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<strong>Spotlight</strong> Deutschland<br />
10 2014<br />
E 7,50|CH sfr 13,50|A ·E ·I ·L ·SK: E 8,50<br />
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EDITORIAL | October 2014<br />
A few years ago, on a visit to <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>,<br />
my sister and I found ourselves wandering —<br />
a little lost — through the streets of Manhattan.<br />
On a corner close to Washington Square,<br />
Inez Sharp, editor-in-chief<br />
we came across a wonderful bookshop, its<br />
shelves stacked with rare and interesting paperbacks. A few steps further<br />
along, we found a vintage-clothes shop packed with bargains from the 1950s<br />
and 60s. Discoveries like these make journeys especially memorable and are<br />
the reason we have chosen an insider tour of <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> City as this month’s<br />
travel focus. <strong>The</strong> feature begins on page 14.<br />
Have you ever read poetry in English? Well-written verse, with its wonderful<br />
rhythms and various themes, can be highly pleasurable. English language<br />
expert Michael Swan, famous for his reference book Practical English Usage,<br />
a volume that helped me through years of teaching, has also published two<br />
collections of verse. He spoke<br />
to <strong>Spotlight</strong> about his love of<br />
poetry and has kindly allowed<br />
us to print four of his poems.<br />
Get lyrical with us on page 30.<br />
How long will it be before we<br />
see driverless cars? Not long,<br />
if you believe the experts. Tests<br />
with driverless cars will start in<br />
Britain in January 2015. Find<br />
out about the advantages and<br />
challenges of this technology<br />
in our story “A future with driverless<br />
cars” on page 22.<br />
Getting to know<br />
the real <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
Immer die<br />
passenden<br />
Worte finden<br />
ISBN 978-3-589-01561-0<br />
Grund- und Aufbauwortschatz<br />
nach <strong>The</strong>men<br />
Die 4.000 häufigsten Wörter aus<br />
der aktuellen Alltagssprache,<br />
thematisch gegliedert und unterteilt<br />
in Grund- und Aufbauwortschatz.<br />
ISBN 978-3-589-01876-5<br />
Sprach-Reiseführer<br />
Für den nächsten Familienurlaub!<br />
Erste Wortschatzübungen und viel<br />
Wissenswertes für Kinder und<br />
Eltern. Buch mit Audio-CD.<br />
i.sharp@spotlight-verlag.de<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14<br />
Gorgeous <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>:<br />
the Flatiron Building<br />
Titelfoto: Huber; Foto Editorial: F1 online<br />
Außerdem für Englisch:<br />
Weitere Sprachkurse, diverse<br />
Grammatiken, Verblexikon,<br />
<strong>The</strong>men- und Bildwörterbuch.<br />
Lextra – so lernt man Sprachen heute.<br />
Mehr Infos unter www.lextra.de
CONTENTS | October 2014<br />
14<br />
Inside <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> City<br />
Our correspondent asks <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>ers for spe cial<br />
insider tips on visiting “the city that never sleeps”.<br />
29<br />
Easy English<br />
Enjoy Green Light, the booklet specially written for<br />
learners at the A2 level.<br />
6 People<br />
Names and faces from around the world<br />
8 A Day in My Life<br />
A mountain rescue expert from Ireland<br />
10 World View<br />
What’s news and what’s hot<br />
13 Britain Today<br />
Colin Beaven on how nothing lasts forever<br />
22 Society<br />
Britain becomes a pioneer of driverless cars<br />
24 Food<br />
Delicious Native American specialities<br />
26 I Ask Myself<br />
Amy Argetsinger on leaving a baby in the car<br />
36 Around Oz<br />
Peter Flynn on why October is different<br />
38 Debate<br />
Does Canada still need public broadcasting?<br />
40 History<br />
Exploring Australia nearly 200 years ago<br />
42 Press Gallery<br />
A look at the English-language media<br />
44 Arts<br />
Films, apps, books, culture and a short story<br />
66 <strong>The</strong> Lighter Side<br />
Jokes and cartoons<br />
67 American Life<br />
Ginger Kuenzel on small-town experiences<br />
68 Feedback & Next Month<br />
Your letters to <strong>Spotlight</strong> and upcoming topics<br />
70 My Life in English<br />
Multitalented musician Oliver Gies<br />
Fotos: iStock; Schapowalow; Stockbyte<br />
THE SPOTLIGHT FAMILY<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> plus <strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio<br />
Every month, you can explore<br />
This monthly 60-minute CD/download<br />
and practise the language and<br />
brings the world of <strong>Spotlight</strong><br />
grammar of <strong>Spotlight</strong> with the<br />
to your ears. Enjoy interviews and<br />
exercise booklet plus.<br />
travel stories and try the exercises.<br />
Find out more at:<br />
Find out more on page 64 and at:<br />
www.spotlight-online.de/plus<br />
www.spotlight-online.de/audio<br />
4<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
30<br />
Poetry, please!<br />
Reading poetry can be a fun way to explore a<br />
language. Poet Michael Swan shows you how.<br />
Eight<br />
extra<br />
pages<br />
Grammar to go!<br />
Eight pull-out pages on the most important basic<br />
grammar rules in English, with tips and examples.<br />
IN THIS MAGAZINE: 14 LANGUAGE PAGES<br />
50 Vocabulary<br />
Words that have to do with “green” energy<br />
52 Travel Talk<br />
A trip to the Everglades in Florida<br />
53 Language Cards<br />
Pull out and practise<br />
55 Everyday English<br />
Words and phrases for talking about books<br />
57 <strong>The</strong> Grammar Page<br />
Using the third conditional<br />
58 Peggy’s Place: <strong>The</strong> Soap<br />
Visit <strong>Spotlight</strong>’s very own London pub<br />
OUR LANGUAGE LEVELS<br />
<strong>The</strong> levels of difficulty in <strong>Spotlight</strong> magazine correspond roughly to<br />
<strong>The</strong> Common European Framework of Reference for Languages:<br />
A2 B1 – B2 C1 – C2<br />
To find your level, visit Sprachtest.de<br />
59 English at Work<br />
Ken Taylor answers your questions<br />
60 Spoken English<br />
Ways to talk about success and failure<br />
61 Word Builder<br />
A focus on the words in <strong>Spotlight</strong><br />
62 Perfectionists Only!<br />
Nuances of English<br />
63 Crossword<br />
Find the words and win a prize<br />
IMPROVE YOUR ENGLISH WITH SPOTLIGHT PRODUCTS<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio: hear texts and interviews on our CD or<br />
download. See www.spotlight-online.de/hoeren<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> plus: 24 pages of language exercises related to the<br />
magazine. See www.spotlight-online.de/ueben<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> in the classroom: free of charge to teachers who<br />
subscribe to <strong>Spotlight</strong>. See www.spotlight-online.de/teachers<br />
Readers’ service: abo@spotlight-verlag.de · www.spotlight-online.de<br />
Tel.: +49 (0)89 / 85681-16 · Fax: +49 (0)89 / 85681-159<br />
www.SprachenShop.de: order products<br />
from our online shop (see page 48).<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong><br />
in the classroom<br />
Teachers: if you use <strong>Spotlight</strong> in<br />
your lessons, this six-page supplement<br />
will provide great ideas<br />
for classroom activities based on<br />
the magazine. Free for all teachers<br />
who subscribe to <strong>Spotlight</strong>.<br />
www.spotlight-online.de<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> Online will help you to improve<br />
your English every day. Try our language<br />
exercises or read about current events<br />
and fascinating places to visit.<br />
Subscribers will also find a list of all the<br />
glossed vocabulary from each issue of<br />
the magazine.<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 5
PEOPLE | Names and Faces<br />
<strong>The</strong> dancer<br />
Who exactly is… Xander<br />
Parish?<br />
ballet [(bÄleI]<br />
council housing [(kaUns&l )haUzIN] UK<br />
graduation [)grÄdZu(eIS&n]<br />
nothing but [(nVTIN bVt]<br />
onstage [)Qn(steIdZ]<br />
raise [reIz]<br />
secretary of state [)sekrEtEri Ev (steIt]<br />
spoof [spu:f] ifml.<br />
state benefit [(steIt )benIfIt]<br />
Ballett<br />
Xander Parish was an eightyear-old<br />
<strong>York</strong>shire schoolboy<br />
when he saw his seven-yearold<br />
sister Demelza performing in a<br />
school show. “Turning to my mum, I<br />
asked why I wasn’t on the stage, too,”<br />
Parish told Dance Magazine. Demelza<br />
had been dancing since she was<br />
three, but as a boy, Parish was more<br />
interested in cricket. He applied to<br />
the Royal Ballet School, however,<br />
and was accepted in 1998, aged 11.<br />
He soon began to love and respect<br />
the art of ballet, but after graduation<br />
in 2005, when he was taken into the<br />
Royal Ballet, he found himself “at<br />
the bottom of a large company”.<br />
One day, Parish was noticed by<br />
a guest teacher, the Russian ballet<br />
master Yuri Fateyev. Six months later,<br />
Fateyev became director of the<br />
Mariinsky Ballet in St Petersburg<br />
and offered the young man a place<br />
in the world-famous company. Parish<br />
wasn’t sure if he was good enough<br />
to dance in the footsteps of former<br />
Mariinsky stars: great artists such<br />
as Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov.<br />
But Fateyev insisted, saying<br />
that the company needed tall<br />
boys who were willing to work hard.<br />
Parish moved to St Petersburg<br />
in 2010, the first British person to<br />
dance with a Russian ballet troupe.<br />
He began in the corps de ballet, but<br />
Fateyev believed in letting dancers<br />
learn onstage, and it wasn’t long before<br />
Parish was dancing small solo<br />
roles. And when the Mariinsky Ballet<br />
visited Britain this summer, he<br />
performed the main roles in great<br />
works such as Swan Lake and Romeo<br />
and Juliet. Parish told <strong>The</strong> Independent:<br />
“It’s a big honour for anybody<br />
— and for a Brit it’s something really<br />
special.” It’s certainly a long way<br />
from practising cricket in a <strong>York</strong>shire<br />
garden.<br />
Sozialwohnung<br />
hier: Abschlussprüfung<br />
bloß, nur<br />
auf der Bühne<br />
hier: großziehen<br />
hier: (Kabinetts)Minister(in)<br />
Parodie, Veräppelung<br />
Sozialhilfe<br />
In the news<br />
Actor Sacha Baron Cohen’s new<br />
film is a spy spoof set in the English<br />
town of Grimsby. When the film — also<br />
called Grimsby — was announced,<br />
people living in the town were delighted.<br />
Jody Douglass, a local businessman,<br />
told <strong>The</strong><br />
Grimsby Telegraph : it<br />
“ will do nothing but<br />
good for the area”.<br />
But <strong>The</strong> Guardian<br />
reports that some<br />
locals are not happy<br />
with Cohen’s portrait<br />
of their town as “a terrible and dirty<br />
place to live”, and they are angry that<br />
“this is the way the world will get [its]<br />
first and maybe only look at Grimsby”.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>New</strong> Zealand Herald recently<br />
reported that the October edition of<br />
the comic magazine Marvel will show<br />
Thor, the god of thunder, as a woman.<br />
According to Marvel<br />
editor Wil Moss,<br />
“it’s time to update”<br />
the words on Thor’s<br />
hammer, where “he”<br />
is written. As Moss<br />
explains: “This is<br />
not She-Thor. This is<br />
not Lady Thor. This<br />
is Thor.” But a Marvel spokesperson<br />
made clear: “This is a publishing-only<br />
initiative.” <strong>The</strong> gods alone know what<br />
will happen in the movie.<br />
In July, Stephen Crabb became<br />
the new Secretary of State for Wales (or<br />
Welsh Secretary). Crabb says he is inspired<br />
by his mother. “I happen to have<br />
been raised by a single mother who<br />
raised three sons on her own in council<br />
housing in West Wales,” Crabb told <strong>The</strong><br />
South Wales Evening Post.<br />
He described his childhood<br />
as “loving” and his mother<br />
as someone who relied<br />
on state benefits, but who<br />
also was able to<br />
“start her journey<br />
of a working life”<br />
when she had<br />
the opportunity.<br />
6<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
Out of the ordinary<br />
When American Jeremiah Heaton’s daughter Emily, aged<br />
seven, asked whether she’d ever be “a real princess”, Heaton began<br />
researching and found an area called Bir Tawil: 800 square miles of<br />
unclaimed (and empty) desert between Egypt and Sudan. He flew to<br />
Africa, travelled 14 hours and planted a flag in the territory, which<br />
his children have called “the Kingdom of North Sudan”. Heaton told<br />
<strong>The</strong> Guardian: “It has been unclaimed for around 100 years. I just<br />
followed the same process as many others have done: planted our<br />
flag and claimed it.” Heaton wants to improve food production and<br />
create digital freedom in the new kingdom. “Lofty goals,” as he says,<br />
but he believes they can be achieved.<br />
Modern scientific farming methods can be controversial, so it’s<br />
good to know that traditional ways of keeping foods safe are effective.<br />
Mark Roy is a farmer in Washington state. He found that<br />
spraying his crops with chemicals to keep off small “nuisance” birds<br />
changed the taste of the fruit. Another option was netting, but that<br />
cost a lot and didn’t protect all of the crops. So Roy decided to call<br />
in Falcon Force, a company that uses birds of prey, such as peregrine<br />
falcons, to stop starlings and finches from eating the cherries. Roy<br />
told <strong>The</strong> Seattle Times : “It’s a very sustainable way to try to live with<br />
nature and protect the harvest.” So everybody’s happy now — except,<br />
perhaps, some of the smaller birds.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> answer to all requests for free tickets for this match has<br />
been neigh,” said Waratah boss Jason Allen. <strong>The</strong> Waratahs<br />
are an Australian rugby team. Talking to <strong>The</strong> Canberra Times,<br />
Allen was describing his decision to make the mascot of a rival<br />
team, the Brumbies, “buy a ticket like everyone else” for a<br />
match and sit with the other visitors. <strong>The</strong> mascot is Brumby<br />
Jack, a human-horse who normally trots up and down the side<br />
of the playing field, encouraging his team. Brumby fans started<br />
an online petition to get their mascot down on the field, but Allen<br />
said that no animals are allowed in the stadium, “and that<br />
includes horses”. “It’s all a bit of horseplay,” he said.<br />
<strong>The</strong> newcomer<br />
• Name: Holliday Grainger<br />
• Age: 26<br />
• Profession: actor<br />
• Background: from the city of Manchester<br />
in the UK.<br />
• Where you’ve seen her: Grainger<br />
began acting at the age of six and<br />
has worked almost continuously<br />
since then. Her biggest role so<br />
far has been as Lucrezia Borgia in<br />
the TV series <strong>The</strong> Borgias, which<br />
was released in 2011. <strong>The</strong> series<br />
was created by the Oscar-winning<br />
screenwriter Neil Jordan and<br />
starred Jeremy Irons as Pope Alexander<br />
VI, the father of Lucrezia.<br />
• Where you can see her: She recently<br />
took the part of Bonnie Parker<br />
in a Bonnie & Clyde mini-series on TV and<br />
will appear in two films in the coming year:<br />
Posh, a drama about an exclusive club for students<br />
at an Oxford college, and Cinderella, a<br />
fantasy film directed by Kenneth Branagh<br />
and shot in various locations in England.<br />
Fotos: Corbis; ddp images; Splash; Ullstein; WENN<br />
bird of prey [)b§:d Ev (preI]<br />
claim sth. [kleIm]<br />
finch [fIntS]<br />
horseplay [(hO:spleI]<br />
human-horse [)hju:mEn (hO:s]<br />
lofty [(lQfti]<br />
neigh [neI]<br />
netting [(netIN]<br />
nuisance: ~ birds [(nju:s&ns]<br />
peregrine falcon [)perEgrIn (fO:lkEn]<br />
starling [(stA:lIN]<br />
sustainable [sE(steInEb&l]<br />
unclaimed [)Vn(kleImd]<br />
Raubvogel,<br />
Greifvogel<br />
auf etw. Anspruch<br />
erheben<br />
Fink<br />
Unfug, Alberei<br />
Mensch, der als<br />
Pferd verkleidet ist<br />
erhaben<br />
Wiehern (klingt wie<br />
“nay”: nein)<br />
hier: Anbringen von<br />
Netzen<br />
hier: lästige oder<br />
schädliche Vögel<br />
Wanderfalke<br />
Star<br />
nachhaltig,<br />
zukunftsfähig<br />
unbeansprucht<br />
PSSCHT!<br />
GEHEIMREZEPT<br />
AUSLAND!<br />
EF Education First bietet nun seit<br />
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Verbessern Sie nicht nur Ihre Grammatik<br />
und Aussprache, sondern sammeln Sie<br />
während dieser Zeit zudem unvergessliche<br />
Auslandserfahrungen.<br />
Finden Sie das Programm ganz nach<br />
Ihrem Geschmack unter:<br />
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www.ef.com<br />
/spotlight<br />
Texts by EVE LUCAS<br />
Internationale Sprachschulen<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 7
A DAY IN MY LIFE | Ireland<br />
Mountain man<br />
Help when you need it:<br />
Piaras Kelly is part of the Kerry<br />
Mountain Rescue Team<br />
Sein Wunsch, mal etwas anderes als nur Pubs von innen zu sehen, führte dazu, dass dieser Ire<br />
Bergführer und Teil eines Elite-Bergrettungsteams wurde. JOHN STANLEY berichtet.<br />
My name is Piaras Kelly, and I’ve recently turned<br />
40. I became involved in mountaineering about<br />
20 years ago, because I wanted a change from<br />
spending my time in the pub. I started by going hillwalking<br />
every month or so. That quickly turned into every<br />
week, and then into more serious mountaineering and<br />
rock climbing. Now, I’m out on the hills almost every day,<br />
either as a guide and climbing instructor, or as a member<br />
of the all-voluntary Kerry Mountain Rescue Team.<br />
I joined the team about seven years ago. At that time,<br />
I lived in East County Cork. That’s quite a distance from<br />
the County Kerry mountains, which are on the Atlantic<br />
coast in the south-west of Ireland. I could have joined another<br />
team much closer to where I lived, but I wanted to<br />
be in the Kerry Mountain Rescue. For me, they were exceptional,<br />
because they are dealing with Ireland’s biggest<br />
and steepest mountains, some of which are more than<br />
1,000 metres high.<br />
I’ve since moved to County Kerry with my wife, Catherine,<br />
and our five-year-old daughter. Catherine is also<br />
involved in mountain rescue as the training officer with<br />
the Search and Rescue Dogs Association of Ireland.<br />
We live at the foot of Ireland’s<br />
highest mountain,<br />
Corrán Tuathail, in the<br />
MacGillycuddy’s Reeks<br />
range. Now, I’m one<br />
of the members<br />
of the team closest<br />
to the action whenever<br />
there’s a call-out.<br />
8 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are 35 members in the team, and they come<br />
from all walks of life — graphic designers, engineers,<br />
electricians, nurses and more. Last year, we were called<br />
out 34 times, mainly to assist walkers who were lost or in<br />
trouble on the Reeks. We helped 55 people on those callouts.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re can be serious neck and back injuries, broken<br />
limbs, or simply minor grazes and shock. Unfortunately,<br />
there was also one fatality.<br />
I’m the team’s assistant training officer as well. So<br />
between training and call-outs, which can typically take<br />
many, many hours, it is a big commitment. But whenever<br />
I’m out in the mountains, I don’t see it as time taken out<br />
of my life. I consider it to be time added to it. It’s a joy<br />
to be in Kerry Mountain Rescue, and I feel privileged to<br />
be one of the team. We’re also part of the 999 / 112 rescue<br />
services, and we work very closely with the coastguard<br />
helicopter. We also cover a wide area of wild mountains<br />
in Kerry and West Cork, together with other local rescue<br />
teams.<br />
all-voluntary [)O:l (vQlEntEri]<br />
commitment [kE(mItmEnt]<br />
cover [(kVvE]<br />
from all walks of life<br />
[frEm (O:l )wO:ks Ev )laIf]<br />
graze [greIz]<br />
limb [lIm]<br />
mountaineering [)maUntI(nIErIN]<br />
range [reIndZ]<br />
since [sIns]<br />
training officer [(treInIN )QfIsE]<br />
rein ehrenamtlich<br />
Verpflichtung<br />
abdecken<br />
hier: aus allen Berufen<br />
Schramme<br />
Körperglied<br />
Bergsteigen<br />
hier: Bergkette<br />
hier: seither, inzwischen<br />
Trainingsleiter(in)<br />
Fotos: iStock; Valerie O’Sullivan; John Stanley
INFO TO GO<br />
Many people who come to these mountains underestimate<br />
how wild they are. <strong>The</strong> weather in Kerry can<br />
change quickly, too, and you can get lost very easily. We<br />
do have sheep trails you can follow, but these are nothing<br />
like the dry stone paths you find in Scotland and Wales.<br />
So here, it is important that people who go up into the<br />
hills have a map and really know how to use it. It’s also<br />
essential to be prepared for the weather.<br />
Most of my working days are taken up running my<br />
company, Kerry Climbing, and guiding. I love seeing<br />
people’s faces when we’re out. It reminds me of how I<br />
felt when I started. <strong>The</strong>se days, many people spend day<br />
after day behind a desk, and you cannot get any sense of<br />
wildness or excitement from that. But up in the Kerry<br />
mountains, you feel more on the edge. It’s great to see<br />
how much fun my clients have had when they’re coming<br />
down off the hills at the end of a fantastic day.<br />
MacGillycuddy’s Reeks<br />
In Irish, the name for MacGillycuddy’s Reeks<br />
is Na Cruacha Dubha, which means “the<br />
black stacks”, a reference to the type of rock<br />
formation that is found there. MacGillycuddy,<br />
however, comes from the name of the local<br />
family, Mac Giolla Mochuda, which owned this<br />
part of County Kerry. Eleven of the mountains<br />
in the range are more than 900 metres high,<br />
with three taller than 1,000 metres. At<br />
1,038 metres, the very tallest of these<br />
is called Corrán Tuathail in Irish and<br />
Carrauntoohil in English. No special<br />
equipment is needed to climb it,<br />
but people say that crowding on the<br />
mountain has made its paths a bit<br />
more dangerous these days.<br />
cliff [klIf]<br />
irritable [(IrItEb&l]<br />
run [rVn]<br />
stack [stÄk]<br />
trail [treI&l]<br />
Felsvorsprung, Steilwand<br />
gereizt<br />
hier: führen, leiten<br />
Haufen, Stapel<br />
Trampelpfad<br />
fatality<br />
A fatality is a formal word meaning “death”. It is used in<br />
official reports and in the news to refer to deaths resulting<br />
from accidents, natural disasters (such as floods), disease<br />
or war. <strong>The</strong> formal word “casualty” means a person<br />
who has been injured or killed in such a situation. <strong>The</strong><br />
expression “death toll” means “the number of people<br />
who have died”. Compare the following sentences, which<br />
contain examples of how these words are used:<br />
a) <strong>New</strong>spapers report that the death toll from Israeli<br />
attacks on Gaza is increasing.<br />
b) <strong>The</strong> US Department of Transportation is making a study<br />
of highway fatalities caused by drunk drivers.<br />
c) She never knew her father. He was a casualty of the<br />
Vietnam War.<br />
on the edge<br />
Piaras Kelly says: “But up in the Kerry mountains, you feel<br />
more on the edge.” You may see the expression “living<br />
on the edge”, which means “taking part in activities that<br />
can involve an increased amount of risk”. Kelly could be<br />
playing a little with words, because when you are up high<br />
in the mountains, you can really be “on the edge” — on a<br />
rock face or cliff. On the other hand, if you are “on edge”,<br />
you are irritable and nervous. Which expressions using<br />
“edge” belong in the following sentences?<br />
a) Bill likes to drive really fast. He likes to ________.<br />
b) She is completely ________ today. Perhaps she didn’t<br />
get enough sleep.<br />
c) I love paragliding. It makes me feel as if I’m ________.<br />
Training is an important part of the team’s routine<br />
Answers<br />
on the edge: a) live on the edge; b) on edge; c) on the edge / living on the edge<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 9
WORLD VIEW | <strong>New</strong>s in Brief<br />
<strong>The</strong> season changes<br />
in Dorset, England<br />
It’s a good month for…<br />
autumn colours<br />
BRITAIN Autumn brings cooler weather,<br />
shorter days and the chance to enjoy the new season’s<br />
beauty. Magnificent arboreal displays of golds, oranges<br />
and reds are what attract people to Sherborne Castle in<br />
Dorset, south-west England, for the Autumn Colours<br />
Weekend. Held this year on 25 and 26 October, the event<br />
encourages visitors to tour the estate’s beautiful gardens,<br />
while nature completes its work. “England’s greatest gardener”,<br />
Capability Brown, laid out some of the grounds<br />
in 1753, a treat for fans of English landscape design.<br />
Farming tobacco: a way of life for some Ugandans<br />
Tobacco: not all bad?<br />
UGANDA It is well known that smoking causes<br />
illness. But tobacco also allows many people to make a living. In Uganda,<br />
members of parliament concerned with the adverse effects of cigarettes<br />
have been trying to pass a law banning tobacco. <strong>The</strong> country’s<br />
farmers, who can earn far more money from tobacco than from other<br />
crops, like maize, see things differently.<br />
10 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14<br />
Sherborne <strong>New</strong> Castle, the estate’s main building, welcomes<br />
visitors to tour the 16th-century Tudor mansion.<br />
Built in 1594 by Elizabethan explorer Sir Walter Raleigh,<br />
the house passed to the Digby family in 1617 and underwent<br />
a major expansion. <strong>The</strong> ruins of a 12th-century castle<br />
on the estate may be visited, too. In November, Sherborne<br />
closes for a winter break and opens again in April.<br />
For more information, see www.sherbornecastle.com<br />
nachteilig, schädlich<br />
Baum-<br />
hier: Anbaupflanze<br />
Anwesen, Landgut<br />
trotzdem<br />
großartig, herrlich<br />
Mais<br />
Herrenhaus<br />
Speiseröhre<br />
Vergnügen, Leckerbissen<br />
unterzogen werden<br />
adverse [(Ädv§:s]<br />
arboreal [A:(bO:riEl]<br />
crop [krQp]<br />
estate [I(steIt]<br />
even so [)i:v&n (sEU]<br />
magnificent [mÄg(nIfIsEnt]<br />
maize [meIz] UK<br />
mansion [(mÄnS&n]<br />
oesophagus [i(sQfEgEs]<br />
treat [tri:t]<br />
undergo [)VndE(gEU]<br />
“This is my future,” Fred Okippi told <strong>The</strong> Guardian, pointing to<br />
his five acres of tobacco plants. Okippi is one of about 75,000 tobacco<br />
farmers in this East African country. “If the government wants to ban<br />
tobacco use, then we are going to suffer. Where are we going to get<br />
money to educate our children?”<br />
Uganda benefits from the plant in other ways, too. Nearly $40 million<br />
in taxes were collected from the sales of tobacco products in the<br />
country in 2011, making it one of the top ways for the government to<br />
raise money. Even so, it is ministers from within the regime who are<br />
pushing for change.<br />
“Tobacco kills,” said Dr Sheila Ndyanabangi of the Ugandan health<br />
ministry. “We want to make it extremely hard for people to find or<br />
smoke a cigarette. At the Uganda Cancer Institute, we followed the<br />
history of most patients diagnosed with lung cancer, cancer of the<br />
mouth, throat and oesophagus, and found they had been smoking.”<br />
Fotos: A1PIX/YPT; iStock; dpa/Picture Alliance; Getty Images; Library of Congress
Registering for the draft;<br />
here, American men sign<br />
on during World War I<br />
<strong>The</strong> wrong<br />
century?<br />
UNITED STATES Computers don’t make mistakes — people do. This<br />
explains why US military conscription notices were recently sent to more than 14,000 Pennsylvania<br />
men born between 1893 and 1897. Worried relatives contacted the Selective Service<br />
System (SSS), which sent the notices telling the men to register for the US draft — or possibly<br />
pay a fine or go to prison. “We were just totally dumbfounded,” Chuck Huey, 73, of Kingston,<br />
Pennsylvania, told Fox <strong>New</strong>s. He received the letter that had been sent to his late grandfather.<br />
<strong>The</strong> SSS apologized for the error, which was caused by a data transfer from the Pennsylvania<br />
transport department. An employee had forgotten to limit birth data to the 20th century.<br />
A spokesman said that Pennsylvania used only a two-digit number for the year of birth. People<br />
born in 1893 and 1993, for example, had the same code.<br />
Although the draft has not been used in the US since the Vietnam War, US males aged<br />
between 18 and 25 are still required to register with the SSS.<br />
Sprachen lernen<br />
– einfach<br />
beim Lesen!<br />
aspire to [E(spaIE tE]<br />
bouncer [(baUnsE]<br />
conscription [kEn(skrIpS&n]<br />
doorman [(dO:mEn]<br />
draft [US drÄft]<br />
dumbfounded [dVm(faUndId]<br />
fine [faIn]<br />
late [leIt]<br />
selective service [US sE)lektIv (s§:vEs]<br />
two-digit [(tu: )dIdZIt]<br />
wrestling [(res&lIN]<br />
anstreben, erstreben<br />
Türsteher(in), Rausschmeißer(in)<br />
Einberufung<br />
Türsteher(in)<br />
Einberufung<br />
sprachlos, verblüfft<br />
Geldstrafe, Bußgeld<br />
hier: verstorben<br />
Wehrdienst<br />
zweistellig<br />
Ringen<br />
NEU<br />
<strong>The</strong> right moves<br />
INDIA What is the best training for work as a doorman? Two villages<br />
in India appear to have the answer.<br />
Located to the south of Delhi, the twin settlements of Asola and Fatehpur<br />
Beri are famous for their love of kushti, or traditional Indian wrestling. <strong>The</strong><br />
wrestlers, usually in their 20s or early 30s, train in special sports clubs for eight<br />
to ten hours a day in order to be the best at their sport. <strong>The</strong>y eat carefully and<br />
avoid alcohol. Few are able to earn a living from wrestling, however, so many<br />
of them move to the capital city to work as doormen in clubs and bars or as<br />
bodyguards. Life as a bouncer there is, of course, very different from life in<br />
the village and the ideals of becoming a champion wrestler. As India Today<br />
reports, “a career as bouncers was not what most of them had aspired to”.<br />
A very old<br />
sport: Indian<br />
wrestling<br />
272 S. · € 7,80 · ISBN 978-3-15-019891-9<br />
Ein bewegender Coming-of-Age-Roman<br />
vor dem Hintergrund des Angriffs auf<br />
Pearl Harbour und dem Kriegseintritt der<br />
USA in den Zweiten Weltkrieg.<br />
Reclams<br />
Rote Reihe<br />
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englische und amerikanische Literatur<br />
im Original, mit praktischen<br />
Übersetzungshilfen. Über 180 Bände<br />
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Titelverzeichnis der Roten Reihe!<br />
»»» werbung@reclam.de<br />
Reclam<br />
www.reclam.de
WORLD VIEW | <strong>New</strong>s in Brief<br />
BRITAIN War is a sad fact of human<br />
existence. Now, experts from the British Museum<br />
in London have evidence of what is believed to be<br />
the world’s oldest large-scale armed conflict. <strong>The</strong> human<br />
remains from it, thought to be 13,000 years old,<br />
come from Jebel Sahaba in Northern Sudan.<br />
<strong>The</strong> skeletons were first discovered by US anthropologist<br />
Dr Fred Wendorf in the 1960s, prior to the<br />
building of the Aswan High Dam on the River Nile.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Independent reports that new technology allows<br />
scientists to see bone damage caused by flint arrowheads.<br />
Of the 61 bodies discovered, “at least 45 per cent of them died<br />
of inflicted wounds,” says the British Museum, “making this the earliest<br />
evidence for intercommunal violence in the archaeological record.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> reason for the conflict may have been climate change. With Ice<br />
Age glaciers covering Europe and North America at the time, various<br />
tribes migrated to the warmer Nile region. Experts think that limited resources<br />
led to battles over land, food and water. Some of the Jebel Sahaba<br />
remains may be seen in the British Museum’s Early Egypt gallery.<br />
