$ l"urn language for expressing

opinions and talking about cultural A ffi wort< in pairs. Take the culture quiz and test your
a ctivities cultural knowledge.
listen to people giving their
% opinions about books: identifying
speakers'opinions
write about a famous cultural
% icon: linking sentences

Q ."ud a review of a movie

§ talk about cultural activities that

you enjoy
lt,:,' watch a video about a cultural
festiva I

B ffi Sfrrr" your answers with your classmates. What else

do you know about the things and people in the pictures?
A: That's Beyoncé. lthink she's Amertcan.
B: Yes, that's right. She's from Texas, and she lives tn ...
A Look at the adjectives. Write (+) for positive and (-) for negative.
Then match each adjective to its synonym.
1 very good a) incredible
2 strange b) ridiculous
3 boring q) hilarious
4 amazing d) awesome
5 very interesting e) awful
6 very dumb f¡ fascinating
7 very bad s) weird
8 very funny h) dull

B Circle the correct adjective to complete the sentences.

1 Dalit paintings are very weird / dull.They have all kinds of strange objects and shapes.
2 ln my opinion, horror movies are so good / dumb. They're very unrealistic, so they aren't scary.
3 To me, opera is dull / fascinatlng. I just don't think it's an interesting art form.
4 That was such a hilarious / boring movie. I couldn't stop laughing.
5 Shakespeare's plays are awesome / terrible. The stories are greatl
6 Abstract artis amazing / awful.ldon't understand it, but lreally Iike itl

in pairs. Give your opinions about the following art forms. Give reasons.

A:
B: Really? I think they're boring. The people don't do anything interesting.

¡N CONTEXT Listen to a conversation between two

lf"hótography exhibition. Which picture do both women like?
ii¿,h,.pictrr" isyourfavorite? ffi-,¡ ;il
;§,y,-e,lhepicture of the flowers. You know,
ánd white one.
tlig,that one, too, but it isn't as nice as
qiÍegf the elephant. That's amazingl
ñtó!v.'lthought it was dumb.
§eje that picture of the chair? Now, that

,:,bü,t,1thought the picture of the elephant

it:as'dumb as the picture of the chair.
both weird. I didn't understand
itatiáfl.
§wq're just not as smart as everyone else.

Read the conversation in Exercise A again.

the table with examples from Exercise A.

The picture of the elephan t was just (1) -**_* *-'-
lve.+ as the picture of the chair.
They were both weird.

/t tzl
the picture of the elephant. That's amazing!

-
Function Read the examples below. Then match the halves of the sentences to
complete the rules.
This painting is as expensive as that one. : Both paintings are the same price.
This patnting isn't as expensive as that one : óne: i,:tiii
This painting is /ess expen sive than that
: That painting is more expen5ive than,thi$1g¡.g, . ..;
I We use as ... as to say that a) one thing is more or less than anothéf,lhffi
z We use not as ... as to say that b) two things are equal in some way- . Éf

C PRACTICE Complete the opinions with be + as ...

as or (not) as... as and the adjectives
in parentheses.
I To me, modern dance (good) ballet
I Iike them both equally.
z I like hip-hop dancrng because it .... . .-- , . (weirdt
other types of modern dance. lt's better.
s Classical music (boring) jazz. Jazz is
much more boring.
¿ I think the special effects in the old Star Wars movies

hey're tantastrc!
I
Do you think these pictures -.. (interesting)
those? I can't decide.
ln my opinion, plays can . ........ (realistic)
movies if the actors are good.

D ffi ruow You Do !T work in groups. use be WATIFI CIUT!

+ (not) as ... as to talk about the categories in the / Modern dance is as difficult as ballet.
box. Use adjectives from Exercise A and any other
X Modern dance is as difficult than ballet
adjectives that you want to use.

two bands or musicians two concerts two genres of movies two museums
two periods of art two TV shows two types of dance two types of music

A,: Modern art isn't as good as traditional art. I prefer realistic paintings.
B: I agree. The artists definitely aren't as talented.
e: I don't agree. I think modern art is better than traditional art. lt's more interesttng.

