Information R/evolution

Photosynthesis

Study Skills

conjunctions

What is Culture? Culture is defined as the shared patterns of behaviors and interactions, cognitive constructs, and affective understanding that are learned through a process of socialization. These shared patterns identify the members of a culture group while also distinguishing those of another group. Other Definitions of Culture Banks, J.A., Banks, & McGee, C. A. (1989). Multicultural education. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. "Most social scientists today view culture as consisting primarily of the symbolic, ideational, and intangible aspects of human societies. The essence of a culture is not its artifacts, tools, or other tangible cultural elements but how the members of the group interpret, use, and perceive them. It is the values, symbols, interpretations, and perspectives that distinguish one people from another in modernized societies; it is not material objects and other tangible aspects of human societies. People within a culture usually interpret the meaning of symbols, artifacts, and behaviors in the same or in similar ways." Damen, L. (1987). Culture Learning: The Fifth Dimension on the Language Classroom. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. "Culture: learned and shared human patterns or models for living; day- to-day living patterns. these patterns and models pervade all aspects of human social interaction. Culture is mankind's primary adaptive mechanism" (p. 367). Hofstede, G. (1984). National cultures and corporate cultures. In L.A. Samovar & R.E. Porter (Eds.), Communication Between Cultures. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. "Culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one category of people from another." (p. 51). Kluckhohn, C., & Kelly, W.H. (1945). The concept of culture. In R. Linton (Ed.). The Science of Man in the World Culture. New York. (pp. 78-105). "By culture we mean all those historically created designs for living, explicit and implicit, rational, irrational, and nonrational, which exist at any given time as potential guides for the behavior of men." Kroeber, A.L., & Kluckhohn, C. (1952). Culture: A critical review of concepts and definitions. Harvard University Peabody Museum of American Archeology and Ethnology Papers 47. " Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behavior acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups, including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional (i.e. historically derived and selected) ideas and especially their attached values; culture systems may, on the one hand, be considered as products of action, and on the other as conditioning elements of further action." Lederach, J.P. (1995). Preparing for peace: Conflict transformation across cultures. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. "Culture is the shared knowledge and schemes created by a set of people for perceiving, interpreting, expressing, and responding to the social realities around them" (p. 9). Linton, R. (1945). The Cultural Background of Personality. New York. "A culture is a configuration of learned behaviors and results of behavior whose component elements are shared and transmitted by the members of a particular society" (p. 32). Parson, T. (1949). Essays in Sociological Theory. Glencoe. "Culture...consists in those patterns relative to behavior and the products of human action which may be inherited, that is, passed on from generation to generation independently of the biological genes" (p. 8). Useem, J., & Useem, R. . Human Organizations, 22(3). "Culture has been defined in a number of ways, but most simply, as the learned and shared behavior of a community of interacting human beings" (p. 169).

CITIZENSHIP

LINKING WORDS

Linking words


Linking words help you to connect ideas and sentences, so that people can follow your ideas.

Giving examples

For example
For instance
Namely
The most common way of giving examples is by using for example or for instance.
Namely refers to something by name.
"There are two problems: namely, the expense and the time."

Adding information

And
In addition
As well as
Also
Too
Furthermore
Moreover
Apart from
In addition to
Besides
Ideas are often linked by and. In a list, you put a comma between each item, but not before and.
"We discussed training, education and the budget."
Also is used to add an extra idea or emphasis. "We also spoke about marketing."
You can use also with not only to give emphasis.
"We are concerned not only by the costs, but also by the competition."
We don't usually start a sentence with also. If you want to start a sentence with a phrase that means also, you can use In addition, or In addition to this…
As well as can be used at the beginning or the middle of a sentence.
"As well as the costs, we are concerned by the competition."
"We are interested in costs as well as the competition."
Too goes either at the end of the sentence, or after the subject and means as well.
"They were concerned too."
"I, too, was concerned."
Apart from and besides are often used to mean as well as, or in addition to.
"Apart from Rover, we are the largest sports car manufacturer."
"Besides Rover, we are the largest sports car manufacturer."
Moreover and furthermore add extra information to the point you are making.
"Marketing plans give us an idea of the potential market. Moreover, they tell us about the competition."