<strong>The</strong> bones tell the sad story<br />
of an ancient war<br />
An old war<br />
arrowhead [(ÄrEUhed]<br />
Aswan High Dam [Äs)wA:n )haI (dÄm]<br />
brainchild [(breIntSaI&ld]<br />
Egypt [(i:dZIpt]<br />
flint [flInt]<br />
glacier [(glÄsiE]<br />
human remains [)hju:mEn ri(meInz]<br />
inflict [In(flIkt]<br />
inspire [US In(spaI&r]<br />
large-scale [)lA:dZ (skeI&l]<br />
prior to [(praIE tE]<br />
reminder [US ri(maInd&r]<br />
rotating [US (roUteItIN]<br />
scent [sent]<br />
take-out meal [(teIk aUt )mi:&l] N. Am.<br />
text message [(tekst )mesIdZ]<br />
tribe [traIb]<br />
Pfeilspitze<br />
Assuan-Staudamm<br />
Erfindung<br />
Ägypten<br />
Feuerstein<br />
Gletscher<br />
menschliche Überreste<br />
beibringen, zufügen<br />
hier: verbreiten, einflößen<br />
ausgedehnt<br />
vor<br />
Erinnerung<br />
drehbar, sich drehend<br />
Geruch<br />
Mitnahmemahlzeit<br />
SMS<br />
Stamm<br />
WHAT’S HOT<br />
Family robot<br />
UNITED STATES<br />
Some robots inspire fear in people,<br />
but not Jibo. Jibo may be the first robot<br />
you ever own.<br />
Jibo acts as a personal assistant.<br />
It sits on a table and tells you the<br />
content of text messages you’ve received,<br />
gives you reminders about<br />
the day’s events, reads a book to<br />
your child, welcomes you home from<br />
work, and even asks you if you would<br />
like it to order a take-out meal — all in<br />
a sweet, friendly voice. <strong>The</strong> only mobile<br />
thing about the robot is its rotating<br />
head, a function that allows the<br />
user to move freely around the room<br />
while having a video chat via the robot<br />
with family or friends.<br />
Jibo is the brainchild of the famous<br />
social robotics researcher Dr.<br />
Cynthia Breazeal. “What if technology<br />
could make you feel closer to the<br />
ones you love? ... That’s what Jibo’s<br />
about,” she says in a video. For more<br />
information, see www.myjibo.com<br />
Jibo and<br />
its maker,<br />
Dr Cynthia<br />
Breazeal<br />
Movies get an<br />
extra dimension<br />
UNITED STATES If 3D cinema isn’t enough<br />
for you, why not try something extra? <strong>The</strong> Regal Cinema in downtown<br />
Los Angeles has become the first US multiplex to open a 4D auditorium.<br />
Movies are shown in 3D with added features such as rain, wind,<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 7|14<br />
Get ready for the next<br />
big thing in movies<br />
and fog, as well as moving seats and even smell. <strong>The</strong> 4D effects are<br />
closely synchronized with the on-screen action. <strong>The</strong> new technology,<br />
known as 4DX, has been developed by South Korean firm CJ 4DPlex,<br />
which is part of the CJ Group, the company behind the largest cinema<br />
chain in Asia. First used in Seoul in 2009, 4DX has expanded into 23<br />
other countries across the globe. More than 14,000 4DX seats are now<br />
available in 91 different auditoriums.<br />
Talking to <strong>The</strong> Los Angeles Times, Byung Hwan Choi, CEO of<br />
CJ 4DPlex, promised audiences “a moviegoing experience never before<br />
seen in the US.” With a selection of more than 1,000 possible<br />
scents, 4DX also provides an excellent opportunity for audiences to<br />
say, “That smelled like a really good movie.”<br />
By JULIAN EARWAKER and CLAUDINE WEBER-HOF<br />
Fotos: British Museum; PR
Britain Today | COLIN BEAVEN<br />
Foto: Stockbyte<br />
What’s the<br />
name on the<br />
card?<br />
Nothing lasts forever. Everything<br />
has its limits. <strong>The</strong> food<br />
we buy at the supermarket<br />
comes with a use-by date, after which<br />
we shouldn’t eat it. Tickets for the car<br />
park tell you what time they expire,<br />
after which you can’t use them. Our<br />
credit cards expire, our passports expire.<br />
And in the end, we expire —<br />
because the word also means “die”.<br />
Yes, you can use the same word<br />
for bits of plastic or scraps of paper<br />
that are no longer any use and also<br />
for the end of someone’s life. It’s true<br />
that “expired” is a rather formal way<br />
to say that someone has died, but<br />
that makes me shudder all the more<br />
when I use my credit card to buy<br />
things over the phone.<br />
“What’s the name on the card?”<br />
they ask. That is not unreasonable. It’s<br />
the next question I find scary: “Expiry<br />
date?” Do they mean the card’s or<br />
mine? After all, if anyone knows our<br />
use-by dates, it’s probably the banks<br />
and credit card companies. Banks are<br />
so powerful, and in more paranoid<br />
moments, I can imagine they’d enjoy<br />
deciding when to end their customers’<br />
lives — like the Fates in Greek<br />
and Roman mythology.<br />
Worse still: let’s say your credit<br />
card expires in one year’s time. <strong>The</strong><br />
date October 2015 is presented on<br />
the card as “10 ... 15”. But be careful<br />
how you say it over the phone.<br />
Ten fifteen? It sounds as if you<br />
mean a quarter past ten this evening,<br />
or tomorrow morning at the latest.<br />
I was going to use my card to book<br />
next year’s summer holiday. It hardly<br />
seems worth it now.<br />
Of course, one shouldn’t panic.<br />
<strong>The</strong> statistics tell a different story;<br />
Everything has its limits<br />
Früher oder später hat alles ein Ende. Nur – wann genau ist das<br />
und wer bestimmt es? Ein Ab laufdatum, wie das auf unserer<br />
Kreditkarte, kann ungeahnte Tücken in sich bergen.<br />
British men can expect to live to be<br />
around 79 and women to 83. Life<br />
expectancy is going up every year.<br />
But that brings problems, too. Britain’s<br />
health system is under increasing<br />
pressure, partly because the population’s<br />
growing, and partly because<br />
the older generation is now the even<br />
older generation.<br />
Using the National Health Service<br />
(NHS) is basically free, but<br />
experts are saying that it can’t cope<br />
with demand, and they wonder how<br />
long this can continue. A report earlier<br />
this year by Lord Warner and<br />
Jack O’Sullivan said that the NHS<br />
will soon need billions it doesn’t have<br />
— at least £30 billion a year within<br />
ten years.<br />
Governments have tried all sorts<br />
of reforms to make money go further.<br />
Now officials in the county of Staffordshire<br />
have said they’ll let private<br />
companies try to win contracts to<br />
provide health care, even for cancer.<br />
More private companies active in<br />
the NHS? Many people on the political<br />
left here won’t like that. <strong>The</strong>y<br />
take the view that health care should<br />
be motivated by<br />
idealism and not billion [(bIljEn]<br />
by profit. Others blunt [blVnt]<br />
seem to think<br />
that the one demand [di(mA:nd]<br />
doesn’t exclude expire [Ik(spaIE]<br />
the other.<br />
handy [(hÄndi]<br />
<strong>The</strong> worry<br />
is that there are<br />
only two solutions:<br />
either you<br />
pay more, or you<br />
reduce the demands<br />
you make<br />
on the service.<br />
Does that mean<br />
that we’ll soon<br />
need to have our<br />
car park [(kA: pA:k] UK<br />
health care [(helT keE]<br />
last [lA:st]<br />
National Health Service<br />
[)nÄS&nEl (helT )s§:vIs] UK<br />
official [E(fIS&l]<br />
scary [(skeEri]<br />
scrap [skrÄp]<br />
shudder [(SVdE]<br />
surgery [(s§:dZEri] UK<br />
the Fates [DE (feIts]<br />
unreasonable [Vn(ri:z&nEb&l]<br />
credit cards handy when we ring the<br />
surgery for an appointment with the<br />
doctor?<br />
“Name on the card?” they’ll say.<br />
<strong>The</strong>n: “Expiry date?”<br />
“Ten fifteen.”<br />
“I see. Look, this may seem rather<br />
blunt, but is there really any point in<br />
giving you an appointment? Time’s<br />
money, you know. We wouldn’t want<br />
to waste either.”<br />
“Perhaps it means ten fifteen p.m.,<br />
not a.m. If I’m still here this evening,<br />
would that make a difference?”<br />
“I’m sorry. We close at half past<br />
five.”<br />
Colin Beaven is a freelance writer who<br />
lives and works in Southampton on the south<br />
coast of England.<br />
Milliarde(n)<br />
schonungslos offen, unverblümt<br />
Parkplatz, Parkhaus<br />
Nachfrage<br />
auslaufen, ungültig werden<br />
griffbereit<br />
medizinische Versorgung<br />
dauern, währen<br />
staatlicher Gesundheitsdienst<br />
Beamter, Beamtin<br />
unheimlich, beängstigend<br />
Fetzen, Stückchen<br />
(zurück)schaudern<br />
Arztpraxis<br />
die Schicksalsgöttinnen<br />
unsinnig, unangemessen<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 13
TRAVEL | United States<br />
Inside<br />
Travel tips for the<br />
greatest city on Earth<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
Welche Insider-Tipps verraten die meisten <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>er nur Freunden und Verwandten?<br />
ALEX KINGSBURY war in Big Apple, um das herauszufinden.<br />
So much to see<br />
and do: the city that<br />
never sleeps<br />
When you are one in a million in <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>,” goes<br />
the old saying, “there are eight more people just<br />
like you.” It’s a city that is at once impersonal<br />
and welcoming, crowded and lonely, ephemeral and constant.<br />
<strong>The</strong> locals are famous for their gruffness, yet the<br />
Statue of Liberty in <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> Harbor calls out a sincere<br />
welcome to the world’s poor, huddled masses.<br />
It’s impossible to cover the entire city in a single article.<br />
But I did find many long-time <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>ers prepared<br />
to part with a tip or two on what they find most compelling<br />
about the city — the kind of information they share<br />
only with friends who come to visit.<br />
appreciate [E(pri:SieIt]<br />
compelling [kEm(pelIN]<br />
ephemeral [I(fem&rEl]<br />
exhausting [Ig(zO:stIN]<br />
gruffness [(grVfnEs]<br />
hiss [hIs]<br />
huddled [(hVd&ld]<br />
on: be ~ [A:n]<br />
part with sth. [(pA:rt wIT]<br />
surrender: ~ oneself [sE(rend&r]<br />
würdigen, schätzen<br />
verlockend, fesselnd<br />
kurzlebig<br />
anstrengend, ermüdend<br />
Barschheit, Schroffheit<br />
Zischen<br />
zusammengedrängt<br />
eingeschaltet sein, an sein<br />
sich trennen von etw.<br />
hier: sich ganz darauf einlassen<br />
I used to live in <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> City and have been<br />
back countless times since then to work and play.<br />
It’s true what they say: you can’t real ly appreciate<br />
a city until you’ve moved away. That’s the<br />
feeling I get as my train pulls into Penn Station,<br />
and the doors open with a hiss.<br />
As any visitor will tell you, <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> has its<br />
own smell, sound, and rhythm, which may<br />
take a bit of getting used to. It feels like<br />
a place that is always on, that can be in<br />
equal parts refreshing and exhausting. If<br />
you’re willing to surrender yourself to<br />
that rhythm, however, it can be a wonderful<br />
place to explore.<br />
Because the city is so large, just<br />
getting from one place to another can<br />
mean quite a bit of travel. On the other<br />
hand, <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> is a city that is just<br />
asking to be walked. <strong>The</strong> interior of the<br />
United States may be designed around<br />
the highway system and the automobile,<br />
but Gotham City is designed for<br />
sneakers.<br />
14<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
Fotos: Getty Images; iStock; Schapowalow<br />
To get to know <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> City<br />
means leaving Manhattan. “If<br />
you’ve never been to <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>,<br />
spend a day riding the subway,”<br />
says Nate Collins, an officer in<br />
the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> City Police Department.<br />
“Ride the iron horse for an<br />
afternoon — take a line from beginning<br />
to end, and get out a few<br />
times along the way. <strong>The</strong>n pick a<br />
different line the next day. You’ll<br />
see it all.”<br />
That’s a good way to explore<br />
a city that tourists — and many<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>ers themselves — regard<br />
as only the island of Manhattan. People who call it<br />
home know <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> simply as “the City,” but it is<br />
made up of a total of five boroughs: Manhattan, yes, but<br />
also the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.<br />
Everyone has Times Square at the top of his or her<br />
list, and a trip to NYC wouldn’t be complete without an<br />
elevator ride up the Empire State Building. But if you<br />
visit only the guide books’ top suggestions for Manhattan,<br />
“you’ll miss out on the ethnic food in Queens and the<br />
small shops and restaurants in Brooklyn,” says Karen Stephens,<br />
a writer and artist who divides her time between<br />
Mexico City and <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>. “It’s worth getting beyond<br />
Manhattan, which has become crowded and expensive.”<br />
beyond [bi(A:nd]<br />
borough [(b§:oU]<br />
head north [hed (nO:rT]<br />
late [leIt]<br />
make inroads<br />
[meIk (InroUdz]<br />
pastime [(pÄstaIm]<br />
regard as [ri(gA:rd Ez]<br />
soccer [(sA:k&r]<br />
subway [(sVbweI] N. Am.<br />
jenseits, außerhalb<br />
Stadtbezirk, Stadtviertel<br />
Richtung Norden fahren<br />
hier: verstorben<br />
vordringen; hier: sich verbreiten<br />
Freizeitbeschäftigung, Zeitvertreib<br />
betrachten als<br />
Fußball<br />
U-Bahn<br />
America loves baseball: <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
Yankees’ star player Derek Jeter<br />
and Yankee Stadium<br />
Head north from Manhattan<br />
Island, and you’ll find what<br />
is holy ground for many Americans,<br />
even those who live outside the city. <strong>The</strong> Bronx<br />
might not be the richest borough nor the most attractive,<br />
but it’s one of the most famous because of Yankee<br />
Stadium, home to the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> Yankees, one of the<br />
city’s two baseball teams, as well as the city’s professional<br />
soccer team, <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> City FC. “A<br />
baseball club is part of the chemistry<br />
of the city,” said Michael<br />
Burke, the late president of<br />
the Yankees. “A game<br />
isn’t just an athletic<br />
contest. It’s a picnic,<br />
a kind of town meeting.”<br />
Other sports,<br />
like soccer, may have<br />
made inroads into<br />
this in the past<br />
few years, but<br />
baseball is still<br />
the national<br />
pastime.<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 15
TRAVEL | United States<br />
One of the Beaux<br />
Arts buildings in<br />
Astor Court at<br />
the Bronx Zoo<br />
Indonesian langur<br />
monkeys living in<br />
“JungleWorld” at<br />
the Bronx Zoo<br />
While you’re in the Bronx, check out the Bronx Zoo,<br />
one of the largest in the world. With 265 acres of land,<br />
it is home to 6,000 animals and more than 650 species.<br />
Noah would have been proud. “Whenever I need to relax<br />
and let my brain go, I head to the zoo,” says Neal<br />
Hoyt-Davis, a chef who lives in Queens. “Walk around<br />
there for a few hours, and you’ll realize that you’ve spent<br />
half your time people-watching.”<br />
People-watching is serious business in his home borough,<br />
as well. Queens feels like one of the most diverse<br />
places on the planet. In 1970, only about 20 percent of<br />
the population were foreign-born. Today, more than two<br />
million people live in Queens, and half are immigrants.<br />
When people talk about the United States being a “melting<br />
pot” of cultures, Queens is living, breathing proof of<br />
that. <strong>The</strong> constant influx of people from other countries<br />
has made the small-business economy incredibly vibrant,<br />
even if the average income of residents is still well below<br />
that of Brooklyn or Manhattan.<br />
A CLOSER LOOK<br />
<strong>The</strong> more than 3,000-kilometer-long Rio Grande — “big<br />
river,” in Spanish — starts in the Rocky Mountains of<br />
Colorado, passes through <strong>New</strong> Mexico, then enters Texas<br />
to form part of the border between the United States<br />
and Mexico. If people use the expression “south of the<br />
Rio Grande,” they often mean simply “Mexico,” but<br />
the taxi driver in this article uses it to refer to the whole<br />
of Latin America.<br />
Ahmed Said emigrated here from Egypt 30 years ago<br />
and now drives a taxi in Queens. “In the past month,<br />
I’ve driven someone from every country south of the Rio<br />
Grande,” he says, as we wait at a stoplight on Northern<br />
Boulevard, the main route through the borough. “An<br />
hour ago, I drove someone from the airport who came<br />
from Indonesia. He was living in the Ecuadorian part of<br />
Queens. That’s the way this place is.”<br />
Said drops me off in the borough of Brooklyn, which<br />
is also diverse, but better known today for the tensions<br />
surrounding its economic diversity. “I like to say that it<br />
is a harmoniously diverse neighborhood. It’s got a great<br />
Afro-punk vibe to it, and then it’s got gentrifiers who are<br />
moving in,” says newspaper reporter Tim Donnelly. We’re<br />
standing in Fort Greene Park, and he’s explaining how<br />
the old brownstone buildings have been bought up by<br />
developers and sold off at twice the price. When young,<br />
rich people move into <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> neighborhoods, it’s often<br />
at the expense of the older, poorer, long-time residents,<br />
who are forced to move elsewhere when the cost of living<br />
increases to more than they can pay. “Wealth may have<br />
increased in the community here, but it has stayed true to<br />
its roots,” Donnelly says.<br />
acre [(eIk&r] Morgen (ca. 4047 m 2 )<br />
at the expense of<br />
auf Kosten von, zu Lasten von<br />
[)Et Di Ik(spens Ev]<br />
brownstone building Sandsteingebäude<br />
[(braUnstoUn )bIldIN] N. Am.<br />
check sth. out [tSek (AUt] hier: sich etw. ansehen<br />
diverse [dE(v§:s]<br />
vielfältig, bunt gemischt<br />
drop sb. off [drA:p (O:f] jmdn. absetzen<br />
gentrifier [(dZentrIfaI&r] in etwa: Gentrifizierer(in),<br />
(Leute, die durch aufwändige<br />
Renovierungsarbeiten ihrer Häuser<br />
einen Stadtteil aufwerten)<br />
influx [(InflVks]<br />
Zustrom<br />
resident [(rezIdEnt]<br />
Anwohner(in), Bewohner(in)<br />
stoplight [(stA:plaIt] N. Am. Ampelanlage<br />
tension [(tenS&n]<br />
Spannung<br />
vibe [vaIb] ifml.<br />
Atmosphäre<br />
vibrant [(vaIbrEnt]<br />
lebendig, dynamisch<br />
Fotos: Getty Images; images.de; A. Kingsbury; Photos.com<br />
16<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
Prepare yourself: in this shop, you could become a superhero<br />
A CLOSER LOOK<br />
Dave Eggers (born 1970) is an American writer and<br />
philanthropist. He was studying journalism in the early<br />
1990s when both of his parents died of cancer. In his<br />
bestselling book, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering<br />
Genius, Eggers wrote about his experience of having to<br />
leave university to help raise his eight-year-old brother.<br />
Since then, he has started his own publishing house,<br />
McSweeney’s, and worked on literacy projects such as<br />
826 National, with locations in eight US cities.<br />
That might be so, but the pressures on Brooklyn are<br />
growing. This summer, rents in Manhattan averaged more<br />
than $3,400. <strong>The</strong> average rent in Brooklyn was around 10<br />
percent less. If you can afford the rent, Brooklyn is the<br />
hippest place to call your home. How hip? Well, at the<br />
heart of one of the trendiest neighborhoods, Park Slope,<br />
sits the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company. It’s a<br />
store that sells costumes for would-be masked avengers.<br />
You can buy spandex body suits and disguises. Of course,<br />
there’s a wind tunnel to test your cape before you buy it.<br />
I asked the masked manager whether having a superhero<br />
supply store is a sign of a neighborhood’s coolness. Perhaps<br />
not, she says with a smile. “But consider this: <strong>The</strong>re<br />
are enough weirdos in Brooklyn for the store to have<br />
stayed open for more than a decade.”<br />
What’s the store’s real secret? It’s literally a front for a<br />
creative-writing non-profit organization called 826NYC<br />
that helps kids. Behind the shelves of invisible paint and<br />
grappling hooks is a classroom. It’s the brainchild of writer<br />
Dave Eggers, and the profits from the costume shop<br />
go to pay for its good works.<br />
A typical street in the<br />
popular Brooklyn<br />
neighborhood of Park Slope<br />
avenger [E(vendZ&r]<br />
brainchild [(breIntSaI&ld] ifml.<br />
disguise [dIs(gaIz]<br />
grappling hook [(grÄp&lIN hUk]<br />
hip [hIp] ifml.<br />
invisible [In(vIzEb&l]<br />
literacy project<br />
[(lItErEsi )prA:dZekt]<br />
literally [(lItErEli]<br />
publishing house [(pVblISIN haUs]<br />
raise [reIz]<br />
spandex [(spÄndeks]<br />
staggering [(stÄgErIN]<br />
weirdo [(wIrdoU] ifml.<br />
Rächer(in)<br />
hier: Idee<br />
Verkleidung<br />
Enterhaken<br />
angesagt, cool<br />
unsichtbar<br />
Bildungsprojekt<br />
buchstäblich<br />
Buchverlag<br />
großziehen<br />
Elastan<br />
erstaunlich, überwältigend<br />
Spinner(in), Verrückte(r)<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 17
TRAVEL | United States<br />
Go north from Park<br />
Slope, and the skyline of<br />
Lower Manhattan starts to become<br />
visible above the roofs<br />
of the brownstones. “<strong>The</strong><br />
only place that a first-time<br />
tourist to <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> needs to<br />
see is the Brooklyn Bridge.<br />
Start on the Brooklyn side<br />
— maybe first with pizza at<br />
Juliana’s,” says Beth Brown,<br />
who works as a policy analyst<br />
for a nonprofit organization.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> bridge can be crowded<br />
with pedestrians, but this is<br />
the view people come to see.<br />
When you get to Manhattan,<br />
stop at City Hall Park at the<br />
foot of the bridge.”<br />
Walking the Brooklyn<br />
Bridge is a must for most<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>ers as well as tourists.<br />
<strong>The</strong> bridge over the East<br />
River was one of the modern<br />
wonders of the world when it<br />
was finished in 1883. Pedestrians<br />
can cross on a wooden<br />
floor suspended one level<br />
above the traffic. From here,<br />
they have a great view of<br />
Brooklyn or Lower Manhattan,<br />
depending on the direction<br />
in which they’re moving.<br />
<strong>The</strong> advice from locals:<br />
“Stay in the walking lane;<br />
it’s clearly marked: <strong>The</strong> southern lane is for walking; the<br />
northern lane is for biking,” says Richard Whitaker, a<br />
<strong>The</strong> Brooklyn Bridge: a must-see for visitors<br />
Close to the Brooklyn Bridge: Juliana’s pizza restaurant<br />
On Staten Island: the Children’s Museum at Snug Harbor<br />
bike messenger who often<br />
takes the trains to avoid the<br />
crowds of walkers between<br />
the boroughs. “Sometimes,<br />
I wish I had a cattle prod to<br />
move along all the out-oftowners.”<br />
Fantastic vistas of the<br />
city can be enjoyed from<br />
the Staten Island Ferry as<br />
well. “You get to sail past<br />
the Statue of Liberty with a<br />
beautiful view of downtown<br />
Manhattan. You can buy<br />
beers, and the summer heat<br />
takes a backseat, because a<br />
cool breeze blows over the<br />
harbor,” says movie-set designer<br />
Isaac Gobaeff. <strong>The</strong><br />
ferry runs every day of the<br />
year, 24 hours per day. Best<br />
of all, it’s free.<br />
Staten Island is the smallest<br />
of the five boroughs, and<br />
one where tourists rarely<br />
get past the ferry terminal.<br />
That’s a shame, says Jose<br />
Ortiz, who has lived there<br />
for the past ten years. He enjoys<br />
taking his two children<br />
to the Snug Harbor Cultural<br />
Center and Botanical<br />
Garden. Once a home for<br />
retired sailors, the center is<br />
now an art museum with<br />
manicured gardens. “Culture and sunshine in the same<br />
visit,” Ortiz says. “Can’t beat it.”<br />
cattle prod [(kÄt&l prA:d]<br />
ferry terminal [(feri )t§:m&nEl]<br />
messenger [(mes&ndZ&r]<br />
move along [mu:v E(lO:N]<br />
Viehstock (oft elektrisch)<br />
Fährhafen<br />
Kurier(in)<br />
hier: antreiben<br />
once [wVns]<br />
pedestrian [pE(destriEn]<br />
suspended [sE(spendId]<br />
take a backseat [)teIk E )bÄk(si:t]<br />
früher einmal<br />
Fußgänger(in)<br />
hier: hängend<br />
aus dem Rampenlicht treten<br />
One way to enjoy views of the city<br />
— on the Staten Island Ferry
In the middle of it all: the High Line park in the Meatpacking District<br />
Looking for an unusual place to eat? Ortiz recommends<br />
Chinar on the Island. It has a mix of Russian and<br />
Mediterranean cuisine, plus a dance floor. Strange combination?<br />
As they say: “Only in <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> city is full of strange things — or at least things<br />
that were once strange when they first came to <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>.<br />
Now, they’re being imitated in other places. <strong>The</strong> past few<br />
decades of urban renewal in other cities have provided<br />
many opportunities for <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> to test the limits of what<br />
makes a good tourist attraction. <strong>The</strong> High Line is one of<br />
its most successful experiments. It’s a one-mile-long park<br />
created on top of an abandoned elevated railroad track.<br />
Walk around the Lower West Side of Manhattan, and you<br />
might not realize that the rusting girders reaching above<br />
the sidewalk support one of the city’s highlights.<br />
“It’s an unusual example of using existing structures<br />
to generate urban renewal,” says Nance McCarthey, an<br />
executive who works near the High Line. “<strong>The</strong> design and<br />
layout are definitely cool, and it gives you an interesting<br />
vantage point to see the streets on the west side of Chelsea<br />
and the Meatpacking District, including murals and<br />
street art.”<br />
A trip to many of these neighborhoods two decades<br />
ago, especially parts of Brooklyn and the Bronx, would<br />
have meant a journey into dangerous areas of the city. It<br />
seems unimaginable today, but in 1990, there were 2,245<br />
murders in <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>. Last year, there were 333. It’s still<br />
tragic, but that’s the lowest number in the city’s recorded<br />
history. What this means for locals — and tourists — is<br />
that parts of the city once culturally isolated are coming<br />
back to life.<br />
Consider Harlem:<br />
<strong>The</strong> center of black<br />
culture in the city, the<br />
neighborhood is now<br />
so safe that gentrification<br />
is a real worry. But<br />
if you’re looking for the<br />
real Harlem, check out<br />
the American Legion<br />
Post 398. <strong>The</strong> American<br />
Legion is a society<br />
of US military veterans.<br />
<strong>The</strong>ir clubhouses<br />
can be found in almost<br />
every town and city in<br />
the country. People also<br />
come to Post 398 to eat<br />
Southern specialties<br />
like fried chicken and<br />
cornbread.<br />
Jam sessions are<br />
best on Sunday afternoon,<br />
but seating is<br />
very limited. “Don’t<br />
tell them about Post<br />
398,” says an old friend<br />
of mine, who asked not<br />
to be named. “<strong>The</strong>n<br />
more people will come,<br />
and the lines are long<br />
enough already.”<br />
Harlem street art: boxer Muhammad Ali<br />
An aerial view of Harlem; one of the trains<br />
of the <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> subway system<br />
Fotos: Corbis; F1 online; Getty Images; iStock; laif<br />
abandoned [E(bÄndEnd]<br />
cornbread [kO:rnbred]<br />
elevated [(elIveItEd]<br />
executive [Ig(zekjEtIv]<br />
girder [(g§:d&r]<br />
mural [(mjUrEl]<br />
renewal [ri(nu:El]<br />
sidewalk [(saIdwO:k] N. Am.<br />
vantage point [(vÄntIdZ pOInt]<br />
verlassen, stillgelegt<br />
Maisbrot<br />
erhöht<br />
Führungskraft, leitende(r)<br />
Angestellte(r)<br />
Tragebalken<br />
Wandbild, Wandgemälde<br />
Erneuerung<br />
Fußweg, Gehsteig<br />
Aussichtspunkt<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 19
An art installation in the roof garden of<br />
the Metropolitan Museum of Art<br />
gorgeous<br />
[(gO:rdZEs]<br />
lack [lÄk]<br />
speakeasy<br />
[(spi:k)i:zi]<br />
US ifml.<br />
umwerfend, wunderschön<br />
nicht haben, mangeln,<br />
fehlen<br />
Flüsterkneipe (illegale<br />
Kneipe während der<br />
Alkoholprohibition)<br />
Exploring Midtown: Grand Central Terminal and the Chrysler Building<br />
<strong>The</strong> city is so enormous and its<br />
highlights so numerous that you<br />
could spend weeks looking for “insider<br />
tips.” But the classics aren’t to<br />
be missed either. “When my friends<br />
come to <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>, I always make<br />
sure I take them to the Roof Garden<br />
Café and Martini Bar at the<br />
Metropolitan Museum of Art,” says<br />
Beth Brown. “<strong>The</strong> roof offers views<br />
of Manhattan and Central Park, and<br />
the bar serves great cocktails that you<br />
can enjoy as you take in the art and<br />
the scenery.”<br />
Want to visit a cocktail bar that’s<br />
like a speakeasy from Prohibition-era<br />
Gotham? <strong>The</strong>n try the Campbell<br />
Apartment in Grand Central Terminal.<br />
Once a wealthy businessman’s<br />
private office, it’s now a chic cocktail<br />
lounge where <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>ers take outof-town<br />
guests to impress them. It’s<br />
the kind of place that still has a dress<br />
code.<br />
What it lacks in exclusivity, the<br />
famous bar at 230 Fifth makes up<br />
for in panoramas. It sits on top of<br />
a skyscraper near the Flatiron Building<br />
and Madison Square Park. <strong>The</strong><br />
open-air rooftop terrace is gorgeous<br />
in the summer and has outdoor<br />
heaters and blankets in the winter.<br />
20<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14<br />
At Campbell Apartment: good drinks and a great atmosphere
IF YOU GO<br />
Take a detour or two from downtown Manhattan, and<br />
you’ll see parts of this great city that you won’t find on<br />
your friends’ Facebook pages. <strong>The</strong>n again, old favorites<br />
aren’t a waste of time either. “Most <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>ers complain<br />
that Times Square is crowded and touristy, but I think it<br />
represents <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> in a grand way,” says Julie Gordon,<br />
style and entertainment editor with the popular magazine<br />
AM <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>. “Huge skyscrapers, giant billboards,<br />
tons of people, hustle and bustle: It’s fast, it’s crowded,<br />
it’s exciting, it’s dirty, and it’s <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>. Times Square<br />
represents all that’s fast-paced and frenetic in the city. It<br />
reminds you that you are one of millions in <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>.”<br />
billboard [(bIlbO:rd]<br />
detour [(di:tUr]<br />
hustle and bustle [)hVs&l End (bVs&l]<br />
shore [SO:r]<br />
volunteer [)vA:lEn(tI&r]<br />
Reklametafel<br />
Umweg<br />
geschäftiges Treiben<br />
Ufer, Strand<br />
Freiwillige(r)<br />
Enjoy the view: the Empire<br />
State Building seen from<br />
the roof terrace of 230 Fifth<br />
Staying in <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> City<br />
To get a good deal staying in a privately owned room or<br />
apartment in <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> City, try https://www.airbnb.de<br />
<strong>The</strong> Bronx<br />
Yankee Stadium is at One East 161st Street in the South<br />
Bronx. For information on tours, see<br />
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com<br />
Bronx Zoo is at 2300 Southern Boulevard. Tickets cost<br />
$16.95 for adults and $12.95 for children older than two.<br />
See http://bronxzoo.com<br />
Brooklyn<br />
Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company is at 372 5th<br />
Avenue. <strong>The</strong> shop is usually open seven days a week, but<br />
call ahead to make sure, as it is managed by volunteers of<br />
the nonprofit organization 826NYC;<br />
tel. 001 718-499 9884. See www.superherosupplies.com<br />
and www.826nyc.org/about/donate<br />
Juliana’s restaurant is located at 19 Old Fulton Street;<br />
tel. 001 718-596 6700. See http://julianaspizza.com<br />
Staten Island<br />
Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden is<br />
close to the ferry, on the north shore of Staten Island.<br />
For information on the various cultural institutions and<br />
tickets, see http://snug-harbor.org<br />
Chinar on the Island is at 283 Sand Lane;<br />
tel. 001 718-390 5305.<br />
See http://chinarontheisland.com<br />
Manhattan<br />
<strong>The</strong> Empire State Building (25 West 29th Street) is open<br />
daily from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. Visit the official website to<br />
order tickets in advance. www.esbnyc.com<br />
For information on the Roof Garden Café and Martini Bar<br />
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1000 Fifth Avenue),<br />
see the “Dining at the Met” rubric at<br />
www.metmuseum.org<br />
Campbell Apartment is at 15 Vanderbilt Avenue in a<br />
corner of Grand Central Terminal; tel. 001 212-953 0409.<br />
See the “Dining” section listed under<br />
www.grandcentralterminal.com<br />
<strong>The</strong> bar called 230 Fifth is located at 230 Fifth Avenue<br />
(at the corner of 27th Street); tel. 001 212-725 4300.<br />
See www.230-fifth.com<br />
American Legion Post 398 is at 248 West 132nd Street in<br />
Harlem; tel. 001 212-283 9701.<br />
See http://colchasyoungharlempost398.com<br />
More information<br />
See www.nycgo.com<br />
Fotos: Bridgeman; F1 online; Huber; iStock; laif<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 21
SOCIETY | Britain<br />
A future with<br />
driverless cars<br />
Der britische Gewerbeminister hat Änderungen<br />
des Straßenverkehrsrechts sowie eine<br />
£10 Millionen-Finanzspritze zur Entwicklung<br />
fahrerloser Autos angekündigt.<br />
Ein Bericht von SAMUEL GIBBS<br />
<strong>The</strong> UK wants to encourage the development of driverless<br />
cars, it was announced earlier this year, with<br />
a multimillion-pound research fund and a review of<br />
the relevant laws relating to road safety. Business minister<br />
Vince Cable said a £10 million fund will be made available<br />
for driverless-car research in the UK, paid for by both<br />
the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)<br />
and the Department for Transport (DFT).<br />
“<strong>The</strong> excellence of our scientists and engineers has established<br />
the UK as pioneers in the development of driverless<br />
vehicles through pilot projects,” Cable said at the<br />
end of July. “Today’s announcement will see driverless cars<br />
take to our streets in less than six months, putting us at the<br />
forefront of this transformational technology and opening<br />
up new opportunities for our economy and society.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> DFT will also begin a review of the laws governing<br />
road use, including the Highway Code and the Road<br />
Safety Act, to allow the testing of driverless cars on public<br />
roads, Cable said while visiting the technology and engineering<br />
company Mira in Nuneaton, central England.<br />
Two types of testing will be reviewed for public roads:<br />
fully autonomous cars without a driver, and cars with a<br />
qualified driver who could take control at any time. This<br />
would be similar to laws in the US, where driverless cars<br />
have been tested on public roads since 2011 in some<br />
states. <strong>The</strong> review process will close with a report presented<br />
to government by the end of 2014, a spokesperson<br />
for DFT told <strong>The</strong> Guardian.<br />
<strong>The</strong> £10 million fund will be supervised by the UK’s<br />
innovation agency, the Technology Strategy Board. Interested<br />
local research institutions will be able to apply for<br />
funding by submitting a business case, paired with a local<br />
city or authority, describing why driverless cars are a realistic<br />
transport solution in their area.<br />
Three cities will be selected to hold trials, starting in<br />
January 2015, with each test lasting between 18 and 36<br />
months. <strong>The</strong> deadline for research applications will be<br />
1 October 2014. <strong>The</strong> fund was first announced by the<br />
finance minister, George Osborne, last December as part<br />
of the national infrastructure plan.<br />
forefront [(fO:frVnt]<br />
Highway Code [)haIweI (kEUd] UK<br />
Road Safety Act<br />
[rEUd (seIfti Äkt] UK<br />
Technology Strategy Board<br />
[tek)nQlEdZi (strÄtEdZi bO:d] UK<br />
Spitze<br />
Straßenverkehrsordnung<br />
Straßenverkehrssicherheitsgesetz<br />
Stelle für Technologiestrategie<br />
Fotos: Alamy; Volkswagen AG<br />
22<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
A CLOSER LOOK<br />
Britain’s Automobile Association (the AA), like ADAC<br />
in Germany and AAA in the United States, is a drivers’<br />
association that sells insurance and roadside assistance<br />
cover, as well as a variety of other products. One of its<br />
best-known services is its hotel ratings system. <strong>The</strong> AA<br />
was started in Britain in 1905 as a motorists’ lobby to<br />
help drivers find ways of avoiding police speed traps.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re were 100 members in 1905; today, its membership<br />
is in the millions.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Google driverless car hit the headlines in May<br />
this year, when the search giant announced a brand-new<br />
bespoke prototype design. <strong>The</strong> UK has various groups<br />
already working on driverless-car technology, including<br />
engineers at the University of Oxford and the Mira company,<br />
which provides autonomous vehicle technology to<br />
the military and which has been testing driverless cars on<br />
an 850-acre site in the Midlands.<br />
“Today’s announcement takes us closer to seeing fully<br />
autonomous vehicles on our roads, but it will take some<br />
time for them to become commonplace,” said Edmund<br />
King, president of the Automobile Association (AA).<br />
“Cars are becoming more automated with the introduction<br />
of assistance systems to aid parking; keeping a<br />
safe distance from the car in front; and lane departure<br />
warning systems,” said David Bruce, director of AA Cars.<br />
“However, there is a big leap of faith needed by drivers<br />
from embracing assistance systems to accepting the fully<br />
automated car. Two-thirds of AA members still enjoy<br />
driving too much to want a fully automated car.”<br />
“Driverless cars have a huge potential to transform the<br />
UK’s transport network — they could improve safety, reduce<br />
congestion and lower emissions, particularly CO 2<br />
,”<br />
said the transport minister, Claire Perry, who committed<br />
to the regulatory review of road law.<br />
“Britain is brilliantly placed to lead the world in driverless<br />
technology,” said the science minister, Greg Clark.<br />
“It combines our strengths in cars, satellites, big data and<br />
urban design; with huge potential benefits for future jobs<br />
and for the consumer.”<br />
Testing of driverless cars on public roads is expected to<br />
begin in 2015, although the DFT could not provide any<br />
information on timing beyond report submission to the<br />
government by the end of 2014.<br />
One of the driverless<br />
cars from the engineering<br />
company Mira<br />
“This competition for funding has the potential to<br />
establish the UK as the global hub for the development<br />
and testing of driverless vehicles in real-world urban environments,<br />
helping to deepen our understanding of the<br />
impact on road users and wider society,” said Iain Gray,<br />
chief executive of the Technology Strategy Board.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> ability to test driverless cars at scale, when married<br />
to the UK’s unique strengths in transport technologies<br />
and urban planning, will also attract further investment,<br />
helping to establish new design and manufacturing<br />
supply chains, driving forward UK economic growth,”<br />
Gray said.<br />
Dr Geoff Davis, chief commercial and technical officer<br />
of Mira, said he welcomed the news.<br />
“Our 10 years of experience developing driverless-car<br />
solutions, with successful applications in defence and<br />
security as well as cooperative systems in road transport<br />
applications, means we are already working on a number<br />
of projects that explore the potential of connected and<br />
cooperative driverless cars,” Davis said.<br />
© Guardian <strong>New</strong>s & Media 2014<br />
High-tech cars are<br />
being tested<br />
acre [(eIkE] Morgen (ca. 4047 m 2 )<br />
application [)ÄplI(keIS&n]<br />
Anwendung<br />
at scale [Et (skeI&l]<br />
hier: unter echten Bedingungen<br />
bespoke [bi(spEUk] UK<br />
maßgeschneidert, nach Maß<br />
chief executive<br />
Hauptgeschäftsführer(in)<br />
[tSi:f Ig(zekjUtIv]<br />
commit to sth. [kE(mIt tE]<br />
sich für etw. engagieren, sich<br />
zu etw. verpflichten<br />
commonplace [(kQmEnpleIs] alltäglich, normal<br />
congestion [kEn(dZestSEn] Stau, Verkehrsbelastung<br />
cover [(kVvEr] UK<br />
Deckung<br />
drive sth. forward<br />
etw. vorantreiben<br />
[draIv (fO:wEd]<br />
embrace sth. [Im(breIs]<br />
etw. annehmen<br />
hub [hVb]<br />
Zentrum, Knotenpunkt<br />
lane departure warning system Spur(halte)assistent<br />
[)leIn di)pA:tSE (wO:nIN )sIstEm]<br />
leap of faith [)li:p Ev (feIT] Vertrauensvorschuss<br />
lower [(lEUE]<br />
reduzieren<br />
married to [(mÄrid tE]<br />
hier: in Verbindung mit<br />
regulatory review<br />
behördliche Überprüfung<br />
[regju)leItEri ri(vju:]<br />
roadside assistance<br />
Pannendienst<br />
[)rEUdsaId E(sIstEns]<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 23
FOOD | Native American Cooking<br />
Native delights<br />
Chef John Sharpe and his<br />
restaurant at La Posada<br />
Hotel in Arizona; Hopi<br />
hummus with piki bread<br />
Blauer Mais und Churro-Lamm – ein britischer Koch entdeckt die Kochzutaten<br />
der Ureinwohner Arizonas neu und kreiert eine ganz eigene traditionell orientierte Küche.<br />
Von INEZ SHARP<br />
British-born chef John Sharpe runs <strong>The</strong> Turquoise<br />
Room Restaurant at La Posada Hotel in Winslow,<br />
Arizona. <strong>The</strong> menu contains many dishes typical of<br />
the south-western US, such as barbecue chicken and tortillas,<br />
but also foods traditionally eaten by the local Navajo<br />
and Hopi peoples. Sharpe has long dedicated himself<br />
to using local produce, but reviving the fare of the native<br />
tribes of northern Arizona is also a mission that is close to<br />
his heart. Here, he talks to <strong>Spotlight</strong> about his passion for<br />
understanding and sourcing these traditional foods.<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong>: Where did your interest in local foods begin?<br />
John Sharpe: I think that comes from my childhood.<br />
I grew up in the north of England after the Second<br />
World War. Back then, we had chickens at home, and<br />
we grew all of our own vegetables, too. My family were<br />
coal miners, and growing your own food was a part of<br />
life in County Durham in those days. <strong>The</strong>re was nothing<br />
much to buy in the stores or at the markets.<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong>: You’ve worked as a chef all over Europe and<br />
now for many years in the US. How did you become<br />
interested in the food of Native Americans?<br />
Sharpe: In the 1990s, I had a restaurant called the Topaz<br />
Cafe at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California.<br />
Most of the collections in the museum have to do with<br />
indigenous peoples. <strong>The</strong> curator, Dr Paul Apodaca, an<br />
expert in Native American tribes, invited me to attend<br />
a bird-calling powwow out in the Californian desert.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re were foods at the powwow that I had never seen<br />
before, and I remember thinking: here I am, a European<br />
chef; I have gone through all the fusion cuisines<br />
of Asia, the Middle East, France and Japan. I am in<br />
America now. Perhaps I should start looking inward.<br />
So that’s what I did. In the summer of 1993, with<br />
Paul’s help, I decided to do Native American feasts in<br />
the gardens of the Bowers Museum. At the first feast, I<br />
think we had 36 people. By 1999, we were doing five<br />
feasts each summer with up to 300 guests. So that really<br />
got me involved in Native American food.<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong>: <strong>The</strong>n, in 2000, you moved to northern Arizona<br />
to open <strong>The</strong> Turquoise Room in Winslow — deep<br />
in the heart of Navajo and Hopi country. What produce<br />
did you discover here?<br />
fare [feE]<br />
feast [fi:st]<br />
fusion cuisine<br />
[)fju:Z&n kwI(zi:n]<br />
indigenous peoples<br />
[In)dIdZEnEs (pi:p&lz]<br />
hier: Kost, Verpflegung<br />
Festessen<br />
Fusionsküche (Kombination unterschiedlicher<br />
Esskulturen und Kochkünste)<br />
Naturvölker, indigene Völker<br />
look inward [lUk (InwEd]<br />
native tribe [)neItIv (traIb]<br />
peoples [(pi:p&lz]<br />
produce [(prQdju:s]<br />
revive [ri(vaIv]<br />
source sth. [sO:s]<br />
innehalten<br />
Ureinwohnerstamm<br />
Völker<br />
Erzeugnisse<br />
wiederaufleben lassen<br />
etw. beziehen<br />
Fotos: <strong>The</strong> Turquoise Room<br />
24<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
Sharpe: Churro lamb would be one — it’s among the<br />
most unique foods I’ve ever tasted. This breed of sheep<br />
came to the Americas with the Spanish in the 1500s,<br />
along with a number of other breeds, but this one<br />
survived the sparsity of vegetation and dryness of the<br />
landscape and became part of Navajo folklore. In fact,<br />
there’s a Navajo phrase which means “sheep is life”.<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong>: What makes Churro lamb special to you as a<br />
chef?<br />
Sharpe: It’s very small and scrawny lamb — we believe<br />
it originated in the Pyrenees — and it matures late,<br />
at around 18 months. <strong>The</strong> strong taste of the lanolin<br />
that comes when lamb becomes mutton doesn’t<br />
occur until the Churro is<br />
well over a year old. Also,<br />
in most other breeds, the<br />
strong-tasting oil lies between<br />
the meat tissues, but<br />
in the Churro, it’s around<br />
the organs. So the meat<br />
tends to be sweeter and less<br />
pungent.<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong>: Who breeds the<br />
lambs these days and how<br />
did you create a supply of<br />
meat?<br />
Sharpe: Well, it was tricky<br />
to begin with. <strong>The</strong>y certainly<br />
didn’t welcome<br />
me here with open arms,<br />
and there were only small<br />
flocks of these sheep being<br />
raised in remote areas on<br />
local reservations. <strong>The</strong>n<br />
Dr Gary Nabhan, a wellknown<br />
so ciologist and anthropologist<br />
in this region,<br />
came to the restaurant one<br />
night. He was quite taken<br />
by what I was doing, and<br />
he organized a meeting of shepherds in a place called<br />
Leupp. From that point, it was a slow process of gaining<br />
the shepherds’ trust. I had to make sure they were<br />
paid fairly for their produce, for example. Now, I have<br />
a number of shepherds supplying me with meat: two<br />
Navajo ladies who are also weavers and have their own<br />
A CLOSER LOOK<br />
Traditional piki bread is made by the Hopi peoples using<br />
blue corn. <strong>The</strong> corn is first ground to a powder, then<br />
mixed with water and the ashes of local trees. <strong>The</strong>n it is<br />
spread out very thinly on a heated stone, covered with<br />
oil and baked. When it is finished, it is rolled or folded<br />
and is ready to eat.<br />
flocks, and three men and another shepherd in <strong>New</strong><br />
Mexico. So that food source has grown into a staple on<br />
my lunch and dinner menu every day, 365 days a year.<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong>: You also serve some<br />
very special bread. Can you tell<br />
us about that?<br />
Sharpe: That’s right, the piki<br />
bread. It started through a<br />
traditional Hopi feast that I attended.<br />
It was part of a workshop<br />
on agriculture and food in<br />
a Hopi village, Kykotsmovi. I<br />
made the dishes using all-Hopi<br />
ingredients, but with what you<br />
might call my own “twist”. <strong>The</strong><br />
A south-western speciality: sweetcorn tamales<br />
feast was very well received, and<br />
I began working with the ladies<br />
from the Kykotsmovi school<br />
kitchen — we began cooking<br />
one day a week at the local elder<br />
centre. All these ladies, being<br />
very traditional Hopi, made<br />
their own piki bread. As with<br />
the shepherds, they slowly came<br />
to trust me.<br />
Now, many years later, I have<br />
probably close to a dozen women<br />
who make piki bread for me,<br />
so that I can have it on the menu<br />
A meat dish served at <strong>The</strong> Turquoise Room<br />
every day in the restaurant. You<br />
know, the people in this region have a great cultural<br />
diversity, and they have been feeding themselves for<br />
thousands of years from this incredibly inhospitable<br />
landscape. So when I came here, I looked at what I<br />
could incorporate into this restaurant to make it truly<br />
reflect the region.<br />
blue corn [blu: (kO:n]<br />
breed [bri:d]<br />
diversity [daI(v§:sEti]<br />
elder centre [(eldE )sentE]<br />
flock [flQk]<br />
grind [graInd]<br />
inhospitable [)InhQ(spItEb&l]<br />
mature [mE(tSUE]<br />
blauer Mais<br />
Rasse<br />
Vielfalt<br />
Seniorenzentrum<br />
Herde<br />
mahlen<br />
unwirtlich, ungastlich<br />
heranreifen, auswachsen<br />
mutton [(mVt&n]<br />
pungent [(pVndZEnt]<br />
scrawny [(skrO:ni]<br />
shepherd [(SepEd]<br />
sparsity: ~ of vegetation [(spA:sEti]<br />
staple [(steIp&l]<br />
tissue [(tISu:]<br />
weaver [(wi:vE]<br />
Hammel<br />
streng, penetrant<br />
dürr<br />
Schafhirte, Schafhirtin<br />
spärlicher Pflanzenbewuchs<br />
Hauptnahrungsmittel<br />
Gewebe<br />
Weber(in)<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 25
AMY ARGETSINGER | I Ask Myself<br />
Would you ever<br />
forget your baby?<br />
We go<br />
about our<br />
routines as if<br />
we were on<br />
autopilot<br />
Es passiert immer wieder: Eltern vergessen ihr Baby im Auto.<br />
Die Folgen können tödlich sein.<br />
I<br />
can’t imagine that I could ever,<br />
ever, ever leave my baby in the<br />
car. How could I, when her health<br />
and safety is so rarely removed from<br />
the forefront of my brain? For the<br />
first six months, my concern took<br />
over my dreams. Night after night,<br />
I would find myself half awake, my<br />
hands turning over the bedsheets in<br />
an irrational search for her, as if I had<br />
lost her in my sleep — when in fact,<br />
she was safely dozing in her crib.<br />
A tragedy waiting to happen?<br />
I would never lose my baby in the<br />
bedsheets, of course, but if I did, even<br />
my unconscious mind was ready to<br />
rescue her, it seemed. So how could<br />
my fully-awake self, traveling around<br />
town, ever forget her in a car? How<br />
could any parent?<br />
Yet every year, a couple dozen babies<br />
across the US die because their<br />
parents accidentally leave them in a<br />
car. Even mildly warm temperatures<br />
outdoors can quickly create saunalike<br />
heat in a sealed car. It is a brutal<br />
death, akin to being cooked alive.<br />
Authorities are torn over how to deal<br />
with parents who accidentally kill<br />
their children this way. Some choose<br />
to try them in a criminal court, sending<br />
many of these parents to prison<br />
(see <strong>Spotlight</strong> 8/12, page 38). Others<br />
reason that there is no point in<br />
punishing them: <strong>The</strong>se parents have<br />
suffered enough.<br />
Deaths of this kind started to<br />
happen in significant numbers about<br />
20 years ago, ironically as a result of<br />
well-meaning safety measures. Researchers<br />
determined that small children<br />
are far more likely to survive<br />
car accidents in seats that are not<br />
only in the back — now a legal requirement<br />
in most states — but also<br />
facing backwards, which means that<br />
parents can’t even see their children<br />
from the driver’s seat.<br />
A colleague of mine wrote a story<br />
on the topic five years ago that won<br />
the Pulitzer Prize, US journalism’s<br />
highest honor. In the story, a scientist<br />
explained that when we go about<br />
our daily routines — think of the<br />
morning race to get showered and<br />
dressed, followed by the commute to<br />
work — we are steered by a base part<br />
of our animal brain, as if on autopilot.<br />
Confronted by an unexpected<br />
change in the routine, we continue<br />
to trudge ahead as we did the day before<br />
and the day before that.<br />
accidentally [)ÄksI(dent&li]<br />
akin [E(kIn]<br />
bedsheets [(bedSi:ts]<br />
commute [kE(mju:t]<br />
crib [krIb] N. Am.<br />
criminal court [)krImIn&l (kO:rt]<br />
diaper [(daIp&r] N. Am.<br />
doze [doUz]<br />
forefront [(fO:rfrVnt]<br />
lately [(leItli]<br />
reason [(ri:z&n]<br />
sealed [si:&ld]<br />
torn: be ~ [tO:rn]<br />
trudge [trVdZ]<br />
try sb. [traI]<br />
It’s not as though parents have<br />
forgotten that the baby is in the car.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y simply don’t remember that<br />
they didn’t take him or her out this<br />
time. As one safety expert explained:<br />
“<strong>The</strong> parent in his or her mind has<br />
dropped off the baby at day care and<br />
thinks the baby is happy, and well<br />
taken care of. Once that’s in your<br />
brain, there is no reason to worry or<br />
check on the baby for the rest of the<br />
day.” I think about the times that I<br />
forgot to lock the door at night. Yes,<br />
maybe I can see how it happens.<br />
Lately, researchers have introduced<br />
techniques to prevent this<br />
problem: weight sensors for car seats,<br />
for example. But the simplest tricks<br />
might work best. Keep a diaper bag<br />
or toy on the front seat to remind<br />
you of the child in the back. Or leave<br />
your cell phone in the back with<br />
your child. Because even if Americans<br />
think they would never, ever<br />
forget their baby, they would truly<br />
never go far without their phones.<br />
Amy Argetsinger is a co-author of<br />
“<strong>The</strong> Reliable Source,” a column in<br />
<strong>The</strong> Washington Post about personalities.<br />
aus Versehen, unabsichtlich<br />
ähnlich<br />
Betttücher, Laken, Bettwäsche<br />
Arbeitsweg, Pendelstrecke<br />
Babybett, Babywiege<br />
Strafgericht<br />
Windel<br />
schlummern<br />
vorderste Reihe, Spitze<br />
kürzlich, neulich<br />
hier: argumentieren<br />
verschlossen<br />
hin- und hergerissen sein<br />
trotten, stapfen<br />
jmdn. anklagen, jmdn. vor Gericht stellen<br />
Foto: View Stock<br />
26<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
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GET STARTED NOW!<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong>’s easy-English booklet<br />
Einfaches Englisch<br />
für Alltagssituationen<br />
Green Light
LANGUAGE | Poems<br />
Poetry,<br />
please!<br />
Wer braucht schon Gedichte?<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong>-Redakteurin JOANNA WESTCOMBE hat sich mit<br />
dem Grammatikexperten und Dichter Michael Swan darüber<br />
unterhalten, wie Gedichte uns eine neue Sicht auf die Welt<br />
geben und gleichzeitig unterhaltsam sein können.<br />
When did you last read or listen<br />
to a poem? For many<br />
people, poetry is not part<br />
of everyday life. This is ironic, as<br />
poetry can summarize so well what it<br />
means to be human, to have parents,<br />
partners and children, to grow old<br />
and die. According to Britain’s Poet<br />
Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, poems<br />
can provide new ways of seeing. She<br />
calls them “moments in language”<br />
that can celebrate, explore and transform<br />
the good and the sad things in<br />
our lives.<br />
Michael Swan is best known for<br />
his books on teaching and learning<br />
English, such as Practical English Usage.<br />
Many readers will be surprised<br />
to know that he is also a published<br />
poet. <strong>Spotlight</strong> editor Joanna Westcombe<br />
heard him recite a number of<br />
his poems earlier this year. We hope<br />
you will enjoy reading his thoughts<br />
on poetry and language in the interview<br />
on the following pages, as well<br />
as four of his poems, which Michael<br />
Swan has also kindly recorded for us<br />
(see page 34).<br />
Poet Laureate [)pEUIt (lO:riEt]<br />
recite sth. [ri(saIt]<br />
Hofdichter(in)<br />
etw. vortragen<br />
30 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
Linguist and poet:<br />
Michael Swan<br />
<strong>The</strong> collections:<br />
Michael Swan’s<br />
poetry<br />
Fotos: iStock; PR<br />
Michael Swan works<br />
in English language<br />
teaching and applied<br />
linguistics. His poetry<br />
has also been published<br />
widely and has<br />
won a number of prizes,<br />
as have his translations<br />
of Rainer Maria<br />
Rilke. His two collections,<br />
When <strong>The</strong>y Come<br />
for You and <strong>The</strong> Shapes<br />
of Things, are available<br />
through his website:<br />
www.mikeswan.co.uk<br />
You are famous for<br />
your work in English<br />
language teaching. Can<br />
you remember how<br />
you became a poet?<br />
I’ve been attracted by poetry for as long as I can remember.<br />
I wasn’t able to write much when I was young (though I<br />
wanted to), because for me poetry is about how I see myself<br />
and the world, and for a long time I didn’t really have<br />
a clear view of either of those things. When I did start<br />
getting things clearer I began writing a lot and found it<br />
very helpful personally. It was therapeutic for me to bring<br />
out some of the strange stuff that was locked in my head,<br />
to find ways of expressing it and to discover that it made<br />
sense to other people.<br />
Is there something special about poets that makes<br />
them different from other people?<br />
Poets vary so much, and poetry is so many different<br />
things, that it’s hard to make any useful generalizations.<br />
Perhaps one thing that poets have in common is that, like<br />
most kinds of artist, they are concerned with “shaping” on<br />
two levels. First of all, they have their own very personal<br />
ways of looking at the world: they see shapes, patterns or<br />
connections that other people may not see. And secondly,<br />
they communicate these perceptions by creating shapes in<br />
their chosen medium — language. So personal vision and<br />
applied linguistics<br />
[E)plaId lIN(gwIstIks]<br />
craft [krA:ft]<br />
crow [krEU]<br />
curlew [(k§:lju:]<br />
deliberately [di(lIbErEtli]<br />
heather [(heDE]<br />
matter [(mÄtE]<br />
meadow [(medEU]<br />
pattern [(pÄt&n]<br />
perception [pE(sepS&n]<br />
angewandte Sprachwissenschaft<br />
Handwerk, Kunst<br />
Krähe<br />
Brachvogel<br />
absichtlich, bewusst<br />
Heide(kraut)<br />
wichtig sein, Bedeutung haben<br />
Wiese<br />
Muster<br />
Wahrnehmung<br />
technical craft are both important. A key point for me is<br />
that a poem needs to say something that matters about<br />
the shape of our confusing world, and to say it in a new<br />
way, not just paint a pretty picture or repeat an everyday<br />
sentiment for the thousandth time.<br />
Can you talk about where your poems come from?<br />
I don’t deliberately look for “inspiration” (whatever that is<br />
exactly). Certainly I never sit down and try to find something<br />
to write about. <strong>The</strong> way I experience it is that, from<br />
time to time, poems come along and, so to speak, ask to<br />
be written. When that happens, I do my best to express<br />
what I feel the poem wants to say. Often I don’t know<br />
exactly what that is until I’ve finished, and look back to<br />
see what I’ve written. And I don’t always know what the<br />
real starting point for the poem is: sometimes it seems<br />
to come from nowhere; sometimes it begins with just a<br />
phrase or an image that comes into my head; sometimes<br />
it arises from something I have on my mind. <strong>The</strong> poem<br />
“Bridge” came while I was thinking about certain situations<br />
when I’ve found it impossible to decide between<br />
two courses of action:<br />
Bridge<br />
Such a short little bridge<br />
and you in the middle.<br />
One step forward,<br />
and you are on the mountain<br />
with the heather<br />
the clear streams<br />
the cry of the curlew,<br />
and no way back.<br />
One step back,<br />
and you are in the meadow<br />
with the gentle animals<br />
the young trees<br />
the sweet grass,<br />
and the gate closed.<br />
And you stand there.<br />
Night comes,<br />
and the next day<br />
and the day after,<br />
and still you stand there,<br />
till the black crows arrive.<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 31
LANGUAGE | Poems<br />
What goes on inside you when you are writing<br />
poetry?<br />
It’s hard to say. <strong>The</strong>re are experiences that you can’t talk<br />
about while they’re happening, and that you can’t remember<br />
clearly once they’re over. For me, poetry is one of<br />
these. Mostly I write quickly, in a special state of mind<br />
that I can’t recapture afterwards. But some poets I know<br />
work quite differently: they write slowly and carefully,<br />
with much more conscious attention to what they are<br />
doing.<br />
You’ve been writing poetry for many years. What<br />
themes do you keep returning to?<br />
I don’t generally write nature poetry or other kinds of lyric<br />
poetry. I’m mostly interested in trying to make sense of<br />
our deeply confusing world:<br />
Everything is joined<br />
Pick a blackberry,<br />
and you are walking up steps<br />
into a square<br />
where your childhood<br />
paused for a second.<br />
Buy a newspaper,<br />
and you are in a cafe<br />
facing the door,<br />
your cup half-empty, forgotten,<br />
as your head spins with love.<br />
Pick up the cup,<br />
and you are playing the violin<br />
very badly<br />
in a dusty cellar.<br />
How can you think of any one person,<br />
or glance at your shoes,<br />
or take a breath, even?<br />
From a book<br />
That child,<br />
they said,<br />
always has his head buried<br />
in a book.<br />
True enough.<br />
I learnt many things from books.<br />
Rock-climbing, for instance,<br />
though the rocks,<br />
it became clear later,<br />
had not read the same book.<br />
Similar issues arose<br />
in the swimming-pool<br />
and on the dance floor.<br />
Love was a particular problem.<br />
<strong>The</strong> text<br />
was in an unknown language,<br />
though the book<br />
had many attractive illustrations.<br />
And life.<br />
Quite useless, this one,<br />
and the last page missing.<br />
Problems with communication are a recurrent theme.<br />
I rarely express personal feelings directly; they’re usually<br />
implied by the content of the poem, which is often a kind<br />
of story. I frequently use humour, but mostly for quite<br />
serious purposes, such as in the poem “From a book”:<br />
blackberry [(blÄkbEri]<br />
conscious [(kQnSEs]<br />
glance [glA:ns]<br />
imply [Im(plaI]<br />
recapture [ri:(kÄptSE]<br />
recurrent [ri(kVrEnt]<br />
spin [spIn]<br />
state of mind [)steIt Ev (maInd]<br />
Brombeere<br />
bewusst<br />
(flüchtig) blicken<br />
beinhalten, einschließen<br />
etw. wieder heraufbeschwören<br />
wiederkehrend<br />
sich (schnell) drehen<br />
Gemütsverfassung,<br />
Bewusstseinszustand<br />
32<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
Rainer Maria<br />
Rilke (left); Wilfred<br />
Owen (below)<br />
Do you think that your work with the English<br />
language and language teaching has influenced your<br />
poetry (or the other way round)?<br />
