What's in a lifestyle?

Enseñanzas Oficiales de Idiomas

Inglés Nivel C1
Lesson 4

It hit the news: What's in a lifestyle?

Look at the following list and make a mental note of the

aspects mentioned regarding lifestyles around the world.
celebrations
clothes
customs
foods
habits
languages
religions
work schedules

What is a lifestyle?
According to the Business English dictionary, it is way of living of individuals, families
(households), and societies, which they manifest in coping with their physical,
psychological, social, and economic environments on a day-to-day basis. Lifestyle is
expressed in both work and leisure behavior patterns and (on an individual basis) in
activities, attitudes, interests, opinions, values, and allocation of income. It also reflects
people's self image or self concept; the way they see themselves and believe they are
seen by the others. Lifestyle is a composite of motivations, needs, and wants and is
influenced by factors such as culture, family, reference groups, and social
class. The analysis of consumer lifestyles (called psychographics) is an important factor in
determining how consumers make their purchase decisions.
Image by Kenny Louie in Flickr under CC.

Preknowledge
 Lifestyles cover anything and everything ranging from
cultural aspects to local habits and customs. How much
do you know about lifestyles around the world? Take our
quiz and see how you fare.

SCORM Quiz
Image by JGalvin in Flickr under CC.

1. Which of the following are true?

a. Women can't vote in Saudi Arabia.
b. Male friends can hold hands in India.
c. You can buy oud in most Middle Eastern countries.
2. In Canada, you can __________.
a. Order marmite.
b. Speak Kiwi.
c. Order poutine.
3. An aborigine is a native to __________.
a. New Zealand.
b. Bangladesh.
c. Australia.
4. A didgeridoo is an instrument played in __________.
a. Montreal.
b. New York.
c. Sydney.
5. Be careful when giving flowers in Russia because __________.
a. Yellow flowers signify deceit or breakups.
b. Red carnations are put on graves.
c. Both are correct.
6. Clocks, handkerchiefs, straw sandals and flowers are all associated with death and funerals in
China.
a. True.
b. False.
7. If you are a guest at a dinner in Egypt, you shouldn't put salt on your meal because
__________.
a. the host will be insulted.
b. it brings bad luck to the household.
c. there is a shortage of salt in the country.
8. If you are in Greece and your child's tooth falls out, you __________.
a. put it under the pillow for the tooth fairy.
b. throw it on the roof for good luck.
c. bury it in the garden to keep the bad spirits away.
9. In Japan, you have to mind your chopsticks when taking food from another person's plate so
__________.
a. grab your fork.
b. use your fingers.
c. use the opposite end.
10. In Finland, if you are invited to a sauna after a business meeting, __________.
a. the deal is broken.
b. it has been successful.
c. you should decline.
Click here to check your score.
Have a look at the questions. Reflect upon your answers then share them with your classmates. Were your answers the
same or different?
What things are idiosyncratic about your culture?
Are there any rules that would make someone look disrespectful or impolite? Which are they?
Is respect and politeness a generational matter or are there basic rules that are timeless?

What is the difference between idiosyncrasy and stereotype?

What stereotype about Spanish culture annoys you the most?
What stereotype about Spanish culture do you find endearing?
Do you know any stereotypes regarding the English-speaking-world cultures? What are they? Share them with your
coursemates.
Did you coincide on the same ones or have you come up with a set of different ones?
Finally, click on the image and go to National Stereotypes an amusing blog that talks about stereotypes around the world. On the
front page, there is a joke. Can you find it? In the comments section there is an interesting question, too: What culture is most
sensitive to stereotyping? What do you think? Share your opinion with your partners.

Image by CCarey at Pics4Learning under Public Domain.

1. What are psychographics?

Cloze Activity

Read the paragraph below and fill in the missing words. Choose a word from the box. You
many need to use a word more than once!

any both easy fun good how it may might much

of over probably to upon who why

Image by Ibear in O penclipart under Share.

