2B What life used to be like

Look at the photos of celebrities. In pairs, discuss what you know about their present and past lives.

Brad Pitt Kate Middleton Victoria Beckham

J. K. Rowling Robert Pattinson

✂
Student A
In pairs, ask and answer questions to find out the missing information about the celebrities and complete the sentences.

1 Avril Lavigne She would sometimes be teased by her siblings for  .

She used to be married to Deryck Whibley, a guitarist.
2 Brad Pitt At high school, he used to be a member of the team.
He used to study journalism at the University of Missouri.
3 JK Rowling She used to teach in Portugal.
She used to work as a researcher for the charity Amnesty International.
4 Kate Middleton She used to live in  .
Her parents both used to work as flight attendants.
5 Robert Pattinson Until he was twelve, his sisters would sometimes dress him up as  .
He would rarely do homework when he was at school.
6 Victoria Beckham She used to sing in a girl band called  .
When she was at school, she would often feel embarrassed by her family’s wealth.

✂
Student B
In pairs, ask and answer questions to find out the missing information about the celebrities and complete the sentences.

1 Avril Lavigne She would sometimes be teased by her siblings for singing.
She used to be married to  .
2 Brad Pitt At high school, he used to be a member of the wrestling team.
He used to study at the University of Missouri.
3 JK Rowling She used to teach English as a foreign language in Portugal.
She used to work as a researcher for the charity  .
4 Kate Middleton She used to live in Jordan.
Her parents both used to work as  .
5 Robert Pattinson Until he was twelve, his sisters would sometimes dress him up as a girl.
He would rarely when he was at school.
6 Victoria Beckham She used to sing in a girl band called The Spice Girls.
When she was at school, she would often feel embarrassed by  .

Solutions 2nd edition  Upper-Intermediate © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS • PHOTOCOPIABLE

 2B What life used to be like

Aims  To review and practise used to and would

Time  15 minutes
Materials  1 handout, cut into sections, for each pair of students
• Divide the class into pairs and give each pair the top part of
the handout. Give them time to look at the photos of the
celebrities and discuss anything they know about their lives,
past and present. Get some feedback from the class.
• Before moving on to the next task, you might want to review
the rules for using used to and would, focusing in particular
on question forms.
• Give one student in each pair the Student A part of the
handout and the other the Student B part. Allow them time to
read through the sentences and decide on the questions they
need to ask to gain the missing information. To focus on accuracy,
you may like to tell students to write the questions down.
• In their pairs, students ask and answer the questions and
complete their sentences.
SUGGESTED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Student A
1 Why would AL sometimes be teased by her siblings? (for
singing)
2 Which team did BP use to be a member of at high school?
(wrestling)
3 What did JKR use to teach in Portugal? (English as a foreign
language)
4 Where did KM use to live? (in Jordan)
5 What would RP’s sisters sometimes dress him up as? (a girl)
6 Which group did VB use to sing in? (The Spice Girls)
Student B
1 Who did AL use to be married to? (Deryck Whibley, a guitarist)
2 What did BP use to study at university? (journalism)
3 Which charity did JKR use to work for? (Amnesty International)
4 What job did KM’s parents use to do? (flight attendants)
5 What would RP rarely do when he was at school? (do
homework)
6 What would VB often feel embarrassed by? (her family’s
wealth)
• When students have finished, get feedback from the class on
which information about the celebrities they found the most
interesting or surprising.

Solutions 2nd edition  Upper-Intermediate © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS