CUTTING

EDGE
INTERMEDIATE
THIRD EDITION
STUDENTS’ BOOK
WITH DVD-ROM

SARAH CUNNINGHAM PETER MOOR

AND JONATHAN BYGRAVE
CONTENTS
Unit Language focus Vocabulary Skills
01 Questions and short People around you Reading:The myths that
answers Everyday activities make you feel guilty
YOUR WORLD Present simple and
page 06 Present continuous

02 Past simple and Childhood and upbringing Reading:The secrets of

Past continuous Remembering and your memory
MEMORY used to and would forgetting Listening: Childhood and
page 16 upbringing

03 Comparatives and Features and sights Reading:What’s the right

superlatives Adjectives for describing type of holiday for you?
ACROSS THE GLOBE Different ways of places
page 26 comparing

04 Present perfect and Life events Reading: Pushed too far?

Past simple Personal qualities
REAL LIVES Present perfect simple and
page 36 Present perfect continuous

05 Future forms Word families Reading: Getting ahead in

Future clauses with if, Work the 21st century
GO FOR IT! when, unless, etc. Listening: Career
page 46 crossroads

06 Past perfect say and tell Reading: It really

Reported speech Adverbs for telling stories happened to me!
TRUE STORIES
page 56

Study, Practice & Remember page 132, Audio scripts page 168, Irregular verb list page 175
Pronunciation Task Language live/ Study, Practice & Remember
World culture
Sentence stress in Discuss the way you Language live Study & Practice 1, page 132
questions spend your time Speaking: Keeping a Study & Practice 2, page 132
Using intonation to Preparation: Listening conversation going Remember these words, page 134
show interest and reading Writing: An informal Study tips, page 134
Task: Speaking email
Past simple -edendings Describe a personal World culture Study & Practice 1, page 135
memory Video and research: Study & Practice 2, page 136
Preparation: Listening Flashbulb memories Remember these words, page 137
and vocabulary Study tips, page 137
Task: Speaking
Follow up: Writing
Stress and /ə/ sounds in Provide an insider’s guide Language live Study & Practice 1, page 138
comparative phrases Preparation: Listening Speaking: Travel Study & Practice 2, page 139
Sentence stress in polite Task: Speaking problems Remember these words, page 140
questions Writing: A travel blog Study tips, page 140

Strong and weak forms Nominate someone for World culture Study & Practice 1, page 141
of have an award Video and research: Study & Practice 2, page 142
Linking in time phrases Preparation: Listening Charles Dickens: Writer Remember these words, page 143
Task: Speaking and campaigner Study tips, page 143
Follow up: Writing
Word stress in word Choose who to hire Language live Study & Practice 1, page 144
families or fire! Speaking: Making a Study & Practice 2, page 145
Polite intonation in Preparation: Reading formal telephone call Remember these words, page 146
questions and listening Writing: A CV Study tips, page 146
Task: Speaking and
listening
Hearing the difference Retell a story World culture Study & Practice 1, page 147
between Past simple Preparation: Listening Video and research: Study & Practice 2, page 148
and Past perfect in and vocabulary A story that rocked the Remember these words, page 149
connected speech Task: Speaking and world Study tips, page 149
listening
Follow up: Writing
CONTENTS
Unit Language focus Vocabulary Skills
07 -ed/-ing adjectives Entertainment and Reading: News stories
The passive television Listening: Film quiz
MUST SEE! Extreme adjectives
page 66

08 Polite requests Social behaviour Reading: My big night out!

will and shall for instant Talking about norms Listening: Modern manners quiz
SOCIAL LIFE responses and customs
page 76

09 Defining relative clauses How gadgets work Reading: Consumer crazy

Quantifiers Describing everyday objects Listening: How gadgets
STUFF! work
page 86

10 Making predictions Numbers and statistics Reading:The future will

Hypothetical possibilities Society and change surprise us
SOCIETY AND with if Society and social issues Listening: Society and
CHANGE change
page 96

11 Obligation and permission Linking words Listening: Annoying rules

in the present Crime and punishment Reading: Exclusive clubs
RULES Obligation and permission
page 106 in the past

