Space Probe Messenger

NASA is sending the space probe Messenger to investigate Mercury.The last probe was in 1974/5. Messenger took off from Cape Canaveral and should reach Mercury in 2011. Mercury, 60% iron, is the closest planet to the sun and temperatures can reach 450C. Messenger will investigate Mercury with a set of 7 sophisticated scientific instruments. The 7.9 billion kms route passes close to both Earth and Venus. Messenger will pass Mercury a number of times, orbiting the planet for one earth year and photographing it in colour. Getting the speed right for entry to Mercury’s atmosphere is the most crucial factor in the whole mission.

104 words.

Abu Dhabi & Baniyas

Compare & contrast Abu Dhabi & Baniyas. Say which you prefer to live in.

I am going to compare and contrast Abu Dhabi and Baniyas. Abu Dhabi is the capital of the UAE. Baniyas is a large town approximately 40 kms to the south, on the Al Ain Road.

The first and most obvious similarity is that both are in the UAE and both are located in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. They both share the same national government with the same ruler and ministers. They also have similar educational and healthcare systems.

There are, however, a number of significant differences. First, Abu Dhabi is on the coast, while Baniyas lies inland. Baniyas has hardly any high-rise buildings, whereas they are the norm in Abu Dhabi. Life in Baniyas is more traditional, with a greater proportion of the population being Bedouin. As you would expect, there are more people in Abu Dhabi and more traffic, noise and general hustle and bustle.

I personally prefer living in Abu Dhabi because there are more shopping malls, restaurants, places of entertainment and sporting facilities. The extra noise and pollution is the price you pay for all of these facilities.

172 words

Process: orange juice

Producing Orange Juice

Orange juice is a very healthy drink,full of vitamin C. The process of producing orange juice for sale in supermarkets is quite long and complicated. Here is how it is done.

First, the fruit is unloaded from lorries. Then the oranges are graded, washed and sized. After that, the juice is extracted and the residual material is sent for use as animal feed. The next step is very important. The juice is evaporated at a high temperature over a short time, producing concentrate. The concentrate is then stored in refrigerated units. Then the juice is canned and shipped overseas to its destination. In the country where it will be sold, water is added to the concentrate. Finally, the orange juice is bottled and sent to supermarkets, where it is sold to the consumer.

As you can see, producing orange juice for sale in shops is a long and complicated process but the final product is worth it.

160 words.

Present passive

Future passive

Reflection 2

I told the students that there were 3 main tense forms used in narrative essays:

a) past continuous, often used when setting the scene, e.g. I was driving in the desert when I saw ...

b) simple past, the main form of the narrative, e.g. I saw, I ran, he was, they were.
c) past perfect, only rarely used. I pointed out that, when talking about 2 actions in the past, the past perfect is used for the first, or earlier, event:

When I got to the cinema, the film had already started.

The film had already started when I got to the cinema.


You can't simply say use the past perfect in the first or second part of the sentence, because the sentence can be swopped around, as above. You must think of the first, or earlier, action. This action, the start of the film in the above example, takes the past perfect.

Reflection 1

In writing procedure essays the 2 essential things to remember are:

1) use the imperative form, i.e. do this, do that, don't do this, etc. Sometimes we were given flow charts with the -ing form and we had to remember to change this.

2) use linking words, e.g. first, secondly, then, next, after that, finally.

We always divided these essays into 3 paragraphs: introduction (c. 20-30 words), main paragraph (c. 90-100 words) and conclusion (c. 20-30 words); total: 150-160 words.


We did several practice procedures before the first writing assignment and first progress test.

I think several practice sessions are useful for procedure so that the students get used to the imperative form instead of the passive or the -ing form of several flow charts.

Liwa adventure

A desert adventure
I was driving in the desert about 10 kms from Liwa when my car broke down. I was with my friend Ali and, of course, we both had mobile phones but unfortunately neither phone would work in such a remote location.

We were hoping another vehicle would spot us but after about an hour we hadn’t seen or been seen by anyone. Neither Ali nor I is a mechanic and we weren’t sure what was wrong with the car, apart from the fact that it wouldn’t start. The fuel gauge showed that we had plenty of petrol. It was very hot but we had plenty of water with us. But the water wouldn’t last for ever and neither of us wanted to spend the night in the desert. What were we to do?

We decided to set off in the direction of Liwa. We took a map and a bag containing water bottles and we started to walk. After about 5 kms we saw a Land Cruiser ahead of us. We waved and shouted like crazy and fortunately the driver spotted us and drove in our direction. We told him what had happened and he drove us into Liwa. We decided to stay in the hotel as it was getting dark.

Next day a local mechanic drove us back to our car. He discovered that the problem was a faulty fuel gauge: we had run out of petrol. How embarrassing! Still, the mechanic fixed it so it should never happen again.

251 words

Mary's birthday

Every year on my wife’s birthday I host a party at our Club in the Main Restaurant. This year was no exception.

First, I chose the Thursday closest to her birthday, February 7th. I chose a Thursday because on that evening the Club has a special bistro night when you can eat as much as you like for a fixed price. So I knew in advance what the cost of the party would be. A few weeks before the event, I e-mailed the guests to ascertain the numbers who would be free to turn up. I gave them the time and place and the dress code, which is always black tie, meaning tuxedo or dinner jacket for the gentlemen and evening gowns for the ladies. Then I booked the restaurant, giving them the number of guests, so that they knew how many tables to prepare. I then, of course, had to buy a birthday present and arrange for flowers to be delivered to the school where my wife works.

The day of the party arrived. As usual we dressed up in the early evening and went to the Club to receive our guests. We enjoyed a very pleasant evening with our friends. They all brought flowers and presents for Mary, my wife, and she took lots of photos to preserve our memory of the occasion.

225 words.