Unit objectives Grammar Present perfect; review of used to; review of future predictions Vocabulary Areas of life; expressions of agreement and disagreement change [ tʃeindʒ] n. 1. the process of becoming something different. 2. something new or different; something that replaces something else. Vocabulary Areas of life 1 a b 2 a b 3 a Vocabulary reference page 19 b 4 a b 5 a b 6 a b Match the words to the pairs of pictures and discuss which decade you think each picture represents. entertainment health and fitness house and home fashion travel communication Spoken interaction and production 1 Work in pairs. How important to you is each area of life in the Vocabulary? How much of your free time do you spend on each one? Draw a pie chart showing your own preferences. Then explain it to your partner. travel fashion communication entertainment As you can see, I spend a lot of time on health and fitness. I run in the park every night. house and home health and fitness Pre-task Look at the pictures again and make notes on how our world has changed in each of the six areas. Write sentences about the ways that our life has or has not improved. Think about the following categories: comfort time efficiency stress style romance Going to the cinema used to be quite uncomfortable; the seats were hard and people smoked all the time, whereas now the seats are great and no one can smoke. 14
Listening 1 Changes in our lifetime 1 2.1 Listen to Tom and Ruth discussing improvements in life. Which areas of life from the Vocabulary do they talk about? Are their opinions similar to those that you have discussed? 2 Listen again and decide who these sentences refer to. Write T (Tom) or R (Ruth). 1 He/She thinks films used to be better. 2 He/She thinks that the age of a film is not important. 3 He/She hasn t been to the cinema recently. 4 He/She thinks people are healthier now. 5 He/She partly agrees with him/her. 6 He/She says a lot fewer people smoke now. 7 He/She doesn t think his/her country will follow Australia s example. 8 He/She disagrees. Grammar Review of present perfect, used to, future predictions Grammar reference page 7 1 Correct these sentences from Listening 1. 1 Cinema used be quality, not like the action films we have now. 2 Well, I haven t see a really good film for ages! 3 Um, let me think. I ve go to the cinema once. 4 Numbers are decreased dramatically since the days when I was young. 5 Studies have shown that smoking is going disappear completely from Australia. 6 Well, I don t think it will be happen here in Britain. 2 2.2 Listen and check. 5 Could these statements be yours? How close do they come to your own situation? Compare with a partner. I used to play a lot of video games but now I don t. I ve had my mobile phone for more than a year. It s much better than the last one I had. 3 Each of the following rules applies to a different sentence in exercise 1. Match the rules to the sentences. a A situation or activity that happened in the past and doesn t now. b A personal prediction for the future with no evidence. c A prediction based on evidence. d The present result of an action in the past. e A situation or activity at an unspecified time in the past. f A situation that started in the past and continues now. 4 Complete the sentences with the verb in the correct form. Compare with a partner. Justify your choices. 1 I (wear) this leather jacket since I was at university. 2 Back in the 50s, people (think) that smoking caused no health problems. 3 Gary won t be coming because he (have) a car accident. Nothing serious, fortunately. 4 Do you remember how big calculators (be)? 5 After overhearing my boss, I think (lose) my job. 6 We (move) three times since coming to live in London. 7 In a few years mobiles probably (fit) in your wallet. I ve had my hair cut. It s different from the last time I came to class. I used to go to the gym every day, but now I m too busy. As a child, we spent our holidays in my country, but as an adult I ve travelled abroad a few times. I m going to speak English almost perfectly within five years. I ll find a new and better job before Christmas. 15
