Money & Christmas VOCABULARY A Unjumble the letters to find eight Christmas words. issatmhcr yptar schmrtisa eter smcahrtis gpnuidd scahmrtis rdeinn scahmrtis dcar sachmirts eev scamrtish rcerkac scahmrtis gsntiokc isamhctrs tpnrees tscrahmis sdneociotra schmrtisa lcoar B Label these pictures with the words from exercise A. 2 3 Merry Christmas! 4 5 1 7 9 6 8 11 10 Oxford University Press España www.oupe.es Photocopiable 1
READING C Read the text quickly and say which of the words in exercises A and B are mentioned. Cutting the cost of Christmas With the economic crisis lots of kids have got less pocket money this year than ever. And Christmas s is an expensive time! So how can you make your pocket money stretch further this Christmas? Here are a few tips: Make Christmas presents for your friends and family. Make Christmas cards by hand with photos that you ve taken. Make a Christmas cake or nice biscuits its and wrap them up in colourful wrapping ping paper. Buy food gifts (fruit, nuts, dates, Christmas pudding ) and buy a cheap basket. Wrap the basket in cellophane. Buy lots of little presents from the Pound Shop and sweets. Use them to fill up a stocking to form an economic superpresent. present Make your own wrapping paper using potato prints. Wait until after Christmas to buy presents in the January Sales. (Some Offer a service instead of a product. You could make a cheque book of services. Eg. Washing-up, tidying the house, digging the garden, cleaning the car, taking a dog for a walk, etc. Don t go anywhere near commercial centres or on big shopping sprees to buy presents. That way you can avoid the temptation of buying things you really can t afford. Get together with your friends and family and organize a Mystery Friend gift. Write all of your names on separate pieces of paper and fold them up. Each person takes one piece of paper and buys a present for him/her. Agree on a limited amount to spend. You ll only have to buy one gift and everybody saves shops are starting the Sales before money. Christmas this year). Buy second hand gifts (visit Craigslist. org and ebay). D Read the text again and answer the questions. 1 What can you use photographs for? 2 How can you make a superpresent? 3 Which vegetable can you use to decorate paper? 4 What can you buy on Craigslist.org? 5 What can you offer instead of a present? 6 Why shouldn t you go to a commercial centre? 7 How do you know how much to spend on the Mystery Friend? 8 Who saves money with the Mystery Friend? Oxford University Press España www.oupe.es Photocopiable 2
GRAMMAR PRESENT PERFECT E Put the verb in brackets in the Present Perfect. 1 I........ here since I was a child. (live) 2 How long........ you........ in this city? (live) 3 I........ just........ a present for my mum. (buy) 4........ you ever........ to Switzerland? (be) 5 She........ never........ a Christmas Carol. (hear) 6 They........ in London for years. (work) F Complete the sentences with one of the words in the box. ever never just since for how 1 Have you........ received a present you don t like? 2........ long have you been living here? 3 He s........ come back from the USA; he arrived this morning. 4 He s been saving up for Christmas........ last January! 5 We ve........ been to Hawaii before; this is our first time. 6 People have been celebrating Christmas........ thousands of years. Oxford University Press España www.oupe.es Photocopiable 3
G Write sentences using the prompts. 1 I/live/in Madrid/since/2002............................................................... 2 How long/susan/live in Madrid?............................................................... 3 You/ever/seen/a musical in the theatre?............................................................... 4 They/be/Paris/three times this year............................................................... 5 I/never/eat Christmas pudding............................................................ 6 We/just/be to a Christmas party............................................................ Oxford University Press España www.oupe.es Photocopiable 4
WRITING H Send an e-mail to a friend describing a present you have received. Use between 80 and 120 words. Plan your writing: Paragraph 1: greet your friend and say why you are writing. Say what the present is and who gave it to you. Paragraph 2: describe the present in detail. Paragraph 3: say what you think of the present and write an appropriate ending. Useful words and expressions Adjectives to describe shape round, rectangular, diamond-shaped, etc. Adjectives to describe materials wooden, woollen, gold, silver, cotton, etc. Adjectives to describe size big, enormous, small, tiny, etc. Adjectives to describe origin Spanish, Portuguese, etc. Adjectives of opinion or value beautiful, wonderful, expensive, fantastic, etc. Linking words and expressions Also As well as that Another feature The best thing about it is Oxford University Press España www.oupe.es Photocopiable 5
