Thomson Heinle Publishing Taboos And Issues - Past 4

A few months ago millionaire couple Tony Barlow and Barrie Drewitt shocked many people when they became the first gay couple to father children?. The couple had twin girls, Aspen and Saf

Gay families

Discussion

What legal rights do gays have in your country?

l Can they get married?

2 C a n they inherit from a partner?

1 C a n they adopt children?

4 (lan they get a morrgage on a house together?

A few months ago millionaire

couple Tony Barlow and Barrie

Drewitt shocked many people

when they became the first gay

couple to father children The

couple had twin girls, Aspen and

Saffron, using eggs donated by a

woman who wished to help the

men have their own family.

Adoption agencies in Britain had

decided the couple were

unsuitable parents, but the men

went to the United States where

they had more success They had

no problem finding a surrogate

mother and the girls were born in

Los Angeles the following year.

After complex legal arguments,

Reading

R e a d the article below and choose the best

h e a d l i n e

US ALLO\TS ADOPTION BY C;AYS GAY FATHERS FACE DISCRIMINATION OUTRAGE AS GAYS PLAN THIRD CHILD

the US Supreme Court ruled that the men could be named as the parents on the twins' birth certificates.

When the children were brought back to Britain, the men faced further legal difficulties as the British authorities refused to grant automatic entry rights to the twins.

Despite all these problems, the men have now provoked further outrage from those who claim to defend traditional family values as they have announced that they intend to have a third child.

The men currently have 24 embryos which were frozen before the birth of their twin daushters.

and although they have fallen out with the suffogate mother who caried the twins, they have now found another woman who has agreed to carry a child for them.

"We adore having children," Mr Drewitt said yesterday, "and if it turns out to be twins again it will

be even more wonderful The new baby will be a biological brother

or sister to Aspen and Saffron The only difference will be the sunogate mother." In contrast, an official church spokesman said,

"We would still argue that the best place for children to grow up would be within a traditional family context."

True or false?

Read the article again and mark these sentences true (T), false (F) or don't know (?):

1 B a r r i e and Tony couldn'r adopt a child in Britain

2 The British authorities did not want ro let the men back in the counrry

3 Barrie and Tony and the twins live with the twins' mother

4 N o t everyone i s h a p p y about Barrie and Tony's plans

Discussion

1 H o w clo you feel about Barrie and Tony being parents?

2 ' D o you agree that'the best place for children to grow up is within a traditional family conrext,?

3 W h a t is a rraditional family? Is it the same as 20 years a o?

4 Do yolr agree with the followinq statements?

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Ttuct wrnnen could raise a family but n()t tuto men.

They would be useless without d womdn.

There ttre good and batl

p Ltre n ts C) dt, p are nts

Llre tt't itu t ottldt i c allt, h ad

- or good.

A lot of people grout Ltlt

in a singlc-parent famill'

- two pdrents must be better than that!

Gay families

Taboos and /ssues

M a t c h th e s e d i f f e r e n t k i n d s o f f a m i l i e s w i t h t h e d e f i n i t i o n s o n t h e r i g h t :

Would you use any of the expressions above to describe your family?

Do any of the expressions above describe the family you read about earlier?

Do you f ive with your immediate family or do you also live with members of your extended family? ( g r a n d p a r e n t s , a u n t s , u n c l e s , c o u s i n s e t c )

D i s c u s s i o n

R e a d th e a r t i c l e a n d u n d e r l i n e a n y t h i n g y o u t h i n k i s a g o o d a r g u m e n t fo r o r a g a i n s t g a y m a r r i a g e s

1 irn afflr"rent family

2 a c l o s e fa m i l , v

3 a clvsfr.rnctionarl family

4 a s i n g l e - p a r e n t f : r m i l y

.5 a talentecl farnily

6 i u r a v e r a g c f a m i l y

7 t n i n f l u e n t i a l fa m i l y

U a n a m b i t i o u s f a r n i l y

a They want to be successful

b Only one parent lives with the children

c They have a lot of money

d They have strong relationships'

e T h e y h a v e a c e r t a i n a m o u n t o f p o w e r '

f T h e y h a v e a l o t o f p e r s o n a l p r o b l e m s

g T h e y ' r e a l l g o o d a t s o m e t h i n g

h T h e r e ' s n o t h i n g s p e c i a l a b o u t t h e m

A w o m a n c a m p a i g n e r f o r g a y r i g h t s s a i d ,

" W h y do people want to stop gay people

g e t t i n g m a r r i e d ? lt m a k e s n o d i f f e r e n c e

t o t h e m , b u t i t m a k e s a h u g e d i f f e r e n c e

t o a g a y c o u p l e w h o w a n t t o m a k e a

p u b l i c c o m m i t m e n t "

A s p o k e s w o m a n f o r a t r a d i t i o n a l f a m i l y

o r g a n i s a t i o n s a i d , " l f we start to re-define

w h a t a m a r r i a g e i s , w h e r e d o Y o u d r a w

t h e l i n e ? W h y n o t s a y t w o m e n a n d a

w o m a n c a n g e t m a r r i e d , o r t h r e e w o m e n

p e r h a p s ? "

L E T ' S G E T M A R R I E D !

