my opinion (If you ask me introduces an opinion), real life is not everything that people say it is. If a thing is cracked up to be, people normally praise it but in the opinion of the speaker they are wrong. 2 … spending money when you don’t have any is dead easy. (Para 7) Dead here means very. For example, we can say dead tired (exhausted), a dead loss (a complete loss or useless), a dead weight (very heavy, difficult to lift). 3 What were the odds on anyone being so nice? (Para 11) What are the chances that someone would be so nice? The writer is emphasizing here that such kindness is very unusual. 4 … looking back after all these years, you only need one or two breaks in your life to succeed. (Para 13) A break here means a chance to be successful. A lucky break is an unexpected opportunity. Reading and understanding 2 Choose the best answer to the questions. 1 What did the writer want to do after finishing her degree? (a) To do an MA at the London School of Economics. (b) To earn some money to pay off her loan. (c) To start working as soon as possible. (d) To return home and help her mother. 2 Why did she ask for a job in The
Salisbury? (a) She was hungry and thirsty. (b) She thought it would lead to better things. (c) She was a friend of the landlord. (d) She had the idea when she saw the landlord working. 3 What did she buy with her first salary? (a) A bunch of flowers. (b) A CD and a plant for the flat she lived in. (c) A ham sandwich and a glass of beer. (d) She didn’t have any money left after paying the bills. 4 Why did Tony give her ￡20,000? (a) He found out it was her birthday and
wanted to help. (b) He trusted her and thought it would help her. (c) He wanted her to leave the pub and work for him. (d) He was secretly in love with her. 5 What did she do with the money? (a) She used it to pay for her course at the LSE. (b) She lost a lot of it in the 2008 stock market crash. (c) She invested it and paid back Tony and other investors. (d) She used it to start her own business. 6 Why was Tony pleased when she repaid the loan? (a) He had had an accident and needed the money for a wheelchair. (b) It meant that he would be able to see her again. (c) It proved that he had been right to invest in her. (d) She paid back the loan with a lot of interest. 3 Work in pairs and answer the questions. What do we know about the writer’s: 1 family background? Her mother had worked hard for 15 years to support her education but couldn’t afford any further support. Her father wasn’t around most of the time. He didn’t have any money
because he spent it on gambling on dog racing or drinking in pubs. 2 career as a student? She had a good degree in economics and wanted to study for a masters course at the London School of Economics. 3
ambition? She wanted to get a job in finance or investments in London because then she would be able to use her degree. 4 appreciation of other people? She appreciated Mike’s friendliness with customers and his skill, and she appreciated Tony as a nice person; later she
appreciated the trust of Tony and his friends 5 love life? We don’t know much about this, except that she doesn’t like boys to hassle her. She thinks they are immature. 6 financial expertise? It must be quite good: She invested the ￡20,000 and made enough profit to pay the money back with interest and set up her own company. 7 sense of responsibility? She has a strong sense of responsibility because she paid back the money to the investors and paid them an annual interest for the loan. 8 philosophy of life? She believes that you should work hard; you may need one or two breaks to succeed but you should know how to use the breaks. You should be honest and responsible with
people who trust you. Dealing with unfamiliar words 4 Match the words in the box with their definitions. 1 funny or entertaining (amusing) 2 used for emphasizing that something good has happened, especially because of good luck (fortunately) 3 an amount of money that a person, business or country borrows, usually from a bank (loan) 4 to take an amount or number from a total (deduct) 5 the most exciting,
impressive, or interesting part of an event (highlight) 6 to show that you understand someone’s problems (sympathize) 7 needing a lot of time, ability, and energy (demanding) 5 Complete the conversation with the correct form of the words in Activity 4. Teaching tips When Ss have completed the blanks with the correct form of the appropriate words, ask them to practice reading the dialogue, trying to make their reading sound as conversational as possible. Choose a pair to perform their reading to the class. The class listens and gives the performing pair a rating on a scale of 1-10 for fluency and naturalness. A After three years at university, I’m now quite
heavily in debt. B I (1) sympathize with you, I know what it’s like to have financial problems. But (2) fortunately I didn’t need to take out a student (3) loan when I was at university, because I had a part-time job. A What did you do? B I worked in a restaurant at
weekends. A That must have been very (4) demanding. B Yes, it was. I
