Tài liệu Developing writting skills 1 part 3 doc

Complete the following passage using the key words and phrases provided or inventing something of your own.. Using your imagination or drawing on your friends’ experience, complete the

Exercise 3 Complete the sentences, using the pattern with emotional

should

1 It is surprising … 2 Isn’t it curious … 3 It seems remarkable … 4 It is proper … 5 It seemed right … 6 Is it natural … 7 Isn’t it fortunate … 8 It was most unusual … 9 It looked funny … 10 It is quite evident … 11 Isn’t it wonderful … 12 It is doubtful … 13 It is a pity … 14 It was a shame …

Exercise 4 Use the appropriate means of emphasis in the following

sentences Then make up similar sentences (The items to be emphasized are given in italics.)

1 Boys always fight 2 She begged her father to let her go to college but he did not want to listen to her 3 Mary always came over in the evening and played with us 4 How odd that you have

brought this particular book 5 He wanted no more letters but his

brother did not stop writing 6 – I’m not quite sure whether the Boat Race takes place tomorrow, though … - It takes place tomorrow 7 Last year’s spring tides caused much damage to property 8 It is scandalous that you are treated like that 9 Life goes on 10 I am surprised that you have been deceived by such a trick 11 It is shocking that people live in such overcrowded slums

Section 3 Writing Practice Unfinished Stories

Normally students are required to complete the unfinished stories, trying to imitate their style (herein unfinished stories are similar to reproductions) However, the stories may also be used as exercises combining reproduction practice with creative writing

Exercise 1 Complete the following passage using the key words and

phrases provided or inventing something of your own Pay attention to the use of articles Find a suitable title for your story

I had been invited to a New Year party by my old school friend Peter, who is now at art school The party was to be held in the flat of

his fellow-student and we were to meet there at 11:30 Knowing neither the host nor any of the people that were to be present, I felt a little nervous about going but Peter assured me there was nothing to worry about He promised to come a little before 11:30, so as to be there when I arrived

Peter’s friend lives in a new suburb, and I had quite a job finding the block of flats, as there were few people about, mostly strangers themselves In the end it was nearly 12 o’clock when I rang the bell of Peter’s friend’s flat, or what I thought was his flat

(door flung open – ushered into large room – young people round table – no Peter – about to drink to the Old Year – glass pressed into

my hand – toast to the New Year – hostess showed me to the flat I wanted – met with loud cheering – told of adventure)

Exercise 2 Using your imagination or drawing on your friends’ experience,

complete the following story Find a suitable title for it

The train was quickly gathering speed I sat looking out of the window until the last twinkling lights of the town had disappeared, giving way to moonlit fields stretching away on both sides of the railway line It was after midnight and as we were to arrive in London early the following day, I thought I might as well turn in I was just about to go and get my bed-linen, when I saw the attendant coming along collecting the tickets So I opened my bag to get mine ready for him

Lesson 3

Section 1 Spelling

A Mute Final e R u l e 1 Final mute e is usually dropped before a

suffix beginning with a vowel letter; otherwise it would make two

consecutive vowels: guide – guidance, amuse – amusing, fame – famous, refuse – refusal But: age – ageing

N o t e 1 E is retained to show pronunciation in such words as:

courage – courageous, advantage – advantageous, service – serviceable

N o t e 2 E is also kept after o: toe – toeing, shoe – shoeing, canoe

– canoeing, tiptoe – tiptoeing

N o t e 3 Verbs ending in –ie change the –ie into –y before –ing to

avoid a double i: die – dying, tie – tying, lie – lying

N o t e 4 Double e (ee) is retained before all suffixes except those

beginning with e (-ed, -er, -est): agree – agreeable, see – seeing

N o t e 5 Rule 1 is not strictly observed in the case of monosyllabic

words when they are not likely to be misread: likeable, saleable or likable, salable

R u l e 2 Mute e is retained before a suffix beginning with a

consonant (to keep the pronunciation): safe – safely, nine – nineteen, whole – wholesome, care – careful

