Opinion

PRACTICE TASK
1. Do you think it is worth trying to recycle? 3. Is it better to recycle or limit consumption?
2. In what ways can people save/reuse resources? 4. Should recycling be voluntary or mandatory?

1 MATCH THE VERBS BELOW WITH THEIR MEANINGS (1-8)

acknowledge conceive contradict define
assume consider convince speculate
1. To believe that something is true although you do not have definite proof.
2. To disagree with something, especially by saying that the opposite is true.
3. To describe something correctly and thoroughly.
4. To guess about be possible causes or effects of something.
5. To think ·about something carefully.
6. To admit or accept something is true or that a situation exists.
7. To make someone feel certain that something is true.
8. To imagine a particular situation.

2 COMPLETE THE TEXT WITH THE CORRECT FORM OF THE VERBS IN EXERCISE 1.
Could you 1 ______ of a life without a mobile phone? Although it seems unlikely, there is a chance that mobile
phone production could stop. This is due to the scarcity of the rare earth metals used to construct and power
all smart phones. Rare earth metals are 2 ______ as 'lanthanides', which are 17 chemical elements in the
periodic table. Most people 3 ______ that the resources needed to make smart phones will go on forever,
however the evidence 4 ______ this. While companies try to 5 ______ us that everything is fine, scientists 6
______ that this could change. Although rare earth metals are not that rare, they are difficult to extract so
scientists predict that they could become too expensive to use in small gadgets in the future. This is a fact
which companies and consumers have to 7 ______ as being a real problem. In the future we will probably
need to 8 ______ alternatives to rare earth metals so our love of mobile phones can continue.

3 CHOOSE THE CORRECT OPTION IN ITALICS TO COMPLETE THE SENTENCES.

1. Many people could not conceive I speculate of a life without the internet.
2. Evidence on the benefits of consumerism from academic sources assumes I contradicts many news
reports.
3. It is easy to pass I resign judgement on the spending habits of others.
4. Although high street stores try to speculate I acknowledge on new fashions, they are notoriously
difficult to predict.
5. Consumers tend to have a lot of faith | judgement in big-name brands, even though they may be more
expensive and of comparable quality to other brands.
6. Success in fashion is the ability to constantly define | convince the consumer of the need to acquire
more clothes.
4 STRUCTURES TO PRESENT CONVENTIONAL WISDOM.
There is considerable evidence that fast fashion is contributing to rising consumption.

It is widely acknowledged that our generation is more wasteful than previous ones.

Some people strongly believe that governments need to make recycling compulsory

There is + ______ + ______ + that + clause

It is + ______+ ______ + that + clause
Some people + ______+ ______ + that + clause

5 COMPLETE THE SENTENCES WITH THE CORRECT FORM OF THE WORDS IN BRACKETS.
1. There is a ______ ______ that the economy is more important than the environment.
(widespread/believe)
2. There is an ______ ______that being eco-friendly is the best type of lifestyle. (underlie/assume)
3. Some experts have ______ ______ that recycling isn't as effective as reducing waste.
(formal/acknowledge)
4. There is a ______ ______ that individuals cannot make a difference if they recycle.
(common/misconceive)

PRACTICE TASK
1. Are brands important? For what groups of people?
2. How are people influenced by advertising?
3. How much pressure is there on people to buy the latest gadgets these days?
4. Do you think the world is too materialistic these days? Why/Why not?

1. What kinds of problems are associated with buying brand names? Why?
2. Do you think people are successful because of what they own? Why/Why not?
3. Would you say the world is becoming more materialistic? Why/Why not?
4. Do you think this is true in only certain parts of the world? If so, which ones?
5. In what situations might materialism be beneficial? When could it be negative?

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