In the President's Chair

Every week we ask someone what they would do if they were the president. This week it is the turn of Heather Pearce, university lecturer.

I would import more high technology for our industries and transport systems instead of relying on cheap labour. I would pay for this by exporting more of our agricultural produce and cutting down on our food imports. I would work hard for inter­national peace instead of making aggressive speeches, and at home I would put more money into our health and social ser­vices instead of cutting taxes.

Task 1.

Which of the following would Heather Pearce choose to do if she was president?

1. import high technology

2. rely on cheap labour

3. export more agricultural produce

4. cut down on food imports

5. work hard for international peace

6. make aggressive speeches

7. put more money into health and social services

8. cut taxes

Task 2.

Write your own version of In the President's Chair. What would you do if you were the president of your country?

Text 2

A Foggy Story

One Sunday Mary decided to go sailing with her friend Juliet, but Juliet was away. Mary's boyfriend John did not know anything about sailing but he asked her if he could go with her instead. Mary agreed and they set off out to sea. Soon they found themselves in thick fog. Mary was sure that they would be hit by a big ship but suddenly, through the fog she saw a large buoy. She decided to tie the boat to the buoy for safety. She got onto the buoy, but she dropped the rope. The boat drifted away in the fog and John did not know how to get it back. He did not know how to use the radio, either, and was only rescued twelve hours later. Mary, meanwhile, spent the

night on the buoy. At dawn she fell asleep, and she was about to fall into the sea when a shout woke her up. The fog had cleared a little and a ship had seen her. She climbed aboard and thanked the captain. He told her that John had been rescued by a lifeboat and the lifeboat captain had sent out a message. Without the message the captain would not have seen her on the buoy.

Task 1.

Game: In small groups make as many type 3 conditional sentences as you can about the story. The group with the most correct sentences wins.

Example: If Juliet had not been away, John would not have gone sailing.

Task 2.

Make up a story that can be finished with one of these sen­tences.

If the woman hadn't woken me up, I would have missed my station.

If I hadn't had the accident, I would never have met the most important person in my life.

If I'd realized the truth, I would never have done what I did.

If I hadn't read the paper that morning, I wouldn't have be­come so rich.

Example: Yesterday I took a train to visit a friend. I was very tired and on the way I fell asleep. I woke up when a woman asked me, "Is the next stop Canterbury?" and we were at my station! I just managed to get off the train in time. I was very lucky because if the woman hadn't woken me up, I would have missed my station!

Text3

Jody Major, Female Clown

I haven't always been a circus clown. When I was younger, I was going to be an engineer. I was doing well at school, the teachers were pleased with me, and it was all fixed. But then my mother got a job in Algeria, and the whole family moved. If we hadn't moved, my life would have been very different.

I didn't enjoy it. Algeria was fine, but I missed my friends. If I'd studied French or Arabic earlier, it would have been eas­ier, but I didn't speak either and my school work suffered. In­stead of going into further education, I left school. I would have gone back to Sydney if there had been somewhere for me to stay, but instead I went to Scotland and started working in a funfair. I became a clown three years later.

I sometimes think that things would have been different if we had stayed at home in Australia, but maybe not. Who can say?

Task 1. True of false?

1. Jody's an engineer.

2. She wanted to be an engineer when she was younger.

3. She comes from Algeria.

4. She would have been an engineer if her family hadn't gone abroad.

5. She didn't speak French or Arabic.

6. She became a clown after working in a funfair.

7. Her life might have been different if her family had stayed in Australia.

Task 2.

Write three paragraphs about your life, explaining what you are doing now. Describe three events that happened which meant that your life could have been different.

Text 4

Butterflies

A major artist of world importance is discovered after being ignored by the art world for forty years. An Indian teacher of English risks everything for his belief in someone's paintings. These are the facts of an incredible story of coincidences that stretches over three continents - and ends happily!

New York

Harold Shapinsky, now in his sixties, has lived in New York all his life. He has occupied a very small flat with his devoted wife, Kate. While he painted she knitted sweaters to pay for his art. But, because he couldn't afford large canvasses, he did his great paintings on small pieces of paper. And for forty years the art would ignored him.

Bangalore, Southern India

Akumal Ramachander, a teacher of English, grew up in his home town of Bangalore. As a child he used to play in the fields where he chased butterflies. "I would never destroy a butterfly", he says, "just chase them and wonder at their great profusion of colours". Akumal was always looking for a painter who would remind him of those butterflies, and when he saw Harold Shapinsky's work he knew that he had found one.

