UNIT

UNIT 2 Proficiency

1
Introducing yourself

Meeting New People Describing people

LISTENING: Introductions
A. Listen to Carlos, Sam, Diana, and Ellen introduce themselves. Write the name of the person
who best matches each picture.

ELLEN CARLOS DIANA SAM

B. Listen again and complete the following chart. Follow the example.

Name Major Personality Family Interests

meet friends, play

Carlos communications easygoing and patient mother, father computer games,
sports

Sam Philosophy hard working and serious fun mother, father, younger brother read, research things online

Diana information tecnology careful, organized, stubborn mother, father, younger brother, younger sister exercise, church, photography

Ellen business outgoing, talkative father, mother, two younger sisters lmeeting people, music, dancing, volleyball and tennis

C. How are you similar to the characters (Carlos, Sam, Diana, and Ellen)? Complete the
following sentences:

Example: For my major, I am closest to Ellen because my major is also business.

Carlos
1. For my major, I am closest to ____________ my major is children teacher
because ________________________________
Carlos
2. For personality, I am closest to ______________
my personality is patient and funny
because ____________________________
Diana because ____________________________________
3. For family, I am closest to __________ my family is numerous
Ellen
4. For interests, I am closest to _____________
my interests is also meeting people, music, sports
because ________________________________

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 UNIT 1
WRITING: Introduction
A. Write a brief introduction of yourself. Write one complete sentence per topic.

Name: ___________________________________________________________________________
My name is Rosalía

Hometown__My
______________________________________________________________________
hometown is Puno, Perú

Major (or occupation) _____________________________________________________________

My major is teacher of children

Personality _______________________________________________________________________
My personality is patient, organized and funny

Family ___________________________________________________________________________
My Family are brothers and sisters, a husband, a daughter

Interests__________________________________________________________________________
My interest is listen to music, dancing, sports and meeting people.

GRAMMAR: Simple present

Be verb

Statements Contractions
I am a university student. I’m a university student.
You are my best friend. You’re my best friend.
We are happy to see you. We’re happy to see you.
They are good dancers. They’re good dancers.
She is active and easygoing. She’s active and easygoing.
He is a famous singer. He’s a famous singer.
It is cold today. It’s cold today.

Negative
I am not a doctor.
You are not my boss.
We are not happy to leave.
They are not good singers.
She is not angry.
He is not a chef.
It is not hot today.
Contractions
I’m not a doctor.
You’re not my boss. You aren’t my boss.
We’re not happy to leave. We aren’t happy to leave.
They’re not good singers. They aren’t good singers.
She’s not angry. She isn’t angry.
He’s not a chef. He isn’t a chef.
It’s not hot today. It isn’t hot today.

Other verbs

Statements Negative and Contractions

I like soccer. I do not like tennis. I don’t like tennis.
You enjoy pop music. You do not know him. You don’t know him.
We watch sitcoms. We do not go often. We don’t go often.
They play volleyball. They do not play golf. They don’t play golf.

He listens to classical music. He does not listen to rock. He doesn’t listen to rock.
She prefers horror movies. She does not work late. She doesn’t work late.
It often rains here. It does not snow often. It doesn’t snow often.

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UNIT 1
GRAMMAR: Editing

A. Each introduction has five grammar mistakes. Find and correct them.

1. My name is Carlos. I’m really easygoing. I no really worry about things so much.
don’t
I somewhat patient too. People says I’m friendly. My father work in the government and
am s
is a politician. My major is communications, but I amn’t really sure about it.
I‘m not
2. I’m Sam. My major philosophy. I am want to be a lawyer in the future. I very hard working.

People say I’m kind of serious, but I have fun too. I has four people in my family. My father

is an accountant. My mother stay at home. My younger brother is a high school student.

3. My name is Diana. I liking to make goals and work on them. There is five people in my

family. My mother a high school teacher, and my father is an engineer. Their both really

nice. I like to exercise, and I am go to church regularly.

4. Hi, everyone. I’m Ellen. My major is business. I am want to be a manager in a company

and maybe even become a CEO. Is my dream! There is five people in my family. I have

my mother, father, and two younger sisters. My sisters and mother is just like me. We loves

to go out and meet new people.

