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Listening - Advanced | esl-lounge Student

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Advanced level listening comprehension quizzes in English.

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Practice CAE (C1) Listening Tests with answers and Audioscripts

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Exercises Explanation Downloads

Cleft sentences - adding emphasis

Exercise 1

Choose the correct option to complete the sentences below.

What are cleft sentences?

Cleft sentences are complex sentences that are used to emphasise one particular part of a sentence. They are particularly useful in writing where we cannot use intonation for emphasis, but they are also frequently used in speech.

Types of cleft sentences

The reason why, the thing that, the person/people who, the place where, the day when...

We can focus on an element of the sentence by using these structures with a relative clause. We use the relative pronouns in the same way we use them in any relative clause.

It + be + phrase + relative clause

Instead of the person who, the thing that, etc. we can also use an introductory it, the verb be in any verb tense that we may need, and the element that we want to focus on.

We can use who/which or that after a noun phrase, e.g. Sheila, the book, etc. But we should use that after adverbial phrases, e.g. under the mattress, on Monday, etc.

Note that we can also use when after noun phrases, but not after adverbial phrases. Compare:

It's Monday when I have to call.

It's on Monday that I have to call.

The thing/s that = What/All

We can also use what or all (more emphasis) instead of the thing/s that to focus on an element of the sentence.

What + subject + do/does/did/ + is/was + (to) infinitive

We use this structure when we want to focus on the verb or verb phrase. In these structures, we can use an infinitive with or without to.

What happens is (that) ... / What happened was (that)

We use this structure when we want to focus on a whole sentence, and not only on an element in the sentence.

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Cleft sentences - adding emphasis - Test-English

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Cleft sentences. What I need, all I need, what happens is, the person who, the thing that, introductory it. Advanced English grammar exercises.

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Write & Improve is a free service for learners of English to practice their written English. Submit your written work and receive feedback in seconds, covering spelling, vocabulary, grammar and general style.

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1. Urban life: goods & services

2. Housing & Home Environment

3. Personal identification

4. Social and human relations

5. Culture and traditions

6. Politics & Society

7. Travelling

8. Language & Literature

9. Science and Technology

10. Geography, Climate, Weather & Environment

11. Work

12. Health & Wellbeing

13. Food & Nourishment

14. Daily Life Activities, Free Time and Entertainment

15. Information & Means of Communication, ITC

16. Business & economics

17. Education

18. Art & Culture

19. Shopping & Trade

20. Administration & Law

21. Religion and Philosophy

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1. Urban life: goods & services 2. Housing & Home Environment 3. Personal identification 4. Social and human relations 5. Culture and traditions 6. Politics & Society 7. Travelling 8. Language & Literature 9. Science and Technology 10. Geography, Climate, Weather & Environment 11. Work 12. Health & Wellbeing 13.

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Browse the latest selection of carefully curated playlists that will introduce you to a new idea, concept, place or person that will expand your mind, teach you something new or change how you see the world.

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let in
If you let someone in, you allow them to come into a place, usually by opening the door for them.

light up
To light something up means to shine light on or in it, so that it is bright and easy to see.

look for
If you look for something or someone, you try to find them.

pick up
If you pick something or someone up, you lift them up from a surface.

put back
If you put something back somewhere, you put it in the place it was in before it was moved.

put down
If you put down someone or something that you are holding or carrying, you put them on the floor or on

put in
If you put something in or put one thing in another, you put one thing inside another thing.

put together
If you put together an object or its parts, you join its parts to each other so that it can be used.

put up
If you put something up, you move it to a higher position.

take away
If you take something away from a place or position, you remove it from a place and put it somewhere else.

take back
When you take something back, you take it to the place where you were before or where it was before.

take into
If you take someone or something into a place, you go with them there.

throw at
If you throw an object at someone or something, you try to hit them with the object by throwing it.

throw away
If you throw something away, you get rid of it because you no longer want or need it.

throw in
If you throw something in or throw it in something, you casually put or drop it into something such as a container or mixture.

turn off
If you turn off a device or machine, you make it stop working using its controls. If it turns off, it stops working.

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Phrasal Verbs Exercises (No.1) | C1 Advanced (CAE) | engxam.com

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let in If you let someone in, you allow them to come into a place, usually by opening the door for them. light up To light something up means to shine light on or in it, so that it is bright and easy to see.

