Unit 1
Unit 1 Extension
1 Read the description by a writer called Sean Connor and answer the questions.
1 What made the writer think more about his roots?
His dad´s death
2 Which side of his family did the writer have the most contact with while he was growing up?
With his father’s family
3 Why did the writer’s grandfather move to England?
Because the job shortage
4 What did the writer’s mother’s great-grandfather probably do?
He was successful farmer
5 What dream does the writer have?
His dream was to meet his family from Australia
Roots
My father came from Irish roots, although he was born in England – in Liverpool, to be exact. He died a
year ago, and that’s when I began to think more about my own roots. My mother is a seventy-year-old
Frenchwoman from Bordeaux.
They met while at university in London and never left the city. In time, most of my father’s family moved
down from Liverpool too, so we had a lot of contact with them. We saw my mother’s family on long
summer holidays in France that I always enjoyed.
My father’s side of the family were Connors from County Cork. They were small farmers, like many of
the Irish. My grandfather came to England during the Second World War, when there was a shortage of
labourers in Britain and work was easy to find.
My mother’s family, the Leblancs, were also farmers, but more successful. They own and run a medium-
sized farm to this day. The farm has been in the family for at least seven generations.
My grandfather on my father’s side had a brother who emigrated to Australia, so it’s possible there’s
another part of the Connor family over there. If so, I’d love to go out there one day and meet them.
2 Read the text again. Then match the points (a–h) with the paragraphs they appear in.
Paragraph 1 c
Paragraph 2 b -h
Paragraph 3 f-e
- Paragraph 4 d-r
- Paragraph 5 A
a My dream of meeting Australian
relatives..
b My father’s side of the family
c My father and mother
d An old family tradition
e How and where my parents met
Life Upper Intermediate © National Geographic Learning
Unit 1
f Why the Connors moved to England
g My mother’s side of the family
h My contact with the families while growing up
Life Upper Intermediate © National Geographic Learning
Unit 1 Extension
3 Read the writing task and answer the questions.
Write a similar piece to Sean Connor’s, describing your own family roots.
1 What should you write about?
a Sean’s family b your future plans c your ancestors and relatives
2 What register should you use?
a informal b neutral c formal
3 Which of these will you include? Tick the boxes.
a story about a famous ancestor
how many children you want to have
how your family came to live where you live
where you and your family go on holiday
how and where your mother and father met
4 What might you put in the final paragraph? Tick at least one box.
information about Sean’s great-uncle
why you think it’s important to know your roots
a description of your parents
your plans to trace your family roots further
4 Write the task presented in Exercise 3.
My dad's family is from Catacocha, the truth is that I had never met most of his family, until one
carnival day we went to visit there, I was able to meet his cousins and uncles.
One of my daddy's cousins has been the mayor there, he is a very intelligent and visionary man.
Daddy's favorite aunt is a great person and told us many anecdotes of her life.
They are very nice people, and I am very happy to meet them. Also, they have an incredible
tradition such as many activities like “gincanas”, “el palo encebado”. Moreover, I really love their
food because is delicious.
We now have more contact than before and from now on we will be spending most of our holidays
with them.
