54

Children• Having children

• enough

• Family influences

• Present & past habits

• Punishments

• keep

• Politically correct language

• Spoken narrative techniques

6

2 Make a list of things that make life difficult forparents of young children.

You never get enough sleep. Children make a lot of noise.

3 Read four humorous tests for prospective parents.Do the difficulties coincide with your list?

4 Match each test with a brief explanation (a–d).

a Children are much harder to control thanpeople without any children think.

b Your children will leave every corner of thehouse dirty.

c Children make it impossible to get a goodnight’s sleep.

d Children move so much that putting on clothesis almost impossible.

5 In pairs invent humorous tests with the followingtitles. Try to incorporate the ideas from the cartoons.

1 Grocery Store Test:2 Toy Test:3 Test for Women:4 Test for Men:

Speaking & Reading

1 In groups, look at thephotos and discuss thepositive and negativeaspects of having children.

Parenthood

Mess TestSmear peanut butter on thesofa and curtains. Nowstick your hands into aplant pot and rub the wetearth on the walls. Coverthe stains with crayons.Place a sausage behind thecouch and leave it there allsummer.

Dressing TestObtain one large, unhappy,live octopus. Stuff into asmall net bag, making surethat all arms stay inside.

Night TestFill a small cloth bag with 8to 12 pounds of sand andsoak it in water. At 8pmbegin to waltz and hum withthe bag until 10pm. Lay

down your bag and set youralarm for 11pm. Get up,pick up your bag, and singevery song you have everheard until 4am. Set alarmfor 5am. Get up and makebreakfast. Keep this up forfive years. Look cheerful.

Final AssignmentFind a couple who alreadyhave a small child. Lecturethem on how they canimprove their discipline,patience, tolerance, toilettraining and child's tablemanners. Emphasise tothem that they shouldnever allow their childrento run riot. Enjoy thisexperience. It will be thelast time you will have allthe answers.

Try these tests to see if you are ready:Thinking of having children?

a b c d

106609 _ 0054-0061.qxd 21/7/09 16:20 Página 54

1 6.1 Listen to three interviews on parenthood. Which family situation is described in each one?

2 Listen again and answer the questions.

1 Why did Dan and Lou decide not to have children? 2 Why did Rajiv and Katie decide to have children when they did? 3 Why did Gabby decide to have a child alone?

3 Complete these extracts from the interviews. What do the missing words and phrases mean?

1 Personally I’ve never really _____ the _____ to have any.I’d always had my _____ _____ on having kids, ever since I can remember.

2 I just _____ _____ being a father all over again. If you don’t want kids, fair enough, but that’s the _____ _____ of us being here, right?Why have kids if you’re not _____ to be with them?

3 I wasn’t _____ to put my career or my independence in _____. At the same time, there was no wayI was going to _____ _____ on the experience of motherhood.

4 Use the notes on page 120 to organise a group discussion.

6 Compare your tests with those on page 119.

7 Find formal verbs in the tests that mean the same as these less formal equivalents.

a Mess Test: put / _____b Dressing Test: get / _____

Listening & Speaking

Unit 6: Children 55

6Children

Try the internet activities for this unit at www.webframework.net ”“

The Real Thing: enough1 6.2 Listen and complete the extracts from the interviews.

1 If you don’t want kids, _____ enough.2 It’s _____ enough being responsible for one person.3 _____ enough, the hardest thing has been job hunting.4 A friend suggested I took Amaia off my CV. And _____ enough, within a week I had a job offer.

2 Match each extract (1–4) with a meaning (a–d).

a It’s surprising. b It’s already difficult.c As predicted.d That’s reasonable, but not my opinion.

3 Match four other expressions with enough with meanings (a-d).

1 Will you be quiet? I’ve had enough of your moaning!2 ‘Why haven’t you cleaned the house? And where’s dinner?’

‘Enough already! I only got home ten minutes ago!’ 3 ‘It’s the second time he’s skipped a lesson!’ ‘Enough said.

I’ll speak to his teacher this afternoon.’4 ‘Oddly enough he knew my name, though we’d never met before.’

