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Reading Worksheet

One Decision, One Family

B2 Mixed Conditionals: Past Decisions and Present Family Life Family and Relationships 20 minutes
Before You Read

Discuss these questions with a partner before you read.

  • Can you think of one decision — yours or a family member's — that changed the direction of your life?
  • Do you think people usually end up where they are meant to be? Or is life mostly shaped by chance?
  • Have you ever moved to a new city or country? How did it change your life?
  • Is it ever difficult to choose between career ambitions and family responsibilities?
Key Vocabulary
Word Definition Example
transfer (v./n.) to move someone from one job location to another; the act of moving The company decided to transfer Lan from Hanoi to their London office.
assign (v.) to officially give someone a particular job or responsibility She was assigned to the London office for a two-year project.
ageing (adj.) growing older, often used to describe parents who need more support She stayed in Cork to look after her ageing parents.
ambition (n.) a strong desire to achieve success or reach a goal She chose family over ambition and has never regretted it.
insight (n.) a clear and deep understanding of something The article shares a common insight: one decision can change everything.
unrecognisable (adj.) so changed that you cannot identify it as the same thing Without that transfer letter, their life today would be unrecognisable.
Reading Text
Magazine Article ~305 words

One Decision, One Family

Most families, if they think carefully, can trace their entire existence back to a single moment. A meeting on a train. A job application sent at the last minute. A decision not to move abroad. Two families share the one past decision that made them who they are.

Lan and David Nguyen live in south London with their three children. They met in 2009, after Lan's company transferred her from Hanoi to its London office. 'If the company had not moved me to London, I would not be married to David now,' Lan says. 'Our three children would not exist. If I had stayed in Hanoi, I would probably be working for a different company and living a completely different life — one I cannot really imagine.'

David agrees. 'If Lan had not been assigned to our London office, we would never have met. Our whole life — this house, these children — exists because of one transfer letter. I sometimes look at our kids and think: that letter made you possible.'

Kate and Rory Brennan live in Cork, Ireland. Kate turned down a job in New York at 27 to stay near her ageing parents. At the time, it felt like a sacrifice. 'If I had taken that job, I would not be living here now,' she says. 'I might be successful in a different way, but I would not have been there when my mother was ill. If I had chosen ambition over family, I would not be the person I am today.'

Rory adds simply: 'I would not have met Kate if she had not come back to Cork. Our family would not exist.'

These two families share one insight: a single decision in the past can make the present entirely unrecognisable. And yet, looking at what they have built, neither family seems to wish it had been different.

Notice the Grammar

Look at this sentence from the article: 'If the company had not moved me to London, I would not be married to David now.' The if-clause describes the past. The result clause describes the present. What tenses are used in each clause?

1 Reading for Gist

Answer each question in a few words or a short phrase.

  1. What do both families have in common?
  2. Why did Kate decide not to take the job in New York?
  3. What does the article suggest about the families' feelings towards their past choices?
2 Reading for Detail

Write short answers based on the article.

  1. Where did Lan live before she moved to London?
  2. What does David mean when he says the transfer letter 'made you possible'?
  3. How old was Kate when she turned down the New York job?
  4. Which sentence best describes Kate's feelings when she made her decision?  a) She was excited and certain she was making the right choice. b) She felt it was a sacrifice at the time. c) She immediately regretted not taking the New York job. 
  5. What does Kate say she would not be if she had chosen ambition over family?
3 True, False, or Not Given

Write T (True), F (False), or NG (Not Given) for each statement. If False, correct the statement.

  1. Lan and David Nguyen have two children.
  2. Lan's company sent her to London on a permanent contract.
  3. David thinks about the transfer letter when he looks at his children.
  4. Kate's mother was ill after Kate returned to Cork.
  5. Rory Brennan was originally from New York.
4 Vocabulary in Context

Answer the following questions about words and phrases from the article.

  1. Lan says she would be 'living a completely different life — one I cannot really imagine'. What does this suggest?  a) Her life in London is very similar to the one she would have had in Hanoi. b) Her present life feels so right that an alternative is genuinely hard to picture. c) She has tried to imagine her alternative life but finds it upsetting. 
  2. Kate says she would be 'successful in a different way' if she had taken the New York job. What kind of success is she contrasting with her present life?
  3. Find a word or phrase in the final paragraph that means 'completely impossible to recognise as the same'. 
  4. The article opens: 'Most families can trace their entire existence back to a single moment.' What does 'trace back to' mean here? Write your own explanation.
5 Grammar in Context

Complete these activities about mixed conditionals.