B. Go back to your writing on page 3. Did you make any mistakes with the verbs? Correct your
sentences if necessary.

SPEAKING: Introduction

A. Using your writing on page 3, introduce yourself to a new classmate. You may use
your writing to help you.

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 UNIT 1
VOCABULARY: Personality adjectives

A. Write your answers to the following questions.

My TV show is CINESCAPE
What is one of your favorite TV shows, movies, or books? _____________________________
He is Bruno Pinasco
Who is one of the main characters? _________________________________________________
He speaks about movies in premiere
What is her/his role in the story? ___________________________________________________
funny,sociable and easygoing
What three adjectives (see box below) describe this character? __________________________
What does the character often do? __He shows and interviews to movie actors
________________________________________________

B. Using the information from your sentences above, complete the following paragraph.
Your paragraph should be similar to the example.
One of my favorite books is Harry Potter. One of the main characters is Hermione. She is a
student and a friend of Harry Potter in the books. She is smart, creative, and sensible.
She uses her magic and knowledge to help Harry Potter.

Cinescape
One of my favorite TV shows/movies/books is __________________. One of the main character’s
names is ________________. interviewer
BRUNO PINASCO He/she is ________________ (role in the show/movie/book).
He/she is ______ sociable and easygoing
funny __________________________________________ (three personality words).
speaks about movies in premiere and interviews movie actors (things the
He/she __________________________________________________________
character often does in the movie/show/book).

Personality adjectives

aggressive caring depressed honest popular sensitive strong

ambitious confident devoted hot-tempered quiet simple unique
anxious conservative flexible kind responsible serious warm
artistic courageous funny liberal sarcastic silly wild
attractive creative gentle patient sensible smart wise

C. Complete the following sentences by using the vocabulary in the box. Share your sentences
with a partner.
conservative
1. I am very _________________ honest
and ____________________.
funny
2. I am also somewhat _________________ sensitive
and _________________.
popular
3. I am not really __________________ ambitious
or ____________________.
liberal
4. Sometimes I am a/an ____________________ person, but sometimes I am not.
simple
5. However, I’m not a/an _______________________ person at all.

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UNIT 1
READING: Ellen’s New Friends

Ellen keeps a journal. Today, she is writing about her friends from school.
A. A
 s you read, try to find two or three characters who are very similar to you or someone that you
know (one of your family members or friends). Be prepared to share this information with the
class.

Ellen’s New Friends

I just came back from a birthday party for Tom. All of Tom’s friends from
school were there, and I guess I can say now that they are all
my friends too, more or less.

Tom was the first person I met when I moved here last
semester. We live in the same neighborhood. Tom is really
sweet and helpful. You couldn’t ask for a better friend. He’s one of the most
caring and generous people that I’ve ever met. He gets along well with every-
one. He’s the kind of guy you can always depend on. He’s a bit too trusting,
and I know some people take advantage of him, but he doesn’t seem to care. I
wish he would care, though. It really bothers me when people don’t treat him
well.

Through Tom I met his friends, and I like them all. Some are outgoing like I am.
Carlos certainly isn’t shy. He’s the kind of guy who just wants to enjoy life. He
doesn’t seem to worry about anything. Maybe he’s that way because his parents
are kind of rich. He is always great to be with when you want to have fun.

Ann is also a lot of fun. She wants to be an artist, and she is really creative.
She’s a lot more open-minded than the others. She really doesn’t worry about
what other people think of her. I admire her for that.

Sam and Diana are the opposite of

Carlos and Ann. They are both really
serious about their studies. Sam wants to be a lawyer.
When Sam gets interested in a topic, he can’t seem to talk
about anything else. He’s a lot more focused on his future
than the others. He could be a bit more sociable, though.
Diana is also very devoted to her studies. She’s a little
more conservative than the others, and sometimes she gets into arguments with
Ann about politics. Carlos and Diana are exact opposites. Diana takes things
very seriously, and she’s really hardworking. I think Carlos likes to give her a
hard time, but they are still friends, and it never gets too bad.

