Action 1

HOW GREEN ARE YOU?

1. While you are actually brushing your teeth, you
a) leave the tap running.
b) turn off the tap and turn it back on to rinse your mouth.
c) only use a glass of water.
2. When you leave the room, you
a) turn off the light.
b) leave the stereo on but turn off the light.
c) leave everything on.
3. What do you do with empty bottles?
a) Take them to the recycling bin.
b) Return them to the market.
c) Throw them in the rubbish bin.
4. What are CFCs ?
a) Aerosols.
b) Dangerous gases that deplete the ozone layer.
c) A rock group.
5. When you buy eggs, the boxes are
a) polystyrene foam or clear plastic.
b) cardboard.
c) either a or b, but you return them to the shops.
6. When you buy something at the supermarket, you
a) take a plastic carrier bag.
b) reuse an old plastic carrier bag.
c) use your own bag.
7. When you eat a chocolate bar in class, you
a) drop the wrapper under your desk.
b) put the wrapper in the litter bin.
c) save the wrapper for recycling.
8. Which products do you keep in your bathroom?
a) Biodegradable shampoo and cosmetics.
b) Aerosols.
c) Any kind of products from the supermarket.
9. In school, you use
a) refillable pens.

b) throwaway plastic pens.

c) refillable pens and solar-powered calculators.
10. If you were asked to contribute money to a Save the
Environment project, you would
a) refuse to give.
b) give generously.
c) give a small amount.
11. Which of the following do you use?
a) Only recycled materials.
b) Recycled materials if someone gives them to you.
c) The cheapest ones.
12. Tropical forests should be
a) cut down so that we can profit from natural resources.
b) protected because they are beautiful.
c) protected because they produce oxygen.
Work in pairs and consult your friend about what you can do to
be greener.
a. Complete the following sentences without changing the
meaning.
1. Forests are in danger. Animals are too.
Both ............. and ........................................... .
Not only ............. but also ........................................... .
2. They have been cleaning up the rivers. They are still quite
dirty.
They ......................................;
however, ...................................... .
Although ......................................................................... .
3. Carbon dioxide is the least dangerous of the pollutants. It
may be the most damaging.
Although ......................................, ...................................
...............................................;
however, ...................................... .
4. Greenpeace have taken many actions to prevent
environmental disasters. Most people cant hear
their voice in defence of the living world.
Despite/In spite
of ......................................., ...................................... .
Although ................................., ...................................... .

...............................................;
however, ......................................
b. Make sentences using the words in the box. Use each once.
in order to, so as to, so that, in order that
1. Laws to fit filters on factory chimneys must be
passed ................................................................... .
2. People should be required to use public
transport .......................................................................... .
3. A good idea would be to recycle
rubbish ........................................................................................
..
4. We could use less
fuel ..............................................................................................
.......................
c. Read and choose the best one.
The world is still facing many environmental problems
(1) ................... many organizations are
working hard to reduce them. Among them the most
threathening one is the global warming. It is a
gradual increase in the world temperatures. This increase takes
place (2) ................... the amount of
polluting gases such as carbon dioxide raises in the air. These
gases collect in the air around the
Earth (3) ................... many factors such as cutting down
forests and using aerosols. (4) ...................,
they prevent heat escaping into space. (5) ................... prevent
global warming, we need more trees
which use carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. (6) ...................,
we should use ozone-friendly
products.
1. a) despite b) because c) although d) so
2. a) in order to b) so c) however d) as
3. a) for b) because c) because of d) since
4. a) So b) However c) So that d) Because
5. a) In order to b) Because c) However d) In order that
6. a) However b) In addition c) In order to d) So as

Work in groups and start a campaign to keep your school clean.

Prepare some slogans.

Discuss the solutions to the environmental problems of

the earth.

Dinner Is Served
1. Has someone ever bought you a meal at a
restaurant? What was the reason?
2. Whats the most expensive meal you have ever
ordered?
3. What is one of your favorite things to order at a
restaurant?
4. What is the worst meal you have eaten in a
restaurant?

Dialogue
Mike: Thanks for inviting me out today. I was
feeling kind of sad. Theres nothing better than
grabbing a bite
to eat with a good friend to make you feel better.
Shaun: No problem. It's for your birthday, so it's
on me.
Mike: Oh, I thought no one remembered, but you
don't have to treat me. We can go halfers. Dont
feel you
have to cover my half just because its my
birthday.
Shaun: Forget about it. Ive got it covered. Order
whatever your heart desires.
Mike: Great, because I'm starving. Im so
hungry I could eat a horse. It's time to pig out.
Do you know what

youre going to have?

