THE SEED OF HONESTY

2B THE SEED OF HONESTY

The following sentences have been removed from the story. Read the text and decide in which numbered gap each sentence should go. There is one extra sentence.

A. Jim couldn’t believe it. B. However, he didn’t say anything to his colleagues. C. Jim then told him the truth. D. He was eager to tell them. E. I have decided to choose one of you.

executive –

someone who manages a department of a company diligent – hard working survey – a) look over carefully or inspect; b) ask people questions in order to find out their opinions decency – behaviour that is moral and proper

READING

A successful businessman and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a big firm, Mr Smith was growing old and he knew it was time to retire. One day, he called all the young executives in his company together and said: ‘It is time for me to step down and choose a successor to take over the business. 1_______’ Seeing that the young executives were astonished, the boss continued. ‘I am going to give each of you a SEED today – one very special SEED. I want you to plant it, water it, and come back here a year from today with what you have grown from the seed. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next manager.’ Jim, a modest but diligent man, got a seed like the others. He went home and excitedly told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot and plant the seed. Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Six months went by. Others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn’t have a plant and he felt like a failure. 2________ A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. When Jim arrived, he was amazed to see the variety of plants grown by the other executives. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed! He felt embarrassed, but he didn’t want to lie about what had happened. When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives. ‘My, what great plants and flowers you have grown,’ he said. All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He asked him what had happened to his seed. 3_________ He looked at Jim and then announced to the young executives: ‘This is your next Chief Executive Officer! His name is Jim!’ 4________ ‘How can that be?’ the others exclaimed. Then the CEO said: ‘A year ago, I gave everyone in this room a boiled seed; it was not possible for it to grow. However, all of you, except Jim, have brought me plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I had given you. Jim was the only one with the courage, decency and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!’

1 2 B UNITUNIT

2

VOCABULARY

In groups, discuss the following questions. Compare your answers.

1. Why did the CEO give seeds to his executives? 2. Why did he give them a boiled seed? 3. What did all the executives except Jim do? 4. How did Jim expect the CEO to react after seeing his empty pot? 5. Why did the CEO choose Jim to succeed him?

1

Match the highlighted words in the text with their explanations.

Word Explanation

1. step down a. someone who has an important position after someone else 2. to substitute b. to salute or welcome in a friendly way 3. to greet c. shy or reserved, humble in appearance 4. to spot d. to retire from a position, resign 5. successor e. to replace (someone or something) with another 6. modest f. to notice or detect

2

3

Use the words from exercise 1 and the Glossary in their correct form to complete these sentences.

1. You can use sunflower oil as a _________________ for olive oil, but it doesn’t taste as good. 2. He hurried to _________________ his guests. 3. We suddenly _________________ another boat about a kilometre away. 4. The boss appointed me to be his _________________. 5. She’s got a drawer full of expensive stuff, but she’s too ________________ to wear it. 6. If someone ________________, they resign from an important job or position. 7. He wanted to ___________ their work, but they said it was a secret. 8. Her brother isn’t so _____________ and we don’t expect much of him.

COLLOCATIONS

There are words which typically ‘go together’, as in ‘perform a task’, ‘make a suggestion’ and ‘do one’s homework’.

Choose a word from the list below to make a collocation with the words/phrases given (1-5). Then make sentences using some of the collocations. The first one has been done for you.

survey / successor / announce / judge /effort E.g. A survey carried out last year found 80% of the public in favour of the change. Their firm carries out a similar survey every year for a wide variety of purposes. 1. to carry out/conduct a survey 2. to make an ______________to do something 3. to _______________ an engagement /news 4. to find/appoint/choose a _____________ 5. to ____________ someone’s age /the performance /the impact

Find the word in the text which has a similar meaning to the words below. The first one has been done as an example.

1. hard-working, studious diligent 2. surprised, amazed ___________ 3. not successful, a fiasco ____________ 4. uncomfortable, ashamed ___________ 5. sincerity, truthfulness ______________ 6. make known, read out ______________

2 B UNIT

GRAMMAR - TENSE REVIEW

THE PRESENT PERFECT and PAST SIMPLE TENSES

What’s the difference?

