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UNIT 4

HOMOPHONES

I. Lead-in

1.What is the difference between HOMOPHONES AND HOMONYMS? Give examples of both.

2.Cover the right-hand column in the table below. In the poem in the left-hand column some words have been substituted by homophones. It proves that computer spelling checkers are not infallible! Can you find all the mistakes? Rewrite the poem substituting the homophones by the correct words. Uncover the right hand-column and check your spelling!

1.Which is the correct word?

1.I didn’t ____ what she said. a) here;

b) hear.

2.They forgot to take ____ printouts. a) there;

b) their; c) they’re.

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3.Venison is the meat from a ____. a) dear;

b) deer.

4.She held the ____ in her hand. a) reigns;

b) rains; c) reins.

5.They tried to ____ the painting. a) steel;

b) steal.

6.He had to ____ the button on.

a)sew;

b)sow;

c)Either could be used here. 7. He was a medieval ____.

a)knight;

b)night.

8. The building ____ is huge.

a)site;

b)sight.

9. She’s as mad as a March ____.

a)hair;

b)hare.

10. She gave him a ____ of her mind.

a)peace;

b)piece.

11. They didn’t ____ us of the danger.

a)warn;

b)worn.

12. It’s made from wheat ____.

a)flower;

b)flour.

13. They’ve got a ____ at the Ritz.

a)suit;

b)suite;

c)sweet.

14. On the ____, I enjoyed it.

a)hole;

b)whole.

15. It’s not much ____ to go.

a)farther;

b)father.

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16.He’s the ____ to the throne. a) heir;

b) air.

17.She’s the ____ owner.

a)sole;

b)soul.

18. The book is ____ back at the library in two weeks.

a)dew;

b)due.

19.You slow a car with the ____. a) brake;

b) break.

20.The negative feeling you get when you do something wrong is ____. a) guilt;

b) gilt.

21.It was ____ madness.

a)sheer;

b)shear.

22.The eagle is a bird of ____. a) pray;

b) prey.

23.We have to make sure the timing’s rightwe must be in ____. a) sync;

b) sink.

24.After standing for an hour in the heat, he ____.

a)feinted;

b)fainted.

25. He’s very ____ and worries about his appearance all the time.

a)vein;

b)vane;

c)vain.

2. Fill in the text below with appropriate words. Then think of a homophone for each word you filled in. If you can’t think of a homophone for the word, think of a different word to fill in because all the missing words have homophones.

Julita lives in Manchester. She is tall and slim, with long blond 1) ________. Julita is a student and her husband Edward is a personnel manager. Julita is studying English at City College. When she has finished her 2) ________ she wants to do a business degree at university. Julita and Edward are both Polish. 3) ________ been 4) ________ years now since they came to the UK. They have 5) ________ married 6) ________ ten years and they have three children; two boys and one girl. Their 7) _______ Marek is 8) _______

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years old and their daughter Ewa is 9) _______. Their other son Jerzy is 10) _______ years old and goes to a crèche.

The flat they live in at the moment is 11) _______ small, so they have applied for a mortgage to 12) ______ a house.

Julita and Edward both love animals and have 13) _______ cats and a dog. Their dog Snoopy is a puppy that they bought from an 14) _______ in the paper. Snoopy is quite naughty and often 15) _______ the furniture. When they move to a bigger 16) _______, they plan to 17) _______ another dog to keep him company.

3. Write the correct word for each clue.

1.____________________________ couple

____________________________ fruit that grows on a tree

2.____________________________ beef, pork, ribs, poultry

____________________________ talk to someone for the first time

3.____________________________ bucket

____________________________ light-colored

4.____________________________ colorful part of a plant

____________________________ white powder used for cooking

5.____________________________ lines; opposite of columns

____________________________ red flower with a thorny stem

6.____________________________ six-legged creature that digs tunnels

____________________________ your father’s sister Super Teacher

7.____________________________ dog’s feet

____________________________ to stop, halt, or freeze

8.____________________________ detect things with your eyes

____________________________ place where dolphins, sharks, and whales live

9.____________________________ not warm

____________________________ spicy bean and beef meal served in a bowl

10.____________________________ time when you’re sleeping

____________________________ someone that protects a king

11.____________________________ mother’s boy

____________________________ hot ball of burning gas in space

12.____________________________ opposite of low

____________________________ greeting

13.____________________________ to put in the ground and cover with dirt

____________________________ small, round fruit; straw, black, or blue

14.____________________________ 60 minutes

____________________________ belonging to us

4. Find 19 spelling mistakes in text A and 14 mistakes in text B below. Spell the words correctly. Compare your answers with your partner. What do the original words in the text mean?

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Text A

It was one of those October daze when it was a pleasure to be alive. The sky was blew and the heir cold and sharp with a cent of wet earth as the mourning sun warmed the chilled countryside. And then I court site of a lonely bie struggling to find the pollen of a final flour. Wear had he bean, this sad worker, doomed so soon to dye? I marvelled at his energy as he climbed along so many bear storks. Finding nothing, he flue on and disappeared from cite. I continued my walk to a country in where, sitting outside, I contentedly sipped my bier, musing all the wile on the mixed fortunes of life.

