1. How do you keep abreast of the latest iterations of smartphones? Do they sometimes fall flat? Do you always trust the reviews that sing the praises of a certain device or do you think they might turn out to be a hoax? Do you ever refute such reviews? Has any of your reviews ever prompted a slew of comments?
2. When you travel to a new place, can people tell you are a tourist or do you easily blend into the local community?
3. Do you hanker for a sleek new car with an iconic design? What specs do you look for in a brand new car? What kind of car would suit you to a tee? Would you have mixed feelings about buying a cheap and nasty car? Do you know any diehard car enthusiasts? If you decided to buy an electric car, would a high-capacity battery be a must?
4. What is the zeitgeist of our time? If free love, world peace, and racial equality defined the 1960s, what would be the seminal ideals of modern Western culture?
5. Are you into fashion? Do you find genie pants, floppy beanies and guys sporting a trendy beard fashionable? Do you know anybody who may keep unfashionable people at arm's length?
6. Would you say our society is nowhere near as repressive as it used to be? Do people nowadays still keep skeletons in the cupboard? If you fast-forward ten years, how might our society improve in this regard? Will there still be bigoted people who may stick to their guns on old-fashioned beliefs?
7. Do you resist radical change? Are you fussed about following the latest trends? Do you have any wearables with a heart-rate monitor? What other significant breakthroughs do you value highly?
8. Would you remain unabashed if you still had a grainy TV set? Would your mates scoff at you? How much do you value our modern pixel-rich screens? Do they measure up to your expectations?
9. Have you recently been to a top-notch restaurant you would like to recommend? Do many diners flock to it? What is your take on the slew of fast food restaurants that have sprung up in our streets recently? Do you find them hideously ugly or just generic? What else has flooded our streets in recent times? Will betting shops eventually bring about the ultimate downfall of our towns? Are these new businesses a testament to a decadent society?
10. What demographic does Instagram overwhelmingly attract? Has Instagram rendered other social media almost obsolete for you? Are you brimming with excitement every time you check your feed to see how many likes your latest selfie is yielding?
Add two more to ask a partner:
11. __________
12. __________
keep/stay abreast of something to make sure that you know all the most recent facts or information about a particular subject or situation E.g. It’s important to keep abreast of the latest developments in computers.
iteration: a new version of a piece of computer hardware or software. E.g. The next iteration of the iPhone will be the best yet.
- if a joke, a story, or an event falls flat, it completely fails to make people laugh or to have the effect that was intended.
- Without Jem, the whole evening would have fallen flat.
refute: refute something to prove that something is wrong.
prompt: Encourage. Sp. provocar.
- to look so similar to the background that it is difficult for you to see it separately
- He blended into the crowd.
- hanker after/for something He had hankered after fame all his life.
- She still hankered for her homeland.
- hanker to do something She hankered to go back to Australia.
sleek:having an attractive smooth shape. Elegant.
iconic: being a famous person or thing that people admire and see as a symbol of a particular idea, way of life, etc. Sp. emblemático.
- Dover and the White Cliffs hold iconic status in British history.
- an iconic image/building/figure/brand
specs: specifications.
- (informal) used to say that something is exactly right for somebody, succeeds in doing something in exactly the right way, etc.
- Her new job suits her to a T.
- The novel captures the feeling of the pre-war period to a T.
cheap and nasty of low cost and bad quality."the materials can seem a bit cheap and nasty"
diehard:
a person who strongly opposes change and new ideas
- A few diehards are trying to stop the reforms.
zeitgeist: spirit of the age. E.g. This album really embodies the zeitgeist of the 1970s.
seminal: influential
floppy: flexible
beanie: a small, round close-fitting hat. Sp. gorro de lana.
be sporting something to be wearing something or have something on your body and show it to people in a proud way E.g. Eric was sporting a new coat.
bigoted:prejudiced. Sp. intolerante.
fuss (about something) to worry about things that are not very important
- Don't fuss, Mum, everything is all right.
- Paula’s always fussing about her figure.
unabashed: not ashamed.
grainy: (especially of photographs) not having completely clear images because they look as if they are made of a lot of small marks
- The film is shot in grainy black and white.
scoff: to laugh at a person or idea, and talk about them in a way that shows you think they are stupid. E.g. scoff at David scoffed at her fears. Officials scoffed at the idea. ‘You, a scientist!’ he scoffed.
- (usually used in negative sentences and questions) to be as good, successful, etc. as expected or needed
top-notch: excellent; of the highest quality.
hideously: in a very ugly or unpleasant way. Revoltingly.
generic: /dʒəˈnerɪk/ (of a film, song, story, etc.) lacking imagination and so not original. E.g. The movie was pretty boring, with a generic storyline and emotionless characters.
testament: evidence. Sp. testimonio. E.g. The new model is a testament to the skill and dedication of the workforce.
demographic: sector of the population. Sp. sector demográfico.
overwhelmingly: very greatly. Sp. abrumadoramente.
yield: produce
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