Summarising

In short
In brief
In summary
To summarise
In a nutshell
To conclude
In conclusion
We normally use these words at the beginning of the sentence to give a summary of what we have said or written.

Sequencing ideas

The former, … the latter
Firstly, secondly, finally
The first point is
Lastly
The following
The former and the latter are useful when you want to refer to one of two points.
"Marketing and finance are both covered in the course. The former is studied in the first term and the latter is studied in the final term."
Firstly, … secondly, … finally (or lastly) are useful ways to list ideas.
It's rare to use "fourthly", or "fifthly". Instead, try the first point, the second point, the third point and so on.
The following is a good way of starting a list.
"The following people have been chosen to go on the training course: N Peters, C Jones and A Owen."

Giving a reason

Due to / due to the fact that
Owing to / owing to the fact that
Because
Because of
Since
As
Due to and owing to must be followed by a noun.
"Due to the rise in oil prices, the inflation rate rose by 1.25%."
"Owing to the demand, we are unable to supply all items within 2 weeks."
If you want to follow these words with a clause (a subject, verb and object), you must follow the words with the fact that.
"Due to the fact that oil prices have risen, the inflation rate has gone up by 1%25."
"Owing to the fact that the workers have gone on strike, the company has been unable to fulfil all its orders."
Because / because of
Because of is followed by a noun.
"Because of bad weather, the football match was postponed."
Because can be used at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence. For example, "Because it was raining, the match was postponed."
"We believe in incentive schemes, because we want our employees to be more productive."
Since / as
Since and as mean because.
"Since the company is expanding, we need to hire more staff."
"As the company is expanding, we need to hire more staff."

Giving a result

Therefore
So
Consequently
This means that
As a result
Therefore, so, consequently and as a result are all used in a similar way.
"The company is expanding. Therefore / So / Consequently / As a result, they are taking on extra staff."
So is more informal.

Contrasting ideas

But
However
Although / even though
Despite / despite the fact that
In spite of / in spite of the fact that
Nevertheless
Nonetheless
While
Whereas
Unlike
In theory… in practice…
But is more informal than however. It is not normally used at the beginning of a sentence.
"He works hard, but he doesn't earn much."
"He works hard. However, he doesn't earn much."
Although, despite and in spite of introduce an idea of contrast. With these words, you must have two halves of a sentence.
"Although it was cold, she went out in shorts."
"In spite of the cold, she went out in shorts."
Despite and in spite of are used in the same way as due to and owing to. They must be followed by a noun. If you want to follow them with a noun and a verb, you must use the fact that.
"Despite the fact that the company was doing badly, they took on extra employees."
Nevertheless and nonetheless mean in spite of that or anyway.
"The sea was cold, but he went swimming nevertheless." (In spite of the fact that it was cold.)
"The company is doing well. Nonetheless, they aren't going to expand this year."
While, whereas and unlike are used to show how two things are different from each other.
"While my sister has blue eyes, mine are brown."
"Taxes have gone up, whereas social security contributions have gone down."
"Unlike in the UK, the USA has cheap petrol."
In theory… in practice… show an unexpected result.
"In theory, teachers should prepare for lessons, but in practice, they often don't have enough time."

GERUNDS VS INFINITIVES

AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster: more of our discussion of gerunds and infinitives with English teacher Lida Baker.

RS: A gerund, remember, is a verb ending in -ing but used as a noun. An infinitive is a verb with the preposition "to" as in to go, to swim, to walk.

AA: Huy Doan in Vietnam asks about the verb "regret." He wants to know if the verb that follows it should be a gerund or an infinitive, and what's the difference? We asked Lida.

LIDA BAKER: "If we have a sentence like 'I regret to inform you that you have not been accepted to the university of your choice,' that's a correct sentence. In contrast to that, if we say something like 'I regret buying that car,' that's also a correct sentence. So what's the difference? OK, with this verb, and with a few other verbs, the choice of infinitive or gerund has to do with which event happened first. If I say 'I regret buying that car,' what happened first?"

AA: "You bought the car."

LIDA BAKER: "I bought the car. And later I regretted it. Now let me give you a clearer example of that: 'I stopped smoking' versus 'I stopped to smoke.'"

RS: "Alright ... "

AA: "Ohhh."

