CAMBRIDGE PET – UNIT 7

Unit 7 PERSONALITY: NAMES

Reading

‘What's in a name?’ asked Shakespeare's Juliet. ‘A rose by any other name would smell
as sweet’ she concluded; in other words that the name of a person is irrelevant.
However, research by psychologists suggests that our name can have a direct effect on
our personal happiness.

Having a popular name, it seems, can make other people think you are intelligent and
attractive even before they have met you. This is because, according to psychologist Dr
Philip Erwin, people associate a particular name with a stereotyped image. However,
having an unpopular name can have the opposite effect. ‘It can even affect your
employment prospects,’ says Dr Erwin. ‘Employers usually make up their mind within
two minutes of a job interview. Part of that process is reading an applicant's name on the
CV, which may immediately create a negative stereotype in the employer's mind.’

As a result, according to Dr Erwin, people with less attractive names tend to work
harder to get on in life. As part of his research, he rated the first names of 68 psychology
students for attractiveness, and then compared their exam marks. He found that students
with unpopular, old-fashioned names did significantly better (an average of more than
3% higher marks). This suggested that they were aware that they had an unattractive
name, and were working harder to overcome negative attitudes towards their name.

Names considered to be ‘less attractive’ were, for example, Norman, Ronald, and Albert
for men, and Gillian, Pauline, and Agnes for women. ‘More attractive’ names were
Stephen, David, Emma, and Charlotte. Actors and pop stars certainly seem to take this
into account and it is quite common for them to change the name they were born with to
a more ‘glamorous’ one, for example, Whoopi Goldberg (born Caryn Johnson), and
Bono (born Paul Hewson).

For many years now there has been a definite tendency among British parents to choose
unusual or famous names. In the 19905, Phoebe became popular for a while, almost
certainly as a result of the hit US TV series Friends, and Jack, which had previously
been considered an unattractive, old-fashioned name, became dramatically more
popular because of Leonardo Di Caprio’s Titanic hero, Jack Dawson. Recently Keira
has become a popular girl's name (after the actress Keira Knightly), and William and
Harry (after the princes) are invariably in the top ten names chosen for boys.

But the question is, will these names still be considered attractive when their owners
grow up? ´When I was at school there was no one in my class with the same name as
me,’ says 34-year-old Farrah Stephens, who was names after the TV actress Farrah
Fawcett, one of the stars of the 1970s Tv series Charlie’s Angels. ´By the time I was 15
everybody had forgotten about her, and I was left with this really stupid name. In the
end I decided to use my middle name, Diane`. Clearly, the choice of a name for a child
is a difficult decision to take. Dr Erwin gives some practical advice: ´Choose names for

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your children which they will be happy with in twenty year´s time, and choose a second
name in case your child doesn’t like the first one.`

a. Read the text quite quickly. Which sentence (1-3) best describes what it´s about?
1. How parents choose names for their children.
2. The effect your name can have on your life.
3. Why some names are more attractive than others.

b. Write true o false after the sentences

1. Your name doesn’t have and influence on how happy you are.
2. Your name could stop you getting a job.
3. People with unattractive names don’t normally work as hard as people with attractive
ones.
4. An actress called Agnes might want to change her name.
5. British parents today tend to call their children after film or TV characters.
6. Parents shouldn’t give children two names.

Vocabulary Learning words from a text

1. Complete the glossary with the underlined words and phrases.

1. __________________________decide
2. __________________________often do
3. __________________________not important or connected
4.__________________________ make progress
5.__________________________ the noun from tend
6. __________________________the noun from choose
7. __________________________say how good or bad you think something is
8. __________________________know, be conscious of
9. __________________________control or beat
10._________________________consider something, especially when making a
decision

Speaking

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Listening

1. What do you think are the three most common names for boys and girls in your
country? Does anyone in the class have these names?

2. Listen to four people talking about their first names.

Write brief notes in the chart.

Grammar Phrasal verbs

Phrasal verbs are verbs + prepositions or adverbs (go away, turn off‘). They are often
used in conversation instead of more formal verbs, e.g. go on instead of continue.

 Some phrasal verbs have a literal meaning.

Complete with a preposition or adverb.
1. Prices have gone…………. a lot. Everything’s very expensive
2. Can you fill…………. this form please?
3. We loved Venice. We want to go……… again soon
4. He got………… the bus and walked home.

 Many phrasal verbs have an idiomatic or non-literal meaning. Explain the

meaning of these phrasal verbs.
1. Hurry up or we’ll be late.
2. Did you find out what time the film starts?
3. We set off early, at 6.00 in the morning.

 Name two things…

4. you can look forward to
5. you can try on in a shop

 The same verb with a different preposition has a different meaning. What’s the
difference between . . .?
1. I’m looking after my sister. / I’m looking for my sister.

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2. He’s gone out. / He’s gone away.

3. Turn the radio off! /Turn the radio down!
4. The film is on now. / The film is over now.

 Some phrasal verbs have more than one meaning. Give two different meanings
of …
1. get on
2. take off
3. pick up

Separable or not?

a. Use your instinct. Circle the right answer. Sometimes both are possible.
1 Could you look after the baby? / look the baby after?
2 Take off your coat! / Take your coat off
3 I’m looking forward to the holidays / looking forward the holidays to.
4 Shall we go this evening out? /go out this evening?

b. Can we separate the verb and the particle in a phrasal verb?

 Intransitive phrasal verbs (no object): verb and particle cannot be separated
The meeting went on for hours.

 Transitive verbs: verb and particle can be separated

Object→ Noun Take off your shoes /take your shoes off
Object→ Pronoun Take them off

 Transitive verbs: verb and particle cannot be separated.

She looks after her younger sister at weekends.

 Transitive verbs with two prepositions/ adverbs. They can’t be separated.

We’re looking forward to your holiday.

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Activities

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Listening Stereotypes

1. You’re going to listen to someone talking about the stereotype of people from his
country. Listen to the beginning of the conversation. Which nationality do you think he
is talking about? Why?

2. Before you listen to the rest of the conversation, think about the nationality. In pairs,
underline words and phrases in the list you think are true about the nationality. Then
listen and check.
Insecure efficient bossy well educated hard-working
ecology conscious have a good sense of humour eat and drink a lot
look down on other nationalities hypochondriacs

3. Look at these. Write down what you remember of the speaker’s answers. Listen to the
whole interview again for more detail.
What is the stereotype of people from your country?
How much of the stereotype is true?
What aspects aren't true?
Do you look up to any other nationalities?
What do you think are your strengths?

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What do you think are your weaknesses?