Cambridge University Press

978-1-316-50000-2 – American Think Level 2

Brian Hart Herbert Puchta Jeff Stranks Peter Lewis-Jones
Excerpt
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1 PEOPLE A M A ZI NG
OBJECTIVES
FUNCTIONS: talking about things
you have and haven’t done;
offering encouragement
GRAMMAR: present perfect with
just, already, and yet; present
perfect vs. simple past
VOCABULARY: personality adjectives;
collocations; phrases with just

1 3 4

READING
1 Look at the photos. What is your first impression 4 Read the responses to an online survey quickly.
of these people? What adjectives could you use Write the name of each person under the photos.
to describe them?
5 1.09 Read and listen to the responses again.
caring | friendly | boring | serious | cheerful Mark the sentences T (true) or F (false). Correct
funny | intelligent | cool | confident | easy-going the false information.
2 SPEAKING Discuss the photos in pairs. 1 Sandra Garcia has a dangerous job.
2 She isn’t very popular with Mia’s friends.
He seems She looks like a cheerful 3 Mr. Donaldson has a problem controlling his
friendly. person because she’s smiling. students.
4 Jacob thinks Mr. Donaldson will be famous
3 SPEAKING Use the adjectives in Exercise 1 and one day.
other adjectives to describe people you know. 5 Alex’s grandmother is older than she looks.
Give reasons.
6 Gwen thinks it’s important to enjoy life.
My brother is very easy-going.  7 Oliver’s aunt had a car accident.
He doesn’t get angry very often. 8 Oliver’s uncle changed after the accident.

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Cambridge University Press
978-1-316-50000-2 – American Think Level 2
Brian Hart Herbert Puchta Jeff Stranks Peter Lewis-Jones
Excerpt
More information

5 YourA Mspace
1 PEOPLE
5.1
A ZI NG

READING Background information

1 Brainstorm adjectives with the class. Give a piece of Papua New Guinea (population c. 7 million) is a country in the
paper to each student and ask them to write three southwestern Pacific region. It is one of the most culturally
adjectives that describe their own personality. Collect diverse countries in the world, with over 800 different languages
these and read some aloud to the class (e.g., This spoken. Most of the population live in tribal communities, and
person is cool, friendly, and intelligent). The rest of the only 18 percent live in urban areas. It is one of the world’s least
class can guess which student wrote the adjectives. explored countries, and many undiscovered plants and animals
are thought to exist in the interior.
Books open. Read through the adjectives and check India (population c. 1.2 billion) is a country in South Asia. It is the
pronunciation. Ask concept-check questions to check second most populous country in the world (after China). India
students’ understanding, e.g., Which of the adjectives was part of the British Empire until it became independent in
is negative? (boring) Is a cheerful person sad or happy? 1947. In the last 30 years, India has seen major economic growth
(happy) Ask students to predict where the stress falls and is now the world’s tenth largest economy.
in each word. Say the words for students to repeat
and check the word stress. Ask the class to look at the Read through the sentences with students and
photos and choose adjectives to describe them. Listen check understanding. The text contains some quite
to some of their ideas and ask them to explain the difficult vocabulary, so it is a good idea to check/
reasons for their choices. clarify: wildlife, endangered, messes around, wheelchair.
Using pictures from the Internet or describing the
2 SPEAKING Read through the instructions and language in context, ask students: Can you think of
example sentences. Remind students that we use looks/
any endangered animals? Can you describe somebody
seems + adjective and looks like (+ adjective) + noun.
you know who messes around? etc.
Divide the class into pairs. Students complete the
exercise. Monitor and help with any questions. Ask students to answer any of the questions they
can from memory before they read again. Encourage
3 SPEAKING In small groups, students describe their them to underline the key information in the
family and friends. To introduce the activity and
questions that they will be looking for in the text.
give them an example, you could describe somebody
Play the audio while students read the text to find
that you know. Encourage students to give reasons
out if the statements are true or false and to correct
for their choice of adjectives and to ask each other
any false statements. Suggest that they underline the
questions about the people they describe. Monitor to
parts of the text that helped them find their answers.
help with pronunciation of adjectives. Listen to some
Students check their answers with a partner before
examples with the whole class.
feedback with the whole class.
Optional activity
Answers
If the students know each other well, ask them to work in
pairs and describe other members of the group without 1 T 2 F – She’s very popular with Mia’s friends. They
naming them. Their partner should guess who is being think she’s great. 3 F – Mr. Donaldson doesn’t have a
described. problem controlling his students. No one ever messes
around in his class. 4 T 5 T 6 T 7 T 8 F – Oliver’s
uncle didn’t change after the accident. He’s still the same
4 Tell students they are going to read an article about happy person he always was.
amazing people. Students read the text quickly to
find the answers to the questions. Tell them not to try
to understand every word but to focus on getting a Optional activity
general understanding of the text. Set a time limit of For further work with the reading text, ask students to
two minutes to encourage students to read quickly. underline the language that tells them how the writer feels
about the person they are describing (e.g., in Jackie’s text …
the most amazing person I know, a really cool mom; all her
Answers
friends think she’s great; really lucky to have such a great
1 Jack 2 Sandra Garcia / Mia’s mom 3 Mr. Donaldson mom.) Discuss their answers with the whole class, and ask
4 Gwen students to write any useful expressions in their notebooks.

