N° 122 - Spain: 5,50€/Brazil: R$ 14.90/Austria, Finland, Germany, Italy: €5.90 7.

Part 7: Society, Belief» & Discipline

(2m 36s)
’
TH IN K IN ENGLISH

H. Part H: Multiculturalism & Teen

llzlHHlì* Violence (2m55s)

9. Part 9: Solutions (2m47s)
10. Idioms: Cooking Expression* (im27s)

Think
Complementary Material

rai
Educational
Real spoken English,
Not just read texts
__

* -'""T"*
EDICIONES MEJORA, S.L.
Valentin Beato. 42 - V pita.
28027 Madri»

Material

www.tliinkinenglisli.net
I in English

* A History of Teens * Describing Young People

 Table of Contents
Hello again, Current Affairs
KE3 122's main theme refers to 35% News & Anecdotes
of the world's population: children and
teenagers. On pp. 30-31 we look at the Science & Technology
vocabulary for describing young people,^ Economics - Can Science Save Economics?
and on pp. 22-23 we examine the history
Internet - Cyber-Spite
of adolescence. Then, on the CD (tracks
1-9) we discuss the question, Are children Save - Emergency Cooking Tips
out of control? Job Interview - The Psychology
The 'young people' theme gives us the
excuse to talk about two very different of Interviews
views of 'tweens': children on the cusp of Travel - Going Underground in England
adolescence. On pp. 16-17 we look at the
most successful children's author ever, Enid
Blyton. Then on pp. 20-21 we focus on
Culture
William Golding and his Lord of the Flies.
How to Bullshit About - Enid Blyton
Continuing the youngster theme, Colman
takes a look back at Hayley Mills (on pp. Great Theatre - Marlowe's Edward II
24-25), one of Hollywood's great child stars Literature - Golding & Lord of the Flies
of the 1960s. He also takes a look at the
18th-century painter George Romney (on
10 Things You Didn't Know About...
pp. 26-27), who was famous for his portraits A History of Teens
of children and adolescence.
Cinema - Hayley Mills
A secondary theme is cooking. On p. 11
we offer 20 emergency solutions for Art - George Romney
saving dishes that have begun to go awry. Biography - Margaret Sanger
This is complemented by the idioms article
on pp. 38-39, which deals with cooking
Expressions. Finally, the word-building| Language
article (on p. 32) has a lot to do with the
kitchen, too. 30 Functional - Describing Young People
The last theme is countable andj 32 Word Building - Every -ware
| uncountable nouns. We look at the two
types of uncountable nouns on pp. 40-41
33 Collocations - Partitive Expressions
and at partitive expressions on p. 33. 34 Translation - Body Beauty Underwear
There's lots more but before I sign off 36 Wordplay - Mixed Metaphors
I must mention Marina's fascinating article
about Margaret Sanger (pp. 28-29). 38 Idioms - Kitchen Expressions
Probably a woman you've never heard of 40 Common Mistakes - Noun Choices
but undoubtedly one of the chief'architects'
42 Miscellany
of the modern western world.
43 Subscription form
See you next month, 44 Back issues' coupon
Nick Franklin
Editor 45 Crossword
NickAtThink@gmail.com 46 Tapescripts* —--------- -------------------------- —
www.thinkinenglish.net 51 Next Month
www.myspace.com/thinkinenglish Bookmark - Physical False Friends (5)
www.revistasprofesionales.com
thinkinenglish@revistasprofesionales.com
; *Download a bigger illustrated
Magazine Abbreviation Key
: version of the tapescripts at:
sth. = something
s.o. = someone
Iwww.thinkinenglish.net
swh. = somewhere
Think in English • 3
N ews & Anecdotes Subscriber? exercise C

1
Photo Fiasco
Here’s an idea. First, reduce the cost of taking a photograph to zero by
[ introducing digital photography. Next, give practically everybody a camera
! by installing cameras in cellphones. Finally, make it illegal to take photos
! in certain public places, but don’t say which. That is essentially the history
; of popular photography over the last decade in Britain.
[ Recently, a teenager was returning home on the tube1 in London. In the
! station that he was going to depart12 from he saw on the arrivals board3
1 that the next train was due45in 19 minutes. This was a record wait for
1
[ him, despite the fact that it wasn’t very late, so he took a photo of the
J board with his mobile. Seconds later, two British transport police officers
! appeared and told him that, by photographing the board he may have photographed the CCTV8 camera next to it; an illegal
1 act according to anti-terrorist laws6. The youngster7 was forced to delete8 the photo and he was also searched9. By the time
he was released1011 he had missed his train.
As an isolated anecdote it’s a pretty11 tame12 story. However, hundreds of
people have been detained recently by the British police, suspected of ‘hostile
reconnaissance’. A reporter from The Guardian was stopped from taking a
photograph of the Gherkin in Canary Wharf (see photo). A BBC reporter was
prevented13 from snapping14 St. Paul’s Cathedral. Another photographer was
questioned after taking a picture of a fish-and-chip shop in Kent!
The really comical thing about the legislation is that it doesn’t say which
buildings you’re not allowed to15 photograph (in case that would encourage16
terrorists to attack the fish-and-chip shop in Kent). Just as well17 that some
well-known cyber-multinational like, say18, Google, hasn’t taken photographs
of every street in Britain and posted them on the Internet making on the
ground19 ‘hostile reconnaissance’ a waste of time since20 you could plan a
terrorist attack on the fish-and-chip shop in Kent without ever leaving your
cyber-café in Minwakh. Oh, they have? “Google Streetview”? Oh.
No, but I haven’t got to the ridiculous bit21 yet. Painter Liam O’Farrell
(yes, I know officer. Suspicious Irish-sounding name. No, but they’re not the
enemy any more, officer) was recently stopped and searched near London
City Airport for watercolouring22. He wasn’t even facing23 the airport; he
was painting the Tate & Lyle sugar factory opposite. The police were suspi­
cious because “no one would want to paint a factory”. O’Farrell politely
explained that L.S. Lowry, one of Britain’s most famous 20th-century paint­
ers had, in fact, painted loads24. Liam was then informed that they suspected
him of being an anarchist because of the ‘suspicious paraphernalia’ he was
carrying (i.e.25 a thermos flask of coffee, an iPod and a box of watercolours).
[ After searching Mr O’Farrell the police let him go. A week later Liam returned to the same spot26 to finish the painting... and
! the same thing happened all over again!

PRODIGAL SON
A masked.27 gunman strode into28 a Wendy’s drive-thru29 restaurant in Dearborn Heights, Michigan and threatened50 staff1
with a sawn-off shotgun52. He then tried to grab55 cash from the till54. Unfortunately for 27-year-old Jason Zacchi, he was
instantly recognized by the manager, despite the bandanna55 covering his face. That may be because the manager was his
mother. Mrs Zacchi also recognized the driver of the getaway car56, 22-year-old Amanda Lee Yost, Jason’s girlfriend.

1 the tube - (UK English') the London
Underground
2 to depart - leave
3 arrivals board - electronic display which tells
people when trains should arrive
4 to be due - be expected to come
5 CCTV - closed-circuit television
6 Section 44 of the Terrorism Act
7 youngster - teenager, young person
8 to delete - erase, destroy
9 to search s.o. - look in s.o’s pockets and bags to
see what s/he is carrying
10 to release s.o. - let s.o. go free
11 pretty (adv.) - reasonably, quite
12 tame - (in this context) unexciting, not
terrifying
13 to prevent - stop
14 to snap sth. - (colloquial) photograph
15 be not allowed to - be not permitted to, be
prohibited from
16 to encourage - incite
17 just as well - it’s a good job, it’s fortunate
18 say - (in this context) for example
19 on the ground - in situ
20 since - (in this context) given that
21 bit - part
22 watercolouring - painting watercolours
(= pictures painted using water-based paints -
as opposed to oil paints)
23 to face swh. - be oriented in the direction of
24 loads - (colloquial) a lot of them, many
25 i.e. - (id est) that is
26 spot - (in this context) place, location
v masked - with his face partially covered
28 to stride into (stride-strode-stridden) - enter
confidently, walk into
29 drive-thru - fast-food
restaurant in which you
are served in your car
30 to threaten - intimidate
31 staff - employees
32 sawn-off shotgun--------
33 to grab - seize, snatch, take hold
of, take by force
34 till -----------------------------------------
35 bandanna - big handkerchief
36 getaway car - vehicle used to
escape from a robbery

122 Think in English • 4

fÌMO MOM SMÉLLY DELHI
! This year Delhi will host the Commonwealth Games and so the mayor, Kanwar
! Sain, has decided to clean up the city’s image. His primary concern37 is to
| get the Delhians to kick the habit of38 urinating in the streets. To this end
! the municipal authorities have stuck up39 posters all over the city that read,
“Don’t be Mr Wee-Wee”.
!\______________________________________________________________________

WHEN THE EARTH MOVES

The considerate authorities in Yunnan Province, China, have issued40 guide­
lines41 on how to survive an earthquake42 for English speakers. For example,
they advise45, “If you are in a restaurant, you can squat down44 on the spot
or grovel45 under the table”. It goes on, “grovel45 if you are in a karaoke bar.
Or grovel45 beside a solid counter46, and use newspaper to protect your head.
After the shake47 stops, you must continue to grovel45, then withdraw48 from
safety passage49 orderly60.” Finally, it warns51, “avoid jumping from a window
or building by all means52. This will cause pain.”

fFoolish Phone Uàlìsi

Advertising guru Mark Earls once said, “Thinking is to humans what swimming is to cats; something we can do if abso- !
lutely necessary, but we’d really rather not53”. This seems to be especially true of the Google generation who expect to be |
given answers to every problem they come across54. The RSPCA55 recently revealed some of the phone calls they received ]
in 2009. One man rang up56 seeking advice57 because his cat wouldn’t purr. Another needed help picking a ladybird58 off !
a wall. Somebody even phoned in to report that a seagull59 looked sad because it was sitting in the rain.
British embassies receive similar mindless60 phone calls. A mother rang up asking if someone could pop over61 to j
help her son pack62 because he wasn’t feeling well. Another woman expected diplomatic help because she was unhappy ]
--- i--------------------------- ------- ~with her breast operation. Juliet Marie the British j
Consul in Alicante, Spain, commented, “We can’t tell !
you who is allowed to64 use your swimming pool, [
pay your taxi fare65 for you - or do anything about [
the exchange rate66.”

British Childhood in Statistics

► Nearly67 2000 children aged under 10 years old
were stopped and searched by the police in Brit­
ain last year. That’s five a day. Do pre-teens68
need to be policed69?
► 24% of British children aged nine to 16 have their
own blog.
► 40% of muggings70 in Britain are perpetrated by
children aged 16 or less.
► Each year a British man aged 16 to 24 has a
13.2% chance71 of being the victim of violence.

37 concern - worry, preoccupation 48 to withdraw (-draw/-drew/-drawn) - exit, 59 seagull--------------------------------- ►

38 to kick the habit of - stop leave, retreat 60 mindless - idiotic, stupid
39 to stick sth. up (stick-stuck-stuck) - post, 49 they mean ‘using the safe exit route’ 61 to pop over - come round, visit
exhibit 50 orderly (adj.) - neat, tidy, well-ordered. They 62 to pack - fill one’s bags with
40 to issue - (in this context) publish mean ‘in an orderly way’/‘whatever the situation’ one’s possessions
41 guidelines - recommendations, instructions 51 to warn - caution 63 breast (adj.) - mammary
42 earthquake - significant 52 by all means - (emphatic) please. They mean 64 to be allowed to - be permitted to
seismic event ‘under any circumstances’ 65 taxi fare - the cost of a trip in a taxi
43 to advise - recommend, 53 we’d really rather not - we’d prefer not to 66 exchange rate - the sum in one currency you
suggest 54 to come across sth. (come-came-come) receive for a sum in another (e.g. $ to € or £
44 to squat down - crouch - encounter to ¥)
down--------------------------- ► 55 RSPCA - Royal Society for the Prevention of 67 nearly - almost, just under
45 to grovel - kowtow, be Cruelty to Animals 68 pre-teen - child under 13
servile, humiliate oneself. 56 to ring up - (ring-rang-rung) 69 to be policed - be controlled by the police
They mean ‘crouch down’ £ - telephone 70 mugging - act of robbing s.o. in the street
57 to seek advice (seek-sought-sought) - intimidating the victim with the possibility of
furniture in a shop ask for suggestions violence
47 shake - milkshake. They mean ‘shaking’ ‘tremors’ 58 ladybird-------------------------------- 71 chance - probability, possibility

Think in English • 5
 Science & Technology
ECOLOGY
Climategate
In December 2009 it was revealed that some of the scientists who
had supplied1 data for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) had promoted information that supported2 the idea
of global warming while silencing data from3 sceptics. This was
picked up4 by sceptics, such as right-wing Republicans in the US
Congress, as evidence that there was no manmade global warming.
While5 the doctoring6 of data is clearly unscientific and reprehen­
sible, and while5 this is clearly a propaganda coup7 for climate­
change deniers8, the scandal does not change the overwhelming9
evidence for global warming caused by humans. But let’s ask the
question: what if it did? What if variations in global temperatures
were just10 a result of natural cyclical changes? Can we relax and
get on with11 consuming as much as possible? Um, no. There are
many serious environmental issues12 that don’t depend on global
warming to cause catastrophe: diminishing13 water resources14,
rampant15 deforestation, massive soil erosion16 and loss of biodi­
versity would still be there if there were no manmade climate change. Carbon emissions will still need to be slashed17 even if
there is no global warming. This is because they cause rising seawater acidity, which has grown 30% since 1750 - the biggest
change in 55 million years. Shellfish18 are already finding it difficult to form shells and acidity is predicted to increase
120% by 2060. That would literally lead to19 empty oceans - no plankton, no fish and of course, no whales. Overfishing just
exacerbates this problem. What’s more, acidification will stop the oceans from absorbing the amount20 of carbon dioxide they
currently absorb... leading to global warming.

Nazca Nightmare
A study of pollen by researchers from Cambridge University has found that the Nazca civili­
zation (c. o - c. 500CE) may have been the victim of a manmade ecological disaster. The eco­
system that made the Nazca civilization possible was based on the deep-rooted21 huarango
tree (ProAopii pallida).2-2- However, between zoo and 400CE the Nazca
began gradually to cut down the huarango trees to make way for
maize and cotton crops23. With their excosystem already in a precar­
ious state the Nazca civilization was finally destroyed around 500CE
by terrible flooding24, in part made possible by the elimination of
the huarango trees. The Nazca were obviously an advanced civiliza­
tion responsible for world-famous giant drawings in the land.

Bear Alien vs. Bear Predator

I i As titanic conflicts go, it sounds a bit like something out of Alien vs.
] i Predator or similar sci-fi movies. Global warming means that grizzly
___________________________✓ bears are increasingly straying into25 the Arctic Circle, the territory of
si I polar bears. This means that the two subspecies are competing for food and increasingly for females.
I

5 I
I
I
I
I
I
Since 2006 hybrid ‘grolar bears’ have been identified in northern Canada. These are the offspring26 of
grizzly fathers and polar bear mothers. However, when a female polar bear has cubs27 - be they pure
polars or grolars - they are in danger of being eaten by grizzlies. On the other hand, a polar male28 can
I
I weigh twice29 as much as a female grizzly. So, according to Professor Robert Rockwell, of the American A grolar

i I
I
I Museum of Natural History in New York, “They could mate30 with the female or eat her... or both”.
bear

1 to supply - (in this context) submit, provide
2 to support - back, confirm, defend
3 from - (in this context) submitted by, that came
from
4 to pick up - (in this context) use
5 while - (in this context) although
6 doctoring - manipulation
7 coup /cu:7 - (in this context) triumph, victory
8 climate-change denier - s.o. who does not
accept the idea of global warming caused by
humans
9 overwhelming - compelling, profuse
10 just - (in this context) simply, only
11 to get on with (get-got-got) - continue underground
12 issue - (in this context) question, matter 22 huarango roots reached down as much as 60
13 diminishing - declining metres
14 water resources - water in a useful place and form 23 crops - plants grown by farmers for harvest
15 rampant - out-of-control 24 flooding - floods, situation in which water
16 soil erosion - destruction of the part of the destructively covers normally-dry terrain
terrain that promotes the growth of plants 25 to stray in - (in this context) enter another’s
17 to slash sth. - (in this context) reduce sth. drastically territory
18 shellfish - crustaceans and molluscs 26 offspring - sons and daughters, young
19 to lead to (lead-led-led) - cause, result in, 27 cub - baby bear
bring about 28 male - masculine animal
20 amount - quantity 29 twice - x2, two times
21 deep-rooted - that grow a lot downwards 30 to mate - have sex

Think in English • 6

Could Pork Plants Save the Planet?
Homer Simpson once asked, “If God didn’t want us to eat
animals, why did he make them out of1 meat?” The divorce
in Homer’s mind between meat and animal may be about to
become a reality. Scientists at Eindhoven University in the
Netherlands recently managed to grow their own pork. The
Subscribers’ exercise C
on
researchers extracted myoblast muscle cells from a live n
pig and incubated them in a nutrient-rich solution to make m
them grow. The muscle tissue52 produced is currently rather55 z
viscous but the researchers believe they can ‘exercise’ it So n
that it acquires a steak-like consistency. Livestock54 are
responsible for 18% of the world’s greenhouse gases, so grow­
ing meat could significantly reduce global warming.

e Mews ; scandals in the Anglican Church, the Church of Rome's rival in

i most of the countries mentioned. Indeed53, there have been some
J Anglican child-abuse scandals, though not on the same scale.
;
i

Carolyn Disco of ‘The New Hampshire Voice of the Faithful’ i

Is English to Blame35 for
offers an alternative interpretation of the situation. “The reason !
Child-Abusing Priests?
abuse cases are more numerous in America, Ireland, Australia i
In December 2009 the Murphy Commission published its devas­ and Canada has everything to do with the tradition of English i
tating report into the covering-up of36 child abuse by the Roman Common Law that allows54 discovery proceedings where lawyers i
Catholic hierarchy in Ireland. The report focused on the cover-up37 of survivors can obtain the production55 of secret church docu- i
rather than38 the abuse itself (the focus of the Ryan Report, 2009) ments. US judges have only recently begun to thwart56 church ;
but it still contained some harrowing35 information. One abusive efforts to continue sealing57 records of criminality58. Documents i
priest40 confessed that he had sexually molested a child on aver­ provide the evidence. [...] Non-English-speaking countries do not !
age every fortnight41 for 25 years. have legal traditions that provide access to i
gaspirtz.com
According to the Murphy and Ryan such evidence for survivors’ lawsuits, and i
Reports, the physical, psychological and so the media is unable to cover59 the stories i
sexual abuse of children by members of the there. It is a risky proposition that sexual i
church was made possible by an assumption abuse is limited by geographical bounda- i
on the part of the Garda42 and the educational ties60. Sexual dysfunction is sadly a part i
authorities that the Church was above43 and of the human condition without respect to i
outside the law. language or nationality.”
Similar scandals have rocked44 the Roman Can child abuse then be linked47 to !
Catholic Church in the USA, Australia and Catholicism? It would be all too easy to link :
Canada leading some people in the Church child abuse to the contra natura of celibacy; !
to45 blame4" the English language for child or to the idea that evil61 thoughts are almost i
abuse. Cardinal Dario Castrillón Hoyos was as bad as evil deeds62. However, the fact of ;
the first to link47 English-speaking cultures the matter is that child abuse tends to occur i
and child-sex abuse. Following the recent in situations in which a man is left alone with i
scandals in Ireland Father Timothy Radcliffe took up48 the argu­ a child who is not his son or daughter, be he a priest40, a vicar, a |
ment saying that “widespread49 sexual abuse of minors seems scout leader, a gym teacher or a stepfather63. Most men in those i
mainly50 to characterise English-speaking countries... It repre­ roles never abuse - just as64 some fathers abuse their biological i
sents the weakness of a particular tradition within51 the Church” children - but it is the circumstance, not the language or the role, i
not seen in Southern Europe, Latin America or Asia. that permits child abuse. • i
So is English to blame for the Catholic scandals in the Anglo-
sphere52? If so, we would expect there to be a similar number of ^^0= HU 35=11“
h'Aprende idiomas por
telèfono!! BACKUP/^
31 out of - (in this context) from, using 48 to take up (take-took-taken) - Luitfuime specialist*.
32 tissue - material, flesh adopt, champion
33 rather - somewhat, quite 49 widespread - generalized
34 livestock - farm animals 50 mainly - primarily, principally 4Por qué Backuplln«$?
35 to blame - responsible, the cause 51 within - inside, in
36 covering-up of - concealment of, 52 the Anglosphere - English- Ainplios hoiaiios de 900 a 21:00 Siempre
adaptadosatf.
suppression of information about speaking countries
37 cover-up - concealment, 53 indeed - in fact Clases de 25 miniitos: minima dedication,
suppression of information about 54 to allow - permit, enable maxima efectividad
38 rather than - as opposed to, instead of 55 production - (in this context)
One to One vocabolario especifico ajustado
39 harrowing - distressing, shocking, compulsory revelation a toe necesidades
horrifying 56 to thwart - prevent, block, stop,
40 priest - (in this context) Roman frustrate Gracias a nuestros cmsos a medida
aprenderàs a solfarle en inglés
Catholic churchman 57 sealing - (in this context)
41 fortnight - two weeks concealing, not revealing
42 the Irish police 58 criminality - illegal acts
43 above - (in this context) beyond, Solicits una prueba GRATIS,
59 to cover - (in this context) report
more important than on, inform about marca 9O2.e.l.e.a.r.n.
44 to rock - (in this context) affect, 60 boundaries - limits, frontiers 902.3.5.3.2.7.G
debilitate 61 evil - sinful, malignant
45 to lead s.o. to (lead-led-led) - 62 deeds - acts Si eres lector de THINK,
cause s.o. to 63 stepfather - the husband of s.o’s tienes un 10% de descuento
46 to blame sth. - (in this context) mother who is not the biological
accuse sth. of being responsible father
47 to link - connect, associate 64 just as - it is also true that Mas information en: www.902elearn.comywww.backuplines.com

122 • Think in English • 7

Mark Buchanan, in a recent article in the New Scientist magazine, suggested that economists had failed us by not predicting
the world financial crisis. He suggested that if we wanted to avoid another global collapse, creative solutions had to not
only come from economists but were also needed from scientists. Physicists, engineers, biologists and mathematicians
would have to come to the rescue of economic theory.

Can Science Save Economics? The Housing Bubble2

The current world financial crisis started with a housing bubble2 in the United States, Europe and various other countries around
the world. People borrowed against the value of their homes and the banks sold the risk that these loans' would default4 to other
financial institutions in complex financial deals5.
Economists and financial institutions developed complex models to predict the riskiness6 and consequences of these deals5.
However, what started as simple home loans became products in a web of financial transactions so complex that even financial
experts couldn’t understand the risks that they posed7. The economic financial models didn’t accurately8 forecast'1 the current
economic crisis and, quite amazingly, some of these financial models didn’t even consider that the price of houses might fall and so
were fundamentally flawed10 from the beginning.
Unfounded optimism and short-sightedness11 following a decade of growth in housing prices led to12 the belief that the hous­
ing bubble2 would last13 forever. A greedy14 desire not to worry about the future when you can make money today was behind the
failure of economists and the public not to foresee15 the collapse in the housing market.

Economics has turned out to be1 the idiot boy of the Scientific Family.
Stephen Leacock

Computer Science
Ì In Illinois the government decided to deregulate16 its electricity market. It commissioned ;
i scientists to build a sophisticated model of the state’s electricity market, incorporating ;
i suppliers17, consumers, regulators and the full power network including power flows18. :
i So far19 this model has been held up20 as successful and the approach has since been used ;
i in Croatia, Portugal and South Korea. Groups in the US and Europe are now building simi- ;
; lar models which incorporate the entire economy including millions
! of families, companies and banks as well as government regulators.
The difference between this type of all-inclusive IT21 model and
i the usual economic models is that economic models have tended
: to be one-dimensional, relying on22 mathematical algorithms only,
i Physicist Dirk Helbing says that we need more complex models able
; to pack the entire economy realistically into23 one model and predict
: both the risks and benefits. Mr Helbing points out24 that the economy
i has a number of problems such as traffic congestion around large25
; cities. Mathematical analysis doesn’t have the depth to be able to be
: used for traffic, but computer models do.
With computer models you can include millions of virtual vehi-
; cles and set them up26 so that they interact in realistic patterns27 on
i representations of real roads. This has meant that potential problems
i can be identified before they actually28 occur. Mr Helbing believes that the complexity ; Photo b y Dirk H elbing
i of today’s economies demands a similar approach. He says, “We need to bring together i
; scientists from different fields29 and put together tools30 that can be used... for testing out ;
■ social and economic policies31”. :

1 has turned out to be - is clearly
2 housing bubble - excessive increase in the
price of houses as a result of speculation
3 loan - sum of money lent, line of credit
4 to default - (in this context) not be paid, be
reneged on
5 deal - (in this context) contract, instrument
6 the riskiness of sth. - how risky (= dangerous)
sth. is
7 to pose - present, constitute
8 accurately - in a precise/exact way
9 to forecast - predict
10 flawed - defective, faulty
11 short-sightedness - myopia, improvidence
12 to lead to (lead-led-led) - result in, bring about,
cause
13 to last - continue
14 greedy - avaricious (formal)
15 to foresee (-see/-saw/-seen) - forecast, predict
16 to deregulate - eliminate regulations and
controls in a specific industrial sector
17 supplier - provider, (in this context) company
that produces electricity
18 power flow - flux of electricity
19 so far - (up) until now
20 to hold sth. up (hold-held-held) - (in this
context) present sth., praise sth.
21 IT - information technology
22 to rely on - depend on, count on
23 to pack sth. into - include in
24 to point sth. out - emphasize sth., mention sth.
25 large - (false friend) big
26 to set sth. up (set-set-set) - create sth., (in this
context) design
27 pattern - configuration, tendency, (in this
context) way
28 actually - (falsefriend) in fact, really
29 fields - (in this context) areas of academic
study
30 tools - instruments, (in this context) software,
computer programs
31 policies - strategies, plans, programmes

122 Think in English • 8

by Douglas Jasch : Conversation Point: If economics cannot predict the future is there
douglasjasch@douglasjasch.com !any sense in studying it and should it be eliminated as a subject?

are the key to predicting future financial collapses. For exam­

ple, before the current crisis people started believing that future
rises44 in property values would largely pay for their other invest­
ments, removing45 their perceived need to save for a rainy day46.
Perhaps this type of attitude is a sign of overconfidence and can
be used as a forecaster47 of the end of a housing bubble2.

Will Science be Enough?

