Friday's Assignment

Task 1:

Listen to this link  and then fill in the blanks with the missing words as you listen to the audio.

Lon: What’s this? 

Abigail: It’s a …memo……… about a …safety inspection….. scheduled for next week. 

Lon: A safety inspection? How are we ever going to pass a safety inspection? 

Abigail: What do you mean? This isn’t an …unsafe…………… workplace. We’ve had a good record. None of our employees have had …on the job……….. injuries this year and we’ve never had a …fatality…………... I don’t understand why you’re so worried. 

Lon: From what I’ve heard, the inspectors don’t just look at injury rates. They look for the smallest …hazard… that may be …remotely dangerous………………. If we get cited, we may be …shut down…………………... 

Abigail: …With all due respect……………………., I don’t think that’s how it works. Yes, the inspector will look at our work environment and our …gear………… and machinery to make sure there are no hazards or …toxic……… substances. 

Lon: That’s what I’m worried about. 

Abigail: But, if they find a …violation…………., we’ll get a chance to fix the problem. They won’t shut us down without giving us a chance …to comply…………… with their …safety standards……………………………... 

Lon: I sure hope you’re right. 

Abigail: Me, too. We’ll know after next week’s inspection. 

--------------------------

What a wonderful field trip. 

It was my first time to go to the Black Creek Village. How peaceful and vivid place.

It was sunny and not windy although it snowed a little in the early morning yesterday.  When the school bus departed from our LINC school, everything became interesting and exciting, e.g. the weather, the atmosphere, our feeling, and so on. My friends chatted each other, accompanied with the singing and laughter on the whole way to our destination. We shared  some English songs and different countries songs together. In addition, it was my first experience for taking school bus in Canada. It recalled my elementary school memory in my country. How unforgettable student's life!

Furthermore, a nice and slow speaking tour guide gave us a clear and brief introduction walking around the village, it was helpful to practice listening everywhere and every time.

Finally, I'd like to say everything was good, but just only one thing maybe need to improved, which was trip time.

The longer time, the better experience.

All in all, I learned a lots yesterday. As the same new comers. there was worse situation and scarcer resources  for old people living in 150 years ago. The past people could survive so well, they were enough smart to fight against the bad nature condition, they could find the funny of  life,  and they knew not to waste any resource. For us, living in the modern societies, we think that have no excuses to escape our lives.

  

Wednesday's Assignment

Grammar in Context: Prepositional Collocations

Task 1:

Complete the sentences below with the correct verb or adjective followed by an appropriate preposition (e.g., for, to, with, about).

thank	apply	inform	respond
inquire	upset	interested	complain
invite	sorry	concerned	apologize

1. I would like to ..apologize for....my absence at the meeting.

2. I am ..concerned about ...the lack of supervision in the playground.

3. I am writing to ..complain about ..the poor service I received at your store.(to person)

4. I am very ...sorry about....... not being able to meet the deadline.(for person e.g., Iris )

5. We would like to ...invite......you..to............ the ABC Company’s open house on Saturday, June 16 at 1:00 p.m.

6. I am writing to ..respond to....you the new budget proposal.(inform about)

7. I would like to take this opportunity to ...thank..............you .. for...........  being a loyal customer over the years.

8. I am ...interested in........ finding out about the training programs that you offer.

9. I am very ...upset with.............the way I was treated by one of your admin staff.

10. I am writing to ....inquire about.................... the position you have available.

11. I am .....responding to..........your advertisement in the Globe and Mail on June 3, 2009.

12. I would like to .....apply for..................the position of Sales Manager that was advertised in the Kingston Whig Standard on September 31, 2010.

Task 2:

Write six sentences of your own using prepositional collocations.

*Jane always stay up late every night, so It is hard for her to get up early.

*Unfortunately, when she arrived at the parking spot, she sew the shuttle bus was going away. 

*Finally, she went on her feet to her LINC school.

*I clean up my room at every Saturday afternoon.

*Don't worry, everything will turn into ease next week.

*When you see the new word, don't look up the dictionary right away, please try to guess its meaning.

  

Task 3:

Errors in Letter-writing Conventions

This letter has nine errors relating to proper business letter conventions. Underline the mistakes and correct them.

Mrs. Lucinda Minto, Manager

Bright Star Lighting Store

11 Glendale Ave.

Oshawa, ON L1H 8K9

Monday, September 12, 2009

Dear Lucinda;  :

I am writing to complain about the poor service I received at your store.

On August 25, 2009, I bought purchased a floor lamp in your store. Unfortunately, I wasn’t was not able to use it because it did not work properly. Every time I switched it on, it switched off by itself after about 30 minutes. I took the lamp back to the store but the salesgirl refused to give me my money back. I had a telephone conversation with you about it and you confirmed that your store’s policy is to exchange faulty merchandise rather than refund the money. Unfortunately, the lamp that I want `is no longer available at your store. Given these circumstances, I would like to request that you if you could refund my money.

I want to hear from you soon.

I am looking forward to your prompt reply.

Cheers, Best regards,

Marisa Romer

Degrees of Formality

Degrees of Formality

Task 1:

Rewrite the sentences below, replacing the words in italics with their formal equivalents from the box. Make sure you use the correct form of the verb.

review	concerned	angry	ensure	receive
purchase	complete	assure	request	would like

1. I can promise you this will never happen again.

    I assure you this will never happen again.

2. We will make sure the computer is repaired by one of our technicians.

    We will ensure the computer is repaired by one of our technicians.

