Unit 6 Stages in life

CHANGING

R ich and Amanda Ligato were professional

people with successful careers. Every week,
they worked hard. They often intended to do
something fun and exciting at the weekend but, in
the end, there was never time. One day they asked
themselves, 'Is this all there is?'

They realised that they wanted to stop working

and to go travelling. Or, as Rich said, 'To buy our
freedom.' But first they needed to save some
money. Every month they lived on Rich's salary and
saved Amanda's. Then they bought a campervan to
travel from the bottom of South America to Brazil
and from there they hoped to get to Africa on a
container ship.

Colleagues at work found their decision difficult to

understand. Even their closest friends thought they
were crazy to go on this kind of journey but finally,
the day came. They left their home and started to
live their dream.

� :>ronunciation /t";}/
Marie (45) and Javier (43)
1.37 Listen to the sentences in Exercise 7. Notice
This couple are both accountants and they own
bow to is not stressed /tu:/ but pronounced /t-;,/. Listen
a small apartment in a city. They love skiing but
again and repeat.
they never have time because the mountains are so
far away.
"Nrite your own sentences using the sentence
neginnings (1-7) in Exercise 7. Then compare yom
sentences with your partner. Ahmed (25)
When he was young, he wanted to star in films but

:oeaking his parents said it was difficult to be an actor. So

Work in groups of three or £om. Imagine you are one
of the people on the right. Read about your current
3tuation and make plans for the future. Is there
.anything you need to do or buy in order to change
your life?
Present your plans and intentions to your group. Do
rlley think it's a good idea to do these things or do
mey find them difficult to understand?
he studied engineering at university and he got a
good job. However, sometimes he still dreams about
being in films.
Lucy (68)
She's a retired teacher and gets a good pension, but
life at home is boring. She never travelled when
she was younger but she likes watching travel
programmes on TV.

• 1fJ:f•l!Ji ► A LIFE-CHANGING DECISION PLANNING A CELEBRATION EVENTS IN THE YEAR AN INVITATION 71

A DESCRIPTION
 reading and vocabulary celebrations • listening preparing for a festival • grammar future forms •
pronunciation contracted forms • speaking planning a celebration
6b World party
Reading and vocabulary
celebrations
1 Which events do you celebrate in
your cotmtry? When do you have
parties?
When a child is born, everyone in
the family has a party.
2 Look at the first paragraph of the
article. Why is it called 'World party'?
3 Read the article. Match the sentences
(1-6) to the place described.
1 TI1ere were no Mardi Gras
celebrations here before the
mid-1800s.
2 It has the oldest celebration.
3 One type of food is decorated with
different coloms.
4 One type of musical instrument is
especially important.
5 One type of music is especially
important.
6 People can travel to the party on a
type of boat.
72
WORLD PARTY
People in different countries celebrate
Mardi Gras with live music, costumes,
fireworks, parades and lots of good food.
The most famous celebrations are in New Orleans, Venice,
Rio de Janeiro and Port-of-Spain.
New Orleans, USA
Small parties for Mardi Gras began in the 1700s. By the 1800s
they were huge events with masks, costumes and jazz bands.
Visitors also have to try 'King Cake' with its gold, purple and
green decorations.
Venice, Italy
Mardi Gras is called Carnevale in this beautiful city. The first
celebrations were in the 11th century and you can still enjoy
the costumes, candles and fireworks at night from a gondola
in Venice's canals.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The world famous parades started in the mid-1800s with
decorated floats and thousands of people dancing to samba.
There is also the famous meat and bean stew called Feijoda.
Port-of-Spain, Trinidad
The French landed here in the 18th century and brought Mardi
Gras with them. Nowadays, everyone enjoys the parties and
concerts with the famous steel drums from morning to midnight.
4 Find words in the article for these pictures.
1 2 3
6
4 5 7
5 Work in groups. Describe your favourite festival or celebration
in your country. Think about these things.
• History: W hen and why did it begin?
• Traditional food: Is there any special food like cakes with
candles?
• Clothes: Do people wear special costumes or masks?
• Parades: Do people walk round the streets or ride on floats?
Do you have fireworks in the evenings?
• Live music: Is music imp01iant? What kind of music do
peop.le play?