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Magazine Article - "Feeding the world" why we need rice http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/feeding-world-why-we-need-rice

Introduction This support pack accompanies the magazine article:

"Feeding the world" why we need rice To read or listen to the article online, go to:

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine /feeding-world-why-we-need-rice This support pack contains the following materials: 

a pre-reading vocabulary activity;



the article;



a comprehension task

Before you read / listen

Rice is low-fat and high in energy, and you can mix it with just about anything to make a wide variety of tasty nutritious dishes, ranging from sushi in Japan to risottos in northern Italy.

Match the words and phrases in the table to their definitions.

1. cultivation

2. crop

3. staple

4. drought

5. agriculture

6. prone

7. tolerance

8. thrive

9. emissions

10. yield

11. seed

12. weed

Definitions: a. the amount of crops or goods produced b. harmful gasses produced by burning fuel c. farming d. growing particular plants for food or other goods e. a small object which if planted, grows into a plant f.

a period with no rain

g. a plant’s ability to survive with poisonous pesticides h. to grow or develop well i.

a plant grown by a farmer

j.

main or standard

k. likely to suffer from a problem l.

a wild, unwanted plant

© The British Council, 2011 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

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Magazine Article - "Feeding the world" why we need rice http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/feeding-world-why-we-need-rice

"Feeding the world" why we need rice by Clare Powell Rice is low-fat and high in energy, and you can mix it with just about anything to make a wide variety of tasty nutritious dishes. Ask anyone from any country in the world to tell you their favourite rice recipe and you will get a wide selection, ranging from sushi in Japan to risottos in northern Italy. Rice is closely connected to the culture of many societies. Hindu and Buddhist religions use rice as a religious offering. Burmese folklore uses rice as a central part of their creation story; the gods gave the first people of Burma rice seeds and directed them to Burma, where the rice would grow well. A Chinese proverb says that ‘precious things are not pearls and jade but the five grains, of which rice is the finest.’ Chinese myth tells how, after severe floods, there was nothing to eat and the people were starving. One day they saw a dog coming across the fields, and hanging onto the dog’s tail were bunches of long yellow seeds. The seeds grew into rice and the people survived. The origins of rice are uncertain, because rice has been grown for so many thousands of years. In several Asian languages, the words for food and rice, or for rice and agriculture, are the same, one of the facts that points to Asia as the origin of rice. It is certain, however, that rice cultivation is one of the most important developments in history, for rice has fed more people over a longer period of time than any other crop. The demand for rice is growing steadily, with consumption stretching beyond the traditional rice growing areas in Asia. You can find rice fields in Europe, Latin America and Australia.

However, Asia is still the biggest rice producer, accounting for 90% of the world’s production and consumption of rice. Rice is a staple food for many countries. In parts of Africa and Asia, many poorer urban families get over half their daily calories from rice. As the world population increases, can rice keep up? To meet growing demands, rice production has to be raised by at least 70% over the next three decades. The area devoted to rice cultivation cannot grow, so much international research is being done to find ways of growing rice on less land. Rice needs a good water supply to grow. Water is wasted daily all over the world and estimates suggest that most Asian countries will have severe water problems by 2025. It takes 5000 litres of water to grow a kilo of rice, yet many rice growing areas in Asia and Africa are drought-prone. Scientists need to develop varieties of rice that can withstand sudden heavy rains and compete with weeds. Worryingly, rice production is affected by global climate changes. Global warming is caused by toxic gas emissions in developed countries. The rise in global temperature cuts rice-growing time, and ultra violet light radiation from the sun reduces tolerance to disease. Methane gas, one of the culprits of global warming, is, ironically, a by-product of wet lowland rice cultivation. Methane-producing bacteria thrive in wet rice fields and the plants themselves send the gas into the atmosphere. Water management could reduce methane emissions, but practical methods that do not reduce rice yields still have to be found.

© The British Council, 2011 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

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Magazine Article - "Feeding the world" why we need rice http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/feeding-world-why-we-need-rice

Comprehension task Multiple Choice Read the sentences and select the right answers. 1. Rice is produced... a. all over the world. b. only in Asia and Africa. c. only in China and Japan. 2. In Chinese mythology, people were saved from starvation by... a. a dog carrying rice in its mouth. b. a dog carrying rice seeds on its tail. c. a dog carrying rice on its tail. 3. According to a Chinese saying, rice is... a. more important than other grains but less important than pearls and jade. b. less important than other grains but more important than pearls and jade. c. more important than other grains and more important than pearls and jade. 4. 90% of rice is... a. eaten in Asia. b. eaten and produced in Asia. c. produced in Asia. 5. Rice production must increase by 70%... a. in the next three years. b. in the next thirty years. c. in the next three hundred years. 6. A by-product of rice production is methane which... a. has no effect on global warming. b. helps global warming to increase. c. stops global warming. 7. Global warming means changes in the earth’s temperatures which... a. increases the amount of time rice can grow. b. decreases the amount of time rice can grow. c. has no effect on the amount of time rice can grow.

Answers

© The British Council, 2011 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

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Podcasts – Themes – Beaches Introduction Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You’ll find more information on this page: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm

This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to in the podcast • a comprehension activity based on the article • links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (beaches). Read the article A beach by John Russell Imagine a beach; a quiet place, with only the noise of the sea and the gulls in the background. There are boats floating near the shore and a few people swimming in the water next to them. It’s a hot day, and there are some people lying on the sand enjoying the sunshine and slowly going brown. There are no shops, no people making noises, no loud music, everything is peaceful. There is just the sea, the sun, and the beach; a little paradise. Where is it? The beach is on the south coast of Scotland, near a little town called Gatehouse of Fleet in the county of Dumfries and Galloway. 22 years ago my family and I found this place for the first time and we have never really left it. Every year in the summer while other people go on holiday to foreign countries and exotic places, we go to our private paradise and relax. There is a little campsite with tents and caravans next to the beach, and this becomes our home for one month every year. Growing up For a child a beach is a wonderful place. Here I found lots of space to run and play on the sand or to swim in the water. Being a campsite there were always lots of other families with children to play with. Another of my favourite activities was climbing on the rocks and cliffs around the beach. Rock pools were very educational places where I used to study the little fish and sea animals. Silence was also important; at school I was always surrounded by people and noise but the beach gave me the chance to be on my own and think, or read, away from anyone else.

Storms Although the sea can be beautiful, this beach is sometimes a dangerous place to be. When the weather is bad there are often storms with strong winds. When this happens the waves can get up to 2-3 metres high – definitely not weather for swimming. Every year some of the boats anchored on the beach are lost because the sea is so rough. I remember holding down our tent to stop the wind blowing it away on many occasions! However, if the waves weren’t too high all the children (and some adults) used to go swimming in life jackets, as it was very exciting.

An interesting hobby Sailing is a very serious activity in the UK, this beach is no different. There are large racing boats for three or more people, smaller boats (such as the Topper) for just one or two people, fishing boats and windsurfers. In fact people on this beach are willing to try any type of watersport; water skiing, speed boating, even the recent sport of sail surfing is becoming popular. Over the years my family has had 4 different Page 1 of 3

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Podcasts – Themes – Beaches boats, from a small Topper to a large Caprice for racing. We have sailed, raced, and fished off the boats, and have even capsized in bad weather a few times.

Galloway can be seen. Lots of photographers and artists come to the area (also known as the Solway) because they can capture such beautiful scenery.

Surroundings If this beach had been next to a town or near a popular tourist area I don’t think we would have continued going there. But its location is very beautiful indeed. It’s in the middle of green countryside with many different types of plants and flowers, and in the background the hills of

A refuge Even after 22 years, the beach is still a sanctuary for me. It’s a place away from the rest of the world where I can forget about life’s problems, and just relax. In today’s modern, busy world, everyone should have a place like this.

Glossary Anchor (v): to make something or someone stay in one position by fastening them firmly Campsite (n): a piece of land where people on holiday can camp, usually with toilets and places for washing Capsized (v): to (cause a boat or ship to) turn upside down accidentally while on water Capture (v): to record or take a picture of something using a camera Caravan (n): a wheeled vehicle for living or travelling in, especially for holidays, which contains beds and cooking equipment and can be pulled by a car Cliff (n): a high area of rock with a very steep side, often on a coast Float (v): to stay on the surface of a liquid and not sink Gulls (n): a sea bird with black and white or grey and white feathers

Life Jacket (n): a piece of equipment, like a jacket without sleeves, which is filled with air or light material and designed to help someone float if they fall into water Paradise (n): a place or condition of great happiness where everything is exactly as you would like it to be Refuge (n): (a place which gives) protection or shelter from danger, trouble, unhappiness, etc Rock pool (n): a small area of sea water contained by the rocks around it Sanctuary (n): protection or a safe place Tent (n): a shelter made of cloth, which you can fold up and carry with you and which is supported by poles and ropes Water-sport (n): sports which take place on or in water

After reading Exercise 1: Answer the 10 questions below about the text. 1.

Where is the beach?

2.

How long has the author been going there?

3.

What's the name of the nearest town?

4.

What is next to the beach?

5.

Where can you study sea creatures?

6.

In bad weather what do people wear to swim?

7.

What is a Caprice?

8.

What new sport can be tried on the beach?

9.

Why is the area popular with artists?

10.

Why does the author keep returning to the beach?

Page 2 of 3 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Podcasts – Themes – Beaches

More activities on this topic You’ll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of beaches at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-charities-beaches.htm • Word game: Beach. Find 10 words related to the beach in this word square. • Story: The Golden Boys. A bored teenager cannot take any more of the golden boys after twelve years of humiliation on holidays. • Trivia: Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about beaches. • There are also 2 beach-related cartoons and some carefully selected external links. Answers Exercise 1: 1. In Dumfries and Galloway (Scotland); 2. 22 years; 3. Gatehouse of Fleet; 4. A campsite; 5. Rock Pools; 6. Life Jackets; 7. A sailing boat; 8. Sail surfing; 9. It has beautiful scenery; 10. Because of the peace and quiet

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Magazine – Archaeology Introduction You can listen to a recording of this article at: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine-articles/archaeology This support pack contains the following materials: • a pre-reading vocabulary activity • the article that you can listen to • a comprehension activity • an activity that practises 'reference words' Before you read Activity 1 Match the words and phrases at the top to their definitions. a. decompose

b. evidence

c. forensic

d. mind-boggling

e. preserved

f.

remains

g. sacrificed

h. sink

i.

j.

throat

sticking out

1. applying scientific methods to solving a crime 2. data on which to base proof 3. decay, break into smaller parts 4. extremely surprising, difficult to understand 5. go down below the surface 6. going above the surface of something 7. kept in its original condition 8. killed and offered to the gods 9. parts of something that still exist when the rest has been destroyed 10. space inside neck where food and air go Read the article Archaeology by Paul Millard Archaeology, like many academic words, comes from Greek and means, more or less, ‘the study of old things’. So, it is really a part of the study of history. However, most historians use paper evidence, such as letters, documents, paintings and photographs, but archaeologists learn from the objects left behind by the humans of long ago. Normally, these are the hard materials that don’t decompose or disappear very quickly – things like human bones and skeletons, objects made from stone and metal, and ceramics. Sometimes, archaeologists and historians work together. Take, for example, the study of the Romans, who dominated the Mediterranean area and much of Europe two thousand years ago. We know a lot about them from their writing, and

some of their most famous writers are still quoted in English. We also know a lot about them from what they made, from their coins to their buildings. Archaeologists have worked on Roman remains as far apart as Hadrian’s Wall in the north of England and Leptis Magna in Libya. Of course, for much of human history, there are no written documents at all. Who were the first humans, and where did they come from? This is a job for the archaeologists, who have found and dated the bones and objects left behind. From this evidence, they believe that humans first appeared in Africa and began moving to other parts of the world about 80,000 years ago. The movement of our ancestors across the planet has been mapped from their remains – humans went Page 1 of 5

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Magazine – Archaeology to Australia about 70,000 years ago, but have been in South America for just 15,000 years. The evidence of archaeology has helped to show the shared origin and history of us all.

acid preserved the man’s skin in the way that animal skin is preserved for leather coats and shoes. How did he die? Understandably, archaeologists and other scientists wanted to know more about the person that they called, ‘Lindow Man’. His hands and fingernails suggested that he hadn’t done heavy manual work in his life– he could have been a rich man or a priest. They found that he hadn’t died by accident. The forensic examination revealed that he had been hit on the head three times and his throat was cut with a knife. Then a rope was tightened around his neck. As if that wasn’t enough, he was then thrown into the bog.

It is very unusual to find anything more than the hard evidence of history – normally, the bacteria in the air eat away at soft organic material, like bodies, clothes and things made of wood. Occasionally, things are different. A mind-boggling discoveryIn 1984, two men made an amazing discovery while working in a bog called Lindow Moss, near Manchester in the north of England. A bog is a very wet area of earth, with a lot of plants growing in it. It can be like a very big and very thick vegetable soup – walk in the wrong place and you can sink and disappear forever. After hundreds of years, the dead plants can compress together and make ‘peat’, which is like soil, but is so rich in energy that it can be burned on a fire, like coal. The men were cutting the peat when one of them saw something sticking out – a human foot! Naturally, the men called the police, who then found the rest of the body. Was it a case of murder? Possibly – but it was a death nearly two thousand years old. The two men had found a body from the time of the Roman invasion of Celtic Britain. Despite being so old, this body had skin, muscles, hair and internal organs – the scientists who examined him were able to look inside the man’s stomach and find the food that he had eaten for his last meal! Why was this man so well preserved? It was because he was in a very watery environment, safe from the bacteria that need oxygen to live. Also, the water in the bog was very acidic. The

So, Lindow Man was killed using three different methods, when just one would have been sufficient. The archaeologists believe that he was sacrificed to three different Celtic gods, called Taranis, Esus and Teutates. Each god required a different form of death. A sacrifice to Teutates required drowning, which is why he was found in the bog. Nobody can tell the complete story of Lindow Man. The Romans said that the Celts made sacrifices every May to make sure that there was enough food that year. Was he a typical ‘routine’ sacrifice? An archaeologist called Anne Ross has suggested that Lindow Man was a special case. Why would an important man be sacrificed to three gods? Perhaps it was in response to the Roman invasion of Britain, which started in the year AD 43, close to the time that Lindow Man died. He might have been killed to gain the help of the gods against the Romans. It didn’t work. The Romans stayed in Britain for four hundred years and Lindow Man stayed in his bog for two thousand. Say hello to Lindow ManIf you visit London, you can go and see Lindow Man at the British Museum, where he is spending some time in the company of more famous mummies from Egypt. Whereas the bodies of the Egyptian kings and queens were intentionally preserved, Lindow Man is with us by accident. Whatever his origins, it is a fascinating experience to see him face to face. I recommend it.

Page 2 of 5 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Magazine – Archaeology

After reading Activity 2 Choose the correct answer to each question. From which language does the word archaeology come from? a. Greek b. Celtic When did humans arrive in Australia? a. 70,000 years ago b. 15,000 years ago Soft, organic material normally does what? a. Decompress b. Decompose Where is Manchester? a. In the north of England b. In the south What was Lindow Man’s ethnic group? a. Roman b. Celtic He was put into the water to please which god? a. Teutates b. Taranis When did the Romans invade Britain? a. AD 43 b. AD 34 How long did the Romans stay in Britain for? a. Four hundred years b. Two thousand years Which city is Lindow Man in now? a. Manchester b. London c. Rome What is the name of the museum? a. The British b. The Celtic c. The Egyptian

Page 3 of 5 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Magazine – Archaeology Activity 3 In each of the questions there are words in bold. Decide in each case what these words refer to by selecting the correct answer. 1. ‘Archaeology, like many academic words, comes from Greek and means, more or less, ‘the study of old things’. So, it is really a part of the study of history.’ What does ‘it’ refer to? a.

Greek

b. archaeology

c. academic words

2. ‘...but archaeologists learn from the objects left behind by the humans of long ago. Normally, these are the hard materials that don’t decompose or disappear very quickly…’ What does ‘these’ refer to? a.

archaeologists

b. humans

c. objects

3. 'Take, for example, the study of the Romans, who dominated the Mediterranean area and much of Europe two thousand years ago. We know a lot about them from their writing…' What does ‘them’ refer to? a.

the Romans

b. the Mediterranean area

c. two thousand years

4. ‘This is a job for the archaeologists, who have found and dated the bones and objects left behind. From this evidence…’ What does ‘this evidence’ refer to? a.

the bones

b. the objects

c. the bones and the objects left behind

5. ‘…one of them saw something sticking out – a human foot! Naturally, the men called the police, who then found the rest of the body.’ What does ‘who’ refer to? a.

a human foot

b. the men

c.

the police

6. ‘Despite being so old, this body had skin, muscles, hair and internal organs – the scientists who examined him were able to look inside’ What does ‘him’ refer to? a.

skin

b. this body

c. hair

7. ‘So, Lindow Man was killed using three different methods, when just one would have been sufficient.’ What does ‘one’ refer to? a.

method

b. Lindow Man

c. being killed

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Magazine – Archaeology 8. ‘He might have been killed to gain the help of the gods against the Romans. It didn’t work.’ What does ‘It’ refer to? a.

Lindow Man

b. the help of the Gods

c. being killed

9. ‘Lindow Man is with us by accident. Whatever his origins, it is a fascinating experience to see him face to face. I recommend it.’ What does ‘it’ refer to? a.

seeing him face to face

b. Lindow man

c. being with us by accident

Answers Activity 1: 1. c; 2. b; 3. a; 4. d; 5. h; 6. i; 7. e; 8. g; 9. f; 10. j Activity 2: 1. a; 2. a; 3. b; 4. a; 5. b; 6. a; 7. a; 8. a; 9. b; 10. a Activity 3: 1. b; 2. c; 3. a; 4. c; 5. c; 6. b; 7. a; 8. c; 9. a

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Magazine – Awards Introduction You can listen to a recording of this article at: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/magazine-articles/awards This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to • a comprehension activity based on the article Read the article Awards by Chris Rose The Nobels are the originals, of course. Alfred Nobel, the man who invented deadly explosives, decided to try and do something good with all the money he earned, and gave prizes to people who made progress in literature, science, economics and – perhaps most importantly – peace. Not all awards are as noble as the Nobels. Even though most countries have a system for recognising, honouring and rewarding people who have done something good in their countries, there are now hundreds of awards and awards ceremonies for all kinds of things. The Oscars are probably the most famous, a time for the (mostly) American film industry to tell itself how good it is, an annual opportunity for lots of big stars to give each other awards and make tearful speeches. As well as that there are also the Golden Globes, apparently for the same thing. But it’s not only films – now there are also Grammies, Brits, the Mercury Prize and the MTV and Q awards for music. In Britain, a writer who wins the Booker prize can expect to see their difficult, literary novel hit the bestseller lists and compete with "The Da Vinci Code” for popularity. The Turner Prize is an award for a British contemporary artist – each year it causes controversy by aparently giving lots of money to artists who do things like display their beds, put animals in glass cases or – this year – build a garden shed. Awards don’t only exist for the arts. There are now awards for Sports Personality of the Year, for European Footballer of the year and World Footballer of the Year. This seems very strange – sometimes awards can be good to give recognition to people who deserve it, or to help

people who don’t make a lot of money carry on their work without worrying about finances, but professional soccer players these days certainly aren’t short of cash!

Many small towns and communities all over the world also have their own awards ceremonies, for local writers or artists, or just for people who have graduated from high school or got a university degree. Even the British Council has its own awards for “Innovation in English Language Teaching”. Why have all these awards and ceremonies appeared recently? Shakespeare never won a prize, nor did Leonardo da Vinci or Adam Smith or Charles Dickens. It would be possible to say, however, that in the past, scientists and artists could win “patronage” from rich people – a king or a lord would give the artist or scientist money to have them paint their palaces or help them develop new ways of making money. With the change in social systems across the world, this no longer happens. A lot of scientific research is now either funded by the state or by private companies. Page 1 of 2

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Magazine – Awards Perhaps awards ceremonies are just the most recent face of this process. However, there is more to it than that. When a film wins an Oscar, many more people will go and see it, or buy the DVD. When a writer wins the Nobel prize, many more people buy their books. When a group win the MTV awards, the ceremony is seen by hundreds of thousands of people across the world. The result? The group sell lots more records.

it is not only the person who wins the award who benefits – but also the sponsors. The MTV awards, for example, are great for publicising not only music, but also MTV itself! On the surface, it seems to be a “win-win” situation, with everyone being happy, but let me ask you a question – how far do you think that publicity and marketing are winning here, and how much genuine recognition of achievement is taking place?

Most awards ceremonies are now sponsored by big organisations or companies. This means that After reading Match the two parts of the sentences. 1. The Nobel prize is awarded for 2. The Oscars 3. Golden Globes 4. There are lots of awards for 5. The Booker prize 6. The Turner Prize 7. World Footballer of the Year 8. “Patronage” 9. Governments and private companies 10. When people win awards 11. The MTV awards 12. The writer asks a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l.

are almost the same as another important prize are given to (usually) American film stars and directors can help someone who is not usually successful become successful if people are really being given credit for what they have done is a prize given to someone who doesn’t really need a prize music – for example, the Grammies, the Brits, the Mercury Prize and the MTV and Q awards now fund most scientific research often confuses the public by giving a prize to people who do unusual things publicise the people who are giving them more than the people who win them they usually become richer and more famous valuable contributions to human knowledge was perhaps an old-fashioned form of prize-giving

Answers: 1. k; 2. b; 3. a; 4. f; 5. c; 6. h; 7. e; 8. l; 9. g; 10. j; 11. i; 12. d Page 2 of 2 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Magazine Article - Be your own investigative journalist http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/be-your-own-investigative-journalist

Introduction This support pack accompanies the magazine article:

Be your own investigative journalist To read or listen to the article online, go to: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/ be-your-own-investigative-journalist This support pack contains the following materials: 

a pre-reading vocabulary activity;



the article;



a comprehension task

We are often told that the age of the "information economy" has arrived. But there is a problem with information as an organising principle in society. It only counts if people pay attention to it.

Before you read / listen Match the words and phrases in the table to their definitions.

1. armed with

2. claim

3. compile

4. definitely

5. eye-witness

6. fabricated

7. news-gatherer

8. scoop

9. the source

10. subcontractors

11. tycoon

12. web log

Definitions: a. a person or organisation that collects news information b. a diary which is regularly published on the internet, often shortened to “blog” c. the place where something comes from d. a successful business person who owns a number of different companies e. equipped with, carrying f.

certainly, without a doubt

g. demand, asking for something that you think you have a right to h. a person who sees something happening with their own eyes i.

put together

j.

an exclusive story that only one journalist knows about

k. invented, untrue, made-up l.

people who carry out part of a job for the person who sells the finished product

© The British Council, 2011 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

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Magazine Article - Be your own investigative journalist http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/be-your-own-investigative-journalist

Be your own investigative journalist by John Kuti the press. In the book, everyone was sure that the

News in the age of information

real story was happening somewhere else - but they We are often told that the age of the “information

weren’t exactly sure how to get there. Nowadays, the

economy” has arrived. The idea is that intellectual

journalist who arrives in the right place at the right

work is becoming a more important source of wealth

time is almost guaranteed a world exclusive. Armed

than manufacturing. There are already too many

with digital cameras and satellite phones, they can

factories for the number of people who want to buy

file their story on the spot. Which is why the military

stuff, so the winners in the marketplace need to have

control the movements of journalists ever more

a lead in terms of fashion, or technology to beat the

closely.

competition. You can easily see this process at work in important industries like cars and clothing and

Don’t believe everything you read

computers

in the papers

where

big

companies

prefer

to

concentrate on promoting their brand and let subcontractors do the less profitable work of

The best joke in Scoop is about the newspaper’s

manufacturing the products.

owner, Lord Copper. The editors can never disagree with him. When he’s right about something they

But there is a problem with information as an organising principle in society. It only counts if people pay attention to it. Together with inventors and designers, the information economy needs Public Relations executives to make sure customers

answer “definitely”, and when he’s wrong they say “up to a point, Lord Copper.” It seems reasonable to suppose that, in the real world, the opinions of such powerful tycoons still influence the journalists and editors who work for them.

are getting the right message. So, faced with the increasing claims on our attention, organisations in other spheres of life have to do more to get their share of it too. So PR people may work for politicians (then we call them “spin doctors”) or they may work for artists (then we call them “publicists” or “pluggers”.) A lot of our news is actually compiled from

press

releases

and

reports

of

events

deliberately staged for journalists. Journalists spend their time, not investigating, but passing on the words of

a

spokesperson,

publicist

or

other

professional propagandist.

Quoting from Evelyn Waugh

Info-tainment In countries where the news is not officially controlled, it is likely to be provided by commercial organisations who depend on advertising. The news has to attract viewers and maintain its audience ratings. I suspect that some stories get air-time just because there happen to be exciting pictures to show. In Britain, we have the tabloid newspapers which

millions

of

people

read

simply

for

entertainment, without even expecting to get any important information from them. I think this is why politicians’ speeches nowadays have to include a “sound bite” the small segment that seems to give a

The manipulation of news is most clearly visible in times of war. A BBC journalist speaking about the present war in Iraq compared his situation with that of the reporters in Scoop, Waugh’s satirical novel on

powerful message. There is progressively less room for historical background, or statistics, which are harder to present as a sensational story. The arrival

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Magazine Article - Be your own investigative journalist http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/be-your-own-investigative-journalist

of CNN, the 24-hour all-news channel, has not

I think this is true, up to a point. But what it will mean

increased the amount of real news reporting

also is that we’ll be subjected to a still greater

because the format of the channel is designed so

amount of nonsense and lies. Any web log may

that people who want to get the headlines will not

contain the scoop of the year, or equally, a fabricated

have to wait long. It tends to concentrate on the main

story that you will never be able to check.

story and repeat it.

Alternative reporters There is an argument that with spreading access to the internet and cheap technology for recording sound and images we will all be able to find exactly the information we want. People around the world will be able to publish their own eye-witness accounts and compete with the established newsgatherers on something like equal terms.

Have you ever wished you were better informed? Maybe the time has come to do something about it, and I don’t just mean changing your choice of TV channel or newspaper. In a world where everyone wants you to listen to their version, you only have two choices: switch off altogether or start looking for sources you can trust. The investigative journalist of the future is everyone who wants to know the truth.

Comprehension task Multiple Choice Read the statements below and choose the correct answers. 1. In the "information economy" the quantity of goods on sale: a. is not enough to give everyone what they want b. is more than what everyone wants c. is exactly right for the number of people who want to buy things 2. A "spin doctor" usually works for: a. a big company that manufactures things like cars or computers b. a political party or a politician c. an artist or entertainer 3. In modern wars journalists ... a. can't find the places where the important events are happening b. can't communicate the information they find c. can't go to the places where the important events are happening 4. In the novel by Evelyn Waugh, Lord Copper is a. a media tycoon b. an editor c. a journalist 5. The author thinks that tabloid newspapers are a. entertaining b. informative c. a mixture of information and entertainment - "info-tainment"

Answers

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http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish

LearnEnglish Central Articles BILINGUALISM by Jo Bertrand Being the mother of two potentially bilingual children (the youngest is only three months old) and the teacher of French and English bilingual children, the subject of bilingualism is very important to me. In fact we have recently moved to China and are now considering multilingualism. But what are the advantages of learning several languages from an early age? What are the dangers? What’s the best way to teach your child two or more languages simultaneously? I don’t suggest I have the answers here but like most mothers and teachers I certainly have a point of view! What is a bilingual child? The way I see it, being bilingual means being able to communicate almost perfectly in two languages and also knowing something about both cultures. If I take the example of my daughter it’s about being able to understand when someone is speaking another language and being able to switch automatically into speaking it with them. At two and a half she has already grasped the concept of ‘Daddy speaks French and Mummy speaks English’. She has even picked up that Bai Yuoine speaks Chinese! I think it’s very important for her to know that the cartoon character Noddy is also called Oui Oui by her friends at playgroup and that Marmite and Cadburys chocolate exist as well as croissants. This is what makes it possible for her to communicate with the people around her regardless of whether they are French or English. Why encourage bilingualism? In our case it is logical that with an English mother and French father our children should be able to speak both languages to communicate, not only with us, but with their grandparents and extended family. On a wider scale, learning two or more languages helps children to accept cultures other than their own. If speaking their mother tongue(s) at home and at school is encouraged they are more likely to enjoy their difference and view difference in general as a positive thing. How do you raise a bilingual child? There may be a dominant language and this will normally depend on the country you live in or the language your child uses most at school. However, it will also depend on what language is spoken in the home. We lived in France and spoke French at home but I always speak to my children in English. It’s imperative that the child has consistency. They know that their English auntie will always speak to them in English and that for her to understand them they should speak to her in English.

What are the dangers? It can be very difficult for people around you to support what you do. Grandparents can be upset if they don’t understand what you’re saying to their grandchild and worry that they will never be able to communicate with them. This is of course highly unlikely and you should stick to your guns. Another problem we have encountered was when our daughter refused to listen to either of us. A psychologist advised us that as there wasn’t a common language at home between the parents and child and so I should stop speaking English and spend the weekend speaking only in French. Thankfully I decided to ignore this piece of advice and persisted with my English! I also know of one child who had problems at school because his friends made fun of him. His parents eventually gave up speaking English to him. Unfortunately children can be cruel and differences whatever they may be are often a source of bullying. Differences need to be promoted and valued and celebrations such as the International Mother Language Day help to do just that. International Mother Language Day 21st February 2000 saw the first Mother Language Day celebrated internationally. However the importance of this date originated in Bangladesh where in 1952 a handful of students, now known as language martyrs, were killed in demonstrations defending Bangla, their mother language. In 1999 UNESCO decided to take this cause onto an international scale in order to encourage cultural diversity and worldwide tolerance. The Themes Each year the celebration is devoted to a different aspect of language. This has ranged from how children learn their literacy skills at school to how to preserve some of the 6000 languages that exist worldwide. One year was about developing the teaching of mother languages and in 2002 the celebration helped raise awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions around the world. Yet another year the International Mother Language Day was dedicated to Braille and Sign Language, two non-verbal languages that are an invaluable source of communication for many people around the world. A Multilingual Community It’s essential that we limit alienation throughout the world. By speaking other languages as well as your own, or having two or more mother languages, you can contribute to the creation of a global community. My contribution to this multilingual community is exposing my children to varied cultures and languages, maintaining their mother language, while trying to learn the language of the people around me. Although with my ten or so words of Mandarin I am far from being multilingual!

Magazine Article - Black sheep and the mysterious Uncle Bob http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/black-sheep-and-mysterious-uncle-bobr

Introduction This support pack accompanies the magazine article:

Black sheep and the mysterious Uncle Bob. To read or listen to the article online, go to: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/blacksheep-and-mysterious-uncle-bob This support pack contains the following materials: 

a pre-watching vocabulary activity;



the article;



a comprehension task

Before you read / listen Match the words and phrases in the table to their definitions. 1. adventurous soul

2. affectionately

3. exotic

4. fortune

5. genealogist

6. heirloom

7. mystery

8. nickname

9. nut

10. personality

11. relations

12. siege

13. talent

14. turn into

15. unique

Definitions: a. An object kept in a family and passed down from parents to children. b. Different, special, not like anything else. c.

Family members.

d. Something interesting that you can‟t find out all the facts about. e. Character. f.

Become.

g. A person who likes adventure. h. A name given to someone which is not their real name. i.

(slang) A mad person.

j.

Something which you a good at, e.g. playing a musical instrument or a particular sport.

k.

In a friendly or loving way.

l.

A person who researches family history.

m. Unusual and romantic. n. A lot of money or something worth a lot of money. o. A situation in war when an army surrounds a city and stays there for a long time.

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Magazine Article - Black sheep and the mysterious Uncle Bob http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/black-sheep-and-mysterious-uncle-bobr

Article: Black sheep and the mysterious Uncle Bob by Keith Sands I‟m an English teacher working in Russia, and for some reason I really don‟t like that classroom topic - Talk About Your Family. Perhaps it‟s because everyone studied English from the same book at school. So all the students say, “My family consists of five members. Me, my mother, my father, my brother and my dog…” And so on. As if all families are exactly the same. It‟s such a shame, because our families are unique. All families have their stories, their dramas, their private jokes, nicknames and phrases. They‟re the place where our personalities were made. How often have you heard someone with young children complain “Oh no, I think I‟m turning into my parents…”? The other day I found myself turning into one of my grandparents. I was trying to get my daughter (1 year and 8 months old) to eat her dinner and I said “That‟ll make your hair curl.” Now, I don‟t think that green vegetables give you curly hair, or even that curly hair is a great thing to have. It‟s just a phrase I heard from my Granddad a hundred times when I was small. It had stayed in my mind, half-forgotten, until the time I could use it myself. I wonder if he heard it from his own grandparents? How many other old-fashioned phrases like this stay inside families, when the rest of the world has forgotten them?

Shaking the family tree Talk about your family? “Well…they‟re just there”, we say. Our families are so ordinary to us that we even think they‟re boring. Not a bit of it! Families are the most exotic things on earth. If you dig enough in your own family, you‟re sure to come up with all the stuff you could want for a great novel. Surprising characters, dramatic or funny stories passed down for generations, or a face from the past you recognise – maybe

in your own. Someone or something unique to your family. Or, as genealogists like to say, “Shake your family tree - and watch the nuts fall out.” My mother started tracing our family tree a few years ago, not expecting to get far. But, digging in old records and libraries she got back three hundred years. She turned up old stories and a few mysteries. What happened to the big family farm? Where did the family fortune go in the 1870s? More to the point – where is it now? I‟m the traveller in my family, and I like to think I got it from a great-grandfather on my Dad‟s side. He was an adventurous soul. My two favourite family heirlooms are a photo of him on a horse in a desert landscape (1897 in Patagonia) and a postcard home from Portugal complaining that his boat was late because of the Revolution in Lisbon. “Dreadful business, they seem to have arrested the King...” he says. If you look at your family, you open a window on the past.

History in miniature Start someone talking about their family stories and they might never stop. You‟ll find the whole history of your country there, too. When my mother, still putting the family tree together, asked me for a few names from my Russian wife‟s family, my wife got on the phone to her own mother. Just to check a name or two. But they were still talking an hour later, and she‟d filled 5 pages of A4 paper. And so I was introduced to: someone who lived through the siege of Leningrad (but forgot how to read in the process), a high official in the Communist Party, and some rich relations who used to go to Switzerland for their holidays before the Revolution. There was also a black sheep of the family (or “white crow” as they say in Russian) who left his wife and

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Magazine Article - Black sheep and the mysterious Uncle Bob http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/black-sheep-and-mysterious-uncle-bobr

children and disappeared in the Civil War – though nobody in the family knows which side he fought on. All these people seemed impossibly exotic to me.

Who wears the trousers? To go back to that English class then, let‟s get rid of the phrase “my family consists of…” and look at some more interesting ways to talk about families. English is rich in idioms to talk about family life. We‟ve mentioned the black sheep of the family – that‟s someone who didn‟t fit in, or caused a family scandal. If you‟re loyal to your family, you can say blood is thicker than water or keep it in the family. If you share a talent with another family member, you can say it runs in the family. You might have your father‟s eyes or your mother‟s nose. If you‟re like one of your parents, you can say like father, like son or you can be a chip off the old block.

If you want to get more technical, you can discuss the benefits of the nuclear family : a small family, just parents and children living in the same house. If grandparents or other relatives live there too, then you have an extended family. In English we talk about the average nuclear family with the phrase 2.4 children. Then there are idioms that have left the family (flown the nest) and gone on to have a life of their own. You can‟t teach your grandmother to suck eggs. It means you can‟t tell your elders anything they don‟t know already. But why would anyone want to suck eggs anyway? Now here‟s a really strange one. A Londoner is telling someone how to get a new passport. “Get four pictures taken, pick up a form in the post office, hand it in with your old passport and …Bob‟s your uncle.” It means “the problem is solved”. But I‟d love to know who the original Bob was, and why he was such a useful uncle to have.

Who wears the trousers in your family? (Who‟s the head of your family?) You might affectionately talk about your bro, your sis or your folks (parents). Or if you like Cockney slang, what about her indoors or the missus to talk about your wife? Though both these phrases make feminists reach for their guns.

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Magazine Article - Black sheep and the mysterious Uncle Bob http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/black-sheep-and-mysterious-uncle-bobr

Comprehension task True or false Read the following sentences and decide if they are true or false. 1. The writer likes the way his students talk about their families. 2. He used a phrase he heard when he was a child. 3. He thinks families are boring. 4. His Mum found out everything she wanted to know about the family history. 5. The writer takes after his great-grandfather. 6. He was surprised at how much his mother-in-law remembered. 7. A chip off the old block means the same as black sheep of the family. 8. Only men wear the trousers in families. 9. You should be careful if you use the phrase „her indoors‟. 10. The writer has an uncle called Bob.

Answers

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Magazine Article - Building bridges http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/building-bridges

Introduction This support pack accompanies the magazine article:

Building bridges To read or listen to the article online, go to: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/ building-bridges This support pack contains the following materials: a pre-reading vocabulary activity; the article; a comprehension task

Before you read / listen Match the words and phrases in the table to their definitions. 1. old people's

home 5. crèche

2. residents

3. snoring

4. concept

6. extended family

7. retired

8. intergenerational

Definitions: a. A family unit which includes aunts, uncles, and grandparents as well as parents and children b. Having stopped working (usually because of age) c. A home for older people where they are supported (given food and help when they need it) d. A place where children can be left safely freeing parents to work, go shopping, etc... e. Idea f.

A noise made by some people when they sleep where soft tissues their person’s nose and throat vibrate

g. Involving more than one generation: children, parents, and grandparents make 3 generations h. People who live in a specific place

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Magazine Article - Building bridges http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/building-bridges

Article: Building bridges by Linda Baxter Being old is when you know all the answers, but nobody asks you the questions. (Anonymous) Six months before she died, my grandmother moved into an old people's home and I visited her there when I was in Britain. She was sitting in the living room with about fifteen other residents, mostly women, half of them asleep. The room was clean and warm, with flowers and pictures, and the care assistants were kind and cheerful. 'The Weakest Link' was on the television ('to keep their brains active' one of the assistants said), and the only other sound was snoring and embarrassing digestive noises. People only moved when they needed to be helped to the bathroom. It was depressing. Gran talked a lot about how much she missed seeing her grandchildren (my nieces aged 7 and 5), but I knew from my sister that they hated going to visit her there, and to be perfectly honest, I couldn't wait to get away myself. So I was interested to read a newspaper article about a new concept in old people's homes in France. The idea is simple, but revolutionary: combining a residential home for the elderly with a crèche/nursery school in the same building. The children and the residents eat lunch together and share activities such as music, painting, gardening, and caring for the pets which the residents are encouraged to keep. In the afternoons, the residents enjoy reading or telling stories to the children, and if a child is feeling sad or tired, there is always a kind lap to sit on and a cuddle. There are trips out and birthday parties too. The advantages are enormous for everyone concerned. The children are happy because

they get a lot more individual attention, and respond well because someone has time for them. They also learn that old people are not different or frightening in any way. And of course, they see illness and death and learn to accept them. The residents are happy because they feel useful and needed. They are more active and more interested in life when the children are around and they take more interest in their appearance too. And the staff are happy because they see an improvement in the physical and psychological health of the residents and have an army of assistants to help with the children. Nowadays there is less and less contact between the old the young. There are many reasons for this, including the breakdown of the extended family, working parents with no time to care for ageing relations, families that have moved away, and smaller flats with no room for grandparents. But the result is the same: increasing numbers of children without grandparents and old people who have no contact with children. And more old people who are lonely and feel useless, along with more and more families with young children who desperately need more support. It's a major problem in many societies. That's why intergenerational programmes, designed to bring the old and the young together, are growing in popularity all over the world, supported by UNESCO and other local and international organisations. There are examples of successful initiatives all over the world. Using young people to teach IT skills to older people is one obvious example. Using old people as volunteer assistants in schools is another, perhaps reading with children who need extra

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Magazine Article - Building bridges http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/building-bridges

attention. There are schemes which involve older people visiting families who are having problems, maybe looking after the children for a while to give the tired mother a break. Or 'adopt a grandparent' schemes in which children write letters or visit a lonely old person in their area. There are even holiday companies that specialise in holidays for children and grandparents together. One successful scheme in London pairs young volunteers with old people who are losing their sight. The young people help with practical things such as writing letters, reading bank statements and helping with shopping, and the older people can pass on their knowledge and experience to their young visitors. For example, a retired judge may be paired with a teenager who wants to study law. Lasting friendships often develop.