RS: "Right, 'I stopped smoking' means 'I don't smoke anymore' and 'I stopped to smoke' means I stopped ... "

AA: "To go smoke a cigarette out on the street."

RS: "It's very tricky."

LIDA BAKER: "That's very tricky and very, very -- a pitfall for students. Let's see if we can form some kind of a generalization from this, OK? Basically some verbs must have a gerund after them. Some verbs must have an infinitive after them. And some verbs can have both.

"Of the verbs that can have both a gerund and an infinitive after them, sometimes there is no difference in meaning. But sometimes there is a big difference in meaning, as we just saw in the example of 'I stopped smoking/I stopped to smoke.' So those are the four classes of uses of infinitives and gerunds in object position, alright?"

AA: "How do you learn them?"

LIDA BAKER: "The learner first of all has to know that there is such a thing as a gerund, there is such a thing as an infinitive, that they can occur in subject position, that they can occur following the verb in a variety of positions. So the learner first of all needs consciousness-raising. You know, what are the options?"

RS: "So should a student, once he has that overview, get out a list of words and start memorizing?"

LIDA BAKER: "No, that is not the best way to learn infinitives and gerunds -- although, interestingly, when I started teaching many, many, many years ago, typically what textbooks would have would be a list of verbs in alphabetical order. You know, you'd have a list of verbs that are followed by gerunds and a list of verbs that are followed by infinitives. The student would have no choice but just to memorize them.

"Since then, what linguists have learned, or have figured out, is that infinitives and gerunds very often fall into meaning categories. For example, there are a whole bunch of verbs that are generally used with the meaning of communicating something that are all followed by gerunds. I'll give you a couple of examples. To recommend: 'My best friend recommended seeing a doctor.' Or the verb suggest: 'He suggested leaving early in order to avoid the traffic.'

"So, many textbooks nowadays present the verbs which are followed by gerunds versus the verbs that are followed by infinitives in terms of meaning categories, OK? Then there is a category of verbs of choice or intention, that have that meaning, so verbs like choose or decide or refuse. They're followed directly by the infinitive. So: 'He decided to go,' 'He expected to receive a letter from his mother.' The point is that infinitives and gerunds can be learned alphabetically, like you mentioned, but they can also be learned in categories."

AA: Lida Baker writes textbooks for English learners and teaches at the American Language Center at the University of California, Los Angeles. We have the first part of this topic, and all of her previous segments, on our Web site, voanews.com/wordmaster.

RS: And our e-mail address is word@voanews.com. With Avi Arditti, I'm Rosanne Skirble.

To listen to this interview click HERE

Verbs followed by V+ing form / Verbs followed by infinitive

Verb combination (Infinitive vs -ing form)

---

A. -ing and infinitive (1): verb + -ing form or infinitive

1. Verbs followed by -ing form

avoid	consider	delay	deny
dislike	enjoy	finish	can’t help
involve	justify	like (=enjoy)	look forward to
mind	miss	postpone	practice
risk	suggest	can’t stand	carry on
put off

We delayed launching the product because of technical problems.

I look forward to meeting you next week.
I don’t mind staying late.
I really enjoy travelling abroad

Note. In the expression look forward to, the word to is a preposition. Prepositions (e.g., in, on, at, with, from, etc.) are always followed by the -ing form rather than infinitive.

2. Expressions below are followed by the -ing form

It’s a waste of time/money ...
There’s no point (in) ...
It’s no use ...
It’s (not) worth ...

It's not worth repairing the camera. It would be cheaper to buy a new one.

3. Verb followed by to + infinitive

afford	agree	arrange	attempt	claim
decide	demand	deserve	expect	fail
guarantee	hesitate	hope	learn	manage
neglect	offer	plan	prepare	pretend
promise	refuse	seem	tend	threaten
train	want	would like

He has arranged to meet the visitors at the factory

We were very unhappy with service they had provided. We refused to pay them.
The company is taking on a lot of new staff. They plan to extend their researches in a new area.
He was angry about the way company had treated him. They threatened to stop his project.

4. Passive forms

There are passive forms of the -ing form and the infinitive. The passive form of the -ing form is made with being + past participle (e.g., being done):

Everyone likes being congratulated when they have worked hard.

The passive infinitive is formed by to be + past participle (e.g., to be done):

She expects to be promoted soon.