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let in
If you let someone in, you allow them to come into a place, usually by opening the door for them.

light up
To light something up means to shine light on or in it, so that it is bright and easy to see.

look for
If you look for something or someone, you try to find them.

pick up
If you pick something or someone up, you lift them up from a surface.

put back
If you put something back somewhere, you put it in the place it was in before it was moved.

put down
If you put down someone or something that you are holding or carrying, you put them on the floor or on

put in
If you put something in or put one thing in another, you put one thing inside another thing.

put together
If you put together an object or its parts, you join its parts to each other so that it can be used.

put up
If you put something up, you move it to a higher position.

take away
If you take something away from a place or position, you remove it from a place and put it somewhere else.

take back
When you take something back, you take it to the place where you were before or where it was before.

take into
If you take someone or something into a place, you go with them there.

throw at
If you throw an object at someone or something, you try to hit them with the object by throwing it.

throw away
If you throw something away, you get rid of it because you no longer want or need it.

throw in
If you throw something in or throw it in something, you casually put or drop it into something such as a container or mixture.

turn off
If you turn off a device or machine, you make it stop working using its controls. If it turns off, it stops working.

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Phrasal Verbs Exercises (No.1) | C1 Advanced (CAE) | engxam.com

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let in If you let someone in, you allow them to come into a place, usually by opening the door for them. light up To light something up means to shine light on or in it, so that it is bright and easy to see.

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Writing Task 2 linker practice exercises | IELTS assistance

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Writing task 2 linker practice exercises . Practice the use of linkers/ connectors in Academic writing. Improve your use of linkers/connectors in Academic writing

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Exercises Explanation Downloads

Gerund or infinitive - verb patterns

Exercise 1

Choose the correct gerund or infinitive form for each gap below.

When to use gerund or infinitive

In the table below, you can see when to use gerund or infinitive.

Verbs that take gerund or infinitive with a change of meaning

Forget

Forget to do something: Used to talk about things that we need to do, and we forget to do them.

Forget doing something: It's normally used in negative sentences. Used to talk about memories, normally about things that we did in the past and that we will not forget.

Remember

Remember to do something: You remember first and then you do something. Used to talk about things we need to do.

Remember doing something: Used to talk about memories. We remember things from the past.

Try

Try to do something: When we try to do something, we make an effort to achieve something that maybe we will or will not accomplish.

Try doing something: Used when we want to achieve something and try something as an experiment to see if it help us achieve what we want. We try a method (one of the many we could try) in order to achieve something.

Stop

Stop to do something: Used when we stop doing an activity so as to start doing a different one.

Stop doing something: It means to finish doing something that we are doing.

Need

Need to do something: It's necessary to do something

Something needs doing: It has a passive meaning. It means that something needs to be done.

Your car needs cleaning. (=Your car needs to be cleaned.)

We are working on this!

We're developing a NEW LEARNING PLATFORM with a subscription plan that includes additional features at an affordable price. One of those features will be PDF downloads.

Learn more!

Personalized English Lessons

Test-English is delighted to announce our partnership with Gymglish to deliver short, personalized and fun online English lessons.

Learn more!

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Gerund or infinitive - verb patterns - Test-English

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Gerund or infinitive. Verb patterns. Upper-intermediate English grammar. The use of gerunds or infinitives after certain nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.

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All forms of gerunds and infinitives

You can see all the gerund and infinitive forms in the table below. Some forms are not included in the table because they don't exist or are very rarely used.

Simple, continuous and perfect infinitives and gerunds

We use the perfect infinitive or the perfect gerund to emphasize that the action is complete or in the past.

Simple gerund vs perfect gerund

There is usually no difference between using the simple gerund or the perfect gerund because the context usually makes it clear when the action happened.

But sometimes there is a difference in meaning between using the simple gerund or the perfect gerund.

Simple infinitive vs perfect infinitive

As it happens with the gerund, sometimes there's no difference between using the simple or the perfect forms of the infinitive.

However, there is usually a difference in meaning between using the simple or the perfect infinitive forms, and we need to use the perfect forms to make clear that the action expressed by the infinitive was previous to the action described by the main verb.

Continuous infinitive

We use the continuous infinitive the express that the action is in progress around the time expressed by the main verb.

Perfect continuous infinitive

We use the perfect continuous infinitive to express duration from earlier in the past towards the time expressed by the main verb.

Perfect infinitive after passive reporting verbs

After a passive reporting verb, we use a simple or continuous infinitive to refer to the present or future, and a perfect infinitive to refer to the past. (⇒ See B1+ Grammar " The passive with reporting verbs)

Perfect infinitive after would like, would hate, would rather, would prefer

We always use the perfect infinitive after would like, would hate, would rather, would prefer to refer to an earlier action or event. Compare:

Passive infinitives and gerunds

We use passive infinitives or passive gerunds to describe actions which are done to the subject. (⇒ See B1+ Grammar " The passive voice - all tenses)

When to use gerund or infinitive

In the table below, you can see when to use gerund or infinitive.

