Life Story

 
 

Vocabulary

picnic	hang out	shop keeper
enroll	full-time	primary school
plaza	graduate	surrounding
join	baseball	carpenter
stroll	explore	provincial
enlist	discharge	major (3)
army	advance	accounting
enroll	firm (2)	elementary
hire	date (3)	human resources
village	suburbs	internship
raise	career	wood carving
retire	vacation

 
 
 
 

The Village

Barney was born in a village in Alberta, Canada. His father worked as a carpenter, while his mother was as shop keeper in the village store.

At age six Barney enrolled in the local primary school (elementary school). In the afternoons, he frequently played with his friends in the playground.

As they got older, they would explore the surrounding hills, forest, lakes and river. Barney also read books from the library and played football.

High School

After finishing elementary school, Barney and his classmates took a school bus to a secondary school (high school) at a nearby, provincial town.

There he studied English, math, history, science and social studies. In addition, Barney joined the painting club and played baseball.

On weekends, he and his classmates sometimes caught a bus to the city and strolled in the plaza, and hung out in the shopping center.

The Army and University

After graduating from school, Barney enlisted in the army for eighteen months.

Upon his discharge, he enrolled at a university in Toronto, where he majored in finance and accounting. As part of his studies he did internships at large companies.

The Disco

Barney was hired full-time by one of these firms when he graduated.

During the weekends, he and his friends would go to nightclubs and discos. It was here that he met Matilda, who worked in the human resources of another company. They began dating.

Family Life

Eventually they got married, and had two children.

Both Barney and Matilda advanced in their careers, and saved up money to buy a family home in the suburbs.

In their free time, they like to raise flowers and vegetables in their garden. They also enjoy painting and wood carving. On Saturdays and Sundays, the whole family usually goes on picnics, visits friends and relatives.

Every summer they go on vacations.

When Barney and Matilda retire, they will move back to Matilda’s parents’ house in her old village.

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Questions

1. Barney was born and raised in a large city. True or false?

2. Was his family lower class (poor), working class, middle-class, upper-middle class or upper-class (rich)? They were . . .

3. What were his hobbies as a child in his village?

4. Barney attended secondary (high) school in his village. Is this right or wrong? What did he do at secondary school?

5. After graduating from high school, did he go straight to university? What did he major in? He majored in . . . .

6. He met his girlfriend in high school. Is this correct or incorrect?

7. Did they live in an apartment?

8. What do they do in their free time?

 
 

A. Do you know anyone from the country, a village or small town?

B. Were you or was your father, uncle or grandfather in the military?

C. What were your hobbies as a child? What do you like to do now?

D. Did you attend university or a trade, vocational or technical college? What did you study?

E. What is your job, profession or occupation?

F. What do you plan to do when you retire?