Pete is an interesting guy. I’ve never met anyone so nervous about everything!
He worries about his studies, his future, his health...you name it. He always

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 UNIT 1

thinks the worst is going to happen. He’s trying hard to change, though. Having a friend like Tom is
really good for him. Tom is good at calming Pete down when Pete has one of his panic attacks. I
think I can be a good friend to him also.

The only one I can’t really connect with is Rachel. Actually, I don’t even
know if she considers me a friend or not. She really keeps to herself. When I
try to talk to her, she doesn’t say much, or she says something sarcastic. She’s
critical of everything. She wouldn’t hang out with us at all if Tom and Carlos
didn’t make her come out. I think we’re both a little uncomfortable when
we’re around each other. I don’t know why it bothers me. I’m nice to her.
Why doesn’t she like me?

B. Answer the following questions True or False.

1. True/False Rachel is friendlier than Ellen
2. True/False Ellen is more outgoing than Sam.
3. True/False Diana is more hardworking than Carlos.
4. True/False Diana is more liberal than Ann.
5. True/False Carlos is more sociable than Sam.
6. True/False Pete is more confident than the others.
7. True/False Rachel is more trusting than Tom.
8. True/False Tom is more optimistic than Pete.

C. W
 hich characters remind you of some of your family members or friends? Write about two
characters following the example.

Example: Carlos reminds me of my brother. My brother is very easygoing and doesn’t

worry about anything.
1. _____________________________________________________________________
Tom reminds me of my sister. My sister is very helpful and optimistic.

2. _____________________________________________________________________
Sam and Diana reminds me of my brother. My brother is very devoted about your education.

D. How do you compare with the characters? Complete the following sentences.
Example: Rachel is sarcastic, and I am too.
Carlos
1. ____________ sociable
is ________________, and I am too.
Tom
2. ____________ honest
is ________________, and I am as well.
Sam
3. ____________ serious
is ________________, and I am sometimes like that also.
Pete
4. ____________ shy
is ________________, but I’m not that way very much.
Diana
5. ____________ conservative but I’m the complete opposite.
is ________________,

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UNIT 1
GRAMMAR: Comparisons

One-syllable adjectives (tall, short, hot, cold, big, small, etc.): → -er + than
Spain is warmer than Germany. Alaska is colder than Hawaii.

Two-syllable adjectives ending in consonant +y (happy, silly, pretty, etc.): → -ier than
I am happier than I was last year. I think roses are prettier than tulips.

Other two-syllable and longer adjectives: → more...than less...than

His watch is more expensive than my car!
I feel less confident about the test now than before.

SPEAKING: Family talk

A. Write 10 sentences about your family members and/or friends. Use comparative grammar.
For #8-10, select your own adjectives.

Example: (caring) My grandmother is more caring than my grandfather.

1. (caring) _____________________________________________________________________
My brother is more caring than my sister .

2. (patient)_____________________________________________________________________
My sister is more patient than me .

3. (artistic)_____________________________________________________________________
My cousin is more artistic than my brother .

4. (conservative)________________________________________________________________
My best friend is less conservative than my sister .

5. (responsible)_________________________________________________________________
My father is more responsible than my uncle .

6. (confident) __My
_________________________________________________________________
mother is more confident than my sister .

My grandmother is wiser than my grandfather

7. (wise)_______________________________________________________________________ .

tall
8. ______________ q __My boyfriend is taller than my uncle
___________________________________________________________ .

happy
9. _______________q __my sister is happier than me
___________________________________________________________ .

10. ______________q
small __the
___________________________________________________________
cat is smaller than the dog .

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 UNIT 1
B. Complete the following sentences with comparatives

taller
1. _ Carlos is tall, but Tom is even ___________________________.

more creative than Rachel

2. _ Rachel is creative, but Ann is even ___________________________.

nicer than Ellen

3. _ Ellen is nice, but Tom is even ___________________________.

friendier than Ann

4. _ Ann is friendly, but Ellen is even___________________________.

younger than Carlos

5. _ Carlos is young, but Diana is even ___________________________.

more generous than Ellen

6. _ Ellen is generous, but Tom is even ___________________________.

more conservative than Diana

7. _ Diana is conservative, but Sam is even ___________________________.

more quieter than Diana

8. _ Diana is quiet, but Rachel is even ___________________________.

more hardworking than Tom

9. _ Tom is hardworking, but Sam is even ___________________________.

more responsible than Tom

10._ Tom is responsible, but Diana is even ___________________________.

