The art of conversation

2
Long turn (Part 2)
giving opinions
EXAM FOCUS p.204

1 Work in pairs. What would be the worst thing about being stuck
somewhere without a phone or internet access?

2 05 Listen to four students giving their opinion about the

statements. Do they agree (A) or disagree (D) with them?
1 I feel anxious if I don’t receive a text every few minutes.
2 It’s important to respond to text messages immediately.
3 There are some things you should never communicate by text.
4 I find it easier to express myself in texts than face-to-face.

3 Listen again and write down the expressions for giving opinions you
hear. Compare your answers with a partner. Then turn to page 161 and
check your answers.

4 Work in pairs and discuss which of the statements in Activity 2 you

agree/disagree with. Use some of the expressions for giving opinions.

5 Look at the exam task and underline the three things the examiner
EXAM TIP
asks the candidate to do.
Don’t focus on factual
descriptions of the pictures. Look at the pictures. They show people using their phones. I’d like you to compare
Make sure you answer the two of the pictures and say why people might be communicating in this way and
examiner’s questions. how effective this form of communication might be.

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 SPEAKING AND USE OF ENGLISH FOCUS 2

6 06 Listen to a candidate doing the task

and answer the questions.
Does the candidate
Fifteen-year-old American Kate Moore
1 use a variety of expressions to give her opinion? narrowly defeated the other
(0) .................... NARROW
2 answer by comparing the pictures? (1) .............................. to win the National FINAL
3 follow the examiner’s instructions fully? Texting Championships after the
4 focus too much on factual descriptions of (2) .............................. of a series of bizarre tasks COMPLETE
the pictures? that included texting blindfolded and texting
while negotiating her way along a moving
obstacle course. In the final showdown Miss
7 Work in pairs. Turn to page 152 and do Task 1. Moore out-texted fourteen-year-old Morgan
Then turn to page 158 and do Task 2. Dynda after both girls had to text three
lengthy phrases without making any mistakes
Word formation (Part 3) on the (3) .............................. abbreviations, REQUIRE
EXAM FOCUS p.198 capitalisation or punctuation. The teenager
was (4) .............................. of the idea that she DISMISS
8 What part of speech is missing in the focuses too much on virtual communications,
saying that she is a very (5) .............................. SOCIAL
sentences? Complete the questions with
person and prefers to spend time
the correct form of the word in capitals and
face-to-face with her friends rather than
then discuss them with a partner. talk to them via a screen. Still, she manages
COMMUNICATE to find time to send an (6) .............................. ASTONISH
1 Apart from being excellent .............................. , what 400 texts a day. Kate claims this is for studying,
other characteristics should politicians have? which she says is more (7) .............................. EFFECT
done by text because she can store the
2 Do you think shy people are necessarily
messages and use them for (8) .............................. REFER
.............................. ? purposes later.
3 Do you agree that texting is a great form of

K
.............................. ?
Q W E R T Y U I O P
EXAM TIP
Read the whole of each sentence through carefully to 10 Check your answers by answering the questions
make sure it makes sense with the form of the word
you have chosen – don’t just read line by line.
A S D F G H J K L
about the missing word.
1 If it is a noun, should it be singular or plural?
2 If it is an adjective, does it need a negative prefix?
9 For questions 1–8, read the text on the 3 If it is a verb, is it singular or plural, past or present?
right. Use the word given in capitals at the
end of some of the lines to form a word that 11 How well do you think you would do in a texting
fits in the gap in the same line. competition?

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2 LISTENING FOCUS

Speaking 2 The speakers agree that the book

A contained too much detailed research.
1 Answer the questionnaire and compare your B was written in an academic style.
answers with a partner. Then turn to page 162 to C presented an unbalanced argument.
find out if you’re an introvert. Extract 2
You hear two friends discussing online friendships.
3 What do the speakers agree about the way people
use social networking sites?

Are you an introvert? A Too much personal information is provided.

B People aren’t honest enough.
C There is very little privacy.
4 What is the man’s attitude to his online
friendships?
A He is irritated by online friends’ lack
of sensitivity.
1 When you’re at a party, do you sometimes long to B He is concerned that he still maintains
escape to somewhere quiet? online relationships.
2 Do you prefer online relationships to face-to-face ones? C He is worried about losing online friendships.
3 Do you prefer listening to talking? Extract 3
4 Do you dread going to parties where you don’t know You hear part of a discussion with two people
many people? who decided to stay offline for a month.
5 Do you feel uncomfortable speaking in front of groups 5 How did the woman feel after the first
of people? week offline?
A content to be able to focus on other things
6 Do you immediately put in earphones and start
listening to music when you’re in a public place in case B disturbed by the isolation
anyone tries to talk to you? C used to the lack of contact
6 Why would the man recommend the experience?
A It changed his attitude to online friendships.
Multiple choice (Part 1) B It made him realise that he was addicted to
the internet.
EXAM FOCUS p.202 C It helped him to have self-discipline.

