2º Bachillerato Semipresencial

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.

                 B1 level. New English File Intermediate


B2 level. New English File Upper-intermediate

       
B2 Level. New English File Advanced

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First things first




Verb tenses table


En estos vídeos puedes ver la formación de los diferentes tiempos verbales, en inglés y en español.









Explicación en español 



URLURL


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Primer trimestre
1ª Unidad de la plataforma: A continuación se encuentra el mapa conceptual con los contenidos que se trabajarán en esta unidad.





Paco travels to South Africa: Paco arrives in South Africa

Paco en avión
Reading

As you know, Paco has already left the United States and his next stop is Africa. He wanted to visit all the continents not only to meet new people but also to know new cultures and customs. Although he has improved his English a lot in the United Kingdom and the United States, he has chosen a country where English is one of the eleven official languages, South Africa, to begin his visit in this interesting huge continent.

At the moment he is flying to OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. The plane took off a long time ago and in a couple of hours he will arrive at the airport. He gets really excited whenever he has to travel by plane. He prefers to travel by train, car or coach. However, he knows that the plane is safer and faster than any other means of transport. Unfortunately, if he wants to visit all the places he is thinking of in Africa, he will have to take the plane more than once during his stay. The first time Paco flew was when he went from Madrid to London, and he didn't like the experience very much. Although it was a safe big British plane, he felt really nervous from the beginning to the very end of the flight. And he is as nervous now as he was then.
He is sitting next to a smart medium-aged American business man who has realized Paco is nervous wreck. The man is wearing a grey suit and a flamboyant blue and green tie. He has got short dark hair, thick eyebrows, and a hooked nose. When Paco sat down, the man was reading a book and Paco noticed he was clean-shaven.
Man: Is this your first flight?
Paco: Oh, no, it isn't. But I can't help getting highly strung when I fly.
Man: Don't you worry! It's really safe to fly nowadays. In fact, it's said that flying is the safest way of travelling. It's better than trains or coaches, and faster, of course. Although it's also much more expensive, isn't it?
Paco: Yes, it is. However I feel less nervous when I use the train or the coach. Fortunately, I don't mind how expensive it is, but it's the quickest way of travelling from the States to Johannesburg. In a couple of hours, I'll be on solid ground, at last.
Man: Look! The more worried and nervous you are, the worse for you. If I were you I'd try to have a nap before landing. You'll feel far better when you wake up.
Paco: Thanks a lot. I'll try!


Read the text carefully paying attention to the tenses used, and the word order in sentences. If you need any help, have a look at Click here.
In this topic, your main aim is to identify and recognize verb tenses (Present Simple, Present Continuous, Past Simple and Past Continuous), comparative adjectives and adverbs, as well as comparative sentences. Pay attention to the adjectives in front of nouns, that is, adjectives in attributive position, too.


Presente simple explicación





En esta web tienes la explicación del Presente Simple por escrito y se complementa con ejercicios interactivos para que consigas asimilarlo.






How to write an essay: 10 easy steps


Linking words, examples



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Pasado simple



Past continuous, aquí puedes ver la formación y el uso del pasado continuo, además de algunos ejercicios para practicarlo.



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Listado de verbos irregulares




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4. Airplanes are safer than cars 

Comparatives & Superlatives: Video and exercises




As we now know, adjectives are used not only to describe things, people and places, but also to compare them. Remember that we make comparisons by adding suffix -er to short adjectives and using the adverb more in front of longer ones. We will study it in depth later in the unit. Now, just have a look at the following chart to be able to recognize the comparative sentences that appear in the text in Section 1.

By Vicente Alfonso. C. Commons
By Vicente Alfonso. C. Commons
 


Comparative
Conjunction
Older, newer, longer, shorter
than
more interesting
more expensive
than 


Have a look at the photos above. We could say, for example: The photo on the left is older than the photo on the right or The picture on the right is more recent than the picture on the left.