Picture this: You're running specials every week on Facebook, discounting your 3-day in-house nutritional
counseling program more than you can afford, but still, no one is buying your amazing anti-aging weight-
loss product. What gives? Is no one interested in losing weight, lowering their cholesterol and feeling
loss product. What gives? Is no one interested in losing weight, lowering their cholesterol and feeling
younger? Uh, no. We KNOW that's not it. It's because you are ignoring psychographics.
Psychographics are kind of like demographics. Psychographic information be your buyer's habits,
hobbies, spending habits and values. Demographics explain your buyer is, while psychographics
explain they buy. Demographic information includes gender, age, income, marital status – the dry
facts.
You can only effectively reach your target audience when you understand their demographics and
psychographics. The combination of both sets of data starts to form your buyer persona – a detailed
picture the people you work with now, and would like to work with in the future.
Let’s create a very basic buyer persona based what we know about the ideal customer for a
nutritional counselor. Here goes!
Demographic Information:
Female
Aged 45-65
Married, with children
Dealing with issues of weight gain, diabetes, lack of energy or hormonal imbalance
Household income $100K+
Psychographic Information:
Concerned with health and appearance
Wants a healthy lifestyle, but doesn’t have time
Enjoys going online in the evenings, big fan of Pinterest
Tends favor quality economy
Finds fulfillment in her career and family
Values time with a small group of friends
Looking at the two lists above, it’s to see why you need both. Use demographics alone, and you
have only a very hazy outline of your audience – you understand her challenges, but not where to find her
and what really moves her to action. Psychographics gives you so much more insight!
Obtaining Psychographics
So now that we understand what psychographics are, do we go about acquiring them? We outline
two major methods below: interviewing your current clients and investigating your website analytics.
1) Interviewing Existing Clients
Right now, take five seconds and think your best current client. Next time you talk, ask her a little
more about herself. You can ask what she did over the weekend, if she’s seen good movies lately
(No? You’re more of a TV or online entertainment fan?), found any great holiday deals, made New
Year’s resolutions.
Depending on your relationship with the person, you can tell her exactly why you’re asking and be more
direct. If you’re not in a business where you have that kind of relationship with customers, do you have any
friends who are similar to your ideal client? You could ask him or her the same questions.
When you ask the right questions, you can find out what she does for , whether she’s a bargain-
hunter, what motivates her and what her personal goals are.
Want a larger sampling? Send out a customer survey and be honest – tell them you want to better
understand what they care . Most people are more than happy to share.
2) Investigating Website Analytics
Prefer a more behind-the-scenes kind of investigation? Look at your existing site content and previous
special offers. What has moved people to click, call, or buy in the past?
If you haven’t been paying attention to this, it require some testing, but can also be extremely
effective, as people’s true motivations are revealed by the actions they take. They may not think of
themselves as bargain-hunters, but if that discount code really worked, it’s to know.
Using Psychographics in Your Marketing
Getting the psychographic data is important, but really applying to your marketing is how you make it
effective. How would you do this? Let's continue with our on-going example about the anti-aging, weight-
loss product.
We've gathered some hypothetical data using the techniques outlined in the previous section, so now let's
apply our data to our marketing strategy!
Once you understand what is important to her, you’ll know where to find her and how to motivate her.
You’ll know how to give her what she wants - that offering deep discounts isn’t going to move her.
Instead, she wants to hear that your nutritional counseling service has worked for others and how it will
give her better health without a huge time commitment. So, make sure you highlight customer comments
that effect.
When you know that she’s spending her free time on Pinterest, you can stop spending money on Facebook
or newspaper and magazine ads. Instead, use her love of Pinterest and share time-saving household and
nutrition tips, and give her ideas for things to do with family and friends.
Watch what gets repinned and analyze what that tells you about her. Did she love the one about the
 Watch what gets repinned and analyze what that tells you about her. Did she love the one about the
smiley-face veggie platters for an after-school snack? Give her more ways to help keep her kids eating well.
If the “girl’s night out” inspirational quote went over big, give her more ways to have with her
friends.
When you know that career and family are important to her, you’ll want to share articles highlighting the
impact that good health has on job performance and ways to make exercise for kids.
Knowing more about her hobbies and interests will help you when you need to choose a prize for your next
contest, what to blog about, and what sorts of images to use in your next ad. Before you know , you’ll
have more qualified leads than you thought possible!
Source:
Meredith, A . (2013, December 26). How to Use Psychographics in Your Marketing: A Beginner's Guide. Retrieved March 13, 2016, from
http://blog.hubspot.com/insiders/marketing-psychographics

Submit

Activity

Do you remember the difference between fun and funny? Click here to remember how to use it.
A joke is funny. Going on a ferris w

Image by Doug Belshaw in Flickr under CC.

Image by

DropDown Activity

Listen to Tad Hargrave comparing demographics and psychographics. Listen to the audio a first time,
do not read the questions, just try to soak in as much information as possible. The second time, read
the sentences and try to complete the gap with what your remember. Finally, the third time, check
the sentences and try to complete the gap with what your remember. Finally, the third time, check
that you completed the gaps correctly.
It is a difficult listening not only because of his American accent, but also because he speaks quickly
and isn't a very organized speaker!

