Activity 1

Online Shops

This activity is designed to test your knowledge of some of the world’s most famous online shops.
Look at the list below.

A. What kind of shops or services are they, and what do they sell?

1. The Body Shop: www.thebodyshop.com

2. Amazon: www.amazon.com
3. IKEA: www.ikea.com
4. Wal-Mart: www.walmart.com
5. Marks & Spencer: www.marksandspencer.com
6. Spotify: www.spotify.com
7. Bloomingdale’s: www.bloomingdales.com
8. Netflix: www.netflix.com
9. Hamleys: www.hamleys.com
10. Airbnb: www.airbnb.com

The World’s Most Famous Shops

B. Read the descriptions of the five shops below. Can you identify them from the list of shops in
exercise A?

1. The shop’s founder, Ingvar Kamprad from Agunnaryd, Sweden, registered the name in 1943 and
started selling furniture in 1950. Since then, the company has expanded to include a number of home
furnishings shops and support companies around the world. The shop is famous for producing and
selling low-cost furniture, much of which is sold for self-assembly. The first self-service warehouse shop
opened in 1965 to ‘help customers cut down on waiting time’. The shop went online in 1997 with the
World Wide Living Room Web Site. ______________________
2. In 1884, Michael, a Russian refugee, hired a stall in Kirkgate, Leeds. Ten years later he formed a
partnership with Tom, a cashier from a wholesale company. They opened their first shop and adopted
the policy of buying direct from manufacturers. The company’s flagship shop opened in Oxford Street
in 1930 and became famous for selling quality clothing at a reasonable price. In 1931 the shop started
selling food products. The first international shops opened in Paris and Brussels in 1975. In 2012 the
company won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for Sustainable Development.
______________________
3. The very first branch opened in Brighton, England, in 1976. Apart from selling products created by
people working in developing countries, the shop has been involved in many campaigns, working with
organizations such as Amnesty International and Greenpeace. The first international franchise opened
in Brussels in 1978. The name everyone associates with the shop is Anita Roddick. In 1997 the United
Nations Environment Program (UNEP) recognized her as one of 25 female leaders to have made
outstanding contributions to the environment. The shop went online in 1995.
______________________

4. Sam, a small-town merchant who had already run shops in Arkansas and Missouri, opened the first
shop in 1962. He was convinced that consumers wanted a discount store with a wide variety of
merchandise and friendly service. Apparently, he was right. The company has become the world’s
number one retailer, and more than a million Americans work at the stores in the United States. Sam,
who died in 1992, once said, ‘If we work together, we’ll lower the cost of living for everyone, not just in
America, but we’ll give the world an opportunity to see what it’s like to save and have a better lifestyle,
a better life for all.’ ______________________

5. The shop opened its virtual doors in July 1995 with a mission to ‘use the internet to transform book
buying into the fastest, easiest and most enjoyable shopping experience possible’. The shop is now the
largest online shopping site in the world, making over a billion US dollars a year. Although it started as
a bookshop, it now also sells other products, including millions of books, CDs, videos, DVDs, toys and
games. Its motto for staff is ‘Work hard, have fun, make history’. The shop’s headquarters are in
Seattle, USA. ______________________

GIFT SHOPPING ONLINE

C. Choose six people you would like to buy a present for. What will you buy them, and which online
shop will you buy it from?

Name Present and online shop

 Activity 2

FENG SHUI AT HOME

My Bedroom
 A. Draw a detailed plan of your bedroom.

Feng Shui In The Bedroom

B. Read the article below. It will tell you if you have good Feng Shui in your bedroom or if there
are some things you should change to improve your luck.

Energy flow According to Feng Shui, the objects that occupy your personal space give off different
kinds of energies. These energies can be beneficial or harmful. In order to see if there is a positive flow
of energy in your room, draw a line through your room as you enter the door and move among the
furniture. If the line is straight, the flow is bad. If there are too many sharp comers or objects that
obstruct your way, then you will have obstacles and difficulties in your life. If the line curves and flows
smoothly, the Feng Shui is good.

Carpet/rug The carpet/rug on the floor should be the same shape as the room. This is to create
harmony in your room. You should never put a carpet on the wall!

Your bed The best place to put your bed is with your head pointing in the direction which is most
favourable for success. If you don’t know this, there are some points to remember. The bed shouldn’t
be positioned with your feet pointing towards the door. It’s also bad to sleep with your head or toes
pointing towards a toilet. In Feng Shui, the toilet is always a negative influence. The negative energy
can cause you to be lazy and lacking in motivation. If there are two doors, avoid putting the bed
between them. The positive energy that enters the room through one door can easily escape through
the other. The best place to put the bed is either to the left or the right of the door.

Other furniture Open bookshelves are like knives that send out a killing influence. They are especially
bad if they are behind you when you are working. The result can be illness or even death. It is better to
put doors in front of the shelves to make a cupboard. You shouldn’t have a television in your bedroom.
If you do, cover it up while you are sleeping. A television in the bedroom can cause severe
unhappiness. Mirrors are taboo in the bedroom. If you have a mirror, cover it up while you are sleeping
and try to move it so that it doesn’t reflect the bed. Plants and anything connected with water, such as
an aquarium, should not be kept in the bedroom.

Your study area If you study, your desk should face the direction that is favourable for your education.
Your desk should be tidy. If it is untidy, it can cause disharmony. The part of your desk directly in front
of you should be empty. This represents a clear space in front of you. And put your wastepaper bin
under your desk or in a place where you can’t see it when you walk in the door.