Remember that comparison is a property not only of adjectives but also of adverbs. It describes the degree to which the modifier (adjective or adverb) modifies its complement (nouns in the case of adjectives and nouns, other adjectives and even other adverbs in the case of adverbs).
We will study two degrees of adjectives and adverbs: 


Comparative Superlative
safer / more interesting safest / most interesting
more friendly most friendly

There are lots of means of transport. The car is probably the one that most people use. However it is not the safest way of travelling. In fact, road traffic accidents are one of the most common sources of personal injury. And everybody knows that the bigger the car's engine, the greater chance of car accidents. 



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Paco has just arrived in Johannesburg. At the moment, he is having a drink in the bar of the hotel. In a couple of weeks he is going to Cape Town. Although he is thirsty and really tired, he wants to meet some new people before going to bed so that he can get further information about the country. He needs to plan his stay in Africa. He has an idea of the places he is going to visit, but he'd rather be sure he doesn't miss any interesting place in this continent. He isn't in a hurry, but he thinks that the sooner he knows where to go after Cape Town, the better. He feels like visiting different places in Africa and he is ready to get all the information he needs tonight.
   
Sitting at a table, Paco is enjoying a fantastic huge soft drink which is making him feel far better. He doesn't like alcohol, so he always has soft drinks. As you now know, he doesn't like flying. He gets really anxious on planes. He hopes the book the man on the plane recommended him helps him get over this fear. However, now he is relaxed and relieved. He won't have to fly in several weeks!

He is so thirsty that he is drinking very quickly. In fact, the glass is not empty yet and he has just ordered another drink. While the waiter is placing it on the table, Paco asks him:

Paco: Good evening, my name's Paco and I'm from Spain. I've just arrived from the United States and I'm spending several weeks in your country. Could you tell me anything about it?

Waiter: Good evening, sir. Well, The Republic of South Africa, also known by other official names, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa. The South African coast stretches 2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) and borders both the Atlantic and Indian oceans. To the north of South Africa lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while the Kingdom of Lesotho is an independent enclave surrounded by South African territory.

By Anonymous. Public Domain
Our country is known for its diversity in cultures, languages, and religious beliefs. Eleven official languages are recognised in the constitution. English is the most commonly spoken language in official and commercial public life; however, it is only the fifth most-spoken home language. South Africa is ethnically diverse, with the largest Caucasian, Indian, and racially mixed communities in Africa. Although 79.6% of the South African population is Black, this category is neither culturally nor linguistically homogeneous. People within this classification represent a variety of ethnic groups and speak a number of different Bantu languages, nine of which have official status. Midyear 2007, the South African population was estimated at 47.9 million. About a quarter of the population live on less than US$ 1.25 a day.1

(Paco gets dumbfounded, as the waiter repeated all that information by heart!)

Paco: Than... Thank you very much!

Waiter: You're welcome, sir.

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2. Paco is relaxing in the hotel's bar (present continuous)

Suddenly, Paco can hear some music in the background. He is enjoying his drink and relaxing quite a lot. A new song is played and he pays attention to it. It helps him relax.
This is the song Paco listens to, Things I'll never say, by Avril Lavigne. Listen to it carefully paying attention to verb tenses and pronunciation.



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Tema 3: Paco travels to South Africa: Paco used to wear a mac in England


1.1 Did they realize what was happening? (Past simple)






Remember that to make questions and negative sentences in the Present Simple tense we need the verb to do (except with the verb to be and modal verbs). Now, we know that the past simple of the verb to do is did, and this is the auxiliary verb we need to make questions and negative sentences in the Simple Past. Have a look at the following examples taken from the song paying attention to how the bare infinitives of the sentences change.
 
 
Affirmative sentences
Question
Short answer
This old guitar taught me to sing a love song
Did this old guitar teach me to sing a love song?
Yes, it did / No, it didn't
It opened up her eyes and ears to me
Did it open up her eyes and ears to me?
Yes, it did / No, it didn't
It showed me how to laugh and how to cry
Did it show me how to laugh and how to cry?
Yes, it did / No, it didn't
It introduced me to some friends of mine
Did it introduce me to some friends of mine?
Yes, it did / No, it didn't
It brightened up my days
Did it brighten up my days?
Yes, it did / No, it didn't
 

1.2 What did you do last weekend?(Past Simple)




1- How long has he been reading the paper? 
2- How long has he been talking on the phone? 
3- How long has he been using the computer?
4- How long has she been crying?
5- How long has he been looking out the window?  

