Lessons 2A–3A Jordanian embroidery, reduced adverbial clauses

• I can understand and talk about Jordanian embroidery.
• I can use reduced adverbial clauses in written texts.

A thaob quiz: what do you already know?

In pairs, complete the quiz.

1 What material is the embroidered dress, the thaob, made from?

a silk b wool c plants

2 Which of the following is not used to embroider the thaob?

a cotton b wood c precious stones

3 For how long have people worn the thaob in Jordan?

a about 300 years b about 3,000 years c since 3000 BCE

4 When do women wear the thaob today?

a every day b for cultural events c they don’t wear them any more

5 Where can you buy Jordanian embroidery today?

a online b in handicraft stalls c both a and b

What the radio programme says about the thaob

Listen again and catch the exact words in each gap.

Listen to the programme again and complete the sentences. Use no more than three words in each gap.

1 Embroidery has always been very important in Jordanian culture and traditionally has been ___.

2 Thousands of years ago, people ___ wearing similar clothes then to the traditional clothes they wear today.

3 The thaob is made from silk and is ___.

4 Traditionally, the threads were coloured with natural dyes from plants, although today, coloured threads ___.

5 Decorative designs on the thaob may feature plants, geometric shapes ___.

6 The patterns and colours of the thaob differ from region to region so that people can tell where the wearer ___.

7 Today it is usually only worn by women for cultural events such as weddings and ___.

8 Modern clothes designers want to keep the heritage of the thaob alive by using traditional embroidery designs in other products such as on placemats, cushions, ___.

Six words for talking about embroidery

4 Read these extracts from the recording and match the highlighted words with their definitions.

1 The thaob is made from silk and is usually black.

2 The silk is embroidered with threads of wool or cotton.

3 They also sometimes use other materials such as metal or precious stones.

4 Traditionally, the threads were coloured with natural dyes from plants.

5 Decorative designs on the thaob may feature plants, geometric shapes or birds.

6 Modern clothes designers want to keep the heritage of the thaob alive by using traditional embroidery designs in other products.

Cameron Brian: a young actor's story

1 SPEAKING Read a factfile about Cameron Brian. Which piece of information do you find most interesting? Say why.

• Job Student and actor
• Nationality British
• Best known for Acting in the film Go to the Storm
• Achievements Best young actor for Go to the Storm, filmed when he was 15

Shorten a clause with a participle

Same subject in both clauses? Then one clause can shrink.

3 Match the underlined examples of participle clauses in the text (1–3) with the participle clauses (a–c).

Showing a sequence of events.

Showing that two things happened at the same time.

Showing the result of an action.

4 Complete the second sentence so that it means the same as the first.

1 Because he has won several awards, the actor’s work is well-known. (Having ...)

2 As they are best friends, Asma and Dalia enjoy working together. (Being ...)

3 The actor didn’t expect the play to be so successful, and didn’t realise it would run for seven seasons. (Not expecting ...)

5 Study Watch Out! and rewrite the sentences, replacing the underlined section with a participle phrase. Make any changes necessary.

1 Cameron starred in the film although he found it difficult how to read.

2 Cameron has been in more than one film and appeared in a British TV programme.

3 Cameron won an award and got the best actor prize.

4 Cameron wanted to do better in life, so he learnt to act.

Watch out: whose action is it?

Combine two sentences into one

6 Combine the two sentences, using a participle clause.

1 I didn’t realise what time it was. I missed the train.

2 I lost my key. I couldn’t get in the house.

3 I had been standing for hours. I felt very tired.

4 I knew what had happened. I wasn’t surprised.

• We can replace a full adverbial clause with a present or perfect participle.
• These are relatively formal and most often used in written English:
• As she walked/Walking into the press conference, she was addressed by a journalist.
• Adel left his bag at home, leaving him without any money.
• Adel left his bag at home, which left him without any money.

Perfect participle: one action before the other

• We can use a perfect participle when we want to emphasise that one action happened before the other one.
• The subject of both clauses needs to be the same:
• After I had finished my work, I decided to have a bath.
• Having finished my work, I decided to have a bath.