Английский язык. Пятьдесят тем для продолжающих. Уровень В1

Training 1

You can use your current account from day to day. You can put money in it or take money out. If you want to pay money into your account you simply fill in a very short form and pay in the money. If you want to take money out of your account, it is the same procedure. You usually get a statement, once a month, from the bank. It shows how much money you have in your account.

Training 2

If you need money for shopping you don’t have to go into the bank. You can use ‘the hole in the wall’, this is the cash or ATM machine. You simply put your plastic bank card in, enter your personal identification number, say how much money you want and the machine will give it to you. You can also use your bank card to buy goods and services.

3. Being Famous

Who are the famous people in the twenty-first century? They are film stars, pop stars, politicians, sportsmen and sportswomen. It’s interesting that most people know of some pop stars, film stars, sportsmen and women. However, fewer people know of politicians, writers, poets and artists. Most young people know Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, David Beckham and Madonna, and of course, even ten years after her death, Princess Diana. What makes these people famous? Of course, newspapers and magazines, television, cinema and the Internet. It’s interesting that most of the famous people are in the world of show business. You can see stars on the covers of many magazines. Many magazines tell only about the lives of pop stars or film stars. Of course, being famous means money, a beautiful lifestyle and power. You can get a lot of money for your job. Can you imagine how much money Tom Cruise gets to make just one film? But what about the associated problems? Being famous means that you don’t have a private life. If you go shopping or to a restaurant everybody knows you. And, of course, there is always the paparazzi. These are photographers of famous people. They always follow you and wait outside your house just to take photographs. If you are famous, you don’t know who your real friends are and who are not. Perhaps the most famous person in the world was Princess Diana. But during her lifetime many newspapers and people criticised her. She couldn’t live a normal life. And there is no better story for a newspaper or magazine than a scandal about a famous person. Scandals sell newspapers and magazines. So, the next time you dream about being famous, just remember all the problems that it can bring.

1. Who are the famous people in the twenty-first century?

2. Most people don’t know pop stars and film stars, do they?

3. Do a lot of people know politicians and writers?

4. What famous people are known all over the world?

5. What makes these people famous?

6. Most of the famous people are in banking business, aren’t they?

7. Where can you often see stars?

8. What do many magazines like to tell about?

9. What does being famous mean?

10. Do famous people get a lot of money?

11. What sort of problems do famous people have?

12. What are the photographers that follow famous people called?

13. What happens when a famous person goes shopping?

14. Why can’t a famous person have a quiet meal in a restaurant?

15. Can famous people distinguish between a real friend and an enemy?

16. Who is one of the most famous people in the world?

17. Did many newspapers criticize Diana during her lifetime?

18. Could Diana lead a normal life?

19. Why do the press like scandals about a famous person?

20. What should you remember when you dream about being famous?

Training 1

Most famous people are in the world of show business. These are pop stars, film stars and TV presenters. You can see show-business stars on the covers of many magazines. Newspapers, magazines and the Internet tell about the lives of famous people. Famous people get a lot of money for their work. Being famous means wealth, an enviable life style and power.

Training 2

Being a famous person means that you don’t have a private life. If you go shopping or to a restaurant everybody knows you. There are a lot of photographers that follow you around. The most annoying ones are paparazzi. Paparazzi always wait outside your house just to take photographs and then sell them to a newspaper. And there is no better story for the tabloid press than a scandal about a famous person!

4. Best and Worst Teachers

It is really easy to find out who are the best and worst teachers. I guess most teachers are good. They are not bad, they are not excellent, but they are good and they give good lessons. And the best teachers are always very strict, but they make their lessons really interesting. You work hard and they don’t accept any sort of low quality homework. They pack a lot into the lessons. They talk to us as adults, as intelligent adults. They expect that we can understand what they are explaining, work fast, come up with questions and think for ourselves. I think the other teachers that are good, but not brilliant, are a bit too easy-going. You can give in poor homework and not learn anything. Our History teacher is one of the really good teachers. He gets us all arguing and discussing. That is really great. You have to read, try to think and analyze. So that is interesting. And this is the same with the English Literature classes. We analyze all the characters, the author and the style. It is interesting too. And the worst teacher. She teaches Religious Studies. She talks about religion and the Bible as if it is all a fairy story. And she can’t keep discipline. We do terrible things in her classroom. I think she is in the wrong profession. She can’t make the lessons interesting. I suppose the best teachers have a strong character and they are really interested in their subjects. My Mum can remember every teacher. It is something you never really forget. At the moment one of the worst teachers for me personally is our Maths teacher. That is not because she is a bad teacher. It is because I am bad at Maths. So I think she is a good teacher but just not for me.

1. Is it easy or difficult to find out who the best teachers are?

2. Are most teachers good or bad?

3. Are the best teachers sometimes very strict?

4. How do you work if your teacher is strict?

5. How do the best teachers talk to their students?

6. What do excellent teachers expect from their students?

7. What sort of homework do they accept?

8. What kind of teachers accept low quality homework?

9. Is Julia’s History teacher a good or a bad teacher?

10. What does Julia’s History teacher gets his students to do?

11. What does Julia do during the English Literature classes?

12. Who is Julia’s worst teacher?

13. How does the teacher tell the pupils about the Bible?

14. Why does Julia think that the teacher is in the wrong profession?

15. What sort of character do the best teachers have?

16. What are the best teachers really interested in?

17. What can’t Julia’s mother forget?

18. Is Julia’s maths teacher one of her best teachers?