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PERSONALITY TEST:

CHRISTIAN

SLATER

Which Shakespeare character are YOU?

MICRO�COSMOS

00147

CHICHESTER

ENGLAND

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4 1 4 09 09 0 2 53 53 3 6 9

Think  120 ❯❯ Where did Dylan Thomas lose the only manuscript of ‘Under Milk Wood’?

“It’s your call” c all” mean? ❯❯ What does “It’s

Find the answers to these questions and more in: S     O    L   D    O    U     T     

S     O    L   D    O    U     T     

S     O    L   D    O    U     T     

S     O    L   D    O    U     T     

Think  124 ❯❯ Why did Dorothy Lawrence disguise herself as a soldier and go off to the Battle of the Somme? ❯❯ What’s the difference between

‘wallet’ and ‘purse’? Think  129 ❯❯ How can a smell be used as a weapon? ❯❯ How do sun spots affect climate

change? Think  131 ❯❯ How have people in Liverpool used books to cure? ❯❯ Which has been the most-read

novel amongst US soldiers in Iraq?

"Simply put, it is the best magazine I have ever come across to learn good, accurate English."  Miguel Angel Hernandez, on Think's Facebook page.

Good News! Y News! You ou can can stil still buy those magazines as digital downloads.  www.thinkinenglish.net  www .thinkinenglish.net

CONTENTS  THINK I N ENGLISH MAGAZINE

CURRENT AFFAIRS

EDITOR’S NOTE

4 News & Anecdotes 6  Science 7  Internet – Black Hawk Downed by Facebook  8  Economics  – Cash-Free Future 10  Save  – Selling Techniques

Hello again, Welcome to

Think 

147. We’ve gone for variety this

month. The longest article asks female readers ‘ Which Shakespearean character are you?’ (pp. 14-17), a

light-hearted psychological quiz to determine which of the Bard’s parts is most similar to your personality. The answers may surprise you!

8

CULTURE

A second question we ask is “Why learn the English of today when you can learn the English of tomorrow?” tomorrow? ” (pp. 28-29) – really just an excuse to think about how the language may change over the next thousand years.

Since we’re crystal-ball gazing Douglas has written an excellent article about how banknotes and coins may disappear over the next decade: our cashless future (pp. 8-9). Another fascinating piece is Colman’s look into the murky world of Second-World-War spying

on pp. 18-19.  The debate on the CD looks at how economics economics –  – once a marginal subject for people like me who didn’t have the

11

stomach to study law – has moved centre stage in our lives (tracks 1-5), not because economists have be come precisely because they (we?) haven’t!

14

and Laughing. So now you know what to do if there’s

something you’d like us to cover... See you next month, Nick Franklin, EDITOR [email protected]

 

MAGAZINE ABBREVIATION & SYMBOLS KEY

11  Travel – Chichester: Little England 14  Theatre  – Which Shakespearean Character Are You? 18  History – A Spy Called Cicero 20  Feature  – Micro-Cosmos 22 Art  – Landscapes 24  Education – Ferment in Academia 26  Cinema  – Christian Slater 28  Language  – Tomorrow’s English LANGUAGE

any better at predicting the future but in some sense I really think there’s something for everyone this month. We look forward to hearing from you on our rapidly-expanding Facebook community. The Functional English  English  article (pp. 30-31) arose because Cristian – one of our Facebook community members asked for an article with audio on Ways of Speaking

ISSUE 147

18

Listening: there is a recording on the CD connected

to the text.

30  Functional – Ways Ways of Speaking and ........................ ........................ ........................ ........................ ..................... ......... Laughing ............ 32  Pronunciation – Phonics & Tefl 35  Idioms  – Landscape Expressions 36 Common Mistakes   – Adverbs & Word Order 38 Word Building – Am I my brother’s -keeper 40  Translation  – Error Dectectives 41  Crossword 42  Miscellany  .................................................................... Subscription form 43 Subscription 44 Back issues’ coupon 45  Tapescripts  .................................................................. 51 Next month Bookmark  –  – Birds by habitat

Exercise: there is an exercise in the subscribers’ exercises relating directly to the text.

❯❯ CONTACT US

Conversation point: these questions prompt discussion on topics related to the text.

www.thinkinenglish.net  www.revistasprofesionales.com [email protected]

Subject link: there is a related article on the pages

given.

Abbreviations: sth. = something, s.o. = someone, swh. = somewhere

20

Find us on Facebook too. 3

CURRENT AFFAIRS |

NEWS & ANECDOTES

NEWS& NEWS& ANECDOTES P  H   O T   O  B  Y  E  V  A  N   B  E  N   C  H 

going to prevent18 accidents on a stretch19 of road because

of a bit of water and oil? Surely the Deity has better criteria for intervention.

 Memory Shtick  20 Still on the subject21 of religion spare a thought for 22 poor old Father Martin McVeigh, a Roman Catholic priest23 from Pomeroy in County24 Tyrone, Ireland. He was giving a talk to parents25 at the local primary school. Part way through he plugged his plugged his pen26 drive into  a computer and it started starte d to display27 a slideshow 28

of gay porn. The priest fled29 the room in horror only to return 20 minutes later to finish his talk. Father McVeigh insisted that the images were not his. Meanwhile 30, Anglican vicar, Phil Ritchie, of Hove in East

Sussex recently declared that going to church in Holy11 Week

 THE SECRET SECRET TO FINDING WORK  2000 ‘business decision makers’ in Britain were were   recently 1 2 polled  about what led to  a job-interview job- interview candidate getting 3 hired . Only 20% said that a degree4 made a job a job applicant5 stand out6, while over 25% said they judged interviewees 7

on how polite 8 they were to reception staff 9.

was optional. He was quoted as saying, “There are plenty of ways to celebrate [Easter [Easter31 Sunday] without coming to a draughty32

Victorian building. Why not stay at home, have a lie-in33, have sex and eat chocolate?”

Detective Fiction Some of the world’s greatest authors have been blind34. There is35 of course Homer, who wrote The Iliad  and  and The Odyssey , and

John Milton, who wrote the only major epic poem in English,

Freeway to Heaven?  What is it with Americans and religion? Last year a Christian group blessed10 Highway 98 in Florida using sacred oil and

Paradise Lost . 59-year-old Trish Vickers makes no claim to be36 a great writer but she is a novelist and she is blind. Tragically, Tragically, last

year she wrote a 26-page chapter of her latest novel not real-

holy  water. Recently, an atheist group – Humanists of Florida

izing37 that there was no ink in her pen. Hoping that something

– symbolically cleaned the highway with brooms12 and a mop13 and sprinkled14 ‘unholy water’ to unbless the road. Local pastor Glen Copple made the logical comment, “I find it absolutely ludicrous15 that the atheists, who say they don’t believe in God, have to erase16  something they don’t believe in”. True,

might be salvaged38 she took her blank 39 manuscript to the

11

but isn’t it also a little daft  to think that a Supreme Being is 17

1

to poll s.o. – ask s.o. questions that are written

on a questionnaire 2 to lead to (lead-led-led) – result in 3 to get hired (get-got-got) – be employed, be offered a job 4 degree – university qualification 5  job applic ant – candidate for a job 6 to stand out (stand-stood-stood) – ( in this context ) be noticed, attract attention 7 interviewee – job applicant 5 8 polite – courteous, considerate 9  – receptionists, reception employees reception staff  – 10 to bless sth. – ask God’s favour for sth. 11 holy – sacred, sanctified 12 broom – 13 mop – 14 to sprinkle – spray, splash, spill, pour a little 15 ludicrous – ridiculous 16 to erase – eliminate 17 daft – silly, stupid, idiotic 18 to prevent – stop 19 stretch – section, extension 20  – act, routine, performance schtick  – 21 subject – theme, question, topic 22 to spare a thought for – feel sorry for 23 priest – churchman, cleric 4

local police in Winfrith, Dorset. There the forensic team started

to work on the indentations 40 in the paper using special light in their lunch breaks. Five months later they delivered41 the

manuscript back to Trish, they’d deciphered every single line bar42 one. Ms. Vickers said she was ‘ gobsmacked43’.

county – one of the traditional administrative districts in some English-speaking countries 25 parents – (false friends) mothers and fathers 26 to plug A into B  – insert A into B 27 to display – show, exhibit 28 slideshow – series of pictures which are shown individually and change after a specified number of seconds 29 to flee (flee-fled-fled) – run out of 30 meanwhile  – at the same time 31 Easter – Holy Week 32 draughty – characterized by draughts (= currents of cold air) 33 to have a lie-in  (have-had-had) – stay in bed longer than usual in the morning 34 blind /blaind/ – unable to see, sightless 35 there is – (in this context ) examples include 36 to make no claim to be (make-made-made) – not say that one is 37 to realize – (false friend ) be conscious 38 to salvage – rescue, save, recover, retrieve 39  – empty, with no visible writing on it blank  – 40 indentation – mark 41 to deliver sth. – bring sth. to s.o’s home 42 bar – (in this context ) except for, apart from 43 to be gobsmacked – (slang) be astonished, be speechless 24

THINK IN ENGLISH

ISSUE 147

P  H   O T   O  B  Y  K   O N   S  T  A  N  T  I    N   O  S   S  T  A  M P   O  U  L  I     S 

44

to pipe up – chip in, contribute an opinion,

say to chime in – intervene, pipe up 44 to glue – stick, fix with adhesive 47 to run out (run-ran-run) – come to an end, 45 46

be exhausted ticking – making the tick-tock noise of a clock 49 parcel – (false friend ) package, packet 50 to deal with (deal-dealt-dealt) – tackle, deactivate 51 forlornly – unhappily, disconsolately, pitifully 52 to mean to – intend to, want to 53 to threaten – menace, intimidate 54 to injure – hurt, harm 55 current – present 56 mess – chaos, turmoil 57 border – frontier 58 too radical a measure – such a radical idea/ plan 59 partner – member state, associate 60 FYR  – Former (= ex-) Yugoslav Republic of 61 GDP – gross domestic product, national output 62 the EU average – what an EU country typically spends as a % of GDP 63 weapons – arms 64 in line with – proportional to 65 amount – sum, quantity 66 bailout – financial rescue package 67 hard – difficult, arduous 68 to pay s.o. a compliment about (pay-paidpaid) – say sth. admiring about s.o’s 69 makeup – cosmetics 70 argument – quarrel, squabble, irate conversation 48

ENDING THE GREEK TRAGEDY  Want an easy way to solve the current55 mess56 in Europe? Here’s one. Guarantee Greece’s borders57. It doesn’t seem too radical a measure58, after all the EU is increasingly integrated economically, politically and in defence. It would seem logical for the European partners 59 to protect Greece from a Turkish (or FYR60 Macedonian) invasion. Why do I mention this? Well, Greece spends 4% of its GDP61 on defence, twice the EU average62. Greece has twice as many tanks as the UK. From 2002 to 2006 the Greeks were the world’s fourth biggest importers of conventional weapons 63. If Greek defence spending was in line with 64 the EU average62 the

saving over the last decade would have been €150 billion – the same amount65 of money as the last bailout66. There’s only one problem. The two countries that sell most weapons to Greece are... wait for it... Germany and France. 15% 15% of German arms exports and 10% of France’s France’s go to Greece. So, it makes more sense in Paris and Berlin to dismantle Greek civil society than to guarantee an EU member state’s borders57.

71

to take a compliment the wrong way

(take-took-taken) – misinterpret a positive comment RELATED RESOURCES

 Ad Campaign Bombs You can just imagine how it all made perfect sense at the brainstorming session in the publicity department of Convar Deutschland. “We’ve got to project the idea of urgency”, someone pipes up44. “Hey, nothing does that like an alarm clock”, somebody

D

Role-play: Divide Role-play:  Divide the class into three  groups: Humani sts for Florida , Fl oridian Evangelists, the local council. The two civilian groups should argue their case. The council should try to negotiate a modus vivendi.

else chimes in45. “That’s it. What we can do is glue46 an alarm clock to a hard drive”, a third member of the team adds. “I’ve got the slogan”, the first speaker concludes, ‘Your time is running out 47!’.” So the computer company posted ticking 48 parcels 49 to firms in Bonn, Berlin and

Frankfurt. A successful advertising campaign? Not exactly. Offices in all three cities were evacuated as police were called to deal with50 the ‘parcel bombs’. A spokesman for Convar declared forlornly51, “At absolutely no point did we mean to52 threaten 53

or injure54 anyone.”

STATISTICS .................... ......................................... ......................................... ........................... .......

Sometimes it’s hard67 being a man. A UK poll found that, when their partners pay them a compliment about68 their makeup69, 9% of women thought that it meant that they were wearing too much. - 22% believed that the comment “ You look well” was a coded way of saying that they were fat. - A third of British women have had an argument70 with their partners because they took a compliment the wrong way 71. s eriously consider emigrating. ❯❯ 42% of Britons would seriously ❯❯

❯❯ China smokes 38% of the cigarettes consumed worldwide. Is smoking a

symptom

of development and prosperity? ISSUE 147

THINK IN ENGLISH

5

CURRENT AFFAIRS |

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

SCIENCE COOKING THE PREHISTORY BOOKS Cooking food is probably the last uniquely human facet.

Once we could boast1 that we used language and tools2, while other species don’t. We thought that we had culture, empathy, altruism, a sense of morality and a concept of death in contrast to ‘lesser’ species. The uniquely human aspect of all these things is now called into question. However, cooking remains3. So, if hot food is what makes us unique when did

we start to cook? Surely, that is when we became human. Well, there’s no general agreement about that. The oldest undeniable4 evidence of hearths5 is 400,000 years old. More

questionable evidence of burnt6 wood and stones in Israel dates back nearly7  800,000 years. However, physiological

evidence may suggest that cooking is much older. Around 1.9 million years ago hominid molars8 shrank 9 while crani10

11

FIRE, FLOWERS AND FLASHY FEATHERS T. rex wandering17 amongst18 the tulips19: it’s not the first image that springs to mind20 when we think of the world’s most famous predator dinosaur, is it? However, research from the Field Museum in Chicago suggests oxygen levels in the mid-Cretaceous were at their highest levels in the last 250 million years. The result would have been massive wildfires16 as evidenced by charcoal 21 deposits. The big winners

of the forest clearance caused by the fires were flowering

ums got bigger. Since  cooked food requires less chewing

plants, which suddenly became prolific 100 million years

and digesting, this would seem to fit the evidence. If  jaw muscles become weaker, the brain size can expand.

ago. They have the advantage over conifers, cycads 22 and ferns23 that they are faster growing and so can take better advantage of burnt areas. Meanwhile, Chinese palaeontologists have discovered

12

New evidence partially resolves the discrepancy between archaeology and physiology. Palaeontologists from the University of Toronto using microscopic analysis have found

burnt bone13 and ash14 in the Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa, which was occupied a million years ago by Homo erectus. The deposits were 30 metres inside the cave so they

are very unlikely to have been15 the result of wildfires16.

the largest feathered24 dinosaurs discovered yet25. Yutyrannus huali   was a 9m.-long bipedal carnivore that probably hunted in packs26. Nearly7 as big as a Tyrannosaurus rex , this ‘beautiful feathered tyrant’ obviously couldn’t fly. Its feathers were spaced out, so they were probably for mating

displays27 rather than28 insulation.

The Best News Ever  There is a God! That is the only possible conclusion from findings published by the University of California at San Diego. A study of 1000 people concluded that eating chocolate several

times a week makes you thinner than only eating it occasionally. The researchers still don’t know why chocolate leads to29

lower fat deposits30... but who cares?! RELATED RESOURCES D

PHOTO BY NATHAN MCCORD 1

to boast – talk proudly of,

mention with pride 2 tool – instrument, implement, utensil 3 to remain – (in this context ) continue to be valid 4 undeniable  – irrefutable, certain, conclusive 5 hearth – fireplace for cooking 6 burnt  – cauterized, consumed by fire 7 nearly  – almost, just under, practically 6

8

molar – back tooth, tooth at the

back of one’s mouth 9 to shrink  (shrink-shrank-shrunk) – become smaller 10 since – (in this context ) given that, as, because 11 chewing – mastication 12  jaw (adj.) – mandibular (technical ) 13 bone – osseous material, skeletal remains 14 ash – dry fragments of burnt 6 material, cinerary particles 15

they are very unlikely to have

?Does anything apart from cooking distinguish us from other animals? Use the Internet (in English) to test your ideas and report back to the class.

been – it is highly improbable

that they were 16 wildfire – fire that is out of control, opposite of a ‘bonfire’ 17 to wander – roam, walk about 18 amongst – among, ( in this context ) amid 19 tulip – flower associated with Holland 20 to spring to mind (spring-sprangsprung) – enter one’s head 21 charcoal – pieces of carbon from vegetation

22

cycad – (Cycadophyta) type of

plant fern – (Filicinophyta) type of plant 24 feathered – that has plumage 25 yet – so far, until now 26 pack  – group of predators work23

ing together 27

mating display – reproductive

28

rather than – as opposed to,

exhibition instead of to lead to (lead-led-led) – result in 30 fat deposits – adipose tissue 29

THINK IN ENGLISH

ISSUE 147

CURRENT AFFAIRS |

INTERNET

BLACKHAWK DOWNED BY FACEBOOK BY DOUGLAS JASCH

[email protected]

twitter: @douglasjasch

Last month I talked about a model which can predict a Twitter user’s

location to within1 a 100-metre radius with 85% accuracy2. The program examines tweets3 from the target4’s friends that include either geotags5

or words in the tweets about the tweeter’s location. The program uses several months’ worth of tweets 6 and can accurately forecast7 where

cautioned 15  against taking pictures  with smart phones at other t imes. Te British army has even established a social-media team which offers guidelines16 demonstrating just how serious they consider the question of geotagging to be.

CAN VIDEO GAMES  MAKE US RECKLESS?  A new UK study has found that people who play driving games are more likely to crash17 in real-life than those

a target person will be from the information in their friends’ tweets.

who don’t. Motorists18  who play games like Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit   and Gran Turismo were found to be 44% more likely to take risks on the road than others. Tyre company Continental commissioned a study of 2000 UK motorists and found that gamers were twice as likely to speed, suffer

from road rage19, take risks and/or be stopped by the police. Continental Tyres’

spokesman Tim Bailey said that computer

Geotagging Brings Down Helicopter

games did improve20

post will often automatically display  the location where the post is made. Locations posted over the course of a month can create a pattern13 that can be followed by others. Unfortunately, many Facebook users still do not set their profile to private, while others add friends that they do not really know. 12

driver reaction times,

but those who played

Now the US army has  warned   that geotagging 9  photos through smartphones and then posting the geotagged photos on social-networking sites can put the lives of soldiers and their families at risk10. Many smartphones automatically geotag photos with GPS co-ordiManaging Geotagging nates. In 2007 four US Army helicopters in the Military  were destroyed in Iraq after geotagged photos were posted on the internet. Te  Anyt hing personal posted by soldiers geotags informed the enemy of where on a social media site, such as family the helicopters were operating. pictures, can be used against them  While photos contain specific GPS by the enemy if they are captured in information showing where they were action. o manage this, mobile phones taken, even signing into 11 Facebook are banned 14  by the British army in from a smartphone and making a operational zones, and soldiers are 8

within – less than accuracy – precision, exactness 3 tweet – Twitter message 4 target – ( in this context ) user, person in ques-

to forecast – predict to warn – caution, alert 9 to geotag – include a geotag 5 on 10 at risk  – in danger 11 to sign into  – register in 12 to display – show 13 pattern – tendency, guide 14 to ban – prohibit 15 to caution – warn, alert

them were more prepared to take risks on the road. Road safety experts say that these games should not be confused with road-driving simulator games, which simulate real driving and have a focus on safety. These are

driver education tools21. RELATED RESOURCES

Facebook chat: “Cyberspace is a  place of fanta sy fulfilme nt and as  such presents simila r attracti ons and dangers as narcotics” – discuss 22.

1

7

16

2

8

17

tion, victim 5

geotag – geographical information (latitude

6

several months’ worth of tweets –

and longitude) added to a digital file messages over several months ISSUE 147

THINK IN ENGLISH

■

guidelines  – recommendations, directives are more likely to crash – have a greater

probability of crashing motorist – ( false friend ) car driver 19 road rage – violent anger at other motorists18 20 did improve – ( emphatic ) improved 21 tools – ( in this context ) software 22 to discuss – ( false friend ) debate 18

7

CURRENT AFFAIRS |

ECONOMICS

 A Cashless Society  BY DOUGLAS JASCH [email protected], twitter: @douglasjasch

During the 1970s former1 Abba legend Bjorn Ulvaeus was singing the famed song “Money Money Money” all the way to the top of the

US music charts2. Now, 46 years later, the songwriter has changed his tune3. Since4 his son has been robbed three times over several years, like many Swedish people, he is calling for money (coins5 and notes6) to be phased out 7. Money has been with us since the fourth millennium BCE when it was introduced in ancient Egypt. After such

a long time in this world of amazing technology and change, has money now finally outlived8 its usefulness? 1 2

former – exthe charts – the list

of the most popular songs 3

to change one’s tune – adopt a

4

since – (in this context ) given that,

5

coins –

different attitude as

(bank )notes – bank bills, paper money 7 to phase out – gradually eliminate 8 to outlive – outlast, survive longer than 9 as far as I can see – in my experience, in my opinion 10 overnight  – immediately, instantly 11 trend – tendency 12 (hard) cash – physical money, coins and notes 13 grocery store – corner shop, convenience store 14 ATM – automatic teller machine, cash machine 15 instead of  – rather than, as opposed to 6

16

to hold a survey

(hold-held-held) – do a questionnaire 17 fivefold – five times, x5 18

by a factor of eight – eightfold,

19

to account for –

eight times, x8 represent 20

there is no denying – nobody can

question that away from – against, of renouncing (opposite of  ‘towards’)

The Disappearing Dollar Ulvaeus thinks so. On a recent blog he posted “Tere are no direct practical reasons, as far as I can see 9, to have coins and banknotes”. No matter how passionate we are about a cashless society, after six thousand years no one believes that money will disappear overnight 10. What is PHOTO BY MARINA CARRESI clear, however, is that there has been a growing trend11 away from hard cash12 towards electronic  will account for 19 45% of transactions by 2018, payments since the 1970s. compared with 73% in 1999. For better or worse, Te 1990s experienced a substantial move there is no denying 20 the trend11 away from 21 in thinking when even small grocery stores 13 cash12 purchases22 . started accepting electronic payments through Safety in Numbers credit card and savings card. Te growth in the 14 number of  AM  machines meant that people Ulvaeus believes that if people didn’t carry didn’t need to carry as much cash12 on them as physical money then there would be less violent previously. Stores and restaurants increasingly crime 23 and robberies. Tis is a popular view in Sweden. Supporting 24 this view, after accepted electronic payments. a series of attacks on bus drivers, Te trend11 towards using cards 15 instead of    cash has become an Sweden’s healt h-and-safety authoreveryday part of life. MasterCard ity instructed bus companies to find 16 held a survey    which found that a way to protect the drivers. So, the three in four Americans use less bus companies stopped acceptcash today than they did 10 years ing notes6 or coins 5 and these days ago. In Sweden, over the past buses in Stockholm are cash-free. 25 Instead of 15 cash12 , people purchase decade the value of card payments has increased fivefold 17, while sim-based26 bus cards in advance of PHOTO BY HANNIBAL the number of card payments has their journey. Payments can also be 11 18 increased by a factor of eight . Te same trend made via mobile phones, so bus companies no is seen in the UK where it is predicted that by longer accept notes or coins. 2015, notes and coins will be used less often th an Bernt Nilsson of the Swedish Work Environother forms of payment, such as plastic cards or ment Authority says that “all indications are that financial payments by mobile phones. there have been significantly fewer problems on Even more profound, the Payments Council  in the buses. Te drivers are very happy with the the UK has published a report suggesting cash situation”.

