1
5th edition
Scotland, Wales, and Ireland
Background
Scotland was an independent kingdom until it united with
England in 1707 to form Great Britain. Scotland still has its
own legal system and education system, and the Scottish
people have a strong sense of their own cultural identity.
Scotland was governed from London until the rise of
Scottish nationalism at the end of the twentieth century led
to the creation of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh in
1998, which is now responsible for domestic policies.
Wales was conquered by England in the thirteenth century,
and was officially joined to England in the sixteenth century.
As with Scotland, Wales has retained a strong sense of its
own identity, through its language, music, and other cultural
traditions.
Great Britain and Ireland became united in 1801, but in 1922,
following a period of unrest, the Republic of Ireland split
off and became an independent country. Northern Ireland
continued to be part of the United Kingdom, but unrest
and violence continued in the province throughout the
twentieth century between groups who wanted to remain
part of the UK and those who wanted an independent
united Ireland.
Pronunciation
Edinburgh /ˈedɪnbrə/
Hogmanay /ˈhɒgməneɪ/
loch /lɒk/
Cardiff /ˈkɑːdɪf/
Eisteddfod /aɪsˈtedfəd/
Snowdonia /snəʊˈdəʊnɪə/
Brecon Beacons /ˈbrekən ˈbiːkənz/
Pembrokeshire /ˈpembrəkʃə/
bodhran /ˈbɒdrən/
leprechaun /ˈleprəkɔːn /
Gaelic /ˈgeɪlɪk/
2 Direct students to the map of the British Isles on the inside
front cover and ask them to locate the different countries.
Then discuss the questions as a class.
Answers
Scotland is the coldest country, Wales is the wettest (together
with parts of Ireland), and Northern Ireland is the smallest.
3 Ask students to find the words in the texts and work out
their meanings.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
a pattern, an arrangement of shapes and colour
low areas of land surrounded by higher ground
an opponent or competitor
a group of people who sing together
a time when there isn’t enough food
moved to another country
someone’s children and children’s children
origins
4 Ask students to find words in the text which match the
meanings.
Answers
1 kilt 2 tartan 3 Eisteddfod 4 Welsh 5 The Emerald Isle 6 three of the following: fiddles, pipes, banjos, bodhrán
5 Divide the class into A, B, and C students. Ask students
to read their text again and prepare answers for their
questions. Put students into groups of three and ask them
to ask and answer the questions.
Answers
Notes on the unit
e The reading text has been recorded for you to use as and
when you feel appropriate for your students.
1 Discuss the questions as a class.
Answers
Pre-intermediate
Scotland: bagpipes, men wearing kilts, tartan, traditional music,
mountains (Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK), lochs
(lakes) – including a loch with a monster, glens (valleys), films
such as Braveheart and Local Hero, football.
Wales: music, poetry, male voice choirs, coal mining (in the
past), mountains, hills, valleys, beaches, national parks, rugby.
Ireland: countryside, rain, lakes, St Patrick’s Day, music, poetry,
story-telling, fiddles (violins), pipes, banjos, folk music, bands
such as U2 and Snow Patrol, Gaelic football, hurling.
A (Scotland)
1 bagpipes
2 It’s light until 11 p.m.
3 Ben Nevis
4 football teams
B (Wales)
5 in the mining communities of south Wales
6 a waterproof jacket, a raincoat
7 Welsh
8 Before a rugby match.
C (Ireland)
9 the Republic of Ireland
10 Because the countryside is so green and beautiful.
11 Because thousands of people emigrated to the US during the
famine in the 1840s.
12 It’s a sport like hockey.
What do you think?
Put students into pairs or small groups to discuss, then
conduct a whole class discussion.
PROJECT
Students can do this as homework, but could also prepare
it in class, working in pairs or small groups. It might also be
interesting for them to find videos of music and regional
accents from each of the countries.
Headway Culture and Literature Companion Teacher's Guide © Oxford University Press 2019
1
2
5th edition
The world of football
Background
Pre-intermediate
What do you think?
In Britain, as in many other countries in the world, football
is almost like a religion to the large numbers of people
who travel each week to watch their favourite team play.
As well as the professional clubs, there are thousands of
small clubs for adults and children all over the country, run
by volunteers. As the sums of money paid for the TV rights
to Premier League matches have continued to increase,
many people now think that top flight football has lost its
soul, with tickets being beyond the reach of its traditional
working class fan base.
Discuss as a class, or first in pairs/groups, and then as a class.
PROJECT
Students can do this as homework, but could also prepare
it in class, working in pairs.
Pronunciation
Premier League /ˈpremiə ˈliːg/
Aussie rules /ˈɒzi ˈruːlz/
Gaelic football /ˈgeɪlɪk ˈfʊtbɔːl/
Notes on the unit
e The reading text has been recorded for you to use as and
when you feel appropriate for your students.
1 Discuss the questions as a class. Ask students to read the
texts to check their answers. If there is any confusion with
the game of rugby, it might be helpful to find images or
videos online for clarification.
Answers
Association football (soccer), American football, Australian-rules
football, Gaelic football
2 Ask students to match the words to the pictures.
Answers
1 b 2 d 3 a 4 c 5 f 6 e
3 Ask students to translate the words and phrases into their
own language.
4 Ask students to read the texts again and complete the
table.
Answers
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
soccer
soccer, American football
Australian-rules football
soccer, Gaelic football
American football, Australian-rules football
Australian-rules football
American football, Australian-rules football
soccer
American football
5 Put students into small groups. Students take turns to
choose facts about one of the sports and ask their group
members to say which sport it is.
Headway Culture and Literature Companion Teacher's Guide © Oxford University Press 2019
2
3
5th edition
Three famous characters
in British fiction
Background
The Sherlock Holmes stories are widely read in Britain, but
for most people the character of Sherlock Holmes is more
familiar through the many film and TV adaptations of the
stories. He is probably the best known fictional detective
in Britain, and his name is used allusively in the context of
anyone displaying great powers of perception or deduction.
Ian Fleming’s James Bond stories have never been especially
popular as books, but the film adaptations have been
extremely successful, making James Bond the archetypal
international spy.
The Harry Potter books have been the most successful books
for children ever published in Britain, and have made their
author a multi-millionaire. Although some literary critics
have questioned their literary worth, there is no doubting
their huge popularity with children and adults alike.
Pronunciation
Sherlock Holmes /ˈʃɜːlɒk ˈhəʊmz/
Arthur Conan Doyle /ˈɑːθə ˈkəʊnən ˈdɔɪl/
Guiness Book of Records /ˈgɪnɪs bʊk əv ˈrekɔːdz/
007 /ˈdʌbl əʊ ˈsevən/
Lord Voldemort /ˈlɔːd ˈvɒldəmɔːt/
Pre-intermediate
4 Ask students to read the texts again and answer the
questions.
