8. UNIT 8. Becoming independent
UNIT 8.
Becoming independent
A. Pronunciation
• Intonation in invitations, suggestions, and polite requests
Pay attention to the fall-rise intonation in the following sentences. Then practise saying them in pairs.
1. Why don’t you turn the air conditioner on?
2. Can you come over after the show?
3. Would you mind sending this letter to Mr. Brown?
4. Do you fancy going to a movie this evening?
5. How about an evening riverboat tour tonight?
6. Could I speak to Mai?
7. Why don’t you come over and see the new play with me?
8. Would you like another cup of tea?
9. Shall we have a field trip after the exams?
10. Can you pick me up from the airport?
B. Vocabulary
• Words and phrases related to teen independence
I. Choose the correct word to complete the following sentences.
1. Paul is directly decisive / responsible / reliable for the management of the football competitions between schools in our neighbourhood.
2. There’s no point in trying to stop her - it'll only make her more determined / dependent / comfortable
3. A good leader should have a talent for quick independent / confident / decisivẻ action.
4. Eating sensibly and taking regular exercise is a fairly motivated / limited / reliable method of losing weight.
5. Now that their sons are more independent / advantageous / decisive, they have more time for themselves.
6. Is it difficult / necessary / certain for all of us to be present at the meeting this afternoon?
7. All the staff should be involved in the decision-making / loss-making / mischief-making process.
8. Do you think it’s true that teenage girls are less self-aware / self-appointed / self-confident than their male peers?
9. The staff members are hard-working and highly reasonable / motivated / worthy .
10. In seven out of ten households, it’s a woman who is now responsible for money / economic / resource
II. Complete the sentences with the words given.
1. He’s got the ______________ to walk into a room of strangers and immediately start a conversation.
2. A single parent should try to balance work and family ______________.
3. How can he fit everything into his busy ______________?
4. There is always a time ______________ for each test.
5. You should make exercise part of your daily ______________.
6. He wants greater ______________ to develop his own ideas.
7. She felt her stress at work was caused by poor ______________.
8. I’ll go shopping when I’ve done my ______________ around the house.
9. One ______________ as a parent is to help the child become an independent adult.
10. Parents want to raise their child to be independent, and to help him make his own ______________.
III. Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs or verbal phrases given.
1. Try to ______________ of your time well.
2. I’m not trying to ______________ the habit of always having biscuits with my coffee.
3. My close friend, Phong, ______________ a fantastic idea for the school trip.
4. We had to use public transport to ______________.
5. The police will ______________ an investigation into what actually happened.
6. I’m looking for a job which will enable me to ______________ my talents?
7. After work, she ______________ with a cup of coffee and the newspaper.
8. I’ve been working all day, but I feel as if I’ve ______________ nothing.
9. ______________ he is honest before you lend him any money.
10. Their relationship was ______________ mutual respect.
IV. Fill in each blank in the passage with the correct words below.
1. I actively look for ways to improve the ______________ of my work, and the way that I approach tasks.
2. I can maintain ______________ on one task for a significant period of time.
3. I spend lots of time looking for ______________ or documents, or locating missing items.
4. I use the talents, time, and expertise of other people in my ______________ to help get the work done.
5. I actively look for ways to avoid wasting time and ______________ - both for myself and for my team.
6. I use ______________ like skimming and note taking to identify the key points from the documents that I receive.
7. I have a clear ______________ for dealing with disruptions and interruptions.
8. I delay difficult or unpleasant tasks until the last minute - or until the ______________ disappears on its own.
9. I use a formal tracking ______________ to understand how I spend my time.
10. I do all of the tasks that are assigned to me, and hope that I can keep up with the volume of ______________.
• Prepositions
V. Complete each sentence with the correct preposition.
1. He has a very good relationship ______________ his uncle.
2. The authorities are discussing a plan ______________ action to deal with the crisis.
3. The two partners still talk on the phone ______________ time to time.
4. The doctor says she’s making a good recovery, and she should be ______________ and about in a few days’ time.
5. Did she pay you ______________ looking after her dogs while she was away?
6. That man has taken over responsibility ______________ this project.
7. Do you think I’ll be able to achieve my goal ______________ losing five kilos before the summer?
8. It is important ______________ him to attend lectures every day.
9. We based our decision ______________ the facts in the report.
10. The work that the students do during the year will count ______________ their final grade.
C. Grammar
• Cleft sentences with It is / was ... that / who ...
