In his late forties
he is long past 40
she’s older than she looks
nervous people age fast
1950
still playing his schoolboy tricks
In her early fifties
he’s aged a lot lately
he’s getting on (in years)
one of the older generation
I’m twice your age, young man
the same age as her husband
he looks much older than 50
heading for retirement
1960
he’s over the hill
Sunday Excursion for the Over 60s
growing old gracefully
a pensioner (an old age pensioner, OAP)
he’s coming up to seventy
he bears age well
he is ageing well
you are old enough to know better
you are as old as you feel
an elderly lady
1970
a septuagenarian
Help the Aged
she’s 70, but she looks not a day older than 60
she’s still going strong
In her seventy-fifth year
his elder brother’s death
his eldest sister’s death
becoming senile
old age comes to all of us
he outlived his wife by (for) 5 years
1980
his eightieth birthday
an octogenarian
I’m four times your age
he is of long-living stock / a long liver
and his wife was of short-living stock
he is noted for longevity
he’s as old as the hills
In her second childhood
he’s got one foot in the grave
he’ll soon be pushing up the daisies
she’s kicked the bucket
she’s passed away / on
Exercise 1
Fill in the prepositions where necessary:
… the wrong side of forty.
... his prime.
... the age of 40.
approaching ... 60.
... his youth.
coming ... age.
coming ... ... 50.
heading ... retirement.
... her second childhood.
“Life begins ... forty”.
he is … short-living stock.
he is 8 years … my mother’s senior.
Speaking
What are the right ages for doing the following activities?
Be responsible for a crime
Buy a pet
Buy cigarettes
Come home at whatever time you want
Drink alcohol in a public bar
Drive
Have a child
Marry with parents’ consent
Own a gun
Vote
Exercise 2
Put each of the following words or phrases in its correct place in the passage below:
pregnant born maternity ward midwife prams deliver call parents expecting cots crawl
When a woman is a) _______ a baby, we say that she is b) ___________. Babies are c) _______ either at home or in the d) _________ of a hospital. It is the job of a doctor or a e) _________ to f) ________ new babies. The proud g) __________ must soon decide what to h) ________ the child. For the first six months of their lives most babies are taken out in i) _______ and sleep in j) _________. At eight months or so they learn to k) _______ along the floor and they can usually walk soon after their first birthday.
Speaking
Match the sentences with the pictures below. Discuss the pictures with your class. How do these customs differ in your native country?
A pregnant woman in the USA usually goes to an obstetrician once a month for a prenatal checkup.
Stores sell many attractive maternity clothes.
Friends of the mother-to-be often give her a baby shower.
Many hospitals allow a husband to stay with his wife in the delivery room.
The new father hands out cigars to everyone he sees; pink ribbon on the cigar for a girl, blue ribbon on the cigar for a boy.
Exercise 3
Put each of the following words or phrases in its correct place in the passage below:
hobbies development extroverts adult relationships daydream adults introverts idolize teens
Children live in their own world, from which a) ________ are largely excluded. The b) _______ world is strange and exciting to them. They have c) ________ of success, adventure, romance and fame. They d) _______ their big brothers and sisters, pop singers or film stars. e) ________ such as stamp-collecting, music or dancing are important to them. Children, especially when they are in their f) _______ , go through a physical and emotional g) ________ which can be frightening. Their characters also begin to develop. Some adolescents are h) ________ and keep themselves to themselves, while others are i) _________ and like to share their thoughts and form j) ___________ with other people. It’s a wonderful, terrible time.
Speaking
Discuss the following points in pairs:
1. How has your relationship with your parents and other members of your family changed as you have grown older?
2. At which age would you most like to stop the world for ten years so you could enjoy it? Has that age passed or is it still to come?
3. Some people say there are a lot of similarities between childhood and old age. Do you agree?
4. Do you think young people are growing up faster these days? If so, give examples.
5. Do you agree or partly agree with the saying “ Life begins at forty”?
Role play
Student A: You are a psychiatrist, trying to help aged people solve their problems.
Student B: You are an old person suffering from different problems like health, lack of communication, etc.
Exercise 4
Translate the following sentences into English:
Моя двоюрідна тітка виглядає на свої роки, її волосся сивіє і вона змушена фарбувати його.
Містеру Лі трохи більше сорока – він повільно старіє.
Цей довгожитель дуже змінився за останні роки, тому що він відчував, що скоро помре.
Дядьку Мету далеко за 40, але він не виглядає і не почувається на свій вік.
Бред був одного зі мною віку, але йому подобалось спілкуватися із зрілими людьми.
Ця літня жінка все ще бадьора і, незважаючи на свій похилий вік, має дівоче почуття гумору.
Моєму батькові під 50 і він на 6 років старший за маму. Вони одружилися, коли їм обом було за двадцять.
Тім Беррі одружився в розквіті сил, коли йому було приблизно 45.
- Мої найкращі побажання з твоїм повноліттям. - Дякую, та я все ще почуваюсь неповнолітнім.
Місіс Дарк з літами стала старечою, пережила “друге дитинство” ї, коли їй виповнилось 80 років, померла.
Моєму двоюрідному діду 70 років, а його дружина вдвічі молодша за нього.
Не дивлячись на свій вісімдесятирічний вік, наша бабуся ще тримається і навіть допомагає доглядати новонароджену дитину.
Reading
This is an extract from a Shakespeare play “As You Like It”. It is a famous speech, known as “The seven ages of man”, by character called Jacques. Read it and say what the seven ages that Jacques describes are. The glossary will help you.