But it isn't only the individuals concerned who gain from intergenerational activities. The advantages to society are enormous too. If older people can understand and accept the youth of today, and vice versa, there will be less conflict in a community. In a world where the number of old people is increasing, we need as much understanding and tolerance as possible. Modern Western society has isolated people into age groups and now we need to rediscover what 'community' really means. And we can use the strengths of one generation to help another. Then perhaps getting old won't be such a depressing prospect after all.

© The British Council, 2010 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

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Magazine Article - Building bridges http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/building-bridges

Comprehension task Multiple choice Read the questions and choose the right answer. 1. What was wrong with the home that the writer's grandmother was in? a. The old people weren't looked after properly. b. Children weren't allowed to visit. c. The residents had no stimulation. 2. What was the new concept that the writer read about in the newspaper? a. Old people being allowed to keep pets. b. A nursery school inside an old people's home. c. Children visiting old people for lunch and birthdays. 3. Who benefits from this new type of old people's home? a. The staff. b. The staff and the old people. c. The staff, the old people, and the children. 4. What does the writer think is a major problem in society today? a. The breakdown of the extended family. b. There isn't much contact between the old and the young. c. Old people are lonely. 5. Why are intergenerational activities important nowadays? a. There will be more old people in the future. b. Western communities are isolated. c. Old people don't like young people.

Answers

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Magazine Articles - Calendars http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/magazine/calendars

Calendars Are you looking forward to summer? In Saint Petersburg, where this article was written, a day can be less than less six hours long in the middle of winter and nearly 19 hours in summer. At this time of year, you can easily see in people’s faces that they are ready for brighter, sunnier days to come round again.

Months from the moon and years from the sun To the first people it was obvious that time went in circles. The sun rises (comes up in the morning) and sets (goes down in the evening). The moon waxes (gets fatter or wider) and wanes (gets thinner or narrower). The seasons follow each other in order. These things happen because we are all going round in circles…the earth spins round in 24 hours, the moon goes around the Earth, and the Earth goes round the Sun in about 365 and a quarter days. The most natural kind of calendar comes from the sun and the moon. You can count the number of days and nights in the moon’s cycle from New Moon (when it is all dark) to Full Moon (a bright disk), and back again: 29 and a half. The basic problem for calendar makers is how to get the months (which come from the moon) to stay in synch with the years. The years all have a bit more than 12 New Moons in them. Maybe you read about the Chinese New Year in Claire Powell’s article in January. If you did, you already know that some years, the Chinese calendar has an extra month, so they have exactly 235 months in every period of 19 years. This article is about how the western world solved the same problem by adding an extra day in leap years (and having longer months the rest of the time.)

Days and weeks from the planets You can’t find any cycles of seven days by looking at the sky. However, the ancient world knew five planets apart from the sun and moon: Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. They probably made the week seven days long to give one day for each. In English, the first days of the week clearly come from The Sun (Sunday) and The Moon (Monday). The last day comes from Saturn (Saturday). Just like the rest of our language, an English week is a mixture of Latin and words from other places … Germanic gods: Tiw (an Anglo-Saxon god of the sun and war) and Wodin (the head of Anglo-Saxon gods) for Tuesday and Wednesday and Scandinavian gods Thor (another god of war) and Frigg (goddess of love) for Thursday and Friday. Months of the Year Our names of months all come from Latin. Janus a god with two faces, the god of doors and gates gives us January; and February comes from a Roman festival of spring cleaning. Mars, who didn’t get a day of the week in English, got the whole month of March. Jupiter , well his wife was Juno – which makes the month of June. Most of the later months just come from the Latin words for numbers 7, 8, 9 and 10 septem, octo, nove, decem. But why isn’t September month number seven? It was for the Romans, because they started the year with March.

The Emperors’ calendars July is occupied by Julius Caesar, who also occupied part of Britain. And August by Augustus Caesar who was the next Roman emperor. These two men both played an important role in creating the modern calendar. The Julian calendar (which Julius introduced in 46 BC) had a leap year every four years, when one day was added onto the end of the year (as it was then) on February 29th. Julius’ calendar was much simpler than the old one, and it was pretty accurate, although not as good as the Chinese one. It was only 11 minutes and 14 seconds a year too slow. Somehow, the people in charge of the calendars in Rome didn’t understand their instructions and added an extra day every three years. Augustus, the next emperor, corrected that mistake but left the leap © The British Council, 2010 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

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Magazine Articles - Calendars http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/magazine/calendars years as they were, so the calendar went on being 11 minutes a year too slow for centuries. Russia only introduced the Julian calendar in 1700 and changed to the Gregorian one after the revolution.

Behind the times Over the centuries those 11 extra minutes in the Julian calendar added up to quite a lot. Our modern "Gregorian" calendar goes more quickly because we don’t have leap years at the end of most centuries – only 1600 and 2000. When Pope Gregory brought it in in 1582, they had to take out 10 days to catch up. The year jumped directly from 4th to 15th October. In the same year, William Shakespeare got married in Stratford-uponAvon, but Britain went on for another 180 years with the old calendar. By 1752, when Britain changed to the new Gregorian calendar, they needed to miss 11 days to catch up. This caused violent protests…people thought the government was making their lives 11 days shorter, or even worse, stealing their wages for the 11 missing days. Here in Russia, the years carried on being a bit too long right into the twentieth century. On the 25th October 1917, when the Bolsheviks pushed their way into the Winter Palace it was already 7th November across the rest of Europe…a difference of 13 days. As a result, in 1918 Russia missed the whole first half of February: going directly from 31st January to 14th February. Maybe they were pleased to get closer to the summer.

Activity – Read the questions and select the correct answer. 1. The moon waxes … a. after a full moon. b. when the moon is full. c. until the moon is full.

6. In the Roman calendar, December … a. was the last month of the year. b. was the tenth month of the year. c. was in the summer.

2. The year really has … a. a bit more than 365 days. b. a bit less than 365 days. c. exactly 365 days.

7. Julius Caesar started a calendar which was … a. less accurate than the Chinese one. b. as good as the Chinese one. c. more accurate than the Chinese one.

3. 12 cycles of the moon are … a. about 354 days. b. about 365 days. c. about 365 and a quarter days.

8. The Roman Leap year had … a. an extra day at the start. b. an extra day in the second month. c. an extra day at the end.

4. The Chinese calendar has … a. more months than the western one. b. the same number of months as the western one. c. less months than the western one.

9. In Russia they used the same calendar as Britain ... a. from 1700 to 1752. b. from 1582 to 1700. c. from 1582 to 1752.

5. In English, the Moon is the origin of our word for ... a. Monday. b. November. c. Nothing in the calendar.

10. In Russia in 1918 they had … a. an especially short year. b. a leap year. c. an especially long day.

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Podcasts – Themes – Christmas Introduction Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You’ll find more information on this page: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to in the podcast • an optional comprehension activity based on the article • links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (Christmas). Read the article Christmas – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly by Keith Sands Christmas is one of those holidays which means very different things to different people. It can be a spiritual time, a family time, a time for giving, a time for partying or a time for just overeating... Most people (in those countries where it is the main religious festival of the year) find something to enjoy about Christmas, whether they are Christians or not. But hasn’t Christmas in the consumer age become just a bit too big? And a lot too commercial?

of 1970s rock. Played endlessly in British pubs and on the radio through December. It is the musical equivalent of jumping up and down with heavy boots on and trying to drink beer at the same time. I remember once, at a Christmas party, picking up my can of beer and taking a sip - to find out someone had used the can as an ashtray. And this song is the theme tune of that kind of party. Replace with: The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl’s Fairytale of New York: a great, soulful Christmas song.

I think so. The secret of a good Christmas is to be selective. Here is my personal list of the things Christmas (at any rate, Christmas in Britain) would be infinitely better without. Let’s get rid of…. Plastic Christmas trees Fussy people don’t like trees that drop their needles on the carpet. Surely, in the age of vacuum cleaners, this is not a problem any more? Worst of all are those plastic trees that come with their own decorations already attached, so depriving children of the great pleasure of hanging the decorations themselves. Replace with: Real fir trees, from sustainable forests. Fairy lights that don’t work We have sent people to the moon. Computers have changed our lives. On the Internet, huge amounts of information travel all over the world at the speed of light. So it shouldn’t be too difficult to put a few coloured light bulbs in a row, so they last until New Year without breaking down. Replace with: Candles. And fireproof fir trees. Slade’s "Merry Christmas Everybody" A stomping, two-chord song from the dark days

Bing Crosby’s White Christmas While we’re on the subject of Christmas songs, let’s not forget that this sentimental 1950s tune is the biggest selling single of all time. It’s ideal for falling asleep in an armchair but finally just too nostalgic. And very annoying. Replace with: Silent Night, a beautiful German carol known all over the world. Office parties Doesn’t a computer decorated with tinsel, and an office with paper chains hanging from the ceiling, look just a tiny bit depressing? And office Page 1 of 3

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Podcasts – Themes – Christmas Christmas parties are worse. Under the influence of cheap wine in paper coffee-cups, strange things happen with the photocopier. Rude messages are faxed to clients. Most people can’t relax in the office. And those that can will probably do something they’ll regret later. Replace with: an extra afternoon off work.

Turkey with Cranberry Sauce In Britain, the usual Christmas dinner is turkey with cranberry sauce – although ultratraditionalists may prefer goose. Cranberry sauce is basically a kind of jam. We don’t put jam on meat at other times of year, so why at Christmas? Replace with: No cranberry sauce.

British Christmas Weather In Richard Curtis films (like the recent hit "Love, Actually"), it always snows at Christmas in London. The city is covered with a beautiful white blanket, the perfect setting for a romantic happy ending. What’s the reality of Christmas weather in the South of England? Grey skies with a good chance of cold drizzle in the late afternoon. Replace with: Russian Christmas weather.

Consumerism You know what I mean. Adverts for toys on children’s TV. Department stores which put out Christmas decorations as early as September. The stress of Christmas shopping. Everywhere the message is spend, spend, spend. Christmas is a Christian religious festival, to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It’s not just an excuse for making money. Replace with: Midnight carols at church, peace on earth, and goodwill to all men.

TV It’s a fact that we spend more time in front of the TV at Christmas than at any other time of year. The TV schedules are filled with old films, comedy “Christmas Specials”, soap operas with Christmas-related plots, and of course hundreds of adverts. Switch it off and visit your relatives instead. Replace with: log fires, board games.

So that’s my advice. Avoid these things and you’ll have a good chance of having a truly Merry Christmas. Which is what I wish you now. And a happy new year.

After reading Exercise 1 Below are 11 statements about the text. For each one decide if it is True or False. 1. The writer doesn’t like Christmas. 2. He doesn’t like the commercialisation of Christmas. 3. It’s not really difficult to clean up the needles from a real tree. 4. He is impressed by the technology of fairy lights. 5. He doesn’t like any Christmas songs. 6. He mentions two kinds of party he doesn’t like. 7. He thinks the film ‘Love Actually’ is realistic. 8. Christmas should be a time for visiting your family. 9. He thinks Cranberry sauce goes well with turkey. 10. He enjoys Christmas shopping. 11. He seems to prefer a rather traditional Christmas.

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Podcasts – Themes – Christmas

More activities on this topic You’ll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of Christmas at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-christmas.htm • Magazine article: Christmas Past or Christmas Presents. “Christmas is a time of many traditions which haven’t changed in centuries but its meaning has changed for me as I have got older”. • Word game: Christmas jokes. Match the questions and answers to get the Christmas jokes • Game: Run Santa Run! In this fun Christmas game, you control Santa, making him jump and duck to avoid obstacles. See how far you can get him to run without getting knocked over! • Story: A Christmas Carol. This story by Charles Dickens is a Victorian morality tale of an old and bitter miser, Ebenezer Scrooge, who undergoes a profound experience of redemption. • Story: The Christmas the Lights Went Out : Five people, whose lives interrelate, live the build up to Christmas in different ways in different places. A sudden blackout changes their lives forever ... • Trivia: Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about Christmas. • There are also 2 Christmas-related cartoons, a poll and some carefully selected external links. Answers to comprehension activity: 1. False (F); 2. True (T); 3. T; 4. F; 5. F; 6. T; 7. F; 8. T; 9. F; 10. F; 11. T

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Magazine Article - Collecting things: My Grandmother's elephant http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/collecting-things-my-grandmothers-elephant

Introduction This support pack accompanies the magazine article: Collecting things: My Grandmother's elephant To read or listen to the article online, go to: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/ collecting-things-my-grandmothers-elephant This support pack contains the following materials: •

a pre-reading vocabulary activity;

•

the article;

•

a comprehension task

Before you read / listen Match the words and phrases in the table to their definitions.

1. sandalwood

2. covet

3. rummage

4. flea markets

5. illegal

6. malachite

7. deteriorate

8. kitsch

9. niggling

10. periodically

Definitions: a. Causing a small worry b. A green stone used in jewellery c.

Places where second hand and old things are sold

d. Decorative but thought to be ugly. Some people like this because they find it funny. e. Against the law f.

To search for things my moving stuff around

g. To want something very much that belongs to someone else h. To become worse i.

Every now and again

j.

Hard wood from a tree in Asia that has a pleasant smell

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Magazine Article - Collecting things: My Grandmother's elephant http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/collecting-things-my-grandmothers-elephant

Article: Collecting things - My Grandmother's elephant By Chris Wilson My grandmother had a beautiful elephant carved out of sandalwood on her dressing table which I secretly used to covet. I wanted it more than anything in the world. It was about the size of a football and had a cheeky smile. It was inlaid with tiny circular mirrors and mother of pearl, and had real ivory tusks and toenails. One day my sister said “Oh Grandma, please can I have it?” and, to my fury and disbelief, she just gave it to her! I immediately made two resolutions: 1) never to speak to either of them ever again. 2) To find another elephant just like it. Ever since, I have been scouring the world. I have rummaged round junk shops and antique shops all over Europe, I have been to garage sales and flea markets in America, I have hung about in Arab souks and Indian bazaars, but I have never seen anything quite the same. Along the way, however, I have acquired all sorts of other elephants and my collection has grown and grown. I have got black ebony elephants from Malawi, and a couple of ivory – all, I hasten to add, made a long time ago, before the ebony trees were chopped down and the ivory trade was made illegal. I also have soap stone elephants from Zimbabwe, and an exotic Congolese one carved out of bright green malachite. I have a whole family of wooden Thai elephants marching along the top of my piano – sometimes when I sit and play I could swear they are marching in time to the music. I have two very heavy, long legged elephants which I bought in Khan el Khalili, in Cairo, which I use as bookends, and an enormous fat one from the Sudan which I use as a coffee table. My search goes on, but it gets more and more difficult to find really good pieces. On recent trips to Africa I have noticed how the quality of the workmanship has deteriorated. In craft markets all over the continent you can find thousands of elephants, but they are nearly all shoddily made, churned out for tourists by people who probably have never seen a real elephant in their lives. Why do people collect things? Probably many, like me, don’t set out to do so. You just acquire

something, then another and another and then, once you’ve got a small collection you just keep adding to it. I have an uncle who collects key rings – he has hundreds of them from all over the world – but he can’t remember how it started. Other people collect stamps, stones, beer cans, beer mats, match boxes, all sorts of things. For some it can become a total obsession and they will go to any lengths to get something. One of my colleagues collects Royal memorabilia, which to me is the ultimate in bad taste! Her house is crammed full of kitsch things like Coronation mugs, ashtrays with pictures of Charles and Diana, British flags, tea towels printed with Windsor Castle and even a toilet seat cover with Prince Andrew grinning widely up at you. What is this urge to possess all these things? I recently discussed this question with a group of students in Mozambique and what rapidly became evident was that few of them had such an urge. “Why not?” I asked. “I don’t know” said Anotonio. “It’s just not in our culture”. “Does that mean you’re not as materialistic as Europeans?”Antonio laughed. “No way! We want cars and houses and fancy things just like anyone else, but we don’t collect knick knacks, things we can’t use”.“I think it’s because of our recent war” said Maria “and the state of the economy. For many years there was nothing to collect, except shells off the beach perhaps”.“Ï collect shoes” said Teresa, who comes from Angola. “I have over seventy pairs. But I buy them to wear, not just for the sake of having them”.“Oh come on!” laughed Antonio. “Anything you don’t actually need you have for the sake of having it, and you can’t possibly need seventy pairs!”“I do, I need every single pair!” she insisted.“So you are a collector!”“No I’m not!”“Yes you are!” shouted the whole class. Paula stuck up her hand. “I’m a collector” she said. “Ï am a fan of Julio Iglesias and I have all his CD’s, every one, even the latest which, I have to admit, isn’t very good at all”. “So why did you buy it?” I asked. “Well, because I’ve got all the others of course” she said. “And my son collects those little plastic dinosaurs you find

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Magazine Article - Collecting things: My Grandmother's elephant http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/collecting-things-my-grandmothers-elephant

inside cereal packets. He’s only got to get TRex and then he’s got the whole set.”“They are exploiting you” said Antonio. “They encourage children to become collectors so that you keep buying more and more. This is something new in our country. Soon we will all be fanatically collecting things, just like everyone else in the world”. Harshill, who is of Indian origin, had been silent all this time. He cleared his throat. “One good reason to collect things is that a collection is worth more - how do you say in English? More than the sum of its parts. If you sold your elephants one by one you wouldn’t get nearly as much as if you sold the whole collection. So it is a way of saving money, a good investment.” On the way back to my hotel a young boy was selling a badly carved elephant by the side of the road. I didn’t want it but I bought it because I felt sorry for him. Later I thought I should just have given him some money and let him try to sell it to someone else. It would never be part of my collection, each in its own special place in a different part of my house. I imagined walking round looking at them all and thought about what Harshill had said – it’s a way of increasing the value of what you already have - but as

usual there was that niggling feeling that my collection, not matter how valuable, would never be complete. Not without my Grandmothers elephant! What a waste for it to be with my sister when it could be, should be, with me!“Oh well, never mind, try not to be obsessed” I told myself. Ever since though, I have been lying awake at night, thinking of it standing there on a brass table in her hallway, next to the window she always leaves open for her cat. Her dogs know me, so they won’t be a problem when I climb over the wall in my gloves and balaclava. The whole operation will be over in less than five minutes. The only problem is, having acquired it, what will I do when my sister comes barging in to nose around, as she periodically does, and sees it in pride of place in my house? I’ll have to keep it hidden and then what will be the point of having it? Oh dear. Perhaps I could have a special alarm that would only ring when my sister is on her way. No that’s silly. I’ll just have to move. To another country, under another name, far, far away. But even then, knowing her, she’ll track me down. Oh – dear Reader, what would you do if you were me?

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Magazine Article - Collecting things: My Grandmother's elephant http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/collecting-things-my-grandmothers-elephant

Comprehension task True or false Read the statements below and decide if they are true or false. 1. The writer kept his resolution not to speak to his sister every again. 2. His grandmother was unaware of how much he wanted it. 3. Ebony is a kind of wood. 4. It is difficult to find ebony nowadays. 5. The writer’s Thai elephants actually move in time to the music. 6. Nowadays it is not easy to find well made elephants in Africa. 7. The writer is fond of Royal memorabilia. 8. People often decide in advance to start a collection. 9. Mozambicans do not collect things because they are not materialistic. 10. “For the sake of having it” means having something which is a necessity. 11. Paula bought Julio Iglesias’ latest CD to “complete the set”. 12. Antonio thinks it is a good thing to collect things. 13. If something is worth “more than the sum of its parts” it means the whole thing is worth more than the total value of all the individual parts. 14. The writer firmly intends to steal his sister’s elephant. 15. “To go to any lengths” to get something means to travel anywhere, no matter how far, to get it. 16. If something in a room is “In pride of place” it means it is in the part of the room where the owner displays all the objects of which he/she is most proud.

Answers

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Podcasts – Themes – Conspiracies Introduction Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You’ll find more information on this page: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to in the podcast • a comprehension activity based on the article • a grammar activity based on the article • links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (conspiracies). Read the article Conspiracies by Richard Sidaway Are you convinced that your government is in contact with UFOs? Do you think that President Kennedy was the victim of more than one assassin? Do you get the feeling that we are being watched? Then you are probably a believer in conspiracy theories. The success of the ‘Da Vinci Code’ alleging that the Catholic Church has suppressed the truth about the death of Jesus shows how such theories can take hold of the popular imagination. Everyone loves a conspiracy They say that there are two basic explanations for dramatic or world-changing events. The conspiracy theory assumes that tragedies such as the death of Princess Diana in Paris were not just accidents but were carefully planned and carried out by a group of powerful people operating behind the scenes for various sinister motives. The cock-up theory of history says that such events are probably caused by a combination of human incompetence and bad timing. The conspiracy theory is, naturally, much more attractive because humans can be seen as powerful shapers of their own destiny, rather than the weak and fallible creatures they are. And because they are usually impossible to prove either one way or the other, conspiracy theories are limited only by the human imagination. The real thing Of course, there have been some real conspiracies through the ages. The Gunpowder Plot in England in 1605 to get rid of the King of England, or the July 20th plot to kill Hitler in 1944,

were taken seriously enough at the time - the conspirators confessed after being tortured and they were then executed. Secret societies are a matter of historical record too, with their initiation rites, hierarchy, secret signs and elaborate rituals. Some, like the Brotherhood of the Rosicrucians, were mystical or religious in nature. Others are more social or political in character like the Freemasons, whose members have included writers, generals, politicians and even kings. They formed the opposition to the Catholic Church in Southern Europe, for example, and supported the pursuit of rational thought, scientific endeavour and liberal democracy.

Verging on the paranoid But just because you say you have discovered a plot and brought some people to trial doesn’t mean that a conspiracy really existed. In the dying days of Stalin’s regime, a group of Jewish medical professionals were accused of conspiring to poison Soviet leaders and overthrow the state. Hundreds were arrested and executed. The Doctors’ Plot of 1953 was just one in a long line

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Podcasts – Themes – Conspiracies of purges necessary to maintain the climate of fear by which the Communist Party ruled. It was more a symptom of Stalin’s anti-semitism and paranoia than a real conspiracy.

has been kept from consumers deliberately? Or the automobile company that tried to get control of trams in cities so that people would buy more cars instead of using public transport?

Tragic consequences The longest-running conspiracy theory is probably the one about the Jews wanting to take over the world. Such ideas have served as the justification for acts of random, irrational violence against Jewish communities over the centuries, and led to the systematic persecution of the Inquisition. A book was published in the 1920s supposedly giving documentary proof of such a world conspiracy, but it was later exposed as a fraud. This didn’t prevent the horrific attempt by the Nazis to exterminate the entire Jewish population of Europe during the Second World War.

Some people even believe barcodes are a population-control device used by a secret unnamed organisation intent on world domination and that the numbers hide the mark of the devil…

The downright silly Some conspiracy theories can be quite entertaining. Take the case of the humble light bulb. Who would believe that companies had known for years how to make one that lasts for much longer than normal, but formed a cartel to suppress it from the market because it would mean their profits would be drastically affected. And what about the carburettor that can make a car run 300 miles on a single gallon of petrol but

And the death of Diana? Well, apparently the driver wasn’t really drunk and there was a lot of carbon monoxide in his blood. A letter had been written by the Princess just before the accident happened claiming that someone wanted to get rid of her, and the French authorities never carried out a post-mortem to find out the cause of her death. These isolated facts supposedly add up to a secret plot by intelligence agencies to prevent the destruction of the British monarchy. An awful warning Whatever you do, though, don’t let your life be dominated by conspiracy theories or you could end up like the former footballer and TV sports commentator who currently believes that the world is going to be taken over by a secret brotherhood of reptiles, and has published various books giving details. His writings sell very well in some parts of the world, but there must be easier ways of being popular in Canada …

After reading Exercise 1 What do the words in bold in the text refer to? 1. such events a. conspiracy theories b. powerful people operating behind the scenes c. tragedies such as the death of Princess Diana 2. they a. conspiracy theories b. humans c. weak and fallible creatures 3. Some a. initiation rites b. elaborate rituals c. secret societies 4. Hundreds a. Jewish medical professionals

b. people c. Soviet leaders 5. It a. the Communist Party b. The Doctors’ Plot c. a long line 6. This a. the fact that the book was exposed as a fraud b. documentary proof of such a world conspiracy c. a book 7. one a. a cartel b. a conspiracy theory c. a light bulb

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Podcasts – Themes – Conspiracies

Exercise 2 The phrases in the first table below all use the passive because the people involved are not known or because what happened is more important than who did it. Match each of the phrases with a form of the passive in the second table below. We are being watched

A book was published

A letter had been written

humans can be seen as

…has been kept from

don’t let your life be dominated

medical professionals were accused of

their profits would be drastically affected

the world is going to be taken over

Form

Phrase

Future Imperative (negative) Present Continuous Modal present Present Perfect Past simple (x2) Past perfect Conditional More activities on this topic You’ll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of conspiracies at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-conspiracies.htm • Word game: Conspiracy idioms puzzle. This jigsaw puzzle practises idioms and expressions related to conspiracies. • Story: The Trial. This surreal novel by Franz Kafka is about a character named Joseph K., who awakens one morning and, for reasons that one never discovers, is arrested and subjected to the rigours of the judicial process for an unspecified crime. • Trivia: Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about conspiracies. • There is also a conspiracies-related cartoon, a poll, and some carefully selected external links. Answers Exercise 1: 1. c; 2. a; 3. c; 4. b; 5. b; 6. a; 7. c Exercise 2: Form Phrase Future the world is going to be taken over Imperative (negative) don’t let your life be dominated Present Continuous we are being watched Modal present humans can be seen as Present Perfect …has been kept from Past simple (x2) medical professionals were accused of A book was published Past perfect A letter had been written Conditional their profits would be drastically affected

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Magazine – Consumer society Introduction You can listen to a recording of this article at: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/magazine-articles/consumer-society This support pack contains the following materials: • a pre-reading vocabulary activity • the article that you can listen to • a comprehension activity based on the article Before you read Exercise 1 In the table are words from the text. Below are sentences containing these words. Can you put the words into the gaps in the sentences? choice

choose

influenced

probably

rewarding

unemployed

wrapping 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

The …………… could find work more easily if we didn't work more than 6 hours per day. Being able to make your own things is more …………… than buying. We should be able to …………… environmentally friendly products. Consumers enjoy having a ……………. Some products have too much ……………. Try not to be …………… by advertising. If you enjoy making something it is …………… good quality.

Read the article Consumer society by Julie Bray “There is enough on earth for everybody’s need, but not for everyone’s greed.” Gandhi If we only bought things we needed, there would be enough for everybody. What do we need? What you need depends on how old you are and your way of life. Rearrange the list of things you can buy and put the things you think we most need at the top of the list. A coat Levi’s jeans A CD player A dental check-up A restaurant meal Jewellery

A pair of trainers Water A pair of jeans Paper A telephone Gold-coloured laces in your trainers

Food Paracetamol An iPod Toothpaste Cushion covers

An appointment at the hair salon Shampoo Beer A packet of M&Ms Table mats which match the curtains

If we don’t need to buy so much, we don’t need to work so much. We can take part-time jobs or reduce our working day from 8 hours to 6 hours. Some people are leaving very well-paid jobs to live a healthier life in the countryside or a more exciting life abroad. This is called ‘downshifting’. Parents can spend more time with their children and the unemployed are given more opportunities to work. Page 1 of 3

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Magazine – Consumer society Who made it? Do you know? If a friend made it, you probably like it more and you will want to keep it for a long time. If it was made by somebody who enjoyed making it, the quality and the design are probably better. Or does it look like it might have been assembled in a large factory?

If we start to respect saving the earth more than spending money, we will become ‘conservers’. When we are conservers, we try to choose environmentally friendly products which are durable and last a long time. We may find growing our own vegetables or making our own clothes more rewarding than buying them. What was the best thing you bought last week? Could you choose from lots of different types? We like having a choice of what to buy. People who buy things are called consumers. Consumers have choices. We usually choose the colour, taste, smell or size of what we buy, but there are other choices we can make. The following questions will help you to consider these choices. Where was it made? If you don’t like the place it was made, you might decide not to buy that particular product. A lot of people don’t buy products from certain countries when they don’t like the way the country is run. Was it made in a factory or on a local farm? If the product was unbelievably cheap, the people who made it might not have been paid much.

There are children in Asia who make Santa Claus dolls for European children to play with. The children who make the toys don’t celebrate Christmas because they are not Christian; they think of the dolls as work. Would it be better if the children in Europe made their own Christmas dolls? What is it made from? One of the places where we want to buy expensive luxuries is at the airport’s duty-free shop. Next to the chocolate and cigarettes, there are beautifully shaped bottles and compact boxes full of perfumes and creams which promise to make you look and feel more beautiful. If you look at the ingredients you will find that the perfumes are mainly alcohol and the creams are mainly made of petroleum! Almost all products are sold in packaging. Some products have too much packaging, creating more rubbish and using up resources. Some use recycled packaging, which is better for the environment. Next time you go shopping, think about what you really need to buy. Don’t deprive yourself of things you like, but decide what you should buy before you go out, so that you won’t be influenced by advertisements or promotions. If it is more expensive to buy goods which don’t have much packaging and things which are more durable, buy less. If you can choose to work less, decide which things you would like to make, do or grow yourself. Even though you have less money, your life will become richer!

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Magazine – Consumer society After reading Exercise 2 Decide which is the best answer to each of the following questions/statements about the text. 1. Taking a job where you work less and are paid less is called: a. consumerism b. downshifting c. conservation 2. If you are a conserver, you: a. throw your things away so you have less b. look after your things well and keep them for a long time c. only eat vegetables you grow yourself 3. When we buy something, we can usually choose: a. the size and colour b. where it comes from c. where it is made 4. We can tell that the people who made a product were not paid well when: a. the product is not made well b. they forget to put the label on c. the product is unbelievably cheap 5. Most perfumes and creams are made from: a. plastic b. alcohol and petroleum c. plants 6. If we don't use something very often we should: a. put it in a safe place b. buy a cheaper one c. borrow one from somebody else or lend our own to others 7. The working day could be: a. reduced to 6 hours b. from 6-8 hours c. reduced to 8 hours

Answers: Exercise 1 1. unemployed; 2. rewarding; 3. choose; 4. choice; 5. wrapping; 6. influenced; 7. probably Exercise 2 1. b; 2. b; 3. a; 4. c; 5. b; 6. c; 7. a Page 3 of 3 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Magazine – Magic Introduction You can listen to a recording of this article at: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/magazine-articles/magic This support pack contains the following materials: • a pre-reading vocabulary activity • the article that you can listen to • a comprehension activity based on the article • an activity in which you rearrange the words in sentences Before you read Vocabulary activity Match the words and phrases at the top to their definitions. a. blamed

b. harm

c. household names

d. infamous

e. levitating

f.

g. pick

h. potion

i.

j.

spell

persecuted tap into

1. a liquid believed to have a magical effect 2. choose 3. famous for something considered bad 4. famous people that most people know of 5. hurt someone 6. make a connection with 7. making something rise or float in the air without support 8. said to be the cause 9. spoken words thought to have magical power 10. treated cruelly for a long time because of your beliefs

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Magazine – Magic Read the article Magic by John Russell Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble. Fillet of a fenny snake, In the cauldron boil and bake; Macbeth – William Shakespeare

were persecuted or even killed because they were thought to be witches or wizards. When a sick person suddenly became well or a well person (or even animal) became ill, magic was the cause. Unexplained events were blamed on people who were said to use magic. It was thought that the devil or strange forces allowed them to have these powers. However, accusing someone of being a witch or of having magical powers was often just an excuse to remove an unpopular person from the community or take someone’s property away. Unfortunately, thousands of people were executed for witchcraft over hundreds of years. The most infamous recent trials were the Salem witch trials in America, dramatised in Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible. D.

A. From the witches in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, to Gandalf the Wizard in Lord of the Rings books and films, it is clear that the idea of magic has been around for many years. Both play and books / films use the idea of something mysterious to add interest and excitement to the story – but they also tap into something deeper…our fascination with magic. B. The word ‘Magic’ has many different meanings. A man playing card tricks in the street is doing magic, just as a wizard in a story fighting with dragons is using magic. Magic is when something happens that we can not explain or understand. Often forcing us to not believe our own eyes or even appearing to be breaking the laws of physics or nature! When a rabbit appears in a hat or when someone claims to see into the future – both can be called magic. C. In the past anything that people couldn’t understand was called magic – and many people

Magic has always been used as a form of entertainment. People enjoy the mystery of working out which cup the little ball is underneath or how he knows which card I was thinking of. From early Egyptian times magicians and illusionists have entertained people, and there have been many great magicians. Harry Houdini was one of the first world-famous magicians – famous for escaping from deadly situations. In more recent times magicians such as David Copperfield or David Blane have become household names for their illusions; such as making the Statue of Liberty disappear or levitating. E. Not a lot of people would argue that David Copperfield has real magical powers – he is just a great illusionist. But there are some who believe magic really exists and can change our lives. A few believe that a spell can make someone fall in love or a potion will protect you from danger. White magic is the idea that spells, or mixtures of certain herbs can have a positive influence on our lives. Black magic is the opposite of this, the idea that magical powers can be used to harm others. Dark magic is associated Page 2 of 4

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Magazine – Magic with the devil and evil powers, but white magic is more to do with the earth and nature. F. Wizard, warlock, witch, sorcerer, enchantress. All names associated with magic, but made popular (and most created) through stories, plays or films. Shakespeare was not the first to add interest to a story with magic and the 20th Century saw a huge rise in stories about magic. The fantasy novel and film has created new universes where magicians fight to save the world, or something magical is the key to the story (like the ring in Lord of the Rings). T.H. White wrote about the most famous wizard of all – Merlin, in his books

about King Arthur. The British author Terry Pratchett uses magic a great deal in his popular Discworld series of books, witches and wizards are often his main characters and there is even an ‘Unseen University’ of magic. A young wizard called Harry is also quite popular in books and films at the moment, so I’m told ... G. Magical rings and three headed dogs may not be real, but does this mean nothing magical really exists? Can you always explain how the magician has done the card trick? Maybe it is better not to explain, but to leave a little magic and mystery in our lives. Pick a card, any card ...

After reading Comprehension activity Someone has magically removed the headings from each paragraph in the text. Can you match the correct heading with the correct paragraph? There is one extra that you don’t need to use. Paragraphs in text: A

B

C

D

E

F

G

Headings: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

But it’s fun to watch… Do you believe in magic? Good magic, bad magic, black magic, white magic Have people always liked magic? It’s a kind of magic! Magic books and silver screens Magic on television What is magic?

Word ordering activity These sentences from the article have been mysteriously mixed up. Can you put them back in the right order? Try not to look back at the text. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

events were on Unexplained blamed people use were said to magic who make A believe a spell few that can in fall love someone is clear magic idea of It has been that the around for years many 20th a saw huge The about rise in Century magic stories always you explain the trick how magician Can done the card has

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Magazine – Magic Answers to vocabulary activity: 1. h; 2. g; 3. d; 4. c; 5. b; 6. j; 7. e; 8. a; 9. i; 10. f Answers to comprehension activity: 1. D; 2. G; 3. E; 4. C; 5. A; 6. F; 7. extra heading; 8. B Answers to word ordering activity: 1. Unexplained events were blamed on people who were said to use magic; 2. A few believe that a spell can make someone fall in love ; 3. It is clear that the idea of magic has been around for many years; 4. The 20th Century saw a huge rise in stories about magic; 5. Can you always explain how the magician has done the card trick

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Articles Martial arts by Mike Rayner Everybody was kung-fu fighting Those cats were fast as lightning In fact it was a little bit frightening But they fought with expert timing Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas Martial arts have never been more popular. Recent Hollywood action blockbusters featuring acrobatic fight scenes like The Matrix and Charlie’s Angels have been hugely successful, and the popularity of martial arts films from Hong Kong, China and Taiwan have turned actors like Jet Li and Jackie Chan into international superstars. While the closest that many martial arts enthusiasts get to a dojo is playing Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter in front of a TV screen in their living room, others are keen to hit the mats and have a go at martial arts themselves. From the graceful, dance like moves of t’ai chi and capoeira to the explosive fighting styles of kung fu and karate, there is a martial art to suit every taste. Rock stars to bus conductors, vicars to politicians - people of all ages and from all walks of life are discovering the physical and mental benefits of practising a martial art. Music Rock stars have often used martial arts to spice up their live performances. Elvis, who was a karate black belt, entertained his fans on stage with his karate kicking antics, and Madonna’s recent tour features dance routines heavily influenced by martial arts. Jean Jacques Burnel, the French bass player in British punk band The Stranglers, shared Elvis’ love for karate and often demonstrated his skill to fans. Unfortunately, however, his enthusiasm sometimes got the better of him – in the punk era he was well known for using karate to intimidate rival bands and music journalists. Health Many doctors have realised that practising martial arts can replace drug therapy for patients suffering from psychological conditions. The more aggressive styles such as kendo and kick-boxing appear to help people with problems such as depression, while the softer disciplines of aikido and t’ai chi can help people who are anxious or under a lot of stress. Lou Reed, singer and guitarist from the seminal New York rock band The Velvet Underground, who has a notoriously difficult artistic temperament, says he has tamed the rock and roll animal in his soul by practising t’ai chi for three hours a day. Politics There can’t be many jobs more stressful than being a politician. American president Theodore Roosevelt was perhaps the first head of state to be associated with martial arts – he became fascinated by judo after watching a demonstration by a Japanese teacher at the White House, and was the first American to get a judo brown belt. Vladimir Putin, Russian president and ex-KGB official, holds an advanced rank in judo, and has won both junior and senior tournaments in Russia. Ryutaro Hashimoto, the prime minister of Japan from 1996 to 1998, has been practising kendo since he was a child, and reached a very high level in the sport. In kendo “the way of the sword”, opponents wear heavy armour and masks, and try to hit each other with bamboo swords. Hashimoto’s speeches as prime minister were peppered with phrases comparing politics to samurai battles, he once famously said, ” If you don’t pay attention to your rival you get hit on the head,” when talking about a Japanese trade agreement with the US. Difficult jobs Of course martial arts were originally developed as effective ways of attacking or defending yourself against enemies. It comes as no surprise that soldiers and police forces around the world are trained in fighting arts, but people in other jobs who may often face difficult situations can also benefit from a knowledge of martial arts. Vicars in London have been trained in tae kwon do, a Korean form of karate, after a survey showing that they were at high risk of attack. Taxi drivers in Birmingham have also been offered courses in self-defense, and Page 1 of 2 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Articles female bus conductors in Hyperabad in southern India learn shotokan karate to help them protect themselves from sexual harassment. Officers whose job is to hand out fines to people caught littering in Hong Kong are now given training in aikido, a Japanese martial art which can help to calm people down, after a series of attacks by angry law breakers. So, perhaps it’s time to put on your gi, turn off the video, put down the joystick, and head off to your local sports centre to uncover the joys of martial arts for yourself.

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Magazine – Mary Seacole Introduction You can listen to a recording of this article at: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/magazine-articles/mary-seacole This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to • a comprehension activity based on the article Read the article Mary Seacole by Linda Baxter The most famous nurse of all time must be Florence Nightingale, the ‘lady with the lamp’, who became famous for her work during the Crimean War in the middle of the nineteenth century. But have you heard of Mary Seacole? I hope your answer is ‘Yes’, but I must admit that, until recently, the name meant nothing to me at all. Then, earlier this year, I read that a woman called Mary Seacole had been voted the ‘Greatest Black Briton’ of all time in a BBC poll. I was shocked to realise that I had no idea who she was. When I found out more about her I realised that she was ‘the black Florence Nightingale’ that I had heard mentioned on a BBC history programme a few years ago. So I did some research. What was her story? And, more importantly, why isn’t her name as well known as Florence Nightingale’s? The story Mary Seacole was born in 1805 in Kingston, Jamaica. Her mother was Jamaican and her father was Scottish. Her mother ran a boarding house for invalid soldiers and was also an expert in herbal remedies, which she used to treat the soldiers. When her mother died, Mary took over the boarding house and the care of the sick soldiers. In 1850 there was a serious outbreak of cholera in Jamaica. Mary worked night and day to help the victims and created her own herbal medicine for the disease. She also believed that clean conditions, fresh air and good food were important in fighting the disease, ideas which most doctors thought were ridiculous. She saved the lives of thousands of people.

