Conversation

Conversation
ÍNDICE
5
Conversation Starters
22
Describe picture
49
Reading
2 Aulas Particulares
Conversation
Good conversation is as stimulating as black

coffee, and just as hard to sleep after.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Aulas Particulares 3
Conversation
Direções da aula para o professor:
* Aulas ministradas em INGLÊS.
1. Use conversation starters do develop a

conversation for about 20min.
2. Describe pictures for 10 min non stop
3. Reading for 20min
Conversation
CONVERSATION STARTERS
Random Conversation Starters
What was the last funny video you saw?
What do you do to get rid of stress?
What is something you are obsessed with?
Who is your favorite entertainer (comedian, musician, actor, etc.)?
What’s your favorite way to waste time?
Do you have any pets? What are their names?
Where did you go last weekend? What did you do?
What are you going to do this weekend?
What is something that is popular now that annoys you?
What did you do on your last vacation?
What was the last time you worked incredibly hard?
Are you very active of do you prefer to just relax in your free time?
What do you do when you hang out with your friends?
Who is your oldest friend? Where did you meet them?
What’s the best / worst thing about your work / school?
If you had intro music, what song would it be? Why?
What were you really into when you were a kid?
If you could have any animal as a pet, what animal would you choose?
What three words best describe you?
What would be your perfect weekend?
What do you think of tattoos? Do you have any?
What’s your favorite number? Why?
What’s the most useful thing you own?
Have you ever saved an animal’s life? How about a person’s life?
If you opened a business, what kind of business would it be?
Are you a very organized person?
Have you ever spoke in front of a large group of people? How did it go?
What is the strangest dream you have ever had?
What is a controversial opinion you have?
Who in your life brings you the most joy?
Who had the biggest impact on the person you have become?
What is the most annoying habit someone can have?
Where is the most beautiful place you have been?
Where do you spend most of your free time / day?
Who was your best friend in elementary school?
How often do you stay up past 3 a.m.?
What’s your favorite season? Why?
Conversation
Which is more important, a great car or a great house? Why?
What animal or insect do you wish humans could eradicate?
Where is the most beautiful place near where you live?
What do you bring with you everywhere you go?
How much time do you spend on the internet? What do you usually do?
What is the most disgusting habit some people have?
Where and when was the most amazing sunset you have ever seen?
Which recent news story is the most interesting?
Where is the worst place you have been stuck for a long time?
If you had to change your name, what would your new name be?
What is something that really annoys you but doesn’t bother most people?
What word or saying from the past do you think should come back?
How should success be measured? By that measurement, who is the most successful
person you know?
What is your guilty pleasure?
Was there ever an event in your life that defied explanation?
If you could learn the answer to one question about your future, what would the
question be?
Has anyone ever saved your life?
What benefit do you bring to the group when you hang out with friends?
How often do you curse?
What trends did you follow when you were younger?
What do you fear is hiding in the dark?
What was the best time period of your life? What do you think will be the best time
period of your entire life?
What do you do to improve your mood when you are in a bad mood?
What is the silliest fear you have?
What are some things you want to accomplish before you die?
What is the best room in your house? Why?
Who is someone who is popular now that you really like? Why do you like them so
much?
Where is the best place to take a date?
What smell brings back great memories?
What’s the best pet name you can come up for a specific type of pet? How often do you
help others? Who do you help? How do you help?
What are you best at?
What makes you nervous?
Conversation
Who, besides your parents, had the biggest impact on your life?
What weird or useless talent do you have?
What are some strange beliefs that some people have?
Who would be the worst person to be stuck in an elevator with? How about the best
person to be stuck in an elevator with?
What’s the funniest TV series you have seen?
Which TV show do you want your life to be like?
If you could bring back one TV show that was cancelled, which one would you bring
back?
How have TV shows changed over the years?
What’s the best sitcom past or present?
What’s the best show currently on TV?
What do you think about game shows? Do you have a favorite one?
What’s the most underrated or overrated TV show?
What do you think about reality TV? Why is it so popular?
Do you like reality TV shows? Why or why not? If so, which ones?
What will be the future of TV shows?
What was the best birthday wish or gift you’ve ever received?
How often do you binge watch shows?
What cartoons did you watch as a child?
Conversation
Movie Conversation Starters
What was the last movie you watched? How was it?
Do you prefer to watch movies in the theater or in the comfort of your own home?
What’s the worst movie you have seen recently?
What’s the strangest movie you have ever seen?
What is the most overrated movie?
What’s your favorite genre of movie?
What movie scene choked you up the most?
Do you like documentaries? Why / why not?
When was the last time you went to a movie theater?
Do movies have the same power as books to change the world?
Which do you prefer? Books or movies?
Do you like horror movies? Why or why not?
Book Conversation Starters

What was the last book you read?
What book has had the biggest impact on your life?
What was your favorite book as a child?
Do you prefer physical books or ebooks?
What is the longest book you have read?
What was the worst book you had to read for school? How about the best book you had
to read for school?
What book genres do you like to read?
Do you prefer fiction or nonfiction books?
What book has influenced you the most?
What book has had the biggest effect on the modern world?
Do you think people read more or less books now than 50 years ago?
How fast do you read?
How often do you go to the library?
Now that indie publishing has become easier, have books gotten better or worse?
Conversation
Music Conversation Starters
What song always puts you in a good mood?
Which do you prefer, popular music or relatively unknown music?
What was the last song you listened to?
What is your favorite movie soundtrack?
Are there any songs that always bring a tear to your eye?
Do you like going to concerts? Why or why not? What was the last concert you went to?
Who was the first band or musician you were really into? Do you still like them?
Records, tapes, CDs, MP3s. Which did you grow up with? What is good and bad about
each?
What bands or types of music do you listen to when you exercise?
Do you like classical music?
What’s the best way to discover new music?
How has technology changed the music industry?
App Conversation Starters

What are the three best apps on your phone?
What’s the most addictive mobile game you have played?
An app mysteriously appears on your phone that does something amazing. What does it
do?
How many apps do you have on your phone?
What is the most annoying app you have tried?
Which app seemed like magic the first time you used it?
What is the strangest app you have heard of or tried?
Which app has helped society the most? Which one has hurt society the most?
What is the most useful app on your phone?
What apps have changed your life a lot?
What do app makers do that really annoys you?
Conversation
Phone Conversation Starters
How often do you check your phone?
Do you always have to have the latest phone?
What was your first smart phone? How did you feel when you got it?
What is the most annoying thing about your phone?
What kind of case do you have for your phone? Why did you choose it?
Do you text more or call more? Why?
What will phones be like in 10 years?
Do you experience phantom vibration? (Feeling your phone vibrate even though it
didn’t.)
How do you feel if you accidentally leave your phone at home?
What do you wish your phone could do?
Sports Conversation Starters

What sports do you like to watch?
Who are some of your favorite athletes?
Which sports do you like to play?
Which sport is the most exciting to watch? Which is the most boring to watch?
Do athletes deserve the high salaries they receive? Why or why not?
What is the hardest sport to excel at?
Who are the 3 greatest athletes of all time?
What defines a sport? Is fishing a sport? How about video game tournaments?
Why do you think sports are common across almost all cultures present and past?
What do you think the oldest sport still being played is?
How much time do you spend watching sports in a week?
Do you play sports video games? Which ones? Is playing the video game or sport more
fun? Why?
Conversation
Restaurant Conversation Starters
What is the worst restaurant you have ever eaten at?
What restaurant do you eat at most?
What’s the worst fast food restaurant?
What is the best restaurant in your area?
Would you eat at a restaurant that was really dirty if the food was amazing?
What kind of interior do you like a restaurant to have?
If you opened a restaurant, what kind of food would you serve?
What was your favorite restaurant when you were in university? How about when you
were a child?
What is the strangest themed restaurant you have heard of?
What is the fanciest restaurant you have eaten at?
What is the most disgusting thing you have heard about that happened at a restaurant?
Travel Conversation Starters

Have you traveled to any different countries? Which ones?
Where is the most relaxing place you have been?
Where is the most awe inspiring place you have been?
Do you prefer traveling alone or with a group?
What do you think of tour group packages?
Talk about some of the interesting people you have met while traveling.
Where would you like to travel next?
What was the most over hyped place you’ve traveled to?
What’s the best way to travel? (Plane, car, train, etc.)
What’s the best thing about traveling? How about the worst thing?
How do you think traveling to a lot of different countries changes a person?
What is the longest plane trip you have taken?
What do you think of stay-cations? (Vacationing and seeing tourist attractions where
you live.)
Do you prefer to go off the beaten path when you travel?
Where do you get your recommendations for what to do and where to stay when you
travel?
What is the worst hotel you have stayed at? How about the best hotel?
Conversation
Technology Conversation Starters
What is your favorite piece of technology that you own?
What piece of technology is really frustrating to use?
What was the best invention of the last 50 years?
Does technology simplify life or make it more complicated?
Which emerging technology are you most excited about?
What problems will technology solve in the next 5 years? What problems will it create?
Will technology save the human race or destroy it?
What piece of technology would look like magic or a miracle to people in medieval
Europe?
Can you think of any technology that has only made the world worse? How about a
piece of technology that has only made the world better?
What technology from a science fiction movie would you most like to have?
What scifi movie or book would you like the future to be like?
What do you think the next big technological advance will be?
Clothes / Fashion Conversation Starters

Do you care about fashion? What style of clothes do you usually wear?
What is the best pair of shoes you have ever owned? Why were they so good?
What is your favorite shirt?
What is the most embarrassing piece of clothing you own?
Does fashion help society in any way?
What is a fashion trend you are really glad went away?
Who do you think has the biggest impact on fashion trends: actors and actresses,
musicians, fashion designers, or consumers?
What old trend is coming back these days?
If you didn’t care at all what people thought of you, what clothes would you wear?
What is the most comfortable piece of clothing you own?
How do clothes change how the opposite sex views a person?
Conversation
Goals Conversation Starters
What is the craziest, most outrageous thing you want to achieve?
What are some goals you have already achieved?
What personal goals do you have?
What do you hope to achieve in your professional life?
Have your parents influenced what goals you have?
Do you usually achieve goals you set? Why or why not?
What is the best way to stay motivated and complete goals?
What are some goals you have failed to accomplish?
When do you want to retire? What do you want to do when you retire?
What are your goals for the next two years?
How have your goals changed over your life?
How much do you plan for the future?
How do you plan to make the world a better place?
Seasons Conversation Starters

What’s the most refreshing thing on a hot summer day?
What’s the best thing to do on a cold winter day?
Where is the nicest place you have been to in fall?
What is your favorite thing to eat or drink in winter?
Do you prefer summer or winter activities?
What do you like to do in spring?
Did your family take seasonal vacations?
Do you feel like fall and spring are getting shorter?
Which season are you most active in?
Is it better to live where there are four seasons or where one season takes up most of
the year?
Conversation
Holiday Conversation Starters
If you could make a holiday, what would it be like? What traditions would it have? What
would people eat on your holiday?
What is the biggest holiday for your family?
Do you wish there were more or less holidays? Why?
If you had to get rid of a holiday, which would you get rid of? Why?
What is your favorite holiday?
What kinds of food do you usually eat on your favorite holiday?
Does having a day off for a holiday increase or decrease productivity at work?
What holidays have been over commercialized?
If some of the lesser known holidays were commercialized, what would the
commercialization look like?
What do you know about the history of some holidays?
Education Conversation Starters

What are some good and bad things about the education system in your country?
What do you think of online education?
How can governments make education more efficient?
What do you think of standardized tests?
How can technology improve education? Can it hurt education?
Are bigger or small schools better?
Is teaching a skill that can be taught?
What will the future of education be?
What do you think of homeschooling?
How has the education you received changed your life?
What or who has taught you most of the information you use on a regular basis?
Conversation
Food Conversation Starters
What is your favorite food?
Do you like spicy food? Why or why not? What is the spiciest thing you have ever
eaten?
What foods do you absolutely hate?
What food do you know you shouldn’t eat but can’t help yourself?
Does government have a place in regulating food? To what extent should government
regulate food?
When was the last time you had a food fight?
What do you get every time you go grocery shopping?
If your life was a meal, what would kind of meal would it be?
What do you think of buffets?
What would you want your last meal to be if you were on death row?
What food looks disgusting but tastes delicious?
When people make mistakes about food (especially foreign food) do you feel the need
to correct them? (i.e. sushi / sashimi or stromboli / calzone)
Education Conversation Starters

What are some good and bad things about the education system in your country?
What do you think of online education?
How can governments make education more efficient?
What do you think of standardized tests?
How can technology improve education? Can it hurt education?
Are bigger or small schools better?
Is teaching a skill that can be taught?
What will the future of education be?
What do you think of homeschooling?
How has the education you received changed your life?
What or who has taught you most of the information you use on a regular basis?
Conversation
Weird Conversation Starters
Time freezes for everyone but you for one day. What do you do?
If you could call up anyone in the world and have a one hour conversation, who would
you call?
You have to relive one day of your life forever. Which day do you choose?
If your mind was an island, what would it look like?
What flavor of ice cream do you wish existed?
What does your own personal hell look like? How about your own personal heaven?
A portal to another world opens in front of you. You don’t know how long it will stay
open or if you’ll be able to get back after you go through. What do you do?
If you had a personal mascot, what would your mascot be?
You find a remote that can rewind, fast forward, stop and start time. What do you do
with it?
If you were a king / queen, what would your throne look like?
If you were on the run from the police for a crime you didn’t commit, where would you
go?
Casual questions to get to know someone

If you didn’t have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time?
What’s your favorite piece of clothing you own / owned?
What hobby would you get into if time and money weren’t an issue?
What would your perfect room look like?
How often do you play sports?
What fictional place would you most like to go?
What job would you be terrible at?
When was the last time you climbed a tree?
If you could turn any activity into an Olympic sport, what would you have a good chance
at winning medal for?
What is the most annoying habit that other people have?
What job do you think you’d be really good at?
What skill would you like to master?
What would be the most amazing adventure to go on?
If you had unlimited funds to build a house that you would live in for the rest of your
life, what would the finished house be like?
What’s your favorite drink?
What state or country do you never want to go back to?
What songs have you completely memorized?
Conversation
What game or movie universe would you most like to live in?
What do you consider to be your best find?
Are you usually early or late?
What pets did you have while you were growing up?
When people come to you for help, what do they usually want help with?
What takes up too much of your time?
What do you wish you knew more about?
What would be your first question after waking up from being cryogenically frozen for
100 years?
What are some small things that make your day better?
Who’s your go to band or artist when you can’t decide on something to listen to?
What shows are you into?
What TV channel doesn’t exist but really should?
Who has impressed you most with what they’ve accomplished?
What age do you wish you could permanently be?
What TV show or movie do you refuse to watch?
What would be your ideal way to spend the weekend?
What is something that is considered a luxury, but you don’t think you could live
without?
What’s your claim to fame?
What’s something you like to do the old-fashioned way?
What’s your favorite genre of book or movie?
How often do you people watch?
What have you only recently formed an opinion about?
What’s the best single day on the calendar?
What are you interested in that most people haven’t heard of?
How do you relax after a hard day of work?
What was the best book or series that you’ve ever read?
What’s the farthest you’ve ever been from home?
What is the most heartwarming thing you’ve ever seen?
What is the most annoying question that people ask you?
What could you give a 40-minute presentation on with absolutely no preparation?
If you were dictator of a small island nation, what crazy dictator stuff would you do?
What is something you think everyone should do at least once in their lives?
Would you rather go hang gliding or whitewater rafting?
What’s your dream car?
What’s worth spending more on to get the best?
Conversation
What is something that a ton of people are obsessed with but you just don’t get the
point of?
What are you most looking forward to in the next 10 years?
Where is the most interesting place you’ve been?
What’s something you’ve been meaning to try but just haven’t gotten around to it?
What’s the best thing that happened to you last week?
What piece of entertainment do you wish you could erase from your mind so that you
could experience for the first time again?
If all jobs had the same pay and hours, what job would you like to have?
What amazing thing did you do that no one was around to see?
How different was your life one year ago?
What’s the best way to start the day?
What quirks do you have?
What would you rate 10 / 10?
What fad or trend do you hope comes back?
What’s the most interesting piece of art you’ve seen?
What kind of art do you enjoy most?
What do you hope never changes?
What city would you most like to live in?
What movie title best describes your life?
Why did you decide to do the work you are doing now?
What’s the best way a person can spend their time?
If you suddenly became a master at woodworking, what would you make?
Where is the most relaxing place you’ve ever been?
What is the luckiest thing that has happened to you?
Where would you rather be from?
What are some things you’ve had to unlearn?
What are you looking forward to in the coming months?
What website do you visit most often?
What one thing do you really want but can’t afford?
Where do you usually go when you when you have time off?
Where would you spend all your time if you could?
What is special about the place you grew up?
What age do you want to live to?
What are you most likely to become famous for?
What are you absolutely determined to do?
What is the most impressive thing you know how to do?
What do you wish you knew more about?
What question would you most like to know the answer to?
Conversation
What question can you ask to find out the most about a person?
When was the last time you changed your opinion / belief about something major?
What was the best compliment you’ve received?
As the only human left on Earth, what would you do?
Who inspires you to be better?
What do you want your epitaph to be?
What did you think you would grow out of but haven’t?
In what situation or place would you feel the most out of place in?
What’s the dumbest thing you’ve done that actually turned out pretty well?
They say that everyone has a book in them. What would your book be about?
What is something you will NEVER do again?
What do you spend the most time thinking about?
What are some of the events in your life that made you who you are?
What do you wish your brain was better at doing?
There are two types of people in this world. What are the two types?
What is the strangest thing you have come across?
What is something you are certain you’ll never experience?
What dumb accomplishment are you most proud of?
If you could make one rule that everyone had to follow, what rule would you make?
What are you addicted to?
What stereotype do you completely live up to?
What is something you can never seem to finish?
As you get older, what are you becoming more and more afraid of?
What is one of your favorite smells?
What would be the scariest monster you could imagine?
What song or artist do you like but rarely admit to liking?
What would you do if you knew you were going to die in one hour?
What book impacted you the most?
If you had to change your name, what would you change it to?
If life is a game, like some people say, what are some of the rules?
Who is / was your most interesting friend?
Have you ever given to any charities?
What is something that your friends would consider “so you”?
What risks are worth taking?
What can you not get right, no matter how many times you try?
If you could convince everyone in the world to do one thing at one point in time, what
would that thing be?
Conversation
What do you take for granted?
What would be some of the most annoying things about having yourself as a
roommate?
What’s something you are self-conscious about?
What personality trait do you value most and which do you dislike the most?
What small gesture from a stranger made a big impact on you?
What gets you fired up?
What challenging thing are you working through these days?
What irrational fear do you have?
What’s the best and worst piece of advice you’ve ever received?
If you had a clock that would countdown to any one event of your choosing, what event
would you want it to countdown to?
What makes a good life?
What do you strongly suspect but have no proof of?
What’s the last adventure you went on?
When do you feel truly “alive”?
What was the most memorable gift you’ve received?
What chapters would you separate your autobiography into?
What do you like most about your family?
What do you hope your last words will be?
What stat for your life would you most like to see?
What are three of the most significant numbers in your life?
What could you do with two million dollars to impact the most amount of people?
If you were put into solitary confinement for six months, what would you do to stay
sane?
What’s something horrible that everyone should try at least once?
What fact are your resigned to?
Have you ever saved someone’s life?
What were some of the turning points in your life?
What would a mirror opposite of yourself be like?
What are you really good at, but kind of embarrassed that you are good at it?
What are three interesting facts about you?
Which of your scars has the best story behind it?
What’s the title of the current chapter of your life?
What’s the hardest lesson you’ve learned?
What mistake do you keep making again and again?
What do people think is weird about you?
When people look at you, what do you think they see / think?
Conversation
What have you created that you are most proud of?
If you could make a 20 second phone call to yourself at any point in your life present or
future, when would you call and what would you say?
What annoys you most about the in-groups you are a part of?
What do you have doubts about?
What do you want to be remembered for?
What are some of your personal “rules” that you never break?
What do you regret not doing or starting when you were younger?
If you could have a never-ending candle that smelled like anything you wanted, what
fragrance would you want it to be?
What’s the best thing about you?
What bends your mind every time you think about it?
What’s the best thing you got from your parents?
What’s one responsibility you really wish you didn’t have?
What is the “holy grail” of your life?
If your childhood had a smell, what would it be?
What are the top three things you want to accomplish before you die? How close are
you to accomplishing them?
What do you wish you could tell yourself 10 years ago? What do you think you’ll want to
tell your current self 10 years from now?
In your group of friends, what role do you play?
Among your friends or family, what are you famous for?
What is the biggest lesson you never learned?
What’s the most immature thing that you do?
If your life was a book, what would its title be?
What’s the best and worst thing about getting older?
What’s something that happened or something that someone said that changed how
you view the world?
What are you most likely very wrong about?
If you had a personal flag, what would be on it?
What lifestyle change have you been meaning to make for a while now?
What would be your spirit animal?
What incredibly strong opinion or belief do you have that is completely unimportant in
the grand scheme of things?
What chance encounter changed your life forever?
If you could have a video of any one event in your life, what event would you choose?
If you were forced to relive one 10-minute block of your life again and again for all
eternity, what 10 minutes of your life would you choose?
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
At the Office:
Helpful Vocabulary:
discussion
point
Sheet
colleague
meeting
hold
Attentively
business
Helpful Vocabulary
smart
businessman
tie
deal
suit
attire
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
Helpful Vocabulary
presentation
businesswoman
face
conference table
towards
deliver
A Walk In the City:
Helpful Vocabulary
temple
Japan
tourist
crooked
brick
lantern
statue
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
Helpful Vocabulary
drink
squeeze
strawberry
cranberry
sweet
cucumber
sour
decorate
Helpful Vocabulary
giraffe
concrete jungle
hut
tree
modern
wildlife
preserve
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
Birthdays:
Helpful Vocabulary
excited
clap
shaped
fountain candle
face paint
outdoors
Helpful Vocabulary
co-worker
paper cup
hold up
champagne
cheerful
office
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
Helpful Vocabulary
gather
unwrap
eager
toy
present
family reunion
Captivating:
Helpful Vocabulary
attire
gown
peach
garden
wedding
bridesmaid
bouquet
friendship
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
Helpful Vocabulary
employee
break
colleague
office
papers
plant
neat
Helpful Vocabulary
sushi
cutting board
chamomile
rice
raw
seaweed
ginger
chopsticks
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
Celebrations & Traditions:
Helpful Vocabulary
Sydney
fireworks
Australia
opera
New Year
celebration
colorful
bright
Helpful Vocabulary
cream
whipped
cloth
star
colorful
biscuit
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
Helpful Vocabulary
green tea
bamboo
glass
interesting
garden
teapot
dried
peaceful
Clothes:
Helpful Vocabulary
sandal
floral
pattern
sun hat
skirt
smell
lean
bloom
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
Helpful Vocabulary
India
model
embroidery
top
catwalk
bridal
baby pink
sleeveless
fashion show
Helpful Vocabulary
jacket
sneaker
hoodie
jeans
scarf
alley
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
Close-Up:
Helpful Vocabulary
anxious
fan
jersey
tense
cheer
worried
Helpful Vocabulary
bored
exhausted
lecture hall
rest
uninterested
tired
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
Helpful Vocabulary
frown
disgusted
unpleasant
sick
grimace
nauseous
medicine
drink
plate
Communication:
Helpful Vocabulary
silence
glasses
checkered
blond
argument
annoyed
suspender
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
Helpful Vocabulary
the United Kingdom
postcard
flag
curly
earring
denim
mailbox
Helpful Vocabulary
suit
stairs
concrete
laptop
businessman
tie
break
handrail
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
Crafts:
Helpful Vocabulary
art
paint
classroom
mix
in front of
tube
Helpful Vocabulary
group
clay
apron
model
brush
pot
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
Helpful Vocabulary
stamp
stamp
sheet
imprint
half
happy
Emotions:
Helpful Vocabulary
tear
weep
watery eyes
scared
frightened
sorrow
frown
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
Helpful Vocabulary
dark
skin
excited
cheerful
grin
laugh
Helpful Vocabulary
argue
fight
couple
furious
punch
aggressive
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
Events:
Helpful Vocabulary
ballroom
luxurious
painting
ball
grand
chat
waltz
Helpful Vocabulary
audience
gig
cheer
rock
perform
stage
wild
instrument
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
Helpful Vocabulary
parade
fan
lantern
forward
colorful
festival
sidewalk
traditional
Film and TV:
Helpful Vocabulary
studio
talk show
background
filming
cameraman
guest
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
Helpful Vocabulary
turn on
couple
popcorn
remote control
bowl
lap
Helpful Vocabulary
cinema
screen
attentively
face
watch
seat
dim
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
Friends:
Helpful Vocabulary
hold
fun
dance
sea
shorts
barefoot
Helpful Vocabulary
selfie
cellphone
pose
funny
sunglasses
tongue
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
Helpful Vocabulary
joke
meal
laugh
discuss
plate
course
Gadgets:
Helpful Vocabulary
tablet
couch
smartphone
curly
curious
pullover
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
Helpful Vocabulary
laptop
mouse
note
checkered
beard
mug
Helpful Vocabulary
gadget
wooden
polka dot
afro
focus on
Millennials
carafe
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
Happiness:
Helpful Vocabulary
businessman
fuel
scream
gas station
price
save
Helpful Vocabulary
marshmallow
fire
blanket
twig
picnic
cold
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
Helpful Vocabulary
marshmallow
fire
blanket
twig
picnic
cold
Hobbies:
Helpful Vocabulary
proud
sunglasses
glove
boat
open sea
happy
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
Hot Springs:
Helpful Vocabulary
steam
surround
freezing
hot spring
forest
rooftop
Helpful Vocabulary
floral
dip
surface
steamy
pinned-up
kneel
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
Hot Springs:
Helpful Vocabulary
steam
surround
freezing
hot spring
forest
rooftop
Helpful Vocabulary
floral
dip
surface
steamy
pinned-up
kneel
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
Helpful Vocabulary
pour
cup
resort
teapot
inn
spring
How Are You?:
Helpful Vocabulary
excited
fist
thrilled
clench
achievement
laptop
Conversation
DESCRIBE PICTURES
Helpful Vocabulary
confused
float
shrug
dazed
scared
question mark
eyebrow
puzzle
surprised
Helpful Vocabulary
bite
anxious
terrified
hold
nail
corner
Conversation
READING 1
All Americans know about George Washington. He was the
first president of the United States of America, and his face
appears on the iconic one dollar bill. He has also given his
name to the capital city of the USA, Washington D.C, .... and
to a state, the state of Washington. No other American is
quite so famous !
An unforgettable president
If you had to sum up George Washington's life in one word, that word would have to
be unforgettable. George's story is one of travel and adventure, full of risks and, most of all, full
of glory.
After all, in 1789, he was elected the first president of the United States, a country that was to
become the most powerful in the world. At the end of his life, in 1799, George was an
international hero.
But, if you look back into George's early years, you will see that things were not always so rosy.
George was sent into the Army as a very young man. For a colonist of his generation, it was a
respectable thing to do. It gave him an opportunity to make a living, and at the same time see
the country, which at the time was full of wild animals and Indians. It was a tough life, but an
interesting one. One could hunt forever in the vast forests. One could explore new
lands seemingly forever.
A lover of Nature, George became a surveyor with the Army, a job which led him further and
further into the wild, unknown country. As for the Indians, they were generally friendly, and were
good trading partners. All in all, George's young years were full of carefree wandering in a new,
virgin land.
George Washington rides to battle in the French & Indian war