"We have a mortgage together, we have

.r cat together, we're no different from

t h e n e i g h b o u r s , s o w h y c a n ' t w e g e t

m a r r i e d ? " o n e g a y m a n t o l d r e p o r t e r s

o u t s i d e t h e V e r m o n t c o u r t r o o m i n t h e

U n i t e d S t a t e s A l a r g e g r o u p o f g a y

c o u o l e s w e r e a t t h e c o u r t t o h e a r

w h e t h e r th e s t a t e w o u l d c h a n g e th e l a w

a n d a l l o w s a m e - s e x m a r r i a g e s M a n y

e x p r e s s e d t h e i r f r u s t r a t i o n a t n o t b e i n g

a l l o w e d m a r i t a l s t a t u s " W e want to get

m a r r i e d fo r t h e s a m e r e a s o n a s e v e r y o n e

e l s e - w e ' r e i n l o v e , "

Discuss the following views of same-sex marriages Which views are closest to your own?

l ( l a v r n a r r i a g e ? ' W h y n o t ? I f t w o p e o p l e w a n t t o m a k e a l i f e t i m e c o m m i t m e n t to e a c h o t h e r , th e y

s h o u l d b e a l l o w e d to

2 l t c l o e s n ' t m i l r t e r th a t t h e y ' r e g a y T h e y ' v e b e e n to g e t h e r fo r 1 5 y e a r s T h e y s h o u l d h a v e e x a c t l y th e

s r r m e r i g h t s a s : I n o r m a l c o u p l e W h a t i s n o r m a l a n y w a y ?

3 M a r r i a g e b e t w e e n a m a n a n d a w o m a n i s n a t u r a l If m a r r i a g e s t o p s b e i n g n a t u r a l , w h e r e w i l l i t a l l end? If two men can marry, why not three or four?

4 M a r r i a g e is f o r t h e p r o c r e a t i o n o f c h i l d r e n G a y p a r t n e r s c a n ' t h a v e c h i l d r e n s o t h e y s h o u l d n ' t b e

a l l o l v e c l t o g e t m a r r i e d

- 5 I c l o n ' t c a r c i f t h e y w a n t t o g e t m a r r i e d o r n o t I j u s t w i s h i t w a s n ' t a l l o v e r t h e n e w s p a p e r s

6 I c k r n ' t b c l i e v e i n m a r r i a g e e n y w a y , s o i t ' s n o t r e a l l y a n i s s u e f o r m e

Discussion

Do you give money to beggars? Explain why, or why not, to a partner

Reading

R e a d through the comments below on an internet discussion site and decide which o p i n i o n is closest

to your own

What's your opinion of beggars?

we invited people from around the world to let their voices be heard

on the subject:

Edilson Gomes Teixeira, Brazil

l n m y city, Sao Paulo, we have lots of children who ask for money on the

s t r e e t s ' o f c o u r s e , l f e e l t e r r i b l e f o r t h e m , b u t l t h i n k t h a t g i v i n g them money

d o e s them no good Usually they are really begging for an adult - even their

m o t h e r or father - just so that they can buy arugs or something like that

I d o n ' t know it,s complicated

Ana Martin Fong Schmidt, USA

I c o m e from San Francisco, C a l i f o r n i a , w h e r e y o u can't walk two blocks any

m o r e without running into a homeress person asking you for money They,re

f i l t h y p e o p l e who sleep and urinate in my doorway I used to give money, but

n o t any more I suppose I've become sort of numb to it all t riean, what is my

5 0 c e n t s g o i n g to do to herp someone? rt's the Government,s p r o n i " n 1 , n o ,

m i n e

Atsuko Fujimori, Japan

W e h a v e a place in my city, Tokyo, called "shinjuko Station.,, I think this place

i s an embarrassment t o J a p a n e s e s o c i e t y T h e r e are hundreds of homeless

p e o p l e living in cardboard boxes The Government doesn't care about them

a n d n e i t h e r do many people in Japan But I do I take them food and clothes

