December's here and relaxing time too!
We're proud of you for having sat for the Advanced Exam. Now it's your turn to chill out ;)
Happy holidays!!!
Tuesday 13 December 2016
Thursday 22 September 2016
The Open Window by Saki
Hector Hugh Munro (18
December 1870 – 14 November 1916), better known by the pen name Saki, and
also frequently as H. H. Munro, was a British writer whose witty,
mischievous and sometimes macabre stories satirize Edwardian society and culture. He is considered a master of
the short story, and often compared
to O. Henry and Dorothy
Parker.
Hector Hugh Munro was born
in British Burma,
which was then still part of the British Raj, and was governed from Calcutta under
the authority of the Viceroy of India.
At the start of the First
World War Munro was 43 and officially over-age to enlist, but he refused a
commission and joined the 2nd King Edward's Horse as an ordinary
trooper. He later transferred to the 22nd Battalion of the Royal
Fusiliers, in which he rose to the rank of lance sergeant. In November
1916 he was sheltering in a shell crater near Beaumont-Hamel,
France, when he was killed by a German sniper.
Munro has no known grave. After
his death his sister Ethel destroyed most of his papers and wrote her own account of
their childhood.
Munro was homosexual, but in
Britain at that time this was a crime. It meant "that side
of [Munro's] life had to be secret". Munro was a Tory and somewhat
reactionary in his views.
1. Vera cunningly makes sure that Framton Nuttel
will have no reason to suspect her story is fiction. What three pieces of
information does she extract from Framton before she begins her dramatic tale?
2. If Framton had stayed in the room when the
three returned, he would have soon realized that the men were not ghosts,
and that Vera had been pulling his leg all along. What do you think he would
have said or done? How would Vera have handled the situation?
3. The story is told from Framton´s point of view,
but what did Vera think of him? Why did she play such a trick on him?Write a
short entry for her diary that day, describing Framton through her eyes and the
success of her trick. You could begin:
Such a BORING little man came to visit today.
Luckily, my aunt was upstairs when he arrived....
Wednesday 10 August 2016
Tuesday 9 August 2016
Paper 4 Speaking - Part 3
1. Be prepared to ask your partner
for his or her opinion rather than simply stating your own. For example:
'What do you think?'
'How about you?'
'Do you think ...?'
2. Listen carefully' to what your
partner says and respond to comments he or she makes to help the discussion
flow. For example:
'Do/Have/Are you?'
'Don't/Haven't/Aren't you?'
'Do you think so?
'Really?'
3. If you disagree try expressing
this politely. For example:
'I see what you mean but ...'
'I can see your point but ...'
'But don't you think ...'
4. Use expressions to allow
yourself time to think. For example:
'That's a good question.'
'Well, let me think ...'
'It's difficult to say ...'
5. You'll possibly find you don't
understand something your partner has said. If this happens, take control with
simple questions like those below to help you deal positively with the
situation.
A) If you didn't quite understand a
word or phrase just say something like:
"Sorry but could you explain
what you mean by ........" or
"I haven't come across that
word/expression before. Could you explain what you mean?"
B) If you didn't hear or didn't
understand something your partner has said, ask them to repeat it:
"Sorry, I didn't catch that.
Could you say that again?"
"Excuse me. Could you repeat
that?"
C) Alternatively, you might want to
confirm what you think your partner said so you could say something like:
"Do you mean ........"
"When you say ........, are
you asking/do you mean ........?"
Friday 5 August 2016
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