• Section IV

• Active vocabulary. IDioms. Proverbs.

• Active Vocabulary

• Translate the following words and word combinations and learn them by heart.

  attachment	extra document or image that is added to an email
  block format	most common business letter format, single spaced, all paragraphs begin at the left margin
  body	the content of the letter; between the salutation and signature
  bullets	small dark dots used to set off items in an unnumbered list
  certified mail	important letters that sender pays extra postage for in order to receive a notice of receipt
  coherent	logical; easy to understand
  concise	gets to the point quickly
  confidential, personal	private
  diplomacy, diplomatic	demonstrating consideration and kindness
  direct mail, junk mail	marketing letters addressed to a large audience
  double space	format where one blank line is left between lines of text
  enclosure	extra document or image included with a letter
  formal	uses set formatting and business language, opposite of casual
  format	the set up or organization of a document
  heading	a word or phrase that indicates what the text below will be about
  indent	extra spaces (usually 5) at the beginning of a paragraph
  informal	casual
  inside address	recipient's mailing information
  justified margins	straight and even text, always begins at the same place
  letterhead	specialized paper with a (company) logo or name printed at the top
  logo	symbol or image that identifies a specific organization
  margin	a blank space that borders the edge of the text
  memorandum (memo)	document sent within a company (internal), presented in short form
  modified block format	left justified as block format, but date and closing are centered
  on arrival notation	notice to recipient that appears on an envelope (e.g. "confidential")
  postage	the cost of sending a letter through the Post Office
  proofread	read through a finished document to check for mistakes
  punctuation	marks used within or after sentences and phrases (e.g. periods, commas)
  reader-friendly	easy to read
  recipient	the person who receives the letter
  right ragged	format in which text on the right side of the document ends at slightly different points (not justified)
  salutation	greeting in a letter (e.g. "Dear Mr Jones")
  sensitive information	content in a letter that may cause the receiver to feel upset
  semi-block format	paragraphs are indented, not left-justified
  sincerely	term used before a name when formally closing a letter
  single spaced	format where no blanks lines are left in-between lines of text
  spacing	blank area between words or lines of text
  tone	the feeling of the language (e.g. serious, enthusiastic)
  transitions	words or phrases used to make a letter flow naturally (e.g. "furthermore", "on the other hand")

• idioms

• Translate and learn the following idioms and sentences. Use them in the situations of your own.

  airmail letter	a letter sent by air mail
  begging letter	a letter asking for money, sent to an individual or an organization believed to be rich
  blackmail letter	a letter of threatening to reveal substantially true information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand made upon the victim is met
  business letter	a letter dealing with business
  chain letter	a letter which is sent to several people who are each asked to send copies to several others, and which sometimes threatens that bad things will happen if they do not send these copies
  circular letter	an advertisement intended for wide distribution
  complaint letter	letter of complaint
  confirmation letter	letter of acknowledgment, letter of confirmation
  cover letter	a letter sent along with other documents to provide additional information
  dead letter	an unclaimed or undelivered letter that after a period of time is destroyed or returned to the sender by the postal service
  express letter	special delivery, mail that is delivered by a special carrier (for an additional charge)
  letter box	a private box for delivery of mail, public box for deposit of mail
  letter carrier	a person, especially a postal worker, who delivers mail
  letterhead	the heading at the top of a sheet of letter paper, usually consisting of a name and an address
  letter paper	paper cut to an appropriate size for writing letters; usually with matching envelopes
  direct mail	advertising circulars or other printed matter sent directly through the mail to prospective customers or contributors, junk mail
  hate mail	mail that expresses the writer's dislike or hatred (usually in offensive language), poison-pen mail
  snail mail	normal postal mail, where an actual physical letter or package is delivered; paper mail, as opposed to electronic
  love letter	a personal letter to a loved one expressing affection
  Dear John letter	a letter written by a woman to her husband or boyfriend to inform him that their relationship is over, usually due to the woman finding another man
  letter bomb	a small bomb that is put in an envelope or parcel and sent to someone by post
  open letter	a letter intended to be read by a lot of people, not just the person it is addressed to
  red-letter day	a special, happy and important day that you will always remember

• Section V

• Appendix. Sample letters.

• Sample letter A

  • Dear Prime Minister,

  • I write to appeal to you, on humanitarian grounds, to release ......... .