Text B

As a buoy, there was nothing I liked more than to spend my time on the beech. There was a good selection of baize as my home was on a peninsula and so it was always possible to find a plaice sheltered from the wind wile enjoying the best of the weather. Each day was a succession of swimming until I was frozen followed by lying on the hot sand until my body was warmed by the son and then it was back to the see again.

Toward the end of the day, as the waters rose over the warm sands, I wood billed a large damn to defy the waives. But, in spite of all my efforts, I almost never one this unequal contest. There was a time when, whether by design or chance, I had placed my castle at the turn of the tied and so it survived the waves only to be beaten down by the feat of holiday-makers as they returned home at the end of the day.

III. On Your Own

Make up a crossword using the definitions of the words-homophones.

You can make up an online crossword at http://puzzlecup.com and share it with your group mates.

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UNIT 5

SILENT CONSONANTS

I. Lead-in

1.What do you think silent consonants are used in the words for? Think of all the possible reasons and then compare your ideas with the answers below.

1.They help the reader to distinguish between homophones: to/too/two, know/no, whole/hole, knot/not.

2.A silent letter can help us work out the meaning of the word and it also can change the pronunciation even though it’s silent – sin/sign.

3.They show the origins and history (etymology) of a word.

2. There are some rules about what letters are silent before or after certain letters (but like all English spelling rules there are exceptions to the rule).

Some words have silent letters in the middle or at the end.

Arrange the words in the list below into 6 columns according to the silent consonants. Make sure you know how to pronounce and translate the words.

Doubt, knee, scent, wring, resign, pneumonia, knob subtle, design, pseudonym, scene, knife, sword, sign, wrong, dumb, lamb, debt, psalm, excellent, gnaw, knuckle, tomb, reign, knit, scissors, climb, knowledge, thumb, gnome, kneed, awkward, science, bomb, towards, except, foreign, gnarled, knock, receipt, psychology, wrath.

Add more examples of your own to each column.

3. One way to start to love spelling and improve it is to take an interest in words, to discover the logic in the spelling system and to understand the background and history of words, and this especially true for learning silent letters.

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1.Do you know why there are silent letters in these words: Knife, knock, know, knee, gnat, gnaw? What’s the origin of words with the silent k and g?

2.Why is there a silent b in plumber?

3.Why are there silent letters in doubt, debt, receipt?

4.What’s the origin of the words with the silent ‘gh’ like daughter, night, light, bright, dough, bough (branch of a tree) and why is ‘gh’ in cough and enough pronounced with a ‘f’?

Check the answers below.

1.Knife, knock, know, gnat, gnaw are all Viking words which used to be pronounced but we leave the letters in there to see the origin and history of the word (in Sweden they still say the silent letter in knife kneefe).

2.Plumber is a Roman/Latin word from the Roman for lead pipe – plum bum.

3.16th century academics messed around with our spelling by wanting to make it more Latin and so added letters to words like debt, doubt and island.

4.That difficult -gh- letter pattern is from the Anglo-Saxons – daughter, night,

cough, dough, bright... the -gh- used to be -h- and pronounced like the Scottish loch, a hard sound – until the French invaded and messed around with

our spelling and added the g. Then the -gh- became silent or pronounced with a ‘f’ sound.

II. Practice

1. Fill in the missing silent consonants in the words in the sentences below. Make sure you know how to pronounce the words. Translate the sentences.

1.The lam… is a dum… animal.

2.He clim…ed the hill to the tom… but his lim…s became num… .

3.Com… your hair, but do not thum… your book.

4.Bom…s are now commonly called “shells”.

5.The de…tor, who was a su…tle man, dou…ted his word, and gave not a crum… of comfort.

6.Take your …salter and select a joyous …salm.

7.Do not condem… the …rong person.

8.I made a solem… vow not to clim… on the crum…ling bluffs.

9.The plum…er hummed my favorite hymn.

10.Do your …nuckles hurt when you …nit?

11.Does your …rist hurt when you …rite?

12.The …restler had a very …rinkled face.

13.Please tie my …napsack with a tight ...not. 14.I …rapped the …reath in the …rong paper. 15.I have a …nack for …neading bread dou… .

2. Pair dictation.

Student A, the one whose transcription sheet begins with the unaltered text, begins to read, slowly and clearly. This student (reader) must monitor Student B

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(writer), who fills in the missing words in the cloze half of the sheet. Student A must not show the text to B, and if a writing error is detected, A must stop reading, and spell out the mistaken word. When the gaps are completed, B then starts reading his/her part of the text, while A writes.

Amazing Dubai

Student A

Have you ever heard of _________? Dubai is a part of _____ _______

________ __________. _______ ______ ______ _______ the Arabian Peninsula, _______ ______ ______ _________ ________.

Although it began as a fishing village, _________ ______ _______

______ __________ ________ of nearly two million people. _____ ____ _____

_____ _______, Dubai has become known for its mind-boggling architecture.

_____ _____ ______ _______ ______, Dubai can build it!

_____ _______,______ _____ ______ _____ _______ ________ was a blank canvas. _______, ______ _______ _______ __________ to build the city of the future. _______ _______ _____ _______ _____ ______ for business and tourism in the region. _____ _____ _____ ______ _______ _________ was the answer. _______ ______ ______ that they were right!