Reading 1 Changing social trends 1 List the qualities that you think women find attractive in men. The rise of the Metrosexual was written about at the start of the Noughties. Those men who looked as though they were taking care of their skin as well as their children. That well-known footballer was held up as an example. The typical image of a perm and shell suit went and we saw men with soft floppy hair and beautiful clothes. They hung around with women and shopping was their passion. But in the mid-decade, things have changed again. Now we have the rise of the Ubersexual. These are men who are not afraid to be in control and 2 Read the article and see if they are the ones mentioned in the article. men The changing face of successful, can wear suits with style but are not fashion plates. You know, they have a sense of humour but are also politically involved; they have passion and compassion. Women are celebrating the return of real men, but anyone who thinks this means sports, beer and burgers has the wrong idea. These new men are ones who exercise their brains, drink quality wines, know about culture and travel, not to the hippest Caribbean islands, but to European capitals. They treat women with respect and are often dedicated family men, but their best friends are men. So who are they? Bono and George Clooney are consistently voted at the top of lists of the sexiest men alive, but, in addition to this, there are rumours that Bono might win a Nobel Peace prize, and George Clooney has recently made a film about the McCarthy era. When the Fox Network in the US published the list of the top ten there were more Americans than any other nationality, but I m sure there are some near you. Fashions come and go but it looks as though masculinity with a capital M is back in style. 3 Read the article again and answer true (T) or false (F). Correct the false statements. 1 Footballers became more stylish in the 21 st century. 5 Ubersexuals show interest in things they 2 Metrosexuals are not interested in fashion. have to think about. 3 Both Metrosexuals and Ubersexuals like women. 6 Only American men are on the Fox list. 4 The writer thinks real men are those who like sports. Study skills Vocabulary from context 1 Look at the sentence in the first paragraph which begins The typical image. What do you think perm and shell suit mean? 2 Look at the sentence They wear suits with style but are not fashion plates. What do you think a fashion plate is? Spoken interaction 2 Work in groups and discuss these questions. 1 Who do you think the famous footballer is? 2 Why do you think Ubersexuals are overtaking Metrosexuals in popularity? 3 Who else do you think was on the list? 4 Who would you nominate? Give reasons. 3 Look at the sentence beginning These new men. What do you think hippest means? 16
Language Bites Expressions of opinion, agreement and disagreement 1 In each column, which phrase is more formal and which is informal? Write F or I. Expressing opinion Asking for opinion Agreeing Disagreeing I imagine What d you reckon? I agree. No way! You know what I think? What s your view? Yeah, you re right. That s not true. 2 2.3 Listen to each expression spoken in two different ways. Note down the best intonation in each case, A or B? 3 2.4 Listen and complete the missing parts of the statements and responses. Practise saying them, paying attention to your intonation. 1 A: Modern hotels have lost the atmosphere of old ones. 2 buses used to be much more punctual. 3 A: Going to the gym has become fashionable. 4 A: People used to suffer from much less stress. 5 A: Children used to invent their own games, which was much better for them. 6 The Internet is going to stop people socialising. 7 A: Fashionable clothes have lost their sense of fun. 8 I think the world will end this century. 4 Work with a partner. One of you reads out a statement from below, including a phrase to express or ask for opinion. Your partner expresses agreement or disagreement. Remember that intonation is very important. 1 Video mobile phones are pointless. 2 Old houses are much better to live in. 3 We re healthier than we used to be. 4 Fashion in the 80s was great. 5 Keeping fit will be everyone s new hobby. Task preparation and rehearsal 1 Work in pairs. Your teacher will assign you an opinion, either Life has got better or Life has got worse. Follow the steps below. Look at your given point of view and look back at the notes you made on the first page of the unit. Think of either the advantages or disadvantages of change in these areas. Think about how you can use these points to argue your case. You can also use any of the ideas that you have seen in later exercises. Choose the most compelling arguments and prepare reasons to support your case. Try to anticipate the ideas that will be opposed to yours and think of ways to argue against them. 2 In your pairs, one person explains his or her arguments and the other tries to argue against them. Practise discussing these for or against arguments until you are happy with them. Make sure you use the language you have seen on the previous pages. Think about how you can improve your arguments before the discussion. Task performance 1 Join with another pair who have the opposite point of view. Try to convince them to change their minds. 2 Give feedback to the class as a whole about how your debate has gone, and any conclusions you have reached. 17