5 1.09 You could assign a homework research task

for students to find out about Papua New Guinea and
India before they come up in the text. You could then
start off the lesson by asking students to tell the class
what they have found out.
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978-1-316-50000-2 – American Think Level 2
Brian Hart Herbert Puchta Jeff Stranks Peter Lewis-Jones
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6 VOCABULARY Look at the example with students to Optional activity

demonstrate the activity. Students work individually Ask students to work in pairs and think about a person who
or in pairs to complete the exercise. As you check they do not admire and to think of three things they do not
the answers, highlight the pronunciation of the like about that person. Ask them to discuss three pieces of
vocabulary. As a follow-up, ask students to test their advice they would give to that person to encourage them
understanding of the words by working in pairs and to change their ways and become somebody that they can
admire. In preparation for this activity, you might like to
asking each other questions such as: What does a
brainstorm some of the things that students do not like and
cheerful person do? offer vocabulary to help them with their answers.

Mixed-ability idea
Stronger classes: Ask students to try to complete the exercise
without looking back at the text. Weaker students can check
their answers in the text.

Answers
1 cheerful 2 laid-back 3 creative 4 positive
5 talented 6 brave 7 charming

Optional activity
As a follow-up to the reading exercise, divide students into
pairs and ask them to imagine they are one of the people in
the survey. Ask them: How would your lives be different? Ask
students to think of at least four differences. Listen to some
of their ideas with the whole class as feedback.

7 Use images from the Internet to check the meaning

of advertising. Students complete the exercise. Allow
them to check their answers with a partner before
whole-class feedback.

Answers
1 brave 2 charming 3 laid-back 4 talented
5 creative 6 active 7 positive

Fast finishers
Ask students to close their books and write down as many
of the personality adjectives as they can. Students open
their books to check answers and spelling.

VALUES
Human qualities
1 Focus on the exercise with the whole class. You
might like to give your own example before students
attempt the task. Working individually, students
complete the exercise. Encourage them to give
reasons for their choice of adjectives.
2 SPEAKING In pairs, students describe the person
they admire. Monitor and help as they complete the
task. As the focus is on fluency and educating the
whole learner, avoid correcting errors unless they
hinder comprehension. Also encourage each student
to speak for at least one minute without interruption.
Listen to some of the examples with the whole class
as feedback.

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Cambridge University Press
978-1-316-50000-2 – American Think Level 2
Brian Hart Herbert Puchta Jeff Stranks Peter Lewis-Jones
Excerpt
More information

1 A M A ZI N G PEO PLE

Popular Recent 6 VOCABULARY There are eight words in

bold in the responses. Match the words
with these meanings. Write the words.
DO YOU ADMIRE MOST? 0 is always doing things active
Jackie, 14 Sandra Garcia, my friend Mia’s mom, 1 is usually happy
is probably the most amazing person I know. She’s also 2 is very easy-going
extremely brave. She’s a wildlife photographer, and she 3 has very original ideas
travels to some of the most dangerous places on Earth 4 looks for the good in all situations
to take photos of the world’s most endangered animals.
She’s just come back from Papua New Guinea. I haven’t 5 is very good at doing something
seen her photos yet, but I bet they’re amazing. She’s
pretty famous, and she’s already been on TV. Although 6 doesn’t get scared easily
she spends a lot of time away from home, she’s also a 7 is very easy to like
really cool mom. She’s really charming, and all of Mia’s
friends think she’s great. Mia’s really lucky to have such 7 Complete the sentences with the words
a great mom. from Exercise 6.
0 Why are you so cheerful today?
Have you heard some good news?
Jacob, 16 One of my heroes is Mr. Donaldson, our
1 He stood up in front of the whole school
music teacher. First of all, he’s an awesome teacher.
and read his poem out loud. He was
He’s really laid-back, but we all respect him, and no one
really .
ever messes around in his class. He’s so creative and
2 She’s very , and it’s easy to see
finds different ways to get us interested in his lessons.
why she has so many friends.
He’s also a really amazing guitar player – I mean, he is
3 He’s so that some people think
seriously talented. He’s in a band. They haven’t made
he’s a little lazy.
any recordings yet, but they’ve already attracted lots of
4 Have you seen him doing ballet? He really
interest, and I’m sure they’re going to be famous one
is a dancer.
day. I’ll be really happy for him, but I hope it doesn’t
5 If you want to work in advertising, you
happen too soon. I don’t want to lose my teacher!
need to be and come up with
really good ideas.
Alex, 15 The person I admire more than anyone is 6 My dad is really around the
my grandmother Gwen. She’s 78 and looks just house. He’s always cooking or fixing things
amazing. Many people think she’s my mother when they or working in the yard.
see us together. But she doesn’t just look young, she 7 He’s had a really difficult life, but he’s
is young. She’s one of the most active people I know. really about the future.
She spends a lot of her time doing things for charity. For
example, she just ran ten kilometers to raise money for VALUES
a children’s charity in India. Ten kilometers! At her age!
She’s such a positive person, always seeing the good Human qualities
in other people. “Life is for living,” she tells me. I hope I 1 Think about someone who is not
have that much life in me when I’m her age. famous but who you think is special.
a Think of three adjectives to describe
Oliver, 17 The greatest person I know is my the person.
uncle, Jack. He and my aunt Alice had the perfect life: b Think about why you chose these
good jobs, a nice house, and three young children. adjectives. Make notes.
Then one day their life changed forever. My aunt was in
a terrible car accident. It left her in a wheelchair. From 2 SPEAKING Tell your partner about the

that day on, my uncle has devoted his time to taking person you admire.
care of her and the family. But I have never heard him
complain. He’s still the same happy person he always
I really admire my brother. He’s really
was. I know life is hard for him, but he’s always so
confident in difficult situations.
cheerful, with a huge smile on his face. He’s such a
warm person – someone you want to spend time with.