12 could have, should have, Problems and solutions Listening: The toughest
would have decision of their lives
YOUR CHOICE Hypothetical situations Reading: How to make
page 116 in the past with if decisions

Study, Practice & Remember page 132, Audio scripts page 168, Irregular verb list page 175
Pronunciation Task Language live/
World culture Study, Practice & Remember
Word stress Talk about a show you Language live Study & Practice 1, page 150
Sentence stress love or hate Speaking: Making a Study & Practice 2, page 150
Preparation:Vocabulary social arrangement Remember these words, page 152
and listening Writing: A review Study tips, page 152
Task: Speaking
Polite intonation in Give tips on how to World culture Study & Practice 1, page 153
requests behave Video and research: Study & Practice 2, page 154
Preparation: Listening Addicted to games Remember these words, page 155
Task: Speaking Study tips, page 155
Follow up:Writing
Stress in compound Talk about things you Language live Study & Practice 1, page 156
nouns couldn’t live without Speaking: Buying things Study & Practice 2, page 157
Preparation: Reading Writing:A short thank- Remember these words, page 158
Task: Speaking you message Study tips, page 158

Shifting stress in word Balance the budget World culture Study & Practice 1, page 159
families Preparation: Listening Video and research: Study & Practice 2, page 160
’ll or ’d in connected Task: Speaking In orbit Remember these words, page 161
speech Study tips, page 161

Modal verbs in Discuss new laws Language live Study & Practice 1, page 162
connected speech Preparation: Reading Speaking: Expressing Study & Practice 2, page 163
and listening and responding to Study & Practice 3, page 163
Task: Speaking opinions Remember these words, page 164
Writing:An opinion Study tips, page 164
essay
Past modal forms in Discuss dilemmas World culture Study & Practice 1, page 165
connected speech Preparation: Reading Video and research: Study & Practice 2, page 166
Task: Speaking Life in a new country Remember these words, page 167
Follow up: Writing Study tips, page 167
01
YOUR
WORLD
A

Language focus 1
Questions and short answers
IN THIS UNIT 1a Match situations 1–3 with photos A–C.
• Grammar: Questions and short 1 someone answering questions to complete a form
2 someone who has just arrived in a foreign country and
answers; Present simple and is greeting an old friend she hasn’t seen for a long time
Present continuous 3 someone getting to know a classmate on a new course
• Vocabulary: People around you;
Everyday activities b Work in pairs. Think of two questions that the people in each
situation might ask.
• Task: Discuss the way you spend
your time 2a situations
1.1 Listen to nine short conversations. Match them with
1–3 in exercise 1a.
• Language live: An informal email;
Keeping a conversation going 11 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
b Work in pairs. How many questions from the conversations can
you remember? Make a list. Then listen again and check.
GRAMMAR
Forming questions
Many questions begin with wh- words and phrases:
What? Where? Which part? (alsoHow?)
1 Think of four more wh- question words/phrases.
2 Cross out the question with incorrect word order.
1 Where do live your parents?
2 Where do your parents live?
Short answers
3 Rewrite the answers to these questions using did, do and doesn’t.
A: Did you have a good journey?
B: Yes, I had a good journey.Yes, I did.
1 A: Do all your family live near here?
B: My parentslive near here,but my sisterdoesn’t live near here.
2 A: Does your father work in London?
B: No, he works from home.

