Lesson 2 lifestyles

Warm-up

• What do you think is the happiest time of a person’s life: when you are a child or an adult?

• There is a proverb: “Life isn’t always a bed of roses”. What problems do people have at different ages? Prove your words.

• A market research organization did a survey to find out who are the happiest people in Britain. Here are the results of the survey.

THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES

(from New Headway Intermediate)

If such a survey was done in our country would the results be different?

1. a) Look at the list of activities and things. Choose three things that really matter to you and tell your partner in what way they make you happy.

Sport, clothes, food, solitude, gardening, reading, mixing with friends, money, surfing the net, going out in the evening, TV.

b) Do a survey to figure out what your groupmates have chosen. Count the most frequently used activity or thing. Why do you think that particular subject has been chosen? Discuss it with your partner.

2. Read and listen to the text.

The happiest person in Britain

The happiest person in Britain today is a professional married man between the ages of 35 and 54. He is an accountant and he lives in the south of England but not in London. He owns a comfortable, detached house and has two children.

What does he do?

He has a steady job in an office in London. After a hard day at work, he relaxes in front of the television or watches a video. He doesn't go out every evening, but two evenings a week he meets friends for a drink in the local pub. He owns a pet, usually a dog, and takes it for a walk every day after work. He spends on average ₤120 per week.

Where does he go?

At the weekend, he regularly eats in restaurants, goes to see shows, and plays a sport (usually golf). Most weekends he puts on a pair of old blue jeans, and potters in the garden. He usually goes on holiday abroad more than once a year.

What does his wife do?

His wife is happy, too, but not quite as happy. She runs the home and has a job, but she doesn't earn as much as her husband.

(from New Headway Intermediate)

3. Ask and answer questions about John Smith.

Example: … married? - Is he married?

- Yes, he is.

• Where ... live?

• What ... do?

• How many children ...?

• How ... relax after work?

• How much ... per week?

• What ... do at the weekend?

• How often ... holiday abroad?

• What does his wife occupy herself with?

• What sport does he play?

4. Listen and check your answers. Ask and answer same questions with a partner.

5. READING British Lifestyles – The Changing Face of the UK.

a) Which of these statistics about the UK do you think are true?

• On average, women live ten years longer than men.

• 75 per cent of men between 55 and 64 are overweight.

• Over two-thirds of women go to work.

• Nearly a third of the population live on their own.

• Over three-quarters of the population get up before 8 a.m. during the week.

b) Read the article and check your guesses to the previous exercise.

Let's start with some good news - people live longer nowadays. The bad news for the government is that it has to pay out more in pensions. On average, people live for 78 years (75 for men and 80 for women) - in 1911 it was only 52! Is it because we have a healthy lifestyle? Maybe. More people see smoking as a health hazard; only a quarter of the population smokes compared to half 30 years ago. People eat more fruit and less fat but about three-quarters of men and two-thirds of women between 55 and 64 are seriously overweight.

More people work than ever before - 79% of men and 69% of women have jobs. And people earn three times more in real terms than 50-20 years ago - but the difference between rich and poor people is bigger. The most important growth area for jobs is in computers. Young people certainly see qualifications as important to get a good job. The percentage of 16-18 year-olds in education went up from 35% to 55% in the 1990s. And did you know the British work the longest hours per week in Europe? That's an average of 45.7 hours for men and 40.7 hours for women.

Traditional family and home life is changing. In fact, nearly a third of the population lives alone and there are fewer marriages nowadays. Each year, almost a quarter of a million babies are born in England and Wales to parents who are not married to each other - that's 40% of the total. Women are having children later and 29 is now the average age for having a baby. Young people are staying with their parents longer than before, mainly because it is expensive to get a place to live.

The proverb 'early to bed, early to rise' seems a good description of the British lifestyle. On weekdays, most people get up before 8 a.m. (77%) and go to bed before midnight (81%). Main meal times are from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. (breakfast), at 1 p.m. (lunch) and between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. (dinner).

What do people do in the evenings? Are the Brits a nation of couch potatoes? On average, they watch TV for 25 hours a week. Children and teenagers watch less TV than 25-44 year-olds but spend five times longer on computers, mainly playing computer games. The biggest Internet users are the 16-24 year-olds - on average, they are online for four minutes a day.

(from New Opportunities pre-intermediate)

c) Answer these questions.

1. Why are people living longer?

2. What job area is growing fast?

3. Why are young people staying with their parents longer?

4. Why do some people think the UK is a nation of 'couch potatoes'?

5. Did any information about the UK surprise you?

6. WRITING

Surf the Internet in search of statistics about Ukraine and the way people live. Write a short essay about life in your country. Take previous text (ex.Vb) as an example.

7. Now keep searching for information about your groupmates’ lifestyles following these stages:

Stage 1 Work in groups. Each student chooses a different topic from the Key Words box. Think of three questions to ask the group about your topic.

Example: Do you play a musical instrument? (If so, what?)

KEY WORDS

Sport: do (aerobics/gymnastics/judo/yoga),

go (cycling/swimming/jogging),

play (tennis/football/etc.)

Music: favourite singers/groups,

favourite styles (rap/rock/techno/etc.)

play (the piano/violin/guitar/etc.)

Going out: cafés, the cinema, clubs, concerts, fast food bars, an Internet café, the theatre, disco

Television: favourite programmes, TV personalities

Stage 2 Tell the class about some of your results.

Example: In my group two people play a musical instrument.

8. Look at the weekend activities (1-12). What day of the week do you think a seventeen-year-old student does them? Put them into the table.

1. go swimming 7. get up early

2. study 8. watch a film on TV

3. go to a concert 9. do the washing-up

4. play basketball 10. cook the supper

5. have a big family lunch 11. go to a club

6. get up late 12. take the dog for a walk

	morning	afternoon	evening/night
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

9. a) Listen to an interview with a student and choose the best option (a, b or c) to answer the questions about the girl’s activities.

1. What time does she get up on Saturdays?

a. quite late b. eight o’clock

2. What time does she go to bed on Fridays?

a. eleven o’clock b. quite late c. one or two o’clock

3. What does she really love doing?

a. swimming b. dancing c. cooking

4. Who does she take the dog out with?

a. her mum b. her dad c. her brother

5. What does she hate doing?

a. the washing-up b. studying on Friday evenings

c. studying on Sunday evenings

(from New Opportunities pre-intermediate)

b) Listen again and check your answers.

10. SPEAKING Take ex. IX as a pattern. Add 3-4 questions of your

own and ask your partner.

habits or daily routine	plans or changing situations
facts	temporary actions
PRESENT SIMPLE	PRESENT CONTINUOUS
Every summer I visit my relatives. (that’s what I regularly do)	This June I’m not visiting them, because I’m passing my exams. (I plan not to do that, because I know it beforehand I won’t be able to)
She is a beautiful slender girl. (it’s a fact which nobody can deny)	Today I’m working extra hours, so don’t wait for me at the café. (I’m not usually that busy, just today)