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Cambridge University Press
978-1-316-50000-2 – American Think Level 2
Brian Hart Herbert Puchta Jeff Stranks Peter Lewis-Jones
Excerpt
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GRAMMAR 3 Look at Mike’s list of things to do for his party.

Make sentences with already and yet.
Present perfect with just, already,
and yet
1 Complete the example sentences with just, Part y list – things to do
already, and yet. Then complete the rules with 1 make cake
the missing words.
✓ 2 send out invi tati ons
1 She’s come back from Papua New Guinea.
3 choose music
2 They haven’t made any recordings ,
but they’ve attracted lots of interest. ✓ 4 dec ide what to wear
5 decorate room
RULE: In the present perfect, we often use ✓ 6 buy drinks
● 1 in negative sentences and questions to
talk about something that hasn’t happened but that
we expect to happen soon. It comes at the end of 1 He hasn’t made the cake yet.
the sentence.
● 2 to emphasize that something happened
4 Use your imagination to answer the questions.
very recently. It goes before the past participle. Use the present perfect and just in each one.
● 3 to show that something has been done 0 Why is Mom so angry?
or finished sooner than expected. It usually goes Because Dad’s just crashed her car.
before the past participle. 1 Why is Colin so sad?
2 Why is your face so dirty?
2 Match the pictures and the sentences. Write 1–3 3 What’s Liam so scared about?
in the boxes. 4 Why is Dana so excited?
5 Why are you smiling?
1 He’s just finished his painting.
2 He’s already sold the painting. 5 Check () the things you have already done.
3 He hasn’t finished his painting yet.

Eight things to do
before you’re 20
start a blog
A meet a famous person
travel abroad
write a song
act on stage
learn a musical instrument
enter a contest
climb a mountain
B

6 SPEAKING Work in pairs. Ask each other

questions.

Have you started a blog yet?

Yes, I’ve already done that. Have you?
C No, I haven’t done that yet. Workbook page 10

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Brian Hart Herbert Puchta Jeff Stranks Peter Lewis-Jones
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GRAMMAR Answers
Present perfect with just, already, and yet 2 He’s already sent out the invitations.
3 He hasn’t chosen the music yet.
1 As a warm-up, create a grid on the board describing 4 He’s already decided what to wear.
a man’s (preferably a famous person) journey around 5 He hasn’t decorated the room yet.
the country, for example: 6 He’s already bought (the) drinks.

Town Visited? When

Seattle yes last month Language note
Portland yes last week Students may make the following types of error with just, yet,
and already:
Los Angeles yes yesterday
*I just see my friend. *I already have seen that film. *I didn’t go to
San Francisco no – Paris yet.
San Diego no – Remind them that we use the present perfect in the structures:
have + just/already + past participle
Ask students to describe the journey and attempt to
elicit the following sentences: have + not + past participle + yet
Point out that while just and already are usually placed between
He has already been to Seattle/Portland. (in the past)
have and the past participle, yet is always placed at the end of a
He has just been to Los Angeles. (in the recent past) negative sentence or question (e.g., Have you finished yet?)
He hasn’t been to San Francisco/San Diego yet. (This
has not happened, but will happen in the future.) 4 Read through the questions with students. Focus on
Focus on the example sentences and ask students the example and elicit other possible answers. Ask
to fill in the blanks. When checking answers, ask students to work in pairs to complete the exercise,
students the following questions: Which word means a then compare their answers with another pair and
short time before now? (just) Which word means before discuss who has the most interesting or amusing
now? (already) Which word do we use when something answer to each question. Listen to some of their ideas
hasn’t happened? (yet) during whole-class feedback.
5 Books closed. As an introduction to the exercise,
Answers write bucket list on the board and ask students to
1 just 2 yet; already guess what it means (a list of things somebody wants
to do before they die – that is, “kick the bucket,” as
Ask students to read the rule and fill in the blanks the idiom has it). Ask students to work in pairs and
with the correct words. Check answers. discuss what they would put on their own bucket
list. Ask them which of the things on their lists they
Rule would like to do before they are 20.
1 yet 2 just 3 already
Books open. Check/clarify: enter a contest. Students
work individually to complete the exercise.
2 Students look at the pictures and match them with
the sentences. During feedback with the whole class, 6 SPEAKING Focus on the sample dialogue, and pay
ask students to explain the reasons for their choices. attention to pronunciation and intonation. Students
should use a rising intonation for the first question
Answers and place a strong stress on the you at the end of
1 B (middle picture) 2 C (bottom picture) the second question. Divide the class into pairs or
3 A (top picture) small groups and ask them to complete the exercise.
Monitor and help with any questions. Listen to some
3 Books closed. As a lead-in to this activity, divide examples with the whole class as feedback.
the class into pairs and ask them to imagine they
are planning a birthday party for a friend for the Fast finishers
weekend. Ask: What things do you need to organize? If any students finish the activity early, ask them to think
Set a three-minute time limit and ask them to make about their family and friends and write sentences to
notes. Monitor and help with vocabulary, and describe which of the things in Exercise 5 they have done.
encourage students to use only English. Ask students
to open their books and compare their lists to the list
in the book. Optional activity
Divide the class into small groups to find out which group
Students work individually and write sentences with
has done the most things in the list, and give points per item
already and yet. Monitor to make sure students are they have done. Give students three minutes to write a list
writing complete sentences. Check answers with the of other interesting things they have done. Make sure they
whole class. only score a point for the things they have written down – no
During feedback, ask concept-check questions to copying ideas later!
make sure students have understood the target
language, e.g.: 1 Is he going to make a cake in the Workbook page 10
future? (Yes.) 2 Does he have the invitations in his
house? (No.)

