ANSWER KEYS FOR LISTENING TEST– MODULE 4

The content of this entry is from Mr Homework's blog. Speacial thanks for his kindness in providing us the key so quickly ^^
Here is the Answer Key, I also include the test in this entry, plz roll down to see
SECTION 1: (0.3 for each correct answer) _ max. 3pts
1 C
2 B
3 B
4 A
5 students
6 staff
7 $20
8 equipment
9 Tuesday
10 four / 4
SECTION 2: (0.25 for each correct answer) _ max 2 pts
(Write the letter that corresponds to the answer, for example 1. A)
1. C
2. C
3. A
4. A
5. A
6. B
7. C
8. C
SECTION 3: (T or F) (0.2 for each correct answer) _ max 2 pts
1. T
2. T
3. F
4. F
5. T
6. F
7. T
8. T
9. F
10. T
PART 4: (0.2 for each correct answer) _ max. 3 pts
1. the past
2. France
3. universal society
4. emotion
5. language
6. different needs
7. feasible
8. (the) telegraph
9. steam
10. notions
11. (sts get 0.3 for this blank)
12. currency
13. the Europe
14. depression
15. relationships

TEST:

SECTION 1: (3 pts) Q
Listen to the recordings TWO times and do the tasks from 1-10 as instructed. The recording will be played TWICE at normal speed.
Questions 1-4
Listen to the conversation, between Lily and her friend. Circle the letter that answers the following questions.
1. What kind of music does Lily's brother like?
A. Classical B. Musical C. Opera D. Pop
2. What kind of music does Lily like?
A. Classical B. Musical C. Opera D. Pop
3. What has Lily decided to buy for her brother?
A. Romeo and Juliet B. Oklahoma C. Carmen D. West Side Story
4. How much is Lily going to pay?
A. 24 dollars B. 18 dollars C. 15 dollars D. 9 dollars
Questions 5-8
Fill in the blanks with NO MORE THAN ONE WORD or A NUMBER for each answer.
The College Badminton Club
- Accepts both (5) ____________________ and (6) _____________________ of the college.
- Membership Fees: (7) _______________________ per college term.
- Membership fees cover (8) _____________________, court, and drinks (tea and coffee).
- Beginners' level meets on Thursday; Intermediate level meets on (9) ___________________; Advanced level meets on Monday.
- All meetings are at (10) _____________________ o'clock.
- Registration will close soon.
SECTION 2: (2 pts)
You will hear a radio interview with George Johnson, Managing Director of Media-X, an organisation which invests in internet companies. For each question, choose the best answer. You will hear the conversation twice. You have 45 seconds to read through the questions.
1 The name Media-X was chosen for the company because ________
A it presented a serious image.
B it was connected with technology.
C it seemed easy to remember.
2 George Johnson started to invest in internet companies because the internet
A already had considerable educational value.
B was increasingly popular in Europe.
C was becoming easier to use.
3 What was George's first job?
A bank employee B economics lecturer C software programmer
4 George's father helps him by _________
A advising him on investments.
B providing him with suitable office space.
C giving him financial support.
5 Approximately how many companies in total does George help each year?
A 100 B 200 C 300
6 When choosing between proposals, George first considers
A the experience of the directors.
B the need for the product or service.
C the financial background of the company.
7 Media-X helps companies by providing advice on _________
A market research. B technical support. C pricing strategy.
8 Which of these UK companies has expanded into other countries?
A NetTrade.com B TravelDeals.com C OrderFree.com
SECTION 3 (2 pts)
You are going to hear someone reading the news. You will hear the news headlines followed by the news in detail. From the information you hear, decide whether the statements are true or false. In your answer sheet, write T for True and F for False. The recording is played two times at normal speed.
1.
_____________ PNO sails to 5 places in Europe.

_____________ PNO is making 1,200 people redundant.

_____________ The number of dentists will double.

_____________ Manchester has one dentist per 20,000 people.

_____________ The Prime Minister was in a military aeroplane.

_____________ The Prime Minister was in great danger.

_____________ Michael Soars is in prison.

_____________ Michael Soars worked for Capital Holdings.

3 4

1.
_____________ The pound is up against the dollar.