<strong>The</strong> two activities really come off different batteries, but<br />
they certainly have things in common. In both areas I aim<br />
for clarity, simplicity, economy and interest. In poetry I<br />
like to use very ordinary language — I dislike writing that<br />
is deliberately “poetic”, and I get irritated by obscurity.<br />
(I’m not saying these things are bad; they just don’t work<br />
for me.) A lot of my poetry seems very simple on the surface;<br />
but the simplicity can be deceptive.<br />
Sometimes the two sides fight. Here’s the poet laughing<br />
at the language specialist:<br />
<strong>The</strong> linguist<br />
“Please forgive me,”<br />
he said in Welsh<br />
“for not speaking your language well.”<br />
<strong>The</strong>y cheered him to the echo.<br />
“Excuse my ignorance<br />
of your subtle and elegant idiom,”<br />
he said in Japanese<br />
to the welcoming committee.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y were lost in admiration.<br />
“I am embarrassed<br />
at my poor command of Icelandic,”<br />
he confessed<br />
to deafening applause.<br />
“Be so good<br />
as to make allowances<br />
for my lack of fluency.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> Manchurian delegation<br />
was spellbound.<br />
“Please forgive me,”<br />
he said to his wife<br />
“for my frequent absences.”<br />
She did not appear to understand.<br />
Many people<br />
would<br />
say poetry<br />
in a foreign<br />
language is<br />
difficult.<br />
Not necessarily:<br />
it depends<br />
on the poem.<br />
In any language<br />
there are poems that<br />
are perfectly easy for foreign<br />
readers, and others that are<br />
difficult even for native speakers.<br />
Compare Goethe’s “Über allen<br />
Gipfeln ...” with one of Rilke’s Duineser Elegien,<br />
or a typical piece by Wendy Cope with one by T. S. Eliot.<br />
Do you have some personal favourites among other<br />
poets?<br />
Among modern (more or less) English-speaking poets, I<br />
like Wilfred Owen (the great poet of the First World<br />
War), Dylan Thomas (when I can understand him),<br />
Stevie Smith, some of Ted Hughes (especially his<br />
sequence Crow), Wendy Cope, and the “American<br />
Laureate” Billy Collins. But the poet whose work I<br />
like most of all is Polish: the Nobel Prize winner<br />
Wisława Szymborska (1923–2012). I<br />
want to write like<br />
her when I grow<br />
up. Who else?<br />
Villon, Brassens,<br />
Holub, Sorescu,<br />
Rilke (when I can<br />
understand him),<br />
and that wonderful<br />
crazy German<br />
poet Christian<br />
Morgenstern.<br />
Is there a poem germinating in your<br />
head at the moment?<br />
Several, but they’re not doing much<br />
right now. Perhaps they need watering.<br />
Fotos: amana images; iStock; Polka Dot<br />
absence [(ÄbsEns]<br />
admiration [)ÄdmE(reIS&n]<br />
allowance [E(laUEns]<br />
battery [(bÄtri]<br />
cheer sb. [tSIE]<br />
clarity [(klÄrEti]<br />
command [kE(mA:nd]<br />
confess [kEn(fes]<br />
deafening [(def&nIN]<br />
deceptive [di(septIv]<br />
Abwesenheit<br />
Bewunderung<br />
hier: Zugeständnis<br />
hier: (Energie-)Quelle<br />
jmdm. zujubeln<br />
Klarheit, Deutlichkeit<br />
hier: Beherrschung<br />
gestehen, beichten<br />
ohrenbetäubend<br />
trügerisch<br />
embarrassed [Im(bÄrEst]<br />
fluency [(flu:Ensi]<br />
germinate [(dZ§:mIneIt]<br />
lack [lÄk]<br />
obscurity [Eb(skjUErEti]<br />
spellbound [(spelbaUnd]<br />
subtle [(sVt&l]<br />
surface [(s§:fIs]<br />
verlegen, peinlich berührt<br />
hier: fließende Beherrschung<br />
(auf)keimen; hier: im Werden<br />
begriffen sein<br />
Mangel<br />
Unverständlichkeit, Unklarheit,<br />
Dunkel<br />
fasziniert, hingerissen<br />
fein, subtil<br />
Oberfläche<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 33
LANGUAGE | Poems<br />
If you could write the perfect poem,<br />
in what form would it be, and what<br />
would it be about?<br />
<strong>The</strong> rhythm and sound patterns would<br />
be simple in appearance, but in reality<br />
deeply complex and totally satisfying.<br />
In ten lines, the poem would sum up,<br />
completely and with great beauty, the<br />
whole of human experience; no one would ever need to<br />
write a poem again. Its message would be so profound<br />
that it would change everyone’s lives. Poverty and unhappiness<br />
would disappear, and there would be no more<br />
wars. I’m working on it.<br />
You also translate poetry. Can you tell us some of the<br />
challenges?<br />
It varies. If the ideas are straightforward, and the original<br />
poem is in a relatively free form, it may be quite easy to<br />
find a reasonable equivalent. It’s much harder when the<br />
effect of the original depends on formal qualities such as<br />
a complicated rhythmic pattern or a strict rhyme scheme,<br />
or when there are culture-specific references. In those<br />
cases you find yourself juggling rhyme, rhythm and sense,<br />
and something always gets lost. Rilke is usually badly<br />
trans lated into English because<br />
the translators concentrate on the<br />
meaning at the expense of the<br />
sound — but rhythmic flow and<br />
sound patterning are central to<br />
the effect of Rilke’s verse.<br />
THE POET’S VOICE<br />
You can listen to Michael Swan reading the poems<br />
“Everything is joined” and “<strong>The</strong> linguist” at<br />
www.spotlight-online.de/audio. On <strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio, he reads<br />
“Bridge” and “From a book”. Here’s how to make the most of a<br />
poet’s voice:<br />
• Find somewhere quiet to listen. <strong>The</strong> connection between<br />
the poet and you, the listener, will be enhanced if you are relaxed<br />
and in a peaceful environment.<br />
• Listen first. If you can, listen before you follow the text in<br />
writing. It will help you concentrate better on the quality of<br />
the poet or speaker’s voice, and the flow of the poem will not<br />
be interrupted. Try closing your eyes as you listen.<br />
• Don’t worry about understanding and meaning. As you<br />
listen, simply allow the sounds and words to enter your head.<br />
Replay the recording a few times in this way.<br />
• Listen again with the text. Use a dictionary if necessary.<br />
Try “shadow reading” — speaking the words of the poem, and<br />
trying to follow the rhythm and tone of the speaker.<br />
enhanced [In(hA:nst]<br />
juggle [(dZVg&l]<br />
profound [prE(faUnd]<br />
reference [(ref&rEns]<br />
straightforward [)streIt(fO:wEd]<br />
verse [v§:s]<br />
verbessert, verstärkt<br />
hier: versuchen, unter einen<br />
Hut zu bringen<br />
tiefgründig<br />
Bezug, Verweis<br />
einfach, unkompliziert<br />
hier: Dichtung, Poesie<br />
34<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
Where could a learner of English start with poetry?<br />
A good starting point is an anthology, where you can find very different kinds<br />
of poem by very different poets, so you just turn the pages, stopping at poems<br />
that catch your interest and passing over those that seem uninteresting or difficult.<br />
Two wonderful collections are Staying Alive and Being Alive, edited by<br />
Neil Astley and published by Bloodaxe.<br />
How would you like to be remembered: as a grammarian, as a poet, or as<br />
something else?<br />
Hold it! It sounds as if you’re making notes for my obituary. I’m planning<br />
to die peacefully at the age of 120, and there’s a long way to go. In any case,<br />
I don’t consider myself as “a grammarian” or as “a poet” or as an example of<br />
some other fill-in-the-blank category. Like anyone else, I’m just a person who<br />
is and does a lot of things. For me, these include working with grammar (as<br />
one part of my professional activity), and writing poetry, but I don’t feel these<br />
define what I am, any more than the fact that I like walking in the mountains,<br />
listening to Scottish folk music, drinking malt whisky and reading thrillers.<br />
How will I be remembered? With affection, I hope, by the people I’ve been<br />
close to.<br />
*<br />
If you enjoyed reading and listening to these poems, why not pay <strong>The</strong> Poetry<br />
Archive a visit? This is an ever growing audio library of poetry, where many<br />
poets read their own work. One of the first poets to be recorded was a former<br />
Poet Laureate, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, in 1890. Where there is no such<br />
recording, the poems are read by modern-day poets or actors. <strong>The</strong> aim of the<br />
site is to make poetry accessible to everyone — part of the site is devoted to<br />
children’s poetry, for example. As well as the poems, you’ll find lots of information<br />
about studying poetry, a glossary of terms and high-quality lesson<br />
ideas for teachers. www.poetryarchive.org<br />
affection [E(fekS&n]<br />
devoted [di(vEUtId]<br />
fill-in-the-blank [)fIl In DE (blÄNk]<br />
obituary [E(bItSuEri]<br />
Zuneigung, Liebe<br />
gewidmet<br />
hier: x-beliebig<br />
Nachruf<br />
Fotos: Hemera; iStock<br />
INFO<br />
“Bridge” and “From a book” are taken from<br />
<strong>The</strong> Shapes of Things and are reproduced by permission<br />
of Oversteps Books: www.overstepsbooks.com<br />
“Everything is joined” is taken from When <strong>The</strong>y Come<br />
for You, reproduced by permission of Frogmore Press:<br />
www.frogmorepress.co.uk<br />
27. Internationale Messe für<br />
Sprachen und Kulturen<br />
21. – 22. November 2014<br />
10:00 – 18:00 Uhr<br />
RHWK • Friedrichstraße 176 – 179 • 10117 Berlin<br />
Veranstalter<br />
www.expolingua.com<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 35
PETER FLYNN | Around Oz<br />
October is different<br />
Der Oktober ist ein Monat ohne Glanz und Gloria, er hat<br />
kaum Feiertage und ist auch sonst unauffällig.<br />
Thank<br />
goodness<br />
October lasts<br />
only a<br />
month<br />
October is a motherless month.<br />
Nobody loves it. It’s an inbetween<br />
time.<br />
In the northern hemisphere,<br />
summer is over and Christmas is<br />
about the only thing to look forward<br />
to, unless you like sub-zero temperatures.<br />
Here, in the Antipodes, this<br />
is a nothing time. We’d like to think<br />
winter has passed, but the truth is<br />
we’ll have more rain, cold weather<br />
and even late snow in spring before<br />
the sun shines through.<br />
For our schoolkids and university<br />
students, this is a difficult month.<br />
Final assignments will be due in the<br />
coming weeks, and then it’s exam<br />
time before the study year closes.<br />
No, there’s nothing glamorous<br />
about October. Nobody wants to<br />
own the month (unlike July, named<br />
after Julius Caesar, or August after<br />
Emperor Augustus), nor does it signify<br />
anything special. October just<br />
stands for number eight in the old<br />
Roman calendar, the way September<br />
stands for “seven”, November “nine”<br />
and December “ten”. Maybe the<br />
Romans just ran out of imagination<br />
after starting the year so well with<br />
Janus, the god of beginnings.<br />
<strong>Real</strong>ly, I can’t think of anything<br />
special that happens in the world in<br />
October. <strong>The</strong>re’s no Christmas or<br />
solstice. Not even the Oktoberfest<br />
is really in October, as we all know.<br />
Let’s change the name to Fest des<br />
Septembers, when it always begins.<br />
Sure, the Day of German Unity<br />
is celebrated on 3 October, but the<br />
fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November<br />
1989 — when I was still living<br />
in Germany — is for me a far more<br />
symbolic day. I distinctly remember<br />
my young German wife sitting on<br />
the couch crying tears of relief and<br />
joy back then.<br />
Halloween is really a November<br />
holiday, too; it just gets into October<br />
on the very last day. Halloween<br />
derives from an old Celtic festival<br />
in honour of the dead. It was then<br />
morphed by Roman Catholics into<br />
a “hallowed” day for all the saints<br />
whom nobody could name or remember.<br />
And guess what? All Saints’<br />
Day is on 1 November. It sounds as<br />
if someone was just feeling sorry for<br />
poor old October.<br />
October is really a pretty grey<br />
month, when bad things can happen.<br />
<strong>The</strong> world’s worst stock market<br />
collapses occurred in October: first<br />
in 1929 — leading to the Great Depression<br />
— and then Black Monday<br />
in 1987. Lehman Brothers officially<br />
went bankrupt in mid-September<br />
2008, but by October, the fallout<br />
had become known as the global<br />
financial crisis. Large parts of the<br />
world are still paying for that.<br />
Could the role of October just be<br />
an in-between-main-seasons thing?<br />
Well, March doesn’t have those problems,<br />
even though it takes its name<br />
from Mars, the god of war. In the<br />
north, spring is in the air; down under,<br />
March marks the end of the heat<br />
before a slow cooling into autumn.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Easter holidays are just around<br />
the corner. Believe it or not, there’s<br />
even an international Day of Happiness<br />
in March.<br />
No, October is different. So if<br />
you are feeling a bit sad, you really<br />
can blame it on October. Thank<br />
goodness it lasts only a month.<br />
Peter Flynn is a public-relations consultant<br />
and social commentator who lives in Perth,<br />
Western Australia.<br />
Day of German Unity<br />
[)deI Ev )dZ§:mEn (ju:nEti]<br />
derive from sth. [di(raIv frEm]<br />
distinctly [dI(stINktli]<br />
fallout [(fO:laUt]<br />
final assignment [)faIn&l E(saInmEnt]<br />
hallowed [(hÄlEUd]<br />
in-between [)In bi(twi:n]<br />
in the Antipodes [)In Di Än(tIpEdi:z]<br />
last [lA:st]<br />
morph [mO:f]<br />
relief [ri(li:f]<br />
signify [(sIgnIfaI]<br />
solstice [(sQlstIs]<br />
stock market [(stQk )mA:kIt]<br />
thank goodness [TÄNk (gUdnEs]<br />
unless [En(les]<br />
Tag der Deutschen Einheit<br />
von etw. abstammen<br />
deutlich<br />
hier: negative Auswirkungen<br />
Abschlussarbeit<br />
geheiligt<br />
zwischendrin, Zwischen-<br />
hier: in Australien und Neuseeland<br />
dauern, währen<br />
umwandeln<br />
Erleichterung<br />
bedeuten<br />
Sonnenwende<br />
Aktienmarkt, Börse<br />
Gott sei Dank!<br />
außer, es sei denn<br />
Spring can still be cold in Australia<br />
Foto: iStock<br />
36<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
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Bücher und DVDs in Originalsprache, Lernsoftware und vieles mehr.<br />
Klicken und Produktvielfalt entdecken:<br />
www.sprachenshop.de
DEBATE | Canada<br />
<strong>The</strong> future of<br />
public broadcasting<br />
Harte Zeiten für den kanadischen öffentlichen Sender CBC: Budgetkürzungen in Kombination mit<br />
harter Konkurrenz von gewerblichen Sendern und dem Internet. Lohnt es sich da noch, ihn weiter<br />
zu finanzieren?<br />
In today’s digital world, public broadcasting is looking<br />
rather old-fashioned. Anyone searching for the latest<br />
news or entertainment has only to go online to find<br />
a limitless supply of both — and mostly free of charge.<br />
This means that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation<br />
(CBC), which gets the majority of its funding from taxpayers,<br />
is under pressure to justify its existence.<br />
Essentially, public broadcasting exists to inform, educate<br />
and entertain citizens. <strong>The</strong> CBC and its French division,<br />
Radio Canada, have fulfilled this honourable role<br />
for nearly eight decades. Recently, however, the broadcaster<br />
has gone through depressing times. Government<br />
cuts and the loss of important ice hockey broadcasting<br />
rights have left a CAN$ 130 million hole in its budget.<br />
As a result, there will be a 20 per cent reduction of<br />
staff over the next five years. <strong>New</strong>s programmes will be<br />
cut, documentary production reduced and the CBC’s use<br />
of real estate will be halved. Official statements from the<br />
broadcaster focus on positive aspects, especially a greater<br />
emphasis on digital and mobile services. However, company<br />
morale is at an all-time low. Is this the beginning<br />
of the end for the national broadcaster? It’s a polarizing<br />
issue. On the one hand, opponents see the CBC as an<br />
earnest [(§:nIst]<br />
free of charge [)fri: Ev (tSA:dZ]<br />
gravitas [(grÄvItÄs]<br />
gruel [(gru:El]<br />
investigative journalism<br />
[In)vestIgEtIv (dZ§:nE)lIzEm]<br />
matter [(mÄtE]<br />
no matter [nEU (mÄtE]<br />
public broadcasting<br />
[)pVblIk (brO:dkA:stIN]<br />
real estate [(rIEl I)steIt] N. Am.<br />
staff [stA:f]<br />
taxpayer [(tÄks)peIE]<br />
unifying force [)ju:nIfaIIN (fO:s]<br />
unintentionally [)VnIn(tenS&nEli]<br />
viewer [(vju:E]<br />
viewing figures [(vju:IN )fIgEz]<br />
watch out for sb. [wQtS (aUt fE]<br />
ernst, ernsthaft<br />
gebührenfrei<br />
Würde, Bedeutsamkeit<br />
Haferschleim<br />
Enthüllungsjournalismus<br />
Angelegenheit<br />
ganz gleich, ganz egal<br />
öffentliches Fernsehen,<br />
öffentlicher Rundfunk<br />
Grundstücks- und Hausbesitz<br />
Personal<br />
Steuerzahler(in)<br />
vereinigende Kraft<br />
ungewollt, versehentlich<br />
Zuschauer(in)<br />
Einschaltquoten<br />
sich vor jmdm. vorsehen<br />
Under pressure: public<br />
broadcasting in Canada<br />
elitist anachronism with little to offer modern audiences<br />
— the people who are paying for its existence. On the<br />
other hand, many Canadians have a great sense of loyalty<br />
towards the public broadcaster and value the quality<br />
of its news and investigative journalism units. <strong>The</strong>y also<br />
point to CBC’s focus on Canadian content as a unifying<br />
force in that huge nation. Commenting in <strong>The</strong> Globe and<br />
Mail, one CBC employee remarked: “<strong>The</strong> CBC makes us<br />
a community. No matter where you go in Canada, you<br />
are in the neighbourhood.”<br />
At a time when viewing figures are decreasing, the<br />
CBC needs its supporters more than ever. But Globe and<br />
Mail columnist John Doyle says it needs to watch out for<br />
“sincere people” who would unintentionally have it move<br />
backwards with earnest calls for more serious content.<br />
Such people would have commercial channels provide the<br />
glamour, while the CBC provides “the gruel that’s good<br />
for you”. “No, thanks,” Doyle says. <strong>The</strong> broadcaster needs<br />
gravitas and populism.<br />
Public or private, these are tough times for the industry<br />
in general. In the era of Netflix and Apple TV, all are<br />
fighting for their future. In many ways, the CBC may have<br />
everything to play for — if it is smart. And that means not<br />
being afraid to be different. After all, in these fast-moving<br />
times, it will not only be a matter of informing, educating<br />
and entertaining, but also surprising viewers.<br />
Fotos: Getty Images; L. Mallinder<br />
38<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
Listen to George, Sarah, Michelle and Philip<br />
Lorraine Mallinder asked people in Montreal:<br />
Is there still a need for public broadcasting?<br />
George Barker, 43,<br />
chef<br />
In this day [and age], when<br />
people go on the internet on<br />
to YouTube for their news<br />
and entertainment, I really<br />
don’t see any need for public<br />
broadcasting. In fact, I think<br />
CBC is a complete waste of<br />
taxpayers’ money.<br />
Sarah Cousineau-Wild,<br />
25, student<br />
Public broadcasting more<br />
and more today is absolutely<br />
important. More than ever ...<br />
we need to get the straight<br />
facts from people ... we trust,<br />
which are programmes paid<br />
for by the people for the<br />
people.<br />
Michelle Palmer, 28,<br />
teacher<br />
If I’m paying for something, I<br />
definitely want to see things<br />
that affect my life and my<br />
society, and that’s not really<br />
what’s reflected on CBC.<br />
It’s a very watered-down,<br />
bubblegum-type version of<br />
the Canadian experience.<br />
Philip Henry, 68,<br />
retiree<br />
<strong>The</strong> CBC should focus on<br />
more of the arts and cultural<br />
programming and leave the<br />
sort of regular ... populist<br />
programming for private<br />
networks, because I think<br />
they’re trying to do both,<br />
and it’s not working.<br />
Gilles-Daniel Adams, 43,<br />
systems engineer<br />
CBC is more interested in<br />
ratings than in providing a<br />
good public service. It should<br />
be more about learning and<br />
giving information on new<br />
laws and current events.<br />
With its current format, it<br />
shouldn’t be publicly funded.<br />
Jacqueline Heaton, 55,<br />
teacher<br />
Not only is it necessary,<br />
it’s also very interesting. It<br />
gives a wide-ranging global<br />
perspective, which I haven’t<br />
found elsewhere. It’s varied<br />
and engaging, and CBC radio<br />
offers a wide selection of<br />
music, like classical and jazz.<br />
Zoe Preston, 30,<br />
costume assistant<br />
I listen to CBC radio, and<br />
often it’s just reruns that I’ve<br />
heard before. I feel that we<br />
are a nation, but sometimes<br />
CBC’s focus is extremely<br />
broad. It’d be nice to feel<br />
that you’re listening to some<br />
relatively local content.<br />
Richard Nakashima, 56,<br />
security guard<br />
I think so, because we need<br />
to continue broadcasting<br />
Canadian content. It keeps<br />
the land unified. We’re<br />
culturally different from any<br />
other country, so it’s very<br />
important for our future that<br />
we preserve our culture.<br />
chef [Sef]<br />
Koch, Köchin<br />
rerun [(ri:rVn]<br />
Wiederholung<br />
content [(kQntent]<br />
Inhalt(e)<br />
retiree [ri)taIE(ri:]<br />
Rentner(in)<br />
engaging [In(geIdZIN]<br />
einnehmend, fesselnd<br />
security guard [sI(kjUErEti gA:d]<br />
Sicherheitsbedienstete(r)<br />
preserve [pri(z§:v]<br />
erhalten, schützen<br />
straight [streIt]<br />
ehrlich, unverfälscht<br />
rating [(reItIN]<br />
Einschaltquote<br />
wide-ranging [)waId (reIndZIN]<br />
breit gefächert<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 39
HISTORY | 190 Years Ago<br />
Into the<br />
unknown<br />
Vor 200 Jahren war Australien noch unberührte Wildnis.<br />
Expeditionen ins Landesinnere sollten beweisen, dass es dort für<br />
Europäer neues Siedlungsland gab. Von MIKE PILEWSKI<br />
Gateway to exploration: the Blue Mountains behind Sydney<br />
<strong>The</strong> 900-kilometre journey<br />
from Sydney to Melbourne<br />
takes only about nine hours<br />
today. But the first time anyone<br />
made it, it took 11 weeks.<br />
Melbourne did not exist when<br />
Hamilton Hume, William Hovell<br />
and six other men set off 190 years<br />
ago this month. <strong>The</strong>re was only a<br />
large bay on Australia’s southern<br />
coast, which ships had just begun<br />
to explore. What lay between this<br />
bay and the distant colony to the<br />
north-east was unknown to any<br />
European. A chain of mountains<br />
made the interior of the continent<br />
seem impossible to reach.<br />
Sooner or later, though, it would have to be reached.<br />
Sydney, established in 1788 as the first European colony<br />
in Australia, was expanding rapidly, and with it the need<br />
for farmland and grazing land. In 1813, a seven-man team<br />
Gebüsch, Gestrüpp<br />
Weideland<br />
aufteilen<br />
Grünland, Weideland<br />
Ebene<br />
aufbrechen<br />
Gutachter(in), Landvermesser(in)<br />
Acker-<br />
enorm, riesig<br />
brush [brVS]<br />
grazing land [(greIzIN lÄnd]<br />
parcel out [)pA:s&l (aUt]<br />
pasture land [(pA:stSE lÄnd]<br />
plain [pleIn]<br />
set off [set (Qf]<br />
surveyor [sE(veIE]<br />
tillage [(tIlIdZ]<br />
vast [vA:st]<br />
Hume’s expedition (lower<br />
route) and that of another in 1829<br />
led by Gregory Blaxland climbed the Blue<br />
Mountains behind Sydney, cutting a path<br />
through the brush and reaching the plains<br />
beyond in three weeks. Walking through<br />
grass nearly a metre high, the men found<br />
a vast area that was unexpectedly cool and<br />
wet. Some of it was forested and populated<br />
by kangaroos. A surveyor sent out by colonial governor<br />
Lachlan Macquarie to confirm the expedition’s findings<br />
said the land was “equal to every demand which this colony<br />
may have for an extension of tillage and pasture lands<br />
for a century to come”.<br />
<strong>The</strong> land was parcelled out liberally, however, and<br />
only 11 years would pass before the next governor of <strong>New</strong><br />
South Wales, Thomas Brisbane, requested another expedition<br />
in search of more land for farms and pastures.<br />
Twenty-seven-year-old Hamilton Hume, born in Australia<br />
of Welsh colonists, was asked to lead the new expedition.<br />
Since his boyhood, he’d been exploring parts of<br />
<strong>New</strong> South Wales. Unable to convince the government<br />
to pay for the journey, Hume accepted financial support<br />
Fotos: Bridgeman; DIAgentur/Elke Stolt; Mauritius<br />
40<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
and equipment from a former navy captain, William<br />
Hovell, who wanted to join him on the mission. Hume<br />
and Hovell each chose three convicts to assist them; these<br />
were promised a governor’s pardon upon their return.<br />
Brisbane wanted them to go west, to present-day Adelaide,<br />
but Hume and Hovell felt it was more realistic to<br />
go south-west, to a point near what is now Melbourne.<br />
On 2 October 1824, they departed from Hume’s<br />
house in Appin, 75 kilometres south of Sydney, and travelled<br />
another 200 kilometres to Hume’s station, north<br />
of present-day Canberra. This was the furthest point of<br />
Western civilization.<br />
Crossing hills and grassland, the men made notes<br />
about the good quality of the soil. But on 19 October,<br />
after they entered a forest, the land became “broken, irregular<br />
and precipitous”. To cross the turbulent Murrumbidgee<br />
River, they took the wheels off one of their carts<br />
and covered it with a tarpaulin in order to use it as a raft.<br />
On the other side of the river, the terrain was rocky and<br />
steep. Unable to find a route across the mountains, Hume<br />
and Hovell got into an intense argument. <strong>The</strong>y divided<br />
their equipment, but having only one frying pan, fought<br />
over it until they broke it in half, one taking the handle<br />
and the other the rest of the pan. Hovell and Hume set off<br />
in opposite directions, but when Hovell reached the edge<br />
of a cliff, he had to turn round and rejoin Hume.<br />
With more mountains ahead, the men left their carts<br />
behind and hid some of their supplies. After a few days,<br />
they reached a relatively flat, elevated area of forest, full<br />
of wombat holes; this gave way to swampland. Crossing<br />
countless streams and rivers, they encountered large<br />
numbers of kangaroos and increasing numbers of native<br />
people. “<strong>The</strong>y were several times hailed, but could not,<br />
although they replied, be induced to approach,” the men<br />
wrote in their journal on 4 November.<br />
Weeks of mountainous terrain followed, until on 20<br />
November — after another argument between Hume and<br />
Hovell — the expedition crossed the Murray River in an<br />
improvised boat.<br />
<strong>The</strong> mountains on the other side were full of stony<br />
ground and thick forest. “<strong>The</strong> hoofs of the horses are sadly<br />
broken, and the feet of the cattle are so swollen that<br />
they are at present unfit for travelling,” was the report<br />
for 8 December. Tall grass with sharp blades, called “cutting<br />
grass”, made it painful for the men to continue as<br />
Modern times: Hume and Hovell’s<br />
route is now the Hume Highway<br />
well. Unable even to see what lay ahead, they named the<br />
mountain they were on “Mount Disappointment”.<br />
<strong>The</strong> rest of the route was, fortunately, downhill and<br />
easy. <strong>The</strong> terrain expanded into broad plains with good<br />
soil and plenty of rivers and streams. On 16 December,<br />
the men reached the sea. Aborigines there told them that<br />
Europeans had been seen in the area before, confirming<br />
that this was the spot the expedition had aimed to reach.<br />
With the potential for settlement now beyond doubt,<br />
further expeditions were organized. Settlers and squatters<br />
followed immediately, and Britain officially claimed all of<br />
Australia for itself.<br />
<strong>The</strong> land was, of course, not uninhabited. Hume and<br />
Hovell had frequently encountered Aboriginal huts, footprints,<br />
fires and the people themselves. Often it was the<br />
presence of Aborigines that gave the explorers clues about<br />
where they could go.<br />
While those encounters had been peaceful, the arrival<br />
of settlers in the hinterland quickly led to brutal conflicts.<br />
By 1845, most of the Aborigines had been killed or displaced.<br />
Settlers arrived in greater and greater numbers,<br />
many of them coming by boat from Tasmania to the area<br />
around Melbourne.<br />
By the time Victoria became a separate colony from<br />
<strong>New</strong> South Wales in 1851, Melbourne had a population<br />
of 23,000, with another 50,000 people — and six million<br />
sheep — living in the hinterland of Victoria.<br />
Today, the route taken by Hume and Hovell is easy to<br />
follow. It is, generally speaking, the route of the four-lane<br />
highway that connects Sydney and Melbourne. Mount<br />
Disappointment, which had brought Hume and Hovell<br />
almost to breaking point, is now a popular destination<br />
for hikers.<br />
cart [kA:t]<br />
cliff [klIf]<br />
convict [(kQnvIkt]<br />
displace [dIs(pleIs]<br />
elevated [(elIveItId]<br />
hail sb. [heI&l]<br />
hiker [(haIkE]<br />
induce: ~ sb. to do sth.<br />
[In(dju:s]<br />
journal [(dZ§:n&l]<br />
pardon [(pA:d&n]<br />
precipitous [pri(sIpItEs]<br />
raft [rA:ft]<br />
squatter [(skwQtE]<br />
station [(steIS&n] Aus.<br />
swampland [(swQmplÄnd]<br />
tarpaulin [tA:(pO:lIn]<br />
to breaking point<br />
[tE (breIkIN pOInt]<br />
uninhabited<br />
[)VnIn(hÄbItId]<br />
wombat [(wQmbÄt]<br />
Wagen, Karren<br />
Felswand<br />
Sträfling<br />
vertreiben, verdrängen<br />
hoch gelegen<br />
jmdn. grüßen, jmdm. zujubeln<br />
Wanderer, Wanderin<br />
jmdn. bewegen, etw. zu tun,<br />
jmdn. zu etwas bringen<br />
Tagebuch, Protokoll<br />
hier: Begnadigung<br />
abschüssig<br />
Floß<br />
Landbesetzer(in)<br />
hier: große Ranch, Farm<br />
Sumpf(gebiet)<br />
Wagenplane<br />
bis zur Grenze der Belastbarkeit<br />
unbewohnt<br />
Beutelratte<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 41
PRESS GALLERY | Comment<br />
Work less, live better<br />
Weniger arbeiten zu müssen, macht uns wahrscheinlich glücklicher und gesünder, was wiederum<br />
unsere Lebenserwartung steigern könnte.<br />
People in the Swedish city of Gothenburg enjoying their free time<br />
In 1930, [British economist] John Maynard Keynes predicted<br />
that employees would toil for only 15 hours and<br />
then face the challenge of “how to use freedom from<br />
pressing economic cares”. <strong>The</strong> long-predicted “leisured<br />
society” has yet to arrive for the UK workforce, but further<br />
reshaping of the working week is highly likely and to<br />
be welcomed, not least because while unemployment can<br />
be deadly, work may also make us sick. ...<br />
[In July], John Ashton, president of the UK Faculty<br />
of Public Health, called for a four-day week to combat<br />
a rising tide of stress and the lack of time to recuperate<br />
properly.<br />
Professor Lynda Gratton of<br />
the London Business School<br />
has spent five years considering<br />
the future of work in conjunction<br />
with 21 global companies,<br />
including Nokia, BT, Save the<br />
Children and Singapore’s ministry<br />
of manpower. One manifestation<br />
of the difficulties that<br />
young people today face in securing<br />
work ... is that increasingly,<br />
they value the quality of<br />
their lives and time for themselves<br />
as much if not more<br />
than status and high pay...<br />
<strong>The</strong> global work place is a<br />
contradictory universe; progress<br />
is uneven. In some parts,<br />
the horrific conditions of the<br />
British Industrial Revolution<br />
continue while in the Swedish<br />
city of Gothenburg a one-year<br />
experiment is underway in<br />
which some of its employees<br />
enjoy a six-hour day to see how<br />
