Introduction
Summary for those in a hurry
• Structure: There are 26 topic-related units - one for each
letter of the alphabet. Topics overlap between units, which
means that you can pass from one unit to another giving
your students a sense of thematic continuity.
• Level and use: 'Intermediate' covers an incredibly wide
spectrum of levels. You may find that you have to skip some
exercises (e.g. some of the hstening and reading passages) as
they may be too difficult for your intermediate class. This
shouldn't, however, mean that you can't proceed with the
discussion - the discussion questions which follow the
reading passages don't presuppose having read the text itself
Use the book both for back-up material to your coursebook,
or independentlyjas the basis for a conversation course.
Nearly all of the exercises can also be exploited with more
advanced classes.
• Choosing exercises: Don't feel you have to do every
exercise from every unit. Combine exercises from various
units as you choose both from this book and from
Discussions A~Z Advanced {which has many exercises that
can be exploited at lower levels too). Don't follow the order
of the exercises unless you want to (or unless advised in the
teacher's notes), though you might like, to begin with the
first exercise in Appearances and end with the Fun with
English section in English. Use the Subject index and
Links index to find related exercises in other units.
• Timing: Exercises vary in length from five to about ninety
minutes depending on your students' level and interest in
the topic. Don't impose any rigorous time limits unless you
have to, but don't persevere with a discussion that's getting
nowhere. However, it is important that students feel they
have completed an exercise and been linguistically
productive in the process.
> Personalisation: Try and relate exercises to current events
and things relevant to,your own students' lives.
I Taboo: Some topics may be sensitive for your students -
they are marked with a %. Don't let this put you off doing
them unless you're sure they will react badly. If you think
they might, make sure you have back-up material ready (for
example, exercises from the Quizzes or You units).
Discussion groups: Most of the discussion exercises work
best in pairs or small groups. Explain to students that you
won't interrupt them while they talk (unless you notice
them repeatedly making the same mistake), but that you'll
note down mistakes they make for analysis at a later point.
In any case, before embarking on an exercise you should
anticipate any vocabulary and grammar problems that are
likely to arise, and revise these beforehand if necessary.
With more reticent classes you may need to drill or feed
them with relevant structures useftil for the specific
discussion task.
• Other uses: Don't think that you have to use this book just
for discussions. Some ideas could lead you on to other areas:
vocabulary, grammar, composition writing, etc.
• Flexibility: Be flexible. Choose your own path through the
book. Select and adapt the tasks to suit your students' needs.
Rework the exercises or use them as models for your own
ideas.
• Comments: Please write to me at Cambridge and let me
know your opinions and criticisms on the book, or e-mail
me: adrian@list.it.
Speaking
Most exercises on the student's page consist of a set of
questions to discuss. When these questions are preceded by
an introductory reading passage they should not be treated
as comprehension questions but as a springboard to
discussion. If you see no logical ordering in the numbering
of the questions let students read all the questions, and then
just select the ones they wish to discuss. Alternatively divide
students into small groups and ask them to discuss only the
first five often questions, for example. Those who finish
their discussion quickly can be asked to move on to the
other questions, whilst the more loquacious groups are
given enough time to finish their debates.
Don't let students think they have to stick to answering the
questions directly. Let them float around the questions and
bring in their own ideas.
Questions not discussed in the lesson can be set as titles for
compositions for homework; or written summaries can be
made of those questions that were answered during the lesson.
Reading
Most of texts are authentic and come from a variety of
sources; some have been condensed or slightly modified.
They have been kept deliberately short and are not designed
to develop specific reading skills. Encourage students to
guess:
• where the texts come from - newspapers, scientific
journals, women's magazines, letters, interviews, literary
works.
• why they were written - to inform, instruct, convince,
advise, shock, amuse, deceive.
• who they were written for - age group, sex, nationality,
specialist, casual reader
• when they were written (where applicable).
