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 FROM THE EDITOR

Time to learn —
and dream

Überall,
d
täglich un
rund u m
die Uhr.

Weiterbildung –

I
t’s time to refocus. That, at least, has been the lesson assessment ganz einfach da,
I’ve learned from the past months. Living in a , Einschätzung

more confined world has made me reassess what confine

wo Sie sind.
Titelillustration: Anja Stiehler-Patschan/Jutta Fricke Illustrators; Editorial: Anja Stiehler-Patschan/Jutta Fricke Illustrators, Gert Krautbauer

is important to me. I have made a similar assess­ , einschränken,

begrenzen
ment here in the magazine. What language is essential for
you to learn? The result is our “English for now” feature. reassess
To make this learning experience as realistic as possible,
,  neu einschätzen, neu Unsere digitalen Trainings-
bewerten
our author Vanessa Clark created a German family, the formate für Ihren Erfolg:
refocus
Naumanns, and tasked them with using English in a way
that, we hope, is close to your own language needs. Join
,  sich neu konzentrieren, • Einzel- und Gruppen-
neu ausrichten
the Naumann family on page 38. remote
sprachtraining im virtuellen
In our Travel feature, we’re going to whisk you off to , abgelegen Klassenraum
remote island destinations. I love learning about new retreat
places and, this time, I discovered that, in addition to the ,  Refugium, Paradies • E-Learning-Plattform
Channel Islands off the coast of northern France, there whisk sb. off • Einzelsprachtraining per
is another group of islands with the same name that be­ ,  jmdn. entführen
longs to California. “Island retreats” begins on page 24. Telefon oder Skype
Finally, I invite you to take a look at our new pronunci­
• Blended-Learning-Lösungen
ation page, Phonetic Fun. Here, we list words in this issue
that you might find hard to pronounce with their pho­ • Online Live Seminare
netic symbols. We also explain the sounds represented
by less common phonetic symbols. • Virtuelle Programme für
Kinder und Jugendliche

INEZ SHARP, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

i.sharp@spotlight-verlag.de

www.berlitz.de
EDITORIAL
 Improve your English

Spotlight plus
Practise the language and
grammar of Spotlight with
the exercise booklet plus.
For the pages in the
magazine marked with
this symbol PLUS there
are additional exercises
in plus.

Spotlight Audio
Enjoy interviews and

24 travel stories and try

the exercises on the
60-minute CD/download.
Island Look for this symbol
AUDIO in the magazine.

retreats
M   + EINFACH BESSER ENGLISCH IN THE CLASSROOM
EINFACH BESSER ENGLISCH Spotlight

7 / 2020
7
—
20

SOCIETY The critics’ choice • LANGUAGE English for now • TRAVEL Island retreats
in the classroom
Essential words
and phrases
you can use today

As most of us are cancelling or

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7

CH sfr 13,90
—
Great British From America
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20

Teachers: this six-page

Contents

TITLE LANGUAGE WORK BASED ON TIME LEVEL The show must go on…

rescheduling our holiday plans

Dear Colleagues
Words of Proverbs, short Proverb 15 EMA
…even in these challenging times. So, we’re back
advice dialogues (p. 66)
this issue with fresh ideas and activities: a proverb
Guess my Describing pictures, Photos 15 EMA warmer (p. 1), planning a barbecue (p. 2), “gram-

supplement will
picture asking questions (pp. 6 & 23) marizing” a text (p. 3) and an idiom board game
(copy file). In “Talking teaching”, we are delight-
Let’s braai! Barbecue vocabulary, Vocabulary Hw, MA ed to introduce Armin Ritschny, who has been a

for this year, we invite you

speaking (pp. 46– 47) 45–60 Helen Doron master franchisor since 1999. Armin
told us that the biggest challenge in his job is find-
Keep your Building a dialogue, Everyday English 60 M
ing enough teachers. Turn to page 5 to learn more.
distance drilling new (pp. 48–49)
expressions Cheryl Khan-Stock

provide great ideas for

teachers@spotlight-verlag.de
And the like* Idioms with “like”, Spoken English Hw, 45 M
board game (p. 54)

to take a virtual trip to lovely

A terrible “Grammarizing” In the Spotlight 30–45 A
disease a text, writing (p. 7)
Geschäftsführerin: Verlag und Redaktion:
Malgorzata Schweizer Spotlight Verlag GmbH
Dignity Close listening, In the Spotlight 15 M Chefredakteurin: Kistlerhofstr. 172
gowns vocabulary-building (p. 7) Inez Sharp (V.i.S.d.P.) 81379 München

classroom activities
Autorin: Deutschland
Cheryl Khan-Stock Tel. +49(0)89/95467707
INTERVIEW Armin Ritschny Redaktion: Fax +49(0)89/95467708

remote islands around the

Petra Daniell, www.spotlight-online.de
REVIEWS English File (elementary; 4th edition), Activities for Cooperative
Michele Tilgner (frei) Druck:
Learning Gestaltung: MedienSchiff Bruno
SERVICE www.esltower.com Nerina Wilter (frei) 22113 Hamburg
COPY FILE *Photocopiable material for the exercise “And the like” Anzeigen und Kooperationen:
Iriet Yusuf CCPAP-Nr. 0220 U 92620

based on the magazine.

© 2020 Spotlight Verlag, auch
SHORT WARM-UP für alle genannten Autoren,
A2 B1-B2 C1-C2 ACTIVITY Fotografen und Mitarbeiter.

English-speaking world.
EASY MEDIUM ADVANCED Words of advice
Language work: Proverbs, • Write these six proverbs on the board: • Read through the above proverbs as a

Free for all teachers who

short dialogues Every cloud has a silver lining. The grass
Preparation: None is always greener on the other side of the
Materials: “A watched pot fence. All that glitters is not gold. When in
never boils” (page 66) Rome, do as the Romans do. Don’t judge
Time: 15 minutes a book by its cover. A watched pot never
boils.
• Elicit the definition of “proverb”. (A well-
known saying that contains wisdom, truth
class. Briefly discuss their meaning and
see whether students can come up with an
equivalent in their own language.
• Call on students to create short dialogues
that incorporate one of the proverbs.
• Can the class come up with proverbs of
their own for learning a language? For ex-
ample: Two ears are better than one. Learn

subscribe to Spotlight.
or advice about life.) to swim before you dive.

7/2020 Spotlight 1 

38
English for now
E

Where and when do you use English day to day?

In the first of our new three-part series, we introduce
you to the Naumann family and invite you to join
them as they speak and write English in everyday
situations that might be familiar to you, too.
For more information and exercises, see:
www.spotlight-online.de
www.facebook.com/spotlightmagazine

ABOUT THE LANGUAGE LEVELS

The levels of difficulty in Spotlight magazine
correspond roughly to The Common European
Framework of Reference for Languages:

EASY MEDIUM ADVANCED

A2 B1–B2 C1–C2

CONTENTS 7/2020 Spotlight 5 

 C
ontents
Issue 7, 2020
6 I n the Spotlight  E  M  A  68 Eccentric Life  M
News and views from around
the English-speaking world
Around Oz  A 
9 
Peter Flynn writes to us from
down under
10 Peggy’s Place  M  45 Just Judi  M  US
Visit Spotlight’s very own London
pub
11 Britain Today  E  46 Vocabulary  M  +
Colin Beaven takes a humorous
look at Britain and the Brits
18 History  A
E. M. Forster, one of Britain’s
greatest novelists, died 50 years ago
21 Press Gallery  A  50 The Grammar Page  E  +
Comment from the English-
speaking world
22 The Supper Club  M
Bubble and squeak: the perfect
way to deal with leftovers
30 Science  A
Provocative but true? A doctor
proclaims the genetic superiority
of women
34 Short Story  M 
“The ghost of Ballyfeckit Hall”
37 I Ask Myself  A  US  questions
Amy Argetsinger on eating and
shopping differently during the
coronavirus crisis
44 American Life  M  US  +
Ginger Kuenzel about life
in small-town America
62 A Day in My Life  M    +
Meet Norman McCloskey,
a photographer from Ireland
64 The Lighter Side  E
Jokes and cartoons
4  Spotlight 7/2020
66 Feedback, Proverb, Next Issue  M
Your letters to Spotlight, a useful
proverb and upcoming topics
 
American heiress and art collector
Peggy Guggenheim
17 Sprachseiten
 
Judith Gilbert’s personal view
on the English language
Learn the language of a different
topic in each issue
48 Everyday English  M  +
Brush up on your conversational
English
Master key points of English
grammar
51 L
 anguage Cards  E  M  A
Pull out and practise
53 Lost in Translation  A
A fun look at challenging words
54 Spoken English  M  + 
Colourful idioms and useful
Foto: Franz-Marc Frei; Illustrationen: Anja Stiehler-Patschan/Jutta Fricke Illustrators; Wachiraphorn/iStock.com
phrases
55 English at Work  M    +
12
Ken Taylor answers your
Critics’
choice
56 The Puzzle Pages  E  M  A
Find the words and win a prize
M
58 The Basics  E  +
A dialogue in easy English Which books to
read? Which films
59 Little Lights to watch? We have
Learn English with your kids insider tips for
a summer spent
61 NEW Phonetic Fun  E  M  A at home.
How to pronounce words from
this issue
CONTENTS
 IN THE SPOTLIGHT
NEWS AND VIEWS

Twiggy teaching
people about water
safety — but is it OK
to use wild animals
for events like this?

CANADA

Twiggy makes waves

ADVANCED

Hear the name Twiggy and you’ll think — was criticized because local laws forbid life jacket 
of the 1960s model Lesley Lawson, but it the use of rodents for entertainment. , Rettungsweste,

was another Twiggy who made headlines
in February this year: a water-skiing
squirrel performing at the Vancouver
Boat Show. The event in which Twiggy
appears — described as “an educational
life-jacket and water-safety presentation”
Now, Vancouver officials are investi­ Schwimmweste
gating the show, which organizers claim rodent 
, Nagetier
has been performed for 35 years in a
variety of locations. While Twiggy was squirrel 
, Eichhörnchen
allowed on the water in Vancouver, her
future as a performer is now in question.

THE NEWCOMER

Ncuti Gatwa
Fotos: imago/ZUMA Press; ddp; Angel-Lina, Dennis Cox/iStock.com

EASY

Age: 27 role as a homosexual black

From: Born in Rwanda and
brought up in Scotland
Background: Gatwa’s family
left Rwanda in 1994 because of
the mass killings there and went
to live in Scotland when he was
two years old.
Famous because: In 2019,
Gatwa made headlines for his
teenager in the popular Netflix
original series Sex Education.
Quote: The actor told the film
website IndieWire: “It’s really
nice to have a gay character, a
forefront: be at the ~ 
black character, be at the fore- ,  hier: eine Schlüssel-
front of this story on a show like rolle spielen
this that has the reach it does reach 
on Netflix.” , Reichweite

6  Spotlight 7/2020 IN THE SPOTLIGHT

 I used to be
the loneliest
UNITED STATES
man at the
Remember to farmer’s
drink your tea! market.
ADVANCED  US

According to a recent study, people whose diet includes a lot of

tea, fruit and vegetables are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s
because these foods contain an antioxidant called flavonol.
Dr. Thomas Holland of Rush University, Chicago, is the author of
the study. He told the online journal Neurology: “With the elderly
population increasing worldwide, any decrease in the number
of people with this terrible disease, or even delaying it for a few
years, could have an enormous benefit on public health.” Even Steve Sando, founder of bean supplier
among people who have suffered a stroke or heart attack, those Rancho Gordo, told The New York Times
that he is in shock over the sudden
who consumed more flavonol-rich foods were better protected stockpiling of beans by Amercians in
against Alzheimer’s. response to the coronavirus pandemic.

diet  stroke  stockpiling 

,  hier: Ernährungsweise , Schlaganfall , Hamstern

BRITAIN

Bottom line
MEDIUM  AUDIO

Over the past weeks and months, we have seen many images of dignity 
the inside of hospitals, and the clothing needed by nurses and , Würde
doctors to protect themselves against the coronavirus has been expose 
discussed at length. But what about the gowns that patients , bloßstellen
usually wear — the ones that are open at the back and often gown 
show more than is necessary? At the beginning of this year, ,  hier: Kittel
health experts started a campaign called #downwiththegown, NHS (National Health
asking NHS hospitals to stop using them. This style of gown Service) UK 
has been worn in hospitals for 100 years and is often called the ,  staatlicher Gesund-
heitsdienst
“dignity gown”. However, as Dr David Oliver wrote in The BMJ,
this gown can add stress to the patient experience in hospital,
as many people feel exposed in it. While the gown can be useful
during an operation, it seems its days are numbered, and many
think it’s time to find kinder clothing for hospital stays.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT 7/2020 Spotlight 7 

 MIDDLE EAST

There’s
help on
Sesame
Street
MEDIUM 

Sesame Street has been making
children smile since 1969. But the
children’s programme doesn’t
always deal with light-hearted
themes. It also aims to make dif-
ficult topics easier for children to
understand. A new show has re-
cently been started for displaced
refugee children in Syria, Jordan,
Iraq and Lebanon. Three new
Muppets, called Basma, Jad and
Ma’zooza, should help the chil-
dren to process traumatic experi-
ences they may have suffered.
These topics are often broken
down and presented through in-
dividual feelings the children can
identify with. “When looking at
fear we have an episode where
Basma is scared of the dark. That
is a good way to talk about being
afraid because so many children
are scared of the dark,” Scott
Cameron, executive producer at
Sesame Workshop, told The Wash-
ington Post. The Arabic-language
programme Ahlan Simsim — mean-
ing “Welcome Sesame” — will be
available on YouTube and on chil-
dren’s TV in the region.

diSplaced  executive producer  Scared: be ~ 

, heimatvertrieben , auSführende(r) Produzent(in) , AngSt haben

WHO EXACTLY IS

Lucy Worsley?
EASY

History lovers in the UK know Lucy
Worsley. She often presents tele­
vision programmes such as the re-
cent three-part documentary series
Royal History’s Biggest Fibs. Worsley,
who was born in Reading, south-
east England, in 1973, left New
College, Oxford, with a BA first-
class honours degree in ancient and
modern history. Her first job was as
a historic house curator at Milton
Manor. She described her job there
to the BBC: “I would give guided
tours, occasionally feed the llamas,
and look for important pieces of pa-
per that my boss, Anthony, had lost.”
— mostly, but not always, British
history. Worsley has taught us about
Queen Elizabeth I, the story of
English food and the history of
dance. Usually dressed for televi-
sion in a colourful coat or dress, she
sometimes wears clothes of the era
she is presenting. Worsley told The
Guardian that her favourite outfit so
far has been the 1920s flapper dress,
which represented freedom and in-
dependence and “is very good for
eating in because it’s loose and un-
restricted”.
ancient  flapper ifml. 
The historian is currently chief ,  alt, antik ,  junge selbstbewusste
curator at Historic Royal Palaces. Frau in den 1920er Jahren
BA first-class honours
Fotos: dr; ddp images

Since then, Worsley has worked She has also written two books for degree  UK manor 
as a historian, an author and a cu- children: Eliza Rose and My Name Is ,  Bachelor-Grad mit ,  Gutshof, Herrenhaus
rator. In 2011, she presented the Victoria. Several of her television Auszeichnung
unrestricted 
first of many TV series on history series can be seen on YouTube. ,  nicht einengend

8  Spotlight 7/2020 Texts by MELITA CAMERON-WOOD and TALITHA LINEHAN IN THE SPOTLIGHT
 AROUND OZ

Morrison’s
missteps
Der australische Premierminister hat in diesem
Jahr schon viele Fehler gemacht – und kann nur
hoffen, dass ihm die zweite Hälfte des Jahres 2020
nicht noch mehr böse Überraschungen beschert.
ADVANCED  AUDIO