Earthquake32 Theory
Recently, some scientists have suggested that financial crises33
act in a similar way to earthquakes'2. Earthquakes can occur
in environments that are very stable and then come as a cata­
strophic event in a similar manner to the way the current
world financial crisis occurred. The implication is that extreme
market events34, such as a one-day crash capable of wiping out3536 input40 will help economics to become a more successful and
millions of investors, occur naturally in the financial markets,
just as extreme events like earthquakes occur in nature.
In the past, economists have viewed such events as strange
and unusual outliers that come as a surprise. Some scien­
tists suggest that the answer is to accept economic collapses as
natural events and, by expecting them, they can be properly37
incorporated into economic models. A lot of work has gone
into earthquake prediction, and while it is still also an imper­
fect science, great progress has been made. Perhaps the same
progress can be made in relation to the behaviour38 of the world
economy with the right research.
There is a joke that goes,
“How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb48?”
“Only one, but the light bulb has to want to change.”
Psychology is based upon the imperfect science of human
perceptions, wants and desires. Due to49 human nature, it is
unlikely50 that fully comprehensive computer models, incorpo­
rating the earthquake theory and other scientific analysis, will
hold51 all of the answers. The unpredictability of our human
psyche makes it too hard52 to forecast9 with any accuracy53
when a global financial collapse is likely54. Housing prices
were increasing at an exorbitant rate for longer than a decade,
after all. Scientists will experience many of the problems that
have been experienced by economists when attempting55 to
make predictions. To start with, a credible computer model of
economic downturns56 might well have an iatrogenic effect57.
In other words, the model may influence the economy and
even precipitate a crisis.
While58 it is uncertain whether scientists can save econo­
mists from all of their follies59, there is no doubt that scientific
robust ‘science’ itself. •

The Human Factor

Psychologists argue that no matter39 how clever a model is
scientific input40 from psychologists is required to ensure that
the human factor is properly37 considered. Traditional econo­
mists rarely asked people about their behaviour41 or how they
thought. Some have even argued that people are so irrational
that asking them for their own assessment42 of how they think,
and why they do things, would be scientifically worthless43.
However, psychologists and some renowned economists are
now arguing that research and knowledge of people’s attitudes

32 earthquake - significant seismic event English), conduct 50 unlikely - improbable

33 crisis /'kraisis/ (plural ‘crises7'kraisi:z/) -
catastrophe, cataclysm
34 event - incident
35 to wipe s.o. out - destroy s.o., bankrupt s.o.
36 outlier - (statistics') exception
37 properly - correctly, appropriately
38 behaviour (UK English) - behavior (US
English), functioning, performance, working
39 no matter - irrespective of
40 input - (in this context) contributions
41 behaviour (UKEnglish) - behavior (US
42 assessment - evaluation
43 worthless - of no value
44 rise (n.) - increase
45 to remove - (falsefriend) eliminate
46 to save for a rainy day - accumulate
money (as opposed to spending it) for
a possible time of need in the future
47 forecaster - indicator, sth. that helps
you to predict
48 light bulb---------------------------------
49 due to - because of
51 to hold (hold-held-held) - (in this context) offer
52 hard - (in this context) difficult
53 accuracy - precision, exactness
54 is likely - will probably occur
55 to attempt - try
56 downturn - recession, economic crisis
57 to have an iatrogenic effect (have-had-had) -
(literally) be an illness caused by doctors, (in
/ this context) be a self-fulfilling prophecy
58 while - (in this context) although
59 folly - foolishness, stupidity

• 122 Think in English • 9

 by Douglas Jasch
The terms ‘cyber-bullies’ and ‘cyberspite1’ conjure up images of school children douglasjasch@douglasjasch.com
I nternet posting nasty12 comments about other children on Facebook or MySpace. Unfortu­
nately, cyberspite has a far greater3 reach4 than we may expect, with the potential Fighting Back - Protecting
to even affect our finances. your Reputation
Fortunately there are several companies

CYBEIlWiTE to help us get our reputation back. One of

the more prominent of these is Reputation
Defender, a Californian-based company.

IT CAN AFFECT US ALL Reputation Defender charges its clients a

fee17 to monitor18 what is being said about
them online. The company seeks to clean
Mark Buckley, a 25-year-old civil servant, ordered some T-shirts up any adverse comment or images it
eBay through a seller on eBay. After receiving them a week later than finds of their clients.
the seller had agreed with him, and with one shirt initially
missing, Mr Buckley decided to leave a negative comment about the seller’s
client service on eBay.
Shortly afterwards, the seller retaliated5 by also posting a negative comment
about Mr Buckley on eBay. All of a sudden6 no one wanted to sell to him because
of this comment, even though the seller’s comment was unjustified. On an online
site like eBay your reputation is everything. In the past, eBay had allowed7 both
buyers and sellers to leave good and bad comments about their experiences
when dealing with8 each other through the site. Because of the high number
of revenge comments like the one mentioned that were being posted by sell­
ers after receiving poor customer feedback9, eBay changed its rating system by
preventing10 sellers from posting negative comments about buyers.

The Job Seeker

Reputation Defender uses techniques
Cyberspite can have a financial impact upon our lives. Prospective11 employers and to make negative comments appear lower
university admissions officers will often check the net through an online search engine down search engine result pages. They
like Google to learn more about us. In an era where there are a large number of2 blog also contact websites hosting19 disparag­
sites, social networking sites and online trading sites, a nasty2 comment or compro­ ing20 information about their clients and
mising drunken photo can stay in cyberspace for years, ready to be discovered by ask them to take them down21. While,
anyone who takes the time to look. of course, there is no guarantee that the
comments will be removed22, they often
Cyberspite and are. One silly night out shouldn’t cost
Harry Potter us our future. And so we are fortunate
that there is now a way to fight back23 to
Even movie stars can be the victims of protect against the silly things we may do
cyberspite. In 2005 when Warner Broth­ and to protect us against the unfounded
ers announced that fictional character malicious attacks of others.
Harry Potter’s choice of girlfriend for
the upcoming film Harry Potter and the r?NIERACTjy^
Goblet of Fire was little known actor i This month’s interactive email chat topic :
Katie Leung, a 17-year-old girl of Chinese i is “Never attribute to malice that which i
descent, a spiteful global international ; can be explained by stupidity-Discuss”. ;
backlash13 with ugly racist overtones i Remember, to join this month’s interac- i
was set off14. A series of “Hate Katie” i tive email chat topic, all you have to do is ;
Internet sites were set up15 by angry : email your comments to me, Douglas, at i
Harry Potter fans, even though the ; douglasjasch@douglasjasch.com Also i
public knew very little about the actress. : if you have a topic you want to discuss :
Katie’s father Peter, a food wholesaler16 i with others send your comments and i
based in Lanarkshire, said, “No one ; I will circulate them. Everyone is i
knows her, has seen her or heard her speak, yet there all these things on the ■ welcome to join in. • ;
Internet. Unfortunately she has seen them, too”.
quantities to businesses (not to individuals)
1 cyberspite - vindictive/vengeful comments on do business with 17 to charge a fee - expect payment
the Internet 9 feedback - comments, reactions, opinions 18 to monitor - observe, keep an eye on
2 nasty - unpleasant, disagreeable 10 to prevent - stop 19 to host sth. - (in this context) containing, that
3 far greater - much greater 11 prospective - potential include
4 reach - (in this context) cope, effect 12 a large number of - a lot of 20 disparaging - defamatory, nasty2
5 to retaliate - take revenge, counterattack 13 backlash - negative reaction 21 to take sth. down (take-took-taken) - eliminate sth.
6 all of a sudden - suddenly, unexpectedly 14 to set sth. off (set-set-set) - start, begin 22 to remove - (false friend) eliminate
7 to allow - permit 15 to set sth. up (set-set-set) - create, establish 23 to fight back (fight-fought-fought) - defend
8 to deal with (deal-dealt-dealt) - interact with, 16 wholesaler - s.o. who sells products in large oneself, counterattack

Think in English • 10
SALVAGING

SAVE
FOR COOKI
There’s nothing worse than having to throw food away because of some mistake
in the cooking process. Here are a series of tips1 to save the day2 when your
dinner’s gone wrong:

1. If you find the egg you were

going to boil is cracked3,
rub4 salt into the crack5 and
boil it in aluminium foil6.
2. If an egg cracks while you
are boiling it, add salt or
a little vinegar to stop the
white escaping out the
crack5. 11. To improve the flavour of corn on the
3. If you have burned milk you cob20, put the leaves at the bottom of the
were boiling, add a pinch of pot as you boil the cobs.
salt to take away the burnt 12. Add a little milk to boiling cauliflower to
taste. keep it white.
4. If you have burnt rice in a 13. Boil peas21 in their pods22. They taste
pan7, tip8 it into a clean better and the pods should open and
pan, place a fresh crust of float to the top, so you don’t have to
bread9 on top and cover it. It should absorb the burnt taste. shell23 them.
5. If you discover that gammon : or bacon is too salty, put it in a pan7, 14. If soup is too salty it can sometimes
cover it with cold water and brmg it to the boil. Throw the water be saved by adding a little sugar.
away and repeat. Then cook it in the usual way. 15. If a stew24 is too salty, add some
6. If you find there are insects in lettuce11, soak12 it for a few minutes peeled25 raw26 potato. It should absorb
in salt water, then rinse'1. If you haven’t got salt, use a little the excess salt.
vinegar. 16. If you have put too much garlic in a
7. If you find that your potatoes have become flaccid, you can stew or sauce, some fresh chopped27
revive them by putting them for two minutes in iced water. parsley28 can tone down29 the
8. If tomatoes for salad are too soft, you can make them firmer by flavour.
putting them in a bowl of 17. If you have burnt a stew or casse­
salted water in the fridge14 role, pour30 it into a new pot without
for an hour. scraping31 the bottom of the first pan.
9. If lettuce11 has become 18. Cut a cross into the stalks32 of broccoli.
limp15, you can revitalize That way the stalk should cook as fast
it by putting it in a bowl as the top.
of cold water with a little 19. To keep red cabbage red as you boil it,
lemon juice and some ice add a little vinegar to the water. Other­
cubes in the fridge14 for an wise it will turn purple.
hour. 20. To revive uncooked asparagus that has
10. If you don’t think your become limp15, stand it upright33 in a
avocado16 will be ripe17 for jug34 containing a little water and cover
tomorrow, bury18 it in a bowl it with a plastic bag. Leave it in the fridge
of flour19. It will ripen faster. for half an hour before cooking. •

'tip - recommendation, suggestion
2 to save the day - rescue the situation
3 to be cracked - have a fissure
4 to rub - massage, apply
5 crack - fissure
6 aluminium foil - tinfoil, kitchen foil, sheet of
metal paper used for covering food
7 pan-----------------------------------
8 to tip - pour, decant, cause sth.
to fol]
9 crust of bread -piece of bread
from one of the ends of a loaf
10 gammon - (a piece of) the ham
of a pig cured like bacon
11 lettuce /'letis/---------- —-------- '
12 to soak sth. - immerse and leave
in water
13 to rinse - wash with water
14 fridge - refrigerator
15 limp - flaccid
16 avocado------------------------
17 ripe - (offruit) ready to eat
18 to bury - inter, embed, insert,
submerge
19 flour---------------------------
20 corn on the cob-----------
21 peas---------------------------
22 pods---------------------------
, 23 to shell - open pods and
‘ take out the oea_s
24 stew - meat and vegetables cooked
together in water
25 peeled - skinned, with the skin
eliminated
/ 26 raw - uncooked
27 chopped - cut up into small pieces •
28 parsley-------------------------------------
29 to tone down - reduce
30 to pour - tip, decant, cause sth. to
fall
31 to scrape - rasp, scour, energetically
eliminate with sth. hard
32 stalk-----------------------------------------
33 upright - vertically
34 jug (C7K English') - pitcher (US English)

Think in English • 11 pp. 38-39

 The biggest mistake people make as regards1 job interviews is to think they are about1 2 qualifications, technical skills3 and what
the candidate knows. The interviewing company has already checked these things and the reason you have been called to inter­
view is because your set4 of skills3 is suitable5. No, the job interview is about what you’re like6. Will you fit in7 with the team?

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF
JOB INTERVIEWS
Love at First Sight
Interviewers are human beings and, as
such, they are victims to the same instinc­
tive impulses as the rest of us. Research
from Princeton University suggests that
we form opinions about people’s like­
ability, competence, aggressiveness and
tn trustworthiness8 in the first one tenth
c
o of a second after seeing their faces.
Moreover, it takes a lot to change that
2 initial impression.
3
3 So, when you arrive for your inter­
view, find out9 where your interviewer is
first going to see you. Will it be strolling
into1011 the interview room or will he or she
come to get you from a waiting area. In
the latter11 case you have to work out12
what you can be doing that will allow13
you to stand up and shake hands14 with­
out dropping15 things and generally look­
ing clumsy16.
If you are shown into’7 the interview
room it's easier to compose yourself and
the first impression you give will be walk­
ing towards the interviewer, who presum­
ably will have to do the standing-up18.
Getting Physical19
In any case the next big step is the handshake20. There is a lot of silliness written
about handshakes. Unless the interviewer is a sociopath, you don’t need to enter into
a hand-crushing contest21. Simply, your hand should be rigid and the press relatively
subtle but noticeable. Much more important is the feel of your hand. A study in Science
magazine in 2007 suggested that interviewers tend to have a more favourable view of
people with warm hands. Temperature and feelings of empathy are registered in the
same part of the brain - perhaps why most languages have expressions like ‘warm
personality’ and ‘give the cold shoulder’22. Just as bad as cold hands are clammy23
hands or sticky24 hands. It stands to reason25 that if an interviewer’s only physical
contact with you leaves them wanting to wash their hands it’s not the best first impres­
sion. So try to wash your hands with soap26 and warm water just before the interview.
The First 30 Seconds
Research from the University of Toledo in Ohio found that untrained volunteers could
predict with remarkable accuracy27 whether28 a candidate was offered a job at the
end of an interview by watching the first 20-30 seconds of the interview. That’s how
important first impressions are. Part of that first impression will be formed from
body language - looking open, upbeat29 and friendly - and part will come from
your physical appearance. Obviously, you have to be clean and smart30 but you also
have to gauge31 how much individuality you should express for the job in question.
A certain signature tie32 could make or break33 the interview depending on the job
you’re going for34. Smell also plays a factor: don’t overwhelm35 the interviewer with
perfume or aftershave but make sure any odour you do bring into the interview room
is pleasant.
He may look ‘smart30’ but is he
open, upbeat29 and friendly?

1 as regards - in relation to, in terms of
2 to be about - be concerned with, be focused on
3 skills - abilities, talents
4 set (n.) - (in this context) personal combination
5 suitable - appropriate, apt
6 what you’re like - your personality, your
character
7 to fit in - be assimilated into, conform to, blend in
8 trustworthiness - reliability, integrity,
dependability
9 to find out (rind-found-found) - discover
10 to stroll into - enter in a relaxed way, walk into
11 latter - last-mentioned
12 to work out - determine, (in this context) decide
13 to allow - permit, enable
14 to shake hands (shake-
shook-shaken)------------ ►
15 to drop sth. - accidentally let sth. fall, spill sth.
16 clumsy - awkward, inelegant, uncoordinated
17 to show s.o. into swh. (show-showed-shown) -
accompany s.o. to the entrance of swh.
18 to have to do the standing-up (have-had-had)
- be the person who has to stand up, be the one
who must get up out of his/her chair
19 to get physical (get-got-got) - have physical
contact, touch each other
20 handshake - act of shaking hands14
21 hand-crushing contest - competition to try to
squeeze the other person’s hand so much that
they submit
22 to give s.o. the cold shoulder (give-gave-
given) - act in an unfriendly way towards s.o.
(see p. 38)
23 clammy - damp, sweaty, perspiring, humid
24 sticky - gluey, viscous, adhesive
25 it stands to reason (stand-stood-
stood)
26 soap -
27 remarkable accuracy -
impressive precision
28 whether - (in this context) if
29 upbeat - cheerful, optimistic, confident
30 smart - (in this context) elegant,
well-presented
31 to gauge /geidj/ - determine, decide
32 signature tie - tie that ‘says’ sth. abo
who you are---------------------------------
33 to make or break sth. - bring victory or
defeat in
34 to be going for - be trying to get
35 to overwhelm - overpower, inundate

Think in English • 12

✓ Look your interviewer in the eye when
she or he is talking. It suggests you
are interested and attentive. Maintain
eye contact most of the time when
you are talking, it suggests sincerity.
✓ Try to find a relaxed seated posture
that feels natural for you. You don’t
want to be fidgeting36, shifting
around37 in your seat (= nervous)
or sitting bold upright38 with your
arms folded across your chest39
[= defensive). How can you sit in a
way that says 'open and alert’?
✓ Remember that we tend to like
people who agree with us, so
nod40 your head and smile when
the interviewer is talking.
36 to fidget - play with one’s hands and touch
things nervously
37 to shift around - move about nervously
38 to sit bolt upright (sit-sat-sat) - sit in a very
rigid formal posture
39 with your arms folded
across your chest------ ►
40 to nod - move one’s
head up and down, say
‘yes’ with your head
41 trick (adj.) - duplicitous, disingenuous
42 to cut one’s losses (cut-cut-cut) - reduce the
damage to a minimum
43 to spot a lie - discover when you are not
telling the truth
44 to rush into - start precipitously to give
45 to be willing to - be ready to, be prepared to
46 I’ll get back to you on that one - I’ll give you
an answer later
: Conversation Point: Should information on a candi-
■ date’s name and sex be excluded from CVs by law?
OB IN TE R V IE W
Trick41 Questions, Trick Answers
i If you are asked a trick question, be prepared to cut your losses42. Trick ques- i
i tions can fall into two types:
! ............. s ;
■ a), a question you don’t know the answer to, and
i b). a dilemma-type question. i
: If you don’t know the answer to a question, be prepared to admit that. The inter- :
i viewer is in control, so s/he is well placed to spot a lie43. It is much better to i
: answer along the lines of, “I don’t know. But I can find out9 for you." No one knows ;
: all the answers, the important thing is to transmit honesty and a determination to :
find out9 information that you need to know.
If you are asked the “What would you do if...?” type question, don’t rush into44 an i
; answer. Be willing to45 refuse to answer immediately. “That would be an important ;
; decision and I don’t like to rush these things until I have all the information and I have :
; had time to consider my options. I’ll get back to you on that one46, if you like.”
The main47 reason for these types of questions is to see how you react under ;
; pressure. If you accompany a non-answer with a confident smile it is unlikely to48 ■
; work against you.
Indeed49, much of the interview is about seeing how you react in what is a i
: stressful situation. So, don’t allow yourself to be rushed50 and take a deep ;
: breath before each answer. By slowing the pace51 of the exchange you create a i
i more relaxed atmosphere.
Always bear in mind52 that - other things being equal - it is the candidate who i
; seems unflappable53, open and friendly who is most likely to get54 the job.
Fishing for Racists
Are employers biased towards55 native-born applicants56? That’s the question that
officials at the Department of Work and Pensions wanted to answer. So, they recently
sent out fake appli­
cations57 for over
1000 job vacancies58.
For each job they
sent three CVs. Each
resumé59 was similar
but some were signed
with foreign-sound­
ing names (‘Nazia
Mahmood’, ‘Mariam
Namagembe’), while
the other bore60 a
native-English-sound-
ing name (‘Alison
Taylor’). All of the
candidates were given
a British education and British work experience.
The DWP found that the candidate with an English-sounding name was offered
an interview for every nine applications while the candidates with foreign-sounding
names were only offered an interview for every 16 applications. The British Govern­
ment is considering legislation banning61 employers from asking the names of job
applicants before they are given an interview. *
47 main - primary, principal probability of being offered
48 it is unlikely to - it probably won’t 55 biased towards - prejudiced in favour of
49 indeed - (emphatic) in fact 56 (job) applicant - candidate for a job vacancy58
50 to allow yourself to be rushed - let s.o. hurry 57 fake application - letter from s.o. who does
you, (in this context) permit the interviewer to not exist presenting him/herself as a candidate
force you to answer precipitously for a job
51 to slow the pace - decrease the rhythm/velocity 58 job vacancy - opening, offer of work
52 to bear in mind (bear-bore-borne) - remember 59 resume (US English) - CV
53 unflappable - cool as a cucumber, 60 to bear (bear-bore-borne) - (in this context) be
imperturbable, calm signed with
54 is most likely to get - has the greatest 61 to ban - prohibit
122 Think in English • 13
 If there’s one holiday the British weather can’t spoil1 it is a vacation visiting England’s underground delights2.

I GOING UNDERGROUND IN ENGLAND

Natural Caverns & Ancient Caves3
i At the risk of sounding negative, first I’d like to say what this article is not. It is not an arti- I
I cle for serious speleologists. Second, it is not an article about crypts, dungeons4 or bunkers, ;
! though the occasional corpse5 does turn up6 and many of the sites were used as air-raid ;
Ì shelters7 during World War II. No, the focus here is on natural caverns and ancient caves, i

§ The East Midlands

i1 Nottingham. The City of Nottingham can claim to be8

CQ England's underground capital. It has more manmade9 caves3

than any other city in Britain and some date back a thousand years.
There were once over 400 caves in Nottingham, though many
have been destroyed in modern building work. The cave to visit is
the Pillar Cave (c. 1250) under the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre
which contains what was Britain’s only underground tannery10.
The hill on which Nottingham Castle was built is also a maze11
of tunnels. One of these - known as “Mortimer’s Hole” - was used
by 17-year-old prince Edward and his friends in October 1330 to
enter the castle. Once inside he arrested Roger Mortimer12 and
Queen Isabella, Edward’s mother. Mortimer was soon executed
and the prince became Edward III.

Poole’s Cavern, 1.5km south of Buxton, Derbyshire. This

2
natural cave has been occupied on and off for over 5000 years.
It was used as a Roman jewellery shop13. However, the caves real
attraction is its unequalled variety of orange and blue-grey stalac­
tite and stalagmite formations. The 160-metre view inside the
cave is the longest of any cavern you can visit in Britain.

1 to spoil - ruin
2 delights - pleasures, things of beauty
3 cave - cavern, underground chamber
4 dungeon - mediaeval underground prison cell
5 corpse - dead body, cadaver
6 does turn up - (emphatic) turns up, appears leather) are tanned (= cured so that they don’t
7 air-raid shelter - refuge from aerial bombing putrefy)
8 to claim to be - declare that it is 11 maze - labyrinth
9 manmade - artificial 12 who had murdered Edward’s father, Edward
10 tannery - place where hides (= animals skins, II. See pp. 18-19

Think in English • 14
 Castleton Caverns, 16km north of Buxton, Derbyshire. This series of caves offers spectacular variety. The Blue John13 14 Cavern
3 is famous for the Blue John stone15 that was mined16 here, with its subtle shades17 of blue. In the Speedwell Cavern you can
take a boat trip on the canal that runs18 through this old tin19 mine. It is the deepest cave that is open to the public in Britain. You
end up at a gigantic subterranean lake known as The Bottomless Pit. 40,000 tons of mining rubble20 was dumped21 into this
pool22 without it raising23 the water level! Treak Cliff Cavern was a Blue John mine which broke into a natural cavern containing
wonderful stalactites and stalagmites. Finally, “the Devil's Arse24” or Peak Cavern is entirely natural and boasts25 the biggest
natural cave entrance in the UK. The water in the caves is so pure that it is used to make the tea in the café outside the caves.

The Southwest
Wookey Hole, 2km northwest of Wells, Somerset. This is probably the most
4 famous cavern in Britain. These chambers were formed a million years ago
and mammoth26, lion and bear remains27 have been found inside. Humans have
occupied the cave on and off for 70,000 years. See the petrified remains27 of a
witch28 that the Abbot of Glastonbury turned to stone using holy29 water (or so
the legend goes30). A Romano-British human skeleton was found in the cave in
1912. Beside her was a knife, a ball made from stalagmite and the remains27 of
two goats31.

Cheddar Caves. 15km northwest of Wells, Somerset. Located32 in the impres­

5 sive surroundings of Cheddar Gorge33, these caves are a popular attraction.
Gough’s Cave was the site of England’s earliest known case of cannibalism 12,500
years ago. Three adults and two children were butchered34 and eaten inside the cave. Less gruesomely35, ‘Cheddar Man’ was
also found here; a 9000-year-old Mesolithic skeleton. Like Gough’s Cave, Cox’s Cave also contains beautiful rock formations,
exquisitely sculpted by nature.

Kents Cavern Torquay /toz’ki:/, Devon. This is the oldest Ancient Monument in Britain; artefacts from 500,000 years ago
6 have been found here as well as36 items37 as ‘recent’ as 12,500 years ago. Animal remains27 from Kents Cavern include those
of sabre-tooth tigers38, woolly rhinoceroses39, mammoths, hyenas and bison. Human remains date from 31,000 years ago. The
caves also contain magnificent stalactites and stalagmites. Only 500 metres from the sea, this is an obvious alternative to the
beach on a rainy day.

Carnglaze Caverns, 30km northwest of Plymouth, Cornwall. Of the three caverns, the most spectacular is the Cathedral
7 Cavern with its beautiful blue-green subterranean lake40. However, perhaps the most surprising is the Rum-Store Cavern41
which, because of its wonderful acoustics, has been turned into42 an auditorium43. Underground concerts are organized here. •

13 jewellery shop - (in this context) place where 25 to boast - have (sth. that one 34 to butcher - kill and cut up
gems are cut, and ornaments made and then sold 35 gruesomely - awfully, repulsively
14 a corruption of the French bleu-jaune 26 mammoth -_______________ 36 as well as - together with,
15 Blue John stone - a variety of fluorite (a semi­ 27 remains - remnants, skeletal in addition to
precious stone) material 37 item - object, artefact
16 to mine sth. - extract sth. from underground 28 witch - woman who practises 38 sabre-tooth tiger --—
17 shade - tone black magic 39 woolly rhinoceros -
18 to run (run-ran-run) - (in this context) flow 29 holy - blessed, sanctified, 40 featured on the cover o
19 tin - (Sn.) a type of soft metal sacred & the Bunnymen’s Oce»,.
20 rubble - debris, waste stone 30 or so the legend goes - 41 so-called because the Royal Navy stored
21 to dump - tip, pour, spill, throw according to legend / its rum here during World War II
22 pool - body of water, lake 31 goat------------- - ------------- 42 to be turned into - be converted
23 to raise - increase, augment 32 located - situated into
24 arse - anus, ass (US English), bottom, backside 33 gorge - canyon, ravine 43 seats 400

: Conversation Point: What’s the best:

122 Think in English • 15 : underground attraction in your country?:
HOW TO BULLSHIT ABOUT...
E nid Blyton r
B ’ f
ritain s favourite author
A Certain Success
Enid Blyton was prolific; she wrote up to10 10,000 words a day, published an average
of 16 books a year and completed 753 books and 10,000 short stories over 46 years. At
the time of her death Blyton was the most published author of all time.11 Her books
have been translated into over 90 languages12 and she has sold over 600 million copies
worldwide. During World War Two so much of her six publishers’ supply13 of paper14
went towards15 her books that16 other wartime children’s authors found it almost
impossible to get anything at all published.

How She Did It

In 1952 Enid Blyton wrote 57 books. Such prolific
writing led to17 accusations that she used a team of
ghost writers18. The truth is more mundane; Blyton
spent most of her time writing and writing to a
Enid and I formula. Just a list of the titles is enough to show
that little creativity was wasted on each book. Take a
I was born the year before Enid Blyton list of ‘Famous Five’ titles: Five Go Adventuring Again
(1897-1968) died. Throughout3 my child­ (1943), Five Fall into Adventure (1949), Five Get into
hood her books were a bit of a joke; Trouble (1950), Five Have a Wonderful Time (1952),
festering4 relics of the racist, sexist, elit­ Five Have Plenty of Fun (1955), Five Get into a Fix'9
ist world of absolutes that had otherwise5 (1958), Five Are Together Again (1963) and 14 similar
died during the World Wars. So, it was titles. To demonstrate her range20 Blyton also wrote
with considerable 15 novels about the ‘Five Find-
surprise that I read "Growing old is compulsory1. Outers21’ (1943-61) - distinct form
in 2008 that Blyton BUT GROWING UP2 IS OPTIONAL” ‘the Famous Five’ - and 15 about
had been voted ENID BLYTON ‘the Secret Seven’ (1949-63). But
Britain’s best-loved Enid could do other numbers: She
author of all time.6 But my source7 didn’t published about ‘Three Naughty22 Children’, ‘The
say how many people participated in the Adventurous Four’, ‘Six Cousins’ and ‘Six Bad Boys’. Some of her titles even seem
poll8 by the Costa Book Award - certainly ironic - The Adventurous Four Again! (1947), Here Comes Mary Mouse Again (1947),
nobody asked me! I was shaken from9 Six Cousins Again (1950) and Here Comes Noddy Again (1951). God knows how she
this comforting thought by another kept track of23 titles she’d already used!
statistic; Blyton still sells eight million A few titles sound a bit more racy24 - for example EnidBlyton’s Gayzs Story Book
books each year. (1946) and The Queer26 Adventure (1952) - but sadly they are the same old dross27.