3. The book I bought online was damaged.

    The book I purchase online was damaged.

4. I want you to give me my money back.

    I would like you to give me my money back.

5. I hope you got the package I sent last week.

    I hope you receive the package I sent last week.

6. He’s really mad about the service he received at our store.

    He's really angry about the service he received at our store.

7. The work will be finished by the end of the month.

    The work will be completed by the end of the month.

8. The manager is worried that they won’t meet their deadline.

    The manager is concerned that they won't meet their deadline.

9. Please go over the proposal and make any necessary changes.

    Please review the proposal and make any necessary changes.

10. She asked for the information a long time ago.

     She requested for the information a long time ago.

Task 2:

Read the sentences below and decide whether or not they use the degree of formality appropriate for the given situation. Revise the sentences if necessary.

1. a note to a co-worker: The meeting is at 10 sharp. Don’t be late.

The meeting will be at 10:00 o'clock, please don't be late.

2. a letter to a Member of Parliament: Thank you for your help in this matter.

I would really appreciate for your help in this matter.

3. an email message to a friend: I am looking forward to seeing you there :)

See you there

4. a note to a child’s teacher: I would greatly appreciate it if you could inform me when I could meet with you.

Could you please inform me when I could meet with you.

5. an email message to a superior: I’ll let you know about the time of the meeting ASAP.

I would like to let you know about the time of the meeting ASAP.

6. a manager to her subordinates: Thanks for your hard work, guys!

Good work, guys!

Thanks for your hard work, everyone!

7. a letter accompanying your résumé: Here is my résumé.

I enclose my resume. Please check the attachment.

8. a note to the office cleaner: I would appreciate it if you could kindly clean under my desk in a timely fashion.

May I ask you clean under my desk in a timely.

Business Writing Cont.

1.     Write one or two paragraphs about a person who has influenced your life. Use appropriate pronoun references to make the paragraph coherent.

Yu Fang Zhou, her English name is Emily, is one of my best friends. I met her in my university. Her university major was different from mine, so I didn't know her very well in the first year. We became good friends in the second year thanks to the occasional opportunities. She had a perfect personality, and helped me a lot. She was always optimistic, and often laughed loudly. She also had many surprising ideas, she was used to sharing them with me, they were so funny. Unconsciously, her positive and active attitude infected me, I felt the life more beautiful and colourful. In addition, I found that there were a lot of lucky things surrounding me since I knew her, I thought they were brought to me by her good magnetic field.

Both of us liked a cartoon movie which told a old story about the friendship happened on  two girls. they knew each other in their childhood, and became best friends. Then they had to be separated to live in the two different cities when they married. One girl cut a handkerchief into two pieces, then she hold one piece, and sent the left one to her best sister. In particular, she told her friend to bring it as a proof when they met again. Many unfortunate things happened in their whole lives, however, they never forgot their promise. Finally, they met again in their promised place almost 50 years later. Emily imitated this story, she sent me a handicraft and told me when we met again, I would bring and show it to her. I cherished this gift until up to now.

She succeeded to immigrate to Australia 13 years ago. We are still good friends although we live in the different countries. We are keeping close contact and encouraging each other as usual as before. 

Regarding my immigration, it was the most important decision in my life, and it was also affected by my friend, Emily. She advised me to come here. 

All in all, she is best and most important friend in my life.    

   

     

National Anthem

http://vocaroo.com/delete/s0rxr7aBQPRA/d823123acac58b7f

separable phrasal verbs

Task 3:

Some phrasal verbs are separable (e.g., call someone back); others are not. Complete the chart below by putting the phrasal verbs above in the correct column.

Separable	Not separable
	hold on
put through
get through
	hang up
	call up
	hang on
call back
pick up
	get off (the phone)
	get back to (someone)

cut off
switch off/turn off
	speak up

Match the correct meaning with each phrasal verb.

Task 2

1. hold on     g	a. put the receiver down
2. put (a call) through  e	b. return someone’s call
3. get through   j	c. answer a call, lift the receiver to take a call
4. hang up   a	d. stop talking on the phone
5. call up     l	e. connect one caller to another
6. hang on   m	f. deactivate (a cell phone)
7. call back   b	g. wait
8. pick up     c	h. talk louder
9. get off (the phone)   d	i. to be disconnected abruptly during a telephone conversation
10. get back to (someone)  k	j. to be connected to someone on the phone
11. cut off     i	k. return someone’s call
12. switch off/turn off    f	l. make a telephone call
13. speak up     h	m. Wait

Taking Messages: Abbreviations

Task 1

Write the full word or expression (or meaning) beside each abbreviation below. Add other abbreviations (and their meanings) you commonly use or would like to know the meaning of. Share them with the class.

1. AGM    annual general meeting

2. apt.      apartment

3. asap     as soon as possible

4. co.       company                                                                         

5. ext.      extension                                                                              

6. FYI     for your information

7. inv.      invoice 

8. mo.      month                                                                        

9. no. or #       number                                                                         

10. mt.       meeting                                                                             

11. N/A     not applicable                                                                            

12. impt.     important                                                                              

13. RSVP     Répondez S'il Vous Plaît (French: Reply, If You Please; commonly seen on invitations            

                   please reply                                                       

14. ste.      suite                                                                    

15. urg.      urgent                                                                           

16. w/        with                                                                        

17. w/o      without                                                                  

18. cc.      carbon copy

19. e.g.     for example

21. etc.     et cereta (so on)

22. i.e.      that is 

23. vs.      versus

24. p.s.     post script

25. n.b.     take notice