Unit 1 it’s my life

Well-organization and positive feelings are special qualities that will guarantee you greater success, achievements and happiness in life.

It has been researched and proven over and over again that optimists (positive thinkers) enjoy more of the wonderful benefits of life. When you are optimistic about your day you feel real enthusiasm for everything you do and have strength to drift past the difficult times. Being optimistic means that you expect to win at everything you do.

B eing well organised means being ready for any opportunity or challenge in your life. It means knowing what you have, where it is and being able to be up-to-date with everything. Being well-organised is not just having everything categorised, alphabetised and in chronological order but it is about having a routine that works for you.

Ex.1 What are you like? Are you an optimist or a pessimist?

Answer the questionnaire below. For each situation, choose a, b or c according to what you are most likely to say. Then calculate your score, read what it means and compare with a partner.

1. It’s Sunday, you are in the middle of a long walk in the country. It starts to rain.

1. It always rains when I go for a walk.

2. It could be worse – it could be snowing.

3. Great! I really enjoy walking in the rain.

2. You arrive home after a great holiday.

1. I don’t want to go back to university.

2. I’m going to start planning my next holiday. I want to have something to look forward to.

3. The holiday was great, but now I’m looking forward to sleeping in my own bed.

3. It’s your 30^th birthday.

1. The best years of my life are over.

2. I’m getting older – so what? It happens to everybody.

3. Life begins at 30 – where’s the party?

4. You’ve got a cold.

1. I need to see a doctor as soon as possible.

2. I need to buy some tissues.

3. It’s just a cold – it won’t kill me.

5. Your boy/girl friend has ended your relationship.

1. I’ve had enough of boys/girls. I’m never going to fall in love again.

2. I know I’ll get over it, but it might take a long time.

3. He/she wasn’t the right one for me.

6. You have to make an important life decision.

1. Whatever I decide to do, it will be the wrong decision.

2. I’m going to take my time and think carefully about my decision.

3. Whatever I decide to do, it will be the right decision.

7. It’s autumn.

1. I don’t like autumn because it will soon be winter.

2. It’s just another time of the year.

3. It’s a beautiful time of the year.

8. You unexpectedly inherit &5,000.

1. &5,000 isn’t going to change my life.

2. Great! I can buy a few luxuries that I couldn’t afford before.

3. This must be my lucky day – I think I’ll buy a lottery ticket.

How to score: each time you answer a- score 1, answer b- 2, answer c – 3

If you scored 19-24	…you are an Optimist! You always try to see the positive side of life. You know how to enjoy yourself and you don’t waste time worrying about things that may never happen. But be careful – your friends might find your optimism rather irritating at times.
If you scored 13-18	…you’re Mr or Ms Sensible! You are a realist. You know life has ups and downs but you hope to have more good times than to have bad times in your life. But be careful – you can be more serious at times. You need to show your feelings a bit more.
If you scored 8-12	…you are a Pessimist! You must try to stop having negative thoughts. You need to learn how to enjoy the good things in life and stop worrying about things that may never happen. And remember, there are many people in worse situations than you.

Ex.2 Study the list of words describing different feelings.

annoyed (with sb) (at / about sth) | ~ (that …) | ~ to find, see; - slightly angry

anxious (about sth) | ~ (for sb) - feeling worried or nervous about the future

ashamed (of sth/sb / yourself) |- feeling shame or embarrassment about sb/sth or because of sth you have done

astonished (at / by sth/sb) | astonished (that … ) - very surprised

bored (with sb/sth) | ~ (with doing sth) - feeling tired and impatient because you have lost interest in sb/sth or because you have nothing to do

cheerful - happy, and showing it by the way that you behave

confused - unable to think clearly or to understand what is happening or what sb is saying

delighted (by / at / with sth) | ~ (to do sth) | ~ (that … ) - very pleased

depressed (at)- very sad and without hope

disappointed – (with/in sb/sth, by sth) - upset because sth you hoped for has not happened or been as good, successful, etc. as you expected

exhausted – very tired

embarrassed (about / at sth) | ~ (to do sth) (of a person or their behaviour) shy, awkward or ashamed, especially in a social situation

enthusiastic (about sb/sth) | ~ (about doing sth) - feeling or showing a lot of excitement and interest about sb/sth

excited (about / at / by sth) | ~ (to do sth) - feeling or showing happiness and enthusiasm

fed up (with sb/sth) / sick and tired (of sb/sth) | ~ of doing sth - bored or unhappy, especially with a situation that has continued for too long

furious (with sb) | ~ (at sth/sb) | ~ (that … ) very angry

grateful (to sb) (for sth) | ~ (to do sth) | ~ (that … ) - feeling or showing thanks because sb has done sth kind for you or has done as you asked

guilty (about sth) - feeling ashamed because you have done sth that you know is wrong or have not done sth that you should have done

