Reading and Writing

• I can identify attitudes and feelings of characters in a text and talk about the problems of poverty.
• I can use defining and non-defining relative clauses to give additional information.
• I can use generalisations to talk about something that is usually true.
• I can write an opinion essay.

Oliver Twist: a boy against poverty

1 SPEAKING In pairs, look at the cover of a book. Do you know this story? If not, what do you think it is about?

2 Read the summary of Oliver Twist and answer the questions below.

1 What kinds of people lived in a workhouse?

2 Why did Oliver decide to walk to London?

3 Why do you think Fagin and Mr Sikes used children to take things from people?

3 Read the text again and choose the correct answers.

1 Why was Oliver sad to leave the house for orphans?

a It was where he was born.

b The orphans helped each other.

c He had plenty to eat there.

2 Why do you think Fagin gave Oliver food and a bed to sleep on?

a He wanted to help the poor orphans of London.

b He wanted Oliver to trust him and then work for him.

c He was a rich man in a smart, modern house.

3 Why did Oliver’s brother Monks want Oliver to be a thief?

a He could get watches and jewellery from him.

b He was an honest person.

c He wanted to have all of his mother’s money.

make ends meet a subsistence living day-to-day huddled together hand-to-mouth sense of belonging malnourished beg went hungry gathered together skinny feel at home 4 Match the highlighted words/phrases in the text with their definitions below. For some of the definitions there is more than one correct answer.

1 to have just enough money to buy what you need

2 dealing with things without thinking about the future

3 didn’t have enough food

4 sat or stood very close to other people

5 ask for money or food from strangers

6 very thin

7 be comfortable in a particular place

Old technology, old words: where do they come from?

1 SPEAKING In pairs, discuss the question. What do you think is the origin of these phrases? cc an email go online hang up the phone

2 3.12 Listen to Heba talking to her grandfather. Check your ideas from Exercise 1. What new expressions does Heba teach him?

3 THINK BACK Study the underlined relative clauses a and b and answer the questions.

a The house which we just walked past belongs to my grandfather.

b My grandfather’s house, which I love, isn’t very modern.

1 Which sentence gives essential information that cannot be omitted? (defining relative clause)

2 Which sentence gives extra information that can be omitted? (non-defining relative clause)

1 that you can keep in your pocket 2 where the phone was kept 3 who I was usually talking to 4 that connected your computer with the telephone line 5 which was really irritating 4 Read some extracts from the conversation between Heba and her grandfather. Which of the underlined relative clauses are defining?

1 … phones are something that you can keep in your pocket.

2 I had to go into the hall, where the phone was kept, and everyone could hear every word I said.

3 My best friend, who I was usually talking to, used to get fed up with me whispering all the time!

4 … you had to have a wire that connected your computer with the telephone line.

5 ...it took ages to get a connection, which was really irritating.

5 Read the sentences in Exercise 4 and answer the questions.

1 In which type of relative clause can we use that instead of which or who?

2 In which sentence can you omit the relative pronoun without affecting the meaning? Why is this?

3 What does the relative pronoun in Sentence 2 refer to?

4 In which sentence is the relative clause a comment on the whole of the main clause?

6 Rewrite the pairs of sentences as one sentence using a relative clause.

1 Televisions used to have a dial. The dial was used to change the channel.

2 Technology is always changing. I find this exciting.

3 Husam has lost his phone. He is very absent-minded.

7 Study two participle clauses from the conversation in Exercise 2, and compare them with similar sentences using full relative clauses. Complete the rules below.

a There was a wire attaching the phone to the wall. (Present participle clause) There was a wire which attached the phone to the wall. (relative clause) b The copy made by the carbon paper was called the carbon copy. (Past participle clause) The copy which was made by the carbon paper was called the carbon copy. (relative clause) 1 We use a Present participle to replace a relative clause with an active / a passive verb.

2 We use a Past participle to replace a relative clause with an active / a passive verb.

Generations: what are they like?

1 In small groups, look at memes A–D about different generations. What characteristics are they joking about? Are the jokes fair?

2 3.13 Listen to a radio phone-in programme about three different generations and make notes.

Exercise 2: Baby boomers (born 1946–1964), Generation X (born 1965–1980), Millennials (born 1981–2000) — Events which influenced them, Attitude towards work, Personality characteristics.

3 3.13 Study the Speaking box. Then listen again and tick the phrases you hear.