had to get the right balance between work and study. But the other people who worked there were good fun to be with, so it was quite (5) amusing too. The (6) highlight of the weekend was always Saturday night when we worked overtime. A But I don’t expect you made a lot of money? B No, there wasn’t much after they’d (7) deducted tax and pension contributions. But it was enough to keep me going. 6 Replace the underlined words with the correct form of the words in the box. You may need to make other changes. 1 When I was at college I kept all my personal things in an old cupboard. 2 A lot of people who leave university before getting a degree end up in good jobs. 3 I think she’ll get a good degree, but I wouldn’t risk my money on the exact result. 4 The money I spent at college was more than what I earned in my part-time job. 5 The chances of my being offered a job after that interview must be quite remote. 6 Our business has done very well since we changed our advertising. 7 I think telling the truth and not cheating is always the best policy. Key: (1) belongings (2) dropouts (3) gamble (4) exceeded (5) odds (6) has thrived (7) honesty 7 Answer the questions about the words and expressions. 1 If something is not all it’s cracked up to be, is it (a) valid and interesting, or (b) just a little bit disappointing? 2 If someone
keeps banging on about something, are you likely to be (a) interested in, or (b) bored by what they say? 3 If there is a lot of hassle in your life, are you likely to feel (a) stressed, or (b) relaxed? 4 If something happens out of the blue, is it (a) unexpected, or (b) part of your plan? 5 If you say you ended up in a particular job, do you suggest that (a) you have fulfilled your ambition, or (b) it happened almost by chance? 6 Are the regulars in a pub (a) the customers who come very often, or (b) the food the pub offers most often? 7 If
something is dead easy, is it (a) very easy, or (b) not easy at all? 8 If you treat someone to something, do you (a) buy something nice for them, or (b) behave badly to them? 9 If you cheer a place up, do you (a) make the place look brighter, or (b) make the people in the place happier? Reading and interpreting 8 Look at the sentences from the passage and identify the style features. 1 Twelve years at school and three years at university, teachers banging on about
opportunities in the big wide world beyond our sheltered life as students, and what do I find? This shows the informality of an incomplete sentence in the first part, the use of an informal
expression (banging on) and a rhetorical question to the reader (What do I find?) 2 Try as I might to stay cheerful, all I ever get is hassle, sometimes with people (especially boys, god, when will they grow up?) … This has the use of an informal word (hassle), an informal exclamation (god) and a question to the reader (When will they grow up?) 3 Actually, I had my eye on the course at the London School of Economics (LSE). Here there is a discourse marker typical of speech (Actually) and an informal phrase (had my eye on). 4 I kind of understand it, and not just because my degree is in economics. Here “kind of” is a sort of discourse marker of informal speech (showing something is general, vague or not definite). 5 I wanted something in finance and investments, because you know, maybe with a job like that, I could use my degree. This has a discourse marker of informal speech (you know). 6 ... it’s true, he really did seem to have three hands. Again here is a discourse marker of informal speech (it’s true). 7 I talked to him about ... well, about pretty well everything … This has another discourse marker of informal speech (well) and an informal phrase (pretty well). 9 Answer the questions. 1 What is the focus of each section of the story? ? The first part is the background before the story really begins. It focuses on the
writer’s financial problems after graduation and on her need to work since her family cannot support her. ? The second part focuses on nice people who help the writer, mainly on Mike who gives her a job in a pub. ? In the third part, the focus is on the writer’s sad feelings on her birthday and how she tells Tony her troubles. He talks to some friends and gets her a ￡20,000 loan to set up a
business. ? In the fourth part, the writer is looking back some years later. She has her masters degree and has a job in an investment bank and has used the loan to set up her own company. The focus is on the twist inthe story, where the situation is reversed: Tony is disabled after an accident and needs the repayment of the loan to adapt his house for his disability. ? The last two main sentences are also introduced by “If you ask me,” This is a coda (a finishing phrase or two) about investing in people. 2 How does the time context change from one section to the next? The first section gives the background before the writer finds a job, in the past before the time of the story. The second section is in the past, showing how she ot a job. The third section, still in the past, shows the particular event of
