are you the perfect neighbour?

Neighbours are important! Why? You live next door and you see them every day. You hear their arguments and their dogs. They keep you awake with wild parties. You watch their kids grow up. They can make your life easier or more difficult!

So, according to the text above, neighbours are important because...

1. they are your friends
2. you can go to their parties
3. they can watch your house when you go on holiday
4. they can make your life better or worse

Do the QUESTIONNAIRE below and write down your answers (1,2,3 or 4)

Q1. DO YOU KNOW THE NAMES OF THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN YOUR STREET/IN YOUR APATMENT BLOCK?

1. All of them
2. More than 50%
3. Less than 50%
4. None. I'm not interested

Q2. HOW OFTEN DO YOU SAY HELLO TO YOUR NEIGHBOURS?

1. Every time I see them
2. When I'm not too busy
3. Sometimes
4. Never

Q3. DO YOU EVER HELP YOUR NEIGHBOURS? (BABYSITTING, GARDENING...)

1. Always
2. Often
3. Sometimes
4. Never

Q4. HOW OFTEN DO YOU SOCIALISE WITH YOUR NEIGHBOURS?

1. Every week
2. Once a month
3. Twice a year
4. Never

Q5. YOU ARE PLANNING A WILD PARTY. WHAT DO YOU DO?

1. My neighbours always come to my parties
2. I invite them to come
3. I mention the party to them on the morning of the party
4. I don't tell them

Q6. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR?

1. They're friends. I can ask them for help at any time
2. I know them very well. They are always very friendly
3. I see them sometimes. we don't talk much but we're polite
4. I don't really see them. i'm not interested in them

Q7. AN IDEAL NEIGHBOUR SHOULD...

1. be sociable and friendly
2. be helpful and kind
3. be polite and have good manners
4. be quiet and reserved

SO, WHAT'S YOUR SCORE?

• MOSTLY 1: You're a great neighbour. You're friendly and helpful.
• MOSTLY 2: You're a good neighbour and you're polite but you don't want to be their friend.
• MOSTLY 3: You live next door but you have your own life.
• MOSTLY 4: You don't like neighbours. You should live on a farm in the countryside!

Do you agree with your result?

What do you talk to your neighbours about?

Choose the aspects you consider appropriate:

• a recent divorce
• the weather
• TV programmes
• family
• your last holiday
• politics
• your local football team
• your health problems
• the latest film you've seen
• religion
• money

Reading comprehension: THE ART OF SMALL TALK

'Small talk' or the ability to 'talk about nothing' is particularly important when we want to get on with our neighbours, but at the same time to 'keep our distance'. We want to keep our lives private, and we don't want to be rude. Small talk is talking about unimportant general topics, not personal thigs. Sometimes that's not easy! Some people are natural 'small talkers'. They find it easy to talk about 'nothing'. Other people find it more difficult.

So what topics can we discuss with our neighbours? One of the most popular topics of conversation is probably the weather.'Beautiful day today, isn't it?' 'Yes, it is. Better than yesterday.' The news is also a very common topic. Men, in particular, like to talk about sports news, especially if it is about a local team or a player. 'Did you see the football on TV last night?' 'Yes, great match, wasn't it?' It's also OK to talk about local news that affects you and your neighbours.

In England people don't normally talk about their salaries, or personal topics like divorce or their age. One of the easiest ways to start a conversation is to pay someone a compliment on their hair or their clothes. 'What a beautiful coat, Mrs Jones.' 'Oh, thank you. Do you like it? It's new.' This is always a good way to make your neighbour feel happy and cheerful! So, small talk is definitely useful to live in harmony with our neighbours!

TASK 1. Read the first paragraph again. What's the author's opinion about 'small talk'?

1. Small talk helps you communicate with your neighbours
2. Small talk is a waste of time
3. Making small talk is always difficult
4. Small talk is boring and repetitive

TASK 2. According to the article, which topics are appropriate for a conversation with your neighbours?

• weather
• religion
• salaries
• paying compliments
• news
• sport

TASK 3. Read the text again and decide if the following statements are true of false:

1. Small atlk helps you to communicate better with your neighbours
2. People think that small talk is easy
3. The weather is a very common topic of conversation
4. Men are not really interested in small talk
5. People don't normally talk about religion or politics because neighbours can have different opinions
6. Saying something nice usually makes your neighbour feel good

TASK 4. Find words or expressions in the text that mean:

1. Have a good relationship (paragraph 1)
2. Not polite (paragraph 1)
3. Talk about (paragraph 2)
4. To upset someone (paragraph 2)
5. The money that people earn at work (paragraph 3)
6. Say something nice to someone (paragraph 3)

What's your opinion about small talk? How often do you make small talk? Do you find it difficult to make small talk?

Listening comprehension: a big neighbour

Listen to a conversation Between Ana and Paul. Ana, who is from Portugal, talks about their big neighbour: Spain.

• INSTRUCTIONS:
• You'll find three options: SCRIPT, VOCAB and QUIZ.
• Go to QUIZ first, read the questions and play the recording.
• Once you have answered, click CHECK ANSWERS.
• You have the possibility of do the exercise again by clicking
• RESET QUIZ. Finally, you'll find the solutions in SHOW ANSWERS.
• Go to VOCAB to check difficult expressions
• Finally, click SCRIPT to see the transcription

Now, click HERE to listen to the audio recording.

WRITTEN EXPRESSION: ANSWERING AN EMAIL

Last week you moved to a new apartment. Your friend Joel has sent you this email:

Hi! How are you? Did you move last week? I hope you're happy in your new apartment. Are your neighbours friendly? Good neighbours are really important. Let me know all your news. Love, Joel

Write an email (90-100 words) to Joel talking about your neighbours. You must include this enformation: name, age, profession, characteristics (friendly, noisy...) etc of at least, two of your new neighbours. SEND IT TO YOUR TEACHER ;)

ANSWER KEY : TASK 1

1 Small talk helps you communicate with your neighbours

ANSWER KEY : TASK 2

Appropriate: weather, paying compliments, news, sport.

ANSWER KEY : TASK 3

1. T
2. F. Some people are natural small talkers. Other people find it more difficult.
3. T
4. F. Men like to talk about sport news.
5. T
6. T

ANSWER KEY : TASK 4

1. get on with
2. rude
3. discuss
4. to ofend
5. salaries
6. pay a compliment