Unit 1 “Personality”

Part 1
Grammar: Question forms
1 Ask Joe questions. (Look at his answers before you write the questions.)

1. (where / live?)___ Where do you live?____ In Manchester.

2. (born there?) ________________________ No, I was born in London.
3. (married?) __________________________ Yes.
4. (how long / married?) _________________ 17 years.
5. (children?) __________________________ Yes, two boys.
6. (how old / they?) _____________________ 12 and 15.
7. (what / do?) _________________________ I’m a journalist.
8. (what / wife / do?) ____________________ She’s a doctor.

2 Make questions with who or what.

1. Somebody hit me. _______Who hit you? __________________
2. I hit somebody. _______Who did you hit?________________
3. Somebody paid the bill. Who_________________________________
4. Something happened. What ________________________________
5. Diane said something. _____________________________________
6. This book belongs to somebody. _____________________________________
7. Somebody lives in that house. _____________________________________
8. I fell over something. _____________________________________
9. Something fell on the floor. _____________________________________
10. This word means something. _____________________________________
11. I borrowed the money from somebody. _____________________________________
12. I’m worried about something. _____________________________________

Speaking: “Find someone who …”

Look at the phrases below. Copy them into your exercise-books and make questions out of
them. When you finish, talk to your classmates, ask and answer the questions. Note down other
students’ names and any extra information they give. Your task is to talk to as many people in
the class as possible.

Find someone …
1. who thinks he’s/she’s a good cook. (Find out his or her “speciality”.)
2. who belongs to a club or a society. (Find out what sort of club or society it is.)
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 3. who collects something as a hobby. (Find out what.)
4. who reads a newspaper or magazine regularly. (Find out which one.)
5. who remembers his or her dreams. (Find out what a typical dream is about.)
6. who usually goes to bed late. (Find out what time.)
7. who has a pet. (Find out what sort and if it has a name.)
8. who watches satellite television. (Find out his or her favourite programme.)
9. who speaks more than two foreign languages. (Find out what they are.)
10. who likes reading books. (Find out his and her favourite author.)
11. who has a relative who lives abroad. (Find out in which country.)
12. who knows a famous person. (Find out who is it.)
13. who sends a lot of e-mails. (Find out who s/he sends them to.)
14. who plays a musical instrument. (Find out what.)

Vocabulary
1 Choose three adjectives which you think describe your own personality.
2 Look at these adjectives connected with personality. Which ones are positive, which are
negative and which are neutral?
adventurous, ambitious, assertive, bossy, cautious, creative, energetic, generous, moody,
organised, quiet, reliable, sensible, sensitive, serious, sociable, talkative, thoughtful.

3 Match words 1-6 with words a-f to make compound adjectives connected with character.
1. easy- a. willed
2. open- b. confident
3. even- c. going
4. hard - d. minded
5. self- e. tempered
6. strong- f. working

4 Pronunciation (Track 1.2): Word Stress. On which part of the compound adjective in
Exercise 3 does the stress fall? Listen and check, then repeat the words.
5 Match the meanings below with a compound adjective from Exercise 3.
A person who…
1. does not easily become angry: ___even-tempered______.
2. is determined to do what they want: __________________ .
3. is not easily upset or annoyed: ___________________.
4. accepts other ideas and opinions: __________________ .
5. makes a lot of effort: ____________________ .
6. believes in their own success: ___________________.
6 Think of people you know and one or two adjectives to describe each person. Explain why you
describe them like this. Give examples.

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 Listening
(Track 1.3) Listen to three people talking and mark all the adjective they use to describe the
character.

Reading
1 The psychiatrist Carl Jung described two personality types. Look at these adjectives and put
them into two categories to show two different character types.

adventurous, cautious, quiet, self-confident, talkative, thoughtful

2 Read the encyclopedia entry about Jung quickly and check your answer to Exercise 1.

Carl Jung
Carl Jung (1875 – 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist who had a lasting influence on psychology and
society. He studied medicine at the University of Basel from 1894 to 1900, specializing in
psychiatric medicine.

Jung developed ideas about personality types which still interest and influence people today. He
identified two types which he called introverts and extroverts. According to Jung, extroverts find
meaning outside themselves, in the surrounding world. However, introverts are introspective.
They look into themselves and find meaning in themselves.

Extroverts seem to like other people. It is easy for them to form close relationships. They enjoy the
excitement of crowds. They tend to be assertive, self-confident, and are often leaders in groups.
They are energetic and lead busy lives. In general, they are talkative, adventurous and sociable.
Introverts, on the other hand, feel comfortable alone. They avoid large crowds. They are relaxed,
thoughtful and reflect before they act. They are often quiet, cautious and have good powers of
concentration. They often have creative ideas.

Jung’s influence on our society and culture has been enormous. Two well-known tests (Myers-
Briggs and David Keirsey) are based on his theory of personality types. His ideas have influenced
writers as well as film-makers like Fellini and Kubrick. Jung’s ideas have even influenced video
games and rock music groups. There is still great interest in his theories on the interpretations of
dreams.

