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Young and old

Vocabulary  Life stages


1  ★   Find the life stages in the wordsearch. 4 ★★★   Answer the questions with your own ideas.
Write complete sentences.
baby child elderly teenager
toddler middle-aged young adult Which life stage do you think is the best? Why?
I loved being a young child. I could play all day, and there

Y E Y N R A M T I U was no school. It was great!
O K B A B Y I L E D
1 What do you think are the advantages and
U D M T O D D L E R
disadvantages of being middle-aged?
N B O Z I D D S K E

G Z U C H I L D V L
A U S G C A E X O D
D D E R J F A Y S E 2 What happens to elderly people in your country? Do
U T E E N A G E R R you think they have a good life?
L E R N B G E V E L
T T F A E C D G B Y

2 ★★   When do these things usually happen? Write 3 At what age can you do these things in your country?
the life stage. Do you think it’s the right age? Why / Why not?

cry a lot  baby • get married



1 stay at home after retiring
2 leave school
• leave school

3 start school
4 learn to walk
• retire

5 go to university
• learn to drive
6 celebrate your 50 birthday
th

3 ★★   Complete the sentences about life events. Extra vocabulary


I’m saving up to buy a house next year.
1 After his exams, he’s going to to drive. 5 ★★   Complete the adverbs.
2 Most people married and 1 You’re late, but f the train is still here.
children in their 20s and 30s. 2 My dad is French, so I speak the language
3 My grandma from her job 20 years ago. f  .
4 Henry is going to to university. 3 You’ll pass that test e  . It isn’t hard.
After that, he wants to a job in a big 4 The sea is dangerous if you can’t swim p   .
company. 5 M
 y sister had swimming lessons for ages –
5 Does your brother a girlfriend? e she learnt to swim.
6 Most people home when they’re in their
early twenties.

40 Unit 5  Young and old


Grammar  can, can’t, could, 4 ★★★   Write a sentence about something that ...
couldn’t you could do well when you were five years old.
I was very good at running when I was five years old.
1  ★   Match 1–5 to A–F.
1 you can do now, but you couldn’t do five years ago.
I can’t D A come shopping tomorrow?

1 Can you B swim before he had classes.

2 I couldn’t C run this fast last year?
2 you can do now, but your grandparents couldn’t do
3 He couldn’t     D understand this map. at your age.
4 Could he E can’t help you.
5 Sorry, but I F drive until I was 19.

2 ★★   Look at the table of Juan’s abilities. Complete 3 you could do when you were eight years old, but you
the sentences, questions and answers. Use can / can’t do now.
can’t / could / couldn’t and add he when necessary.

Now In 2005
4 you couldn’t do when you were younger, and you
cook ✓ ✗
still can’t do now.
drive ✓ ✓

run 5 km ✗ ✓

sing ✗ ✗
swim ✓ ✗
Consolidation
He can cook now, but he couldn’t cook in 2005.
1 H
 e sing in the past, and he still 5 Choose the correct option.
sing at all! Nelson Mandela was born in South Africa in 1918. His father
2 ‘ What do in 2005 that he died when Nelson was a nine-year-old B. A family friend looked
do now?’ ‘Run 5 km.’ after him, so he (1) get a proper education and become
a lawyer. Before he was (2) , Mandela started fighting for
3 ‘ swim now?’  ‘Yes, he  .’
equal rights for black people. The country had unfair laws.
4 ‘ drive in 2005?’  ‘Yes, he  .’ For example, black people (3) vote in elections. The
5 ‘ What do now that he do government put Mandela in prison for 27 years. In the early
in 2005?’ ‘Now he cook and swim.’ 1990s, the laws changed, and black people (4) vote at last.
Mandela was quite (5) when he became South Africa’s first
3 ★★   Choose the correct option. black president in 1994. You (6) learn more about Mandela’s
1 ‘Could / Can Brian act when he was a teenager?’ life in the film Long Walk to Freedom.
‘No, he can’t / couldn’t.’ A  toddler B  child C adult
2 ‘Can I / I can help with the cooking?’ 1 A  can B can’t C could
‘Of course you can / couldn’t!’ 2 A middle-aged B teenager C toddler
3 ‘Could you / You could play chess last year?’ 3 A can’t B couldn’t C could
‘No, I can’t / couldn’t.’ 4 A could B can C couldn’t
4 ‘Your brother is so clever! Can / Could he ride a bike 5 A elderly B retire C middle
now?’
6 A to B can C  can to
‘No, he can’t, but he could / can walk before his first
birthday!’
5 ‘Help me, please. I can / can’t open this box.’ ‘Sorry. I
tried to do it before but I can’t / couldn’t.’