Although the aim of the text is not to act as a
comprehension exercise, students should obviously
understand most of what they read. Before photocopying,
underline in pencil any parts that you feel are essential for
an understanding of the text. Check the meaning of these
before going on to look at the text in more detail.
Introduction
Introduction
Depending on the type of text, as a written follow-up,
students can:
• rewrite the text from a different point of view.
• imagine and recount what happened either before or after
the event described in the text. Alternatively they can
write up an interview with the people mentioned in the
text. This interview could even take place ten years later,
to find out their new situations or feelings.
• summarise the text, or simply delete any words or phrases
that they consider could be redundant.
Listening
The listening exercises vary in level to a much greater extent
than the reading and speaking exercises and can be used
with a good range of classes. These exercises are also
designed to provide information and provoke discussion,
though some listenings can also be used as free-standing
exercises to improve listening skills.
None of the listenings are referred to on the student's pages
so you should give clear instructions for the exercises. You
will also need to dictate the comprehension questions, or
write them on the board for students to copy. Feel free to
adapt the questions or invent your own to suit the level or
interests of your students. Pre-teach any essential vocabulary
that has not already come up during the preceding
discussion exercise.
Some listening exercises feature native speakers doing the
exercise on the student's page. Ask students to read all the
questions but without answering them. Then get them to '
listen to the first two speakers. On the first listening they
identify which point is being discussed. Afi:er the second
listening elicit the structures and vocabulary used - this will
then serve as a basis for the students' own discussions. The
other speakers can then be used at the end of the exercise,
purely as a comprehension test.
Culture and maturity
I am English, but you will notice that there is a considerable
American input too. Most of the subjects covered thus
reflect a fairly liberal Anglo-Saxon background, and my age
(born 1959). Some subjects may encroach on taboo areas in
your students' culture and you should take care to consult
students in advance about any potentially delicate topics
where they might feel embarrassed or exposed. A very
simple way to check possible problem areas, is to give each
student a copy of the Subject index (page 112) and get them
to tick any subjects they would feel uneasy about. I would
also get them to write their name, so that you know exactly
who has problems with what. This means that such subjects
could be discussed in such people's absence. This is a good
introductory exercise in itself, and should get your students
analysing what verbal communication is all about. Also,
check out any extreme or prejudiced opinions your students
may have; whilst these could actually be used to good c-flcct
(as a kind of devil's advocate), they might upset other
students.
Don't attempt subjects that are simply outside the realm of
your students' experience - no amount of imagination is
going to be able to surmount the problem. If you ask them
to pretend to be part of a doctors' ethics committee, they
can't be expected to know what a real doctor would do, but
that shouldn't stop them saying what they would do if they
were in such a position.
If you do unwittingly embark on an exercise which students
find too difficult or embarrassing, or which promotes little
more than uneasy silence, just abandon it - but try and
predict such events and have back-up exercises at the ready.
Feel free just to ignore some exercises completely, but tell
students that the nature of the book is not to cover every
exercise systematically and in order. You'll soon learn the
types of exercises that will go down well with your students.
I would suggest letting the students decide which exercises
they want to do.
Most exercises in this book have been designed to be
very flexible, and an exercise that might appear to be too
difficult or delicate can often be adapted to suit your
students' needs. In countries where students are likely to
seize on a writing exercise, however brief the writing, and
use it as a substitute for speaking rather than a prelude to it,
you may need to rethink some of the exercise instructions.
For example, imagine that students are asked to rate some
moral values from one to five according to unacceptability.
Don't let them get hold of their pen and merely write
numbers, but give them clear-cut instructions which they
can't avoid talking about: 'Look at the situations below
and decide if they are wrong. If they are wrong, how wrong
are they? Tell your partner what you think and give reasons
for your opinion'. (I am indebted to Jonathan Beesley
of the British Council in Kuala Lumpur for these and
other suggestions.)
