Age
“How old are you?” It’s a simple question, and there is usually a simple answer: “Sixteen years
old,” “Twenty years old,” “Fifty-five,” etc. But if someone is described as young or middle-aged or old,
then how old is that person? It’s difficult to know because these are words that have different meanings
for different people.
Except for the word teenager, which describes someone whose age ends in the syllable “teen”
(such as fourteen, fifteen or sixteen), words which describe age are not exact. When, for example, does
a baby stop being called a baby and become a young child or a toddler? When does a boy become a
young man and a little girl become a young woman? At what age does middle age begin? When do you
call someone elderly and not simply old? At what age does someone become an adult? In some countries, it is when the government says a person is old enough to vote. Is that really the difference between
a child and an adult? The answers to these questions partly depend on how old you are. There is a saying that old age is always ten years older than yourself. If you are fifteen, then you think someone of
twenty-five is old. At thirty, forty seems old. If you are seventy, then you probably think someone of
eighty is old. A recent survey showed that there was some truth in the old saying. People were asked.
“What is middle age?” Those in their early twenties usually answered, “Between thirty-five and fifty,”
and people in their thirties answered, “Between forty-five and sixty.”
2. Decide whether these statements are true (T) or false (F), according to the text.
1. ___ When people are asked their age, they usually answer with a number.
2. ___If someone tells you that he or she is middle-aged, you know the exact age of the person.
3. ___It is possible to call someone who is twelve a teenager.
4. ___There is an exact age when a baby becomes a young child.
5. ___Some governments say that an adult is a person who can vote.
6. ___When you get older, yours ideas change about when middle age begins.
3. Match each sentence in column A with a sentence in column B, which is the closest in meaning:
A
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
B
He is a five-year-old boy.
She is between the ages of 30 and 40.
He is fifteen.
She is eight years old.
She is over 70 years of age.
He is twelve months old.
She is fifty-four.
He is about 24 or 25.
She is between 13 and 16.
She is about two years old.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
He’s still a baby.
He is in his twenties.
She is a toddler.
She’s middle-aged.
She’s in her thirties.
He’s a teenager.
He’s a child.
She’s an elderly lady.
She’s a little girl.
She is a teenager.
4. Find out the meaning of these words and use them in sentences of your own.
Adolescence, driving age, drinking age, voting age, a mid-life crisis, retirement age, a senior citizen
Questions to Think About
1. What are some of the joys and problems of each age?
2. What is the driving age in your country? In the USA? How about the voting age? The drinking age? The marriageable age? Do you think it’s too early? Too late? Why do you think
so?
3. Are you happy with your present age? Why or why not? What age do you wish you were?
4. How do you feel about growing older? Why?
5. How important is age? In marriage? In work? Why?
5. Working with a partner, develop a dialog talking about people of different ages and their
lifestyles, joys and/or problems connected with different stages of life and ageing, etc. Make
sure to use the vocabulary of the Unit.
Body Size and Body Parts
Read the following passage and do the exercises.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith were a very average couple. His name was John. Her name was Mary. They lived in an average-sized house and had two average children – one boy and one girl.
Were they tall? Mr. and Mrs. Smith were neither tall nor short. They were both average height. He was average
height for a man and she was average height for a woman.
Were they fat? Mr. Smith was certainly not weak or skinny, but he was not strong or well-built either. He was
just medium build and his shoulders and chest were neither very broad nor very narrow. His wife, too, could never be
described as thin or slim, but then again, she was not overweight or fat either. Her waist was neither too big nor too
narrow. It was just... average size.
It was very easy for Mr. and Mrs. Smith to buy clothes because part of their bodies was average size too. Their
feet were neither very big nor very small. Their hips were not too wide. And their legs were neither too short nor too
long.
Yes, the Smiths were a very average couple. Except for one thing. They were the only couple in the country who
were average in so many ways at the same time. The Smiths were in fact... unique.
1. Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F) according to the passage.
1.____ Mr. and Mrs. Smith had two children named John and Mary.
2. ____ Mr. Smith was very tall.
3. ____ Mrs. Smith was average height.
4. ____ Mr. Smith was a skinny man.
5. ____ Mrs. Smith probably weighed about 160 pounds.
6. ____ Mrs. Smith had a very small waist.
7. ____ Mr. Smith had average-sized feet.
8. ____ The Smiths were completely average.
2. Which sentences describe Alan (A) and which describe Bob (B)?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Alan
______ He has broad shoulders
______ He looks very strong.
______ He’s very tall.
______ He’s rather short.
______ He has a narrow waist.
______ He’s a little overweight.
______ He’s not very athletic-looking.
______ He is long-limbed.
______ His body doesn’t look well-toned.
_____ He’s got big biceps.
Bob
3. Circle synonyms with the marker of the same color.
a. Decide which words have a more positive and which – a more negative coloring:
b. Put the synonyms words in order of degree (e.g. tiny – short – tall – gigantic)
robust, tall, thin, chubby, lanky, slender, overweight, bony, petite, stout, well-toned, diminutive, fat, gigantic,
a bag of bones, lean, sturdy, small, scrawny, obese, athletic, muscular, gangly, wiry, plump, slim, towering, willowy,
thickset, fit, skinny, emaciated, heavy, well-built, short, strong, gaunt, flabby, hale and hearty
Questions to Think About:
1. What is the average height for men and women in your country? Is it changing?
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of being either very tall or very short?
3. Can you think of some good ways of keeping these parts of the body in good condition: heart, lungs, skin,
bone, muscle?
4. Describe some ways of losing weight.