And here we aare again! Another year (2011) teaching English to future teachers in Chile. I'll make sure to blog interesting, curious and funny stuff in English in the days to come. Cheers!

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER EXERCISES FOR TMS 7TH GRADERS!!!!

I. Complete with the right word. (for-off-with-up-down-out-)

1. I offered to help you ______ your work.

2. She always hits my head_____.

3. A lot of people turned ____ at the stadium.

4. Why are you always apologising ____ things which are not important.

5. My sister broke ____ with her boyfriend yesterday.

6. I have nowhere to go, can you put me ___ for the night?

7. That's an excellent opportunity, don't turn it ______.

8. Teachers have to put ____ _____ a lot of strange situations.

9. When she went to Japan, she picked ___ a lot of Japanese.

II. Put these sentences into indirect speech (reported speech)

1. "I'm tired of your bad temper." she said.

2. "Did you finish your homework?" she asked me.

3. "And we will visit France and Italy," she said.

4. "We are going to have a great time here," he promised.

5. "How old are you?", he asked Susan.

III. Complete with either I wish or If only.

1. ________ there was something to do here.

2. ________ I didn't have to work so much.

3. ________ I hadn't failed the exam.

4. ________ it wasn't so hot.

5. ________ I was rich

ANSWERS.

I. 1.with 2.off 3.up 4.for 5.up 6.up 7.down 8.up with 9.up

II. 1. She said she was tired of his/her bad temper. 2. She asked if I had finished my HW.

3. She said they would visit France and Italy. 4. He promised we were going to have a great

time there. 5. He asked Susan how old she was.

III. 1. If only. 2. I wish. 3. If only. 4. If only . 5. I wish. GO FOR IT TOMORROW!!!!!

Sam the Ham

EXERCISES FOR 7TH GRADERS PREPARING THEIR END OF TERM TEST 2008

I. Put the definite/indefinite article where necessary:

1. _____ Games are good for health.

2.He went to Beijing for ______Olympic Games.

3. ____ Cats I breed are all Siamese.

4. ____ Cats are intelligent animals.

5. Have you lost _____ money I gave you?

6. The children rode_____elephant when they visited the zoo.

7. They are going to get ____designer to design their new house.

II. Put the commas of non defining clauses where necessary.

1. The horse that I selected won the race.

2. John whose wife is ill cannot come to the party.

3. The son who works in the office is twenty-two.

4. The eldest son who is in the army is twenty-four.

5. Here is the chair which is worth $70.

6. Lake Windermere which is 10 miles long is the longest lake in England.

III. Complete these sentences with the correct time sequence.

1. If John hadn't shown me the way, I_______________________

2. If you hadn't called me, I ______________________________

3. They ____________________, if they had known how.

4. The soldiers ______________________, if they had been given clear orders.

5. If the students________________________, they would have passed their examinations

6. We would have played the tennis match, if it ________________________(not rain)

ANSWERS:

I. 1.nothing 2.the 3.the 4.nothing 5.the 6.an 7.a

II. 1.nothing 2.,whose wife, 3.nothing 4.,who is in the army, 5.nothing 6.,which is 10 miles long,

III. 1.would have not arrived here. 2.would have missed the TV show. 3.would have helped us

4. would have fought better. 5. had studied harder. 6. hadn't rained.

I'll try to send some more exercises later tonight. Bye! Sam the Ham

TMS 9th graders last minute exercises for the Unit Test!!(Here's Johnny!)

I. Relative Clauses. Complete these sentences using the right clauses.

A. The English novelist X,(1)_______ most famous character is Hercule Poirot, was born in Torquay in 1891. The Mysterious Affair at Styles,

(2) ______began her career, appeared in 1920. Poirot,(3)_______ is a Belgian detective, is the hero of many of her mystery stories, some of the most famous of(4)_______ are The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and Murder on the Orient Express. Curtain, in(5) _______ Poirot dies, appeared in 1975. The thing (6)_______ characterizes her stories is the clever plots, (7) _______always have a surprising twist at the end.

