Bahasa Inggeris notes, unit 7
Mother Nature
Textbook Full Blast Plus 4 Student's Book (Form 4), MM Publications, CEFR-aligned, pages 97-110
What this chapter covers
- I can talk about nature, animals and environmental problems, and understand the idiom nature in expressions such as second nature and human nature (p.97)
- I can read a text about clever animals and match words such as devoted, odd, recover, shallow and accomplish to their meanings (p.98)
- I can choose between the to-infinitive, the infinitive without to and the -ing form after verbs, adjectives and prepositions (p.98)
- I can use collective nouns (a pack of wolves, a school of fish), the phrasal verbs turn up, give up, end up, make up, pick up, use up, break down, calm down, turn down, come down with and cut down on, and phrases with at (p.99)
- I can make exclamations with how, what, so and such (p.100)
- I can form adjectives from nouns and verbs with suffixes such as -al, -ive, -ous, -ful and -able (p.101)
- I can write an article describing a place with a catchy title, an introduction, a main part and a conclusion (p.102-103)
- I can read about eco-friendly products and use environmental vocabulary such as smog, acid rain, oil spill, toxic waste and fossil fuels (p.104-106)
- I can use modal verbs with have + past participle for possibility, criticism, deduction and absence of necessity (p.105)
- I can write a formal letter to the editor with a greeting, an opening, a main part, a closing and a sign-off (p.108-109)
This unit is about nature and the environment: clever animals, eco-friendly products, pollution and what we can do about it. You will revise the infinitive and -ing form, exclamations and modal verbs with have + past participle, build useful vocabulary, and practise two SPM writing tasks: an article describing a place and a letter to the editor.
7.1Reading: amazing animals
The reading text on p.98 tells three true stories about animals: an elephant and a dog that became best friends, crows that make and hide tools, and a dolphin that led two stranded whales to safety. Each paragraph supports one idea about animal intelligence.
| Animal | What it shows | Detail from the text |
|---|---|---|
| Elephant (Tarra) | Loyalty; friendship across species | She waited outside the sanctuary office for three weeks while her friend Bella, a dog, recovered. |
| Crow | Planning, tool use, trickery | Makes tools, stores them for later, pretends to hide food when another crow is watching, uses cars to crack nuts. |
| Dolphin | Communication; succeeds where people cannot | Calmed two whales stuck in shallow water and led them to deep water. |
Words to know from the text
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| devoted | having great love for someone and staying loyal | She is a devoted friend. |
| odd | strange, unusual | An elephant and a dog make an odd pair. |
| recover | get well after an illness or injury | The cat took a week to recover. |
| run over | drive over something | The crows let cars run over the nuts. |
| shallow | not deep | The whales were stuck in shallow water. |
| gather | come together to form a group | A crowd gathered on the beach. |
| accomplish | succeed in doing something | The dolphin accomplished what people could not. |
For a "which animal ...?" matching task, underline the key idea in each statement first (for example, plans for the future) and look for the part of the text that says the same thing in different words.
Which animal "uses humans to get a task done", and how?
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The crow. In Japan, crows leave nuts on the road at traffic lights so that cars run over them and crack them open.
7.2Infinitive and -ing form
When two verbs come together, the second one takes the to-infinitive, the infinitive without to or the -ing form. The first word decides which.
| Form | Used after | Example |
|---|---|---|
| to + verb | decide, promise, offer, afford, manage, hope, want, would like, learn; an adjective (happy, glad, amazed); a question word (what, where, how); to show purpose | I've decided to get a goldfish. Edina doesn't know which hat to wear. We should do something to save endangered species. |
| verb without to | modal verbs, make / let + object, had better; help (to is optional) | The authorities made everybody leave. Will you help me (to) clean the cage? |
| verb + -ing | enjoy, mind, can't stand, suggest, avoid, finish, consider, keep, there's no point in; any preposition; the verb as a subject | I don't mind staying alone. There's no point in running; the bus has left. Working at a zoo can be tiring. |
Gerund: the -ing form of a verb used as a noun, for example Swimming is good exercise.
Common mistakes.
- After a preposition always use -ing: "She is excited about taking part", not "excited about to take part".
- Stop doing and stop to do are different: "Stop talking!" means quit talking; "He stopped to talk" means he paused in order to talk.
- Too hot to go out uses the to-infinitive after too + adjective.
Worked example
Choose the right form: "My cousin offered (help / to help / helping) me with my project on alternative energy."
Offer is followed by the to-infinitive, so the answer is to help.
Complete: (a) I can't stand ______ (wait) in a queue. (b) We were amazed ______ (see) so many birds.
Show answerHide answer
(a) waiting (can't stand + -ing). (b) to see (amazed + to-infinitive).
