Lessons 5A–6A Selfies, impersonal passive structures

• I can understand and talk about taking selfies.
• I can use impersonal passive structures to talk about beliefs and opinions.

Why do people take selfies?

In pairs, discuss the questions. Why do people take selfies? Do you ever take selfies? Say why.

Listen to a radio programme, then see what Faten thinks.

Listen to a radio programme about selfies. What reasons for taking them are mentioned?

Listen to the programme again and choose the correct answers.

1 Faten thinks the main reason selfies became so popular is because a people wanted to be able to create an ideal image of themselves.

b social networking provided a reason for people to share self-portraits.

c modern technology made it more straightforward to take photos of ourselves.

d people like looking at photos of themselves.

2 What does Faten think about the habit of taking group selfies on a day out?

a It’s a good way to record memories.

b It’s boring for other people who weren’t present at the time.

c It’s a way of making people envious of your popularity.

d It gets in the way of people having fun.

3 Which of the following is stated as a fact and not an opinion?

a Some people don’t want photos of themselves to look like selfies.

b It’s fashionable to employ a local photographer to capture perfect images.

c Young people reject most of the photos which they take of themselves.

d People who are bothered about what they look like, don’t worry how much they spend.

4 How does Faten feel about people who take dangerous selfies?

a admiring b sympathetic c excited d confused

Eight words for the way we show ourselves

Who really invented the telephone?

Which invention do you think has been most important in history? Say why.

Read the article and notice what is only reported, not proved.

Read the article about Alexander Graham Bell and list four pieces of information about the inventor that we are not completely sure are true.

Reporting what people believe, say or claim

Which structures let us report an opinion without saying who holds it?

• In March 1876, the Scottish scientist Alexander Graham Bell called his assistant Thomas Watson and said, ‘Mr Watson, come here, I want to see you.’
• These are thought to have been the first words ever spoken on a telephone.
• We don’t know for sure because other scientists were experimenting with similar ideas, but Alexander quickly registered his idea and now he is widely reported to be the inventor of the telephone.

• Today, it is estimated that there are more phones in the world than people!
• It is estimated that there are more than 8.5 billion mobile phones in a world that has a population of around 8 billion people.
• Even more people may have phones in the future, so Alexander’s invention was truly remarkable.

• It is believed that Alexander became interested in studying sound because both his wife and his mother were deaf.
• Although he is most famous for inventing the telephone, he also invented a device that could be used to detect hearing problems.
• It has often been remarked that Alexander did not like to have a telephone in his study because it disturbed him from his work!
• Perhaps that is why he was able to invent other things too, including an early metal detector and a device to detect icebergs in the sea.

• Not everybody believes Alexander Graham Bell was the inventor of the telephone.
• An Italian inventor called Antonio Meucci was widely reported to have invented a telephone in 1856, 20 years before Alexander.
• The Italians did not have enough money to develop his invention, however, and although Italians claim Meucci is the true inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell is the name forever associated with a device that has become a vital part of our lives.

Match sentences 1–3 from the text with patterns a–c in the Grammar box below.

1 □ These are thought to have been the first words ever spoken on a telephone.

2 □ It is believed that Alexander became interested in studying sound because ...

3 □ He is widely reported to be the inventor of the telephone.

• We can report people’s beliefs and opinions using verbs such as say, think, believe, know, claim, estimate, expect and a passive structure.
• There are three patterns:

Practice: rewrite with the right pattern

Rewrite the sentences using patterns b and c from the Grammar box.

1 People say that a scientist called Elisha Gray invented the phone at the same time as Alexander Graham Bell.

2 Initially, people thought the telephone was only for rich people.

3 Experts have estimated that the majority of people in the world own a smartphone.