A @OO Listen to these people giving their opinions. Notice that the
stress is on the adjective and not on as ... as.

I think Brazil is as beautrful as Mexico.

ln my opinion, museums aren't as dull as art galleries.

B ffilOZ ffiwort in pairs. Practice saying these sentences. Remember

not to stress the word as. Listen and check.
t Latin music is as good as rock music.
e I don't think painting is as interesting as taking pictures.
s Sáo Paulo isn't as big as Mexico City.
a Many people think that trains are not as comfortable as cars.

(ulture vu¡ture
# Lirt"n for *rords ond phroses thot con help to identify o person's ñ,"". ,lr"r;
be positive or negotive odjectives such os omozing or b,oring, or verbs such os /í/,e,
don'Í like, ond enjoy. A person's tone of voice (boied, int"rested, etc.) con olso

A ffilOg Listen to two people, Meg and Lauren,

talking about a book. Circle the words each
person uses to talk about it.
Meg:

awesome dull fascinating great interesting

Lauren:

awesome dull fascinating great interesting

B Listen again and circle the correct

answers. How do you know?
t Meg liked / didn't /ike the book.
z Lauren líked / didn't /ike the book.
c @log Now listen to five other people talking about books. choose
the correct answers.
I Speaker 1 says she...
a) liked a different book better. b) thought the book was amazing.
z Speaker 2 thought the book was ...
a) interesting. b) boring.
a Speaker 3 says he ...
a) didn't like the book. b) liked the book.
+ Speaker 4 preferred ...
a) the writer's first book. b) the writer's second book.
s Speaker 5 says she ...
a) prefers nonfiction. b) prefers fiction.

A Complete the table with words in the box. Then add nvo ideas ofyour
own to each column.
a book club a comedy show a language course a museum a music society
an exhibition a photography course architecture sculpture the theater

learn about take go to see join

B Work in pairs. Say which of the activities in Exercise A you would like
to do and which you would not like to do. Give reasons.
A: l'd like to join a book club. I love reading books and talking about them.
B; lwouldn't like to join a book club. lthink reading is boring. lwant to take another
language class. l'd like to /earn Russian.
& Read the questionnaire and add one or two more activities to each
list. Then complete the questionnaire.

-l.li:"2:'1
:..: :i ..:..:::; z': a-, :- ,=,a 1¿:::-';;;'1'1=1>,'..;= 1;.17

,, .r'a,;=a'1.- ',.'l'a-;. ,'-1a"-2;.:_._ -a"a'.,:;..-: '.-:.,a'2a...: ",:,.--...ir:'1aa

, went to see a new band.

joined a music group.

' went to the theater.

, went to a comedy show.
, went to the ballet.
went to an art exhibition.
joined a book club.

took a language class.

went to a museum.

saw a foreign movie.

Score 0-3: Cultural activit es are def initely not for you I ;
Score 4-7: Why not try some dlfferent cultural actlvlties? l
Score 8-10: You're a real Cu ture Vultrrrel
:

ffi ffi
wort< in groups. Compare your answers to the questionnaire.
Discuss any other cultural activities that you do regularly.
Á: So, did you go to the theater last year?
§: Yes, I dtd. I went a lot. What about you?
ü; No, I don't go to the theater very often, but I do go to the movies a lot!

* ffi fett the class about the activities that people do. Say which are popular.
/n orir gr,'oup, a ior lípecple go tc rhe ihear*i: Fr-ri ine theáier isn'r as plpiilar as fne n-.¡u'ies

(*lt¡¡re HUlSure
 -j
l* l'm in o movie club, qnd we wotch ore dumb, but Iáe Shining wos reolly
;l movies from different periods ond interesting. ln foct, r think it's the most
,1 B
:i
!{ different genres. We wotch good ond interesting horror movie I know becouse
{ bod movies, ond we vote on the best it's reolly o psychologicol dromo. Jock
I one ond the worst one from eoch Nicholson is greot, of course. But the
il r r r r
decode ond eoch genre. -r.
! This month greotest octor in the movie, in my
I '
r!
i we're wotching horror movies from opinion, is Donny Lloyd, who ploys Jock
I ihe l98os. some of the horror movies Nicholson's son. He wos iust o little
r we sqw were reolly scory, but we oll boy ot the time, bul he wos olreody on
*
11
;*
:§