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Gerunds and infinitives - complex forms - Test-English

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Gerunds and infinitives - complex forms. Simple, perfect, progressive and passive gerund and infinitive forms. Advanced English grammar exercises.

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Welcome to the B2-C1 Level Reading Text & Advanced Test 5 offered by EnglishMatic under ESL advanced reading comprehension tests with questions. This free English b2-c1 reading exercise comes with an advanced reading text and has 5 multiple choice reading questions with answers. You will see the results instantly upon submitting the test. Practise some reading now!

B2-C1 Level Reading Passage & Test 5 (Advanced) - Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer!

In India car maker Tata Motors have brought out the cheapest car in the world: the Nano, first introduced in 2008. It costs only 2,500 dollars plus taxes. Tata director sees the Nano as a "People's Car", designed especially for India's lower middle classes, those who earn less than 200 dollars a month. India makes about 1.2 million cars a year and the idea of a cheap car for everyone makes some experts sceptical. More cars lead to more traffic and more pollution, which also contributes to global warming. One of the biggest trends in producing cars today is keeping them small so you can find a parking space quickly, running them with as little petrol as possible and having room for as many people as possible. This is exactly what the Nano combines. It is only 3 metres long and 1.6 metres tall but it still has four doors and room for five people. The car is lightweight, the parts are glued together and there is only one windshied wiper instead of two. The Nano has a 30 horsepower engine and a four-speed manual transmission, found at the back of the car, like the legendary VW Beetle. It reaches speeds of up to 100 km an hour and needs about 2 gallons of fuel per 100 miles. At 2,500 dollars you will only be able to buy the basic model of the Nano, without any extras. Air conditioning and other additional features would raise the price by about 4,000 dollars.

Check other free reading comprehension tests & exercises. For the purpose of helping you to practise your reading comprehension and get better scores in English reading tests, EnglishMatic prepared unseen esl english reading texts, advanced reading passages with questions, and reading test questions. On this page is an advanced reading exercise for advanced ESL learners and it includes an unseen c1 reading text and multiple choice reading comprehension questions with answers.

Tags: esl reading text c1, unseen esl reading text, advanced text questions, reading comprehension text for esl, short advanced reading text, esl advanced reading text in english, esl advanced reading text

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B2-C1 Level Reading Text & Advanced Test 5

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Welcome to the B2-C1 Level Reading Text & Advanced Test 5 offered by EnglishMatic under ESL advanced reading comprehension tests with questions. This free English b2-c1 reading exercise comes with an advanced reading text and has 5 multiple choice reading questions with answers. You will see the results instantly upon submitting the test.

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Choose from index of stories below or search for stories by keywords like climate change, floods, trump, money, thailand...

For WEEKLY audio stories check out LISTEN & LEARN 🔈

Listening practice based on selected audio news reports in easy English, with pre-reading vocabulary, reading, gap-fill exercise, comprehension quiz, answers and discussion questions.

With this resource you can practise your listening, reading, writing and even speaking!

Index of stories

Search for more stories by topic. For example, search for keywords like: climate change, floods, trump, money, thailand, language...

Teacher's Notes
Subscribe to EnglishClub Podcasts

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Choose from index of stories below or search for stories by keywords like climate change, floods, trump, money, thailand... For WEEKLY audio stories check out LISTEN & LEARN 🔈 Listening practice based on selected audio news reports in easy English, with pre-reading vocabulary, reading, gap-fill exercise, comprehension quiz, answers and discussion questions.

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Life in Gaza under intense shelling and a communications blackout
Israel has expanded its war with Hamas, stepping up attacks from the air and sending troops into Gaza. For 34 hours communication was cut off in Gaza, we hear our producer in there describe what the scene was like. And a group of workers from Gaza who were trapped in Israel when the fighting started, worry about their loved ones and wish they could go home. You can find coverage of all sides of this conflict at npr.org/mideastupdates.

Introducing All The Only Ones
All The Only Ones is a new 3-part series from NPR's Embedded. Host Laine Kaplan-Levenson unearths the little known and often neglected history of trans youth in America. We follow the lives of young transgender people today and travel back in time to the turn of the 20th century to meet some of the earliest trans youth documented in American history. Launching on November 2.

Britney Spears can finally tell her own story in 'The Woman in Me'
Britney Spears just released one of the most hotly anticipated celebrity memoirs of the year, The Woman In Me. The book details her meteoric rise to fame, her family history, and her 13 year-long conservatorship. This week, host Britney Luse talks to the two best people to break it all down: Claire Parker and Ashley Hamilton, comedians and co-hosts of the Celebrity Memoir Book Club podcast. Together they look at what the princess of pop is trying to tell us, how she contextualizes her own story and how she doesn't seem to implicate the audience in her abuse.

