Spotlight The Real New York (Vorschau)

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10 2014
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EDITORIAL | October 2014
A few years ago, on a visit to New York,
my sister and I found ourselves wandering —
a little lost — through the streets of Manhattan.
On a corner close to Washington Square,
Inez Sharp, editor-in-chief
we came across a wonderful bookshop, its
shelves stacked with rare and interesting paperbacks. A few steps further
along, we found a vintage-clothes shop packed with bargains from the 1950s
and 60s. Discoveries like these make journeys especially memorable and are
the reason we have chosen an insider tour of New York City as this month’s
travel focus. The feature begins on page 14.
Have you ever read poetry in English? Well-written verse, with its wonderful
rhythms and various themes, can be highly pleasurable. English language
expert Michael Swan, famous for his reference book Practical English Usage,
a volume that helped me through years of teaching, has also published two
collections of verse. He spoke
to Spotlight about his love of
poetry and has kindly allowed
us to print four of his poems.
Get lyrical with us on page 30.
How long will it be before we
see driverless cars? Not long,
if you believe the experts. Tests
with driverless cars will start in
Britain in January 2015. Find
out about the advantages and
challenges of this technology
in our story “A future with driverless
cars” on page 22.
Getting to know
the real New York
Immer die
passenden
Worte finden
ISBN 978-3-589-01561-0
Grund- und Aufbauwortschatz
nach Themen
Die 4.000 häufigsten Wörter aus
der aktuellen Alltagssprache,
thematisch gegliedert und unterteilt
in Grund- und Aufbauwortschatz.
ISBN 978-3-589-01876-5
Sprach-Reiseführer
Für den nächsten Familienurlaub!
Erste Wortschatzübungen und viel
Wissenswertes für Kinder und
Eltern. Buch mit Audio-CD.
i.sharp@spotlight-verlag.de
Spotlight 10|14
Gorgeous New York:
the Flatiron Building
Titelfoto: Huber; Foto Editorial: F1 online
Außerdem für Englisch:
Weitere Sprachkurse, diverse
Grammatiken, Verblexikon,
Themen- und Bildwörterbuch.
Lextra – so lernt man Sprachen heute.
Mehr Infos unter www.lextra.de

CONTENTS | October 2014
14
Inside New York City
Our correspondent asks New Yorkers for spe cial
insider tips on visiting “the city that never sleeps”.
29
Easy English
Enjoy Green Light, the booklet specially written for
learners at the A2 level.
6 People
Names and faces from around the world
8 A Day in My Life
A mountain rescue expert from Ireland
10 World View
What’s news and what’s hot
13 Britain Today
Colin Beaven on how nothing lasts forever
22 Society
Britain becomes a pioneer of driverless cars
24 Food
Delicious Native American specialities
26 I Ask Myself
Amy Argetsinger on leaving a baby in the car
36 Around Oz
Peter Flynn on why October is different
38 Debate
Does Canada still need public broadcasting?
40 History
Exploring Australia nearly 200 years ago
42 Press Gallery
A look at the English-language media
44 Arts
Films, apps, books, culture and a short story
66 The Lighter Side
Jokes and cartoons
67 American Life
Ginger Kuenzel on small-town experiences
68 Feedback & Next Month
Your letters to Spotlight and upcoming topics
70 My Life in English
Multitalented musician Oliver Gies
Fotos: iStock; Schapowalow; Stockbyte
THE SPOTLIGHT FAMILY
Spotlight plus Spotlight Audio
Every month, you can explore
This monthly 60-minute CD/download
and practise the language and
brings the world of Spotlight
grammar of Spotlight with the
to your ears. Enjoy interviews and
exercise booklet plus.
travel stories and try the exercises.
Find out more at:
Find out more on page 64 and at:
www.spotlight-online.de/plus
www.spotlight-online.de/audio
4
Spotlight 10|14

30
Poetry, please!
Reading poetry can be a fun way to explore a
language. Poet Michael Swan shows you how.
Eight
extra
pages
Grammar to go!
Eight pull-out pages on the most important basic
grammar rules in English, with tips and examples.
IN THIS MAGAZINE: 14 LANGUAGE PAGES
50 Vocabulary
Words that have to do with “green” energy
52 Travel Talk
A trip to the Everglades in Florida
53 Language Cards
Pull out and practise
55 Everyday English
Words and phrases for talking about books
57 The Grammar Page
Using the third conditional
58 Peggy’s Place: The Soap
Visit Spotlight’s very own London pub
OUR LANGUAGE LEVELS
The levels of difficulty in Spotlight magazine correspond roughly to
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages:
A2 B1 – B2 C1 – C2
To find your level, visit Sprachtest.de
59 English at Work
Ken Taylor answers your questions
60 Spoken English
Ways to talk about success and failure
61 Word Builder
A focus on the words in Spotlight
62 Perfectionists Only!
Nuances of English
63 Crossword
Find the words and win a prize
IMPROVE YOUR ENGLISH WITH SPOTLIGHT PRODUCTS
Spotlight Audio: hear texts and interviews on our CD or
download. See www.spotlight-online.de/hoeren
Spotlight plus: 24 pages of language exercises related to the
magazine. See www.spotlight-online.de/ueben
Spotlight in the classroom: free of charge to teachers who
subscribe to Spotlight. See www.spotlight-online.de/teachers
Readers’ service: abo@spotlight-verlag.de · www.spotlight-online.de
Tel.: +49 (0)89 / 85681-16 · Fax: +49 (0)89 / 85681-159
www.SprachenShop.de: order products
from our online shop (see page 48).
Spotlight
in the classroom
Teachers: if you use Spotlight in
your lessons, this six-page supplement
will provide great ideas
for classroom activities based on
the magazine. Free for all teachers
who subscribe to Spotlight.
www.spotlight-online.de
Spotlight Online will help you to improve
your English every day. Try our language
exercises or read about current events
and fascinating places to visit.
Subscribers will also find a list of all the
glossed vocabulary from each issue of
the magazine.
10|14 Spotlight 5

PEOPLE | Names and Faces
The dancer
Who exactly is… Xander
Parish?
ballet [(bÄleI]
council housing [(kaUns&l )haUzIN] UK
graduation [)grÄdZu(eIS&n]
nothing but [(nVTIN bVt]
onstage [)Qn(steIdZ]
raise [reIz]
secretary of state [)sekrEtEri Ev (steIt]
spoof [spu:f] ifml.
state benefit [(steIt )benIfIt]
Ballett
Xander Parish was an eightyear-old
Yorkshire schoolboy
when he saw his seven-yearold
sister Demelza performing in a
school show. “Turning to my mum, I
asked why I wasn’t on the stage, too,”
Parish told Dance Magazine. Demelza
had been dancing since she was
three, but as a boy, Parish was more
interested in cricket. He applied to
the Royal Ballet School, however,
and was accepted in 1998, aged 11.
He soon began to love and respect
the art of ballet, but after graduation
in 2005, when he was taken into the
Royal Ballet, he found himself “at
the bottom of a large company”.
One day, Parish was noticed by
a guest teacher, the Russian ballet
master Yuri Fateyev. Six months later,
Fateyev became director of the
Mariinsky Ballet in St Petersburg
and offered the young man a place
in the world-famous company. Parish
wasn’t sure if he was good enough
to dance in the footsteps of former
Mariinsky stars: great artists such
as Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov.
But Fateyev insisted, saying
that the company needed tall
boys who were willing to work hard.
Parish moved to St Petersburg
in 2010, the first British person to
dance with a Russian ballet troupe.
He began in the corps de ballet, but
Fateyev believed in letting dancers
learn onstage, and it wasn’t long before
Parish was dancing small solo
roles. And when the Mariinsky Ballet
visited Britain this summer, he
performed the main roles in great
works such as Swan Lake and Romeo
and Juliet. Parish told The Independent:
“It’s a big honour for anybody
— and for a Brit it’s something really
special.” It’s certainly a long way
from practising cricket in a Yorkshire
garden.
Sozialwohnung
hier: Abschlussprüfung
bloß, nur
auf der Bühne
hier: großziehen
hier: (Kabinetts)Minister(in)
Parodie, Veräppelung
Sozialhilfe
In the news
Actor Sacha Baron Cohen’s new
film is a spy spoof set in the English
town of Grimsby. When the film — also
called Grimsby — was announced,
people living in the town were delighted.
Jody Douglass, a local businessman,
told The
Grimsby Telegraph : it
“ will do nothing but
good for the area”.
But The Guardian
reports that some
locals are not happy
with Cohen’s portrait
of their town as “a terrible and dirty
place to live”, and they are angry that
“this is the way the world will get [its]
first and maybe only look at Grimsby”.
The New Zealand Herald recently
reported that the October edition of
the comic magazine Marvel will show
Thor, the god of thunder, as a woman.
According to Marvel
editor Wil Moss,
“it’s time to update”
the words on Thor’s
hammer, where “he”
is written. As Moss
explains: “This is
not She-Thor. This is
not Lady Thor. This
is Thor.” But a Marvel spokesperson
made clear: “This is a publishing-only
initiative.” The gods alone know what
will happen in the movie.
In July, Stephen Crabb became
the new Secretary of State for Wales (or
Welsh Secretary). Crabb says he is inspired
by his mother. “I happen to have
been raised by a single mother who
raised three sons on her own in council
housing in West Wales,” Crabb told The
South Wales Evening Post.
He described his childhood
as “loving” and his mother
as someone who relied
on state benefits, but who
also was able to
“start her journey
of a working life”
when she had
the opportunity.
6
Spotlight 10|14

Out of the ordinary
When American Jeremiah Heaton’s daughter Emily, aged
seven, asked whether she’d ever be “a real princess”, Heaton began
researching and found an area called Bir Tawil: 800 square miles of
unclaimed (and empty) desert between Egypt and Sudan. He flew to
Africa, travelled 14 hours and planted a flag in the territory, which
his children have called “the Kingdom of North Sudan”. Heaton told
The Guardian: “It has been unclaimed for around 100 years. I just
followed the same process as many others have done: planted our
flag and claimed it.” Heaton wants to improve food production and
create digital freedom in the new kingdom. “Lofty goals,” as he says,
but he believes they can be achieved.
Modern scientific farming methods can be controversial, so it’s
good to know that traditional ways of keeping foods safe are effective.
Mark Roy is a farmer in Washington state. He found that
spraying his crops with chemicals to keep off small “nuisance” birds
changed the taste of the fruit. Another option was netting, but that
cost a lot and didn’t protect all of the crops. So Roy decided to call
in Falcon Force, a company that uses birds of prey, such as peregrine
falcons, to stop starlings and finches from eating the cherries. Roy
told The Seattle Times : “It’s a very sustainable way to try to live with
nature and protect the harvest.” So everybody’s happy now — except,
perhaps, some of the smaller birds.
“The answer to all requests for free tickets for this match has
been neigh,” said Waratah boss Jason Allen. The Waratahs
are an Australian rugby team. Talking to The Canberra Times,
Allen was describing his decision to make the mascot of a rival
team, the Brumbies, “buy a ticket like everyone else” for a
match and sit with the other visitors. The mascot is Brumby
Jack, a human-horse who normally trots up and down the side
of the playing field, encouraging his team. Brumby fans started
an online petition to get their mascot down on the field, but Allen
said that no animals are allowed in the stadium, “and that
includes horses”. “It’s all a bit of horseplay,” he said.
The newcomer
• Name: Holliday Grainger
• Age: 26
• Profession: actor
• Background: from the city of Manchester
in the UK.
• Where you’ve seen her: Grainger
began acting at the age of six and
has worked almost continuously
since then. Her biggest role so
far has been as Lucrezia Borgia in
the TV series The Borgias, which
was released in 2011. The series
was created by the Oscar-winning
screenwriter Neil Jordan and
starred Jeremy Irons as Pope Alexander
VI, the father of Lucrezia.
• Where you can see her: She recently
took the part of Bonnie Parker
in a Bonnie & Clyde mini-series on TV and
will appear in two films in the coming year:
Posh, a drama about an exclusive club for students
at an Oxford college, and Cinderella, a
fantasy film directed by Kenneth Branagh
and shot in various locations in England.
Fotos: Corbis; ddp images; Splash; Ullstein; WENN
bird of prey [)b§:d Ev (preI]
claim sth. [kleIm]
finch [fIntS]
horseplay [(hO:spleI]
human-horse [)hju:mEn (hO:s]
lofty [(lQfti]
neigh [neI]
netting [(netIN]
nuisance: ~ birds [(nju:s&ns]
peregrine falcon [)perEgrIn (fO:lkEn]
starling [(stA:lIN]
sustainable [sE(steInEb&l]
unclaimed [)Vn(kleImd]
Raubvogel,
Greifvogel
auf etw. Anspruch
erheben
Fink
Unfug, Alberei
Mensch, der als
Pferd verkleidet ist
erhaben
Wiehern (klingt wie
“nay”: nein)
hier: Anbringen von
Netzen
hier: lästige oder
schädliche Vögel
Wanderfalke
Star
nachhaltig,
zukunftsfähig
unbeansprucht
PSSCHT!
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BESTELLEN
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/spotlight
Texts by EVE LUCAS
Internationale Sprachschulen
10|14 Spotlight 7

A DAY IN MY LIFE | Ireland
Mountain man
Help when you need it:
Piaras Kelly is part of the Kerry
Mountain Rescue Team
Sein Wunsch, mal etwas anderes als nur Pubs von innen zu sehen, führte dazu, dass dieser Ire
Bergführer und Teil eines Elite-Bergrettungsteams wurde. JOHN STANLEY berichtet.
My name is Piaras Kelly, and I’ve recently turned
40. I became involved in mountaineering about
20 years ago, because I wanted a change from
spending my time in the pub. I started by going hillwalking
every month or so. That quickly turned into every
week, and then into more serious mountaineering and
rock climbing. Now, I’m out on the hills almost every day,
either as a guide and climbing instructor, or as a member
of the all-voluntary Kerry Mountain Rescue Team.
I joined the team about seven years ago. At that time,
I lived in East County Cork. That’s quite a distance from
the County Kerry mountains, which are on the Atlantic
coast in the south-west of Ireland. I could have joined another
team much closer to where I lived, but I wanted to
be in the Kerry Mountain Rescue. For me, they were exceptional,
because they are dealing with Ireland’s biggest
and steepest mountains, some of which are more than
1,000 metres high.
I’ve since moved to County Kerry with my wife, Catherine,
and our five-year-old daughter. Catherine is also
involved in mountain rescue as the training officer with
the Search and Rescue Dogs Association of Ireland.
We live at the foot of Ireland’s
highest mountain,
Corrán Tuathail, in the
MacGillycuddy’s Reeks
range. Now, I’m one
of the members
of the team closest
to the action whenever
there’s a call-out.
8 Spotlight 10|14
There are 35 members in the team, and they come
from all walks of life — graphic designers, engineers,
electricians, nurses and more. Last year, we were called
out 34 times, mainly to assist walkers who were lost or in
trouble on the Reeks. We helped 55 people on those callouts.
There can be serious neck and back injuries, broken
limbs, or simply minor grazes and shock. Unfortunately,
there was also one fatality.
I’m the team’s assistant training officer as well. So
between training and call-outs, which can typically take
many, many hours, it is a big commitment. But whenever
I’m out in the mountains, I don’t see it as time taken out
of my life. I consider it to be time added to it. It’s a joy
to be in Kerry Mountain Rescue, and I feel privileged to
be one of the team. We’re also part of the 999 / 112 rescue
services, and we work very closely with the coastguard
helicopter. We also cover a wide area of wild mountains
in Kerry and West Cork, together with other local rescue
teams.
all-voluntary [)O:l (vQlEntEri]
commitment [kE(mItmEnt]
cover [(kVvE]
from all walks of life
[frEm (O:l )wO:ks Ev )laIf]
graze [greIz]
limb [lIm]
mountaineering [)maUntI(nIErIN]
range [reIndZ]
since [sIns]
training officer [(treInIN )QfIsE]
rein ehrenamtlich
Verpflichtung
abdecken
hier: aus allen Berufen
Schramme
Körperglied
Bergsteigen
hier: Bergkette
hier: seither, inzwischen
Trainingsleiter(in)
Fotos: iStock; Valerie O’Sullivan; John Stanley

INFO TO GO
Many people who come to these mountains underestimate
how wild they are. The weather in Kerry can
change quickly, too, and you can get lost very easily. We
do have sheep trails you can follow, but these are nothing
like the dry stone paths you find in Scotland and Wales.
So here, it is important that people who go up into the
hills have a map and really know how to use it. It’s also
essential to be prepared for the weather.
Most of my working days are taken up running my
company, Kerry Climbing, and guiding. I love seeing
people’s faces when we’re out. It reminds me of how I
felt when I started. These days, many people spend day
after day behind a desk, and you cannot get any sense of
wildness or excitement from that. But up in the Kerry
mountains, you feel more on the edge. It’s great to see
how much fun my clients have had when they’re coming
down off the hills at the end of a fantastic day.
MacGillycuddy’s Reeks
In Irish, the name for MacGillycuddy’s Reeks
is Na Cruacha Dubha, which means “the
black stacks”, a reference to the type of rock
formation that is found there. MacGillycuddy,
however, comes from the name of the local
family, Mac Giolla Mochuda, which owned this
part of County Kerry. Eleven of the mountains
in the range are more than 900 metres high,
with three taller than 1,000 metres. At
1,038 metres, the very tallest of these
is called Corrán Tuathail in Irish and
Carrauntoohil in English. No special
equipment is needed to climb it,
but people say that crowding on the
mountain has made its paths a bit
more dangerous these days.
cliff [klIf]
irritable [(IrItEb&l]
run [rVn]
stack [stÄk]
trail [treI&l]
Felsvorsprung, Steilwand
gereizt
hier: führen, leiten
Haufen, Stapel
Trampelpfad
fatality
A fatality is a formal word meaning “death”. It is used in
official reports and in the news to refer to deaths resulting
from accidents, natural disasters (such as floods), disease
or war. The formal word “casualty” means a person
who has been injured or killed in such a situation. The
expression “death toll” means “the number of people
who have died”. Compare the following sentences, which
contain examples of how these words are used:
a) Newspapers report that the death toll from Israeli
attacks on Gaza is increasing.
b) The US Department of Transportation is making a study
of highway fatalities caused by drunk drivers.
c) She never knew her father. He was a casualty of the
Vietnam War.
on the edge
Piaras Kelly says: “But up in the Kerry mountains, you feel
more on the edge.” You may see the expression “living
on the edge”, which means “taking part in activities that
can involve an increased amount of risk”. Kelly could be
playing a little with words, because when you are up high
in the mountains, you can really be “on the edge” — on a
rock face or cliff. On the other hand, if you are “on edge”,
you are irritable and nervous. Which expressions using
“edge” belong in the following sentences?
a) Bill likes to drive really fast. He likes to ________.
b) She is completely ________ today. Perhaps she didn’t
get enough sleep.
c) I love paragliding. It makes me feel as if I’m ________.
Training is an important part of the team’s routine
Answers
on the edge: a) live on the edge; b) on edge; c) on the edge / living on the edge
10|14 Spotlight 9

WORLD VIEW | News in Brief
The season changes
in Dorset, England
It’s a good month for…
autumn colours
BRITAIN Autumn brings cooler weather,
shorter days and the chance to enjoy the new season’s
beauty. Magnificent arboreal displays of golds, oranges
and reds are what attract people to Sherborne Castle in
Dorset, south-west England, for the Autumn Colours
Weekend. Held this year on 25 and 26 October, the event
encourages visitors to tour the estate’s beautiful gardens,
while nature completes its work. “England’s greatest gardener”,
Capability Brown, laid out some of the grounds
in 1753, a treat for fans of English landscape design.
Farming tobacco: a way of life for some Ugandans
Tobacco: not all bad?
UGANDA It is well known that smoking causes
illness. But tobacco also allows many people to make a living. In Uganda,
members of parliament concerned with the adverse effects of cigarettes
have been trying to pass a law banning tobacco. The country’s
farmers, who can earn far more money from tobacco than from other
crops, like maize, see things differently.
10 Spotlight 10|14
Sherborne New Castle, the estate’s main building, welcomes
visitors to tour the 16th-century Tudor mansion.
Built in 1594 by Elizabethan explorer Sir Walter Raleigh,
the house passed to the Digby family in 1617 and underwent
a major expansion. The ruins of a 12th-century castle
on the estate may be visited, too. In November, Sherborne
closes for a winter break and opens again in April.
For more information, see www.sherbornecastle.com
nachteilig, schädlich
Baum-
hier: Anbaupflanze
Anwesen, Landgut
trotzdem
großartig, herrlich
Mais
Herrenhaus
Speiseröhre
Vergnügen, Leckerbissen
unterzogen werden
adverse [(Ädv§:s]
arboreal [A:(bO:riEl]
crop [krQp]
estate [I(steIt]
even so [)i:v&n (sEU]
magnificent [mÄg(nIfIsEnt]
maize [meIz] UK
mansion [(mÄnS&n]
oesophagus [i(sQfEgEs]
treat [tri:t]
undergo [)VndE(gEU]
“This is my future,” Fred Okippi told The Guardian, pointing to
his five acres of tobacco plants. Okippi is one of about 75,000 tobacco
farmers in this East African country. “If the government wants to ban
tobacco use, then we are going to suffer. Where are we going to get
money to educate our children?”
Uganda benefits from the plant in other ways, too. Nearly $40 million
in taxes were collected from the sales of tobacco products in the
country in 2011, making it one of the top ways for the government to
raise money. Even so, it is ministers from within the regime who are
pushing for change.
“Tobacco kills,” said Dr Sheila Ndyanabangi of the Ugandan health
ministry. “We want to make it extremely hard for people to find or
smoke a cigarette. At the Uganda Cancer Institute, we followed the
history of most patients diagnosed with lung cancer, cancer of the
mouth, throat and oesophagus, and found they had been smoking.”
Fotos: A1PIX/YPT; iStock; dpa/Picture Alliance; Getty Images; Library of Congress

Registering for the draft;
here, American men sign
on during World War I
The wrong
century?
UNITED STATES Computers don’t make mistakes — people do. This
explains why US military conscription notices were recently sent to more than 14,000 Pennsylvania
men born between 1893 and 1897. Worried relatives contacted the Selective Service
System (SSS), which sent the notices telling the men to register for the US draft — or possibly
pay a fine or go to prison. “We were just totally dumbfounded,” Chuck Huey, 73, of Kingston,
Pennsylvania, told Fox News. He received the letter that had been sent to his late grandfather.
The SSS apologized for the error, which was caused by a data transfer from the Pennsylvania
transport department. An employee had forgotten to limit birth data to the 20th century.
A spokesman said that Pennsylvania used only a two-digit number for the year of birth. People
born in 1893 and 1993, for example, had the same code.
Although the draft has not been used in the US since the Vietnam War, US males aged
between 18 and 25 are still required to register with the SSS.
Sprachen lernen
– einfach
beim Lesen!
aspire to [E(spaIE tE]
bouncer [(baUnsE]
conscription [kEn(skrIpS&n]
doorman [(dO:mEn]
draft [US drÄft]
dumbfounded [dVm(faUndId]
fine [faIn]
late [leIt]
selective service [US sE)lektIv (s§:vEs]
two-digit [(tu: )dIdZIt]
wrestling [(res&lIN]
anstreben, erstreben
Türsteher(in), Rausschmeißer(in)
Einberufung
Türsteher(in)
Einberufung
sprachlos, verblüfft
Geldstrafe, Bußgeld
hier: verstorben
Wehrdienst
zweistellig
Ringen
NEU
The right moves
INDIA What is the best training for work as a doorman? Two villages
in India appear to have the answer.
Located to the south of Delhi, the twin settlements of Asola and Fatehpur
Beri are famous for their love of kushti, or traditional Indian wrestling. The
wrestlers, usually in their 20s or early 30s, train in special sports clubs for eight
to ten hours a day in order to be the best at their sport. They eat carefully and
avoid alcohol. Few are able to earn a living from wrestling, however, so many
of them move to the capital city to work as doormen in clubs and bars or as
bodyguards. Life as a bouncer there is, of course, very different from life in
the village and the ideals of becoming a champion wrestler. As India Today
reports, “a career as bouncers was not what most of them had aspired to”.
A very old
sport: Indian
wrestling
272 S. · € 7,80 · ISBN 978-3-15-019891-9
Ein bewegender Coming-of-Age-Roman
vor dem Hintergrund des Angriffs auf
Pearl Harbour und dem Kriegseintritt der
USA in den Zweiten Weltkrieg.
Reclams
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WORLD VIEW | News in Brief
BRITAIN War is a sad fact of human
existence. Now, experts from the British Museum
in London have evidence of what is believed to be
the world’s oldest large-scale armed conflict. The human
remains from it, thought to be 13,000 years old,
come from Jebel Sahaba in Northern Sudan.
The skeletons were first discovered by US anthropologist
Dr Fred Wendorf in the 1960s, prior to the
building of the Aswan High Dam on the River Nile.
The Independent reports that new technology allows
scientists to see bone damage caused by flint arrowheads.
Of the 61 bodies discovered, “at least 45 per cent of them died
of inflicted wounds,” says the British Museum, “making this the earliest
evidence for intercommunal violence in the archaeological record.”
The reason for the conflict may have been climate change. With Ice
Age glaciers covering Europe and North America at the time, various
tribes migrated to the warmer Nile region. Experts think that limited resources
led to battles over land, food and water. Some of the Jebel Sahaba
remains may be seen in the British Museum’s Early Egypt gallery.
The bones tell the sad story
of an ancient war
An old war
arrowhead [(ÄrEUhed]
Aswan High Dam [Äs)wA:n )haI (dÄm]
brainchild [(breIntSaI&ld]
Egypt [(i:dZIpt]
flint [flInt]
glacier [(glÄsiE]
human remains [)hju:mEn ri(meInz]
inflict [In(flIkt]
inspire [US In(spaI&r]
large-scale [)lA:dZ (skeI&l]
prior to [(praIE tE]
reminder [US ri(maInd&r]
rotating [US (roUteItIN]
scent [sent]
take-out meal [(teIk aUt )mi:&l] N. Am.
text message [(tekst )mesIdZ]
tribe [traIb]
Pfeilspitze
Assuan-Staudamm
Erfindung
Ägypten
Feuerstein
Gletscher
menschliche Überreste
beibringen, zufügen
hier: verbreiten, einflößen
ausgedehnt
vor
Erinnerung
drehbar, sich drehend
Geruch
Mitnahmemahlzeit
SMS
Stamm
WHAT’S HOT
Family robot
UNITED STATES
Some robots inspire fear in people,
but not Jibo. Jibo may be the first robot
you ever own.
Jibo acts as a personal assistant.
It sits on a table and tells you the
content of text messages you’ve received,
gives you reminders about
the day’s events, reads a book to
your child, welcomes you home from
work, and even asks you if you would
like it to order a take-out meal — all in
a sweet, friendly voice. The only mobile
thing about the robot is its rotating
head, a function that allows the
user to move freely around the room
while having a video chat via the robot
with family or friends.
Jibo is the brainchild of the famous
social robotics researcher Dr.
Cynthia Breazeal. “What if technology
could make you feel closer to the
ones you love? ... That’s what Jibo’s
about,” she says in a video. For more
information, see www.myjibo.com
Jibo and
its maker,
Dr Cynthia
Breazeal
Movies get an
extra dimension
UNITED STATES If 3D cinema isn’t enough
for you, why not try something extra? The Regal Cinema in downtown
Los Angeles has become the first US multiplex to open a 4D auditorium.
Movies are shown in 3D with added features such as rain, wind,
Spotlight 7|14
Get ready for the next
big thing in movies
and fog, as well as moving seats and even smell. The 4D effects are
closely synchronized with the on-screen action. The new technology,
known as 4DX, has been developed by South Korean firm CJ 4DPlex,
which is part of the CJ Group, the company behind the largest cinema
chain in Asia. First used in Seoul in 2009, 4DX has expanded into 23
other countries across the globe. More than 14,000 4DX seats are now
available in 91 different auditoriums.
Talking to The Los Angeles Times, Byung Hwan Choi, CEO of
CJ 4DPlex, promised audiences “a moviegoing experience never before
seen in the US.” With a selection of more than 1,000 possible
scents, 4DX also provides an excellent opportunity for audiences to
say, “That smelled like a really good movie.”
By JULIAN EARWAKER and CLAUDINE WEBER-HOF
Fotos: British Museum; PR