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Important

Remember the rules when adding -ing and -ed to a verb:


-ING  -ED
  • Normally just add -ing: work - working.
  • If the verb ends in -e, eliminate it before adding -ing: live - living.
  • If the verb ends in consonant + vowel + consonant, double the consonant: stop - stopping.
  • If the verb ends in -y, DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING!: study - studying.
  • The general rule is: add -ed to the infinitive form (work-worked).
  • If the verb ends in 'e': just add -d (live-lived).
  • If the verb ends in consonant+vowel+consonant: double the consonant before -ed (stop-stopped).
  • If the verb ends in consonant + y: change 'y' to 'i' and add -ed (study-studied). 

Ve a la plataforma y haz los ejercicios de la unidad


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Tema 2.- Paco has decided to visit Sierra Leone and Kenya: I've just arrived in Sierra Leone

Paco has just arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leona. As you know, he wanted to visit several other places in Africa before going to the mines of diamonds in this country. However, as almost always, he saw a documentary on TV which made him decide to come to Freetown first. Before visiting the mines, he has also decided to write a letter to Andrés and the rest of his friends. So, he has written the letter, and at this very moment he is reading it...
 
Dear friends,
By inkognitoh. C. Commons
My first thought was to write to everyone. But my plans have just turned upside down the past few days. I've just arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leone. A documentary about this country in the west of Africa made me change my mind and come to visit the diamond mines here. I'm willing to learn about and visit the mines here, so I'm afraid I won't have enough time to write a letter or postcard to everyone. That's why I'm writing this letter to you all. By the way, Andrés, thank you very much for your phone call last week. You've always been very kind and supportive. Well, all of you have always been very kind and supportive!
As you know, I've left South Africa, but not under the circumstance I would have wished. In fact, I'm rather sad and disappointed that I witnessed such a cruel scene in the Apartheid museum. I think white people have never treated black people as they deserve in that country. I really hope things change in the future. In any case, things have changed quite a lot there since the apartheid was ended in 1994. However, after staying there, I believe that some vestiges of the apartheid have remained in the country.
Well, anyway, now I'm here, in Freetown; and, although I have come to another country which hasn't got over the long civil wars it has suffered for the last 15 years, I really hope to have a good time and learn lots of things about this country and its people. I'll let you know about it as soon as I can.
Take care and let me know about you all!
Paco.
Read Paco's letter carefully paying attention to the tenses he uses.

Simple Past or Present Perfect Simple, exercises

Simple Past / Present Perfect, exercises 3

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Tema 3.- Paco has decided to visit Sierra Leone and Kenya: Paco had never thought of his heritage before.

The Past Perfect is formed with the Simple Past of the verb to have: HAD, and the Past Participle of the main verb: -ed in regular verbs and the third column in irregular verbs.

Affirmative
Negative Interrogative
He had asked her to come.
He had not (hadn't) asked her to come.
Had he asked her to come?
Angela had left everything in order.
Angela had not (hadn't) left everything in order.
Had Angela left everything in order?
Some of their very few tiffs had been about her diary.
Some of their very few tiffs had not (hadn't) been about her diary.
Had some of their very few tiffs been about her diary?

 After visiting the diamond mines in Koidu, Paco did not not feel like going anywhere else. So, he stayed at the hotel and opened the book he was reading, a collection of short stories. He started reading and a passage from "The Legacy", by Virginia Woolf, called his attention:

It was like Angela to have remembered even Sissy Miller, her secretary. Yet how strange it was, Gilbert Clandon thought once more, that she had left everything in such order —a little gift of some sort for every one of her friends. It was as if she had foreseen her death. Yet she had been in perfect health when she left the house that morning, six weeks ago; when she stepped off the kerb in Piccadilly and the car had killed her.   
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  1. Had Paco left everything in order? (Past Perfect)

Write sentences in the Past Perfect tense. Pay attention to negative and interrogative sentences!
1. Paco / the diamond mines / never / visit / before.
.
2. Angela / give / as a present / her husband / What?
?
3. When Angela / she / leave / her values / died / to her best friends.
.
4. Sissy / him / phone / before / arrived / at his house / she?
?
5. Paco thought / he / leave / in order / not / everything.


