References ENGLISH COLLOCATIONS IN USE (ADVANCED)

 

ENGLISH COLLOCATIONS IN USE (ADVANCED)

UNIT 44

References

 

A	A reference for a student I am happy to act as a referee for Ilona Hradetska, who has applied to do a course in archaeology at your university. Ilona has a keen interest1 in archaeology and although she lacks experience, she makes up for this in her enthusiasm for the archaeology of the classical world. She has an encyclopaedic knowledge2 of Ancient Greece and Rome. However, she has already managed to accumulate some practical experience3 as she worked on a dig for two weeks in Greece last April, and she is looking forward to honing4 her practical skills at the same dig over the summer holiday. Her dream of pursuing her interests in archaeology is of paramount importance5 to her and I am sure she has the ability to meet the challenges6 of the course. 1 very strong interest 2 very extensive knowledge 3 (formal) gain experience 4 making perfect 5 (formal) extremely important 6 deal with the difficult aspects
B	A job reference It is my pleasure to provide a reference for Phil Lee, who has applied for the post of marketing manager in your company. I can wholeheartedly recommend Mr Lee for this position as I have every confidence in his ability to perform the tasks1 indicated in your job description. He has remarkable financial acumen2 and excellent interpersonal skills. He is a good team player and while working here has revealed a remarkable talent3 for handling difficult situations. It goes without saying that you can trust him implicitly4. I am confident that if you were to offer him the position he would quickly become an invaluable member of your team. 1 perform tasks is a more formal way of saying carry out tasks 2 talent in financial matters 3 (formal) showed a talent 4 trust him totally
C	Common errors error correction He has high computer skills. He has good/advanced computer skills. He has a high education. He is highly educated. He has a good level of education. An engineer with high qualifications is required. A well-qualified engineer is required. An engineer with good qualifications is required. He has a high knowledge of English. He has a good / an advanced knowledge of English. She has a large knowledge of all subjects. She has an extensive / a comprehensive knowledge of all subjects. She has big/great experience of teaching. She has considerable experience of teaching. She managed to get a good relationship with her boss. She managed to establish/develop a good relationship with her boss. Mrs Day is a very appreciated member of staff. Mrs Day is a highly valued member of staff.

EXERCISES

44.1	Complete each sentence using a collocation from A. The first letters are given to help you. 1 Jason takes a k________________ i________________ in all his school subjects, but particularly in the sciences. 2 Suzie is looking forward to h________________ her computer s________________ on a course next month. 3 We set the job applicants a particularly difficult task in order to discover who would best be able to m________________ the c________________. 4 You can rest assured that your happiness will always be of p________________ i________________ to me. 5 My brother chose that university because it was the best place for him to p________________ his i________________ in marine biology. 6 Over the years I have managed to a________________ plenty of e________________ of working with young people.
44.2	Rewrite each sentence using the word in brackets to make it more formal. 1 Paul knows a lot about African history. (ENCYCLOPAEDIC) 2 Kate is very good at dealing with people. (SKILLS) 3 Artur did a lot of work on farms when he was in Canada. (ACCUMULATED) 4 Hannah has an excellent teaching qualification but she hasn’t done much work in the classroom yet. (LACKS) 5 I have total trust in Dr Robinson. (IMPLICITLY) 6 This job will off er you the perfect opportunity to become more skilled at working with a computer. (HONE) 7 I am totally confident you will be able to complete the course. (CONFIDENCE) 8 It was Karan’s talent for making money that led to his promotion. (ACUMEN)
44.3	Correct the reference letter below by replacing the underlined words with more appropriate collocations. I am happy to do as a referee for James McBride, who has applied for a teaching post at your language school. I take every confidence in Mr McBride’s abilities as a teacher. He spent last summer working at the school where I am principal and he was a very appreciated member of our staff. He was very successful in getting a good relationship with both students and staff. He has a high education with a particularly large knowledge of English literature. He combines high teaching qualifications with big experience of teaching students at all levels of English. He also has high computer skills, which should certainly prove useful in a technologically advanced school such as yours.
44.4	Choose the correct collocation. 1 Priya revealed / provided some surprising talents during our expedition. 2 I’d wholeheartedly / implicitly recommend Mr Lee for promotion. 3 Jonas has every ability to meet / run the challenges of the position. 4 I am delighted to provide / act a reference for Meena Mistry. 5 The position would require you to perform / hone a wide range of tasks. 6 Your contributions to the project are highly / wholeheartedly valued.
44.5	Use a dictionary to find other words to complete these word forks.

 

ANSWER KEY

 

44.1 1 keen interest 2 honing; skills 3 meet; challenge 4 paramount importance 5 pursue; interest 6 accumulate; experience   44.2 1 Paul has an encyclopaedic knowledge of African history. 2 Karen has very good interpersonal skills / has excellent people skills. 3 Eric accumulated considerable experience of farming / on farms when he was in Canada. 4 Hannah has an excellent teaching qualification but she lacks classroom experience. / lacks experience in the classroom. 5 I trust Dr Robinson implicitly. 6 This job will offer you the perfect opportunity to hone your computer/computing skills. 7 I have every confidence in your ability to / that you will be able to complete the course. 8 It was Karan’s financial acumen that led to his promotion.   44.3 I am happy to act as a referee for James McBride, who has applied for a teaching post at your language school. I have every confidence in Mr McBride’s abilities as a teacher. He spent last summer working at the school where I am principal and he was a highly valued member of our staff. He was very successful in establishing/developing a good relationship with both students and staff. He is highly educated / has a good level of education with a particularly extensive/comprehensive knowledge of English literature. He combines good teaching qualifications with considerable experience of teaching students at all levels of English. He also has advanced/good computer skills, which should certainly prove useful in a technologically advanced school such as yours.   44.4 1 revealed                4 provide 2 wholeheartedly    5 perform 3 meet                     6 highly   44.5 financial / business / political acumen highly valued / placed / prized perform a task / an operation / a song