PREPARATION FOR REFUERZO PERTINENTE

READING COMPREHENSION

Read the texts and choose the correct answer.

Football World Cup Trophy

The World Cup is a small gold trophy that represents victory in the FIFA World Cup. Since the advent of the World Cup in 1930, there have been two trophies awarded to the winners.

The Jules Rimet Trophy was the original prize for winning the World Cup. Originally called "Victory", but generally known simply as the World Cup or Coupe du Monde, it was officially renamed in 1946 to honour the FIFA President Jules Rimet who in 1929 passed a vote to initiate the competition. Designed by Abel Lafleur and made of gold plated sterling silver on a blue base of lapis lazuli, it stood 35 cm high and weighed 3.8 kg. It was in the shape of an octagonal cup, supported by a winged figure representing Nike, the ancient Greek goddess of victory.

During World War II, the trophy was held by Italy. Ottorino Barassi, the Italian vice-president of FIFA, hid it from the Germans in a shoe-box under his bed.

Just before the 1966 World Cup Final in England the trophy was stolen during a public exhibition at Westminster Central Hall, but was found just seven days later, wrapped in newspaper at the bottom of a suburban garden hedge in Norwood, South London, by a dog named "Pickles". As a security measure, The FA secretly manufactured a replica of the trophy for use in the post-match celebrations. The replica was also used on subsequent occasions until 1970. The replica was sold at an auction in 1997 for £254,500, when it was purchased by FIFA who subsequently arranged for it to be displayed at the English National Football Museum in Preston.

The Brazilian team won the trophy for the third time in 1970, and were rewarded by being allowed to keep it in perpetuity. However, the cup was stolen again in 1983 in Rio de Janeiro and never recovered; it may have been melted down. The Brazilian Football Confederation commissioned a replica of their own.

The replacement trophy, officially known as the FIFA World Cup Trophy, was first presented at the 1974 World Cup. Designed by Silvio Gazzaniga and produced by Bertoni, Milano, it stands 36.5 cm tall and is made of 5 kg of 18 carat (75%) solid gold with a base (13 cm in diameter) containing two layers of malachite. The trophy, which weighs 6.175 kg total, depicts two human figures holding up the Earth.

The trophy has the visible engravement "FIFA World Cup" (uoutpouring letters) in its base. The name of the country whose national team wins the tournament is engraved, additionally, in the bottom side of the trophy, and therefore is not visible when put up normally. The text runs like "— 2002 Brazil", i.e. in English. At the moment eight winners have been engraved. It is not known whether FIFA will retire the trophy after all of the name plaques at the base are filled in; this will not occur until after the 2038 World Cup.

FIFA's regulations now state that the trophy, unlike its predecessor, cannot be won outright: the winners of the tournament receive it on loan for four years and receive a replica to keep.

Questions about the text
1. Jules Rimet was the name of the FIFA president who decided to start the competition.
True.
False.
We don't know.
2. The trophy was stolen both in England and Brazil.
True.
False.
We don't know.
3. The new trophy weighs more than the Jules Rimet trophy.
True.
False.
We don't know.
4. The winners must give the trophy back to FIFA after four years.
True.
False.
We don't know.

World Cup

The FIFA World Cup, occasionally called the Football World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not contested because of World War II.

The current format of the tournament involves 32 teams competing for the title at venues within the host nation(s) over a period of about a month – this phase is often called the World Cup Finals. A qualification phase, which currently takes place over the preceding three years, is used to determine which teams qualify for the tournament together with the host nation(s). The World Cup is the most widely-viewed sporting event in the world, with an estimated 715.1 million people watching the 2006 final.

During the 18 tournaments that have been held seven nations have won the title. Brazil are the only team to have played in every tournament and have won the World Cup a record five times. Italy are the current champions and have won four titles, and Germany are next with three. The other former champions are Uruguay, winners of the inaugural tournament, and Argentina, with two titles each, and England and France, with one title each.

The most recent World Cup was held in Germany in 2006. The next World Cup will be held in South Africa, between 11 June and 11 July 2010, and the 2014 World Cup will be held in Brazil.

Questions about the text
1. The tournament takes place every four years.
True.
False.
We don't know.
2. In 1942 the World Cup was not played.
True.
False.
We don't know.
3. There are 32 teams playing the World Cup.
True.
False.
We don't know.
4. Only seven nations have ever won the championship.
True.
False.
We don't know.

The Beatles

The Beatles were one of the most influential music groups of the rock era, and many consider them the best musical group on Earth. Initially they affected the post-war baby boom generation of Britain and the U.S. during the 1960s, and later the rest of the world. Certainly they were the most successful group, with global sales exceeding 1.1 billion records.

While they were originally famous for light-weight pop music (and the extreme hysterical reaction they received from young women), their later works achieved a combination of popular and critical acclaim perhaps unequaled in the 20th century.

Eventually, they became more than recording artists, branching out into film and — particularly in the case of John Lennon — political activism. They achieved an iconic status beyond mere celebrity, with far reaching effects difficult to exaggerate.

The members of the group were John Lennon, (James) Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey), all from Liverpool, Merseyside, England. Original drummer Pete Best was asked to leave the group just before it started recording. Stuart Sutcliffe was with them in Hamburg but also left.

