S201-205 Homework: Are extreme sports worth the risk?

Artist: Nikolai Fomin

Comment on the following statement: "Extreme sports have become more and more popular. However, some say that they are too risky."

What is your opinion? Does the thrill of the sport outweigh the risk? Write 200-250 words on a piece of paper that you can give me. Use the following plan:

• write an introduction (state the problem/topic)
• express your personal opinion and give reasons for it
• give arguments for other points of view and explain why you don’t agree with them
• draw a conclusion

Please give me your essay next week (February 27 or March 1) or send it to me electronically. Have fun!

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Exercise adapted from Olga Afanasyeva, Virginia Evans, Victoria Kopylova, Practice Exam Papers for the Russian State Exam, 2010 Revised Edition, Moscow: Express Publishing/Prosveshchenie Publishers.

Group 301: "I don’t need you critiquing my love life"

Homework: You did such a good job with the first list, we'd like more! Choose fifteen of these words/phrases and use them in full sentences in the same sense they were used in Good Grief. We'll listen to your sentences next week. Good luck!

Source

willowy
moody
aloof
longing
jocks
nerds
killer [adj.]
loser
slithery
Cops
figure, I figured
single
the way it was/things were
we'd, we would
sleep over
Cheerios
thought bubble
take off, took off (with)
hygienist
for the most part
begrudgingly
Munchkin (Жевун)
about to
Barbara Walters
admissions office
sensible
clogs
peripheral
clear the dishes
baby-sitter
fix for dinner
Godiva plan
jack-in-the-box
"Pop Goes the Weasel"
snap, Tony snaps
crybaby
hiss
bolt
minds, to mind
sit down to (a meal)
show up
crisp, crisply
nosy
eligible
MIT

Group 301: Homework for our first Good Grief excerpt

Here is a list of words and phrases we discussed from our first reading from Lolly Winston's novel Good Grief. Your homework: select any ten of these words or phrases and write your own sentences using your selections.

flock
trick-or-treaters
running low
made it back
make do
drugstore
limited selection
dressed up
lull
get it working
sob
prim, primly
Drano
crack open
pardon?
flub, flubbing up
flake
ensemble, living room ensemble
make it
get to work, get back
   to work
Oreos
malted
daunting
think ahead

We meet again Tuesday, February 19. Please remember to bring Arakin....

Joan Baez, "I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night"

Listen or download Joan Baez Joe Hill for free on Prostopleer

I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night
words by Alfred Hayes, music by Earl Robinson, adapted by Joan Baez

I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night,
alive as you or me.
Says I But Joe, you’re ten years dead
I never died said he,
I never died said he.

The Copper Bosses killed you Joe,
they shot you Joe says I.
Takes more than guns to kill a man
Says Joe I didn’t die, Says Joe I didn’t die

And standing there as big as life
and smiling with his eyes.
Says Joe What they can never kill
went on to organize, went on to organize

From San Diego up to Maine,
in every mine and mill,
where working-men defend their rights,
it’s there you find Joe Hill,
it’s there you find Joe Hill!

I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night,
alive as you or me.
Says I But Joe, you’re ten years dead
I never died said he, I never died said he.

S201-205 Homework: How do you cope with exams?

You have received a letter from your English-speaking pen friend Jack who writes:

Photo credit: Mumbai Mirror

... Well, my exams start next week and I'm feeling a little stressed even though I've studied hard. How often do you have exams at your school? Do you like taking exams? How do you cope with the pressure?

It's my best friend John's birthday this weekend ...

Write a letter to Jack. In your letter

• answer his questions
• ask three questions about his friend's birthday

Write 100-140 words to give or send me next week (February 20 or 22). Remember the rules of letter-writing.

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Exercise adapted from Olga Afanasyeva, Virginia Evans, Victoria Kopylova, Practice Exam Papers for the Russian State Exam, 2010 Revised Edition, Moscow: Express Publishing/Prosveshchenie Publishers.

S201-205 Homework: Sometimes Tom feels lonely

You have received a letter from your English-speaking pen-friend Tom who writes:

The Harris family, Bloomfield, NM

(source)

... Sometimes I feel lonely because I am an only child. I often wonder what it would be like to have a big family. How big is your family? What kinds of activities do you like to do together? Do you have a favourite relative whom you like to visit?

I've just come back from a fantastic trip to Scotland....

Write a letter to Tom. In your letter,

• answer his questions
• ask 3 questions about his trip to Scotland

Write 100-140 words. Remember the rules of letter-writing. Please send this to me or bring it to your next class.

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Exercise adapted from Olga Afanasyeva, Virginia Evans, Victoria Kopylova, Practice Exam Papers for the Russian State Exam, 2010 Revised Edition, Moscow: Express Publishing/Prosveshchenie Publishers.