Grammar in Speech

27. Supply the correct form of the verbs given in brackets and perform the role play given below. Healthy, Wealthy – and Still at Work

For older family members the last 50 years (1) _____________ (to see) dramatic changes. All ages (2) _____________ (to affect). For young people childhood (3) _____________ (to shrink), but dependence (4) _________ (to lengthen) in a world in which 44% now go on to higher education. For parents, particularly for women, the changes (5) _________________ (to be) even more dramatic, with an ever-rising need to work and bear the major responsibility for childcare. But for a large number of newly retired grandparents, this is a golden age. Ask Adair Tuner, head of the pension commission, who warned further generations in his recent report that they (6) ____________ (not to be) so well off as the recently retired of today.

Life expectancy (7) _______________ (to lengthen) dramatically in the past 100 years. But we just (8) ________________ (not to live) longer, we (9) _______________ (to enjoy) healthier and more active lives too. Ask the travel industry. Older people (10) ________________ (to sign) up in their thousands for active holidays.

In terms of wealth, the older generation with their mortgages paid off always (11) _______________ (to be) the wealthiest. Some 80% of the nation’s wealth (12) _________________ (to hold) by the over-50s. But in terms of income it is not such a rosy picture. The top 20% of pensioner couples are prosperous, with an income of £45,000 or more a year. But below that top group, the others all fall below average income. And at the bottom, there are two million pensioners who (13) _______________ (to live) below the poverty line since they (14) ________________ (to retire).

Isolation is another problem which many older people face. This is not because of a new generation of ungrateful children, but because a more mobile society (15) ________________ (to widen) the distance between family members. The two generation family under one roof is now a rarity.

(From ‘The Guardian’, abridged)

Role play

Role 1. You are Gerald Grey, the author of the article given above. Now you are going to write a similar article about the situation in Russia. You are talking to a group of Moscow students. Find out all the information you’ll need. (Childhood, dependence on parents, working mothers – childcare, life expectancy, pensioners, etc.)

Roles 2, 3, 4. Answer the questions of the journalist.

28. Supply the correct form of the verbs given in brackets and perform the role play given below.

Victims of Cyberbullies

More than one in 10 British teenagers (1) _______________ (to be) victims of bullying online, according to a survey. Many of the 500 teenagers surveyed said they (2) ________________ (to receive) threatening e-mails, while more than a quarter said somebody (3) _____________ (to publish) misleading information about them on the web.

Since increasing numbers of teenagers now (4) ____________ (to use) instant messaging and websites to keep in contact, the threat of cyberbullying constantly (5) ________________ (to rise), experts say. “It is a huge problem – probably even grater than the figures suggest,” says Liz Carnell of Bullying Online.

Experts (6) ______________ (to see) many kinds of abuse on the web, ranging from rude e-mails to complex operations such as manipulating photos, sometimes taken secretly using mobile phones. Schools in Hertfordshire (7) ________________ (to confront) a particularly vicious online campaign, in which anonymous users (8) _____________ (to invite) to discuss and attack named victims on website forums.

Like ordinary bullying, the online version can often be dangerous and sometimes even result in suicides among depressed teenagers.

(From ‘The Guardian’, abridged)

Role play

Role 1. You are Glenn(a) Tweedy. Your younger sister Hester, who is a student at Hertfordshire high school, is constantly receiving threatening e-mails. Now you are talking to Liz Carnell of Bullying Online. Tell her what is going on and ask her what to do.

Your cues: your sister – to receive hundreds of rude e-mails since she – to have her own e-mail address. Last week she – to receive a threatening e-mail (to kill her). It was the first time she – to receive … Since then she – not to go out (even to miss school). She – to become depressed. She won’t leave home until bullying – to stop.

Role 2. You are Liz Carnell. Find out as much as possible about Glenn(a)’s sister. Tell Glenn(a) about cyberbullying and advise him/her what to do.