Compostition

You intend to inform a classmate of yours who has been absent from school about the educational tour to a chocolate factory.
Based on the conversational above, write down what you would tell your friend in complete sentences.
You should include the folloeing details:
-place and date of the edcational tour
-the fee
-the attire
-any other information






First the place and the date of the educational tour is the first week of the second semester holiday. Then the fee is $15 per head, it is inclusive of transport and lunch.Second you must be wear the unifrom because it is the educational tour. Third you can bring along your camera and notebook so that you may take down some impotant information during the briefing. Finally the last day for you to pay the fee is Friday.

It was a Sunny Thursday morning. During the recess, David, the monitor of the Form 3A, asked, "Amy, would you like to go to the cinema with me on Saturday? "Amy, the monitress, answered happily, "I'd love to." David then said, "let's meet at the entrance of UA Cinema of Whampoa Garden at half past five." Amy responded quickly, "Sure, see you then." Both Amy and David were excited about their dating .

On Saturday morning, Amy went shopping in a fashion shop, she bought some beautiful clothes and colourful adornments. Then she went to a hair salon for a new hair style. She cut her hair short and coloured the hair.

It was now nearly five o'clock. Amy was very excited about meeting David. She dressed herself up and said goodbye to her mum. Her mum said,"Have a nice time, Amy. Don't be late home." Amy responded, "OK, bye mum."

At half past five, David arrived at the cinema and saw Amy in her new hair style with a fashionable look in a distance. He was so shocked! He didn't believe his eyes. He thought Amy looked ugly. He sent an SMS message to Amy via his mobile phone, it said, "Sorry Amy, I am so shocked to see your new image. I think you look more beautiful without the new fashion and hairstyle. " After Amy saw this message, she was so upset. But then David appeared in front of her. They laughed at each other. They talked and now Amy learnt that natural beauty is more attractive than a made-up beauty.

Proof reading

1. articles
2. subject-verb agreement
3. tenses
4. conjunctions
5. prepositions
6. 8 parts of speech
7. spelling
8. choice of vocabulary
9. phrasal verb
10 modal verbs

A Letter of Advice

Dear Amy,

I'm sorry to hear that you are very stressed these days and you felt unhappy about failing two tests.

I think you are a good student who would not fail the test without good reasons. Firstly, I can see that being too busy with the preparation for your school open days is the main reason for failing your tests.

Secondly, you also spent a lot of time practicing singing and decorating the classrooms. This made you really tired and you had no time to study for your tests.

With the above reasons, I would like to suggest talking with your teacher about your concern. You can request your teachers to allow you to retake the tests. You may also see if you can join other students who experienced the same situation and talk to the teachers.

I hope my suggestion can help you. So you can overcome your problems.

Best wish
Lillian

A Letter of Advice

Your friend, Amy is sending you a letter sharing with you some unhappy experience and ask for your help.

• Hi Lillian
  
• I'm very stressed these days. Let me share with you what have happened, so you may give me some advice.
  
• These days, our school is preparing for the open days. I am one of the choir members and I need to stay two days after the school for the choir practice. At the same time , I also need to help to decorate the classrooms for the open days. It takes me two more days after school.
• The problem is I was so tried after I came home. I went straight to bed. I couldn't manage to study and revise for the tests. So, I failed two tests in the past two weeks. I felt very bad about the results.
  
• What shall I do? Please help me.
• Best Wishes,
• Amy
  

Comprehension

When John Yuen was in Form 3, his father had an accident on a building site. As a result, Mr Yuen was unable to work and had to stay at home. He received some compensation but was not enough to support his family. John realized that he would have to leave school and get a job to help his family.