Beatlemania began in the UK and exploded following the appearance of the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show in the United States, on February 9, 1964. The pop-music band became a worldwide phenomenon with worshipful fans, hysterical adulation, and denunciations by culture commentators and others such as Frank Sinatra.

Some of this was confusion over the sources of their music (a similar confusion was evinced in 1956 over Elvis Presley by commentators who were unaware of the tradition of blues, R&B and gospel out of which Presley emerged), and some of it was simply an incredulous reaction to the length of their hair. At any rate, it was regarded by the band members with both awe and resentment.

Questions about the text
1. They were the best selling group in history.
True.
False.
We don't know.

2. All the members were from Liverpool.
True.
False.
We don't know.


3. They appeared on TV on February 9, 1964.
True.
False.
We don't know.

4. There was some confusion about the sources of their music.
True.
False.
We don't know.

5. Their music was copied by Elvis Presley.
True.
False.
We don't know.
6. Frank Sinatra didn't like the Beatles too much.
True.
False.
We don't know.

GRAMMAR

PRESENT PERFECT TENSE

Go to the following website read the explanations and examples and then do the exercises: http://esl.about.com/library/grammar/blpresperfect.htm

Exercise:
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb.
Kate : Have you ever ________________ to New York?
Sophie: New York? No I've never ________________ there. Have you?
Kate: Yes. In fact I've just ________________back from there. I'm doing some consultancy work there and I've ________________ at least six weeks there in the last year.
Sophie: That sounds fabulous. Have you .......... to the top of the Empire State Building?
Kate No, I ________________ yet. I haven't ________________ the ferry to Ellis Island either. I've just ________________ work so hard. Though I have ________________ dinner at Sardi's and ________________a Broadway show.
Fill in all the blanks with the correct statements. Use the clues in parenthesis.
Dear Chris,
Lots of things have happened since I last wrote to you, (Charles/ go/ Brazil)______________________________; (Jack and Jill/ decide /to get married) ___________________________________; (Suzanne / have / a baby) ____________________; (Monica / give up/ smoking) ___________________________ and (George/ pass / his driving test) ___________________________________.

Past Simple and Past Continuous

Go to the following website read the explanations and examples and then do the exercises: http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/simpas-paspro

Mark the option that best completes the sentences using past progressive and past Simple forms.
Example: When I arrived home, my father was washing ___________(wash) the bike that morning.
a)was washing        c) were washing
b) washed              d) wash

While I was sleeping, the telephone________________(ring)

a) was ringing      c) were ringing

b) b) rang            d) rings


People______________(wave)their flags when the President got off the plane.

a) wave       c) were waving

b) waved     d) was waving


Little Red Riding Hood ___________________ (Carry) the basket with cookies for grandma when the Wolf appeared.

a) Was carrying       c) were carrying

b) carried                d) carries


The man was travelling when someone ___________ (Steal) the golden ring that night at 11 pm.
a) was stealing       c) were stealing

b) stole                  d) steals

It was raining all night. That’s why I _____________(not/go out)

a) didn´t go out           c) weren’t going out

b) wasn’t going out     d) don’t go out

MODAL AUXILIARIES
Go to the following website read the explanations and examples and then do the exercises: http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/grammar_list/hilfsverben.htm

Fill in the gaps with ONLY one of the modal verbs from the chart to complete each sentence:

Have to    should        can       might        must        could
Example: The teacher had a baby boy recently. He might be pretty rich!
• You _________ run faster than me.
• Math teacher _________ not do well on math when he was young.
• You _________ do your homework now if you want to see the game tonight.
• Ignatian students _________wear the school uniform from Monday to Friday.
• She has a terrible headache, she _________ see the doctor.

REPORTED SPEECH

Go to the following website read the explanations and examples and then do the exercises: http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/grammar_list/reported.htm
Choose the correct reported speech version to each statement. Each question has only one correct answer

“Do you want to buy any souvenirs?” Ana asked the tourist.
• Ana asked the tourist if he wants to buy souvenirs.
• Ana asked the tourist if he wanted to buy souvenirs.
• Ana asked the tourist how much the souvenirs were.

“It will rain tonight” Juan Camilo said.
• Juan Camilo said that it will rain tonight.
• Juan Camilo said that it would rain that night.
• Juan Camilo if it would rain tonight.

“Everything is ready for the party!” Hans says.
• Hans said that everything is ready.
• Hans says that everything was ready.
• Hans el says that everything is ready.

“I’m starving!”
• She said that she is starving.
• She says that she was starving.
• She said she was starving.

SO, EITHER, NEITHER

Go to the following website read the explanations and examples and then do the exercises: http://www.grammar.cl/Notes/So_Neither_Either.htm

Complete the following dialogues with the correct expression for agreement or disagreement
Look at the example:

Joseph: "I love chocolate desserts!"
Laura: "____________ I."

Rosa: "I think Mexican food is delicious."
James: "so_____________."

Roger: “I didn’t go to the concert!”
Santiago: Neither ____________.

Helen: “I’m having swimming classes on Sundays!
Charles: _____________too.

A well-informed mind is the best security against the contagion of folly and of vice. The vacant mind is ever on the watch for relief, and ready to plunge into error, to escape from the languor of idleness.

Ann Radcliffe (1764 - 1823)