Read the text below. Use the word given in brackets to form a word that fits the gap.
Every day we have to make important ____________ (decide). It is very hard to make them in ______________ (young), because we are not children, for _________ (who) the world is so simple and not yet adults, who have life experience. In this _______________(transit) period teenagers are very _____________ (change), full of self-criticism, frequent changes of mood, ______________ (satisfy) with their appearance. Teenagers are also easily____________
(influence) by others. And just in this period a great number of people begin to smoke, communicate with _____________ (differ) groups. But I think we should love ___________ (we)in order to find the right way in life and the place in ______________ (social).
Fill in the correct word derived from the word in brackets.
How play has changed
The way children play has changed ______________ (consider) over the last fifty years. In the past, parents did not have to fear the ______________ (safe) of children if they went out to play. Most ______________ (neighbour) were communities in which everyone knew everyone and children could be left to play ______________ (supervise) by adults. In ______________ (add)there was hardly any traffic and a street could be ______________ (easy) transformed into a football pinch or used for a game of tag. ______________ (fortunate) things are very different today. Apart from the fact that our streets are much more ______________ (danger) than they were in the past, the last fifty years have seen the ______________ (create) of more and more sophisticated games, ______________ (include), of course, the thousands of computer games on the market. Too much time spent alone with a computer may damage the child’s ______________ (able) to form friendships with other children.
WRITING
| С1 |
Personal Letter
This is a part of a letter from Pam, your English pen friend.
| …I don’t think it’s fair to make children do household chores because we are too busy at school. And what about you? Do you help you Mum about the house? What kind of things do you have to do? Do you have enough time to do chores? As for my plans for the summer, I’m going to Italy with my friends. We’ll be studying Italian at a summer school. It’s really great! Hope to hear from you soon. Love, Pam |
§ Write back to Pam answering her questions.
§ Ask 3 questions about her trip to Italy.
Write 100-140 words.
Remember the rules of letter writing.
| С2 |
GUIDED WRITING
Argumentative composition
1. Study the example.
2. Paraphrase the following topics for compositions to make the proper introduction part with two points of view on the problem (the first paragraph) to the compositions.
Example:
‘On-line education is a growing industry, but is it a blessing or a curse?’
What is your opinion?
Due to recent technological advances a growing number of people give up the classroom environment and choose to study on-line. Some people claim that distant learning will completely substitute traditional ways of education. However, others argue that there is nothing better than real-life communication with a teacher in the classroom.
- ‘Not all people enjoy a 9 –to -5 working day in office’.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- ‘A lot of parents believe that children watch too much TV’.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________.
- ‘Only the people who earn a lot of money are successful’.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
| С2 |
Argumentative composition
Some people think that social networks can substitute real-life communication.
What is your opinion? Do you agree with this statement?
Write 200-250 words.
Use the following plan
§ make an introduction. (state the problem)
§ express your personal opinion and give 2-3 reasons for your opinion
§ express an opposing opinion and give 1-2 reasons for this opposing opinion
§ express why you don’t agree with the opposing opinion
§ make a conclusion restating your opinion
PARAGRAPH 1. INTRODUCTION
It is almost impossible to live in isolation. People need communication and in modern high tech world it is more and more often tends to take place on-line. Some people are sure that__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. However, others are convinced that __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
PARAGRAPH 2
I strongly believe that (2 – 3 аргумента с подтверждениями или примерами)_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PARAGRAPH 3
On the other hand, some people argue that (противоположная точка зрения с аргументами) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PARAGRAPH 4
I do not agree with the above idea(s) because (объяснить, почему не согласен с идеями из параграфа 3, подтвердить аргументами, не повторяющими параграф 2) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PARAGRAPH 5. CONCLUSION
All things considered, there are two points of view on the possibility of substitution real-life communication for on-line interaction in social networks. To my way of thinking, _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Read the text, learn the vocabulary and discuss
THE PRICE OF FAME.
‘The postman wants an autograph. The cab driver wants a picture.
The waitress wants a handshake. Everyone wants a piece of you.’
John Lennon
Most people find the idea of being famous attractive. The common perception is that celebrities and famous personalities have everything in life. The truth is that there are as many downsides and disadvantages of being a celebrity as there are the number of benefits.
Among major advantages of being a celebrity firstly the fact should be mentioned that celebrities get special treatment wherever they go. From special seats at theatres to special tables at restaurants, celebrities are given the advantage of being the preferred customers everywhere.
Secondly, one of the very obvious advantages of being famous is that fame generally brings with it lots of fortune. Celebrities and other famous people are generally richer than the average person. Luxurious homes and cars, fancy gifts, expensive clothes and other such materialistic pleasures of life convert from a dream to a reality when people become famous. Furthermore, when people become famous, more opportunities arise in life whether career related or not. Being famous definitely opens many doors in life which would have remained shut if fame had not been achieved.
Last but not least celebrities are recognized everywhere they go. This is an advantage because people often draw a massive ego boost when random bystanders recognize them. Fans are the people who adore their celebrity idols. Fan mail and other forms of appreciation that celebrities receive can be inspirational, motivational and very humbling.
But would you actually want to be famous? Many people would, but they don’t always realize how many disadvantages there are for those who live in the public eye. The mass media have created ‘the cult of celebrity’. They just show the enjoyable things about being a star, or the financial benefits, and ignore the problems that go along with it – things like having photographers around you wherever you go, and journalists publish unreliable information and spread rumours. The deepest secrets of you and your family may become public property. Paparazzi follow famous people around in order to take unflattering photos of them in their most intimate moments making it impossible for them to have a private life.
The life of a celebrity can be spoilt by fans who want to know everything about their favourite star. Famous people are often followed or harassed by phone, email or messages by followers who cross the line and become obsessed. Obsession can turn into threats and even physical harm. For example, John Lennon, a famous British singer and a song-writer and a member of ‘the Beatles’ was shot by a crazy man in New York City. That is why famous people often have to disguise themselves and spend much money on security.
However, sometimes even these measures don’t help. Everybody knows the sad story of Princess Diana’s death whose car was pursued by some paparazzi through Paris before the fatal crash. The paparazzi took pictures of the wrecked car before any of them called for help.
Very often celebrities get tired of their stressful lifestyle and feel depressed. They begin smoking, drinking and taking drugs. These are used as an escape or a temporary way of ‘switching off’ – but they do not solve their problems. There are many examples of famous people who died because of alcohol or drugs such as Kurt Cobain or Amy Winehouse.
So publicity doesn’t only lead to fame, success, admiration and richness. It is also the reason of envy, rivalry, jealousy, stress, extreme fatigue and the impossibility to escape public attention. Famous people can't do things that the average person can, can’t afford themselves little pleasures of life, which can be very frustrating indeed.
With this kind of pressure some people do regret making the decision to seek fame. Once you’ve become well-known you can’t go back. Some people have to pay a high price for publicity.
So is it actually worth it? It’s a personal choice.
Read and translate