a n d s o m e t i m e s g i v e money Many of my friends think I am crazy I think rm

n o r m a l and they are crazY I c a n n o t sleep well at night if I know ihere is

s o m e o n e else who has no place to sleep

James Foster, UK

l ' m fed up with beggars and fed up with do-gooders who want to help them

I d o n ' t g i v e money and nobody should lt on"lv encourages them to beg even

m o r e ' And these people all seem to have dogs and smoke Why should I give

m y hard-earned c a s h to feed their pets and s moking h a b i t ? p e o p l e living on the

s t r e e t s are there because t h e y w a n t to bel

D i s c u s s i o n

R e a d through the comments again and answer these questions:

l w h o says that living'n the streers a n d begging i s b a s i c a i l y a c r r o i c e ?

2 Who blames begging on drugs?

- l ' w h o sa,vs r h a r the problem ii one rhar cannor be solved by individuals?

4 \ X l h o fcels ashamed o f the problem?

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Taboos and /ssues

R e a d t h i s p o e m a b o u t b e i n g h o m e l e s s , t h e n

d i s c u s s th e q u e s t i o n s b e l o w :

Homeless, but not speechless

I a m h o m e l e s s

P e n n i l e s s

S o I a s k fo r y o u r p e n n i e s

C o u n t l e s s

A r e t h e t i m e s w h e n I f e e l

P o i n t l e s s

U s e l e s s

P o w e r l e s s

t o d o a n y t h i n g

to/for/about/with

t h e s e h e a r t l e s s

s e e - m e - n o t s

w h o a r e c l u e l e s s

t o m y

f a c e l e s s e x i s t e n c e

O n e p e n n y

Y o u r c h a r i t y

i s s h a m e l e s s

M y l i f e

w o r t h l e s s

M y j o u r n e y .

r e c k l e s s

D o n ' t w o r r y :

M y p a s s i n g w i l l b e

p a i n l e s s

D i s c u s s i o n

1 W h a t d o e s th e t i t l e m e a n ?

2 What does the writer mean by Yowr charity is

shameless?

3 E x p l a i n t h e l a s t li n e : M y p a s s i n g w i l l b e

painless

4 What is done in your country to help homeless

p e o p l e ?

- 5 W h y a r e s o m a n y p e o p l e h o m e l e s s ?

Taboos and /ssues

Language

Write in a -/ess word from the poem with the

d e f i n i t i o n s b e l o w :

1 N o m o n e y -

2 I g n o r a n t =

3 M a n y =

4 Unable to protect/defend yourself =

5 N o c a r e o r f e e l i n g fo r o t h e r s =

6 A n o n y m o u s , u n k n o w n =

T W i t h o u t p u r p o s e =

8 ' W i t h o u t v a l u e =

9 It won't hurt =

Discussion

W o u l d y o u g i v e m o n e y o r h e l p i n t h e s e s i t u a t i o n s ?

1 A woman knocks at your door collecting money for homeless people She has an official

ID badge How much would you give her?

2 A little boy offers to clean your shoes in the street for 20 pence

3 A woman holding a baby asks you for money

on the street She is crying

4 A rather dirty-looking person asks to 'borrow'

50 pence for the bus

5 You meet someone on holiday in a Third 'World

country and after chatting' you realise that with iust a couple of your traveller's cheques, you could pay for their child to go to university and have the chance of a completely different life

6 You're in a restaurant and a woman comes in with flowers and asks if you want to buy one for your boyfriend / girlfriend

7 You're at some traffic lights and someone washes your windscreen, then asks for some money

8 You receive a pack of Christmas cards through the post from a charity for the blind There is

no obligation to pay for the cards - you can keep them for free - but you are invited to send a donation

Discussion

Write your own view on beggars in the same style

as the internet comments you read earlier Pass

y o u r comment to another classmate T h e n :

1 Read and see if you agree or disagree with the comment that has been passed to you

2 D i s c u s s i t w i t h a n o t h e r c l a s s m a t e ( n o t the writer of the comment)

3 D i s c u s s t h e c o m m e n t s a s a c l a s s

Begging 33

l ' I s it conrmon to sue doctors, hospitals, or newspapers i n y o u r country?

? ' Have voll or anyone you kn.w eie rr l ,n-an'" or been s u e d ? w h a t wirs thc outcome?

Reading

A few years ago a woman suffered severe b.url: from a cup of coffee served at a fast food restaurant and she sued' Read what happened and decide who yori side with - the woman or the fast food restaurant?