Exceptions to the rule: due – duly, true – truly, whole – wholly,

argue – argument, nine – ninth

Exercise 1 Fill in the blanks with the appropriate word given in the list

below, adding the suffix –ly: Translate into Armenian

(mere, rare, true, vague, extreme, late, due, entire, affectionate, complete, whole)

1 Aunt Leonora came back from the kitchen, instantly seized Herr Untermeyer … by the arm and led him to the window 2 I paused once, looking back, to offer my help, but Mr Wilbram seemed … to be sunk in thought 3 I loved the expression she used; but if it was intended to improve the troubled atmosphere, it failed …

4 Since Dinny said no further word on the subject occupying every

mind, no word was said by anyone; and for this she was … thankful

5 “Anyway,” she said, with one of those charming and … unexpected turns of mind, “Who’s for cheese?” 6 “We are … sorry

to give this trouble,” said Colonel Schroff 7 Then Mr Barker appeared and showed him into the room, a comfortable room with lunch ready on the table and another table, … bare, evidently waiting for him to spread his papers on it 8 One day he was called to the manager’s room, … reprimanded, and evidently pardoned in consideration of his long and faithful service 9 I have a friend who, after an absence of many years, has … settled down in London, with

a wife, a cat and a garden 10 Strange faces smiled … 11 Her interests were narrow, and she … journeyed farther than the corner grocery

Exercise 2 Add the suffixes given in brackets to the underlined words

Translate into Armenian

1 The dog’s master appeared, the beam of a flashlight dance(-ing) before him 2 I may as well mention here that she made an advantage(-ous) match with a wealthy, worn-out man of fashion 3 It wasn’t from that dinner he remembered her, it was from notice(-ing) her in the street 4 Glance(-ing) at his companion, he wondered if she also remembered it 5 The only notice(-able) thing about his appearance was the way his silver hair and beard contrasted with the dark tan of his skin 6 He knows the boy is very courage(-ous), but

he is also young 7 But most people are afraid of face(-ing) this part

of their nature 8 The few soldiers in the streets were grey-faced and tired-looking … One thing was notice(-able): they never seemed to laugh 9 The mechanic, who is extremely knowledge(-able) about any kind of machinery, knew exactly how to get the gate open

B Final –y and its Modifications R u l e 1 Words ending in –y

preceded by a consonant change –y into –i before all endings except –ing: dry – dries, forty – forties, cry – cried, carry – carriage, clumsy – clumsier, pity – pitiful, happy – happily, merry – merriment But: drying, crying, frying, applying

N o t e 1 Words ending in –y preceded by a consonant drop the –y

before suffixes beginning with –i, -ic, -ical, -ism, -ist: economy –

economic; history – historic, historical; geology – geological, geologist

N o t e 2 Final –y is retained:

(a) in personal names: Mary – Marys, Gatsby – the Gatsbys; (b) in some words before the suffixes –hood, ish, ist, like, -thing: babyhood, copyist, ladyship, anything, everything; (c) in some monosyllabic words before –er, -est, -ly, -ness: shy – shyer, shyest, shyness; sly – slyer, slyest, slyly, slyness; dry – dryly, dryness (both forms are possible in dryer – drier, flyer – flier)

N o t e 3 Final –y changes to –e before –ous: piteous, beauteous,

plenteous, duteous

R u l e 2 Final –y preceded by a vowel letter is retained before all

suffixes: day – days; play – playful; pay – pays, payment; enjoy – enjoyable

Exceptions: gay – gaily, gaiety; day – daily

Exercise 3 a) Form adverbs from the following adjectives: busy, lazy, gay, sly, heavy, dry, happy, merry, shy, ready, lucky, icy, easy, tidy, pretty, angry.

b) Give the comparative and superlative forms of the following adjectives:

early, happy, witty, gay, grey, dry, shy, sly, easy, busy.

c) Give the plural of the following nouns: day, country, beauty, joy, reply, irony, monkey, baby, lady, story, body, boy, hobby.

d) Write down the forms of the third person singular of the Present Indefinite and the Past Indefinite of the following verbs: dry, play, cry, stay, try, delay, comply, betray, destroy, fry, repay, copy.