Good or Bad Feng Shui?

C. Answer the questions below.

1. Do you have a mirror in your dining room? _______________________

2. Do you have pictures of fruit or real fruit in your dining room? ____________________

3. Do you have an aquarium in your home? ________________________

4. Do you have fresh flowers in your living room? ________________________

5. Do you have plants in your home? ____________________________

6. Do you have your cooker directly opposite or next to the sink? __________________________

7. Do you have a family portrait in the living room? __________________________

8. Do you ever leave washing hanging outside at night? _________________________

9. What’s the number of your house/flat? ____________________________

D. Now read the article below and find out whether you have good or bad Feng Shui!

A mirror in your dining room is a good thing. The reflection appears to double the quantity of food you
have on the table. Have you ever noticed how many restaurants have mirrors on their walls?
Fruit brings a very positive energy to your dining room. Pictures of fruit make it seem as though you
have lots of food in your house – a good thing!
Having fish, for example goldfish, in your home is very lucky according to Feng Shui. Ideally there
should be eight golden fish and one black. If a goldfish dies, it means that the fish has absorbed bad
luck that would otherwise go to someone in the family.
Flowers are extremely good in creating good Feng Shui because they bring fresh and refreshing energy.
However, make sure that you remove the flowers quickly when they die to avoid negative energies.
Plants are good because they bring positive energy. But avoid cactus plants – the thorns are dangerous
and can bring bad luck. Similarly, bonsai plants are unnaturally small and prevent the growth and
prosperity of those who live in the house.
The cooker represents fire while the sink represents water. These are opposing elements and they
shouldn’t be next to or confronting each other.
A portrait helps create a sense of togetherness in the family. Every person in the family should be
included, and they should all be smiling to symbolise happiness.
Never leave your washing hanging out at night. The bad spirits can enter the clothes and cause you to
have bad luck.
The lucky number above all others is the number eight. The Chinese like to end a series of numbers
with eight. If your house number ends with eight, you will have good luck. The most unlucky number is
number four.
 Activity 3

Night and Day

Sleep Questionnaire

A. How well do you sleep? Are you a deep sleeper? A light sleeper? A sleepwalker? And what did
you dream about last night? Take our questionnaire, then share your answers in small groups.

1. How many hours a night do you normally sleep?

o Less than seven hours.

o Between seven and eight hours.
o More than eight hours.

2. How long does it take you to go to sleep?

o I fall asleep quickly.

o It takes me a while.
o I find it very difficult to get to sleep.

3. What do you do if you can’t sleep?

o I count sheep.
o I listen to the radio.
o Other.

4. Do you read in bed at night?

o No.
o I read a book.
o I read a newspaper or magazine.

5. How well do you sleep?

o I sleep like a log.

o Fine.
o I’m a light sleeper.

6. Which of these have you ever done in your sleep?

o Talked.
o Walked.
o Made a cup of coffee.
7. Do you snore?

o I don’t know – I’m asleep.

o Yes. I regularly get complaints from neighbours.
o No.

8. Have you ever gone 24 hours without sleeping?

o Never.
o Once.
o Several times.

9. Have you ever fallen asleep in the following situations?

o In my English class.
o Standing up.
o At the theatre or cinema.

10. What position do you normally sleep in?

o On my back.
o On my stomach.
o On my side.

11. Do you remember your dreams?

o I don’t dream.
o Yes, vividly.
o Sometimes.

12. When was the last time you had a nightmare?

o Very recently.
o A long time ago.
o I never have bad dreams.

13. What’s a siesta?

o A novel by Ernest Hemingway.

o A Ford car.
o A short sleep at midday.

14. Do you normally have a siesta?

o Yes.
o No.
 o How can I answer this question if I don’t know what a siesta is?

15. How long are your siestas?

o I don’t take siestas.

o 10–20 minutes.
o At least 30 minutes.

Night

Why do we sleep? Amazingly, it’s a question that has no definite answer. We all know that we fall
asleep because we are tired and that we feel better after sleeping, but why can’t we do without it?
Research has shown that animals die if they don’t have sleep, almost as quickly as they do if they
don’t have food. But why do we need it?
The time we are asleep is divided into different periods: D-sleep (desynchronized or dreaming) and
S-sleep (synchronized). These periods are also known as REM (rapid-eye-movement) sleep and
NREM (non-rapid-eye-movement) sleep. A typical night’s sleep consists of four or five periods of D-
sleep that last a total time of approximately 90 minutes (little more than 20 per cent of total sleep
time). The first D-sleep period occurs about 70 to 120 minutes after falling asleep.

Young people always sleep more, and have much more D-sleep than adults. A young baby sleeps
16 to 18 hours per day, at least half of which is D-sleep. On average, a young adult spends 16 to 17
hours awake and 7 to 8 hours asleep each day. The amount of sleep we need varies greatly from
person to person. Some people function well on five hours of sleep a night, whereas others require
ten hours. There have even been stories of people functioning with no sleep at all. However, it is
generally accepted that (almost) everyone needs at least four or five hours.
How long animals sleep is also variable. Bats sleep for up to 20 hours a day, and the giant anteater
sleeps for 18 hours. Lions can sleep for days. In general, animals that are secure from predators
sleep a lot, while those whose lives are at risk sleep little. Dolphins are clever and spend the night
half asleep. First the right half of their brain goes to sleep, and then the left. While one hemisphere
is in deep sleep, the other is always alert.