21

8

22

purchase – acquisition, act

of buying sth. 23 crime – (false friend )

24

delinquency supporting – in support of, in favour of

25 26

as they are in London sim-based – based on

modulate (= a type of smart card)

subscriber-identification THINK IN ENGLISH

ISSUE 147

Charitable Debit Cards Charities are also benefiting from the demise  of cash. Charities a nd voluntary organizations prefer regular donations through standing orders 28 or direct debits from people’s debit cards than cash donations because it gives them certainty with their finances. Standing orders come in every month,  whereas29 cash donations tend to be more spontaneous. In 2007 in the UK card payments were used by only 15% of donors 30 but accounted for19 29% of the total amount31 given. Cash is the most popular form of giving but only accounted for 13% of the PHOTO BY MARINA CARRESI total amount given. 27

27 28

demise – decline standing order

– instructions to one’s bank to make periodic payments to a specific organization 29 whereas – while, by contrast 30 donor – s.o. who gives voluntarily 31 amount  – sum, quantity 32 to work  – (in this context ) function 33 likely  – probable 34 niche (adj.) – specialist 35 to develop sth. – invent sth., create sth. 36 app – application, piece of software 37 to launch – (in this context ) create 38 to allow – permit, enable 39 to bump – tap, gently knock 40 yet – (in this context ) however, but 41 rather than – as opposed to, instead of 42  just as – in the same way that 43 barter – exchange of products (without using money) 44 ultimately – (false friend ) in the end 45 smooth journey – easy process 46 to struggle with – have difficulty with 47 issues – (in this context ) problems 48 trail – series of pieces of evidence 49 pattern – (in this context ) habit 50 to rely on – depend on, count on 51 cyber-crime – web-based delinquency 52 to ditch – abandon, renounce 53 do believe – (emphatic ) believe 54 eventually  – (false friend ) in the end 55 to dump – ditch52 56 altogether – completely ISSUE 147

The Technology “he technology exists for a cashless society to  work 32”, says Andrew Scott, Professor of Economics at the London Business School. Te most likely 33 replacement of physical cash is the transfer of money from one person to another through a mobile phone. A number of niche 34 businesses have been developing 35   systems that operate safely, conveniently and cheaply for mobile owners. One of the most famous is the ‘Send Money’ app36  for the iPhone which  was launched 37 by Paypal. Te app allows38 two iPhone owners to ‘bump39’ their phones together to make a connection and send money from one person to the other. Mobile phones can just as easily transfer money from one person to another as an  AM14.  Yet40 , rather than41 having to find an AM machine, it can be done by anyone who has t he relevant app.  As an economist I believe that –  just as 42 we moved away from a barter43 society to a ‘cash’ society – ultimately 44 we will abandon cash and accept electronic transfers as the norm. However, this doesn’t mean that I believe that it will be a smooth journey 45 . Many pensioners, being older, naturally struggle with46   the technology. hey tend to prefer more traditional payment methods such as written cheques. Civil libertarians also have issues 47 with the concept of a cashless society as they point out that, with cash, your privacy is protected as there is no paper or electronic trail48 .

THINK IN ENGLISH

 All electronic payments are traceable a nd t his allows38 private companies to access your spending patterns 49. Also, while Ulvaeus believes that a cashless society will have less violent crime, a society that relies on 50 technology is certain to have more cyber-crime 51.  Ar e Ulvaeus and the many Swedes correct? Is it time for us to ditch52 the cash society? Probably so. However, despite the advantages, I personally don’t believe we will get there in my lifetime. I do believe53 it is certain that  we wi ll cont inue to rely less on physical cash and eventually 54 will dump55 cash altogether 56 . It is clear that the journey has already started. Just as the journey from barter43 to a cash12 exchange system allowed38 us to evolve financially, I am also certain that, after an adjustment period, the  journey to a cashless societ y is the next logical ■ place for us to go. RELATED RESOURCES F

Will you miss cash? What are the dangers of a cashless society? 

9

CULTURE |

SAVE

 Sales Techniques

P  H   O T   O  B  Y  W E   B   D  E   S  I     G  N  H   O T   S  P   O T   S 

Over the years vast sums of money have been spent developing techniques to sell you what you don’t want by overriding1 your rational thoughts. Fear, surprise, empathy and

self-respect can all be used to make you buy.

favour. When this is denied 2 , the  you are asked to do something trivial salesperson asks for something more – answer a questionnaire or accept a reasonable. One study asked students free sample – and later asked to buy to work everyday for two years as something. Studies suggest that this counsellors 3 for juvenile delinquents. technique can increase successful  All refused 4. Tey were then asked to take a juvenile delinquent to the zoo sales from 22% to over 50%. ❯❯ The door-in-the-face technique: this for two hours: half agreed. However, is just the opposite. First the salesper-  when a control group were asked just 5 son asks for a completely unrealistic the second request6, only 17% agreed. ❯❯ The low-ball technique: an excellent deal7 is offered to you but later additional costs are revealed. Our need to be consistent for our self-image is so important that most of us still buy at the higher price. ❯❯

The foot-in-the-door technique:

❯❯

PHOTO BY MIGUEL BORGES 1

to override (-ride/-rode/-ridden) – cancel out,

annul

to deny – refuse 4, turn down, opposite of  ‘accept’ counsellor – advisor, guide, mentor 4 to refuse – say ‘no’, opposite of  ‘accept’ 5  just – (in this context ) only 6 request – petition, thing that is asked 2 3

for

deal – bargain, offer 8 bait – 7

10

mention another interested customer but if there really were someone else interested at that price, why is the salesperson bothering to try to sell to you?

NON�BUYING TECHNIQUES  Refuse to enter into conversation with a salesperson who has contacted you. End the conversation politely 20 ❯❯

but firmly. Refuse to answer “a few questions”. Serious companies pay for market ❯❯

research. Whenever an offer is made for something you are interested in buying, demand that offer in some ❯❯

The bait 8 -and-switch 9  technique:

sort of written form.

an excellent deal is offered to you but later only a more expensive product or an inferior product is actually 10 available. Again, our wish to be consistent often causes us to accept the worsened conditions. ❯❯ The camaraderie technique:   the salesperson will establish some tenuous11 relationship with the customer before the sales pitch 12 . One study suggested that the ‘personal bond13’ between salesperson and customer could increase sales from 10% to 26%. ❯❯ The deadline14 technique: the salesperson creates the impression that an opportunity is only briefly 15 on offer, thus16 rushing 17  the customer into making a purchase 18. One trick19 is to to switch – change actually – (false friend ) really, in fact 11 tenuous – dubious, superficial 12 sales pitch – spiel, talk directed at convincing

Never make a spot21 decision on an offer for something you didn’t intend ❯❯

to22 buy in the first place 23. ❯❯

itize your interests over their commission (however friendly they may seem). Of course there are salespeople who give impartial advice24 in the interests of building up long-term trust. However, the pressure to fulfil sales targets25 makes

them an endangered species26.

A

Have you ever been convinced to make a purchase you didn’t want? Describe the experience. How did you feel af terwards? 

to make a purchase (make-made-made) – buy sth. trick  – ruse, stratagem 20 politely – in a courteous/civil way 21 spot (adj.) – immediate, spontaneous 22 to intend to – plan to 23 in the first place – initially, from the beginning 24 advice – recommendations, suggestions 25 target – (false friend ) objectives 26 endangered species – (literally ) type of animal 18

10

19

s.o. to buy sth. bond – connection, affiliation 14 deadline – time limit 15 briefly – for a short time 16 thus – in this way 17 to rush s.o. – pressure s.o. to do sth. quickly

■

RELATED RESOURCES

9

13

Remember salespeople never prior-

or plant that is in danger of becoming extinct THINK IN ENGLISH

ISSUE 147

CULTURE |

TRAVEL

Chichester: Little England  Chichester /ˈt∫it∫istə/ is the perfect destination for anyone who wants all their preconceptions

about gentrified1 ‘Olde2 England’ confirmed. An Olde Town

London

Chichester

Te English like old things and Chichester could  justifiably claim3 to be the oldest English-speaking town in t he world. Te Romans seem to have founded the town of Noviomagus Reginorum on the site shortly af ter their invasion in 43CE4 . Te modern town’s basic street plan with roads from all four cardinal directions meeting at the market The Norman Bell Tower

PHOTO BY MARINA CARRESI

cross is almost two thousand years old. You can also see Roman mosaics through a window under the cathedral floor. However, to get a real taste of the times you have to go 3km west of town to Fishbourne5, the largest 6 and best-preserved Roman Palace in the UK. Chichester’s stuttering 7 name comes from the Saxon Cissas ceaster 8 (= Cissa9’s fort). Tis reflects the fact that the Saxons took over10 in the late 5th or early 6th  Century.

A Place of Peace & Love

Roman mosaic at Fishbourne

PHOTO BY CHARLESDRAKEW 1

gentrified – upper-

middle-class, prosperous, conservative, characterized by gentlemen 2 Olde – pseudo-archaic spelling of ‘old’ ISSUE 147

THINK IN ENGLISH

3 4

to claim – declare oneself CE – Common Era (= anno Domini )

http://sussexpast.co.uk/ properties-to-discover/ fishbourne-roman-palace 6 largest – biggest 5

7

stuttering – stammering,

that repeats a syllable

8

ceaster  pronounced

‘chester’ comes from the Latin castrum 9 son of Ælle, the first king of the South

However, Chichester’s outstanding 11  tourist attraction dates from comparatively recently...  well 1070. Te Normans started building Chichester cathedral shortly after invading. In fact, the building has only undergone12 minimal changes since 1300. One of these is a rather13 fine stainglass window 14 by Marc Chagall. Saxons. The local area is called Sussex (= South Saxons) 10 to take over (take-took-

taken) – take control

11

outstanding – top,

superlative

12

to undergo (-go/-

went/-gone) – suffer, experience 13 rather – (in this context ) very 14

stain-glass window –

11

❯❯

1 2

3 4 Captions: 1. Chichester cathedral exterior 2. Chichester cathedral interior 3. Bronze sculpture of bathing bishop with his dog 4. Sculpture PHOTOS BY MARINA CARRESI

Despite its age, the cathedral follows the modern Anglican policy 15 of playing down 16 the religion and playing up17 the ‘happy, happy’. We  were welcomed at the entrance by a charming 18 elderly man in a purple19 tunic who greets 20 us like a prodigal son and daughter. “Can we take photos for a magazine article?” “Of course, thank  you for asking.” Despite the altar and other clues21 that this is a functioning church, the cathedral has something of t he air of an arts centre. Tere’s a young woman practising on the organ – classical 15 16

policy – strategy to play down – downplay,

opposite of ‘emphasize’ to play up – emphasize 18 charming – very pleasant, 17

12

agreeable, delightful

music, but not particularly religious. Tere’s a fantastic temporary exhibition of sculptures, including a bronze of a bishop22 in the bath with his dog, which is quite frankly to-die-for23 . Te Church of England seems to see its main24 role as being the last bastion against rampant25 consumerism, which I find laudable26 enough. Tis is a space of peace, culture and the  vaguest 27 hint 28 of spirituality – an oasis from Next, Macdonald’s and Te Phone House. 22

19

purple – reddish blue 20 to greet – welcome, say

23

hello 21 clue – indication

24

bishop – head of a diocese to-die-for – wonderful,

fantastic main – primary, principal 25 rampant – out-of-control,

unrestrained laudable – admirable 27 vaguest – faintest, subtlest 28 hint – indication, insinua26

tion, suggestion THINK IN ENGLISH

ISSUE 147

29

West Street would be too if the local authorities would only allow Burger King, GAP and Virgin to set up shop in the cathedral! 30 slightly  – margin-

ally 31

catering

/ ˈkeitəriη/ for – for, serving 32 to venture out – leave, abandon 33 edge – limits, periphery 34 http://www. chichesterharbour.

co.uk/ 35

taste – flavour,

sample experience 36 rather – (in this context ) more precisely 37 http://www.tangmere-museum. org.uk/ 38 airfield – simple aerodrome 39 replica (adj.) – imitation, duplicate 40 Hurricane – famous RAF World-War-Two fighter plane 41 Spitfire –

42

to punch well above one’s weight – be stron-

ger than one’s size would suggest. The population is only 100,000. It’s called a ‘city’ for historical reasons 43 to host – organize,

be the location for http://www.cft. org.uk/ 45 http://www.chichester-rajf.com/ 46 http://www.chichestercinema.org/ film-festival 47 http://www. goodwood.co.uk/ home.aspx 48 racecourse – place where horses race 49 silly – ridiculous 50 must (n.) – sth. one must see/visit 51 upper-class – affluent, rich, aristocratic 44

ISSUE 147

Market Cross from East Street

PHOTO BY MARINA CARRESI

The Anonymous British High Street

A Feast of Festivals

Te centre of Chichester as we said is marked by Chichester punches well above  its  weight 42 i n the market cross, an elegant early udor struc- terms of culture. It hosts43 a major theatre festiture built in 1501. North Street, East Street and  val 44 , a real-ale-and-jazz festival45 and an interSouth Street are dominated by exactly the same national film festival46 . shops as you now find on every high street in 6½km north of Chichester is Goodwood 29 30 Britain.  Tere are perhaps a slightly   greater Park47. Tis racecourse 48 , known as ‘Glorious number of tearooms and cake shops, catering Goodwood’ is second only to Ascot in the social calendar of people with big, silly 49 hats and more for31 this most gentrified 1 of towns. If you venture out 32 to the southern edge33 of money than sense. Another ‘must50’ for confirmtown a few kilometres you come to Chichester ing your preconceptions about the (upper-class51) ■ English. Harbour34 and sandy beaches.

Their Finest Hour Te last great expression of the Old Englishness was Churchill and the Battle of Britain. You can even get a taste35 of that in Chichester (or rather36 5km to the east). Tangmere Military Aviation Museum37 is on the site of one of Britain’s oldest airfields38, founded in 1917. Te base played its part in the Battle of Britain itself and you can see replica39 Hurricanes 40 and Spitfires41 in their ‘natural habitat’. RELATED RESOURCES

THINK IN ENGLISH

E, H

“We travel to reaffirm out preconceptions about other countries and tourist authorities would do well to remember this.” Discuss.

PHOTO BY PETER V. FACEY

Chichester harbour

13

CULTURE |

THEATRE/PSYCHOLOGY TEST

Which Shakespearean Character Are You?  SHAKESPEARE’S WOMEN William Shakespeare created nearly 400 characters in his plays, some of them amongst the most memorable in world theatre.

Which of these people do you most resemble? Ladies first.

1

Look, this is a man’s world and test before I let things go to stage two10. unless you learn to play by their Better safe than sorry 11 in matters12 of rules you’re finished. I learned this the heart, I say. early on at home because my father always preferred my characterless, I’m at a crucial moment of change 1 pretty little sister. o get on  in this in my life. I’ve always been a good 2  world a woman has to be  wily    and girl doing what my parents13 have told tougher3 than any man: it’s survival me to but I’ve come to realize14 they of the fittest4. I got to where I am using don’t always know what’s best for me. I my intelligence and nobody is going to  will have to live with the consequences of the decisions that are taken about take advantage of me. my life, so I should be the one taking  You know when they say th at the decisions. I have to be true to behind every successful man myself even if it means that my fami ly there’s a strong woman? Well, I am that and friends abandon me in the process.  woman. I know societ y doesn’t allow 5 a woman to get to the top so I’ve been I believe in solidarity between the driving force behind my husband’s  women a nd I will always defend 6 ambition. Lately  , however, I’ve been my gal pals15  against the mistreatfeeling some remorse 7  about what ment16 and slander17 of men. I some we’ve had to do to get him to the top. times wish I were a man so that I could take revenge18 for the awful19 things I’m good-humoured and talkative8 men do to women. I am not sentimenbut also practical. No problem is tal and I would never fall for20 a man insurmountable9 if you put your mind unless he had proved himself with to it with sufficient energy. Tere’s a deeds21 first, not just 22 hollow 23 words. guy I really like and he thin ks he loves I know I am the intellectual equal of me, but I’m going to put his love to t he any man.

4

Ophelia

2

5

3 1

to get on (get-got-got) – be successful,

progress 2 wily / ˈwaili/ – cunning, clever, astute 3 tough – (in this context ) resolute, determined 4 the fittest – the most capable/competent 5 to allow – permit, enable 6 lately – recently 7 remorse – contrition, repentance, selfreproach 8 talkative – chatty, loquacious 9 insurmountable – insuperable, impossible 10 to go to stage two (go-went-gone) – become more serious 11 better safe than sorry – I prefer to be prudent 12 matter – question 14

13

one’s parents – (false friend ) one’s mother

and father 14

to come to realize (come-came-come) –

become conscious gal pal – friend who is female 16 mistreatment – abuse, persecution 17 slander – defamation of character, calumnies, false accusations 18 to take revenge (take-took-taken) – avenge oneself, wreak vengeance 19 awful – horrible, horrid, terrible 20 to fall for s.o. (fall-fell-fallen) – (in this context ) fall in love with 21 deeds – actions, acts 22  just – (in this context ) simply, only 23 hollow – empty, insincere 15

Lady Macbeth THINK IN ENGLISH

ISSUE 147

6

9

I try not to stand out 35 too much  A glamorous woman can get what preferring not to be noticed. I often she wants when she wants from men. Glamour, however, isn’t simply a find situations overwhelm 36 me and question of appearance. A woman has emotional situations intimidate me. to know how to tantalize 24 and how to I don’t usually have a personal opincommand; how to be the centre of atten- ion but rather37 tend to go with the tion... always. o be truly 25 mesmeriz- flow 38 . When people mistreat 39 me I ing 26 a woman has to be cultured, fear- sometimes have dark t houghts about less and elegant, and have a command  whether40 life is worth41 living. of languages and a harmonious voice. Privately, I don’t have time for an inner Discretion is the better part of valour as far as I’m  world27 as I live my life in public. concerned42 and if  you play  your cards  You k no w, whe n a wom a n close to your chest43 you can get what behaves28 like a man in relation-  you want out of 44 life. People tell me ships she’s called a slut 29 . Well, if so that I am hard-headed45, charming 46 , then I suppose I’m a slut, but so are modest and good fun. I guess 47 I show all men. When I’m with a man I’m in people the facet they want to see, love with him but I soon fall out of though not in a deceitful 48 way. love in most cases. Men are attracted to me and I enjoy sex – why shouldn’t My life has been marked by 30 I pursue  my own pleasure? After all, several tragedies and this probably accounts for49 my slightly 50 that’s what men do. melancholic temperament. However,  All I really ask for is equality. All I I am a practical girl and know how to get is a situation in which the men look after myself. I am happiest in male around me ignore or contradict what I company when men are willing to 51 say without even listening to me. Tis accept me as an equal. Even so, my is really frustrating and I admit that passions run deep 52. sometimes I have a sharp tongue 31 – but you should see some of the idiots I’m a lucky woman: I’ve got a 32 I have to deal with . o be honest the loving trusting 53  husband, a  women are worse than the men and I happy family and a respectable middlecan’t stand33 female company. Perhaps class home. I do my bit, however. I I should learn to be more positive and expose immorality and tr y to help my to manipulate the situation rather children to move in socially advantathan 34  always being confrontational geous circles. I’m a good friend, loving but I don’t see how I can until my  wife, a devoted mother and a decent circumstances change.  woman, though I say it myself.

10

7

11

Portia

8

12

to tantalize – fascinate, allure truly – really, 100% 26 mesmerizing – tantalizing, captivating 27 inner world – private passions, emotions and 24

39

25

40

desires

preposition) to be worth – merit, compensate the effort of as far as I’m concerned – in my opinion 43 to play one’s cards close to one’s chest – not 41 42

to behave – act, conduct oneself slut – whore, promiscuous woman 30 to pursue – go after, desire, strive for 31 to have a sharp tongue (have-had-had) – 28 29

respond in a venomous/vitriolic way to deal with (deal-dealt-dealt) – interact with 33 can’t stand – can’t bear, hate, detest 34 rather than – as opposed to, instead of 35 to stand out (stand-stood-stood) – be conspicuous, be distinctive 36 to overwhelm – be too stressful for 37 but rather – (in this context ) by contrast I 38 to go with the flow (go-went-gone) – accept the majority opinion 32

ISSUE 147

to mistreat – ill-treat, persecute whether – ‘if’ (but ‘if’ cannot be used after a

THINK IN ENGLISH

reveal one’s thoughts or intentions out of  – (in this context ) from 45 hard-headed – practical 46 charming – delightful, loveable, likeable 47 I guess – I suppose 48 deceitful – dishonest, insincere, duplicitous, hypocritical 49 to account for – explain 50 slightly  – marginally, moderately 51 to be willing to – be ready to, be prepared to 52 my passions run deep (run-ran-run) – I am very passionate 53 trusting – unquestioning, opposite of   suspicious 44

Hermione

15

❯❯

3

1

13

I am confident of my own virtue as a wife but suffer from having a foolishly 54 jealous husband. Anyway,  with help of my female f riends I hope to show my husband what an idiot he’s being by not trusting 55 me.

14

16

I am both a loving mother and a proud mother; call me a matriarch if you will. My son is the main63 focus of my life and I will do anyth ing to turn him into the g reat man I know he is.

17

15

18

I am a woman of passion who grieves 59 bitterly 60   when in mourning 61 but I also fall head over heels in love 62 . I like to conduct my affairs with propriety. I am sensible, compassionate and understanding. 54 55

foolishly – idiotically, stupidly to not trust s.o. – (in this context ) be suspi-

cious of and jealous about s.o. 56 assertive – confident and convincing 57 forthright – frank, direct, candid 58 rather – somewhat, quite 59 to grieve – mourn, lament 60 bitterly – (in this context ) with great sadness 61 in mourning – after s.o. one loves has died 62 to fall head over heels in love (fall-fell-fallen) 16

4

5

of it is that I’ve been so mistreated39 by men that I don’t trust a guy even when he is sincere in his affections. Mr Right must be out t here somewhere but he’s sure taking his time.

19

I am quiet and practical. I’m I have striven   to be the a good friend to my friends, perfect wife, mother and host- and I can be  witty 69 and sarcastic if ess. Unfortunately, the man I love has it’s the only way to stop them making turned out to be 65 impossibly jealous. fools of 70 themselves. I have one fatal I know deep down that my husband  weakness: I tend to fall in love at first is a good man but his jealousy has sight – Hey-ho, you can’t be practical destroyed our family. I have had to in everyt hing, can you? leave him, though I hope that one day he will learn to manage66 his emotions If you think men’s vengeance so that we can be friends again. can be terrible you haven’t seen an avenging 71  woman! When I admit I’m not the most beauti- someone hurts a member of my family ful g irl in the world but I’m not I will go to any lengths 72 to get revenge exactly ugly either. It’s pathetic how all – no holds barred73 . I married an idiot the guys go drooling after67 the same because he was a powerful fool but I belle of the ball 68 , even though obvi- never loved him. My only loyalties are ously they can’t all have her. Te worst to my lover and my children.

I am assertive   and forthright 57  about my opinions. I certainly don’t like being told what to do. At times I can be mercurial in temperament. At the same time I am constant in love. I’m rather 58   selfconscious about my height and think that my gal pal15 may be more successful t han me romantically because she is taller. 56

2

64

20

– become infatuated, become passionately enamoured 63 main – primary, principal 64 to strive (strive-strove-striven) – make a great effort 65 the man I love has turned out to be – it has become clear that the man I love is 66 to manage – (in this context ) control 67 to go drooling after s.o. (go-went-gone) – (literally ) follow s.o. salivating, ( metaphorically )

pursue obsessively the belle of the ball – the prettiest girl witty – intelligently humorous 70 to make a fool of oneself  (make-made-made) 68 69

– act in a ridiculous way avenging  – vengeful, vindictive 72 to go to any lengths (go-went-gone) – do anything 73 no holds barred – there are no limits or restrictions on what is permitted 71

THINK IN ENGLISH

ISSUE 147

❯❯ ANSWERS

1. Goneril in King Lear . she ends up killing herself with a dagger74 after poisoning 75

her sister. 2. Lady Macbeth in Macbeth: she dies suddenly76 full of remorse7. She may have

committed suicide. 3. Rosalind in As You Like It : she marries the guy of her dreams, Orlando. Their marriage

is sure to be a happy one, so long as she continues to dress up as77 a boy called Ganymede. 4. Juliet in Romeo and Juliet : she commits suicide with a dagger74 when she wakes up

to find her husband dead beside her. 5. Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing: she ends up marrying Benedick her erstwhile78

verbal sparing partner79, thus80 proving that opposites attract. 6. Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra: she commits suicide by allowing herself to be bitten81 by an asp82 after hearing that her husband is dead and that Octavius plans

to publicly humiliate her. 7. Cressida in Troilus and Cressida: she ends up as a ‘camp-follower 83’ in the Greek

camp outside Troy. 8. Katherina in The Taming of the Shrew : she marries Petruchio, surprisingly satisfied to have at last found a man who is able to dominate her. 9. Ophelia in Hamlet : she goes mad84 and drowns85 herself. 6 1. Rosalind, 2. Goneril, 3. Viola, 4. Beatrice, 5. Cressida, 6. Cleopatra 74 75

dagger – to poison s.o. – kill s.o. with a toxic

substance suddenly – unexpectedly 77 to dress up as – wear the clothes of 78 erstwhile – former, previous, ex79 verbal sparring partner – s.o. who you enjoy arguing with 80 thus  – therefore, in this way 81 to bite (bite-bit-bitten) – attack with one’s mouth 82 asp – type of venomous snake (= serpent) 83 camp-follower – (historical ) woman who accompanied an army providing a variety of services 84 to go mad (go-went-gone) – go crazy 85 to drown oneself  – commit suicide in water 86 to outwit s.o. – show that you are more intelligent than s.o. 87 to settle down to – accept 88 to be deeply indebted to – owe a lot to, be significantly obligated to 89 to find out (find-found-found) – discover 90 twin brother/sister – sibling who was born at the same time and has a very similar appearance 91 widow – woman whose husband has died 92 to settle back  – relax, conform oneself with 93 marital bliss – a happy marriage 94 lecherous – lascivious 95 to meddle in – interfere with 96 to assume – (false friend ) suppose 97 bitterness – acrimony, ( in this context ) selfhate 98 regret – remorse7 99 to pretend to be – simulate that one is 100 not a little – quite a lot of 101 madly – (in this context ) passionately 102 to feed s.o. sth. (feed-fedfed) give s.o. sth. as food 103 to bake – cook, roast 104 pie – 105 to stab – kill with a dagger, knife or sword 76

ISSUE 147

THINK IN ENGLISH

10. Portia in The Merchant of Venice: having outwitted86 both her new husband, Bassanio, and his friend (and her possible rival for his affections) Antonio, she presumably

settles down to 87 a happy marriage. In any case they are both deeply indebted to88 her and know they are no match for her intelligence. 11. Viola in Twelfth Night : having found out89 that her twin brother90, Sebastian, is

alive, she marries the man of her dreams, Orsino, while Sebastian marries Olivia, a rich widow91. However, Orsino and Olivia’s sexuality is so ambiguous that it is

anyone’s guess what happens next. 12. Meg Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor : having helped her friend, Alice Ford, and accepted her daughter’s marriage to Fenton, she settles back 92 into respectable marital bliss93. 13. Alice Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor : having humiliated the lecherous94 Falstaff and demonstrated to her husband that he should trust her, she also settles back 92

into respectable marital bliss93. 14. Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream: she finally gets her man, Lysander, following

a delirious night in the forest. 15. Olivia in Twelfth Night : she ends up marrying Sebastian, though she may in fact be

in love with his twin sister90, Viola. 16. Volumnia in Coriolanus: her meddling in95 her son’s affairs results in his destruction. We must assume96 she dies in bitterness97 and regret98 having destroyed what she most loved. 17. Hermione in A Winter’s Tale: she pretends to be99 dead for 16 years. Finally convinced of her husband’s remorse7, she returns to him and is able to reconstitute their family. 18. Helena in  A Midsummer Night’s Dream: after lots of forest fun and not a little100

magic, she finally marries her beloved Demitrius. 19. Celia in As You Like It : she falls madly101 in love with Orlando’s brother, Oliver, and they are married and live happily ever after. 20. Tamora in Titus Andronicus: Titus Andronicus feeds102 her her own sons

baked103 in a pie104. Moments after telling her what she has been eating he stabs105 her to death. ■ RELATED RESOURCES

❯❯ Next month we’ll look

at the male characters.