Overwhelmed by doom scrolling? Time to check in with your body
In part five: host Manoush Zomorodi investigates what information overload does to our physical and mental health. Could our tech use be interfering with the critical dialogue that takes place between the body and the brain? Psychiatrist and neuroscientist Sahib Khalsa shares his latest research on interoception - the brain's ability to sense how the body is feeling - and how finding time to unplug from our devices can help us tune into our body's natural signals.

Youngbloods, Brass: Giveton Gelin, Kalia Vandever and Summer Camargo

Sam Weber on Mountain Stage

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NPR's home to showcase all of the podcasts from the NPR family. You can listen to recent episodes of your favorite podcasts and subscribe using your app of choice. Looking for more great listens? Browse our entire catalogue by topic or, on each podcast's page, discover similar podcasts.

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Luke's English Podcast is an award-winning audio show for learners of English as a foreign language. The podcast started in 2009 and is still going strong. There are now over 850 audio episodes, transcripts, a YouTube channel (1 million subscribers), a special series on phrasal verbs, and premium episodes focusing on vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. The podcast has won 5 awards, received a British Council ELTon nomination and has had over 150 million downloads in total.

I'm Luke and I've been making episodes of my podcast for over 14 years. I'm a DELTA-qualified English teacher from London with 20+ years of teaching experience. I'm also a stand-up comedian. My podcast offers you an insightful learning resource to help you listen to English regularly, and make you laugh while you learn. Join my audience of people around the world and listen to LEP.

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Luke's English Podcast is an award-winning audio show for learners of English as a foreign language. The podcast started in 2009 and is still going strong. There are now over 850 audio episodes, transcripts, a YouTube channel (1 million subscribers), a special series on phrasal verbs, and premium episodes focusing on vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.

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In recent months, our lives have been dominated by the delta and omicron variants, but now there might be another one lurking - temporarily named IHU. How do variants get classified as a "variant of concern"? And 24-year-old singer Silvana Estrada is one of Mexico's most promising young talents. We hear about her upcoming debut album, "Marchita," and her first headlining US tour. Plus, Canadian farmers on Prince Edward Island are stuck with enough potatoes to fill 25 hockey stadiums due to an outdated export ban. The crop has since been declared virus-free but the ban persists, leaving the island with a bit of a potato crisis.

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In recent months, our lives have been dominated by the delta and omicron variants, but now there might be another one lurking - temporarily named IHU. How do variants get classified as a "variant of concern"? And 24-year-old singer Silvana Estrada is one of Mexico's most promising young talents.

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It's simple, Netflix Is A Daily Joke is a joke a day podcast. Featuring a daily dose of your favorite Netflix comedians daily. One a day. Everyday. Day.

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Last week I had the pleasure of appearing on Sean Hutchman's brilliant podcast No Word is an Island. The show is aimed at advanced English learners (and their teachers). We discussed James Clear's brilliant book Atomic Habits and my experiences trying to put some of the techniques and strategies into practice. We also explored ways to apply some of Clear's ideas to our classes and students to help them become more effective learners, as well as touching on many other interesting topics. Check out the episode and video below:
https://betterlanguagelearning.com/episode-15/
We're back with episode 54 of the podcast. Katy & Tim describe some crazy inventions and discuss their usefulness. How many gadgets do you own?

Listen on SoundCloud, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. If you enjoy the episode, come join us on the socials for more great content:

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@2tspod

Twitter: @2tspod

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/2tspod/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/2tspodcast
2Ts in a Pod: Podcast, Pronunciation Classes, Video Classes
Here's another pronunciation video from our TikTok channel. This time we're looking at 4 words that Spanish speakers struggle to pronounce:

mountain

fountain

vegetable

comfortable

Follow us on social media for more great content:

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@2tspod

Twitter: @2tspod

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/2tspod/?hl=en
2Ts in a Pod: Podcast, pronunciation, Pronunciation Classes
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/2tspodcast

Or listen to full episodes of the podcast on SoundCloud, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts:

This is another short video from our TikTok channel, this time we're looking at the pronunciation of three words that Spanish speakers really tend to struggle with: bear, beer & bird. If you enjoy this video, come join us on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter:

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@2tspod

Twitter: @2tspod
https://www.tiktok.com/@2tspod
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/2tspod/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/2tspodcast
https://tiktok.com/@2tspod

Shot and edited by Katy Wright

Here's another of our vocab videos from our TikTok channel, this time we're looking at 5 ways to agree with somebody. If you enjoy this video, come join us on TikTok!

Shot and edited by Katy Wright

We've launched a new TikTok channel for our podcast 2Ts in a Pod, come follow us! We're going to be releasing short vocabulary and pronunciation videos, what topics would you like us to cover?