HOT COFFEE VICTIM GETS $ENN

A w o m a n has been awarded a total of armost

3 m i l l i o n d o l l a r s in d a m a g e s , a f t e r c l a i m i n g

that the coffee she was served at a US fast

f o o d restaurant a n d then spilled on herself

w a s too hot

T h e woman was in the passenger s e a t of her

g r a n d s o n ' s c a r w h e n s h e w a s s e r v e d a c u o o f

c o f f e e at the drive-through w i n d o w of a local

fast food outlet According to reports, after

r e c e i v i n g t h e food order, the grandson m o v e d

h i s car forward and stopped for a moment so

t h a t h i s g r a n d m o t h e r c o u l d a d d c r e a m a n d

s u g a r to her coffee She placed the cup

b e t w e e n her knees and tried to remove the

p l a s t i c li d f r o m t h e cup As she did so, tne

e n t t r e c o n t e n t s o f t h e c u p s p i l l e d o n t o ner

l a p , le a v i n g h e r s e v e r e l y b u r n e d a n d n e e d i n g

h o s p i t a l treatment

n c o m p a n y representative e x p l a i n e d that

c o f f e e is kept at a particular temperature

D e c a u s e c u s t o m e r s n a t u r a l l y w a n t t h e i r

c o f f e e served hot He pointed out that

c u s t o m e r s b u y coffee on their way to worK or

h o m e , i n t e n d i n g to c o n s u m e it there, not

w h i l e i n t h e c a r

O n e c o m m e n t a t o r c o u l d n , t believe the

w o m a n won her case ,,The world has g,one

m a _ d l f y o u c a n g e t $3 million for spilling hot

c o f f e e on yourself, t h e n it,s only a matter of

l i m e b e f o r e w e g e t t h e h e a d l i n e s :

W O M A N C E T S P R E C N A N T A N D

S U E S C O N D O M C O M p A N y o r

M A N W I T H B A D H A I R C U T SUES F O R

E M O T I O N A L D A M A C E S "

D i s c u s s i o n

Tell your partner who you side with - the woman or the fast food chain Explain why.

Take a class vote on the case who do you think was resptnsible for the injuries?

Are you sure?

Most peopte think the woman was at fault for her injuries and that the amount of money she received

was ridiculous Here are a few more facts about the case First read the facts:

The wonrrrn suffered third degree burns over 6o/n of her body in very sensitive areas she was in hospital

f o r eight days' She spilled thioffee while she ,"r, ,i i-g ii, pa.k"d c a r r r y i n g ro remove the cup,s lid.

li:;:'.ffiffXrff [lJi'.';.'.'was it moving she iried to sertre r-, rr.?,r c,r court rn, gzo,ooo

Thc' restaurirnt knew of the problem' They had already received hundreds of complaints They kr-rew that

c l r i r l k s c r r n burn at temperatures o v e r 60 de.grees,

b u t ' t h e y maintained a policy to keep their c.ffee.i-10 degrces higher Thc chain makes over a milrln iollars n doy in coffee sales

H a v e y o u changed your mind? Hold a class debate Divide the class into t w o g r o u p s : those who are on

t h e woman's side and those who side with the restaurant chain

34 Compensation culture

Taboosand /ssues

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Language

Complete the text below with the correct form of these verbs:

I f y o u h r r v e a n a c c i c l e n t a t w o r k b e c a u s e t h e w o r k p l a c e i s n o t s a f e , y o u c a n ( 1 ) f o r

n e g l i g e r r c e C ) n e w o m a n w a s r e c e n t l y (2 ) n e a r l y f4 0 , 0 0 0 a f t e r f a t l l i n g d o w n a b a d l y - l i t

s r a i r c a s c S h e k n e w s h e c o u l d ( 3 ) c o m p e n s a t i o n a n d ( 4 ) t h e c o m p a n y t o c o u r t

T l - r e c o r n p r r n y t r i e d t o ( - 5 ) o u t o f c o u r t , b u t t h e w o m a n w a s n ' t i n t e r e s t e d S h e ( 6 )

h c r c a s e , b r - r t t h e c o m p a n y a r e g o i n g t o ( 7 ) a g a i n s t t h e d e c i s i o n

D i s c u s s i o n

L o o k a t t h e s i t u a t i o n s b e l o w in s m a l l g r o u p s D e c i d e