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978-1-316-50000-2 – American Think Level 2
Brian Hart Herbert Puchta Jeff Stranks Peter Lewis-Jones
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LISTENING 4 SPEAKING Elicit from the class the rules of Mystery

Guest and write them on the board if necessary (one
Background information person has to describe a mystery guest; the other has
Lewis Hamilton (born January 7, 1985) is a British Formula One to guess who it is). Students play the game in pairs.
racing driver, currently racing for the Mercedes AMG team. He Monitor and help with any questions. If students
signed his initial contract with the McLaren team when he was enjoy the game, divide the class into two teams
just 13. He won the Formula One World Championship in 2008 and play with the whole class, giving points for the
and in 2014.
number of guesses needed to find the mystery person
Sebastian Vettel (born July 3, 1987) is a German Formula One (lowest score wins).
racing driver who competed for the Austrian team Red Bull
Racing from 2009 to 2014 then signed with the Ferrari team in
Optional activity
2015. He won the Formula One World Championship four times
in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 and is one of the most successful If you have an IWB, use the reveal feature to slowly show a
F1 drivers of all time. picture of a famous person. Divide the class into teams. Each
time you reveal part of the picture, allow each team one
Adele (born Adele Laurie Blue Adkins on May 5, 1988) is a chance to guess the identity of the hidden person. Award
multimillion-album-selling British singer and songwriter and a point to the team that guesses correctly and an extra
a winner of several Grammy awards. In 2013 she also won an point if they can tell you three things about the person in
Oscar for the title song in the James Bond movie Skyfall. the picture.

1 1.10 Show students some photos of famous

people, either taken from magazines or shown on
the Interactive Whiteboard (IWB). Divide the class
SELF-ESTEEM
into small groups and ask them to make a list of Personal qualities
everything they know about each individual. As
feedback, ask each group to describe one of the 1 Ask students if they have any favorite poems and
people to the class without saying the name. The whether they’ve ever written a poem before. Tell
rest�of the class has to guess who is being described. students they are going to write a short poem called
a cinquain. Read the poem with the whole class.
Tell students they are going to hear two people Students complete the exercise. Check answers.
playing a game. Play the audio while students listen
for the answer to the question. Tell them not to try Answers
to understand every word but to look for the specific
1 someone’s name 2 adjectives 3 verbs 4 adjective
information required by the question. Check answer. 5 three

Answer 2 WRITING Students can do the preparation for this in

Two (people are playing.) class, and the writing can be assigned for homework.
If students need help thinking of adjectives, hold
2 1.10 This exercise is closely modeled on a brainstorming session and write adjectives on
Listening Part 1 of the Cambridge English: the board for students to choose from. Encourage
Preliminary exam. Read through the instructions and students to use the adjectives from the beginning of
the questions with the whole class. Before they listen, this unit. Students write their cinquain.
give students some time to decide which are the key
Monitor and help with vocabulary as required. If
words in the questions. Play the audio while students
time allows, encourage students to decorate their
listen and check the correct pictures. Allow students
cinquains for display in the classroom. Listen to some
to compare answers with a partner before feedback.
of their work with the whole class, and ask students
Play the audio again, pausing as necessary to clarify
to choose the best one.
any problems.

Answers
1 A 2 C 3 C 4 B

3 1.10 Read through the questions with students.

Before repeating the audio, give students the
opportunity to answer the questions from memory.
Play the audio again while students listen for more
detail to answer the questions. Students compare
answers with a partner before a whole-class check.

Answers
1 Sebastian Vettel, a German race-car driver.
2 fastest, bravest, youngest, most famous
3 Kiki is her own mystery guest.
4 one of the most talented, creative, amazing, warmest,
most charming, great

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Cambridge University Press
978-1-316-50000-2 – American Think Level 2
Brian Hart Herbert Puchta Jeff Stranks Peter Lewis-Jones
Excerpt
More information

1 A M A ZI N G PEO PLE

LISTENING 3 1.10 Work in pairs. Answer the questions.

