LANGUAGE PRACTICE FOR PRESENTATIONS

TRANSITIONS / „SIGNALLING WHERE WE ARE GOING“

PRESENTATIONS - EXERCISES

Task 1 INTRODUCTION: Complete the following introduction with words from the list.

questions              act as                    talk about              look at         points of
view

go along               hear                       brief                       finally

Good afternoon and thank you for making the effort to be here with us today. My name’s Rachel
Rawlins and I’m responsible for teaching methodology. What I’d like to do today is _________
teaching methods at Czech universities. This ___________ talk will hopefully _____________   a
springboard for discussion. I’m going to ____________ the methods from three _________ : firstly,
the students; secondly, the teachers; and ___________, the materials. If you have any ___________,
just interrupt me as I ___________. Your point of view may well be different, and we’d like to
___________ from you.



Task 2: As introductions can become repetitive, it is important to have a choice of words and
expressions ready.

Use one of the following expressions to replace the synonyms in bold.


don’t hesitate          a chance          I take care          I’m delighted
sections

 go through          in more depth          my purpose is          finally          divide

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It’s a pleasure to be with you today. My name is Gordon Mathews
and I’m in charge of the University Research Programme at the Rector’s Office. We are here today to
review some key figures and to outline our strategy over the next five years. So what I intend to
do is to break down this presentation into three parts: first, the current situation; second, the
options facing us, and third, the strategy I propose. If you have any questions, please, feel free
to interrupt me, but I should also say that there’ll be an opportunity to discuss issues at greater
length after my talk.


Task 3 ENDING: Complete the following ending with words from the list.

questions          that’s all              second          discussion          formed
by

conclude          issues          briefly          finally          begin

So, ____________I have planned to say about the topic. Let me summarize the main ____________. Very
____________, they are four. First, nation states, ___________, confederations, then, multinational
empires, and ____________ multinational democracies. I’d like to ____________ by emphasizing the
fact that the majority of today’s countries are ____________ multicultural societies. Well, I
suggest we start the ____________ now. But before we ____________, let me thank you for your
attention. OK, I’d be glad to answer any ____________ now.


Task 4

Endings can become repetitive, so it is important to have a choice of words and expressions ready.
Use one of the following expressions to replace the synonyms in bold.


Presence          I’d be glad          talk          As you can see          then
lastly          reliable          now          idea          covers everything in            It
seems to me that          listening          sum up          is based          main

That brings me to the end of my presentation. Let me just run over the key points again. Very
briefly, there are three. First, socio-biology in contrast to ecology, second to economy, and third
to political science. From what you have heard, there are some very good reasons to see
socio-biology as any treatment of social phenomena that basically draws on neo-Darwinist theory. At
this point, I’d like to leave you with the following thought: remember that politics, ecology, as
well as economy are part of life, and biology is the study of life. In my opinion, the only
possibility is to accept the existence of socio-biology as an equal to other social sciences. Thank
you for your attention and now, if you have any questions, I’d be pleased to answer them.