1 A - 1 9 - y e a r - o l c l a c t r e s s i s s u i n g fo r ' e m o t i o n a l

c'listress' aftcr being told that she was 'too old'

t o p l a r v t h e p i r r t o f Juliet in Shakespeare's Rorneo ttntl [uliet

2 A b r - r r g l a r w a n t s $50,000 to pay for his

h o s p i t a l b i l l s I n a t t e m p t i n g to b r e a k in t o a

c l o t h i n g s t o r e , h e f e l l t h r o u g h t h e r o o f , b r o k e

b o t h h i s l c g s a n d w a s l e f t i m m o b i l e H e w a s

f o r r n d t h c f o l l o w i n g m o r n i n g in s e v e r e p a i n

H e c l a i r n s t h e s t o r e is t o b l a m e f o r h a v r n q a ' f a u l t - v r o o f '

-1 A mr-rr-r tripped and fell on a pavement because

i t w a s u n e v e n H e b r o k e h i s w r i s t a n d i s s u i n g

t h c l o c a l c o n n c i l f o r n e g l i g e n c e

4 A w o m a n o p e n e d a b a g o f s a l a d a n d f o u n d a

l i v e f r o g i n s i d e S h e is s u i n g th e s u p e r m a r k e t

b e c i r u s e s h e s u f f e r e d ' s e v e r e t r a u m a '

- 5 A f l i g h t a t t e n d a n t is s u i r - r g t h e a i r l i n e s h e

workcd for for r-rnfair dismissal She was sackccl because she hacl become too fat

if they are legitimate or just a waste of time

6 A w o m a n i s s u i n g h e r h e a l t h a l r t h o r i t y b e c a u s e

t h e s t e r i l i s a t i o n o p e r a t i o n th e y p e r f o r m e d th e

p r e v i o u s y e a r h a d o b v i o u s l y fa i l e d " O f c o u r s e

I l o v e m y n e w b a b y , " s h e s a i d , " b u t t h i s i s n o t

w h a t I h a d p l a n n e d fo r m y l i f e "

7 A w o m a n w h o r a n o v e r a n d c r i t i c a l l y in j u r e d a pedestrian is suing the car manufacturer'

c l a i m i n g th a t t h e b r a n d n e w c a r ' s h o r n d i d n o t

w o r k a n d t h e r e f o r e s h e w a s u n a b l e to w a r n t h e

p a s s i n g p e d e s t r i a n

8 A v e g e t a r i a n w a n t s $1 million in damages f r o n r

a l o c a l r e s t a u r a n t S h e a s k e d fo r t h e ' v e g e t a r i a n ' l a s a g n e a n d h a l f w a y t h r o u g h h e r

m e a l d i s c o v e r e d t h a t t h e r e w e r e b i t s o f g r o u n d

b e e f in t h e s a u c e

9 A f a t h e r is s u i n g h i s s o n f o r $ 2 5 , 0 0 0 - t h e estimated value of the family's car lt seems that

t h e s o n , a g e d 1 9 , b o r r o w e d h i s f a t h e r ' s n e w c a r

w i t h o u t a s k i n g fo r p e r m i s s i o n H e t h e n c r a s h e d

i t T h e s o n w a s u n h u r t , b u t t h e c a r w a s a t o t a l write-off

D i s c u s s i o n

W h i c h o f t h e f o l l o w i n g b e s t s u m s u p y o u r a t t i t u d e to c o m p e n s a t i o n ?

l I ' n r t o r i r l l y a g a i n s t it I t j r " r s t e n c o u r a g e s p e o p l e to s u e fo r t h e s l i g h t e s t t h i n g

2 I c r r n ' t g e t w o r k e d u p a b o u t i t I t d o e s n ' t b o t h e r m e I t ' s n e v e r a f f e c t e d m e

1 I ' m e l l f o r i t ! T h e m o r e p e o p l e c a n s c r e w o u t o f b i g c o m p a n i e s t h e b e t t e r ! I w i s h a w a i t e r w o u l d

s n i l l s o m e c o f f e e o n m e !

Sport and money

A l l o f these professionals a r e m u l t i - m i l l i o n n a i r e s a s a r e s u l t of salaries, prize money, sponsorship and

e n d o r s e m e n t s

' who clo vou think is paid the mosr? why? \7ho is paid the reast? \7hy?

Are they paid roo much, in your opinion?

o Hrw much do the top sportsmen and women get paid in your country?

o wh is ne f the highest paid? Do you think (s)he deserves r h a t s a l a i v ?

Reading

R e a d this father's view and decide which sport he is talking about Can his criticism apply to sports in

g e n e r a l ?

