Reading One: James Finchley James Finchley is currently a second year student studying International Relations at the University

of Glasgow. As he has no brothers or sisters, his p arents are able to pay for most of his studies, although in order to increase hi s income he has a part time job as a barman. He works on Friday, Saturday and Su nday evening and also has a heavy workload from his course, so has little time f or socializing. James is living in a shared house with four other students two m en and two women. Although he enjoys the communal lifestyle, he has been missing his mums cooking. Before starting university, James did volunteer work in Botswa na for six months. In the future hed like to work for a development agency, but h es worried that the salary will not be good enough. Next Thursday is his 21st bir thday, so James has planned a big celebration with his friends and family. Reading Two: Susanna Macdonald Susanna Macdonald was born in London in 1975. She is the youngest of six siblings, so her home was always very hectic and noisy during her childhood. Sh e has a good relationship with all her brothers and sisters, but is particularly close to her youngest brother, Danny. Unfortunately, Danny moved to Africa last year, so she hasnt been able to see him recently. Susanna works in a travel agen cy, and was recently promoted to Assistant Branch Manager. She enjoys her work, but feels she is underpaid for the hours she puts in her older sister, Jane, ear ns twice as much as she does despite only working three days a week. Susanna is single, but bought her own apartment last year and has been enjoying the peace a nd quiet compared to her parents home. Although she has a boyfriend, its not reall y a serious relationship, and she prefers going out with her friends.

Reading Three: Jane Parsons Jane Parsons is a successful marketing executive with a well-known pharm aceutical company. In her twenties she was very much a career woman, but when sh e had her first child she decided to focus more on her family life. She now has four children, the oldest of whom has just finished school. Tim, Janes husband, i s an engineer, and earns just over 70,000 per year. Although she now only works p art time, Janes salary is almost as high as Tims, so they are fairly well off. Nex t month shes taking the kids to visit their Uncle Danny in Kenya luckily for Jane her younger sister works as a travel agent, so she could get them discount tick ets on British Airways. Most of Janes time is taken up by her kids and her job, s o shes been looking forward to just relaxing on the beach during her holiday.

Reading Four: Liam Macdonald Liam Macdonald has recently retired after working as a history teacher f or most of his adult life. Liam loved his job, and hes been finding it a little d ifficult to adapt to his new lifestyle. Although he receives a reasonable pensio n (almost 3000 per month) he has to be more careful with money than when he was w orking. Also, he now has so much free time that he often feels bored during the day. His kids have all left home, and his wife spends most of her time doing vol unteer work, so Liam is sometimes lonely. Next week, however, his grandson is tu rning 21, so Liam is looking forward to the big family party theyre holding for h im. Five of his six children will be coming with their husbands, wives and child ren. Hes a bit disappointed that his youngest son, Danny, cant be there, but it sh ould be a great evening even so.

Comprehension Questions Now you have learned about all four people, work with your group mates t o answer these questions. 1) d) Liam 2) d) Liam 3) d) Liam 4) d) Liam 5) What is the relationship between Liam and Jane? Which person has the highest income? a) James b) Susanna c) Jane Which person lives in the biggest household? a) James b) Susanna c) Jane Which person is the oldest? a) James b) Susanna c) Jane Who has been to Africa? a) James b) Susanna c) Jane

6) What is the relationship between Susanna and James?

Discussion questions 1) Like James Macdonald, many university students in Britain live in shared houses with three or four other students. Each person has their own bedroom, bu t everyone shares the same kitchen, bathroom and living room. a) What are the good points and bad points of this system? b) Would you like to live in a shared house? Why or why not? 2) Even if they are not married, British people rarely live with their pare nts in their late twenties or thirties. Most people buy their own house, share w ith friends, or live with their boyfriend or girlfriend. a) Why do you think people leave their parents home earlier in Britain than Japan?

b) After graduating, would you like to live with your parents or live indep endently? Why? c) Is it a good idea for couples to live together before they get married? Why or why not? 3) Many women in Britain return to work quite soon after having children: sometimes full-time, sometimes part-time. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of this a) for the mother? b) for the children? c) for the company? 4) In Britain, people usually retire at 65 years old, but in the future thi s age is going to rise. Most people do not take another job after retirement. a) What age do you think people should retire at? Why? b) What are some problems people face after retiring? c) What would you like to do after retiring?

Grammar point: present perfect Form 1) Present Perfect Simple: subject + have/has + past participle e.g. I have finished my homework. 2) Present Perfect Continuous: subject + have/has + been + present particip le e.g. I have been doing my homework. Use 1) To talk about experience (present perfect simple) Vanessa has lived in Argentina. Note: if you specify the time, use the simple past tense e.g. Vanessa lived in Argentina from 1987 to 1992. 2) To talk about something that started in the past but is still continuing (present perfect simple or continuous) I have worked here since 2001. I have been working here since 2001. Note: for a temporary situation, use the present perfect continuous e.g. Ive been worrying about this test all week. 3) To talk about recent completed actions (i) to focus on the action itself, use the present perfect continuous Im really tired because Ive been cleaning the house all day. (ii) to focus on the result of the action, use the present perfect simple Ive cleaned the house, so now I can finally relax. Note: some verbs can not be used with the present perfect continuous e.g. I have decided to move house I have been deciding to move house

Exercise 1 In your groups, look at the readings again. Underline examples of the present pe rfect. Exercise 2 Complete the sentences using the verbs in brackets in the correct tense. Sometim es more than one answer is possible. Edward ___________________ (work) at Allied Engineering for ten years, b ut recently he ___________________ (think) about changing jobs. Although he ____ _______________ (like) his job, during the last year he ___________________ (hav e) some problems with his boss, so he ___________________ (not enjoy) work as mu ch as he used to. The problem is that, although he ___________________ (do) othe r jobs in the past, he doesnt really have the skills to change careers. He ______ _____________ (discuss) the problem with his wife, but she ___________________ ( think) that he should stay at Allied Engineering and talk to his boss about the situation. Edward values his wifes opinion, so he ___________________ (make) an a ppointment with his boss and is hoping to solve the problem. However, if his bos s is not helpful then he ___________________ (decide) that he will definitely qu it. Exercise 3 A) Discuss 1) 2) 3) these questions with a partner. Remember to ask follow-up questions. How have you been feeling recently? What have you done today? Have you been doing anything interesting recently?

B) Tell your partner three things you have done. One thing should be true and tw o false. Ask each other questions and guess which statement is true. e.g. I have eaten goat brain. (false) I have been interviewed on TV. (true) I have ridden a camel. (false) Exercise 4 Work with a partner. Look at the four paragraphs again, use your imagin ation, and write a similar paragraph about Danny.