B. -ing and infinitive (2): verbs and objects

5. Verb + object + infinitive

There are a number of verbs that can take a direct object and to + infinitive.
common examples are:

advise	allow	ask	enable	encourage	force
invite	order	persuade	remind	tell	warn

The lawer advised me to read the contract carefully.
The negotiators persuaded the union to accept the pay deal.

The court ordered the company to pay compensation.
The fall in demand forced us to cut production
They invited me to speak at the conference.

6. Reporting what people say

Many of the words listed above can be used to report what people say

"Could you come back later?" he asked me.
He asked me to come back later.

The verb warn is usually used with not to do:

He said, "Don't put all your money in one company"
He warned me not to put all my money in one company.

7. Make and let

The verbs make and let are followed by an object and the bare infinitive (e.g., go, work,see)

• We use make to talk about something we have to do (but don’t want to do)

She wanted to go home, but her boss made her stay until the work was finished.
• We use let when we talk about being given permission for something.

My boss let me have the afternoon off to go to my sister’s wedding.
• The verb help can be followed by an infinitive with or without to

Could you help me (to) put these boxes in the van.

7. Verbs of perception

The verb of perception (see, watch, notice, hear, listen, feel) are followed by bare infinitive or by -ing form (present participle).

• If we want to say that we heard or saw the whole action from beginning to end, we usually use bare infinitive

I saw him sign the cheque.
• If we want to say that only saw or heard part of the action, we use -ing form

I saw the consultant waiting in reception.
(I saw consultant. He was waiting in reception.)

C. -ing and infinitive (3): changes in meaning

8. Verb + -ing or infinitive?

Some verbs can be followed by either -ing form or the infinitive and the meaning of the verb changes. Here are some common examples:

I remember sending them the cheque.	I sent and I can remember now that did it.
I remembered to send them the cheque.	I remembered, and then I sent it.
I will never forget meeting the President.	I met him, and he impressed me.
I won’t forget to give her your message.	I have made a note of it, and I will give it to her when I see her.
We have stopped dealing with that firm.	We used to deal with them, but we don't deal with them any more.
At 12.00 we stopped to have a break	We stopped for a break.
I regret saying that I was not interested in the work.	I said I was not interested in the work, and I now think that was a bad mistake.
I regret to say that we will not be able to give you a contract.	I am sorry that I have to say this.
If the printer doesn’t work, try turning everything off and then starting again.	Do this and see what happens.
I will try to negotiate a better deal.	I will make an effort to do this.
This advertisement needs redesigning.	This advertisement needs to be redesigned.
We need to increase productivity	It’s necessary to increase productivity.

9. Like and would like

When the verb like means enjoy, it’s followed by the -ing form. However, the expression would like (want to) is followed by the infinitive.

I like going abroad on marketing trips. (I enjoy this.)
I would like to go more often.(I want to go more often.)

We can also use prefer and would prefer in the same way.

I prefer working at home to working at the office. (I enjoy this more.)

10. to + -ing or infinitive?

The word to can be part of infinitive (I want to see you). However, in the following examples, to is a preposition, so it is followed by the -ing form:

look forward to	object to, an objection to	be used to, get used to
react to, a reaction to	in addition to	respond to, a respond to

Mixed examples

There is nothing wrong with the photocopier. It just needs servicing.
We need to look at this proposal very carefully before we make a decision.
I’ll make a note in my diary so that I will remember to send you information you need.
I am not sure if I have met Mr. Martino, but I remember hearing his name.

LEARN MORE ABOUT GERUNDS AND INFINITIVES HERE

---

conditionals

Medieval Telecom

Cell service in our area was so rotten we told our service provider to cancel our contract. About a week later, we received a letter saying they wanted to continue the relationship. The reason that they were writing? They had been unsuccessful in contacting us by phone. Hello?