1 compulsory - obligatory, unavoidable

2 to grow up (grow-grew-grown) - mature
psychologically
3 throughout - during all of
4 festering - putrid
5 otherwise - in other contexts
6 she was followed by Roald Dahl, J.K.
Rowling, Jane Austen, Shakespeare and
Dickens in that order
7 source - (in this context) place where one
found information
8 poll - survey, study, questionnaire
9 to shake s.o. from sth. (shake-shook-shaken) -
cause s.o. to abandon sth.
10 up to - as many as, a maximum of
11 Blyton was overtaken in 1996 by Brazilian
novelist Jose Carlos Ryoki di Alpoim Inoiue
12 she is the sixth most translated author ever;
before Lenin (7th) and after Shakespeare (5th).
13 supply - provision, ration
14 which was strictly rationed during the War
15 to go towards (go-went-gone) - (in this
context) be used to make
16 so much... that... - such a high proportion....
that...
17 to lead to (lead-led-led) - provoke, result in
18 ghost writer - s.o. who writes for s.o. else
Criticisms
When I was young what we found most ridiculous about
Enid Blyton was the outmoded children’s slang, epito­
mized by the expression “with lashings of28 ginger beer29”10.
However, there are more serious problems. One of Blyton’s
sins31 was golliwogs’. These were originally Edwardian dolls
in the form of black-faced minstrels32. In the 1930s Blyton
turned these excruciatingly-embarrassing dolls into a trio of
lovable characters ‘Golly’, ‘Woggy’ and ‘Nigger’. If that wasn’t
bad enough, in the 1950s she wrote a pantomime, Noddy in
Toyland which had the Gollywogs as villains. In most of the
<
19 to get into a fix (get-got-got) - get into trouble 27 dross - rubbish, boring material
20 range - variety 28 lashings of - (old-fashioned) a lot of
21 find-outer - (nonce word) discoverer 29 ginger beer - a drink similar to ginger ale
22 naughty - disobedient, badly-behaved 30 apparently, the phrase is apocryphal - she
23 to keep track of (keep-kept-kept) - know, monitor never used it
24 racy - risqué, spicy 31 sin - (in this context) crime, offence
25 in the 1950s ‘gay’ still meant ‘happy’ 32 black-faced minstrel - white singer who
26 queer - (now) gay, homosexual, (then) strange, would paint his face black and sing imitating a
bizarre black person

122 Think in English • 16

 pp. 20-21
Subscribers’ exercise E The
Mystery of the
rest of her novels the bad guys are pointedly33 work­ 1 Hidden House
ing-class ‘oiks34’, while the children are clearly ‘decent’ 1 • '*■»>

privately-educated upper-middle-class kids.

Educationalists and librarians35 had other
complaints36. They saw Blyton’s literary style as
limited and they criticized the fact that many young
readers repeatedly turned to her novels to the exclu­
sion of more demanding books.37 2’6
Blyton’s response to these criticisms was typi­
cally childish38. She said she didn’t take any notice of
critics over the age of 12 and if libraries39 refused to
stock her books children would go out and buy them
with their pocket money.40

Auntie41 vs. Enid

§ Dramatizations of Enid Blyton’s stories were banned42 from the airways43 for 30 years by BBC executives
| who judged her writing second-rate44. “Her stories haven’t much literary value”, wrote J.E. Sutcliffe of the
ii BBC’s schools broadcast department in 1938. “There is rather a lot of the Pinky-winky-Doodle-doodle Dum-
dumm type of name in the original tales.” 16 years later Sutcliffe still believed that Blyton wrote “mediocre
material”. He went on45, “Her capacity to do so46, amounts to47 genius... anyone MVf A WONBEffraniMf
else would have died of boredom48 long ago”. In the end, even the publishers began L 4.J
to turn against her. In 1960 her publisher, Macmillan, rejected The Mystery that
Never Was because the novel was “xenophobic and absurd”.

The Biopic
Given the BBC’s long-term hostility to Blyton I was intrigued to see in 2009 that
they had made Enid, a biopic about her (starring Helena Bonham Carter). The
premise of this excellent film is that Blyton was traumatized when her woman­
izing49 father walked out on50 the family when she was young. As a result, she took
END refuge making up51 stories about idyllic childhood adventures. There may be some
truth in this but the trauma can’t have been too deep since52 after he left she became
i JECKET5EVE'
THE

CAf
head girl53 and captain of games54 at school. What Bonham Carter does portray55
effectively is the vindictive56 hypocrite that Blyton was. True to the upper-class
Edwardian model she was a negligent mother but bizarrely she combined this with
a cherishing57 maternal attitude towards her young fans.58

Blyton & Popular Culture

For those who don’t know them, the ‘Famous Five’ books are pretty bland39 adventures; imagine Harry Potter without the magic.
Noddy is like a smurf60 without the blue. In other words, each The Famous Five and The Secret Seven story is about
as61 creative as each episode of Scooby Doo. Indeed62, all of these later children’s phenomena owe a lot to63 Blyton.
<J.K. Rowling and others have referred to the ‘Famous Five Effect’ by which characters stay the same age over
a number of adventures. The term refers to the fact that the Famous Five remain64 tweens65 while enjoying 21
different holidays.
Blyton also influenced other areas of British popular culture. The police in Britain are still often referred to
derisively66 as ‘the plod’ in reference to ‘Mr Plod’ the slow-witted67 policeman who is Noddy’s adversary. ‘Noddy
college courses’ are degrees that are unlikely to lead to68 a job, or courses of little academic value. •

35 pointedly - specifically, intentionally material 56 vindictive - vengeful, resentful

34 oik - (informal) ignorant and inferior lower-
class person
35 librarian - s.o. who works in a library39
36 complaint - criticism
37 of course, these days educationalists are
happy if children read anything1 . 51 to make sth. up (make-made-made) - invent sth.
38 childish - infantile
39 library - institution that lends books
40 children... buy books... with their own money?!
41 Auntie - (slang) the BBC
42 to ban - prohibit
43 the airways - radio and television
44 second-rate - inferior, substandard
45 to go on (go-went-gone) - continue
46 to do so - (in this context) to write mediocre
47 amounts to - should be considered
48 boredom - tedium, monotony
49 womanizing - philandering, flirtatious,
seducing
50 to walk out on sth. - abandon sth.
52 since - (in this context) given that
53 head girl - head prefect, pupil chosen by
teachers to control other pupils (in British
private girls’ schools)
54 captain of games - pupil chosen to lead all
a school’s sporting activities (in some British
private schools)
55 does portray - (emphatic) portrays, represent
(acting)
57 cherishing - adoring, loving, doting
58 her daughter described Enid as
“emotionally crippled”
59 pretty bland - not very exciting
60 smurf---------------------------------------- ►
61 to be about as - to be more or less as
62 indeed - (emphatic) in fact
63 to owe A to B - be indebted to B
for A
64 to remain - continue to be, be still
65 tweens - children aged between 10 and 12
66 derisively - disdainfully, contemptuously
67 slow-witted - simple, idiotic, stupid
68 to be unlikely to lead to - probably won’t
result in

: Conversation Point: How do you explain:

• 122 • Think in English • 17 ithe continued success of Enid Blyton?
G reat T heatre What’s the worst death imaginable?
jyjar|owre>s jj
F
A Brief Summary
Edward is openly gay and in love with Piers Gaveston. However, his bullying1
negligent father, Edward I of England, has sent Gaveston into exile. On becom­
ing king, Edward II marries Isabella of France to fulfil2 his dynastic obligations
and produce a male heir3. However, once on the throne, he believes he can take
control of his own life and so sends for his lover. The barons reject the relation­
ship not only because of the homosexuality but because Gaveston is a commoner4
and a foreigner5. They try to have Gaveston exiled again and when this plan fails,
they kill him. When the king takes another male lover, Hugh Spencer, the barons
kill both the king’s new boyfriend and Edward’s advisor6, Baldock, and depose7
Edward. The leader of the rebel barons, Mortimer, is by now Queen Isabella’s lover.
They keep Edward in appalling8 conditions hoping he will die but he resists stoi­
cally, so they torture him to death. However, when Edward’s son becomes Edward
III he has Mortimer executed and his mother imprisoned for the rest of her life.

A New Kind of Play

When Marlowe wrote Edward II in around 1591 he introduced something totally new
to English drama, the amoral play. He questions whether9 it is reasonable to depict10
people as unequivocally good or bad. In the play everyone’s character changes accord­
ing to their circumstances; specifically determinant is whether they are in power or
powerless. Absolute standards of good and evil are thus11 meaningless. The noblest
character in the play is Edward’s brother, Kent. He tries to do what’s right for the
A Political Play
country and changes sides several times. However, despite his good intentions, what he
actually12 does is help Mortimer to escape from Edward II, thus11 enabling13 the rebel­ Marlowe also highlights15 the central
lion that will depose his brother and then, by trying and failing to spring14 Edward problem of monarchy: you have to accept
from prison, brings about his own death and the king’s. what you get. Edward suggests early
on16 that he should abdicate and go to
live privately with Gaveston but that is
not an option. Mortimer later suggests
that the nobles should “Depose him17,
and elect another king”. But of course
you don’t elect kings.
Those of us who are not kings see
monarchy as the ability to do whatever
you want and this is Edward’s atti­
tude as king and also Mortimer’s when
he becomes regent and de facto king.
However, Marlowe suggests that king-
ship actually12 implies more restrictions
on conduct than ordinary citizenship18.
Moreover, we see how the appar­
ent freedom to exercise one’s will19 is
a corrupting factor. Edward is seen as
a frivolous tyrant when he is in power,
while Mortimer as a rebel seems to
be motivated by the national interest.
However, when Mortimer comes to power
1 bullying - intimidating, domineering 9 whether - (in this context) if he is diabolically tyrannical. Indeed20, he
2 to fulfil - satisfy 10 to depict - portray, represent surrounds himself with men who are less
3 heir /es7 - s.o. who inherits 11 thus - (formal) for this reason
4 commoner - s.o. who is not an aristocrat 12 actually - (false friend) really, in fact noble than Gaveston, Spencer or Baldock.
5 of course, the xenophobia is hypocritical. 13 to enable - facilitate, help, permit
Isabella is also French and Mortimer speaks 14 to spring (spring-sprang-sprung) -
proudly of his French ancestors. (colloquial) release, free, liberate 17 i.e. Edward II
6 advisor - counsellor, aide 15 to highlight - emphasize 18 citizenship - being a citizen
7 to depose - oust, dethrone, uncrown, usurp 16 early on - (in this context) in the first part of 19 will (n.) - desire, wishes
8 appalling - horrific, terrible the play 20 indeed - (emphatic) in fact

122 Think in English • 18

 : Conversation Point: Would a gay:
a c..Mir t*« „ s„, Rkvkngii ANn : monarch be accepted in your country?
______ A lArrnm

Great T heatre
Isabella
EDWARD II suffer with dignity once they have been
stripped of the crown43.
Isabella knows when she marries Edward that he is in love Historically44, Edward II suffered
with Gaveston. Even so, she is pathetically loyal to her probably the most gruesome23 death in
husband during the first half of the play. However, when English history. A board45 was placed on
Edward takes another male lover after Gaveston’s murder, top of him so that he couldn’t move and a
she finally realizes21 that whatever she does she will never red-hot46 poker47 was thrust48 through his
be loved by her husband. She therefore22 abandons him, anus up into his intestines until he eventu­
takes Mortimer as her lover and agrees to Edward’s grue­ ally49 died. This is often seen as a symbolic
some23 murder. Today we can sympathize with24 Isabel­ punishment for sodomy. However, it
la’s plight25 but in the late 16th Century she would have should be noted that the stated50 reason
been expected to tolerate such maltreatment meekly26. for this appalling51 death was to leave no
Indeed20, the intentional ambiguity of the central char­ mark on the body so that it could be said
acters is such that our perception of them is determined that the king died a natural death.
more by our views and prejudices than by the play itself. A common theme in history plays is
In the play the Queen’s transformation from ‘Isabella the conflict between personal desires and
the Fair27’ into ‘the She-Wolf28 of France’29 seems rather30 public duties52. Edward would rather be
abrupt. However, it should be remembered that Isabella was a private citizen but he can’t. After the
only 12 when she married 24-year-old Edward. As a result, murder of Hugh Spencer and Baldock
despite being in love with Edward she had to accept his rela­ he realizes21 that any friend or lover he
tionship with Gaveston. However, by the time Edward fell chooses will be killed. He is denied the
in love with Hugh Spenser she was a grown woman of 28 most basic rights of being human. When
who was not going to be humiliated a second time. he loses the crown53 too, he considers
himself dead and looks forward to simply
dying with dignity. However, even this is
The Play’s Influence on Shakespeare
denied him.
Edward IIhad an enormous influence on Shakespeare’s history plays. The Henry
VI trilogy, probably written before Edward II is an action-packed tale of good­ Edward II Trivia
ies31 and baddies32. After Marlowe’s play Shakespeare adopts characters with
contradictory personalities, such as The Bastard in King John. His Richard IF3 In 1924 Bretolt Brecht produced an
owes much of its focus and storyline to34 Edward II. The central character in adaptation of Edward II.
his early masterpiece, Richard III, owes much to Mortimer - as does Hotspur in In 1970 the BBC produced a version
Henry IV. Of course, if Marlowe was Shakespeare...35 of Edward IIstarring Ian McKellen.
In 1991 Derek Jarman directed a
How Important is film version of Edward II starring
Edward’s Homosexuality? Steven Waddington and Tilda
Swinton.
In modern times there has been a tendency to focus In Mel Gibson’s Braveheart (1995)
on the fact that Edward is gay. However, to some Edward I defenestrates54 Gaves­
extent, Edward’s homosexuality is only a minor ton. This is Gibson’s violent homo-
part of the noble’s complaints36. The real prob­ phobic fantasy, not history.
lem with Gaveston is that he is both foreign and < In Ken Follett’s novel World With­
low-born37. Even so, Edward makes him Earl of out End (2007), there is a letter that
Cornwall, Lord of (the Isle of) Man and Bishop of proves that Edward II survived
Coventry. Hugh Spencer is also not an aristocrat. and escaped from prison. •
The real problem is that Edward flouts38 social
conventions by mixing with common people
36 complaints - reasons to protest, criticisms
rather than39 nobles. Moreover, he squanders40 37 to be low-born - be a commoner4, not be noble
money frivolously. Gay kings who were focused 38 to flout - violate, ignore, infringe
39 rather than - instead of, as opposed to
on the vigorous exercise of kingship - like Rich­ 40 to squander - waste, misspend, dissipate
ard I, Henry V or Marlowe’s contemporary James 41 foppish - dandy-like, effete, effeminate
42 historically, Edward was a big muscular man
VI of Scotland - were not stigmatized. Marlowe’s 43 to strip s.o. of the crown - depose7 s.o.
Edward II is not foppish41 and he is positively 44 and in the play
energetic when he goes to war.42 Moreover, they 45 board - big rectangular flat piece of wood
46 red-hot - incandescent
47 poker (countable) - metal stick
21 to realize - (false friend) - become conscious 28 she-wolf - female wolf--------------- 48 to thrust (thrust-thrust-thrust) - push, force,
22 therefore - for this reason, thus 29 both epithet’s are historical insert
23 gruesome - heinous, terrible, awful 30 rather - quite, somewhat, surprisingly 49 eventually - (false friend) in the end
24 to sympathize with s.o. - feel compassion 31 goodies - good guys, heroes 50 stated - declared
for s.o. 32 baddies - bad guys, villains 51 appalling - horrific, hideous
25 plight - predicament, bad situation 33 Edward H’s grandson who was also 52 duties - obligations, responsibilities
26 meekly - patiently, submissively gay 53 to lose the crown (lose-lost-lost) - be deposed7
27 fair (adj.) - (in this context) beautiful, 34 to owe A to B - be indebted to B for A 54 to defenestrate s.o. - kill s.o. by pushing
attractive 35 see 37 him/her out of a window

Think in English • 19
 William Golding was one of the most highly-regarded1 British writers of the
Literature second half of the 20th Century. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983 and
was knighted2 by the Queen in 1988. Yet despite writing 12 novels, dozens
of poems, a play and several collections of essays, Golding will be remem­
bered by the general public for just3 one book: The Lord, of the Flies4 (1954).

William Golding
J & THE LORD OF THE FLIES

T
What’s it really about?
he novel is more or less compulsory5 reading in UK schools, which means it is
one of the few books that you can be almost certain that a British person has read.
It seems incredible to think that The Lord of the Flies was rejected123456 by no less than
20 publishers before finally going to print, and that, once it was published, it wasn’t
very successful to begin with. Despite this, by the 1960s Golding’s novel had estab­
lished itself as a ‘modern classic’, pawed over7 by several generations of British (and
other) teenagers. Since then it has been turned into8 two films (1963,1990) and a play
(1995). So it is all the more surprising that those that know these things still haven’t atheist parable, given that Golding clearly
decided definitively what it’s about’. Sure, superficially it’s the story of a group of Brit­ suggests that evil16, ‘the Beast’, is a human
ish boys marooned9 on a deserted island like pint-sized1011 Robinson Crusoes.11 But the construct, and there is no external force
novel is clearly allegorical, representing... something. Candidates for that something for good. My favourite theory is that the
include anarchy vs. the rule of law12, democracy vs. fascism, cooperation vs. compe­ novel is a psychomachia1'. In other words
tition, green nature13 vs. red nature14, order vs. chaos, nurture15 vs. nature. Others the island is simply a metaphor for the
see the novel as primarily the story of loss of innocence, the Fall of Man. Still other conflict going on18 in the individual’s
critics see it as a criticism of western politics, perhaps an allegory about McCarthy­ head.19 Impulses of savagery20 fight it out
ism. Simon is often seen as a Christ-figure. But The Lord of the Flies could also be an with impulses of civilized cooperation. In
Freudian terms the id21 (Jack and Roger)
slugs it out22 with the ego (Piggy) and
the superego (Ralph). This vision would
certainly fit with23 the title of the original
manuscript that was rejected6 so often:
Strangers from Within24.
Golding’s vision also seems to have
a lot to do with25 Joseph Conrad’s Heart
of Darkness (1899). Conrad famously
said that the veneer26 of civilization was
maintained by the policeman and the
butcher27. Golding’s children’s civiliza­
tion falls apart28 with the absence of their
equivalent authority figures (parents and
teachers) and the butcher. Certainly,
Golding links29 the descent into savagery
directly with the hunting and killing
of the pigs. It’s only one small step30
between killing pigs and killing Piggy.

1 highly-regarded - prestigious, well considered
2 to be knighted - be given the title of ‘sir’
3 just - (in this context) only
4 the title is a translation of‘Beelzebub’
5 compulsory - obligatory
6 to reject - turn down, (opposite of’accept’)
7 to paw over sth. - study sth.
8 to be turned into - (in this context) be adapted as
’ to maroon - strand, cast away, leave behind
10 pint-sized - miniature, small
11 or if you insist, like the characters in Lost (a
TV series partially inspired by The Lord of
the Flies)
12 rule of law - a group of laws that everyone in
society must obey
13 green nature - constructive nature as
represented by plants
14 red nature - destructive nature as represented
by carnivorous animals (“red in tooth and
claw” - Tennyson)
15 nurture - upbringing, rearing, culture and
civilization taught to children
16 evil (n.) - malevolence, malignancy
17 pychomachia - psychomachy, a battle for the
human soul (= eternal spirit) between virtues
(or good angels) and vices (or bad angels)
18 to be going on - be occurring, be happening
19 there is an established interpretation of
Shakespeare’s The Tempest - another island
‘adventure’ - which sees it as a psychomachia17
20 savagery - barbarism, brutality, cruelty
21 id - the unconscious primitive mind
22 to slug it out - fight it out, battle
23 to fit with - make sense of, concur with, be
consistent with
24 ...from within - ...from inside, internal...
25 to have a lot to do with (have-had-had) - be
closely related to
26 veneer - facade, superficial semblance
27 butcher - (in this context) s.o. who kills
animals and sells meat
28 to fall apart (fall-fell-fallen) - disintegrate,
disappear
29 to link - associate
30 small step - (in this context) short distance

Think in English • 20
 Mt pp. 22-23 Conversation Point: Are children today closer to 'Lord of the Flies’ than a generation ago?

Vernes and Blyton - was provided by The

GOLDING'S DEMONS
Lord of the Flies. The two central tweens
Golding seems to have experienced much of in The Coral Island are called Ralph and
this epic Manichaean struggle31 first-hand32. Jack, just like52 the protagonists of The
Educated at Oxford, Golding served in the Lord of the Flies. Indeed35, Blyton’s Julian
Royal Navy during World War Two taking would probably have reacted much like
part both in the sinking33 of the Bismarck and Golding’s polite, bewildered53 Ralph if he
the Normandy Landings34. He was a cham­ had found himself in the same circum­
pion of animal rights and a friend of environ­ stances. As in Ballantyne’s, Verne’s and
mental guru, James Lovelock. Indeed35, it Blyton’s novels, all Golding’s children are
was Golding who suggested the name ‘Gaia’ aged 13 or younger.
to describe Lovelock’s theory that the Earth The behaviour54 of today’s tweens
functions as a single organism. and teens suggests that the Ballantyne-
However, Golding had his dark side too. While he was at Oxford he tried to rape36 Vernes-Blyton vision is just55 too idyl­
a 15-year-old girl he knew called Dora. Later in life Golding was frequently drunk lic but is Golding’s novel
and boorish37. On the night he won the Booker Prize in 1980 he was so inebriated38 too pessimistic? Unfor­
that he fell flat on his face in a toilet, while shouting obscenities. On another occa- ; tunately, it’s illegal to
sion he was so blotto39 that he destroyed a friend’s puppet40 of Bob Dylan and then kidnap56 a bunch57 of chil­
buried41 it in the garden claiming42 it was Satan. dren and dump58 them on
an island, so we’ll never
know! The nearest thing
we’ve got is Channel 4’s
much criticized ‘Boys
and Girls Alone’ (2009) -
a version of ‘Big Brother’
featuring59 eight-to-11-
year-olds. However, with
the cameras, camera­
operators and child
psychologists watching
over the kids all the time
that’s hardly60 realistic.
Golding said that he was partly inspired
by observing real children during his 13
years working as a school teacher. Some
of today’s teachers may find The Lord of
the Flies all too61 realistic. •

46 to behave - act, conduct oneself

47 mutually-supportive - reciprocally-helpful
48 setting - surroundings, context
49 = Two Years’ Vacation
50 thoroughly - very, absolutely
51 to get by (get-got-got) - survive, cope
52 just like - the same as
53 bewildered - confused, perplexed, disorientated
54 behaviour (UK English) - behavior
The mid-20th Century provided western culture with two abiding44 images of what (US English), conduct
might happen if children were left alone to their own devices45. In Five on a Treasure 55 just - (in this context) simply
56 to kidnap - abduct
Island (1942) and its 20 sequels Enid Blyton presented a group of tweens who behave46 57 bunch - (in this context/informal) group
in a civilized and mutually-supportive47 way, despite the fact that they have little 58 to dump - (in this context) deposit
59 featuring - (in this context) focused on,
contact with adult authority figures. The fundamental setting48 is much the same as centred around
that in Jules Vernes’ Deux ans de Vacances49 (1888) in which a group of thoroughly50 60 hardly - not really
61 all too - (in this context) depressingly
decent children aged eight to 13 get by51 on an island for two years. In fact, the ‘decent-
cooperative-Victorian-children-on-a-desert-island’ theme goes back to R.M. Ballan-
tyne’s The Coral Island (1858). The alternative vision - a reaction to Ballantyne,

31 Manichaean struggle - conflict between good 40 puppet----------------------------------------- -

and evil
32 first-hand - directly, personally
33 sinking - destruction ofaship so tl ’____
that it submerg_es
34 a.k.a. D-Day, Operation Overlord
35 indeed - (emphatic) in fact
36 to rape - sexually assault
37 boorish - ungentlemanly, vulgar, brutish
38 inebriated - drunk, blotto39, pissed (UK informal)
39 blotto - (slang) drunk
41 to bury - inter, put sth. underground
42 to claim - declare, say, state
english-area.com
43 tween - (informal) s.o. aged between todo lo que necesitas para aprender y
10 and 12
44 abiding - enduring, lasting, long­ ensenar inglés...gratis
standing, established
45 to leave s.o. to their own devices cursos gratuitos, gramatica, ejercicios,
(leave-left-left) - leave s.o. alone to do vocabolario, odo en ingles, librerias
what they want especializadas, diccionarios, y mucho mas
http://www.english-area.com
"fife • 122 • Think in English • 21
The teenager seems to have replaced the Communist as the appro­
priate target1 for public controversy and foreboding®.
Edgar Z. Friedenberg

ADOLESCENTS
THROUGH THE AGES
A History of Teens
Incomplete Adults. A cynic might define the modern conception of adoles­
1 cence as the period in which one can work and have sex but shouldn’t. Freud
defined mental health in terms of the ability to work and love; we see teenagers as
physically capable of both, but psychologically unprepared. The teenager was largely3
an invention of the 1950s but most societies have had some concept of adolescence,
though what exactly each society meant varied enormously.

Rites of Passage4. In many non-Western societies teenage trauma5 doesn’t

exist because there is no limbo between childhood and adulthood. At puberty
there is a rite of passage4 after which the individual is an adult. In other words adoles­
cence is a moment rather than6 a period of years.

The critical moment for you as a teenager is when you realize7

you’re on your own8. Puberty. Although social
Pete Townsend 4 concepts of adolescence vary
considerably, you might think that
biological puberty is relatively constant.
It isn’t. The age of puberty is affected by
nutritional, environmental, genetic and
social factors. In 1840 the average age
of female menarche12 was 17 in Norway
and 16!/s in England. In these countries
it is now 12. Most of the change is
believed to be the result of nutrition. A
high intake13 of animal proteins seems
to lower the age of puberty, a vegetar­
ian diet results in later puberty. In
high-altitude subsistence populations
in Central Asia menarche takes place11
at 18. 48% of African American girls
experience puberty at nine. On the
other hand, a juvenile female who has
significant interaction with adult males
will enter puberty earlier than juvenile
females who are not socially overex­
posed to adult males.15

1 target - (z'n this context) object, focus, focal

point
2 foreboding - apprehension, anxiety, suspicion
3 largely - mainly, primarily
4 rite of passage - ceremony/ritual to mark that s.o.
The Ages of Man. Adolescence is not as fix as it might appear to us today. Of has arrived at a transitional point in their life

3 course, the teenage years (13-19) are fixed but that doesn’t mean they have always
been seen as a discrete9 stage in life. Isidore of Seville said the second of six ages of
5 teenage trauma - unhappiness and
intergenerational conflict associated with
adolescence
6 rather than - as opposed to, instead of
man (inventus) lasted10 from 14 to 28. In the 11th Century Avicenna Ibn Sina said the 7 to realize - (false friend) become conscious
first age of man lasted until the age of 30. In his Convivio Dante saw the first of four 8 to be on one’s own - be alone, be by oneself
ages of man (adolescenza) - characterized by submissiveness, agreeableness, shame11 9 discrete - distinct, separate
10 to last - endure, continue
and bodily beauty - as lasting from birth to 25. However, in his Roman de Fauvel (c. 11 shame - discomfiture, embarrassment
1314) Gervais du Bus said that the second age of man (jovens) lasted from 15 to 30. In 12 menarche /me’na:rki/ - the first
menstruation in a young woman’s life
the late Middle Ages the ‘age of Venus’ - 14 to 24 - was associated with “the pleasures 13 intake - consumption
of the table and the bed”. In 1965 US humorist Art Linkletter said, “The four stages of 14 to take place (take-took-taken) - occur, happen
15 this is technically known as the
man are infancy, childhood, adolescence and obsolescence”! Vandenbergh effect

[Think in English • 22
 pp. 30-31

10 T hings
Marriage. Adolescence disappears if you
S marry more or less at puberty. Roman girls
reached16 marriageable age at 14. In mediaeval
England aristocratic children were often married
even younger, with the contract becoming effec­
tive at 12 for girls and 14 for boys. Until 1929
these remained the respective ages of consent
for marriage17 in Britain. That year it became 16
for both. The actual18 average age at marriage
to almost30 30 for men and women in the
rose1920
22
21
late 17th Century and fell to 25 for men and 23
for women by the mid-18th Century. It remained31
more or less at that level until the end of World
War Two when it fell briefly33 before rising to
around 30 and 28, respectively, today.