G, V

The assumption is that types of women who existed 400 years ago still exist today. Do you agree with this assumption? Why/why not? 

17

CULTURE |

HISTORY

CICERO: the Eloquent Spy  BY COLMAN KEANE

 was to furnish  the  wily 8 urk  with 9  numerous opportunities to ransack 10 the many secrets in the British ambassador’s safe11. Sir Hughe, a close friend of Anthony Eden12, decidedly belonged to the old-fashioned type of diplomat and never for one moment imagined that anyone at the embassy might be a spy. Tis attitude of mind, stemming from 13 a false sense of security, led to14 gross15 negligence, an example of which was the diplomat’s preference for keeping diplomatic black boxes at his ambassadorial home rather than16 at the chancery 17. He followed a tight18 schedule which he seldom19 altered and this greatly facilitated the spying activities of the kavass. Te imperturbable ambassador who slept in a separate room from his  wife, took two baths a day and after lunch played the piano in the drawing-room in order to relax. Te ambassador’s predictable habits played into the valet’s hands and gave the kavass numerous opportunities to pry into20 office papers, opportunities which were greatly enhanced 21  when Bazna made wax impressions22 of his employer’s keys while the latter was having one of his many baths.

‘Pierre’ Makes Contact Elyesa Bazna 1

to dub – (in this context ) call infor-

2

staggering –

mally impressive, astonishing 3

although Bazna told Moyzisch he was Albanian, he was in fact born in the Balkan town of Pristina in the western Ottoman Empire in 1904 4 this Turkish term for ‘servant’ carried a certain stigma 5 to hire s.o. –

employ s.o. 6

valet /’vælei/ –

manservant, personal attendant 7 coveted / ˈk ʌv  ətid/ – desirable 8 wily /’waili/ – crafty, cunning, astute 9

to furnish s.o. with

– provide s.o. with, offer s.o. 10 to ransack  – plunder, pillage, rob 18

W

ithout any doubt Elyesa Bazna was the most successful Nazi spy of World War II. Dubbed1 Cicero (for the eloquence of the secrets he revealed) by the German ambassador in Ankara Franz von Papen, Bazna in an intense four-month period from late October 1943 to early March 1944, managed to successfully photograph four hundred top-secret documents at the British embassy and sell t hem to the Germans for the staggering 2 sum of £300,000 sterling. For years the 38-year-old urk 3  had  worked as a kavass4 in the urkish capital before being hired5 by the British as  valet 6 to Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen, a coveted7  post which safe (n.) – Both attended Balliol College. At the time of these events Eden was the British Foreign Secretary 13 to stem from – be caused

gross – (in this context )

11

15

12

flagrant, terrible 16 rather than – instead of, as opposed to 17 chancery – (in this context ) ambassador’s office 18 tight – rigorous, full 19 seldom – rarely, only occasionally 20 to pry into – spy on 21 to enhance – magnify,

by

14

to lead to (lead-led-led) –

result in

Bazna first photographed British secret documents in late October 1943. On th 26  of that month he approached the German embassy compound23 on Atatürk Boulevard and asked to speak to Albert Jenke a high-ranking 24 aide 25 for whom Bazna had worked the previous year. Jenke, who had a clear distaste for 26 espionage and, not wanting to get  his fingers burnt 27, referred Bazna to Ludwig Moyzisch, the cultural attaché28 . Bazna, who in his dealings 29 with Moyzisch would call himself Pierre , demanded £20,000 for two rolls of film and gave the Germans four days in which to come up with 30 the money. After receiving clearance 31 from von Papen, Moyzisch met the  valet 6 on the night of 30th October at the German embassy. While improve

22

wax impression – silhou-

ette created when an object is pressed into a soft substance (= wax) 23 compound – complex, group of buildings 24 high-ranking – senior, top 25 aide – (in this context ) official 26 distaste for – dislike of 

27

to get one’s finger’s burnt

(get-got-got) – expose oneself to the unpleasant consequences of a decision 28 cultural attaché – diplomat specializing in cultural questions 29 dealings  – interaction 30 to come up with (comecame-come) – find, produce 31 clearance – permission THINK IN ENGLISH

ISSUE 147

32

to remain – stay,

BAZNA’S DREAM IS SHATTERED51

be 33

to lock up –

34

adjoining  – adja-

35

wad /wod/ –

imprison, confine

Cicero’s most prolific period was a four-week purple patch52 from the second week of Decem-

cent, next-door

ber to early January in which the Turk produced

bundle, roll, stack 36 to stuff  – push 37 parcel – (false friend ) packet, package 38 overcoat  –

new rolls of film three to four times a week. By now Bazna would make a rendezvous 53 in the old quarter of the city, get into the attaché’s28 moving Mercedes and, while the car purred through54 the dark streets of Ankara, he would exchange rolls of

film for British banknotes. Moyzisch would then Franz von Papen

39

sneering – self-

satisfied, conceited 40

Moyzisch, Ludwig C. Operation Cicero. New York : Coward-McCann, 1950 41 from the very outset – right from

the start, from the beginning 42 sheer – (emphatic ) consummate, absolute 43 but rather – (in this context ) he was by contrast 44

German Foreign Minister 45 Head of the SD, or Security Service. 46 to find out (find-

found-found) – discover, learn 47

to worm sth. out of  – get sth. from 48 In fact Bazna’s father had died in bed 49 confidence –

self-assurance, optimism 50 to run risks (runran-run) – take risks, put oneself in danger 51 to shatter – ruin 52 purple patch – (in this context ) period of success and good fortune 53 rendezvous – appointment, meeting 54 to purr through – traverse making a pleasant sound 55 to alight from – (formal ) get out of, leave 56 amazing – incredible, fantastic 57

German Foreign Ministry

ISSUE 147

decelerate enabling Bazna to alight from55 the slowly moving car. Despite the amazing56 quality of the spy’s exposures, the Wilhelmstrasse 57 was

Ludwig Moyzisch

Bazna remained32 locked up 33  in Moyzisch’s office, the cultural attaché went to an adjoining 34   dark-room where he revealed the two rolls of 35-millimetre fi lm containing 52 photographs before paying the urk in wads35 of British banknotes. As he stuffed 36 the parcel 37 of notes under his overcoat38 a “curiously sneering 39 and triumphant tone came into his voice”40 as he set a second meeting for the following evening. “ À demain, Monsieur. À la même heure ”40 . From the very outset 41 Moyzisch and Papen  were extraordinarily impressed by the sheer42 quality of the photographs which they felt were of incalculable value. Clearly, Cicero was not an agent provocateur but rather43 a spy who seemed to be playing a lone hand. Nevertheless, their bosses in Berlin (von Ribbentrop 44 and Walter Schellenberg45) were burning with curiosity to find out 46  more about Cicero and his motives. Moyzisch tried to worm information out of 47 the kavass but all he was told by the theatrical spy  was that he used a Leica, worked alone, was Albanian, hated the British and that his father had been shot by an Englishma n48 . Most of his photographs were taken quickly and under varying conditions. Full of confidence49, Bazna ran big risks50 and quite often took the documents from the safe11 to his room where he photographed them and had them back in the safe11 before his employer had finished playing the piano.

still full of doubting Thomases58. In fact, it was not until Sofia was heavily bombed 59 in January 1944 that the bigwigs 60 in Berlin finally accepted that Cicero’s photographs were indeed 61 sound62.  The story of Cicero is full of ironic twists63.

The Germans failed to accept that defeat 64 was staring them in the face 65, so Cicero’s daring 66 espionage was a waste of time. The affair was a major embarrassment for the complacent British who prided themselves on their second-to-none wartime intelligence. Finally, Cicero discovered too

late to his chagrin67 that he had been cheated 68 by the unscrupulous Nazis. They had paid him for

invaluable information (which they failed to use) with counterfeit 69 banknotes, thus70 shattering51 his dream of leaving the life of a kavass behind. Bazna died in Munich in 1970. In a final twist63,

after the war, British Intelligence claimed71 that Cicero had been a double agent working for them

all along, like the Catalan ‘Garbo’.

■

RELATED RESOURCES M

58

From what you’ve read, do you think Cicero was a German  spy or a British double agent? Do research on the internet (in English) and report back to class with your findings.

doubting Thomas – suspi-

cious mind, sceptic 59

Cicero’s photographs told the Germans of the forthcoming attack on Sofia. They chose to do nothing and several thousand

THINK IN ENGLISH

people were killed bigwig – VIP 61 indeed – (emphatic ) really, 60

in fact 62

sound – trustworthy,

63

twist – (in this context )

legitimate

Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen (British Ambassador in Turkey) standing second from lef t beside the British Fore ign

Secretary Anthony Eden.

surprise 64

defeat – failure, opposite of 

exasperation 68

‘victory’ 65

to be staring s.o. in the face – be imminent 66 daring  – audacious 67 chagrin – irritation,

to cheat – fool, hoodwink,

defraud counterfeit – fake, false 70 thus  – as a result, in this 69

way 71

to claim – say, declare

19

CULTURE |

FEATURE

Micro-Cosmos Small is beautiful.

W

e pride ourselves on1 being more enlightened2 than our ancestors. We don’t believe in a flat earth, Galenic medicine

or a literal interpretation of Genesis. However, in one sense

we are no better than our forefathers3; we accept the world as being what we see. Take biodiversity. We (rightly) worry about whales4,

tigers, pandas and fish stocks. However, by any objective measure5 life, and its diversity on Earth, is a question of micro-organisms. For

Yellow mite

instance6, the bio-mass of microbes is infinitely greater than that of the kingdom  Animalia. The microbial kingdoms are much more diverse, though we have studied them so comparatively little that

they don’t seem so. Microbes can be just as vulnerable to extinction, too. There is an anaerobic fungus that only lives in the hindgut7 of the Somali wild ass8. Unfortunately for the symbiotic microbe, the ass is an endangered9 species, so when it disappears we’ll have lost two

species. We don’t know the effect of anthropogenic climate change on the micro-cosmos because the question hasn’t been sufficiently studied, but it may be much more catastrophic than the loss of large mammals. Our obsession with things that are macroscopic10 means that we automatically assume11 that alien life will be more or less human size when it is more likely to12 be microscopic (or immense). I    L  L   U   S  T  R  A  T  I     O N   B  Y   G  A   S  P  I    R  T  Z 

The Good Guys  You are a transport system for microorganisms. Some 72 million live on  you r forehead13   alone. here are microbes on you, in you, throughout14 your home15, on trees, in the air, everywhere. Bacteria can eat iron and other metals, masonry 16, tarmac17 and latex as well as any biological matter18. Bacteria can survive for hundreds of  years in completely dry or freezing 19 conditions. 1

to pride oneself on – be proud of, take satis-

faction in, congratulate oneself on 2 more enlightened – better informed/ educated 3 forefathers – ancestors 4 whales – cetaceans 5 by any objective measure – if it is measured in any objective way 6 for instance – for example 7 hindgut  – colon and rectum 8 wild ass – (Equus asinus) 9 endangered – in danger of 20

becoming extinct macroscopic – visible with the naked eye 11 to assume – (false friend ) suppose 12 it is more likely to  – it will more probably 13 forehead – brow, part of your face above your eyes and below your hairline 14 throughout  – in every part of 10

15

two million mites live in your bed masonry – the stones of buildings 17 tarmac (UK English) – asphalt (US English) 18 matter – material 19 freezing, frozen, subzero 16

Of course most of the microbes you carry around with you are harmless 20 and some of them are essential to keep  you alive. Bacteria in your guts 21 help to break down 22 food and keep your immune system healthy. Gut 23   flora protects against harmful microbes such as Clostridium difficile . Antibiotics often kill g ut flora leaving the coast clear for C. difficile , which is why this bug 24 is so prevalent in hospitals. Research at McMaster University  in Hamilton, Ontario, also suggests that normal healthy gut 23 bacteria help us to behave25   normally. Experiments on mice26 suggest that the absence of healthy gut 23 flora can cause strange behaviour 27, aggression and learning difficulties – all of which could be reversed by re-establishing healthy gut flora. Just as 28 some bacteria are essential for our bodies and brains to work properly 29 , micro-organisms in the compost community are at the base of all ecosystems.

harmless – innocuous, benign guts  – intestines 22 to break sth. down (break-broke-broken) – 20 21

decompose gut (adj.) – intestinal 24 bug – germ, pathogen, microbe 25 to behave – act 26 mouse ( plural  ‘mice’) – small rodent 27 behaviour  (UK English) – behavior (US English), conduct 28  just as  – in the same way that 29 properly – correctly, appropriately 23

THINK IN ENGLISH

ISSUE 147

Nasty Micro-organisms Generally speaking, we are ignorant about microbes until after they have a serious impact on humanity. An undoubted candidate for that definition is Yersinia pestis . hese bacteria have joined the privileged list of species that have had their DNA mapped 30 . Moreover, unlike Dolly the Sheep, Yersinia pestis  has had DNA mapped twice: from a modern specimen and from a 600-year-old sample.  Why? Because ‘Yersinia pestis ’ is the scientific name for the Black Death bacteria. Killing 50 million people in the mid-14th  Century means that the bubonic plague qualifies as ‘interesting’. Te good news is that six-centuryold Yersinia pestis are almost identical P  H   O T   O  B  Y   J    O 2   ,R  Y  A  N   C   . M  C   G  I    N  L  E  Y 

Scientist cultivating a sample to test for drug

resistant bacteria.

to the modern bacteria. Tat means that the human population has evolved resistance to the disease 31, which shouldn’t stage a comeback 32 , though 2000 people a year are still infected around the world. Now the bad news. Globalization means we are more vulnerable to pandemics than ever before. Remember how the WHO ‘exaggerated’ the danger of swine flu 33 a couple of years ago. Te virus ended up infecting 10% of the world’s human population and killing 100,000 people. Te disease did go global, it just wasn’t quite as deadly as predicted. It could easily be next time. Where will the next pandemic come from? According to Global Viral Forecasting  there are viral hotspots34 – places where humans come into contact with a high density of wild animals. Tis increases the risk 35 that  vi ru ses wi ll jump species 36 . If this happens close to transport networks or large37  populations, pandemics result 38 . Te two biggest concentrations of hotspots34 are in Central Africa and Southeast Asia. Some microbes are resistant to antibiotics. Moreover, it is now emerging that about half of the infectious diseases that are difficult to t reat with antibiotics are ‘persistent’. Researchers are finding that a growing list of microorganisms can stop multiplying, cease all activity and effectively ‘play dead39’ until af ter an antibiotic treatment has run its course 40 . Tey are  then back in business 41.

Staphylococcus aureus bacteria

Evil42 Little Blighters43  The brilliantly evil42 thing about some micro-organisms is that they can fundamentally change the physiology of their hosts44 to aid their replica-

tion45, despite being minute46 . While gut flora helps us to be emotionally

stable, the RNA virus rabies, for example, can make a dog more aggressive in order to replicate. This, despite the fact

that the virus is a minimal package47 of genetic information. The rabies virus’s mind-altering abilities are nothing compared to those of the microscopic worm48 known as the Lancet fluke (Dicrocoelium dendriticum). This

micro-organism penetrates the brain of an ant49 and ‘drives’ the ant to the top of a blade50 of grass51 so that it will be eaten by a cow or a sheep. It ‘persuades’ the ant to sacrifice itself so

that the fluke can undergo52 the next to map – (in this context ) chart, survey, decode disease – illness 32 to stage a comeback  – return triumphantly, (in this context ) cause another pandemic 33 swine flu – type of virus associated with pigs 34 hotspot – point of especially intense activity 35 risk  – danger, peril 36 to jump species – change vector 37 large – (false friend ) big 38 pandemics result – the result is a pandemic 39 to play dead – simulate death, act as if dead 40 to run its course (run-ran-run) – stopped 30 31

having an effect 41

to be back in business – (in this context ) be

able to propagate again evil – malignant 43 blighter – irritating person; sth. that causes an infestation/affliction 44 host – (in this context ) vector 42

ISSUE 147

THINK IN ENGLISH

their replication – (in this context ) the multiplication of the virus 46 minute  /mai ˈnju:t/ – tiny, microscopic 47 package – packet, bundle, combination 48 worm – 49 ant – 50 blade – (in this context ) leaf (of grass) 51 grass – 52 to undergo (-go/-went/-gone) – experience 53 cricket – 54 eventually  – (false friend ) in the end 55 to drown oneself  – commit suicide by suffocating in water 56 to punch above one’s weight – be more important than their size would suggest 45

stage of its life c ycle in the herbivore’s

stomach. Similarly, the Gordian worm (Nematomorpha) gets inside a cricket53 and eventually54 ‘convinces’ its host to drown itself 55 so that it can proceed to

the aquatic stage of its life cycle. Micro-organisms may be small but

they punch above their weight56.

■

RELATED RESOURCES

S

Environmental problems at a macroscopic level are too urgent to worry about microcosmic biodiversity. Do you agree? 

21

CULTURE |

ART

LANDSCAPE PAINTING Empty Art If you had shown a landscape painting to a Renaissance connoisseur, he (they tended to be men) would have found it oddly 1 empty, as if the artist forgot to include the subject of the painting. Indeed 2 , our imaginary connoisseur  would have viewed the picture much like3 some people stil l see colour-field abstract painting of the 20th Century. Painted landscapes existed before the 17th  Century but they were almost exclusively in the background 4 . Ironically, religion changed all that.

A New Religion he Reformation was potentially a catastrophe for art. Te Protestants

believed that the Second Commandment 5  prohibited religious images,  which were of course the painters’ and sculptors’ bread and butter6 until then. Winter Landscape with Skaters by H. Avercamp Of course, some work7 could be found painting portraits, thanks to human- Dutch model and added more weather. ism’s new emphasis on the individual Landscape painting as we know it is in but even so, Northern Europe was a fact largely 11 weather painting. Northbad place to be as an artist following ern Europe doesn’t offer much in the  way of staggering 12 scenery 13. What we the emergence of Protestantism. do have14 is weather. “Why is weather so important?”, you ask. Because of the The Pathetic Fallacy 8 Te Low Countries  were the first to ‘pathetic fallacy’: the idea that inanidevelop the possibility of landscape mate things – in this case t he weather paintings sans  saint in the fore- – reflect our emotions. In other words ground 9 . he new landschappen10  why 15 it’s always raining when people emerged partly as an expression of are melancholy 16  in movies. People Dutch nationalism. Te British took the began to buy landscapes because they

Gordale Scar  by James Ward

oddly – strangely, surprisingly indeed – (emphatic ) in fact 3 much like – in a similar way to that in which 4 and not painted by the master painter but by his apprentices 5 commandment – one of 10 orders given by God to Moses. Nº 2 prohibits the adoration of images 6 one’s bread and butter – work that generates 1 2

22

 Aurora Boreali s by Frederic Edwin Church

most of one’s income some work  – a few jobs 8 the Low Countries – Belgium, the Netherlands, Flanders and Luxembourg 9 in the foreground – in the front of the picture, closest to the viewer according to the perspective 7

10

the English word ‘landscape’ comes from the Dutch landschap 11 largely – primarily, principally

12 13

staggering – sublime, astonishing scenery – (false friend ) landscape, countryside,

terrain do have – (emphatic ) have why – (in this context ) it is the reason why 16 melancholy (adj.) – sad, lugubrious, depressed. Notice that although ‘melancholic’ exists we prefer to use ‘melancholy’ as an adjective (except in literary contexts) 14 15

THINK IN ENGLISH

ISSUE 147

THE DENIZENS’ DOZEN  ❯❯

The Hunters in the Snow (1565) by

Pieter Brueghel the Elder ❯❯ Winter Landscape with Skaters (c.

1608) by Hendrick Avercamp - Avercamp painted a series of similar winter landscapes with similar

names. ❯❯

Vesuvius from Portici (c. 1775) by

Joseph Wright of Derby - Wright actually33 painted a whole series of views of the volcano, which

The Hunters in the Snow   by Pieter Brueghel the Elder

made them feel sunny or wistful . came with the Post-Expressionists:  W hen the Roma nt ic pa int er s  van Gogh, Céza nne and Pisa rro. In came along 18 , sublime19  landscapes the 20th Century as landscapes became  were employed 20  to transmit awe 21. increasingly abstract they tended to Further 22 nuance 23   could be added lose their facet as emotional conduits. by the representation or at least Expressed another way, a largely 11 the insinuation of a change in the abstract landscape can’t have weather  weather, which suggested ‘emotional and therefore30 fails to be t he object of dynamism’. By the mid-19 th  Century pathetic fallacy. landscape painting had moved centre stage24 : from being the poor cousin of The Denizens’ Dozen historical and religious painting it had Tis series of articles began as a look become the dominant European genre. at the generic names used in different genres of painting. We saw that reliThe World’s Favourite Genre gious and classical art tended to fall 25 he Surrealists built on   the great under31  thematic titles. However, last advances of Constable and urner month it became evident that portraits – as they readily 26   admitted – and, couldn’t be categorized in this way. Te three centuries after la ndscape paint- same is largely 11 true of landscapes. ing emerged as the forlorn27 result of So, as with portraiture, instead of 32 religious strictures28 , it became the presenting you with generic titles, here  world’s favourite genre in the hands  we offer you a list of t he dozen landof Monet, Sisley and co. scape paintings you should know the 29 Te summit  of landscape paint- names of if you want to talk about art ing as emotional expression surely in the Anglosphere.

he was lucky enough to visit when it was active (but not too active!).

17

17 18

wistful – nostalgic, pensive, melancholy to come along (come-came-come) – appear, 16

emerge 19

sublime – (in this context ) awesome, majestic

and terrifying to employ – (in this context ) use 21 awe – wonder, astonishment 22 further – additional 23 nuance – subtle differentiation 24 to move centre stage – become central/ dominant 25 to build on (build-built-built) – develop, expand 26 readily – willingly, happily 27 forlorn – miserable, desperate, melancholy 16 28 strictures – restrictions, restraints 29 summit – zenith, climax 20

ISSUE 147

THINK IN ENGLISH

therefore – so, for that reason to fall under (fall-fell-fallen) – be categorized by 32 instead of  – rather than, as opposed to 33 actually – (false friend ) in fact 34 fog – an atmospheric effect similar to mist that 30

❯❯

Ward ❯❯

reduces visibility (especially common at sea) hay – dried grass used as winter food for cows and horses 36 wain – (archaic ) wagon, cart 37 to wrong-foot s.o. – take s.o. by surprise, embarrass s.o. 38 to point out – mention 39 steam – hot water vapour used to power a locomotive 40 wheat – type of cereal grain (typically used to make bread) 41 haystack  – accumulation of hay35

Wanderer above the Sea of Fog 34

(1818) by Caspar David Friedrich ❯❯

The Hay35  Wain 36 (1821) by John

Constable - you can wrong-foot37 many a British art-lover by pointing out38 that

this painting is really called ‘Landscape, Noon’ ❯❯

Rain, Steam 39 and Speed (1844) by

William Turner ❯❯

Aurora Borealis (1865) by Fredric

Edwin Church - just one example of the Hudson

River School’s paintings of ‘the Big Country’. ❯❯ Mont Sainte-Victoire  (c. 1885) by Paul Cézanne - Cézanne was obsessed by this mountain, which he painted dozens

of times. ❯❯

Wheat 40   Field with Cypresses

(1889) by Vincent van Gogh ❯❯

Haystacks 41  (1890) by Claude

Monet

31

35

Gordale Scar (c. 1812) by James

- again, Monet in fact painted 25 ‘impressions’ of the same haystacks

at different times of day. ❯❯

The Persistence of Memory (1931)

by Salvador Dalí  - no pathetic fallacy here!