Yet suddenly one day, the threatening news came: wild animals and Indians were not the only
inhabitants of the woods. Virginia scouts had found French soldiers on the other side of the
Appalachians. It was said that the French claimed all land west of the mountains for New France.
This was bad news for the governor of Virginia, who wanted the same land — at all costs.
In his quest to get the land beyond the mountains, the governor called upon his best soldier
to deal with the situation: it was young George Washington, barely 22 years old at the time. The
governor told George to go and find the French, and give them a simple message: leave the
region immediately, or get ready for battle.
Wanting to serve and please his authorities, George did as he was told. He went over the
mountains with a small army, found the French, and passed on the governor's message. But, of
course, the French did not wish to leave. Inevitably, the conflict developed into a war, known as
the French and Indian War; that is, the French and some Indian allies fighting the British
colonials.
Conversation
READING
For George, it was a difficult time. To cut a long story short, it was the only time in his life that
he had to surrender an army — at Fort Necessity, near the forks of the Ohio. In that battle,
George nearly didn't become the first president of the United States. His army was surrounded
by the French and Indians, badly outnumbered, so he had to surrender the fort. Luckily for him,
the French allowed him and his army to leave with their horses and guns. The battle had been
lost, but the English, who were more numerous, eventually won the war.
The French and Indian War was a learning experience for George, one that he would later
exploit in the War for American Independence. Indeed, twenty years later, George was dressed in
an American uniform, and fighting not against the French, but against the British.
In this war, it is said that George's fiery leadership inspired his American troops when they
were starving and cold, and he emerged from the war as the greatest general.
It was no surprise that the victorious Americans chose him as their first president. As for getting
his picture on the dollar bill, that didn't come until after George was long dead and gone, proving
that his spirit was truly an unforgettable one.
WORDS:
sum up: to give a brief review or summary - rosy: nice - colonist : (in the USA at
the time) a man from England - make a living: make enough money to live - hunt
: chase wild animals - seemingly:apparently - surveyor: person who measures
land - trading partners: people with whom one buys and sells - carefree: casual,
with no worries or responsibilities - threatening news: news of danger -
quest: attempt - deal with: confront, handle -to cut a long story short: in short -
forks of the Ohio: place where the Ohio river begins, from two other rivers -
outnumbered: having many less men than the enemy - fiery: strongly emotional
- starving: without food
Discussion:
What makes an unforgettable character?
Conversation
READING 2
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD - in terms

of surface area? The USA? NO ! CHINA ? NO ! RUSSIA ?
YES !! And the second biggest country in the world? Many
people are quite surprised to learn that it is actually Canada.
CANADA - IT'S NOT the USA

Imagine yourself sitting in a café one day in your home town, when on the next table you hear
some people speaking English with a strong North American accent. Being a friendly person, you
lean over and say, "Hi! Are you American?"
"No," comes the immediate answer. "Canadian!"
Calling a English-speaking Canadian an American can be as bad as telling a Scotsman that he's
English or a Swiss person he's German. In spite of a common language, there are differences in
culture and national feeling. "No," many Canadians will tell you with insistence, "We're not
Americans! We're Canadians"
In the same way as Quebecers are determined to keep their identity, Canadians from the
other provinces are determined to keep Canada's identity. Although the Canadian way of life is
more and more like the American way of life, lots of details are different, and many Canadians,
particularly Quebecers, are worried about the survival of their own differences.
Canadians use metres and kilometres and measure temperatures in Celsius; Americans use
feet and miles, and measure temperature in Fahrenheit. The USA has states, Canada has
provinces.
Yet about 80% of Canadians live within 150 km. of the U.S. border, and this has had a bad
effect on the Canadian economy. Like most European countries, Canada has a
national health service, and a good social security system; but good welfare services have to be
paid for by high taxes, so the cost of living in Canada is high. Because of this, hundreds of
thousands of Canadians often get in their cars and drive over to the USA to go shopping. This is
one cause of economic problems in Canada. Over half of Canada's imports come from the United
States, and Canada has a trade deficit with the USA.
But the American influence is not just a question of shopping. Lots of Canadians drive
American cars, and cars are almost as important in Canada as they are in the USA. There is
television too. While Quebecers tend to watch their own French-language TV stations, English-
speaking Canadians have a choice between local English-speaking channels, national
programmes from CBC, and dozens of American channels brought to them by cable or satellite.
Unless they specifically want to watch local stations, they're just as likely to tune in to one of the
big American channels as they are to a Canadian channel.
Perhaps it is not surprising if some Canadians are afraid that their country will soon be just like
another part of the USA. If, one day, Quebec becomes independent, many Canadians fear that
the rest of Canada could break up. Perhaps that's an exaggeration; many Canadians feel it is a
real risk.
Conversation
READING
SOME SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT CANADA
Canada is the second biggest country in the world, but the population is only 36 million.
Over half of all Canadians live south of a line that runs, in Europe, through Dijon, Zurich and
Budapest.
Winter temperatures regularly go down to -25°C all over Canada, except on the West Coast.
Driving for 12 hours a day, it takes 5 days to go by road from Montreal to Vancouver.
Ottawa, the Canadian capital, is situated in Ontario, on the border with Quebec. Its biggest
suburb, Gatineau, is in Quebec. A third of the population of Ottawa are French-speakers.
There is a Canadian version of the Loch Ness Monster, the "Turtle Lake Monster". It is said to be
between 3 and 9 metres long, and to live in the very deep waters of Turtle Lake, Saskatchewan.
A CANADIAN WINTER ...... Brrrr ! It's cold

If there is one thing that unites almost the whole population of Canada, it is the experience of
winter.
While in most parts of Europe, people never know what the winter weather will be like from
one week to the next, Canadians know what winter means. When the last leaves fall off the trees
in Autumn, Canadians know that the winter is coming, and that it will be cold; or if it is not cold,
it will be very cold! When the Arctic air blows south in the winter months, Canadians know that
the temperature will fall to -20° or lower, perhaps down to -40°; but because they know that
it is going to happen, Canadians are ready for it! That, as they say, is half the battle of survival!
In Edmonton, the biggest city in the province of Alberta, the first winter snows can come in
October. When this happens, Edmontonians complain that it is a bit early, but then just get on
with normal life.
For most of the winter, which usually lasts from November to April, daytime temperatures in
the city rarely rise above freezing; from time to time, Arctic winds howl down from the north,
and for several days temperatures in the city may not rise above -20° (and may drop below -
40°).
But in a city where people are used to cold winters, life carries on as usual. Canadians have to
know how to cope with the cold; those who can't have just two options, to emigrate or to go and
live beyond the Rocky Mountains, beside the Pacific Ocean, in "B.C." – British Columbia!
The easiest way to keep away from the cold of a Canadian winter is to stay indoors as much as
possible! This does not mean that you have to stay at home, however! Many people keep their
cars in heated basement garages which they can reach without going outside. Cars are often kept
warm in winter, with electric heaters which are plugged into power points.
Some shopping centres have underground or indoor parking lots: and in the city centre, it is
often possible to walk from one building to another, underground or above ground, without ever
having to go out in the cold. The biggest shopping centre in town has hundreds of shops,
cinemas, an ice rink, a sports centre and an amusement park all under one roof! The "West
Edmonton Mall" is like an indoor city — and in the heart of winter, it is a good place to go
shopping.
Conversation
READING
Outside, people make the most of the snow, for leisure and recreation. Skiing, skating and snow-
shoeing are popular activities that can be practised in the city's parks; many parks also have
areas which are flooded in winter, to provide natural icerinks, which are lit up in the evenings.
Everyone tries to enjoy the snow as much as possible!
Perhaps this is easier than it is in most parts of Europe; Canadian snow tends to be dry and
powdery. For most of the winter, for example, you can't make it into snowballs, it's too cold.
There is no point in putting salt on the roads, either, as at -10° and below, the snow just will not
melt, even with salt! The only way to clear the roads is to use snow-ploughs or snow-blowers.
Constitutional issues
Canada's official Head of State is Queen Elizabeth, who is also the nominal head of state of 15
other Commonwealth countries. Her function is purely symbolic. Many Canadians would like
Canada to have a Canadian head of State; but many others want to keep the monarchy. Opinion
is divided, but there is no great opposition to the Queen as head of state, except in Quebec.
It was not until 1982 that Canada became constitutionally an independent nation! When this
happened, many Canadians were quite surprised, as they thought that their country had been
independent since 1867. In practice they were right; the Canadian government in Ottawa has
governed Canada since that date.
The links between Britain and Canada remain very strong, all the same. About 40% of
Canadians have ancestors from the British Isles, and about 30% have ancestors from France. In
particular, lots of Scottish people emigrated from Britain to Canada in the 19th and 20th
centuries, and the British Isles remained the main source of immigration to Canada until the
1980's.
Today, most new Canadian immigrants come from Asia, particularly from southern and south
east Asia.
The first Canadians

Before Europeans came to North America, Canada was inhabited by native Americans, known
today as Indians and the Inuit (or Eskimos).
Contrary to popular imagination, Canada's Indians were not all nomadic people, and in eastern
Canada, many Indians lived in villages made of wooden huts. Like Europeans, they
grew crops and cultivated small fields.
Different groups of Indians often fought for territory, for good agricultural land, for the rivers
with most fish in them. However, there was plenty of room for everyone in such a vast country,
and food was not a real problem; the forests were full of wild animals.
Indians in the western half of Canada were more nomadic. The great prairies of Western
Canada were home to tribes of Indians who lived in teepees; these nomads lived mainly
from hunting.
Conversation
READING
Today, there are about 300,000 officially registered Indians in Canada, and about a million other
Canadians who are partly of Indian origin. Indian ceremonies and festivities are an important
part of Canadian culture.
Across Canada, there are over 2000 Indian reservations, many of them relatively poor.
However some Indian reservations have rich natural resources. In Alberta, Indian groups receive
hundreds of millions of dollars each year in royalties for gas and oil extracted from the ground in
or under their reservations.
WORD GUIDE
ancestors: grandparents, great grandparents, etc. - basement: the underground
level of a building - border: frontier - cope with: live with, accept - crops: food
plants - flooded: covered with water - health: medical condition - howl: blow
very fast - hunting: killing wild animals - icerink: place for skating - parking
lot: car park - plugged into: connected to - power points: sources of electric
current - - tend to: have a habit of (-ing) - trade deficit: a trade deficit is when a
country imports more than it exports - tune in to: select - used to: accustomed
to, familiar with - welfare: services to help people who are in a difficult situation
Discussion:
What makes a great place to live?
Conversation
READING 3
GOLD has always attracted people. At the start of the
twentieth century, and during the nineteenth century,
thousands of men went to the West of the United States,
looking for gold. The "Gold Rush" lasted, on and off, for,
sixty or seventy years, then it finished.
But today, there are still men and women out in the West,
looking for gold, as Andrew Rossiter found out.
There are still prospectors searching for gold in the American Far West
It was a blistering hot day in summer. The track leading to "Atlantic City" (Wyoming) was dry and
bumpy, and great clouds of dust blew up behind the car. In 1870, Atlantic City was a prosperous
town, with several thousand inhabitants, mostly men. It was a strange place to find a town, mind
you, hidden in little gulch in the middle of a widescrub desert.Atlantic City began life as a staging
post on one of the transcontinental trails, taken by emigrants en route for California. Soon
however it became a roaring gold town, where people could make (or lose) their fortunes in a
day. Few did make a fortune; many found enough gold to keep them happy, but a lot found
nothing, or nothing much
Then, about seven years after the gold rush began, it finished. Suddenly, it seemed that there
was no gold left in the ground. The miners packed their tools, their pans, and their bags, and
went off somewhere else, to try their luck again. There were no more emigrants either; as soon
as the first transcontinental railroad had opened in 1869, the old emigrant trails had been
completely abandoned.
The hotels closed, the shops closed, the bars closed, the jail closed; and before long, Atlantic City
was a ghost town, uninhabited except by the occasional rancher or hunter, and the wandering
coyotes. I didn't expect to find much in Atlantic City. I knew that a few people lived there again
now, some of the old houses had been restored, and others had been built. But I didn't expect
much.We drove round a dusty bend, and there in front of us lay the town, a couple of dozen
wooden buildings, some old, some new, and mostly pretty plain.
Surprisingly there was a fire-station; then, in the middle of the town, a wooden "saloon". A drink,
I thought, something to drink at last.
I stopped the car in a cloud of dust, and we walked up the steps and into the saloon.
Well if I'd wanted to do a bit of time-travelling, I couldn't have done much better; walking
through that door was like walking back eighty years in time. Inside, the old Western saloon was
still intact, with its big long wooden bar, and enormous mirrors on the walls. Apart from the
electric light, the juke box, and the tables set for dinner, it was almost perfect.
And there in the corner sat the prospector, with his wife. If he'd been wearing a red gown, I'd
have taken him for Father Christmas, but he wasn't. This old-timer wasn't in Atlantic City to bring
presents, but to find gold.
He said his name was Brad, and he'd been looking for gold in Atlantic City for some time now.
Yes, he'd found some too; not enough to make him a millionnaire, but enough to make him
happy.
Conversation
READING
When the Gold Rush ended in Atlantic City, he told me, it was not actually because there was no
more gold, but because gold was too hard to find, or not valuable enough.
Today, gold is a lot more valuable than it was a hundred years ago, and modern techniques allow
people to find gold more easily. And that was why Brad and his wife were in Atlantic City, digging
for gold.
They were not the only ones, said Brad; quite a few of the "concessions" are now being worked,
and some old mines are being opened up again. In some places, mining for gold has become
commercially profitable again; but in most cases, the miners, like Brad, are just amateurs.
No, Brad hadn't spent all his life digging in tunnels and panning in streams, to find a
few ounces of gold. In fact, he was a retiredbusinessman, looking for gold as a hobby, and a nice
way to pass the time in a wild, lonely and beautiful part of North America.
More than gold, no doubt, Brad was looking for a way of life, a dream of the past. If he had found
no gold, he would not have been too worried. Few of today's amateur gold prospectors are
there for the money; they're there for the fun, the isolation, and the nostalgia!. The legend of
the west will go on inspiring people for many many years.
WORDS:
Bend: corner- Blistering: very hot - en route for: going to - expect: think that -
gulch: valley - jail: prison - mind you: please note - on and off: from time to time
- ounces:grammes (1 ounce = about 25 grammes) panning: looking - plain:
ordinary - prospector: person looking for gold - retired: a person retires when
he/she stops her working life - roaring: very active - scrub: small bushes - staging
post: place where people stopped for the night, bought provisions, etc. - trails:
tracks - worried: anxious
Discussion:
What makes a person rich?
Conversation
READING 4
The name "Buffalo Bill" is one of the most famous names in
the history of the West. Once Bill was known as a great fighter
and a great hunter. Today people prefer to remember other
sides of his character. Later in his life he was a
great showman and one of the first people to see that it was
necessary to protect America’s natural environment .
Discovering an American folk hero ...

Buffalo Bill Cody was born on a farm in Scott county, Indiana, on 26th February 1846. At age 12,
Bill killed his first Indian.
In those days, life in the American West was a constant struggle for survival, and Indians and
white pioneers would fight to the death to protect their homes and their people.
Clearly, young Bill was a tough boy, who knew what he was doing. Before he was thirteen, he
was an expert horse-rider and very good with a gun; and in those days, when the West was wild,
that meant he had excellent qualifications for a job.
Before the age of twenty, Bill left home and took a job with the Pony Express company, and
very soon he became reputed as one of their best riders.
It was the time when the West was being opened up. After the Pony Express, Bill got a
job supplyingbuffalo meat to the men building the Kansas Pacific railroad. In the space of 17
months, he claims to havekilled 4,280 buffaloes. This is where he got his name, “Buffalo Bill".
In the 1870s, he worked as a scout for the army, during the Indian campaigns, and took part in
General Custer’s war against the Sioux. Once, he killed Chief Yellow Hand in a duel. This was just
one of the exploits that were written about in popular story books. In those days, anyone who
killed Indians was seen as a hero.
Today, we look at the Indian wars in a different light. Though many American Indians still call
themselves “Indians", the expression “native Americans" is considered to be more correct. Huge
areas of land have been given back to the Indian nations, and Americans accept that White
pioneers stole it from them in the past.
In fact, Buffalo Bill was one of the first men in America to realise that white Americans and
Indians could, and should, work together. Bill made his peace with the Indians, and when he
established his famous “Wild West Show", he recruited many famous Indians to work with him.
They included Red Cloud, Red Shirt, and even Sitting Bull. His grandson says, “At its height, there
were over 650 people who travelled with the show, including 250 American Indians. With these
Indians, with all the cowboys, they re-enacted the robbery of the Deadwood stage coach and the
Pony Express mail relay system".
Conversation
READING
With the money he earned from his show, Bill purchased some land in Wyoming; but by then the
West was already changing dramatically. Bill, the once-great buffalo-hunter looked nostalgically
at the few rare buffaloes that were still around, and realised that they had to be protected. At
the same time, he began trying to conserve aspects of the old Western life that were rapidly
disappearing into the twentieth century. One of the things he did was to help establish America’s
first National Forest reserve in Wyoming.
When he died, aged 70, Buffalo Bill knew that the old West was almost dead too, except as
history and stories. Yet he knew, too, that one of the most famous names associated with its
legends, was his own.
WORDS:
showman: man who runs a show - struggle: fight, battle - survival: existence -
pioneer: person colonizing new territory - tough: strong, resistant - ancestor:
grandfather and earlier generations - expanse: open space - willing to: ready to,
prepared to - supply: bring, provide - claims to have: says he - duel: organised
fight between two people - exploit: action - area: zone - recruit: employ -
height most important moment - re-enact imitate, play - mail: post - purchase:
buy - reserve: protected zone.-
Discussion:
What makes a person famous?
Conversation
READING 5
In many ways, Americans and Europeans do the same

things, have the same interests, have similar lifestyles; but
in “team sports”, America and Europe are two different
continents.
Europeans play football, and Americans play football; but surprisingly they do not play the same
game. American football is played by men (and occasionally women) wearing helmets and
protective clothing; the ball is oval. European football is played with a round ball, by people
wearing just socks, shorts, a shirt, and football boots.We Americans have another popular
outdoor game too; baseball - a classic American game, that is only played seriously in North
America. In Britain, a few people play an "ancestor" of baseball, called "rounders" - but it is not a
popular sport.
In today's "global village", lifestyles have become international. Often the American model has
spread to other countries of the world. American sports, however, have not spread all over the
world, as American films and American fashions have. On the contrary, European sports have
been more successful internationally. Indeed European football is slowly developing in the USA
(where we call it "soccer").
In motor racing too, though it is not really a team sport, the USA is different. In Europe, South
America, Japan and other countries (including Canada), "motor racing" means "Formula 1"; in
America we have IndyCar racing.
The Indianapolis 500 is like a Formula 1 race, but different. Several famous Formula 1 drivers -
including Nigel Mansell and Jacques Villeneuve - have won the race. On the other hand, no
American IndyCar drivers have ever been Formula 1 champions. Nevertheless, Americans are
beginning to discover Formula 1 racing, since the first American Grand Prix.
Besides these big sports, America of course has basketball - perhaps the most successful
"export". Invented at Springfield College, Massachusetts, in 1891, Basketball is quite certainly an
"American game". Although it is not as big in Europe as in the USA, basketball has become much
more popular in other countries than any other American team sport.
WHY IS AMERICA DIFFERENT?
The answer is simple. Until the 1960's, team sports were not played on a global scale. In Europe,
people played European games, and in North America we played American games. The only real
"global" sports were individual sports, such as golf and tennis.
Conversation
READING
A hundred years ago, individual rich Americans could travel to Europe on holiday, and play these
two games. But whole teams of sportsmen did not often travel around the world, it was too
difficult and slow!
The first worldwide sports competition was the Olympic Games; but originally the Olympics were
only concerned with athletics; they did not include the wide variety of sports that they now
cover.
So as far as team sports are concerned, America has grown up with its own tradition; we love our
"football" and our baseball and our basketball. We don't mind if these sports are not popular in
other countries. That way, we can organise the "World Series" baseball championship, knowing
that a US team will almost always win. From time to time, a Canadian team wins.... but they're
North Americans too, after all.
WORDS:
besides: in addition to - don't mind: are not worried - helmet: hard hat - on a
global scale: all over the world - were only concerned with: only included.
Discussion:
What is your favorite sport? Why?
Conversation
READING 6
Although he died almost half a century ago, Elvis Presley,

the "King of Rock 'n' Roll" , is still a hero for millions all over
the world and Graceland, his home in Memphis, is a major
tourist attraction
Elvis Presley - still the King