Britain Today | COLIN BEAVEN
Foto: Stockbyte
What’s the
name on the
card?
Nothing lasts forever. Everything
has its limits. The food
we buy at the supermarket
comes with a use-by date, after which
we shouldn’t eat it. Tickets for the car
park tell you what time they expire,
after which you can’t use them. Our
credit cards expire, our passports expire.
And in the end, we expire —
because the word also means “die”.
Yes, you can use the same word
for bits of plastic or scraps of paper
that are no longer any use and also
for the end of someone’s life. It’s true
that “expired” is a rather formal way
to say that someone has died, but
that makes me shudder all the more
when I use my credit card to buy
things over the phone.
“What’s the name on the card?”
they ask. That is not unreasonable. It’s
the next question I find scary: “Expiry
date?” Do they mean the card’s or
mine? After all, if anyone knows our
use-by dates, it’s probably the banks
and credit card companies. Banks are
so powerful, and in more paranoid
moments, I can imagine they’d enjoy
deciding when to end their customers’
lives — like the Fates in Greek
and Roman mythology.
Worse still: let’s say your credit
card expires in one year’s time. The
date October 2015 is presented on
the card as “10 ... 15”. But be careful
how you say it over the phone.
Ten fifteen? It sounds as if you
mean a quarter past ten this evening,
or tomorrow morning at the latest.
I was going to use my card to book
next year’s summer holiday. It hardly
seems worth it now.
Of course, one shouldn’t panic.
The statistics tell a different story;
Everything has its limits
Früher oder später hat alles ein Ende. Nur – wann genau ist das
und wer bestimmt es? Ein Ab laufdatum, wie das auf unserer
Kreditkarte, kann ungeahnte Tücken in sich bergen.
British men can expect to live to be
around 79 and women to 83. Life
expectancy is going up every year.
But that brings problems, too. Britain’s
health system is under increasing
pressure, partly because the population’s
growing, and partly because
the older generation is now the even
older generation.
Using the National Health Service
(NHS) is basically free, but
experts are saying that it can’t cope
with demand, and they wonder how
long this can continue. A report earlier
this year by Lord Warner and
Jack O’Sullivan said that the NHS
will soon need billions it doesn’t have
— at least £30 billion a year within
ten years.
Governments have tried all sorts
of reforms to make money go further.
Now officials in the county of Staffordshire
have said they’ll let private
companies try to win contracts to
provide health care, even for cancer.
More private companies active in
the NHS? Many people on the political
left here won’t like that. They
take the view that health care should
be motivated by
idealism and not billion [(bIljEn]
by profit. Others blunt [blVnt]
seem to think
that the one demand [di(mA:nd]
doesn’t exclude expire [Ik(spaIE]
the other.
handy [(hÄndi]
The worry
is that there are
only two solutions:
either you
pay more, or you
reduce the demands
you make
on the service.
Does that mean
that we’ll soon
need to have our
car park [(kA: pA:k] UK
health care [(helT keE]
last [lA:st]
National Health Service
[)nÄS&nEl (helT )s§:vIs] UK
official [E(fIS&l]
scary [(skeEri]
scrap [skrÄp]
shudder [(SVdE]
surgery [(s§:dZEri] UK
the Fates [DE (feIts]
unreasonable [Vn(ri:z&nEb&l]
credit cards handy when we ring the
surgery for an appointment with the
doctor?
“Name on the card?” they’ll say.
Then: “Expiry date?”
“Ten fifteen.”
“I see. Look, this may seem rather
blunt, but is there really any point in
giving you an appointment? Time’s
money, you know. We wouldn’t want
to waste either.”
“Perhaps it means ten fifteen p.m.,
not a.m. If I’m still here this evening,
would that make a difference?”
“I’m sorry. We close at half past
five.”
Colin Beaven is a freelance writer who
lives and works in Southampton on the south
coast of England.
Milliarde(n)
schonungslos offen, unverblümt
Parkplatz, Parkhaus
Nachfrage
auslaufen, ungültig werden
griffbereit
medizinische Versorgung
dauern, währen
staatlicher Gesundheitsdienst
Beamter, Beamtin
unheimlich, beängstigend
Fetzen, Stückchen
(zurück)schaudern
Arztpraxis
die Schicksalsgöttinnen
unsinnig, unangemessen
10|14 Spotlight 13

TRAVEL | United States
Inside
Travel tips for the
greatest city on Earth
New York
Welche Insider-Tipps verraten die meisten New Yorker nur Freunden und Verwandten?
ALEX KINGSBURY war in Big Apple, um das herauszufinden.
So much to see
and do: the city that
never sleeps
When you are one in a million in New York,” goes
the old saying, “there are eight more people just
like you.” It’s a city that is at once impersonal
and welcoming, crowded and lonely, ephemeral and constant.
The locals are famous for their gruffness, yet the
Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor calls out a sincere
welcome to the world’s poor, huddled masses.
It’s impossible to cover the entire city in a single article.
But I did find many long-time New Yorkers prepared
to part with a tip or two on what they find most compelling
about the city — the kind of information they share
only with friends who come to visit.
appreciate [E(pri:SieIt]
compelling [kEm(pelIN]
ephemeral [I(fem&rEl]
exhausting [Ig(zO:stIN]
gruffness [(grVfnEs]
hiss [hIs]
huddled [(hVd&ld]
on: be ~ [A:n]
part with sth. [(pA:rt wIT]
surrender: ~ oneself [sE(rend&r]
würdigen, schätzen
verlockend, fesselnd
kurzlebig
anstrengend, ermüdend
Barschheit, Schroffheit
Zischen
zusammengedrängt
eingeschaltet sein, an sein
sich trennen von etw.
hier: sich ganz darauf einlassen
I used to live in New York City and have been
back countless times since then to work and play.
It’s true what they say: you can’t real ly appreciate
a city until you’ve moved away. That’s the
feeling I get as my train pulls into Penn Station,
and the doors open with a hiss.
As any visitor will tell you, New York has its
own smell, sound, and rhythm, which may
take a bit of getting used to. It feels like
a place that is always on, that can be in
equal parts refreshing and exhausting. If
you’re willing to surrender yourself to
that rhythm, however, it can be a wonderful
place to explore.
Because the city is so large, just
getting from one place to another can
mean quite a bit of travel. On the other
hand, New York is a city that is just
asking to be walked. The interior of the
United States may be designed around
the highway system and the automobile,
but Gotham City is designed for
sneakers.
14
Spotlight 10|14

Fotos: Getty Images; iStock; Schapowalow
To get to know New York City
means leaving Manhattan. “If
you’ve never been to New York,
spend a day riding the subway,”
says Nate Collins, an officer in
the New York City Police Department.
“Ride the iron horse for an
afternoon — take a line from beginning
to end, and get out a few
times along the way. Then pick a
different line the next day. You’ll
see it all.”
That’s a good way to explore
a city that tourists — and many
New Yorkers themselves — regard
as only the island of Manhattan. People who call it
home know New York simply as “the City,” but it is
made up of a total of five boroughs: Manhattan, yes, but
also the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.
Everyone has Times Square at the top of his or her
list, and a trip to NYC wouldn’t be complete without an
elevator ride up the Empire State Building. But if you
visit only the guide books’ top suggestions for Manhattan,
“you’ll miss out on the ethnic food in Queens and the
small shops and restaurants in Brooklyn,” says Karen Stephens,
a writer and artist who divides her time between
Mexico City and New York. “It’s worth getting beyond
Manhattan, which has become crowded and expensive.”
beyond [bi(A:nd]
borough [(b§:oU]
head north [hed (nO:rT]
late [leIt]
make inroads
[meIk (InroUdz]
pastime [(pÄstaIm]
regard as [ri(gA:rd Ez]
soccer [(sA:k&r]
subway [(sVbweI] N. Am.
jenseits, außerhalb
Stadtbezirk, Stadtviertel
Richtung Norden fahren
hier: verstorben
vordringen; hier: sich verbreiten
Freizeitbeschäftigung, Zeitvertreib
betrachten als
Fußball
U-Bahn
America loves baseball: New York
Yankees’ star player Derek Jeter
and Yankee Stadium
Head north from Manhattan
Island, and you’ll find what
is holy ground for many Americans,
even those who live outside the city. The Bronx
might not be the richest borough nor the most attractive,
but it’s one of the most famous because of Yankee
Stadium, home to the New York Yankees, one of the
city’s two baseball teams, as well as the city’s professional
soccer team, New York City FC. “A
baseball club is part of the chemistry
of the city,” said Michael
Burke, the late president of
the Yankees. “A game
isn’t just an athletic
contest. It’s a picnic,
a kind of town meeting.”
Other sports,
like soccer, may have
made inroads into
this in the past
few years, but
baseball is still
the national
pastime.
10|14 Spotlight 15

TRAVEL | United States
One of the Beaux
Arts buildings in
Astor Court at
the Bronx Zoo
Indonesian langur
monkeys living in
“JungleWorld” at
the Bronx Zoo
While you’re in the Bronx, check out the Bronx Zoo,
one of the largest in the world. With 265 acres of land,
it is home to 6,000 animals and more than 650 species.
Noah would have been proud. “Whenever I need to relax
and let my brain go, I head to the zoo,” says Neal
Hoyt-Davis, a chef who lives in Queens. “Walk around
there for a few hours, and you’ll realize that you’ve spent
half your time people-watching.”
People-watching is serious business in his home borough,
as well. Queens feels like one of the most diverse
places on the planet. In 1970, only about 20 percent of
the population were foreign-born. Today, more than two
million people live in Queens, and half are immigrants.
When people talk about the United States being a “melting
pot” of cultures, Queens is living, breathing proof of
that. The constant influx of people from other countries
has made the small-business economy incredibly vibrant,
even if the average income of residents is still well below
that of Brooklyn or Manhattan.
A CLOSER LOOK
The more than 3,000-kilometer-long Rio Grande — “big
river,” in Spanish — starts in the Rocky Mountains of
Colorado, passes through New Mexico, then enters Texas
to form part of the border between the United States
and Mexico. If people use the expression “south of the
Rio Grande,” they often mean simply “Mexico,” but
the taxi driver in this article uses it to refer to the whole
of Latin America.
Ahmed Said emigrated here from Egypt 30 years ago
and now drives a taxi in Queens. “In the past month,
I’ve driven someone from every country south of the Rio
Grande,” he says, as we wait at a stoplight on Northern
Boulevard, the main route through the borough. “An
hour ago, I drove someone from the airport who came
from Indonesia. He was living in the Ecuadorian part of
Queens. That’s the way this place is.”
Said drops me off in the borough of Brooklyn, which
is also diverse, but better known today for the tensions
surrounding its economic diversity. “I like to say that it
is a harmoniously diverse neighborhood. It’s got a great
Afro-punk vibe to it, and then it’s got gentrifiers who are
moving in,” says newspaper reporter Tim Donnelly. We’re
standing in Fort Greene Park, and he’s explaining how
the old brownstone buildings have been bought up by
developers and sold off at twice the price. When young,
rich people move into New York neighborhoods, it’s often
at the expense of the older, poorer, long-time residents,
who are forced to move elsewhere when the cost of living
increases to more than they can pay. “Wealth may have
increased in the community here, but it has stayed true to
its roots,” Donnelly says.
acre [(eIk&r] Morgen (ca. 4047 m 2 )
at the expense of
auf Kosten von, zu Lasten von
[)Et Di Ik(spens Ev]
brownstone building Sandsteingebäude
[(braUnstoUn )bIldIN] N. Am.
check sth. out [tSek (AUt] hier: sich etw. ansehen
diverse [dE(v§:s]
vielfältig, bunt gemischt
drop sb. off [drA:p (O:f] jmdn. absetzen
gentrifier [(dZentrIfaI&r] in etwa: Gentrifizierer(in),
(Leute, die durch aufwändige
Renovierungsarbeiten ihrer Häuser
einen Stadtteil aufwerten)
influx [(InflVks]
Zustrom
resident [(rezIdEnt]
Anwohner(in), Bewohner(in)
stoplight [(stA:plaIt] N. Am. Ampelanlage
tension [(tenS&n]
Spannung
vibe [vaIb] ifml.
Atmosphäre
vibrant [(vaIbrEnt]
lebendig, dynamisch
Fotos: Getty Images; images.de; A. Kingsbury; Photos.com
16
Spotlight 10|14

Prepare yourself: in this shop, you could become a superhero
A CLOSER LOOK
Dave Eggers (born 1970) is an American writer and
philanthropist. He was studying journalism in the early
1990s when both of his parents died of cancer. In his
bestselling book, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering
Genius, Eggers wrote about his experience of having to
leave university to help raise his eight-year-old brother.
Since then, he has started his own publishing house,
McSweeney’s, and worked on literacy projects such as
826 National, with locations in eight US cities.
That might be so, but the pressures on Brooklyn are
growing. This summer, rents in Manhattan averaged more
than $3,400. The average rent in Brooklyn was around 10
percent less. If you can afford the rent, Brooklyn is the
hippest place to call your home. How hip? Well, at the
heart of one of the trendiest neighborhoods, Park Slope,
sits the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company. It’s a
store that sells costumes for would-be masked avengers.
You can buy spandex body suits and disguises. Of course,
there’s a wind tunnel to test your cape before you buy it.
I asked the masked manager whether having a superhero
supply store is a sign of a neighborhood’s coolness. Perhaps
not, she says with a smile. “But consider this: There
are enough weirdos in Brooklyn for the store to have
stayed open for more than a decade.”
What’s the store’s real secret? It’s literally a front for a
creative-writing non-profit organization called 826NYC
that helps kids. Behind the shelves of invisible paint and
grappling hooks is a classroom. It’s the brainchild of writer
Dave Eggers, and the profits from the costume shop
go to pay for its good works.
A typical street in the
popular Brooklyn
neighborhood of Park Slope
avenger [E(vendZ&r]
brainchild [(breIntSaI&ld] ifml.
disguise [dIs(gaIz]
grappling hook [(grÄp&lIN hUk]
hip [hIp] ifml.
invisible [In(vIzEb&l]
literacy project
[(lItErEsi )prA:dZekt]
literally [(lItErEli]
publishing house [(pVblISIN haUs]
raise [reIz]
spandex [(spÄndeks]
staggering [(stÄgErIN]
weirdo [(wIrdoU] ifml.
Rächer(in)
hier: Idee
Verkleidung
Enterhaken
angesagt, cool
unsichtbar
Bildungsprojekt
buchstäblich
Buchverlag
großziehen
Elastan
erstaunlich, überwältigend
Spinner(in), Verrückte(r)
10|14 Spotlight 17

TRAVEL | United States
Go north from Park
Slope, and the skyline of
Lower Manhattan starts to become
visible above the roofs
of the brownstones. “The
only place that a first-time
tourist to New York needs to
see is the Brooklyn Bridge.
Start on the Brooklyn side
— maybe first with pizza at
Juliana’s,” says Beth Brown,
who works as a policy analyst
for a nonprofit organization.
“The bridge can be crowded
with pedestrians, but this is
the view people come to see.
When you get to Manhattan,
stop at City Hall Park at the
foot of the bridge.”
Walking the Brooklyn
Bridge is a must for most
New Yorkers as well as tourists.
The bridge over the East
River was one of the modern
wonders of the world when it
was finished in 1883. Pedestrians
can cross on a wooden
floor suspended one level
above the traffic. From here,
they have a great view of
Brooklyn or Lower Manhattan,
depending on the direction
in which they’re moving.
The advice from locals:
“Stay in the walking lane;
it’s clearly marked: The southern lane is for walking; the
northern lane is for biking,” says Richard Whitaker, a
The Brooklyn Bridge: a must-see for visitors
Close to the Brooklyn Bridge: Juliana’s pizza restaurant
On Staten Island: the Children’s Museum at Snug Harbor
bike messenger who often
takes the trains to avoid the
crowds of walkers between
the boroughs. “Sometimes,
I wish I had a cattle prod to
move along all the out-oftowners.”
Fantastic vistas of the
city can be enjoyed from
the Staten Island Ferry as
well. “You get to sail past
the Statue of Liberty with a
beautiful view of downtown
Manhattan. You can buy
beers, and the summer heat
takes a backseat, because a
cool breeze blows over the
harbor,” says movie-set designer
Isaac Gobaeff. The
ferry runs every day of the
year, 24 hours per day. Best
of all, it’s free.
Staten Island is the smallest
of the five boroughs, and
one where tourists rarely
get past the ferry terminal.
That’s a shame, says Jose
Ortiz, who has lived there
for the past ten years. He enjoys
taking his two children
to the Snug Harbor Cultural
Center and Botanical
Garden. Once a home for
retired sailors, the center is
now an art museum with
manicured gardens. “Culture and sunshine in the same
visit,” Ortiz says. “Can’t beat it.”
cattle prod [(kÄt&l prA:d]
ferry terminal [(feri )t§:m&nEl]
messenger [(mes&ndZ&r]
move along [mu:v E(lO:N]
Viehstock (oft elektrisch)
Fährhafen
Kurier(in)
hier: antreiben
once [wVns]
pedestrian [pE(destriEn]
suspended [sE(spendId]
take a backseat [)teIk E )bÄk(si:t]
früher einmal
Fußgänger(in)
hier: hängend
aus dem Rampenlicht treten
One way to enjoy views of the city
— on the Staten Island Ferry

In the middle of it all: the High Line park in the Meatpacking District
Looking for an unusual place to eat? Ortiz recommends
Chinar on the Island. It has a mix of Russian and
Mediterranean cuisine, plus a dance floor. Strange combination?
As they say: “Only in New York.”
The city is full of strange things — or at least things
that were once strange when they first came to New York.
Now, they’re being imitated in other places. The past few
decades of urban renewal in other cities have provided
many opportunities for New York to test the limits of what
makes a good tourist attraction. The High Line is one of
its most successful experiments. It’s a one-mile-long park
created on top of an abandoned elevated railroad track.
Walk around the Lower West Side of Manhattan, and you
might not realize that the rusting girders reaching above
the sidewalk support one of the city’s highlights.
“It’s an unusual example of using existing structures
to generate urban renewal,” says Nance McCarthey, an
executive who works near the High Line. “The design and
layout are definitely cool, and it gives you an interesting
vantage point to see the streets on the west side of Chelsea
and the Meatpacking District, including murals and
street art.”
A trip to many of these neighborhoods two decades
ago, especially parts of Brooklyn and the Bronx, would
have meant a journey into dangerous areas of the city. It
seems unimaginable today, but in 1990, there were 2,245
murders in New York. Last year, there were 333. It’s still
tragic, but that’s the lowest number in the city’s recorded
history. What this means for locals — and tourists — is
that parts of the city once culturally isolated are coming
back to life.
Consider Harlem:
The center of black
culture in the city, the
neighborhood is now
so safe that gentrification
is a real worry. But
if you’re looking for the
real Harlem, check out
the American Legion
Post 398. The American
Legion is a society
of US military veterans.
Their clubhouses
can be found in almost
every town and city in
the country. People also
come to Post 398 to eat
Southern specialties
like fried chicken and
cornbread.
Jam sessions are
best on Sunday afternoon,
but seating is
very limited. “Don’t
tell them about Post
398,” says an old friend
of mine, who asked not
to be named. “Then
more people will come,
and the lines are long
enough already.”
Harlem street art: boxer Muhammad Ali
An aerial view of Harlem; one of the trains
of the New York subway system
Fotos: Corbis; F1 online; Getty Images; iStock; laif
abandoned [E(bÄndEnd]
cornbread [kO:rnbred]
elevated [(elIveItEd]
executive [Ig(zekjEtIv]
girder [(g§:d&r]
mural [(mjUrEl]
renewal [ri(nu:El]
sidewalk [(saIdwO:k] N. Am.
vantage point [(vÄntIdZ pOInt]
verlassen, stillgelegt
Maisbrot
erhöht
Führungskraft, leitende(r)
Angestellte(r)
Tragebalken
Wandbild, Wandgemälde
Erneuerung
Fußweg, Gehsteig
Aussichtspunkt
10|14 Spotlight 19

An art installation in the roof garden of
the Metropolitan Museum of Art
gorgeous
[(gO:rdZEs]
lack [lÄk]
speakeasy
[(spi:k)i:zi]
US ifml.
umwerfend, wunderschön
nicht haben, mangeln,
fehlen
Flüsterkneipe (illegale
Kneipe während der
Alkoholprohibition)
Exploring Midtown: Grand Central Terminal and the Chrysler Building
The city is so enormous and its
highlights so numerous that you
could spend weeks looking for “insider
tips.” But the classics aren’t to
be missed either. “When my friends
come to New York, I always make
sure I take them to the Roof Garden
Café and Martini Bar at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art,” says
Beth Brown. “The roof offers views
of Manhattan and Central Park, and
the bar serves great cocktails that you
can enjoy as you take in the art and
the scenery.”
Want to visit a cocktail bar that’s
like a speakeasy from Prohibition-era
Gotham? Then try the Campbell
Apartment in Grand Central Terminal.
Once a wealthy businessman’s
private office, it’s now a chic cocktail
lounge where New Yorkers take outof-town
guests to impress them. It’s
the kind of place that still has a dress
code.
What it lacks in exclusivity, the
famous bar at 230 Fifth makes up
for in panoramas. It sits on top of
a skyscraper near the Flatiron Building
and Madison Square Park. The
open-air rooftop terrace is gorgeous
in the summer and has outdoor
heaters and blankets in the winter.
20
Spotlight 10|14
At Campbell Apartment: good drinks and a great atmosphere

IF YOU GO
Take a detour or two from downtown Manhattan, and
you’ll see parts of this great city that you won’t find on
your friends’ Facebook pages. Then again, old favorites
aren’t a waste of time either. “Most New Yorkers complain
that Times Square is crowded and touristy, but I think it
represents New York in a grand way,” says Julie Gordon,
style and entertainment editor with the popular magazine
AM New York. “Huge skyscrapers, giant billboards,
tons of people, hustle and bustle: It’s fast, it’s crowded,
it’s exciting, it’s dirty, and it’s New York. Times Square
represents all that’s fast-paced and frenetic in the city. It
reminds you that you are one of millions in New York.”
billboard [(bIlbO:rd]
detour [(di:tUr]
hustle and bustle [)hVs&l End (bVs&l]
shore [SO:r]
volunteer [)vA:lEn(tI&r]
Reklametafel
Umweg
geschäftiges Treiben
Ufer, Strand
Freiwillige(r)
Enjoy the view: the Empire
State Building seen from
the roof terrace of 230 Fifth
Staying in New York City
To get a good deal staying in a privately owned room or
apartment in New York City, try https://www.airbnb.de
The Bronx
Yankee Stadium is at One East 161st Street in the South
Bronx. For information on tours, see
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com
Bronx Zoo is at 2300 Southern Boulevard. Tickets cost
$16.95 for adults and $12.95 for children older than two.
See http://bronxzoo.com
Brooklyn
Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company is at 372 5th
Avenue. The shop is usually open seven days a week, but
call ahead to make sure, as it is managed by volunteers of
the nonprofit organization 826NYC;
tel. 001 718-499 9884. See www.superherosupplies.com
and www.826nyc.org/about/donate
Juliana’s restaurant is located at 19 Old Fulton Street;
tel. 001 718-596 6700. See http://julianaspizza.com
Staten Island
Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden is
close to the ferry, on the north shore of Staten Island.
For information on the various cultural institutions and
tickets, see http://snug-harbor.org
Chinar on the Island is at 283 Sand Lane;
tel. 001 718-390 5305.
See http://chinarontheisland.com
Manhattan
The Empire State Building (25 West 29th Street) is open
daily from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. Visit the official website to
order tickets in advance. www.esbnyc.com
For information on the Roof Garden Café and Martini Bar
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1000 Fifth Avenue),
see the “Dining at the Met” rubric at
www.metmuseum.org
Campbell Apartment is at 15 Vanderbilt Avenue in a
corner of Grand Central Terminal; tel. 001 212-953 0409.
See the “Dining” section listed under
www.grandcentralterminal.com
The bar called 230 Fifth is located at 230 Fifth Avenue
(at the corner of 27th Street); tel. 001 212-725 4300.
See www.230-fifth.com
American Legion Post 398 is at 248 West 132nd Street in
Harlem; tel. 001 212-283 9701.
See http://colchasyoungharlempost398.com
More information
See www.nycgo.com
Fotos: Bridgeman; F1 online; Huber; iStock; laif
10|14 Spotlight 21