EXAM TIP 3 Listen to Extract One again and look at

Read the question and options for each extract carefully question 1. Are there any paraphrases in
before you listen. Don’t expect to hear exactly the same the recording for unsure, positive or
words used in the options and the listening text – often, relieved? Which words in the recording are
these will be paraphrases. summarised by the word normal?

2 07 You will hear three different extracts. For 4 Match phrases A–E from the recording
questions 1–6, choose the answer (A, B or C) with the correct answers to questions 2–6
which fits best according to what you hear. There in Activity 2.
are two questions for each extract. A … everyone presents a certain cultivated image of
themselves online, which isn’t always accurate.
Extract 1
B … so not worth devoting so many pages to them.
You hear two friends discussing a book about introverts.
C … it was weird – almost like being invisible.
1 How did the book make the man feel?
D I’ve had to learn to be strict with myself.
A unsure what makes him an introvert
E What gets me is people who insist on going on
B positive about his personality
and on about their perfect life.
C relieved that his behaviour is normal

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 GRAMMAR FOCUS 2

Articles 3 Find one or more examples of each rule in the

paragraph in Activity 1.
definite, indefinite and zero articles
1 We use the definite article (the) before all nouns
GRAMMAR REFERENCE p.171 A when something has already been mentioned.
1 Read the first paragraph of an article and B when only one of something exists.
choose the best summary. C when referring to something/someone specific.
2 We use the indefinite article (a/an) before singular
1 The best conversations take place in groups.
countable nouns when referring to something or
2 It requires effort to have a good conversation. someone general or non-specific.
3 We use zero article (-)
How to avoid competitive A before plural and uncountable nouns when talking
conversation about something in general.
B when referring to something abstract or general.

4 Complete the next part of the article with

a/an, the or zero article (-).

But too many people are competitive in conversation. They turn

(1) .............................. attention of (2) .............................. others to
themselves using quite subtle tactics. The response a person
gives to what someone says can take two forms: the ‘shift response’
and the ‘support response’. The support response keeps
(3) .............................. focus on (4) .............................. speaker and
on (5) .............................. topic he has introduced. The shift response
allows the other person to ‘shift’ the focus to themselves. For example:

Support-response

G
James: I’m thinking of buying a new car.
ood conversation with (1) the/(-) friends not only brings
(2) the/(-) happiness and enjoyment, it fulfils a special Rob: Yeah? Are you looking at any particular model?
need (3) the/(-) human beings have wherever they live in Shift-response
(4) the/(-) world. What I’ll always remember about (5) a/the
James: I’m thinking about buying a new car.
night I met my wife is the wonderful conversation we had and
Rob: Yeah? I’m thinking about buying
how we connected instantly. But it can’t be a solely individual
(6) .............................. new car too.
endeavour – it has to be (6) a/the group effort. Each individual
James: Really?
has to sacrifice a little for the benefit of (7) a/the group as a
Rob: Yep, I test drove (7) .............................. Mustang
whole and, ultimately, to increase the pleasure each individual
yesterday and it was awesome.
receives. It’s like singing in (8) a/the choir where the harmony
and rhythm of a song depends on each individual to keep it We’re all guilty of using the shift response from time to time.
going. One person who keeps singing (9) a/the sour note can We sometimes can’t wait for (8) .............................. other person
ruin it for everyone. That’s why it’s so important that (10) the/(-) to finish speaking so we can jump in. We pretend to be listening
conversations are co-operative instead of competitive. intently but we are really focusing on what we are going to say once
we find (9) .............................. opening, hoping we will be asked
(10) .............................. question.

2 Read the paragraph again and choose the

correct alternatives, a, the or zero article (-) .
Speaking
LANGUAGE TIP
5 Work in pairs and discuss the questions.
Some adjectives can be used as nouns, to refer to all the
peole who have a particular characteristic. They are used 1 Suggest some ways of dealing with people who use
with the definite article and are followed by a plural verb: the shift response in conversation.
the rich, the poor, the Swiss, the Chinese, etc. 2 What kind of conversations do you enjoy the most?