John obtained a job as a laborer on a building site but he did not like the work because it had no prospects. john wrote to an uncle in Scotland and asked him for a job in his restaurant. Uncle Paul did not reply immediately because he was opening a new restaurant. Then he wrote to John and said:

• "I'm sorry but I can't give you a job now because you're too young and inexperienced. The UK Government would not allow you to stay here. However, if you really want to work over here, I can tell you what you must do.
• First of all, choose a good restaurant in Kowloon. Go to the restaurant, see the manager, and ask for a job so that you can learn any kind of Chinese cooking. You'll have to start at the bottom and do all the dirty jobs. Later on, the cooks will let you help them. In the evening, go to classes at one of Polytechnics so that you can continue with your education and learn about cooking.
• After three or four years, try to get a certificate from the Polytechnic and from the manager of the restaurant to prove that you are a good cook.
• Write to me when you have done this. I'll tell the Government here that I need another Hong Kong cook. Then you can come and stay here at the tie. After five years, you can get a British passport. Good luck."

John discussed Uncle Paul's letter with his parents. They agreed with the advice in it, so John went to Kowloon and obtained a job in a large restaurant. he enrolled in classes at the Hong Kong Polytechnic in Hung Hom, and worked hard by day and in the evening. Four years later, he wrote to Uncle Paul again and was offered a job at a new restaurant his uncle had opened in Manchester. That was several years ago. Since then, John has worked for his uncle for eight years. Now he is planning to move to London and open his own restaurant. He hopes to provide jobs for his two younger brothers.

1. In the first paragraph, we are told that Mr Yuen received compensation, so we know that somebody
A. operated on him.
B. gave him a disease
C. blamed him for the accident
D. paid him some money.

2. Scotland is
A. in England
B. part of England
C. part of the United Kingdom
D. near the U.K.

3. John's action in leaving school was .... one.
A. an unselfish
B. an unnecessary
C. a foolish
D. a selfish

4. At the end of four years, John had to get a ... to show that he could cook.
A. test
B. examination
C. certificate
D. diploma

5. John did not like his first job because it had no prospects. Then we can guess that John was
A. afraid of hard work
B. ambitious
C. aware that the work was dangerous
D. lazy.

6. When John received Uncle Paul's letter, the first thing he did was ...
A. look for a good restaurant
B. enroll in classes at a Polytechnic
C. talk to his parents about it
D. write and thank his uncle

7. When Uncle Paul said that was was inexperienced, he meant that John
A. had not been in Forms 4 and 5
B. had not passed his Form 5 exam
C. did not know how to cook
D. was much too young

8. How old is John Yuen now, as far as we can tell from the passage?
A. 18-19
B. 22-23
C. 25-26
D. 28-29

9. Why did Uncle Paul tell John to choose a good restaurant?
A. It would be easier for John to get a job there
B. John would get better training and experience.
C. There would be more employees and more chance of getting a job.
D. He would receive much more money.

10. In line19, "Enrolled in" is similar in meaning to
A. obtained information about
B. joined
C. worked very hard
D. found out about

Nicky and HadaKa Maturi

Nicky joined the Hadaka Matsuri in Inazawa,Japan with his friend , Hei.They wore the traditional costume,the Japanese loincloth.The loincloth was worn around their waist and loins as an underwear.
The Hadaka Matsuri is a traditional Janpanese festival.During the festival,people are divided into two teams.One team walks on the land, the other walks in the river.The river team need to find a naked man in the crowd to win.The won team will have good luck throughout the year.
Nickey and Hei were now joining the land team.They thought only men would join the festival.Hei felt it uncomfortable to wear the loincloth.Suddenly,they found the river team were running towards them.Nicky found Hei dropped his loincloth.So,the river team thought Hei was the naked person .Hei then shouted,''Oh dear!Ineed to find my loincloth NOW!!''

University Early Admission Policy

I am not for the university early admission policy. The policy is unfair to form 7 graduates. They will face more severe competition. The competition to enter universities becomes harder to most Hong Kong students. They must work harder than before.