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3 Are these statements true or false?
1. Jung studied medicine in Zürich.
2. He identified the following personality types: extroverts, introverts, balanced personality.
3. Extroverts like to be in large groups of people.
4. Introverts think carefully before they do things.
5. People are interested today in his theories on dreams.

4 Which kind of personality do you think each of these jobs would attract? Why? Make notes
about four of them.

actor, artist, computer programmer, film director, inventor, journalist, librarian, musician, police
officer, politician, tax inspector, teacher, writer

5 Work with a partner to discuss the following.

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a strong personality?
2. What is a “personality clash”? Have you had a personality clash with someone? What
happened?
3. What tells you more about a person’s personality: their appearance, their voice, their
attitude or something else?

Extra Grammar Practice

Translate the following questions from Russian into English.

1. Когда был построен этот дом?

2. Как делают этот сыр?
3. Когда был изобретён компьютер?
4. Вы знаете мистера Брауна?
5. Почему Кристина сегодня не работает?
6. Когда приезжают твои друзья?
7. Почему концерт был отменён?
8. Где родилась твоя мама?
9. Ты уезжаешь завтра?
10. Почему ты не пришёл на вечеринку?
11. Почему этот прибор не работает?
12. Сейчас ремонтируют главную улицу?

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 Unit 1 “Personality”
Part 2
Vocabulary: Describing character
Rearrange the following words into pairs of opposites and put them into the table according to
their positive or negative meaning.

Insensitive / tense / optimistic / dishonest / good fun / unfriendly / kind / boring / easy-going
/broad-minded / lazy / punctual / unpleasant / sensitive / unreliable / clever / pessimistic / honest
/ narrow-minded / inflexible / self-confident / hard-working / shy / stupid / ambitious / mean /
reliable / generous / unambitious / unpunctual / unkind / friendly

Positive Negative
 
 
 

Listening and Speaking

1 How useful do you think the following are for judging a person’s character?
personality tests handwriting analysis star signs/horoscopes interviews

2 Have you ever done a personality test? If so, why?

3 (Track 1.4) Listen to an interview with Dr Frank Partridge, an expert in psychometrics (the
measurement of intelligence and personal qualities). What topics are covered in the interview?

1. things that psychometric measure

2. the first tests
3. problems with personality tests
4. the Myers-Briggs test
5. the future of personality tests
4 Listen again and complete the questions that the interviewer asks.
1. What exact _______ psychometrics_______?
2. How __________ psychometric testing __________?
3. __________ useful ________ the tests?
4. __________ they reliable?
5. What ___________ personality tests ________ you about a person?
6. __________ you __________ any of these tests yourself?
7. What _________ you _________ on at the moment?
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 Grammar: question forms
1 Look at the questions you completed in Exercise 4. Which tense is used in each question?
2 Are these statements about question formation true or false?
1. In questions with the verb to be, we put the verb before the subject.
2. In present simple questions (except with to be), we use the auxiliary verb do/does.
3. In past simple questions, we use the auxiliary verb has/have.
4. In present continuous questions, we put do/does before the subject.
5. In present perfect questions, we put has/have before the subject.
3 Look at these sentences and answer the questions.
a. Who designed the Stanford-Binet test? – Alfred Binet designed it.
b. What did Alfred Binet design? – Alfred Binet designed the first usable intelligence test.

1. In which question is the wh-word the subject? This is a subject question.

2. In which question is the wh-word the object? This is an object question.
3. In which type of question do we form the question with do/does?

4 Put the words in the right order to make questions from a psychometric test.
1. do/ever/you/get/worried?
2. you /are/a/confident/person?
3. you/do/make/easily/friends?
4. happy/were/you/were/when/you/child/a?
5. friends/did/many/at/you/your/have/first school?
6. in your life/influence/most/what/you/has?
7. test/you/a/ever/have/personality/taken?
8. succeeding in/aims/achieving/your/you/are?
5 Work with a partner to ask and answer the questions.
6 Make indirect questions from the questions in brackets. Pay attention to the word order.
1. (Where has Tom gone?) Do you know ________where Tom has gone?____________
2. (Where is the post office?) Could you tell me ________________________________
3. (What’s the time?) I wonder ______________________________________________
4. (What does this word mean?) I want to know ________________________________
5. (What time did they leave?) Do you know ___________________________________
6. (Is Sue going out tonight?) I don’t know_____________________________________
7. (Where does Caroline live?) Do you have any idea ____________________________
8. (Where did I park the car?) I can’t remember ________________________________
9. (Is there a bank near here?) Can you tell me _________________________________
10. (What do you want?) Tell me ____________________________________________
11. (Why didn’t Kate come to the party?) I don’t know ___________________________
12. (How much does it cost to park here?) Do you know __________________________

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 Speaking
Work with a partner to complete a text about Sigmund Freud. Take turns to ask and answer
questions. Prepare your questions first.
Student A: Who was born on 6th May 1856?
Student B: Sigmund Freud.