Answers
2 Dr Watson is Holmes’s friend and the narrator in most of the
stories.
3 Intrepid was William Stephenson. He was a spymaster in
World War II. Intrepid was his code name.
4 Sean Connery.
5 An evil wizard.
6 He was a friend of J.K. Rowling’s when she was a child.
5 Ask students to decide if the character adjectives are
positive or negative, then match them to a real person
or a fictional character.
Possible answers
positive: Bohemian (Sherlock Holmes), eccentric (Sherlock
Holmes), brave (Harry Potter), determined (Harry Potter)
negative: disorganized (Sherlock Holmes), arrogant
(James Bond), cold (James Bond), evil (Lord Voldemort)
6 Ask students to match the words to form collocations,
then check their answers in the texts.
Answers
2 e 3 f 4 a 5 b 6 d 7 g
What do you think?
Notes on the unit
Discuss as a class, or first in pairs/groups, and then as a class.
e The reading text has been recorded for you to use as and
when you feel appropriate for your students.
1 Discuss the questions as a class.
PROJECT
Students can do this as homework, but could also prepare it
in class, working in pairs.
Answers
Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He’s a detective.
James Bond – Ian Fleming. He’s a spy.
Harry Potter – J.K. Rowling. He’s a wizard.
2 Ask students to read the texts quickly to get an idea of the
general meaning.
3 Ask students to read the texts again and complete the
table. Put students into pairs to ask and answer questions.
Answers
Author
Name of Date of first Based
Personality and habits
character appearance on real
people?
Sir Arthur
Sherlock
Conan Doyle Holmes
1887
yes
Ian Fleming
James
Bond
1953
partly
J.K. Rowling
Harry
Potter
1997
yes
Bohemian, disorganized, eccentric, gets up
late, keeps his tobacco in a Persian slipper,
untidy, sometimes forgets to eat, sometimes
breaks the law
likes fast cars and beautiful women, likes
scrambled eggs and coffee, clever, athletic,
cold, arrogant
Evidence of popularity
Author had to revive him after
he’d killed him off in one of his
stories.
There are films of all the Bond
novels. Video games, comic strips,
model cars, and other gadgets.
has a strong sense of right and wrong, brave, The books are in 68 languages,
determined, sometimes makes mistakes,
and sell millions of copies;
sometimes loses his temper
films, video games, and other
merchandise.
Headway Culture and Literature Companion Teacher's Guide © Oxford University Press 2019
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4
5th edition
The Caribbean
Pre-intermediate
Background
As stated in the text, the Caribbean has strong historical ties
with Britain, which have continued into modern times. Many
young black British people have their family roots in the
Caribbean, and may still have members of their extended
family there. Many of the Caribbean countries are still
members of the Commonwealth of Nations, an organization
of former British colonies who trade with each other and
compete in sporting events such as the Commonwealth
Games, a major athletics competition. Cricket is also a major
link between the countries, with annual matches between
Britain and the West Indies.
Pronunciation
4 Ask students to find the words and phrases in the text,
then match them with the definitions.
Answers
1 voyage 2 plantation 3 slaves 4 impact 5 playwright 6 native 7 illegal 8 prominent 9 landed 10 encouraged
11 taken the world by storm
What do you think?
Discuss as a class, or first in pairs/groups, and then as a class.
PROJECT
Students can do this as homework, but could also prepare it
in class, working in pairs.
Caribbean /kærɪˈbiːən/
Jamaican /dʒəˈmeɪkən/
patois /ˈpætwɑː/
Christopher Columbus /ˈkrɪstəfə kəˈlʌmbəs/
reggae /ˈregeɪ/
Notes on the unit
e The reading text has been recorded for you to use as and
when you feel appropriate for your students.
1 Check that students understand the meaning of patois
(a form of a language, spoken by people in a particular
area, that is different from the standard language of the
country). Then ask them to try to match the phrases to
their equivalents in standard English.
Answers
1 c 2 f 3 e 4 b 5 a 6 d 2 Ask students to read the text and choose the correct
sentence for each gap.
Answers
2 a 3 d 4 c 5 f 6 b
3 Ask students to read the text again and answer the
questions.
Answers
1 Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
2 Because they thought they were in India.
3 The sailors communicated with the slaves in English. The
slaves came from different parts of Africa and didn’t speak
the same language, so they used English as the common
language.
4 Because children learned the same things as British children
learned at school.
5 Because they saw Britain as their mother country and because
there were jobs there.
6 Jamaica, because of Bob Marley.
7 He’s from Trinidad. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
8 He writes poetry and plays.
9 The West Indies team.
Headway Culture and Literature Companion Teacher's Guide © Oxford University Press 2019
4
5
5th edition
The story of English
Background
The English language is the result of a mixture of different
influences. It started out as a Germanic language, but was
heavily influenced by Old Norse, following invasions by
Vikings in the eighth and ninth centuries, and later by Old
French, following the Norman Conquest of Britain in the
eleventh century, when French became the official language
in England for 300 years. A lot of technical or medical words
were formed directly from Latin or Greek and taken into
English. Because of the varied history of the language, there
are words in English that speakers of various languages will
recognize as being similar to words in their own language.
English is now an official language in 54 countries, and is
spoken by billions of people around the world as a first or
additional language.
Pronunciation
Pre-intermediate
4 Ask students to read the text again and answer the
questions.
Answers
1 They went to Canada to farm, fish, and trade in furs. They
went to the Caribbean because they owned plantations there
and they took slaves to work on them. The British sent their
criminals to Australia.
2 In words like bath the ‘a’ is short, like the ‘a’ in bad.
3 In Australian English today, there are examples of Cockney
rhyming slang and pronunciation (for example, ‘make’
sounds like ‘mike’). There are similarities between New
Zealand pronunciation and Scottish English (for example, the
sounding of the ‘h’ in ‘where’).
5 Ask students to match the words and phrases with their
meanings.
Answers
2 j 3 h 4 a 5 g 6 d 7 f 8 b 9 i 10 e
Virginia /vəˈdʒɪnɪə/
pidgin /ˈpɪdʒɪn/
6 Ask students to work together to write the phrases using
Australian slang or idioms.
Answers
Notes on the unit
e The reading text has been recorded for you to use as and
when you feel appropriate for your students.
1 Discuss the question as a class.
1 There are always a lot of Poms/Pommies on Bondi Beach in
the summer.
2 This pen is as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike.
3 If you eat too much, you might make a pavement pizza.
4 Let’s go and cool down with a nice glass of neck oil.
Example answer
the UK, Ireland, the US, Canada, South Africa, Australia,
New Zealand, Jamaica
2 Ask students to read the texts quickly to understand
the general meaning, without worrying if they don’t
understand every word.
