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A multiple choice listening test on the topic "Raising successful children"

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The speaker lectures on the issues and keys to raising successful children.

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A podcast about how to use mindfulness to help with difficult relationships

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Trying to make sense of a difficult relationship? In this podcast, we find out how the science of mindfulness can help to iron out the wrinkles, and bring you both that much closer together.

Source: Headspace

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The Headspace Think Yourself Healthy podcasts: relationships

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Trying to make sense of a difficult relationship? In this podcast, we find out how the science of mindfulness can help to iron out the wrinkles, and bring you both that much closer together. Source: Headspace

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A page giving advice on how to talk about the topic of relationships in an IELTS speaking exam.

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Read the following IELTS-style questions and answers below and pay attention to the phrases in bold. Use the 'Definitions' section at the bottom of the page to check the meaning of any phrases you don't understand.

Part 1-style questions

Examiner: Do you see your friends very often?
Louisa: Yes ... we meet up most weekends ... we all get on really well and have a lot in common so we're always happy doing the same things and going to the same places.

Examiner: What do you like about your close friends?
Anna: I think we enjoy each other's company ... we see eye-to-eye on most things so we rarely fall out with each other.

Examiner: Have you known each other long?
Amy: Most of them yes ... although my closest friend Carrie ... we struck up a relationship at college and got on like a house on fire ... but yes ... my other friendships go back years to when we were at school.

Part 2-style task

Describe a person you are very close to. You should say:

who this person is

when you met them

where you met them

and say what it is about them you like so much.

Reiko: I'd like to talk about my boyfriend ... Jose ... we got to know each other at University almost 4 years ago ... we were in the same department ... initially we were just good friends and used to go out in a group with our other friends ... when Jose went back to Spain for the holidays we would keep in touch with each other ... then one year he invited me to come to Spain with him ... and that's when we fell for each other I think ... so you couldn't really say it was love at first sight as it had been over a year since we'd met ... but we really hit it off and by the time we got back to university in September we were able to tell all our friends that we were in a relationship ... what do I like about Jose ... well he's very kind ... very funny ... and very supportive ... and we're really well matched in our interests ... he hasn't popped the question yet though ... we've talked about getting married and I think we're both ready to settle down and have children ... we'll just have to wait and see ...

Part 3-style questions

Examiner: Do you think marriage is still as important as ever?
Cristine: Yes ... it certainly is in my country ... I think the problem for some people is a lack of commitment ... all relationships have their ups and downs .... but some people prefer to break up rather than working at the relationship.

Examiner: What do you think is the ideal time to get married?
Terry: Personally ... I think you should wait until you've found yourself first ... decided if you want a career ... perhaps do some travelling ... you should do this before tying the knot ... although if you fall head over heels in love plans like these can easily be forgotten.

Examiner: Is it important to keep in contact with our friends when we're in a relationship?
Maria: Absolutely ... it's so easy to drift apart from your friends when you fall in love ... but I think both partners should try not to lose touch with their friends ... that's the best way to have a healthy relationship with your partner.

Definitions

Next Step?

Test yourself on topic vocabulary to talk about relationships. Sign up to IELTS Speaking: Advanced for vocabulary tests and whole lot more!

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Advanced IELTS vocabulary to talk about relationships

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Read the following IELTS-style questions and answers below and pay attention to the phrases in bold. Use the 'Definitions' section at the bottom of the page to check the meaning of any phrases you don't understand. Part 1-style questions Examiner: Do you see your friends very often? Louisa: Yes ...

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Mathematician Hannah Fry talks about the patterns in looking for love, and tips for how to find a partner.

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READ: "Meet the families of 2030: the factors shaping future generations"

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READ: "Meet the families of 2030: the factors shaping future generations"

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An article by the creators of The Family of the Future video (on the left). The article expands a little more on what is discussed in the video.

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In the world of marketing we spend a lot of time thinking about what individuals want and what they care about. But no man is an island. How we behave and the decisions we make collectively are equally important to our quality of life and highly relevant to brands seeking to create a more meaningful connection with their customers.