SOCIETY | Britain
A future with
driverless cars
Der britische Gewerbeminister hat Änderungen
des Straßenverkehrsrechts sowie eine
£10 Millionen-Finanzspritze zur Entwicklung
fahrerloser Autos angekündigt.
Ein Bericht von SAMUEL GIBBS
The UK wants to encourage the development of driverless
cars, it was announced earlier this year, with
a multimillion-pound research fund and a review of
the relevant laws relating to road safety. Business minister
Vince Cable said a £10 million fund will be made available
for driverless-car research in the UK, paid for by both
the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)
and the Department for Transport (DFT).
“The excellence of our scientists and engineers has established
the UK as pioneers in the development of driverless
vehicles through pilot projects,” Cable said at the
end of July. “Today’s announcement will see driverless cars
take to our streets in less than six months, putting us at the
forefront of this transformational technology and opening
up new opportunities for our economy and society.”
The DFT will also begin a review of the laws governing
road use, including the Highway Code and the Road
Safety Act, to allow the testing of driverless cars on public
roads, Cable said while visiting the technology and engineering
company Mira in Nuneaton, central England.
Two types of testing will be reviewed for public roads:
fully autonomous cars without a driver, and cars with a
qualified driver who could take control at any time. This
would be similar to laws in the US, where driverless cars
have been tested on public roads since 2011 in some
states. The review process will close with a report presented
to government by the end of 2014, a spokesperson
for DFT told The Guardian.
The £10 million fund will be supervised by the UK’s
innovation agency, the Technology Strategy Board. Interested
local research institutions will be able to apply for
funding by submitting a business case, paired with a local
city or authority, describing why driverless cars are a realistic
transport solution in their area.
Three cities will be selected to hold trials, starting in
January 2015, with each test lasting between 18 and 36
months. The deadline for research applications will be
1 October 2014. The fund was first announced by the
finance minister, George Osborne, last December as part
of the national infrastructure plan.
forefront [(fO:frVnt]
Highway Code [)haIweI (kEUd] UK
Road Safety Act
[rEUd (seIfti Äkt] UK
Technology Strategy Board
[tek)nQlEdZi (strÄtEdZi bO:d] UK
Spitze
Straßenverkehrsordnung
Straßenverkehrssicherheitsgesetz
Stelle für Technologiestrategie
Fotos: Alamy; Volkswagen AG
22
Spotlight 10|14

A CLOSER LOOK
Britain’s Automobile Association (the AA), like ADAC
in Germany and AAA in the United States, is a drivers’
association that sells insurance and roadside assistance
cover, as well as a variety of other products. One of its
best-known services is its hotel ratings system. The AA
was started in Britain in 1905 as a motorists’ lobby to
help drivers find ways of avoiding police speed traps.
There were 100 members in 1905; today, its membership
is in the millions.
The Google driverless car hit the headlines in May
this year, when the search giant announced a brand-new
bespoke prototype design. The UK has various groups
already working on driverless-car technology, including
engineers at the University of Oxford and the Mira company,
which provides autonomous vehicle technology to
the military and which has been testing driverless cars on
an 850-acre site in the Midlands.
“Today’s announcement takes us closer to seeing fully
autonomous vehicles on our roads, but it will take some
time for them to become commonplace,” said Edmund
King, president of the Automobile Association (AA).
“Cars are becoming more automated with the introduction
of assistance systems to aid parking; keeping a
safe distance from the car in front; and lane departure
warning systems,” said David Bruce, director of AA Cars.
“However, there is a big leap of faith needed by drivers
from embracing assistance systems to accepting the fully
automated car. Two-thirds of AA members still enjoy
driving too much to want a fully automated car.”
“Driverless cars have a huge potential to transform the
UK’s transport network — they could improve safety, reduce
congestion and lower emissions, particularly CO 2
,”
said the transport minister, Claire Perry, who committed
to the regulatory review of road law.
“Britain is brilliantly placed to lead the world in driverless
technology,” said the science minister, Greg Clark.
“It combines our strengths in cars, satellites, big data and
urban design; with huge potential benefits for future jobs
and for the consumer.”
Testing of driverless cars on public roads is expected to
begin in 2015, although the DFT could not provide any
information on timing beyond report submission to the
government by the end of 2014.
One of the driverless
cars from the engineering
company Mira
“This competition for funding has the potential to
establish the UK as the global hub for the development
and testing of driverless vehicles in real-world urban environments,
helping to deepen our understanding of the
impact on road users and wider society,” said Iain Gray,
chief executive of the Technology Strategy Board.
“The ability to test driverless cars at scale, when married
to the UK’s unique strengths in transport technologies
and urban planning, will also attract further investment,
helping to establish new design and manufacturing
supply chains, driving forward UK economic growth,”
Gray said.
Dr Geoff Davis, chief commercial and technical officer
of Mira, said he welcomed the news.
“Our 10 years of experience developing driverless-car
solutions, with successful applications in defence and
security as well as cooperative systems in road transport
applications, means we are already working on a number
of projects that explore the potential of connected and
cooperative driverless cars,” Davis said.
© Guardian News & Media 2014
High-tech cars are
being tested
acre [(eIkE] Morgen (ca. 4047 m 2 )
application [)ÄplI(keIS&n]
Anwendung
at scale [Et (skeI&l]
hier: unter echten Bedingungen
bespoke [bi(spEUk] UK
maßgeschneidert, nach Maß
chief executive
Hauptgeschäftsführer(in)
[tSi:f Ig(zekjUtIv]
commit to sth. [kE(mIt tE]
sich für etw. engagieren, sich
zu etw. verpflichten
commonplace [(kQmEnpleIs] alltäglich, normal
congestion [kEn(dZestSEn] Stau, Verkehrsbelastung
cover [(kVvEr] UK
Deckung
drive sth. forward
etw. vorantreiben
[draIv (fO:wEd]
embrace sth. [Im(breIs]
etw. annehmen
hub [hVb]
Zentrum, Knotenpunkt
lane departure warning system Spur(halte)assistent
[)leIn di)pA:tSE (wO:nIN )sIstEm]
leap of faith [)li:p Ev (feIT] Vertrauensvorschuss
lower [(lEUE]
reduzieren
married to [(mÄrid tE]
hier: in Verbindung mit
regulatory review
behördliche Überprüfung
[regju)leItEri ri(vju:]
roadside assistance
Pannendienst
[)rEUdsaId E(sIstEns]
10|14 Spotlight 23

FOOD | Native American Cooking
Native delights
Chef John Sharpe and his
restaurant at La Posada
Hotel in Arizona; Hopi
hummus with piki bread
Blauer Mais und Churro-Lamm – ein britischer Koch entdeckt die Kochzutaten
der Ureinwohner Arizonas neu und kreiert eine ganz eigene traditionell orientierte Küche.
Von INEZ SHARP
British-born chef John Sharpe runs The Turquoise
Room Restaurant at La Posada Hotel in Winslow,
Arizona. The menu contains many dishes typical of
the south-western US, such as barbecue chicken and tortillas,
but also foods traditionally eaten by the local Navajo
and Hopi peoples. Sharpe has long dedicated himself
to using local produce, but reviving the fare of the native
tribes of northern Arizona is also a mission that is close to
his heart. Here, he talks to Spotlight about his passion for
understanding and sourcing these traditional foods.
Spotlight: Where did your interest in local foods begin?
John Sharpe: I think that comes from my childhood.
I grew up in the north of England after the Second
World War. Back then, we had chickens at home, and
we grew all of our own vegetables, too. My family were
coal miners, and growing your own food was a part of
life in County Durham in those days. There was nothing
much to buy in the stores or at the markets.
Spotlight: You’ve worked as a chef all over Europe and
now for many years in the US. How did you become
interested in the food of Native Americans?
Sharpe: In the 1990s, I had a restaurant called the Topaz
Cafe at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California.
Most of the collections in the museum have to do with
indigenous peoples. The curator, Dr Paul Apodaca, an
expert in Native American tribes, invited me to attend
a bird-calling powwow out in the Californian desert.
There were foods at the powwow that I had never seen
before, and I remember thinking: here I am, a European
chef; I have gone through all the fusion cuisines
of Asia, the Middle East, France and Japan. I am in
America now. Perhaps I should start looking inward.
So that’s what I did. In the summer of 1993, with
Paul’s help, I decided to do Native American feasts in
the gardens of the Bowers Museum. At the first feast, I
think we had 36 people. By 1999, we were doing five
feasts each summer with up to 300 guests. So that really
got me involved in Native American food.
Spotlight: Then, in 2000, you moved to northern Arizona
to open The Turquoise Room in Winslow — deep
in the heart of Navajo and Hopi country. What produce
did you discover here?
fare [feE]
feast [fi:st]
fusion cuisine
[)fju:Z&n kwI(zi:n]
indigenous peoples
[In)dIdZEnEs (pi:p&lz]
hier: Kost, Verpflegung
Festessen
Fusionsküche (Kombination unterschiedlicher
Esskulturen und Kochkünste)
Naturvölker, indigene Völker
look inward [lUk (InwEd]
native tribe [)neItIv (traIb]
peoples [(pi:p&lz]
produce [(prQdju:s]
revive [ri(vaIv]
source sth. [sO:s]
innehalten
Ureinwohnerstamm
Völker
Erzeugnisse
wiederaufleben lassen
etw. beziehen
Fotos: The Turquoise Room
24
Spotlight 10|14

Sharpe: Churro lamb would be one — it’s among the
most unique foods I’ve ever tasted. This breed of sheep
came to the Americas with the Spanish in the 1500s,
along with a number of other breeds, but this one
survived the sparsity of vegetation and dryness of the
landscape and became part of Navajo folklore. In fact,
there’s a Navajo phrase which means “sheep is life”.
Spotlight: What makes Churro lamb special to you as a
chef?
Sharpe: It’s very small and scrawny lamb — we believe
it originated in the Pyrenees — and it matures late,
at around 18 months. The strong taste of the lanolin
that comes when lamb becomes mutton doesn’t
occur until the Churro is
well over a year old. Also,
in most other breeds, the
strong-tasting oil lies between
the meat tissues, but
in the Churro, it’s around
the organs. So the meat
tends to be sweeter and less
pungent.
Spotlight: Who breeds the
lambs these days and how
did you create a supply of
meat?
Sharpe: Well, it was tricky
to begin with. They certainly
didn’t welcome
me here with open arms,
and there were only small
flocks of these sheep being
raised in remote areas on
local reservations. Then
Dr Gary Nabhan, a wellknown
so ciologist and anthropologist
in this region,
came to the restaurant one
night. He was quite taken
by what I was doing, and
he organized a meeting of shepherds in a place called
Leupp. From that point, it was a slow process of gaining
the shepherds’ trust. I had to make sure they were
paid fairly for their produce, for example. Now, I have
a number of shepherds supplying me with meat: two
Navajo ladies who are also weavers and have their own
A CLOSER LOOK
Traditional piki bread is made by the Hopi peoples using
blue corn. The corn is first ground to a powder, then
mixed with water and the ashes of local trees. Then it is
spread out very thinly on a heated stone, covered with
oil and baked. When it is finished, it is rolled or folded
and is ready to eat.
flocks, and three men and another shepherd in New
Mexico. So that food source has grown into a staple on
my lunch and dinner menu every day, 365 days a year.
Spotlight: You also serve some
very special bread. Can you tell
us about that?
Sharpe: That’s right, the piki
bread. It started through a
traditional Hopi feast that I attended.
It was part of a workshop
on agriculture and food in
a Hopi village, Kykotsmovi. I
made the dishes using all-Hopi
ingredients, but with what you
might call my own “twist”. The
A south-western speciality: sweetcorn tamales
feast was very well received, and
I began working with the ladies
from the Kykotsmovi school
kitchen — we began cooking
one day a week at the local elder
centre. All these ladies, being
very traditional Hopi, made
their own piki bread. As with
the shepherds, they slowly came
to trust me.
Now, many years later, I have
probably close to a dozen women
who make piki bread for me,
so that I can have it on the menu
A meat dish served at The Turquoise Room
every day in the restaurant. You
know, the people in this region have a great cultural
diversity, and they have been feeding themselves for
thousands of years from this incredibly inhospitable
landscape. So when I came here, I looked at what I
could incorporate into this restaurant to make it truly
reflect the region.
blue corn [blu: (kO:n]
breed [bri:d]
diversity [daI(v§:sEti]
elder centre [(eldE )sentE]
flock [flQk]
grind [graInd]
inhospitable [)InhQ(spItEb&l]
mature [mE(tSUE]
blauer Mais
Rasse
Vielfalt
Seniorenzentrum
Herde
mahlen
unwirtlich, ungastlich
heranreifen, auswachsen
mutton [(mVt&n]
pungent [(pVndZEnt]
scrawny [(skrO:ni]
shepherd [(SepEd]
sparsity: ~ of vegetation [(spA:sEti]
staple [(steIp&l]
tissue [(tISu:]
weaver [(wi:vE]
Hammel
streng, penetrant
dürr
Schafhirte, Schafhirtin
spärlicher Pflanzenbewuchs
Hauptnahrungsmittel
Gewebe
Weber(in)
10|14 Spotlight 25

AMY ARGETSINGER | I Ask Myself
Would you ever
forget your baby?
We go
about our
routines as if
we were on
autopilot
Es passiert immer wieder: Eltern vergessen ihr Baby im Auto.
Die Folgen können tödlich sein.
I
can’t imagine that I could ever,
ever, ever leave my baby in the
car. How could I, when her health
and safety is so rarely removed from
the forefront of my brain? For the
first six months, my concern took
over my dreams. Night after night,
I would find myself half awake, my
hands turning over the bedsheets in
an irrational search for her, as if I had
lost her in my sleep — when in fact,
she was safely dozing in her crib.
A tragedy waiting to happen?
I would never lose my baby in the
bedsheets, of course, but if I did, even
my unconscious mind was ready to
rescue her, it seemed. So how could
my fully-awake self, traveling around
town, ever forget her in a car? How
could any parent?
Yet every year, a couple dozen babies
across the US die because their
parents accidentally leave them in a
car. Even mildly warm temperatures
outdoors can quickly create saunalike
heat in a sealed car. It is a brutal
death, akin to being cooked alive.
Authorities are torn over how to deal
with parents who accidentally kill
their children this way. Some choose
to try them in a criminal court, sending
many of these parents to prison
(see Spotlight 8/12, page 38). Others
reason that there is no point in
punishing them: These parents have
suffered enough.
Deaths of this kind started to
happen in significant numbers about
20 years ago, ironically as a result of
well-meaning safety measures. Researchers
determined that small children
are far more likely to survive
car accidents in seats that are not
only in the back — now a legal requirement
in most states — but also
facing backwards, which means that
parents can’t even see their children
from the driver’s seat.
A colleague of mine wrote a story
on the topic five years ago that won
the Pulitzer Prize, US journalism’s
highest honor. In the story, a scientist
explained that when we go about
our daily routines — think of the
morning race to get showered and
dressed, followed by the commute to
work — we are steered by a base part
of our animal brain, as if on autopilot.
Confronted by an unexpected
change in the routine, we continue
to trudge ahead as we did the day before
and the day before that.
accidentally [)ÄksI(dent&li]
akin [E(kIn]
bedsheets [(bedSi:ts]
commute [kE(mju:t]
crib [krIb] N. Am.
criminal court [)krImIn&l (kO:rt]
diaper [(daIp&r] N. Am.
doze [doUz]
forefront [(fO:rfrVnt]
lately [(leItli]
reason [(ri:z&n]
sealed [si:&ld]
torn: be ~ [tO:rn]
trudge [trVdZ]
try sb. [traI]
It’s not as though parents have
forgotten that the baby is in the car.
They simply don’t remember that
they didn’t take him or her out this
time. As one safety expert explained:
“The parent in his or her mind has
dropped off the baby at day care and
thinks the baby is happy, and well
taken care of. Once that’s in your
brain, there is no reason to worry or
check on the baby for the rest of the
day.” I think about the times that I
forgot to lock the door at night. Yes,
maybe I can see how it happens.
Lately, researchers have introduced
techniques to prevent this
problem: weight sensors for car seats,
for example. But the simplest tricks
might work best. Keep a diaper bag
or toy on the front seat to remind
you of the child in the back. Or leave
your cell phone in the back with
your child. Because even if Americans
think they would never, ever
forget their baby, they would truly
never go far without their phones.
Amy Argetsinger is a co-author of
“The Reliable Source,” a column in
The Washington Post about personalities.
aus Versehen, unabsichtlich
ähnlich
Betttücher, Laken, Bettwäsche
Arbeitsweg, Pendelstrecke
Babybett, Babywiege
Strafgericht
Windel
schlummern
vorderste Reihe, Spitze
kürzlich, neulich
hier: argumentieren
verschlossen
hin- und hergerissen sein
trotten, stapfen
jmdn. anklagen, jmdn. vor Gericht stellen
Foto: View Stock
26
Spotlight 10|14

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Green Light

LANGUAGE | Poems
Poetry,
please!
Wer braucht schon Gedichte?
Spotlight-Redakteurin JOANNA WESTCOMBE hat sich mit
dem Grammatikexperten und Dichter Michael Swan darüber
unterhalten, wie Gedichte uns eine neue Sicht auf die Welt
geben und gleichzeitig unterhaltsam sein können.
When did you last read or listen
to a poem? For many
people, poetry is not part
of everyday life. This is ironic, as
poetry can summarize so well what it
means to be human, to have parents,
partners and children, to grow old
and die. According to Britain’s Poet
Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, poems
can provide new ways of seeing. She
calls them “moments in language”
that can celebrate, explore and transform
the good and the sad things in
our lives.
Michael Swan is best known for
his books on teaching and learning
English, such as Practical English Usage.
Many readers will be surprised
to know that he is also a published
poet. Spotlight editor Joanna Westcombe
heard him recite a number of
his poems earlier this year. We hope
you will enjoy reading his thoughts
on poetry and language in the interview
on the following pages, as well
as four of his poems, which Michael
Swan has also kindly recorded for us
(see page 34).
Poet Laureate [)pEUIt (lO:riEt]
recite sth. [ri(saIt]
Hofdichter(in)
etw. vortragen
30 Spotlight 10|14

Linguist and poet:
Michael Swan
The collections:
Michael Swan’s
poetry
Fotos: iStock; PR
Michael Swan works
in English language
teaching and applied
linguistics. His poetry
has also been published
widely and has
won a number of prizes,
as have his translations
of Rainer Maria
Rilke. His two collections,
When They Come
for You and The Shapes
of Things, are available
through his website:
www.mikeswan.co.uk
You are famous for
your work in English
language teaching. Can
you remember how
you became a poet?
I’ve been attracted by poetry for as long as I can remember.
I wasn’t able to write much when I was young (though I
wanted to), because for me poetry is about how I see myself
and the world, and for a long time I didn’t really have
a clear view of either of those things. When I did start
getting things clearer I began writing a lot and found it
very helpful personally. It was therapeutic for me to bring
out some of the strange stuff that was locked in my head,
to find ways of expressing it and to discover that it made
sense to other people.
Is there something special about poets that makes
them different from other people?
Poets vary so much, and poetry is so many different
things, that it’s hard to make any useful generalizations.
Perhaps one thing that poets have in common is that, like
most kinds of artist, they are concerned with “shaping” on
two levels. First of all, they have their own very personal
ways of looking at the world: they see shapes, patterns or
connections that other people may not see. And secondly,
they communicate these perceptions by creating shapes in
their chosen medium — language. So personal vision and
applied linguistics
[E)plaId lIN(gwIstIks]
craft [krA:ft]
crow [krEU]
curlew [(k§:lju:]
deliberately [di(lIbErEtli]
heather [(heDE]
matter [(mÄtE]
meadow [(medEU]
pattern [(pÄt&n]
perception [pE(sepS&n]
angewandte Sprachwissenschaft
Handwerk, Kunst
Krähe
Brachvogel
absichtlich, bewusst
Heide(kraut)
wichtig sein, Bedeutung haben
Wiese
Muster
Wahrnehmung
technical craft are both important. A key point for me is
that a poem needs to say something that matters about
the shape of our confusing world, and to say it in a new
way, not just paint a pretty picture or repeat an everyday
sentiment for the thousandth time.
Can you talk about where your poems come from?
I don’t deliberately look for “inspiration” (whatever that is
exactly). Certainly I never sit down and try to find something
to write about. The way I experience it is that, from
time to time, poems come along and, so to speak, ask to
be written. When that happens, I do my best to express
what I feel the poem wants to say. Often I don’t know
exactly what that is until I’ve finished, and look back to
see what I’ve written. And I don’t always know what the
real starting point for the poem is: sometimes it seems
to come from nowhere; sometimes it begins with just a
phrase or an image that comes into my head; sometimes
it arises from something I have on my mind. The poem
“Bridge” came while I was thinking about certain situations
when I’ve found it impossible to decide between
two courses of action:
Bridge
Such a short little bridge
and you in the middle.
One step forward,
and you are on the mountain
with the heather
the clear streams
the cry of the curlew,
and no way back.
One step back,
and you are in the meadow
with the gentle animals
the young trees
the sweet grass,
and the gate closed.
And you stand there.
Night comes,
and the next day
and the day after,
and still you stand there,
till the black crows arrive.
10|14 Spotlight 31

LANGUAGE | Poems
What goes on inside you when you are writing
poetry?
It’s hard to say. There are experiences that you can’t talk
about while they’re happening, and that you can’t remember
clearly once they’re over. For me, poetry is one of
these. Mostly I write quickly, in a special state of mind
that I can’t recapture afterwards. But some poets I know
work quite differently: they write slowly and carefully,
with much more conscious attention to what they are
doing.
You’ve been writing poetry for many years. What
themes do you keep returning to?
I don’t generally write nature poetry or other kinds of lyric
poetry. I’m mostly interested in trying to make sense of
our deeply confusing world:
Everything is joined
Pick a blackberry,
and you are walking up steps
into a square
where your childhood
paused for a second.
Buy a newspaper,
and you are in a cafe
facing the door,
your cup half-empty, forgotten,
as your head spins with love.
Pick up the cup,
and you are playing the violin
very badly
in a dusty cellar.
How can you think of any one person,
or glance at your shoes,
or take a breath, even?
From a book
That child,
they said,
always has his head buried
in a book.
True enough.
I learnt many things from books.
Rock-climbing, for instance,
though the rocks,
it became clear later,
had not read the same book.
Similar issues arose
in the swimming-pool
and on the dance floor.
Love was a particular problem.
The text
was in an unknown language,
though the book
had many attractive illustrations.
And life.
Quite useless, this one,
and the last page missing.
Problems with communication are a recurrent theme.
I rarely express personal feelings directly; they’re usually
implied by the content of the poem, which is often a kind
of story. I frequently use humour, but mostly for quite
serious purposes, such as in the poem “From a book”:
blackberry [(blÄkbEri]
conscious [(kQnSEs]
glance [glA:ns]
imply [Im(plaI]
recapture [ri:(kÄptSE]
recurrent [ri(kVrEnt]
spin [spIn]
state of mind [)steIt Ev (maInd]
Brombeere
bewusst
(flüchtig) blicken
beinhalten, einschließen
etw. wieder heraufbeschwören
wiederkehrend
sich (schnell) drehen
Gemütsverfassung,
Bewusstseinszustand
32
Spotlight 10|14