Exercise 4 Write out from a dictionary all the words derived from the

following words and choose a suitable derivative to fill in the blanks:

(rely, pay, deny, history, angry, essay, day, happy, shy, marry, mercy, apply, clumsy, industry)

1 I wish you all the … in the world 2 He was well aware that this particular debt demanded prompt … 3 The bride’s parents did

not approve of the … 4 He likes to read … novels 5 We’ve got a lot of electrical and other … at home, but my husband buys more and more 6 Well-known critics and … spoke well of the young author’s book 7 A teacher likes his pupils to be … and well-behaved 8 The moment I dropped my gloves I hated myself and my … 9 Mr Sedley could not believe that his former friend could be so cruel, so

… 10 This was in some measure due to her … , which had not yet left her 11 They were alone for an hour, because Tony was taking his … nap 12 Lucy stopped and turned, and faced him … 13 The prisoner’s … of his guilt surprised everyone 14 He is quite a … person

C Diagraphs -ei- and -ie-. Below are given two lists of words

spelt with the diagraphs -ei- or -ie- Note that the words in the first

list are mostly of Latin and French origin Some of them have the

letter c in the root

Explain what they mean, give some derivatives if possible and memorize them Pay attention to their pronunciation

Note the pronunciation of the diagraph -ie- before -r: pierce,

fierce /iə/

There is an English saying about words with ei/ie representing

the sound /i:/:

‘I’ before ‘E’

Except after ‘C’

Exercise 5 Fill in the blanks with the words from the above lists Translate

the sentences

1 If you suppose this boy to be friendless, you … yourself 2

He told me how you came there after dark like a … 3 She made a sniffling sound and began to unbuckle a heavy …-case that she carried 4 There are two lovely moulded … and the rooms are a beautiful shape 5 I had found again the lark’s nest I … the yellow beaks, the bulging eyelids of two tiny larks, and the blue lines of their wing feathers 6 The tear-stained and sagging face twisted grotesquely into the grimace of extreme … 7 In all these weeks he had never come to so close an intimacy with George as his friend immediately … 8 Sophie knew that it was her only chance to win him back, and she … upon it 9 I don’t know why but his … and his superior air made me laugh 10 Their … charge against him as always in such cases was: “He does it to get into the lime-light.” 11 She saw that Kitty was prepared to … and unconsciously she assumed a more gracious tone 12 She had forgotten how pleasant and how agreeable it was to … attention 13 In those first days of the

… she was so frightened by the bursting shells she could only cower helplessly 14 A … of agreement went up, then everybody fell silent 15 Lying was so … to him that I could always guess when he tried to … me 16 By some magic this man seemed able by his mere presence to … our suffering 17 The woman darted at his pipe, which he had put on a … of newspaper and blew some imaginary ash from it 18 She tried to … her son, to save him from punishment, as every mother would have done

Exercise 6 Find synonyms for the italicized words from the following list

Translate the sentences

(belief, to conceive, to deceive,mischievous, to perceive, to relieve, to retrieve, to shield, shriek, chief)

1 Are you sure that the shoe has not simply been mislaid? I

cannot understand what use one shoe could be to anyone 2 What she saw mentally was a kaleidoscope, no more, no less 3 Very soon the boy learned that he had been misled by those to whom he had looked for guidance and instruction 4 We were very glad to hear

that you had arrived safely 5 A commonly held opinion is that the main difficulty in writing is the choice of words 6 I heard a murmur

of voices, then screams of girlish laughter and everything was quiet

again 7 The girl was as fresh and pretty as a spring flower and as

playful as a monkey 8 By the end of the week I could get back only

half of what I hoped to 9 When I came out of the dark cellar into the bright sunshine I couldn’t see anything and for some minutes I stood

covering my eyes with my hand

Section 2 Sentence Structure Emphasis in Writing

Inversion Syntactical means of emphasis involve changes in word

order English is more rigorous than Armenian in its word order While in Armenian you may freely experiment with word order to stress this or that element of the sentence, in English complete inversion (predicate first and then subject) is restricted to special

cases This kind of inversion is possible only with a verb of

movement or position, and this verb is almost always in the present

indefinite or past indefinite The verb to be can be used with this kind

of inversion after a superlative

e.g Best of all was(P) the Christmas(S) pudding

In front of me lay(P) the whole valley(S)