I. Rewrite the following sentences after the example, paying attention to the subject of the sentence.
Example : The man gave her the book.
🡪 It was the man that/who gave her the book.
1. The children played football in the garden yesterday afternoon.
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2. My sister got a present from her uncle last week.
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3. My uncle taught me how to play the guitar.
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4. My little brother admires my teacher very much.
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5. My mother bought me that beautiful hat some days ago.
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6. My parents encouraged me to go to college.
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7. My teacher helped me to improve my pronunciation.
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8. Football is considered one of the most exciting games nowadays.
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9. His success affects every aspect of my life.
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10. English becomes more and more popular in the world.
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II. Rewrite the following sentences after the example, paying attention to the object of the sentence.
Example : The boy hit the dog in the garden.
🡪 It was the dog that the boy hit in the garden.
1. My parents bought me a new pair of shoes on my birthday.
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2. The police asked the man a lot of questions.
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3. Jack sent some flowers to me when I was in hospital.
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4. The company will send a large number of notebooks to poor children in this area.
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5. People speak English in many countries in the world.
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6. I telephoned my friends to inform them about my good results in the exam.
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7. They are going to publish a new book on wildlife in Africa .
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8. Many students will attend the IT class .
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III. Rewrite the following sentences after the example, paying attention to the adverbial modifier of the sentence.
Example : She bought him a present at the shop .
🡪 It was at the shop that she bought him a present.
1. They learn English in that foreign language center .
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2. My mother bought me a hat in the comer shop a few days ago.
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3. I took these photographs in the countryside .
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4. Linda is going to spend her summer vacation in Viet Nam .
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5. Many children like to play in the schoolyard .
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6. Scientists found some strange paintings on the walls of the cave .
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7. John will finish his study in July .
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8. Jane took a university badge out of her pocket .
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IV. Rewrite the sentences using cleft sentences focusing on the underlined parts.
1. Peter lent us the money, but Paul did not.
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2. I have lost my English book .
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3. I saw him in the street only last week .
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4. Argentina won the World Cup in 2022 .
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5. The smoke from the factory chimneys pollutes the air.
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6. Mastering a second language takes a lot of time and practice .
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7. You will succeed only by hard work .
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8. The countryside is most beautiful in autumn .
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9. What I saw at the dance party surprised me.
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10. Did you start the fight, or was it someone else?
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V. Rewrite the following sentences, beginning as shown.
1. Singapore became a nation in 1965.
🡪 It was in
2. Princess Dianna was usually referred as The Rose of England.
🡪 It was The Rose
3. Mary didn’t begin to read until she was eight.
🡪 It was not
4. I didn’t realise he was your brother until I saw the photograph.
🡪 It was only when
5. The noise next door did not stop until after midnight.
🡪 It was not
6. I only heard her husband’s side of the story when I met him at the party.
🡪 It was only
7. The reporters only heard about the changes of the wedding plans when they arrived at the venue.
🡪 It was only
8. Bill Gates has donated a big sum of money to several charities.
🡪 It is Bill Gates
VI. Rewrite the sentences using cleft sentences focusing on the subjects of the passive sentences from the following active ones.
Example : Nick gave Phong the money. 🡪 It was Phong who was given the money by Nick.
1. The estate agent sold Mr and Mrs Hanson the house.
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2. We gave Ann a birthday present yesterday.
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3. The manager has sent each employee a message.
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4. Did the boy throw his friend the ball?
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5. Tom handed Peter the books and the magazines.
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6. The teacher told the students an interesting story.
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7. Did Lan lend her brother the money?
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8. Are you going to show your classmates your drawings tonight?
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9. We sent our grandparents the package two days ago.
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10. Are you going to write Mike a letter soon?
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D. Reading
I. Read the passage about full-time life skills courses, and then answer the questions.
These full-time Life Skills courses are suitable for students with a range of additional learning needs from moderate learning difficulties to severe learning difficulties.
Our range of Life Skills courses enables learners to develop vocational skills designed to improve opportunities for progression to employment and/or further study.
We offer a wide range of life skills courses including Cookery, Creative Skills, Workshop Skills, Animal Care, and professional courses.