Shaun: I'm going to have the shrimp cocktail for
an appetizer, and a medium-rare steak for my
entree. Its
the house speciality, and I hear it's out of this
world.
Mike: Wow! There are a lot of mouth watering
choices on this menu. Lets see. I think Ill go with
the caviar
to start and the seafood platter for two as my
main course. Like I said, Im famished.
Shaun: Man, its going to be pretty hard to eat all
that.
Mike: Youre right. It would be pretty hard to eat
all that without something to drink. I think Ill
order a bottle
of their finest wine to wash down all that tasty
food.
Shaun: I think your eyes might be bigger than
your stomach.
Mike: Yeah, I might have to skip breakfast
tomorrow. But I can always take a doggie bag, so
I can have
leftovers for lunch and dinner tomorrow.
Shaun Well, I might have to skip a few meals after
paying this bill.

Sentence Practice
Fill in the spaces with the missing vocabulary
term.
Sentence Answer Vocabulary

1.Im starving. I think Ill go and ____ _ ____ __ ___.

Do you want to
come with me?
2. Last time we went out, you treated me. Tonight,
its __ me.
3. Dont worry about money. Ill _____ you to
dinner tonight.
4. I ______ ___ at dinner, and now I feel sick. I wish
I hadnt eaten so
much. 5. Would you like me to put the rest of your
food in a ______ ___, so you
can take it home with you?
could eat a horse
6. I think Ill have an appetizer before my ______.
7. Before my main course, Ill have the chicken
wings to _____
8. There is no way that you can eat all that. I think
your ____ ___
______ ____ your ______.
9. The chocolate mousse is ___ __ ____ ____.
10. That is the _______ pizza I have ever eaten.
11. Dont worry about how much it is. Order
________ your _____
_______.
12. Her cooking is more than delicious. It is totally
_____ _______.
13. I think Ill order another beer __ ___ ____ all this
food. 14. Look at all this food that we didnt eat. I
guess we are having
_________ tomorrow.
eat
15. Im sorry. I dont have any money on me. Can
you _____ __ ____,

and Ill pay you back tomorrow?

desires
16. I havent eaten anything at all today. Im
________.
17. He never treats me! He always wants to __
_______. 18. Wow! Im famished. Im so ______ ____
I _____ ___ _ _____.
19. Would you like to have an _________ before
your main course?
A) eyes are bigger
than stomach
B) leftovers
C) famished D) entree
E) hungry that
F) mouth watering G) to wash down H) treat I)
cover my half K) appetizer L) pigged out P) start
Q) tastiest R) doggie bag M) on N) grab a bite
to
O) whatever heart S) out of this world
PHRASAL VERBS | Using phrasal verbs in everyday
situations 1
REMEMBER: Several responses might be acceptable choose the best one:
1. She ___________ the red dress instead of the blue one.
a) put on b) placed on c) put off
2. Hes not at work today = Hes ___________ today
a) up b) on c) off/out
3. The prisoners were ___________ by the police.
a) taken away b) taken off c) taken on
4. I was ___________ ( = surprised) by his reaction.
a) taken away b) put on c) taken aback

5. Youre ___________! = Youre trying to trick me (* not in

a bad way*)
a) putting me off b) putting me on c) putting me out
6. Jim was tired of digging, so his friend ___________.
a) helped him in b) helped him over c) helped him out
7. He ___________ his father = Hes similar to his father
a) takes after b) takes about c) takes after
8. He ___________ at 7:00 this morning.
a) woke about b) woke up c) woke in
9. To string someone ___________ means to keep someone
in a state of deception or false hope.
a) along b) around c) away
10. I dont really know this city. Could you ___________ a
bit? ( = show me where everything is)
a) show me inside b) show me around c) show me down

a) running on b) running away c) running around

9. Lets ___________ your test. ( = lets review your test)
a) go over b) go around c) go away
10. Go ___________ ( = leave) - I dont want to talk to you
right now.
a) out b) away c) on

1. The recession was ___________ ( = caused) by bad

economic planning.
a) brought on/about b) brought in c) brought over
2. My cousin ___________ ( = visited me) the day before
yesterday.
a) came on b) came by c) came to
3. The robber ___________ me ( = attacked me), but I was
able to fight him off.
a) came on b) came to c) came at
4. He decided ___________ moving to Spain. ( = decided
not to move to Spain)
a) against b) along c) away
5. Ill ___________ at 8 = Ill come get you at 8
a) pick on you b) pick at you c) pick you up
6. I picked ___________ ( = noticed) her bad mood and
left her alone.
a) in b) up on c) on
7. The other kids always ___________ me ( = tease me/
give me a hard time) because I look different.
a) pick on b) pick at c) pick around
8. Im really tired. Ive been ___________ all day trying to
get things ready for the party.