Shakespeare & Adolescent Girls. Early-Modern23 girls were subordinate Social Attitudes Towards
6 to their fathers until they married and became subordinate to their husbands.
In neither state were they interesting autonomous people. However,
9 Adolescents. Up until the time of
Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-78)
while they were of marriageable age but not married they had some childhood and adolescence were
opportunity to explore their own identities. This is largely24 why just36 a troublesome37 prelude to
Shakespeare was obsessed about teenage girls. 13-year-old Juliet adult life. However, from the late
and 16-year-old Miranda as well as Portia, Hero, Desdemona, Viola, 18th Century to the present West­
Perdita and most of Shakespeare’s minor heroines are all early teen­ ern societies have sought to38
agers on the point of marriage25. delay39 marriage and lengthen40
fulltime education creating a
Work. Adolescence also disappears if you have to work pronounced41 liminal42 phase
7 from childhood. Norman86 children had to work as soon
as they could walk (collecting firewood, nuts87 and berries88).
we know as adolescence.

Until modern times most children were expected to work from
the age of seven. In most western countries today young
people cannot enter fulltime work until they are 16.
Coming of Age Legally. In the late Middle Ages 14-year-old boys could enter
8 most types of contract, enter universities or marry, although they could not inherit29
property or become knights30
until later. In the 18th and early
19th Centuries boys as young as
eight could be transported31 to
Australia for stealing. Modern
societies allow32 teenagers to
drive, smoke, drink alcohol,
leave school, work, vote, marry
and have sex at widely differ­
ing33 ages. The legal age of
consent34, for example, varies
from 13 to 21 depending on the
country. Similarly, the individ­
ual is criminally35 responsible
at seven in India but at 18 in
Belgium.
16 to reach - get to, arrive at marry imminently
17 age of consent for marriage - minimum age 26 (in this context) 11th and 12lh-century English
at which you could legally marry 27 nuts - almonds, peanuts, Brazil nuts, etc. (in
18 actual - (false friend) real (as opposed to ‘theoretical’) this context) walnuts, hazelnuts and chestnuts
19 to rise (rise-rose-risen) - go up, increase 28 berries - wild fruit
20 almost - nearly, just under 29 to inherit - receive property when s.o. dies
21 to remain - continue, stay 30 knight---------------------------------
22 briefly - for a short time 31 to transport s.o. - (historical) * 46 behaviour (UKEnglish) - behavior (US English),
23 the Early Modern period is from c. 1450 to take s.o. to a penal colony
c. 1700 (i.e. approximately the Tudor and 32 to allow - permit
Stuart periods) 33 widely differing - very different,
24 largely - mostly, mainly, primarily very diverse
25 on the point of marriage - who are going to 34 age of consent - minimum age at g _ r
Teenagers. The
W word ‘teenage’ was
coined43 in 1921, to be followed
by ‘teenager’ in 1941 and
‘teen’ in 1951. Teenagers emerged as a
distinct market segment to be targeted11
by music companies and clothes manu­
facturers. However, elements of youth
culture such as distinctive dress codes
and music had been developing over the
previous half-century. Indeed1’, rebel­
lious teenage behaviour"5 has been
recorded17 for centuries. For instance18,
apprentice boys in Tudor and Stuart
England were criticized for having
distinctive haircuts, clothes and music
and for going around in gangs19. •
which sex is legal
35 criminally - in relation to illegal acts
36 just - (in this context) simply
37 troublesome - problematic
38 to seek to (seek-sought-sought) - try to
39 to delay - postpone
40 to lengthen s.o. - make sth. longer
41 pronounced (adj.) - marked, conspicuous
42 li minai - (in psychology) relating to a period
of change
43 to coin - invent (a word or phrase)
44 to target s.o. - (in this context) direct
publicity at s.o.
45 indeed - (emphatic) in fact
conduct
47 to record - (in this context) chronicle,
mention in written texts
48 for instance - for example
49 gang - group of delinquents

Think in English • 23

F 1
Whistle Down the Wind
i Hayley never failed me once. | police and the fugitive is arrested. Never­
i (Bryan Forbes) J
In 1958 actor and scriptwriter Bryan
Forbes and his good friend Richard Atten­
borough were cock-a-hoop1. After a series
of protracted2 negotiations they had
finally got the necessary finance to launch3
Beaver Films, the company that cemented
their great friendship. After shooting The
Angry Silence in 1959 they purchased4 the
screen rights to a successful novella5 Whis­
tle Down the Wind6, signed English actress
Hayley Mills, then the most popular child
star in the world, and chose Guy Green to
direct what they realistically hoped would
be a box-office hit7. Much to their dismay8
HAYLEY MILLS
The Teen Trap
they were unexpectedly left in the
lurch9 when Green, just10 a few
days before Christmas, pulled the
plug on11 Forbes and Attenborough
by breaking12 his contract to direct
another film at a much enhanced
fee13. There was nothing for it14 but
to bite the bullet15 and Forbes, who
had never directed a film in his life,
was apparently facing a baptism of
fire16.
That the film ran so smoothly
and turned out to be such a success was
largely17 due to18 Hayley’s inherent talents
that were truly instinctive and remark­
able19, and helped Forbes on his debut to
smooth out any problems that arose20
while his blonde, blue-eyed star carried
the whole film21. In the challenging22 role
of Kathy Bostock she gave perhaps her
subtlest and most naturalistic perform­
ance23 and stole everyone’s thunder24.25
Set on a farm house near Pendle26 the film,
which starkly27 contrasts the rocklike faith
of Kathy and the other ‘disciples’28 with
the mistrust29 of the adults, tells the story
of three siblings30 who discover Arthur
r
Blakey hiding31 in their barn32. They
mistake this bearded33 convict on the
run34 for Jesus and within35 hours as many
as a hundred children36 are in on37 the
secret. Inevitably, one lets the cat out of
the bag38, the barn32 is surrounded by the
theless, Kathy continues to believe that
the escaped convict is her Saviour. Buoyed
up39 by her implacable faith, she tells two
small villagers that they have indeed40
missed “Him but He’ll be coming again”.
It was a sterling41 performance by Ms
Mills. Bryan Forbes, making his debut as
a film director, was impressed by her work
ethic (she did 70 takes of one scene with­
out batting an eyelid42), her modesty, and
by her capacity to “melt into43 the rural
surroundings and assume44 the accent and
way of speech of the local children”45. She
was without any doubt a true star.

1 to be cock-a-hoop - be pleased and excited 25 despite excellent performances by little Alan

2 protracted - long, lengthy
3 to launch - (in this context) set up, create,
establish
4 to purchase - buy
5 novella - (false friend) short novel
6 written by Mary Hayley Bell.
7 box-office hit - commercially successful film
8 much to their dismay - unfortunately for them
9 to leave s.o. in the lurch (leave-left-left) -
abandon s.o. in a difficult situation
10 just - (in this context) only
11 to pull the plug on s.o. - abandon s.o.
12 to break (break-broke-broken) - infringe
13 at a much enhanced fee - that paid much better
14 there was nothing for it but - there was no
option except
15 to bite the bullet (bite-bit-bitten) - accept a
situation
16 to face a baptism of fire - difficult
introduction to a new job
17 largely - mainly, mostly, primarily
18 due to - because of
19 Forbes, Bryan, Notes for a Life, Collins,
London, 1974.
20 to arise (arise-arose-arisen) - emerge
21 Forbes, Bryan, Notes for a Life, Collins,
London,1974.
22 challenging - demanding, difficult
23 Sergio Angelini
24 to steal s.o’s thunder (steal-stole-stolen) -
eclipse s.o.
Barnes and Diana Holgate
26 about half an hour from Burnley, it is in
north-east Lancashire.
27 starkly - (emphatic) sharply, clearly, strikingly
28 the disciples came from Chatburn Primary
School.
29 mistrust - suspicion
30 siblings - brothers and sisters
31 to hide (hide-hid- hidden) - stay
out of sight, conceal oneself
32 barn--------------------------------
33 bearded - who has a beard
(= facial hair)
34 on the run - escaping (from the
police)
35 within - (in this context) after only a few
36 Forbes used local school children from
Clitheroe as extras.
37 to be in on sth. - be party to sth., know sth.
38 to let the cat out of the bag (let-let-let) -
reveal a secret
39 to be buoyed up - be kept optimistic
40 indeed - (emphatic) really, in fact
41 sterling (adj.) - excellent, first-class
42 without batting an eyelid - without
protesting
43 to melt into - fuse with, integrate into,
harmonize with
44 to assume - (in this context) adopt
45 Forbes, Bryan, Notes for a Life, Collins,
London, 1974.

122 Think in English • 24

by Colman Keane Conversation Point: Is child stardom a recipe for personal disaster? j

CINEMA
Tiger Bay Past Her Prime at 19
Yet, despite being the younger daughter of the famous Brit­ Hayley was offered a five-year contract
ish film actor John Mills, Hayley’s career as an actress began by Disney and made five further films62
by accident. One summer’s day when she was playing on the for the American film-maker. These
family farm in Cowden she was spotted by J. Lee Thompson46 included The Parent Trap in which
who was to direct the movie Tiger Bay with her R w.»— i Disney cast Hayley oppo­
father and the German star Horst Buchholz47. I site herself and In Search of
The movie centres on the relationship between | KMUI1H The Castaways63, a fantasy
ILK HIES
Korchinsky, a Polish sailor who murders his girl- I adventure billed64 by the
friend, and Gillie a preteen48 who witnesses49 | Disney factory as “A Thousand
the murder through a letterbox. After steal- M Thrills65 and Hayley Mills!”.
ing the murder weapon, a close bond is subse- j In the latter she played the
quently established between them. Gillie does Victorian heroine Mary Grant
everything to save the Pole by throwing the I who, by dint of66 enduring life­
police off the scent50. Although Thompson I threatening67 adventures, finds
had been searching for a boy to play the role 1 her long-lost sea captain father.
of the child he realized that day in the Sussex f In 1962 Ms Mills took part in
countryside that his search had come to an end. This 12-year-old with her | Summer Magic68 and received
upper-crust51 accent and poise52 was ideal for the role. The middle of the a Golden Globe nomination
three Mills’ children scored a notable success on her debut, winning the ’. for her performance as Nancy
1959 BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer. Carey. The following year she
took a break from wholesome
Pollyanna cinema to take part in The
Chalk Garden69 where, cast
i Without Hayley I don’t see how we could have made this film. Ì as the rambunctious70 teen­
i (David Swift53) ager Laurel whose unhappy
life reflects the sterility of the
.... ...... »
So vivacious was her performance in Tiger Bay that she was chalk garden71 outside, she took on the
snapped up54 straight away55 by Disney and cast as Polly­ most challenging22 role she had played
anna Whittier in the Disney super-production Pollyanna. since Whistle Down the Wind. Much
Disney, almost at the end of his tether56,5" was about to sign to the delight72 of her grandmother73,
I another girl when his wife Lillian58 saw Hayley Mills in Tiger Laurel is straightened out74 by a new
Bay. Shot in Santa Rosa and at the Disney ------- ssbmmi mysterious governess,
Studio Pollyanna was “a near perfect Miss Madrigal75, who it
film”59 and Hayley Mills, who was the ■ later transpires has been
key component, was “an unforgettable released76 after serving a
Pollyanna60. Director David Swift was long prison term. Hayley
given carte blanche and with a superb Mills, surrounded by a stel­
cast at his disposal made a remarkable lar cast puts in a sterling41
film. A great believer in spontaneity, J performance in which her
Swift had great faith in first takes and M undoubted talents were
made a fresh movie that had absolutely fully tapped77 by director
everything including vintage tunes61 from the Pollyanna era. Not Ronald Neame, just as they
surprisingly Ms Mills, whose performance for Disney was provok­ had been in Tiger Bay and
ing near hysteria, won the Golden Globe Award and the Academy Whistle Down the Wind.
Juvenile Award. Overnight she had been catapulted to stardom.
whether her Disney career,
46 (1914-2002) this Briton was one of Gregory Perkins rather than being a boon79, stymied80
Peck’s favourite directors 60 Walt Disney
47 (1933-2003) German actor best remembered 61 vintage tunes - old melodies her later development as an actress.
for his role in The Magnificent Seven 62 The Parent Trap; In Search of The Castaways; After 1966 the 20-year-old was no longer
48 preteen - prepubgscent child, s.o. who is Summer Magic; The Moon-Spinners; That
younger than 13 Darn Cat!
an A-list star, though she has since made
49 to witness - see, observe 63 released at Christmas 1962 23 movies and continues to work in film,
50 to throw s.o. off the scent (throw-threw- 64 to bill - advertise, present on TV and on the stage81. •
thrown) - distract s.o., intentionally confuse s.o. 65 thrill - exciting moment
51 upper-crust - upper-class 66 by dint of - by, through
52 poise - composure, glegance 67 life-threatening - perilous, dangerous 74 to straighten s.o. out - help s.o. to be more
53 director of Pollyanna 68 released in July 1963 positive
54 to snap s.o. up - employ s.o. enthusiastically 69 adapted from the play by Edith Bagnold 75 convincingly portrayed by Deborah Kerr
55 straight away - immediately which had been a great success on Broadway 76 to release - free
56 to be at the end of one’s tether - be very frustrated in 1955 77 to tap sth. - take advantage of sth.
57 Disney had auditioned over 300 girls for the part. 70 rambunctious - unruly, anarchic 78 to remain a moot point - be still debatable
58 she was married to Walt Disney from 1925 to 71 chalk garden - area of white stone with no plants 79 boon - bonus, advantage
his death in 1966 72 delight - pleasure, gratification 80 to stymie - impede, hinder, frustrate
59 according to the actor and film historian Les 73 superbly played by Edith Evans 81 on the stage - in the theatre

122 • Think in English • 25

Art
George Romney
The Forgotten Genius
The Importance of Location
By March 1782, George Romney was undoubtedly the painter to the stars. In 1775
he had returned from a two-year stint1 in Italy, where - influenced by artists such as
Henry Fuseli - he had “jettisoned12 his earlier rapid and vigorous draughtsmanship3
in a pursuit of precision and control”4. Since then, his career had taken off5. The Ital­
ian experience may have contributed to this success but his shrewd6 friend Thomas
Greene persuaded Romney to move into a magnificent studio at 32 Cavendish Square
in late 1775. Greene felt that this spacious house, previously occupied by Francis
Cotes7, was opulent enough to help his artistic friend steal some of Reynolds’ thun­
der8. It was a fortunate move as Romney, far from flush with cash9 after the Italian
venture, was in need of commissions. Here in the very heart of Mayfair, surrounded
by aristocratic families, his prestige and popularity grew. Location, rather than
foreign travel - plus his intelligent ploy1011
of not exhibiting in public - rapidly turned
him into the most fashionable portrait painter in London.

The Cavendish Square Package

Taking their cue from11 the Duke of Richmond, many fashionable sitters12 flocked to13 Romney’s studio. This was stifling4 because the
aloof5 genius from Dalton-in-Furness16 was wont to17 keep the fires ablaze18 and the windows tightly shut19. The heat, apart from keeping
the studio dry, alleviated the pain of his varicose veins and, furthermore, encouraged20 ladies to remove21 some of their feminine attire22.
Sitters12 in horse-drawn carriages23 arrived in their droves21 as Romney famed for “the elegance of his draughtsmanship3 and the free
handling25 of the paint ’26, stoked the fires27 not only of his cluttered28 studio, but of success. His loose and spontaneous handling25 of
paint allied to what Kidson29 has termed the Cavendish Square package led to a new brand30 of
portraiture. This package was a marketing strategy which enabled the sitter12 to enjoy the privacy
and intimacy of a number of visits to Romney’s chaotic studio. The visit was further enhanced31
for the sitters12 as they knew that Romney would be available only for them. His assurances that
their portraits would not be exhibited publicly gave his wealthy32 patrons a sense of exclusivity.

REYNOLDS AND ROMNEY DIVIDE THE TOWN; I AM OF THE ROMNEY FACTION.

Lord Chancellor Thurlow, 1781

Unlike Nathaniel Dance or Sir Joshua Reynolds, Romney hardly ever33 employed assistants
or seldom34 made sketches before painting a portrait, but rather set about35 giving a virtuoso
performance by applying the paint straight36 on to the canvas. While his fees37 were undoubtedly
steep38 he made a point of undercutting39 those charged by Gainsborough and Reynolds. By the
very early-1780s he was charging 80 guineas for a full-length portrait, forty for a half-length and
twenty40 for a quarter-length41. In the six years following his move to Cavendish Square Romney,
despite complaining42 about being shackled to43 portraiture, painted scores44 of portraits, some of
which deserve45 special mention. The first, known today as The Misses Hill46, is surely one of the

1 stint - period, spell, sojourn
2 to jettison sth. - abandon sth., give sth. up
3 draughtsmanship - ability to draw
4 Kidson, Alex, George Romney 1734-1802,
[Princeton University Press, 2002]
5 to take off (take-took-taken) - begin to prosper
6 shrewd - astute, cunning
7 a successful society painter who had painted
ladies as the epitome of sedate virtue
8 to steal s.o’s thunder (steal-stole-stolen) -
eclipse s.o.
9 far from flush with cash - in certain financial
difficulties
10 ploy - tactic, stratagem
11 to take one’s cue from s.o. (take-took-taken) -
follow s.o’s lead
12 sitter - s.o. who has his/her portrait painted
13 to flock to - stream to, go in large numbers to
14 stifling - excessively hot and stuffy
15 aloof - uncommunicative, reserved
16 then part of Lancashire, now in Cumbria
17 to be wont to - tend to, be in the habit of (+ -ing)
18 ablaze - burning vigorously and producing a
lot of heat
19 tightly shut - hermetically closed
20 to encourage - stimulate, (in this context) cause
21 to remove sth. - (false friend) take sth. off
22 attire - clothing, clothes, garments
23 horse-drawn carriage------------------
24 to arrive in their droves -
come in large numbers
25 free/loose handling -
expressive use
26 Kidson, Alex, George
Romney, op. cit.
27 to stoke the fires - (literally) cause a fire to burn
more vigorously, (metaphorically) stimulate
28 cluttered - messy, disordered, chaotic
29 Curator of British Art at the Walker Art
Gallery in Liverpool
30 brand - type, sort
31 to enhance - improve
32 wealthy - rich, affluent
33 hardly ever - almost never
34 seldom - rarely, only very occasionally
35 to set about (set-set-set) - start, begin
36 straight - directly
37 fees - what he charged, prices
38 steep - (in this context) high, expensive
39 to make a point of undercutting (make-
made-made) - intentionally charge less than
40 Reynolds charged 30 guineas for a %-length
portrait
41 Fraser, Flora, Beloved Emma, [John Murray, 2003]
42 to complain - protest
43 to be shackled to sth. - be limited, be
restricted
44 scores - dozens, (literally 20s)
45 to deserve - merit, should be given
46 Walker Art Gallery. 1778/79

•122 Think in English • 26

by Colman Keane The Leveson-Gower Children
Subscribers’ exercise V

most poetic and sublime of Romney’s works in this period and it reflects
a fusion between the worlds of antiquity and nature. The two Hill sisters47,
who would have been younger than they look48, are depicted49 in a bliss­
ful50 world of innocent, rustic pursuits51. The elder, Henrietta Maria, in
pink, can be seen squatting52 as she draws water from a spring53 while
her younger sister, Anne Matilda, candidly engages the viewer’s gaze54.
The profile of the elder sister “achieves the purity of an antique cameo”55.

Painting Children
Romney would appear to have had a natural bent56 for painting children
since57 in the late-1770s, not only did he paint The Misses Hill, but also
received commissions to paint The Charter is Children58, The Clavering
Children, The Boone Children, The Stanley Children and The Leveson-
Gower Children59, surely his signature work60. Over 230 years have
elapsed61 since Romney was commissioned by Granville 2nd Earl Gower,
one of the most influential grandees in late-18th-century England, to paint
his five youngest children. What is surely his best known work was inspired by those deep emotions experienced by the artist at Nice in
177362 when, on beholding63 rings of young girls64 dancing, he “was removed65 a thousand years back, a spectator of the scenes in Arca­
dia”'6. 16-year-old Lady Anne is depicted49 playing the tambourine while her three step-sisters67 and step-brother68, their arms linked,
dance in a ring. The geometry of the work shows a dynamic U-curve going from Lady Anne’s fingers to the right-hand and head garland69 of
her young step-sister Lady Georgina. The painter’s sense of colour is extraordinarily subtle, a qual­
ity which accentuates rhythm, while the repeated use of red, white and maroon70 for the dresses
comes to a sudden halt, as we imagine does the dance, with the dark green dress of Lady Georgina.

His Muse
In March 1782, Romney first met the young woman with
whom he became rapidly infatuated71. Emma Hart came
into his life and changed it forever. She was the perfect
model and knew exactly what the painter required of
her. Her ivory72 skin, her long cascading hair and her
eyes aflame were brilliantly depicted49 by Romney in the
countless sessions he had with her. His portraits of this
bewitching73 woman later to become Lady Hamilton took
London by storm74.75 Everyone wanted to know the identity
of this extraordinary nymph whose beauty turned “men
into grovelling pigs”76. Obsessed by her stunning77 beauty,
Romney was unable to tear himself away78 from paint­
ing her in different guises instead of turning to historical
works which had been his major ambition for years. The
painter, whose “innovative paintings and drawings encap­
sulate the complexities of Enlightenment thought79”80, fell
into oblivion81 and died in 1802 in genteel poverty. The THE MISSES HILL
great tragedy of his life lies not so much in his failure to produce a historical oeuvre, but
rather that many of his portraits never saw the light of day, rotting82 as they did in the
| Emma Hart) damp83 basement84 of his country home on Holly Bush Hill. •

47 The two daughters of Noel Hill (later 1” 58 The Wemyss Heirlooms Trust. 1777. 74 to take swh. by storm (take-took-taken) -
Baron Berwick) 59 Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal. 1777. captivate swh.
4818lh-century artists portrayed children to 60 signature work - work he is especially 75 famously, later she was Admiral Nelson’s lover
look older than they remembered for 76 Williams, Kate, England’s Mistress,
really were 61 to elapse - pass, go by Hutchinson, 2006.
49 to depict - portray, 62 on his way to Italy 77 stunning - gorgeous, impressive
represent 63 to behold (-hold/-held/-held) - see, observe 78 to tear oneself away (tear-tore-torn) - stop oneself
50 blissful - ecstatic, 64 rings of girls - girls forming circles 79 Enlightenment thought - rationalist
paradisiacal, idyllic 65 to remove - (in this context) transport, carry 18th-century ideas
51 pursuits - activities 66 taken from the painter’s journal of his 80 McPherson, Heather, Reconsidering Romney,
52 to squat - -------------------- European tour 18,h-century Studies -Vol. 36, N° 3, Spring 2003
53 spring - place where water 67 step-sister - daughter of one’s parent’s new spouse 81 to fall into oblivion (fall-fell-fallen) -
comes out of the ground 68 step-brother - son of one’s parent’s new spouse gradually be forgotten
54 to engage the viewer’s gaze - look directly at 69 head garland - coronet of flowers 82 to rot - putrefy. According to John Flaxman,
us 70 maroon - dark red, purplish-red “the portraits lined the damp walls and ... others
55 Kidson, Alex, George Romney, op. cit. 71 infatuated - besotted, obsessively in love were destroyed by exposure to the weather”
56 bent (n.) - inclination, predisposition 72 ivory (adj.) - creamy translucent white 83 damp - wet, dank, humid
57 since - (in this context) given that 73 bewitching - mesmerizing, captivating 84 basement - cellar, underground room

• 122 • Think in English • TJ

 Biography
MARGARET SANGER
The other day I came across1 a fascinating video on YouTube: a 1950s interview by
Mike Wallace of a woman called Margaret Sanger. This is TV from another era with
the interviewer praising1 2 Philip Morris cigarettes (the programme’s sponsor) before
starting. In the interview you see an American matriarch saying remarkably uncontro-
versial things about birth control. However, in the related videos offered on YouTube
there are a whole series of clips suggesting that Sanger was a racist and that she
inspired the Holocaust. There is even a photo of her speaking to a group of hooded3
members of the Ku Klux Klan. On the other hand, Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama
have spoken of their admiration for her. Dr Martin Luther King also expressed his
respect for her. I was intrigued. A woman who died over 40 years ago who was still
able to provoke heated debate in today’s America. I had to find out4 more.

I
A Family in Need of Planning
argaret Higgins was born into a working-class Irish-American family in 1879 in Corning, a faeton7 town near New York.
M Her father, Michael, was a notorious5 atheist, her mother, Ann, a Catholic. After giving birth to 11 children Ann Higgins
died of tuberculosis. Margaret would have liked to become a doctor to help women like her mother but the family
couldn’t afford6 it. After Ann’s death Michael became increasingly tyrannical and some month’s later 19-year-
old Margaret left home to train as a nurse. Working in
nursing Margaret came across1 countless poor women
who were desperate not to have any more children.
During her third and final year of training to be a

A im ip t a n u n a A a n in u ^
nurse Margaret met William Sanger, a young archi­
tect. Bill pressured Margaret into getting married
despite her reluctance and they soon had three chil­
dren. To his credit Bill was willing to7 help with the
shopping and the housework. Indeed8, Margaret’s
primary problem at this time was boredom, though they
both became socialists and she threw herself into9 organ­
izing clubs for working women.

Finding a Purpose to Life

With her children at school Margaret started to take on10 obstetric cases. Her work took her to the lower East Side of New York
where the poverty was terrible. What disturbed11 her most was that the women who tried to abort their babies were very often
"good” mothers and their husbands weren’t monsters. It was simply cause and effect; marriage meant sex, sex meant babies,
babies meant increased poverty. The only solution was abstinence but even
having sexual intercourse only once a year could produce a baby a year.12 So
she decided to help these women to look for efficient and easy-to-use contra­
ceptives. At the same time she started to give health talks13 for the Women’s
Commission of the Socialist party and started to write short articles for a New
York newspaper, Call. In 1912 they published a series of articles by Margaret
called What Every Girl Should Know. The last of these articles touched on
venereal diseases, their causes and effects, and how to avoid them. The Post
Office immediately banned14 Call under the 1873 Comstock Law, which made
it illegal to send obscene matter15 through the US mail16. From that moment
on a sense of mission had begun to inspire her and she began trying to find
out4 everything she could about every form of contraception available.

