1 Which of the life events in the box can you see in photos A–C? Which of them can be the most challenging?
| a clash between you and a sibling a newborn baby in the family a row with your best friend flunking an important exam relocating to a different town or country |
2 Listen to the first part of a radio programme and answer the questions.
1 Why does the speaker think that what happens to us can influence our personality?
2 Does the speaker think that negative events are to be avoided? Say why.
3 CRITICAL THINKING Study Active Listening. Is the extract from the recording below a fact or an opinion? How do you know?
People sometimes think that stressful or upsetting events shape us negatively, and joyful events have a positive effect, but to my mind, the opposite can also be true.
An opinion (People sometimes think … ; to my mind, …)
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ACTIVE LISTENING| Distinguishing between facts and opinions • An opinion is an individual’s belief or viewpoint. It is subjective, rather than being based on evidence. It may be signalled by the use of such words as feel, believe or think or phrases such as If you ask me … / I have the impression that … • A fact is something for which there is some objective evidence which can be checked or verified. It may be signalled by a phrase such as The data shows … / The research indicates … |
4 Listen to the rest of the programme and make notes for the four speakers: Habib, Lama, Dalia, and Jawad.
1 What was the life event?
2 How was it stressful?
3 What influence did it have?
4 What did he/she learn from it?
Habib
1 Transferring from primary to secondary school.
2 He did badly at school.
3 He often got into trouble at school.
4 He learnt that he should put in more of an eff ort and not be scared of failing.
Lama
1 The birth of her little sister Majeda.
2 She couldn’t accept the fact that her parents gave all their attention to her sister.
3 She felt unhappy.
4 She saw that even when things don’t immediately go her way, they may still turn out positive in the long run.
Dalia
1 Her family relocated to Germany for two years.
2 She hated not being able to communicate with people.
3 She felt down in the dumps.
4 She learnt the value of sticking at something even when it’s not easy.
Jawad
1 He was bullied when he started secondary school.
2 He felt upset a lot of the time.
3 He burst into tears.
4 He realised he doesn’t have to worry about what other people think of him.
5 Listen again and choose the correct answers.
1- What prevented Habib from doing well at secondary school?
a He wasn’t being challenged enough.
b He wasn’t very academically gifted.
c He was friends with people who didn’t pay attention in class.
2- Which of the following is an opinion?
a Colic can have a variety of causes.
b Colic is usually worse at night.
c Lying flat makes colic more of a problem.
3- What was the hardest thing for Dalia when she went to school in Germany?
a Struggling to communicate with people.
b Leaving her old friends behind.
c Not being treated well by the other kids.
4- The bullies stopped teasing Jawad because
a the new pupil defended Jawad.
b Jawad grew taller as he got older.
c Jawad learnt to ignore them.
6 SPEAKING In pairs, discuss the meaning of these phrases from the recording.
1 wasn’t doing me any favours
wasn’t helpful to me
2 things don’t immediately go my way
things don’t immediately happen in the way I want
3 turn out to be positive in the long run
happen in a positive way or have a positive result later in the future, not immediately
4 the value of sticking at something
the importance of continuing to do something in a determined way in order to achieve something