If you feel students cannot cope with a certain exercise
because they wouldn't know what to say, then you might
have to provide them with a concrete stimulus. For example,
students are asked to answer the question 'What difficulties
do homeless people have?' If they have difficulty in putting
themselves in other people's shoes, you could put them into
pairs - one journalist and one homeless person - and give
them role cards. On the journalist's card you specify areas to
ask questions about (e.g. sleep, food, clothes, money, friends
- but in a little more detail than this). On the homeless
person's card put information that could answer such
questions (e.g. sleep under a bridge, at the station, hospice,
etc.). Alternatively, in pairs again, they imagine they are
both homeless people, but from two different parts of the
world (e.g. New York and Calcutta). By giving them such
obvious differences (climate, lifestyle, culture), you get them
focusing their ideas more clearly. This principle can be
applied to many of the exercises.
Introduction
Introduction
Ho>v to conduct a discussion
The word 'discuss' originally meant to 'cut' with a similar
origin as 'dissect'. This meaning, along with its current use of
'examining the pros and cons' gives a good idea of what a
discussion is all about, i.e. a dissection of an argument into
various parts for analysis, followed by a reassembling of all
the relevant elements to a draw a conclusion from the
whole. Discussions A~Z is based on this principle.
One problem with question answering is that without some
coaching on how to answer questions, students may simply
answer 'yes', 'no', 'it depends', etc., and then move on to the
next question. Many of the questions in this book have been
formulated so that they avoid a simple 'yes/no' answer - but
others are designed to be deliberately provocative.
Consider the following case. Students are asked whether it
should be up to the government or the people to decide on
where people can smoke. If students simply answer 'the
government' or 'the people', there won't be miach to discuss.
Alternatively, students (either alone or in groups) should
first write down a set of related questions, e.g. Where are
smokers free to smoke now? Why do we need to change
this? Why do we need a law to tell us we can't smoke in
certain places? Who would object to anti-smoking
legislature? Who would benefit? What should be done with
offenders? etc. The process of formulating and answering
these types of questions will get the students really thinking,
and along with some examples from their own personal
experience, should lead to intense language production.
The same kind of approach can be used for brainstorming.
Suppose you're brainstorming the students on the ideal
qualities of a judge. Without any prior instruction, most
people will come up with personality characteristics such as
intelligent, well-balanced, rational, experienced - which is
fine. But it would be more productive if students first wrote
down a set of questions related to judges: Why do we need
judges? What is a judge? How old should he be? Even the
phrasing of questions can be indicative of how we see a
judge - why do we refer to a judge as 'he' and not 'she'? Are
men more rational, and therefore better judges than women,
and why is it that there are so few female judges? You should
add other, less orthodox questions, to provoke youfStudents
into thinking about other aspects of being a judge, e.g. how
relevant are race, height and physical appearance, hobbies
etc.? Students may think that the height of a judge is totally
irrelevant - this is probably true (though some research has
shown that there is a link between height and intelligence) -
but often by saying what is not important we get a clearer
idea of what is important. As a follow-up activity students
could design a training course for judges.
Now let us see how we can apply the same approach to
problem-solving activities. Suppose your students are part
of a government board which gives fianding to scientific
research projects. Their task is to decide which one of the
following projects to give money to: (1) a group of marine
archaeologists who have found Atlanfis; (2) some alchemists
who have found a way to convert the Grand Canyon into
gold; and (3) some generic engineers who have developed a
way to produce square fruit. In order to generate a valuable
discussion students should begin by writing down a series of
related questions: Why did the scientists propose the
projects? Is there a real need for such a project? Is it
practical? Do we have the necessary technology to carry it
out? Should such projects be ftinded by the government or
by private enterprise? Who would benefit and why? etc.
Then, when they are into their discussion, they should try
and extend their arguments and reasoning and see where it
takes them.
For example, a discussion on Atiantis might, if pre-questions
have been written, lead naturally into an analysis of what we
can learn from history, how and why legends arise, why
archaeology of any kind is important, what things we can
learn from past civilizations, how our past effects the
present, etc.
