2019-08-09 Core: diet plans and formal complaints

Greg Malivuk
gmalivuk@staffordhouse.com
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - notes from all classes
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Homework: read about one or more short-term (3-6 weeks) diet and exercise plan. What kinds of things do they usually recommend?
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In your groups, design a short-term diet and exercise plan to become as unhealthy as possible in three weeks. (This is why you were supposed to look at real diet and exercise plans for homework.)
Give your diet plan a name, and decide what participants have to do during the three weeks in order to become as unhealthy as possible. (For example, what should they eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? How much time should they spend doing what “exercise”?)
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Explain and promote your diet to the class.
“Crazy Diet”
“Armageddon”
“Fattest Pyramid”
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*Use a car for to go everywhere. -> Use a car to go everywhere.
	(For Purpose: to + verb / for + noun)

*Eat as many as possible snacks. -> Eat as many snacks as possible.

*For wine, drink how much do you want.
	how much do you want = question asking the amount you want to drink
	however much you want = as much as you want = the amount you’d like (it doesn’t matter)
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Time clauses can be replaced with specific times:
	I’ll call you when I get home. / I’ll call you at 7:00.

Noun clauses can be replaced with appropriate nouns:
	Drink however much you want. / Drink one liter.
	Drive wherever you want. / Drive to the beach.
	Tell me where she lives. / Tell me her address.
Reported speech is a special example of noun clauses:
	She asked me what I did for a living. / She asked me my job.
	She told me that she was sick. / She told me some information.
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http://web.archive.org/web/20010413103123/http://www.thespark.com/science/fat/ - In October of 2000, two people tried to gain 30 pounds in 30 days (since many weight-loss programs advertise losing that much weight). It was actually pretty difficult to do.
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BREAK
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To improve reading and listening, you can read books and watch movies or TV shows that you already know in your language. That way if you don’t understand words you’ll still understand the story.
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Castle Island isn’t a castle or an island. It’s a fort on a peninsula.
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p. 77 - Skim the letter. What is the overall purpose (part 1)? - c (They are expressing their concern about it.)
part 2 - Answer these questions.
1 What is the proposal? - to close the staff restaurant
2 What consequences are mentioned? - Employees will have to travel for lunch, so could lose time and be late for work.
3 What additional consequences are mentioned? - Employees will eat less healthy snacks and could become unhealthy and less productive.
4 What questions does the writer have? - Will there be a kitchen or food area? Will they be able to eat at their workstations? (How will the change affect the policy that they can’t eat at their desks?)
5 What does the writer want to happen next? - The writer wants to meet with the owner to discuss these issues.
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part 3a - What causes and consequences are linked by these expressions?
1 employees will have to travel to the nearest town at lunchtime -> time management and puctuality issues
2 the restaurant closes -> many people eating snacks and sandwiches
3 this kind of food is not nutritious -> staff health and productivity could suffer
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part 3b - Complete the sentences with the words in the box. Often more than one option is possible.
1 Consequently / Therefore / Thus
	(These three can start a new sentence followed by a comma.)
2 result in / lead to / (mean - without the s)
	(These are verbs in the base form, so they are the only options to go after “will”.)
3 Consequently / Therefore / Thus
4 means
	(We need a verb in the present tense, and “means” can be followed by a complete sentence.)
5 result in / lead to
6 thus / consequently / so
	(“so” can mean the same as “thus” in the middle of a sentence, but “so” can’t start a formal sentence with this meaning)
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It was raining, so we stayed inside. / It was raining and so/thus we stayed inside.
It was raining. Therefore/Thus/Consequently, we stayed inside.
The rain resulted in our staying inside. / The rain led to our staying inside.
The rain meant (that) we stayed inside.
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p. 53 (cover letter) describes some additional features of formal letters
Another common feature is avoiding first and second person when possible. (Instead of saying “We will have to travel”, he says “Employees will have to travel”.)
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What are some bad rule/policy changes that could happen in Stafford house?
- no vacations allowed
- no break during class
- no more coffee for sale
- no more drinks allowed in class
- no more vending machines
- no restrooms
- no more front desk
- no more desks
Which one would be the worst?
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Imagine you receive an email:
“Beginning on Monday, August 12, 2019, Stafford House classes will no longer include any breaks.”
Homework: Write a formal letter to Kimberly Pepper-Robinson to object to this change. (Follow the same structure as the example on p. 77.)