Activity A

Love on the Rocks

Introduction
To help you understand the title, think of a ship at sea. If the
ship is on the rocks, it should be
obvious that there is a crisis. Here, though, we arent talking
about ships, were talking about men
and women and the problems they have communicating
with one another.
First, a little activity that should give us something to talk
about. In pairs go through the following
three questions.
1. Just before you left the office this afternoon you found out
that someone has been criticising
your work. This has upset you. Whats the first thing you will
do to try to deal with the
situation?
a. Phone some of the colleagues or friends that you trust to
have a long chat about what has
happened and about how you are feeling now.
b. Think about the situation very carefully to try to work out
what may be going on behind
the scenes, and then decide what you need to do to protect
your interests in the business.
2. You are in a strange city and you need to find another
companys head office which you have
been told is only a short walk from the station. You know the
address and you have a very good
map. When you arrive at the train station what would you
prefer to do?

a. Look for someone who seems to be a local and ask them

they way.
b. Get out your map and see which road will take you from
the station to the head office.
3. Things are going fairly well at work you are managing to
pay the bills and there are no
rumours that you are about to be fired but thats not to
say you dont have some complaints:
there are one or two things that irritate you. As usual, you
meet up on a Friday night with some
of your friends. What is likely to be the first topic of
conversation?
a. Those minor irritations at work and the way they make
you feel.
b. The latest episode of your favourite comedy series or
some item of news from the fields of
sport, technology or politics.
Look back at the answers to each of the three questions.
One is supposed to be a typically male
answer and the other typically female. In each case try to
say which is which. Assuming you
agree that it is possible to make generalisations like this,
what do the answers say about the way
men and women typically behave?

Activity B

The psychologist John Gray has some controversial ideas

about the differences between the sexes
and the problems this can create in relationships. Here are
two different descriptions taken from
Grays book. Try to work out which is directed at a man and
which at a woman.
1. Any difficult situation will have two aspects: one aspect is
the objective development
(for instance the fact that your teams sales figures are
lower than usual, or the latest news
from head office that some people will be given promotion
while others will be made
redundant) and the other aspect is the emotional impact of
those external developments.

Being in business means you cant ignore the practical

difficulties, but they are not always
your first priority. When things become stressful at work you
are more likely to turn to
close friends who will listen attentively while you explore the
complex feelings that have
been troubling you recently. Only if you can talk like this at
length about your emotional
turmoil, will you be able to sort out the more practical
aspect of the problem later on.
2. If you hear rumours that your performance in the office is
being criticised there is no
question that this leaves you feeling hurt, but when it comes
to dealing with this difficult
situation you tend not to focus on feelings like that. The
situation presents a challenge:
someone has been attacking you behind your back and you
need to find a way to defend
yourself. You may want to talk to some of the colleagues you
trust, but before you do this,
you are more likely to withdraw into the cave of your mind
to try to work out for yourself
what the best course of action will be. Asking for help at the
first hurdle or idly
expressing how terrible you feel is to be avoided because it
would look too much like an
admission of weakness and incompetence.
How would you sum up the most important differences that
these two paragraphs highlight?
Are these ridiculous stereotypes or do they have some basis
in reality?

