Extra fast finishers. How an old idea has become the new hi p

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1 4 6 xtra fast finishers Reading 1 Read the article about upcycling. Five sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences ( F) the one which best fits each gap (1 5). here is one extra sentence. How an old idea has become the new hi p f you make an effort to recycle all your household waste, you probably think that you re doing your bit to help the environment. 1 But what is upcycling, and why is it better than recycling? he problem with recycling is that it s a destructive process. First of all, it takes consumer goods and breaks them down into their base materials metal, glass, etc. hese materials are then used in new consumer products, which are very often of inferior quality to the original. 2 t is based on the principle of taking things as they are and using them in new and often beautiful ways. simple example would be making a vase out of an old tin can. lthough you may never have heard of the word upcycling before, people have actually been upcycling for centuries since it has always been a necessity for families who are struggling to make ends meet. 3 vidently, if they hadn t suffered such grinding poverty, they wouldn t have needed to be so resourceful and to re-purpose nearly all their possessions. Perhaps surprisingly, upcycling is making a comeback today, but not for the same reasons as before. ome people do it for the fun of it and to satisfy their creative urges. 4 But perhaps the main reason is that people nowadays are more environmentally aware and don t like to throw good stuff away if they can turn it into something useful. fter reading all of this, you may be thinking, wish had the time to upcycle, but it just isn t a practical option for me. However, a solution is at hand! f you haven t got the time to upcycle, you can still support the idea by buying goods from outlets which sell products made from upcycled materials. 5 o, either as an active upcycler or as a consumer, why not give it a try? s soon as you start, you ll wonder why you d never done it before! Others make up their mind to start upcycling because they re fed up with the consumerism in modern society. B lthough it s certainly better to recycle than to put all your rubbish in one bag, there s actually a much better alternative upcycling. C t s often the case that ideas which are supposedly new have actually been around for a long time. D Fortunately, more and more of them are opening every year. Upcycling, on the other hand, is a creative process. F For example, during the Great Depression in merica in the 1930s, people turned their worn out clothes into patchwork quilts, and old doors reappeared as the new dining room table. 2 Read the article again and answer the questions in your own words. 1 ccording to the text, is recycling a bad idea? xplain your answer. 2 What is the advantage of upcycling compared to recycling? 3 Why is upcycling nothing new? 4 What are the three main reasons why people upcycle nowadays? 5 ccording to the text, in what two ways can we make upcycling part of our daily lives? 28 nglish plus Upper-ntermediate xtra fast finishers Units 4 6 OXFORD UNVRY PR PHOOCOPBL

2 xtra fast finishers 4 6 Reading Music ma tters B C You dance to it. You relax to it. You tap your feet to it. You even build friendships around it. Music truly is the international language, and it has been so for thousands of years. f it didn t exist, many of life s pleasures would diminish or disappear completely. Now, researchers are starting to pinpoint the precise ways in which music affects us, and the benefits it brings. Here s what they have found out. n an experiment to look into the effects of music on mood, people were played different kinds of music and then shown a picture of a face with a neutral expression. he people who d listened to cheerful music reported seeing the face as happy, whereas those who d listened to melancholy music said that it was sad-looking. o it seems the kind of music we listen to can affect how we view the world study revealed that if children learn a musical instrument for more than three years, they perform better in language, logic and memory tests. Furthermore, a separate piece of research showed that doing regular two-handed piano exercises for just two weeks can make the left and right-hand D sides of the brain work more in harmony. People who listen to music while working or studying also focus on tasks better than when they are in a music-free environment. tudies indicate that the volume has to be just right, though. f you turn it up too high, the music will be a distraction; if it s too low, on the other hand, the music won t have any effect at all. ports scientists have known for a long time that people exercise better when listening to music which has a strong, fast beat. hey believed at first that this was due to music being a distraction from discomfort, but it has now been proved that people actually use less oxygen when running or cycling to music. People also drive more safely with music than without it. n this case, though, it s the choice of music that matters, not the beat or the volume. t seems that people drive more carelessly when they listen to music they love, so the safest drivers are those who listen to music that they don t react strongly to. Finally, music can help us to de-stress at the end of the day. t doesn t really matter what kind of music you listen to when you want to chill out, as long as the tempo isn t too lively and it arouses positive feelings in you. 1 You are going to read an article about music. For questions 1 10, choose from the paragraphs ( ). he paragraphs may be chosen more than once. n which paragraph does the writer mention 1 how music can help us to do better in certain types of exams? 2 how music can help to make us fitter? 3 the universal appeal of music? 4 how music can change our perception of people and reality? 5 the type of music to play to relax? 6 what scientists are trying to do nowadays? 7 how music can help us to concentrate? 8 the type of music motorists should play? 9 life without music? 10 the effects of happy and sad music on us? 2 Read the article again and answer the questions in your own words. 1 What evidence is there that music affects how we look at others? 2 What are two beneficial effects of playing a musical instrument? 3 What is better for our concentration, listening to music played at a very low volume or not listening to any music at all? xplain your answer. 4 n what way were scientists wrong about music in the past, and how have they changed their views? 5 Why is the type of music we should listen to when driving and when relaxing very different? OXFORD UNVRY PR PHOOCOPBL nglish plus Upper-ntermediate xtra fast finishers Units

