Social issues

MODULE 1

AGE

Vocabulary

ageing ageism analysis analyze average (on average) available behave behaviour cease confident convince damage destroy discover discovery disaster disastrous disease experience fail failure faith function gene genetic goal honest honesty judge immortal immortality

involve halt lifespan likely maturity patience patient predict prediction perhaps probably reason reflect remain research researcher retard responsible responsibility science scientific scientist search (for) skin take into account tend tendency tolerance tolerant waste worn-out

LEAD-IN

I. What do you think the age range is for each time of life?

A baby is from birth to about one year old.

baby toddler child teenager adult middle-aged pensioner old/elderly

II. What is the typical age in Russia to do the things below?

have children rebel against your parents get a job have your first kiss

look after your grandchildren retire get married graduate from the

university earn a good salary learn to drive a car

III. Do you think there is an upper or lower age limit for:

• getting married

• learning a new language

• travelling around the world

• worrying about how you look

• starting a new career

• dancing to pop music in public

• learning to ski

• wearing jeans

Discuss your answers with the other students.

BUILD YOUR VOCABULARY

I. 1. Make adjectives from the nouns and give the opposite adjectives.

Noun	Adjective	Opposite adjective
energy
freedom
responsibility
health
security
intelligence
dependence
confidence
patience
calmness
honesty

2. Complete the columns with notes of different ages. Explain your

answers using the nouns or adjectives from task 1.

Best/worst	Your present age	At what age is someone old enough to
Your best age … Your worst age … Why?	… Main advantages and disadvantages?	be able to vote? … be responsible for a crime? … have children?... retire?... Why?

II. 1. Decide which two factors in the list you think are not important

in the phenomenon of people who look and behave much

younger than their real age (they are called ‘superyoung’).

genes reading/watching TV

love of life/friendships sport

number of children personality

lifestyle diet

blood pressure smoking

travel plastic surgery

2. Do you know anybody who is superyoung? Tell your partner

about them using the words from tasks I and II.

III. Listening

a. Answer the questions in the quiz. (Total English Pre-

Intermediate Unit 5 Recording 4)

Ageing

How much do you know about it?

1. On average, which nationality lives the longest?

1. the Japanese

2. the Italians

3. the Swedish

2 What was the average lifespan two thousand years ago?

1. twenty-six years

2. thirty-six years

3. forty-six years

3. By 2050, what percentage of the world’s population will be 65 or older?

1. 2%

2. 10%

3. 20%

3. On average, which groups of people live longer?

a) smokers or non-smokers?

b) single people or married people?

c) pet owners or non-pet owners?

b. Listen to the answers. Do any of them surprise you?

IV. Listening

1. Listen to an extract from a radio programme. Mark the

statements true or false. (English File 2.4)

1. Most very old people have always had very healthy lifestyle.

2. Jeanne Calment holds the record for being the oldest person ever.

3. She stopped smoking two years before she died.

4. Many experts think that some people have genes that protect them

from some diseases.

5. Jeanne Calment got cancer when she was about fifty years old.

6. Some people think that eating much less every day will increase

your lifespan.

b. Now listen to some extracts. Write the exact words.

1. There are many other factors ______ ______ ______ ______ .

2. They often have friendships and ______ with people ______ then themselves.

3. They are ______ ______ ______ people who wake up refreshed in the morning.

4. They ______ ______ ______ individual sports, such as swimming or ______ .

5. We also ______ that they ______ to be more ______ .

Expressions with time