their performance compares with those on the standard<br />
eight hours, on the basis that fewer hours may prove more<br />
productive and enhance creativity.<br />
“Time’s arrow is broken,” wrote [US sociologist] Richard<br />
Sennett in <strong>The</strong> Corrosion of Character. “It has no trajectory<br />
in a continually re-engineered, short-term ... political<br />
economy.” Out of austerity and necessity, however,<br />
it’s just possible that such pessimism may be challenged.<br />
We may yet be forced to reshape work and, in the process,<br />
revalue what is among the most precious of all commodities<br />
— our free time.<br />
© Guardian <strong>New</strong>s & Media 2014<br />
austerity [O:(sterEti]<br />
combat [(kQmbÄt]<br />
commodity [kE(mQdEti]<br />
contradictory [)kQntrE(dIktEri]<br />
enhance [In(hA:ns]<br />
in conjunction with<br />
[In kEn(dZVNkS&n wID]<br />
leisured [(leZEd]<br />
manpower [(mÄn)paUE]<br />
Einschränkung, Entsagung<br />
bekämpfen<br />
Ware, Gut<br />
widersprüchlich<br />
verbessern, erhöhen<br />
zusammen mit<br />
müßig<br />
Arbeitskraft<br />
precious [(preSEs]<br />
pressing [(presIN]<br />
recuperate [ri(kju:pEreIt]<br />
secure [sI(kjUE]<br />
tide [taId]<br />
toil [tOI&l]<br />
trajectory [trE(dZektEri]<br />
uneven [Vn(i:v&n]<br />
workforce [(w§:kfO:s]<br />
kostbar, wertvoll<br />
brennend, bedrängend, akut<br />
sich erholen<br />
sichern, erhalten<br />
Woge, Trend<br />
schuften<br />
Flugbahn<br />
ungleichmäßig, ruckartig<br />
Arbeitnehmerschaft<br />
Foto: Ullstein<br />
42<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
Listen to more news items on Replay<br />
INFO TO GO<br />
underway<br />
Be careful with the word underway. It looks very similar<br />
to German unterwegs, but the two are in fact an example<br />
of false friends. A false friend is a word in one language<br />
that looks and/or sounds like a word in another<br />
language, but which has a very different meaning. (See<br />
page 53 each month for further examples.)<br />
In the article, we learn that “a one-year experiment is<br />
underway” in Sweden. It is not unterwegs; if it were, you<br />
would have to imagine that an experiment is driving<br />
around Sweden from place to place. “Underway” means<br />
“in progress”, “being conducted”, “being carried out”,<br />
“being performed” or “taking place”. Unterwegs can be<br />
translated as “on the road” or “travelling”.<br />
Translate the following sentences.<br />
1. Die Operation zur Entfernung seines Tumors wird<br />
gerade durchgeführt.<br />
2. Es finden gerade Gespräche zur Lösung des Konflikts<br />
zwischen Arbeitgebern und der Gewerkschaft statt.<br />
Answers: 1. <strong>The</strong> operation is underway to remove his tumour.<br />
2. Talks are underway to resolve the dispute between employers and the<br />
union. (Other answers are possible.)<br />
IN THE HEADLINES Maclean’s<br />
This headline referred to an article about the Canadian navy.<br />
Its destroyers and supply ships are more than 40 years old<br />
and in need of repairs, at a time when the Canadian government<br />
is reducing spending for the military. To gaze at<br />
something is to look at it for a long time — which is what<br />
the three-page article does. <strong>The</strong> text explains that the Canadian<br />
navy has been engaged in anti-smuggling missions in<br />
the Arabian Sea and the Caribbean, work that is rarely mentioned<br />
in the press. <strong>The</strong> headline uses a play on words with<br />
“navel” — that’s the small hollow on the front of your belly<br />
(Nabel). <strong>The</strong> phrase “navel-gazing” means “focusing too<br />
long on one’s own problems”.<br />
Caribbean [)kÄrE(bi:En]<br />
destroyer [di(strOIE]<br />
engaged: be ~ in sth.<br />
[In(geIdZd]<br />
gaze at sth. [(geIz Et]<br />
supply ship [sE(plaI SIp]<br />
Karibik<br />
Zerstörer<br />
mit etw. beschäftigt sein, an etw.<br />
beteiligt sein<br />
den Blick auf etw. heften<br />
Mutterschiff, Versorgungsschiff<br />
Klasse<br />
Unterricht!<br />
Vielfalt für Ihr Klassenzimmer!<br />
Exklusiv für Lehrer: Begleitmaterial, Kopiervorlagen<br />
und Tipps in der Unterrichtsbeilage.<br />
Gratis<br />
zum<br />
Lehrer-<br />
Abo!<br />
Bestellen Sie jetzt!<br />
+49 (0)89/8 56 81-150 www.spotlight-verlag.de/lehrerzimmer
ARTS | What’s <strong>New</strong><br />
Films | Drama<br />
What do you believe?<br />
Brendan Gleeson<br />
and Chris O’Dowd<br />
A question of faith<br />
Films | Western<br />
Revenge is a popular theme in westerns.<br />
Exploring this topic with great<br />
and sometimes brutal intensity,<br />
<strong>The</strong> Salvation, directed by Kristian<br />
Levring, is the story of two brothers.<br />
Jon (Mads Mikkelsen) and Peter (Mikael<br />
Persbrandt) are Danish soldiers who<br />
leave Denmark in the 1860s to build a<br />
new life in America’s Wild West. When<br />
Jon’s wife and son join them there, they find that lawlessness<br />
has become normality. Filmed with wide-angle shots of a seemingly<br />
golden landscape and close-ups of the people struggling<br />
to make a new home there, Levring shows people as makers of<br />
history. Mikkelsen brings light to the screen in an unusual role,<br />
but times were dark, and so is this film. Starts 9 October.<br />
Set in the beautiful area around Sligo in western<br />
Ireland, Irish director John Michael McDonagh’s<br />
Calvary follows life in a Roman Catholic community<br />
during Holy Week — the week before Easter Sunday.<br />
Brendan Gleeson (who also acted in McDonagh’s<br />
<strong>The</strong> Guard ) stars as Father Lavelle, a priest who receives a<br />
death threat while hearing confession.<br />
Lavelle cannot see who exactly is threatening him and<br />
has just seven days to find out the identity of the man on<br />
the other side of the grille. His community is not large,<br />
and the people all know each other. So Lavelle begins talking<br />
to those who might have a reason to hate the Church<br />
and its representatives. With acting of great humour and<br />
humility by Gleeson, McDonagh’s film explores deadly<br />
sins such as pride and greed as natural aspects of the human<br />
character that are a little out of control. As the days<br />
pass, Lavelle begins to ask himself about his own sins and<br />
what he might have done differently. Reflecting on the<br />
grand themes of sin and forgiveness against a background<br />
of wonderful, dramatic scenery, McDonagh’s carefully<br />
composed story is a study of both 21st-century faith and<br />
its institutions. Starts 23 October.<br />
DVDs | Drama<br />
<strong>The</strong> year is 1977, and Australian<br />
Robyn Davidson, played<br />
by Mia Wasikowska (right), has<br />
had enough of her busy urban<br />
life. Desperate for solitude, the<br />
27-year-old leaves her city existence behind her to travel from<br />
the centre of Australia to the west coast. On this 2,700-kilometre,<br />
nine-month journey, her only companions are four camels and<br />
a dog. But when National Geographic photographer Rick Smolan<br />
(Adam Driver) arrives, wanting to take pictures of her on her<br />
journey, an unusual relationship develops between the two.<br />
Based on a true story, Tracks features a strong performance<br />
from Wasikowska as the complex and uncompromising Davidson,<br />
as well as incredible images of the Australian outback.<br />
Tracks is available on DVD and Blue Ray from 28 October.<br />
close-up [(klEUs Vp]<br />
confession [kEn(feS&n]<br />
deadly sin [)dedli (sIn]<br />
faith [feIT]<br />
greed [gri:d]<br />
grille [grIl]<br />
Großaufnahme<br />
Beichte<br />
Todsünde<br />
Glaube<br />
Geiz, Habgier<br />
vergitterter Teil der Trennwand eines<br />
Beichtstuhls<br />
humility [hju(mIlEti] Demut, Bescheidenheit<br />
pride [praId] Stolz; hier: Hochmut ( p. 61)<br />
revenge [ri(vendZ] Rache<br />
seemingly [(si:mINli] dem Anschein nach<br />
solitude [(sQlEtju:d] Einsamkeit<br />
wide-angle shot<br />
[)waId )ÄNg&l (SQt]<br />
Weitwinkelaufnahme<br />
Fotos: PR; Richard Avedon Foundation<br />
44<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
Apps | Science<br />
Podcasts | Travel<br />
<strong>The</strong> Elements costs €12.99, but you get a lot for your money.<br />
Developed by science writer <strong>The</strong>odore Gray, this app shows<br />
the 118 elements that currently make up the periodic table<br />
or, in Gray’s words, “everything you can drop on your foot ...<br />
everything tangible”. Hydrogen, lithium or silver: each element<br />
is presented as a 3D image (if its structure is known) along with<br />
properties such as atomic weight and boiling point. For each element,<br />
there is also a short essay with background information<br />
— often humorously presented. Did you know that shorts made<br />
of silver protect “against electromagnetic fields, if that were a<br />
problem”? <strong>The</strong> Elements is well-designed, informative and entertaining,<br />
even — or perhaps especially — for non-scientists.<br />
Culture close by | Exhibitions<br />
Since July 2005, Chris Christensen has been presenting his podcast<br />
Amateur Traveler. In that time, he has covered more<br />
than 400 destinations around the world, from the Palestinian<br />
West Bank to Alaska. Christensen often gives a broad background<br />
on the location and then suggests both unusual and lastingly<br />
interesting places to see. On a trip to Flanders, Belgium, he<br />
includes some First World<br />
War history, but also visits<br />
Brussels and gives tips on<br />
museums. Christensen<br />
has a comfortable and informal<br />
style of presentation.<br />
<strong>The</strong> format of these<br />
free podcasts can also<br />
include interviews and<br />
music relevant to the destination.<br />
More than 300<br />
episodes are available in iTunes. For additional information and<br />
more on Christensen’s travels, go to http://amateurtraveler.<br />
com/tag/travel-podcast<br />
Many of us link the name<br />
of American photographer<br />
Richard Avedon<br />
(1923–2004) to fashion<br />
photography. But in an<br />
age when fashion began<br />
to influence identity, his<br />
work went far beyond<br />
the catwalk. Avedon<br />
studied photography in<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> before starting Marilyn Monroe in 1957<br />
out as an advertising photographer and working for<br />
magazines such as Life, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.<br />
During the 1960s, he also began taking portrait photographs,<br />
often of people from protest movements or<br />
rural communities. <strong>The</strong> exhibition Richard Avedon:<br />
Murals and Portraits, showing until 9 November<br />
in Munich’s Brandhorst Museum, includes many of<br />
these extraordinary portraits as well as three largescale<br />
murals that Avedon created from 1969 to 1971.<br />
For details, go to www.museum-brandhorst.de<br />
Andy by Avedon: artist Andy Warhol<br />
and members of <strong>The</strong> Factory in 1969<br />
advertising photographer Werbefotograf(in)<br />
[(ÄdvEtaIzIN fE)tQgrEfE]<br />
both ... and... [bEUT End] sowohl ... als auch ...<br />
catwalk [(kÄtwO:k]<br />
Laufsteg<br />
essay [(eseI]<br />
Aufsatz, Abhandlung<br />
far beyond sth. [)fA: bi(jQnd] weit über etw. hinaus<br />
large-scale [)lA:dZ (skeI&l]<br />
lastingly [(lA:stINli]<br />
mural [(mjUErEl]<br />
rural community<br />
[)rUErEl kE(mju:nEti]<br />
tangible [(tÄndZEb&l]<br />
großformatig<br />
nachhaltig, dauerhaft<br />
Wandgemälde, Wandmalerei<br />
Dorfgemeinschaft,<br />
Landgemeinde<br />
greifbar, konkret<br />
Reviews by OWEN CONNORS and EVE LUCAS<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong><br />
45
ARTS | Short Story and Books<br />
<strong>The</strong> mountain railway<br />
In Wales auf dem Land ist eine Frau sehr glücklich bei ihrem Ferienjob, ein Mann hingegen<br />
sehr unglücklich bei seiner täglichen Arbeit. Die beiden begegnen sich auf unerwartete Weise.<br />
Von NIGEL MARSH<br />
Julie blew hard on the whistle and slowly opened the<br />
throttle until the big, red steam locomotive began to<br />
pull on the ten coaches attached behind.<br />
<strong>The</strong> engine started slowly, picking up the weight of<br />
each coach until the whole train was moving out of the<br />
little station.<br />
<strong>The</strong> coaches were filled with holidaymakers enjoying<br />
a journey through the Welsh mountains in the late summer<br />
sunshine. <strong>The</strong> original railway had been closed many<br />
years before, but in recent times, volunteers had been rebuilding<br />
it bit by bit.<br />
Julie was driving today, using all her care to give the<br />
passengers a smooth ride. She had spent every holiday for<br />
the past ten years working on the railway. Yesterday, she<br />
had sat at a desk in a windowless call centre in Birmingham,<br />
answering questions from customers about fridges,<br />
cookers and freezers. And now, here she was, under a blue<br />
sky, and around her, fields and mountains.<br />
Once out of the station, the train thundered along<br />
the narrow track with steam flying from the funnel of the<br />
engine.<br />
A mile away, farmer Sam Evans was driving his green<br />
tractor across a field. He was thinking about sick cows<br />
and low milk prices and how to pay for tractor parts. Not<br />
that he wanted to be rich: he just wanted to survive. His<br />
family had been running this farm for more than a hundred<br />
years.<br />
He stopped to let himself through a gate into the next<br />
field, taking care to close the gate again before he drove<br />
on. Sam had been up before 5 a.m. for morning milking.<br />
He wouldn’t be finished until after 11.30 p.m. “And for<br />
what? It’s killing me,” he told the empty field.<br />
As the train made its way through the hills and valleys<br />
between Porthmadog and Caernarfon, there were many<br />
places where roads, footpaths and farm tracks crossed the<br />
line. Even though this was a newly reopened stretch of the<br />
railway, Julie knew the exact location of every crossing,<br />
and at each one, she would blow the whistle to warn of<br />
the train’s approach.<br />
Sam Evans drove his tractor across the next field. He<br />
was thinking about bank managers and high interest<br />
rates. He was thinking about arguments with his wife and<br />
his father. <strong>The</strong> mountains towered over him, and he felt<br />
their weight pushing down on him.<br />
Sam’s tractor was a John Deere 2355, built in Mannheim<br />
in 1997. Not quite six metres long, it weighed a<br />
little under three tonnes.<br />
Julie’s locomotive was a Garratt NGG16, built in<br />
Manchester in 1958 for South African Railways. Nearly<br />
15 metres long, it weighed 62 tonnes.<br />
Julie blew the whistle as her train came to a level crossing.<br />
When it passed, a little boy waved to her from a waiting<br />
car.<br />
<strong>The</strong> tractor slowly crossed another field.<br />
<strong>The</strong> train rattled across an iron bridge and into a bend.<br />
<strong>The</strong> tractor moved towards a gate.<br />
As the train came round the long curve, Julie saw the<br />
little, green tractor moving towards the crossing. It would<br />
stop in a moment or two. <strong>The</strong> driver would jump out,<br />
ready to open the gate once the train had safely passed.<br />
approach [E(prEUtS]<br />
argument [(A:gjumEnt]<br />
bend [bend]<br />
engine [(endZIn]<br />
funnel [(fVn&l]<br />
interest rate [(IntrEst reIt]<br />
Herannahen<br />
hier: Streit<br />
Kurve<br />
hier: Lokomotive<br />
Schornstein<br />
Zinssatz<br />
level crossing [)lev&l (krQsIN]<br />
rattle [(rÄt&l]<br />
throttle [(TrQt&l]<br />
thunder along [)TVndE E(lQN]<br />
volunteer [)vQlEn(tIE]<br />
whistle [(wIs&l]<br />
höhengleicher Bahnübergang<br />
rattern, rumpeln<br />
Drossel, Gaspedal<br />
entlangdonnern<br />
Freiwillige(r)<br />
Pfeife<br />
Fotos: iStock; Wavebreak Media<br />
46<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
Short Story<br />
Sam was deep in thought. Maybe it was time to make<br />
a change. When you find at the end of the year you’ve lost<br />
money again, it must be time to think about alternatives.<br />
He drove the tractor towards the gate he had opened earlier<br />
that morning. He hadn’t closed this one. <strong>The</strong>re were<br />
no cows or sheep in this field or the next. He stared ahead,<br />
thinking of what he would do if he sold the farm. What<br />
would his father think? What would his wife say? <strong>The</strong><br />
nose of the tractor rose up slightly as it moved on to the<br />
railway track.<br />
Julie’s heart leapt into her mouth, and she pulled the<br />
emergency brake, bracing herself for the impact.<br />
<strong>The</strong> train began its long screech to a halt, and Sam<br />
looked round at the terrible noise. He stared in horror at<br />
the engine. His mouth opened wide. His arms and legs<br />
froze. Black smoke filled the air, and as the engine roared<br />
in his ears, the two machines slid past each other.<br />
When the train stopped many long seconds later,<br />
Julie slowly opened her eyes. She climbed down from the<br />
engine and ran past the carriages of stunned passengers.<br />
<strong>The</strong> tractor stood in one piece in the next field, its driver<br />
leaning out of his cab. It seemed he was being sick.<br />
“That was close,” thought Julie. “Well, no harm done,”<br />
she called to the passengers in a shaky voice. “Best be on<br />
our way.”<br />
Sam sat back in his cab, his eyes closed and his hands<br />
trembling. “Yes. It’s definitely time for a change,” he told<br />
himself.<br />
Books | Novel<br />
Every year, thousands of<br />
books compete for our attention<br />
(and money) as the<br />
market meets culture to<br />
define “bestselling” at October’s<br />
Frankfurt Book Fair.<br />
Taking an unusual approach<br />
to “tell-all” bestseller writing,<br />
American author Chris<br />
Pavone’s <strong>The</strong> Accident<br />
looks at the lives of two men<br />
whose involvement in an<br />
accident during their student<br />
days follows them into middle age. As one of these men<br />
decides to run for political office, the other finds that he can<br />
no longer live with the past. He constructs an elaborate plan<br />
to eliminate himself, and writes a book about it. With a special<br />
branch of America’s secret services looking over every shoulder,<br />
events twist and turn themselves to a dramatic conclusion.<br />
Faber & Faber, €12.80.<br />
Books | Easy reader<br />
Are you planning a trip to<br />
the UK? Do you enjoy reading<br />
about English culture?<br />
Or are you looking for a<br />
present for an Anglophile<br />
friend? In all cases, the<br />
Macmillan Cultural<br />
Reader: England is for<br />
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cricket in England, and learn<br />
some popular sayings. Short<br />
interviews with people about their daily lives and their memories<br />
of great events bring the book to life. This easy reader at<br />
pre-intermediate level not only offers you pages of interesting<br />
stories and facts, it also comes with comprehension questions,<br />
grammar and vocabulary exercises, explanations of difficult<br />
words and an additional CD, so that you can listen to the text, too.<br />
Macmillan, €10.99.<br />
be sick [bi (sIk]<br />
brace oneself [(breIs wVn)self]<br />
branch [brA:ntS]<br />
cab [kÄb]<br />
carriage [(kÄrIdZ] UK<br />
comprehension<br />
[)kQmprI(henS&n]<br />
elaborate [i(lÄbErEt]<br />
eliminate [i(lImIneIt]<br />
Reviews by EVE LUCAS<br />
hier: sich übergeben<br />
sich wappnen, sich auf etw.<br />
gefasst machen<br />
Filiale; Abteilung<br />
Führerhaus<br />
Waggon<br />
Verständnis<br />
ausgeklügelt, raffiniert<br />
beseitigen;<br />
hier: umbringen<br />
freeze [fri:z]<br />
hier: erstarren<br />
impact [(ImpÄkt]<br />
Aufprall<br />
leap [li:p]<br />
springen, hüpfen<br />
roar [rO:] dröhnen ( p. 61)<br />
run for [(rVn fE]<br />
kandidieren<br />
screech: ~ to a halt [skri:tS] mit kreischenden Bremsen zum<br />
Stehen kommen<br />
shaky [(SeIki]<br />
zittrig<br />
stunned [stVnd]<br />
benommen<br />
tremble [(tremb&l]<br />
zittern<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 47
Kompetent. Persönlich. Individuell.<br />
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<strong>The</strong> Sugar Cane Killer. Artikel-Nr. 75061<br />
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LANGUAGE | Vocabulary<br />
Sources of energy<br />
In contrast to energy from fossil fuels, “green” energy comes from natural sources that are never<br />
completely used up. ANNA HOCHSIEDER presents language to talk about this subject.<br />
1<br />
2<br />
3<br />
4<br />
5<br />
9<br />
8<br />
7<br />
6<br />
10<br />
11<br />
12<br />
13<br />
1. offshore wind farm<br />
2. wind turbine<br />
3. solar panel<br />
4. hydroelectric power<br />
station<br />
5. geyser [(gi:zE]<br />
6. nuclear power<br />
station<br />
7. pylon [(paIlEn]<br />
8. biogas plant<br />
9. maize [meIz] UK, corn N. Am.<br />
10. oil well<br />
11. oil platform<br />
12. gas pipeline<br />
13. coal mine<br />
Fighting climate change<br />
Fossil fuels are a major cause of global warming.<br />
Non-renewable fuels such as coal emit carbon dioxide<br />
when they are burned, destroying the ozone layer that<br />
protects us from the sun’s rays. So we need to find sustainable,<br />
“green” methods of producing energy.<br />
<strong>The</strong> sun itself is a powerful natural source of energy.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are many ways to harness solar energy. In hot<br />
regions, solar water heaters can be installed on roofs.<br />
Solar panels covering the roofs of houses as well as huge<br />
areas of land are now a common sight. Energy-efficient<br />
buildings are oriented towards the sun. <strong>The</strong>y are not<br />
only well insulated, but have a low carbon footprint.<br />
Wind power is another natural source of energy. It has<br />
a less problematic effect on the environment than<br />
hydropower, which requires building dams that spoil<br />
the landscape. Wind turbines take up relatively little<br />
space and can even be located out of sight in offshore<br />
wind farms. Other new technologies include the use of<br />
geothermal heat, biogas and even geysers.<br />
We can all conserve energy by buying products that<br />
consume little electricity, by not leaving electronics on<br />
stand-by and by using public transport to save petrol.<br />
Illustrationen: Bernhard Förth<br />
50<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
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Abonnieren Sie <strong>Spotlight</strong> plus! www.spotlight-online.de/ueben<br />
Practice<br />
Now try the exercises below to practise talking about green energy.<br />
1. Match the expressions on the left to their definitions on the right.<br />
a) Global warming...<br />
b) Carbon dioxide...<br />
c) Climate change...<br />
d) <strong>The</strong> environment...<br />
e) A carbon footprint...<br />
a<br />
b<br />
c<br />
d<br />
e<br />
1. is the amount of carbon dioxide someone or something produces.<br />
2. is the increase in temperature of the earth’s atmosphere.<br />
3. is the natural world in which we live.<br />
4. is the change that is taking place in the earth’s weather.<br />
5. is the gas that is produced when carbon is burned.<br />
2. Complete the following sentences with words from the opposite page.<br />
a) A hydroelectric power station uses the power of<br />
____________________ to produce electricity.<br />
b) Offshore wind farms are areas in the sea where there<br />
are a lot of ____________________.<br />
c) ____________________ panels use the sun’s energy to<br />
produce hot water and electricity.<br />
d) Biogas can be produced from plants such as<br />
____________________.<br />
e) ____________________ is produced by splitting the<br />
central part of atoms.<br />
f) When ____________________ are burned, carbon<br />
dioxide is emitted.<br />
3. Consume or conserve? Underline the correct option.<br />
a) Take showers instead of baths to consume / conserve water.<br />
b) Our fridge consumes / conserves far too much electricity.<br />
c) We don’t consume / conserve much gas, but our gas bill has<br />
gone up by 20 per cent.<br />
d) Underground cables are being installed to consume / conserve<br />
the beauty of the landscape.<br />
4. Complete the sentences below by filling in the missing letters.<br />
a) E _ e r _ y - e _ f _ c _ _ n t electrical goods such as washing machines do<br />
not use much energy.<br />
b) If a method of producing energy is s _ s _ _ _ n _ _ _ e, it does not harm<br />
the environment.<br />
c) If a resource is n _ _ - r _ _ _ w _ _ _ e, it exists in limited amounts and<br />
cannot be replaced.<br />
d) If a building is w _ _ _ i _ s _ _ _ _ _ d, it is protected with a material that<br />
prevents heat or cold from passing through.<br />
<strong>The</strong> text on the opposite page contains<br />
a lot of collocations — words<br />
that are often used together. Always<br />
make a note of interesting collocations<br />
you discover, for example:<br />
• emit carbon dioxide<br />
(Kohlendioxid ausstoßen)<br />
• harness solar energy<br />
(Sonnenenergie nutzbar machen)<br />
• a common sight<br />
(ein alltäglicher Anblick)<br />
Tips<br />
Answers<br />
1. a–2; b–5 (carbon dioxide [)kA:bEn daI(QksaId]: Kohlendioxid; carbon: Kohlenstoff ); c–4; d–3; e–1 (carbon footprint:<br />
CO 2 -Fußabdruck, CO 2 -Bilanz )<br />
2. a) water; b) wind turbines; c) Solar; d) maize / corn; e) Nuclear power; f) fossil fuels (fossile Brennstoffe; emit: ausstoßen)<br />
3. a) conserve; b) consumes; c) consume; d) conserve<br />
4. a) Energy-efficient; b) sustainable (umweltverträglich); c) non-renewable; d) well insulated<br />
At<br />
www.spotlight-online.de/teachers/picture-it<br />
you’ll find translations and the complete Vocabulary archive.<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 51
LANGUAGE | Travel Talk<br />
Arriving<br />
Walking the trail<br />
Canoeing<br />
52 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14<br />
<strong>The</strong> Everglades<br />
See some exotic wildlife and<br />
enjoy a subtropical climate with<br />
RITA FORBES.<br />
Hello! Welcome to Everglades National Park.<br />
Hi! Can we pick up some informational brochures?<br />
Of course. You can take any you like. And here’s<br />
a map... We’re here, at the Ernest Coe Visitor<br />
Center. You might like to start by just driving<br />
through the park. <strong>The</strong> Main Park Road will take<br />
you to the Flamingo Visitor Center, on the south<br />
side. It’s a 76-mile round trip, and there are several<br />
good spots where you can stop along the way. I’d<br />
recommend the Anhinga Trail. <strong>The</strong>re’s always a lot<br />
of wildlife there, and it’s only four miles away.<br />
It says here in the brochure that the Native Americans<br />
called this place Pa-hay-Okee. That means<br />
“grassy waters.”<br />
What a perfect description. Oh, look! Look! It’s an<br />
alligator!<br />
Wow! It’s perfectly still. If I hadn’t seen its eyes<br />
blink, I’d think it was just a submerged log. I’m a<br />
little worried now. Do you think we’re really safe<br />
on the elevated boardwalk?<br />
I’m sure we are. Hey, is that an ibis?<br />
I think so. But look over here! Quick! I see a baby<br />
alligator!<br />
<strong>The</strong> mangroves are really beautiful, aren’t they?<br />
Yes, it’s such a romantic atmosphere. Except for<br />
the mosquitoes and the no-see-ums, that is. Could<br />
you hand me the insect repellent, please? I don’t<br />
want to get eaten alive.<br />
Here you go.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re’s a chickee. Wouldn’t it be fun to sleep there?<br />
Maybe we can do that next time. I’m happy with<br />
a day-long trip for now. You know, if we paddle<br />
quietly, we might see a manatee.<br />
• Everglades National Park, on the southernmost<br />
tip of Florida, has an area of about 1.5 million acres<br />
(more than 6,000 square kilometers). It has a subtropical<br />
climate and contains swamplands (Sumpfgebiet),<br />
marshes (Moor, Sumpf), and rivers.<br />
• <strong>The</strong> five visitor centers in the Everglades are open<br />
365 days a year.<br />
• <strong>The</strong> Anhinga Trail is very popular. <strong>The</strong> trail (Wanderweg)<br />
is paved (befestigt) and just 0.8 miles (1.3 km)<br />
long. Even so, many birds and animals can be seen<br />
from it. <strong>The</strong> trail is named for the anhinga, a longnecked<br />
diving bird found in Florida and some other<br />
Southern states.<br />
• <strong>The</strong> wildlife in the Everglades includes the rare<br />
Florida panther and hundreds of species of birds.<br />
• <strong>The</strong> Everglades are well known for the many American<br />
alligators living there. <strong>The</strong>y can grow up to 15<br />
feet (4.5 m) long. <strong>The</strong>re is also a smaller population<br />
of American crocodiles. This is the only place in the<br />
world where both alligators and crocodiles live.<br />
• An elevated boardwalk is a raised path made out<br />
of wooden boards.<br />
• <strong>The</strong> white ibis [(aIbIs] is the most common wading<br />
bird (Watvogel, Stelzvogel) in the Everglades. <strong>The</strong><br />
tips of its wings are gray or black, and it has a long,<br />
curved beak (Schnabel).<br />
• Mangroves are trees with large, tangled (ineinander<br />
verschlungen) roots and can tolerate salt water. <strong>The</strong>y<br />
grow only in warm areas near the equator.<br />
• No-see-ums is an informal name for very small<br />
flying insects that bite people and animals.<br />
• Chickees are raised wooden platforms where<br />
campers can sleep above the water. You need a<br />
permit to camp in the Everglades.<br />
• Manatees, also called “sea cows,” are large, gentle<br />
animals that live in warm waters.<br />
blink [blINk]<br />
brochure [broU(SU&r]<br />
insect repellent [(Insekt ri)pelEnt]<br />
log [lO:g]<br />
Native Americans<br />
[)neItIv E(merIkEnz]<br />
spot [spA:t]<br />
submerged [sEb(m§:dZd]<br />
Tips<br />
blinzeln<br />
Broschüre<br />
Insektenschutzmittel<br />
Holzblock<br />
amerikanische Ureinwohner<br />
Stelle<br />
unter Wasser liegend<br />
Fotos: iStock
Cards | LANGUAGE<br />
NEW WORDS<br />
GLOBAL ENGLISH<br />
phablet<br />
<strong>The</strong> next phone I buy is going to be a phablet.<br />
What would a non-British speaker say?<br />
British speaker: “John’s behaviour in public is so bizarre<br />
sometimes, I worry that he might get sectioned.”<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14<br />
(IN)FORMAL ENGLISH<br />
Make these idiomatic statements sound<br />
more formal:<br />
1. John’s new Jaguar is the cat’s whiskers.<br />
2. What’s happened? You look like something the cat<br />
brought in.<br />
Translate:<br />
TRANSLATION<br />
1. Eine schöne Umgebung war mir schon immer sehr<br />
wichtig.<br />
2. Ein neuer Dudelsack wird ihn einige Monatsgehälter<br />
kosten.<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14<br />
PRONUNCIATION<br />
IDIOM MAGIC<br />
Read these words aloud:<br />
combat<br />
combination<br />
comfort<br />
company<br />
complemental<br />
complexity<br />
component<br />
comrade<br />
Ching Yee Smithback<br />
be left holding the bag<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14<br />
Austrennung an der Perforierung<br />
FALSE FRIENDS<br />
whimper / Wimper<br />
Translate the following sentences:<br />
1. I could hear the child whimpering next door.<br />
2. Sie hatte die längsten Wimpern, die ich je gesehen<br />
hatte.<br />
GRAMMAR<br />
In which of the sentences below can “into” be<br />
replaced by “in”?<br />
1. I jumped into the lake.<br />
2. She came into the house.<br />
3. He walked into the office.<br />
4. I put my hand into my pocket.<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
LANGUAGE | Cards<br />
GLOBAL ENGLISH<br />
Non-British speaker: “..., I worry that he might get<br />
committed.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> verb “commit” is used to mean “send (someone) to<br />
a psychiatric [)saIki(ÄtrIk] hospital for confinement”<br />
(jmdn. in eine psychiatrische Klinik einweisen). <strong>The</strong> British<br />
also use the verb “section”, in reference to a section<br />
(Absatz) of a mental health act.<br />
NEW WORDS<br />
Phablet is a blend (Mischung) of the words “phone” and<br />
“tablet (computer)”. This electronic device (elektronisches<br />
Gerät) is a larger-than-normal smartphone with all the<br />