Then listen again and check.
1 1.10 Listen to some people playing a game
called Mystery Guest. How many people are 1 Who is Will’s mystery guest?
playing? 2 What adjectives does Will use to describe him?
3 Who is Kiki’s mystery guest?
2 1.10 Listen again. For each question, there
4 What adjectives does Kiki use to describe her?
are three pictures. Choose the correct picture
and put a check () in the box below it. 4 SPEAKING Work in pairs. Play Mystery Guest.
1 What does Will’s mystery guest do?
Ladies and gentlemen, my guest is …
He/She has won / played /
recorded / helped …

SELF-ESTEEM
Personal qualities
A B C 1 A cinquain is a short, five-line poem. Read the
cinquain and complete the rules with the words
2 Where is Will’s mystery guest from? in the list.

Kiki
Charming, creative
the United
Kingdom
Brazil Germany Sings – laughs – loves
A B C Talented
3 Who does Will think Kiki’s mystery guest is? A beautiful voice

adjectives | three | verbs

A B C someone’s name | adjective

4 What does Kiki’s mystery guest do? On the first line write 1 .
On the second line write two 2 to describe
the person.
On the third line write three 3 to show what
the person likes doing.
On the fourth line write another 4 .
On the fifth line write a description of the person in
just 5 words.

2 WRITING Write a cinquain about:

a your partner or best friend
A B C b your hero

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978-1-316-50000-2 – American Think Level 2
Brian Hart Herbert Puchta Jeff Stranks Peter Lewis-Jones
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READING 3 Read the TV show preview quickly. Which of the

children is a genius at these things? Write the
1 SPEAKING Work in pairs. At what age did you names.
learn to do these things?
1 art
● read ● play a musical instrument
2 music
● draw ● speak a foreign language
3 creative writing
4 languages
I learned to read when I was …
4 Read the TV show preview again and answer the
I’ve never learned to … questions.
1 What writers did Mark enjoy when he was three?
2 SPEAKING What other things have you learned
in your life, and when did you start to do them? 2 What languages does he know?
3 How much will Daniel get for writing each book?
When I was seven I learned 4 How many instruments does Samantha play?
how to cook an omelette. 5 How many weeks is the show on for?
6 Who will the show have interviews with?

Don’t miss this week: The Country’s Smartest Kids

his first book when he was just
five and who has just signed
a $120,000 contract with a
publishing company to write
three novels. Then there is
12-year-old Samantha Price, who
started piano lessons when she
was three. Along with the piano,
she now also plays the cello,
clarinet, and classical guitar.
She has already played with Over the next six weeks, we will
three top European orchestras. see what it is that makes these
And how about ten-year-old children so special. We will find
Jordan Welsh? She first picked out how and when their parents
up a paintbrush before she knew they were different and
could walk. She has already had about the changes it made to

W hile other children were an exhibition of her paintings their family life. We will hear from
just starting their ABCs, in a top gallery and has just the children about their hopes
three-year-old Mark Swallow was won a major prize for one of and plans for the future. There
already reading Shakespeare her paintings. are also interviews with former
and Charles Dickens. By the child geniuses, some who have
age of seven he was speaking gone on to great things and
fluent French and German and others who decided they wanted
studying both Latin and Greek. to return to a more normal life.
Now, at the age of 12, Mark has
just started college, studying
English literature.
Join us Monday
Mark and other child geniuses
for the first
will be the subject of a new
episode in this
documentary series that takes
amazing series,
a look into the lives of these
The Country’s
remarkable children and their
Smartest Kids.
families. On the show, we will
meet children like eight-year-
old Daniel Manning, who wrote

16

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Brian Hart Herbert Puchta Jeff Stranks Peter Lewis-Jones
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READING Answers
You could assign a homework research task for students 1 Shakespeare, Charles Dickens 2 English, French,
to find out about William Shakespeare and Charles German, Latin, Greek 3 $40,000 each for three books
Dickens, since they are mentioned in the text. You could 4 four (piano, cello, clarinet, guitar) 5 six (weeks)
then start off the lesson by asking students to tell the 6 former child geniuses
class what they have found out.
Optional activity
Background information Write the following questions on the board.
William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was an English poet and Which child in the text impresses you most?
playwright. He wrote 38 plays, which have been translated into How does a child become a genius?
every major language and are performed more often than those Are they already a genius when they are born?
of any other playwright. His most famous plays include Hamlet, Is it because of their parents?
King Lear, Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet. Is it because they practice a lot?
Charles Dickens (1812–1870) was an English writer. He was very Would you like to be a genius? Why/Why not?
famous during his lifetime, and he remains popular today. He In pairs or small groups, students discuss their answers to
had very little formal education, but he wrote 15 novels and the questions. Hold a whole-class discussion, and write any
hundreds of short stories. His novels include Oliver Twist, Great interesting vocabulary on the board.
Expectations, Bleak House, and A Tale of Two Cities, which is
the best-selling novel of all time, with approximate sales of over
200 million copies.

