3. Match the beginnings with the endings, then decide which belong to news reports and which to narratives, justifying your answers.

BEGINNINGS...

1. A major snowstorm hit the east coast of the United States yesterday, causing road accidents, power cuts and flight cancellations in New York, Boston and Hartford.

2. Who is it?" the voice said from behind the door. I stood on the porch, my heart pounding, my whole body cold and numb. I knew it was going to be hard to answer all of their questions after so many years of absence and hatred.

3. Two builders were seriously injured yesterday morning when the scaf­- folding on the building site they were working on collapsed.

...ENDINGS

A. As I glanced at the house in the distance, tears welled up in my eyes. How could I ever have known that my wish to be reunited with my par­ents would be met with such grief and hostility?

B. "This was the worst natural disaster in the last thirty years," said Robert Albert, meteorologist for Channel 5 News. Schools and businesses are expected to remain closed until Thursday.

C. A spokesman for the construction company stated that the two injured builders would receive the best medical attention at the company's expense. "We will take strict safety measures to ensure unfortunate inci­dents like this will not occur again in the future."

4 Replace each of the underlined words/phrases in the sentences below with synonymous ones from the list.

led to a public outcry, far-reaching repercussions, widespread fear, make a bid, fruitless, gave his seal of approval, wary, put paid to.

1. The Education Minister agreed to the new government proposals to reduce subsidies to universities.

2. A Royal Air Force officer is planning to try to break the world land-speed record.

3. A fire at Weston nuclear power station has caused a lot of worry among local residents.

4. Attempts to promote non-biodegrad­able detergents have made a lot of peo­ple very angry due to the threat such products pose to the environment.

5. Residents were advised to be cautious of anyone acting suspiciously.

6. Accusations of embezzlement ruined the senator's hopes of running for pres­ident next year.

7. The Prime Minister's decision to raise taxes will have a serious effect on the lives of many Britons.

8. The police have appealed to the gov­ernment following their unsuccessful attempts to stamp out crime among street gangs.

Letters

There are various types of letters, such as:

a) letters of request,

b) letters giving information;

c) letters of advice,

d) letters making suggestions/recommendations,

e) letters of complaint,

f) letters of apology,

g) letters of application,

h) letters to the editor/authorities (expressing an opinion and/ or providing solutions/suggestions),

i) transactional letters, etc.

A successful letter should consist of

a) an appropriate greeting:

e.g. Dear Ms Crawley, Dear Mr and Mrs Jones, Dear Sir/Madam, Dear Tony;

b) an introductory paragraph which clearly states your reason for writing,

c) a main body in which you develop the subject, and deal with the additional objective(s) of the letter if necessary,

d) a conclusion in which you summarise the subject, and

e) an appropriate ending e.g. Yours faithfully/sincerely + full name, Best Wishes + first name

Style in Letters

The style of the letter varies depending on who it is addressed to. For instance, a letter to someone you do not know requires a formal style, a letter to someone you know but are not intimate with requires a semi-formal style, while a letter to a friend requires an informal style.

Formal letters contain

• formal greetings and endings;

• formal language i.e. complex sentences (Having spoken to the manager in person, I still feel my requests have not been satisfied.), non-colloquial English (Please keep me informed regarding any further developments, NOT: PIease keep me posted about what's happening.), frequent use of the passive (A two-week package holiday to the picturesque village of St Martin’s is being offered by our agency for only £3,600), and advanced vocabulary (I feel it is appropriate to explain to you some of the practices which are enforced throughout all of our branches);

• no abbreviated forms

Informal letters contain informal greetings and endings:

• informal language and endings;

• informal language style i.e. idioms (It was a blessing in disguise that I didn’t apply for the job as that company is now in deep financial trouble), phrasal verbs (I'll look you up next time I’m in Brussels.), colloquial English and omission of pronouns (Hope to see you soon!);

• abbreviated forms

Semi-formal letters contain

• formal greetings (Dear Mr and Mrs Smith);

• informal endings (Best Wishes/Yours + full name);

• a respectful tone depending on the relationship you have with the recipient of the letter. Also, pronouns should not be omitted and idioms should be carefully used.

 1. Look at the different layouts. Which are used to write a formal, semi-formal or informal letter? Which one would you use to write a letter to:

a) someone you know but are not on intimate terms with?

b) a relative?

c) a company manager whose name you know/ don't know?

d) the authorities?