jealous (of sb/sth) – 1. feeling angry or unhappy because sb you like or love is showing interest in sb else 2. feeling angry or unhappy because you wish you had sth that sb else has

miserable - very unhappy or uncomfortable

nervous (about / of sth) - anxious about sth or afraid of sth that is about to happen

proud - (of sb/sth) | ~ (to do sth) | ~ (that … ) - feeling pleased and satisfied about sth that you own or have done, or are connected with

relaxed (about sth) (of a person) - calm and not anxious or worried

scared (of sb/sth) | ~ of doing sth, ~ to do sth, frightened, of sth or afraid that sth bad might happen

stressed out - too anxious and tired to be able to relax

worried (about sb/sth) | ~ (by sth) | ~ (that … ) constantly thinking about unpleasant things that have happened or that might happen and therefore feeling unhappy and afraid

upset (about sth) | ~ (that … ) unhappy or disappointed because of sth unpleasant that has happened

Ex3 Choose the appropriate word from the pair:

1. When Dick saw his neighbour kick the dog he became angry / nervous.

2. Sue wasn’t really interested / interesting in the film.

3. She always finds some excuses for not keeping her word. It’s very annoying / worrying.

4. You’re not scared / bored of spiders, are you?

5. He looked relaxed / anxious and confident before the exam.

6. If we forget to do our homework, our teacher gets excited / annoyed.

7. Tim completely lost his temper! He was absolutely furious / exhausted.

8. My friends have new cars. I’m becoming guilty / ashamed of my old Mini.

9. Let’s go to a different cinema. I’m not very impressed / enthusiastic about horror films.

10. I’m completely exhausted / nervous today. Yesterday I had to sit up late, brushing up on my grammar and vocabulary.

11. Mike was delighted / anxious when they asked him to be a godfather of their first child. Nothing could have made him happier.

12. He always feels a bit jealous / ashamed of his elder sister who manages to be up- to- date with her studies and to get some time off during the week.

13. I had never done a parachute jump before. I was very upset / nervous.

14. I was furious / excited to hear that he had passed his exams because he never seemed to do any work on time. It’s so annoying.

15. They both looked astonished / bored when I told them I was getting married.

16. John is fed up with / enthusiastic about this boring town – all they have is a bar, a cinema and a Chinese restaurant.

17 I missed a lot of lessons and now I have to catch up on my studies. It makes me so disappointed / stressed out.

18. She was proud / grateful that her daughter had so much talent for organising her time wisely and achieving what she really wanted.

19. My brother is always delighted / enthusiastic, no matter what he is doing – reading for seminars in the library or working out in the gym.

20. Some women are too embarrassed / miserable to consult the doctor about their problem.

21. I’ve got a very difficult exam tomorrow and I feel a bit jealous / nervous.

22. Sorry, I gave the wrong e-mail. I got a bit confused / relaxed.

23. I was bitterly disappointed / miserable by the results of the final test.

24. Her decision to start babysitting made her parents feel stressed out / guilty.

E x.4 Choose some pictures and describe what makes you feel so. Use the structures: I am/feel/get….when/if….

sad confident confused angry hysterical

guilty embarrassed exhausted jealous scared

furious depressed ashamed hopeful lonely

bored surprised anxious shocked shy

delighted

Ex.5 Tell your partner how you feel in the following situations and what you would do next:

1. You hear you have passed all your exams.

2. You are in a lift which suddenly stops and won’t move.

3. You are late for the lessons because you overslept.

4. You are stuck in a traffic jam.

5. Your sister/brother/flatmate has borrowed some of your clothes without asking permission.

6. You are walking home at night and you think someone is following you.

7. You forgot your mother’s or your father’s birthday.

8. You hear the alarm clock buzzing loudly at 6.30 on Sunday morning.

9. You’ve saved enough money to go to the concert of your favourite rock group.

10. You are interrupted by a person who has such an awful habit of interfering in what doesn’t concern him.

11. You can’t understand the rule. The more you read the less you understand.

12. You are in the car that is going too fast.

13. You are asked to do things you don’t want to do.

14. You made some very stupid mistakes in your English test.

15. You have to return home after a wonderful holiday at the seaside.

16. You can have a lie-in one of the working days.

17. You see your boyfriend/girlfriend kissing another girl/boy.

18. You don’t know the way to the hotel and the map you are looking at is too detailed.

Ex.6 Tell your partner how you’re feeling today. Explain why.

Humans are creatures of habit and we adopt bad habits just as easily as good ones. If you're looking for a quick, cheap, and easily applied method of improving your mood you can do so through reflection on your daily routines. A disciplined daily routine is of great value. It keeps one physically, mentally and intellectually healthy.

Ex.7 Reading

1. Read the text about the daily routine two girls have as quickly as you can and state the main problem Ann has.

2. Read the text again and find out the information proving that the girl(s) could feel annoyed, proud, exhausted, enthusiastic, guilty, delighted. What other feelings could the girls have?