4 In pairs, write a conversation between two parents discussing a problem related to one of their children.Include four phrases with enough.

a Surprisingly.b I’m fed up.c OK – you don’t need to say

any more.d Stop complaining and

leave me alone.

c Test for Women: take out / _____d Test for Men: put / _____

e Test for Men: go / _____f Test for Men: buy / _____

Dan and Lou Katie and Rajiv Gabby

106609 _ 0054-0061.qxd 21/7/09 16:20 Página 55

Self-confident, evenbossy: first-born childrenhave an innate sense ofsuperiority. You came first,after all!

Ambitious: having been, for some time at least, thecentre of attention, you’rekeen to regain power andstatus.

Responsible: you’re oftenexpected to take onresponsibilities earlier thanyour younger siblings. Thismakes you competent and

a good leader, but you mayhave missed out on somefun and become ratherserious.

Conservative: after aperiod of adolescentrebellion, you’re likely to bethe first to adopt ‘adultvalues’.

Good communicators:first-born children learn tospeak through interactionwith adults and thereforetend to grow up with bettercommunication skills.

First-born childrenare more likely to be:

b

c

Family matters

a

Speaking & VocabularyCharacteristics

1 Describe a typical family in your country. What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a large familyor being an only child?

2 Thinking of your family, or the family of friends and relatives, what characteristics do you associate with...

· the oldest child? · the youngest child? · the middle child? · an only child?In my family, the oldest child is my sister and she’s very sensible and mature.

3 Look at the following characteristics. Which childrendo you think are likely to be like this? Why?

competitive conservative creativeflirtatious independent lonely organised

responsible self-confident sociable

56

Useful languageIn my experience, an only child tends to be...Oldest children are very often...Youngest children are most likely to be...That’s not me ... I’m not...

Reading & Speaking

1 Read the text. Does the oldest child have the qualitiesyou predicted?

2 In pairs, each read one of the texts on page 120. Telleach other what you read and compare your predictions.

3 Discuss in groups. Why is an only child likely to belike this? Check your ideas on page 120.

a loner independent organisedself-motivated serious

4 Which child do you think would be more suitable towork in the following professions? Why?

an actor a manager a nurse a politiciana salesperson a writer

A youngest child might become a writer because theytend to be creative.

5 Explain the meaning of these words and expressions.

1 Feelings of loneliness may linger...2 ... if you felt overshadowed by your siblings.3 You were probably completely indulged...4 ... you may go into brat mode if thwarted.5 ... now love to run the show.

6 Match the verbs and the nouns on page 120. Arethese positive or negative for children?

Try the interactive activity for this topic on your CD-ROM.

106609 _ 0054-0061.qxd 21/7/09 16:20 Página 56

To talk about present habits and repeated actions we use:1 the Present Simple2 the Present Continuous with frequency

words: always, forever3 will + infinitiveNote: The Present Continuous with always oftensuggests a criticism of repeated behaviour.

To talk about regular or repeated actions in the pastwe use:

4 the Past Simple5 the Past Continuous with frequency words:

always, forever6 used to + infinitive7 would + infinitiveNote: We use both used to and would to describerepeated actions but only used to to describea past state.We never used to have all that stuff. We wouldn’t have all that stuff.

1 Match each form (1–7) with one of the examples(a–g).a I used to get up in the morning…b The mother takes them to school, picks them

up again in the evening…c …he’ll spend hours in there playing video

games...d Our mum would say goodbye and she wouldn’t

see us again until the evening.e I was always out playing with my mates.f They’re always talking about it…g When I was a kid I was never inside on my

own.

2 Turn to the Language Practice Activitieson page 109.

See Reference Guide, pp. 15–17.See Workbook, pp. 36–37.

Unit 6: Children 57

6Children

Try the interactive activity for this topic on your CD-ROM.

2 6.3 Listen to three friends, Helen, Sally and Joe. Which points do they make? Do they relate to now or the past?

a Children play outside with their friends.b Kids like to dress in the latest fashions.c Kids watch TV with their family.

3 Who suggests the following points, Helen, Sally or Joe? What do they say in each case?

1 Kids tend to wear unsuitable clothes. Sally: the nine-year-old girl looks more likea 19-year-old.

2 Children were more active in the past.

Language focusPresent & past habits

Speaking & Listening

1 In pairs, discuss any differences between the way children spend their free time now and in the past.

3 Children are over-protected nowadays. 4 Habits have changed because society’s changed.5 Family intervention is sometimes necessary.

d Children need to be constantly supervised.e Kids tend to spend their free time alone.