6
 C

PRONUNCIATION
1 Notice how we stress the important words in questions.
Is this your first visit to London?
Where exactly do you live?
2 Notice how we stress the verb in short answers.
Yes, actually it is.
3 1.2 Listen again and underline the stressed words
in exercise 1a. Practise saying the questions.
B
2Work in pairs. Act out two conversations from the
photos using questions from exercise 1a and your
PRACTICE own ideas.
1a Complete
the box. You may need to use some verbs more than 3a Discuss
the questions and answers with the verbs in what questions to ask your teacher in the
once. One verb isn’t used. situations below.
You don’t know what ‘colleague’ means.
are could do don’t did have haven’t is (’s) What does ‘colleague’ mean?
1 You don’t know the English word for .
A: ^ this your firstisvisit to London?
Is 2 You don’t know how to pronounce a word.
B: Yes, actually it ^ . 3 You don’t know how to spell your teacher’s name.
1 What your postcode, please? 4 You don’t know which page to look at.
2 Where exactly you live? 5 You didn’t understand an explanation.
3 How your job going? 6 You didn’t hear what your teacher said.
4 A: You speak any other languages apart from English? 78 YouYou
want to know what today’s homework is.
want your teacher to write a word on
B: No, I. the board.
5 All your family speak English?
6 You tell me your date of birth?
7 A:You have a nice holiday? b 1.3 Listen and check.
B: Yes thanks, I.
8 A:You got any brothers and sisters?
B: No, I. 4 Work in pairs. Choose four questions from exercise 1a.
Then think of two more questions of your own.
Take turns to ask and answer the questions.
b Look back at the situations in exercise 1a on page 6.
Match the questions and answers with the photos. Unit 1, Study & Practice 1, page 132
c 1.2 Listen and check.
7
Vocabulary
People around you
1a Which word doesn’t belong in each group? Cross it
out and write it in the correct group.
Family older sister stepmother
relative stranger
grandchild half-brother
grandparents
Work/school classmate boss
colleague employee
niece
Friends best friend old school friend
acquaintance mother-in-law
Other neighbour flatmate
cousin ex-girlfriend
b Add more words to the table.
2a answers
1.4 Listen to eight instructions. Write your
in any of the spaces below.

e
nin

Language focus 2
Present simple and Present continuous
1a Look at the photos from Jess’s birthday party last
weekend. What do you think her relationship is to
each person in the photos?
b 1.5 Jess is showing the photos to a colleague.
Listen and check your answers to exercise 1a.
Lydia – best friend

b Work in pairs and swap books. Ask questions to 2 Listen again and find five mistakes in the sentences
below.
find the meaning of the names/numbers that your Ann
partner has written. Jess is showing her photos to Lydia.
1 Lydia is working in a restaurant at the moment.
Why did you write ‘nine’? 2 She wants to become a social worker.
3 She’s applying for lots of jobs.
Because I’ve got nine cousins. 4 Isabel is getting old.
5 She always pulls faces in photos.
6 Jess’s grandparents go out a lot.
Who’s Roberta? 7 Luxmmi is training to be a dentist.
8 Joe is wearing sunglasses.
She’s my colleague. 9 Joe’s living in a student house at the moment.
10 He doesn’t like the city very much.
8
 Your world 01

PM 75%
PRACTICE
1 Choose the correct answers.
1 Raoul wears / is wearing a suit today – it’s/
is being really smart.
2 Eva is a fantastic musician – she plays / is playing
the piano, the guitar and the violin.
3 Ben doesn’t smoke / isn’t smoking – he hates /
is hating cigarettes.
4 I don’t like / am not liking this coffee very much –
what do you think / are you thinking of it?
5 Amy works / is working in a hotel this summer.
Jess, Luxmmi 2a Complete the questions with you and either the
Present simple or the Present continuous.
1 (like) meeting new people?
2 (read) a good book at the moment?
3 (read) a daily newspaper?
4 (study) for any exams at the moment?
5 (prefer) smart or casual clothes?
6 (usually get up) late at the weekend?
7 (plan) anything special at the moment?
b Ask other students the questions. Find someone who
answers yesto each question. Report back to the class.
Yasuko is reading a good book. It’s called …
Joe, Jess, Pete, Harriet, Andy