  1. Find four mixed conditional sentences from the article. Write the full sentence each time.
    a)  b)  c)  d) 
  2. Lan says: 'If I had stayed in Hanoi, I would probably be working for a different company.' The if-clause describes something in the past; the result describes the present. Explain why a mixed conditional is used here, not a third conditional.
  3. In a mixed conditional: the if-clause uses _____ ; the result clause uses _____.  a) Past simple / would + infinitive. b) Past perfect / would + infinitive (with present meaning). c) Past perfect / would have + past participle. 
  4. Rewrite the following as mixed conditionals. (a) 'Kate did not take the New York job. She lives in Cork now.' → 'If Kate _____ the job, she _____ in Cork now.' (b) 'The company transferred Lan. David and Lan are married.' → 'If the company _____ not _____ Lan, David and Lan _____ not _____ married now.'
  5. Write three mixed conditional sentences about a decision a family member, friend, or you yourself made in the past that still affects your life now.
Personal Response — Discuss with a partner

Discuss these questions with a partner. Share one idea with the class.

  1. Can you identify one decision in your family's history that, if it had been different, would mean your life today would be completely different?
  2. Do you think it is better to choose ambition or family when you have to choose? Is it always a choice?
  3. The article says neither family 'seems to wish it had been different'. Do you think most people feel this way about their lives? Why or why not?

Answer Key

One Decision, One Family — B2 — Mixed Conditionals: Past Decisions and Present Family Life

Exercise 1 — Reading for Gist

  1. Each family's present life can be traced back to one key past decision.
  2. She wanted to stay near her ageing parents in Cork.
  3. Neither family seems to wish it had been different — they are content with the lives they have built.

Exercise 2 — Reading for Detail

  1. Hanoi (Vietnam).
  2. He is speaking to his children — without the letter bringing Lan to London, he would never have met her and they would not have been born.
  3. 27.
  4. b)
  5. She would not be the person she is today.

Exercise 3 — True, False, or Not Given

  1. F — They have three children.
  2. NG — The article says she was transferred to the London office but does not state whether the contract was permanent.
  3. T — 'I sometimes look at our kids and think: that letter made you possible.'
  4. T — 'I would not have been there when my mother was ill.'
  5. F — The article says Rory is from Cork — he met Kate when she returned there. No connection to New York is stated.

Exercise 4 — Vocabulary in Context

  1. b)
  2. She is contrasting professional or career success (in New York) with personal and family-based fulfilment (in Cork). She implies that the New York version of success would have come at the cost of her family life.
  3. unrecognisable
  4. 'Trace back to' means to follow a line of cause and effect backwards in time until you reach the original starting point. Here it means: if you follow the story of a family backwards, you will usually find one moment or decision that made everything else possible.

Exercise 5 — Grammar in Context

  1. Any four of the following: 'If the company had not moved me to London, I would not be married to David now.'; 'If I had stayed in Hanoi, I would probably be working for a different company and living a completely different life.'; 'If Lan had not been assigned to our London office, we would never have met.'; 'If I had taken that job, I would not be living here now.'; 'If I had chosen ambition over family, I would not be the person I am today.'; 'I would not have met Kate if she had not come back to Cork.'
  2. A third conditional would use 'would have + past participle' in the result: 'I would probably have worked for a different company' — this would describe a past result. But Lan's point is that the past decision is still affecting her NOW. 'I would be working' is a present result. The mixed conditional connects a past cause to a present consequence, which is exactly what Lan's sentence needs.
  3. b)
  4. (a) If Kate had taken the job, she would not be living in Cork now. (b) If the company had not transferred Lan, David and Lan would not be married now.
  5. Answers will vary. Answers will vary. Check: if + had + past participle (unreal or real past condition) → would / might + base infinitive

Notice the Grammar — suggested answers

Accept any five correct examples from the article that use the target grammar. Students should be able to explain why the grammar is used in each case.

Personal Response

Answers will vary. This section is for spoken discussion or short written response. There are no single correct answers.