HS2 2019 unit7 p134 act4

Listening 1

Listen to the radio interview about boy bands and do the exercises to practise and improve your listening skills.

1. Check your understanding: true or false
Do this exercise while you listen. Choose True or False for these sentences.

1. Many boy bands are not successful.       [True, False]

2.In the past, boy band members dressed differently but had similar personalities.       [True, False]

3.Having different types of boy in the group is supposed to appeal to different girls.       [True, False]

4. One Direction first became famous on YouTube.       [True, False]

5. One Direction lyrics are written for girls who like rebellious boys.       [True, False]

6. One Direction's stylists try to give each band member an individual look.       [True, False]

7. One Direction became famous in the US by clever use of social media.       [True, False]

8. One Direction have not tried to make money from merchandising.       [True, False]

2. Check your understanding: multiple choice

Do this exercise while you listen. Choose the best phrase to complete these sentences.

1.The most important thing for boy bands in the past was that                                  [they had some musical ability, they could dance well, they had different personalities]

2.Things have changed because                                         [people wanted something different, the media influences things differently, both of the above]

3.Starting on a reality show like X Factor is great for a band because                                         [TV can make you quickly famous, viewers who vote become layal fans, people feel connection with bands on TV]

4.The words to One Direction songs are designed to                                          [make teengirls feel good about themslves, appeal to mums by being a bit cheeky, pass on universal messages about love]

5.One Direction's clothes                                         [are very individual, have a strong look, create a clean-cut and safe image, are fashionable but rebellious]

6.Lots of people said One Direction wouldn't                                        [be regarded as serious musicians, get famous in the US as well as the UK, have a number one record]

7.One Direction were the first British band to                                          [have their 1st album go to #1 in the US, sell many copies of 1st album in 1 week, get into the USmarket using social media]

8.The boys have also made money from                                        [selling products like dolls and phones, performing plenty of sell-out concerts, giving talks about their success]

Listening 2

Listen to the teacher giving students advice for exams and do the exercises to practise and improve your listening skills.

Check your understanding: multiple choice. Choose the best option to complete these sentences.

1. The teacher wants the students to …
a. take notes after she has finished speaking.
b. take notes while she is speaking.
c. forget about taking notes.
  [a, b, c]

2. The teacher suggests eating …
a. sugary snacks.
b. only apples.
c. fruit and cereals.
  [a, b, c]

3. The teacher suggests finding a study place with a lot of …
a. light.
b. space.
c. books.
  [a, b, c]

4. If students feel stressed they should …
a. go to bed.
b. go out for a walk.
c. drink some water.
  [a, b, c]

5. Students are advised to …
a. select the important things to learn.
b. read through everything once.
c. make notes about every topic.
  [a, b, c]

6. The teacher understands that repeating things can be …
a. difficult.
b. uninteresting.
c. tiring.
  [a, b, c]

7. Students can do past exam papers …
a. in the library only.
b. at home if they take photocopies.
c. in the after-school study group.
  [a, b, c]

8. The teacher recommends a break of five minutes every …
a. hour.
b. two hours.
c. thirty minutes.
  [a, b, c]

9. It’s important to …
a. eat regularly.
b. sleep when you feel tired.
c. keep hydrated.
  [a, b, c]

10. The teacher is sure that the students will …
a. pass their exams.
b. fail their exams.
c. do their best.
  [a, b, c]

Reading 1

Read the article and complete the text with the suitable words.

Are celebrities bad for you?

Celebrities are everywhere nowadays: on TV, in magazines, online. Is this preoccupation with famous people harmless fun or is it bad for us? How many people are truly obsessed with modern media idols? And on the other side of the      [hand, coin, bill, fame], can fame be harmful to the celebrities?

Studies suggest that the vast majority of teenagers do not really worship celebrities. Researchers have identified three kinds of fans. About 15% of young people have an ‘entertainment-social’ interest. They love          [chatting, fighting, saying, telling] about their favourite celebrities with friends and this does not appear to do any harm.

Another 5% feel that they have an ‘intense-personal’ relationship with a celebrity. Sometimes they see them as their soulmate and find that they are often thinking about them, even when they don’t want to. These people are more at      [luck, fact, wish, risk]from depression and anxiety. If girls in this group idolise a female star with a body they consider to be perfect, they are more likely to be unhappy with their own bodies.

That leaves 2% of young people with a ‘borderline-pathological’ interest. They might say, for example, they would spend several              [thousand, thousands, a thousand, the thousand]pounds on a paper plate the celebrity had used, or that they would do something illegal if the celebrity asked them to. These people are in most danger of being               [serious, seriously, seriousness, seriousnessly]disturbed.

What about the celebrities            [itself, yourself, yourselves, themselves]? A study in the USA tried to measure narcissism or extreme self-centredness, when feelings of worthlessness and invisibility are compensated for by turning into the opposite: excessive showing      [at, on, off, with]. Researchers looked at 200 celebrities, 200 young adults with Masters in Business Administration (a group known for being narcissistic) and a nationally representative sample using the same questionnaire. As was expected, the celebrities were significantly                       [narcissisticer, more narcissisticer, the most narcissistic, more narcissistic] than the MBAs and both groups were a lot more narcissistic than the general population.

Four kinds of celebrity were included in the sample. The most narcissistic were the ones       [what, which, who, whom] had become famous through reality TV shows – they scored highest on vanity and willingness to exploit other people. Next came comedians, who scored highest on exhibitionism and feelings of superiority. Then came actors, and the least narcissistic were musicians. One interesting result was that there was no connection between narcissism and the           [length, wideness, strength, intensity]of time the celebrity had been famous. This means that becoming famous probably did not make the celebrities narcissistic – they already were beforehand.

So, what can we learn from this? People who are very successful or famous tend to be narcissists and are liable to be ruthless, self-seeking workaholics. As we can see from celebrity magazines, they are also often desperate and lonely. They make disastrous role models.