$ i
t:
t, lÍ
t. -
thought the scoriest movie we sow incredible qctor!
: i1

í 1t
r.
I wos Iáe Shining (l 980) with Jock
§ llil Nicholson. lt wás scorier thon oll the f\!úT¡{§! /
^.L^-^ r-----.--.t
ln generol, !rt,: tr
$ i t
Nr
til
t: ,.{;- i;l
ii 1.} ,
others.
- I think horror movies
Llrcle tne adjectlves ln the text. Do all ,=

"::::2"'-ives have the same form?

E ANALYUE Read Exercise A again. =
Function Choose the correct option to complete the sentence. fuVÁT{§4 ffiAJT§ .
r We use superlative adjectives to compare a characteristic of / man.
áe,sthe thinnest '-;
a) two things. b) more than two things. X Het the thinest man.
Form Choose the correct option to complete the rule. Then X He,s the most thin man.
complete the table with examples from Exercise A. ....-...=?=....-i:=1:::=,..:=¿,?t?-...a..:...-.t:a:?!
=
(l) We always / never use the with superlative adjectives. We alvtays / ne'¡er use than. =

i For most one-syllable adjectives, add -est:

one.sy,,ab,e adjectives
, :.:H::1..:::.':::::jj,,.ilH::j::. doub,e the rina,
consonant and add -est:
,hi.. ,l:. !1,?:::l at-the fartesr bis-the bissest
..f
Adjectives ending in Change theyto iand add -est:
consonant + -y happy-the happiest easy-the easiest scary-the ¡=y

Adjectives with two or Use most or ieast:

more syllables ¡mportant-the most important interesttng-the 14,

lrregular adjectives good-the qs] bad-the t¿)

S PHAST§CE Complete these sentences with the superlative

form of the adjective in parentheses.
,I
I think Luciano Pavarotti was the
¿ Taking a class is one of the
* The
The
c Marilyn Monroe was the
6 I think hip-hop is the
Maroon 5! new album is the
E ln my opinion, that was the
(great) singer in history.
(good) ways to meet new people.
(ínteresting) shows on TV are animal shows.
(funny) movie that I ever saw was The Mask with Jim Carrey.
(beautifuD cultural icon of the 1 950s.
(badttype of music. I hate it!
(hot) CD of the year.
(boring) movie ever!

D ffi ruow YGU ms ET choose one of these topics, or use your own idea.
Tell a partner one or two details about it.
. the funniest TV show . the best group in concert " the most popular singer in your country
A: The funniestTV show is Modern Family. t really like attthe actors
B: Really? I thtnk the funniest TV show is ...
1 .1...1.1.i:r'.ti:!ltil:it::flil;::.:r:. .:,rit.lf. frritr,rl
111¡1,1'r':l
r'll:r'I
. ,.,..l;,llili llil,

Á Read this movie review. Did the writer enjoy The Simpsons Movie?

: : iltiliir:l:,.-,.:,:,i I i

.::-,.:-,: ,.,,.., ;.¡.::.,,:,.eheck out this site to read.reviews óf rnovies yoú m¡ssed when they were new, and to

;l.1,,
r.r::,;'iliii:,i.',,: : movies from the récént past - the 2000s.

,'-r.':,:.,i:,ri1.,,.¡¡irt,.,. favorite movies of all time. I love it because one of the most entedaining movies I know,
=.:.trlliijii.llif,i"i it's as funny as the caftoons, but it's longer but it has some serious elements, too. The
. ¡:. r' '.r. than the TV episodes, so there are lots more main message of the movie deals with some
.....:¡:r.,1,,,. ..'. laughsl ThestoryisthatHomercausesa of themostimpodantsocial andpolitical
''
' '' ,. :: .,".r' leak in the nuclear power plant where he issues of our time, like the effect of human
: . works, and has to save the city and his beings on the environment, and the dangers
: ::rr,.. .-:..": ' family from disaster. As usual, he encounters of pollution and nuclear disaster. If you
i,r i,r:r:.:r'..., . ¡o1.of problems,andlotsof funnythings missedthismoviein200T,checkitoutnow!
, . ..: :: .,. happen. lthinkthefunniestparlofthemovie ldefinitelyrecommend¡tl
.:1.;..'waswhenHomertakesapighomefroma
restaurant. He calls him Splder-Plg, and he
The Simpsons Movie (2OO7l