3 4 6 xtra fast finishers Writing 1 Read a review of a visit to a museum and choose the correct alternatives to complete the text. When was in Washington, spent half a day at the Newseum, 1 which/that/what/who is a museum about news and journalism. only decided to go because a friend told me that 2 shouldn t miss/should have missed/didn t have to miss/might have missed it if was ever in the city. Despite this, wasn t sure how interesting it would be 3 but/as/so/for m not keen 4 on/for/ to/by museums. he first thing you see when you go in is the News History Gallery, which has the front pages of newspapers from around the world announcing major events in history. t was amazing 5 see/for see/to see/at seeing the actual headlines about the sinking of the itanic and the fall of the Berlin Wall. wish we 6 learnt/had learnt/would learn/would have learnt history by looking at real-life sources like this when was at school! he exhibition of prize-winning news photographs was great too because it helped me appreciate how news photographers make world events come alive. However, for me the best part of the museum was the nteractive Newsroom, 7 how/where/which/that you can try being a journalist. recorded myself doing a live broadcast from the moon! t was really good 8 fun/laugh/enjoy/time! On the negative side, in my opinion it costs too much to get in. Furthermore, it would be good if the museum 9 has/would have/had/would have had a more international focus, as it s very U-based. ven so, overall d rate it eight out of ten. f you re interested in the media and in current affairs, you 10 love/ ll love/ ll be loving/ ll have loved it! t s certainly changed the way think about the media and it s definitely one of the best museums ve ever been to. idan Higgins 2 Read the notes idan Higgins made on his visit to the Newseum. hen read the review again and put the points he mentions in the correct order (1 5). He does not mention two of the points. My visit to the Newseum a Making my own news report! b Playing a digital news game. c My overall opinion: good, but expensive. d Why went. e What the building s like. f Great photos! 3 Complete the text. Use the highlighted expressions in idan s review to help you. One of them is not necessary. 1 you notice when you go into the British Museum is that it s much bigger inside than it seems on the outside. o, make sure you pick up a map when you come in 2 it s easy to get lost! his museum really makes the ancient world 3 as it s got artefacts from different civilizations going back almost two million years! 4, you ll need to be selective as to what you chose to see as in total the museum has over three and a half million exhibits. Overall, 5 it 10 out of 10. 6, it s an absolute must-see if you have the chance to go. g Old newspapers: fascinating! 4 Write a review ( words) for an nglish-language website of a museum, an art gallery or a theme park you have been to. alk about its good and bad points and say if you would recommend it. 30 nglish plus Upper-ntermediate xtra fast finishers Units 4 6 OXFORD UNVRY PR PHOOCOPBL