In summary, this approach to discussion involves:
• A pre-discussion activity where students, either in groups
or individually, write down related questions, some of
which you, the teacher, can feed.
• A discussion initiated by answering such questions, and if
possible drawing on students' own personal experiences.
• The logical or illogical extension of ideas brought up by
the discussion.
• A round-up of conclusions involving cross-group
questioning followed by whole class feedback.
• A written summary for consolidation.
The result is obviously a much fuller and productive
discussion, in which you have more time to note down any
recurrent mistakes, and students to let themselves go and
practise their English. Nor are the benefits solely linguistic:
there is a great deal of satisfaction in having your mind
stretched and producing interesting and ofi:en unexpected
ideas and results.
Introduction
Warm-ups
• NB This exercise could be used for the first lesson with a
new group.
• Before you introduce yourself to the class, write the
following on the board (which you may need to adapt or
add to depending on your particular case);
My name is X. In groups of four try and answer the
following questions. Your answers will obviously be based
on my appearance alone. 1 Am I English, American,
Australian? 2 How old am I? 3 Am I a teacher, a
researcher, a tourist? 4 Am I married, single, other? 5
What do I like doing in my free time? 6 What kind of
music/films/books do I like? 7 Am I an introvert or an
extrovert? 8 Am I rich or poor? 9 What star sign am I?
10 What religion am I?
• Give students a few minutes to reach their conclusions, then
ask individuals from each group to give their answers plus an
explanation of how they reached this conclusion. Then give
them the answers.
• Onto an A4 page paste two sets often or more passport
size photos of different people, one set for each sex.
Photocopy the page. Put students in pairs and give each a
photocopy. They each choose one photo from each set and
ask each other questions to find out which photo their
partner has chosen.
• Find photos of two similar looking people, alternatively use
before and after slimming or baldness photos, typically
found in glossy magazines. Give pairs of students one photo'
each and tell them how many differences they have to find.
Tliey then decide if their photos are of the same person or
not. They should do this by asking questions, not merely by
describing their pictures.
\ First impressions
• Before beginning the exercise, in groups students discuss
how they make their initial judgements of people, i.e. before
they speak. What things do they then look or listen for? Do
they agree that people form 90% of their opinion of
someone in the first 90 seconds? Now do the listening.
Listening
• Students hear five people talking about the people on the
student's page. First get students to read the ten situations.
Then play the tape once. Students' task is to match the
situation with the person the speakers are talking about.
Play the tape again and elicit some expressions which
students can then use in their own discussion.
"H) U 2e U 4/ 5c
J 1 Because only bad women, they, use heavy make-up to attract
men, so that's why we would consider them immoral.
2 Well, I would be put off immediately by a man with long hair at
that age, because in the first place I don't like men with long
hair, and I would feel that he grew up at a time when it was the
normal thing for men to have short back and sides, and the fact
that he'd grown his hair would make me think he was trying to
look younger than he was.
3 Where I grew up in Uganda, there were lots of Muslim ladies
who would wear rings on their nose and earrings.
4 I think I'd be really interested to talk to someone who's got a lot
of tattoos to find out the story behind each tattoo, find out why
they did it and what it means for them.
5 Well, I have the impression that they're somebody who isn't
always thinking about themselves, not looking at themselves in,
the mirror every morning shaving.
• Students now choose five of questions a-j and write an
answer. In pairs they read out these answers and their partner
has to guess which question was being answered. They then
discuss their answers.
Writing
• Students choose one of the following tides: (a) You can't
judge someone by their clothes. Discuss, (b) Write a story
which begins: 'I couldn't have been more wrong about Jo.
The first time I met her she seemed so " (c) What would
tell you more about a stranger's character: their bathroom
cabinet, bookshelves, record collection or wardrobe?