_____________ The weather will become worse through the day.

SECTION 4: (3 pts)
Listen to part of a talk about globalisation and complete the note. Use NO MORE THAN 2 WORDS for each blank.
The History of Globalisation
�.
Globalisation is commonly believed not to have been a concern in (1) ____________________.

In 1841, a writer from (2) ____________________ referred to a (3) “________________”.
His main concerns were:
i how people would express (4) ____________________
ii whether there would be a single (5) ____________________ and how it could integrate the confusions of (6) ___________________________
iii whether it was (7) _____________________ to have one governing body
His imagined future would be shaped by the new technologies of (8) ____________________ and (9) ____________________, which seem to be quite obsolete now, but the (10) _______________________ and (11) ____________ they brought are just the same as today.

In 1865-1871, there were plans for a single European (12) ____________________
It was to be called (13) “_____________________”
Plans failed due to a (14) ____________________ in 1870s.

Other 18th century writers (e.g. Adam Smith) were concerned about effects on (15) ____________________. His and others' ideas may help us deal with today’s problems.

Answer key for Reading Test Module 4

Thank dear Shark, Mr CPE and all my dear friends for helping me complete this.

Part A: 20 pts

1. firendishly

2. fret

3. alluring

4. assiduous

5. recuperation

6. mitigate

7. tentative

8. proceeds

9. exhilarated

10. impetuous

Part B: 10 pts
Read the text and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each space.
Anyone who has gone on a skiing holiday at a ski (1) ..D of any size will be familiar with the age-old problem - the eternal wait for ski lifts and cable cars.Well, there is an alternative. If you feel like something just a (2)... different why not try heli-skiing in Canada? Somewhere in the snowy (3) ... of the Rocky Mountains the helicopter will deposit you and your group onto a slope of virginsnow that you have all to yourselves. It is all a (4) ……….cry from the busiestslopes of, say, Switzerland, France and Italy. You are fifty miles from the nearesttown and there is nothing remotely (5)….. a ski-lift, so you have to(6)…….. on legs, skis and the chopper. You might see the (7)…… mountain-goat or grizzly bear, but there won't be (8)………. of other skiers. There are one or two disadvantages. Your friendly helicopter pilot might just put you down in a five-metre snow (9)……… And freezing weather might ground yourhelicopter and leave you (10) ………in the wilderness.
1) D. resort
2) A. little
3) C. waste
4) C. far
5) A. resembling
6) C. rely
7) A. occasional
8) hordes
9) drift
10) B. stranded

Part C:
1 - 3 (3pts)
1. A // They were less able to concentrate
2. B // influences animal feeding habits
3. B // reaction to certain weather phenomena
4 - 8 (5pts)
4. Seasonal Affective Disorder is disrupting children’s education in Russia. NG
5. Serotonin is an essential cause of human aggression.F
6. Scientific evidence links ‘happy associations with weather’ to human mood.F
7. A link between depression and the time of year has been established T
8. Melatonin levels increase at certain times of the year.)T
9 - 11 (6pts) IN ANY ORDER
B // rainy weather
D // high serotonin levels
E // sunny weather
12 - 14 (6pts)
12. B // hot weather
13. A // daylight
14. F // time cues