The war When the Crimean War started, Jamaican troops were sent to fight, and stories soon started to reach Kingston about the terrible conditions that they were suffering, and how badly they needed nursing care. So Mary travelled to London in 1854 and presented herself at the War Office as a volunteer nurse. But they refused her. She went to all the military and nursing organisations but not one of them wanted her services. So Mary decided to go to the Crimea independently. She opened a boarding house there to earn the money to finance her nursing work. She regularly went out onto the battlefields to feed and care for the fallen soldiers, often putting her own life in danger. The soldiers loved her and called her ‘the black nightingale’. The fame Page 1 of 2

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Magazine – Mary Seacole

When the war finished Mary came back to London as a famous figure – well known and well oved by the British people, but completely bankrupt as a result of her work. Some of the officers and soldiers who knew her raised money for her, but she still had financial problems. So Mary once again decided to do something herself. She wrote her autobiography called ‘The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands’. This was the only book she ever wrote, but it was very successful and generated enough money to allow her to live the rest of her life in comfort, dividing her time between Jamaica and London. She died in 1881 and was buried in London, but as the years passed, her story was forgotten outside of her native Jamaica. The rediscovery In 1973 a British nurse bought an old copy of Mary’s book in a second-hand bookshop. She did some detective work and found Mary’s forgotten grave in a London cemetery. She organised the restoration of the grave and a special ceremony was held to honour her. People began to hear about Mary and she became a symbol for people involved in civil

rights, anti-racism campaigns, women’s liberation and of course, nursing groups. In 1981 a special service was held to mark the centenary of her death. In 1984 ‘The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands’ was reprinted so that Mary’s story could reach a wider audience. And of course, as you already know, she was voted the Greatest Black Briton in 2004. So, the question remains Why was Mary Seacole forgotten? Racism? Prejudice against such an independent woman? Florence Nightingale was white and had friends in high places. Mary Seacole was black but overcame a lot of the racial prejudice against her and had friends in high places too. Both women wrote books. Florence Nightingale’s ‘Notes on Nursing’ became a standard nursing textbook, whereas Mary Seacole wrote nothing about the theory of nursing. The medical community accepted Florence Nightingale, whereas Mary Seacole worked independently, outside of the hospitals, and without the supervision of doctors. Whatever the reasons, after a hundred years of obscurity, Mary Seacole isn’t going to be forgotten again.

After reading Exercise 1 Decide if each of the following statements about the text are True or False. 1. The writer knew nothing about Mary Seacole until she read the results of the BBC poll. 2. Mary opened a new boarding house for sick soldiers in Jamaica. 3. Doctors disagreed with Mary’s ideas about the treatment of cholera. 4. The War office refused Mary because they didn’t need any more nurses. 5. Mary opened a boarding house in London to pay for her work in the Crimea. 6. Mary spent all of her money caring for the soldiers in the Crimea. 7. Mary lived on charity for the rest of her life. 8. Mary’s book was a best seller in the 1970s. 9. Mary was accepted by the most important people in the medical community. 10. Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale had some things in common.

Answers Exercise 1: 1. False (F); 2. F; 3. True (T); 4. F; 5. F; 6. T; 7. F; 8. F; 9. F; 10. T

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Magazine Article - Mobile phones http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/mobile-phones

Introduction This support pack accompanies the magazine article:

Mobile phones To read or listen to the article online, go to:

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/ mobile-phones This support pack contains the following materials: •

a pre-reading vocabulary activity;

•

the article;

•

a comprehension task

Before you read / listen Match the words and phrases in the table to their definitions.

1. emerge

2. primitive

3. rival

4. decade

5. synonymous

6. postmodern

7. lax

8. vital

Definitions: a. Really important; without this it won't work b. To appear as if from a hidden place c. Meaning the same d. Consciously mixing ideas from different periods or disciplines e. Basic f.

Someone you compete with

g. Without care and attention to the rules h. 10 years

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Magazine Article - Mobile phones http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/mobile-phones

Article: Mobile phones by Craig Duncan When Scotsman Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876, it was a revolution in communication. For the first time, people could talk to each other over great distances almost as clearly as if they were in the same room. Nowadays, though, we increasingly use Bell’s invention for emails, faxes and the internet rather than talking. Over the last two decades a new means of spoken communication has emerged: the mobile phone. The modern mobile phone is a more complex version of the two-way radio. Traditional twoway radio was a very limited means of communication. As soon as the users moved out of range of each other’s broadcast area, the signal was lost. In the 1940s, researchers began experimenting with the idea of using a number of radio masts located around the countryside to pick up signals from two-way radios. A caller would always be within range of one of the masts; when he moved too far away from one mast, the next mast would pick up the signal. (Scientists referred to each mast’s reception area as being a separate “cell”; this is why in many countries mobile phones are called “cell phones”.) However, 1940s technology was still quite primitive, and the “telephones” were enormous boxes which had to be transported by car. The first real mobile telephone call was made in 1973 by Dr Martin Cooper, the scientist who invented the modern mobile handset. As soon as his invention was complete, he tested it by calling a rival scientist to announce his success. Within a decade, mobile phones became available to the public. The streets of modern cities began to feature sharp-suited characters shouting into giant plastic bricks. In Britain the mobile phone quickly became synonymous with the “yuppie”, the new breed of young urban professionals who carried the expensive handsets as status symbols. Around this time

many of us swore that we would never, ever own a mobile phone. But in the mid-90s, something happened. Cheaper handsets and cheaper calling rates meant that, almost overnight, it seemed that everyone had a mobile phone. And the giant plastic bricks of the 80s had evolved into smooth little objects that fitted nicely into pockets and bags. In every pub and restaurant you could hear the bleep and buzz of mobiles ringing and registering messages, occasionally breaking out into primitive versions of the latest pop songs. Cities suddenly had a new, postmodern birdsong. Moreover, people’s timekeeping changed. Younger readers will be amazed to know that, not long ago, people made spoken arrangements to meet at a certain place at a certain time. Once a time and place had been agreed, people met as agreed. Somewhere around the new millennium, this practice started to die out. Meeting times became approximate, subject to change at any moment under the new order of communication: the Short Message Service (SMS) or text message. Going to be late? Send a text message! It takes much less effort than arriving on time, and it’s much less awkward than explaining your lateness face-toface. It’s the perfect communication method for the busy modern lifestyle. Like email before it, the text message has altered the way we write in English, bringing more abbreviations and a more lax approach to language construction. The 160-character limit on text messages has led to a new, abbreviated version of English for fast and instantaneous communication. Traditional rules of grammar and spelling are much less important when you’re sitting on the bus, hurriedly typing “Will B 15min late - C U @ the bar. Sorry! :-)”. Mobile phones, once the preserve of the highpowered businessperson and the “yuppie”, are

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Magazine Article - Mobile phones http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/mobile-phones

now a vital part of daily life for an enormous amount of people. From schoolchildren to pensioners, every section of society has found that it’s easier to stay in touch when you’ve got a mobile. Over the last few years mobiles have become more and more advanced, with built-in cameras, global positioning devices and internet access. And in the next couple of years, we can expect to see the arrival of the “third generation” of mobile phones: powerful micro-computers

with broadband internet access, which will allow us to watch TV, download internet files at high speed and send instant video clips to friends. Alexander Graham Bell would be amazed if he could see how far the science of telephony has progressed in less than 150 years. If he were around today, he might say: “That’s gr8! But I’m v busy rite now. Will call U 2nite.”

Comprehension task Multiple choice Read the questions and choose the right answer. 1. Modern mobile phone technology is based on: a. two-way radio b. global positioning devices c. yuppies 2. More people bought mobile phones in the 1990s because: a. traditional phones didn't work anymore b. they were bad at timekeeping c. mobile phones became a lot cheaper 3. The first mobile phone call took place between: a. two scientists b. two Scotsmen c. two yuppies 4. Mobile phones are sometimes called cell phones because of: a. a technical term for telephone masts b. a technical term for mobile handsets c. the number of mobile phones used in prisons 5. The first commercially available mobile phones looked like: a. small, pocket-sized objects b. telephone masts c. giant plastic bricks 6. A text message saying "Gr8! Will call U 2nite" means: a. Great! I'll call you tonight. b. Good grief! Please call William tonight. c. I'll be 15 minutes late.

Answers

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Mountains Mountains by Richard Sidaway Here's a look at three popular mountain sports and some serious environmental problems facing mountains and the people who live on them. Snowboarding Thankfully, 'the winterstick' and 'the snurfer' never caught on as names for the snowboard, or this sport might not have attracted such a cult following. Initially looked down upon by skiers and ski resorts, snowboarding has rapidly increased in popularity and is starting to replace skiing as the top alpine sport. Snowboarding debuted at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, but despite 'selling out' to the mainstream, the sport retains the spirit of alternative culture. BASE Jumping Extreme with a capital X, BASE jumpers don’t necessarily limit themselves to jumping off mountains. These thrill seekers will jump off just about anything. The name is an acronym for Building Antennae Span Earth, and refers to the fixed objects from which jumps are usually made. In search of the ultimate adrenaline rush, a BASE jumper will throw himself off a structure or cliff face, hurtle downwards at speeds of up to 60 mph and open a small parachute at the last possible moment. Famous jump sites include the Eiffel Tower, the London Eye and the statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro. Rock Climbing There are many climbing techniques, but 'Solo' is seen as the purest form. Here the climber has no ropes or safety equipment and is free to move as he or she pleases up the face of the mountain. It's the most exciting method, but obviously the most dangerous and only for highly experienced climbers. For the truly adventurous, 'Ice Climbing' adds an extra level of excitement and an extra level of risk. The Alps, Himalayas and Rockies are the mountain ranges of choice for serious climbers. The International Year of Mountains It's perhaps not common knowledge, but 2002 was in fact the International Year of Mountains, and time to take a short rest from climbing up, snowboarding down and parachuting off these majestic natural wonders to consider some of the very serious problems faced by mountains and mountain people.

Problems A meeting organised by the United Nations University in Tokyo identified three main areas that need to be address to ensure the future safety of the world's mountains. These are: the protection of mountain ecosystems, the encouragement of peace and stability in mountain regions and the assistance of mountain people to reach their goals.. Ecosystems From the bustling cities of India to the farmlands of California, more than half the world's population is dependent on mountains for their fresh water supply. Global warming, deforestation, mining and heavy farming seriously damage fragile mountain ecosystems and put vital fresh water sources at risk. Peace and Stability Mountain regions host a large proportion of the world's wars. From Afghanistan to the Balkans and the Andes to many parts of Africa, territorial and drug related conflicts have devastating effects on the local environment and the lives of the local people. Fighting makes essential tasks such as farming impossible. Land mines make large areas of potential farming ground unusable. Also schools, roads, bridges and other important infrastructure are left in ruins. Mountain People Mountain people are among the poorest, least represented groups on the earth. They face many hardships and each day can be, 'a test of survival'. Damage to mountain ecosystems worsens their situation and leaves them even more vulnerable to disease and 'natural' disasters such as floods and landslides. It's been recommended that forest revenue should be reinvested in mountain communities and the people living there should be given a stronger political voice. Their fate is in many ways directly connected with that of people living at sea level. As this year's slogan says, we are all mountain people.

Podcasts – Themes – Names Introduction Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You’ll find more information on this page: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to in the podcast • an optional comprehension activity based on the article • an optional vocabulary activity based on the article • links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (Names). Read the article Names by Katherine Bilsborough Shakespeare told us that a rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet. But is that true? Are names important? Are you happy with the name that you were given as a baby? And how do you choose a name for your own children when they come along? Humans have been using names since prehistoric times but although all cultures use names, the ways that we have of naming our children differ from place to place. In some places people have just a single name while in others the naming process is far more complex. Sometimes our names carry information about our family roots or even, in the case of some African cultures, the order in which each sibling is born. The etymology of names (the linguistic origin or meaning) is a subject which has fascinated us for generations. Another interesting aspect of names is why people choose to give their child one name and not another and why certain names become popular at particular moments in time.

1. Jack 2. Joshua 3. Thomas 4. James 5. Daniel 6. Oliver 7. Benjamin 8. Samuel 9. William 10. Joseph It appears that parents are more adventurous when it comes to naming daughters. Boys names tend to be more traditional and favourites change less frequently. Jack has topped the list for the past nine years and shows no sign of moving.

In 2004 the top ten names for girls born in the United Kingdom were: 1. Emily 2. Ellie 3. Chloe 4. Jessica 5. Sophie 6. Megan 7. Lucy 8. Olivia 9. Charlotte 10. Hannah For boys, the top names were:

A fairly recent trend in choosing a name has meant that there are now generations of young people named after musicians, film stars and even designer clothes labels. Kylie is one of the most popular girls names at the moment and last year in the UK alone, 221 babies were named Shakira after the Columbian singer. Following the success of “The Matrix”, fans started calling their Page 1 of 3

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Podcasts – Themes – Names Guggi, the actor Sean Penn’s son is called Hopper and film director Robert Rodriguez has three sons; Rebel, Rocket and Racer. How do you think these children feel? When David Bowie’s son Zowie Bowie was old enough, he rebelled against his father’s choice of name and changed it to Joey.

children Morpheus and Trinity after the lead characters. And, if that isn’t bad enough, there are around three hundred American teenagers called Armani. Colours have also entered the naming arena with Pink, Ruby and Scarlet popular choices for girls and Blue and Grey for boys. And what about the current craze for calling your child after a town or city? When David Beckham called his child Brooklyn, 105 other parents followed the craze and called their children; boys and girls alike, Brooklyn too. Other “place” names that are popular are Adelaide and Devon.

There is little to be done about the name you were given as a child but maybe we ought to think more carefully about the names we choose to give future generations. It would be sad to think that names that have been good enough for Kings, Queens, heroes and heroines throughout history will lose out to passing trends or short lived crazes. So, let’s have more Georges, Henrys, Katherines and Annes and less Hilfigers, Khakis, Chelseas and Pinks!

Beckham is not the only celebrity who has chosen to give his children unusual names. Bono, of U2 fame called his son Elijah Bob Patricius After reading

Exercise 1 Below are 8 statements about the text. Decide if each one is True or False. 1

Names have been around for thousands of years.

2

Some African names tell us whether the person is a first-born child.

3

In the UK parents are more adventurous when they choose a name for a boy.

4

Jack has become a popular name in the UK in the last year.

5

Hundreds of American boys are named after a fashion designer.

6

Blue is a popular girl's name.

7

There are both boys and girls called Brooklyn.

8

Zowie Bowie was unhappy with his name.

Exercise 2 In the table are 8 adjectives from the text. Below are the definitions of these adjectives. Match the adjectives and their definitions. adventurous interesting

complex popular

current traditional

important unusual

1. keen to try new or exciting things 2. happening or existing now 3. not normal, common or ordinary 4. having a major effect on someone or something 5. related to or based on very old customs, beliefs or stories 6. to describe an activity, place or thing that many people like 7. with a lot of details making it difficult to understand 8. to describe something that makes you want to know more about it

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Podcasts – Themes – Names

More activities on this topic You’ll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of names at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-names.htm • Word game: Names. Do a jigsaw puzzle and practise idioms that contain the word 'name'. • Story: Names: Naming houses? Naming babies? It's sometimes not as straightforward as it seems • Trivia: Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about names. • There is also a name-related cartoon and some carefully selected external links. Answers to comprehension activity: 1.True (T); 2. T; 3. False (F); 4. F; 5. T; 6. F; 7. T; 8. T Answers to vocabulary activity: 1. adventurous; 2. current; 3. unusual; 4. important; 5. traditional; 6. popular; 7. complex; 8. interesting

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Magazine Article – New Zealand http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/new-zealand-two-islands-where-old-meets-new

Introduction This support pack accompanies the magazine article:

New Zealand: Two islands where old meets new To read or listen to the article online, go to:

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/ new-zealand-two-islands-where-old-meets-new This support pack contains the following materials: a pre-reading vocabulary activity the article a comprehension task

Before you read / listen Match the words and phrases in the table to their definitions.

1. legendary

2. horizon

3. stunning

4. dying out

5. a core subject

6. originated from

7. convincing

8. vibrant

Definitions: a. came from a particular place b. becoming less common until it stops happening c. very famous for a long time d. believable e. as far as you can see into the distance, where the land meets the sky f.

extremely beautiful

g. an important subject that everyone has to study h. energetic and exciting

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Magazine Article – New Zealand http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/new-zealand-two-islands-where-old-meets-new

New Zealand: two islands where old meets new By Claire Powell Talking to friends from New Zealand while writing this article confirmed New Zealand’s place at the top of my ‘Must Visit’ list! Tucked away in the Pacific Ocean, here the sun seems to slip more slowly across the sky, perhaps thanks to Maui, a legendary Maori demi-god, whose magic fishing net caught the sun, allowing Maui to ask it to make the days longer. The first New Zealanders were the Maoris, who travelled there by boat about ten thousand years ago. Maori legend has it that Maui magically fished New Zealand’s north island up out of the sea. The south island was his canoe. When you look at a map of the north island, it looks like a fish. With Maui were his brothers, who promised to stay on the canoe while Maui dived down into the sea to thank the gods for his discovery. While waiting, the brothers got greedy, and started trying to divide up the land by beating the fish. When Maui came up and stopped them, the fish had changed shape – which is how the north island got its valleys and mountains. ‘New Zealand’ in Maori is ‘He Aoteroa’ which means ‘Land of the Long White Cloud’. When the Maoris travelled by boat to the islands, they crossed what must have seemed like a neverending ocean. The first thing they saw for a long time was a long white cloud on the horizon, over New Zealand, hence the name. Centuries later, Europeans arrived. Unfortunately, the relationship between these settlers and the Maoris was difficult. In 1840, the British and the Maoris signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which detailed land and fishing rights. Poorly translated into Maori, the Treaty was misinterpreted, often unfairly for the Maoris. In 1975, the government established the Waitangi Tribunal, to clarify the Treaty and honour it as a relevant and living document. Now the New Zealand government has a large

Maori representation, and Maori rights have been recovered. A few years ago, in the north island, a road was being built. Maoris objected to the road going through a lake, where there was a ‘taniwha’ (a legendary water monster). The government bent the road around the lake, preserving not only the ‘taniwha’ but also a stunning natural area. Traditionally community-minded, Maoris lived close together, with extended family living nearby. Now, many Maoris are again buying houses together to recreate these communities. The houses may not be old, but they are decorated with traditional paintings and carvings, and in front of the ‘marae’ (meeting house) is a space where visitors can be welcomed into the house traditionally. A visitor is ‘sung’ onto the ‘marae’, clearing a spiritual pathway for a peaceful meeting between host and guest. The Maori greeting is a ‘hongi’, where, as well as holding hands, you press noses together – meaning you share breath, and, if your foreheads are also pressed together, you share minds as well. New Zealand is a very developed, industrialised country, where western and Maori cultures and peoples have integrated so much that Maori traditions were in danger of dying out. Both Maoris and non-Maoris realised the importance of preserving Maori culture. Maoris began re-teaching their children traditional Maori crafts. Recently, Maori language became a core school subject. Many New Zealanders encourage this development, recognising that Maori language is an integral part of New Zealand’s culture. The Maoris probably originated from around Japan, as the pronunciation of the Maori language is very similar to Japanese, and the Japanese can often say Maori words more

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Magazine Article – New Zealand http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/new-zealand-two-islands-where-old-meets-new

convincingly than the average non-Maori New Zealander. Interestingly, New Zealand English also has its’ own vibrant language! New Zealand slang is different to British and American slang, and even different to Australian. My favourites are ‘chilli bin’; nothing to do with spicy food, but

New Zealand slang for a cool box, and ‘give it some jandal’, meaning ‘put your foot down on the accelerator and speed up’ (‘jandals’ are plastic shoes -‘flip flops’ in the UK and ‘thongs’ in Australia!). Now I must rattle my dags (hurry up) because today I’m off tramping (walking) in the bush (countryside). See you later! And in Maori – Aroha nui!

Comprehension Task True or False Read the following statements and decide if they are true or false. 1. New Zealand is a country made up of two islands. 2. European settlers came long after the arrival of the Maoris in New Zealand. 3. According to Maori legend, the south island was fished out of the sea by Maui. 4. The north island has many mountains and valleys. 5. The treaty of Waitangi was written in the eighteenth century. 6. Many Maoris hold positions in New Zealand government. 7. 'Marae' is Maori for a traditional meeting house. 8. With 'hongi', the traditional Maori greeting, you shake hands. 9. In order to keep the Maori language alive, children learn it at school. 10. New Zealand English slang is sometimes different to slang in other English-speaking countries.

Answers

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Podcasts – Themes – Overpopulation Introduction Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You’ll find more information on this page: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to in the podcast • an optional comprehension activity based on the article • links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (overpopulation). Read the article Overpopulation by John Kuti I come from the south of England, in the most densely-populated corner of a small island, which, you might think, is full of people. (The UK as a whole has 2.4 people per hectare.) I have never gone hungry. The only time when I wish there were less people is on rush-hour trains. However, one of the most interesting findings of the census of 2001 was that a million people were missing. Or at least there were a million people less than the authorities expected. Should we be happy that we have more space and less mouths to feed? I don’t know. As I start writing this article the world population (according to the Office of Population Research at Princeton University – see the link) stands at 6,315,850,431.

something must be wrong with the theory. In the 19th century world population rose from 1 to 1.7 billion. In the 20th, it increased to about 6 billion. Doom, version 2 In 1961, J.G. Ballard wrote a story called Billenium. It’s about a world where the population has gone on increasing at 3% a year to reach a figure of at least 20 billion, although the true number is kept secret. To make space for growing food, everyone lives in giant cities where the buildings are divided into little cubicles. A single person can have 4 square metres and a married couple six. Everyone has enough to eat, but life is certainly very inconvenient. People spend most of the time waiting in queues for the bathroom or anywhere else they want to go.

Doom, version 1: In 1798 Robert Malthus wrote an essay which got economics the name of the dismal science. It was called “The Principle of Population”. He said that it was impossible for the number of people to increase, and even worse, it was impossible for the standard of living to rise. The argument went like this: 1. population naturally increases geometrically: 2, 4, 8, 16… 2. food production increases arithmetically 2, 4, 6, 8… 3. so, population will be controlled by lack of food, the same as it is for animals. Some people will always be starving. A lot of people disliked Malthus’ point of view. Often, because it seemed to go against the idea of progress, which was so important for other social theories of the time. Anyway, the experience of the next two centuries shows that

Reality The real situation is not as bad as these alarming predictions. A very surprising and dramatic change is happening in the world, but it is not Page 1 of 3

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Podcasts – Themes – Overpopulation what Malthus or Ballard predicted. To understand the statistics, we need first to think about the two ways the number of people can go up. The Fertility Rate The most obvious way to increase population is for more babies to be born. If the population is exactly constant, the average woman has 2.1 children. This number is called the "replacement rate". These rates are going down very fast. The peak was in the period 1965-75 at 4.9, now the rate for the world as a whole is 2.8. However, there is still a big difference between the developed countries, where the rate is 1.6 and poor countries where it is 3. To quote some extreme examples, in Italy the figure is 1.2 and in Zambia 5.6 Life expectancy The other reason why there are more people now is that we live longer. This figure also shows a dramatic change. The people born in 1950 could expect, on average, to live 45 years. Now the world life expectancy at birth is 65, and the United Nations predicts this will increase to 76 in the next 50 years. Predictions of doom Malthus and Ballard were still right about some things. The dismal picture painted by Malthus is still true in poor countries where 18 million people starve every year, and more than a billion people Glossary densely-populated: with a lot of people living close together hectare: the size of a square 100 metres by 100 metres census: the official procedure for counting all the people in a country dismal: dark, sad and depressing lack: not having something starving: dying from lack of food. go on - ing: continue figure: number

don't have a supply of clean drinking water. Ballard is right about the trend towards city life. By the year 2006, the United Nations predicts that more than 50% of people will live in cities. City life in the developed world At least in the rich countries, the move into cities seems to be connected with falling fertility rates. It is more expensive to have a child in the city, and children are less useful as workers. Women receive a better education and are able to work – so they have more to lose by becoming mothers. City life seems to encourage individualism – people become more interested in getting an education and a career. They marry later in life, and divorce more often, so producing smaller families. At the moment, it seems quite possible that the same pattern will be repeated everywhere. One UN forecast now foresees a world population of about 5 billion in 2100. But, the more time you spend looking at predictions the more you realise that the human race is a surprising phenomenon. It looks like we will have a clearer idea of what will happen in ten or twenty years time when the present generation of parents moves beyond child-bearing age. Now there are 6,318,042,422 people.

cubicle: a very small closed off space, e.g. a shower cubicle predictions: things people say about what they think will happen in the future constant: staying the same, not changing peak: the highest point average: the figure you get if you add together a set of numbers and divide that total out equally encourage: to make something happen or increase foresee: to predict, to see something that might happen in the future

After reading Exercise 1 Choose the best answer to each of the 8 questions below. 1.

the population of the UK in 2001 A) was impossible to count B) was less than the government thought C) was one million Page 2 of 3 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Podcasts – Themes – Overpopulation

2.

Malthus thought that the number of people: A) would go up very fast, much faster than the amount of food B) would stay the same because there would always be people dying of hunger C) would rise slowly together with the increase in food production

3.

When Malthus wrote his essay the world population was… A) just under one billion B) 1.7 billion C) 6 billion

4.

The number of people in the world depends on: A) the number of babies born B) how long people live C) the combination of A and B

5.

In Italy the average women has A) one baby B) one point two babies C) two babies

6.

People born in the year 2050 will probably A) live to be very old, live in villages and have few children B) live to be very old, live in cities and have few children C) live to be very old, live in cities and have lots of children

7.

people who live in villages and farms have more children because A) mothers can have a good education and better jobs B) people are more individualistic C) the children are useful workers

8.

The author A) is worried about overpopulation B) is worried about the lives of people in poor countries C) is worried about the million people who went missing from the UK

More activities on this topic You’ll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of overpopulation at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-overpopulation.htm • Word game: Apartment game. Read the text and decide which person lives in which apartment. • Story: Stand on Zanzibar. In this science-fiction story by John Brunner, perhaps the definitive overpopulation novel to date, the main driver is overpopulation and its projected consequences. • Trivia: Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about overpopulation. • There is also an overpopulation-related cartoon, and some carefully selected external links. Answers to comprehension activity: 1. B); 2. B); 3. A); 4. C); 5. B); 6. B); 7. C); 8. B) Page 3 of 3 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Podcasts – Themes – Papua New Guinea Introduction Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You’ll find more information on this page: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to in the podcast • two optional comprehension activities based on the article • links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (Papua New Guinea). Read the article Papua New Guinea by Richard Sidaway Why New Guinea? One of the first Europeans to arrive in the 16th century from Portugal thought the country resembled Guinea in West Africa.

turned to mud after the rains and then hardened like cement. Luckily, the town had been evacuated the night before and only five people died.

Why Papua? The word comes from the Malay language and means ‘fuzzy-haired’, referring to the natives.

P ostage stamps – during the First World War, a set of stamps issued by the former Germany colonial authority was used by the Australian occupying forces who simply added the British King’s initials over the top. This only happened for a short time and as a result they are extremely rare. Today, one stamp originally costing five shillings can now sell for $10,000.

Why have such a long name when you can abbreviate it? Papua New Guinea is a bit of a mouthful, so most people shorten it to PNG. Here are some of the many curiosities you might come across if you visit: P idgin – or Tok Pisin, is the language that at least 2 million of the 5 million Papuans use to communicate with each other, in the street or in parliament, on radio and TV, possibly because the island has so many other languages (over 700). Pidgin originated as the lingua franca between foreign traders and natives and denotes any ’language’ which does not have a fully developed grammar and a vocabulary which is a mixture of other languages, in this case Portuguese, English, German and Melanesian. For example, the word for moustache is ‘mausgras’ (mouth grass), child is ‘pikinini’ from the Portuguese word for ‘small’, and ‘raus’ comes from German ‘get out’. A ctive volcanoes – being situated on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, the island has at least fifteen major volcanoes. The provincial capital of Rabaul, once a beautiful coastal town, was almost completely destroyed by the eruption of Tavurvur and Vulcan in 1994. Many buildings collapsed under the weight of volcanic ash which

U nusual animals – most people think that marsupials only live in Australia. Not so. There are quite a few weird and wonderful examples here too, like the tree kangaroo, along with egglaying mammals such as the echidna, the New Guinea Singing Dog (see below) and the world’s longest lizard, the Salvatori Monitor, which is over 3 metres long. A mazing birdlife – any ornithologist would jump at the chance to visit New Guinea with its 700 species of birds. The most striking is the Bird of Paradise, whose mating ritual is emulated in the local tribal dances, and whose image adorns banknotes and the country’s flag. Another is the flightless Cassowary, which uses the bony protuberance on the top of its head to force its way through the dense rainforest. Then there are countless variety of parrot, cockatoo and hornbill, not to mention a pigeon the size of a turkey, and the pitihui, thought to be the only known example of a poisonous bird!

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Podcasts – Themes – Papua New Guinea the anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski in the 1920s. It appeared to show a reversal in the usual gender roles prevailing in most human societies. At the annual Yam Festival, the young maidens were very assertive in their quest for a mate, to the point where it was the custom for groups of adolescent girls to rape lone males.

N atural Resources - the country is rich in minerals -gold and copper are mined extensively which together with oil, bring in three quarters of the country’s export earnings. Coconut and palm oil are also significant industries and PNG produces its own tea and coffee. The most spectacular resource – the trees of the rainforest – are being cut down at an alarming rate by loggers, however. Even so, companies have to tread carefully in this country as 97% of the country is owned by the people, and local clans expect compensation for lost land. When a copper mine polluted a river on the island of Bougainville in the 1980s, it provoked a ten year civil war and attempt at independence. E ating people – usually considered to be wrong in most parts of the world, cannibalism used to be very common in parts of PNG, and human flesh, usually of a tribe’s enemies, was a treated as a delicacy. Thankfully, the practice largely disappeared in the 1950s, which was good news for the tourist trade. W orld’s largest butterfly –the Queen Alexandra Birdwing butterfly, with a wingspan of over 30cm, is a tricky creature to find, in spite of its size. It lives only in the coastal rainforest in the northern part of the island, stays mostly up in the canopy, 30 meters from the ground, and only lives for about three months. The caterpillar feeds on a poisonous plant, the pipevine, which makes it toxic to any potential predator. G ender Relations – the Trobriand Islanders aroused great interest amongst students of human nature after the publication of research by

U nusual musical instruments – bamboo bands were popular in the islands in the 1970s, musicians who played tubes of bamboo by hitting them with sandals! An older instrument is the nose flute, a piece of bamboo from which sound is produced not by blowing through the mouth but through the nose. The preference for this method of playing may be connected to the idea that breath, which passes through the nasal cavity, is the essence of the human soul. I nfinite variety of plants – there are over 11,000 known types of plant in New Guinea, the most colourful being the country’s orchids, of which there are 3,000 different species. PNG is rich in food plants - tropical fruits, root and leaf vegetables, beans and nuts, along with many herbs, spices and flavourings including pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and vanilla. Scientists hope that the islands’ yet uncatalogued plants could also hold cures for HIV, malaria and cancer. N ew Guinea Singing Dog – most dogs whine or howl from time to time, but this species actually sounds like it is singing. The song has been likened to a bird call or even the sounds that whales make. It looks similar to the Australian Dingo with a reddish coat and pointed ears, and was only ‘discovered’ in the 1950s when a pair was taken to a zoo in Sydney. Scientists think it was originally domesticated, and then escaped to the mountain forests where it now makes its home. E arthquakes and tidal waves - several tectonic plates meet under New Guinea and so it suffers from frequent earthquakes. These are often followed by tidal waves or tsunami. In July 1998, after an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale, a tsunami ten metres high hit the north coast and more than 3,000 people lost their lives or went missing.

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Podcasts – Themes – Papua New Guinea A irstrips – there were 560 at the last countthat’s one for every 10,000 people. (In comparison, Britain, with ten times the population, has only about 200). Going by plane is the easiest way to travel any distance as there

are no railways, and the roads are often poor due to the mountainous terrain. And if you are responsible for a road accident, you may end up having your car stoned and burned, so you’re probably better off flying!

After reading Exercise 1 Find the significance of the numbers in the table, which are all from the text. There are two answers for each. 30

700

3,000

10,000

1950s

1. The height above the ground in metres that the largest butterfly in the world usually lives 2. The number of bird species in PNG 3. The number of languages spoken in PNG 4. The number of orchid species in PNG 5. The number of people per airstrip 6. The number of victims of the tsunamis in 1998 7. The value in dollars of a PNG stamp from WW1 8. The wingspan in centimetres of the largest butterfly in the world 9. When cannibalism stopped 10. When the Singing Dog was discovered Exercise 2 What’s the connection between the following pairs of things mentioned in the article? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

'Papua’ and ‘mausgras’ Tribal dances and the Bird of Paradise Whales and a species of dog Australia and Germany Earthquakes and tsunamis

More activities on this topic You’ll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of Papua New Guinea at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-png.htm • Word game: Pidgin English: Match English words and phrases to their equivalents in the Tok Pisin language of Papua New Guinea. • Story: The Masalai of Lep Island: This Papua New Guinea folk story involves a masalai (a large ugly cannibal, similar to an ogre). • Trivia: Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about Papua New Guinea. • There is also a Papua New Guinea-related cartoon and some carefully selected external links. Answers Exercise 1: 1. 30; 2. 700; 3. 700; 4. 3,000; 5. 10,000; 6. 3,000; 7. 10,000; 8. 30; 9. 1950s; 10. 1950s Exercise 2: 1. hair - papua means fuzzy-haired, mausgras means moustache; 2. some tribal dances are imitations of the movements of the bird of paradise; 3. the song of the New Guinea Singing Dog is supposed to resemble that of whales; 4. Australia used German postage stamps in PNG; 5. earthquakes often cause tsunamis Page 3 of 3 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Podcasts – Themes – Parts of the body Introduction Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You'll find more information on this page: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm This support pack contains the following materials: • The article that you can listen to in the podcast • An optional comprehension activity based on the article • Links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (parts of the body). Read the article Parts of the Body by Richard Sidaway There are 50 trillion cells in the human body, 206 bones, 32 teeth, and more than five and a half litres of blood. There is also at least one part of the body for every letter of the English alphabet. Here are 25 of them. Can you guess what they are..?

A B C D E F G H I J

This is a 10cm long piece of the intestines and nobody can really work out what it's for. It's probably a leftover from the days when our ancestors were vegetarian, and many people have it removed when it becomes infected. A muscular bag which expands to collects urine from the kidneys. It can hold as much as half a litre before you have to go to the toilet. They used to be kicked around as footballs and played as musical instruments, although only after the animals had finished using them… Some people have clefts in theirs, others let hair grow on them…You keep it up to recover from a misfortune, and use the word twice to toast someone. The little depression which appears each side of your mouth when you smile is, like the ability to make a u-shape with your tongue, genetic. You've either got it, or you haven't… That most perfect of organs, the biologist's best argument for natural selection, the window to the soul. In sleep, it is covered by a lid. Close one and you wink, close two and you blink. The third is a symbol of enlightenment. People paint the nails to make themselves more attractive and put rings on them to signify alliance. They help us read if we cannot see, and help us speak when we cannot hear. They wrote these words… I've always thought that this sounds like the name of a distinguished Roman Emperor, but it is in fact the most powerful muscle in the human body. There are two of them and chances are you're probably sitting on them right now. The size of a fist, it beats 70 times a minute without stopping for more than 60 years. So much more than just a pump for the blood, it symbolizes love and the centre of our being. It can be followed, broken, even worn on your sleeve! It opens and closes in reaction to light and gives colour to the eye. It is now scanned to check people's identity. The word comes from the woman in Greek mythology who personified the rainbow. The bone that opens and closes the mouth and holds your teeth. It drops if you are shocked or surprised. Snakes can unlock theirs if they're having a particularly big lunch. Page 1 of 4 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Podcasts – Themes – Parts of the body

K L M N O P R S T U V W X Y Z

Bend it and you get shorter, get down on it and you show respect. Footballers and skiers put it under great stress. Children and ventriloquists' dummies tend to use it as a seat. It should jerk if you hit it with a small hammer. Some people fill theirs with smoke, although they are supposed to be used for getting oxygen to the blood and removing carbon dioxide. The right one is bigger than the left one. They have enough airways to cover a tennis court. There are 650 of these and we move when they get shorter. They often work in pairs. Some you can't control at all. One you can, supposedly, is the tongue. It takes 17 of them to make a smile. The 'wires' which pass messages to and from the brain to all parts of the body by using electrical pulses and chemical changes. If the blood to them gets cut off, they get irritated and the result is 'pins and needles'. There are over 70km of them in the skin alone. About the size of a nut, there are two of these organs which produce an unfertilised human egg every month or so for about thirty years. They also release the hormones which change girls into women. This is the part of the body that can be moved sensually while dancing and led to the invention of Hawaiian grass skirts, rock'n'roll and the hula-hoop. It is larger in women for the purposes of childbirth only because humans insist on having such big heads. Twelve pairs in both men and women form a cage to protect various vital organs inside. Some of them 'float' because they don't meet in the middle. If you crack one, you just have to wait until it heals. This is our surface covering. It takes a month for each new cell to move through the three layers to the top, after which it drops off. You lose about 50 kilos of it by the time you are 70. It comes in a variety of colours to protect us from the sun, and gets more wrinkled as we get older. 60,000 litres of water pass down it in the average lifetime and sometimes you get a frog in it. It contains one pipe for food and one for air. Pressure on the outside can lead to strangulation, a blockage inside can cause suffocation. The thing that hangs down at the back of your mouth. This is what you see when you yawn, and can sometimes cause people to snore when they are asleep. This makes your blood look blue. Medical professionals use them if they need to extract a specimen for testing. They can become inflamed or varicose if you spend too much time in one position. A joint that links fifteen separate bones. It is used to hang an accessory for telling the time, or one to persuade you to accompany the police to the station. A long continuous piece of DNA, containing around 1,000 genes, this is one of the 23 pairs that are found in human cells. Women have two of them, men one. A long continuous piece of DNA, containing between 70 and 300 genes. Its sequence has now been mapped by the Human Genome Project. It is found only inside the cells of the male of the species. If you've never heard of this, then you're probably not the only one. Nor had I until I found out it's another name for the cheekbone.

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Podcasts – Themes – Parts of the body

After reading Exercise 1 In the first table are the letters of the alphabet. In the second table are the parts of the body described in the text above, with the first letter missing from each. Can you match the rest of the word to the first letter in each case?

A

E

J

O

V

B

F

K

P

W

C

G

L

R

X

D

H

M

S

Y

E

I

N

T

Z

…elvis

…aw

…hroat

…ung

…inger

…nee

…ein

…ladder

…kin

…ib

…uscle

…ppendix

…vula

…ye

…ris

…ygoma

…erves

…chromosome

…hin

…chromosome

…luteus maximus

…rist

…Imple

…eart

…vary

More activities on this topic You'll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of parts of the body at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-body-parts.htm • Word game: Anatomy. Match the names of parts of the eye, face and rest of the body to pictures of these. • Story: Mr Smith's New Nose. It is the 22nd century and the world is very different. With new technologies, people can have the bodies that they want. • Science: cubed. Artificial breathing: A prosthetic lung mimicking our natural lungs could save lives. • Science: cubed. Cell printout: Creating viable cell structures from living tissue. • Science: cubed. Heart of hope: Growing replacement heart valve tissue from stem cells gives hope to heart patients. • Science: cubed. Mind reader: brain scanning technique maps brain signals to predict our intentions. • Science: cubed. Nose for trouble: New electronic nose sniffs out more smells than ever. Page 3 of 4 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Podcasts – Themes – Parts of the body • Science: cubed. Plastic blood: Providing a possible solution to the global problem of blood shortages. • Science: cubed. Rhythm of life: Measuring the 'heartbeat' of living cells offers a safer approach to drug testing. • Trivia: Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about parts of the body. • There is also a parts of the body-related cartoon and some carefully selected external links. Answers to comprehension activity:

Ankle Bladder Chin Dimple Eye

Finger Gluteus maximus Heart Iris Jaw

Knee Lung Muscle Nerves Ovary

Pelvis Rib Skin Throat Uvula

Vein Wrist Xchromosome Ychromosome Zygoma

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Podcasts – Themes – Peace Introduction Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You’ll find more information on this page: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm This support pack contains the following materials: • The article that you can listen to in the podcast • An optional language activity based on the article • Links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (peace). Read the article Symbols of Peace by Linda Baxter The concept of peace is a very important one in cultures all over the world. Think about how we greet people. In some languages, the phrases for greetings contain the word for peace. In some cultures we greet people by shaking hands or with another gesture to show that we are not carrying weapons - that we come in peace. And there are certain symbols which people in very different cutures recognise as representing peace. Let's look at the origins of a few of them. The dove The dove has been a symbol of peace and innocence for thousands of years in many different cultures. In ancient Greek mythology it was a symbol of love and the renewal of life. In ancient Japan a dove carrying a sword symbolised the end of war. There was a tradition in Europe that if a dove flew around a house where someone was dying then their soul would be at peace. And there are legends which say that the devil can turn himself into any bird except for a dove. In Christian art, the dove was used to symbolise the Holy Ghost and was often painted above Christ's head. But it was Pablo Picasso who made the dove a modern symbol of peace when he used it on a poster for the World Peace Congress in 1949. The rainbow The rainbow is another ancient and universal symbol, often representing the connection between human beings and their gods. In Greek mythology it was associated with Iris, the goddess who brought messages from the gods on Mount Olympus. In Scandinavian mythology the rainbow was a bridge between the gods and the earth. In the Bible a rainbow showed Noah that the Biblical flood was finally over, and that God had forgiven his people. In the Chinese

tradition, the rainbow is a common symbol for marriage because the colours represent the union of yin and yang. Nowadays the rainbow is used by many popular movements for peace and the environment, representing the possibility of a better world in the future and promising sunshine after the rain.