The present perfect simple Unfinished actions that started in the past and continue to the present: • I’ve had this car for ten years (and I still have it). A finished action in someone’s life (time is not mentioned); life experience: • My brother has been to America three times. A finished action with a result in the present: • I’ve lost my wallet! (The result is that

I can’t pay the bill) The past simple Finished actions: • I had this car for ten years (but I sold it yesterday).

A finished action in someone’s life (when the person is dead): • My great-grandmother went to America three times. A finished action with no result in the present: • I lost my wallet yesterday. Actually, I forgot it at a shop! (But I’ve found it today).

Note:

We CAN’T use the present perfect with adverbs denoting a finished time: yesterday, ... ago, in 1990, the other day, last week/year, etc.

PRACTICE

Make sentences using the words below in either the present perfect or past simple tense. Add any other words that you need. Choose adverbs of time from the box, depending on the tense you use.

1. we / reach / our goal _________________________________________________ 2. our team / lose / the match _____________________________________________ 3. she / visit / Rome ____________________________________________________ 4. they / not / discover / the treasure ________________________________________ 5. Sheila / not / talk / about the problem ____________________________________ 6. tourists / find / shelter / the storm ______________________________________ 7. many things / change / village __________________________________________ 8. how many books / Bob / read _________________________________________ ?

so far last night already yet during since never the other day

1 2 B UNITUNIT

2

1

2

Put the verbs in brackets into the correct present or past tense. (The present simple/ continuous, present perfect, past simple/continuous)

1. Last week I (be) ________________very busy and I (have/not) ________________the time to do a lot of housework. 2. On Monday I (do) ________________three hours overtime and (come) ________________home very late in the evening. 3. I (be) ________________on a business trip from Tuesday to Thursday. 4. On Friday I (go) ________________to a friend’s birthday party and at the weekend I (visit) ________________my grandparents. 5. Tomorrow some friends are coming over. I (see/not) ________________them for ages and they (be/never) ________________to my place before. 6. I (clean/just) ________________my house so I can show them around. Now everything is perfect. 7. Look! There is so much wine left. Nobody (drink) ______________anything. 8. Linda _______________ (stay) with a friend because her parents are on holiday. 9. Francis ______________ (cycle) to work this month. 10. Come on, let’s celebrate! Our song (win) ______________the competition.

LISTENING and SPEAKING Three filters for gossiping

track 6

You are going to listen to a text called Three filters for gossiping.

The three key words to understanding the text are truth, goodness and usefulness. How do you associate them with gossiping? Listen to the text and find out if your guesses were correct.

Listen again and answer the following questions.

1. What did Socrates want to know by asking the first question? 2. What did he learn from the second filter? 3. How did Socrates’ acquaintance answer the third question? 4. Will Socrates’ acquaintance pass the test if he answers yes to the third question? 3

Class discussion

1. In your opinion, which filter is the most important to pass? 2. Do you think that Socrates was very wise? Why? 3. Do you and your friends gossip a lot? 4. What do you think of gossiping? 5. Can people get hurt when others gossip about them?

LINKING WORDS Study the linking words in the table and do the exercise.

To add a point Contrasting ideas To note Also But / However / Yet consequences In addition Although / Even though So / Therefore Similarly Despite (the fact) / In spite of As a result Moreover Furthermore Nevertheless While / Whereas On the other hand Consequently Since Due to

E.g. He works hard. However, he doesn’t earn much. To summarize Finally In conclusion To conclude To summarize

1

Match the two halves.

1. It’s a great city. However, 2. It’s a great city despite 3. He’s very good looking. However, 4. He’s very good looking. Therefore, 5. He went to London. In addition, a. the bad public transport. b. accommodation is terribly expensive. c. he visited Oxford. d. he has no trouble finding girlfriends. e. he’s not very intelligent.

2 B UNIT

2

Which word or phrase CANNOT complete the sentence?

1. The match was cancelled _______ 3. Temperatures are low the rain. _______ the sun.

A due to A despite B because B in addition C because of C in spite of

2. We were late and __________ we 4. ________it wasn’t raining, missed the beginning of the show. I took an umbrella.

A consequently A But B as a result B Although C nevertheless C Even though

5. ________ feeling cold, they didn’t turn on the heater.

A However

B Despite

C In spite of

WRITING

Retell a fable or a short story in 100-120 words, using four paragraphs. When you have finished, check your grammar, spelling and punctuation.

