UNIT 4 31

Warm up

Introduce the word superstition. Ask students:

What superstitions do you know? Are you

superstitious? Do you know any superstitions

from other countries?

Ask students to look at the photographs on page

34. Ask them to make predictions about what the

superstitions might be, without reading the text.

1 Are you superstitious? Read about amazing

superstitions from all over the world.

Ask students to read the text silently to

themselves. Did students predict any of the

superstitions correctly? Explain any unfamiliar

words and phrases and answer any questions

that students have. Ask them to read the text a

second time. Ask the following questions to check

comprehension:

Why don’t people in China sweep the dirt out

of their houses on New Year’s Day? (Because it

sweeps out good luck too.)

Why do Brazilians eat lentils on the first of

January? (So that they will have money all year.)

What should you not do when you are eating in

Thailand? (You should not tell people about your

bad dream.)

What should you do in Argentina if you see some

money on the pavement? (Pick it up.)

Why? (Because it means you’ll get more money.)

In Korea, what happens if you see a magpie in the

morning? (You’ll get good news.)

Discuss the superstitions with the class. Ask: Do

you believe in any of these superstitions? What

superstitions do you believe in?

2 Complete the statements about

superstitions with the correct

information from the text.

Ask students to complete the superstitions with

the correct information. They can re-read the text

as necessary. Check the answers with the class.

Key

1 you sweep out good luck.

2 they find money and pick it up.

3 the first of January you will have money all year.

4 a magpie in the morning.

5 your dream will come true.

Get talkingTalking about superstitions3 Listen and repeat.

Play the recording, pausing after each speaker for

students to repeat. Play the recording a second

time for students to repeat again if necessary.

Tapescript

See SB3, page 35

4 Work in pairs. Invent different

superstitions. Use the pictures below.

A chooses three pictures and B chooses

three sentences. Change over.

Ask students to work in pairs. One is Student A

and the other is Student B. Tell them that they are

going to invent their own superstitions. Student

A must choose three pictures to ask Student B

about. Student B chooses three responses and

uses them to answer A’s questions. When they

have finished, they change roles. Monitor and help

where necessary.

Ask some of the pairs to ask and answer a

question while the rest of the class listens.

Aims and objectivesIn this unit, students will learn:

You learn:

prepositions

common verbs plus prepositions

phrasal verbs

words for star signs

And then you can:

talk about superstitions

talk about star signs

find out about people

25

U N I T 4 Superstitions

32 UNIT 4

FOLLOW UP

For further practice, ask students to work in pairs

to write a new superstition, without using any

of the pictures or phrases from Exercise 4. Ask

students to read their superstitions to the class.

VocabularyStar signs1 Listen and write the names of the star signs.

Focus attention on the illustrations of the different

star signs. Say the words for students to repeat.

Ask some of the students: Which star sign are you?

Ask students to read through the sentences before

you play the recording. Play the recording, pausing

after each speaker for students to write the name

of the star sign. Play the recording a second time

for students to complete or check their work.

Check the answers with the class.

Tapescript

SPEAKER 1: A Leo is very friendly and gets on

very well with other people.

SPEAKER 2: Pisces are happy people. They

always smile and laugh a lot.

SPEAKER 1: A Scorpio is very determined and

always gets what they want.

SPEAKER 2: A Capricorn is very energetic,

works hard and is busy all the time.

SPEAKER 1: Aries are very helpful. They have

lots of friends.

SPEAKER 2: Gemini are very intelligent. They

love solving all kinds of problems.

SPEAKER 1: Cancers are very romantic. They

like love stories.

SPEAKER 2: Virgos are very dynamic. They love

to keep fit and do all kinds of sports.

SPEAKER 1: Libras are very passionate. They

feel very positive about what they

do.

SPEAKER 2: A Sagittarius is very flexible and

can do more than one thing at the

same time.

SPEAKER 1: An Aquarius is very positive and

always sees the good side of life.

SPEAKER 2: A Taurus is a very generous person

and likes giving presents.

Key

1 Leo 7 Cancers

2 Pisces 8 Virgos

3 Scorpio 9 Libras

4 Capricorn 10 Sagittarius

5 Aries 11 Aquarius

6 Gemini 12 Taurus

Get talkingTalking about star signs2 Listen and repeat.

Play the recording, pausing after each speaker for

students to repeat. Play the recording a second

time for students to repeat again if necessary.

