glossary link

Reading

• Do you believe that there is life on other planets? Why?

• Are you aware of any attempts that have been made to communicate with extraterrestrials?

Vocabulary & Grammar

PHRASAL VERBSWITH 'COME'

• come about 1 happen; take place: the relative speed with which emancipation came about. 2 (of a ship) change direction.

• come into suddenly receive (money or property), especially by inheriting it. he came into an inheritance.

• come up with produce (something), especially when pressured or challenged: he keeps coming up with all kinds of lame excuses.

• come round chiefly Brit. (chiefly US also come around) 1 recover consciousness: I'd just come round from a drunken stupor. 2 be converted to another person's opinion: I came round to her point of view. 3 (of a date or regular occurrence) recur; be imminent again: Friday had come round so quickly.

• come up against be faced with or opposed by: I'd come up against this kind of problem before.

IDIOMS WITH PARTS OF THE BODY

• I´m all ears

• I got cold feet (become too nervous to take part in a difficult or dangerous situation)

• turn a blind eye (hacer la vista gorda)

• Those designer glasses must have cost you an arm and a leg

• I´m all fingers and thumbs when it comes to anything mechanical

• Break a leg! (theatrical slang good luck!)

• he´s my own flesh and blood

• He keeps his head whatever the problem

Writing

AN OPINION ESSAY OUTLINE

1. INTRODUCTION

   1. Introduce the subject to the essay

2. MAIN PART

   1. Choose two main aspects of the issue

   2. Group related ideas in two paragraphs and support them with justification/examples

3. CONCLUSION

   1. Summarise your points

   2. State your overall opinion of the issue

Speaking

Glossary

endorse |ɪnˈdɔːs, ɛn-| (US & Law also indorse)

verb [ with obj. ]

1 declare one's public approval or support of: the report was endorsed by the college.

handout |ˈhandaʊt|

noun

1 a quantity of financial or other material aid given to a person or organization: dependence on central government handouts.

2 a piece of printed information provided free of charge, especially to accompany a lecture or advertise something.

peak ¹ |piːk|

noun

1 the pointed top of a mountain. tatters of fog clung to the peak of the mountain.

• a mountain with a pointed top. he climbed his last Swiss peak at the age of 80.

2 a projecting pointed part or shape: whisk two egg whites to stiff peaks.

• Brit. a stiff brim at the front of a cap.

• the narrow part of a ship's hold at the bow or stern. further storage is found in the bow peak.

• the upper, outer corner of a sail extended by a gaff. [ as modifier ] : the peak halyard.

3 the point of highest activity, quality, or achievement: he was at his peak as a cricketer | package holiday sales hit a peak of around 12 million.

• a point in a curve or on a graph, or a value of a physical quantity, higher than those around it. a slight increase in velocity provides a second peak on the general velocity curve.

cluster |ˈklʌstə|

noun

a group of similar things or people positioned or occurring closely together: clusters of creamy-white flowers | they stood there in a frightened cluster.

unmanned |ʌnˈmand|

adjective

not having or needing a crew or staff: an unmanned level crossing.

idle |ˈʌɪd(ə)l|

adjective (idler, idlest)

1 (of a person) avoiding work; lazy: idle students.

• (of a person) not working; unemployed. 10.3 per cent of the workforce is now idle.

• (especially of a machine or factory) not active or in use: the mill has been standing idle for eight years.

verb

1 [ no obj. ] spend time doing nothing: four men were idling outside the shop | [ with obj. ] : we idled the afternoon away.

attempt |əˈtɛm(p)t|

verb [ with obj. ]

make an effort to achieve or complete (something difficult): she attempted a comeback in 2001 | [ with infinitive ] : troops shot civilians who attempted to flee.

noun

an effort to achieve or complete a difficult task or action: [ with infinitive ] : an attempt to halt the bombings.

• an effort to surpass a record or conquer a mountain: an attempt on the unclimbed north-east ridge.

probe |prəʊb|

noun

1 a blunt-ended surgical instrument used for exploring a wound or part of the body.

• a small device, especially an electrode, used for measuring, testing, or obtaining information.