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005-035-Specialise ISE B2 - Section A - Lexis & Functions-Endorsed 16/7/2019 7:44 μμ Page 6

Unit 1

Society and Living Standards

A. Warm Up

Read what these three family members say about society and living standards. Discuss with your partner whose
opinions you agree with the most.

Oliver
My grandparents are always telling me how much easier life is today, and how
fortunate our generation is because of the freedom, opportunities and belongings we
have. In many ways, I think they’re right. I wouldn’t have wanted to have lived eighty
years ago as I know life was tougher, and I can’t imagine what life would have been like
without a mobile phone or social media. And I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to go to
a dentist back then either! Even though our quality of life is better today, I feel our
generation is under more pressure to succeed. My parents advise me to study hard
because in today’s world there’s much more global competition. Recently I’ve been
worrying about the future because it’s been reported that the gap between rich and
poor will increase and the standard of living for many people will start to fall.

Gary

I suppose I’m one of the lucky generation. When I was younger living standards
were rising, food and many consumer goods became cheaper and the quality of life
improved a lot. I received a free university education. It was easier to find a secure
job, buy a house, and feel confident you’d be better off than your parents. I doubt
that many of the youth of today are that optimistic. However, in spite of this, many
young people today lead such exciting lifestyles and have opportunities and choices
that were impossible for us when we were their age. Thanks to cheap flights they
can travel to many different destinations, and can meet people from all over the
world, either abroad or in our more multicultural society. I think we’ve become a
more individualistic society, but we’re more open-minded towards minorities and
different types of people in our society.

Rose
I’m nearly 82 years old and society has changed so much since I was a little girl.
Sometimes I think young people today don’t realise how lucky they are. I’d started
work before I was 14 and I didn’t have all the educational opportunities and entertainment
that teenagers enjoy today. But, although we live in a consumer society and have all
these mod cons, I feel that life was better in the old days. We suffered some hard times,
but life was simpler and we had more of a community spirit because we all helped each
other and were in the same boat. I especially liked Sundays because nearly everyone
had the day off, and we all had time to talk to each other over long Sunday lunches.
Nowadays everyone seems to be working all the time and they’re always in a hurry.

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