1 to come across (come-came-come) - encounter
2 to praise - express admiration for
3 hooded - with their faces covered (by pointed
white caps’)
4 to find out (find-found-found) - discover
5 notorious - well-known, infamous
6 couldn’t afford - didn’t have enough money to pay for
7 to be willing to - be ready to, be prepared to
8 indeed - (emphatic) in fact
9 to throw oneself into (throw-threw-thrown) -
become enthusiastically involved in
10 to take on (take-took-taken) - work on,
become involved in
11 to disturb - upset, affect, alarm, perturb
12 Margaret heard doctors telling one anxious
husband to “go and sleep on the roof”!
13 to give a health talk (give-gave-given) - give a
speech about health, talk publicly about health
14 to ban - prohibit
15 matter - (in this context) images or writing
16 mail - (in this context) postal service

*3% • 122 Think in English • 28

 by Marina Carresi

Prison & Freedom

In October 1913 the entire Sanger family
sailed for17 Europe. Margaret was look­
ing for18 safe contraception which even
illiterate women could use. She found it
in Paris. Loaded down with19 contracep­
tive devices20 and pamphlets with recipes
for21 “suppositories” passed down from
generation to generation, she decided
to return to America and “to stir up22 a
national campaign”. In December 1913,
after some disagreements Bill decided to
stay in Paris and she sailed for home. In
the US she approached influential femi­
nists to seek23 help to try to find ways to
avoid24 the Comstock laws but it made
her angry that the feminists didn’t see
the releasing25 of women
from their biological rwc
subservience as a prior­ WOMAN
ity; in her opinion it was DEBEL
a far greater26 obstacle to
progress than not having
the vote. The Social­
ists were more helpful
because they gave her
hints27 on how to set
about28 publishing a
clandestine paper, The
Woman Rebel29. The
next paper was called Family Limita­
tion. It contained more information and
boldly30 stated31 women’s right to enjoy
sex as much as men. At the end of the
pamphlet the 14 most frequently-asked
questions about contraception were
printed along with32 a recipe for a vagi­
nal suppository for those unable to get
them. At the end of August 1914 Marga­
ret received the visit of two officials who
told her that with the last three issues33
of Woman Rebel she was breaking the
law on nine counts34 and that they had
orders to arrest her. The arrest was only
the first of many. In total she was sent to
prison eight times for promoting birth
control. Undiscouraged35, she dedicated
her life to promoting birth control in the
USA, Japan, India and elsewhere and
ensured that when the contraceptive pill
emerged in the 1960s the world was ready
to embrace it.
No Gods
No Masters
- Margaret Sanger
Saint or She-Devil?
So, what about ‘Sanger the Racist’? Well, Margaret Sanger believed that it would
be good for society, and good for the poor, if poor people had fewer children.
She never specifically called for birth control among African Americans
but they formed a significant percentage of the poor, so she certainly
worked to promote birth control in black communities. She was not anti-
Semitic; her first husband was Jewish, so the idea is ridiculous. She did
speak35 to KKK meetings on several occasions in 1926. She said it was
“one of the weirdest37 experiences I had in lecturing38” and said she had
to use very basic vocabulary because it was like “trying to make children
understand”. Sanger categorically rejected the Nazis in 1933, the year
they came to power, long before most people decided that Hitler was
evil39. However, she was perfectly capable of the casual racism that was
typical in the English-speaking world in the 1920s and 1930s.
Sanger was a vehement opponent of the Catholic Church since child-
t------- hood. Indeed8, this may have been one of the things that induced her to
I talk to the KKK’s women’s organization in 1926. At that time the Klan was more of
! an anti-Catholic organization than an anti-black movement.40 In any case she was
I prepared to talk to anyone who would listen and she clearly wasn’t impressed
I by the Klanswomen41. In the
i Mike Wallace interview Sanger,
I though an old lady in her
i seventies, is still vehement
I in her rejection of Catholic
; priests42: “What do they know?
I After all, they’re celibates, they
! don’t know love, they don’t
I know marriage, they don’t
i know anything about bringing
I up children or about the prob-
i lems of married life and yet
I they speak to people as if they
I were God!”
In the end, one has to
I conclude that Sanger’s life work liberated billions of women giving them the
’ possibility to choose the number of children they had. This is her greatest crime43
I in the eyes of Christian extremists in the USA, though of course the best way to
i vilify her is to link her to44 the Nazis and the KKK. •

17 to sail for - go to... in a ship
18 to look for - seek, try to find
19 loaded down with - carrying many
20 device - gadget, utensil, instrument
21 recipe for - instructions on how to prepare
22 to stir up - agitate for, provoke
23 to seek (seek-sought-sought) - ask for, try to
obtain
24 to avoid - get round, evade
25 releasing - freeing, liberation
26 far greater - much more important
27 hint - indication, suggestion
28 to set about (set-set-set) - start the process of
29 the first issue came out in March 1914
30 boldly - assertively, forthrightly, directly
31 to state - declare, claim
32 along with - together with, as well as
33 issue - (in this context) edition
34 on nine counts - with nine different infringements
35 undiscouraged - not disheartened, still
enthusiastic
36 did speak - (emphatic) spoke, talked
37 weirdest - strangest, most bizarre
38 lecturing - public speaking
39 evil - bad, malignant
40 see HiTfTIl98
41 Klanswomen - women members of the KKK
42 priest - churchman
43 crime - (false friend) sin, immoral act
44 to link s.o. to - connect s.o. to, associate s.o. with

122 Think in English • 29

 Children are a fact of life and sometimes to describe them effectively you need more
Functional than just the words ‘boy* and ‘girl’.
Toddlers, TWeens & Teens
Describing Young People
Infancy
• A newborn baby: a child in the
first few days after it has been born.
• A babe in arms (poetic): a baby for
the first few months after birth when it
is incapable of moving about by itself
and has to be carried.
• An infant (old-fashioned): usually a
baby but the term can refer to any child
under the age of seven (for example in
the term ‘infant school’).
• A rug1 rat (US informal): a baby
that can crawl12 but cannot walk. The
expression implies that the baby crawls
around on the carpet3.
• A toddler (colloquial): a baby that is
learning to walk or can walk but is not
very stable. The verb ‘to toddle’ means
to walk unstably’.
There is this horrible idea, begin­
ning with Jean-Jacques Rous­
seau, that man is naturally good.
Anyone who’s ever met a toddler
knows this is nonsense4.
P.J. O’Rourke
1 rug-
2 to crawl------------------
3 carpet - (false friend)
rug1
4 to be nonsense - be
ridiculous, (in this context)
not be true
5 tiny /'taini/ - very small,
minute
• A tot (colloquial): a very
young child - a baby or a
toddler. People often use
the alliterative expression
‘a tiny5 tot’.
• A nipper (UK informal):
a pre-pubescent child,
especially a boy. The impli­
cation may be that he nips
at6 your ankles7 or that he
nips about8.
• A snapper (informal): a
small child. The term was
popularized by the Irish
film, The Snapper (1993),
based on Roddy Doyle’s
novel. It is probably an
abbreviation of ‘whip-
persnapper (old-fash-
ioned/informal), a cheeky9 young boy.
• An ankle-biter (informal Austral­
ian): a toddler. The expression
compares small children to annoying10
little dogs.
• The terrible twos (colloquial): period
around the age of two years old when
toddlers are prone to11 having tantrums12.
Preteens
• A child: a prepubes-
cent person. However,
notice that the plural,
children’ also refers to
‘sons and daughters’ and
that, when referring to
offspring13, children’
can be used to refer to
adults.
• A preteen: prepubes-
cent child, s.o. who is
younger than 13.
• A kid (colloquial): a
child or adolescent.
to nip at - take small bites at, bite at
ankle - the lowest part of one’s leg next to one’s
foot
to nip about - dash about, move quickly
cheeky - insolent
annoying - irritating
to be prone to (+ -ing) - tend to (+ infinitive),
have a tendency of (+ -ing)
(temper) tantrum - fit of uncontrolled anger
Think] in English
X 'J U
Insanity14 is hereditary. You get it
from your kids.
A jy
Anon
m m wa
• Little ones: small children. The
term is often used in contrast to
‘grown-ups15’.
• A bairn (Scots and Northern English
dialect): a child.
• A brat (informal) - an annoying10
child, especially a boy. A group of
young people can be called a ‘brat
pack’. For example, the generation of
young actors at the beginning of the
1980s - especially those who appeared
in Coppola’s The Outsiders (1983)
like Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze and
Rob Lowe - were known as ‘the Brat
Pack’16.
• A sprog (UK informal): A child.
Confusingly, ‘sprog’ means ‘head’ in
Australian English.
•A tween/tweenie (informal):
someone who is between infancy and
their teens, i.e.17 an eight to 12-year-old.
13 one’s offspring - one’s son(s) and daughter(s)
14 insanity - madness, craziness
15 grown-ups - adults (from a child’s
perspective)
16 the name echoed the epithet ‘The Rat Pack’,
which referred to a group of actors in the
1960s (e.g. Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis
Junior and Dean Martin).
17 i.e. - (id est) that is
• 30
 Adolescence & After
• The awkward18 age: adolescence,
when young people are difficult to
relate to19. The expression was popular­
ized by Henry James’s 1899 novel of the
same name about the coming of age20 for having sex.
of a young woman. The phrase may be
based on the French I’age ingrat.
An adolescent (formal): although i • A youth /ju:0/ {formal): a teenage
the term is far from precise21 it usually
denotes someone who has passed
through puberty but is not yet consid­
ered an adult (so approximately aged
13 to 18).
When I was a boy of 14, my father was
so ignorant I could hardly stand to
have22 the old man around. But when
I got to be 21,1 was astonished at how
much he had learned in seven years.
Mark Twain
• A teenager {colloquial): a person i
aged between 13 and 19. An informal i
form of the word is ‘a teen’. The corre- :
spending adjective is ‘teenage’ or ‘teen’. i
Teenagers are God’s punishment
Patrick Murray
boy. It is a rather23 cold word, usually
used when talking disapprovingly of
teenagers.
A juvenile /'djuivanaiT/ (formal):
a young person, typically a teenager.
The word is more commonly used as
an adjective (e.g. juvenile delinquent).
A minor (formal): a legal word for
someone who is under 18.
Imprecise Terms
A youngster: a young person, a
child or a teenager.
• A girl: Very imprecise it simply
implies that the person is female, prob-
ably aged between 0 and 30 and proba-
bly unmarried. Indeed, ‘old girl’ could
refer to a grandmother. An informal
variation on the word is ‘gal’. Some
young women aged over 18 don’t like
to be referred to as a girl/gal.
|
i
i
!
I
i
;
i
i • A lass: the Scottish term for ‘girl’, it is
equally imprecise. It is the origin of the
dog’s name ‘Lassie’.
• A boy: slightly24 less imprecise than
girl, ‘boy’ tends to imply that the person
is male25, unmarried and under 18.
• A lad (colloquial): means either a
i ‘boy’ or a young man who behaves26
i in a puerile27 way. We tend to combine
I Tads and lasses’ because of the
; allitero-assonance28.
i
i Oh, for an hour of Herod!29
i novelist Anthony Hope30
at the opening night31 of Peter Pan.

18 awkward - difficult, uncomfortable, inelegant being ‘female’)

19 to relate to - (in this context) interact with
20 the earning of age - point in a young person’s
life at which society begins to consider him/
her to be an adult
21 far from precise - very imprecise
22 could hardly stand to have - could hardly
bear to, detested having
23 rather - somewhat, quite, reasonably
24 slightly - a little
25 to be male - be a boy or a man, (as opposed to
26 to behave - act
27 puerile /'pjuaraPl/ - boyish, infantile
28 allitero-assonance - repetition of the initial
consonant and vowel sounds, (in this context)
the repetition of /lee/
29 = I wish Herod was here to massacre some of
these children!
30 (1863-1933) author of The Prisoner ofZenda (1894)
31 the opening night - the premiere of a
theatrical production

EX POR SOLO 450

Think Educational

in English
SUSCR1BETE A
Morgan

SPIES
Think IN ENGLISH
Y ENTREOAMOS A TU PUERTA
I John le
Carre
1100 years
or 11151

W) EJEMPLARES MAS
0NÙMEROS ATRASADOS
Curious
Competitions
IViBiting
Women Compra en linea:
iPainters
in the (|K 150014800 01800-288-8010
Back in the 1950s computer specialists began to make a distinction between
‘hardware’ - the equipment they used - and ‘software’ - the programs that
told the equipment what to do. These two -ware /wes7' words have now become
two of the most international words in the world.
Within12 the world of computing -ware has generated a number of other
words, usually meaning a type of software:

* courseware3 * freeware4 ♦ shareware5

For most learners of English, ‘hardware’ is first and foremost6 a computing
term. However, it originally referred to objects such as tools7 made of iron or
other metals. A ‘hardware store’ is an ironmonger’s8, not a shop that sells PCs.

Items9 Made Out of10 a Specific Material

The suffix -ware is much older than computing. It comes from the Anglo-Saxon
word waru meaning ‘products’, ‘things that are sold’. We can still talk about
someone’s ‘wares’, the products he or she sells:
e.g. The street was filled with women plying their wares11.
Ware- also appears as a prefix in the term ‘warehouse’ meaning a building in
which products are stored12.
However, it is as a suffix that -ware is most productive. Its primary meaning
is “objects made out of a specific material”:
♦ brass ware - objects made of brass13
♦ chinaware - porcelain objects
♦ earthenware - ceramic containers14
♦ glassware - objects made of glass
♦ silverware - (originally) silver cutlery15. Now the term is used in US English
to mean any cutlery15.
♦ Stoneware - hard opaque pottery16 fired17 at very high temperatures

Items9 Intended for a Specific Purpose

♦ giftware - objects considered suitable18 to be given as presents
♦ kitchenware - objects and utensils used for cooking
♦ ovenware - heat-resistant dishes in which food can be both cooked and served
♦ tableware - objects such as cutlery15, plates, etc. used at meals

Verbal -ware
There is no relationship between any of the previous uncountable nouns and the
verbal form -ware19 in:
♦ be aware - be conscious ♦ beware - be careful about
♦ be unaware - not be conscious ♦ be wary - be cautious20

1 -ware is a homophone of -where, so the title
sounds like ‘everywhere’
2 within - inside, in
3 courseware - software designed to be used as
part of an educational program
4 freeware - free software
5 shareware - software that is distributed for
free but that can only be used for a trial period
before the user should either register/pay for it
or eliminate it from his/her computer
6 first and foremost - (emphatic) primarily
7 tools - utensils, instruments, implements
8 ironmonger’s (UK English) - hardware store
(US English), shop that sells tools and other
metal products
9 item - (in this context) object, product, article
10 out of - (in this context) from, using
11 to ply /piai/ one’s wares - sell one’s produce
12 to store - keep, stockpile, accumulate
13 brass - an alloy (= mixture) of copper (Cu.)
and zinc (Sn.)
14 notice that ‘earthenware’ is now more
commonly used as an adjective meaning
‘ceramic’ (e.g. an ‘earthenware bowl’)
15 cutlery - knives, forks and spoons
16 pottery - ceramic objects
17 to fire sth. - (in this context) bake, heat, make
18 suitable - apt, appropriate
19 from Anglo-Saxon waer
20 cautious - vigilant, prudent, careful

ThinkJ in English • 32
Partitive Expressions

O LLO CA TIO N
A Piece of Cake!
Partitive expressions are those phrases that can be added to uncountable nouns to
make them countable. A typical example of a partitive expression is “a piece/pieces of

cutlery^a piece of cutlery evidence-a piece of evidence

fruit-a piece of fruit furniture-a piece of furniture
information-a piece of information music-a piece of music
research-a piece of research rubbish2-a piece of rubbish

Notice that we normally talk about ‘a slice of cake’; ‘a piece of cake’ is something that
is very easy:
e.g. I thought learning to paraglide3 would be difficult but in the end it was a piece of cake.

However, other non-count nouns require very specific partitive expressions:
a bank of fog4
a bit of fun
a bout10 of flu11
a chunk of debris12
a cloud of smoke
a fit of rage17
a gust19 of wind
a loaf of bread21
a means24 of transport
a pile of washing
a round of applause
a sliver29 of ham
a splash of aftershave
a stroke of luck
a whiff34 of smoke
1 cutlery - silverware, knives,
forks and spoons
2 rubbish (UK English) -
garbage, trash (both US
English)
3 paragliding - ------ —
4 fog - atmospheric effect
that reduces visibility
5 bar - (in this context)
rectangular block / f
6 bar of soap - —
7 blade - (in this
context) thin
•gps_______
9 bolt of lightning--------------
10 bout - (in this context) spell, period,
attack
Bipartite Nouns »
Many pieces of clothing, instruments
and tools35 consist of two parts joined
together. Such words are plural uncount­
able nouns and if we want to use a
number with them we have to add ‘a pair
of_____
♦ a pair of binoculars36
♦ a pair of scissors
♦ a pair of trousers
a bar5 of chocolate a bar12345 of soap67*910
and also glasses, goggles37, head­
a blade7 of grass8 a bolt of lightning9
phones38, jeans, pants39, pliers40, shears41,
a bout of violence a breath of fresh air shorts, tongs42 and tweezers43. •
a clap of thunder13 a cloud of dust14
a dash15 of milk a dollop of whipped cream16
22 lump - solid piece
a flash of lightning18 a grain of sand 23 coal - carbon in
an item20 of hand-luggage an item20 of shopping selid black pieces
24 means - method
a lump22 of sugar a lump22 of coal23 •at - rectangular
a pat25 of butter a pile of earth dock
26 rashers of bacon -
a pinch of salt a rasher of bacon26 slices of bacon (175
a sheet27 of (writing) paper English)--------------- -
a slice of bread28 27 sheet - rectangular
a spell30 of bad weather a speck31 of dust
28 slice of bread-------------'
a stick of dynamite32 a strand of spaghetti 29 sljver - thin piece
a sum of money a torrent of abuse33 30 spell - short period
31 speck - mote,
particle
32 sticks of dynamite
11 flu - influenza, a common virus /'dainamait/ -
12 chunk of debris /'debri/ - irregular fragment 33 torrent of abuse - series
of sth. that has disintegrated of insults
13 clap of thunder - the loud noise that 34 whiff - faint smell, small
accompanies lightning quantity (in the air)
14 dust - dry particles of dirt 35 tools - utensils,
15 dash - small quantity of liquid implements
16 dollop of whipped cream - small quantity of 36 a pair of binoculars /
i cream that has been beaten to make it thick bi'nokjalarz/ ———
‘ 17 fit of rage - temper tantrum, fit of anger 37 goggles -
18 flash of lightning - general illumination 38 headphones -
caused by lightning when the bolt9 cannot be 39 pants - a. (in US English
seen trousers; b. (in UK
19 gust - blast, puff, English) underpants
rush 40 pliers-------------------
20 item - piece 41 shears--------------------
21 loaf of bread 42 tongs---------------------------
(plural ‘loaves’) — 43 tweezers ----------- .

pp. 40-41
Think in English • 33
RAN SLATION Dried:

Error Detectives
-.............................................................-........... ----- ---------------------------------------.............................................................. ■ - J
1. Clothing will be Metamophic23 and
fading24 in the sun, which should be
placed in cool dry25.26
2. Hanging on the racks27,net17 directly to

BODY E EAUTY hang up the starp28 and put the starp28

so that the weight of water drawl29.12

Back of Box

UNDERWEAR
i This month’s Error Detectives article is dedicated entirely to the hox of ;
Unigue3 Efffect
Perfect bodybuild isbrought1’ about by
whith32 four steps pull action first,s
upport33 action seeond', fixed then and
i a product sent in by Suz and Robbie, which is quite honestly an almost : safeguard at last34.12
i limitless mine1 of broken English2. Many thanks to them for this material i
Unigue3 design strengthen the back of
Front of Box body effectively35
Double strap strengthen design
23 Beauty Underwear
Stick Out Chest a Bady1 formend36 uniform pulling on the shoul­
Plump4 breast5 der and back which made the back
Ideal body upright instantly. In the meantime ,17
To be a charming female...67 taking a sigle37 super-soft alloy38 close to
the spine to protect chest vertebra and a
Side of Box ffectine39 safeguard to straighten back to
the room being developed in the chest,
Key recommendation of pecple3 making it healthy ,17 safe and effective.12
1. Rd8 Youngsters with with9 wrong posture during
writing for a long time.1011 Qualified40 fabrics41, super flexibility to
2. on the physical develop­ achieve chest support function.
ment of girls.11 The qualified40 fabrics imported form28
3. Women who have never spain42 contains Lycra and hight43-elas-
bean3 worn adjustment tic fiber made by du Pont in U.S.A. The
shaped anderwear3.12 Plump breast high-elastie3 fabries3 with more than 90
4. Neck a ching13 elderly. high-end design of the u-shaped chest
.upport 5. All bent hunchback14 and stereo can be effectively44 recovered
fulln»»»
chestharbor15 women. straight and chesty from deformation,
expansion and dropping3.12 Meanwhile,
Other Side of Box it can effectively wrap up chest ander'
aimpt3 to expansion chest as well as raise
Washing: and expand breast.
1. Neutral lotion16 dissolved in the first 30 017 to 40 017
can put aside the warm clothing, soaking18 for 5 to 10 r ' ? >
should place the sun in a ‘cool dry’
'
27 rack - a. mediaeval instrument of torture, b.
minates3.12 shelf of parallel bars
2. Tapping19 anderwear3 lighly20 and not to scrubble21 28 misspelling: the order of two letters has been
hard to keep from lace wearness22. inverted
29 to drawl - speak slowly with long vowel
3. If there is partial dirt,Please17 gently washing it with sounds
available harder back button.12 30 misspelling: look carefully
31 wrong word: ‘to body-build’ means to
develop one’s muscles (usually to exhibit
1 mine - place from which you can extract sth. Quasimodo) them publicly)
2 broken English - substandard English as used 15 unidentifiable compound noun 32 misspelling: eliminate a letter
by some non-natives 16 wrong word 33 incorrect word division and spacing
3 misspelling: change one letter 17 incorrect spacing 34 wrong expression: ‘at last’ suggests that
4 plump - rounded, chubby, fat, buxom 18 to soak - leave in water someone has been waiting for something
5 breast - chest, mammary glands 19 wrong word 35 non-agreement of verb
6 wrong word: ‘charming’ is related to 20 misspelling: add a letter 36 invented word
personality not looks. 21 invented word: the correct word is similar but 37 misspelling: add a letter
7 wrong preposition shorter 38 alloy - mixture of metals
8 ambiguous and unnecessary abbreviation 22 invented word form: the concept of‘wear’ is 39 misspelling and incorrect word division
9 unnecessary repetition correct but this is not the correct noun form. 40 wrong word form
10 wrong preposition 23 misspelling: add one letter (but it’s the wrong 41 fabric - (false friend) textile
11 wrong preposition word, anyway!) 42 punctuation: we always capitalize the initial
12 ambiguous phrase: the meaning can only be 24 to fade - lose colour, discolour letter of country names
guessed at 25 omission of noun: the adjectives ‘cool dry’ 43 misspelling: change one letter and add
13 incorrect word division need a noun to refer to another
14 hunchback - s.o. with a deformed back (e.g. 26 incorrect syntax: the phrase suggests we 44 misspelling: change two letters

• 122 • Think in English • 34

 Subscribers’ exercise T

fRA N SLA TIO N

Particular support design,45 which will help breast fullness visible.46
Up in the Body underwear12 as3 an external fixation device47 to help chest to
shape a perfelt' plug physic48 type.12 If you normally wear eveiy3 day, even
when unloaded at night, the nesin49 will not flow back to armpit and arnis44.
Since then the chest fixed to a perfect state wifhoat44 deformation.12

Nano far infrared special3 ingredients50 provide protection for healthy

Washing:
1 Neutral lotion dissolved in the first 30 ’ to 40 " can put aside the warn clothing,
soaking for 5 to 10 minates.
2.Tapping anderwear lighly and not to scrubble hard to keep from lace wearness
3.If there is partial dirt.Please gently washing it with available harder back button.
chest enhancement.
Up in the BODY underwear12 add35 provide protection for healthy chest
enhancement the back, which can promote bleod3 circulation and streng
then17 the organizational51 metabo lism17. Eight magnetic3 stone massage
and stinuclate44 the chest will enhance Chest bo undary17 Cirde and clear
mericans to make real breast fullness in the meanwhile of body health.12
Different Effectds32 with use and without use.
The right way of putting on clothes.52

.
J 1. First step: Vest-wearing,53 tight button
2. Second step: Strap adjustment, the largest54 streteching32 back efforts3 to
make wearing wests3 formation.12

Suggested Improvements direct sunlight, so please keep it in a armpits73 as well as raising and enhanc­
cool dry place. ing56 your breast5.
Front of Box: 2. Hang the garments on a clothes
Supportive garment55 to enhance56 the hanger64 by the straps65 so that it can Special supportive design, which will
beauty of your body and correct your drip dry66. help your breast to appear buxom.
posture so that you look gorgeous57. This upper-body undergarment is a
Back of Box: supportive device47 to help your chest
Side of Box: Unique Effect to achieve a perfectly plump74 shape.
This product is specifically recom­ A perfect posture is achieved through a By wearing it every day, even though
mended for: three-step pulling action. First, it lifts67; you take it off at night, you will prevent
1. youngsters after studying in a bad second it supports and finally it protects. your bosom75 from reverting back to its
posture for extended periods. former position next to your armpits73
2. the physical development of girls. Its unique design strengthens your back and arms. From then on your chest will
3. women who have never worn effectively. remain perfectly shaped.
posture-adjusting underwear before. Its double-strap68 support is designed to
4. elderly people with neck-ache. provide a uniform pulling on the shoul­ Special materials ensure a healthy
5. hunchbacks and full-breasted ders and back. This causes your back to enhancement of your chest.
women. instantly adopt an upright posture. More­ This upper-body undergarment guar­
over, the use of a super-soft alloy38 close antees a healthy enhancement of your
Other side of Box: to the spine69 protects your upper-back chest and back, which can improve your
Washing: vertebrae while straightening your back blood circulation and your body’s metabo­
1. Wash in a neutral detergent at 30-40°C in a healthy, safe and effective way. lism. Eight magnets massage and stimu­
after soaking18 for 5-10 minutes. late the chest and will make your breasts
2. Shake the undergarment gently but do Quality fabrics41 and super-flexibility to buxom while promoting your wellbeing.
not scrub as this will fray58 the lace59. support your chest.
3. If any persistent stains60 remain61, The quality fabrics imported from Spain The results of using the undergarment.
please gently rub62 the garment55 contains Lycra and highly-elastic fiber made The right way of putting on the garment.
while hand-washing it. by du Font in U.S.A. The highly-elastic fabrics 1. First step: put the garment on and
with more than 90 design features70 can fasten the hooks.
Drying: effectively correct back deformities and chest 2. Second step: adjust the straps with
l.
This garment may become spreading71 and drooping72. Meanwhile, it the longer ones on the inside to hold
misshapen63 and fade24 if left in effectively supports the chest under your your breasts in place. •

45 wrong adjective and ambiguous clustering of nouns 53 wrong word form 65 strap - thong, band, (similar to a cord but flat)
46 omission: a verb is needed to articulate the 54 incorrect use of the superlative 66 to drip dry - dry slowly as a result of gravity
relationship between ‘visible’ and the rest of 55 garment - piece of clothing, item of clothing 67 to lift - raise
the sentence 56 to enhance - improve 68 double-strap - having two straps65
47 device - gadget, instrument 57 gorgeous - very attractive 69 spine - backbone, spinal column, vertebrae
48 physic - (archaic) a medicine; a doctor 58 to fray - wear out, erode 70 features - (in this context) attributes, elements
49 invented word whose meaning can only be 59 lace - type of delicate textile 71 to spread (spread-spread-spread) - expand
guessed at 60 stain - dirty mark laterally
50 wrong word: ‘ingredients’ refers to food 61 to remain - continue to exist 72 to droop - hang down in an unattractive way
51 wrong word: ‘organizational’ is not the 62 to rub - massage 73 armpit - axilla (technical)
adjective for ‘organism’ 63 misshapen /mis jeipan/ - deformed 74 plump - buxom, full
52 misuse of uncountable noun 64 clothes hanger - --------------------------------- - 75 bosom - breasts, chest, mammary glands

'Hfe • 122 Think in English • 35

s
MIXED
METAPHORS
o
■ A mixed metaphor1 involves using two (or more) divergent metaphors in quick ■
: succession. One Australian politician gave a good example in an interview, when he :
; said that someone “has his head so deep in the sand12 that he doesn’t know which i
: side of the fence3 he's on”. This combines ‘to have one’s head in the sand’ (like an :
i ostrich4), which means to ignore reality, with ‘to sit on the fence3’, which means to i
: be uncommitted5 in a dispute. Of course, the image of being simultaneously on a i
Ì fence3 with one’s head in the sand is laughable.
The truth is that most mixed metaphors go unnoticed and that everyone commits i
: this type of mistake every now and again. For instance6, in Hamlet even Shakespeare :
; had the Prince wondering7 whether “to8 take arms against a sea of troubles9”1011 ,
i The problem with mixed metaphors for EFL11 learners is that you have to under- i
i stand both metaphors in both their literal and their metaphorical senses to get12 !
i the incongruity. However, while it is unlikely13 that non-native speakers of English i
: spot14 mixed metaphors, they don’t have to worry about15 them. EFL11 learners tend !
; to use literal rather than16 figurative language, so the chances17 of using two meta- :
: phors in quick succession are remote. On the other hand, the non-native who hears a ;
i mixed metaphor probably won’t identify it, but that will not reduce his or her under- ;
: standing of what is being said. i

As I have already suggested, it is too much to ask an EFL11 learner to explain a mixed metaphor (it’s difficult enough for an English
teacher!). All you have to do here is identify the incongruous mental picture in the following genuine quotations18. Some of the
quotations may make sense if one does not mentally analyze the clichés. At the end I explain the metaphorical mix:

1. That was the game that put the Everton ship back on the road.
2. The news had been carefully laundered19 before it was
aired20 from sea to shining sea.
3. I’ve decided to grasp21 the nettle22 by the throat23.
4. We’ll cross that bridge when we’ve burnt it.
5. It’s like a game of chess24: all the cards25 are thrown in
the air, the board26's turned over27 and you’re in a whole
new ball game28.29
6. Many clubs have a question mark30 in the shape31 of an
axe head32 hanging over33 them.
7.1 think the big guns34 will come to the boil35.
8. And the Bulgarians are doing everything they can to
waste every last inch36 of time in this game.
9. They’ve tasted the other side of the coin37 on so many
occasions.
10. They are staring down38 the barrel39 of a wooden
spoon40.
11.1 bet Keegan will be jumping like a Jack in a
beanstalk41.
12. As the day of judgement approached, we were cover­
ing up the wrong side of our tracks42.
13. It was a very hot potato at the time, we thought we’d
put it to bed but to have it regurgitated43 now is
pointless44.
14. That’ll take a chip off your shoulder45.
15. In coal mines, mice are used as human guinea pigs