1 SPEAKING As a warm-up, ask students to work

in small groups and decide who the most talented
person they know is and why. Ask them: Can you
think of any very talented children in real life or in
fiction? What can they do? Listen to some of their
ideas with the whole class.
Divide the class into pairs. Students discuss the
questions. Listen to some of their ideas with the
whole class, and find out who was the first student
to�do each of the things.
2 SPEAKING Students continue their conversations
with a partner and discuss other milestones. Write
some examples on the board for them to discuss (e.g.,
swim, ride a bicycle, play tennis, write). Ask students to
try and find three things that they have in common.
Listen to some of their answers with the whole class.
3 Show pictures on the IWB of Albert Einstein,
Leonardo Da Vinci, or a genius of your choice. Use
the pictures to explain the word genius. Tell students
they are going to read about three children who did
things at a very early age. Students read the text
quickly to answer the questions. Tell them not to
worry if they do not understand every word. Students
compare answers with a partner before checking with
the whole class.

Answers
1 Jordan Welsh 2 Samantha Price 3 Daniel Manning
4 Mark Swallow

4 Check/clarify: college degree, contract, publishing

company, exhibition, gallery. Read through the
questions with students to check understanding. Ask
them to work with a partner to decide which are the
key words in the questions. Students read and listen
to the text to answer the questions. Play the audio,
pausing where appropriate to check comprehension
and help with difficult vocabulary. Check answers.

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Brian Hart Herbert Puchta Jeff Stranks Peter Lewis-Jones
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GRAMMAR VOCABULARY
Present perfect vs. simple past Collocations
1 If students need a reminder of the difference between 1 Do the first question with the whole class as an
the simple past and the present perfect, write on the example and to introduce the concept of collocation
board: Paul bought a new bicycle yesterday, Sally has (you can sign a contract or an autograph, but you
bought a new car. Ask students: When did Paul buy a can’t *sign a lesson). Point out that there may be
new bicycle? (yesterday) Ask them: When did Sally buy more than one correct answer to each question.
her car? (We don’t know, sometime in the past.) Ask Students complete the exercise and check with a
students to identify the tenses in each sentence. Elicit partner. Check answers with the whole class.
or explain the use of the simple past tense to indicate
an action at a given time in the past (we know when Answers
it happened) and the present perfect to describe an 1 a, b 2 a, c 3 a, b 4 a, b 5 b, c
action at an unspecified time in the past (we don’t
know when it happened). Elicit the construction 2 Focus on the five words and ask students which verbs
of each tense. Point out that regular verbs have could collocate with them. Remind them that there
the same past form and past participle. Students may be more than one answer. Check answers.
complete the exercise. 3 SPEAKING Explain to students that they are going
to ask questions of other members of the class in a
Mixed-ability idea Find someone who …? activity. Have students first
Stronger classes: Read the instructions and ask students decide what questions they need to ask to get the
to do the exercise and the rule without looking back at the information. They should think of a Have you ever¬…?
review on page 16. Check answers with the class.
question and a “details” question for each. Point out
Weaker classes: Look for the answers to questions 1–4. that the details questions will use the simple past
During class feedback, discuss which refer to a specific or
because they are asking about a specific point in the
non-specific point in the past.
past. Students circulate, asking questions to complete
the table. During feedback, encourage students to
Answers answer in full sentences.
Questions 1 and 3 Workbook page 12
Rule
simple past; present perfect
WRITING
2 With the whole class, read through the instructions Ask students to make notes on their answers, and
and the example sentences. Elicit the answers to monitor to help with any vocabulary. You might like
question 1, and demonstrate why each tense is to give an example of your own to get them started.
used. Ask students to work individually to complete Give students a short while to think about their answers
the sentences. Allow them to check answers with to the questions and to make notes of their answers.
a partner before whole-class feedback. During Have them discuss their plans with a partner. Finally,
feedback, refer to the rule and check understanding students should make further notes in their notebooks
of the difference between the tenses. before writing their final version in class or at home.

Answers Language note

1 a has / ’s … won; b won 2 a has / ’s met; b met When responding to students’ written work, it is important to
3 a have / ’ve done; b did 4 a recorded; b have / ’ve focus not only on grammatical and lexical accuracy, but on
recorded 5 a lived; b have / ’ve lived 6 a has / ’s … various other factors. These factors can be neatly remembered
signed; b signed with the acronym CARROT! They include Content: Has the
student answered the question? Accuracy: Is the grammar and
spelling correct? Range: Has the student used an appropriate
Fast finishers variety of tenses and structures? Is there a good range of
If any students finish the activity early, ask them to turn to vocabulary? Register: Is the writing suitably formal, informal, or
page 128 and test themselves on the simple past and past neutral? Organization: Has the student used paragraphs? Have
participle of irregular verbs. they used linking words? Target Reader: What effect does it have
on the person reading it?

Workbook page 11

Be aware of common errors related to present

perfect vs. simple past. Go to Get it right! on
page 122.
 

