Cambridge
Lower Secondary
Complete
English
Series Editor: Dean Roberts
Annabel Charles, Alan Jenkins,
Mark Pedroz, Tony Parkinson
Second Edition
Oxford excellence for Cambridge Lower Secondary
7
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annotating and zooming in on specific features
Foodies’ delight
Healthy eating – a radio discussion
Sophia, Nikri and Nor were asked to discuss how young people
can be encouraged to eat healthily. Sophia starts the discussion.
1
Developing your language – writing
appropriately for the reader
Listen to the
audio for this task:
Sophia, Nikri and Nor talk about how to convey information
about healthy eating effectively for young people. Answer the
following questions about language features.
Listen carefully to their discussion.
Understanding
1. What do the group suggest is important?
Answer the following questions.
2. Look at the features below and decide which you think are
important and which are not. Explain your answer.
1. Sophia’s and Nikri’s mothers have the
same view of food. What is it?
Standard English
2. What do Nor, Sophia and Nikri think
short sections
subject-specific language
should eat less of? What would you
add to that?
words
own knowledge, write an information leaflet for students of
your age to encourage them to eat healthily.
answer.
You need to think about:
before children will eat a healthy diet.” What might they
mean by this?
calcium
nutritious
The words in the Word cloud are all subject-specific words
linked to the topic of nutrition and diet. Look at the Word
cloud and answer the following questions.
carbohydrate protein
1. Check you know what each word in the Word cloud means.
nutrients
They are both Latin words. Use a dictionary to find out what
their Latin origins are.
16
●
what you are going to include in your leaflet
●
how to make your leaflet persuasive for a younger
audience by using a range of suitable language techniques
●
how you are going to organise your ideas clearly.
Word cloud
Word builder
3. Nutrients and nutritious come from the same word family.
glossary to explain difficult
exclamations humour
4. Using the information from the radio discussion, and your
6. You just heard someone say, “An awful lot has to change
in calcium; high fat content; high protein content; plentiful
vitamins.
similes
3. Add more features to those above.
people to eat healthily.
5. Which method do you think is more effective? Explain your
Use a dictionary to help you.
straightforward words
colloquial language
complex sentences
Most fresh food produced
by farmers around the world
is nutritious. However, many
of these natural foodstuffs
are then processed into
considerably less healthy
foods. Think about your
region. How might a local
farmer communicate this to
local people?
illustrations addressing the reader directly
scientific words
4. Give two ways the group suggests of persuading young
2. Give some examples of foods in each of these categories: rich
clear headings
writing in the third person
young people need to eat to stay
healthy?
3. What do they think are the foods you
Global
Perspectives
fat
My favourite food
vitamins
On social media, you follow a Teenage Kicks pro-health
food group. Write a quick tweet, in reply to these
prompts.
●
My favourite healthy food is ...
●
What I love about it is ...
●
Nutritionally it is ...
●
Science says we need this food because...
17
For more information, visit:
www.oxfordsecondary.com/cambridge-lowersecondary-english
Need help?
Contact your local educational consultant: www.oxfordsecondary.com/contact-us
3
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Acknowledgements
The publisher would like to thank the following for permissions to use
copyright material:
Extract from The Lastling (OUP, 2003), copyright © Philip Gross 2003.
Reproduced with permission of the Licensor through PLSclear.
Extract from ‘How will the world end?’ by Herbert C. Fyfe, from
the book ‘Rollercoasers: 19th-, 20th- and 21st Century Non-Fiction’.
Reproduced with permission of the Licensor through PLSclear.
Extract from ‘Nepal safari camp ends elephant-back tours’ written by
Phoebe Smith; published by The Guardian on July 14, 2017. Reprinted by
permission of Guardian News & Media Limited.
Mother to Son’ by Langston Hughes, from The Collected Works of
Langston Hughes. Reprinted by permission of David Higham Associates
Limited.
My Mum Put Me on the Transfer List’, copyright © David Harmer
1998, first published in They Think It’s All Over edited by David Orme
(Macmillan Children’s Books, 1998) reprinted by permission of the
author.
