A Workbook to Communicative Grammar of English (50 page)

5.
Not only did their son fail his exam; he also refused the chance to repeat it.

6.
Not a penny were they left in their mother’s will. All the money went to charity.

7.
Hardly had she had time to take in the new rules for welfare payments when she was put in charge of the office.

8.
Little could the head of department do to stop the erosion of confidence in any future developments.

9.
Little did he give away about his own future plans.

10.
Rarely have I seen such a poor display of sportsmanship.

Task three ***

(Not far from Manchester is Eccles.) Not only is it famous for its special cake; it also has the world’s only swinging aqueduct, carrying water from the Manchester Ship Canal. Now the people of Eccles are afraid that no-one will come to experience these jewels. Why?

Nowhere on the new ordnance survey map is there a town called Eccles.

“We’re very sorry about this. Rarely do we make such mistakes,” confessed a spokesman for the ordnance survey team.

“Little do they understand about how we feel,” said a town councillor. “Hardly had I sat down at my desk this morning when the phone started ringing with complaints. When we are back on the map, only then shall I be satisfied.”

Unfortunately, in no way can that happen until the next edition of the map.

Another mistake is that the map shows Ladywell and Salford Royal hospitals. No longer do these hospitals exist.

Seldom have residents of Eccles felt so confused and angry. “In no way can strangers to the region find us now,” sighed one resident.

17.5. Organising information – Fronting with ‘so/neither’

Section 418

Task one *

1.
So did Miles.

2.
Neither have Sara and Rowan.

3.
So is Marc.

4.
So is Rowan.

5.
So did Rowan.

6.
So does Miles.

7.
Neither do Marc and Sara.

8.
So did Helen.

9.
So will David, Miles and Helen.

10.
So does Marc.

Task two **

So catastrophic was the event that most people couldn’t take in the enormity of the disaster. In reality, so small was the area covered that the majority of the world could only look on in disbelief. However, so enormous was the building that, as it crumbled, it brought others down in its wake.

“We have seen the end of an era,” claimed one commentator.

“So we have,” replied the politician.

“I had friends in there.”

“In fact, so did we all.”

“The world will never be the same again.”

So extraordinary were the messages that flashed round the world that only pictures could help people understand what had happened. So often did commentators describe the scene as if it were from a Hollywood movie that the comparison became devoid of meaning.

“I saw that film ‘
Independence Day
’”.

“So did we all.”

“It had scenes like this.”

“So it did.”

And so shocked and frightened were the people that they went home and left an eerie silence on the streets.

17.6. Organising information – Cleft sentences

Sections 419–423; 496; 592

Task one **

1.
It was in Sweden that I spent last week, not Switzerland.

2.
No, it was Shakespeare who wrote
Much Ado about Nothing
, not Marlowe.

3.
It was the lower interest rate that she supported at the meeting of the fiscal committee.

4.
It was by our camera crew that the prince was filmed.

5.
It’s the 1960s that nobody will ever forget.

6.
It was in 1969 that my sister got married, not 1970.

7.
It wasn’t I who told them and I don’t know who did.

8.
It’s a global recession that we now face.

9.
It was as an investment that they bought the house, not to live in it.

10.
It was the movie Michael Apted directed I liked.

Task two **

1.
What we now face is a global recession.

2.
What I was working with was the army, not the navy.

3.
What isn’t known is when he will get there.

4.
What Emily Dickinson wrote was poetry not plays.

5.
What attracts the over fifties is cybereconomics.

6.
What is on the increase is E-crime.

7.
What the head of department needs tomorrow morning are the annual turnover figures.

8.
What delayed him was a last minute error.

9.
What the streets of London are covered with is concrete, not gold.

10.
What Mick Jagger has become is a film producer.

17.7. Organising information – Postponement

Sections 424–429

Task one **

1.
It’s lovely to be here.

2.
It’s expected they will soon attack.

3.
It isn’t clear why the government is being so cautious.

4.
It’s disappointing that he failed his exams so badly.

5.
It’s amazing how long elephants live.

6.
It’s very gratifying to be proved right in this case.

7.
It’s stupid to walk all the way to the university.

8.
It’s a problem if you always refuse.

9.
It’s hard to predict what will finally happen.

10.
It’s important for him to win the prize.

Task two **

1.
A place has been found for him to stay.

2.
The train was late coming from Berlin.

3.
What a problem it has been finding this address!

4.
How serious are you about resigning?

5.
The commander gave the order to shoot himself.

6.
The manager paid for the breakages himself.

7.
Footballers have more status as celebrities than they used to.

8.
All the bills have been paid except the one for the new computer system.

9.
He’s earned more money in a year writing that one novel than his father earned in his whole life.

10.
What a story she had to tell about her adventures in Thailand.

Task three **

It is thought that the British National Health Service is badly run, when it is generally known that it is underfunded. You hear tales of vastly overcrowded hospitals, and it is frequently reported that people have had to wait months, if not years for minor surgery. Set against this, however, is the fact that the British people value the principle of the National Health Service, and it is acknowledged that no government would dare try to dismantle it. When it is suggested by politicians that there could be some kind of private investment, there is strong opposition, but on the other hand there is equally strong opposition when it is said that there will have to be tax increases to fund the service properly. Most analysts acknowledge that, in many ways, the service is the most efficient in Europe and that with more investment, it could be one of the best. It is assumed that it will always be there, but it is also feared that it will disappear because of lack of financial support. It isn’t appreciated how determined the government is to see it survive.

