Oxford English (Second Edition) 1B Unit 8

8 Change for the better

Teenage problems

Susan is feeling a lot of academic His body odour sends out Tom is tired of being bullied by
stress from her coming final exam. disturbing and unpleasant smell. mischievous classmates at school.

Lily is afraid to check her social

His lack of money means that As a new student, Betty struggles
media feed because of
he can’t go out with his friends. with feelings of loneliness.
cyberbullying.

Kelly’s mood swings make her Jonas feels stressed about his Learn to resist peer pressure and
emotions go up and down so often. negative self-image. keep yourself from bad habits.

Her sleep problems are Brad has strict parents who Many teens struggle with
affecting her social life. never let him do anything he likes. worries about dating.

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 Oxford English (Second Edition) 1B Unit 8

Practice
You write an advice column for your school’s newspaper. You received a letter seeking
advice about some teenage problems, but some of the words are unclear. Complete
the letter by writing the correct words about teenage problems on page 32.

Dear Agony Aunt Adel,

I’ve been having a lot of problems lately and I don’t know what to do. Can you help me
out please?
First of all, I’ve got a lot of important exams coming up soon. I don’t think that I have
time to study for them all. I’m worried about failing them. I guess you could say that I
am overwhelmed with (1) ____________________. Of course, this is all made worse
by my mum and dad. I’m sure they’re going to come down really hard on me if I don’t
get perfect marks. You see, I have really (2) ____________________. Moreover,
neither of them have stable jobs, so there is a real (3) ____________________ in our
household. I think that’s why they put all their hopes and dreams on me.
I’m struggling with my relationships at school as well. I have a lot of
(4) ____________________ from my friends. They want me to drink alcohol with them
and smoke cigarettes. I don’t want to do them, but I’m afraid they won’t want to be my
friend any more if I don’t join in. I don’t have many friends, so that is scary, as I don’t
like that feeling of (5) ____________________. In fact, I’m so worried about it that I
have trouble sleeping at night. Is it normal for someone my age to have
(6) ____________________?
I’ve also been a victim of (7) ____________________. Some older students have
been stalking me on social media. They always leave nasty comments on my photos
and tell me to just kill myself. I hate being (8) ____________________ like this, but I’m
starting to believe the bullies and have developed a/an (9) ____________________.
When I look at myself in the mirror, I feel disgusted and think ‘Why would anyone care
to befriend such an ugly person like me?’
It’s weird, though. Sometimes, I feel like everything is going to be fine. I feel really
happy. But then, all of a sudden, I become upset and have those negative thoughts
again. I feel so miserable as if the world is going to end. How do I control these
(10) ____________________?
My body has been going through a lot of changes recently too. I’ve got a lot of hair
under my armpits now. It really smells bad sometimes. I take a shower every day, but I
just can’t seem to control this (11) ____________________. What should I do? I don’t
think anyone will want to be my girlfriend if this continues. I know that I shouldn’t have
(12) ____________________ at this age, but I can’t help it.
Please, Agony Aunt Adel, you’ve got to help me out. I don’t know what to do.
Yours sincerely,
Troubled Tom

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Oxford English (Second Edition) 1B Unit 8

Emotions

Tina is afraid of needles, blood Alice is confident about getting Sandy is confused about the
and injection. good grades in the exams. Science homework.

Julie feels depressed about Jeff is disappointed about his Vivian feels embarrassed
her unpleasant working driving test result. about her hyperactive mum.
situation

Martin feels frustrated lately Wendy is listening to pop music Sam’s dad is nervous about his
because of his coming exams. in a joyful mood driving.

Jennifer feels relaxed as she Mary is self-conscious about Ted is stressed about his
lounges on the sofa. her appearance. studies and relationships.

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 Oxford English (Second Edition) 1B Unit 8

Practice
You are texting your friends, but there is something wrong with your phone and some
of the words are not showing up correctly. Complete the text messages with the
correct words about emotions on page 34.

Dan: Hey, guys. Are you ready for the Science exam next week? I’m really
(1) _______________ about it. I’m not sure if I can pass it.
Julie: Is there anything in particular that you don’t understand? Are you
(2) _______________ about anything specifically?
Dan: No, I just don’t get it in general. It’s making me feel really
(3) _______________ because I know my parents will be quite
(4) _______________ in me if I fail.
Patty: You need to try to calm down, Dan. You’ll do a lot better on your exams if you
go into them feeling (5) _______________.
Kevin: Don’t get (6) _______________ if you don’t understand something. You can
ask Ms Lee questions in class. I’m sure she will be glad to help you.
Dan: I’m quite (7) _______________ about raising my hand in class though. I don’t
like the feeling of everyone looking at me. I feel like my classmates are
judging me. I’m (8) _______________ that they will pick on me if I ask
something stupid.
Erica: There’s no need to feel (9) _______________ about asking questions.
Dan: I don’t know. One time, I asked a question in class and a couple of students
laughed at me. After school, they teased me and gave me ugly nicknames.
That made me feel really (10) _______________.
You: Don’t worry about them. They’re just bullies. Everyone here supports you!
Julie: Yeah! Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t we all study for the exam together?
Patty: That’s a great idea. If we all study hard together, I’m (11) _______________
that we can all get good results.
You: Great idea!
Dan: That sounds good to me. Oh, I feel so (12) _______________ now! 

