Grammar for IELTS

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Nominalisation in Written English – Lead In

Grammar for IELTS 24. Nominalisation in Written English Nominalisation in Written English – Lead In

A. Context Speaking

Describe a time when you were bitten by insects or bugs

Make sure you say

  • What insect bit you
  • Where was the incident
  • What body part the insect bit
  • and what symptoms you experienced after the bite

B. Context Listening

You are going to hear Julie describing what happened when she was stung by a bee. Which symptoms do you think she had?

itching           pain           redness           shaking            sneezing           swelling

Listen and check if you were right.

 

Listen again and answer these questions.

  1. What was unusual about what happened when Julie was stung by a bee?
  2. Where did she get stung?
  3. How did it feel?
  4. What happened to her foot?
  5. What other effects were there?

Read this written scientific account of the effects of bee stings.

Following a bee sting the normal reaction is burning pain, redness, irritation and itching. After a person has been stung by a bee once, they may become allergic to the bee’s venom. There is a 60% risk of a serious reaction upon re-sting. In this situation there may be swelling in the area around the bite, it may become red and sore, the victim may have breathing difficulties, a dry cough, abdominal pain and vomiting. In extremely serious cases, the throat may swell, blocking the airway and the heart may stop.

Look at the underlined words in the extracts from what Julie said. How are these words expressed in the written text?

  1. I was really surprised by how much it hurt.
  2. It itched a bit too.
  3. My foot began to go red and swell up.
  4. Then I began to find it difficult to breathe and kept coughing.

Compare the language in the written report with the spoken language.

  1. What happens to the spoken verbs in the written report?
  2. What are the most common verbs in the written text?
Show Answer Key and Audio Transcript

Answer Key

2 She experienced itching, pain, swelling and redness.
3 1 She had a very bad reaction and had to go to hospital. 2 On her foot. 3 It hurt. / It was very painful. 4 It went red and swelled up. 5 Her foot itched, it was difficult for her to breathe and she kept coughing.
4 1 burning pain 2 itching 3 swelling 4 breathing difficulties; a dry cough
5 1 The verbs are changed to nouns. 2 be, become (non-action verbs)

Transcript

Julie: When I was a teenager, I was stung by a bee. For most people, that’s not much of a problem – it just hurts a lot. But I reacted really badly to it. I ended up having to go to the hospital where they gave me an injection to stop the reaction.

Julie: What happened was that I trod on a bee that was crawling along the floor in the kitchen – it was summer, and I was barefoot. My first feeling was, “Ow – that hurts!” Then really quickly, my foot began to go red and swell up. It just got bigger and bigger. It itched a bit too. I was really surprised by how much it hurt.

Julie: Then it got even scarier because I began to find it difficult to breathe and kept coughing. Luckily, my mum was there, and she said, “Right, you’re going straight to the hospital!” It was quite near our house, but she drove really fast. I was given an injection and soon recovered, but I have to be really careful now in case I get stung again.

 
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