7 Niche: Demographics versus Psychographics

Complete the sentences with no more than 3 words.
0. Tad says he hadn't included the reference to demographics and psychographics in his first
.

1. It is the and realities that define what demographics and

psychographics are.
2. The first target he refers to are women of 35 to 50.

3. His second target are with an income of $50,000-60,000.

4. It is in marketing where people are starting to see that it is not only about
demographics.
5. Tad doesn't the shift in the market.

6. People are now grouping by rather than by community.

7. amongst your target group is a sign that you have nailed your target group.

8. A knowing wink refers to amongst people.

9. It seems to be that business people have been psychographics.

10. Tad's last recommendation is that you and be attentive to both demographics and
psychographics.

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Do you have a clear idea of the difference between demographics and psychographics?
Which of the two do you think is most important based on the information you have read about and listened to?
Imagine you are going to launch a new app into the market. This new app will contain a calendar, watch and timer with a
selection of musical themes and formats. You are at a meeting with some colleagues brainstorming about the characteristics of the
app (you can add to the features listed), its appearance and the market (who you are targeting: age group, culture, lifestyle,
etc.).
Prepare your ideas and then share them with your partner/s.
When you are ready, record your activity and then comment on how you could have improved it: ideas, pronunciation, intonation,
turn taking, etc.

Image by JLarsson in Flickr under CC.

1.1. It is, isn't it?

 In this lesson, we are going to look at forms and functions of it. By now, most of you will be well aware of the fact that
it is a pronoun which can be used as a subject or as an object. You will also know that it is used as an impersonal form when
talking about the weather, for instance. Some of you may still have trouble distinguishing between impersonal sentences
expressed by it is/there is. We hope to solve these issues with it once and for all.
Usage:
Cleft sentences
It and There (It as empty subject)
Common expressions
It as "empty" object
Impersonal structures
It as substitute and/or referring back
Cleft sentences divide information which could be given in one sentence into two parts, each with its own verb:
It is David who has made the greatest sacrifice.
Use this pattern to emphasize new information, give explanations or make a contrast with a previous statement.

It + a form of be (+not and/or adverb) + emphasized word/phrase + that/which/who clause

We can use "it" to emphasize the following:
neutral Leonardo DiCaprio mocked Lady Gaga at the Oscars this year.
subject It was Leonardo DiCaprio who mocked Lady Gaga at the Oscars this year.
object It was Lady Gaga who was mocked at the Oscars this year.
It was at the Oscars that Lada Gaga was mocked.
adverbial phrase
It was this year that Lady Gaga was mocked at the Oscars.

Study the following examples:

"Her parents never visited her in Montreal. It was her mother that always came up with excuses." (Eva
Stachniak, Necessary Lies. Dundurn, 2000)
"It was Mary who fed the few hens and looked for their eggs, so often laid in strange places, rather than in the nest. It
was Mary who took care of the hive, and who never feared the bees. It was Mary again, who, when more active duties
were done, would draw a low stool toward the hearth in winter or outside the cottage door in summer, and try to make or
mend her own simple garments, singing to herself in Welsh, a verse or two of the old-fashioned metrical version of the
Psalms, or repeating texts which she had picked up and retained in her quick, eager little brain." (Mary Ropes, Mary Jones
and Her Bible, 1882)
It was in the principate of Tiberius Caesar that their druids and prophets and healers of this type were abolished."
(Pliny, Natural History. Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds: A Sourcebook, ed. by Daniel Ogden.
Oxford University Press, 2002)
"Before he took his hot bath, Charles Waterton went to Philadelphia... It was here that Wilson's American
Ornithology had been published. It was here that Audubon fell out with the scientific establishment. It was here that
William Cobbett opened his bookshop and defied the patriot press by selling pictures of the English nobility. It was here
that the American government had its headquarters after the Declaration of Independence. It was here that the American
constitution itself was devised. And it was here that Charles Waterton had his portrait painted by the man who made
George Washington's false teeth." (Brian W. Edginton, Charles Waterton. Lutterworth Press, 1996)
We can also use when and where instead of that in subordinate clauses of time and place, but we DO NOT use how, why, or
what in this way.
It was in July when they were moving to Fujairah.
It's in Covent Garden where we got miserably lost.
Another curious way of emphasis is by means of reversed it + verb, but this is used in very formal, literary style. Compare the
two sentences:
And thus Einstein it was who showed that absolute time had to be replaced by a new absolute: the speed of light.
And so it was Einstein who showed that absolute time had to be replaced by a new absolute: the speed of light.
"It" cleft sentences are very common in academic prose, where it presents information as known:
It is through an examination of ‘the things that teachers cando’ that we will begin to bring meaning to the concept of
inclusion.
It is inclusion that secures opportunities for students with disabilities to learn alongside their non-disabled peers in
general education classrooms.
You can find more examples and information at: What Is an 'It'-Cleft in English Grammar? (n.d.). Retrieved May 31, 2016, from http://grammar.about.com/od/il/g/It-Cleft.htm
 More on Cleft sentences. We can use a wh-cleft sentence to highlight the
action in sentences. In these sentences "what" means the thing(s) that. The
wh-clause always contains a verb, which is usually a form of do. The
emphasized phrase contains an infinitive (with or without to). Should the
emphasized phrase be in the continuous or perfect tense, the form of do will
mirror it.
wh-clause + a form of be (+ not) + emphasized word/phrase
What the boomerang did was break the window.
Study the examples:
What that behaviour does is give us all a bad name.
What a primer does is prepare the wall for the actual painting.
What the artist is doing is covering the cars with material to make them
all the same color.
What the students have done is posted their answers on Twitter.
Wh-cleft sentences highlight the action (verb). Remember that conversely, it-
clefts highlight the information (people, places...).
What Peter did was buy a new car. VS It was a new car that Peter bought.