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2 READING FOCUS

Gapped text (Part 7) A

EXAM FOCUS p.200 These aims seemed disappointingly unambitious
to me. I had hopes of becoming a witty and
1 Work in pairs and discuss the statement intellectual conversationalist. But none of my
new friends shared this desire. It was the simple
Technology is having a negative effect on the quality
act of talking and listening and learning that
of conversation. Give reasons for your answers.
my classmates sought.
B
2 Look at the title and read the article quickly, Some useful advice followed on the ‘six ways to
ignoring the missing paragraphs. How useful have a better conversation’. These, according to
did the writer find the class on how to have the school, are:
a conversation? (1) Be curious about others.
(2) Take off your mask.
3 Read the first two paragraphs of the article again (3) Empathise with others.
carefully and look at the words in bold. What (4) Get behind the job title.
(5) Use adventurous openings.
information do you think the missing paragraph
(6) Have courage.
will contain?
C
1 some information about the teacher
Haynes went on to explain that the
2 some background information Enlightenment was the age of conversation,
3 some information about the other participants when ladies and gentlemen in English dining
rooms and French salons could become famous
4 Read paragraphs A–G and look at the words in through eloquence alone.
bold. Which one contains the right kind of D
information for the first gap? Then we were told to break off into pairs
and answer the question: Which three words
EXAM TIP describe your conversations with (a) friends,
(b) family and (c) colleagues? My partner said
Read each paragraph, followed by each possible missing banter, sarcastic and sporadic were the words
paragraph A–G, to see which one fits best in the gap. Think he would use to describe all three types of
about meaning, reference words, grammar, etc. Check that the conversation. Before I had a chance to share my
option you choose also fits with the paragraph that follows. three words, it was time for a break.
E
5 Six paragraphs have been removed from the There was general unease about how email,
article. Choose from the paragraphs A–G the one instant messaging and texting had crept into the
which fits each gap (1–6). Use the words in bold to space formerly occupied by conversation. ‘What
help you. There is one extra paragraph which you was the point,’ asked a young man, ‘of asking
how someone’s day was when you’ve been
do not need to use.
emailing them from the office?’
F
6 Work out the meanings of the underlined words in After this enjoyable burst of role play Haynes
paragraphs A–G from the context. Compare your put up a slide that said: What conversation
answers with a partner. are you not having? and then it was all over.
Once the class structure had been dismantled,
Speaking conversation seemed to dwindle.
G
7 Work in pairs and discuss the questions. The basics of this were first described by the
ancient Roman writer Cicero, which can be
1 Do you think you would enjoy a class like this? summarised as follows: speak clearly, do not
2 How would you answer the ‘opener’ questions in the sixth interrupt, be courteous, never criticise people
paragraph? What do you think of them? behind their backs, stick to subjects of general
3 What do you think of the six ways to have a better interest, do not talk about yourself and, above
conversation in paragraph B? How similar are they to all, never lose your temper.
Cicero’s rules in paragraph G?

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 READING FOCUS 2

How to have a conversation

Is conversation a dying art, struck down by text, email and messaging? And do we really need
to be taught how to talk to each other? I enrolled in a class at the School of Life, an academy of
‘self-help’, to find out. The topic was How to have a conversation.

1 4
I had arrived about twenty minutes early but the rest After an enjoyable ten minutes spent chatting to my
of the class was already there. One woman kindly classmates and discovering more about their motives for
invited me into her circle. She was finding it hard to joining the class, we were told to retake our seats. Haynes
have meaningful relationships. Technology was partly continued her PowerPoint presentation, asking us to
to blame: ‘Sometimes you feel the smart phone is like a reflect on a René Magritte painting, a comedy sketch and
third person,’ she said. Another new acquaintance agreed a book about marriage. All of these examples were meant
and described how immediate access to Google had to encourage us to stop seeing conversations as a means
blocked off avenues of conversation with her boyfriend. to an end and to avoid stereotyping the other person.
‘Before we would argue about this or that but now we 5
just look it up on Wikipedia,’ she said.
Then it was time to put some of these ideas into
2
practice. In groups, we had to try out ideas for unusual
My classmates also spoke of more personal reasons for openings. A man in his early twenties, who joked that he
their attendance. An IT worker in her fifties had found had thought of this before, suggested as a chat-up line:
that her conversations with her husband ‘wandered’ and ‘Tell me something I want to know.’ A more challenging
wanted to learn ways to become a better partner. A man opener came from another group member: ‘If you were
in his late twenties said he wanted to have fewer rows coming to the end of your life, what would you have
with his girlfriend. wanted to have achieved?’
3 6
Our discussion was interrupted by the arrival of our Despite our excellent teacher, I suspect the class was
teacher, Cathy Haynes. Haynes flicked to the first slide too abstract to be useful. Nearly three-quarters of the
in her PowerPoint presentation and we sat attentively session were spent listening to theories of conversation.
as she talked about how the nature of conversation had Genuine discussions were stopped in mid-flow, with the
changed over the past 300 years. class asked to return its attention to the presentation.
There was a touching eagerness to share ideas but
frustration grew as our time ran out. What I suspect my
classmates had hoped to find was that most basic thing:
human connection. But I doubt the class had made this
any more achievable.
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2 VOCABULARY FOCUS

