Serendipity

We tend to t hink t hat successful people deserve their success. They probably studied hard at school, they worked hard every day or they took a lot of risks., In fct, many successful peopl.e.$imp(y99t. '.lvcky_. bref(: somet hing happened t ha t gave t h em a chance to he successful; c hey took t he opport unity and t he rest, as t he)' sa) is h ist ory.

Some people just fell into fame. Aret ha Franklin, the legendary Queen of Soul, was singi ng i n her ch urch choi r * when a record company executive hea rd her voice. Sa rah Michelle Gellar, sta r of Buffv tlit' Vampire Slayer, was in a restauran t

when a TV executive saw her. She was four. 2

A mont h later she was i n a n advert for Burger Ki ng.

Ot her people were l ucky because someone else was 1mluckr I n 1963

t he very famous Italian opera singer Gi useppe di Stefano had a t hroa t

problem while he was singi ng i n t he opera La Rollcme.

His name? Lucia no Pavarott i.

ome people arc just very l uck)'· Mel Gihson was born i n New York. I n 1968 his Jad won a lot of money on a quiz show.

In yd ncy Mel st udied d ra ma heca usc his sister sent off h is applica tion form. The n t he night hcforc one of his first a udi tions, Mel had a figh t

a t a pa rt)'. And whe n t he u n heard-of actor arrived at the aud i tion, he looked awful - bu t perfect for t he role of Mad!\fax. He got t he part.

Sometimes luck)' breaks lead to a new invention. When that happens, it's called serendi pity. The discovery of Post-It ' M notes were an accident.

In 1970 pcncer Silver was a ttem pting to make a st rong type of gl ue. He

I le remembcrcd Spencer's gl ue and t he Pos1-1trn was born. L1st yea r

3M sold over $100 million worth of t he notes.

I n li fe, i t seems, sometimes you need a l i tt le l uck. Bu t wh ile you 're wani ng, it's probably safer to keep worki ng ha rd.

*choir = a group of peopl e who ing 10ge1hcr Ill a dmn:h, s1:hool. CIC.

Discussion language mD

"You are at a meeting. Choose the best response for each situation.

1 You are speaking and someone interrupts you.

a) Be quiet!

Al.. say somet h i ng here?

s................................ about Fridays in

genera l. bu t t he idea t hat Frida y l 31h is actually a n "tml ucky day·is ridiculous.

@Ca n I just finish what I was sayi ng?

c) Sorry, do you mi nd if I in terru pt?

z omeone is speaking. Xou wan t to say somet hi n g.

a) Can I make a point here?

of course

That's not Yes.sure

I agree actually make a point here

If I could just finish What do you think Iinterrupt

b) I f I could just finish making this point.

c) What's t he point of t h is?

3 You k now Jason has a n opi nion, bu t he hasn 't said a nything yet.

a) That ma y be t rue, but what abom Pa ul?

b) Jason, you had somet hing you wanted to say.

c) Sorry, do }'OU mi nd if Pa ul i n terru pts?

4 Someone is speaking and you have t he same opinion as h i m/her.

a) Yes, I'd agree wi th t hat.

b) Sure, go a head.

KIM Can I9....................................................?

MEL Yes, 10

KIM Mel, you must agree t hat tourism is good for t he cou n try.

MEL 11

KIM A nd that we need more hotels.

MEL I'tn not su re 1z............--...............................

4

JAN 13............................. a bou t prefabs?

ELLA I hate them. They're ugly and poor quali ty...

c) I'm sure I agree, actually.

I} Complete th e conversat ions with these ph rases.

JAN

Sorry, do you mi nd if 14...........................................?

15..... t rue act ually. In Sweden...

That may be You had something I'm not sure

ELLA 16

JAN Yes, sorry. Go ahead.

........ ma king this point.

Yes, I'd agree with Can Ijust finish

ANN It's si mple. Firstly, pa ren ts should be stricter.

TIM...... ·····-·· t hat. But the reasons...

Review: gradable and strong adjectives

I) Ch ange the words in bold to ma ke t hese senten ces more posit ive. Use absol utely and an adject ive in

t he box.

faWnateC! delighted fantastic furious tiny gorgeous delicious filthy

ANN

·······-································•••••••••• wha t I was sayi ng?

TIM Su re. 4 •••••••••••••••••• ••••••

PAM.......................••............. you wanted to

say about super stitions.

CARL Yes, sta tisti cs show th a t f riday 13th isn't unluckier tha n a ny other day.

PAM 6.......••••.•...••••.•....... t rue, but t h e worst days for aceiden Ls last yea r were all Fridays.

I was quit e interest ed. ..9.f?.S.Pll!tely.fqJ(irJ.9.te.d.

2 The room was quite small..

3 The weat her was good...............................

4 His house was fairly d irty........................................... s My h usba nd wa a ngry.

6 The food was quite t ast y.

7 h e looks bea ut ifu l......................................

8 \Ve were very p leased................

(}' Reading and Writing Portfolio 6 p74)

Language Summary 7, Student 's Book p130

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