106609 _ 0054-0061.qxd 21/7/09 16:20 Página 57

58

Speaking

1 Tell a partner about the punishments you received as a child.

2 How effective are these punishments for a nine-year-old who has deliberately broken a younger sibling’s toy?

• stop their pocket money• send them to their room• smack them

Listening

1 Before listening to the radio programme, discuss the following questions.

1 Smacking children is banned in many European countries. Is it allowed in your country?2 What are some reasons for and against a law on smacking?

2 6.4 Listen to the programme. Which of the callers...

1 says how smacking can cause bad behaviour when the child grows up? 2 thinks children have the same rights as others to be protected by the law? 3 objects to interference from other people in the question of childcare? 4 feels stronger discipline would prevent problems in society?

3 Which opinions do you agree with, partially agree with or disagree with?

4 Prepare a radio programme on corporal punishment at school. Follow the guidelines on page 121.

a b

c d

Under control

• ground them• forbid their favourite pastime• make them do household chores

keep

1 Look at the extract from Transcript 6.4. What does it mean?

I was smacked when I was a kid and I don’t thinkit did me any harm. It kept me out of trouble.

a store somewhere: Where do you keep the salt?b retain for yourself: You can keep the change!c stay: I don’t have time to keep fit.d help to stay: My work keeps me busy.e maintain: The book didn’t keep my interest.f continue: Keep going – you’ve nearly finished!g delay: What kept you? I’ve been waiting for ages!

2 Match keep in each of the questions with one of themeanings (a–g).

1 Are you good at keeping secrets?2 To what extent do you keep up to date with the

latest technology?3 Which mistakes in English do you keep making?4 Do you tend to keep old things or throw them out?5 How many of your childhood friends do you

keep in touch with? 6 Where’s the best place to keep your savings?

3 Discuss the questions in small groups.

106609 _ 0054-0061.qxd 21/7/09 16:20 Página 58

Unit 6: Children 59

6Children

Reading

1 Discuss the questions in groups. Tell the class about any major differences in your answers.

• Where do teens hang out with friends in the evening? • What do they do? Do they cause any trouble?• What time do they normally go home?• Do you know of any places with a teen curfew?

2 Read the article. What do you find surprising?

The brakes on Ben’s BMX bikescreech as he skids to a halt and joinsthe young people who have takenover the local kids’ playground. Thechat is laid-back until a police officerapproaches; then the general noiselevel goes up. One teen lights acigarette defiantly; another makes ashow of looking at her watch. It’s 9.30.

This time tomorrow, when theschool holidays have started, thesame police officer will be faced withthe difficult job of escorting thegroup’s members to their homes. Forthis is one of the numerous townsacross the UK that has decided toimplement a new law allowing localcouncils to impose a 9pm curfew intheir area. The law gives the policethe power to round up andreprimand anyone under the age of16 that they see on the streets withoutparental supervision. Breaking the

curfew could lead to a heavy fine orthree months’ detention.

The legislation, which is an attemptto deal with the increase in juvenilecrime in certain trouble spots, hasbeen welcomed in areas where anti-social behaviour and vandalism, oftenfuelled by alcohol or drug use, havebecome commonplace. But teensaffected by the curfew are outraged,and quick to point out that there isnowhere else for them to go excepthome. And a night in with the folks isthe last thing they need during theirwell-deserved break from studying.

Under 16s are not alone in theirobjections, though. Youth workersare also up in arms against the curfew,claiming that that it represents aconfrontational, ‘New York style’ ofpolicing that is counter-productive.As one youth leader put it, ‘Blaming

young people for society’s problemswill only create a feeling ofresentment. That will increasetensions between young people andauthority figures in their community,which could make bad behaviourworse and eventually lead to completedisrespect for the law.’

In the meantime, Ben and his friendsintend to make the most of their lastnight of freedom.

Teen curfew kicks in

3 Answer the questions.

1 What new challenge will the police officer face tomorrow evening?2 How does the curfew work? What are the consequences of breaking it?3 What are the arguments for and against the new legislation?