I
n May of last year, Australia’s conservative Prime
Minister Scott Morrison pulled off a remarkable
one-seat election win, but little has gone right since.
After his rushed return from his disastrous Hawai-
ian holiday in December, taken just as the east coast
of Australia had begun to burn, the situation got even
worse. Clumsy attempts to offer comfort to victims
and firefighters were met with shouts of “F*** off!”
and “You’re an idiot!” — beamed all around the world.
His denial of climate change as even a partial cause of
the apocalyptic fires was met with global mockery.
Morrison’s response to Covid-19, the first world
leader to call it a pandemic, was decisive and better
“crisis” leadership. He listened to the experts, formed
a national cabinet — including all six state premiers
— and effectively locked down the country on the ad-
vice of national and state chief medical officers. The
A$ 200 billion economic stimulus package, house-
hold income support and a freeze on tenant evictions
were scripted as “saving lives and livelihoods”.
This was a huge change for Morrison, who had
been obsessed with the economic purity of budget
surpluses and small government. He had spent the
last decade endlessly criticizing former Labor Prime
Minister Kevin Rudd’s massive economic bailout,
sbayram, fpm/iStock.com; privat
potentially all were illegal because they had been de-
termined by the PM’s then sports minister.
Worse still, contrary to the advice of Sports Aus-
tralia, which assessed the applications, decisions
were based on colour-coded (by political party)
spreadsheets of marginal seats the government
wanted to win. Different versions of these were sent
backwards and forwards to the PM’s office every day.
This does not pass what we call the pub “sniff test”,
important in a country where voting is compulsory.
When parliament resumes, the Senate inquiries
into this affair will last for months. Ministers and
top bureaucrats can expect to be grilled by powerful
committees.
Like rusted-on Trump voters, though, the deeper
poll numbers show that Morrison’s missteps have
not done as much damage in his hard-conservative
base as was expected. The evangelical PM has an
enormous job ahead and should pray that there will
be no more disasters before the 2022 election.
bailout  marginal seat UK, Aus. 
, Rettungsschirm ,  Wahlbezirk mit knappem
Wahlergebnis
beam 
, ausstrahlen mockery 

which had helped the country to avoid a recession billion 

, Gespött

during the global financial crisis of 2007–08. , Milliarde(n) scathing 

Before corona, his approval rating had dropped to , vernichtend
clumsy 
40 per cent. It’s now probably around 50 per cent, but , unbeholfen script 
there’s little public trust in the political class. , beschreiben
economic stimulus package 
That’s hardly surprising given the huge politi- , Konjunkturpaket sniff test 
cal scandal that broke between the bushfires and , Schnüffeltest
PETER FLYNN is a grant 
public-relations Covid-19. A scathing report by the National Audit , Zuwendung spreadsheet 
consultant and Office concluded that A$ 100 million in sports grants , Tabelle
grill sb. ifml. 
social commenta-
had been splashed around during last year’s election ,  jmdn. in die Mangel nehmen tenant eviction 
tor who lives in
campaign. It showed that more than 40 per cent , Mietwohnungs-Zwangs­
Perth, Western ineligible 
räumung
Australia. of the taxpayer-funded grants were ineligible and , unzulässig

AROUND OZ 7/2020 Spotlight 9 

 BRITAIN TODAY
Home game
Wie leben eigentlich andere so? Es gibt ganz
verschiedene Wege, das herauszufinden – und
unser Kolumnist findet sie alle unterhaltsam.
EASY  AUDIO
I
n normal times, it’s one of life’s pleasures to be nosy.
And if you’re a plumber, like a friend of ours who’s
been working in a rather posh holiday home, you
have an unfair advantage. You automatically get to
see homes that don’t belong to you. The owners of
this holiday home even showed him around their
main home when he went there to hand them his
bill. Needless to say, it was even posher.
Posher still is the house in London where another
friend of ours, an electrician, has been working. He
usually has pictures on his phone to record what he’s
done. Not this time. “They’re the sort of people who
might kill you if you took photos,” he explained.
That does sound extreme, even for London. What
if you’re naturally nosy but don’t earn your living
from home improvements? Even if you try working
for Deliveroo, you get to see little more than the coat
hooks in people’s hallways.
The answer might be to visit IKEA. I doubt it sup-
plied much to the homes that our friends have been
working in, but it does supply almost everyone else.
Fotos: Aufa Van Java, urbanbuzz/iStock.com; privat
So, why knock on doors when you can just take a trip
to everyone’s favourite Swedish playground?
I say “playground” in case the thought of IKEA
makes anyone nervous. Once you’re inside, it is,
after all, hard to find your way out. Just when you
think you’re nearing the exit, you find yourself back
where you started. But that’s not unlike a game of
Snakes and Ladders.
Then again, with so much Scandi noir on TV and
bestseller lists, you might still feel uneasy. Could an
innocent afternoon’s Nordic shopping turn into a
COLIN BEAVEN
is a freelance scene from the The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo?
writer. He lives Think of it as three-dimensional Cluedo. In its
and works in
original format, which has done so much to help
Southampton on
British families on rainy Sunday afternoons since it
the south coast
of England. was invented by a man from Birmingham back in the
BRITAIN TODAY
1940s, this board game offers the murder suspect a
classic choice of locations and weapons: did Professor
Plum kill his victim in the study with a candlestick,
or in the billiard room with a revolver?
A Scandi noir version based at IKEA might update
this to a Billy bookcase in the living room or an arti-
ficial cactus in the market area. And the purpose of
the game? To identify the murderer before Wallander
beats you to it.
A really fun game to play at IKEA would be Snap!
In the original card game, which can get very loud,
the cards are placed face down in piles. When the two
players turn over the same sort of card — two sixes,
two queens and so on — they both shout “snap”. The
one who shouts it first wins all the cards that have
been turned over.
Players could cut out pictures from IKEA cata-
logues of products they already own. I’m sure there
would be cries of “snap” as soon as they began turn-
ing over the pictures.
Silly games played in shops aren’t as much fun as
being nosy in people’s houses, but they’re probably
less dangerous, especially if you’re tempted to use the
camera on your phone to take the occasional snap.
Cluedo  Scandi noir  ifml.
, Detektivspiel , Skandinavienkrimi
Deliveroo  UK Snakes and Ladders 
,  brit. Essens-Lieferdienst , Leiterspiel
hallway  Snap! 
, Diele ,  Schnipp-Schnapp!, Spitz, pass
auf!
nosy 
, neugierig suspect 
, Verdächtige(r)
plumber 
, Installateur tempted: be ~ to do sth. 
,  versucht sein, etw. zu tun
posh 
,  nobel, vornehm
7/2020 Spotlight 11 

Peggy, die Wirtin von Spotlights ganz eigenem Pub in London,
bereitet sich auf eine hochinteressante Konversation mit ihrem Mann Phil vor.
Sean
George: Can you move the screen a bit?
I can’t see you.
Peggy: Is that better?
George: Not much, but at least I can see
it’s you. Now, tell me about Phil.
Peggy: I need to make myself a strong cup
of tea first.
George: It sounds like it’s going to be an
interesting tale. I think I’m going to have
a proper drink.
Peggy: You could have come into the pub.
George: Call me paranoid, but two of my
colleagues spent weeks in intensive care,
so I’m not taking any risks.
Peggy: Why is the kettle taking so long?
George: You know what they say: a
watched kettle...
Peggy: Ah, it’s boiling at last. So, it all
began when I sent Phil out to get some
staples — you know, pasta, rice and so
on. It was just before lockdown and I’d
already sent Sean home.
George: Have you heard from him, by the
way?
Peggy: Yeah, he’s fine. He applied to be a
helper for the NHS, and when they found
out that he can cook, they asked him to be
part of a catering team.
George: But he is coming back, isn’t he?
Peggy: Yes, of course. But right now, there
isn’t much for him to do here. So, I just
told him I’d get in touch when things pick
up again.
George: Helen texted me to say she’s in-
credibly busy and that just trying to calm
her patients is a full-time job.
10  Spotlight 7/2020
PEGGY’S PLACE
Phil’s story
Von INEZ SHARP
MEDIUM  AUDIO
Phil & Peggy Helen George Jane
“Three hours later, George: Ouch!
Peggy: Yup — a broken leg, two broken
Phil’s still not home” ribs and some serious concussion, just
because he was ogling Diane.
Peggy: I wonder how she’s doing. I really George: He must have felt pretty stupid.
wouldn’t want to have been in the nurs- Peggy: Oh, he doesn’t know that I know
ing profession these past few months. what happened. He told me he’d tripped
George: I’m sure she’ll get back to us on the pavement.
soon. Now, tell me about Phil. That’s really George: Perhaps he did.
why I’m calling. Peggy: No, the driver of the car told me
Peggy: So, anyway, Phil goes off with his that Phil stepped out backwards on to the
shopping list and, three hours later, he’s road, while smiling at an attractive blonde
still not home. Of course, I’m getting woman.
really worried by this point. He’s left his George: Are you going to talk to him?
phone here, so I can’t call him. Peggy: Oh, yes, I’m going to talk to him.
George: I know he’s always forgetting it.
He’s left it in my car twice.
Peggy: Then this policeman turns up.
Says there’s been an accident and that
Phil’s been badly injured, but that I can’t concussion  ogle 
come to the hospital because of corona. , Gehirnerschütterung ,  anglotzen, angaffen
George: All I know is that he had a head easy: ~ on the eyes  ifml. pick up 
injury. Was it that bad? ,  hübsch anzusehen ,  sich erholen
Peggy: Put it this way: there’s definitely get back to sb.  rib 
something wrong with his head. ,  sich bei jmdm. melden , Rippe
George: How do you mean? glad: give sb. a ~ eye  ifml. staples 
Peggy: It turns out my husband was mak- ,  jmdm. schöne Augen , Grundnahrungsmittel
ing eyes at our new neighbour, Diane. machen
text sb. 
George: The one who lives in the flat intensive care  ,  jmdm. eine SMS
, Intensivstation schreiben
above you?
Peggy: Yes, her! kettle  trip 
,  Wasserkocher; siehe , stolpern
George: I’ve seen her around. She is very
auch Seite 66
easy on the eyes. way: put it this ~ 
Peggy: Apparently! So, Phil is busy giving NHS (National Health ,  sagen wir mal so
Service)  UK
her the glad eye and steps out in front of ,  staatlicher Gesund-
a car. heitsdienst
PEGGY’S PLACE
 Fotos: XXX

12  Spotlight 5/2020 TRAVEL

 SOCIETY

Critics’ choice:
films and books to
enjoy this summer
MEDIUM

Was lesen und schauen sich die Insider diesen Sommer an?
LORRAINE MALLINDER hat sich mit der Buchkritikerin Lucy Scholes
und der Filmkritikerin Clarisse Loughrey unterhalten, um für Sie,
liebe Spotlight-Leser, die besten Empfehlungen zusammenzustellen.

Lucy Scholes: a life in reading “There’s something weirdly comforting alliance  foremost 
Lucy Scholes in reading about people trying to live , Verbindung; , führend
hier: Heiratsbund
writes about their lives in times of strife,” says Scholes, soothing 
books for The one of Britain’s foremost literary critics. backdrop  ,  beruhigend, tröstend
,  Kulisse, Hintergrund
Telegraph, the In The Balkan Trilogy, a young British cou­ strife 
Finan­c ial Times, ple flee to Bucharest in 1939, just after betrayal  ,  Konflikt, Kampf
, Verrat
The New York Times Germany invades Poland. They have uneasy 
and The New York known each other for only a month. bravery  , unsicher
,  Mut, Tapferkeit
Review of Books. The trilogy follows an uneasy alliance vast 
Fotos: frimages/iStock.com; courtesy of Lucy Scholes

She also writes a
monthly column
for The Paris Review.
In times of uncertainty, there’s comfort
to be found in books, but Lucy Scholes’s
current choice of reading is far from what
most of us would think of as soothing.
In the middle of a global pandemic, she’s
relaxing on her sofa with a book set in the
chaos of wartime.
between two imperfect beings who face dues  , riesig
, rechtmäßig
everyday challenges in a collapsing world. weirdly  ifml.
Zu­stehendes
, seltsam
Vast and complex, the three novels in this
epic — later followed by The Levant Trilogy
— describe the bravery and betrayals of
war away from the battlefield. Author Ol­
ivia Manning was excellent at portraying
the lives of individuals against a panora­
mic backdrop, but she never received her
literary dues during her lifetime.

SOCIETY 7/2020 Spotlight 13 

 Scholes, who always reads three or four bound up 
novels at the same time, has also been , verbunden

reading The Bass Rock by rising star Evie caddish  ifml.

Wyld. Set on the Scottish coast, the book , niederträchtig,
schurkisch
weaves together the stories of three wom­
en across different time frames. It opens clandestine 
, heimlich
with Viviane, who is mourning her father,
sorting through the family house before desire 
, Wunsch
it is sold. Jumping back through the dec­
ades, we meet Ruth, who once lived there humiliation 
, Demütigung,
with her widower husband and his two Er­niedrigung A love story defined by Motherhood seen from a
sons. Going back even further, to the 18th memories and guilt new perspective
hustler  N. Am. ifml.
century, Sarah is running for her life after , Stricher(in)
having been accused of being a witch.
mourn sb. 
All three women face a common ,  um jmdn. trauern
struggle against the men who wish to
narrator 
control them. In a recent interview, the , Erzähler(in)
Anglo-Australian author said she was in­
scar 
terested in how women have historically , Narbe
been told “to ignore their sixth sense”.
vanish 
Scholes particularly enjoys Wyld’s de­ , verschwinden
scriptions of people in the natural world.
weave 
Scholes’s all-time favourite book, , weben
which she heartily recommends to read­
widower 
ers of Spotlight, also has a strong female , Witwer; hier: ver-
focus. The Weather in the Streets is about the witwet One house, three women When outsiders change
and their stories a community
pain and passion of a clandestine love
affair. When Olivia meets the caddish
Rollo, years after falling for him at her first
dance, she enters a world of secret phone
calls and short liaisons in hotel rooms.
Written by Rosamond Lehmann in the
mid-1930s, the novel was decades ahead
of its time, covering taboo subjects such
as abortion. “It’s about a love affair gone
bad,” says Scholes. “For the time, it was
really radical. It’s so evocative. I could go
back to it again and again.”
More recently, Scholes was impressed An epic tale of love in A secret love affair in the
by What Belongs to You (2016) by Garth times of war 1930s and its fallout
Greenwell, another book on the myster­
ies of the heart. This hit debut novel takes
us into the world of a gay American teach­
er in Bulgaria who pays young hustler
Mitko for sex. As their relationship inten­
sifies, the narrator struggles with the fear
and shame he left behind in his native
Kentucky. In this foreign land, he is still
defined by old scars, his desires bound up
with humiliation and hiding.
There’s some great writing to look
forward to in the months to come,
Twin sisters living very
though a number of releases will cer­ different lives
tainly be delayed. The Vanishing Half by

14  Spotlight 7/2020 SOCIETY

 African-American writer Brit Bennett is Clarisse Loughrey: cabin 
“a really gripping story” of two black twin a passion for film ,  Blockhütte, Ferien-

sisters who choose to live in different Clarisse Loughrey hütte

worlds, with different racial identities. is chief film critic emerge 
, herauskommen
While one remains in her Southern home for The Independ-
town, the other, who passes for white, ent and a regular gender relations 
, Geschlechterverhältnis
runs away and marries a white man — her stand-in for
husband knowing nothing of her past. Mark Kermode gesture 
, Geste
Also high up on Scholes’s list is Summer- on BBC Radio 5
water by Sarah Moss, whom she regards Live’s programme grant 
,  gewähren, zugestehen
as Britain’s best contemporary writer. “Kermode and
For anyone trying to understand mod­ Mayo”. gripping 
,  spannend, fesselnd
ern Britain, this is a book you must read. If life were lived as a musical, we’d
Set in a Scottish cabin park, each chapter all be putting our hearts on our sleeves happy-go-lucky 
,  sorglos, unbekümmert
visits a different family as hostility grows and singing about how we feel inside.
towards a noisy outsider family. The nov­ “Imagine if we could have that in real heavy-handed 
, plump
el deals with issues like Brexit and gender life!” says Loughrey, who likes a good old
relations, without being heavy-handed. singalong. hostility 
, Feindseligkeit
Could this be the novel that finally wins “I love musicals,” she says. “There’s
premise 
the author a Booker Prize nomination? something so pure about that moment
, Voraussetzung,
Also, look out for Blue Ticket by Sophie when reality melts away and the fantasy Prämisse
Mackintosh, a novel about motherhood kicks in.”
procreate 
with an interesting premise. Women Asked to recommend a classic to ,  sich fortpflanzen
in the story no longer face the difficult Spotlight’s readers, Loughrey picks out one
reclaim sth. 
choice of whether or not to procreate: of the best-known toe-tappers of them all: ,  sich auf etw. zurück-
a white ticket grants them children, a Vincente Minnelli’s An American in Paris. besinnen
blue one freedom. This book takes us to Starring Gene Kelly as a happy-go-lucky sleeve: wear one’s heart
the heart of female identity, with all its former GI, now a painter, who falls in on one’s ~ 
,  das Herz auf der Zunge
biological and social binds. There’s a real love with a French waif, played by Leslie
tragen (sleeve = Ärmel)
trend for books about female experience, Caron, this musical comedy film lit up the
tide: the ~ is turning 
particularly motherhood, says Scholes: world as it emerged from the darkness of
,  das Blatt wendet sich
“It’s no longer something to be pushed the Second World War.
toe-tapper  ifml.
under the carpet.” Loughrey has always had a passion for
, Mittanznummer
Scholes is clearly a champion of wom­ film — all aspects of it. When she was a
vulnerability 
en’s writing. She loves books that exam­ child, she’d write, direct, act in and edit
, Verletzbarkeit
ine inner lives and intimate relationships, her own shorts. Initially, she was drawn to
waif 
especially mid-20th-century writers, like the glamour of acting — “I wanted to be
, Straßenkind
Olivia Manning, who have been over­ Nicole Kidman so badly,” she says — but
looked in the past. She says the tide is now a job writing reviews for her university
turning. “When I started reading those newspaper moved her towards her main
books, they were very unfashionable. career.
But there’s a lot being done to reclaim that Her top choice of recent years is Barry
kind of fiction,” she says. “Just because it’s Jenkins’s Moonlight, a powerful and poetic
about individuals, it doesn’t mean you drama that showed us what it is to grow
can’t learn about the world.” up poor, black and gay. Jenkins is one of
the greatest voices in cinema right now,
says Loughrey. “[He] understands people
Foto: courtesy of Clarisse Loughrey

and their vulnerabilities, he understands

all the things that can be said with a single
gesture or look, but he also understands
beauty.” His films, she says, “take over
your body, your mind and your soul”.
As for her favourite director, it’s New
Zealand’s Taika Waititi, creator of this

SOCIETY 7/2020 Spotlight 15 

 year’s Jojo Rabbit, which test-drives the assassin 
risky scenario of a 10-year-old member of , Mörder(in)

the Hitler Youth (with Adolf himself for attic 

an imaginary friend) who finds out that , Dachboden

his anti-fascist mum has been hiding a banner year  N. Am.