Speaking 5 Work in pairs. Look at the adjectives in the box

and answer the questions.
1 Work in pairs and discuss which of the
statements you agree with. deep flat harsh high-pitched
husky lively mellow monotonous
1 You should never raise your voice during a discussion.
nasal soft soothing squeaky
2 People who shout the loudest tend to get heard.
warm wobbly
3 How you say something is as important as what you say.
4 Gossip is never harmless. 1 Which of the adjectives are positive and which
are negative?

Communication 2 Which of the adjectives have a similar meaning?

3 Which are attractive in a man or a woman?
collocations 4 Which do you think match the voices of the speakers
in Activity 4?
2 Match the verbs make, have, give and hold
with the nouns in the box to make 6 Work in pairs and discuss the questions.
collocations. Some nouns can be used with
more than one verb. 1 How important do you think someone’s voice is?
2 Do you think it’s possible to fall in love with someone
a chat (a) conversation a debate from the sound of their voice?
a discussion a gossip a presentation 3 Which celebrities do you agree have attractive voices?
a speech a statement a talk
7 Complete the sentences with words from
Activity 5.
3 Choose the correct alternative in each 1 She speaks in such a mellow and .............................. manner
sentence. that it makes me feel drowsy.
1 He delivered an interesting debate/speech at 2 Most people find a .............................. tone the most
the conference. annoying because it sounds like the person is
2 We had to make polite talk/conversation with the complaining all the time.
director of the company. 3 Actresses with deep, .............................. voices are
3 Most people hate making small talk/gossip at parties. considered to be very attractive.
4 The discussion/speech was led by the CEO. 4 You can often tell if someone is nervous by their
5 His controversial ideas have stimulated a lot of .............................. voice.
debate/talk. 5 I don’t think he means to but he always sounds bored
6 It was difficult to keep the chat/conversation going because he speaks in such a .............................. monotone.
because the connection kept breaking up. 6 Some languages sound soft and soothing, while
7 How to improve the system is a matter for others can sound .............................. – as if
debate/conversation. people are arguing all the time.
8 They were deep in gossip/conversation and didn’t
notice the restaurant had closed. 8 Which of the adjectives
in Activity 5 can be used
to describe
Adjectives: ways of speaking 1 a colour?
2 a landscape?
4 08 Listen and answer the questions. Then
3 a person?
compare your ideas with a partner.
4 an actor’s performance?
1 Do you agree with the information given?
2 What are your impressions of each speaker?
3 Which person is the easiest to understand?
4 Which accent do you prefer?
5 Which person do you think sounds the most
trustworthy and authoritative?

22 Unit 2 The art of conversation

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 GRAMMAR FOCUS 2

Defining and non-defining 3 Match sentences 1–2 with meanings A–B.

relative clauses 1 She listened to the second message in her phone inbox,
which was in English.
GRAMMAR REFERENCE p.178 2 She listened to the second message in her phone inbox
which was in English.
1 Can you think of a politician or a person A Message number 1 was in another language. She listened to
in the public eye who has an unpleasant message number 2, which was in English.
voice? Compare your ideas with a partner. B She had received lots of phone messages; the fifth and
eleventh messages were in English. She listened to message
2 Read the article and choose the correct number 11.
alternatives.
4 Which sentence makes it clear that Paul has more

Is your 1
than one brother?
Paul’s brother whose girlfriend is from Argentina speaks

c e lding
good Spanish.

i
voyo
ho 2 Paul’s brother, whose girlfriend is from Argentina, speaks
good Spanish.
k?
u bac 5 Complete the sentences with the words in the
box. In some sentences more than one option