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Cambridge University Press
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Brian Hart Herbert Puchta Jeff Stranks Peter Lewis-Jones
Excerpt
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1 A M A ZI N G PEO PLE

GRAMMAR VOCABULARY
Present perfect vs. simple past Collocations
1 Look back at the preview on page 16. Which 1 Circle all the correct answers.
questions can you answer with a specific point in 1 Which of these can you sign?
time? Complete the rules with present perfect or
a a contract b an autograph c a lesson
simple past.
2 Which of these things can you write?
1 When did Daniel write his first book?
a a novel b a party c a song
2 When did he sign a $120,000 contract?
3 Which of these things can you win?
3 When did Samantha start piano lessons?
a a prize b a competition c an exhibition
4 When did she play with orchestras?
4 Which of these can you make?
a friends b a cake c homework
RULE: When we talk about a specific point in 5 Which of these can you miss?
time in the past, we use the 1 . a the future b your family c the bus
When we don’t refer to a specific point in time,
we often use the 2 . 2 What verbs can go before the five words you
didn’t circle in Exercise 1? Write at least one verb
for each word.
2 Complete the pairs of sentences. Use the simple
past and the present perfect of the verbs. 3 SPEAKING Talk to other people in the class. Ask
and answer questions and complete the table.
0 visit
a I have visited Mexico more than 20 times. Have you ever … ? What happened?
b I first visited Mexico in 1998.
1 win Who did you ask?
a He already three
What was the poem about?
gold medals, and he hopes to win more. What did you win?
b He a gold medal in the 2012
Olympics. Find someone Who? Details
2 meet who has ...
a My mom a lot of interesting asked someone for an
people in her life. autograph.
b My mom Steven Spielberg ten
years ago. written a poem.
3 do
a Mom, I my homework. Can I been in the news.
go out?
b I all the things on my to-do list won a prize.
before lunch!
4 record
made a cake.
a They their last album two years
ago.
missed a train or
b They more than 20 albums so far. a bus.
5 live
Workbook page 12
a We in Ecuador for three years
when I was a teenager.
b We’re living in Colombia now, but we WRITING
in many different countries.
Write a short passage about someone you have
6 sign
admired for some time. Include
a She just a contract
with a new e-publishing company.
● how long you have known them.
b She the contract for her first
● what you admire about them.
book on her 16th birthday.
Workbook page 11

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Brian Hart Herbert Puchta Jeff Stranks Peter Lewis-Jones
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PHOTOSTORY: episode 1
1 LLook at the photos and answer the questions.

fé
There is going to be a new café in the park.

n ew c a Who does Luke think should open it?

The
Who does Ryan think should open it?

2 1.11 Now read and listen to the

photostory. Check your answers.

LUKE Have you read this? They’re opening a new

café in the park. Saturday afternoon.
OLIVIA That’s fantastic. Who’s going to do the big LUKE Hey, I know. They should get Paul Norris.
opening ceremony? RYAN Yeah! He’s a great soccer player! He plays in
RYAN The mayor probably. She always does store 1 Europe now, but he grew up around here.
openings and conferences, things like that. 2
OLIVIA But he doesn’t live here anymore. He’s a big
MEGAN They should get somebody more star now. Let’s face it, he won’t want to open a
important. little park café.
LUKE What? More important than the mayor? RYAN Yeah, you’re probably right.

LUKE Come on, there has to be somebody!

OLIVIA Look, the mayor is going to open the 4
3 park café, and that’s that.
RYAN What about Paula Mayberry? RYAN I guess you’re right. No one special lives
OLIVIA The actress from the soap opera, what’s in our town.
it called … Linden Street? MEGAN Are you sure?
RYAN Yes. LUKE What do you mean?
MEGAN But why her? Did she live here once? MEGAN Know what, guys? I’ve just thought
RYAN No, I don’t think so. I’d just like to meet her. of someone very special, and he’s just the
person for the job.

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PHOTOSTORY: episode 1
The new café
If the class used Think Student’s Book 1 before, ask
students to say who the four main characters are and
what their relationships are. Elicit any interesting
details they remember from previous episodes. Allow
one or two minutes for this lead-in.
1 Write these questions on the board: Have you ever
been to an opening ceremony? What was opened? Who
would you invite to open a new café in your town?
Students ask and answer the questions in pairs. Ask
some pairs to report back to the class.
Students look at the photos and describe what the
people are doing. Ask them to guess the answers to
the questions without reading the conversation, and
write their ideas on the board. These can then be
referred to during feedback.
2 1.11 Play the audio. Students read and listen to
check their answers. Ask students to check answers
with a partner before feedback with the whole class.
During whole-class feedback, refer to their ideas from
Exercise 1 and check if they predicted correctly.

Answers
Paul Norris, a soccer player
Paula Mayberry, a TV soap opera actress

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Brian Hart Herbert Puchta Jeff Stranks Peter Lewis-Jones
Excerpt
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DEVELOPING SPEAKING Books open. Students match the meanings and

sentences. Check answers and elicit additional
3 Divide the class into pairs, and ask students to guess
examples from students.
the continuation of the story. Ask them to write their
answers in their notebooks. Monitor and help with Answers
any questions. Listen to some of their ideas with
1 b 2 a 3 c
the whole class and write some of their ideas on the
board, but don’t comment at this stage. 2 Students read through the sentences and match the
4 EP1 Play the video while students check their meaning of just with the three options in Exercise�1.
ideas from Exercise 3. During whole-class feedback, Ask students to compare answers with a partner
refer to the ideas on the board and check which before feedback with the whole class.
were�correct.
5 Read through the words and sentences with the Answers
whole class. Divide the class into pairs and ask 1 a 2 b 3 c 4 a 5 b
students to complete the exercise. Monitor and help
with any difficulties. If necessary, play the video 3 Students complete the exercise and compare answers
again, pausing as required for clarification. Check with a partner before whole-class feedback.
answers with the whole class.
Answers
Answers 1 c 2 a 3 b
1 the boys 2 Olivia 3 Megan 4 some people
5 the girls 6 the girls 7 Mr. Lane Workbook page 13