Jewish girl in the attic. ,  erfolgreiches Jahr

Waititi’s films include Hunt for the chubby 

Wilderpeople (2016), about a chubby kid ,  rundlich, pummelig

sent to live with foster parents — in the depiction 

sticks — and Boy, a 2010 comedy about a , Darstellung
Classic 1950s Hollywood A gripping film about life
bright-eyed 11-year-old whose illusions fiancé  musical comedy on the outside
about his irresponsible man-child dad are , Verlobter

slowly broken. foster 

, Pflege-
Waititi’s style resonates with this
critic. “He just presents the world as I see insinuate: ~ oneself into
it: never without hope, but also a place sth. 
,  sich in etw. ein­
without ‘happily-ever-afters’. You have to schleichen
constantly work to change yourself if you
manor 
want things to be better. … And, obviously, , Herrenhaus
he’s also just very funny.”
plaudits 
Loughrey has noticed that many re­ , Applaus
cent films are about class. Take last year’s
redneck  N. Am. ifml.
Knives Out, a whodunit set in a stately ,  weiße(r) reaktionä-
manor, which has all the elements of the re(r) Hinterwäldler(in) A beautiful killer: but is she An Oscar-winning South
WASPy New England aristocracy. Earlier resonate 
the hunter or the hunted? Korean black comedy
this year, there was the South Korean hit , widerhallen
satire Parasite, which won plaudits for its stately 
depiction of a poor family who cleverly , imposant

insinuate themselves into the lives of an sticks: in the ~ ifml. 

obscenely wealthy family. ,  in der Pampa

Later this year, we can expect some up in the air 

class warfare in The Hunt, a bloody thrill­ , ungewiss

er in which liberal elites hunt down warrior-maiden 

“rednecks”, and Ready or Not, a comedy , Kriegerin

horror about a woman who is tested by WASP (white Anglo-

her fiancé’s wealthy — and murderously Saxon Protestant) 
,  weiße(r) angelsächsi-
sadistic — family. Loughrey believes it’s
sche(r) Protestant(in)
all part of the zeitgeist. Political troubles An unusual comedy Trouble for men who go
whodunit  ifml. about National Socialism home with this woman
have made people see how class creates , Krimi
division. “You know, how it keeps the rich
in power and everybody else just strug­
gling to get by?” she says.
Looking ahead, everything seems ra­
ther up in the air, with many film releases
delayed or, in some cases, moved online.
It’s sad, as 2020 was going to be a “banner
year” for female directors, says Loughrey.
In the blockbuster category, there’s Niki
Caro’s live-action remake of Mulan, based
on the 1998 Disney animation about the
Chinese warrior-maiden legend. From
Marvel Studios, there’s Cate Shortland’s A good crime story is An entertaining horror
always in fashion comedy
Black Widow, with Scarlett Johansson in
the role of the deadly assassin, and Chloé

16  Spotlight 7/2020 SOCIETY

Zhao’s The Eternals, about superpowered a western about a couple of milk-rustlers broadcasting 
cosmic beings. Still in the world of super­ in 19th-century Oregon, will no doubt de­ , (Rundfunk-)Sendung

heroes, there’s DC Comics’ Wonder Woman liver unusual insights into early American dropout 
1984, directed by Patty Jenkins. entrepreneurialism. , Aussteiger(in)

It’s also worth looking out for smaller As you might have guessed from this intimidated 
female-directed films in the pipeline. interview, Loughrey is open to all genres , eingeschüchtert

Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman, and eras, from German Expressionism lure 
a kind of #MeToo revenge tale, sounds es­ to Star Wars. It’s a message she tries to get , locken

pecially interesting, with Carey Mulligan across in her writing and broadcasting. rapist 
playing a dropout who lures potential rap­ “There’s no reason anyone should feel , Vergewaltiger(in)

ists back to her home to see how far they intimidated,” she says. “I want people to revenge 
will go. And Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow, be adventurous and discover new things.” , Rache

rustler 
, Viehdieb(in)

N
o book and film
reviews would
be complete
without recom­
mendations from
Spotlight’s very
own critic EVE
LUCAS. Here, she updates us on the latest
book by bestselling British author Hilary
Mantel, and for fans of Mantel’s historic
trilogy — in fact, for anyone who prefers
watching exciting historical tales to reading
them — Eve tells us about the film version
of Mantel’s first two books.
Book | Historical novel
The Mirror & the Light is the last part of
Hilary Mantel’s trilogy on the life of Henry
VIII’s chief minister and counsellor Thomas
Cromwell. It begins with the beheading
of Anne Boleyn in May 1536 and ends
with Cromwell’s own execution in 1540.
Cromwell’s mistake is to support the Ger­
man Protestant princess Anne of Cleves as
Henry VIII’s fourth wife: a strategy that
fails, quite literally, in the blink of a king’s
eye. Henry VIII may believe what Crom­
well tells him: “Your Majesty is the only
prince. The mirror and the light of other
kings.” But if what the king sees does not
please him, he may simply turn the mirror
to light up a new love. Yes, we all know the
ending. It’s the way Mantel tells the story
that shows her to be an exceptional and
brilliant writer. HarperCollins UK, €19.45.
Streaming | Drama
We’ve chosen to recommend Hilary
Mantel’s book The Mirror & the Light, so it
seems like a good time to remind viewers
that the first two volumes of her Thomas
Cromwell trilogy were made into a mini-
series, available on Amazon Prime.
The six-part series Wolf Hall takes its
name from volume two of the trilogy and
refers to the family seat of Jane Seymour,
Ambition and power in
the third of Henry VIII’s six wives. the time of the Tudors
Filmed at some of England’s oldest cas­
tles, palaces and churches, often using only
candlelight for inside scenes, the series cost beheading 
, Enthauptung
millions and won Bafta and Golden Globe
awards. It’s easy to see why. As Thomas blade 
,  Klinge, Blatt, Schneide
Cromwell, actor Mark Rylance fascinates
blink: in the ~ of an eye 
from the first to last scene, showing Crom­
,  im Handumdrehen
well exactly as Mantel describes him: a man
candlelight 
who measures every word and manages to
, Kerzenlicht
combine ruthlessness and humanity in the
counsellor 
power struggles at the Tudor court.
, Berater(in)
Claire Foy (who played Queen Elizabeth
determined 
II in the first two seasons of The Crown) is , entschlossen
Anne Boleyn — a woman determined to
devastating 
be valued in the (only) way available to , niederschmetternd
women at that time: as the wife of a power­
humanity 
ful man. , Menschlichkeit
When Jane Seymour catches the king’s
literally 
eye and Anne fails to produce a prince, , wörtlich
Cromwell realizes that he must sacrifice
ruthlessness 
Anne to please Henry. Her execution scene , Rücksichtslosigkeit,
is a masterpiece of quietly devastating tele­ Unbarmherzigkeit
vision and will stay with you long after the sacrifice 
blade has fallen. , opfern

SOCIETY 7/2020 Spotlight 17 

 HISTORY

A WRITER’S LIFE: 50 YEARS AGO

E. M. FORSTER
Vor 50 Jahren starb einer der größten
englischen Autoren des 20. Jahrhunderts.
Von PAUL WHEATLEY A Room with a View
Helena Bonham Carter and Julian Sands in
ADVANCED the 1985 Merchant Ivory film

I
f I had to choose between betraying my coun-
try and betraying my friend, I hope I should
have the guts to betray my country,” wrote
British novelist E. M. Forster. This sentence
is taken from his essay “What I Believe” (1938), when
extreme nationalism was on the rise across Europe.
A man of strong beliefs, Forster’s writing was in-
fluenced by his ideas on morality and ethics, as the
quotation from “What I Believe” underlines.
Forster, who died 50 years ago this June, aged 91,
is known for A Room with a View (1908), Howards End
(1910), A Passage to India (1924) and Maurice (pub-
Maurice
lished in 1971, after Forster’s death) — novels that Hugh Grant and James Wilby as the
have influenced our view of early 20th-century Eng- unhappy lovers in the 1987 film adaptation
lish middle-class life.
Born in London in 1879, Forster went to a private
school and studied at Cambridge University, where
he became a member of the intellectual debating so-
ciety known as the Cambridge Apostles. In 1915, he
refused to fight in the First World War, volunteering
instead to help the British Red Cross in Alexandria,
Egypt, in its search for soldiers reported as missing.
Forster was homosexual, and his novels explored
the contradictions and hypocrisies of society on
issues such as homosexuality, class and gender. Vir-
ginia Woolf — like Forster, a member of the literary
Bloomsbury Group — wrote of him in her diary in
1919: “He says the simple things that clever people
A Passage to India
don’t say; I find him the best of critics for that reason.” Director David Lean’s 1984 film version
Through his writing and as a radio commentator, of Forster’s epic novel
Forster promoted liberty, personal freedom and tol-
erance. He was also president of a society called the
Cambridge Humanists. Humanists, said Forster, had
four characteristics: “curiosity, a free mind, belief in
good taste, and belief in the human race”.
Find out more about Forster’s novels —
­ many of which
have been turned into award-winning films — on page 20.

betray  debating society  hypocrisy 

, betrügen ,  Rede-, Debattier­ , Heuchelei
club
contradiction  rise: be on the ~ 
, Widerspruch guts: have the ~ , zunehmen
ifml. 
,  den Mumm haben

18  Spotlight 7/2020

Fotos: mauritius images/History and Art Collection/Alamy; mauritius image/Collection Christophel; mauritius image/TCD/Prod.DB/Alamy; mauritius images/Photo 12/Alamy

by Dora Carrington
A portrait of E. M. Forster
 The novels of
E. M. Forster
Sie haben noch nie E. M. Forster gelesen? Hier ein
kurzer Einblick in drei seiner beliebtesten Romane.
ADVANCED
A Room with a View
Set in the early 1900s, this is the story of Miss Lucy Honey-
church’s visit to Italy with her older cousin and chaperone,
Miss Bartlett. They wish to see the museums, art galleries and
architecture of Florence.
Miss Honeychurch and Miss Bartlett arrive at the Pension
Bertolini in Florence to discover that their rooms are far apart
and look on to a backyard despite a specific wish they had ex-
pressed to be given rooms with a view. Two other English visi-
tors, George Emerson and his father, offer to swap rooms with
them. Although Miss Bartlett thinks of the Emersons as being
“unrefined”, Lucy and George are attracted to one another — and
on a picnic, unconventional George surprises Lucy with a kiss.
More or less in a panic, Lucy and Miss Bartlett leave for Rome,
where Lucy spends time with a rich but horribly snobbish young
man, Cecil Vyse, whom she later agrees to marry when they
are back in England. Lucy, though, has begun to question her
family’s thoughtless behaviour and sense of entitlement, and
the reader has to hope that George will reappear to save her. This
story is both a comedy and a romance. Forster shows us how
the British accepted a class system that often ruined their lives,
including the lives of those who found such a system absurd.
Penguin UK, €8.99.
A Passage to India
E. M. Forster first visited India in 1912. The British still ruled the
subcontinent, but unlike many of his peers, Forster did not enjoy
the colonial lifestyle. He wrote that “mixed up with the pleasure
and fun was much pain. The sense of racial tension, of incompat-
ibility, never left me.”
This tension is the central theme in his 1924 book A Passage
to India. A young British woman, Adela Quested, is travelling
in India and visits some caves in the company of friends, in-
cluding an Indian physician, Dr Aziz. A frightening echo in the
caves confuses Adela, who believes, wrongly, that she has been
assaulted by the doctor. As a result, Aziz is arrested and put in
prison. While he hopes that the truth will come out, everyone
else involved in the case seems to have their own understanding
of the events and their own agenda.
Will Aziz be freed? And if he is, as a supporter of Indian inde-
pendence, how will it affect his attitude to his English friends?
This is a story in which anger, strongly held beliefs and the heat
of India rise from every page. Penguin UK, €12.50.
20  Spotlight 7/2020
Classics that are still read
and loved today: the novels
of E. M. Forster
Howards End
Howards End (1910) follows three families whose lives
become bound up with one another, even though
they come from very different backgrounds.
The Schlegel sisters, Margaret and Helen, are
half German — their family name is a reference to
the German philosophers Friedrich and August
Schlegel, whose ideas Forster admired. Margaret
and Helen are cultured and liberal in their views.
Above them socially, the rich Wilcox family are very
much aware of their money and standing. Margaret
Schlegel sees them as rather uncultured and ma-
terialistic. Lower than the Schlegels in the social
hierarchy are Leonard and Jacky Bast, a couple with
little money and few opportunities. Helen regards
Leo­nard Bast as a tragic and romantic figure and
would like to help him.
The “German” attitudes of Margaret and Helen are
a constant theme of this novel. The Schlegel sisters
often meet with anti-German prejudice, but Mar­
garet and Helen’s thoughtfulness, their dedication
to any matter they put their minds to and their desire
to connect with people shine through. An interesting
book to read in the time of Brexit. Penguin UK, €7.90.
assault sb.  dedication  racial tension 
,  jmdn. angreifen , Engagement , Rassenspannung
attitude  peer  sense of
, Einstellung, , Gleichgestellte(r) entitlement 
Haltung Kollege, Kollegin , Anspruchsdenken
cave  physician  swap 
, Höhle ,  Arzt, Ärztin , tauschen
chaperone  prejudice  unrefined 
, Reisebegleitung , Vorurteil , unkultiviert,
unfein
HISTORY

