Navigate Reading Rules at work/slide 69/ Most European Companies Ban Work Emails Outside working hours, slide 69, ex-es 4,
Try to make up a rule / strange, funny, creative,fair or unfair/ for the office, school..

4. Choose the correct options to complete the sentences.

1. Employers have been accused of taking advantage of their employees.
2. Employer’s expectations have been blamed for increasing working hours.
3. As a result, the government has prohibited employers from contacting workers outside office hours.
4. However, the new rules will not apply to all jobs.
5. Lawyers whose clients count on them at all times, will still be available out of hours.

A school rule

Every day students must sleep after lunch, like in kindergardens.

Navigate Reading Finders Kippers /slides 67-68
Navigate slide 68, ex-es 5,6

5. Match the highlighted words in the blog post to meanings 1-8.

1. things that people have left in public place by accident — lost property
2. against the law — illegal
3. give or be a good reason for something — justify
4. the facts and events that affect what happens in a particular situation — circumstances
5. a court sentence — where you will go to jail only if you commit another crime within a specified time — suspended sentence
6. by chance, not planned — accidentally
7. left and no longer wanted or needed — abandoned
8. small things that you own which are worth a lot of money — valuables

6. Complete the sentences about the couple who found the gold coins, using vocabulary from exercises 3 and 5.

1. According to the report, the coins are two hundred years old, so the owner must be dead.
2. The coins were lost or abandoned two hundred years ago and were only found accidentaly.
3. The coins may be from a bank robbery or something else illegal.
4. In these circumstances, the coins ought to be in a museum.
5. It wouldn’t matter if the coins were only claimed a small amount, but they’re very valuable.
6. The couple should get a suspended sentence instead of getting to keep the coins.

A few years ago there was a very popular video on the internet about stopping animal testing. The name of the video was “Save Ralph” and some people may remember it. It sparked debates about animal testing, whether it should be banned or not.
Over 115 million animals including mice, rats, birds, fish, rabbits, guinea pigs, farm animals, dogs, cats and primates are used and killed in laboratories. There are many debates about whether it should be stopped or not. Some people say that animal testing is necessary for developing new products that are safe for human use, but some argue, saying that it’s inhumane and cruel. Some people view animals as equals and companions, while some put themselves above animals, either based on religious beliefs or their high position on the evolutionary chart. Here are my main arguments regarding the stopping of animal testing.

The first and most important con is that the testing is not reliable most of the time. Less than 2% of human illnesses occur naturally in animals, making animal testing an unreliable method for studying most diseases. Animal tests and human results agree less than half of the time. 94% of drugs that pass animal tests fail in human clinical trials and sometimes are dangerous for humans. Here is an example of this — there was a sleeping pill thalidomide, which when tested on animals, including pregnant ones, showed no issues. But on humans it caused 10,000 babies to be born with severe deformities.
Another example is the arthritis drug Vioxx that showed that it had a protective effect on the hearts of mice, yet the drug went on to cause more than 27,000 heart attacks and sudden cardiac deaths on humans.

Animal testing, historically, may have benefited humans to some degree, but today, the animal testing models are obsolete, especially when there are more accurate methods available that do not require the pain and torture of animals. The first one is called in vitro testing, where scientists grow human cells in tubes or petri dishes and test products on those. Technological advancements in 3D printing allow the possibility for tissue bioprinting. If needed to be tested on eyes, there is a product called Eyetex, which resembles the way eyes react to products. And lastly it can be done on a computer to stimulate and estimate potential damage.

And of course it should be obvious that animal testing is cruel and evil. The pain and suffering that experimental animals are subject to is not worth any benefits to humans. Animals feel pain in many of the same ways that humans do; in fact, their reactions to pain are identical. When animals are used for product toxicity testing or laboratory research, they are subjected to painful and sometimes deadly experiments. Two of the most commonly used tests are the Draize test and the LD50 test, both of which are famous for the intense pain and suffering they cause to experimental animals.

