13. Work in pairs or small groups. Discuss the following.
- All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure. (Mark Twain)
- What is success for you?
- Are you afraid of being unsuccessful?
- What do you need in this life for success?
- Can you have success if you don’t have confidence?
- Can you have success if you aren’t ignorant?
- Why do we need confidence for success?
- Do you think that all the very confident people are successful?
- Why do we need to be ignorant to achieve success?
- Do you think that all the ignorant people are successful?
- What do you think, do you have enough confidence for success?
- Do you ever regret that you don’t have enough confidence to be successful?
- Have you ever tried to increase your confidence to achieve better success?
- Do you know of any ways or methods to increase our chances to achieve better success?
- I can’t give you a sure-fire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: try to please everybody all the time.
1. Do you agree that the formula for failure is trying to please everybody all the time?
- Is it possible to please everybody all the time?
- Is trying to please everybody all the time the only formula for failure?
- Do you know any other formulas for failure?
- What characteristics of people give them more chances for success?
- What characteristics of people give them less chances for success?
- Which of your characteristics gives you more chances for success?
- Which of your characteristics prevents you from being successful?
- Which of your characteristics prevents you from being unsuccessful?
- What kind of communication with other people gives us more chances to be successful?
- What kind of world outlooks give us more chances to be successful?
- What do you want to change in yourself to become more successful?
- What do you want to change in your life to become more successful?
- What is more important for success: your profession, your personality and personal characteristics or your luckiness?
- What is more important for success: your friends, your wife, your parents or the country where you live?
- What is a more probable reason for failure?
- What is a more probable reason for failure: kindness, laziness, meanness or just stupidity?
- Is it possible to be successful but not know about it?
- Are you sure that you want to be successful and that you know what success is?
14. Think over and speak about:
- What should one do to become successful?
Some expressions you may want to use to help you start talking about your topic are:
As I see it, …
I think/believe/feel …
In my opinion, …
Personally, I believe/think/feel that …
I’m sure (that) …
First... Second... Third...
The first... The second... The third...
First... Next... Then... Finally …
Lesson 4. Lifestyle: Leisure for Pleasure
The more joy we have, the more nearly perfect we are.
B. Spinoza
Lead-in
1. Answer the following questions.
1. What ways of spending free time do you know?
2. What is a hobby?
3. What kinds of hobbies do you know?
4. Do you think hobbies make people’s lives more interesting?
5. How do young people spend their free time? What leisure activities do they prefer?
2. Look at the following list of leisure activities. Put them in your order of preference. Are there any others, which are not on the list, that you like?
Doing a sport
Reading a book
Watching TV
Surfing the Internet
Going to the theatre
Visiting an art gallery or a museum
Going to a concert
Going to a disco club
Going round a market
Going out for a meal
3. Give personal information.
- How do you prefer to spend your leisure time?
- Do you spend much time surfing the Internet?
- What is your favourite cultural activity?
- What appeals to you most: theatre, opera, ballet, classical music or modern music?
- Do you like to attend concerts?
- Which do you prefer: classical or modern music?
- Do you like listening to jazz (rock, reggae, techno, country, pop music)?
- Has your taste in music ever changed over the years? Why/ Why not?
- Where do you like to listen to music?
- Do you listen to music while you are working?
-
Do you play a musical instrument? - Austin O’Malley once said, “Music is another lady that talks charmingly and says nothing”. Do you agree with this statement?
4. Read the following paragraph and answer the questions below.
It’s becoming easier to meet young people who know how to use computers or consult video encyclopedias, but who don’t know how to appreciate the fascination of reading. Some people say television is to blame as it offers attractive programmes which don’t require the “effort” of reading. For others it’s the fault of schools which don’t teach children to appreciate literature and its wonders. And what do you think?
- What’s the reason, in your opinion, that young people today read so little?
- Why is the number of people who aren’t reading increasing?
- Are you fond of reading?
- What kind of reading do you prefer: do you like reading books? newspapers? magazines? If so, what kind of books, newspapers and magazines?
- Is reading only a pleasure or something special for you?
- Why do you think reading is important?
- What famous British, American and Russian writers and poets do you know? Which of their books have you read?
- Who are your favourite writers or poets?
- Do you like poetry? Why?
5. Study the following quotations and discuss which ones you most, or least, agree with.
· A classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read. (Mark Twain)
- Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested. (Francis Bacon)
- A book read is a life lived. (Author Unknown)
