Текст книги "Steps in Speaking English (Шаги в разговорном английском)"

Е. В. Волкова
Steps in Speaking English (Шаги в разговорном английском)

Lesson I. Topics: Age groups, Life stages, Habits

Vocabulary. Age groups and corresponding institutions.

Baby, toddler11
  toddler – ребёнок, начинающий ходить


[Закрыть], child, pupil, teenager, school leaver22
  school leaver – выпускник школы, абитуриент


[Закрыть], student, high school graduate33
  high school graduate – выпускник университета


[Закрыть], bachelor/graduate student44
  bachelor/graduate student – бакалавр


[Закрыть], master55
  master – магистр


[Закрыть], Doctor of Philosophy/PhD66
  Doctor of Philosophy/PhD – доктор наук


[Закрыть], grown-up, adult, middle-aged, pensioner, old/elderly, nursery school, school, kindergarten, college university, institute, academy, job, army, pensioner's house

Mind the difference:

Institute – an organization having a particular purpose, especially one that is involved with science, education, or a specific profession

University – a high-level educational institution in which students study for degrees

Academy – a society or institution of distinguished scholars and artists or scientists that aims to promote and maintain standards in its particular field

Exercise 1. Answer these questions:

1. What do you think the age range for each time of life is?

2. What is the difference between a baby and a toddler?

3. What is the difference between a child and a teenager?

4. What is your life stage now?

5. What life stage is the happiest?

6. What life stage is the worst?

7. What institutions do people of different age groups attend?

Vocabulary. Life stages.

have children, buy a car, rebel against your parents, get a job, get engaged, have your first kiss, look after your grandchildren, build a house, retire, get married, graduate from university, earn a good salary, learn to drive a car, get a place of your own, army, education, career, family, win a competition, leave school, get the first job, to give birth to a child, to be in love at the first sight

Exercise 2. Answer these questions:

1. What is the typical age in your country to do the things above?

2. Have you ever rebelled against your parents? Why? In what way?

3. What is the ideal first kiss for you?

4. In what age do people usually learn to drive a car?

5. Why don’t young men want to go to the army?

6. What is the best age for having a child?

7. What marks did you leave school with?

8. What should you do for getting a job and earning a good salary?

9. How many children would you like to have?

10. What is more important: family or career?

11. What should be done earlier: getting a place of your own or getting married?

Exercise 3. Speak to other students and find someone who:

– is an only child

– isn’t married

– has got a summer cottage

– has got a car

– hasn’t got children

– lives in an apartment

– doesn’t like chocolate

– can act as a teacher

– can’t play a musical instrument

– enjoyed reading as a child

– can build a house

– gave birth to a child

– can swim

– has a pet

Exercise 4. Read the text.

Naomi Campbell

Naomi Campbell is a British supermodel and actress. She did numerous fashion and beauty campaigns for big brands like Versace, Yves Saint Laurent, H&M, Louis Vuitton, Valentino and others. She is estimated to have acquired a wealth of US$28 million from modeling. But Naomi Campbell was not always rich and famous.

What sort of life did Naomi have as a child?

Naomi Campbell was born in 1970 in Streatham, South London.

In accordance with her mother's wishes, Campbell has never met her father, who abandoned her mother when she was four months pregnant. During her early years, Campbell lived in Rome, where her mother worked as a dancer. At the age of ten, she was accepted into the Italia Academy of Theatre Arts, where she studied ballet.

How did she start her successful career?

Campbell's first public appearance came at the age of seven, in 1978, when she was featured in the music video for Bob Marley's "Is This Love". In 1986, Campbell was scouted by Beth Boldt, head of the model agency. Her career quickly took off – before her sixteenth birthday, she appeared on the cover of British Elle. In January 1990, Campbell was declared as "the reigning megamodel".

What did she do later?

In the mid 1990s, Campbell branched out into other areas of the entertainment industry. Her novel "Swan" about a supermodel was released in 1994. That same year, Campbell released her music album "Babywoman". In 1995, Campbell invested in a chain of restaurants called the Fashion Cafe. Campbell also attempted an acting career.

Exercise 5. Make 3 questions about Naomi Campbell and ask them other students.

Vocabulary. Youth and old age.

do a lot of sport, be always active/energetic, have a lot of hair, be quite slim, not have a girl friend, have a bicycle, not have much money, have elastic pure skin, not do any sport, not have much hair, be overweight, be always tired/worn out, be married, have a car, get a good salary, have wrinkles and pigmentation

Exercise 6. Answer these questions.