SPEAKING I Talk about these questions with a partner: 1 How do people in your country normally celebrate Christmas? 2 What special food do people in your country eat at Christmas time? 3 Where are the best places to go Christmas shopping in your town? 4 Do you think people spend too much money at Christmas? Give reasons for your answer. J Speak with a partner about these Christmas presents. 4 1 2 3 6 7 5 8 9 10 Describe each present and decide how much it costs. Say what kind of person might like each present. Give reasons. Order the presents from the most original to the least original. Try to reach an agreement. Oxford University Press España www.oupe.es Photocopiable 6
LISTENING K Listen to Bill talking about an unusual Christmas tradition in the Czech Republic. Answer the question. Why didn t the family eat fish that year? *Listening from: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-elementary-08.htm Please record part 4 of the podcast L Listen again and circle the correct words. 1 People in the Czech Republic eat fi s h / turkey at Christmas. 2 Carp is / isn t usually eaten in Britain. 3 The speaker was surprised by how the fish is cooked / stored. 4 The fish is eaten on Christmas Eve / Day. 5 The little boy put soap / flour in the bath. 6 That year the family ate none / all of the carp. *OUP is not responsible for the contents of external websites. Oxford University Press España www.oupe.es Photocopiable 7
ANSWER KEY VOCABULARY A Christmas party, Christmas tree, Christmas pudding, Christmas dinner, Christmas card, Christmas Eve, Christmas cracker, Christmas stocking, Christmas present, Christmas decorations, Christmas carol. B 1 Christmas carol. 2 Christmas card. 3 Christmas party. 4 Christmas decorations. 5 Christmas Eve. 6 Christmas present. 7 Christmas tree. 8 Christmas dinner. 9 Christmas stocking. 10 Christmas pudding. 11 Christmas cracker. READING C Christmas pudding, Christmas card, Christmas stocking, Christmas present, Christmas cake. Oxford University Press España www.oupe.es Photocopiable 8
D 1 To make Christmas cards. 2 By filling a stocking with small gifts and sweets. 3 A potato. 4 Second hand presents. 5 A service like washing up or digging the garden. 6 Because you might be tempted to spend too much money. 7 You decide together. 8 Everybody saves money. GRAMMAR E 1 have lived 2 have, lived 3 have, bought 4 have, been 5 has, heard 6 have worked F 1 ever 2 how 3 just 4 since 5 never 6 for Oxford University Press España www.oupe.es Photocopiable 9
G 1 I ve lived in Madrid since 2002. 2 How long has Susan lived in Madrid? 3 Have you ever seen a musical in the theatre? 4 They have been to Paris three times this year. 5 I have never eaten Christmas pudding. 6 We have just been to a Christmas party. WRITING H Students own answers. SPEAKING I Students own answers. J Students own answers. LISTENING K Because the son had put soap in the bath with the fish. Oxford University Press España www.oupe.es Photocopiable 10
L 1 fi s h 2 isn t 3 stored 4 Eve 5 soap 6 none Tapescript Bill Steadman is our man in Prague. Bill: When the huge fish tanks appear outside supermarkets here in Prague you know that it must be almost Christmas. The tanks are full of carp the fish traditionally eaten at Christmas here in the Czech Republic and in other central European countries. For my first Christmas in the Czech Republic I found this tradition a little strange. Carp isn t usually eaten in Britain it s a fish that is often full of small bones and the flavour is a little, well, different. But what I found really strange about the Czech habit of eating carp at Christmas is how they do it. People usually buy the fish from tanks outside supermarkets and take them home alive and put them in the bath. Spending a few days in clean bath water cleans the carp and makes it taste better when it is eaten on Christmas Eve. A friend of mine told me that when her son was four years old he asked why they were keeping the carp in the bath. To clean it she told him. Later that day my friend went to look at the carp in the bath and saw, to her horror, a bath full of bubbles. Her helpful son had added a generous handful of soap powder to the bath to make sure their carp was lovely and clean. That was one family that didn t eat carp that year. All my friends with children tell me that there is one golden rule never give your carp a name. When Christmas Eve arrives you ll find it very difficult to explain to your children why their pet has suddenly disappeared. Oxford University Press España www.oupe.es Photocopiable 11