English Language II (MED) – Tutoring Class (A–D) (E–O) (P–Z) – Dott.

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Andrea Verdino – Lessons 1–2

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Lessons Schedule

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Thu 20/10/22 – Fri 21/10/22 10:30–12:30 (A–D); 12:30–14:30 (E–O); 14:30–16:30 (P–Z)
Thu 27/10/22 – Fri 28/10/22 10:30–12:30 (A–D); 12:30–14:30 (E–O); 14:30–16:30 (P–Z)

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Thu 10/11/22 – Fri 11/11/22 10:30–12:30 (A–D); 12:30–14:30 (E–O); 14:30–16:30 (P–Z)

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Thu 17/11/22 – Fri 18/11/22 10:30–12:30 (A–D); 12:30–14:30 (E–O); 14:30–16:30 (P–Z)
Thu 24/11/22 – Fri 25/11/22 10:30–12:30 (A–D); 12:30–14:30 (E–O); 14:30–16:30 (P–Z)
Thu 1/12/22 – Fri 2/12/22 iS
10:30–12:30 (A–D); 12:30–14:30 (E–O); 14:30–16:30 (P–Z)
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PART 1 – GAP EXERCISES

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EXERCISE 1 – GAP ANALYSIS

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a) What is the grammatical category that fits into each of the following gaps (e.g., noun, verb, adjective,
preposition, ...)?
b) What are the possible word(s) that can fit into the following gaps?
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If we look around us at the things we have purchased at some (1) __________ in our lives, we would no doubt
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notice that not everything we own is being put to (2) __________ use: the thick woollen coat which we thought
looked trendy (3) __________ the fact that we live in a tropical country, the smartphone that got (4)
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__________ away when we bought ourselves the newest model, the car that only gets used at the weekends, or
even the guest room in our house that somehow got turned (5) __________ a storeroom. Those underutilised
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items may seem (6) __________ to some, but could be an asset to others. With the advent of the internet, online
communities have figured out a way to (7) __________ profit from the sharing of those underused assets. (8)
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__________ websites and social media groups that facilitate the buying and selling of second-hand (9)
__________, it is now easier than ever for peer-to-peer sharing activities to take (10) __________. And this is
known as the sharing economy.
EXERCISE 2 – MULTIPLE CHOICE CLOZE TEST

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Minority Languages

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There are 6,500 spoken languages on planet earth and that is just taking _____ (1) account the spoken languages

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in this day and age, not the ones that are currently extinct. If we look back across time, we _____ (2) encounter
an endless list of languages and dialects. Having said that, what is most concerning is that there are many

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minority languages in places such as Wales and even Spain that are at risk _____ (3) dying out. This is because

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over 2000 of these said minority languages have fewer _____ (4) 1000 speakers living today and are in a sense,
dead languages as they do not evolve in the way that modern languages do.

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What many of you might be saying to yourselves is; what is the point _____ (5) keeping these languages “alive”?
A language is one of the most complex art _____ (6) that exist. It encapsulates the whole culture, history and
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background of a people and compiles it into a useful working entity that is _____ (7) evolving with its use. If
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we lose a minority language, in reality what we are _____ (8) is history. And that is a sad day for humanity.
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1 A. out B. for C. with D. into

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2 A. cannot B. should C. can D. must

3 A. at B. in C. on D. of
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4 A. than B. as C. of D. like
5 A. for B. in C. at D. over
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6 A. concepts B. forms C. methods D. ways

7 A. ever B. shortly C. rarely D. constantly
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8 A. losing B. missing C. taking D. wasting

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EXERCISE 3 – CLOZE TEST

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Fill the gaps with the appropriate word from the list below.

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A Brief History of Cities

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The English word "city" came through Old French, and has __________ in Latin civitas, which means
"citizenship". The influence of the Greek word polis, meaning "city", can be noticed is English words such as

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"metropolis" (a really large city). Some of the _______ cities developed 4000-3000 BC, as civilizations in the

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Middle East, India and China flourished. Some, like Mohenjo-daro in Pakistan, were very densely __________,
so they had to develop complex system to keep the city sanitary. In the Middle Ages, some cities like Venice

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and San Marino took control over surrounding villages and became powerful city-states. The __________ of
modern industries led many people to migrate from rural areas to cities, which brought about the rise of
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megacities, places with over 10 million people.
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Jericho, Palestinian Territories

