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Write your letter in 220-260 words.
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Pocket money
Most teenagers in Britain receive pocket money from their parents. A report by the Bank of Scotland interviewed over 1,000 young people in Britain and found that 77% get pocket money. Certainly, different families can afford to give different amounts of pocket money to their children. Teenagers get more money than younger children: some fifteen- to nineteen-year-olds receive more than £100 a month. However, most of young people have to do household chores to get their pocket money, such as ironing, cooking and washing-up. The report found that many children save at least a quarter of their weekly pocket money to buy something they want at their own expense later and that more boys than girls save their money. The reason why girls spend their money is certainly shopping with their compatriots – other girls who are fascinated with shopping. Girls tend to buy ridiculously expensive must-haves in posh department stores, while boys’ reaction to such behavior is mutiny.
«I get 80 pounds a month. I have to buy my own clothes with that too and usually I find the needed garments at second-hand stores and flea-markets. I am trying to save money for a new computer that’s why I avoid buying cheap junk such as clothes.»
Chris, 17, from London.
Part-time work
A part-time job is an option for teenagers who don’t have pocket money or who want to earn some extra money to not miss out the atmosphere of shopping with their friends or visiting concerts and other events. About 15% of teenagers have a job and the most popular ones include babysitting, delivering newspapers to houses, shop work, and working in a restaurant or café. There are strict government laws about working hours, for example only children over 13 can work.
«I work in a greengrocer’s shop on Saturday mornings and get 15 pounds an hour. That is enough for me to save for designer’s gears or whatever else I want. I can say for sure that working is not for scatty people as you need to be organized to control everything at your workplace.»
Amber 17, from Aberdeen.
Banks
In Britain some children and teenagers have a bank account. There is no legal age limit at which you can open a bank account but a bank manager can decide whether to allow a child or young person to open it. Parents can put pocket money directly into their child’s bank account.
«It’s good for teenagers to have a bank account so that they can learn about how to save money and how to be responsible for it. In future it will help them to not live massively in debts.»
Jana, 16, from Canterbury.
Saving or spending pocket money, working part-time and dealing with banks are all part of the process of becoming a financially independent adult, having to earn and look after your own money and learning how to not live on borrowed money and swelling someone’s bank account.
Useful expressions
| word | definition | translation |
| to accumulate | to collect a large number of things over a long period of time | накопить |
| to shop till you drop | to buy things until you are physically tired and cannot walk around the shops anymore. | делать покупки до изнеможения |
| on borrowed money | on the money that does not belong to you | на занятые деньги |
| scatty | silly and often forgetting things | сумасшедший, чокнутый |
| cheap junk | junk - things that are considered to be of no use or value, or of low quality | дешевый хлам |
| massively in debt | to have a lot of debts | по уши в долгах |
| must-have | something that many people want to own; something you need to own in order to be fashionable | «маст-хэв»; то, чем многие хотят обладать; что-то, чем нужно обладать, чтобы быть модным |
| mutiny | an occasion when a group of people refuses to obey orders | протест, бунт |
| to swell one’s bank balance | to make somebody’s bank account increase in size or amount | разрастаться, надуваться, увеличиваться |
| at the expense of smb | using somebody’s resources to achieve something; in a way that harms someone or something | за счет |
| a designer’s gear | gear - informal for clothes | дизайнерская вещь |
| a garment | a piece of clothing | вещь |
| flea-market | a market, usually taking place outside, where old or used goods are sold cheaply | блошиный рынок |
| posh | expensive and of high quality | шикарный |
| a compatriot | informal: a friend or someone you work with | приятель |
| to be fascinated | to find someone or something extremely interesting | быть очарованным |
| ridiculously expensive | unreasonably expensive | неоправданно дорого |
| to miss out | to fail to use an opportunity to enjoy or get an advantage from something | упустить (возможность) |
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Task 1
Which of the following sentences are true, false or not stated in the text?
1. Most young people in Britain have a part time job.
2. Girls mostly spend more money on shopping than boys.
3. Boys tend to recoil for fashionable gears.
4. There is no limit of working hours for children.
5. Dealing with money helps teenagers become more confident.
Task 2
Translate the following sentences from Russian into English using the words from the text and the useful expressions.
1. Дешевый хлам на этом блошином рынке имеет необоснованно высокие цены.
2. Марк купил эту дизайнерскую вещь на занятые деньги, и теперь он по уши в долгах.
3. Иногда можно пойти за покупками со своими приятелями, чтобы не упустить атмосферу, в этом случае пропадает даже прошлый протест (идти за покупками).
4. Девочки в Британии предпочитают делать покупки до изнеможения за свой счет.
5. Прогулка по торговым центрам со своими приятелями поможет тебе выглядеть стильно, ведь ты всегда можешь найти подходящую вещь и пройти мимо «маст-хева».
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Grammar
Defining and Non-defining Relative Clauses
· Defining relative clauses say which thing or person (or kind of thing or person) we are talking about.
· Non-defining relative clauses give us additional information about the thing or the person.
Task 1
Mark which type of relative clauses these sentences contain
1. John's mother, who lives in Scotland, has 6 grandchildren.
2. I’m going to wear the skirt that I bought in London.
3. My friend John, who went to the same school as me, has just written a best-selling novel.
4. My grandmother, who is dead now, came from the North of England.
5. We stopped at the museum, which we had never visited before.
6. Children who hate chocolate are uncommon.
7. I've just come back from London, where John lives.
8. The reason why I came here today is not important.
9. An elephant is an animal that lives in hot countries.
10. Let's go to a country where the sun always shines.
Task 2
Change wh- words to that where possible
1. I told you about the woman who lives next door.
2. I was invited by the professor whom I met at the conference.
3. Yesterday I met a woman named Susan, whose husband works in London.
4. They live in a house whose roof is full of holes.
5. The food was definitely the thing which I enjoyed most about our holiday.
6. England won the world cup in 1996. It was the year when we got married.
7. My uncle, who was born in Hong Kong, lived most of his life overseas.
8. We saw the latest Harry Potter film which we really enjoyed.
Writing
Informal letter
· Begin by telling your friend why you have decided to write
· Divide your letter into paragraphs for better understanding
· Close your letter mentioning next contacts
· Use informal language
Task 1
Write an informal letter to your friend according to the rules and the task:
You recently bought a designer’s shirt at a posh shopping centre but did not notice there was a small hole on it. You want to share your experiences and emotions with a friend. Write your letter explaining what happened, what you felt about it, how you resolved the problem and advising your friend about shopping in posh department stores in future. Use as many new words from this unit as possible.
Write your letter in 220-260 words.
Creative activity
Divide into two groups, one group will be “savers” and the other one “spenders”. Give your reasons why it is better to save/spend money. Use as many new words as possible.
Answer sheet
Reading and vocabulary
Task 1:
1. False, 2. True, 3. Not stated, 4. False, 5. Not stated
Task 2:
1. Cheap junk at this flea-market has ridiculously expensive prices.
2. Mark bought this designer’s gear on borrowed money and now he is massively in debt.
3. Sometimes you can go shopping with your compatriots not to miss out the atmosphere, in this case even former mutiny fades away.
4. Girls in Britain prefer to shop till they drop at their own expenses.
5. Walking with your compatriots in shopping centers will help you look stylish because you can always find a suitable garment and pass a must-have by.
Grammar
Task 1:
1. Non-defining, 2. Defining, 3. Non-defining, 4. Non-defining, 5. Non-defining,
6. Defining, 7. Non-defining, 8. Defining, 9. Defining, 10. Defining
Task 2:
Possible to change in sentences 1, 2, 5, 6, 8
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