functions of a tablet computer.<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14<br />
TRANSLATION<br />
1. Pleasant surroundings have always been important<br />
to me.<br />
2. <strong>New</strong> bagpipes are going to cost him several months’<br />
salary.<br />
<strong>The</strong> nouns “surroundings” and “bagpipes” are two<br />
classic examples of a plurale tantum, a noun that<br />
has no singular form. Other examples are “trousers”,<br />
“spectacles” (glasses) and “clothes”.<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14<br />
(IN)FORMAL ENGLISH<br />
1. John’s new Jaguar is a wonderful car.<br />
2. You look really dirty / untidy.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are many informal phrases containing a reference<br />
(Bezug, Verweis) to cats. In North American English, a<br />
person or thing that is excellent can be called “the cat’s<br />
meow” or “the cat’s pajamas”.<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14<br />
IDIOM MAGIC<br />
When you are left with an unwanted responsibility —<br />
typically without warning — you are said to be left<br />
holding the bag. This is the North American version of<br />
the idiom. In British English, you would “be left holding<br />
the baby”.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> others had all gone, so when the time came to pay<br />
the bill, I was left holding the bag.”<br />
[(kQmbÄt]<br />
[(kVmfEt]<br />
[)kQmplI(ment&l]<br />
[kEm(pEUnEnt]<br />
PRONUNCIATION<br />
[)kQmbI(neIS&n]<br />
[(kVmpEni]<br />
[kEm(pleksEti]<br />
[(kQmreId]<br />
<strong>The</strong> prefix com- is pronounced [kEm] when unstressed,<br />
but [)kQm] when it carries secondary stress. With main<br />
stress, it is normally pronounced [(kQm]. <strong>The</strong>re are<br />
exceptions: in “comfort” and “company” it is [(kVm].<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14<br />
GRAMMAR<br />
1. I jumped in the lake.<br />
4. I put my hand in my pocket.<br />
Some verbs describing movement, such as “jump” and<br />
“put”, are also used with “in” when the focus is more on a<br />
movement with an end (in a place) than the movement<br />
itself. This use of “in” is less typical with the verbs<br />
“come”, “go”, “run” and “walk”.<br />
FALSE FRIENDS<br />
1. Nebenan konnte ich das Kind wimmern hören.<br />
2. She had the longest (eye)lashes I had ever seen.<br />
People might “whimper” when they are frightened,<br />
unhappy or in pain. (If it were a dog, not a person, one<br />
would say winseln in German.)<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
LANGUAGE | Everyday English<br />
Books<br />
Listen to dialogues 1 and 2<br />
This month, DAGMAR TAYLOR looks at the<br />
words and phrases people use when they talk<br />
about books.<br />
1. A big reader 2. Choosing books<br />
Susan and Amanda are talking about what to buy<br />
as a present for a friend’s 50th birthday.<br />
Amanda and Susan want to find out more about<br />
the gift idea for Clive.<br />
Fotos: iStock<br />
Amanda: I’ve had an idea about what to get Clive for<br />
his birthday.<br />
Susan: Oh, good! What?<br />
Amanda: Well, you know what a big reader he is,<br />
don’t you?<br />
Susan: Yes! Seriously, how does he get through so<br />
many books?<br />
Amanda: He reads when he’s travelling on business,<br />
and he travels a lot. But anyway, I’ve found<br />
this book subscription service. <strong>The</strong>y send<br />
you a book a month, so I was thinking we<br />
Susan:<br />
could get him a year’s subscription.<br />
That sounds like a great idea. What kind of<br />
books do they send?<br />
Amanda: That’s up to you. You can choose between<br />
paperback and hardback and then between<br />
fiction and non-fiction, but they also have<br />
mixed packages.<br />
Susan: And how much does it cost?<br />
Amanda: I think it’s about £110 for a year.<br />
• Someone who reads a lot can be referred to<br />
informally as a big reader.<br />
• Seriously is used to add earnestness (Ernsthaftigkeit)<br />
to the statement that follows, especially when the<br />
speaker wants to express surprise.<br />
• If someone gets through a lot of books, he or she<br />
reads many books.<br />
• Suggestions are often made carefully, so that other<br />
people do not feel forced to agree. I was thinking we<br />
could... is one way to begin a suggestion.<br />
• To say that something is another person’s choice, say<br />
that’s up to you or “it’s up to you”.<br />
• Paperbacks have soft paper covers. Hardbacks<br />
(US also: hardcover) have thicker, stiff covers and<br />
generally cost more than the paperback version.<br />
• Literature that describes imaginary (erfunden) events<br />
and people is called fiction. Non-fiction books are<br />
about facts, actual events or real people.<br />
subscription [sEb(skrIpS&n]<br />
Abonnement<br />
Tips<br />
Susan: What about the genre? Clive won’t be happy<br />
if all he receives is a pile of chick lit.<br />
Amanda: (laughs) Let’s check the website. I’m sure<br />
you can choose the genre, too.<br />
Susan: I’ve got my tablet here. What’s the address?<br />
Amanda: It’s www.theamazingbookclub.co.uk<br />
Susan: Ooh! It looks nice. Do the books come<br />
wrapped like that?<br />
Amanda: Yes, they do. Ah, now I remember. With the<br />
Bespoke Book Club, you can choose three<br />
types of novel. Look!<br />
Susan: Hmm! I’d say contemporary fiction would<br />
be good, then mystery / thriller and also<br />
modern classics. What do you think?<br />
Amanda: I’m not sure. He’s probably read most of them.<br />
Susan: Well, how about historical fiction, then?<br />
Amanda: Yes, that sounds better.<br />
• Chick lit (ifml.) is a genre that deals with issues of<br />
modern womanhood (Frausein), often humorously<br />
and light-heartedly (unbeschwert).<br />
• Tablet is short for “tablet computer”.<br />
• A novel is a story that is long enough to fill a whole<br />
book. <strong>The</strong> characters and events in it are usually<br />
imaginary.<br />
• I’d say is short for “I would say”. Use this expression<br />
when you want to give your opinion.<br />
• Books in the mystery / thriller (you say “mystery<br />
slash thriller”) genre typically involve crime or<br />
espionage and have an exciting plot (Handlung).<br />
• A classic is a book written many years ago that has<br />
been highly acclaimed (umjubeln, feiern) because of<br />
its quality. A modern classic is also highly praised<br />
(loben), but readers today can still relate to its story<br />
and characters. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee,<br />
for example, belongs to this category.<br />
bespoke [bi(spEUk] UK maßgeschneidert, nach Maß<br />
pile [paI&l]<br />
Haufen<br />
wrap [rÄp] einpacken ( p. 61)<br />
Tips<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 55
LANGUAGE | Everyday English<br />
3. Talking of books... 4. So many books, so little time!<br />
Amanda and Susan are talking about<br />
their own reading preferences.<br />
Amanda: Have you read anything good recently?<br />
Susan: Yes, I have, actually. I’ve just finished Love,<br />
Nina by Nina Stibbe. It was great.<br />
Amanda: Is that the one about the nanny who writes<br />
to her sister describing her experiences?<br />
Susan: Yes, that’s the one. It was so funny! I<br />
couldn’t put it down.<br />
Amanda: Hmm! I’m more into crime and mystery<br />
novels. At the moment, I’m reading Heartstone<br />
by C. J. Sansom. It’s part of this historical<br />
mystery series set in the reign of<br />
Henry VIII.<br />
Susan: Sounds interesting. Are you enjoying it?<br />
Amanda: Yes, a lot. But I get so engrossed, and I stay<br />
up late reading. <strong>The</strong>n I’m tired the next day.<br />
Amanda has finished ordering Clive’s book club<br />
subscription.<br />
Amanda: That’s that! I hope Clive likes all the books.<br />
Susan: I might subscribe, too. I don’t feel very up<br />
to date when it comes to literature.<br />
Amanda: When’s your birthday?<br />
Susan: (laughs) Not for ages. How do you pick the<br />
books you read?<br />
Amanda: Sometimes, friends or colleagues recommend<br />
or lend books to me. And I listen to<br />
A Good Read on Radio 4. I’ve bought several<br />
books I heard about on the programme.<br />
Susan: <strong>Real</strong>ly? What time is it on?<br />
Amanda: Tuesday afternoons at 4.30. But there’s also<br />
a podcast you can download.<br />
Susan: Oh, OK. It’s just finding the time, isn’t it?<br />
Amanda: Yes. I think we need jobs like Clive’s.<br />
• Use the present perfect to ask what someone has<br />
done recently: Have you read...?<br />
• To make sure that you are thinking of the same thing<br />
someone is talking about, ask: Is that the one...?<br />
• When people say they can’t put a book down, they<br />
find it so interesting that they can’t stop reading.<br />
• If you find a different type of book, film or music<br />
more interesting, you can say I’m more into... (ifml.)<br />
• When the action or events of a book are set in a<br />
certain time or place, you can say they happen then<br />
or there.<br />
• If you are engrossed in something, all your attention<br />
is absorbed by that one thing.<br />
Tips<br />
• That’s that! (ifml.) is often used to say that you’ve<br />
made your decision and it cannot be changed.<br />
• Not for ages (ifml.) means “not for a very long time”.<br />
• We lend things to people, but when we need something,<br />
we “borrow it from” somebody.<br />
• Amanda means BBC Radio 4, a British radio station<br />
with a wide variety of programmes. You can listen to<br />
it at: www.bbc.co.uk/radio4<br />
• Programme means something that people watch on<br />
TV or listen to on the radio.<br />
• <strong>The</strong> easiest way to ask what time a particular<br />
programme will be broadcast (senden, übertragen) is:<br />
What time is it on?<br />
Tips<br />
nanny [(nÄni]<br />
reign [reIn]<br />
Kindermädchen<br />
Regierungszeit<br />
pick [pIk]<br />
up to date [)Vp tE (deIt]<br />
aussuchen<br />
auf dem neuesten Stand<br />
EXERCISES<br />
1. What do the words in bold refer to?<br />
a) And how much is it? ______________<br />
b) He’s probably read most of them. ______________<br />
c) Is that the one about the nanny? ______________<br />
d) What time is it on? ______________<br />
3. What did they say?<br />
a) You can choose between paperback or h _______.<br />
b) You can choose three types of n _______.<br />
c) It’s part of this historical mystery s _______.<br />
d) I don’t feel very up to date when it comes to l ______.<br />
2. True or false?<br />
4. Add the missing word.<br />
a) Clive reads when he’s travelling on business. ______<br />
b) Clive likes reading chick lit. ______<br />
c) Susan is reading Heartstone at the moment. ______<br />
d) Amanda sometimes borrows books from friends or<br />
colleagues. ______<br />
a) I’ve found this book subscription service _______ the<br />
internet.<br />
b) How _______ historical fiction?<br />
c) I’m more _______ crime and mystery novels.<br />
d) And I listen _______ A Good Read on Radio 4.<br />
Foto: Hemera<br />
56<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14<br />
Answers: 1. a) a year’s subscription of books; b) modern classics; c) the book; d) the radio programme A Good Read;<br />
2. a) true; b) false; c) false (Amanda is reading it.); d) true; 3. a) hardback; b) novel; c) series; d) literature; 4. a) on; b) about; c) into; d) to
<strong>The</strong> Grammar Page | LANGUAGE<br />
Using the<br />
third conditional<br />
ADRIAN DOFF presents and explains this key point of grammar<br />
with notes on a short dialogue.<br />
Bill and Mike are waiting on a station platform.<br />
EXERCISE<br />
Bill: <strong>The</strong> train’s late again. It’s so annoying!<br />
Mike: Oh, I like the train being late.<br />
Bill: You like it? Why?<br />
Mike: Because that was how I met my wife.<br />
Bill: How’s that?<br />
Mike: Well, I arrived a few minutes late at the station one<br />
day. But luckily, the train was about 10 minutes<br />
late. If it had been on time, I would have missed it. 1<br />
Bill: So what happened then?<br />
Mike: Well, there was a woman on the train, and we started<br />
talking. <strong>The</strong>n I asked her out, and a year later, we<br />
got married. If I’d missed the train, I wouldn’t have<br />
met her. 2 I wouldn’t have got married if the train<br />
hadn’t been late. 3 That’s why I like trains being late.<br />
Bill: Well, I don’t like it. Anyway, here’s the train now.<br />
Mike: Choose your seat carefully. You could be lucky.<br />
Complete the sentences below by writing<br />
the verbs in bold in their correct form.<br />
a) If they’d taken out travel insurance, they would<br />
_________ (get) their money back.<br />
b) I wouldn’t have bought Gucci shoes if they _________<br />
(not / be) half price in the sale.<br />
c) I would _________ (bring) you a souvenir if I’d had<br />
room in my suitcase.<br />
d) I would _________ (give) the waiter a tip if he hadn’t<br />
been so rude.<br />
e) I would have sent you a postcard if I _________<br />
(known) your address.<br />
f) If we’d had some eggs, I could _________ (make) an<br />
omelette.<br />
g) She might _________ (win) the race if she’d trained<br />
harder.<br />
h) If they’d offered him more money, he wouldn’t<br />
_________ (leave) the job.<br />
Answers: a) have got (take out insurance: eine Versicherung abschließen);<br />
b) hadn’t been; c) have brought; d) have given (tip: Trinkgeld ); e) had known;<br />
f) have made; g) have won; h) have left<br />
1 This is the past — or third — conditional (if + past perfect<br />
tense, ... would have + past participle). It is used to<br />
imagine something unreal in the past: the train was, in<br />
fact, not on time, so Mike didn’t miss it.<br />
2 Here’s another example of the past conditional. This<br />
time, the contraction ’d is used instead of the full form<br />
had, and would is in the negative: wouldn’t. Again, Mike<br />
is imagining the opposite of what happened: in fact, he<br />
didn’t miss the train, and he did meet his future wife.<br />
3 In this example, the “would” part of the sentence comes<br />
first: ... wouldn’t ... if ... hadn’t. Mike could also say: “If<br />
the train hadn’t been late, I wouldn’t have got married.”<br />
Remember!<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are two parts to the past, or third, conditional:<br />
1. If + past perfect tense...:<br />
• If I’d known it was your birthday...<br />
2. ...would(n’t) have + past participle:<br />
• ... I would have bought you a present.<br />
<strong>The</strong> two parts can also be positioned the other way<br />
round:<br />
• I would have bought you a present if I’d known it<br />
was your birthday.<br />
<strong>The</strong> third conditional always refers to the past:<br />
• If I’d known it was your birthday, I would have<br />
bought you a present. (= I didn’t know it was your<br />
birthday, so I didn’t buy you a present.)<br />
Beyond the basics<br />
In past conditional sentences, we can also use could<br />
or might instead of “would”:<br />
• If I’d known you were here, we could have met for a<br />
drink.<br />
(= It would have been possible.)<br />
• If we’d taken a taxi, we might not have missed the<br />
flight.<br />
(= Perhaps we wouldn’t have missed it.)<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 57
LANGUAGE | <strong>The</strong> Soap<br />
Phil & Peggy<br />
Decision time?<br />
Just how much choice do people want at<br />
Peggy’s Place? By INEZ SHARP<br />
FOCUS<br />
Peggy: <strong>The</strong> woman at the corner table has been looking<br />
at the menu for at least 20 minutes.<br />
Phil: I wouldn’t complain. She’s already gulped down one<br />
glass of wine, and now she’s on her second, so she is<br />
spending money.<br />
George: You do have quite a big choice of dishes.<br />
Phil: Well, it’s all about keeping the customer happy.<br />
George: I’m not sure about offering people too much<br />
choice.<br />
Peggy: How do you mean?<br />
George: When I’m at work, I watch people standing<br />
around in the aisles dithering for ages over different<br />
types of butter and yogurt.<br />
Phil: But the longer they spend in the shop, the more they<br />
spend, and that’s good, surely.<br />
George: Yeah, but you should see how angry they get if<br />
we don’t have exactly the product they’re looking for.<br />
Peggy: I know. It’s the same when we take something off<br />
the menu. People get really upset.<br />
George: Exactly, and it’s not as if there’s nothing else on<br />
offer. I was reading a consumer report from the US.<br />
Do you know that in 1975, the average supermarket<br />
sold something like 9,000 products? Today, it’s closer<br />
to 50,000. And it won’t be much different here.<br />
Phil: I like having a choice. Take the cheese counter at<br />
your shop. I could stand there for hours drooling.<br />
Helen: Who’s drooling over what?<br />
Peggy: Never mind, Helen. What’ll it be?<br />
Helen: I’ll just have an orange juice. I’m on the late shift.<br />
George: You could also have apple juice, pineapple juice,<br />
mango, grape, cranberry, banana or apricot juice.<br />
Peggy: I’m not sure we have apricot or banana juice.<br />
Phil: I think George is trying to make a point.<br />
Helen: Actually, the grape juice sounds good. It isn’t<br />
fizzy, is it?<br />
Peggy: I’m afraid it is.<br />
This month, Phil describes how one of the guests has<br />
gulped down her wine. This means to swallow food<br />
or drink quickly and loudly. Later, he says he could<br />
stand in front of the cheese display at the shop where<br />
George works drooling — or allowing saliva to run out<br />
of his mouth — because the cheese looks and smells<br />
so delicious. When Helen orders a drink, she asks if it<br />
is fizzy — if there are bubbles of gas in it. <strong>The</strong>se types<br />
of words that sound like the action they describe are<br />
called onomatopoeic in English.<br />
Helen<br />
George<br />
Sean<br />
I like having a choice<br />
Jane<br />
Helen: Hmm, then perhaps I will have the orange juice.<br />
George: See what I mean?<br />
Helen: I have no idea what you’re talking about, but the<br />
reason I came in was to talk to Aamir.<br />
Phil: He’s taken a couple of days off. Gone hiking. He<br />
says sometimes he needs a rest from London. Can I<br />
help you?<br />
Helen: That depends. How good’s your Pashto?<br />
Phil: It’s been better. Don’t get the chance to practise it<br />
much.<br />
Helen: Ha, ha! I’ve got a patient from Afghanistan, and<br />
her English isn’t very fluent. I thought Aamir could<br />
translate for me.<br />
Peggy: What’s wrong with her?<br />
Helen: She’s got epilepsy, and we want to tell her about<br />
the side effects of the different kinds of medication.<br />
Phil: Now that’s one area where choice is a good thing.<br />
Helen: Yes, but people don’t all want to know what they’re<br />
taking. <strong>The</strong>y just want it to work.<br />
Phil: Personally, I like the idea of an informed choice.<br />
Peggy: Hello, Jane! You look a bit stressed.<br />
Jane: Simone’s been invited to a Halloween party, and<br />
we’ve just been trying to find a costume. My daughter<br />
has tried on, I swear, about 50 different ones. Is she<br />
going to be a witch, a devil, a cat, Dracula...?<br />
George: Now some people would say that’s a good thing,<br />
Jane. Your daughter likes to make an informed choice.<br />
Jane: Have I missed something?<br />
aisle [aI&l]<br />
cheese counter [(tSi:z )kaUntE]<br />
day off [deI (Qf]<br />
dither: ~ over sth. [(dIDE]<br />
for ages [fE (eIdZIz]<br />
hike [haIk]<br />
make a point [)meIk E (pOInt]<br />
onomatopoeic [)QnEUmÄtE(pi:Ik]<br />
Pashto [(pVStEU]<br />
pineapple [(paInÄp&l]<br />
saliva [sE(laIvE]<br />
side effect [(saId E)fekt]<br />
take sth. off [teIk (Qf]<br />
upset: get ~ [)Vp(set]<br />
Gang<br />
Käsetheke<br />
freier Tag<br />
mit etw. zaudern<br />
ewig lange<br />
wandern<br />
hier: auf etw. hinweisen<br />
lautmalerisch<br />
Paschtu, paschtunische<br />
Sprache<br />
Ananas<br />
Speichel<br />
Nebenwirkung<br />
etw. entfernen, streichen<br />
sich aufregen<br />
58<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
English at Work | LANGUAGE<br />
Dear Ken: What is the correct<br />
way to word a reminder?<br />
Dear Ken<br />
What is the best way to word a reminder? I’ve heard that<br />
starting with a subject line “outstanding amount” is a bit<br />
too direct. Should such e-mails begin with small talk?<br />
Many thanks for your help.<br />
Sabine T.<br />
Dear Sabine<br />
Thank you for your e-mail. <strong>The</strong> idea of a reminder is, of<br />
course, to ensure that your customers pay their debts.<br />
<strong>The</strong> way you write a reminder depends on several factors:<br />
• how well you know the person you are reminding<br />
• how important the future business relationship is<br />
• how much money is involved<br />
• whether you have already sent any reminders.<br />
If you have sent numerous reminders, and future business<br />
is not an important factor, you may want to threaten legal<br />
action. With a loyal customer who is experiencing cashflow<br />
problems, you might be more understanding.<br />
In both cases, however, you could use the same basic<br />
structure to get your message across, and simply vary<br />
the tone. Here’s a structure you could use, based on a<br />
situation between the two extremes I mentioned above.<br />
1. Your position<br />
Explain the reason for your reminder. Within the first<br />
paragraph, your reader ought to understand the situation:<br />
Dear Mr Ford<br />
Invoice 3576/14<br />
On 26 August, you ordered 50 office desks and chairs from our<br />
company for your new premises. You paid a deposit of 25 per<br />
cent of the total price. <strong>The</strong> furniture was delivered on 22 September.<br />
<strong>The</strong> balance was to be paid by 30 September.<br />
Send your questions<br />
about business English<br />
by e-mail with “Dear<br />
Ken” in the subject line to<br />
language@spotlight-verlag.de<br />
Each month, I answer two questions<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> readers have sent in. If one of<br />
them is your question, you’ll receive a<br />
copy of my book: Fifty Ways to Improve<br />
Your Business English. So don’t forget to<br />
add your mailing address!<br />
2. Problem<br />
Separate the reason for the reminder from the background<br />
description. It will have more impact on the reader:<br />
It is now 9 October, and we have not received the promised<br />
payment or any reply to a previous reminder sent to you on<br />
2 October.<br />
3. Proposal<br />
What do you want the customer to do?<br />
Please pay the outstanding balance by 15 October. You will<br />
then not incur any further costs.<br />
4. Practicalities<br />
What further action should the other person take?<br />
If there are any problems concerning this payment, please<br />
contact us as soon as possible.<br />
5. Politeness<br />
Always end with a few polite words:<br />
You have always paid our invoices promptly, so we are sure<br />
that you will deal with the present problem equally effectively.<br />
Good luck in getting your invoices paid.<br />
Ken<br />
Dear Ken<br />
Sometimes, a caller wants to talk to a colleague after<br />
speaking to me. What should I say when I hand him or<br />
her over?<br />
Regards<br />
Lutz N.<br />
Dear Lutz<br />
You can use any of the following phrases:<br />
• I’ll transfer you / connect you / put you through to...<br />
<strong>The</strong>n politely ask the caller to wait. Use one of these<br />
phrases:<br />
• Just a moment. / Stay on the line. / Hold the line, please.<br />
That should work.<br />
All the best<br />
Ken<br />
balance [(bÄlEns]<br />
hier: Restbetrag<br />
cash-flow problems<br />
Zahlungsschwierigkeiten<br />
[(kÄS flEU )prQblEmz]<br />
debt [det]<br />
Schuld, Zahlungsverpflichtung<br />
deposit [di(pQzIt] Anzahlung ( p. 61)<br />
impact [(ImpÄkt]<br />
Wirkung<br />
incur [In(k§:]<br />
hier: verursachen<br />
invoice [(InvOIs]<br />
Rechnung<br />
legal action [)li:g&l (ÄkS&n] gerichtliche Schritte<br />
outstanding [aUt(stÄndIN] ausstehend, offen<br />
premises [(premIsIz]<br />
Geschäftsräume<br />
reminder [ri(maIndE]<br />
Mahnung, Zahlungserinnerung<br />
subject line [(sVbdZekt laIn] Betreffzeile<br />
Ken Taylor is a communication skills consultant. Follow his “Hot Tips”<br />
on Twitter @DearKen101. You can buy his book Dear Ken... 101 answers<br />
to your questions about business English from<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 59
LANGUAGE | Spoken English<br />
We’re getting there<br />
This month, ADRIAN DOFF looks at different<br />
ways of speaking about success, failure and<br />
progress.<br />
Foto: iStock<br />
60<br />
Success<br />
<strong>The</strong> verb phrase succeed in doing something is often used<br />
to talk about success:<br />
• <strong>The</strong> furniture company succeeded in winning several<br />
major contracts.<br />
We can also succeed in things we don’t want:<br />
• I tried talking to her, but I only succeeded in making her<br />
more angry.<br />
Manage to has a similar meaning. It is used to talk about<br />
succeeding after making an effort:<br />
• We finally managed to turn off the hot water. (= It took a<br />
long time, but in the end, we were able to do it.)<br />
<strong>The</strong> noun related to “succeed” is success, and the adjective<br />
is successful:<br />
• <strong>The</strong> party was a great success. It went on till 4 a.m.<br />
• How was the conference? I hope your presentation was<br />
successful.<br />
In conversation, the verb make it is also used to mean “be<br />
successful”, as in the Rolling Stones song:<br />
• “You can make it if you try.”<br />
“Make it” is often used to talk about success in a person’s<br />
life or career:<br />
• She was very ambitious, but she never quite made it.<br />
(= reached the top)<br />
A film, song or book that is successful or popular can be<br />
described as a hit:<br />
• <strong>The</strong>ir new song is a number-one hit. (= no. 1 in the charts)<br />
Other things can also be a hit:<br />
• It was a great dinner party. Your lasagne was an absolute<br />
hit. (= Everyone liked it.)<br />
Failure<br />
<strong>The</strong> opposites of “succeed” and “success” are fail (verb) and<br />
failure (noun). A person or a thing can be a failure:<br />
• He started up a bike-hire company, but it was a complete<br />
failure. (= It didn’t succeed.)<br />
• I can’t find a job. It makes me feel a bit of a failure.<br />
(= someone who hasn’t succeeded)<br />
<strong>The</strong> opposite of a hit is a flop:<br />
• <strong>The</strong> film cost $500 million, but it was a complete flop.<br />
(= It wasn’t successful.)<br />
• <strong>The</strong> party was a bit of a flop. By 10.30 p.m., everyone had<br />
gone home.<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14<br />
An idea that won’t succeed is a non-starter. (= It has no<br />
chance of success.):<br />
• <strong>The</strong>y tried to open an English cake shop in Vienna. <strong>The</strong><br />
idea was a complete non-starter.<br />
Progress<br />
If you’re gradually (allmählich) succeeding or getting better,<br />
you are making progress. Progress can be good, rapid,<br />
steady (stetig, beständig) or slow:<br />
• She’s not brilliant at English, but she’s making steady<br />
progress. (= getting better all the time)<br />
Here are some other ways to talk about progress:<br />
make headway = make progress in a difficult area<br />
• He’s trying to learn Russian, but he’s not making much<br />
headway. (= His progress is very slow.)<br />
get there = achieve your aims<br />
• Software programming is very hard to understand, but<br />
I’m slowly getting there. (= managing to understand it)<br />
get nowhere = make no progress<br />
• I tried to explain the situation to him, but I’m afraid I got<br />
nowhere. (= I failed to make him understand.)<br />
get on (with) = make good progress<br />
• We’re getting on quite well with the flat. We’ve painted<br />
two rooms already.<br />
• How are you getting on with your homework? (= How<br />
much have you done?)<br />
Choose the correct words in bold to complete<br />
the following sentences.<br />
a) <strong>The</strong>y say that in business, you need to get / make it<br />
by the time you’re 40.<br />
b) How are you getting on / off with the new house?<br />
c) Everyone loved her new dress. It was an absolute<br />
hit / flop.<br />
d) <strong>The</strong>y’re making good progress / success with the<br />
ring road. It will be finished in 2016.<br />
e) <strong>The</strong> garden needs a lot of work, but I’m slowly<br />
going / getting there.<br />
f) Her idea of living in India for a year is a complete<br />
no-starter / non-starter.<br />
g) I hope you have a succeeding / successful trip to<br />
London.<br />
h) He’s managed / succeeded to pass his driving test.<br />
Answers: a) make; b) on; c) hit; d) progress (ring road: Umgehungsstraße); e) getting; f) non-starter; g) successful; h) managed<br />
EXERCISE
Word Builder | LANGUAGE<br />
Build your vocabulary<br />
JOANNA WESTCOMBE presents useful words and phrases from this issue of <strong>Spotlight</strong> and<br />
their collocations. <strong>The</strong> words may also have other meanings that are not listed here.<br />
deposit [di(pQzIt] noun p. 59<br />
pride [praId] noun p. 44<br />
the first payment made for something expensive<br />
a feeling that you are better or more important than<br />
Anzahlung<br />
other people<br />
At last! We’ve put down a deposit on the<br />
perfect flat.<br />
<strong>The</strong> rest of the money to be paid is called the balance.<br />
Stolz; Hochmut<br />
When he lost the contract, it was mostly his<br />
male pride that suffered.<br />
Sometimes, you just have to swallow your pride.<br />
roar [rO:] verb p. 47<br />
(for example, of an engine) make a loud, deep sound<br />
dröhnen<br />
At the summer festival, the music roared as<br />
the rain poured down.<br />
See the extra notes below on how to use roar.<br />
wrap [rÄp] verb p. 55<br />
cover sth. completely, often in paper<br />
einpacken<br />
Can you wrap the cheese and put it in the<br />
fridge, please?<br />
Often, we wrap things up: “I wrapped up her present.”<br />
entire [In(taIE] adjective p. 70<br />
including everyone or every part of something<br />
keep sb. on his / her toes<br />
[)ki:p Qn )hIz / )h§: (tEUz] phrase p. 67<br />
gesamt, ganz, komplett<br />
I’ve just spent the entire evening trying to<br />
install an update on my laptop.<br />
Notice the stress on the second syllable: [In(taIE].<br />
make people concentrate and prepared for the<br />
unexpected<br />
jmdn. auf Trab halten<br />
I test my students regularly to keep them on<br />
their toes.<br />
How to use the verb roar<br />
Check your dictionary for more phrases with toes.<br />
Foto: iStock<br />
<strong>The</strong> roar that the farmer heard in the short story on<br />
page 46 came from a train’s engine. But other things<br />
roar, too. Lions and certain wild animals were roaring<br />
a long time before engines made any sound. And when<br />
people get angry, they may roar at each other.<br />
You can roar with laughter and roar your appreciation<br />
(Anerkennung) of something. From the verb and noun<br />
roar, we have the adjective roaring. On a cold day, it’s<br />
pleasant to sit in front of a roaring fire.<br />
If British people talk enthusiastically about a play or a<br />
party, they might call it a roaring success. If you’re in<br />
the engine business, and your sales are good, you can<br />
say that you do a roaring trade in engines.<br />
Things that roar are energetic and exciting, and so<br />
were the 1920s, which is why this period is sometimes<br />
known as the Roaring Twenties.<br />
Complete the following sentences with words<br />
from this page in their correct form.<br />
a) Well, you know what they say: ___________ comes<br />
before a fall.<br />
b) We’d love to buy a house, but we can’t afford the<br />
___________.<br />
c) From here, you can hear the waterfall ___________<br />
down on to the rocks below.<br />
d) <strong>The</strong> ___________ village came out to watch as the<br />
cyclists rode past on the Tour de France.<br />
e) <strong>The</strong>re’s no point in ___________ the bottle. He’ll drink<br />
it straightaway.<br />
f) Her home-made cider is always a roaring ___________<br />
at parties.<br />
OVER TO YOU!<br />
Answers: a) pride; b) deposit; c) roaring; d) entire; e) wrapping; f) success<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong><br />
61
LANGUAGE | Perfectionists Only!<br />
WILL O’RYAN explains developments in the English language and examines some of<br />
