General English Level 4 V 3
UNIT 01 The media TOPIC 04 On air
LANGUAGE FOCUS 02 Opinions

1. Asking about opinions

The announcer asks:
So do you think that the media caused Diana's death?
David Summers answers:
Yes, definitely.

The announcer asks:
Jackie, what's your opinion on the subject?
Jackie North answers:
Well, I don't believe that the paparazzi caused Diana's death.

When we ask about opinions we can say Do you think that …? or
What's your opinion of/ on…? or What do you think of/about …?

Do you think (that) the media should follow famous people?
What's your opinion of the media?
on the subject/topic/issue?
What do you think of the media?
about Diana's death?

Examples

1 Read the examples.
2 Listen to the examples.
3 Practise saying each example. Use the Pause button.
Do you think that most journalists do a good job?
Do you think we pay too much attention to famous people?
What's your opinion of newspapers in this country?
What do you think of the new magazine "Get the Gossip"?

2. Expressing opinions

Jackie North says:
I believe that people should know what happens in the lives of famous people.

When we give our opinion we can say I believe that… , I think that …
or In my opinion…
We often leave out the word " that " in speech.

I believe (that) the public has a right to know how much rich people earn.
I think (that)
In my opinion
David Summers says:
I strongly disagree!

David Summers disagrees very much with Jackie.

We can use I really disagree or I strongly disagree to express our opinion more strongly.

David Summers and Jackie North say:
Jackie North:
Oh come on , David!
…How can you say that?
David Summers: That's absolute rubbish!

David Summers and Jackie North both disagree very strongly.

When we want to disagree very strongly we sometimes say Oh come on!
How can you say that? or That's rubbish!

These are not polite ways of speaking.
We usually only say them with people we know very well.

We can disagree in different ways.
We can disagree politely or impolitely, strongly or less strongly.
Look at the grid below to see some different ways of disagreeing.


When we give our opinions we often stress some words to make our opinion stronger.

Examples

1 Read the examples.
2 Listen to the examples.
3 Practise saying each example. Stress the words in bold.
The media's job is to entertain people.
How can you say that? The media's job is to inform people.

Even rich people need their privacy.
That's rubb ish! People with lots of money don't need privacy.

Film stars earn too much money.
Oh, come on! They work really hard! They don't earn enough!

Now go to 03 LISTENING Did the media kill Diana? - task.