Speaker 1 Kevin is very quick to think negative things about people. Even when he talks about his best friend, he always tells you about his faults. And if somebody hasn’t got any faults, he invents them

5

Woman 

I’m so tired of the tabloid news. It’s very one-

sided. They just repeat the government’s views.

Woman 

I know. The news just seems like propaganda 

these days, doesn’t it?

1.04 Lesson 1C, Exercise 5

1

Who reads the news these days, anyway? No-one reads 

newspapers anymore, especially not people of my age. For 

one thing, they’re far too long. Who has time to read all of 

that information? And who pays attention to the news? It’s 

always so depressing. All the news that is reported is bad 

news. Why do they do that? Why not have a bit of balance? 

I think that’s why gossip columnists have taken over from 

serious journalists. Newspapers and magazines try and find 

out lots of gossip and scandal about celebrities in order to 

attract people’s attention, and they hope that this will make 

people buy their newspapers. That’s just a waste of 

everybody’s time in my view.

2

I wish people would pay more attention to what’s happening 

in the world and make more effort to change the things they 

don’t like. There’s so little interest, especially with young 

people my age. It really upsets me. If 

we

 don’t take the time 

to shout about what will make the world a better place, then 

who will? That’s why I think celebrities could have a useful 

role to play in today’s society. Instead of complaining about 

press intrusion and moaning that they’re always in the 

media spotlight, why don’t they use the press attention for a 

good cause and encourage their fans to copy them? 

Personally, I think it should be a duty of all rich, famous 

people to do something good for others less fortunate than 

themselves. 

3

I just don’t get the whole celebrity thing. Why are people 

interested in the fake lives of other people? Because that’s 

what they are – fake. I can’t help laughing when I see 

Solutions

 

Third Edition

 Upper-Intermediate

 

1

Audio scripts

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photos in magazines of all the perfect celebrities who have 

been photographed in their perfect houses with their perfect 

partners. They stand in the middle of their living rooms 

dressed as if they were about to go out to the Oscars with 

their arm round their husband or wife, saying what a perfect 

relationship they have. Then, two months later, you hear 

that they’ve split up! Hilarious.

4

What’s wrong with a bit of gossip and people-watching? 

Wasn’t it Oscar Wilde who said ‘There is only one thing in 

life worse than being talked about, and that is not being 

talked about’? People have been interested in other 

people’s lives since the beginning of time. Human interest 

stories are just that – stories that are interesting to all of us 

humans. People always want to talk about themselves – 

what they do, what they think, what they’ve got. Celebrities 

are no different. I look through magazines in the 

hairdresser’s or dentist’s waiting room like every other 

person there. Those papers and magazines are there 

because people look at them. And anybody who says they 

don’t pick one up is not being entirely honest!

1.05 Lesson 1G, Exercises 3 and 4

Student

In both photos, you can see a group of fans. In 

the first photo, the fans are waiting for the 

celebrities to arrive, whereas in the second 

photo, the celebrity must be there already. The 

fans are screaming and shouting – they’re 

absolutely ecstatic. It looks like a really 

wonderful experience for them.