The sleeping position you most often lie in (the one you normally wake up in) can tell you what
kind of person you are. If you lie on your back (the ‘royal’ position) you have a strong, self-
confident personality, are generous and believe that nothing is impossible for you. If you lie on
your stomach, (the ‘prone’ position) you are a careful and cautious person. You need to feel in
control of your life and don’t like surprises, but you are essentially a happy person with a balanced
view of things. If you sleep on your side with your knees up near your chest, like a baby before it’s
born (the ‘foetal’ position), you are an anxious person with little self-confidence. You have a deep
need to be loved and protected.
Day

A survey carried out in the United States discovered that a third of all Americans suffer from
insomnia. Over in England, it has been calculated that 20 million prescriptions for sleeping pills are
written every day. So what can you do to avoid having problems getting to sleep? The most
obvious advice is to avoid coffee and alcohol. Alcohol puts you to sleep, but it disturbs your sleep
patterns and you may wake up later. Smoking doesn’t help. Smokers take half an hour longer to
get to sleep than non-smokers! In general, you shouldn’t go to bed until you really feel tired, and if
you can’t sleep you should get up and do something until you feel sleepy again. And don’t worry
about not sleeping – most people get the amount of sleep they need in the end!

The rest of the world has finally discovered what people from hot climates have known all along: a
short sleep after lunch leaves you feeling fresh, relaxed and ready for action again. And that’s
official. Experts now know that your body is programmed to have a nap at midday. It’s a habit that
improves concentration, helps reduce stress and can help protect you against heart problems.
Coffee can’t do this. It makes you feel awake, but your body still needs sleep. It’s important to get
the right amount of sleep. Between 10 and 20 minutes is the optimum length for a siesta. Any
more and you go into deep sleep and will wake up in a bad mood.

Even in the USA, where Benjamin Franklin famously said ‘time is money’, people are waking up to
the benefits of having a siesta. Sleeping during the day was seen as a sign of laziness. After all, if
you’re not awake, you’re not being productive. But that attitude is changing. Recent studies have
shown that a lack of sleep can make you 24 per cent less productive at work. You think slower, find
it harder to solve problems and have more accidents. Calculations show, for example, that tired
drivers cause 100,000 traffic accidents a year in the United States, resulting in 1,500 deaths.

These studies have prompted a growing number of companies in the United States to open up
‘nap lounges’ for their workers. These rooms are equipped with reclining armchairs, blankets,
headphones with relaxing music, alarm clocks and ear plugs. Nap lounges have brought the need
for a lunchtime nap out into the open. In an anonymous Internet survey, hundreds of workers
confessed that they have a siesta at work, but that they do it in secret. Where? Well, a store room,
the local park or their car were all seen as good places, but the most popular place of all was . . .
the toilet!

So next time you feel tired after lunch, forget the coffee and lie down for a while. After all, if
President Kennedy, Winston Churchill, Alfred Hitchcock, Salvador Dali and Albert Einstein all
functioned better after a siesta, there’s really no need for you to feel guilty. Time is money. And a
midday snooze is time very well spent.

B. Are the statements true or false?

a. Animals die if they don’t have sleep.

b. A quarter of all Americans suffer from insomnia.

c. Children need more sleep than adults.

d. Sleeping in the middle of the day makes you less productive.

e. Everybody needs at least six hours of sleep a night.

f. The most popular place for a siesta at work is in the car.

g. The position you sleep in reflects your personality.

Activity 4

Common Cold

A. Complete the words in the box to make symptoms of a common cold, then match the
symptom to the picture below.

1. c ________h 2. r__________y n_______

3. s__________ t_________ 4. s___________

Catching Colds

B. Discuss the following questions with your partner:

1. How often do you get colds?

2. When was the last time you had one?

3. Can we do anything to avoid getting a cold?

4. What do you do when you have a cold?

5. Do you know any cold remedies?

Colds Quiz

C. To test your knowledge and (we hope) find out a thing or two you didn’t know about the
common cold, try this quiz. In each section there is at least one red herring – something that will
not help you avoid or fight a cold. Put a tick next to the correct advice and put a cross next to the
red herrings.

1. Eating to avoid colds

It’s cold season. There’s a cold going round and some of the people around you already have one.
What should you eat if you want to avoid getting one too?

o Plenty of oranges and other fruit that is rich in vitamin C

o Chocolate
o Food like carrots, spinach, eggs and liver that is rich in vitamin A

2. Preventative action

If someone with a cold sneezes on a bus, everyone on the bus is exposed to the cold virus. So what
can you do to avoid a cold? You could lock yourself at home and refuse to open the door to
anybody. Or you could …

o Have regular cold showers

o Wash your hands regularly
o Relax – take things easy
o Have regular saunas

3. Cold remedies

It’s too late now for preventative action. You’ve got a cold and you feel dreadful. Everyone you
know has suggested a cold remedy. But which ones actually work?

o A glass of alcohol a day

o Eucalyptus and menthol drops
o A glass of milk
o A cheeseburger with large fries
o Hot, spicy Indian or Mexican food
o Garlic
 o A hot bowl of soup
o A hot drink

4. Get well soon

You’re probably miserable and feeling a little sorry for yourself. So what should you do to get over
your cold and start to feel better?

o Use a cloth handkerchief to blow your nose

o Put your head over a bowl of hot water and inhale the steam
o Go to bed and get some more sleep
o Change your toothbrush
o Get some light exercise and fresh air
o Go for a long hard run wearing only shorts and a T-shirt

The common cold fact file

Eating to avoid colds

Read the texts to check your answers.