Young and old  Unit 5 41


Vocabulary  Verbs 4 ★★★   Answer the questions with your own ideas.
1 ★   Match 1–6 to A–G to make activities. What do you spend most of your money on? Why?
I don’t spend much money on clothes because my
have F A money
parents buy them. I buy a lot of music, and I also spend
1 cook B a room a lot on seeing films. I do that with friends.
2 study C someone 1 Who do you prefer spending time with: your family
3 take up D a new sport or your friends? Why?
4 help E a healthy meal
5 spend F a sleepover
6 share G hard for an exam
2 How do you make new friends?
2 ★★   Choose the correct option.

Mum says I can invite to / invite some friends over.

1 He’s doing / going really well at school.

2 If you’re bored, why not take up / out a new sport?
3 Do you prefer inviting friends over or going out? Why?
3 I share a room with / for my sister.

4 Don’t spend all of your money on / for clothes!

5 She finds it easy to know / make new friends.

6 How often do you spend time for / with your
grandparents? 4 When was the last time you took up a new activity?
Are you still doing it now?
7 If you’re tired, have a lie-in / sleepover until 11.00.

8 We went on a brilliant school trip / sport last week.

3 ★★   Complete the definitions.
5 When do you feel worried?

Extra vocabulary
5 ★★   Complete the sentences with the opposites of
the adjectives.

enjoyable happy healthy important


interesting tidy
W
 hat a boring man! He spent all evening telling us
long, uninteresting stories about himself.
1 Clean up your room! It’s so that you
invite friends to stay the night at your house: have a
can’t see the floor in there!
sleepover
2 S ara’s diet is really  . She eats a lot of
1 buy something: s money on something.
chips and chocolate.
2 be successful: d w
3 You look a bit today. What’s the matter?
3 s end mobile phone messages to your friends:
4 The grades I get in my art class are  . I’m
t your friends
only taking the class for fun.
4 get up late: h al
5 I was revising for exams on Saturday and Sunday. It
5 lie in the sun: s was a very weekend!

42 Unit 5  Young and old


Grammar  Comparative and 4 ★★★   Think of three friends or family members.
Write five sentences comparing their abilities using
superlative adverbs comparative and superlative adverbs. Use verbs
1  ★   Choose the correct option. from the box or your own ideas.

O
 f all the members of the band, Mika sings the cook drive get up laugh play run
best / better. sing work write
1 Middle-aged people usually get up earlier  /
My mum drives faster than my dad, but my dad cooks
the earliest than teenagers.
better.
2 You can speak English more fluently  /
the most fluently than me.
3 Which of your three brothers will leave home
sooner / the soonest ?
4 A cheetah can run four times faster / the fastest
than Usain Bolt.
5 Which team played worse / the worst in the
league?
2  ★★   Complete the sentences with the correct
comparative or superlative forms of the adverbs. Consolidation
Wait for me! I walk more slowly (slowly) than you. 5 Choose the correct option.
1 Of all my friends, Joe talks (loudly).
2 I always arrive (early) than you.
3 My brother snowboards (well) than me.
4 I can remember names (easily) than
numbers.
5 Of everyone in my class, I swim
(badly).

3  ★★   Complete the sentences with the correct


comparative or superlative adverb form of the
adjectives.

early easy fast fluent happy hard
A common generalization is that teenagers like to live
1 Jenny can’t run Lisa. Lisa always most / more dangerously than adults. They take
comes first. (1) up / out extreme sports, drive (2) faster / more fast

2 Of all his friends, Joe speaks Spanish than the speed limit and stay out (3) later / more lately
 . He never makes a mistake. than older people. Of course, not all teenagers are
the same, and many think these kinds of activities are
3 M
 y grandparents are married
(4) unenjoyable / unhappy. But for some young adults,
people I know.
it seems, dangerous activities are (5) most interesting /
4 When you are young, you can learn new things more interesting than safe ones. Scientists say this is
when you are old. connected to (6) making / knowing new friends.
5 I always arrive at school my best During adolescence, the need to be safe is less
friend. (7) strong / stronger than the need to be part of a group.
6 Joe studied so he got the best Personal safety becomes relatively (8) unimportant /
marks. unhealthy. As a result, teenagers (9) pass / spend their
time and money doing things that their parents hate!