Extract from ‘Female Cyclists’ by Arthur Munby from the book
‘Rollercoasters: 19th-, 20th- and 21st Century Non-Fiction’. Reproduced
with permission of the Licensor through PLSclear.
From ‘A is for animals, B is for beaches, C is for castles’ written by Beth
Hancock, published by Inntravel. Reprinted by permission from the
author.
Extract from It’s All About the Bike: The Pursuit of Happiness on Two
Wheels (Penguin Particular, 2010). Copyright © Robert Penn 2010.
Extract from ‘Uncle Vanya’ by Antov Chekhov from the book ‘Five
Plays Ivanov, The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, and The Cherry
Orchard’ (OUP 1980). Reproduced with permission of the Licensor
through PLSclear.
Extract from In the Nick of Time (Corgi Children’s 2007) by Robert
Swindells. Copyright © Robert Swindells.
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opportunity.
Contents
Introduction
4
Spine-chilling suspense
Features and conventions of fiction suspense genre
6
Manic media
Journalistic writing, bias, viewpoint, facts and opinion
22
3
Hazardous hobbies
Poetry: narrative and non-narrative poems from different times and cultures
38
4
Food for thought
Non-fiction texts to inform, explain, persuade and comment
54
1
Cambridge
2
Lower
Secondary
Complete
5
English
Joyous journeys
Pre-20th century fiction, writing descriptive narrative
7
Series
Dean
Roberts
Pre-20th century
drama,
playscripts, performance and dramatic structure
6 Editor:
and features of plays
Annabel Charles, Alan Jenkins,
Sizzling science
Mark7 Pedroz,
Tony Parkinson
Features of science fiction and fantasy genres and what makes
Dating the drama
a successful story
70
86
102
8
Hairy history
Contemporary non-fiction biography and autobiography
9
Nurturing nature
Pre-20th century poetry
134
Reading: The Lastling by Philip Gross
150
Language and literacy reference
154
Oxford excellence for Cambridge Lower Secondary
118
In every unit there are listening tasks. Your teacher may play the audio for
you, or you can listen to the audio on the website using the QR code.
Website: www.oxfordsecondary.com/9781382019156
3
Introduction to Student Book 7
Welcome to Oxford’s Cambridge Lower
Secondary Complete English Student Book
7. This book and the student workbook will
support you and your teacher as you engage with
Stage 7 of the Cambridge curriculum framework.
It aims to encourage you in becoming:
●
Confident in your English skills and your
ability to express yourself
●
Responsible for your own learning and
responsive to and respectful of others
Cambridge
Lower Secondary
●
Reflective as a learner so that you can be a
life-long learner – not just in school now
●
Innovative and ready for new challenges as
a global citizen
●
Engaged in both academic and social
situations.
Complete
Student Book and Workbook
English
There are some great features in your Stage 7
book. Here’s an explanation of how they work.
Each unit has a global theme. For example,
you’ll explore science, technology, the
universe and space in Unit 7, Sizzling science;
journey across the world in the company of
the great adventurer Phileas Fogg in Unit 5,
Joyous journeys; and find out about food facts
and persuasive opinions in Unit 4, Food for
thought.
Thinking time
Speaking & Listening
Through the Thinking time and Speaking &
Listening features you get the chance to express
what you already know about a theme or topic,
think critically and find out more from your
classmates whilst exploring new ideas.
7
Reading
Every day, each of us reads all kinds of texts
such as novels, recipes, newspapers, blogs,
bicycle repair manuals, cartoons, school reports.
We read from books, phones, computers,
tablets, food packaging and bus timetables. In
this Stage 7 book, you’ll encounter all kinds
of texts to enhance your reading experience.
From Charlotte’s weird time-slip in the science
fiction extract from In the Nick of Time to poems
about how harsh nature can be in Unit 9,
Nurturing nature and a drama playscript in
Unit 6, Dating the drama, you’ll be discovering
ford excellence for Cambridge Lower Secondary
both the literal and literary world around
you. Comprehension tasks help you to show
At the start of every unit, you’ll see the type of
that you understand explicit and implicit
page above. It gives you a quick summary of
meaning and lead from information retrieval to
what the unit will be about and the main skills
generating new ideas and material.
you will be learning and practising.