Many people eat more oranges to avoid getting a cold. Oranges are a good source of vitamin C,
which boosts the immune system and so may help prevent colds. However, vitamin C has never
been proven to prevent colds. What you really need to do is consume extra vitamin A, so eat more
carrots, spinach, milk, eggs and liver. (Eating chocolate might make you feel happier, but it won’t
help you avoid a cold!)

Preventative action

The cold virus can live for up to two hours on door handles, towels, telephones, etc. If you touch
these things and then touch your eyes or nose, the cold virus will enter your body. So one of the
best ways to prevent a cold is to wash your hands regularly. Another way to prevent a cold is to not
worry and be happy. People under stress get more colds. A vaccination will give good protection
agains tflu for a year, but there is no vaccine yet against the 250 viruses that cause the common
cold. Regular saunas are also recommended. People in Sweden who have saunas twice a week
have been shown to have fewer colds. (We could find no evidence to suggest that having regular
cold showers will help prevent a cold!)

Cold remedies

When you have a cold, consuming hot foods and liquids will kill off the virus in your nose and
mouth. That also includes hot, spicy food which contains chilli powder. Hot chicken soup is
recommended. A glass of alcohol a day can also help to reduce inflammation in the mucus
membranes. What you should not do is eat dairy products, because milk feeds the mucus in your
nose. Drops of eucalyptus or menthol will also help. Some traditional cold remedies do not work.
Garlic has many health benefits but doesn’t give protection against a cold. Extra vitamin C won’t
help you either. (And while a cheeseburger with large fries might be your idea of food heaven, it
won’t cure your cold!)

Get well soon

If you want to recover from a cold quickly, you should not use a cloth handkerchief, because it is a
perfect place for germs to breed. A good thing to do is to inhale steam by putting your head over a
bowl of hot water with a towel over your head for about 15 minutes a day. The cold virus is very
sensitive to high temperatures, and the steam will help kill the virus. And contrary to what most
people think, going to bed and sleeping a lot is not a good idea. Light exercise and fresh air are
much better ways to fight a cold. Also, you should not continue to use the same toothbrush when
the worst of your cold is over, because germs survive between the bristles. Change your
toothbrush when you start to feel better. (We could not find anyone to recommend going for a
long hard run wearing only shorts and a T-shirt!)
 Activity 5

Television

A. Using the letters in the box below, make as many other words as you can.
TELEVISION
B. Study the infographic about television for thirty seconds. Then cover it up and try to
answer the following questions from memory.

1. How many lines does digital television broadcast with?

_________________________________________________________________________________

2. What was the first advertisement on television for?

_________________________________________________________________________________

3. The Super Bowl is a sporting event. True or false?

_________________________________________________________________________________

4. In 2012, what did 54% of American children have?

_________________________________________________________________________________

5. What televised event had 3.2 billion viewers in 2010?

_________________________________________________________________________________

6. How will people control televisions in the future?

_________________________________________________________________________________

7. What else do people do with televisions apart from watch programmes now?

_________________________________________________________________________________

8. What is one informal expression in English for television?

_________________________________________________________________________________

C. Now look at the infographic again and check your answers.

D. Put the words in the box into two groups:

1. parts of a television/objects connected to television: e.g. cable.

2. things you watch on television: e.g. channel.

ANTENNA MINISERIES reality show SATELITE DISH

flat screen cable set

game show programme control remote

talk show soap opera VARIETY SHOW channel

E. Complete the sentences below with words from exercise D.

1. When we watch TV in my house, my older brother always has the __________ in his hand.

2. I always watch the news on TV3. It’s my favourite __________.

3. If you want to see British television in my country, you need to install a __________.

4. We have two TV __________ in the house: a small one in the kitchen and a big one in the living
room.

5. I know someone who was on a __________ once. He answered all the questions correctly and

won a big prize.

6. I’m watching a __________ about the Russian Revolution right now. The actors are great, and

there are only two episodes left.

 Activity 6

Iceland

A. Work in pairs. Make a list of compound words beginning with ice, for example ice cream
or ice-skating.

_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

B. Read the infographic about Iceland and answer the questions.

1. How many active volcanoes are there in Iceland? ____________________

2. What effect did the ash cloud have in 2010? ____________________

3. How does Iceland produce electricity? ____________________

4. What is the average temperature in winter? ____________________

5. What kind of heating do households have? ____________________

6. What percentage of the population does not live in the capital? ____________________

7. What time does the sun rise on the longest day? ____________________

8. What armed forces does Iceland have? ____________________

C. Read the infographic again and find words that mean the following.

1. a large flat area of land that is higher than the land around it ____________________

2. hot water and steam that shoot up out of the earth ____________________

3. an area of land that is empty or cannot be used ____________________

4. an area of land covered with trees ____________________

5. land that is suitable for growing crops ____________________

6. energy that is obtained from falling water ____________________

7. energy that is obtained from the heat in the ground ____________________

8. an area of land at a high level and consists of hills and mountains ____________________

D. The following words are connected to hot and cold weather. What are the differences
between each pair?
1. mild / bitter
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
2. Indian summer / heatwave
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
3. frosty / chilly
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
4. balmy / scorching
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
5. blustery / fresh
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

E. Complete each sentence with words from exercise D.

1. It is really ____________________ up there. They could be blown off the mountain.

2. It has been a really ____________________ winter with the highest temperatures in Iceland

since 1998.

