11 June 2015

150 Years of Alice - Write About Your Wonderland






To celebrate 150 years of Alice in Wonderland, Macmillan Readers have organised a Write about your Wonderland competition for all English language learners. All you have to do is submit your fictional story about your Wonderland. 

This competition is open to schools and independent learners and is divided into three age groups:

  • 12 years and younger
  • 13 - 17 years
  • 18 years and older

You can send in a short story (between 500 and 1000 words) and/or one drawing based on the theme My Wonderland.

In the writing category, there will be one winner per age group. They will win:

  • 10 printed copies of the short story collection
  • 5 Macmillan Readers of their choice from the current catalogue
  • £100 worth of Macmillan Education eBook vouchers

Four runners-up in this category will win:

  • 1 printed copy of the short story collection 
  • £25 worth of Macmillan Education eBook vouchers

In the drawing category, there will be one winner per age group. Their drawigns will appear on the cover of the collection. They will win:

  • 5 printed copies of the short story collection
  • 3 Macmillan Readers of their choice from the current catalogue


The competition runs until 31 August 2015 (midnight GMT).

Please carefully read the Terms&Conditions.

You can find some activities for inspiration here.







Good luck!

8 June 2015

Getting Emotional



123rf



Are you an emotional person? What emotion represents you the most? Does it depend on a situation?

Here are some examples that illustrate various emotions.


  • Come on, tell me. I promise I won't breathe a word to anyone.
          {curiosity}

  • No, I'm not going there. Look how high that tower is!
          {fear}

  • Are you kidding me?! Nobody gets hitched wearing ski boots!      
         {astonishment}

  • Could you not keep criticizing me in front of everyone? It looks so bad.
          {irritation}

  • Although you didn't win, I think you did very well to come third. Just keep up the good work and the results will come!
         {encouragement}

  • Words can't express how much you mean to me!
          {adoration}

  • What do you mean I'm a couch potato? I exercise at least twice a week.
          {indignation}

  • You'll have to consult my secretary. I have a hectic schedule at the moment. You know me, I'm so much in demand.
         {boastfulness}

  • It was nothing. Anybody would have done the same.
          {modesty}

  • Thank God you're here. When I couldn't get you on your mobile, horrible thoughts came to my mind.
         {relief}

  • Oh, honey, don't cry. You'll be all right. It's just a small cut.
          {reassurance}

  • Get this bunch of useless things out of my house! Now!
          {fury}

  • I can't tell you how much I appreciate everything you've done for me. I'd have been completely lost without your support.
          {gratitude}

  • Wow! I could never do anything like that. Fifteen kilometres are my limit.
          {admiration}
         
        

3 June 2015

Adverbs With Two Forms



Oxford Dictionaries


Some adverbs have two forms, one with and one without -ly. Sometimes the two meanings are connected and sometimes they are not.


easy/easily


1. Relax! Take it easy! [calm; free from worry]

    Real Madrid won the match easily. [not difficult]


late/lately


2. We hate it when you arrive late. [arriving after the planned, expected time]

    Have you been doing anything useful lately? [recently]


hard/hardly


3. He's been working very hard all his life. [using a lot of physical or mental effort]

    I hardly ever go to concerts. [almost never]


wrong/wrongly


4. You're definitely doing it wrong. [in a way that is not correct]

     She spelled her own name wrongly. [not correctly]


sure/surely


5. Can you lend me your book? Sure. [certainly]

    Surely you don't expect me to say that? [used to express surprise that something has happened or is going to happen]


most/mostly
  

6. What do you like most about her? [more than anything else]

     I think that those kids are mostly orphans. [mainly]


free/freely


7. For the first time in years he could move freely. [without being limited or controlled]

     The prisoner walked free after seventeen years in jail. [not limited]


wide/widely


8. I was wide awake last night. [completely]
    
    She has travelled widely in Europe, Asia and Africa. [including a lot of different places]


high/highly

    
9.  We were flying high over the ocean. [at or to a large distance from the ground]

  I think very highly of Andrew and his wife. [have a good opinion of someone/above average]




In which examples does the meaning alter significantly?