G comparative adjectives and adverbs, as ...

as
V time expressions: spend time, etc. Are we living
P sentence stress faster?

1 READING & VOCABULARY time expressions

a Read a n article about li ving fas ter a nd m atch the head ings to the b Read t he a rticle aga in. One pa ragraph
paragraph . contains an invented piece of information.
W h ich one i it?
[] No time for Snow White [J More time on t he road
D No time to write D No time for Van Gogh c Look at t he hig hl ighted t ime expressions

1 D No time t o wait D No time to stop and g uess their m eaning.

d In pairs, cover the text a nd look at tbe

paragr ap h head ings in a. Ca n you remem ber
iving faster, t he info rmatio n in th e text? H ave you

~____,......_,~~ut re
noticed a ny of t hese t hings happen ing where
iving better? you live?
1 e Look at a q ue t io nnai re abo ut living faster.
People in cities around the world walk 10% more quickly than they did ln pa irs, ask a nd a nswer the q uestions.
twenty years ago. Singapore, a world business centre, is top of the list Answe r w ith often, sometimes, or never and
for fast walkers. give mo re info r matio n .
2
In the USA there is a book called One-Minute Bedtime Stories for QUESTIONNAIRE
children. These are shorter versions of traditional stories, especially
written for busy parents who need to save time.
3
How fast is your Life?
People aren't as patient as they were in the past. If the lift takes more Do people tell you that you talk too
than 15 seconds to arrive, people get very impatient because they quickly?
think they're wasting time. It's exactly the same when an Internet 2 Do you get impatient when other people
page does not open immediately. are talking?
4 3 Are you the first person to finish at
Written communication on the internet is getting shorter and shorter mealtimes?
and using more and more abbreviations, like BFN (bye for now) or NP .4 When you are walking along a street, do
(no problem). Twitter only allows you to use 140 characters, and now a you feel frustrated when you are behind
new social networking site has a limit of just ten words. people who are walking more slowly?
5 5 Do you get irritable if you sit for an hour
Even in our free time we do things in a hurry. Twenty years ago when without doing anything, e.g. waiting for the
people went to art galleries they spent ten seconds looking at each doctor?
picture. Today they spend much less time - just three seconds! 6 Do you walk out of shops and restaurants
6 if there is a queue?
Our cars are faster, but the traffic is worse, so we drive more slowly.
The average speed of cars in New York City is 15 km/ h. We spend
more time than ever sitting in our cars, feeling stressed because we f )lo- Communication How fast is your life?
aren't going to arrive on time. p.lOl. R ead t he re ults. Do you agree?
2 GRAMMAR comparative adjectives 4 SPEAKING
and adverbs, as... as a T hink about how your life ha changed over the last 3- 5 years.
a Look at the following wo rds from the text. Are Read the questio ns below a nd think about your a nswers.
they adjective . adverbs, o r both?
Do you spend more or less time on these things? Say why.
quickly fast busy patient
wo rking or studying sleeping
bad slowly stressed
getting t o work / school cooking

b ~ the right fo rm . T ick (wf) if both a rc sitting in traffic

tal king to friends
shopping
eating
correct. meeting friends using your phone
l Life is fa ster l 111orejast than before. being online using your compu t er
2 Traffic in citie i 1110re bad I worse tha n it wa 2 Do you have more o r less f ree time? Why?
3 Eve rybody is busyer I busiu than they were fi ve 3 What don't you have time for nowadays? What would you
years ago. Like to have more time for?
4 We are more stressed I stresseder than our
grandparents were. b Answer the questions with a partner. Who e li fe has changed
5 We do everything more quickly !Jaster. mo re?
6 People aren't as patie11t as I as patient tha11 they
were before.
c > p.l34 Grammar Bank SA. Learn more about 5 LISTENING
compa rati ve a nd as ... as and practi e them . a You're going to listen to a n ex pert talking about how to live
your life mo re slowly. Look at her five ma in t ips(= good ideas).
G ues what the missing wo rd s are.
3 PRONUNCIATION sentence stress
Whatever you are doing, just try tO _ _ __ and enjoy it.
p The /;, sound Exa mple: _ _ __
Remember! -er, and unstressed words like a, as, 2 Make alist o fthree things whichare for you.
and than have the sound ::> .
Example: - - - - - - - - -
3 Don't try to do _ ____ at the a rne time.
a 2 41>)) Li ten a nd repeat the sentences. Copy the
Example: _ _ __
!fu'.thm a nd try to get the ';;, sound right.
4 Sir down a nd do ___ for half a n hour every day.
I'mbusier than .! ear ago.
Exa mple: - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - -
2 M} life i'> more stressful r ha n in the ast. 5 Be near
3 1work harder than before. Exa mple: _ __ _ _ __
4 1walk a nd talk faster.
5 I'm not ,,s relaxed .ts 1was a few years agQ. b 2 42>)) Listen a nd check. T he n li ten again a nd w rite one
example fo r each ti p.
b Are any o f the e m ences rrue for you?
c Are there any tips tha t you think you might use? Why (no t)?