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2Ts in a Pod: Podcast - Tim's Free English Lesson Plans

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Last week I had the pleasure of appearing on Sean Hutchman's brilliant podcast No Word is an Island. The show is aimed at advanced English learners (and their teachers). We discussed James Clear's brilliant book Atomic Habits and my experiences trying to put some of the techniques and strategies into practice.

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Do Spaniards have an inferiority complex?

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Do Spaniards have an inferiority complex?

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They are said to be loud and to love their siestas. But beyond these and many other stereotypes, what are Spaniards really like? And how are they different from other citizens of the world? We spoke with a dozen foreigners living in Spain, and this is what they had to say about the Spanish character.

An inferiority complex on certain topics

Ewan, a 31-year-old from Scotland, has been working as a Madrid tourist guide for the last six years. He believes that Spaniards are sociable people who often express themselves without prejudice on many issues, yet have a hang-up about certain moments of their history, such as the Spanish Inquisition. "The fact that they are so defensive about certain topics like the Inquisition or colonization shows that Spaniards have something of an inferiority complex," he says.

Spaniards assimilate political corruption as something that is not important enough to stop voting for the leaders who swindled the nation

Ewan, Scotland

"Sometimes I feel that they are obsessed with the notion that other countries are always talking about how bad the Spanish empire was, and that's not the case. Yet they have no problems with other subjects like corruption. Spaniards assimilate political corruption as something that is not important enough to stop voting for the leaders who swindled the nation. This is a very Spanish thing, you don't see it elsewhere," he says.

"They are great hosts. I've always felt very welcome in Spain. At a party with Spaniards where you hardly know a soul, it is easy to meet someone, exchange phone numbers and decide to meet again for beers," adds Ewan, saying that this would not be a normal scenario in Scotland. "Spaniards are very informal, and I like that quite a lot. Another major difference I've found between Spanish and British people is that the former speak very freely about race. In Britain that is frowned upon and considered racist. The thing is, Spaniards speak more openly about things that a Brit might be thinking but would never dare say out loud."

Loyal to their family

Alexandra Engel, a 29-year-old elementary school teacher, was born in Washington and moved to Spain five years ago. "I have to confess that Spaniards run rings around us Americans when it comes to the art of enjoying life," she says. "In Spain, people don't live just to work and make money. Ever since I moved to Spain I've learned to value what's really important: enjoying the company of family and friends."

Another thing that struck Alexandra was the central role that family plays in the lives of many Spaniards. "In the US it is not so common for entire families to come together for things like birthdays. In Spain I've discovered very strong family ties. The concept of family is deeply rooted here, and I find that great. Family members typically support one another without question, just out of the mere fact of being a member of the clan, whether it's a cousin twice removed or a nephew."

Not very good dancers (especially the men)

Carol is a 31-year-old from Sao Paulo, Brazil who has been living in Spain for 17 years. She finds there are many things in common between Latinos and Spaniards: "Spanish people are quick to hug and kiss you, they are quickly on familiar terms with you. I was surprised to see that when I moved here, and it made me feel like I was at home."

Family members typically support one another without question

Alexandra Engel, United States

But there are differences as well, and they have to do with the Spanish inferiority complex. "In general, Spanish men are very shy about dancing. When you go to a club you see that none of them are dancing. In South America everyone dances, men and women alike. In Spain, if a woman approaches a man while she is dancing, as though to ask him to dance with her, it makes him feel uncomfortable. I find this funny, because dancing is such a natural thing to me, and I don't see why they should feel ashamed to do it."

The perfect European and Latin combination

Kara, 26, was born in Brussels and moved to Spain 20 years ago. She is studying law but earns an income from Instagram, where she has become an influencer. Asked what makes Spaniards unique, she does not hesitate: "It is, without a doubt, the art of living. The welcoming culture and people. The mix of European values (very methodical, very organized) with Latino traits (bright dispositions, extended lunches, the love of staying up late...). Spaniards take the best from both worlds."

Obsessed with their bad English

Belén, 30, is a journalist from Argentina who worked in Madrid for three years before moving back home. While she was here, she noticed that Spaniards have very low self-esteem when it comes to speaking a foreign language. "I was really shocked to see that, among Spaniards, it is frowned upon to pronounce English properly. Several Spanish friends have confessed this to me. I've been told that when a Spaniard makes the effort to pronounce an English word properly, the others make fun of him or her. This tremendous complex means that Spaniards make an effort not to speak a language properly out of fear of being judged."