Students are taught in small groups and all courses include lessons that help them build confidence and improve literacy, numeracy and skills for independence, employment and progression. We can arrange an expert’s visit for potential students, and parents including a tour to view our facilities and discuss the course options.
1. Who are the courses for?
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2. Why are the courses suitable for future workers?
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3. What skills do you think you will be taught if you follow the courses?
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4. What are the advantages that the courses offer to students?
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5. For whom can they arrange an expert’s visit?
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II. Read the text, and then do the tasks that follow.
The Ability to Get from One Place to Another
One important life skill that teenagers need to learn in order to become independent, and to generally be able to operate without their parents is transportation, or “getting from Point A to Point B”. While it sounds simple, many teens do not have a good grasp of this simple skill. There is a bus to get to school and often, the family rely upon for transportation to go anywhere else.
Always leaving this important life skill to parents can lead a child to develop the bad habit of never taking the responsibility of being where they need to be and blaming others for being late or not showing up. That will hinder your teen's daily living and success.
Young adults have goals, dreams and responsibilities that will require them to know all they can about different modes of transportation.
Teens need to know “how to get there from here”. Therefore, parents need to give the responsibility of transporting themselves from one place to another to their teens as often as possible. When parents do this, teens learn valuable transportation lessons.
Transportation lessons and experiences are taught in high school and some can be taught by getting your teens involved with travel clubs or various youth events.
These life skills are learned best when taught by experience, but you can also use the Internet to help when the concept of using experience as a teacher is not readily applicable. Give these lessons your best efforts as teaching your teens how to go where they need to on their own will boost their confidence and add to their overall sense of independence.
Task 1. Decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F).
1. The fact that children depend on their parents for transportation to go anywhere may have a negative impact on them. _____
2. Parents should take the responsibility of transporting their teens as often as possible. _____
3. Transportation lessons can be taught at school or in community. _____
4. Experiences and the Internet play an important role in learning this life skill. _____
5. Adults need to give all the responsibility of learning how to go where teens need to the teens to boost their confidence and their sense of independence. _____
Task 2. Match the underlined words in the text with the definition.
1. operate (v) _____ A. arrive
2. grasp (n) _____ B. make something become better
3. show up (phr. v) _____ C. ability to get something
4. hinder (v) _____ D. work in a particular way
5. boost (v) _____ E. make it difficult for someone to do something
III. Read the text, and then do the tasks that follow.
Why Do We Use Time-management Skills?
It is important that you develop effective strategies for managing your time to balance the conflicting demands of time for study, leisure, and work. Time-management skills are valuable not only in job-hunting, but also in many other aspects of life: from revising for examinations to working in a vacation job.
Sometimes it may seem that there isn’t enough time to do everything that you need to. This can lead to a build-up of stress. When revising for examinations, or during your final year when you have to combine the pressures of intensive study with finding time to apply for jobs, good management of your time can be particularly important. Once we have identified ways in which we can improve the management of our time, we can begin to adjust our routines and patterns of behaviour to reduce any time-related stress in our lives.
Some of these skills include setting clear goals, breaking your goals down into several steps, and reviewing your progress towards your goals.
Other skills involved include prioritising - focusing on urgent and important tasks rather than those that are trivial or don't move you towards your goals; organising your work schedule; list making to remind you of what you need to do.
Task 1. Read the text and select the statement that expresses its main idea.
A. Priority makes us have time-management skills and focus on urgent and important tasks.
B. Time-management skills help us do better in study and work and enjoy life more.
C. Good skills to deal with work may help you a lot in job-hunting after graduation.
Task 2. Read the text again, and then decide whether the statements are true (T), false (F) or not given (NG).
1. Time-management skills help us to balance our time between study, leisure, and work. _____
2. Time-management skills also bring more productivity in our work. _____
3. When we have good time management, we can reduce stress in our lives. _____
4. We should focus on achieving our goals, and spending time checking progress is wasteful. _____
5. Priority requires us to do trivial tasks first. _____
Task 3. Answer the following questions.
1. Why are time-management skills important?
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2. Why do students revising for examinations build up stress?
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3. How can we reduce any time-related stress in our lives?
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4. What is the procedure to achieve our goals?
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5. What does the skill of priority mostly involve?