Student A

(1)___________________ was born on 6th May 1856 in Freiberg, Moravia. He went to the
University of (2) __________________ and studied medicine. He graduated in (3) __________ as a
Doctor of Medicine. He lived in Vienna for 47 years. In 1907 the psychiatrist Carl Jung was
introduced to Freud and together they formed the International Psychoanalytical Association. (4)
_____________ was its first president. Most of Freud’s family emigrated to London.
(5)_____________ lost all his property when he left Vienna. Freud lived in a house in Hampstead,
London. He died in (6) _______________ .

Student B

Sigmund Freud was born on 6th May 1856 in (1) _____________________ . He went to the
university of Vienna and studied (2) ____________________ . He graduated in 1881 as a Doctor of
Medicine. He lived in Vienna for (3) ________ years. In 1907 the psychiatrist (4) _____________
was introduced to Freud and together they formed the International Psychoanalytical Association.
Jung was its first president. (5) _________________ emigrated to London. His brother lost all his
property when he left Vienna, Freud lived in a house in (6) ___________. He died in 1939.

Extra Vocabulary practice

1 Which prefix forms the opposite of these words? (You need three different prefixes.)
unhappy flexible friendly honest
reliable sensitive kind pleasant

2 How would you describe the person in each of these descriptions?

1. She’s always here on time. Punctual
2. He never bought me a drink in tem years.
3. She often promises to do things but half the time she forgets.
4. I don’t think he’s done any work since he’s been here.
5. She finds it difficult to meet people and talk to strangers.
6. He can work in any of the departments – on his own or part of a team.
7. One of her qualities is that she is so aware of what other people think or feel.
8. I know Mike wants to be head of the department and then go on to a bigger company.

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 Unit 1 “Personality”
Part 3
Reading
1 Look at the photos of famous people. Work with a partner to discuss the following.
1. Think of four famous people (e.g. scientist, footballer, president and singer).
2. Think of three qualities which you associate with each person.

2 Read the article and answer the questions.

1. Why is Bill Clinton so good at giving talks?
2. What mistake do people make about charisma?
3. Why is Oprah Winfrey famous?
4. What kind of relationship does she have with people who attend her shows?
5. How did Joe DiMaggio feel about Marilyn Monroe’s charisma?

An Indefinable Quality
Most people will recognise the man in this photograph. He is, of course, Bill Clinton, ex-President
of the United States. Bill Clinton is a very popular speech giver and (1) regularly gives talks all over
the world, to many different audiences. He is so effective at giving talks because he has a special
quality which we call “charisma”.

Nowadays, psychologists are becoming very interested in charisma and want to redefine its
meaning. People often misunderstand what charisma is and think of it as a kind of fame, but it is
not the same as fame. Charisma is a kind of magic and is relatively rare. A well-known American
psycologist thinks that charismatic people are basically brilliant communicators. However, thay
have other qualities such as sensitivity, self-confidence, eloquence and vision.

Charismatic personalities are able to draw people to them, and people feel happy in their
company. There is a sense of “togetherness’ when a charismatic person is with other people. A
good example of this ability, some say, is the famous American, Oprah Winfrey. She is a highly-
successful businesswoman and is probably best known as the presenter of a very poplular talk
show. Oprah is able to relate to audiences at her shows and they respond well to her. Her
charismatic personality has made her one of the richest women in the world. (2) She owns several
houses and publishes jer own magazines. (3) Currently, she is presenting a new series of the Oprah
Winfrey show. She also runs a book club, which influences the nation’s reading habits and may be
one of the reason why (4) people are reading more these days in the USA.

A woman who had extraordinary charisma was the film star, Marilyn Monroe. A beautiful woman
and a talented but underrated actress, she was always the centre of attention whereever she
went. She married an ex-baseball player, Joe DiMaggio, and later a famous writer, Arthur Miller.
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Marilyn Monroe’s charisma was so great that DiMaggio was overshadowed by her. As he put it so
well, “It’s no fun being married to an electric light.”

Unlike fame, charisma doesn’t fage and disappear over time. Even now, nearly fifty years after her
death, when young people see Monroe in her films, her charisma seems as fresh and powerful as
ever.

Vocabulary: prefixes
1 Find words in the article that mean the following.
1. A former leader and head of state
2. Describe something again, and in a better way
3. Not understand correctly
4. Better than people think or say
5. A former baseball player
6. Less important and successful than another person
2 Underline the prefixes in the words you found. Match each prefix with one of these meanings.
incorrect before again too much not enough

3 Look at the words below. What do the underlined prefixes mean in each?
a. bicycle d. outperform
b. antisocial e. semicircle
c. monorail f. discomfort

4 Think of a word with a prefix that means the same as the underlined phrase in these
sentences.
1. He was always too confident.
2. He ran faster than the police offices and escaped.
3. She asked her former boss for advice.
4. His mum’s French and his father’s Italian, so he’s able to speak two languages.
5. He told me to do the essay again.
6. Her expertise was not used enough.
7. When children behave badly, parents should stop them.
8. We don’t like that kind of music.