Gossiping, the national sport

Sonia, 38, a native of Belgrade, has been living in Spain for the last 20 years. A digital communication professional, she has lived in the Canary Islands, Málaga and Barcelona. "Spaniards are very optimistic, they know how to seize the moment and enjoy life. But there is a very negative side to them: they are the kings of gossip. When I arrived here from Serbia, I didn't know the meaning of cotillear, but I do now. In Spain, judging others and talking behind their backs is a national sport. I have to say that Spaniards like to stick their noses in other people's business."

"Pulling a Spanish one"

Pål Ødegård, 43, was born in Trondheim, the third-most-populated city in Norway. A sports journalist, he has been living in Valencia since 2010 with his wife, who is from Chile. "In Norway we have a saying: to 'pull a Spanish one.' We use it when someone ignores the rules or cheats in some small way. In my country, we are real sticklers for rules, and that clashes with the roguish nature of Spaniards.

In Spain, judging others and talking behind their backs is a national sport

Sonia, Belgrade

"Another thing that definitely defines Spaniards is their emotional ties to the land where they were born, especially those who were born in regions with their own language, like Valencia, Galicia, Catalonia or Basque Country. They really miss their homeland when they are abroad, and they have a very strong sense of belonging. I think that Spaniards are heavily influenced by the city where they were born."

Bad manners

Allegra, a 38-year-old Italian, spent 10 years in Madrid before moving to Mexico three years ago. That decade spent in Spain served to transform her into a Spaniard. "When I first arrived there, I was shocked to see that Spaniards are not in the habit of saying thank you or please, at least not as much as we do in Italy," she notes. "After living in Madrid for 10 years, I turned into a Madrileña myself. Without realizing, I stopped saying please, and when I was with my family they would scold me for it. On the other hand, Spaniards are a lot of fun. Now that I am in Mexico I really miss the Spanish sense of humor. Everything is more boring here."

Good at laughing at themselves

Angela, 34, is a German school teacher who lives in Madrid. She knows exactly what makes Spaniards unique: their sense of humor. "I am amazed at their ability to joke around even in the most critical situations. Deaths, sickness, theft, fights...nothing is untouchable when it comes to humor and laughing about unfortunate events. It's a great life lesson. When I was living in Germany, it was unthinkable to crack jokes about certain topics. But now that I'm in Spain I get a lot less dramatic about adversity. I've learned to laugh at everything, especially at myself, and to take things easy. Spaniards have taught me that nothing is so bad that you can't make jokes about it."

Youths are rebellious and libertine

Edmundo, a 49-year-old from Ecuador, has been living in Madrid for the last 21 years. He works as a truck driver and presides over the Social, Cultural and Artistic Ecuadorian Association of Madrid. "In Ecuador there is a lot of respect for parents at home and for teachers at school. This is in contrast with the rather libertine and rebellious character of younger Spaniards," he says. "I see it every day at the school where both my children go. The students talk back to the teachers, showing no respect for hierarchy. It's the same with the way my children's friends relate to their own families. They yell at their parents. This is shocking, because it doesn't happen in my country."

Afraid of change

Ian Powell was born in Liverpool 58 years ago. For the last 11 years he has been working in Spain as an English teacher. He recently obtained dual citizenship, and voted for Britain to remain in the European Union. Ian thinks that if you take the good parts about the Spanish and the good parts about the British, you get a very complete citizen. "Spaniards make an effort to be happy. And that is very important. People always find a way to be happy. The British, however, are always pissed off," he notes. But the Spanish are also afraid of change. "It is frustrating to see how long it takes the Spanish to make a decision. They are really afraid of change. It happens in a lot of fields, but it is especially visible in politics. People do not change the way they vote even if the party they support is the most corrupt party in the world. That is bad for the country. The British people get angry at politicians, throw them out and change their vote, no great tragedy."

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Do Spaniards have an inferiority complex? Here's what foreigners have to say about it

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They are said to be loud and to love their siestas. But beyond these and many other stereotypes, what are Spaniards really like? And how are they different from other citizens of the world? We spoke with a dozen foreigners living in Spain, and this is what they had to say about the Spanish character.

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Selección de Audiolibros en Inglés: Explore thousands of audiobooks in every category. Listen to performances by award-winning narrators and exclusive new audiobooks only available on Audible.

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The C1speaking test in Galicia will definitely include a new task this year: Mediation. Students will have to mediate with each other and will be assessed according to their performance. But what does that exactly mean? They will be exposed to a text on a particular issue and will have to relay information and discuss the writer's attitude.

Luckily, there are some useful expressions and collocations students can use to manage to pass on the information and convey the writer's message. This game below may help English students organize the chunks they can use to mediate effectively and pass the exam with flying colours!. Once the meaning is clear, just be ready to invoke the muses to inspire you during your exam!!