7.3Vocabulary: collective nouns, phrasal verbs and phrases
Collective nouns for animals
| Collective noun | Group |
|---|---|
| a herd of | cows, deer, elephants |
| a flock of | birds, sheep, goats |
| a school of | fish, dolphins, whales |
| a pack of | wolves |
| a swarm of | bees, ants |
Phrasal verbs
| Phrasal verb | Meaning |
|---|---|
| turn up | appear or arrive |
| give up | stop trying |
| end up | find yourself in a place or situation you did not intend |
| make up | invent (a story, an excuse) |
| pick up | collect someone in your car |
| use up | finish something so that none is left |
| put down | kill an animal because it is old or ill |
| calm down | relax, or make someone relax |
| break down | stop working (a vehicle or machine) |
| come down with | become ill with |
| turn down | refuse an offer |
| cut down on | reduce the amount of something |
Phrases with at
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| at first sight | when you first see something |
| at once | immediately |
| at last | after a long wait |
| at present | now |
| at a loss | not knowing what to do or say |
| at least | not less than; or, at any rate (At least I put up the tents.) |
| at the latest | no later than |
| at the beginning / at the end | the start / the finish of something |
| at the age of | when someone was a certain age |
| at a later time | not now, afterwards |
Forming adjectives
Many adjectives are a noun or verb plus a suffix.
| Suffix | Examples |
|---|---|
| -al | culture - cultural, coast - coastal |
| -ive | attract - attractive, impress - impressive |
| -ous | mountain - mountainous, adventure - adventurous |
| -ing | astonish - astonishing |
| -ful | delight - delightful, peace - peaceful, colour - colourful |
| -able | enjoy - enjoyable, remark - remarkable, value - valuable |
Do not mix up turn up (arrive) with turn down (refuse), or give up (stop trying) with give in. Check the particle.
Fill the gap: "Only three people ______ for the beach clean-up, so we ______ doing it alone." (turn up / give up / end up)
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"Only three people turned up for the beach clean-up, so we ended up doing it alone." Note ended up + -ing.
7.4Exclamations
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| how + adjective / adverb | How colourful these fish are! How well you swim! |
| what + (a / an) + (adjective) + noun | What lovely scenery! What an amazing creature! |
| so + adjective / adverb | It is so beautiful here! |
| such + (a / an) + (adjective) + noun | This is such an exciting trip! |
Look at what follows the gap. A bare adjective or adverb takes how or so. A noun (with or without an adjective) takes what or such. Remember the order in a how-exclamation: "How tall that tree is!"
Choose: "(What / How) beautifully the birds sing!" and "It was (so / such) a peaceful morning."
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"How beautifully" (adverb). "such a peaceful morning" (a + adjective + noun).
7.5Modal verbs with have + past participle
Use modal + have + past participle to talk about the past: what was possible, what we are sure about, or what was a mistake.
| Meaning | Modal | Example |
|---|---|---|
| possibility (not sure) | may / might / could have | The computer isn't working. I may have broken it. |
| a chance that was missed | could have | I could have won the race, but I hurt my ankle. |
| sure it happened | must have | It must have been hard to keep in touch without phones. |
| sure it did not happen | can't / couldn't have | Tonia can't have seen him; she didn't know his name. |
| it was not necessary (but it happened) | needn't have | You needn't have washed the car. I was going to do it today. |
| criticism; it was the wrong thing to do | should / shouldn't have | We should have started recycling years ago. |
| a preference in the past | would rather have | The pizza was horrible. I'd rather have ordered pasta. |
Worked example
"My bike isn't in the garage. My brother (must have taken / should have taken) it."
The speaker is making a deduction from evidence, so use must have taken. Should have taken would be advice or criticism.
Common mistakes.
- Use the past participle after have: "must have taken", not "must have took".
- needn't have (I did it, but it was unnecessary) is different from didn't need to (it was not necessary, and I may not have done it).
- Use can't have for a negative deduction, not "mustn't have".
Write one sentence of criticism using shouldn't have about someone who dropped litter in the park.
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For example: "He shouldn't have dropped litter in the park."
7.6Environmental vocabulary and eco-friendly ideas
The reading text on p.104 describes three eco-friendly products: a showerhead powered by the running water, a phone with a case that breaks down and a sunflower seed inside, and handbags recycled from old number plates. Their motto is reduce, reuse, recycle.
