SESSION 14: EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT

SESSION 14: EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT

NOTE: IN ORDER TO WORK WITH THE TEXT, UNDERSTAND AND PREPARE IT BETTER I RECOMMEND THESE EXERCISES.

THERE WILL BE TWO TYPES OF EXERCISES:

1. EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT: THESE ARE EXERCISES FOCUSING ON THE READING COMPREHENSION, WORKING WITH VOCABULARY AND EXPRESSIONS.
2. EXERCISES FOR DISCUSSION: EXERCISES FOCUSING ON THE PREPARATION FOR THE DISCUSSION.

1. EXERCISES WORKING WITH THE TEXT

1.1 TRUE/FALSE: Look at the article and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or False (F):

a. British people voted in a survey about sleeping patterns.
b. The top four pleasures in a survey related to beds and sleeping.
c. Crying with laughter was one of the top ten pleasures for Brits.
d. British people like standing in fast-moving supermarket queues.
e. A total of 3,000 people voted in the survey on life’s little pleasures.
f. Most of the pleasures in the survey needed money.
g. The survey found people loved buying expensive presents.
h. Many Brits liked drinking soup and reading a book on the sofa.

1.2 SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

1.voted .............. a.longer sleep
2.cuddling ........... b.finished
3.lie-in ............... c.line
4.realizing ........... d.noticed
5.queue .............. e.selected
6.thoughts ........... f.actions
7.observed ........... g.opinions
8.gestures ............ h.hugging
9.splashing out ...... i.understanding
10.came .............. j.spending money

1.3 PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one option is possible):

1.a good night's ...................... a.with laughter
2.a survey into what gave .......... b.ten spots
3.four of the top ..................... c.sofa with a good book
4.crying ................................ d.brighten up life
5.your queue in ....................... e.on expensive presents
6.the findings of ...................... f.feeling
7.the little things that .............. g.the survey
8.You can't beat that ................ h.Britons most pleasure
9.splashing out ....................... i.sleep
10.curling up on the ................. j.the supermarket

1.4 GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text:

crying - loved - popping - good - fastest - catching - gave - list

British people have voted a ____________ night's sleep as life's "greatest little pleasure". The Batchelors Cup-A-Soup company conducted a survey into what ____________ Britons most pleasure. Bed activities filled four of the top ten spots. Cuddling a ____________ one in bed came third, having a lie-in was fifth and sleeping in freshly-washed sheets sixth. Finding £10 ($16) in your pocket was life’s second greatest pleasure for Brits. Also in the top ten were ____________ with laughter, making someone smile and ____________ up with an old friend. There were plenty of things in the ____________ that most people around the world would agree with. These include realizing that your queue in the supermarket is the one moving ____________, and at number 50, ____________ bubble wrap.

such - feeling - book - thoughts - welcome - brighten - cheer - smaller

Batchelors spokesman Rob Stacey gave his ____________ on the findings of the survey, which 3,000 Britons did. He said: "It's often the little things that ____________ up life, like getting into bed after a long day. You can't beat that ____________.” Mr. Stacey observed that almost all of the things in the top fifty didn’t need money. He stated: “Often the little gestures ____________ as a quick cuddle or a compliment can really help to ____________ someone up if they are having a bad day, and can even be more ____________ than splashing out on expensive presents.” He added that it was “often the ____________ things that can make a big difference”. Stacey may be happy that curling up on the sofa with a good ____________ and a hot drink (or soup) came thirteenth in the poll.