Speaking
Work with a partner to discuss the following.

1. If you were choosing photographs of people for an article about charismatic people, who
would you choose?
2. Is charisma the most important quality to possess if you want to be successful in your
career? If not, what other qualities are important?

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 Grammar: Present Simple and Present Continuous
1 Look at the underlined phrases in the text “An indefinable quality”. Mark them PS for present
simple and PC for present continuous.

2 Look at the uses a-d of the present simple and present continuous. Match each use to one of
the underlined sentences in the text. Then write the correct tense in the gaps.

a. an action happening around now (often temporary): ___________

b. a regular or habitual action: ____________
c. a fact or general truth: _____________
d. a trend or a changing situation: _______________

Grammar tip
We also use the present continuous to talk about photographs:
In the photograph, Bill Clinton is talking to a group of people.

3 Look at these sentences and choose the correct answer.

1. Dr Partridge regularly gives / is regularly giving talks about personality.
2. The professor interviews / is interviewing a candidate at the moment and can’t come to
the phone.
3. I do lots of different research but today I carry out / I’m carrying out research into the
personalities of twins.
4. He drives / is driving to work every day.
5. People become / are becoming very interested in how personalities develop over time.
6. A psychologist studies / is studying the way people’s minds work.
7. The doctor’s practice is / is being in Harley Street.
4 Match the sentences in Exercise 3 with the uses in Exercise 2.
5 Use the following prompts to write questions in the present simple or continuous.
1. make friends / easily?
2. what / usually / do / weekend?
3. what / read / at the moment?
4. enjoy / art and music?
5. prefer / extroverts or introverts?
6. work / on any new project now?
7. do / anything interesting / at the moment?
8. lose temper / easily?
6 With a partner, take turns to ask and answer the questions. Then tell the class one interesting
fact about your partner.

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 Extra Grammar and Vocabulary Practice
Grammar
1 Read the sentences and complete the questions. The underlined word(s) should be the
answer.
1. Bill Clinton is an ex-President. Who is Bill Clinton?
2. Myers Briggs designed the test. Who ________________________________________?
3. Oprah Winfrey owns several houses. What ___________________________________?
4. Marilyn Monroe married Joe DiMaggio. Who _________________________________?
5. He’s able to speak three languages. How many ________________________________?
6. Spring is my favourite time of the year. What _________________________________?
7. My boss is the reason I’m leaving. What ______________________________________?

2 A university lecturer is interviewing a new student. Write the verbs in the present simple or
present continuous.

A: How (1) ______ you ______ (study)? What’s your approach?

B: Well I (2) ________(work) really well early in the morning. Most of my friends stay up late
but I (3) _______ (prefer) the early hours.
A: So do you find it difficult to work with others?
B: Not necessarily. It (4) _______(depend) what the task is. For example, at the moment I (5)
_________ (work) with a group of people. We (6) _________ (set up) a club for young kids
in the town centre.
A: Really? That’s good. Now, (7) _______ you ________ (know) about the exam at the end of
every term?
B: Yes, I read about that.
A: How do you find exams?
B: Well! I (8) ____________ (get) worried before exams but I think I (9) _________ (get)
better at staying calm.

Vocabulary
1 Write the missing words in sentences 1-10.
1. A: ________ he the right person for the job?
B: Yes, I’d say so.
2. A: ________ you feel better about taking the test?
B: Yes, I’m less nervous now I know what it is.
3. A: ________ he work well in a team?
B: Yes, he’s good with other people.
4. A: What exactly _______ your horoscope say?
B: The same as usual. That I’ll be lucky this week.
5. A: _______ they _______ all their homework?
B: Yes, they have.
6. A: What _______ you working on at the moment?
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 B: I’m working on a proposal for a film.
7. A: _________ we ask you a few questions?
B: Yes, of course.
8. A: When ________ Carl Jung born?
B: In 1875.
9. A: What _______ he study at university?
B: Medicine, from 1894 to 1900.
10. A: ________ he _______ his final exam?
B: Yes, he took it last week.

2 Complete the dialogue with the phrases below. There is one extra phrase.
a. I don’t agree d. I don’t know
b. I think e. it’s true
c. Great idea! f. come on

A: (1) ________ we should employ Sandra. She’s the most cheerful.