1. What did people use to do/have in their youth?

2. What do people do/have in age?

3. How do you see yourself in age? Active or worn out?

Example: People in youth used to do a lot of sport. People in age don’t do any.

Exercise 7. Tell the students about yourself. What did you use to do when you were younger? What do you prefer to do now? Ex.: I used to play hockey when I was younger but now I prefer swimming.

Vocabulary. Bad and good habits.

eat junk food, eat healthily, be mentally active, be a heavy smoker, drink a lot of water, do physical exercises, think positively, go to bed very late, take a lot of medicine, wash hands before eating, bite one's nails77
  bite one's nails – грызть ногти


[Закрыть], blow one's nose88
  blow one's nose – сморкаться


[Закрыть]) drink clean filter water, pick one's nose 99
  pick one's nose – ковырять в носу


[Закрыть], be a heavy drunkard

Exercise 8. Answer these questions.

1. What habits are good/bad?

2. How do habits influence our health?

3. What habits do you have?

4. Discuss in a group what habits can help to improve your health?

5. Which of the things did you use to do? Which do you do now?

Communication: Telephone calls

Exercise 9. Role play these telephone situation.

Making contacts

Transferring the call

Making arrangements

Changing Arrangements

Complaining and showing understanding

Exercise 10. Complete dialogs for these situations:

1. You are a prosperous old businessmen but you want to retire so you make an arrangement with several candidates on your position. You want to sell your corporation.

2. You have agreed to make an appointment with your sales manager and have a business talk about new equipment but one of your offices has been robbed recently so you have to meet with police and change your arrangement with manager.

3. You have watched the car accident on TV and want to make sure that your mother wasn't its participant. You call to the company where your mother works, but your mother is a director and very busy, so you have to talk with her secretary.

4. Your boss organizes picnic for the colleagues on the weekend. But you have heard on the radio that it will rain, so you decide to phone your boss to confirm arrangement.

Lesson II. Topics: Every day routine, Housework,
Activities

Vocabulary. Everyday routine.

spend time with family, pay the telephone bill, wash the dishes, empty the rubbish, make a telephone call, use a computer, cook, work, study, stay at home, hand–launder, clean, do your homework, go shopping, play with your children, walk the dog1010
  walk the dog – выгуливать собаку


[Закрыть]

Exercise 1. Answer these questions:

1. Who gets up first in your house?

2. What time do you get up?

3. Do you have a computer at home?

4. What kind of computer programs do you use every day?

5. Who uses Power Point the most?

6. Who makes the most phone calls?

7. Whom do you phone most often?

8. Who pays the bills in your house?

9. Who usually does the cooking?

10. And who empties the rubbish?

11. How many evenings a week do you stay at home?

12. Who spends the most time in the house?

13. What is “every day routine” for you?

14. Who does shopping in your family?

Vocabulary. Activities for weekends.

wake up, get up early, go to bad late, stay in bed late, have a lie-in, have a nap, fall asleep, have breakfast/lunch/dinner, have a snack, have a picnic, get a take–away pizza, listen to the radio, watch TV, check your mails, check your emails, chat on the phone, do exercise, go to the gym, have a shower, go for a walk, go clubbing, do nothing, catch a bus/train, lie on the beach, meet some friends, have a date, walk the dog, do shopping, take a bath, read books, watch films, go to the theatre, go to the cinema, visit granny, play football/ basketball/ tennis/ volleyball/ badminton

Exercise 2. Ask other students these questions and answer, using the words above:

1. What is your favourite time of the day/week? Why?

2. What is your least favourite time of the day/week? Why?

3. What is a typical day for you?

4. What do you enjoy doing?

5. What do you hate doing?

6. What irritates you?

Exercise 3. Match the questions to the answers.

Exercise 4. Read the text.

Is sleeping a problem for you? Do you want to sleep but can't fall asleep? Here are some tips for happy sleeping:

1. Have a snack of bread or fruit about an hour before you go to bed.

2. Try not to have a nap in the day. Only sleep at night.

3. If you wake up at night, don't get up. Just stay in bed and read a book.

4. Always have breakfast in the morning, it's the most important meal of the day.

Exercise 5. Make dialogs, using the information above. Imagine that you are:

a) a doctor, and a patient came to you with his sleep problem asking for help

b) a mother, and you want your child to sleep well, explain him why sleep is so important

c) a student of medical university, and you give tips to your friend who has a sleep problem

Exercise 6. Answer these questions:

1. Which advice in Ex.5 do you follow?

2. Which tips do you agree with?

3. Which tips do you disagree with?

4. Which tips can you add to the list?

5. Have you got your own formula of a sound sleep1111
  sound sleep – крепкий сон (мед.)


[Закрыть]?