Series Editor: Dean Roberts
Annabel Charles, Alan Jenkins,
Mark Pedroz, Tony Parkinson
4
Word cloud
Glossary
As you read, use the Word clouds that appear
near the reading texts to learn new vocabulary
and explore meanings and usage in context.
The Glossary will help you with words or
phrases that you may not find in a dictionary
because they are uncommon, colloquial or
technical.
written ‘language muscles’ the chance to
grow strong. Then you’ll be able to express
yourself clearly, accurately and impressively.
The language awareness and development
activities in this Stage 7 book will improve your
grammar, spelling and punctuation. Uncover
what contractions, connotations and clichés
really mean and how using them or not using
them empowers your language.
Cambridge
Lower Secondary
Complete
Vocabulary
Writing
English
Learning new words and, perhaps more
importantly, learning exactly how they should
be used is a key element of this series of books.
There are lots of word building exercises for you
to extend and enhance your vocabulary. Don’t
expect to know all the words you encounter –
this book will help you build up your vocabulary.
7
Every unit has a writer’s workshop where you
will learn the skills of writing for different
purposes linked to some of the texts you have
read in the unit. In Stage 7, you will write
a dramatic suspense narrative, an article for
a local newspaper, create your own sports
kenning and travel into your family’s past
to construct a biography of one of your
grandparents. With step by step guidance,
you will develop the structure and organise
your ideas using a range of sentences and
presentations to become a powerful, engaging
and accurate writer.
Series Editor: Dean Roberts
Annabel Charles, Alan Jenkins,
Mark Listening
Pedroz, Tony Parkinson
In every unit there are listening tasks. You can
listen to the audio by scanning the QR code, or
your teacher may play it for you. Sometimes, your
teacher may provide you with the transcript of
The story of my success!
Oxford
excellence for Cambridge Lower Secondary
the audio recording to support you. For example,
At the end of each unit in the Student Book,
you’ll hear a radio news report about a fire at a
fireworks factory, a conversation between 12-year- there is a practice test that is similar to the
Cambridge tests. There is also an opportunity
old Ghada and her grandparents, a speech by
for you to measure your progress in developing
an author talking about how he writes suspense
some important language and literary skills.
fiction. As you listen, you will be practising your
skills of listening to locate details, listening to
Workbook
understand the gist of what is being said, and
The Workbook activities enable you to practise
listening to make inferences… trying to work out
and expand on what you’ve been doing in
what people really mean.
lessons, independently or for homework. Each
Workbook unit ends with a quick, fun quiz that
Language development
helps you revisit some of the language skills,
Developing your language is more than just
literature and non-fiction you engaged with.
learning grammar! It gives your spoken and
5
8
Hairy history
In this unit, you will reflect on what history means and explore how English
words are formed from Latin. You will explore how people from India and
Cuba view the past and present of their countries, collaborate with your fellow
students in role-play and engage with a member of your family to learn about
their past. Finally, you will plan, structure and present your family member’s
biography.
And in doing all that, you will be practising these key skills:
Speaking & Listening
Writing
Reading
£ Take part in paired
£ Use coordinating
£ Comment on the structure
dialogue, adapting
your speech to show
appropriate tone and
register.
£ Use informal language
conjunctions and a range
of punctuation to link
sentences.
£ Use a thesaurus and
and contractions in
role-play.
recognised expressions
to develop your choice of
vocabulary.
£ Listen to a 12-year-old
£ Learn how to turn dialogue
girl interviewing her
grandparents about their
lives and analysing what
she hears.
and note-taking into
extended biographical
writing.
of autobiographical
writing.
£ Recognise inferences and
bias in order to explain
implicit meaning.
£ Explore the use of
connotations in
descriptive and persuasive
writing in order to identify
viewpoint and purpose.
I don’t like history:
it’s only a list of dates
and endless battles.
fore
the day be
s
rt
ta
s
ry
Histo
oes
and then g
I was born
t line!
in a straigh
backwards
118
read
The more you
ple lived in
about how peo
ore you
the past, the m
e just like us,
realise they wer
t have cars and
only they didn’
computers.
8
Thinking time
1. Look at the photographs on the opposite page. Discuss
how they are related to history.
