TRANSITIONS UNIT 6

Lesson A
A. Match the stage of life to the description.
1. infancy b a. an adult
2. old age e b. a baby
3. adulthood a c. a teenager
4. adolescence c d. a child
5. childhood d e. a senior citizen

B. When do most people do these things? Write the stage of life.

1. learn to talk infancy
2. get married Adulthood
3. stop working old age
4. have their first boyfriend or girlfriend adolescence
5. learn to read childhood
6. finish their education adulthood

C. Circle the correct form of each verb—simple past tense or present perfect tense.
1. I don’t want to eat at Pizza Palace tonight. I (ate/have eaten) there twice this week.
2. Jessica (knew/has known) her best friend since they (were/have been) six years old.
3. I (worked/have worked) for this company since 1998, and I like it very much.
4. Marina (had/has had) a baby last month.
5. I (finished/have finished) my homework, so I can go out tonight.
6. We (saw/have seen) that video before. It (was/has been) terrible!

D. Have you done these things? If so, when did you do them for the first time? Write
sentences with the present perfect tense and simple past tense.

1. I’ve ridden a horse. I rode one in 2005. OR I’ve never ridden a horse.

2. I´ve danced very terrible. I danced once and it was terrible.

3. I´ve never played tennis

4. I´ve never taught

5. I´ve been sick. I had fever

Transitions 1
UNIT
3
Lesson B

A. Unscramble the sentences to make a conversation. (hear/you/the big news/did)(to

drive/is/Mark/learning)
Beth: Did you hear the big news?? Mark is learning to drive.
(but/16/he’s) (to/that’s/too/young/drive)
Julia: But he´s 16! that´s to young to drive.
(about/oh/I/know/that/don’t) (careful/very/he’s) (teaching/and/his father/is/him)
Beth: oh I don´t know about that . he´s very careful
_and his father is teaching him________________.
(a few years/think/true/that’s/but/I/he/wait/should)
Julia: that´s true , but I think he should wait a few years .
(the best age/well/to drive/what/do you think/is/to learn)
Beth: Well , What do you think is the best age to learn?
? (graduated high school/I think/people/should/their driver’s
license/after/get/ they’ve)
Julia: I think people should get their driver’s license after they´ve graduated
High school .

B. Melissa is 15. She just got a job. Write a new conversation like the one in exercise A.
Your friend: Did you hear the big news? Melisa have just to get a new job
You: What!! But she is too young to get a job
Your friend: Yes, she is working in her aunt´s business
You: Ohh, I didn´t know that her aunt has an own business.
Your friend: Yes she had her own business and Melisa is working with her.
You: That´s so good she can get experience and be able to save money

C. Say these words out loud. Circle the unstressed syllables with the sound.
e
1. important 3. pizza 5. animal 7. listen
2. travel 4. apartment 6. woman 8.
transition
 TRansiTions UNIT 6

Lesson C
A. Read the meanings and unscramble the expressions.
1. stopped working: (dertrie) retired
2. with the energy of a younger person: (flotuuyh) youthful
3. between 30 and 39: (nirhetthrsiise) inheritress
4. acting like a child: (ilshidhc) childish
5. old enough to make good decisions: (tremau) mature
6. looking and acting old: (yeellrd) elderly
7. between 40 and 60: (eilmdd-dega) Middle-aged

B. Read the sentences. Use how to ask questions about the underlined words.
1. My friend Lana is very tall.
How tall is she?
2. My brother sings really badly.
How bad does he sing?
3. I just found out that Mr. Sloan is very wealthy.
How wealthy do you find mr Sloan?
4. I love to eat at Janie’s house because she cooks so well.
How well does she cook?
5. The test was really difficult, and now I’m worried.
How difficult was the test?

C.Katie has a new boyfriend, and her parents are asking a lot of questions about him. Fill in their questions with how.

1. How old is he?? 5. How does he speak English??

He’s 19 years old. He speaks English very well. He’s spoken it all his life!

2. How does he study??

He studies very hard.

3. How mature is he??

He’s very mature.

4. How does he drive??

He drives very carefully. He’s never had an accident.

Lesson
UNIT D
3

Celebrating
Transitions
E very country has special celebrations to mark transitions in life. Here are
three examples of important days for young people in different countries.

Do you remember your first day in school? Many children feel scared, but
in Germany, the kids are very excited. Their first day in school, when they
are six, is a big celebration called Schulanfang. All of the kids have new
clothes, and
their parents give them a Zuckertuete, a big colorful cone full of candy and
small presents. Parents take pictures of their child holding the Zuckertuete.
Then they meet their new teachers and classmates, and they sing songs and
play games to celebrate. There is also a party for the parents after school with
coffee and cake.

Girls in Mexico and other countries in Latin

America are very excited about their fifteenth
birthday. For them, it marks the transition from
girl to young woman, and there is a special
celebration called the Quince Años. The girl gets a
beautiful and very
expensive dress that looks a little bit like a wedding dress. On the morning of her
birthday, the girl goes to church with her family and all of her friends. In the evening,
there is a huge party in a restaurant, with a big cake in the same colors as the girl’s dress.
People enjoy music and dancing until very late at night.

For young people in Japan, their twentieth birthday is very important, because that is
when they become adults. There is a national holiday called Coming-of-Age Day to
celebrate
this. On the second Sunday in January, each city has a ceremony for people who had
their twentieth birthday in the last year. All the new adults go to the City Hall to listen to
speeches and get a present from the town’s mayor. Everyone wears new clothes, and
many women wear beautiful kimonos. Their families take lots of pictures.
 TRansiTions UNIT 6

A. Complete the chart with information from the reading.

Transition Schulanfang Quince Años Coming-of-Age Day
Country Germany Mexico Japan

Age of people Six years old Fifteen years old Twenty years old
celebrating
When First school day In their Fifteenth year In the coming of age
day
Where At School Church and Restaurant City hall

What do people do? All of the kids have new On the morning of her All the new adults go to
clothes, and birthday, the girl goes to the City Hall to listen to
their parents give them a church with her family speeches and get a
Zuckertuete, a big and all of her friends. In present from the town’s
colorful cone full of the evening, there is a mayor. Everyone wears
candy and small huge party in a new clothes, and many
presents. Parents take restaurant, with a big women wear beautiful
pictures of their child cake in the same colors kimonos. Their families
holding the Zuckertuete. as the girl’s dress. take lots of pictures.
Then they meet their People enjoy music and
new teachers and dancing until very late
classmates, and they at night.
sing songs and play
games to celebrate.
There is also a party for
the parents after school
with coffee and cake.

B. Answer the questions.

1. Which of these celebrations sounds like the most fun? Why? I think the quince años is the most fun of these celebrations
beceause it has more thinks to do than the others ones.

2. Which birthdays are the most important in your country? Why? The most important is the quince años because the
celebrate the transition from the girl to a young woman, that’s why is important

C. Write about a celebration of a life transition such as a birthday party or a wedding. Who was the
party for? What was the person celebrating? Why was it important? What did you do at the party?

I was in my cousin's fifteen, we were celebrating her fifteenth birthday, we went to a restaurant to eat
pizza and to the ice cream shop to eat ice cream, it is very important since we celebrate the transition
from being a girl to a young woman, she was dressed with a very elegant dress and we took pictures, I
was eating a lot at the party and sharing with her friends and my family