Form 7 students are prepared to take the A-level exam. But the exam will not be taken by the students who have been offered the university places through the early admission policy. The policy takes away some university places from the form 7 graduates to the form 6 students who have been offered the places through the early admission scheme. So, the policy is unfair to other students.

The competition becomes harder to all secondary students who wish to enter the universities in Hong Kong.Hong Kong has only seven universities. They have limited places sponsored by the government. The government funding is also limited to include only the top ones. This makes the competition more severe.

Sentence Structure analysis - Sentence Examples

1. Simple Sentences
a. She gives a present to me.
She gave me a present yesterday.
b. I give him a hug.
I gave him a hug to congradulate him last week in the graduation ceremony.
c.I wait him for 30 minutes!
I waited him for thirty minutes yesterday outside the cinema.

2. Compound sentences
a.I want to eat candy but I am ill.
I wanted to eat candy but I was ill.

b.I meet Kate and go to the restaurant.
I met Kate and went to the restaurant yesterday.
c. I want to get the good result in the exam so I study hard.
I wanted to get the good result in the exam so I studied hard.

3. Complex Sentences
a. She says, "I will come to your home." Reported speech => She said that she would come to my home.
b. The book which belongs to Kelly is put on my desk.
c. My friend who has a rich boy friend is studying in a famous school in Hong Kong Island.
c.When I go out,it begins to rain, my clothes get wet.

A complaint letter

Dear Sir,
Re:A compliant about the holes along the pavement
I'm writing to complain about a number of holes along the pavement just outside the residential block in which I live .
I would like to draw your attention to the danger of the holes to the children who live nearby.I saw them always playing around the area.

Preposition Task

Fill in the blanks with the right prepositions.

Dear Mr Lam,

Re: Cleanliness _on___ staircase around the lobby _of___ Whamco Gardens

I am writing to complain about the uncleaned building and not regularly removed rubbish _around__ the lobby of our building.

I would like to draw your attention _to____ the fact that the staircase and lobby have not been cleaned _for_____ at least ten days. Therefore, they are very dirty. Besides, the rubbish collection has not been improved. __On_______ Sundays when we are _at__ home, there is rubbish piling __up_____ the staircase all day _until______ evening. We find that such an environment is very unpleasant to live __in_____.

Could you please inform us what the regular cleaning schedule and rubbish collection schedule __for__ the building are? We would also like to know whether there is any provision _for_____ extra cleaning in the case _of_____ bad weather or construction work _in___ the building.

We are paying what seems to be a hight amount _of____ management fees considering the standard _of_____ service that we receive.

I await your answer and a considerable improvement _in____ the cleaning service urgently.

Yours sincerely,


Signature

Tenses Exercise

A. Fill in the right forms of the verb in the blanks.

1. He __washes_______ (wash) his bike by himself.
2. My friend sometimes ___plays_______ (play) with his uncle.
3. I like to _talk_________ ( talk ) with the actor.
4. My friend often _goes_________ (go) shopping.
5. My mother __cooked_________ (cook) the dinner last weekend.
6. My coaches ____are swimming_____________ (swim) in the sea.
7. We _finish_____(finish) doing our homework before dinner everyday.
8. My younger brother ___ate______ (eat) three apples yesterday.
9. One of my friends ___likes________ (like ) to play the guitar.
10. Can you _run_ (run) two miles ?
11. The teacher __had___ (have) a headache.
12. They ___watch_________ (watch) a movie every week.
13. Does it __snow___ (snow) outside?
14. He often _takes______ (take) his umbrella with him.
15. My good friends __stayed________ (stay) in a good hotel last week.
16. I was very happy to __play_______ ( play ) in the park yesterday.
17. My friends often _bring_________ (bring) his books to read.
18. The workers _washed__________ (wash) his car last weekend.
19. Tom and Jerry _are climbing____ (climb) the hill.
20. I _finish_____(finish) practice playing piano before dinner everyday
21. My aunt _cooked___ ( cook) lunch with me yesterday.
22. One of my uncles _doesn't like_ (not like ) to play the guitar.
23. Did you _fly___ (fly) by plane last week ?
24. The teacher __doesn't have__ (not have) a headache.
25. They __don't watch______ ( not watch) a movie every week.
26. Did it __rain______ ( rain) outside?
27. He often _rides________ (ride) bike by himself.
28. My best friend _lives_________ (live) with his uncle.
29. I like to _travel_________ ( travel ) to USA.
30. My friends often __go____ (go) shopping.

Present Tenses

Present or present continuous tense? Fill in with the correct tense.

1. Look! Dolly (jump) __is jumping__ into the water.

2. I (have) _have_ lunch in the cafeteria every day.

3. I (go)___am going____ to the beach next Thursday. Do you want to come?

4.Don't give Amy any yogurt. She (hate) ___hates___it!

5. You won't find Tiffany at home right now. She (study) ____is studying___in the library.

6. Once a week, I (go) ___go__ to an art class at the college.

7. I (think) ___think__ you're crazy!

8. Susan is rich - she (drive) __drives_________ a Mercedes.

9. It (snow) __is snowing___ quite hard - perhaps we shouldn't go out tonight.

10.Marie isn't Chinese. I (believe) ___believe______ she comes from Japan.

This Week's Tasks

1. Read aloud the sample passges.
2. Study tense chart.
3. Finish two tense pattern worksheets
4. Write a paragraph of the complaint letter

Prepositions

Fill in the blanks with the prepositions: to, in, at, by, between, about, from, with, of

1. Susan sits __ between__ David and Nancy.
2. Sam works ___in___ Central.
3. She walks _to__ the museum ___by__ the MTR station.
4. The system starts functioning __at__ half past eight.
5. The school term begins __in____September.
6. We always travel ___by______ bus.
7. John complains __about__ the quality of service provided __by___ the receptionist of the Sha Tin Shopping Centre.
8. Jimmy was familiar_with__ the construction ___of____ the building.
9. He made a phone call __to__ his friend living in San Francisco.
10. I sought help __at___ the front desk.

Tasks to do

1. Write a short paragraph to describe the problem on P.6-7 of the book.
2. Finish the " passive or active" worksheet.
3. Read aloud the complaint letter three times a day.
4. Record the best reading and send it to ecterri@gmail.com
5. the time to meet has been changed to 11:00am on Saturday.

Writing a Complaint

I am reporting a compliant about the quality of service provided by the receptionist of Palm Mansions of the Whampoa Garden in Hung Hom.

On September 20, I went to Block X of Palm Mansion at 1:00 pm to call on a friend. It was my first visit. I was unfamiliar with the construction of the building and the way to my friend's place. I sought help at the front desk. The staff on duty put on a shocking attitude and asked me to leave if I was not a genuine visitor of the tenants. I was not even offered a chance of making a phone call to my friend.

1. What do you think is the complaint about?
Answer:It is the complaint about the quality of service provided by the receptionist of Plam Mansion.
2. What are the two reasons that support the compliant?
Answer:The first reason is the poor attitude of the staff on duty. The staff put on a shocking attitude and asked the writer to leave if he was not a genuine visitor of the tenants. The second reason is that the staff not even offered the writer a chance to make a phone call to his friend.

2 Ways to improve my English

There are two ways to improve my English.

First, I can start from listening, reading, and understanding short essays; e.g., I can read the essays aloud, and listen carefully to what I read.

Second, I must make sure I understand the meanings and sentence structures. I must also read and pronounce words accurately.

L-i-l-l-i-a-n

Lillian is the name everyone calls me.
I like playing drums: Yes, drums, drums, drums!
Listening to music is what I do everyday... day, day, day...
Library visit is my routine.
I always borrow musical CDs from the library.
Avril Lavigne is the rock singer I admire.
Nothing can replace music in my life... yeah, yeah, yeah...