In conclusion, I think our world has had so much technological and scientific development, that animal testing is not necessary and should be banned. There are many alternatives that are cheaper and more reliable, also not affecting a living creature’s life or even stopping it. Doing cruel things to animals is never justified, they have as much rights to living peacfully and pain free as we do. At the end of the day, humans are animals too, and we have a responsibility to treat other living beings with compassion.

Navigate Upper-Intermediate Watch the video Communal Living and do the ex-es /1, 2,4 on slide 65
Navigate Upper-Intermediate Review ex-es 1b, 2,3, 4a,6a

1. Divide the words and phrases in the box into three categories of your own chice.

related to water — bay, houseboat, waterfront, dock
people and their connections — look out for each other, neighbourly, tight-knit, counter culture, hippie
city’s describtion — neighbourly, vibrant hub of art, music and politics

4. Decide if the following statements are true (T) or false (F).

1. Tourism is causing more and more people to move to San Francisco. False
2. The cost of housing in both Sausalito and San Francisco is increasing. True
3. There are now several hundred houseboats in Sausalito. True
4. The houseboats were first convered in the 1940s. True
5. The houseboats do not have electricity or running water. False
6. There is still sense of community and nighbourliness. True

b. Complete the article with a/an, the or — (no article).

It’s such a simple idea that you wonder why no one has ever thought of it before. Young students from Brazil want to learn English, and elderly Americans living in retirement homes are often lonely and want someone to talk to. So why not bring them together?

A Brazilian language school has done just that. The school set up a programme for young Brazilians and older Americans living in Chicago to meet and chat online. The lessons are recorded as private YouTube videos, so that the students’ teachers can evaluate their progress.

The students have improved their English, but perhaps the biggest gain has been the opportunity to bridge the gap between generations.

2. Choose the corrects options to complete the statements.

1. Many people in the UK now live alone — three times the number in 1971.
2. And relatively few people now live in households of six or more people.
3. Although many people believe that more elderly people now live alone, in fact, the biggest increase in one-person households has become from those aged 16-59.
4. The number of over-sixties living alone has remained about the same, at 17%.
5. Almost every home now has a colour television, up from 74% in the 1980s.
6. And in 1972, only few homes had washing machines, but now 96%.

3. Choose the word which is different from the others in each group.

1. traditions, customs, costumes
2. recollection, memory, concentration
3. festival, community, parade
4. immigrant, descendant, ancestor
5. vivid, dull, uninteresting
6. ceremony, neighbourhood, community

4a. Match 1-8 to a-h to make phrases.

1. make — f. a difference
2. do — h. a lot of damage
3. set — b. free
4. get — a. dressed
5. give — d. someone a shock
6. have — g. an accident
7. put — c. into practice
8. take — e. something seriously

6a. Put the words in the right order.

1. Sorry but I couldn’t help overhearing.
2. I’m sorry to bother you but you….
3. Are you a friend of Nicola’s?
4. So how do you know Jonathat?
5. Excuse me is there anyone sitting there?
6. Isn’t it lovely weather?
7. I hope you don’t mind me asking but….

Navigate Upper-Intermediate Vocabulary slide 62, ex-es 6a, 7

6a. Complete the sentences with the correct form of the words in the box. One word is used twice.

1. Online or virtual communities are used to getting people with similar interests together.
2. Many poeple who have an unusual medical condition can now chat with others who have th same condition.
3. Being able to communicate online makes all the difference to the learning experience.
4. Cosplay conventions are places where everyone can get dressed up.
5. Cosplayers take dressing up very seriously.
6. BookCrossers talk about setting their books free.
7. StreetBank neighbours give their neighbours permission to borrow things.
8. Bad advice from people online can do a lot of damage.

7. Rewrite the underlined part of each sentence using the word in brackets and one of the verbs from the Vocabulary focus box.

1. He needed to make sure of his facts.
2. Have you set the date of your wedding yet?
3. He couldn’t make himself understood.
4. She put the blame on him.
5. She gave it some thought.
6. I’m tired, so I’m going to have a lie-down for a while.

Watch the Voxpop Community and answer the questions in written form
Navigate Upper-Intermediate slide 59, ex 2 Complete the texts about two trends.

Can you describe an important or traditional ceremony or cultural event in your country.

