Topic: Interesting lives

To talk about someone you admire using present perfect and

Learning objective
time adverbials

Activity 1: Listening practice

A. Put the life events into the correct categories.

bring up your children change job fall in love

get a degree get engaged get a job
go to university get promoted get married
have children leave home leave school
rent or buy a house pass your exams move to a new house
retire start school start work

Love and relationships

Home and family
Education Start school
career

B. Discuss the following questions in pairs.

 What order do the things in each category happen? (There are different
possibilities)
 Which of these things have you done? Which haven’t you done yet?

Activity 2: Listening practice

Watch Will Smith’s biography. Complete the ‘lifeline’.

•He was born on ................................... in West Philadelphia Use the lifeline to complete the
1968
following sentences. Where necessary,
• Nickname ................................
complete the gaps with the correct form
1984 • Formed the duo DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince.
of the verbs in brackets. Listen to the
•On air "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" recording again to check your answers.
1990
 Will Smith was born in Pennsylvania
•Won ............................ for the song "Summertime"
1991 in …………… .
•Married Sheree Zambino  He …………… (receive) his nickname at
........ •Birth of Trey Smith school.
•Success with "Bad Boys"  He …………… (sing) rap since ……………. .
........ •............. Sheree Zamino  He …………… (live) with Sheree Zamino
for ………… years.
•Starred in "Indepence Day"  His acting career really …………… (take
1996
off) after ‘Bad Boys’ in ………..
•Married Jada Pinkett  He …………… (get) married to his
........
second wife when he …………… (be) 29
•Birth of Jaden Smith years old.
........
 His family ……………(grow) with Jaden
•Birth of Willow Smith and Willow’s births in …………… and
........ …………… .
•Starred "Ali"  He ……….. (receive) two Oscar
........ •.............Oscar Nomination for "Ali" Nomination in …………… and …………… .
•Starred "The Pursuit of Happyness "  He …………… (be) one of the highest
2006 •.............Oscar Nomination for "The Pursuit of Happyness" paid actors since these Oscar
•Highest paid actor: over ...................... million dolars Nominations.
2007 •Starred "I ................................."
Activity 3: Grammar practice

Read more about Will Smith and his family. Complete the gaps with the correct form of the
verbs and circle the correct adverb of time.

A. Actress Jada Pinkett Smith (1) ……………. (act) on TV and the big screen (2) for / since
nearly twenty-six years. She (3) ……………. (appear) on the sitcom A Different World, and
(4) ……………. (star) in films like The Nutty Professor, with Eddie Murphy, and Spike
Lee's Bamboozled, before her prominent contributions to The Matrix Reloaded and the
animated film Madagascar.
B. Jaden (5) ……………. (act) (6) for / since he was 8 years old. His first role (7) …………….
(be) with his father in 2006, and he (8) ……………. (star) in After Earth in 2013 with his
father. He is also a singer. He (9) ……………. (release) three studio albums (10) for /
since 2012 when he began.
C. Willow Smith, Jaden’s younger sister, (11) ……………. (work) with her father too. She (12)
……………. (make) her debut in 2007 in the film I Am Legend. However, she is better
recognized as a singer. She (13) ……………. (be) nominated to several awards (14) for /
since 2010 when she (15) ……………. (launch) her music career.

Activity 7: Speaking practice

A. Draw a lifeline like Will Smith’s for your best friend. Mark important dates and events in
her/his life.
B. You are going to explain your friend’s lifeline to other students. Spend a few minutes
planning which verb forms, time words, etc. to use.
C. Work in small groups. Explain your lifelines and answer any questions you are asked.