Keir Starmer’s need
for a persuasive vision
Kompetenz und Klarheit sind der Schlüssel, wenn der neue Vorsitzende der Labour Party
seinen Blick nach vorn auf ein Großbritannien richtet, das sich stark verändern wird.
I
t was supposed to have been the big
political event of April, but the an-
nouncement of Labour’s leadership
result was a low-key affair … over-
shadowed by the terrifying corona­
virus crisis that has swept across
Britain.
As expected, Keir Starmer, the party’s
shadow Brexit secretary, was decisive-
ly endorsed by Labour members and
supporters. …
There are a number of daunting tasks
on Starmer’s to-do list. The first is to get
the substance and tenor of opposi­tion
right in these extraordinary times. Brit-
ain is crying out for a mature and respon-
sible opposition that can forensically hold
this government, whose response to the
Foto: Dominic Dudley/Shutterstock.com
corona­virus pandemic has been marred
by a lack of preparedness and transparen-
cy, to account. …
Further, he must confront the toxic cul-
tures that have polluted his party. Most
importantly, he must take responsibility
for rooting out antisemitism. ... The party
PRESS GALLERY
PRESS GALLERY
ADVANCED  AUDIO
has also proved incapable of adjudicating adapt   forensically  
fairly on allegations of sexual harassment. , anpassen ,  hier: stark, belastbar
We applaud his commitment to establish- adjudicate on sth.   fragility  
ing an independent complaints process. … ,  über etw. urteilen ,  Anfälligkeit, Zerbrech-
lichkeit
Starmer must find a way to set out a allegation  
vision for a new politics that addresses , Vorwurf low-key  
, zweitrangig
the societal fragilities that have been so aspiration  
painfully exposed in recent weeks. ... ,  Bestreben, Ziel mar  
, schädigen
The same questions therefore face a austerity  
party that defines itself through its aspira- ,  Knappheit, Sparmaß- mature  
nahmen , reif
tion for a fairer, greener world — but with
new challenges attached. How would a daunting   ravage  
, einschüchternd, , verwüsten; hier:
Labour government restore a healthcare respekteinflößend erschöpfen
system that rightly commands huge na-
dignity   root out  
tional pride, but that will be left ravaged , Würde , ausrotten
not just by a decade of austerity but a pan-
endorse   sexual harassment  
demic? What is the best way of restoring ,  bestätigen, unter- ,  sexuelle Belästigung
dignity and fair reward to work often stützen
toxic  
labelled as “low skill”? … What measures ,  giftig, schädlich
are needed to reduce carbon emissions
while ensuring that the richest have to
adapt their lifestyles, like the rest of us?
And what is the future of Brexit in a prob-
able global recession? …
© Guardian News & Media 2020
7/2020 Spotlight 21 
 THE SUPPER CLUB

Bubble and squeak

Ein wahrhaft köstliches Rezept aus Resten vom Vortag – so köstlich,
dass es einem fast widerstrebt, es überhaupt als Resteessen zu bezeichnen.
Von LORRAINE MALLINDER
MEDIUM

B
ubble and squeak is good old bubble and squeak. It’s said that apparently  hand-me-down hash 
the essence of Eng- Marie-Antoine Carême, the celebrated ,  anscheinend ,  hier: wiederaufge-

lish common sense, French chef who cooked for George be- wärmtes Pfannengericht
ascend 
made with leftovers fore he ascended the throne, gave up his ,  besteigen hash 
,  Gehacktes
from the Sunday job in disgust, refusing to cook such bour- blade 
lunch. Long enjoyed geois dishes. ,  Klinge, Blatt in disgust 
,  angewidert
on otherwise dreary Although it’s made from leftovers, bourgeois 
Monday nights, this bubble and squeak deserves more than ,  bürgerlich lay tiles 
,  Fliesen verlegen
hot potato -and- minor culinary status. This dish once Brussels sprouts 
cabbage hash, with had its very own tool — a scraper that ,  Rosenkohl leftovers 
,  Essensreste
the outside a delicious crispy brown, looks like something you might use to bubble 
provides all the sustenance you need to lay tiles. Unusually shaped, the handle is ,  brodeln, sprudeln mash  UK ifml.
,  Brei, Püree
keep calm and carry on. raised from the blade, making it easy to cabbage 
But why “bubble and squeak”? The chop vegetables, press the mash into the ,  Kohl patties 
,  Frikadellen
curious name seems more suited to mice sizzling butter and scrape the crispy cast iron 
than mash — and there are probably brown bits from the base of the (ideally ,  Gusseisen reign 
,  regieren
thousands of pet rodents called Bubble cast-iron) pan. chop 
and Squeak up and down the country. In But that’s enough talk of leftovers. ,  hacken rodent 
,  Nagetier
fact, the name comes from the sound the Surely, after centuries of satisfying Eng- coating 
ingredients make while cooking. lish appetites, bubble and squeak can now ,  hier: Schicht runny 
,  flüssig
Yes, mashed potato bubbles in the fry- be held up as a dish in its own right — not common sense 
,  gesunder Menschen- scrape 
ing pan. And cabbage apparently squeaks. just a hand-me-down hash. And who says
verstand ,  auskratzen
The name is recorded in the Classical you have to wait until Monday to enjoy
crispy  scraper 
Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, a seminal it? In these uncertain times, we could all
,  knusprig ,  Schaber, Spachtel
work on British slang created in 1785 by do with a bit more bubble in our lives. Just
dreary  seminal 
lexicographer Francis Grose. Back then, don’t buy the microwave version! It won’t
,  trostlos, langweilig ,  bahnbrechend
though, bubble and squeak also contained have the same effect.
fancy  sizzling 
beef. Fast-forward to 1951, with Britain Practical and adaptable, bubble and ,  ausgefallen ,  zischend
recovering from the hungry war years, squeak can be enjoyed in many ways. I
fast-forward  squeak 
and food bible Good Housekeeping maga- always put a fried egg on top of mine. The ,  vorspulen ,  quietschen, fiepen
zine had officially thrown out the meat. runny yolk seems to work well with the
fried egg  sustenance 
Simple it may be, but this is a dish good crispy coating. You might want to pour ,  Spiegelei ,  Nahrung, Nährwert
enough for royalty. King George IV, who some gravy over it — or simply add an
Foto: Kathrin Koschitzki

reigned from 1820 to 1830, was known
for his extravagant lifestyle and tastes,
including fancy French food. Historians,
however, say he had a secret passion for
gravy  yolk 
extra bit of butter. It’s also delicious with ,  Bratensoße ,  Eidotter
bacon or bratwurst. And, of course, what
better way to wash it all down than with
an extra-large cup of strong tea?

22  Spotlight 7/2020 THE SUPPER CLUB

INGREDIENTS
• 80 g butter (unsalted)
• 120 g chopped onion (optional)
• 500 g mashed potato
• 500 g boiled and chopped cabbage
• any chopped, leftover vegetables
(Brussels sprouts recommended)
• salt and pepper
• 4 eggs

INSTRUCTIONS
Mix together the potato, cabbage and vegetables
and shape into small patties. Melt the butter in a
large frying pan and quickly add the chopped onion.
Cook over a gentle heat for a few minutes until soft.
Turn up the heat and add the patties, flipping over
frequently for at least ten minutes and pressing
them into the pan. When the patties are heated
through, fry for one more minute on each side until
they are crispy and brown. While the patties are
browning, fry the eggs (use the same pan if it’s big
enough). Serve with the fried eggs on top.
24 
Spotlight 7/2020
TRAVEL
Foto: Rowena English/Shutterstock.com; Vektor: Sudowoodo/iStock.com
 TRAVEL

Island retreats
Reif für die Insel? Hier stellen wir Ihnen fünf der schönsten vor.
Schottlands rauer Charme auf Lewis und Harris oder lieber Green Island
am australischen Great Barrier Reef? Sie haben die Qual der Wahl!
MEDIUM  AUDIO  PLUS

2
4
3

TRAVEL 7/2020 Spotlight 25 

 W
ide open skies, the
sound of waves
washing across sand
and rocks, a salty
breeze: the various
islands we invite you to join us on are dot-
ted around the globe, from the Atlantic
to the Pacific, yet they all have these ele-
ments in common. On the next few pages,
five Spotlight authors describe what makes
them different and individual.
1. A Hebridean adventure
on Lewis and Harris
by DAGMAR TAYLOR
I fell in love with Harris — the south-
ern part of the island Lewis and Harris
— when I saw a photo of the beach at
Luskentyre (in Gaelic: Losgaintir), on the
west coast. I couldn’t believe it was in
Scotland! I remember staring at the white
sand and the turquoise ocean, wishing
I was there, far from the pressures of mod-
ern life.
Six months later — it’s the middle of
May — and I’m on the ferry from Uig
on the Isle of Skye, travelling to the Isle
of Harris. Lewis and Harris make up
the largest island of the Outer Hebrides
archipelago at the very edge of Europe. If
you head west from here, there’s nothing
but the Atlantic Ocean until the coast of
Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada.
It’s no surprise, then, that it’s quite a chal-
lenge to reach this Hebridean isle.
I leave Edinburgh early in the morning
and drive to Skye in about seven hours.
I want to get there in good time for the
ferry crossing at 6.30 p.m., which will
take an hour and 50 minutes. There aren’t
many people on the ferry. Given the un-
predictable weather and the well-known
complaints by holidaymakers of being
eaten alive by midges, tourists aren’t
exactly rushing to Harris. And I’m glad.
I’ve booked a room with a view at the
No. 5 Hostel in Drinishader for a few
nights. I plan to get up early, walk in the
hills in the mornings and relax on desert-
ed beaches in the afternoons. Well, that’s
the plan, so long as the weather holds.
As the coast of Skye disappears into the
distance, I settle down on a bench on the
deck. Warm in my jacket and woolly hat,
I enjoy feeling the sunshine and sea
breeze on my face.
As the ferry finally arrives at the little
harbour in Tarbert, I look around at the
26  Spotlight 7/2020
circular route  out-price sth. 
, Rundwanderweg ,  teurer sein als etw.
landscape. It’s wild and desolate: grey
dotted: be ~  patch 
rock everywhere, with patches of brown
,  verstreut liegen , Fleck
moss and dry grass. I’m looking for-
elbow  rush 
ward to my first walk tomorrow. The 11-
,  hier: Winkel ,  es eilig haben
kilometre circular route I’ve chosen
hide-and-seek: play ~   sparkle 
will take me up Beinn Dhubh. From the ,  Verstecken spielen , glitzern
summit of the hill, I’ll be able to enjoy
hillock  summit 
views of the sparkling Luskentyre sands ,  kleiner Hügel , Gipfel
and watch the colours of the sea and sky
mere  turquoise 
change as the sun plays hide-and-seek , bloß , türkisfarben
among the soft, white clouds.
midge  whale: have a ~ of a time
, Stechmücke ifml. 
2. A whale of a time moss 
,  eine großartige Zeit,
on Nantucket Riesenspaß haben
, Moos
by EVE LUCAS whaling 
National Association of , Walfang
The most expensive vacation-home coun- Realtors 
ty in the United States — according to a ,  US Immobilien­
2019 report by the country’s National maklerverband
Association of Realtors — is the island of
Nantucket, Massachusetts, out-pricing
the Hamptons and resorts in Florida,
and more expensive than sister island
Martha’s Vineyard.
You need only revisit Herman Mel-
ville’s classic novel Moby-Dick to find the
reasons for this. Not that Nantucket still
has the whaling industry that, in the late
18th and early 19th centuries, made this
small, 790-square-kilometre island one
of America’s wealthiest communities. It’s
the island’s lonely location that brings in
visitors today. As Melville wrote in 1851:
“Look at it — a mere hillock, and elbow of
sand; all beach, without a background.”
Harris endless
deserted beaches
1
Fotos: Franz-Marc Frei; RodrigoBlanco/iStock.com
TRAVEL

2
In the language of the island’s Native
American Wampanoag tribe, Nantucket
means “faraway land”. Even today, it takes
me more than two hours to get there by
ferry from Hyannis, in Massachusetts,
which is why day visitors tend to choose
other destinations. The island’s rich
summer residents, including former
Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Bill Gates,
arrive in private planes at Nantucket’s
small airport. Martha’s Vineyard attracts
actors and artists, but it’s Nantucket that
Wall Street and business people come
to. The island’s off-season population of
10,000 increases to about 50,000 in the
summer months.
The first English settlers began arriving
in Nantucket in 1659, and the island grew
into a Quaker stronghold. The whaling
business, though, needed the harpoon-
ing skills of the Wampanoag. One other
unusual feature: the high mortality rate
among its male whalers transformed
Nantucket into an early feminist bas-
tion. Lucretia Coffin Mott, who was born
on the island in 1793 and educated on
the egalitarian principles of Quakerism,
wrote about the men who did return from
whaling trips and followed their wives to
social events.
TRAVEL
2
Nantucket
xxxx xxxxxxx a view
xxx xxx
xxx xxx of the harbour
Today, I’m charmed by the simple, main- CEO  off-season 
ly two-storey clapboard houses along , Geschäftsführer(in) , Nebensaison
the island’s dusty lanes; by its long, sandy clapboard house  N. Am. resident 
beaches tethered to the land by banks of ,  mit Schindeln gedeck­ , Bewohner(in)
tes Haus
wild roses; by its small-town sleepiness stronghold 
and modest dedication to its history. The dedication  , Hochburg
,  hier: Begeisterung
Whaling Museum on Broad Street tells tethered 
you everything you need to know about harpooning  , angebunden; hier:
, Harpunenjagd verwachsen
the industry that put Nantucket on the
map. Alternatively, you could use the modest  two-storey 
, bescheiden , zweistöckig
summer to (re)read Melville’s Moby-Dick!
mortality rate  whaler 
, Sterblichkeitsrate , Walfänger
3. Making tracks on Tinian
by KARIN HOLLY
Just a three-hour flight south of Tokyo
is a tiny island in the Pacific Ocean that’s
part of the Northern Mariana Islands.
The islands are a United States Common-
wealth, but they’re about as far away from
America as you can possibly get.
Of the 14 islands, Tinian is one of the
smallest. It’s home to fewer than 4,000
people, has only two main roads, a hand-
ful of restaurants and several casinos.
Getting to Tinian isn’t easy. I fly from
Tokyo — Guam is also an option — first
to Saipan and then take one of the tiny
planes for the 15-minute flight to Tinian
International Airport. Yes, it’s a bit of an
expedition, but the island is well worth
7/2020 Spotlight 27 
 abandoned  endemic species  lizard 
, verlassen; hier: ,  einheimische Tier- und , Eidechse
the effort. It has some of the most im- stillgelegt Pflanzenarten
memorial site 
portant archaeological sites in the entire
airbase  feud  , Gedenkstätte
Pacific region. From the island’s main vil- , Luftwaffenstützpunkt , Fehde
pickled 
lage, San Jose, it takes me about 30 min-
avenge  knowledgeable  ,  pikant eingelegt
utes to drive to North Field, which played ,  (sich) rächen , sachkundig
pillar 
a key role during the Second World War. diverse  legend: according to ~  , Säule
Now a tourist attraction, this former , vielfältig ,  der Legende nach
runway 
airbase was the launching point for the eerie  limestone  ,  Start- und Landebahn
atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and ,  unheimlich, gruselig , Kalkstein
spotted skunk 
Nagasaki in August 1945 by American , Fleckenskunk
B-29 Superfortress bombers. The two
bomb-loading pits are now a glass-
covered memorial site open to visitors.
It’s both eerie and sad to see them close
up. Those hectic wartime days at North
Field are only a distant memory — the
abandoned airfield is now mostly over-
grown, with large lizards moving around
lazily on the former runways.
I drive south for 20 minutes to a
local attraction: the House of Taga.
According to legend, a mythical chief
called Taga built a house here on top
of enormous limestone pillars called
latte stones. Sadly, a family feud ended
with the murder of Taga by his young-
est daughter. Of the 12 latte stones that
originally supported the house, only one
is still standing. And, so the story goes,
that stone is home to the spirit of the
avenging daughter.
A visit to beautiful Taga Beach for a
swim in the warm, crystal-clear waves — 3
and a dish of spicy pickled green mangoes
Tinian Island
(a local delicacy) — is the perfect end to a the House of Taga
relaxing Tinian day. Santa Catalina Island
a view of the Catalina Casino

4. The other Channel Islands

by JULIA HOWARD
The eight-island archipelago that forms
California’s Channel Islands is located
off the coast of southern California, along
the Santa Barbara Channel in the Pacific
Ocean. Five of the northern islands have
been turned into a national park, and I can
get to the islands by ferry from Ventura,
north-west of Los Angeles.
Most tours go to Santa Cruz Island. I’ve
Fotos: treetstreet, raksybH, Cliff Wassmann/iStock.com

booked a tour in advance as the number

of visitors is limited to protect the islands’
diverse ecosystem and endemic species,
such as the Channel Islands spotted
skunk and Santa Cruz sheep.
The ferry operators know the best
places to see whales and dolphins in the
wild. And when you land, you’re met by
knowledgeable park rangers who give 4
visitors a short, introductory tour of the