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IV. Read the text, and then do the tasks that follow.
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Research from a variety of perspectives reveals that when we push our children to be independent before they’re ready, it can often be counterproductive, making them more dependent instead. For example, if a toddler is afraid to be alone at bedtime, and the parent forces him to do so, the feeling of fear once the parent closes the door may amplify. The next night, this fear and panic and dependence are even greater because, while you may have been ready for that move toward independence, your child was not. When children are afraid and their parents push them too hard too soon, they will often feel flooded with uncomfortable emotions and bodily sensations.
It is demonstrated that there’s a line we must walk in terms of how far we push our kids outside of their comfort zone in order to successfully promote independence. If parents don’t push at all, the child will stay confined within her comfort zone and won’t overcome her discomfort and fear about taking on new independence or a new experience.
When parents push their children gently, incrementally and with lots of support, children learn to tolerate more, and they begin to have experiences that let them feel stronger and more independent. For example, when a mother wanted to help his son not feel so fearful about going to the bathroom or upstairs without her, she would sing loudly so he could hear she was close, but not right next to him. He saw that he could feel comfortable doing these things without his mother.
Task 1. Answer the following questions.
1. When does the process of making a child independent become counter-productive?
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2. Why did the child’s fear and panic, dependence seem to be greater the next night?
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3. What will happen if parents don’t push their child at all?
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4. What is the best way to help children more independent?
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5. Why could the boy in the last paragraph feel comfortable?
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Task 2. Match the underlined words in the text with the definition.
1. perspective (n) ______ A. full of something
2. counterproductive (adj) ______ B. existing only in a particular area
3. flooded (adj) ______ C. having the opposite effect to the one which was intended
4. confined (adj) ______ D. little by little
5. incrementally (adv) ______ E. a particular thought
V. Read the passage, and choose the correct answer A, B, C or D for each question.
An important part of being an adult in the USA is becoming more independent from your parents. First, make sure you are living somewhere rather than your parents' house. If your parents own the property in which you live, they will have a say in how you maintain that property. If you want to be independent and make your own decisions about how you live, you will need to obtain your own housing that is completely separate from your parents both physically and financially.
Second, generate your own income and be as financially self-sufficient as possible. One of the main challenges in becoming independent as an adult is acquiring a sufficient income to allow you to live without the financial assistance of your parents. This can be particularly difficult if you are still a university student, but it is not impossible. Seek scholarships and part- time jobs. If you are no longer a student, find employment that offers a salary that can cover your expenses. It may be necessary to obtain multiple sources of income in order to become financially self-sufficient and independent from your parents.
Next, budget your expenses carefully. When first becoming financially independent, it may be necessary to cut back on some of your expenses and strictly stick to a budget. Determine exactly what you can afford in terms of rent, food, clothing, transportation and entertainment based on your own income, create a budget. While you may experience a dip in your standard of living at first, learning how to follow a budget and be self-sufficient will help you stay independent.
Finally, avoid relying on your parents as a first resort option for help of any kind. This, in no way, means that you may never ask your parents for help again, it just means that as an independent adult, there should be other sources of support within your life that you can turn to when necessary.
1. You need to have your own accommodation so that ______.
A. your parents can’t change your lifestyles and decisions
B. you have no relationship with your parents
C. your parents will have a say in how you maintain that property
D. you will be as financially self-sufficient as possible
2. All of the following statements are true about acquiring your own income EXCEPT that ______.
A. it allows you to become financially independent from your parents
B. you can’t earn a living when you are still a university student
C. you have to look for scholarships and part-time jobs as being a student
D. sometimes you have to do several jobs in order to earn enough money
3. An important task of becoming financially independent of your parents is that ______.
A. you learn how to set a budget that increases your standard of living
B. you have to cut back on your expenses sharply all the time
C. your salary can cover your medical and legal expenses
D. you have to plan a reasonable budget and obey it strictly
4. If you want to be entirely independent as an adult, ______.
A. you have to avoid relying on your parents whenever you are in trouble
B. you should never ask your parents for help again in any way
C. your parents should not be the first people you approach for help
D. there should be other sources of support that your parents can rely on
5. The main idea of the text is ______.
A. the importance of your own accommodation in your life
B. the steps for you to follow to become independent adults
C. the budget of your expenses and its benefits
D. the instructions to make you independent all your life
VI. Read the text, and do the following tasks.
What is the Value of Time?
