UNIT 9

Read the two conversations below and decide if these sentences about them are true or
false.
1. The man is thinking in an imaginative way.
2. The man is thinking in a logical way.
3. The woman is thinking in a creative way.
4. The woman is not thinking about different ideas.

Woman: I’ve never made this meal before. Why don’t we try putting in some sugar?
Man: There isn’t any sugar in the recipe so we shouldn’t do it.
Woman. But it might make it taste better. And it’s fun to do something unexpected and try to
change things!
Man: Why are you getting on that bus? It’s not the normal route.
Woman: Because I always like to try different things, just to see what will happen!
Man: But you might get lost.
Woman: Or I might find a better route to work and save time.

Listen to Peter, a college tutor, talking about thinking critically and thinking creatively. Decide
if the sentences are true or false.
Peter thinks that
1. teachers only concentrate on critical thinking.
2. people who think creatively can find more than one solution to a problem.
3. in the real world people only think creatively.
4. people who think creatively are able to solve problems more effectively.

Which of the words can be used to talk about creative thinking? Which can be used to talk
about critical thinking? ANALYSE EXPLORE LOGIC MANY SOLUTIONS ONE
SOLUTION SEARCH

Match verbs 1-6 with nouns A-F to make collocations

1. make a. a solution
2. analyse b. a logical argument
3. build c. a difference
4. search d. an example
5. give e. for an answer
6. come up with f. a problem

Look at the exam task and the photos. Complete the descriptions from two candidates using
one word in each gap.
Look at the photographs of people and works of art. Candidate A, talk about what you can
see in photograph A. Candidate B, listen, then, talk about what you can see in photograph B.

Candidate A.
In the middle of the photograph _____________ ‘s a man sitting in _____________ of a
painting. I think he’s an _____________. He’s _____________ a T-shirt and a baseball cap,
and he has a _____________ I can’t see _____________ the painting is but it
_____________ like a lot of lines and strange shapes.
Candidate B
In the _____________ of the photo
there’s a woman holding something -it
looks _____________ a fish. In the
_____________ there are some other
strange things -maybe she made them
herself. She _____________ wearing
jeans and a sweater, and she’s smiling,
_____________ I think she’s happy. On
the right-hand _____________ there’s a
plant but I don’t know _____________
it’s called.

Now listen to the candidates and check

your answers to Activity 5.

Modals of ability
Choose the correct alternative in each
sentence
1. I can/manage to play the guitar
but I can’t/couldn’t sing.
2. This painting is fantastic!
Can/could you paint in oils as well as
draw?
3. I could/managed to get a ticket
for tonight’s concert at the last minute.
4. Brian can’t/coulnd’t hear the
phone ringing because he was watching a film on TV.
5. I could/managed to get quite a good photo of Jamie even though he never sits still.
6. Will you be able to/could you join us tomorrow?

There is one extra word in each of these sentences. Find it and cross it out.
1. They were be able to see an island in the distance.
2. Did you could manage to finish that painting?
3. Could you to tell me where I can buy art materials?
4. Will you be able to manage come to the meeting?
5. My cousin is able to can design web pages.
6. We won’t be not able to send you the tickets until next week.

Complete the article. Use one word in each gap.

The very young artist
If you ask most children to paint a street scene, they are usually only _____________ to
produce triangle-topped boxes for houses, stick trees and animals or people that are the
wrong size. But one young boy is different. Although he is only six, Jamie _____________
paint in a way that many aduts _____________ only feel jealous of. At first he painted boats
and sea scenes and then realised he _____________ also paint rural landscapes and
animals. One art expert said it was unusual to find someone so young who _____________
paint in this way.
Jamie says he likes painting because it’s fun and because it helps him imagine places he
_____________ visit because they’re too far away. He is hoping that he’ll _____________
able to have his own exhibition before he feels he is too old -that means at least before he is
eight! It seems impossible but we’re sure he _____________ do it!
Match the words in bold in the texts with definitions 1-6
1. a set of clothes that you wear together.
2. unable to continue with your work because it is too difficult
3. a room where a painter or photographer works
4. special skills or ways of doing things
5. problems or difficulties
6. things you use in order to do an activity

Find less formal synonyms for these words in the texts

1. attempted (text 1)
2. intends (text 2)
3. skillful (text 3)
4. required (Text A)
5. exhibited (text E)
6. complete (test F)

Rewrite the sentences to make them less formal

1. Sonia is not a very good sculptor but she’s an extremely skilful painter.
2. She has exhibited her work all over Europe and Asia.
3. She required a visa for some of the countries she visited.
4. I attempted to enrol in a course at the art college but my application arrived too late.
5. I hope to complete my studies early next year.
6. I intended to study painting and drawing.

In the sentences below, both alternatives have a similar meaning. Choose the more formal
alternative
1. If you want/would like to know more about the job, tell us/let us know.
2. The bus for London sets off/departs at 6am
3. For further/more information, please visit our website.
4. Any student who has finished/completed their task can leave now.
5. We request/ask that people close the windows when they leave the room.
6. We think that our course provides students with/gives students a good introduction to
the workplace.