Mistletoe This plant was sacred in many cultures, generally representing peace and love. Most people know of the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe at Christmas time, which probably comes from Scandinavian mythology. The goddess Freya's son was killed by an arrow made of mistletoe, so, in honour of him, she declared that it would always be a symbol of peace. It was often hung in doorways as a sign of friendship. The ancient Druids believed that hanging mistletoe in your doorway protected you from evil spirits. Tribes would stop fighting for a period of time if they found a tree with mistletoe. But you will never see mistletoe in a Christian church - it is banned because of its associations with pagan religion and superstition. Page 1 of 3

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Podcasts – Themes – Peace The olive branch The olive tree has always been a valuable source of food and oil. In Greek mythology, the goddess Athene gave the olive tree to the people of Athens, who showed their gratitude by naming the city after her. But no one knows for sure when or why it began to symbolise peace. There is probably a connection with ancient Greece. Wars between states were suspended during the Olympic Games, and the winners were given crowns of olive branches. The symbolism may come from the fact that the olive tree takes a long time to produce fruit, so olives could only be cultivated successfully in long periods of peace. Whatever the history, the olive branch is a part of many modern flags symbolising peace and unity.

One well-known example is the United Nations symbol. The ankh The ankh is an ancient symbol which was adopted by the hippie movement in the 1960s to represent peace and love. It was found in many Asian cultures, but is generally associated with ancient Egypt. It represented life and immortality. Egyptians were buried with an ankh, so that they could continue to live in the 'afterworld'. The symbol was also found along the sides of the Nile, which gave life to the people. They believed that the ankh could control the flow of the river and make sure that there was always enough water.

After reading - Exercise 1 In the first box are 2 or 3 facts about each of the peace symbols. Can you match the facts to the peace symbols in the second box? could keep evil spirits away is a Christian symbol of forgiveness is associated with Pablo Picasso is often seen in paintings of Christ symbolised immortality was used in the entrance to your house was used to represent peace in the 1960s

explains how a city got its name is also a symbol for marriage is never seen in Christian churches is often seen on flags symbolises hope for the future was used near a river

1. the dove

2. the rainbow

3. mistletoe

4. the olive branch

5. the ankh

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Podcasts – Themes – Peace More activities on this topic You’ll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of peace at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-peace.htm • Article: Peacekeeping: Wherever there is conflict in the world and enemies have agreed to let a third party or neutral force come in to try and maintain the peace, it is usually the familiar blue helmets of the United Nations that we see on the scene. • Word game: Peace symbols. Match pictures of peace symbols with their names. • Story: The Robe of Peace. Johnny Bellchambers was the flashiest dresser in all of New York. Then, suddenly, he disappeared into thin air. In this amusing story by O. Henry you find out what happened to him. • Trivia: Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about peace. • There is also a peace-related cartoon and some carefully selected external links. Answers to comprehension activity: 1. the dove = is often seen in paintings of Christ; is associated with Pablo Picasso 2. the rainbow = is also a symbol for marriage; symbolises hope for the future; is a Christian symbol of forgiveness 3. mistletoe = is never seen in Christian churches; was used in the entrance to your house; could keep evil spirits away 4. the olive branch = is often seen on flags; explains how a city got its name 5. the ankh = symbolised immortality; was used to represent peace in the 1960s; was used near a river

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Podcasts – Themes – Peacekeeping Introduction Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You’ll find more information on this page: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to in the podcast • three optional vocabulary activities based on the article • links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (peace and peacekeeping). Read the article Peacekeeping by Richard Sidaway Wherever there is conflict in the world and enemies have agreed to let a third party or neutral force come in to try and maintain the peace, it is usually the familiar blue helmets of the United Nations that we see on the scene. The actual definition of peacekeeping is a bit unclear and it was never written into the original UN Charter, but it goes something like 'using military personnel from different countries under the command of the UN to control and resolve armed conflict either between or within states’. Peacekeeping is neither just finding out the facts nor full-scale military intervention, but something in between.

Are all UN peacekeeping missions similar? There are different types of intervention, some more discrete than others: Observation/monitoring only, for example of Cuban troops leaving Angola or of the Iran-Iraq ceasefire in 1991 Assisting a country to independence, for example in Namibia 1978-1989

Over the last ten years it has become clear that for peacekeeping to work certain things must already be in place – the conflict must actually have finished and there must be a genuine desire for peace on both sides. The peacekeeping force must have clear international support and a mandate that shows it is strictly neutral; and it needs adequate resources to do the job. How long has it been going on? There have been 56 UN peacekeeping operations in total since 1948, although over 30 of those have happened since 1990. Two of these operations have in fact never stopped since 1948: the interventions in the Arab/Israeli conflict following the foundation of the state of Israel, and in the dispute between Pakistan and India over the Kashmir region. Another that has been going on for over forty years is on the divided island of Cyprus, where peace has been maintained between Greek and Turkish Cypriots since March 1964.

Armed intervention, for example in the Suez Canal region 1956-1967 to keep Egypt and Israel apart and supervise the withdrawal of troops from the UK, France and Israel Who are the peacekeepers? They are professional soldiers, civilian police and military observers from any member country of the UN. These countries also provide supplies, transportation, telecommunications, and administrative help, amongst other things. Who pays?

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Podcasts – Themes – Peacekeeping These forces are paid for by all UN member countries. The budget is currently $2.82 billion, although they have been a bit behind in their payments recently- $2.3 billion is still owing! What do they actually do? The typical image of a peacekeeper is a soldier sitting in a watchtower with a pair of binoculars keeping an eye on a border, but they also organise the clearing of mines, supervise elections, monitor human rights and oversee the return of refugees to their homes. It is a risky occupation and sometimes they have to resort to force to defend themselves, recently for example in Liberia. Since peacekeeping began there have been 1,879 fatalities, the highest being between 1993 and 1995 when over 500 UN peacekeepers were killed. Give me some success stories UN peacekeeping missions have intervened very successfully following the end of civil wars such as in El Salvador 1991-95, Mozambique 1992-94 and Cambodia 1991-93 where they verified agreements on ceasefires, elections, land and electoral reform, organised the demobilization of soldiers and helped create new police forces. In East Timor in 1999 they restored order after the violent reaction to the vote for selfgovernment and they were the transitional administration that helped Timor to create new structures after independence in 2002.

Didn’t peacekeeping get a bad name in the 1990s? Somalia was the first big failure for UN intervention in 1992. In Srebrenica in 1994, a Dutch force under UN command failed to prevent a massacre of the local population, and in Rwanda in the same year there was full-scale genocide of nearly a million people, despite a peacekeeping force of 5,000. Four UN missions to Angola failed to stop civil war breaking out again and again. It seems only if there is a real will to turn away from war, can peacekeepers be effective. The future Now that the Cold War is over and small localised wars break out ever more frequently, there have been calls for the establishment of a UN Rapid Response force, so that it doesn’t take the international community six months to assemble a peacekeeping mission, by which time it is often too late. The attack on UN headquarters in Baghdad in 2003 has also called into question the respect for being impartial which the organisation thought it had. Nevertheless, most people agree that the world still needs some kind of neutral body, backed by force if necessary, for helping former enemies make the transition from war to peace.

After reading Practice collocations (combinations of words formed when two or more words are frequently used together in a way that sounds correct). Exercise 1 Match the verbs in the first column with the nouns on the right. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

restore resort to call into resolve maintain verify

a. an agreement b. a conflict c. force d. order e. the peace f. question

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Podcasts – Themes – Peacekeeping Exercise 2 Match the adjectives in the first table with the nouns in the second table. 1. peacekeeping 2. third 3. adequate 4. military 5. international 6. electoral a. Community d. Party

b. Intervention e. Reform

c. Mission f. Resources

Exercise 3 Match the nouns in the first table with the nouns in the second table. 1. withdrawal 2. clearing 3. return the

4. demobilization

of

5. end 6. massacre 7. establishment a. civil wars d. refugees g. a UN rapid response force

b. the local population e. soldiers

c. mines f. troops

More activities on this topic You’ll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of peace and peacekeeping at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-peace.htm • Article: Peace symbols. "The concept of peace is a very important one in cultures all over the world. Think about how we greet people. In some languages, the phrases for greetings contain the word for peace." • Word game: Peace symbols. Match pictures of peace symbols with their names. • Story: The Robe of Peace. Johnny Bellchambers was the flashiest dresser in all of New York. Then, suddenly, he disappeared into thin air. In this amusing story by O. Henry you find out what happened to him. • Trivia: Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about peace and peacekeeping. • There is also a peacekeeping-related cartoon and some carefully selected external links. Answers: Exercise 1: 1d; 2c; 3f; 4b; 5e; 6a (These are the collocations from the text. Other possible collocations include: maintain order; restore the peace) Exercise 2: 1c; 2d; 3f; 4b; 5a; 6e (These are the collocations from the text. Other possible collocations include: military resources; international intervention; international mission) Exercise 3: 1f; 2c; 3d; 4e; 5a; 6f; 7g (These are the collocations from the text. Other possible collocations include: the withdrawal of soldiers; the demobilization of troops; the massacre of refugees) Page 3 of 3 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Articles Philosophy by Julie Bray “We are such stuff as dreams are made on and our little life is rounded with a sleep.” (Shakespeare) Does this sentence make you think? What does it make you think about? Shakespeare was a dreamer, and some say he was a philosopher too. In this sentence he tells us that our lives are short but we can think up big and important ideas in that short time. The two Greek words – “philo”, which means love and “sophia”, which means wisdom are the beginnings of the word we use today; Philosophy, the love of wisdom. Most people have a philosophy on life. Everybody has an idea of what is right and what is wrong, and why things are the way they are, and who they are and who to trust. A lot of people believe somebody else’s philosophy. That person may be a religious or political leader, or anybody you look up to. Some people have their own philosophy on life which might be a mixture of theories. Others are philosophers; people who want to know the truth about life for themselves and spend their time studying, thinking and asking questions. One of the earliest Eastern philosophies was Taoism, which came from China. We are all aware of the yin and yang halves of the universe – nothing can exist without its opposite. Another great eastern philosophy is Buddhism, which is a religion and also a system of beliefs which help us to understand ourselves and others better. One branch of western philosophy, Existentialism, is very similar to Buddhist ideas. Both ask questions about what really exists in life, and help us to decide what is important. The first western philosophers lived in Greece. They encouraged people to find their own answers to questions about life instead of believing the Gods did everything. Socrates was the most famous of these. He is one of the most famous philosophers in the world, yet he said ‘one thing I know and that is that I know nothing.’ This is why he never wrote or lectured. He only discussed. He did not believe he could tell anybody anything, that it was better to encourage individual thinking. Today philosophers are still encouraging people to think. Schools in some countries teach philosophy to children. Reading books written by old philosophers can be difficult because the language is from the past. So stories are used to help schoolchildren make their own decisions about what is right and wrong and think about the best way to solve problems. Why do we need philosophy? There are plenty of people who think that killing animals is cruel, but eating animals is fine. If you are one of these people, you should ask yourself why. Why is killing animals cruel? Why is it okay to eat animals? You might find that the answer to each question is very different and you could have an argument by yourself using your own ideas! Go on and argue - you will understand more about what you believe. You will begin to understand the subject more deeply. And this helps you to feel comfortable with it. And you might change something or you might not. When we ask ourselves questions, we start to understand ourselves and our lives, and it’s up to us to make changes or not. If the ideas in your head agree, this means you have integrity. What you say and what you do are the same. Everyone respects someone who has integrity! By thinking and questioning, we can understand more and maybe prevent problems caused by misunderstanding. But philosophy can also cause problems and conflict when people don’t agree. When one group of people choose one philosophy to believe and another group of people choose a different philosophy, when they need to think or make a decision together, they start trying to change each other instead of working together on bigger ideas about life. So when you have some spare time, ask yourself the following philosophical questions: Does the world own us or do we own the world? Which is more important, humans or stars? If a tree falls where nobody can hear it, does it make a sound? And the Zen Buddist riddle: What is the sound of one hand clapping? Page 1 of 1 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Magazine – Physical education Introduction You can listen to a recording of this article at: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/magazine-articles/physical-education This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to • a comprehension activity based on the article Read the article Physical education by Richard Sidaway School days are supposed to be the best days of your life and part of that experience usually involves some strenuous physical activity. I asked some colleagues to give me their recollections of what happened to them on the sports field and beyond, and this is what they told me …

I was chosen to be the leader, I think, because I was the only one who knew how to read a map! When we arrived back at the campsite we found out that all the other groups had cheated and hitched most of the way instead... I felt a bit of a mug, but also rather proud of myself at the same time for having done it properly. Learning to swim, learning to drown

Cup winners When I was about ten, the football team from our year inexplicably made it to the cup final of the local schools’ league. I say inexplicably because I only remember us losing nearly every match we played. Anyway, in the final I set up the winning goal, a brilliant cross to my mate David who headed the ball in just before the final whistle. I still have a photograph of the team holding the cup. Forest hike I remember having to lead a group of eight boys on a school expedition for the best part of two days when I was a teenager. Even though we got lost at one point, I managed to keep them all together and got them from one end of a large forest to the other and back by sheer force of will.

I learned to swim comparatively late, I suppose, I was maybe nine years old, but my brother had a traumatic experience which nearly put him off for life. We lived in the USA for a while and had access to a university pool where the coaches had trained the American Olympic team. In those days, though, their idea of teaching kids how to swim was to tie a tin can to their ankles with a bit of string, throw them in the deep end and shout ‘Swim!’. I’m surprised my brother survived at all. He could only have been about six at the time. Sponsored walk One of my earliest physical feats was probably going on a ten-mile walk for charity when I was about seven. I went with my older brother and my Dad, but they didn’t make much allowance for the fact that my legs were shorter - I had to go at the same pace as them! Even so, I made it and raised quite a lot of money from school friends and teachers who had agreed to pay me for every mile I walked. Cross-country ordeal I remember one dark, wet afternoon in February being herded out onto the school field and having to run three miles across country while the rain came bucketing down. Soon we were all Page 1 of 3

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Magazine – Physical education drenched to the skin, shivering with cold and the only way to stay warm was to keep running. One of the gym teachers, who had been sitting inside having a cup of tea, came out to meet us halfway around the course and told us to jump over a stream before we could start on the home stretch. This teacher actually stood on the hands of the boys he didn’t like as they were trying to climb up the muddy bank on the other side, so that they slid back down into the freezing water. I was disgusted by this, but of course I didn’t say anything, I was only twelve. I think it changed my view of human nature a bit after that, the fact that someone who I had previously respected could be so cynical and cruel. Dwarfed in Germany We went on a tour of Germany one year from secondary school to play football against three different teams there. Everyone was violently sick on the ferry going across to Holland, and the whole thing was a bit of a farce as the teacher who had arranged it didn’t speak German very well so we ended up playing teams who were three or four years older than us! Naturally we got beaten every time. Climb every mountain One of my best memories of early physical endeavour was climbing Ben Nevis, which is the

tallest mountain in the British Isles. It was a glorious day, which is pretty rare for that part of Scotland, and we walked up in about five hours. The last bit is pretty hard going as it’s a zigzag path of big stones. We took the family dog and she had a really difficult time of it. The strangest thing was that we didn’t see too many people on the way up, and then when we reached the top it was suddenly covered with Japanese tourists. I can only presume they had been airlifted there by helicopter. Down to earth My cousins were always the outdoor, adventurous types, learning how to canoe and windsurf and abseil and so on. One day, one of them climbed onto the top of the house to fix some tiles with my uncle. The next minute he appeared at the kitchen door a little bit dazed and his mother, who was cooking lunch, looked at him in surprise and said: ‘What are you doing here? I thought you were helping your Dad.’ ‘I’ve just fallen off the roof, Mum’, he said. Apparently he had overbalanced and toppled over backwards. Because he had recently been doing parachute training -his latest hobby- he had rolled over automatically when he hit the ground, without thinking. This was a big, old two-storey house and he must have been at least 10 metres from the ground, but he didn’t have a scratch on him!

After reading Exercise 1 Choose the best answer to each of the following 8 questions. 1. What did the first person do in the schools’ cup final? a. He scored the winning goal b. He provided the pass for the final goal c. He blew the whistle at the end of the game 2. The second person felt a bit stupid after hiking through the forest because a. the other groups had arrived before them b. the other groups had known how to read the map c. the other groups had gone by car instead of walking

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Magazine – Physical education 3. When he was learning to swim, this person’s brother a. shouted at the coach b. started in the shallow end of the pool c. had something attached to him 4. Which sentence is not true about the walk for charity a. he walked quite slowly b. he walked a long way c. he was quite young at the time 5. Which sentence is not true about the cross-country run a. the teacher made the students run in the rain b. the teacher ran the whole way with the students c. the teacher made some of the boys fall into the stream 6. His school team lost all of its matches in Germany because a. they were all sick from the journey there b. they didn’t speak German c. the teams they played were older than them 7. Why was the final part of climbing the mountain more difficult? a. there were lots of people in the way b. the dog refused to continue c. they had to walk over large stones 8. What was surprising about what happened to the person’s cousin? a. he wasn’t hurt b. he fell a long way c. his parachute didn’t open

Answers to comprehension activity: 1. b; 2. c; 3. c; 4. a; 5. b; 6. c; 7. c; 8. a Page 3 of 3 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Magazine Article - Physics http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/physics

Introduction This support pack accompanies the magazine article:

Physics To read or listen to the article online, go to:

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/ physics This support pack contains the following materials: •

a pre-reading vocabulary activity;

•

the article;

•

a comprehension task

Before you read / listen Match the words and phrases in the table to their definitions.

1. strenuous

2. recollections

3. right angle

4. mass

6. fuzzy

7. constants

8. quark

9. tiny

5. particle

accelerators 10. crouching

down

Definitions: a. Amount of matter in a solid object b. One of the most basic forms of matter c.

Neither true nor false

d. With bent knees and close to the ground e. Descriptions of memories f.

Very small

g. Numbers or amounts that never change h. 90º space where two lines touch i.

Machines making small pieces of matter move at high speed

j.

Requiring a lot of strength

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Magazine Article - Physics http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/physics

Article: Physics by John Kuti School days are supposed to be the best days of your life and part of that experience usually involves some strenuous physical activity. Here are some recollections of what happened on the sports field… In the square outside the British Library in London is a sculpture of Sir Isaac Newton - The first man who asked why apples seem always to fall towards the centre of the earth. Maybe they chose it for the spot because it shows a great scientist at work. Actually, it is a critical view of a great scientist, which comes originally from a drawing by William Blake, the romantic poet and artist. Blake wanted to show the limits of science, that it could never understand the beauty and strangeness of nature. The sculpture shows a man crouching down to draw a right-angle on the ground or to measure something he can’t see. Maybe he’s trying to find the direction to the centre of the earth. In Blake’s original you can see strange complicated rocks around Newton that he does not seem interested in studying. A lot of things in the universe can be measured, but people want to know why they are that size. We know the mass of a quark and the charge on an electron. These are constants. It turns out that these numbers HAVE to be exactly what they are, because if they were different we would not be here. You, me and the physicists, we’re part of the universe. We have to be here to make physics, so physics has to describe a universe where there can be people. Gravity is another problem for physics - because it is everywhere and acts on everything, including space itself. It’s different from other forces like electricity or radiation, because you can’t stop it or turn it off. Modern physicists still look mostly at things we can’t see. (They think gravity might happen

because of something no-one has ever detected called the Higg’s boson.) Either very small things in quantum physics or very big things like galaxies. Putting them together is the main problem of modern physics. The universe and space and time described by Einstein and the fuzzy fast-moving little sub-atomic particles and small things that might make them up. If you want to know how the universe began - with a tiny size but very big mass, then you need a theory that fits both together. At the moment, the theory suggests that the things we can see – stars and planets etc. make up only 5% of the universe. The rest is 25% “dark matter” and 70% “dark energy”. A theory that could explain all that would be a ‘theory of everything” - the real laws of nature. There are already suggestions of what it might be. Scientists think that the laws of nature might be rather simple, even though the real world is full of strange and beautifully complicated things. One suggestion is called “string theory”, the idea is that inside every particle there is some energy that is like the string of a musical instrument – the way it vibrates makes a different sort of particle. At the moment they say there are 18 sorts. Physicists say that string theory needs extra dimensions. There are other directions where energy can get carried away, and other particles which no one has seen. They try to find them in particle accelerators where protons go round in circles in tunnels getting faster and faster until they reach almost exactly the speed of light. This year the Large Hadron Collider should start work in Switzerland and it is just possible that they will find the Higg’s boson, or even the little strings inside it. In 2005, there are also still poets and romantics who would prefer to look for nature’s secrets in other places.

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Magazine Article - Physics http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/physics

Comprehension task True or false Read the questions below and select the right answer. 1. We know there are ________ things that can't be measured. a. a lot of b. mostly c. full 2. Gravity is ________ other forces because we don't know how it works. a. almost exactly b. different from c. part of 3. Physicists ________ study things that we can't see. a. other b. mostly c. small 4. Quantum physics is a science of very ________ things. a. extra b. a lot of c. small 5. String theory says there must be ________ dimensions. a. another b. other c. others 6. The constants in physics are ________ what they should be. a. exactly b. particularly c. occasionally 7. Gravity is ________ problem for physics. a. another b. other c. others 8. Uniting quantum theory and relativity is the ________ problem of modern physics. a. mostly b. main c. exactly 9. The real world is ________ of strange and beautiful things. a. part b. different c. full 10. We are ________ of the universe. a. part b. full c. main

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Podcasts – Themes – Pilgrims Introduction Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You’ll find more information on this page: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to in the podcast • an optional comprehension activity based on the article • links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (Pilgrims). Read the article Pilgrims by Claire Powell and Dave Collett Who were the pilgrims? There are many legends surrounding the pilgrims. In fact they were real people: English men and women who wanted to escape the religious controversies and economic problems of their time by emigrating to America. The pilgrim story begins in England in the 16th century. A congregation of religious dissidents in Nottinghamshire believed the Church of England did not act in accordance with the teachings of the Bible so they established a church of their own in 1606. At that time the church and state were one, so being a separatist was considered an act of treason. The congregation had no choice but to leave their motherland. They fled to the city of Leiden in Holland where they could worship as they liked. Unfortunately life was hard there, so they decided to emigrate to the English colonies in North America, then known as ‘Virginia’. Other pilgrims also came for the economic opportunity although they remained loyal to their national church. Finance The voyage and settlement was financed by a group of English investors known as the ‘merchant adventurers’. They formed a partnership with the colonists whereby the merchants agreed to risk their money, and the settlers to invest their labour for seven years. Land and livestock were jointly owned and the company would dissolve and divide its assets after the seven years. Departure to New England On September 6, 1620, aboard a ship called the Mayflower, 102 passengers set sail across the

Atlantic. The crossing was smooth at first but then came many storms, which damaged the ship. Two people died on board and one baby, named Oceanus, was born. Eventually after 66 days of travelling the emigrants arrived in Cape Cod in southeastern Massachusetts. The pilgrims chose to stay here as it was too late to go to the northern part of Virginia. The first winter The pilgrims went ashore to explore the wilderness. They had carried a small boat in sections below decks on the Mayflower, and this had to be assembled before groups could go and explore the coastline. Exploration began with a small group of sixteen men. They discovered a buried cache of corn and a kettle, signs that the native Americans had a camp there. Later on, in December, the pilgrims discovered a sheltered bay, called Plymouth Harbour, a place which was protected and good for them to live permanently. Their first winter was much colder than the English winters they had experienced before, but all the same, the pilgrims continued exploring. They found a native American burial ground and unoccupied homes. After a cold night camping, the pilgrims came face to face with the native Americans at dawn. The pilgrims fled back to their boat and sailed home to Plymouth Harbour. The pilgrims began building houses, but the weather conditions were terrible, meaning that the building took longer to complete. Some of the thatched houses caught fire, due to pilgrims cooking and trying to keep warm. The pilgrims sheltered from the snowstorms in the Mayflower ship. About half the group died from the bitter Page 1 of 3

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Podcasts – Themes – Pilgrims cold and from malnutrition, although happily, a baby, Peregrine, was also born. The pilgrims persevered and finally finished their village in February. The native Americans met the pilgrims on March 16th. A native American, Samoset, from present day Maine, welcomed the pilgrims in English. Samoset had learnt English from fishermen. He explained how previous explorers had kidnapped some native Americans, and said he hoped they

would be able to live peacefully together. Massosoit, the regional leader of the Wampanoag also visited the pilgrims and they exchanged gifts. They signed a peace treaty, which would last for over 50 years. The first Thanksgiving festival was held in the autumn of 1621, and Massasoit was invited. Together, they celebrated the harvest and the success of their peace with feasting and dancing. This festival is now a public holiday in the USA.

Glossary assemble (v): to build or make something. assets (n): (in business) buildings, equipment and land owned by a company. cache (n): a hidden store. controversy (n): a lot of argument or disagreement about something, usually because it affects or is important to many people. dawn (n): when the sun rises in the morning. dissident (n): a person who publicly disagrees with and criticises their government. dissolve (v): to end an official organisation or legal arrangement. flee, fled (v): to run away from something / somebody. loyal (adj): not changing your friendship, support for a person or an organisation. malnutrition (n): a poor condition of health caused by a lack of food or a lack of the right type of food. merchant (n): a person whose job is to buy and sell products in large amounts, especially by trading with other countries. persevere (v): to continue to work hard at something, even if it is very difficult. separatist (n): someone who is a member of a racial, religious or other group. within a country who believes that this group should be independent. thatched house (n): a house where the roof is made of dried straw or thick grass. treason (n): (the crime of) lack of loyalty to your country, especially by helping its enemies or attempting to defeat its government. unoccupied (adj): an adjective describing an empty place that nobody lives in. After reading Exercise 1 Below are 10 events from the article, but they are in the wrong order. Can you put them in the right order? a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) i) j)

A baby, called Oceanus, was born. A peace treaty was signed on March 16th. The first Thanksgiving took place in the Autumn of 1621. They arrived at Cape Cod in south-eastern Massachusetts. They built a small boat to explore the coastline. They discovered a sheltered bay which they called Plymouth Harbour. They found empty houses and a burial ground. They left England, and went to Holland. They met native Americans at dawn. They set sail on the Mayflower from Holland. Page 2 of 3 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Podcasts – Themes – Pilgrims More activities on this topic You’ll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of Pilgrims at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-pilgrims.htm • Word game: Holy places. Match the names of religions to the names of their holy places, the locations of these, and the name of a monument which can be found there. • Story: In my father's footsteps: Today was a pilgrimage. Today – for Andy – was a day like going to Rome, or sick people to Lourdes, or the people walking to Santiago de Compostela, or even Mecca. But Andy is a different type of pilgrim ... • In History: Mecca deaths • Trivia: Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about pilgrims. • There is also a pilgrim-related cartoon and some carefully selected external links. Answers to comprehension activity: 1. (h); 2. (j); 3. (a); 4. (d); 5. (e); 6. (f); 7. (g); 8. (i); 9. (b); 10. (c)

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Articles Pirates and piracy by Paul Millard Piracy - the act of robbery from ships at sea - has existed for thousands of years. It was written about by the ancient Greeks and has been written about ever since. As long as some people have moved valuable cargo in ships, other people have wanted to rob them. However, to most people in Britain and North America, piracy belongs to the Caribbean of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a time known to some as ‘The Golden Age of Piracy’. This is the era of parrots sitting on shoulders, wooden legs, eye patches, metal hooks instead of hands and men with beards shouting, ‘Aha me hearties’. And people robbing ships. Many of these ideas and images come from books, such as Stevenson’s ‘Treasure Island’, Defoe’s ‘King of Pyrates’ and Barrie’s ‘Peter Pan’. As you may have noticed, pirates are well-represented in films and cartoons, from Errol Flynn to Walt Disney right up to the Curse of the Black Pearl. Why is this era of piracy written about so much in English literature? One obvious reason is that the pirates were British and American. While many stories show them to be cruel robbers and killers, another view of piracy is commonly depicted, in which the pirates are much more heroic and adventurous. There are a number of reasons for this. One is that rebellious outlaws are often attractive figures, especially if they are from another time in history. More importantly, many pirates were acting in the national interest and became heroes for this. It was quite common for governments to give permission for pirates to attack ships belonging to enemy nations. These pirates were known as ‘privateers’. The British privateers in the Caribbean became famous because they were part of the long-running conflict with Spain for domination of the region and the world. One of England’s great naval heroes, Sir Francis Drake, was really just a privateer who attacked Spanish ships. The rich cargoes of gold and silver leaving South America were an attractive target for him and many others that followed. Similarly, pirates often have a heroic image in the United States because of their role in the War of Independence against Britain. Initially, the American navy was very small, so Congress encouraged privateers to attack British ships, which they did, in large numbers. For every ship in the American navy, there were at least ten pirate ships. These caused severe damage to Britain’s ability to supply its army in North America. The privateers fought again in the War of 1812, most famously in New Orleans, where Jean Lafitte and his men played a vital role in the defence of the city. There is another reason why pirates have a positive image in popular history. Most pirate ships were surprisingly egalitarian and democratic. It was normal for the captain to be elected and most issues were decided by a vote. The stolen goods were fairly divided amongst the crew members. Many pirates were men who had escaped from the harder discipline of the merchant ships and the navy. In their escape from authority, they created a model of a more just and fair society, many years ahead of the revolutions in America and France. To many of us, pirates are an interesting and colourful part of history, useful as entertainment but not much else. However, modern piracy is alive and well and increasing every year. In 2002, there were 370 incidences of piracy world-wide. These days, the Caribbean is fairly quiet. The piracy hotspot now is Asia, particularly in the seas around Indonesia, where over a hundred pirate attacks took place. Some acts of piracy are opportunistic, simple affairs – robbers boarding a ship that is waiting in a port, hoping to take money and anything else that can be easily carried. Others use advanced technology and are very organised. Sometimes, the pirates take the valuables from a ship and sometimes they Page 1 of 2 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Articles take the entire ship. This is especially true if the cargo is a valuable one that can easily be transferred to another ship, such as oil or gas. Very often, a stolen ship can be repainted, renamed and reused elsewhere. Operations of this size are difficult to hide and money is often paid to government officials to get their help and cooperation. Sometimes, government employees are the pirates – one victim of Asian piracy in the 1990s complained that his attackers appeared to be members of the Navy that was supposed to protect him. Protecting ships is difficult. Most ships have fewer sailors than they did in the past, and they no longer carry weapons. One defence mechanism now on the market is an electric fence that deters attackers with a 9,000 volt shock. Whether it works or not, it is too late for the fourteen crew of one Indonesian vessel. On November 25th 2003, they became the year’s final piracy statistic. Their tug boat was pulling a barge when they were attacked by fifteen pirates armed with guns. The crew were ordered to jump off the ship and swim to a nearby island. Fortunately, they all survived, but their ship and the pirates have disappeared.

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Articles Puppets by Linda Baxter Watch a group of children playing with their toys. At first they might be happy to put the plastic animals in their cages at the zoo and take them out again, or dress the dolls in different clothes, but after a while things get a bit boring. So the toys will be moved across the floor as if they had real legs, the animals will start to speak to each other and the dolls will pay visits to each other's houses and talk about what they've been doing today, all in slightly different voices of course. It seems that the impulse to make inanimate figures move and talk is a very natural one, and, of course, that's exactly what puppets are all about. And that's probably why they've existed for thousands of years - and are known to children and adults all over the world. The basic types Shadow puppets are one-dimensional silhouettes which move against a light background so that they can be clearly seen by the audience. They usually have moveable arms and legs which the puppeteer controls. These ancient puppets still survive in some parts of the world, for example, the leather puppets of India and the Javanese Wayang Kulit. Rod puppets are three-dimensional figures controlled by pieces of wood or bamboo attached to different parts of their bodies. The simplest form, and one of the earliest, is just a head on a stick - an early form of doll. But more sophisticated versions have many moveable body parts and can be moved in a very realistic way. Once again, Java has probably the most famous rod puppets in the world - the Wayang Golek. As the name suggests, string puppets (or marionettes) are three dimensional figures controlled by strings. The standard puppet has strings attached to its arms, legs, shoulders, back and head. These are attached to a cross of wood which the puppeteer holds in one hand while moving individual strings with the other. Different versions of string puppets are found all over the world. Hand puppets (also known as glove puppets) are three-dimensional figures which are usually made of cloth and worn on the puppeteer's hand or arm. They are probably the most common form of puppet all over the world because they are easy to make and to manipulate. The famous Punch and Judy puppets, which every British adult remembers from childhood days at the seaside, are glove puppets. How they developed Very little is known about the origins of puppets. Puppets have been found in ancient Egyptian and Chinese sites and puppets were mentioned by Plato and Aristotle but we have no details about how they were used. All we know is that different cultures had them and they developed in different ways. The earliest puppets were probably simple shadow puppets. Later, when rods were added to give more control to the silhouettes, the three-dimensional rod puppets developed and then the types that we know today. In Britain, string puppets became very popular in the Middle Ages, when they were used in church services to illustrate Bible stories, such as the birth of Christ. It's possible that the word 'marionette' (which means 'little Mary') comes from this time. The puppet shows slowly moved out of the churches and into the streets and by the sixteenth century there were puppet theatres at every country fair. The shows were popular entertainment and were often very rude and satirical. Punch and Judy arrived at this time from Italy. The puppets were marionettes but by the nineteenth century they had became glove puppets because they were cheaper to make and easier to transport and manipulate. Page 1 of 2 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Articles Puppets today Nowadays in Britain puppets are usually associated with children's entertainment but they still survive as an adult art form in many countries, particularly in the East. One of the most important uses of puppets today is in education for children and adults alike. Traditional puppet shows are a good way of exploring sensitive issues such as sex education or AIDS awareness which people may be embarrassed to discuss openly. They are widely used in therapy too. A child who doesn't want to talk about the terrible thing that happened to him is often happy to act out the scene using puppets. And of course, on a lighter note, let's not forget the new generations of puppets that television has brought us through the years, from the old classics like Thunderbirds, to Kermit and Miss Piggy of the Muppets, and the satire of Spitting Image. It really does seem that puppets are not just for children.

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Magazine – Rainforests Rule! Introduction You can listen to a recording of this article at: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/magazine-articles/rainforests-rule This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to • a comprehension activity based on the article Read the article Rainforests rule! by Claire Powell A world like no other – perhaps this is the best way to describe the world of the rainforest. No rainforest is exactly the same – yet most rainforests are now distributed in the small land area 22.5 degrees north and 22.5 degrees south of the Equator, between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer. You can find tropical rainforests in South America and Indonesia. Other rainforests flourish further from the Equator, in Thailand and Sri Lanka.

caterpillars. To survive in the forest, animals must climb, jump, fly or glide across the gaps. The ground floor of the forest is not all tangled leaves and bushes, like in films, but is actually fairly clear. It is where leaves decompose into food for the trees and other forest life.

Despite occupying a relatively small area, rainforests have a colossal role to play in maintaining the world as we know it. Tropical rainforests are home to a rich, colourful variety of medicinal plants, food, birds and animals. Can you believe that a single bush in the Amazon may have more species of ants than the whole of Britain! 480 varieties of trees may be found in just one hectare of rainforest. These forests sustain around 50% of all the species on Earth, and offer a way of life to many people living in and around the forest. Rainforests are the lungs of the planet – storing vast quantities of carbon dioxide and producing a significant amount of the world’s oxygen. Rainforests have their own perfect system for ensuring their own survival; the tall trees make a canopy of branches and leaves which protect themselves, smaller plants, and the forest animals from heavy rain, intense dry heat from the sun and strong winds. Amazingly, the trees grow in such a way that their leaves and branches, although close together, never actually touch those of another tree. Scientists think this is a deliberate tactic to prevent the spread of any tree diseases and make life more difficult for leaf-eating insects like

They are not called rainforests for nothing! Rainforests can generate 75% of their own rain. At least 80 inches of rain a year is normal – and in some areas there may be as much as 430 inches of rain annually. This is real rain – your umbrella may protect you in a shower, but it won’t keep you dry if there is a full rainstorm. In just two hours, streams can rise ten to twenty feet. The humidity of large rainforests contributes to the formation of rainclouds that may travel to other countries in need of rain. Worryingly, rainforests around the world are disappearing at an alarming rate, thanks to deforestation, river pollution, and soil erosion as Page 1 of 2

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Magazine – Rainforests Rule! land is being claimed for agriculture and trees are felled for wood. A few thousand years ago, tropical rainforests covered as much as 12% of the land surface on Earth, but today this has fallen to less than 5.3%.

businesses to use their environmental knowledge and power to preserve the rainforests – aweinspiring, beautiful and vital for our existence.

We can only hope that the world governments work together with environmentalists and After reading Exercise 1 Select the best answer to each of the following questions. 1. Rainforests can be found a) only in South America b) in many countries all over the world c) in a small strip of land, mostly equatorial 2. Rainforests hold a) more than half the world’s species b) less than half the world’s species c) approximately half the world’s species 3. Rainforests are ‘the lungs of the planet’ because they a) produce a large amount of oxygen and store a large amount of carbon dioxide b) store a small amount of oxygen and produce a large amount of carbon dioxide c) produce a small amount of oxygen and store a small amount of carbon dioxide 4. Rainforest tree leaves never touch the leaves of another tree a) to make rain fall on the ground of the forest b) to protect the trees from disease and insects c) to give the forest animals more exercise 5. Rainforests make a difference to the world’s water supply because a) the humidity of the rainforests produces rainclouds b) rainforests are very rainy places c) the rainforests produce their own rain 6. Over the last few thousand years, the land covered by rainforests has a) increased b) decreased c) stayed the same

Answers Exercise 1: 1. c; 2. c; 3. a; 4. b; 5. a; 6. b Page 2 of 2 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Magazine Article - Refugees http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/refugees

Introduction This support pack accompanies the magazine article:

Refugees To read or listen to the article online, go to:

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/ magazine/refugees This support pack contains the following materials: a pre-reading vocabulary activity the article a glossary a comprehension task

Before you read / listen Match the words and phrases in the table to their definitions.

1. refugee

2. armed conflict

3. asylum

4. detention centre

5. legislation

6. influx

7. minority

8. persecution

Definitions: a. an official law or set of laws b. a disagreement between people where weapons are used c. a large number of people or things arriving at the same time d. protection or safety e. being treated unfairly or cruelly because of race, religion or political beliefs f.

a person who has left their country for political, religious or economic reasons or because of a war

g. a place where people who have entered a country without right documents can be kept for short periods of time h. a national or racial group living in a country or area which contains a larger group of people of a different race or nationality

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Magazine Article - Refugees http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/refugees

Refugees by Claire Powell and Dave Collett What is a Refugee? A refugee, defined by the United Nations, is a person who is unable or unwilling to return to their country because of a well-founded fear of persecution based on their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or because they belong to a particular social group.