28  Spotlight 7/2020 TRAVEL

island. From there, day trippers can con-
tinue exploring on a self-guided tour and
enjoy the tranquil scenery while picnick-
ing on food brought from the mainland.
The more adventurous visitor can explore
the many sea caves by kayak and spend
the night camping on the island.
If the simple life isn’t your thing, the
Channel Islands still have something for
you. To the south, around Avalon Bay on
Santa Catalina Island, lies the resort com-
munity of Avalon. If you have the cash,
you can fly in by helicopter and stay in
this port city in luxury accommodation.
One of the many rich visitors to Avalon
was the chewing-gum tycoon William
Wrigley Jr (1861–1932). He invested
millions of dollars in the community 5
and oversaw the building of the Catalina
Casino in 1929 (the word “casino” is used even an occasional reef shark. Located 27 Green Island
a wealth of wildlife
here in the Italian sense of “gathering kilometres east of the town of Cairns and
place” or “place of entertainment”, not a just over a half a kilometre long, this cosy
place where people gamble). The casino island is made up of golden sandy beach-
houses a movie theatre and an enormous es, azure waters and a rainforest. It’s one
circular ballroom. Back then, the Chicago of 300 coral cays on the Great Barrier Reef,
Cubs baseball team, which Wrigley also but the only one with a rainforest. The is-
owned, used to come to the island for land is a national park, and as I walk along
spring training — an added attraction for the bush tracks, I realize how wonderful
visitors in those days. it is to be away from the urban noise pol-
Today, you can tour the beautiful art lution of everyday life.
deco Catalina Casino to view the cinema I do, however, take a look at the Green
and ballroom. Further inland is the 38- Island Resort, with its swimming pool
acre Wrigley Memorial & Botanical and outdoor restaurant. Perhaps I’ll stay
Garden, with plants endemic to the there on my next visit. The reef has an
islands along California’s coast. It’s a annual water temperature of between
back deck  reef fish 
20-minute walk from Avalon. I prefer to 24 and 29 degrees Celsius. On my travels , Heck , Korallenfisch
travel like a local, though, and drive to around the world, I’ve gone snorkelling
circular  reef shark 
the garden by “autoette” — a glorified in the clear, cold South Australian waters , kreisrund , Riffhai
golf cart. and around the warm reefs of Bali, so I’ve
coral cay  scenery 
been looking forward to adding a coral ,  Cay, kleine flache , Landschaft
5. Tickled pink to be on Green reef in faraway North Queensland to my Insel aus Korallen- oder
sea cave 
Island list. On this hot summer’s day in January, Sandablagerungen
, Brandungshöhle
by JULIE COLLINS I’m thrilled to see such a wide range of dugong 
snorkelling 
Soon after stepping on to dry land from flora and fauna on the reef. It was certainly ,  Dugong, Gabel­
, Schnorcheln
schwanzseekuh
an easy, 45-minute boat ride from Cairns, well worth hiring the equipment.
space suit 
Australia, it’s clear that my last-minute de- Next time, I may just try the latest glorified 
, Weltraumanzug
, verklärt; hier:
cision to come here was the right choice. trend, the “sea walk”, which will allow me bessere(r,s) submarine 
I discover that the activities offered on to explore the beauty of the bottom of the , U-Boot
golf cart 
Green Island — which is surrounded by a sea in an outfit that looks like a space suit , Golfmobil teem 
reef teeming with extraordinarily diverse — without even getting my hair wet! ,  von etw. wimmeln
marine 
marine and bird life — include diving, As I step on to the return boat in the , Meeres- thrilled: be ~ 
snorkelling, kayaking and even helicop- afternoon, I look back over my shoul- ,  begeistert sein
oversee 
ter rides. Despite the many tourists on der and say a sad goodbye to the island. ,  leiten, managen tickled pink ifml. 
the island, the atmosphere is peaceful, Sitting on the sunny back deck of the fast ,  hocherfreut, entzückt
pearl 
especially during the highlight of the day: boat with a cold drink in hand, I know , Perle tranquil 
an underwater sea tour in a glass subma- I’ll return to this little pearl of an island ,  ruhig, friedlich
reef 
rine. It’s a chance to see many brilliantly in the Pacific Ocean — maybe for a warm , Riff turtle 
coloured reef fish, turtles, dugong and winter escape. , (Meeres)Schildkröte

TRAVEL 7/2020 Spotlight 29 

 Fotos: LordHenriVoton, jamesteohart, MichaelSvoboda/iStock.com

Are women really

genetically superior?
Only more nuanced
medical research will tell

30  Spotlight 7/2020 SCIENCE

 SCIENCE

Are women
genetically superior?
Der Arzt, Wissenschaftler und Autor Sharon Moalem präsentiert in seinem neuen
Buch eine faszinierende Theorie darüber, wie zwei X-Chromosomen Frauen in
allen Bereichen, vom Farbensehen bis zum Coronavirus, einen Vorteil verschaffen.
GAIA VINCE nimmt diese Theorie unter die Lupe.
ADVANCED

I
t was noticeable from the in- case-fatality rate 
itial outbreak in Wuhan that , Fallsterblichkeitsrate

Covid-19 was killing more disparity 

men than women. By Febru- , Missverhältnis,
Unterschied
ary, data from China, which
involved 44,672 confirmed respiratory 
, Atem-
cases of the respiratory disease, showed
the death rate for men was 2.8 per cent, sex-disaggregated 
,  nach Geschlechtern
compared with 1.7 per cent among getrennt
women. For past respiratory epidemics,
including Sars, Mers and the 1918 Spanish
flu, men were also at significantly greater
risk. But why?
Much of the reason for the Covid-19
disparity was put down to men’s riskier
behaviours — around half of Chinese
men are smokers, compared with just
three per cent of women, for example.
But as the coronavirus has spread global-
ly, it’s proved deadlier to men everywhere
that data exists (the UK and US notably
— and questionably — do not collect sex-
disaggregated data). Italy, for example,
has had a case-fatality rate of 10.6 per cent
for men, compared with six per cent for
women, but the sex disparity for smok-
ing (now a known risk factor) is smaller
there than in China, where 28 per cent of
men and 19 per cent of women smoke. In
Spain, twice as many men as women have
died. Smoking, then, is unlikely to explain
all of the sex disparity in Covid-19 deaths.

SCIENCE 7/2020 Spotlight 31 


Age and co-morbidity (pre-existing
health conditions, including diabetes,
cardiovascular disease or cancer) are the
biggest risk factors, and that describes
more older men than women. There may
also be a sex difference in how people
fight infection, due to immunological
or hormonal differences — oestrogen is
shown to increase the antiviral response
of immune cells.
If women are presenting a more
effective immune response to Covid-19,
it could be because many of the genes
that regulate the immune system are
encoded on the X chromosome. Every-
body gets one X chromosome at con-
ception from their mother. However,
sex is determined (for the vast majori-
ty) by the chromosome received from
their father: females get an additional X,
whereas males do not (they receive a Y).
According to The Better Half, by American
physician Sharon Moalem, having this
32  Spotlight 7/2020
co-morbidity 
, Begleiterkrankung
conception 
,  Empfängnis, Zeugung
diversity 
,  Diversität, Vielfalt
encoded 
second X chromosome gives women an ,  verschlüsselt, kodiert
immunological advantage. Every cell in a
physician 
woman’s body has twice the number of X ,  Arzt, Ärztin
chromosomes as a man’s, and so twice the
spike 
number of genes that can be called upon ,  Stachel, Spike
to regulate her immune response, he says.
thread 
Only one of the X chromosomes in each , Faden
cell will be active at any time, but having vast 
that diversity of options gives women a ,  sehr groß, riesig
better immunological toolbox to fight
infections.
Moalem describes the possession of
XX chromosomes as “female genetic
superiority”. In the case of Covid-19, for
instance, the virus uses its spike protein
as a key to “unlock” a receptor protein
on the outside of our human cells, called
ACE-2, and gain entry. As the ACE-2 pro-
tein is on the X chromosome, men will
have identical versions of ACE-2 on all
their cells — if the virus can unlock one,
it can unlock all, he wrote recently in a
Double X: does it give
Twitter thread. Women, though, have women an advantage?
Foto: Rost-9D/iStock.com
SCIENCE

two different ACE-2 genes on their two
X chromosomes, which may make it hard-
er for the Covid-19 virus to break into all
their cells, as it has to unlock two different
proteins. In addition, once the ACE-2 is
“unlocked”, it cannot perform its function,
which, in the case of lung cells, is to clear
fluid build-up during infection. So males,
with all of their ACE-2 proteins affected,
will suffer this more than females, he says.
Moalem believes this may be “the crucial
advantage” that XX-carrying women have
over XY-carrying men in Covid-19 infec-
tion mortality.
It’s an interesting theory, and in his
provocative book (written before the
Covid-19 outbreak), Moalem expands the
XX advantage to explain a whole range of
life factors, from women’s increased lon-
gevity to their lesser incidence of autism.
It is incontrovertible that women are far
less likely to suffer from X-linked genetic
disorders, which include everything from
Hunter syndrome to colour-blindness,
because they usually have an unaffected
X chromosome to fall back on. Indeed, in
the case of colour vision, Moalem posits
that having a second X chromosome can
give some women a “visual superpower”,
enabling them to see 100 times the usual
colour range due to the extra diversity of
receptors they carry on their multiple Xs.
However, the evidence for Moalem’s
other claims about the protective role
of a second X chromosome, such as in
autism spectrum disorders or behavioural
traits, is less convincing. A wide range of
genes play complex roles in the workings
of the brain, and attributing a simple chro-
mosomal relationship is brave. (It should
also be noted that Moalem wrote the
ques­tionable The DNA Restart: Unlock Your
Personal Genetic Code to Eat for Your Genes,
Lose Weight, and Reverse Ageing in 2016.)
Outside inherited genetic disorders,
such as haemophilia, most conditions
are attributable to a range of factors, in-
cluding cultural norms, behaviours and
social and environmental aspects, as well
as many biological factors. For Covid-19,
for example, gender-based norms around
smoking and hand-washing, collective
or individualistic attitudes that affect
SCIENCE
affected  incontrovertible 
, betroffen ,  unbestreitbar, un­
widerlegbar
attribute 
, zuordnen inherited 
, erbbedingt
barely 
,  kaum, nur knapp innate 
, angeboren
caregiver  N. Am.
compliance with social-distance requests, , Betreuungsperson, longevity 
how polluted your city is, whether you pflegende(r) Angehö- , Lebensdauer
are a caregiver, and poverty and nutrition rige(r)
morgue 
level all play a part in determining your centre stage  , Leichenhalle
infection risk and disease outcome. And, ,  Podium, Mittelpunkt
nutrition level 
as we’ve seen, a range of co-morbidities compliance  , Ernährungszustand
increase risk — are they, too, made more ,  Zustimmung, Folge­
overwhelmingly 
bereitschaft
likely by the absence of a second X chro- , überwiegend
mosome? In many cases, such as cancers crucial 
posit 
, entscheidend,
and lung disease, Moalem believes so — , postulieren
wesentlich
a fascinating theory that surely deserves prejudicial 
debunk 
more study. , nachteilig; hier:
, widerlegen
It is striking, though, that Moalem benachteiligend
disorder 
barely references environmental and so- ,  Störung, Erkrankung
social-distance request 
cial factors in a book about sex differ­ences ,  hier: Kontakt­
dosing  beschränkung
in health outcomes. This is particularly , Dosierung
problematic when discussing sex differ- striking 
gender-based  , auffällig
ences in the brain, given the history of , geschlechtsspezifisch
prejudicial research in this area. Much as trait 
haemophilia  ,  Eigenschaft, Merkmal
this reviewer enjoys the rare pleasure of , Bluterkrankheit
being described as the “stronger”, “better”
incidence 
and “superior” sex — certainly a change ,  Inzidenz, Auftretens-
from being described as the weaker sex, häufigkeit
as women have been throughout histo-
ry — it is nevertheless an uncomfortable
valuation. Claims for significant innate
cognitive or behavioural advantages
between the sexes have largely been de-
bunked in the past few years by a num-
ber of influential books and research, and
while there are differences, in most cases
these are at least as great among individu-
als of each sex as between the sexes.
This is, however, a book that open-
ly champions women, and it is most
enjoyable when giving centre stage to
female scientists, who have been too of- The Better Half: On the Genetic
Superiority of Women by Sharon
ten overlooked. Moalem’s point is that, Moalem is published by Allen
just as women’s discoveries have been Lane (£20)
ignored, so, too, has the importance of
their second X chromosome. Even today,
medical and pharmaceutical research
overwhelmingly favours male subjects,
blinding us to knowledge that could lead
to breakthroughs, and disadvantaging
women, who suffer inappropriate treat-
ments and dosing. As men continue to fill
the Covid-19 morgues faster than wom-
en, Moalem is on a search to draw the
world’s attention to a chromosomal tool
we might just need.
© Guardian News & Media 2020
7/2020 Spotlight 33 
 SHORT STORY

The ghost of Ballyfeckit Hall

Ein erfolgloser Schriftsteller erhofft sich Inspiration auf einem Landsitz in Irland –
und wird in dem alten Gemäuer mit skrupellosen Autorenkollegen und höchst
mysteriösen Vorkommnissen konfrontiert. Von CHRISTINE MADDEN

MEDIUM  AUDIO

M
arius stood up from his desk
and sighed. Maybe another
cup of coffee would help. He’d
already had at least 15 today,
maybe as many as 25, but
didn’t writers do everything to excess?
Catching sight of his reflection in the mirror as he
left his room, he saw a sad-looking man, late thirties,
balding early, his stomach spreading under his dirty
shirt. He noticed a large coffee stain on it that he
hadn’t seen before.
He turned away from the mirror and closed the
door behind him without locking it. No keys were
used at Ballyfeckit Hall. It was a writers’ retreat in the
middle of rural Ireland. Nobody here had anything
worth taking. Especially Marius, who’d written only
about a page since he arrived last week, and he’d al-
ready thrown it away. What, he asked himself, was
he doing here, meeting other writers who seemed so
talented and confident? After a week, he’d nothing
to show for himself but a long face and a dirty shirt.
running. He was an author and a media figure, and
Marius felt a mixture of resentment, envy … and guilt.
Reynard was sweaty and he smelt, well, manly.
Whenever Marius sweated, he smelt nervous and
like a wet dog.
“Anyone seen my notebook?” Reynard asked in his
strong, manly voice.
“Your notebook?” Alicia called out. “You haven’t
lost it, have you?”
“Afraid so. I can’t find it anywhere.”
“Let me help you find it,” Alicia offered, far too
eagerly.
“No, no. Please don’t trouble yourself.”
“Oh, it wouldn’t be any trouble,” Alicia said, laying
a hand on his arm.
Reynard looked briefly at each of the writers, but
Marius felt as if Reynard was staring at him. “Has
any­one seen it?”
Marius shook his head and looked around, which
seemed the most innocent thing to do. “Can I help
you look for it?” That, he thought, would make him
appear even more innocent.

afraid so  envy 

,  ich fürchte schon , Neid

bald  excess: do sth. to ~ 

Going down the stairs, he heard voices in the kitchen. ,  eine Glatze bekommen ,  etw. bis zum Exzess treiben
One of them was Alicia’s. Now, he wished he’d
Ballyfeckit  resentment 
changed his shirt. Seeing a cardigan on a chair in the ,  siehe Seite 66 ,  Ärger, Verbitterung
hall, he put it on and quickly buttoned it up. It was belly  retreat 
much too tight, but better than the large coffee stain , Bauch , Refugium
over his big belly. briefly  sigh 
Alicia gave him a broad smile as he entered. She , kurz , seufzen
was friendly, attractive and a successful author of button up  stain 
romantic fiction. He pulled in his belly and tried to , zuknöpfen , Fleck
smile back. cardigan  trouble oneself 
“Hello, Alicia,” Marius said pleasantly. “How’s your , Strickjacke ,  sich die Mühe machen
work going?” At that moment, there was a noise at eagerly 
the kitchen door. It was Reynard, just back from , eifrig

34  Spotlight 7/2020 SHORT STORY


“No, it’s OK. I’m sure it’ll turn up.”
Reynard left. Alicia got up after him. “I’d better
go and help him. Men…,” she said, rolling her eyes,
“…they’re so helpless.”
Marius watched her leave the room. He no longer
wanted another coffee but filled his cup anyway, so
that no one would think he’d come down just to see
Alicia and was now disappointed.
“Wow!” said one of the other writers around the
table. “I’ve got a cardigan just like that.” Unfortunate-
ly, it was one of the women.
“What a coincidence!” said Marius, and turned to
leave with his coffee.
As he was walking out, he heard someone say,
“Maybe the ghost took it.”
They all laughed, but Marius shivered. Ballyfeckit
Hall, they said, was haunted. The people staying there
had told him stories about the ghost, who’d been the
lord of the manor. He’d played a cruel trick on his
cousin, who then killed the laughing lord by stabbing
him in the heart. But MacMurdle — for that was the
name of the dead lord — remained a cruel joker, even
in death. He stole things, hid them or destroyed them,
always marking them with his ghostly blood.
Marius was afraid of ghosts, and this story about
the dead lord had frightened him.
Fotos: beest, jessicahyde, migin, FrankRamspott/iStock.com
He stopped to look out the window on the way back
to his room. The sun was just disappearing behind
the lake, leaving a watery, red-orange reflection
across its quiet, shimmering surface. He sighed and
went up the stairs.
He couldn’t go through with it. He would leave
Reynard’s notebook somewhere and let one of the
others find it. They’d all think the ghost had taken it.
Then it would be over and Marius could go back to
his desk — and maybe tear out the little hair he had
left.
As he opened the door to his room, he heard an
impish laugh.
Someone was floating over his bed. This person
turned his transparent face to Marius and laughed
again, waving a notebook — Reynard’s notebook.
Marius jumped and spilt most of the coffee over
himself — now staining the cardigan. He didn’t
scream — he couldn’t — no sound would come out.
“This is truly marvellous! Who needs novels?
Ha ha ha ha ha!”
“Who… who…?” Marius’s throat was tight with
terror.
But he didn’t need to ask. The ghost had a large,
messy hole in its chest.
“Listen to this,” the ghost called out, then began
reading: “‘That tart Alicia is really into me. I’ll keep

coincidence  marvellous 
, Zufall , großartig

go through with sth.  messy 

,  etw. durchziehen , schmutzig; hier: eklig

haunted  shiver 
,  von einem Spuk verfolgt , schaudern

impish  stab 
, schalkhaft , erstechen

into: be ~ sb. ifml.  tart ifml. 