PHRASES FOR FLUENCY FUNCTIONS

1 Ask students to locate the expressions 1–6 in Offering encouragement
the story on page 18 and decide who says them. 1 EP1 Students watch the video again and identify
How would they say the expressions in their own who says the sentences. Pause the video after each
language? Ask students to compare their answers sentence if necessary.
with a partner before whole-class feedback.
Answers
Answers
1 Olivia, because she likes Megan’s idea.
1 Ryan 2 Olivia 3 Ryan 4 Olivia 5 Megan 2 Olivia, because she wants Megan to get Mr. Lane to open
6 Megan the café.
3 Olivia, to encourage Megan to carry out her idea.
2 Ask students to read through the sentences and 4 Olivia, because she wants to help Megan with her plan.
complete the answers. Go through the first sentence 5 Olivia, because she wants to start working on the plan
with them as an example if necessary. During now.
feedback, say the sentences for students to repeat.
Drill sentences to ensure correct. In pairs, students Good causes
practice the conversations.
2 ROLE PLAY Tell students they are going to do a
Answers role play in which they have to give encouragement
to their partner. Divide the class into pairs and
1 I don’t think so 2 Are you sure? 3 things like that
4 Let’s face it 5 Know what? 6 and that’s that
assign a letter A or B to each student. Ask students
to turn to page 127 and 128 and read their role
cards. Tell students they should use some of the
sentences from Exercise 1. Students work in pairs to
Pronunciation 1.12 1.13
practice the conversations. Monitor to help with any
For pronunciation practice of intonation and problems and also offer ideas if students have none.
sentence stress, go to page 120. As the focus is on fluency and educating the whole
learner, avoid correcting errors unless they hinder
comprehension. Ask students to check a sentence
WordWise each time they use it and compete to use as many
Phrases with just phrases as possible. Listen to some examples with
the�whole class as feedback.
1 Books closed. Write the following sentences on the
board:
I have just passed my driving test.
There were just 12 people at the concert.
The film was just amazing.
Ask students to try to explain the different meanings
of just in the three sentences. Listen to some of their
answers.

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978-1-316-50000-2 – American Think Level 2
Brian Hart Herbert Puchta Jeff Stranks Peter Lewis-Jones
Excerpt
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1 A M A ZI N G PEO PLE

DEVELOPING SPEAKING

3 Work in pairs. Discuss what happens next in the

story. Write down your ideas. WordWise
We think the boys go and talk to Paul Norris, Phrases with just
the soccer player. 1 Look at the sentences from the unit. Choose
the correct meaning of just in each one.
4 EP1Watch to find out how the story
continues. 1 She’s just come back from
Papua New Guinea.
5 Complete the sentences with the words in 2 He wrote his first book when
the list.
he was just five.
Megan | some people | the girls | Mr. Lane
Olivia | the boys | the girls 3 She’s 78 and looks just amazing.

1 Megan doesn’t tell her idea to . a only

b a short time ago
2 Megan shares her idea with .
c really
3 Olivia offers to help .
4 The girls go to see . 2 What does just mean in these sentences?
5 The boys follow . Write a, b, or c.
6 The mayor thanks .
1 Don’t be angry. It’s just a joke.
7 Megan’s special person is .
2 I’ve just seen a fantastic movie.
3 The weather is just awful.
PHRASES FOR FLUENCY
4 No food, thanks – just a drink.
1 Find the expressions 1–6 in the story. Who says
them? How do you say them in your language? 5 She just heard some bad news.

0 … things like that. Ryan 3 Match the questions to the answers.

1 Let’s face it, … 1 How many teaspoons of sugar
2 I don’t think so. would you like?
3 … and that’s that.
2 When did Jane get here?
4 Are you sure?
3 What do you think of Beyoncé?
5 Know what?
a She’s just arrived.
2 Complete the conversations with the expressions b She’s just great.
in Exercise 1.
c Just one. Workbook page 13
1 A That new girl, Sally – she likes you!
B No, 1 .
A 2 ? I have a feeling she likes you a lot. FUNCTIONS
B No. She never smiles at me. And she criticizes Offering encouragement
me a lot, doesn’t laugh at my jokes, 3 .
2 A Oh, you lost again! 1 EP1 Watch the video again. Listen for
sentences 1–5. Who says them? Why?
B I know. 4 , I’m no good at computer
games. 1 That is a great idea.
A 5 ? You just need a break. Let’s go and 2 You should definitely do it.
watch some TV. 3 You have to make this happen.
B OK, but I don’t want to play this game again, 4 I’ll help you if you want.
OK? I’m terrible at it, 6 ! 5 Let’s go and talk to some people.

Pronunciation Good causes

Intonation and sentence stress 2 ROLE PLAY Work in pairs. Student A: Go to

Go to page 120. page 127. Student B: Go to page 128. Use the

sentences from Exercise 1 to do the role play.

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