English Literature Assignment - Lord of the flies

What is human nature like? There have been numerous arguments of this issue since the time human beings started to care about the origins of mankind. The ancient Chinese sage, Mencius, asserted the innate goodness of the individual with his famous sayings:
“People at birth, / Are naturally good / Their natures are similar / Their habits make them different”
- Three character Classic - Wang Yinglin (Ancient Chinese author – Song Dynasty) –
However, the following author had quite a different view of human nature from that of Mencius. His name is William Golding. His work, Lord of the Files, completely reflects his pessimistic view of human nature, which he described in the work as Devil.
The book is about a group of boys whose plane crashed bringing them to an isolated island with no adults. At first, they tried to work together with the leadership of Ralph (the protagonist), with the help of wise Piggy, to build shelters and gather food and water. But soon that small ‘society’ was ruined by Jack (the antagonist) and the boys became corrupted. A boy named Simon was cruelly killed by spears and stones when Jack’s “tribe” mistook him with the “beast” (that was what they called the thing they feared). Piggy was smashed by a rock dislodged by savages. And Ralph would probably be killed without the appearance of the adults at the end of the story.
The first impression that any reader may meet when reading this book is, perhaps, about the title of the book, “Lord of the flies”. Chapter VIII revealed that the “lord of the files” of this book was a pig head swarmed with scavenging flies, created by the children as a “gift” for their “beast”. It was this “lord of the flies” that told Simon (in his hallucination) that the beast was created inside everyone.
“- Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill … You knew, didn’t you. I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are what they are?” (Lord of the flies to Simon, chapter VIII, page 200)
As mentioned in the beginning, he thought that we were all born in sin or would fall into sin. His book was written to imply the darkness of man’s heart. Thus he called his work, describing the progress of innocent and well-educated boys becoming corrupted and, perhaps, animalistic, “lord of the flies”, an implied symbol of Beelzebub (in Christianity, it is Satan).
The most interesting character of this book may be Piggy. He is a stout, asthmatic, shortsighted and wise boy. He is the knowledge of the party. He knows what mistakes might lead to in an unknown island and tries many times to stop the children from making mistakes although almost all the boys look down on him:
“- I got the conch! Just you listen! The first thing we ought to have made was shelters down there by the beach. It wasn’t half cold down there in the night. But the first time Ralph says ‘fire’ you goes howling and screaming up this here mountain. Like a pack of kids! … How can you expect to be rescued if you don’t put first things first and act proper? … Then when you get here you build a bonfire that isn’t no use. Now you been and set the whole island on fire. Won’t we look funny if the whole island burns up? …” (Piggy in the assembly, Chapter II, page 56 and 57)
Piggy is the symbol of human intelligence, however, since Golding implied too much on the darkness of man’s heart, Piggy has to receive a terrible ending, being knocked through the air under a rock. His skull cracks and his brains spill out.
“The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee … Piggy, saying nothing, with no time for even a grunt, traveled through the air sideways from the rock, turning over as he went … Piggy fell forty feet and landed on his back across the square red rock in the sea. His head opened and stuff came out and turned red. Piggy’s arms and legs twitched a bit, like a pig’s after it has been killed…” (Chapter XI, page 253 and 254)
“Lord of the flies” is a serious book about human nature, warning us that children, even those well-educated, would easily fall into sin without the guidance of adults. His book helps the grownups “to be more compassionate, to help Ralph, respect Piggy, control Jack and lighten a little the darkness of man’s heart” (E.M. Foster, King’s College, Cambridge May 14,1962).

Schindler's List - The song of humanity

I happenned to hear about this film in my Writing class.

It's about the life of the Jews in German-occupied lands and a Nazi party member, Oskar Schindler. I was moved when I watched this film.

Oskar Schindler was a businessman. He had quite a good number of relationships with Nazi high-rank officials. At first Schindler took advantage of the Jews, who had been forced out of their houses after German force defeated Poland, because the wage for them will be cheaper than that for the Poles. Through out the film, he witnessed the massacre of innocent Jews performed by German force. I was shocked when I saw a normal Jewish woman with her daughter being shot by the German when she was walking on the street. The lives of the Jews there were worth nothing to the German. If a Jew could not show that he was a "useful" worker, he would be shot down immediately without mercy, or he would be sent to a train which would bring him to German concentration camps where he would also find no happy ending. The crime done by the German force to the Jews could not be described simply in a few words. It was a crime against human. During World War II, the Nazi killed more than 6 million Jews. In the film, I caught a scene in which German killed 10000 Jews and burned their bodies to ash. The ash from the fire was like snow. And the German just looked at them, laughing wildly. The children of the Jews were separated from the parents and brought to concentration camps where finally they would be packed in large rooms and be gassed to death. I saw the sufferings of the Jews, witnessed the children, at a very young age, tried to find a place to hide from the German force in panic. A lot of kids even had to hide in an excrement-holding place. In the factory of the German, no Jew was allowed to sit still for a while. German killed them whenever they wanted. A Jewish worker would be killed if he could only do 10 things instead of 11 things as ordered. No reason for mistakes could be accepted by the German. The end of the Jews in thoses camps and factories finally was death. But in the factory of Oskar Schindler, no Jew was killed. In fact, Oskar at that time paid little attention to the workers, the only reason his workers were not killed was because Schindler only cared about money, not killing people like many Naziers, but later his accountant, a Jew named Stern, made he change. And when Schindler heard that the Nazi intended to ship his workers to a concentration camp, he used his money to buy their lives. The name of 1100 Jews made up the famous list named "Schindler's List". Thanks to the list, 1100 Jews were rescued from Death. Oskar spent all his money to sustain his workers and during the war time, though his factory was a military one which was supposed to produce weapons, none of his product could be used in the war. And when the war ended, he also went bankrupt. Because Schindler was a Nazi party member, he had to flee. I remembered most his tears when he said farewell to his workers. He said that it was his wasting money in the past that didn't allow him to save more Jews. The film end with the scene of a Soviet soldier guided the Jews to a new place to live and the Jews buildt another life.

