Making things easier ENGLISH COLLOCATIONS IN USE (ADVANCED)

 

ENGLISH COLLOCATIONS IN USE (ADVANCED)

UNIT 48

Making things easier

A	Choosing your approach COMPLETING A TASK – HOW TO DO IT When you need to work out the easiest way to do something, you have to explore different ways of approaching the task. Sometimes there will be many feasible1 alternatives to consider and sometimes there will only be one or two viable2 options. You need to enlist the help of people to give you advice before you decide on which method to adopt. The best advice is to take a step-by-step approach: break the task down into stages, so that you are dealing with small, manageable chunks. This way you will soon find that something you thought was hard is in fact simplicity itself3. But be careful, don’t always take what looks like the easy option. Think first. At the end, you can feel proud that you didn’t just take the easy way out4. 1 possible 2 workable 3 extremely simple 4 do what is easiest but not what is best – which may mean avoiding doing anything at all
B	Ways of remembering Notice the collocations in this text introducing techniques for improving your memory. WAYS OF REMEMBERING A trained memory is an immense asset1, particularly in public life. Mnemonics are systems we use to help us remember complex information easily, and people who use them can recall things with an amazing degree of accuracy. The Ancient Greeks perfected2 a number of mnemonic techniques, some of which are still used today, for example, using the first letter of each item to form a word that will help you remember the whole list of items. For instance, you might remember the female first name ADA to help you recall the phrase amazing degree of accuracy. Or you might think of the word BAG, which will give you three colours that collocate with hair (blond, auburn, ginger). A simple rule of all memory training systems is the idea of ‘Initial Awareness’. This works in a straightforward3 way. The basic principle is that the system helps you concentrate the mind on whatever you are trying to remember for just long enough to force Initial Awareness. All memory training systems are perfectly simple. Once you have taken the time to learn them, you will be able to instantly recall any new items of information you want to, with remarkable ease. You may find it a steep learning curve4, but I assure you that it is worth the effort. 1 something of great value 2 the verb is pronounced /Pʒ:’fekt/ 3 easy to understand or simple 4 something which is difficult to learn and takes a lot of effort Tip Do you know any mnemonic techniques to help you learn vocabulary? If possible, share them with other students.

EXERCISES

48.1	Answer these questions about the text in A. 1 Which alternatives is it best to focus on when considering ways of doing something? 2 What sort of options are those that could work well? 3 Which option is not always the best one to take? 4 What sort of approach can one take to make a big task more manageable?
48.2	Match words from each box to form collocations from the opposite page.
48.3	Complete B’s responses using collocations from the opposite page. 1 A I notice your tennis serve is much better these days. B Yes, I think I’ve finally ___________ the technique, though it took months of practice. 2 A Was the new computer easy to set up? B Yes, it was ___________ itself. 3 A How did you get on in the charity race? B Well, I actually managed it with remarkable ___________, given how unfit I was! 4 A Did it take you long to learn to fly? B Yes, it did! Almost a year. But it’s so amazing, it was certainly   ___________ ___________ ___________ 5 A How well does the pedometer your son made at college actually work? B With an amazing ___________ ___________ ___________, in fact. 6 A I have to sort out all these old papers and I just don’t know where to start! B Why don’t you ___________ the task down into smaller chunks and deal with them gradually? 7 A Do you enjoy working with collocations? B Well, it’s worth ___________  ___________ time to learn them as they make your language sound so much more natural. 8 A How did your year in China work out? Did you manage to learn any Chinese? B Well, it was a ___________   ___________   ___________ , but I did manage to acquire a basic knowledge of Mandarin.
48.4	Choose the correct collocation. 1 I always use mnemonics to help me recall important of information.       A spots        B objects        C items          D stuff 2 We all the different ways of getting home before eventually deciding to fly.       A exploded   B exploited    C explicated   D explored 3 The system works in a way.       A straightforward      B strong        C straight         D forthright 4 It’s a good idea to divide a task up into chunks.       A portable                  B manageable        C edible           D thinkable 5 All memory systems work on the same basic .       A promotion             B prime           C principal         D principle
	Over to you Look at this mnemonics site: www.fun-with-words.com/mnemonics.html. Make a note of useful ones.

 

ANSWER KEY

 

48.1 1 feasible alternatives 2 viable options 3 the easy option 4 a step-by-step approach   48.2 adopt a method              immense asset                  perfectly simple                 take the time concentrate the mind     instantly recall                  remarkable ease enlist help                      perfect a technique            simple rule   45.3 1 perfected              5 degree of accuracy 2 simplicity            6 break 3 ease                      7 taking the 4 worth the effort   8 steep learning curve   45.4 1 C 2 D 3 A 4 B 5 D