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MEDIATION: HOW TO DESCRIBE A WRITER´S POINT OF VIEW

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The C1speaking test in Galicia will definitely include a new task this year: Mediation. Students will have to mediate with each other and will be assessed according to their performance. But what does that exactly mean? They will be exposed to a text on a particular issue and will have to relay information and discuss the writer's attitude.

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Interpreting graphs or visual information

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Interpreting graphs or visual information

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During our school lockdown, we have been expanding our knowledge on how to interpret statistics. As usual under the current circumstances, with the instructions in mind, we stayed safe at home carrying on with the hard work. It was about time for a new mediation task using a line graph on mass media consumption habits in the UK. We shared all our ideas on a google drive document and worked collaboratively to come up with our final versions. De-escalation-made written mediation activities. Where there is a will, there is a way!

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INTERPRETING VISUAL INFORMATION: MEDIATING LINE GRAPHS

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During our school lockdown, we have been expanding our knowledge on how to interpret statistics. As usual under the current circumstances, with the instructions in mind, we stayed safe at home carrying on with the hard work. It was about time for a new mediation task using a line graph on mass media consumption habits in the UK.

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Mediation seems to be a nightmare for most of my C1 students😱. Coming up with the right expressions to relay information or summarize ideas might sometimes become a daunting task😢. If mediating activities are difficult to accomplish for you, search no more! Here is a compilation of hopefully useful resources that I have gathered throughout the course for you to practise and succeed!💪💪

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Mediation seems to be a nightmare for most of my C1 students😱. Coming up with the right expressions to relay information or summarize ideas might sometimes become a daunting task😢. If mediating activities are difficult to accomplish for you, search no more!

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TRAVEL VOCABULARY by anafelpete on Genially

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Discover more about TRAVEL VOCABULARY ✌️ - Game

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Discover more about HEALTH WHEEL ✌️ - Personalized

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Created with Hot Potatoes by Half-Baked Software, registered to Lucas.

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Recursos educativos (Ruleta de Palabras): WORK + JOBS (english vocabulary - eoi - c1) - Guess the correct word

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Recursos educativos (Relacionar Columnas): environment (environment vocabulary - english - eoi - c1) - match words in one column with the definitions in the other

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Recursos educativos (Crucigrama): SYNONYMS (eoi c1 english - synonyms - eoi inglés) - Guess the correct word

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The word building exercises below test your knowledge of word families. As a guide, please see these word families for advanced learners.

Exercise 1

Fill in the blanks with a word in the same family as the word in bold.

Exercise 2

Fill in the blanks with a word in the same family as the word in bold.

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Word Building Exercises - Business English

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The word building exercises below test your knowledge of word families. As a guide, please see these word families for advanced learners. Fill in the blanks with a word in the same family as the word in bold. Fill in the blanks with a word in the same family as the word in bold.

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How to pronounce ADVERTISEMENT in British English

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How to pronounce PRODUCT in British English

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Genial - Inspiración. Creación. Admiración.

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Los sinónimos hacen nuestra habla más adornada y agradable, y en el caso de los idiomas extranjeros también ayuda a aumentar tu fluidez.

Genial.guru reunió las 100 palabras más usadas en inglés junto con sus sinónimos en una tabla cómoda de usar.

Fuente Material de, study-english
Traducción y adaptación Genial.guru

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Sinónimos de las 100 palabras más usadas en inglés

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Los sinónimos hacen nuestra habla más adornada y agradable, y en el caso de los idiomas extranjeros también ayuda a aumentar tu fluidez. Genial.guru reunió las 100 palabras más usadas en inglés junto con sus sinónimos en una tabla cómoda de usar. Fuente Material de, study-english Traducción y adaptación Genial.guru

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Created with Hot Potatoes by Half-Baked Software, registered to Flo-Joe.

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Practise phrasal verbs and less formal equivalents: C1: Advanced, Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE)

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Created with Hot Potatoes by Half-Baked Software, registered to Flo-Joe.

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Practise Formal and Informal Expressions: C1 Advanced, (Cambridge English Advanced, CAE)

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Grammar: Ways to express the future (online exercises)

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Grammar: Ways to express the future (online exercises)

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Future arrangements

Present continuous

We often use the present continuous to talk about future events that are already planned and decided, when a date and/or a place have been chosen.

Be going to

We can also use be going to for future arrangements.

Present continuous vs be going to

We can normally use both present continuous and going to to talk about future plans, but the present continuous emphasises the fact that we have already decided a place and/or time, whereas be going to emphasises our intention to do something.

Future continuous

We can also use the future continuous instead of the present continuous for future events that have already been planned or decided.

We often use the future continuous to ask politely about future arrangements.

And of course, we use the future continuous to talk about situations or actions that will be in progress at a certain time in the future.

Present simple

We use the present simple for future events that are scheduled or timetabled.

