Beginner
A: do you like Barry?
B: no, not very much. He’s too ambitious¹ and dishonest.
A: I agree. I like his brother, Paul. They are not alike².
B: yes. They are completely³ different. Paul is very sociable⁴ and much more honest than his brother.
A: what kind of person do you consider yourself to be?
B: I think I’m polite, careful, relaxed and shy.
A: oh, I don’t think you’re shy! You are always chatting with new people when we go to a party.
B: well, yes, but those people always start talking to me. I never talk to them first. Perhaps I’m not as shy as I think. Anyway, you’re certainly not shy!
A: You’re right. I love going out and making new friends.
B: so, you’ll be at my birthday party on Friday?
A: Of course!

Intermediate⁵
A: How do you think people get their personalities⁶?
B: I think it’s mainly from the environment a person lives it.
A: Don’t you think people get their personalities from their parents?
B: no, but parents control a lot of the environment that kids grow up in, so they certainly influence their kid’s personalities a lot.
A: So why do you think many kids have personalities that are so different to their parents.
B: maybe when they become teenagers, they want to be completely different to their parents.
A: You might be right. I guess most parents want their kids to be like them, but kids today grow up in a different environment. You know, they know much more about the world from the internet, newspapers, and tv.
B: do you think that teenagers get a lot of their bad behaviour from tv and movies?
A: Maybe some of it. I think a lot of people blame TV and movies when the real problem is that the parents aren’t bringing their child up correctly.
B: Parents have a difficult job. They have to bring up their children and usually have to work too.
A: Yes, that’s fine. Your son is doing well at school, isn’t he?
B: yes, he is. He’s very hardworking when he’s at school. Then he comes home from school and does homework before dinner. After dinner, he goes out with his friends.
A: So, he’s not a bookworm? It’s good that he has an outgoing personality⁷. Some kids are very quiet and introverted. You wonder they’ll survive in the real world without their parents to support them.

words
Polite extrovert careless innocent impolite aggressive friendly frank kind ambitious unfriendly honest energetic serious relaxed shy quiet noisy outgoing careful thoughtful curious funny stubborn arrogant reliable jealous sociable