1. B: Introduction

Unit 1: Keeping up appearances

1. A: Introduction

1. B: Introduction

Grammar

1. B: Introduction

The Simple Past Tense

The Simple Past Tense

Yesterday Isabel, Paco's mother, went shopping to help Paco get ready for his journey

Audio

Isabel went shopping on her own. She bought a lot of things for Paco since she thought that her son needed some useful and necessary articles for his journey. She didn't want to worry Paco, so Isabel decided to do some shopping.

By Roo Reynolds. Creative Commons

Isabel saw too much useful stuff for Paco, but she knew she could not buy so many things.

Paco wanted to carry a lot of articles with him, although he knew that he could buy anything he would need anywhere.

At the end, he changed his mind and he tried to take just a few things, the most necessary ones.

As Paco likes video recording and photography a lot, he took his two cameras for sure, but he had some doubts about taking his laptop with him.

Try to identify all the simple past forms you can find in the text, either regular or irregular ones.

Curiosity: Do you know the difference between England and Britain?

By Matt Lewis. Creative Commons

Audio

Do you know the difference between England and Britain?

Three countries make up Great Britain: England, Scotland and Wales. So England is a part of Great Britain, and a Scotsman is British, too. A person born in Wales is Welsh, and they are British, too. Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom.

So the UK is made up of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the last of which is not a part of Great Britain. The formal name of the country is the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”, but in everyday speech Britain is often used to mean the UK, though, as you have seen, this is not perfectly correct.

The word “great” was added to “Britain” several hundred years ago, in the Middle Ages, when the English kings had lands in what is now France, and a certain part of it was called Britanny. To avoid confusion, they added the word “great” to the name of the land which was larger.

Test: how much do you know about British symbols?

Test: how much do you know about British symbols?

Try to answer these questions:

1.	Where can you see red double-decker buses?

2.	What does a typical London taxi look like?

3.	What do British post and telephone boxes have in common?

4.	What is the traditional English food and drink?

5.	Name England’s national game.

6.	Why is a red rose important in England?

7.	The word “pub” is short for......

8.	What do the British usually drink in pubs?

9.	What are their opening hours?

10.	Are the names of the pubs important? Give some examples.

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1.	Where can you see red double-decker buses?
	In London.
2.	What does a typical London taxi look like?
	It looks like a beetle.
3.	What do British post and telephone boxes have in common?
	Both the post box and telephone box have a picture of a crown on them. The crown on the postbox also has the monarchs initials underneath. We have postboxes with VR (Victoria Regina) and GR (Georgeus Rex) still in use today.
4.	What is the traditional English food and drink?
	British food has traditionally been based on beef, lamb, pork, chicken and fish and generally served with potatoes and one other vegetable. The most common and typical foods eaten in Britain include the sandwich, fish and chips, pies like the cornish pasty, trifle and roasts dinners. We can say that fish and chips and tea are the traditional food and drink.
5.	Name England’s national game.
	England's national sport is cricket.
6.	Why is a red rose important in England?
	Because the red rose is widely recognised as the national flower of England.
7.	The word “pub” is short for......
	Public House.
8.	What do the British usually drink in pubs?
	They usually drink beer, bitter beer.
9.	What are their opening hours?
	British pubs are required to have a license, which is difficult to obtain, and allows the pub to operate for up to 24 hours. Most pubs are open from 11 to 11.
10.	Are the names of the pubs important? Give some examples.
	Some typical names are The Chequers, The White Swan, The Crown, The King's Arms, The Red Lion and The White Horse.