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Oxford English (Second Edition) 1B Unit 8

Looking for words within words

Long words are usually made up of shorter words. Breaking long words down can
help us spell them.

assignment = assign + ment

forehead = fore + head

nickname = nick + name

overnight = over + night

passport = pass + port

wheelchair = wheel + chair

disagreement = dis + agree + ment

effortlessly = effort + less + ly

imperfection = im + perfect + ion

irregularity = ir + regular + ity

misunderstanding = mis + understand + ing

unforeseeable = un + foresee + able

Other words within words:

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 Oxford English (Second Edition) 1B Unit 8

Example sentences
1 Danny feels stressed because he has many assignments to hand in next week.
2 Lance is upset about the pimples on his forehead.
3 They gave the Olympic athlete Usain Bolt the nickname ‘lightning bolt’ because
he is known as the fastest man alive.
4 Stacey worked overnight on her Science project to make sure there are no
mistakes.
5 He forgot his passport at home and missed his flight to Singapore.
6 Eric takes his father, who injured his knee, out on his wheelchair for some fresh air.
7 She expressed her disagreement over how to organize the student wellness
workshop.
8 To others, he was a student who could ace the exams effortlessly, but no one
knew the amount of time he puts into studying.
9 She was very self-conscious about her imperfections such as her uneven teeth
and sparse eyebrows.
10 The irregularity of experiment results made it difficult for them to make a correct
prediction.
11 She and her sister stopped speaking because of a minor misunderstanding.
12 If you develop a habit of saving, you will have money for any unforeseeable
expenses.

Practice
Divide the words into different parts.

1 cyberspace = ___________ + ___________

2 disrespectful = ___________ + ___________ + ___________

3 hopelessly = ___________ + ___________ + ___________

4 Internet = ___________ + ___________

5 incorrectness = ___________ + ___________ + ___________

6 newsletter = ___________ + ___________

7 mismanagement = ___________ + ___________ + ___________

8 unfollow = ___________ + ___________

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Oxford English (Second Edition) 1B Unit 8

Useful expressions
1 This is my worst nightmare.
2 The fact is that many teenagers care about their appearance.
3 He used to be quite humble before he rose to fame.
4 I wasn’t as wise in my younger years as I am today.
5 I don’t give two hoots about that. It’s just not important to me.
6 She felt singled out by her teacher when he blamed her and not the other
students.
7 Whenever someone insults me, I think about it all day and try to come up with the
perfect comeback.
8 Their team is full of a lot of mean-spirited individuals. They shouldn’t be so
hostile.
9 I tried to think about something else to divert my attention away from it.
10 His father has a really bad temper after drinking.

Self-study list
Use this space to write down other words and expressions you have learnt in this unit.

Teenage problems

Emotions

Looking for words within words

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 Oxford English (Second Edition) 1B Unit 8

Know the text type

Email giving advice

From: mavischeung@starmail.com
To: jamiechan@starmail.com
Subject: Re: What should I do?
Greeting

Opening:
Dear Jamie,
thank the Thanks for your email. I’m sorry to hear that you are facing a lot of
recipient for peer pressure from your friends. Peer pressure can be a difficult
his/her email and thing to deal with, especially for teenagers.
show your care
I understand that your friends are persuading you to try drugs and
alcohol. Their persistent ‘invitations’ are now starting to make you
feel that if you don’t listen to them, you will lose all of them and
become isolated. While loneliness will be an upsetting prospect, it
is time for you to recognize the true character of your
friends—unreliable and unprincipled. It’s unwise to let yourself get
Body: hooked on drugs and alcohol because they are not something
give advice on the good for your life.
recipient’s problems
My suggestion is that you should try to change social groups.
Take part in some healthy extra-curricular activities outside of
school, such as learning a sport and taking a handicraft course.
The new friends that you meet in these activities are usually
people with a good attitude to improve themselves. What’s
important is that they will also share similar values and interests
with you. It is a good chance for you to form a new social circle
with these trustworthy friends because you will feel the strong and
sincere support from each other.

It sounds to me that you have become more emotional since your

old friends left you alone. Don’t be afraid of seeking help from your
Ending:
trusted adults. Talk to them about your worries. You will feel
relieved when you share your burdens with others. Remember
express hope that that there’s no need to handle anything unpleasant on your own!
your advice could
help the reader and I’m glad that you wrote to me for advice. I know that it can be
difficult being a teenager nowadays, but I think that you can make
end with an
the right choice. I hope this advice can help you get through this
encouraging remark tough time.

All the best, Closing

Sender’s name Mavis

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Oxford English (Second Edition) 1B Unit 8

Writing task
You want to write an email giving advice. Use the useful phrases and expressions,
the writing tips and the brainstorming section on the next page to help you.

Useful phrases and expressions

Hi/Dear (Person’s name),
Thanks for your email …
I’m sorry to hear about …
… can be a difficult thing.
Don’t be afraid to …
Try not to worry about …
Try to relax by …
Perhaps you could …
Why not try …
I hope this advice …
Best wishes/All the best/Good luck …

Writing tips
Use a friendly tone and informal language.

Use questions to make suggestions, e.g. Why not/Why don’t you …?

Don’t be too hard on the person you are writing to. Use softer imperatives, e.g.
Try to talk to your parents and tell them how you feel.

Make sure that you respond to all of the problems raised by the writer.

Be encouraging and give well wishes, e.g. I’m sure things will get better soon.

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 Oxford English (Second Edition) 1B Unit 8

Brainstorming
Use the following guideline to help you come up with ideas for your email giving advice.

Dear Dr Wise,
I’m 13 years old and I’ve just opened my first account on an online social networking
site, WeBook. Recently, I've posted some selfies of myself wearing a new dress.
However, what immediately followed was utterly unpleasant. Some mean classmates
left unkind comments and teased me about my arrogance of showing off my body.
I’ve even received private messages from strangers telling me that I should be
ashamed of posting such ugly selfies. Could you tell me what I should do about it?
Mary

What is Mary’s problem? How does Mary feel? Why?

What can Mary do to deal with her problem?

Do you think Mary should cancel her account on WeBook? Why or

why not?

What else can Mary do to make herself feel better?

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