For more information and practice go to:

https://mbgortiz.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/cleft_sentences1.pdf
Image by Stevepetmonkey in O penclipart under Share.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6C_494jzms8aGNKbzhidmdibjA/view?
pref=2&pli=1
http://www.icaltefl.com/cleft-clause

It versus There.
We can use both as 'empty' subjects. Neither has real meaning although they are used as grammatical devices to introduce or
identify things.
There + (a form of) be introduces new information and/or says something exists or happens:
If you're looking for a bank, there's one at the end of the block.
There are 10 provinces and three territories in Canada.
There will be clouds, heavy rain and strong easterly winds in the south this evening.
We use it to identify or introduce someone or something later in a phrase.
A) Who's there? B) It's Jessica.
A) Hello, it's Adrian here. Can I speak to Bob?
A) What's all the fuss about? It's the audio. It's not working.
We do not use it to say that something exists or happens.
Common expressions after it.
It + seems as if/though to describe impressions.
Look at the time! It seems as if they are not coming.
It seems as though they read our minds.
It + looks as if/though to talk about probability.
It looks as if he is going to win the election.
It looks as though I failed my driving test.
It + negative expressions followed by a that clause.
It's no secret that she is leaving the country again.
It's no surprise that they failed the exam.
It's no wonder that we couldn't get in.
It's no coincidence that they are here.
It's no accident that the papers were leaked.
It's no good and It's no use are followed by -ing.
It's no good ringing the doorbell any longer, they simply aren't home.
It's no use trying to make excuses, we were supposed to meet at 11. You are an hour late!
It as an empty object.

I like it when we go out to dinner.

like/hate/love + it + when/that clause
(to describe likes and dislikes)
would appreciate it + if clause
(for polite requests)
I hate it when you eat sunflower seeds while watching TV.
I love it that you always send me a text to tell me you're on your
way.
I would appreciate it if you would stop leaving your empty mug on
the staffroom table.

owe/leave it to somebody + infinitive clause You owe it to me to let me have a look at the project.
Leave it to him to know the answer.
I think it ludicrous that he could get that far.
think/find/consider/feel + it + adjective/noun/preposition I find it delightful that they invite us to their bungalow.
phrase + that clause
I consider it disturbing to not know what will happen.
I feel it unnerving to have to wait for so long.
I accept it as a well-known fact that they can write an essay.
I regard it as a challenge that most of my students reach the end
accept/regard/see/take/view + it as + noun/adjective + of the course.
clause
I see it as an inconvenience that we have to go so far for water.
I view it as relieving that it is all over now.

Impersonal it
It + be with adjectives and nouns can describe our attitudes, feelings and opinions in an impersonal way:

it + be + adjective + -ing form
(informal)
it+be+adjective/noun + infinitive clause
it + be + adjective + that clause
it + be + adjective + wh- clause
It was lovely seeing you after all these years.
It is fun to be here.
It isn't surprising that the exam is tough.
It was incredible who they brought to the studio.

1.2. It is the practice that counts

DropDown Activity

Read the text. Complete each space with the correct sentence.

Like it or not, I'm taking it!