B: Well, (2) __________ that she was the happiest of everyone but (3) __________ - she has
absolutely no previous experience.
A: But you don’t need experience to answer the phone.
B: (4) ________ . How you answer the phone can make the difference in business.
A: Do you think we could train her?
B: (5)_________ . That might take too much time and money…

3 Write the missing vowels in the adjectives.

1. You need to be an_dv_nt_r_ _ s sort of person to go climbing in the mountains.
2. Don’t be too c_ _t _ _ _ s about saying what you think in meetings.
3. Running at 6 a.m. looks a bit too _ n _ rg _ t _ с for me. I prefer sleeping.
4. Don’t talk to him. He’s always m_ _ dy on a Monday morning.
5. Gill is one of our most r_l_ _ bl_ employees. She’s always on time.
6. You look rather th_ _ ghtf _ l. What’s are you considering?
7. People who are _p_n - m_nd_d are often good listeners.
8. This job needs someone who is s_lf – c_nf_d_nt.

4 Complete the words with a prefix from the box.

out bi anti over re under dis mis mono ex-

1. ______ social 7. ______define

2. ______cycle 8. ______perform
3. ______comfort 9. ______President
4. ______understand 10. ______rated
5. ______rail
6. ______shadowed

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5 Complete the sentences with words from Exercise 4.
1. Can I borrow your ______ ? It’s too far to walk.
2. Every time I ask you to do something, you seem to _______ what I say.
3. This new film is _______ . The critics said it was boring but I thought it was great.
4. My brother was always better than me at school and completely ___________ me.
5. At the airport, take the _______ from one terminal to the other. It’s faster than by bus.
6 Make five more sentences with the other words.

Reading
1 Read the article and do the post-reading exercises.

Optimists and Pessimists

The study of personality has changed in recent times and more focus is now placed on the
different ways that people understand their environments. One example of this type of
approach is the study of optimism and pessimism. So what is the definition of optimism
and pessimism?

Optimists tend to see all the events in their lives in a positive light. Everything seems
positive to optimists. Even negative events may still be viewed as having the potential to be
positive. Pessimists on the other hand generally focus on the negative potential of
everything.

For example, pessimists who receive a poor grade in an exam will probably see this as a
problem with their ability. In other words, they will see a poor grade as their own fault.
Alternatively, pessimists may blame an external reason that is not within their control, e.g.
a poor exam question or a strict examiner. The result is that pessimists will have lower
expectations for the future and this can even lead to depression.

In contrast, optimists will most likely view a poor exam result as useful feedback. They will
take it as a warning that they need to change their study habits or exam preparation
techniques. Optimists often make the decision to change that aspect of their study
patterns and would fully expect to do better in the next exam.

In general, and not surprisingly, optimists do better in life. Taking students as an example,
optimists generally believe that factors such as making an effort and improving study
habits will lead to better results. Of course such beliefs lead to greater achievements. In
one academic study, low-achieving students did much better when researchers helped
them to overcome their negative feelings.

However, optimists should be careful. Over-optimistic people can sometimes ignore

potential problems. Indeed, a person who is always positive in every situation, including
times of crisis, is unlikely to be considered normal.

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2 Based on the information in the article, are the following statements “true”, “false” or “Don’t
know”?
1. Being an optimist always results in better outcomes. False
2. Optimists are likely to blame bad results on other people.
3. Optimists can sometimes view bad events as having potentially positive outcomes.
4. Pessimists will always view a poor exam result as their own fault.
5. Low-achieving students are always pessimistic.
3 Choose the best definition for following words from the text:
1. overcome (para. 5)
a. to successfully deal with something or control it
b. to forget about something
c. to achieve something
2. over-optimistic (para. 6)
a. not optimistic enough (negative meaning)
b. too optimistic (negative meaning)
c. very optimistic (positive meaning)

Speaking
1 With your partner, discuss the following questions.
1. What are the positive and negative aspects of pessimistic and optimistic people in given
situations? Think of situations where it is better to be a pessimist.
2. Can people be categorised as optimists and pessimists or do all people have elements of both
in different situations?
2 Role-play very pessimistic or very optimistic roles. Do it in the form of a dialogue.

Extra Grammar: Present Simple and Present Continuous

1 Are the underlined verbs right or wrong? Correct them where necessary.

1. Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius. ______ok_________

2. The water boils. Can you turn it off? ____is boiling______
3. Look! That man tries to open the door of your car. _________________
4. Can you hear those people? What do they talk about? _________________
5. The moon goes round the earth in about 27 days. _________________
6. I must go now. It gets late. _________________
7. I usually go to work by car. _________________
8. “Hurry up! It’s time to leave.” “OK, I come.” _________________
9. I hear you’ve got a new job. How do you get on? _________________
10. Paul is never late. He’s always getting to work on time. _________________
11. They don’t get on well. They’re always arguing. _________________

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2 Are the underlined verbs right or wrong? Correct them where necessary.