Discussion

Match these sportsmen and sportswomen to their sports:

t M i c h a e l Schumacher

2 Tiger rVoods

3 D a v i d Beckham

4 Vcnus \Williams

- 5 M a r i o n Jones

a a t h l e t i c s

b te n n i s

c F o r m u l a One

d fo o t b a l l

e g o l f

B i l l y S l a t e r ' s s a l a r y : $ 3 5 0 , 0 0 0 a y e a r A n d

M a t t Jerrold's s a l a r y : $ 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 a y e a r O h ,

a n d h o w could I forget Sal lbarra's n e w

c o n t r a c t - $3 million over the next three

y e a r s

W h e r e is the perspective h e r e ? W h a t are

o u r p r i o r i t i e s a s a s o c i e t y ? T h e r e a r e 3 5 , 0 0 0

h o m e l e s s i n t h i s c i t y w h o d o n ' t h a v e a r o o f

o v e r t h e i r h e a d s , c l o t h e s to k e e p them

w a r m or food to fill their stomachs A n d w e

a r e p a y i n g these men 6- and 7-figure

s a l a r i e s t o k e e p ourselves e n t e r t a i n e d !

S o m e t h i n g ' s g o n e wronu

I M M O R A L E A R N I N G S ?

W h a t i n t h e w o r l d i s h a p p e n i n g t o

p r o f e s s i o n a l s p o r t ? W h e n I was a kid, it cost

$ 5 t o g e t a d e c e n t s e a t a t t h e s t a d i u m , a n o

m y d a d w o u l d b u y m e a h o t d o g a n d

h i n r s e l f ; r b e e r w h i c h w o u l d b r i n s th e t o t a t

c o s t to a b o u t $ 1 0

L a s t Saturday I t o o k my little boy to see the

C i a n t s p l a y After the parking, tickets,

r e f r e s h m e n t s a n d s o u v e n i r s , I w a l k e d out of

t h e r e w i t h $ 7 5 l e s s in m y p o c k e t Just ask

m e h o w s o o n l' l l b e g o i n g b a c k !

B u t i t g o t m e t h i n k i n g : w h y a m I p a y i n g s o

m u c h to watch a group of men throw a ball

a r o u n d ? A n d t h e n I r e a l i s e d : I w a s p a y i n g

Look back at the article and answer these questions with a partner:

1 w h a t things did the man have to pay for at the basebail game?

2 W h y ckres h e s a y " f u s t ask me how soon I'll be going back',?

3 W h a t does he mean when he says that he's paying the players' salaries? D o y o u agree?

4 W h y does he start ralking about homeless p e o p l e ?

D i s c u s s i o n

1 ' D o vou birsically a g r e e w i t h the man or does he have an old-fashioned, n o s t a l g i c v i e w o f sport?

2 I ) o vou go to live sport events? W h a t i s the most erpensive s p o r t s e v e n t y o u have been to? \Was i t rvorth it?

-1 Have voLr ever paid to watch a big sports event on pay-TV? If so, how much did you pay?

L a n g u a g e

R e a d th i s t e x t a n d u n d e r l i n e a l l t h e e x p r e s s i o n s w i t h ' w o r t h ' :

A UK FOOTBALL MATCH

Going to see my football team is not cheap

-the cheapest seat is [20 - but I think it's worth

it Usually you get your money's worth

-e s p -e c i a l l y w i t h o u r n -e w c -e n t r -e f o r w a r d ,

Rivaldo Apparently, he's on f,4 million a

year, but he's such a brilliant player, I think

he's worth every penny

Recently, I took my whole family to see a

game There are some guys who sell tickets

illegally outside the stadium - they're called

ticket touts - and you can get into trouble if

you buy from them Normally, I would have

said that it's more trouble than it's worth but

since I'd brought my whole family, which was going to be very expensive, I thought it was worth a try So, I went up to one of these guys and negotiated four fantastic seats for {80 -quite a bargain for such an important game and such great seats They were actually worth around f120 When we tried to get into the stadium, we were told that our tickets were

f o r g e r i e s ! { 8 0 d o w n t h e d r a i n ! Y o u c a n imagine how we felt!

So, we went back home to watch the game on

TV My advice is never buy from a ticket tout It's not worth the risk

N o w c o m p l e t e th e e x p r e s s i o n s w i t h o n e w o r d : 5 I t h o u e h t i t w a s w o r t h a ,

l l i t ' s w o r t h it

2 You €let your worth

3 H e ' s w o r t h e v e r v

4 It's rnore than it's worth

6 They were actually worth f1,20

7 It's not worth the

H o w d o y o u s a y t h e s e in y o u r l a n g u a g e ?

W h a t d o y o u t h i n k ' € 8 0 d o w n t h e d r a i n ' m e a n s ?