* Circle T (true) or F (false) for each statement. Then read the

movie review again to check your answers.
t This website has reviews of old and new movies. T/ F
a The movie in the review above is a comedy. T/r
* The reviewer says the movie isn't as good as the TV shows. ,-/r.
* The movie has some serious subjects. T/r
s The movie is from the first decade of the new millennium. T/ F

* ffiffrirrt about two movies that you saw recently: one good and
one bad. Teli a partner about the best and worst parts of these movies:
fe cerirl;,, i s;w ... Il,-e b=si pái¡ vv3,§ 6,fjañ
; he ,,¡,CrSt part Ci :he fiC,,,te t,A-c !.iÉ!ei-: ...

,i,.li Wu use ihe words so ond becouse to link ideos. Because is used to introduce the
reoson for something, ond so is used to introduce the result of something.

Á Read this description. Which famous cultural icon does it describe?

It was first invented in 1886 by Dr. John Pemberton in a pharmacy glass, {3} i:ecause / ,qo it very quickly became one of the most
{t } bec;il:e / :o he wanted to make a "health
in Atlanta, Georgia popular drinks with his customers. By 1887, the business was too
drinkl'Pemberton said that it was good for people's health big for Pemberton, {4} bei;us+ / sc he sold part of the company
{3} beca,.:se / s¡., it was made from sparkling water. Pemberton to a businessman named Asa Griggs Candler. Candler started the
sold the drink in his store for the very cheap price offive cents a company as we know it today.

* Read the text in Exercise A again and circle the correct linking words.

# Choose either because or so in each sentence. Then complete the sentences

with your own ideas.
1 Potato chips are one of the most popular snacks be:euse / sc
; I love sweet things, i--,ecasse / s,r
3 Ithink taste(s) horrible be c;i¡se / :c,
I don't eat ,: lt.'' f ;',
"'t

Culture vulture
 §IIEffi..I.NVilO.PI N G CU LTIJ RAL AWAREIII ESS
iofl,l form a co u ntry's
lg9:ig¡¡ii§,pg.,.!s, lfe' th at cu ltu re.

Clu ltu ra I ch a ra cte ri sti cs a re exp ressed.

il;.Wn!i6..;..aountrlt
ii:oún: eú:liu'ió :tó' íd.entify its sp e c if i c ch a ra cte ri sti cs.

A ffi wort< in pairs. Look at the mind map and brainstorm more ideas
for each category. Add them to the map.
When I greet a frtend, I usually hug them.

&e-ile*.r
-.1 an* Val,.:*s

\
2

! ,rA* 4*^-, t-'¡*r1 {]-

: {ri{-¿+
&r r,'i Ii -¡
I uh:.iJ
é. ñ. ^t r, .n - _
? u;iL i'-.¿dit'

It'
ei &rJ-s and
f-¡J*-t-*ri,* "+ Lir¿rafr;r¿
an,s T:*"difi*Y1s

B ffi ¡oin with another pair and compare your mind maps. Do you have
any ideas in common? Then look at the poster below. How many of the
words on the poster did you include in your mind maps?