the finer points of grammar.<br />
<strong>The</strong> new<br />
neediness<br />
Speakers of English have long been<br />
known for a tendency to express<br />
themselves indirectly for fear of offending<br />
(beleidigen, verletzen) someone.<br />
This is probably also the underlying<br />
cause of a new trend that has<br />
been observed in recent years, particularly<br />
in North American English:<br />
an avoidance of the imperative. In<br />
fact, some have even suggested that<br />
the imperative construction is on its<br />
way out of the language.<br />
A few years ago, American writer<br />
and language commentator Ben<br />
Yagoda identified a popular new<br />
sentence structure he calls “the kindergarten<br />
imperative”. In place of<br />
the traditional imperative, “Please +<br />
infinitive”, we now have “I need you<br />
to + infinitive”. This usage seems to<br />
come from the speech of parents or<br />
other adults when they are talking to<br />
children. Today, one hears this construction<br />
all the time, particularly<br />
in the speech of figures of authority,<br />
such as security personnel at airports:<br />
“I need you to take your shoes off.”<br />
Speaking of air travel, it seems<br />
that some of the first people to start<br />
using the kindergarten imperative<br />
were flight attendants. To dress it up<br />
(verbrämen, schönreden) even more,<br />
they’ll add “go ahead” and “for me”:<br />
“I need you to go ahead and return<br />
your seat to its upright position for<br />
me.” Beyond this specific construction,<br />
“need to” has largely displaced<br />
(verdrängen) the other verbs of obligation<br />
or requirement: “have to”<br />
“must” and “should”. So today, we<br />
often hear “You need to...” where<br />
once “You should...” was typical. It’s<br />
popular in the first person: “I need<br />
to go now”, for example, instead of<br />
“I have to go now”.<br />
-ity versus -ness<br />
Grammar<br />
Here, we will look at two suffixes: -ness and -ity. Both can be attached to<br />
adjectives to form nouns with the general meaning “quality / state of being<br />
[adjective]”, but they are greatly contrasted in their behaviour.<br />
Let us focus first on -ity. Many -ity nouns entered English as loanwords from<br />
French. <strong>The</strong> stem of the noun can, therefore, differ noticeably from the free<br />
adjective: precocious (frühreif) — precocity, humble (bescheiden) — humility.<br />
-ity nouns often have the stress on the syllable immediately before the suffix:<br />
a) noble [(nEUb&l] nobility [nEU(bIlEti]<br />
eccentric [Ik(sentrIk] eccentricity [)eksen(trIsEti]<br />
<strong>The</strong> vowel (Vokal) of the stressed syllable is often changed from long to short:<br />
b) verbose [v§:(bEUs] (wortreich) verbosity [v§:(bQsEti]<br />
chaste [tSeIst] (keusch) chastity [(tSÄstEti]<br />
<strong>The</strong> suffix -ity is subject to certain restrictions: it cannot be attached to<br />
adjectives ending in one of the native Germanic suffixes (-ed, -ful, -ish, -less,<br />
-ly). It is most typically added to adjectives of Romance origin, particularly<br />
when they contain a Romance suffix, such as -ous. <strong>The</strong> -ous of the adjective<br />
may also be missing in the noun: simultaneous [)sIm&l(teIniEs] — simultaneity<br />
[)sIm<E(neIEti], continuous — continuity. In some cases, the spelling is<br />
-ety ; for example, various — variety. <strong>The</strong> semantic relationship between<br />
adjective and noun can also be less transparent than simply “quality / state of<br />
being [adjective]”. While “variety” and “curiosity” both have the base reading,<br />
there is also a further, concrete (countable) reading, as in (c):<br />
c) How many varieties of fish are there in that lake? (variety = type)<br />
I admired her dress, but only as a curiosity. (curiosity = sth. unusual)<br />
On all three levels, phonological, morphological and semantic, -ity nouns are<br />
not always transparent or predictable. In contrast, the suffix -ness is quite<br />
straightforward: there is no change in the pronunciation or form of the base<br />
adjective, and the semantics are entirely predictable. Moreover, it can be<br />
attached to virtually any adjective and even to other word classes:<br />
d) exactness oneness nothingness<br />
<strong>The</strong>re is one case in which -ity and -ness compete: many -ity nouns have<br />
an adjective base ending in -able / -ible, such as avoidability, compatibility.<br />
Here, -ity can be considered a freely productive suffix of present-day English.<br />
Sustainability (Nachhaltigkeit) is a relatively recent example. Nonetheless,<br />
in many cases, only the -ness noun exists: charitableness, reasonableness.<br />
Speakers often prefer the -ity to the -ness noun, but there are plenty of cases<br />
where both are used side by side. And when the adjective is used in a new or<br />
informal (umgangssprachlich) sense, -ness has priority: “impossibleness” to<br />
refer to a person’s behaviour rather than “impossibility”.<br />
Complete these sentences with a nominalization of “monstrous”.<br />
1. I simply cannot believe the ______________________ of his crimes.<br />
2. That’s not a work of art, it’s a ______________________ .<br />
Fotos: iStock<br />
62<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14<br />
Answers: 1. “monstrosity” and “monstrousness” are both possible; 2. monstrosity
Crossword | LANGUAGE<br />
Exploring Australia<br />
<strong>The</strong> words in this puzzle are taken from the History article about<br />
the Hume-Hovell expedition. You may wish to refer to pages 40–41.<br />
1 2 3 4 5<br />
6 7 8 9<br />
12 13<br />
17<br />
19<br />
Competition!<br />
10 11<br />
14 15 16<br />
20 21 22 23<br />
27<br />
Across<br />
24 25<br />
26<br />
1. From one side to the other: “We sailed ______ the lake.”<br />
4. To go behind someone else.<br />
6. Past tense of “lie”: “We didn’t know what ______ ahead.”<br />
7. To look for someone or something.<br />
10. A round metal container with a handle, used for cooking.<br />
12. Going somewhere on foot.<br />
14. Up to a certain time.<br />
17. Areas of land where food is grown.<br />
18. Not many.<br />
19. A male adult.<br />
20. In the direction of: “We went ______ Sydney.”<br />
21. Those people: “Did you go with ______?”<br />
24. Not young.<br />
25. To be: “Who ______ that?”<br />
26. Raised: “<strong>The</strong>y stood on an ______ platform.”<br />
27. A primitive flat boat without sides.<br />
How to take part<br />
Form a single word from the letters in the coloured<br />
squares. Send it on a postcard to:<br />
Redaktion <strong>Spotlight</strong>, “October Prize Puzzle”,<br />
Postfach 1565, 82144 Planegg, Deutsch land.<br />
Or go to www.spotlight-online.de/crossword<br />
Ten winners will be chosen from the entries we receive<br />
by 20 October 2014. Each will receive the CD and app<br />
Audiotraining Aufbau Englisch by courtesy of Pons.<br />
<strong>The</strong> answer to our August puzzle was redwoods.<br />
18<br />
Mike Pilewski<br />
Solution to puzzle 9/14:<br />
WELCOME<br />
E Q U A L L Y A N O<br />
P I R N O<br />
I N F L U E N C E<br />
W A S E S I<br />
I O L D R G A M E<br />
T E H I<br />
H O S P I T A L I T Y T<br />
F S D C H<br />
F L Y O A L I K E<br />
E U F U R<br />
R B A T H T U B S<br />
I E H<br />
B E T T E R R E G R E T<br />
Down<br />
1. Every part, or everyone.<br />
2. Belonging to.<br />
3. To perceive something.<br />
4. “We were gone ______ two months.”<br />
5. At what time?<br />
7. Large boats that carry passengers or goods.<br />
8. A strong disagreement.<br />
9. To keep going.<br />
11. A word of comparison: “You’re ______ tall as I am.”<br />
13. Big.<br />
15. “Don’t turn ______. Turn right.”<br />
16. At this time.<br />
17. At a greater distance.<br />
19. Created.<br />
22. To own or possess.<br />
23. Past tense of “do”.<br />
Congratulations to:<br />
Ute Weiss (Schopfloch)<br />
Inge Hübner (Hersbruck)<br />
Christa Wiechert (Schwanewede)<br />
Sylke Strüber (Neuruppin)<br />
Ferdinand Babiak (Gummersbach)<br />
Friederike Hegelau (Friedrichshafen)<br />
Gerhard Wittmann (Lieboch, Austria)<br />
Karin Resak (Ottendorf-Okrilla)<br />
Marianne Ammann (CH-Jenins)<br />
Gabrielle Kalke Hinterbuchner (Salzburg, Austria)<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 63
AUDIO | October 2014<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong><br />
AUDIO<br />
Activate your English!<br />
Each month, SPOTLIGHT AUDIO brings you 60 minutes of texts, dialogues, interviews,<br />
news reports and language exercises related to the current issue of <strong>Spotlight</strong> magazine.<br />
Improve your listening skills and activate your English with the help of native speakers<br />
from around the world.<br />
Wherever<br />
you see this<br />
symbol at the start of<br />
an article in the magazine,<br />
you will find the text<br />
and/or the related<br />
interview or language<br />
exercises on<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio.<br />
Fotos: Corbis; Getty Images; J. Hutchins; iStock<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio is presented by Rita Forbes and<br />
David Creedon. Among the highlights are:<br />
• A special focus. <strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio is built around<br />
themes found in the magazine. In the October issue<br />
of <strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio, the special focus is on <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
City. We discover the best way to cross the Brooklyn<br />
Bridge, enjoy the Staten Island Ferry, get some insider<br />
tips and learn the special words NYC natives use.<br />
• Authentic and current content. In the Replay<br />
section, <strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio looks at news and recent<br />
events from around the world. This section features<br />
listening exercises with the voices of people who’ve<br />
been in the news, including quotes from politicians,<br />
journalists and business people.<br />
• A variety of English accents. You’ll hear native<br />
speakers from the US (Travel), Ireland (A Day in My<br />
Life), Canada (Debate) and a number of regional<br />
accents from around Britain. Interviews and reports<br />
allow you to hear a wide range of voices from different<br />
parts of the English-speaking world.<br />
Choose your listening format<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio is available either as a download<br />
or as a CD.<br />
Find out more about how to subscribe to <strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio at:<br />
• aboshop.spotlight-verlag.de/de/spotlight-hoeren<br />
• www.spotlight-online.de/products/audio-cd<br />
• www.sprachenshop.de/spotlight-audio<br />
64 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14<br />
This month’s<br />
audio content<br />
Below is a complete list<br />
of the tracks on October’s<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> Audio.<br />
<strong>The</strong> page numbers refer to<br />
those in the current issue of<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> magazine.<br />
1. Introduction<br />
2. World View: It’s a good month for...<br />
autumn colours (text: p. 10)<br />
3. A Day in My Life: Mountain rescue expert<br />
Piaras Kelly (interview: pp. 8–9)<br />
4. Britain Today: Everything has its limits<br />
(text: p. 13)<br />
5. Travel: Inside <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong><br />
(excerpt: pp. 14–21)<br />
6. Travel: A native <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong>er<br />
(interview: pp. 14–21)<br />
7. Travel: What they say in NYC (pp. 14–21)<br />
8. Everyday English: Books<br />
(dialogues: pp. 55–56)<br />
9. Food: Traditional Native American<br />
cooking (interview: pp. 24–25)<br />
10. American Life: Small is beautiful<br />
(text: p. 67)<br />
11. Replay: International news, with language<br />
explanations<br />
12. Replay: <strong>The</strong> Dark Net<br />
13. Replay: <strong>The</strong> Monkey Selfie<br />
14. Language: Poetry, please! (pp. 30–35)<br />
15. Language: Enjoying poetry (pp. 30–35)<br />
16. Debate: Does Canada still need public<br />
broadcasting? (interviews: pp. 38–39)<br />
17. English at Work: Putting a caller through<br />
(p. 59)<br />
18. Peggy’s Place: Decision time? (text: p. 58)<br />
19. Short Story: <strong>The</strong> mountain railway<br />
(text: pp. 46–47)<br />
20. Conclusion<br />
World View (track 2)<br />
Travel (tracks 5–7)<br />
Language (tracks 14–15)<br />
Debate (track 16)
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THE LIGHTER SIDE | Wit and Wisdom<br />
Be careful when a naked person offers<br />
you a shirt.<br />
Maya Angelou (1928–2014), American writer<br />
Dentist’s bill<br />
A man phones his dentist when he receives a huge bill from<br />
her. “I’m shocked,” he says. “This is three times what you<br />
normally charge.”<br />
“Yes, I know,” says the dentist. “But you screamed so much,<br />
you scared away two other patients.”<br />
© Bulls<br />
Good image<br />
Peanuts<br />
<strong>The</strong> Argyle Sweater<br />
A job making mirrors is something I could really see myself<br />
doing.<br />
Fast food<br />
My sister bet me I couldn’t build a car out of spaghetti.<br />
You should have seen her face when I drove pasta.<br />
bet sb. [bet]<br />
capture [(kÄptSE]<br />
charge [tSA:dZ]<br />
light bulb [(laIt bVlb]<br />
pasta [(pÄstE]<br />
see oneself doing sth.<br />
[(si: wVn)self )du:IN]<br />
surprise twist<br />
[sE)praIz (twIst]<br />
torture [(tO:tSE]<br />
mit jmdm. eine Wette eingehen<br />
gefangen nehmen<br />
verlangen<br />
Glühbirne<br />
Nudeln; Wortspiel mit „past her”<br />
sich vorstellen können, etw. zu tun<br />
überraschende Wendung, Drehung<br />
foltern<br />
Writers<br />
• Jerry meets an old friend he hasn’t seen for years. <strong>The</strong><br />
friend asks Jerry what he’s doing nowadays. “I’m doing<br />
what I’ve always wanted to do,” says Jerry. “I’m a writer.”<br />
“That’s great!” the friend replies. “Have you sold anything<br />
yet?” “Sure,” says Jerry. “I’ve sold my house, my car<br />
— nearly all my stuff.”<br />
• What does a crime writer do when he changes a light bulb?<br />
He likes to give it a surprise twist at the end.<br />
Spies like us<br />
Three spies are captured. <strong>The</strong> first spy is French, the second<br />
one is German and the third is Italian. Soldiers enter their<br />
cell, take out the French spy, sit him down on a chair in the<br />
next room and tie his hands behind him. <strong>The</strong>y torture him<br />
for two hours before he answers all their questions. <strong>The</strong><br />
soldiers throw the French spy back into the cell and bring<br />
out the German. <strong>The</strong>y tie his hands, too, and torture him for<br />
four hours before he tells them what they want to know.<br />
Next, they bring out the Italian. <strong>The</strong>y tie his hands behind<br />
his back and begin to torture him. Four hours go by, and the<br />
Italian hasn’t said a word, then eight hours and 16 hours.<br />
After 24 hours, the soldiers give up and take him back to his<br />
cell. <strong>The</strong> German and French spies are impressed and ask<br />
him how he managed not to talk. <strong>The</strong> Italian spy responds,<br />
“I wanted to, but I couldn’t move my hands.”<br />
© Bulls<br />
66<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
In a small<br />
town, you can<br />
start and end your<br />
life at the same<br />
place<br />
American Life | GINGER KUENZEL<br />
Small is beautiful<br />
Das Leben in einer kleinen Stadt hat viele Vorzüge, aber ein<br />
paar davon sind so skurril, dass man sich nur wundern kann,<br />
wenn man davon hört.<br />
Foto: iStock<br />
<strong>The</strong>re’s a lot to like about living<br />
in a small town. For example,<br />
one could easily get through<br />
an entire lifetime here in Hague<br />
without ever having to parallel park.<br />
Of course, there are lots of other<br />
things that make small-town life so<br />
wonderful. What I always tell people<br />
about Hague is: “Hard to get there,<br />
harder to leave.” And here are a few<br />
of the reasons — in no particular<br />
order.<br />
When I cut my finger with a<br />
knife recently, I had to make a trip<br />
to the emergency room in the next<br />
town. <strong>The</strong> receptionist there asked<br />
me if I had ever been to that hospital<br />
before. I thought for a moment, and<br />
then said, “I was born here. Does<br />
that count?” Only in a small town<br />
are you likely to go back, decades<br />
later, to the hospital where you were<br />
born. And since they’ve now replaced<br />
the original hospital building with a<br />
senior living center, it’s even possible<br />
for me to start and end my life at the<br />
same place.<br />
My hairdresser, Bridget, is also in<br />
the next town. She comes from a big<br />
family, and her parents come from<br />
big families, so she’s related to nearly<br />
everyone — in several towns in the<br />
area — either by blood or by marriage.<br />
<strong>The</strong> fact that there have been<br />
lots of failed marriages and subsequent<br />
remarriages expands her pool<br />
of relatives even further. <strong>The</strong> result is<br />
that Bridget’s hair salon is the ideal<br />
place to hear all the gossip about<br />
everyone.<br />
Since I’m not related, maybe<br />
she doesn’t tell tales about me after<br />
I leave. But then again, how can I<br />
be sure? That’s why I often wear a<br />
T-shirt that says “Careful, or you<br />
might end up in my novel” when I<br />
go to see Bridget. I like to keep her<br />
on her toes and wondering who’s going<br />
to talk about whom first.<br />
It was very wise of my parents<br />
to give me a name that nobody else<br />
in Hague had. Last summer, I was<br />
at the Hague Market checkout. As<br />
I was leaving, Jim, the owner, said,<br />
“See you later, Ginger.” Suddenly,<br />
someone else in line said: “Ginger?<br />
I think we might have rented your<br />
house back in the ’90s!” It turned out<br />
to be true. We had only had contact<br />
by phone back then. We had never<br />
met. What a pleasant surprise to<br />
meet finally.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are a million other reasons<br />
to love living in a small town. When<br />
my well pump broke recently, lots of<br />
people offered to help out — either<br />
by letting me use their shower or by<br />
dropping off containers of water at<br />
my house. And although having no<br />
water might seem like a very big<br />
problem, it’s obviously just an inconvenience<br />
compared to more serious<br />
problems, such as a fire or medical<br />
Ginger Kuenzel is a freelance writer who lived in Munich for 20 years.<br />
She now calls a small town in upstate <strong>New</strong> <strong>York</strong> home.<br />
emergency, or the death of a loved<br />
one. In those cases, too, people here<br />
pull together and offer the kind of<br />
comfort and support that can come<br />
only from those who know you well.<br />
One disadvantage about living<br />
here is that I can’t simply dash to the<br />
store looking like a wreck, because<br />
I’m sure to run into lots of people<br />
I know. Of course, they don’t care<br />
nearly as much as I do that I have<br />
coffee stains on my shirt and bags<br />
under my eyes. That’s not the kind of<br />
thing that counts here.<br />
Maybe one day, I’ll be paying for<br />
my coffee at the Hague Market and<br />
someone will say, “Hey, is this the<br />
Hague I read about in <strong>Spotlight</strong>?”<br />
Small towns: great places<br />
checkout [(tSekaUt]<br />
Kasse<br />
comfort [(kVmf&rt]<br />
Trost<br />
dash [dÄS]<br />
flitzen<br />
drop sth. off [drA:p (O:f]<br />
etw. vorbeibringen<br />
failed [feI&ld]<br />
gescheitert<br />
gossip [(gA:sEp]<br />
Klatsch<br />
inconvenience [)InkEn(vi:niEns]<br />
Unannehmlichkeit<br />
keep sb. on his/her toes [)ki:p A:n hIz/h§: (toUz] jmdn. auf Trab halten ( p. 61)<br />
likely: be ~ to do sth. [(laIkli]<br />
etw. wahrscheinlich tun<br />
parallel park [)pÄrElel (pA:rk]<br />
parallel zum Gehsteig einparken<br />
(meist rückwärts)<br />
senior living center [)si:nj&r (lIvIN )sent&r]<br />
Seniorenresidenz<br />
stain [steIn]<br />
Fleck<br />
subsequent [(sVbsIkwEnt]<br />
nachfolgend, später<br />
turn out [t§:n (aUt]<br />
sich erweisen<br />
well pump [(wel pVmp]<br />
Brunnenpumpe<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 67
FEEDBACK | Readers’ Views<br />
Write to:<br />
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We may edit letters for<br />
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Von Ihrer vielseitigen und vielgestaltigen Sprachzeitschrift<br />
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Welt. Ich danke Ihnen für den bewunderungswürdigen<br />
Einsatz des ganzen Redaktionsteams. Gerne<br />
werde ich <strong>Spotlight</strong> weiterempfehlen.<br />
Hans Martin Baumann, Winterthur, Switzerland<br />
Before? <strong>Real</strong>ly?<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 4/14: Travel — “On tour in London”. In dem<br />
Bericht über die Harry-Potter-Tour durch London heißt<br />
es: “Slowly, the screen lifts, and we find ourselves standing<br />
before the actual doors.” Ich habe “before” noch nie<br />
als adverbiale Bestimmung des Ortes gehört. Können Sie<br />
mich bitte aufklären?<br />
Brigitta Hansen, by e-mail<br />
Other readers have also questioned this use of the word “before”.<br />
It is correct, although it is more commonly found in<br />
old-fashioned or poetic contexts. Today, it is most often used<br />
in situations in which someone is standing in front of something<br />
impressive or someone who commands respect (“We<br />
stood before the queen.”)<br />
<strong>The</strong> Editor<br />
Anne Kuhberger, a pupil from Wallerstein, Bavaria, was our intern<br />
for one week in August. During her stay with us, Anne learned<br />
about the various aspects of writing, editing and production that<br />
go into making this magazine each month.<br />
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68<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
FREE NEXT MONTH<br />
November 2014 | NEXT MONTH<br />
A special extra section<br />
that gives you the vocabulary boost you need. Improve your word power!<br />
Features<br />
US English versus<br />
UK English — what’s<br />
the difference?<br />
Pants. In US English, they’re a<br />
piece of clothing that covers<br />
your legs. In British English,<br />
they’re underwear. <strong>The</strong>se<br />
two forms of English contain<br />
many differences. We tell<br />
you what they are and what’s<br />
special about them.<br />
A very personal<br />
guide to the<br />
island of Jersey<br />
Meet author Claus Beling: he<br />
writes murder mysteries set<br />
on Jersey, one of the Channel<br />
Islands. Join us for a personal<br />
tour of his favourite beaches<br />
and hiking trails while also<br />
learning about Jersey’s fascinating<br />
culture.<br />
To cook or not to cook?<br />
A look at the<br />
raw-food movement<br />
Fans of the raw-food movement say<br />
that preparing meals without the<br />
use of heat is a healthy way to live.<br />
Find out more about how you can<br />
eat eggs, vegetables, meat and much<br />
more — all uncooked.<br />
Language<br />
Vocabulary Everyday English Spoken English<br />
Fotos: Polka Dot; Digital Vision; Getty Images; Photos.com; Hemera; Wavebreak Media<br />
Say “cheese”! We present two pages<br />
with pictures plus the words and<br />
expressions that you need to talk<br />
about photography.<br />
What do people normally say to a<br />
colleague who is leaving? Join the<br />
party and learn about the type of<br />
conversations that take place.<br />
Just a moment: how do you check<br />
that you’ve understood what<br />
someone has said? Learn the right<br />
questions to make sure you “get it”.<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 11/14 is on sale from<br />
29 October<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong><br />
69
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | My Life in English<br />
As a musician, what<br />
makes English important<br />
to you?<br />
English is the language of<br />
popular music. Having<br />
said that, I write songs<br />
almost exclusively in<br />
German — but I communicate<br />
in English with<br />
musicians from other<br />
countries.<br />
When was your first English lesson, and what can you<br />
remember about it?<br />
It was in the fifth class. Our teacher predicted that for<br />
the rest of our lives, we would never forget that the word<br />
Kiste means “box” in English. I’m not at the end of my<br />
life yet, but I think he was probably right.<br />
Who is your favourite English-language musician? Why?<br />
I like the English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran a lot at<br />
the moment. My all-time favourites are Sting, Billy Joel<br />
and Paul Simon. When truth and poetry meet without<br />
ending up in kitschy platitudes and the entire thing is<br />
brilliantly connected with music — then I raise my hat.<br />
What song do you most like to sing in English?<br />
Sorry, but I wouldn’t know where to begin.<br />
Which person from the English-speaking world would<br />
you most like to meet?<br />
Nick Park, the film-maker behind Wallace and Gromit,<br />
is welcome to invite me for a tour through Aardman<br />
studios.<br />
If you could be any place in the English-speaking world<br />
right now, where would it be?<br />
I was in California in January, and it was 26 °C.<br />
I wouldn’t mind experiencing that more often.<br />
Oliver Gies<br />
Er ist Komponist, Dirigent und Songschreiber. Aber am besten kennt<br />
man ihn als Teil der A-cappella-Band Maybebop. Hier sinniert Oliver<br />
Gies über die Bedeutung des Englischen in seinem Leben.<br />
Which is your favourite city in the English-speaking<br />
world and why?<br />
London is fascinating to me — not beautiful, but interesting.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re is something to discover on every corner.<br />
What was your best or funniest experience in English?<br />
I’m always shy about speaking, because I don’t think my<br />
English is very good. So, I was very uncommunicative<br />
at the beginning of Maybebop’s US trip earlier this year.<br />
<strong>The</strong>n I realized two things: first, native speakers are<br />
happy if you can simply make yourself understood, no<br />
matter how basic your language is. And second, every<br />
taxi driver in Washington, DC, spoke considerably<br />
worse than I did.<br />
What is your favourite English word and why?<br />
“Well, ...” It gives me time to think of the words I need.<br />
Which phrase do you use most in English?<br />
“What is the English word for...?”<br />
Which English word is hardest for you to pronounce?<br />
“Squirrel.”<br />
Which person from the English-speaking world would<br />
you choose to be stuck with on a desert island?<br />
Comedian Steve Carell, because he’s so funny and sad<br />
at the same time; actress Zoe Saldana, because she’s so<br />
beautiful; and actor Chuck Norris, because he knows<br />
how to survive under inhospitable circumstances.<br />
What do you do to improve your English — if anything?<br />
I have an English dictionary and an app to practise<br />
vocabulary. Whenever I see a new English word, I look<br />
for the translation and add it to my app. And sometimes,<br />
I even practise the words.<br />
What would be your motto in English?<br />
Shit happens. Enjoy the ride anyway.<br />
circumstances [(s§:kEmstÄnsIz]<br />
considerably [kEn(sIdErEb&li]<br />
desert [(dezEt]<br />
entire [In(taIE]<br />
Umstände, Bedingungen<br />
beträchtlich, deutlich<br />
hier: verlassen, einsam<br />
gesamt, ganz, komplett<br />
( p. 61)<br />
inhospitable [)InhQ(spItEb&l]<br />
mind [maInd]<br />
no matter [)nEU (mÄtE]<br />
predict [pri(dIkt]<br />
squirrel [(skwIrEl]<br />
unwirtlich, menschenfeindlich<br />
etw. dagegen haben<br />
ganz egal, unabhängig davon<br />
vorhersagen<br />
Eichhörnchen<br />
Foto: Sven Sindt<br />
70<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
Schon gehört?<br />
Der Audio-Trainer mit Hörverständnis-Übungen<br />
in Ihrer Lieblingssprache. Als CD oder Download.<br />
4<br />
zum Preis<br />
von 3!*<br />
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und Kulturen verstehen. Jeden Monat neu.<br />
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*auf alle Neubestellungen im Aktionszeitraum 13.08. – 31.10.2014
Green Light<br />
10 2014<br />
ENGLISCH LEICHT GEMACHT<br />
Grammar<br />
Practise<br />
using the<br />
past tense<br />
Vocabulary<br />
Learn the<br />
words you<br />
need at<br />
Halloween<br />
Culture<br />
Find out<br />
who the<br />
Archers are
GREEN LIGHT | <strong>New</strong>s<br />
This month...<br />
Was beschäftigt die englischsprachige<br />
Welt im Oktober? VANESSA CLARK spürt<br />
die heißen Storys für Sie auf.<br />
Sweets for my sweet<br />
Society In the Midwestern and Northeastern<br />
states of the US, the third Saturday in<br />
October is called “Sweetest Day”. It’s a day<br />
when people give candy to their friends,<br />
family and lovers.<br />
Who started Sweetest Day? <strong>The</strong> candy<br />
industry, of course. <strong>The</strong> first Sweetest Day<br />
was in 1921 in Cleveland, Ohio. A group of<br />
candy-makers gave 20,000 boxes of sweets<br />
to poor children, hospital patients and old<br />
people. <strong>The</strong>y wanted to begin a new tradition<br />
— and to sell more of their products.<br />
Ed<br />
loves<br />
penguins<br />
1969<br />
45 years ago<br />
UK On 5 October 1969, the BBC showed a new<br />
TV comedy series: Monty Python’s Flying Circus.<br />
It was the start of a revolution in comedy.<br />
This year, the Pythons reunited for a one-off<br />
show. <strong>The</strong> first 14,500 tickets were sold out in<br />
less than a minute.<br />
Music <strong>The</strong> hottest<br />
tickets in London this<br />
month are for Ed<br />
Sheeran’s four nights at the<br />
O 2<br />
Arena. Fans want to hear his<br />
big hits, “Lego House” and “<strong>The</strong><br />
A Team”, as well as newer songs<br />
from his album X (pronounced “multiply”).<br />
X is one of the biggest albums of<br />
2014 on both sides of the Atlantic.<br />
In his concerts, Sheeran stands alone on<br />
stage. He plays his guitar and sings — that’s<br />
all. <strong>The</strong>re are no other musicians. <strong>The</strong>re’s no<br />
band, and there are no dancers. He recently<br />
tweeted: “If I ever have any backup dancers,<br />
I want the penguins from Madagascar.” Ed<br />
and dancing penguins — who wouldn’t<br />
want to see that?<br />
backup dancer<br />
[(bÄkVp )dA:nsE]<br />
lover [(lVvE]<br />
multiply [(mVltIplaI]<br />
one-off [)wVn (Qf]<br />
UK ifml.<br />
pronounce [prE(naUns]<br />
reunite [)ri:ju(naIt]<br />
sell out [sel (aUt]<br />
Hintergrundtänzer(in)<br />
Geliebte(r)<br />
multiplizieren<br />
einmalig<br />
aussprechen<br />
wieder zusammenkommen<br />
ausverkaufen<br />
Fotos: Corbis; iStock; PR; Illustrationen: B. Förth<br />
2<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
Halloween<br />
8 pictures | GREEN LIGHT<br />
STEPHANIE SHELLABEAR presents words for the things you might see on<br />
31 October.<br />
1<br />
8<br />
2<br />
7<br />
3<br />
6<br />
4<br />
Write the words<br />
next to the pictures.<br />
1. ghost [gEUst]<br />
2. witch [wItS]<br />
3. bat [bÄt]<br />
4. pumpkin<br />
[(pVmpkIn]<br />
5. vampire<br />
[(vÄmpaIE]<br />
6. haunted house<br />
[)hO:ntId (haUs]<br />
7. spider [(spaIdE]<br />
8. cobweb<br />
[(kQbweb]<br />
Answers<br />
a) pumpkin; b) spider; c) cobweb;<br />
d) ghost; e) witch; f) vampire<br />
5<br />
Complete the story using words from the list.<br />
I love Halloween. I buy the biggest orange (a) __________<br />
I can find. Into it, I cut a face with big eyes and long teeth,<br />
and then I put a light inside. A little black (b) __________ has<br />
been busy and made a (c) __________ over my front door.<br />
How perfect! When the children arrive at my house, one is<br />
dressed as a (d) __________ — all in white. One is dressed as<br />
a (e) __________, with a tall black hat. <strong>The</strong> third child has big,<br />
white teeth with blood on them; he’s a (f) __________. All<br />
together, they shout: “Trick or treat!”<br />
Trick or treat — in German Süßes oder Saures — is what<br />
children shout when they go from house to house in their<br />
costumes at Halloween. It means: we will play a trick on you (do<br />
