Wednesday 26 May 2010

Television is a drug

Hi mates,
The inspiration of this video comes from Todd Alcott's poem, Television.
In this video you can see one of the expressions dealt in class. Which one is that?
I hope you enjoy the video.

Cheers!

Television is a drug. from Beth Fulton on Vimeo.

Tuesday 25 May 2010

Frequently Asked Questions - Reading

Can computers spot when a candidate has made a mistake transferring the answers?If more than one lozenge has been completed for one question, the computer rejects the answer sheet, which is then dealt with on an individual basis. Checks are in place to identify incomplete answer sheets, which are also then checked.


Cases where all the answers have been entered incorrectly, e.g. by putting answer 1 to question 2, answer 2 to question 3 etc., cannot be identified.

Candidates should be careful when filling in their answer sheets.

Frequently Asked Questions - Writing

Are candidates penalised for writing over-long or over-short answers?Candidates are not penalised simply for writing more or fewer than the stipulated number of words. An exception to this is made where answers have fewer than 60 words — these are awarded a score of Band 0.


However, as length of answer is a factor of task achievement, candidates would be penalised for over-long answers where the extra material is considered to be irrelevant and has a negative effect on the target reader. Similarly, a candidate who produces considerably fewer than the stipulated number of words is unlikely to have included all the features of content necessary to achieve the task.

All CPE Writing tasks are extensively trialled before they appear on a live paper, and care is taken to ensure that tasks do not expect answers that are significantly longer or shorter than the required number of words.

Do candidates have to study all the set texts?The set text questions are optional. If candidates decide to answer on a set text, it is only necessary to study one of the texts as there is always a question on each of them.

N.B. From June 2009, there will be a choice of two books of a different style and genre. Each book will normally remain on the list for two years. Information on which set texts have been selected for a particular year can be found in Exam Details and Timetables. Will any edition of the set texts do?Any full-length edition will do. CPE candidates should not be reading simplified editions, which are acceptable at FCE level.

Download the sample papers for CPE and other exams.

Are addresses to be omitted ONLY when stated in the task?As a matter of policy, where the genre is given as a letter, the instruction 'You do not need to include postal addresses' is added to the rubric. Where other genres are given in the rubric (e.g. report, article), candidates sometimes choose to use a letter format to answer the question if appropriate to the task. In no case will the address, if included by the candidate, be subject to assessment, either negative or positive.

Is report or proposal format obligatory for such questions on the Writing paper?Reports and proposals should be clearly organised and may contain headings. The report/proposal format is not obligatory, but will make a good impression on the target reader if used appropriately. The mark awarded to the report/proposal will, however, depend on how the writing meets the requirements of the General Mark Scheme and the Task Specific Mark Scheme for the question.

Frequently Asked Questions - Use of English

Use of English


What happens if candidates miss a negative in the transformations, thereby giving the opposite meaning to the original?The instructions to the candidate state that the second sentence must have a similar meaning to the first. However, in the mark scheme the answer is divided into two parts (see below). The two parts of the sentence (either side of the dividing line) are always treated separately, so a candidate will receive one mark for correctly completing one part of the sentence even if a negative has been omitted from the other part.

e.g. I've never thought of asking the hotel staff for advice about restaurants.

OCCURRED

It has ............. the hotel staff for advice about restaurants.
never occurred to me (1)
to ask (1)

Frequently Asked Questions - Listening

Which accents are used in the Listening paper?In General English examinations, there is a range of accents. These correspond to standard variants of English native speaker accents, and to English non-native speaker accents that approximate to the norms of native speaker accents, as this is what people have to listen to in real life.


Is wrong spelling penalised in the Listening paper?Where candidates are asked to produce answers containing a word or words, as in Part 2, these must be spelled correctly. However, items are extensively pretested and care is taken that no word targeted as an answer causes candidates undue spelling problems.

Are candidates supposed to write the words they hear on the recording in answers to Part 2, or do they get more marks if they use their own words?Candidates should try to use the actual words they hear on the CD. They do not get more marks for using their own words.

In the Listening paper, can candidates fill in the answer sheet directly?There is nothing to prevent candidates from doing this. However, it is recommended that candidates put their answers on the question paper while listening to the recording and then transfer these answers to the answer sheet when the recording has finished.

Frequently Asked Questions - Speaking

Speaking


What should candidates do if they don't understand the instructions?Candidates should ask the examiner to repeat the instructions. They will not be penalised for this. However, for reasons of standardisation, no variation on the instructions can be given.

What is done when there's only one candidate left at the end of a Speaking test session?In all General English examinations, candidates are examined in pairs with two examiners. At centres with an uneven number of candidates, the last single candidate will be examined with the last pair to form a group of three.

Sunday 23 May 2010

Which one word can be used to complete all of the following three sentences?

One more...

1. We need something to bridge the _____ between the two walls over there.
2. There was a _____ in the market and the company felt they could take advantage of it.
3. I sometimes feel the generation _____ is getting wider and wider.

Which one word can be used to complete all of the following three sentences?

1. He hadn't ridden a bike before and couldn't keep his ________.
2. I'm just going to the bank to check my _______.
3. On ________, I think it was a really good film.

Cheers!

Monday 17 May 2010

Which one word can be used to complete all of the following three sentences? (Flo-Joe)

1. The chess champion held off a serious ........ from his younger opponent in the last match of the tournament.

2. The chairman of the meeting seemed to regard questions from the audience as some kind of ........ to his authority.

3. You'll find some aspects of the job a real ........, but we're confident that you can cope.

Friday 14 May 2010

How many words with -tion can you think of?

Just a song with a cool clip...
P.s: Rebolation and playstation do not count!!
Hope you like it!
Cheers,
Leandro.

Wednesday 12 May 2010

Which one word can be used to complete all of the following three sentences? (Flo-Joe)

1. Could you pass me a ........ of paper please?

2. Sorry, I didn't mean to say that. It was a ........ of the tongue.

3. The criminal was difficult to track down and kept giving the police the .........

Sunday 2 May 2010

Food and drink

Hi everyone,
I got these sentences from Splendid Speaking and their topic is exactly what we were studying last class: food and drink.
Try to complete them using three different words.

1. Come on everyone, fill your _______. I don't want to see any food on the table when you've finished.
2. I forgot the meat was in the oven and it got burnt to a _______.
3. The restaurant was fantastic and the food really made your mouth _______.

Cheers,
Luciana