SEMINARIO DE PRE-INGRESO

2021
 READING
1 Read the text and choose A, B, or C.

Meals in England – a guide for visitors

Meals and Snacks
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are the three main meals. A lot of workers have a 10-
minute break in the morning (one name for this is ‘elevenses’) when they stop work
to enjoy a cup of tea (or coffee) with a biscuit. They have a similar break for a drink
and a snack in the afternoon. Many hotels and restaurants in England serve
‘afternoon tea’ between 2–5 p.m. This is a light meal of tea, sandwiches, and cakes
and it’s very popular with shoppers and tourists.
Breakfast
A traditional full English breakfast is what many hotels serve to guests. It includes
egg, bacon, sausage, beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, and toast, with tea or coffee and it
contains around 1,000 calories (women need around 2,000 calories a day, and men
need around 2,500). However, most people start their working day with a piece of
toast or some cereal – some don’t have anything at all.
Lunch
Lunch is between midday and 1.30 p.m., and in England people are more likely to
have a smaller meal in the middle of the day. For example, a sandwich and a packet
of crisps, or a takeaway, which they can eat at their desk. They often work while they
eat. If it’s someone’s birthday, a group of people who work together might go to a
restaurant or a pub for lunch.
Dinner
Dinner (also called ‘supper’ in the south of the country and ‘tea’ in the north) is the
biggest meal of the day and we have it between 6 and 8 p.m. In the past, the
traditional evening meal was ‘meat and two veg (vegetables)’ then a pudding, and,
on Fridays, a lot of people ate fish. Today, many families enjoy a traditional dinner
on Sundays, but during the rest of the week we like to cook lots of different things,
including food from other countries. Indian food is now more popular in England
than fish and chips. Around two million of us go to Indian restaurants every week!

Example: The guide is for _____.

A English people visiting other countries B hotel owners C visitors from other
countries
1 People stop work in the middle of _____ for ‘elevenses’.
A the day B the morning C the afternoon
2 You eat cake _____.
 A before breakfast B in the afternoon C before bed
3 There are around _____ calories in a full English breakfast.
A 1,000 B 2,000 C 2,500
4 Most workers have _____ for breakfast.
A a traditional breakfast B nothing at all C toast or cereal
5 People often have lunch _____.
A in a takeaway B in a restaurant C at work
6 In the past, many people ate fish at the _____.
A beginning of the week B end of the week C weekend

2 Read the text again. Underline the correct answer.

Example: People have three / five main meals a day.
1 ‘Elevenses’ is a small snack / big meal.
2 A lot of hotels in England serve / don’t serve big breakfasts nowadays.
3 There aren’t any vegetables / isn’t any cereal in a full English breakfast.
4 People sometimes don’t stop work to eat their lunch / dinner.
5 Pubs are open / closed in the middle of the day.
6 People in the south of England eat supper at midday / in the evening.
7 You have ‘pudding’ at the beginning / end of a meal.
8 Fish and chips are more / less popular now than they were in the past.
9 2,000,000 people eat in Indian / English restaurants every week.

KEYS
1) 1 B 2B 3A 4C 5 C 6A
2) 1 small snack 2 serve 3 isn’t any cereal 4 lunch 5 open 6 in the evening 7 at the end 8 less 9
Indian
Reading taken from: Latham-Koenig C., & Oxenden C. (2016) English File Elementary Photocopiable. Unit 9A
(3rd ed) Oxford: Oxford University Press.

EXTRA READING 1 (PDF) - What

I ate yesterday
a) Read the article. Answer the questions with M (the model), B (the boxer) or W
(the writer). Who …?
1. doesn´t like eating during the day.
2. doesn't eat anything between meals
3. didn´t have any home-cooked food for lunch or dinner.
4. had food for dessert at lunchtime.
5. never eats meat.
 6. didn't drink any alcohol yesterday.
7. had a drink and a snack before dinner.
8. doesn't eat anything for breakfast.
9. has a strange breakfast habit.

b) Whose food do you prefer? Why?

Keys: 1 W 2 B 3 M 4 5 M 6 7 W 8 W 9 M
Reading taken from: Latham-Koenig C., & Oxenden C. (2016) English File Elementary. Student 's Book. Unit
9A (3rd ed) Oxford: Oxford University Press.

READING

Read the text and choose A, B, or C.

Last year my boyfriend Mark was forty and I wanted to get him a special present for his
birthday. Just before Christmas I saw tickets for a Bruce Springsteen concert for sale on the
internet. The concert was in Sheffield, about 25 miles away from where we live, and Mark is a
big fan of Bruce Springsteen so I decided to buy two tickets. They weren’t cheap – I think I
paid around £90 for each one. I wanted to surprise Mark, so I didn’t tell him about it.