Young and old  Unit 5 43


Reading
What’s the happiest age?
A If you ask adults, they’ll usually say that childhood was the
Age 85
best time of their life. ‘I was certainly less tired and stressed,’
Age 18
 says Robert, 49. ‘Now I get up earlier and work harder.’
 Teenagers often imagine being happier when they’re 30.
Gemma, 14, says: ‘I’m not allowed to do anything and it’s
frustrating. I want to leave school and get a good job so
Decrea

that I can spend money on the things I want.’

piness
B We often think happiness comes from freedom, from
se in ha

money or from doing well professionally. But a study

e in hap
indicates that, in fact, teenagers and elderly people are
pinessp

the most cheerful age groups. And the least happy?

Increas
Middle-aged adults.
C ‘Teenagers think more positively about the future,’ explains
the study’s author. ‘At 50, people have the most money,
but that’s because they work the hardest – they can’t
relax. Elderly people expect less. Perhaps they aren’t as
rich as they used to be and could do things more easily
unhappiest point
in the past, but they live for today. That’s the real secret
of happiness.’

1    Read the text. Tick (✓) the main idea in each
★ 3  ★★★   Answer the questions in your own words.
paragraph. Write complete sentences.
A 1 Children have easier lives than adults.  A
 ccording to paragraph A, how does age change
2 People look for happiness in the past or in the people’s ideas about happiness?
future.  A dults think they were happier as children, but
B 1 You don’t need money to be happy.  teenagers think they’ll be happier as adults.
2 Fifty-year-olds are often less happy than older and 1 According to paragraph B, what three things do
younger people.  people think will make them happy?
C 1 Working hard makes us unhappy. 
2 Living for today makes us happy. 
2 What happens to people’s level of happiness
2    Read the text again. Correct the bold words in
★★
between the ages of 18 and 50?
the sentences using words from the text.

T
 eenagers usually think that they were happier as

children. Adults
3 What is the advantage and disadvantage of being
1 Gemma wants to be free to decide how to spend her
middle-aged, according to paragraph C?
time.

2 People think that being successful academically will
make them happy.

3 We generally think negatively about our future lives 4 What does the study’s author believe is the way to be
when we’re teenagers. really happy?
4 The study says that we are unhappiest at 85.

5 Elderly people live for the future.

44 Unit 5  Young and old


Writing  A review 3 Read the review again. Choose the correct option.
(adverbs of degree) At the beginning of the review, Jay …
A gives his opinion about the places.
1 Look at Jay’s comments and read the dialogue.
B says why he is writing.
Choose the correct option.
C describes his town.
Space Sports Centre 1 Paragraph 1 doesn’t mention …
Location: A where the places are.
Prices: B the activities at the places.
Food: (brilliant!) C Jay’s opinions of the places.
Changing rooms: (yuck!) 2 Paragraph 2 mentions … each place.
Staff friendly? A the good and bad points of
B only the advantages of
Ian Is the new sports centre any good?
C the people who work in
Jay Y
 ou mean Space? It’s OK. You can get there easily
by bus, so the location is extremely / quite good. 3 In paragraph 3, Jay’s star ratings are based on …
Ian And are the prices OK? A facts only.
Jay Well, (1) it isn’t very / it’s really cheap. B opinions only.
But there’s lots to do. C facts and opinions.
Ian Oh. And can you eat there?
Writing task
Jay  es, there’s a café. The food is (2) quite /
Y
extremely good. 4 Write a review comparing three places for young
Ian Great! Are the people there nice? people in your town. Use the model text and the
Jay  es, they’re (3) really / extremely friendly. But
Y writing guide to help you.
there’s one bad thing – the changing rooms. Writing guide
They (4) aren’t very / are extremely dirty.
Say which places you are comparing.
They’re so bad that I’m going to write to the Paragraph 1 Describe them and say what you can do
manager! there.
Compare the good and bad points of
2 Read the review. Which place does Jay think is Paragraph 2
each place.
the best? Write a conclusion. Give each place
Paragraph 3
1–5 stars.
1 Today I’m reviewing local places: Space Sports Centre, Ali’s
Skatepark and Raoul’s Café. At Space, you can do six sports and
there’s a café. You can go skateboarding or mountain biking at Remember!
Ali’s Skatepark, but you can’t eat there. Finally, at Raoul’s, you
can eat and play computer games. Use you can / can’t to talk about the facilities.
2 Space offers the most activities. In my opinion, the staff are Use comparatives and superlatives to compare the
really friendly, and the café serves wonderful food. It isn’t facilities and activities at the places.
cheap, but it’s enjoyable. Ali’s is in the town centre, so you can Use adverbs of degree to make your descriptions
get there most easily, but it’s quite old, and there isn’t a café.
more interesting.
Raoul’s is the newest place and the most exciting. The food
isn’t as good as at Space, but it closes later and the
games are great.
3 In conclusion, I think Raoul’s is the most interesting place. I’m giving it
five stars. Space is fun, but it’s expensive, and the changing rooms are
very dirty, so I’m giving it three stars. I’m giving Ali’s two stars. It’s OK,
but the facilities are not as modern as they are at the other places.
Jay

Young and old  Unit 5 45


Unit 5 Review

Self-evaluation
Do the exercises and tick the boxes for your own evaluation.
★★  I know this well. ★  I know most of this. ! I could do this better. !! Ineed to study this again.