2. Look at the quotations on the same page. Do you agree or
disagree with any of them?
3. Add your own quotation about history.
Speaking &
Listening
Discuss each of the three
quotations in turn and
then give your own views
of what history is all about.
Try to do this in just one
sentence.
History in the news
Read the following newspaper item and answer the questions.
1 Yesterday, historian Yelda Yo, an expert in the prehistory of
our oldest region and the President of the National Society
of Historians, opened an exhibition of artefacts in Gotensk.
She described it as a ‘historic occasion’. Yelda was very
5 enthusiastic about this event and said that she had been
interested in prehistoric findings ever since she was a child.
It was not until she was older that she realised some of this
was very useful historical evidence.
1. Identify the common root word for the words in the Word
cloud. (In Old French it is estoire.)
2. Find two words in the extract that are derived from the Latin
word for out. (The Latin word for out is ex.)
Word cloud
historian
historical
historic
prehistoric
3. Find a word in the extract that is derived from the Latin word
for hold. The Latin word is habere. This is more of a challenge!
Word builder
Complete the following sentences using words from the
Word cloud.
1. My father, who was a __________, studied Greek civilisation.
2. Dinosaurs were __________ beasts.
119
Hairy history
history
Hairy
Autobiography
Read the following extract from an autobiography, telling the
story of a girl’s personal history.
Earliest Memories – A Faraway Land
1
5
10
15
20
25
30
Raghunathpur was a typical Indian village: a rustic, ancient
backwater of dusty, uneven streets and crumbling old houses
made up of mud-bricks covered in masks of cement. It boasted
no great achievements or personalities. All that existed was a
hard-working community who expected or desired little from
life other than a healthy existence and a proud family. It was very
rural and so, inevitably, it was very poor. I spent the first years of
my life in that archaic Bengali village.
The three of us – my mother, my sister and I – lived in the tworoomed house of my father’s parents, and the rooms were both
very small – so tiny that a double bed could barely be fitted in.
Still we knew nothing of any other way of life and lived there
quite contentedly.
Waking up, I would begin a series of curious actions that I would
perform every morning – a sort of routine that built up and seemed
inevitable in the daily, repetitive life of the village. Jumping out
of bed, my sister and I used to search around in the darkness of
our single room for some little bags. The cramped room had one,
very small opening which could be loosely classified as a ‘window’
but which for the most part let in little of the radiant beams of
the midday sun, always so high in the sky. Having found our bags,
we used to totter out on to the open veranda which led to our
grandparents’ room. We shrieked in our high Bengali tones like
young eaglets. Soon afterwards, our grandfather’s wrinkled prunedry face would appear round the scratchy old door. Smiling, he
would drop some unknown morsels in our bags. Somehow we all
received great pleasure from that strange, simple routine.
At about nine o’clock my sister would leave for school. I would
undergo a reflex action; I would cry and moan like a wounded
dog to follow her and just occasionally, I would be allowed to trot
after her. We lived in an area of the village known as ‘Nandura’
and it was a short walk down the dust-sedimented lane lined
with sun-baked houses with exteriors that from a distance looked
like leopard skins thanks to the presence of round, dark cowpats
120
Word cloud
ancient
repetitive
archaic
scorching
cramped
scratchy
crumbling
Glossary
cackle laughing in a way
that sounds like hens
or geese
dust-sedimented lane
a road that has many
layers of dust
to totter out to walk very
carefully
wrinkled prune-dry
face so dried out that
the face looks like a
dried plum
88
35 lining the sand-coloured walls, cooking solid in the scorching
heat of the day. The lukewarm wind blew dust into our faces
from time to time, and large, loose swarms of mosquitos flew
around in their irregular formations. There was the cackle of
children playing, and men walked slowly down the lanes, their
40 pure, white shirts and pyjamas shining in the golden daylight.
From Earliest Memories – A Faraway Land by Subhajit Sarkar
Understanding
Subhajit’s story is part of an autobiography, which is written by
her and tells the story of her childhood. If someone else wrote
about her life it would be a biography.
Answer the following questions.
1. What does Subhajit tell you about:
a the village
b the weather
c
the house she lived in
d her grandfather?
