1. Label the pictures with the life stages below.
centenarian elderly infant in his / her teens
in his / her twenties middle-aged toddler young child
1) She’s a ____________
2) He’s ____________
3) _________
4) _________
5) _________
6) _________
7) _________
8) _________
Show answers
1) toddler 2) in his teens 3) She’s middle-aged.
4) He/ She’s an infant. 5) He’s a centenarian. 6) She’s elderly.
7) He/ She’s a young child. 8) He’s in his twenties.
2. Complete the life events with the words below. Use all the words.
be be emigrate fall get get go inherit
learn move split start
1) _________ born
2) _________ a business
3) _________ in love
4) _________ (money, etc.)
5) _________ to drive
6) _________ up
7) _________ to university
8) _________ house
9) _________ your first job
10) _________ engaged
11) _________ brought up (by)
12) _________ from abroad
away a change of career divorced down
a family from work a grandparent home
a house or flat married school school up
13) get ____________
14) leave ____________
15) start ____________
16) settle ____________
17) leave ____________
18) start ____________
19) have ____________
20) become ____________
21) grow ____________
22) pass ____________
23) buy ____________
24) get ____________
25) retire ____________
Show answers
1) be 2) start 3) fall 4) inherit 5) learn 6) split
7) go 8) move 9) get 10) get 11) be 12) emigrate
13) married 14) home / school 15) a family / school
16) down 17) home / school 18) a family / school
19) a change of career 20) a grandparent 21) up
22) away 23) a house or flat 24) divorced 25) from work
3. Write six true sentences about you or members of your family using different phrases from exercise 2.
grandad retired when he was in his sixties.
1) _________
2) _________
3) _________
4) _________
5) _________
6) _________
Show answers
your own answers
4. Listen to a teenage girl asking people in the street about the best age to do certain things in life. Complete the table.
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Best age to leave home: |
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1) Woman |
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Best age to learn to drive: |
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2) Girl |
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Best age to start a family: |
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3) Boy |
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Best age to buy a house or flat: |
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4) Girl |
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Show answers
1) late twenties 2) early twenties 3) 30–35 4) 30 (or so)
Transcript
1)
Interviewer In your opinion, when is the best age for young people to leave home?
Woman Well, it obviously depends on the circumstances. But I wouldn’t advise young people to be in a hurry to leave home. The advantage of living with your parents, even when you’re working, is that you can save money. It can benefit your parents too, as you can pay them rent and also help out with housework, and so on. But I would say that your late twenties would be a good time to leave home.
2)
Interviewer What’s the best age to learn to drive, do you think?
Girl Well, brother learned to drive as soon as he could, at the age of seventeen. But he couldn’t afford a car until he was 21. When he finally bought one, he’d forgotten a lot of what he’d been taught and had to have more lessons before he felt confident to drive. So, I’d say wait till you are in your early twenties, when you can afford a car.
3)
Interviewer What’s the best age to start a family, in your opinion?
Boy I think most couples wait a few years before they start a family, and I think that’s quite sensible – it’s important to settle down first and have a nice home. And most people find themselves in the situation when they’re between about 30 and 35.
4)
Interviewer In your opinion, what’s the best age to buy a house or flat?
Girl Most young couples in the UK want to own their own home and they usually try to do this when they are about 30 or so, and they are settled in their careers. And I think that’s about the right age. Before that, they don’t usually have enough money.
Extra exercises
1. Rewrite the sentences with the words below.
a centenarian an infant in (your) teens in (your) twenties
middle-aged a toddler a young child
1) niece is only four months old.
2) little brother is six.
3) great-grandfather is over a hundred.
4) cousin Jack is fifteen.
5) mother is fifty next year.
6) nephew is two years old.
7) sister was twenty-three on her last birthday.
Show answers
1) niece is an infant.
2) little brother is a young child.
3) great-grandfather is a centenarian.
4) cousin Jack is in his teens.
5) mother is middle-aged.
6) nephew is a toddler.
7) sister is in her twenties.
2. Complete each pair of life events with a suitable verb.
1) _____. born / brought up
2) _____. a flat / a house
3) _____. home / school
4) _____. married / engaged
5) _____. a business / a family
6) _____. a house / money
Show answers
1) be 2) buy 3) leave 4) get 5) start 6) inherit
3. Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs below.
emigrate grow up move pass away retire settle down
1) grandfather is in his seventies, but he has no plans to ______________ from his job.
2) I missed friends terribly when we ______________ house.
3) They’re thinking of leaving the UK. They’d like to ______________ to Australia.
4) best friend ______________ in France, so she’s bilingual.
5) When I leave university, I want to go travelling before I ______________ and have a family.
6) Tom’s grandmother is ill in hospital. He’ll be extremely upset if she ______________
Show answers
1) retire 2) moved 3) emigrate 4) grew up
5) settle down 6) passes away