B1.
2
“A black cat crossing your path
SUPERSTITIONS & BELIEFS signifies that the animal is going
somewhere.” Groucho Marx
SPEAKING IN GROUPS
Use the following questions to discuss the topic of superstitions and beliefs with your partners.
Listen to each other, agree, disagree and try to get as many ideas as possible about the
topic.
- Do you think there are lucky and unlucky people?
- Have you ever been to a fortune teller?
- Do you believe there are people who can give you the evil eye? Have you ever
been to a healer?
- Do you think there are people who have premonitions? Have you ever had one?
- Do you know any popular superstitions?
- Do you consider yourself a superstitious person?
- What’s your star sign? Do you think people born under the same star sign have similar
personalities? Do you read the horoscope?
- Do you have any lucky charms?
EXAM PRACTICE
MONOLOGUE: In this part of the exam, you are going to give a short talk on a topic. Discuss
some of the ideas given below. You should talk for about 3 minutes.
- Superstitions and you
- Psychics, fortune tellers,
palm readers, …
- Luck
- Star signs
DIALOGUE: In this part of the exam, you are going to take part in a conversation with the
other candidate(s). In this case you are going to discuss a friend’s decision. The
conversation should last about 4 - 5 minutes.
You and the other candidate have a mutual friend (Pau)
who is going through a difficult situation. He has just lost his
job and is getting divorced. He is devastated and has
decided to go to a fortune teller. Use the following prompts
to discuss that decision with the other candidate:
- Is it a good idea?
- Do you know anyone who has been to one?
- Should you talk your friend out of it?
- Cost
B1.2
LISTENING COMPREHENSION: You will hear an extract from a radio programme in which the
speakers talk about some star signs. Match the signs on the left with the questions. TWO OF
THE SIGNS ARE NOT USED in the answers. Write the initial of the sign after each question in
the spaces provided. The first one has been done for you as an example.
( *****Certificate exam 2010)
WHO…
AQUARIUS
0. … might argue about money? Taurus
CAPRICORN
GEMINI 1. … should listen to somebody else’s Sagittarius
recommendations?
LEO
2. … shouldn’t take decisions in a hurry? Capricorn
PISCES
3. … shouldn’t talk about other people’s lives? Leo
SAGITTARIUS
TAURUS
4. … shouldn’t try to impress their guests? Aquarius
VIRGO
5. … should stop guessing? Gemini
B1.2
READING COMPREHENSION: You are going to read an article about premonitions. For
questions 1-7, decide whether they are TRUE or FALSE.
PREMONITIONS – A VISION OF THE FUTURE?
Premonitions of danger, death and disaster are the most common kind of psychic
experience. Several scientific studies of premonitions show not only that premonitions really
do happen but that they are common. An American survey of high school students found
that one out of twelve had had psychic experiences – about half of them premonitions of
future events in dreams. A similar survey of adults showed that 30% of people interviewed
experienced psychic dreams. 90% of them were female, and most of the premonitions were
about persons and events in the dreamers’ own lives.
An English psychologist, Dr Keith Hearne, did a study of 127 people who had experienced
premonitions. Hearne gave them psychological tests and found that they were more
emotional than the average person but in other respects were normal. He was able to
document several remarkable premonitions of disasters. Although the majority of
premonitions came in dreams, some came when the person was awake. For example, on
June 1, 1974, an American woman, Lesley Brennan, was watching TV at midday when she
saw the words ‘News Flash’ appear on the screen. A man’s voice said that there had been
an explosion at a chemical plant in the nearby town of Flixborough. Several people had
been killed and many injured. Lesley mentioned the news to a couple who were staying
with her at her house. That evening they all watched the news from Flixborough of the
Nypro chemical plant explosion that killed 28 people and injured hundreds more, but they
could not understand why the newsreader said that the explosion had happened late in
the afternoon – at 4.53 p.m. Later they realized that Brennan had experienced a
premonition of the massive explosion – five hours before it actually happened.
T F
1. According to scientific research, premonitions are not unusual. X
2. One out of twelve high school students in the survey had had a X
premonition in a dream.
3. Adult women experience more premonitions than anybody else. X
4. People who have premonitions are no different from anybody else. X
5. People usually have premonitions when they are asleep. X
6. Lesley Brennan dreamt that she saw a news flash about an accident. X
7. Lesley and her visitors were surprised when they saw the evening news. X
B1.2
SOME USEFUL VOCABULARY TO TALK ABOUT SUPERSTITIONS & BELIEFS
- I seriously think there are people who are born lucky / unlucky.
- I must say I’m a bit superstitious myself / I’m not superstitious at all.
- I can’t say I’m superstitious. However, if I see a ladder against a wall, I don’t walk
under it, just in case.
- If I see a black cat, for example, I think something will go wrong that day.
- I don’t think you’ll be unlucky for seven years if you break a mirror, for example.
- The same thing can be lucky or unlucky depending on the country. For instance,
seeing a black cat crossing your path is considered unlucky in many European
countries, but it will bring you good luck according to the Japanese.
- I usually touch wood – or my head – to send bad luck away, but I do it more out of
habit than as a superstition.
- I don’t have any lucky charms.
- I always carry a little amulet my grandmother gave me when I have an important
exam. That makes me feel everything will be all right.
- I don’t believe in fortune tellers. They just want your money.
- There are lots of people who spend fortunes on psychics and make decisions based
on what they have told them.
- I’d rather not know what the future holds for me.
- To be honest, I read the horoscope for fun but I don’t blindly believe what it says is
going to happen.
- I didn’t use to believe in ghosts and that kind of thing, but something happened that
made me change my mind, …