One of my favourite cultural ceremonies in Armenia is Vardavar. During Vardavar people pour water on each other and participate in fun activities as a symbol of purity, healthiness, and energy. It was originally a helenistic tradition, but it became Christian.

Have you ever taken part in a ceremony or event? If yes, how did you feel? If no, would you like to?

I’ve not taken part in many events. But of course I’ve taken part in Vardavar as a kid and I’ve always felt incredible, it was the most fun thing ever — it’s summer and hot, school holidays and you can just carelessly play, while also cooling down from the heat.

2. Complete the texts about two different trends, using the words in the boxes.

According to recent research, the number of people living alone is shooting up dramatically. Globally, there’s been a rise from 153 million people in 1996 to nearly 300 million this year. It’s more popular to liveindependently in some countries that in others. Sweden has the highest percentage, with 47% of homes having just one resident, and the UK and Germany also have quite high percentages. But this is definetely a global trend, and for many contries it represents a dramatic cultural shift. In fact, the nations with the fastest growth in one-person households are China, India and Brazil.

In many countries, particularly in Northern Europe, but increasingly elsewhere, there is a big move towards something called co-housing. This is where people live separately in private houses, but the properties are grouped into a small community with some shared resourses, such as heating, gardens, a laundry and entertainment space. In other words, it’s not that different from an old-fashioned village, where everyone supported each other, spent time together socially and shared certain facilities, like the village hall.

Watch the video and do the ex-es 1a, b, 3, 4 Navigate slide 55
Navigate Review ex-es 1a, 2, 3a, 5a, 6a slide 56

1a. Match 1-5 to a-e to make compound nouns.

1. spread — b. sheet
2. production — c. line
3. attention — d. span
4. instant — e. gratification
5. pie — a. chart

b. Complete each sentence with a compound noun from exercise 1a.

1. He has a very short attention span. He can’t concentrate on anything for more than few minutes.
2. A pie chart consists of a circle divided into sections.
3. I find inputting data into spread sheet so tedious.
4. We live in an age of instant gratification, where we want things immediately and get restless if we have to wait.
5. I once had a really repetetive job working on a production line in a borrling factory.

3. Watch the video. What is said about the following things?

1. what the presenter’s job involves
   answering phone calls, emails, attending meetings
2. working hours in the 1950s compared to now
   since the 1950s the working hours have decreased, because now people also work at home
3. the word ‘boredom’
   it first appeared in Charles Dickins’ novel, it helps to describe tideous situation or activity
4. people’s attention span nowadays
   because of internet and being able to change the things we see on it fast our attention spans decreased

4. Watch again. Complete these sentences according to what the presenter says.

1. The boundaries between our home and work life have become blurred.
2. Although we’re working less, we also work at home.
3. Thanks to faster internet speeds and mobile technology, we can move from one website to another fast.
4. This culture of instant gratification has resulted in shorter attention spans.

1a. Complete the questions with the correct form of the verbs in brackets.

1. Do you remember being five years old?
2. Have you ever forgotten to pay for something?
3. Would you let someone smoke in your home?
4. What do you do to help you stay awake when you’re feeling tired?
5. Are you good at making people laugh?
6. If your partner was vegetarian, would you stop eating meat?

2. Complete the article with the correct form of the verbs in the box.

Would you be willing to pay money to attend something called The Boring Conference? You may be surprised to learn that every year since opening in 2010 in London, this conference has been a huge success.

The one-day conference is a celebration of subjects which are often considered dull, but when examined more closely, reveal themselves to be deeply fascinating.

When blogger, James Ward, first had the idea of launching the conference, he never imagined it would be capable of attracting so many visitors. Past conference-goers have had the opportunity to listen to ten-minute talks on topics as diverse as sneexing, toast, barcodes and vending machines.

If you’re looking for something different to do this spring, try The Boring COnference, but tickets are likely sold out fast, so get organised!

3a. Match words 1-6 to meanings a-f.

1. vaguely — f. not clearly
2. fade — a. gradually disappear
3. recollection — d. memory
4. recall — b. remember
5. precise — c. exact
6. vivid — e. clear, detailed

5a. Complete the phrasal verbs in the conversation.