B. Combine these sentences with relative clauses putting commas where necessary.

A red herring is a kind of clue. A red herring leads nowhere.(that)

Agatha Christie died in 1976. Her mystery and crime novels are very popular. (whose)

Many plays have appeared on the London stage. The Mousetrap is the most successful ever. (which)

II. Modals.Complete these sentences with the correct form of must, have or need.

1. I. ________ to work today because it's a national holiday.

2. I ________ to go to the doctor the other day as I felt terrible.

3. You ______ work harder if you want to pass the exam.

4. You ______ eat too much; it's very bad for you.

5. ____ we ____ to bring our sleeping bags to camp?

III. Vocabulary.

The tallest buildings in a city are also called ___________________

A situation in which you feel overwhelmed by work is ____________

Those tiny particles suspended in the air also contribute to_________

People who suffer from agoraphobia can't stand the ______________

That old palace is so neat that you can tell it's been ________________

Not very common these days but attractive, i.e. __________________

Something that has been used for too long _____________________

When your day is full of activities is called a _ _ _ _ _ _ day!

Answers: I. A. whose, which, who, which,which,which/that,which.

B. A red herring is a kind of clue that leads nowhere.

Agatha Christie, whose mystery and crime novels are very

popular, died in 1976.

The Mousetrap is the most successful play which/that has

ever appeared on the London stage.

II. 1. don't have to

2. had to

3. need to/must

4. must not

5. Do (we) need to/have to

III. / skyscrapers/stressful/pollution / crowds/ well looked-after/

/quaint/shabby/hectic/

OK, young intellectuals, that's all for now. Good luck tomorrow!

Sam the Ham

Lifesaver for TMS 10th graders a few hours before their Unit Test.

I. Vocabulary. Circle the odd one out in each group.

e.g. scooter- racing bike- coach-motorcycle (coach is the odd one )

1. car- bus- coach- double decker

2. train- monorail- tram- limo

3. helicopter- ferry-plane-cable car

4. soap-film-series-genre

5. request-listener-surfing-news

6. screen-broadcast-live-circulation

7. western-comedy-editorial-drama

8. tabloid-magazine-camera-newspaper

* If you know the meaning of all these words you'll do great tomorrow!

II: Future Forms. Complete the senetences with the right future form.

1. Unless you buy the tickets now, you _________ have a chance to go to the stadium to see the match.

2. As soon as I finish this test I __________ leave the school.

3. The documentary on school cheaters _________ shown tonight.

4. My brother ____________ to get the ticket tomorrow morning.

5. I promise I ____________ send you mails everyday.

6. We ____________ to travel to Viña this coming weekend.

7. This time next year I expect we ___________ doing the same.

8. By the time I get home the news programme _________ finished.

III. Writing . What are the differences between a report and an article?

Characteristics Report Article

title yes yes

paragraphs no yes

headings yes no

sections yes no

bullet points yes no

formal opening yes no

personal references no yes

rhetorical questions no yes

IV. Opinions about the past.Complete with might have/can't have/

must have/could have (plus) past participle. (also should/could)

1. The Mayflower crew and passengers _____________ very brave.(be)

2. Columbus ___________ both fear& excitement when he traveled to distant and unknown lands. (feel)

3. If Chile had invested more money in preparing more athletes we________________(win) more medals in Beijing.

4. The Spanair plane crash _____________ (happen) because someone didn't do his technical work properly.

5. The Chilean swimmer for the open sea event _____________

(prepare) better at least to finish the race.

ANSWERS. 1. car 2 limo 3 ferry 4. genre 5. surfing 6. circulation

7. drama 8. camera

1. won't 2. will 3. will be 4. is going 5. will 6. are going

7. will be 8. will have

1. must have been 2. may/might have felt

3. could have won 4. must have happened

5. should have prepared

**2 Bonus Points for those students who write on their tests the names of the 2 countries where the news about a rabbit who shot a man and the one about a man found frozen originated. (yes, Direct page 148 )

That's all folks! Good luck in your test tomorrow!

Sam the Ham

Adrian Mole Vocabulary & Quiz for TMS 9th graders only!

