Read the text about a vlogger called Demi Skipper.

Match the paragraphs (1–5) with the

headings (A–E).
A Where did Demi get her inspiration?
B How did Demi reach her goal?
C Why has Demi been in the news?
D What difficulties did Demi face?
E What is ‘trading up’?
Trading up
1___
Demi Skipper has recently been given the keys for her new home in Tennessee, USA. Getting a new
house can be an exciting experience for anyone, but there’s nothing strange about it. So why has
Demi’s achievement been in the headlines? It’s because it didn’t cost her a cent. Instead, she “traded
up” her possessions.
2___
If you exchange something you have for something better, then you have traded up. Demi started with
an ordinary hair pin, which you use to keep your hair in place, and traded it up for a pair of earrings.
After that, she traded them for a set of glasses and she carried on until she was finally able to trade
a caravan for a house. She only used her own money to pay for the delivery of the items.
3___
Demi came up with the idea after hearing about Kyle MacDonald who’d done something similar back in
2006. Kyle had become famous for his “One Red Paperclip” blog. He’d written it while trying to trade
up to a house from a red paperclip. Kyle succeeded in just over a year and with only fourteen trades.
While Kyle wrote about his experiences in a blog, Demi recorded her experiences on videos and
uploaded them to her vlog. Her videos soon went viral and, apart from her fans, she had TV reporters
following her as well. They were all keen to see her achieve her dream of getting a house.
4___
There were some unusual exchanges during Demi’s “journey”. For example, there were the three
tractors which she exchanged for a year’s worth of free food in a Mexican restaurant. However, some
of her trades didn’t go as well as expected. For example, she received a diamond necklace which
was worth less than she thought. There was also a car that didn’t work, but she didn’t give up. She
just carried on trading!
5___
It took just over a year and twenty-eight trades for Demi to reach her goal. She was driving home with
her caravan when she started to arrange her next trade. But before she’d got home, Demi managed
to achieve her dream. One of Demi’s social media followers had agreed to exchange their two-
bedroom house for her caravan! In her final vlog, Demi is given the keys to her new home, before
reminding her followers that anything is possible if you try hard enough.
Read the text again. Are the statements True (T) or False (F)?
1 Getting a new house is an unusual experience for most people. T / F
2 Demi had to pay one cent to the owners of her new home. T / F
3 If you trade up, you hope to get something more valuable. T / F
4 Demi was expected to pay to get the items delivered. T / F
5 Demi was inspired by a man who had done something similar. T / F
6 Kyle MacDonald wasn’t able to achieve his goal. T / F
7 Demi became popular very quickly on the internet. T / F
8 Demi decided to stop trading after a car broke down. T / F
9 It took a long time to find someone who wanted Demi’s caravan. T / F
10 Demi’s last video shows her receiving the keys to her house. T / F
Read the text about a young businessman called Steven Bartlett. Match the paragraphs (1–5)
with the headings (A–E).
A How did he start out in business?
B How did Steven’s company attract important clients?
C What other interests does Steven have?
D What is Steven’s latest achievement?
E How was understanding social media important to Steven’s business?
An inspirational businessman
1___
Steven Bartlett has recently been chosen to take part in the British TV show Dragon’s Den. On the
show, the participants present inventions and business ideas with the aim of getting financial support.
The judges are a team of successful businesspeople who invest their own money in the winning ideas.
Steven has become the show’s youngest ever judge at the age of 29.
2___
Steven’s family moved to England from Botswana when he was two years old. They didn’t have a lot of
money. If he wanted nice things, he had to work for them. As a teenager, he started organising social
events at his secondary school and he found that he could make money from it. Although he began a
business studies degree at university, he left to start his first social media company without getting any
qualifications.
3___
Like many people of his generation, Steven grew up with social media. He knew better than many older
people how important it was for business. For one of his first projects, he needed to get people to visit
his website, but traditional ways of attracting people, like posters, didn’t work. That’s when he had the
idea of asking for the help of social media influencers with thousands of followers. He gave them money
to display links to his website on their social media feeds. In this way, Steven could get many more
visitors to his site than by traditional methods.
4___
Steven and his business partners realised that they could use their knowledge of social media to help
other companies. However, in order to do that, they needed as many followers as possible. They created
lots of social media accounts where they posted comments designed to attract followers. They also
bought social media pages and encouraged influencers to work for them. Their idea worked and, in just
a few years, some of the biggest companies in the world were queuing up to get their help with online
marketing.
5___
Steven is more than just a businessman, though, because he’s also a podcaster and a writer. In his
podcast called “The Diary of a CEO”, Steven talks about his journey to success while interviewing other
successful people. The podcast has been a hit with the public and it’s been downloaded millions of
times. And as if that wasn’t enough, he’s also written a best-selling book in which he shares his secrets
on how to be successful. Interestingly, although he’s a millionaire, he tells people that money doesn’t
always buy you happiness!
Read the text again. Are the statements True (T) or False (F)?
1 Steven has been a TV presenter for a number of years. T / F
2 Steven is expected to give money to the winner of Dragon’s Den. T / F
3 Steven had to earn his own money from a young age. T / F
4 Steven graduated from university with a business degree. T / F
5 Steven had a better understanding of social media than people from older generations. T / F
6 Steven succeeded in attracting people to his website by putting up posters. T / F
7 Steven and his business partners already had a lot of followers. T / F
8 Steven’s plan to buy social media pages was successful. T / F
9 On his podcasts, Steven only talks on his own. T / F
10 Steven thinks you need money in order to be happy. T / F
Match the definitions (1–8) with the vocabulary (a–h).