D i s c u s s i o n

The average professional footballer in the Premier League in England earns €400,000 a year * around

€7,600 a week He trains, on average, for three hours a day and plays one or two games a week for 10 months of the year This means he earns around f520 per hour So, after one training session, he is

€1500 richer For the very top players, multiply all these figures by 6 or 7 People argue that the following reasons justify the salaries Which do you think are good reasons?

l l t ' s r r s h o r t c a r e e r - 18 years maxirrrum - 4 I t r e q u i r e s a v e r y h i g h l e v e l o f s k i l l , w h i c h

t h e n y o n ' r e f i n i s h e d a s f a r a s p l a y i n g is o n l y a v e r y f e w p e o p l e p o s s e s s T h e y

c o n c e r n e d s h o u l d b e r e w a r d e d fo r t h a t

2 T o p p l a y e r s c a n ' t g o o u t p a r t y i n g a n d - 5 J u l i a R o b e r t s g e t s $4 million to make a

e a t i n g a n d d r i n k i n g w h a t e v e r th e y w a n t f i l m , s o w h y s h o u l d n ' t to p f o o t b a l l e r s g e t

T h e y h a v e to l o o k a f t e r t h e m s e l v e s a n d b e s i m i l a r p a y ? T h e y a r e ju s t l i k e f i l m s t a r s

h i g h l ) ' d i s c i p l i n e d T h e y h a v e a s e v e r e l y

restricted social life for maybe zo y.nrr ' 6' Top players are high profile superstars wh<r

c a n ' t le a v e h o m e w i t h o u t t h e m e d i a

3 Yor-rr carecr could end at any time through following them The money they get is

i n j u r y c o m p e n s a t i o n f o r h a v i n g n o p r i v a t e li f e

More issues

1 T h e m e n ' s W i m b l e d o n t e n n i s c h a m p i o n w i n s € 4 7 7 , 5 0 0 T h e w o m e n ' s c h a m p i o n g e t s f 4 3 0 , 0 0 0 W h a t i s the reason for this? Women nearly always get less than men in sport Why is this?

2 S o m e p e o p l e th i n k t h a t m o n e y h a s r u i n e d s p o r t P e o p l e u s e d to p l a y fo r t h e g l o r y o f w i n n i n g N o w t h e y are open to bribery and corruption What would you do about it?

-Vanity

D i s c u s s i o n

I n y o u r experience, a r e t h e following statements t r u e o r n o t ?

| M e n rrre more intcrested i n their appcarance t h a n w o m e n

2 \ W o r n e n t a l k t o their friends abour how they krok Men don'r

- 1 W < r r n c n l i k e to go shopping with other women

4 ' M e n prefer fo go clothes shopping alone They arc afraid ro ask a woman to helo thcrn

- i N , l c n s p e n c l r r o r e on cosmetics t h a n 1 0 y e a r s ago.

Reading

R e a d the first part of the article and underline all the different things that men do to make themselves ' b e a u t i f u l ' :

MEN'S BEAUTY IS BIG BUSINESS

If you think the world of face creams, one enthusiastic beauty consultant Body beautiful fingernails and silky-smooth hair removal, manicures, pedicures, teeth legs is exclusively female, think again As whitening and liposuction, to name just a sales of men's health and fashion few, are all now in high demand Modern magazines continue to grow at a huge man is even plucking his eyebrows to rate, more and more men are queueing up complete the well-groomed experience.

at health spas and gyms for complete So, what is the explanation for this? Why make-overs- "Lots of men are no longer are men spending more on pampering embarrassed to use products or services their bodies than on CD collections and that make them look and feel better.,' said DVDs?

C o m p a r e w h a t y o u u n d e r l i n e d w i t h a p a r t n e r Do you know what all those things are?

w h a t i s y o u r explanation f o r m e n ' s g r o w i n g interest in theiiappearance?

N o w r e a d the second part of the article to see if it gives the same explanation:

F I

According to some, the explanation is quite simple Twenty years ago, the only beautiful role models in the media were wonten Now, magazine covers displaying half-dressed male models with six-packs, tans and perfect hair, have persuaded men they are missing out on something.In other words it's just clever advertising

Others offer a more profbund explanation

As traditional roles between men and women at home and at work become less distinct, men are looking for new ways to express either their masculinity or their

Vanitv

new-found feminine side

The masculine expression leads to joining

a gym and building muscle, the feminine expression leads to moisturising creams and beautiful nails These days it seems to

be a combination of both You could argue that the modern man is quite simply -confused I

So, are men just victims of the advertising industry, or are they trying to re-invent themselves? Or is it just that women have been right all along - men are vainer? Now they have the proof Whar do you think /

