5 Excerpts from Book 1
1. (Unit 2 P17 Para. 7-9)
Outside the skies were grey and a strong wind was blowing off the sea. It looked as gloomy as I felt. There was no hope left, the only feeling was hunger, and the only emotion was the fear of lost innocence as I realized there could be no escape from my first oyster.
“Could I have some fish and chips?” I asked hopefully, suddenly feeling homesick for my favourite dish.
“Certainly not! They don't serve fish and chips here, only the very best seafood in the whole region. You won't taste finer anywhere for miles around,” he replied, pouring himself another glass of wine. “Now, stop complaining, try one oyster for me, then you can have something nice and easy to eat, maybe some prawns with bread and butter,” he suggested, striking a note of compromise for the first time during the whole meal.
2. (Unit 3 P31 Para. 19-20)
I was too scared around that teacher for the rest of my young life to think very well in her presence. But I took the message with me and gradually examined and valued it. I don't recommend humiliating people into thinking for themselves as she had. She certainly did not create a Thinking Environment for us. Had she affirmed our intelligence first and spoken about the joy of thinking for ourselves, had she not fanned our fear of her, we would all have learned even more powerfully what it meant to do our own thinking. And we might have been able to think well around her too.
But at least she introduced the concept into my academic life.
3. (Unit 3 P35 Para. 13-15)
Essays need careful planning and structuring. Before starting to write, you should have a plan. You should know what the main thrust of your argument is going to be; and you should have ideas for a beginning, a development, and a conclusion for your work.
When you have written the first draft, read it and make any changes, especially changes which will make it easier for the reader to understand the points you are trying to make.
But your first task is to work out the exact meaning of the title. If you get this wrong, the essay could be a complete disaster.
4. (Unit 4 P44 Para. 2)
Mobile phones have been the biggest factor of change in everyday behaviour in Britain over the past 15 years. Today it is thought that there are more than 55 million mobile phone subscribers, a rise from less than 10 million in 1997. The smaller the handset gets, the more calls we make, and the more quickly we take decisions that make an impact on our lifestyles. At the
same time, the world has got smaller too, and whereas in the past, people took photos of each other at famous tourist sights, nowadays few people can resist making calls to loved ones back home instead. Now it has been announced that the signal range throughout London will be extended, nowhere in London will be beyond the reach of a mobile phone, not even the Underground.
5. (Unit 7 P87 Para. 1, 5)
As far back as I can remember, the large pickle jar sat on the floor beside the dresser in my parents’ bedroom. When he got ready for bed, Dad would empty his pockets and toss his coins into the jar. As a small boy I was always fascinated at the sounds the coins made as they were dropped into the jar. They landed with a merry jingle when the jar was almost empty. Then the tones gradually muted to a dull thud as the jar was filled. I used to squat on the floor in front of the jar and admire the copper and silver circles that glinted like a pirate’s treasure when the sun poured through the bedroom window.
The years passed, and I finished college and took a job in another town. Once, while visiting my parents, I used the phone in their bedroom, and noticed that the pickle jar was gone. It had served its purpose and had been removed. A lump rose in my throat as I stared at the spot beside the dresser where the jar had always stood. My dad was a man of few words, and never lectured me on the values of determination, perseverance, and faith. The pickle jar had taught me all these virtues far more eloquently than the most flowery of words could have done.