2 Beauty and the beast
Do a quick class check to verify whether students think that
beauty is subjective. Bring in pictures of famous actors and
actresses. Students discuss the pictures and then define what
being attractive or beautiful is. Are they still sure that beauty
is purely subjective? In their groups they then discuss
questions 3-6.
Use'questions 7-12 as a basis of a short whole class
discussion (they are designed as a preview to the reading
exercise which should either confirm or discredit what came
out in the discussion).
8
Appearances
1 JFirst impressions
It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances.
The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.
Oscar Wilde
Fact: People form 90% of their opinion of someone in
the first 90 seconds.
What conclusions con you draw from the following
information?
a A man who wears an earring in one ear.
b A woman with an earring in her nose.
c A man with a beard or moustache.
d A woman who wears heavy make-up.
e A 60-year-old man with long hair.
f Someone who wears lots of jewellery.
g Someone who's always laughing.
h Someone who bites their nails.
i Someone who has tattoos.
i Someone with red hair.
2 Beauty and the beast
4 Do most people overestimate or underestimate their
own beauty?
5 What influence does someone's physical appearance
have on their personality? And vice versa?
6 Is beauty only a physical quality?
Aristotle said that beauty was a greater
recommendation than any letter of Introduction.
Which of the following do you agree with?
If you're good-looking you're more likely to:
7 have a pleasant personality and have more friends.
8 study humanistic/artistic subjects.
9 be treated more leniently if you're in the wrong.
10 get a job with higher status.
11 find a partner and get married.
12 be generally happier.
Interesting facts
• University professors often give good-looking girls
better marks in exams; male students tend to
overestimate the intellectual qualities of pretty female
students.
• In court cases attractive people get lighter sentences,
unless they made conscious use of their beauty to get
their own ends, in which case they might be more
severely punished.
• Attractive people are seen by others as having a better
personality, higher status, more likelihood of getting
married, and being happier.
• Beautiful girls rarely become scientists; they tend to
choose subjects such as languages, law and medicine.
• Women who have beautiful bodies often have less self-
confidence — they worry too much about keeping their
body perfect.
• Short men are less likely to get jobs than tall men and
they receive lower starting salaries. In US presidential
elections, the taller candidate nearly always wins.
There may even be a connection between height and
intelligence, as it seems that the same genes are
involved in both aspects.
3 Make-up
• Students answer the questions in groups and then decide
whether make-up actually improves the way we look. To
help them decide, find some 'before and after' make-up
magazine photos and see if students agree on the value of
the transformation.
® In a psychological study in the US, male and female subjects
were given pictures of women with and without make-up.
Both the males and females judged the women to look more
physically attractive with make-up on. Men believe that
women who wear make-up are more interested in the
opposite sex than those who don't; though for most women
make-up has simply become a social convention with no
sexual connotations.
Listening
• Students hear some facts about the history of make-up.
Their task is to put the pieces of history in chronological
order, matching them to the illustrations. You may need to
pre-teach some of the vocabulary.
frO 4a 5b 3c Id 2e
f^\ 1 Make-up was then used to hide the ravages caused by smallpox,
and men took to covering their faces with rouge and their heads
with masses of false hair. After the French Revolution, a natural
look became fashionable and under Queen Victoria, women
who used rouge were considered immoral.
2 This century has of course seen an unprecedented rise in all
forms of cosmetics, including surgery to remove various
blemishes and scars, or purely for vanity. It's interesting that the
use of make-up has to some extent turned full circle; young
people today often use make-up for some kind of magical effect,
and tattoos too are very popular.
3 It seems strange to us now but women in the Middle Ages, well
at least in Europe, actually tried to make their skin look even
whiter. They did this with flour powder, but anyway they can't
hove been very dark in the first place; what with their poor diet
and the gloomy castle surroundings, they must hove ended up
looking like an oval, white egg. Later on French women began
to paint their faces white, and their lips and cheeks red.
4 Originally in the very primitive tribes only men painted
themselves. They lived in terror of evil demons which might harm
them when they went out to hunt. They painted grotesque
designs on their faces as a disguise, so that the evil demons
wouldn't recognise them. Women, who stayed inside the
protection of the village, needed no paint of course.