2. Did Subhajit come from a rich family? How can you tell?
3. How did you feel when you read this autobiographical account?
Developing your language –
using words to create effect
Writers will sometimes use words to create effect. The choice of
words is very important if you want to make the reader respond in
a particular way.
Answer the following questions using the words in
the Word cloud.
1. What do these words have in common?
2. Are they positive words or are they negative words?
3. Which two words are the most powerful?
4. Add two similar words that would fit in the Word cloud.
Word builder
Write antonyms for each of the words in the Word cloud.
Global
Perspectives
What are the advantages
and disadvantages of
living in a global world?
Collaborate with one or
two other students and
explore the impact of
global communication
and global travel. What
problems may occur
globally in these two areas?
121
Hairy history
Sentences and conjunctions
Key concept
Types of sentences
Simple sentences contain one verb and end with a full stop.
Example:
I live in Raghunathpur.
Simple sentences can be joined using coordinating
conjunctions, such as and, but and so.
Example:
The streets in Raghunathpur were uneven. The houses were
made of mud bricks.
The streets in Raghunathpur were uneven and the houses
were made of mud bricks.
Two simple sentences joined using coordinate conjunctions
become a coordinated sentence.
Simple sentences
Identify the simple sentences from the list below.
1. It was very rural and so inevitably it was very poor.
2. The lukewarm wind blew dust in our faces.
3. We lived in a two-roomed house.
4. There was a cackle of children playing and men walked
slowly down the lanes.
Creating coordinated sentences
Answer the questions below.
1. Use the conjunctions and, but and so to join the sentences
below. Use a different conjunction for each pair of sentences.
a There were windows with small openings. They hardly let
in any light.
b Sometimes I was told I could follow my sister to school.
I used to trot after her happily.
c
Our house was very tiny. It had only two, cramped rooms.
2. Create four simple sentences that can be added to the extract.
3. Make a single, coordinated sentence from the sentences you
have written for Question 2.
4. What rule have you learned about coordinated sentences?
221
122
8
Commas in dialogue
Key concept
Dialogue
Dialogue is formed when a conversation between two or
more people is written down. You show when their words
begin and end by using speech marks, commas and full
stops.
Example:
“Time to get up,” whispered my sister.
“It’s too dark,” I replied, “and I can’t find my little bag.”
“Here it is, with mine,” was the reply. “Come on, let’s wake
up Grandfather.”
Focus on commas
Insert commas where you think they should be used in the
following dialogues. Do not add other punctuation.
1. “Good morning children” said Grandfather appearing round
the scratchy old door.
2. “Good morning Grandfather” I replied in a pleading voice
“and can I go with my sister to school today?”
3. “Maybe” murmured Grandfather putting our treats in our
bag “and maybe not.”
Speaking & Listening
1. Role-play a conversation that Subhajit could have later in the
day with her sister, who has just come back from school. Use
the right tone of voice to convey the meaning.
2. Note down where you are pausing in this dialogue.
3. Write some of the dialogue down, inserting commas in the
correct places.
321
123
Hairy history
Come to Cuba
Aleja, a 12-year-old girl who lives in Miami, has
written to her cousin Yoselin. Aleja would like
to visit Yoselin and her family in Cuba. Here is
Yoselin’s reply.
Hi Aleja,
1
Great to hear from you again. It’s so exciting that you’d like to come to Cuba! It’s not
so difficult to visit from the USA as some people think. It won’t be the typical beach
holiday, although there’s untouched white sand in the north. But you love history, don’t
you? You’ll find loads to fascinate you here, and our family would love to meet you.
5
I must admit, there’s no Disneyland, but there are many reminders of Spanish colonial
times and the real-life pirates of the Caribbean past. Some people think the whole place
is trapped in a time warp, but we like it that way! The architecture is magnificent and
you’ll find our vintage American cars extraordinary.
Crumbling grandiose houses in cobbled streets are left from the time when Cuba was
10 America’s playground – that is, if you had a lot of money. Since the Revolution, Cuba
belongs to its own people, and it hasn’t always been easy. The embargo means life’s
tough, but we have learned to grow and make our own goods, especially food from our
beautiful gardens.
