UNIT 1

HOW DO YOU DO?

Exercise 1. Introducing oneself in English. The way you introduce and present yourself
provides people with a first impression of you. Your introduction should tell people who you are
and it should encourage people to be interested in speaking to you. How to introduce yourself
depends on the situation and how many people are present but generally there are some basic
things you need to do.
Watch a short film about how to introduce yourself in English and write down the type of
information you should give when you meet someone:
A) ______________________________
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B) ______________________________
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C) ______________________________
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...........................................................................................................................................................
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Exercise 2. Provide your personal presentation based on the model provided by the film and the
information you comsider relevant, as follows:
Forename / Christian name / First name …..………………………….……………………………
Middle name ………………………..……………………………………………………………..
Surname / Family name / Last name(s) ………………………………………………..…………..
Native town / city, country ………………………………..……………………………………….
Features of character ……………………………………………………………………………….
Education..………………………………………………………………………………………….
…………….………………………………………………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Current job …………………………………………………………….…………………...............
Work experience ..………………………………………………………………………………….
………..…………………………………………………………………………………………….
……..……………………………………………………………………………………………….
Hobbies and interests ………………………………………………..………………………….....
………………………………………………………………………..…………………………….
……………………………………………………………………………………..……………….
Plans for the (near) future ..……………………………………………………………….………..
……………………………………………………………………………………………..……….
……………………………………………………………………………………………………...

Exercise 3. Small talk. When asking for specific information, we use basic questions beginning
with a wh- word:
WHO = cine: Who are you?
WHOM = cine, cui: Whom are you meeting tomorrow?
Whom is this letter addressed to?
WHOSE = al / a / ai / ale cui: Whose dictionary is that?
WHAT = ce, care: What are you?
What is your name?
WHEN = când: When do you leave?
WHERE = unde: Where do you live?
WHICH (OF) = care (dintre): Which do you like most?
Which (of you) is right?
WHY = de ce: Why do you say that?

EXCEPTION: HOW = cum, ce: How did you do that?

How are you?

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Add the suitable wh- word(s) to the following questions:
1. .......................................... do you do for a living?
2. .......................................... is more important to you, being rich or being happy?
3. .......................................... is this thing for?
4. .......................................... do you do?
5. .......................................... are you going for holidays this summer?
6. .......................................... time do you usually get up on weekends?
7. .......................................... is the nicest thing you’ve ever done for someone else?
8. .......................................... don’t you talk to him about this problem?
9. .......................................... is that going to happen?
10. .......................................... colour would you like for the kitchen?
11. .......................................... are you doing here?
12. .......................................... sound do you find more difficult in English?
13. .......................................... did you go to see last Friday afternoon?
14. .......................................... is the most stupid thing you have ever done?
15. .......................................... does this have to be such a busy topic?
16. .......................................... was it that you wanted to know?
17. .......................................... room are they going to hold the meeting in?
18. .......................................... did you speak to last time you were there?
19. .......................................... was the last time you went out for dinner?
20. .......................................... will this affect your future position?

Exercise 4. General topics for conversation. When you first meet someone it can be difficult to
know how to start a conversation, especially if your first language is not English. Here are some
topics that are safe for small talk:
- Introductions, e.g. ‘Hello. May I introduce myself? My name is ...’
- Travel, e.g. ‘Did you manage to find here OK?’ or ‘Did you have a good journey?’
- Hospitality, e.g. ‘Can I get you something to eat or drink?’
- Business, e.g. ‘How's your business going?’
- Studies, e.g. ‘What are you studying?’
- Work, e.g. ‘What sort of work do you do?’

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 - General news, e.g. ‘What do you think about the recent snowstorms on the East Coast?’
(it is safer to avoid gossip and politics)
- General matters about the person you are talking to, e.g. ‘Have you lived in this area
long?’
- General matters on subjects that you know that interests the person you are talking to,
e.g. cars, films, television, music, etc.
- Sport, e.g. ‘Have you been watching Wimbledon?’ (in Britain people enjoy talking
about football)
- Hobbies, e.g. ‘What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?’
- Food, e.g. ‘I had a lovely Chinese meal last night - do you like Chinese food?’
- Nature, e.g. ‘The garden looks lovely, doesn't it?’
- The weather, e.g. ‘It's a lovely day today, isn't it?’
You should be careful when you talk about some topics, especially with people that
you've only just met, people who are older than you, people who appear to have strong religious
or political views, or people who may have some personal problems or sensitivities. Most of the
times it is better to avoid these subjects:
- Age, e.g. ‘How old are you?’
- Appearance or weight, e.g. ‘You seem to have put on some weight’
- Personal gossip about somebody you know
- Jokes that might offend (especially sexist or racist jokes)
- Money, e.g. ‘How much do you earn?’
- Previous or current relationships, e.g. ‘Do you have a girlfriend?’
- Politics, e.g. ‘Who did you vote for at the last election?’
- Religion, e.g. ‘Do you believe in God?’
- Criticisms or complaints, e.g. ‘Why is British food so bad?’

