7A Grammar

Speculation and deduction

What do you think was the cause of each of these real-life mysteries? Use the language in the box.

probably must/could/might/can’t (have) may well (have) I bet … I think … There’s no way …
There’s an outside/slim/good chance that … It’s likely / quite possible / highly unlikely that …

Student A
OURANG MEDAN: THE GHOST SHIP
In 1947, two American ships sailing in waters near Indonesia received an emergency message
from a Dutch vessel, the Ourang Medan. The message, in Morse code, said that the crew were all
dead and ended with the words ‘I die’. When the first American ship reached the Ourang Medan,
they found the deck littered with dead bodies. There were no survivors. The vessel appeared
undamaged, but before it was possible to investigate, a fire broke out and the ship exploded and
sank. No record has since been found of a ship named the Ourang Medan.

Student B
THE DEATH OF BRUCE LEE
Bruce Lee, the most famous martial artist of all time, died at the age of 32. Then based in the
USA, Lee had travelled to Hong Kong to promote a film. He had worked the day of his death
and, complaining of a headache, went for a nap before dinner. Lee never woke up. Medical
reports suggested that Lee had died after a reaction to medication he was taking. However, Lee
was famous for his fitness and healthy eating habits, so some people doubt he could have died
so suddenly and so young. One conspiracy theory is that Lee was killed or cursed because he had
brought the secrets of martial arts to the West. Buried next to Lee is his son, Brandon, who died
in 1993 aged 28 … while filming a martial arts film.

Student C
TAMAM SHUD
In 1948, an unidentified man was found dead on a beach in Australia. Medical reports suggest
he had been poisoned, but no poison was found on him. In fact, the man was carrying very
little, but investigators did find a secret pocket in his trousers and a small piece of paper with
the phrase ‘Tamam Shud’, which means ‘it is finished’ in Persian. The paper had been torn from
a book in a car found near the beach, and that book contained a phone number and a code.
Investigators phoned the number and contacted a woman who said she had given the book to a
friend. This friend did indeed have a book of Persian poetry but he was still alive and the book
was intact. The code on the piece of paper has never been deciphered.

Student D
NOTHING TO LAUGH ABOUT
One morning in 1962 in a girls’ boarding school in Tanzania, three school girls started laughing
in class for no obvious reason. They kept on laughing and the laughter spread. Within a few hours
they had 95 of the other 195 pupils laughing too, some of them for a few hours and others for
over two weeks. The school was forced to close and the girls were all sent home, but that was only
the start of the problem. The laughter spread like a disease to the village where many of the girls
lived and hundreds of people, mostly schoolchildren or young people, joined in the laughter. Other
schools in the area caught the laughter disease until, in the end, 1,000 or so people were affected.

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7B Grammar
Cleft sentences

A Put the words in the correct order to make cleft sentences.

1 what worries / the

amount / video
games / me is / kids /
spend on / of time

2 is so / the reason
/ its convenience
/ popular / online
education / is simply

3 communication /
what / face-to-face
/ is replace /
technology / does

4 who use / it’s only /

too much time /
to waste / people with
/ social-networking
sites

5 the Internet / the

worst thing / our /
is all over / is that /
personal data

6 that / it’s these /

online dating / are
dangerous / sites

7 still prefer / is just /

who / older people /
it / printed books

8 what the / shouldn’t /

government / is /
use / monitor and
regulate / Internet /
people’s / do

B Work in groups. Discuss the statements.