A. ________________________________
Our time has value. We can think of it like money. We spend it, save it, and sometimes, we waste it. Possibly the biggest waste of time is the time we spend in traffic. On average, people spend 50 hours every year sitting in traffic. But imagine in the future when we have driverless cars, people might be able to sleep on the way to work.
B. ________________________________
Without sleep, our brain can’t work properly. And our brain needs extra sleep when it’s growing or changing. So, babies need to get about 20 hours of sleep a day. We are most sleepy at two o’clock in the afternoon and two o’clock at night.
C. ________________________________
Unfortunately, some people get little or no free time. More than 150 million children have jobs before they reach the age of 16. For luckier kids, there are plenty of fun ways to relax. Sometimes, screens can take up too much of our time. A variety of free-time activities usually makes people happier.
D. ________________________________
If we want to study well and enjoy our valuable free time, we need to learn how to manage our time. It helps if you make lists and use reminders and calendars on your phone. Some people think it’s a good idea to do two or three things at the same time. This is called multitasking. But it’s probably better to do something well — that can be difficult if you are doing two things at the same time.
E. ________________________________
Our study time and holiday time is important, but these aren’t the same in every country. In India, for example, students have 220 days of classes every year. In the USA, they have about 180. In the USA the summer holiday is nearly three months. In China it is one month.
Task 1. Match headings 1-6 with paragraphs A-E. There is one extra heading.
1. How can we manage our time?
2. How do we use our free time?
3. How much do we spend studying?
4. How can we make the time management checklist?
5. Why is sleep important? 6. How much time do we waste?
Task 2. Read the text again, and mark the sentences true (T), false (F), or not given (NG).
1. The time we spend on the road is the biggest waste of time. _____
2. We might waste time less with driverless cars. _____
3. We all fall in a deep sleep at 2 pm and 2 am. _____
4. More than 150 million children have early jobs. _____
5. For luckier children, it is interesting for them to spend free time. _____
6. To-do lists and notes can help you manage your time. _____
7. Multitasking can be more difficult for you than doing one task at a time. _____
8. Multitasking is for intelligent people. _____
9. China has one of the longest school days in the world. _____
10. Students in different countries have the different number of school days a year. _____
VII. Read the text, and do the tasks that follow.
Every year 30,000 young people in the UK can learn what it is like to run their own business before leaving school. These 15-19 years olds take part in a scheme called Young Enterprise. It is organized by the UK’s largest business education charity, which was founded in 1962.
Young Enterprise’s objective is ‘to inspire and equip young people to learn and succeed through enterprise.’ Under the guidance of business mentors, who are volunteers from some of the country’s most well-known companies, each Young Enterprise group runs its own real company for a year.
It is up to the group to name the company, assign roles like managing director, marketing manager and accountant, decide on a product or service, work out how to finance and market it, and finally sell it. A year later, the business is closed, hopefully with a profit.
Young Enterprise gives its participants the opportunity to develop valuable skills such as communication, teamwork and decision-making. It also gives them an understanding of how a real business works. They will be able to use this knowledge and experience in the future.
Young Enterprise sounds like a good thing, doesn’t it? But does it really work? According to research in 2012, if you take part in Young Enterprise at school, you’ll be:
• almost twice as likely to have your own business and employ people
• more likely to have higher earnings
• more likely to be successful in your career
• more likely to be innovative and high-tech
So, if you could join a Young Enterprise group in your school, would you?
Task 1. Choose the best title for the text.
A. Learning by watching
B. Learning by talking
C. Learning by doing
Task 2. Choose the correct answers.
1. Who is Young Enterprise for?
A. Students at university
B. Teenagers who don’t want to go to school
C. Teenagers in the last few years of school
2. What is the aim of the Young Enterprise charity?
A. To make money
B. To set up big companies
C. To educate young people about business
3. Who are the mentors?
A. Teachers B. Business people C. Students
4. Who makes the decisions in each group?
A. The mentor
B. The managing director
C. All the members
5. What skill does Young Enterprise teach you?
A. How to work with other people
B How to work on your own
C. How to write a curriculum vitae for a future job
6. What effect can participating in Young Enterprise NOT have on your future job?
A. You’ll probably be a better employee.
B. You’ll probably earn more money.
C. You’ll probably be able to continue the business you started with the scheme.
VIII. Read the text and do the tasks that follow.
A _____
Sixteen-year-olds can get married and they can also leave home, but both must be with parental permission. At this age in the UK, you can ride a moped with a 50cc engine and you can even fly a glider yourself. However, you can’t drive a car. You must be 17 before you can start learning how to do that.