3 Ask students to read the text again and complete the
timeline.
What do you think?
Discuss as a class, or first in pairs/groups, and then as a class.
PROJECT
Students can do this as homework, but could also prepare it
in class, working in pairs.
Answers
1720s The Irish and Scottish emigrated in large numbers to
America.
1760Britain became the ruling power in Canada and English
became the dominant language.
1765British rule began in India.
1770Captain Cook, a British sailor and explorer, reached
Australia.
1776One in seven people in America was of Scots or Irish
origin. Some people moved from the new United States
to Canada in order to live under British rule.
1788Britain started transporting prisoners to Sydney, Australia.
1806British control in South Africa began.
1822English became the official language in South Africa.
1840New Zealand became a British colony.
Headway Culture and Literature Companion Teacher's Guide © Oxford University Press 2019
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6
5th edition
From Glastonbury to
Glyndebourne
Pre-intermediate
Background
As well as Glastonbury, there are big pop music festivals in
many other British cities, for example Reading and Leeds. There
are also many smaller, local festivals, which give opportunities
to new bands to perform in front of a bigger audience. In their
early years, the big pop festivals such as Glastonbury were
attended mainly by young people, but many of these early
festival-goers have continued to enjoy the festival experience,
so it is now quite normal to see fifty-year-olds rubbing
shoulders with teenagers at Glastonbury.
Folk music has never enjoyed mainstream popularity in Britain,
so folk festivals tend to be much smaller than pop festivals.
Glyndebourne has a rather upper-class image in Britain,
reinforced by the formal dress code and high price of tickets.
The Proms, on the other hand, are a popular event and are
enjoyed by a wide variety of people, even people who do
not necessarily go to classical music concerts regularly.
Pronunciation
4 Ask students to find the words and phrases in the texts
and work out their meaning.
Answers
1 a big money-making event
2 a big strong barrier
3 people who try to get into an event without a ticket or an
invitation
4 short pieces of wood or metal that keep something in place
5 practical classes in which students learn by taking an active
part
6 in the open air
7 established, started
8 best part
5 Ask students to find the phrases in the texts and then
choose the correct meanings.
Answers
1 c 2 b 3 a 4 c
6 Ask students to match the words to form collocations,
checking their answers in the text if necessary.
Glastonbury /ˈglæstənbri/
Oxfam /ˈɒksfæm/
Brecon Beacons /ˈbrekɒn ˈbiːkəns/
promenade concerts /ˈprɒmənɑːd ˈkɒnsəts/
Glyndebourne /ˈglaɪndbɔːn/
Greenpeace /ˈgriːnpiːs/
Brighton /ˈbraɪtn/
Answers
2 c 3 f 4 h 5 d 6 a 7 e 8 b
What do you think?
Discuss the questions as a class, or first in pairs/groups, and
then as a class.
PROJECT
Notes on the unit
e The reading text has been recorded for you to use as and
when you feel appropriate for your students.
1 Discuss the questions as a class.
2 Discuss the photos and the questions as a class, then ask
students to read the texts quickly to check their answers.
Students can do this as homework, but could also prepare it
in class, working in pairs.
Answers
Glastonbury Festival is a rock music festival. People of all ages go.
Tickets cost £155 for the weekend.
The Cambridge Folk Festival is a folk music festival but includes blues,
country, and some pop music. Tickets cost £67 for the weekend.
The Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London is
the closing concert of the world’s largest classical music festival.
Tickets for the eight-week season cost £240. A ticket to ‘prom’ (to
stand) for one evening costs £6.
Glyndebourne is an opera festival. People who like opera go to it.
Tickets cost from £10 to £250 per evening.
3 Ask students to read the texts again and complete the
chart by drawing it on a separate piece of paper. Put
students into pairs to ask and answer questions.
Answers
Name of festival
Glastonbury
When
the last weekend in June
The Cambridge Folk Festival
The Green Man Festival
The BBC Proms
the last weekend in July
mid-August
8 weeks in the summer (from mid-July
to the beginning of September)
From mid-May to the end of August
The Glyndebourne Opera Festival
Where
on a farm, near Glastonbury in
the west of England
just outside Cambridge
in the Brecon Beacons in Wales
central London, mainly in the
Royal Albert Hall
Glyndebourne, Sussex
Pop / folk / classical
pop
Cost
£238 for the weekend
folk, blues, country, pop
folk
classical
£67 for the weekend
£180 for the weekend
£6 to prom at one concert;
£240 for a season ticket
£10 to £250 per evening
classical – opera
Headway Culture and Literature Companion Teacher's Guide © Oxford University Press 2019
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7
5th edition
Englishness
Pre-intermediate
Background
What do you think?
As Britain’s population has grown and become much more
diverse and multi-cultural, there is a feeling in Britain that
some of the old stereotypes discussed in the text need to be
replaced with a more modern definition of what it means to
be English or British.
Mr Bean, Fawlty Towers, and Little Britain are all successful TV
comedy shows.
The sentences mentioned in paragraph 4 mean:
An Englishman’s home is his castle: English people take great
pride in their homes and feel they should be safe and free
from outside interference there.
Keep yourself to yourself: to not talk to or mix with other
people very much.
Mind your own business: not become involved in things that
don’t directly concern you.
Discuss as a class, or first in pairs/groups, and then as a class.
PROJECT
Students can do this as homework, but could also prepare it
in class, working in pairs.
Pronunciation
Eurotunnel /ˈjuːrəʊtʌnl/
Fawlty Towers /ˈfɒlti ˈtaʊəz/
stereotype /ˈsteriətaɪp/
Notes on the unit
e The reading text has been recorded for you to use as and
when you feel appropriate for your students.
1 Discuss the questions as a class.
2 Ask students to read the text quickly, without worrying if
they don’t understand every word.
3 Ask students to read the text again and match each
paragraph to a picture.
Answers
2 E 3 G 4 F 5 D 6 B 7 C 8 A
4 Ask students to find the adjectives in the text and work
out their meanings. Ask them to find the phrases in the
text and think of the equivalents in their own language.
Answers
gloomy: miserable, pessimistic
polite: not rude, well-mannered, careful not to
offend anybody
insular: not interested in other people and other cultures
suspicious: always thinking that someone’s trying to trick
you, or that people have bad intentions
reserved: shy, not open or outgoing
self-critical: able to see one’s own faults
Headway Culture and Literature Companion Teacher's Guide © Oxford University Press 2019
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8
5th edition
You’re as old as you feel
Background
In 2016, the UK population was 65.5 million. Improvements
in healthcare and lifestyles mean that people are living
longer: as noted in the text, there are now more people
aged over 65 than under 16. While this trend is undoubtedly
something to be celebrated, it is putting increasing pressure
on local authority care, health provisions, and housing. Many
older people are also experiencing age-related challenges
including deteriorating health, loneliness, and isolation.