While the German out there killed the Jews, Oskar Schindler, a member of the Nazi party, saved people. Although he couldn't help all the Jews, his 1100 workers brought up a whole generation.

This film is really of lesson of humanity.

My dear master

This essay is my submission for a competition. Though I don't know the result, I'm glad I've finished it ^^

-o__o-

Perhaps it’s unarguable that everyone, no matter poor or rich, successful or failed, has at least a teacher. He is the person leading us to the life outside our homes, opening up new horizons for us and showing us how to become a man. Teachers are sometimes viewed as “seed-planters” since the human resource of the society depends on them. I once read an interesting poem describing the teaching career:

“To be a teacher means to be a ferryman

helping others cross large rivers
Is it because the rivers are so big

that rarely do people remember him?”

For most part of his career, a teacher may witness generations after generations grow up, enjoying the happiness of seeing his “seeds” successful or feeling deeply disappointed when one of the “seeds” becomes spoiled. All those conditions and emotions, no one knows when, have become an essential part of a teacher’s life.
My dear teacher, who taught me English from the very beginning of my secondary life, is, perhaps, an embodiment of teaching career.
“Master”, the title I often call him with great respect, is a man of his fifties. His grey hair and the sunburned skin make him look older than he really is. His forehead is full of wrinkles which, perhaps, are the results of his hot temper. And cracks dominate his hands and feet. In fact, it’s easy for a stranger to come to the wrong conclusion that he must be over sixty. His dislike of colorful things explains his habit of wearing only white shirts and black trousers. A lot of people call my master ‘weird’ but for me, he just looks like a man of another previous age.
One thing I have to admit is that my master is quite strict, in which he will get angry if anyone of us comes to class without preparing the lessons well. Many don’t like his way of teaching since they argue that he is only a teacher of good students who always learn and complete all the assignments he gives out but I, as one of his students who were punished by him several times, know that he does so because he want us to have a high level of self-actualization. For most of the time I studied English with him, I saw his efforts in helping us to establish an appropriate study method. Master made us work hard so that we could have a solid and strong foundation for future development in our careers. Surely my master is not a good pretender because although he tried to behave in a strict and serious way, we could see his happiness in his eyes when each of us achieved a higher level.
A memory that I will never forget about master happened a couple of years ago when I was at high-school. In my old school, I was one of the top students in English, so the tests were often quite easy for me, which sometimes caused my ignorance of English. One day, after long hours of playing football, I was so tired that I didn’t care to revise his lesson. As a result, the next day I did one of the worst things in my life, cheating in the test. When master found out, he was extremely angry. Through his eyes, I could feel his deep disappointment. Tears filled my eyes and my lips just had enough strength to let a few words out: “I’m sorry, sir”. My master said nothing but left the room quietly. That afternoon I ate nothing, lying thinking about my mistake. Suddenly the phone rang and from the other end came his voice: “Son, are you alright?” I was so surprised that I could hardly say anything. Master called because he was afraid that something bad would happen to me. He told me that mistakes were a fact of life and that it was the way I respond to errors that counted. That day, though I made my master disappointed, he gave me the most precious lesson I had ever had.
One characteristic of his that I admire most is his ability to work restlessly. Master spends most of his time finding improvements and solutions to his teaching method. His effort reminds me of one saying of Confucius’s: “… study without boredom and teach without rest …” Though he usually tries to hide his exhaustion, we all see his sweat wash his clothes. For me, it is his spirit of working that gives me motivation to work tirelessly so as to achieve new heights. However, because of such a busy work schedule, master’s health is seriously affected. He once told us that sometimes he failed to concentrate on marking tests or that he had several headaches. The latest traffic accident happening to him put a stop to his teaching career at school. Tried hard as he did, master was unable to continue. When I heard the news, I felt a sense of sadness in his voice. Perhaps he was so accustomed to school-life that it was hard for him to leave it. But my master is not a person who would easily sit still in a place, doing nothing, he is now in charge of some evening classes. Although I really admire his love for work, I sincerely hope master can have more time to rest since the last time I visited him, sweat still washed his shirt.

