Steps in Speaking English (Шаги в разговорном английском)

You work for the “Print Machine”. You have a special offer on printer cartridges at the moment. Take the customer’s details and offer to visit his/her company.

Lesson III. Topics: Relationship, Love, Friendship

Vocabulary. Close people and things.

your best friend, your shoes, your teacher, your watch, your oldest friend, your mobile phone, your doctor, your pet, your relatives

Exercise 1. Choose three things/people from the list above. Tell the students how long you have know the people or had the things.

Vocabulary. Official relationship.

a colleague – someone you work with

an old school friend – someone you were at school with

get in touch – start having contact

go out (with someone) – have a romantic relationship

get on well (with someone) – have a good relationship

lose touch – have no more contact

ask someone out – invite someone to go on a date with you

grow apart – slowly stop having a good relationship

put up with – accept a bad situation without complaining

split up with – stop being someone’s partner

get over – stop feeling sad about an ex–partner

Exercise 2. Answer the questions.

1. Have you ever gone out with your colleague?

2. How often do you get in touch with your old school friends?

3. Do you get on well with your parents?

4. Do you usually lose touch with your ex–boyfriend/girlfriend?

5. Have you ever had a romantic relationship with your old friend?

6. Is it difficult for you to start having contact with new people? Why?

7. With whom have you no more contact? Why? Would you like to get in touch with these people again?

8. Do women ever ask men out in your country?

9. What do you think is the minimum time you should go out with someone before you get married?

10. Do you think couples who marry young often grow apart? Why/Why not?

11. If your partner never did housework, would you put up with it? Why/Why not?

12. For what reasons do people usually split up with their partner?

13. What different ways do people use to get over the end of a relationship?

Exercise 3. Read the text about smart agreements.

Love me forever… or pay 5 million dollars!

No one with big money in California or New York these days gets married without a pre–nuptial agreement. This is particularly true for Hollywood actors, who agree, for example, that a husband or wife will receive $5 million if their partner is unfaithful. But these agreements are also becoming popular in European countries such as Germany and the Netherlands. Australia, too, now accepts them.

Bus driver Nick Palmer, from Perth, is delighted. His girlfriend Kate Brown has asked him to marry her. Nick has agreed but plans to sign a pre–nuptial agreement first. 'Kate mustn't cut her hair short and she mustn't stay out late,' he told us. 'Last year she forgot the anniversary of the day we met and then she lost her temper. She definitely mustn't do that again.' Kate thinks he's making a fuss over nothing. 'He'll have a good life. I haven't got a job so I can stay at home all day. In the agreement it says that he doesn't have to do much housework. He doesn't have to do the cooking. All he has to do is the washing up.' However, Nickolas has a surprise for Kate. And it was interesting for her to know about it. 'There's one thing in the agreement that she doesn't know about yet. Before I marry Kate, she has to … get a job!'

Exercise 4. Read the article again and answer true or false.

1. Nick asked his girlfriend to marry him.

2. Nick likes short hair.

3. Kate sometimes loses her temper.

4. Kate wants Nick to do the washing up.

5. Nick wants his wife to get a job.

Vocabulary. Obligation or no obligation.

Exercise 5. Make your own smart agreement, using words from vocabulary. Choose one of the situations below and discuss how to make them successful. Imagine that you are going to:

1. marry a millionaire/ess

2. go into business with a friend

3. travel around the world with a friend

4. share a flat with someone you don’t know well

Example: OUR SMART AGREEMENT

I have to:__________________________________________

I don’t have to:_____________________________________