Episode 76

EPISODE 76
LEVEL A1.2/A2.1

 

READING COMPREHENSION

 

TYPES OF SCHOOL

 

There are some differences between the Polish and British educations system. This is what one of my colleagues said about schools in Britain:

„There are two types of schools in Britain, state schools ( = run by the government) and public schools ( = private schools). I went to state schools because you don’t have to pay for them. I don’t remember my nursery school ( = a school of young children of two to five years of age) very well, I think I was too young to remember anything clearly. When I was six, I went to a kindergarten ( = a school for children between the ages of four and six). Next I went to primary school ( = a school for children between five and eleven years old) and then to secondary school ( = a school for children over eleven years old). This school was a boarding school ( = a school where students study and live), so I didn’t see my parents very often. I have been a university student for 2 years now, I study biology.”

 

More contexts for the new words:

• I went to high school last year. (= I went to secondary school last year)
• I didn’t like my elementary school very much. (= I didn’t like my primary school)
• I like spending time in my preschool. (= I like my kindergarten)

 

 

EXERCISE 1

Match words and expressions to their definitions.

 

1. boarding school
2. secondary school
3. primary school
4. kindergarten
5. nursery school
6. public schools
7. state schools

 

a) a school for children 4 – 6
b) a school for children over eleven
c) where students study and live
d) private schools
e) a school for children 5 – 11
f) a school of children of two to five
g) schools run by the government

 

 

EXERCISE 2

Add the missing vowels (A, E, I, O, U), then answer the questions.

 

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of …………………………….. BRDNG SCHLS?
2. Is it better for children to go to …………………………….. NRSY SCHL, or to stay at home with their parents? Why?
3. If you had a lot of money, would you send your kids to a …………………………….. PBLC SCHL? Why? / Why not?

 

ENGLISH IN USE 

 

„I have been a university student for two years now” is our sentence of the week. Do you know why we use present perfect here? Look at this sentence carefully and try to answer these questions:

Did the action start in the past? Yes, it did.
Is he still a student? Yes, he is.

If we talk about actions which started in the past and last until now, we can use present perfect. Look at some more examples:

I have known him for 5 months.
I have had this car for a week.
I have lived in Warsaw for 3 years.

We use „for” when we talk about a period of time.

 

 

IDIOM CLOSE-UP

 

 

A/ Did you pass the exam?

B/ Sure I did – WITH FLYING COLOURS!

When you pass an exam with flying colours, you pass it very well.

 

 

 

PHRASAL VERBS CLOSE-UP

 

1. When you ARE OFF school, you are absent at school.

She is off sick today.

It’s Sunday, so I’m off school.

 

2. When you CATCH UP ON something (e.g. school work), you do something that should have been done before.

She was absent for a week, so she had to catch up on all the school work later.

I just want to go home and catch up on some sleep.

 

 

EXERCISE 3

Complete the mini-story, filling each gap with one word.

 

Rachel was sill, so she spent a week (1)…………………. school. She then borrowed all the notebooks from her classmates, and spent the whole weekend trying to catch (2)…………………. on everything the class had done. She was worried that she would fail the physics test on Monday – but she passed it with (3)…………………. colours!

 

 

NEWS

 

TOO FEW NURSERIES

 

Warsaw – pretty much as all the other major cities in Poland – is struggling with an inadequate number of nurseries. Those funded by the state are not enough to satisfy the needs of the baby boomers’ kids – and, of course, the government has no money to open new facilities. On the other hand, the regulations concerning private nurseries are so stringent that hardly anyone qualifies. As a result, huge numbers of “baby clubs” spring up around the neighborhoods, often in private apartments, with no one to supervise the quality of services they offer. Is there anything we can do to solve the peoblem?

 

GLOSSARY

– pretty much – largely

– struggling with – trying to deal with a problem

– inadequate – too small

– baby boomers – people born during a time when a lot of other children were also born

– stringent – strict

– spring up – appear suddenly

 

 

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