I. Do the preparation exercise first.
Match the vocabulary with the correct definition and write a–h next to the numbers 1–8.
1…….. the feel-good factor
2…….. to lounge around
3…….. to lose track of time
4…….. to be true to yourself
5…….. to play to your strengths
6…….. to have a heart-to-heart
7…….. for its own sake
8…….. to fly off the handle
a. because the thing itself is worthwhile (not for any other reason)
b. the quality in something that makes people feel happy and positive
c. to suddenly become angry with someone
d. to have an honest, open chat with someone about feelings
e. to become unaware of the passing of time
f. to spend time sitting or lying somewhere and not doing very much
g. to do things that you know you can do well and to avoid things you are not so good at
h. to behave in accordance with your beliefs
1 — b
2 — f
3 — e
4 — h
5 — g
7 — a
6 — d
8 — c
III. Check your understanding: multiple choice
Choose the psychologist who gives the following pieces of advice. You can choose each psychologist
more than once.
- Pay more attention to what people are saying to improve social bonding.
a. psychologist A
b. psychologist B
c. psychologist C
d. psychologist D - Don’t attach importance to things you don’t do well.
a. psychologist A
b. psychologist B
c. psychologist C
d. psychologist D - Work on how you bond with other people.
a. psychologist A
b. psychologist B
c. psychologist C
d. psychologist D - Do something absorbing.
a. psychologist A
b. psychologist B
c. psychologist C
d. psychologist D - Adjust simple aspects of your daily routine.
a. psychologist A
b. psychologist B
c. psychologist C
d. psychologist D - Think about how you can help others.
a. psychologist A
b. psychologist B
c. psychologist C
d. psychologist D - Make sure your activities aren’t too easy (or too difficult).
a. psychologist A
b. psychologist B
c. psychologist C
d. psychologist D - Be authentic.
a. psychologist A
b. psychologist B
c. psychologist C
d. psychologist D
IV. Check your understanding: true, false or not given
Read the sentences and write True if the information can be found in the text, False if the information says
the opposite to the text or Not given if the information cannot be found in the text.
- According to A, it isn’t difficult to make changes to our everyday habits. WRONG
- B thinks having a large group of friends is a waste of time. WRONG
- B believes that you should spend large amounts of time with your close friends. true
- According to C, we should do activities which are enjoyable but require some effort. true
- C thinks that we should seek to develop new skills. WRONG
- D believes that we should prioritise improving our weak points. WRONG
In 250-300 words or less, prepare your personal statement on the topic below:
Whenever I’m feeling down, my main way to up my mood is fixating on something I enjoy. Be it a video game, walking, cooking or watching something. Just immersing myself in something, to get my mind off whatever may be bothering me at the time. Which does indeed work most of the time, in my experience at least. Being able to cook a nice meal or beat a challenging video game gives a sense of accomplishment to me.
Judging by my words above, it should be clear that primarily I agree with Dr. C, though, everyone is right to an extent. A healthy lifestyle is a big priority, in my opinion, and having people that you can talk to about personal topics is always nice to have. And the advice of D is something I struggle with, being really focused on the negative aspects of it all. A minor defeat stings a lot more than a minor victory pleases, for me at least.
I don’t got the slightest clue on how happy my country is. Well, not statistically. People on the streets most of the time sure don’t look happy. Though maybe I’m misunderstanding their emotions, we’ll never know.
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