Married couples with 2.4 kids don't really exist: today, only a quarter of families could be termed "nuclear". Exploring the changing dynamics of the family provides a fascinating context for understanding individuals' choices and the changing role of brands in society.

We've spent the last four months identifying the influencing factors that will shape the family of the future. We have established a set of six forces that are dramatically altering what we will come to define as a "family".

Some of the highlights from the six forces give us an indication of the changing nature of the family: growing megacities with space an absolute premium; collective responses to water, escalating demand for energy and food; evolving career expectations; changing definitions of quality of life.

These forces are creating a diversity of family units that are not necessarily defined by marriage or blood-ties and are unlikely to fit into any of today's consumer segmentations.

By applying these forces, we have created a future segmentation of five families of 2030, which challenge brands to consider what they should be doing today to attract customers of tomorrow.

Tandem Tribes: two single parent families sharing one family home

Each with their own private space within the house, the Tandem Tribes come together to share living and kitchen/dining space. The single parents have a partnership of convenience, living a lifestyle that wouldn't be possible alone, which provides a positive, flexible environment for bringing up children.

A Tandem Tribe home is often part of a micro-community featuring communal facilities such as shared DIY tools and a fleet of electric cars, all in the name of encouraging low-cost, enjoyable, collaborative living.

Modular Movers: nomadic professionals living in convenient, high-service, low-ownership homes

Our single person family, Modular Movers are nomadic. Living in flexible spaces around the world, they don't want baggage or clutter as they move from Sao Paulo to New York to Bangalore whenever they need to.

Home is more like a hotel. They crave practicality - location and convenience are more important than a feeling of home sweet home. Modular living means they choose the add-ons to their living space - if they want a kitchen, for example, or a home office. The megacity is their playground - there's always a reason to be out and about.

Silver Linings: the 70 years+ generation

The Silver Linings are determined to grow old positively. They want to have a laid-back lifestyle with a genuine interaction between generations. They are happy to trade-in previous living arrangements for a worry-free lifestyle that means more stability and simplicity. They use their experience and skills to contribute to the local community and economy. The income they receive in return helps support their day-to-day activities.

Ruralites: hyper-connected families living in rural communities.

The Ruralites are entrepreneurial with comfortable, hyper-efficient and tech-orientated homes. They are close to self-sufficiency in food production and make full use of all available resources, including the production of energy, which ensures they make money from energy rather than paying money for it. Their 3D printer keeps the home working, producing replacement parts for all appliances. The environment that surrounds the Ruralites' homes ensures that kids grow up with imaginations that work on overdrive.

Multi-gens: Multiple generations living under one roof

Their homes may be crowded, but these families depend on support from one another, enabling each family member to pursue their own goals and lead independent lives. Each person pitches in and does their bit so life runs smoothly. These families make use of services like cloud-based family hubs, which divide up tasks and responsibilities between all family members. In some ways they run more like an efficient business than a classic family.

The families of the future raise many questions for sustainability professionals and marketers. How can a brand adapt to families as they form and re-form over time? What opportunities arise from personal space being highly limited? How can we make collaborative consumption a desirable benefit, not a sacrifice? And what will it mean for a brand when the key decision-maker in a family is no longer a single person?
Fiona Bennie is head of sustainability at Join the community of sustainability professionals and experts. Become a GSB member to get more stories like this direct to your inbox Dragon Rouge Topics

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Meet the families of 2030: the factors shaping future generations

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In the world of marketing we spend a lot of time thinking about what individuals want and what they care about. But no man is an island. How we behave and the decisions we make collectively are equally important to our quality of life and highly relevant to brands seeking to create a more meaningful connection with their customers.

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Learn some 'love and relationships' idioms.

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Love and Relationship Idioms and Quizzes

Love and Relationship Idiom Quiz #1

Quiz 1 - Choose the correct idiom to replace the expression in the brackets. Check your score and the correct answers at the bottom. Click on the idiom for the definition.

Your score is: ___ out of 5

Love and Relationship Idiom Quiz #2

Quiz 2 - Choose the correct idiom to replace the expression in the brackets. Check your score and the correct answers at the bottom. Click on the idiom for the definition.