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1. 1- Paco had already seen the film (Past perfect)

Fill in the blanks with either a Past Simple or Past Perfect tense of the verbs in brackets.


Paco   (see) the film before he (win) the lottery. Leonardo DiCaprio was one of his favourite actors. He remembers that the day he  (go) to the cinema to see the film, he could not pay the ticket, since he  (lose) his wallet. He had no money. Andrés  (pay) it for him. He   (already read) what the film  (be) about. He was very interested in the plot. So, he  (enjoy) the film a lot. By the time he  (purchase) the dvd, together with others in February, he  (see) the film twice.
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Tema 4.- Kenya, a new adventure

 In this topic we are going to focus on the differences between Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Continuous, also having a look at the words 'for' and 'since'. Then, we will focus on the modal verbs 'must', 'have to' and 'needn't'.
The next point will be expressions with the verb 'to be'. And finally we will have a look at the structures 'be used to' and 'get used to'.

 Paco has just started a new adventure. He has flown to Kenya because he has decided to experience an African safari. Although hunting in Andalusia has been very popular for many years, Paco would not like to kill an animal. He just wants to see the amazing fauna and flora.
He has arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, which is situated about 20 km from Nairobi city centre. Paco has decided to stay in the capital city of Kenya for a couple of days first and, then, experience the safari adventure. There are many choices for accommodation. He has booked a hotel in Nairobi and later on he will join an organized safari group. As Paco is on his own, he thinks it will be a better idea. He will sleep in a camp for a few days, surrounded by the amazing views and hearing the noises of wild animals.
In the hotel room, he has been watching documentaries about Kenya since he arrived, and he has been reading about the different wildlife reserves for over an hour, all of them containing numerous animal species. He has learned there are many options but, finally, he has chosen to go to Maasai Mara, a large park reserve, which is in fact the continuation of the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania.
He has also learned a few interesting facts. For example, the country's name, Kenya, comes from Mount Kenya, which is the highest mountain in the country and the second highest peak in Africa (after Kilimanjaro). It has also been an important landmark for a long time.
The name of the reserve Paco has chosen to visit, Maasai Mara, is called like that because the Maasai people inhabit the place and the river Mara crosses this region. These people are semi-nomadic and one of the most important tribes. The two official languages in Kenya are Swahili and English so, again, Paco won't have any problems in communicating with the native people. It's such a good thing to speak English!
Read the text and identify all the examples of Present Perfect Simple and Continuous that you can find in the text. 

Read the text again and decide if the following statements are true or false:
1. Paco has decided to go hunting for the first time.
Verdadero Falso
2. Paco is experiencing the safari on his own.
Verdadero Falso
3. He will stay in a hotel in Nairobi first.
Verdadero Falso
4. He is going to visit Maasai Mara park reserve.
Verdadero Falso
5. Mount Kenya is the highest peak in Africa.
Verdadero Falso

6. The Maasai people live in that region.
Verdadero Falso

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1.1.- Paco has flown to Kenya. (Present Perfect)