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Through its ancient archaeological sites, Jericho tells __________stories about the history of humans. Not only
is this the city with the oldest wall, built around the first community 10,000 years ago, but it is also mentioned
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in the Hebrew Bible as the "City of Palm Trees”. Jericho's Arabic name Ariha means "fragrant". In the
beginning, the indigenous __________ lived alone in an agricultural community, but slowly, different groups
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of nomads joined them. This city has had a turbulent history ever since, yet it remained continuously inhabited.
__________, several Christian pilgrimage sites located in the city make Jericho a popular tourist destination.
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Byblos, Lebanon
People have been living in Byblos for more than 8,000 years. An ancient myth __________ that this city, lying
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on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, was built by Greek god Cronus. The earliest __________ show that the
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city was in fact called Gubal. The Greek name Byblos was most probably adopted because papyrus (paper),
which was __________ through this city, was also called byblos in Greek. (That is why biblion in Greek means
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"book", and it is also the origin of the English word bible). Byblos was a small fishing village at first, but as
__________ increased, it became an important shipping port. Although destroyed numerous times, Byblos still
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has __________ of its ancient history, particularly its temples, to offer to curious tourists, many of whom also
find it to be a great beach destination.
 populations – records – remnants – suggests – countless – populated – nowadays – trade – earliest –
roots – growth – imported

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EXERCISE 4 – CLOZE TEST

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Fill the gaps with the appropriate word from the list below.

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Who killed Martin Luther King?

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On the night of April 4th, 1968, someone was waiting opposite the windows of the Lorraine Motel, in [1]

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__________ Memphis. In front of the motel, a big white Cadillac was parked; it was the car in which the Rev.
Martin Luther King was being [2] __________ round, as he traveled through the southern states, speaking to
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audiences in towns and cities, [3] __________ the cause of non-violence and civil rights. When King stepped
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out onto the balcony, to take a breath of fresh air after eating his dinner, a shot rang out. The civil rights leader
and Nobel-prizewinner, the man who preached non-violence, fell to the ground, fatally [4] __________. Within
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minutes, he was dead. The news spread like wildfire round the USA; the man who had done more, perhaps,
than any other to further the rights of Black people in the United States of America, had been assassinated, it
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seemed, by a [5] __________ sniper, a white extremist. Weeks later a man by the name of James Earl Ray was
arrested and [6] __________ to 99 years in prison for the assassination. But is that really what happened?
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Though James Earl Ray initially confessed to killing King, it was not long before he retracted his statement;
and to this day, there are those who do not believe that Ray was actually guilty of the crime for which he spent
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almost 30 years [7] __________ bars. Indeed, even Dexter King, Martin Luther King's son, believed that Ray
was not his father's assassin. But if Ray did not do the deed, who did? And why? Was it just a pure [8]
__________ crime? Or was this a political assassination ordered by some faceless figures in some secret
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service? The [9] __________ that King was really assassinated by the Secret Service has been [10] __________
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more and more popular over recent years and was even the [11] __________ of an "X-Files" episode. So how
real is the conspiracy theory? And what reasons might anyone other than a racist have had to get rid of a
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charismatic and peaceful leader [12] __________ Martin Luther King?

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racist – driven – like – subject – downtown – promoting – growing – wounded – lone – sentenced –
behind – theory
PART 2 – GRAMMAR

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EXERCISE 5 – TRANSITIVE/INTRANSITIVE VERBS

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a) For each of the following couples, identify the transitive and the intransitive verb.
b) Explain your choice with some examples. What is the difference between a transitive and an

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intransitive verb?

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1) Enjoy 2) Like 3) Applaud 4) Occur 5) Agree

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Laugh Smile Clap Schedule Discuss

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EXERCISE 6 – VERB TENSES
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Fill the gaps with the correct form of the verbs in brackets.
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In many countries, plastic straws are increasingly hard to come by. In the UK, where I live, they (1)__________
(ban) completely at the end of 2020 along with plastic coffee stirrers. So when I (2)__________ (offer) a straw
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in a restaurant or café now, it's usually made of paper.

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But these paper straws bend and go limp after a few minutes in my drink, and in the end they all (3)__________
(go) in the general waste, either to an incinerator to be burned to produce energy, or to landfill.
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(4)__________ (I/want) a paper straw? I am lucky enough to be able to lift that glass to my lips, so I might as
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well do so. And just like that, a step towards zero waste is taken, and it feels good.
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Single-use plastics seem to (5)__________ (disappear). Australia has had a plastic bag ban since 2018. India
(6)__________ (follow) the UK with a ban on straws, cutlery and food packaging in July 2022. In my home
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country of France, plastics are now banned on fresh fruit and vegetables.
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While plastic waste is a problem, plastic is also a useful material in which to package food. So why is it the
subject of so much attention? And (7)__________ (plastic/have) a place on our supermarket shelves?
In 2018, we produced two billion tonnes of solid waste globally, of which 275 million tonnes was plastic. With
the world population predicted to double by 2050, waste (8)__________ (increase) by 70%.