You won’t find lots of swanky shops here, but you’ll have a warm welcome. Our family
15 runs a café where students love to hang out and argue about our revolution, or about
foreign investment in our country. Everyone likes to talk politics...
Of course, if you want to get away and see the wild side of Cuba, we have fertile
forests, crocodile-infested swamps and rugged mountains. You’ll find abandoned coffee
plantations, quaint fishing villages and historic hotels. The rich mix of history makes us
20 a diverse people. Don’t worry about getting sick: our free health service is one of the
best in the world. I would love to be a doctor when I grow up!
Our grandfathers had different lives. My grandfather joined Castro’s revolution, while
yours decided to take a boat to Miami. But we already know we’ve a lot in common and
it’ll be fun to be together. Write soon!
Yoselin
Word cloud
124
diverse
magnificent
extraordinary
quaint
fertile
swanky
grandiose
untouched
8
Understanding
1. Will Aleja like Cuba? Why?
2. Is Yoselin wealthy? Explain your answer.
3. Yoselin is very proud of her country. Write down three phrases
which show what she likes about it.
4. Suggest why Aleja’s lifestyle is probably very different to Yoselin’s.
5. How would the local history where you live look to someone
from another country?
6. Write a postcard from Aleja to thank Yoselin after her holiday.
Key concept
Connotations
A connotation is an idea or feeling which a word gives
you, in addition to its meaning.
Words can be classified into three basic groups:
● those with a positive connotation
Example: magnificent
●
those with a negative connotation
Example: infested
●
neutral words
Example: typical.
Developing your language – connotations
of words
Answer the questions using words in the Word cloud.
1. What connotations do these words have?
2. Can any be used with a negative connotation?
3. Write down three words with positive connotations.
4. Write three neutral words.
Word builder
Use words in the Word cloud to answer these questions.
1. How does each word imply that Cuba is a special place?
2. Find five other words Yoselin uses to suggest Aleja will enjoy
her visit.
3. Use these words to write new sentences in a different
context – but still related to the history of a place you know.
Glossary
boat to Miami many Cubans
reached Florida on small
boats as political and
economic refugees
colonial times Cuba was
once a Spanish colony in the
Caribbean
Disneyland the worldfamous Disney theme park
in Orlando, Florida
embargo America retaliated
by blocking trade and
investment in Cuba, making
the country very poor
free health service health
care in Cuba is funded by
the state and free to those
who use it
Revolution Fidel Castro
led the communist Cuban
Revolution in the 1950s to
change the government and
remove American influence
Remember
Inference
When you form an opinion or
work something out based on
what someone says or does, it is
called inferring. The skill you are
developing is inference.
125
Hairy history
history
Hairy
Using contractions
Spoken language uses different constructions
from those used in formal writing. Examples
from Yoselin’s letter:
●
“It’s so exciting that you’d like to come to
Cuba!”
●
“It won’t be the typical beach holiday…”
●
“But you love history, don’t you?”
●
“There’s no Disneyland”
‘I’d love to meet
the family...’
‘It’s so exciting that you
want to come to Cuba!’
Vintage cars in Havana, Cuba
Look at Yoselin’s letter and answer these questions.
1. Match the following statements to one of the examples of
spoken language above.
a She uses an exclamation mark to make her excitement
obvious.
b Instead of saying ‘there is’ she shortens it to make it sound
like speech.
c
She asks Aleja a question so as to give her a chance
to respond.
d She makes a contrast between Cuba and other holiday
destinations.
2. Find four other examples from the letter where Yoselin uses
contractions. For each of these, state what the intended
effect is.
126
Remember
If the register is informal –
for example, in a letter to
a friend – then it would
be normal to use some
contractions.
8
Throughout the letter, Yoselin uses contractions to
make her writing sound friendlier.
Examples:
●
●
●
●
life’s = life is
you will not = you won’t
I am = I’m
do not = don’t
They’re
No it is not
It is
You are
More contractions are shown in the circles on the
right. Match the contractions to the original phrases.
You’re
We will
We’ll
No it isn’t
It should
not
It shouldn’t
They are
It’s
Changes in meaning
Not all contractions end up with the same meaning as the two original
words. For example, you might say “I’m pleased to see you.” However,
“I am pleased to see you” means something slightly different.
