Blink Activity | BlinkLearning

1B Fake it until you feel it

/useruploads/ctx/a/93741540/r/s/24449759/per_bre_sb_int_u01_track04_191587.mp3?idcurso=1624720 'Say cheese!' In English-speaking countries, this is what you say to people to make them smile before you take their photo. 'Service with a smile' is a common message for shop assistants and receptionists. Workers in call centres are even told to smile so they sound friendly when they speak to customers on the phone! The idea is that callers will notice if the phone operators aren't smiling. But why should we want people to smile?

We've always known that smiling can express enjoyment, affection or friendliness, but we're learning more and more about facial expressions, and realizing that their effect on our relationships is more powerful than that.

We know that smiling helps us connect with other people in social situations and get out of arguments and embarrassing situations. We know from studies that smiling regularly may even increase the chances of living longer. In fact, it's such an important part of being human that we start it very young. You probably started smiling to show your happiness when you were just a few weeks old, but you've known how to smile for even longer. Unborn babies get used to moving their facial muscles by smiling, in the same way they practise kicking using their leg muscles. And we aren't the only animals that smile to communicate happiness – chimpanzees do it, too, suggesting that smiling existed before we did!

Have you ever been in this situation: you are angry with a friend but you can't stay angry because they're smiling at you? This is because smiles pass from person to person, and it's hard not to smile back. We actually lose some control of our own facial muscles when we look at someone smiling at us. When this happens, we automatically copy their expression, and smiling like them may actually help us understand their emotions better.

Being happy makes us smile, of course. But smiling also makes us happy. Scientists can take pictures of the brain to see what happens when a person is happy.

They see the same effect when the person smiles, whether they're really happy or not. So a smile isn't just a sign to others; it is also a message to our brain telling it to feel happy. One study showed that a smile can have the same positive effect on the brain as eating 2,000 bars of chocolate! So, even if you're feeling depressed, a fake smile can make all the difference. If you know someone who's always smiling, perhaps they're using it to control their emotions. Why not control your emotions the same way? If you sometimes feel sad, worried or angry, try smiling. You might feel better.

VOCABULARY BUILDING Suffixes

We can make nouns from adjectives by adding suffixes.

adjective

suffix

noun

embarrassed

+ ment

embarrassment

friendly

+ ness

friendliness

depressed

+ ion

depression

Write nouns using -ment, -ness or -ion. Use a dictionary if necessary.

1 nervous

2 sad

3 excited

4 disappointed

5 happy

6 exhausted

7 confused

8 lonely

Complete the sentences with a noun or an adjective from Exercise 1.

Many people say that money can't buy , but I think it helps.
I felt quite at summer camp. It was my first time away from home and I didn't know anyone.
I had to sing on my own in the show. I felt so that I couldn't sleep.
Emin worked hard at his exams. He didn't want to be a to his parents.
There was a lot of in the class. The teacher said the school trip was on Wednesday but the email said Thursday.

READING

Work in pairs. Try to make your partner smile. How easy is it? Then discuss the questions.

Look at the pairs of photos (a–c). Which smiles do you think are genuine (real)? Which smiles do you think are fake (not real)?
Why would you pretend to smile?
Are you good at recognizing genuine and fake smiles?

Make a list of things that make you smile. Compare your list with a partner.

when my team wins a match, chocolate, ...

Read the article quickly. Choose the best subtitle.

Read the article again. Are these sentences true (T) or false (F), or is the information not given (NG)?

Some workers are taught to smile when they speak to people who can't see them. T / F / NG
You could stop a disagreement by smiling. T / F / NG
People who don't smile are more likely to get ill. T / F / NG
Other animals smile for the same reasons as humans. T / F / NG
Eating chocolate has a more powerful effect on our emotions than smiling. T / F / NG
The writer of the article thinks that it's wrong to smile if we do not feel happy. T / F / NG

Summarize the article in no more than twenty words.

Smiling ...

MY PERSPECTIVE

Work in groups. Discuss the questions.

Do you think smiling really is a good way to feel better?
What do you do if you aren't feeling very happy?
Who do you think smiles more, younger or older people, women or men? Why?
Do you know anyone who smiles too much / doesn't smile enough?

CRITICAL THINKING Rhetorical questions

Work in pairs. Read the Critical thinking box and discuss the questions (1–4).

Rhetorical questions are used to make a point, but a reply is not expected. They are often used to:

tell readers what information they can expect to read.
emphasize a point.
make a suggestion.
persuade.
help readers relate the text to their own experience.

Look at the title of the article and list all the reasons the writer gives for why people smile.
Why is it a good idea to have a question as a title?

There are three more questions in the article. Underline them. Match the questions with three of the functions in the Critical thinking box.

Write a question to include in the article for one of the other two functions.

Read about the 'Pan Am smile'. Then look at the photos again. Can you find the fake smiles more easily?

The 'Pan Am smile' is named after the flight attendants with this old American airline. They were famous for their friendly customer service and for always smiling at the passengers. Everyone knew that these smiles weren't genuine but they were an expression of friendliness and had a positive effect on the passengers.

We all use Pan Am smiles because there are many situations where showing unhappiness would be rude. Smiling has the important social function of keeping people happy.

But how can you tell the difference between a genuine smile and a fake smile? In the nineteenth century, French scientist Guillaume Duchenne noticed that we use two sets of facial muscles to smile: around the mouth and eyes. Pan Am smiles only use the mouth, so the secret is to look at the eyes.

,
You have completed the lesson!

Below is the time you have spent on the activity and the score you obtained.

Time spent

Score

How can we help you?

Couldn't find what you were looking for?

Please describe the issue you are experiencing and provide as many details as possible. Let us know the book, class, access device, licence code, username, used browser or if it occcurs in our app:

1B Fake it until you feel it

VOCABULARY BUILDING Suffixes

READING

CRITICAL THINKING Rhetorical questions