1 sometimes called ‘a mixaphor’
2 sand - particles of silicon (as found
typically on a beach or in a dune in
tne desert)
3 fence - (literally)------------------------ ►
4 ostrich (with its head in the sand) -
5 uncommitted - non-aligned,
neutral, undeclared
6 for instance - for example
7 to wonder - ask oneself
8 whether to - (in this context) if he
should < 24 chess--------------------------------- .
9 troubles - problems, difficulties
10 i.e. energetically confront all his problems.
The image of someone going to battle against
the sea is comical.
11 EFL - English as a foreign language
12 to get (get-got-got) - (in this context) understand
13 unlikely - improbable
14 to spot - identify
15 to worry about sth. - be preoccupied about sth.
16 rather than - as opposed to, instead of
17 chances - probabilities, possibilities
18 genuine quotations - things that people really said
19 to launder - (literally) wash (dirty clothes),
(metaphorically) alter dishonestly, doctor
20 to air - (literally) hang (wet washed clothes)
so that they are dried by the air,
(metaphorically) publicize sth., make sth.
known
21 to grasp - (literally) seize, tak(
hold of, grab
22 nettle--------- -----------------------
23 throat - oesophagus, trachea
25 (playing) cards---------------
26 board - surface on which a
game (e.g. chess24. Monopoly,
Trivial Pursuit) is played
27 to turn sth. over - turn sth.
upside down, turn sth. face down
28 to be in a whole new bailgame
- be in a completely different
situation
29 UK politician Michael Howard
30 question mark - ‘?’
31 shape - form
32 axe head-----
to hang over (hang-hung-hung) -
be suspended above
the big guns - (literally) the heavy
artillery
35 to come to the boil (come-came-come) -
(literally/of water) become agitated at 100°C
361 inch - 2.54cm
coin - (literally) (typically round)
piece of metal money
to stare down - look fixedly into
39 barrel - (in this context) the metal
tube of a firearm
40 wooden spoon - (literally)--------- -
41 beanstalk - plant on which beans (= legumes) grow
see footnotes 59 and 60 for the two meanings
of‘tracks’
to regurgitate - (literally) vomit
pointless - senseless
45 shoulder - where one’s arm
meets one’s torso
46 guinea pig - (literally)-------

[Think in English • 36
 LADVANCEDJ

l.A ship can refer to a team and ‘to put something back on
the road’ means to cause something to make progress again.
i However, ships don’t travel on roads.
i 2. We launder money when we take ill-gotten gains47 and
make them appear to be lawful earnings48. We air opinions
when we express them. Clearly, the person wants to say,
the news was dishonestly altered before it was broadcast49.
However, by combining ‘laundered’ and ‘aired’ it sounds like
the person is literally talking about washing clothes. ‘From
sea to shining sea’ is a cliché meaning ‘everywhere’.
i 3. ‘To grasp the nettle22’ means to take drastic action. ‘To grasp
i someone by the throat’ means to start to strangle somebody,
i Of course, the problem is that nettles don’t have throats.
i 4. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it" means we'll worry
i about that problem if and when it arises50. However, ‘to burn
i one's bridges’ means to commit oneself to something irrevoca-
i bly51. Obviously, you can’t cross a bridge that’s been burnt down,
i 5. The simile mixes chess24, a game of cards25 and a ball game.
i 6. You can have a question mark30 hanging over33 you if your
future is in doubt; if you face the axe, you will probably be elim­
inated. However, a question mark can’t take the form of an axe.
7. The big guns are, metaphorically, influential people. ‘To
come to the boil' means to reach52 a point at which some­
thing can be effective. However, artillery can’t boil.
i 8. If we say ‘every inch a_____ ’ it means ‘100%’.53 However, an
inch36 is a measure of physical length and it cannot be used
in the expression ‘to waste time’.
9. You ‘taste victory/defeat54’ when you experience a triumph or
a defeat. ‘The other side of the coin37’ means the alternative
situation. However, the two expressions together conjure
up55 images of people putting money in their mouths.
i 10. If you ‘stare down38 the barrel of a gun56’ you are about to be 11. You can jump like a jack-in-a-box57. However, ‘Jack and the i
eliminated. The wooden spoon is the ‘prize’ for being last in a Beanstalk40’ is a fairy tale58.
competition. However, wooden spoons40 don't have barrels39. 12. The Day of Judgement is a Biblical concept. ‘To cover up i
your tracks59’ means to destroy the evidence. ‘To be born on :
the wrong side of the tracks60’ means to be socially disad- i
vantaged. I have no idea what the writer wanted to say!
13. ‘A hot potato’ is a controversial issue61. If you ‘put sth. to Ì
bed’ it means you either resolve a controversial issue62 or at :
least to stop it being talked about. ‘To regurgitate sth.’ can Ì
mean to repeat it. However, the combination of the potato :
with ‘regurgitate’ makes us think of vomiting.
14. “That’ll take a weight off your shoulders" means “that :
must be a relief63’’. ‘To have a chip on your shoulder’ means i
that you have a grievance64 which affects your attitude to :
everything. Finally, if you are ‘a chip off the old block’ you :
are very similar in appearance or character to one of your ;
parents.
15. A circular metaphor inside a simile! Human guinea pigs46 i
are people who are used like laboratory animals. So, essen- i
tially the sentence is saying that rodents are used like •
humans who are used like rodents! • i

47 ill-gotten gains - money acquired illegally 54 defeat - situation of losing, marks left by one’s feet on soft ground
48 earnings - income, revenue (opposite of ‘victory’) 60 (railroad) tracks - (literally)
49 to broadcast - emit, transmit, publicize 55 to conjure up - evoke, brin; issue - (in this context)
50 to arise - emerge to mind matter, question,
51 to commit to sth. irrevocably - destroy one’s 56 down the barrel of a gun - subject
opportunity to return to a previous situation issue - (in this context)
52 to reach - get to, arrive at 58 fairy tale - traditional fantasy story for matter, question
53 so, for example, if you say “He’s every inch a children 63 a relief - sth. that alleviates stress
patriot” it means that he is very, very patriotic. 59 tracks - (literallyUn this context) the 64 grievance - resentment

122 Think in English • 37

idiom s The kitchen has given us some 20 everyday expressions.
Cooks & Cooking
i®i What’s cooking?
= What’s going on1?, What are you/they
scheming123?
t®i To put sth. on the back burner
[put-put-put]
= reduce the priority of sth. A cooker
typically has four hobs3 or burners. If
you put something on the back burner
it will receive less attention than the
food cooking on the front burners:
e.g. The boss has decided to put your
project on the back burner while we
focus on solving this problem.
US English also has the expression ‘to be
on the front burner’, which means to
be on the way to rapid success’ - the idea
being that food on a front burner gets
cooked quickly.
t®i To cook the books
= fraudulently alter the accounts4. To
cook has been used to mean ‘to manip­
ulate’ since the 17th Century:
1 to be going on - be happening, be occurring
2 to scheme - plot, plan (sth. bad)
3 hobs - burners (US English)------------ ►
4 the accounts - the records of a
company’s financial transactions
5 goose (plural ‘geese’)---------------------
6 to fatten an animal - give an animal
a lot of food so that it is as big as
possible before killing it forfood
7 chance - opportunity, occasion
8 merger - joining together of two compani
e.g. Madoff was cooking the books for
years before he was caught.
To cook someone’s goose5
= ruin s.o’s plans. In the past geese5 were
typically fattened6 for celebrations such
as Christmas. If you cooked somebody’s
goose before the celebration, you ruined
his or her chance7 to celebrate.
e.g. I’m afraid they really cooked your
goose when they agreed on the
merger8. There’s no way you’ll be
promoted within9 the new company.
t®i Simmering resentment
= bad feeling just below the surface. If
food is simmering it is close to boil­
ing10 though without the bubbles11 and
the agitation:
e.g. The simmering resentment that had
been building up against the boss
finally exploded that morning.
t®i To give someone the cold shoulder12
[give-gave-given]
= be intentionally unfriendly. If a guest
9 within - (in this context) in
10 boiling - its boiling point, (for
water) 100°C---------------------------- ►
k-l-X 11 bubble - (in this context) small
quantity of gas that escapes from a
liquid when the liquid boils
12 notice the assonance of (c)old (sh)ould(er)
13 shoulder of ham------------------
14 rather than - as opposed to,
instead of
15 a lack of - an absence of, deficient
Think in English • 38
was offered meat from a cold shoulder
of ham13 rather than14 a hot meal this
suggested a lack of5 enthusiasm about
his or her visit:
e.g. They’ve been giving him the cold
shoulder ever since'6 they found out17
he was a wife-beater'8.
W If you can’t take the heat, get out
of the kitchen
= if the stress of a job is too much for you.
you shouldn’t be doing it.
t®i Too many cooks spoil19 the broth20
= if too many decision-makers are
involved in a process, progress will be
difficult.
i®i an Aga saga
= a novel of middle-class life in rural
England. Agas are a type of stove21
much loved by the well-off2 British
people who live in the countryside.
The Kitchen Sink23
i®i Everything but the kitchen sink
= everything imaginable. The phrase was
originally used by bomber pilots saying
they had dropped24 all of their bombs.
i®i A kitchen-sink drama
= a play about ordinary working-class
domestic life. The genre was popular
in the 1950s and includes plays such as
Osborne’s Look Back in Anger (1956)
and Delaney’s A Taste of Honey (1958).
16 ever since - (emphatic) since
17 to find out (find-found-found) discover
18 wife-beater - violent husband
19 to spoil - ruin
20 broth - stew, meat and vegetables
cooked together
21 stove - cooker (UKEnglish)-------- ►
22 well-off - rich, affluent, prosperous
23 kitchen sink-------------------------
24 to drop sth. - discharge, let sth.
fall
 ID IO M S
Cooking People
»i To grill someone
= interrogate s.o. intensely, give s.o. the third degree.

»! To let s.o. stew25 in his/her own juice [let-let-let]

= leave someone to suffer their own bad temper26 with­
out trying to console him or her.

•' (To jump) out of the frying pan27 into the fire
= go from a bad situation to a worse one.

•©■ To give someone a roasting [give-gave-given]

= reprimand s.o. severely
e.g. Megan got a right roasting from her mum when she
came home at one a.m.

© To have a memory like a sieve34 [have-had-had]

= have a very bad memory. It’s difficult to retain anything
in either a sieve or a bad memory:
e.g. Robbie’s a lovely guy but he’s got a memory like a sieve, so you’ll
have to keep reminding*5 him that he promised to help you.

________________ Eggs
©' You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs
= you can’t accomplish36 anything in life without causing
someone pain.

-®1 Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

= don’t risk everything on the success of one venture37,
spread38 your risk.

Kitchenware Expressions
-®1 A tin-pot dictator ENGLISH
= a very self-important official. The image is of a child pretending
to be28 a general by wearing a shiny29 pot30 on his (or her) head:
e.g. To simply describe Hugo Chavez as a tin-pot dictator misses the IMMERSION o
reasons for his populist appeal*1.

»i A case of the pot calling the kettle black

= s.o. criticizing s.o. else about sth. that could equally apply to32 the criticizer.
FOR.ADULTS O
•©' To keep the pot30 boiling [keep-kept-kept]
= maintain the momentum33 of sth.

•©' A pot-boiler
= a novel that is well below a writer’s ability but which is written
quickly to capitalize on his or her reputation. This expression
comes from the previous one.

25 to stew (intransitive) - (literally) 31 appeal - attractiveness

be cooked in water with other 32 to apply to - be relevant to
ingredients, soften through being 33 momentum - impetus
boiled _________ 34 sieve /siv/--------
26 bad temper - 35 to remind s.o. -
bad mood ------------- jog/refresh s.o’s
27 frying pan - memory
skillet (US Englisli)----- 36 to accomplish -
28 to pretend to be - (false achieve, attain,
friend) act as if s/he were obtain, get
29 chinv _ (ramina
37 venture - enterprise, project
38 to spread (spread-spread-spread) -
30 pot - disperse, scatter

• 122 • Think in English • 39

 When you start to learn a language you simply use what vocabulary you have. Singular Uncountable Nouns
But as your knowledge of the language grows you are faced with1 a new problem:
which word to pick2 in any given situation. Often this is a problem of regis­ A number of singular uncountable nouns
ter3. A separate problem with nouns is whether4 to use a countable noun5 or an (like ‘clothing’) can be substituted by
uncountable noun6. In some cases there are further complications because you (plural) countable nouns:
have to choose between an uncountable noun6 that is singular and another which
SUNs14 Countable
Cfi is plural. Let’s take a look. Equivalents
w
tZ5
accommodation rooms, places to stay
The following three sentences mean fundamentally the same thing:
............................................................. ———————....................... .......................................... advice recommendations,
e.g. I haven’t got many clothes. suggestions
e.g. I haven’t got much clothing. applause claps
e.g. I haven’t got many garments7. baggage bags
So, which sounds best? Well, not the last. The term garments’ is countable but it
sounds a bit pedantic unless it is accompanied by a number. So,
e.g. You are only allowed* to take a maximum of three garments into the changing
stalls9 at any one time10.
sounds fine because we mention the number ‘three’. To say the same thing with ‘cloth­
ing’ we’d have to say:
e.g. You are only allowed to take a maximum of three items of clothing'1 into the chang­
ingstalls at any one time.
which of course is longer. Notice that we don’t say piec-e-sZar-tic-les/it-ems- of clothes. But,
going back to the original question, which is better - the ‘many clothes’ sentence or the
‘much clothing’ option? Actually12, neither is better, though ‘clothes’ is probably more
frequently used. In fact the same person might alternate between them for elegant
variation. The important thing is to remember that ‘clothes’ is an uncounta­
ble plural noun, while ‘clothing’ is an uncountable singular noun. In other
words “Clothes are...” but “Clothing is...”.

Rule of thumb13: where there is a choice between a countable and

uncountable noun, use the uncountable noun unless there is a
reference to a number._______________________________________

1 to be faced with - confront 8 to be allowed - be permitted

2 to pick - (colloquial) choose, select
3 register - form of language associated with a
specific SQcial context (e.g. slang or legalese)
4 whether - ‘if’ (but ‘if’ cannot be used before an
infinitive)
5 also known as ‘a count noun’
6 also known as ‘a non-count noun’
7 garment - piece of clothing, article of clothing,
item of clothing
9 changing stall - cubicle (= small room) in
which you can try on clothes in a shop
10 at any one time - on each occasion, at a time
11 or ‘pieces of clothing’ or ‘articles of
clothing’
12 actually - (false friend) in fact
13 rule of thumb - general rule that is useful
even though it is not always true
14 SUNs - singular uncountable nouns

122 Think in English • 40

 entertainment spectacles e.g. The policeman wrote down her particu­ Spoilt for Choice
foliage leaves lars. However, there were two details he
housework chores5 found suspicious. As with the clothing-clothes-garments’
e.g. Our premises are on Bond Street. We also group we talked about at the beginning
knowledge facts
Il luggage bags
have three offices on the Continent. of this article, occasionally you get to
e.g. He led the troops at Gettysburg. However, all choose25 between a singular uncountable
news news stories, news
items but 11 soldiers in the battalion were killed. noun, a plural uncountable noun and a
plumage feathers16 e.g. The foyer21 isn’t wheelchair22-friendly countable noun - lucky you!
because there are some stairs and no ramp. SUNs14 I
publicity advertisements PUNs18 CNs26
e.g. The foyer isn’t wheelchair-friendly because
rain raindrops; showers17 belongings possessions stuff
there are three steps and no ramp.
traffic vehicles congratulations compliments praise
travel trips
Occasionally a plural uncountable noun e.g. Not surprisingly, the congratulations
work job
doesn’t end in -s: were gratefully received. It’s always i-s
Notice, however, that there is not a single­ nice to get praise and a couple of
word alternative for most uncountable
cattle
livestock
cows, head of cattle
farm animals
the compliments came from highly- g
nouns and we have to use a partititve respected actors. •
police policemen, police officers 8.
expression: see p. 33.
poultry domesticated fowls26
vermin pests24
Plural Uncountable Nouns
e.g. Most of the cattle are sitting down. In
A series of nouns that end in -s and take a fact, there are only four cows standing.
plural verb are in fact uncountable nouns
(like ‘clothes’) because they cannot be Singular vs. Plural
used with specific numbers (nor can they Uncountable Nouns
be used in the singular):
Sometimes there is a choice between
PUNs18 Countable
Equivalents singular and plural uncountable nouns:
goods products PUNs18 SUNs14
particulars details outskirts periphery
premises19 offices earnings income, revenue
remains20 remnants takings income, revenue
stairs steps proceeds income, revenue
surroundings contexts, settings thanks gratitude
troops soldiers
e.g. The proceeds from the sale of the
wares products painting were given to charity.

15 chores /tfo:rz/ - jobs around the home remnants

(especially cleaning)
16 feather------------------------------------------------
17 shower - (in this context) a brief period
of rain
18 PUNs - plural uncountable nouns
19 premises - place ofbusiness
20 remains - body parts, skeletal fragments,
21 foyer - lobby, reception area
22 wheelchair-----------------------------
23 domesticated fowls - farm birds
24 pests - destructive animals (e.g.
rats)
25 to get to choose (get-got-got) - have a choice
26 CNs - countable nouns5

• 122 Think in English • 41

 Key Words & Picture Description.
M iscellan

Picture Description
Try to describe the two photographs or this page. First, for each picture, describe the people you car. see ard
their surrourdirgs. ReMCMber to describe Materials, colours ard textures. Mertior siMilarites ard cortrasts
betweer the two photos. Firally, coMMert or your persoral reactior to what you car see.

; ................ •>- ♦ Are irterestirg photos accidertal or is photography really ar art forM?

Photo by Inma Isla

Wher you have firished, lister to the Model versior or the CD (track 17) ard try to follow what the rative-
speaker is describirg. Firally, read through the tapescript for the recordirg (or p. 50} while11 you lister agair.
IkeMCMber there is a large-type12 versior to dowrload at www.thirkirerglish.ret. Write dowr ary rew
words or expressiors you have comc across12.

Key Words
lr the Magazire the Most difficult words are prirted ir greer phrases. These are grouped together here.
Uster to theM or track 16 of the CD ard ther practise repeatirg the serterces.

♦ intrigued /in'tfri:gd/, p. 17 - Given the BBC’s long-term hostility to Blyton I was intrigued to see in 2009 that they had made
Enid, a biopic about her.
♦ bewildered /bs'wilds'd/, p. 21 - Blyton’s Julian would probably have reacted much like Golding’s polite, bewildered1 Ralph
if he had found himself in the same circumstances.
♦ varied /'veariid/, p. 22 - Most societies have had some concept of adolescence, though what exactly each society meant
varied enormously.
♦ disciples /do'saipolz/, p. 24 - Set on a farm house near Pendle the film, which starkly1 2 contrasts the rocklike faith of Kathy
and the other ‘disciples’ with the mistrust3 of the adults, tells the story of three siblings4 who discover Arthur Blakey
hiding5 in their barn6.
♦ buoyed /boid/, p. 24 - Buoyed up7 by her implacable faith, she tells two small villagers that they have indeed8 missed “Him
but He’ll be coming again”.
♦ droves /c^rouvz/, p. 26 - Sitters9 in horse-drawn carriages10 arrived in their droves.

1 bewildered - confused, perplexed, conceal oneself portrait painted

disorientated
2 starkly - (emphatic) sharply, clearly, strikingly
3 mistrust - suspicion
4 siblings - brothers and sisters
5 to hide (hide-hid- hidden) - stay out of sight,
6 barn-----------------------------
7 to be buoyed up - be kept
optimistic
8 indeed - (emphatic) really, in fact
9 sitter - s.o. who has his/her
10 horse-drawn carriage------ ►
11 while - at the same time as
12 large-type - in big letters
13 to come across (come-came-
come) - encounter

122 Think in English • 42

 Test how well you have retained the vocabulary from this issue of ÌÉiYfilfl by doing the following crossword:
If you find the crossword difficult, do the easy clues (in red) first. This will make the rest of the words much easier to find.
C r o sswori
1. spectacles (but not glasses)
2. negative adverb. Homophone
of Know’
3. coloured fluids for writing
or printing. Anagram of 46
DOWN
4. amid, in the middle of
5. special present
7. same as 2 DOWN
8. armed conflict. Homophone
of ‘wore’
9. @
10. paths. Homophone of‘roots’
11. mistakes
15. Romania (Internet address)
18. foot with the stress on
the second of 2 syllables.
Homophone of‘I am’
19. child aged 10 to 12
20. one who will inherit.
Homophone of‘air’,
anagram of‘hire’
21. consume food. Anagram of
44 ACROSS
22. unpleasant, disagreeable,
cruel
27. same as 9 DOWN
30. heated, sexy or angry?
DOWN
32. Egyptian sun god
34. infection of the eyelid. Home
of a pig
35. choose. Anagram of‘pot’
36. divided in two
37. folded edge of a garment
42. large flightless bird reputed
to stick its head in the sand
43. gone... or remaining.
Opposite of‘right’
45. exclamation of confusion.
Anagram 48 ACROSS
46. become submerged. With
17 ACROSS - type of 1950s
drama
49. European Union (initialism)
50. coloured fluid for writing or
printing. Anagram of‘kin’
51. French-speaking Province in
Canada
53. idler, good-for-nothing;
profligate
54. annoying child
55. final part. Anagram of‘den’
56. affluent, prosperous
58. 19th-century US writer of
ghost and horror stories.
Edgar Allen__
122
60. Northeast (abbreviation)
62. large rodent. Anagram of 76
ACROSS
66. gambling house
68. same as 9 DOWN
69. (often spiky) desert plants
70. locomotive and carriages;
practise
72. bureau, bushel (abbreviations)
74. opposite of‘hard’
77. precipitation, showers.
Homophone of‘reign’
78. television, transvestite
(abbreviation)
80. preposition
83. International Labour
Organization (initialism)
84. frequently (better more
frequently used now in a
longer form)
86. extraterrestrial (abbreviation)
88. long-haired Central Asian
ox. Anagram of‘Kay’
90. same as 90 ACROSS
91. preposition - fashionable?
93. same as 61 ACROSS
94. exclamation of pain
95. same as 7 DOWN
Think in English • 45
ACROSS
1. the most successful children’s writer ever (4,6). Anagram of
‘tiny blonde’
5.1000kg
6. preposition - activated?
8. preceded by 74 DOWN - computer programs; before 79
ACROSS - building for storing products. Homophone of
‘where’ and ‘wear’
9. (they) exist
12. negative prefix
13. same as 6 ACROSS
14. rhetorician, gifted speaker
16. conjunction. Homophone of‘oar’
17. room you cook in. Anagram of‘thicken’
20. female chicken
23. same as 16 ACROSS
24. ancient Mesopotamian city
25. observed; cutting tool. British homophone of‘sore’
26. European Association of Advertising Agencies (initialism)
28. preposition
29. rhesus (abbreviation)
31. deserves, should have
33. possessive adjectives. Anagram of‘sit’
35. reddish-yellow (US spelling)
36. US female singer
37. object pronoun and possessive adjective
38. same as 28 ACROSS
39. carry; omnivorous mammal. Homophone and anagram of‘bare’
40. aural organ. Anagram of 9 ACROSS
41. wearing nothing above the waist
43. adverb
44. consumed food. Homophone of‘eight’
46. structure, arrangement, method
47. stalk
48. subject pronoun
52. northwest (abbreviation)
54. hob - front or back?
57. preposition (and movie title)
59. mediaeval aristocrat’s home. Homophone of‘manner’
60. conjunction. British homophone of‘gnaw’
61. same as 23 ACROSS
63. make woollen garments. Homophone of 64 ACROSS
64. egg of a louse. Anagram of‘tin’
65. subject and object pronoun
66. chief executive officer (initialism)
67. east-southeast (abbreviation)
68. major division of a play. Anagram of‘cat’
71. District Columbia (initialism)
72. infant; gorgeous young woman (informal)
73. National Trust (initialism)
74. begin
75. sweet pie; prostitute
76. aesthetically-pleasing artefacts. Anagram of‘tar’
79. residential building; type of music
81. three who act together
82. Brazilian city
85. cavern
87. freezing, frozen
89. mythological being
90. titanium (abbreviation)
92. same as 38 ACROSS
94. same as 6 ACROSS
96. garments, attire, clothes
97. object
98. adapt. Anagram of‘worker’
99. jobs; function (v.)
Vi
H
Tapescripts - Think 122
Debate: Are Kids Out of Control? (21m31s)
U Commentary: Listen to the following debate about
children and society.
cd
w 1. Part 1: Melbourne’s Violent Youths (2m 13s)
C- Aussie Woman (OZ): Pretty much1 all you read about in
the newspapers in Melbourne at the moment is the inci­
dence of street violence, principally young boys particu­
larly. .. 14,16,18 year olds generally, in groups and coming
along and bashing the living daylights out of2 somebody.
I mean3, every week there are reports on this and people
are actually4 very, very worried about it.
Englishman (EM): But isn’t that... well, I mean3, you
introduced that by saying ‘in the newspapers’ and isn’t
that part of the problem that you’ve got a situation where
people wanna5 sell newspapers and making people
scared6 is something the media does very well to sell
better. And, in fact, I think to some extent7 these things
have always happened.
OZ: Well, I see your point and certainly the media does
make8* the most of4 it and it’s very sensationalist, of
course, but certainly in Melbourne street violence is going
up amongst10*young people. And, I mean3, when you talk
to, when I talk to people from there as well11, family and
friends and that, I mean3, some of them are actually4,
most of them are quite concerned about12 it.
EM: Sure but they’re concerned about what they’ve seen or
they’re concerned about12 the fact that they’ve actually4
personally been intimidated?
OZ: The fact that they don’t feel as safe as they used to.
EM: But you might not feel as safe as you used to just13
because you’re constantly being told to be afraid by the
media.
OZ: But you do see14 it, for example, the incidents on trains
have gone up and statistically they’ve gone up as well11. I
mean3, you’re talking about, well, Victoria, the population
of Victoria is five million, Melbourne’s about four million,
and per year there are 30,000 assaults. 10,000, it’s gone
up to 10,000 involve street violence and most of those are
perpetrated by young people. I mean3, those statistics are
pretty15 high and they are, they’re going up.
American Woman (AW): And it’s not only in Australia. I
think it’s all over the world.
OZ: Sure, it’s not.
AW: And it’s not just16 a thing that the media is just13 -
sort of17 - overreacting and trying to get our attention. I
think it’s a given fact that kids18 are getting more violent.
2. Part 2: Boundaries (lm42s)
American Man (AM): And so what is this? If this is
happening, let’s say it is happening, what do you think it’s
the result of?
AW: I think it’s because kids18 do not have any bounda­
ries19 anymore. I think that parents20 don’t spend much
time with their kids18 and their lack of21 role models.
I think they’re just13 totally out of control because the
parents20 have lost control of their kids18.
OZ: Well, that’s an interesting point actually4 ’cos22 in
class one day I gave my students, well, what I thought was
a rather23 controversial essay topic24 which was more or
less something like “Young people nowadays25 are not
disciplined; all they do is fail their subjects26 at school and
beat up teachers”. And I thought the overwhelming27...
EM: And so they beat you up!
OZ: Well, yeah! So, I thought the overwhelming27 major­
ity would actually4 be offended that I would put something
like that on the board as an essay topic24. So, I was expect­
ing a - sort of17 - violent reaction, but was very surprised.
Without exception, I mean3, they did acknowledge2' that
most of them don’t beat up teachers, but without excep­
tion they said that they felt that young people nowadays25
were undisciplined and... but this was largely29 due to30
the fact that they just16 want to have a good time. They
weren’t really interested in much else. And when they
started talking about the reasons for that many of them
mentioned that their parents20 hadn’t put those... hadn’t
set31 those boundaries19. They’d pretty much1 let them do
whatever they wanted to ever since they were born and
that the parents20 often weren’t even around32 because
they were working.
AW: And a lot of parents20 think that discipline is some­
thing that is taught at school and not at home. So, I think
that the problem is - sort of, like33 - a vicious circle.
3. Part 3: Latch-Key Kids18 * Feral Children
(2xn20s)
EM: OK, but in... both in Britain and in America the
expression ‘a latch-key34 kid35’ has existed since the 1930s
and the idea that - y’know36 - if mothers go out to work
was the question in the 1930s then - y’know36 - these
kids18 have a...
OZ: Yeah.
EM: ...key34 around their necks37 and they go home to an
empty home and that’s - y’know36 - one of these things
that’s gonna38 cause a complete collapse of society. And
people have been saying that for 80 years. And obviously
there’s an added effect now that of a much, much higher
rate of single parents20. But I think... thinking around, all
of the kids181 know, none of them are particularly badly-
behaved39 or whatever. Obviously I see the same news
reports as you do and - y’know36 - you have all of these
terrible situations on the news, but it doesn’t actually4... I
can’t actually4 see it in a real sense. And, I mean3, some­
thing that happened last year in Britain which I think...
which - sort of7 - attracted my attention was these two
brothers who were 10 and 11 and they - sort of17 - they
lured40 two other children who were nine and 11 to a -
sort of7 - a place that was abandoned and robbed them
and beat them and burnt them with cigarettes and all sorts
of other things and basically - sort of7 - “beat them to
within an inch of their lives41” was the expression used
in the press etc. And - y’know36 - so this makes me think
back about that other case there was in Britain with the
two children who did the same sort42 of thing and actu­
ally4 killed a small child.
OZ: Yeah, I remember that.
EM: But, I mean3, we all remember that ’cos22 they are
scandalous situations. It’s scandalous to think of a 10 year
old and an 11 year old doing those things. But that was 20
years ago. The previous case before that was over 20 years
before that. So, you have - I mean3 - there are, OK, the
existence of feral43 kids18, feral children as they’re called in
Britain, I mean3, they’re definitely there, but as a phenom­
enon that’s happening - y’know36 - every two decades, a
case like this, it has a huge44 impact; it’s something that
becomes etched45 onto people’s memories, but in fact is a
tiny46, tiny minority of cases.
4. Part 4: The Normalization of Violence
(lm24s)
AW: Don’t you have the feeling that - like47 - kids18
today have the - sort of7... you have the sense that for
kids18 today violence is something normal. I guess4' it
has, it - sort of7 - seems like they have more access to
violent things. So, it’s... I have this feeling that for them
it’s something like (an) everyday thing; it’s normal for
them to see people killing each other, so it’s just13 part of
their lifestyle. And I think before, maybe 20 years ago, you
didn't have that open access to Internet and games and...
EM: There weren’t war films, there weren’t cowboys and
Indians?
OZ: They were •- _c ~.
AW: Yeah, but you didn't have those games where you
have people blowing ; bead off
OZ: Exactly. That’s right
AW: ...and blood’ splattering
OZ: I was actually4 watching some videos oc the later-
net the other day with a group kwh * « aids’.-
exactly kids, I mean3, they were a" _ • ■ .
the scenes actually4 really shocked - . . ■
quite difficult to take52.
EM: It’s ’cos22 we’re getting old.
OZ: Maybe, I don’t know, but, well, certain!• » -. -
kid I don’t think I watched those types of thing? -
just13 took it all within their stride53, you know? :
question, well based on that, is - y’know36 - does it ma» :
them more violent? Some psychologists say yes, it does. ■
does make children more violent to see violent programs,
others don’t. I’m not sure about that.
5. Part 5: Forgetting Adolescence (3m20s)
EM: But, I mean3, you’re saying that kids18 these days are
only interested in having fun. Well...
OZ: That’s what they said themselves.
EM: Yeah, sure, OK, but - I mean3 - I don’t remember
being a teenager and thinking, “Oh, I need to save my
soul54” or - y’know36 - “I need to be thinking about
where I’m going to be in 40 years’ time and where I am on
my career ladder55”. I was only interested in having fun.
I drank far too much56 alcohol. I was involved in other
things that were illegal - y’know36 - and I think that’s
probably a good thing to rebel and do those things as a
teenager and I think most balanced adults did rebel57 and
did do58 things that were illegal and antisocial.
American Man (AM): Yeah.
OZ: Yeah, that’s true. I mean3, sometimes we - kind of9
- forget what those teenage/young adult years were like
too and we think - y’know36 - we were far more60 seri­
ous and far more responsible when, in reality, we weren’t.
So, there’s certainly an element of that. But just getting
back to61 those cases that you mentioned in England, the
fact that there was such a big time gap62 between them.
I mean3, when I was talking about the stories in the
Melbourne newspapers, there’s practically one, at least
one every week. So, we’re not talking about incidents that
are separated by huge44 periods of time.
AW: You also see, read and hear on the news that the age
has gone down as well11. It’s not just16 teenagers. It’s not
like 16 or 17 year olds; you even have 10 year olds.
EM: But that’s because the age has gone down. People
mature much younger.
SW: So, does that mean we justify these acts?
EM: I mean3, you are... a lot of 14 and 15 year olds are
quite imposing nowadays25, much more than they were in
our generation. They’re big bastards - y’know36 - they’re
muscular. They’re bigger than you are as an adult in a lot
of cases. That I think has changed because there has been
a difference in - sort of' - power and all this is about -
sort of7 - power; it’s about the fact that “I’m still being
treated like a child in a certain number of areas, but if
I’m away from my parents20, if I’m away from any type of
authority I can impose myself; maybe by being antisocial,
maybe by just13 occupying the whole of the sidewalk63 or
the pavement, but also - y’know36 - in certain by beat­
ing people up”. And - y’know36 - because they’re more...
they’re bigger.