■

RELATED RESOURCES P

Do you find landscape paintings ‘kind of empty’? What’s your favourite landscape painting? 

23

CULTURE |

EDUCATION

Ferment in the Creative World BY PROF. RAOUL FRANKLIN

Most readers of Think  will be aware1 of the problems that the music industry is having over ‘piracy’ and the use of copyright law to try to prevent2 it. There are also problems arising from3 the ability of writers on almost any subject to ‘publish’ their work, or thoughts, without having to involve a commercial publisher. Now there is a debate emerging which

concerns4 the academic and scientific world. The Journal5 Jungle Usually these scholarly 6  publications are called journals, and ar ticles published in them are subject to peer review 7. Tat is, an author or authors submit 8 a manuscript to the  journal 5. Nowadays 9  the journal prescribes the format and, as a result, all of what used to be ‘in-house’  work 10 for the  journal is done by the author before

submission11. Te article is then sent to one or more reviewer or referee12 for comment on the quality of the work. Most of the time this process has  worked quite well because the community has been a closed one. But it has been subject to abuses because of the credit given to primacy 13. Tat is, who first came up with 14 a new idea or way of looking at things. So  jealousy 15 or

 just16 rivalry can determine who first gets a new idea published, and, if a referee12  is thinking along similar lines17, she or he is able to manipulate the length of time the pre-publication process takes.  At the same time those administering the journals, aware1 that authors are themselves evaluating the length of time a particular  journal 5 takes, have resorted to making 18 the refereeing process a box-ticking 19 exercise when such a method of evaluation is contrary to proper scholarship 20. Tis has resulted in a conflict situation. Referees are, in general, not paid or otherwise rewarded21 for their expertise, time and effort; nor can they be held accountable 22 . Indeed23 , they carry out 24  their work anonymously. Most journals have in place a method of appeal 25 , but that does not always  work to the satisfact ion of all parties concerned26 . But the problem has become more  wide spread 27   because avaricious publishers have put up the prices of

Academic progress to be aware – be conscious to prevent – stop 3 arising from – resulting from 4 to concern – (in this context ) relate to 5  journal  – academic magazine 6 scholarly – erudite, academic 7 peer review – constructive criticism from other

PHOTO BY JOICHI ITO

submission – (in this context ) the presenting of

1

11

2

the manuscript to the journal 12 referee – adjudicator, arbitrator, arbiter, ‘judge’ 13 primacy – being first 14 to come up with (come-came-come) – think up, invent, formulate 15  jealousy  – (in this context ) envy 16  just – (in this context ) simply 17 along similar lines – in a similar way 18 to resort to making – start to make 19 box-ticking – þ

academics to submit – present, propose 9 nowadays – these days 10 in-house work  – work done by employees of 8

the journal 5 24

20

proper scholarship – real erudition, academic

standards

5

21 22

to reward – recompense, remunerate to hold s.o. accountable (hold-held-held) –

consider s.o. responsible indeed – (emphatic ) in fact 24 to carry out – perform, do 25 appeal – complaint, re-examination, reconsideration 26 concerned – in question, involved 27 widespread – generalized 23

THINK IN ENGLISH

ISSUE 147

their journals relying on 28 university libraries continuing to subscribe, while universities – anx ious to reduce their costs – have reduced the number of  journals they subscribe to, even resorting to29 forbidding 30 departments from making t heir own decisions.

The Academics Strike Back  Now the intellectual community is striking back 31. Some are withdrawing their labour 32  by refusing to do  work for no pay, usually on a selective basis. Tis t hen puts a strain on 33 publishers who rely on 28 a pool 34 of able35 reviewers. Tat leads to 36 them recruiting 37 less experienced people  who then have to be told how to do the  work but without a mentor on hand to guide them. Tat then results in referee’s reports that competent authors are not prepared to accept.  At this point anarchy threatens38 , and takes the form of using modern technology to get rid of 39 ancient prac■ tices. RELATED RESOURCES  Should academi c papers 40 be  publishe d in a special onli ne site and peer-reviewed 7  in the way that Wikipedia is checked? 

2

to rely on – count on, depend on to resort to (+ -ing) – (in this context ) have to (+ infinitive) 30 to forbid (-bid/-bade/-bidden) – prohibit, ban 31 to strike back   (strike-struck-struck) – coun28 29

terattack to withdraw one’s labour (-draw/-drew/drawn) – (in this context ) stop offering one’s services 33 to put a strain on (put-put-put) – create difficulties for 34 pool – reserve, supply, stock 35 able – capable 36 to lead to (lead-led-led) – result in 37 to recruit – enlist, employ, use 38 to threaten – be imminent 39 to get rid of  (get-got-got) – eliminate 40 paper – thesis, work, dissertation, treatise 41 amazing – incredible, fantastic 42 support – backup, help 43 thus – in this way 44 chances – probabilities, opportunities 45 nowhere to turn – nobody to ask 46 stumbling block  – obstacle that impedes progress 47 career – (false friend ) professional trajectory 48 to be allowed to – be permitted to 49 tip – recommendation, suggestion 32

50 51

Asociación Española de Formación On-Line draw (draw/drew/drawn) – ( in this context )

make an arbitray selection ISSUE 147

THINK IN ENGLISH

FREE Telephone Support  Barcelona, Spain - The language service company Backuplines S.L., specialist in distance language teaching and learning for 17 years, has announced an amaz-

ing41 initiative that will be of great help

to all Spanish students who have failed their English exams. From the second of  July 2012, Backuplines will open a telephone line providing free support42 to all Chinese students with at least

intermediate level who failed their final English exams in June. By calling ‘Skype: backuplines’, students will have their grammatical doubts solved by professional English tutors and thus43 improve their chances44 of passing the recupera-

tion exam, normally in September. Many students who have failed English at school can’t opt for university entrance exams. After the end of the summer term, students typically have nowhere to turn 45 for help with English grammar; Backuplines offers this service for free. Backuplines hopes to stop English from being a stumbling block 46 for so many students. Mastering PHOTO BY ANTHONY22 English studies -especially oral communication- is essential for entering the workforce and having a successful career47 in our increasingly competitive and demanding labour market.

DETAILS & FURTHER PRACTICE  The Skype contact form will be operational for the month of July, ❯❯ from Monday to Friday From ❯❯ between 11.00am and 16.00pm GMT. the first Students who contact us will be allowed to48 ask 100 Chinese the teacher ONE grammar question at a time. This service can be followed on Twitter where regularly  students joining returning questions are answered in short texts. “If Backuplines on you join our Twitter community, you will receive Twitter we will a daily grammar tip49 or “EDUpill” for FREE!” draw 51 a prize says Willem Koper, director of the company.

❯❯

Surely GOOD news in times of crisis.

Read on at www.thinkinenglish.net

Backuplines S.L. Calle Lope de Vega, 62 - Barcelona

[email protected] (Tlf.) 93 266 40 39

of a one-year  subscription.

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CULTURE |

CINEMA

Christian Slater:

His Own Worst Enemy  BY MARINA CARRESI

Some stars make movies because they want to change the world: George Clooney

and Sean Penn spring to mind1. Others are focused on perfecting their craft2, as is the case with Meryl Streep or Russell Crow. No doubt others simply want to be rich and famous. Christian Slater, by contrast, acts to evade life. He once said,

“Work is my hobby, staying sober3 is my job”. In his obsession to be occupied acting the 42-year-old has made almost 60 films over the last 25 years as well as starring in several TV series and periods on the stage4. Unfortunately, the impression is that Slater will accept anything – and if you’ve seen  Alone in the Dark  (2005) you’ll know what I mean! This is a shame5 since – as you can see in two of his relatively recent works Slipstream (2007) directed by Anthony Hopkins and He Was a Quiet Man (2007) directed by Frank Cappello – he is capable of

much more if he would just select his movies with a minimum of criterion. Nest Michael Hawkins and Mary Jo Slater  were not conventional parents. She was an acting agent’s assistant and he was a young actor. hey met backstage 6 at a Greenwich Village production of the anti-Vietnam-War satire MacBird . Tey married eight months later and on 18 August 1969 their first child Christian Michael Leonard was born. He was named after7 Marlon Brando’s character, mutineer Fletcher Christian, in Mutiny on the Bounty . When he was three months old his mother carried him out onto the stage8 of an empty theatre and told him, “Tis is  your life, my son”. When Chr istian  was stil l a toddler9, Mary Jo became a casting director, so Christian “grew up backstage6 and in auditions” says his mother. At the same time he would go along with10 his father Michael: “I 1

to spring to mind (spring-sprang-sprung) – be

the first that one thinks of 2 craft – (in this context ) talents 3 sober – opposite of  ‘drunk’ 4 on the stage – in the theatre 5 a shame – a pity, unfortunate 6 backstage – in the part of a theatre reserved for the actors and technicians 7 to be named after – be named for ( US English), be given X’s name to honour X 8 the stage – the platform in a theatre on which actors act 26

One Life to Live in 1976. Te same year seven-year-old Christ ian’s parents14 got divorced, which was understandably traumatic. But life  went on15 and Mary Jo became his primary parent figure: “I was raised16 by my mother,  who’s grown to become17 my greatest confidante and the person I trust most”. Christian later gravitated towards surrogate 18  father-figures he met in the theatre. One of these was Dan Lauria (the father on US V’s The Wonder Years). Lauria has remained 19 a constant presence in Christian’s life and he has remarked that Christian  was “as close to a son as I’ll ever have”. Lauria was running 20 a theatre and he occupied  the pre-teen 21’s time22 painting sets23, cleaning toilets and acting. “I always thought Christian was happier onstage than anywhere else, even in real life”, he later commented.

remember hanging out backstage at my Precocious Success father’s shows. Tere were a lot of places to hide11 and I’d sneak around12, spying  At nine Christian got a role24 in a play on the girls as they were getting dressed. called Te Music Man staring Dick Van It’d looked so much fun that I really Dyke  wit h which he toured for nine knew that I wanted to be part of that months away from home. “I gained from an early age.” His earliest appear- a lot of professional experience and ance was on the daytime soap opera 13 learned how to deal with25 people”, he

FURTHER READING 9

toddler – small child who is just learning to walk to go along with s.o. (go-went-gone) –

10

he matures 17

accompany s.o. 11

to hide (hide-hid-hidden) – conceal oneself,

12

to sneak around (sneak-snuck-snuck) – move

be out-of-sight about furtively soap opera – melodramatic TV series 14 one’s parents – (false friend ) one’s mother and 13

father 15 16

to go on (go-went-gone) – continue to raise – rear, bring up, care for a child as s/

to grow to become (grow-grew-grown) –

gradually become surrogate – substitute 19 to remain – continue to be 20 to run sth. – (run-ran-run) – manage sth. 21 pre-teen – pre-pubescent child 22 to occupy s.o’s time – find things for s.o. to 18

do such as set – (in this context ) decorative backdrop 24 role – part, acting job 25 to deal with (deal-dealt-dealt) – interact with 23

THINK IN ENGLISH

ISSUE 147

TV SERIES

concluded. After that he enrolled with He was sentenced to 10 days in jail. In  violent arg ument in a Las Vegas hotel New York’s Professional Children’s 1994, he was arrested when he tried to Ryan threw a glass bottle at Christian, School. At the age of 15 he was work- board a passenger plane with a gun  which struck39 him on the neck causing ing almost full-time in Hollywood so in his luggage; he was sentenced to a significant gash40. Ryan was arrested. the next logical step was to move out 26 community service. In 1997, Slater Te tempestuous couple formally sepato California permanently, which he  was convicted of assau lting his girl- rated in 2005 and got divorced in 2007. did. Te film that gave Christian his friend, Michelle Jonas, and a police breakthrough role 27 was Te Name of officer while under the influence of the Rose   (1986); he was just 16 during drugs and alcohol. He spent over 100  The first decade of this century saw 28 Christian in a string41  of forgettable the shoot . For the next decade the days in a rehabilitation centre while  world was  Christian’s oyster 29 . He out on bail 32 and then was sentenced to ‘crazy psychopath’ roles on screen. However, meanwhile he was garnerstarred in blockbusters such as Robin a three-month term in jail followed by Hood: Prince of Tieves   (1991) , rue three more months in rehab. May 24, ing stage accolades 42  for his work in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest  in Romance  (1993) , Interview with the 2005, Slater was arrested in Manhattan, 33 34 Vampire  (1994) as well as cult teen after he allegedly   sexually harassed Britain in 2004 and in The Glass Menag35 erie in 2005 in New York. Some of the movies like Heathers  (1989). a woman on the street. 36 undoubted acting ability that he has Meanwhile , in 2000 Slater married Very Bad Things managed so effectively to conceal 43 Ryan Haddon and they have two chilHowever, success at such a young age dren. However, any idea that Christ ian in a score of 44   movies over the last led  almost inevitably to 30 substance had now settled down to 37 domesticity decade revealed itself – almost by 31 abuse . As early as 1989, Slater was  vanished when the couple made the chance – in He Was a Quiet Man (2007). 38 With focus Christian Slater could still arrested for drunk driving and assault. tabloid headlines  in 2003. During a

A QUIET MAN AT LAST?

to move out – transfer, go 27 breakthrough role – acting job through which 26

s.o. becomes known to the general public shoot (n.) – filming 29 the world was s.o’s oyster – s.o. was in a 28

position to take advantage of everything life has to offer 30 to lead to (lead-led-led) – result in 31 substance abuse – abuse of narcotics and/ or alcohol 32 to be out on bail – be free before a judicial process 33 allegedly – supposedly ISSUE 147

THINK IN ENGLISH

to harass – molest 35 Slater denied the accusation 36 meanwhile  – at the same time 37 to settle down to – become more tranquil in 38 to make the tabloid headlines (make-made34

made) – appear in sensationalist newspapers to strike (strike-struck-struck) – hit 40 gash – deep cut 41 string – series, succession 42 to garner stage accolades – be congratulated in the theatre 43 to conceal – hide, camouflage 44 a score of  – approximately 20

fulfill the potential of the teenager who played the novice in The Name of the Rose . Unfortunately, judging by his choices since he made Quiet Man, I

wouldn’t hold out too much hope.

■

39

RELATED RESOURCES

N

 Slater hasbeen arrested for diverse acts of  seriously antisocial behaviour yet he has never stopped working or been ostracized by Hollywood. His co-star on Heathers, Winona Ryder, stole a dress and ruined her career.  Are Hollywood and society incurably sexist? 

27

LANGUAGE |

LANGUAGE

ENGLISH:

FUURE PERFEC

Why learn the English of today when you can learn the language of tomorrow? 

P  H   O T   O  B  Y  M A  R  I    N  A   C  A  R  R  E   S  I   

1,200 years. We could take things further; a growing number of linguists don’t actually 9 believe that English descends directly from Anglo-Saxon (the language of Beowulf ), though obviously

the two western-Germanic languages are closely related.10

The Great Slowdown The Beowulf Comparison What future English looks and sounds like depends largely1 on how fast languages change. Typically, we are told that a

text like the one you are reading will be incomprehensible to English speakers a thousand years from now. The standard comparison is with Beowulf   (written sometime between the

7th and the 9 th Centuries CE2). As a recent article on the topic3 in The New Scientist   said, “You might be able to understand Béowulf is min name 4 but a millennium of language evolution has washed away5 the meaning from grimma gaést Grendel  (=

the ghastly6 demon Grendel).” Except of course, it hasn’t. We could translate the last line as “the grim7 ghost Grendel” on the understanding that ‘ghost’ was a more general term for a terrifying supernatural being. In fact, neither of these two simple statements8 presents massive change over perhaps

So, let’s go to one of the earliest undeniably11 English texts, The Owl and the Nightingale (c. 1200). Now, instead of 12 confronting a text that is more difficult than Modern German (the case of Beowulf )13, we have a text which an educated native speaker can more or less read after 30 minutes’ training. And (as with the Beowulf  example) we have to factor in14 the difficulty inherent

in the fact that this is poetry. Any modern poem requires effort to be understood, too. So, in the 800 years of uncontested history of written English, the language has evolved but is still recognizable. Has it evolved steadily15 over16 those eight centuries? Of course not. The change between 1200 and, say17, The Paston Letters18 (1425-95) is immense.

That change has decelerated constantly since then. Why? First, because of standardization and secondly because of universal literacy. The more people speak a language the more inertia it has because the less an individual can influence its evolution. Moreover, for centuries people have been learning that there is a right and wrong to language. For over a century everyone in the

    I     S     E     R     R     A     C     A     N     I     R     A     M     Y     B     O     T     O     H     P

Anglosphere has been learning standardized English at school following national curricula19. Besides20, for a century everyone

in the Anglosphere has been listening to more or less the same prestige speakers (on gramophones, on the radio, on TV and at the movies).21 Indeed22, perhaps a fifth of the world’s population

is now learning standardized English. That’s a lot of inertia.

Transitory Language Of course, every generation has its slang and its buzzwords 23 but these come and go. People use their generational argot so that they won’t be understood by parents24, teachers or police officers but they also have to be able to speak the standard largely – primarily, principally CE – Common Era, AD (= anno Domini ) 3 topic – (false friend ) theme, question 4 = Beowulf is my name 5 to wash away – gradually elimi1 2

nate

6

ghastly – horrible, frightful,

7

grim – dreadful, ghastly,

horrendous

28

frightful, horrible, horrendous (all synonyms given in the New Oxford Thesaurus [2000]) 8 statement – (in this context )

declarative phrase 9 actually – (false friend ) in fact 10 see Think  106, pp. 24-25 11 undeniably – unquestionably 12 instead of  – rather than, as opposed to

13

that fact alone suggests that English does not come directly from Anglo-Saxon 14 to factor in – take into consid-

eration

15

steadily – at a constant rate

(= speed) over – during 17 say – (in this context ) for example 18 see Think  47 16

19

20

curriculum  – syllabus,

programme of studies besides – what’s more, moreover

21

the effect on local varieties (‘dialects’) of this has been devastating 22 indeed – (emphatic ) in fact 23 buzzword – fashionable words 24 parents – (false friend ) mothers

and fathers THINK IN ENGLISH

ISSUE 147

when they want to be understood by parents, teachers, customers, etc. If you look at a list of the latest colloquialisms of the

1920s or even the 1960s much of it can seem as alien  as the argot in a 300-year-old novel like Moll Flanders (1722). An average of 2000 words a year may be added to the Oxford English 25

Dictionary  but only a tiny26 fraction enter general usage for any length27 of time. English is remarkably stable and the impact of being a world foreign language used primarily in formal speech and writing (from video-conferencing to Wikipedia) means that

it is likely to remain pretty  stable. 28

29

30

3

Words that present unnecessary pronunciation or spell-

ing difficulties like ‘diphthong’ or ‘asthma’ are likely to be simplified (to ‘dithong’ or ‘difong’ and ‘asma’ or ‘azma’

perhaps). Punctuation is likely to be radically simplified. Hyphens37,

4

apostrophes, colons38 and semi-colons39 are all likely to 40

disappear.

MEETING FLASH GORDON Of course, it’s perfectly possible that in a few years’ time writing

will disappear as everything will be spoken into and transmitted by machines. If computers do become41 an important interface42 within43 and between languages, then English

will probably stop evolving since44 machines will standardize the language. What will certainly not change – unless English is replaced by another language45 or humanity becomes extinct – are elements of core46 vocabulary like pronouns, numbers and everyday nouns and verbs. 47 We should be able to understand

“Flash Gordon is my name” a thousand years from now! Don’t worry about learning the English of tomorrow (or that

of 3012); to a large extent 48, you’re already learning it.

■

RELATED RESOURCES

Change You Can Count On The analogy of saying that English in 1,000 years’ time would look as foreign31 to us as Beowulf   is clearly false. There will,

W

Will the critical mass of English mean that it is still a major language in a thousand years’ time or will it have been replaced by another language? Do languages evolve quickly or slowly in the modern world? 

however, be changes. What are they likely to be?

1

 The number of irregular verbs is likely to 32 fall significantly. Over the past millennia their ranks have declined from

around 400 to less than 100. Those undergoing cryogenics33 should be ready to say, “he teached ” and “she builded  a house”.34

2

Within35 our lifetimes we will probably see the loss of the

plural forms “there are” and “there were”. 36

alien – (in this context ) foreign, unfamiliar 26 tiny /ˈ taini/ – minute, very small 27 length – (in this context ) period, duration, stretch 28 it is likely to – it will probably 29 to remain – continue to be 30 pretty (adv.) – reasonably 31 foreign – unfamiliar 32 is likely to – will probably 25

33

those undergoing cryogenics

– people who have paid to have their cadavers frozen in the hope that they can be reanimated in the future 34

as opposed to ‘he taught’ and ‘she built’ 35 within – (in this context ) in 36 leaving “there is/there’s” and “there was” for both singular and plural 37 hyphen  – small horizontal line 38

used to connect words colon – two vertically aligned dots (= ‘:’)

ISSUE 147

THINK IN ENGLISH

semi-colon – a dot over a comma (= ‘;’) 40 are all likely to – will all probably 41 do become – (emphatic ) become 42 interface – system for transmitting information 43 within – inside 44 since – given that 39

45

an unimaginably massive change given the critical mass English has already acquired. Latin, for example, only affected the literate minority in the European and Mediterranean world. The range of English is far greater and deeper. 46 core (adj.) – central, essential 47 the most basic English words – mother, bird, stone, we, summer, hold, great, one, two, three, yes, owl and nightingale – are already a thousand years old 48 to a large extent – by and large,

more or less, to a large degree 29

LANGUAGE |

FUNCTIONAL ENGLISH

 Ways of Speaking & Laughing  On our community page ( Think   in English magazine) Cristian Dopazo asked for an article explaining the different ways of speaking and laughing with accompanying audio. Well, here it is: Is it Something I Said? ❯❯

state: declare, announce. The idea here is that you are saying something clearly, loudly enough1  for everyone present to hear. In most cases

what is stated is said in some official capacity 2: e.g. “The country is now officially in recession”, he stated. ❯❯

remark : mention, comment. What is said is said informally to provide extra

❯❯

e.g. “Please give me another chance 6!” he pleaded. ❯❯

the idea is that the speaker is simply communicating what was said but is not confirming that it is true:

complain: protest, moan, bleat7:

Literally, lions and bears11 roar.

8

Pump Up  the Volume The general verb for speaking at great volume is ‘shout’. ❯❯

9

scream: yell, bawl, shriek. The main idea here is that volume is combined

with hysteria: e.g. “Get out of my life!” she screamed. ❯❯

roar: bellow 10, holler. The idea is

similar to the previous one but with a deeper more masculine voice:

e.g. “I was late because my car broke down”, she claimed.

e.g. “How dare you speak to me like that!” he roared.

PHOTO BY GREGOR YOUNGER

Pleading

loudly enough  – with sufficient volume capacity – (in this context ) role, function 3 to assert – declare, maintain, contend, argue,

5

2

6

postulate, insist to contend – maintain, affirm, insist, state,

declare, allege 30

a sheep to pump up – (informal ) increase 9 main – primary, principal 8

Stage Whispers ❯❯

whisper: murmur. Say in a quiet voice so that only the intended12 person or

people can hear you: e.g. “Don’t tell anyone I told you”, she whispered. In the theatre it is sometimes important to seem to be saying something privately but at the same time the audience has to hear what you are saying. In

this situation actors use a type of loud whisper known as a ‘stage whisper’. People in general use a similar voice to suggest that they are trying not to

Screaming

PHOTO BY NINA ALDIN THUNE

to beg – (in this context ) implore chance  – opportunity 7 to bleat – (literally ) make a pathetic sound like

1

4

PHOTO BY ISABEL RODRIGUEZ

e.g. “There’s no hot water and the TV doesn’t work”, she complained.

information: e.g. “You haven’t said much”, he remarked. ❯❯ claim: assert 3, contend 4, allege. Here

plead: beg 5:

to bellow – (literally ) make a loud sound like a bull; (in this context ) roar, shout, bawl, thunder, boom 11 bear – 12 intended – desired 10

THINK IN ENGLISH

ISSUE 147

COUNTABLE NOUNS  In most cases the noun corresponding to these verbs has exactly the same

form. In other words: bawl, bellow10, bleat7, cackle, chortle, chuckle, claim, comment, croak, giggle, guffaw, holler, laugh, roar, mention, moan, mumble, mutter, protest 27, remark, scoff, shriek, sneer, snigger,

snicker, titter, whisper, yell - are all countable nouns, too.