Vocabulary
Look for these words in the previous passage and then use
either the context or a good
monolingual dictionary to explain what they mean as they
are used in the passage.
figures
impact
attentively

turmoil
withdraw
course of action
hurdle
admission
incompetence

Activity C

In his book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus John
Gray says he is describing real
differences between the sexes that can often lead to serious
difficulties in a relationship. Read
the following scenario (which Gray considers to be typical)
and try to put into your own words
what the problem is.
A man and a woman return home burdened by their
respective problems he has been
sitting on the train or in his car silently trying to work out
the problems of the day, but they
seem insoluble and a guy like this, when he gets home, is
likely to have a burning need to sit
in front of the television to take his mind off his problems
and find a way to gradually relax.
But just when he is trying to forget a confusing situation, his
partner wants him to listen as
she pours out all her problems, looking for support and
understanding. If he has the energy,
he may tolerate this just enough to work out what the main
problem is, then he will bluntly
suggest a solution before returning to the TV. But the
woman doesnt want solutions she
wants a kind ear and someone to embrace her. Each annoys
the other: he with his silence and
she with her continual moaning.
The busier life becomes, the greater this friction will be. As
the problems men face seem
greater and more intractable, the more they need to escape
and the less they are able to sit
and listen patiently and lovingly to their partners
frustrations. The more demanding a

womans life becomes, the greater her emotional turmoil is

and the more she has to express. If
her partner is glued to the TV or out skydiving all the time,
they will grow further and further
apart.
1. How widespread do you think this lack of communication
might be?
2. Imagine you are a counsellor whose job it is to give
advice to couples whose relationship is
on the rocks. If two of your clients described the scenario
you have just read, what advice
would you give them?

Vocabulary

Look at the words in blue in the previous passage.

1. First look for two synonymous adjectives used in
connection with problems that are
particularly difficult to deal with.
Now match the remaining blue words with the following
definitions.
2. stuck (spending too much time in front of)
3. in an insensitive way
4. complain
5. express
6. confusion and disturbance
7. Literally: the resistance when two surfaces rub against
each other
8. weighed down

Language extra

Look at the example sentence (taken from one of the

passages above) and then transform the
following sentence so that it contains the structure in the
example sentence.
Being in business means you cant ignore the practical
difficulties...
1. If you study in a class you are going to be compared to
other people.
Studying .................................................................................
...

2. If you work in the private sector you will have to cope

with some stiff competition.
Working ..................................................................................
..................
Only if you can talk like this at length about your emotional
turmoil, will you be able to sort out
the more practical aspect of the problem later on.
3. You will only save your relationship if you watch less
television.
Only ...................................................................................
4. The only way to help your wife deal with her problems is
to listen to her.
Only
by ...........................................................................................
....
Asking for help at the first hurdle or idly expressing how
terrible you feel is to be avoided because
it would look too much like an admission of weakness and
incompetence.
5. You should avoid losing your temper completely with your
partner.
Losing .....................................................................................
..
6. If you destroy the television you might feel better, but it
wont really achieve
anything.
Destroying ..............................................................................
............
The busier life becomes, the greater this friction will be.
7. If I am under more stress at work, I am less likely to say
much to my wife.
The
more .......................................................................................
...
8. If I speak to her less, she feels more compelled to
overeat.
The less ...........................................................................

Activity D

Here is the response of Brian Kassar, a psychologist at the

Montana State University.
1. Read the paragraph and then try to sum up Kassars
criticism of Grays book.
Even if we just consider the title of John Grays book: Men
are from Mars, Women are
from Venus it is obvious that the author is simply
perpetuating the received stereotypes.
He does nothing to challenge societys definition of
masculine, despite the fact that men
who give in to the social pressure to hide their sensitivity
and be more aggressive, assertive
and competitive are more likely to develop health problems,
substance abuse or
relationship difficulties. Instead of being told that they are
from the planet of war and
aggression, men need to think about the way social groups
use shame to reinforce the old
stereotypes, and they need to be encouraged to share
feelings of weakness, guilt and
vulnerability with their male friends something that will
deepen those relationships and
improve their emotional health.
2. Kassar is making an important assumption about
masculine behaviour. Which of the following
sentences best identifies that assumption?
a. Every society inevitably creates social stereotypes.
b. There are good biological reasons why men find it more
difficult to talk about their
feelings.
c. There is nothing about the biology of men that might
make it difficult for them to change
the way they behave.
3. Perpetuate is a nice verb. Scientists used to be intrigued
by the idea that they might invent
a machine with perpetual motion. Have you any idea what
that might be?
4. What does it mean if you reinforce something?
5. If someone urges you to challenge social stereotypes,
what do they want you to do?

