Star signs
WORKSHEET A

John You don’t look too happy. Anything wrong?

:
Pete: Nothing serious, it’s just that we lost our baseball game this morning.

John Ha! Typical Aries!

:
Pete: What?

John I said you’re a typical Aries. Very competitive. You don’t like losing.
:
Pete: Are you talking about star signs?

John Yes.
:
Pete: You don’t believe in all that nonsense, do you?

John Why not? I’m a typical Capricorn, for example: shy and sensitive.
:
Pete: And gullible, if you believe in astrology.

John Come on, Pete, you know the movement of the moon affects things on Earth, like
the tides and stuff, so why shouldn’t the planets and stars have an effect on
:
people’s personalities and the kind of things that happen in their lives?

Pete: I can’t believe I’m hearing this!

John OK then, so why is my horoscope in the newspaper usually right?

:
Pete: John, please…

John Last Thursday it said I would meet an old friend, and that evening I bumped into
Helen at the movie theater. I hadn’t seen her for years!
:
Pete: Well firstly, I think you probably remember the few things your horoscope gets
right and forget the many it gets wrong. Secondly, what horoscopes say is usually
so vague that you can interpret it in many different ways. And thirdly, if you’d
read your horoscope in another paper it would have said something completely
different.

John Are you saying you never read yours?

:
Pete: I guess I do occasionally, but only for fun – I don’t take it seriously.

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John Maybe you should. It might help you prepare for important events – like baseball
games.
:
Pete: Oh, shut up. You’re making me feel even worse!

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Star signs
WORKSHEET B

Exercise 1
Answer the questions about the text on Worksheet A.

1. Where is the horoscope that John seems to read regularly?

2. What example does John give of his horoscope being right?

3. What argument does John use to support the idea that the planets and stars can have an
effect on people’s lives?

4. Why does John suggest Pete should take his horoscope seriously?

5. What does Pete think John would have found if he had read his horoscope in a different
newspaper?

6. How well do you think John and Pete know each other, and what makes you think that?

Exercise 2
Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F), or if the text doesn’t
determine (D).

1. Pete never reads his horoscope.

2. Pete thinks John is more likely to remember the things his horoscope gets right.
3. John thinks most people whose star sign is Aries become angry quickly.
4. John thinks Pete should read his horoscope, but only for fun.
5. Pete plays baseball regularly.
6. Pete is not enjoying listening to John talking about astrology.
7. John thinks that most people whose star sign is Aries are very competitive.
8. John has been meeting Helen regularly in the last few months.
9. John takes astrology seriously.
10. In the next few days there is going to be an important event in Pete’s life.

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Star signs
WORKSHEET C

Exercise 3
Complete the crossword below. If all the words are correct, the star sign of people born
between November 23 and December 22 will read from top to bottom.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1
0
11

1. It seems John believes in ___________ .

2. Pete says that because horoscopes are so ___________ , they can be interpreted in
many different ways.
3. Pete thinks horoscopes get lots of things ___________ .
4. Pete reads his horoscope only ___________ .
5. John says the ___________ of the moon affects the tides.
6. John believes the position of the planets and stars can have an ___________ on
people’s lives.
7. John thinks Pete has a typical ___________ for someone whose star sign is Aries.
8. Pete’s baseball game took place in the ___________ .
9. John’s star sign is ___________ .
10. Pete thinks people who believe in astrology are ___________ .
11. John believes being ___________ is a typical characteristic of someone with his
star sign.

This page has been downloaded from www.insideout.net.

It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages. Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2009.