Listen and repeat. Which of these hobbies are not popular with teenagers today? sewing, writing stories, skateboarding, ice−skating, knitting, collecting stamps, playing chess, boxing, fencing, football, painting, songwriting. Discuss.
Sewing is not popular with teenagers nowadays but my granny used to sew when she was my age.
What qualities do you need to have to do the activities above? artistic, creative, daring, fit, patient, athletic, sociable, determined, imaginative, curious.
You need to be fit to box.
a) Read the sentences. What does drive mean?
I admire her drive and enthusiasm.
Let’s go for a drive in the country.
b) Read the title of the text. What does drive mean: ambition or trip? What is the text about? Listen, read and check.
TEENS with drive!
Some teenagers spend their days playing computer games, watching TV or just complaining that they are bored. Some others, though, get out there and do things! Meet the world’s new generation of dynamic teens!
Shawn Mendes is a young Canadian musician who is taking the music world by storm! He first became famous for some short videos that he uploaded to YouTube in 2013. In these six−second videos he sang lines from popular songs and they got millions of views. Shawn’s talent also caught the attention of a music producer who quickly gave him a contract. Then, in April 2015, Shawn released his first album Handwritten which topped the charts in the USA and Canada. Since then, Shawn has appeared on stage with Taylor Swift and has won two Teen Choice Awards. Shawn is determined to succeed and it looks like he’s going the right way about it!
Many teenagers dream of playing for a huge football club but for Martin Odegaard that dream has become a reality. Martin, whose father is a football coach, became a professional footballer in Norway at the age of 15. But it was a year later when his career really took off! In 2015, he joined Real Madrid for around €4 million! At the moment, Martin doesn’t play for the club’s main team, but he is a patient person who is happy to train and improve his skills. He did play one game in 2015, though. In a match in May, he came on a substitute and became the youngest ever player for Real Madrid! He was just 16 years and 157 days old! The player who Martin replaced was Cristiano Ronaldo. In the future, Martin could become a superstar like his teammate!
When Olivia Hallisey heard about the Ebola disaster in Africa in 2014, she decided to do something to help. So, in her science class at school, she started researching new ways to test for the disease. At the moment, health workers need to refrigerate the blood samples they get from people, but this is difficult in rural Africa where many areas don’t have electricity. Olivia’s invention, though, is a simple piece of paper whose colour changes when it detects the virus! Olivia won the main award at Google’s Science Fair in September 2015 and now she hopes that a company can start producing her test. This young woman from the USA is very hard−working and that’s why she has a great future ahead of her!
Read the text again and answer the questions. Then explain the words in bold. Which teenager(s) …
1. became well−known from the Internet?
2. designed something?
3. won a prize?
4. holds the record for something?
5. wanted to help people in need?
a) Study the theory box and name the relative pronouns and adverbs in the text. What do they refer to?
Relative pronouns (who, which, that, whose) and relative adverbs (when, where, why) introduce relative clauses.
• who/that refer to people
• which/that refer to things
• whose shows possession
• when refers to time
• where refers to place
• why refers to reason
b) Choose the correct answer.
1. This is the skate park which/where I skate regularly.
2. That’s the girl who/whose mum works in a bank.
3. Arthur Conan Doyle was the author which/who created Sherlock Holmes.
4. 2003 was the year when/which they visited the USA.
c) Name a job. Your partner gives a definition using a relative pronoun/adverb.
A: doctor
B: A doctor is someone who treats sick people.
Imagine you are one of these teenagers. Say when and why you chose that hobby and what happened. Answer your classmates’ questions.
Which teenager do you find interesting? Why? Write a short e−mail to your English penfriend about him/her. In your e−mail write: name of the person; country he/she is from; what he/she does; character qualities; why you find him/her interesting.