Your score is: ___ out of 5

Love and Relationship Idiom Quiz #3

Quiz 3 - Choose the correct idiom to replace the expression in the brackets. Check your score and the correct answers at the bottom. Click on the idiom for the definition.

Your score is: ___ out of 5

ask for (someone's) hand in marriage

- to ask someone to marry you

ask out (someone) or ask (someone) out

- to ask someone to go on a date

The man asked out the woman in his class.

attracted to (someone)

- to feel a physical or emotional attraction to someone, to be interested in someone in a romantic way

blind date

- a date where the two people have never met before

I went on a blind date in university but it was not successful.

break (someone's) heart

- to cause someone emotional pain, to make someone feel very sad or disappointed

break up with (someone)

- to end a relationship with someone

The couple broke up after dating for more than three years.

crazy about (someone or something)

- to be very much in love with someone, to be very enthusiastic about something

The girl is crazy about the boy in her university class.

date (someone)

- to go on a date with someone, to have a date with someone

double date

- a date where two couples go on a date and do something together

dump (someone)

- to end a relationship by telling someone that you do not want to see him or her again

fall for (someone)

- to begin to feel love for someone

The woman always falls for the wrong person and she is never happy.

fall in love (with someone)

- to begin to experience feelings of love for someone

find Mr. Right

- to find the right person or the perfect person to marry

find the right girl/guy

- to find the right partner, to find the person you want to marry

first love

- the first person that one falls in love with

The girl's first love was with a boy in her high school.

get along with (someone)

- to have a good relationship with someone

get back together

- to return to a relationship or marriage after separating

The man got back together with his girlfriend after separating for several months.

get engaged

- to make a plan to marry someone, to decide to marry someone

get hitched

- to get married

get serious (with someone)

- to become more serious in a romantic relationship with someone

give (someone or something) a second chance

- to try to save a relationship by forgiving and welcoming the other person back (usually after a fight or a breakup)

go Dutch

- to go on a date where each person pays half of the expenses

go out with (someone)

- to go on a date with someone, to be dating someone

The man would like to go out with his classmate.

go steady with (someone)

- to date one person regularly (not so common recently but at one time this expression was used often by teenagers)

good together

- to be able to get along well with each other

have a crush on (someone)

- to have strong feelings of love for someone (often for a short time and with no results)

The girl has a crush on a boy in her class.

have a thing for (someone)

- to be attracted to someone, to be interested in someone

The girl has a thing for the new boy in her class.

have a thing going with (someone)

- to have a romantic relationship with someone

head over heels in love with (someone)

- to be very much in love with someone, to be completely in love with someone

hit it off (with someone)

- to have a good relationship with someone from the first time that you meet that person - it can be used for any two people who meet and have a good relationship

I hit it off with a woman in my photography class and we have been dating for several months now.

hung up on (someone)

- to be obsessed with another person, to be interested in another person

interested in (someone)

- to have a romantic interest in someone and possibly want to date that person

kiss and make up

- to become friends again after a fight or argument

After they had a fight, the couple was quick to kiss and make up.

leave (someone) at the altar

- to decide not to marry someone at the last minute

The man was very nervous and decided to leave his girlfriend at the altar.

leave (someone) for (someone else)

- to end a relationship with your partner and start a relationship with someone else

The man left his wife for his secretary but soon discovered that his life was worse than before.

love at first sight

- to fall in love with someone or something the first time that you see him or her or it

When I saw the woman at the party, it was love at first sight and I knew that I wanted to meet her.

The woman loved the house. It was love at first sight.

made for each other

- to get along extremely well with another person

make eyes at (someone)

- to flirt with someone, to look at someone to try and attract him or her

make up

- to resolve a quarrel, to forgive someone after an argument

The couple had a big fight at the restaurant but they made up and things quickly got back to normal.

a match made in heaven

- a couple who get along perfectly

When the two people finally met each other, it was a match made in heaven.

meet the right girl or guy

- to meet the right partner, to meet the person that you want to marry

on the rocks

- to be in a state of difficulty, to be having problems (usually used for a relationship)

one's one and only

- the only person that one loves

The man's wife was his one and only since they first met in high school.

the one for (someone)

