In this lesson, we are going to look at what it is like to be rich and
famous. In the grammar section, we are going to focus on verbs which
are followed by gerund and verbs which are followed by the infinitive.
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2.- Listening
Look at the
following question and think about how you would answer these questions.
Would you
like to be famous?
What are the positive and negative sides of being famous?
What would you buy with your wealth?
Would you give any money to charity?
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3.- Key
Vocabulary
Before listening
to your teacher answer the above questions, try to learn the following
items of vocabulary.
Wealth
Charity
Privacy
Extravagant
To be high up (priorities)
To cope
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3.1.- Now
listen to your teacher respond to the previous questions and note down
her answers.
.
.
(to
see the answer click on the table; double click return)
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4.- Useful
expressions
4.1.- Look
at the tapescript and pick out any useful words or expressions which
you could use to help you answer the questions.
(to
see the answer click on the table; double click return)
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4.2.- Tapescript
1. When I
was younger I dreamed of being famous. Having the paparazzi follow your
every move and having people of all ages admire you – to me seemed
the perfect dream. However, nowadays I don’t like the idea. In
fact, I hate the idea. I would hate to have my every move recorded and
photographed. I would not have a private life and I think that would
be awful. I don’t know how celebrities cope.
2.
The positive things about being famous…let me think. Well, I guess
money is definitely high up there. You have so much money that you can
do whatever you want with it. I guess it’s like winning the lottery.
However on the other hand, fame is not often long lived, so you could
be famous for a couple of years and get used to a certain life style
and then have it all taken away from you. When this happens, you have
to adjust your life accordingly and I think this is when a lot of celebrities
find themselves in debt as they have got used to extravagant lifestyles.
Another negative point is that you don’t have a lot of privacy.
You are always being watched. A bit scary I think.
3.
I’d definitely buy a lovely house near the beach in Spain. I’m
not sure which part of Spain but somewhere where there aren’t
a lot of tourists just lots of lovely Spanish people, restaurants and
bars.
4.
This is a difficult question. I’m sure that famous people get
hundreds of letters each year asking for them to donate money to different
charities. So, the difficult comes in deciding which charity to support.
I would definitely give money to charity but I would have a tough job
deciding on the best charity to help.
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4.3.- Now,
it’s your turn to answer the above questions. Remember to stress
the important words in each sentence and ensure that with each sentence,
your intonation ends on a fall.
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5.- Listening
You have
heard your teacher talk about being famous. You are now going to listen
to four celebrities talk about the pros and cons of being famous.
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5.1.- Listen
for a first time and see if any of them mention any of the points you
talked about in 4.3.
Listening
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5.2.- Before
listening to the celebrities again, I would like you to revise the following
verbs:
To fancy
To postpone
To regret
To give up
To carry on
To threaten
To attempt
To pretend
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5.3.- Now
listen and fill in the gaps.
(to
see the answer click on the table; double click return)
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5.4.- Look
at the tapescript. Identify if the 8 previously taught verbs are followed
by an infinitive or by a gerund. Complete the table.
(to
see the answer click on the table; double click return)
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5.5.- Tapescript
1. I love
being famous because I have enough money to do whatever I want. If I
fancy going to New York for the weekend I do it. If I want to postpone
singing at a concert I do it. I have enough money to survive now forever
so when I work it’s for fun not because I need the money.
2.
When I became famous I had to give up going out with my friends to a
club, eating in nice restaurants. Life is difficult because everywhere
I go there are people hassling me. Sometimes I pretend to be someone
else and wear different clothes and a hat. It’s quite sad, isn’t
it?
3.
I don’t regret becoming famous but sometimes life is very difficult.
Last year I received a letter from an unknown and in the letter the
person threatened to kill my pet dog if I didn’t give him or her
tickets to my latest exhibition. Some people are crazy!
4.
When I first became famous I tried to keep my life exactly the same
as it was before and carry on going to my local gym with my friends
and walking my dog in the park. But then things became difficult as
my friends started getting annoyed with all the attention other people
gave me. I have now changed my lifestyle but I always attempt to meet
up with my friends once a month in a quiet place where hopefully nobody
recognises me.
