Exercise 1

Choose all the TRUE statements from the list below.

There may be more than one correct answer!

Not even helicopters and small planes are flying smoothly today.

There is a traffic jam near the Bay Bridge.

Ray encourages people not to drive because of the bad traffic today.

Ray suggests Highway 1 as an alternative route to the Bay Bridge.

Choose all the TRUE statements from the list below.

There may be more than one correct answer!

Not even helicopters and small planes are flying smoothly today.

Ray tells Moira and Brent that "unless you own a helicopter or small plane you should probably stay home". He means that traffic is so bad today that the only way to get around is by plane or helicopter. Ray isn't saying that helicopters and planes are having a hard time because of the traffic.

There is a traffic jam near the Bay Bridge.

A "traffic jam" describes blocked or congested "traffic": cars and trucks trying to move from one location to another. Traffic jams often occur on the highway due to accidents or bad weather. When Ray says that the traffic is "backed up all the way to the Bay Bridge" he means that the vehicles are moving so slowly that there is a line of vehicles starting at the Bay Bridge, or that there is a traffic jam at the Bay Bridge.

Ray encourages people not to drive because of the bad traffic today.

Ray tells Moira that the traffic is so bad "you should probably just stay home." He is advising people to stay at home rather than to travel on the freeways because of the poor traffic circulation.

Ray suggests Highway 1 as an alternative route to the Bay Bridge.

Ray says that "Northbound traffic on Highway one is not much better" (than the traffic on the Bay Bridge). Ray doesn't advise people to travel on Highway 1 because the traffic is as bad there as it is everywhere else.

Exercise 2

Which of the following are TRUE, according to Mrs. Quincy's letter? There may be more than one correct choice!

Mrs. Quincy is a widow.

Icarus has to spend a few days in hospital.

Icarus' father was always late for work due to stress.

Which of the following are TRUE, according to Mrs. Quincy's letter? There may be more than one correct choice!

Mrs. Quincy is a widow.

This is the only true statement here. A "widow" is a woman whose husband has died. Unfortunately, Archibald Cuthbert Quincy is a dead man and he was her husband. By the way, the word for a man whose wife had died is "widower".

Icarus has to spend a few days in hospital.

This is not the right answer. Icarus will be "staying at home" with his mother for a few days. There is no mention of him going to hospital. "Home" is the place you live, not a health centre!

Icarus' father was always late for work due to stress.

This is incorrect. The word "late" here does not mean late in the usual sense of the word, "delayed" or "tardy". Here, it means "deceased" or "dead". When we say "the late Mr. X" we mean "The dead Mr. X". "The late Mr. X" sounds nicer!

Stay home meaning in English

Definition

Examples

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