Speakout Advanced p 121. Keys and Vocabulary

Ex 11 B
arguments for:
it gives us insight into the rich and famous. Following them is fun. Most of us enjoy gossip. It's good to hear about some superstar getting what he deserves. Fame has become democratised; you don't need talent to be famous.
 
arguments against:
people now idolise mediocrity. Teenagers want to be famous for its own sake without making any effort to learn a skill. Fame can be confused with achievement

Vocabulary
blessing: something that is good or helpful. E.g. Lack of traffic is one of the blessings of country life. It's a blessing that nobody was in the house at the time.

curse: /kɜːs/ something that causes harm or evil. E.g. the curse of drug addiction. Noise is a curse of modern city life.

astonishing: /əˈstɒnɪʃɪŋ/ very surprising; difficult to believe. Amazing. E.g. he ran 100m in an astonishing 10.6 seconds. I find it absolutely astonishing that you didn't like it.

celebrity: a famous person. E.g. TV celebrities.

crave (for) something/ crave to do something to want something very much. To have a very strong desire for something. Synonym long for. E.g. She has always craved excitement. Lewis still craves for the recognition he feels he lacks in America. Novak Djokovic craves to win.

void:  a large empty space. E.g. Below him was nothing but a black void. (Figurative) The void left by his mother's death was never filled. She sat staring into the void, emptying her mind of all thoughts.

erode (something):  /ɪˈrəʊd/  to gradually destroy something or make it weaker over a period of time; to be destroyed or made weaker in this way. E.g. Her confidence has been slowly eroded by repeated failures. Western support for Yeltsin was slowly eroding.

gossip column: a piece of writing in a newspaper about social events and the private and personal lives of famous people.

insight: insight (into something) an understanding of what something is like. E.g. The book gives us fascinating insights into life in Mexico. I hope you have gained some insight into the difficulties we face.


ups and downs: the mixture of good and bad things in life or in a particular situation or relationship. E.g. Every business has its ups and downs.

gossip: (N)
1 [uncountable] (disapproving) informal talk or stories about other people's private lives, that may be unkind or not true. E.g. Don't believe all the gossip you hear. Tell me all the latest gossip! The gossip was that he had lost a fortune on the stock exchange. It was common gossip (= everyone said so) that they were having an affair. She's a great one for idle gossip (= she enjoys spreading stories about other people that are probably not true). He became the subject of much local gossip. One day Sam heard an interesting piece of gossip.
2 [countable, usually singular] a conversation about other people and their private lives. E.g. I love a good gossip. She just comes round here for a gossip.
3 [countable] (disapproving) a person who enjoys talking about other people's private lives. E.g. My uncle Michael was a great gossip.

gossip: (V) to talk about other people's private lives, often in an unkind way. E.g. I can't stand here gossiping all day. Gossip about somebody/ something She's been gossiping about you.

idolise: /ˈaɪdəlaɪz/ idolize somebody to admire or love somebody very much. E.g. a pop star idolized by millions of fans. They idolize their kids.

mediocrity: /ˌmiːdiˈɒkrəti/ the quality of being average or not very good. E.g. His acting career started brilliantly, then sank into mediocrity.

poll: (also opinion poll) [countable] the process of questioning people who are representative of a larger group in order to get information about the general opinion. Survey. E.g. to carry out/ conduct a poll. A recent poll suggests some surprising changes in public opinion. A nationwide poll revealed different food preferences in the North and the South.

master: master something to learn or understand something completely. E.g. to master new skills/ techniques. French was a language he had never mastered.

sake: purpose; motive. E.g. a quarrel only for the sake of argument. For clarity's sake, I'd like to reword my statement. I believe in education for its own sake. Art for art's sake.


Ex 12
The essay follows the same structure



Ex 13A
KEY
While ... is true, it is also true to say ....
One of the benefits is...
One of the drawbacks is...

Ex 13B
KEY
Contrasting arguments:
 In contrast to this,...
We also need to take ... into consideration

pros:
One advantage is...
The arguments for ... include ....
On the Positive side, ...

cons:
One disadvantage is ...
The arguments against... include ...
On the negative side,...