3. The weather is unusually warm for this late in the year – it’s almost winter. Can we call it a(n)

____________________?

4. Be careful not to slip and fall. Remember it is ____________________ this morning in Reykjavík.

5. He looked out onto the plateau and sat down to enjoy the beautiful ____________________
summer’s evening.
F. What three pieces of information about your country would you include in an informative
tourist brochure? Give reasons for your choice.
 ___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
 ___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
 ___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
 Activity 7

Mother’s Day and Father’s Day

A. Work in pairs. Decide whether the statements about Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are
true or false. Compare and discuss your answers, then read the texts on the next page to
check your answers.

1. Father’s Day was invented by a woman.

2. Both celebrations fall in the same month.

3. Father’s day is an official public holiday around the world.

4. Mother’s Day is celebrated in the same month in the UK and the US.
5. Father’s Day is always on a Thursday in Germany.

6. In China, Father’s Day is celebrated in August.

7. Mother’s day is an official public holiday in Thailand.

8. Both celebrations come from the United States.

B. Find the underlined words in the Mother’s Day and Father’s Day texts and match them
with their meanings below. The words are not in chronological order.

Mother’s day:

1. made something that did not exist before_______________

2. done by people in authority _______________

3. very old, relating to people who lived thousands of years ago _______________

4. to show your love, respect or admiration for someone _______________

5. someone who raises a child but is not a biological parent _______________

Father’s Day:

6. a long walk in the countryside _______________

7. took care of children while they were growing up _______________

8. a large hole or tunnel in the ground from which people take coal, gold, etc. _______________

9. a religious ceremony in a church _______________

10. a day when shops, banks, businesses and schools are closed _______________

Mother’s Day

Mother's Day is a time to honour mothers and mother figures, such as stepmothers, foster
mothers, grandmothers or mothers-in-law. On this day many people visit their mother and give her
a card and a gift, or they take their mother out for a meal in a restaurant.

Mother’s Day is held on the second Sunday of May in many countries in Europe as well as in
Australia, Canada and the United States. In the United Kingdom it is on the Sunday three weeks
before Easter.

Celebrations of mothers go back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held festivals in honour
of the mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele, but the more recent history of Mother’s Day goes back
to the 1600s in England. There, Mothering Sunday was celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent
(the 40 days before Easter). After a church service to honour Jesus’ mother Mary, children gave
flowers to their own mothers. These days, in the UK, Mothering Sunday has become less of a
religious holiday and more similar to the American Mother’s Day celebration.

In the United States, Mother’s Day was created by Anna Jarvis in 1908 and became an official US
holiday in 1914. However, Mother's Day is not a public holiday. Businesses and stores open or
close, just as they do on any other Sunday in the year, but restaurants are busier than usual.

Mother’s Day is an official public holiday in some countries such as Costa Rica (August 15), Georgia
(March 3), Samoa (second Monday of May), and Thailand (August 12).

Father’s Day

Father's Day is celebrated on the third Sunday in June in the UK and in many other countries
around the world. The idea to have a special day for fathers started in the USA and in 1972
President Richard Nixon made it a US national holiday. Although Father’s Day is celebrated in many
countries around the world, it is not usually an official public holiday.

There are two stories about the beginning of Father’s Day. One says that Sonora Dodd, from
Washington, came up with the idea in 1910 after attending a Mother’s Day service in church. Dodd
and her brothers and sister were raised by their single father after their mother died, and she
asked why fathers did not have their own day too. The other story says that Grace Golden Clayton,
from Fairmont, West Virginia, invented Father’s Day in 1908. After a mine explosion killed more
than 360 men in a nearby town she suggested that children in the town needed a special day to
remember their fathers.

In Germany Vatertag (Father’s Day) is celebrated on Ascension Day (a religious public holiday)
which is always on a Thursday in April, May or June. The day is also called Männertag (or Men’s
Day) and it is traditional for groups of men to go for a hike, taking beer and meat for a barbecue.

In China, Father’s Day used to be celebrated on 8 August. The Chinese word for eight is ‘ba’, and
one word for father is ‘ba-ba’ – so the eighth day of the eighth month sounds similar to ‘daddy’.
These days, the celebration has moved to the third Sunday of June; the same day as the UK and US.

C. Discuss the following questions.

• When is Mother’s Day and Father’s Day in your country?

• Do you celebrate Mother’s Day or Father’s Day? If so, what do you do?

• If you had 25 pounds / 30 euros to spend on a gift for your mother or father (or a mother or
father figure), what would you buy?

D. Read all six of the sentence beginnings below. Think about how you could continue each
one and make notes for yourself. Use the photos for some ideas. Then take it in turns to
tell short stories about your family to your partner.

My mother/stepmother/grandmother/aunt/sister loved to ...

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

My father/stepfather/grandfather/uncle/brother often ...

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

My mother/stepmother/grandmother/aunt/sister never ...

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

When he was a boy, my father/stepfather/grandfather/uncle/brother ...

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
In the holidays, my parents/mum/dad/family used to ...