Image by Barn Images in Flickr under Public
Domain
Like it or not, I'm taking it!
Doesn't it annoy you when you see celebrities complaining about
being photographed and ranting about breaches of privacy?
is the fact that they have the
money and means to remain private, choose to throw caution to the
wind and then shout, "I don't have a private life!" or, "The media
won't leave me alone!"
this may be a generalization. Go
over some celebrities in your mind. How many of them are truly
private? How many of them choose to stay out of the media?
isn't it? Hardly any of them. Most,
simply prefer the limelight over being forgotten or obscurity.
would be some serious research
into how many celebrities choose to stay private over those who
love being the center of everything and anything that will bring them
free publicity.
there have been certain measures
taken with regards to photographing children, for instance.
Nonetheless, when famous people
have offered their images or those of their children to the media,
such as royal families who offer specific birthday or Christmas shots
of their children to avoid awkward episodes.
there are a reduced number of
well-known individuals who fight the media tooth and nail for their
rights to a “normal” life.
Cheish Merriwether writing for The Richest states, “
but true that even celebrity
children have a pricey bounty on their head.”

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Reflect upon the following questions:

When was the last time you heard or read about a photographer being punished for taking an inappropriate photograph?
Was it in Spain or abroad?
Who was/were the protagonist(s)?
What did you think of the situation?
How would you feel if you were constantly hounded by a photographer hoping to take a picture of an awkward moment that
will bring him/her millions?
What measures would you take?
Should there be stricter (international even) laws that forbid publishing photographs without consent?

Now that you have put together some arguments/ideas, share your opinions with your partner. Make sure to use one of
the "it" structures we have studied in this lesson whenever possible.

Gotcha!

Image by RSmith in Pics4Learning under Public Domain.

2. About charts and graphs

What is the difference between a chart and a graph?
How can we use charts and graphs?
How can we be tested using charts and graphs?
 Charts and graphs are a means of
displaying information in a way that's easy
to digest.
Through lines, bars or other visual
representations, both charts and graphs
illustrate relationships between sets of
data so that anyone can understand them.
Even though charts and graphs are often
used in the same sentence to explain the
illustration of data, technically speaking,
the terms are not interchangeable because
they illustrate relationships between data
in different ways.
Graphs, especially line graphs, are best for
illustrating a trend over time. They are
much better at showing trends for a single
set of data than charts are.
Charts are useful for displaying patterns or
Image by Stackoverflow in Stackoverflow under Public Domain.
information about frequency. The bars on
a chart are higher or longer depending on
the value they represent.

Sources: Labbe, M. (n.d.). The Difference Between Charts & Graphs. Retrieved May 27, 2016, from http://www.ehow.com/list_7385398_difference-between-charts-
graphs.html

and What is the difference between a chart and a graph? (n.d.). Retrieved May 27, 2016, from http://www.ask.com/math/difference-between-chart-graph-8775a512630cf520

In Lesson 1, section 4, you were introduced to your first graph and some
language describing trends. A trend, or pattern of change, can help you make a
projection which is a prediction of how the data will change in the future based
on the patterns of change in the past and the present.
Describing trends and movements requires a specific vocabulary as well as
certain structures and tenses.

Image by Thewizardplusplus in O penclipart under Share.

Click here to view an infograph on the different types of of charts and graphs.

Now, let's have a look at some of the structures we may use when describing charts and graphs.

Nouns Verbs Prepositions

to rise from $1m to $3m

to increase (by) 75%
an increase increase, increased an increase of 100%
a rise rise, rose, risen
a growth grow, grew, grown to fall from $2m to $1m
a decrease decrease, decreased to decrease (by) 50%
a fall fall, fell, fallen a decrease of 50%
a decline decline, declined
a drop drop, dropped, dropped A rise in sales,
a fluctuation fluctuate, fluctuated A fall in profits, ...
Sales are at last year’s level.
The price is at €1.5 per litre.
Intensifying Adjectives and adverbs
to rise suddenly/ a sudden rise in
to drop sharply / a sharp drop in
fall slightly / a slight fall in
to decrease moderately/ a moderate decrease in ...
 Activity

Have you ever wondered whether "data" goes with a singular or a plural verb? Follow the link to find
out:
http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2010/jul/16/data-plural-singular

2.1. Let's get cooking

Once we have had a look at some of

the language we can use in describing
charts and graphs, let's have a look at
how to use it. Consider the information
in the chart:
Your task would read as follows:
These pie charts show the average
household expenditures in Japan and
Malaysia in the year 2010. Summarize the
information by selecting and reporting the
main features, and make comparisons where
relevant.
Write between 150 - 200 words.
Because this is your first description, we are
going to help you.