At a time when there is a growing sense of fragmentation
of traditional communities in the UK, ‘intergenerational’
activities are proving to be an excellent way of supporting
the population as it ages and benefitting all those involved.
Pronunciation
intergenerational /ɪnˈtɜːˌdʒenəˈreɪʃənl/
Bristol /ˈbrɪstəl/
Pre-intermediate
5 Ask students to read the words in the box, then add them
to the columns in the table.
Answers
Good for you
Bad for you
companionship
company
confidence
connections
depression
isolation
disconnecting
loss
6 Ask students to add two or three more ideas to each
column in the table. They could work in pairs for this,
before compiling a list as a class.
7 Ask students to read the words and phrases and match
them with the definitions.
Answers
1 g 2 j 3 h 4 b 5 f 6 e 7 d 8 i 9 a 10 c What do you think?
Notes on the unit
e The reading text has been recorded for you to use as and
when you feel appropriate for your students.
1 Read the quotation by George Burns aloud and discuss
the questions as a class.
2 Ask students to read the stages of life in the box and put
them into the correct older. Then ask students to decide
how old a person is at each stage and compare their ideas
with a partner before discussing as a class.
Discuss as a class, or first in pairs/groups, and then as a class.
PROJECT
Students can do this as homework, but could also prepare it
in class, working in pairs.
Answers
baby
toddler
child
teenager
young adult
adult
middle-age
elderly
3 Ask students to read the headings. Then ask them to
read the text (without worrying too much at this stage
about any words they do not understand) and match the
headings to the paragraphs.
Answers
1 C 2 B 3 E 4 D 5 F 6 A
4 Ask students to read the questions and multiple-choice
options, making sure they understand everything. Then
ask them to read the text again and choose the correct
answers.
Answers
1 b 2 c 3 a 4 c 5 a 6 c
Headway Culture and Literature Companion Teacher's Guide © Oxford University Press 2019
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9
5th edition
An Englishman’s home is
his castle
Background
Most people in Britain either own their own home or aspire
to owning their own home – about 63% of properties
are owner-occupied. In general people prefer houses to
flats, because they value having a garden so much. Most
people take out a loan as a 25-year mortgage in order to
buy a home, and, as property is expensive, for many young
people the monthly repayments on their mortgage can put
a significant strain on their finances. The need to provide
affordable homes for young people to buy is therefore an
important political issue in Britain. As stated in the text, older
buildings are popular in Britain, with many people feeling
that older houses have more character than modern ones.
The National Trust and English Heritage are both charitable
organizations that try to preserve buildings of historical
importance and make them available for members of the
public to visit.
Pre-intermediate
4 Ask students to find words in the text to match the
definitions.
Answers
1 The National Trust, English Heritage 2 the basement 3 reception rooms 4 an estate 5 the suburbs 6 hut 7 tower blocks 8 demolished 9 beams 10 cosy
What do you think?
Discuss as a class, or first in pairs/groups, and then as a class.
PROJECT
Students can do this as homework, but could also prepare
it in class, working in pairs.
Pronunciation
stately home /ˈsteɪtli ˈhəʊm/
terraced house /ˈterəst ˈhaʊs/
Tudor /ˈtjuːdə/
Jacobean /dʒækəˈbiːən/
Victorian /vɪkˈtɔːriən/
Georgian /ˈdʒɔːdʒən/
Notes on the unit
e The reading text has been recorded for you to use as and
when you feel appropriate for your students.
1 Discuss the questions as a class.
2 Ask students to read the texts quickly and identify the
houses in the photos.
Answers
1 terraced house 2 semi-detached house 3 bungalow 4 cottage 5 castle 6 stately home
3 Ask students to read the texts again and decide which
type of house each person lives in.
Answers
2
3
4
5
6
a bungalow
a stately home
an 18th-century terraced house
a semi-detached house
a castle
Headway Culture and Literature Companion Teacher's Guide © Oxford University Press 2019
9
10
5th edition
Public holidays in the US
Background
Many American workers only get two weeks of paid holiday
a year (and in fact, some workers start with only a week’s
holiday!). In the UK, employers must give employees a
minimum of 5. 6 weeks’ paid holiday a year, and many
people get more than this. Public holidays in the US,
especially Thanksgiving and Christmas, are often a time
when extended families get together and celebrate with
a special meal. Holidays such as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
and Independence Day carry special historical and cultural
significance.
Pronunciation
Martin Luther King, Jr /ˈmɑːtɪn ˈluðə kɪŋ ˈdʒuːniə/
Pennsylvania /ˌpenslˈveɪnɪə/
Massachusetts /ˌmæsəˈtʃuːsɪts/
Wampanoag Indians /ˈwɑːmpənɒɡ ˈɪndɪənz/
6 Ask students to read the comprehension questions, then
read the text about Independence Day again and find the
answers.
Answers
1 July 2: Continental Congress voted for independence; July 6:
the Declaration was printed in the newspaper; July 8: the
Declaration was first read aloud.
2 Bell-ringing, bonfires, and fireworks.
3 Parades, concerts, fireworks, flying the flag, patriotic songs,
picnics, BBQs, summer events.
7 Ask students to read the words and phrases and match
them to the definitions.
Answers
1 b 2 a 3 e 4 f 5 c 6 d
8 Ask students to read the questions and multiple-choice
options, then read the text about Thanksgiving again and
choose the correct answers.
Answers
Notes on the unit
e The reading text has been recorded for you to use as and
when you feel appropriate for your students.
1 Discuss the questions as a class.
2 Ask students to look at the public holidays in the box and
match them to the dates and descriptions.
Answers
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Pre-intermediate
1 B 2 C 3 B
9 Ask students to read the words in the box and add them
to the correct groups.
Answers
2 colony 3 native 4 donation 5 gratitude
What do you think?
Presidents’ Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Columbus Day
Veterans’ Day
Thanksgiving
Discuss as a class, or first in pairs/groups, and then as a class.
PROJECT
Students can do this as homework, but could also prepare it
in class, working in pairs or small groups.
3 Ask students to read the texts without worrying too much
about any words they do not understand at this stage.
4 Ask students to read the True or False statements. Then
ask them to read the text about Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
again. Students decide if the statements are true or false
and correct any false information.
Answers
1 T
2 F: He was killed by a gunman.
3 F: He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize during his
lifetime in 1964.
5 Ask students to read the definitions, then find the words
and phrases in the text.
Answers
1 racial segregation 2 discrimination 3 assassinated 4 riot
Headway Culture and Literature Companion Teacher's Guide © Oxford University Press 2019
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11
5th edition
Ancient British
monuments
Pre-intermediate
Background
Stonehenge is a popular monument with visitors from the
UK and abroad. It was classified as a World Heritage Site in
1986. Ongoing research continues to uncover fascinating
new information about the site and a visitor centre opened
in 2013.