, t F

t I I

+ t

Taboos and /ssues

:t

:l

:l

!t

it

F

F

F

F

F

F

FI

F

F

F

E

F

F

L a n g u a g e 1

E x p l a i n w h a t t h e f o l l o w i n g m e a n :

1 Mer-r are queueing up tlt heirlth spas

r r n c l g y m s

2 pantltering therr bodies

3 M a l e m o c l c l s w i t h s i r - p a c f t s

4 As trac'litirxral rolcs between rnen

rrrrcl women becrnne less distinct

-5 joining :,r llyrn and building muscle

6 merr are trying to re-inuent themselues

D i s c u s s i o n

D o y o u t h i n k m e n h i r v e a ' f e m i n i n e s i d e ' ?

D o ,vou think more rren are ' c i i s c o v e r i n g ' i t ?

l ) o w o m e n n e e d tc l d i s c o v e r t h e i r ' m a s c u l i n c s i c ' l e ' ?

" Y r t n r

X - r a y s h o w s a t b i n m o n struggling to get out."

L a n g u a g e 2

Two of the expressions below mean that you are not looking after yourself properly Which ones?

tudtcb whdt yr.ttt eat tttkc regular exercise utork out at the gynt

put on weight stalt in shdlte

let yourself go l)dmper yourself use body lotions take pride in your appe(trdnce Now complete the text below with the correct form of verbs from the expressions above Can you do it

w i t h o u t l o o k i n g b a c k a t t h e e x p r e s s i o n s ?

S i n c e r n v b r o t h e r r e a c h e d 4 0 h e ( 1 ) h i m s e l f g o a b i t H e ( 2 )

a l o t o f w e i g h t I' v e t o l d h i m h e ' s g o t t o s t a r t ( 3 ) w h a t h e e a t s a n d s t a r t

l o o k i n g a f t e r h i m s e l f I t h i n k i t ' s i m p o r t a n t t o ( 4 ) p r i d e i n y o u r

a p p e a r a n c e I w a n t t o ( 5 ) i n s h a p e s o I ( 6 ) r e g u l : r r e r c r c i s e a n d ( 7 ) a t t h c g y m Ia l s o ( U ) m y s e l f o c c a s i o n a l l y - l h a v e a m a s s a g e once a month, for erarnple Br-rt I do not (9) bod,v lotions or shave r-r-ry legs

o r a n v t h i n s li k e t h a t I m e a n th e r e a r e l i r n i t s !

Vanity survey

R e a d th e f o l l o w i n g q u e s t i o n s Y o u g e t 1 p o i n t f o r e a c h 'y e s ' a n s w e r D e c i d e in t h e c l a s s h o w m a n y ' y e s '

a n s w e r s m e a n :

I dnt norrnol - points I am uain = points 1 dm extremel.y uain - ltoints

1 D o y o u s t o p a n d l o o k a t y o u r s e l f i n s h o p w i n d o w s ?

2 D o y o u g o t o t h e h a i r d r e s s e r ' s m o r e t h a n o n c e a m o n t h ?

3 H a v e y o u e v e r d y e d y o u r h a i r ?

4 D o y o u u s e h a i r g e l o r a s i m i l a r p r o d u c t ? , 5 H a v e y o u e v e r h a d a m a n i c u r e o r a p e d i c u r e ?

6 D o y o u u s e a h a n d c r e a m ?

7 D o y o u u s e a n y f a c e c r e a m s ?

B H a v e y o u e v e r u s e d m a k e - u p ?

9 D o y o u p l u c k y o u r e y e b r o w s ?

1 0 H a v e y o u e v e r s h a v e d a p a r t o f y o u r b o d y - o t h e r th a n y o u r f a c , e ?

1 1 D o v o u u s e e x o e n s i v e d e o d o r a n t o r a f t e r - s h a v e ?

1 2 D o y o u w o r k o u t a t t h e g y m o r i n y o u r b e d r o o m ?

1 3 W o u l d y o u c o n s i d e r h a v i n g a n y s o r t o f c o s m e t i c s u r g e r y ?

1 4 D o y o u b u y f a s h i o n m a g a z i n e s o r h e a l t h a n d f i t n e s s m a g a z i n e s ?

1 5 l s a n y p a r t o f y o u r b o d y p i e r c e d - n i p p l e s ? n a v e l ? n o s e ? o t h e r ?

W o r k i n p a i r s a s k i n g e a c h o t h e r t h e q u e s t i o n s H o w m a n y p o i n t s d i d y o u s c o r e ?