Page 101 - English Vocabulary in Use Pre Intermediate

ay Ages and stages

Growing up

Age Stage
0-1 approximately a baby
1-2 a toddler
2-12 approximately a child — this period is your childhood
13-17 approximately a teenager (14 = early teens)
18+ an adult
20-30 in your twenties (24-26 = mid twenties)
30-40 in your thirties (38 = late thirties)
40+ people are middle-aged; in middle age
60 or 65 retirement (= when people stop work; they are retired)
75+ old age (you can also use elderly)
Note: For boys, the period between 14-17 approximately (slightly younger for girls) is
called adolescence, i.e. you are an adolescent. In law you are an adult at the age of 18, but
many people think of you as an adult when you leave school.

Childhood and adolescence

Sam (on the right) was born in Scotland but
when he was two, his father got a new job in
London and he grew up in the south of England.
He went to university at 18 where he ...

Romance
... where he met Anthea. He went out with
her (= she was his girlfriend; he was her
boyfriend) for three years, but towards the
end they had lots of rows (= arguments) and
they split up (= broke up / separated). In
his mid twenties ...

Marriage
... in his mid twenties he met Maureen. They
fell in love and got married within six months.
A year later she got pregnant and they had their
first child, a boy. As you can see, she is now
expecting their second child (to be pregnant =
to be expecting a baby). But sadly Sam met
another woman and he left Maureen two months
ago to live with the other woman.

98 English Vocabulary in Use (pre-intermediate & intermediate)