A hill figure is a large image designed to be viewed from a
distance that is made by cutting into the earth on a grassy
hillside. The majority of the UK’s 56 hill figures can be found
in the south of England and form an iconic part of local
history and tradition.
Tintagel is a popular site due not only to its rugged and
picturesque location, but also for its association with
the legend of King Arthur. Although the authenticity of
these links is questionable, the castle attracts hundreds of
thousands of visitors each year.
Pronunciation
Stonehenge /stəʊnˈhendʒ/
Salisbury /ˈsɔːlsbri/
Uffington /ʌfɪŋtʌn/
Glyndebourne /ˈɡlaɪndbɔːn/
Cerne Abbas /sɜːrn ˈæbəs/
Tintagel /tɪnˈtædʒl/
Newquay /ˈnjuːkiː/
Geoffrey of Monmouth /ˈdʒefriː əv ˈmɒnməθ/
Merlin /ˈmɜːlɪn/
4 Ask students to read the statements and decide which
ancient monument each one refers to.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
Stonehenge
Ancient hill figures
Tintagel
Cerne Abbas Giant
Tintagel
Stonehenge
5 Ask students to read the words and phrases, then choose
the correct definitions.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
vertical
narrow
died
with difficulty
build
cut into
have babies
not wearing any clothes
holes
broken into small pieces
a priest or minister
found in stories from ancient times
when a baby is made
interested and excited
became badly damaged
What do you think?
Discuss as a class, or first in pairs/groups, and then as a class.
Notes on the unit
PROJECT
e The reading text has been recorded for you to use as and
when you feel appropriate for your students.
1 Discuss the questions as a class.
2 Ask students to read the texts and find the location of
each monument on the map.
3 Ask students to read the texts again and find what each
number or date refers to.
Students can do this as homework, but could also prepare it
in class, working in pairs or small groups.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Date when the original Stonehenge structure was built.
Distance the larger stones were transported to the site.
Weight of the larger stones.
Number of ancient hill figures in England.
Age of the Uffington White Horse.
Distance the Uffington White Horse can be seen from on a
clear day.
Height of the Long Man of Wilmington.
Height of the Cerne Abbas Giant.
Date when Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote Historia regum
Britanniae.
Date when Richard, Earl of Cornwall, died.
Time when there was a fresh interest in medieval history and
literature.
Number of visitors to Tintagel each year.
Headway Culture and Literature Companion Teacher's Guide © Oxford University Press 2019
11
12
5th edition
Britain’s most famous
graffiti artist
Background
As explained in the text, graffiti is illegal in Britain, and the
removal of non-artistic graffiti is a major cost for some
local authorities. However, there are people who recognize
graffiti art as a legitimate form of art and would like to see
it legalized. Some local authorities provide special ‘graffiti
walls’ in public places, where young people can legitimately
experiment with graffiti.
As stated in the text, very little is known about Banksy. It is
believed that he was born in 1974 and grew up in Bristol, in
the south west of England.
Pronunciation
Banksy /ˈbæŋksi/
pseudonym /ˈsuːdənɪm/
Pre-intermediate
5 Ask students to read the text again and answer the
questions.
Answers
1 He has to keep his identity secret because graffiti is illegal. He
uses a pseudonym to identify his work but not himself.
2 He had a difficult childhood so he did graffiti to make himself
feel better and to give himself a voice.
3 Because he wasn’t very good with a spray can and also
because it was quicker to use a stencil.
4 Banksy.
5 That he’s anti-war.
6 The animals’.
7 He likes to use it to create his own work.
8 Yes, it’s worth a lot of money. Famous people pay a lot for it.
What do you think?
Discuss as a class, or first in pairs/groups, and then as a class.
PROJECT
Notes on the unit
e The reading text has been recorded for you to use as and
when you feel appropriate for your students.
1 Discuss the questions as a class.
2 Ask students to read the text quickly and answer the
question.
Divide the class into ‘for’ and ‘against’ groups. Give them time
to prepare their opinions and arguments before holding the
debates.
Answer
Banksy is Britain’s most famous graffiti artist, but we don’t
actually know much about him, including his real name.
3 Ask students to find the words in the text and match them
to the definitions.
Answers
1 g 2 a 3 i 4 c 5 f 6 d 7 b 8 h 9 e 10 j
4 Ask students to find a sentence in the text to match each
image.
Answers
1 His message is usually anti-war, …
2 He also opened a temporary exhibition called ‘Dismaland’
in 2015 …
3 He takes what’s already there in the street and turns it into
something unexpected.
4 Road markings we see every day leave the street and turn
into something new.
Headway Culture and Literature Companion Teacher's Guide © Oxford University Press 2019
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13
5th edition
Systems of government in
the UK and the US
Background
Britain is unusual in having a non-elected upper house
in its parliament. Members of the House of Lords were
traditionally members of large landowning families, who had
hereditary titles giving them the right to sit in the House of
Lords. There has been some debate in recent years about
whether this system is still appropriate in modern Britain,
and following reforms, most of the members are now
appointed (but not elected). There has also been debate
about whether Britain should change its electoral system to
one of proportional representation, rather than the ‘first past
the post’ constituency system, in which the votes cast for
losing candidates count for nothing.
In the US, there are elections for members of the Congress
and the Senate, as well as separate elections to choose
the President. The US system of presidential elections is
quite long and complicated, with primary elections and
caucuses held in most states to decide which candidate
from each party will run for president, followed by the main
presidential election. However, the election of Barack Obama
as President in 2009, the first African American to hold the
office, was felt by many to be a vindication of the American
democratic system.
Pronunciation
Congress /ˈkɑŋgres/
Tories /ˈtɔːriz/
Parliament /ˈpɑːləmənt/ constituency /kənˈstɪtjuənsi/
Senate /ˈsenət/
Pre-intermediate
6 UK; US: He/She cannot be the head of government for more
than eight years.
7 UK; US: There are elections every four years for the President,
every two years for the Representatives and every six years
for Senators.: There are elections every four years for the
President, every two years for the Representatives and every
six years for Senators.
8 UK; US: He’s/She’s Head of State, Head of Government, and
Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.
9 US; UK: His/Her second-in-command is the Deputy Prime
Minister.
10 US; UK: the main parties are the Conservatives, Labour, and
the Liberal Democrats.
4 Ask students to find the words in the texts and complete
the table.
Answers
1 Head of State
US
UK
the President
the Queen
2 Head of Government the President
the Prime Minister
3 Elected members of
government
Senators and
MPs (Members of
Representatives Parliament)
4 Non-elected
members of
government
–
the Lords
5 Ask students to find the words in the texts and work out
their meaning.
