset Log on Offline Online Printer Screen Virtual Website Adattatore Copiare Scaricare Auricolari Entrare Disconnesso Connesso Stampante Schermo Virtuale Sito web Hi Joel! My mail I am an interviewer and yesterday I asked two teenagers from the USA about what they think of the Internet. Question 1: How often do you use the Internet, and what for? Kylie: I use it every day. I write emails, I chat, and I have my own blog on myspace. com. If we didn’t have the Internet, life would be really boring, I think! Brett: I use it a lot too. I have my own web page, and I use it to write about my hobbies and my interests. I also post videos quite often. Question 2: If a friend asked you to recommend a really good website, which one would you recommend? Kylie: l would say agirlsworld.com! It gives girls advice on what to do in difficult situations, but it’s also fun, and there’s some interesting reading stuff. Brett: If someone asked me that question, I wouldn’t know what to say. I visit so many websites. There isn’t definitely one website that I would recommend. Question 3: Do you ever listen to podcasts? Kylie: Oh, absolutely. And I sometimes send in my own files. I think it’s great that you can say what you think and other young people all over the world can listen to you. Brett: No way! I haven’t got the time. But even if I had more time, I would bother with videocasts. Question 4: If you were offered a job in computing, would it be of interest to you? Kylie: I want to work with people. You can meet thousands of people on the web, but I’d rather meet real people in my job. I’d like to be the manager of a big Internet company - with lots of people! Brett: Definitely. If I had the chance, I’d like to work as a web designer. I like creating my own things. Unit 13 Objectives Grammar: • Narrative tenses: past perfect / past simple / past continuous Vocabulary: • Noun suffixes –r, -er, -or and –ist Functions: • Describing events in the past and earlier past Unit 13 - Vocabulary Noun suffixes Suffissi dei sostantivi Archaeologist Astronomer Biologist Decorator Farmer Inventor Juggler Plumber Receptionist Ruler Archeologo Astronomo Biologo Imbianchino Agricoltore Inventore Giocatore Idraulico Portiere Governante Hi Patrik! My mail Yesterday, I was reading my sister’s Geography book and I read some information about Mayans. In 1848, in Guatemala, a man called Ambrosio Tut went out into the jungle. Tut was a gum-collector, looking for gum in the jungle. On one particular day, he saw to the top of a tree. He saw the tops of some old buildings. Tut knew it was something special. He ran to tell the local governor, and together they walked into the jungle. There they found Tikal, the city that the Mayans had built many hundreds of years before. The two men saw temples and pyramids, squares and houses, and palaces where kings had lived when the Mayan people ruled the region. Between 200 and 900 AD, the city of Tikal had been the centre of Mayan civilisation in the region, but then, for some unknown reason, the Mayans left it, and after 1000 AD, the jungle began to cover it and people soon forgot where it was. Seven years before Tut looked out from the trees, two British explorers had written a report about Mayan treasures but they hadn’t mentioned Tikal. Local Indians had told European travellers about a great city hidden in the trees, but no one had listened to them. Now archaeologists went there immediately to see it. Nice, isn’t it? Love, Martina Unit 14 Objectives Grammar: • Reported statements: say, tell • Reported questions: ask • Third conditional Vocabulary: • Noun suffixes: -ation and –ment Functions: • Reporting statementsand questions in the past Unit 14 - Vocabulary Noun suffixes Suffissi dei sostantivi Accomodation Advertisement Enterainment Donation Improvement Management Payment Presentation Quotation Reservation Treatment Alloggio Pubblicità Divertimento Donazione Miglioramento Gestione Pagamento Presentazione Citazione Prenotazione Trattamento Hi Peter! Yesterday, during lunch, I was reading the newspaper and I read an unusual article. It says that in 1962, a Croatian music teacher named Frane Selak got on a train to go to Dubrovnik. He didn’t know that it was the beginning of almost 40 years of accidents and near-death experiences. During the journey, the train came off the tracks and fell into an icy river, killing 17 passengers. Selak managed to swim back to the shore. He had a broken arm and he needed treatment for shock. A year later, Selak was on a plane from Zagreb to Rijeka when a door suddenly opened and he fell out. A few minutes later the plane crashed; 19 people were killed. Selak woke up in a hospital. He had been lucky -he’d landed in a haystack. In 1995 he was hit by a bus but had again no major injuries. Then, in 1996 he was driving on a mountain road when he saw a lorry coming straight at him. He drove the car off the road, jumped out, landed in a tree-and watched his car explode 100 meters below. If he hadn't jumped out and if the tree hadn’t been there, he would have died. In June 2003, aged 74, Selak bought his first lottery ticket in 40 years and won more than €1 million. Selak said he was going to enjoy his life from then on. In 2004 a TV company in Australia said they wanted him to make an advertisement. At first he accepted, but then he changed his mind. Selak said he wouldn’t fly to Sydney for the filming. If he had accepted the invitation, maybe he would have had another accident. But Mr. Selak is a lucky man. If he’d had another accident, he probably would have survived that too! Crazy, isn’t it? Write me soon, Martina