Why Do They Come? Most refugees flee their country to escape armed conflict. They often leave with their families and apply for asylum in another country. Many of them do not want to leave their own country, but have no choice. The journeys they undertake to reach a safe place may be almost as risky as staying in their own country. They would do anything to escape their suffering: crossing deserts, mountains, seas and rivers, sometimes using dangerous means of transport. They also hide in parts of ships that are too cramped, too hot and too smelly for anyone to check. Many never arrive.

World Refugee Day On the 20th of June each year people celebrate World Refugee Day. An important part of this celebration is the award given to a person or group who excels in helping refugee causes.

To Help or Not To Help? There are an estimated 14 million refugees and asylum seekers in the world. Some countries in the world, especially the rich, are adamant against allowing too many refugees coming into their country. One worry is that there may be too many of them seeking asylum therefore causing a great problem for these developed countries. Their next worry is resources. These refugees may fill their hospitals, their schools, take over their jobs as well as abusing their social welfare system. At the end of the day, some fear there could be no more resources left for the people of these developed nations.

Another worry is the thought that the refugees might not be genuine. Also, the fact that the country they flee to is culturally different from their own makes the citizens of these developed nations feel that their culture is being stolen from them. Criminal activity seems to be a growing concern. People worry that asylum seekers who arrive penniless and without any documents might be criminals or involved in acts of terrorism. In many countries, new anti-terrorism laws have made migration legislation much stricter. Increasingly, governments are locking asylum seekers in detention centres regardless of their status. Unfortunately, this causes further criminalisation as genuine asylum seekers resist what they see as injustice. However, protests and riots lead to criminal charges and prison sentences. These negative assumptions are not true. First of all, numbers indicate that Asia and Africa have the world’s highest influx of refugees. Secondly, most rich or developed countries’ economies rely on these refugees as they are the ones who are often more than willing to do the kind of work that no one else would even think of. Furthermore, the migrants tend to be very hardworking and highly motivated at their jobs and are the backbone of agricultural labour. Thirdly, governments like to play with words such as ‘crime’ and 'immigration' to gain popularity with their citizens during elections. Moreover, after all the problems a refugee has faced fleeing his own country, the last thing he wants is to be mistrusted. Finally, it is absurd for the rich nations to claim that their culture is being swamped by refugees, considering that the refugees are in a minority there. Perhaps politicians should remind themselves of the fact that, whether they are dealing with genuine asylum seekers or economic migrants, they are dealing with human beings, not numbers, and the people should be treated humanely.

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Magazine Article - Refugees http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/refugees

Glossary absurd (adj): ridiculous or unreasonable. adamant (adj): impossible to persuade, or unwilling to change an opinion or decision. armed conflict (n): an active disagreement between people with opposing opinions or principles where weapons are used in the disagreement. assumption (n): something that you accept as true without question or proof. asylum (n): protection or safety, especially that given by a government to foreigners who have been forced to leave their own countries for political reasons. asylum seeker (n): someone who leaves their own country for their safety, often for political reasons or because of war, and who travels to another country hoping that the government will protect them and allow them to live there. backbone (n): the part of something that provides strength and support. cramped (adj): not having enough space. detention centre (n): a place where people who have entered a country without the necessary documents can be kept for short periods of time. influx (n): the arrival of a large number of people or things at the same time. legislation (n): a law or set of laws suggested by a government and made official by a parliament. minority (n): a national or racial group living in a country or area which contains a larger group of people of a different race or nationality. persecution (n): from the verb persecute (v): to treat someone unfairly or cruelly over a long period of time because of their race, religion, or political beliefs or to annoy someone by refusing to leave them alone. status (n): an official position, especially in a social group. swamped (adj): If something swamps a person, system or place, they receive more of it than they can easily deal with. well-founded (adj): based on facts.

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Magazine Article - Refugees http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/refugees

Comprehension Task Multiple Choice Read the statements and select the right answer according to the text. 1. A refugee is someone who... a. doesn't want to return to their country. b. can't afford to return to their country. c. is afraid to return to their country. 2. The majority of refugees leave their country because... a. they can't find a job in their country. b. there is war in their country. c. their family is in another country. 3. The following reason is suggested as one explanation for why people don't want to help refugees: a. People think refugees won't be able to integrate into their host culture. b. People are afraid of refugees. c. People think refugees will take up all of the country's resources. 4. It has become more difficult to seek asylum since... a. new laws to combat terrorism were introduced. b. stricter airport controls were introduced. c. the cost of travel increased. 5. Rich, developed countries benefit from asylum seekers because... a. refugees enrich the cultural diversity of a country. b. refugees will do unpleasant jobs. c. refugees bring skills and knowledge from their countries. 6. Politicians in rich, developed countries... a. use people's fear of refugees to win political support. b. like to help refugees. c. want refugees to settle and vote for them.

Answers

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Podcasts – Themes – Rescue Introduction Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You’ll find more information on this page: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm This support pack contains the following materials: • The article that you can listen to in the podcast • An optional language activity based on the article • Links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (survival and rescue). Read the article Rescue at Sea – the RNLI by John Russell Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee, For those in peril on the sea! These words come from a famous hymn by William Whiting; Eternal Father Strong to Save. It is better known as the Naval Hymn and is popular with many navies and lifeboat services around the globe. One of the first national lifeboat organisations in the world was founded in the UK, in 1824. It was then called the National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, today it is better known as the RNLI – the Royal National Lifeboat institution. What is the RNLI? The RNLI is an organisation dedicated to the saving of people’s lives at sea. If a boat is in difficulty less than 50 miles off the coast of Britain or the Republic of Island, the RNLI can send a lifeboat to rescue these people. It also provides lifeguard services in certain areas, making beaches safe for swimming.

donations, legacies and fundraising events. The first time public collecting boxes were officially used in Britain was for the RNLI – back in 1891. Today boat-shaped collection boxes can be found all around the country. Who runs it? As well as being a charity, the RNLI is run by volunteers. Almost 4000 brave men and women risk their lives to help rescue others at sea. Most volunteers have normal jobs, which they must be ready to leave at a moment’s notice if their lifeboat needs to be launched. Volunteers come from all walks of life, there is even a lifeboat service in South Wales manned completely by students at a local college, Atlantic College. They are mainly 17 and 18 years of age, and over the last 30 years this service has saved over 100 lives. Fateful Dates 1886 – The Mexico

There are over 230 RNLI stations and almost 8000 people were rescued in 2003 alone. Since its foundation in 1824 by Sir William Hillary, over 130,000 people have been rescued by the RNLI. Who pays for it? As a large fully equipped lifeboat costs almost two million pounds and it takes over £200,000 a day to keep the service running, money is very important. It is surprising to learn that although the organisation saves so many lives, it is a charity and receives no money from the government. It is paid for completely through

The crew of a German boat; The Mexico, travelling off the North-West coast of England needed rescuing in a storm. Three RNLI lifeboats went to the rescue but the sea was so rough that only one reached The Mexico. One boat was hit by a large wave and the other was never seen again. Twenty-seven lifeboat-men died that day. 1979 – Fastnet Race On August 11 1979, 303 yachts were competing in the biennial Fastnet race - a 608 mile yacht race off the South Coast of England. They were Page 1 of 2

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Podcasts – Themes – Rescue caught unexpectedly in a very bad storm- the worst for many years. Winds of over 60 miles an hour struck the boats and many sank. 17 people drowned - it was the worst yachting disaster ever in the UK. Even more would have died without the help of the RNLI and other rescue boasts. Safety procedures have improved since then. Racing yachts are more difficult to sink and all must carry emergency radios. Accidents still happen though. At a recent sailing event near the Isle of Wight (the Cowes Regatta) the RNLI launched more than 70 times to help or rescue people at sea. The event only lasted one week! Happily, no lives were lost on this occasion.

Who is Captain Calamity? In an attempt to sail round Britain in a 4 ½ metre boat, Mr Stuart Hill had to be rescued 5 times by RNLI Lifeboats, and twice by helicopters in the summer of 2001. The papers at the time called him ‘Captain Calamity.’ Similarly, in the year 2000, another sailor had to be rescued more than 5 times in the Irish Sea – he was using a road map for directions! Whatever the situation, whatever the weather, the work of the RNLI volunteers continues, day and night, 365 days a year.

After reading Exercise 1 In the first box are numbers and dates from the article. Can you match these to the correct information in the second box? 1979 Over 130 000 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Over £200,000 1886

More than 100 Over 8000

1824 Almost 4000

50 miles More than 230

RNLI founded The Mexico tragedy Fastnet race tragedy People rescued by the Atlantic College lifeboat Lifeboat stations in UK Distance from coast covered by RNLI People rescued in 2003 Cost to run the service - per day Volunteer lifeboat crew People rescued in its history

More activities on this topic You’ll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of rescue at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-rescue.htm • Word game: Idioms with "Save". Do a jigsaw puzzle and learn different idiomatic expressions that include the word "save". • Story: River. The river is never what it seems. The river changes. And so, of course, do people especially after an experience on the river one day ... • Trivia: Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about survival and rescue. • There is also a survival and rescue-related cartoon, a poll and some carefully selected external links. Answers to comprehension activity: 1. 1824; 2. 1886; 3. 1979; 4. More than 100; 5. More than 230; 6. 50 miles; 7. Over 8000; 8. Over £200,000; 9. Almost 4000; 10. Over 130 000 Page 2 of 2 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Magazine – Revolution Introduction You can listen to a recording of this article at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm This support pack contains the following materials: • a pre-reading vocabulary activity • the article that you can listen to • a comprehension activity based on the article Before you read Activity 1 Match the words and phrases at the top to their definitions. a. backwards

b. bid

c. disappointment

d. extremist

e. field

f.

shareholders

g. steam

h. the human race

i.

velvet

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

all people considered as a species area of activity hot gas produced when water boils offer of a sum of money for something on sale opposite to the usual direction people who own equal parts of a company someone with beliefs that most people think are unacceptable something that is not what you were hoping it would be thick, soft cloth made from silk or cotton

Read the article Revolution by John Kuti The other day I was watching a debate on TV on the subject “Should it be compulsory to learn English?” The speaker chosen to oppose the idea was Vladimir Zhirinovskiy - a politician who many people in Europe think is a dangerous extremist. He said that one of the causes of the problems in Russia’s sad history in the 20th century was the use of imported words which people didn’t fully understand. “Revolution” (or the Russian word “revolyutsia”) was one of these. He also mentioned “communism” and “privatisation”. If you use other words like “revolt”, “rebellion” or “coup d’état” the idea of changing the government by force seems a lot less attractive. Calling some important change “a revolution” can make people think it is good, or maybe that it’s something that no one can stop, as the Marxists used to say.

Going forwards Since the 19th century there has been an idea that certain changes in society must happen. Are you optimistic about the human race? I guess most people still are. I think most people believe in Progress…you know: “Scientists get closer to the truth. Societies improve. We’ve never had it so good. A Pentium 4 is better than a Pentium 3”. I think it is dangerous when someone says that all our problems will be solved by new technology, or by choosing a government with a more modern ideology. Revolutions seem to depend on the hope of a beautiful future, maybe that’s why they end in disappointment. Some people are so optimistic that they can forget about reality altogether. They can make logic work backwards…I remember, back in my days as a student political activist, having arguments Page 1 of 3

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Magazine – Revolution about Chinese history with the young members of The Socialist Workers’ Party – enthusiasts for revolution. They used to say that there had been no revolution in China. This was because the results had not been the happy ones that they expected.

Marxist revolution” but also one change of style by a Marxist government “China’s cultural revolution,” and two changes of government where the Marxists lost power: “Czechoslovakia’s velvet revolution” and “Estonia’s singing revolution”. However, more often than any of these, “revolution” is just used to talk about a general change in the way people live or work. The most common of these is the “industrial revolution” which happened more than 200 years ago in Britain when they started making steam engines and factories. The newspaper thinks these other revolutions might be happening now…

What’s another word for it?

Educational revolution, Sexual revolution, Information revolution, Telemarketing revolution, Training revolution,

If you look on the website http://www.visualthesaurus.com/online/ you can find words with similar meanings to the one you type in. Starting with “revolution” the visual thesaurus gives:

When something not so big or important happens you can still call it a “minor revolution”. The Times reports one minor revolution in Edinburgh – people starting to live in some old buildings that had been used as offices for a long time.

coup takeover putsch coup d’état revolt insurrection uprising mutiny insurgency

Of the other words in my list “coup” is used most often. This is a short way of saying “coup d’état” and it usually refers to a revolution organised by people who are already quite close to the top of the government. A revolution organised by people a long way from power might be better called an “uprising”.

Which word to choose? When you want to choose a word really carefully it’s a good idea to see how other people use it. In my experiment I used the Times newspaper from March 1995, and the website at http://www.edict.com.hk/concordance/WWWConc appE.htm This site is called a “concordancer” and it lets you look at how words are used. You can choose different materials instead of The Times, but I thought a newspaper would have more about politics. It mentions one revolution the socialist workers might agree really happened “Cuba’s

In The Times, “a revolt” or “a mutiny” usually happens inside a British political party when ordinary Members of Parliament disagree with the leaders of their party. But the newspaper also mentions a revolt by shareholders who did not agree with the managers of the company they had invested in. “Takeover” belongs especially to the field of business. In March 1995 there was a big story about the “hostile takeover bid” by Glaxo for another pharmaceutical company – Wellcome. I think Zhirinovskiy was right – “revolution” is a word that makes you want to believe in it. It means “this is better than what there was before”. Page 2 of 3

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Magazine – Revolution Of course, The Times is not a revolutionary newspaper, but in this case it chooses words just like those “socialist worker” students optimistically

waiting for the revolution which will automatically make everything better.

After reading Activity 2 Which “revolution described in The Times” do these things relate to? a. Cuban revolution

b. Czechoslovakia's velvet revolution

c. educational revolution

d. Estonian singing revolution

e. industrial revolution

f.

g. minor revolution

h. revolt

i.

j.

takeover

l.

training revolution

sexual revolution

k. telemarketing revolution

information revolution

1.

Free primary schools

2.

Reliable contraception

3.

The company is hoping to sell its agrochemicals and specialty-chemicals divisions to raise up to $3billion and mount an alternative bid that analysts expect to be in the region of $10.5billion

4.

Two million people standing on a road holding hands

5.

Change in the economy from making things in factories to services

6.

Buying and selling things by telephone – consumers demand convenience

7.

26th of July Revolutionary Movement, the People's Socialist Party and the Revolutionary Directory March 13th join together

8.

Help for people who have finished school and can’t find jobs

9.

Using a steam engine to make cotton textiles

10.

A copy of an experimental 1960s pop record by the Velvet Underground

11.

Five-storeyed properties, occupied for decades by firms of lawyers, bankers and surveyors, are being turned into homes by families

12.

Tory MPs defy John Major by condemning what they regard as a "climbdown" by the cabinet. Thirty Tory backbench MPs will sign a Commons motion

Answers Activity 1 1. h; 2. e; 3. g; 4. b; 5. a; 6. f; 7. d; 8. c; 9. i Activity 2 1. c; 2.i; 3. j; 4. d; 5. f; 6. k; 7. a; 8. l; 9. e; 10.b; 11. g; 12. h Page 3 of 3 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Magazine – Rock'n'roll grandads Introduction You can listen to a recording of this article at: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/magazine-articles/rock-and-roll-grandads This support pack contains the following materials: • a pre-reading vocabulary activity • the article that you can listen to • a comprehension activity based on the article Before you read Activity 1 Match the words and phrases at the top to their definitions. a. been around

b. contestant

c. emphasis

d. hugely

e. outrageous

f.

regarded as

g. released

h. stage

i.

tastes

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

considered or seen as extremely been in existence, present made available for the public to buy particular importance or attention given to something person who competes in a contest raised area where actors or entertainers perform shocking and morally unacceptable what someone likes

Read the article Rock’n’roll grandads by Chris Rose In 2005 The Rolling Stones released an album called “A Bigger Bang”. Many critics, as usual, chose it as their favourite of the year. This isn’t very surprising, but if you think that “A Bigger Bang” was their 25th album now the Rolling Stones have been around for more than 40 years, and that singer Mick Jagger, guitarist Keith Richards and the other musicians are all well into their 60s, and are all grandfathers, it starts to look a bit strange. The idea of my grandfather standing on a stage in front of thousands of people singing “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” is just embarrassing. Can you imagine your grandfather doing it? But the Rolling Stones are not an exception. Last year, ex-Beatle Paul McCartney also released a new record. He worked with the producer of the

band Radiohead to give himself a more modern sound. His record only had limited success, but again thousands of people came out to see the man when he played live concerts. Many young people still listen to Madonna, as well. She is regarded as being an exciting contemporary artist, even though she has now been making records for more than 20 years and is in her late 40s. Even a former terror like John Lydon (who used to be called “Johnny Rotten” when he was the leader of infamous punk band the Sex Pistols) still makes records. He now appears regularly on TV chat shows in Britain, and was even a contestant on the reality show “I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of here!” It used to be said that pop music was an art form created by and for young people. Many groups or singers make one or two good records when Page 1 of 3

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Magazine – Rock'n'roll grandads they are in their early 20’s, then disappear, or carry on making less interesting records. It was difficult to find artists who could continue making great records, year after year, for a long time. In some ways, this is still the case. The Rolling Stones, for example, are still much more famous for the songs they made in the 1960’s and 70’s than for their more recent recordings, and even though many people go and see Paul McCartney in concert, they are really hoping he will sing some old Beatles songs, rather than his new ones. People like to watch John Lydon on TV because they hope he will do something outrageous, like he used to do. Many of these rock’n’roll grandads are really still living off the past.

This phenomenon is not limited to the west. In other parts of the world where there is more respect for older people and less of an emphasis

on youth, perhaps it is to be expected. Last year, veteran Indian singer Asha Bhosle, now in her 70’s, released a new record. She is a musician who has continued to develop, changing her style and working with other interesting western musicians such as Michael Stipe from the American rock band REM and classical musicians, the Kronos Quartet. However, it seems that at her concerts people still hope that she will sing the old Bollywood film songs such as “Dum Maaro Dum” that originally made her famous. Pop only used to be for young people, now it has grown up. Now pop and rock music have been around for 50 years, people who started listening to it when they were young are now old. Why should their tastes change? Of course, boy bands – groups of singing and dancing young people who are often not much older than the people who buy or download their songs - still continue to be hugely popular all over the world. However, it is very difficult to imagine a group like Blue still going in forty years time. And while older readers might remember the Backstreet Boys, or even Take That – how significant has their contribution to popular music really been? And can anyone already even remember McFly? Will anybody still be listening to Blue or Britney Spears when they’re in their sixties?

After reading Activity 2 Below there are 10 sentences from the article. In each case, choose the sentence which has the same meaning. 1. Many critics... chose it as their favourite of the year. a. A lot of people who write about music said the record was for them the best of 2005. b. A lot of people who write about music said the record was the biggest seller of 2005. c. A lot of people who write about music said the record was the best Rolling Stones have made. 2. Mick Jagger... Keith Richards and the other musicians are all well into their 60s... a. The Rolling Stones started in the 1960s b. The Rolling Stones were born in the 1960s c. The Rolling Stones are aged over 60. 3. Madonna... is regarded as being an exciting contemporary artist a. Madonna does paintings and sculptures. Page 2 of 3 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Magazine – Rock'n'roll grandads b. Madonna works in films and music and other artistic areas. c. Many people think Madonna is still making great music. 4. Even a former terror like John Lydon...still makes records. a. John Lydon used to be a terrorist b. John Lydon used to be terrifying c. John Lydon used to be a punk 5. Many groups or singers make one or two good records when they are in their early 20’s, then disappear, or carry on making less interesting records. a. The creative life of most groups is quite limited b. Only young people can make pop music c. Groups always make two good records then become boring 6. The Rolling Stones... are still much more famous for the songs they made in the 1960’s and 70’s than for their more recent recordings a. The new Rolling Stones song are their best b. The old Rolling Stones songs are better c. People remember the old songs more than the new ones 7. Many of these rock’n’roll grandads are really still living off the past. a. A lot of older rock and pop singers are famous because of what they did 20 or 30 years ago b. A lot of singers still think its the 1960s c. A lot of singers are now grandparents 8. This phenomenon is not limited to the west a. This doesn’t only happen in Europe and the USA b. This only happens in Europe and the USA c. This doesn’t happen in Asia 9. Now pop and rock music have been around for 50 years, people who started listening to it when they were young are now old. a. Rock and pop’s audience is getting older b. Older people are now bored of listening to the same music for so long c. Pop and rock is now an outdated music form 10. Will anybody still be listening to Blue or Britney Spears when they’re in their sixties? a. The writer suggests that no-one will be listening to them b. The writer suggests that everyone will still be listening to them c. The writer doesn’t know, but suspects nobody will be listening to them

Answers Activity 1 1. f; 2. d; 3. a; 4. g; 5. c; 6. b; 7. h; 8. e; 9. i Activity 2 1. a; 2. c; 3. c; 4. b; 5. a; 6. c; 7. a; 8. a; 9. a; 10: c

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Podcasts – Themes – Ireland Introduction Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You’ll find more information on this page: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm This support pack contains the following materials: • The article that you can listen to in the podcast • An optional comprehension activity based on the article • Links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (Ireland). Read the article Saint Patrick’s Day by Dave Collett St. Patrick is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. He was born in the fourth century and is famous for bringing Christianity into Ireland. St. Patrick’s Day is a very well known Irish national holiday, which is celebrated not only in Ireland but all around the world. It falls on the 17th of March. History of St. Patrick St. Patrick was born to wealthy parents in the late fourth century. Until the age of 16, he thought of himself as a pagan. He was kidnapped and sold as a slave at this age by Irish marauders. It was during this capture that he turned to God. He managed to escape after being a slave for six years and then studied in a monastery in Gaul for 12 years. This was when he knew that his ‘calling’ was to try and convert all the pagans in Ireland to Christianity. St. Patrick went around Ireland founding monasteries and successfully converting the people to Christianity. The Celtic Druids were very unhappy with him and tried to arrest him several times but he always managed to escape. After 30 years of being a missionary in Ireland, he finally settled down in a place called County Down. He died on the 17th of March, AD 461. Legend and Folklore Shamrocks, leprechauns and the Blarney Stone are associated with St. Patrick’s Day. Shamrocks are three-leaved clovers found growing in patches on grass. You are thought to be lucky if you find a four-leaved clover, so do keep it if you ever come across one! Leprechauns are little Irish fairies, and they are thought to work as shoe-makers for other fairies. The Irish say that if a leprechaun is caught by a

human, he will reveal where he hides his pot of gold. On this day, pictures of shamrocks and leprechauns are hung everywhere. Some people even dress up as leprechauns complete with their big green hats! The village of Blarney is situated northwest of the Irish city of Cork. Blarney comes from the Irish word ‘An blarna’, meaning the plain. Blarney Castle is a very famous castle in this village and is 90 feet tall. The world famous Blarney Stone is on the top story. It is said that if one kisses this stone, one will be given the gift of eloquence, meaning to have beautiful speaking abilities. Nowadays, the word blarney means the ability to influence and coax with fair words and soft speech without offending.

Legend also says that St. Patrick could raise people from the dead. He is well-known for driving the snakes out of Ireland, although many people dispute how true this is! Another great story was how he used the shamrock, with its three leaves, to explain the Holy Trinity (the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost) to his followers. Page 1 of 2

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Podcasts – Themes – Ireland What Do People Do on St. Patrick’s Day? St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated world-wide with people dancing and singing in Irish pubs, watching the St. Patrick’s Day parade, drinking ‘green’ beer, wearing green clothes and just generally having a good time. Children in Ireland have a tradition of pinching their friends who don’t wear green on this day! Traditional Food and Drink on St. Patrick’s Day Bacon and cabbage is what most people have on this day. Another popular dish is Irish soda bread and potato pancakes. Irish pub owners go crazy on this day, putting green food colouring into their beers and traditional Irish Guinness Stout is a sell out in all Irish pubs! People also drink lots of Irish coffee, which is made with warm whiskey, sugar, coffee and topped off with cream. Sounds delicious? It is!

Irish Proverbs The Irish have many proverbs but here are some favourites. • Better the coldness of a friend than the sweetness of an enemy. • Be nice to them on the way up. You might meet them all on the way down. • Let your anger set with the sun and not rise again with it. Irish Humour The Irish are famous for their jokes and good nature. Here’s an example: Definition of an Irish husband: He hasn’t kissed his wife in 20 years but he will kill any man who does! Now that you know almost everything about St. Patrick’s Day, go out on March the 17th and enjoy yourselves! Why not try and spot a leprechaun or two to find your pot of gold…? Whatever it may be, don’t forget to wear green on this special day!

After reading Exercise 1 Decide if each of the following 8 questions is True are False. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Before the Fourth Century the people of Ireland knew a lot about Christianity. St. Patrick is famous for introducing Christianity to Ireland. St. Patrick was a slave all his life. Four-leaved clovers are very easy to find. The Irish believe that leprechauns like to catch humans and steal their money. People kiss the Blarney stone because they believe it will help them become beautiful speakers. Irish coffee is made with alcohol. On St. Patrick’s Day people usually dress in green.

More activities on this topic You’ll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of Ireland at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-ireland.htm • Word game: Ireland. Do this jigsaw puzzle and find out about different things associated with Ireland. • Poem: An Irish Airman Foresees His Death. This poem graphically illustrates how it felt to be an Irishman fighting for the Allies, • Trivia: Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about Ireland. • There is also an Ireland-related cartoon, a poll and some carefully selected external links. Answers to comprehension activity: 1. False (F); 2. True (T); 3. F; 4. F; 5. F; 6. T; 7. T; 8. T Page 2 of 2 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Magazine Article – Student Power http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/student-power

Student Power by Chris Rose When most people think of strikes, they think of factory workers asking for better pay and conditions, or perhaps refusing to work to support a colleague who has been unfairly sacked. It is not often that people associate strikes with school students. But in Italy, it is different. While in many countries it is absolutely unthinkable, in Italy it happens almost every year. Some people may remember the “Paris spring” of 1968, when in the French capital university students and factory workers all went on strike in a crisis which almost made the French republic collapse, but for many this is a long time ago now. But in Italy, however, the tradition has remained. It seems that almost every autumn there is a reason to protest. Most of the protests are national, like the current opposition to the government’s planned educational reforms, but there are also protests against things like local issues such as heating in the classes or treatment of individual students. And what do students do to protest? All over the country they go on strike, they have demonstrations in the streets, they occupy their schools, they have lots of meetings and sometimes they try to run the schools themselves for a period, setting up their own lessons and courses. Are all the students behind this? Well, it’s difficult to say exactly. But what is certain, is that very few students object. “I think it’s important to show what we feel” says one high school student, “The new school reform will be very bad for state schools.” Other students are more sceptical. “I think it’s great!” says one student, “It means we get a few days off school.” Another student is openly cynical: “All the people who are doing this...

well, some of them are just troublemakers, others are people who are already planning to become politicians. They want to start their career now.” Others say that the strike leaders are being manipulated or used by groups from outside the schools. Problems occurred recently when students from one school which was being occupied marched to another school which wasn’t protesting. The strikers stood outside the school and shouted and threw things at the windows. The non-striking students sat in their classrooms and did nothing, but their teachers went out and began to shout at the students from the striking school. In Britain, and a lot of other countries, such action is unthinkable. Students are not allowed to go on strike, and if they did they would probably face severe disciplinary measures. The strange thing about this, however, is that despite the number of school hours lost to strikes, Italian students are certainly no less intelligent than their European counterparts. Their national averages are the same as others, despite the fact that on average they spend up to 20% less time in the classroom – with strikes being only one of the many interruptions of the Italian school year. Troublemakers or not, perhaps there is something to be learned from the Italian way of studying!

© The British Council, 2011 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

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Magazine Article – Student Power http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/student-power

After reading: Match the two parts of the sentences below.

1. Strikes usually

a. are in favour of the protests.

2. In France student strikes

b. go on strike.

3. In Italy school students often

c. had a strong effect.

4. Students go on strike

d. is similar to other European students.

5. Their protests can

e. is very difficult for students to strike.

6. Most students

f.

7. Some students

g. protested more than the students.

8. In one school, teachers

h. take different forms.

9. In the UK it

i.

think the strikers’ motives aren’t clear.

10. Italian students’ academic record

j.

to protest about all kinds of problems.

make people think of factory workers.

Answers to activity: 1. f; 2. c; 3. b; 4. j; 5. h; 6. a; 7. i; 8. g; 9. e; 10. d

© The British Council, 2011 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

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Magazine Article http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/magazine/surfing

Surfing by Nik Peachey "I've spent most of my entire life surfing, the rest I've wasted." (Anonymous) It seems that the oceans of the world have become many things to many different people. For some the ocean is a source of food and income, for others a source of inspiration and fascination, for some a beautiful garden with hidden depths to explore and for others a dumping ground for their toxic waste, but of all people the ones that probably appreciate, admire and perhaps even understand the changing landscape of the ocean best are surfers. Surfing, which is thought to have originated among the Polynesian peoples of the Hawaiian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, has been around for quite some time. The earliest recorded account of it was made in the journal of Captain King, a contemporary of Captain Cook, in 1779, but there are pictures of surfers carved into volcanic rock that are thought to date back much further. Surfing was regarded by the Polynesians as the sport of kings. The Chiefs used surfing and other Hawaiian sports to display their strength and agility and even the types of wood used for the boards was determined by the person’s rank in society. Nowadays the hierarchy between surfers is determined more by their courage and none are more courageous than the surfers who brave the jaws of Maui, where 20ft is considered an average sized wave and big can go up as high as 60 or 70 ft. The huge waves of Maui are created by a mixture of unusual circumstances. There is a huge ridge deep below the sea's surface that was created by the lava flow from a volcano. This combined with the presence of a reef not far to the north of the island and swells created by winter storms some two thousand miles away in the Aleutian Islands can create the kind of waves that make a surfer's heart race. The people who regularly surf there are almost religious about the spot and they frequently monitor weather forecasts and wave readings from buoys for days in advance to calculate when the best conditions will be. A ride on the jaws of Maui can last less than half a minute, but for surfers who fail to keep pace with the 25 mile an hour waves extreme danger awaits. Trapped inside a wave they can become totally disorientated with little sense of which direction takes them up to the surface. They also have only seconds to head for the safe zone of calm water before being crushed by the next big wave. A British surfer who had this experience described the sensation as like having your whole body pulled in every possible direction at once. The idea of surfing, however, with its images of sun-tanned youths and tropical beaches, has always seemed to me somehow at odds with the weather and culture of the UK, yet nothing could be further from the truth. The UK, being a collection of islands, has no shortage of coastline and rugged seas and is reported to have an active surfing community of some 250,000. Most of the surfing centres around Croyde Bay in North Devon and Fistral Beach in Cornwall. It was in fact, at Fistral Beach in 1989, where the world record for the most surfers on one board was broken, when 12 surfers rode on a 37-ft longboard. Britain was also home to the first ever University degree course in surfing to be offered and even has its own surfing film. 'Blue Juice', which was filmed in the south west of Britain, is a light hearted tribute to the lifestyle of Britain's surfers and counts Welsh girl Catherine Zeta Jones and Ewan McGregor among its cast. The lifestyle and the people it portrays are very different from the stereotypes of muscular bronzed young men listening to The Beach Boys as they wax their boards, but beneath the surface it is clear that there is still a common link that runs between them and that is their love and admiration of life and the sea.

© The British Council, 2010 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Magazine Article - Ten years without books http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/ten-years-without-books

Introduction This support pack accompanies the magazine article:

Ten years without books To read or listen to the article online, go to:

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/ ten-years-without-books This support pack contains the following materials: •

a pre-reading vocabulary activity;

•

the article;

•

a comprehension task

Before you read / listen Match the words and phrases in the table to their definitions.

1. adolescence

2. avid

3. circuit board

4. fateful

5. intellectual

6. pamphlet

7. peer

8. profound

9. rig up

10. scour

11. simultaneously

12. world-view

Definitions: a. A person who is the same age or has the same social position or the same abilities as other people in a group b. In a way that happens or is done at exactly the same time c. Very important because of its, often negative, effect on the future d. Period of a person's life between childhood and adulthood e. A small electronic circuit which consists of a lot of small parts made on a piece of semiconducting material f.

Clear and deep (relates to a person’s understanding)

g. Extremely eager or interested h. To fix (a piece of equipment) in place i.

To search (a place or thing) very carefully in order to try to find something

j.

A highly educated person whose interests are studying and other activities that involve careful thinking and mental effort

k. A thin book with only a few pages which gives information or an opinion about something l.

A way of looking at or considering the world

© The British Council, 2010 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

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Magazine Article - Ten years without books http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/ten-years-without-books

Article: Ten years without books by John Kuti As I write this, I have half an eye on an old James Bond film that is showing on my computer. But this is a story about how I stopped watching TV and began reading again for pleasure, after ten years in which I hardly turned a page. I suppose I was an avid reader of "literature" between the ages of nine and fourteen. I had enough time to be White Fang, Robinson Crusoe, and Bilbo Baggins and Jeeves. Of course there was room in the schoolboy's imagination for some real historical figures: Scott of the Antarctic, all of the Vikings, and Benjamin Franklin were good friends of mine. Then, in adolescence, I began a long search for strange and radical ideas. I wanted to challenge my elders and betters, and stir up my peers with amazing points of view. Of course, the only place to look was in books. I hunted out the longest titles and the authors with the funniest names, I scoured the library for completely unread books. Then I found one which became my bible for the whole of 1982, it had a title composed of eleven long words and an author whose name I didn't know how to pronounce. It was really thick and looked dead serious. Even better, it put forward a whole world-view that would take days to explain. Perfect. I took it out of the library three times, proud to see the datestamps lined up on the empty library insert. Later, I went to university. Expecting to spend long evenings in learned discussion with clever people, I started reading philosophy. For some reason I never found the deep-thinking intellectuals I hoped to meet. Anyway, I was ready to impress with my profound knowledge of post-structuralism, existentialism and situationism. These things are usually explained in rather short books, but they take a long time

to get through. They were the end of my youthful reading. Working life was hard to get used to after so much theory. It was the end of books for me. There didn't seem to be much in books that would actually get things done. To do things you had to answer the telephone and work a computer. You had to travel about and speak to people who weren't at all interested in philosophy. I didn't stop reading, you can't avoid that. I read all day. But no books came my way, only manuals and pamphlets and contracts and documents. Maybe most people satisfy their need for stories and ideas with TV and, to tell the truth, it was all I needed for ten years. In those days I only had a book "on the go" for the duration of aeroplane flights. At first I would come home and watch TV over dinner. Then, I moved the TV so I could watch it from bed. I even rigged up a switch so I could turn it off without getting out of bed. Then, one fateful day, my TV broke and my landlady took it away. My new TV is an extra circuit board inside my computer. It's on a desk in front of a working chair and I can't see it from the bed. I still use it for the weather forecasts and it's nice to have it on while I'm typing this… but what to do last thing at night? Well, have another go with books. Now, I just like books. I have a pile of nice ones by my bed and I'm reading about six simultaneously. I don't want to BE any of the characters. I don't care if a thousand people have already read them. I don't have to search through libraries. There are books everywhere and all of them have something to read in them. I have the strange feeling that they've been there all along, waiting for me to pick them up.

© The British Council, 2010 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Page 2 of 3

Magazine Article - Ten years without books http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/ten-years-without-books

Comprehension task Multiple Choice Read the questions below and select the right answer. 1. The author probably read "Where the Wasteland Ends: Politics and Transcendence in PostIndustrial Society": a. in 1972 b. in 1982 c. in 1992 d. in 1993 2. When he was a boy, the author: a. avoided books b. looked at books but didn't read them c. preferred videos to books d. read enthusiastically 3. Students at university used to spend the evenings: a. discussing philosophy b. reading short books c. thinking deeply d. the author doesn't say how they spent the evenings 4. At work, the author: a. didn't have to read b. didn't have to read books c. didn't have to read manuals and pamphlets d. didn't have to read contracts and documents 5. The author: a. hardly read a book for ten years b. doesn't read books c. hasn't read a book for ten years d. didn't read a book for ten years 6. Now the author: a. doesn't have a TV b. has a TV next to his bed c. has a computer with a TV inside it d. has a computer instead of a TV

Answers

© The British Council, 2010 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

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Podcasts – Themes – The Commonwealth Introduction Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You’ll find more information on this page: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to in the podcast • an optional general knowledge activity • links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (the Commonwealth). Read the article The Commonwealth March 11th is Commonwealth Day, but what exactly is the Commonwealth? Where is the Commonwealth, and who lives there? The Commonwealth is a group of 54 countries, spread all over the globe, north to south, east to west. The countries range in size from the tiny island of Nauru in the Pacific ocean (which is so small that it doesn't have a capital), to Canada, the largest territory in the world. Both rich and poor countries are members - the GDP of Singapore is about 200 times that of Sierra Leone. Over one and a half billion people (a quarter of the world's population) live in the Commonwealth, and between them represent nearly every religion, race and political system on the planet.

What is the Commonwealth? Hot and cold, rich and poor, wet and dry, island and land-locked, the list of opposites used to describe the countries which make up the Commonwealth seems endless. Just what do they all have in common?

The member states all use English as a common working language, and have similar legal and education systems. The countries support each other in their aims to reduce poverty, prejudice, ignorance and disease, and to promote human rights and social development. Historically, the modern Commonwealth is a product of the British Empire, and began in the late 1940s, after India and Pakistan gained independence. As more and more countries took charge of their own affairs in the 1950s and 1960s, many were attracted to the aims and values of the Commonwealth, resulting in the family of nations seen today. Activities and events The Commonwealth is active in a huge number of areas, including ecology, health and economics, providing and sharing information, training and expertise to further the aims of the organisation. The Heads of Government Meeting is held every two years, where the leaders of the member states get together to discuss current issues. Commonwealth Day is held in the second week of March every year, where Commonwealth citizens, particularly children, have a chance to celebrate their friendship. The Commonwealth also hosts sporting and arts events. There is an annual writers prize, which has been won in previous years by famous authors such as Peter Carey and Louis de Bernieres, and a yearly arts and crafts competition. Perhaps the most wellknown event sponsored by the organisation is the Commonwealth Games, which is held every four years in one of the member countries. The games have gained the nickname 'the Friendly Games' because of their reputation for goodnatured competitiveness.

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Podcasts – Themes – The Commonwealth After reading Exercise 1 In the second table below are the names of six countries in the Commonwealth. In the first table are these countries’capital cities, populations (in 2006, according to Wikipedia) and the year each country joined the organization. Do you know or can you guess which information goes in each box? Capital cities

Populations

Joining year

Funafuti

11,000

1962

Kingston

400,000

1964

Maseru

1.8 million

1965

Singapore

2.7 million

1966

Valletta

4.4 million

1978

Yaounde

15.7 million

1995

Cameroon

Jamaica

Lesotho

Singapore

Tuvaulu

Malta

More activities on this topic You’ll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of the Commonwealth at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-commonwealth.htm • Magazine articles: Articles about the following countries in the Commonwealth: Australia; Canada; India; Kenya; New Zealand; Nigeria; Papua New Guinea; South Africa. • Word games: The following word games are available for this theme: Australian English; Canadian English; Indian and Pakistani English; Kenyan wildlife; New Zealand English; South African English; Tok Pisin (New Guinea); West African and Jamaican English. • Story: Australia -The Dreamtime is the central, unifying theme in Australian Aboriginal mythology. It describes the process of the world being called into being. The Australian Aboriginal culture is based on nature in every aspect. Most of their mythological heroes are animals common in Australia. • Story: New Zealand. Dame Ngaio Marsh, one of New Zealand’s most remarkable and charismatic women, was world-renowned as a leading crime fiction writer. In this activity, compare the plots of some of her different crime stories. • Story: Nigeria - A Visitor to the Star. Anna Winter pulled on her Gucci sunglasses and sprayed herself with the extra-strength mosquito repellent she had bought in the airport. Anna thought her job was very difficult, and she told everybody about this. How could she be a front-line, award-winning, adventurous journalist if she had to stay in bad hotels and eat bad food? • Story: Papua New Guinea. This folk story involves a masalai (a large ugly cannibal, similar to an ogre). • Story: South Africa - Coetzee's novels. Read synopses of some of the novels of Nobel prize winning writer, South African J.M. Coetzee, and then compare them. • Poem: Australia - Mulga Bill's Bicycle - a funny ballad by one of Australia’s favourite poets, ‘Banjo’ Paterson. Page 2 of 3 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Podcasts – Themes – The Commonwealth • Poem: Canada. Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts was the first Canadian to be knighted for his work as a writer. According to one source: "Those of his poetical compositions that are distinctively Canadian are regarded as being specially excellent”. • Poem: India. Tagore, the author of this poem, once said "To study a banyan tree, you not only must know its main stem in its own soil, but also must trace the growth of its greatness in the further soil, for then you can know the true nature of its vitality". • Trivia: Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about the following countries in the Commonwealth: Australia; Canada; India; Kenya; New Zealand; Nigeria; Papua New Guinea; South Africa. • History: India. Bhopal massacre; Black Hole of Calcutta. • History: South Africa. Mandela trial; Mandela released; Apartheid repeal. • History: Uganda. Amin coup; Operation Entebbe • There are also cartoons related to all of these countries and some carefully selected external links for each country.

