Unit 1 Talking about people
Who's who?
Listen to the descriptions of Jenny,Nick,Matt,and Kirsty.Decide who's who.
Kirsty?She's really interesting.She's quite sporty and musical as well.
She plays the piano a lot.She's actually quite good.
She's in her twenties and has got lovely shoulder-length blonde hair.
You'd like Nick.He's really nice.He's very easy-going.
He's got a great sense of humour.He's only thirty-five.
He's got really short hair-shaved,I think.
He's very interested in photography and arty things.
Jenny is in her forties.She's really energetic sort of person-always doing things.
She's got a very warm personality and enjoys helping other people.
She has short,dark hair and dark eyes.
Matt is still at university.
He's really friendly and is one of the most popular I know.
He's very hard-working and serious,but he's also a lot of fun.
He's got fair hair and he wears glasses.
2 Pronunciation
Listen to the stress s and intonation of these examples.
It's quite expensive.
It's quite expensive.
Listen to these examples.Each is said in two different ways.
1.I live quite near the office.
2.She's quite nice.
3.He's quite a good cook.
4.We're quite happy with the colour.
5.He's quite friendly.
6.I think they're quite conservative.
7.The weather was quite good.
8.It's quiet interesting.
2 While you listen The Brother from Hell!
I can't remember.Do you take mile?
Please,but no sugar.Thanks.It's weird,you know,
but I've been to your house three times now,and I still haven't met your parents.
Yes,they're out a lot.My dad works for the BBC and my mum's a ,
she does sort of temping work for a company,
You know,like an advertising agency.They're both really busy.
Oh,they sound really interesting.
Do you think so?I find my dad a bit dull,to be honest.
He works late every day,even works some weekends,doesn't read,doesn't go out.
I mean,don't get me wrong,he's quite nice,but I don't know,
I just don't have anything to say to him.
I think the things is,we just don't spend enough time together.
How old is he,then?
About fifty-five,I think.I can never really remember. Oh,yeah.
But my mum's lovely,She's really nice,
a bit too nice though,sometimes,always trying to look after me.
She worries about me leaving home.
She's a bit over-protective,if you know what I mean.
I'm an only child,so..Oh,I didn't know that.
What?You mean you can't tell!
I don't know.I've never thought about it. I suppose.
So,what about you?Have you got any brothers or sisters yourself?
Yes,I've got one of each,actually.
Oh right.Older or youger?
My sister's two or three years younger than me,but my brother's quite a lot older.
He's about forty now.
Do you get on with them all right?You haven't really talked about them very much.
Well,my brother,not that well,actually.
He's different from me,a bit old-fashioned,a bit traditional.
Well,actually,he's a bit,how can I put it,right-wing.
You know-things aren't what they used to be,more police,
death penalty-that kind of thing.He's a bit of a fool,actually.
Oh,well,it takes all sorts,I suppose.But my sister,she's great.We get on really well.
We've got the same kind of sense of humour.
Just a pity about the brother from hell,eh? Yes,Oh,but he's not that bad.
We get on all right,as long as you steer clear of certain topics.
Anyway,you were telling me about your parents.
Oh,there's not much to tell,actually.
3 Emphasising Listen to the six sentences above,and practise saying them.
It was really cold and really windy.
She's very nice,very interesting.
It was extremely long and extremely boring.
He's a bit strange,a bit weird.
He's a bit old-fashioned,a bit traditional.
It was really scary,really frightening.
2 While you read FULL-TIME JOB!
Every English-speaking child knows the nursery rhyme about the old woman with lots of children:
There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.
She had so many children she didn't know what to do.
Nicola Pridam must understand the old woman's predicament very well.
She's expecting her twentieth child and she's only forty!
She and her husband Kevin already have twelve sons and seven daughters.
Kevin Pridham is a self-employed builder,
but what he earns is not enough to feed and clothe their large family.
Every week their grocery bill comes to $400.
They go through thirty-five loaves of bread
and twently-five boxes of breakfast cereal per week.
If you have a chird in Britain today,
researchers have shown that it will cost you almost $100 per week
when you take into consideration food,clothes,pocket money
and all the other expenses involved in bringing up children.
Before they are eighteen you will have spent almost $100,000 per child.
This means that Nicola and Kevin will have to find two million pounds!
You can be fairly sure that the Pridham children will be handing clothes down to each other
and doing odd jobs to provide themselves with pocket money.