New York

One day in 1984 while Akumal was on holiday in the USA, he went to a party in Chicago. Quite by chance he met David Shapinsky. Harold's son, Back at David's flat Akumal saw some of Harold's work. He loved the paintings imediately and soon went to New York where he met Harold and Kate Shapin­sky. Akumal made slides of all Harold's pictures.

London

Akumal was desperate. He had told Harold Shapinsky that he would find a gallery to exhibit his paintings. But the English teacher had no more money left and nobody had shown any interest in Shapinsky's work. Akumal went to London's famous Tate Gallery. At the reception desk they wanted to send him away, but Akumal wouldn't go and made a fuss. The reception­ist called Ronald Alice, the person in charge of modern paint­ings. Alice saw the slides, liked them and contacted his friends in the art world. Only a short time later, in the summer of 1985, Harold had his first major exhibition.

Task 1.

Find out as much as possible about one of the following people:

Akumal Kate David Ronald

Task 2. True or false?

1. Akumal Ramachander chased butterflies as a boy.

2. Kate Shapinsky painted for money.

3. Akumal went to a party in New York.

4. Akumal left the Tate Gallery quietly because nobody would see him.

5. Akumal didn't like Shapinsky's painting when he first saw them.

Task 3.

Match phrases from column A with phrases from column B.

A	В
If Akumal hadn't chased but­terflies	he wouldn't have met David Shapinsky.
If Kate hadn't knitted sweat­ers	he wouldn't have seen Ronald Allee.
If Akumal hadn't gone to the party in Chicago	Harold wouldn't have been able to paint.
If Akumal hadn't liked the paintings	he wouldn't have taken the slides to the Tate Gallery.
If Akumal hadn't made a fuss	he wouldn't have liked Shapinsky's work.

The questionnaire

Work in groups of two or three and talk bout your answers to the questionnaire. Do you all have similar answers or diffe­rent attitudes and tastes?

Do you eat to live or live to eat?

1. When you buy food, which is most important? a. appearance b. price c. quality

2. If you buy apples, which kind do you choose?

a. red b. green c. the cheapest

3. When you have a meal, what do you enjoy it most for? a. the food b. the company c. the relaxation

d. the television

4. If you were stranded on a desert island what food would you miss most?

a. chocolate b. steak c. bread

5. If a waiter suggests water, which do you ask for? a. sparkling b. still c. tap

6. When you look at the menu in a restaurant, what do you usually choose?

a. a dish you know b. a dish you don't know

7. If you're having dinner in a restaurant, will you always have a dessert?

a. yes b. no

8. If someone offered the following unusual food, which would you try?

a. cheese-flavoured ice cream

b. strawberry flavoured crisps c. neither

9. If someone suggested a quick meal, what would you choose?

a. fast food b. a sandwich c. a picnic

d. something more substantial

10. What would you be happiest to leave out of you present diet?

a. meat b. vegetables and fruit

c. desserts

11. If you could put a flavour on stamps what would you choose?

a. chili b. cheese c. banana

d. another e. none

12. If someone said "Never eat anything you can't pro­nounce" what would you:

a. I couldn't agree more

b. Nonsense

The Non-Finite Forms of the Verb (The Verbals)

There are three verbals in English: the Infinitive, the Ger­und and the Participle.

The verbals (or non-finite forms of the verb), unlike the fi­nite forms of the verb, do not express person, number or mood; therefore they cannot be used as a predicate of a sentence.

Like the finite forms of the verb the verbals have tense and voice distinctions, but the forms that are called tense in the verbals do not show whether the action they denote refers to the present, past or future. They show only whether the action ex­pressed by the verbals coincides with the action of the finite forms of the verb (in the present, past or future), or if it is prior to the action of the finite form of the verb.

The verbals have a double nature, nominal and verbal. The infinitive and the gerund combine the characteristics of a verb with those of a noun; the participle combines the characteristics of a verb with those of an adjective.

All the verbals can form predicative constructions, consist­ing of two elements, a nominal (noun or pronoun) and a verbal (infinitive, participle or gerund). In most cases predicative con­structions form syntactic units, serving as one part of the sen­tence.

The Infinitive