When you are old

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,

And nodding by the fire, take down this book,

And slowly read, and dream of the soft look

Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace.

And loved your beauty with love false or true.

But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,

And loved the shadows of your changing face:

And bending down beside the glowing bars,

Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled.

And paced upon the mountains overhead,

And hid his face amid a cloud of stars.

(W.B.Yeats)

When you are old and grey

Since I still appreciate you,

Let's find love while we may,

Because I know I'll hate you

When you are old and grey.

So say you love me here and now,

I'll make the most of that;

Say you love and trust me,

For I know you'll disgust me

When you're old and getting fat.

Your teeth will start to go, dear,

Your waist will start to spread. In twenty years or so, dear,

I'll wish that you were dead.

I'll never love you then at all

The way I do today,

So please remember, when I leave in December,

I told you so in May.

(from a song by Tom Lehrer)

Warning

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple

With a red hat which doesn't suit me,

And 1 shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired

And gooble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

And run my stick along the public railings

And make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

And pick the flowers in other people's gardens

And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

And eat three pounds of sausages at a go

Or only bread and pickle for a week

And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry

And pay the rent and not swear in the street

And set a good example for the children.

We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practise a little now?

So people who know me are not so shocked and surprised

When suddenly I am old and have to wear purple.

(Jenny Joseph)

Task 1

Class

Communication

Work in groups of three or four in each group, choose one of the following subjects. Prepare some more questions. When your questionnaire is ready, go

round the class asking your questions. Note the answers. Then report to the group what people think. Give your own opinion as well.

FRIENDSHIP - How important are your friends to you?

LOVE & SEX - Do you think you can love more than one person at the same time?

MARRIAGE - Do you think marriage is a good thing?

PARENT-CHILD - RELATIONSHIPS - Do you think most children communicate well with their parents?

Task 2

Your fellow-student is showing you herfliis family album. You are talking about her/his relatives who you see in the pictures.