Exercise 7 . Read the text paying attention to the underlined words.

We asked these people about their typical Saturday. Here's what they said:

I don't like getting up early at the weekends so I usually stay in bed late – sometimes until about 10.30 a.m.! I absolutely love having a big breakfast on Saturdays. I can't stand going to the gym or doing exercise but I sometimes go for a walk in the afternoon. I quite like meeting friends in the park or just lying on the grass and doing nothing. I'm not very keen on going out on Saturday evening. I stay in and chat on the phone and get a take-away pizza.

Maria Stroinova, Moscow, Russia

I really hate doing nothing so I get up early on Saturdays and start the day by checking my emails. I really like meeting friends and having breakfast in a cafe, so I catch a bus into town at about 9.00 a.m. After breakfast, my friends and I sometimes go to an art gallery in Hermitage. I'm quite keen on most kinds of art so I don't mind which gallery we go to but my friends really hate modern art that's why we often visit Hermitage but we don't lift on the top floor, where expressionists are exhibited. I do different things on Saturday evenings. I sometimes have dinner with friends or I stay in and watch TV.

Konstantin Belov, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Exercise 8. Complete the sentences with Maria or Konstantin.

Example: Konstantin likes getting up early on Saturdays.

1 ______ likes having a lot to eat for breakfast.

2 ______ doesn't usually have breakfast at home on Saturdays.

3 ______ doesn't like doing any sport or exercise.

4 ______ likes doing nothing in the park.

5 ______ likes going to art galleries.

6 ______ likes chatting on the phone on Saturday evenings.

7 ______ likes watching TV in the evening.

Vocabulary. Preferences.

Exercise 9. Ask other students about their Saturdays.

1. What do they absolutely love doing?

2. What do they really hate doing?

3. Tell about your Saturdays using the words above and words from the vocabulary.

Exercise 10. Make short dialogs using the scheme:

Example.

A: I think you really hate listening to heavy metal.

B: No, you’re wrong. I absolutely love it, especially Rammstein early in the morning.

Exercise 10. How often..?

Communication: Telephone calls

Exercise 11. Read these expressions, translate them, try to learn them by heart and complete your own dialogs using the same pattern.

Exercise 12. Please, play your role, using the expressions above.

Students B Role plays.

1 Making and taking calls

You are the receptionist at AIC computing. Answer the phone and ask for the caller’s name. Connect the caller to Louis.

Now you are Louis. Answer the phone. Say you don’t have time to talk. Ask the caller to call later.

2 Reasons for calling

You saw a job advert in the paper for the position of trainee manager. You’d like to apply for the job. Call the Human Resources Department and ask them to send you details. Give your name and address.

3 Leaving messages

Answer the phone. Rashid is out of the office today. You don’t know when he’ll be back. Take a message for him. Take the caller’s mobile number.

4 Taking messages

Answer the phone. Martha is out. Take a messages for her.

5 Asking the caller to wait

You work in Henri Reiser’s office. Answer the phone. Henri is talking on another line. Find out if the caller wants to wait.

6 Asking for repetition and clarifying

Your colleague calls about a visit by a client next week. Write down the information about the client’s arrival at the airport.

7 Ending the call

Answer the phone. It’s a colleague. You’re VERY busy today.

8 Booking hotels and restaurants

You are the manager of Renoir’s restaurant. Answer the phone and take a booking. Remember to ask for:

Customer’s name? number of guests? date and time

A contact number? smoking or non-smoking table?

9 Booking transport

10 Dealing with telephone problems

You’re waiting for you colleague’s to arrive. You have a meeting with him/her and you can’t meet later on. Answer your colleague’s call. It’s a really bad line.

11 Making appointments

You are Mr. Francone. Your colleague calls to arrange a meeting. You have a day off on Tuesday 25th. You are free at 3.15 on the next day. Find out where the meeting is.

12 Inviting people

Your friend calls and invites you to the theatre. Find out when it is. Accept or decline.

13 Confirming arrangements

You are organizing your Managing Director’s leaving party. Here is your current schedule. Your boss calls to confirm the arrangements.

14 A conference call

You are a sales manager. The company wants your staff to have English lessons. You have ten staff but they are very busy and some don’t want to stay late. Talk the training manager and try to find a solution.

15 Placing an order

Your work at Spyline. Take a customer’s order and complete the order form below:

16 Solving problems

You work for a delivery company. A regular customer calls with a problem. What action will you take?

