Unit 12

UNIT 12

ALTERNATIVES

Start

INDEX

Vocabulary (p.95)

Vocabulary (p.94)

Reading (p. 94)

Pronunication (p. 95)

Vocabulary (p.97)

Grammar (p. 96)

Speaking (p. 97)

GAME 2

GAME 1

vocabulary

HEALTH AND TREATMENTS

• What can you see in the picture?
• What does it mean 'placebo'?
• What is homeopathy?
• What do you know about it?

• How do these expressions from the paragraph differ in meaning? Can you give examples?

1. an illness / symptons 3. effect / side effects 2. a treatment / a remedy 4. a medicine / a placebo

Expressions

ILLNESS: a disease of the body or mind (influenza, measles)SYMPTONS: a physical feeling or problem which shows you have a particular illness (a fever, a cough, red spots)

TREATMENT: something you do to try and cure an illness or injury (taking antibiotics, doing physiotherapy)REMEDY: something that makes you better when you are ill (an aspirin, cough medicine)

EFFECT: a change, reaction or result that is caused by something (blood pressure is lower, pain disappears) SIDE EFFECTS: other effects a drug has on your body in addition to the main effect of the medicine (usually something negative or unwanted, such as an allergic reaction, ,weight gain, headaches)

MEDICINE: a substance used to cure an illness or injury (cough medicine, penicillin) PLACEBO: a harmless substance (a sugar pill) given to someone who's told it's a real medicine

Look at the list of treatments and answer the questions:

1. What kind of health problems can each treatment be used for?
2. Which would you describe as 'conventional' medicine?
3. Which are 'alternative'?
4. Which do you think:

1. can be effective?
2. can have serious side effects?
3. are probably just a placebo? Why?
4. are probably used too much?
5. should be used more?

possible answers

1. acupuncture: back pain, headaches, joint pain antibiotics: infections hypnosis: to stop smoking, to reduce stress massage: to reduce stress, to reduce pain painkillers: headaches and other minor pains physiotherapy: after surgery or injury surgery: heart problems, broken bones vaccinations: to prevent diseases like influenza, mumps, rubella, measles, etc. 2. conventional medicine: antibiotics, pinkillers, physiotherapy, surgery, vaccinations alternative medicine: acupuncture, hypnosis, massage

Esto es un párrafo de texto listo para escribir un contenido genial.

reading

VS

GROUP B

GROUP A

1. Identify the main arguments for or against homeopathy in the article.
2. Compare with someone in your group.
3. Do you agree on what the main arguments are?

1. Identify the main arguments for or against homeopathy in the article.
2. Compare with someone in your group.
3. Do you agree on what the main arguments are?

answers

GROUP B: JEANETTE WINTERSON

GROUP A: BEN GOLDACRE

1. Homeopathic pills are not better than placebos (para. 1)
2. The placebo effect works (para. 2)
3. Homeopaths basically rely on the placebo effect, not on any special power in homeopathic medicine (paras 2 and 3 - implied and stated)
4. Homeopaths are unethical, they deceive by giving sugar pills to unknowing patients (para4)
5. Some homeopaths endanger their patients by giving them 'sugar pills' to prevent them getting serious diseases such as malaria (para. 5)

1. Just because we don't understand it is no reason to dismiss it (para. 3)
2. People often visit homeopaths as a last resort when nothing's working, and they improve (para. 4)
3. Recent discoveries indicate new rules for the behaviour of substances in small quantities (para. 5)
4. We shouldn't dismiss millions of people's testinonies that the remedies worked for them (para. 7)

VS

GROUP B

GROUP A

What examples does Ben give of: 1. 'the placebo effect'? 3. the bad practices of some 2. health problems which placebos may be suitable for? homeopaths?

