Penny talking about her hobby, pottery

Listen to Penny talking about her hobby, pottery, and fill in the gaps.

1. I’ve _____________ it since I was quite little because my uncle and aunt are potters. 

2. I’ve only really become more serious about pottery since about 2008, when I ______________ to join an evening class. 

3. Last year, I ______________ my own potter’s wheel, so I can make pots at home now. 

4. When I _______________, I made some very strange, heavy little bowls. But little by little, I ______________ to make thinner bowls. 

5. My neighbour’s just ______________ me to make a set of mugs for her, and I _____________ quite a few to friends. 

6. Sometimes it became a bowl, sometimes a _____________, maybe a mug, and often I had to throw it away. 

7. Thankfully I have improved _______________ then. 

8. I ______________ to control the clay to make the shape I want. 

9. I have also started ________________ bigger things like jugs and serving bowls, and more difficult things like teapots. 

10. I __________________ any teapots yet, but my kitchen is getting very full _______________ I think I’ll need to start selling them soon!

Answers (select the following lines to see them): 1 done, 2 decided, 3 bought, 4 started / 've managed, 5 asked / 've sold, 6 plate, 7 since, 8 have learnt, 9 making, 10 haven't sold / so

Thanksgiving in the USA

Thanksgiving, which is celebrated in the United States during centuries, is a time for giving thanks to God but also a time for families and loved ones to gather and have a big meal with a turkey as the main part of it. Here is a listening material about the history of the celebration. Listen and do the quiz.

Thanksgiving Day: How to cook a turkey

Watch the video on how to cook a turkey and choose the right answer.

Hitting on somebody

Don't you remember the meaning of hit on somebody? Watch these videos to refresh your memory.

This is the first time Alex hits on Leonard.

Alex hits on Leonard again.

Do you know any other expressions to convey the same meaning?

Men and women

Writing an opinion essay

Do you have problems writing essays? Read this post. You will learn some strategies to improve your writings. Besides, if you do not know the linking words you can use or you do not know how to employ them, click on this website.

A description of a person

Here you have the presentation I showed you in class to learn how to describe physical appearance and personality.

Have a look at this presentation, too. It also shows how to describe a person but this one includes more adjectives to describe people's personality.

Describing tables and graphs

Describing tables and graphs can be a tough task, so here you have some extra material to help you with your writing. You will find these tips and this vocabulary helpful.

I also recommend you to have a look at these webpages, IELTS-Exam.net and  Hugh Fox III, where you will be given more guidelines to describe pie charts, as well as samples.

Extreme sports

Do you like the excitement of extreme sports? If so, you might be an 'adrenaline junkie'. Find out more about white-water rafting and parkour in this video. Besides, you can have a look at two exercises related to the video and read the transcription.

Cleft sentences

A cleft sentence is a complex sentence (one having a main clause and a dependent clause) that has a meaning that could be expressed by a simple sentence. Clefts typically put a particular constituent into focus. This focusing is often accompanied by a special intonation.

Cleft sentences are used in English to emphasise a feeling or opinion. Two common forms of cleft structure are:

1 What + clause...

2 It is + noun phrase + that ...

Sentences introduced by a clause beginning with ‘What’ are used to emphasise a specific subject or object. The clause introduced by ‘What’ is employed as the subject of the sentence as is followed by the verb ‘to be’.

Examples:

What we need is a good long shower.

What he thinks isn’t necessarily true.

Sentences introduced by ‘It is’ or ‘It was’ are often used to emphasise a specific subject or object. The introductory clause is then followed by a relative pronoun.

Examples:

It was I who/that received the promotion.

It is the awful weather that drives him crazy.

Have a look at this presentation.

For further practice, try doing these exercises 1, 2, 3 online