1 mm Ill 4 r IN THIS UNIT YOU LEARN HOW TO: • talk about habits • describe films, books and music • politely disagree with opinions • talk about pictures and art • tell stories and discuss plots SPEAKING 1 Work in pairs. Look at the photo and discuss the questions. • Where do you think the place is? Would you want to read in a place like this? Why? / Why not? • Do you usually take a book with you when you're travelling or do you prefer e-book readers? ■ What's the nicest or most unusual place that you've spent time reading in? 2 Change partners. Tell each other about your other interests and how you spend your free time. Think about TV, music, films, sport and hobbies. Find five things that you have in common. \ i LISTENING I Listen to the answers to eight questions such as Do you read much? or Do you watch TV much? Listen and decide which Do you ... much ? questions were asked. GRAMMAR Habits : Weuse the present and pas: smp s and a n_n!:er of different structures such as fend to and used to to talk about habits. We use words and phrases such as rarely, all the time and not as much as I'd like to to show how often. 3 In Exercise 2, find: 1 two ways we talk about a past habit. 2 one verb that describes a current habit - it means usually or generally. 3 two other structures we use to talk about current habits. 4 phrases that mean always, (not) normally, sometimes and almost never. Ü39 I Listen and complete the sentences with the expressions and structures used to talk about habits. 1 I don't_during the week, though. 2 Ypah,__My headphones are glued to my ears! Not as much. , because I really love , to be honest. I guess I might in the 5 I don't pay much attention to it most of the time. _a big game, if there's one on. 6 Yeah, I guess so. I usually play football on a Wednesday and I go running__ . I tend to watch films on demand through my TV at home. Not as much as I__I was addicted to this online game, until my parents banned me. I_sometimes play for five hours a day! 4 Complete the sentences about your own leisure interests. Then find out about your partner. How much do you have in common? 1 I... all the time. 2 I don't... as much as I used to because ... 3 I tend to... at the weekends and now and again I... 4 As a rule, I don't..., but I will if... 5 I used to... a lot. I'd ... Q For further practice, see page 166 and do Exercise 2. 5 Write five Do you ...much? questions about other areas. Think about: • work • study • holiday • eating • family Then find out about your partner. Use some of the structures from Exercise 2 in your answer. VOCABULARY Describing films, music and books When we describe things, we often use pairs of adjectives that have similar meanings to emphasise what we mean. We sometimes repeat the same adverb with each adjective. It's very moving - just very, very sad. It's great, absolutely amazing. 6 Complete the sentences with these words. DEVELOPING CONVERSATIONS awful disturbing hilarious uplifting catchy dull over-the-top weird > commercial gripping 1 It does nothing for me. It's quite boring, quite 2 It's one of those tunes that's very easy to remember - very__ 3 It's_-just really, really funny. 4 It didn't do much for me. It's typical big-budget Hollywood - very__ 5 I can't explain it. It's really strange - really__ 6 It's just too much for my liking - really__ 7 You can't stop reading. It's so exciting, so_! 8 It's good, but it's quite upsetting - quite__ 9 It's a really inspiring story, really__ 10 Don't go and see it! It's dreadful, absolutely PRONUNCIATION 7 DD Listen to the sentences from Exercise 6. Notice when you stress the adverb. Repeat the sentences. 8 Write at least two words or phrases that you associate with each adjective in the box in Exercise 6. awful - leave before the end I hate I waste of money 9 Tell a partner the words you thought of. Your partner should guess the adjective. LISTENING 10 IZI Listen to two people talking about films and decide which statement is true. 1 They agree on everything. 2 They agree on most things. 3 They don't agree on very much. 4 They don't agree on anything. 11 IZ1 Take notes about the two speakers to answer these questions. Listen again to check. 1 Do they go to the cinema much? 2 What kind of films are they mainly into? 3 Have they seen any films recently? 4 What did they think of them? Disagreeing politely You heard the speakers disagree with viewpoints like this: -( s ■ t0 be honest I'm not that keen on. " ■ a bit too . for my liking t . i not i cally my kind of thing Tii' Hj i . '\ i '\ ' '. j. ' ( ;/suppose .'.111 11-11. Ill ■• - Ml ' " ■- iii ■' I" i iii li i My ' ' i ^'i v- |--n c i ii .j 12 Look at three short conversations. Soften B's responses using some of the ideas above. 1 A: I'm really into 60s music. The Beatles, The Stones, stuff like that. B: Yeah? I don't like it. It's the kind of stuff my dad listens to. 2 A: Do you like Tarantino? I love his films. B: He's all right, but I'm not keen on his films. They're very over-the-top. 3 A: Have you ever read any Paulo Coelho? His books are fantastic. B: I've read one. It was OK, but it didn't do much for me. PRONUNCIATION 13 m Listen to the example conversations. Notice the stress and intonation. Repeat them. 14 Write some responses to these sentences, disagreeing politely. Practise them in pairs. 1 I love Harry Potter and stuff like that. 2 I'm really Into opera. It's fantastic. 