Vocabulary for Crossword in alphabetical order:

allowance / apron / corduroy / crate / dairy / epiphany / latchkey / lorry / malingerer / midget / mongrel / row / rugger /shed /spots / sulking / tap / treacle / wages / yukky /

Quiz . 1. Which of these is not one of Adrian's New Year's resolutions? a) stop squeezing spots

b)be kind to the dog

c) hang trousers up

d)to get a paper round

2. On New Year's Eve, what does the dog get drunk on?

a) cherry brandy

b)cider

c)raspberry brandy

3. What's the name of Adrian's spoilt friend?

a) Nigel

b)Paul

c)Barry

d)Clive

4. On Sunday 11th, Adrian calls himself an intellectual because he understood every word spoken by which man?

a) Malcom Muggeridge

b) John Sargent

c) John Travolta

d)William Shakespeare

5. What's the title of the first poem Adrian writes?

__________________________

6. Which of these books Adrian does not borrow from the library?

a)Origin of Species

b)Pride and Prejudice

c)Care of the Skin

d)Crime and Punishment

7. What's the name of the old person that Adrian looks after ?

a)Thomas Trotter

b)Ernie Edwards

c)Bert Baxter

d)Stuart Sanderson

8. This old man has a dog, What is the dog's name?

_______________________

9. What is the name of the girl of Adrian's dreams?

________________________

10. What is going on between Adrian's mom and Mr Lucas?

__________________________

Good Luck! See you tomorrow!

Sam the Ham 54 3/4

For TMS students who are on vacation, but are always in touch with English.

How about a few riddles for fun? (answers at the end )

1. What's the difference between a jeweler and a jailer?

2. Why isn't your nose twelve inches long?

3. What goes 99-clump,99-clump,99-clump?

4. Where did Noah keep his bees?

5. Which is faster-hot or cold?

6. What did the boy when the Statue of Liberty sneezed?

7. What does the sneezing champion of the Olympics win?

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

/One sells watches, while the other one watches cells./ Because then it would be a foot./

/A centipede with a wooden leg./In the Ark hives./ Hot's faster. You can catch cold./

/God Bless, America!/A Cold Medal/

How about some crazy crosses to continue? (answers at the end.)

1. What do you get if you cross a termite with a house?

2. What do you get if you cross a foot and a rocket?

3. What do you get if you cross Michael Wilson and a pool table?

4. What do you get if you cross a skeleton with a great detective?

5. What do you get if you cross two insects and a rabbit?

6. What do you get if you cross a ham and a karate expert?

7. What do you get if you cross a mosquito and an elephant?

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

/An exterminator/ Mistletoe / A billiard bald/ Sherlock Bones / Bugs Bunny /

/ Pork chops / I don't know, but if it bites you, you're in real trouble./

And in the third place, how about some dizzy daffinitions? (instant answers if you guess right.)

1. Illegal : a sick bird.

2. Trojan Horse : A phony pony.

3. Willpower : Eating only one peanut.

4. Bread : Raw toast.

5. Cartoon: A song sung in an automobile.

6. Denial: A river in Egypt.

7. Paradox: Two medical doctors.

OK, folks, see you on the 28th! Enjoy your vacation and don't forget to smile!!

Sam the Ham

TMS 9th graders still trapped in Act II of "An Inspector Calls"

Check out these content questions and see if you can answer them.

2nd QUIZ ON “AN INSPECTOR CALLS” (9TH)
I. Answer the following questions as completely as possible? (2 points each)
1. Why do Gerald and Sheila react “bitterly” to each other?
2. Who was Daisy Renton and how did she meet Gerald?
3. What did Sheila hand in Gerald after she talked to the Inspector?
4. Who did Mrs. Birling recognize in the photograph shown to her by the Inspector?
5. How did Mrs. Birling meet Daisy Renton?
6. Why was Mrs. Birling prejudiced against the case of Daisy Renton?
7. Why are Mr. And Mrs. Birling frightened at the end of Act II?

II. Answer the following questions briefly. (1 point each)
Who got Eva Smith sacked from Milwards? __________________
Who, according to the inspector, are more impressionable? _________________
Who has more reason to take offence in the inquiry? ______________________
Who is used to drinking a lot for the last couple of years? __________________

Who met Daisy at the Palace in Brumley? _____________________________ (answers tomorrow)

Vocabulary: /disturbing/sacked/vindictive/morbid/trifle/pretences/

/lad/haunt/carcass/womanizer/sot/rogue/concoction/

/hard up/slip/mistress/ That was all folks! See you tomorrow!

Sam the Ham