talk about cosmetic surgery, causative, agree / disagree...

TALK ABOUT COSMETIC SURGERY, CAUSATIVE, AGREE / DISAGREE

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Ugly Duckling?

Preparatory Reading1. What is ‘The Swan’?_____________________________________________

2. What do contestants have done? _____________________________________________

3. How much is the prize money? _____________________________________________

4. Find a word similar to the following:

i. belief in yourself! ! ______________ ii. a doctor of the mind!! ______________ iii. a beauty contest! ! ______________iv. very attractive!! ! ______________v. treated badly and teased! ______________vi. a change of appearance! ______________

5. Use words from the article to complete the following sentences

• My nose is too big I’m going to get a ______________ .

• You can get _____________ to change your appearance.

• She got ____________ on her belly and thighs.• She is really negative about herself and has low

______________ . • The game show has five______________ .

6. What do you think of cosmetic surgery?____________________________________________________________________________

‘The Swan’ is a TV show on the FOX Channel in which women who are unhappy with their appearance are given cosmetic surgery makeovers. The winners of each episode then compete in a final beauty pageant. The win-ner of the pageant is crowned ‘The Swan’.

Each week two ‘contestants’ who have some physical and emotional problems are chosen from the general public. Several ex-perts discuss each woman’s case and de-cide what they need done in order to be-come a ‘Swan’.

A psychologist counsels the women for the problems they have had in their lives. For example, perhaps they have been through a bad divorce or perhaps they have been bul-lied because of the way they look. The psy-chologist tries to give the women more self-confidence and boost their self-esteem. A cosmetic surgeon and dentist then get to work. The women get their teeth straightened and whitened. They get everything from lipo-suction and tummy tucks to nose jobs and cheek implants. Once the women have recov-ered form their surgeries, they begin a strict

training regimen with a fitness instructor. This usually requires at least two hours a day in the gym. The women’s diets are also strictly con-trolled. Finally, a make-up and hair artist helps them to look their best. During the show there

are many hardships and tears, but in the end the women are usually happy with their new look.

One winner of the show was DeLisa Stiles, an Army captain who served in Iraq. Stiles got cosmetic surgery and went on a diet. She got her teeth fixed. She got her hair done. She got her body and face changed. She was ul-

timately crowned ‘The Swan’ and got more than $300,000 in cash and prizes. Unfortunately her husband di-vorced her during the show, but the show’s producer says she has become "a gorgeous woman, who will be very successful in life."

1. What do you do to make yourself look good?2. Do you think you would ever try cosmetic surgery?3. What would you change about yourself if you could?



A - Discussion Questions: Talk with your partner

B - Mingling Activity: Stand up and ask questions of your classmates

Ask questions to your classmates. If your classmate answers ‘Yes’ write his or her name and

ask some more questions.

C - Vocabulary: Match the words to their meaning

___ 1. My mum gave me a really ugly sweater for Christmas. It looks awful.___ 2. He’s so vain! He’s always checking himself out in the mirror.___ 3. My mum got a nose job recently. She looks really different.___ 4. She always says bad things about herself. She has very low self-esteem. ___ 5. To get a good job you have to believe in yourself. You need some self-confidence.___ 6. He set up his own internet shopping site and it’s a real money-spinner.___ 7. Getting a tattoo is pretty commonplace in my country.___ 8. I hate getting my photo taken. I’m really self-conscious.

a. not attractive b. an operation to change the shape of your nose c. completely normal d. worried about others opinions about yourselfe. opinion of yourself f. a way to get money quicklyg. belief in yourself h. too worried about your appearance

Name Find someone who... Details

is worried about getting old

is happy with their looks

would like to change their looks

knows someone who had cosmetic surgery

worries about their appearance

is a bit vain

thinks it’s important to be good-looking

would have cosmetic surgery



vain commonplace money-spinner self-esteemugly self-conscious self confident nose job

Personalization Questions

1. What do you think of Susan’s plan?_________________________________

2. Would you ever get cosmetic surgery?_________________________________

3. What is taken for granted in your coun-try?_________________________________

4. Why shouldn’t we ‘judge a book by its cover’?_________________________________

5. Do you think good-looking people ‘get all the breaks’?

Comprehension Questions

1. What is Susan thinking of doing?_________________________________

2. What does Izumi think of the idea?_________________________________

3. What does Susan say is commonplace in some countries?_________________________________

4. What does Izumi think of cosmetic sur-gery?_________________________________

5. Why won’t Izumi get cosmetic surgery?_________________________________

D - Conversation: Use the words to fill the gaps

SUSAN: I’m thinking of getting a ___________. What do you think?

IZUMI: Don’t do it. Cosmetic surgery is just for ___________ people. You look fine.

SUSAN: Yeah, but I want to look great. My nose looks terrible. It’s so ___________.