17 Complaining and handing complaints

You work in a hotel. A customer calls you with some complains.

18 Selling on the phone 1

Answer a call from a company which design websites. You don’t have a website so you are interested. Arrange for the person to visit.

19 Selling on the phone 2

You work for the “Print Machine”. You have a special offer on printer cartridges at the moment. Take the customer’s details and offer to visit his/her company.

Lesson III. Topics: Relationship, Love, Friendship

Vocabulary. Close people and things.

your best friend, your shoes, your teacher, your watch, your oldest friend, your mobile phone, your doctor, your pet, your relatives

Exercise 1. Choose three things/people from the list above. Tell the students how long you have know the people or had the things.

Vocabulary. Official relationship.

a colleague – someone you work with

an old school friend – someone you were at school with

get in touch – start having contact

go out (with someone) – have a romantic relationship

get on well (with someone) – have a good relationship

lose touch – have no more contact

ask someone out – invite someone to go on a date with you

grow apart – slowly stop having a good relationship

put up with – accept a bad situation without complaining

split up with – stop being someone’s partner

get over – stop feeling sad about an ex–partner

Exercise 2. Answer the questions.

1. Have you ever gone out with your colleague?

2. How often do you get in touch with your old school friends?

3. Do you get on well with your parents?

4. Do you usually lose touch with your ex–boyfriend/girlfriend?

5. Have you ever had a romantic relationship with your old friend?

6. Is it difficult for you to start having contact with new people? Why?

7. With whom have you no more contact? Why? Would you like to get in touch with these people again?

8. Do women ever ask men out in your country?

9. What do you think is the minimum time you should go out with someone before you get married?

10. Do you think couples who marry young often grow apart? Why/Why not?

11. If your partner never did housework, would you put up with it? Why/Why not?

12. For what reasons do people usually split up with their partner?

13. What different ways do people use to get over the end of a relationship?

Exercise 3. Read the text about smart agreements.

Love me forever… or pay 5 million dollars!

No one with big money in California or New York these days gets married without a pre–nuptial agreement. This is particularly true for Hollywood actors, who agree, for example, that a husband or wife will receive $5 million if their partner is unfaithful. But these agreements are also becoming popular in European countries such as Germany and the Netherlands. Australia, too, now accepts them.

Bus driver Nick Palmer, from Perth, is delighted. His girlfriend Kate Brown has asked him to marry her. Nick has agreed but plans to sign a pre–nuptial agreement first. 'Kate mustn't cut her hair short and she mustn't stay out late,' he told us. 'Last year she forgot the anniversary of the day we met and then she lost her temper. She definitely mustn't do that again.' Kate thinks he's making a fuss over nothing. 'He'll have a good life. I haven't got a job so I can stay at home all day. In the agreement it says that he doesn't have to do much housework. He doesn't have to do the cooking. All he has to do is the washing up.' However, Nickolas has a surprise for Kate. And it was interesting for her to know about it. 'There's one thing in the agreement that she doesn't know about yet. Before I marry Kate, she has to … get a job!'

Exercise 4. Read the article again and answer true or false.

1. Nick asked his girlfriend to marry him.

2. Nick likes short hair.

3. Kate sometimes loses her temper.

4. Kate wants Nick to do the washing up.

5. Nick wants his wife to get a job.

Vocabulary. Obligation or no obligation.

Exercise 5. Make your own smart agreement, using words from vocabulary. Choose one of the situations below and discuss how to make them successful. Imagine that you are going to:

1. marry a millionaire/ess

2. go into business with a friend

3. travel around the world with a friend

4. share a flat with someone you don’t know well

Example: OUR SMART AGREEMENT

I have to:__________________________________________

I don’t have to:_____________________________________

I mustn’t:__________________________________________

The other person has to:_______________________________

The other person doesn’t have to:________________________

The other person mustn’t:______________________________

Exercise 6. Read the text.

Would you do that for love?

Exercise 7. Answer these questions.

1. What would you do for love?

2. What would you never do for love?

3. What should people do for love?

4. Have you ever done something unusual for love?

5. Do you think it is necessary to do something extraordinary for love?

6. What article do you like most of all?

7. What do you think about the woman from Moscow? Was it stupid or romantic to do such things?

8. What do you think about John Mason? Would you sell everything for love?

9. What do you think about Sheila Porter? Do you understand her? Have you ever done something like this?

Exercise 7. What do you think “speed-dating” is? Read the letter and check your answers.

SpeedDate

Dear Nick,

Thank you for booking a place at our next speed-dating event.