________ _____ _____ ________ ____________ _________ _______

________: The Palm Islands, Dubailand, Ski Dubai. _____ ______ _______

_______, what outrageous thing will Dubai build next?

Student B

________ ________ _______ _______ _______ Dubai? _______ ______

a_______ ______ _______ the United Arab Emirates. It is located on _____

_________ __________, south of the Persian Gulf.

___________ _______ _________ ____ _____ _______ _________, today it is a bustling city _____ _______ ______ ________ __________. In the past twenty years,________ ______ _______ ________ _____ ______ ______–

________ _____________. If you can dream it, _______ ______ _______

_______!

In 1990, much of the area around Dubai _____ ______ _______ _______. Then, city planners began a campaign _____ _____ ______ _____ _____ ____

________. They wanted to become a center _____ ______ ____ ______ ___

_____ ______. They thought that creating fantastic buildings ______ ____

___________. Many would say ______ _______ ______ ________!

Some of the most exciting designs are these: ______ ______ _______,

__________, _____ _______. The only question is, ______ ____________

_________ ______ _______ ______ ________?

Find in the text the examples of the words with silent consonants. Then together with your partner say what you know about Dubai, whether you have been there and what you have seen/would like to see there.

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3. Read the first part of the story below. Find all the words in it with silent consonants. Write down the continuation of the story. Then read the original part and compare it with your version.

The Wrong House

(after James N. Young)

The house was dark. The two men ran towards it quietly. They slipped quickly through the dark bushes which surrounded the house. They reached the porch, ran quickly up the steps, knelt down, breathing heavily, in the dark shadows. With one of the keys the men opened the door silently and entered the house. Whispering, they discussed the situation.

“Oh, there isn’t anybody awake!” And the soft rays of a flashlight swept the room. Dust lay like a light snow over everything. The man who held the flashlight spoke first. “Well, Blackie,” he said, “we’re in luck. Looks as if the family’s away.” Hasty Hogan and Blackie Burns were in luck. Luck had been with them every moment – but one. That moment had come just one hour before, when Blackie, driving the car, ran over a policeman. And Blackie, thinking of the suitcase at Hasty’s feet, had driven away swiftly. There had been a chase, of course. And they had to abandon the car. But luck or no luck. here they were with the suitcase with nearly three hundred thousand dollars.

“We have to get a car,” said Hogan. “And we can’t steal one and use it. It’s too dangerous. We have to buy one. That means that we have to wait until the stores open.”

“But what are we going to do with that?” and Burns pointed to the suit-

case.

“Hide it right here.” And they buried it deep in some coal which lay in a corner of the cellar.

Just before the dawn, they slipped out. “Say, Blackie,” Hogan remarked as they walked down the street, “the name of the gentleman we’re visiting is Mr. Samuel W. Rogers. I saw it on some of their books.”

Shortly before nine, Mr. Hogan and Mr. Burns had a car. Fifty yards from the house they stopped. The front door was open.

What happened next?

Continued…

“Leave it to me, kid,” Mr. Hogan told Mr. Burns. Ten minutes later he was consulting a telephone directory. A moment later he was talking to the surprised Mr. Rogers.

“Hello,” he began, “is this Mr. Rogers. Mr. Samuel Rogers?” “Yes, this is Mr. Rogers.”

“Mr. Rogers,” he said, “this is Police Headquarters talking. I am Sergent Simpson, of the detective division” – ‘Yes, yes,’ was the answer. “The Chief of Police has ordered me to get in touch with you. He’s sending me out with one of

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our men to see you,” Mr. Hogan said. “Am I in trouble of some kind?” asked Mr. Rogers. “No, nothing like that. But I have something of great importance to talk to you about.” “Very well,” came the voice of Mr. Rogers. “I’ll wait for you.” Within ten minutes “Sergeant Simpson” and “Detective Johnson” were speaking with the surprised Mr.Rogers. Hogan told him the whole story. Very much changed. Mr. Rogers was surprised but delighted. He accompanied Hogan to the cellar, and they dug up the suitcase. They took it to the living room and saw that it had not been touched. Bills, bills, bills. “And now, Mr. Rogers,” he announced in his best official manner, “Johnson and I must hurry. We have to catch the rest of the robbers.” He picked up the suitcase and rose. Burns also rose. Mr. Rogers also rose. The trio walked to the door. Mr. Rogers opened it. “Come in, boys,” he said, and the boys did.

Three large, strong men. Men in police uniform. “What does this mean, Mr. Rogers?” asked Hogan. “It’s quite simple,” said Mr. Rogers. “It just happens that I am the Chief of Police.”

III. On Your Own

Work in small groups. Together make up a short story using ALL the words from the following list. Listen to each other’s stories. Have other groups used all the words from the list. Whose story is funny, sad, frightful, boring?

debt, doubt, excellent, design, sight, high, forehead, honour, rhythm, knife, cupboard, listen, awkward, answer, wrong

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