Rainer Maria
Rilke (left); Wilfred
Owen (below)
Do you think that your work with the English
language and language teaching has influenced your
poetry (or the other way round)?
The two activities really come off different batteries, but
they certainly have things in common. In both areas I aim
for clarity, simplicity, economy and interest. In poetry I
like to use very ordinary language — I dislike writing that
is deliberately “poetic”, and I get irritated by obscurity.
(I’m not saying these things are bad; they just don’t work
for me.) A lot of my poetry seems very simple on the surface;
but the simplicity can be deceptive.
Sometimes the two sides fight. Here’s the poet laughing
at the language specialist:
The linguist
“Please forgive me,”
he said in Welsh
“for not speaking your language well.”
They cheered him to the echo.
“Excuse my ignorance
of your subtle and elegant idiom,”
he said in Japanese
to the welcoming committee.
They were lost in admiration.
“I am embarrassed
at my poor command of Icelandic,”
he confessed
to deafening applause.
“Be so good
as to make allowances
for my lack of fluency.”
The Manchurian delegation
was spellbound.
“Please forgive me,”
he said to his wife
“for my frequent absences.”
She did not appear to understand.
Many people
would
say poetry
in a foreign
language is
difficult.
Not necessarily:
it depends
on the poem.
In any language
there are poems that
are perfectly easy for foreign
readers, and others that are
difficult even for native speakers.
Compare Goethe’s “Über allen
Gipfeln ...” with one of Rilke’s Duineser Elegien,
or a typical piece by Wendy Cope with one by T. S. Eliot.
Do you have some personal favourites among other
poets?
Among modern (more or less) English-speaking poets, I
like Wilfred Owen (the great poet of the First World
War), Dylan Thomas (when I can understand him),
Stevie Smith, some of Ted Hughes (especially his
sequence Crow), Wendy Cope, and the “American
Laureate” Billy Collins. But the poet whose work I
like most of all is Polish: the Nobel Prize winner
Wisława Szymborska (1923–2012). I
want to write like
her when I grow
up. Who else?
Villon, Brassens,
Holub, Sorescu,
Rilke (when I can
understand him),
and that wonderful
crazy German
poet Christian
Morgenstern.
Is there a poem germinating in your
head at the moment?
Several, but they’re not doing much
right now. Perhaps they need watering.
Fotos: amana images; iStock; Polka Dot
absence [(ÄbsEns]
admiration [)ÄdmE(reIS&n]
allowance [E(laUEns]
battery [(bÄtri]
cheer sb. [tSIE]
clarity [(klÄrEti]
command [kE(mA:nd]
confess [kEn(fes]
deafening [(def&nIN]
deceptive [di(septIv]
Abwesenheit
Bewunderung
hier: Zugeständnis
hier: (Energie-)Quelle
jmdm. zujubeln
Klarheit, Deutlichkeit
hier: Beherrschung
gestehen, beichten
ohrenbetäubend
trügerisch
embarrassed [Im(bÄrEst]
fluency [(flu:Ensi]
germinate [(dZ§:mIneIt]
lack [lÄk]
obscurity [Eb(skjUErEti]
spellbound [(spelbaUnd]
subtle [(sVt&l]
surface [(s§:fIs]
verlegen, peinlich berührt
hier: fließende Beherrschung
(auf)keimen; hier: im Werden
begriffen sein
Mangel
Unverständlichkeit, Unklarheit,
Dunkel
fasziniert, hingerissen
fein, subtil
Oberfläche
10|14 Spotlight 33

LANGUAGE | Poems
If you could write the perfect poem,
in what form would it be, and what
would it be about?
The rhythm and sound patterns would
be simple in appearance, but in reality
deeply complex and totally satisfying.
In ten lines, the poem would sum up,
completely and with great beauty, the
whole of human experience; no one would ever need to
write a poem again. Its message would be so profound
that it would change everyone’s lives. Poverty and unhappiness
would disappear, and there would be no more
wars. I’m working on it.
You also translate poetry. Can you tell us some of the
challenges?
It varies. If the ideas are straightforward, and the original
poem is in a relatively free form, it may be quite easy to
find a reasonable equivalent. It’s much harder when the
effect of the original depends on formal qualities such as
a complicated rhythmic pattern or a strict rhyme scheme,
or when there are culture-specific references. In those
cases you find yourself juggling rhyme, rhythm and sense,
and something always gets lost. Rilke is usually badly
trans lated into English because
the translators concentrate on the
meaning at the expense of the
sound — but rhythmic flow and
sound patterning are central to
the effect of Rilke’s verse.
THE POET’S VOICE
You can listen to Michael Swan reading the poems
“Everything is joined” and “The linguist” at
www.spotlight-online.de/audio. On Spotlight Audio, he reads
“Bridge” and “From a book”. Here’s how to make the most of a
poet’s voice:
• Find somewhere quiet to listen. The connection between
the poet and you, the listener, will be enhanced if you are relaxed
and in a peaceful environment.
• Listen first. If you can, listen before you follow the text in
writing. It will help you concentrate better on the quality of
the poet or speaker’s voice, and the flow of the poem will not
be interrupted. Try closing your eyes as you listen.
• Don’t worry about understanding and meaning. As you
listen, simply allow the sounds and words to enter your head.
Replay the recording a few times in this way.
• Listen again with the text. Use a dictionary if necessary.
Try “shadow reading” — speaking the words of the poem, and
trying to follow the rhythm and tone of the speaker.
enhanced [In(hA:nst]
juggle [(dZVg&l]
profound [prE(faUnd]
reference [(ref&rEns]
straightforward [)streIt(fO:wEd]
verse [v§:s]
verbessert, verstärkt
hier: versuchen, unter einen
Hut zu bringen
tiefgründig
Bezug, Verweis
einfach, unkompliziert
hier: Dichtung, Poesie
34
Spotlight 10|14

Where could a learner of English start with poetry?
A good starting point is an anthology, where you can find very different kinds
of poem by very different poets, so you just turn the pages, stopping at poems
that catch your interest and passing over those that seem uninteresting or difficult.
Two wonderful collections are Staying Alive and Being Alive, edited by
Neil Astley and published by Bloodaxe.
How would you like to be remembered: as a grammarian, as a poet, or as
something else?
Hold it! It sounds as if you’re making notes for my obituary. I’m planning
to die peacefully at the age of 120, and there’s a long way to go. In any case,
I don’t consider myself as “a grammarian” or as “a poet” or as an example of
some other fill-in-the-blank category. Like anyone else, I’m just a person who
is and does a lot of things. For me, these include working with grammar (as
one part of my professional activity), and writing poetry, but I don’t feel these
define what I am, any more than the fact that I like walking in the mountains,
listening to Scottish folk music, drinking malt whisky and reading thrillers.
How will I be remembered? With affection, I hope, by the people I’ve been
close to.
*
If you enjoyed reading and listening to these poems, why not pay The Poetry
Archive a visit? This is an ever growing audio library of poetry, where many
poets read their own work. One of the first poets to be recorded was a former
Poet Laureate, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, in 1890. Where there is no such
recording, the poems are read by modern-day poets or actors. The aim of the
site is to make poetry accessible to everyone — part of the site is devoted to
children’s poetry, for example. As well as the poems, you’ll find lots of information
about studying poetry, a glossary of terms and high-quality lesson
ideas for teachers. www.poetryarchive.org
affection [E(fekS&n]
devoted [di(vEUtId]
fill-in-the-blank [)fIl In DE (blÄNk]
obituary [E(bItSuEri]
Zuneigung, Liebe
gewidmet
hier: x-beliebig
Nachruf
Fotos: Hemera; iStock
INFO
“Bridge” and “From a book” are taken from
The Shapes of Things and are reproduced by permission
of Oversteps Books: www.overstepsbooks.com
“Everything is joined” is taken from When They Come
for You, reproduced by permission of Frogmore Press:
www.frogmorepress.co.uk
27. Internationale Messe für
Sprachen und Kulturen
21. – 22. November 2014
10:00 – 18:00 Uhr
RHWK • Friedrichstraße 176 – 179 • 10117 Berlin
Veranstalter
www.expolingua.com
10|14 Spotlight 35

PETER FLYNN | Around Oz
October is different
Der Oktober ist ein Monat ohne Glanz und Gloria, er hat
kaum Feiertage und ist auch sonst unauffällig.
Thank
goodness
October lasts
only a
month
October is a motherless month.
Nobody loves it. It’s an inbetween
time.
In the northern hemisphere,
summer is over and Christmas is
about the only thing to look forward
to, unless you like sub-zero temperatures.
Here, in the Antipodes, this
is a nothing time. We’d like to think
winter has passed, but the truth is
we’ll have more rain, cold weather
and even late snow in spring before
the sun shines through.
For our schoolkids and university
students, this is a difficult month.
Final assignments will be due in the
coming weeks, and then it’s exam
time before the study year closes.
No, there’s nothing glamorous
about October. Nobody wants to
own the month (unlike July, named
after Julius Caesar, or August after
Emperor Augustus), nor does it signify
anything special. October just
stands for number eight in the old
Roman calendar, the way September
stands for “seven”, November “nine”
and December “ten”. Maybe the
Romans just ran out of imagination
after starting the year so well with
Janus, the god of beginnings.
Really, I can’t think of anything
special that happens in the world in
October. There’s no Christmas or
solstice. Not even the Oktoberfest
is really in October, as we all know.
Let’s change the name to Fest des
Septembers, when it always begins.
Sure, the Day of German Unity
is celebrated on 3 October, but the
fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November
1989 — when I was still living
in Germany — is for me a far more
symbolic day. I distinctly remember
my young German wife sitting on
the couch crying tears of relief and
joy back then.
Halloween is really a November
holiday, too; it just gets into October
on the very last day. Halloween
derives from an old Celtic festival
in honour of the dead. It was then
morphed by Roman Catholics into
a “hallowed” day for all the saints
whom nobody could name or remember.
And guess what? All Saints’
Day is on 1 November. It sounds as
if someone was just feeling sorry for
poor old October.
October is really a pretty grey
month, when bad things can happen.
The world’s worst stock market
collapses occurred in October: first
in 1929 — leading to the Great Depression
— and then Black Monday
in 1987. Lehman Brothers officially
went bankrupt in mid-September
2008, but by October, the fallout
had become known as the global
financial crisis. Large parts of the
world are still paying for that.
Could the role of October just be
an in-between-main-seasons thing?
Well, March doesn’t have those problems,
even though it takes its name
from Mars, the god of war. In the
north, spring is in the air; down under,
March marks the end of the heat
before a slow cooling into autumn.
The Easter holidays are just around
the corner. Believe it or not, there’s
even an international Day of Happiness
in March.
No, October is different. So if
you are feeling a bit sad, you really
can blame it on October. Thank
goodness it lasts only a month.
Peter Flynn is a public-relations consultant
and social commentator who lives in Perth,
Western Australia.
Day of German Unity
[)deI Ev )dZ§:mEn (ju:nEti]
derive from sth. [di(raIv frEm]
distinctly [dI(stINktli]
fallout [(fO:laUt]
final assignment [)faIn&l E(saInmEnt]
hallowed [(hÄlEUd]
in-between [)In bi(twi:n]
in the Antipodes [)In Di Än(tIpEdi:z]
last [lA:st]
morph [mO:f]
relief [ri(li:f]
signify [(sIgnIfaI]
solstice [(sQlstIs]
stock market [(stQk )mA:kIt]
thank goodness [TÄNk (gUdnEs]
unless [En(les]
Tag der Deutschen Einheit
von etw. abstammen
deutlich
hier: negative Auswirkungen
Abschlussarbeit
geheiligt
zwischendrin, Zwischen-
hier: in Australien und Neuseeland
dauern, währen
umwandeln
Erleichterung
bedeuten
Sonnenwende
Aktienmarkt, Börse
Gott sei Dank!
außer, es sei denn
Spring can still be cold in Australia
Foto: iStock
36
Spotlight 10|14

Mehr Sprache können Sie
nirgendwo shoppen.
Kompetent. Persönlich. Individuell.
Alles, was Sie wirklich brauchen, um eine Sprache zu lernen:
Bücher und DVDs in Originalsprache, Lernsoftware und vieles mehr.
Klicken und Produktvielfalt entdecken:
www.sprachenshop.de

DEBATE | Canada
The future of
public broadcasting
Harte Zeiten für den kanadischen öffentlichen Sender CBC: Budgetkürzungen in Kombination mit
harter Konkurrenz von gewerblichen Sendern und dem Internet. Lohnt es sich da noch, ihn weiter
zu finanzieren?
In today’s digital world, public broadcasting is looking
rather old-fashioned. Anyone searching for the latest
news or entertainment has only to go online to find
a limitless supply of both — and mostly free of charge.
This means that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
(CBC), which gets the majority of its funding from taxpayers,
is under pressure to justify its existence.
Essentially, public broadcasting exists to inform, educate
and entertain citizens. The CBC and its French division,
Radio Canada, have fulfilled this honourable role
for nearly eight decades. Recently, however, the broadcaster
has gone through depressing times. Government
cuts and the loss of important ice hockey broadcasting
rights have left a CAN$ 130 million hole in its budget.
As a result, there will be a 20 per cent reduction of
staff over the next five years. News programmes will be
cut, documentary production reduced and the CBC’s use
of real estate will be halved. Official statements from the
broadcaster focus on positive aspects, especially a greater
emphasis on digital and mobile services. However, company
morale is at an all-time low. Is this the beginning
of the end for the national broadcaster? It’s a polarizing
issue. On the one hand, opponents see the CBC as an
earnest [(§:nIst]
free of charge [)fri: Ev (tSA:dZ]
gravitas [(grÄvItÄs]
gruel [(gru:El]
investigative journalism
[In)vestIgEtIv (dZ§:nE)lIzEm]
matter [(mÄtE]
no matter [nEU (mÄtE]
public broadcasting
[)pVblIk (brO:dkA:stIN]
real estate [(rIEl I)steIt] N. Am.
staff [stA:f]
taxpayer [(tÄks)peIE]
unifying force [)ju:nIfaIIN (fO:s]
unintentionally [)VnIn(tenS&nEli]
viewer [(vju:E]
viewing figures [(vju:IN )fIgEz]
watch out for sb. [wQtS (aUt fE]
ernst, ernsthaft
gebührenfrei
Würde, Bedeutsamkeit
Haferschleim
Enthüllungsjournalismus
Angelegenheit
ganz gleich, ganz egal
öffentliches Fernsehen,
öffentlicher Rundfunk
Grundstücks- und Hausbesitz
Personal
Steuerzahler(in)
vereinigende Kraft
ungewollt, versehentlich
Zuschauer(in)
Einschaltquoten
sich vor jmdm. vorsehen
Under pressure: public
broadcasting in Canada
elitist anachronism with little to offer modern audiences
— the people who are paying for its existence. On the
other hand, many Canadians have a great sense of loyalty
towards the public broadcaster and value the quality
of its news and investigative journalism units. They also
point to CBC’s focus on Canadian content as a unifying
force in that huge nation. Commenting in The Globe and
Mail, one CBC employee remarked: “The CBC makes us
a community. No matter where you go in Canada, you
are in the neighbourhood.”
At a time when viewing figures are decreasing, the
CBC needs its supporters more than ever. But Globe and
Mail columnist John Doyle says it needs to watch out for
“sincere people” who would unintentionally have it move
backwards with earnest calls for more serious content.
Such people would have commercial channels provide the
glamour, while the CBC provides “the gruel that’s good
for you”. “No, thanks,” Doyle says. The broadcaster needs
gravitas and populism.
Public or private, these are tough times for the industry
in general. In the era of Netflix and Apple TV, all are
fighting for their future. In many ways, the CBC may have
everything to play for — if it is smart. And that means not
being afraid to be different. After all, in these fast-moving
times, it will not only be a matter of informing, educating
and entertaining, but also surprising viewers.
Fotos: Getty Images; L. Mallinder
38
Spotlight 10|14

Listen to George, Sarah, Michelle and Philip
Lorraine Mallinder asked people in Montreal:
Is there still a need for public broadcasting?
George Barker, 43,
chef
In this day [and age], when
people go on the internet on
to YouTube for their news
and entertainment, I really
don’t see any need for public
broadcasting. In fact, I think
CBC is a complete waste of
taxpayers’ money.
Sarah Cousineau-Wild,
25, student
Public broadcasting more
and more today is absolutely
important. More than ever ...
we need to get the straight
facts from people ... we trust,
which are programmes paid
for by the people for the
people.
Michelle Palmer, 28,
teacher
If I’m paying for something, I
definitely want to see things
that affect my life and my
society, and that’s not really
what’s reflected on CBC.
It’s a very watered-down,
bubblegum-type version of
the Canadian experience.
Philip Henry, 68,
retiree
The CBC should focus on
more of the arts and cultural
programming and leave the
sort of regular ... populist
programming for private
networks, because I think
they’re trying to do both,
and it’s not working.
Gilles-Daniel Adams, 43,
systems engineer
CBC is more interested in
ratings than in providing a
good public service. It should
be more about learning and
giving information on new
laws and current events.
With its current format, it
shouldn’t be publicly funded.
Jacqueline Heaton, 55,
teacher
Not only is it necessary,
it’s also very interesting. It
gives a wide-ranging global
perspective, which I haven’t
found elsewhere. It’s varied
and engaging, and CBC radio
offers a wide selection of
music, like classical and jazz.
Zoe Preston, 30,
costume assistant
I listen to CBC radio, and
often it’s just reruns that I’ve
heard before. I feel that we
are a nation, but sometimes
CBC’s focus is extremely
broad. It’d be nice to feel
that you’re listening to some
relatively local content.
Richard Nakashima, 56,
security guard
I think so, because we need
to continue broadcasting
Canadian content. It keeps
the land unified. We’re
culturally different from any
other country, so it’s very
important for our future that
we preserve our culture.
chef [Sef]
Koch, Köchin
rerun [(ri:rVn]
Wiederholung
content [(kQntent]
Inhalt(e)
retiree [ri)taIE(ri:]
Rentner(in)
engaging [In(geIdZIN]
einnehmend, fesselnd
security guard [sI(kjUErEti gA:d]
Sicherheitsbedienstete(r)
preserve [pri(z§:v]
erhalten, schützen
straight [streIt]
ehrlich, unverfälscht
rating [(reItIN]
Einschaltquote
wide-ranging [)waId (reIndZIN]
breit gefächert
10|14 Spotlight 39

HISTORY | 190 Years Ago
Into the
unknown
Vor 200 Jahren war Australien noch unberührte Wildnis.
Expeditionen ins Landesinnere sollten beweisen, dass es dort für
Europäer neues Siedlungsland gab. Von MIKE PILEWSKI
Gateway to exploration: the Blue Mountains behind Sydney
The 900-kilometre journey
from Sydney to Melbourne
takes only about nine hours
today. But the first time anyone
made it, it took 11 weeks.
Melbourne did not exist when
Hamilton Hume, William Hovell
and six other men set off 190 years
ago this month. There was only a
large bay on Australia’s southern
coast, which ships had just begun
to explore. What lay between this
bay and the distant colony to the
north-east was unknown to any
European. A chain of mountains
made the interior of the continent
seem impossible to reach.
Sooner or later, though, it would have to be reached.
Sydney, established in 1788 as the first European colony
in Australia, was expanding rapidly, and with it the need
for farmland and grazing land. In 1813, a seven-man team
Gebüsch, Gestrüpp
Weideland
aufteilen
Grünland, Weideland
Ebene
aufbrechen
Gutachter(in), Landvermesser(in)
Acker-
enorm, riesig
brush [brVS]
grazing land [(greIzIN lÄnd]
parcel out [)pA:s&l (aUt]
pasture land [(pA:stSE lÄnd]
plain [pleIn]
set off [set (Qf]
surveyor [sE(veIE]
tillage [(tIlIdZ]
vast [vA:st]
Hume’s expedition (lower
route) and that of another in 1829
led by Gregory Blaxland climbed the Blue
Mountains behind Sydney, cutting a path
through the brush and reaching the plains
beyond in three weeks. Walking through
grass nearly a metre high, the men found
a vast area that was unexpectedly cool and
wet. Some of it was forested and populated
by kangaroos. A surveyor sent out by colonial governor
Lachlan Macquarie to confirm the expedition’s findings
said the land was “equal to every demand which this colony
may have for an extension of tillage and pasture lands
for a century to come”.
The land was parcelled out liberally, however, and
only 11 years would pass before the next governor of New
South Wales, Thomas Brisbane, requested another expedition
in search of more land for farms and pastures.
Twenty-seven-year-old Hamilton Hume, born in Australia
of Welsh colonists, was asked to lead the new expedition.
Since his boyhood, he’d been exploring parts of
New South Wales. Unable to convince the government
to pay for the journey, Hume accepted financial support
Fotos: Bridgeman; DIAgentur/Elke Stolt; Mauritius
40
Spotlight 10|14

and equipment from a former navy captain, William
Hovell, who wanted to join him on the mission. Hume
and Hovell each chose three convicts to assist them; these
were promised a governor’s pardon upon their return.
Brisbane wanted them to go west, to present-day Adelaide,
but Hume and Hovell felt it was more realistic to
go south-west, to a point near what is now Melbourne.
On 2 October 1824, they departed from Hume’s
house in Appin, 75 kilometres south of Sydney, and travelled
another 200 kilometres to Hume’s station, north
of present-day Canberra. This was the furthest point of
Western civilization.
Crossing hills and grassland, the men made notes
about the good quality of the soil. But on 19 October,
after they entered a forest, the land became “broken, irregular
and precipitous”. To cross the turbulent Murrumbidgee
River, they took the wheels off one of their carts
and covered it with a tarpaulin in order to use it as a raft.
On the other side of the river, the terrain was rocky and
steep. Unable to find a route across the mountains, Hume
and Hovell got into an intense argument. They divided
their equipment, but having only one frying pan, fought
over it until they broke it in half, one taking the handle
and the other the rest of the pan. Hovell and Hume set off
in opposite directions, but when Hovell reached the edge
of a cliff, he had to turn round and rejoin Hume.
With more mountains ahead, the men left their carts
behind and hid some of their supplies. After a few days,
they reached a relatively flat, elevated area of forest, full
of wombat holes; this gave way to swampland. Crossing
countless streams and rivers, they encountered large
numbers of kangaroos and increasing numbers of native
people. “They were several times hailed, but could not,
although they replied, be induced to approach,” the men
wrote in their journal on 4 November.
Weeks of mountainous terrain followed, until on 20
November — after another argument between Hume and
Hovell — the expedition crossed the Murray River in an
improvised boat.
The mountains on the other side were full of stony
ground and thick forest. “The hoofs of the horses are sadly
broken, and the feet of the cattle are so swollen that
they are at present unfit for travelling,” was the report
for 8 December. Tall grass with sharp blades, called “cutting
grass”, made it painful for the men to continue as
Modern times: Hume and Hovell’s
route is now the Hume Highway
well. Unable even to see what lay ahead, they named the
mountain they were on “Mount Disappointment”.
The rest of the route was, fortunately, downhill and
easy. The terrain expanded into broad plains with good
soil and plenty of rivers and streams. On 16 December,
the men reached the sea. Aborigines there told them that
Europeans had been seen in the area before, confirming
that this was the spot the expedition had aimed to reach.
With the potential for settlement now beyond doubt,
further expeditions were organized. Settlers and squatters
followed immediately, and Britain officially claimed all of
Australia for itself.
The land was, of course, not uninhabited. Hume and
Hovell had frequently encountered Aboriginal huts, footprints,
fires and the people themselves. Often it was the
presence of Aborigines that gave the explorers clues about
where they could go.
While those encounters had been peaceful, the arrival
of settlers in the hinterland quickly led to brutal conflicts.
By 1845, most of the Aborigines had been killed or displaced.
Settlers arrived in greater and greater numbers,
many of them coming by boat from Tasmania to the area
around Melbourne.
By the time Victoria became a separate colony from
New South Wales in 1851, Melbourne had a population
of 23,000, with another 50,000 people — and six million
sheep — living in the hinterland of Victoria.
Today, the route taken by Hume and Hovell is easy to
follow. It is, generally speaking, the route of the four-lane
highway that connects Sydney and Melbourne. Mount
Disappointment, which had brought Hume and Hovell
almost to breaking point, is now a popular destination
for hikers.
cart [kA:t]
cliff [klIf]
convict [(kQnvIkt]
displace [dIs(pleIs]
elevated [(elIveItId]
hail sb. [heI&l]
hiker [(haIkE]
induce: ~ sb. to do sth.
[In(dju:s]
journal [(dZ§:n&l]
pardon [(pA:d&n]
precipitous [pri(sIpItEs]
raft [rA:ft]
squatter [(skwQtE]
station [(steIS&n] Aus.
swampland [(swQmplÄnd]
tarpaulin [tA:(pO:lIn]
to breaking point
[tE (breIkIN pOInt]
uninhabited
[)VnIn(hÄbItId]
wombat [(wQmbÄt]
Wagen, Karren
Felswand
Sträfling
vertreiben, verdrängen
hoch gelegen
jmdn. grüßen, jmdm. zujubeln
Wanderer, Wanderin
jmdn. bewegen, etw. zu tun,
jmdn. zu etwas bringen
Tagebuch, Protokoll
hier: Begnadigung
abschüssig
Floß
Landbesetzer(in)
hier: große Ranch, Farm
Sumpf(gebiet)
Wagenplane
bis zur Grenze der Belastbarkeit
unbewohnt
Beutelratte
10|14 Spotlight 41

PRESS GALLERY | Comment
Work less, live better
Weniger arbeiten zu müssen, macht uns wahrscheinlich glücklicher und gesünder, was wiederum
unsere Lebenserwartung steigern könnte.
People in the Swedish city of Gothenburg enjoying their free time
In 1930, [British economist] John Maynard Keynes predicted
that employees would toil for only 15 hours and
then face the challenge of “how to use freedom from
pressing economic cares”. The long-predicted “leisured
society” has yet to arrive for the UK workforce, but further
reshaping of the working week is highly likely and to
be welcomed, not least because while unemployment can
be deadly, work may also make us sick. ...
[In July], John Ashton, president of the UK Faculty
of Public Health, called for a four-day week to combat
a rising tide of stress and the lack of time to recuperate
properly.
Professor Lynda Gratton of
the London Business School
has spent five years considering
the future of work in conjunction
with 21 global companies,
including Nokia, BT, Save the
Children and Singapore’s ministry
of manpower. One manifestation
of the difficulties that
young people today face in securing
work ... is that increasingly,
they value the quality of
their lives and time for themselves
as much if not more
than status and high pay...
The global work place is a
contradictory universe; progress
is uneven. In some parts,
the horrific conditions of the
British Industrial Revolution
continue while in the Swedish
city of Gothenburg a one-year
experiment is underway in
which some of its employees
enjoy a six-hour day to see how
their performance compares with those on the standard
eight hours, on the basis that fewer hours may prove more
productive and enhance creativity.
“Time’s arrow is broken,” wrote [US sociologist] Richard
Sennett in The Corrosion of Character. “It has no trajectory
in a continually re-engineered, short-term ... political
economy.” Out of austerity and necessity, however,
it’s just possible that such pessimism may be challenged.
We may yet be forced to reshape work and, in the process,
revalue what is among the most precious of all commodities
— our free time.
© Guardian News & Media 2014
austerity [O:(sterEti]
combat [(kQmbÄt]
commodity [kE(mQdEti]
contradictory [)kQntrE(dIktEri]
enhance [In(hA:ns]
in conjunction with
[In kEn(dZVNkS&n wID]
leisured [(leZEd]
manpower [(mÄn)paUE]
Einschränkung, Entsagung
bekämpfen
Ware, Gut
widersprüchlich
verbessern, erhöhen
zusammen mit
müßig
Arbeitskraft
precious [(preSEs]
pressing [(presIN]
recuperate [ri(kju:pEreIt]
secure [sI(kjUE]
tide [taId]
toil [tOI&l]
trajectory [trE(dZektEri]
uneven [Vn(i:v&n]
workforce [(w§:kfO:s]
kostbar, wertvoll
brennend, bedrängend, akut
sich erholen
sichern, erhalten
Woge, Trend
schuften
Flugbahn
ungleichmäßig, ruckartig
Arbeitnehmerschaft
Foto: Ullstein
42
Spotlight 10|14