17.8. Organising information – Other choices

Sections 430–432; 488; 608; 613–618; 730; 740

Task one **

1.
How could he afford such a large house?

He was given the money by his parents.

2.
They have proved false the reasons he gave for meeting that woman.

3.
How did such a successful company collapse like that?

Some poor decisions were made by the Chief Executive.

4.
In 2001, they gave the prize for the second time to Peter Carey.

5.
The writer carefully checked the samples he’d been sent.

6.
Don’t leave to the last minute work for the exam!

7.
His father was finally pleased that he’d done so well in his career.

8.
Marc’s girl friend was irritated because he insisted on spelling his name with a ‘c’ instead of a ‘k’.

9.
Ivan often failed for months to contact his friends.

10.
Cathie asked for a second time if she could leave early.

Task two **

More than fifty years after the event, it is instructive to look at how honestly the civilian population was treated by Second World War leaders. Were we regarded as delicate flowers? Were we given all the truth and nothing but the truth compatible with security?

(…)

They are revisionist historians, these beady-eyed people who have second thoughts about mighty events. (…) Sometimes we are forced to face freshly revealed unpalatable truths by burrowers and snufflers through the once-secret archives: in the war, there was the usual tarnished brass – the military geniuses, heroes, yeomen who were worthy of their country were supported by cowards, deserters, psychopaths and black marketeers.

17.9. Organising information – Avoiding intransitive verbs

Sections 433–434

Task **

I paid her a visit.; … Christine goes for a swim.; …, she takes a rest.; They do very little work.; Well, Tom was having a shower.; Suddenly he gave a shout.; I gave the door a hard kick.; Will you have dinner with me tonight?

Bibliography

1.  Books

–
2001
Britannica Book of the Year: Events of 2000
(2001). Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.: Chicago, etc. [10.1]

–
Carroll, Lewis (1966 edn.).
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass
. MacMillan: London (Pocket Papermacs, MacMillan: London-Melbourne; St Martin’s Press: New York). [2.1]

–
Carter, R. & McCarthy, M. (1997).
Exploring Spoken English
. Cambridge University Press. [1.1; 1.2]

–
Chester Cathedral and City
(1987). Jarrold Publishing. [7.7]

–
Conduit, Brian & Brooks, John (1989).
(Pathfinder Guide:) Dartmoor Walks
. Ordnance Survey and Jarrold Publishing. [16.2]

–
Crystal, David & Davy, Derek (1975).
Advanced Conversational English
. Longman. [17.1]

–
Cunningham, Hilary (ed.) (1996, 6th ed.).
(Insight Guides:) Canada
. Houghton Mifflin. [7.2]

–
Dalrymple, W. (1997).
From the Holy Mountain
. Harper Collins. [4.3]

–
Dibdin, M. (2000).
Thanksgiving
. Faber & Faber. [4.3]

–
The Highway Code
(1999). The Stationery Office. [7.14; 10.1]

–
James, P.D. (1980).
Innocent Blood
. Penguin Books. [5.9; 7.8]

–
Morris, Jan (1985).
Among the Cities
. Penguin Books. [4.1]

–
National Statistics
– Social Trends – 2001 ed., The Stationery Office. [4.2]

–
O’Driscoll, James (1995).
Britain
. Oxford University Press. [7.1; 7.2]

–
Palin, Michael (1992 ⇒ 1996).
Pole to Pole
. Penguin Books. [7.3; 7.17]

–
Palin, Michael (1995).
Hemingway’s Chair
. BCA: London, etc. [5.1]

–
Palin, Michael (1997).
Full Circle
. BBC Books. [7.7; 7.14]

–
Raban, Jonathan (1990).
Hunting Mister Heartbreak
. Picador. [7.17]

–
Royal Mail’s Code of Practice
(August 2000). [4.3]

–
Vine, Barbara (1995).
The Brimstone Wedding
. Penguin Books. [5.9; 5.11]

–
Wolfe, Tom (1988).
The Bonfire of the Vanities
. Bantam Books: New York, etc. [2.1]

2.  Newspapers

–
Coventry Evening Telegraph
[5.6]

–
Finland: Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Food and Health Department – Press Release [4.3]

–
Metro
[4.3]

–
New Statesman
[4.3]

–
Newsweek
[5.4; 5.7; 5.11; 6.1; 7.1; 7.2; 11.1]

–
SAGA Magazine
[7.15; 8.1]

–
Sandwell Chronicle
[4.3]

–
The Guardian
[5.8; 14.3]

–
The Independent
[5.6; 5.11]

–
The National Trust Magazine
[14.4]

–
Woman’s Weekly
[5.7; 5.9; 5.11]

–
World Cancer Research Fund, Newsletter
[8.1]

3.  Websites

–
www.news.bbc.co.uk
[13.1; 13.6]

–
www.pbcountyclerk.com
[1.8]

–
www.rainforest.amazon.net
[5.11]

–
www.sydneyexpresstravel.com.au
[5.11]