Now we don’t study with master any more, but his lessons still guide us in our ways of life. For each of us, he is not only a teacher but also a father who always cares for our life. What he teaches us is more than English, it’s about how we should live and work to the fullest. His saying still echoes in my ears every day: “As a man, you have a Heart, Love and Industry will give you Strength and Intelligence”. Every year, we gather together in his house one time, recalling the old memories; and master always remembers everything. But the chance for us to meet him seems rarer because of the busy life of each of us. Each year our master is getting older and weaker; our only wish now is that master is healthier and can live with us much and much longer so that we can give him the present he always longs for, our success.

Reading : Doublespeak - my attitude and experience

We are living in an age when avoiding making harsh, unpleasant or distateful statements is necessary. Thus in daily conversations appears doublespeak. In general, doublespeak can be divided into three main kinds: euphemism, jargon and inflated language.

First of all, euphemism is a kind of indirect words or phrases that people often use to refer to something embarrassing or unpleasant, sometimes to make it seem more acceptable than it really is. For example, 'user fees' is a politician's euphemism for taxes. To some extent, euphemism can be used to avoid hurting others' feelings. In other words, it not only protects feelings but also shows our care for them. For instance, it may be said that one is not dying, but 'fading quickly' because 'the end is near'.

The second type of doublespeak is jargon. It is the language that is used by a particular profession or group of people. Its purpose is to help the colleagues or members communicate with each other more efficiently. As a result, not every one can understand the jargon of a job. With jargon, corporations never lose money, they just experience 'negative cashflow', 'deficit enhancement', etc. and banks don't have bad loans or bad debts, they have 'non-performing assets' or 'non-performing credits'.

Finally, talking about doublespeak, we also take a look at inflated language. This kind of doublespeak, as stated in its name, is the language that has been made to be more important or impressive than it really is. Corporations take advantage of doublespeak by using it to explain for their acts of firing workers. For example, they now offer 'vocational relocation', 'career assignment and relocation', a 'career change opportunity', or 'voluntary termination'. These days no one gets fired, and you are never unemployed, you are just in an 'orderly transition betweem career changes'.

To sum up, whereas it may be considered wrong to construct words to disguise meaning, doublespeak is now an accepted and established practice. In fact, we can see that doublespeak is highly strategic and has a wide range of applications. Thus it is the way that we deal with it that counts.

* Thanks to professor William Lutz, I could get those examples to illustrate the essays.

Bye bye Partners ...

Oh, a year passed and we had been along together for such a period of time. There were once a group called "Vegetarian Sharks", in which each of us could feel proud to be call "shark" ^^. And there were once a group called "Viva Vietnam" aiming to the glory. And when I was thinking of another name for the group for this semester, this change came suddenly. We're no longer in one group. No "vegetaran sharks", no "Viva vietnam". This is the end of our group. Oh, to some extent, I really felt the cracks between us several times. Yeah, I once saw the "so-called" largest gap between us ...

So why do I write this entry ? Am I sad or unhappy or angry ? No guys, I'm sure that my "former" partners don't expect me to be sad or unhappy or etc and I'm really not unhappy. Neither do I have any regret. And I know they feel the same. I write this entry to say Goodbye to my "partners". Life is a string of tomorrows, and it's our decisions that create tomorrow...

"And I'll sing you tomorrow

Bless you with love

For the road that you go "

- Sleep song - Secret Garden

Syntax : Chapter VII: Clauses 2 - Part 2 : Dependent Clauses

This chapter deals with other functions of clauses, that is, with clauses at used. In other words, we will now take a look at dependent or subordinate clauses. There are three categories: Nominal clauses, Relative clauses and Adverbial clauses.