Listen to more news items on Replay
INFO TO GO
underway
Be careful with the word underway. It looks very similar
to German unterwegs, but the two are in fact an example
of false friends. A false friend is a word in one language
that looks and/or sounds like a word in another
language, but which has a very different meaning. (See
page 53 each month for further examples.)
In the article, we learn that “a one-year experiment is
underway” in Sweden. It is not unterwegs; if it were, you
would have to imagine that an experiment is driving
around Sweden from place to place. “Underway” means
“in progress”, “being conducted”, “being carried out”,
“being performed” or “taking place”. Unterwegs can be
translated as “on the road” or “travelling”.
Translate the following sentences.
1. Die Operation zur Entfernung seines Tumors wird
gerade durchgeführt.
2. Es finden gerade Gespräche zur Lösung des Konflikts
zwischen Arbeitgebern und der Gewerkschaft statt.
Answers: 1. The operation is underway to remove his tumour.
2. Talks are underway to resolve the dispute between employers and the
union. (Other answers are possible.)
IN THE HEADLINES Maclean’s
This headline referred to an article about the Canadian navy.
Its destroyers and supply ships are more than 40 years old
and in need of repairs, at a time when the Canadian government
is reducing spending for the military. To gaze at
something is to look at it for a long time — which is what
the three-page article does. The text explains that the Canadian
navy has been engaged in anti-smuggling missions in
the Arabian Sea and the Caribbean, work that is rarely mentioned
in the press. The headline uses a play on words with
“navel” — that’s the small hollow on the front of your belly
(Nabel). The phrase “navel-gazing” means “focusing too
long on one’s own problems”.
Caribbean [)kÄrE(bi:En]
destroyer [di(strOIE]
engaged: be ~ in sth.
[In(geIdZd]
gaze at sth. [(geIz Et]
supply ship [sE(plaI SIp]
Karibik
Zerstörer
mit etw. beschäftigt sein, an etw.
beteiligt sein
den Blick auf etw. heften
Mutterschiff, Versorgungsschiff
Klasse
Unterricht!
Vielfalt für Ihr Klassenzimmer!
Exklusiv für Lehrer: Begleitmaterial, Kopiervorlagen
und Tipps in der Unterrichtsbeilage.
Gratis
zum
Lehrer-
Abo!
Bestellen Sie jetzt!
+49 (0)89/8 56 81-150 www.spotlight-verlag.de/lehrerzimmer

ARTS | What’s New
Films | Drama
What do you believe?
Brendan Gleeson
and Chris O’Dowd
A question of faith
Films | Western
Revenge is a popular theme in westerns.
Exploring this topic with great
and sometimes brutal intensity,
The Salvation, directed by Kristian
Levring, is the story of two brothers.
Jon (Mads Mikkelsen) and Peter (Mikael
Persbrandt) are Danish soldiers who
leave Denmark in the 1860s to build a
new life in America’s Wild West. When
Jon’s wife and son join them there, they find that lawlessness
has become normality. Filmed with wide-angle shots of a seemingly
golden landscape and close-ups of the people struggling
to make a new home there, Levring shows people as makers of
history. Mikkelsen brings light to the screen in an unusual role,
but times were dark, and so is this film. Starts 9 October.
Set in the beautiful area around Sligo in western
Ireland, Irish director John Michael McDonagh’s
Calvary follows life in a Roman Catholic community
during Holy Week — the week before Easter Sunday.
Brendan Gleeson (who also acted in McDonagh’s
The Guard ) stars as Father Lavelle, a priest who receives a
death threat while hearing confession.
Lavelle cannot see who exactly is threatening him and
has just seven days to find out the identity of the man on
the other side of the grille. His community is not large,
and the people all know each other. So Lavelle begins talking
to those who might have a reason to hate the Church
and its representatives. With acting of great humour and
humility by Gleeson, McDonagh’s film explores deadly
sins such as pride and greed as natural aspects of the human
character that are a little out of control. As the days
pass, Lavelle begins to ask himself about his own sins and
what he might have done differently. Reflecting on the
grand themes of sin and forgiveness against a background
of wonderful, dramatic scenery, McDonagh’s carefully
composed story is a study of both 21st-century faith and
its institutions. Starts 23 October.
DVDs | Drama
The year is 1977, and Australian
Robyn Davidson, played
by Mia Wasikowska (right), has
had enough of her busy urban
life. Desperate for solitude, the
27-year-old leaves her city existence behind her to travel from
the centre of Australia to the west coast. On this 2,700-kilometre,
nine-month journey, her only companions are four camels and
a dog. But when National Geographic photographer Rick Smolan
(Adam Driver) arrives, wanting to take pictures of her on her
journey, an unusual relationship develops between the two.
Based on a true story, Tracks features a strong performance
from Wasikowska as the complex and uncompromising Davidson,
as well as incredible images of the Australian outback.
Tracks is available on DVD and Blue Ray from 28 October.
close-up [(klEUs Vp]
confession [kEn(feS&n]
deadly sin [)dedli (sIn]
faith [feIT]
greed [gri:d]
grille [grIl]
Großaufnahme
Beichte
Todsünde
Glaube
Geiz, Habgier
vergitterter Teil der Trennwand eines
Beichtstuhls
humility [hju(mIlEti] Demut, Bescheidenheit
pride [praId] Stolz; hier: Hochmut ( p. 61)
revenge [ri(vendZ] Rache
seemingly [(si:mINli] dem Anschein nach
solitude [(sQlEtju:d] Einsamkeit
wide-angle shot
[)waId )ÄNg&l (SQt]
Weitwinkelaufnahme
Fotos: PR; Richard Avedon Foundation
44
Spotlight 10|14

Apps | Science
Podcasts | Travel
The Elements costs €12.99, but you get a lot for your money.
Developed by science writer Theodore Gray, this app shows
the 118 elements that currently make up the periodic table
or, in Gray’s words, “everything you can drop on your foot ...
everything tangible”. Hydrogen, lithium or silver: each element
is presented as a 3D image (if its structure is known) along with
properties such as atomic weight and boiling point. For each element,
there is also a short essay with background information
— often humorously presented. Did you know that shorts made
of silver protect “against electromagnetic fields, if that were a
problem”? The Elements is well-designed, informative and entertaining,
even — or perhaps especially — for non-scientists.
Culture close by | Exhibitions
Since July 2005, Chris Christensen has been presenting his podcast
Amateur Traveler. In that time, he has covered more
than 400 destinations around the world, from the Palestinian
West Bank to Alaska. Christensen often gives a broad background
on the location and then suggests both unusual and lastingly
interesting places to see. On a trip to Flanders, Belgium, he
includes some First World
War history, but also visits
Brussels and gives tips on
museums. Christensen
has a comfortable and informal
style of presentation.
The format of these
free podcasts can also
include interviews and
music relevant to the destination.
More than 300
episodes are available in iTunes. For additional information and
more on Christensen’s travels, go to http://amateurtraveler.
com/tag/travel-podcast
Many of us link the name
of American photographer
Richard Avedon
(1923–2004) to fashion
photography. But in an
age when fashion began
to influence identity, his
work went far beyond
the catwalk. Avedon
studied photography in
New York before starting Marilyn Monroe in 1957
out as an advertising photographer and working for
magazines such as Life, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.
During the 1960s, he also began taking portrait photographs,
often of people from protest movements or
rural communities. The exhibition Richard Avedon:
Murals and Portraits, showing until 9 November
in Munich’s Brandhorst Museum, includes many of
these extraordinary portraits as well as three largescale
murals that Avedon created from 1969 to 1971.
For details, go to www.museum-brandhorst.de
Andy by Avedon: artist Andy Warhol
and members of The Factory in 1969
advertising photographer Werbefotograf(in)
[(ÄdvEtaIzIN fE)tQgrEfE]
both ... and... [bEUT End] sowohl ... als auch ...
catwalk [(kÄtwO:k]
Laufsteg
essay [(eseI]
Aufsatz, Abhandlung
far beyond sth. [)fA: bi(jQnd] weit über etw. hinaus
large-scale [)lA:dZ (skeI&l]
lastingly [(lA:stINli]
mural [(mjUErEl]
rural community
[)rUErEl kE(mju:nEti]
tangible [(tÄndZEb&l]
großformatig
nachhaltig, dauerhaft
Wandgemälde, Wandmalerei
Dorfgemeinschaft,
Landgemeinde
greifbar, konkret
Reviews by OWEN CONNORS and EVE LUCAS
10|14 Spotlight
45

ARTS | Short Story and Books
The mountain railway
In Wales auf dem Land ist eine Frau sehr glücklich bei ihrem Ferienjob, ein Mann hingegen
sehr unglücklich bei seiner täglichen Arbeit. Die beiden begegnen sich auf unerwartete Weise.
Von NIGEL MARSH
Julie blew hard on the whistle and slowly opened the
throttle until the big, red steam locomotive began to
pull on the ten coaches attached behind.
The engine started slowly, picking up the weight of
each coach until the whole train was moving out of the
little station.
The coaches were filled with holidaymakers enjoying
a journey through the Welsh mountains in the late summer
sunshine. The original railway had been closed many
years before, but in recent times, volunteers had been rebuilding
it bit by bit.
Julie was driving today, using all her care to give the
passengers a smooth ride. She had spent every holiday for
the past ten years working on the railway. Yesterday, she
had sat at a desk in a windowless call centre in Birmingham,
answering questions from customers about fridges,
cookers and freezers. And now, here she was, under a blue
sky, and around her, fields and mountains.
Once out of the station, the train thundered along
the narrow track with steam flying from the funnel of the
engine.
A mile away, farmer Sam Evans was driving his green
tractor across a field. He was thinking about sick cows
and low milk prices and how to pay for tractor parts. Not
that he wanted to be rich: he just wanted to survive. His
family had been running this farm for more than a hundred
years.
He stopped to let himself through a gate into the next
field, taking care to close the gate again before he drove
on. Sam had been up before 5 a.m. for morning milking.
He wouldn’t be finished until after 11.30 p.m. “And for
what? It’s killing me,” he told the empty field.
As the train made its way through the hills and valleys
between Porthmadog and Caernarfon, there were many
places where roads, footpaths and farm tracks crossed the
line. Even though this was a newly reopened stretch of the
railway, Julie knew the exact location of every crossing,
and at each one, she would blow the whistle to warn of
the train’s approach.
Sam Evans drove his tractor across the next field. He
was thinking about bank managers and high interest
rates. He was thinking about arguments with his wife and
his father. The mountains towered over him, and he felt
their weight pushing down on him.
Sam’s tractor was a John Deere 2355, built in Mannheim
in 1997. Not quite six metres long, it weighed a
little under three tonnes.
Julie’s locomotive was a Garratt NGG16, built in
Manchester in 1958 for South African Railways. Nearly
15 metres long, it weighed 62 tonnes.
Julie blew the whistle as her train came to a level crossing.
When it passed, a little boy waved to her from a waiting
car.
The tractor slowly crossed another field.
The train rattled across an iron bridge and into a bend.
The tractor moved towards a gate.
As the train came round the long curve, Julie saw the
little, green tractor moving towards the crossing. It would
stop in a moment or two. The driver would jump out,
ready to open the gate once the train had safely passed.
approach [E(prEUtS]
argument [(A:gjumEnt]
bend [bend]
engine [(endZIn]
funnel [(fVn&l]
interest rate [(IntrEst reIt]
Herannahen
hier: Streit
Kurve
hier: Lokomotive
Schornstein
Zinssatz
level crossing [)lev&l (krQsIN]
rattle [(rÄt&l]
throttle [(TrQt&l]
thunder along [)TVndE E(lQN]
volunteer [)vQlEn(tIE]
whistle [(wIs&l]
höhengleicher Bahnübergang
rattern, rumpeln
Drossel, Gaspedal
entlangdonnern
Freiwillige(r)
Pfeife
Fotos: iStock; Wavebreak Media
46
Spotlight 10|14

Short Story
Sam was deep in thought. Maybe it was time to make
a change. When you find at the end of the year you’ve lost
money again, it must be time to think about alternatives.
He drove the tractor towards the gate he had opened earlier
that morning. He hadn’t closed this one. There were
no cows or sheep in this field or the next. He stared ahead,
thinking of what he would do if he sold the farm. What
would his father think? What would his wife say? The
nose of the tractor rose up slightly as it moved on to the
railway track.
Julie’s heart leapt into her mouth, and she pulled the
emergency brake, bracing herself for the impact.
The train began its long screech to a halt, and Sam
looked round at the terrible noise. He stared in horror at
the engine. His mouth opened wide. His arms and legs
froze. Black smoke filled the air, and as the engine roared
in his ears, the two machines slid past each other.
When the train stopped many long seconds later,
Julie slowly opened her eyes. She climbed down from the
engine and ran past the carriages of stunned passengers.
The tractor stood in one piece in the next field, its driver
leaning out of his cab. It seemed he was being sick.
“That was close,” thought Julie. “Well, no harm done,”
she called to the passengers in a shaky voice. “Best be on
our way.”
Sam sat back in his cab, his eyes closed and his hands
trembling. “Yes. It’s definitely time for a change,” he told
himself.
Books | Novel
Every year, thousands of
books compete for our attention
(and money) as the
market meets culture to
define “bestselling” at October’s
Frankfurt Book Fair.
Taking an unusual approach
to “tell-all” bestseller writing,
American author Chris
Pavone’s The Accident
looks at the lives of two men
whose involvement in an
accident during their student
days follows them into middle age. As one of these men
decides to run for political office, the other finds that he can
no longer live with the past. He constructs an elaborate plan
to eliminate himself, and writes a book about it. With a special
branch of America’s secret services looking over every shoulder,
events twist and turn themselves to a dramatic conclusion.
Faber & Faber, €12.80.
Books | Easy reader
Are you planning a trip to
the UK? Do you enjoy reading
about English culture?
Or are you looking for a
present for an Anglophile
friend? In all cases, the
Macmillan Cultural
Reader: England is for
you. Discover more about
the Lake District, Sir Winston
Churchill and the history of
cricket in England, and learn
some popular sayings. Short
interviews with people about their daily lives and their memories
of great events bring the book to life. This easy reader at
pre-intermediate level not only offers you pages of interesting
stories and facts, it also comes with comprehension questions,
grammar and vocabulary exercises, explanations of difficult
words and an additional CD, so that you can listen to the text, too.
Macmillan, €10.99.
be sick [bi (sIk]
brace oneself [(breIs wVn)self]
branch [brA:ntS]
cab [kÄb]
carriage [(kÄrIdZ] UK
comprehension
[)kQmprI(henS&n]
elaborate [i(lÄbErEt]
eliminate [i(lImIneIt]
Reviews by EVE LUCAS
hier: sich übergeben
sich wappnen, sich auf etw.
gefasst machen
Filiale; Abteilung
Führerhaus
Waggon
Verständnis
ausgeklügelt, raffiniert
beseitigen;
hier: umbringen
freeze [fri:z]
hier: erstarren
impact [(ImpÄkt]
Aufprall
leap [li:p]
springen, hüpfen
roar [rO:] dröhnen ( p. 61)
run for [(rVn fE]
kandidieren
screech: ~ to a halt [skri:tS] mit kreischenden Bremsen zum
Stehen kommen
shaky [(SeIki]
zittrig
stunned [stVnd]
benommen
tremble [(tremb&l]
zittern
10|14 Spotlight 47

Kompetent. Persönlich. Individuell.
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LANGUAGE | Vocabulary
Sources of energy
In contrast to energy from fossil fuels, “green” energy comes from natural sources that are never
completely used up. ANNA HOCHSIEDER presents language to talk about this subject.
1
2
3
4
5
9
8
7
6
10
11
12
13
1. offshore wind farm
2. wind turbine
3. solar panel
4. hydroelectric power
station
5. geyser [(gi:zE]
6. nuclear power
station
7. pylon [(paIlEn]
8. biogas plant
9. maize [meIz] UK, corn N. Am.
10. oil well
11. oil platform
12. gas pipeline
13. coal mine
Fighting climate change
Fossil fuels are a major cause of global warming.
Non-renewable fuels such as coal emit carbon dioxide
when they are burned, destroying the ozone layer that
protects us from the sun’s rays. So we need to find sustainable,
“green” methods of producing energy.
The sun itself is a powerful natural source of energy.
There are many ways to harness solar energy. In hot
regions, solar water heaters can be installed on roofs.
Solar panels covering the roofs of houses as well as huge
areas of land are now a common sight. Energy-efficient
buildings are oriented towards the sun. They are not
only well insulated, but have a low carbon footprint.
Wind power is another natural source of energy. It has
a less problematic effect on the environment than
hydropower, which requires building dams that spoil
the landscape. Wind turbines take up relatively little
space and can even be located out of sight in offshore
wind farms. Other new technologies include the use of
geothermal heat, biogas and even geysers.
We can all conserve energy by buying products that
consume little electricity, by not leaving electronics on
stand-by and by using public transport to save petrol.
Illustrationen: Bernhard Förth
50
Spotlight 10|14

Möchten Sie noch mehr Tipps und Übungen?
Abonnieren Sie Spotlight plus! www.spotlight-online.de/ueben
Practice
Now try the exercises below to practise talking about green energy.
1. Match the expressions on the left to their definitions on the right.
a) Global warming...
b) Carbon dioxide...
c) Climate change...
d) The environment...
e) A carbon footprint...
a
b
c
d
e
1. is the amount of carbon dioxide someone or something produces.
2. is the increase in temperature of the earth’s atmosphere.
3. is the natural world in which we live.
4. is the change that is taking place in the earth’s weather.
5. is the gas that is produced when carbon is burned.
2. Complete the following sentences with words from the opposite page.
a) A hydroelectric power station uses the power of
____________________ to produce electricity.
b) Offshore wind farms are areas in the sea where there
are a lot of ____________________.
c) ____________________ panels use the sun’s energy to
produce hot water and electricity.
d) Biogas can be produced from plants such as
____________________.
e) ____________________ is produced by splitting the
central part of atoms.
f) When ____________________ are burned, carbon
dioxide is emitted.
3. Consume or conserve? Underline the correct option.
a) Take showers instead of baths to consume / conserve water.
b) Our fridge consumes / conserves far too much electricity.
c) We don’t consume / conserve much gas, but our gas bill has
gone up by 20 per cent.
d) Underground cables are being installed to consume / conserve
the beauty of the landscape.
4. Complete the sentences below by filling in the missing letters.
a) E _ e r _ y - e _ f _ c _ _ n t electrical goods such as washing machines do
not use much energy.
b) If a method of producing energy is s _ s _ _ _ n _ _ _ e, it does not harm
the environment.
c) If a resource is n _ _ - r _ _ _ w _ _ _ e, it exists in limited amounts and
cannot be replaced.
d) If a building is w _ _ _ i _ s _ _ _ _ _ d, it is protected with a material that
prevents heat or cold from passing through.
The text on the opposite page contains
a lot of collocations — words
that are often used together. Always
make a note of interesting collocations
you discover, for example:
• emit carbon dioxide
(Kohlendioxid ausstoßen)
• harness solar energy
(Sonnenenergie nutzbar machen)
• a common sight
(ein alltäglicher Anblick)
Tips
Answers
1. a–2; b–5 (carbon dioxide [)kA:bEn daI(QksaId]: Kohlendioxid; carbon: Kohlenstoff ); c–4; d–3; e–1 (carbon footprint:
CO 2 -Fußabdruck, CO 2 -Bilanz )
2. a) water; b) wind turbines; c) Solar; d) maize / corn; e) Nuclear power; f) fossil fuels (fossile Brennstoffe; emit: ausstoßen)
3. a) conserve; b) consumes; c) consume; d) conserve
4. a) Energy-efficient; b) sustainable (umweltverträglich); c) non-renewable; d) well insulated
At
www.spotlight-online.de/teachers/picture-it
you’ll find translations and the complete Vocabulary archive.
10|14 Spotlight 51

LANGUAGE | Travel Talk
Arriving
Walking the trail
Canoeing
52 Spotlight 10|14
The Everglades
See some exotic wildlife and
enjoy a subtropical climate with
RITA FORBES.
Hello! Welcome to Everglades National Park.
Hi! Can we pick up some informational brochures?
Of course. You can take any you like. And here’s
a map... We’re here, at the Ernest Coe Visitor
Center. You might like to start by just driving
through the park. The Main Park Road will take
you to the Flamingo Visitor Center, on the south
side. It’s a 76-mile round trip, and there are several
good spots where you can stop along the way. I’d
recommend the Anhinga Trail. There’s always a lot
of wildlife there, and it’s only four miles away.
It says here in the brochure that the Native Americans
called this place Pa-hay-Okee. That means
“grassy waters.”
What a perfect description. Oh, look! Look! It’s an
alligator!
Wow! It’s perfectly still. If I hadn’t seen its eyes
blink, I’d think it was just a submerged log. I’m a
little worried now. Do you think we’re really safe
on the elevated boardwalk?
I’m sure we are. Hey, is that an ibis?
I think so. But look over here! Quick! I see a baby
alligator!
The mangroves are really beautiful, aren’t they?
Yes, it’s such a romantic atmosphere. Except for
the mosquitoes and the no-see-ums, that is. Could
you hand me the insect repellent, please? I don’t
want to get eaten alive.
Here you go.
There’s a chickee. Wouldn’t it be fun to sleep there?
Maybe we can do that next time. I’m happy with
a day-long trip for now. You know, if we paddle
quietly, we might see a manatee.
• Everglades National Park, on the southernmost
tip of Florida, has an area of about 1.5 million acres
(more than 6,000 square kilometers). It has a subtropical
climate and contains swamplands (Sumpfgebiet),
marshes (Moor, Sumpf), and rivers.
• The five visitor centers in the Everglades are open
365 days a year.
• The Anhinga Trail is very popular. The trail (Wanderweg)
is paved (befestigt) and just 0.8 miles (1.3 km)
long. Even so, many birds and animals can be seen
from it. The trail is named for the anhinga, a longnecked
diving bird found in Florida and some other
Southern states.
• The wildlife in the Everglades includes the rare
Florida panther and hundreds of species of birds.
• The Everglades are well known for the many American
alligators living there. They can grow up to 15
feet (4.5 m) long. There is also a smaller population
of American crocodiles. This is the only place in the
world where both alligators and crocodiles live.
• An elevated boardwalk is a raised path made out
of wooden boards.
• The white ibis [(aIbIs] is the most common wading
bird (Watvogel, Stelzvogel) in the Everglades. The
tips of its wings are gray or black, and it has a long,
curved beak (Schnabel).
• Mangroves are trees with large, tangled (ineinander
verschlungen) roots and can tolerate salt water. They
grow only in warm areas near the equator.
• No-see-ums is an informal name for very small
flying insects that bite people and animals.
• Chickees are raised wooden platforms where
campers can sleep above the water. You need a
permit to camp in the Everglades.
• Manatees, also called “sea cows,” are large, gentle
animals that live in warm waters.
blink [blINk]
brochure [broU(SU&r]
insect repellent [(Insekt ri)pelEnt]
log [lO:g]
Native Americans
[)neItIv E(merIkEnz]
spot [spA:t]
submerged [sEb(m§:dZd]
Tips
blinzeln
Broschüre
Insektenschutzmittel
Holzblock
amerikanische Ureinwohner
Stelle
unter Wasser liegend
Fotos: iStock

Cards | LANGUAGE
NEW WORDS
GLOBAL ENGLISH
phablet
The next phone I buy is going to be a phablet.
What would a non-British speaker say?
British speaker: “John’s behaviour in public is so bizarre
sometimes, I worry that he might get sectioned.”
Spotlight 10|14
Spotlight 10|14
(IN)FORMAL ENGLISH
Make these idiomatic statements sound
more formal:
1. John’s new Jaguar is the cat’s whiskers.
2. What’s happened? You look like something the cat
brought in.
Translate:
TRANSLATION
1. Eine schöne Umgebung war mir schon immer sehr
wichtig.
2. Ein neuer Dudelsack wird ihn einige Monatsgehälter
kosten.
Spotlight 10|14
Spotlight 10|14
PRONUNCIATION
IDIOM MAGIC
Read these words aloud:
combat
combination
comfort
company
complemental
complexity
component
comrade
Ching Yee Smithback
be left holding the bag
Spotlight 10|14 Spotlight 10|14
Austrennung an der Perforierung
FALSE FRIENDS
whimper / Wimper
Translate the following sentences:
1. I could hear the child whimpering next door.
2. Sie hatte die längsten Wimpern, die ich je gesehen
hatte.
GRAMMAR
In which of the sentences below can “into” be
replaced by “in”?
1. I jumped into the lake.
2. She came into the house.
3. He walked into the office.
4. I put my hand into my pocket.
Spotlight 10|14 Spotlight 10|14

