13. Ways to relax

Exercise 1

Look at the photos and talk about how the people might feel and why. Use the words in the box:

angry / bored / cheerful / excited / peaceful/ relaxed / stressed / tired

Exercise 2

Talk about situations in which people feel relaxed and situations in which they feel stressed. Use the ideas in the boxes.

Example: people feel relaxed when they listen to music they like at the end of a hard day. But they sometimes feel stressed because of music, for example when they want to sleep but their neighbour is playing music very loudly.

Exercise 3

Imagine you have a day off. You don’t have to go to work or look after anyone. Choose which task in each pair you would do and add some details about why and how you would do it.

Exercise 4

Exercise A

In a moment, you’ll watch a video about someone who relaxes in an unusual way. But first…

Look at the words and think what the person does:

nature, quiet, sculpture, stones

Exercise B

Watch the video and see if you were right.

Exercise 5

• Have you ever tried balancing stones like the woman in the video? If yes, how did it go? If not, would you like to try?

• The woman in the video says: ‘… my thoughts are completely silent and that’s a very good feeling.’ Is it difficult to get this feeling? Have you ever felt like this? Give some details.

• What other activities do you think the woman likes doing in her free time?

• What relaxing activity would you make a video about? What would you say about the activity?

Exercise 6

Read about some other activities people do to relax and do the tasks below.

• Talk about the activity or activities you or someone you know have tried.

• Choose an activity you would like to try and explain why you would like to do it.

• Choose an activity you would never try and explain why you wouldn’t do it.

• Choose one activity which is the most dangerous, one that is the easiest and one that is the most expensive.

• Explain your choices. Talk about other similar activities you have tried or heard about.