Speaking and vocabulary
Who do you live with
1) Read the news extract. Is there a similar trend in your country
...... statistics show that for the first time in the UK, households consisting of two parents and their children are in the minority. The majority of households are now made up of single people living alone, single people sharing, and single parents and their children. The government believes that this trend is set to continue.......
2) Discuss these points
- Do you live, or have you ever lived away from your family?
- If not, would you like to? under what circumstances?
- What are/were the advantages and disadvantages of living alone or with friends, rather than with family?
3) Read the descriptions of people you might live with and check any unknown vocabulary.
Mark them + (easy to live with); - (difficult to live with) and ? (mixed/depends)
- someone with a very negative attitude, who moans a lot.
- someone very chatty and lively, who likes company.
- someone very quiet, who keeps him/herself to him/herself, and respects your privacy.
- someone who is often grumpy and irritable
- someone very laid-back, who never worries about anything.
- someone who likes background noise, and has the TV or music on all the time.
- someone unpredictable, whose moods change for no apparent reason
- someone very neat and fussy
- someone who leaves their stuff all over the place, and doesn't do their share of the housework.
- someone who likes things their way, and won't listen to other people's point of view
- someone very dynamic and active, who never sits down
- someone who lounges around doing nothing for hours on end
- someone who sulks rather than saying what is on their mind.
4) Compare and explain answers in groups.
a) Which characteristics on the list would you personally find most difficult? Is there any behaviour not mentioned that also drives you mad?
b) Does anyone you live or have lived with have the faults described in Exercise 3? Are you guilty of any of these bad habits?