Suggest possible meanings to the examples below. Rewrite the
sentences using contractions.
●
●
●
●
You are looking splendid tonight.
I will attend to it later, and I have already told you that.
She will not be happy to see you.
I have a very serious meeting to attend.
Remember
If you want to emphasise
something, it is better
to avoid contractions and
to use the two words.
Role-play
One of you will pretend to be Aleja and the other will be Yoselin.
Aleja has arrived at Yoselin’s house and will be spending a week with
Yoselin’s family.
Decide which day you are going to hold your conversation.
●
Will it be on the first day, a few hours after Aleja has arrived?
Or will you hold your conversation halfway through the week,
perhaps after visiting a historic place in Cuba?
● Or maybe your talk can take place towards the end of the
week, as Aleja is about to leave.
How about the story of their grandfathers, Raoul and Juan? How
would they have talked about their life choices? Role-play either
a conversation before Juan went to America, or a conversation
many years later about their different countries and lives.
●
Use informal language and contractions in your conversation.
127
Hairy history
Talking about the past
A conversation with Ghada’s grandparents
Listen to the
audio for this task:
In this dialogue, 12-year-old Ghada talks to her grandparents
about their lives 50 years ago.
Glossary
everything is laid on
it’s an easy life for some
people
mind you pay attention
please
it took ages it took a very
long time
in the back of beyond in
a very rural area
Understanding
Answer the following questions.
1. Do Ghada’s grandparents suffer from boredom, and how do
you know this?
2. Even though the grandparents were relatively poor as young
adults, what could have made things much worse for them?
3. Do you think Ghada’s grandparents had a good life when
they were young? Explain your answer.
4. How do the grandparents differ in their views of modern life?
128
8
Developing your language –
using expressions
Carry out the following tasks.
1. Practise saying each of the expressions in the Glossary
box so that you can hear the sound of the expression.
2. Write down some more expressions that you use or
that you have heard other people use.
3. What is a cliché? When do you think an expression
becomes a cliché?
Using your thesaurus
Key concept
Synonyms
A dictionary tells you the meaning of words. A thesaurus
gives a list of words with similar meanings. These words
are called synonyms.
Examples of words from Ghada’s conversation, with their
synonyms:
energy: liveliness, vigour, vitality, life
Global
Perspectives
Over the last 50 years,
how much has changed in
the place where you live?
Evaluate how far this has
been a good thing for the
people who live in your
local region.
rusty: corroded, weather-beaten, damaged, shabby
wrecked: destroyed, smashed up, demolished, crushed
Answer the following questions.
1. Which of the alternative words to energy, wrecked and rusty
would you rather use? Why?
2. Nana says “Your granddad and I were real young farmers.
Oh yes, full of energy.” Suggest a synonym to use without
changing the meaning.
3. Nana says “We did have a rusty old bicycle.” Are any of the
words from the thesaurus as good as rusty or do they change
the meaning?
4. ‘Nana also says that when the storms came, they wrecked
their crops’ is a strong statement. Do any of the alternatives
convey the idea as strongly?
5. Write down other synonyms for energy, wrecked and rusty.
129
Hairy history
Planning and writing a biography
Key concept
Autobiography versus biography
Subhajit’s story (which you read on pages 120–121) is
part of an autobiography, written by her and telling the
story of her childhood. If someone else wrote about her
life, it would be a biography.
Ghada found that her grandparents had a lot to say about their
life 50 years ago.
Choose an older person you know well to write their biography.
Plan the questions you will ask and listen carefully to what
they say about their life. Be polite and don’t ask very personal
questions. If possible, make a recording to listen to when you are
drafting your work.
Planning your writing
Decide what questions to ask. Write them down, leaving plenty of
space to add responses. Examples of questions from past to present:
When and where were you born, and who were your parents?
● What are your earliest memories?
● What are your memories of school?
● What was it like for you to be a teenager?
● What did you do when you
teacher taught me
left school?
to love poetry
● What are you proudest
of achieving so far?
● What do you think are
have good memories
the main differences between
your early life and life nowadays?
●
When you are ready to start
writing, select only the key
information or the facts that
are most interesting.
