Lessons 2A–3A Success and failure, chance and risk

• I can identify specific details in a recording and talk about success and failure.
• I can talk about chance, risk, opportunity and luck.

When things go wrong: can failure lead to success?

Could failure be a step towards success? Say why.

What is the problem in each photo?

Four people, four mistakes

Listen for what each speaker says about their mistake.

• a This mistake was about doing things in the wrong order.
• b Other people took the mistake less seriously than the speaker initially did.
• c This mistake came as a shock to the speaker.
• d The speaker believes their life would be better now if they hadn’t made the mistake.

Listen to four people talking about mistakes. For Speakers 1–4, choose from the list (a–d) what each speaker says.

How did Speaker 1 eventually get into the meeting room?

How would Speaker 2’s life have been different if she hadn’t made a mistake?

Why didn’t Speaker 3’s idea work?

What has Speaker 4 learnt from her mistake?

Flourish or flop: words for success and failure

Eight words, two groups: which ones mean things went well?

• blunder
• flop
• flourish
• get nowhere
• masterstroke
• mess up
• pay off
• setback

Complete the table with the words from the box.

1 I was embarrassed and felt like I’d really ___.

2 It was a huge ___ and I didn’t get the marks I needed to go to that university.

3 In the end, I ___ there and got a great degree.

4 I had what I thought was a really good idea – a ___.

5 I really tried, but just ___, and in the end I gave up.

6 If I’d invested a few weeks in finding out about my business idea, it would have really ___.

7 But I did learn something from the ___ – do your market research first.

8 The idea did not succeed and was a complete ___.

Are you a risk taker?

Are you a risk taker? Do the quiz and find out. Check your score on page 77.

What your quiz score says

Add up your points, then read your result.

Study Active Vocabulary and complete the binomials with the words from the box using the correct conjunctions.

1 At some point, you will have to make a decision.

2 The best universities can select which students to accept.

3 They wanted me to sign up for the course immediately, with no time at all to consider.

4 Although she was ten years older, she looked about the same age as me.

5 After a hazardous journey, they were relieved to get home with no problems.

Risk, chance, opportunity or luck?

Four easily confused words, one box of examples.

• The two words often begin with the same letter (slowly but surely).
• Sometimes they have a similar or opposite meaning (peace and quiet, highs and lows).

Study Watch Out! Then find five expressions with these words in the quiz in Exercise 1.

1 Given the ___, where would you most like to travel?

2 I’d like to take this ___ to thank you for all your help.

3 As soon as I heard about the trip, I grabbed the ___ to go on it.

4 This is your last ___; I won’t make the offer again.

5 I’m sure parachuting would be exciting, but it wouldn’t be worth the ___.

Binomials: two words, one phrase

Pairs like slowly but surely are fixed: the order does not change.