Vocabulary connotation: positive

Being confident and negative character adjectives

Grammar patterns with t.I

QUICK REVIEW Intensifying adverbs

Work in pairs. Take turns to complete
one of these sentences about yourself:
I vividly remember ...., I strongly believe
that .„ ., I was bitterly disappointed
when ...., I'm extremely unlikely to ....
Born to lose?
Ask followlup questions.
WE ALL WANT TO WIN - OR DO WE?
I There are certain things in life that are beyond question and it's clear
that one of these `unquestionables' is that everyone wants to win. At the
enjoyable end of the victory spectrum is the sheer exhilaration of crossing
Vocabulary
the finishing line first, coming top of the class or spraying champagne
Positive character adjectives
from the podium. At the other lies that depressing, kicked-in-the-guts ache
a Write the names of people you of being the loser. So surely, we all hate it when we lose - or do we?
know who can be described using
these words. Check new words 2 Professor schultheiss from the university of Michigan carried out various
laboratory experiments on 108 college students, and it surprised him to
discover that some people became stressed after winning in the laboratory
courageous decisive task. This research challenges the widely held belief that the will to win is
defergntial innocent a universal human desire. Schultheiss concludes that people can be split
meticulous m6dest outg8ing into wolves (who are utterly driven to win and find it difficult to cope
spontaneous thrifty with losing) and sheep (whose triumphs over others bring distress).

b Work in pairs. Swap lists.

Ask about the people on your
partner's list.

Speaking and Reading

Work in pairs. Answer the
questions.
1 What is your idea of a successful
person?
2 Which characteristics from la
do you think are necessary to be
successful? Why?
3 Do you think everyone would like
to be successful? Why?/Why not?

E a Look at the title of the article

and the picture. What do you think
the article is going to suggest?
b Bead the article and check your
ideas. Match headings a-g with
paragraphs 1-7.
a lnthespotlight
b An unexpected result
c Male and female priorities
d What most people believe
e What happens next?
f Knowyourself
g A lack of self-awareness

EP
 Ei a Put these sentences in order according to
the article.
a Most people aren't aware of which group they
belong to.
b Some people feel stressed when their success
is made public.
c The desire to win is a shared behaviour trait
influenced by environmental factors.
d Dr schultheiss expected that everyone in the
experiments would find losing stressful.
3 Dr Michelle wirth says it's difficult to know whether sheep
e Job satisfaction isn't necessarily determined by
consciously feel stressed because, when asked if they prefer how much power you have over others.
to win or lose, most people say they'd rather win. Similarly, f The writer finds it hard to believe anyone would
people are not always conscious of where they sit on the power- prefer to lose. 7
motivation spectrum. According to Dr Wirth, if you ask people g Some personality types thrive in situations where
if they like being in a position of power, they usually say no. future expectations may change.
It's just not an aspect of their personality that most people
b Work in pairs. Compare your answers.
are conscious of. Find evidence in the article to support each
JL Dr wirth believes that knowing which category you fall into - statement in 4a.
wolf or sheep -can bring benefits. "If you can figure out which Work in groups. Discuss these questions.
one you are, you can tailor your working environment to suit 1 Are there people who really don't mind losing,
you. There are some people who get pleasure and satisfaction for example when doing sport?
from being in positions of power, and there are those who are 2 ls it possible to be both a sheep and a wolf?
less comfortable dominating others." wrtyp lwrty rvoN3
3 How do you feel when faced with uncertainty
5 Dr Adrian Atkinson, a business psychologist, believes power
about the future?
motivation is linked with personality. Wolves are likely to be
4 Do you agree thatthere is a gender djvisjon
highly competitive and driven by a need to achieve. Sheep are between sheep and wolves?
relatively uncompetitive and do not feel the compulsion to 5 Doyouthinkyou areasheepor
achieve. For Dr Atkinson, "The explanation could be more to do a wolf? Why?
``-ith the perceived consequences of winning than winning itself.
\\'inning increases uncertainty, because people think, `So, what
low? What will be expected of me?' Competitive people with a
:-[igh need for achievement like this uncertainty. More deferential
people may find this uncertainty stressful."

fi Dr wirth believes that it might be the attention generated by

Rinning that triggers the stress response. "People with high
L]wer motivation like to be the centre of attention, so it follows
::-.at not winning is stressful." Apparently, these people find it
_-jrd to accept that someone else is getting the accolade that they
:-eel should have been theirs, whereas for low-power individuals,
=-jblic recognition is equally stressful and they would do
i:]}1hing to avoid it.