Task follow-up What is your real opinion on these subjects? Discuss the following questions: Are you happy with how the world has changed in your lifetime or do you prefer the world as it used to be? From your viewpoint, which things are going to change for the better, and which for the worse? Expression session 1 Look at the underlined expressions and think about their meaning. Use each one to complete the dialogues that follow. Be careful with the tenses. 1 She kissed the frog and suddenly it changed into a handsome prince. 2 Ellie always changes out of her work clothes into something more comfortable in the evening. 3 I really like making changes in my house. Last week I moved all the furniture round in the bedroom. 4 There is no direct train from Madrid to Rome. You have to change in Milan. 5 I hate using communal changing rooms in shops. 6 I hardly ever change my mind about people. I stay with the first impression. 7 If there is someone very tall in front of me in the cinema, I change places with my boyfriend. 8 We always eat Chinese. Let s go to an Indian for a change. 1 A: How do I get to Oxford Circus? B: Take the Northern Line and at King s Cross. 2 A: Can I try it on? B: Yes, the is over there on the left. 3 A: You in here. It looks quite different. B: Yes, I like the new wallpaper, don t you? 4 A: I d like to sit with my son. Would you mind? B: Not at all. 5 A: Come on. Let s have something different. B: OK. But you choose. 6 A: Is your son thirteen? B: Yes, and a real nightmare! He a totally different person overnight. 7 A: I thought you wanted to watch that film on Channel 4 tonight. B: No, I. I d prefer to go out. 8 A: Why don t you your school clothes? B: My jeans are dirty and there s nothing else I want to wear. 2 2.5 Listen and check. Spoken interaction 3 Choose four questions and discuss them in pairs. 1 Have you ever got lost when changing trains in a foreign station? 2 Do you prefer individual or communal changing rooms? 3 Have you made any big changes in your life recently? 4 Do you change out of your work clothes when you get home? 5 What kind of things do you change your mind about? 6 If you could change into a man or a woman for a day, would you? 18
Reading 2 Change in communication? 1 Work in pairs and discuss the similarities and differences between these verbs and expressions. Use your dictionary to help. to have a chat to have a conversation to talk to gossip to have a discussion to text 2 Look at the pictures and talk in pairs about what the people and animals are doing. 3 Read the article and match the summaries (1-4) to the paragraphs (a-d). 1 We don t say much, but the communication is important. 3 4 Various factors mean we don t have casual conversation. Mobile phones keep us connected to other people. 2 In the modern world we have fewer opportunities to communicate. A C The mobile phone has become the modern equivalent of the garden fence or village green. The space-age technology of mobile phones has allowed us to return to the more natural communication of pre-industrial society, when we lived in small, stable communities and enjoyed frequent grooming talk with a tightly integrated social network of family and friends. In the fastpaced modern world, we have become severely restricted in both the quantity and quality of communication with our social network. B Most of us no longer enjoy the cosiness of a gossip over the garden fence. We may not even know our neighbours names, and communication is often limited to a brief slightly embarrassed nod. Families and friends are scattered, and even if our relatives and friends live nearby, we are often too busy or tired to visit. We are constantly on the move, spending much of our time commuting to or from work, either among strangers on trains and buses, or alone and isolated in our cars. These factors are a particular problem for the English, as we tend to be more reserved and socially inhibited than other cultures; we do not talk to strangers or make friends easily. Mobile phones - particularly the ability to send short, frequent, cheap text messages - allow us to communicate quickly, and are a kind of social lifeline in a lonely world. D Think of a typical, brief village-green conversation: Hi, how re you doing? Fine, just off to the shops Oh, how s your mum? Much better, thanks. Oh, good, give her my love. See you later. If you take most of the vowels out of the village-green conversation and scramble the rest of the letters into text-message dialect (HOW R U? C U L8ER), to me it sounds just like a typical SMS or text message exchange; not much is said but a personal connection is made, people are reminded that they are not alone. Until the invention of mobile text-messaging, many of us were having to live without this kind of small but psychologically and socially very important form of communication. 4 Where do you think the extract comes from? Say why. a a newspaper b a novel c a non-fiction book d a magazine 5 Match the words/expressions from the text (1-6) to the definitions (a-f). 1 stable (adj.) a very with a negative meaning 2 tightly integrated (adv. + adj.) b a movement of the head to indicate you have seen the other person 3 severely (adv.) c unchanging 4 cosiness (n.) d warmth and comfort 5 nod (n.) e not close 6 scattered (adj.) f very close 19