Nearly 60 nations have pledged not to use children in their armies. A document, called the Paris Commitments, was signed in France by 58 countries, including Sudan, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. These countries still hit the headlines for having child soldiers. Two states that the United Nations says uses child soldiers - Burma and the Philippines - did not attend the Paris meeting. All 27 nations of the European Union added their weight to the promise to help disarm and rehabilitate underage soldiers, and prevent their recruitment. The U.N. estimates a quarter of a million youngsters are involved in over a dozen conflicts worldwide. As well as fighting, the kids serve as spies and sexual slaves. Girls make up nearly 40 percent of some armed groups. Their families often reject them when they return home.
The agreement is not yet part of the laws of any of the 58 countries. However, it is an important step forward. France’s Foreign Minister said the document was more than just "good words." He insisted, "it is a text that will have great political value". A UNICEF spokesman stressed it is important that governments and not only NGOs are acting. The speaker who made the biggest impact in Paris was Ishmael Beah, a former child soldier in Sierra Leone. He picked up a gun when he was just 13, after his parents and brothers were killed in his country’s civil war. He is now 26 and lives in New York. He said: "Taking a gun and shooting someone was as easy as drinking a glass of water." He reminded the world that: "No one is born violent. No child in Africa, Latin America or Asia wants to be part of war."
1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):
a. Every country has promised to end the use of child soldiers. T / F
b. Different nations signed a document in Uganda. T / F
c. A U.N. estimate believes 5 million children are fighting in conflicts. T / F
d. Forty percent of child soldiers in many armed groups are girls. T / F
e. The agreement is now law in 58 different countries. T / F
f. A UNICEF spokesperson was happy that governments were acting. T / F
g. An ex-child soldier gave a speech at the international meeting. T / F
h. The child soldier said it was easier to find a gun than find water. T / F
2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:
a. pledged 1- ex-
b. commitments 2-put a stop to
c. rehabilitate 3-Wars
d. prevent 4-historic
e. conflicts 5-doing something
f. important 6-promises
g. insisted 7- promised
h. acting 8-brutal
i. former 9-stressed
j. violent 10-reintegrate
3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):
a. Nearly 60 nations have pledged not 1- their weight to the promise
b. These countries still hit 2-laws of any of the 58 countries
c. nations of the European Union added 3-40 percent of some armed groups
d. youngsters are involved in over a 4-not only NGOs are acting
e. Girls make up nearly 5-drinking a glass of water
f. The agreement is not yet part of the 6-to use children in their armies
g. the document was more than 7-dozen conflicts worldwide
h. important that governments and 8-"No one is born violent”
i. shooting someone was as easy as 9-The headlines for having child soldiers
j. He reminded the world that 10-Just "good words."
GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.
Nations pledge to end use of child soldiers
Nearly 60 nations have ________ not to use children in their armies. A document, called the Paris Commitments, was signed in France by 58 countries, including Sudan, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. These countries still ________ the headlines for having child soldiers. Two states that the United Nations says uses child soldiers - Burma and the Philippines - did not attend the Paris meeting. All 27 nations of the European Union added their ________ to the promise to help disarm and rehabilitate ________ soldiers, and prevent their ________. The U.N. estimates a quarter of a million youngsters are involved in over a dozen ________ worldwide. As well as fighting, the kids serve as spies and sexual ________. Girls make up nearly 40 percent of some armed groups. Their families often ________ them when they return home.


recruitment
weight
hit
conflicts
reject
pledged
slaves
underage

The agreement is not yet part of the laws of any of the 58 countries. However, it is an important step ________. France’s Foreign Minister said the document was more than just "good words." He insisted, "it is a ________ that will have great political ________ ". A UNICEF spokesman stressed it is important that governments and not only NGOs are acting. The speaker who made the biggest ________ in Paris was Ishmael Beah, a ________ child soldier in Sierra Leone. He picked up a gun when he was just 13, after his parents and brothers were killed in his country’s ________ war. He is now 26 and lives in New York. He said: "Taking a gun and shooting someone was as easy as drinking a glass of water." He ________ the world that: "No one is born ________. No child in Africa, Latin America or Asia wants to be part of war."
civil
text
reminded
value
former
forward
violent

The Truth Behind WTO (World Trade Organization)

PREPOSITIONS

Americans are NOT stupid

Writing

Five-paragraph Essay (PPT ) Click Here

Plenty of downloadable quizzes with answers

Plenty of downloadable quizzes with answers

• Pronunciation quizzes
• Grammar quizzes
• Vocabulary quizzes
• Topic based quizzes

I only ask of God (outlandish)

Present wishes

Wishes Quiz

Lend vs Borrow

Quebec Language Police