Баранова, Starlight 8. Учебник. Module 3a

Pete: the unemployed
Sandy: the disabled
Ann: the blind
Bart: the rich

In many ways, the young have a happy carefree lifestyle. Teenagers don’t usually have to worry about things like running a house or paying bills. They can enjoy their lives travelling, hanging out with friends, going to parties and concerts and so on. But the young also have their own problems. Schoolwork and studies can be very demanding with a lot of pressure on them to succeed. There is also uncertainty about future employment and whether or not they will find a good job. Peer pressure can also affect their lifestyle. A lot of teenagers can be easily influenced and can make bad choices because of their lack of life experience.

I think a typical day for an elderly woman is rather boring. She may feel quite lonely. She may not have many friends or family to spend time with. I think a typical day for a homeless man is difficult. Living on the streets must be dangerous. He has nowhere to spend the night, he wears dirty clothes and he has no food.

1 find out what it’s really like to be in someone else’s shoes
2 (incredibly) embarrassed and lonely
3 invisible and unwanted by society
4 it was biting cold, people were walking close to his head, and the stone floor where he slept was hard
5 debts or family break-ups
6 they have no address or ID

1 senior citizen
2 eye-opening
3 invisible
4 talk
5 curled
6 frizzy
7 debts
8 identification

2 Could we go now?
3 Ian didn’t have to go.
4 You should help the poor.
5 You mustn’t enter the area.
6 You must inform John about it.
Modal verbs in the texts: Text A: can (be), might (feel), had to (be covered), might not (have heard), couldn’t (wait), couldn’t (believe), couldn’t (help), would (have treated), could (be)
TextB: couldn’t (sleep), had to (leave), couldn’t (believe), couldn’t (get off), should (get), can’t (be employed), could (do)

A: How did you turn yourself into an 80-year-old woman?
В: I used prosthetic make-up, a shabby coat and a walking stick.
A: What did you do?
В: I talked to people on the bus, at the make-up counter and in a music store.
A: How did people treat you as an elderly lady?
B: They didn’t want to talk to me. They laughed at me and couldn’t wait to get rid of me.
A: How did you feel?
В: I felt embarrassed and lonely.
A: How did it feel to sleep in a doorway?
C: It was biting cold, the hard stone floor dug into my shoulder and hip and I was constantly aware of people walking close to my head.
A: How did people treat you as a homeless person?
C: People avoided looking at me and told me to leave.
A: What did you look like?
C: My eyes were red and puffy, my skin was pale and my hair was frizzy.
A: What did you learn from your experience?
C: Homeless people need our help, not our judgement. We should all donate time and money to help them.

The first thing I did when I got up in the morning was to go online and check the newspapers for jobs. Then, after breakfast, I put on my best clothes and went to a number of businesses in the city centre. I told them I was looking for work and gave them a copy of ту СV. Most people just threw it into a filing tray without even opening it and said they would keep it on file in case there were any vacancies. Everyone seemed unfriendly and wanted to get rid of me as soon as possible. I felt so depressed and disappointed.