Unit 1: Friends

Do you have a lot of close friends? (or) Tell me about your friends? (or) Do you have many
friends?
I have only two best friends I would confide in. I’m quite picky and more importantly, I have a
somewhat fear that none of my friends really like me and so it is hard for me to live in harmony
with them.
Do you think friendship is important?
There is no doubt that friendships play a vital role in our life. They make our lives interesting
and wonderful. They help us develop a sense of sharing about some aspects in life. Futhermore,
they are persons who we can trust and enjoy our comforts when being with them. That’s why I
really appreciate friendship.
Which do you prefer: to spend time with a friend or spend time alone? (or) How often do
you go out with your friends?
I think I like spending time with my friends the most. This is because I’m quite a busy person
who is always up to my ears in studying and hectic schedule. As a result, I really appreciate the
weekends that I have quality time to hang out with my friends, sometimes talking over a cup of
coffee is enough.
4What kind of people do you like to have as friends?
To me, there are three main qualities that I consider when finding friends. First of all, trust is the
most important, which mean I can confide in them to share my secret. The second is that I want
to make friends with those who are hard-working, so we can motivate each other to work harder.
The last one can be compatibility. I mean having a friend who has the same interests as me can
be easier to discuss our favourite topics in our conversations.
5Do you like face-to-face conversations with people?
Yes, of course, rather than chatting with people via social networking sites, it is more
comfortable for me to strike up a face-to-face conversations with someone. This is because I
want to have physical interaction to know more about other people.
7How often do you meet with your friends?
To be honest, I am always as busy as a bee with my hectic schedule. Therefore, I spend most of
my time studying at school and at home. That’s why I can only meet my friends on weekends.
8What do you and your friends do together?
My closest friends and I have a same interest in shopping for clothes. So whenever we have
time, we will shop until we drop. Sometimes when we are out of money, just window shopping
would be enough to have fun. From time to time, we travel to somewhere to take photos
9How do people in your country meet others and make friends?
I don’t think it matters what country you’re from. In every country, you can make friends just by
sitting next to someone a few times during class, then a friendship happens. Otherwise, you can
make online friends through social networks like Facebook or Twitter.
10Do adults and children make friends in the same way?
Adults use self-disclosure to develop trust and loyalty among friends. This is quite complicated
in practice while children usually use common interests and goals as the basis of their
friendships. More importantly, kids have a whale of a time with whoever, but adults have to use
their time for work and taking care of their family.
11Do you think it is possible to become real friends with people you meet on the internet?
Of course, it is possible to establish real friendships through the internet. What you need in a
friendship is truthfulness, reliability, empathy, respect and loyalty. If you’re getting all that from
your online friends then you can consider them as genuine friends. If not, I think physical
interaction is a need to build up a real friendship.
UNIT 2: ART.
1 Do you like art? ( are you good at art?)
To be honest, I used to have a passion for art when I was a child. That’s why I took part in many
art contests to showcase my competence and also achieved some prizes. But when I get older,
my love for art is gone away, so I merely admire works of art of famous artists. As a result, I am
bad at drawing now.
2 Do you think art classes are necessary? (Why?)/ How do you think art classes affect
children’s development?
Yes, definitely. Learning arts, especially at a young age, can help stimulate children’s cognitive
development and encourage them to think outside the box. Because they’re still little, their ideas
are very fresh and lovely, which is worth appreciating at art.
4 What kind of paintings do people like?
In my opinion, people love hanging landscape paintings at home. Bringing in the beauty of
Mother Nature somehow ease people’s mind after a long day at work. Another style of drawing
that most people also like is portrait. It could be portraits of someone important to them or even
their lovely pets.
5 What benefits can you get from painting as a hobby?
I think the mediation efficiency worth mentioning first. Colours in some ways reflect our
thoughts and emotions very well and somehow stimulate our body to defend against our
negativity inside. For me, in particular, I think what’s so interesting about painting is that you
have no idea how harmonized colours can become until you actually try.
UNIT 3: POSSESSION.
1. What kind of possessions do people value in your country?

(ANSWER)

That’s an interesting question. I suppose people tend to see modern devices as valuable.
I guess this is due to the influence of modern media. These days, advertisements for the newest
device can be seen everywhere which causes people to feel like they need them.
This is exemplified by iPhones. Even though they cost an arm and a leg, there's always queues to
buy them when a new model comes out. They fly off the shelves!

2. Has it always been the same or did people value different things in the past?

(ANSWER)

I've never thought about that before but if I had to guess, I'd say it hasn't changed much.
I say this because it seems to me that people have always wanted the latest thing.
I mean, obviously people didn't value iphones twenty or 30 years ago as they weren't available
but , for example, I remember my dad buying a tv when I was just a child. He was very excited
about it. Similar to iphones now; back then, I'm sure TV's were the latest technological items.

UNIT 4: BUSSINESS

1Why do some people decide to set up their own business?