6. Now read a brief paragraph about some research into the

differences between male and female
brains. What implications could research like this have for
people like Kassar who look forward to
radical changes in the way men behave?
Neuroscientists at Harvard University have used
sophisticated brain scanning techniques
to examine how emotion is processed in the brain of
children between the ages of 7 and 17.
In young children, they found that emotional activity was
localized in more primitive areas
of the brain, specifically in the amygdala (this is an almondshaped part of the brain
involved in responding emotionally to events in our lives).
That's one reason why it doesn't
make much sense to ask a 6-year-old to tell you why she is
feeling sad. The part of the brain
that does the talking, up in the cerebral cortex, isnt yet
adequately connected to the part of
the brain where the emotion is occurring, namely the
amygdala. In adolescence, brain
activity associated with emotion moves up to the cerebral
cortex, so the 17-year-old is able
to explain what she is feeling, and why, in great detail and
without much difficulty. But that
change occurs only in girls. In boys, the locus of emotional
control remains stuck in the
amygdala. Asking a 17-year-old boy to talk about his
feelings is often as pointless as asking
a 6-year-old.
7. What is the technical term for the outer surface of the
brain that makes it possible for us to
think about what we are doing?
8. We can talk about computers processing information.
What does this mean?
9. How optimistic are you that men can stop being so nasty?
Does their neurophysiology present
an insurmountable obstacle?

Vocabulary extra

Here we have two groups of adjectives that could be used to

describe people. Work in pairs with a
good monolingual dictionary. Look up the words in one
group. Write down the definitions and a
good example sentence. Then explain the words to those
who have looked up the words from the
other group.
Group 1
supportive
affectionate
understanding
condescending
prejudiced
open-minded
unforgiving
short-tempered
assertive
callous
naive
Group 2
nonchalant
insincere
hysterical
submissive
domineering
manipulative
serene
exuberant
furious
charming
witty

Money
1. Starting up. Do the quiz individually. Then compare
answers with a partner.

1) How much cash do you have with you at the

moment? Do you:
a. Know exactly?
b. Know approximately?
c. Not know at all?
2) Do you normally check:
a. Your change?
b. Restaurants bills?
c. Prices in several shops before you buy something?
3) Do you:
a. Give money to beggars?
b. Give money to charity?
c. Give away used items, such as clothing?
4) What do you think about people who do not pay the
correct amount of tax?
Is this:
a. A serious crime?
b. Morally wrong but not a crime?
c. Excellent business practice?
5) If you lend a colleague a small amount of money
and he forgets to pay it
back, do you:
a. Say nothing
b. Remind him that he owes you money?
c. Arrange him to go for a drink with him and say
youve forgotten your
wallet?
2. Pre- reading exercise. In your opinion, which of the
following give the best

return on your money?

gold currencies a high- interest deposit
account
precious stones property antiques and paintings
stocks and shares land/real estate a new business
venture
3. Choose the best answer.
If someone speculates:
a. they take a risk to make a quick profit
b. they make a safe investment for a long- term
security.
4. Work in 2 groups. Each group reads a different text:
either The South Sea
Bubble or The Wall Street Crash.
The South Sea Bubble
The South Sea Bubble is the name given to a
speculation in 1720, and
associated with the South Sea Company in London.
People bought shares in the
company expecting to make a huge profit, but the
boom in shares collapsed and
many investors lost their money.
The South Sea Company was founded in 1711 to trade
with Spanish America.
The companys stock offered a guaranteed interest of
6% and sold it well.
Unfortunately, Spain allowed the company to send
only one ship a year to trade
in the area.

The first voyage in 1717 was a success. Then King

George 1 became governor
of the company in 1719. This created confidence in
the business, and soon it
was paying 100% interest.
In 1720, there was a boom in the South Sea
Companys shares because it agreed
to take over the countrys national debt. It expected to
get back its money by
increased trade and rise in the value of its shares.
The shares did, in fact, rise dramatically. The stock of
the company, which had
been around 128 in January 1720, reached 1,000 in
August. By September the
market had collapsed, and the price fell back to 124.
Eventually, with the
support of the Government, the shares leveled off at
around 140.
The South Sea Bubble had burst and it led to an
economic depression in the
country.
The Wall Street Crash
The stock market crash in the United States in 1929
was huge and it led to a
severe and lasting economic crisis in the world. Many
bankers and industrialists
lost their money and reputations. Some went to prison
and others committed