1 pretty much - more or less
2 to bash the living daylights out of s.o. - beat s.o. up
31 mean - (pause filler) y’know, like, sort of
4 actually - (false friend) in fact, really
5 wanna - (slang) want to
6 scared - frightened, afraid
7 to some extent - to some degree, in one sense
’ does make - (emphatic) makes
’ to make the most of sth. (make-made-made) - extract
maximum benefit from sth., take full advantage of sth.
10 amongst - among, (in this context) in relation to
11 as well - too, also
12 to be concerned about - be worried/preoccupied about
13 just - (in this context) simply
14 do see - (emphatic) see
15 pretty (adv.) - quite, reasonably, surprisingly
16 just - (in this context) only
17 sort of - (pausefiller) kind of, y’know, like
18 kids - (in this context) young people, children and teenagers
19 boundaries - (in this context) limits, red lines
20 parents - (false friend) mothers and fathers
21 their lack of - the fact that they do not have
22 ’cos - (slang) because
--------------------------------------------- -
23 rather - somewhat, quite, reasonably
24 essay topic - theme to write a composition about
25 nowadays - these days
26 subject - academic discipline
27 overwhelming - (in this context) great, vast
28 did acknowledge - (emphatic) acknowledged, accepted,
admitted
29 largely - mainly, primarily
30 due to - because of
31 to set (set-set-set) - lay down, establish
32 to be around - be present, be there
33 sort of, like - (pausefiller) kind of, y’know
34 latch-key-----------------------------------------------
35 latch-key kid - child whose mother works, so s/he
has to return to an empty home
36 y’know - (pause filler) kind of, sort of, like
37 neck - part of the body between the head and the torso
38 gonna - (slang) going to
39 badly-behaved - mischievous, disobedient, anarchic
40 to lure s.o. - entice s.o., persuade s.o. to come
41 to within an inch of one’s life - until one is close to death
42 sort - type, kind
43 feral - wild, undomesticated
>
44 huge - enormous, tremendous, gigantic
45 to etch - (in this context) fix permanently, indelibly print
46 tiny - minute, minuscule, very small
47 like - (pausefiller) y’know, sort of, kind of
481 guess - I suppose
49 to blow s.o’s head off (blow-blew-blown) - explosively
decapitate
50 blood - red liquid from veins and arteries
51 to splatter - splash, spatter, spray
52 to take (take-took-taken) - (in this context) watch, accept
33 to take sth. (with)in one’s stride (take-took-taken) - accept
sth. as normal
54 soul - eternal spirit
53 career ladder - professional trajectory
56 far too much - much too much
37 did rebel - (emphatic) rebelled
38 did do - (emphatic) did
39 kind of - (pause filler) sort of, y’know, like
60 far more - much more
61 just getting back to - returning for a moment to
62 time gap - interval
63 sidewalk (US English) - pavement (UK English), part of a
street that is for pedestrians (= people who are walking)

Think in English • 46
 Download tapescripts with larger print at:
www.thinkinenglish.net
AM: Yeah, but I think, going back to64 what you said
before, that when you were a teenager you didn’t... that
you rebelled and that you were all about having a good
time, I think most of us can say the same thing. And I
think when we got home, at home, we had some sort42 of
structure to go back to. We knew that there were certain
things we couldn’t do at home or certain things we
couldn’t do outside of the home because of the repercus­
sions in place65 at home, whatever your family unit. In my
case, it was my mom. I was raised66 by my mom. And I
think I grew up to be67 a perfectly respectable person.
EM: Sure, I don’t think we’re really talking about the
immense majority of families, the sort42 of families that
we came from or come from, then or now. I mean’, the -
sort of7*- underclass of people who tend to be a threat68 to
society are not the sort42 of people who end up doing the
sort42 of things that we’re doing etc. etc.
6. Part 6: Taking Children from their Parents
(8ml4s)
EM: I mean3, the other question that comes out of that
is... is what should be the criteria for taking children
away from families when - y’know ' - those families are
considered harmful69? I mean’, because, for example,
one of the things that’s coming out in Britain with this
case, these feral children etc, was they’re talking about -
y’know36 - the vital first three years, which is - y’know36
- when you can turn somebody’s life around70. I mean3,
these two brothers, both parents20 were alcoholics and
they just3 - sort of - had children continually and blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah. But I think there’s also a question
there. I’m not sure how much that is psychologists - sort
of7 - talking about the vital three years or the fact that it’s
very easy to place somebody in adoption if they’re under
three, after that they’re likely to71 stay in foster care72
and that’s probably worse than a natural family in lots of
cases, certainly in Britain. So, it’s... there’s quite a lot of
saying - y’know36 - “we’re going to take away the children
of very poor, unstable people very, very young because we
can - y’know36 - we can put them into middle-class fami­
lies very easily at that age”. And that must be wrong as a...
- sort of7, y’know36 - the process.
AM: Well, I’m sure there’s an element of that it being
easier to place younger children...
EM: Sure.
OZ: Yeah.
AM: ...through adoption. But at the same time I don’t
totally disagree with it. In the sense that it may work -
kind of9 - as... giving these people, these families, these
parents20 a warning73, saying “If you don’t clean your act
up74 - y’know36 - the result is we’re going to be taking
your children away”. It might act as a catalyst for them to
improve their lives or to stop drinking or...
OZ: But if the parents20 are alcoholics, drug addicts,
something like that, then...
AM: Well, yeah, it’s a difficult question because it...
OZ: Probably not!
AM: ...yeah, depends on what sort of7 social services are
available to these people. But it may work - kind of9 - as
a threat75.
7. Part 7: Society, Beliefs & Discipline
(2xn36s)
EM: Is it a societal failure thing as well11? I mean3 we now
live in a society... in societies that have less religious belief
and religious structure than in the past. I think society
is generally less ideological. Is... Are we talking about a
generalized collapse in terms of teenagers of discipline
and etc. etc. etc.? Is that related to social changes? Is it the
fact that just13 parents20 spend too much time working?
AW: I think we’ve just13 become a little bit more selfish76.
I don’t think it’s a matter of belief or ideology. I think
it’s just13 a matter of discipline and just13 everybody has
to collaborate. It’s parents20, society and teaching the
children, but I don’t think it has anything much to do
with77... about religion or anything like that.
64 to go back to (go-went-gone) - return to
65 in place - established
66 to raise s.o. - bring s.o. up, rear s.o., care for s.o. from
childhood to adulthood
67 to grow up to be (grow-grew-grown) - mature to become
68 threat - peril, danger, menace
69 harmful - detrimental, damaging, pernicious
70 to turn s.o’s life around - make a significant difference to
s.o’s life
71 are likely to - will probably
72 foster care - temporary adoption
73 warning - admonition, caution, cautionary comment
74 to clean one’s act up - reform oneself
75 threat - (in this context) warning, intimidating strategy
76 selfish - self-centred, egotistical
77 to have anything much to do with - be related to
78 set (n.) - group, series, batch
79 fairly - reasonably, quite
80 quite - (in this context) really, wholly, fully
: Conversation Point: Do you think that teenagers are out of control? i
OZ: I think it might actually4.1 mean3, there is a structure
there that’s gone, a set78 of fairly79 strict rules that most
people that if they quite80 abide by81 them, they - kind
of9*- felt that they should. So, there was some restraining
force there and that doesn’t really exist anymore...
AM: Yeah, I agree.
OZ: ...within most circles.
AM: I agree to a point. I think a religion sets31 very clear
boundaries19, moral and ethical boundaries. But, at
the same time, more or less how I was raised66, it wasn’t
really a religious upbringing82, but different religions I
was made aware of83 them, I was taught them. But I think
more for the ethical and moral benefits of that rather
than84 trying to shove certain religion down my throat85.
AW: So, you’re saying an atheist is more undisciplined
than somebody...
AM: No, I think a person that’s educated and that has
learned about religion and ethics and moral values prob­
ably will grow up not to be violent.
EM: I think the atheist, as you say, the person who’s a
committed atheist is not in any sense a problem - saying
that as an atheist - because an atheist has thought about
society and thought about life and the possibility of after­
life etc. and has come to a conclusion. The problem is the
person who just13*hasn’t bothered86 to think about these
things and are just16 involved about getting pleasure
fixes87.
OZ: And the atheist is probably aware of other religions
too...
EM: Yeah.
OZ: ...so has gone through that whole process.
EM: Sure.
OZ: Yeah.
AM: Yeah, that’s what I was trying to get at88, but I didn’t
know if I was making myself clear.
OZ: Yeah.
8. Part 8: Multiculturalism & Teen Violence
(2mSSs)
EM: Now the really dodgy89 question. But, how much can
these types of problems have to do with90 multicultural­
ism, to do with the fact that ...? I mean3, for example, I
imagine Melbourne is much more ethnically-mixed now
than in the past. That correlates without necessarily being
related, the increase in the diversity of the city with the
increase in violence.
OZ: Well, part of the violence is actually4 totally racist.
EM: Uh huh, sure.
OZ: It’s directed towards the Indian population, which
is something that’s actually4 frightening because there
are... I mean3,1 don’t think there have been a lot of racist
problems within91 Australian society. Of course, there
have always been incidents like everywhere else and I’m
not saying that most people are racist when it comes to
Indians, they’re not, but it is worrying to see this at the
moment actually4.
EM: So, why the Indians? I mean3, there’s all sorts42 of
different ethnic groups.
OZ: Yeah, one of the reasons is that many Indians come
over92 to the universities and study at the universities in
Australia and the price of university education has in fact
gone up because we have so many overseas93 students now
and there are many Australians who can’t even afford94 an
education at university any longer95. And so these are seen
as privileged kids18 and in many cases they are, otherwise
they wouldn’t have been there, they wouldn’t be there.
EM: Sure.
OZ: So, some of them are seen as - sort of7 - taking away
- y’know36 - the education from Australians and...
AM: Have they opened up a lot of businesses?
OZ: This is mainly96 against young - sort of7 - students.
AM: Younger, OK.
OZ: Yeah.
EM: Uh huh.
OZ: Which is a new phenomenon actually4.
EM: It’s quite sad because...
81 to abide by sth. - respect sth.
82 upbringing - preparation for adult life
83 to be made aware of sth. - be taught to be conscious of sth.
84 rather than - instead of, as opposed to
85 to try to shove sth. down s.o’s throat - try to force s.o. to
accept sth.
86 to bother - make the effort
87 pleasure fix - moment of pleasure for s.o. who is addicted to
self-gratification
88 to get at (get-got-got) - say, express
89 dodgy - suspect, questionable
90 to have to do with (have-had-had) - be related to
91 within - in, inside
92 to come over (come-came-come) - come
93 overseas (adj.) - foreign
94 can’t afford - don’t have enough money for
95 any longer - any more, now
96 mainly - principally, primarily
97 amongst - among, (in this context) from
122 Think in English • 47
Tapescripts
OZ: But we’re still talking about a minority of people
when it comes to a racist attitude.
AW: That’s exactly what I was going to say. It’s sad; you’d
think that people would become more tolerant.
OZ: Yeah.
EM: They’re contributing enormously to the Australian
economy.
OZ: Yeah, exactly, exactly.
EM: That’s really sad.
OZ: And this is, as I said, not the majority; it’s a very small
minority, but quite a violent minority.
EM: Sure, when I was talking about the multicultural­
ism, I wasn’t saying necessarily the people coming in are
creating problems, but there is often a violent reaction
amongst97 the - sort of7 - local people.
OZ: I mean3, every time there’s been a wave98 of immigra­
tion and particularly when there’s been - like47,1 dunno"
- financial difficulties or something like that, the ones
who have just arrived, just13 - y’know36 - “they’re stealing
our jobs. You know we can’t get a job because they’re will­
ing to100 work for nothing”. But that happens everywhere,
you know? But considering how multicultural Australia
is, I think people get on pretty15 well101 together actually4.
EM: So, you don’t think that that’s actually4 really related
to the problem?
OZ: No, no, I don’t think so.
EM: So, what...
OZ: Except for isolated incidences - y’know36 - which you
can find anywhere.
EM: Sure.
9. Part 9: Solutions (2m47s)
EM: Are there any sorts42 of solutions to these problems?
I mean3, should we bring back the cane102 or corporal
punishment103 and such104?
AW: Education and respect.
OZ: Yeah, particularly mainly96 of the parents20. Like
when I think of one of my good friends actually4, when
I’ve seen her with her kids18 I’ve been really surprised
because she doesn’t discipline them as much as I thought
she would. You know she’s... the first time she’ll tell them
that they shouldn’t be doing what they’re doing, but then
they’ll - kind of9 - keep105 doing it. And she’ll tell them
again and they don’t stop and then she - kind of9 - gives
up106.
EM: Sure.
OZ: And I’ve seen this in quite a few other settings107 there
too. So, maybe educating...
AW: A lack of08 discipline.
OZ: .. .the parents20 to discipline their children.
EM: There’s109 all sorts42 of words that have lessened110
their force, their effectiveness, but what I find often quite
shocking is the insults that children will... can say to their
parents20. You know, I mean3, for example, telling your
mother or your father to fuck off, is the sort42 of thing
that would - sort of17 - have meant - sort of7 - the Third
World War in our generation.
OZ: Yep.
AW: But we’re going back to the boundary19 thing. It’s
because the parents20 don’t establish any boundaries19
with their children. A lot of parents20 feel sorry for their
kids18 because they leave them in day-care111 or they’re
out working all day, so when they come home and they
feel bad that because they haven’t spent that much time
with them, well, “How am I going to tell my kid off112?
Y’know36, They feel bad. So, it’s just13 like a...
AM: Yeah, well, that’s... I think that’s the problem. I think
education has to begin with the parents20; parents have to
be good parents. And I think what’s happening in these
situations that you’re talking about, since113 parents20
spend very little time with their kids18, they try and treat
them as if they were a friend...
OZ: Yeah, yeah, uh huh.
AM: ...as if they were their child’s friend rather than84
their child’s parent. And a parent should always be a
parent, not a friend.
98 wave - surge, influx
991 dunno - (slang/pause filler) I don’t know
190 to be willing to -be ready to, be prepared to
101 to get on well (get-got-got) - interact in a friendly way
102 to bring back the cane (bring-brought-brought) - start to use
corporal punishment103 again
103 corporal punishment - beating (= hitting) people to
discipline them
104 and such - et cetera, and so on
105 to keep (keep-kept-kept) - (in this context) continue
106 to give up (give-gave-given) - stop trying
107 setting - context
108 a lack of - an absence of, deficient
109 there’s - (in this context informal) there are
110 to lessen - weaken, reduce
111 day-care - place where you can leave your children during
the day
112 to tell s.o. off (tell-told-told) - reprimand s.o.
113 since - (in this context) given that

OZ: I remember one of my friends told me, and I don’t
know if this is true, but he was saying - y’know36 - when
I grew up the focus wasn’t all on the children. The child
wasn’t the centre of attention really; it was the family unit
and possibly the parents20 and the adults, aunties, uncles,
grandparents, whatever, more than the children. And now
that whole focus has changed around114. This is what he
thought anyhow115. And so much is put on the children,
everything is done for the children possible in some sense
because of guilt116, because the parents20 aren’t often
around. But that’s the explanation that he gave, taking
into account what he’d seen when he was a child. This
whole focus has changed and so the parents20 are much
more concerned about12 meeting117 their children’s needs.
EM: “Children should be seen but not heard”118.
OZ: Exactly. • myself143 quite often. Every so often I also like to enjoy
10. Idioms: Cooking Expressions (lm27s)
Commentary: Listen to the following words from pp.
38-39. • or twice120 a year, depending on my level of stress, I treat
Monologues: My Treat (llml2s)
Commentary: In English ‘a treat’ is something that
brings special pleasure to someone. A treat can be an
experience - like a trip or a meal - or a present. The giving
of a treat is often a surprise, so we don’t usually talk about
treats on birthdays or at Christmas. Moreover, you can
treat yourself:
11. Monologue 1 [ US English'] (3m34s)
I wish I could say that I treat myself quite often, but,
unfortunately, that’s not the case. Every time I do treat
myself1191 find myself saying, “You know, I should do this
more often”. Most of the time, these treats coincide with
a special occasion, like a birthday, an anniversary or a
vacation, but other times it may be just13 after finishing a
project for work. Thinking about it, I guess481 have minor
treats, small things that I do for myself on a more regular
basis, and major treats, which may happen once or twice120
a year. As far as the minor treats are concerned121,1 really
don’t need much to pamper122 myself. For example, some­
thing as simple as going for a leisurely123 walk around the
city or visiting a museum is very relaxing. Just13 getting
out from in front of the computer for a few hours rein­
vigorates me. Another small treat I like to give myself on
occasion is a hot bath. I find that’s the best for taking my
mind off of the trials and tribulations of day-to-day life.
Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to take a hot bath since
we moved into our new apartment since there’s no bath­
tub124. Speaking of baths, last year we were treated to an
Arabic bath, which consisted of an indoor pool125 with hot
water, a sauna and a small pool with cold water. I have to
say it was a great experience and something I’d like to do
again. Now, unlike126 a lot of people, I don’t really care for
shopping, especially when it comes to clothes. Although,
every so often I do like127 to treat myself to an afternoon
in a book or CD shop, just13 casually flipping through128
different books and checking out129 new CDs. Most of
my special treats include food of some sort42. Once in a
while we like to go out to eat at a nice Italian or a Mexi­
can restaurant. It’s really great to be served good food and
drink which you haven’t had to slave over130 a hot stove131
to make. When it comes to good eats, though, I’d have to
say that the biggest yet simplest treat for me is a pint132 of
Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. I’m not picky133 when it comes
to ice cream and, really, any flavor will do. As for the
major treats, these are usually few and far between134 and
usually consist of some sort42 of trip. For example, I really
114 to change around - change completely, be reversed
115 anyhow - anyway
116 guilt - remorse, culpability (formal')
117 to meet (meet-met-met) - (in this context) satisfy, fulfil
118 the classic Victorian view
119 do treat myself - (emphatic) treat myself, give myself a treat
120 twice - x2, ‘two times’
121 as far as... are concerned - as regards..., in relation to...
122 to pamper - treat, spoil
123 leisurely - relaxing, restful
124 bathtub ------------------------------------------ >
125 indoor pool - swimming pool that is inside
a building
126 unlike - in contrast to
127 do like - (emphatic) like
128 to flip through - browse, look at... in a relaxed way
129 to check sth. out - take a look at
130 to slave over - work hard using
131 stove (US English) - cooker
132 pint - (in this context) V2 a litre
133 picky - fussy, difficult to please
134 few and far between - rare, infrequent
135 getaway - short trip
136 to indulge oneself - treat oneself, spoil oneself
137 pampering - spoiling, indulging, treating
138 stage - (in this context) phase
139 spa - health-centred hotel where mineral water occurs
140 wrap - (in this context) hot towel
1 Conversation Point: How do you treat yourself? ;
enjoy weekend getaways135. Getting out of the city for a
few days and staying at a small place in the countryside
is very relaxing and one of my favorite things to do. I can
go to bed whenever I want, sleep as much as I want, go for
walks, eat well and, if I want, do absolutely nothing.
12. Monologue 2 [US English] (lm37s)
Well, what do I do to indulge myself 36? Well, I remember
that when I was in my 20s I used to treat myself to shoes,
but the shoe phase passed on to a pampering137 stage138.
When I get fed up with the world around me I treat myself
to a spa139; the whole works, massages, the water treat­
ments, wraps140. At least once a month I treat myself to a
facial141 and a ‘mani-pedi142’. I just13 love getting massages
on my feet. And now that I think about it I actually1 baby
a nice margarita or two; it’s my favorite cocktail and I
normally save this - like47 - for a rainy144 day. I keep it
down to145 a max of two so I don’t get trashed146. Once
myself to a weekend away from the hustle and bustle147 of
the city. I try to get away from modern civilization and so
what I do is I try and find a hotel in the middle of nowhere;
no phones, TV, Internet connection. One of the best
gifts148 I’ve ever have been given was a two-night invite to
a hotel on top of a hill surrounded by just16 nature, totally
isolated from the world. The nearest town was miles away.
All you needed was in the hotel. It was really awesome149
because each room was literally a cave150 with modern
conveniences151, except TV and phones. In the middle of
each room there was a huge44 Jacuzzi. It was an absolute
pleasure for both body and mind.
13. Monologue 3 [UKEnglish] (3m22s)
When I started to think about this question I realized152
that I live a ‘treat-driven’ existence. For instance153, when I
start work in the morning I set myself a certain amount154
of work I have to do before I will make myself a cup of
coffee. The rest of the day continues along the same lines
with breaks and cups of tea or coffee as my rewards155. It’s
not necessarily a very intelligent strategy because I often
find myself literally nodding off156 in front of the compu­
ter. What I mean is that I set myself a specific task157 to
finish but I’m overcome158 by sleep and my eyes begin
to close and my head begins to nod down159 towards the
keyboard. This action and the instinctive jerk160 back to
vertical causes me to wake up for a moment and I start to
work again on the text, but the cycle begins to repeat itself
seconds later. I’d love to have a video of myself doing this.
It would be very funny to see myself swaying back and
forth161 like someone praying162 at the Wailing Wall163.
Special treats also affect my medium term. When I finish
an important piece of work I will often allow myself to164
browse165 Amazon. In the past I would’ve gone to a book­
shop or a record store but now it tends to be Amazon.
The clever ‘rainforest-people’ have a feature166 in which
they recommend things for you according to what you’ve
bought in the past. They show you hundreds of items167
and you can eliminate what you’re not interested in and
what you already have. Obviously, this allows them to164
hone168 their recommendations in a virtuous circle which
leads me, like a moth169 to a flame, towards making a
purchase170. No, but it has to be said that this system of
recommendations has led me to books and CDs that I
never knew about and which I’m glad I bought.
In the long term I also treat myself. This usually means
going on holiday and one habit I’ve picked up171 over the
last few years is planning a short break around a concert.
At first I felt guilty about this - my Scottish Presbyterian
141 facial scrub - cleansing of one’s face
142 mani-pedi - manicure + pedicure
143 to baby oneself - (informal) indulge oneself136
144 rainy - wet, inclement, showery
145 to keep it down to (keep-kept-kept) - limit it to
146 to get trashed (get-got-got) - get drunk
147 hustle and bustle - agitation, commotion
148 gift - present, treat
149 awesome - incredible, impressive
150 cave - cavern
151 modern conveniences - running hot and cold water,
electricity, etc.
152 to realize - (falsefriend) become conscious
153 for instance - for example
154 amount - quantity
155 reward - compensation, prize
156 to nod off - fall asleep (when you are not in bed)
157 task - quantity of work, job
158 to overcome (-come/-came/-come) - overwhelm, defeat, conquer
159 to nod down - fall forward
160 jerk - (in this context) spasm
161 to sway back and forth - oscillate, move to and fro
162 to pray - talk to God
163 a sacred wall that was part of the ancient temple in Jerusalem
164 to allow s.o. to - permit s.o. to, let s.o. to
165 to browse - look through, peruse
166 feature - function
167 item - product
122 Think in English • 48
ancestors scolding172 me from beyond the grave173 - but
then I thought, “Well, thousands of people take trips
abroad to see football matches, so why should I feel bad
-' . "g to see a concert and visiting somewhere
r.c ■ ■ ■ me?" A few days ago I got tickets for us
to go and see lames m Edinburgh in a couple of months’
time and I ve been more contented ever since because,
despite the tact that I have a terrible workload between
now and then. I've got something to look forward to.
In terms ot Creati tom other people there are a couple of
things. My wife brings me a Cadburv s Flake every now
and again, which is ahi - • S a pleasant surprise. Also some
friends of ours bake » . give us a
loaf of freshly-made bread r >?• a ‘because
not only is it delicious but we .. • • n* a it •• >rt has
gone into it.
14.Monologue 4 [Australian Em.. -
(*m39s)
Well, for me it’s food, that’s what I treat .
often to, especially something sweet. I adore rich
sickly-sweet178 cookies179, melt-in-the-mouth ch< .
lates. So much so181 in fact that whenever I pass by a cake
shop and notice something particularly wicked-look­
ing182, well, I keep going but I do make183 a mental note.
And then one day when I’m particularly pleased with
myself, maybe I’ve achieved something184 at work and I
feel that I definitely deserve185 a treat. So, often I’ll remem­
ber that cake shop window and if it’s not too far away then
I’ll head186 there and indulge myself136. I must say that in
my family treats were normally food. So I guess48 what
I’m doing is actually1 continuing with the tradition. My
mother particularly would often buy me something when
she went shopping and bring it home. And again it was
something normally sweet. I wouldn’t say however that
such treats motivate me. They’re a bit of a reward155 but...
and they make me feel better, that’s for sure, but nothing
really more than that. Although, having said that, when
I am working and doing something that I don’t like very
much, I often set myself a limit so that I’ll reach a certain
stage or perhaps finish and then promise myself that I will
give myself some time, maybe just16 even go for a walk or
something simple like that, but dedicate a little bit of time
to me. In reality though this frequently doesn’t work out187
because I finish later than I plan to because perhaps I’ve -
instead of188 reaching189 a certain point - decided to finish
and it takes me twice120 as long or I’ve completely forgot­
ten that I had to do something else so there’s basically no
free time left and the treat gets forgotten. Receiving treats,
well, yes, I love that too. For me, little presents, I suppose.
Anything, it doesn’t have to be something expensive at all.
What I most like is that someone has actually4 thought
about me and gone out of their way to buy me something.
And I would say that I like giving treats too. I love to see
the other person’s reaction. In fact, I don’t know who’s
more thrilled190 by the treat, the recipient or me. I get such
a warm, fuzzy191 feeling sometimes by going through the
whole process, the buying process, thinking about what to
get the person and right up to192 the giving. •
Tofu Dialogues (15m03s)
Subscribers’ exercise U
IS. Dialogue 1: The Barbecue (8m29s)
Carl (C): Hey, Tony, do you think we’ve got enough burgers
here today for everybody?
Tony (T): I think so. I put Connie in charge of organizing all
this. You know I just told her that you and I'd be manning193
the grill, you know?
C: Yeah, I suppose we’ll just . we ll just throw them onto
168 to hone - make sth. more and more precise
169 moth-------------------------------------------------- ►
170 to make a purchase (make-made-made) - buy
sth.
171 to pick up - (in this context 1 adopt
172 to scold - reprimand
173 from beyond the grave - from the other side
174 abroad - overseas, to foreign countries
175 to bake - make bread
176 loaf of bread (plural‘loaves’) - ------------------
177 rich - (in this context) excessively sweet or
creamy
178 sickly-sweet - rich, excessively sugary
179 cookie (17$ English) - biscuit (UKEnglish)
180 melt-in-your-mouth - that becomes liquid when you eat it
so much so - to such an extent, to such a degree
182 wicked - (in this context) tempting
183 do make - (emphatic) make
184 to achieve sth. - have a triumph
185 to deserve - merit, should have
186 to head - go
187 to work out - (in this context) function, be successful
188 instead of - rather than, as opposed to
189 to reach - get to, arrive at
190 to be thrilled - be excited
191 fuzzy - (in this context) emotive, emotional, loving
192 right up to - (emphatic) until, up to
193 to man sth. - take charge of sth.