Cackling PHOTO BY LEONARDO L. CARRESI

Whispering

disturb others while also projecting their

Typically children snigger/snicker.

voices:

❯❯

e.g. “What time does the library close?” he said in a stage whisper that was audible throughout 13 the reading room. ❯❯ mutter: mumble. Here the emphasis

sarcastically: e.g. “You don’t believe in that superstitious nonsense 23 , do you?” he scoffed.

a dry throat : 16

We have a number of verbs that are more nuanced24 than ‘laugh’. Notice that most of these words are used primar-

ily to describe the laughter and not the words that accompany it.

Literally, frogs  croak.

e.g. “I’ll never forget the look on my boss’s face when I told him!”  he chuckled.

❯❯

sneer :

say

something

with

contempt  in your voice:

e.g. “You’re not wearing that dress to the  party, are you?” she sneered.

Typically, cynics sneer. ❯❯

snigger (UK English), snicker (US English): say something laughing disrespectfully at someone else’s

misfortune: e.g. “Look, he dropped 20 his lunch tray 21!” he sniggered. throughout  – in every part of 14 to rasp – say hoarsely 15, say with a dry throat 15 hoarsely – with a harsh/croak13

ing voice, huskily, raspingly throat – oesophagus, windpipe, trachea 17 frog – 18 vibes – (literally ) vibrations, (informal ) feeling 19 contempt – disdain, scorn, ridicule 20 to drop sth. – let sth. fall ( in this context ) accidentally 16

ISSUE 147

THINK IN ENGLISH

chuckle: laugh softly, usually to

oneself:

❯❯

19

allege announce

allegation announcement assertion complaint contention declaration plea statement

assert3

complain declare plead state

Laugh Your Head Off

❯❯

Negative Vibes18

NOUN

contend4

e.g. “Could I have something to drink,  please?” he croaked. 17

VERB

Typically, cynics scoff.

is on the fact that what is said is not clearly audible: e.g. “I’m sorry I ate your biscuit”, he mumbled. ❯❯ croak : rasp14, say hoarsely 15. The important thing here is that you have

scoff : say something while22 laughing

e.g. Did you hear that yell? I think somebody is in trouble. e.g. That remark was completely out of  place. I think you should apologize. Notice, however, these different forms:

chortle : chuckle gleefully 25:

e.g. “That’s a great joke!” he chortled. Typically, pompous people chortle.

What’s more, notice that ‘beg 5’ and ‘rasp14’ don’t have a corresponding

countable noun.

UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS  Finally, you should be aware that more of these words are more frequently used as uncountable nouns ending

-ing:

in a nervous, foolish or childish way: e.g. “Look, a man in a skirt!” he giggled. Typically, children giggle.

bawling, begging, bellowing, bleating, cackling, chortling, chuckling, complaining, croaking, giggling, guffawing, hollering, roaring, moaning, mumbling, muttering, pleading,

cackle: laugh loudly and in a cacoph-

scoffing, shrieking, sneering, snigger-

onous way, guffaw :

ing, snickering, tittering, whispering,

❯❯

❯❯

giggle: titter, snigger, snicker. Laugh

26

e.g. “Did you hear that joke?” the old lady cackled.

Literally, chickens cackle. tray – 22 while – (in this context ) at 21

the same time as 23 nonsense – rubbish, claptrap, ridiculous ideas 24 nuanced  – subtly differentiated 25 gleefully  – exuberantly, triumphantly 26 to guffaw – laugh loudly/heartily, roar with laughter 27

notice that in this case the stress changes: ‘proTEST’ (v.) – ‘PROtest’ (n.)

yelling e.g. I’m sick of your complaining (or any

of the other -ing forms).  The uncountable noun of ‘laugh’ is

‘laughter’.

■

RELATED RESOURCES Y

Track 6

Do certain nationalities talk i n specific ways? Which would you associate with the different ‘speaking’ words? Do you tend to chuckle, chortle, snigger , cackle or giggle – or does i t depend on the situation?

31

LANGUAGE |

PRONUNCIATION

Can Phonics be Used for EFL?

O

ver the past decade or so there

spelling and pronunciation is, shall we

has been something of a revolution in the way reading is taught

say, indirect.

to children in Britain. In the world of UK primary-school teaching the ‘synthetic

phonics1’ has become a battle cry2. For many decades there has been a raging3

debate between those who believe that children should recognize whole words and those who believe that children should be encouraged 4 to decode 5

words by spelling them out. In phonetic

With Government support8 phonics now has the ascendancy 9  in British schools. In other words British children are encouraged4 to decode 5 words into smaller parts to try to work out10 their pronunciation. Surprisingly, this is even done with made-up11 words like ‘clursty’ to ensure that the children are using their phonic decoding skills12 rather than13  recognizing words they already

languages like Spanish, Italian or German this is a no-brainer6  because broadly speaking7 “d-o-g spells dog”. However, as

know. Most phonic systems also include

you might have noticed, for most words

unit. As I listened to teachers explaining

in English the relationship between

the concept of phonics on BBC Radio

‘sight words14’, which resist decoding and should be recognized as a single

Kite

PHOTO BY BRIDGET FRANKLIN

4’s Women’s Hour I thought to myself, “What are the implications of all of this

for TEFL15? A search on the Internet found little. Only Tom Way, who teaches English in Indonesia, seems to have written anything (as he says, “I can’t find any really reputabl e articles on [phonics for TEFL]”). Mr Way is pretty16 negative about phonics for TEFL. One reason he states17 is that “learners don’t have as  large18 a bank 19

of oral language as native speakers do”. However, there are two reasons why this argument is flawed20. First, phonics starts

being taught in Britain to four-year-olds; not a group usually acknowledged as having a large18 bank 19 of oral language”. Secondly and more importantly, as we’ve

already mentioned, phonics is taught to native-language primary school learners partly through made-up11 words. If that’s Queue-cue

PHOTO BY MARINA CARRESI 1

synthetic phonics – the teaching of combina-

tions of letters and how they relate to s ounds 2 battle cry – slogan, watchword, mantra 3 raging – intense 4 to encourage – stimulate, prompt, urge 5 to decode – decipher, decrypt 6 no-brainer  – sth. that is obvious and requires no mental effort 32

broadly speaking – in general, more or less support – backing, approval 9 to have the ascendancy (have-had-had) – be

the case then no bank or oral language is necessary.

7

14

8

15

dominant, be hegemonic 10 to work out – determine 11 made-up – invented 12 skills  – abilities, talents 13 rather than – instead of, as opposed to

16

see the box “What are ‘Sight Words’?” TEFL – teaching English as a foreign

language

pretty (adv.) – rather, surprisingly 17 to state – say, give 18 large  – ( false friend ) big 19 bank – (in this context ) reserve 20 flawed  – defective, spurious THINK IN ENGLISH

ISSUE 147

PHOTO BY MARINA CARRESI

Pear-pair PHOTO BY MARINA CARRESI

What is a ‘Sight Word’?   The pronunciation of most English words can be guessed 21  from the spelling, it’s just a question of knowing

the rules of phonics. However, certain words cannot be worked out

10

by

analogy; they don’t follow any phonic rule. In other words their pronunciation is only indirectly related to their spelling and you have to learn the

whole word as a unit. For instance , ‘none’ should be pronounced /noun/ 22

r like ‘known’; ‘where’ /weə / and ‘were’ r  /w3:  / should be hom ophones of

‘weir23’ /wiər/;24 ‘are’ /a:r/ should be a 25

homophone of ‘air’, rather than of

‘ah’. Other sight words include ‘ build’, ‘does’, ‘doubt’, ‘ghost ’ and ‘women’.

Phonics for Foreign Learners So, what would a TEFL phonics course involve? Well, the first move would be to identify a list of ‘sight words 14’. The core vocabulary on such a list would to guess – determine for instance – for example 23 weir – a low wall built across a river to control

probably be less than 100 words.

Now one of the fortunate things about many ‘sight words’ is that they have homophones. It really

Quay-key

Over 75% of English words follow phonic rules relating to clusters60 of letters.

doesn’t matter if these are rare26 or arcane27. By associating the ‘sight words’ to their homophones we can help to fix the pronunciation. Here are a few

Although the sight words should be taught separately, they certainly shouldn’t be avoided 55. Rather56 they should be

examples:

brought up57 regularly. The best way to 28

29

30

bear-bare , break-brake , choir quire 31, climb-clime 32 , colonelkernel33, coup 34 -coo 35, done-dun 36, gaol 37-jail, great-grate38 , heir39 -air, iron-ion, isle-I’ll, know-no, mayor40 mare41, none-nun42, one-won, pearpair, people-peepul 43 , quay44 -key, queue45 -cue 46 , rough-ruff 47, shoeshoo 48 , son-sun, steak-stake49, sureshore 50, sword-sawed51, talk-torque 52, through-threw, yolk 53-yoke54, werewhir, and where-wear. Of course, other sight words such as ‘does’, ‘loose’, ‘said’ and ‘what’ just have to be learned but

there aren’t that many of them. gaol (UK English) – jail (US English) small prison to grate – shred, fragment, pulverize 39 heir – s.o. who inherits 40 mayor – municipal leader 41 mare – female horse 42 nun – religious woman who lives in a convent 43 peepul (or pipal) – (Ficus religosa) an Indian

reinforce them is for the EFL student to hear them first each time, then to see them preferably on a flash card58 with an illustration 59  and, where one exists,

the corresponding homophone.

Decoding  In the past British primary-school teachers expected children to pick up 61 the rules of English pronunciation intuitively.  This policy62 resulted in many children

feeling frustrated so that they ended up “hating reading”. One of the advantages of phonics is that it explicitly teaches the pronunciation of clusters of letters

through detective work. to saw (saw-sawed-sawn) – torque – 53 yolk  – the yellow part of an egg 54 yoke – 55 to avoid – (in this context ) ignore 56 rather – by contrast 57 to bring up (bring-broughtbrought) – (in this context )

21

37

51

22

38

52

the flow of water 24

in fact, ‘where’ is a homophone of ‘wear’, and ‘were’ is a homophone of ‘whir’ 25 rather than – as opposed to 26 rare – uncommon 27 arcane – obscure, recondite 28 bare – naked, undressed 29 brake – mechanism for stopping a vehicle 30 choir – group of (religious) singers 31 quire – (technical ) a 24-page section of a book 32 clime – region characterized by a specific climate 33 kernel – core, essence 34 coup (d’état) – putsch, military takeover 35 to coo – murmur (like a pigeon) 36 dun – greyish-brown

ISSUE 147

THINK IN ENGLISH

tree (which is sacred to Buddhists) 44

quay – dock, wharf, part of a

port where merchandise can be unloaded 45 queue (UK English) – line of people waiting 46 cue – signal to start 47 ruff  – 48 to shoo – frighten away, chase off 49 stake – 50 shore – coast(line)

mention 58

flash card – card with a clear

word or picture on it used in teaching 59

there are a lot of free flash cards to download from the internet and print out 60 cluster – group 61 to pick up – acquire, learn 62 policy – (in this context ) strategy

33

❯❯

LANGUAGE |

PRONUNCIATION

It is counterintuitive that ‘right’ is a homophone of ‘write’ and ‘rite’. However,

imagine we present an EFL learner with the following three lists: 1. blight63, bright, fight, flight, fright64,

knight 65, light, might, night, plight 66 , right, sight, slight, tight 67 2. wrap68, wreak 69, wreck 70, wrist71, write,

wrong, wry72 3. bite, kite, mite73, rite, site, trite74, white He or she would be able to work out10 on

PHOTO BY MARIO HERRERA

Mare-mayor

their own75 that 1. -ight is pronounced /ait/ in English, 2. w- is silent when a word begins wr-,

and 3. -ite is pronounced /ait/ A native teacher should be able to set up76 that type of exercise on the hoof 77 in the moment that an EFL student mispro- PHOTO BY RAUL PUY Shore-sure nounces a word. Even if the teacher is severe, sincere, sphere. a non-native and feels insecure about 78 producing these sorts of lists ad hoc ,  Then, ‘where’, ‘there’ and ‘were’ can be he or she should be able to prepare them introduced as sight words.

with relative ease for the next class. Once students are trained to deduce in this way, the teacher can begin to introduce exceptions, which should be treated as

sight words14. So, for instance79, if the list: 4.  appear, clear, dear, ear, fear, hear,

gear80, near, rear81, smear82, spear83, tear84 , year produces the rule: -ear is pronounced r  /iə /, afterwards bear-bare, tear85-tare86 and wear-where can be introduced as

Te Advantages of Phonics for EFL15 EFL learners face 87 a number of interrelated problems. First, the relationship between spelling and pronunciation can seem bewildering 88. At the same time teaching pronunciation as such can seem very abstract. Indeed, if the student feels, “OK, you’ve got me to say it correctly now but how am I going to retain the pronun-

ciation of one specific word when I need to know hundreds if not thousands?” The application of the sort of phonic

Similarly, students should be able to r deduce that -ere is pronounced /i ə / from

system we have described should kill two

the list:

ers are arriving at rules for themselves, so they are finding order in the apparent chaos. Secondly, by developing an

blight  – infestation, affliction fright  – scare, shock  65 knight – 66 plight  – predicament, difficult

74

64

75

situation

been destroyed wrist – articulation where one’s

hand meets one’s arm wry /rai/ – ironic, sardonic 73 mite – 72

34

trite – banal, clichéd, predictable on their own – by themselves, alone, without

help to set up (set-set-set) – create 77 on the hoof  – spontaneously, in an impro76

vised way

67

71

ad hoc78 exercise on the basis of a word that the student has mispronounced, the pronunciation exercise becomes relevant But what is even more important in this sense is that the system mimics91 how native English speakers actually92 store vocabulary in their brains. Steven Pinker has demonstrated in Words and Rules that we store some words, usually

the most common ones as ‘sight words’, while the majority are left to be interpreted according to the rules that we have picked up 93 intuitively. However, EFL learners don’t have to learn the

rules intuitively; they can accelerate the process through phonics. ■ RELATED RESOURCES

birds with one stone 89. First, the learn-

63

tight – secure, taut, restricting 68 to wrap – cover, swathe, sheathe 69 to wreak  – inflict, cause 70 wreck  – derelict vehicle, ship/car that has

Nun-none

and therefore 90 of interest.

sight words, to be learned together with their homophones.

5. adhere, atmosphere, austere, here, interfere, mere, persevere, revere,

PHOTO BY MARINA CARRESI

ad hoc – for a specific purpose/situation 79 for instance – for example 80 gear – equipment and clothing for 78

a specific job rear (adj.) – posterior 82 smear – streak, smudge, blotch, dirty mark; false accusation 83 spear – 81

I

Do you think phonics could be useful for Tefl? Is there any way that you could  generate your own rule s? 

tear – drop of salty water that falls from one’s eye when one cries 85 to tear (tear-torn-torn) – break (e.g. paper) 86 tare – (Vicia hirsuta) a plant of Eurasia and North Africa 87 to face – be confronted by 88 bewildering – perplexing, impenetrable and frustrating 89 to kill two birds with one stone – solve two problems with a single action 90 therefore – for that reason 91 to mimic – imitate, copy 92 actually – (false friend ) really, in fact 93 to pick up – acquire, learn 84

THINK IN ENGLISH

ISSUE 147

LANGUAGE |

IDIOMS

he Lie of the Land Here’s a selection of expressions that refer to landscape and terrain. ❯❯

a blot on the landscape

= an eyesore1, sth. ugly that spoils 2 the appearance of a place: e.g. That power station is a real blot on the landscape. Who would ever think of putting a power plant in such a beautiful valley ? ❯❯

the cultural landscape

As old as the hills.

to get the lie of the land   [get-got-got] ❯❯ to see how/the way the land lies  [see-saw-seen] ❯❯

= try to discover what the situation really is before taking a

= the cultural panorama: 3

e.g. The cultural landscape is pretty   desolate in times of recession. A related idea is ‘a cultural desert’, which describes a place in which little or no intellectually stimulating entertainment

is on offer. ❯❯

PHOTO BY MARINA CARRESI

that’s how/the way the land lies

decision: e.g. I haven’t decided yet. I need to see how the land lies . ❯❯

as old/ancient as the hills 5

= very old. Since the Bible hills have been alluded to in metaphors referring to permanence: e.g. This computer is as old as the hills. We need to get a new one .

= that’s the current situation: e.g. I’m sorry if I haven’t been very encouraging 4 but that’s the way the land lies .

❯❯

to be over the hill

= be past one’s best, be on the decline: e.g. In a sport like that you’re over the hill at 30 . You can’t see the wood for the trees (UK English) ❯❯ You can’t see the forest for the trees  (US English) ❯❯

= you are so focused on details that you fail to see the big

picture6: e.g. How can you plan the long-term strategy if you are running7 the company on a day-to-day basis? You can’t see the wood for the trees . ❯❯

we’re not out of the woods yet

= still haven’t escaped from danger/ difficulties: e.g. There are some tentative signs that the economy is bottoming out 8 but we’re not out of the woods yet . ❯❯

to get bogged down [get-got-got]

= have difficulty progressing. A bog is an area of land with heavy PHOTO BY MARINA CARRESI

You can’t see the wood/forest for the trees.

eyesore – ugly sight to spoil – ruin, blemish 3 pretty (adv.) – rather, somewhat, 1 2

reasonably 4

encouraging – stimulating,

5

hill  – small mountain, elevated

6

the big picture – the situation

enthusiastic terrain

ISSUE 147

THINK IN ENGLISH

considered as a whole from an objective perspective 7 to run sth. (run-ran-run) – manage sth. 8 to bottom out – stop declining and stabilize 9 soil – earth, loam, sod, turf, terrain 10 overall  – general

wet soil9 on which it is difficult to walk: e.g. Don’t get bogged down in the details. It’s the overall 10 idea ■ that’s important . RELATED RESOURCES

Z

Think up situations in which you could use each of these expressions. Write them down and try to use them.

35

LANGUAGE |

COMMON MISTAKES

he Position of Adverbs  The fundamental rule about adverbs and

word order is:

Don’t put the adverb between the verb and its object if they appear together.

e.g. They are carefully  checking the records. e.g. The number of bacterial species has yet to be4 adequately   calculated . e.g. Have they correctly   interpreted the situation? e.g. She was slowly  stirring 5 her coffee. Nevertheless, in all these cases the adverb

Adverbs of manner1 come after the verb: could also go at the end of the sentence. e.g. The choir 2 sang beautifully . or after the object (if there is one):  Adjective-Noun Equivalents e.g. The choir sang the aria beautifully . So, which is better: the adverb within 6 e.g. He wrote his essay carefully . the verbal structure or at the end? This It would be wrong to put the adverb

is often a question of taste but, accord-

between the verb and the object: e.g. The choir sang beautifully the aria . e.g. He wrote carefully his essay .

ing to one view, if the adverb + the verb

However, if there is a preposition between

the verb and the object, the adverb can

naturally suggest an adjective and a noun

they should be next to each other: e.g. The reconstruction process has virtually  been completed . - implies ‘virtual completion’.

PHOTO BY LEONARDO L. CARRESI PROVIDED BY CEDEM

infinitive (‘to gradually sell’) but there

is nowhere else to put the adverb while retaining the meaning. e.g. I gradually  decided to sell... orI decided gradually to sell... both means that the decision was gradual. e.g. ...to sell gradually  all the books... sounds unnatural because we are putting the adverb between the verb and its

object13. e.g. ...to sell all the books gradually  I had collected . sounds even worse. Finally,

go between the verb and the preposition: e.g. He depended totally on his daughter . (or He depended on his daughter totally .)

e.g. The boss said he was seriously  considering my proposal 7.

- implies ‘serious consideration’.

e.g. ...all the books I had collected gradually .

Complex Verb Forms

Te Split Infinitive

suggests that the books were gradually

When the verb consists of two or more pieces (i.e. auxiliary verb(s) + main 3 verb) we can put an adverb after the first

In the past people made a big deal

collected (and they probably were but that’s a different idea from the original

element: P  H   O T   O  B  Y  K  A  R  I    N  E  K   O E  H  L  E  R 

about  not putting the adverb between 8

‘to’ and the verb (e.g. “to boldly9 go”.  This ‘crime10’ was called ‘splitting11 the infinitive’. The reason why a split infini-

tive was considered wrong was that you can’t split the infinitive in Latin (because the Latin infinitives are single words). This

is a ridiculous argument since  the two 12

languages are significantly different in all sorts of ways. Moreover, not splitting the infinitive often results in sentences which

are less natural or less clear. He likes animals very much.

e.g. I decided to gradually  sell all the books I had collected . Some people may object to the split help the sugar to dissolve

1

nearly all ‘typical’ adverbs ending -ly are adverbs of manner. 2 choir /kwaiər/ – group of singers (usually in a

6

main – principal, primary 4 has yet to be – still has not been 5 to stir – move a spoon around in a hot drink to

9

religious context)

within – inside 7 proposal – plan, suggestion 8 to make a big deal of  (make-made-made) –

agonize about

3

36

boldly – courageously, valiantly 10 crime – (sarcastic ) mistake

sentence).

Have To, Need To, Ought To, Used o With these verbs the most natural place for an adverb is before ‘have to’, ‘ought to’ and ‘used to’ (never between the verb

and ‘to’): e.g. I definitely   have to remind him to lock 14 the door . e.g. You really   ought to tell me things like that when they happen . e.g. I never  used to get hay fever 15. to split (split-split-split) – break, divide since – (in this context ) given that, as 13 and so breaking the rule introduced at the beginning of the article 14 to lock sth. – securely close sth. using a key 11 12

or a bolt

15

hay fever – allergy to pollen THINK IN ENGLISH

ISSUE 147

P  H   O T   O  B  Y  L  E   O N  A  R   D   O L   . C  A  R  R  E   S  I    P  R   O V  I     D  E   D   B  Y   C  E   D  E  M

They carefully planned the hike.

‘Well’ and ‘Very Much’

The member s of the armed militia have never been identified .

‘last night’ usually come at the end of the 16

A common problem for EFL   learners arises17 with ‘well’. Some European languages tend to use a word order

equivalent to: e.g. You speak well English.

sentence (though they can come at the beginning for emphasis): e.g. I’ve got a lot of work today . (or Today I’ve got a lot of work .)

CONCLUDING REMARKS  The information given here is just a starting-point. There are many more irritating little rules for specific adverbs, which you just21 have to pick up22 by reading, listening to and using English. However, most of the time the incorrect positioning of an adverb may sound ‘foreign23’ but it shouldn’t stop

e.g. She wrote well French but she spoke it badly .

 Adverbs of Indefinite ime

This word order is wrong in English. The adverb ‘well’ comes after the object: e.g. You speak English well . e.g. She wrote French well . The same is true of ‘very much’ e.g. She likes very much animals . e.g. He likes animals very much.

‘rarely’ come before the main3 verb: e.g. Mary-Anne always  arrives late to rehearsals19. e.g. He has occasionally  seen bears20 in those mountains. e.g. Those Minoan texts have never   been deciphered . However, adverbs come after the verb

you being understood.

 Adverbs of Definite ime

‘be’:

Adverbs like ‘yesterday’, ‘tomorrow’ or

e.g. Mary-Anne is always late for rehearsals.

ently all Australians – are incapable of following this rule. ■

EFL – English as a foreign language to arise (arise-arose-arisen) – appear, emerge 18 seldom – rarely, only occasionally 19 rehearsal – practice session (for

Adverbs like ‘often’, ‘never’, ‘seldom18’ and

 just – (in this context ) simply to pick up – (in this context ) acquire, absorb 23 foreign – (in this context ) unnatural 24 for instance – for example 25 once – in the past

16

21

17

22

20

musicians or actors) bear –

Moreover, there is some evidence that the rules are becoming more

relaxed. For instance 24, once25 it was necessary to put ‘also’ with the verb in the middle of the sentence. Now many young native speakers – and appar-

RELATED RESOURCES

C

Life is too short to worry about word order so long as native speakers understand me – do you agree?

We’re waiting to hear from you! Join other Thinkers around the world in our community. PHOTO BY SARA L. CARRESI

ISSUE 147

THINK IN ENGLISH

Relevant videos, articles, images and a chat group on the topics in the magazine. 37

LANGUAGE |

WORD BUILDING

 Am I My Brother’s -Keeper?

