1c Nature is good for you

Reading
1 Look at the photo. Where is the woman?
What can she see?
Students’ own answers.
The woman is enjoying a virtual reality
nature experience. She’s standing in a
studio with pictures of nature around
her.

2 Read the article. Match the topics (a–c) with the paragraphs in the article
(1–3).

1a how much time we spend outdoors

3b making nature part of city life
2c studies by doctors

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3 Read the article again. Answer the questions.

1 What do most people think about nature?

It’s good for us.
2 What is the main change in how people spend their time?
Humans are spending more time inside and less time outside.
3 What is happening at national parks in Canada?
The number of visitors is getting lower every year.
4 After the maths test, where did some people look at nature?
in a 3D virtual reality room
5 In Toronto, where did healthier people live?
near parks
6 What are they going to build in Dubai?
a new shopping mall with a large garden
7 Where can children study in Switzerland?
in forest schools
8 In South Korea, how many people visit the new forests every year?
13 million

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Word focus feel
4 Underline three phrases with feel in the first paragraph of the article. Match
the phrases to the uses (1–3).
1 to talk about your emotions or health feel better
2 to talk about wanting to do something feel like going
3 to talk about an opinion feel that

5 Complete the questions with these words.

like
1 What do you usually feel _________ doing after a day at work?
that
2 Do you feel _________ nature is good for us? Why? / Why not?
better in the evening?
3 After a difficult day, what makes you feel _________

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6 Work in pairs. Take turns to ask and answer the questions from Exercise 5.

A: What do you usually feel like doing after a long day at work?
B: Going for a run in my local park and then eating dinner. Sometimes I go
out and meet friends.

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Critical thinking giving examples
7 When writers give an opinion in an article, they often support the idea with
examples. Look at these sentences from paragraph 1. Which sentence has
the main idea? Which sentences give examples?

a For example, the number of visitors to Canada’s national parks is getting

lower every year.
b Humans are spending more time inside and less time outside.
c And in countries such as the USA, only 10% of teenagers spend time
outside every day.

Sentence b has the main idea. Sentences a and c give examples.

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8 Read paragraphs 2 and 3 of the article. Find the sentence with the main idea
and sentences with examples. Underline the words and phrases for giving
examples.
For example, the number of visitors to Canada’s national parks is getting
lower every year.
Paragraph 2
Main sentence:
As a result, some doctors are studying the connection between nature and
health …
Example sentences:
One example of this is the work of Dr Matilda van den Bosch in Sweden.
Another good example of how nature is good for health comes from Canada.
Paragraph 3
Main sentence:
Because of studies like these, some countries and cities want nature to be part of
people’s everyday life.
Example sentences:
In Dubai, for example, there are plans for a new shopping mall with a large
garden …
In some countries such as Switzerland, ‘forest schools’ are popular …
And South Korea is another good example; it has new forests near its cities …

1c-p. 14
9 Complete these sentences in your own words. Use examples from your own
life. Then tell your partner.

1 I relax in my free time in different ways. For example, …

2 My home town has some places with trees and nature, such as …
3 There are some beautiful national parks in my country. A good example
is …

EXAMPLE ANSWERS
Students’ own answers. Some suggestions:
1 I relax in my free time in different ways. For example, I
sometimes go out with friends, but sometimes I stay at home and
watch TV.
2 My home town has some places with trees and nature, such as
the park in the city centre, and the national zoo.
3 There are some beautiful national parks in my country. A good
example is Millennium Park.

1c-p. 14
Speaking
10 Work in groups of four. Imagine your town has some money to make
people’s lives healthier. Look at the ideas below and think of one more.
• one hundred new trees in the town EXAMPLE ANSWERS
Students’ own answers. Some
• a 400-metre running track in the park possibilities include: install an
• a new park with a children’s play area open-air gym in the park;
• two cycle paths across the town build an outdoor swimming
• a bridge across the river with a garden pool, provide an all-weather
football pitch.
11 Discuss the ideas in your group and choose the best idea. Give reasons and
examples.
I think cycle paths are a good idea because cycling is good for your health
and good for the environment.

12 Present your idea to the class. Then compare your ideas. Try to agree on the
best idea.

1c-p. 14
Track 6

How do you feel about nature? After spending hours indoors, do you often feel like
going outside for a walk? Or if you work for hours at your office desk, do you feel
better when you take a break and visit your local park? Most people think that nature
is good for us; it’s good for our bodies and good for our brains. However, humans are
spending more time inside and less time outside. For example, the number of visitors
to Canada’s national parks is getting lower every year. And in countries such as the
USA, only 10% of teenagers spend time outside every day. Many doctors feel that this
is a problem in the twenty-first century, and that it is making our physical health
worse.

1c-p. 15
 Track 6
As a result, some doctors are studying the connection between nature and health:
one example of this is the work of Dr Matilda van den Bosch in Sweden. The doctor
gave people a maths test. During the test, their heart rate was faster. After the test,
one group of people sat in a 3D-virtual-reality room for fifteen minutes with pictures
and sounds of nature. Their heart rates were slower than people’s in the other group.
The virtual contact with nature helped them feel more relaxed. Another good
example of how nature is good for health comes from Canada. In Toronto,
researchers studied 31,000 people living in cities. Overall, they found that healthier
people lived near parks.
Because of studies like these, some countries and cities want nature to be part of
people’s everyday life. In Dubai, for example, there are plans for a new shopping mall
with a large garden so shoppers can relax outside with trees, plants and water. In
some countries such as Switzerland, ‘forest schools’ are popular; schoolchildren study
their subjects in the forests and do lots of exercise outside. And South Korea is
another good example: it has new forests near its cities and around 13 million people
visit these forests every year. So after building cities for so long, perhaps it’s now time
to start rebuilding nature.