4 Rewrite the sentences as generalisations using the words in brackets.

1 Generation Z spend a lot of time online. (general)

2 They know how to make the best of social media. (whole)

3 They take offence very easily. (tend)

4 They have an entrepreneurial spirit. (nine)

5 They like getting a bargain. (cases)

6 They are into experiences rather than material possessions. (extent)

• On the whole, …
• In general, …
• In some/many/most cases, …
• Broadly speaking, …
• By and large, …
• More often than not, …
• Nine times out of ten, …
• 90 percent of the time, …
• To some/a great extent, …
• … tend to think/say/believe …
• There’s a tendency for … to …

Are families as close as they used to be?

1 In pairs, read the Fact Box and answer the questions. 1 Do any of the facts surprise you? If so, which ones? If not, why not? 2 Would you agree that families have less quality time together than in the past? 3 Are families less close than they used to be?

Now: what makes this essay work?

Now read one student’s answer to a question about families.

3 Read the essay again. Which paragraphs are about the topics listed in the essay question?

4 Study the Writing box and answer the questions.

1 What is the thesis of the essay?

2 What arguments does the writer give to support the thesis?

3 How does the thesis relate to the conclusion?

Many people today feel that I would argue that It is commonly accepted that can be seen as I believe that I would say that 5 Complete the Writing box with the underlined phrases from the essay.

Personally, ... / In my opinion, ... / My personal conviction is that ... / 1 __ / 2 _ / 3 ___.

It is often argued that … / It is often held that ... / It is widely believed that ... / 4 __ / 5 _ / 6 ___.

• Introduction: Summarise the topic of the essay, using your own words as far as possible, and state your position (thesis) with regard to the topic.
• Main body: Include two or three paragraphs setting out your arguments. You must include the two topics given in the essay question, plus an idea of your own. Each paragraph should be about one main idea.
• Conclusion: Summarise the main points of the essay and restate your opinion or thesis on the topic.

• Use semi-formal or quite formal register.
• Give your personal opinion using:
• Personally, ... / In my opinion, ... / My personal conviction is that ... / 1 __ / 2 _ / 3 ___.
• Include more impersonal views using:
• It is often argued that … / It is often held that ... / It is widely believed that ... / 4 __ / 5 _ / 6 ___.
• Try to use a variety of linkers:
• Nevertheless, …, In addition, …, Therefore, …

6 CRITICAL THINKING Study Active Writing. Then underline the topic sentences in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of the model essay in Exercise 2.

Which words in the summary describe a life of poverty?

Relative clauses: essential or extra?

• There are two kinds of relative clauses: defining and non-defining.
• Defining clauses are necessary to give essential information about exactly which person/thing is being talked about in the sentence. Commas are never used.
• We can use that instead of who/which in defining clauses: The person who/that designed the house is a world-famous architect. The land where the house is built is extremely picturesque.
• When the relative pronoun is the object of the relative clause, you can omit who/which/that: The house (which/that) the family has built is unique.
• When the relative pronoun is the subject of the relative clause, you cannot omit who/which/that: It was the woman who/that had arrived earlier that day.

• There are two kinds of non-defining clauses:
• to give extra, non-essential information about the person or thing being talked about in the sentence: He had just arrived home with his wife, who had been working that afternoon. The building, which many considered ugly at first, is today a UNESCO World Heritage site.
• to add a comment about the first part of the sentence. We always use which in these clauses: People from all over the world visit the museum, which shows how deeply they are interested in learning about science.
• Non-defining clauses always need commas: on either side if it’s in the middle of the sentence, or before if it’s at the end.
• We never use that in non-defining clauses.

• Prepositions in relative clauses: Prepositions usually go at the end of the clause in conversational English. In more formal written and spoken contexts, they can go at the beginning, but must be followed by which (for things) or whom (for people):
• This house is more modern than the last house (which/that) they lived in. = This house is more modern than the last house in which they lived.
• The architect knew the couple (who/that) he had designed the house for. = The architect knew the couple for whom he had designed the house.

Participle clauses: shorter and neater

• Participle clauses: We use a Present participle clause for an action or state that happened at the same time or after an event in the story: His system transformed their lives, enabling them to read and write. (because it enabled them)
• Participle and main clauses must have the same subject.
• A present (starting) or past (started) participle is often used to replace a relative clause:
• We use a Present participle to replace a relative clause with an active verb, e.g. There was a wire which attached the phone to the wall. = There was a wire attaching the phone to the wall.
• We use a Past participle to replace a relative clause with a passive verb, e.g. The copy which was made by the carbon paper was called the carbon copy. = The copy made by the carbon paper was called the carbon copy.