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Globally, packaging is the largest source of plastic waste – and by some margin. In 2015, 141 million tonnes of
plastic packaging waste (9)__________ (generate), compared to 42 million tonnes of plastic textile waste –

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which was the next largest sector.

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Some countries are able to recycle most of their plastic waste. Up to 56% (10)__________ (recycle) in Germany,
closely followed by Austria, South Korea and Wales. But the global picture is quite different – 15% of plastics

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go to recycling, but 40% of this waste is rejected for contamination or other issues, meaning only 9% of plastic

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waste is actually recycled. By contrast, metals can have an up to 100% recycle rate.

EXERCISE 7 – VERB TENSES iS

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Complete the following sentences by putting the correct form of the verbs in brackets.
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1. When he ______________ (finish) reading the article in the Financial Times, he _____________ (give) it to
me.
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2. Everyone _____________ (wait) for the meeting to begin when he ________________ (call) to say he was
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stuck in a traffic jam.

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3. I ____________ (find) the missing file while I _____________ (look) for some other documents.

4. While I _____________ (negotiate) the Pfizer contract, my boss ______________ (phone) me to say he
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wanted completely different conditions.

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5. I _____________ (never/speak) to him, but I _____________ (see) his assistant yesterday.

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6. John __________ (work) for WorldCom now – he __________ (be) there for more than five years.
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7. The company is doing very well. Last year sales _________ (go up) by 12%, and so far this year they
_________ (go up) another 8%.
8. I ___________ (work) for Toyota since last year, but now I want to change jobs. ________________

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(you/hear) of any vacancies?

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9. We _____________ (operate) all over South-East Asia. Recently we ______________ (establish) branches

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in Singapore and Hong Kong.

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10. I _____________ (just/meet) Andrew Jackson from Soundtronic Ltd. _______________ (you/know) him?

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PART 3 – TRANSLATION

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EXERCISE 8 – TRANSLATION
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Translate the following excerpt (Italian > English). Use appropriate terminology for the subject of the
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Stato dell’Unione: un nuovo piano d’azione per invertire la tendenza nella lotta contro il razzismo
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Nel suo discorso sullo stato dell’Unione 2020, la Presidente von der Leyen ha annunciato un nuovo piano
d’azione dell’UE contro il razzismo che definisce una serie di misure per i prossimi 5 anni.
Tra i temi discussi, la Commissione garantirà che gli Stati membri attuino pienamente le pertinenti norme
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dell’UE e, se necessario, rafforzino ulteriormente il quadro giuridico (legal framework).

Ciò potrebbe essere necessario nei settori non ancora coperti dalla legislazione contro la discriminazione, come
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l’attività delle autorità di contrasto (law enforcement). La Commissione invita inoltre gli Stati membri a
utilizzare al massimo tutti gli strumenti a loro disposizione, in particolare i finanziamenti disponibili nell’ambito
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del prossimo bilancio (budget) a lungo termine dell’UE e dello strumento Next Generation EU.
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EXERCISE 9 – TRANSLATION
Translate the following excerpt (Italian > English). Use appropriate terminology for the subject of the

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text.

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UE e Cina discutono di relazioni commerciali ed economiche

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Si è tenuto oggi l’ottavo dialogo economico e commerciale ad alto livello tra l’Unione europea e la Cina.

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Il Vicepresidente esecutivo Valdis Dombrovskis, accompagnato dal Commissario per il Commercio Phil
Hogan, ha tenuto la riunione in videoconferenza con il Vice Primo Ministro cinese Liu He, accompagnato da

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diversi viceministri. Il Vicepresidente esecutivo Dombrovskis ha dichiarato:

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“L’attuale crisi non ci lascia altra scelta se non quella di lavorare fianco a fianco (hand in hand) con i nostri
partner mondiali, compresa la Cina. Unendo le nostre forze (By pulling together) possiamo puntare a una ripresa

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economica più rapida e fare passi avanti in settori di reciproco interesse, come le relazioni commerciali e in
materia di investimenti. Dobbiamo però affrontare anche questioni sensibili (sticking points) come la reciprocità
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nel trattamento accordato alle nostre imprese.
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Dovremo compiere ulteriori progressi su questi e altri aspetti in vista del prossimo vertice dei leader che si terrà
in autunno”.
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