1 Work in pairs and discuss the questions.

1. Passage 1 1 Work in pairs and discuss the questions. Example Answers 1 I think my teachers have a major impact on my life. They are nice and supportive, so they’ve helped me learn and achieve a lot in school and university. >>

2. 2 • I have learned to be more independent in organizing my life, study and thinking. I have to make decisions sometimes without my parents being there and I gain life experience by doing so. • I think the biggest change that has happened to me is that I’ve learnt not to only follow books or teachers, but I’ve also begun to think for myself and to question the things taught to us. Being at the university gives me resources to search online and read books from the library to broaden my vision of the world. >>

3. 3 Traveling gives us opportunities to see people and society from a different angle. It lets us meet more people, see more things with our own eyes and experience life which may not be the same as the one we knew about. >>

4. 4 • I suppose taking on a challenge or solving a problem or doing something we have never done before is a kind of activities which will make us think hard, adapt ourselves and endure hardships. • I would say being with very young children makes people become very soft, caring and protective. • If we travel to different places and see more things, we may have an open and understanding attitude towards things happening around us.

5. 2 Listen to Passage 1 and choose the best answer to the questions. Answers 1 (c) 2 (d) 3 (a) 4 (b)

6. 3 Listen to Passage 1 again and complete the sentences. Answers 1 tolerant; rounded 2 close to; stand up 3 beauty; generosity 4 an opportunity; beyond the one 5 behaved; selfish 6 pretend; see through 7 arrived in; had to help 8 difficult time; a huge amount of

7. 4 Work in pairs and discuss the questions. Example answers 1 The Sichuan earthquake makes people think how powerful nature is and how determined people are to overcome their difficulties. >>

8. 2 Since I am a Chinese, it is likely I believe human beings are basically good, as Three Character Classics (《三字经》) says that people are born with a kind nature (人之初，性本善). I Think Westerners may have a different idea, at least Christian people. In the Bible, it indicates that all human beings have sins. >>

9. 3 I think going to university broadens our vision of life through reading books, meeting intelligent people and possibly traveling from places to places. We are better equipped with knowledge, skills and understanding of people, society and life. >>

10. 4 I would say experiences like disasters, hardship, generosity and kindness from others would make people reassess their own thinking and behavior, and thus they learn from these experiences most.

11. Passage 2 5 Work in pairs and discuss the questions. Example answers 1 I loved Mathematics. I thought it was just wonderful. 2 Well, my parents decided which subject should be my major at university. >>

12. 3 No. I liked arts and I am a more lively and social person. But my parents wanted me to do biochemistry, which means that now I spend most of my time in the labs. 4 My uncle talked to me about what to study at university. He told me that I must follow my heart and balance it with my ability. Of course I took his advice, because I always trust him. >>

13. 5 I would tell them that they should ask first if they have any passion for the subject they intend to study. If they think they don’t know whether they have a passion for it, then they should read information about the subject online or ask people who have studied the subject.

14. 6 Listen to Passage 2 and answer the questions. Answers 1 Joan is an academic counselor at Manchester University. 2 She is talking to a presenter and callers for a radio program. 3 It is important, because their choices of subject are likely to have an impact on their future careers. >>

15. 4 He wants to work in IT. 5 Not at all. (In Britain each university has a different mixture of courses; some courses can only be found in a few universities.)

16. 7 Listen to Passage 2 again and complete the notes. Answers 1 strengths; weaknesses; personality; like; subjects; organized; confident; outgoing; a team; working alone 2 future careers; into a particular area of work; chosen field; related industries; leading 3 vocational; graduates; high-flyers; career; practical; transferable; recruitment

17. 8 Work in pairs and discuss the questions. Example answers 1 I find it useful to know the importance of choices of a course to your future career. I normally don’t think that far ahead, since we are studying in the university for four years. >>

18. 2 I think the class would read some reports or fictional accounts of happiness and unhappiness; then the teacher would get the students to think about times when they were happy or unhappy in order to discuss what makes us happy. >>

19. 3 • I agree with this academic adviser to a certain extent that the choice of a university should consider what you want in future for your career. • Well, I would choose a vocational education, because it trains me to have competence and skills and helps me to find a job more easily. I can always study a Master’s degree or higher if I want to change to an academic route. Further, I can always have my skilful job behind me for a rainy day.

20. Language and culture A more rounded person is a person who combines different aspects of character to produce a well-developed person. Cambodia is a kingdom in Southeast Asia with a significant cultural history as the centre of the Khmer Empire in the 9th–15th century.

21. Laos is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia that has a history of the kingdom of “the land of a million elephants” in the 14th–18th century.

22. A reality TV show is a TV program that does not use professional actors but shows real events and situations involving ordinary people, or sometimes celebrities. To involve the audience there is sometimes a competitive element in which the participants are progressively voted off (audience votes are counted to choose who leaves the show) until one remains as a winner.

23. Additional activity Describing Personalities On the next page are the words to describe people’s personalities. Can you write down the opposites? ambitious hardworking

24. ambitious generous hardworking honest humble independent kind nervous open-minded optimistic outgoing punctual reliable talkative unselfish unmotivated stingy lazy dishonest bigheaded dependent inconsiderate calm close-minded pessimistic shy late unreliable quiet self-centered Follow-up: What personality traits would you like your boss, roommate, and co-worker to have? Use the vocabulary listed to help you.

25. Fun test Priority Test We often get in situations when we take decisions without a second thought and this is the right moment to find out what type of person we are. What would you do first if you were in a situation where the followings are happening at the same time.

26. Fun test The baby is crying. The clothes are hanging outside and it has started to rain. The water is running from the tap. The doorbell is ringing. The phone is ringing. Think about what you will do first, then second and so on. Refer to the explanation on the next page.

27. Each action reflects the priorities that you have set in your life. Take a look at the following table to see which priority corresponds to which action.

28. For example if the first thing that you did was to answer the phone then your biggest priority in life would be your career and job. Similarly if the fourth thing that you did was to attend to the baby then your fourth priority would be your family.