Introductory unit:

1- Reading skills practice: Friendship quiz

A- Match the vocabulary with the correct definition and write af next to the numbers 16.

1- Mates a- Behave (in a certain way) towards

someone.
2- Be away b- Timid, nervous, or embarrassed when
with other people.
3- Coming up c- Be on a trip, not at home.
4- Shy d- Friends
5-Take advantage of someone e- Use someone unfairly, especially if they
are trying to be nice or help you.
6- Treat someone (well, badly, etc.) f- Happening soon.

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Answers:

MOSTLY As: you are a great friend, but dont let your friends take advantage of you.
MOSTLY Bs: youre a pretty good friend, but not reliable in a real emergency.
MOSTLY Cs: with friends like you, who needs enemies? You need to treat your friends the way you would
like them to treat you.

B- Check your understanding: multiple choice.

Choose a, b or c for these sentences.

1. In question 1, which answer is the most helpful for your friend?

2. Which answer in question 1 sounds good but probably wont work?
3. In question 2, which answer involves the biggest risk for you?
4. Which answer in question 2 takes the least amount of your time?
5. In question 3, which answer has an expression that says its OK to behave badly if you are in
love?
6. Which answer in question 3 is the best for your friend?
7. In question 4, which answer is the most honest?
8. Which answer in question 4 is the least responsible?

2- SPEAKING.

How did you do in the quiz? Do you think the result is accurate?

3- Reading skills practice: Read the following article about friendship

A-

When friends are like family. [Link]

friends-are-family/

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When Friends Are Like Family
By
DEBORAH TANNEN

MARCH 25, 2016 6:45 AM March 25, 2016 6:45 am 69

A weekly essay exploring the complex connections of modern families.

My friends are the sisters I was meant to have,

a woman told me. Another said that her friends
are more precious than her sisters because they
remember things from her past that her sisters
dont and cant, since they werent there. And a
man commented that he didnt enjoy a particular
friends company all that much, but it was beside
the point: Hes family.

I interviewed over 80 people for a book Im

writing about friendship, and was struck by how
many said that one or another friend is like
family.

These comments, and how people explained

them, shed light on the nature of friendship, the
nature of family, and something that lies at the
heart of both: what it means to be close.

For friends, as for family, close is the holy grail of relationships. (In both contexts I often heard,
I wish we were closer but never I wish we werent so close.)

What people meant by close could be very different, but their comments all helped me
understand how friends could be like family and why I often say of my friend Karl, Hes like my
brother. First is longevity. We met at summer camp when Id just turned 15, and the seeds of
closeness were planted during one of those wondrous extended self-revealing teenage
conversations, when we sat side by side behind the dining hall. Our friendship continued and
deepened as we exchanged long letters that traversed the distance between our homes in Brooklyn
and the Bronx.

After college, Karl was the one I called at 2 a.m. when I made a last-minute decision not to join the
Peace Corps. Two decades later, we were traveling together when I showed him the photograph of
a man Id just met, saying, Its crazy but I keep thinking Im going to marry him and I did.

I was there when Karl left Brown for Julliard, and, years later, when he came out as gay. Karl knew
my parents, my cousins, my first husband and the other friends who have been important in my
life, as I knew and know his. I visit his mother in a nursing home just as Id visit my own, were she
still alive. We can refer to anything and anyone in our pasts without having to explain.

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If Im upset about something, I call him; I trust his judgment, though I might not always follow his
advice. And finally, maybe most of all, theres comfort. I feel completely comfortable in his home,
and when Im around him, I can be completely and unselfconsciously myself.

Its not that we dont get on each others nerves. Its that we do. A cartoon about a married couple
could have been about us: A woman standing in the kitchen is saying to the man before her, Is
there anything else I can do wrong for you? I sometimes feel that whatever I do within Karls view,
hell suggest I do a different way.

Were close could mean they talk about anything; or that they see each other often; or that,
though they dont see each other often, when they do, its as though no time has passed: They just
pick up where they left off. And sometimes close meant none of the above, but that they have a
special connection, a connection of the heart.

Like family can mean dropping in and making plans without planning: You might call up and
say, I just made lasagna. Why dont you come over for dinner? Or you can invite yourself: Im
feeling kind of low. Can I come over for dinner?

Many grown children continue to wish that their parents or siblings could see them for who they
really are, not who they wish them to be. This goal can be realized in friendship. She gets me, a
woman said of a friend. When Im with her I can be myself.

It would be easy to idealize family-like friendship as all satisfaction and cheer. And maybe for some
lucky people it is. But friends can also resemble family by driving you crazy in similar ways. Why
does she insist on washing dishes by hand when dishwashers do a better job of killing germs? Why
does he always come exactly five minutes late?

Just as with literal families, friends who are like family can bring not only happiness but also pain,
because the comfort of a close bond can sometimes morph into the restraints of bondage. The
closer the bond, the greater the power to hurt.

Deborah Tannen is a professor of linguistics at Georgetown University and the author of You
Just Dont Understand! and Youre Wearing THAT?.

Vocabulary
B- Create a glossary of the words you dont understand.

C- Look at the underlined expressions from the text. Match each expression with the correct definition.

1-it was beside the point a-To help to explain a situation, to make it clearer

2-shed light on b-Used to emphasize, to be the most important

part of something
3-lies at the heart of both c-To understand someone

4-get on each others nerves. d-Not important

5-She gets me. e-To annoy someone a lot

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D- Reread the article again. Find in it the words, expressions or paragraphs that convey the below ideas.

a) Even though you might not enjoy being around some family member, no matter what happens,
that person is your family.

_________________________________________________________________________________

b) The most vital condiment of friendship is being close.

_________________________________________________________________________________

c) Karl was a loyal friend, who was always by the authors side when she most needed him.

_________________________________________________________________________________

d) Building confidence in a relationship implies improvising and let behind protocoled rules.

_________________________________________________________________________________

e) Deeply loving someone either a friend or family- means experiencing love to an extent in which
disappointment among other negative situations or feelings- feels as intense as love.

Grammar

Read the following sentences.

a) Whats the time tense of the underlined words?
b) Why do you think that is the correct time tense to use in the below sentences?

a) I interviewed over 80 people for a book Im writing about friendship, and was struck by
how many said that one or another friend is like family.

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

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 b) If Im upset about something, I call him; I trust his judgment, though I might not always follow his
advice.

c) Its not that we dont get on each others nerves. Its that we do.

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

d) I sometimes feel that whatever I do within Karls view, hell suggest I do a different way.

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

Lets review the grammar file!

Writing

a) In what ways do you agree/disagree with the authors perspective?

b) Write an email to Deborah, explaining your point of view. Use at least three of the expressions we
studied. Write your email in 140-190 words.
Make sure you use the appropriate words and convey your ideas clearly. Take into account what
has been studied in class.

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Listening

You will hear people talking in five different situations. For questions 1-5, choose the best answer (A, B or
C). (Laser B2 Workbook, page 11)

1- You hear this man talking about his friend. What did they argue about?

A) money
B) a secret
C) another friend

2- You hear this woman talking on the radio. What does she say about having a twin sister?

A) It has never been a problem.

B) It has advantages.
C) It can sometimes be embarrassing.

3- You hear this man talking on the phone. Who is he talking to?

A) His brother
B) His boss at work
C) His mother

4- You hear this woman talking about her son. How has their relationship changed recently?

A) They are closer now

B) They argue more now
C) They communicate less now

5- You hear these two people talking. What is their relationship?

A) Relatives
B) Colleagues
C) Acquaintances