plates and stick ’em down154 there next to the Mason jars194 195
of Grandma Bessie’s relish196.
T: Yeah, could do. The thing we don’t know is how people
like their burgers done, you know? I - kind of59 - like mine
medium rare197.
C: Yeah.
T: I think I’m just13 going to do them all medium rare.
C: Well, you might wanna5 do a few well done. Not every­
body likes medium rare.
T: All right.
C: So...
T: Yeah, you know Connie and I are really happy you guys
made it. We haven’t had a barbecue in a long time.
C: Yeah, it’s good to get together... Hey, guys? Guys? Boys?
You wanna5 get down off the shed198 for me? Come down
off the shed! Get... thank you. Yeah, but it’s good. Perfect
, you know. We just got back from that vacation in
timing199200
Bali. Wow!
T: Bali, hey?
C: Yeah. Barbara, she really loved Bali. It’s... that is really
a fantastic place. There’s no vacation like it on... you know,
on earth. I mean', you’re telling me about Yellowstone and...
you know, Yellowstone, geysers and things, but Bali is really
something else.
T: Oh, yeah. How could you afford 1 that?
C: Well, you know if you scrimp201 and save. I’ll tell you what,
it set us back a pretty penny5 ;, but... hey, guys? Guys? Off of
the shed198! Alright? Boys? Come down off the shed. Thank
you.
T: Your boys are getting a bit rambunctious203 there, Carl.
C: Yeah, that’s how they are. But - y’know36 - it did cost a
pretty penny202 but it was worth every cent204, you know?
Just13 the perfect climate... you ought to see the women in
that country. Woo!
T: Yeah, yeah.
C: Sweet!205
T: Yeah, well - y’know36 - this quarter I got... y’know36 -
they promoted me down at the paper plant206.
C: Oh, that’s perfect then. You’ll wanna5 go to Bali. None of
this Yellowstone and Disneyworld crap207. You’ve gotta208 go
and do a real vacation. I’m telling you, man, Bali is the best
vacation we’ve ever done and don’t let anyone tell you differ­
ent. There’s nothing like it.
T: Yeah, it could be. Y’know36, I just spent my... my first
bonus check2"9 on a new car.
C: A new car?
T: Yeah, I got a new Porsche 911.
C: Porsche 911? You’re not going to go on any vacations in
that, are you?
T: No, but the German engineering, it’s incredible. You
know, nothing like that old clunker210 you’ve got.
C: What do you mean “that old clunker”?
T: That station wagon211. I just13 don’t know how you still
drive that station wagon around.
C: Hey, what I pay in repairs on that thing a year, people pay
on leases212 every month.
T: Exactly. I don’t know how Barbara puts up with213 it.
C: Come on, we go on some real vacations. I tell you what,
that’s how she puts up with213 it.
T: Are you watching those sausages214 there?
C: Oh, ow! Ow! Well, yeah. Hey, boys? Get off the shed198!
Get off the shed! Hey, look, you wanna5 stoke215 that fire a
bit there, Tony.
T: The fire is fine, Carl.
C: Oh, well, you know... it’s gotta208 be here all day.
T: I know. I’m in charge here. You’re the sausages; I’m the fire
and the hamburgers.
C: All right. You might wanna5 put some... put a little bit of
rosemary216 on there. That’s a little tip... a little tip for noth­
ing. Put a little rosemary on there, it’ll smoke ’em right up217.
194 to stick ’em down (stick-stuck-stuck) - (colloquial') put them
195 Mason jar------------------------------------
196 relish - sauce (e.g. ketchup)
197 medium rare - lightly cooked
198 shed - small wooden building for tools
199 perfect timing - just the right moment
200 could you afford - were you able to pay for
201 to scrimp - save small sums of money
202 to set s.o. back/cost a pretty penny (set-set-set) -
cost s.o. a lot of money
203 rambunctious - unruly, uncontrollable
204 it was worth every cent - every penny was well spent because
it’s a wonderful place
205 sweet! - great!, excellent!
206 plant - (in this context) factory
207 crap - rubbish, waste of time
208 gotta - (slang) got to
209 check (US English) - cheque (UK English)
210 clunker (US English) - banger (UK English) decrepit car
211 station wagon (US English) - (UK English) estate car, large
automobile with extra space at the back
212 lease - monthly payment on a contract by which you buy sth.
in instalments
215 to put up with sth. (put-put-put) - tolerate
sth.
214 sausages -__________________________
T: I might, I might.
C: So... so, fancy218 car, huh? Porsche 911.
T: Yeah. Oh, yeah.
C: Well, your kids18 might be able to enjoy it. I mean’, I
don’t know how you’ll be able to enjoy it with how much you
gotta208 pay on that thing.
T: Like I said, I got promoted at the paper plant.
C: Yeah, just16 the insurance alone. You gotta208 be crazy!
T: Yeah, yeah. Well, I guess48 it’s better than that old clun­
ker210 you’re driving around.
C: Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. That clunker, I’m telling you, is the
most reliable219 car you’ve ever seen.
T: Uh huh.
C: How many people do you know have a car that’s 20 years
old and you can take it around220 and no problem?
T: Not many, not many. I think you’re the only one.
C: Well, I’ll tell you what, you’re just13 jealous ’cos22 you don’t
have... you don’t get to go on a nice trip to Bali.
T: Yeah, perhaps I am, perhaps I am, Carl. You know that
reminds221 me... are you watching those sausages214?
C: Oh! Ow! Yeah, they’re all right.
T: Alright, alright.
C: They’re not burnt, they’re just13 a little - y’know36 - they’re
golden brown.
T: Alright, so I think the last time we had a barbecue was a
long time ago. Remember that the last time we had a barbe­
cue and I lent you some of my... I actually4 lent you all of my
Led Zeppelin albums. Remember that collection I had? That
nice collection of Led Zeppelin albums I had?
C: Come on, Led Zeppelin. Come on.
T: Yeah, and what happened to them?
C: Yeah, I know. They warped222 in the car ’cos221 left them
in the sun.
T: Yeah, great!
C: But, come on.
T: Swift move223, Carl.
C: But how long ago was that?
T: Still.
C: I mean3, you’ve got all that stuff224 on iTunes now anyway.
T: Yeah, but it’s not the same. It’s not the same as vinyl225.
C: That’s right. You’re always just16 worrying about having
your things.
T: I’ll never forget about that.
C: Yeah, oh, never forget? I’ll tell what I’ll never forget, you
sitting on my hamster and squishing226 it. His eyes popped
out of227 his head.
T: You know that was an accident.
C: Yeah, accident.
T: It was an accident.
C: Yeah, you just13 happened to sit228 right229 on the hamster
cage230. It just13 looked like a chair I guess48.
T: At the moment it did. I don’t think I’m ever going to live
that down231.
C: Nope232. And... well, why don’t you stoke215 the fire? Boys?
Get off the shed198! Get off the shed! I’m not gonna38 tell you
anymore! Gosh233, those kids18 of yours are really something,
man! You’ve gotta208 smack them into shape234, I’ll tell you
what.
T: My kids18? Talk about your kids18, can’t take them
anywhere.
C: What? My kids18? You think my kids are starting that
climbing on the shed198 business?
T: Well, yeah, it was their idea.
C: Oh, come on. Your kids18 are always doing it. Every time
we come here your kids are climbing on the shed198. Got my
kids up there too.
T: Well, the funny235 thing is they never do it when I’m here.
C: Yeah, well, well... and the kids18... your kids when they
come to my house...
T: Oh, yeah, what? What do they do?
215 to stoke - add fuel to, liven up, agitate
216 rosemary - a common herb
2,7 it’ll smoke ’em right up - the smoke will give the meat extra
flavour
218 fancy - ostentatious
219 reliable - dependable, constant
220 to take it around (take-took-taken) - drive it about
221 to remind s.o. - cause s.o. to remember
222 to warp - become deformed
223 swift move - (informal/sarcastic) a really clever thing to do
224 all that stuff - (in this context) all that music
225 vinyl - type of black plastic that records were made out of
226 to squish - (informal) squash, crash
227 to pop out of - be forced from
228 to happen to sit - sit fortuitously
229 right (adv.) - directly
230 cage-------------------------------------------------------
2311 don’t think I’m ever going to live that down - 1
don’t think people will ever forget that I did that
232 nope - (informal) no
233 gosh - (minced oath) God!
234 to smack s.o. into shape - beat s.o. until s/he is
obedient
235 funny - (in this context) curious, strange
236 basement - cellar, underground room
237 to hide (hide-hid-hidden) - conceal oneself, place oneself
122 Think in English • 49
Tapescripts
C: Go down to the basement236 and hide237 in the cardboard
boxes238 and move all the crap239 around, get all covered with
dust240 and then come up and make a mess241 in the rest of
the house right on the white carpet242, right in the living
room.
T: Oh, whoopi-do!
C: What do you mean ‘whoopi-do’? It’s white carpet242.
You’re not gonna38 have kids18 rolling around in the
mildew243 down in the basement236, then come upstairs.
T: Yeah white shag244 carpet from the 70s.
C: White shag.
T: I think you put that carpet in the same time you bought
that car.
C: But it was a good deal245 and it’s lasted246 very well and it
would be perfectly white if it weren’t for your kids18 rolling
around in the mildew243 in my basement236.
T: Well, you know what? I think... why don’t you try a piece
of that sausage? It looks about done to me. You like them a
little bit burnt and crispy247 like that, don’t you?
C: Hey, come on! It’s golden brown.
T: Well, try it. It’s kielbasa248 1 got down at the market.
C: Oh, yeah, Henrietta’s!
T: Yeah.
C: Henrietta’s Meatpacking.
T: It’s good kielbasa, isn’t it?
C: It is good stuff249, you know.
T: Yeah.
C: We ought to do these barbecues a little more often.
T: Yeah, we should. So, tell me a little bit more about your
trip to Bali.
C: Well, it was alright. But you haven’t finished telling me
about that car either.
T: Well, if you want I could take you for a spin250 later.
C: Yeah, that’s a good idea.
16. Dialogue 2: At the Hairdresser’s (6m34s)
Fiona (F): So what... so what happened then, then?
Karen (K): Well, she said she was going to leave him.
F: Oh, no.
K: Yep, after 10 years.
F: 10 years? 10 years.
K: That’s awful, isn’t it? But, of course, he pleaded251.
F: Of course, yeah.
K: Yeah, and said, ‘Oh, I can’t live without you’.
F: I bet252, yeah.
K: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
F; That sounds like my Rob.
K: Yeah, exactly.
F: I’ll tell you. You’ve met my Rob, haven’t you?
K: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
F: Oh, God! He’s a waste of space253.
K: Aren’t they all?
Customer (C): Oh, hello. Excuse me.
K: Oh, hi.
F: Come in, please.
C: Hi. I’m just16 popping in254 very quickly. I don’t know
whether255 you could give me a very quick haircut. I’ve got
a job interview and - y’know36 - I’ve just16 literally got 10
minutes. I’ve gotta208 get home, I’ve gotta208 change my
clothes and I have a job interview. You see my hair’s a bit long
at the moment. It’s a bit straggly256. I’d just13 like a quick...
F: Do you wanna5 take care of that257 then?
K: Yeah, yeah, yeah, fine.
C: Yeah just16 a quick short back and sides, regular haircut.
F: Sit down, sir.
K: It’s a bit of a mess258, isn’t it, Fiona?
F: Let’s put this on you, yeah.
C: Yeah, I know but...
K: Yeah.
C: I’ve got a really important job interview.
out-of-sight
238 cardboard box------------------------- _
239 crap - (in this context) stuff, things
240 dust - dry particles of dirt
241 to make a mess (make-made-made)
create chaos/disorder
242 carpet - (false friend)------------
243 mildew - a type of fungus
244 shag (adj.) - thick, hairy
245 good deal - bargain, intelligent
purchase
246 to last - endure, survive
247 crispy - brittle, crunchy
248 kielbasa - a type of spicy sausage214
from Poland
249 stuff - (in this context) meat, sausage'
250 spin - (colloquial) drive
251 to plead - beg, (in this context) ask her desperately to stay
with him
252 1 bet -1 can imagine, I’m sure
253 to be a waste of space - be useless
254 to pop in - visit
255 whether - (in this context) if
256 straggly - chaotic
257 take care of that - (in this context) cut his hair
258 to be a bit of a mess - be a little chaotic
Tapescripts
K: Yeah, OK. Well, come sit down.
C: Yeah, but are you sure you can do it in 10 minutes?
K: Yeah, yeah, yeah. No problem. No problem at all.
C: Excellent. Oh, fantastic! Thank you so much.
F: I’ll put this away for you, shall I?
K: Yeah, OK. Well, sit down, yeah?
C: Yeah.
K: Were ready?
C: Oh, perfect, yeah.
K: OK, let’s see.
F: I was telling you about my Rob, right?
K: Yeah,yeah.
F: ’Cos22 were you there when he got really drunk that night?
K:Um...
F: No? Do you remember?
K: Oh, yes, that’s right. I was, yeah, yeah.
F: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I had words with him after that,
yeah.
K: Oh, I bet252 you did, yeah.
F: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
K: He was putting on quite a show259, 1 must say.
F: Yeah, I know.
C: Yeah. Oh, sorry. Yeah.
F: So, anyway...
K: Yeah, yeah, right, do go on260.
F: So, well - y’know36 - we went out to the garden - y’know36
- to that barbecue, you know?
K: Um um.
F: And I told him never do this again and, well, he just13 got
sick, he just13 threw up261 all over...
K: Oh, how disgusting262! Oh!
F: Yeah.
C: Yeah, excuse me.
K: Uh, yes?
C: Sorry to interrupt - y’know36 - it’s just13 I’m a bit pressed
for263 time.
K: Oh, oh, oh, sorry, sorry. Yes, of course.
F: A bit grey hair there. You want to trim that out264, don’t
you?
K: Oh, yes, yes. There are. Here we go.
C: Excuse me. Are you cutting the air or are you cutting my
hair? I mean3,1 can’t - y’know36 -...
K: Don’t worry, don’t worry. You’re in good hands. Don’t
worry. It’s coming off where it needs to come off.
F: Anyway, so what happened? Is she... she’s leaving him
then or what?
C: Ow!
K: Oh, oh! I’m sorry. Sorry about that. No, no, no. That’s
just16 a little nick265. Don’t worry. It’ll be fine. It’s not bleed­
ing266 or anything.
F: Don’t lose your head!
K: Oh, just16 a little bit. It’s stopping now. Don’t worry. Sorry
about that.
C: No, no, I’m sorry. I don’t want to complain267.
K: Anyhow268, where were we? Yes, cutting down the
bottom269 here. Let’s get rid of270 that little bit there. Yes, so...
well, she said that she was going to leave him, but the typical
story as I said.
F: Yeah,yeah,yeah.
K: He pleaded251, begged271 and said T can’t live without
you’. And so she took him back, you know? It’s what always
happens, isn’t it?
F: Oh, God! Yeah, I don’t know. She just13... she won’t learn,
will she?
K: No, she won’t. Not at all272.
C: You know I’m...
F: She needs to have a man.
C: I’m sorry to interrupt. You know it’s just16 this job inter­
view is really important. I’ve gotta208 get my hair cut before
I go there.
K: Well, we’re halfway there almost.
C: I know. The trouble is it’s only the left half so far273. It looks
a bit uneven274 at the moment.
K: No, no, no. I’m going to even that up275 right now276. Don’t
you worry, just13 relax and think about your job interview.
Well, you’re probably not going to relax if you think about
your job interview. Think about something else then, OK?
OK, let’s even it up a little bit then.
259 he was putting on quite a show - he made a spectacle of
himself
261 to throw up (throw-threw-thrown) - vomit
262 disgusting - (semi-false friend) repulsive, repugnant
264 to trim sth, out - cut sth. out, eliminate sth.
265 nick - small cut
266 to bleed (bleed-bled-bled) - lose blood (= red liquid typically
in veins and arteries)
267 to complain - protest, criticize
268 anyhow - anyway
269 the bottom - the lowest part (of his hair)
270 to get rid of (get-got-got) - eliminate
271 to beg - ask desperately
272 not at all - (emphatic) in no way
273 so far - until now
F: Talking of job interviews...
K: Yeah.
F: Anyway, this afternoon...
C: Ow! That...
K: You’re a bit sensitive277, aren’t you?
C: Look, I’ve got blood278! There’s blood on my finger.
K: No, that’s from your ear before. That cut’s dried up279 now.
F: Here, I’ll just13 get that cotton wool280. I’ll just mop that
up281.
K: No, this time I haven’t nicked282 you. It’s a little bit red,
but I haven’t nicked you. So, don’t worry.
C: This is very unprofessional.
K: The ear started bleeding again. Can you get a little bit of
cotton wool, perhaps?
F: Yes, I’ll just13... mop that up281, yeah.
K: Yeah, thanks Fiona.
F: So, anyway...
C: But...
F: He went... talking of jobs, he went for this job. I got furi­
ous with him because he went out the night before and he got
really, really drunk.
K: Again?
F: And I was so furious. I nearly283... I nearly... I was so
mad284.
K: It sounds like he’s got a little bit of a drinking problem.
F: A bit, yeah.
C: I’m sorry...
K: Just a second. This is a serious issue285 here.
F: Yeah, yeah.
K: It sounds like he’s got quite a286 drinking problem.
C: But can’t you cut while you listen? You know I’m in a real
rush287, you know?
K: Well, I might nick282 you or something if I do that. So I
don’t want to - y’know36 - I don’t want you bleeding or
anything.
C: You’ve already nipped me twice120.
K: No, no, I nicked you once and that’s actually4 stopped.
No... yes, that has definitely stopped. That ear is fine now.
And, no, I really didn’t nick you down the bottom there
because it’s just16 a bit red. There’s no blood278 or anything.
So, I need to concentrate here ’cos22 otherwise288 1 could do
some damage, you know?
F: Well, I’ll tell you, I had done some damage to him. I mean3
- y’know36,1 mean3 - y’know36 - he complains267 he hasn’t
got any money and then when he goes to get this job and then
he ruins it by - y’know36 - getting drunk and he’s obviously
not going to get the job.
C: Ow! You’ve got me again.
F: I was so mad284.
C: No, you’ve got me again.
K: Oh, you’re very sensitive277, you know?
C: Can’t you ask your friend to read Hello magazine or some­
thing or do something while you cut my hair and just13 very,
very quickly. I mean3, it’s almost there. It’s almost there.
F: Well, isn’t that just13 typical of a man.
K: I know, isn’t it?
F: I mean3 - y’know36 - did he hear my story?
K: Yeah.
C: But I don’t care what kind289 of magazine. No, I’m sorry. I
respect your opinion totally and - y’know36 - I...
F: You’re taking sides290.1 think he’s taking sides.
K: I think so too.
F: You know, he comes in here...
K: He’s probably a drunk as well11, you know?
F: Yeah, well...
K: Probably, yeah.
C: I’m sorry. You know not all men are like that, you know?
K: Oh, aren’t they?
C: You know it’s just16 you’ve been unlucky and - y’know36
K: Typical, defending them.
C: You know it’s partly your fault as well11.1 mean3...
F: Oh!
K: Huh?
C: Well, I didn’t want to put it like that, but - y’know36 - I...
K: What do you mean exactly?
C: Well, it takes two to tango291, doesn’t it? You know, it’s...
K: Out!
274 uneven - asymmetric, irregular
275 to even sth. up - make sth. symmetrical
276 right now - immediately
277 sensitive - (in this context) delicate
278 blood - red liquid typically in veins and arteries
279 to dry up - (in this context) stop bleeding, form a scab
280 cotton wool - soft white absorbent material
281 to mop that up - (in this context) absorb the blood and clean
the cut
282 to nick - cause a little cut, cut slightly
283 nearly - almost
284 mad - (in this context) angry, furious
285 issue - (in this context) question, matter
286 quite a - a reasonably serious
287 to be in a rush - be in a hurry
288 otherwise - if not
289 kind - type, sort
122 Think in English • 50
C: Well, but you can’t leave me like this!
K: Oh, yes I can.
F: I think it’s a great improvement.
C: With my hair sticking up like this? It’s just16 I’ve got a
bleeding ear...
F: Yeah, good luck with the interview. That’s what I say.
K: That's right, yeah.
F: You deserve "5 it.
K: Yeah. Out you go2'2.
C: I didn't mean to say that.
F: Poking -,. _r nose in our business293.
C: I didn't mean to say that.
K: No, no, no. Out!
F: I can tell you’re disapproving.
C: Look I’m going to complain-’ I'm going to phone the...
the police or someone.
F: Just remind me of my role
K: You phone them.
F: Yeah.
K: I think we have to start up an all-female salon, don t you?
C: This is...
F: Yes, I think so too actually1, yeah.
K: Yeah, yeah.
C: I don't know what kind289 of clients you’re going to have.
I’m gonna '...
K: Well, they won’t be male295 and they won’t be obnox­
ious ’ like vou are. Out you go292!
C: I... well .I’m gonna38 complain267! •
17. Picture Description (3ml0s)
Commentary: Listen to the following description of
the pictures on p, 42.
Examiner ■ ,e vou to compare and contrast these two
photos.
Examinee: OK. well, the first picture has... well, actu­
ally4, first I m going to describe in general. Both of these
pictures have men :n them. One, in picture one, there’s an
older mar. m - actually4 standing up and he has a cane297
in his hand. And in picture two there’s a younger man;
he’s prora? :s 40s or 50s; he’s also standing. Both
pictures a e : ■■■ statues that look like they’re from Thai­
land. Th-. :ture one is-like17-a... has an animal­
shape bods . ? ' ?.e head is - sort of17 - like a human type
of head ■■ g air. It - sort of7 - reminds me of a type
of ancient lion-type figure. In picture two there’s also a
statuebu: .: - : <ems more like one of those typical Thai
type of statue' that look like dragons. The man in picture
two is actually leaning against298 the statue and has his
hand on c n, : tre ears. In the first picture the old man is
standing r.ea - : ?.e statue but not exactly really close to it.
The difference between the two pictures is that in picture
one you has e more angle of what’s happening in the back­
ground. There are actually4 people in the background.
There’s a strem.:ght and some pigeons299 on the ground
and some steps In picture two you only see the man that’s
pretty close up ' : he’s wearing a blue sweater and in the
background sou can only see some red, something red
behind it but • _ don't really... you can’t really figure out
what it is. if it - -ome sort42 of fabric301 or maybe a build­
ing that's pamted. And basically both pictures you can tell
that they’re out on a street and it’s daylight.
Examiner: Ar, '. re< ing photos accidental or is photog­
raphy really ar. ar: form?
Examinee: 11 • : nere are you can apply302 both. It can
either be accidental - t s also a form... an art form. There
are pictures, wonderful pictures that are accidental, that
just13 (on the spur of the moment 03 the photographer
just13 sees something and takes a picture of it and others
you can actually4 tell that there’s been a study behind it
and normally those tend to be - sort of, like33 - land­
scapes304. •
18. Key Words (lm27s)
Commentary: In the magazine the most difficult
words are printed in green phrases. These are grouped
together on p. 42. Listen to them and then practise repeat­
ing the sentences. •
290 to take sides (take-took-taken) - be partisan, be partial
291 it takes two to tango - both sides in a conflict are usually
partially responsible for it
292 out you go leave now
293 to poke one’s nose into s.o’s business - interfere in s.o’s
private affairs
294 just remind me of my role! - you can’t tell me what to do
293 male - (in this context) men
296 obnoxious - offensive, insulting
297 cane - flexible walking stick
298 to lean against (lean-leant-leant) - recline against, lean on
299 pigeon--------------------------------
300 close-up - near to the camera
301 fabric - (falsefriend) textile
302 to apply - (in this context) accept
303 on the spur of the moment - in the instant
304 landscape - panoramic picture of countryside
 YEAR VIII

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