1c-p. 15
 1e Personal information
Writing filling in a form
1 Work in pairs. Discuss these questions.
• What kinds of forms do you sometimes fill in?
• Think of a form you filled in. What information did you write?
EXAMPLE ANSWERS
Students’ own answers.
Some possible types of form: registration form at school, college or
university, job application form, passport or visa application form
Information often on forms: first name, middle name, surname,
title, age, gender, date of birth, address, postcode, telephone
number, email address

1e-p. 17
2 Look at these forms. What is each form for?
A medical form

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2 Look at these forms. What is each form for? A visa application form

1e-p. 17
3 Writing skill information on forms

a Match the questions (1–7) with the headings on the forms in Exercise 2
where you write the information.

1 Are you married, single or divorced? marital status

2 Do you take any pills or medicine? Current medications
3 How many children do you have? No. of dependents
4 What country were you born in? Country of origin
5 What city/town were you born in? Place of birth
6 Who can we call in your family if you need help? Contact details of person
in case of emergency
7 What is the first letter of your middle name?
Middle initial

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3 Writing skill information on forms

b Look at the forms again. Answer these questions. Then check your answers
on page 155.

1 How many abbreviations can you find in the forms? What do they mean?
DOB = Date of birth
2 Under the heading Title on forms, we use the abbreviations Mr, Mrs, Ms
and Dr. What do they mean?

3 Which form doesn’t want you to write in lower-case letters?

1e-p. 17
4 Work in pairs. Design a form for new students at a language school.

• List all the information you need about the students.

• Then prepare the form.
EXAMPLE ANSWERS
first name, middle name, surname, title, age, gender, date of birth,
address, postcode, telephone number, email address, contact details
of person in case of emergency nationality, first language, level of
English needs, interests, length of stay

5 Exchange your form with another pair. Use these questions to check their
form.

• Is their form easy to fill in?

• Do you know what to write in each part?
• Would you change anything on the form?

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 1f My local park
Before you watch
1 Look at the photo and read
the caption. Where is your
nearest park? Why do people
like going there?
EXAMPLE ANSWER
Students’ own answers.
Possible answers include: it’s
free, it’s healthy, it’s a good
place to relax or do exercise,
it’s nature in the middle of a
town or city, children can
play there safely, it’s a nice
Park Güell, in Barcelona, is famous for its art and a
place for a picnic, you can great place to meet friends.
feed the birds.

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2 Key vocabulary
Read the sentences. The words and phrases in bold are used in the video.
Match the words to the definitions (a–f).

d 1 I like coming to the park no a a region or part of a town

matter what the weather is like. b it has four wheels and you move
b 2 Parents push their young babies or small children in it
children in prams. c flowers that grow on trees
e 3 There’s a great view from the d it isn’t important and it doesn’t
top of the hill. change my decision
a 4 We often come to the park e what you can see around you
when we’re in the area. f another word for a path or
f 5 There’s a nice walkway round small road only for people
the park.
c 6 In the spring, there are
beautiful flowers on the ground
and blossom on the trees.

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While you watch
3 Watch the video and number a–g in the order you see them.

2a A man is cycling.
1b A woman is walking with her dog.
5 c A student is jogging.
3 d There’s a large house near the park.
4 e Two people are walking down a path.
6 f A student is doing pull-ups.
7 g A tractor is cutting the grass.

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4 Work in pairs. Look at the table
and watch the video again. often dogs
weekend
trees
2
Student A: Complete the notes
in column 1. every day high

Student B: Complete the notes break house

in column 2. road
children pretty
happy seasons
relaxing
every day
sometimes
5 Share your notes with your
partner and complete the
go
other column. Then watch the quite often
twice exercise
video again and check all your
answers. plants

every day flowers

look at

1f-p. 19
 Videoscript My local park
0.00–0.31 (woman with dog) We come to the park very often, every weekend in fact, usually after
lunchtime, around 2 p.m. We like coming to this park because there’s a really nice walkway around
the park, there are also a lot of dogs for Jasmine to play with, there are beautiful trees everywhere,
so it’s really nice no matter what time of year.
0.32–1.12 (cyclist) I come to the park every day. I cycle to work through the park from my home to
my office, and then on some days, sunny days particularly, I like to come here and relax in my lunch
break. I like this part of the park actually, it’s quite high up and there’s this beautiful house here, and
I think that must be a great place to live because they have such a good view down onto the park.
1.12–1.48 (elderly couple) We come here when we’re in the area. When our … when we were a
young family and we had children we used to come and push our prams round here, and so it has
happy memories. We like coming here because it’s much nicer than the roadway, it’s a pretty park
and we like to see the different seasons.
1.49–2.13 (language student) My name is Ahmed, I am from Saudi Arabia. I am here to study English
language to prepare for my academic studies. I go through the park every day, and sometimes I
spend some time with my friends. I like relaxing in this park.
2.14–2.40 (jogger) I come to the park quite often. I come here about twice a week. I like to go
jogging and I like to do exercise here. I like coming to the park because it’s nice and quiet, there are
lots of plants and trees, and it’s overall a good place to do exercise.
2.41–end (woman) I try and come to the park every day. I love coming to this particular park
because the trees are so beautiful. There are always wild flowers, depending on the season, and lots
of blossom on the trees. It’s lovely to look at.
After you watch
6 Work in pairs. Cover the notes in the table and look at the faces of the
different people.

Student A: Choose one person in the video but don’t tell Student B. Listen to
Student B’s questions and give the answers from the video.

Student B: Ask the two questions from the video: When do you come to the
park? How often do you come? Listen to Student A’s answer. Which person
from the video is Student A?

7 Change roles and repeat the activity.

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