Exercise 1 


Read the quotes. Which quote do you agree with?

Giving up is not failure; it is

an acknowledgment that
there are better uses for our
time and resources.
The moment when you
The only real
feel like giving up is right
failure is giving up. before your breakthrough

Exercise 2
Complete the sentences with the correct words from the box.

ingrained, gears, stick, persevere, toll, o , grit, hooked

1. To be honest, I didn’t persevere with learning Spanish and it was the

main reason I’m far from being uent.

2. The idea of never giving up is deeply ingrained in our culture.

3. If it takes a toll on your mental health, you should give it up.

4. Emma has a master’s degree in law but switched gears and works in
marketing.

5. I put a lot of e ort into promoting my business but it never really got o
the ground.

6. It takes true grit to succeed in such a competitive business niche.

7. If we stick resolutely to our goal, there is no doubt we will attain it.

8. I got hooked on this idea and can’t think of anything else.

Exercise 3
Put the phrases into the correct categories.

Double down, plow ahead, give it a rest, stick to a goal, grow out of,
call it quits, work away at, throw in the towel, close the book on

Give up on something Continue working

Give it a rest
Double down
Grow out of
Plow ahead
Call it quits
Stick to a goal
Throw in the towel
Work away at
Close the book on
ff
fl
ff
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Exercise 4
Put these words from Exercise 3 into the correct
place in the sentences. The rst one is done for you.

1. Amelia was eager to become a TV presenter but she grew out of it.
Now she works as a product manager.

2. After learning Chinese for 3 years, I decided to call it quits.

3. It was di cult to close the book on art for her but she couldn’t

4. chase this dream anymore.

5. Liam gave his side job a rest because it didn’t work out.

6. It’s time we doubled down if we want to meet the deadline.

7. My team is plowing ahead with advertising our product.

Exercise 5
Work in groups. Discuss the questions.

1) Why is goal accomplishment so popular in our culture?

2) Can giving up be a good idea sometimes? Why?

Exercise 6
Read the article and summarize it in 5 sentences.

https://inkandvolt.com/blogs/articles/i-give-up-the-bene ts-of-quitting
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https://inkandvolt.com/blogs/articles/i-give-up-the-bene ts-of-quitting
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Come up with 5 questions about the articles and ask your partner
to answer them. Then, switch the roles.
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
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__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
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__________________________________________________________________________
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How far do you agree with the article?

Exercise 9
Discuss with your partner.

• Remember a time you wanted to give up and didn’t

do it. What happened? Was it a right or wrong
decision?

• Is there anything you’d like to give up now? Why

don’t you do it?

https://inkandvolt.com/blogs/articles/i-give-up-the-bene ts-of-
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