Answers to general knowledge activity: Cameroon Yaounde 15.7 million 1995

Jamaica Kingston 2.7 million 1962

Lesotho Maseru 1.8 million 1966

Singapore Singapore 4.4 million 1965

Tuvaulu Funafuti 11,000 1978

Malta Valletta 400,000 1964

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Podcasts – Themes – Biodiversity Introduction Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You’ll find more information on this page: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to in the podcast • an optional comprehension activity based on the article • links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (biodiversity). Read the article The Eden Project by Mike Rayner We are stardust We are golden And we've got to get ourselves Back to the garden Joni Mitchell (Woodstock) According to the Bible, the Garden of Eden was the home of the first two humans, Adam and Eve. In the story, the Garden provided everything the couple needed, and they lived there in peace and happiness until they were banished for breaking the rules. In 1999, Tim Smit, an ex-rock musician and record producer, borrowed the name of the biblical garden for a collection of space-age domes in a corner of southwest England - the Eden Project. Rock and activism It is not unusual for people involved in the music business to alert us to environmental and political issues. Bob Geldof (the singer from British punk band The Boomtown Rats) raised a huge amount of money to help feed millions of starving people in Africa in 1985, Bono from U2 has been successful in campaigning for the reduction of debts which developing countries owe to rich nations, and the music festival at Woodstock in 1969 is seen by many as the culmination of the civil rights marches and anti-war protests of the 1960's. Tim Smit’s Eden Project was created to highlight the relationship between humans and the environment, and through information, research and education lead the way to a brighter future. The problem The modern world is a far cry from the balance and harmony of the Garden of Eden. By-products of a typical modern lifestyle such as overfishing, deforestation and intensive farming are

destroying natural habitats, and creating a world with less biodiversity. These activities are not sustainable, that is the planet is unable to survive if we continue to take more from the Earth than it can replace. Recent research by the World Wildlife Fund suggests that we will have to colonise two planets the same size as the Earth by 2050 unless people in rich countries change the way they live.

The solution The Eden Project is in on the site of an abandoned clay pit in Cornwall, and consists of two enormous domes, or biomes, and an outdoor area. The first biome houses a humid tropical zone representing Malaysia, West Africa and South America, and is the biggest greenhouse in the world. The second biome is a warm temperate zone which contains the type of environment found in Mediterranean countries, California and South West Australia. The outdoor area displays a collection of plants and landscapes typical of temperate climates like those in Britain, parts of North America, Russia and India.

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Podcasts – Themes – Biodiversity As visitors to the domes walk past lakes and waterfalls, through rainforests and over deserts, they discover how the ecosystems in each zone operate, learn how people have damaged each environment, and find out how people native to the different areas can learn to live in harmony with their environment, and have a positive and beneficial effect on it. Science, Horticulture, Creative, Marketing, Media and Human Resources researchers at the site are constantly investigating ways of combining science, art, technology and communication in new ways to find solutions to the problem of living a modern lifestyle in harmony with the natural world. The researchers form part of a new green movement, which is discovering new uses for plants including plant plastics, medicines and oils. Success The Eden Project has been enormously successful since it has been open. Millions of people have flocked to the site, and the biomes

also attracted the attention of the director of the James Bond film ‘Die Another Day’, in which the domes featured as the lair of the villain, Gustav Graves. In 2002 the biomes were also the venue for a music festival featuring Pulp, Spiritualized, Doves and other major acts who performed amongst the foliage. Works of art from around the world are also on display, and one summer the events included a play based on a story by Monty Python’s Terry Jones. The future But the Eden Project is no Disneyland, “If this place becomes no more than an upmarket theme park, it will all have been a gigantic waste of money” Tim Smit writes in the visitor’s guide (the domes cost 86 million pounds.) After a day spent walking around the biomes in Cornwall, he hopes that visitors will be inspired find out more about ecology, look at ways of changing their lifestyles, and participate in trying to get the human race back into the Garden of Eden.

Glossary abandon (v): abandoned (adj): to leave a place, thing or person forever. activism (n): the use of direct and noticeable action to achieve a result, usually a political or social one. banish (v): to send someone away, especially from their country, and forbid them to come back. biodiversity (n): the number and variety of plant and animal species that exist in a particular environmental area or in the world generally, or the problem of preserving and protecting this. by-product (n): something that is produced as a result of making something else, or something unexpected that happens as a result of something. campaign (v): to organize a series of activities to try to achieve something. civil rights (n): the rights that each person has in a society, whatever their race, sex or religion. colonise (v): to send people to live in and govern another country. culminate (v): culminate in/with sth If an event or series of events culminates in something, it ends with it, having developed until it reaches this point. dome (n): a rounded roof on a building or a room, or a building with such a roof. ecology (n): ecological (adj): the relationships between the air, land, water, animals, plants, etc., usually of a particular area, or the scientific study of this. ecosystem (n): all the living things in an area and the way they affect each other and the environment. flock (v): to move or gather together in large numbers. foliage (n): the leaves of a plant or tree, or leaves on the stems or branches on which they are growing. greenhouse (n): a building with a roof and sides made of glass, used for growing plants that need warmth and protection. habitat (n): the natural surroundings in which an animal or plant usually lives. humid (adj): Humid air or weather is hot and slightly wet. inspire (v): to make someone feel that they want to do something and can do it. intensive (adj): Intensive farming methods are intended to produce as much food as possible from an area of land. pit (n): a coal mine or an area of land from which a natural substance is taken by digging. temperate (adj): (of weather conditions) neither very hot nor very cold. Page 2 of 3 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Podcasts – Themes – Biodiversity

After reading Exercise 1 Decide if each of the 9 statements about the text is True or False. 1) The Garden of Eden is a place from a story in the Bible. 2) Adam and Eve were thrown out of the Garden of Eden. 3) The Eden Project is in the north of England. 4) Bob Geldof played at Woodstock. 5) The number of types of animals and plants in the world is decreasing. 6) The warm temperate biome is the biggest greenhouse in the world. 7) The biomes were James Bond's base in 'Die Another Day'. 8) Lots of people visit the Eden Project. 9) The Eden Project is a theme park like Disneyland.

More activities on this topic You’ll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of biodiversity at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-biodiversity.htm • Word game: Animal kingdom. Do you know annelids from echinoderms, or crustaceans from mollusks? • Poem: The Tyger. This famous poem by William Blake conjures up amazingly vivid images of the mighty tiger. • Trivia: Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about biodiversity. • Science: cubed. Natural engineering: Copying nature’s superior designs to make manufacturing more environmentally friendly. • There is also a biodiversity-related cartoon and some carefully selected external links. Answers to comprehension activity: 1. True (T); 2. T; 3. False (F); 4. F; 5.T; 6. F; 7. F; 8. T; 9. F

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Magazine – The Funniest Jokes in the World Introduction You can listen to a recording of this article at: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/magazine-articles/funniest-jokes-world This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to; • a comprehension activity based on the article Read the article The Funniest Jokes in the World by Chris Rose Recently, a group of scientists and psychologists decided to try and find out what the funniest joke in the world was. This was obviously going to be a difficult task, as no two people ever really agree about what is funny and what is not – especially when they are from different countries.

shot is heard. Bang! The hunter’s voice comes back on the line. He says: “OK, now what?"

In some ways, this is strange. Telling jokes, along with telling stories (which is a similar activity), is one of the most frequent and widespread activities around the world. All countries, all cultures, all languages have their jokes. Unlike telling stories, however, jokes are sometimes not funny or often completely incomprehensible to people who are not part of that culture. Some things do remain the same – many jokes from around the world like to make fun of people who are stupid, or sometimes people in authority. A lot of jokes are about taboo subjects – jokes can be a way of talking about things that in normal “polite” society we are not allowed to mention. The problem is, of course, that people in authority or taboo subjects, for example, change from country to country and from culture to culture.

Hmmmm. I don’t know about you, but I think this is perhaps mildly amusing rather than sidesplitting. Culturally, it depends on us knowing that often hunters are not considered to be very intelligent people, and that often they are quite violent. But perhaps this is not so all over the world. It’s also quite a “black” joke – a joke about something which isn’t really a funny subject. The experts also found the second funniest joke in the world. Here it is:

Anyhow, after a year-long serious academic survey, here is the joke which the experts decided was the funniest joke in the world:

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson go on a camping trip. After a good dinner and a bottle of wine, they retire for the night, and go to sleep. Some hours later, Holmes wakes up and asks his faithful friend, "Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see." "I see millions and millions of stars, Holmes" replies Watson. "And what do you deduce from that?" Watson thinks for a minute. "Well, astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in

Two hunters are out in the woods. One of them falls to the ground. He doesn't seem to be breathing, his eyes are closed. The other hunter takes out his mobile phone and calls emergency services. “My friend is dead!” he cries to the operator, “What can I do?” The operator, in a calm voice says: “Don’t worry. I can help. First, make sure he's dead.” There is a silence, then a

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Magazine – The Funniest Jokes in the World Leo. Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. Theologically, I can see that God is all powerful, and that we are a small and insignificant part of the universe. What does it tell you, Holmes?" Holmes is silent for a moment. "Watson, you idiot!" he says. "Someone has stolen our tent!"

Understanding this joke, however, depends on us knowing who Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson are. It also has an unexpected ending – something that is essential for most jokes. Surprise can be funny. Can scientists in the end decide what is funny? Some things are much too complicated, even for scientists.

I personally think this is better – perhaps still not exactly a side-splitter, but certainly a rib-tickler. After reading Decide which is the best answer to each of the following questions. a. c. e. g. i.

black joke make fun of rib-tickler survey unexpected

b. d. f. h. j.

incomprehensible mildly amusing side-splitting taboo widespread

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Telling jokes is something that people do all over the world. It is a very [..........] activity. Some jokes are [..........], very difficult to understand for people outside of a specific culture. Many jokes make people look stupid, they [..........] people from a certain group. Some jokes are about subjects which we don’t often speak of, [..........] subjects. The scientists asked many people from around the world about jokes and recorded thier responses. These are the results of that [..........]. 6. A joke that is quite funny is [..........]. 7. A joke that is very funny indeed is [..........]. 8. A joke about a subject which isn’t usually funny is called a [..........]. 9. A joke which makes you laugh a bit is a [..........]. 10. Many jokes have [..........] endings.

Answers: 1. j; 2. b; 3. c; 4. h; 5. g; 6. d; 7. f; 8. a; 9. e; 10. i Page 2 of 2 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Magazine – The Kernewek Success Story Introduction You can listen to a recording of this article at: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/magazine-articles/kernewek-success-story This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to • a vocabulary activity based on the article Read the article The Kernewek Success Story by Linda Baxter In the first lesson of any language course you'll probably learn a mini dialogue like this. You'll find the translation at the end of this article, but can you guess what it means? A: "Dydh da! Fatla genes?" B: "Yn poynt da, meur ras. Ha genes jy?" What you probably can't guess is the language of the exchange above. It's actually Cornish, a language that is listed as 'extinct' in the UNESCO Red Book on Endangered Languages but which has experienced a remarkable revival in recent years.

course, there were still people who spoke Cornish as a native language, even if they also knew English. And their children learned some Cornish from them even if they spoke English most of the time. The number of speakers got smaller and smaller and they knew less and less of the language, but Cornish didn't disappear. There are stories of fisherman still using Cornish numbers to count fish in the 1940s and 50s. So some people argue that the language never died out completely, but survived until the Cornish revival started at the beginning of the twentieth century. What do you mean by 'Cornish revival'?

What is Cornish? It's a member of the Celtic family of languages which also includes Scots, Irish, Welsh and Breton. When Britain was invaded by the AngloSaxons in the fifth century AD, the native Celtic people were pushed to the West and North of the country and the language that they spoke developed differently in these separate areas. Some Celts left the country completely and went to the West of France where their language became known as Breton. Cornish (Kernewek) is the language that people spoke in Cornwall (Kernow) which is the county in the extreme South West of England. Welsh and Breton are its nearest relatives and the three languages have a lot of similarities. When did the language die out? It really depends on your definition of 'died out'. The story goes that the last person who spoke Cornish (and no English) was a woman called Dolly Pentreath. She died in 1777 and some people say that the language died with her. But of

At the beginning of the twentieth century academics became interested in Cornish and started to study some of the ancient texts that had survived. From these old documents they worked out the rules for spelling and grammar and people became interested in learning to speak the language again and teaching it to their children. Some people still say that Cornish died with Dolly Pentreath and this 'new' Cornish is an artificial language, but the revival has continued to this day. So how many people speak it now? Surprise surprise, people don't agree about that either. It depends on what you mean by 'speak'. There are probably only a few hundred people who speak it as their everyday language. But there are several thousand who can have a conversation in Cornish even if they aren't fluent. And if you include all the people who know some words and basic phrases then it could be as many as ten thousand. Not a lot admittedly, but a lot better than a hundred years ago. And the Page 1 of 3

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Magazine – The Kernewek Success Story numbers are growing every year. Some children now grow up bilingual and the language is offered as an option in some schools. You can even study the language to degree level at university. But is it really used in everyday life? Yes it is. You'll see and hear a lot of it if you visit Cornwall. You'll see road signs in Cornish for a start. Newspapers and radio stations have regular articles and programmes in Cornish and there are some magazines written entirely in the language. There are bookshops which only sell books in Cornish and many businesses use Cornish names. There is even a Cornish language film industry. Can I understand it if I speak English? That doesn't help much I'm afraid. Some of the modern words are easy to guess, for example

'ayrplen' for aeroplane and 'pytsa' for pizza. Some words are similar to English: fas (face), mam (mother), onyonen (onion) and plat (plate). 'Avon' is Cornish for 'river' which may explain why there are so many River Avons in Britain. Some words seem to be influenced by French, for example, 'pons' (bridge), 'chambour' (bedroom), and 'eglos' (church). But you might have a few more problems with 'kenynen ewynek' (garlic) and 'scubylen dens' (toothbrush). And remember, if you see 'stevel omwolhy' on a hotel door it isn't the name of the manager - it's Cornish for 'bathroom'. And here's the translation of the mini dialogue at the beginning of the article. A: Hello! ("good day"). How are you? B: Very well thank you. And you? Obvious isn't it?

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Magazine – The Kernewek Success Story After reading Exercise 1 In the table are 11 words from the text. Below are the definitions of these words. Can you match the words to their definitions? a. Celtic

b. county

c. degree

d. endangered

e. everyday

f.

extinct

g. influenced

h. invaded

i.

promote

j.

k. survived

revival

1. 2. 3. 4.

A political division of the UK or Ireland, forming the largest unit of local government An instance of coming or bringing (something) back to life, health, existence, or use At risk or in danger of being harmed, damaged or destroyed Continued to live or exist, esp. after coming close to dying or being destroyed or after being in a difficult or threatening situation 5. Encourage the popularity, sale, development or existence of (something) 6. Entered (a place) when not wanted, often by using force or in large numbers 7. Had an effect on people or things 8. No longer existing 9. Of an ancient European people whose modern relatives include the Irish, Scots, Welsh and Bretons, or of their language or culture 10. Ordinary, typical or usual 11. The qualification given to a student who has completed a course of study at a college or university

Answers Exercise 1: 1. b; 2. j; 3. d; 4. k; 5. i; 6. h; 7. g; 8. f; 9. a; 10. e; 11. c Page 3 of 3 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Podcasts – Themes – Languages Introduction Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You’ll find more information on this page: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to in the podcast • an optional comprehension activity based on the article • links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (languages). Read the article The Meaning of Tingo by Chris Rose I recently found a book by the writer Adam Jacot de Boinod called The Meaning Of Tingo. As a native speaker of English, I was a bit confused. I had never heard of this word “tingo”, and was curious about the title of the book. As I soon found out, even if you are not a native speaker, then going to your dictionary and looking up the word “tingo” will not help. In fact, you probably won’t find the word “tingo” there at all, and not least because of the fact that “tingo” is not an English word. “Tingo”, it seems, is one of very many words which cannot be translated into English – or at least one of those words which are very difficult to try and translate into English, or even into your own native language. The book The Meaning of Tingo is a kind of dictionary, but perhaps a dictionary you will not find useful in the same way that your usual dictionary is. The Meaning of Tingo is a list of words from languages all over the world which have very specific, not to say very unusual, meanings. English is a language that has always been omnivorous, taking words from other languages to enrich its own vocabulary. English has taken the words pyjamas from Hindi to describe the loose clothes you may wear when you go to bed, croissant from French to describe a particular kind of sweet bread roll, or catastrophe from Greek to describe a particularly bad event, or angst from German to describe a particular mixture of fear and anger. And these are just a few of the many examples of words that English has made its own. However, it is interesting to look at words that even a greedy language such as English has not (at least yet) made its own.

Japanese, for example, may have given us manga to describe a particular style of comic book, but the English have not yet adopted the useful expression katahara itai - laughing so much that your stomach hurts. The Japanese, it seems, have many such useful words – another one for example, is bakku-shan - a girl who appears pretty from behind but not from the front. Have you ever wanted to say that in merely one word? Now you can. As well as Japanese, it seems that German is also a useful language. German often makes “compound words” – one or more words joined together to make a new word. Putzfimmel, for example, is a mania for cleaning while Backpfeifengesicht apparently describes the kind of face that people want to hit. Jacot de Boinod’s book is not only amusing, but, he claims, shows that way in which a language is inextricably linked to the culture in which it is spoken. Is it really true, then, that in Germany there are a lot of people who have faces which other people want to punch? Or that Japan has more than its share of of bakku-shan? The reader may not at first be convinced by this, but when you read that Hawaiians have 108 words for sweet potato, 65 for fishing nets and 47 for banana (simply because in Hawaii there are indeed 108 different kinds of sweet potato, 65 fishing nets and 47 different types of banana), it makes more sense. Albanians are famous for their moustaches – and indeed the Albanian language contains 27 different words for “moustache”- madh, for example, is a bushy moustache, posht is a moustache hanging down at the ends while a fshes is a long moustache with short hairs. People from Holland and Belgium appear to be more fun-loving. Dutch has Page 1 of 2

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Podcasts – Themes – Languages a word uitwaaien - “walking in windy weather for fun”, while people in the Netherlands apparently often go to plimpplampplettere. What are they doing? Just think about the sound – they are skimming stones on water.

have to work with an aviador - a government employee who only shows up on payday. So, what exactly does “tingo” mean then? Well, to find that out, you’ll just have to find the book. No, not really! It's from the Pascuense language of Easter Island, meaning "to borrow objects from a friend's house, one by one, until there's nothing left". POSTSCRIPT

More evidence of this link between language and culture can be seen in the words which different languages have for jobs which exist only in their cultures. Some of these jobs are pretty unusual: a koshatnik in Russian is a dealer in stolen cats, while Spanish speakers in central America often

Some reviewers of the book have said that it contains a number of mistakes. For example, the etymology, or explanation of where words come from. They have also said that many definitions lack explanation, which suggests that his research is really quite superficial. Perhaps most importantly, one reviewer noted that de Boinod writes that the word “papa” is used to mean “father” in 70% of all languages in the world. This seems interesting, but then the reviewer points out that seeing as there are more than 6 000 languages in the world (a fact which de Boinod includes), this means that he must have looked at around 4,200 languages – when he says that he looked at only 270 dictionaries!

After reading Exercise 1: Decide if each of the 8 statements about the text is True or False. 1. The writer says that English is a language which takes words from other languages and makes them its own. 2. The writer thinks it is logical that there are so many words for “sweet potato” in the Hawaiian language. 3. You have to read the book to find out what “tingo” actually means. 4. Some critics call into question the academic validity of the book. 5. The Meaning of Tingo is a dictionary. 6. The writer of the article was confused at first. 7. The writer of the article thinks that the book The Meaning of Tingo is useless. 8. The writer of the book thinks that there isn’t a connection between language and culture. More activities on this topic You’ll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of languages at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-languages.htm • Magazine article: Cornish: "In the first lesson of any language course you'll probably learn a mini dialogue like this. You'll find the translation at the end of this article, but can you guess what it means?" • Word game: Foreign words. There are many words we use in English that come from or are adapted from other languages. Match words to their languages of origin. • Story: Funny Signs. Sometimes speakers of other languages do their best to try and help English speakers by making signs in English. The results are sometimes surprising, to say the least! • Trivia: Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about languages. • There is also a languages-related cartoon, a poll and some carefully selected external links. Answers to comprehension activity: 1. True (T); 2. T; 3. False (F); 4. T; 5. F, 6. T; 7. F; 8. F Page 2 of 2 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Podcasts – Themes – Nigeria Introduction Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You’ll find more information on this page: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to in the podcast; • two optional vocabulary activities based on the article; • links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (Nigeria). Read the article The Nigerian Sound of Afrobeat by John Kuti My surname “Kuti” is a normal Hungarian surname – it means something like “Wells” … as in the places where you get water out of the ground. By a strange coincidence “Kuti” is also a name in Nigerian. In the Yoruba language it means “death cannot be caused by any human being”. Now I don’t think that coincidences have any special meaning most of the time – but in this case it is an example of the power of music to tell you things that are impossible to find out any other way. I know this because of a musician – Fela Kuti. He was born in Abeokuta about 60 miles north of Lagos (which was then the capital of Nigeria) in 1938. When he was 20, his parents sent him to London to study medicine. But instead he joined Trinity College of Music, and he formed a band called “Koola Lobitos”. I have no idea where they got that name, but they became quite popular around 1961 in London clubs. They probably played some “r’n’b” which means “rhythm and blues” an American style which, at that time, was being adopted by British groups like the Rolling Stones. They must have played West African styles as well like “high-life” because another member of the band was a singer from Lagos called Jimo Kombi Braimah. I think the first recordings of Fela Kuti were made under the name “Koola Lobitos”; but by then he had already returned to Nigeria and invented his own style which was called “afrobeat” a mixture of American funk rhythms and jazz improvisation with African percussion and vocals. His first hit was sung in the Yoruba language and recorded by his group “Afrika 70” - Jeun Ko'ku (which means ‘eat and die’)

During the 1970s and 1980s Fela was a leader not only in music but in politics. They were complicated times in Africa when many countries in the region had recently become independent. People often found being freed from an empire was not the solution to all their problems. Nigeria had become independent in 1960. In 1968 the terrible Biafran war began, with the short-lived country of Biafra which was in the southern part of Nigeria. Up to a million people died – many of them from starvation. The country has had various periods of military government since then.

Fela was never afraid to express his opinions in his songs, and that often got him into trouble. For example his 1977 song “Zombie” about the military mentality … “Zombie - no go talk unless you tell him to talk Zombie - no go think unless you tell them to think” They are very serious songs but they sound happy, with lots of groovy rhythms and energetic trumpet and saxophone playing. The words are really a special variety of Nigerian Pidgin English, Page 1 of 3

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Podcasts – Themes – Nigeria which is the best way to communicate with his audience– there are hundreds of different languages in Nigeria. Fela was always serious about his identity as an African. In his song “Gentleman” he made fun of Africans who wear clothes from cold countries in the tropical heat. In “Colonial Mentality” he also explains why he adopted the African name

Anikulapo instead of the English “Ransome” (which he called a “slave-name”.) From the point of view of the government, maybe the worst thing he did was to try to make young Nigerians more interested and more active in the political life of their country. His music is a source of information and an introduction to new ways of thinking.

After reading Exercise 1 In the table are some names and other words from the text. Below the table are explanations of the names and other words. Can you match the names and other words to the explanations? a. Afrika 70 d. Biafra g. R’n’b

b. Afrobeat e. High-life h. wells

c. Anikulapo f. Lagos i. Zombie

1. Places where you get water out of the ground 2. The former capital of Nigeria 3. Rhythm and blues 4. A west-African style of music popular in the 1960s and 70s 5. The style of music invented by Fela Kuti 6. The group which recorded Fela’s first hit 7. A country which was created from a part of Nigeria in the 1960s 8. A song by Fela about how soldiers think 9. The variety of English you can hear in many of Fela’s songs 10. The name Fela took instead of “Ransome”

Exercise 2 Choose the correct answer to each of the 10 questions below. 1. When two things happen that seem connected but are not, we say it’s: a. a coincidence b. a mentality c. starvation 2. When you understand something you know its: a. vocals b. mentality c. meaning 3. If you start to follow or use a certain style you: a. adopt it. b. find it out c. express it

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Podcasts – Themes – Nigeria 4. If you play the drums, and other instruments which you hit, you play: a. improvisation b. percussion c. region 5. If you are the singer in a group you do the: a. funk b. solution c. vocals 6. If something is “complicated” it means that it: a. is difficult to understand b. has lots of people trying to be number one c. feels sure that everything is OK 7. The problem of people not having food to eat is: a. starvation b. trouble c. trumpet 8. Fela’s political songs often “got him into trouble” because: a. they made fun of people b. they were fun c. they were funny 9. A good word for music that makes you want to dance is: a. serious b. groovy c. active 10. Fela’s song “Colonial Mentality” explains: a. why he changed his name b. how soldiers think c. the hot weather in Africa

More activities on this topic You’ll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of Nigeria at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-nigeria.htm • Word game: West African English. Discover differences between British English and West African (and also Jamaican) English. • Story: A Visitor to the Star. Anna Winter pulled on her Gucci sunglasses and sprayed herself with the extra-strength mosquito repellent she had bought in the airport. Anna thought her job was very difficult, and she told everybody about this. How could she be a front-line, award-winning, adventurous journalist if she had to stay in bad hotels and eat bad food? • Trivia: Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about Nigeria. • There is also a Nigeria-related cartoon and some carefully selected external links. Answers Exercise 1: 1. h; 2. f; 3. g; 4. e; 5. b; 6. a; 7; d; 8. i; 9. c Exercise 2: 1. a; 2. c; 3. a; 4. b; 5. c; 6. a; 7. a; 8. a; 9. b; 10. a Page 3 of 3 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Podcasts – Themes – The Olympic Games Introduction Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You’ll find more information on this page: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm This support pack contains the following materials: • The article that you can listen to in the podcast • An optional comprehension activity based on the article • Links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (Olympic Games). Read the article The Olympic Games: then and now by Craig Duncan In 2004 the Olympic Games returned to its home in Greece, where it began around 3000 years ago. The first recorded Olympic festival took place in 776 BC. Similar festivals had been organised for at least two or three centuries prior to this, but 776 BC saw the start of a regular festival which was to take place every Olympiad, or four year period. In ancient Greece citizens of different city states could not always travel freely around the country, but during the Olympics the various rulers agreed truces so as that their citizens could attend the Olympics without problems. Sport was only one part of the festival; there were also ritual sacrifices, poetry readings, exhibitions of sculpture and trade fairs. It was a festival which celebrated on the one hand the Greek gods, and on the other hand the abilities of the Greek people. The early athletic competitions were only running races, but later other sports such as boxing and wrestling came to be included. It was not simply a matter of professional athletes arriving and entering the competitions; for one thing, there were no professional athletes! All the competitors were ordinary Greek citizens who felt that they were among the best in their chosen sports. Anyone wishing to compete had to arrive four weeks early, and undergo a full month of training. It wasn’t only physical training, either: would-be competitors had to prove that they were morally and spiritually suitable to compete. Even if someone was physically fit enough, they couldn’t compete unless the judges thought they were of the right moral fibre. Curiously, all sportsmen competed nude – it was widely believed that wearing clothes slowed an athlete down!

At the start of the games, every competitor had to swear an oath that they were a free citizen of Greece who had committed no sacrilege against the gods. In today’s Olympics, one athlete takes an oath on behalf of all the competitors, although of course it is a little different to the ancient Greek oath. Today, competitors promise that they shall abide by the rules of the games, will act in an honourable and sportsmanlike manner, and not use any performance-enhancing drugs. Cheating, though, is almost as old as the games itself: records of the ancient Greek games are riddled with tales of athletes paying off their competitors, and of boxers fixing the results of their fights. In ancient Greece, though, there weren’t many ways an athlete could cheat in a race: maybe take a shortcut, or borrow a horse. By the time of the St Louis Olympics in 1904, more modern means were available. The original “winner” of the 1904 Olympic marathon, Fred Lorz, was disqualified after it was revealed that he had travelled half the distance in a car. The man later declared the official winner, Thomas Hicks, wasn’t much better: he was carried across the finishing line by two of his trainers. Hicks’s trainers had tried to enhance his running ability by feeding him a mix of egg whites, strychnine and brandy. This early attempt at a performance-enhancing drug was rather unsuccessful, as it left Hicks drunk and incapable. The trick of having two men carrying him, though, seems to have worked. The motivation for cheating hasn’t changed much at all. Today, athletes compete primarily for the honour of being awarded a gold medal, but also for the enormous amounts of lucrative corporate sponsorship bestowed upon top sportspeople. Similarly, while ancient Greek athletes were officially only competing for the honour of being Page 1 of 3

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Podcasts – Themes – The Olympic Games awarded a symbolic olive branch, winners were usually sponsored by their city state, receiving a large sum of money, or a new home, or a lengthy tax holiday. As mentioned earlier, the connection between sport and business hasn’t changed much. Even in the earliest Olympics, sporting competition went alongside trade fairs and business deals. This was acknowledged in 19th century Greece when the first modern attempts were made to revive the Olympics. The “Zappian Olympics”, as they became known after wealthy organiser Evangelos Zappas, were the bridge between the ancient and modern Olympics, and took place in Greece between 1859 and 1875. It was the first real international sporting competition, but officially it was about far more than sport. Greek

politicians of the time felt that nations were no longer competing primarily in sport, but in agriculture and manufacturing. It was decided, then, that these new Olympics ought to be as much about competing in industry as in sport. The sports events were highly popular, but in terms of funding and regularity were of a lower priority than the commercial side, which concentrated on the demonstration of agricultural and industrial inventions. However, the sporting side of the games were hugely popular with the public, and the level of support meant that, in Athens in 1896, the Olympics as we know them began. Despite the occasional shambles of the sort we saw in St Louis in 1904, it has continued from strength to strength since then.

After reading Exercise 1 Choose the correct answer to each of the following 5 questions about the text. 1. The Zappian Olympics were: (a) a 19th century attempt to revive the Olympic Games (b) a huge Frank Zappa concert (c) a competition between ancient Greek city states (d) a series of marathons 2. The 1904 Olympic marathon was eventually won by: (a) a man in a car (b) a drunk man who was carried across the finishing line (c) Evangelos Zappas (d) one of the competitors’ trainers 3. In ancient Greece, an Olympic winner might receive: (a) an olive branch (b) a tax holiday (c) a sum of money (d) all of the above 4. An “Olympiad” is: (a) a promise not to cheat (b) a type of ancient vehicle (c) a four year period (d) a festival 5. The ancient Olympics attracted competitors from: (a) all over the world (b) Athens (c) all over Europe (d) all over Ancient Greece Page 2 of 3 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Podcasts – Themes – The Olympic Games

More activities on this topic You’ll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of the Olympics at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-olympics-summer.htm • Magazine article: The Olympics. "Winning the Olympics is not about the medal. It is about how you feel, deep inside, at the moment of victory…it is about the unbelievable attraction of history." (Matthew Pinsent: - Olympic Gold Medal Winner (Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000). • Word game: Olympic events (x 4) Match names and descriptions of different Olympic sports. • Story: Athletes of the Ancient Olympic Games. Read short biographies of 5 great athletes from the Ancient Olympics and do an activity in which you compare the information in them. • Trivia: Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about the Olympic Games. • There are also 2 Olympic-related cartoons, a poll and some carefully selected external links. Answers to comprehension activity: 1. (a); 2. (b); 3. (d); 4. (c); 5. (d)

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Podcasts – Themes – Postal systems Introduction Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You’ll find more information on this page: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to in the podcast • a comprehension activity based on the article • links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (postal systems). Read the article The post by John Russell How did the postal service begin? For as long as humans have existed there has been a need to keep in touch, to transfer information between people in different places. This could have been news about important events, military information, or families staying in contact. Before the invention of writing, spoken oral messages were carried from one person to another or between towns. Writing made it much easier to send longer messages; however, it was still difficult to make sure that your message got to the right place. Who organised the first delivery system? The Romans created an organised system of mail delivery, called Cursus Publicus. This was used by the Emperor and officials to transfer information throughout the Empire. Staging posts and a relay system with horses and carriages meant that messages could move quickly, by using many riders instead of one. It was very important for law and order, business, and military reasons that good communication systems existed. However, the Romans were not (as many people think) the first to realise this. In 2000 BC the Egyptians used a similar messenger system to keep people informed about the laws in the country. The Chinese and Persian empires also used systems of horses and riders more than 500 years before the Romans. What came after the Romans? After the Roman postal service disappeared, other systems were created, but never again as large as the Roman’s. Rulers of countries or regions (such as Charlemagne) and even the church created their own official mail network. It was also very important for business between countries that good communication existed;

international traders and many capital cities set up unofficial postal links. There was one such link between Venice and Constantinople in the 14th Century. Who could use the post? Until the mid 1600's in Europe only official Government messages could be carried by the state networks; everyone else had to use less secure, unofficial networks. However, as more roads were built, unofficial networks became safer, more reliable and very profitable. Realising they could make money, governments in most countries took control of their own public postal system - making the unofficial networks illegal!

How was it paid for? Before the invention of the postage stamp, letters were 'franked.' This meant that it was marked on the letter that delivery had been paid for. This could have been either written or stamped. A post-mark was also stamped on the letter. Invented in 1660 in England, this was a mark that showed where and when the letter had been posted. It was used to see how long it took to Page 1 of 3

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Podcasts – Themes – Postal systems deliver the letter - to make sure the service was reliable. When were stamps invented? A number of countries claim to have invented the idea of stamps - placing a piece of paper on the letter showing that delivery had been paid for. But the first widely available stamp was the Penny Blank, introduced in Britain by a man called Rowland Hill in 1840. It was a black stamp with a white picture of the Queen’s head on it. Hill changed the idea of payment from distance to weight, which meant you paid for how heavy your letter was, not how far it travelled. The year before its introduction about 75 million letters had been posted in Britain, yet only 10 years later over 340 million letters were sent using stamps. It was a very important invention and completely changed the postal system. To buy a first-edition of this stamp today can cost over £1000! Who decides international prices?

Until the 1870's it was still very expensive to send mail to other countries. The Universal Postal Union was created in 1874 to help countries work together and set reasonable prices for international mail prices. It cannot tell individual countries how much to charge, but it encourages co-operation. Its main aim is to make sure that "all people have affordable and reliable access to postal services." What is snail mail? With the creation of airmail, it's now cheap and quick to send letters to most parts of the world. Unfortunately, the growth of new technology (the Internet, emails, fax machines) means that traditional postal services are becoming less popular. Many people now call traditional post “snail mail”, because it does not have the speed of an email or a text message. Remember though, it has been here for over 2000 years, and is still a way of delivering a personal message. Why don't you write a letter to someone today?

Glossary affordable (adj): not expensive carriage (n): a vehicle with four wheels, which is usually pulled by horses and was used especially in the past deliver (v): to take goods, letters, parcels etc. to people's houses or places of work first edition (n): an original version of something, e.g. a book / painting keep in touch (idiom): If you are in touch with someone, your knowledge about him or her is recent network (n): a large system consisting of many similar parts that are connected together official (adj) agreed to or arranged by people in positions of authority

reliable (adj): Something or someone that is reliable can be trusted or believed because they work or behave well in the way you expect relay (n): a group of people who continue an activity that others from the same team or organization have been doing previously rider (n): a person who travels along on a horse staging posts (n): a place where stops are regularly made on long journeys stamp (v): putting a mark on an object either by printing on it or pushing into it state (n): a country or its government trader (n): a person who buys and sells things unofficial (adj): opposite of official

After reading Exercise 1 Can you put the events from the article below in the correct order? 1. Airmail was first used 2. Egyptians used a postal system 3. Governments took control of the post 4. Oral messages were first transmitted 5. People began using the word 'snail mail' 6. Persians first used a postal system 7. Romans delivered messages using horses and riders 8. The Church developed a postal system 9. The first stamp was used 10. The post mark was invented 11. Universal Postal Union was created Page 2 of 3 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Podcasts – Themes – Postal systems

More activities on this topic You’ll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of postal systems at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-post.htm • Word game: "Post" words. Group words depending on which meaning of the word 'post' they relate to. • Poem: Travelling Post Office: This ballad by ‘Banjo’ Paterson shows what an enormous task it was delivering mail in a country as vast as Australia before modern technologies existed. • Trivia: Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about postal systems. • There is also a post-related cartoon, and some carefully selected external links. Answers Exercise 1: 4; 2; 6; 7; 8; 3; 10; 9; 11; 1; 5

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THEATRE by Chris Rose In many parts of the world, and not only in the UK, “going to the theatre” is seen as an activity which only a very few people do. “Theatre” is not often seen as being a pastime that many ordinary people do. Ordinary people watch tv, or go to the cinema, or go out to eat with friends. The theatre is for rich, upper class intellectuals. Like a lot of clichés, there is some truth in this. Theatre tickets are quite expensive. They cost more than cinema tickets. Theatres which show new plays are usually only in big cities. However, even though this is true, there are a lot of theatre companies who are challenging this idea. And the way they are challenging this idea is by working with schools. In the UK, many theatre companies now have an “educational department”. Companies such as Complicité, Northern Broadsides and Shared Experience go into schools and help students to understand and enjoy the plays they do. One company that has made educational work their speciality is the David Glass Ensemble. The work they do, however, is quite different. The David Glass Ensemble run an ongoing project called “The Lost Child”. “The Lost Child” is not a play which they travel around the world to perform. “The Lost Child” doesn’t even have a script. What exactly is “The Lost Child” then? “The Lost Child” is a series of activities which actors from the David Glass Ensemble do together with children who are in difficult situations. They have worked with refugees and victims of child abuse all over the world, mostly in South East Asia, but also in Europe and South America. Three or four actors from the company spend a period of time, usually three or four weeks, starting from games, drawing and singing to develop the children’s confidence and give them a sense of security. Out of the childrens’ drawings, and from talking to them, the actors identify some of the children’s problems and ideas, and then they develop a play based on these ideas. Sometimes they have made short films. Sometimes the plays are a series of sketches and songs. Sometimes the plays tell one story. Children who have taken part in “The Lost Child” almost always end up with a better sense of security, and feel more confident about themselves. They can show that they have intelligence and creativity, no matter what has happened or is happening in their lives. They also have more interest in theatre and film.

In Shakespeare’s day going to the theatre was an activity which everyone did. There were expensive seats for the rich people, and other people could buy a cheap ticket to stand up and watch the play. (This still happens at the rebuilt Globe theatre in London – a theatre which is exactly the same as it was in Shakespeare’s time. The Globe, of course, also has its educational department). Even though today’s world is very different, companies like the David Glass Ensemble are helping to create a situation in which the theatre is for everyone.

Magazine Article - Tobacco http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/tobacco

Introduction This support pack accompanies the magazine article:

Tobacco To read or listen to the article online, go to: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/ tobacco This support pack contains the following materials: a pre-reading vocabulary activity the article a comprehension task a glossary

Before you read / listen Match the words and phrases in the table to their definitions.

1. deadly

2. addictive

3. crumble

4. spoil

5. cure

6. puff

7. brand

8. income

Definitions: a. amount of smoke inhaled each time a smoker puts a cigarette to his/her mouth b. to become bad c. the money you receive from doing work d. a type of product made by a particular company e. describes something that you can't stop doing f.

to treat food, tobacco, etc. with smoke or salt, etc... in order to preserve it

g. to break something into small pieces h. very dangerous

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Magazine Article - Tobacco http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/tobacco

Tobacco What’s in a cigarette? What’s in a puff? Tobacco smoke contains about 4,000 chemicals. Some of which are harmful, others deadly. Here are 3 of the deadliest.

couple of months, the flowering plants and some of the upper leaves are cut to allow more growth in the remaining leaves. The crop gradually grows towards the harvesting stage.

