Colegio Alfred Nobel

Secundaria Superior 5th year.

A) Read the article and answer True or False. A

Growing up in the ‘80s was tough: 7 things we did in the 1980s that would absolutely
confuse kids today.

The 1980s were a pretty crazy time. We all accidentally inhaled a lot of hairspray, everything was very colourful, and we all were
busy watching MTV. Times have changed a lot in the last 30+ years, and now the world is barely recognizable. So much was
different, especially for kids.
Kids don’t grow up the same way that we used to. They don’t have the same issues that we did, they don’t have the same hobbies
as we did, and they certainly would have no idea how to handle themselves back in the ‘80s. If you were to send a kid back in time
to experience the ‘80s, these are probably the things that would freak them out the most.

1. Having to actually know a phone number.

When you needed to call your friends, you knew their phone numbers off the
top of your head. You didn’t have their name stored in some electronic brick
you kept in your pocket, you would pull a chair up to the rotary phone and
enter the numbers in one by one, patiently waiting for it to roll back in between.
There weren’t “phones” either. It was “THE phone”, as in one phone for the
whole family. It was kept usually in the kitchen, sometimes in the living room,
and if you wanted to have a private conversation you’ve better hope the cord
would reach the pantry. There were no portable phones, no phones in every
room, and absolutely no cell phones. Such a hassle. So much easier just to
send a text right?

2. Having to listen to the radio to hear your favourite song.

Listen, records were expensive, so sometimes you just had to hope that the radio would play the song you had in your head
because otherwise you weren’t going to hear it. You couldn’t just hop on YouTube to listen
to it, no Spotify, no downloading, you just had to sit and listen to dozens of boring commercials
and hope that the DJ would take requests at some point before you had to do your homework.

3. Having to watch TV commercials.

When was the last time you actually watched a TV commercial? Probably not that recently
right? When we were young, we had to just sit there and stare at the screen because we
honestly didn’t know there was a better option. If you were to calculate all the time you spent
watching commercials as a child, you’d probably be pretty horrified.

4. Having to wait to see the picture you just took.

Taking a picture now isn’t a big deal. You whip your phone out of your pocket and then you can take near professional quality shots
with the same device that you read the news, talk to your friends, and play games. Back when we were all kids, you wanted to take
a photo you needed to invest hundreds of dollars in a camera, and then constantly buy yourself film, and make the trek to the photo
lab to get them developed. So even if you were lucky enough to have the camera and the film, chances are it would still be weeks
and weeks before you ever saw a single snapshot because going to the photo lab was a hassle, and expensive, too.

5. Having to go to a store to pick a movie to watch.

Here’s the worst thing though, sometimes you went to the store to pick up a movie to rent and it wasn’t even there! That’s right, you
could convince your mom to take you down to the local Blockbuster, but when you arrived, that latest movie that you really wanted
to see just wasn’t on the shelf! Someone else got it first and it was so unfair.
Colegio Alfred Nobel
Secundaria Superior 5th year.

A
6. Having to make your own Prom dress.

This one is pretty crazy. Apparently now kids are spending over $500 on their prom dresses alone. Then they also get their hair
done, their nails done, they rent limos, and the list just goes on and on.
When we were young most of us didn’t even get to buy dresses. Our
moms took us to whatever fabric store was closest, let us pick a colour
and she picked something that was on sale. Then she sewed us up
Something simple and it was what it was. Sometimes, if you were
lucky, your mom let you buy a dress, but it was usually made out of a
fabric that felt like a windbreaker but was metallic and shiny.

7. Having to bike to your friends’ houses.

When you wanted to hang out with your friends, you better hop on that
bike and start peddling. Luckily we all lived fairly close together, but if
you had something to say it was almost easier just to bike there. No need to wait to give them a call, just bike up and show up
unannounced. They would likely be home, or at their neighbours house. It wasn’t like we could just text each other the things we
wanted to say. We couldn’t socialize while lying in bed. If you wanted to see your friends, you had to get up and go out there.

a) In the ‘80s, families usually had only one phone at home. __________
b) Back in the ‘80s, most children didn’t know their friends’ phone numbers by heart. __________
c) In the 1980s, young people would download music from the internet. __________
d) Kids growing up in the ‘80s used to see the photos they took almost immediately after they had taken them. __________
e) People only watched movies at the cinema. _________
f) Kids in the ‘80s would ride their bikes more frequently than today to see their friends. _________

B) Now, read the text again and write at least 7 sentences about kids growing up in the 1980s. Use “used to”, and
“would”.

1) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

2) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

3) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

4) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

5) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

6) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

7) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Colegio Alfred Nobel
Secundaria Superior 5th year.

A) Read the article and answer True or False. B

Growing up in the ‘80s was tough: 7 things we did in the 1980s that would absolutely
confuse kids today.

The 1980s were a pretty crazy time. We all accidentally inhaled a lot of hairspray, everything was very colourful, and we all were
busy watching MTV. Times have changed a lot in the last 30+ years, and now the world is barely recognizable. So much was
different, especially for kids.
Kids don’t grow up the same way that we used to. They don’t have the same issues that we did, they don’t have the same hobbies
as we did, and they certainly would have no idea how to handle themselves back in the ‘80s. If you were to send a kid back in time
to experience the ‘80s, these are probably the things that would freak them out the most.

1. Having to actually know a phone number.

When you needed to call your friends, you knew their phone numbers off the
top of your head. You didn’t have their name stored in some electronic brick
you kept in your pocket, you would pull a chair up to the rotary phone and
enter the numbers in one by one, patiently waiting for it to roll back in between.
There weren’t “phones” either. It was “THE phone”, as in one phone for the
whole family. It was kept usually in the kitchen, sometimes in the living room,
and if you wanted to have a private conversation you’ve better hope the cord
would reach the pantry. There were no portable phones, no phones in every
room, and absolutely no cell phones. Such a hassle. So much easier just to
send a text right?

2. Having to listen to the radio to hear your favourite song.

Listen, records were expensive, so sometimes you just had to hope that the radio would play the song you had in your head
because otherwise you weren’t going to hear it. You couldn’t just hop on YouTube to listen
to it, no Spotify, no downloading, you just had to sit and listen to dozens of boring commercials
and hope that the DJ would take requests at some point before you had to do your homework.

3. Having to watch TV commercials.

When was the last time you actually watched a TV commercial? Probably not that recently
right? When we were young, we had to just sit there and stare at the screen because we
honestly didn’t know there was a better option. If you were to calculate all the time you spent
watching commercials as a child, you’d probably be pretty horrified.

4. Having to wait to see the picture you just took.

Taking a picture now isn’t a big deal. You whip your phone out of your pocket and then you can take near professional quality shots
with the same device that you read the news, talk to your friends, and play games. Back when we were all kids, you wanted to take
a photo you needed to invest hundreds of dollars in a camera, and then constantly buy yourself film, and make the trek to the photo
lab to get them developed. So even if you were lucky enough to have the camera and the film, chances are it would still be weeks
and weeks before you ever saw a single snapshot because going to the photo lab was a hassle, and expensive, too.

5. Having to go to a store to pick a movie to watch.

Here’s the worst thing though, sometimes you went to the store to pick up a movie to rent and it wasn’t even there! That’s right, you
could convince your mom to take you down to the local Blockbuster, but when you arrived, that latest movie that you really wanted
to see just wasn’t on the shelf! Someone else got it first and it was so unfair.
Colegio Alfred Nobel
Secundaria Superior 5th year.

B
6. Having to make your own Prom dress.

This one is pretty crazy. Apparently now kids are spending over $500 on their prom dresses alone. Then they also get their hair
done, their nails done, they rent limos, and the list just goes on and on.
When we were young most of us didn’t even get to buy dresses. Our
moms took us to whatever fabric store was closest, let us pick a colour
and she picked something that was on sale. Then she sewed us up
Something simple and it was what it was. Sometimes, if you were
lucky, your mom let you buy a dress, but it was usually made out of a
fabric that felt like a windbreaker but was metallic and shiny.

7. Having to bike to your friends’ houses.

When you wanted to hang out with your friends, you better hop on that
bike and start peddling. Luckily we all lived fairly close together, but if
you had something to say it was almost easier just to bike there. No need to wait to give them a call, just bike up and show up
unannounced. They would likely be home, or at their neighbours house. It wasn’t like we could just text each other the things we
wanted to say. We couldn’t socialize while lying in bed. If you wanted to see your friends, you had to get up and go out there.

a) In the ‘80s, people had rotary phones at home. __________

B) Now, read the text again and write at least 7 sentences about kids growing up in the 1980s. Use “used to”, and
“would”.

1) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

2) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

3) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

4) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

5) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

6) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

7) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________