  • Yours truly,

• Sample letter B

  • Your Excellency,

  • I write to appeal to you, on humanitarian grounds, to spare the life of......... presently under sentence of death.

  • Yours sincerely,

• Sample letter C

  • Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to you, in the spirit of friendship that has always existed between your country and mine, about the plight of ......... who I understand has been detained for nearly three years under the Internal Security Act without any reason being given. If this information is correct, this would appear to violate Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which says "No one shall be subject to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile". I therefore appeal to you to look into this case urgently, with a view to releasing ......... .

  • Yours respectfully,

• Sample letter D

  • Dear Minister, I write this letter as a Board Member of the Moravian Friendship Association to appeal to you to ensure that Professor ........., a prisoner held in ......... State Prison, is given the medical treatment she requires and an adequate diet. In view of the seriousness of this case, I would ask you to make inquiries to satisfy yourself personally that the conditions under which she is kept in prison are in keeping with the basic standards expected today by all members of the international community. I would like to add that our Association, whose function it is to promote friendship and goodwill between the peoples of our two countries, has every confidence that the human rights enshrined in your Constitution are fully observed in your country.

  • Yours sincerely,

• Sample letter E

  • Your Excellency, I am a clerk in government service in Sri Lanka, and I also work in a voluntary Buddhist social service organization. I am deeply concerned at the news that ......... has been sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment in your country for publishing an article critical of the government. If this is true, it appears to be a harsh and unjust punishment. I appeal to you on humanitarian grounds, and in furtherance of the principle of freedom of expression enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to review this case with a view to releasing ..........

  • Yours sincerely,

• Sample letter F

  • Your Excellency, In my capacity as President of the Women's Institute of Toronto, I am writing to you on the subject of the recent arrest of ......... who is, I understand, in detention under the regulations for the Suppression of Rebellion. In view of the information available to me concerning this case, ......... is deprived of her freedom in violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. May I take the liberty of drawing to your attention the specific violations of the Declaration apparently involved in her case.

  • Her arrest under the regulations for the Suppression of Rebellion constitutes a violation of Article 9 of the Declaration. She has been held since her arrest without charge (at least as far as is publicly known) and without trial, which constitutes a violation of Articles 9 and 10 of the Declaration.

  • The only reason which has been given for the arrest of ......... is her role in the legal and legitimate opposition in the public life of your country, not only as a parliamentarian, but as a political worker conducting actions guaranteed the full protection of your Constitution. It therefore appears that the rights proclaimed in Articles 18 and 19 of the Declaration have also been violated.

  • Motivated solely by respect for human rights, I appeal to you to intervene personally in this case to secure the immediate release of ......... from detention or to grant her the right to an early, fair and open trial. Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurance of my highest consideration,

  • Yours sincerely,

• • Sample letter G

  • Riverside Languages

  • 22 High Street

  • Manchester

  • M5 6XJ

  • Mrs. S. Stone

  • Human Resources Manager

  • Northern Manufacturers Ltd.

  • The Industrial Estate

  • Oldham

  • OL3 7RJ 30th January 2004

  • Dear Mrs. Stone,

  • Thank you for your letter of 13th January enquiring about the services offered by Riverside Languages.

  • We teach French, German, Spanish and Japanese to both groups and individuals.Classes take place in our school in the centre of Manchester, or on your company’s premises. For individual classes we are able to teach all levels from beginner to advanced. For groups, the availability of higher-level classes depends on demand.

  • About half our teachers are native speakers of the languages taught. The rest are fluent speakers and most have lived in the countries where these languages are spoken. All our teachers are graduates with a further qualification in language teaching, and between them they have accumulated many years of teaching experience both at home and abroad.

  • We can offer intensive courses tailor-made for particular groups or individuals. However, our standard courses for groups consist of 4 hours of classes per week, divided into 2 sessions, and last for six months. At the end of that time, students who pass the final exam will receive a certificate stating the level they have attained, and will be allowed to progress to the next level. We also run courses preparing students for external exams in the languages we teach.

  • Price depends on a number of factors, including the size of the group, any special requirements, and where the class takes place. I would be happy to come to your office to discuss this at your convenience. Please call me on 0161-364 8749 to arrange a suitable time.

  • I look forward to hearing from you.

  • Yours sincerely,

  • Carl Thomas

  • Carl Thomas

  • Director, Riverside Languages

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