SO AND TOO

Special sentence structure with so:

So + adjective + that clause

This sentence structure is used to talk about a result (that clause) that occurs because of  so +adjective. That can be left out of the sentence.

The children were so quiet (that) I didn’t even know they were in the room!

The cake was so good (that) we couldn’t stop eating it!

 *Adverbs can also be used in this sentence structure:

She ran so fast she won the race!

 Special sentence structure with too:

too + adjective + infintive (to do something)

This structure is used to explain why someone can’t do something.

I’m too tired to go out tonight.

This soup is too hot to eat.

She is too young to drive a car!

This box is too heavy to carry.

I don’t want to go to bed yet! It’s too early (to go to bed).

We’re far too young to get married.

It’s too dangerous to walk around this neighbourhood at night.

There’s no use getting upset. It’s too late to do anything about it now.

It’s too good to be true!

I can’t go to her party tonight, I have too much work to do!

The house was too expensive to buy.

Her offer was too good to refuse.

*Adverbs can also be used:

She drove too slowly to arrive on time.

Another special sentence structurewith too:

too + adjective + for someone/something (+ infinitive)

This sweater is too big for me to wear.

We can’t go on this roller coaster. Alice is too short for this ride!

I’m too old for dolls! = I’m too old to play with dolls!

This box is too heavy for me to carry.

Quiz:

1. The soup was ______ hot that I couldn’t eat it.

2. The soup was ______ hot to eat.

3. It’s _______ cold to go outside.

4. There were far ________ people at the party for me to meet them all!

5. Susan Boyle’s CD was _____ good that I rushed out and bought it right away!

6. “Did you buy that new car?”
~ “No, I didn’t. It cost _______.”

7. He’s _______ a nice guy!

8. We are _______ far away that I don’t think we’re going to be on time for the concert.

9. I can’t stand spending time with her – she is ______ rude!

10. He’s _______ intelligent for his class – he’s not learning anything.

Answers below!

Quiz (Click here to try a quiz)

Job & Work

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Find the PET

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Past Simple of BE --- WAS/WERE

HERE and HERE you'll find exercises.

Housekeeper

                                              Click on the image to listen and here to read the script.

 Margaret tells us what it's like to be a housekeeper and look after a family and their guests. She explains what made her stop working as a 'professional' and become a 'Mrs Mop.' 

As you listen, try to answer these questions: 

1: What did Margaret do before she became a housekeeper? 
2: Why did she decide to change her job? 
3: Why was she once embarrassed when people asked her what she did? 



Vocabulary from the programme 

a housekeeper 
someone who looks after a house, makes sure it's clean and the people in it have what they need 

the most enjoyable aspect 
the thing you like the most 

it gives me a buzz 
it makes me feel good or excited 

to be made redundant 
to lose your job because you aren't needed any more 

to give it a go 
to try it 

your soocial status 
your social position e.g. whether others see you as important or educated 

to give it a go 
to try it 

to be insecure 
to feel unsure about yourself and lack confidence 

Job hunter puts CV on billboard

Click on the image to listen.

 A French man who was unemployed tried a new way to get a job. He put his CV (résumé) on a giant billboard. The billboard was next to a very busy road. It was four metres long and three metres high. There was a photo of the man wearing a Santa Claus hat. There was a message on the billboard that said: "Trilingual operations manager seeks position in hotels, restaurants, tourism and leisure." About 70,000 people a day could see the CV from their car. Jobseeker Laurent Le Bret, 41, said: "All I want for Christmas is a job." His idea worked. A holiday resort contacted and interviewed him. He started his new position as an operations manager ten days after he put his résumé on the billboard.

Mr Le Bret had help from the owner of the billboard. He was going to pay to put his CV on the billboard. However, the advertising company decided to give him the space for free. Mr Le Bret saved 2,000 euros (about $2,700) because he did not have to pay. The advertising company is called Pisoni Publicité. The company's CEO spoke to the France 24 news agency. He said: "We thought it was an interesting idea. When people come up with ideas like this we are always keen to see what we can do. We're very happy to prove that what we do works, and that Mr Le Bret is back at work." Many people contacted Mr Le Bret after he got his job. They want to try the same thing. There are 3.3 million unemployed people in France.

SYNONYM MATCH:Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	unemployed	a.	support
2	CV	b.	job
3.	seeks	c.	show
4.	worked	d.	résumé
5.	position	e.	firm
6.	help	f.	attempt
7.	company	g.	jobless
8.	idea	h.	was successful
9.	prove	i.	concept
10.	try	j.	looks for

50 candidates for ‘best job in the world’

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The world will soon know who will get the “best job in the world”. The position is for a caretaker to live on and look after a tropical island off the coast of Queensland, Australia. Duties include relaxing on the island, which is part of the Great Barrier Reef, and writing a blog to promote the area. Other responsibilities are to feed the fish, clean the pool and collect the mail. The job website, islandreefjob.com, tells applicants: “There are over 1,500 species of fish living in the Great Barrier Reef. Don’t worry. You won’t need to feed them all.” The successful applicant will get a salary of nearly US$100,000 for the six months. Officials from Queensland’s tourism department announced on Tuesday that they were now looking at 50 candidates. Unsurprisingly, over 35,000 people applied for the job.

The next stage in the selection process is to get the list of candidates down to 11. The tourism board will select ten people. Visitors to the website will choose an eleventh person. The public can look at the video applications of all 50 hopeful caretakers. The eleven lucky finalists will then fly to Hamilton Island for a formal interview. The winner will be announced on May 6, and the job starts on July 1. The current shortlist of 50 includes people from 22 countries. They include dancers, chefs, scientists and students and they all want a slice of paradise. Queensland Tourism Minister Desley Boyle said there was much discussion to narrow down the list to 50. He told reporters, “it boiled down to…the motivation and professionalism of the applicants and their 'fit' with the job and Tourism Queensland”.

 SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

1.	position	a.	post
2	look after	b.	reduce
3.	promote	c.	job
4.	mail	d.	choose
5.	applied	e.	publicize
6.	process	f.	match
7.	select	g.	care for
8.	current	h.	method
9.	narrow down	i.	went for
10.	fit	j.	present