- the right partner, the right person to marry

patch up a relationship

- to repair a broken relationship

perfect couple

- two people who appear to get along perfectly

pop the question

- to ask someone to marry you

puppy love

- strong feelings of love (infatuation) between school-age children or teenagers

say "I do"

- to get married (during a wedding ceremony it is common to say "I do" when you agree to marry your partner)

seeing (someone)

- to be dating someone on a regular basis

set a date

- to decide on a date for a wedding

settle down

- to begin to live a quiet and stable life (often used after getting married or getting a job)

split up

- to end a relationship

steal (someone's) heart

- to cause someone to fall in love with you

The woman stole the heart of the man who she was working with.

take one's vows

- to get married and take your wedding vows or make your wedding promises

The couple took their vows at the courthouse in the small town.

take the plunge

- to do something decisive such as get married

My friend will take the plunge and get married next year.

those three little words

- the three words "I love you"

tie the knot

- to get married

true love

- a genuine feeling of romantic love

unrequited love

- love that is not returned, one-way love

walk down the aisle together

- to get married (in this case in a church where the bride walks down the aisle to the altar)

walk out on (someone)

- to abandon your partner and end a relationship

The man walked out on his wife.

whisper sweet nothings in (someone's) ear

- to say romantic or intimate things to someone

The actor whispered sweet nothings in the ear of the actress.

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Idiom Connection - Love, Relationship Idioms - Quizzes

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Quiz 1 - Choose the correct idiom to replace the expression in the brackets. Check your score and the correct answers at the bottom. Click on the idiom for the definition. Your score is: ___ out of 5 Quiz 2 - Choose the correct idiom to replace the expression in the brackets.

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A short animation showing what the future of our households might be like. (BTW this was created by a marketing company!)

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http://brandfutures.dragonrouge.co.uk/familyofthefuture 2030 will be markedly different from today - how will brands remain relevant and continue to delight people? Dragon Rouge has created the families of the future - a new approach to segmentation - considering groups of people, rather than just individuals.

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An article from The New York Times about family dynamics and the research on how to make families better.

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But lying in bed afterward, I began to wonder: Was he right? What is the secret sauce that holds a family together? What are the ingredients that make some families effective, resilient, happy?

It turns out to be an astonishingly good time to ask that question. The last few years have seen stunning breakthroughs in knowledge about how to make families, along with other groups, work more effectively.

Myth-shattering research has reshaped our understanding of dinnertime, discipline and difficult conversations. Trendsetting programs from Silicon Valley and the military have introduced techniques for making teams function better.

The only problem: most of that knowledge remains ghettoized in these subcultures, hidden from the parents who need it most. I spent the last few years trying to uncover that information, meeting families, scholars and experts ranging from peace negotiators to online game designers to Warren Buffett 's bankers.

After a while, a surprising theme emerged. The single most important thing you can do for your family may be the simplest of all: develop a strong family narrative.

I first heard this idea from Marshall Duke, a colorful psychologist at Emory University. In the mid-1990s, Dr. Duke was asked to help explore myth and ritual in American families.

"There was a lot of research at the time into the dissipation of the family," he told me at his home in suburban Atlanta. "But we were more interested in what families could do to counteract those forces."

Around that time, Dr. Duke's wife, Sara, a psychologist who works with children with learning disabilities, noticed something about her students.

"The ones who know a lot about their families tend to do better when they face challenges," she said.

Her husband was intrigued, and along with a colleague, Robyn Fivush, set out to test her hypothesis. They developed a measure called the "Do You Know?" scale that asked children to answer 20 questions.

Examples included: Do you know where your grandparents grew up? Do you know where your mom and dad went to high school? Do you know where your parents met? Do you know an illness or something really terrible that happened in your family? Do you know the story of your birth?

Dr. Duke and Dr. Fivush asked those questions of four dozen families in the summer of 2001, and taped several of their dinner table conversations. They then compared the children's results to a battery of psychological tests the children had taken, and reached an overwhelming conclusion. The more children knew about their family's history, the stronger their sense of control over their lives, the higher their self-esteem and the more successfully they believed their families functioned. The "Do You Know?" scale turned out to be the best single predictor of children's emotional health and happiness.

