AIMS: Culture vocabulary • Sentence structure • Conjunctions • Understanding essay questions •Writing a Task 2 opinion essay

1. Label the pictures with the words from the box, then complete definitions 1-4.

1. contains objects from history.

2. is a musical performance.

3. means the design and creation of buildings.

4. has collections of paintings and sculptures.

2. Adjectives are used to describe things, experiences and people. Some adjectives are positive and some are negative.

The exhibition at the gallery was boring. (= negative)
Adele is a fantastic singer. (= positive)

Decide if the adjectives in the box are positive (P) or negative (N). Write P or N next to each one.

Now complete the texts below with adjectives from the box. (More than one answer may be possible.)

A: We went to the opera last weekend and I enjoyed it very much. The singers were (1) and the costumes were (2) - all decorated with gold and jewels. The only bad part was that the performance was very long, three hours in total, so it was (3) I fell asleep as soon as we arrived home!

B: I definitely recommend the dinosaur exhibition at the Natural History Museum. It is really (1) because it explains everything clearly. The exhibition is divided into two sections; one is about the (2) dinosaurs that ate other dinosaurs and the other section is about the (3) dinosaurs that just ate plants. The only bad thing about the exhibition is that some of the dinosaur drawings are (4) .They don't look like dinosaurs at all!

3. The word order of a simple statement in English is: Subject + Verb + Object. Extra information usually comes after this structure.

Subject + Verb + Object + extra information
Picasso painted the picture at his studio in Paris.

Now put the words and phrases in sentences 1-6 in the correct order.

1. a film / on Saturday night / My family / watched

2. a bestselling book / Louise / gave me / for my birthday

3. saw / a Shakespeare play / My sister and I / in London

4. has / many interesting art galleries ./Tokyo / nowadays

5. opera / like / Older people / more than young people

6. on the Internet / music / Most teenagers / listen to

4. Conjunctions are words which connect short sentences together to make one longer sentence. The most common conjunctions are: and, but, because,

I watched a film on television yesterday. I went to the cinema yesterday, (two similar ideas)
I watched a film on television, and I went to the cinema yesterday.

I went to the rock concert. My friend recommended the rock concert, (action + reason)
I went to the rock concert, because my friend recommended it.

I like novels about history. I don't like novels about crime, (two different ideas)
I like novels about history, but I don't like novels about crime.

I enjoy taking photos. I bought a new digital camera, (reason + result)
I enjoy taking photos, so I bought a new digital camera.

Join the sentences using the conjunctions in brackets.

1. Maria likes reading detective novels. She likes reading books about history. (and)

2. My parents go to the cinema at weekends. They do not watch television at weekends. (but)

3. Young people should watch less television. Most programmes are not educational. (because)

4. The Science Museum is free. I think it is good for families. (so)