6 Read the article again and answer the questions. 1 Why did life change from small, stable communities? 2 Give three reasons why we no longer have cosy gossip. 3 Why does the author think English people have particular problems with communication? 4 Which feature of mobile phones does the author think is most important for quick communication? 7 Read the statements and discuss them in groups. Give examples and reasons. 1 Mobile phones have had a positive effect on communication. 2 The English are reserved and find it difficult to make friends. 3 Communication among families and friends has changed in your society. 4 People spend much more time alone in our society than they used to. 8 Look at these reasons for using your mobile phone. Rank them according to your phone use. 1 Keeping in touch with friends 2 Phoning your family 3 Taking photos 4 Downloading music 5 Texting 6 Playing games 7 Making arrangements 8 Storing information 9 Add two more things you use your mobile for. 10 Work in groups and find someone who has the same first four reasons as you. Listening 2 Progress or decay? 1 Read the two conversations and discuss the differences in style, grammar and vocabulary. In which conversation do you think the people are younger? Why? Brittany: I was like totally shocked. I turned my back and the next thing I know there s some random trying to steal my mobile from my bag. Janet: It s just so not cool to take someone s mobile. So what did you say? Brittany: I was like Hello, that s mine. Karen: I was really shocked. I turned my back and the next thing I saw was that some strange man was trying to steal my mobile from my bag. Jane: What an awful thing to do! What did you say? Karen: I said, Excuse me, that s my mobile. 2 2.6 Listen to the radio discussion on language change and answer the questions. 1 How many callers are there? 2 Tick the aspects of language which are asked about. a Grammar d Formal language b Pronunciation e Correctness c Origin of words 3 Listen again and order the topics. 1 Language changes slowly 2 Language naturally changes to become regular. 3 If grammar has changed and people can understand each other, we should accept new forms. 4 Fewer people are aware of grammar rules these days. 5 TV and young girls have a major influence on change. 4 Read the transcript on page 106. Work in pairs and discuss these questions. 1 Do you agree with Dr Underhill that written language should be more formal and correct than spoken language? Why/why not? Can you think of examples of writing when it s not important? 2 Did you know these facts/rules about countables and uncountables? 3 Is your language changing? Can you think of any examples? 20
Spoken interaction and production 4 1 Working individually, think of one thing you would like to change in each of these areas. 1 Your job 2 The government 3 Your town or city 4 Your relationship 5 Your classroom 2 Work in groups of three to see if any of the proposed changes are the same. 3 Report back to the class on which changes you have in common and who wants to make the biggest change. Pronunciation ch : /tʃ/, /ʃ/ or /k/ 1 2.7 Listen to the three different sounds. 2 Put the words under the correct phoneme. character child chaos champagne change chateau 3 2.8 Listen and check. Pronunciation practice page 27 /tʃ/ /ʃ/ /k/ 4 What do you notice about the words that are pronounced sh? Writing An e-mail Writing guide page 32 You have recently moved abroad to study or work. Write an e-mail to a friend describing how your life has changed and your hopes/plans for the future. Include some of the following topics: where you are now your hobbies and interests things that have happened to you recently asking for news Spoken interaction 5 Discuss the questions in small groups. 1 Would you like to work for an NGO in a developing country? 2 What qualities do you think you would need? Culture clip In 2002 the United Nations reported that more than 5 million refugees were living in countries other than their own, and 22 million were displaced in their own countries. Now try out the activities on the CD-ROM! Dossier Then and now Interview someone over 50 from your own town and write a report on the changes that have taken place. Language portfolio www.mhe-elt.com/platform 21