DropDown Activity

Read the model answer and insert the correct word(s) in the gap.

The pie charts show the money spent on various household

in Malaysia and Japan in 2010.
We can see that in Malaysia the greatest proportion of (34%) was on housing,
while in Japan housing just 21% of the total. In contrast, in Japan the greatest
single expense was other goods and services at 29%, 26% in Malaysia. Food
came in second place in Japan, at 24%, while in Malaysia the actual proportion
(27%). In Japan another expense was transport, at 20%, but this was
in Malaysia (10%). In both countries of
expenditure was on health care.
Overall, that in both cases food, housing and other goods and services were
the main expenses, but that in Japan, transport and other goods and services a
higher proportion of total expenditure than in Malaysia.
Adapted from: IELTS Writing Task 1 #124. (n.d.). Retrieved June 13, 2016, from http://www.ielts-
exam.net/academic_writing_samples_task_1/876/

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Reflection

Now it's your turn. Study the graph carefully.

Sprite sat on a curb for four minutes watching and making a note of the types of vehicles that came by.
 Sprite sat on a curb for four minutes watching and making a note of the types of vehicles that came by.
Then, she created the graph below for a school assignment. Eight types of vehicles went by while she
was sat there: cars, taxis, buses, trucks, motorcycles, 3 wheels, wheel barrows and bicycles.

Image by Jimmie in Flickr under CC.

Now that you have studied the graph, write a description of the information contained in it. Describe,
compare and contrast the numbers and types of vehicles. Draw some conclusions. Write between 150
and 200 words.
After having made a try (remember the language in the previous section), you can correct yourself by
comparing your version to ours. Were you close?
If not, or whether you simply would like more practice before try our next suggestion, go to IELTS and review
the samples they give there.

Show Feedback

This is another chance at describing graphs and charts.

Study the line graph about journalists in prison. Describe compare and contrast the number of journalists who have gone
to prison over the given period.
Write out your version and then post it where your classmates can see it. Compare your versions and rewrite it (if necessary) with
what you consider the best version.

You might also want to talk about this type of exercise. Share your opinions with your partners.
What do you find hardest?
Are you good at reading the information in the graph?
What do you think about the topics we have provided? Would it be hard to write about them?
Considering the graphs we have provided:
How would Spain rate regarding Japan and Malaysia in expenditures?
Would the number and types of vehicles in Spain be the same as those in the bar graph?
Guess at the types of vehicles you would see in your town/city if you observed the road for four minutes.
Have journalists been imprisoned in Spain during the given period (1998/2008)?

3. Love it or list it

Reflection

As we mentioned at the beginning of this lesson, lifestyles cover almost everything and anything we do
regarding how we live. There is a popular television series on the city of Vancouver which reflects people's
lifestyles. The protagonists are either going to refurbish their homes or they are going to move to another one;
lifestyles. The protagonists are either going to refurbish their homes or they are going to move to another one;
thus, the name: Love it or List it.
Many of the episodes can be found online. There are two presenters (Jillian Harris and Todd Talbot ) who guide
the family through the renovation and or the buying of another home.
Watch the interview between Fiona Forbes and Todd Talbot on The Rush:

Now look at the list. What do they talk about? You can listen three times and then check yourself. How
many did you get?
Different terms which have come up regarding spaces in a home.
His home in Lions Bay.
How much a house costs in Lions Bay.
How much fun they have shooting episodes.
How long it took him to finish redecorating his house.
How often they use their phones.
Members of the family have to compromise.
New show: Who lives here?
Second season of their show, Love it or List it.
Stereotypes regarding people’s appearance.
The concept of a laundry list.
The concept of Love it or List it.
There is a show in Toronto, too.
Todd's career path.

