Session (one):

Speaking (transportation)

1. what types of transport do you use regularly? Why?

I used to travel with my own car. => by my own car / by my personal car / vehicle

It is hard to find parking space near my office. // it is usually difficult to find parking lots.

I used to take +the + bus.

2. what types of transport are more common in your hometown?

I usually commute on foot as my workplace is near to my house. => near my house

let me to lower the volume

3. How do you think public transport has improved over the past 10 years in your

hometown?

I live in + A + small city in + THE + north of Iran

it is one of the biggest changeSSSSSSS in this system.

one of the + noun (plural) + verb (singular) => one of my fingerSSSS is killing me.

in the past, we had much less lines in Tehran. => much fewer lines

This system has changed a lot. ==> This system has undergone dramatic changes.

This system has changed just a little. ==> This system has undergone subtle changes.

4. Is it common for people in your city to use bicycle for transportation?

I live in city which name is "Chaloos"

They keep us safe from the accidents.

We should use less cars. => fewer cars

Some useful phrases:

Daily commuters of my city rely on / depend on private vehicles. => people are car-

dependent ==> transport in Tehran is usually road-based.

There are plenty of single-occupancy cars on the roads and highways, especially /

particularly during rush hours. people get stuck in slow-moving traffic. => they get held up in

bupmer-to-bumper traffic.

I have the tendency to use my private car.

Unlike public transportation, when I use my car, ((I need not wait)) ((I do not need to wait))

for other passengers to get off at their stops.

I can enjoy a great deal of privacy and convenience in my car.

Point (very important) => you should always pay attention to "parallelism". It means, you

have to use "parallel and the SAME structure" before and after => (and - or - but - nor -

yet)

Those too many car on the roads have raised the volume of traffic. This brings about (causes

/ leads to / gives rise to) carbon emission / air pollution. The large amount of cars =>

incorrect
the large number of cars leads streets to become heavily congested.

The incessant roar of cars make the city centers quite (adverb) noisy (adjective).

The system has improved immensely and it is at hand / readily available.

Public transportation playSSSS a key role in huge bustling metropolises.

people can put away a great deal of money for rainy days.

This system is also "relatively efficient" , "environmentally friendly" and "inexpensive"

I have a particular liking for (= I like) electric buses + because / as / since / seeing that + they

are by far the safest and most secure mode of transportation systems.

==========

Reading (page 4)

We should first read the "title" and "the subheading" in order to get familiar with the

passage. Then we shoudl analyze the questions one by one.

question type => diagram completion

1. check the word limits. draw a circle around it.

2. read each question and choose keywords.

3. you should also predict the type of information for each question.

4. Skim the passage (read it quickly) in order to find your keywords or their paraphrases

(words with similar meanings)

5. instead of "skimming" , you can SCAN your golden keywords. if you have them of course.

6. after finding the related sentence in the passage, you shoudl read it very slowly and find

the answer.

Homework:

you should make a paraphrase bank => write the keywords on the right part of the paper

and on the left side, you should write down their paraphrases.

===========

Grammar (review of some tenses in English)

(((Present Simple)))

Usage => Facts – Habits – Routine – Permanent – Generally speaking.

I go to work every day at 8 o’clock.

Water boils in 100 degrees.

Hint: when ‘generally speaking’ your countable noun must be plural.

I like apples. / Cats drink milk.

Point => a [CN] which is singular and it is used alone without any other word is always

incorrect.

Hint: Pay attention to ‘Subject and verb agreement’

She speaks English fluently.

The number of endangered animals has increased.

Commuting by public transit is safe.

Learning English helpsssss us to communicate with Americans more easily.

(((Adverbs of frequency)))

Always ……... Never

Pay attention that these adverbs are mostly used in ‘present simple’ tense.

How often do you hit the gym?

Well, as I am a health freak, I always work out in the morning.

I lead a hectic life, so I hardly ever exercise.

Hint=> the following frequency adverbs are negative so they must be used in positive

sentences.

Seldom – Barely – Scarcely – Never – Hardly – Hardly ever

They seldom eat junk food.

She barely understands Chinese language

)((Present continuous)))

Usage=> Right now – Near future – Temporary – Change

The population of the world is increasing very fast. (Right now)

My English speaking is getting better.(change)

Tehran is getting more and more polluted.(change)

After this class, I am driving home.(Temporary) mishe goft will ya going to ama inam doroste
This evening, I am calling my parents.

Hint=> you can use ‘always’ in present continuous to say something happens more often

than normal.

You are always playing computer games. You should stop it.

I’ve lost my phone again! I am always losing my phone.

He made the same mistake again! He is always making the same mistake.

He is always liying about every thing.

Pay attention=> the following verbs are not normally used in ‘Present Continuous’

like – want – need – prefer – see – hear – smell – taste

know – realize – suppose – mean – understand – believe – remember

belong – fit – contain – consist – seem

)((Past Simple)))

Usage=> we use it to talk about something that happened and finished in the past, and we

know the exact time. We also use it to talk about a series of completed actions in the past.

Signs=> whenever you see these words, remember to use the ‘Past Simple’ tense

...ago / last... / in + year (in 2015) / the other day / yesterday

Pay attention to ‘Tense Agreement’

If you use a past verb in your sentence, the other verbs must not be in the form of ‘present’

or ‘future’

In 2018, we invited them to our party, but they decided not to come.

The police stopped me on my way home last night.

She didn’t sleep the other day, because she was worried about something.

We couldn’t afford to keep our car, so we sold it.

When he arrived, we had dinner and talked about our day.

Hint=> you can combine ‘Past simple’ with ‘Past continuous’ to say that something

happened in the middle of something else.

Matt phoned me while we were having dinner.

It was raining when I got up.

I saw you in the park yesterday. You were sitting on the grass and reading a book.

I was feeling + adjective => in your story.

)((Present Perfect Simple)))

Usage=> to talk about something that happened in the past, but we don’t know or mention

the exact time. There is also a connection with now in this tense.

I have forgotten your name. (I cannot still rememebr that)

I have lived in this apartment for like 5 years. (I am still here)

Signs=> whenever you see these words, remember to use the ‘Present Perfect’

recently – lately – so far – until now – before – in my life – over the past years

Since 2018, I have not had any vacation.

The road is closed, as there has been an accident.

I have lost my keys. [I don’t have them with me now]

I have visited many spectacular places over the past years.

I haven’t seen Tom lately. What about you?

Pay attention to the usage of ‘since’ and ‘for’

I have known him since July/ Monday/ 2015/ high school

I have worked here for some years/ 2 weeks / a long time / ages

I have lived in this city for all my life. => incorrect => remove (for)

I have been busy for the whole day.

incorrect => since + a period of time + ago

Present perfect sentence + since + ((starting point))

Present perfect sentence + since + past simple sentence

We have learnt so many points since we began the class.

Since we began the class + comma + we have learnt so many points. => adverb clause of

time.