First of all, Nominal clauses. They function in the same places as Noun phrases, i.e. subject, object and complement. However, it does not take the adjunct function as a Noun phrase does. Nominal phrases have four types: two finite types (wh-clauses and that clauses) and two non-finite types (infinitive clauses and participle clauses).

About That clauses. They are clauses introduced by 'that' and may function as subject, object or complement. When a 'that' clause functions as subject, a "dummy" 'it' may stay in the subject position and the that clause is extraposed (moved outside of the constituent that contains it). It's English way to put long and 'weighty' elements at the end of a clause.

Wh-clauses are clauses introduced by who, what, when, where, how, whether, if. They may either indirect question or a nominal relative clause. They may function as subject, object, or complement. e.g.

- What I did did not interest her.

- They didn't understand what I said.

- The problem is where all the money has gone.

PS: As that clauses do, wh-clauses also have the case of extraposition when wh-clauses function as subject, e.g. It did not interest her what I did.

The third type of this group, the Infinitive clauses. As usual, it begins with a verb in infinitive form. The verb here may be a to-infinitive or a bare infinitive. The functions an infinitive clause can take are subject, complement and, most common of all, object or part of the object. e.g.

- To live (-> Subject) is to devote (-> object)

- He asked me to bring the book (-> object) (a)

- I want you to do that (-> part of object) (b)

* In example (a), the verb 'ask' can take two objects 'me' and 'to bring the book' as we can question both of them :

'Who did he ask to bring the book ?' (me)

'What did he ask me ?' (to bring the book)

But in example (b), the verb 'want' does not normally take two objects. This can be proven when we question the two "objects":

'Who do I want to do it?' (It's alright)

'What do I want you ?' (This's impossible)

Thus, the clause should be analysed as subject - verb - object. The object here is a complex made up of a Noun phrase and an infinitive clause.

Finally, Participle clauses. They, mainly present participle, may function as both subject and complement. And as infinitive clauses do, they are commonly found in object position, Indeed, without a preposition participle clauses never function as a second object, e.g. :

- Seeing (-> Subject) is believing (-> Object)

- We enjoy going out for lunch ( -> Object)

- I saw him going out with another girl (-> Part of object)

- They accused Tom (object 1) of stealing the bike (Object 2)

The way of analyzing these examples is the same as that of infinitive clauses' examples.

The second type of dependent clauses is Relative clauses. Relative clauses function as post-modifiers in Noun phrases. A Relative pronoun is used to link them to the head of the noun phrase. There are two factors that determine the form of the Relative pronoun.

The first one is whether the head noun is personal or non-personal, which decides the choice between 'who' and 'which'.

The second factor is the syntactic function of the relative pronoun within the Relatice clause. e.g. - Whom has the function object

- Whose has the function genetive

- to/at which has the function prepositional object

'That' is a special case since it can be used with both personal and non-personal antecedents. It's also the only relative pronoun that may be used after 'all, anything, everything' and superlative forms of adjectives.

Whom, where, why, etc. are also used as relative pronouns but only after the appropriate head nouns. And those noun phrases are often reduced by omitting the head noun, thus making them nominal relative clause.

Finally, we come to Adverbial clauses. Adverbial clauses give circumstantial information about an action or event. They are introduced by conjunctions which 'join' the adverbial clause to the main clause.

- Conditional clauses are introduced by 'if' or 'unless'

- 'Than' or 'as' introduces Comparison clauses.

- Reason clauses take 'because' or 'since'

- Contrast clauses use 'though' or 'although'

- Purpose clauses are introduced by 'so that'

- Result clauses take 'so ... that'

Adverbial clauses may be regarded as functioning as adjunct in clause structure. However, if this were always true, the clause would be the highest or largest unit in clause structure, since we could regard one clause as functioning as an element within the other clause if two of them occurred together. Here we have conditional clause as a proof that the theory is not exactly right as it does not give circumstantial information about an action or even but set two actions or events in relationship to each other: one is conditional on the other, and each is represented by a separate clause.

Well, according those in the upper grade, this chapter ends the Syntax subject of Semophore's first semester. Hah, as we finish this chapter, it is recommended that we take a revision for all. The exercises will be tough unless we learn by heart and understand all the units, items, and categories. Good luck !