suicide. Share prices on the New York stock exchange

had begun rising in
1924, and in 1928 and 1929 they rocketed to
unbelievable levels. In spring 1929
there was a break in the rising prices when the Federal
Reserve Bank said it
might raise interest rates to slow down the boom.
However, a major bank, the
National City Bank, assured investors that it would
continue to lend money to
them at affordable rates. Soon the market took off
again. People could buy
stock for 10% of its value and borrow the remaining
90%. The lending rate
varied from 7% to 12%. Almost everyone was
optimistic. One economist, at
the peak of the boom, said that people generally
agreed stocks are not at
present overvalued.
It all ended on 21 October, 1929. The market opened
badly and there was heavy
selling. Confidence in the market disappeared. There
was a rumour that the big
bankers were getting out of the market. Share prices
fell dramatically and kept
on falling. The boom was over. But its consequences
would last for years to
come.
5. After- reading exercise. Complete the chart below.

South Sea Bubble Wall Street Crash

Where did it happen?
When did it happen?
Who was involved?
What happened?
Why did it happen?
What were the consequences?

6. Discuss these questions.

a. What are the similarities and differences in these 2
speculations?
b. What do you think people speculate in during the
next 20 years?
7. Work in groups. Find words and phrases in the texts
which are similar in
meaning to the definitions below. The first group to
finish is the winner.
South Sea Bubble Wall Street Crash
a very large amount of money
set up
sudden increase in buying and selling
to accept responsibility
go up very fast
in the end
remained stable
a powerful business person controlling large
companies
went up very fast
a change for a short period
became very active
highest point
sold at too high a price
selling all of their shares

8. Useful language. Saying numbers.

Years
1984 nineteen eighty four
2001 two thousand and one
Currencies
3.15 three ponds fifteen
$7.80 seven dollars eighty
250 two hundred eighty
euros
Decimals
16.5 sixteen point five
17.38% seventeen point three
eight percent
0.185 (nought/zero) point one
eight five
Bigger numbers
3560 three thousand five hundred |and sixty (BrE)
|sixty (AmE)
598,347 five hundred |and ninety- eight thousand, three
hundred and forty- seven (BrE)
| ninety- eight thousand, three hundred forty- seven (AmE)
1,300,402 one million three hundred thousand, four hundred |
and two (BrE)
|two (AmE)
1m one/a million (100,000,000)
3bn three billion (300,000,000)
$7.5bn seven point five billion dollars
478 four hundred |and seventy eight million pounds (BrE)
| seventy eight million pounds (AmE)

9. Read the article below. Then write all the numbers

and symbols in full,
according to the way they are pronounced. For
example, 1999: nineteen

ninety- nine.
Business in brief
EuroDisney runs new project
The French government yesterday approved a Ff
4.6bn urban development
project east of Paris, coordinated by EuroDisney, and
designed to create 22,000
jobs by 2015.
Prince invests in media and technology
The worldwide fall in stock markets last month
encouraged Prince Alwaleed
bin Tala to invest in media and technology companies.
The Saudi prince spent
$400m on a 5% stake in News Corporation, $300m on
1% in Motorola and
$150m on 5% of Netscape Communications.
FT sales record
Sales of the Financial Times hit an all- time record in
November. Worldwide
sales were 12.4% up on November, last year.
Pre-reading discussion
1. Some children seem to be born with an inclination to
behave more badly than others. Try to
recall one particularly badly behaved child and describe
some typical examples of their bad
behaviour.
2. Have you got any idea what their bad behaviour sprang
from?
3. Have you ever thought about how the experience of being
the older brother or sister differs

from that of being the younger sibling? How could you

describe the differences? How could
these experiences shape the childs future character?

Reading
Read the passage and then in pairs discuss the answers to
the questions that follow.
All children need attention, but there are some who demand
it much more forcefully than
others. Both with their peers and parents or carers, they will
insist they get their way. They
readily infuriate other kids by laying down rules that
everyone else is supposed to follow.
Oblivious of the irritation they cause others, they are quick
to lose their temper if other
children dont fall into line with their demands. When
parents intervene to set reasonable
limits the overly demanding child quickly becomes agitated
and angry.
This exaggerated sense of entitlement may spring from an
early experience of being
wounded an experience that destroys an earlier sense of
security and arouses feelings
that the child cannot cope with. One trigger might be the
birth of a younger brother or
sister, leaving the older child feeling neglected or
abandoned. Other potentially wounding
experiences include a mothers return to work, moving to a
new town, parents fighting or
the child being left for long periods of time in daycare. Each
of these could initiate a sense
of loss accompanied by an emotional arousal that the child
cant handle.
The type of child in question is one with a predisposition to
react aggressively when it does
not receive what it has come to expect. When the childs
expectations are not met an initial
sense of hurt is immediately replaced by a feeling of anger
and the child has a tantrum.