Remember the -ed spelling rules you need for the Present Perfect Simple and the -ing spelling rules you need for the Present perfect Continuous.
-ING-ED 
  • Normally just add -ing: work - working.
  • If the verb ends in -e, eliminate it before adding -ing: live - living.
  • If the verb ends in consonant + vowel + consonant, double the consonant: stop - stopping.
  • If the verb ends in -y, DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING!: study - studying.
  • The general rule is: add -ed to the infinitive form (work-worked).
  • If the verb ends in 'e': just add -d (live-lived).
  • If the verb ends in consonant+vowel+consonant: double the consonant before -ed (stop-stopped).
  • If the verb ends in consonant + y: change 'y' to 'i' and add -ed (study-studied).
Transform the following sentences into the negative and the interrogative forms.
1. Paco has booked a hotel in Nairobi.
NEGATIVE:        .
INTERROGATIVE:        ?
2. Paco has been reading about the different wildlife reserves for over an hour.
NEGATIVE:             .
INTERROGATIVE:             ?
3. The Maasai people have been living in the region for many years.
NEGATIVE:            .
INTERROGATIVE:            ?
4. Mount Kenya has been an important landmark for a long time.
NEGATIVE:           .
INTERROGATIVE:           ?

Ahora ve a la plataforma y consulta las formas correctas.
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Read the sentences and decide if they must go in the Present Perfect Simple or Continuous. Remember:
PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLEPRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS 
-It emphasizes the result of an activity.
-How many times an activity happens.
-It emphasizes the process of an activity.
-How long an activity continues.

1. I _________________________ these magazines all morning.
a) have read
b) have been reading

2. They _____________________ 20 pages so far.
a) have translated
b) have been translating

3. How many poems ________________________ today?
a) have you read
b) have you been reading

4. You look tired! _________________________ today?
a) Have you worked
b) Have you been working

5. ________________________ the postcard yet?
a) Have you sent
b) Have you been sending

Si consultas la plataforma encontrarás el ejercicio resuelto.

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Bloque II



UNIT 4: PACO TRAVELS TO SOUTHEAST ASIA
  • TEMA 1: Planning next few days in Southeast Asia.

1.- Paco travels to Southeast Asia: Planning next few days in Southeast Asia


As you will have read in the starting story, Paco has just flown from India to Karachi (Pakistan). From there he is going to travel to Saigon, the capital city of the former South Vietnam. He has booked a connecting flight. It's two o'clock in the morning and the plane is taking off at 5.30 A.M. So, he has enough time to plan his travel along the Southeast coast of Asia...
sala de espera
Imagen deVmzp85 bajo licencia CC
Paco is sitting comfortably and he is reading a health notice about H1N1 flu he has been given at the passport control. Although he is healthy, he thinks: 'Buff, what would have happened if I had felt some of these symptoms during my journey?...Uh I will stop reading this, I would rather read this magazine about Pakistan...'.
First he reads an article about the Pakistan women national cricket team and about their good results recently. This strikes Paco because he knows that in this country sexual discrimination is rather common.
Second, he reads a report about how the World will be in the 22nd century, he is astonished with sentences like this: 'unless we reduce pollution to a minimum, half the species living in our planet will disappear in the next few years'. He feels rather distressed about what he is reading and besides he is beginning to nod off, so he closes the magazine.
But this pleasant moment is broken by the ringing of his mobile; 'Oh my God', he mutters angrily, 'it's Laura, She will have come back home from Portugal'. He answers:
Paco: Hello, girl. How are you?
Laura: Hi boy, is it you? You are speaking English! Incredible!
Paco: Yeah! I have learnt a lot.
Laura: It's great! Quickly because the battery is low, we are going to buy tickets for the Sudoeste festival in Portugal, would you like to come?
Paco: I don't know, if I came back home in time, I would surely go.
Laura: Ok, we will buy the ticket for you anyway.
Paco: I will call you in some days and tell you, I promise.
Laura: Uh, I hope so. Are you going to visit Vietnam? My friend....
Paco: Oh, we are cut off!

Read the text carefully paying attention to the tenses used. If you need any help, have a look at Click here.


In this topic, your main aim is to identify and recognize the expressions we use for the future (will future, going to future, present continuous for future, future perfect), and the different types of conditionals.


2.- We are going to buy tickets for the Sudoeste Festival (Be going to)



Future with the 'be going to' form

This form is composed of three elements: the appropriate form of the verb 'to be' + 'going to' + the infinitive 
of the main verb:

Subject Verb to BeGoing tobare infinitivecomplements 
Wearegoing tobuytickets for the Sudoeste festival
Pacoisn'tgoing totravelto Cambodia
Are yougoing tovisitVietnam?