B _____
As a result, every country has laws about what children and young people can do at different ages. However, it can be very confusing knowing when you are legally able to do certain things. For example, children are allowed to go on the back of a moped, but at what age can they ride a moped themselves? And at what age can you leave home and live by yourself? Here are just some of the things that you can legally do at what age in the UK.
C _____
In November 1989, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was created. The Convention applies to all children and young people aged 17 and below. It states that every child has the right to be alive and be the best person they can be. It gives children a set of basic rights that include their right to education, health, rest, and play. It also says that governments have to do everything they can to protect and support children and young people.
D _____
At the age of 14, you can get a part-time job for no more than two hours on a school day and you can work for up to five hours on a Saturday. A year older, the working restrictions are the same except that you can work up to eight hours on a Saturday. At the age of 16, you can decide yourself whether you want medical or dental treatment, but you can’t have a tattoo. You have to wait until you’re 18 for that.
Task 1. Put the paragraphs in the correct order.
Task 2. Read the text again and choose the best title.
A. Being the Best
B. Jobs in Law
C. Knowing Your Rights
Task 3. Decide whether the sentences are true (T) or false (F).
1. The UNCRC was created to help teenagers. _____
2. According to the UNCRC, young people have a right to go to school. _____
3. The UNCRC makes the laws in every country. _____
4. It’s legal in the UK for teenagers to work five hours on a weekday. _____
5. Sixteen-year-olds in the UK can go to the dentist without their parents’ permission. _____
6. In the UK, if your parents don’t mind, you can get married at the age of 16. _____
7. When you’re 16, it’s legally to fly some planes in the UK. _____
8. At the same age, it’s also legal to drive a car in the UK. _____
IX. For each statement, click the level in the column that best describes you. The marking scheme is that: 1 for Not at all (N), 2 for Rarely (R), 3 for Sometimes (S), 4 for Often (O), and 5 for Very Often (VO). Then calculate your total, and read the score interpretation.
How Good is Your Time Management?
E. Speaking
• Everyday English
I. Choose the correct response. Then practise the short exchanges in pairs.
• Learning basic life skills
II. Complete the dialogue with the questions below. There is one extra question that you do not need. Practise the dialogue with a partner.
A. Should we introduce to children the way to manage money?
B. What can be done next?
C. How about the first-aid skills?
D. What are the most important life skills for children to learn?
E. How about practical and physical skills?
F. What do we introduce to them first?
Lan: 1
Ms. Hoa: I think it depends on the child’s age, and you start to introduce them to different life skills.
Lan: 2 _____________________________________________________________________________?
Ms. Hoa: Teaching children to plan time is an essential life skill. Knowing the basics of time management can help children become better at managing their work, school, family life, and extracurricular activities.
Lan: 3 _____________________________________________________________________________?
Ms. Hoa: Besides being taught how to prioritise tasks and stay organised, children start learning to make decisions. It can begin by deciding small things, such as choosing the better from two items, two activities or two locations.
Lan: 4 _____________________________________________________________________________?
Ms. Hoa: Cooking is a practical and important life skill that all children should learn. It can be as simple as asking them to follow directions and prepare simple foods like a bowl of cereal or boiled vegetables.
Lan: 5 _____________________________________________________________________________?
Ms. Hoa: It is never too early or late to start teaching the child about money. The earlier you start, the better. Children who are taught money management skills move on to make sensible and clever financial decisions as adults.
III. Complete the dialogue with the phrases below. There is one extra phrase that you do not need. Practise the dialogue with a partner.
A. learning how to set and obtain a goal is necessary life skills
B. the dinner table is a good place to practise this skill
C. What are the benefits of this skill, miss?
D. Cleaning one’s room is another chore.
E. And we should be patient and positive.
F. a kid should know how to use a first aid kit
Ms. Hoa: In order to live independently, teenagers should have some basic life skills. First, it’s basic first aid.