3 Rewrite the sentences where necessary to make

them true for you. Compare your answers in pairs.
I’m losing weight.
3a Underline the Present simple verbs and circle the
Present continuous verbs in exercise 2. How do we
I’m gaining weight.
1 The weather’s getting colder.
form the Present continuous? 2 I’m getting taller.
3 My hair’s going grey.
4 My English is getting better.
b Find another example in exercise 2 for each use 5 I’m getting hungry.
below.
GRAMMAR
4a Find photos on your mobile phone of people you
know or write the names of six important people
Present simple in your life on a piece of paper.
1 habits, repeated actions and permanent situations
Isabel always pulls faces in photos. b Make notes about your relationship with the people,
Saliba lives near Jess. what they do and their lives at the moment.
2 ‘states’ Tomas – best friend
He doesn’t like the city. – not working and really fed up
(other state verbs: be, have (got), want, think, love, etc.)
Present continuous c Work in groups. Tell other students about the people
1 actions happening at this moment in your photos or on your list. They can ask questions.
Jess is showing her photos to Ann.
2 actions happening in the present period (but not at
this moment) This is Tomas – he’s my best friend. He’s not
She’s applying for lots of jobs. working at the moment.
3 situations we see as temporary
Joe’s living in a student house.
4 situations that are gradually changing
Grandpa’s getting old.
Unit 1, Study & Practice 2, page 132

9
Reading and speaking The
1a Look at the photos and discuss the questions. myths that
make you feel guilty
• Is there a lot of advice about lifestyle in newspapers
and magazines in your country?
• Which photos remind you of yourself?
by Lester Johnson
The photo of the woman exercising reminds
me of myself. I hate exercising.
Every time I open a newspaper, I read a new piece of

b Which opinions (a–d) do you think are true? advice about what I’m doing wrong. I don’t drink enough
water, I sleep too much, I don’t sleep enough … it can get
a young people spend too much depressing. So I decided to do some research myself to
time on the internet find out if I should really feel so guilty.
b people who get up early are more productive
c multitasking is an essential modern skill I’ve always felt bad because I find it difficult to get up in the
d there’s no such thing as too much exercise morning – mainly because I can never sleep before 2 a.m.

2a Read
So while my colleagues arrive for work looking bright
the article. Choose a phrase from exercise 1b and fresh at 8 o’clock, I arrive at ten, feeling grumpy. And
to complete the gaps. everyone knows that 1 , right? Wrong actually,
according to a report from the University of Liege. Two
b According to the article, is each phase a fact or hours after waking, researchers found that early birds
a myth? and night owls are equally productive. But ten hours after
waking, night owls like me are less tired and better able to

3a Read the article again and answer the questions. concentrate! So next time I’m late for work, I won’t apologise;
I’ll just tell my boss that I’m a night owl – and that’s good!
1 How does the writer feel about his own lifestyle? Like many people, I constantly worry about the amount
2 When are night owls more productive? of exercise I take … or rather don’t take. I know I should
3 What kind of people had damage to their heart spend hours in the gym every day and run marathons just
muscles? for fun. After all, 2 , is there? Actually, according to a
4 Which group spends the most time online in the USA? recent study, there is. Researchers studied top athletes who
5 What are older people better at doing online than are now in their fifties and found that some of them had
younger people? damage to their heart muscles. Men of the same age who
6 Is it impossible to multitask well? Why / Why not? didn’t exercise so intensively had no damage. So perhaps
I’m doing the best thing by sitting at home on the sofa?
b Work in pairs. Tell your partner which paragraph Unfortunately not. It seems the best advice is still the old
you think is the most surprising and interesting. saying: moderation in all things.
Give reasons for your answer. Everyone says that 3 , and as someone who grew
up with technology – a ‘digital native’ – I often worry that I
4a What common beliefs do people have about lifestyle
in your country? Make a list.
might be an internet addict. But apparently, a recent study of
Americans shows that it’s not young people who go online
the most, it’s the middle-aged. The study found that 18- to
People often say that you should sleep at least 24-year-olds spend around 32 hours a week online, but for
eight hours a day. 45- to 54-year-olds it’s 40 hours! However, it’s not all good
You often hear that eating late at night makes news for digital natives. According to research, we are not as
you fat. good as older people at actually using the internet. It seems
we are too impatient and believe what we read too easily!

b Work in pairs and compare your lists. Do you think I’m not the kind of person who can talk on the phone,

each belief is a fact or a myth? Why? shop online and cook dinner all at the same time, but I keep
reading that 4 . Does this mean there is something
wrong with me? I googled the subject and felt a little
better. It seems, after all, that the human brain can’t do
several things at the same time: it can only switch quickly
from one task to another. If you try to do several things at
once, experts say that you simply do each thing less well.
According to workplace psychologist Steven Nguyen, we
should stop worrying about multitasking. ‘Concentrate on
what you are doing and do fewer things better,’ he says. Now
that’s advice that I’m happy to follow!