Reading text: Digital habits across generations

Today’s grandparents are joining their grandchildren on social media, but the diBerent generations’ online
habits couldn’t be more diBerent. In the UK the over-55s are joining Facebook in increasing numbers,
meaning that they will soon be the site’s second biggest user group, with 3.5 million users aged 55–64 and
2.9 million over-65s.

Sheila, aged 59, says, ‘I joined to see what my grandchildren are doing, as my daughter posts videos and
photos of them. It’s a much better way to see what they’re doing than waiting for letters and photos in the
post. That’s how we did it when I was a child, but I think I’m lucky I get to see so much more of their lives
than my grandparents did.’

Ironically, Sheila’s grandchildren are less likely to use Facebook themselves. Children under 17 in the UK
are leaving the site – only 2.2 million users are under 17 – but they’re not going far from their smartphones.
Chloe, aged 15, even sleeps with her phone. ‘It’s my alarm clock so I have to,’ she says. ‘I look at it before I
go to sleep and as soon as I wake up.’

Unlike her grandmother’s generation, Chloe’s age group is spending so much time on their phones at home
that they are missing out on spending time with their friends in real life. Sheila, on the other hand, has made
contact with old friends from school she hasn’t heard from in forty years. ‘We use Facebook to arrange to
meet all over the country,’ she says. ‘It’s changed my social life completely.’

Teenagers might have their parents to thank for their smartphone and social media addiction as their
parents were the early adopters of the smartphone. Peter, 38 and father of two teenagers, reports that he
used to be on his phone or laptop constantly. ‘I was always connected and I felt like I was always working,’
he says. ‘How could I tell my kids to get oB their phones if I was always in front of a screen myself?’ So, in
the evenings and at weekends, he takes his SIM card out of his smartphone and puts it into an old-style
mobile phone that can only make calls and send text messages. ‘I’m not completely cut oB from the world
in case of emergencies, but the important thing is I’m setting a better example to my kids and spending
more quality time with them.’
Is it only a matter of time until the generation above and below Peter catches up with the new trend for a
less digital life?

Practice: Are the sentences true or false?

1. More people aged 55 or more use Facebook than people aged 65 or more.
2. Grandparents typically use Facebook less than their grandchildren.

3. Sheila feels grateful to social media.

4. Peter found his own smartphone use aBected how he felt about how much his children used their
phones.
5. Peter has changed how much he uses his phone during the working day.

6. Peter feels that the changes make him a better parent.

WRITING
Read part of an email from a friend.
I’d like to go on holiday in your country. I’d like to hear your suggestions about accommodation,
sightseeing and interesting festivals.

Write an email to your friend with your suggestions. Write your email in about 100 words.
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