It's hot and sticky in the summer in Memphis, Tennessee. The sea is hundreds of miles away from
this city on the Mississippi river, yet that doesn't stop the tourists from coming. Some come just
once, others make the trip regularly. These are the real fans, those for whom rock 'n' roll has only
one voice, that of "the King" himself: Elvis Presley.
Memphis is the city where Elvis lived for most of his professional life; and though he died in
1977, Memphis has not forgotten him. On the contrary, America's most famous rocker (the only
one to have had his picture on a set of U.S. postage stamps!) has become the city's most famous
son — and seems to get more and more important as the years go by.
Beside Highway 51, just south of the city is Graceland; this is the house which Elvis bought
after he became a star, and which he kept till the day he died. Today it belongs to his daughter
Lisa Marie, but is run as an Elvis Presley museum: it is the second most visited house in the
U.S.A., after the White House. The people who work at Graceland seem to be some of Elvis's
biggest fans. They live and breathe Elvis! In the café, there is day-long Elvis on the music system;
and as visitors are taken round Graceland, their guides talk about Elvis as if he were more than
the King — more like the God of rock 'n' roll.
"Is it true Elvis died of drugs?" asks a non-believer in the crowd of visitors being shown round
the house.
Most of the other visitors look at her angrily or in astonishment, as if she has said something
terrible.
"Oh no," says the tour guide. For a moment her permanent cheek-to-cheek smile changes into
a frown of discontent. "Oh no, that's just a story, made up to discredit him. You know, Elvis had
plenty of friends, but he sure had some enemies too. They made up a whole bunch of stories
about him. There's no way Elvis took drugs. You know, he was even a federal agent. You'll see his
card downstairs."
Then the guide's 180° smile springs back, and she changes the subject, plunging
into eulogies about the wonderful style with which Elvis decorated his house.
Conversation
READING
Then the guide's 180° smile springs back, and she changes the subject, plunging
into eulogies about the wonderful style with which Elvis decorated his house.
Elvis loved Cadillacs, and his Automobile Museum at Graceland is a popular attraction
For a poor boy brought up in a two-room shack in rural Mississippi, it probably was fairly good
style. Elvis's tastes were brash, rather like those of many other ordinary unsophisticated folk. He
liked the good things in life: girls, guitars and Cadillacs — and he sang about them regularly. That
was one of the reasons why he became such a star.
The other reason was, of course, that Elvis really was a good artist, and he really did change
the face of American popular music. Before Elvis, the only real rock 'n' roll singers were black,
and their style was not quite the same as that of Elvis. Elvis was the first white rocker, and thus
— in an age where black music, except jazz, was not widely appreciated outside the black
community — he opened up a whole new branch of American popular music.
As a young rocker, he was America's biggest star, and this reputation followed him into middle
age. His energy and his looks, however, did not. By the time he was forty, Elvis was a sick man,
dependent on drugs. The thin athletic youth had become a fat prematurely-aged man. It was not
surprising, really, that he did not survive beyond the age of 42.
As for his reputation, that is a different story. Elvis may have died in 1977; his influence, and his
reputation, are still very much alive today.
WORD GUIDE
run: managed, operated - astonishment: great surprise - frown: scowl, angry
look -discredit: give a bad reputation to - bunch (slang): crowd - plunge: jump -
eulogy: flattering words - shack: hut, very small house - brash: unrefined,
uncultured - folk: people - prematurely-aged : old before he should be
Discussion:
What is your favorite superstar? Why?
Conversation
READING 7
If old America was made in New York or Detroit, modern

America is made in Silicon Valley. But what is "Silicon Valley",
where is it? And why is is where it is?
The story of Silicon Valley

It is not made of silicon; and it is not a river valley; but forgetting that, Silicon Valley is probably
the most famous valley in the world. Although it is not the place where the first computer was
built (that was Manchester, England), Silicon Valley, near San Francisco, was the birthplace of
the modern computer industry.
For this, we can say thankyou to scientists at the universities in California, and to the Hippies of
the 1960's.
It was in the nineteen-sixties that American "youth culture" really began. California, of course,
already existed; but the Sixties Generation rediscovered it.
At the time there were really two different forms of youth culture; the "Beach Boy" culture on
the one hand, and the anti-establishment hippies and radical students on the other hand; and
they all dreamed of California.
For the Beach Boys, that meant southern California, where they could sing about surfing and
cars; for the Hippies and radicals, it meant San Francisco, "flower power" and revolutionary new
ideas. The campuses at Berkeley and Stamford, near San Francisco, were hot-beds of new ideas,
new technology, new culture, and new ways of living.
When they finished university, many of the best students did not look for jobs with big
companies like Ford or Exxon. Instead they wanted to be free and run their own operations....
and stay in California, not far from San Francisco. Silicon Valley is thus a group of small towns,
including Palo Alto and San José, a few miles south of San Francisco.
The high-technology industry was already present around San Francisco. Intel had been
founded in 1968, and in the same year the first computer mouse was built at Stamford
University. In 1970, Xerox opened a research center in Palo Alto. There were also other
electronics companies, like Hewlett Packard, and Fairchild, the world's first "semiconductor"
company.
Then, in 1976, an electronics student called Steve Jobs started a small computer company in
his garage; he gave it the same name as the Beatles' record company: Apple.
Very soon, more companies, like Seagate and Google appeared. "Silicon Valley" had arrived.
There was even a sort of primitive Internet connecting many addresses in Silicon Valley, called
the Arpanet.
Conversation
READING
Today, Silicon Valley is still the home of the computer industry; it is still full of high technology,
but it is not the only center for high-tech in the USA. Today here are computer firms all over the
USA.... and all over the world; but Silicon Valley still has the largest concentration of high-tech
companies and research centers.
Microsoft, the world's biggest high-tech company, is not based in Silicon Valley. It is further
north, near Seattle in the state of Washington.
WORDS
birthplace: the place where a person is born - youth: young people - on the one
hand: on one side - anti-establishment: people who reject the "established"
system of society - radical: very different, revolutionary - run: organise -
company: firm.
Discussion:
What is your favorite place in the world? Why?
Conversation
READING 8
What is the most recognizable object in the world? Could it

be a football? Or a Big-Mac? No, the answer is a Coca-Cola
bottle. The famous Coca-Cola bottle is almost 100 years old !
The story of Coca-Cola

Footballs and big macs are certainly part of life for lots of people; but Coca-Cola is now a
permanent part of world culture. People know and drink Coca-Cola all over the world.
It is said that the Coca-Cola bottle is the most recognised object in the world. Hundreds of
millions of people can recognise a Coke bottle by its shape, even if they cannot see it! And the
famous Coca-Cola logo is the most famous logo in the world. Unlike any other famous
commercial logo, it has not changed in 100 years!
But the story of Coca-Cola is even older than that. It was in 1886 that John Pemberton,
a druggist in Atlanta, Georgia, invented a new type of syrup, using coca leaves, sugar and
cola nuts, plus a few other secret ingredients! Pemberton sold it as a medicine; and with its coca
(the source of cocaine), it must have made people feel good!
Nevertheless, Pemberton's medicine was not very successful, so he sold his secret formula to
another druggist, Asa Candler. Candler was interested, because he had another idea; he thought
that Pemberton's "medicine" would be much better if it was mixed with soda.
Candler was thus the man who really invented the drink Coca-Cola. At first he sold it in his
drugstore; then he began selling the syrup to other drugstores, who used it with their soda
fountains. Candler also advertised his new drink, and soon people were going to drugstores just
to get a drink of Coca-cola.
Before long, other people became interested in the product, including a couple of
businessmen who wanted to sell it in bottles. Candler sold them a licence to bottle the drink, and
very quickly the men became millionnaires. The famous bottle, with its very distinctive shape,
was designed in 1916.
During the First World War, American soldiers in Europe began asking for Coca-Cola, so the
Coca-cola company began to export to Europe. It was so popular with soldiers, that they then
had to start bottling the drink in Europe.
Today, Coca-Cola is made in countries all over the world, including Russia and China; it is the
world's most popular drink.
As for the famous formula, it is probably the world's most valuable secret! The exact
ingredients for making Coca-Cola are only known to a handful ofpeople. And as for the "coca"
that was in the original drink, that was eliminatedin 1903. It was a drug, and too dangerous.
Today's Coca-Cola contains caffeine, but n in 1903. It was a drug, and too dangerous. Today's
Coca-Cola contains caffeine, but not cocaine!
Conversation
READING
WORDS
shape : form - logo: logotype, name-image - unlike : differently to - druggist:
pharmacist - syrup: concentrated sweet drink - nuts: hard round fruits -
ingredient: element - source: origin - formula: recipe, instructions for making
something - soda: bubbling water, fizzy water -advertise: publicise -
licence: permit, authorisation -distinctive: memorable, special - as
for: concerning - a handful of: a very small number of - eliminate: take out -
Discussion:
Would you recommend coke to everybody? Why?
Conversation
READING 9
Blue jeans are the most popular type of clothing in the

world; but they are not modern! In fact, jeans have existed
for over 160 years.
In 1996, someone found some very old clothes in an old mine in Nevada, USA; they included a
pair of dirty old jeans. Today, those jeans are very valuable, and they are now in the Levi Strauss
Archival Collection, in San Francisco. The jeans, which are over 140 years old, are the oldest pair
of Levi's 501 jeans in the world.
They are almost the same as a modern pair of 501's; there are just some small differences in
the detail. For instance, today's 501's have two back pockets, the old pair just has one.THE
STORY OF JEANS
Jeans were the classic clothes of the American West.
In 1853, a young tailor from Germany, called Levi Strauss, began working in San Francisco; Levi
sold thick canvas to miners; the miners used the canvas to make tents.
One day, a miner told Levi that he could not find trousers that were strong enough for work in
the gold mines. Levi decided to make some trousers out of canvas.
Very soon, he had sold all the canvas trousers he had made! They were just what miners
wanted.
However, the canvas was rather heavy and stiff. Levi therefore began to look for a different
textile; soon he found a heavy textile from France; it was called serge de Nimes. Americans just
called this de Nimes, and this name soon got reduced to denim.
Denim was a bit lighter than canvas, but it was very strong; it was ideal for miners.
However, original denim was almost white, and miners did not like the color! Their denim
trousers got dirty as soon as they began working!
Levi Strauss therefore decided to use colored denim, and he chose dark blue. In 1873,he began
to make denim trousers with metal rivets to make them stronger. This was a radical new idea:
"Blue jeans" had arrived!
Levi's jeans were so popular, that his company got bigger and bigger; soon, other firms were
making blue jeans too. Miners liked them, but so did cowboys and other working men. Blue jeans
became classic American working trousers.
After the Second World War, jeans became popular all over the world. Today, blue jeans are
made over the world – most of them in Asia. Very few jeans are now made in the USA, because
of the cost: but it is still possible to buy blue jeans that are made in San Francisco.... if you have a
lot of money to spend.
Today there are hundreds of different brands of jeans. Many top fashion brands, like Armani or
Benetton, make their own blue jeans. But for real authentic jeans, "Levi's" are still the most
popular brand.
Conversation
READING
JEANS for EVERYONE ?
In America, everyone wears jeans as leisure wear. Some people wear jeans all the time, even
for work. But Americans are perhaps less formal than other nations.
At the "G7" summit in Denver, in 1997, American President Bill Clinton gave all his visitors
jeans, for a "Western evening". Tony Blair, the British Prime Minister, put them on, but other
European leaders, including Chancellor Kohl of Germany and Jacques Chirac, the President of
France, refused. Some people still think that jeans are not respectable clothes!
Not the young! Jeans are now the international uniform worn by young people. Why? That is a
good question!
WORDS
for instance: for example - tailor: clothes maker - canvas: a very strong form of
cloth, used for tents or by artists - stiff: rigid - chose: (from to choose), selected -
leisure wear: clothes for free time - .
Discussion:
Do you like wearing jeans? Why?
Conversation
READING 10
Hollywood is one of the best-known names in the world: but

where is Hollywood exactly? Why is it so successful? And
how did it begin? Horizon magazine looks at the answers to
these and other questions.
Hollywood - its life and times

At the start of the 20th century, a new city was beginning to grow on some flat land near the sea
in southern California; its name was Los Angeles - the name of the old Spanish missionthat had
been there for many years.
At the same time, a new industry was just being born; the cinema. In America, they talked of
"motion pictures", but this soon became shortened to "movies".
America's movie industry began life in New York; but by 1910, movie-makers were moving to
Los Angeles. In New York, everything was too expensive; workers, land, taxes. Worse than that, it
was difficult to make movies in winter, because it was too cold.
By contrast, the Los Angeles region was full of advantages. In California, they could make films
all through the year; and everything was cheaper. In particular, there was lots of land for sale.
The movie-makers found what they needed a few miles outside Los Angeles; and before long,
large new studios were being built in an area called Hollywood, at the foot of some small dry
hills.
Movies quickly became very popular, particularly after "talkies" first appeared in 1925.
Nevertheless, movies were expensive to make, and film companies needed money - lots of it. For
this reason, Hollywood rapidly became dominated by a small number of big companies such
as MGM, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros. and Paramount.
Since then, the big companies have had their ups and downs, but most of them are still there.
Some old names have disappeared, but some new ones have appeared, companies like Walt
Disney and Steven Spielberg's company Amblin.
Naturally, Hollywood has changed a lot in 80 years! Today the biggest studios belong to huge
international firms. For instance, News Corporation, which now owns Fox, also owns newspapers
on three continents (including the Times of London), and satellite TV networks in America,
Europe and Asia.
It is only huge companies like Fox that can afford to make today's very expensive films; and
for Titanic - which was at the time the most expensive film ever - Fox had to get help from
another big company, Paramount!
Conversation
READING
Once Hollywood could make films just for America; today it has to make them for the world.
The suburb of Los Angeles has become the headquarters of a global dream-machine. Perhaps
we dreamed differently in the past. Today, thanks in part to Hollywood, people everwhere have
similar dreams.
We now live in the age of global culture. Hollywood did not invent this culture - but for better
or for worse, it has become one of the most powerful elements in it. Like it or not, we all now live
on planet Hollywood.
WORDS
Mission: monastery, missionary centre - advantages : good things - for sale:
being sold - area : place - ups and downs: good moments and bad moments -
huge: enormous - afford to: have the money to - suburb: peripheral area of a
big city - headquarters: principal centre - global: planetary
Discussion:
Do you watch Hollywood films? What do you think of them?
Conversation
READING 10
In September 2000, the world was hit by an "oil crisis"; the
cost of crude oil reached over 35 dollars a barrel, and
gasoline (which the British call "petrol") became very
expensive. Even in America. Since then, the cost of oil has
fallen; but even in the USA, use of oil has continued to fall .
America's oil - a love affair

During the summer of 2000, lots of car-drivers in America were angry. The cost of gasoline went
above $2 a gallon in some states. The age of cheap gasoline was over.
Today, in 2016, gas costs at least $ 2 a gallon throughout the USA. In California, even regular
gas costs about $2.80 a gallon.
This is very cheap compared to Europe,* * but Americans think that it is very expensive.
The United States is the land of relatively cheap energy; America is the second biggest
producer of oil in the world, but it is also the biggest importer. In fact, the USA imports over 20%
of its energy, mostly in the form of oil.
There is oil under the ground in many parts of the USA. America's first oil wells were drilled in
the year 1859, in Pennsylvania; and since then, more and more wells have been made in other
states.
Today, oil companies are "fracking", and finding lots more oil under the ground.
Working in the American oil industry

