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FEATURE
Getting
around in American
and British English
Birthday
Greetings
MED Magazine celebrates
its first birthday
COLUMNS
Metaphor
What we talk about
when we talk about
money
 Focus
on Language
Study:
Introduction
Text types
Narratives and descriptions
UK version ¦ US
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by Cindy
Leaney
Texts are written for a purpose. The purpose might be to get or give information,
to discuss a topic, to present an opinion, or to persuade someone to do
something. Writers organize texts in various ways to do these particular
jobs. They use different grammar structures and vocabulary depending on
the purpose of a text.
Narrative
A narrative tells a story or gives an account (real or
imagined) of something that has happened. The events are usually given
in the order that they happen. Past tenses are the most common grammar
structures in narratives. The main events are usually told in sentences
using the past simple and past continuous tenses. The details or extra
information about the story are often in the present or past perfect tenses.
Direct speech is used to add variety and interest.
after that
afterwards
at first
before
during
in the end |
eventually
finally
for
later
meanwhile
next |
since
then
till
until
when
while |
| Fran Miller, who works as an acrobat in a circus,
went into a charity shop in Edinburgh. She left her bike at the door.
While she was in the shop, one of the assistants sold her bike for
ten pounds. Ms Miller had paid £1,200 for it. When she came
out of the shop and discovered what had happened, she was shocked.
'At first I thought someone had moved it. Then my knees turned to
jelly and I fell down. I felt like I'd been kicked in the stomach,'
she said. |
Write a short account of Nelson Mandela's life based on
the information below, using some of the useful vocabulary from the section.
Nelson Mandela Timeline
| 1918 |
born in a village in the Transkei |
| 1940 |
expelled from Fort Hare University
for leading a strike |
| 1942 |
joined the African National Congress
(ANC), formed the African National Congress Youth League with
fellow ANC members |
| 1952 |
became a lawyer, opened the first
black legal firm in the country with Oliver Tambo |
| 1960 |
Sharpeville Massacre, Mandela
detained until 1961 |
| 1962 |
jailed for 5 years |
| 1964 |
sentenced to life imprisonment
while serving the 5-year sentence |
| 1990 |
released |
| 1990 |
elected President of the ANC |
| 1993 |
shared Nobel Peace Prize with
President FW de Klerk |
| 1994 |
became President of South Africa |
| 1999 |
retired as President of South
Africa |
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Description
A description gives details about what someone or something
is like or how something is done. Descriptions often use present tenses,
but they also use past tenses to give background information. Fictional
and historical descriptions often use past tenses.
When we are describing people and things, we often use
a series of adjectives. The usual order for adjectives before nouns is:
opinion,
number |
other (size, shape,
age etc) |
colour |
origin |
material |
purpose |
x |
| a strange |
old |
red |
Moroccan |
leather |
money |
bag |
| lovely |
fluffy |
white |
x |
x |
x |
clouds |
| several |
tall |
grey |
x |
concrete |
office |
blocks |
Describing
a person's appearance
he/she is tall/short/fair/dark
he/she has curly/straight/wavy hair
he's got a beard/moustache
he/she wears glasses
he/she has wrinkles/freckles/a dimple
he/she has a round/oval/long face
he/she looks/seems/appears nervous/relaxed/troubled
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My friend Jane (Part 1)
My friend Jane is fair with short, curly hair. She's
got an oval face, beautiful green eyes, and a few freckles on her
nose. She's about average height for her age — 14. Today she's
wearing her school uniform — a grey skirt, a longsleeved white
blouse, and black shoes.
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Describing a person's
character
he/she has an outgoing personality/easygoing manner
she/he can be stubborn/difficult/charming
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My friend Jane (Part 2)
Jane is sitting at her desk, staring out of the
window and seems to be thinking about something else. She is not
paying attention to what the teacher is saying. She's often very
quiet and doesn't say much in class. Her teachers say that she is
a good student — hardworking and intelligent — just not
very outgoing.
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Activity
Write a description of a person that you know and/or admire.
Write about their appearance and character.
there is/are
in the centre/middle
to the right/left
to one side
in the foreground/background
above
behind |
between
beyond
in front of
near
over
under |
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The view from my bedroom
The clouds look like dark mountains in the distance.
There is a small white house to the right with smoke coming out
of the chimney. One of the upstairs windows is open and there is
a cat asleep on the porch. The trees are beginning to lose their
leaves. An old rusty red pickup truck is slowly climbing the rocky
road to the house. There is a long wooden table and several cardboard
boxes in the back of the truck.
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before doing something
when/once you have done something
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first
next
then |
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Hot peanut sauce
First heat the coconut milk until it boils. Then add the two kinds
of curry paste and stir-fry for three minutes. When the mixture
has cooked, add peanut butter, sugar, salt, and lemon juice. Mix
all the ingredients thoroughly, then return to a low heat, stirring
continuously.
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Next month we'll take a look at two more frequent text
types: reviews and discursive texts.
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