A. I thought you were playing tennis with Jack after work today.
B. That was the plan, bit he didn’t show up.
A. That’s the third time he’s let you down! What excuse did he come up with this time?
B. Oh, something had turned up at work. It’s hard to find out whether he’s telling the truth or made it up.
A. You never know, it may come out to be true. So have you reschaduled?
B. No, I haven’t. I’m running out of patience with him, to be honest.

6a. Choose the correct options to complete the sentences.

1. One alternative would be to ask him to leave.
2. A better way forward would be to speak to him directly.
3. Would it be worth getting a second opinion?
4. Do you think there would be any point in speaking to her boss?
5. What if we stop her pocket money?
6. We need to take cost into consideration.

Recently, we debated whether religion does more harm than good to society. I think it causes more harm for several reasons. First, religion has historically created deep divisions in society. For centuries, we’ve seen examples of this: Christians killing Muslims, Muslims killing Christians, and other religious conflicts, which caused so many unneccesary deaths.

Some argue that holy books don’t promote such actions, and I’m not saying that’s incorrect. However, the debate’s focus is on religion’s impact on society. Even if religious texts don’t celebrate violence, the way people interpret and use religion to justify harmful actions shows its societal influence. Many evil acts have been excused with religion, which is an important factor in rating its impact.

Second thing I would like to mention is the slowing of growth in our society. People that follow religious teachings make scientific evidence and social changes slow or not go on at all. We can see that clearly when religious people reject the scientific theory of evolution. There are so many proves and evidences that evolution did happen and is still happening, but so many people reject that, making our society more uneducated.

I personally think that religions are similar to ancient belief systems, like those of the Greek gods. They were created because people in the past couldn’t explain some things in nature like thunder or fire. In a similar way, religion today helps explain things like the creation of humans. Also religion can tell morals and control actions. In holy books there are some sins, that if you commit, you will end up in hell. That way it creates fear in people, so that they don’t do bad actions.

Also I would like to mention women’s rights. We can see that the most in Islam. In Islam, women cover their bodies, faces, not having the right to live freely. In some countries, for example Afganistan, the women suffer the most. They can’t speak, cant show any part of their body, can’t acsess healthcare and so much more.

This are just some examples of religion’s bad impact on society.

Navigate Upper-Intermediate Reading The five types of boredom slide 50, Right brain, left brain? slide51
Watch the Vox-Pop and answer the questions in written form

Would you describe yourself as very organised? Can you give an example of why or why not?

I wouldn’t describe myself as very organised. Whenever I’m working on something, for example a homework, I usually just spread everything I need around me and don’t bother making it organised. Also how I use my time isn’t organised too. I’m a procrastinator, so I do the work I need to have done late, and other times I usually do useless things like watching social media or playing games.

What does your workplace look like and are you neater at work or at home?

I usually do my assignments laying, because I find that the most comfortable to be more focused. I think I’m neater at school rather than at home because there aren’t much things you have to bring to school, so it’s only the computer.

Navigate Upper-Intermediate Gerund and Infinitive slide 48, ex-es 7a,10

7a. Look at the extracts from the listening in exercises 5a and 5b. Put the verbs in brackets in the -ing form or infinitive with or without to.

1. My father let me sit on his shoulders.
2. I remember feeling disappointed because Princess Elizabeth… didn’t look like a princess.
3. I tried to get the horse to slow down.
4. I made myself fall off the horse.
5. In my panic, I didn’t remember to follow the teacher’s instructions.

10. Choose the correct options to complete the text.

I’ll never forget being locked in the bathroom when I was two. I remember hearing my mother outside the door. She was trying to explain how to unlock it, but she couldn’t get me to do it. I was too young to understand and I was crying too much. In the end, she called the fire brigade. When one of the firemen climbed up a lader and broke through the bathroom window, it made me cry even more. He picked me up, opened the door and handled me to my mother. I only stopped crying when , later, he let me try on his helmet. Although I was only two, I can recall it vividly. The fact that the story has been told so many times has probably helped me to remember it.