Last but not least walked(P) my grandfather(S), bearing a

large birdcage

This kind of inversion is rather rare; it is literary, and students are advised either to avoid it altogether, or use it with great care and moderation

Exercise 1 In the following sentences inversion is possible if you put the

italicized part first Pay attention to the verbs

1 The pirate ship lay far out to sea 2 An eerie castle loomed through the fog 3 The problem of reconstruction came after the war 4 The street vendors are most picturesque of all 5 Ridge after ridge of snow-clad peaks stretched away into the distance 6 A huge house stands near the top of the hill in the midst of tall cypresses 7 The lady came into the room and greeted every body 8 Love comes

first, marriage comes then 9 The rain came down and washed the

spider out

Cleft Sentences A very common (and safer for a foreign learner)

means of emphasis is the so-called “emphatic construction” of the

type it is … who (for emphasizing the subject of the sentence), it is … that (for emphasizing other parts of the sentence) Almost any part of

the sentence (except the predicate) may be given a special stress with the help of this construction Let us take each part of the following sentence in turn and emphasize it:

e.g He told me the news yesterday in the theatre

It was he who told me the news (subject)

It was this news that he told me yesterday (object)

It was to me that he told the news (indirect object)

It was in the theatre that he told me the news (adv mod of

place)

It was yesterday that he told me the news (adv mod of

time)

A variant of this, containing a negation, and used with adverbial modifiers of time is still more emphatic:

e.g It was not until yesterday that he told me the news

In the same way we may emphasize a clause:

e.g He told me the news when we were in the theatre - It was

when we were in the theatre that he told me the news

Exercise 2 Emphasize the italicized words, phrases or clauses using cleft

sentences as appropriate Sentences may be combined into one

A 1 Bertrand Russell died in 1970 His philosophical writings

made him well-known all over the world 2 Lord Nelson was

famous for his naval exploits A column was erected in his memory

in Trafalgar Square in London 3 I wanted to talk to his wife, not to him 4 His father has offered him a partnership 7 His first speech was better than his second The second speech was broadcast (combine with but) 8 The Saxon King Egbert united all England in the year 829 9 They reached home at midnight 10 We met at the weekend 11 The name of the book escapes me (but I remember

everything else)

B 1.Bilbo found that out (after Tolkien).2.I fled Mijanoshita only to escape from one terror to another (after Kipling).3.I failed to take two pounds upon a very bad day (after Doyle).4.I could get the facts only by trying begging as an amateur (after Doyle).5.It occurred me in the pause that followed that Mark Twain might possibly have other engagement (after Kipling).6.The middle people

are dangerous (after B Shaw).7.Wordsworth’s poetry was not widely

recognized by his compatriots until 1830 (after Legouis).8.A full appreciation of Raphael’s powers can be gained only in Rome (after Cox).9.The thought becomes explicit only in the last line of the

poem; the rest of the poem gives only pictures and sounds that

prepare our feeling (after Neilson).10.Then Poirot received a brief

note from Lady Willard, window of the dead archeologist, asking him to go and see her at her house in Kensington Square (after Christie).11.Let us not misunderstand each other, Lady Willard You

are not asking me a general question It has a personal application,

has it not? (after Christie).12.He fancied that only by force of will she

kept herself upright (after Strange)

Section 3 Writing Practice Unfinished Stories

Exercise 1 Write a story of about 100-120 words, using the pairs of

sentences given below (You have been given the first and last sentences of your story and should supply those, which come between.) Find a suitable title for your story

The voice was familiar but I could not recognize the face …

… … His disguise was perfect

Exercise 2 Complete the following passage making a story Find a suitable

title for your story

I was driving to my friend’s in the country in the middle of the winter when a heavy snowstorm started and stopped me from going either forwards or backwards