The centre of America's oil industry today is the state of Texas; and America's "oil capital" is
the city of Dallas. Texas is by far the biggest producer of oil in the USA.
It was not always the case; the first Texan oil-wells were opened in 1901, when there was
already a big oil industry in other parts of the USA. But without the oil from Texas, America's
history would have been very different.
In 2001, Texans celebrated their "oil centenary".
Conversation
READING
Cheap oil and cheap gasoline helped to make modern America. They shaped America's cities,
and they were an essential part of the American lifestyle. They were also essential in the great
empty states of the West, where people often have to travel long distances.
Today, Americans consume about 25% of the world's energy.... far more than people in other
countries; but the situation is slowly changing.
Americans are already buying smaller cars, and American cars consume much less gas than
they used to. But in the coming years, they will use less and less oil. They will have to.
There is still a lot of oil under the ground, but oil and gas must become more expensive in the
future. Over 50% of America's traditional oil reserves have already been used - mostly since
1950. Nobody knows when America's oil will start running out, but the first problems could come
in less than 20 years. And as soon as oil starts running out, its price will go up very quickly!
In conclusion, the "two dollar gallon" was good for America. It has encouraged Americans to
buy smaller cars, and to use less energy. That way, America's oil will last longer..... perhaps until
the age of clean green energy arrives.
WORDS
case: situation - centenary: 100th anniversary - consume: use - crude oil: oil that
comes out of the ground - drill: make a hole - fracking: a controversial new
technology to extract oil from rocks - gasolene (USA) = petrol (GB) - a gallon (US)
: 3.78 litres - oil well: crude oil comes out of the ground through oil wells - run
out: come to an end. - throughout the USA - in all the USA
Discussion:
Do you watch Hollywood films? What do you think of them?
Conversation
READING 11
Learning from the past
Why do we never seem to learn the lessons of the past? The actions of others could
point the way for us in the future. But either we forget these lessons or we
deliberately choose to misinterpret them, or knowing them, we simply fail to act on
them.
Because of the economic boom in China, its government has become worried in
recent years about selfish motives overtaking society. Many Chinese have been
saying for some time that the traditional values of harmony, respect and hard work
have been lost. So a few years ago the government focused attention again on the
teachings of Confucius, the ancient philosopher.
‘Consideration for others is the basis of a good life, a good society.’
Prior to the 1990s, Confucianism had not been fashionable, but now, in a country
which is currently developing at a dizzying speed, it offers a sense of stability and
order. The Confucian saying that nowadays sums up the government’s philosophy is
‘harmonious society’.
Sometimes it is difficult to learn from the past because the standards of the
‘teacher’ are so high. This is certainly the case with Nelson Mandela, who preached
the message of reconciliation to two sides in South Africa who hated each other
deeply. Mandela had always been ideologically committed to peace, and while he
was living in prison, he became determined that reconciliation was the only way to
unite his divided country:
Conversation
READING
‘If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy.’
All those who strive for peace know that in the long term they will have to begin this
dialogue. Yet few are able to follow the example set by Mandela, because it requires
such a high degree of unselfishness. It seems that heeding this warning – nonot to
be selfish – is perhaps the hardest lesson of all for people to learn.
Discussion:
What did you learn from your past?
Conversation
READING 12
A confused generation
Change brings problems. Bella lives with her parents in a brand new apartment in
Shanghai. Her real name is Zhou Jiaying – ‘Bella’ is the name that she has been given
by her English teacher. Her parents are representative of a confused generation in a
confused time. In modern Chinese society different ideologies are fighting against
each other. Enormous material benefits have been brought by China’s economic
boom, but the debate is not about these; it’s about family life and values. Old values
– the respect of family and the older generations – are being replaced by new ones
which place money as the critical measurement of one’s position in society. But at
the same time these new values are also being questioned. Have our lives been
made richer by all our new possessions? Is Chinese culture being supplanted? As in
all changing societies people are trying to find the right balance between the ‘new’
and ‘old’.
Recently, Bella’s family put their grandfather into a nursing home. It was a painful
decision. In traditional China, caring for aged parents has always been an
unavoidable duty, but times are changing. Bella’s ambition? ‘I want one day to put
my parents in the best nursing home’ – the best that money can buy, she means.
‘When she told us that’ Bella’s father says, ‘I thought – is it selfish to think she will
be a dutiful and caring daughter and look after us? We don’t want to be a burden on
her when we get old. This is something my daughter has taught us. Once it was
parents who taught children, but now we learn from them.’ The family can buy many
more things these days, and when they go shopping, Bella makes sure that the
‘right’ western brands are selected. (Pizza Hut is her favourite restaurant.)
Conversation
READING
She also teaches her parents the latest slang. Her parents want to be supportive, but
they no longer help with Bella’s homework; in spoken English she has surpassed
them. She has already learnt much more about the world outside than them. ‘Our
advice is not listened to and it is not wanted,’ her mother says. ‘When she was little,
she agreed with all my opinions. Now she sits there without saying anything, but I
know she doesn’t agree with me.’ Bella glares, but says nothing. ‘I suppose our child-
raising has been a failure.’ In China there is no concept of the rebellious teenager.
Discussion:
Is this generation confused?
Conversation
READING 13
Are celebrities bad for you?
Celebrities are everywhere nowadays: on TV, in magazines, online. Is this preoccupation with
famous people harmless fun or is it bad for us? How many people are truly obsessed with
modern media idols? And on the other side of the coin, can fame be harmful to the celebrities?
Studies suggest that the vast majority of teenagers do not really worship celebrities. Researchers
have identified three kinds of fans. About 15% of young people have an ‘entertainment-social’
interest. They love chatting about their favourite celebrities with friends and this does not
appear to do any harm.
Another 5% feel that they have an ‘intense-personal’ relationship with a celebrity. Sometimes
they see them as their soulmate and find that they are often thinking about them, even when
they don’t want to. These people are more at risk from depression and anxiety. If girls in this
group idolise a female star with a body they consider to be perfect, they are more likely to be
unhappy with their own bodies.
That leaves 2% of young people with a ‘borderline-pathological’ interest. They might say, for
example, they would spend several thousand pounds on a paper plate the celebrity had used, or
that they would do something illegal if the celebrity asked them to. These people are in most
danger of being seriously disturbed.
What about the celebrities themselves? A study in the USA tried to measure narcissism or
extreme self-centredness, when feelings of worthlessness and invisibility are compensated for by
turning into the opposite: excessive showing off. Researchers looked at 200 celebrities, 200
young adults with Masters in Business Administration (a group known for being narcissistic) and
a nationally representative sample using the same questionnaire. As was expected, the
celebrities were significantly more narcissistic than the MBAs and both groups were a lot more
narcissistic than the general population.
Four kinds of celebrity were included in the sample. The most narcissistic were the ones who had
become famous through reality TV shows – they scored highest on vanity and willingness to
exploit other people. Next came comedians, who scored highest on exhibitionism and feelings of
superiority. Then came actors, and the least narcissistic were musicians. One interesting result
was that there was no connection between narcissism and the length of time the celebrity had
been famous. This means that becoming famous probably did not make the celebrities
narcissistic – they already were beforehand.
So, what can we learn from this? People who are very successful or famous tend to be narcissists
and are liable to be ruthless, self-seeking workaholics. As we can see from celebrity magazines,
they are also often desperate and lonely. They make disastrous role models.
Conversation
READING 14
Are zoos a good thing?
Zoos are hugely popular attractions for adults and children alike. But are they actually a good
thing?
Critics of zoos would argue that animals often suffer physically and mentally by being enclosed.
Even the best artificial environments can't come close to matching the space, diversity, and
freedom that animals have in their natural habitats. This deprivation causes many zoo animals to
become stressed or mentally ill. Capturing animals in the wild also causes much suffering by
splitting up families. Some zoos make animals behave unnaturally: for example, marine parks
often force dolphins and whales to perform tricks. These mammals may die decades earlier than
their wild relatives, and some even try to commit suicide.
On the other hand, by bringing people and animals together, zoos have the potential to educate
the public about conservation issues and inspire people to protect animals and their habitats.
Some zoos provide a safe environment for animals which have been mistreated in circuses, or
pets which have been abandoned. Zoos also carry out important research into subjects like
animal behaviour and how to treat illnesses.
One of the most important modern functions of zoos is supporting international breeding
programmes, particularly for endangered species. In the wild, some of the rarest species have
difficulty in finding mates and breeding, and they might also be threatened by poachers, loss of
their habitat and predators. A good zoo will enable these species to live and breed in a secure
environment. In addition, as numbers of some wild species drop, there is an increased danger of
populations becoming too genetically similar. Breeding programmes provide a safeguard: zoo-
bred animals can be released into the wild to increase genetic diversity.
However, opponents of zoos say that the vast majority of captive breeding programmes do not
release animals back into the wild. Surplus animals are sold not only to other zoos but also to
circuses or hunting ranches in the US or South Africa, where some people are willing to pay a lot
of money for the chance to kill an animal in a fenced enclosure. Often, these animals are familiar
with humans and have very little chance of escaping.
So, are zoos good for animals or not? Perhaps it all depends on how well individual zoos are
managed, and the benefits of zoos can surely outweigh their harmful effects. However, it is
understandable that many people believe imprisoning animals for any reason is simply wrong.
Conversation
READING 15
FOMO
Everybody knows how important it is for students to get a good night’s sleep every night. You
aren’t able to do your best and keep up with all of your responsibilities unless you sleep well. I’m
sure you already know that you should go to bed at a reasonable hour. Most experts agree that
the optimum number of hours is eight, and this has been accepted as common sense for as long
as I can remember. However, I was young once and I know that most of you get much less sleep
than that – and in some cases it will be affecting your schoolwork.
I read an interesting article in a teachers’ magazine recently. They did a study of 848 students in
Wales. Worryingly, the results showed that teenagers are facing a new problem. They may go to
bed and get up at appropriate times but a growing number are waking up in the middle of the
night, not to use the bathroom or have a snack but because of a new phenomenon: FOMO – fear
of missing out!
According to the article, schoolchildren are suffering because of a growing trend to wake up
during the night to check social media. Afraid of missing a comment or opportunity to take part
in a chat, teenagers are waking at all times of the night, going online and getting involved. All this
when they should be sound asleep.
Experts are worried about this growing trend and the report reveals some worrying statistics that
I’d like to share with you:
23% of 12 to 15-year-olds wake up nearly every night to use social media. Another 15% wake up
at night once a week for the same reason.
One in three students are constantly tired and unable to function to their full capacity.
Students who use social media during the night are more likely to suffer from depression and
anxiety.
So, I’d like to ask you to be responsible when it comes to social media. Be brave! Switch off your
devices at night. The world won’t end and your social media will be waiting to greet you in the
morning! I give you my word that you won't have missed anything important.
Conversation
READING 16
Leaving home
Going away to university is always a tricky time, both for the students who are leaving home and
their parents who are staying behind. We got advice on how to cope from a student daughter
and her dad.
A daughter’s advice to parents, by Kerry Price
My parents drove me to uni at the beginning of the first term. That was great, but then they
hung around, so it was hard to chat to the people in the rooms near mine. It’s best if you leave us
to unpack ourselves.
Don’t ask us to come home during term time. There’s a lot going on at weekends, there just isn’t
time.
Get another interest or a pet if you feel lonely without us. Don’t make us feel guilty about leaving
home!
It is quite interesting to hear about your experiences at uni, but remember that it was a LONG
time ago so don’t go on about it so much. Things have changed a lot. Now we have a lot more
debt and it’ll be harder to find a job in the future.
Please don’t check up on us or our friends on Facebook. I know it’s a public site, but we have the
right to some privacy.
Don’t change anything in our bedrooms. We have only half left home - we’ll be back in the
holidays, so please don’t touch anything.
We’d still like to come on family holidays with you. Don’t forget to include us just because we’re
not there all the time.
A father’s advice to students, by Stuart Price
Don’t complain so much about how much work you have to do. We work a lot too. You’re an
adult now, get used to it.
Put up with the fact that we refused to get a dog while you were at home, then suddenly bought
one as soon as you moved out. We miss you!
Just because you’re at university studying very complex subjects, it doesn’t mean that you’re
more intelligent than everybody else. Don’t treat your family as if they were stupid; we’re really
not.
Let us come and visit you now and again. We promise to try not to embarrass you in front of your
friends. We just want to see you for a short time and take you out for a meal.
Don’t waste so much time on Facebook. You need time for all that work you have to do,
remember?
We might make a few changes to your room, so deal with it. It’s great to have a guest room at
last, but we won’t change things too much, promise.
Don’t forget to call home from time to time and don’t get annoyed if we phone you. It’s not
pestering. If we didn’t call, you wouldn’t know that we care.
Conversation
READING 17
The Facebook party that became a riot
It began as a plan for a very normal 16th birthday party. Merthe Weusthuis wanted a quiet
celebration with a small group of friends in her family home in the small Dutch town of Haren.
Like many teenagers, she decided to send out invitations via a social network site. But Merthe
made one big mistake: she used open-access settings on Facebook, so it wasn’t just her friends
who could see details of the event, lots of strangers could too.
The number of invitation acceptances quickly snowballed into an avalanche. Not marking the
event as ‘private’ meant the electronic invitation was eventually seen by 240,000 people, of
whom 30,000 confirmed online that they planned to attend. To make matters worse, an
unauthorised campaign was launched to promote the party by means of a dedicated website and
Twitter account, which received hundreds of thousands of hits. The party become known as
‘Project X Haren’ after the 2012 American film Project X in which three high school students throw
a birthday party that spins out of control. Video trailers for Merthe’s party were produced, with
scenes from Project X edited in, and they were posted on YouTube. T-shirts featuring Merthe’s
face were also made, all without her knowledge or consent.
Even after Merthe’s parents had cancelled the party, the publicity didn’t stop. Local media
reported on the forthcoming event and teenagers turned up to have their pictures taken outside
the Weusthuis family home. On the evening the party was to have taken place, about 5,000
teenagers began gathering in Haren, many outside the Weusthuis house. When it became clear
that there was nothing to gatecrash, violence broke out and 500 riot police equipped with
helmets, shields and batons were brought in to control the crowd. Shops in the centre of Haren
were vandalised and looted, journalists were attacked, cars were set on fire or overturned and
street signs and lamp posts were damaged.
However, Facebook was also involved in the clean-up effort in the days after the riot. A group
called ‘Project Clean-X Haren’ was set up to gather and organise volunteers. Another group named
‘Suspect-X Haren’ was created to help police identify and arrest the rioters by sharing photos and
videos of the event.
A number of other 'Facebook parties’ have spiralled out of control, including the 16th birthday
party of British teenager Bradley McAnulty in April 2012. Bradley had not posted details of the
event on the internet, and had been careful to ask his friends not to, but somehow the news
leaked out and appeared on Blackberry Messenger as well as Facebook. More than 400
gatecrashers invaded his family home in Poole, Dorset, causing extensive damage.
Conversation
READING 18
The history of graffiti
The first drawings on walls appeared in caves thousands of years ago. Later the Ancient Romans
and Greeks wrote their names and protest poems on buildings. Modern graffiti seems to have
appeared in Philadelphia in the early 1960s, and by the late sixties it had reached New York. The
new art form really took off in the 1970s, when people began writing their names, or ‘tags’, on
buildings all over the city. In the mid seventies it was sometimes hard to see out of a subway car
window, because the trains were completely covered in spray paintings known as ‘masterpieces’.
In the early days, the ‘taggers’ were part of street gangs who were concerned with marking their
territory. They worked in groups called ‘crews’, and called what they did ‘writing’ – the term
‘graffiti’ was first used by The New York Times and the novelist Norman Mailer. Art galleries in New
York began buying graffiti in the early seventies. But at the same time that it began to be regarded
as an art form, John Lindsay, the then mayor of New York, declared the first war on graffiti. By the
1980s it became much harder to write on subway trains without being caught, and instead many
of the more established graffiti artists began using roofs of buildings or canvases.
The debate over whether graffiti is art or vandalism is still going on. Peter Vallone, a New York city
councillor, thinks that graffiti done with permission can be art, but if it is on someone else’s
property it becomes a crime. ‘I have a message for the graffiti vandals out there,’ he said recently.
‘Your freedom of expression ends where my property begins.’ On the other hand, Felix, a member
of the Berlin-based group Reclaim Your City, says that artists are reclaiming cities for the public
from advertisers, and that graffiti represents freedom and makes cities more vibrant.
For decades graffiti has been a springboard to international fame for a few. Jean-Michel Basquiat
began spraying on the street in the 1970s before becoming a respected artist in the ’80s. The
Frenchman Blek le Rat and the British artist Banksy have achieved international fame by producing
complex works with stencils, often making political or humorous points. Works by Banksy have
been sold for over £100,000. Graffiti is now sometimes big business.
Conversation
READING 19
The history of zombies
Zombies are everywhere these days – on television, in movies and in books. The current image of
the terrifying flesh-eating zombie comes from George Romero’s 1968 classic film Night of the
Living Dead. Nowadays many people like to frighten themselves with the idea of the ‘Zombie
Apocalypse’, and enjoy learning how to destroy zombies by decapitation or shooting them in the
head.
However zombies are not new. The term, from the Kongo word nzambi which means ‘spirit of a
dead person’, has been long associated with the Vodou religion of Haiti (popularly known as
Voodoo). As with West African Vodun, from which it is descended, Vodou has strong ties to the
supernatural and magic practised by witch doctors called bokors.
In Haitian culture zombies are not evil creatures but victims. They are said to be people who have
been killed by poisoning, then reanimated and controlled by bokors with magic potions for some
specific purpose, usually to work as slave labour. The bokors were widely feared and respected. It
is said that they used to be in the service of the secret police and those who defied the authorities
were threatened with being turned into the living dead.
For a long time most people assumed that zombies were nothing more than mythical figures, like
werewolves and vampires. However this changed in the 1980s when a man called Clairvius
Narcisse claimed that he had been turned into a zombie by means of drugs and forced to work on
a sugar plantation for two years before escaping. Wade Davis, a Harvard scientist, investigated the
claim and obtained something called ‘zombie powder’ from Haitian bokors. The main active
ingredient was a neurotoxin found in puffer fish which could be used to simulate death.
The bokors also explained to Davis that a second poison, made from the datura plant, known as
the zombie cucumber, was given to victims after they were revived from their death-like state.
This kept the ‘zombies’ in a submissive state so that it was easy to force them to work. Davis wrote
several books on the topic, including The Serpent and the Rainbow, later made into a horror film
by director Wes Craven.
Although the book was very popular with the public, some scientists were sceptical of Davis’s
claims. They said the amounts of toxin in the powder samples he found were inconsistent and not
high enough to produce zombifying effects. Although many people in Haiti still believe in zombies,
there have been no publicised cases in the last few decades and Davis’s theory remains
controversial. The Zombie Apocalypse seems unlikely to take place soon.
Conversation
READING 20
Video games are good for you!
For years video games have been criticised for making people more antisocial, overweight or
depressed. But now researchers are finding that games can actually change us for the better and
improve both our body and mind.
Games can help to develop physical skills. Pre-school children who played interactive games such
as the ones available on Wii have been shown to have improved motor skills, for example they can
kick, catch and throw a ball better than children who don’t play video games. A study of surgeons
who do microsurgery in Boston found that those who played video games were 27 per cent faster
and made 37 per cent fewer errors than those who didn't. Vision is also improved, particularly
telling the difference between shades of grey. This is useful for driving at night, piloting a plane or
reading X-rays.
Games also benefit a variety of brain functions, including decision-making. People who play
action-based games make decisions 25 per cent faster than others and are no less accurate,
according to one study. It was also found that the best gamers can make choices and act on them
up to six times a second, four times faster than most people. In another study by researchers from
the University of Rochester in New York, experienced gamers were shown to be able to pay
attention to more than six things at once without getting confused, compared with the four that
most people can normally keep in mind. Additionally, video games can also reduce gender
differences. Scientists have found that women who play games are better able to mentally
manipulate 3D objects.
There is also evidence that gaming can help with psychological problems. At the University of
Auckland in New Zealand, researchers asked 94 young people diagnosed with depression to play a
3D fantasy game called SPARX and in many cases, the game reduced symptoms of depression
more than conventional treatment. Another research team at Oxford University found that playing
Tetris shortly after exposure to something very upsetting – in the experiment, a film of traumatic
scenes of injury and death was used – can actually prevent people having disturbing flashbacks.
The effects are not always so positive, however. Indiana University researchers carried out brain
scans on young men and found evidence that violent games can alter brain function after as little
as a week of play, affecting regions in the brain associated with emotional control and causing
more aggressive behaviour in the player. But Daphne Bavelier, one of the most experienced
researchers in the field, says that the violent action games that often worry parents most may
actually have the strongest beneficial effect on the brain. In the future, we may see many
treatments for physical and neurological problems which incorporate the playing of video games.
Conversation
READING 21
Your digital footprint
Every time you go online you leave a trail. This is just like a real footprint. It reveals where you’ve
been, how long you stayed and what you’ve been doing there. Every time you register for an
online service, send an email, download a video or upload a photo, the information can be
accessed and your digital footprint can be revealed. This shouldn’t necessarily be worrying but it is
advisable to be aware of your digital footprint and to be cautious and sensible when you are
online.
Six top tips for taking care of your digital footprint

Don’t forget to log off when you leave a website, especially if you are using a shared computer. If
you don’t, someone can easily pretend to be you!
Don’t tell anyone your passwords and don’t write them down in an obvious place. Make them
more complex by using a combination of letters, numbers and punctuation marks.
Tell an adult if you come across anything online that makes you upset, anxious or concerned.
There are ways to report inappropriate or abusive content and in most cases web managers
respond rapidly.
Remember your favourite websites by using the history button and the bookmark function on
your computer or mobile device. This is a way that your digital footprint can work in your favour,
but remember to clear your browser history regularly.
If you want to post comments online, you don’t have to use your own name. Invent a nickname to
use instead. You can also use a picture instead of a real photo.
Protect your identity online. Be careful about who you share personal information with and
always think twice before sharing details like your email, home address, school or phone number
with someone.
Think about the future

