Apollo Hotel Apartments Grivas Dighenis Ave Larnaca CYPRUS Wednesday, May 13th, 1998 Mrs Jenny Hargreaves 3, Birch Avenue Salisbury Wilts SB4 3RW ENGLAND Dear Mrs Hargreaves, [-17-] This is to inform you that my husband, James, and I have arrived without incident at our destination, Larnaca in Cyprus. The average maximum daily temperature at present is 28 Celsius, and the average sea temperature is 18 . We therefore spend a considerable amount of time each day at the beach, where we swim and lie in the sun. We judge the food served in restaurants here to be of a high standard, especially with respect to flavour, and also to be relatively inexpensive. Consequently, we dine out frequently, despite the fact that our apartment has cooking facilities. I regret that James usually becomes slightly inebriated at meals, being unable to resist indulgence in the low-priced local wines and spirits. Yours sincerely, Freda G Finchley (Mrs)
Wednesday
All best wishes,
Dear Joe,
Do you remember me? We had quite a long chat about six weeks
ago when you dropped into our bookshop to order some stuff.
Actually, you were a bit upset at the time about how little
we'd got in stock and so on. I hope the Manager was able to
explain everything to you alright!
Anyway, one of the books you ordered has come at last! It's
that one by Anne Raimes, called 'Techniques in Teaching
Writing', or something like that. Actually, I'm afraid the
price has gone up a bit. We told you it would cost 7.80,
but there's been a new price list come out, and they've put
it up to 9.95! Shocking, isn't it? Well, I suppose that's
inflation for you.
So, any time you like to come in, the book will be here
waiting for you. Well, I say 'any time', but actually you're
supposed to come and get it during the next two weeks,
otherwise we have to send it back again, which would be a
bit of a shame, really, considering.
It'll be wonderful to see you again when you come for the
book.
[-18-]Sandra
(letters by Tim Caudery)
This task is divided into two writing stages, the first in which changes are made only to language, and the second in which more far-reaching changes are made.
In stage 1, changes should be made to vocabulary and syntax. Be prepared for considerable discussion about what exactly the target group (native speaker 10-year-olds) might be able to understand. Stage 2 should produce more radical changes to the text, including changes to layout. After doing this themselves, students will be in a good position to comment on someone else's attempt (in this case, that of the original writers of the exercise); they often find much to criticise. Note, too, that after working with it intensively, students are often critical of the source text; one common feature of this type of work is that students come to realise how badly written many published texts actually are.
HOW TO BUY A HEALTHY KITTEN
Examine the kitten closely before buying. The eyes should be clear, not watering excessively, and white skin at corners should not show. Nostrils should be clear, not exuding mucus, a sure sign of incubating health problems. The ears should be clean without excessive dirt or wax-like substance which indicates the presence of mites. Examine the fur by spreading the fur and looking at the skin for sores and scabs indicating fungus condition. Check fur for fleas or flea eggs which look like small black dots. Check kitten's litter pan for signs of diarrhea.
(Extract from Cat Catalog. New York: Crown Publishers, 1982)
HOW TO GET A HEALTHY KITTEN All kittens are lovely, eager to play and simply waiting to be cuddled. But your cat is going to be with you for the next ten or fifteen years. So if you have a choice (and you usually do), you might as well make sure you get one that is healthy and able to live a good life. You can check that the kitten you are dying to take home with you is in good condition. LOOK AT THE EYES. They should be clear, not watering too much, and there shouldn't be any white skin showing at the corners. LOOK AT THE NOSE. If it isn't clear, but runny, the kitten is not healthy. On the other hand the nose must not be dry and warm, it should be cold and moist. LOOK AT THE EARS. Too much dirt or wax indicates mites, which is a pest that it can be difficult to get rid of. LOOK AT THE FUR. Spread it to look for sores or scabs that indicate skin diseases. Fleas or flea eggs show up as little black dots. Finally, check the kitten's litter pan, to make sure it makes firm little piles, not messy ones.
In this exercise students should begin by studying examples of the target genre, namely newspaper and magazine articles about holiday [-20-] travel. They will quickly discover characteristics of this type of writing such as use of first person, use of narrative sections about the writer's own visit to the place in question, descriptive passages with extensive use of positively or negatively evaluative adjectives and adverbs, and in many cases use of figurative language.
They will then be ready to tackle the task itself. Though the original article was written for a completely different purpose, there is in fact adequate information contained or implied in it to produce a short travel article. One effect of this exercise is to demonstrate how the same information can easily be presented in very different lights.
The newspaper article below describes in very negative terms the building of a luxury hotel on a Pacific island.
You are to imagine that the hotel has now been completed. You are a professional travel writer, and you have just spent a few days staying at the Rarotonga Sheraton. You had a wonderful time in this first-class hotel on a beautiful island. You are now to write a travel feature article about your stay for a British or American newspaper (choose which newspaper you want to write for). Your article must be broadly positive, though you may include some minor points of criticism if you wish.
You should base your article on information stated or implied in the source text. You may invent some minor additional details, such as information about cost and about how you got to the Cook islands, if you feel that these details are essential to your article.
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