Letter: Giving advice

1. Giving advice.

Look at the example:

imperative or something might
will/won't
happen
Take an umbrella or you might
get wet.

 

Match the parts of the sentences below.

2. Prepositions of place.

Use the prepositions in the box below to complete these sentences from the feng shui article.

Now listen to how these words are pronounced.

3. Read.

Read the text below about feng shui and the office.

Office Blues?

As in the home, the way we organise the places where we work can have a significant effect on how we feel, how we work and even the success of our business. Applying feng shui to the office is, in many ways, similar to the home and the same ideas apply – lots of space and light, for example. Here are a few more ideas about how to get the most out of your office.

The organisation of the office
When people come to see us in our offices, we want them to feel welcome and relaxed and we need to organise the space to help this to happen. Don't sit with your back to the door. Make a nice space for people to wait in when they come to see you.

Light
Windows can help us to connect with nature. The light they give has a very positive effect on our work. If you have no windows or only small ones, put up relaxing pictures of mountains and rivers to look at. Try to organise the office so you can see out of the window.

Keep it simple
This is vital. Don't fill the office with an incredible amount of furniture, shelves, books and papers. Lots of space is important for the energy to flow freely in our office.

Follow our advice and watch your business grow!

Which of the ideas below are mentioned in the text?

4. A letter.

Read the letter sent to a magazine about organising office furniture and asking for advice.

Dear Sir,

About a year ago I moved into a new, bigger office. But since then my business hasn't been doing very well. I feel uncomfortable in the office, and my friends also say they don't like the atmosphere there. Then I saw a magazine article about feng shui and the positive effects that it can have on where we work.

As I said, my office is quite big and it's got lots of furniture, computers and filing cabinets in it. There are two doors on each side of the office and a couple of windows. Outside in the hall are some seats where visitors can sit and wait to see me. Although I've been here for a year, because I've been so busy I haven't decorated the room or put any objects or ornaments in it, so it looks a bit boring.

Can you help?

Yours,

Look at these diagrams. Which one shows the office where Adam works?

3. Write.

1. A letter about feng shui.

You are a feng shui expert. Write a letter to Adam and explain what he can do to make his office a better place to work.

Use the information in exercise 3 and in Adam's letter in exercise 2 to help you. Also look in the Forum to see if there is any information about feng shui and the office that might help you. Look again at the language that you have studied in this unit to help you write your letter.

Here are some useful expressions to help you write your letter:

Don't sit with your back to the door or people won't feel comfortable when they come to visit.
Put pictures of mountains and rivers on the walls.
A spacious, light office is very good.
One thing you could try is ...
Another possibility would be to ...
Finally, is it possible for you to…?

Write about 150 words. Check spelling, grammar and organisation carefully.