Answers
Notes on the unit
e The reading text has been recorded for you to use as and
when you feel appropriate for your students.
1 Discuss the questions as a class. Optionally, ask students if
they can name the current President of the US and Prime
Minister of the UK.
Answers
US: the President, the House of Representatives, the
Republicans.
UK: the Queen, Parliament, the Prime Minister, the House of
Commons, the Conservatives.
2 Ask students to read the texts quickly to understand
the general meaning, without worrying if they don’t
understand every word.
3 Ask students to decide which country the statements
refer to, and add the equivalent information about the
other country.
1 the person you choose to give your views and to take political
decisions for you
2 directly related by number
3 to stop something from happening
4 choose a person for a job
5 people with titles such as Lord and Lady
6 a document presenting a law, which MPs vote for or against
7 the period of time for which someone is elected to do a job
8 someone who seems to be the leader but who has no real
power
What do you think?
Discuss as a class, or first in pairs/groups, and then as a class.
PROJECT
Students can do this as homework, but could also prepare
it in class, working in pairs.
Answers
2 US; UK: The two houses of Parliament are the House of
Commons and the House of Lords.
3 UK; US: There are 535 members in the Legislative Branch.
4 US; UK: There is no fixed term for Lords. MPs can serve for five
years.
5 US; UK: The Prime Minister cannot stop a bill from becoming
law if both houses support it.
Headway Culture and Literature Companion Teacher's Guide © Oxford University Press 2019
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14
5th edition
‘The Echoing Green’ –
William Blake
Background
As explained in the text, William Blake (1757–1827) was
a writer, painter, and printmaker of the Romanic Age. His
deeply philosophical work aimed to bring about social
and political change in an era of great upheaval which
spanned the American and French Revolutions. His poem
‘The Echoing Green’ appears in a collection of illustrated
verse entitled Songs of Innocence and Experience, in which
the poet explored different modes of consciousness and
human existence. Blake is widely admired for the power and
imagination of his creative oeuvre.
Pronunciation
William Blake /ˈwɪljəm bleɪk/
echoing green /ˈekəʊɪŋ ɡriːn/
thrush /θrʌʃ/
bush /bʊʃ/
weary /ˈwɪəri/
Pre-intermediate
6 Check that students understand the meaning of
rhyme, similes, and personification, providing examples
as necessary. Then ask them to identify the literary
techniques in the poem and answer the questions.
Answers
1 Each of the stanzas is made up of five rhyming couplets
(AABBCCDDEE). The same rhyme (seen/green) is used at the
end of all three stanzas.
2 Simile: ‘Like birds in their nest’
Personification: ‘The sun does […] make happy the skies/The
merry bells ring.’
The effect of the rhyming pattern is to give the poem
a musical quality and make it pleasant to read. The
personification creates a more vivid picture for the reader to
imagine and understand.
7 Check that students understand the meaning of
symbolism, providing examples as necessary. Then ask
them to match the words and phrases from the poem
with the elements of life they might represent.
Answers
Notes on the unit
1 b 2 d 3 e 4 a 5 c
e The poem has been recorded for you to use as and when
you feel appropriate for your students.
1 Discuss the question as a class.
2 Ask students to read the text about William Blake and
answer the question.
Answer
Powerful feelings, human imagination, and the beauty of nature.
3 Ask students to look at the pictures and match them to
the words in the box.
8 Ask students to look back at the symbolism in exercise 7
and answer the question.
Answer
The spring day the poet describes could symbolise the passage
of time in human life; from birth to death.
What do you think?
Discuss as a class, or first in pairs/groups, and then as a class.
PROJECT
Students can do this as homework, but could also prepare it
in class, working in pairs or small groups.
Answers
1 skylark 2 thrush 3 bush 4 oak 5 nest
4 Ask students to read the definitions and match them to
words and phrases from the poem.
Answers
1 cheerful 2 green 3 sports 4 echoing 5 care 6 folk 7 joy 8 youth-time 9 weary 10 descend 11 lap 12 darkening
5 Ask students to look at the table, then read the poem
again and add words and phrases to the categories.
Answers
Things in nature
green, birds, bush, oak, nest
Sounds
The birds […] sing louder, echoing, our sports/play,
they laugh
Feelings
merry, cheerful, joys, weary
Headway Culture and Literature Companion Teacher's Guide © Oxford University Press 2019
14
15
5th edition
Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
Background
The novel Frankenstein remains popular today, and is often
studied by school pupils aged 14–16. However, the story of
Frankenstein has also led to a whole genre of horror films,
and it is through these film representations that most people
are familiar with the character and story of Frankenstein. It is
a common misconception that Frankenstein is the monster’s
name. As the text explains, the monster doesn’t in fact have
a name, and it is the doctor who is Frankenstein. The term
‘Frankenstein’ is often used nowadays to refer to doctors
and scientists who carry out radical research in the field of
biology and genetics.
Pronunciation
Pre-intermediate
4 Ask students to read the extract again and find words to
match the definitions.
Answers
1 a laboratory 2 a flat 3 a mast 4 lightning 5 creature 6 ugly 7 huge 8 wires
5 Ask students to match the words and phrases to their
opposites.
Answers
1 e 2 d 3 b 4 f 5 h 6 c 7 g 8 a
What do you think?
Discuss as a class, or first in pairs/groups, and then as a class.
Frankenstein /ˈfrænkənstaɪn/
Mary Shelley /ˈmeəri ˈʃeli/
Percy Bysshe Shelley /ˈpʒːsi ˈbɪʃ ˈʃeli/
Lord Byron /lɔːˈd ˈbaɪrən/
PROJECT
Students can do this as homework, but could also prepare
it in class, working in pairs.
Notes on the unit
e The reading texts in activities 1 and 2 have been
recorded for you to use as and when you feel appropriate for
your students.
1 Discuss the questions as a class. Ask students to read the
text quickly to check their ideas.
Answers
It was written in 1816. Frankenstein was the person who created
the monster. The idea came to the author in a dream after she
and her friends had been discussing ghost stories. There had
been violent storms in the summer of 1816, which gave the
author the idea of using the power of electricity as a feature in
her story. They also reminded her of some horrific experiments
she had heard about, involving dead bodies and electricity.
2 Ask students to read the extract from Frankenstein. Discuss
as a class how the author builds up suspense.
Answers
The author suggests what is going to happen but doesn’t say
exactly what it is. When Frankenstein begins to create his living
being, he says: ‘I did not realise then what a terrible mistake I was
making.’ And the reader doesn’t know what the mistake is going
to be. The author keeps the reader in suspense by describing
in detail each stage of the creation of the monster. Then, just
when you expect the monster to come alive, nothing happens.