On the day of the concert, I told Mark that I wanted to do some Christmas shopping in
Sheffield. We left in my car just after lunch and spent the afternoon in a big shopping centre. I
bought Christmas presents for my family and a skirt for work. Mark looked for some new
jeans, but he couldn’t find any that he liked. By the time we finished shopping it was nearly 6
p.m. and we were hungry so we had dinner in a Japanese restaurant. After dinner we left the
shopping centre and set off on our way home. On the way we passed the concert hall and we
could see the crowds of fans outside. Mark was really surprised when I drove into the concert
hall car park and gave him the tickets!

The concert was fantastic. We danced all night and Mark took lots of photos on his mobile
phone. Afterwards we bought a concert CD. We put it on when we got in the car and we sang
all of the songs as we drove home. We didn’t get back home until nearly one o’clock in the
morning and we were both really tired, but it was a great night and Mark really enjoyed his
surprise.

Example: Debbie and her boyfriend went to see a ___.

A film B friend C concert

1 Debbie bought the tickets as ___ present.

A a Christmas B a birthday C an expensive

2 She bought the tickets ___.

A at a shopping centre B at the concert hall C on the internet

3 They arrived in Sheffield in the ___.

A morning B afternoon C evening

4 Debbie didn’t buy ___.

A presents B a skirt C jeans c

5 They had something to eat ___ the concert.

A before B during C after

6 Debbie gave the tickets to Mark ___.

A at the restaurant B in the concert hall C in the car park

7 They ___ on the way back to their house.

A listened to the radio B sang Bruce Springsteen songs C talked about the concert

2 Read the text again. Are the sentences True (T) or False (F)?

Example: Mark is a Bruce Springsteen fan. T

1 Debbie thought the tickets were expensive. _____

2 Mark and Debbie live in Sheffield. _____

3 Mark bought some jeans. _____

4 They had dinner at a restaurant in the shopping centre. _____

5 They drove to the concert hall from the shopping centre. _____

6 They sat while they watched the concert. _____

7 Mark used a video camera to film the concert. _____

8 They arrived home late. _____

KEYS: 1 1 B 2 C 3 B 4 C 5 A 6 C 7 B

2 1 T 2 F 3 F 4 T 5 T 6 F 7 F 8 T

Reading taken from: Latham-Koenig C., & Oxenden C. (2016) English File Elementary. Student 's Book. Unit 7
(3rd ed) Oxford: Oxford University Press.
EXTENSIVE READING - SHORT STORIES
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/182zVHigFm_oiUg_--B1ii5OmDvd4rRb8

SPEAKING
A. Answer the questions:

• What do you look like? What are you like as a person?

• Could you tell me about your family?

• What kind of family would you like to have in the future?

• Could you tell me about your best friend?

• What have been the best moments of your life so far?

B.

1 What do you usually have for lunch?

2 Who usually does the cooking in your house? Why?

3 Are there any types of food that you eat on special occasions (e.g. at Christmas)?

4 Do you often eat in restaurants? When was the last time?

5 Do you think you’re a good cook? Why? Why not?

C.

• Could you tell me about the job? What are your main responsibilities?

• What job would you like to have in the future?

• Would you like to be self-employed or an employee? Why?

• What are your plans for the future?

EXTRA SPEAKING PRACTICE:

Talking about: CLOTHING - speaking24.com - practise English speaking skills online!

LISTENING PRACTICE
https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/listening/elementary-a2-listening/
eating-out
www.elllo.org

USE OF ENGLISH
1 Complete the sentences. Use the past simple form of the verb in brackets.

Example: My grandparents lived (live) in Greece. Now they live in the UK.

1 What time _________ Sheila __________ (arrive)?

2 __________ you __________ (watch) the match?

3 The nightclub __________ (not close) until 3 a.m.

4 We _________ (not visit) the museum.

5 Mary and Sue _________ (chat) for hours.

6 I _________ (study) for the Math test last night.

7 Mary ________ (not like) the food in the café.

8 When ________ the party __________ (finish)?

KEYS 1 did … arrive 2 Did … watch 3 didn’t close 4 didn’t visit 5 chatted 6 studied 7didn’t like

8 did … finish

2. Complete the conversation. Put one word in each gap.

Mel Did you and Joe go out last night?

Rosa Yes, we did .We went to a restaurant.

Mel Did you drive there?

Rosa No, we 1 __________. We went by bus.

Mel What did you wear?

Rosa I 2 __________ my new jeans.

Mel What did you have to eat?

Rosa I 3 _________ a curry.

Mel What time did you leave?