Lan: I think 1 ________________________________________________________________________
Ms. Hoa: Right. And it consists of knowing how to handle an emergency, and it’s important to practise through role-playing.
Lan: What is the second skill, Ms Hoa?
Ms. Hoa: It’s cleaning and chores. The key to perform tasks that are age appropriate. How to do laundry, for example, is one of the top things to learn. That includes using the washing machine and dryer, as well as properly folding clothes.
Lan: 2 _____________________________________________________________________________
Ms. Hoa: You can follow me well, Lan. Next, it’s conversation skills: It is very important to develop relationships. Unfortunately, a lot of children text, and don’t have many face- to-face conversations.
Lan: In my opinion, 3
Ms. Hoa: We come to one of the most difficult skills - problem-solving skills: These are skills that adults also struggle with. The key is to learn the skills at an early age, try to have critical thinking.
Lan: 4 ______________________________________________________________________________
Anything else, miss?
Ms. Hoa: Finally, it’s the skill to cope with failure. It can be hard to deal with, but it is part of life. Be open to advice and corrections from parents and teachers.
Lan: 5
Ms. Hoa: A child with this skill is more much more emotionally, mentally and socially prepared for adulthood.
Lan: Thank you so much for your information and advice.
IV. Complete the conversation between Ms Huyen and Dr. Nelson about the ways of raising independent children, using the responses (A-G) given. There are two extra ones.
A. Start her off on a quiet road, and follow a few feet behind her to see how she does. After a couple of weeks, stand on the other side of the street, and let her come to you.
B. When a kid is 10 or more than that, she generally behaves well at home, can remember directions, and consistently follows general safety rules, such as not opening the door to a stranger.
C. They should supervise their two-or three-year-old kid closely, even if the garden is fenced in.
D. They can phone the friend’s parents and arrange a date, then tell the kid exactly what to do.
E. When a kid is two years old and more than that, the toddler is able to leave his parents’ side for short periods and is curious about exploring.
F. Map out the route together so you can choose the safest crossing spots, and review some basic precautions, the child should know to be especially careful at intersections and never to stop to speak to strangers, for instance.
G. By the age of 5 and up, a kid can follow simple directions and has a good sense of distance and time.
Ms. Huyen: Good morning, Dr. Nelson. When do parents let their kids play in the yard?
Dr. Nelson: 1 ________________________________________________________________________
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Ms. Huyen: How should parents start leaving their kid alone in the yard?
Dr. Nelson: 2 ________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________They should watch her closely and teachers not to wander off.
Ms. Huyen: When is a kid able to walk to a nearby friend’s house?
Dr. Nelson: 3 ________________________________________________________________________
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Ms. Huyen: What can parents do to help their kid get to her friend’s house?
Dr. Nelson: 4 ________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________Keep the visit short, and make sure the child knows she can't leave or go to another house.
Ms. Huyen: When are kids ready to stay at home alone?
Dr. Nelson: 5 ________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________But it also depends on where you live.
• Expressing best wishes and responding
V. Put the following expressions into the correct categories.
- Thanks so much.
- Thank you for your kindness.
- Best wishes on your new job!
- It’s very kind of you.
- Good luck to you!
- It’s very nice of you.
- Thanks for your support.
- Wish you a happy life!
- Thanks for your kind words.
- All the best to you!
Best wishes
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Responses
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F. Writing
• An article about pros and cons of self-study
Write sentences about self-study, using the cues given.
1. self-study / refer / process / studying / without any help / others
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2. it / many advantages / traditional learning methods
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3. first / when / you / studying / your own / you / move / your own pace
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4. second / you / choose materials / that / at the right level / you / and / that / cover / topics / that / you interested /
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5. next / when / you / self-studying / you / often need / solve / problems / your own
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6. this / help you / develop / problem-solving skills / and / learn / how / find / information / you need
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7. then / learning independently / without / help / a teacher / or / a tutor / be/ very beneficial / your study / college
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8. however / there / also some disadvantages / self-study / which / be / as follows
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9. firstly / self-studying / be / a challenge / if / you / not find / material interesting / or / if / you / find / difficult / stay motivated
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10. secondly / it / be difficult / know / when / you / ready / move on / the next topic or level
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