3 I love any reality TV show. CONVERSATION PRACTICE 15 Work in pairs. Have conversations about your habits using the guide below. Then swap roles. Ask question: Do you read / listen to music I go to the cinema I watch TV much? Ask follow-up question: What kind of stuff ore you into? ,Answer, giving as full an ^answer as possible.__ Have you ever seen I read...? What other things do you] {read/watch?etc. j >a JDo/?'f you find it a bit...? etc. ■< 1 To watch the video and do the activities, see the DVD-ROM- 8 Unit 1 Entertainment 9 IN THE PICTURE SPEAKING 1 Read the quotations about art. Then discuss in pairs what you think each quotation means. How far do you agree with each one? Explain why. % Art is the lie that enables us to realise the truth. SS % Modern art = I could do that + Yeah, but you didn't. 9 / ^ ® Advertising is the greatest art form of the 20th century. J % Art is what you can get away with. ^ ® The urge to destroy is also a creative urge, y 4 The more minimal the art, the longer the explanation. 9 Art never responds to the wish to make it democratic; it is not for everybody; it is only for those who are willing to undergo the effort needed to understand it. ^ VOCABULARY Talking about pictures 2 Look at the painting below. With a partner, discuss who the character might be and what you think is happening. Read the definitions. Discuss which adjectives could describe the painting above. 1 Bold colours are very bright, strong and clear, whereas subtle colours are not strong or bright. They're softer and more delicate. 2 If a painting is conventional, it's traditional and not new or different in any way. 3 If a painting is dramatic, it contains a lot of exciting action. 4 If it's atmospheric, a painting creates a special mood - such as a feeling of romance or mystery. 5 Abstract paintings show an artist's feelings or thoughts, whereas realistic paintings show real objects or events. 6 If it's ambiguous, the meaning of the work isn't clear - it's open to interpretation. 7 An intimate painting shows private moments in someone's life. Which of these sentences about the painting do you agree with? 1 The main character has his back to the viewer, which creates a feeling of mystery. 2 He looks as if he's thinking about killing himself. 3 He's obviously a sad and lonely man. 4 He seems to be the most important thing in the painting. 5 He appears to be looking for something better than what he has. 6 He looks very proud. I get the impression he feels very pleased with himself. 7 He looks like a very wealthy man. 8 It must be somewhere in Europe. It could well be France. Cover Exercise 4. Complete the sentences about other paintings using words and phrases from Exercise 4. 1 I think It could, this picture. 2 Everyone looks. _ be Spain or Italy in .they're having a really good time in this picture. 3 I get the_she's been crying. She _really upset. 4 They've_just moved in and are redecorating the whole flat, from the look of it. 5 They_all be students. That looks _a university canteen to me. 6 Everyone in this picture_to be queuing or waiting for something. LISTENING 6 Work in pairs. Use language from Exercises 3 and 4 to discuss the following questions. • What do you think the paintings on page 11 show? • Who do you think the people in the two paintings might be? • How do you think they're feeling - and why? • What might the connection between the two works be? I Listen to a guide in a gallery telling visitors about the two paintings on page 11. Which five adjectives from Exercise 3 does the guide use? HI Listen again. Answer the questions. 1 Where was the artist from? 2 Was he well known when he was alive? 3 In what way are the two paintings connected? 4 In what way might the viewer's first impression of the paintings be wrong? 5 Why did the painter include the globe and the Turkish rug? 6 Why did the painter include the two paintings within these paintings? 10 GRAMMAR 9 Look at these examples from the talk in Exercise 7. Then work in pairs to complete the rules below. , some people will just think it's. _ some will like it and it may even but_ change the way they think, (obvious / hopeful / weird) _, Picasso's work was quite realistic, but it soon changed and _____ became more and Adjectives and adverbs ■"Adjectives- ■ ■ ■ ■ ■...... ..... a symbol of the difficult, stormy nature of love - : she looks calm and content Adverbs ........ ...... Look carefully and you'll notice that .;. These may look like fairly conventional, fairly realistic pieces, Sadly, though, he died at the age of 37. : 1 Adjectives are often used before I after nouns. Adjectives are also often used before I after the verbs be, look, become, seem, get, taste, etc. to describe the subject of the verb. 2 Most adverbs are formed by adding_to the adjective, but some have the same form as the adjective: fast, hard and later. Adverbs can be used to modify verbs,_, other adverbs and whole clauses or sentences. Q Check your ideas on page 167 and do Exercise 1. 10 Complete the sentences using the adjectives in brackets. Change the adjectives into adverbs where necessary. 1 _, van Gogh sliced his ear off while suffering from ' depression. 