Read the task above. Make a paragraph plan and include brief notes for each of the four points in the task.

Paragraph 1: Giving reason for writing

Paragraph 2: First point in task

Paragraph 3: Second point in task

Paragraph 4: Third point in task

Paragraph 5: Fourth point in task

Paragraph 6: Requesting a reply

Read the conversation again and complete the notes. Use no more than TWO words for each blank.

Read the Reading Strategy. Then complete these tasks.

1 Look at question 1 in exercise 4. Read the second paragraph of the text.

2 Circle the correct option and identify the sentence of the paragraph which gives the answer.

3 Which words are used in the sentence instead of the words in the correct option?

A perfect companion

A: Hello there.

B: How are you?

A: I am doing very well. How are you?

B: Fine.

A: Glad to hear it. What's for today?

B: Nothin'.

A: Fair enough. What do you want to study?

B: I dunno.

A: You don't know what you want to study?! Lazy humans!

B: Say what I need to study.

A: You have not yet told me what you want to study.

This conversation is between a visually-impaired student, Nick, and his digital tutor named Ann Sullutor.

Ann Sullutor is the brainchild of a 22nd century scientist modelled on and named after the dedicated tutor of Helen Keller. You can have conversations with Ann Sullutor via a wristwatch or any piece of jewellery. The idea of the digital tutor was to help disabled children study in mainstream schools.

Early in the morning, Ann Sullutor wakes up from a full charge of energy, ready for a 20-hour non-stop working day. Nick is quite independent in familiar situations, but if he comes across something unexpected, he can turn to Ann Sullutor for help by using his voice to control the watch on this wrist. Similarly, if he is in an unfamiliar place, he can get directions from Ann through a tiny set of earphones. In an emergency, for example, if there is an obstacle or unexpected vehicle, Nick receives a tiny vibration as a warning. Ann sends reports to the child's parents on a regular basis or on demand.

Registered in the school system and equipped with an immense database, Ann can easily keep track of Nick's schedule and curriculum. During class, Ann gives off a warning beep when Nick is distracted, quicky converts the new material into braille or dictates what the teacher has just written on board. Ann is there to bridge the gap between Nick and his classmates. In Nick's individual sessions, Ann suggests lessons depending on his preference and ability. She can adapt the lesson to aid Nick's learning process, but she doesn't jump in immediately to offer him a hand. Nick has to work on his own for a while before Ann makes a few suggestions. She may even ask Nick to read some extra materials to get a grasp of the topic. Nick often complains about Ann's persistence and strictness. In his fury, Nick sometimes does wish to turn Ann off for a while, which can only be done by his parents.

Ann Sullutor is much more than a beautifully-designed gadget for a visually-impaired child. She can make a perfect companion to any child that needs a tutor or a friend to talk with.

B. Read the notes and complete the conversation between a customer and a sales assistant. For each blank, write ONE word only.

Sales assistant:    Hello. Can I help you?

Customer:            Yes, please. Do you have these socks in white?

Sales assistant:    Sorry, we only have them in (38) _______________.

Customer:            That’s fine. How much are they?

Sales assistant:    They are (39) _______________ dollars.

Customer:            I’ll take them.

Customer:            Do you have this green sweater in a large size?

Sales assistant:    Let me check. I’m sorry, we only have it in a (40)________________ size. But we have a large size in (41) _______________. Here it is.

Customer:            Oh, it’s great. How much is it?

Sales assistant:    It’s (42) _______________ dollars.

Customer:            I’ll take it, too.

B. Read the notes and complete the conversation between a customer and a sales assistant. For each blank, write ONE word only.

Sales assistant:    Hello. Can I help you?

Customer:            Yes, please. Do you have these socks in white?

Sales assistant:    Sorry, we only have them in (38) _______________.

Customer:            That’s fine. How much are they?

Sales assistant:    They are (39) thirty_______________ dollars.

Customer:            I’ll take them.

Customer:            Do you have this green sweater in a large size?

Sales assistant:    Let me check. I’m sorry, we only have it in a (40) m_______________ size. But we have a large size in (41) _______________. Here it is.

Customer:            Oh, it’s great. How much is it?

Sales assistant:    It’s (42) _______________ dollars.

Customer:            I’ll take it, too.

Read the text and complete the notes. Use no more than TWO words for each gap.

For people in most cultures, the generation gap in their family is mainly about differences in musical tastes, career choices, and lifestyles. In Asian American families, however, the process of adapting to American culture makes the generation gap wider.

Naturally, children of Asian American immigrants adapt to American culture much faster than their parents. English quickly becomes their first language. They accept American values such as individualism, freedom, honesty, and competition. They also start to follow American traditions in their daily lives.

On the other hand, many first-generation Asian American parents fail to adapt to the new culture. They continue to use their native language. They keep practising their traditional lifestyle and old culture. They often try to force their children to follow their native country's cultural values, such as the importance of family, respect for the elders and the community.

Due to their different attitudes to the new culture, Asian American children may have cultural values different from their parents' Asian cultural values. They may not do what their parents want them to do or what they are expected to do. As a result, Asian American parents may fail to have their children follow the family traditional values.

III.      Read the article about the Mandarin Chinese language and complete the notes below. Use a maximum of TWO words or a number in each gap.

The World’s Most Spoken Language

There are about 6,900 languages spoken in the world. The number of speakers of these languages goes from tiny to very large. One of those languages which have a very large number of speakers is Mandarin Chinese with nearly 1 billion speakers! It’s only one of 297 languages that people speak in China, but it’s by far the biggest. About 70% of the population speak it, compared to the 6.5% that speak the next biggest language, Wu.

Language experts think that it spread to so many people in China because it’s a language from the north of the country. There aren’t as many mountains in the north so it was easier for people to travel and for the language to travel too.

The Chinese government uses Mandarin in most of the country, especially in the capital city, Beijing. In Hong Kong and Macau, however, government officials can also use Cantonese. No other languages are used by the government.

The Mandarin vocabulary is quite large. It has more words than French, for example (370,000 words compared to around 350,000), but fewer than English, which has around 470,000 words.

Many students of Mandarin find the grammar quite easy, but the pronunciation is more of a problem.

The Mandarin Language

Almost ¹________________ people have Mandarin as a native language.

There are ²________________ languages spoken in China.

Around ³________________% of Chinese people speak Mandarin Chinese.

Geography of China: The south of China has more ⁴________________ than the north.

The Government uses ⁵________________ official languages.

The vocabulary of Mandarin contains around ⁶________________ words

Read the paragraph and complete the notes below.

I watched Evelyn Glennie’s performance at London Olympics Opening Ceremony, and I loved it. The music performance told a story about the lives of people in the United Kingdom.

Glennie played drums together with 1,000 other drummers! It was interesting because the drummers used buckets as drums. In her performance, Glennie did not wear shoes to feel the music better.

a. The artist’s name:______________

b. The place of the performance:_______________

c. The content of the performance:_____________

d. The instrument:_______________

e. Special things about the performance:_____________