LANGUAGE | Cards
GLOBAL ENGLISH
Non-British speaker: “..., I worry that he might get
committed.”
The verb “commit” is used to mean “send (someone) to
a psychiatric [)saIki(ÄtrIk] hospital for confinement”
(jmdn. in eine psychiatrische Klinik einweisen). The British
also use the verb “section”, in reference to a section
(Absatz) of a mental health act.
NEW WORDS
Phablet is a blend (Mischung) of the words “phone” and
“tablet (computer)”. This electronic device (elektronisches
Gerät) is a larger-than-normal smartphone with all the
functions of a tablet computer.
Spotlight 10|14
Spotlight 10|14
TRANSLATION
1. Pleasant surroundings have always been important
to me.
2. New bagpipes are going to cost him several months’
salary.
The nouns “surroundings” and “bagpipes” are two
classic examples of a plurale tantum, a noun that
has no singular form. Other examples are “trousers”,
“spectacles” (glasses) and “clothes”.
Spotlight 10|14
(IN)FORMAL ENGLISH
1. John’s new Jaguar is a wonderful car.
2. You look really dirty / untidy.
There are many informal phrases containing a reference
(Bezug, Verweis) to cats. In North American English, a
person or thing that is excellent can be called “the cat’s
meow” or “the cat’s pajamas”.
Spotlight 10|14
IDIOM MAGIC
When you are left with an unwanted responsibility —
typically without warning — you are said to be left
holding the bag. This is the North American version of
the idiom. In British English, you would “be left holding
the baby”.
“The others had all gone, so when the time came to pay
the bill, I was left holding the bag.”
[(kQmbÄt]
[(kVmfEt]
[)kQmplI(ment&l]
[kEm(pEUnEnt]
PRONUNCIATION
[)kQmbI(neIS&n]
[(kVmpEni]
[kEm(pleksEti]
[(kQmreId]
The prefix com- is pronounced [kEm] when unstressed,
but [)kQm] when it carries secondary stress. With main
stress, it is normally pronounced [(kQm]. There are
exceptions: in “comfort” and “company” it is [(kVm].
Spotlight 10|14 Spotlight 10|14
GRAMMAR
1. I jumped in the lake.
4. I put my hand in my pocket.
Some verbs describing movement, such as “jump” and
“put”, are also used with “in” when the focus is more on a
movement with an end (in a place) than the movement
itself. This use of “in” is less typical with the verbs
“come”, “go”, “run” and “walk”.
FALSE FRIENDS
1. Nebenan konnte ich das Kind wimmern hören.
2. She had the longest (eye)lashes I had ever seen.
People might “whimper” when they are frightened,
unhappy or in pain. (If it were a dog, not a person, one
would say winseln in German.)
Spotlight 10|14 Spotlight 10|14

LANGUAGE | Everyday English
Books
Listen to dialogues 1 and 2
This month, DAGMAR TAYLOR looks at the
words and phrases people use when they talk
about books.
1. A big reader 2. Choosing books
Susan and Amanda are talking about what to buy
as a present for a friend’s 50th birthday.
Amanda and Susan want to find out more about
the gift idea for Clive.
Fotos: iStock
Amanda: I’ve had an idea about what to get Clive for
his birthday.
Susan: Oh, good! What?
Amanda: Well, you know what a big reader he is,
don’t you?
Susan: Yes! Seriously, how does he get through so
many books?
Amanda: He reads when he’s travelling on business,
and he travels a lot. But anyway, I’ve found
this book subscription service. They send
you a book a month, so I was thinking we
Susan:
could get him a year’s subscription.
That sounds like a great idea. What kind of
books do they send?
Amanda: That’s up to you. You can choose between
paperback and hardback and then between
fiction and non-fiction, but they also have
mixed packages.
Susan: And how much does it cost?
Amanda: I think it’s about £110 for a year.
• Someone who reads a lot can be referred to
informally as a big reader.
• Seriously is used to add earnestness (Ernsthaftigkeit)
to the statement that follows, especially when the
speaker wants to express surprise.
• If someone gets through a lot of books, he or she
reads many books.
• Suggestions are often made carefully, so that other
people do not feel forced to agree. I was thinking we
could... is one way to begin a suggestion.
• To say that something is another person’s choice, say
that’s up to you or “it’s up to you”.
• Paperbacks have soft paper covers. Hardbacks
(US also: hardcover) have thicker, stiff covers and
generally cost more than the paperback version.
• Literature that describes imaginary (erfunden) events
and people is called fiction. Non-fiction books are
about facts, actual events or real people.
subscription [sEb(skrIpS&n]
Abonnement
Tips
Susan: What about the genre? Clive won’t be happy
if all he receives is a pile of chick lit.
Amanda: (laughs) Let’s check the website. I’m sure
you can choose the genre, too.
Susan: I’ve got my tablet here. What’s the address?
Amanda: It’s www.theamazingbookclub.co.uk
Susan: Ooh! It looks nice. Do the books come
wrapped like that?
Amanda: Yes, they do. Ah, now I remember. With the
Bespoke Book Club, you can choose three
types of novel. Look!
Susan: Hmm! I’d say contemporary fiction would
be good, then mystery / thriller and also
modern classics. What do you think?
Amanda: I’m not sure. He’s probably read most of them.
Susan: Well, how about historical fiction, then?
Amanda: Yes, that sounds better.
• Chick lit (ifml.) is a genre that deals with issues of
modern womanhood (Frausein), often humorously
and light-heartedly (unbeschwert).
• Tablet is short for “tablet computer”.
• A novel is a story that is long enough to fill a whole
book. The characters and events in it are usually
imaginary.
• I’d say is short for “I would say”. Use this expression
when you want to give your opinion.
• Books in the mystery / thriller (you say “mystery
slash thriller”) genre typically involve crime or
espionage and have an exciting plot (Handlung).
• A classic is a book written many years ago that has
been highly acclaimed (umjubeln, feiern) because of
its quality. A modern classic is also highly praised
(loben), but readers today can still relate to its story
and characters. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee,
for example, belongs to this category.
bespoke [bi(spEUk] UK maßgeschneidert, nach Maß
pile [paI&l]
Haufen
wrap [rÄp] einpacken ( p. 61)
Tips
10|14 Spotlight 55

LANGUAGE | Everyday English
3. Talking of books... 4. So many books, so little time!
Amanda and Susan are talking about
their own reading preferences.
Amanda: Have you read anything good recently?
Susan: Yes, I have, actually. I’ve just finished Love,
Nina by Nina Stibbe. It was great.
Amanda: Is that the one about the nanny who writes
to her sister describing her experiences?
Susan: Yes, that’s the one. It was so funny! I
couldn’t put it down.
Amanda: Hmm! I’m more into crime and mystery
novels. At the moment, I’m reading Heartstone
by C. J. Sansom. It’s part of this historical
mystery series set in the reign of
Henry VIII.
Susan: Sounds interesting. Are you enjoying it?
Amanda: Yes, a lot. But I get so engrossed, and I stay
up late reading. Then I’m tired the next day.
Amanda has finished ordering Clive’s book club
subscription.
Amanda: That’s that! I hope Clive likes all the books.
Susan: I might subscribe, too. I don’t feel very up
to date when it comes to literature.
Amanda: When’s your birthday?
Susan: (laughs) Not for ages. How do you pick the
books you read?
Amanda: Sometimes, friends or colleagues recommend
or lend books to me. And I listen to
A Good Read on Radio 4. I’ve bought several
books I heard about on the programme.
Susan: Really? What time is it on?
Amanda: Tuesday afternoons at 4.30. But there’s also
a podcast you can download.
Susan: Oh, OK. It’s just finding the time, isn’t it?
Amanda: Yes. I think we need jobs like Clive’s.
• Use the present perfect to ask what someone has
done recently: Have you read...?
• To make sure that you are thinking of the same thing
someone is talking about, ask: Is that the one...?
• When people say they can’t put a book down, they
find it so interesting that they can’t stop reading.
• If you find a different type of book, film or music
more interesting, you can say I’m more into... (ifml.)
• When the action or events of a book are set in a
certain time or place, you can say they happen then
or there.
• If you are engrossed in something, all your attention
is absorbed by that one thing.
Tips
• That’s that! (ifml.) is often used to say that you’ve
made your decision and it cannot be changed.
• Not for ages (ifml.) means “not for a very long time”.
• We lend things to people, but when we need something,
we “borrow it from” somebody.
• Amanda means BBC Radio 4, a British radio station
with a wide variety of programmes. You can listen to
it at: www.bbc.co.uk/radio4
• Programme means something that people watch on
TV or listen to on the radio.
• The easiest way to ask what time a particular
programme will be broadcast (senden, übertragen) is:
What time is it on?
Tips
nanny [(nÄni]
reign [reIn]
Kindermädchen
Regierungszeit
pick [pIk]
up to date [)Vp tE (deIt]
aussuchen
auf dem neuesten Stand
EXERCISES
1. What do the words in bold refer to?
a) And how much is it? ______________
b) He’s probably read most of them. ______________
c) Is that the one about the nanny? ______________
d) What time is it on? ______________
3. What did they say?
a) You can choose between paperback or h _______.
b) You can choose three types of n _______.
c) It’s part of this historical mystery s _______.
d) I don’t feel very up to date when it comes to l ______.
2. True or false?
4. Add the missing word.
a) Clive reads when he’s travelling on business. ______
b) Clive likes reading chick lit. ______
c) Susan is reading Heartstone at the moment. ______
d) Amanda sometimes borrows books from friends or
colleagues. ______
a) I’ve found this book subscription service _______ the
internet.
b) How _______ historical fiction?
c) I’m more _______ crime and mystery novels.
d) And I listen _______ A Good Read on Radio 4.
Foto: Hemera
56
Spotlight 10|14
Answers: 1. a) a year’s subscription of books; b) modern classics; c) the book; d) the radio programme A Good Read;
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

The Grammar Page | LANGUAGE
Using the
third conditional
ADRIAN DOFF presents and explains this key point of grammar
with notes on a short dialogue.
Bill and Mike are waiting on a station platform.
EXERCISE
Bill: The train’s late again. It’s so annoying!
Mike: Oh, I like the train being late.
Bill: You like it? Why?
Mike: Because that was how I met my wife.
Bill: How’s that?
Mike: Well, I arrived a few minutes late at the station one
day. But luckily, the train was about 10 minutes
late. If it had been on time, I would have missed it. 1
Bill: So what happened then?
Mike: Well, there was a woman on the train, and we started
talking. Then I asked her out, and a year later, we
got married. If I’d missed the train, I wouldn’t have
met her. 2 I wouldn’t have got married if the train
hadn’t been late. 3 That’s why I like trains being late.
Bill: Well, I don’t like it. Anyway, here’s the train now.
Mike: Choose your seat carefully. You could be lucky.
Complete the sentences below by writing
the verbs in bold in their correct form.
a) If they’d taken out travel insurance, they would
_________ (get) their money back.
b) I wouldn’t have bought Gucci shoes if they _________
(not / be) half price in the sale.
c) I would _________ (bring) you a souvenir if I’d had
room in my suitcase.
d) I would _________ (give) the waiter a tip if he hadn’t
been so rude.
e) I would have sent you a postcard if I _________
(known) your address.
f) If we’d had some eggs, I could _________ (make) an
omelette.
g) She might _________ (win) the race if she’d trained
harder.
h) If they’d offered him more money, he wouldn’t
_________ (leave) the job.
Answers: a) have got (take out insurance: eine Versicherung abschließen);
b) hadn’t been; c) have brought; d) have given (tip: Trinkgeld ); e) had known;
f) have made; g) have won; h) have left
1 This is the past — or third — conditional (if + past perfect
tense, ... would have + past participle). It is used to
imagine something unreal in the past: the train was, in
fact, not on time, so Mike didn’t miss it.
2 Here’s another example of the past conditional. This
time, the contraction ’d is used instead of the full form
had, and would is in the negative: wouldn’t. Again, Mike
is imagining the opposite of what happened: in fact, he
didn’t miss the train, and he did meet his future wife.
3 In this example, the “would” part of the sentence comes
first: ... wouldn’t ... if ... hadn’t. Mike could also say: “If
the train hadn’t been late, I wouldn’t have got married.”
Remember!
There are two parts to the past, or third, conditional:
1. If + past perfect tense...:
• If I’d known it was your birthday...
2. ...would(n’t) have + past participle:
• ... I would have bought you a present.
The two parts can also be positioned the other way
round:
• I would have bought you a present if I’d known it
was your birthday.
The third conditional always refers to the past:
• If I’d known it was your birthday, I would have
bought you a present. (= I didn’t know it was your
birthday, so I didn’t buy you a present.)
Beyond the basics
In past conditional sentences, we can also use could
or might instead of “would”:
• If I’d known you were here, we could have met for a
drink.
(= It would have been possible.)
• If we’d taken a taxi, we might not have missed the
flight.
(= Perhaps we wouldn’t have missed it.)
10|14 Spotlight 57

LANGUAGE | The Soap
Phil & Peggy
Decision time?
Just how much choice do people want at
Peggy’s Place? By INEZ SHARP
FOCUS
Peggy: The woman at the corner table has been looking
at the menu for at least 20 minutes.
Phil: I wouldn’t complain. She’s already gulped down one
glass of wine, and now she’s on her second, so she is
spending money.
George: You do have quite a big choice of dishes.
Phil: Well, it’s all about keeping the customer happy.
George: I’m not sure about offering people too much
choice.
Peggy: How do you mean?
George: When I’m at work, I watch people standing
around in the aisles dithering for ages over different
types of butter and yogurt.
Phil: But the longer they spend in the shop, the more they
spend, and that’s good, surely.
George: Yeah, but you should see how angry they get if
we don’t have exactly the product they’re looking for.
Peggy: I know. It’s the same when we take something off
the menu. People get really upset.
George: Exactly, and it’s not as if there’s nothing else on
offer. I was reading a consumer report from the US.
Do you know that in 1975, the average supermarket
sold something like 9,000 products? Today, it’s closer
to 50,000. And it won’t be much different here.
Phil: I like having a choice. Take the cheese counter at
your shop. I could stand there for hours drooling.
Helen: Who’s drooling over what?
Peggy: Never mind, Helen. What’ll it be?
Helen: I’ll just have an orange juice. I’m on the late shift.
George: You could also have apple juice, pineapple juice,
mango, grape, cranberry, banana or apricot juice.
Peggy: I’m not sure we have apricot or banana juice.
Phil: I think George is trying to make a point.
Helen: Actually, the grape juice sounds good. It isn’t
fizzy, is it?
Peggy: I’m afraid it is.
This month, Phil describes how one of the guests has
gulped down her wine. This means to swallow food
or drink quickly and loudly. Later, he says he could
stand in front of the cheese display at the shop where
George works drooling — or allowing saliva to run out
of his mouth — because the cheese looks and smells
so delicious. When Helen orders a drink, she asks if it
is fizzy — if there are bubbles of gas in it. These types
of words that sound like the action they describe are
called onomatopoeic in English.
Helen
George
Sean
I like having a choice
Jane
Helen: Hmm, then perhaps I will have the orange juice.
George: See what I mean?
Helen: I have no idea what you’re talking about, but the
reason I came in was to talk to Aamir.
Phil: He’s taken a couple of days off. Gone hiking. He
says sometimes he needs a rest from London. Can I
help you?
Helen: That depends. How good’s your Pashto?
Phil: It’s been better. Don’t get the chance to practise it
much.
Helen: Ha, ha! I’ve got a patient from Afghanistan, and
her English isn’t very fluent. I thought Aamir could
translate for me.
Peggy: What’s wrong with her?
Helen: She’s got epilepsy, and we want to tell her about
the side effects of the different kinds of medication.
Phil: Now that’s one area where choice is a good thing.
Helen: Yes, but people don’t all want to know what they’re
taking. They just want it to work.
Phil: Personally, I like the idea of an informed choice.
Peggy: Hello, Jane! You look a bit stressed.
Jane: Simone’s been invited to a Halloween party, and
we’ve just been trying to find a costume. My daughter
has tried on, I swear, about 50 different ones. Is she
going to be a witch, a devil, a cat, Dracula...?
George: Now some people would say that’s a good thing,
Jane. Your daughter likes to make an informed choice.
Jane: Have I missed something?
aisle [aI&l]
cheese counter [(tSi:z )kaUntE]
day off [deI (Qf]
dither: ~ over sth. [(dIDE]
for ages [fE (eIdZIz]
hike [haIk]
make a point [)meIk E (pOInt]
onomatopoeic [)QnEUmÄtE(pi:Ik]
Pashto [(pVStEU]
pineapple [(paInÄp&l]
saliva [sE(laIvE]
side effect [(saId E)fekt]
take sth. off [teIk (Qf]
upset: get ~ [)Vp(set]
Gang
Käsetheke
freier Tag
mit etw. zaudern
ewig lange
wandern
hier: auf etw. hinweisen
lautmalerisch
Paschtu, paschtunische
Sprache
Ananas
Speichel
Nebenwirkung
etw. entfernen, streichen
sich aufregen
58
Spotlight 10|14

English at Work | LANGUAGE
Dear Ken: What is the correct
way to word a reminder?
Dear Ken
What is the best way to word a reminder? I’ve heard that
starting with a subject line “outstanding amount” is a bit
too direct. Should such e-mails begin with small talk?
Many thanks for your help.
Sabine T.
Dear Sabine
Thank you for your e-mail. The idea of a reminder is, of
course, to ensure that your customers pay their debts.
The way you write a reminder depends on several factors:
• how well you know the person you are reminding
• how important the future business relationship is
• how much money is involved
• whether you have already sent any reminders.
If you have sent numerous reminders, and future business
is not an important factor, you may want to threaten legal
action. With a loyal customer who is experiencing cashflow
problems, you might be more understanding.
In both cases, however, you could use the same basic
structure to get your message across, and simply vary
the tone. Here’s a structure you could use, based on a
situation between the two extremes I mentioned above.
1. Your position
Explain the reason for your reminder. Within the first
paragraph, your reader ought to understand the situation:
Dear Mr Ford
Invoice 3576/14
On 26 August, you ordered 50 office desks and chairs from our
company for your new premises. You paid a deposit of 25 per
cent of the total price. The furniture was delivered on 22 September.
The balance was to be paid by 30 September.
Send your questions
about business English
by e-mail with “Dear
Ken” in the subject line to
language@spotlight-verlag.de
Each month, I answer two questions
Spotlight readers have sent in. If one of
them is your question, you’ll receive a
copy of my book: Fifty Ways to Improve
Your Business English. So don’t forget to
add your mailing address!
2. Problem
Separate the reason for the reminder from the background
description. It will have more impact on the reader:
It is now 9 October, and we have not received the promised
payment or any reply to a previous reminder sent to you on
2 October.
3. Proposal
What do you want the customer to do?
Please pay the outstanding balance by 15 October. You will
then not incur any further costs.
4. Practicalities
What further action should the other person take?
If there are any problems concerning this payment, please
contact us as soon as possible.
5. Politeness
Always end with a few polite words:
You have always paid our invoices promptly, so we are sure
that you will deal with the present problem equally effectively.
Good luck in getting your invoices paid.
Ken
Dear Ken
Sometimes, a caller wants to talk to a colleague after
speaking to me. What should I say when I hand him or
her over?
Regards
Lutz N.
Dear Lutz
You can use any of the following phrases:
• I’ll transfer you / connect you / put you through to...
Then politely ask the caller to wait. Use one of these
phrases:
• Just a moment. / Stay on the line. / Hold the line, please.
That should work.
All the best
Ken
balance [(bÄlEns]
hier: Restbetrag
cash-flow problems
Zahlungsschwierigkeiten
[(kÄS flEU )prQblEmz]
debt [det]
Schuld, Zahlungsverpflichtung
deposit [di(pQzIt] Anzahlung ( p. 61)
impact [(ImpÄkt]
Wirkung
incur [In(k§:]
hier: verursachen
invoice [(InvOIs]
Rechnung
legal action [)li:g&l (ÄkS&n] gerichtliche Schritte
outstanding [aUt(stÄndIN] ausstehend, offen
premises [(premIsIz]
Geschäftsräume
reminder [ri(maIndE]
Mahnung, Zahlungserinnerung
subject line [(sVbdZekt laIn] Betreffzeile
Ken Taylor is a communication skills consultant. Follow his “Hot Tips”
on Twitter @DearKen101. You can buy his book Dear Ken... 101 answers
to your questions about business English from
10|14 Spotlight 59

LANGUAGE | Spoken English
We’re getting there
This month, ADRIAN DOFF looks at different
ways of speaking about success, failure and
progress.
Foto: iStock
60
Success
The verb phrase succeed in doing something is often used
to talk about success:
• The furniture company succeeded in winning several
major contracts.
We can also succeed in things we don’t want:
• I tried talking to her, but I only succeeded in making her
more angry.
Manage to has a similar meaning. It is used to talk about
succeeding after making an effort:
• We finally managed to turn off the hot water. (= It took a
long time, but in the end, we were able to do it.)
The noun related to “succeed” is success, and the adjective
is successful:
• The party was a great success. It went on till 4 a.m.
• How was the conference? I hope your presentation was
successful.
In conversation, the verb make it is also used to mean “be
successful”, as in the Rolling Stones song:
• “You can make it if you try.”
“Make it” is often used to talk about success in a person’s
life or career:
• She was very ambitious, but she never quite made it.
(= reached the top)
A film, song or book that is successful or popular can be
described as a hit:
• Their new song is a number-one hit. (= no. 1 in the charts)
Other things can also be a hit:
• It was a great dinner party. Your lasagne was an absolute
hit. (= Everyone liked it.)
Failure
The opposites of “succeed” and “success” are fail (verb) and
failure (noun). A person or a thing can be a failure:
• He started up a bike-hire company, but it was a complete
failure. (= It didn’t succeed.)
• I can’t find a job. It makes me feel a bit of a failure.
(= someone who hasn’t succeeded)
The opposite of a hit is a flop:
• The film cost $500 million, but it was a complete flop.
(= It wasn’t successful.)
• The party was a bit of a flop. By 10.30 p.m., everyone had
gone home.
Spotlight 10|14
An idea that won’t succeed is a non-starter. (= It has no
chance of success.):
• They tried to open an English cake shop in Vienna. The
idea was a complete non-starter.
Progress
If you’re gradually (allmählich) succeeding or getting better,
you are making progress. Progress can be good, rapid,
steady (stetig, beständig) or slow:
• She’s not brilliant at English, but she’s making steady
progress. (= getting better all the time)
Here are some other ways to talk about progress:
make headway = make progress in a difficult area
• He’s trying to learn Russian, but he’s not making much
headway. (= His progress is very slow.)
get there = achieve your aims
• Software programming is very hard to understand, but
I’m slowly getting there. (= managing to understand it)
get nowhere = make no progress
• I tried to explain the situation to him, but I’m afraid I got
nowhere. (= I failed to make him understand.)
get on (with) = make good progress
• We’re getting on quite well with the flat. We’ve painted
two rooms already.
• How are you getting on with your homework? (= How
much have you done?)
Choose the correct words in bold to complete
the following sentences.
a) They say that in business, you need to get / make it
by the time you’re 40.
b) How are you getting on / off with the new house?
c) Everyone loved her new dress. It was an absolute
hit / flop.
d) They’re making good progress / success with the
ring road. It will be finished in 2016.
e) The garden needs a lot of work, but I’m slowly
going / getting there.
f) Her idea of living in India for a year is a complete
no-starter / non-starter.
g) I hope you have a succeeding / successful trip to
London.
h) He’s managed / succeeded to pass his driving test.
Answers: a) make; b) on; c) hit; d) progress (ring road: Umgehungsstraße); e) getting; f) non-starter; g) successful; h) managed
EXERCISE

Word Builder | LANGUAGE
Build your vocabulary
JOANNA WESTCOMBE presents useful words and phrases from this issue of Spotlight and
their collocations. The words may also have other meanings that are not listed here.
deposit [di(pQzIt] noun p. 59
pride [praId] noun p. 44
the first payment made for something expensive
a feeling that you are better or more important than
Anzahlung
other people
At last! We’ve put down a deposit on the
perfect flat.
The rest of the money to be paid is called the balance.
Stolz; Hochmut
When he lost the contract, it was mostly his
male pride that suffered.
Sometimes, you just have to swallow your pride.
roar [rO:] verb p. 47
(for example, of an engine) make a loud, deep sound
dröhnen
At the summer festival, the music roared as
the rain poured down.
See the extra notes below on how to use roar.
wrap [rÄp] verb p. 55
cover sth. completely, often in paper
einpacken
Can you wrap the cheese and put it in the
fridge, please?
Often, we wrap things up: “I wrapped up her present.”
entire [In(taIE] adjective p. 70
including everyone or every part of something
keep sb. on his / her toes
[)ki:p Qn )hIz / )h§: (tEUz] phrase p. 67
gesamt, ganz, komplett
I’ve just spent the entire evening trying to
install an update on my laptop.
Notice the stress on the second syllable: [In(taIE].
make people concentrate and prepared for the
unexpected
jmdn. auf Trab halten
I test my students regularly to keep them on
their toes.
How to use the verb roar
Check your dictionary for more phrases with toes.
Foto: iStock
The roar that the farmer heard in the short story on
page 46 came from a train’s engine. But other things
roar, too. Lions and certain wild animals were roaring
a long time before engines made any sound. And when
people get angry, they may roar at each other.
You can roar with laughter and roar your appreciation
(Anerkennung) of something. From the verb and noun
roar, we have the adjective roaring. On a cold day, it’s
pleasant to sit in front of a roaring fire.
If British people talk enthusiastically about a play or a
party, they might call it a roaring success. If you’re in
the engine business, and your sales are good, you can
say that you do a roaring trade in engines.
Things that roar are energetic and exciting, and so
were the 1920s, which is why this period is sometimes
known as the Roaring Twenties.
Complete the following sentences with words
from this page in their correct form.
a) Well, you know what they say: ___________ comes
before a fall.
b) We’d love to buy a house, but we can’t afford the
___________.
c) From here, you can hear the waterfall ___________
down on to the rocks below.
d) The ___________ village came out to watch as the
cyclists rode past on the Tour de France.
e) There’s no point in ___________ the bottle. He’ll drink
it straightaway.
f) Her home-made cider is always a roaring ___________
at parties.
OVER TO YOU!
Answers: a) pride; b) deposit; c) roaring; d) entire; e) wrapping; f) success
10|14 Spotlight
61