10
 Your world 01

Vocabulary
Everyday activities
1a Underline the activities in the box that you never do
or hardly ever do.
going to the gym hanging out with friends
doing your hair going on social networking sites
looking after children commuting
chatting to friends going shopping
doing paperwork relaxing
tidying up doing the ironing
playing video games texting
putting on make-up doing nothing
b Work in pairs and compare your answers.
I never (go to the gym).
I hardly ever (iron).
Concentrate on what you
are doing and do fewer
things better
2 Write the activities from exercise 1a in the correct
category below. Some activities can go in more than
one category. Then think of more activities to add to
each category.
Sport/fitness:
Social:
Domestic:
Personal care:
Other:
3 Match the phrases in A with their opposites in B.
Which verb form is used in all of these phrases?
A B
1 I really love … a I don’t spend much
time …
2 … is very important to me b I’m not very good
at …
3 I spend a lot of time … c I’m not very
interested in …
4 I’m quite good at … d I can’t stand …
5 I’m really into … e … isn’t very
important to me
4 Use the phrases in exercise 3 to write eight true
sentences for you about the activities in exercise 1a.
Shopping isn’t very important to me.
I can’t stand doing paperwork in the morning.

5 Work in pairs. Choose five activities from exercise 1a

and ask your partner about them.
Do you ever play video games?

Not very often. I find them a bit boring.

FIND OUT MORE Go online to find out more about
early birds and night owls or Steven Nguyen
and multitasking.
11
Task
Discuss the way you spend your time

Are you happy with

the way you spend your time?
Research shows that people today have more free time than ever.
But do we spend our time on the things that really matter, or are we
wasting time and feeling frustrated?

Join our biggest ever survey to help us find out.

Tick the statements that are true for you.

1 I spend too much time sleeping. 
2 I don’t get enough sleep. 
3 I work/study for too many hours. 
4 I don’t work/study enough. 
5 I spend a lot of time looking after children / other relatives. 
6 I spend a lot of time socialising and going out. 
7 I spend too much of my time on boring activities and tasks. 
8 I never really stop – I’m busy all day. 
9 I find time for my interests. 
10 I’d like to have more time for my interests. 
11 I sometimes feel bored because I can’t think of anything to do. 
12 I don’t have enough time for certain important things in my life. 
13 I often put off tasks that I need to do. 
14 I feel stressed because I don’t have enough time to do everything. 
15 I waste a lot of time on things that aren’t very useful. 

12
Preparation Listening and reading USEFUL LANGUAGE
1a Read the introduction to the questionnaire. What is
the questionnaire trying to find out? a Describing how you spend your time
I spend quite a lot of time (looking after my daughter).
b Read the statements and complete the questionnaire. I (work) for about (ten hours) a day/week.
I spend (way) too much time (travelling).
How many statements are true for you? I’d like to spend more time (studying Spanish).
The whole journey takes about (an hour and a half).
2a answers.
1.6 Listen to five respondents talking about their
Which statements are they discussing?
I waste a lot of time on (social networking sites).
I’m on the go the whole day (long).
Make notes about what they say. There just isn’t enough time!
Speaker 1 – spends too much time commuting b Asking for more information
– journey takes one and a half hours, How much time do you spend (sleeping)?
or three hours on a bad day What exactly is your job / are your interests?
– really boring So how old are your children?
Can you give me some examples?
Why’s that?
b Listen again and tick the phrases you hear in the first c Reporting back
part (a) of the Useful language box. He’s got three children so (he’s very busy).
He’d like to spend more time (at the gym).
Task Speaking He spends (far) too much time (doing paperwork).