All kinds of people are interested in your digital footprint. It's now quite common for colleges,
universities and employers to check out the online profiles of possible candidates as part of their
application process. There are cases of people having missed out on jobs and places in college
because their digital footprint didn’t impress the recruiters. So, remember: keep safe, don’t put
too much personal information online and always think carefully before you post something. Ask
yourself, ‘Would I be happy for absolutely everyone to see this?’
Conversation
READING 22
Are we losing the art of conversation?
We asked four people who watched an online talk on technology and communication by Sherry
Turkle for their opinions.
A
The talk certainly gave me plenty of food for thought about the way we communicate these days
and how technology is changing our behaviour. People are constantly multitasking, whether it be
emailing during meetings or texting in the checkout queue. I really believe it’s affecting the way
we relate to each other and it’s not just in the workplace. Kids fade into the background as
parents message at the dinner table or post on social networks during the school run. It’s as if we
can’t bear to miss out on what our online buddies are up to, so we juggle the real and online
world. My greatest concern is that we don’t give our brains a chance to switch off. It’s these
precious moments when we actually process information that helps us make important decisions.
B
It was a fascinating talk and the speaker really hit the nail on the head with a couple of things.
Take parental influence, for instance. How can we expect teenagers not to text while doing their
homework when they witness their parents posting on social media while cooking the evening
meal or waiting at a red light? She also made a valid point about people wanting to be in two or
several places at once. So they switch back and forth between their real-life and online
conversations. I see it all the time with my teenage daughter and her friends. They arrange to
meet and then sit together in silence while each one engages in a different conversation online.
C
So much of what the speaker said rang true. I honestly believe there’s a danger that the more
connected we are, the more isolated we feel. I don’t think this is such an issue for my generation
who’ve lived without technology for so long. We know how to be alone and, more importantly, we
know that it’s OK to be alone. But the under 20s are another kettle of fish. They’re so busy
communicating that they never experience the feeling of solitude and run the risk of not learning
how to enjoy their own company. In addition, they’re learning conversation through messages
that can be edited and changed at the expense of learning the art of real conversation in real time
with the person in front of you.
D
I’m not sure to what extent I agree that people are more alone, but the way we communicate has
certainly evolved. We send tiny snippets of conversation or emoticons to each other and I wonder
how much this actually allows us to really understand one another. This superficial conversation is
replacing in-depth face-to-face interaction with its pauses, intonation and sentiment. The speaker
makes a good point about how we’re getting used to conversing with machines like Siri or robots,
which are totally devoid of any experience of human life. But despite such limitations, we seem to
be expecting more from technology and less from each other.
Conversation
READING 23
Do you have the right mindset?
1
Think back to when you were in a classroom, maybe a maths classroom, and the teacher set a
difficult problem. (That could have been any time between this morning or a few years ago.)
Which of the two following responses is closer to the way you reacted?
A: Oh no, this is too hard for me. I’m not even going to seriously try and work it out.
B: Ah, this is quite tricky but I like to push myself. Even if I don’t get the answer right, maybe I’ll
learn something in the attempt.
2Early in her career, the psychologist Carol Dweck of Stanford University gave a group of ten-year-
olds problems that were slightly too hard for them. One group reacted positively, said they loved
challenge and understood that their abilities could be developed. She says they had a ‘growth
mindset’ and are focused on what they can achieve in the future. But another group of children
felt that their intelligence was being judged and they had failed. They had a ‘fixed mindset’ and
were unable to imagine improving. Some of these children said they might cheat in the future;
others looked for someone who had done worse than them to boost their self-esteem.
3Professor Dweck believes that there is a problem in education at the moment. For years, children
have been praised for their intelligence or talent, but this makes them vulnerable to failure. They
become performance-oriented, wanting to please by getting high grades, but they are not
necessarily interested in learning for its own sake. The solution, according to Dweck, is to praise
the process that children are engaged in: making an effort, using learning strategies, persevering
and improving. This way they will become mastery-oriented (i.e. interested in getting better at
something) and will achieve more. She contends that sustained effort over time is the key to
outstanding achievement.
4
Psychologists have been testing these theories. Students were taught that if they left their
comfort zone and learned something new and difficult, the neurons in their brains would form
stronger connections, making them more intelligent. These students made faster progress than a
control group. In another study, underperforming school children on a Native American
reservation were exposed to growth mindset techniques for a year. The results were nothing less
than staggering. They came top in regional tests, beating children from much more privileged
backgrounds. These children had previously felt that making an effort was a sign of stupidity, but
they came to see it as the key to learning.
5So, back to our original question. If you answered B, well done – you already have a growth
mindset. If A, don’t worry; everyone is capable of becoming mastery-oriented with a little effort
and self-awareness.
Conversation
READING 24
How to be happy
We asked four psychologists for their advice on how to be happy and, equally importantly, how to
avoid being unhappy.
A
There has been a lot of research which shows the importance of physical health in avoiding
anxiety and depression. The mind and the body are highly interconnected. We can all make fairly
easy changes in our lifestyle to include more exercise, healthier eating, getting enough sleep,
being exposed to sunlight and so on. Research into exercise has found that it has a positive impact
on mood. Physical activity stimulates the release of endorphins in the brain to produce the feel-
good factor. Sleep is vitally important for children and adolescents to help concentration levels. A
good night’s sleep also stops people being bad-tempered and flying off the handle.
B
Having good relationships is a big part of being happy. In one study, most happy people were
found to have strong ties to friends and family and they made sure they spent time with them
regularly. You also need at least one person who you discuss personal feelings with – called ‘self-
disclosure’. Just one person for a heart-to-heart is enough, together with a network of other
relationships. It’s not enough to have lots of friends just to do things with or chat to about music
or football. That deeper connection is all-important. Some people need to learn how to listen
effectively to others in order to develop stronger relationships.
C
I would recommend being completely immersed in a pleasurable activity, sometimes called
experiencing ‘flow’. The activity could be anything from doing judo to painting a picture to playing
chess. Typically, the activities require a certain amount of skill and are challenging but not too
challenging. If you are experiencing flow, you lose track of time and are immersed in the present
moment. You find the activity rewarding for its own sake. People who spend time doing ‘high-
flow’ activities feel more long-term happiness than those doing things like just lounging around or
chatting online.
D
Make like Superman! Discover what your unique strengths and virtues are and then use them for
a purpose which benefits other people or your community. People who play to their strengths
(e.g. curiosity or persistence) or virtues (e.g. justice or humanity) and use them in different ways
and in different situations are happier than those who focus more on their weaknesses. In other
words, focus on the positive, not the negative, and be true to yourself. Studies in different
countries have shown that people who do this report higher levels of well-being.
Conversation
READING 25
Robots: friend or foe?
What is the future of artificial intelligence (AI)? Will it be possible for robots to be autonomous? If
so, when will that happen and will it be a good thing? We asked four experts what they think.
A
I would say that we are quite a long way off developing the computing power or the algorithms
for fully autonomous AI, though I do think it will happen within the next thirty or forty years. We
will probably remain in control of technology and it will help us solve many of the world’s
problems. However, no one really knows what will happen if machines become more intelligent
than humans. They may help us, ignore us or destroy us. I tend to believe AI will have a positive
influence on our future lives, but whether that is true will be partly up to us.
B
I have to admit that the potential consequences of creating something that can match or surpass
human intelligence frighten me. Even now, scientists are teaching computers how to learn on their
own. At some point in the near future, their intelligence may well take off and develop at an ever-
increasing speed. Human beings evolve biologically very slowly and we would be quickly
superseded. In the short term, there is the danger that robots will take over millions of human
jobs, creating a large underclass of unemployed people. This could mean large-scale poverty and
social unrest. In the long term, machines might decide the world would be better without
humans.
C
Personally, I think it’s fascinating to consider how we’ll speed up our evolution as a species by
augmenting our bodies. Imagine if you could implant a computer inside our brain! Soon we’ll be
able to do just that and enhance our mathematical ability, audiovisual perception and our
memory, and this idea is only going to become more and more commonplace. AI is also popping
up in the world around us. Recent developments include self-driving cars and drones carrying life-
saving equipment to people at sea. Granted, there have been a few teething problems: one
woman who was asleep on the floor had her hair eaten by her robot vacuum cleaner and there
have been fatal accidents with self-driving cars. But progress always comes at a cost, and for me
the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.
D
I’m a member of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots. Forget the movie image of a terrifying
Terminator stamping on human skulls and think of what’s happening right now: military machines
like drones, gun turrets and sentry robots are already being used to kill with very little human
input. The next step will be autonomous ‘murderbots’, following orders but ultimately deciding
who to kill on their own. It seems clear to me that this would be completely unethical and
dangerous for humanity. We need to be very cautious indeed about what we ask machines to do.
Conversation
READING 26
Super-recognisers
1
Hundreds of angry people took to the streets in London and at least ten other English cities in
2011. Petrol bombs were thrown, buildings and vehicles destroyed and shops looted. Many of the
rioters were caught on CCTV cameras, but most of the images were poor and the perpetrators had
covered their faces.
2
Gary Collins, an off-duty policeman, was watching the London riots on TV. He immediately
recognised several people and cut his holiday short to help with identification. He ended up
spending six months going through the CCTV film and managed to identify 190 people, many from
their eyes alone. His help was of decisive importance in the investigation. Even with 200,000
hours of footage, facial recognition software managed to identify just one person.
3Collins is no ordinary police officer. Soon after joining the police force, he realised he had a
special gift: after seeing a face briefly, he could remember it in detail years later. He is what is
known as a super-recogniser. This term was first used in 2009 when a study estimated that 1–2
per cent of the population have severe problems recognising faces – called prosopagnosia or
‘face-blindness’ – and another 1–2 per cent are exceptionally good at it. They can recall up to 95
per cent of faces they see, whereas an average person remembers about 20 per cent.
4
London’s Metropolitan Police set up a unit of super-recognisers in 2015 after Collins’ success
proved it could be useful. It is the first of its kind in the world. Detective Chief Inspector Mick
Neville of Scotland Yard, one of its founders, had realised that there was a problem with CCTV
back in 2008. CCTV film was not used efficiently in the courts and did not seem to work as an
effective deterrent. If criminals were captured on film, they knew they were unlikely to be
recognised.
5
Neville’s unit has changed all that. Since it started, the tiny team of six officers has made nearly a
quarter of all identifications in London, mainly by spending hours scanning film and photos. This is
impressive, considering that there are 32,000 police officers in the city. The team’s success relies
on the ubiquity of CCTV; there are thought to be more than four million cameras throughout
Britain.
6
This winning combination of human skill and technology has helped convict criminals from
shoplifters and pickpockets to sex offenders and murderers. Offenders are very seldom convicted
solely on the evidence of a super-recogniser, but it is used to direct investigations. Many
defendants plead guilty when they realise they have been caught red-handed.
7
Super-recognisers could be useful in many jobs such as security and passport control. Find out
about your powers of recognition with the University of Greenwich test:
http://superrecognisers.com/
Conversation
READING 27
Superpowers for a super life?
What do you think life would really be like if humans had certain superpowers?
A
If we boasted the superhuman ability to fly, we would no longer need to worry about plunging
from balconies or tumbling out of trees. It would also have a significant impact on urban
architecture as buildings could soar with no need for lifts, except when transporting heavy loads.
In addition to the potential change in city landscapes, dwellings on the sides of steep cliffs and
hills would become more accessible, which could affect property prices. On the question of
immortality, an obvious drawback would be the strain on the Earth’s resources due to intense
overpopulation. It’s difficult to envisage how food and housing would stand up to such a
challenge.
B
It would be great if we all possessed superhuman speed like Marvel hero Quicksilver, because
we’d be able to stay in bed until the last possible moment without running the risk of being late
for school or work. However, the sceptics among us put forward the idea that moving at such
speed would ignite our shoes and leave a blaze which would disintegrate everything trailing
behind us. This is aside from being blinded by bugs, birds or dirt that happen to get in our path.
One superpower I’m not convinced by is immortality. Human existence would become relentlessly
monotonous and tedious – a real-life Groundhog Day. Furthermore, any once-in-a-lifetime
experiences would completely lose their value. I must admit, I’m intrigued to know to what extent
our perception of time would change. As it is, time appears to pass more quickly as we age, but
what would happen if we lived for eternity?
C
There are obvious pluses to humans being able to fly, such as a huge reduction in traffic
congestion and pollution, not to mention more affordable travel expenses. Needless to say, it
would not be without its complications. With the entire population racing around above the
ground, some degree of air traffic control would be required to keep chaos at bay. However, we
would be at even greater risk if we were able to run at superspeed. Not only would we destroy
everything in our path but direct collisions with objects or other people would undoubtedly be
fatal. Looking on the bright side, perhaps with so many of us being obliterated on impact,
overpopulation from immortality wouldn’t be so likely.
D
In my view, being able to fly would pose a security threat at both national and international level.
Border protection would become a major concern and countries would constantly need to patrol
their airspace. It would be more difficult to protect individual properties too, which could increase
the risk of burglary and personal safety. Air traffic control would be inevitable in towns and cities
to bring some order to the skies. With regard to immortality, there is no question it would deplete
the planet of its resources and the prospect of living in increasingly overcrowded conditions is far
from appealing for most. My superpower of choice would be the ability to move at superhuman
speed. With the necessary face and head protection to keep us intact, tardy arrivals would
become a thing of the past.
Conversation
READING 28
The rise of fake news
In December 2016 Edgar M. Welch drove six hours from his home to Washington DC, where he
opened fire in a pizzeria with an assault rifle. He had previously read an online news story about
the restaurant being the headquarters of a group of child abusers run by Hillary Clinton. He
decided to investigate for himself; fortunately, no one was hurt.
The story about Hillary Clinton is one of the most famous examples of the growing phenomenon
dubbed ‘fake news’. The conspiracy theory about the pizzeria began to appear on websites and
social networks in late October, before the US election. This was quickly denounced by
publications such as The New York Times and The Washington Post. However, many people
thought that these papers were themselves lying for political ends and instead of disappearing,
the fake story snowballed. Tweets from ‘Representative Steven Smith of the 15th District of
Georgia’ claimed that the mainstream media were telling falsehoods. Even though both this name
and district were invented, the message was re-tweeted many times. A YouTube refutation of
the New York Times article got 250,000 hits.
Fake news stories can be hard to control for several reasons. Many people mistrust established
news sources and others just don’t read them, so the debunking of a fake story by a serious
newspaper or TV channel has limited effect. In addition, the internet is very hard to police. When
users are caught misusing one media platform, they simply go to another one or start up a
website themselves.
There are also various reasons why people create fake news. Some have political motives, to
belittle or incriminate their opponents. Other websites, like The Onion, deliberately publish fake
news as satire – humorous comment on society and current affairs. Another group is in it for the
profit: many people clicking on entertaining fake news stories can bring in a lot of advertising
revenue. One man running fake news sites from Los Angeles said he was making up to US$ 30,000
a month in this way. There are also those, like the small-town teenagers in Macedonia who wrote
fake news stories about Donald Trump, who seem to be motivated partly by money and partly by
boredom.
So, what can we do to stop fake news spreading? First, make sure that the websites you read are
legitimate, for example by looking carefully at the domain name and the About Us section. Check
the sources of any quotes or figures given in the story. Remember that amazing stories about
famous people will be covered by the mainstream media if they are true. Only share stories you
know are true and let your friends know, tactfully, when they unknowingly share fake news.
Together we can turn around the post-truth world!
Conversation
READING 29
Two remarkable people
Keeping an eye on the health of our seas

You might be forgiven for thinking that Lewis Pugh is somewhat out of his mind, particularly since
he once swam in water so cold at the North Pole that the cells in his fingers burst. The extreme
swimmer then went on to almost drown while swimming in a glacial lake on Mount Everest
because of the thin air, and more recently has become the first person to swim long distances
across seven seas including the Mediterranean, the Red Sea and the Black Sea. His motive is
crystal clear: to draw the attention of politicians and leaders to the degradation of the
environment, particularly our oceans, before it is too late. Lewis would like to see the number of
marine protected areas in the world increase from 3 per cent to 10 per cent in an attempt to
reverse the damage caused by human activity such as overfishing, polluting and littering. During
his expeditions, Lewis has witnessed this environmental destruction first-hand. He’s swum over
coral reefs bleached by the increase in water temperature, and observed underwater deserts
beneath the shallow waters of the Red Sea, devoid of life and strewn with plastic. Pugh believes
that nature can recover if it is given space to do so, but the clock is ticking. If we don’t start
looking after our seas, we may soon have an unsolvable problem on our hands.
Hula-hooping for human rights
Wasfia Nazreen first came across a hula hoop as a young girl, when she saw a foreign child who
was visiting her native Bangladesh playing with one. Wasfia reluctantly stood by and watched, as
in her country it was believed that girls should not play with hula hoops or ride bikes. Now Wasfia
is one of the few people in the world to have climbed the Seven Summits, including Everest and
Kilimanjaro, and the first to have hula-hooped on each peak. Her reason for doing so: to empower
women and girls in a country which discourages them from doing sport. Wasfia has dedicated her
life to supporting human rights and has witnessed numerous international humanitarian projects
in her homeland to educate and train women and girls, but once too often they have been left
with nothing when such projects have stopped running. Wasfia saw that Bangladesh needed to
stand up for itself and so she brought together two of her passions, mountaineering and human
rights, in order to try and change attitudes towards women in her country. She originally took up
climbing while working on humanitarian campaigns in Tibet and Nepal, as in a coastal, primarily
flat country like Bangladesh most people have never set eyes on a mountain. Her campaign seems
to be doing the trick as fellow countrymen and women are sitting up and taking notice along with
the rest of the world.
Conversation
READING 30
A walk in the forest
Tuesday
Going through the forest is my favourite part of the walk. Benji loves it too. There are rabbits to
chase and old leaves to smell. Benji’s my dog, by the way, and I’m Grace. I live on a farm with my
parents and take Benji for a walk most days after school. Dad doesn’t approve of me walking
through the forest. 'Don’t talk to strangers,' he says. Though the truth is that there’s never anyone
here. Just me, Benji and lots of rabbits and birds.
While Benji runs ahead, I stop and take a photo of a butterfly that’s resting on a flower. A new
Facebook photo? Maybe, but my friends at school already tease me with the nickname 'Nature
Girl', so perhaps not. As I put my phone away, I hear Benji barking along the path. Benji barks to
say hello, he’s scared of cats and wouldn’t hurt anyone, but, of course, other people don’t know
that. Benji’s barking and jumping round a boy. The boy’s about my age. He’s holding some wood in
his arms and looks worried.
'Benji, stop! Come here!' I yell. I reach into my pocket for Benji’s ball. I’m about to apologise to the
boy, but he’s gone, vanished between the trees.
Wednesday
I’m out with Benji again. It’s cold and rainy today and I’ve got a mountain of homework to do, so
we’re going at a brisk pace. No admiring butterflies or photos today. As I’m coming through the
forest, I feel the first drops of rain so I start to run. Suddenly, I’m slipping and falling and, before I
know it, I’m flat on my back. Ouch! That hurt. Then there’s someone there and a voice says,
'Are you all right? That was a bad fall.' I look up and see the boy from yesterday.
'I’m OK, I think,' I say uncertainly. The boy helps me up slowly and then Benji arrives to check on
me. The boy pats Benji on the head.
'I haven’t seen you at school. Do you live near here?' I ask.
'No, I’m from Manchester,' he says. 'Listen! I have to go. Are you OK to walk home? Do you need
help?'
'No, I’m fine. Thanks!' I say, as the boy sets off.
'Hey, I’m Grace. What’s your name?' I call, but he’s already out of sight.
Back home, Mum’s watching the news on TV.

'Hi Grace. Have you heard about this boy, Mark?' she asks.
'No, what boy?' I say.
'A boy from Manchester. He’s run away from home. Look! This is his dad.'
I look at the TV and there’s a man in tears sitting next to a policeman as cameras flash around him.
A man who clearly hasn’t slept for days and is worried out of his mind. Then they show a photo of
the missing boy. I know him. It’s the boy from the forest. He’s Mark. Should I say something?
Should I tell Mum?
'Poor man,' says Mum. 'I just hope they find his son soon.'
No, I can’t say anything. If I tell Mum now, the police will come and find Mark in the forest. What if
he’s run away for a good reason? I have to talk to him first.
'Mum, I’m going to do my homework,' I say, counting the hours till I can go back to the forest.
Conversation
READING 31
A walk in the forest
Thursday
I’ve looked and looked but I can’t find Mark in the forest. If I’m not home soon, my parents will
worry. So I take a chance and shout, 'Mark, Mark, where are you?'
Nothing, no answer, just birds singing.
'Mark,' I yell again, 'I know about you.'
After a moment, I hear his voice behind me.
'What do you know? How do you know my name?'
I turn and there he is. 'Your dad was on TV last night. Half the police in the country are out looking
for you.'
He looks shocked and asks, 'Did you say anything? Have you told them?'
'No,' I say. 'I wanted to talk to you first. What’s happened? Why have you run away?'
He looks at the ground, then up at me. 'I had an argument with my dad. A bad one.'
'What about?' I ask. It’s not my business, but the question just comes out.
Mark gestures to a fallen tree and we sit down. He’s quiet for a while, then he takes a deep
breath.
'My mum died four years ago. It was very tough. Tough for me and for Dad. He was sad for a long
time, but then he met someone new at work. Mel’s her name.'
'Oh, and don’t you like her?' I ask.
'No, not really. She’s not a bad person, but well, we just don’t connect. She wants my dad for
herself and isn’t interested in me. I don’t think she wants me around.'
'But, what about your dad? Have you talked to him?'
'He keeps telling me to make an effort with her, but I just can’t. She’s not my mum. The night I ran
away, he came to my room and said that we’re all moving to London. Mel’s from London, you see.
And then he told me that he and Mel want to get married and have a baby. We both got angry
and I told him I’m not moving to London. I took my tent and a bit of food and left in the middle of
the night.'
'But what will you do? You can’t live in the forest,' I tell him.
'I know, but my school and my friends are in Manchester. My grandad’s there too. I don’t want to
move to London. I’ll lose all my friends.'
'You might make new friends,' I say.
Mark sighs, 'That’s what my dad says too.'
I feel sorry for Mark, but I think of his dad crying on TV and feel sorry for him too.
'What are you going to do?' I ask.
'I don’t know. I need time to think. Grace, can you bring me some food tomorrow? I’m starving.'
Friday
Conversation
READING 31
Mark’s waiting for me in the forest. I’ve only got a couple of apples and some biscuits for him. My
parents were in the kitchen at home so I couldn’t bring much. I’ve also got some news.
'Mark, Mum says the police came to the farm this morning. They’re going to search the forest
tomorrow.'
Mark puts his head in his hands, 'I didn’t want this. My dad on TV and the police and everything. I
don’t know what to do.'
'I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you live with your grandad in Manchester? Let your dad and Mel
move to London and visit them in the holidays.'
Mark doesn’t answer for a while, then he nods his head and smiles.
'Can I use your phone?' he asks. 'I need to call my dad.'
Conversation
READING 32
Amazing adventurers
Amazing adventurers!
Have you ever dreamt of climbing Mount Everest or walking to the South Pole? If so, you’re not
alone. Every year, thousands of people try to climb the world’s highest mountains or walk across
continents. Unlike the explorers of the past who used maps and compasses, today’s adventurers
travel with modern technology like GPS and satellite phones. Many adventurers are nature lovers
who use their travels to help raise awareness about a range of environmental issues, while others
are keen to help people in need and raise money for charities. Let’s take a look at some of the 21st
century’s greatest adventurers.
Amazon adventurer
Ed Stafford from the UK is the first person to walk the length of the Amazon River. He started by a
small stream in the Andes mountains of Peru and arrived at the river’s mouth in Brazil, two years
and four months later, having walked 6,000 kilometres.
The Amazon rainforest is home to poisonous snakes, crocodiles and jaguars, so Ed was in constant
danger. Luckily, he survived with nothing worse than a few thousand mosquito and ant bites. On
his trip, Ed had to find food to eat every day. A lot of the time, the fruit, nuts and fish he ate were
hard to find and he often felt weak and exhausted.
Ed’s walk would have been impossible without technology. He used a radio to ask the people of
the rainforest for food and permission to cross their land. Many of them came to meet him and
helped guide him through the most difficult terrain. As he walked Ed wrote a blog, recording his
day-to-day experiences. He used the media interest in his trip to protest about the destruction of
the rainforest and raise money for environmental and children’s charities in Brazil and Peru.
A mountain climber
Over 4,000 climbers, aged from thirteen to eighty have been to the top of Everest. Though
climbing high mountains in freezing conditions and violent storms is still extremely dangerous, the
world’s best climbers now look for new challenges.
Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner from Austria fell in love with mountain climbing as a teenager. When she
left school, she worked as a nurse, but kept climbing in her free time. Having climbed Everest, she
decided to climb all fourteen of the world’s 8,000 metre peaks.To increase the challenge, Gerlinde
climbs without using oxygen tanks. This is risky as low oxygen levels at the top of high mountains
can affect brain and body functioning. Gerlinde uses her fame as a climber to support a charity for
poor children and orphans in Nepal.
Hungry for adventure
Not content with one amazing trip, some of today’s adventurers go from challenge to challenge.
Meagan McGrath from Canada has climbed the highest mountain on each continent, ridden a bike
across Canada and run a long-distance race in the Sahara Desert in 45ºC heat. But perhaps her
most remarkable journey was a skiing trip to the South Pole. On the first day, she fell into a glacier
and had to be rescued. Many of us would have given up at that point, but Meagan decided to
carry on. She reached the South Pole forty days later, having pulled a sledge with a tent and all her
food behind her through freezing conditions and ice storms.
Conversation
READING 32
Erik Weihenmayer from the United States is another multi-adventurer. He’s ridden a bike through
the deserts of Morocco, kayaked through the Grand Canyon and climbed Everest. Amazingly, Erik
has been blind since the age of 13. Apart from his travels, he tries to encourage people with
disabilities to live active lives and takes groups of young blind people on climbing expeditions.
Where next?
Despite new technologies, crossing continents and climbing mountains still has many risks.
Preparation and fitness training are absolutely essential, but if you have a sense of adventure,
there are endless possibilities and still hundreds of unclimbed peaks in the Andes and Himalayas.
Conversation
READING 33
Animals in the city
Small animals like birds, squirrels, mice and insects are a common sight in many cities and towns.
But in recent years, the world's press has been full of reports of wild animals coming into cities in
bigger and bigger numbers. There have been bears in Vancouver parks, leopards on the streets of
Mumbai and wild pigs in gardens in Berlin. What happens when bigger animals come into our
cities? Are they welcome or are they considered a danger or a pest?
Often wild animals come into cities to look for food. In Cape Town, South Africa, baboons have
started coming into residential areas on the edge of the city to feed. They open rubbish bins and
eat fruit from gardens and orchards. Some brave baboons have even come into people's houses
and taken food from kitchen cupboards and fridges! Baboons can be aggressive and have attacked
a lot of pet animals, so understandably, many city residents don't welcome their presence. The
city can be a dangerous place for baboons too. Some have been injured or killed in car accidents
and others have been electrocuted as they played with electric cables. Baboons are an
endangered species and to save them and minimise conflicts between humans and baboons, the
city council has employed a team of Baboon Monitors. The monitors' job is to chase baboons out
of urban areas or catch them and release them in the countryside. This policy has had some
success, though it is proving hard to stop baboons from coming back to the city once they see it as
a source of easy food.
In Berlin in Germany, groups of wild pigs often come into the suburbs to look for food. They dig up
parks and gardens looking for roots, fungi, insects and other small animals to eat. Apart from
damage to parks and gardens, the pigs have also caused several traffic accidents as they are slow
to move off roads when cars are approaching. In spite of this, some city residents welcome the
pigs and have been giving them food. They argue that pigs have been coming into the city for
centuries and that people should learn to live with them. This attitude was not shared by the city
council. Their first reaction was to employ a group of hunters to shoot young pigs. Many city
residents complained that this was unnecessarily cruel and there were heated arguments
between hunters and animal lovers. In response to protests, the city council decided to take more
peaceful action against pigs. Instead of shooting them, they have put up fences and made it illegal
to feed the pigs. Time will tell if this strategy works, though it may be a losing battle as warmer
winters mean that pig numbers are greater than in the past.
One of the most interesting cases of wild animals living in a city are the wild dogs of Moscow. In
Moscow, there are approximately 35,000 wild dogs living on the streets. Some of the dogs were
born wild, while others are pets that have been abandoned by their owners. Some dogs live alone
and others live in packs. In 2010, scientists studied the dogs and found that the dogs have
adapted remarkably successfully to urban life. They have learned that it is safer to cross the street
with people and some dogs appear to understand traffic lights.
Conversation
READING 33
Dogs that live in packs have learnt that humans are more likely to give food to smaller, cuter dogs
so those dogs are sent to beg for food for the whole pack. Some dogs have even learnt to use the
city's metro system to get from one part of their territory to another! Scientists are not sure how
the dogs know when to get off the train. One idea is that they use their excellent sense of smell
and have learnt to recognise the scents of their favourite destinations. Another possibility is that
they have learnt to recognise the names of stations they hear in announcements. Either way,
metro passengers have now got so used to the sight of dogs on the trains that they travel largely
unnoticed by locals. Many city residents have grown fond of the dogs. Some people feed them
and others have built shelters to help the dogs survive the brutally cold Moscow winters.
Some animals, like the dogs in Moscow, have adapted very well to city life. For others, the city is a
dangerous place and it is difficult for animals to live in harmony with humans. It would be a shame
to hurt or kill animals when they come into cities to look for food. Hopefully, city councils,
conservationists and city residents can work together and find imaginative ways to keep bigger
animals out of cities without harming them.