In topic 2 we will study the different uses of this tense.




















New Year Resolution while focusing on the form and use of ‘going to’ to express personal intentions.


3. If the plane is on time, I will book a trip to the Mekong Delta (Conditionals)

First Conditional, for real possibility.


If I win the lottery, I will buy a car.





















Oraciones condicionales, Primer tipo: Cuando hay una posibilidad real en el futuro de que ese resultado o condición ocurra. Por ejemplo, es por la mañana, estás en casa, planeas jugar al tenis por la tarde, pero hay nubes en el cielo, imaginas que puede llover, qué harías?  For example, it is morning. You are at home. You plan to play tennis this afternoon. But there are some clouds in the sky. Imagine that it rains. What will you do?

If it rains I will not play tennis.
If it doesn't rain, I will play tennis





4. Unless you have your ticket, you won't get on the plane

Reading activity

boarding card
It's five o'clock in the morning and passengers are called to gather at gate 12. Paco is on the line and just in front of him there is a girl who has lost her boarding card, she is talking to the air assistant despairingly...
Air hostess: Sorry madam, but unless you have your boarding card you won't get on the plane.
Girl:But, I can't find it. Maybe it is on the chair I was sitting.
Air hostess: Well, you can go there and look for it. Providing that the boarding pass is there, you will get on the plane.
Girl: But what happens if I'm late for boarding.



Air hostess: Don't worry madam, if you are in a hurry we will wait for you.
Girl: Well, I will go then, thank you.
Air hostess: Welcome!

Ten minutes later Paco is on board trying to asleep.

Could you identify the conditional conjunctions used in the passage?:






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Second Conditional

IFconditionresult
past simpleWOULD + base verb
IfI won the lotteryI would buy a car.




Zero  type: If, unless, provided that + Presente, oración principal + Presente

If you spend more than one day in the city, you can go to the zoo. Si pasas más de un día en la ciudad, puedes ir al zoo.

First  type:  If, unless, provided that + Presente, oración principal + Futuro simple (will + infinitivo).
If I'm not tired, I will have a walk around. Si no estoy cansado, daré un paseo.

Second type: If, unless, provided that + Pasado simple, oración principal + condicional (would + infinitivo)

If Peter finished with his homework on time, he would go to the gym. Si Peter terminara sus deberes a tiempo, iría al gimnasio.

If I were a rich person, I would live in Bahamas. Si fuera rico, viviría en las Bahamas.

Third  type: If, unless, provided that + Past Perfect (pluscuamperfecto), oración principal + condicional compuesto (would +have+ participio)


If I had decided to spend more days in London, I would have visited some museums. Si hubiera decidido pasar más días en Londres, habría visitado algunos museos.

She would have visited Tom in the hospital if she had known he was there. Ella habría visitado a Tom en el hospital, si hubiera sabido que él estaba allí.

If you had had a mobile phone, you could have phoned me. Si hubieras tenido un móvil, me podrías haber telefoneado.

Completa:

If she hadn't written to me, .......
Paul would travel around the world if........
The baby will eat the food if.........
My friend would have bought the tickets if......................
I could have passed the test if........
If I were you, I..........


Third Conditional




EXERCISES




4.- If I finished early, I would go with you (second conditional)
After visiting the Hoa Lo prison and having lunch in a traditional Vietnamese restaurant (noodles with chicken and papaya fruit juice), Paco returns to the hotel at about three p.m. The morning receptionist is still there and as soon as he enters the lobby, she gives Paco a note.