1 You are going to talk about your answers to the

questionnaire. Think about how to explain them.
Ask your teacher for any words/phrases you need.
> Useful language a
2a Work in pairs and swap questionnaires. Look at the
statements your partner has ticked and think of five
questions to find out more information.
> Useful language b
b Take turns to tell your partner about your answers
to the questionnaire. Answer his/her questions.
Make brief notes about your partner.
> Useful language a and b
3 Tell the class about your partner. Think about: SHARE YOUR TASK
• which activities are most important in his/her life Prepare a short talk about how
and why. you spend your time.
• the things he/she is happy about. Practise giving the talk until you
• the changes he/she would like to make. feel confident.
> Useful language c Film/Record yourself giving
your talk.
Share your film/recording with
other students.

13
LANGUAGE LIVE 3
Writing
An informal email
Read Katarina’s message again and complete it with
the phrases below.
a As you know,
b Lots of love,
1 Work in groups and discuss. c I want to hear all your news!
d I really hope you’re well.
• Do you use online social networks a lot? e PS You can see some photos of me now on my
Why / Why not? profile page.
• Have people from your past got in touch with you f So how are things with you?
through the internet? g There’s another reason I wanted to get in touch.
• If so, did you meet up with them? What happened? h Please let me know.
i I still remember
2 Read the online message that Katarina sent to her
old friend Grace. How do they know each other?
What does Katarina want to do? 4 Match
message.
topics a–d with the paragraphs in Katarina’s
a Questions for her old friend para. 2
b Reasons for getting in touch now
MESSAGE from Katarina c Why she hasn’t been in touch before
d News about her own life
5a You
Hi Grace,
are going to write a similar message. Think of
Long time no see! It’s been an old friend you haven’t seen for a long time and
a few years but I hope you invent a reason to contact him/her.
remember me! After we left
university I lost your details,
b Use the topics in exercise 4 to make notes for your
so I was really happy to find
message. Add any other information that you want
you again on this website.
You look great in your photo.
to include.
1 .
6 Write a first draft of your message. Follow the same
structure as Katarina’s message and use the checklist
below to help you.
2 ? What are you doing now? Are you still
living in Manchester? Sorry for all the questions but
3 ! And how is your family? Is your brother still • Are there clear paragraphs? (e.g. the topics
training to be a lawyer? And what are your parents in exercise 4)
doing? 4 that holiday I spent at your house with • Are you using appropriate phrases? (see exercise 3)
your family. Happy days! • Are you using present tenses and questions
correctly?
5 , after university I moved back to Slovakia.
I’m still there now. I live in Bratislava with my husband,
• Have you checked spelling and punctuation?
7a Work
Hendrik. He’s a TV producer. I work for a media
company now. Life changes so quickly! I really love my in pairs. Read each other’s messages and
life here but I still miss our time together at university. suggest improvements. Use the checklist above
It was so much fun! to help you.
6 . My company is sending me to Manchester b Read your partner’s comments and ask him/her for
for three days next week. Hendrik is coming with me. more information if necessary. Then write the final
While we’re there we would really love to meet up with
you. Is that possible? 7 .
draft of your message.
Take care. 8 ,
Katarina
9 .

REPLY

14
Speaking 4 Work in pairs. Take turns to read out the statements
below and show interest. Use the auxiliary questions
Keeping a conversation going and phrases in exercise 3 to help you.
1 Look at the picture and answer the questions. 1 I’m reading a really good book about love.
2 My brother has just bought a big house.
• Do you enjoy meeting new people? 3 We’re moving to a little village.
• Do you find it easy to talk to people you 4 My grandparents go on holiday five times a year!
don’t know? 5 An old friend of mine was on TV this week.
• What questions can you ask someone when 6 I’ve got some important news for you.
you have just met him/her?
2
We’re going to New York on holiday next week.
Grace is meeting Katarina and Hendrik in a café.
Watch the video and tick the topics that Grace and Are you? Wow!
Hendrik talk about.
• where they are from 5a Work in pairs. Act out the situations below.
• how they met Katarina How long can you keep each conversation going?
• university Which do you think is the most difficult situation?
• their home towns
• a holiday in the past • You have joined a photography class and when you
• the weather arrive there is only one other student. You try to
keep a conversation going until the teacher arrives.
3 Watch again and match the auxiliary questions in
A with the phrases in B.
• A school friend who you haven’t seen for five years
sits opposite you on the train. You have to keep the
A B conversation going until you reach your stop.
1 Were you? a Did you meet at university? • You have just been introduced to a friend of your
2 Did you? b That sounds fun. mother’s and have to keep a conversation going
3 Haven’t you? c That’s amazing! with her while your mother is making coffee.
4 Was it? d I see! b Work in groups and take turns. Pair A: Act out a
5 Do you? e When was that? conversation from exercise 5a. Pair B: Listen and
6 Don’t you? f Why’s that? note things they did well and ways they could
7 Was he? g Wow! improve.
8 Did he? h Really?
PRONUNCIATION
1 Watch and listen to the key phrases. Repeat the AFTER UNIT 1 YOU CAN …
auxiliary questions and phrases. Notice how the speakers Provide detailed personal information.
use intonation to show interest.
We were working for the same company. Describe in detail people you know.
Were you? When was that?
Describe how you spend your time.
Write a message to an old friend.
Keep a conversation going.
15
02
MEMORY