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DropDown Activity

Read the text and choose the correct answer. There is one word you don't need to use.
If you wait until after your morning workout to have your first coffee of the day, you
may want to change your routine. Beyond making the morning more livable, a pre-
exercise cup of joe has the potential to help athletes go a little faster and/or a little
longer — a benefit that can last well into the day.
It’s no secret in the athletic community that caffeine has
qualities — especially among endurance athletes — based primarily on its ability to delay
fatigue. Athletes have recorded a 24 per cent improvement in their time to exhaustion and
boosted their time to the finish line by three per cent. Not bad for a substance that’s safely
tolerated by most athletes and won’t raise any flags among the majority of
agencies.
In fact, the only athletic organization that still has caffeine on its list of banned substances
is the American-based National Collegiate Athletic Association, though you would have to
 is the American-based National Collegiate Athletic Association, though you would have to
six to eight regular-size mugs of coffee a few hours before
competing to be considered in excess of the upper limit.
Interestingly, most studies use pure caffeine, via a pill, when
its effects on physical activity. But with Canadians reportedly consuming 2.1 billion cups of
coffee annually, it’s worth finding out how a hot mug of your favourite brew measures up
against pure caffeine.
A research trio out of the University of Georgia scoured databases for studies that used
coffee to fuel workouts. They not only wanted to find out
whether drinking a mug or two of coffee before a long race was a worthwhile option for
exercisers looking for an extra jolt of energy, they also hoped to be able to translate their
findings into a series of practical guidelines for athletes who want to put their love of coffee
to good use.
“While there is a lack of high-quality research on coffee as a source of caffeine, there is an
abundance of research on pure caffeine,” said University of Georgia researcher Simon Higgins
in an interview by Science Daily. “It’s how little we know
about caffeine from coffee when its endurance effects could be just as beneficial as pure
caffeine.”
One of the stumbling blocks to evaluating coffee’s effectiveness in improving athletic
performance is the varied level of caffeine in home and commercial brews. Unlike caffeine in
pill form, which is easily measured and , not all coffee beans
pack the same punch, with highly roasted beans reputed to offer fewer performance-
enhancing benefits than regular ones. Depending on the beans and how they are brewed,
the average cup of coffee contains 75 to 150 milligrams of caffeine.
Image
Even among similar brands, the amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee can vary by almost by Sheikh_tuhin in
double, even when purchased from the same retailer only a few days apart. Tests have also
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discovered that many brews exceed the amount of caffeine listed by the under Share.
.
Despite these obstacles, or maybe because of them, five of nine coffee studies included in
the University of Georgia research review showed a positive effect on athletic performance.
The other four suggested that coffee came up short on performance-enhancing
.

“Together with factors such as the process and individual

bean variation, it is clear that when researching the effects of coffee, stringent
standardization needs to occur in the preparation of beverages,” said the University of
Georgia researchers.
As for how much caffeine is needed to boost performance, studies have shown that as little
as one milligram per kilogram of body weight consumed 45 to 60 minutes
starting an endurance event can offer results. But the
standard recommendation for athletes wanting that extra edge is three to seven milligrams
per kilogram of body weight.
That translates into 1.5 to four 237-millilitre (8 oz.) cups of coffee containing 100 milligrams
of caffeine for women, and two to 5.5 237-millilitre cups of regular drip-brewed coffee for
men, keeping in mind that the larger number of cups is for
heavier athletes. For most athletes, that means consuming two cups of coffee before your
workout if you want help hanging in there a little longer or going a little faster.
Before you start your stopwatch, it’s worth knowing there’s some evidence indicating that
the effects of caffeine on performance can also vary based on whether you’re a habitual
user, with drinkers reaping more benefits than coffee lovers.
But despite some suggestion that coffee isn’t guaranteed to deliver the type of performance
benefits offered by pure caffeine, the University of Georgia team believes the research is
strong enough to recommend making more of a buzz about drinking coffee before a workout.
“The reviewed evidence suggests that pre-exercise coffee beverages containing at least 3
mg/kg of caffeine, ingested at least 60 (minutes) pre-exercise, may have a beneficial effect
on endurance performance,” they said.
Source: University of Georgia. (2015, December 18). Coffee may improve athletic endurance performance. ScienceDaily.
Retrieved June 6, 2016 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/12/151218095439.htm

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Read the following questions. Think of the answers that apply to yourself and then share them with a partner and see
how their answers compare to yours.
Do you drink coffee or tea?
How many of them do you have a day?
If you do not drink either, which is your beverage of preference?
How many of them do you have a day?
If you drink coffee or tea or coke, at what time of the day do you have your last cup/glass/can?
Does too much coffee/tea/coke make you jumpy?
What are your views on the ideas mentioned in the article?
Do you have a coffee before you go to the gym?
Do you think these beverages should also be screened as an anti-doping substance?

4. Disappearing lifestyles

DropDown Activity

As we approach the end of our lesson, we are going to visit some civilizations that are on
the verge of disappearing or have disappeared already.
Listen to the presenter speaking about current civilizations that are on the verge of disappearing and why they
are going to disappear.