Rosa We 4 _________ at half past eight.

Mel Did you go home after that?

Rosa No. We 5 __________ a film at the cinema.

Mel What time did you get home?

Rosa We didn’t 6 _________ home until 11.30.

KEYS 1. didn’t 2. wore 3. had/ate 4. left 5. watched/saw 6. get

3- Complete the following sentences with a multi-word verb deriving from one of the verbs in the box.
Make sure the verb is in the correct form. There are extra verbs.

set - keep - put – get – back – go – turn – take

a) He lost confidence and _______________ of the deal at the last minute.

b) Remember that if the shirt doesn't fit, you can always _________it__________.
c) We arranged to meet at 7.30, but she never __________________.
d) I think I________________early tomorrow morning to avoid the traffic
e) The shops have started to _______________ Christmas decorations.

KEY:

a) backed out
b) take it back
c) turned up
d) set off
e) put up

4- Write one meaningful, self-explanatory example for each of the following expressions. Do NOT write a
definition. Remember to include the given expression in the example:

1. “put off”
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 2. “Spiteful”
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_______________________________________

3. “off the beaten track”

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4. “an awkward customer”

_________________________________________________________________________________
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5- Complete the sentences with the correct expression. Use the word given to help you. Do not change the
word given.

1. I’d really love to travel and take some time off work. What I really want is to
_______________________________________________________________________ AWAY

2. They get on well and agree on almost everything; in fact, it seems that they
_____________________________________ most things. SEE

3. We'd planned to go away for the weekend, but it

_____________________________________________. PEAR-SHAPED

4. I’m interested in a new activity, something artistic. I think I’ll _______ _________ painting. UP

5. I know I have to find a solution right away. I’m sure I’ll ________ _________ an idea quickly. COME

KEY:

1- get away from it all

2 - see eye to eye on
3- went pear-shaped
4- take up
5- come up

6- Complete the sentences with the correct expression. Use the word given to help you. Do not change
the word given.

1. I really love the kind of place where you can spend a peaceful time, doing nothing and just
___________________________________________________________. WATCH
2. They do not get on well at all, and he bothers her so much that she
_____________________________________ STAND

3. Sam and Tina are constantly fighting and arguing. There´s one simple explanation. They are
________________________________________________. CHEESE

4. I really needed those holidays. I was so stressed out and tired that I felt I had to
___________________________________________________. BATTERIES.

KEY:

1. Watching the world go by

2. Can’t stand him

3. chalk and cheese

4. recharge my batteries

EXTRA PRACTICE - ONLINE EXERCISES

1) https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/past-simple-exercise-8.html
2) https://elt.oup.com/student/solutions/preint/grammar/grammar_02_012e?
cc=ar&selLanguage=en
3) https://agendaweb.org/verbs/past_simple-exercises.html
4) https://elt.oup.com/student/englishfile/elementary3/phrasebank/
ef_elem_practicaleng05?cc=ar&selLanguage=en#
5) https://elt.oup.com/student/englishfile/elementary3/grammar/file09/?
cc=ar&selLanguage=en

Writing Practice
A. You have a British friend who is coming to Argentina next month. Write an
email to him/her. In your email refer to:

- your recent complete change of appearance. Describe the type of outfits, style, colours
and hairstyle you currently wear.
- Your new friend’s hobbies, interests, personality and justify.

Use relevant and specific vocabulary and include different phrasal verbs and a
variety of verb tenses.
TO:
FROM:
SUBJECT:

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B. You bought a new smart LED TV which broke down ten days later. Write a formal email of complaint. In
your composition:

● Give the reason for your email

● Explain when and where you bought the product
 ● Describe the problem(s)
● Suggest some compensation

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SHOPPING https://www.allthingstopics.com/shopping.html

De consulta:
Evans, V. (2000). Successful Writing. Intermediate. The UK: Express Publishing.
Harris, M.; Mower, D. and Sikorzynska, A. (2006) New Opportunities Pre-intermediate.
Students’
Book. Essex: Longman.
Harris, M.; Mower, D. and Sikorzynska, A. (2006) New Opportunities Pre-intermediate.
Workbook.
Essex: Longman.
Mc Carthy & O’Dell. (1996). English Vocabulary in Use. Great Britain: Cambridge
University Press.
McKinlay, S. & Hastings, B. (2010). Success. Pre-Intermediate. Student’s Book.
London: Pearson
Longman.
Redman, S. (1997). English Vocabulary in Use. Pre-Intermediate and Intermediate. The
UK CUP.
Sayer, M. y Soars, J. y L. (2000). New Headway Pre-intermediate. Student´s Book.
Oxford:
Oxford University Press.