LANGUAGE | Perfectionists Only!
WILL O’RYAN explains developments in the English language and examines some of
the finer points of grammar.
The new
neediness
Speakers of English have long been
known for a tendency to express
themselves indirectly for fear of offending
(beleidigen, verletzen) someone.
This is probably also the underlying
cause of a new trend that has
been observed in recent years, particularly
in North American English:
an avoidance of the imperative. In
fact, some have even suggested that
the imperative construction is on its
way out of the language.
A few years ago, American writer
and language commentator Ben
Yagoda identified a popular new
sentence structure he calls “the kindergarten
imperative”. In place of
the traditional imperative, “Please +
infinitive”, we now have “I need you
to + infinitive”. This usage seems to
come from the speech of parents or
other adults when they are talking to
children. Today, one hears this construction
all the time, particularly
in the speech of figures of authority,
such as security personnel at airports:
“I need you to take your shoes off.”
Speaking of air travel, it seems
that some of the first people to start
using the kindergarten imperative
were flight attendants. To dress it up
(verbrämen, schönreden) even more,
they’ll add “go ahead” and “for me”:
“I need you to go ahead and return
your seat to its upright position for
me.” Beyond this specific construction,
“need to” has largely displaced
(verdrängen) the other verbs of obligation
or requirement: “have to”
“must” and “should”. So today, we
often hear “You need to...” where
once “You should...” was typical. It’s
popular in the first person: “I need
to go now”, for example, instead of
“I have to go now”.
-ity versus -ness
Grammar
Here, we will look at two suffixes: -ness and -ity. Both can be attached to
adjectives to form nouns with the general meaning “quality / state of being
[adjective]”, but they are greatly contrasted in their behaviour.
Let us focus first on -ity. Many -ity nouns entered English as loanwords from
French. The stem of the noun can, therefore, differ noticeably from the free
adjective: precocious (frühreif) — precocity, humble (bescheiden) — humility.
-ity nouns often have the stress on the syllable immediately before the suffix:
a) noble [(nEUb&l] nobility [nEU(bIlEti]
eccentric [Ik(sentrIk] eccentricity [)eksen(trIsEti]
The vowel (Vokal) of the stressed syllable is often changed from long to short:
b) verbose [v§:(bEUs] (wortreich) verbosity [v§:(bQsEti]
chaste [tSeIst] (keusch) chastity [(tSÄstEti]
The suffix -ity is subject to certain restrictions: it cannot be attached to
adjectives ending in one of the native Germanic suffixes (-ed, -ful, -ish, -less,
-ly). It is most typically added to adjectives of Romance origin, particularly
when they contain a Romance suffix, such as -ous. The -ous of the adjective
may also be missing in the noun: simultaneous [)sIm&l(teIniEs] — simultaneity
[)sIm&ltE(neIEti], continuous — continuity. In some cases, the spelling is
-ety ; for example, various — variety. The semantic relationship between
adjective and noun can also be less transparent than simply “quality / state of
being [adjective]”. While “variety” and “curiosity” both have the base reading,
there is also a further, concrete (countable) reading, as in (c):
c) How many varieties of fish are there in that lake? (variety = type)
I admired her dress, but only as a curiosity. (curiosity = sth. unusual)
On all three levels, phonological, morphological and semantic, -ity nouns are
not always transparent or predictable. In contrast, the suffix -ness is quite
straightforward: there is no change in the pronunciation or form of the base
adjective, and the semantics are entirely predictable. Moreover, it can be
attached to virtually any adjective and even to other word classes:
d) exactness oneness nothingness
There is one case in which -ity and -ness compete: many -ity nouns have
an adjective base ending in -able / -ible, such as avoidability, compatibility.
Here, -ity can be considered a freely productive suffix of present-day English.
Sustainability (Nachhaltigkeit) is a relatively recent example. Nonetheless,
in many cases, only the -ness noun exists: charitableness, reasonableness.
Speakers often prefer the -ity to the -ness noun, but there are plenty of cases
where both are used side by side. And when the adjective is used in a new or
informal (umgangssprachlich) sense, -ness has priority: “impossibleness” to
refer to a person’s behaviour rather than “impossibility”.
Complete these sentences with a nominalization of “monstrous”.
1. I simply cannot believe the ______________________ of his crimes.
2. That’s not a work of art, it’s a ______________________ .
Fotos: iStock
62
Spotlight 10|14
Answers: 1. “monstrosity” and “monstrousness” are both possible; 2. monstrosity

Crossword | LANGUAGE
Exploring Australia
The words in this puzzle are taken from the History article about
the Hume-Hovell expedition. You may wish to refer to pages 40–41.
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9
12 13
17
19
Competition!
10 11
14 15 16
20 21 22 23
27
Across
24 25
26
1. From one side to the other: “We sailed ______ the lake.”
4. To go behind someone else.
6. Past tense of “lie”: “We didn’t know what ______ ahead.”
7. To look for someone or something.
10. A round metal container with a handle, used for cooking.
12. Going somewhere on foot.
14. Up to a certain time.
17. Areas of land where food is grown.
18. Not many.
19. A male adult.
20. In the direction of: “We went ______ Sydney.”
21. Those people: “Did you go with ______?”
24. Not young.
25. To be: “Who ______ that?”
26. Raised: “They stood on an ______ platform.”
27. A primitive flat boat without sides.
How to take part
Form a single word from the letters in the coloured
squares. Send it on a postcard to:
Redaktion Spotlight, “October Prize Puzzle”,
Postfach 1565, 82144 Planegg, Deutsch land.
Or go to www.spotlight-online.de/crossword
Ten winners will be chosen from the entries we receive
by 20 October 2014. Each will receive the CD and app
Audiotraining Aufbau Englisch by courtesy of Pons.
The answer to our August puzzle was redwoods.
18
Mike Pilewski
Solution to puzzle 9/14:
WELCOME
E Q U A L L Y A N O
P I R N O
I N F L U E N C E
W A S E S I
I O L D R G A M E
T E H I
H O S P I T A L I T Y T
F S D C H
F L Y O A L I K E
E U F U R
R B A T H T U B S
I E H
B E T T E R R E G R E T
Down
1. Every part, or everyone.
2. Belonging to.
3. To perceive something.
4. “We were gone ______ two months.”
5. At what time?
7. Large boats that carry passengers or goods.
8. A strong disagreement.
9. To keep going.
11. A word of comparison: “You’re ______ tall as I am.”
13. Big.
15. “Don’t turn ______. Turn right.”
16. At this time.
17. At a greater distance.
19. Created.
22. To own or possess.
23. Past tense of “do”.
Congratulations to:
Ute Weiss (Schopfloch)
Inge Hübner (Hersbruck)
Christa Wiechert (Schwanewede)
Sylke Strüber (Neuruppin)
Ferdinand Babiak (Gummersbach)
Friederike Hegelau (Friedrichshafen)
Gerhard Wittmann (Lieboch, Austria)
Karin Resak (Ottendorf-Okrilla)
Marianne Ammann (CH-Jenins)
Gabrielle Kalke Hinterbuchner (Salzburg, Austria)
10|14 Spotlight 63

AUDIO | October 2014
Spotlight
AUDIO
Activate your English!
Each month, SPOTLIGHT AUDIO brings you 60 minutes of texts, dialogues, interviews,
news reports and language exercises related to the current issue of Spotlight magazine.
Improve your listening skills and activate your English with the help of native speakers
from around the world.
Wherever
you see this
symbol at the start of
an article in the magazine,
you will find the text
and/or the related
interview or language
exercises on
Spotlight Audio.
Fotos: Corbis; Getty Images; J. Hutchins; iStock
Spotlight Audio is presented by Rita Forbes and
David Creedon. Among the highlights are:
• A special focus. Spotlight Audio is built around
themes found in the magazine. In the October issue
of Spotlight Audio, the special focus is on New York
City. We discover the best way to cross the Brooklyn
Bridge, enjoy the Staten Island Ferry, get some insider
tips and learn the special words NYC natives use.
• Authentic and current content. In the Replay
section, Spotlight Audio looks at news and recent
events from around the world. This section features
listening exercises with the voices of people who’ve
been in the news, including quotes from politicians,
journalists and business people.
• A variety of English accents. You’ll hear native
speakers from the US (Travel), Ireland (A Day in My
Life), Canada (Debate) and a number of regional
accents from around Britain. Interviews and reports
allow you to hear a wide range of voices from different
parts of the English-speaking world.
Choose your listening format
Spotlight Audio is available either as a download
or as a CD.
Find out more about how to subscribe to Spotlight Audio at:
• aboshop.spotlight-verlag.de/de/spotlight-hoeren
• www.spotlight-online.de/products/audio-cd
• www.sprachenshop.de/spotlight-audio
64 Spotlight 10|14
This month’s
audio content
Below is a complete list
of the tracks on October’s
Spotlight Audio.
The page numbers refer to
those in the current issue of
Spotlight magazine.
1. Introduction
2. World View: It’s a good month for...
autumn colours (text: p. 10)
3. A Day in My Life: Mountain rescue expert
Piaras Kelly (interview: pp. 8–9)
4. Britain Today: Everything has its limits
(text: p. 13)
5. Travel: Inside New York
(excerpt: pp. 14–21)
6. Travel: A native New Yorker
(interview: pp. 14–21)
7. Travel: What they say in NYC (pp. 14–21)
8. Everyday English: Books
(dialogues: pp. 55–56)
9. Food: Traditional Native American
cooking (interview: pp. 24–25)
10. American Life: Small is beautiful
(text: p. 67)
11. Replay: International news, with language
explanations
12. Replay: The Dark Net
13. Replay: The Monkey Selfie
14. Language: Poetry, please! (pp. 30–35)
15. Language: Enjoying poetry (pp. 30–35)
16. Debate: Does Canada still need public
broadcasting? (interviews: pp. 38–39)
17. English at Work: Putting a caller through
(p. 59)
18. Peggy’s Place: Decision time? (text: p. 58)
19. Short Story: The mountain railway
(text: pp. 46–47)
20. Conclusion
World View (track 2)
Travel (tracks 5–7)
Language (tracks 14–15)
Debate (track 16)

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THE LIGHTER SIDE | Wit and Wisdom
Be careful when a naked person offers
you a shirt.
Maya Angelou (1928–2014), American writer
Dentist’s bill
A man phones his dentist when he receives a huge bill from
her. “I’m shocked,” he says. “This is three times what you
normally charge.”
“Yes, I know,” says the dentist. “But you screamed so much,
you scared away two other patients.”
© Bulls
Good image
Peanuts
The Argyle Sweater
A job making mirrors is something I could really see myself
doing.
Fast food
My sister bet me I couldn’t build a car out of spaghetti.
You should have seen her face when I drove pasta.
bet sb. [bet]
capture [(kÄptSE]
charge [tSA:dZ]
light bulb [(laIt bVlb]
pasta [(pÄstE]
see oneself doing sth.
[(si: wVn)self )du:IN]
surprise twist
[sE)praIz (twIst]
torture [(tO:tSE]
mit jmdm. eine Wette eingehen
gefangen nehmen
verlangen
Glühbirne
Nudeln; Wortspiel mit „past her”
sich vorstellen können, etw. zu tun
überraschende Wendung, Drehung
foltern
Writers
• Jerry meets an old friend he hasn’t seen for years. The
friend asks Jerry what he’s doing nowadays. “I’m doing
what I’ve always wanted to do,” says Jerry. “I’m a writer.”
“That’s great!” the friend replies. “Have you sold anything
yet?” “Sure,” says Jerry. “I’ve sold my house, my car
— nearly all my stuff.”
• What does a crime writer do when he changes a light bulb?
He likes to give it a surprise twist at the end.
Spies like us
Three spies are captured. The first spy is French, the second
one is German and the third is Italian. Soldiers enter their
cell, take out the French spy, sit him down on a chair in the
next room and tie his hands behind him. They torture him
for two hours before he answers all their questions. The
soldiers throw the French spy back into the cell and bring
out the German. They tie his hands, too, and torture him for
four hours before he tells them what they want to know.
Next, they bring out the Italian. They tie his hands behind
his back and begin to torture him. Four hours go by, and the
Italian hasn’t said a word, then eight hours and 16 hours.
After 24 hours, the soldiers give up and take him back to his
cell. The German and French spies are impressed and ask
him how he managed not to talk. The Italian spy responds,
“I wanted to, but I couldn’t move my hands.”
© Bulls
66
Spotlight 10|14

In a small
town, you can
start and end your
life at the same
place
American Life | GINGER KUENZEL
Small is beautiful
Das Leben in einer kleinen Stadt hat viele Vorzüge, aber ein
paar davon sind so skurril, dass man sich nur wundern kann,
wenn man davon hört.
Foto: iStock
There’s a lot to like about living
in a small town. For example,
one could easily get through
an entire lifetime here in Hague
without ever having to parallel park.
Of course, there are lots of other
things that make small-town life so
wonderful. What I always tell people
about Hague is: “Hard to get there,
harder to leave.” And here are a few
of the reasons — in no particular
order.
When I cut my finger with a
knife recently, I had to make a trip
to the emergency room in the next
town. The receptionist there asked
me if I had ever been to that hospital
before. I thought for a moment, and
then said, “I was born here. Does
that count?” Only in a small town
are you likely to go back, decades
later, to the hospital where you were
born. And since they’ve now replaced
the original hospital building with a
senior living center, it’s even possible
for me to start and end my life at the
same place.
My hairdresser, Bridget, is also in
the next town. She comes from a big
family, and her parents come from
big families, so she’s related to nearly
everyone — in several towns in the
area — either by blood or by marriage.
The fact that there have been
lots of failed marriages and subsequent
remarriages expands her pool
of relatives even further. The result is
that Bridget’s hair salon is the ideal
place to hear all the gossip about
everyone.
Since I’m not related, maybe
she doesn’t tell tales about me after
I leave. But then again, how can I
be sure? That’s why I often wear a
T-shirt that says “Careful, or you
might end up in my novel” when I
go to see Bridget. I like to keep her
on her toes and wondering who’s going
to talk about whom first.
It was very wise of my parents
to give me a name that nobody else
in Hague had. Last summer, I was
at the Hague Market checkout. As
I was leaving, Jim, the owner, said,
“See you later, Ginger.” Suddenly,
someone else in line said: “Ginger?
I think we might have rented your
house back in the ’90s!” It turned out
to be true. We had only had contact
by phone back then. We had never
met. What a pleasant surprise to
meet finally.
There are a million other reasons
to love living in a small town. When
my well pump broke recently, lots of
people offered to help out — either
by letting me use their shower or by
dropping off containers of water at
my house. And although having no
water might seem like a very big
problem, it’s obviously just an inconvenience
compared to more serious
problems, such as a fire or medical
Ginger Kuenzel is a freelance writer who lived in Munich for 20 years.
She now calls a small town in upstate New York home.
emergency, or the death of a loved
one. In those cases, too, people here
pull together and offer the kind of
comfort and support that can come
only from those who know you well.
One disadvantage about living
here is that I can’t simply dash to the
store looking like a wreck, because
I’m sure to run into lots of people
I know. Of course, they don’t care
nearly as much as I do that I have
coffee stains on my shirt and bags
under my eyes. That’s not the kind of
thing that counts here.
Maybe one day, I’ll be paying for
my coffee at the Hague Market and
someone will say, “Hey, is this the
Hague I read about in Spotlight?”
Small towns: great places
checkout [(tSekaUt]
Kasse
comfort [(kVmf&rt]
Trost
dash [dÄS]
flitzen
drop sth. off [drA:p (O:f]
etw. vorbeibringen
failed [feI&ld]
gescheitert
gossip [(gA:sEp]
Klatsch
inconvenience [)InkEn(vi:niEns]
Unannehmlichkeit
keep sb. on his/her toes [)ki:p A:n hIz/h§: (toUz] jmdn. auf Trab halten ( p. 61)
likely: be ~ to do sth. [(laIkli]
etw. wahrscheinlich tun
parallel park [)pÄrElel (pA:rk]
parallel zum Gehsteig einparken
(meist rückwärts)
senior living center [)si:nj&r (lIvIN )sent&r]
Seniorenresidenz
stain [steIn]
Fleck
subsequent [(sVbsIkwEnt]
nachfolgend, später
turn out [t§:n (aUt]
sich erweisen
well pump [(wel pVmp]
Brunnenpumpe
10|14 Spotlight 67

FEEDBACK | Readers’ Views
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We may edit letters for
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Welt. Ich danke Ihnen für den bewunderungswürdigen
Einsatz des ganzen Redaktionsteams. Gerne
werde ich Spotlight weiterempfehlen.
Hans Martin Baumann, Winterthur, Switzerland
Before? Really?
Spotlight 4/14: Travel — “On tour in London”. In dem
Bericht über die Harry-Potter-Tour durch London heißt
es: “Slowly, the screen lifts, and we find ourselves standing
before the actual doors.” Ich habe “before” noch nie
als adverbiale Bestimmung des Ortes gehört. Können Sie
mich bitte aufklären?
Brigitta Hansen, by e-mail
Other readers have also questioned this use of the word “before”.
It is correct, although it is more commonly found in
old-fashioned or poetic contexts. Today, it is most often used
in situations in which someone is standing in front of something
impressive or someone who commands respect (“We
stood before the queen.”)
The Editor
Anne Kuhberger, a pupil from Wallerstein, Bavaria, was our intern
for one week in August. During her stay with us, Anne learned
about the various aspects of writing, editing and production that
go into making this magazine each month.
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68
Spotlight 10|14

FREE NEXT MONTH
November 2014 | NEXT MONTH
A special extra section
that gives you the vocabulary boost you need. Improve your word power!
Features
US English versus
UK English — what’s
the difference?
Pants. In US English, they’re a
piece of clothing that covers
your legs. In British English,
they’re underwear. These
two forms of English contain
many differences. We tell
you what they are and what’s
special about them.
A very personal
guide to the
island of Jersey
Meet author Claus Beling: he
writes murder mysteries set
on Jersey, one of the Channel
Islands. Join us for a personal
tour of his favourite beaches
and hiking trails while also
learning about Jersey’s fascinating
culture.
To cook or not to cook?
A look at the
raw-food movement
Fans of the raw-food movement say
that preparing meals without the
use of heat is a healthy way to live.
Find out more about how you can
eat eggs, vegetables, meat and much
more — all uncooked.
Language
Vocabulary Everyday English Spoken English
Fotos: Polka Dot; Digital Vision; Getty Images; Photos.com; Hemera; Wavebreak Media
Say “cheese”! We present two pages
with pictures plus the words and
expressions that you need to talk
about photography.
What do people normally say to a
colleague who is leaving? Join the
party and learn about the type of
conversations that take place.
Just a moment: how do you check
that you’ve understood what
someone has said? Learn the right
questions to make sure you “get it”.
Spotlight 11/14 is on sale from
29 October
10|14 Spotlight
69

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | My Life in English
As a musician, what
makes English important
to you?
English is the language of
popular music. Having
said that, I write songs
almost exclusively in
German — but I communicate
in English with
musicians from other
countries.
When was your first English lesson, and what can you
remember about it?
It was in the fifth class. Our teacher predicted that for
the rest of our lives, we would never forget that the word
Kiste means “box” in English. I’m not at the end of my
life yet, but I think he was probably right.
Who is your favourite English-language musician? Why?
I like the English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran a lot at
the moment. My all-time favourites are Sting, Billy Joel
and Paul Simon. When truth and poetry meet without
ending up in kitschy platitudes and the entire thing is
brilliantly connected with music — then I raise my hat.
What song do you most like to sing in English?
Sorry, but I wouldn’t know where to begin.
Which person from the English-speaking world would
you most like to meet?
Nick Park, the film-maker behind Wallace and Gromit,
is welcome to invite me for a tour through Aardman
studios.
If you could be any place in the English-speaking world
right now, where would it be?
I was in California in January, and it was 26 °C.
I wouldn’t mind experiencing that more often.
Oliver Gies
Er ist Komponist, Dirigent und Songschreiber. Aber am besten kennt
man ihn als Teil der A-cappella-Band Maybebop. Hier sinniert Oliver
Gies über die Bedeutung des Englischen in seinem Leben.
Which is your favourite city in the English-speaking
world and why?
London is fascinating to me — not beautiful, but interesting.
There is something to discover on every corner.
What was your best or funniest experience in English?
I’m always shy about speaking, because I don’t think my
English is very good. So, I was very uncommunicative
at the beginning of Maybebop’s US trip earlier this year.
Then I realized two things: first, native speakers are
happy if you can simply make yourself understood, no
matter how basic your language is. And second, every
taxi driver in Washington, DC, spoke considerably
worse than I did.
What is your favourite English word and why?
“Well, ...” It gives me time to think of the words I need.
Which phrase do you use most in English?
“What is the English word for...?”
Which English word is hardest for you to pronounce?
“Squirrel.”
Which person from the English-speaking world would
you choose to be stuck with on a desert island?
Comedian Steve Carell, because he’s so funny and sad
at the same time; actress Zoe Saldana, because she’s so
beautiful; and actor Chuck Norris, because he knows
how to survive under inhospitable circumstances.
What do you do to improve your English — if anything?
I have an English dictionary and an app to practise
vocabulary. Whenever I see a new English word, I look
for the translation and add it to my app. And sometimes,
I even practise the words.
What would be your motto in English?
Shit happens. Enjoy the ride anyway.
circumstances [(s§:kEmstÄnsIz]
considerably [kEn(sIdErEb&li]
desert [(dezEt]
entire [In(taIE]
Umstände, Bedingungen
beträchtlich, deutlich
hier: verlassen, einsam
gesamt, ganz, komplett
( p. 61)
inhospitable [)InhQ(spItEb&l]
mind [maInd]
no matter [)nEU (mÄtE]
predict [pri(dIkt]
squirrel [(skwIrEl]
unwirtlich, menschenfeindlich
etw. dagegen haben
ganz egal, unabhängig davon
vorhersagen
Eichhörnchen
Foto: Sven Sindt
70
Spotlight 10|14

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Green Light
10 2014
ENGLISCH LEICHT GEMACHT
Grammar
Practise
using the
past tense
Vocabulary
Learn the
words you
need at
Halloween
Culture
Find out
who the
Archers are

GREEN LIGHT | News
This month...
Was beschäftigt die englischsprachige
Welt im Oktober? VANESSA CLARK spürt
die heißen Storys für Sie auf.
Sweets for my sweet
Society In the Midwestern and Northeastern
states of the US, the third Saturday in
October is called “Sweetest Day”. It’s a day
when people give candy to their friends,
family and lovers.
Who started Sweetest Day? The candy
industry, of course. The first Sweetest Day
was in 1921 in Cleveland, Ohio. A group of
candy-makers gave 20,000 boxes of sweets
to poor children, hospital patients and old
people. They wanted to begin a new tradition
— and to sell more of their products.
Ed
loves
penguins
1969
45 years ago
UK On 5 October 1969, the BBC showed a new
TV comedy series: Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
It was the start of a revolution in comedy.
This year, the Pythons reunited for a one-off
show. The first 14,500 tickets were sold out in
less than a minute.
Music The hottest
tickets in London this
month are for Ed
Sheeran’s four nights at the
O 2
Arena. Fans want to hear his
big hits, “Lego House” and “The
A Team”, as well as newer songs
from his album X (pronounced “multiply”).
X is one of the biggest albums of
2014 on both sides of the Atlantic.
In his concerts, Sheeran stands alone on
stage. He plays his guitar and sings — that’s
all. There are no other musicians. There’s no
band, and there are no dancers. He recently
tweeted: “If I ever have any backup dancers,
I want the penguins from Madagascar.” Ed
and dancing penguins — who wouldn’t
want to see that?
backup dancer
[(bÄkVp )dA:nsE]
lover [(lVvE]
multiply [(mVltIplaI]
one-off [)wVn (Qf]
UK ifml.
pronounce [prE(naUns]
reunite [)ri:ju(naIt]
sell out [sel (aUt]
Hintergrundtänzer(in)
Geliebte(r)
multiplizieren
einmalig
aussprechen
wieder zusammenkommen
ausverkaufen
Fotos: Corbis; iStock; PR; Illustrationen: B. Förth
2
Spotlight 10|14

Halloween
8 pictures | GREEN LIGHT
STEPHANIE SHELLABEAR presents words for the things you might see on
31 October.
1
8
2
7
3
6
4
Write the words
next to the pictures.
1. ghost [gEUst]
2. witch [wItS]
3. bat [bÄt]
4. pumpkin
[(pVmpkIn]
5. vampire
[(vÄmpaIE]
6. haunted house
[)hO:ntId (haUs]
7. spider [(spaIdE]
8. cobweb
[(kQbweb]
Answers
a) pumpkin; b) spider; c) cobweb;
d) ghost; e) witch; f) vampire
5
Complete the story using words from the list.
I love Halloween. I buy the biggest orange (a) __________
I can find. Into it, I cut a face with big eyes and long teeth,
and then I put a light inside. A little black (b) __________ has
been busy and made a (c) __________ over my front door.
How perfect! When the children arrive at my house, one is
dressed as a (d) __________ — all in white. One is dressed as
a (e) __________, with a tall black hat. The third child has big,
white teeth with blood on them; he’s a (f) __________. All
together, they shout: “Trick or treat!”
Trick or treat — in German Süßes oder Saures — is what
children shout when they go from house to house in their
costumes at Halloween. It means: we will play a trick on you (do
something bad) if you don’t give us a treat (something sweet).
Tips
10|14 Spotlight 3