IZUMI: You’re being too ___________. You should have a bit more ___________. Anyway, surgery can be really painful and even dangerous.

SUSAN: Nowadays it’s really ___________ in some countries. A lot of people have cosmetic surgery. It’s just taken for granted.

IZUMI: That’s true, I suppose. But it’s not natural is it? It’s just a ___________ for rich surgeons

SUSAN: Isn’t there anything you’d like to change about yourself?

IZUMI: No, I’m quite ___________. I know I’m not exactly Marilyn Monroe, but I like being me. It’s who you are in-side that counts, not how you look. You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

SUSAN: I don’t agree. Good-looking people get all the breaks - good job, good husband, good friends. That’s just the way it is.

IZUMI: Oh, give it a rest, big-nose! Ha ha.

Fill in the gaps in the conversation.

Rearrange the letters to make sentences.

1. ever / nails / got / have / you / manicured? / your ____________________________________________?2. I / had / dyed / never / have / hair / my ____________________________________________ .3. I / get / would / tattoo / a / done. /never / ____________________________________________ .4. get / don’t / want / my / appearance / I / to / changed. ____________________________________________ .5. dentist / I / go / checked. / to / the / to / teeth / get / my / often ____________________________________________ .

Write Your Answers as full sentences. Then discuss in a group.

1. Where do you usually get your hair cut? ____________________________________________.2. Where do you get your teeth checked? ____________________________________________.3. Have you ever had you hair dyed? ____________________________________________.4. Would you ever get a tattoo done? ____________________________________________.5. Have you ever got any part of your body pierced? If not, would you like to? ____________________________________________.



Causative = had / got + past participle

What did you get / have done? I got / had my nose fixed.

Did you get / have your hair cut? I got / had my hair cut.

D - Language Focus: Causative

Susan: Oh, wow! You look different! Did you _______ your hair _______ (do)?Junko: Yeah, I went away on a spa weekend. I had my hair done there. I ______ my nails _______ (manicure) too. What do you think? Susan: Hey. They look fantastic. What else did you do there?Junko: Oh, it was brilliant. I _______ my feet ___________ (massage) and I _____ my teeth _________ (whiten).Susan: Lucky you. You look a million dollars.

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Here are a few opinions. Write your strong agreement or disagreement below.

1. In my opinion, everybody should get cosmetic surgery._______________________________________________________________________2. If you ask me, people shouldn’t worry about how they look._______________________________________________________________________3. Personally, I think tattoos look great._______________________________________________________________________4. I think it’s not a good idea to wear make-up._______________________________________________________________________5. In my view we stay completely natural._______________________________________________________________________



Expressing Opinions ! Strong Agreement!! Strong DisagreementI think... ! ! ! Yeah, I totally agree.! No. I totally disagree.Personally, I think...! ! Yes. Exactly! I disagree.In my opinion... Absolutely! Oh, come off it!If you ask me... I couldn’t agree more!

E - Express Yourself

Write whether you agree or disagree with the statements. Add a few reasons why. Then discuss your ideas in a group.

1. I would like to get cosmetic surgery.I totally agree / disagree

• __________________________________________________________________________• __________________________________________________________________________• __________________________________________________________________________

2. You should ‘never judge a book by its cover’.I totally agree / disagree

• __________________________________________________________________________• __________________________________________________________________________• __________________________________________________________________________

3. It is better to be good looking than to be intelligent.I totally agree / disagree

• __________________________________________________________________________• __________________________________________________________________________• __________________________________________________________________________

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Final Discussion

Project Work

Review

Prepare a presentation on this topic:. Go to http://www.college-englishmag.comto print the presentation preparation worksheet.

1. What did you think of the topics in this unit?2. What new words have you learned?3. What would you like to get more practice with?

Cosmetic Surgery

Read the clues to solve the puzzle.1 2

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Across

3. He's very _____ - always checking himself in the mirror.4. When I have to speak in public I get very ________.9. This new coffee bar is doing well. It's a real _______.12. I got my teeth whitened by the _______.14. Ink picture on the skin.15. A doctor of the mind.16. I got my ears ________ last week so now I can wear earrings.17. I got my hair ______ blonde.18. Frankenstein's monster was very ______.

Down

1. Surgery to suck fat out of the body.2. He had a nose ______ so he looks quite different now.5. People in a contest.6. Belief in yourself.7. She is too hard on herself. She has very low ______.8. I go to the gym where I have a personal _______ instructor10. I went and got my nails _______.11. A complete change of appearance.13. Beautiful, attractive.

IN THIS UNIT YOU:

1. talked about cosmetic sur-gery

2. reviewed causative voice3. practiced expressing ...

Go to college-englishmag.com to find plenty more exercises and activities to practice this English.

talk about cosmetic surgery, causative, agree / disagree...

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