READING & GRAMMAR: Which teacher do you prefer?

A. Complete the paragraph with comparison grammar. Next, decide which teacher you prefer.

Professor Violet Professor Morris

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UNIT 1
Professor Violet or Professor Morris?

Professor Violet is (nice) ____________________Professor

nicer than Morris. She knows the students’ names
and remembers things about them. Professor Morris is nice, but he doesn’t try to get to know
all the students. However, Professor Morris is (funny) __________________
funnier than Professor Violet. He
makes a lot of jokes during the lecture, and he is a very interesting speaker. His classes are never
boring. Professor Violet is (patient) _____________________
more patient than Professor Morris. She listens to
students and tries to understand them. She almost never gets angry with students. Professor Morris
usually doesn’t talk with students after class. He is (busy) _________________
busier than Professor
Violet, so he isn’t available to the students very often.

I prefer Professor ___________________

Violet because ______________________________________.
She is nice and patient with students

Professor Keating Professor Hall

Professor Keating or Professor Hall?

Professor Keating is (flexible) ____________________

more flexible than Professor Hall. Professor Keating
doesn’t mind if a student submits an assignment a little late. Professor Hall is (strict)
___________________
stricter than Professor Keating. She never accepts late homework. Professor Keating is
(easygoing) ______________________
more easygoing than Professor Hall, but Professor Hall is a little (responsible)
________________________. Professor Keating is sometimes late to class, and he often takes
more responsible

a long time to grade and return assignments. Professor Hall, however, is never late to class
and she grades and returns assignments quickly. In lectures, Professor Keating is (relaxed)
_______________________Professor
more relaxed than Hall. He makes some jokes and he sometimes talks about
personal things. Occasionally, he is not very clear about the homework, though. Professor Hall
is much (disciplined and organized) __________________________.
more disciplined and organized She stays on topic in lectures.
Her homework assignments are very clear, and students always know what is expected.

I prefer Professor ___________________

hall because ______________________________________.
She is much disciplined and organized

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GRAMMAR: Superlatives

One-syllable adjectives (tall, short, hot, cold, big, small, etc.): → the __ -est
Two-syllable adjectives ending in consonant +y (happy, silly, pretty, etc.): → the __iest

This is the warmest decade on record. He is the tallest student in this class.
That was the silliest movie I’ve ever seen. She thinks she’s the prettiest student here.

Other two-syllable and longer adjectives: → the most _________ the least ________

What is the most important thing in your life?

This is the least expensive item in the store.

A. Tom, Ann, Pete, Rachel, and Diana are all in a physical education class. Look at the chart and
answer the following questions.

Name Age Height Weight 50-meter run time Push ups

Tom 19 6'2" 205 8.5 seconds 35

Ann 19 5'6" 140 9 seconds 15

Pete 18 5'10" 150 7.7 seconds 12

Rachel 18 5'8" 148 9 seconds 8

Diana 17 5'7" 135 8 seconds 25

1. Who is the youngest? Diana

_________

2. Who is the tallest? Tom

_________

3. Who is the shortest? Ann

_________

4. Who is the heaviest? Tom

_________

5. Who is the lightest? Diana

_________

6. Who is the fastest? Pete

_________

7. Who is the strongest? Tom

_________

8. Who is the weakest? Rachel

_________

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UNIT 1
B. Write eight sentences about your family and/or friends with the following adjectives.
Use comparison and superlative grammar.
strong tall short smart funny hard working courageous shy bold

Examples:
My father is taller than my mother. My mother is the funniest person in my family.
I am shorter than my younger sister. The most hard working person in my family is my father.