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

When I was a child, the most important adult in my life was ...

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Activity 8

Advent

A. Read the article and write the names of what you see in the images below.
 Advent

Advent in Germany is a tradition-rich time of warmth, cosiness, soft lights, spicy aromas, and
friends and family. It helps bring about a sense of good cheer, known as gemütlichkeit, which adds
to people’s well-being during the cold and dark weeks leading up to Christmas.

Advent lasts for around four weeks and always includes four Sundays, the fourth of which is the
last Sunday before Christmas. Depending on which day of the week Christmas Eve (24th
December) falls on, Advent will begin sometime between November 27th and December 3rd.

Most traditional German Christmas markets start on the first weekend of Advent. These have
become well known all over the world and, especially those in big towns and cities, are visited by
many thousands of tourists. But they are also atmospheric places where locals enjoy meeting after
work for a hot mulled wine and something to eat, and to shop for Christmas gifts. These larger
markets are usually on for the whole four weeks of Advent. Most villages and small towns hold
their own smaller Christmas markets on the first weekend of Advent. These are more about
community and less about commercialism, and provide an opportunity for local groups, clubs and
associations to raise money by selling home-made cakes, sausages, drinks and handicrafts.

Special kinds of biscuits such as Lebkuchen and Pfeffernüsse, types of spicy gingerbread, are sold in
shops during Advent. At home, adults show off their baking skills and children have fun in the
kitchen baking special traditional Advent biscuits such as cinnamon stars (Zimtsterne), coconut
macaroons (Kokosmakronen), and bear claws (Bärentatzen). These biscuits are given as gifts or
shared with friends and family and eaten with hot tea or coffee in the cosy glow from candles on
the Advent wreath.

Advent wreaths, made of evergreen pine twigs woven together to form a circle, are placed on the
dining table or in a window. Each circular wreath holds four candles and is decorated with dried
orange peel, cinnamon sticks and ribbons. The four candles represent the four weeks of Advent.
One candle is lit each Sunday in Advent so that by Christmas all four candles are burning at the
same time.

Advent calendars have 24 doors to help count down the days until Christmas. Door number one is
opened on 1st December and a further numbered door opened every day until the final one
announces to excited children that Christmas Eve has finally arrived. Although many toy and
chocolate companies sell their own Advent calendars, many parents and grandparents prefer to
make them themselves. These personal and home-made Advent calendars contain not only sweets
and small gifts, but also love.
 B. Are these sentences true (T) or false (F) according to the information in the text? Correct
any that are false.

1. Advent lasts for the whole of December.

2. Advent begins on December 1st.

3. Many Advent traditions provide people with a feeling of cosiness, warmth and general well-
being.

4. German grandparents traditionally buy their grandchildren an Advent calendar with a

chocolate present for each day of Advent.

5. It is a tradition to make and eat Advent biscuits on Christmas Eve.

C. These simple but delicious Advent biscuits are easy to make. But first the recipe needs
some help.
a. Use these words to complete the list of ingredients.

cinnamon egg whites almonds sugar

Ingredients:

250g of icing ________________

3 whisked _________________

2 teaspoons of ______________

350g of ground ______________

 D. Now put the recipe instructions in the correct order.

a. Add the ground almonds and cinnamon to the smooth mixture to make a
dough.
b. Any leftover biscuits can be stored in an airtight container for two to
three weeks.
c. Stir the icing sugar into the egg whites to make a smooth mixture.
d. Brush the rest of the egg white mixture thinly onto the biscuits for the
glaze.
e. Roll the dough out so that it is half a centimetre thick.
f. Preheat the oven to 150°C.
g. Enjoy eating the cinnamon star biscuits with family and friends.
h. Let the biscuits cool completely.
i. Use a star-shaped cookie cutter to cut out approximately 50 cookies.
j. Bake for about 15 minutes.
k. Keep aside two tablespoons of the egg white mixture for the glaze.
l. Beat the egg whites until they become stiff.

E. Find out more about the Advent and Christmas markets in one of these cities.

Stuttgart Dresden Nuremberg Constance Munich

Think about:

• When does the market open?

• How long is the market on for?

• What special events or attractions does the market offer visitors?

Get together in a group and present your findings. Then decide which market you would most like
to go to and why.
 Activity 9

Business

A. Look at the photos. What does each one show?

 B. Read the headlines and circle all the words connected to business.

PROFITS UP AS COSTS CUT

BANK IN TROUBLE IN NEW CRISIS

REWARD FOR LOYALTY IS

PROMOTION

YOUTH BADLY HIT IN JOBS

MARKET

FURTHER WORRIES AS MARKETS

CONTINUE TO FALL

What do you think happened in each of the situations?

C. Read the newspaper stories below and match the headlines from the previous exercise to
the correct story.

1.___________________________

For the third time in two years, a European Bank faces collapse after losing more than $1 billion.
The latest crisis was again the result of unauthorized trading by a rogue trader. Bank sources claim
that the losses were limited as the transactions were picked up at an early stage. However,
financial analysts say that such trading should be impossible if the systems in place are as robust as
banks claim.

2. __________________________

As the value of shares plunges for the third day in succession, the markets are bracing themselves
for further falls. Last night, markets closed with record lows for the year, with the FTSE 100 at just
over the 5,000 mark and the Dow close to 11,000. The latest crisis seems to have been triggered
over uncertainty in the Middle East and fears over disruption to oil supplies.