By Avlxyz. Creative Commons. 
The note says: 'Hello, my colleague has given this note to me. I'll be at the hotel at 3.30 P.M'. So Paco decides to go to his room to have a rest for an hour and continue reading the book.
After the reading he has a shower 'now hot, now cold, now torrid again' and he is choosing the clothes to wear. He wants to be smart, so he is spending some time to take the right decision. He thinks, 'if I had my white shirt with thin black stripes here, I would put it on', but he has not got this shirt, so he takes a light blue T-shirt he bought in India. Now he is ready to go downstairs to the lobby to meet Phuong and invite her to the puppet theatre.
Certainly, Phuong is already at the reception desk when Paco is at the lobby. He goes towards the desk and greets Phuong. He is a little bit nervous...
Phuong: What about the Temple of Literature, did you like it?
Paco: Yes I did. It was a good recommendation, thank you.
Phuong: Welcome. I read your note. I like water puppets a lot. But it is going to be very difficult, there is too much work today; if I finished early, I'd go with you.
Paco: OK. Then you can tell me later.
Phuong: I will. Bye.
Paco: See you later, then.
Paco goes out for a walk. He is pessimistic and thinks there is little possibility that Phuong goes with him to the theatre. He carries his book with him and sits on a bench near the lake to go on reading.

Identify the two second type conditionals in the passage. Notice the contracted form for the conditional tense in the second one.
Which degree of possibility does this type of conditional denote?

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Paco travels to Southeast Asia: Hong Kong: The fragrant 

harbour


 In this unit we will deepen in the study of some special cases for conditional sentences such as inversions or the use of other connectors like "provided/ providing (that), as long as or unless". Finally we will work on how to write an opinion essay.
Definitely Hong Kong is Paco's last destination in Asia. He has just arrived in Hong Kong International Airport with his new French friends. They are now travelling on the Airport Express train to Hong Kong Island... 



Here Paco is, comfortably seated in a modern train towards Hong Kong Island with three French planning what to do in the next three days in this crowded town...
Airport express
  Imagen deBaycrest bajo licencia CC
While the French are speaking in their native language, Paco is attentive to the signs in the train. He finds one of them specially difficult to translate. It says: 'Were you to take the ferry, you would have to buy the ticket before at the ticket office in the harbour'. Just at that moment he listens to the train speakers saying something that he cannot understand very well, either: ' ...next station Kowloon town, should you travel to China, get off the train here'.
Then Eric interrupts:
Eric: We can lodge in a Hostel around Causeway Bay, where I stayed last time I was here. We could book two twin rooms provided that there were any vacancies.
Paco: It's OK for me.
Marie: Oui, this is a very good area to explore the city from. We may walk around unless it rains a lot because the weather forecast predicts heavy rain in the evening.
Brigitte: Don't worry about the rain. As long as it rains we can travel by tram, there is an excellent tram network in this city.
Eric: I know, you are always so lazy to walk!



The two sentences in bold are too difficult for Paco to understand, why?
In the passage there are three connectors functioning as in conditional sentences, can you identify them?


Planning for the Sydney Opera House began in the late 1940s, when Eugene Goossens, the Director of the NSW State Conservatorium of Music, lobbied for a suitable venue for large theatrical productions. The normal venue for such productions, the Sydney Town Hall, was not considered large enough. By 1954, Goossens succeeded in gaining the support of NSW Premier Joseph Cahill, who called for designs for a dedicated opera house. It was also Goossens who insisted that Bennelong Point be the site for the Opera House. Cahill had wanted it to be on or near Wynyard Railway Station in the northwest of the CBD (Sydney central business district).


By Diliff. C. Common

A design competition was launched by Cahill on 13 September 1955 and received 233 entries, representing architects from 32 countries. The criteria specified a large hall seating 3000 and a small hall for 1200 people, each to be designed for different uses, including full-scale operas, orchestral and choral concerts, mass meetings, lectures, ballet performances and other presentations. The winner, who was announced in 1957, was Jørn Utzon, a Danish architect. The prize was £5,000. Utzon visited Sydney in 1957 to help supervise the project. His office moved to Sydney in February 1963.

1 Adapted from Wikipedia.org

Read the passage carefully. Then, answer the following questions:

1. According to the text, why was Sydney Opera House built?

2. According to the text, did the project for building Sydney Opera House attract much interest?

3. Which Englishman is considered one of the most important founders of Australia?

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