C1+ CAE Writing – Tuesday/Thursday group

Looking for some extra reading texts to help get ideas for the latest writing assignments?  These might be of interest…

Coimbra:  A city worthy of closer inspection by Ben Webster in The Telegraph (May 2004)

A few collocations/phrases worth noting down from this text…

• “the city has a great deal to offer” (tourists/visitors)
• “as I wandered along its medieval cobbled alleyways…” – Why do you think the writer used “wandered” rather than “walked”?
• “an eye-catching new bridge”
• “Coimbra is richly endowed with with cultural and historical sights”
• “Perched on a hill overlooking the city, the main building was originally a 10th-century Moorish fortress and dominates the city’s skyline.”  (Check the meaning of “perched” – why did the writer choose this word rather than “located.”
•  “…the reward…(of walking up “the steep climb” to the top of the hill)…is a spectacular view over Coimbra…”
• “What struck me most…was…”

From the world to your plate – Portuguese cuisine is a celebration of the nation’s tradition of exploration – and worth a journey of its own by Tilly Culme-Seymour in The Independent (September 2011)

Coimbra, Portugal:  A cultural guide by Tim Pozzi in The Telegraph (June 2011)

A Portuguese university town, both familiar and foreign by Seth Kugel in The New York Times (January 2012)

And (a little) further afield…

Reader’s Tips:  Secret Portugal in The Guardian (April 2011)

Go the whole hog in Portugal (Mealhada) by Simon Majumdar in The Guardian (September 2010)

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