3. __________________________

As three of the biggest high street retailers posted record half- yearly sales figures, analysts are
saying that the recession has finally ended. Figures show sales are up by 5%, on average, and
profits are a healthy 8% higher. The profit figures reflect cost-cutting measures introduced by
many of the leading retailers. However, the higher- than-expected sales figures are certainly good
news.

4.___________________________

The government has come under further pressure with the release of new unemployment figures.
Unemployment is now affecting 12% of the workforce. 18- to 24-year-olds have been particularly
badly hit, with around 25% now out of work. Government ministers were quick to point out that
this latest rise was not as bad as had been feared and that other countries have also experienced
similar increases.

IGM has announced the appointment of a new chief executive. Marcus Liebermann is the first CEO
to have been appointed from within. The fifty-one-year-old joined the company more than 30
years ago straight from Harvard University. Until recently he was the regional manager in their
Asian division, based in Hong Kong. His first job will be to turn around the ailing company which
has seen its market share drop from around 15% to just 4% last year.

D. Read the texts again and answer these questions.

1. Was this the first time European banks have been hit by the actions of a rogue trader?

2. What is causing the value of shares to fall?

3. How can the increase in profits made by retailers be higher than the increase in sales?

4. Which section of the workforce is the hardest hit by unemployment?

5. How many companies has Marcus Liebermann worked for?

 Activity 10

Museums

A. Look at these photos. What does each one show?

Discuss the questions below.

1. How often do you go to a museum or art gallery?

2. When was the last time you went?

3. What type of museum or art gallery was it?

 B. Read the titles below. What kind of museum or art gallery do you think each one is
about?

WAITING, WALKING AND A BIT OF CANVAS

NO SKILLS REQUIRED

A Trip Back In Time

ANY SKELETONS IN YOUR CUPBOARD?

A Museum You’ll Be Hooked On

REVIEWS

C. Read the online reviews of five different museums and art galleries. Match the titles from
the previous exercise to each one.

A. B.
It’s just the perfect place to take a seven-year-
old. When I first heard of this museum I thought
When I told my wife I was taking Jake to a someone was pulling my leg. I mean, how can
museum you have a museum dedicated to barbed wire?
she just said “Good luck!” but he was great. Of course, it is in the US – where else would it
The be? But it is fascinating. Did you know there
minute we walked through those big wooden are more than 2,000 types of barbed wire?
doors Also, I learnt a lot about the history of the
and he saw the huge skeleton he was settlers in the Midwest. Whatever you do,
mesmerized. don’t go there with a magnet in your pocket!
I watched his mouth fall open in wonder and
he
held my hand as we walked from exhibition to
exhibition. Of course, there were questions
followed by more questions, but he absolutely
loved it.
C.
I was a bit disappointed – after all, as the home
to
probably the most famous painting in the
world, you’d expect a bit more from the
Louvre. Some of the exhibitions were great – I
loved the Greek and Roman section with all the
jewellery and pottery. I just had two problems
with the whole thing – the first was the queues
to get in (almost two hours!) and the second
was how far you have to walk around the
building. I wouldn’t go back.
D.
It’s almost like living history! You walk in off the
bustling streets of York and are transported back
more than 1,000 years. Fantastic video and audio
displays give you information overload, but the
highlight for my two young boys was coming face-
to-face with a ‘real’ Viking – at least, they thought
he was real! The place was full of the
overpowering smells of delicious food – as soon
as we left I had to find somewhere to eat!

E.
Do you like paintings? Appreciate good art? Well
this museum might just make you think again. It’s
dedicated to bad art – that’s right, the curators go
out of their way to look for paintings and other
works of art that just shouldn’t be on show and
proudly display them! My kids loved it. They
walked around saying “I could do better than
that!”

D. Read the reviews again and answer the questions.

1. Which two reviews tell you where the museum or art gallery is?

2. Which places were suitable for children?

3. Which place wasn’t as good as the person had expected?

4. Why did the children enjoy the bad art museum?

5. Where were people dressed in costumes?

 Answer Key

Activity 1: Online Shops

A.

1. The Body Shop sells hair and beauty products (e.g.skincare, make-up, perfume).

2. Amazon is an online bookstore and general retailer, which sells anything from children’s toys to
furniture to electronics.

3. IKEA sells furniture and things for the home.

4. Wal-Mart is a supermarket which sells groceries/food.

5. Marks and Spencer mainly sells clothes and shoes for both men and women.

6. Spotify is an online music streaming website.

7. Bloomingdale’s is a department store which sells clothes and accessories for men and women.

8. Netflix is an online film and TV streaming website.

9. Hamleys sells toys.

10. Airbnb is a type of online travel agency, selling accommodation.

B.

1. IKEA

2. Marks and Spencer

3. The Body Shop

4. Wal-Mart

5. Amazon

C.

Students’ own answers.

Activity 3: Night and Day

B.

a. true (from ‘Night’ – paragraph beginning ‘Why do we sleep?’)

b. false – it’s a third (from ‘Day’ – paragraph beginning ‘A survey carried out’)

c. true (from ‘Night’ – paragraph beginning ‘Young people always sleep more’)

d. false (from ‘Day’ – paragraph beginning ‘Even in the USA’)

e. false – it’s 4 to 5 hours (from ‘Night’ – paragraph beginning ‘Young people always sleep more’)

f. false – it’s the toilet (from ‘Day’ – paragraph beginning ‘These studies’)

g. true (from ‘Night’ – paragraph beginning ‘The sleeping position’)

Activity 4: Common Cold

A.