1. Introduction: Write a few sentences to set the scene and introduce the characters. 2. Describe the main action. 3. Write what happened next. 4. Write a suitable ending to the story. * Include a few appropriate linking words from the box to connect your ideas and paragraphs. You can also use others, such as: meanwhile for something that was happening at the same time, eventually for the last in a long sequence of events, and finally for the last event of all.

KEY WORD TRANSFORMATIONS

Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first, using the word in bold. Do not change the form of the word in bold.

1. I haven’t been to Oxford for at least ten years. /went

The last time _______________________ at least ten years ago. 2. Tina arrived there twelve months ago. /for

Tina _________________________________ year. 3. Were you successful in passing the exam? /manage

Did _______________________________ the exam? 4. I don’t think you should drink any more coffee. /better

You ___________________________ any more coffee. 5. She was not allowed to leave town while the investigation was in progress. /let

The police didn’t ______________________ while the investigation was in progress. 6. I don’t really want to go out. /rather

I _________________________________ home.

2 B UNIT

1 USEFUL EXPRESSIONS

Complete the sentences with the expressions from the box.

1. The name _______________, but I can’t remember his face. 2. I’m feeling a bit _________________ – I think I’ve caught a cold. 3. It’s a _________________ that you’ll get promotion if you do that deal. 4. I couldn’t _________________ the report. It was completely unclear. 5. I am _________________ about whether or not to go to the party.

2

under the weather ▪ safe bet ▪ rings a bell ▪ in two minds ▪ make head or tail of

Which of the expressions means the following:

a) That sounds familiar? d) I couldn’t understand? b) I don’t feel too well? e) I’m unable to decide? c) It is very likely to happen?

3

Use the phrases from the box to make new sentences.

COMMUNICATION

MAKING and ACCEPTING APOLOGIES Here are some suggestions on how to apologize for something that you have done/haven’t done and how to respond to an apology.

Examples: A: ‘I must apologize for my late arrival.’ – B: ‘Don’t worry about it.’

Making apologies:

• I do / I’d like to / I must apologize for... • I am so / I’m terribly sorry for... • I shouldn’t have... • It’s all my fault... / I’m ashamed of... • It was wrong of me to... • Please forgive me for... • Excuse / Pardon me for ... • Please accept my apologies for...

Accepting apologies:

• That’s all right. / Never mind. • It doesn’t matter. / That’s OK. • Don’t worry about it. / Forget about it. • Don’t mention it. • I quite understand. • You couldn’t help it. • No harm done.

Work in pairs. Take turns to blame your partner a) for being late for the cinema, b) for spilling water over your book, c) for offending a mutual friend. Make an apology or accept one.

1

2

3

4

Complete the sentences with the correct forms of the words/phrasal

verbs from the Key word list. (6 points) 1. You can ________________ fish for chicken if you don’t like meat. 2. The doctor advised him to _______________ on cigarettes. 3. The new shopping centre will bring lasting _____________ to the community. 4. Novak Djokovic’s success ______________ me to start playing tennis. 5. They _______________ several old office buildings in the town centre. 6. Henry finally ____________ his girlfriend in the crowd.

Complete the table. (4 pts.)

noun

decency benefit

adjective

grateful

sincere

Complete these sentences using the correct tense of the verbs in

brackets. (6 pts.) 1. When_______________________ (you/see/last) her at school? 2. I ______________ (already/travel) to London a couple of times. 3. While I _________________ (buy) my ticket, the bus _________ (arrive). 4. Since she __________ (begin) writing, her whole life __________ (change) a lot.

Rewrite the following sentences using the word in bold. (4 pts.) 1. I’m not allowed to stay out later than 11 o’clock. /let

My parents __________________________ out later than 11 o’clock. 2. I haven’t seen her for ages. /time

The_______________________________ was ages ago. 3. They managed to finish the project on time. /succeeded

They __________________________________________on time. 4. He was taken to hospital two weeks ago and he’s still there. /for

He______________________________ two weeks.

TEST 2

KEY WORD LIST

Verbs

spark grasp pant indicate inspire pull up substitute spot greet undergo

Nouns

gratitude benefit decency effort request successor survey

Adjectives

lightly tiny lasting diligent sincere modest

Phrases

break down slow down pull down calm down cut down let down step down

KEY – page 141

20 points