,  auf jmdn. abfahren , Nutte

manor  turn up 

,  Herrenhaus, Landsitz , auftauchen

SHORT STORY 7/2020 Spotlight 35 

 ignoring her for another day or two. Then, when
she’s desperate, I’ll let her help me with something.
Maybe I’ll tell her about my cruel ex-wife. I just have
to decide which ex-wife I’ll talk about.’ You couldn’t
make it up!”
“You’re it,” Marius whispered. “You’re the ghost.”
“That’s not very polite. I am Lord MacMurdle. You
should show me more respect, now that I have the
notebook you stole from Reynard. Ha ha ha!”
“How do you… ?”
“‘She looks like a sheepdog having a bad-hair day,’”
MacMurdle read on, “‘but needs must.’ Not what
you’d call a gentleman, our Reynard. ‘Afterwards, I’ll
offer to read some of her manuscript. It’s probably the
usual rubbish, but I’m sure there’ll be something in
it I can use.’”
It was true, Marius thought. Reynard didn’t sound
like a very nice person.
“He isn’t a nice person,” MacMurdle said. Could
he read Marius’s thoughts? “And he doesn’t think
much of you, either. Listen to this: ‘There’s a new
person this year. A fat idiot who hasn’t a brain in his
head. And even less personality. Alicia says he looks
like yesterday’s leftover pudding.’”
That stung. Why hadn’t he read any of the note-
book, Marius asked himself. Too much respect for
the famous Reynard? As it was, stealing the thing was
turning out to be its own punishment, an own goal.
MacMurdle was enjoying himself. “You stole it
but didn’t read any of it? What were you going to do
with it?”
“I… I don’t know. I was jealous.”
MacMurdle laughed again. “That big, conceited
fathead. He comes here every year. Always steals
36  Spotlight 7/2020
other people’s ideas. Some woman develops a
fancy for him. He then steals her work and uses it
in his own books. You might say they were ghost-
written. Ha!”
MacMurdle rose from the bed. Marius froze as
the ghost laughed into his face. “Let’s have some
fun, shall we?”
MacMurdle’s ghost disappeared through the wall,
taking the notebook with him. How, Marius won-
dered, did he manage to get the notebook through
the wall? He was still in shock — and hurt. Although
he now felt less bad about stealing the notebook, he
was still worried. What was MacMurdle going to do
with it?
He heard a scream downstairs: “Aaaaahhhhhh! It’s
the ghost!” It sounded like Alicia.
“Listen to this!” It was the voice of MacMurdle.
Then Marius smiled with private pleasure and sat
down to enjoy what was left of his coffee.
Fotos: jessicahyde, FrankRamspott, Sergii Zysko/iStock.com
conceited  make sth. up 
, eingebildet ,  etw. erfinden
fancy  needs must  archaic
,  hier: Schwärmerei ,  es bleibt keine Wahl
fathead  ifml. rubbish  UK
, Blödmann , Blödsinn
jealous  sting 
, eifersüchtig , stechen; hier: wehtun
Fotos: XXX
SHORT STORY
 I ASK MYSELF
Is it time to shop
differently?
Angesichts der Corona-Pandemie macht sich
unsere Kolumnistin ernsthafte Gedanken über
ihre Ernährungs- und Einkaufsgewohnheiten.
ADVANCED  US
I
recently bought a gallon of maple syrup because I felt
bad for the farmers who had harvested it — but also
because I love maple syrup. We used a lot of it this
spring, when my husband’s homemade waffles be-
came a weekly treat for us, stuck at home during the
coronavirus crisis. So, when I saw the option to buy
it from a farm collective where I had started buying
vegetables, I happily chose to do so.
Then it arrived, and I realized just how big a gallon
of maple syrup is — far too unwieldy to pour directly
onto a breakfast plate. I had to divide it among small-
er bottles and find places to cold-store them so that
the syrup doesn’t go bad. Meanwhile, my husband
has given up sugar. It will take us a long time to get
through this syrup.
As the coronavirus crisis rippled through so many
sectors of our economy, many of us who remained
employed tried to support workers who were strug-
gling. We ordered takeout from our favorite sit-down
restaurants, bought gift cards we couldn’t yet redeem
Fotos: Justin Horrocks, Serg_Velusceac/iStock.com; privat
at hair salons and gyms, asked the bookstores we
used to browse through in person to ship us the new-
est novels, and we kept paying the cleaning crews
who could no longer come to our homes.
It also became clear that many of these business-
es were just the end link in a chain of beleaguered
industries we had never connected with directly —
until now, that is. So, when a shuttered city restau-
rant started selling boxes of vegetables, fresh eggs,
and milk from the country farms that had supplied
its kitchen, I immediately signed up. It proved to be
AMY ARGETSINGER quite a learning experience.
is an editor at I was overwhelmed by the leafy greens — more
The Washington
than we could get through in a week. Or should we be
Post, a leading
daily newspaper eating more salad? It made me aware that these vege-
in the US. tables were actually in season now in this part of the
I ASK MYSELF
country, and that they would surely be gone in a few
months. And yet, I had always bought lettuce year-
round at my grocery store, never stopping to think
how many planes it had traveled on to get there.
I was humbled to learn that I had never known the
difference between a turnip and a parsnip. (Roast
those parsnips — they’re delicious!) That I didn’t
know how long beets would last or the right way to
store potatoes — let alone the amazing things you
can do with the radish.
I was also struck by the extent to which these rural
farms had adapted to the precious tastes of high-end
urban restaurants — and it wasn’t just the syrup!
Farms were desperate to unload their exotic cheeses,
chunks of honeycomb, huge bags of edible flowers —
things that make for a beautiful plate but which, try
as I might, I would never find a way to use at home.
“Maybe your little girl would like the edible flowers?”
a friend suggested. But I’m pretty sure she would just
see them as salad.
beet   maple syrup  
,  rote Bete , Ahornsirup
beleaguered   parsnip  
, angeschlagen , Pastinake
chunk   redeem  
,  Stück, Brocken , einlösen
edible   ripple through  
, essbar ,  sich ausbreiten
honeycomb   struck: be ~  
, Honigwabe ,  erstaunt, betroffen sein
humbled: be ~   turnip  
, beschämt ,  Rübe, Steckrübe
lettuce   unwieldy  
,  Kopf-, Blattsalat , sperrig
7/2020 Spotlight 37 
 LANGUAGE

English for now PART 1

So individuell wie die eigene Lebenslage ist auch das Englisch, das wir im Alltag brauchen.
VANESSA CLARK zeigt am Beispiel der Familie Naumann, wer wann mit welchem Englisch
konfrontiert wird – und bietet auch gleich Gelegenheit zum Üben.
Illustrationen: Anja Stiehler-Patschan/Jutta Fricke Illustrators

EASY

L
ike most Germans, the international charity; son Jonas, 19, is charity 
three generations of the studying abroad but is experiencing some , Wohltätigkeits­

Naumann family find
that being able to speak
English is a useful skill
to have in day-to-day life.
Mum Steffi is starting an online busi-
ness; Dad Thomas is involved with an
problems; younger daughter Sofie, 15, has organisation
a school project to do; and Grandpa Klaus
has a new interest in his retirement.
So, let’s follow them on their adventures
— and find out what kind of language
they need as they go about their lives.

38  Spotlight 7/2020 LANGUAGE

 Mum Steffi
Steffi has always enjoyed making greetings cards for friends
and family, just as a hobby. Now, she’d like to sell them online,
so she’s setting herself up as a seller on a shopping website.

bracket 
, Klammer
ITEM DESCRIPTION EUR 3 1 item available
Beautiful handmade birthday card printed on 380g/m2 card with dispatch 
a white envelope. I can personalize any card with name, age, etc. Like this ,  versenden, verschicken

faulty 
Designed by Steffi Naumann ,  defekt, fehlerhaft

Contact designer item 

,  Artikel, Ware
About me non-refundable 
,  nicht erstattungsfähig
Favourite shop
notify 
Subscribe for updates from seller , benachrichtigen

receipt 
,  Empfang, Erhalt
Delivery returns policy 
This item will be dispatched to you within , Rückgabeverfahren
three days of receiving payment. I can ship
worldwide. ship 
,  versenden, liefern
Destinations
Europe EUR 2 + EUR 1 per additional item subscribe 
,  anmelden, abonnieren
Rest of the world EUR 3 + EUR 2 per
additional item unless 
, ausgenommen
Returns policy
You have 14 days from receipt to notify
the seller if you wish to cancel your order
or exchange an item. Items made to order
or personalized are non-refundable (unless
faulty).
Vektoren: Elena Brovko, Rudzhan Nagiev, Bogdan Populov, bounward/iStock.com

1. Steffi’s story 2. Online selling and shopping

Are the three statements below true or false? Replace the words in brackets with the synonym
used in Steffi’s listing.
A. Steffi wants to make a business out of a hobby.
B. She wants to sell only within Germany. A. 1 item (for sale)

C. A customer can’t ask for a refund on a personalized card. B. (put in) cart
C. (sign up) for updates
D. I can (deliver) worldwide.
E. per (extra) item
and shopping
2. Online selling
1. Steffi’s story

E. additional

F. (inform) the seller

C. subscribe
A. available

G. to order
B. add to
Answers

F. notify

G. items made (especially for you)

B. false

D. ship
A. true

C. true

LANGUAGE 7/2020 Spotlight 39 

 Dad Thomas
Having worked in Malawi as a volunteer many years ago,
Thomas still supports a school there. He posts a request
for donations on an international charity fundraising site,
hoping to interest people around the world.

bold 
Kachulu School, Malawi , Fettschrift

donation
, Spende
£ 120
fundraising
, Spendensammlung
Fundraiser stats
shore
, Ufer
6 donors
tuition  UK
24 shares , Unterricht

vaccine
Thomas Naumann is organizing this fundraiser
26 followers , Impfstoff

volunteer
, Freiwillige(r)
I am raising money for the Kachulu School, on the shores of Lake
Malawi. With your help, we can build a brighter future for these
children and their families. 100 per cent of the money raised will SHARE
go to the school for educational materials, tuition, food, medicine
and vaccines, clothing and shoes.

I’m setting myself a challenge and I’m asking you to support me. My
challenge is to run a marathon — on my balcony! 42.2 kilometres
on my five-metre-long balcony … that’s 8,440 lengths (thanks to my
daughter, Sofie, for the calculation!). The event will be livestreamed
(thanks again to Sofie for technical support!).

I’m asking you, kind people, to sponsor me. Every donation makes a
difference. Thank you in advance for your contributions.

3. Thomas’s story 4. Online fundraising

Check your understanding by choosing the correct F

 ill in the missing letters to recreate some of the vocab-
word(s) from the options highlighted in bold. ulary you’ve learned.

A. Thomas works at / supports a school in Malawi. A. I am r sing money for the Kachulu School.
Illustrationen: Anja Stiehler-Patschan/Jutta Fricke Illustrators

B. He wants to raise money / collect food and clothes for B. With your help, we can build a b g t r future.
the schoolchildren. C. The money raised will pay for t i i n.
C. Thomas is going to run a marathon on the streets of his D. I’m setting myself a c a l n e.
city / his balcony.
E. I’m asking you to s p o t me.
F. The event will be l v s r med.
G. I’m asking you, kind people, to s o s r me.
4. Online fundraising
3. Thomas’s story

H. Every d n t n makes a difference.

I. contributions
F. livestreamed
B. raise money
C. his balcony

D. challenge

I. Thank you in advance for your

H. donation
A. supports

B. brighter

G. sponsor
E. support
A. raising

C. tuition
Answers

c n r b t ns.

40  Spotlight 7/2020 LANGUAGE

 Son Jonas
Jonas is at home for the summer holidays after his first year at
university in Sweden. English is the language of instruction on
his course. Unfortunately, he failed his end-of-year exams, so
he e-mails his tutor to ask for support.

anxiety 
, Angst

Dear Dr Joelsson counsellor 

, Berater(in)
I’d like to update you on my personal situation and give you some back-
poor 
ground information to help explain my poor performance in the end-of- ,  hier: schlecht
year exams.
trigger 
For the past ten months, I have been experiencing some mental health , auslösen
problems, possibly triggered by a traumatic event in my personal life.
Academic stress and separation from my family in Germany may also be
contributing factors.
I have been diagnosed with depression and anxiety and I am receiving
medical treatment. I am now on antidepressants and they seem to be
helping to regulate my mood. I have also started attending sessions with
a counsellor.
In view of this, I would be grateful if you could allow me to retake the
exams I failed and to continue with the course.
Many thanks for your help.
Kind regards
Jonas Naumann

6. Mental health problems

Choose the right words from the list to complete these

sentences from Jonas’s e-mail.
5. Jonas’s story
antidepressants | contributing | diagnosed | experiencing |
Choose the right form of the verb — positive or nega- mood | treatment | triggered
tive — to complete the sentences below.
A. I have been mental health problems.
A. Jonas did / did not do well in his exams. B. These problems were possibly by a
B. He has / has not been feeling low for most of the year. traumatic event in my personal life.
Fotos: Oleksandr Hruts, Aquir borgogniels/iStock.com

C. He wants / does not want to leave the course. C. Academic stress and separation from my family in Ger-
many may also be factors.
D. I have been with depression and anxiety.
E. I am receiving medical .
F. I am now on .
F. antidepressants

G. They seem to be helping to regulate my .

C. does not want

6. Mental health

A. experiencing
5. Jonas’s story

C. contributing
D. diagnosed

H. counsellor
E. treatment
problems

B. triggered

H. I have also started attending sessions with a

A. did not
Answers

G. mood

.
B. has

LANGUAGE 7/2020 Spotlight 41 

 Daughter Sofie
Sofie’s English teacher has set her pupils a project for the summer holidays. They should
each research a topic that interests them and then give a presentation to the class. Sofie has
chosen to research climate change — but she is having some problems with her research.

Sofie: Oh, Mann! Wikipedia hat einfach viel
zu viele Informationen. Ich weiß gar
nicht, wo ich anfangen soll! Und noch
dazu alles auf Englisch!
Dad:  Wieso schaust du dir überhaupt die
englische Version an? Du weißt schon,
dass es auch eine deutsche Wiki-Seite
gibt, oder?
Sofie: Ich bin kein Idiot, Papa! Aber ich muss
meine Präsi auf Englisch halten und
brauche den englischen Wortschatz.
Das ist alles hier, aber ich weiß nicht,
was diese ganzen Begriffe bedeuten,
7. Sofie’s story
Dad: Was denn zum Beispiel?
Sofie: Hier steht „see also“. Das ist einfach:
„siehe auch“. Aber was bedeutet „cita-
tion needed“? Und was heißt „Begriffs­
erklärung“ auf Englisch?
Dad:  Du könntest beide Seiten gleichzeitig
öffnen – die englische und die deutsche
– und beide vergleichen. Und wusstest
du, dass es auch eine Wikipedia-Version
mit einfachem Englisch gibt?
Sofie: Oh, echt? Nein, das wusste ich nicht.
Dad: Google mal „simple…“
Sofie: Ja, hab’s schon. Oh tatsächlich, das ist ja

8. Wiki words

mit denen ich navigieren soll. gleich viel leichter!