Tapescript

See SB3, page 36

3 Work in pairs. Make similar dialogues to

Exercise 2.

Ask students to work in pairs. They take turns to

ask each other about their star signs, using the

dialogue from Exercise 2 a model. Monitor and

help where necessary.

Ask some of the students to say their dialogues

for the class.

FOLLOW UP

For further practice, ask students to stand up and

find a new partner. They ask and answer questions

about each other’s star signs. When they have

finished talking, they find a new partner. Continue

until students have spoken to five other students.

GrammarPrepositions1

Complete the examples with prepositions

then check in the text on page 34.

Ask students to complete the sentences with the

correct preposition. Tell students to check their

answers in the text on page 34.

Key

1 on 2 in 3 on 4 out 5 at 6 along

26

27

UNIT 4 33

2 Look back at the prepositions in

the examples. Which refer to:

a) time? b) place? c) movement?

Ask students to look back at the prepositions in

Exercise 1. They decide which refer to place, time or

movement. Allow students to compare with a partner

before you check the answers with the class.

Key

1 …eat lentils on the first of January.

time

2 …see a magpie in the morning.

time

3 …some money on the pavement.

place

4 …dirt should not be swept out of the house.

movement

5 …lots of lentils at the beginning of the new year.

time

6 …walking down the street.

movement

FOLLOW UP

To revise and build on what students have

previously learned about prepositions, set the

following task: ask students to work in pairs or

small groups. Ask them to think of any rules that

can help them decide which preposition to use.

Discuss students’ thoughts with the class. Put any

useful rules on the board for students to copy. For

example:

Time: We use on when we are talking about a date.

We use in when we a talking about a particular part

of the day, e.g. in the morning, afternoon, evening.

3 Complete the sentences with the correct

preposition.

Ask students to read the sentences and complete

them with an appropriate preposition. Allow

students to compare with a partner before you

check the answers with the class.

Key

1 on 5 next

2 at, on 6 in, on

3 across / down, over 7 along

4 up 8 in

Common verbs + prepositions4 Choose the correct preposition to

complete the sentences.

Read the preceding information about common

verbs and prepositions with the class. Ask

students to read the sentences and choose the

correct prepositions. Allow students to compare

with a partner before you check the answers with

the class.

Key

1 about 5 for

2 up 6 about

3 down 7 about

4 down 8 about

5 Complete the sentences with the correct

preposition.

Ask students to read the sentences and complete

them with the correct prepositions from the box.

Allow students to compare before you check the

answers with the class.

Key

1 up 5 with, with

2 at 6 with

3 on 7 for

4 at 8 at

Phrasal verbs6 Look at the example and answer the

question.

Ask students to read the example and choose the

correct answer. Discuss students’ thoughts and

establish the correct answer.

Read through the explanation of phrasal verbs with

the class and tell them that in the following exercise

we will be looking at more examples of this.

Key

The answer is c.

34 UNIT 4

7 Circle the phrasal verbs and match them

to the correct meaning.

Ask students to read the sentences. First they

must find the phrasal verb and next they must

match it to the correct meaning. Allow students

to try to do the exercise without dictionaries, but

allow them to use their dictionaries to check if

they are not sure.

Check the answers with the class.

Key

1 given up e

2 looking into f

3 put off a

4 takes after b

5 bumped into c

6 made up d

FOLLOW UP

For further practice, ask students to look back at

page 34 and re-read the text about Argentina. Ask

them to work with a partner to find four phrasal

verbs and write down their meanings. The first

one is given in the example in Exercise 6. Possible

answers: 1 come across – find; 2 pick (it) up

– lift; 3 look at – watch; 4 walk into – collide with

someone or something while walking

Get talkingFinding out about people8 Complete the dialogues with the correct

phrasal verbs. Then listen and check.

Ask students to complete the dialogues with the

correct phrasal verbs. Play the recording for them

to check their answers.

Ask students to work in pairs to practise the

conversations. Ask some of the students to

perform the dialogues for the class.

Tapescript

See SB3, page 38

Key

1 ’s given up

2 bumped into

9 Work in pairs. How well do you know

your partner? Complete the sentences.

Put students in pairs. Tell students that they are

going to do a task to see how well they know

their partner. Ask students to complete the

sentences with information about their partner

that they believe to be true. They must not show

their partner what they have written or ask any

questions.

10 Now check with your partner.

Ask one pair of students to read the examples to

the class, choosing the answers that are true for

them.

Tell students that they must now check whether

the sentences they wrote in Exercise 9 are correct.