IN THIS UNIT The secrets of your memory

Memory expert Professor Jemima Gryaznov answers your
• Grammar: Past simple and
Past continuous; used to and would
most common questions about memory.

1 Why can I remember events in my childhood but not what

• Vocabulary: Childhood and
upbringing; Remembering and
happened last week?
We remember the things that have strong connections in our mind, especially
emotional connections. Childhood memories are often very emotional:
forgetting we experience things for the first time so we have strong feelings of fear

• Task: Describe a personal memory or excitement. Retelling events also helps to fix them in our memories and
interesting or funny stories from our childhood are often told again and again!

• World culture: Flashbulb memories 2 Do some people really have a photographic memory?
It is well known that some people have an extraordinary memory. Daniel
Tammet, for example, can remember the first 22,500 digits of pi and Stephen
Wiltshire can draw a detailed picture of a city from memory after flying over it in
a helicopter. However, neither Daniel nor Stephen have a photographic memory.
They are good at remembering particular things for a limited time. A person with
a photographic memory could remember every detail of a picture, a book or
an event many years later. No one has yet proved that they have a photographic
memory in a scientific test.
3 Is computer memory better than human memory?
That depends what you mean by ‘better’! Information in a computer is stored
in separate pieces. Human memory is stored in a different way. Each piece of
information is connected to many other pieces. That’s why a particular smell can
bring back memories of a holiday or a person. The problem with human memory
is that it is messy and not very accurate. The problem with computer memory is
that it can’t make connections between pieces of information – it isn’t creative.
4 I’m 24. Is my memory getting worse?
Not yet, but it will do soon. Our memory reaches its full power at the age of 25.
At that point we can remember up to 200 pieces of information a second. After
this age, however, the brain starts to get smaller. By the age of 40 we are losing
10,000 brain cells every day. By middle age our memory is significantly worse
than when we were young.
5 Is it possible to remember early childhood?
Scientists used to believe that it was impossible to remember very early
childhood, but recent research shows that babies are much cleverer than we
previously thought. Some people really can remember being a baby.
Others, however, remember nothing before the age of five or even ten!

FIND OUT MORE Go online to find out more

about Daniel Tammet and Stephen Wiltshire.
16
Reading and speaking 4 Read the text again and decide if the statements are
true (T) or false (F). Correct the false statements.
1a Work in pairs and discuss. Which of these things are
you good/bad at remembering?
1 We remember certain events in our childhood
because we felt strongly about them at the time.
• names and faces 2 When we tell a story many times, we forget
• pin numbers, passwords, etc. important details.
• facts and information 3 Stephen Wiltshire never forgets anything.
• messages and arrangements 4 Scientists have proved that some people have
• things that happened long ago a photographic memory.
• things that happened recently 5 Our brain stores each piece of information
separately.
6 Our memory starts to get worse in middle age.
b Do you think you have a good memory? 7 It is impossible to remember anything accurately
before the age of five.
2 Read the comments below. Do you have the same
or similar experiences to any of the speakers? 5 Work in pairs and discuss. Is there any information
in the text that you find surprising? Why?
a I can’t remember anything before I started school
when I was six. Emilia, 19
6 Read the tips for improving your memory. Are the
ideas in the box associated with remembering or
forgetting? Write R or F next to each idea.
b I’m not as young as I used to be and I definitely think doing crossword puzzles lack of sleep doing new things
my memory is getting worse. I sometimes go into a imagining strange pictures short, regular revision
room to look for something, but then I can’t remember
what I’m looking for. Alex, 41
oxygen going to your brain asking yourself questions