    I     S     E     R     R     A     C     A     N     I     R     A     M     Y     B     O     T     O     H     P

‘Keep’ has been around in English for over a thousand years and is related to the Anglo-Saxon verb cepan-cepte. Over the centuries it has meant

‘hold’, ‘watch’, ‘take care of’ and ‘preserve’ among other things. ‘A keep’ was the donjon1 of a castle, while a ‘keepsake’ is a souvenir kept for the

sake of 2 remembering the giver. However, our interest in this article is

the agent noun ‘keeper’ and compound nouns formed from it. He’s a Keeper  ‘Keeper’ on its own is used in a number of ways. If someone says “He’s a keeper” or “She’s a keeper” this often means that

UN peacekeepers

donjon – central citadel for the sake of  – for the purpose of 3 is worth keeping – should be

Sporting -keepers As regards10 compound nouns ending in -keeper, goalkeeper is probably

the person is worth keeping3. In other words if a mother says to her adult daughter, “John’s a keeper” this means “John is worth marrying”, “You should marry John”. However, in the context of football,

the word you are most likely to11 come

‘keeper’ is just4 a more colloquial way of saying ‘goalkeeper 5’. It’s slightly6 more formal than ‘goalie’:

to protect the goal to stop points being

e.g.  John’s been our keeper for two years now . Meanwhile7, the expression, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” is a way of disclaiming8 responsibility for someone you are closely associated with. It comes from the Bible (Genesis, IV, 9) and was Cain’s answer to

PHOTO BY SPIKE CALL

It must be lonely being a lighthouse-keeper.

across12. However, the world of sport also offers us wicketkeeper  in cricket. The roles of these two players are in fact radically different. The goalkeeper is there scored, while the wicketkeeper tries to catch the ball and, if the batsman13 is not in the crease14, knock over15 the wicket16

to eliminate him.

 Animal -keepers In the context of animals -keepers are custodians who care for the animal in

question. A beekeeper is someone who

God, when he was asked where Abel was. Finally, the expression ‘finders-keepers’ is a way of claiming9 that if you have found something which didn’t have an obvious

looks after bees in their hives17 in order to

owner, it is yours because you found it first.

in a zoo, such as a lion keeper. However,

meanwhile  – at the same time to disclaim – deny, refuse to accept, reject 9 to claim – declare, say 10 as regards – in relation to, in terms of 11 to be most likely to – have the greatest prob-

collect honey. A zookeeper is someone who takes care of zoo animals. Sometimes we have more specialist -keepers

1

7

13

2

8

14

retained 4  just – (in this context ) only, simply 5 goalkeeper – 6 slightly – marginally, a little 38

ability of (+ -ing) 12

to come across (come-came-come) – encoun-

ter

batsman – crease – (in cricket ) the

designated area around the wicket16 15 to knock over – topple, demolish 16 wicket – 17 (bee)hive – THINK IN ENGLISH

ISSUE 147

paradoxically a crowkeeper is not someone who looks after crows18 but someone

employed to scare them away19.

Custodians of Buildings Compound nouns ending -keeper often refer to a person who is the custodian of a building. So, for example a light-

house20 -keeper lives in and maintains a lighthouse 20, while a housekeeper looks

after the general running21 of a home.

-keeper = Manager  In the context of places that sell goods22 and services a -keeper is often simply a

manager. For instance, a shopkeeper is someone who manages23 a shop (British English), while a storekeeper manages a store (US English). Likewise24 , an innkeeper is somebody who manages23 an inn25. US English also has barkeeper as

PHOTO BY MARINA CARRESI

Park keepers or groundskeepers/groundkeepers

an alternative to ‘barman’ or ‘bartender’.

Open-air -keepers Not all -keepers work indoors26, though. A gamekeeper is someone who manages and takes care of animals which are going to be hunted27 (on a game reserve). Similarly, a park keeper looks after the plants and animals in a park. A more general

LAST BUT NOT LEAST 

term is groundskeeper /groundkeeper: someone who takes care of a tract28 of land, sports fields or a park. Following this model, a greenkeeper in somebody who

Finally, you should know several other

kinds of -keepers. ❯❯ A bookkeeper  is an accountant33,

cares for a golf course. Such a person is a greenskeeper  in US English.

someone who looks after a compa-

ny’s account books.

Sometimes -keepers are the people who

A peacekeeper keeps the peace between two conflicting groups. Peacekeepers are often soldiers

control access to a building or person. A

employed by the United Nations.

❯❯

Controlling Access

doorkeeper, for instance29, is the person

❯❯

who guards the access to a building and decides who can enter and who can’t. A gatekeeper has a similar job, except that he or she controls access into an open-air

area by guarding the gate30. Metaphori-

On the other hand, a timekeeper is someone who officially records34 how long something takes. However, if we describe someone as a ‘good/bad timekeeper’ this simply means that he or she is

punctual or unpunctual.

cally, a gatekeeper is also somebody who controls access to an important person by filtering telephone calls and only permitting access to the VIP’s office if the visitor

e.g. Diane is an excellent timekeeper. Everyday she’s there sitting at her desk when I arrive at 9.00 each morning .

has an appointment 31.

PHOTO BY MARINA CARRESI

A zookeeper

Indirectly related is the term lockkeeper. This is someone that lives near a lock 32 in a canal and who opens and

RELATED RESOURCES L

Which of these jobs or activities most appeal to you? Which least? 

closes it when required for canal boats. crow – (Corvus corone) 19 to scare sth. away – frighten 18

sth. off, chase sth. away 20 lighthouse  – 21 running  – management ISSUE 147

THINK IN ENGLISH

goods – products to manage sth. – run sth., be in charge of 24 likewise  – in a similar way 25 inn – tavern (usually with several bedrooms) 26 indoors – inside buildings 27 to hunt – kill for sport 28 tract – area, expanse 29 for instance – for example 22

30

23

31

gate – appointment – pre-arranged

meeting lock  – type of valve in a canal that permits the level of water to change 33 accountant – s.o. who writes down and supervises the expenditure and income of a company 34 to record – (in this context ) register, write down 32

39

LANGUAGE |

TRANSLATION

Error Detectives Can you improve the English on these ? labels1

1. “IGIENE & PRIVACY2

Clear Cat ” 3

- sticker 4 on the side of a cat-litter tray 5.

P  H   O T   O  B  Y  M A  R  I    N  A   C  A  R  R  E   S  I   

3. Suggested Preparation - Defrost11 the arepa12 into13 the microwave over14 45 seconds. - To warm up15 the grill, frying pan16 of teflon17 or irons18

to fire higher toasting 19 furnace20 to 230ºC/450ºF. - Grill according to taste - on a packet of frozen corn arepas filled with cheese from Colombia

P  H   O T   O  B  Y  F  A   B  I     O L  A  V  I    E  Y  R  A 

2. CONGRATULATIONS

You have choosen the original 2 maschera del galeone® A real Venice 6 hand made product.7 Artists have realized 8 and decorated it in full respect of 9 artisan traditions and original designs developed in Venice together with 10 “COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE” during the late 17 th Century. - label on a carnival mask .

   e   t  s  a   t   o   t   g    n  i   d   r   o   c  c  a l l i  r   G      F  .   º   0    5    4   /   C   º   0    3    2  t  a   n    e    v    o    e    h   t   n  i  r   o    e     m   a    fl    h    g  i   h  a  r   e    v    o   2   2   n    a    p   e   l   d    d   i  r   g  a  r   o   6  1   n    a    p   g    n   i   y   r  f   n    o    fl    e    T  a   n  i , l l i  r   g   e    h   t  r   e    d    n    u  t  a    e    H    .  s    d    n    o   c    e   s   5    4  r   o   f   e    v  a     w    o   r  c i    m    e    h   t   n   i  )   e    k  a  c   e   z i  a     m   (   a    h   t  1  1  t  s   o   r  f   e     D   .   3    p    e   r   a   e  .   y   r   u   t   n    e    C   h  t   7   1   e   t  a l   e    h   t  1   2   n   i    e    h   t  r   o   f   e   c i   n    e    V   n  i   d    e    p    o  l   e    v    e    d  s    n    g  i  s    e    d l  a    n  i   g  i  r   o   d    n   a  s    n    o  i  t i   d   a   r  t    e   t  r   A   ’  l  l   e     D    a   i   d    e      m      m    o     C    n   a   s i  t  r  a   g    n   i  t    c    e    p   s    e   r  t i   d    e   t  a   r   o   c    e    d   d    n   a   d    e   t  f   a   r    c   e    v  a    h  s   t  s i  t  r   A .  t  c    u    d    o   r   p    e    d   a     m   -   d    n   a    h    n    e    V  c i  t   n    e    h   t   u   a   n    A  ®    e    n    o    e  l  a    g l   e    d  a   r    e    h   c   s  a     m  l  a    n  i   g  i  r   o   n   a   n    e   s   o    h   c   e    v  a    h   u    o    Y  .   2    n    a   i  t    e   t  a    C   n   a    e  l   C :   y  c  a    v i  r   P   &    e    n    e  i   g    y     H   .  1

RELATED RESOURCES

1

1

“Most people ignore the writing on a packet,  so it isn’t very im portant.” “The quali ty of the language on a package reflects the quality of the product.” Which of these  statement s do you agree with.

label – tag, piece of paper or plastic attached

to a product that offers information about the product 2 misspelling: one of the words is misspelt 3 wrong word: ‘clear’ can imply that something is ‘intelligible’, ‘obvious’ or ‘transparent’. None of these meanings seems relevant to the context. They probably intended to use a similar word – which? 4 sticker – adhesive label1 5 cat-litter tray – container for the absorbent granular material in which domestic cats urinate and defecate 6 wrong form: we need the adjectival form of ‘Venice’ 40

   S     T     N     E      M     E     V     O     R     P      M   I    D     E     T    S     E     G     G     U    S

punctuation: this phrase could be better punctuated 8 wrong word: ‘to realize’ means ‘to become conscious’. We need a different verb. 9 unnatural expression: native speakers would never write “in full respect of” 10 wrong word: ‘together with’ makes little sense here 11 to defrost – thaw, increase the temperature of food to > 0ºC 12 non-translation: somewhere on the package it should explain what an arepa is 13 wrong preposition: ‘into’ implies movement. 14 wrong preposition: ‘over’ with time means ‘more than’ 7

wrong tense: use the imperative for instructions 16 frying pan – 17 unnatural word order 18 wrong word 19 meaningless phrase 20 wrong word: we don’t talk about a ‘furnace’ in a kitchen 21 ‘during’ is not wrong; we would say ‘during the 17th Century’. However, by making the time period more specific – ‘the late 17 th Century’ – ‘in’ sounds a little more natural. 22 griddle pan – type of round metal plate used like a frying pan16 but with little or no oil 15

THINK IN ENGLISH

ISSUE 147

 Test how well you have retained the vocabulary from this issue of THINK by doing the following crossword: If you find the crossword difficult, do the easy clues (in red) first. This will make the rest of the words much easier to find.

Crossword  1

2

11

00

00

16

23

3

00

12

17

18

4

5

6

00

00

00

00

19

13

7

14

20

8

31

32

00

37

26

43

50

51

00

56

57

58

63

64

00

72

00

80

81

00

86

00

00

00

33

00

34

00

38

00

00

44

45

52

59

00

65

00

00

67

73

74

82

28

00

40

46

53

00

00

39

27

00

21

22

00

00

00

29

30

00

35

36

00

41

00

47

48

00

54

55

68

00

00

75

76

83

00

84

69

25

42

49

60

00

10

15

24

00

9

66

00

00

61

62

00

00

00

00

70

71

77

78

79

00

85

ACROSS

1. precision, exactness 3. lively, dynamic; risqué, sexy 7. fragment, bit; fight. Anagram of ‘carps’ 8. excrement; nonsense 9. knock (n.); reprimand; type of music 12. on one occasion; in the past. Anagram of ‘cone’ 13. pain. Anagram of ‘each’ 16. groan, complain 18. indefinite article 19. breed of dog. A region of Canada 22. conjunction. Homophone of 12 DOWN 23. matchless, superlative 26. same as 22 ACROSS 27. Radar and Electronics Association (initialism) 29. cinerary particles, type of tree 31. monopolies (n.); relies on 32. oxidizes 34. therefore. Homophone of ‘sew’ 35. expanse of salt water. Homophone of ‘C’ 37. same as 18 ACROSS 39. Royal Town Planning Institute (initialism ) 40. 3.1415927 41. health farms with curative waters. Anagram of ‘pass’ 42. since; arsenic (chemical abbreviation) 43. conjunction 44. electronic correspondence 45. post 47. yellowish-brown (UK spelling) 50. exists 52. mystery, conundrum 54. constricting snake 56. day of the month; romantic rendezvous, fruit 57. consumed food 59. adviser, consultant; therapist 61. same as 26 ACROSS 63. cicatrix 64. automobile 65. regulation; govern 66. dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (abbreviation) 67. operational taxonomic unit (initialism) 69. hello 70. (I) exist – in the morning? 73. condiment 75. (Lathyrus odoratus) a fragrant climbing plant; term of

87

DOWN

1. sum, quantity 2. amalgam, composite, building

complex

28. same as 70 ACROSS 29. tarmac 30. scorch, scald. Anagram of

‘arse’

3. bellow. Homophone of ‘raw’ 4. chronicles 5. cubic centimetres ( initialism) 6. shriek, bawl 7. shriek, bawl 8. North African country 9. colour 10. buy 11. hill; horse 12. paddle 13. competent. Homophone and

32 . pillage, plunder 33. at that time; next 34 . impetus, incentive 36. auricular protrusion 38 . female chicken 39. French stew 40. aircraft. Homophone of ‘plain’ 41. reprimand 43. a viral disease ( initialism);

anagram of ‘Abel’ 14. dairy product; lotion 15. possessed; obtained 17. paddles. Homophone of ‘ores’ 20. fixed-wing aircraft (UK English)

45. germs, bugs 46 . minor street, path 47. compliant, acquiescent 48 . chilly, unfriendly 49. stop 51. bag (n.); dismiss (v.) 52 . ghostly, creepy 53. inflammation of one’s joints

21. advertisement (abbreviation) 24. British monetary unit 25. pursue, hunt

ISSUE 147

THINK IN ENGLISH

helps

caused by eating too much

meat 55. elderly, ancient 58. informal thank you. Homophone of ‘tar’ 60. preposition. Not here? 62. comment. Correct again? 65. gowns, ceremonial clothing 68. you and me – American? 69. carved in stone. Anagram of

‘when’ 70. age, epoch (UK spelling) 71. stain, blemish; correct (v.) 72. same as 42 ACROSS 73. same as 38 DOWN 74. cereal used for making bread

and whiskey. Homophone of ‘wry’ 76. misery, sorrow. Homophone of ‘whoa’ 78. same as 70 ( US spelling) 79. Noah’s boat 81. same as 69 ACROSS 83. saint, street (abbreviation ) 85. preposition – activated?

endearment for a child (5, 3)

77. spherical green legume 80. subject pronoun 81. subject pronoun 82. affirmative adverb 84. possess. Anagram of ‘won’ 85. same as 61 ACROSS

86. financial institution specializing in commercial loans

and financing (10, 4)

87. edge, slope; financial instit ution

����� ��� ��������� M O B I

WO L V E R I N E

R O E

A G O

S E A F A R I N G C A N

R O T

 A V C

A

M O O S E M A N

T U R N

R E H E A R S A L R S

N

I D

O

G O

 A R O S E

T

C A R I

A

G A S

T E A

O

C A R A V A N P E

A R E N A

G O R E

T

B

G O V E R N O R

S C H O O L

E P

P O L

I C D

O H

N

I C E

D R O O P Y

C O C O A

F E T E F R O

A N T

U P

A L I A S E S F L A T T E R

R A

K M E

M A Y

41

MISCELLANY

Picture Description & Exercise ����� 

12 Picture Description  Try to describe the two photographs on this page. First, for each picture, describe what you can see. What are the people doing? Remember to describe

PHOTO BY MARINA CARRESI

colours, textures, materials and spatial relationships. Mention similarities and contrasts between the two photos. Finally, comment on your personal reac-

tion to what you can see. ❯❯ How do you feel about buying food

in the street?  When you have finished, listen to the

model version on the CD (track 12) and try to follow what the native-speaker

is describing. Finally, read through the tapescript for the recording (on p. 50) while1  you listen again. Remember

there is a large-type2 version to download at www.thinkinenglish.net. Write down any new words or expressions you

have come across3.

PHOTO BY ALMUDENA CÁCERES

❯❯ PAIR�WORK PRACTICE 

Describe another photograph from the magazine to a partner. Your partner can take notes and draw pictures but shouldn’t see

the magazine. When you have finished, pass the magazine to your partner, who must then try to find the picture described. Change roles. Notice that you are not competing. Both of you ‘win’ when the correct picture is found. RELATED RESOURCES 1 2

while – at the same time as large-type – in big letters

42

3

to come across (come-came-come) – encoun-

ter

Track 12

THINK IN ENGLISH

ISSUE 147

Don’t be 1 foxed  by authentic English! 1

to fox – confuse

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PRONUNCIATION SYMBOLS KEY Here are the symbols we use in this magazine to help your pronunciation:

Consonants  /ʧ  / – church (a ‘CH’ sound)  / ʃ  / – wash, sure (a ‘SH’ sound)  /ʤ / – judge  /ʒ / – vision, measure  /j/ – yes, yellow  /ɵ / – thick, path  /ð/ – the, this, breathe  /η/ – sing

Pure Vowels  /o/ – hot  /a/ – cat  /ʌ / – cut, some, couple  /o:/ – court, taught, warn  /ə / – occur, aroma, supply

Diphthongs  /ou/ – oboe, know, broke  /oi/ – toy, soil  /iə / – ear, here  /eə / – air, there

TAPESCRIPTS 147

 THINK 147 |

Download an illustrated version with larger type at www.thinkinenglish.net

Obama did in the car industry in America, the automo-

DEBATE: THE ECONOMIZATION OF MODERN LIFE (19m58s)

that process and it’s exactly the opposite of what we’ve

Commentary: Listen to these people talking about the evolution of Homo economicus.

1. Part 1: Two Schools of Thought

(6m16s)

South-African Woman (SW):  What I don’t under-

bile industry in America, very successfully and saved an entire industrial sector in the United States. To be fair25

I think George Bush II, or whatever he’s called, started been doing in Europe. SW: And to what costs to the American government? 26

EM: In the case of Obama none at all. Theypaid back  almost all the money; the car industry paid back the money. So, I mean 27, it was a very, very intelligent thing to do by… on the part of those two American

stand in this particular financial crisis in which Europe finds itself, well the whole world finds itself... Why do

presidents.

some people advocate1 budget cuts2 and austerity

what you haven’t got. EM: It depends because if I spend money on what you do, yeah? SW: Yeah.

campaigns and other people says that does not stimulate the economy and what should happen is more expenditure by governments and more loans3 granted4

by banks? American man (AM): I think basically there are two different schools of thought of economists. I think those that think that stimulation/government spending on investment or industry is the answer to kick-start5 the economy and to get over6  or to get through7 the economic crisis. And whereas 8 the other school of thought is that you need to clean up… do some housecleaning 9, clean up your budget10, make sure

SW: ’Cos28 surely it makes more sense not to spend

TAPESCRIPTS

productive in the future. SW: No, that’s understood I think. EM: I mean27, there was a case during the French Revolution when to reduce unemployment they basically

got hundreds of thousands of French citizens to move a mountain literally, I mean27, to dig up46 a mountain and move a huge 34 quantity of earth from one place to another. It didn’t actually 32 have any economic advantage in doing that. Obviously if you build a road or build a new port or improve facilities 47 in some sense for… in that sense then you’re spending on productive capacity

in the future. SW: Right. 2. Part 2: Banking Tsars (1m46s) AM: The other thing that I’ve noticed recently it seems like governments, whether48 they’re conservative or

EM: I’m going to give money to you an d you are going to spend more money on what she does and she’sgonna29 have more money… and she’s going to spend more money on what he does. And so that money multiplies and it creates an economic ripple30 that goes throughout31 the economy and the economy grows. If the econ-

more socio-democratic leaning49, it seems like every-

omy grows; that means the state has more revenue21.

institutions and banks loan53 money.

SW: Well, then why are so many European countries actually 32 cutting33 budgets10 and having thesehuge34

one is at the mercy of 50 the markets, what the markets

are going to do. So, I think in some cases governments end up doing 51 not necessarily what they want but

what they think needs to be done so the markets are happy. And so, therefore52, institutions and banking

you have a low budget deficit and by doing that it’s… their opinion is that’s another way of getting them out of the financial crisis.

austerity campaigns? Quite a few European countries are involved in that. EM: My answer is: “For ideological reasons” – but I’ll

EM: Yeah but what we’ve been seeing is that, certainly in the case of Europe, is that the markets will just42 decide to go for54 a particular country and there’s almost nothing that country can do however much it tries to cut back 55. I mean27, the case of Greece is the obvious one.

Englishman (EM): You’re still not happy. OK, for exam-

let anybody35 else speak. If… I mean27, you have a situ-

Y’know56, and they will  just42… they can torture and

ple, imagine a firm goes bust , right? SW: Uh huh. 11

EM: What tends to happen12 when the firm goes bust11 is that… in terms of dividing up their assets13 the Inland Revenue14 will come in first and grab15 what they think

they’re owed16 and then the workers will be paid and then another company will be… the other companies,

36

ation where a socio-democratic policy  will tend to

humiliate the majority of their population. It does abso-

distribute income whereas 37 a neo-classical economic ‘solution’ – in inverted commas38 – will make the rich richer and the poor poorer. So there is an ideological

lutely no good. AM: But should we stand for57 that? I mean27, I think that’s ridiculous that we let the markets dictate.

interest in having those types of austerity solutions

SW: It does seem to me in some respects that markets… that’s a kind 58 of word that I don’t really understand, but

is theirs if you like… SW: Yes.

because that means that the people that right-wing39 parties represent get richer and keeps the wage rate40 down and keeps the rest of us poor. SW: But that’s more or less what’s happening all over the world today, isn’t it? I mean27, the rich are getting richer and the poor are… EM: It’s a natural process of capitalism, yeah. AM: But I think the problem with that is – I mean27 – if the austerity measures are so severe that you destroy the business in the country. I mean27, in effect, you’re taking away the revenue21. EM: Of course.

EM: …but at the same time they are causingrevenues 21

AM: So, I mean 27, if they’re doing that to help their

engineers and so people who are worried about shortterm balance sheets63 rather than 64 long-term produc-

that could be coming in 22 in the future to be… to not exist because if that hole has been punched23 in one company and passed on to other companies... means that they’re not going to be getting the tax back from those companies in the future.

cronies 41 in big business I don’t think it’s a very intel-

tivity and long-term efficiency are the people who are

ligent idea. But…

running65 the economies of the world.I mean27, some-

EM: I think the question… there’s also the question if you’re talking about the government  just42 spending money for the sake of it 43 – painting buildings

body like Mitt Romney, for example, is somebody who

SW:  So what they should do is bail out 24 a failing

company?

and doing – sort of 44 – silly45 things, then that’s not a good idea. It has to be… you have to spending money

pieces68 and selling off the bits. AM: Downsizing 69, yeah.

EM: That is one solution. That is, for example, what

on an investment or something which is going to be

EM: Now – y’know56 – his great claim to fame 70, his

like their customers17 or their suppliers18 will get19 whatever crumbs20 are left, if there are any left, probably aren’t. And that in itself is something which means that problems of debt will be passed on to other companies and you can have a process of a domino effect. One

company closes and another company closes and etc. SW: Right. EM: In that situation the government is reclaiming what

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

to advocate – support, campaign for, recommend budget cuts – reduction of expenditure loans – money lent, credit to grant – (in this context ) concede to kick-start – activate, energize to get over (get-got-got) – get past, survive to get through  (get-got-got) – survive, weather (v.) whereas – while, although to do some housecleaning  (do-did-done) – put one’s house

in order, tidy up budget – planned expenditure, the quantity of money you plan to spend to go bust (go-went-gone) – become bankrupt tends to happen – usually occurs assets – property the Inland Revenue – the fiscal authorities, the tax collector to grab – take, snatch, seize to be owed – should be paid customer  – client supplier – company that provides components or products that another company sells to get (get-got-got) – receive, be given crumbs – scraps, vestiges revenue – income, earnings could be coming in  – they could be receiving to punch a hole in a company  – turn a company’s potential revenue into bad debt

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to bail out – rescue fair – just, honest to pay back  (pay-paid-paid) – return I mean – ( pause fill er ) y’know, like, sort of, kind of ’cos  – (slang) because gonna – (slang) going to ripple – wave, sequential effect throughout – through all of actually – (false friend ) in fact to cut (cut-cut-cut) – ( in this context ) reduce huge – enormous, great it should be ‘somebody’ policy – strategy, programme, plan whereas – (in this context ) by contrast, while inverted commas – speech marks – “ ” right-wing  – conservative, reactionary the wage rate – the quantity of money that is paid to a typical

worker crony – friend, associate, confederate  just  – (in this context ) simply for the sake of it – with no other purpose than the action itself sort of  – ( pause fill er ) kind of, y’know, like, I mean silly – ridiculous, stupid to dig up (dig-dug-dug) – excavate facilities – amenities, services, infrastructure whether – irrespective of whether (= ‘if’) leaning – in their political perspective

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I understand the word banks. Big banks are as powerful now as the feudal lords were and the tsars of Russia were in the time that they were powerful and it seems as though we’re pawns59 as to what they decide. That’s

how it feels. 3. Part 3: The Age of Accountants

have allowed60 over61 the last 30 years accountants62

to take over, business corporations etc. etc. replacing

made hundreds of millions of dollars out of 66 asset stripping 67, buying up companies, ripping them to

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ISSUE 147

THINK IN ENGLISH

to be at the mercy of  – be vulnerable to, be in the power of to end up doing – do... in the end therefore – for that reason to loan – lend, offer as credit to go for  (go-went-gone) – attack to cut back  (cut-cut-cut) – reduce expenditure y’know – ( pause fill er ) I mean, sort of, kind of, like to stand for (stand-stood-stood) – tolerate, accept kind – sort, type pawn – puppet, s.o. whose opinion is not considered you have allowed – one has permitted over – during accountant  – bookkeeper, financial expert balance sheet – document comparing what a company has

earned and what it has spent

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(2m47s)

EM: Yeah. I mean27, I think it’s also a situation where you

70

rather than – instead of, as opposed to to run sth.  (run-ran-run) – manage, control out of  – from asset stripping – the practice of buying a company cheaply

when it is in diff iculties and then selling all the things it owns in order to make a quick profit to rip sth. to pieces – break sth. up downsizing  – a euphemism for significantly reducing the number of employees in a company in order to make it more profitable claim to fame  – reason for being famous, selling point, supposed advantage

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TAPESCRIPTS

RELATED RESOURCES

|  THINK 147

great – sort of 44 – economic thing is that he balanced 71

56

the budget   in Massachusetts. Y’know , wonder-

 Are wein themiddle of an economic waragainst democracy? Is economics just the note of realism that stops politicians from promising everyone that they can ‘have their cake and eat it’? 