Comparison sentences Superlative sentences

My father is stronger than my uncle
__________________________________
My husband is the tallest in my family
___________________________________
I am shorter than my sisters
_________________________________
My sister is the funniest person in house
___________________________________
My father is more hard working than my cousin My younger sister is the smartest in my family
_________________________________ ___________________________________
My mother is more courageous than my father
_________________________________ ___________________________________
My nephew is shier than my son
_________________________________ ___________________________________

_________________________________ ___________________________________

GRAMMAR: Simple present questions and short answers

A. Exercise: Which questions (A or B) are written correctly?

1. A. You are a quiet person? 6. A. Do you speak two languages?

B. Are you a quiet person? B. Are you speak two languages?

2. A. How old are you? 7. A. Are you drive to school?

B. How many years do you have? B. Do you drive to school?

3. A. Is you artistic? 8. A. When is your birthday?

B. Are you artistic? B. When your birthday is?

4. A. You are from a big city? 9. A. Do you living with your parents?
B. Are you from a big city? B. Do you live with your parents?

5. A. Are you an only child? 10. A. Are you have a pet?

B. Do you an only child? B. Do you have a pet?

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 UNIT 1
Be verbs

Questions Short answers

Am I OK? Yes, I am. No, I am not. No, I’m not.
Is she early? Yes, she is. No, she is not. No, she isn’t.
Are you rich? Yes, you are. No, you are not. No, you aren’t.
Are we ready? Yes, we are. No, we are not. No, we aren’t.
Are they Canadian? Yes, they are. No, they are not. No, they aren’t.

Other verbs

Questions Short answers

Do I have time?
Do you drink coffee?
Do we have enough money?
Do they want more?
Does he like rock music?
Does she work here?
Does it snow a lot in March?
Yes, I do. No, I do not. No, I don’t.
Yes, you do. No, you do not. No, you don’t.
Yes, we do. No, we do not. No, we don’t.
Yes, they do. No, they do not. No, they don’t.
Yes, he does. No, he does not. No, he doesn’t.
Yes, she does. No, she does not. No, she doesn’t.
Yes, it does. No, it does not. No, it doesn’t.

B. Exercise: Change the statements into questions.

Am I
1. I am late. → _____________ late? 6. It snows here. → ________________here?
Does it snow

Do you want
2. You want to go. → _______________ to go? 7. You are tired. → _______________
are you tired?
3. We are OK. → __________________
are we OK? 8. She knows him. → _________________
Does she know him?
4. He rides the bus. → ________________
Does he ride the bus? 9. She is here. → ________________
is She here?
5. They like sports. → ________________
Do they like sports? 10. They are tired. → ______________
are they tired?

SPEAKING: Follow-up questions

A. In conversations, we often ask questions to get additional information. Questions for more
information are often What, When, Where, Why, Who, and How questions.
Example: A: What do you like to do in your free time?
B: I like to go hiking.
A: Oh? _____________________________________?

• When do you usually go hiking? • What kind of clothes do you wear for hiking?
• Where do you usually go hiking? • Who do you go hiking with?
• Why do you like hiking? • How often do you go hiking?

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UNIT 1
A. With a partner, think of at least four follow-up questions for each of the following dialogues.

Dialogue 1:
A: Do you have a hobby?
B: I do. I like photography. I love taking pictures.
When do you usually have a hobby
A: That’s interesting. __________________________________________________?
What hobby do you do
__________________________________________________________________?
How often do you do hobby
__________________________________________________________________?_
Who do you do hobby with
__________________________________________________________________?_

Dialogue 2:
A: Do you have a boyfriend?
B: Yes, I do.
What is your boyfriend's name
A: Oh really? ________________________________________________________ ?
When did you meet him
__________________________________________________________________?
where did you meet him
__________________________________________________________________?
How often do you go with him
__________________________________________________________________?

Dialogue 3:
A: Do you have a pet?
B: I do.
A: Cool. __what kind of pet doy you have
__________________________________________________________ ?
What is your pet's name
__________________________________________________________________?
When did you get a pet
__________________________________________________________________?
How often do you go with your pet
__________________________________________________________________?

Dialogue 4:
A: Do you like your hometown?
B: Sure!
Where is your hometown
A: Tell me about it. ___________________________________________________?
what kind of activities do you have in your hometown
__________________________________________________________________?
when is the anniversary of your hometown
__________________________________________________________________?
How are people in your hometown
__________________________________________________________________?

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 UNIT 1
SPEAKING: Tell me about your friends

Ellen’s Mother: So Ellen, tell me about your best friend.