(The beginning of the Second year is coming , hope to see my classmates soon, I miss you much ^^)

Syntax : Chapter VI: Clauses - Part 1: Structure and Types

I have to admit it that although writing journals about Syntax always makes me exhausted, I love this subject. Today I've just finished one more chapter of the coursebook: Chapter VI.

Syntactic units are usually composed of units directly below them and they function in units directly above them. Thus a phrase is composed of words and functions in a clause. Just as the description of phrases was in term of words and their function in various types of phrase, the description of clauses is in term of phrases and their function in various types of clause.

That's the introduction of the structure of clauses, we now discuss the functions of phrases in a clause.

There are five functions that phrases may fulfil in English clause structure. They are Subject, Verb, Object, Complement and Adjunct.

First of all, about Subject. The subject function is usually filled by a Noun phrase and the noun or pronoun that is head here 'agrees' with the verb in number. In practice, except for 'be', this applies only to the third person singular of the simple present tense. For 'be', there are three forms in the present tense and two in the past tense. In statement clauses in English, the subject usually precedes the verb. Basically English is a subject-verb-object language.

Secondly, Verb. The verb function is always filled by a verb phrase. It is nearly a defining characteristic of a clause that it contains a verb. Clauses without verb do occasionally occur but they may usually be regarded as derivation in some way form further clauses with verb

For example : Dinner over, they went to bed <= When dinner was over, they went to bed.

Most clause contain at least a subject and a verb. Imperative clauses can be considered as an exception but this type of clause is sometimes thought to have a 'you' subject. Non-finite clause is another exception here. e.g. Seeing his girlfriend kiss another man, he ...

Thirdly, Object. The object function may be filled either by a noun phrase or by a prepositional phrase. In the case of prepositional phrases, we have two ways of analyzing this:

+ We may see the clause is composed of a subject (Noun Phrase), verb (verb phrase) and object (Prepositional phrase).

+ Alternatively, the preposition may be regarded as belonging to the verb. Thus, the verb phrase now contains a prepositional verb and the object is now a noun phrase.

However, in case the preposition does not occur next to the verb, it is useful to assign the preposition to the object rather than the verb.
Some clauses often have two objects, here we got the terms 'direct object' and 'indirect object'. The indirect object normally refers to a person, more particularly the person who is recipient or beneficiary.
Ex: Tom gave Jerry a toy => Tom gave a toy to Jerry
Sometimes, it is difficult to draw this distinction. Here the terms 'object 1' and 'object 2' should be used.
Ex: Tom sprayed blue paint on the gate => Tom sprayed the gate with blue paint

Fourthly, Complement. This function may be filled either by a noun phrase or by an adjective phrase. So what is the difference between a compliment and an object? A complement has the same reference as the subject or as the object.
Ex: He has become a distinguished leader.
I found the book quite interesting.
=> A compliment may be either a subject compliment or an object compliment.
Furthermore, a complement may refer either to a state or to a result.
Ex: She seems unhealthy. He has become ill.
There is a limited subclass of verbs that may be associated with complements.
Fifthly, Adjunct. The adjunct function is filled by an adverb phrase, a prepositional phrase, or a noun phrase. It is an optional element in clause structure and gives circumstantial information about the action or event that the clause refers to.
Finally, we'll talk a little bit about the obligation and option of elements. When a subject, verb, object or complement occur in a clause, their presence is necessary to render the clause grammatical or sensible. Thus, subject, verb and complement are mostly obligatory. Objects may sometimes omitted and adjuncts are usually optional.

