C1 Reading worksheet 3 (standard)
Do I control it? Or does it control me?
Warmer
1 Work in pairs or small groups. Discuss the questions about mobile phone use.
1 How much time do you spend on your phone each day?
2 Make a list of all the things you use it for. What do you mostly use your phone for?
3 Do you think that you spend too much time on your phone? Why / Why not?
4 Have you tried anything to limit your phone use? Why / Why not?
5 How important is it to you to have the latest smartphone? How often do you change your phone?
Vocabulary
1 Read the first sentence of Margot’s text in the main reading text. Find the phrase
lightbulb moment and use the context to help you explain what it means. Tick (✓) the
definition below which you think is correct.
1 a moment when you suddenly realize something important
2 a moment when you realise you forgot to do something
2 Work in pairs. Use the context to help you match the other words and phrases in bold in
the text to their definitions (1–10).
1 grow, develop or be successful because of something
2 not certain, or wrong in some way
3 have a very strong feeling of wanting something
4 gradually involved in an activity that isn’t productive or beneficial
5 extremely focused on what is happening, not distracted by anything
6 criticise someone or something strongly, usually for moral reasons
7 working together to reconsider a system so it can be changed or improved
8 completely responsible for something and can give a satisfactory reason for something
9 in a way that shows you are determined to do what you want and refuse to do anything else
10 something that happens to make you realize you need to take action to change a situation
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C1 Listening worksheet 3 (standard)
Going it alone
Reading
1 You are going to read the views of four people who are talking about their mobile
phone use. First, read each passage quickly and discuss with a partner which is
closest to your opinions.
Do I control it? Or does it control me?
A – Margot C – Valeria
Many people have a lightbulb moment when they A few months ago, after years of resistance, I finally
unexpectedly realise they have surrendered control gave in and got myself a smartphone, purely
of their lives to their phones. Mine came last week because it had a fantastic camera. But I soon
when I was feeding my one-year-old daughter while got sucked in, spending hours playing games or
scrolling through photos of her. It was as if the editing my pictures. Admittedly, all great fun, but
images on my screen were superior to being there I’m not entirely sure what good it did me. All these
with her, in the moment. That’s when I decided technology companies come up with such a vast
enough was enough, but am I actually capable of range of apps to play around with, and people
breaking that connection to my phone? I’ve realised devote hours of time to them. I think this a shame,
I must be on it constantly, despite telling myself not least because we as humans need to be bored
otherwise. Apparently, the brain releases dopamine sometimes. If we’re always checking our phones,
whenever a new notification comes through, so we lose the ability to daydream, to allow ourselves
it’s no wonder we’re permanently attached to it. to think and be creative. Also, maybe we’re on our
Maybe we should blame the app developers for phones so much because humans naturally crave
employing behavioural psychologists to make their the easiest way to do things with the least amount
products even more impossible to switch off from, of effort, and it takes far more effort to talk to
even when we need to sleep. I do find that morally someone than to send them a message.
questionable, at best.
D – Samuel
B – Tim
I’m not sure I’d go along with this idea everyone
Apps that monitor phone use are rightly becoming seems to have that mobile phones have made
increasingly popular. They’re a wake-up call for us all stubbornly antisocial and addicted to our
every one of us, deceiving ourselves that we only notifications or whatever. Sure, we text more than
pick our devices up every now and again. Over the ever, but does that necessarily mean we’ve lost the
last couple of decades, we have sleepwalked into a ability to have a conversation? I’d say it’s actually
world where our connection to real life is becoming the case that we’ve all become far more social.
weaker and weaker, and unless we’re careful there People are interacting with others more often than
won’t be any going back. Some people put their at any other point in history. Given that humans
phone down so rarely that you’d think they were have evolved to thrive on social contact, I find it
physically attached to it. It’s time for a collective absurd for anyone to condemn our phone usage for
rethink; even the small changes will make a encouraging this behaviour. It’s too convenient to
difference. I’ve recently bought a bedside clock, blame technology for all the wrongs in the world,
which I rely on instead of my phone’s built-in alarm. and to avoid being accountable for what we do.
It’s made such a huge difference, I feel so much Surely there isn’t a person alive who doesn’t know
more rested, plus I’m not reaching for my updates that phones can make it difficult to get to sleep,
from the moment I wake up. but is your phone to blame for your tiredness?
Ultimately, it’s you who chooses to go to bed and
stare at your screen until you finally drop off.
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C1 Listening worksheet 3 (standard)
Going it alone
2 Read question 1 of the part 8 exam task in Exercise 3
Tip
and then read the three sentences (A-C) taken from the
texts you have just read. Then answer the questions. Make sure you identify the key
words in each question. Don’t
1 Which of the sentences actually mention the word sleep?
be distracted by a section of
2 Which sentence gives an example of a traditional approach text just because it appears to
to managing sleep?
match a word in the question
you are given. Consider each
A Maybe we should blame the app developers who word in the question to see if
employ behavioural psychologists to make their it exactly matches the views
products even more impossible to switch off from, given. In question 1, the words
even when we need to sleep. (Margot) traditional and managing
sleep are all-important and
you need to find an example
of this mentioned in one of the
B I’ve recently bought a bedside clock, which I rely on
instead of my phone’s built-in alarm. It’s made such a texts. Notice though that none
huge difference. (Tim) of these key words appear in
the section of text that reveals
the answer.
C Surely there isn’t a person alive who doesn’t know
that phones can make it difficult to get to sleep, but
is your phone to blame for your tiredness? (Samuel)
3 For questions 1–10, choose from sections A–D to find the correct answer.
The sections may be chosen more than once.
Which person:
mentions using a more traditional approach to managing sleep? 1
relates to people’s physical dependency on phones to their biology? 2
draws a comparison between two forms of communication to justify a viewpoint? 3
expresses a contrary view to the one held by the majority of people? 4
mentions the result of people allowing themselves to become distracted by technology? 5
describes a sudden awareness of feeling disconnected from reality? 6
recalls how their phone usage increased beyond their original intentions? 7
feels strongly critical of certain practices employed in building modern technology? 8
states that people underestimate how much time they spend on their phones? 9
provides an example of how people avoid taking responsibility for personal decisions? 10
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