Reading and comprehension

Who am I?

Who am I? UNIT 10

1 Discuss the questions in pairs or small groups. 1 What do you think are the main things that make up who you are: your family? your hobbies? your nationality? anything else? 2 Do you ever feel pressure to be like other people? 2 Read the three texts quickly. Then answer the questions.

‘problem page’ in a young people’s magazine? 2 Which text probably comes from an academic book?

3 Which text probably comes from a book review?

3 Read the texts again. Then complete the tasks on page 103.

What Professor Gordon is mainly concerned with is the way social and economic changes affect personal identity. The main chapters argue that the

ways people used to define themselves – by their profession or nationality for example – are disappearing. ‘People,’ he writes, ‘now find they need to build new

Later in the book, he describes the different ways people do this. Often,

am what I buy’). The growth of social media, however, has led to the greatest change. Nowadays, you are whoever you tell people you are online. 5 10 15 TEXT A

TEXT B

The question of how much of our character is due to biology and how much is shaped by experience (often called the ‘nature or nurture’ argument), has been going on for centuries. It’s a vital question that has implications for many different fields, from psychology to politics. If someone was born selfish, for example, how can we criticise them for their selfishness? If, on the other hand, our character depends on how we are brought up, childcare and education become much more important. Although the evidence is complex and there are extreme views on both sides, there is a consensus among experts that the definition of an individual is a combination of genetics and upbringing. To put it simply: just because you’re born a certain way doesn’t mean you can’t change. 5

TEXT C

All my classmates seem to like the same clothes, music and so on, and do the same kind of things, like playing computer games and chatting on their phones. I pretend to be interested, but if I’m honest, that’s not who I am. I know I should have the confidence to be myself, but the fact is that I don’t. I’m afraid I’ll end up having no friends at all. What should I do?

(Amina, 15) Don’t worry, you’re not alone. This is such a common worry among young people because the pressure to conform is very strong, both from your peers and from the media generally. I think you’ve answered your own question though: it’s all about feeling confident. How do you know that a lot of your other classmates aren’t also pretending? In a few years’ time, I’m sure you’ll find that your friends find other ways to define themselves. 5 10 15 ‘I am a teenage girl.’

‘I am a Palestinian.’

1 Replace the underlined parts of the sentences with words or phrases from the texts. 1 An important part of growing up is developing an idea of who you are. (Text A) 2 The buying and using of goods is important for national economies. (Text A) 3 Since he was a child, he has never wanted to be the same as others. (Text B) 4 Wanting to be liked by other people in a similar situation is natural. (Text B) 5 What are the lessons or conclusions of this discovery for the future? (Text C) 6 I’m very interested in the study of how the mind works. (Text C) 7 I don’t like him much because he’s so unaware of other people’s feelings. (Text C) 8 He was raised to adulthood by his grandparents. (Text C) 9 At the end of the meeting, we reached a general agreement. (Text C) 2 Complete the tables with words from the texts. Then use six of them to complete the sentences below. VERB NOUN combine

consume

definition

effect

1 Most people aren’t either good or bad, but a _ of the two. 2 Don’t be polite; just give me your opinion. 3 Be careful about putting too much information online for everyone to see. 4 Texting won’t young people’s ability to use language properly. 5 The two dictionaries the word in different ways. 6 People’s increased _ of sugar is causing health problems. 3 Decide whether the statements are TRUE or FALSE according to the texts. Write the phrase or sentence from the text that helped you decide. 1 The main topic of Professor Gordon’s book is the effect of losing your job.

TRUE FALSE 2 Social media now has an important effect on people’s identities.

TRUE FALSE 3 Amina’s problem is unusual.

TRUE FALSE 4 The ‘nature or nurture argument’ has limited importance.

TRUE FALSE 5 People can’t really change the character they are born with.

TRUE FALSE ADJECTIVE NOUN

selfish

confidence honesty

national

1 Read the quotations. Then discuss the questions in pairs or small groups.

by Rene Magritte (1928–29) 1 What do you think the quotation is saying about names? 2 What do you think the artist means by saying ‘This is not a pipe’? 2 Read the article about brands. Then complete the tasks on page 105. Like people, products have identities, and they’re called brands. When Shakespeare claimed that a rose would smell the same no matter what it was called, he got it half right. In one way, names aren’t important, but in the world of commerce and advertising, a product’s name is part of its identity or its brand, and that can mean the difference between huge success and disastrous failure. How often do you hear people say things like ‘I always buy X’, where X is a type of phone, car or washing powder? This kind of brand loyalty is what every marketing department dreams of creating, because it’s like gold. Just to demonstrate what a strong force it is, let me tell you about the results of a survey among American consumers. They were asked what products they always bought and would never exchange for another brand. It turned out that large numbers of people were loyal to brands that no longer existed. Several people claimed they ‘always bought’ something that hadn’t been available for over thirty years. So, if you’re in manufacturing or marketing, your aim is to build up a brand with a good public image. Remember, by the way, that what your product actually is can be less important than what consumers believe it is; in other words, it’s people’s perceptions that really matter. But once you’ve achieved your goal, the job isn’t done. What you now need to do is protect your brand, at all costs. There are various ways a brand can be harmed, or even destroyed. One is to introduce new products under the same overall name that are cheaper. The result is often to cheapen the original brand in the public’s eyes, so that it loses its luxury appeal. Another way of cheapening a brand is by overusing special offers like ‘10% off this week’ or ‘Buy one, get one free’. Marketing strategies like this may bring good results in the short term, but short-term thinking, more often than not, leads to the death of a brand. 5 10 15

‘What’s in a name? That which we call a rose

(Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet)

4 Look again at the two summaries you didn’t choose. Then say what is wrong with them. ▸ It contains false information. ▸ It doesn’t cover the whole text. ▸ It has information that isn’t in the text. 3 Look at the pictures. Then discuss the questions in pairs or small groups. 1 What do these famous brands mean to you? Are you loyal to any of them? 2 What other products or brands do you normally buy instead of other similar ones? Can you explain why? 1 Choose the correct meaning for these words from the text. Circle A or B. 1 commerce A agreement between people B buying and selling 2 loyalty A being the most important B not leaving or changing 3 manufacturing A making products B human relations 4 image A idea that isn’t real B how people see someone or something 5 perceptions A how people see things B unusual ideas 6 at all costs A if the price is right B no matter what happens 7 appeal A what makes you like something B what something looks like

8 strategies A plans B departments

2 Use the words in Part 1 to complete the sentences below. 1 One important quality of a good friend is _ . 2 Part of the of this computer is that it looks so good. 3 There are good career opportunities in the field of . 4 We tried several different , but none of them worked. 5 She’s very determined. She wants to succeed . 6 Different people have different of this product. 7 Famous people are often very careful about their public . 8 A lot of jobs have been lost in the _ industries. 3 Read the summaries of the text. Then decide which one is the best. A It is a mistake to aim mainly for short-term profits, because this can do great damage to the good name of brands. What usually happens is that consumers’ perceptions of the brand change. For example, they may decide that a product is no longer a luxury item and stop buying it. In the end, this may destroy the brand. B Building brands is important in business because consumers stay loyal to them, even sometimes after they’ve disappeared. A successful brand depends on how people see the product, and various things can have a negative effect on this. Special offers and producing cheaper goods with the same name are examples of strategies that, in the long term, can seriously harm a brand. C William Shakespeare wrote some important things, and one that applies to modern commerce is the idea that names are less important than identities. Marketing departments often misunderstand this and don’t spend enough on making the product as good as possible. The result is that they often have to sell the product for less money, or sometimes even replace it with a new brand.