Answers

A. doing
B. going
C. using

G–5
B–6
C–4
D–7
A–2

F–3
E–1

7. Sofie’s story 8. Wiki words

Illustrationen: Anja Stiehler-Patschan/Jutta Fricke Illustrators

Choose the right “-ing” word to complete the sentences. Match the English Wikipedia words to their German
equivalents.
using | doing | going
A. see also / further reading 1. Begriffserklärung
A. Sofie is some research for a school B. main page 2. siehe auch
project.
C. contents 3. Quellen
B. She is to give a presentation to her
D. citation needed 4. Inhaltsverzeichnis
class.
E. disambiguation 5. bearbeiten
C. Her dad suggests the simple English
version of Wikipedia. F. references 6. Hauptartikel
G. edit 7. Beleg fehlt

42  Spotlight 7/2020 LANGUAGE

 Grandpa Klaus
Klaus has recently retired. With time to spare, he’s now writing his life
story and sharing it online on a history site. Having lived in the former
GDR, Klaus’s personal memories are of international interest and some-
one contacts him from across the Atlantic.

Dear Mr Naumann
appreciate sth. 
,  etw. zu schätzen
My name is Heidi Kirk and I teach history at Santa Monica College, California. wissen
Please forgive my messaging you directly, but I wanted to reach out to you.
GDR (German
I’ve been reading your posts and find your experiences of daily life in commu- Democratic Republic) 
nist East Germany fascinating — even through the filter of Google Translate! , DDR
This summer, I’ll be working at a summer camp, where we try to give kids a
reach out to sb. 
different kind of learning experience, outside the classroom. ,  mit jmdm. in Kontakt
I wanted to ask if you could do me an enormous favor. Would you be willing treten
to speak to my students, maybe in the form of a video call?
spare 
Do you think you could help me out with this? I would really appreciate it. I’m ,  hier: übrig haben
sure you must have thoughts or questions, so please do get in touch. I would
be glad to hear back from you.
Regards
Heidi Kirk

Would you like to read more

about the Naumanns?
If you’re curious to find out
what happens next, the story
continues in the second
episode of “English for now”,
in the next issue of
Spotlight!

9. Klaus’s story 11. Asking for help

Complete the sentences below by filling in the correct Rearrange the letters in brackets to recreate words
name: Klaus or Heidi. from Heidi’s post.

A. is a history teacher. A. I wanted to ask if you could do me an enormous

B. has been writing about life in the GDR. (vfroa).

C.  would like to take part B. Would you be (llngiwi) to speak to

in a video call with her students. my students?
C. Do you think you could (pleh) me
(tuo) with this?
10. Making contact D. I would really (pprctaeiae) it.

Fill in the missing letters to form words used by Heidi.

Foto: AndreyPopov/iStock.com

A. Please f r i e my messaging you directly.

A. favor (UK favour)
10. Making contact

11. Asking for help

B. I wanted to r a h out to you.

9. Klaus’s story

C. Heidi; Klaus

D. appreciate
C. help; out

C. Please do get in t u h.
A. forgive

B. willing
Answers

C. touch
B. reach
B. Klaus
A. Heidi

D. hear

D. I would be glad to h r back from you.

LANGUAGE 7/2020 Spotlight 43 

 AMERICAN LIFE

The listening
club
Für unsere Kolumnistin ist der Autorenclub,
dem sie beigetreten ist, eine der besonderen
Freuden in ihrem neuen Leben in Florida.
MEDIUM  US  PLUS

W
hen I moved to Florida last year, I decided to join a
writers’ group. It’s a great way to meet people who
have the same interests and to hear some wonderful
stories and poems. Those Saturday morning meet-
ings are occasionally also highly entertaining.
Our treasurer, Bob, recently brought in a news-
paper article he thought presented an excellent
opportunity for us. Yes, it would involve moving to
Italy, but he didn’t see any problem with that. After
all, Lina, one of our members, is Italian and could
help us with the language. According to the article,
Bob said, a number of Italian towns have a shrinking
population and are prepared to pay people to move
there. We talked about the idea of starting a writers’
retreat in one of them. Most of us agreed that daily
walks though the Italian countryside would be in-
spiring — so much so that we would all be sure to
end up writing bestsellers. OK, Under the Tuscan Sun
has already been written, but we were certain that we
could come up with other, equally good ideas. Eve-
nings would be spent drinking wine and fantasizing
about our future literary success. But then some-
Fotos: Jeff Farmer, ansonsaw/iStock.com; privat
suicide of a child, growing up with abusive parents,
or the death of a spouse.
My pieces generally include humor. I’ve written,
for example, about what to do with houseguests
who overstay their welcome, or how I got the pack-
age delivery guy to help me move a piece of heavy
furniture. My style appeals to some, but not all. I’m
thinking, in particular, of one woman who dropped
in. She read on and on from her scholarly work about
the signs of mental illness in our current president.
When the group president interrupted her to say she
had exceeded her reading time, she got huffy. She said
hers was an important work, while the rest of us were
just frivolous writers. We haven’t seen her since. I,
on the other hand, almost never miss a meeting. And
though I’m not walking through the Italian country-
side with fellow writers, I am feeling inspired to start
work on my next book: Thumbs Up! Hitchhiking from
Finland to Turkey. It will likely be somewhat frivolous.
abusive  hitchhike 

, misshandelnd ,  per Anhalter fahren

one who had read the details in the article pointed
out that the amount the towns were offering to pay account  huffy 
, Darstellung ,  empfindlich, beleidigt
wouldn’t even cover the cost of our evening wine
supply. We soon gave up the idea. appeal to sb.  marine creature 
,  jmdm. gefallen , Meerestier
At every meeting, members are invited to share
something they’re writing, and the rest of us pro- come up with  overstay: ~ one’s welcome 
,  mit etw. aufwarten ,  länger bleiben, als man
vide feedback. A newcomer once read from a book willkommen ist
he’s writing about his days as a lead government in- drop in 
,  hier: vorbeischauen retreat 
vestigator during the Watergate break-in under for- , Refugium
mer US President Richard Nixon. It was a fascinating exceed 
GINGER KUENZEL , überziehen scholarly 
is a freelance
first-hand account of this historic event. Other times, , wissenschatftlich
frivolous 
writer who lived the subject matter is drier. Like the guy who read
,  trivial, unseriös spouse 
in Munich for 20 from a book he’s writing about a rare disease found ,  Ehepartner(in), Lebens­
years. She now heartfelt 
in some obscure marine creature. Some members gefährte, Lebensgefährtin
calls a small , tiefempfunden
town in upstate are working on their memoirs. These are heartfelt, treasurer 
New York home. but also often heartbreaking, stories — such as the , Schatzmeister

44  AMERICAN LIFE 7/2020 Spotlight

 THE LANGUAGE PAGES

Welcome to the language pages

Over the next dozen or more pages, we give you the opportunity to learn
about grammar and vocabulary in an up-to-date context. We start off here
with a column that takes a very personal look at the English language.

JUST JUDI

Nouns for clowns

Was sagen neumodische Begriffe wie „Influencer“, „Follower“
oder „reaching out“ über uns aus? Unsere Kolumnistin fragt sich,
ob wir wirklich willenlose Herdentiere sind, beeinflusst werden
wollen und ständig eine helfende Hand brauchen.
MEDIUM  US

Why do people today use the phrase reach out? Similarly, today’s job market is full of creatives. ad(vertisement) ifml. 
If you’ve made a phone call or written an e-mail to “Creative” used to be an adjective describing some- , Werbespot
a business in the US, there’s a chance that someone one’s talents; now, it means the persons themselves. appreciate
will thank you for “reaching out” to them. This is a I think: Are you too uncreative to qualify a real noun ,  schätzen, begrüßen
relatively new use of that phrasal verb. Call me old — with that adjective? Do you need a creative person to beg: ~ a question 
I’m speaking rhetorically, so don’t actually call me old help you with this? ,  eine Frage aufwerfen
unless you’re well insured — but this usage sounds I remember seeing a German ad many years ago brand
stupid to me. for a popular brand of footwear: “Shoes for actives” , Marke
When someone says, “Thank you for reaching was the slogan. As a native English speaker, I won- hurtful
out,” I think, why? Are you a cereal box on a high dered at the abuse of my language — at the time, it , verletzend
shelf? Am I sinking in the North Atlantic and you’re really was abuse. Since then, I’ve heard native speak- lifeboat
a lifeboat? Why not say, “Thank you for getting in ers use the word “actives.” Looks like the German , Rettungsboot
touch” or “We appreciate you contacting us”? I’m big shoe company was ahead of its time. mark: miss the ~
on expecting people to say what they mean. While on the subject of nominalizing words that ,  am Ziel vorbeischießen

Many years ago, “Reach out and touch someone” aren’t nouns, I wrote something on my Facebook pet hate
was the popular slogan of an American telecom page recently about my cat being sick. A friend com- , Lieblings-Hassobjekt

company. It was brilliant in TV commercials, but in mented: “A million feels!” I really hope my cat gets rather than 
direct contact with a business partner, I don’t want better soon because I don’t want a million feels. ,  anstelle von

any reaching out and touching. Keep your hands and So, even if you read my column regularly — thank unless
arms to yourself! you — I still don’t want you to follow me, and I cer- , außer

One of my pet hates is the misuse of nouns. In tainly don’t want to influence you. I just hope to in-
Fotos: Kseniya Abramova, LuFeeTheBear/iStock.com; privat

Spotlight 2/20, I wrote about how using nouns rather spire you and to make you think — actively, creatively,
than adjectives can be hurtful and racist. But making and with feeling.
nouns out of verbs or adjectives also misses the mark.
Today, there are social media influencers. Why
not say “expert”? An “expert” doesn’t pass judgment
on the people taking his or her advice the way an
“influencer” does. Also, the whole concept begs the
obvious questions: Do their followers not object
JUDITH GILBERT
to being influenced? Do they not mind that being a
Writer, editor, translator, and photographer
“follower” makes them sound like they can’t think for Judith Gilbert divides her time between New York
themselves and need to be told what to do? City and a small town in Bavaria.

JUST JUDI 7/2020 Spotlight 45 

 1

15
6

14

13

11
12

10
9

8
Illustration: Martin Haake

46  Spotlight 7/2020 VOCABULARY

 EVERYDAY ENGLISH
Living in lockdown
DAGMAR TAYLOR presents four dialogues about
life during a pandemic. Read them carefully and look
at our tips to brush up on your everyday English.
MEDIUM  AUDIO  PLUS
1. How are you?
Sabine, who lives in Germany, is video-calling her friend Rachel in the UK.
Sabine: How are you coping?
Rachel: OK. Sometimes, I feel anx-
ious, but the kids seem un-
fazed and their optimism
keeps me going. We all have
to do what we can to limit the
spread of this highly conta-
gious virus. At least I can
work from home. It took me
a while to establish a healthy
routine, but we all exercise
every day now. I’m grateful
2. What’s it like in the shops?
Sabine is asking her friend Rachel about the situation in the UK.
Sabine: How are things in the UK?
I read in the newspapers here
that your supermarkets are
almost empty.
Rachel: No, they’re not empty. It was
scary when everyone was
panic-buying, but things
have calmed down. Super-
markets have taken mea­
sures to make sure shoppers
stay two metres apart and
that there are only a small
number of people in the shop
anxious  elderly  exercise  sacrifice  shortage  stock up
, besorgt ,  Senioren, ältere
Menschen
48  Spotlight 7/2020
that I can spend time with
my family. When I think
about what NHS staff have
to cope with, staying at home
is a small sacrifice to make.
How are you doing?
Sabine: We’re fine, really. But I want-
ed to ask how you are. I’ve
been meaning to call you for
such a long time. I’m so glad
we’ve finally both found the
time to talk.
at one time. They even have
early-morning shopping
slots for the elderly, and cus-
tomers are limited to buying
only three items of certain
products.
Sabine: That’s good. Are there fewer
shortages now?
Rachel: Certain shelves are never
anywhere near full. You still
can’t buy hand sanitizer
or disinfectant for love or
money.
,  hier: Sport machen , Opfer
manage  scary  ifml.
,  hier: bewältigen , unheimlich
⋅⋅
Tips
How are you coping? is used to ask
how someone is managing a difficult
⋅⋅
situation.
Someone who is unfazed is not
worried or surprised when something
⋅⋅
unexpected happens.
When a disease spreads, it reaches,
or affects, an increasingly larger
⋅⋅
segment of the population.
A highly contagious virus spreads
easily and rapidly through close
⋅⋅
contact among people.
NHS stands for the “National Health
Service” — the public health service
in Britain, which provides medical
treatment and is paid for by taxes.
⋅⋅
Tips
People panic-buy food, fuel, etc. to
stock up because they are worried
about something bad happening that
⋅⋅
might result in shortages.
People or organizations take
measures as a way of achieving a
certain result, or as a method for
⋅⋅
dealing with a situation.
Here, a slot is a time when something
can happen, especially when it is one
⋅⋅
of several possible times.
Hand sanitizer is a liquid or gel used
to reduce bacteria and viruses on your
⋅⋅
hands.
If you say you cannot do something
for love or money, you mean it is
impossible to do it.
Foto: Sladic/iStock.com
,  Engpass, Knappheit ,  sich einen Vorrat
anlegen
staff 
, Personal
EVERYDAY ENGLISH
VOCABULARY

At a
barbecue It’s barbecue season
As the weather warms up, it’s time to get It’s time to get the barbecue out and give it a good clean — or buy a
ready to eat outdoors. VANESSA CLARK disposable barbecue. Then, find the barbecue tools and start plan-
presents key language to talk about barbecues. ning your meal.
The secret to a good barbecue is in the preparation. Marinate the
MEDIUM  PLUS chicken to give it extra flavour; slice or grate the white cabbage and
carrots thinly to make a crunchy coleslaw; cube the beef or pork for
the kebabs; make your sauce. You may have a secret recipe for the
best barbecue sauce, but typical ingredients include tomato, onions,
vinegar, brown sugar or molasses. For vegetarians, you could make
bean burgers, or halloumi cheese and red pepper kebabs.
If you’re cooking pork or chicken, make sure the meat is cooked
through, not burned on the outside and raw in the middle — you
don’t want to give your guests food poisoning. Don’t start cooking
until the flames have died down and the charcoal is glowing. You can
adjust the cooking temperature by moving the grill shelf higher or
lower over the hot coals.
Or perhaps you have a modern, gas-powered barbecue? They don’t
give the same smoky flavour, but you don’t have to mess about with
firelighters and matches or wait for the coals to be red-hot. You can
start grilling straight away. Take a drink from the cool box and enjoy
your barbecue!

Around the world

The word “barbecue” is often written as “bbq” or “BBQ” in the US and
the UK, while Australians shorten the word to “barbie”. Australians love
seafood on their barbies, especially at Christmas. South Africans use
the word “braai” [brA:I], which comes from the Afrikaans word braaivleis
(“roasted meat”).

