GATEAWAY TO SUCCESS B1 – UNIT 1-2

VOCABULARY

1. Choose the correct alternative

1. I really like my niece/ brother-in-law-nephew- stepbrother. I’m happy that my sister married him.

2. My mum married again, and my new grandfather/husband/stepfather/uncle is very nice

3. Helen is a baby/ a single/ an only child/ one-parent child and she doesn’t like it

[Link] and Beth aren’t very happy together. I think they are going to get
close/distant/single/divorced soon

5 My uncle has two children who are the same age as me – they're my cousins/ siblings/
nephews/sons

[Link] the text with the correct noun form of the words given

....................................(adolescent) can be a difficult time for many young people. We usually do

everything with our parents during ….........................(child) and generally both parents and children
like that. But when we become teenagers, we need some …...................... (independent) and parents
don’t always understand that. This means that parents and teenagers often have .............................
(argue) instead of sensible …............................... (discuss).

3. Complete the sentences with words related to the stages of a person’s life

1. My grandfather’s 70. He is a ….............................................He retired and lives with his wife in Spain.

2. My aunt is 48. Shes is a …......................................woman. She’s a teacher

3. My cousin Mary is 47. She’s a .......................... She wants to get married next year

4. My sister’s 17. She’s a .............................

5. My little brother’s 1. He’s a …..........

4. Choose the correct alternative

Lots of people worry about retire/ retirement/ improvements. They think that senior
citizens/adolescents/adults don’t have any fun. However, my grandfather/grandmother/grandson
disagrees with that. She thinks that it’s important to be concentrated/independent/movement. So
she goes out every day and meets different/difference/convenient people. She seems like a young
woman to me!

GRAMMAR
5 Complete the text with a, an, the, or - (no article)

My uncle Paul is ….... artist. He was born in ….... UK, but now he lives in ….......Paris with my aunt who
is French. They've got …. son called Pierre. Uncle Paul paints picture of monuments like ….....Eiffel
Tower and he sells them to tourists.

6. Complete the sentences with the correct present simple form of these verbs. There are two extra
verbs

Need-help-have- stay-not come- not understand- work

1. Tigers .............................. from this country.

2. I’m afraid I …........................... this homework.
3. Physical exercise …...................... teenagers with concentration.
4. We …............................ class discussion in English every time
5. ........................ Jane ...................... any help with her homework?

7. Complete the sentences with the correct present continuous form of these verbs. There are two
extra verbs

Knock – have – do – live – improve – stay - watch

1. …......... you .................. your homework?

2. I ….............................................. at my friend's house this weekend
3. At the moment, my cousins are at the college in England. They …................................. a great
time.
4. Someone ............................................. at the door. “Oh, it’s Peter!”
5. His Spanish is not perfect, but he ..........................

8. Complete the text with the correct present simple of present continuous form of these verbs.
There are 2 extra verbs

Remain – want – increase – become – decline – feel – not get married

In recent years there have been significant changes to marriage. The age at which couples marry
…........................ Furthermore, more and more people ….......................... free not to marry, as stigma
attached to cohabitation............................... Many people ............................................. due to a fear
of it ending in divorce. However, despite a fall in the numbers of people marrying for the first time,
the institution of marriage ......................... popular.

9. Cross out the ten extra words.

The grandparents can be very important in the life of a teenager. They have more an experience and
more times than parents and can help teens make the right choices. The teens often think their
parents don’t understand them and that grandparents understand them better. A study being called
“My second mum and dad” says that there are currently 14 million grandparents in the UK and that
the number are is increasing. The study also says that many grandparents help teenagers with a school
work and go to the school events when their parents are being busy. More than 25% of teenagers say
they talk to their grandparents about problems they can’t discuss with their parents. Experts say that
this generation of grandparents has a the better relationship with today’s teenagers because many
grandparents are younger. One grandmother says “We are probably the only generation that the likes
some of the same music our grandchildren like.

10. Complete the text with one word in each gap

Family life …..................... changing a lot these days. In some countries, all .................. members of a
family …............. in the same place, sometimes in the same home. However, in other countries, people
often have to move away …................. their hometown to find a job when they are ready to start work.
They get married and start ..................... family away from their parents, and then their children do
exactly the same thing. Grandparents sometimes live hundreds of miles away from their
grandchildren. Sometimes they are even in ….................. different country. This can cause a lot of
problems when people ...................older. Sons and .............................. can’t help their parents when
they are ill, and they have to go into hospital or special homes. The grandparents are ........................
there to help with the grandchildren when they are young, and some parents have to send them to
special schools at a young age if they need to go to work. In many countries, this problem is getting
worse and people are worried that family life ...................... never going to be the same.

WRITING

Write an informal mail to a pen pal (200 words)