1. Nicky is thinking of giving up her job. ______ok_________

2. Are you believing in God? _________________
3. I’m feeling hungry. Is there anything to eat? _________________
4. This sauce is great. It’s tasting really good. _________________
5. I’m thinking this is your key. Am I right? _________________

3 Translate the following sentences from Russian into English.

1. Билл сейчас занят, он принимает душ.
2. Она общительная и лёгкая в общении, но сегодня она выглядит очень недружелюбно.
3. Джессика обычно пьёт чай, но сегодня она пьёт кофе.
4. Что он обычно делает по вечерам? – Он обычно играет в карты или смотрит телевизор.
5. Последний поезд уезжает со станции в 12:30.
6. Ричард очень пунктуальный, он никогда не опаздывает.
7. Я сейчас не пойду на улицу, потому что идёт дождь, а у меня нет зонта.
8. Послушай! Лектор говорит так быстро, что я его не понимаю.
9. Тина обычно такая трудолюбивая, но сегодня она ленится.
10. Мне не везёт! Я всегда покупаю лотерейные билеты, но никогда ничего не выигрываю.
11. Молоко пахнет крайне неприятно.
12. Ты его любишь? – Мне он очень нравится, но я его не люблю.
13. Джина смотрит этот сериал каждый день, но сегодня она его не смотрит, потому сто
серия очень скучная.
14. Ты всегда пишешь левой рукой? – Нет, только сегодня. У меня болит правое запястье.
15. Посмотри! Тебе нравится это платье? Я его завтра дарю своей сестре на день рождения.
16. Он очень ограниченный человек, он ничего не читает и не смотрит телевизор.
17. Том и Джейн долго разговаривают. Интересно, о чём они говорят.
18. Почему ты одеваешь пальто? – Я иду на прогулку.
19. Мэри обычно учит иностранные языки очень быстро, но, кажется, она не может освоить
японский.
20. Я сегодня ношу солнцезащитные очки, потому что солнце сегодня светит очень ярко.
21. Ты веришь в то, то пишут в газетах? – Нет, не верю, но всегда их читаю.
22. Донна очень уверенный и амбициозный человек. Она сейчас готовится к выпускным
экзаменам, а затем она хочет поступить в университет.
23. Как ты обычно добираешься до работы? – Обычно, я езжу на автобусе. Но на этой
неделе меня подвозит мой брат.
24. У моего двоюродного брата очень переменчивый характер, когда он в хорошем
настроении, он очень разговорчив и общителен, но когда его настроение портится, он
становится очень недружелюбным и недобрым.
25. Мы сегодня спим в этой комнате, потому что в нашей комнате разбито окно.

15
 Unit 1 test: Language practice

Below you will read three different discussions between colleagues who work together in
an office. Fill in the gaps and answer the questions.

A He is terrible at making decisions.

B I know, he’s so (1) indecisive, he will never make a good manager.
C Who is (1)____________ ?
B Oh, I didn’t see you there. We were just talking about Dave Saunders.
(2) In C’s question above, is the wh-word the subject or the object?

A Mr. Simpson can be so (3)__________ sometimes. He just doesn’t seem to be aware of

other people’s feelings.
B I know. I was at the photocopier the other day and he told Natasha from the office that her
sweater was far too small for her.
A You’re joking! Oh my word! (4) __________ you think he has a sensitive bone in his body?
C (5) ____________ you seen his jumpers? They aren’t exactly top Paris fashion, are they?
(6) What tense is C’s question – present simple, resent continuous, past simple or present perfect?

A Have you seen Carla yet this morning?

B She (7) ____________(talk) to Elaine Bryson in the Director’s office.
A Really? Why?
B Well, she (8) ____________ (arrive) ten minutes late every single day so I expect she
(9) _________ (get) a warning.
A (10) _________ there a reason why she (11) ___________ (be) always late?
B I don’t know but she’s so (12) _____________ once she gets here that she doesn’t deserve
to get into any trouble.
A I know. She does work extremely hard. It never used to be like this. Management
(13) _________ (watch) us so carefully now, we don’t seem to have any freedom.
B When (14) ___________ you last have a good talk to her?
A Not for a while now.
(15) In B’s final question, is the wh-word the subject or the object?

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 Unit 1 “Personality”
Part 4
Scenario: Personality clash
1 Read the situation. Can you think of any problems the new assistant might have working for two
bosses? What other problems could there be?

Situation
Pacific Television, a US company, has a small office in Vancouver which sells the company’s television
and radio programmes to Canadian broadcasting stations. The office staff consists of Ben Jackson
(television), Sylvia Webb(radio) and two secretaries Donna and Susan. The office needs to hire a new
assistant who will work for both Ben and Sylvia.

2 (Track 1.5) Listen to Ben and Sylvia. What is the problem? Did you think of it in Exercise 1?
3 Listen again and note the good and bad points about Ben and Sylvia’s personalities. Compare
your answers with a partner.