Conversation
READING 34
Bully
Kay got another message as she was leaving for school.
unknown number: You’re so ugly.
She put her phone back in her pocket and set off for the bus stop. There were more messages
every day now and it was really getting her down. She didn’t know who it was or why they were
picking on her. It might be more than one person. They kept changing names. The phone beeped
again.
candybear76: freak!
She’d always got on well with everyone and she couldn’t think why anyone would do this to her.
Now her friends were avoiding her. Becky was the only one who’d stayed by her. They’d been
friends since they were six. The phone beeped again. I’m not going to look, she thought. But what
if it was Mum? She looked. It was a comment on her Facebook profile picture.
princesspusheen: Stop taking photos of yourself. No one wants to look at you. Loser!
Her heart was pounding now. She turned her phone off. She’d tried to delete the posts and block
the user but they kept coming back with a different name. Becky thought it must be a hacker. Kay
had sent messages to the sites telling them what was happening but they’d done nothing yet.
Becky was waiting for her at the bus stop. 'Hi, Kay, are you all right? You look terrible!' 'No, I’ve
been getting those stupid messages all morning. I’ve got to do something, Becky. I’m starting to go
mad. Do you think I should go to the police?' 'Well, you could try,' said Becky. 'But I heard they
won’t do anything. And besides, he’s probably using anon.com. Hackers use that site to hide their
identity so the police will never be able to find them. Anyway, I wanted to tell you, I think I might
know who it is ...' Just then the bus came and they got on.
There were lots of kids from school on the bus. Kay felt they were all looking at her. Julie McGann
was whispering something to her friend. They both started laughing. Kay and Becky sat down.
'Who is it?' asked Kay. 'Shh! He’s sitting at the back. Don’t look!' Kay looked around. Ollie Jones
was sitting on the back seat. He was looking at his phone. 'But why?' asked Kay. 'Well, you did just
finish with him, didn’t you?' said Becky. 'What? We weren’t even going out,' said Kay. 'And I don’t
even like him.' 'Yeah, well I heard he really liked you.'
That day at school was terrible. When she didn’t have classes with Becky no one would sit next to
her and everyone kept looking at her then looking away. She should have left her phone switched
off but she didn’t. She couldn’t stop herself from looking at the messages.
anookins2014: What happened to your face? This is the ugliest pic I’ve ever seen.
pixiestar: You make me sick.
bellatricks17: Everyone hates you!
By lunchtime Kay couldn’t take any more. She hid in the art room. She couldn’t stop crying. Mrs
Gibson her music teacher found her there at the end of lunch break and Kay told her everything.
She offered to go to the police with Kay. She said they were getting better at finding cyberbullies
now and the laws were changing too. The bell rang. It was time for class.

Conversation
READING 34
Kay had IT next. Her class was already in the computer room, but the teacher wasn’t there yet.
She wanted to talk to Becky but she was in the top group for computers. Everyone went quiet
when she came in. There was only one computer left. She sat down at it and moved the mouse.
The screen came to life. She just sat there staring at the images on the screen. It was a website
and it was called hatekay.com. There were photos of Kay and her family, but they’d all been
changed to make them look ugly or disgusting. There was one of Kay that looked like a zombie.
There was even one of her pet dog. It looked like it was dead. Her address, phone number and
emails were there for everyone to see and there was a message at the top of the page:
'Like this page if you hate Kay Granger.'
There were more than 100 likes. Her phone beeped.
unknown number: I’m watching you.
Kay didn’t look around. She just ran from the room and didn’t stop running until she got home.
She didn’t go back to school that week. She kept her phone switched off and she couldn’t even
look at her computer. Becky called a few times but Kay didn’t want to see anyone. On Monday
Mum told her that Mrs Gibson had contacted the police and they thought they’d found the bully.
Kay decided to go and tell Becky.
Becky was in her bedroom doing homework on her computer. She looked surprised to see Kay.
They talked for a while, but Kay got the feeling Becky didn’t want her there. Then there was a
knock at the door. It was Becky’s mum. She looked very worried. 'Becky, can you come downstairs
now?' Kay started to get up too. 'Could you wait here, please, Kay?' Becky’s mum smiled nervously
at Kay. What was going on?
Kay waited, but ten minutes later Becky hadn’t come back. Then her computer started beeping.
She was getting messages. Kay couldn’t help herself. She tapped a key and the screen came to life.
She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. There were lots of photos of Ollie Jones. Some of them
had kisses all around them. There was one of Becky and Ollie. It looked like a selfie. There was a
message blinking at the bottom of the screen. Kay clicked on it and a webpage opened up. It
was anon.com. It was Becky’s home page. Just then the door opened. It was Becky’s mum. She’d
been crying. There was someone standing behind her. 'Kay, this policewoman would like to talk to
you.'

Conversation
READING 35
Cheat!
Mo was waiting in the corridor with her class on Friday morning. She felt sick and her knees were
shaking. She always felt sick during exam week. She had two more exams that day and physics was
first. She really hated physics. But after today there were no more exams until next year! Terry
glanced back at her from the front of the queue and then looked away quickly. She didn’t have a
problem with physics. She didn’t have a problem with anything ... Little Miss Perfect!
“Hi, Mo, are you looking forward to your favourite exam?” said Nima, laughing, as she joined the
end of the queue, late again as usual. She was really bad at physics too, but she didn’t care. Terry
was looking back at her again. “So what’s wrong with her?” Nima had noticed Terry looking back
at them. “I thought you were friends.” “Yeah, so did I,” said Mo, “but she’s been treating me like I
don’t exist for a fortnight now. She’d promised to help me revise for the physics exam too, and
then just ignored all my calls and texts. And when I rang her house, her mum just told me she was
busy and hung up.” Nima was trying to look sympathetic. “You shouldn’t forget who your friends
are!” said Mo bitterly. “Are you listening, Maureen Quinn?” Mr Reed had been talking to the class
and the other students were already going into the exam room. Mo gave Nima a worried look and
followed them.
She had been staring at question number five for at least ten minutes, hoping she’d remember
what the difference between a quark and an electron was, when she looked up. Terry was sitting a
few rows in front of her to the right and Mo couldn’t believe her eyes! She had her phone on her
left knee and she was reading from it. Mo didn’t know what to think. Is that how Terry always got
good grades? It was even harder to concentrate on the exam after that. She just felt really angry
at Terry. What should she do? She almost put her hand up to tell the teacher, but then what
would everyone else think of her? It wasn’t fair! Mo never cheated and she was often in trouble
for failing exams, while Little Miss Perfect had been cheating all this time. Terry had already put
her phone away when Mo looked up again. She looked back over her shoulder at Mo and smiled
sadly. “OK, stop writing and put your pens down.” Mr Reed was starting to collect the exam
papers. Oh no, Mo hadn’t even answered two of the questions. She was going to fail again!
There was an hour for lunch before the next exam, which was history. That was Mo’s best subject
but it didn’t help her feel any better at that moment. She was furious with Terry. She wanted to
talk to her but she’d left as soon as the exam had finished and now Mo couldn’t find her. She
wasn’t in the dining hall or the library. She would have talked to Nima but she went home for
lunch and Mo hadn’t been able to talk to her before she left. Mo was sitting in the library with her
book open, trying to revise. She didn’t know what to do. Should she tell a teacher? Everyone
would hate her if they knew she’d done that. But then she was so angry with Terry. Why should
she get such good grades if she was cheating all the time? “We were supposed to be friends!”
thought Mo. Just then, Mr Reed walked past her table on his way out. “Mr Reed!” called Mo
before she could stop herself.

Conversation
READING 35
Mo made sure she was sitting behind Terry again in the history exam. They were half way through,
but Terry hadn’t taken her phone out yet. Maybe she didn’t need to cheat at history. Mo felt bad.
She wished she hadn’t told Mr Reed but it was too late now. He had said he couldn’t do anything
if he didn’t actually see a student cheating and so he’d asked Mo to look up and nod if she saw
that Terry had her phone out. Mo had no problem with the exam this time. She was good at
history. She was already on the last question, when she noticed a movement. She looked up to
see Terry with her phone under the table. Before she’d had a chance to think, Mo looked up and
nodded to Mr Reed. Terry was so busy with her phone, she didn’t even hear him as he walked
silently up the row of tables. He didn’t say a word as Terry looked up from her phone with a
frightened expression. He just took her exam paper, tore it in half and pointed to the door, to tell
Terry to leave the room. Terry started crying as she walked to the door. Everyone was staring at
her and now Mo felt terrible. What had she done?
Mo was walking towards the school gate when she heard footsteps behind her. It was Terry. “Mo,
wait!” she called as she caught up with her. “I wanted to talk to you.” Mo could see that Terry had
been crying, her face was pale and her eyes were red. Mo couldn’t say anything. “Listen, I’m really
sorry I’ve been avoiding you lately but it’s been the worst two weeks of my life. My dad had a
heart attack and he’s been in hospital. I haven’t felt like talking to anyone about it. He had an
operation today and I was really worried. I know it was stupid, but I was trying to text my mum to
see how the operation was going, then Mr Reed caught me. He thought I was cheating. He
believes me now, but I have to take the exam again. I wish I’d told you what’s been happening. I
know I shouldn’t forget who my friends are. Please, will you forgive me?”

Conversation
READING 36
Dreams
Can you remember a time when you woke up from a fantastic, scary or weird dream? Maybe you
had to turn on the light and calm down. Maybe you tried to hold on to it because the dream was
so interesting you wanted to relive it. Probably, in either case, the details were mostly forgotten
before breakfast. But are dreams just dreams or are they trying to tell you something?
Do dreams predict the future?
Throughout history and across cultures, dreams have been associated with prophecy. People
thought dreams were messages from the gods, sent to give us knowledge or insight. Even today,
many people can recall a time they dreamed about an event, place or person and then, later, the
dream came true in real life. But if most people have four to six dreams every night after the age
of ten, that’s as many as 2,000 dreams per year. So, by the time they reach 80 years old the
average person might have had 140,000 dreams. Even if we forget 95–99 per cent of our dreams,
that’s still a few thousand remembered dreams across a lifetime.
It’s not too difficult to believe that, by coincidence, a dream event is followed by a real-life event
that’s similar to it, especially if the subject of the dream is something that happens often in
everyday life. Dreams of a phone call from an old friend or the death of someone close, for
example, are more likely to be the result of coincidence than prophecy. And, of course, we
probably choose to forget all the times we dream about such events but they don’t happen.
Are dreams just recycled thoughts?
Around the 18th and 19th centuries two main ideas about dreams became popular. One was the
idea that the things we see in our dreams represent things hidden from our conscious mind. Freud
believed that if we understand what dreams are telling us, we can understand our hidden feelings
and the problems they cause. However, the other theory was the opposite. It said that dreams are
just a collection of random activity in the brain while it’s organising memories and events from the
day. When we wake up, we try to make sense of these random images and feelings and put them
into some sort of story.
Are dreams messages from our brains?
But perhaps the truth about dreams lies somewhere in the middle of these two ideas. Maybe
dreams are the result of our mind organising the thoughts we have during the day, but they
appear in dreams with symbolic meaning. When we’re awake, our thoughts mostly appear in our
minds as words, like conversations we have with ourselves. But when we’re asleep, the part of our
brain that controls language becomes less active while the part that controls emotions becomes
more active. So, the theory says, we experience our thoughts as emotions and symbols instead of
words with clear meanings.
What this means is that if you can interpret the symbols in your dreams, you have a window into
things in your subconscious. Your dreams might show you all kinds of insights into things that you
didn’t realise you were thinking about. Common dreams like being able to fly or falling, your teeth
falling out or having no clothes on in a public place probably mean something similar in most
people. But the key to understanding exactly what they mean to you is to connect them to the
events and feelings in your daily life.

Conversation
READING 36
How can you understand the messages?
One way to help you do this is to keep a dream diary. First thing in the morning, and any time you
wake up during the night, write down whatever you can remember about your dreams. It’s
important to use pen and paper, not your phone or computer as the light might wake you up and
speed the disappearance of your dreams. You’ll get the most details if you’ve woken in the middle
of a dream. You have to be quick as the memories will be gone in seconds, so don’t even wait until
your eyes are fully open. Some days your writing will be almost illegible, others it will be
nonsense. Sometimes, you probably won’t even remember waking up and your notes can seem
like some strange letter someone left for you during the night. Over the period of a week you’ll be
surprised how much you’ve written down.
Now you can start connecting your dreams to the events and feelings in your daily life. Writing
them down will mean you start to remember more details about the dream, so think about the
people and place where the dream happened as they might add to the meaning too. How were
you feeling in the dream when the events happened? A dream about having no clothes on in
public might mean you are anxious about something you have to do, or not feeling confident in a
specific situation or with certain people.
Can you control your dreams?
Some people think writing your dreams down can open your mind to lucid dreaming. Lucid
dreams are dreams where you’re not only aware you’re dreaming but you can make decisions to
affect the events of your dreams. So, maybe you can turn a nightmare into a safe-feeling dream,
or you can direct the plot of your dream like a film director. Then, instead of just working out the
meaning of your dreams, you’ll be creating them, though you might want to continue having some
dreams that allow your subconscious to tell you what’s on your mind!

Conversation
READING 37
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls
We all know how fairy tales go. A beautiful girl waits for a prince to come and rescue her and then
she marries him, becomes a princess and lives happily ever after. But what if the girl was clever,
creative, brave or strong instead of beautiful? What if she wanted to be an astronaut, a politician,
a pirate or a spy instead of a princess? And what if she didn’t need a prince to make it happen?
That’s the idea behind the book Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, a book of fairy tales with a
difference: all the stories are true.
The book tells the stories of one hundred inspiring women from 1500 BC in the time of Ancient
Egypt to the modern day. And each one comes with original art by sixty different female artists.
The magic of the book lies in the way it is written. It’s not just boring biographies but is told in the
style of fairy tales. Some of the stories begin ‘Once upon a time’ just like a traditional fairy tale.
They paint a picture of the life, dreams and achievements of each of the women and girls like in
this story about sailor Jessica Watson. It begins ‘Once upon a time, there was a girl called Jessica
who was afraid of water.’ We learn how Jessica sailed solo around the world at age 16. ‘All on her
own, Jessica sailed on. She fought against waves as tall as buildings in New York, she woke up to
the most beautiful sunrises, spotted blue whales, and watched shooting stars above her boat.’
You probably haven’t heard of most of the women but, by the time you finish reading, you’ll be
wondering why. In some cases, it’s because people tried to erase them from history. Like
Hatshepsut, one of the most successful pharaohs of Egypt who brought peace and wealth to Egypt
and ruled for a long time – about 25 years. But after her death, some of her statues and official
records were removed by men who came after her. In other cases, it’s because a man’s name
became more famous. For example, Charles Babbage is called the ‘father of computers’ but it was
a woman – and friend of his – Ada Lovelace who wrote the first computer program.
For many of the others, there is no obvious explanation for why we haven’t learned about these
women before. Society has often chosen to reward and celebrate the achievements of men more
than women. If you close your eyes and imagine an inventor, an orchestra conductor and a
warrior, the picture that comes into your mind is probably of men. If you read the book, you can
start to replace those images with women of all colours and ages. Women who fought for their
rights, women who broke rules, women who refused to fit into the roles society gave them.
You’ll learn about a girl who only learned to read and write at age fourteen but became the first
female president of her country. You’ll read about a poet who published her first book at age 75, a
ballet dancer who danced with her leg broken in six places and a woman from Kenya who planted
40 million trees with her friends.
If there’s any criticism of the book, it’s that its title makes it seem like a book for girls. It’s a great
idea to celebrate and inspire young girls to show them how powerful they can be, but the stories
are just as interesting for boys to read. And it’s equally important that boys imagine women in the
roles of scientist, Formula One race car driver and president.

Conversation
READING 37
Not all the women included are ‘good girls’. Margaret Thatcher, for example, Britain’s first female
prime minister, was a very controversial, often hated, leader. The book gives one example of why
people liked her and one example of why people didn’t. But Margaret Thatcher did a lot of
controversial things and the book doesn’t make it clear that, for many people, she wasn’t a hero.
Another woman, Jingū, Empress of Japan in about AD 169, decided to invade Korea because of a
dream and the writers don’t make any comment about this either. Pirates too might seem unusual
role models. They are, after all, violent criminals. Although it’s good to see girls in a variety of
roles, including politicians, pirates and invaders, it would be interesting to have a moral
judgement sometimes. If these characters had a bad ending to their story or got what they
deserved, it would show that just because they’re female, it doesn’t mean they're always good
people.
There are now two Rebel Girls books, after the first book sold a million copies in 36 different
languages. The authors, Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo, raised the money to write and print
the first book from crowdfunding on Kickstarter in 2016. With the help of 13,454 people from 75
countries, they raised $1 million – the most money ever raised for an original book on Kickstarter.
Readers wanted more, so, in 2017, the authors raised another $866,000 to produce a second book
with another hundred women’s stories.
In theory, Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls is the perfect book to sit on the coffee table for you to
read a bit here and a bit there. But if you’re the kind of person who watches a whole series of a TV
show in one weekend, you’ll probably do the same thing with this book.

Conversation
READING 38
Graffiti and street art
A long history
People have been painting and writing on walls throughout history. In prehistoric times, people in
Africa and Europe used to paint pictures of animals and people in caves. Graffiti has been found
on buildings at ancient sites in Greece, Italy, Syria and Iraq. In the Roman town of Pompeii,
archaeologists have found numerous examples of graffiti written in Latin. These include religious,
political and romantic messages, and even some magic spells!
Modern times
In the late twentieth century, graffiti and street art became an international phenomenon. In the
1970s, young people in New York used pens to write their names, or 'tags', on walls around the
city. One of the first 'taggers' was Demetrius, a teenager from a Greek family. Demetrius's tag was
TAKI 183. TAKI was his nickname and 183 was the number of the street he lived on – 183rd Street.
At first, he wrote his tag on walls in his neighbourhood. Then he started tagging in subway stations
on the way to and from school. When the subway train stopped at a station, he would jump off,
write his tag on the wall and then jump back on before the doors closed. Other teenagers noticed
Demetrius's tag and started to write their own. Soon, New York's walls, buses and subway trains
were covered with tags: Barbara 62, Joe 182 ...
Later on, some teenagers started writing tags with aerosol paints. Their tags were bigger, more
colourful and took more time and imagination than the simple, pen-written tags. The trend
spread and from the 1970s, aerosol paint graffiti became a common sight on trains, buses and
walls in cities around the world. In the 1990s, graffiti continued but there was also an explosion in
street art around the world. Some artists wanted to make political points and produced art that
tried to make people think about war, inequality and discrimination. Other street artists were
more concerned with producing beautiful, attractive work. In South America, many street artists
went to work in poor areas adding colour, life and beauty to grey, city walls.
Art or vandalism?
Is graffiti art or vandalism? This depends on your point of view, but in many countries, writing or
painting on public or private property is considered vandalism. Many street artists have been
stopped by the police and some have had to pay fines.
Many city councils complain about the high cost of cleaning graffiti off buildings, buses and trains.
In some areas, councils have tried to encourage artists not to paint randomly on walls by allowing
them to work in designated areas. Taiwan is one such place and there are 'graffiti zones' where
artists are free to paint and write on walls. In São Paulo in Brazil, the city council has even allowed
some graffiti artists to paint on the city's subway trains.

Conversation
READING 38
And what does the art world think of graffiti and street art? Recently, there has been a growing
recognition of its value as an art form. There have been major exhibitions of street art in galleries
in Paris, London and Los Angeles. The American artist Elura Emerald organised a street art
exhibition at a New York gallery in 2008. She defended street artists, saying 'artists who paint on
the street are merely expressing themselves, not hurting anyone. They should be appreciated and
celebrated'.
Who are the artists?
Most street artists are anonymous, but others have become globally famous. Here are three stars
of the street art world:
Os Gêmeos are identical twin brothers from São Paulo. They paint everything from tags to huge,
colourful pictures of people on the sides of buildings. Their work is often so big that they need
cranes to help them work. In 2007, they covered the whole of a castle in Scotland with paint.
Blek le Rat started out painting rats on the walls of his home city, Paris. Nowadays, he tries to
make people think about different social issues and problems. He paints pictures of homeless
people in big cities to encourage residents to think about the problem of homelessness.
Faith47 is from Cape Town in South Africa. She paints big, colourful pictures of people and animals
and likes to explore different locations. Her work is found on pavements, in empty factories and
on abandoned cars. She likes the fact that most street art is temporary and will soon be removed
by weather or cleaners from the city council. For her, this reflects how life is full of change with its
cycle of endings and new beginnings.
Street art and the global village
It is impossible to know how street art will develop in the future but certain trends are emerging.
While most street artists are young people who paint in their city or neighbourhood, more and
more street artists are travelling and working around the globe. Other artists are using the
internet to talk to each other and share photos of their work. Also, the art world is giving more
recognition to street art as a legitimate art form. Although we don't know what will happen to
street art in the future, we can be sure that it is here to stay!

Conversation
READING 39
Guess what?
22/09/2015 22:21
… I’m afraid of the letter 'W'.
… Yes, I stutter. So what? Get over it!
01/03/2016 19:35
… A new boy started in our year yesterday. His name’s Luke Williams. He’s Welsh. I can’t stop
thinking about him.
07/04/2016 22:51
It’s going to take me ages to write about today. What a day! And I’m probably not going to post
some of this anyway, but here goes …
It started really badly. The phone was ringing when I came down for breakfast and Dad was in the
shower. I was feeling really good but nervous – a big day for me!!! And so, yes, I answered it
without thinking. Bad idea! It was Luke Williams. My first thought was, 'How has he got my
number?'
OK, when he came up to me yesterday I just panicked. He probably only wanted to ask me what I
was doing in the science fair but I couldn’t speak, of course. He just makes me so nervous. So I just
walked away. He must have thought I was a complete idiot. I just want to die when I remember it.
So I’m thinking, 'Why is he ringing me now?' And he just keeps saying, 'Hello … hello? Is that Tom?'
Did I tell you 'H' is my enemy too? So, trying to say hello was my second bad idea. Of course my
throat just closed up completely and all that came out was that choking sound I talked about in
last week’s blog. I really did want to die. And then I hear someone laughing in the background. It
sounded like Ryan Colby. So I just hung up. OK, so they were ringing up to laugh at me. Nice!
08/11/2015 20:22
Some people are just evil. It’s like they’re not happy unless they’re making someone else’s life
miserable. Ryan Colby has decided I’m his victim this year. He knows about me and the letter 'W'.
22/03/2016 21:30
There are good days and bad days. This blog is really helping, even if I don’t post everything I
write. Music really helps too! Today was a good day. I had a long talk with Dad. The speech
therapist told him about a new drug that can stop you stuttering. But guess what? I like my
stutter! So does Dad. He always used to say it was my best superpower. I didn’t know what he
meant but he told me today. He thinks it’s made me a much better person because I think very
carefully before I speak and I’m more aware of what other people are feeling. I don’t think he
knows I’m just trying to find words without 'W' or 'H' in them. We decided I don’t need drugs.
07/04/2016 22:51
So, as I said, today was a really big day for me. The last time I spoke in class was three years ago.
That didn’t exactly go well. I got stuck on a 'W' and did my choking thing. Everyone, and I mean
everyone, laughed. I haven’t spoken in class since.
But it’s been going really well lately. I’ve got a really good speech therapist and the good thing is
I’m allowed to use my laptop in class all the time. The first thing I did was get an app that turns
text into speech which is really cool! I can even make it sound like Stephen Hawking. Even the
teachers liked that!

