Is it time to escape the rat race? Level 2 – 17th November 2016

Objectives:

2nd Conditional warmers – could & would
How can we be happier?
Will money make you happier? What is work/life balance?
What could you live without?
Find out definitions for these words: freeganism, forage & road kill.
Read about a life without money.
Work in groups to come up with ideas to make life happier.

The 2nd Conditional explained

The Happiness Formula

Complete these sentences and be ready to explain why you are saying this

a) Happiness is …….

b) Money can’t make you happy …

What is the Rat Race? Is it possible to escape it?

consumerism noun [ U ]

politics the state of an advanced industrial society in which a lot of goods are bought and sold

disapproving the situation in which too much attention is given to buying and owning things:

He disliked Christmas and its rampant (= extreme) consumerism.

Black Friday is coming soon – this was the scene in London 2 years ago:

Are these statements true or false:

People are wealthier and happier than 50 years ago.
Consumerism hasn’t made people happy.
Scientists think we should change our way of life

Watch the video and think about these questions:

A) Why hasn’t consumerism (the work+buy ethic) made people happy?

B) How should we change our way of life?

Life without money

Could you live without money? Think of 3 advantages of a life without money.

Look up these three words on your phone: 1. Road kill (noun) 2. to forage (verb) 3. freegan & freeganism

road kill noun [ U ]

animals that are killed on roadsby cars or other vehicles:

On average, two crocodiles a yearend up as road kill on Florida’s Highway 1.

Foraging:

forage verb [ I ]

to go from place to place searching, especially for food:

The children had been living on the streets, foraging for scraps.

The pigs foraged in the woods for acorns.

Freeganism:

freegan noun [ C ]

a person who chooses to eat food that is not bought from a shop, especially food that other people, shops, or organizations throw away, so that food is not wasted

Article in The Independent about a German woman living without money

Listen to an English podcast about the German woman Heidemarie Schwermer who made a deliberate choice to live without money 14 years ago.

Present perfect revision exercises:

http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/presentperfect.html

http://www.englishhints.com/irregular-verbs.html

http://www.iswearenglish.com/100series.php?id=7

http://www.englishpage.com/irregularverbs/irregularverbs.html#l

Today’s words:

The two words, hung vs. hanged, are both the past tense of hang but have different uses in a sentence. Hanged refers to death by hanging, whether it be suicide or execution.

Hanged vs. Hung: What’s the Difference? – Writing Explained

status

noun

the amount of respect, admiration, or importancegiven to a person, organization, or object:

high/low status

As the daughter of the president, she enjoys high status among her peers.

The leaders were often more concerned with status and privilegethan with the problems of the people.

designer label noun [ C ]

UK US MARKETING, COMMERCE

a famous company that makes expensive clothes, bags, etc. and that is a well-known brand:

Our aim is to make this one of the world’s great designer labels.

secondment noun [ C or U ]

a period of time when an employee is sent to worksomewhere else temporarily, either to increase the numberof workers there, to replace a worker, or to exchange experiences and skills:

secondment to/from sth My last post in the probation service was a secondment to Bristol Prison.

on secondment Next month Douglas, who has been on secondment from BT, goes back to his old job.

shadow noun (FOLLOW)

[ C ] someone who followsanother person everywhere:

“I think we have a shadow on our tail,” muttered the detective.

Ever since he was able to walk, Stephen has been his older brother’s shadow (= has followed him and copied his actions).

[ C ] uk a person who follows someone else while they are at work in order to learn about that person’s job

commuter noun [ C ]

someone who regularly travels between work and home:

The train was packed with commuters.

assumption noun (BELIEF)

C1 [ C ] something that you accept as true without questionor proof:

People tend to make assumptions about you when you have a disability.

These calculations are based on the assumption that prices will continue to rise.

I assume fish and chips is the most popular meal in Britain. No, it isn’t, that’s an incorrect assumption. The most popular meal in the UK is Chicken Tikka Masala.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/britains-favourite-comfort-food-roast-dinners-put-tikka-masala-on-the-back-burner-9760080.html#gallery

diminish verb [ I or T ]

C1 to reduce or be reduced in size or importance:

I don’t want to diminish her achievements, but she did have a lot of help.

These memories will not be diminished by time.

What he did has seriously diminished him in many people’s eyes.

We’ve seen our house diminish greatly/sharply/substantially in value over the last six months.

barter verb [ I or T ]

to exchange goods for other things rather than for money:

He bartered his stamp collection forher comics.

We spent a whole hour bartering withstallholders for souvenirs.

miser noun [ C ]

Dandelion – can be used in salads:

Nettles – can be used in soups Nettles – can be used in soups

Wild garlic

Idioms:

Objectives:

2nd Conditional warmers – could & would

How can we be happier?

Will money make you happier? What is work/life balance?

What could you live without?

Find out definitions for these words: freeganism, forage & road kill.

Read about a life without money.

Work in groups to come up with ideas to make life happier.