The reader doesn’t know whether the experiment is going to be
successful or not. But then the body begins to move … ‘slowly,
terribly, the body came alive’.
3 Ask students to read the extract again and decide if the
sentences are true or false.
Answers
2 false 3 true 4 true 5 false 6 false 7 true 8 true 9 false 10 false
Headway Culture and Literature Companion Teacher's Guide © Oxford University Press 2019
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16
Two poems from the
Caribbean
Background
Una Marson (1905–1965) was a Jamaican writer who wrote
poems, plays and programmes for the BBC. She spent some
years living in London, and wrote poems and plays about
the racism she encountered there.
John Agard (born 1949) is from Guyana. His work is included
in collections of poetry studied by children aged 14 to 16 in
Britain. He currently lives in Brighton, on the south coast of
England.
Caribbean /kærəˈbiːən/
Una Marson /ˈjuːnə ˈmɑːsən/
John Agard /ˈdʒɒn ˈeɪgɑːd/
Pre-intermediate
5 Ask students to read the poem and discuss the questions
in pairs.
Answer
It’s called ‘Pan Recipe’ because it uses the language of cookery.
The mood is angry, not at all calm.
6 Ask students to match the verbs with the noun phrases,
using a dictionary if necessary.
Answers
1 i 2 a 3 c 4 b 5 h 6 j 7 f 8 e 9 d 10 g
Pronunciation
Cameo /ˈkæmiəʊ/
assonance /ˈæsənəns/
alliteration /əlɪtəˈreɪʃn/
Notes on the unit
e The poems in activities 2 and 5 have been recorded
for you to use as and when you feel appropriate for your
students.
1 Ask students to produce a list in pairs, or produce a list
with the whole class. You could also give them any other
words from the poems and ask them if they think they are
typical of the Caribbean, explaining what they mean, e.g.
palm trees, blue skies, coconuts, mountains, trucks, bananas,
dust, drums, bamboo, shanty towns, dustbins.
2 Ask students to read the poem quickly, without worrying
if they don’t understand every word.
3 Ask students to find words in the poem to match the
definitions.
Answers
2 beyond 3 shadow 4 breezes 5 truck 6 laden 7 curve 8 everlasting
4 Ask students to read the poem again and answer the
questions.
Answers
5th edition
1 To create a picture of a scene without too many words.
2 The vowel sounds are mostly long, creating a sense of a slow
and gentle lifestyle.
3 A feeling of calm, peace and gentle movement.
4 In the second verse the poet focuses on specific details and
activity in the foreground.
5 The sounds of breaking stones and of a truck going along
the road.
6 To show that the hard reality of the modern world exists in
this natural paradise.
7 The last three lines show the calm beauty of the place
returning.
7 Ask students to answer the questions in pairs.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
The plantation owners / colonists.
Anger.
The colonists, the people in authority.
The slaves and their descendants.
The fever of the slaves and their descendants.
The slaves’ and their descendants’.
The plantation owners.
The slaves and their descendants.
The slaves and their descendants.
The anger and resentment of the slaves’ descendants.
8 Ask students to work in pairs to find the examples of the
poetic techniques.
Answers
end-rhyme: pain – again, dustbin – biscuit tin
assonance: pain – rain – rage, again – strains, over – slow –
grow, well – hell, sound – pound, dustbin – biscuit tin, down –
town, alone – explode
alliteration: bring – boil, pinch – pain, rain – rage, fire – fever,
cut – cure, whip – well, stir – sound
What do you think?
Discuss as a class, or first in pairs/groups.
PROJECT
Put students into small groups to write their lists. Ask groups
to read out items on their lists and ask the class to comment.
Headway Culture and Literature Companion Teacher's Guide © Oxford University Press 2019
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17
5th edition
A Christmas Carol –
Charles Dickens
Background
Dickens remains one of the most popular authors in the
English-speaking world. As mentioned in the text about
the author, his books have been made into numerous films
and TV dramas, so even people who have never read the
original works are familiar with many of Dickens’ stories
and characters. One of the many film or TV versions of A
Christmas Carol is always on television during the Christmas
period.
Pronunciation
Pre-intermediate
4 Ask students to find the adjectives in the text, then match
them with the categories.
Answers
weather: cold, frosty, foggy
a nice person: helpful, kind
a bad thing to say about a person: stupid
two pairs of words which mean the same: angry, cross; little, small
two pairs of words which are opposites: happy, unhappy; rich, poor
What do you think?
Discuss as a class, or first in pairs/groups, and then as a class.
Charles Dickens /ˈtʃɑːlz ˈdɪkɪnz/
Scrooge /skruːdʒ/
Bob Cratchit /bɒb ˈkrætʃɪt/
PROJECT
Notes on the unit
e The reading text has been recorded for you to use as and
when you feel appropriate for your students.
1 Ask students to read the text about Charles Dickens.
Discuss the questions as a class.
2 Ask students to read the extract quickly. Discuss the
question as a class.
For the interview option, students could prepare the
questions as homework, or in class working in pairs.
Encourage them to write up the answers in English. For
the essay option, students could prepare their writing as
homework, or in class working in pairs.
Answers
A ‘Scrooge’ is someone who is mean with money. It is commonly
used by British people to refer to someone who is mean and
miserable, especially around Christmas time.
3 Ask students to read the extract again and answer the
questions.
Answers
1 The three characters are Scrooge, Bob Cratchit and Scrooge’s
nephew. Bob Cratchit works as a clerk in Scrooge’s office.
2 Because they are using candles to light the office.
3 Scrooge treats Bob badly. Bob’s fire is smaller than Scrooge’s,
he’s cold and he’s afraid to say what he thinks.
4 That Christmas is a ridiculous waste of time and shouldn’t be
celebrated.
5 Scrooge says: ‘You’re too poor to be merry’. He calls his
nephew ‘stupid’. When his nephew invites him for dinner, he
says, ‘I’ll see you dead first’, and he won’t wish him a merry
Christmas.
6 Scrooge doesn’t believe in celebrating Christmas, whereas his
nephew thinks that Christmas is a time to be helpful and kind
to other people.
7 It’s like the nephew’s.
8 To wish him a merry Christmas and to invite him to Christmas
dinner.
9 He’s a kind, generous, friendly, optimistic person.
Headway Culture and Literature Companion Teacher's Guide © Oxford University Press 2019
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18
Rabbit-Proof Fence –
Doris Pilkington Garimara
Background
5th edition
Pre-intermediate
What do you think?
Doris Pilkington Garimara is an Australian author from an
aboriginal family. The character of Molly is based on her
mother, Molly Craig, who escaped from the Moore River
Native Settlement and travelled for nine weeks to reach
home. Doris herself was taken to Moore River when she was
three and a half years old. A later book, Under the Wintamarra
Tree, recounts her own escape from the settlement.