!J
ART
>-= .
MUSIC
LLr fl2= §CULPTUREÉ
4>
:l¡ lr4uSlC
.> THEATEHJq EDUCATION

{W/8*^ ¿.+ tFr :>¡ :E

'\Jt E rnRonoru H F;- . ¿) 9 3 wonns
OÉ i¡r'+ -? +1

frt
FooD ¿#
ujt,,',,. ETHTCS
F-+:.
-¡l lc
I

!!-l <rH <:

=nEADíNG..%?
L,# QAV =i nE
---I =s so§Y §§§§K§
-J
üE
--1'7\
EE
I L-a \
_--f:l
f¿r'TI
o-
1ú
:ft¿¡ =# offi*xs
:!1C,
z. 1\ §rrsrvt,,
,

=O -a E= uI
^=-u0l
""drt^.w ry,r'sfui" "?Snnr 9-
=RELIGIoN li.rq¡1.i
=-
=q
-*L

6%tffi¡**.
t^- ñ |:: l-
PAINTINGARTÉ
(,:..
LIJ':
J j
É
*
" E nrnornie
üi I l'ii 11....;' FOLKLOHE;í sociÁi stuLpTriffiffi

G ffi Wort< in pairs. Choose three ideas from Exercises A

and B and discuss examples of these in your own culture.
A: Let's talk about food in our culture.
B: Yes, good idea. So, / guess family /unches on Sundays are a
big part of our culture.
D Look at the pictures. Choose words from Exercises A
and B to discuss which aspects of culture these images
represent.

E @ work in pairs or small teams. Develop a culture

collage about your country or a different country REFLECT ... riow con noving
that you are interested in. Your collage could include oworeness of your own culture ond
photos, drawings, newspaper clippings, or even items other cultures be useful to you in
that represent aspects of a culture. Present your Work qnd Cqreer ond Study ond
culture collage to the class. Leorning?

Culture vulture
A Complete the sentences with words in the box. (6 points)
amazing awful dull fascinating hilarious weird
1 lthinkthewaythisartistusescolorisgreatlHispaintingsare-l
2 That movie was so I almost fell asleep!
3 The main character in that movle made me feel uncomfortable. He was really
4 I don't like reality TV shows. I think they're
5 What a book! The ideas are really interesting and original.
6 lthoughtTheSimpsonsMovieWaS-.lcouldn,tstoplaughing.
B Circle the correct words to complete the conversation. (9 points)
A: l'm bored. There's nothing to do around here.
B: l'm 1t¡ going to / going to see a play at the theater tonight. Do you want to come? Or there's
a comedy show on Saturday nights. My friends and I often (zt go to / jointhat.
A: No, thanks. I don't like comedy shows. I never find them that funny.
B: Oh, OK. Well, how about tsl taking / going to see a sculpture exhibition with me tomorrow?
A: I don't want to t4l go to / learn about sculpture. I don't like it.
B: Well, would you Iike to (s) join / go to a museum?
A: Yes, maybe. I would Iike to (6) go to see / learn more about history, actually.
B: So why don't you (T take / go to see a history class at the college? And you should lq join / take
a book club. You love readingl
A: That! a great idea. Then I can (e) join / learn about literature, tool

SCORE: /1s

complete these statements with as ... as or the superlative form of the

adjective in parentheses. (L5 points)
rlloveCS/:LosAngeles.lt,srrl-(goodTVshowonrightnow.IalsolikeCS/;NY,
bUtitiSn,t(2)-(good)CS/:LosAngeles,soldon,twatcheveryshow.
z Going to the theater isn't (3) (cheap) going to the movies, but it isn't
(4)-(expensive)goingtoareStaurant.That,sveryexpensive.
¡Ronaldois(s)-(amazing)SoCCerplayerintheworld.PeoplesayPeléwas
the best player, but I don't think he was (ó) (talente{ Ronaldo.
+lnmyopinion,sculptureis(z)-(fascinating)formofart'lloveit!Tome,painting
isn,t(e)(interesting)sculpture.Rodin,ssculpturesare(9)-(beautifu|)
sculptures l've ever seen.
s A burger without cheese is (ro) *"-*** (good) a burger with cheese. They're the same.
But a burger with no ketchup is (rr) "-* (bad) thing in the worldl
oIlovecomedymovies,andlthinkGroundhogDayis(12)-(hitarious)movieofall.
GhostbustersWaSamazing,too,butitwasn,t(r3)-(funny)GroundhogDay.
zAl|ofthesepaintingsarereallyweird,butthisis(t¿)-(weird)oneofalllAndthe
artist's photographs are (15) (strange) her paintings.

SCORE: /1s