Language Enhancement January 4, 2013 Topics: Food Idioms and Review 1.Exam Outline 2.Poem: The Road Not Taken 3.Language practice: Food Idioms 4.More Exam review: reading practice

Exam Outline Written exam – Friday, January 11, 2013, 8 am – 9:40 am Notes, dictionaries and other aids are permitted Part A: Match the underlined idiom, word or phrase with the definition that best fits (20 marks) Part B: Choose 10 idioms or terms from a list, write a sentence which properly uses the idiom and clearly demonstrates its meaning (20 marks) Part C: Read a passage and answer questions (10 marks), the passage will be related to any of the topics from this course Total marks: 50

Exam Topics All idioms, words and phrases come only from class material (handouts and ppt files) Chinese Canadian history Multiculturalism Parenting – Tiger Moms Western and Eastern values Education and Gaokao Elections American political culture I Have a Dream Stories and History Family relationships Hospice care, Filial Piety Domestic Violence Divorce Personality types Environment and sustainability Christmas Music and Social Change

Poem: The Road Not Taken Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveller, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Poem: The Road Not Taken Then took the other, as just as fair; And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same.

Poem: The Road Not Taken And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.

Poem: The Road Not Taken I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, And I - I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference. What do you think this poem is about? What did the narrator choose? For what different reasons do we sigh? Why do you think the narrator will “be telling this with a sigh” in the future? Why do you think the narrator’s choice “has made all the difference”?

Idioms and Figures of Speech about Food “my cup of tea” “cry over spilt milk” “with a grain of salt” “you can’t have your cake and eat it too” “gravy train” “eat your words” “pig out” “couch potato” “piece of cake” “hand (it) on a silver platter” “spill the beans” “spoon feeding (someone)” “put all your eggs in one basket” “apple of one’s eye” “bread and butter” “eating you” “out to lunch” “egg on” “bring home the bacon” “eat humble pie” “you are what you eat” “beef about something” “have a finger in every pie”

Language Practice – Food Idiom Matching The purpose of this exercise is to practice your language sense, to develop your ability to guess the meaning of phrases and idioms from the context; You may work by yourself or with a partner; Read the idiom sentences in the right column first, and try to guess the meaning first; Then try to match them to the definition in the left column Try NOT to use your dictionary to search for the idioms

Reading Practice – “Too Much of a Good Thing” You will receive a passage of similar length for your exam; Please read the passage and the questions carefully;

1.What “thing” does the title “Too Much of a Good Thing” refer to? Why is it good? Carbon dioxide It is good because it is a heat-trapping gas – keeps the earth warm 2.What are three kinds of fossil fuels mentioned in the article? Coal, oil, natural gas

3.“We can track Earth’s temperature and the amount of carbon dioxide.” (paragraph 3) What other things is it possible to track? (i.e. make a sentence that demonstrates the meaning of “track”.) e.g. The police tracked the criminal ‘s movements and finally captured him e.g. The cat quietly tracked the little mouse. Essential part of the meaning: to follow a moving object

4.“What’s the big deal about Earth warming a few degrees?” (paragraph 4) Rewrite the sentence in your own words without using “big deal”. “What’s so important about Earth warming a few degrees?” “What’s so significant about…” e.g. “I lost some money yesterday, but it was only 5 dollars, so it was no big deal.”

5.Write your own sentence that clearly demonstrates the meaning of “figure out” (paragraph 4) “to come to understand”, “to discover or come to a solution” e.g. “She had not yet figured out what to do next.” 6.According to the article, what has been the sea-level rise seen over many centuries before this one? 5 cm (this century’s 15 cm is three times greater)

7.According to the article, what are two possible effects of worldwide sea level rise? Beach areas, low-lying islands and waterfront properties could be covered; Plants and animals that live on or near glaciers or polar ice sheets may struggle to survive 8.“Throughout history, Earth’s temperature has varied.” (paragraph 6) Why doesn’t the article simply say that Earth’s temperature has changed? “Varied” = may go up and go down