K 

AW:  Yeah. ’Cos28 – I mean 27  – people say “OK –

AW: Well, it looks like what’s going to happen though.

y’know56 – it’s all about boom and bust82”, but really

SW: It sounds really dismal 103. EM: I mean27, again there may also be an element to

ful, hey ho! But if the only way you know how to make

– I mean  – as you were saying this – sort of   – rational

money is by ruining industry, ruining real productive power in your country. Well, I’m not American, but I wouldn’t want you as a president. I mean27, the biggest problem with the other point of view, the Keynesian

type of economics it ’s not. It’s the economics that we

point of view is that it requires government when the economy is taking off 72, when the economy is booming73 to be doing some of the austerity thing, getting

cal comment that “economics is very bad at predict-

– y’know56 – paying off its debts etc. etc. and there’s obviously a huge 34 temptation democratically to say, “Oh, the economy’s going wonderfully. We’ll keep spending some money and there’s more tax money coming in and we’ll use that tax money to spend on lots of things because we imagine the economy is going to

27

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have in a democratic society thatactually32 make for88

booms and busts82. EM: But – I mean27 – there’s also that sort80 of cyniing, especially about the future” in the sense that – y’know 56 – every time that any type of economics tries to predict what ’s going to happen in the future… I mean27, obviously if you consult 12 economists it’s

quite… it’s possible the other alternative will happen but you’ll get 12 different answers. AW: True.

which the West as we know it is giving way to104 other producers, especially in Asia and to some extent 84 in South America and so we are an economy on the decline like whatever late Rome or the Ottoman

Empire. AW: Yeah, I think that’s very true actually32, yeah. EM: So, maybe… SW: That’s not much more optimistic! EM: We need to… AW: No, it’s probably less optimistic, in fact, with the…

EM: It’s quite possible that one of those will be correct.

with the other analysis there was at least going to be light at the end of the tunnel one day. With this idea – none really!

grow indefinitely.”

But in terms of getting things right about predicting

EM: But again because of the whole connectivity of

Australian woman (AW):  Well, that’s one of the problems here, isn’t it? I mean27, that’s exactly what

the future using the economic models that exist,

the thing it’s so much more difficult to keep one part of the world economy – y’know56 – bubbling over105

happened, you know? And that’s – kind of 74 – human

economics is a complete disaster. AW: Yeah, true.

well while – y’know56 – the rest of us are going into

states of austerity etc.

though it was  just 76 credit anyhow77 and – sort of 44 –

EM: I mean , even – sort of   – weird , wacky  things like sociology which doesn’t have a great deal of 91 theoretical underpinning 92 can be more successful than economics. I mean 27, it’s a complete disaster.

not necessarily very sustainable. But, yeah, that’s what

Y’know , I say that having studied it.

tends to happen. EM: Big credit bubbles78. AW: Uh huh. EM: But, I mean27, you… again I think there’s a problem with saying, “Now why do we let the markets do

SW: That makes us all victims of society completely

AM: Uh huh. AW: Yeah.

without any room 93 to manoeuvre. We’re  just 42 going

AM: And I think as long as106 we have credit, as long as

to be swayed with the tide of 94 one economist or

credit is offered and we continue with the capitalistic

another. EM: But or… AW: But then society is people so to say that we’re all  just 42 victims. I mean27… EM: Yeah, but I… in terms of seeing what Merkel etc. are doing now in Europe for me is very, very reminiscent of 95 Mrs. Thatcher. AW: True.

society or system I think we are condemned to the

nature. For me for people not to be thinking of auster-

ity measures and being sensible 75 with money when there’s lot of it or they think there’s lots of it even

these things?” because the alternative is this –sort of 44 – phantom called ‘socialism’ which the immense majority of the Western world have been taught to reject

as a knee-jerk 79 reaction. I mean27 if, for example, in America the healthcare plan is considered somesort 80

of – y’know56 – socialist imposition it’s… AW: Yeah. AM: Oh, yeah, definitely. EM: …then any other understanding of the economy is like completely out of the question. Y’know 56, for example, in Europe that sort80 of healthcare plan is

accepted even if grudgingly81 by all the right-wing 39 parties.

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EM:   You actually 32  hear people around Europe

saying, ‘T.I.N.A.’ – there is no alternative – in different languages obviously. And – y’know56 – that was totally her phrase. “There is no alternative.” We have to do

this because we have to this because that’s what the economy requires and there is no other way of doin g things and you just 42 have to accept it and – y’know 56,

 just 42, sort of 44 – y’know56 – keep your head down96

4. Part 4: The Boom-Bust Cycle

AW: Yeah, with globalization nowadays101 that’s just 42

not possible any longer. EM: But erm… yeah, it’s a dismal103 science economics.

boom-bust cycle. AW: Yeah, yeah, I agree with that too. 5. Part 5: Ignorance is This

(3m52s)

AM: And I just 42 think because the majority of people,

at least in the US, don’t fully under stand the economy or economics in general and we’ve seen over the last 10 years people… EM: But the majority of economists don’t underst and economics! AM: Yeah, but I think they understand the basics. AW: It doesn’t help much though, does it? EM: But if understanding it means that you know what is going to happen if X, Y and Z are put in place107, they

don’t. They quite clearly don’t. AM: I don’t buy that108. Perhaps they know. Like take,

(5m17s)

sort80 of thing. And the huge 34 period of growth in

AW: But what about boom and bust 82? Are we always

Britain was after her period when different policies 36 were in place 97, largely98 based – again, as we were

for example, subprime mortgages 109. There were

saying – on a credit bubble78 etc. etc. private credit etc. I mean27, there’s... especially if you have a situation where large99 sectors of the world or a whole economic union like the European Union are going for austerity, it  just 42 sort of 44… so you’re – just 42, sort of 44, y’know56

I’m sure they had a good idea that five or 10 years down

doomed 83 to boom and bust? EM: I think that’s part of the combination of three factors: human nature, that you mentioned, democracy and the other thing… capitalism. I mean27, in the sense

that to some extent84 it’s possible maybe to… if you have people who really have some basic understanding of economics and it’s completely rationalistic, an

– circling the plughole100. It’s going lower and lower

amoral motor you can keeps things as they have been doing in China without that bust85. But you can’t do

and lower until you have a minimal level of activity because the state has to pay the police and things like

that with democracy because there’s 86 always going to be more people going, “me, me, me, me, me”. And that’s the huge34 problem with Keynesianism that it doesn’t fit 87 very easily into democracy, whereas37

that. And then obviously from that minimum you can start having growth again. AW: Yeah. EM: To go to that point before you star t to actually32

of course a neo-classical economics  just 42 – sort of 44

‘grow the economy’ as Americans like to say nowa-

– ignores democracy; economics is more important

days101 is crazy102 I think personally. AM: Yeah.

than democracy. 71

to balance the budget – reduce expenditure to the point at

which it equals income to take off  (take-took-taken) – start to expand to boom – prosper, expand kind of  – ( pause fill er ) sort of, like, y’know sensible – (false friend ) responsible  just  – (in this context ) only anyhow  – anyway credit bubble – situation in which a lot of people have accepted too much credit even though they won’t be able to return the money if the economy declines knee-jerk  – automatic, reflex, involuntary, unthinking sort – type, kind grudgingly – reluctant, unwilling, unenthusiastic boom and bust – a periodic economic cycle which sees periods of expansion followed by periods of recession to be doomed –be fated, be predestined to some extent  – to some degree, in part bust – recession (following a period of ex pansion)

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the road111 that they would have problems… AW: I’m sure they had more than a good idea. AM: …paying for these mortgages. EM: Right. AM: So they sold these on to other banks and these banks had these mortgages insured and whatnot112. So, they knew enough, they understood the system enough to know how to make money out of 66  it, whether113 it was moral or not that’s another ques tion.

But they know more than your typical114… EM: Probably the same people because you have to live somewhere would – y’know56 – could have been putting away money in renting115 a property as they were in… I mean27, the level of economic collapse

there’s – (substandardEnglish) there are to fit – match, function to make for (make-made-made) – ( in this context ) create weird – strange, bizarre wacky – unscientific, weird 89 a great deal of  – a lot of, much underpinning – basis, grounding room (uncountable) – space to sway with the tide of – passively accept the consequences

102

to be reminiscent of  – be comparable to, be similar to to keep one’s head down (keep-kept-kept) – try to avoid

109

subprime mortgage – credit for buying a house given to s.o.

110

these loans – (in this context ) these mortgages, this credit down the road – later and whatnot – and so on, etc. whether – ‘if’ (but ‘if’ isn’t used before ‘or’) your typical [person] – the average person, the man in the

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being noticed, try not to attract attention to oneself to be in place – be being implemented largely – primarily, principally large – (false friend ) big to circle the plughole  – be on the verge of catastrophe, be facing disaster nowadays  – these days

crazy – (informal ) mad, illogical, unreasonable dismal – depressing, dispiriting to give way to (give-gave-given) – c apitulate before, cede

one’s place to

105

to be bubbling over – be economically active and expand-

106

as long as – so long as, provided that, if (and only if) to put sth. in place  (put-put-put) – implement sth. I don’t buy that – (informal ) I don’t agree with that, I don’t

ing

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of

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banks giving these loans110 for houses to families that

accept that

who under normal circumstances would not be offered credit

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street

to rent – pay monthly for the right to live in a house/apartment

THINK IN ENGLISH

ISSUE 147

 THIN K 147

|

TAPESCRIPTS

swords160 and no storyline whatsoever, this one’s for

since 19-… I don’t know why I said 19-, I’m in the wrong century!… since 2007-2008 – y’know 56 – was pretty116 difficult to predict  just 42 because – y’know 56 – we haven’t seen something like that since the 1930s. If it had been a more minor collapse then the houses would’ve justified – y’know56 – foreclosing117 on them, taking them back into the bank’s property and the

6. FUNCTIONAL ENGLISH: WAYS OF SPE AKING & LAUG HING (2m23s)

MONOLOGUES: MY MOST MISSABLE MOVIES (14m46s)

what Sylvester Stallone has starred in, except for Rambo and Rocky . I think his worst movie of all time is Stop! Or My Mom will Shoot!  Another movie that’s near the top of my worst-film list is Guy Richie’s Swept Away , which

banks would still have made money… AM: Yeah.

Commentary: Listen to these people talking about

starred Madonna. In my opinion she cannot act. She

films they wish they’d never seen.

should stick to 162 doing what she does best, her music.

7. Monologue 1 [ American English]

8. Monologue 2 [ British English ]

EM: …and those people in one sense if they’d been paying rent as opposed to supposedly paying amort-

Commentary: Listen to these phrases and sounds from

pp. 30-31.

■

gage118 they wouldn’t have been any better off 119 or

(3m49s) Until my early thirties I would watch any movie at all,

worse off 120. So, the idea that this is some… this is

regardless of 137 genre and quality. What can I say, I

some type of evil . I mean , in one sense I think it’s quite a good thing because you were allowing122 the

really enjoyed watching them. For the past few years,

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possibility for the whole section of the population, who were just 42 excluded from the housing market,

had some sort80 of possibility of entering it. The logical thing there would have been to say – instead of 123 bailing out24 banks – we’re going to bail out the indi viduals who have some realisticchance124 of paying… of continuing with their mortgage. And so the state takes over125 those mortgages118 which are considered bad debt, but in a long-term sense people…I mean27, because a lot… – y’know 56 – most people will only fail

you. I, however, recommend keeping well away from it. Other movies I regret watching161 include most of

(4m25s) My most missable movies… let’s see. I think I’d define this in various different ways. The first is disappoint-

however, I have watched fewer and fewer movies. The main138 reason for this is simply a question of time.

ment163. A movie that was made in 2009 called The Boat that Rocked   made by… directed by Richard Curtis of  Four Weddings and a Funeral fame164 with a spectacular

Before I would use my free time as if it were a cheap,

cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, the Oscar wi nner, Rhys

unlimited commodity139, whereas 37 now I realize 140  just141 how precious it really is. That said, during my misspent youth142 there were plenty of 143 films I wish I had never seen. One that immediately comes to mind is a film from 1998 titled Wild Things. It stars Neve Campbell, from Scream, Matt Dillon and Kevin Bacon, who also starred in Footloose another flick 144 I wish I had never seen . Now, I’d have to say thatWild Things is one of those films that is so bad that it’s good because I actually32  finished watching it. Without spoiling145

Ifans, Bill Nighy, Nick Frost, Kenneth Branagh. I thought

that with a line-up165 like that it had to be excellent. And also a story that was p otentially one that was very, very interesting to me, the story of Radio Caroline and

the pirate ship. That was a radio station that fed166 a generation and, yes, a great deal of 167 nostalgia about

the idea of where this ship was and how it came into

other things. AM: Sure.

the movie, it’s basically your146 typical revenge story.

being because it was technically illegal and that added to the interest and excitement of it all. And I was really very interested to see a movie about the story of Radio Caroline. And when it came to it they picked probably

My problem with the movie is that it has way too

the least interesting aspect of the whole affair which

EM: It’s actually 32 not a very bad thing to have as collateral128 on a debt. There’s 86 all sort 80  of other things that you’ll  just 42 let go 129. Somebody says… somebody wants to reclaim 130 your – y’know56 – your wonderful sports car that you bought and you say

many147 plot twists148. Just when you think the story

was to say, yeah, there were a bunch of 168 DJs out there in the middle of the ocean somewheregetting high169

to pay their mortgage in – y’know56 – in really dire 126 circumstances. They will cut back on127 all sorts80 of

“Well, OK, whatever, take it.” AM: Yeah. EM: But it’s not a bad asset131 a piece of property. So, the problem is that nobody was predicting the level of that crash132. And I haven’t seen anybody really –

y’know56 – in the mainstream 133 who was predicting it until – y’know56 – just134 before it happened. AM: Yeah. EM: ’Cos 28 they don’t know what’s happening. Econo-

has reached its climax they throw another twist at you and then another, and another and another. It really

becomes laughable because you think they couldn’t possibly go on, but they do, over and over again. So, if you like movies with tons of unrealistic plot twists148 then this is for you. If not, avoid it at all costs. Another film that I ‘started’ to watch a few months ago is Sucker Punch. Directed by Zack Snyder, who also directed the great film 300. Sucker Punch is about a girl that is wrongfully committed to an insane asylum149 by

her abusive stepfather150. Once institutionalized, she 151

withdraws  into a fantasy world she creates in her imagination. For some odd reason the asylum is full

and being silly170 and having parties, but that wasn’t the point. It so wasn’t the point. And I was very, very disappointed 171. So, there you go. Don’t, especially, especially if you have fond172 memories of Radio Caroline, don’t go see that one, “The Boat that Didn’t  Rock”! Let me see, choice number two, missable movies of all time. Yes, this was actually 32 surprisingly enough recommended by a friend, a film called Let it Ride made in 1989 with Richard Dreyfuss, an actor I really like a lot.

The trouble173 with this movie is that the message is  just 42, as far as I’m concerned174, the most missable element of the entire thing. It is about a man who’s addicted to gambling175 who has a lucky day and just42 makes bets 176 and keeps winning. And he thinks… in the beginning there’s an idea of a message that perhaps this isn’t a good thing and he reallyought to177

mists don’t know what’s happening. AM: Yeah, yeah. EM: And that’s the dangerous thing with following… – y’know56 – it’s like following some sort80 of Moses,

of women who also work in a bordello/strip club. The

some sort 80 of prophet who says we have to go up this hill135 and – y’know56 – look for tablets and blah, blah,

that everyone becomes entranced154. While dancing she goes into her imaginary world where she and her

be giving it up178 and going back to try and mend179

blah, blah, blah. Why? Prove to me. SW: And you question the word ‘victim’? AM: Yeah.

friends fight robots and other ridiculous characters that are not even loosely 155 tied to156 the story. In fact,

wife – sort of 44 – comes in line181. It was sad beyond

EM: Prove to me that that is actually32 the case. When have you got it right136 in the past? And then fine, we’ll

dialogue. The only thing it has going for it 157 is its special effects. The movie was so bad that I had to turn it off after about 20 minutes. If you like movies with scantily clad 158  women wielding 159 samurai

do that. 116

main 152 character, along with a group of girls from the asylum, hatches a plan153 to escape. When the main152 character practices her striptease dance she’s so good

this film has no story whatsoever and poorly written ■

pretty (adv.) – rather, quite to foreclose  – (of banks) take possession of property bec ause

to realize – (false friend ) be conscious  just  – (in this context ) quite, exactly misspent youth – wasted/dissipated younger years plenty of  – more than enough, an ample number of flick  – (colloquial ) movie, film to spoil (spoil-spoilt-spoilt) – ruin your – (colloquial /in this context ) a way too many – (emphatic ) far too many plot twist – surprise in the stor y(line) insane asylum – mental hospital one’s stepfather – the husband of one’s mother who is not

his marriage. But he just 42 ends up winning180 and his belief 182. So, I really… I couldn’t see the poi nt of that at all, not from beginning to end, and none of it was of any interest. That was choice number two. The third choice,

probably not even really a movie, it’s something that I like to do when I’m working on putting together183 a script184 or something, I like to get a hold of 185 as much

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a creditor has not returned credit in the agreed way mortgage – credit for buying a house or apartment to be better off  – be richer, be more affluent to be worse off  – be poorer evil – immorality, corruption, villainy to allow – permit, enable instead of – as opposed to, rather than chance – possibility to take over  (take-took-taken) – take charge of, take responsibility for dire – horrible, grim, disastrous to cut back on (cut-cut-cut) – reduce expenditure on collateral – property that guarantees a loan (credit) if it cannot be paid to let go – give up, renounce to reclaim – (in this context ) repossess asset – thing of value, property in some saleable form crash – economic collapse the mainstream – orthodoxy, the conventional wisdom  just  – (in this context ) immediately hill  – small mountain, area of elevated terrain to get it right  (get-got-got) make a correct prediction regardless of  – irrespective of main – primary, principal commodity – item, product, thing

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ISSUE 147

THINK IN ENGLISH

one’s biological father to withdraw (-draw/-drew/-drawn) – retreat, retire main  – (in this context ) central, focal to hatch a plan – devise a plan, plan a strategy to entrance – enchant, captivate, mesmerize, hypnotize loosely – vaguely, imprecisely to be tied to – be linked to, be connected with to have going for it  – have in its favour scantily clad – underdressed, seminaked to wield – brandish, swing, use samurai sword –

to regret watching – wish I hadn’t watched to stick to  (stick-stuck-stuck) – limit oneself to, keep to disappointment – frustration of expectations of X fame  – who is famous for X line-up – (in this context ) cast to feed (feed-fed-fed) – ( in this context ) cater for, sustain,

nourish

170 171 172 173 174 175 176

177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184

a great deal of  – a lot of, much a bunch of  – a group of to get high  (get-got-got) – get stoned, experience the

effects of drugs silly – foolish, idiotic, ridiculous to disappoint s.o.  – dissatisfy one’s expectations fond  – affectionate, nostalgic trouble – problem as far as I’m concerned – in my opinion gambling – games of chance (e.g. in casinos) to make bets (make-made-made) – risk money in games of chance (e.g. in c asinos) ought to – should to give sth. up (give-gave-given) – stop doing sth. to mend – fix, repair to end up winning – win in the end to come in line  (come-came-come) – accept the situation sad beyond belief  – (in this context ) ridiculously pathetic to put together (put-put-put) – prepare, organize script – (in this context ) text for a play

47

TAPESCRIPTS

RELATED RESOURCES

|  THINK 147

T

What’s the worst film you ever saw? Why was it so insufferable?

footage186 as I can of what’s been made of the story.

first time around, well, we  just 42 can’t watch it. But as I

And this was a story that is a curious little piece. It’s...

say, it just42 made me realize140 that I think I’m not nine

there are many, many, many film versions out there. It ’s been staged187 many, many times… called The Canterville Ghost  by Oscar Wilde and it should be astormer188. It’s a bizarre 189 little story about an American family

years old anymore. OK, my theory about how to make a bad film. Well, there

why I called this meeting.

who moved into this house which has a ghost. And it should be very, very funny. And I chose absolutely the

are two basic ingredients to a movie. First you introduce the characters and then you see what happens to them. The most common mist ake amongst217 film-

Ken Tonn (KT): No, it’s been really hard239 lately 240. I’m

wrong version because I was seduced again by an actor. It starred Patrick Stewart of Star Trek   fame. 1995, The Canterville Ghost with Patrick Stewart and Neve Campbell, definitely, definitely one to miss. They… I think what it was 190 was a made-for-American-television

version and nobody gets191 it, nobody got why it was

10. Monologue 4 [British English]

(3m38s)

makers is not to establish the charactersproperly 218 at the beginning of the story. The central roles have to be idiosyncratic enough to be believable and yet219 have to have enough universal qualities for the viewer to

be able to identify with them. Often disaster movies fail to establish the character before the action starts. A classic example is the 2006 remake of The Poseidon

11. IMPROVISATION: HIS POSTHU MOUS CAREER (15m55s) Commentary: Listen to the following improvisation. Arnold Spinn (AS): OK, I don’t think I need to explain

really, really devastated. Finn Boweller (FB): It’s a major shame241. KT: Such a musical genius should leave us so soon. Macey Joberg (MJ): My poor Johnny. FB: Yeah, I’m really sorry about that. AS:  Macey, I’m sorry that I forgot to give you my condolences. It just 42… it sent this… my world into

 Adventure called Poseidon. The ship capsizes220 too

this spin242. FB: Your world?! AS: I’m sorry. I  just 42 forgot. I forgot to tell you that I’m

(2m54s) My most missable movies. The first movie I think was one of the most missable that I’m sure everyone has

early and you have these people you don’t know and

so sorry that Johnny’s gone and I forgot to tell you.

don’t care about 221 crawling through 222 an obstacle course223. Some of them die in the process but as a

seen it, it’s Titanic  by James Cameron. Yeah, the actual Titanic194 took about 2 hours 40 minutes to sink but

viewer you are completely indifferent about this. A less common mistake is to establish a character well but then for too little to happen to him or her. A clas-

MJ: Well, I wouldn’t have been able to pick up the phone243 anyway. I’m just42 so devastated. And thanks, even if it’s two weeks after… oh, no… two days, sorry.

funny and that came across loud and clear 192. So, there

you go, three more to miss big time193. 9. Monologue 3 [ Irish English]

the damn movie ran for195 almost three and a quarter hours. James Cameron needed an extra half an hour to

suck  us in196 and suck  us dry197. The problem is when

I go to the movies I usually go to the bathroom first to 56

avoid any – y’know  – awkwardness

198

 during the

movie, so I don’t have to annoy199 anybody I’m sitting next to. And that’s another reason why I sit at the end of a row200 of seats, so I can get out to the bathroom without causing any trouble201. But, of course, during a three-and-quarter-hour movie it happened. About halfway through I had to… I had to go to the bathroom. And all this North Atlantic icy water and pipes202 bursting 203 and water coming up to pe ople’swaists204 didn’t help. So, eventually 205 I had to just 42 get up and “Excuse me, excus e me. I’m sorry. Excuse me. I’m sorry. Excuse me.” And all along the row everybody popping up206 and then of course comin g back… “Sorry, excuse me. Sorry, excuse me”, everybody getting up again. And then of course not to mention that song by Celine Dion, I think it’s called My Heart Will Go On 207. And it did go on and on 208 and I don’t know how many years every time I hear that introduc tion on the… is it a flute

or the tin whistle209?... gives me a shiver210. Another movie that made me realize 140 in a certain way I had grown up, that I wasn’t nine years old anymore was when George Lucas announced that the Star Wars

was coming back. After about 20 years of pining and 211

yearning  it finally happened. Lucas announced it and geeks212 and 30-somethings213 all over the world went giddy214. But if you ask me it sucked 215. The Phantom Menace it was called. Y’know 56, the title alone sucked pretty bad216. And the worst character in the movie

was this kind  of giant seahorse called Jarjar. A lot of people who haven’t seen the first three movies… Star 58

sic example is the Franco-Vietnamese film The Scent of Green Papaya. It’s a beautiful delicate piece but it’s  just42 too ponderous224. It’s like watching footage186 in very slow motion for over an hour and a half. The same sort80 of thing be said for both the 1972 Russian version of Solaris and 2002 remake starring George Clooney.

