GATEWAY B1 UNIT 1

Complete the text with a, an, the or 0 (no article).

My Uncle Paul is    artist. He was born in     UK but now he lives in   Paris with my aunt who’s French. They’ve got   son called Pierre. Uncle Paul paints pictures of monuments like     Eiffel Tower and he sells them to tourists.

1 Can you turn     television on? X-Factor is

on in five minutes.

2 Jan’s got   new baby. She’s beautiful!

3 Do you enjoy studying   English?

4 I’d like to be    engineer when I’m older.

5 Come in! My dad’s in     kitchen. He’s

cooking

Complete the sentences with the correct present simple or present continuous form of these verbs. go (2), have (2), stay, study, work, cry, sit, talk

1. That’s my brother. He               on the sofa talking to a friend.

2. I really like Olivia but she       a lot. She never lets me speak! M

3. My mum      to the gym two or three times a week.

4. I can’t come out now – I              my dinner.

5. He loves Titanic but it makes him really sad. He every       time he sees it.

6. Our family     dinner together every evening. I think it’s important.

7. I               at my best friend’s house in the countryside this weekend.

8. At the moment, my cousin                at a college in England. He’s having a great time.

9. We    on holiday to Spain twice a year. We love hot countries!

10. My dad       in a bank in the city centre. He drives in every day.

Choose the correct alternatives to complete the sentences.

1. Helen’s uncle is her aunt’s second husband/son         [husband, son].

2. I have three nephews, but my sister’s daughter is my only niece/aunt       [niece, aunt].

3. Tom is 30 and has never married because he likes being          [single, divorced].

4. My cousin, Jade, is my aunt and uncle’s            [only, one-parent] child.

5. My brother is my grandparents’ oldest            [grandson, son-in-law].

6. I really like my brother-in-law/stepbrother                [brother-in-law, stepbrother]. I’m happy that my sister married him.

7. My mum married again and my new            [husband, stepfather] is very nice.

8. Helen is a single/an only          [a single, an only] child and she doesn’t like it.

9. Brett and Beth aren’t very happy together. I think they’re going to get          [divorced, single] soon.

10. My uncle has two children who are the same age as me – they're my         [sons, cousins].

Complete the text with the correct noun form of the words given.

            (adolescent) can be a difficult time for many young people. We usually do everything with our parents during childhood and generally both parents and          (child) like that. But when we become teenagers, we need some              (independent) and parents don’t always understand that. This means that parents and teenagers often have           (argue) instead of sensible             (discuss).

1 We asked the teacher for             (inform) about the new drama club.

2 We guarantee an             (improve) in your English.

3 My grandmother isn’t enjoying her            (retire). She says she’s bored.

4 Can you give me a             (describe) of your bag? What does it look like?

5 You need a lot of            (confident) to be an actor and perform in front of crowds of people.

Read the article about a new kind of mobile phone. The headings are missing from the article. Choose from the headings A–E the one which fits each gap.

1                                        [A Tell us what you think, B A new mobile phone, C Designed for children, D Do children need mobile phones?, E Good for parents and their children]

Mobile phones are an important part of our lives and most of us can’t imagine life without one. They keep us in contact with friends and family at all times and when we have a problem we can call immediately for help. Now parents can buy a special mobile phone for their four-year old children. Is this a way to help protect our young children or is it a silly idea?

2                                        [A Tell us what you think, B A new mobile phone, C Designed for children, D Do children need mobile phones?, E Good for parents and their children]

The phone is called ‘My Moby’ and it looks like a toy, but it isn’t. It comes in many colours and young children love it. It has five buttons and two of them call ‘Mum’ and ‘Dad’. Of course, the parents control all the numbers in the phone and the idea is that the child can call their parents when they want to. And of course the parents can call the child too.

3                                        [A Tell us what you think, B A new mobile phone, D Do children need mobile phones?, C Designed for children, E Good for parents and their children]

Many parents like the idea and they think it’s good for their children’s safety. For example, if they’re worried, the parents can phone their child, and if the child gets lost, they can call home! They also think it’s a good idea if children learn how to use modern technology like mobile phones.

4                                        [A Tell us what you think, B A new mobile phone, C Designed for children, D Do children need mobile phones?, E Good for parents and their children]

However, not everyone agrees that it’s a good idea and some people are angry about the idea. They think children today are growing up too fast. They want to be like adults when they are very young and this isn’t good for them. They believe that children need to enjoy their childhood and they think it’s a very bad idea to give a four-year-old a mobile phone. They say it’s unnecessary and it can be dangerous for their health. They also say that young children don’t need a phone because they are always with an adult.

5                                        [A Tell us what you think, B A new mobile phone, C Designed for children, D Do children need mobile phones?, E Good for parents and their children]

So, is it a good idea or not? Can phones be good for l protecting our children or are they just good for the phone company? What do you think? Send us your comments.

A Tell us what you think

B A new mobile phone

C Designed for children

D Do children need mobile phones?

E Good for parents and their children

Listen to four teenagers talking about family life. Match the speakers (1–4) with the comments (A–E). There is one extra comment.

1                                          [A Many teenagers disagree with their par, B I understand why my parents worry., C We have too many rules at home., D We don’t agree on many things., E My parents really understand me.]

2                                          [A Many teenagers disagree with their par, B I understand why my parents worry., C We have too many rules at home., D We don’t agree on many things., E My parents really understand me.]

3                                          [A Many teenagers disagree with their par, B I understand why my parents worry., C We have too many rules at home., D We don’t agree on many things., E My parents really understand me.]

4                                          [A Many teenagers disagree with their par, B I understand why my parents worry., C We have too many rules at home., D We don’t agree on many things., E My parents really understand me.]

A Many teenagers disagree with their parents.

B I understand why my parents worry.

C We have too many rules at home.

D We don’t agree on many things.

E My parents really understand me.

Listen again. Are these statements True (T) or False (F) or Not mentioned (NM)?

1 Speaker 1 doesn’t get on very well with his family.    [T, F, NM]

2 Speaker 1 can stay out later at the weekend.    [T, F, NM]

3 Speaker 2 doesn’t think her little brother is easy to look after.    [T, F, NM]

4 Speaker 2 needs to do her homework before she can go out.    [T, F, NM]

5 Speaker 3 finds it easy to make time for his family.    [T, F, NM]

6 Speaker 4 doesn’t like to spend time in her room at the weekend.    [T, F, NM]