1. cough; 2. runny nose; 3. sore throat; 4. sneezing

C.

1. Chocolate; 2. Having regular cold showers; 3. A glass of milk; garlic; a cheeseburger with large
fries

4. Using a cloth handkerchief to blow your nose; going to bed and sleeping a lot; going for a long
hard run wearing only shorts and a T-shirt

Activity 5: Television

B.

1. 1080 (this refers to the resolution of the picture: more lines means higher picture resolution); 2.
Bulova watches; 3. true (American football); 4. a television in their room; 5. the World Cup Final
(football /soccer tournament); 6. through tablet, smartphone, gesture or voice; 7. video chat, shop,
look at photographs, videos, play games and listen to music; 8. idiot box, gogglebox, the tube, the
box, TV, telly
D.

1. antenna, cable, flat screen, remote control, satellite dish, set

2. channel, game show, miniseries, programme, reality show, soap opera, talk show, variety show

E.

1. remote control; 2. channel; 3. satellite dish; 4. sets; 5. game show; 6. Miniseries

Activity 6: Iceland

A.

Possible words: Ice Age, ice axe, iceberg, icebox, icebreaker, ice bucket, ice cap, ice(d) coffee, ice
cube, ice hockey, ice(d) lolly, ice pack, ice pick, ice rink, ice skate, ice skater, ice(d) tea, ice water

B.

1. 35
2. It disrupted international air travel and affected economic, political and cultural activities
worldwide.
3. from renewable energy (hydropower and geothermal power)
4. 0°C in the lowlands and -10°C in the highlands
5. geothermal
6. 40%
7. 3 am
8. none (no army, navy or air force)

C.

1. plateau; 2.geyser; 3.wasteland; 4.forested; 5.arable; 6.hydropower; 7.geothermal; 8.highlands

D.

1. Mild means warm and pleasant, especially for the time of year, whereas bitter refers to
extremely cold weather.

2. An Indian summer is a period of warm weather in autumn. A heatwave is a continuous period of

extremely hot weather.

3. Frosty means that there are thin layers of ice on the ground outside, whereas chilly is rather cold
and unpleasant weather.

4. Balmy is warm and pleasant weather. Scorching means that it is extremely hot.
5.Blustery means very strong winds, and fresh refers to fairly cold, windy weather.

E.

1.blustery; 2.mild; 3.Indian summer; 4.frosty; 5.balmy

Activity 7: Mother’s Day and Father’s Day

A.

1. True; 2.False; 3. False; 4. False; 5.True; 6.False; 7.True; 8. False

B.

1. created; 2.official; 3. ancient; 4. honour; 5.foster; 6. hike; 7. raised; 8. mine; 9.service; 10. public
holiday

Activity 8: Advent

A.

1. Advent wreath; 2. cinnamon sticks; 3. a cup or glass of mulled wine; 4. Advent biscuits; 5.
Advent calendar; 6. ribbons; 7. evergreen pine twigs

B.

1. False – it lasts for four weeks up until Christmas Eve on 24th December

2. False – it begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas (this might be at the end of November)

3. True

4. False – this type of Advent calendar exists, but people also like to make home-made Advent
calendars – and not only grandparents for their grandchildren

5. False – they are made and eaten at any time during Advent, preferably with friends and family

C.

250g of icing sugar

3 whisked egg whites

2 teaspoons of cinnamon

350g of ground almonds

D.

1. f; 2. l; 3. c; 4. k; 5. a; 6. e; 7. i; 8. d; 9. j; 10. h; 11. g; 12. b

E.

Possible information that could be included is:

• Stuttgart – particularly attractive market stands with decorated roofs and an ice rink

• Dresden – Germany’s oldest market, includes a Medieval market

• Nuremberg – Germany’s most famous market, opened by the Christkind, also famous for its
sausages and Lebkuchen (a type of gingerbread)

• Constance – cross-border stands from the countries surrounding Lake Constance: Germany,
Switzerland

and Austria

• Munich – has the largest manger; live Advent music is played every evening from the town hall

Activity 9: Business

A.

1. Wall Street (the financial centre of the US); 2. The Financial Times (a UK business newspaper); 3.
a group of people in a business meeting; 4. the stock exchange / market (traders on the floor)

B.

profits; costs cut; bank; promotion; jobs market; markets

C.

1. Bank in trouble in new crisis; 2. Further worries as markets continue to fall; 3. Profits up as costs
cut; 4. Youth badly hit in jobs market; 5. Reward for loyalty is promotion

D.

1. no (the key word is ‘again’); 2. uncertainty in the Middle East and fears over disruption of oil
supplies; 3. because they’ve cut costs, and not retail prices, so they make more profit from each
sale; 4. 18- to 24-year-olds; 5. one (he started working for the same company straight after
finishing school)

Activity 10: Museums

A.

1. statue / sculpture (Michelangelo’s David); 2. People looking at a picture in an art gallery; 3.

Egyptian funerary mask (of Tutankhamun); 4. skeleton of a large animal (e.g. a whale)

C.

4; B. 5; C. 1; D. 3; E. 2

D.

1.B (US) and D (York); 2. A , D and E; 3. C; 4. Because they thought they could do better; 5. D