Vocabulary Grammar
Life stages can, can’t, could, couldn’t; allow,
be allowed to
1 Complete the words.
In the UK, you can vote when you’re a young adult.
4 Complete the sentences with the correct form of
can and the bold verbs.
1 T are a bit older than babies.
This table is reserved, so you can’t sit (sit) here. (✗)
2 I want to r a long time before I become
e 1 H
 e was really fit – he (run) 20 km
 , so I can enjoy life! easily. ( ) 
3 I was a t when I learned to drive – just 17.
2 The school rules say that we (wear)
4 B
 are born without teeth.
jewellery. ( ) 
Verbs 3 T he ice cream was enormous. I
(finish) it. ( )
2 Complete the sentences. Use the correct forms of
the verbs. 4 M
 y mum said I (watch) TV last
night. ( )
have invite make spend take 5 We (go) in here. It’s private
property. ( )
How much money do you spend on music?
6 He (play) tennis and he’s only
1 Do you want to some friends over to
three. ( )
watch your new DVD?
2 H
 e lots of new friends last year. 5 Complete each pair of sentences with allowed,
3 I up tennis last month. was allowed, didn’t allow, weren’t allowed.
4 W
 e a lie-in this morning. 1 a) The girl to take photos of the dress
in the shop. She showed the photos to her sister.
Extra vocabulary b) The shop assistant her to take
3 Choose the correct option. photos of the dress.
2 a) The teacher the class to play
The five performances / finalists in the
music because it was after their exam.
competition were all singers.
b) The class to play music.
1 Choose a job you like! It’s unimportant /
unenjoyable how much money you earn. 3 a) Their mum them to stay up late
because they needed to get up early in the morning.
2 I can run five km fluently / easily .
b) They to stay up late.
3 There were hundreds of auditions / audiences to
decide who could be in the show. 4 a) We to go out.
4 This computer doesn’t work properly / fortunately! b) I the boys to go out.

★★ ★ ! !!

46 Unit 5  Young and old


Comparative and superlative adverbs; Cumulative review
less … than, the least; (not) as … as Units 1–5
6 Complete the second sentence so that it means
the same as the first. Use comparative/superlative
8 Choose the correct option.
adverbs, less … than, the least or (not) as … as.
All the other cars go faster than this one.
This is the least fast car.
1 S am and I study hard but Sophie studies harder
than us.
Sophie studies  .
2 Rebecca swims well, but I don’t.
I don’t swim Rebecca.
3 The two restaurants are equally good.
This restaurant is that one.
4 I have a quieter voice than you.
You talk me.
5 I get up at 7.30 a.m. but Paula gets up at 6 a.m. Pingping became famous as the shortest man in the world
Paula gets up than me. who A walk. When Pingping was born, doctors didn’t think
he was going to (1)  . As an adult, his height was just
★★ ★ ! !!
74.5 cm – (2) a typical (3) . In the street, people were
often (4) that Pingping (5) to smoke, because he
Practical English looked (6) a child.
Expressing opinions Pingping travelled around the world, appearing on TV
programmes. Some people can’t (7) media attention,
7 Correct the underlined mistakes. but Pingping enjoyed the (8) of being famous. Sadly, he
A Frank’s the best finalist in this competition. died (9) than expected, at the very young age of 21. But
B You’ve absolutely right! He’s extremely good. Pingping’s many fans (10) forget him and his positive,
You’re (11) personality.
1 A Acting ability is just as important as singing in this   A could B  can C  could to
competition.  1 A retire B  survive C  do well
B That’s the good point. I didn’t think of that.  2 A  as tall as B  taller as C  as tall than

 3 A middle-aged B  toddler C retired
2 A I’m sure Juanita’s going to win!  4 A surprised B  energetic C relaxed
B I’m not agree. Her dancing is terrible!  5 A allowed B  was allowed C  was allowing

 6 A as B  how C like
3 A What do you think of the judges on this show?  7 A mind B  stand C prefer
B To be honestly, I don’t think much of them.  8 A benefits B  solution C fake

 9 A early B  earlier C earliest
4 A What you think of the band? 10 A  not going B  won’t C  won’t to
B Not much. 11 A miserable B  cheerful C scared

★★ ★ ! !!

Young and old  Unit 5 47

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