4 xtra fast finishers 4 6 Writing 1 You are going to read a story of how teenager Jamie Hutton overcame stage fright. For questions 1 10, write one word which best fits each gap. 2 Read the story again. n which paragraph does Jamie mention 1 his fears when he first heard about the audition? 2 his first experience of stage fright? 3 his opinion of his audition? 4 why what happened in class was strange? 5 dealing with his emotions on the day of the audition? 3 Find words or expressions in the story which 1 speak directly to the reader (paragraph ) 2 introduce the action (paragraph B) 3 move the story forward (paragraph C) 4 express contrast (paragraph D) 5 introduce an opinion (paragraph ) 4 Underline three examples of reported speech in the story. Rewrite the words said in direct speech. 1 (paragraph ) 2 (paragraph C) 3 (paragraph D) d never have believed it 1 someone had told me a year ago that was going to suffer from stage fright. You see, ve always been into singing and dancing, and ve never had any problems performing in front of an audience. However, all of that changed a few months 2 B t all started when had to give a two-minute presentation, 3 was about why m a vegetarian, to the rest of my class. lthough was feeling confident, when stood up 4 speak, something went seriously wrong: my mouth went dry and my legs started shaking. C omehow got through the presentation. hen, a few days later, our drama teacher told us that she would be holding auditions for the school play the following week. really wanted to take part in the play 5 couldn t stop thinking about how had felt during my presentation. f the same thing happened to me again, my audition 6 be a disaster. D he following uesday, was about to do my audition 7 started to feel nervous and physically sick. However, told myself that if had any negative feelings, mustn t listen to them and that had to think positively. o took a deep breath, went on stage, and in the 8 acted pretty well. didn t get a very good part in the play. 9 this, for me the audition was a great success 10 managed to overcome my stage fright. hope my story encourages anyone reading this who also suffers from this problem. Jamie Hutton 5 Match the beginnings (1 5) to the endings (a f) to make sentences. 1 t all started a did a terrible audition. 2 Until now ve never had any problems b but in the end the school didn t do one. 3 lthough m good at acting, c so don t like speaking in public. 4 wanted to act in the play, d when had to give a speech at my dad s 5 m a shy person 60 th birthday party. e being the centre of attention. 6 Write a story ( words) about an important or memorable event in your life. Describe what happened and why it was important or memorable to you. OXFORD UNVRY PR PHOOCOPBL nglish plus Upper-ntermediate xtra fast finishers Units

5 4 6 xtra fast finishers peaking 1a n pairs. magine that you are going to advertise a new perfume for women. Here are some ideas for where to advertise it. Discuss these ideas and then decide which one would be best. on V on the nternet on a billboard at a bus stop What would the best place be to advertise a new perfume for women? in a women s magazine on the radio Useful language What do you think about? Do you think that advertising would be effective? Do you think that would be a good idea? Let me see. think / would say that n my opinion, Personally, think m sure that hat s difficult to say. Well, suppose m not quite sure about Yes, agree. / don t really agree because 1b magine you want to sell your bike. How would you go about advertising it, and why? 2 Now ask and answer the questions. 1 Do you like shopping for clothes? Why?/Why not? 2 Do you think it s dangerous to use a credit card to buy things online? Why?/Why not? 3 Who is the most consumerist person in your family? Why? 4 Do you think adverts aimed at young children (e.g. adverts for toys) should be banned? Why?/Why not? 5 Would you like to work in advertising? Why?/Why not? 32 nglish plus Upper-ntermediate xtra fast finishers Units 4 6 OXFORD UNVRY PR PHOOCOPBL

6 xtra fast finishers 4 6 peaking tudent 1 Prepare clues for the words in the crossword. Use defining relative clauses. xample: 13 down hey re pieces of music that have words. (songs) across down tudent B 1 Prepare clues for the words in the crossword. Use defining relative clauses. xample: 1 across hese are the people who you enjoy hanging out with. (friends) across down 1 F 2 1 F R N D 2 3 C N M 3 4 R 4 O U R D 5 5 H V 6 6 U N M 8 L V 9 L G H 10 G U R 7 8 R 9 L 10 U 7 Y G B M 11 U M U 13 C N 14 B O N R C K 16 N G 16 F N N G D 17 P O P R 17 2 sk tudent B to define the missing words in your crossword. When you think of the word, write it in the crossword. sk your partner if you need help. xample: What s 15 across? B t s a piece of music that a band or singer records. What s the last letter? B k s it track? B Yes, it is. 2 sk tudent to define the missing words in your crossword. When you think of the word, write it in the crossword. sk your partner if you need help. xample: B What s 17 across? t s a famous singer or musician who performs pop music. B What s the first letter? p B s it pop star? Yes, it is. OXFORD UNVRY PR PHOOCOPBL nglish plus Upper-ntermediate xtra fast finishers Units