Speakout Advanced p 56. Relationships. Extra Speaking

A. Have a conversation as natural as possible with a partner about the topic. Use the pictures above and the questions below to help you.

1. Do you know anyone who is always trying to put people down?
2. Can you talk about a couple whose relationship could be described as rocky?
3. Think about someone who got divorced or split up. What turned their relationship sour?
4. Have you ever turned your back on anyone? Do you know anyone who has?
5. Think about someone you have never actually taken to.
6. Do you know any teachers who look down on their pupils?
7. Talk about someone you know that keeps himself / herself to himself / herself.

B. MONOLOGUE

Student A

1.    Do you and your parents get on like a house on fire? Do you get on like a house on fire with anybody?

2.    What kind of problems can put a great strain on a relationship?

3.    Which of your acquaintances gets on your nerves? Why?

Student B

1.    Have you ever taken an instant dislike to anyone? Were you proved right or did you have to change your mind later on?

2.    Did any of your teachers ever have it in for you or any of your classmates? Why? What was the cause of this feeling?

3.    Can you tell us about the last time you took an instant liking to somebody?

Picture discussion
Model

A: The first picture portrays a tiny desert island with a palm tree in the centre. 

B: Perhaps this island is located in a tropical part of the world. 

A: I would also say that because palm trees normally grow in tropical countries.

B: Anyway, underneath the palm tree, and sitting at either side of its trunk, we can clearly see a couple, who, judging by their posture and what they are saying to each other, seem to have quite a rocky relationship. 

A: I couldn't agree more. They don’t face each other but, quite the opposite, they are sitting back to back, leaning against the tree trunk.

B: Both of them are wearing scruffy clothes and are barefoot. 

A: They look as though they are two castaways. 

B: They must have been shipwrecked 

A: and consequently may have had to swim to this desert island.

B: We can’t say that they are getting on like a house on fire. On the one hand, she has folded her arms tightly across her chest.  

A: This comes to show us that she might be feeling uncomfortable or nervous. 

B: Studies have shown that when a person folds his arms not only has he negative thoughts about the other person, but he is also paying less attention to what is being said. 

A: On the other hand he appears to be completely unaware of how bored and confused she seems to be. 

B: I would say that the relationship must have turned sour some time ago. 

castaway: /ˈkɑːstəweɪ/ a person whose ship has sunk (= who has been shipwrecked) and who has had to swim to a lonely place, usually an island.

shipwreck: /ˈʃɪprek/ be shipwrecked (V) to be left somewhere after the ship that you have been sailing in has been lost or destroyed at sea. E.g. They were shipwrecked off the coast of Africa. A shipwrecked sailor.

shipwreck: /ˈʃɪprek/ (N) the loss or destruction of a ship at sea because of a storm or because it hits rocks, etc. E.g. They narrowly escaped shipwreck in a storm in the North Sea. The shipwreck of the tanker has caused one of the worst oil spills in recent years.