Students take turns to ask and answer questions

to find out how many things they got right.

FOLLOW UP

Ask each pair to write one sentence about you.

Students then take turns to ask their questions

for you to answer.

Skills Listening and readingWarm upTell students they are going to listen to a

recording of three scenes from a play. Ask

students to look at the title of the play. Explain the

meaning of the word ancient: something which is

very old. Tell students that the ancient coin has

magical powers. Invite students to guess what the

coin can do.

Focus attention on the pictures of the people.

Explain that these are the characters from the

play. Ask for adjectives that they think describe

the different people’s personalities.

1 Read and listen to scenes 1, 2 and 3 of

the play.

Play the recording for students to listen and

follow the text in their books. Discuss the

warm–up activity. Did anyone guess what the coin

could do? Were students’ predictions about the

characters’ personalities correct?

28

29

UNIT 4 35

Play the recording a second time. Ask the

following questions to check students’

comprehension:

Who went to India? (John)

What did he bring back? (A coin)

How many wishes can you make with the coin?

(Three)

Does John think that it’s a good idea to make

wishes with the coin? (No, he doesn’t.)

Why not? (Because he thinks that it will bring bad

luck.)

Does Neil want to make a wish with the coin?

(Yes, he does.)

Does Mrs Morris want to make a wish? (No, she

doesn’t.)

Who makes the first wish? (Mr Morris)

Put students into groups of four. Each person

chooses a different character. Students practise

the play. Ask some of the groups to perform a

scene for the class.

Tapescript

See SB3, page 38

2 Complete the sentences.

Tell students to reread the play and complete the

sentences.

Key

1 five

2 coin

3 will come true

4 bad luck

5 Neil

6 £50,000

FOLLOW UP

Ask students to work in pairs to write predictions

about what will happen next in the story. Ask

some of the pairs to read their predictions to the

class.

3 Listen to scenes 4 and 5. Match the

sentence halves.

Tell students that they are going to listen to

the next two scenes of the play. Ask them to

read through the beginnings and endings of the

sentences before they listen. Play the recording

through once without stopping and ask students

to match the sentence halves. Play the recording

a second time for students to complete or check

their answers. Play a third time if necessary.

Check the answers with the class.

Tapescript

ANNOUNCER: Scene 4: Three days later.

MR. MORRIS: Hello?

NEIL: Dad? It’s me. Listen – great news!

I’ve won some money on the

lottery!!

MR. MORRIS: Really? That’s wonderful. How

much?

NEIL: Guess!

MR. MORRIS: £50,000.

NEIL: That’s right! Your wish came

true. Dad, I’m coming home now.

I’ll see you in 30 minutes.

MR. MORRIS: OK. Bye.

ANNOUNCER: Scene 5: An hour later.

MRS. MORRIS: James – I don’t understand.

Where is Neil? Why isn’t he home

yet?

MR. MORRIS: I don’t know. It’s OK – here he is

now.

POLICEMAN: Mr. Morris?

MR. MORRIS: Yes. What can I do for you?

POLICEMAN: It’s about your son. I’m terribly

sorry. I have bad news.

MRS. MORRIS: What happened? Where is he?

POLICEMAN: He had an accident. He’s in

hospital!

MRS. MORRIS: No! No! Oh no!

Key

1 f Neil phones his dad and tells him some great

news.

2 e He has won £50,000 in the lottery.

3 d Neil says that he will be home in half an hour.

4 b When the doorbell rings, Neil’s parents think

that it’s their son.

5 a But it isn’t their son, it’s a policeman.

6 c He tells Mr and Mrs Morris that their son had

an accident.

30

36 UNIT 4

4 Listen to scene 6. Put the lines into the

correct order to write a summary on a

piece of paper.

Tell students that they are going to listen to scene

6 of the play and they must put the sentences in

the correct order. Ask students to read through

the sentences before they listen.

Play the recording through once without stopping.

Then play the recording again, pausing at

appropriate intervals for students to number the

sentences. Play the recording a third time for

students to complete or check their answers.

Check the answers with the class.

Tapescript

ANNOUNCER: Scene 6: An hour later.

MRS MORRIS: Robert? Where’s the ancient coin?

MR. MORRIS: It’s in my desk. Why?

MRS MORRIS: I want to make another wish.

MR. MORRIS: Please Jane, don’t. The ancient

coin brings bad luck. [he gets the

coin]

MRS MORRIS: What are you doing? Stop it,

Robert.

