1 Read the extract from an online article. Why do you think this was the outcome of the experiment?
A recent experiment asked participants how much of their income should be put aside for retirement. Before asking the question, they showed half the participants a photo of themselves. The researchers had had the photos digitally altered to make the people in them look older. Those participants who were shown the photos of themselves consistently chose to put more of their savings aside for their future selves.
Suggested answer
The participants were likely influenced by seeing themselves as the reality of being older and that created a relationship with their older self.
The Passive
2 Look at the underlined phrases in the text in Exercise 1 and answer the questions.
1 What do all three phrases have in common grammatically?
2 How are they grammatically different?
Answers
1 They use the passive form.
2 They use diff erent tenses.
3 THINK BACK In pairs, look at the underlined sentences from the text on page 31 and discuss why you think the Passive has been used in each case.
Answers
Students’ own answers
4 Match sentences 1–6 from Exercise 3 with reasons for using the Passive a–f.
a □ We are more interested in the action than who does it.
b □ The agent is unknown, irrelevant or so obvious we don’t need to express it.
c □ We want to avoid personal responsibility or blame.
d □ We want to sound more objective or talk about general opinions.
e □ We often put information that we know about at the beginning of a sentence and new information at the end of it.
f □ It is better not to start a sentence with a long complex subject.
Answers
a 6 b 5 c 4 d 2 e 3 f 1
5 3.10 PRONUNCIATION Listen to six sentences and write down how many words you hear in each sentence (contractions such as I’ve count as two words). What do you notice about the pronunciation of the verb to be? Listen again and repeat.
Answers
1 8 words 2 10 words 3 7 words 4 7 words 5 7 words 6 8 words
The sounds in to be are either shortened or contracted in regular speech.
6 Complete a text about Economics with the Passive form of the verbs in brackets in the correct tense.
VERSATILE CAREER OPTIONS
Economics is about much more than money and the skills that can 1...........................(develop) from studying it, like an analytical mind and a strong economic awareness of the world, may 2.........................(transfer) to numerous industries. During the course, you 3.........................(require) to employ critical thinking skills (for example interpretation, evaluation, inference, problem solving and decision making) so be prepared for a lot of challenges, but it is worth the effort. It 4................................(find) that Economics graduates earn more than any other graduates, apart from those who 5....................................(award) a medical degree. After having completed their studies, they may 6....................................(employ) in business, industry, education or the civil service. Economists 7..............................(often/perceive) as game-changers in many industries, which makes the job pretty exciting, contrary to popular belief.
Answers
1 be developed 2 be transferred 3 are required 4 has been found 5 are awarded 6 be employed 7 are often perceived
7 Study Watch Out! and choose the best way of continuing the sentences.
1 Behavioural Economics is well worth studying.
a Good decisions are made in all areas of life when people use it.
b It is used for making good decisions in all areas of life
2 A new role is being created in my department.
a Sameer will probably be given the job.
b The job will probably be given to Sameer.
3 My brother is an economist.
a He has just been awarded a promotion.
b A promotion has just been awarded to him.
4 Despite the promotion, he was not entirely happy.
a A bigger pay rise had been promised to him.
b He had been promised a bigger pay rise
WATCH OUT!
In passive sentences where the verbs have two objects (e.g., give, show, tell, lend, promise, buy, etc.) either object can come at the beginning. We usually put the ‘new’ information at the end.
Answers
1 b 2 b 3 a 4 b
8 Rewrite the sentences using the Passive where appropriate. In pairs, discuss and explain your choices.
1 The fact that he had already spent good money on the ticket convinced him to stay.
2 An unknown person had added too much salt to the food.
3 People are hardly ever aware of their unconscious biases.
4 People believe that animals never fall into the trap of the sunk-cost fallacy, only humans.
5 I made a terrible mistake.
6 A cost-benefit analysis is more complex than a list of pros and cons.
Answers
1 Good money had already been spent on the ticket which convinced him to stay.
2 Too much salt had been added to the food.
3 Not possible in the passive as there is no main verb.
4 It is believed that animals never fall into the trap of the sunkcost fallacy, only humans.
5 A terrible mistake was made.
6 Not possible in the passive as there is no main verb.
9 Choose the best options to complete the text.
Economics. Why bother?
You may think that the only time 1you use economics / economics is used is when you’re trying to decide which pair of jeans you can afford, or when you’re saving for a special holiday. However, 2at least a basic knowledge of economics is required / you require at least a basic knowledge of economics for many areas of our lives, not just fi nancial decisions. 3It is often said / People often say that in economics the majority is always wrong. Through studying economics 4people teach us / we are taughthowto make better decisions than we might otherwise. 5Our unconscious biases and tendencies have to be taken into account / We have to take our unconscious biases and tendencies into account, and it’s diffi cult to do that if 6no one has ever made us aware of them / we have never been made aware of them. The transferable skills which7teachers teach us / we are taught in Economics make it a great foundation for many careers.
Answers
1 economics is used 2 at least a basic knowledge of economics is required 3 It is often said 4 we are taught 5 We have to take our unconscious biases and tendencies into account, 6 we have never been made aware of them 7 we are taught
10 SPEAKING In pairs or small groups, discuss the questions.
1 Do you agree that everyone should be taught basic economics? Say why.
2 What transferable skills do you think could be learnt from other academic subjects, e.g. History?
Answers
Students’ own answers