?:.lessor Cary Cooper, of Lancaster University, says that there

I :ikely to be a strong gender split between sheep and wolves,
ir.:h more women than men being sheep. "It's not that women
_-j[e winning, but they don't mind losing. They are usually
ll.`tused on more important things, such as the health and
-.-`-GIL-being of their family, and are able to contextualise losing.

}1en are more work-focused and achievement-orientated. Men

are conditioned by society to win - it's a vestigial part of their
behaviour that they haven't let go, which is rather sad. If men
were rational, which they are not, they'd realise that they don't
need to compete all the time."
 `v' HELP WITH GFiAMMAF2
Ea Use these prompts to make sentences about yourself or people
Patterns with /.I you know.
Which of these extracts (1-7) use i.I as 1 It'sobvious... 5 ... prefer(s)itwhen...

subject? Which use i.I as object? Head 2 lt'sdifficultto ,.. 6 ,.. can'tbearitwhen..,
the explanations below to check. 3 It'snowonder... 7 .., consideritimpolite...

1 lt isclearthatoneofthese 4 It'ssurprising... 8 ...wouldloveitif ...

`unquestionables' is that everyone wants
b Work in pairs. Tell each other your sentences. Ask follow-up
to win.
questions.
2 ... it'sjust not an aspect of their personality
that they are conscious of.
3 ... it's difficult to know whether sheep
Listening and Vocabulary
consciously feel stressed . . .
EE `impostor
a EE+ 15syndrome'
Listen to?the preview of a radio programme. What is
4 ... so it follows that not winning is stressful.
5 ... it surprised himtodiscoverthat...
6 So surely we all hate it when we lose . ..
7 ... peoplecan besplit intowolves, who
find it difficult to cope with losing . . .

/7. AS SUBJECT
® lf the s±±±jeg± of the verb is a long and
grammatically complex structure, we often
put it at the end of the clause/sentence.
We use t't as the subject of the verb at the
beginning of the clause/sentence.
Whether sheep consciously feel stressed
is difficult to know.
+ It's difficult to know yyhether sheeQ_
Consciously feel stressed.

/TASOBJECT
¢'# We often use /.f as the object of a verb
where it refers to a clause later in the b Eb 16 Listen to Valerie, F}ichard and Miranda. Complete
sentence. these sentences with their names.
So surely, we all hate it when we lose.
knew about impostor syndrome before the interview.
not So-sttrefyrxpreatLhate-tywhenINeJose.
has never experienced impostor syndrome.
a Match the five examples of i.f as works in TV.
subject in 6a to these structures. is a garden designer.
it + verb ... is doing a postgraduate degree.
1 + adjective + (that) /f's c/ear thai...
c Listen again. Choose the correct answers.
2 + (r}of) + noun + (that)
1 a t Valerie tot.nks/doesn'f th/'r}k her clients realise she lacks confidence.
3 + adjective + infinitive with to b She expen.enced/d/.ch'f exper/'ence impostor syndrome when she
4 +fhaf clause was a teacher.
5 + object + infinitivewith to 2 a Bichard makes/c/oesn'tmake mistakes in his work.
b Match the two examples of /.t as b He says there are/aren'£ any people in the media who experience
self-doubt.
object in 6a to these structures.
3 a Miranda fee/s/doesn'f fee/ she's been very lucky.
verb + '.f . . .
b She /.s//.sn'f paying for her studies herself.
1 +When
2 + adjective + infinitive with to Work in groups. Discuss these questions.
1 Do you think that many people experience `impostor syndrome'?
"P . There are many common expressions
with r.f as subject: /f 's no good . . . ; /I 's r7o use 2 What advice would you give to someone who suffered from it?
.., lt's no wonder that ...., lt's no coincidence 3 Do you think impostor syndrome exists more among qualified people?
that.... 4 Do you think that everyone in very responsible positions feels this way
sometimes? Why?/Why not?
c Check in illffiffiHHEEEEfr pl42.