4 Work with a partner. Which of the options best describe the article? Justify your answers.

1 Aim: to inform / to persuade / to entertain2 Register: informal / neutral / formal3 Style: sensationalist / neutral / serious4 Section: news / editorial comment / magazine

5 Some vocabulary in the article is chosen to create an impact. Match each word with a definition.

1 kick in 2 screech3 laid-back4 round up5 fuel6 folks

6 Work in groups. Make a list of other ways of observing and controlling teenagers. Compare your list with the one on page 121. What are the pros and cons of each?

a make more intenseb parentsc gather togetherd make an unpleasant, high-pitched noisee come into effectf relaxed

106609 _ 0054-0061.qxd 21/7/09 16:20 Página 59

60

Speaking

1 Do you know the fairy tales in the pictures? Summarise the stories in groups.

2 Tell each other fairy tales that are popular in your country.

Reading

1 Read the beginning of a modern version of the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood. What is different about it?

2 The story is a politically correct version of the original fairy tale. What does this mean?

3 Find the information below. Why has the story been changed in this way?

1 A modern spelling of a word.2 How the grandmother is depicted.3 The way the wolf is seen. 4 The character of Red Riding Hood.5 The reason why Red Riding Hood is visiting her grandmother.

There once was a young person named Red Riding Hood who lived with her mother on the edge

of a large wood. One day her mother asked her to take a basket of fresh fruit and mineral

water to her grandmother’s house – not because this was womyn’s work but because the deed

was generous and helped create a feeling of community. Furthermore, her grandmother was not sick,

but in full physical and mental health and was fully capable of taking care of herself.

So Red Riding Hood set off with her basket of food through the woods. On her way to Grandma’s

house, Red Riding Hood was accosted by a wolf, who asked her what was in her basket. She replied,

‘Some healthy snacks for my grandmother.’

The wolf said, ‘You know, my dear, it isn’t safe for a little girl to walk through these woods alone.’

Red Riding Hood said, ‘I find your sexist remark offensive in the extreme, but I will ignore it because of

your traditional status as an outcast from society, the stress of which has caused you to develop your

own, entirely valid way of looking at the world. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must be on my way.’

Red Riding Hood walked on along the main path. But the wolf knew a quicker route to Grandma’s house…

Telling tales

106609 _ 0054-0061.qxd 21/7/09 16:20 Página 60

Vocabulary & WritingPolitically correct language

1 What is another way of saying the politically correctphrases below?

a visually impairedb police officer

2 Is politically correct language used in your country?

Listening

1 Before listening to stories about naughtythings people did as children, predictwhat each story is about.

Story 1: turnstile, bars, stuck,firemenStory 2: grandpa, tricks,fishing line, chamber pot, dangledStory 3: steal, helmets, kick-start,petrol, hitchhike, police

2 6.5 Listen to the stories. Were they similar to your predictions?

3 Listen again and answer the questions.

1 When and where did each story happen?2 Why did the children misbehave?3 What were the outcomes and punishments?

4 Who in the stories...

1 now regrets what they did?2 was easily led?3 was large for their age?4 was resourceful under the circumstances?5 often got into trouble?

5 Which story do you think is the naughtiest? Which is the funniest? Why?

Language focusSpoken narrative techniques

c between jobsd partner

3 Use the notes on page 121 to write a politicallycorrect continuation of Red Riding Hood.

4 Compare your story with the version on page 109and complete the vocabulary exercise on page 110.

Unit 6: Children 61

6Children

Now do Unit Test 6 on your CD-ROM.

1 2 3

We use a variety of techniques to keep the listener’sattention and to make a story interesting and dynamic.

Making the story immediate.a) This and theseWe often use this or these instead of a, the or some.

We were in this place where they had thesehuge baths.

b) Direct speechWe also tend to use reporting verbs followed bydirect speech.

I thought ‘I’m gonna do that.’

Spoken discourse markers.We use spoken discourse markers to help the flowof a story.

So... We use so as a connecting word like and inspoken narrative to say what happens next.So I slipped, I tried to slip through the bars...

Anyway... We use anyway to avoid abruptnesswhen we move on to another point in the story.Anyway, one summer we didn’t know what to dowith ourselves ...

Well... We use well to avoid abruptness when weintroduce a story.Well, I was 13 years old, living in Johannesburg ...

1 Look at Transcript 6.5 and find another example ofeach of the above techniques.

2 Turn to the Language Practice Activities on page 110.

3 Prepare a story about something naughty you didwhen you were a child. Then tell your story in groupsof four. Choose the best story to tell the class.

See Reference Guide, pp. 17–18See Workbook, p. 37.

106609 _ 0054-0061.qxd 21/7/09 16:20 Página 61