6 There is a. _. (experimental / gradual / initial) .debate about these_ Chinese prints, because, well,_, they were stolen before they were donated to the museum, (frank / heated / amazing) PRONUNCIATION 11 OB Listen and notice the stress on the adverbs and the slight pause that follows. Repeat the sentences. (severe/famous) 2 The painting was _ fire and,_ _damaged in a , it couldn't be restored. (severe / unfortunate) 3 This_landscape is by the British artist, Kieron Williamson__, he was only nine when he painted this, (amazing / lovely) For further practice, see Exercises 2-4 on page 167. SPEAKING 12 Work in pairs. Student A: look at the painting in File 1 on page 184. Student B; look at the painting in File 17 on page 192. Make notes on the following: • what's happening in the painting • the impression and feelings you have about it • information about the painter and/or people In the picture (you can invent this if you want) • additional comments you want to make about the painter and/or the painting. Start some comments with adverbs such as Interestingly, Sadly, Actually, etc. Now present the picture to your partner. Unit 1 Entertainment 11 TELLING TALES READING 1 Work in pairs. Discuss the questions. . Have you read a book or seen a film recently where the ending was quite predictable? What happens in the story? • How did you know what was going to happen? . Did you still enjoy the story? Why? / Why not? 2 Read the first part of a review of a book about why we tell stories. Answer the questions. 1 Why does the writer claim we often find films predictable? 2 Does the author think this is a problem or not? Why? 3 For one of the 'overcoming the monster' stories mentioned, think about: a what or who is the monster or baddie? b what community is threatened? c what challenge does the monster present? d what special weapon does the hero have? e does the monster have a fatal flaw? f how or where is the hero trapped and how does he escape? g what is the final reward? 3 Look at the names of four of the other plots. Check the words in bold in a dictionary. Then discuss which sentences might go with which plot. • Comedy • Voyage and Return • Rags to Riches • Tragedy 1 The central character is destroyed by committing suicide or by a relative of the victim seeking revenge. 2 People disguise themselves (including men as women and vice versa) or pretend to be someone different. 3 The hero is living in poverty or being bullied by a baddie. 4 The hero encounters a problem which reveals a dark side to the new world. 5 The couple are bound to get together but can't see it. 6 The baddie asserts their power or society presents an obstacle preventing the hero becoming successful. 7 Back in the normal world, the hero has gained a new insight that makes them a better person. 8 The hero gets away with the bad deed and enjoys the rewards. 4 Work in pairs. You will each read about two plots. Check your ideas from Exercise 3 and tell your partner. Student A: read the text in File 2 on page 185. Student B: read the text in File 7 on page 186, Indiana Jonas-tha new hero from the creators of JAWS and STAR WARS. .....KVSKNKWO WKNAIIElJ-tmfMENWJ RCfBUJWCEY JM FtnSOWES CENHOMBUOTT 5 Explain each plot you read without looking at the texts. Your partner should say the name of a story with that plot. 6 Work in pairs. Discuss the questions. 1 The two other plots Christopher Booker describes are called Quest and Rebirth. What do you think they might involve? 2 Do you agree with Booker that the best stories follow the basic plots? Why? / Why not? 3 Can you think of any stories that don't follow these plots? What do you think of those stories? LISTENING 7 HI Listen to someone explaining a story. Try to decide what plot it fits. 8 Think of a book, film or other story you like which might fit one of the plots. Explain the story. Your partner should ask questions to help you. When you have finished, your partner should guess the name of the story and/or the kind of plot. HEARD IT ALL BEFORE Ever been watching a film or reading a book and had the feeling you've heard it all before? You know the boy's going to get the girl, the baddie J - the bad guy - is going to lose or be killed, or the team will win their last game. What's really surprising is that we don't have this feeling more often, because, according to Christopher Booker's brilliant book Why We Tell Stories, nearly all stories are based around just seven basic plots and in each plot we see the same character types and the same typical events over and over again. . Take the first plot, which Booker calls Overcoming the Monster, Stories of this kind all have several . common features. A community is threatened by a monster or 'baddie' and a hero is called to save it. The hero prepares to meet the monster and is either given a special weapon or Learns about a particular weakness that the monster has -its fatal flaw. The hero approaches the monster and initially everything goes according to plan. The hero confronts the monster for the first time and is frustrated. They realise the huge challenge that the monster presents. There is a nightmare stage. The hero is trapped and faces death. Finally, the hero makes an amazing escape, succeeds in destroying the monster usually with the help of their special weapon or by exploiting the monster's only weakness. They are rewarded and order is restored. You can see these features in ancient myths like Perseus killing Medusa or George and the Dragon, religious stories like David defeating the?giant Goliath, modern tales like Dracula or Harry Potter, and films such as Jaws, Star Wars or James Bond movies. Booker argues that we don't Eire of these plots because they fulfil a deep psychological need for love and moral order. Indeed, where stories don't follow these plots, we may find them unsatisfying or they may reveal issues in the author and society that produced them.