Ben Sylvia
+ - + -
ambitious sociable

4 Listen again and complete the extracts.

1. Ben: It’s not our fault, is it?
Sylvia: _____ ______ ______, Ben, maybe it is.
2. Ben: … But Barbara didn’t seem to mind.
Sylvia: I don’t know, ______ ______ it really upset her.
3. Ben: I pay people to work 9.00 to 5.00, not to leave the office …
Sylvia: _____ _____ Ben, an hour off, just before Christmas?
4. Ben: I got on all right with Louise but she didn’t like you or your secretary much, did she?
Sylvia: _______ , _______ _______, Louise and I didn’t get on.
5. Sylvia: She just couldn’t take a joke – she was far too serious.
Ben: ______ ______ _______, Sylvia. Actually I thought Louise was quite nice …
6. Ben: What we need is someone who’ll be a good match for us. I suggest we contact the
agency again …
Sylvia: _____ _____ . Let’s do it.

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5 Look at the words/phrases you put in the gaps in Exercise 3a. In each case was the speaker:
a. giving an opinion? b. agreeing? c. disagreeing?

6 Ben and Sylvia send an email to Recruitment Associates, an employment agency in Vancouver.
Read the email and answer the questions.
1. Discuss the most important qualities that the new assistant must have, according to the email.
2. What other qualities, not mentioned in the email, do you think the assistant needs?

We want to get someone with the right personality – that’s vital: a lively, tolerant person who
gets on well with males and females, hard-working (he/she will have to work some
weekends), calm, able to work under pressure, and not too sensitive. The person should have
a strong personality, probably, and be able to accept criticism. He/She should look smart and
dress well – our customers expect that. A good sense of humour is essential. Male or female,
any nationality.

You know both of us well. Please note what we say above, but also use your own judgement
to find a suitable candidate for us.

Best wishes,
Ben/Sylvia

7 Work with a partner. You work for Recruitment Associates. You are going to choose a suitable
candidate for the jobs.

Student A: read the profiles of May Lin and Celine.

Student B: read the profiles of Richard and Anil.

Underline the good points of your two candidates and put a cross against the bad points.

8 Share information about the personalities of the candidates you studied. Discuss the good and
bad points of each one. Use the Other Useful Phrases to help you.

9 Rank the candidates in order of suitability (1= most suitable, 4= least suitable).
10 As a class, choose the best candidate for the position of Ben and Sylvia’s assistant.
Other Useful Phrases: making a suggestion
 I suggest we/you [+ infinitive]
 Why don’t we [+ infinitive]
 How about + [- ing]

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May Lin: Chinese, aged 22
A happy person. Smiles a lot. Comes from a large family (three older brothers, two sisters). Speaks in
a soft voice. Quiet but confident.
Your three best qualities? “Hard-working, responsible, energetic”
Your worst quality? “I want people to like me and get upset if they don’t.”
Your ideal boss? “I prefer a male boss. They are less emotional than women and, in my opinion,
better managers.”
Why choose her? “I get on well with people. I’m a caring person.”
Doesn’t smoke. Thinks smoking should be banned in public places.
Elegantly dressed in a black business suit.
Interests: reads, paints, enjoys classical music.

Celine: French Canadian, aged 28

A strong personality. Very self-confident. An only child. A good sense of humour. Laughs a lot. Speaks
English with a strong French accent.
Your three best qualities? “charismatic, assertive, open-mined.”
Your worst quality? “I’m rather moody at times.”
Your ideal boss? “I definitely prefer working for a woman, but will work for a man if necessary.”
Why choose her? “I am the best candidate.”
Smokes a lot. Life-long vegetarian. Has strong views about people who eat meat.
Dressed casually in white jumper and black skirt.
Interests: goes to the gym, plays for a women’s ice hockey team at weekends, dances (rock and jive).

Richard: British, aged 22

Quiet, calm personality. Seemed very serious at first, but relaxed later in the interview. Highly
intelligent (high IQ) and has strong opinions on many subjects.
Your three best qualities? “organised, reliable and creative ”
Your worst quality? “I can be very impatient with people if they perform poorly”
Your ideal boss? “He or she should show respect to staff and care about them.”
Why choose him? “People say I’m strong-willed and that I work very hard.”
Non-smoker.
Dressed in rather unfashionable, grey suit.
Interests: mountaineering, deep sea diving, collecting antiques.

Anil: Indian, aged 24

Easy-going, polite, friendly, sociable.
Your three best qualities? “even-tempered, helpful, sensible”
Your worst quality? “I get very angry if people are not polite to me. Also I dislike people who are not
generous.”
Your ideal boss? “Someone who knows their job well and is sensitive and understanding.”
Why choose him? “I am very ambitious, I want to get to the top as fast as possible.”
Smokes small cigars.
Dressed in a smart black suit and white silk shirt.
Interests: rides a motorbike (at weekends), dances the tango, reads books on philosophy.