c I can remember the holiday we had when I was ten

really clearly; it was the first time I went abroad, and it
was really exciting. But I can’t remember what I did last
Seven tips for improving
summer very well at all. Jasmine, 34 your memory
1 Sleep well: If we don’t sleep properly, we ‘lose’ many
d My grandma’s dead now, but I have this really of our memories.
strange association with her. Whenever I smell ironing,
I remember her. I think it’s because she used to tell us
2 Do physical exercise: When you exercise, more
stories while she was ironing. Rosina, 23 oxygen goes to your brain and that makes your
memory work better.

3 Read the text on page 16 quickly. Then match

paragraphs 1–5 with comments a–d. There is one
3 Do mental exercise: It is important to exercise your
brain just like your body. New activities are more

extra paragraph. challenging than familiar ones.

4 Be interested: Ask yourself questions about what you
are learning. We learn better if we are interested.
5 Keep reviewing: Review information regularly rather
than trying to remember it all at once.
6 Have a cup of coffee: Caffeine, like exercise,
sends oxygen to your brain and helps
you concentrate.
7 Form a mental picture: For example,
if you want to remember the
name ‘John Keys’, imagine
his face with a big key on it.
The stranger the picture the better!

7 Work in pairs and discuss.

• Which tips seem the most/least useful?
• Which, if any, would be useful in learning English?
• Do you have any other ways of remembering new
words in English?
17
 Language focus 1
Past simple and Past continuous
2 Which question
Listen to five people discussing the quiz.
2.1
is each speaker discussing?
1 Work in pairs. Test your memory by answering the 3a Can you remember what the speakers said?
Complete the listening extracts below.
quiz questions as quickly as you can. Give brief
details for each answer. 1 Last English lesson I was wearing jeans and a
shirt.
2 I was about months old and I was walking
I remember my grandfather, and he died
with my parents – they were holding my hands.
when I was two and a half.
Suddenly, my favourite appeared at the
door and I walked towards her.
I was working in a shop when I met my partner. 3 At that time I was watching on TV.
4 She had very dark and dark , and she
always wore a lot of make-up on her .
5 While I was shopping in town, I saw the news
on the TVs in a . I went into the
How well do shop and asked the what was happening.
Everyone in the shop was talking about it.
you remember the past?
b Listen again and check.
1 Can you remember anything that happened to you
before you were three?
2 What were you doing at 3 o’clock last Saturday
4a Underline eight Past simple verbs in the sentences
in exercise 3a. Which verbs are regular and which

?
afternoon? are irregular?

?
3 How did you meet your oldest friend, or your
partner? b Circle seven examples of the Past continuous in
4 What was the name of your first teacher and what
did he/she look like?
exercise 3a. How do we form the Past continuous?
5 What was the first word you learnt in English?
6 What were you wearing in your last English lesson? GRAMMAR

?
7 What did you have for breakfast the day before
yesterday? 1 Look at the timeline and examples. Then choose the
8 What were you doing when you heard about correct answers to complete the rules.
an important piece of world news? (e.g. the death I saw the news on TV while I was shopping.
of a very famous person)

?
I was shopping.

? past I saw the

X
news on TV.
now
future

At 3 o’clock last Saturday I was watching football.

I was walking with my parents when my favourite
aunt appeared.

? 1 The Past simple / Past continuous shows complete

?
actions, usually the main events in a story.
2 The Past simple / Past continuous shows actions in

?
progress at a point in the past. They start before and
often continue after the main events.
3 We can link Past simple and Past continuous actions
with the words ‘when’ and .
2 Notice that we do not usually use the Past continuous
to describe states or repeated actions.

?
She had dark hair and always wore a lot of make-up.

?
18