Conversation
READING 39
And guess what? This is really big news! When I have music on my headphones in the background
I can speak without stuttering!!! That’s why I agreed to talk at the science fair today.
So I got to school early this morning to practise with my group. Our project is about using bacteria
to break down plastic. Well, I think it’s really interesting. Also, the good thing is we finished school
at lunchtime today!
Luke Williams was waiting by the entrance when I got there. He smiled at me. I froze. And just
then Ryan Colby came up and said, 'Hey, Tom, guess what?' And without thinking I said, 'What?'
Or rather, I didn’t say, 'What?' I got stuck on the 'W' and you can guess what happened then. So
Ryan Colby starts laughing and there are all his friends laughing too. So yes, I turned and ran. Very
brave!
I wasn’t going to take part in the presentation but then I got a text from Dad wishing me luck and
telling me to use my superpowers. And I thought OK, I’m not going to let idiots like Ryan Colby
make me feel bad any more.
Unfortunately, when it was my turn to speak I looked up and saw Luke Williams in the front row.
He looked away when he saw me. I was so nervous that I chose the wrong music on my MP3
player. So instead of relaxing classical music I was listening to my hip-hop collection. The problem
is that when I have dance music on the headphones I can’t stop myself talking in the same rhythm
as the music. So it just sounds like I’m rapping. I can’t help it!
Most of the people in school had never heard me speak before. I don’t know what they were
expecting but I’m sure it wasn’t a rap about bacteria that eat plastic. I could see they were
laughing but I didn’t care. Then when I finished they all stood up and cheered.
After we’d finished it seemed like suddenly everyone wanted to know me. Most people don’t
know about my trick with the music so they just thought I was a brilliant rapper, ha ha! I checked
my phone at lunchtime and I’ve got 187 new friend requests!!! I didn’t see Ryan Colby or Luke
after the science fair.
OK, I’m definitely not going to post this next bit. Luke came here this afternoon. I can’t believe it!
I’d got it wrong. He wasn’t laughing at me this morning. He was ringing to wish me luck in the
science fair. And that wasn’t Ryan Colby laughing on the phone, it was Luke’s dog barking! We
thought that was really funny! He thinks Ryan Colby is vile and no, they’re not even friends. They
had a fight after Ryan laughed at me today and they were both in trouble with the headteacher.
We talked for three hours. And … he told me he really likes me!!! I love his Welsh accent. I don’t
want him to stop talking. Anyway, Dad asked him to stay for dinner. They got on really well and
they talked about all sorts of things. He’s really interesting. I could tell Dad thinks he’s really
intelligent. And when I said goodbye to him at the door he turned around and said, 'Guess what?'
And I said, 'What?'

Conversation
READING 40
Happiness
Do you know what makes you happy or do you just think you know? At first glance, these two
questions look like the same thing. If you think something makes you happy, then it must make
you happy. After all, you know yourself, don’t you?
Brainstorm a list of all the things that make you happy. Just write whatever comes into your mind
without thinking about it too much. Now look at that list and tick all the ones that are fun or
enjoyable. Probably most of them, right? So, if you could spend most of your time doing all this
fun stuff, you’d be really happy, surely?
Well, maybe not. For most people, only doing things for fun isn’t enough for long-term happiness.
That’s because, according to author of Happiness by Design Paul Dolan, your happiness depends
on a ‘pleasure–purpose balance’. If most of the things on your list of what makes you happy fall
under the category of ‘pleasure,’ then that might be what you think makes you happy. But what
will actually make you happy is balancing them out with activities that give your life purpose.
We tend to know straight away if something is enjoyable, but knowing what brings meaning and
value requires more thought. For example, most people will say that air pilots have jobs with clear
purpose. They are responsible for hundreds of people and fly all over the world. But in reality,
their day-to-day work might involve spending time in boring hotels or stuck in airports waiting for
flights, and routine actions they’ve performed hundreds of times. Those activities might not feel
very meaningful – and they’re probably not fun either. Just like everyone else, the pilot needs
balance in their work and life to be happy.
There are different ways we can find purpose in things. Some activities might be motivating
because they work towards the ‘greater good’ of society or the world around us. Or you might feel
that what you do contributes to a team you’re working in. Or you might be motivated by a sense
of making measurable progress. For a doctor, that could be the greater good of helping people
avoid operations or serious illnesses. Or it could be that their work helps their hospital run
smoothly so that patients wait for less time. If they have a lot of boring reports to write, they can
set goals for how many they can write in one afternoon.
For those still in education, you can think of your ‘job’ as studying and passing exams. You’ve
probably noticed how easy it is to do well in subjects you enjoy. But with subjects you don’t like,
grades can start to fall and it’s much harder to stay motivated. You can’t avoid them, so you need
to find a sense of purpose in those subjects. You probably can’t find much in the way of ‘greater
good’ in getting a good grade on that boring homework your teacher set. Realistically, society
won’t benefit from you getting an A in a subject you hate. But can you find a way to be part of a
study team? Maybe you could find others who struggle with that subject and you all take
responsibility for working extra hard on one aspect of it until you’re good at that one part. Then
you can teach it to the others in the group, so your purpose becomes about helping the team. This
also increases happiness, because spending time with people you like increases pleasure. Or you
can find purpose in progress, for example dividing a task into smaller tasks and taking a reward or
a break as you complete each one.

Conversation
READING 40
Go back to your list of things that make you happy. How many of them are activities that add to
your sense of purpose? Can you add to the list now you know that purpose is important for
happiness?
Now you have your list, you need to find balance. But balance doesn’t mean you have to make
pleasure–purpose a 50/50 split. It means achieving the ratio that works for you, so that might be
60/40 or 70/30, and, of course, some activities might bring both pleasure and purpose. Paul
Dolan’s book talks about the idea of ‘deciding, designing, doing’. First decide what things in life
bring you pleasure and/or purpose – which is what your two lists are for. Then, don’t just think
about doing these activities, design your life so you do as many of them as possible.
It’s easy to make excuses not to do things because they’re not convenient. For example, you might
love riding a bike but never have time to do it. But it’s up to you to build a routine where you can
use it to go to school or the library or the shops. If you live too far from those things, take your
bike on the bus or train and get off early so you can cycle the rest of the way. If you go in the car,
put your bike in the back, get out of the car halfway and cycle the rest. Or move to a place where
you can cycle more. Some aspects of our lives are the result of good or bad luck, but we can still
design the parts that are under our control to maximise happiness.

Conversation
READING 41
Hidden treasure in the Rocky Mountains
It’s not only pirates in stories who go hunting for buried treasure. Every year, thousands of people
search in the Rocky Mountains in the US for hidden treasure. Unlike pirate treasure in stories,
there’s no map to follow. Somewhere, in an area that includes four states – Wyoming, Colorado,
Montana and New Mexico – lies a chest with $2 million worth of gold and jewels. And the clues to
where it is are written in a poem.
The treasure was buried by an art dealer, Forrest Fenn, in 2010. He was 80 when he made the trip
into the Rocky Mountains by car and then on foot. This fact itself is a clue to where the treasure is:
it is somewhere an old man could walk to with a heavy box. But the nine main clues in the poem
(available to read on his website) are much more difficult to figure out. Treasure hunters spend
ages in internet chat rooms discussing the meaning of every word in the six-verse poem and
looking for extra clues in Forrest’s two books about his life.
Here is one verse to get you started:
Begin it where warm waters halt
And take it in the canyon down,
Not far, but too far to walk.
Put in below the home of Brown.
There are many possible meanings. Perhaps every word has importance, but you can probably
focus on ‘warm waters’ and ‘the home of Brown’ to start. Some people look for a place where
warm and cold water meet, perhaps two rivers. Others look for a more poetic meaning, for
example a person’s tears could be warm water. Brown might be a person because names usually
start with a capital letter. So maybe you have to look for people called Brown who live in the Rocky
Mountains. Unfortunately, Brown is a very common surname!
These places must be near a canyon, but what does the third line mean? How far is ‘too far to
walk’? Also, if you are really looking at details, ‘put in’ is a strange way to say ‘go’, so maybe
Forrest chose those words for a reason. You can see why people spend a long time analysing the
poem, can’t you?
Of course, the only way to test your ideas is to follow the clues to try and find the treasure. Forrest
advises people to wait until spring to avoid dangerous winter weather and he says people
shouldn’t go alone. But not everyone has listened to his advice. Three people have gone missing
while looking for the treasure. Police who work in the area wish Forrest would call off the hunt so
no more people die. They want him to retrieve the treasure and put a photo of himself with the
chest on the internet so all the treasure hunters will stop looking.
But Forrest refuses. He says he’s extremely sad about any loss of life, but he points out that ‘if
someone drowns in the swimming pool we shouldn’t empty the pool, we should teach people to
swim’. He wants people to learn about nature and how to hike and hunt in the woods. A big part
of his reason for hiding the treasure is that he thinks people spend too much time inside their
houses, sitting in offices or playing on computers and phones.

Conversation
READING 41
He remembers his own childhood adventures in the Rocky Mountains and he wants families to
have those adventures together too.
His plan is working. Joe’s dad took him camping in the woods and he says, ‘I enjoyed acting tough.
We saw some bears but our dog scared them away before I had to shoot them with my gun. But
we had to sleep on the ground in the freezing cold and everything got wet. We couldn’t even light
the fire.’
Some treasure hunters have been out looking for the chest too many times to count. Marti and
her daughter Libbi travel from their home in Georgia to search in Montana. Libbi says: ‘The
thought of bears around every corner was a horrible fear for the first two years, but you slowly get
over the fear of animals. I love the scenery of Montana – seeing so many animals up close,
camping in the mountains and crossing rivers and streams. It’s all so exciting, even if we never find
the treasure.’
But there are people who think the whole thing is a hoax. Some say maybe Forrest had a chest of
treasure, but they don’t believe he hid it in the mountains. Others say he retrieved it years ago.
They say maybe he just likes the attention. Unless someone finds the treasure, we won’t know if it
really is hidden. But even the people who complain it’s a hoax are often still out in the Rocky
Mountains testing their ideas. Often they’re so sure they’re right this time that they say it’s a hoax
just because they’re angry their idea didn’t lead them to the treasure. Of course, one possibility is
that someone has already found the treasure and not told anyone. But that won’t stop hundreds
more people going treasure hunting this spring. Would you accept the challenge?

Conversation
READING 42
LA skaters: an interview
Monica and Carl are teenagers from Los Angeles in the United States. They both love
skateboarding and spend a lot of their free time on their boards. Read this interview with them
and find out more about their passion for skateboarding.
Who invented skateboarding?
Monica: Nobody knows who the first skateboarder was or who made the first boards, but we
know that skateboarding started in California in the 1950s. There were lots of surfers who wanted
something to do when it wasn’t windy and the ocean was calm, so they invented the skateboard
and it was called “land surfing” in the beginning.
Carl: The first skateboards were pieces of wood with rollerskate wheels that people made at
home. When skateboarding became popular, they started making skateboards in factories.
Where can you go skateboarding?
Carl: You can go skateboarding in public places like parks, pavements and city squares. Some
skateboarders like “freestyle” skateboarding, which is going fast along pavements or bicycle lanes.
Other skateboarders like doing jumps and tricks on benches, stairs or railings. It’s great fun, but
you have to watch out for other people too.
Monica: There are also lots of skate parks where you can skate on ramps. Lots of cities have skate
parks now. The good thing about them is that you can practise jumps without disturbing anyone,
and of course, you meet other skaters at a skate park too.
When did you start skateboarding?
Monica: I started skateboarding when I was thirteen. When I was younger, I used to go
rollerskating a lot with my friends. Then one of my friends got a skateboard and she let me try it. I
fell off several times but I loved it from day one. A couple of weeks later, I got my first skateboard.
I haven’t given up rollerskating, I still go sometimes.
Carl: I live in the city and there’s a skate park near my house. I used to go to the park and watch
the skateboarders, then my dad gave me a skateboard for my eleventh birthday in July and I spent
the summer skateboarding. I loved the sense of freedom and speed. I used to ride my bike a lot,
but I never go on it now.
Monica, is skateboarding an unusual sport for girls?
Monica: It’s more popular with boys than girls, but there are lots of girl skateboarders too. It’s a
sport for everyone. There are lots of people in their thirties and forties who started skateboarding
as teenagers and are still doing it today.
Is skateboarding dangerous?
Carl: We all fall off our boards a lot and sometimes you can hurt yourself, but most injuries are
small things like cuts and bruises. Obviously, it’s a good idea to wear protective clothing like a
helmet and it’s important to protect your hands and wrists too. Wrists are the part of the body
that you’re most likely to injure when skateboarding as you put out your hands to protect yourself
when you fall. I always wear wristguards when I skate.
Are there skateboarding competitions?

Conversation
READING 42
Monica: Yes, there are. They usually take place in skate parks and judges give skaters points for
their jumps and tricks. In the United States and Europe, some skaters are professional and make a
living taking part in skating competitions.
Carl: There was a campaign to get skateboarding included in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de
Janeiro but unfortunately it wasn’t successful. But who knows? Skateboarding might be in the
2020 games!
Tell me about “Go Skateboarding Day”.
Monica: “Go Skateboarding Day” started in 2004 when skateboarders in the United States
decided it would be good to have a day that celebrates skateboarding. It takes place on the 21st of
June every year. You can check it out online. It’s a day when there are events for skateboarders like
competitions, parties, barbecues or people just go out and skate with their friends.
What about fashion? Is there a skater look?
Carl: Fashions change, but at the moment, the fashion is for skaters to wear tight jeans or black
trousers and a hooded top, T-shirt or check shirt. Baseball caps and woollen hats called beanies
are popular too.
Monica: A lot of skateboarders, both boys and girls, have long hair too. But really skaters can wear
what they want. For me, love of the sport is more important than someone’s clothes.
What’s a long board?
Monica: A long board is another type of skateboard, but it’s longer and it’s got bigger wheels.
Standard skateboards are usually about 70 to 80 centimetres long, but long boards are 90 to 120
centimetres long. Long boards aren’t so good for jumps and tricks, but they are good for going fast
along pavements.
Carl: Here’s an interesting fact about long boards. In 2006, a skateboarder went across Australia
from Perth to Brisbane on a long board. That’s 5,850 kilometres!

Conversation
READING 43
Life as a YouTuber
Do weird, funny or interesting things happen to you a lot? Are you good at telling stories? Can you
imagine hundreds of thousands of people wanting to hear about your life?
That’s what life is like for YouTube star, Jessii Vee. Her videos of funny stories about herself, and
‘Creepy Neighbourhood’, have been watched over 150 million times and subscribers to her
channel grow every day. In just a month after I first found Jessii’s YouTube channel, she had gained
over 8,000 new subscribers. And a video that’s only been on her channel for five days had already
been watched 169,000 times.
With these kinds of numbers, you might think Jessii is an international star with her face on
magazine covers all around the world. But she’s just a regular 23-year-old living in Ontario,
Canada, with a talent for turning her life into her work, six days a week. ‘My days change
depending on if it’s the beginning of the week or the end,’ says Jessii. ‘Typically I’ll spend the
whole day Sunday thinking of ideas and researching for videos that I want to film that week. Then,
come Monday, I’ll wake up bright and early to start filming. Usually a video will take just over an
hour to film, and I try to film around five, so it takes up most of my day. Then, from Tuesday to
Friday I’m usually editing them.’
Being a YouTuber isn’t just about making videos. Jessii also spends a few hours a week replying to
messages from her subscribers. Sometimes she meets fans in person because, since passing
700,000 subscribers, she gets recognised when she goes out. ‘It’s so funny because I can meet
subscribers anywhere and everywhere,’ she says. ‘The other day I went to buy coffee and there
was a girl serving me who almost dropped my coffee when she realised it was me. She actually left
the coffee shop to meet me in the parking lot to take pictures. It always makes me happy to see
them greet me with a huge smile.’
Online life isn’t all wonderful and Jessii used to feel bad when people said negative things about
her. ‘Some people online are so quick to write hate comments,’ she explains. There were people
who said that she has huge cheeks and really thin lips. It made her feel bad until she found
strength inside herself. ‘I realised that the things people were hating on were things about myself
that I couldn’t change. So I decided to love those things and became more confident in
myself. Now, she just laughs when she sees a hate comment. ‘I know that they are from people
who don’t feel good about themselves and I know that I have way more supporters than haters.’
So for anyone who wants to start a YouTube channel, Jessii has some advice. ‘Be yourself. If you
hate wearing make-up, don’t wear any when you film! Don't change to impress people. They will
fall in love with YOU! When I first started YouTube, I was extremely self-conscious. Mostly because
I wanted to look good and act in a way that people would like. If you look back at my old videos, I
seem uncomfortable because I’m not being myself. But when you look at the videos I make now,
you can see that I’m completely myself. I’m crazy and weird, and I don’t care what people think.’
Not all the big YouTube stars tell stories about their lives. The biggest YouTubers are often gamers,
but there are others that make comedy or make-up videos.

Conversation
READING 43
Jessii thinks you should ‘base your channel around something you are passionate about, not
something that is trending. Your goal should be to make videos that inspire people. People can tell
when you’re forcing content because you just want to be popular. When you actually focus on
something you love, you'll grow so much faster, trust me!’
There are some other things to think about before starting a YouTube channel. It’s a good idea to
think about privacy and safety. You don’t need to show your face or real name and you shouldn’t
tell people where you live, for example. One of the most famous YouTubers, DanTDM, a 26-year-
old English man, began his YouTube career playing ‘Minecraft’ and telling stories about the
characters in the game, but he didn’t show his face at first. Another thing you might want to do is
turn off the comments so you don’t find any ‘haters’ like Jessii did.
By starting their careers with a YouTube channel, some of the most famous YouTube stars have
written books, been on TV and toured the world doing live shows. DanTDM went on a tour of
America, Australia and the UK in 2017. Tickets sold out in minutes, with no advertising except Dan
talking about the tour on YouTube. It’s not surprising if you think that Dan’s YouTube videos have
been watched almost 11 billion times. Films and TV can’t even begin to compare with numbers as
high as this. The biggest worldwide TV show, the music competition Idols, has been watched by
about 6.5 billion people and about 5 billion people saw a part of the 2008 Summer Olympics in
Beijing.

Conversation
READING 44
Love is blind
Hi Lang
I’m going to write to you in English from now on because we both need the practice. Thanks for
your email. I’m sorry I didn’t write back to you before now, but I started school the day after we
arrived in Boston and I’ve been too busy. I hate it here. I can’t understand a word that anyone says
to me. Their accents are really weird.
I miss Shanghai so much and I miss playing in the band with you. CRASH! were the best rock band
ever. I haven’t found anyone else to play with yet. I try to practise the guitar, but the neighbour
who lives opposite came and complained yesterday. He was furious. He said that his daughter
played the violin and my ‘dreadful noise’ was disturbing her. Then later on, I saw her staring out of
the window at me. I think she hates me too. Did I tell you she’s really beautiful...
Hey, I’ve got to stop now. Mum just got back from work and I haven’t finished my homework.
Please write back soon. I want to hear more about what you’re doing in London. Have you found
anyone to play music with? Can you understand the accent yet?
Deshi
PS: I think I’m in love!
Deshi turned off his computer and opened his English book. He had a pile of homework to do but
it was just impossible to concentrate on phrasal verbs and mixed conditionals. He couldn’t stop
thinking about the girl in the building opposite. She had such beautiful eyes. He opened his
bedroom window and looked across the street. Her window was open too and he could hear her
practising a classical piece. It sounded really sad and beautiful. She was good. Deshi sighed. “I bet
she hates rock music,” he thought. “Have you finished your homework yet?” said Deshi’s mum,
opening the door. “Hurry up, dinner will be ready in half an hour, and you haven’t tidied your
room since last week.” Suddenly, Deshi didn’t feel very hungry.
That night, Deshi couldn’t sleep and he was late for school next morning. He ran out of the house
with his shoelaces undone and looked down the street to the bus stop. Oh no! The bus was just
leaving. He bent down to tie his shoelaces. There was no point in rushing, he was going to be in
trouble anyway. He looked up and, suddenly, there she was! She was sitting in her dad’s car with
the window open. Deshi dropped his schoolbag and she turned to look at him. He couldn’t move.
Her eyes were green. He’d never seen anyone with green eyes before. He smiled at her but she
just stared at him like he didn’t exist. Deshi could feel his face turning bright red. He picked up his
bag and ran off down the street.
School didn’t go well that day. He failed another maths test and the English teacher shouted at
him for daydreaming in class. He had to look up ‘daydreaming’ in the dictionary. At lunch time, he
couldn’t eat. The food in the cafeteria was disgusting. How could they eat this stuff? And then,
worst of all, he had to stay late after school for extra English and that made him miss the bus
again. He decided to walk home; he needed to think. He was crossing the park near his street,
thinking about his school back in Shanghai and his friends.

Conversation
READING 44
He thought about his dad too and that just made him feel worse. His dad had died three years
ago. He was an engineer and there had been an accident at work. He wished they didn’t have to
live in Boston, but Mum had to go where the company sent her. Then he saw her... She was just
sitting on a bench with her dog. Deshi froze. “Oh no, she’s seen me,” he thought. “OK, be brave!”
he urged himself. He smiled and waved at her but she completely ignored him again. “Idiot!” he
said to himself. “Why did I wave? Now she really hates me.” Later that evening, Deshi was
practising blues scales on the guitar with the headphones on. His friends in Shanghai thought he
was really good. It was his idea to start a band with his friend Lang and they’d even done a concert
at school. But now he didn’t want anyone to hear him playing, especially her. He was thinking
about getting a classical guitar when his mum came into the room. She was holding a letter. “The
postman has delivered this to the wrong flat,” she said. “It’s for the building opposite. Can you
take it across while I’m cooking dinner? And for the last time, will you please tidy your room!”
“OK, mum!” he said. Deshi put down his guitar. Now, on top of everything, he felt guilty too. Mum
looked really tired. She was out working all day and then she came home and had to cook for him.
Maybe he should do more to help.
Deshi was feeling miserable as he went down the stairs. It had been so hard for him and mum
since dad died. Mum’s job took up all her time. School was really difficult for Deshi and neither of
them had made friends in Boston. He had just reached the opposite building when the door
opened. “Oh no, it’s her again,” he thought. It was too late to turn around. The girl was about to
come down the steps towards him when she dropped something. It clattered as it bounced down
the steps and stopped at Deshi’s feet. Without thinking, he picked it up. “Hello?” she said,
sounding frightened. “Who’s there?” Deshi was confused. “Er, I live across the street. Are you
OK?” “Oh, are you the boy who plays the guitar?” she said. “Hi, I’m Helen. I really like your music.
I’m sorry my dad complained. He worries about me too much.” Deshi looked at what he was
holding. It was a white stick. She was blind.