MRS MORRIS: But Robert…!

MRS MORRIS: Hello.

DOCTOR: Hello. Mrs Morris?

MRS MORRIS: Yes?

DOCTOR: This is Dr Jones from the

hospital. Your son Neil…

MRS MORRIS: What about him?

DOCTOR: His leg hurts a bit, but he’s fine.

MRS MORRIS: Thanks, Doctor.

MRS MORRIS: Robert?

MR MORRIS: Yes?

MRS MORRIS: It was a good idea to throw the

ancient coin away.

Key

1 Mr Morris tells his family about an ancient coin.

Then John Williams arrives.

2 He shows them the coin and says, “If you make

a wish, the wish will come true.”

3 John gives the ancient coin to Neil.

4 Neil wants to make a wish, but his Mum stops him.

5 Then Mr Morris wishes for £50,000.

6 Three days later, Neil phones and says that he

has won the lottery.

7 A policeman arrives and says that Neil had an

accident.

8 Mr Morris throws the coin into the fire. A doctor

phones and tells them that Neil is fine.

Writing for your Portfolio5 Read the text about the Ancient Coin.

Which parts do you agree / disagree with?

Ask students to read the text silently by

themselves. Discuss the text with the class. Ask:

Which parts do you agree with? Which parts do

you disagree with? Why?

6 Think of a story you have read or heard

recently. Write a short text saying what

you thought about it.

This exercise can be done in class or set as

homework. Ask students to read through the tips

before they start writing and to make sure that

they address each point. Students write their

texts using the one in Exercise 5 as a model.

Check your progressUnits 3 and 4 Key

1

1 hill 3 motorway 5 field

2 stars 4 moon 6 lake

2

1 friendly 3 generous 5 determined

2 romantic 4 energetic 6 intelligent

3

1 is, going to do

2 going to see

3 Are, going to visit

4 ’ll decide

5 ’ll take

6 are going to have

7 Is, going to come

8 ’ll call

31

Background notes

UNIT 4 37

4

1 themselves

2 ourselves

3 yourself

4 herself

5

1 at

2 into

3 in

4 up

5 after

6 behind

7 on

8 into

9 up

10 at

6

1 Would you like to go to the mountains?

2 What are you going to do on Saturday?

3 What star sign are you?

4 Are you going to see Mark tomorrow?

5 Are you interested in science?

7

1 about / of

2 for

3 about

4 at

5 on

6 for

Learn MORE about CultureModern Books and writersWarm upDiscuss books with the class. Ask students: What

types of book do you like? Do you prefer old

stories or modern ones? What is your favourite

book? Why is it your favourite? Who is your

favourite author?

Tell students that they are going to read extracts

from two modern books. Ask students to read the

titles of the two books. Ask students if they know

either of the books or authors. If so, what can

they tell you about them?

Andreas SchlüterAndreas Schlüter was born in 1958 in

Hamburg - Barmbek, Germany. He initially

trained to be an export merchant but gave

that up to become a freelance journalist and

editor. He has been a full–time author since

1996. His first novel Level 4 - Die Stadt der

Kinder (Kid City - 1994) was an immediate

success. Since then he has written more

than a dozen novels in the series.

Jamila Gavin

NationalityJamila Gavin is British Asian, born to an

English mother and an Indian father. She

spent her early childhood in Mussoorie, near

the India / Pakistan border, before moving to

England when she was twelve.

CareerAs a child, Jamila never dreamed of being

a writer. She studied to become a concert

pianist and then got a job in the music

department of the BBC. She didn’t write her

first book until after her first child was born.

WorkJamila has written numerous novels, series

and story collections. Her first three books

The Wheel of Surya (1991), The Eye of the

Horse (1994) and The Track of the Wind

(1997), which make up the Surya trilogy,

were all shortlisted for the Guardian

Children’s Fiction Prize. Her most famous

book is Coram Boy (2000), which won the

Whitbread Prize for children’s literature.

1 Read the extracts from the books and

answer the questions. Remember you

don’t need to understand all the words

in the text.

Ask students to read the two texts silently to

themselves and then answer the questions. Tell

them to ignore the underlined sections. Stress

that students do not need to understand every

38 UNIT 4

word. Ask students to answer the question

without using their dictionaries.

Allow students to compare with their partner

before you check the answers with the class.

Key

Kid City1 They are shocked.