something bad) if you don’t give us a treat (something sweet).<br />
Tips<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 3
GREEN LIGHT | Grammar elements<br />
<strong>The</strong> past simple<br />
STEPHANIE SHELLABEAR presents basic grammar. Here, she explains the<br />
use of regular and irregular verbs in the past simple tense.<br />
<strong>The</strong> past simple tense is used to talk about finished actions and past facts.<br />
For regular verbs, the past simple is formed by adding -ed to the infinitive:<br />
• He played with the dogs.<br />
• <strong>The</strong>y watched a DVD together.<br />
Not all verbs in the past simple are formed by adding -ed. <strong>The</strong>re are other types of regular<br />
verbs. Look at the examples below:<br />
verbs ending in add examples<br />
-e -d loved, liked, hoped<br />
consonant + -y change -y to -i, add -ed tried, carried, cried<br />
one vowel (Vokal) + one consonant double the last letter, add -ed stopped, planned<br />
1. Write the correct past simple form of the following verbs.<br />
a) arrive ______________________<br />
b) shout ______________________<br />
c) fit ______________________<br />
d) touch ______________________<br />
e) hurry ______________________<br />
f) reply ______________________<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are many irregular verbs. <strong>The</strong> past simple forms of these verbs are different from the<br />
infinitive. It is best to learn them one by one. You already know many of them; for example:<br />
infinitive<br />
buy<br />
drink<br />
eat<br />
give<br />
go<br />
tell<br />
past simple<br />
bought<br />
drank<br />
ate<br />
gave<br />
went<br />
told<br />
Answers: 1. a) arrived; b) shouted; c) fitted<br />
((an)passen, montieren); d) touched (berühren);<br />
e) hurried; f) replied (antworten);<br />
2. a) gave; b) bought; c) told; d) went<br />
2. Complete these sentences with the past<br />
simple form of the verbs in bold.<br />
a) My mum _________ (give) my old bike to my<br />
little sister.<br />
b) We _________ (buy) some flowers for our<br />
neighbour.<br />
c) <strong>The</strong> teacher ________________ (tell) them to<br />
be quiet.<br />
d) David ________________ (go) to university in<br />
<strong>York</strong>.<br />
Fotos: iStock<br />
4<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
An extra hour<br />
It’s Sunday morning. Donna is in the kitchen making coffee<br />
when Andrew comes in. By DAGMAR TAYLOR<br />
<strong>The</strong> Greens | GREEN LIGHT<br />
Donna: Hi! You were up early. Where did<br />
you go?<br />
Andrew: I went to the shop to get a paper<br />
and some milk. Guess what we forgot to<br />
do last night.<br />
Donna: I don’t know. What?<br />
Andrew: Put the clocks back. <strong>The</strong> shop<br />
wasn’t even open when I got there.<br />
Donna: So what did you do?<br />
Andrew: I had a nice chat with Bob from<br />
next door. He and Betty forgot to<br />
change their clocks, too. He says hello,<br />
by the way.<br />
Donna: Aw, that’s nice. We should have<br />
them round to see the wedding photos.<br />
Andrew: Yes, we should. I’m pretty sure<br />
Betty’s dying to see them.<br />
Donna: What about today? We’re not doing<br />
anything, are we?<br />
Andrew: No, we’re not, but can I have my<br />
breakfast first, please?<br />
Donna: Of course you can, dear. Coffee?<br />
• Here, up means “out of bed”.<br />
• People talk about a / the paper when<br />
they mean the newspaper: “Have you<br />
read the paper?”<br />
• When you want someone to try to give<br />
an answer to your question, you begin<br />
with Guess what...<br />
• In the EU, the clocks go back one hour<br />
at 3 a.m. on the last Sunday in October.<br />
People talk about putting the clocks<br />
back or “changing the clocks”.<br />
• When you have someone round, you<br />
invite someone into your home, usually<br />
for tea or coffee, or for dinner.<br />
• If someone is dying to do something<br />
(ifml.), he or she wants to do it very much.<br />
Tips<br />
by the way [)baI DE (weI]<br />
say hello [seI hE(lEU]<br />
wedding [(wedIN]<br />
Find the missing words.<br />
a) You ______ up early.<br />
b) Where ______ you go?<br />
c) I ______ to get the paper.<br />
d) I ______ a nice chat with Bob.<br />
übrigens<br />
jmdm. schöne<br />
Grüße ausrichten<br />
Hochzeit<br />
Donna<br />
Andrew<br />
Listen to the dialogue at<br />
www.spotlight-online.de/products/green-light<br />
Answers: a) were / got; b) did; c) went; d) had
GREEN LIGHT | Get writing<br />
Inviting yourself<br />
VANESSA CLARK helps you to write letters, e-mails and more in English.<br />
This month: how to invite yourself to stay with a friend.<br />
I’m coming to Liverpool!<br />
To...<br />
CC...<br />
Subject:<br />
k.bunton@scousemail.net<br />
I’m coming to Liverpool!<br />
Hi Kiera<br />
How are you? I hope you remember me, your former colleague from Switzerland.<br />
You very kindly said I could come and stay with you next time I’m in Liverpool.<br />
I’m coming to Liverpool next month, and I’d love to see you. Do you still have your spare room?<br />
Would it be OK to stay with you for a few days? If it isn’t convenient, I can go to a hotel. No problem.<br />
Love<br />
Trudi<br />
• <strong>The</strong> words very kindly (freundlicherweise) are quite<br />
polite, as in these examples: “You very kindly invited<br />
me” or “You very kindly offered...”<br />
• A spare room is an extra bedroom for guests.<br />
• To check, ask: Would it be OK to...? or “Is it OK if I...?”<br />
• If you’re not sure how long you want to stay, you can<br />
say, “a couple of days” (ein paar Tage), “a short visit” or<br />
a few days.<br />
Tips<br />
Fotos: Alamy; iStock<br />
Use it!<br />
Highlight the key words and phrases that you would use if<br />
you needed to write an e-mail like this yourself .<br />
convenient [kEn(vi:niEnt]<br />
former [(fO:mE]<br />
Switzerland [(swItsElEnd]<br />
passend, gelegen<br />
früher, ehemalig<br />
Schweiz<br />
6<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
Culture corner | GREEN LIGHT<br />
I like... <strong>The</strong> Archers<br />
Jeden Monat stellt ein Redakteur<br />
etwas Besonderes aus der<br />
englischsprachigen Welt vor.<br />
Diesen Monat präsentiert<br />
Chefredakteurin INEZ SHARP ihre<br />
Lieblingsradiosendung.<br />
What it is<br />
Every weekday and on Sundays, five million<br />
Brits listen to BBC Radio 4’s 15-minute drama,<br />
<strong>The</strong> Archers. At the heart of the programme<br />
is the Archer family. Called an “everyday story<br />
of country folk”, the action takes place in the<br />
fictional village of Ambridge. When the show<br />
started in 1950, the focus was on farming life,<br />
but the stories have expanded to cover topics<br />
such as drugs and crime. A lot of the actors<br />
have been with the series for many years —<br />
the actor Norman Painting played Phil Archer<br />
for 59 years.<br />
Fun facts<br />
• Many of the actors in the series have<br />
other jobs. Felicity Finch, who plays<br />
Ruth Archer, is also a reporter for the<br />
BBC.<br />
• <strong>The</strong> tempo of the theme tune has been<br />
used to teach doctors in England the<br />
rhythm needed for cardiopulmonary<br />
resuscitation.<br />
• Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, is one of<br />
many famous people who have been<br />
in the series.<br />
Why I like it<br />
I have listened to <strong>The</strong> Archers for so long that<br />
David and Ruth Archer sound as familiar to<br />
me as my own family. When I moved to the<br />
Far East in 1989, I could not listen to the<br />
programme. In shock, I called the BBC World<br />
Service. <strong>The</strong> nice lady on the phone told me:<br />
“<strong>The</strong>re isn’t much interest in Ambridge in<br />
Asia.” When I came back to Europe, I was so<br />
happy I created my own dance to the famous<br />
theme tune. Does that sound as if I’m not<br />
interested in the lives of the country folk of<br />
Ambridge? I am, of course, but a lot of what<br />
happens is like comforting background noise,<br />
so if I miss something important, I can ask<br />
one of my English friends. <strong>The</strong>y all listen, too.<br />
create [kri(eIt]<br />
crime [kraIm]<br />
expand [Ik(spÄnd]<br />
familiar [fE(mIliE]<br />
fictional [(fIkS&nEl]<br />
take place [teIk (pleIs]<br />
theme tune [(Ti:m tju:n]<br />
topic [(tQpIk]<br />
erschaffen,<br />
kreieren<br />
Verbrechen<br />
weiterentwickeln<br />
bekannt, vertraut<br />
fiktiv, frei erfunden<br />
stattfinden<br />
Titelmelodie<br />
<strong>The</strong>ma<br />
background [(bÄkgraUnd]<br />
cardiopulmonary<br />
resuscitation<br />
[)kA:diEU)pVlmEnEri<br />
ri)sVsI(teIS&n]<br />
comforting [(kVmfEtIN]<br />
country folk [(kVntri fEUk]<br />
Hintergrund<br />
Herz-Lungen-<br />
Wiederbelebung<br />
beruhigend,<br />
tröstlich<br />
Landleute, Landbevölkerung
GREEN LIGHT | Notes and numbers<br />
Decimals<br />
English-speaking people write and read out<br />
(vorlesen) decimal numbers with a point,<br />
not a comma. <strong>The</strong> numbers after the point<br />
are said separately (einzeln):<br />
89.12 = “eighty-nine point one two”<br />
2.5 = “two point five”<br />
0.33 = “zero point three three”<br />
Your notes<br />
Use this space for your own notes.<br />
Write these numbers as you would<br />
say them.<br />
one point three<br />
a) 1.3 _________________________________<br />
b) 3.142 ________________________________<br />
_____________________________________<br />
c) 9.67 _______________________________<br />
_____________________________________<br />
d) 12.5 _______________________________<br />
_____________________________________<br />
e) 75.99 _______________________________<br />
______________________________________<br />
Get to the point<br />
When someone is talking and you find it<br />
difficult to follow that person because it is<br />
not clear what he or she wants to say, the<br />
person is not getting to the point:<br />
• What a long story. I wish she would get<br />
to the point.<br />
Answers: b) three point one four two; c) nine point six<br />
seven; d) twelve point five; e) seventy-five point nine nine<br />
Fotos: Hemera; iStock<br />
IMPRESSUM<br />
Herausgeber und Verlagsleiter: Dr. Wolfgang Stock<br />
Chefredakteurin: Inez Sharp<br />
Stellvertretende Chefredakteurin: Claudine Weber-Hof<br />
Chefin vom Dienst: Susanne Pfeifer<br />
Autoren: Vanessa Clark, Stephanie Shellabear,<br />
Dagmar Taylor<br />
Redaktion: Owen Connors, Anja Giese,<br />
Peter Green, Reinhild Luk, Michael Pilewski (Online),<br />
Michele Tilgner, Joanna Westcombe<br />
Bildredaktion: Sarah Gough (Leitung), Thorsten Mansch<br />
Gestaltung: Marion Sauer/Johannes Reiner<br />
www.vor-zeichen.de<br />
Anzeigenleitung: Axel Zettler<br />
Marketingleitung: Holger Hofmann<br />
Produktionsleitung: Ingrid Sturm<br />
Vertriebsleitung: Monika Wohlgemuth<br />
Verlag und Redaktion: <strong>Spotlight</strong> Verlag GmbH<br />
Postanschrift: Postfach 1565, 82144 Planegg, Deutschland<br />
Telefon +49(0)89/8 56 81-0, Fax +49(0)89/8 56 81-105<br />
Internet: www.spotlight-online.de<br />
Litho: Mohn Media Mohndruck GmbH, 33311 Gütersloh<br />
Druck: Medienhaus Ortmeier, 48369 Saerbeck<br />
© 2014 <strong>Spotlight</strong> Verlag, auch für alle genannten Autoren,<br />
Fotografen und Mitarbeiter.<br />
UNSER SPRACHNIVEAU: Das Sprachniveau in Green Light entspricht ungefähr Stufe A2 des<br />
Gemeinsamen Europäischen Referenzrahmens für Sprachen.
<strong>Spotlight</strong><br />
10 2014<br />
Grammar to go 2!<br />
DAGMAR TAYLOR hat für Sie die wichtigsten grundlegenden Grammatikregeln zum<br />
Heraustrennen und Aufbewahren zusammengestellt.<br />
On the following pages, which you can pull out and keep, we have collected some of the most important grammar rules<br />
of the English language and added tips on how to remember them. With tables, explanations and examples, we help<br />
you to understand these rules and get your grammar right.<br />
ARTICLES<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are two articles in English — the definite article the and the indefinite article a / an.<br />
a<br />
an<br />
before consonants and u [ju:] before vowels (a, e, i, o, u)<br />
car<br />
apple<br />
cat<br />
elephant<br />
dog<br />
ice cube<br />
house<br />
orange<br />
university<br />
umbrella<br />
With “the”<br />
When the person you are talking to knows which thing or<br />
things you mean, use the:<br />
Where’s the cake?<br />
It’s on the table in the dining room.<br />
A / an<br />
A or an is used when “one” is meant:<br />
Can you get an onion when you go to the supermarket?<br />
Yes. Shall I get a bottle of wine, too?<br />
When talking about jobs<br />
or professions in English,<br />
use a / an:<br />
Is Jane an architect?<br />
- No, she’s a biologist.<br />
Without “the”<br />
To talk about things in general, the is not used before<br />
uncountable nouns or plural nouns:<br />
Paul loves Italian food.<br />
Yes, but he doesn’t like artichokes.<br />
COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS<br />
Countable nouns (C) can be counted and have plural forms. Uncountable nouns (U) do not have plural forms.<br />
countable<br />
loaf of bread (Brotlaib), slice of bread (Brotscheibe)<br />
apple, banana, kiwi<br />
chair, cupboard, table<br />
piece of information<br />
coin, dollar, note<br />
bottle of water, glass of water, litre of water<br />
uncountable<br />
bread<br />
fruit<br />
furniture<br />
information<br />
money<br />
water<br />
Fotos: Thinkstock<br />
Some nouns can be either countable or uncountable, depending on the situation:<br />
It’s so hot. I’d really like an ice cream. (C)<br />
Would you like a coffee? I’m having one. (C)<br />
Me, too. Let’s go to Luca’s. <strong>The</strong>y have the best ice No, thanks. I’m afraid coffee gives me a<br />
cream in town. (U)<br />
headache. (U)<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 1
MUCH, MANY AND A LOT<br />
Much is used with uncountable nouns. Many is used with plural nouns.<br />
much<br />
many<br />
How much money have you got? Will there be many children at the party?<br />
Not much.<br />
Yes. Too many, I expect.<br />
I spent too much yesterday. I hope there won’t be many noisy boys.<br />
In informal English, much and many are mostly used<br />
in questions and negative clauses. In affirmative<br />
clauses<br />
, other words are often used, especially<br />
a lot (of) and lots (of). <strong>The</strong>se phrases can be used with<br />
both countable and uncountable nouns:<br />
Look! <strong>The</strong>re are lots and lots of balloons.<br />
I told you this party would be a lot of fun.<br />
Much and many sound natural in affirmative clauses<br />
when they come after as, so or too:<br />
I can’t believe Marcus has bought a horse. It cost<br />
as much as my car.<br />
I know. He spent far too much on it. But that’s how<br />
Marcus is. He spends too much on so many things he<br />
doesn’t need.<br />
IRREGULAR PLURAL FORMS<br />
To make most nouns plural, simply add -s (cat — cats; car — cars). However, not all plural forms are made with -s.<br />
general rule singular plural<br />
noun ends in -f or -fe<br />
change to -ves<br />
shelf<br />
knife<br />
shelves<br />
knives<br />
noun ends in -s, -sh, -ch, -x<br />
add -es<br />
bus<br />
dish<br />
watch<br />
box<br />
buses<br />
dishes<br />
watches<br />
boxes<br />
noun ends in consonant and -y<br />
remove -y, add -ies<br />
baby<br />
dictionary<br />
babies<br />
dictionaries<br />
<strong>The</strong> plural of some nouns is irregular.<br />
singular<br />
child<br />
fish<br />
foot<br />
man<br />
mouse<br />
person<br />
sheep<br />
tooth<br />
woman<br />
plural<br />
children<br />
fish<br />
feet<br />
men<br />
mice<br />
people<br />
sheep<br />
teeth<br />
women<br />
Some nouns that<br />
end in -o take -s to form the<br />
plural, others take -es:<br />
zoo — zoos<br />
tomato — tomatoes<br />
Some can take either -s or -es:<br />
volcanos or volcanoes<br />
Some words are always used in their plural form — mainly things that have two parts joined together, such as<br />
glasses (Brille), jeans, pyjamas, scissors, shorts, tights (Strumpfhose) and trousers:<br />
I can’t read that. <strong>The</strong> print is too small.<br />
I’ve got the scissors. Do you need them?<br />
I think you need new glasses.<br />
No thanks. I used a knife instead.<br />
2<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
SOME AND ANY<br />
To talk about indefinite quantities, some is used in affirmative sentences .<br />
Any is used in negative sentences and in most questions .<br />
some any<br />
<strong>The</strong> same rules apply to someone, anyone, somebody, anybody, something and anything:<br />
I think you’ve got something on<br />
your shirt.<br />
Oh, dear! It’s curry. <strong>The</strong>re’s some<br />
on my trousers, too.<br />
Was it good? I hope there’s some<br />
left.<br />
I need something to clean it off<br />
with.<br />
It looks as if there isn’t any paper<br />
in the printer.<br />
You’re right. <strong>The</strong>re doesn’t seem<br />
to be any on the shelf.<br />
I’ve looked in the cupboard, and<br />
there isn’t anything there.<br />
Typical. Just when you need<br />
help, there isn’t anybody here.<br />
Hello! Can anyone hear me? Is<br />
anybody<br />
there?<br />
Is there anything I can help you<br />
with?<br />
Why can I never find anything in<br />
my own kitchen?<br />
Why doesn’t anyone listen to<br />
me when I’m talking?<br />
Offers and requests<br />
Some is used in questions when the speaker offers something and expects the answer “yes”:<br />
Would you like some cake with your coffee?<br />
We also use some when we ask for something specific:<br />
Can I borrow some of your books?<br />
<strong>The</strong> rules are the same for someone, somebody and something:<br />
Would you like something to drink?<br />
Yes, please. Will someone come and take our order, or should we order at the bar?<br />
PREPOSITIONS AND TIME — AT, IN, ON<br />
<strong>The</strong> table below shows you when to use at, in and on when talking about time.<br />
at in on<br />
times, weekend, festivals part of day, longer period of time particular day<br />
at three o’clock in the evening on Tuesday<br />
at lunchtime in April on Christmas Day<br />
at the weekend (UK) in spring on my birthday<br />
at Easter in 1976 on Monday morning<br />
I get up at six o’clock.<br />
Even at the weekend?<br />
(Note that North Americans say “on the weekend”.)<br />
I wish my interview wasn’t so early in the morning.<br />
When is it? On Monday?<br />
No. It’s on the 19th.<br />
No prepositions<br />
At, in and on are not normally used before expressions of time with next, this, that, last, one, any, each, every,<br />
some or all:<br />
<strong>The</strong> new club is great. I danced all night.<br />
So will you be going next week, too?<br />
Yes. I hope I can go there every week.<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 3
PREPOSITIONS AND PLACE — AT, IN, ON<br />
At, in and on are used not only when talking about time, but also to say where something is located.<br />
at<br />
on<br />
in<br />
at in on<br />
at the back in the room on the wall<br />
at the station in the building on the floor<br />
at the top (of the page) in a town on the front page<br />
at the end (of the book) in a photo on the ground floor<br />
At is used to talk about the position of something at a<br />
certain point:<br />
• She’s sitting at her desk.<br />
At is used with larger buildings or places that have many<br />
different areas:<br />
• Kevin works at the airport.<br />
At is also used to describe a group activity at a certain<br />
location, like a concert, a match or a party:<br />
• Sorry that I didn’t call back. I was at a concert last night.<br />
In is used for the position of things inside large areas:<br />
• Sheila lives in London.<br />
On is used to talk about the position of an object on a<br />
surface (Oberfläche):<br />
• <strong>The</strong> book is on the table.<br />
CONTRACTIONS<br />
Contractions (short forms) are used in natural spoken English and in informal writing, such as e-mails and letters to<br />
friends and colleagues you know well.<br />
<strong>The</strong> verb “be”<br />
<strong>The</strong> following contractions are used with the verb be; for example, in the present simple or present continuous:<br />
be<br />
I am I’m I’m not<br />
you, we, they are you’re, we’re, they’re you, we, they aren’t<br />
he, she, it is he’s, she’s, it’s he, she, it isn’t<br />
I’m hungry, Mum.<br />
You’re late. And why aren’t you wearing<br />
your coat?<br />
It’s at Paul’s house. Isn’t dinner ready?<br />
<strong>The</strong> verb “have”<br />
We use short forms of the verb have in the present perfect (’ve). Here, ’s is the contraction of has:<br />
have<br />
I, you, we, they have ’ve haven’t<br />
he, she, it has ’s hasn’t<br />
It’s been (has been) a few months since Steve left. He hasn’t phoned.<br />
I haven’t heard from him either, but to be honest, I’ve been too busy<br />
to call him.<br />
“had”, “will” and “would”<br />
’d is the contraction of would, as well as had when used in the past perfect.<br />
’ll is the contraction of will:<br />
had, will, would<br />
I, you, he, she, it, we, they had ’d hadn’t<br />
I, you, he, she, it, we, they will ’ll won’t<br />
I, you, he, she, it, we, they would ’d wouldn’t<br />
I’d (I would) like to leave early today, if possible.<br />
Oh! I didn’t realize Sue’d (Sue had) left more orders on my desk.<br />
Don’t worry. I’ll help you with them tomorrow if you’re<br />
too busy.<br />
Other contractions<br />
Some of these short forms are also used after question words (what, where, who, etc.) and that, there and here:<br />
Where’s Kyle?<br />
I don’t know, but here’s Marvin.<br />
4<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
THIS, THAT, THESE AND THOSE<br />
This, that, these and those are used with nouns — people or things.<br />
near far<br />
singular this that<br />
plural these those<br />
On the telephone, this<br />
is used to say who is<br />
calling:<br />
- This is Julie. Could<br />
I speak to Mark,<br />
please?<br />
This (singular) and these (plural) are used to talk about people and things that are close<br />
to the speaker and for situations that the speaker is in at the moment:<br />
Helen, this is John. He wrote the book you’re holding.<br />
<strong>Real</strong>ly? This one? Could you sign it for me, please?<br />
I love these shoes. <strong>The</strong>y’re so comfortable.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y’re nice. This handbag would match them nicely.<br />
That (singular) and those (plural) are used to talk about people, things and situations that are more distant:<br />
Who’s that over there?<br />
<strong>The</strong> man with the beard? That’s Barry.<br />
But what are those children in the corner doing to that poor cat?<br />
POSSESSIVE FORMS<br />
Possessive forms give us information about the owner of something.<br />
possessive (+ noun)<br />
possessive (no noun)<br />
my<br />
mine<br />
your<br />
yours<br />
his<br />
his<br />
her<br />
hers<br />
its –<br />
our<br />
ours<br />
your<br />
yours<br />
their<br />
theirs<br />
Note that there is no<br />
apostrophe [E(pQstrEfi]<br />
in the possessive its:<br />
- His dog can‘t<br />
remember where its<br />
bone is hidden.<br />
My, your, his, etc. are used before nouns to say to whom something belongs.<br />
Mine, yours, his, etc. are used without a following noun:<br />
I’ve got my coat. Where’s yours?<br />
I think mine is in the kitchen... Yes. Here it is.<br />
Judy and Simon haven’t sold their house yet.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y haven’t? We’ve just sold ours.<br />
Possessives, not articles, are used to talk about possessions and parts of the body:<br />
Harry broke his arm yesterday. (not: the arm)<br />
We say a friend of mine, not: a friend of me:<br />
This is my friend Julius.<br />
Julius, you’re Tim’s friend, aren’t you? Welcome! Any friend of his is a friend of mine.<br />
10|14 <strong>Spotlight</strong> 5
REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS<br />
Reflexive pronouns are used when the same person or thing is the subject and the object of the sentence:<br />
• He (subject) talks to himself (object) all the time.<br />
singular<br />
plural<br />
myself<br />
ourselves<br />
yourself<br />
yourselves<br />
himself, herself, itself<br />
themselves<br />
Some verbs are reflexive in German, but not in English:<br />
Some verbs, such as burn, cut,<br />
enjoy and hurt take a reflexive<br />
pronoun:<br />
• Enjoy yourselves at football<br />
camp — and try not to hurt<br />
yourselves.<br />
verb<br />
concentrate (sich konzentrieren)<br />
decide (sich entscheiden)<br />
feel (sich fühlen)<br />
get dressed (sich anziehen)<br />
get ready (sich fertig machen)<br />
hurry (sich beeilen)<br />
lie down (sich hinlegen)<br />
meet (sich treffen)<br />
shave (sich rasieren)<br />
sit down (sich setzen)<br />
example<br />
Please be quiet. I can’t concentrate.<br />
She can’t decide what she likes best.<br />
I’m afraid she doesn’t feel well.<br />
Can you get dressed, please?<br />
He always takes so long to get ready.<br />
We’re late. We have to hurry.<br />
She’s going to lie down for an hour.<br />
We’ll meet in Hamburg.<br />
Why haven’t you shaved today?<br />
Would you sit down, please?<br />
<strong>The</strong> expression by myself /<br />
yourself, etc. means “alone”:<br />
• He walked to school all by<br />
himself.<br />
Notice the difference between<br />
themselves and each other:<br />
• <strong>The</strong> children were looking at<br />
themselves in the mirror. <strong>The</strong>n<br />
they looked at each other and<br />
laughed.<br />
ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS<br />
Adjectives give us more information about nouns. Adverbs tell us more about verbs.<br />
A lot of adverbs are formed by adding -ly to the end of the adjective:<br />
adjective<br />
adverb<br />
attractive<br />
attractively<br />
bad<br />
badly<br />
careful<br />
carefully<br />
careless<br />
carelessly<br />
quick<br />
quickly<br />
quiet<br />
quietly<br />
slow<br />
slowly<br />
Please drive slowly.<br />
Don’t worry. I always drive carefully.<br />
Fast, hard and late are both adjectives and adverbs:<br />
Jill’s a really fast runner. (adjective)<br />
Yes, and she’s running as fast as she can. (adverb)<br />
Good is an adjective, and the adverb is well:<br />
Xavier’s English is good.<br />
Yes. He speaks it really well.<br />
Adjectives, not adverbs, are used after verbs that describe<br />
changes, like be, become, get, go, grow and seem:<br />
I keep forgetting things. I’m going grey. I’m getting old.<br />
Well, to me, you seem as young as ever.<br />
Adjectives are also used after verbs that describe how somebody<br />
or something looks, feels, sounds, tastes or smells.<br />
This is because the subject, not the verb, is being described:<br />
Something smells good.<br />
Yes, and this tastes fantastic. Try some.<br />
Many adjectives end in -ing and -ed. <strong>The</strong> -ing adjective is<br />
used to describe a thing, such as a book or a film. <strong>The</strong> -ed<br />
adjective is used to describe how someone feels:<br />
That book was so interesting.<br />
Tell me more. I’m really interested.<br />
What a boring presentation!<br />
I agree. I’ve never been so bored.<br />
If a person is boring, he or she makes you feel bored:<br />
David is so boring. All he talks about is politics.<br />
6<br />
<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14
COMPARATIVES<br />
To form a comparative adjective, -er is added to the end of an adjective or more / less is placed in front of it:<br />
general rule adjective comparative<br />
Add -er to short adjectives. fast faster<br />
Double the consonant and add big<br />
bigger<br />
-er to adjectives ending in one<br />
vowel and one consonant.<br />
Change -y to -ier with adjectives dirty<br />
dirtier<br />
that end in -y.<br />
Use more / less with adjectives<br />
of more than two syllables.<br />
expensive<br />
more expensive<br />
Flynn is taller than his father.<br />
And Susie’s already bigger than me.<br />
<strong>The</strong> fish here is cheaper than at the market.<br />
It might be less expensive, but is it fresh?<br />
Her cleaning lady is more expensive than mine.<br />
But her house is dirtier.<br />
His new wife is more understanding than his<br />
ex-wife.<br />
Yes, and she’s prettier, too.<br />
A few adjectives have irregular comparative forms:<br />
good — better<br />
bad — worse<br />
far — further / farther<br />
<strong>The</strong> weather was better today.<br />
But we walked further yesterday.<br />
Before comparatives, you can use much, a lot, a bit,<br />
a little, slightly (= a little):<br />
<strong>The</strong> girls’ football team is much better than the boys’.<br />
Yes, but their team morale is a bit lower.<br />
SUPERLATIVES<br />
To form a superlative adjective, -est is added to the end of an adjective or the most / the least is<br />
placed before the adjective:<br />
adjective<br />
dirty<br />
long<br />
small<br />
beautiful<br />
expensive<br />
intelligent<br />
superlative<br />
the dirtiest<br />
the longest<br />
the smallest<br />
the most beautiful<br />
the most expensive<br />
the most intelligent<br />
Nouns with superlatives normally have the article the:<br />
I think this cheese is the most delicious I’ve ever tasted.<br />
Maybe. But I think it must be the smelliest as well.<br />
Some important adjectives are irregular:<br />
good — the best<br />
bad — the worst<br />
far — the farthest / the furthest<br />
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ADVERBS AND WORD ORDER<br />
Generally, adverbs can be placed in three different positions.<br />
But not all adverbs can be placed in all of these positions:<br />
Initial position<br />
Mid-position<br />
before the verb<br />
Mid-position<br />
after the first<br />
End position<br />
auxiliary verb (Hilfsverb)<br />
Suddenly, Walter got up.<br />
I sometimes play golf at<br />
He doesn’t always behave<br />
Walter got up suddenly.<br />
the weekend.<br />
like this.<br />
Sometimes, I have bad<br />
Jackie always calls on my<br />
She has never been a<br />
She finished her drink<br />
dreams.<br />
birthday.<br />
team player.<br />
quickly.<br />
Adverbs of indefinite time and frequency (often, recently,<br />
sometimes) can go in mid-position or end position:<br />
• Kevin often comes here. / Kevin comes here often.<br />
Adverbs that are used to say how well something is done<br />
(well, badly) are put in end position:<br />
• I don’t play the piano well.<br />
Adverbs that tell us how something is done (slowly,<br />
quickly, happily) can go in mid- or end position:<br />
• Kate slowly opened the present. / Kate opened the<br />
present slowly.<br />
It’s unusual to put an adverb between the verb and its<br />
object. Don’t say: I play sometimes golf.<br />
SO AND SUCH<br />
So and such are used to make the meaning of an adjective or adverb stronger.<br />
so<br />
such<br />
This book is so good! It’s such a good book!<br />
So comes before an adjective or an adverb without<br />
a noun:<br />
Robert is so good-looking.<br />
And he plays the piano so beautifully, too.<br />
So is also used before much, many, few and little:<br />
I can’t believe the new sports centre will cost so<br />
much.<br />
Especially when so few people will use it after the<br />
championships end.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y were expecting so many people to visit the fair,<br />
but hardly anyone came.<br />
Yes, but with so little advertising, what do you expect?<br />
Such comes before a noun, or before an<br />
adjective + noun:<br />
That talent show is such nonsense.<br />
But it’s often such good fun.<br />
Such comes before a / an:<br />
Crime stories are such a waste of time.<br />
How can you say that? P. D. James is such an<br />
excellent writer.<br />
INFO<br />
• For more information and exercises on grammar in English, see <strong>The</strong> Grammar Page every month<br />
in <strong>Spotlight</strong> magazine.<br />
• See page 57 in this month’s magazine for explanations of and exercises on using the third conditional.<br />
• See <strong>The</strong> Grammar Page in next month’s magazine for more information on using gerunds.<br />
• <strong>Spotlight</strong> plus contains several pages of grammar exercises every month.<br />
More information can be found at www.spotlight-online.de/ueben<br />
• A new language exercise is added to the archive every week at www.spotlight-online.de/language<br />
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<strong>Spotlight</strong> 10|14