What examples does Jeannette give of:1. homeopathic treatment that worked for her? 3. improvements she thinks should be made 2. how some people critise homeopathy? to the field of homeopathy?

answers

GROUP B: JEANETTE WINTERSON

GROUP A: BEN GOLDACRE

1. Four placebo sugar pills a day will clear up an illness quicker than two sugar pills. // An injection is a more effective treatment for pain than a pill. /// Green pills are more effective for stress than red pills. // Brand packaging on painkillers increases pain relief. (para. 2)
2. Back pain, stress at work, medically uenxplained fatigue, most common colds (para.3)
3. Some homeopaths have given patients sugar pills to protect them against fatal diseases like malaria but have not given basic advice on prevention. // Some have given dangeorus advice on vaccines. (para. 5)

1. She once had a temperature of 39ºC, spots on her throat and delirium. She tried a remedy called Lachesis, made from snake venom. Four hours later, she had no symptoms at all. (para. 1)
2. They say it's nonsense, without clinical proof or scientific basis, worthless, potentially lethal. (para. 2) // They critise it because it's so diluted that it must be useless (para. 5, stated and implied)
3. She'd like to see homeopathy better regulated. She'd like to see homeopaths dealing publicly with their critics, as well as initiating more research (para. 6)

vocabulary

Which of these sentences express a believe in something and which express scepticism?

1. It works for me. 7. I believe in it.2. It offers not benefit. 8. It has no scientific basis.3. It's tried and tested. 9. There's no proof that it works.4. It's worthless. 10. It's nothing more than a placebo.5. It's nonsense. 11. You can see its effects.6. I trust it. 12. It's no better than a sugar pill.

vocabulary

vocabulary

Read the six quotatios and write your own reactionS to them, uSing expressions from the previous activity. For example, I don't believe in astrology at all. There's no proof that it works.

pronunciation

How is IT'S pronounced at the beginning of the sentence in fast natural speech?

At the beginning of a sentence, people often leave out the IT in IT'S.

In pairs, practise these short conversations wihtout IT.1 A: What's the weather like? 3 A: What time is it? B: It's warm and sunny. B: It's half past nine. 2 A: Should I call him now? 4 A: You're looking tired. B: No, it's not a good idea. B: Yeah. It's time to go.

grammar

FUTURE TIME CLAUSES

IN SENTENCES REFERRNG TO THE FUTURE, WE USE THE PRESENT SiMPLE AFTER THE FOLLOWING CONJUNCTIONS:

• IF: If you don't have breakfast at home, you will feel hungry very soon.
• WHEN: We will cook the pasta when Luigi arrives.
• UNLESS: You won't lose wieght unless you eat fruitt and vegetables every day.
• BEFORE: I'll brush my teeth before I go to bed.
• AFTER: We'll have some coffee after we get back home.
• UNTIL: I'll wait for you until you finish your homework.
• AS SOON AS: I0ll call you as soon as I finish.
• AS LONG AS: I'll make breakfast as long as you do the washing-up

FUTURE TENSES

grammar

Watch the video for the explanation

VOCABULARY

Read the information in the box:

Now, match the examples 1-4 with the speakers a -d:

vocabulary

In her talk, Fay supports the idea that Southglen has a successful approach to education by:

Which of these expressions could replace the highlighted expressions in 1-3?

SPEAKING

you're going to give the people a tour.

Choose one of these situations

LISTEN TO EACH OTHER'S TALK

1) Some important clients from overseas have come to find out about the place where you work. 2) Some exchange students have come to find out about the place where you study. 3) Some tour operators have come to find out about your town or city.

Which part of each tour sounds the most interesting?

Think about what you'd include and plan a short talk welcoming your guests and giving an outline of the tour. Use WILL BE -ING.

TASK 1: In pairs, find a statement below that one of you agrees with and the other disagrees with, or make up your own.

• computer games have a bad effect on young people
• we should all become vegetarians
• everyone should learn foreign languages at shcool
• air travel for leisure purposes should be banned
• doing lots of sport and exercise is bad for you

TASK 2: Working alone, prepare a short talk presenting and explaining your point of view.

• Think about how to outline at the beginning what you'll be talking about
• Decide what points to make and what order to make them in.
• Try to use expressions from the unit