What to expect:

Speed-dating is a fast way to meet a new partner! There are twenty men and twenty women and you have just three minutes to talk to each person. After three minutes, if you like the person, put a tick by his or her name on your card. Then, move on and talk to the next person. At the end, give us your card. If you ticked someone who also ticked you, we will give you each other's email addresses.

A few tips:

Don't start every conversation with 'What do you do?' This gets very boring. And don't ask too many questions which can be answered with 'yes' or 'no'.

Ask interesting questions, like 'How would your best friend describe you?' or 'What was the last CD you bought?'.

When?

Sunday 19th May. Arrive at 6.00 p.m

Where?

Attica Club, 20 Hawkley Street, London.

Happy dating!

Julia Honey

Manager

Exercise 8. Read the letter again and answer the questions.

1. How many people are there at this event?

2. How long do you get to speak to each person?

3. What should you do with your card?

4. Whose e-mail addresses will you get?

5. What type of question shouldn’t you ask?

6. What kind of questions should you ask?

7. Is speed-dating typical for your country?

8. Would you like to go on a speed-dating? Why? Why not?

9. What questions would you ask on a speed-dating?

10. What kind of dating is the best? (blind date1212
  blind date – свидание вслепую


[Закрыть], online dating or

Internet dating1313
  online dating/Internet dating – виртуальное свидание


[Закрыть], extreme date1414
  extreme date – экстремальное свидание


[Закрыть], put a face to a name1515
  put a face to a name – встретиться впервые вживую, будучи заочно знакомы


[Закрыть], faceto-face date1616
  face–to–face date – личное свидание


[Закрыть], meet the parents1717
  meet the parents – знакомство с родителями


[Закрыть], romantic date)

11. What is an ideal dating for you?

Exercise 9. Discuss with other students.

1. What do you think about speed-dating?

2. Do you think it might be a good way to get a boyfriend/girlfriend?

3. Have you got a girlfriend/boyfriend? How did you meet and become acquainted?

4. What is the most romantic way to meet each other?

Exercise 10. Read the text.

Book of the week. Why Men Don't Iron

by Anne and Bill Moir

A lot of people believe that society – our family friends and teachers – teaches boys and girls to behave differently. They say that as adults we should change this. The 'new man' should cook, look after the children, be more emotional and less aggressive. He should be tidier, more cooperative and a better listener. But is this change impossible for men? Can men be as cooperative as women, for example?

The differences are obvious from a very early age. At school, boys are messier and more competitive than girls: boys like to win! But girls are better students: they're more hard-working than boys and they do more homework. Girls may be more talkative than boys, but boys are noisier. Some doctors believe that baby girls are stronger than baby boys. But at school age, girls aren't as strong as boys. Why? Does society change us?

In their book Why Men Don't Iron Anne and Bill Moir explain their view that men are more aggressive, more active, etc., because they are born that way. And society can't change their behavior.

Exercise 11. Read the text again. In pairs, answer the questions.

1. What do many people believe about men's behavior?

2. What do these people think modern men should do?

3. Do the Moirs think men can change very much?

4. What do you think? Are men and women born with different behavior or do they learn it?

5. Have you ever heard the phrase “iron lady”1818
  “Iron Lady” is a nickname that has frequently been used to describe female heads of government around the world. The term describes a «strong willed» woman. This iron metaphor was first and most famously applied to Margaret Thatcher.


[Закрыть]? How do you understand it?

6. Do you think that nowadays there are a lot of iron ladies?

7. Why did iron ladies appear?

Exercise 12. Compare male and female behavior. Complete the questionnaire below. What do you think? In groups, compare your opinions and discuss any differences.

Men or women? Generally, who are:

– Stronger?

– Noisier?

– More talkative?

– More intelligent?

– Happier?

– More hardworking?

– More competitive?

– More romantic?

– Messier?

– More aggressive?

– More cooperative?

– Better drivers?

– More interested in sport?

– Better with young children?

– Better cooks?

– Better mechanics?

Communication: Telephone calls

Planning a call

Exercise 13. Think about your last call in English.

1 Did you plan the call?

2 What time of day did you call? Was it the best time?

3 Who did you need to speak to? Did you get through to them or did you speak to someone else?

4 What were the objectives of the call? Did you achieve them?

5 What question did the other person ask? Could you answer them?

6 What phrases did you use?

7 What would you say if you couldn’t get through?

8 What would you say if you got an answer machine or voicemail?

Phone calls can be stressful and it is easy to forget key information. When talking in a foreign language, write down words or expressions you’ll need, and practice saying them before you call.

Exercise 14. Plan your next telephone call in English. Complete the plan below.