Tar

Harvest

Tar, a mixture of chemicals such as formaldehyde, arsenic and cyanide, can cause serious lung diseases. Seventy percent of the tar from tobacco smoke remains in the smoker’s lungs.

In most countries harvesting is done by hand. The farmer takes off a few leaves from the lower part of each plant. A typical farmer can expect to harvest about 15,000 plants. This is quite a lot considering each plant contains around 22 leaves.

Nicotine Many people are unaware that nicotine is more addictive than heroine. A powerful and fastacting drug, nicotine reaches the brain in about seven seconds. One of the major effects of nicotine is an increased heart rate and blood pressure.

Carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas formed when a cigarette is lit. The red blood cells absorb the gas more easily than oxygen, so up to fifteen percent of a smoker’s blood may be carrying carbon monoxide instead of oxygen. Breathing becomes more difficult because the heart has to work harder to pump less oxygen around the body.

From seed to smoke What do tomatoes and tobacco have in common? They are both a member of the same botanical family. Tobacco is grown in more than one hundred countries with China being the largest producer, closely followed by the USA. Tobacco can grow well in poorer soils so a typical farmer can expect a good income from planting this crop. Seeds and fertiliser are often provided by British American Tobacco. The seeds are so small that they must be protected in seedbeds for sixty days before transplanting to the field. Two weeks later, soil is carefully pushed up against the seedlings to further protect them and help to develop a good root system. Finally, after a

Curing There are four main methods. Air-cured tobacco is hung in unheated, ventilated barns until the tobacco dries and the tobacco leaf becomes a light to medium brown colour. Flue-cured tobacco is made when heat is introduced into a barn through pipes from a furnace outside. The leaves are heated until they turn yellow. Sun-cured tobacco leaves are hung out on racks and exposed to the sun’s rays. The direct heat turns the leaves a yellow to orange colour. For fire curing, wood is burnt under the tobacco leaves, which dries the tobacco and produces a smoky fragrance.

Processing There are four stages in processing. Dirt is removed from the cured tobacco. The leaf is separated from the stem (a process known as threshing). The moisture content is checked carefully. The processed tobacco is packed into 200kg cardboard boxes, for shipping to manufacturing sites.

Manufacturing At the factory, the matured tobacco is checked for quality and then carefully blended with other ingredients which are needed for the brand recipe, such as flavourings.

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Magazine Article - Tobacco http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/tobacco

Moisture content is crucial. Too dry and the tobacco leaf will crumble; too moist and it may spoil during storage. The blended tobacco is treated with just the right amount of steam and water to make it supple, and then cut into the form in which it appears in the cigarette. The cut tobacco is then given a quality check. Cigarette making, once done entirely by hand, is today almost fully automated with the cut

tobacco, cigarette paper and filters continuously fed into the cigarette-making machines. Packing machines put the cigarettes into the familiar brand packs, wrap the packs in protective film, and group them into cartons and cases. The completed cases, time-dated to ensure the freshest product possible, are then ready for distribution.

Comprehension Task True or False Read the following statements and decide if they are true or false. 1. There are about 4,000 deadly chemicals in cigarette smoke. 2. If you start smoking cigarettes, it is really difficult to stop. 3. Tobacco is a good crop for farmers. 4. Most farmers use machines to harvest their tobacco crop. 5. After the crop is harvested, it is ready to be processed. 6. All tobacco is cured, hung in a barn over a fire. 7. When the tobacco has been processed, it is rolled into cigarettes by machines.

Glossary arsenic (n): a very strong poison that can kill people. automated (adj): from the verb automate - to make a process in a factory or office operate by machines or computers, in order to reduce the amount of work done by humans and the time taken to do the work. cyanide (n): a highly poisonous substance. fertiliser (n): a natural or chemical substance used to make plants grow. film (n): a thin layer of plastic to cover and protect an object. formaldehyde (n): a strong smelling gas used for preservation. fragrance (n): a smell. stem (n): the stick-like central part of a plant which grows above the ground and from which leaves and flowers grow, or a smaller thin part which grows from the central part and which supports the leaves and flowers. furnace (n): a piece of equipment for heating a building. seedling (n): a young plant grown from a seed. supple (adj): bending or able to be bent easily; not stiff. ventilated (adj): from the verb to ventilate, provide air to cause fresh air to enter and move around an enclosed space.

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Answers

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Podcasts – Themes – City vs. country Introduction Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You’ll find more information on this page: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to in the podcast • an optional language activity based on the article • links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (city vs. country). Read the article Town or country mouse? by John Russell Once upon a time, there were two mice – cousins. One lived in the town and the other in the country. The town mouse was a very superior mouse, who thought that living in the town was far better than living the country. So one day, he invited his country cousin to stay with him in his town house and experience the civilized lifestyle of the town. They sat down to a meal, which to the country mouse was a feast. “Goodness me” he said. “If I was in the country, I would be having only simple bread and cheese in the quiet of my peaceful home.” Suddenly, there was a loud noise at the door. “Don’t worry,” said the town mouse, “that’s just my neighbour - the dog, he wants to join us for dinner.” The country mouse ate a little faster. Another noise was heard outside, even louder this time. “Oh dear” said the town mouse, “the cat who lives facing my house wants to join us too.” Quickly eating the last of his meal, the country mouse said, “thank you, but I think I will return to the peace and quiet of my own house after all!” Then he ran back home as fast as his legs could carry him.

Alex, however, lives in a small village in the countryside. He cycles to work down country lanes every morning, the sound of tractors, birds and animals in his ears. In the evening, he relaxes at home in front of the fire with a good book to read. At weekends, he goes for long walks in the fields with his dog. Unfortunately, life is not as simple as stories make it. A lot of today’s ‘town mice’ such as Maria would be happy to live in the country. Many modern cities have very large populations (Tokyo or Mexico City - over 25 million) and can be crowded, dirty and dangerous places to live. More than half the world’s population now lives in cities. In much of Europe and North America this can be as high as much as 80% of a country’s population. (According to the United Nations, approximately 1 billion people in cities are living in slum conditions – overcrowded and unhealthy).

This simple tale (taken from Aesop’s famous stories) shows that what may be a good place to live for one person, may not be good for another. A modern version of this story might look like this: Maria lives in a big city surrounded by the speed and convenience of urban life. She works in an office with 1000 other employees, and travels too and from there on a crowded Metro. Her home is a flat overlooking a busy city-street, which is always alive with the sound of traffic and people passing by. After work she meets with friends in a bar or restaurant before going on to a disco or nightclub. Weekends are spent in the shopping mall with its numerous shops, multi-screen cinemas, fast food and entertainment complexes.

The 18th Century marked the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the depopulation of the countryside, and the move to towns. The towns became places of mass employment in factories and offices. Today, many town dwellers wish to Page 1 of 2

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Podcasts – Themes – City vs. country reverse this trend and return to a slower pace of life like Alex, our modern ‘country mouse’. Yet, a modern country existence is not without its problems; poor transport, lack of access to hospitals and education, and services found in towns such as large shops, banks and entertainment.

people are to be persuaded to stay in the countryside, other benefits of the city need to be available (employment, healthcare and education). Conversely, the introduction of city parks and forests, and traffic free zones, has helped in bringing a little of the countryside to the city streets.

The debate between town and country is meaningless these days, as so many people live in towns, and very few people are actually able to choose where they live; this is dictated by their work or birth. The internet and other mass media have linked country areas to the world, providing access to information – even to remote areas. If

The UN World habitat day (4th October) this year looks at this issue. It emphasises the need for strong links between town and countryside, and their mutual dependence upon each other. Are you a town mouse or a country mouse?

After reading Exercise 1: Below are 10 sentences from the text, but the words are in the wrong order and the punctuation is missing. Can you put the words in the correct order and put in the punctuation? 1. civilised mouse town the city life thought was 2. peace quiet the and country missed mouse 3. maria’s a busy house overlooks street city 4. the shopping weekends goes to maria mall at 5. reading of the alex enjoys front in fire 6. large very modern have cities populations 7. to are live slums places overcrowded 8. in 18th moved to countryside people city the from century 9. internet in information the people to provides local areas 10. the is world un in october day habitat

More activities on this topic You’ll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of city vs. country at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-city-country.htm • Word game: Town and Country puzzles. Practise idioms containing the word "town" in the town jigsaw puzzle. Practise different expressions containing the word "country" in the country jigsaw puzzle. • Poems: Town & country. In 'Progress', Osbert Sitwell provides negative images of the city and conjures up fond memories of the country. In 'The City', Charles Hanson Towne does the opposite. Compare them! • Trivia: Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about city vs. country. • There is also a city vs. country-related cartoon, a poll and some carefully selected external links. Answers to language activity: 1. The town mouse thought city life was civilized. 2. The country mouse missed peace and quiet. 3. Maria's house overlooks a busy city street. 4. At weekends Maria goes to the shopping mall. 5. Alex enjoys reading in front of a fire. 6. Modern cities have very large populations. 7. Slums are overcrowded places to live. 8. People moved from countryside to cities in the 18th century. 9. The Internet provides information to people in remote areas. 10. The UN World Habitat Day is in October. Page 2 of 2 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Podcasts – Themes – Transport Introduction Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You’ll find more information on this page: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm This support pack contains the following materials: • The article that you can listen to in the podcast • An optional comprehension activity based on the article • Links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (transport). Read the article Trains: past, present and future by John Russell

Why did railways develop? Railways are not a modern invention as most of us think. The idea of transporting things and people on rails has been around for a long time. Rails were made of wood, stone or metal, and railway wagons were pulled by horses, some were even wind powered and had sails. At the start of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, people needed to transport raw materials such as coal, so created a network of canals and rail links between towns. But canals and horsepower were a very slow way to move things around the country, so the speed of railway wagons needed to be increased. How did steam engines help? By 1800 many industries were using steam engines, designed by James Watt (from where we get the electrical measurement - Watt). Richard Trevithick, a Cornish engineer, refined Watts’ invention and after failing to build a steam powered road vehicle, he designed the first locomotive for an Iron Works in Wales. He called it a 'puffer' because of the noise it made, and on its first journey it travelled at almost 8 km/h an hour! Unfortunately, it was so heavy that it broke the rails - it only made three journeys. But it had shown that steam engines could be used to move trains, and speeds began to increase. When was the first accident? By 1829 locomotives were travelling at speeds of over 45km/h and the first public railway had been opened, the Stockton and Darlington Railway. The most famous early locomotive was The Rocket. In 1833 it won a competition organised by the owners of the Manchester and Liverpool railway, to find the best locomotive for their new

line. Unfortunately, during the competition, a Member of Parliament wasn't careful as he crossed the tracks and The Rocket knocked him down. He died later. This was one of the first train accidents in history. What was the Golden Age of Steam? The next 130 years can be described as a Golden Age of Steam. Railways were built all over the world, and the size, speed and comfort of trains continued to increase. By 1870 it was possible to cross America by train, and the building of railways in many other countries allowed people and progress to move quickly across the world.

There were famous trains and famous journeys. The Orient Express started in 1883 and carried people in luxury through more than 13 countries between France and Turkey. The Flying Scotsman travelled non-stop from London to Edinburgh, between 1928 and 1963, and reached speeds of over 130 km/h. The Trans-Siberian railway was finished in 1916, and is still the longest railway line in the world. It goes between St. Petersburg and Vladivostok, is over 9000 km Page 1 of 3

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Podcasts – Themes – Transport long and even today the journey takes over a week. The fastest steam train in the world was The Mallard. This locomotive travelled up and down the east coast of England between London and York, and in 1938 reached 202 km/h. What replaced steam engines? Although it is still possible to travel on the TransSiberian railway, and take the Orient Express from Paris to Vienna, steam trains such as the Mallard or Flying Scotsman, have not travelled regularly for almost 30 years in many countries. Diesel powered locomotives or trains running on electrified lines now run on most railways. Modern trains are cleaner and much faster than steam engines but many people still miss the puffing sound and the romance of steam. How fast can trains travel now? Quite a few countries now use high speed trains.

The famous Bullet Train in Japan and the TGV in France can both carry passengers at speeds of over 300km/h. Journey times are now much shorter, and trains can travel on some unusual routes; up hills, through mountains, even under the sea. Euro-tunnel was opened in 1994 and connects Britain to France through a railway that goes under the sea. How can trains further develop? The future of train travel could be in Maglev trains. These trains are supported by electromagnets and hover off the ground. Some countries are already using this technology in cities, and others are planning to use it on longer journeys. At the moment they can go more than 500km/h, but some engineers think speeds of over 1000 km/h are possible – some even think they could be used to launch space shuttles! Trains have come a long way since Richard Trevithick’s puffer.

Glossary coast (n): the land next to or close to the sea. comfort (n): a pleasant feeling of being relaxed. electrify (v): to make a machine or system operate using electricity. hover (v): to stay in one place in the air. knock sb down (phr v): to hit someone with a vehicle and injure or kill them. locomotive (n): the engine of a train. luxury (n): great comfort, especially as provided by expensive and beautiful things. magnet (n): an object that is able both to attract iron and steel objects and also push them away. network (n): a large system consisting of many similar parts that are connected together to allow

movement or communication between the parts. rails (n): one of the two bars fixed to the ground on which trains travel. refine (v): to improve an idea, method, system, etc. by making small changes. steam engine (n): a machine that uses the energy from steam to produce movement. tracks (n): the pair of long metal bars fixed on the ground at an equal distance from each other, along which trains travel. wagons (n): a vehicle with four wheels, usually pulled by horses or oxen, used for transporting heavy goods, especially in the past.

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Podcasts – Themes – Transport After reading Exercise

Choose the correct answer to each of the following 10 questions about the text. 1. Railways are a recent invention • True • False 2. Rails were always made of metal • True • False

6. How many times did The Flying Scotsman stop (for passengers), between London and Edinburgh? • 0 • 2 • 5

3. Who invented the first steam engine for trains? • James Watt • Richard Trevithick

7. Was all of the Trans-Siberian Express open 100 years ago? • Yes • No

4. The Rocket first travelled on the: • Stockton and Darlington Railway • Manchester and Liverpool Railway • Eurotunnel

8. Which country uses the TGV? • France • Germany • Japan

5. The Orient Express was: • A railway in China • The fastest steam train in the world • A European train service for rich people

9. Euro Tunnel connects which two countries? • Britain and Wales • France and Italy • Britain and France 10. Maglev trains can now travel at 1000 km/h • True • False

More activities on this topic You’ll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of transport at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-transport.htm • Magazine articles: There are 2 other articles: Amelia Earhart and Motorcycles • Agents Underground: I spy with my little eye ... In this game you are a secret agent travelling around London on the tube, solving puzzles as you go. • Word games: There are 9 word games, including aircraft; motorcycle; seafaring and train game. • Stories: There is 1 story: The Secret Motorcycle. • Poems: There are 3 poems: Alfie and Me, Mulga Bill's Bicycle and The Tay Bridge Disaster. • Trivia: The following trivia topics are available for this theme: aviation, motorcycles and trains. • Science: cubed - Driverless bus and Grow your own car. • There are also 6 transport-related cartoons, and the following sets of carefully selected external links: aviation, motorcycles, seafaring and trains. Answers to comprehension activity: 1. False; 2. False; 3. Richard Trevithick; 4. Manchester and Liverpool Railway; 5. A European train service for rich people; 6. 0; 7. No; 8. France; 9. Britain and France; 10. False

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Podcasts – Themes – Treasure Introduction Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You’ll find more information on this page: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to in the podcast • a vocabulary activity based on the article • links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (treasure). Read the article Treasure! by Alison Driver When I was a young girl living in Ireland, I was always pleased when it rained, because that meant I could go treasure hunting. What’s the connection between a wet day and a search for buried treasure? Well, it’s quite simple. Ireland, as some of you may already know, is the home of Leprechauns – little men who possess magic powers and, perhaps more interestingly, pots of gold.

priceless cargo of the sunken Spanish galleon Atocha, which netted him an incredible 400 million dollars!

Now, although Leprechauns are intriguing characters (and you can read up more about them as there is a link at the end of this article), I have to admit that I was more intrigued by the stories of their treasure hoard. This, as all of Ireland knows, they hide at the end of the rainbow. Leprechauns can be fearsome folk but if you can discover the end of the rainbow, they have to (begrudgingly) surrender their gold to you. So whenever it rained, I would look up in the sky and follow the curve of the rainbow to see where it ended. I never did unearth any treasure, but I did spend many happy, showery days dreaming of what I could do with the fortune if I found it. As I got older, and started working, rainy days came to be just another nuisance and my childhood dreams of finding treasure faded. But for some people the dream of striking it lucky never fades, and for a fortunate few, the dream even comes true! Such is the case of Mel Fisher. His dream of finding treasure also began in childhood, while reading the great literature classics “Treasure Island” and “Moby Dick”. However, unlike me, he chased his dream and in the end managed to become one of the most famous professional treasure hunters of all time, and for good reason. In 1985, he fished up the

After the ship sank in 1622 off the coast of Florida, its murky waters became a treasure trove of precious stones, gold bars and silver coins known as “pieces of eight”. The aptly-named Fisher, who ran a commercial salvaging operation, had been trying to locate the underwater treasure for over 16 years when he finally hit the jackpot! His dreams had come true but finding and keeping the treasure wasn’t all plain sailing. After battling with hostile conditions at sea, Fisher then had to battle in the courts. In Page 1 of 3

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Podcasts – Themes – Treasure is accurately and minutely recorded and that it is this information which is more important than the actual artefact, and that such operations help increase our wealth of archaeological knowledge. Indeed, as in Fisher’s case, they make history more accessible to people through museum donations and information on web sites.

fact, the State of Florida took Fisher to court over ownership of the find and the Federal government soon followed suit. After more than 200 hearings, Fisher agreed to donate 20% of his yearly findings for public display, and so now there is a museum in Florida which displays hundreds of the artefacts which were salvaged from the Atocha.

The distinction of whether these treasure hunters are salvaging or pillaging our underwater heritage may not be clear, but what is clear is that treasure hunting is not just innocent child’s play anymore but profitable big business. I have learnt that the end of the rainbow is beyond my reach, but in consolation, with just a click of the mouse, I too can have a share in the riches that the Atocha has revealed. As Friedrich Nietzsche so wisely said:

This true story seems like a modern-day fairytale: a man pursues his dream through adversity and in the end, he triumphs over the difficulties - they all live happily ever after, right? Well, not exactly. Archaeologists object to the fact that with commercial salvaging operations like Fisher’s, the artefacts are sold and dispersed and UNESCO are worried about protecting our underwater heritage from what it describes as “pillaging”.

“Our treasure lies in the beehive of our knowledge”

The counter-argument is that in professional, well-run operations such as Fisher’s, each piece

After reading Exercise 1 This exercise tests your knowledge of collocations. Match the words in the left-hand column with the words in the right-hand column. 1.

dreams

a.

it lucky

2.

follow

b.

waters

3.

hit

c.

trove

4.

murky

d.

suit

5.

plain

e.

a dream

6.

pursue

f.

the jackpot

7.

strike

g.

come true

8.

take

h.

sailing

9.

treasure

i.

over adversity

10.

triumph

j.

someone to court

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Podcasts – Themes – Treasure

More activities on this topic You’ll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of treasure at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-treasure.htm • Word game: Treasure hunt. Follow the instructions and move around like you're told to until ... X marks the spot! • Story: Treasure Story. This story by Serdar Yıldırım, one of our readers, tells of Keloğlan, a young man who sets off to find some hidden treasure. With the help of the wise man Nasreddin Hodja he succeeds, and all his dreams come true ... • Story: Treasure Island. This classic adventure novel by Robert Louis Stevenson narrates a tale of "buccaneers and buried gold". First published in 1883, its influence on popular perception of pirates is vast. • Story:The treasure map. Sarah and Sanjay can see a bottle. What's in it? It's a treasure map! Will Sarah and Sanjay find the treasure? What will they find? • Printable activity: A treasure map. Can you break the code and find the treasure? • Trivia: Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about treasure. • There is also a treasure-related cartoon, and some carefully selected external links. Answers Exercise 1: 1. g; 2. d; 3. f; 4. b; 5. h; 6. e; 7. a; 8. j; 9. c; 10. i

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Podcasts – Themes – Twins Introduction Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You’ll find more information on this page: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm This support pack contains the following materials: • The article that you can listen to in the podcast • A pre-reading vocabulary activity • A language activity based on the article • Links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (twins). Before you read Before you read the article, have a look at the glossary, which explains some of the more difficult words and expressions. Glossary have in common there are more of them about these days increase the probabilities of grown up after 40 years apart short-sighted picked up the local accent was obsessed with telling which is which had similar tastes in time to themselves take the words out of her mouth

when two things or people are the same in some way you can see more of them now than in the past it is more possible that it will happen adult they were separated for forty years when you have difficulty seeing things far away from you started speaking with the same pronunciation as people who live near him thought continually about the same thing to distinguish one person from another like the same things as someone else time alone to say exactly what another person is going to say

Read the article Twins by Richard Sidaway What do the singer Alanis Morissette, the supermodel Gisele Bundchen and the head of the United Nations Kofi Annan all have in common? The answer is that they all have a brother or sister who was born on the same day as them – a twin. And what links actresses Julia Roberts, Geena Davis and Holly Hunter? They all have twin children.

The USA seems like a particularly good place to have a similar sibling. At the University of Minnesota they have been studying 8,000 pairs of twins since they were born. In the state of Ohio, there is a festival for twins every year in a place called… Twinsburg. And in New York there is even a restaurant which employs 37 sets of identical twins!

You probably either have some twins in your family or you knew some at school – there are more of them about these days. This is because women are older when they have their first child and because more women are having fertility treatment. Both of these things increase the probabilities of two babies developing from the same egg.

Scientists love twins. Because they share the same genes, any differences between them must be because of environmental factors. Science now understands more about heart disease, cancer, and getting old from studying twins. Sometimes twins are separated at birth and only meet again when they are grown up. Even so, Page 1 of 2

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Podcasts – Themes – Twins they sometimes make choices in life which are strangely similar. One pair only met each other after 40 years apart and found that their wives had the same name. And so did their children and their pets!

just spending time together. Both pairs had similar tastes in music and food, and even thought their voices sounded the same sometimes. Both pairs also commented that they would like more time to themselves…

Is there a difference between being physically identical and only being born on the same day? I knew a pair of non-identical twins when I was a boy. They were proud to be completely different from each other. One was very short-sighted from an early age and wore glasses. He picked up the local accent and was obsessed with trains. His brother spoke with a posh accent and was very musical. The first became a train driver and moved to Scotland. His brother went to a music college in London and became a concert pianist.

When I asked them what they were good at in school, one pair wrote the same five subjects almost in the same order. The other pair only had three subjects in common - one was interested in the Arts and the other more in science subjects.

I have recently been the teacher of two pairs of identical twins - I often have difficulty telling which is which. Luckily they don’t seem to mind. One day, I gave them a list of questions to see what they felt about being so close. Each twin answered the questions in a separate room. Both pairs said they did many everyday activities together – studying, shopping, watching TV, or

I also asked them if they ever had the same thoughts as their twin. The first pair said yes – for example, one of them often started talking about what the other one was thinking. Strangely, the other pair disagreed about whether this was true. One of the twins said that her sister would take the words out of her mouth, while the other said this never happened to her. The most interesting thing for me was studying the results of the psychological part of the test. I asked them to describe their personality using twelve different pairs of sentences. I found that each twin gave almost identical answers to her sister!

After reading - Exercise Below are 7 facts from the article, but they are not in the order that they appear in the text. Decide which is the correct order. A

Non-identical twins often have very different lifestyles

B

Studying twins can help us know if illness is related to genetics or upbringing

C

Identical twins say they sometimes read each other’s thoughts

D

There were fewer twins in the past because women didn’t use fertility treatments

E

Some twins take similar decisions in life even when they live completely separate lives

F

Identical twins sometimes have very similar personalities

G

An American university is studying thousands of twins from the moment of their birth

More activities on this topic You’ll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of twins at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-twins.htm • Word games: Homophones. Homophones are words that sound the same but are spelt differently. In these 4 games you match homophones to pictures that illustrate them. • Story: Two Peas in a Pod. Edie and Evie are identical twins. Identical in appearance, but their personalities are not at all identical. Things get very weird when one of them pretends to be the other ... • Trivia: Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about twins. • There is also a twins-related cartoon and some carefully selected external links. Answers to Exercise: 1. D; 2. G; 3. B; 4. E; 5. A; 6. C; 7. F Page 2 of 2 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Magazine – Universities Introduction You can listen to a recording of this article at: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/magazine-articles/universities This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to • a vocabulary activity based on the article Read the article Universities by Richard Sidaway More than a quarter of the working population of the USA has one. Cairo, Bologna, and Paris have been offering them the longest. And you can now supposedly get them by sitting at home at a computer. What am I talking about? A university education, of course. So who goes to university and what do they get out of their experience?

expenses as well. These days most European and North American students are given a loan which they have to pay back to the government once they are in full-time employment, or they finance themselves by working their way through college with part-time jobs in the evenings or at weekends.

Admission Most universities don’t let just anyone in. Grades in the subjects you take in the final years of secondary education are what usually count and in many countries people also have to do an entry test. While most participants in higher education are in the 18-25 age group, some people choose to take a break from work later on in life and opt for the role of mature student, bringing experience of work and the real world to their studies. Which one to go to In many countries there is a pecking order to the universities, with a few high status institutions at the top turning out an intellectual elite and attracting the best minds in teaching and research. Take a quick name check of the leading writers, politicians or scientists in the UK or the USA and you should find the majority chose to spend their student years sitting in the dining halls and libraries of Oxford and Cambridge or Harvard, Princeton and Yale. The training grounds for medicine, law or engineering in Britain tend to be the metropolitan ‘redbrick’ universities slightly lower down the list. Money When entrance was restricted to a lucky few in Britain, the state actually paid the sons and daughters of the middle classes not only their tuition fees but also a yearly grant towards living

Where to live For the majority of students, attending a university in a town or city near to where they live is the only financially viable option, but in Britain for many years going to university meant leaving home, with all the freedom and independence that implied. Universities traditionally offer cheap and clean accommodation in halls of residence or student houses. After a year or so, many students opt to share private rented accommodation outside the university, which often pushes their culinary and hygiene skills to the limit. Year out These days if you haven’t taken time off between finishing school and embarking on higher education, you haven’t really lived. The gap year Page 1 of 4

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Magazine – Universities can be devoted to working for charities in different parts of the world, or simply to travelling, but it can at least concentrate the mind and perhaps give you a few more ideas about what you should do with the rest of your life. If you want to study abroad, you can often get a year out as part of a language course, or enter a scholarship programme such as Erasmus to support you while studying at a foreign university. Business or management students often devote time away from university in the form of a work placement, to help them gain practical experience in a professional environment. Teaching & learning A common feature of any university is attending lectures, which involves taking notes while a lecturer, a university teacher, is speaking to large group of students. In Britain, you are also expected to present a subject perhaps once a term and comment on it in tutorials. These are small group discussions led by a lecturer at which closer analysis of a particular area is undertaken. Science-oriented courses also involve practical lessons and field trips which enable students to get to grips with their chosen course of study in the laboratory or beyond the university walls. How you are doing As at school, progress is measured by examinations, either divided into Parts I & II, or taken at the end of the course, and known as Finals. Alternatively, it can be based on continuous assessment and coursework. An important component of most systems is the extended dissertation, a piece of writing measured by the number of words a student has to produce, say 10,000. This must be based on some original research from primary as well as

secondary sources and on some sort of gathering and interpretation of data. Social life There is an old saying that ‘all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’, and prospective students expect a rich and varied social life. Friendships forged in the student union bar or in the many and varied clubs & societies that exist at most universities may last a lifetime. In the USA fraternities & sororities encourage a similar bond. Life after university Well before the graduation ceremony, when students queue up to receive their degrees from the Chancellor of the university at a special ceremony, the careers office has been busy assessing future graduates for the kind of employment paths they should take by giving them an aptitude test, arranging interviews, company presentations and recruitment fairs. For those attracted by the academic life, there are further opportunities for study on Masters and Doctorate (PhD) programmes and on into further research and teaching. And what does university education all add up to? This was the opinion of Theodore Roosevelt, a former US American President - A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education he may steal the whole railroad. Or is it as an American journalist, Sydney Harris, said? - The primary purpose of a liberal education is to make one's mind a pleasant place in which to spend one's time.

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Magazine – Universities After reading Exercise 1 For each section, match the words taken from the text (in the box at the top) with the definitions below. . aptitude test clubs and societies continuous assessment degree dissertation Doctorate entry test field trip finals fraternities and sororities gap year grades grant halls of residence intellectual elite lecture Masters pecking order private rented accommodation recruitment fairs redbrick universities scholarship programme student houses student union bar subjects tuition fees tutorial work placement working your way through college Admission 1. an examination to see if you are good enough to go to university 2. areas of knowledge you study at school 3. a number or letter to symbolize how well you have done in an exam Which one to go to 4. learning institutions built later than Oxford or Cambridge 5. hierarchy 6. the best minds in the country Money 7. money given by the state to help for e.g. education 8. money you pay for a university course 9. paying for your education by being employed while you are studying Where to live 10. houses bought by the university and rented to their students 11. houses rented to anyone 12. communal accommodation built by university Year out 13. a year between school and university when you don’t study 14. a temporary position with a company to gain employment experience 15. money from a private organisation to help with the cost of study Teaching & learning 16. study away from the classroom often to collect data or samples 17. small group lesson based on discussing an area or problem 18. lesson in the form of a formal speech using notes and visual aids How you are doing 19. a long, structured piece of writing exploring a subject in detail 20. examinations at the end of a course 21. evaluating pieces of work during the course

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Magazine – Universities Social life 22. organisations run by and for students to develop different interests 23. a place for students to have a drink 24. student membership organisations in the USA Life after university 25. exam to see what kind of jobs would suit you 26. university qualification gained after a degree taking one or two years 27. highest university qualification after a Masters taking four or more years of research 28. the first university qualification you receive after 3 or more years of study 29. large ‘market place’ where employers try to interest students in working for them

Answers Exercise 1: 1. entry test; 2. subjects; 3. grades; 4. redbrick universities; 5. pecking order; 6. intellectual

elite; 7. grant; 8. tuition fees; 9. working your way through college; 10. student houses; 11. private rented accommodation; 12. halls of residence; 13. gap year; 14. work placement; 15. scholarship programme; 16. field trip; 17. tutorial; 18. lecture; 19. dissertation; 20. finals; 21. continuous assessment; 22. clubs and societies; 23. student union bar; 24. fraternities and sororities; 25. aptitude test; 26. Masters; 27. Doctorate; 28. degree; 29. recruitment fairs Page 4 of 4 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Podcasts – Themes – Venomous animals Introduction Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You’ll find more information on this page: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to in the podcast • a comprehension activity based on the article • links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (creepy crawlies and venomous animals). Read the article Venomous animals Sea wasp Despite the glorious semi-tropical climate, nobody swims at beaches in the northern half of Australia from September to May. For there, all but invisible as it cruises in the calm tropical shallows, is the world's most dangerous marine stinger - the chironex jellyfish, or sea wasp. It is blamed for the deaths of more than 60 people last century, exceeding the combined toll taken in the same region by sharks and crocodiles. The stinging tips are astonishingly tiny and densely packed: more than 1000 venom-injecting threads can be fired from an area about the size of a pinhead. In total, each sea wasp has thousands of millions of these threads. A serious sting can kill within seconds. A less serious one results, at very least, in tissue destruction and horrendous subsequent scarring. Funnelweb spider Rearing up, with beads of venom already glistening at the tips of its massive fangs (which are capable of biting through a leather boot), a big funnelweb spider is an unnerving sight. The threat is no bluff. The monster will attack on sight, and until an antivenin was finally discovered in the mid-1980s, dozens of people living in the city of Sydney were killed, including one victim who died in just 15 minutes. Fierce snake Venom yielded in an average milking of a big fierce snake could kill 250,000 mice, making it by

far the most potent land snake venom in the world. When they strike, fierce snakes snap repeatedly, pumping venom time after time, and can kill an adult in less than 10 minutes. There are another 20 snakes in Australia capable of killing a human being. Blue-ringed octopus Stranded in rock pools after big tides anywhere on Australian coasts, the blue-ringed octopus is a common sight. It is just the sort of pretty toy that a toddler will pick up. If not seen, it is tiny enough to be hiding in a can of drink. But it is the most lethal octopus in the world. Its venom includes tetrodotoxin (TTX), a component found in no other creature. Two ducts pass right through its brain, bringing venom down to the mouth from a pair of salivary glands. Each is as big as the brain. Each contains enough venom to inflict paralysis and eventual agonising death on at least ten men. Cone shell These beautiful shells can earn collectors thousands of dollars, and so are greatly prized. But they produce and store continuous supplies of disposable poison darts, which can be extended for a distance as long as the shell. When its prey passes close by, the cone shell propels a dart forward, rams it violently against the unsuspecting passer-by, and then draws the paralysed victim back into its snout. The larger species can kill human beings.

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Podcasts – Themes – Venomous animals After reading Exercise 1 Here are two pieces of information about each of the creatures. Can you them in the correct box? a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j.

It can be found closest to where many people live. It can get rid of its poisonous device and then make another one. It can kill the quickest. It has got a unique kind of venom. It is one of many of its kind that are dangerous to man. It is the most attractive. It is the smallest. It prevents people from doing what they would normally do. It will attack without provocation. It will continue biting its victim.

´ 1. Blue-ringed octopus

2. Cone shell

3. Fierce snake

4. Funnel web spider

5. Sea wasp

More activities on this topic You’ll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of creepy crawlies and venomous animals at:http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-creepy-crawlies.htm • Magazine article: Creepy Crawlies. "A few years ago I was on holiday in Holland. I was on a bicycle trip and at the very first sign of a hill, I got off my bike for a rest. I sat down by the side of the road on the grass. A few seconds later, I was covered in ants. They were swarming all over me so I quickly got up and brushed them off." • Word game: Insects and other creepy crawlies. Match the names of 20 different insects and other creepy crawlies to pictures of them. • Word game: Venomous animals. Match the names of 20 different venomous animals to pictures of them. • Story: A Serious Case. I have a friend who is afraid of spiders. This isn’t very unusual; a lot of people are afraid of spiders. I don’t really like spiders much myself. But my friend isn’t afraid of spiders in any normal way. She isn’t just afraid of spiders, she is totally, completely and utterly terrified of them. • Trivia: Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about creepy crawlies and venomous animals. • There are also 2 creepy crawly and venomous animals-related cartoons, a poll and some carefully selected external links. Answers - Exercise 1: 1. d; g; 2. f; b; 3. j; e; 4. i; a; 5. c; h Page 2 of 2 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Magazine – Vice Introduction You can listen to a recording of this article at: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/magazine-articles/vice-investment-and-seven-deadly-sins This support pack contains the following materials: • a pre-reading vocabulary task • the article that you can listen to • an optional comprehension activity based on the article Before you read Activity 1 Match the words at the top to their definitions. a. bigotry

b. boasts

c. commodity

d. eradicated

e. frown on

f.

gambling

g. gluttony

h. greed

i.

horny

j.

k. shortcomings

l.

sloth

n. vice-ridden

o. wisdom

recession-proof

m. speculative

1. ability to use knowledge and experience to make good decisions 2. betting money on a game or race 3. bought to make a profit in the future 4. disapprove of 5. eating and drinking more than you need to 6. faults or failure to reach a standard 7. full of moral faults or weaknesses 8. got rid of completely 9. has something to be proud of 10. having strong, unreasonable beliefs 11. not wanting to work or make an effort 12. sexually excited (informal) 13. strong wish to always get more of something 14. substance or product that can be bought or sold 15. that can’t be damaged by a bad economic situation Read the article Vice, Investment, and the Seven Deadly Sins by Craig Duncan March 2005: it’s official – vice pays. And it’s not even illegal. This month the Financial Times examined the spectacular growth of The Vice Fund, a Texasbased investment company which encourages its members to invest in the certainty of a viceridden future. The Vice Fund restricts its investments to four areas: alcohol, tobacco, gambling and war. The company’s prospectus

boasts that its investments are “nearly recessionproof,” on the basis that no matter what the economic climate, the people of the world will continue to drink, smoke, gamble and kill each other. With a growth rate of 20% in the last year alone, The Vice Fund offers us the chance to personally profit from the fairly inevitable future shortcomings of humanity.

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Magazine – Vice Have our vices ceased to be something bad, and instead have become just another market commodity? What exactly is a vice, anyway? The Western conception of a vice (from the Latin vitium, meaning a defect or imperfection) implies some sort of shortcoming or moral weakness on the part of its practitioner. While we may refer to a particular type of activity as being a vice, what we are really condemning is not just the action itself, but also the moral weakness that led to it. Our understanding of vices has long been tied to the 6th century Christian concept of the “seven deadly sins”: pride, greed, envy, anger, lust, gluttony and sloth. Since most people at some point feel proud, jealous, angry, horny, lazy, or greedy for material possessions or for food, we might say that the “seven deadly sins” represent traits in human nature that cannot realistically be eradicated. At the same time though, they are also traits which need to be controlled to some degree if a society is to be able to function properly. The practical purpose of the “seven deadly sins,” then, has not been eradication but moderation: they have served to remind people not to be too greedy, too jealous, too lazy et cetera. Excessive repetition of one such sin would constitute a vice.

basis of our society. The only one of the original seven sins that made the new list was greed – the others were replaced by six new sins: cruelty, adultery, bigotry, dishonesty, hypocrisy and selfishness. Cruelty was voted to be the worst sin of all. According to the BBC’s Ross Kelly, traditional concepts of sin are much less important to us today than the simple question of whether or not our actions harm anyone else. “For instance,” he says, “we're less bothered about anger than we are about cruelty; and while many of us actually enjoy lust, we still frown on adultery." So, our moral priorities today appear to be more humanist than spiritual: we see the deadliest sins as being those whose results can most palpably harm another person. Presumably this means that we can indulge in whatever vices we wish, as long as we do not harm anyone else. But what are we to think of The Vice Fund, and the idea of actively seeking to profit from the vices of others? Judging it in terms of the newly updated seven deadly sins, one might argue that The Vice Fund’s aims are cruel, but then, the same accusation could be levelled at a great deal of modern business. Given the Fund’s openness about its aims, it could hardly be described as hypocritical. And it’s not really any more greedy or selfish than any other speculative investment. The Financial Times was ultimately rather critical of The Vice Fund, but not from a moral standpoint. It warned us: “There are… fundamental problems with negative screening of stocks on ethical grounds - good or evil. This approach is subjective [and] divorced from established investment wisdom.” In other words, bringing any moral considerations into an investment decision is simply bad business sense.

In an increasingly secular, increasingly multicultural society one might well ask: is this 1500-year-old Christian definition of wrongdoing still relevant? In February the BBC commissioned an opinion poll to answer this question. They asked the British public which of the “seven deadly sins” they still considered to be particularly bad, and invited them to create a new list of the deadliest modern sins. The results arguably showed a major change in the moral

The Vice Fund is rare among modern investment funds in that it is open about its aims. This is perhaps the only reason it provokes the question of whether or not we are morally responsible for the effects of our investments. Most investment funds today allow us the luxury of not having to contemplate what our money is being used for. Accordingly this writer is not prepared to condemn The Vice Fund, but will instead applaud it for its honesty and openness in a field where such qualities are largely unknown. Page 2 of 3

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Magazine – Vice

We can only close by asking a question to which we have as yet no answer: given our apparent concern with the “sins” of cruelty, selfishness and

hypocrisy, is it not time to take a deeper look at the very nature of modern investment practises as a whole?