130
Your notes might look like this:
teacher kind
but strict
Memories of
school
no talking
allowed
few books
got a prize
was good at maths
sat quietly at
our desks
lots of tests
teacher spoke for
most of lesson
8
Writing frame for a biography
Remember
Biographies are usually written in chronological order – from
past to present. Each set of memories should form a separate
paragraph. Each paragraph should start with a topic sentence.
The topic sentence tells you what the paragraph is about and is
often a link to the paragraph that came before. Use the following
writing frame to begin writing your biography:
Use topic sentences to
frame a longer piece of
writing. If you put your
topic sentences together,
they should flow in a
logical pattern and act as
a summary.
Paragraph 1: Introducing your subject
An introduction to who you are interviewing. Example:
My grandmother’s name is Ludmilla and she was born in
Russia 70 years ago.
This sentence introduces the whole biography using basic
facts.
Paragraph 2: First idea –
memories
Paragraph 3: An extension of the
previous idea
Used to set out the first idea from your
notes. Example:
Example:
Her earliest memories go back to when she
was three years old, but they do not form
any pattern.
This tells the reader that the memories that
follow might not be in a particular order.
One memory that is particularly strong was
the first day she went to school.
This sentence tells the reader how this
paragraph links to the previous one, and
what it will include.
Presenting your biography
Biographies often use:
●
photographs
●
extracts from original material related to the subject
●
quotations.
Try to include these in any biography you write.
131
Hairy history
Practising key skills
Re-read Earliest Memories – A Faraway Land on pages 120–121 and answer
questions 1–6.
Copy, or take a photo of, the questions and write your answers in your exercise book.
1. Give one word and one phrase from the first sentence (lines 1–3) that tell the reader that the
village of Raghunathpur had been the same for a very long time.
Word: ........................................................................................................
Phrase: ....................................................................................................[2]
2. Look at the rest of the first paragraph (lines 3–8).
(a) How do we know that the village was not famous?
.............................................................................................................[1]
(b) Give one word which means ‘belonging to the past’.
.............................................................................................................[1]
3. Look at the third paragraph (lines 14–27).
(a) Give one adjective which shows that every day in the village seemed the same for Subhajit.
.............................................................................................................[1]
(b) Give two phrases which show there was very little light in the bedroom.
................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................[2]
(c) Give two examples of imagery from lines 21–27. Give one example of a simile and one
example of a metaphor.
Simile: ..................................................................................................
Metaphor: ..........................................................................................[2]
4. Look at the fourth paragraph (lines 28–40).
(a) Explain how Subhajit conveys to you that Raghunathpur was a hot place. Give one
quotation from the text to support your answer.
Explanation: ...........................................................................................
Quotation:...........................................................................................[2]
132
8
(b) Despite the heat, the poverty and the simple lifestyle of the village, Subhajit’s memories
are of the beauty of the day. Give one phrase from lines 28–40 that tells the reader this.
........................................................................................................[1]
5. Look at the heading: ‘Earliest Memories – A Faraway Land’.
Why do you think this is a suitable title for Subhajiit’s personal history? Give one reason in
your own words. You will need to make inferences from the extract.
.............................................................................................................[1]
6. How is this autobiographical memoir structured? Tick (  ) one box.
The text tells the story over a period of weeks.
The text has an introductory historical paragraph and is then a personal memory.
The text uses simple sentences.
The text has numbered points.
[1]
The text tells you the facts about a historical person.
The story of my success!
Here are some of the important skills from Unit 8. Reflect how successfully you can
use each skill.
 I can recognise key features of
autobiography as a genre.
coordinating conjunctions.
 I can recognise words that have positive and
negative connotations.
I’m okay at this but
I make some mistakes
and need more practice
for sure.
 I can punctuate dialogue accurately.
 I can use informal language successfully in
 I can draw inferences and separate facts
from opinions.
 I can link sentences with appropriate
role-play situations.
 I can structure my writing chronologically.
I’m quite good at
this as long as I am
thorough and careful.
I have mastered this
and can explain it to
someone else.
Discuss your progress with your teacher. Agree on some targets for an action plan.
133
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7
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●
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●
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