OK, above is about the functions of a phrase may take in a clause. Now we'll take a look at types of clause.
The recognition of basic clause types may be based on the basis of the functions of phrases occurring in clause structure. In English, there are seven such basic clause types:
1. Subject verb (SV)
2. Subject verb adjunct (SVA)
3. Subject verb complement (SVC)
4. Subject verb object (SVO)
5. Subject verb object adjunct (SVOA)
6. Subject verb object object (SVOO)
7. Subject verb object complement (SVOC)
Type 1 is an intransitive clause type. The action referred by the verb here is carried out by the subject and does not affect anybody or anything else. This group also includes 'impersonal verbs', i.e. the subjects refers to a total environment rather than to some parts of it. Ex: It's raining
Type 2 may be regarded as intransitive, though it is also considered to be similar to Type 3. Here the adjunct is obligatory for the verb, mainly adjuncts of place, either of position or of direction. Sometimes, we find a few verb take adjuncts of time or of manner. e.g. An old man lived in the tent / He weighs seventy kilos.
Type 3 is the intensive clause type. Here the complement and subject are not distinct entities but refer to the same 'thing'. Intensive relation also occurs when two noun phrases are in apposition (the use of a noun phrase immediately after another noun phrase which refers to the same person or thing) e.g Your boots smells badly.
Type 4 is a transitive clause type, 'mono-transitive' is its exact name in order to distinguish it from its 'relative', type 6. This clause type has only one object. It's probably the commonest clause type, both in terms of the number of verbs entering it and in terms of the frequency of occurrence in spoken and written language. e.g. We've found him.
Type 5 is a transitive clause type but here an adjunct is obligatory for the object. Like type 2, the majority of adjuncts are of place, though other kinds are possible. e.g. You must put the shoes on the shelf.
Type 6 is the 'di-transitive' clause type. i.e. having two objects. Sometimes we can distinguish between indirect object and direct object (of course in terms of these kinds of object). The indirect object may come before the direct object and usually refers to an animate 'thing'. We have three kinds of structure here:
+ Subject-verb-indirect object-direct object : I gave him a chance
+ Subject-verb-direct object-to-indirect object: Tom gave the ring to Ann
+ Subject-verb-direct object-for-indirect object: They saved the money for me.
Type 7 is the complex-transitive clause type where only one element will follow the verb, but it is a complex of an object and a complement. Here exists an intensive relation between the object and the complement. e.g We found Jane talented.

...

In conclusion, the elements that are constant in all the clause types are the subject and the verb. What follows the verb is called 'complementation' of the verb and it varies. Not every verb may enter every clause type. Some verbs are restricted to just one clause type, some may enter more. Thus, it is possible to specify verbs for the clause types they may enter, and in more detail still for the categories of phrase that may be associated with them in each clause type.

That's all for chapter VI, one more chapter and we'll finish English Syntax for Somophores hehe. See you next time.

Reading strategies (part 1)

Phew, after nearly 2 weeks busy with the Green Summer Campaign, I finally find a time to write this journal. [Haizz, this Campaign took me a lot of time but the results were not satisfactory. I'm glad it's over]

As good jobs need skills, effective reading also needs strategies. You might have learnt these strategies in Study skills, but as far as I know, we all feel bored with that subject, right ? However, as learning to use strategies is one of the aims of the book ReadSmart3, I think I'll make an outline of those.

Can you guess what kind of strategy will be introduced first ? The answer is SCANNING
In the book, scanning has the definition as a strategy used to 'pick specific information out of the text. Now, how will you 'scan' a text? Here are some suggestions
+ Search for exact terms used in the question being asked.
+ You may also need to look for alternate terms. Alternate terms include signals (indicate a certain kind of information is coming), synonyms (for key terms in the question) and symbols (represent these terms).
So where and when should you scan ? Here is the list of the most commonly 'scanning-used' items :
- a telephone book
- a dictionary
- long and complex readings ( to find key facts)
- supermarket sale flyer
- newspaper editorial
- a complicated recipe
- a class schedule
- an airport departure board
- the list of performer in a play
- a math word problem

That's for scanning, now we'll move to SKIMMING. Skimming is the technique for finding main ideas. Like scanning, you should always look for alternate terms that express the ideas you think you might find. Hah, I now will give you the progress of skimming:
- Move eyes quickly over the text
- Read the titles and the subtitles
- Notice the name and qualifications of the writer
- Read any headings and subheadings
- Read the first and last paragraph of the article
- For more information, read the first and last sentence of each paragraph
- Notice signals indicating main ideas and organizations
- Notice any pictures, charts, or graphs and read the captions
- Notice any italicized or bold words or phrases.
You should use skimming technique in the following situations:
- When you have to memorize a poem
- When you are researching and need to decide if an article contains important information
- When you are reading instructions on how to use your new computer
- When you are going to have a test in 30 minutes and still have 20 pages to read (hey hey, I don't mean that I encourage leaving what you should study until when you take a test)

OK, that's for today +__+ haiz, I'll try to wirte longer next time (T___T poor my writing skill +___T)