After reading Activity 2 Choose the best answer for each of the following 6 questions about the text. 1. In which of these areas does The Vice Fund NOT invest? a. cigarettes b. guns c. casinos d. sloths 2. Which of the following is one of the traditional “seven deadly sins”? a. grumpy b. sleepy c. envy d. taxidermy 3. How long have vices been categorised in term of the “seven deadly sins”? a. since the 6th century b. since the 16th century c. since a recent BBC poll d. since Adam ate the apple

4. Which of these was voted a modern “deadly sin” in this year’s BBC survey? a. cruelty b. lust c. sloth d. anger 5. How does the Financial Times suggest we should approach investment opportunities? a. We should only invest in ethically sound companies b. We should only invest in ethically unsound companies c. We should only invest on the basis of BBC opinion polls d. We should ignore ethical considerations 6. What does the writer think of The Vice Fund? a. It is a great idea b. It is evil and sinful c. It is more honest about its aims than most investment funds d. It ought to expand its investments to include pride, lust and envy Answers: Activity 1: 1. o; 2. f; 3. m; 4. e; 5. g; 6. k; 7. n; 8. d; 9. b; 10. a; 11. l; 12. i; 13. h; 14. c; 15. j Activity 2: 1. d; 2. c; 3. a; 4. a; 5. d; 6. c Page 3 of 3 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Podcasts – Themes – Information Society

Introduction Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You’ll find more information on this page: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to in the podcast • an optional comprehension activity based on the article • links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (information society). Read the article Viral marketing by Nik Peachey When word of mouth turns to word of mouse On December 16, 1998 Iconocast gave the award for Internet marketing buzzword of the year to the term 'viral marketing', but what does it really mean? The concept itself was by no means new, businesses world-wide from the smallest corner shop to the biggest multinational had long relied on and benefited from it. Basically it isn't much different from word of mouth; for example someone buys your product, if they like it, they tell their friends how good it is. Then the friends go and buy the same product and like it and tell their friends and so on and so forth until you have reached a huge market without spending a single penny on advertising.

1. You give away some form of free product or service This may not seem like a very sound business practice as there is no immediate profit in giving something away for free, but viral marketing campaigns rely on patience. By giving something away for free you attract customers and once you have them using your product you have the opportunity to sell them other desirable things, not to mention the possibilities you have for generating revenue through advertising.

What is remarkable about 'viral marketing' though is the degree to which using the Internet has accelerated this process. A prime example of this, and one which is often sited as the first viral marketing campaign, is the huge growth of the free email provider Hotmail. Hotmail was originally launched in 1996 and it grew faster than any other company in the history of the world. Within the first eighteen months of its launch it had already signed up over 12 million subscribers and continues to gain more than 100,000 subscribers every day. So how is it done? Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, E-Commerce Consultant wrote in Web Marketing Today, Issue 70, February 1, 2000, that there were 6 key elements to a successful viral marketing campaign:

2. You provide for the effortless spread of your message Your message will only spread if it is easy to transmit. This is where the Internet has been so successful. Communication is cheap and can be as simple as a single mouse click. Hotmail for example spread their message "Get your private, free email" by ensuring that this message was automatically copied into the bottom of every email sent through their mail server. Page 1 of 3

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3. You are able to scale the campaign from small to large very rapidly If your campaign is to be successful you must ensure that you can meet rapidly growing demand for you product or service. If demand exceeds your ability to supply then instead of growing it, your viral campaign will start to kill your business. 4. You identify and exploit common motivations and behaviours Most people are driven by a desire to be loved or popular or even financially better off. These desires are part of what generates the huge amount of Internet communication each day. A successful viral marketing campaign will be able to build on these common motivations in some way. 5. You encourage people to spread the word among their existing networks Most people have on average a network of some 10 to 12 close friends or family who they are in regular communication with. Added to this they often have a wider network of associates and casual or work contacts of tens perhaps even hundreds or thousands. A campaign that taps into this wider network will soon bring huge rewards. 6. You take advantage of others' resources Some of the most successful campaigns try to position messages on other peoples programs. If they can put links on other people's websites or supply content to others which carries their

message then they will soon find that other people are doing their marketing for them. Viral marketing campaigns can achieve great success using all or only one or two of these key elements. Does it work for everyone? Sadly there are also some down sides to viral marketing. Not every product is going to be marketable through this method. It is best suited to low cost products that can easily be delivered and which are usually bought on impulse. An advertising campaign for something like a car is likely to be less successful as most people give a lot of thought and consideration to this form of purchase as it involves parting with large sums of money. Recent figures also suggest that 50% of all email communications will soon be unwanted and largely unsolicited SPAM messages. With the growing tendency of viral marketing campaigners to offer financial incentives to those who are willing to pass their message on, there seems to be an ever growing possibility that what advertisers consider to be legitimate marketing will, to the unwilling consumer, soon start to seem like just more SPAM. So will this be the death of viral marketing? Well most experts seem to think not, but what is likely to happen is that we as consumers are likely to become more careful about what we click on and that advertisers will have to become more creative in their design of such campaigns. One other result of this might be that we find out how many email address books contain our address and how many real friends we have.

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Podcasts – Themes – Information Society

After reading Exercise 1 Identify which of the 10 elements below would be part of an effective viral marketing campaign. 1. Buy access to information about people's email addresses, and then send your message to them all. 2. Have a button on your site that visitors can click to send your link to their friends. 3. Let people email free postcards or greeting cards from your site. 4. Pay people a percentage for each person they forward your message on to. 5. Send out a newsletter that people can send on to their friends. 6. Supply some free software. 7. Target only a small specific market group. 8. Use small cheap servers to save money. 9. Use TV advertising. 10. Write an article and allow others to publish it on their site.

More activities on this topic You’ll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of information society at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-information-society.htm • Magazine article: Information society. Once upon a time societies were organised around religion, farming, trade or industry. • Word game: Internet abbreviations. We all know that 'WWW' stands for 'World Wide Web', but the internet has lots of other abbreviations like this. • Poem: The Good Old Days. This amusing poem compares the meanings of words and expressions as they are used nowadays when speaking about computers, and in their original contexts. • Trivia: Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about information society. • There is also an information society-related cartoon, and some carefully selected external links. Answers to comprehension activity: 1. No; 2. Yes; 3. Yes; 4. Yes; 5. Yes; 6. Yes; 7. No; 8. No; 9. No; 10. Yes

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Magazine – Wormholes Introduction You can listen to a recording of this article at: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/magazine-articles/wormholes This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to • a comprehension activity based on the article Read the article Wormholes by Linda Baxter Have you ever read Carl Sagan's 1985 science fiction novel 'Contact'? Or have you seen the film of the same name starring Jodie Foster? If you have, then you will remember the scene near the end of the film, when the heroine travels to the star Vega, twenty-six light years away from Earth, through a wormhole in space. Just a story, you think. But is it? The truth is that the scene described above is a serious scientific picture of travel through spacetime using a wormhole. When Sagan was writing the book, he asked an American scientist, Kip Thorne, to give him an idea for a way of travelling long distances through space that was scientifically possible. Thorne thought about it for a long time and then had the idea of using a wormhole. He then looked again at Einstein's theories and the accepted rules of physics and was surprised to see that wormholes really could be used to travel through space. But what is a wormhole? A wormhole is a passageway between points in a 'folded' universe. The easiest way is to imagine a big piece of paper, with A written at one end and B written at the other. It will take a small insect a long time to walk from A to B. But now fold the paper in half, so that A and B are near to each other. Now connect A and B with a small tube pushed through the paper - the wormhole. The distance between A and B is now only a few millimetres, and the insect can walk along the tube and make the journey in a fraction of the time. So distances of many light years in space could become just a few metres. (see glossary)

So, did Kip Thorne invent wormholes? No he didn't. Kip Thorne proved that there is nothing in the laws of physics and the general relativity theory to say that they're not possible. Einstein talked about 'folds' in the universe. He also thought that if these folds existed, then there might be passages, or shortcuts connecting them. He thought that there might be passages like these connecting two black holes, so that something could enter one black hole, travel through the wormhole and come out again at the other end. He called them 'bridges'. But for some reason, nobody thought very much about them until the 1980s. (see glossary) But isn't it impossible for anything to escape from a black hole? True. A black hole has such strong gravity that nothing, not even light, can escape from it. Everything is crushed at the centre point of the black hole. But mathematicians have proved that things are different if the hole is rotating. Then, it may be possible for a doorway to open at the centre point, where the wormhole begins. And some people believe that white holes exist too. These are the opposite of black holes. Instead of holding everything inside, a white hole pushes everything out. So you could enter a rotating black hole, travel through a wormhole, and then come flying out of a white hole at the other end. (see glossary) But is it really possible? Theoretically, yes. But there are a few problems. Wormholes are not very stable. They only exist for a few seconds before they collapse. And something travelling through one would probably Page 1 of 3

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Magazine – Wormholes make it break up anyway. And a wormhole would be full of x-rays and gamma rays, which would burn you. And of course, you would never be sure where you were going and almost certainly, you wouldn't be able to come back again the same way. So if we can find a natural wormhole, we then need the technology to control and stabilise it. Which is exactly what the advanced civilisation in 'Contact' were able to do. (see glossary) Could we use wormholes to travel through time? There are people who think exactly that. Einstein's equations treat space and time in exactly the same way. So a wormhole can link two different times as well as two different places. According to Einstein's theories, time travel would be difficult but not impossible. Scientists now take the idea very seriously. But there are some big problems of logic. For example, if you went back in time and killed your grandmother, you would then never be born. So you never existed, so you couldn't travel back in time because you didn't exist! To explain this problem (known as 'the granny paradox') people have invented theories to say that you can only travel back in time to the moment when the time machine was invented. This theory also explains why we don't have lots of 'time travel tourists' visiting us now. (see glossary) So, in conclusion, wormholes have never been found in nature. No astronomer has ever seen things come flying out of one in the middle of space. But we do know that, according to the rules of physics that we use, they are possible. And if we could find one and control it, travel

through space and maybe even time would be a real possibility. (see glossary) Glossary Heroine: a female who is admired for having done something very brave or having achieved something great, or the main character in a book, film or play, esp. one who is admired for their good qualities. Light year: the distance that light travels in one year (about 9,500,000,000,000 kilometres). Equation: a mathematical statement that two amounts, or two symbols or groups of symbols representing an amount, are equal, or fig. a difficult problem which can only be understood if all the different influences are considered. Fold: to bend (esp. paper or cloth) so that one part of it lies on the other part. Law (of physics): a general rule which states what always happens when the same conditions exist. Shortcut: a quicker and more direct way of getting somewhere or doing something. Rotate: to (cause to) turn in a circle, esp. around a fixed point. Theoretical: According to the facts of a formal statement of the rules on which a subject of study is based or of ideas which are suggested to explain a fact or event. Stable: firmly fixed or not likely to move or change. Paradox: a situation, fact or statement which seems impossible and/or difficult to understand because it contains two opposite facts or characteristics. Common sense: the basic level of practical knowledge and wisdom that we all need to help us live in a reasonable and safe way.

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Magazine – Wormholes After reading Comprehension activity Decide if each of the following statements about the text is True or False. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Carl Sagan used the idea of wormhole travel in his novel 'Contact'. Kip Thorne invented the idea of wormholes. A wormhole is a fold in space. Einstein said that wormholes were impossible. You can only enter a wormhole if the black hole is rotating. You need advanced technology to be able to travel through a wormhole. The 'granny paradox' proves that time travel is impossible. Astronomers have found a wormhole in space.

Answers: 1. True (T); 2. False (F); 3. F; 4. F; 5. T; 6. T; 7. F; 8. F Page 3 of 3 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Podcasts – Themes – Cultural heritage Introduction Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You’ll find more information on this page: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to in the podcast • a comprehension activity based on the article • a vocabulary activity based on the article • links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (cultural heritage). Read the article World Heritage by Linda Baxter

If you think about World Heritage Sites, you probably think of places associated with ancient art and culture, historical buildings and monuments. And of course, many of these are on the World Heritage List. Remains of ancient cultures, like Cuzco in Peru, Angkor in Cambodia, or the famous rock city of Petra in Jordan. Or old city centres, such as Rome in Italy, or Sana'a in Yemen. Or places of artistic or cultural significance, like the Stonehenge stone circle in England, or the Tsodilo rock paintings in the Kalahari Desert in Botswana. But The World Heritage List contains a lot of sites that are not so obvious. Some of them are well known. For example, the Galapagos Islands, which inspired Darwin's theories of evolution, or the Victoria Falls waterfalls in Africa, and the Grand Canyon in the United States. Let's look at a few of the more unusual sites on the World Heritage List and why it is important to preserve them. Citadel of Haiti These monuments were built at the end of the nineteenth century when Haiti became independent and the many thousands of black slaves in Haiti were free for the first time. These ex-slaves built the monuments, which The World Heritage List (WHL) describes as 'a universal symbol of liberty'.

Robben Island in South Africa This island was used through the centuries as a prison, a hospital and a military base. But it's probably most famous as a maximum-security prison for political prisoners in the twentieth century. Nelson Mandela was one of its most famous residents. The WHL says it represents 'the triumph of democracy and freedom over oppression and racism'. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in India This railway was opened in 1881 and is still operating today. It crosses a difficult area of mountain landscape and it is a great example of railway engineering. The WHL says that it is 'the first, and still the most outstanding, example of a hill passenger railway.' Borders of France and Spain This is an area of great natural beauty and the mountains have many interesting geological formations. But it is also an area of small farms. People there still use a type of agriculture that used to be common in mountainous areas of Europe but has almost completely disappeared in modern times. The WHL has listed the site because it shows us about 'past European society through its landscape of villages, farms, fields, upland pastures and mountain roads.'

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Podcasts – Themes – Cultural heritage The city of Brasilia, Brazil

Rio Platano Reserve, Honduras

Brasilia is a capital city that was created from nothing in 1956. The WHL calls it 'a landmark in the history of town planning.' The different areas of the city and the buildings themselves were all designed at the same time so that they would harmonise with each other. Every part of the city shows the ideas of the planner and architect.

The WHL says that this site is 'one of the few remains of a humid tropical forest in Central America.' It's a mountainous area on the Caribbean coast with many different species of plants and animals. The people who have always lived there still have the same traditional lifestyle.

Dorset and East Devon Coast, United Kingdom This part of the coast in the South West of England is famous for its fossils and is popular with scientists and amateur fossil hunters. The cliffs also show rock formations from millions of years ago. The WHL says that they 'have contributed to the study of earth sciences for over 300 years.' Alto Douro, Portugal This is an area in the North of Portugal where wine has been produced for thousands of years. Nowadays it is world famous for the 'port wine' that is produced there. The WHL says that this long tradition of winemaking 'has produced a cultural landscape of outstanding beauty that reflects its technological, social and economic evolution.'

Simien National Park, Ethiopia Simien National Park was one of the first sites to be listed in 1978. It is one of the highest mountain areas in Africa, and the WHL calls it 'one of the most spectacular landscapes in the world'. It is also important for its wildlife. Rare animals like the Gelada baboon and the Simien fox live there. It is also the only place in the world where you can find the Walia ibex, a type of goat. The population of this animal is getting smaller and smaller. That's why the site is now on the List of World Heritage in Danger. So, the World Heritage List isn't only about ancient monuments and buildings. It's also concerned with technology, natural beauty, wildlife and traditional ways of life.

After reading Exercise 1 Choose the answer to each of the six questions below, depending on the information in the text. 1. Why is the Citadel of Haiti included on the list? a. It shows a traditional way of life. b. It represents freedom. c. The buildings are thousands of years old. 2. Why is the Darjeeling Railway listed? a. The landscape is very beautiful. b. It was difficult to build. c. It carries a lot of passengers. 3. What is the most important reason for listing the area on the borders of France and Spain? a. We can learn about the history of Europe. b. The geology is interesting. c. It's very beautiful.

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Podcasts – Themes – Cultural heritage

4. Why is Brasilia listed? a. It's an interesting example of town planning. b. It was the ancient capital of Brazil. c. It was difficult to build. 5. Why is the Dorset and East Devon Coast listed? a. The wildlife is unusual. b. It's important for scientific study. c. You can find fossils there. 6. Why is the Simien National Park on the List of World Heritage in Danger? a. Because of the animals that live there. b. Because of the people that live there. c. Because of the natural landscape. Exercise 2 In the table below are 10 words from the text. Below the table are definitions of the 10 words. Can you match the words to their definitions? Evolution Heritage Outstanding triumph

Fossils landmark preserve

Geology landscape symbol

1. …………… means features belonging to the culture of a particular society, such as traditions, languages or buildings, which still exist from the past and which have a historical importance. 2. …………… means gradual development. 3. To …………… something means to keep it as it is, esp. in order to prevent it from decaying or being damaged or destroyed. 4. A …………… is a sign, shape or object which is used to represent something else. 5. A …………… is a very great success, achievement or victory, or a feeling of great satisfaction or pleasure caused by this. 6. …………… means excellent; clearly very much better than what is usual. 7. …………… the study of the rocks and similar substances that make up the Earth's surface, esp. in order to understand its structure, origin, etc. 8. A …………… is a large area of countryside, esp. in relation to its appearance. 9. A …………… is a building or place that is easily recognized, esp. one which you can use to judge where you are. …………… are bones, shells or shapes of a plant or animal which have been preserved in rock, ice or earth for a very long period.

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Podcasts – Themes – Cultural heritage

More activities on this topic You’ll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of cultural heritage at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-cultural-heritage.htm • Word game: World heritage. Match the names and descriptions of national parks in each continent, which feature on the World Heritage List. • Poem: Ozymandias. In this poem on the theme of the ruined monument to himself built by Pharaoh Ramses II in the Egyptian desert, Shelley reflects on the nature of political power, and those who hold it. • Trivia: Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about cultural heritage. • There is also a cultural heritage-related cartoon, and some carefully selected external links. Answers Exercise 1: 1. b; 2. b; 3. a; 4. a; 5. b; 6. a Exercise 2: 1. Heritage; 2. Evolution; 3. preserve; 4. symbol; 5. triumph; 6. Outstanding; 7. Geology; 8. landscape; 9. landmark; 10. Fossils

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Podcasts – Themes – Wild animals Introduction Download the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. You’ll find more information on this page: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm This support pack contains the following materials: • The article that you can listen to in the podcast • An optional comprehension activity based on the article • Links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (animals). Read the article: Wild animal trivia Bears At the end of last century, every tenth house in St Petersburg would have at least one pet bear cub during the season. Lord Byron kept a pet bear when he was at Cambridge University. Bears have been observed to climb telegraph poles in their search for honey, mistaking the buzzing sound for that of bees. Bears have been taught to play basketball. Dr Leon Smith, their coach, commented: “Food is now secondary to the thrill of making a score”. According to Mexican folklore, it is dangerous for a woman to catch sight of a bear in a zoo while she is pregnant, because her baby could take the form of the bear. Eskimo women never comb their hair on the day a polar bear is to be killed. All polar bears are left-handed. Elephants The elephant may be distinguished from other animals by its knee joints, which are much lower down than in most hoofed creatures. It is thus able to bend its hind legs in the fashion of a kneeling man. Ivan the Terrible put an elephant to death because it bowed down before him. The African elephant sleeps in a standing position. The elephant needs only two hours sleep a day. The elephant cannot jump, but is the only animal apart from man that has been taught to stand on its head. It is forbidden to lead an elephant through the approach tunnels of London’s Heathrow Airport. In Milwaukee, pet elephants must be kept on a lead when taken for a walk on public streets. Giraffes Giraffes’ milk is seven times richer in protein than cow’s milk. Their hearts weigh about 25 lb. (11.4 kgs.) and their blood pressure is two or three times that of man, which is quite necessary considering how high the blood must be pumped. There is a unique valve in a

giraffe's neck to stop the blood rushing to its head when it bends down. Giraffes make no noise and show affection by pressing their necks together. The giraffe gives birth standing up, which means that the first experience of each baby giraffe is a fall to earth from a height of about 6 feet (1.83 metres). The neck of the giraffe has seven vertebrae, the same number as in the human neck. Hippopotamuses In the Nigerian Navy, there are twenty ships all of whose names mean ‘hippopotamus’ in various dialects of the country. Hippos can run faster than men. They give birth underwater, and the first act of the newborn is to float to the surface for its first breath of air. Hungary exports more hippos than any other European country. Hippos cannot swim. Monkeys and apes Art school examiners in Pretoria, South Africa, once gave a pass mark to a chimpanzee’s drawings which had been submitted as a joke by a student. According to the United States customs office at Baltimore, “paint placed on a canvas by a sub-human animal” is not a work of art and therefore cannot be allowed to enter their country free of duty. This was decided in 1950 when an attempt was made to import paintings produced at London Zoo by the chimpanzee artist Congo. They were heading for an exhibition of monkey art. A customs spokesman commented, however, “If we did not know they were produced by an animal we would have thought they were good modern art”. The gorilla sleeps for fourteen hours a day, is a vegetarian, and has no hair on its chest. Gorillas never snore. Chimpanzees often greet one another by shaking hands. (Source: The Ultimate Irrelevant Encyclopaedia by Bill Hartson and Jill Dawson). Page 1 of 2

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Podcasts – Themes – Wild animals After reading Apart from the main reading skills (skimming, scanning, intensive and extensive reading) there are other skills that a reader must acquire. One of these is the ability to infer information, or to read between the lines. This involves making use of clues (syntactic, logical and cultural) to discover the meaning of unknown elements. The activity that follows is designed to help you develop this skill. Exercise 1 Answer the 10 questions below by “reading between the lines” of the text. 1) Which animal seems best suited to praying? 2) Which animal would do best in the Olympic stadium? 3) Which animal causes people to look worse than usual? 4) Which animal offended a dictator? 5) Which animal would be most welcome in a library? 6) Which animal is the laziest? 7) Which animal could get a shock when it is hungry? 8) Which animal has special protection when having a drink? 9) Which animal seems poorly adapted to its natural habitat? 10) Which animal would be easiest to sleep with?

More activities on this topic You’ll find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of animals at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-animals.htm • Magazine articles: There are 12 articles, including creepy crawlies; flea circuses; iguana farming and sea monsters. • Word games: There are 28 word games, including animal idioms; animal noises; venomous animals and zoo puzzle. • Stories: There are 8 stories, including Aesop’s fables; Chinese zodiac; The Dinosaur in Jake’s Garage and The Hunting Bird. • Poems: There are 6 poems, including The cat that walked by himself; Danger in the Wet; The Tyger and Wolf poetry. • Trivia: The following trivia topics are available for this theme: animal conservation; biodiversity; creepy crawlies; dinosaurs and pets. • There are also more than 30 animals-related cartoons, and the following sets of carefully selected external links: animal conservation; biodiversity; creepy crawlies; dinosaurs and pets. Answers to comprehension activity: 1. elephant ("It is thus able to bend its hind legs in the fashion of a kneeling man."); 2. hippo ("Hippos can run faster than men." [It is not the bear, because basketball is not played in the Olympic stadium]); 3. (polar) bear ("Eskimo women never comb their hair on the day a polar bear is to be killed."); 4. elephant ("Ivan the Terrible put an elephant to death because it bowed down before him."); 5. giraffe ("Giraffes make no noise."); 6. gorilla ("The gorilla sleeps for fourteen hours a day."); 7. bear ("Bears have been observed to climb telegraph poles in their search for honey, mistaking the buzzing sound for that of bees."); 8. giraffe ("There is a unique valve in a giraffe's neck to stop the blood rushing to its head when it bends down."); 9. hippo ("Hippos cannot swim."); 10. gorilla ("Gorillas never snore.")

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Magazine Articles - Weather http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/weather

Weather by Mike Rayner It's hardly surprising that weather is a favourite topic for so many people around the world - it affects where we choose to live, what we wear, our moods, and perhaps even our national characteristics. A sunny day can relieve the deepest depression, while extreme weather can destroy homes and threaten lives.

The effects of weather Palm trees bent double in hurricane force winds, cars stranded in snow drifts, people navigating small boats down flooded city streets – images we are all familiar with from news reports of severe weather spells. But many of the effects of the weather are less newsworthy. ‘I’m feeling a bit under the weather’ is a common complaint in Britain, especially on Monday mornings, and it seems that weather really can be responsible for moods. Studies have shown that changeable weather can make it hard to concentrate, cloudy skies slow down reflexes, and high humidity with hot, dry winds makes many people irritable and snappy.

Some suggest that the weather also leaves its mark on character, giving people from the same region similar temperaments, although it seems that economic, political and social factors are likely to have a much stronger effect than the weather.

What causes changes in the weather? If you live in a place like Britain, where the weather seems to change daily if not hourly, you could be forgiven for thinking that the weather is random. In fact the weather is controlled by systems which move around areas of the globe. In the UK the weather depends on depressions, often called ‘lows’, and anticyclones, also known as ‘highs’. These systems start in the Atlantic Ocean, and make their way across the British Isles from the west to the east. Highs bring sunny weather, while lows bring rain and wind. The weather systems in tropical climates are very different from those in mid and high latitudes. Tropical storms develop from depressions, and often build into cyclones, violent storms featuring hurricanes and torrential rain. In modern times, human activity seems to be altering weather patterns. Gases produced by heavy industry change the temperature of the Earth’s surface, and affect cloud formation. Some researchers say that factories in Europe and North America may have been one of the causes of the droughts in Africa in the 1980s.

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Magazine Articles - Weather http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/weather

Can we predict the weather? The human race has always tried to guess the weather, especially in areas of the world where there are frequent changes. Traditional rhymes point to early attempts to identify weather patterns, popular poems include:

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Red sky at night, shepherds’ delight; Red sky in the morning, shepherds’ warning

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Ash leaf before the oak, then we will have a summer soak; Oak leaf before the ash, the summer comes without a splash

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Flies will swarm before a storm.

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Rain before 7, clear by 11.

Two other popular traditional ways of forecasting the weather used pine cones and seaweed. When the air has a high level of humidity there is a higher chance of rain, when the humidity is low, there is more chance of fine weather. Pine cones and seaweed react to changes in humidity - pines cones open, and seaweed feels dry when the humidity is low, while high humidity has the opposite effect. While folk wisdom can still provide a guide to help forecast weather, today’s methods of prediction increasingly rely on technology. Satellites, balloons, ships, aircraft and weather centres with sensitive monitoring equipment, send data to computers. The data is then processed, and the weather predicted. However, even this system cannot predict weather for longer than about week.

A recent study by an Australian psychologist suggests that certain people may have a special gift for predicting the weather. However it is possible that these people would use their talent in another way, since the same group had considerable success in forecasting changes in another chaotic system – the stock market. It appears that a study of weather patterns may also enable scientists to predict the outbreak of disease. An Ebola epidemic in Uganda in the year 2000 came after the same rare weather conditions that had been present before an outbreak 6 years earlier. Efforts to limit the spread of airborne diseases such as foot and mouth are also strongly dependent on favourable wind conditions.

Extreme weather Although people in Britain often moan about the weather, we should spare a thought for the inhabitants of parts of the world where extreme weather regularly wreaks havoc on the environment and population. Sandstorms, tornadoes, blizzards and flashfloods regularly kill thousands of people and leave many others homeless.

While most of us try to avoid extreme weather, some adventurous souls actively seek out places where extreme weather conditions exist. Sports such as surfing, kite boarding, ice-climbing and whitewater rafting are becoming increasingly popular with people seeking relief from the monotony of daily © The British Council, 2010 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

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Magazine Articles - Weather http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/weather

routine. Extreme sports are about exhilaration, skill and danger, and often harness the weather to provide adrenaline addicts with their kicks. Even more extraordinary are storm-chasers – weather enthusiasts who risk their lives following tornadoes and thunderstorms at high speed to witness the damage they cause at close hand.

Glossary adrenaline (n): a hormone produced by the body when you are frightened, angry or excited, which makes the heart beat faster and prepares the body to react to danger. ash (n): a forest tree which has a smooth grey bark, small greenish flowers and seeds shaped like wings. blizzard (n): a severe snow storm with strong winds. climate (n): the general weather conditions usually found in a particular place. drought (n): a long period when there is little or no rain. humid (adj): (of air and weather conditions) containing extremely small drops of water in the air. hurricane (n): a violent wind which has a circular movement, especially found in the West Atlantic Ocean. latitude (n): the position north or south of the equator measured from 0° to 90°. oak (n): a large tree that is common especially in northern countries, or the hard wood of this tree. pine cone (n): the hard egg-shaped part of the pine tree which opens and releases seeds. psychologist (n): someone who studies the human mind and human emotions and behaviour, and how different situations have an effect on them. reflex (n): an uncontrollable physical reaction to something. shepherd (n): a person whose job is to take care of sheep and move them from one place to another. tornado (plural tornados tornadoes) (n) (US INFORMAL ALSO twister): a strong dangerous wind which forms itself into an upside-down spinning cone and is able to destroy buildings as it moves across the ground. torrential (adj): used to refer to very heavy rain.

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Magazine Articles - Weather http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/weather

After reading Choose the correct answer to each of the following 9 questions about the text. 1. When the weather keeps changing: a. people's reaction slow down b. people become irritable c.

people find it hard to focus on their work

2. The weather in Britain: a. is very changeable b. is depressing c.

is random

3. Violent storms are common: a. in mid and high latitudes b. in Britain c.

in tropical climates

4. Anticyclones often: a. bring cloudy weather b. bring rain and wind c.

bring fine weather

5. Weather forecasting: a. is always wrong b. has been done for a long time c.

is easy

6. According to a traditional rhyme, if there is a red sky at night: a. the next day will be fine b. the next day will be rainy c.

the next day will be windy

© The British Council, 2010 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

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Magazine Articles - Weather http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/weather 7. When the air is humid: a. pine cones close b. seaweed feels dry c.

the weather will be fine

8. According to the article, weather is linked to: a. the stock market b. the outbreak of disease c.

successful studying

9. Extreme sports are: a. dangerous b. routine c.

easy

© The British Council, 2010 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

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Magazine Article – Water sports https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine-articles/water-sports

Introduction This support pack accompanies the magazine article Water sports by Mike Rayner. To listen to or read the article online, go to: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine-articles/water-sports Read

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All over the world people head for oceans, lakes, pools and rivers in search of fun, freedom and excitement. On the water, in the water or under the water, there are a huge range of sports and activities available to lovers of H2O. This week, let’s take a look at some of the more colourful and adventurous water sports.

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Surfing When Captain James Cook landed in the Polynesian islands of Hawaii in 1778, he was surprised to find the native men and women, both royalty and ordinary citizens, riding waves standing on wooden boards. Despite being centuries old, surfing only really took off in the rest of the world from the 1950s, starting with the southwest coast of the USA. Nowadays surfing is enjoyed by surfers wherever there are waves, in Bali, Australia, Japan, France and even Britain. Contemporary surfers use lightweight fibreglass boards to catch waves of varying shapes and sizes as they roll in towards the beach. One of the main attractions of the sport is its simplicity – all a surfer really needs is a surfboard, a wetsuit and a way of getting to the beach. Although there has been a fiercely competitive professional tour since the 1970s, surfing traditionally appeals to young people with a relaxed outlook on life. A whole lifestyle has built up around the sport, and movies like Big Wednesday, Point Break and Blue Crush have popularised surf culture. Surfing also has its own language – an excited surfer is ‘stoked’, a surfer who falls off their board ‘wipes out’, and something a surfer really likes is ‘awesome’. The heroes of the surfing community are the soul surfers – surfers who live only to travel and surf.

Schweiter in South California in the late 1960s. Windsurfing has become a hugely popular outdoor activity, and made its first appearance at the Olympics in LA in 1984. There are many different styles of windsurfing which include ‘freestyle’, where windsurfers do tricks, ‘bumpand-jump’ in which surfers use waves to take to the air, and ‘slalom’. Kitesurfing is an even more recent development; it has only been around since the 1980s, and is only recently becoming an established watersport. As the name of the sport suggests, kitesurfers are towed along by large kites, allowing them to pull-off incredible tricks in the air. The names of the tricks give an idea of how exciting the sport is; the ‘heart-attack’, ‘boneless’ and ‘slim chance’ are among the most exhilarating to watch.

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Windsurfing is a hybrid of sailing and surfing invented by sailor Jim Drake, and surfer Hoyle

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Windsurfing and kiteboarding Both close cousins of surfing, windsurfing and kiteboarding use the wind to propel modified surfboards at high speeds across the surface of the water.

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SCUBA diving Just as mankind has always had a desire to fly, the human race has wanted to swim under the water since prehistoric times. Pictures of primitive devices to enable people to breathe underwater have been found dating from 3000 years ago, but our dream of moving freely beneath the ocean waves for long periods of time was only realised about 60 years ago, when French diving legend Jacques Cousteau developed the first practical Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (SCUBA). Since then the sport of SCUBA diving has gone from strength to strength. Lovers of SCUBA diving rave about the feeling of weightlessness, the peace and quiet under the water, the ability to move in three dimensions and the sense of adventure they get while on a dive. SCUBA divers often travel to some of the most beautiful and remote places in the world in the search for rare underwater flora and fauna. Palau, The Red Sea, The Maldives and Hawaii have many of the most popular diving sites, but recreational divers often have to make do with less exotic local destinations, like the North Sea in Britain. SCUBA diving is not without its dangers, however. The mixture of nitrogen and oxygen Page 1 of 3

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Magazine Article – Water sports https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine-articles/water-sports

irresponsible divers have caused a great deal of damage to coral reefs. However with proper precautions diving can open up a whole new world, far from the stresses of daily life. So what are you waiting for? Get your wetsuit on, strap your board to the roof rack, throw your SCUBA gear in the boot and head for the beach. I’ll see you there.

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divers breathe underwater, combined with the pressure under the water can be deadly if a diver rises too quickly to the surface, causing a condition called ‘the bends’. Divers can also get lost or trapped when diving on wrecks, and fatalities are particularly common in cave diving, where divers add to the dangers of diving by swimming through underground caves filled with water. Diving can also be harmful to the underwater environment – in the past

improve it or make it more acceptable. precaution (n):an action which is done to prevent something unpleasant or dangerous happening. prehistoric (adj): describing the period before there were written records. primitive (adj): relating to human society at a very early stage of development, with people living in a simple way without machines or a writing system. propel (n): to push or move something somewhere, often with a lot of force. rave (v): to praise something greatly. royalty (n): the people who belong to the family of a king and queen. slalom (n): a race for people on skis or in canoes (= long light narrow boats) in which they have to follow a route that bends in and out between poles. tow (v): to pull a car, boat, etc. along, using a rope or a chain attached to another vehicle or boat. wetsuit (n): a piece of clothing covering the whole body that keeps you warm and dry when you are under water. wetsuit (n): a piece of clothing covering the whole body that keeps you warm and dry when you are under water.

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Glossary contemporary (adj): existing or happening now. coral reef (n): a bank of coral, the top of which can sometimes be seen just above the sea. device (n): an object or machine which has been invented to fulfill a particular purpose. establish (v) (established adj): to cause to be accepted in or familiar with a place, position, etc. exhilarating (adj): making you feel very excited and happy. fatality (n): a death caused by an accident or by violence, or someone who has died in either of these ways. fibreglass UK, US fiberglass (n): a strong light material made by twisting together small fibres of glass and plastic, used especially for structures such as cars and boats. flora and fauna (n): the flora and fauna of a place are its plants and animals. hybrid (n): a plant or animal that has been produced from two different types of plant or animal, especially to get better characteristics, or anything that is a mixture of two very different things. modify (v): to change something such as a plan, opinion, law or way of behaviour slightly, usually to

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Exercise 1 Decide if each of the following 10 statements about the text is True or False. 1. Surfing is an old sport.

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2. Surfers use wooden surfboards.

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3. Surfing is only possible in Hawaii, Bali, the USA and Australia. 4. Surfers use a lot of special words. 5. Windsurfing was invented in the USA in the 1980s. 6. Windsurfing is a cross between surfing and sailing. 7. Windsurfing is an Olympic sport. 8. Kitesurfing has been popular for many years. 9. SCUBA diving was invented 3000 years ago. 10. SCUBA diving can be dangerous. Page 2 of 3 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.

Magazine Article – Water sports https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine-articles/water-sports

Answers Exercise 1: 1. True (T); 2. False (F); 3. F; 4. T; 5. F; 6. T; 7. T; 8. F; 9. F; 10. T

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Magazine – Waltzing Matilda Introduction You can listen to a recording of this article at: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/magazine-articles/waltzing-matilda This support pack contains the following materials: • the article that you can listen to • a vocabulary activity based on the article Read the article Waltzing Matilda by Paul Millard Most countries have a unique piece of music that means something special to its people. For many of those celebrating Australia Day this week, it’s a song called ‘Waltzing Matilda’, written in 1895 by a song-writer and poet known as ‘Banjo’ Paterson. It’s a song that, for many, evokes the unique feel of the country, yet tells a very simple story.

Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag You’ll come a-waltzing matilda with me (Chorus) Down came the squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred Down came the troopers, one, two, three ‘Whose is that jumbuck that you’ve got in your tucker-bag? You’ll come a-waltzing matilda with me!’ (Chorus) Up jumped the swagman and jumped into the billabong ‘You’ll never take me alive!’ said he And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong You’ll come a-waltzing matilda with me

The song

(Chorus)

Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong Under the shade of a coolibah tree And he sang as he watched and waited ‘til his billy boiled Who’ll come a-waltzing matilda with me?

If you are a little confused, don’t worry! Some of the most important words are only used in Australia and the story isn’t obvious to many speakers of English. In short, a travelling worker camps next to a lake and heats some water. A sheep comes for a drink at the lake and the man catches it and puts it in a bag. Then the sheep farmer arrives on his horse, with three policemen. Instead of being captured and sent to prison, the man jumps into the lake and dies.

Chorus: Waltzing matilda, matilda my darling You’ll come a-waltzing matilda with me And he sang as he watched and waited ‘til his billy boiled Who’ll come a-waltzing matilda with me? Down came a jumbuck to drink at the billabong

By the way, the ‘matilda’ is the swagman’s sleeping blanket, rolled up for carrying. ‘ Waltzing matilda’ probably refers to the act of carrying it Page 1 of 3

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Magazine – Waltzing Matilda around the country. Alternatively, the swagman was dancing with his blanket! So, the story is a universal one – a conflict between poor and rich, in which the poor man loses but defiantly keeps his pride. It may have gained extra significance and popularity because of the things that were happening in Australia at that time. The writing of Waltzing Matilda Although Banjo Paterson lived in Sydney, the song was written while he was visiting the interior of the country – known as the Outback, a tough place where only a few people lived, mostly by farming sheep and cows. Paterson went to Queensland in the north of the country, where, a few months earlier, there had been a lot of tension and conflict. The shearers – workers who travelled around the farms, cutting the wool from the sheep – wanted more money from the sheep farmers. The shearers went on strike, meaning that they stopped working. There had been a lot of anger and violence. In January 1895, Paterson was staying with the Macpherson family on their sheep farm near Winton in Queensland. Some people say that during the strike a building on the farm had been burned down and many sheep had died. Guns were fired during the incident. The next day, the leader of the workers was found dead near a lake.

sympathy with the poor workers. He gave the song its words, but the music was probably provided by Christina Macpherson, the sister of the sheep farmer. She didn’t write it, but she had remembered the tune, called ‘Craigielee’ being played in the south of Australia the year before. Waltzing Matilda – Australia’s anthem? The song became very popular in Australia, although it existed in three different forms. In the 1970s, it nearly became Australia’s official national anthem, to be played at major events like the opening of parliament and international matches in football and rugby. Until 1974, Australia’s anthem was the same as Britain’s – God Save the Queen. Many people were dissatisfied with this and votes were held in 1974 and 1977. Waltzing Matilda came in second, with nearly 30% of the vote. Popular, but not as popular as ‘Advance Australia Fair’, a song dating from 1878. This begins with the line, ‘Australians all let us rejoice, for we are young and free’, and goes on to praise Australia as a nation. It is more typical of a national anthem than a story of a man who takes a sheep and then jumps in a lake, but perhaps it is less typically Australian. Whatever the official anthem is, for many Australians ‘Waltzing Matilda’ will continue to be their real national song.

Yet it was here, among the owners of the land, that Banjo Paterson wrote this song in apparent

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Magazine – Waltzing Matilda After reading Exercise 1 Below are 11 words from the song (numbered 1-11). In the table above these are the meanings of these words (a-k). Can you match the words to their meanings? a. a blanket

b. a lake

c. a policeman

d. a pot for heating water

e. a sheep

f.

a travelling worker

g. a type of eucalyptus tree

h. a type of farmer

i.

an expensive horse

j.

k. happy

food

1. billabong 2. billy 3. coolibah 4. jolly 5. jumbuck 6. matilda 7. squatter 8. swagman 9. thoroughbred 10. trooper 11. tucker

Answers Exercise 1: 1. b; 2. d; 3. g; 4. k; 5. e; 6. a; 7. h; 8. f; 9. i; 10. c; 11. j Page 3 of 3 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.