Unit 9: Communication

Introduction to Unit 9

This unit is about talking about the mass media - their roles, advantages and disadvantages – and talking about holidays and travel.

NOW GO TO THE FIRST SECTION: Dialogue

Dialogue

The following conversation is between two friends, Lea and Theo, who are watching a television programme about the city of Antananarivo.

Lea: Hey Theo, what’s on the TV? Theo: Hi Lea, it’s a programme about Antananarivo, but it’s nearly finished now. Would you like to watch the end with me? Lea: ...

Vocabulary

Now let’s look at some of the words and phrases from the conversation in more detail.

Lea says, “What’s on the TV?”. “TV” is short for “television”, and is a form of “mass media”, which means communication that reaches a lot of people. Other forms of ...

Comprehension Questions

Now go back and read the conversation again, and try to answer the following questions about it. After this, discuss your answers with a friend.

What is the TV programme about? (1 mark) What does the programme say about Antananarivo? (1 mark) What did the newspaper article say? (1 mark) What does Theo say about ...

Grammar

The following grammar points are about reported speech and adverbs of frequency. Try the accompanying exercises to practise them.

Reported Speech In the conversation Theo says, “They said that it’s the most popular city in the whole of Africa”, and Lea later says, “They just said that the flights ...

Writing

Practise your written English by answering one of the following writing activities. Try to use new vocabulary and grammar from this unit, and practice reading it out loud – this is a great way to spot mistakes. You could also swap your piece of writing with a friend to correct it. To help you, there are a few ideas of phrases you could use under each question.

Write a short news report about a recent event in your home town. Useful vocabulary: It was… He/she/they said… It happened at… There were/was… Write a short conversation between you ...