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| smog | a mixture of smoke and fog from exhaust fumes and factory gases |
| acid rain | rain with acids that harm trees and forests |
| oil spill | a layer of oil on the sea from tankers |
| toxic waste | unwanted chemical materials, sometimes pumped into rivers, lakes and seas |
| fossil fuels | coal and oil, formed over millions of years from plants and animals, and burnt for energy |
| alternative energy | power from the sun, wind, water and so on |
| biodegradable | able to break down naturally |
| hazardous | dangerous, harmful |
| junkyard | a place where old cars and machines are collected |
Similar words
| Word | Use |
|---|---|
| waste | unwanted material, often industrial: toxic waste |
| rubbish | things you throw away at home: when do they collect the rubbish? |
| litter | rubbish dropped in public places: a fine for dropping litter |
| device | a small piece of equipment with one job: a gadget to find keys |
| appliance | a machine used in the home: a fridge |
| tool | something you use to do a job: the right tool for DIY |
The nature idioms on p.97: second nature (something you do easily without thinking), human nature (how people normally behave), in his nature (part of someone's character), answer the call of nature (go to the toilet). On p.104, kill two birds with one stone means do two things with one action.
Which word fits: "People who drop ______ in the street should be fined." (waste / litter / appliance)
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litter. It is rubbish dropped in public places.
7.7Writing an article describing a place
The model article on p.103 describes the Wolong National Nature Reserve in China, a sanctuary for giant pandas. The task came from a travel and nature magazine, so the readers are the magazine's readers and the style is semi-formal and lively.
| Part | What to write |
|---|---|
| Title | A catchy, short title (for example "Discover the Magic of Wolong") |
| Introduction | General information about the place; say what makes it interesting and why you are writing |
| Main part (1-2 paragraphs) | Describe the place, the sights and attractions; give your impressions and feelings |
| Conclusion | Sum up your opinion or feelings; a final comment to the reader |
Techniques that keep readers interested
- a title that catches attention
- descriptive, colourful adjectives (breathtaking, remarkable, unforgettable)
- talking to the reader directly (you, why not ...?)
- rhetorical questions ("Have you ever wondered where giant pandas come from?")
Use the Present Simple to describe the place and the Past Simple for its history or your visit. Write about a place you know, so you have real details.
Sample opening
Mangrove Magic at Kuala Selangor
Have you ever walked through a forest where the trees stand in the sea? Kuala Selangor Nature Park, only an hour from Kuala Lumpur, is a peaceful home for birds, monkeys and fireflies. Last month I visited it, and it was an unforgettable experience.
Name two techniques the sample opening uses.
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A catchy title; a rhetorical question to the reader; descriptive adjectives (peaceful, unforgettable). Any two.
7.8Writing a letter to the editor
A letter to the editor gives your opinion on an issue in the newspaper. The model letter on p.108 responds to a plan to build a shopping centre in a park. It is formal: no slang, no rude or aggressive words.
| Part | What to write |
|---|---|
| Greeting | Dear Sir / Madam, or Dear Editor, |
| Opening paragraph | Say why you are writing and refer to the article or its title |
| Main part (1-2 paragraphs) | Focus on one or two aspects; give your opinion with reasons and examples; make suggestions |
| Closing paragraph | Summarise your points and end politely |
| Sign-off | Yours faithfully, (when you started with Sir / Madam), then your full name |
Useful language
| Job | Phrases |
|---|---|
| Give a reason for writing | I am writing in response to your article about ... |
| Agree or add | First of all, ... In addition to ... Furthermore, ... |
| Contrast | On the other hand, ... However, ... |
| Suggest | Surely a more suitable location can be found. I suggest that ... |
| Conclude | In conclusion, ... To sum up, ... |
Common mistakes. Using a casual greeting ("Hi editor"); attacking a person ("The mayor is stupid") instead of the idea; forgetting to refer to the article; listing points without paragraphs. A rhetorical question is good for emphasis, but do not write more than one or two.
Which closing is correct for "Dear Sir / Madam"? (Yours sincerely / Yours faithfully / Best wishes)
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Yours faithfully. Use it when you do not know the name of the person you are writing to.
Summary
- After decide, promise, offer, afford and adjectives use to + verb; after enjoy, mind, suggest, avoid, finish and prepositions use -ing; after modals and make / let use the bare verb.
- Collective nouns: herd, flock, school, pack, swarm. Learn the phrasal verbs (turn up, give up, end up, break down, cut down on) and the phrases with at.
- Exclamations: how + adjective / adverb, what + (a / an) + noun, so + adjective, such + (a / an) + adjective + noun.
- Modal + have + past participle: might / may / could (possible), must (sure), can't (sure not), needn't (not necessary), should / shouldn't (criticism).
- Articles: catchy title, introduction, one or two description paragraphs, conclusion; colourful language and rhetorical questions.
- Letters to the editor: formal greeting, reason for writing, opinion with reasons and a suggestion, polite closing, Yours faithfully.