Ellen: Well, my best friend here is probably Ann. She’s an art major student in my university. She’s
cute and somewhat short. Her hair is dyed pink right now! She’s very artistic and independent.
She’s more creative than I am, but I’m a little more realistic than she is. We text each other all the
time and meet for coffee when we have a chance.

Ellen’s Mother: She sounds interesting. Who else do you hang out with?

Ellen: Another friend is Tom. He’s an education major in my university, and he works in a
restaurant part-time. He’s a big guy, and I think he’s kind of cute. He’s really friendly and
generous. We study together when we have a chance.

Ellen’s Mother: It sounds like you have some interesting friends.

Ellen: Thanks. I think so too.

A. Following the example dialogue above, complete the following dialogues with a partner.

A: So, tell me about your best friend.

Rose
B: Sure. Well, my best friend is ________________[name]. teacher
He’s/She’s a ___________________
redhead
[occupation/major]. He’s/She’s __________________[physical description]. He’s/She’s
nice
____________________ smarter
[personality]. He’s/She’s ________________ than I am, but I’m a little
organized
_________________ go for a coffe [activities] when we have a chance.
than he/she is. We _______________

A: She/he sounds interesting. Who else do you hang out with?

Daniel
B: Another friend is _____________[name]. lawyer
He’s/She’s a ___________________ [occupation/
tall
major]. He’s/She’s _____________________[physical description]. He’s/She’s
friendly
____________________
more professional
[personality]. He’s/She’s ________________ than I am, but I’m a little
sociable
_________________ have a dinner [activities] when we have a chance.
than he/she is. We _______________

A: It sounds like you have some interesting friends.

B: Thanks. I think so too.

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UNIT 1
SPEAKING: Interview
A. Partner A: Prepare a list of 10 questions about sports or hobbies.
Partner B: Prepare a list of 10 questions about music or movies.
Examples:
Do you like ________? What kind of ________ do you like?
What kind of _________ do you hate? What is your favorite _______?
Who is your favorite __________? What do you think about __________?
1._______________________________________________________________________________
What is your hobby?
2._______________________________________________________________________________
3._______________________________________________________________________________
4._______________________________________________________________________________
5._______________________________________________________________________________
6._______________________________________________________________________________
7._______________________________________________________________________________
8._______________________________________________________________________________
9._______________________________________________________________________________
10.______________________________________________________________________________

B. Ask your partner your questions and answer your partner’s questions.
C. After asking your partner your questions, complete the following chart.
Only I like: Both my partner and I like: Only my partner likes:

cooking listen to music watching movies

dancing go to the shopping reading books
sports do exercises meeting with people

D. How similar are you to your partner?

A. We have a lot in common. We are almost exactly the same!
B. We have some things in common. We are somewhat similar.
C. We don’t have many things in common. We are somewhat different.
D. We have nothing in common. We are completely different!

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 UNIT 1
WRITING: My partner and I
A. Write one paragraph about you and your partner from the previous exercise. First, choose one
of the following for your first sentence:

• My partner and I are surprisingly similar.

• My partner and I have many things in common.
• My partner and I are similar in some ways but different in others.
• My partner and I are very different people.

This is your topic sentence. It gives the reader a good idea about what your paragraph will be about.
Finish the paragraph with information that supports your first sentence (examples and explanations) .
Be careful with third-person singular.

SPEAKING: Getting to know people--Follow-up questions

A. For each question in the chart below, find a different student in your class who answers ‘yes.’
Ask for additional information with one follow-up question. Make a brief note of their answers.
Follow the example:
Example: A: Are you an only child? B: No, I’m not.
A: OK. Are you generally quiet? B: Yes, I am.
A: Good. What is your name? B: It’s Cynthia.
A: OK, Cynthia. Why are you B: I guess I’m a little shy. I only talk
generally quiet? a lot when I’m with my friends.
A: Thank you. Do you have any questions for me?

Question Name Additional information: When, Where, Why, What, Who, How

Ex. Is generally quiet Cynthia She is shy.

Is generally quiet

Is the youngest in this class

Is artistic or musical

Is from a big city

Is an only child

Speaks three or more languages

Drives to school

Has a birthday this month

Lives away from his/her parents

Has a pet

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