5 Cleopatra was supposed to have painted her brows and lashes
black, top lids deep blue and lower lids bright green; she must
have looked quite something. It seems incredible but many
cosmetics sold today to restore youthful beauty originated from
the Egyptian habit of mummifying the dead.
4 Keeping up appearances
• In a multilingual class brainstorm what is acceptable in the
students' native countries. As a quick follow-up students
write if they would do more of these things in other public
places - e.g. parks, cinemas, beaches?
Listening
• Students hear someone saying which of the things she
would and wouldn't do. The students' task is simply to
write yes or no against the appropriate item, and if possible
her reasons.
"^ 9 no S no A no 2 sometimes T yes 8 no
^•f^\ I wouldn't spit. I think that's really horrible when peoplespit on
the streets. I wouldn't take my clothes off because you'd
probably get arrested. I wouldn't sing because I've got an awful
voice. No, I definitely wouldn't sing at the top of my voice. I'd
like to say that I wouldn't look at myself in the shop window but I
sometimes catch myself just giving a quick glance. I'd wear my
pyjamas on the street, I used to do that a lot when I was a
student. I wouldn't kiss my partner; I don't like it when people get
too affectionate in public places.
Extra
• If you are studying a set text for an examination (e.g. the
writing paper in the Cambridge First Certificate in English),
students could imagine that the book is being made into a
film. Show students pictures of various actresses and actors,
and they have to decide who they would choose for the
various roles. If there already is a film version, try and find
photos of the actors/actresses and mix them with other
ones; students can then see if their casting coincides with
the real one. Alternatively, students choose from their own
classmates, or teachers!
10
Appearances
3 Make-up
1 Why do people wear make-up? How do you feel with
and without make-up on?
2 hlow much time do you spend on making yourself up,
or on your appearance in general?
3 Do you think you look better with a sun tan? What are
the dangers?
4 Why don't men usually wear make-up? If it were
socially acceptable would more men wear it?
5 Do you wear perfume or after-shave? Why?
What wouldn't/shouldn't you do in a street?
1 Shout to someone on the other side of the street.
2 Look at yourself in a shop window.
3 Shout at or argue with your partner.
4 Sing at the lop of your voice.
5 Take all your clothes off.
6 Eat while walking along.
7 Wear your pyjamas.
8 Kiss your partner.
9 Spit.
10 Cry.
Discussions A-Z Intermediate mii:Mi»I<»]-jrili1fm © Cambridge University Press 1997
11
Warm-ups
• Students write down three or four ideas that they associate
with the word 'belieP, and then a few things that they
beheve in. In small groups they compare their
interpretations of'belief and discuss their own beliefs.
• Did students write things like God, ghosts, the evil eye etc.,
or ideas like democracy, peace? What exactly does believing
in something mean? What things did they believe in when
they were a child that they don't now, and vice versa? How
much have their fundamental beliefs changed in the last
5/10/15 years?
Follo>v-up
• In groups students invent a strange set of beliefs and rules
for a new cult (with a suitable name) that they have
supposedly founded. Students then mingle with other
groups and try to convince them of their 'beliefs'. Examples:
children should not be educated; behef in a sun god and
human sacrifice; women should be able to have several
husbands; men cannot wear trousers; no laughing; no
talking to people older than you unless they speak to you
first; men can only walk north-south-north, and women
east-west-east.
Writing
> We all need something to beheve in. Discuss.
1 isms
' Ask students first to discuss which of the isms express some
kind of belief Then they divide up the isms into three
categories of their choice (e.g. behefs, manias, oddballs,
behaviours, social systems). The fact that it is difficult to
reduce the categories to three, especially with outsiders such
as 'tourism' and 'vandalism' should be a source of
discussion in itself You may find students going off at a
tangent and just limiting their discussion to one or two of
the isms. Believe it or not there are more than 1250 isms so
you may want to write your own list. Here are some more to
choose from: ageism, baptism, chauvinism, consumerism,
criticism, cynicism, dynamism, escapism, euphemism,
heightism, humanism, journalism, mannerism, mechanism,
nudism, pessimism, realism, socialism.
