File: MegaGoal Book 6 Unit 4: They Said, We Said

Vocabulary

Question type: Fill in the Blank

Complete each sentence with a word from the box. 

1. It is difficult to accept ____________________. Sometimes it hurts your feelings.

[Answer: criticism
Learning Objective: Vocabulary]

2. To ____________________ someone is to make fun of him or her.

[Answer: ridicule
Learning Objective: Vocabulary]

3. It is important to ____________________ children when they do something well.

[Answer: praise
Learning Objective: Vocabulary]

4. I heard a ____________________ that our teacher is going to retire . Is it true?

[Answer: rumor
Learning Objective: Vocabulary]

5. Kindness is a ____________________. Everyone should be nicer to other people.

[Answer: virtue
Learning Objective: Vocabulary]

6. Doctors are not allowed to tell ____________________ information about their patients.

[Answer: confidential
Learning Objective: Vocabulary]

Grammar

Question type: Written answers
Write a sentence that quotes the speaker’s exact words. Use said and quotation marks.

7. Jason: I wish I could play tennis.

__________________________________________________________________

[Answer: Jason said, “I wish I could play tennis.”
Learning Objective: Grammar]

8. Fahd: Can you open the door, please?

__________________________________________________________________

[Answer: Fahd said, “Can you open the door, please?”
Learning Objective: Grammar]

9. Nathan: Mark failed that test.
__________________________________________________________________

[Answer: Nathan said, “Mark failed that test.”
Learning Objective: Grammar]

Change the quoted speech to reported speech.

10. Peter said, “I was eating dinner when Kevin called.”

__________________________________________________________________

[Answer: Peter said that he had been eating dinner when Kevin called.
Learning Objective: Grammar]

11. The weatherman said, “It will rain today.”

__________________________________________________________________

[Answer: The weatherman said that it would rain today.
Learning Objective: Grammar]

12. Brian said, “I like Keith’s new car.”

__________________________________________________________________

[Answer: Brian said that he liked Keith’s new car.
Learning Objective: Grammar]

13. They said, “We should stay home and study tonight.”

__________________________________________________________________

[Answer: They said that we/they should stay home and study tonight.”
Learning Objective: Grammar]

Reading 

Question type: Multiple Choice

Read the text and answer the questions. Choose the best answer to each question. 

Gossip 

Gossip is defined as idle talk or rumors, especially about the private affairs of others. Read the following quotes and proverbs about gossip and think about the meaning of each. 

We have two ears and one tongue so that we would listen more and talk less. – Diogenes

What is told in the ear of a man is often heard 100 miles away. – Chinese Proverb

Fire and swords are slow engines of destruction, compared to the tongue of a Gossip. – Richard Steele Sr.

Conversation is an exercise of the mind; gossip is merely an exercise of the tongue. – Unknown

There is a terrible lot of lies going about the world, and the worst of it is that half of them are true. – Winston Churchill

14. Which sentence is true?
A. The Chinese believe that if you trust someone with a secret, he’ll keep it. 
B. Richard Steele Sr. thinks that fire and swords are more powerful than a person who gossips.
C. Diogenes thought that people should listen more than they talk.
D. Winston Churchill thought that all rumors were probably true.

[Answer: C
Learning Objective: Reading Comprehension: main idea]

15. Who believes that if you tell one person you might as well tell everyone?
A. The Chinese
B. Richard Steele Sr.
C. Winston Churchill
D. Diogenes

[Answer: A
Learning Objective: Reading Comprehension: vocabulary]

Choose the correct sentence. 

16. 
A. Richard Steele Sr. said that fire and swords were slow engines of destruction, compared to the tongue of a Gossip.
B. Richard Steele Sr. said that fire and swords would be slow engines of destruction, compared to the tongue of a Gossip.
C. Richard Steele Sr. said whether fire and swords were slow engines of destruction, compared to the tongue of a Gossip.
D. Richard Steele Sr. said if fire and swords were slow engines of destruction, compared to the tongue of a Gossip.

[Answer: A
Learning Objective: Reading Comprehension: grammar]

17. 
A. Diogenes says that we have two ears and one tongue so that we would listen more and talk less.
B. Diogenes said that we had two ears and one tongue so that we did listen more and talk less.
C. Diogenes said that we have two ears and one tongue so that we would listen more and talk less.
D. Diogenes says that we had two ears and one tongue so that we did listen more and talk less.

[Answer: C
Learning Objective: Reading Comprehension: grammar]

Listening

Question type: True/False

Listen to the text and answer the questions. Write T or F at the end of each question/statement. 

[AUDIO: Why gossip is boring, Audio: CD2, Track 7:

I hate gossip. I find it boring and destructive. Yet, so much in the media, in publications, and on the Web is based on gossip. A lot of people have become so heavily conditioned to it that they fail to recognize it as gossip. They regard it as news; information for public consumption. 

I met an older friend that I had not seen for some time. She proceeded to tell me all the “news” about people I knew, and people that I had never heard of. None of it was harmful on its own. But it was infinitely boring and awkward. I honestly felt I was wasting my time and hers for no obvious reason. I also became very reluctant to share any of my “news” because I felt that it would very likely become public property. 

At some point, she realized that I was not engaged in the conversation and attributed my attitude to my obsession with work. So she started lecturing me on the negative effects of not having some normal time off. She then told me about someone else who carried on like me—someone I knew—and how sick she had gotten through overwork that she had to be hospitalized for about four months. I started feeling physically sick. 

What right does anyone have to upset someone to such an extent that they become sick? Why is it, that disaster draws so much attention? Why doesn’t anyone tell stories or spread rumors about good days, successful endeavors, and happy people? Imminent calamity seems to sell a lot better than a happy development. 

The trend has established itself quite well. Most news items are about threats, criminal behavior, destruction, bankruptcy, war, etc. The more dismal the news is, the larger the audience, the higher the ratings, and the more successful the program is. 

“Mind your own business” is considered rude and aggressive. If you dare utter these words, you are summarily dismissed as a selfish, insensitive, and ungrateful. Somehow making others’ business our own has become the norm rather than the exception. But I would still say it and take the risk in order to preserve some peace of mind and do my duty in a small way: reminding those who care to be reminded that we all have a right to privacy without being considered peculiar.]

18. People can distinguish between real news and gossip. ____

[Answer: False
Learning Objective: Listening Comprehension: main idea]

19. The writer was unwilling to share anything with her friend because she felt that it would be repeated. ____

[Answer: True
Learning Objective: Listening Comprehension: inference]

20. The friend showed real concern by telling the writer about an acquaintance that had fallen ill through overwork. ____

[Answer: False
Learning Objective: Listening Comprehension: supporting detail]

21. People seem to be more interested in news about destruction and calamity. ____

[Answer: True
Learning Objective: Listening Comprehension: inference]

22. The writer feels that people are not entitled to privacy. ____

[Answer: False
Learning Objective: Listening Comprehension: vocabulary]

Form, Meaning and Function

Question type: Multiple Choice

Choose the best answer to fill in the blank in each question.

23. If you have a stomachache, you ______ stop eating all that candy.
A. shouldn’t
B. ought not to
C. had better
D. should better

[Answer: C
Language Objective: FMF]

24. It is not nice to talk about other people behind their backs. You _______ gossiping.
A. shouldn’t
B. ought not to
C. may stop
D. must stop

[Answer: D
Language Objective: FMF]