19
 Unit 1 “Personality”
Part 5
Writing skills
1 Work with a partner to discuss the following.
1. When do you need to make notes?
2. What techniques do you use when you make notes?
2 Note-taking. Read the essay and complete the notes.
Are women better drivers than men?
Some people believe that women are better drivers than men. However, others think that women
make worse drivers. The idea that women make worse drivers is a stereotype. It comes from a time
when women drove less than men, and driving was seen as a man’s responsibility. There are certainly
different views on this controversial question, although there are a number of reasons why a
woman’s responsibility makes her a more competent driver.
Firstly, women are more patient and polite towards other road users, such as pedestrians and
cyclists. In stressful situations they are more likely to stay calm, and less likely to be involved in “road
rage” incidents. Secondly, female drivers are more cautious and therefore take fewer risks, for
instance when overtaking. Thirdly, they are more responsible so they tend not to drive when tired or
after drinking alcohol.
On the other hand, many people argue that women cause accidents because they can be indecisive
or react slowly because they lack confidence. In addition, they are easily distracted, for example, by
children in the car. Research also shows that women find map reading more difficult than men, and
can have problems with the difference between left and right. Despite the fact that women have
more accidents, insurance is often cheaper for them because the accidents tend to be minor. In
particular, women have accidents when parking. This is because women often have poor spatial
awareness. In contrast, men tend to have more serious accidents.
To sum up, it can be seen that women make safer drivers than men because of their personality. This
is supported by the fact that women have fewer accidents in general and pay lower insurance
premiums than men. On balance, it is clear that women are less competitive and aggressive than men
behind the wheel and therefore better drivers.

Paragraph 2 notes:
Women drivers

- patient and (1) _______ to others on the road like (2) ________ and (3) ________
- stay (4) ___________ in (5) ___________ situations
- road (6) __________ incidents fewer
- cautious
- take fewer (7) _________ when (8) ___________
- more (9) _________, less likely to (10) ____________ when (11) _______ or after drinking

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Paragraph 3 notes:
Women drivers

indecisive react (12) ________

Accidents

lack (13)________ (14) _________ distracted

for example by (15) ________

map (16) ______ more difficult (17) __________ with left and (18) _________

Research

poor spatial (19) ____________ more (20) _____________ accidents

3 Which style of note-taking do you prefer? Why?

Writing skills: a comparative essay

1 Look again at the essay “Are women better drivers than men?” Match ideas a-d with each
paragraph.
a. conclusion
b. arguments for
c. introduce the topic / state the proposition
d. arguments against
2 Linkers. Look at the phrases underlined in the text. Decide which of them are used to do the
following.
1. list/add points
2. introduce examples
3. show contrast
4. introduce a conclusion
3 Look at the structures that are used with the linkers for contrast. Which linkers need a new
sentence? Which linkers always need two clauses?

21
4 Combine these sentences using the five phrases for showing contrast in Exercise 2.
He is patient and careful at work. He is impatient and aggressive when he drives.
He is patient and careful at work. However, he is impatient and aggressive when he drives.
5 Complete the sentences in an appropriate way.
1. He was slow and often late for work. However, …
2. Although the twins looked the same, …
3. Despite the fact that he was shy …
4. Children find learning languages easy. Adults, on the other hand, …
6 Work in groups. Choose an essay title from the following.
managers

Are men/women better … politicians than women/men?

teachers

doctors

7 In you group, brainstorm the qualities you think apply to men and women.
8 Look at the statements 1-13 below and do the following tasks.
1. Decide which of the statements below apply more to men or women.
2. Add two more statements of your own.
3. Select some to include in your essay. Remember to have some to show the other side of the
argument.
4. Think of examples to support your statements.
1. ____________ are good at listening.
2. ____________ find it easier to deal with people.
3. ____________ have more authority.
4. ____________ are more sympathetic to others.
5. ____________ are better organisers.
6. ____________ pay more attention to detail.
7. ____________ stay calm in stressful situations.
8. ____________ are good at getting the best out of people.
9. ____________ are energetic and enthusiastic.
10. ____________ work better in a single-sex team.
11. ____________ are better at public speaking.
12. ____________ are more inspiring.
13. ____________ take decisions quickly.

9 Write your essay. Use the structure of the essay “Are women better drivers than men?”as a
model.

22
 Active vocabulary of the Unit

Adjectives even-tempered strong-willed identify

extraordinary talkative influence
adventurous
generous thoughtful lose temper
ambitious
hard-working well-known make friends
assertive
moody make/take
bossy
open-minded Verbs decisions
cautious
organised overshadow
competent attend
quiet
competitive avoid
reliable Prepositions
controversial be good at
self-confident
creative be interested in According to
sensible
easy-going be married to
sensitive
energetic develop
serious
enormous give talks
sociable

Extra vocabulary
Adjectives

boring kind tense

broad-minded lazy unambitious
clever mean unfriendly
dishonest narrow-minded unkind
friendly optimistic unpleasant
good fun pessimistic unpunctual
honest punctual unreliable
inflexible shy
insensitive stupid

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