Child therapists have a saying: Trust the wisdom of the child.

Children have temper
tantrums for a reason. The angry behaviour sends out a
signal that the child needs
something different from what it is being given. However, it
is important not to take the
behaviour at face value. The child may be screaming to be
bought a new toy, but these
explicit demands may only be the beginning of the story in
other words, they may conceal
as much as they reveal. What the child might really need is
neither the toy nor getting his
own way, but reassurance. The child may have the deeper
and more urgent need to be
reassured that it sill has the parents unconditional love.

Vocabulary
Look for the following words and phrases in the passage and
look them up if necessary. Work out how
to explain the meaning in English to the rest of the class.

Questions

get your way

fall into line
intervene
to be entitled
arouse
trigger
potentially
initiate
predisposition
take something at face value
conceal
reassure

1. What sort of child does the passage focus on?

2. How does the passage account for the bad behaviour of
these children?
3. Looking at its use in this passage, the word tantrum
probably refers to
a. an experience of being wounded
b. a predisposition to act aggressively
c. when the child starts shouting and screaming
d. a sign that the child is wise
4. What is not true according to the passage?
a. Overly demanding children dont always realize how much
they irritate other people.
b. Some children can feel neglected when their mothers
return to work.
c. Children with wisdom know what they really need.
d. Child therapists believe that the reasons for a childs
behaviour are not always obvious.
5. What is true according to the passage?
a. Parental intervention will always make a child angry.
b. Children are certain to feel wounded if they are left in
daycare.
c. All tantrums have a rational explanation.
d. A child who screams may want to be told a story.

A. First have a look at these example sentences and then try

to transform the sentences that
follow using a structure from one of the examples.
Having a parent who is alcoholic is a sad but common
reason for a child to become
confused and insecure.
Not knowing how to calm their children down, many parents
quickly lose their temper.
Being exposed to peer aggression at a daycare centre can
cause the child to become more
aggressive.
Having learned how to read the signs, parents are more able
to deal with their difficult
children.
1. It is a recipe for disaster if parents simply give their
children what they want.
Simply ....................................................................................
..................................................
2. What you have to do first of all is learn how to read the
signs.
................................................................................................
...........................................

Language extra

3. Children are more likely to lose their tempers if they have

a low emotional intelligence.
(Clue: use the phrase ... means that ...)
................................................................................................
...................................
4. It can aggravate the situation if the child is blamed for
difficulties between the parents.
................................................................................................
.......................................................................
5. He abandoned his wife because he wasnt ready to accept
the responsibilities of
parenthood.
................................................................................................
.......................................................................
6. Because he had already moved house once, he knew how
lonely he was going to feel.
................................................................................................
............................................................
B. Use you vivid imagination to complete the following
sentences.
Not having any brothers or
sisters ...........................................................................
Feeling lost and
alone ...........................................................................
Never having seen a frog
before, ...........................................................................
Having been brought up to believe that I deserved to be the
centre of attention,
................................................................................................
.............................
C. Here are some words and phrases for talking about things
parents might do to their children.
Use a good monolingual dictionary to make sure you know
how to use them and then come up
with your own interesting examples. Share them with the
rest of the class.

scold
reprimand
tell off
discipline
instil
console
allay a childs fears
set an example
boost a childs self-esteem
crush a childs self-esteem

Discussion point

How and to what extent do the media influence the

behaviour of children? When debating this issue
many people have pointed to hugely popular programmes
such as the Simpsons (a cartoon series
that took off in 1989 in the US). This was one of the
programmes that really broke the mould. It
completely rejected the idea that a TV show should portray
positive role models and promote
wholesome family values. The son of the family, Bart (a
name which is actually an anagram of
brat), cheats, has no respect for authority figures, does
not obey his parents, do his homework, or
clean his room. His motto, "underachiever and proud of it,"
together with exclamations like "I'm Bart
Simpson, Who the Hell Are You?" were printed on T-shirts
that were eagerly bought and worn by
millions of kids across the country. Some parents and
educationalists have been vociferous in their
opposition to characters like Bart who do not convey the
values of obedience, honesty and hard work
which parents hope to instil in their impressionable children.
What do you think?