The children who were abducted in this way are often
referred to in Australia as the ‘Stolen Generation’. As
discussed in the What do you think? exercise, many victims
and their families feel that the Australian government should
pay compensation for their suffering.
Discuss as a class, or first in pairs/groups, and then as a class.
PROJECT
Students can do this as homework, but could also prepare it
in class, working in pairs.
Pronunciation
Doris Pilkington Garimara /ˈdɒrɪs ˈpɪlkɪŋtən
gæriˈmɑːrə/
Aborigines /æbəˈrɪdʒəniz/
Notes on the unit
e The reading text has been recorded for you to use as and
when you feel appropriate for your students.
1 Discuss the question as a class. Then ask them to read the
short text and ask what more they learned from it. It might
also be interesting to find some additional information on
Aboriginal art, stories and beliefs if students are interested.
2 Ask students to read about the novel, then discuss the
question as a class, or ask students to discuss it in pairs.
3 Ask students to read the extract quickly, without worrying
if they don’t understand every word.
4 Ask students to find the words in the extract and match
them with their meanings.
Answers
1 c 2 i 3 b 4 j 5 g 6 d 7 e 8 f 9 a 10 h
5 Ask students to read the extract again and answer the
questions.
Answers
1 Molly is the oldest. Daisy is the youngest.
2 Molly: practical, intelligent, optimistic, cautious.
Gracie: pessimistic, moody.
Daisy: quiet, shy.
3 Molly didn’t need a map to find her way. She knows about
tracking. She knows how to find a place to sleep.
4 You learn that the Aborigines understand the natural world
and how to survive in it.
5 The settlements were bad places, and the people in charge
were cruel to the children who lived there.
Headway Culture and Literature Companion Teacher's Guide © Oxford University Press 2019
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19
5th edition
Human rights and
responsibilities
Background
Human rights are the ways we think that everybody should
behave and the protections we should all have under
the law. These rights are often protected by national and
international laws, but they are thought to belong to all
people, everywhere. The idea of human rights developed
over time from national laws to the idea in the United
Nations Human Rights Declaration that all people around
the world share some of the same rights. Some people
suggest that applying the same law to all people means that
we do not recognise the differences between cultures which
shape national laws.
Pre-intermediate
5 Direct students’ attention to the chart showing ages. Ask
students to match the ages of criminal responsibility
to the countries. Ask the class for suggestions and then
provide answers.
Answers
Brazil, Peru, Luxembourg, Belgium – 18
England, Wales, Northern Ireland – 10
The Netherlands, Canada – 12
Scandinavia –15
Scotland – 8
Spain, Portugal – 16
The US (some states) – 6
6 Ask students to match the pictures to the situations
Pronunciation
Answers
Magna Carta /ˈmæɡnæ ˈkɑːtə/
peers /ˈpɪəz/
A 2 B 3 C 4 D 1
7 Ask students to read the texts again and discuss in pairs or
small groups which one of the four will be satisfied.
Notes on the unit
e The reading text has been recorded for you to use as and
when you feel appropriate for your students.
1 Ask students to work in pairs or groups and match the
counties to the human rights texts.
Answers
Magna Carta – England
Bill of Rights – the United States
Declaration of the Rights of Man, and of the Citizen – France
Universal Declaration of Human Rights – the United Nations
2 Ask students to read the headings. Then ask them to
read the text (without worrying too much at this stage
about any words they do not understand) and match the
headings to the paragraphs.
Answers
B Only Kate will be able to get what she wants.
8 Ask students to discuss the question in pairs or small
groups and give reasons for their answers.
What do you think?
Discuss as a class, or first in pairs/groups, and then as a class.
PROJECT
Students can do this as homework, but could also prepare it
in class, working in pairs or small groups.
Answers
A 2 B 4 C 1 D 3
3 Ask students to read the text again and decide if the
statements are true or false.
Answers
1 F 2 T 3 F 4 T 5 F 6 F 7 T
4 Ask students to work in pairs or groups to find the words
in the text and work out what they mean from context.
Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
to be acted towards
to be looked after or kept safe
to be owned by somebody
to have somebody decide if you did or didn’t commit a crime
to have somebody say you did something wrong or illegal
to do an activity or join a group
Headway Culture and Literature Companion Teacher's Guide © Oxford University Press 2019
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20
Notes from a Big Country –
Bill Bryson
Background
As well as writing travel books, Bill Bryson has also written
books on the English language and on scientific subjects. He
was born in Des Moines in the US, and moved to England
in 1973, spending most of his adult life in North Yorkshire.
He went back to live in America in 1995, but returned to
England in 2003.
Bryson’s Notes from a Big Country is a collection of his
reflections on life in the US after this extended absence. In
a chapter entitled ‘Junk food heaven’, the writer explores
the range of processed foods available in American
supermarkets in the 1990s. These contrasted greatly with
the limited number of similar products found in the UK at
the time.
5th edition
Pre-intermediate
6 Ask students to read the comprehension questions, then
read the extract again and find the answers.
Answers
1 There is are lots of junk foods he wants to try now that they
are back in America, but his wife keeps buying healthy items.
2 His wife is English and she doesn’t understand all the
possibilities for buying junk food.
3 There is so much of it in the supermarket and he has been
away for so long.
4 Microwave pancakes.
5 He has to eat everything he buys.
What do you think?
Discuss as a class, or first in pairs/groups, and then as a class.
Pronunciation
PROJECT
Bill Bryson /bɪl ˈbraɪsən/
Des Moines /dɪ ˈmɔɪn/
Iowa /ˈaɪəʊwə/
Hampshire /ˈhæmpʃɪə/
Students can do this as homework, but could also prepare it
in class, working in pairs or small groups.
Notes on the unit
e The reading text has been recorded for you to use as and
when you feel appropriate for your students.
1 Ask students to read the text about Bill Bryson and answer
the questions.
Answers
Bill Bryson is from Des Moines in the US. He now lives in
Hampshire in the UK.
2 Ask students to look at the pictures and label them with
the words in the box.
Answers
1 spray can 2 pancakes 3 strudel 4 greasy 5 nutritious 6 gooey
3 Ask students to read the extract (without worrying too
much about words that they do not understand at this
stage) and answer the questions.
Answers
Bill Bryson is enthusiastic and curious. His wife feels the opposite.
4 Ask students to read the definitions, then find the words
and phrases in the extract.
Answers
1 unrivalled 2 arresting 3 (specimen) sample 4 enthusiasm 5 sincerest
5 Ask students to match the verbs to the definitions.
Answers
D000629
1 c 2 d 3 a 4 f 5 b 6 g 7 h 8 e
Headway Culture and Literature Companion Teacher's Guide © Oxford University Press 2019
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