Complete these open questions which you could use in a first conversation with a stranger:
1. Arrival: When ............... you ............... here?
2. Travel: How many times ............... you ............... to the Ukraine?
3. Duration: ............... long ............... you ............... for?
4. Hotel: Where ............... you ............... ?

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5. Job: What do you ............... for a ...............?
6. Company activity: What ............... of business is your company ............... ?
7. Work location: Where ............... your company ............... ?
8. Time working for company: ............... long ............... you ............... for your company?
9. Departure: When ............... you ............... ?

Exercise 5. Small talk in the every-day situations. Listen to some conversations and decide
whether the people are arriving or leaving:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

* Listen to conversation 1 again:

- Was the meeting successful? What do they say about it?
...........................................................................................................................................................
- What do they say Thank you for?
...........................................................................................................................................................

* Listen to conversation 2 again and answer the questions:

Did you have ……… ……… finding us?
…...... …...... …...... a cup of coffee first?

* Listen to conversation 3 again:

- Where is the woman’s passport?
...........................................................................................................................................................
- What other ID does she have?
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- What does she need to do?
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* Listen to conversation 4 again and rearrange the sentences in the right order:
You’re welcome.
Do you want me to give you a lift?
Can I use your phone?
I just need to call a taxi.
Where are you going? To the station?
Yes, go ahead.
Yes.
Could you? That’s very kind of you.

* Listen to conversation 5 again:

- What does he need to do to enter the building?
...........................................................................................................................................................
- Where is the office?
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- How does he ask for help?
...........................................................................................................................................................

Complete the sentences:

I’m ……...…............ I have three big boxes to …............…… up.
Can somebody …...….........… me a …...…............…?

Exercise 6. Spelling. In English, learning to write words by pronouncing letters in the right order
helps us avoid embarrassing situations.
Revise the English alphabet and practise spelling your name.

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Letter Pronunciation

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 A /ei/
B /bii/
C /sii/
D /dii/
E /ii/
F /ef/
G /djii/
H /eitch/
I /ai/
J /jei/
K /kei/
L /el/
M /em/
N /en/
O /ău/
P /pii/
Q /kiuu/
R /a:/ - Br. Engl.; /ar/ - Am. Engl.
S /es/
T /tii/
U /iuu/
V /vii/
W /dabl iuu/
X /eks/
Y /wai/
Z /zed/ - Br. Engl.; /zii/ - Am. Engl.
What’s you name? Could you spell that? Write down the names that you hear.
........................................................... ...........................................................
........................................................... ...........................................................
........................................................... ...........................................................
........................................................... ...........................................................
........................................................... ...........................................................
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Exercise 7. English names. Some typical English names may be difficult to pronounce. How do
you pronounce the following names?
Douglas Graham Hugh
Joan Keith Kirk

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 Leigh Leonard Lewis
Louis Murray Seymour

Exercise 8. Listen to the dialogue and fill in the gaps with the right words, paying attention to
the visitor’s name:
- Good morning.
- Good morning. I’m here to see John Heath.
- What’s your name, please?
- It’s ………………………………………….
- How do you spell that?
- My first name’s ………………………………………….
- And your last name?
- …………………………………………. that’s ………………………………………….
- And what company are you with?
- I work for …………………………………………. Technologies.
- ………………………………………….
- That’s right.
- Thank you. Please have a seat.

Exercise 9. There are also situations when you are asked to spell out your e-mail address or
important websites. You need to use the following words:

at dot hyphen one word

underscore slash backslash colon

Listen to a phone call and correct the e-mail address, explaining the mistakes:

[email protected]
........................................................................................

Exercise 10. Write down the email and web addresses that you hear:

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NOTES

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