All three of these films have great merits, but, please, don’t ask me to watch them again. Of course, if the two problems mentioned are compounded 225 that’s much, much worse. Take the case of Spielberg’s 1941; ridiculous, badly drawn characters in a completelynonsensical226 plot227. Another example is Nicolas Cage’s 1993 movieDeadfall . In fact,

almost anything Cage has done since 1990 could fall into this category. This is a shame228 because his first few films were rather 229 good. He seems to have an unequalled capacity to choose badscripts230. However, if I had to choose an all-time worst movie eve r it would probably be Wild Things. On paper it looks promising. It’s got some good actors in it, including Bill Murray and Kevin Bacon. However, it’s glossy 231 and clichéd in the worst possible Hollywood way and it has the most

188 189 190 191 192

193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208

48

very evident big time – (emphatic ) certainly the actual Titanic – (false friend /emphatic ) the Titanic itself  to run for  (run-ran-run) – continue for to suck sth. in  – absorb sth. to suck s.o. dry – (in this context ) exhaust s.o. awkwardness – discomfort to annoy – irritate row – line of things that are side to side trouble – inconvenience, nuisance pipe – tube to burst (burst-burst-burst) – break, explode waist – pelvis eventually – (false friend ) in the end to pop up – (in this context ) quickly stand up to go on (go-went-gone) – ( in this context ) continue living did go on and on  – (emphatic ) continue for a long time

all sad and this is a very, very difficult time for all of us. FB: That’s right. KT: I think we really need to… to focus here even if it is for a few minutes because the next steps244 that we take are very important not only for Johnny but for

all of us and… FB: I agree, I agree. KT: But… and after being Johnny’s agent for such a

long time – y’know56 – it’s… I really don’t know what to do with life. But the last thing I do and this I promised Johnny before he lef t us was to make sure that – y’know56 – Ken that the material that’s still out there, the last stuff 245 you recorded and we haven’t released yet, that we would release it and make sure that it was

tasteful246. I think that… AS: Do you have any idea…? KT: …Johnny would really appreciate that. AS: I wasn’t aware of 247 this. What kind58 of material

did he give you? weren’t you, right?

watchable, not good but viewable at least. So, I think the expectations you have when you see a movie obvi-

ously have a big impact on your level of disappointment163. Christopher Lambert, Chuck Norris or Steven 171

dud 237, I feel cheated238.

187

KT: Yeah, I mean27, even though I… this… I know we’re

KT: Well, they’ve… they were working on a new album,

this latest trilogy. But those of us who were there the to get hold of  (get-got-got) – obtain footage – moving images to stage sth.  – perform sth. in the theatre stormer – (slang) impressive/admirable thing bizarre – weird, strange, surprising what it was – (informal ) the problem was that it to get (get-got-got) – ( in this context ) understand to come across loud and clear (come-came-come) – be

your head, you know?

It’s interesting because often I find that movies that are universally lambasted 233  aren’t that bad. For instance 234, Catwoman and Battlefield Earth were both viciously 235 panned236 and I found them perfectly

Wars movies back in the 70s, 80s actually 32 enjoyed

186

FB: It seems like two weeks. I mean27, in situations like this – y’know56 – time – kind of 74 – plays games on

ridiculous plot 227 I’ve ever seen. Truly232, truly awful.

Segal couldn’t disappoint  because I expect nothing from them. They could only pleasantly surprise me. However, if an actor or director I appreciate makes a

185

Yeah, I’m just 42 so…

209 210

211

212 213

214

215

216

217 218 219 220 221 222

223

224

tin whistle  – to give s.o. a shiver  (give-gave-given)

– cause s.o. to tremble to pine and yearn – want sth. nostalgically geek  – socially inept person 30-something – s.o. aged between 30 and 39 to go giddy (go-went-gone) – ( in this context ) become delirious to suck  – (informal ) be awful, be terribly bad to suck pretty bad – (informal ) be reasonably awful amongst – among, ( in this context ) by properly – appropriately and yet – but to capsize – (of a boat or ship) turn over in the water to not care about s.o.  – have no empathy for s.o. to crawl through – clamber through, traverse using one’s hands and feet obstacle course – (literally ) series of obstacles over an area of terrain (used for training sportspeople, adventurers and soldiers) ponderous – laboured, slow, turgid

■

FB: Yeah, we were working on… yeah, I don’t know

the title now under the situation, but – y’know56 – we were working on this one… the title of the CD was Drunk Again in LA, you know? And I feel – kind of 74 – bad since248 – y’know56 – basically he – y’know56 – I mean 27… we all know he drank himself to death

– y’know56 – I mean27… So I don’t know if we should change that. MJ: The poor tortured soul249! FB: Yeah, torture, that’s a good way to describe things,

yeah. 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249

to compound  – combine, occur together nonsensical – ridiculous, ludicrous, idiotic plot – (of a film or book ) story(line) this is a shame  – this is unfortunate rather – (in this context ) surprisingly script – text for a movie (before it has been made) glossy  – shiny, lustrous truly – really to lambaste – criticize, condemn for instance – for example viciously – f iercely, vigorously to pan – (colloquial ) criticize, lambaste dud  – (in this context ) awful movie to cheat – bamboozle, dupe, defraud hard – (in this context ) difficult, arduous lately – recently major shame – really sad thing, great misfortune into this spin  – (in this context ) out of control to pick up the phone  – answer the telephone steps – measures, moves, strategy stuff  – things, ( in this context ) music tasteful – in g ood taste, appropriate, decorous to be aware of  – be conscious of since  – (in this context ) because, given that soul – spirit, psyche, person

THINK IN ENGLISH

ISSUE 147

 THIN K 147

MJ: What about re-issuing 250 the stuff 245 from…? You

know I think it’s a good time for a tribute and all the stuff 245 that his fans loved we should probably try to promote some of that. FB: Yeah. MJ: You know? FB: Yeah, we should. I do… would like to have also –

– y’know56 –… I guess268… I guess all this is… MJ: Yeah, we all know what he was like.

AS: Finn? Finn?

KT: But we can’t deny269 that he was definitely a musical

damn drinking!”

genius and I think whatever we do… FB: Musical genius? KT: Yes, and I think whatever…

|

TAPESCRIPTS

FB:  I was telling him all the time. I said, “Stop your

y’know  – my name included in that. I don’t wanna

on stage258! I mean27, come on! That’s called genius?

sound egotistic or anything, but af ter all I did write all the music. I know he was – y’know56 – he was the one

Come on!

AS: Save it for282 the wake 283. KT: Yeah. AS: OK. FB: Well… AS: We know how you feel. FB: Yeah.

KT: But thanks to that you’ve been around for so many

AS:  Any other ideas for how we can… let’s say…

up there with the crowd 252, facing 253 the crowd, and – y’know56 – he was the showman and every thing. But…

years and you made quite a good living. FB: But at the concerts who’s singing the choruses270

and I am… I think it’s necessary also that we do bring out – y’know56 – a lot of the… maybe a compilation of the big hits that we did together. AS: Well, I don’t mean to sound callous 254, but since

out there? Who’s singing the choruses? The public’s

well…? KT: I think we should  just 42 be blunt284 about it. FB: Well… KT: I mean27, we’re here to make money and to make

56

251

FB: He got up there and shouted and threw up 259

off the shelves256 and even the online stuff 245. And I

singing my choruses, OK? AS: Finn… FB: They’re my choruses. AS: Finn, Finn… FB: I’m sorry.

think the fans are ready for a new album.

AS:  Alright, but you’re right, absolutely right. I

well285, Macey.

mean …

AS:  To make money and of course to eulogize 286

– I’m gonna  have to – y’know  – I mean , this is a business meeting, so we have to talk and bring things

FB: I know I’m right! I was there 15 years from the begin-

Johnny.

ning… from the beginning!

FB: Well, how about a T-shirt, “Thank God Johnny’s

out in the open. But, I mean27, really I would like to make sure that I do get257 some credit on this because after all – I mean27 – Johnny was singing my songs

AS: You’re absolutely right. I never acknowledged271 it.

Dead!”… y’know56… I’m sorry.

MJ: You were there 15 years…? FB: You were there even longer. I mean27… AS: So I’ll tell you what, Finn… FB: I don’t know how you di d it, but I have to give… I have to hand it to you272. You really did a… AS: Finn, Finn… FB: Yeah.

MJ: Yeah, I think that… I think that we should take

AS: I’ll tell you what, why don’t you produce the retro-

KT:  The truth’s coming out 288 in this meeting, huh,

spective of Johnny’s gems ? How does that sound?

Macey? FB: So… AS: Did I just… did I just hear right there, Macey?

Johnny passed away255 all his stuff 245 has just 42 fallen

FB: Yeah, that sounds good. But like as I said – y’know 29

56

56

27

and – y’know56 – his extremism on stage258 was a big attraction and… KT: Sure, Johnny sold your music though really. FB:  Yeah, drinking and throwing up259 on stage258 and not being able to get – y’know56 – through260 the songs. But, I mean27, people – kind of 74 – love that kind58 of thing, you know? I mean27, people like people who are – y’know56 – self-abusive 261 and put on a

good show, you know? I mean27, but… but, yeah, if… KT: Sure, but – I mean27 – at the same time though, Ken, you’re still alive and Johnny’s the one that’s dead.

FB: Yeah. KT: I think we should really concentrate on Johnny’s

legacy here, not yours. FB: Yeah, well, erm… up in  Johnny, you know? I mean , I was constantly taking him… I mean27 – y’know56 – we’d have shows and he’d be drunk and passed out263 in – y’know56 – the hotel room and – y’know56 – we’d have to pour 264 27

cold water and ice on him and then take him into the shower. I mean27 – y’know56 – I mean you know Johnny

was a little excessive, you know? KT: Sure. FB: And there’s a lot of work g oing in there. KT: I was there. FB: You know 15 years I was doing that stuff 265! KT: I know, Ken. I was there. I was there the whole time.

FB: You know, I mean, come on! You know, I mean27, I

know that you know… KT: But thanks to Johnny we all… we all were able to eat, we all made a living266. FB: Yeah, that’s true. We all made a living, but, man,

was that a hard267 living to make. Y’know56, I mean27, getting him to turn up to recording sessions was almost

impossible. You know, I mean27… KT: Sure, but you can’t… FB: I’m sorry Marcy… I mean27, Macey. I’m sorry, but 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265

to re-issue – re-release, publish again wanna – (slang) want to the crowd – (in this context ) the audience to face – (in this context ) appear in front of callous – unfeeling, cold-hearted to pass away – (euphemistic ) die to fall off the shelves  (fall-fell-fallen) – sell like hot cakes do get – (emphatic ) get, receive on stage – in performance, in front of an audience to throw up  (throw-threw-thrown) – vomit to get through sth.  (get-got-got) – finish sth. to be self-abusive  – do things that harm one’s health to be tied up in – be linked to, be connected with to pass out  – faint, lose consciousness to pour – tip, splash, drop that stuff  – those things, ( in this context ) looking after him

ISSUE 147

THINK IN ENGLISH

15 years. FB: You know we could… KT: I mean 27, for me, for you, Finn, and for you as

27

273

For next Christmas, how’s that? You can pick 274  the

songs. FB: Well, we’ve got… AS: You’ll be duly275 noted276 on all the covers 277… FB: OK. AS: …you wrote the stuff 245, you wrote the material. FB: Well, you know what the funny was that I wrote

KT: ’Cos 28 you still have time to make your own legacy. FB: Yeah, well, but – y’know56 – a lot of my legacy’s tied 262

the most out of what you guys created in the past

the material but who gave them the titles? Y’know56, I mean27, I’ve got titles like Sex on the Beach, Loves of Sun… what is it?… Songs of Sun and Love… I mean27… AS: Get y’Bitch Ass Back to278  Minnesota. FB: But that… actually32 that one did 279 really well.  That one did really well. Everybody loves the title of

that song. But… and I have to hand it – y’know56 – to272 Johnny. He did pick 274 a good one on that one. But Tequila Twist  did really well too. I mean27, we could

probably – y’know56 – take stuff 245 from that and put it on the compilation. AS: Well, I’ll let you pick 274 them all. FB: Oh… AS: That’s your job. FB: Well, OK, OK. AS: You get the honour. FB: I’m for that. I’m for that. I appreciate that. As long as106 I get my names in the credit also. You said that, didn’t you? AS: Did I say you weren’t going to? FB: No. Yes, I think you did say280 that. OK, OK. I mean27, of all times 281, you know? When we were at the top

of – y’know56 – on the top of it all, on top of the world 27

and he goes and drinks himself to death. I mean ,

Jesus Christ! 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281

to make a living  (make-made-made) – earn a salary hard – difficult, arduous I guess – I suppose to deny – negate, opposite of  ‘admit’ chorus  – refrain, part of a song that is repeated several times to acknowledge – express gratitude for I have to hand it to s.o.  – I salute your/s.o’s merits gems  – (in this context ) most valuable songs to pick  – choose, select duly – appropriately to note – (in this context ) acknowledge, recognize covers  – outside of a CD get y’bitch ass back to – (slang) come back to, return to to do (do-did-done) – ( in this context ) sell did say – (emphatic ) said of all the times  – (in this context ) he couldn’t have chosen a

advantage of the situation and try to make the most of the fact that this man ruined our lives and tortured us for 20 years. FB: Well, you know I ’m amazed287 that you’re… KT: So, the truth ’s coming out288? FB: …admitting that. Yeah. So…

MJ: I… I’m sorry to say it was ve ry tough289 living with

him. It was very difficult. I put up with290 a lot and all I want is some peace now. AS: Johnny? KT: I can’t believe this. AS: What? FB: Wow! I’m really… KT: I think we know two different Johnnys here. AS: OK. Alright. FB:  Well, what Johnny do you know? I don’t know.

Where we’re you? AS: The widow 291 has spoken. FB: I mean27, you’re his agent. You should know him fairly 292 well. KT: I do know293 him very well. AS: Pardon me. MJ: Oh, come on! Don’t… AS: The widow291 has spoken. OK, so, hey, I mean27,

you opened that genie294. It’s yours. KT: I can’t believe you’re saying that, Macey. After

everything that Johnny put up with290… FB: You can’t believe she’s saying that?! KT: No, I can’t. I really can’t. You know… FB: You know what we all had to go through for the last 15 years? Jesus! KT: Yeah. FB: The vomit sessions were incredible! Days… I mean

week binges295, binges. I just… I’ll shut up. KT: Yeah, well, you’ve had some problems with drinking as well285, Ken. So, I mean27, you can’t… you can’t 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294

295

worse moment save it for – (in this context ) leave it until wake – party af ter a funeral blunt – (in this context ) frank as well – too, also to eulogize  – commemorate to be amazed – be astonished, be very surprised to come out  (come-came-come) – emerge tough – difficult, arduous to put up with  (put-put-put) – tolerate, suffer widow – woman w hose husband has died fairly – quite, reasonably do know – (emphatic ) know to open that genie  – open that can of worms, implicitly gave permission for that theme to be openly talked about binge – drinking session

49

TAPESCRIPTS

|  THINK 147

RELATED RESOURCES

4

Can you think of any pop stars who made a ‘good career move’ by dying? Is our reverence for dead celebrities hypocritical? 

criticize him too much for that. FB: Drinking? I drank one be er to every five of his and

AS: Are you coming to your confession here?

will do the gems273 and you will pick 274 the tracks 322 for

FB: What? What? I can’t believe you said that to me,

that was just76 to keep him happy, so he had adrinking

man! AS: Oh, it wasn’t you? I’m sorry.

MJ: I wouldn’t be surprised of that, poor fellow306.

the live recording. How’s that? For Christmas. FB: You’re serious? AS: Absolutely! FB: You’re serious? AS: Absolutely. I mean27, hey, look… FB: I’ll be able to choose… I’ll be able to choose the songs?

Oh, gosh!307

AS: It’s out in the open now. Macey has spoken. It’s

AS: It was all this bonding308 over the bottle, you know? come on, man! You know I don’t care. I mean27, to each

out in the open. FB: OK. AS: I have to confess here. I… i f I show any deference

their own309, you know? They have their thing, what

it’s for the widow 291 here and she appears to be show-

they want to do. But, man… AS: Not that there’s anything wrong with it.

ing absolutely no… no loss. MJ: What do you mean? AS: No? MJ: No, I’ve lost… I’ve lost a lifelong partner323 here.

buddy296, you know? MJ: That’s OK. When he drank 50 it wasn’t that good.

FB: No, it wasn’t me, man. I don’t know who it was,

You didn’t look that good ei ther, no. FB: No, no. But I… MJ: And you got him into a lot of trouble297. FB: I got him i nto trouble?! MJ: Yeah.

but it wasn’t me. KT: I’ve…

FB: I got him into trouble? He’s the one who always suggested going here and going there. We went to every dive 298 in LA. That’s where we got the title Drunk in LA. Every dive you could imagine, holes in

FB: I mean27, yeah, the bonding over the bottle, but

the walls299 we went to and I had to sit there while he  just42 – y’know56 – drank himself silly 300… I mean silly.

I don’t know how many fights we got into because of his – y’know56 – belligerent and insulting attitude to people. I don’t kn ow… AS: Then having to explain to Phil Spector about why – y’know56 – the star of the show wasn’t there. FB: Well… Phil’s another… he’s another ca se too. Boy, Phil I mean27… Phil and his gun, you know? That would

get him out of the bed, you know? AS: And the missed headline301… and what else? FB: Phil would pull out his gun and then Johnny get up – y’know56 – I mean... AS: I mean27, I’ve got my litany 302 too. But you were there with him Finn. FB:  What am I supposed to do? We were a duo – y’know56 – there were the two of us, you know? I

mean27… AS: Hey, that sounds like a great next album cover… What Am I Supposed to D o? 

FB: Yeah. AS: We’re a Duo. MJ: Life without Johnny. AS: What to Do with a Duo?  FB: That’s… you know… AS: What to Do with a Duo?  FB: What to Do with a Duo? What Do We Do? Do we Do we Do… AS: What to Do with A Duo Now that We’re One?  FB: Yeah, Now that We Are One. Yeah, that’s good. We’re

gonna  have to find somebody. AS: We have for the best of it. FB: Do you know any alcoholics? 29

FB: No, there’s nothing wrong with it, man. There’s nothing wrong with it. But it  just 42 wasn’t with me,

you know? I mean27… AS: I see.

It’s… I’m sad. He was just 42 a very hard267 person to

KT: You guys! I’ve been biting my lip 310 far too long 311

person that he was and the person that you could not talk to after 11 o’clock in the morning after the first

live with. And you all contributed to making him the

in this meeting. FB: Was it you?

couple of drinks.

KT: No. Talking about Johnny and his drinking problem, you know who drove him to drink so much, don’t you?

KT: Here we go!324

It was you, Macey, and you, Ken. I mean27… FB: What exactly are you implying?

doesn’t mean that I di dn’t love him… once. 295

KT: …you guys drove him to his drunken binges . Macey, for example, I knew from the start that Johnny was getting himself in a whole heap of 312 trouble when

he hooked up with313 you. MJ: Don’t be a fanboy314, Ken. KT: No, I knew.

MJ: He was a very difficult person to live with. But that FB: Well, we all loved him in our own – kind of 74 – way, you now? I mean27… he was a bastard but still – I

mean27 – you had to feel something ’cos28 there was

something different about… different about J ohnny. KT: Yes, he… yeah, genius. ■ 12. PICTURE DESCRIPT ION

(2m11s)

MJ: You’re so blind to315 him and his ways all the time.

Commentary: Listen to this person describing the

KT: I knew he could do so much better. MJ: You tolerated so much stuff 316. KT: But, no, he wouldn’t listen to me. MJ: Oh, come on! KT: And look. Look what happened. MJ: What happened? KT: Look at what has happened. FB: You know, you’re just… KT: Tragedy.

two photographs on p. 42.

FB: All you did was brownnose 317 him all the way. Your

day and the colours are very bright in the picture. We

nose is so brown from brownnosing him about all his

see melons and bananas and pears 328 and plums 329 and different fruit. In the second picture a young man is standing looking at a van330 selling traditional ice cream. There is only one person in this picture and

245

wonderful stuff   that he did. You know, come on!

Examiner: I’d like you to describe these two street

photos. Examinee: In the first picture we see a street market, two stalls325. The one in the background326  has clothing and the one in the foreground 327 is a stall selling fresh fruit. There are many varieties of fruit.

The salesman is talking animatedly to a prospective costumer about his fruit presumably. It’s a bright sunny

FB: Yeah, yeah, well… I think we just need to find

Come on! KT: That’s because he’s a musical genius and I saw it from day one318. FB: Musical genius? He didn’t write anything. I wrote it all! I wrote it all! AS: Yeah, but Ken represented him. KT: Yes.

another drunkard that’s all. MJ: No drinking, no sleeping around303, no… AS: I mean27…

FB: But actually32 he represented… he represented us. KT: No, I’m Johnny’s agent, really, Ken. I just 42 happen to look after319 you ’cos28 you were there. But my

picture there’s only one young man with his back to us contemplating the ice cream van.

FB:  You knew about that? I’m sorry. I mean 27… – y’know56 – I always felt I needed to tell you but I just 42 couldn’t. You know I didn’t have the heart to 304 do

responsibility was Johnny.

the street?

FB: Man, I really can’t believe this. I really can’t believe

Examinee: Oh, I think that depends on what sort80 of food one buys in the street. I’m quite sure that buying fresh fruit or vegetables on a marketstall325 is the same

MJ: You know you could probably project him on.

Remember like you could do a projection of Johnny and you could do a duo with a projection of him. AS: It’s like a holograph.

it, you know? MJ: Oh, thank you, thank you very much. Five years into this marriage when I started figuring things out305.

That was very fun. AS: So what’s… what was Johnny like in bed, Finn? FB: What? What? What? What? What? 296 297

298 299 300

301

302 303 304

305

50

drinking buddy – friend one drinks with, companion drinker to get s.o. into trouble  (get-got-got) – create problems

for s.o. dive – (slang) disreputable bar hole in the wall  – dive 298 to drink oneself silly – drink until you are unconscious/ comatose headline – (in this context ) opportunity to be the headliner (most prominent musical group/entertainer) of a show/ concert litany  – (in this context ) list of criticisms sleeping around – promiscuity not have the heart to (have-had-had) – not be able to do sth. because it seems too cruel to figure sth. out  – work sth. out, become conscious of what is happening

this. I don’t k now… I don’t know. AS: Well, Finn… FB: Just sc rew it all 320, man! Screw it all! Screw it all! I’m not going… I’m not gonna29 go with this. I’m not gonna29 go with this. AS: Now that Johnny’s gone you’re no longer second banana 321, OK? So, now you’ll do the compilation, you 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316

fellow  – guy, bloke, man, chap gosh! – (minced oath) God! bonding – camaraderie to each their own  – people should do what makes them happy to bite one’s lip  (bite-bit-bitten) – not say what y ou want to say far too long  – much too long a whole heap of  – (colloquial ) a lot of to hook up with  – (colloquial ) begin a relationship with fanboy – (slang) extreme fan, obsessive follower to be blind to s.o.  – not be conscious of what s.o. is doing so much stuff  – so many things ( in this context ) so much

misconduct

317

318 319

to brownnose s.o. – (US colloquial ) try to ingratiate oneself

to s.o., flatter s.o., be sycophantic to s.o. from day one – right from the start, from the very beginning to happen to look after s.o. – take care of s.o. fortuitously

he appears to be deciding which ice cream he would like to buy. So both pictures are about food and…

or something to eat and about buying something to eat… erm… on the street. In the first picture there are several people and it’s a busy picture and in the second

Examiner: How do you feel about buying food in

as buying the fresh fruit or vegetables in a supermarket or for that matter 331 buying ice cream from an

ice-cream van. I ’m not sure that I would however buy prepared food or cooked food from a stall325 on the street. ■  just screw it a ll – I don’t care about anything anymore to be second banana – play second f iddle, be s.o’s deputy track  – song partner – significant other, lover here we go! – now s/he’s started! stall – stand, booth the background – the part of the picture furthest

320 321 322 323 324 325 326

327

328 329 330 331

from the speaker (according to the perspective) the foreground – the part of the picture nearest to the speaker (according to the perspective) pear – plum – van – for that matter – given that we have mentioned it

THINK IN ENGLISH

ISSUE 147

YEAR XI

        f Publisher         f Editor       a        t Artistic Director         S Sub-Editor Agustín Buelta

In Next Month’s Think 

Nick Franklin [email protected] Marina Carresi

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