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Present Perfect – Lead In

A. Context Speaking

  1. Have you done a personal research project? Explain.
  2. Have you learned from a research assignment?
  3. Tell me about a group research project.
  4. Have you used books for research? Explain.
  5. What’s an interesting research source you’ve found

A. Context Listening

  1. You are going to hear two university students, Carl and Sue, talking about an assignment. Before you listen, look at the list of activities (A-F). Put the activities in the order which you think is best when writing an assignment. A. make notes B. start to write C. do research D. make a plan E. re-read books F. get a book list
  2. Listen to the first part of the conversation. Which five activities does Sue mention? Write the letters A-F in the correct order in boxes 1-5 on the flowchart.

     

    1 2 3 4 5 6
  3.  Listen to the second part of the conversation and fill in the gaps.
    1. Sue: I _________ plenty of information for the assignment.
    2. Sue: When I was in the library last week, I _________ those leaflets.
    3. Carl: I _________ tired since I started this course!
    4. Carl: I _________ and I’m already tired.
  4. Look at your answers to Exercise 3 and find examples of each of the following:a. something that only happened recently
    b. something that happened at some time before now, but we do not know when
    c. an action + the length of time it has been going on
    d. something that happened at a stated time in the pastWhich tense is used in each of the examples a-d above?
Show Answer Key and Audio Transcript

Answer Key

1 A logical order would be: I F 2 C 3 A 4 D 5 E 6 B
2 1 C 2 A 3 D 4 E 5 B
3 1 ’ve collected 2 read 3 ’ve been feeling 4 ’ve just got up 4 a sentence 4 (present perfect simple) b sentence 1 (present perfect simple) c sentence 3 (present perfect continuous) d sentence 2 (past simple)

Transcript

Sue: Hi Carl. Have you written your assignment yet?

Carl: Hi Sue. No, I haven’t, but I’ve been trying to get some ideas together.

Sue: What sorts of things have you been doing?

Carl: Well, I’ve worked really hard for the last two weeks, and I’ve nearly finished all the books on the reading list. I’ve made quite a lot of notes, but they’re not very structured. What about you?

Sue: I did the reading a few weeks ago, and I made notes on the most important things. I’ve written a rough plan this morning, and I was going to make a start on writing the assignment today, but I’ve decided I need to read the most important parts of the books again before I do that. I’m actually finding it quite hard. It’s the first time I’ve ever had to write such a long essay, so I’m a bit nervous about it.

Carl: Yes, it’s the longest essay I’ve ever had to write as well. I find all the reading so difficult. I read five books last week, and they all said different things!

Sue: I find the best approach is to read only the sections that you need in order to answer the question. You don’t usually have to read the whole book. I’ve collected plenty of information for the assignment that way.

Carl: That’s good advice. I’ve been trying to read the whole of each book, and the more I read, the more confused I get. I probably wasted a lot of time last week.

Sue: Oh, I’ll tell you what other things I found really helpful. When I was in the library last week, I read those leaflets called ‘How to get the best out of the library’ and ‘How to write assignments’. They really helped. Have you read them?

Carl: No, I haven’t even seen them. I’ll have to get hold of a copy; they sound very useful. I really need some direction. I find I’m so tired at the moment. I’ve read six articles this week, but I can barely remember what they said! In fact, I’ve been feeling tired since I started this course!

Sue: Hmm, I know what you mean. I felt like that as well at the start until one of my tutors told me it was far more important to get enough rest than to stay up late studying. I’ve gone to bed early every night since then, and I manage to concentrate for longer during the day, so in the end, I do actually get more done. I went to bed at ten thirty last night, and I feel great.

Carl: Well, I’ve just got up, and I’m already tired. I must try going to bed earlier – at least until I’ve done this assignment.

Sue: Yeah, it should help.

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