2 Because the computer game has turned real

and everyone older than 15 has disappeared

from the city.

The Blood Stone1 Perhaps the man has come to help them. Or

perhaps he has come to trick them and hurt them.

2 Read the extracts again and match the

underlined sections with the words and

phrases below.

Ask students to read the extracts again and

match the underlined sections with the words and

phrases. Allow them to compare with a partner

before you check the answers with the class.

Key

1 B 2 C 3 D 4 A

3 Listen to the interview with the Indian

author of The Blood Stone, Jamila Gavin.

Then answer the questions.

Tell students that they are going to hear an

interview with the author of Blood Stone, Jamila

Gavin. Ask them to read the questions before they

listen.

Play the recording, pausing at appropriate

intervals for students to write the answers. Play

the recording a second time for students to

complete or check their answers. Play a third time

if necessary. Check the answers with the class.

Tapescript

PRESENTER: On today’s book programme, we

will talk to the author, Jamila Gavin.

Jamila was born in India and grew

up on the border between India

and Pakistan. She has written many

books, including her prize-winning

book, Coram Boy. Please welcome

Jamila Gavin.

JAMILA: Hello.

PRESENTER: Hello, Jamila. Jamila, you’re Indian

but you live in England.

JAMILA: Yes, that’s right.

PRESENTER: When did you move to England?

JAMILA: Well, we first visited England when I

was five but we moved here when I

was 11.

PRESENTER: Did you go to school here?

JAMILA: Yes, I did. I went to lots of different

schools but I hated all of them. I

didn’t like the discipline. Finally,

I went to the Guildhall School of

Music and I studied to become a

concert pianist.

PRESENTER: Did you become a professional

pianist?

JAMILA: No, I didn’t but I still loved music. I

got a job in the music department

at the BBC.

PRESENTER: How did you become a writer?

JAMILA: I wrote my first book after my

children were born. I realized that

there were very few books for

multi-racial children. So really I

wrote my books for my children.

PRESENTER: What influences your stories?

JAMILA: Well it’s important to write about

things you know. My childhood

memories of growing up in India

are a big influence on my books. At

that time, India was becoming an

independent country and it was an

exciting place to live.

PRESENTER: And your new book, The Blood

Stone, has got a very exciting plot.

It’s in Venice and the characters

travel all the way to India and

Afghanistan.

JAMILA: Yes, I really enjoyed writing and

researching it.

PRESENTER: I’m sure your readers will enjoy it

too. Well, Jamila, I’m afraid that’s

all we’ve got time for. Ladies and

gentlemen, that was the author,

Jamila Gavin, talking about her life

and of course, her new book, The

Blood Stone. Thank you, Jamila

Gavin.

32

UNIT 4 39

Key

1 When she was 11.

2 Because she didn’t like the discipline.

3 She worked in the music department of the BBC.

4 For her children.

5 Venice, India, Afghanistan.

Over 2 U!4 Work with a partner and talk about your

favourite book. Discuss the title, author,

characters and storyline. Say why you

like the book.

Ask students to work in pairs. They take turns to

tell each other about their favourite book.

Ask some of the students to tell the class about

their favourite book.

And now you can watch The School Magazine.

Episode 2.

Read MORE for pleasureTwo wishesTell students that they are going to read a text

about a girl who makes two wishes. Focus

attention on the picture. Ask students to predict

what the girl wishes for.

Ask students to read the text silently. Monitor and

help where necessary. Discuss the reading with

the class. Were their predictions correct?

Ask students to close their books. Ask the

following questions to check comprehension:

What is happening the next day? (A maths exam)

Is the girl good at maths? (No, she isn’t.)

What other thing is the girl thinking of? (Her

birthday party)

What is the girl’s first wish for? (The best birthday

party ever)

What is her second wish? (To get the best mark in

the class)

Does the girl understand the questions in the

test? (No, she doesn’t.)

Why doesn’t the girl get her result the day after

the test? (Because her teacher is ill.)

Do her wishes come true? (One wish comes true

– she has the best party ever. But the second wish

doesn’t come true – she is bottom of the class)

Ask students to read the story again and put

the events in the correct order. Allow students

to compare with a partner before you check the

answers with the class.

Key

1 Jenny was trying to revise.

2 She made a birthday wish.

3 She went to bed.

4 She did her exam.

5 Her teacher was ill.

6 She had a great time at the party.

7 She got her results.

8 She failed the maths exam.

Materials are available at

www.cambridge.org/elt/more