FEATURES

70 Changing your life

How one couple left their jobs for a life of adventure

72 World party
Join in some of the world’s biggest and most colourful parties

74 Coming of age
A look at how different societies celebrate becoming an adult

78 Steel drums
A video about the steel drums of Trinidad and Tobago

Unit 6-p. 69
1 Work in pairs. The photo shows
three generations of people. Which
words in the box describe their
stage in life?

(from left to right in the photo):

elderly, middle-aged, and young Women chat on the station platform in
adult (or teenager of under 20)
Winterthur, Switzerland.

2 Listen to someone talking about the photo. Why does the speaker like the
photo? Track 44

It shows people at different stages in life communicating

in different ways.

Unit 6-p. 69
Script Track 44

These three people are waiting in a train station in Winterthur in Switzerland. I like the
picture because it shows three people at different stages in their life communicating in
different ways. The elderly lady and the middle-aged lady are chatting and the young
adult woman, maybe she’s eighteen or nineteen, is probably texting her friends or using
social media.
3 Look at these different life events. Answer the questions.

1 At what age do people in your

country do these things?
2 Do you think there is a correct
time in your life to do each one?

EXAMPLE ANSWERS
1 Here are general rules for the UK: get a pension (65); get your
driving licence (17); go to college or university (18); get married
(by law, 16; on average, 25 to 29); learn to ride a bicycle
(between 3 and 8, with an average of 5); leave home (many leave
at 18, but 25% of 20 to 34-year-olds continue to live with their
parents), start a family (the average age is 30 and rising); start
your career (no clear answer here – many start at 22 when they
leave university); retire from work (on average, people in the UK
retire at 63), buy your first home (a report by a bank suggested
30 as an average age – but increasingly it’s harder to buy a first
home in the UK).
2 Students’ own answers

Unit 6-p. 69
 6a Changing your life
Vocabulary describing age
1 In some countries it is rude to ask the question ‘How old are you?’ Is it rude
to ask this question in your country? What does it depend on?
EXAMPLE ANSWER
Students’ own answers. It can be rude. It depends on the age of the people
and how well you know them. If they are young, they probably don’t mind.
Older people might not want to say their age, especially if you don’t know
them well. It also shows a lack of respect to ask an older person a personal
question.
2 We use the phrases in B to talk about general age, e.g. He’s in his mid-
twenties. Match the ages in A with the phrases in B. Which words on page
69 also describe these ages?
14: early teens (teenager)
25: mid-twenties (young adult /
adult)
39: late thirties (adult)
53: fifties (middle-aged)
83: early eighties (elderly)
6a-p. 70
3 Work in pairs. Think of five people you both know (e.g. the leader of your
country, a famous celebrity). What age do you think they are?

EXAMPLE ANSWERS
Students’ own answers (answers will depend on your students’
context and culture). Here are some currently correct examples
from the English-speaking world:
Queen Elizabeth II: early nineties
Donald Trump (US President): early seventies
George Clooney (actor): mid-fifties
Justin Timberlake: late thirties
Jennifer Lawrence (actor): mid to late twenties
Taylor Swift (singer): late twenties

6a-p. 70
Reading
4 Read the article on page 71 about Rich and Amanda. What was their stage in
life when they left their jobs? Why did they decide to leave?
They were probably middle-aged, because they had successful careers.
They left because they wanted to be free to do the things they wanted.

5 Read the article again and answer the questions. 1 no (They always intended
to do something fun and
1 Did they do anything fun at the weekends? exciting at the weekend
2 What did they realize they wanted to do? but, in the end, there was
3 Why did they buy a campervan? never time.)
4 Where did they plan to travel to by container ship?
2 They wanted to stop
5 What did colleagues find difficult to understand? working and to go
6 What did friends think they were crazy to do? travelling.
7 What did Rich and Amanda start to do after they left home?
3 They bought a campervan to travel from the bottom of South America to Brazil.
4 Africa (… they hoped to get to Africa on a container ship.)
5 Colleagues at work found it difficult to understand their decision.
6 Their closest friends thought they were crazy to go on this kind of journey.
7 They started to live their dream.

6a-p. 70
 Track 45

Rich and Amanda Ligato were professional people with successful careers. Every week,
they worked hard. They always intended to do something fun and exciting at the
weekend but, in the end, there was never time. One day they asked themselves, ‘Is
this all there is?’
They realized that they wanted to stop working and to go travelling. Or, as Rich said,
‘to buy our freedom’. But first they needed to save some money. Every month they
lived on Rich’s salary and saved Amanda’s. Then they bought a campervan to travel
from the bottom of South America to Brazil, and from there they hoped to get to
Africa on a container ship.
Colleagues at work found it difficult to understand their decision. Even their closest
friends thought they were crazy to go on this kind of journey, but finally, the day came.
They left their home and started to live their dream.