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7A Vocabulary
Compound adjectives

Student A A B C D

1 absent-minded lightheaded

2 self-confident heartbreaking

3 open-minded half-hearted

4 heartwarming hard-hearted

5 mouthwatering left-handed

✂
Student B A B C D

1 short-sighted hair-raising

2 mind-boggling tongue-tied

3 narrow-minded warm-hearted

4 backbreaking clearheaded

5 jaw-dropping light-hearted

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7B Vocabulary
Nouns with suffixes: Society and relationships

A Work in pairs. You’re going to create a new community where you can decide exactly how people
are going to live. Agree on three desirable qualities for your community (or the people in it) and three
undesirable qualities. Discuss how you would ensure these principles were maintained in practical terms.

prejudice

closeness
rudeness
materialism
fair distribution of wealth intimacy
optimism
tolerance socialism
collaboration
liberalism
exclusion

fairness
isolation
innovation
loneliness
security
capitalism
selfishness

Desirable qualities: Undesirable qualities:

B Work with another pair. Explain your lists to each other and try to agree on two new lists.

C Work in new pairs. Tell your partner about the community you’re living in at the moment. Which
qualities or behaviours would you change if you could? Why?

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Unit 7 Wordpower
self-

Match three sentences with each person’s characteristic (1–6). Use the three letters next to the sentences to
work out each person’s name.

O I only meet friends at places that are the most convenient for me. B I do what’s best for myself.

G I pay my own bills and I don’t expect help from others. L I have achieved so many truly amazing things.

N I’m sure I’ve made the right decisions for my life. B I always push to the front of the queue in a shop.

V I did really well in the last test and was top of the class. A Of course I’ll pass the exam!

E I grow my own vegetables and make my own bread. T I’ll give up my seat on the bus for an older person.

U I turned down a job because I knew my friend wanted it. N I expect to get a good job in the future.

A I know what my strengths and weaknesses are. M I realise I have to work harder at my English studies.

A I taught myself to play tennis and could play professionally. S I always give to charity appeals.

X I don’t always make the best decisions. M I love fashion and I make my own clothes.

——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ———

1 self-sacrificing 2 self-confident 3 self-centred 4 self-sufficient 5 self-aware 6 self-satisfied

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7A Pronunciation
Main stress: compound adjectives

✂
minded minded raising warm

heart narrow kind boggling

hair hearted breaking hearted

broken open mouth watering

back hearted mind jaw

hearted light half dropping

Prediction

2 Someone very is going to help you with a problem you have.

A big plan you’ve got won’t work out. You may feel but don’t let it get to you –
3
it is all for the best.

4 You’re about to have a experience … get ready!

You’re going to hear some surprising news. You’ll need to try to be about the
5
situation if you don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.

6 Someone will disagree with your ideas, but don’t let them discourage you.

Someone you love is going to make a , throwaway remark about you that you
7
will take too seriously.

8 You’ll have to do some work but it’ll be worth it.

9 A new person in your life may seem but they want something from you.

A prospect is coming up, but be careful not to rush into it. It may look
10
appealing, but it’s too good to be true.

You’ll discover something about someone close to you and it’ll change your
11
perception of them forever.

Your approach to work/study will start to show in the results you get. Try to be
12
more conscientious or there will be consequences.

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7C Pronunciation
Sound and spelling: ou and ough

A preposition meaning during the The opposite of north.

✂
1 11
whole of a period of time. south /aʊ/
throughout /uː/ /aʊ/

2 You might do this if you have a cold. 12 The adjective of the answer to 11.
cough /ɑ/ southern /ʌ/

3 A way or direction. 13 Uneven and not smooth.

route /uː/ rough /ʌ/

4 How you feel when you want what 14 Done in a very careful and
someone else has got. detailed way.
jealous /ə/ thorough /ə/

5 Eat and write are verbs, peace 15 A word meaning but.

and sector are … . though /əʊ/
nouns /aʊ/

6 Not too much and not too little. 16 A shirt for a woman.
enough /ʌ/ blouse /aʊ/

7 It comes between third and fifth. 17 A study proɡramme.

fourth /ɔː/ course /ɔː/

8 When you faint, you aren’t … . 18 A modal verb meaning ought to.
conscious /ə/ should /ʊ/

9 A common hot starter in restaurants. 19 To make contact with your fingers.

soup /uː/ touch /ʌ/

10 To move a liquid from one 20 Another word for zero.

container to another.
nought /ɔː/
pour /ɔː/

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