GREEN LIGHT | Grammar elements
The past simple
STEPHANIE SHELLABEAR presents basic grammar. Here, she explains the
use of regular and irregular verbs in the past simple tense.
The past simple tense is used to talk about finished actions and past facts.
For regular verbs, the past simple is formed by adding -ed to the infinitive:
• He played with the dogs.
• They watched a DVD together.
Not all verbs in the past simple are formed by adding -ed. There are other types of regular
verbs. Look at the examples below:
verbs ending in add examples
-e -d loved, liked, hoped
consonant + -y change -y to -i, add -ed tried, carried, cried
one vowel (Vokal) + one consonant double the last letter, add -ed stopped, planned
1. Write the correct past simple form of the following verbs.
a) arrive ______________________
b) shout ______________________
c) fit ______________________
d) touch ______________________
e) hurry ______________________
f) reply ______________________
There are many irregular verbs. The past simple forms of these verbs are different from the
infinitive. It is best to learn them one by one. You already know many of them; for example:
infinitive
buy
drink
eat
give
go
tell
past simple
bought
drank
ate
gave
went
told
Answers: 1. a) arrived; b) shouted; c) fitted
((an)passen, montieren); d) touched (berühren);
e) hurried; f) replied (antworten);
2. a) gave; b) bought; c) told; d) went
2. Complete these sentences with the past
simple form of the verbs in bold.
a) My mum _________ (give) my old bike to my
little sister.
b) We _________ (buy) some flowers for our
neighbour.
c) The teacher ________________ (tell) them to
be quiet.
d) David ________________ (go) to university in
York.
Fotos: iStock
4
Spotlight 10|14

An extra hour
It’s Sunday morning. Donna is in the kitchen making coffee
when Andrew comes in. By DAGMAR TAYLOR
The Greens | GREEN LIGHT
Donna: Hi! You were up early. Where did
you go?
Andrew: I went to the shop to get a paper
and some milk. Guess what we forgot to
do last night.
Donna: I don’t know. What?
Andrew: Put the clocks back. The shop
wasn’t even open when I got there.
Donna: So what did you do?
Andrew: I had a nice chat with Bob from
next door. He and Betty forgot to
change their clocks, too. He says hello,
by the way.
Donna: Aw, that’s nice. We should have
them round to see the wedding photos.
Andrew: Yes, we should. I’m pretty sure
Betty’s dying to see them.
Donna: What about today? We’re not doing
anything, are we?
Andrew: No, we’re not, but can I have my
breakfast first, please?
Donna: Of course you can, dear. Coffee?
• Here, up means “out of bed”.
• People talk about a / the paper when
they mean the newspaper: “Have you
read the paper?”
• When you want someone to try to give
an answer to your question, you begin
with Guess what...
• In the EU, the clocks go back one hour
at 3 a.m. on the last Sunday in October.
People talk about putting the clocks
back or “changing the clocks”.
• When you have someone round, you
invite someone into your home, usually
for tea or coffee, or for dinner.
• If someone is dying to do something
(ifml.), he or she wants to do it very much.
Tips
by the way [)baI DE (weI]
say hello [seI hE(lEU]
wedding [(wedIN]
Find the missing words.
a) You ______ up early.
b) Where ______ you go?
c) I ______ to get the paper.
d) I ______ a nice chat with Bob.
übrigens
jmdm. schöne
Grüße ausrichten
Hochzeit
Donna
Andrew
Listen to the dialogue at
www.spotlight-online.de/products/green-light
Answers: a) were / got; b) did; c) went; d) had

GREEN LIGHT | Get writing
Inviting yourself
VANESSA CLARK helps you to write letters, e-mails and more in English.
This month: how to invite yourself to stay with a friend.
I’m coming to Liverpool!
To...
CC...
Subject:
k.bunton@scousemail.net
I’m coming to Liverpool!
Hi Kiera
How are you? I hope you remember me, your former colleague from Switzerland.
You very kindly said I could come and stay with you next time I’m in Liverpool.
I’m coming to Liverpool next month, and I’d love to see you. Do you still have your spare room?
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.
Love
Trudi
• The words very kindly (freundlicherweise) are quite
polite, as in these examples: “You very kindly invited
me” or “You very kindly offered...”
• A spare room is an extra bedroom for guests.
• To check, ask: Would it be OK to...? or “Is it OK if I...?”
• If you’re not sure how long you want to stay, you can
say, “a couple of days” (ein paar Tage), “a short visit” or
a few days.
Tips
Fotos: Alamy; iStock
Use it!
Highlight the key words and phrases that you would use if
you needed to write an e-mail like this yourself .
convenient [kEn(vi:niEnt]
former [(fO:mE]
Switzerland [(swItsElEnd]
passend, gelegen
früher, ehemalig
Schweiz
6
Spotlight 10|14

Culture corner | GREEN LIGHT
I like... The Archers
Jeden Monat stellt ein Redakteur
etwas Besonderes aus der
englischsprachigen Welt vor.
Diesen Monat präsentiert
Chefredakteurin INEZ SHARP ihre
Lieblingsradiosendung.
What it is
Every weekday and on Sundays, five million
Brits listen to BBC Radio 4’s 15-minute drama,
The Archers. At the heart of the programme
is the Archer family. Called an “everyday story
of country folk”, the action takes place in the
fictional village of Ambridge. When the show
started in 1950, the focus was on farming life,
but the stories have expanded to cover topics
such as drugs and crime. A lot of the actors
have been with the series for many years —
the actor Norman Painting played Phil Archer
for 59 years.
Fun facts
• Many of the actors in the series have
other jobs. Felicity Finch, who plays
Ruth Archer, is also a reporter for the
BBC.
• The tempo of the theme tune has been
used to teach doctors in England the
rhythm needed for cardiopulmonary
resuscitation.
• Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, is one of
many famous people who have been
in the series.
Why I like it
I have listened to The Archers for so long that
David and Ruth Archer sound as familiar to
me as my own family. When I moved to the
Far East in 1989, I could not listen to the
programme. In shock, I called the BBC World
Service. The nice lady on the phone told me:
“There isn’t much interest in Ambridge in
Asia.” When I came back to Europe, I was so
happy I created my own dance to the famous
theme tune. Does that sound as if I’m not
interested in the lives of the country folk of
Ambridge? I am, of course, but a lot of what
happens is like comforting background noise,
so if I miss something important, I can ask
one of my English friends. They all listen, too.
create [kri(eIt]
crime [kraIm]
expand [Ik(spÄnd]
familiar [fE(mIliE]
fictional [(fIkS&nEl]
take place [teIk (pleIs]
theme tune [(Ti:m tju:n]
topic [(tQpIk]
erschaffen,
kreieren
Verbrechen
weiterentwickeln
bekannt, vertraut
fiktiv, frei erfunden
stattfinden
Titelmelodie
Thema
background [(bÄkgraUnd]
cardiopulmonary
resuscitation
[)kA:diEU)pVlmEnEri
ri)sVsI(teIS&n]
comforting [(kVmfEtIN]
country folk [(kVntri fEUk]
Hintergrund
Herz-Lungen-
Wiederbelebung
beruhigend,
tröstlich
Landleute, Landbevölkerung

GREEN LIGHT | Notes and numbers
Decimals
English-speaking people write and read out
(vorlesen) decimal numbers with a point,
not a comma. The numbers after the point
are said separately (einzeln):
89.12 = “eighty-nine point one two”
2.5 = “two point five”
0.33 = “zero point three three”
Your notes
Use this space for your own notes.
Write these numbers as you would
say them.
one point three
a) 1.3 _________________________________
b) 3.142 ________________________________
_____________________________________
c) 9.67 _______________________________
_____________________________________
d) 12.5 _______________________________
_____________________________________
e) 75.99 _______________________________
______________________________________
Get to the point
When someone is talking and you find it
difficult to follow that person because it is
not clear what he or she wants to say, the
person is not getting to the point:
• What a long story. I wish she would get
to the point.
Answers: b) three point one four two; c) nine point six
seven; d) twelve point five; e) seventy-five point nine nine
Fotos: Hemera; iStock
IMPRESSUM
Herausgeber und Verlagsleiter: Dr. Wolfgang Stock
Chefredakteurin: Inez Sharp
Stellvertretende Chefredakteurin: Claudine Weber-Hof
Chefin vom Dienst: Susanne Pfeifer
Autoren: Vanessa Clark, Stephanie Shellabear,
Dagmar Taylor
Redaktion: Owen Connors, Anja Giese,
Peter Green, Reinhild Luk, Michael Pilewski (Online),
Michele Tilgner, Joanna Westcombe
Bildredaktion: Sarah Gough (Leitung), Thorsten Mansch
Gestaltung: Marion Sauer/Johannes Reiner
www.vor-zeichen.de
Anzeigenleitung: Axel Zettler
Marketingleitung: Holger Hofmann
Produktionsleitung: Ingrid Sturm
Vertriebsleitung: Monika Wohlgemuth
Verlag und Redaktion: Spotlight Verlag GmbH
Postanschrift: Postfach 1565, 82144 Planegg, Deutschland
Telefon +49(0)89/8 56 81-0, Fax +49(0)89/8 56 81-105
Internet: www.spotlight-online.de
Litho: Mohn Media Mohndruck GmbH, 33311 Gütersloh
Druck: Medienhaus Ortmeier, 48369 Saerbeck
© 2014 Spotlight Verlag, auch für alle genannten Autoren,
Fotografen und Mitarbeiter.
UNSER SPRACHNIVEAU: Das Sprachniveau in Green Light entspricht ungefähr Stufe A2 des
Gemeinsamen Europäischen Referenzrahmens für Sprachen.

Spotlight
10 2014
Grammar to go 2!
DAGMAR TAYLOR hat für Sie die wichtigsten grundlegenden Grammatikregeln zum
Heraustrennen und Aufbewahren zusammengestellt.
On the following pages, which you can pull out and keep, we have collected some of the most important grammar rules
of the English language and added tips on how to remember them. With tables, explanations and examples, we help
you to understand these rules and get your grammar right.
ARTICLES
There are two articles in English — the definite article the and the indefinite article a / an.
a
an
before consonants and u [ju:] before vowels (a, e, i, o, u)
car
apple
cat
elephant
dog
ice cube
house
orange
university
umbrella
With “the”
When the person you are talking to knows which thing or
things you mean, use the:
Where’s the cake?
It’s on the table in the dining room.
A / an
A or an is used when “one” is meant:
Can you get an onion when you go to the supermarket?
Yes. Shall I get a bottle of wine, too?
When talking about jobs
or professions in English,
use a / an:
Is Jane an architect?
- No, she’s a biologist.
Without “the”
To talk about things in general, the is not used before
uncountable nouns or plural nouns:
Paul loves Italian food.
Yes, but he doesn’t like artichokes.
COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
Countable nouns (C) can be counted and have plural forms. Uncountable nouns (U) do not have plural forms.
countable
loaf of bread (Brotlaib), slice of bread (Brotscheibe)
apple, banana, kiwi
chair, cupboard, table
piece of information
coin, dollar, note
bottle of water, glass of water, litre of water
uncountable
bread
fruit
furniture
information
money
water
Fotos: Thinkstock
Some nouns can be either countable or uncountable, depending on the situation:
It’s so hot. I’d really like an ice cream. (C)
Would you like a coffee? I’m having one. (C)
Me, too. Let’s go to Luca’s. They have the best ice No, thanks. I’m afraid coffee gives me a
cream in town. (U)
headache. (U)
10|14 Spotlight 1

MUCH, MANY AND A LOT
Much is used with uncountable nouns. Many is used with plural nouns.
much
many
How much money have you got? Will there be many children at the party?
Not much.
Yes. Too many, I expect.
I spent too much yesterday. I hope there won’t be many noisy boys.
In informal English, much and many are mostly used
in questions and negative clauses. In affirmative
clauses
, other words are often used, especially
a lot (of) and lots (of). These phrases can be used with
both countable and uncountable nouns:
Look! There are lots and lots of balloons.
I told you this party would be a lot of fun.
Much and many sound natural in affirmative clauses
when they come after as, so or too:
I can’t believe Marcus has bought a horse. It cost
as much as my car.
I know. He spent far too much on it. But that’s how
Marcus is. He spends too much on so many things he
doesn’t need.
IRREGULAR PLURAL FORMS
To make most nouns plural, simply add -s (cat — cats; car — cars). However, not all plural forms are made with -s.
general rule singular plural
noun ends in -f or -fe
change to -ves
shelf
knife
shelves
knives
noun ends in -s, -sh, -ch, -x
add -es
bus
dish
watch
box
buses
dishes
watches
boxes
noun ends in consonant and -y
remove -y, add -ies
baby
dictionary
babies
dictionaries
The plural of some nouns is irregular.
singular
child
fish
foot
man
mouse
person
sheep
tooth
woman
plural
children
fish
feet
men
mice
people
sheep
teeth
women
Some nouns that
end in -o take -s to form the
plural, others take -es:
zoo — zoos
tomato — tomatoes
Some can take either -s or -es:
volcanos or volcanoes
Some words are always used in their plural form — mainly things that have two parts joined together, such as
glasses (Brille), jeans, pyjamas, scissors, shorts, tights (Strumpfhose) and trousers:
I can’t read that. The print is too small.
I’ve got the scissors. Do you need them?
I think you need new glasses.
No thanks. I used a knife instead.
2
Spotlight 10|14

SOME AND ANY
To talk about indefinite quantities, some is used in affirmative sentences .
Any is used in negative sentences and in most questions .
some any
The same rules apply to someone, anyone, somebody, anybody, something and anything:
I think you’ve got something on
your shirt.
Oh, dear! It’s curry. There’s some
on my trousers, too.
Was it good? I hope there’s some
left.
I need something to clean it off
with.
It looks as if there isn’t any paper
in the printer.
You’re right. There doesn’t seem
to be any on the shelf.
I’ve looked in the cupboard, and
there isn’t anything there.
Typical. Just when you need
help, there isn’t anybody here.
Hello! Can anyone hear me? Is
anybody
there?
Is there anything I can help you
with?
Why can I never find anything in
my own kitchen?
Why doesn’t anyone listen to
me when I’m talking?
Offers and requests
Some is used in questions when the speaker offers something and expects the answer “yes”:
Would you like some cake with your coffee?
We also use some when we ask for something specific:
Can I borrow some of your books?
The rules are the same for someone, somebody and something:
Would you like something to drink?
Yes, please. Will someone come and take our order, or should we order at the bar?
PREPOSITIONS AND TIME — AT, IN, ON
The table below shows you when to use at, in and on when talking about time.
at in on
times, weekend, festivals part of day, longer period of time particular day
at three o’clock in the evening on Tuesday
at lunchtime in April on Christmas Day
at the weekend (UK) in spring on my birthday
at Easter in 1976 on Monday morning
I get up at six o’clock.
Even at the weekend?
(Note that North Americans say “on the weekend”.)
I wish my interview wasn’t so early in the morning.
When is it? On Monday?
No. It’s on the 19th.
No prepositions
At, in and on are not normally used before expressions of time with next, this, that, last, one, any, each, every,
some or all:
The new club is great. I danced all night.
So will you be going next week, too?
Yes. I hope I can go there every week.
10|14 Spotlight 3

PREPOSITIONS AND PLACE — AT, IN, ON
At, in and on are used not only when talking about time, but also to say where something is located.
at
on
in
at in on
at the back in the room on the wall
at the station in the building on the floor
at the top (of the page) in a town on the front page
at the end (of the book) in a photo on the ground floor
At is used to talk about the position of something at a
certain point:
• She’s sitting at her desk.
At is used with larger buildings or places that have many
different areas:
• Kevin works at the airport.
At is also used to describe a group activity at a certain
location, like a concert, a match or a party:
• Sorry that I didn’t call back. I was at a concert last night.
In is used for the position of things inside large areas:
• Sheila lives in London.
On is used to talk about the position of an object on a
surface (Oberfläche):
• The book is on the table.
CONTRACTIONS
Contractions (short forms) are used in natural spoken English and in informal writing, such as e-mails and letters to
friends and colleagues you know well.
The verb “be”
The following contractions are used with the verb be; for example, in the present simple or present continuous:
be
I am I’m I’m not
you, we, they are you’re, we’re, they’re you, we, they aren’t
he, she, it is he’s, she’s, it’s he, she, it isn’t
I’m hungry, Mum.
You’re late. And why aren’t you wearing
your coat?
It’s at Paul’s house. Isn’t dinner ready?
The verb “have”
We use short forms of the verb have in the present perfect (’ve). Here, ’s is the contraction of has:
have
I, you, we, they have ’ve haven’t
he, she, it has ’s hasn’t
It’s been (has been) a few months since Steve left. He hasn’t phoned.
I haven’t heard from him either, but to be honest, I’ve been too busy
to call him.
“had”, “will” and “would”
’d is the contraction of would, as well as had when used in the past perfect.
’ll is the contraction of will:
had, will, would
I, you, he, she, it, we, they had ’d hadn’t
I, you, he, she, it, we, they will ’ll won’t
I, you, he, she, it, we, they would ’d wouldn’t
I’d (I would) like to leave early today, if possible.
Oh! I didn’t realize Sue’d (Sue had) left more orders on my desk.
Don’t worry. I’ll help you with them tomorrow if you’re
too busy.
Other contractions
Some of these short forms are also used after question words (what, where, who, etc.) and that, there and here:
Where’s Kyle?
I don’t know, but here’s Marvin.
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THIS, THAT, THESE AND THOSE
This, that, these and those are used with nouns — people or things.
near far
singular this that
plural these those
On the telephone, this
is used to say who is
calling:
- This is Julie. Could
I speak to Mark,
please?
This (singular) and these (plural) are used to talk about people and things that are close
to the speaker and for situations that the speaker is in at the moment:
Helen, this is John. He wrote the book you’re holding.
Really? This one? Could you sign it for me, please?
I love these shoes. They’re so comfortable.
They’re nice. This handbag would match them nicely.
That (singular) and those (plural) are used to talk about people, things and situations that are more distant:
Who’s that over there?
The man with the beard? That’s Barry.
But what are those children in the corner doing to that poor cat?
POSSESSIVE FORMS
Possessive forms give us information about the owner of something.
possessive (+ noun)
possessive (no noun)
my
mine
your
yours
his
his
her
hers
its –
our
ours
your
yours
their
theirs
Note that there is no
apostrophe [E(pQstrEfi]
in the possessive its:
- His dog can‘t
remember where its
bone is hidden.
My, your, his, etc. are used before nouns to say to whom something belongs.
Mine, yours, his, etc. are used without a following noun:
I’ve got my coat. Where’s yours?
I think mine is in the kitchen... Yes. Here it is.
Judy and Simon haven’t sold their house yet.
They haven’t? We’ve just sold ours.
Possessives, not articles, are used to talk about possessions and parts of the body:
Harry broke his arm yesterday. (not: the arm)
We say a friend of mine, not: a friend of me:
This is my friend Julius.
Julius, you’re Tim’s friend, aren’t you? Welcome! Any friend of his is a friend of mine.
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REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS
Reflexive pronouns are used when the same person or thing is the subject and the object of the sentence:
• He (subject) talks to himself (object) all the time.
singular
plural
myself
ourselves
yourself
yourselves
himself, herself, itself
themselves
Some verbs are reflexive in German, but not in English:
Some verbs, such as burn, cut,
enjoy and hurt take a reflexive
pronoun:
• Enjoy yourselves at football
camp — and try not to hurt
yourselves.
verb
concentrate (sich konzentrieren)
decide (sich entscheiden)
feel (sich fühlen)
get dressed (sich anziehen)
get ready (sich fertig machen)
hurry (sich beeilen)
lie down (sich hinlegen)
meet (sich treffen)
shave (sich rasieren)
sit down (sich setzen)
example
Please be quiet. I can’t concentrate.
She can’t decide what she likes best.
I’m afraid she doesn’t feel well.
Can you get dressed, please?
He always takes so long to get ready.
We’re late. We have to hurry.
She’s going to lie down for an hour.
We’ll meet in Hamburg.
Why haven’t you shaved today?
Would you sit down, please?
The expression by myself /
yourself, etc. means “alone”:
• He walked to school all by
himself.
Notice the difference between
themselves and each other:
• The children were looking at
themselves in the mirror. Then
they looked at each other and
laughed.
ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS
Adjectives give us more information about nouns. Adverbs tell us more about verbs.
A lot of adverbs are formed by adding -ly to the end of the adjective:
adjective
adverb
attractive
attractively
bad
badly
careful
carefully
careless
carelessly
quick
quickly
quiet
quietly
slow
slowly
Please drive slowly.
Don’t worry. I always drive carefully.
Fast, hard and late are both adjectives and adverbs:
Jill’s a really fast runner. (adjective)
Yes, and she’s running as fast as she can. (adverb)
Good is an adjective, and the adverb is well:
Xavier’s English is good.
Yes. He speaks it really well.
Adjectives, not adverbs, are used after verbs that describe
changes, like be, become, get, go, grow and seem:
I keep forgetting things. I’m going grey. I’m getting old.
Well, to me, you seem as young as ever.
Adjectives are also used after verbs that describe how somebody
or something looks, feels, sounds, tastes or smells.
This is because the subject, not the verb, is being described:
Something smells good.
Yes, and this tastes fantastic. Try some.
Many adjectives end in -ing and -ed. The -ing adjective is
used to describe a thing, such as a book or a film. The -ed
adjective is used to describe how someone feels:
That book was so interesting.
Tell me more. I’m really interested.
What a boring presentation!
I agree. I’ve never been so bored.
If a person is boring, he or she makes you feel bored:
David is so boring. All he talks about is politics.
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COMPARATIVES
To form a comparative adjective, -er is added to the end of an adjective or more / less is placed in front of it:
general rule adjective comparative
Add -er to short adjectives. fast faster
Double the consonant and add big
bigger
-er to adjectives ending in one
vowel and one consonant.
Change -y to -ier with adjectives dirty
dirtier
that end in -y.
Use more / less with adjectives
of more than two syllables.
expensive
more expensive
Flynn is taller than his father.
And Susie’s already bigger than me.
The fish here is cheaper than at the market.
It might be less expensive, but is it fresh?
Her cleaning lady is more expensive than mine.
But her house is dirtier.
His new wife is more understanding than his
ex-wife.
Yes, and she’s prettier, too.
A few adjectives have irregular comparative forms:
good — better
bad — worse
far — further / farther
The weather was better today.
But we walked further yesterday.
Before comparatives, you can use much, a lot, a bit,
a little, slightly (= a little):
The girls’ football team is much better than the boys’.
Yes, but their team morale is a bit lower.
SUPERLATIVES
To form a superlative adjective, -est is added to the end of an adjective or the most / the least is
placed before the adjective:
adjective
dirty
long
small
beautiful
expensive
intelligent
superlative
the dirtiest
the longest
the smallest
the most beautiful
the most expensive
the most intelligent
Nouns with superlatives normally have the article the:
I think this cheese is the most delicious I’ve ever tasted.
Maybe. But I think it must be the smelliest as well.
Some important adjectives are irregular:
good — the best
bad — the worst
far — the farthest / the furthest
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ADVERBS AND WORD ORDER
Generally, adverbs can be placed in three different positions.
But not all adverbs can be placed in all of these positions:
Initial position
Mid-position
before the verb
Mid-position
after the first
End position
auxiliary verb (Hilfsverb)
Suddenly, Walter got up.
I sometimes play golf at
He doesn’t always behave
Walter got up suddenly.
the weekend.
like this.
Sometimes, I have bad
Jackie always calls on my
She has never been a
She finished her drink
dreams.
birthday.
team player.
quickly.
Adverbs of indefinite time and frequency (often, recently,
sometimes) can go in mid-position or end position:
• Kevin often comes here. / Kevin comes here often.
Adverbs that are used to say how well something is done
(well, badly) are put in end position:
• I don’t play the piano well.
Adverbs that tell us how something is done (slowly,
quickly, happily) can go in mid- or end position:
• Kate slowly opened the present. / Kate opened the
present slowly.
It’s unusual to put an adverb between the verb and its
object. Don’t say: I play sometimes golf.
SO AND SUCH
So and such are used to make the meaning of an adjective or adverb stronger.
so
such
This book is so good! It’s such a good book!
So comes before an adjective or an adverb without
a noun:
Robert is so good-looking.
And he plays the piano so beautifully, too.
So is also used before much, many, few and little:
I can’t believe the new sports centre will cost so
much.
Especially when so few people will use it after the
championships end.
They were expecting so many people to visit the fair,
but hardly anyone came.
Yes, but with so little advertising, what do you expect?
Such comes before a noun, or before an
adjective + noun:
That talent show is such nonsense.
But it’s often such good fun.
Such comes before a / an:
Crime stories are such a waste of time.
How can you say that? P. D. James is such an
excellent writer.
INFO
• For more information and exercises on grammar in English, see The Grammar Page every month
in Spotlight magazine.
• See page 57 in this month’s magazine for explanations of and exercises on using the third conditional.
• See The Grammar Page in next month’s magazine for more information on using gerunds.
• Spotlight plus contains several pages of grammar exercises every month.
More information can be found at www.spotlight-online.de/ueben
• A new language exercise is added to the archive every week at www.spotlight-online.de/language
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