Content Language level Page. Out of the blue. Suddenly, unexpectedly, without warning

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1 Study newsletter 2015, week 10 Content Language level Page Phrase of the week Out of the blue All levels 1 Mind map Skiing All levels 2 Czenglish Doing my driving licence vs. Taking my driving test Business Writing Ensure your work is typo-free Pre-intermediate (B1-) Advanced (C1) 3 Pre-intermediate (B1-) Advanced (C1) 4 5 Test Retirement at 40 Pre-intermediate (B1-) Advanced (C1) 6 7 Phrase of the week Out of the blue Suddenly, unexpectedly, without warning You can use this phrase in language. Spoken Informal Example 1 The company was doing great, but then, out of the blue, our success started dying away and we couldn t make anyone buy our products. Example 2 I haven t seen her for years and then one day, out of the blue, she was standing at my doorsteps. 1

2 Mind map Learning new vocabulary in the most effective way Vyzkoušejte si interaktivní Mindmapy zde: Klikejte na slova, uslyšíte jednotlivá slovíčka namluvená rodilým mluvčím. Slovíčka Slovo Downhill Cross-country Ride Slalom Slopes Ski boots Ski-lift Binding Ski resort Ski poles Význam slova sjezdové běžkařské jízda slalomové sjezdovky lyžařské boty lanovka vázání lyžařské středisko lyžařské hůlky 2

3 Czenglish WRONG: RIGHT: I m nervous about doing my driving licence. I m nervous about taking my driving test. A driving licence in English is the piece of paper or card that says that you have qualified as a driver. It is not the test itself. First comes the test, and if you pass it, you get a driving licence. So if you say, I am doing my driving licence it makes no sense. You need to do your driving test. And in English, we take tests, rather than do them. So, correct is, I am taking my driving test. One other mistake is to say, I am passing my test today. This, in English, sounds incredibly arrogant and over-confident. What the student means is I am taking my test today. Of course you hope you will pass it, you just cannot say you are passing it! So, to clarify: A: Do you have a driving licence? B: No, I am taking my driving test tomorrow, so by next week, I hope to have a licence. 3

4 Business Writing Business Writing Tip #62 Ensure your work is typo-free It s easy to make a mistake when you re typing. Our fingers often struggle to keep up with our brains and, in their rush, miss out words or type the wrong words. Some of the typos can be quite funny. But in business writing, being funny is not your aim. Business writing errors can be embarrassing and they can be expensive. A typing error in a contract could mean a lost lawsuit. Here are a few tips to help you make sure your writing is typo-free. 1. Ask someone else to read it and check it. Fresh eyes will often catch errors. 2. If you know that you regularly mistype certain letter combinations or words, use your word processing software s auto-correct feature. It will fix the error for you. 3. Check your copy on a printed version rather than on the screen. It is often easier to see an error on a page than on a screen. 4. Make sure you have time to put your writing aside for a couple of hours before you have to submit it. This helps you to look at it with a clear mind and focus on what you have actually written, rather than what you think you have written. 5. Read it aloud. When you read aloud you have to read every word. And when you read every word you are more likely to be able to see any mistakes you might have made. Look at each word, maybe even using a pen or pencil to point to them as you read. 6. Focus on one proofreading task at a time. Read the work through once for spelling. Read it again thinking about the punctuation. Read it again focusing on the grammar. 7. Remember to check that your spelling is consistent. If you are using UK spelling, use it throughout. If you ve chosen to go with US spelling, remember to go with it all the way. There s no excuse for centre on one page and center on another. 8. Watch out for homonyms. There are so many words that sound the same in English, but look different. Did you mean to type there, or should it be their? What about four and for? 9. Watch out for added, substituted and missed letters. Have you typed your instead of you, tin instead of tint? Your spellchecker won t recognise that these are wrong. 4

5 DALICE TROST, původem z Austrálie, je absolventkou magisterského studia managementu lidských zdrojů na University of Canberra v Austrálii. Lektorka je držitelkou certifikátu TEFL opravňující k výuce cizích jazyků. V rámci své profesní praxe zastávala vysoké manažerské pozice jako personalistka, senior supervizorka, HR manažerka, a to mimo jiné ve společnostech v Dubaji a Austrálii. Aktivně se věnuje publikační práci v oboru vzdělávání a anglického jazyka. Lektorka je autorkou knihy, ze které čerpáme tyto tipy: Business Writing-A Tip a Day for 30 Days 5

6 TEST: Retirement at 40 We all dream of retiring early with a fantastic pension and no money (1). With enough dedication, you could say goodbye to your full-time job years sooner. In the USA, the average adult retires at 61, whereas in Japan it s at Based on this, an early retirement age is considered (2) under 55. Nevertheless, in some countries, where two-thirds of the population is 35 or younger, they have their goal (3) to retire at 45 or 50. You can do it too, but you ll have to be completely debt free, with savings equal to 25 times the income you wish to achieve in retirement, taking any government pensions or payments into (4). A basic financial rule is that you can withdraw about 4% from a retirement portfolio per year added to whatever you might be receiving from the government. The time you need to prepare depends on how (5) you are to your cause, and how quickly you can pay off any outstanding debts and get the required savings. A financial professional can help you determine what kind of timeline is (6). But you should start immediately, for the earlier you start the better. The policy you should adopt is to save more and spend less. After all, it s just about (7) your living expenses. And think about how much money you re spending every month on the mortgage. The sooner you make the last payment on your property, the faster you can throw money into savings, for on average, these payments take up 30% of your (8) income. For many early retirees is common to maintain a small business on the side or work part-time for (9) income after quitting a full-time position. For them, retirement doesn t necessary mean the total absence of employment.the plan is that they ll work for another 10 to 15 years, but at a much slower (10). And at last you have to think about what you re going to do with your time. Some people get depressed after retiring because they miss the office. 1. A anxiety B pains C worries D fright 2. A being B to be C for being D as to be 3. A set B fixed C focused D aimed 4. A concern B advisement C account D regard 5. A focused B devoted C concerned D dedicated 6. A managed B realistic C ludicrous D real 7. A narrowing B reducing C dropping D shortening 8. A disposed B transitory C disposable D pure 9. A supplemental B subsidiary C additional D complementary 10. A dynamics B rate C run D pace 6

7 Správné odpovědi se dozvíte ihned po dokončení on-line testu zde: Správné odpovědi z minulého týdne (Economic Turnaround in Nigeria): 1A, 2C, 3D, 4D, 5B, 6A, 7C, 8D, 9B, 10C. 7