Look at the box. You have a country and a reason. Match the country and the reason. Then check
yourself and see how you scored.
In order to carry out this task without getting too mixed up, listen and order the countries first. Then
match a reason to the country.
Listen three times.
Country Reason

1. Belgium
2. China
3. Iraq
4. Islamic State
5. Libya
6. Maldives
7. North Korea
8. Spain
9. United Kingdom
10. United States of America

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4.1. Who were they?

Preknowledge
There are many countries that no longer exist, which means there are entire civilizations
and their lifestyles that are gone forever.
Task 1. Watch the first video and ponder upon the reasons that are behind the
disappearance of the countries listed.
Task 2. Listen to the audio about the Mayan civilization. You can watch the whole one-hour
video.
Task 3. Read about the Beothuk. Click on the image to visit their website or click on the link
below the notes.

Image by

Newfoundland Remains of the Mayan Civilization.

Czechoslovakia Harness energy.
The Free Territory of Trieste 1500 years of majestic civilization.
Disappeared in the late 1800s
Yugoslavia Attributes of the supernatural.
Extinction attributed to Europ
The Republic of Tanganyika The ancient civilization collapsed.
Hunter-gatherers.
Prussia What are the mysteries that
surrounds it? Conical dwellings.
The Ottoman Empire More information available
A complex hieroglyphics.
The United Arab Republic
The full video can be watched https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Austro-Hungary at:
The Union of Soviet Socialists Republics (USSR) https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=JmhHaJZuJI0

After making a note of the countries and civilizations which have disappeared over the years. Find a
partner and discuss the following questions:
What are the main reasons that contribute to the loss of a country or civilization?
Do you think the human race may disappear some day?
Who would disappear first men or women?
Would it be more likely that people from the developed world would outlast people from the less
developed regions or vice versa?
Why would that happen?
If humans did disappear, which species would replace them?
The Mayan civilization were advanced for their times (engineering, sewage systems, etc., i.e., their high-
tech), is our present-day high-tech likely to be a contributing factor if humans were to disappear?
There is a lot of trouble and strife in our current world, which of those problems would contribute to
human extinction?
Finally, on a more positive note, were we to not disappear, what would our future civilization and lifestyle
be like?
Pronunciation of auxiliary verbs in short Wh-questions in casual or colloquial conversation.
Do you remember the difference between weak forms and strong forms? Strong forms of auxiliary verbs receive stress or are
pronounced in isolation. Weak forms do not receive stress, are contracted or contain a schwa.
Read the following sentences.
Listen carefully. Which utterance contains the weak form? Write 1 or 2 for the weak form. 0 is an example.

Sentence Weak Stressed

form form
(1st) (2nd)
0. How did the boy fall in?
1. What do you do?
2. What do you want?
3. Where did he go?
4. Where did she sleep?
5. When are they visiting?
6. When is she due?
7. Why can’t you come?
8. Why can they go?
9. Who was there?
10. Who was the star?
Click here to correct yourself.
In order to improve your question intonation and sound more natural, practice saying the two versions of the sentences.
After some practice, how about you create your own sentences and think of the contexts in which you would say them.
Then, practice the two options. You might want to share your sentences with your partners. You could even record your
sentences and share them!

Have fun practicing!

5. Test yourself.
The exam we are going to practice with in this unit is from the Official Schools of Languages in the Canary Islands. It can
be found at:
http://www.gobiernodecanarias.org/educacion/web/idiomas/pruebas_certificacion/documentos_interes/
Reading
Key
Listening

Audio

Audioscript
Key
Writing
Speaking: Presentation
Speaking: Dialogue
Write your answers on the answer sheet. Download it by clicking on this sentence.
As you can see, the format is slightly different to the exam you will be taking in Andalusia. Nonetheless, we suggest you take it.
Try to do it under exam conditions, that is, follow the times, do it on your own, do not consult any materials such as dictionaries,
Internet, cell phones and so on. Have you found your study partner/group yet? If you haven't, we suggest you do so as soon as
possible. If you already have, arrange a time and day to carry out the oral exam. Record yourselves and exchange views on how
you did.

6. Bitesize

Image by A nonymous in O penclipart under Share.

At the beginning of this lesson, you were given a set of targets, can you remember them? Click here and download the outcomes
list. In the blank column, fill in your trouble areas or areas you need to work on. Focus on:
Improving your vocabulary knowledge regarding lifestyles.
Learning how to describe and compare data in charts and graphs.
Improving your usage of forms and functions of it.
Learn how to incorporate cleft sentences into your speaking and writing.
Improve your intonation by using stress and weak forms: wh-questions and auxiliary verbs.
Remember that these pages are a reminder of the areas you need to hone in on. These files will come in very handy once you start
preparing for your exam.