Predictions

Will

We use will to talk about something we think will happen:

Be going to

We use be going to to talk about something that is very near to happen or that we see is going to happen (there is present evidence)

Future perfect

Future perfect simple

We use the future perfect simple for actions that will be finished before a certain time in the future.

We can also use the future perfect simple to talk about the duration of a situation until a certain time in the future (with stative verbs).

Future perfect continuous

We use the future perfect continuous with dynamic verbs to talk about the duration of a situation until a certain time in the future.

Future time clauses (when, as soon as, until, before, after)

Use present simple to talk about the future in sentences with when, as soon as, until, before, after

Other uses of will

Instant decisions

We use will for decisions that we make at the moment of speaking ( instant decisions).

Promises and refusals

Future facts

Offers

When we offer to do something for somebody, we use I will in statements or shall I in questions.

Suggestions

We use shall we to make suggestions.

Requests

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Future forms - expressing future time - Test-English

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Future forms - expressing future time. Advanced English grammar exercises. Will, be going to, present continuous, be about to, be to, be due to, etc.

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How to pronounce LIBEL in British English

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How to pronounce BURGLARY in British English

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Here you have some phrasal verbs that can appear in the exam

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How to pronounce OTHER in British English

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How to pronounce WOMAN in British English

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How To Pronounce Companies - Pronunciation Academy

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How to pronounce NATURE in British English

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How to pronounce MONEY in British English

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How to pronounce COLOUR in British English

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How to pronounce PRODUCT in British English

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How to pronounce GOVERNMENT in British English

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ED pronunciation in English | How to pronounce ED endings | Learn English Pronunciation

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Defining vs non-defining

There are two types of relative clauses, defining and non-defining. In the grammar chart below, you can see the main differences between them.

Relative pronouns

Relative pronouns are the words that introduce relative clauses. They can act as the subject or the object of the relative clause.

Note that that can be used in informal English instead of who/whom/which but it is never used after commas, i.e. in non-defining relative clauses, or after prepositions.

We use which/that as relative pronouns. They refer back to a noun or sentence.

We don't use what as a relative pronoun. It cannot be used to refer back to a sentence or noun.

We use what independently to mean 'the thing/s that'.

Prepositions in relative clauses

When the relative pronoun is the complement of a preposition, we can use the preposition before the relative pronoun or at the end of the relative clause.

Preposition + relative pronoun

It's not very common to use prepositions before relative pronouns, we just do it in formal language.

Note that after a preposition we can only use the pronouns whom or which. We cannot use who or that after a preposition.

We can also use whose after a preposition.

Preposition at the end of the relative clause

The most common position of the preposition is at the end of the relative clause.

Relative adverbs

Relative adverbs introduce relative clauses, just like relative pronouns, but in this case, they are used to introduce information about time ( when), place ( where), or reason ( why).

Note that we can use a preposition + which instead of a relative adverb, although this structure is more formal and not as common.

Quantifier + of which/whom

In non-defining relative clauses (=between commas), we can use of which/whom after a quantifier such as some, any, none, all, both, several, enough, many and few.

Their daughters, both of whom are in university, don't visit them very often.

Their house was full of cats, most of which had been found in the street.

We can also use a quantifier + of whose.

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Relative clauses - defining and non-defining - Test-English

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Relative clauses. Defining and non-defining relative clauses. Relative pronouns with preposition, relative adverbs. Advanced English grammar exercises.

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Speculation and deduction (extra practice II)

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Speculation and deduction (extra practice II)

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Modals: speculation and deduction (extra practice I)

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Modals: speculation and deduction (extra practice I)

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Advanced Grammar | Modal Verbs of Deduction | esl-lounge Student

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Created with Hot Potatoes by Half-Baked Software, registered to Klaus Rosmanitz.

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WF058-Word Formation - English Vocabulary Exercises

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WF059 - Word Formation Sentences

Gap-fill exercise

Fill in all the gaps, then press "Check" to check your answers. Use the "Hint" button to get a free letter if an answer is giving you trouble. You can also click on the "[?]" button to get a clue. Note that you will lose points if you ask for hints or clues!

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Created with Hot Potatoes by Half-Baked Software, registered to Klaus Rosmanitz.

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Fill in all the gaps, then press "Check" to check your answers. Use the "Hint" button to get a free letter if an answer is giving you trouble. You can also click on the "[?]" button to get a clue. Note that you will lose points if you ask for hints or clues!

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Created with Hot Potatoes by Half-Baked Software, registered to Klaus Rosmanitz.

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WF061 - Word Formation Sentences - English Vocabulary Exercises

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Modal verbs: Speculation and deduction (notes + practice) 

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Modal verbs: Speculation and deduction (notes + practice) 