"We were blown away," Dr. Duke said.

And then something unexpected happened. Two months later was Sept. 11. As citizens, Dr. Duke and Dr. Fivush were horrified like everyone else, but as psychologists, they knew they had been given a rare opportunity: though the families they studied had not been directly affected by the events, all the children had experienced the same national trauma at the same time. The researchers went back and reassessed the children.

"Once again," Dr. Duke said, "the ones who knew more about their families proved to be more resilient, meaning they could moderate the effects of stress."

Why does knowing where your grandmother went to school help a child overcome something as minor as a skinned knee or as major as a terrorist attack?

"The answers have to do with a child's sense of being part of a larger family," Dr. Duke said.

Psychologists have found that every family has a unifying narrative, he explained, and those narratives take one of three shapes.

First, the ascending family narrative: "Son, when we came to this country, we had nothing. Our family worked. We opened a store. Your grandfather went to high school. Your father went to college. And now you. ..."

Second is the descending narrative: "Sweetheart, we used to have it all. Then we lost everything."

"The most healthful narrative," Dr. Duke continued, "is the third one. It's called the oscillating family narrative: 'Dear, let me tell you, we've had ups and downs in our family. We built a family business. Your grandfather was a pillar of the community. Your mother was on the board of the hospital. But we also had setbacks. You had an uncle who was once arrested. We had a house burn down. Your father lost a job. But no matter what happened, we always stuck together as a family.' "

Dr. Duke said that children who have the most self-confidence have what he and Dr. Fivush call a strong "intergenerational self." They know they belong to something bigger than themselves.

Leaders in other fields have found similar results. Many groups use what sociologists call sense-making, the building of a narrative that explains what the group is about.

Jim Collins, a management expert and author of "Good to Great," told me that successful human enterprises of any kind, from companies to countries, go out of their way to capture their core identity. In Mr. Collins's terms, they "preserve core, while stimulating progress." The same applies to families, he said.

Mr. Collins recommended that families create a mission statement similar to the ones companies and other organizations use to identify their core values.

The military has also found that teaching recruits about the history of their service increases their camaraderie and ability to bond more closely with their unit.

Cmdr. David G. Smith is the chairman of the department of leadership, ethics and law at the Naval Academy and an expert in unit cohesion, the Pentagon's term for group morale. Until recently, the military taught unit cohesion by "dehumanizing" individuals, Commander Smith said. Think of the bullying drill sergeants in "Full Metal Jacket" or "An Officer and a Gentleman."

But these days the military spends more time building up identity through communal activities. At the Naval Academy, Commander Smith advises graduating seniors to take incoming freshmen (or plebes) on history-building exercises, like going to the cemetery to pay tribute to the first naval aviator or visiting the original B-1 aircraft on display on campus.

Dr. Duke recommended that parents pursue similar activities with their children. Any number of occasions work to convey this sense of history: holidays, vacations, big family get-togethers, even a ride to the mall. The hokier the family's tradition, he said, the more likely it is to be passed down. He mentioned his family's custom of hiding frozen turkeys and canned pumpkin in the bushes during Thanksgiving so grandchildren would have to "hunt for their supper," like the Pilgrims.

"These traditions become part of your family," Dr. Duke said.

Decades of research have shown that most happy families communicate effectively. But talking doesn't mean simply "talking through problems," as important as that is. Talking also means telling a positive story about yourselves. When faced with a challenge, happy families, like happy people, just add a new chapter to their life story that shows them overcoming the hardship. This skill is particularly important for children, whose identity tends to get locked in during adolescence.

The bottom line: if you want a happier family, create, refine and retell the story of your family's positive moments and your ability to bounce back from the difficult ones. That act alone may increase the odds that your family will thrive for many generations to come.

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The Family Stories That Bind Us - This Life

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But lying in bed afterward, I began to wonder: Was he right? What is the secret sauce that holds a family together? What are the ingredients that make some families effective, resilient, happy? It turns out to be an astonishingly good time to ask that question.

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Family Facts and Figures - statistics on Australian households from the Australian Institute of Family Studies.

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Facts and Figures provides broad trends in Australian families primarily based on statistics published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.