L
ike it or not, people are judged not by what is possible.
they know or do and not by the content of their
speech, but simply by the way they sound. A that when where which (x2) who
University of California study found that when it whom whose
comes to first impressions, it was visual impact
(1) which/who was the most important consideration, 1 The man .............................. was speaking loudly on his mobile
followed by vocal impact. On the telephone, phone was a journalist.
(2) whose/where appearance is irrelevant, the sound 2 I will never forget .............................. I was when I heard the news.
of your voice accounts for a full 83% of how others 3 The person with .............................. I have most in common is
judge you. my sister.
Clearly, your voice is a key communication 4 The man .............................. phone I found sent me £100!
tool. It speaks volumes about who you are and 5 The time .............................. I spent without internet access was
determines how the world hears and sees you. Many terribly hard.
professionals (3) which/who have the talent and 6 My mobile phone, .............................. I lost on the train last week,
motivation to move ahead, find common speaking had all my contacts on it.
problems block their success. Take the advertising 7 It was early in the morning .............................. I received a call
executive, for example, (4) whom/whose soft, breathy from my aunt in Australia.
voice makes her otherwise inspired presentation 8 I had to take an urgent call, .............................. was why I walked
seem weak and lifeless, or the talented IT consultant out of the restaurant.
with a strong regional accent (5) which/whose people
find difficult to understand. LANGUAGE TIP
How you use your voice can make others view you That and which can often be used interchangeably in defining
as decisive, confident, trustworthy and likeable – or relative clauses. That rather than which is usually used after
insecure, weak, unpleasant, boring, crude or even quantifiers such as everything, something, all.
dishonest. In fact, (6) when/why trying to get their Something that most people find annoying …
message across, people pay little, if any, attention to
the effect their voices have on other people. Instead,
it’s the content (7) which/who they are much more 6 Which sentences in Activity 5 contain defining (D)
concerned about. and which contain non-defining (ND) relative
clauses? In which sentence is it possible to omit
So you may never know the reason (8) when/why the relative pronoun?
you failed to land that dream job because people are
unlikely to explain that every time you speak up, you
may be letting yourself down.
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2 WRITING FOCUS

lmproving workplace communication: a proposal

Proposal (Part 2) lntroduction
organising your ideas ln this proposal l will assess the current situation with regard to
WRITING REFERENCE p.192 workplace communication, go on to identify the needs which should be
addressed by a staff training programme and conclude by describing
1 Which statement refers to a proposal and this training programme.
which refers to a report? Current situation
1 This looks to the future, giving specific plans for a Feedback from other members of staff suggests that the volume of
particular situation. email messages we receive has become a problem. Many people find that
2 This makes recommendations that are based on a they spend several hours a day responding to these messages. A second
current situation. but related complaint concerned poorly written emails. Many of us
receive messages that cause offence, are difficult to understand or are
simply far too long.
2 Look at the exam task and the tips for writing
a proposal. Then read a candidate’s answer. Key needs to be addressed
The candidate has not followed one of the Both the number of email messages we receive and the quality of
tips. Which one? the messages have a negative impact on our productivity. People
feel disinclined to respond to rude, confusing or excessively lengthy
You see this announcement on a notice board messages. This issue must be addressed.
where you work.
Recommendations
l would suggest the following to the Staff Training and Development
Department:
• All members of staff should be encouraged to communicate by phone
whenever possible.
IMPROVE OUR
• Any information that needs to be communicated to the entire staff
COMMUNICATION
should be presented in a face-to-face meeting rather than through
The Staff Training and Development email.
Department has decided to spend • A training course on writing effective email messages should be
part of its budget on a programme to offered to all staff members.
improve workplace communication.
The Staff Training and Development
Officer invites you to send a proposal 3 Look at the exam task and prepare to write
outlining any problems with current your answer.
workplace communication and
explaining how it can be improved. A EXAM TIP
decision will then be made about how If you are asked to write about something you haven’t
the money should be spent. experienced directly, use your imagination to generate
ideas. You won’t be marked down for any ideas as long
as they are relevant to the task.

Write your proposal in 220–260 words in an Students at your college have to give a spoken
appropriate style. presentation as part of their final assessment and
need some help. The school director has invited you
to send a proposal outlining any problems students
Tips for writing a proposal
have with presentations and suggesting how these
1 Begin by stating the purpose of your proposal. problems could be overcome.
2 Use an impersonal, semi-formal style.
1 Begin by brainstorming ideas. Write them down in any
3 Use clear layout with headings. order and don’t worry about language at this stage.
4 Express opinions and make recommendations in the 2 Group your ideas under headings for each section of
last section of your proposal. your proposal.
5 Include a final sentence summarising your opinion. 3 Write a first draft, paying attention to the level of
6 Use bullet points but not too many. formality of the language.

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