6a-p. 71
Grammar to + infinitive

6 Look at the grammar box. Match the sentences (1–3) with the different
forms (a–c).

1a a verb + to + infinitive
3 b an adjective to + infinitive
2c to + infinitive explains the purpose of an action

6a-p. 70
7 Read about three people’s future plans. Choose the correct options to
complete the three texts. What is each person’s stage in life?
Text 1: teenager or young adult (probably taking time out between finishing
school and starting university)
Text 2: middle-aged (probably in their sixties – about to retire)
Text 3: adult (probably in twenties or thirties)
‘One day I plan 1 go / to go to university, but this year I’m working in a
supermarket 2 earn / to earn some money. Then I’d 3 like / to like to travel
round the world for six months.’ 1 to go (after the verb plan)
2 to earn (infinitive of purpose)
3 like
‘I’m so happy 4 retire / to retire! Some people tell me I should 5 relax / to
relax at this stage in my life, but I don’t want 6 sit / to sit at home doing
nothing.’ 4 to retire (after an adjective)
5 relax
6 to sit (after the verb want)
‘These days it’s really difficult 7 buy / to buy a house. Me and my husband
can’t 8 afford / to afford one, so we’re living with his parents and saving
money 9 buy / to buy a place of our own. It’s hard 10 don’t feel / not to feel
unhappy about it.’
7 to buy (after an adjective) 9 to buy (infinitive of purpose)
8 afford 10 not to feel (after an adjective)
6a-p. 70
8 Look at the correct options in Exercise 7. Which options use to + infinitive?
Match them to the uses (a–c) in Exercise 6.

1 a 2 c 4 b 6 a 7 b 9 c 10 b

9 Match the beginnings of the sentences (1–6) with the endings (a–f).

c 1 One day I intend to

f 2 I want to take a year off
b 3 I’d be
e 4 In the future, I’d like to learn
a 5 When I get older, I
d 6 These days, it’s difficult
a hope to spend more time with my family.
b happy to live in another country.
c buy my own house.
d not to take work home.
e to play a musical instrument.
f to travel overseas.

6a-p. 71
10 Pronunciation /tə/
Listen to the sentences from Exercise 9. Is to pronounced /tuː/ or /tə/?
Listen again and repeat.
Track 46
All are pronounced /tə/.

Script Track 46

1 One day I intend to buy my own house.

2 I want to take a year off to travel overseas.
3 I’d be happy to live in another country.
4 In the future I’d like to learn to play a musical instrument.
5 When I get older I hope to spend more time with my family.
6 These days it’s difficult not to take work home.

6a-p. 71
11 Write your own sentences using the sentence beginnings (1–6) in Exercise 9.
Then work in pairs. Read out your sentences and compare your ideas.

1 One day I intend to start my own business.

EXAMPLE ANSWERS
1 One day I intend to live abroad / get a new job / get married.
2 I want to take a year off to travel round the world / to learn a
new skill.
3 I’d be happy to get a good job / disappointed to lose my job.
4 In the future I’d like to learn a new language / to play the guitar.
5 When I get older I hope / plan / intend to buy a house / start a
family.
6 These days it’s difficult to buy a house / to get a job / to meet
interesting people.

6a-p. 71
Speaking
12 Work in groups. You plan to take six months off from your job or your studies
and have the trip of a lifetime! Discuss the following questions and make
notes about your plans. You can use the world map on pages 6–7 to help
your planning.

• Which countries and continents do you plan to visit?

• Why do you want to visit these places?
• What type of transport do you intend to use?
• What do you hope to do in each place that you visit?
• What do you think will be easy to do on the trip? What do you think will
be difficult to do?

13 Present your ‘trip of a lifetime’ to the rest of the class.

We plan to visit parts of Asia. First of all, we want to visit Vietnam to see its
beautiful and ancient places …

6a-p. 71
 6b World party
WORLD PARTY Track 47

People in different countries celebrate Mardi

Gras with live music, costumes, fireworks,
parades and lots of good food. The most famous
celebrations are in New Orleans, Venice, Rio de
Janeiro and Port-of-Spain.

New Orleans, USA

Small parties for Mardi Gras began in the 1700s. By the 1800s they were huge
events with masks, costumes and jazz bands. Visitors also have to try ‘king cake’
with its gold, purple and green decorations.

6b-p. 72
Venice, Italy Track 47
Mardi Gras is called Carnevale in this beautiful city. The first celebrations were
in the 11th century and it is still a big celebration today. Visitors to the city can
enjoy the costumes, candles and fireworks at night from a gondola in Venice’s
canals.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The world-famous parades started in the mid-1800s, with decorated floats and
thousands of people dancing to samba. People eat a famous meat and bean
stew called feijoada.
Port-of-Spain, Trinidad
The French arrived here in the 18th century and brought Mardi Gras with them.
Nowadays, everyone enjoys the parties and concerts with the famous steel
drums playing from morning to midnight.

6b-p. 72
Reading and vocabulary celebrations
1 Which events do you celebrate in your country? When do you have parties?
When a child is born, everyone in the family comes to a big party.
EXAMPLE ANSWERS
Students’ own answers. Events that are commonly celebrated with
a party: Christmas, New Year, Independence Day, Carnival or
Mardi Gras, birthdays, name days, weddings, wedding
anniversaries, graduation from school or university

2 Look at the first paragraph of the article. Why is the article called World
party?

Because it’s talking about a day that’s celebrated in lots of places

round the world.

6b-p. 72
3 Read the article. Match the sentences (1–6) with the four places in the
article.

1 There were no Mardi Gras celebrations here before the mid-1800s.

Rio de Janeiro
2 It has the oldest celebration.
Venice
3 One type of food is decorated with different colours.
New Orleans
4 One type of musical instrument is especially important.
Port-of-Spain
5 One type of music is especially important.
New Orleans (jazz), Rio de Janeiro (samba)
6 People can travel to the party on a type of boat.
Venice

6b-p. 72