Er
 HELP WITH PRONUNCIATION
Speech units and stress (1)
a I 15 Listen to the definition of `impostor
syndrome' again and write down exactly what
you hear.
b Look at Audio Script n 15 pl66 and check
what you wrote. What problems did you have (for
example, not hearing some words)?

a Listen again. Divide the text on pl66 into speech

units (//) and mark the word which is stressed most
in each speech unit.
TIP ® We stress certain words because they carry important
information or because they are ideas that we wish to
focus on.
HaIve you he®ard of 11 imp8stor syndrome? 1/

b Practise saying the definition.

HEELp wlFFT v®eABUELAffiv `

Connotation: positive and negative character

adjectives
© Sometimes two character adjectives can describe similar
traits, but one may have a positive and one may have a
negative connotation.

E a Compare these extracts and answerthe questions.

I:::--!i:-:I--as:,:i
i:-=--_
RICHARD I don't want to sound arrogant.
INTERVIEWER And you're generally quite confident that
you can deliver what they want?
1 Do both of the underlined adjectives refer to someone
who is very sure of himself?
2 Which adjective means the person thinks he is better than
other people?
3 Which adjective has a positive connotation? Which has a
negative connotation?

b Match these negative character adjectives to the

positive character adjectives in la on p26.
Get ready .„ Get it right!
Look at these sentences. Make notes on what you
r8ckless tight-fTsted ffissy f8®rceful submissive could say for and against each one.
res8rved imp8tuous loud na.I.ve ® lt's impossible to be rich, powerful and nice.
© Every employee in a company should have a turn at
c Work in pairs. Compare answers. being a manager.
® lt's essential to listen to other people's opinions before
d Match cartoons A-D with character adjectives
making decisions.
from 13b. Try to define the adjectives.
® Schools should teach students to be meticulous when
e Checkin presenting work.
© Self-confidence is necessary for success.
E a Choose three adjectives from la and 13b to
describe yourself. a Work in groups. Discuss the sentences in 15.
b Work in pairs. Tell your partner which adjectives
It's ridiculous to say ...
you chose and why.

b Tell the class which sentences your group

agreed with.

I
 A happy, healthy life Vocabulary phrasal verbs: health
Grammar inversion

QUICK REVIEW introductory it Think about

things that are happening in the world at the
moment using three of these sentence stems:
lt amazes me that ...., I find it difficult to see how
. „ ', It was good to hear that ...., I think it's terrible
that . . , ; / /ove t.f when ,... Work in pairs and
compare your ideas.

Vocabulary Phrasal verbs: health

a Guess the meanings of the phrasal verbs in
bold. Check in
1 Whatdoyou do if you feel acold coming on?
2 When you are bitten by an insect, does the area
around the bite usually swell up?
3 Have you ever picked up a stomach bug when
travelling somewhere new?
4 Have you ever tried using steam when your nose
is blocked up?
5 lf you go down with flu, do you usually still go to

6
work?
Do you usually catch bugs that are going around?
GPIEAT WAYS i-a
7

8
Does your doctor usually put people on antibiotics
if they have a cold?
Have you ever come out in a rash because you
WELL-BEING
were allergic to something you'd eaten?
You don't have to follow a punishing diet or spend hours
9 Have you ever come off antibiotics before you
were supposed to? on the treadmHl. The path to a healthier way of life may
10 Have you ever suffered from a condition that be easier than you think.
flares up from time to time?

b Work in pairs. Ask and answer the questions.

Reading and Speaking

Work in groups of four. Look at the photos and the
article headline. Predict the suggestions that the
article might give.

Student A pl05. Student a pl09. Student C plll.

Student D pll2.

a Work in the same groups of four. Discuss these

questions. Give examples.
1 Which suggestions are common knowledge in
your country?
2 Which research findings, if any, surprised you?
3 Would you disagree with any of the suggestions?
lf so, which one(s)?
4 Would you considerfollowing any of the
suggestions? lf so, which one(s) and why?

b Tell the class your conclusions.