Sometimes people set up their own business because they have new ideas to execute.
Moreover they feel confident enough to understand the pros and cons of the situation.
Some cases it’s just an emergency and in some it is just an experiment.
2What are some of the dangers involved in starting a business?
There are many dangers one should keep in mind before opening a business. First and foremost
is the probability that the business will be successful. Because spending a bag full of money on a
startup and failing it for lack of strategy is a waste of time and money.
3What are some of things you have to do when running your own business that might not
appeal to everyone?
One has to be selfish enough to not share their own strategies. Never start a business in
partnership. Also, one should not keep any dues.
1What challenges and difficulties do people face when they try to open a small business?
One of the main challenges for small businesses is just staying open. Most small businesses close
within a year after they’re open, so if they can tackle this fact, the next most important thing that
they’ll have to tackle is getting long-term customers. Depending on what kind of business
they’re starting, they’ll also have to advertise their products and services. A good advertisement
is really what makes the difference between the success and failure of their business.
2What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of small businesses compared to
large companies?
One advantage of having a small business is that you don’t have to rely on company rules,
regulations. You are free to operate as you please and don’t have to worry about getting the
approval of the CEO or some other person higher up on the ladder than you. There are some
disadvantages, though, to having a small business. The main one is that if you’re not careful, the
big businesses will put you out of business by slashing their prices or advertising heavily. You
see, they can afford to make their prices lower than yours simply because they have more money.
4Compare small shops with big international department stores and supermarkets.
I really don’t think there is any comparison. Small shops retain a personal touch and give you the
feeling that the owners are more than people who just want to make money. Small businesses
make you feel that you are contributing to keeping the community going by shopping there. Of
course, the big stores have a lot more variety and are able to have sales and cut their prices when
they need to.
6Why do some people open their own business?
People want be able to say, “this is mine.” They want to be able to do something on their own.
They want to see something grow that they had a direct part in. People also want to make money,
of course, and this might even be the main reason.
7What qualities does a small business owner need to have?
A small business owner would have to be diligent with his business, wanting to make sure that
things are done right, he would need to have patience, the ability to wait until the business starts
succeeding. He would have to have plenty of capital to get his business off the ground.
10Compare owning and running a small business to being an employee in a large company.
I think that I am passionate about this. I feel that owning and operating a small business is
everything good and working as a cog in a wheel for a large company is everything bad. Maybe
it’s just me, but I like to experiment and try new things and when you have your own business
you can do this. I’ve got to feel like I am making a difference; owning a small business would do
this for me.
UNIT 5: FEARS
.
1. What things are many people afraid of? insects, the dark, death, being embarrassed, your
boyfriend or girlfriend or husband or wife saying good-bye, losing your job, getting sick,
experiencing a disaster,

2. What are you most afraid of? Losing my beloved.

3. What were you afraid of as a child? Ghost

5. Many people are afraid of going to the dentist. Why? Experience pain

1. What is the most frightening (scary) experience you have ever had? Ghost at school

2. Have you ever overcome a big fear? How did you do it? If you haven't, how might someone
overcome a big fear? Fear of dropping out school.

3. Surveys have shown that more people are afraid of speaking in public than they are afraid of
death. Do you believe that? Why or why not?

4. Horror movies try to scare people. Why do people enjoy such movies?

5. Are there any parts of the city where you live which you are afraid to visit after dark? Why?

UNIT 6: RISKS AND CHALLENGING

(1) What images spring to mind when you hear the word ‘risk’?
(2) Do you take a lot of risks in life or are you risk averse?
(3) What’s the biggest risk you’ve ever taken?
(4) What risks are there in your normal daily life?
(5) What health risks do you worry about?
(6) What is something you would risk your life to get?
(7) What are the risks of using the Internet?
(8) What are the risks of not taking risks?
(9) Would you do a job that was full of risks?
(1) Would life be boring without risk?
 (2) Are risk-takers more successful in life?
(3) Do you think life is riskier today than it was 50 years ago?
(4) What is risk management? Have you ever applied it in your life?
(5) What risks have you taken that have gone wrong, and which have worked?
(6) Have you ever taken a risk with money and it paid off?
(7) If you invested money, would you be cautious and spread your risks, or be adventurous
and invest in high-risk investments?
(8) How do the risks in our life change as we move through childhood to old age?
(9) Do you live in a town that is risky to live in?
(10) Do you need to take risks to be better at English?
UNIT 7: THE ONLY CHILD.
1. How many brothers and sisters do you have?
2. How important are siblings?
3. Do you have any sibling rivalry?
4. What annoys you most about your siblings?
5. What’s the most common thing you and your siblings fight over?
6. In what ways are you totally different from your siblings?
7. How has your relationship with your siblings changed since you were a child?
8. “Brothers and sisters are as close as hands and feet.” Do you agree?.

(1) What images spring to mind when you hear the word ‘sibling’?
(2) How important are siblings?
(3) How many brothers and sisters would you like?
(4) What would you most like to change about your siblings?
(5) Do you have any sibling rivalry?
(6) What annoys you most about your siblings?
(7) Are friends or siblings more important in life?
(8) In what ways are you totally different from your siblings?
(9) What are the advantages and disadvantages of being the oldest and youngest sibling?
(10) What are the advantages and disadvantages of being in the middle?

(1) Do you think having siblings or being an only child is better?

(2) Brothers or sisters – which are better?
(3) What do you have in common with your siblings?
(4) What’s the most common thing you and your siblings fight over?
(5) Would you prefer older or younger brothers and sisters?
(6) Did your parents have a favourite or were all siblings treated the same?
(7) How has your relationship with your siblings changed since you were a child?
(8) What jealousies exist between you and your siblings?
(9) A Vietnamese proverb says: "Brothers and sisters are as close as hands and feet." Do you
 agree?
(10) Should siblings stay in contact with each other for as long as they live?