Conversation
READING 45
Mystery train
‘The ghost train is for kids!’ said Claire. ‘You guys go on it if you want, but I’m not paying for a
kids’ ride.’
‘People look pretty scared when they come out,’ said Peter, trying to pull her towards the ticket
office in front of The World’s Scariest Ghost Train. ‘Come on, it’ll be fun!’
‘They’re pretending to be scared,’ said Claire. ‘They know it’s not real, so what’s there to be
scared of?’
‘OK, your loss,’ Peter called over his shoulder as he went off to buy a ticket for himself and the rest
of their friends.
Maybe it was time to go home anyway, Claire thought, though there was one thing left to do at
the fair – buy candyfloss. Claire had never, ever managed to finish a whole one. They were just too
big and too sweet, yet, at the same time, there was nothing there. It must be possible though, she
thought, as the lady at the candyfloss stall handed her a huge, pink sugar cloud. She set herself a
challenge. Tonight she was going to eat all of it. For that, she would have to give herself time, and
that meant walking home from the fair by the train tracks instead of through the town.
It wasn’t very dark yet, and she could see the dust kick up under her sandals as she stepped off
the dirt and onto the track. Each wooden sleeper was just the right distance apart so she could
step from one to another comfortably. Of course, Claire knew better than to walk on train tracks
anywhere else – it was stupid and dangerous. Only last year some boys in the city had died playing
on the tracks. But there was nothing dangerous here, as long as she was careful not to fall and
break her ankle.
No one in Fellside had any memory of a train ever using the railway tracks that cut across the
north-west corner of town. There wasn’t even a train station. The tracks suddenly finished at the
football stadium as if the engineers had simply run out of wood. The iron rails continued a few
metres further, and then ... nothing. Claire always thought of them like those cartoons where the
cat chases the mouse and the mouse puts down tracks in front of his speeding carriage until he
runs out.
The train tracks were a mystery, but one that was so old nobody wondered about it any more.
They were just there, they’d always been there, and that was that. The tracks seemed to buzz as
she walked. She could feel the vibration through her sandals and into her feet. And then she could
hear it too. She stopped and it got stronger and louder. And then she heard a much louder sound,
the screech of metal on metal. She looked behind her. A round light, small but getting bigger, was
rushing towards her. It couldn’t be …
A train.
The wheels screeched louder against the rails as the driver braked. There was no way the train
could stop before it reached her. Luckily, Claire lost her balance and fell to the right, off the track.
She knew she was screaming even though she couldn’t hear anything above the old steam train as
it slowed. Its carriages passed her, empty.
Where is it going? she wondered. The tracks end in a couple of miles.
A man stuck his head out of the window of the engine and shouted, furious. ‘Don’t you know it’s
dangerous on the tracks?’

Conversation
READING 45
‘But … but … there aren’t any trains!’ Claire said, feeling stupid as the words came out of her
mouth. There was clearly a train now, whatever had been true before. The train shouldn’t be,
couldn’t be, there. It’s not real, she told herself.
‘This isn’t real,’ she repeated out loud. But the heat coming from the engine certainly felt real
enough.
‘You can’t keep walking on the tracks, so you’re going to have to take the train the rest of the way.’
‘No!’ Claire protested.
‘Not scared, are you?’ he said. ‘If it isn’t real, what’s there to be scared of?’ It was what she had
said to Peter.
She found herself climbing the metal stairs up to the train’s engine, candyfloss in hand.
‘Sit.’ He pointed at a pile of wood as the train slowly started moving again.
‘Where are we going?’ Claire asked.
‘End of the line,’ he said.
‘Oh, OK!’ Claire was relieved. That wasn’t far at all. The tracks ended not far from here. He said
nothing.
She didn’t want the candyfloss. It would take forever to eat it all, she decided. Impossible. After a
few minutes, she guessed they must be reaching the end of the line, but they weren’t slowing
down.
‘Er … excuse me?’ Claire shouted, because it was as noisy inside the train as outside. ‘How long
until we get there?’
‘As long as it takes to finish your candyfloss,’ the driver of the real ghost train said. The pink cloud
in Claire’s hand looked as big as when she took her first bite.
‘How long is that? she asked, but she already knew the answer.
He turned to face her. Except now there was no face. There was nothing there under his cap at all.
‘Forever.’

Conversation
READING 46
Rumpelstiltskin: a modern retelling
People came from far and wide to audition for the TV talent show Find A Star. At the front of the
queue were Mr Miller and his daughter, Chloe Miller. Chloe was a singer. Or, at least, that's what
Mr Miller told anyone who’d listen (and anyone who was too polite to say they were bored of
listening to him).
Chloe shook with terror. She didn't want to sing in front of the audience and the judges, including
famous record producer Simon King. She knew she could sing a little bit, but she knew she wasn't
the best. And this competition was for the best. When the doors opened she ran and hid in the
bathroom until they called her name. Mr Miller was outside, telling the TV cameras how his
daughter sang better than anyone else in the whole world. 'Her voice is like gold,' he said. 'When
she wins that recording contract with Simon King, her golden records will fill a room.'
Just then a little man appeared and said to Chloe, 'I can help you win the audition. I'll turn your
voice into gold – just like your father's promise. What will you give me in return?'
'I have nothing,' said Chloe. 'Only this ring.'
'I'll take that!' the little man said.
So, when Chloe went to sing in front of the judges, her voice came out so pure and beautiful that
the audience stood up and cheered and clapped.
'You're through to the first round of the competition,' said Simon King.
The next month, Chloe and her father arrived for the competition on live TV. Again Chloe was
afraid and she hid in the bathroom. I shouldn't have come, she thought. I'm a fraud. But, again,
the little man appeared. 'Give me your necklace and I'll turn your voice to gold again,' he said.
And so he did. Once more, Chloe's voice moved the audience and the judges to joy and tears with
every song she sang. She won the first round, the second and third, all the way to the grand final.
Her father told all the newspapers, 'My daughter is going to win.' Chloe tried to look happy
whenever the cameras were on, but in truth she had never wanted to be a famous singer.
This time, when the little man came, Chloe had nothing left to give him and she was terrified.
'Please,' she cried to the little man. 'I’ll go out there and open my mouth and everyone will know I
can't sing.'
'I must have something in return,' said the little man. 'Give me nothing today, but you will owe me
a great debt. One day I will come and ask you for something and you will have to give it to me.'
Chloe agreed and, sure enough, she won the TV competition and Simon King signed her to his
record label, King Records. Her first – and only – album sold millions and her gold records hung on
the walls of her father's house. Chloe pretended to be happy whenever journalists asked her
questions and she gradually forgot about the little man. Because she didn't really enjoy singing
and she knew she wasn't that good, she began to act instead. At first, no one believed this singer
could act, but she went to drama school and worked her way from small parts in TV shows to
leading roles in films. Soon she was known for being an actress, not a singer, and she loved her
job.

Conversation
READING 46
One year, she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress. The night before the awards
ceremony, the little man appeared again for the first time in years. 'I've come for my reward,' he
said. 'You must give me your first Oscar or I'll tell all those journalists how you really won the TV
contest and how you lied to everyone that you could sing.'
Chloe begged the little man not to reveal her secret. 'I'll give you all the money my record has
made,' she said, but he didn't give in.
'I've worked so hard for that Oscar!' she said, in tears.
'Well,' said the little man, 'I'll give you a chance. If you can guess my name in three days, you can
keep your Oscar – and your secrets.'
On the first day, Chloe guessed all the names she could think of. 'James, Ahmad, Santiago, Danil,
Ji-hun'. But they were all wrong. On the second day she guessed again. 'Drake, Justin, Kanye, Ed,
Zayn'. But they were all wrong too. Chloe was in despair. With only one more day to guess, she
went to Twitter and searched #guessmyname and #Oscars. After hours of searching, she found a
tweet from @Rumpelstiltskin saying, 'Ha ha ha, tomorrow the Oscar goes to … ME :))))
#guessmyname'.
The next day the little man demanded, 'Guess my name or tonight I take your Oscar. I've got
millions of followers on Twitter and I'm going to share your secrets with the world.'
'Is your name … Rumpelstiltskin?' she asked.
'Ahhhh,' screamed Rumpelstiltskin, for she had indeed correctly guessed his name. He stamped
his foot in anger so hard that it went through the floor. But he kept her secret and Chloe Miller
accepted the Oscar for Best Actress and lived happily ever after.

Conversation
READING 47
Rumpelstiltskin: a modern retelling
People came from far and wide to audition for the TV talent show Find A Star. At the front of the
queue were Mr Miller and his daughter, Chloe Miller. Chloe was a singer. Or, at least, that's what
Mr Miller told anyone who’d listen (and anyone who was too polite to say they were bored of
listening to him).
Chloe shook with terror. She didn't want to sing in front of the audience and the judges, including
famous record producer Simon King. She knew she could sing a little bit, but she knew she wasn't
the best. And this competition was for the best. When the doors opened she ran and hid in the
bathroom until they called her name. Mr Miller was outside, telling the TV cameras how his
daughter sang better than anyone else in the whole world. 'Her voice is like gold,' he said. 'When
she wins that recording contract with Simon King, her golden records will fill a room.'
Just then a little man appeared and said to Chloe, 'I can help you win the audition. I'll turn your
voice into gold – just like your father's promise. What will you give me in return?'
'I have nothing,' said Chloe. 'Only this ring.'
'I'll take that!' the little man said.
So, when Chloe went to sing in front of the judges, her voice came out so pure and beautiful that
the audience stood up and cheered and clapped.
'You're through to the first round of the competition,' said Simon King.
The next month, Chloe and her father arrived for the competition on live TV. Again Chloe was
afraid and she hid in the bathroom. I shouldn't have come, she thought. I'm a fraud. But, again,
the little man appeared. 'Give me your necklace and I'll turn your voice to gold again,' he said.
And so he did. Once more, Chloe's voice moved the audience and the judges to joy and tears with
every song she sang. She won the first round, the second and third, all the way to the grand final.
Her father told all the newspapers, 'My daughter is going to win.' Chloe tried to look happy
whenever the cameras were on, but in truth she had never wanted to be a famous singer.
This time, when the little man came, Chloe had nothing left to give him and she was terrified.
'Please,' she cried to the little man. 'I’ll go out there and open my mouth and everyone will know I
can't sing.'
'I must have something in return,' said the little man. 'Give me nothing today, but you will owe me
a great debt. One day I will come and ask you for something and you will have to give it to me.'
Chloe agreed and, sure enough, she won the TV competition and Simon King signed her to his
record label, King Records. Her first – and only – album sold millions and her gold records hung on
the walls of her father's house. Chloe pretended to be happy whenever journalists asked her
questions and she gradually forgot about the little man. Because she didn't really enjoy singing
and she knew she wasn't that good, she began to act instead. At first, no one believed this singer
could act, but she went to drama school and worked her way from small parts in TV shows to
leading roles in films. Soon she was known for being an actress, not a singer, and she loved her
job.

Conversation
READING 47
One year, she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress. The night before the awards
ceremony, the little man appeared again for the first time in years. 'I've come for my reward,' he
said. 'You must give me your first Oscar or I'll tell all those journalists how you really won the TV
contest and how you lied to everyone that you could sing.'
Chloe begged the little man not to reveal her secret. 'I'll give you all the money my record has
made,' she said, but he didn't give in.
'I've worked so hard for that Oscar!' she said, in tears.
'Well,' said the little man, 'I'll give you a chance. If you can guess my name in three days, you can
keep your Oscar – and your secrets.'
On the first day, Chloe guessed all the names she could think of. 'James, Ahmad, Santiago, Danil,
Ji-hun'. But they were all wrong. On the second day she guessed again. 'Drake, Justin, Kanye, Ed,
Zayn'. But they were all wrong too. Chloe was in despair. With only one more day to guess, she
went to Twitter and searched #guessmyname and #Oscars. After hours of searching, she found a
tweet from @Rumpelstiltskin saying, 'Ha ha ha, tomorrow the Oscar goes to … ME :))))
#guessmyname'.
The next day the little man demanded, 'Guess my name or tonight I take your Oscar. I've got
millions of followers on Twitter and I'm going to share your secrets with the world.'
'Is your name … Rumpelstiltskin?' she asked.
'Ahhhh,' screamed Rumpelstiltskin, for she had indeed correctly guessed his name. He stamped
his foot in anger so hard that it went through the floor. But he kept her secret and Chloe Miller
accepted the Oscar for Best Actress and lived happily ever after.

Conversation
READING 48
The Hunger Games: book review
A literary phenomenon
The Hunger Games is a hugely successful book for teenagers and young adults by the American
author Suzanne Collins. Since it was published in 2008 it has been translated into 26 different
languages and has sold millions of copies around the world. It is also the first book for young
readers to sell more than a million electronic copies. The Hunger Games is now a major
Hollywood film and is just as successful. It made 152.5 million dollars in its opening weekend in
North America alone!
A fight to the death
The story takes place in the future, after the destruction of North America. The country is called
Panem and is made up of twelve poor districts governed by the wealthy Capitol. The Capitol holds
absolute power over the nation. Each district is responsible for producing different things for the
Capitol. District 12, where the story begins, provides all the coal for the country. There used to be
a thirteenth district but they rebelled against the Capitol in the past and were destroyed.
The Hunger Games are an annual event, which the Capitol uses to remind the districts that they
are being punished for rebelling. Every year one boy and one girl aged 12 to 18 are chosen from
each district by lottery to compete in a battle in which only one person can survive. The chosen
teenagers are called “tributes”. The whole nation is forced to watch the event on television.
The heroine of the story, a sixteen year old girl called Katniss Everdeen, has lost her father in a
mining accident and has to provide food for her family. She hunts in the woods around District 12
with her friend Gale and becomes very skilful with a bow and arrow. When her younger sister,
Prim, is chosen as one of the tributes, Katniss volunteers to go instead. The other tribute from
District 12 is a boy named Peeta and Katniss soon finds herself in a complicated relationship with
him.
Where did the idea for The Hunger Games come from?
One night in 2003, Suzanne Collins was flipping between channels on TV. It was at the time of the
US invasion of Iraq. The only programmes she could find on TV were ‘reality’ programmes of
young people competing to win a million dollars and news programmes about the war. Suzanne
says that the two things start to merge together in a disturbing way and the idea for The Hunger
Games came to her.
She has always found news programmes of wars upsetting. When she was a child, her father was a
pilot in the US air force and he fought in Vietnam. Her mother tried to protect her by not telling
her what was happening in the war, but she still saw news programmes about the war and knew
that her dad was there. It was a very frightening experience for her.
Another important inspiration for the book comes from Suzanne’s love of classical Greek
mythology. When she was a child, one of her favourite stories was Theseus and the Minotaur. In
this story the city of Athens is ruled by Crete, but the Athenians rebel.

Conversation
READING 48
As a punishment, Minos the king of Crete forces the Athenians to send seven boys and seven girls
to Crete every year. The youths are thrown into the labyrinth and eaten by a monster that lives
there called the Minotaur. But one of the youths, named Theseus, fights the Minotaur and kills it.
Suzanne sees Katniss Everdeen as a futuristic Theseus. Another classical inspiration comes from
the ancient Roman games, where gladiators have to fight to the death for people’s entertainment.
Too much violence?
As The Hunger Games has grown in popularity, some parents in the US have complained about
the level of violence in the book and are concerned that it shows children killing each other.
However, Suzanne says she was becoming more and more worried about how normal it is
becoming to see violence on TV. She wanted to show people where this could lead in the future.
Suzanne is also concerned about the amount of reality TV we watch nowadays. “We’re putting too
much of our lives on TV,” she says. “And we’re so bombarded with imagery that we’re becoming
desensitised to it. It’s OK to be desensitised to a sitcom, but when it’s real tragedy, that’s different.
It’s real life and it’s not going to go away when the commercials come on.” She found the deaths
and violence between young people in the story the hardest things to write and she hopes it will
make people think about what they watch in future.
Books or films?
Suzanne isn’t just concerned about what we watch. She’s also very passionate about what we
read. In this age of video games and texting, she thinks it’s even more important for young people
to keep reading books. “Reading exposes you to so many different people, places and times,” she
says. “But more importantly, it’s an intimate and personal experience. No one else is interpreting
the material for you and it’s an opportunity for your mind to meet the writer's mind.”

Conversation
READING 49
The Life of Pi: book review
The book and its author
The Life of Pi tells the extraordinary story of Pi, a teenage boy from India, who is shipwrecked and
finds himself trapped in a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean with a ferocious tiger. It is the third book by
the Canadian author Yann Martel, and was published in 2001. Since then, it has sold over seven
million copies worldwide, won several prizes and been translated into 41 languages. Martel is the
son of a diplomat and as a child lived in Costa Rica, Canada, France and Mexico. After finishing
university in Canada, he spent two years travelling round India and then decided to devote
himself to writing.
The plot
In the first part of the book, we learn about Pi’s childhood in the city of Pondicherry in India. His
father owns and runs the city zoo and the family home is in the zoo complex. When they aren’t at
school, Pi and his brother help out at the zoo. Here, Pi comes to appreciate the beauty of nature
and learns a lot about animal psychology and behaviour.
Religion is important to Pi too. Though his family is Hindu, he is curious about other religions and
he makes friends with a Christian priest and a Muslim baker. To everyone’s surprise, Pi declares
himself to be simultaneously Hindu, Muslim and Christian. When his family and teachers ask him
to choose just one religion, Pi refuses, saying 'I just want to love God'. From that moment, his
family and teachers decide to let him make his own mind up about religion.
When Pi is 16, a new government is elected that his parents don’t support. Worried about the
future, Pi’s parents decide to close the zoo and emigrate to Canada. Some of the animals are sold
to zoos in North America and the family travel by ship to Canada taking the animals with them. On
the way, there is a terrible storm and the ship sinks. Tragically, Pi’s family and the ship’s sailors all
drown, but Pi finds himself in a lifeboat with a hyena, zebra, orang-utan and an enormous tiger. At
first, Pi is terrified of the animals and jumps into the ocean. Then he remembers that there are
hungry sharks in the water around him and realises his only option is to climb back into the
lifeboat. One by one, the animals in the lifeboat kill and eat each other, till only Pi and the tiger
are left. Fortunately for Pi, the tiger, who he names Richard Parker, is seasick and has no
immediate interest in eating him.
As time goes by and it becomes clear that no ships or helicopters have been sent to rescue
survivors, Pi decides to use his knowledge of animal psychology to stop Richard Parker attacking
him. Using eye contact, a whistle and rocking the boat to make the tiger seasick, he sets out to
show Richard Parker that he is the dominant animal on the lifeboat despite the tiger’s far superior
strength. Pi discovers a supply of food and water on the boat, but soon he needs to start catching
fish to keep himself and Richard Parker fed.
Pi and Richard Parker spend 227 days in the lifeboat. They live through hunger, illness and
exhaustion. They endure violent storms and the burning heat of the Pacific sun, but somehow
they survive.

Conversation
READING 49
At times, Pi finds comfort in his three religions, but at other times he is overcome with loneliness
and despair. Finally, the Mexican coast appears on the horizon and everything changes. It would
be a shame to give away the ending, so you will have to read the book yourself to find out what
happens to Pi and Richard Parker once land is in sight.
What do the reviewers think?
It’s a great book and I couldn’t stop reading it, but I didn’t want it to end either! As you read, you
share Pi’s emotional journey through hope, despair, exhaustion, loneliness and joy. There’s one
chapter where Pi sings 'Happy Birthday' to his mother on the day that he guesses is her birthday,
even though he thinks she is dead. It’s a heart-breaking moment and it made me want to cry.
Alex, 15
I found some sections of the book very tedious and slow-moving. For me, there were too many
chapters without any action and just long explanations of Pi’s thoughts or his memories. Also, to
be honest, I found the plot really unrealistic. I think the tiger would have eaten Pi straight away.
Danny, 16
What a fascinating book! I enjoyed the story, but I also learnt a lot about animal psychology,
religion and how to survive a shipwreck (you never know, it might happen to you one day!). I
would recommend this book to anyone, old or young, men and women. It’s a good read!
Paula, 18

Conversation
READING 50
The only thing to fear is ...
No one believed me, of course. I don’t blame them. I wouldn’t have believed it if any of them had
said it either. Not even if it was Paula who’d never lie to the teacher, let alone make up a whole
story about the pool and tell the police and the doctors and everyone. Not even if she really,
really, really wanted to get out of swimming. Maybe I’d pretend to believe it if Raul told the story –
but only because I want him to like me, or even just to know I exist.
I suppose everyone knows I exist now ... It’s all over school, judging by the chats I saw before they
took my phone away. Jackie and Anya are saying I had my period, but you’d have to be really
stupid to think there’d have been that much blood for that. Obviously – well, it’s obvious if you
kind of suspend belief in the laws of physics and space and time and all that stuff we know about
reality – obviously, the only way there was that much of my blood in the water was that there was
a shark in there with me.
And, anyway, how could I have made this semicircle of jagged tears on my right leg by myself?
With all these dark purple bruises around the teeth marks? I don’t think so! Like I said, I don’t
blame them for not believing me, but I’m not going in a pool ever again.
I never go in the sea anyway so that’s not a new decision just because of what happened
yesterday. That’s just sensible. I heard Mum and Dad telling the doctors they feel responsible
because they let me watch all those old ‘Jaws’ films. They didn’t know until they made me show
them my YouTube history that I’ve watched those ‘Deep Sea Monster’ documentaries so often.
But I’m glad they let me watch and learn, because think what would’ve happened if I’d made that
shark appear in the ocean – away from the shore. No one would’ve noticed me thrashing about
and screaming. Other sharks would have smelled the blood and come to share dinner. I wouldn’t
be lying here now. And Raul would for a hundred per cent sure never know I existed.
I’ve imagined it a million times – being attacked by a shark. What it would feel like, what the
shark’s eyes would look like close up. I’m actually a bit proud of myself for not just dying of fright
on the spot. I wasn’t prepared, though, for how hard the impact is even though I’ve seen great
whites attack seals on YouTube. It was like being slammed against a wall. I was floating on my back
when it brushed against my side, and when I put my head up it was swimming in a dead straight
line right towards me, superfast but also as if in slow motion. So I think if I was going to have a
heart attack it would’ve been that moment. Its eyes were just like everyone says – dead, dead,
dead inside. And the teeth weren’t like razors, they were like great big kitchen knives.
When the doctors asked me if I’d ever had nightmares about sharks, I told them. Since I started
watching those films, I said, even the old ones before they had proper special effects in Hollywood
and the shark is made out of cardboard. My bedroom floor turns into water and my bed’s sinking
and the shark is there, circling and circling with its fin motionless and its tail making little waves in
the carpet.

Conversation
READING 50
They were impressed by all my knowledge about sharks. They didn’t even know the most common
depth for swimmers to get attacked by sharks is waist deep on an adult. To be fair, most people
don’t know that and just because they’re doctors doesn’t mean they can be experts at everything.
They seemed to think it was pretty significant that I was attacked in about that depth of water
because they wrote that down in their notes. I don’t think that’s a critical detail, though, because
the pool wasn’t big or deep like the ocean. Obviously once the shark was in there, it was going to
have to attack in shallow water. Anyway, they were also really into the pictures I have on my
phone of shark attack injuries. It’s a pretty big collection, so I’m not surprised they wanted to
borrow my phone to have more time to look.
I liked showing off how much I know, but the whole conversation was kind of annoying because
the entire point everyone is missing is how did the shark end up in the pool? They didn’t ask me
that. It’s a pity, because I could have explained that, contrary to popular belief, sharks don’t only
swim in seawater, and that some of them, like the bull shark, can swim upriver into fresh water.
They asked me about school instead and if I was having any problems. I mean, I am now, I said. Or
at least, I definitely will be when I go back to school and everyone’s still talking about me.
You’d think they’d want to know how I made that shark appear out of nowhere. How did I open up
the doorway in the ocean where the shark was swimming so it could swim right into the pool
where I was and find lunch? It’s the fear that did it, I’m sure, because my teacher says the only
thing to fear is fear itself. I always thought that meant ‘Don’t be afraid, because bad things are
never as bad as you expect.’ But now I know the truth. ‘Fear makes bad things happen.’

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