Alternatively, brainstorm students on words that end in -ist.
Write these on board. Students then do as above. Finally,
they discuss whether they themselves are capitalist, sexist,
etc.
Writing
Students write two sets of definitions for three of the isms.
One set should be definitions for children, the second for
adults. The definitions should not mention the ism by name.
Next lesson, in groups, students read out their definitions;
the other members have to guess which ism is being referred
to and whether the definition was meant for a child or adult.
x-O
®
2 Superstitions
• Before they look at the questions, ask students (in groups) to
invent a 'How superstitious are you?' quiz of around 5 or 6
questions. Change the groupings and get each student to ask
the members of his/her new group some of the questions.
With less imaginative groups, get students to invent the quiz
as a follow-up exercise.
> In the same groups students then try and answer questions
1-5. Finally, they should try and match the questions with
the answers.
Id 2a 3h 4e Sc
Many of our superstitions probably have their origin in the
religious rites and ceremonies of early human settleirients.
Primitive people needed to make some sense of all the
adversities they were subject to - hurricanes, droughts,
floods, etc. They believed that there was a connection
between such events and some supernatural being or beings.
To keep these 'gods' happy they invented a series of rites,
which evolved through the various civilisations. In modem
times, when salt is actually considered dangerous for health
we perhaps forget just how important it was for our
ancestors. The word 'salary' comes from the Latin 'salariuni'
from the word 'sal' meaning salt. The Roman soldiers and
civil servants were in fact paid in salt rations and other
necessities. The fifth century Goth administrator
CassiodoruS said: 'It may be that some seek not gold, but
there lives not a man that does not need salt'. In Leonardo
da Vinci's picture of the Last Supper, you can see that Judas
has accidentally knocked over the salt cellar.
In Roman mythology men had a kind of guardian angel,
known as a genius, that looked after their fortunes and
determined their character. The genius only existed for men,
women had their Juno. Another belief was that everyone
had two genii (good and evil), and bad luck was caused by
the evil genius.
Follov^-up
Students try and identify from the illustrations which items
represent good luck and which bad luck. They should then
discuss what brings good and bad luck in their countries.
12
Beliefs
3 Folklore
n-O
• Before reading the passage, in groups students discuss
examples of folklore from their own country.
• Students then read the passage. As a whole class get them to
imagine how the article might have continued (i.e. an
account of cola's powers).
Listening
• Students hear about some of the powers associated with
cola. Their task is to tick any of the illustrations which are
mentioned in the dialogue.
All of the illustrations are mentioned, in this order: c, e, d, a,f, b
lAlAh,
Su You know if you keep on drinking that stuff you're gonna burn
your stomach, it'll give you spots too.
Al Oh don't be ridiculousi I've been drinking cola for years end it's
never done me any harm.
Su Well, I had a friend at school and she drank so much it made her
throat transparent and split her tongue in two.
Al Yeah right. And I use it to remove the oil from my car.
Su No seriously. Look, you try putting this coin in your glass (yeah),
leave it there overnight, and I bet next morning it'll look like new.
Al Oohl I suppose you use it to remove your nail varnish.
Su How did you guess? (No) I do, really. It's also brilliant for
removing stains out of clothes; you can even clean your jewellery
too.
Al I remember when I was at college we used to mix it with aspirin,.
it was supposed to be an aphrodisiac.
Su Did it work?
Al Well, I never hod much luck, no.
Su Yeah, well I wouldn't blame that on the cola.
4 Talk to the animals
• Students read the text and then discuss the consequences of
the assumptions not being true, e.g. if animals couldizW
what would happen? i
14
Beliefs
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