1. chef’s hat 8. coleslaw

, Kochmütze , Krautsalat
2. skewer 9. chicken wings
, Bratenspieß , Hähnchenflügel
3. corn on the cob, 10. spare ribs
sweetcorn , Rippchen
, Maiskolben 11. burger
4. spatula 12. burger bun
, Pfannenheber , Burgerbrötchen
5. sausage 13. tongs adjust  cube  pork 
, Würstchen , Grillzange , anpassen , würfeln , Schweinefleisch
6. kebab 14. firelighter beef  disposable  seafood 
, Grillspieß , Feueranzünder , Rind ,  Einmal-, Wegwerf- , Meeresfrüchte
7. charcoal 15. apron cabbage  glow  slice 
, Holzkohle , Schürze , Kohl ,  glühen, glimmen ,  in Scheiben schneiden

charcoal  grate  vinegar 

, Holzkohle ,  reiben, raspeln , Essig

At www.spotlight-online.de/teachers/picture-it, you can crunchy  grill shelf 

find our Vocabulary archive. , knusprig , Grillrost

VOCABULARY 7/2020 Spotlight 47 


3. What about school?
Sabine is interested in whether Rachel’s children will be able to sit their exams
this year.
Sabine: Finn is in his last year at
school, isn’t he? Will he still
be sitting his exams?
Rachel: No, the exams have been can-
celled this year.
Sabine: But how will he be able to
apply for university?
Rachel: For the pupils who were
due to sit exams this year,
the school will be predict-
ing exam grades based on
the pupils’ prelim results,
4. How are your parents?
Sabine asks Rachel about her elderly parents.
Sabine: And how are your parents
keeping? They’re in their
80s, aren’t they?
Rachel: Yes, my dad’s 84 and my
mum’s 82. They’ve been
self-isolating for months.
They go out early for little
walks and they still go shop-
ping. They wear gloves and
masks in the supermarket,
and my mum washes every­
thing when she gets home.
Sabine: Couldn’t you go shopping for
them?
apply for sth.  benefit  exam: sit one’s ~  UK
,  sich um etw. bewerben , profitieren
assessment  coursework 
,  Einstufung, Bewertung , Kursarbeit
EVERYDAY ENGLISH
coursework and other assess­
ments. I think he should be
fine. I feel sorry for all the
school leavers — they’ll miss
out on so many celebrations.
Sabine: Do the kids all have online
classes?
Rachel: Yes. The first week was really
chaotic, but everyone soon
got into the swing of things.
The schools are still open for
the children of key workers.
Rachel: I’ve offered till I’m blue in
the face. My mum insists
that she’s being extremely
careful.
Sabine: So, do you see your parents at
all?
Rachel: The kids have started Skyping
them. And sometimes, they
come round to our house.
They stand in the garden and
we chat to them through the
window. It’s weird, but it’s
always good to see them,
even if I can’t hug them.
predict  weird  ifml.
,  eine Prüfung ablegen ,  vorhersagen, prognos-
tizieren
⋅⋅
Tips
Grades are the numbers or letters
that show how good someone’s work
⋅⋅
or performance is.
A prelim (short for “preliminary”) is
an exam taken in preparation for a
⋅⋅
more important exam that will follow.
If you miss out on something, you
fail to benefit from something useful
or fun by not being able to take part
⋅⋅
in it.
When you get into the swing of
things, you get used to a situation and
⋅⋅
become fully involved in it.
Key workers are people who are
critical to dealing with a pandemic,
including those who work in
healthcare and social care.
⋅⋅
Tips
How are you keeping? is used to ask
⋅⋅
whether someone is well.
Someone who is in their 80s is
⋅⋅
between the ages of 80 and 89.
During a pandemic, people self-
isolate by staying at home for a
period of time in order to prevent a
⋅⋅
virus from spreading.
If you say something until or till you
are blue in the face, you are wasting
your time because no one is listening
⋅⋅
to you and you will get no results.
When you hug someone, or “give
someone a hug”, you put your arms
around them and hold them tight,
especially to show that you like or
love them.
, seltsam
7/2020 Spotlight 49 
 THE GRAMMAR PAGE
Reflexive pronouns
ADRIAN DOFF presents and explains this key
point of grammar with notes on a short dialogue.
EASY  PLUS
Dialogue
Alia is worried that her friend Rachel works too hard.
Alia: You look tired.
Rachel: I am. I’ve got so much to do. I had to work all
weekend.
Alia: You should relax a bit and look after yourself1.
And John, too. He pushes himself2 too hard —
he’s always either working or running a mara-
thon.
Rachel: Yes, you’re right. We both work far too much —
we need to look after ourselves3 more. We never
seem to have any time for ourselves3 these days.
We hardly even see each other4 at the weekends.
Alia: Why don’t you take a few days off? Go and enjoy
yourselves5 somewhere.
Rachel: Like where?
Alia: You could go to a nice hotel and just relax6 for a
few days. Or go to a retreat — spend the weekend
doing yoga.
Rachel: That sounds lovely. But I can’t go away at the
weekend.
Alia: Why not?
Rachel: Well, who would look after the cat? It would have
to spend the whole weekend by itself7.
Alia: Don’t worry about the cat. Cats can look after
themselves8 ... and so should you!
50  Spotlight 7/2020
Explanations
1. This is a reflexive verb — which means its subject
(“you”) is the same as its object. For the object,
instead of the pronoun “you”, we use a reflexive
pronoun: yourself.
2. Another reflexive verb, here with the reflexive
pronoun himself.
3. In plural reflexive pronouns, -self becomes -selves
(myself → ourselves).
4. This means “I never see him, and he never sees me”.
The subject and the object of the sentence are not
the same, so you don’t use a reflexive pronoun.
Instead, you use each other.
5. Another plural reflexive pronoun: yourselves (plu-
ral of “yourself”, referring here to Rachel and John).
6. The verb relax is not a reflexive verb but an intran-
sitive verb. (We don’t say “relax yourself”.)
7. Here, Rachel uses the phrase by itself. It means the
same as alone or on its own.
8. Another reflexive pronoun: themselves.
Remember!
We use reflexive pronouns when the object of the
⋅⋅
sentence is the same as the subject:
Peter taught himself French.
(subject = Peter; object = Peter = himself)
Reflexive pronouns have the following forms:
singular plural
myself ourselves
yourself yourselves
himself, herself, itself themselves
Beyond the basics
Notice the difference between the following:
⋅⋅
reflexive pronouns (myself, himself, etc.):
Sue looked at herself in the mirror.
(= Sue looked at Sue.)
⋅⋅
reciprocal pronouns (each other, one another):
Sue and Mike looked at each other.
⋅⋅
(= Sue looked at Mike, and Mike looked at Sue.)
Julia and I know one another well.
(= I know Julia well, and Julia knows me well.)
THE GRAMMAR PAGE
 LANGUAGE CARDS EASY  MEDIUM  ADVANCED

New
Newwords
words — 07Spotlight
7/2020
Spotlight — 2016 Global English 7/2020 Spotlight

hangry What would a speaker of British English say?

North American speaker:

“I can tell you’re
getting hangry — let’s grab “Do you want fries or chips
some lunch!” with your hotdog?”

(In)Formal English 7/2020 Spotlight Translation 7/2020 Spotlight

What does this informal phrase mean? Translate these sentences:

1. Wir müssen wirklich mehr Gemüse essen.

He wolfed down his grub. 2. Du musst das nicht essen.

3. You must not eat raw potatoes.

Pronunciation 7/2020 Spotlight Idiom magic 7/2020 Spotlight

Say this phrase several times, as quickly as you can.

Zeichnung: Ching Yee Smithback

Four fresh fried fish for free!

A tough cookie

False friends 7/2020 Spotlight Grammar 7/2020 Spotlight

Geschmack / taste / flavour Look at the sentences below. What do you notice about
the questions at the end?
Translate the following sentences into English:
➞ Austrennung an der Perforierung

1. Ich mag Chips mit Paprikageschmack. 1. You haven’t burned the dinner, have you?

2. Reiswaffeln haben keinen Geschmack. 2. You enjoy cooking, don’t you?

3. Sie hat keinen Geschmackssinn.

7/2017 Spotlight 51 
 LANGUAGE CARDS

Global English
New words 7/2020
Spotlight — 07Spotlight
— 2016 New words 7/2020 Spotlight

British speaker: The word hangry describes the emotion of becoming

“Do you want chips or crisps with your hotdog?” angry because you’re hungry. It’s a combination of these
two words.
In American English (just like in German), “chips” are
thin slices of potato fried until they are crispy (knusprig). In
British English, these are “crisps”.

Soft, fried sticks of potato are called “(French) fries” in the

US and “chips” in Britain.

Translation 7/2020 Spotlight (In)Formal English 7/2020 Spotlight

1. We really must / have to eat more vegetables.

He ate his food very quickly.
2. You don’t have to eat that.
3. Man darf rohe Kartoffeln nicht essen.
To “wolf down” means to “eat something very fast”.
“Grub” is a slang word for “food”.
The German modal müssen can be translated as “must” or
“have to”. Nicht müssen means “not have to” (there is no
obligation). Do not translate nicht müssen as “must not”!
“Must not” means you’re not allowed to do something
(= nicht dürfen).

Idiom magic 7/2020 Spotlight Pronunciation 7/2020 Spotlight

A tough cookie is someone who is not very emotional and
not easily hurt. They can handle negative situations and
events without getting too upset (mitgenommen). Another
phrase in which the word “cookie” means “a specific type
of person” is “smart cookie” (cleveres Kerlchen).
[)fɔ: )freʃ )fraɪd )fɪʃ fə (fri:]
This is a tongue-twister (Zungenbrecher), which is a phrase
that is hard to say quickly. Saying tongue-twisters can help
you to practise making sounds that are different in Eng-
lish from German, such as [r].

Grammar 7/2020 Spotlight False friends 7/2020 Spotlight

In German, oder? is often used at the end of a sentence to
check whether a statement is true. In English, we form
a tag question (Bestätigungsfrage) with the auxiliary verb
(Hilfsverb) from the main sentence. If the main sentence
is negative, the question is positive; if the main sentence
is positive, the question is negative. If there is no auxiliary,
for example in the simple present or simple past, we use
“do” or “did”.
1. I like chips/crisps with paprika flavour.
2. Rice waffles have no flavour.
3. She has no sense of taste.
The German word Geschmack has two meanings in English,
depending on whether it refers to what food tastes like
(= flavour), or a person’s ability to perceive (wahrnehmen)
those different flavours (= taste).
LOST IN TRANSLATION

VANESSA CLARK turns her attention to

a particularly interesting word or expression
that could be a challenge to translate.
ADVANCED

copycat
noun and adjective

Example The Sun, 2 December 2019

“Fears of London Bridge

This headline appeared after
a terrorist attack on London
Bridge.

copycat attacks”
Usage
A “copycat” is a person who copies someone, so a “copycat
attacker” or a “copycat criminal” is motivated to act by an event
in the news. Whenever there is a high-profile crime, the police
are concerned that it could inspire “copycat attacks” or “copycat
killings”. Similarly, “copycat suicides” can be triggered, for exam-
ple, in vulnerable fans if a celebrity takes his or her own life.
A “copycat product” is a cheap imitation of a well-known
brand. Synonyms include “fake” or, informally, “knock-off”.
If a friend copies your style or your ideas, you can complain:
“She’s such a copycat!”
The German translation very much depends on the context:
copycat criminals are Nachahmungstäter or Trittbrettfahrer. A copy­
cat handbag is an Imitat or a Fake — there’s nothing like a good
English word to translate an English word into German and,
after all, Fake has made it into Duden. To complain about a friend,
you might say something like, Immer muss sie mir alles nachmachen
— which sounds just as petulant as, “She’s such a copycat!”
Background
Why does English have the cat as its idiomatic “copy” animal,
when cats don’t copy us at all and are famously independent?
Why don’t we do the same as the German and Japanese lan­
guages and take the monkey, a much better mimic? (In fact,
English does have the verb “to ape” and the phrase “monkey
see, monkey do”, which expresses the idea of jemanden nachäffen.)
The “cat” in “copycat” doesn’t refer to a cute little animal at all,
but is used in a much older sense: as a term of contempt,often
used to refer to a generally unpleasant person, especially a wom-
an. The compound “copycat” dates back to the late 19th century.
Exercise A
In which of these contexts would “copycat” make sense?

A. “It’s worth paying the full price for genuine

perfume.”
ape  date back to sth.  petulant 
, Affe ,  auf etw. zurückgehen ,  launisch, gereizt
B. “I buy perfume online. It’s just
compound  mimic  trigger 
, Wortverbindung , Imitator(in) , auslösen as good as the real thing.”
contempt  motivate  vulnerable 
,  Verachtung, Gering- ,  anregen, motivieren , anfällig
schätzung Answer: B

LOST IN TRANSLATION 7/2020 Spotlight 53 

 SPOKEN ENGLISH

I was out like a light

How do we use the preposition “like” in spoken English?
Look at the examples below, and read the explanations to
learn some useful phrases. By ADRIAN DOFF
MEDIUM  PLUS

⋅⋅
The word like can also mean typical of:
It’s not like her to be late for a meeting.

⋅⋅⋅⋅
It can also mean for example or such as:
I love bright colours, like red and yellow.
I wish I lived in a hot country, like Thailand or Brazil.

In informal conversation, people often use was like to report

Exercise
Here are some idioms with the word “like” (A–D). Match
each idiom to the situation or thing it might refer to (1–4).
⋅⋅
what someone thought or said:
He said, “Will you marry me?” and I was like, “No way!”
The word like is used in many idiomatic expressions, especially
to describe people and their habits.

⋅⋅
A. I was out like a light. If someone smokes like a chimney, they smoke a lot:
B. It went down like a lead balloon. No wonder she’s got bronchitis. She smokes like a chimney.

⋅⋅
C. It was like water off a duck’s back. If someone eats like a horse, they have a large appetite:
D. He spends money like water. You’d better make plenty for dinner. Carl eats like a horse.

⋅⋅
If someone spends money like water, they spend a lot:
1. giving someone advice She must be on a good salary. She spends money like water.

⋅⋅
2. going to sleep If you sleep like a log, you sleep soundly and undisturbed:
3. someone’s shopping habits Did you sleep well? — Yes, thanks. I slept like a log.

⋅⋅
4. a theatre performance If you are (or go) out like a light, you fall asleep immediately:
I was so tired, I went to bed at nine and was out like a light.

The word like is a common preposition in English, and it’s often
used in idiomatic expressions.
⋅⋅
If you have (got) a memory like a sieve, you’re very forgetful:
Don’t you remember that we arranged to meet in town?
You’ve got a memory like a sieve.
If something you say is like water off a duck’s back, the person

⋅⋅
you’re talking to takes no notice:
As a preposition, its basic meaning is similar to or in a similar I keep telling my son to tidy his room, but it’s like water off a

⋅⋅⋅⋅
way to: duck’s back. His room is still a mess.
She’s like me. We both get up late at the weekend. If you get on with someone like a house on fire, you become

⋅⋅
He’s 25, but he still behaves like a teenager. friends immediately and get on very well:

⋅⋅
The opposite is nothing like: The two of us got on like a house on fire. We had so much to
My brother’s nothing like me. We have completely different talk about.
interests. If you give a speech or a performance and it goes down like a

⋅⋅
lead balloon, it is not well received:
Like is also used after “sense verbs”. If you look out the window My dad’s wedding speech went down like a lead balloon.
and see dark clouds, it might look like rain, and the noise you I was so embarrassed!
hear in the distance may sound like thunder — it may seem like
a good idea to stay indoors.

In informal conversation, people also use like followed by a

⋅⋅⋅⋅
clause:
It looks like the train’s late. clause  log 
It sounds like they’ve got serious problems. ,  Satz, Teilsatz , Holzklotz
In more formal (especially British) English, it’s better to use embarrassed: I was ~  salary 

⋅⋅⋅⋅
as if here: ,  es war mir peinlich , Gehalt
Answers
It looks as if the train’s late. lead  sieve 
B–4

D–3
A–2

C–1

It sounds as if they’ve got serious problems. , Blei , Sieb

54  Spotlight 7/2020 SPOKEN ENGLISH

 THE PUZZLE PAGES

Spooks and scandals

Brain-twisters to challenge you. By Owen Connors
EASY  MEDIUM  ADVANCED

Word search
There are 12 words hidden in the puzzle below. All 12 come from
our Short Story on pages 34–36. Find the English translations of
the German words below.

Ärger, Verbitterung
eifersüchtig
H A U N T E D S M J T Z L eingebildet
O L J R E S E N T M E N T erstechen
Fleck
X N S E C O N C E I T E D Herrenhaus, Landsitz
Refugium
A F M Q A D O D D Z W N C schalkhaft
schaudern
B Y G L P L W D I N I H K Strickjacke
Q C F I M C O E H A V I J von einem Spuk verfolgt
Zufall
G U A W C S N U T H S C O Word search solution:
R E T R E A T S S X H T O B
A
A
J
E
R
C
F
N
Z
E
A
D
V
I
Z
C
I
N
W
I
G
O
P
C
Z

L X V D D E X I U I I Z X T
S
I
R
E
V
V
S
K
J
V
Q
G
P
M
I
R
Q
O
I
N
Y
A
Y
M
M

M Y Y I Q I P Q J S V R S X
O
Z
T
I
H
I
X
U
S
I
S
X
T
E
A
D
E
D
R
V
T
X
E
L
R

M A N O R M G V K V E I T
O C S H T U N S C W A U G
J I V A H E O C M I F C Q

Z P G W I Z V A Z F R J A
K H I N I D W L P L G Y B
C N W Z D D O D A Q M F A

C O I N C I D E N C E A B
D E T I E C N O C E S N X
T N E M T N E S E R J L O
L Z T J M S D E T N U A H

Word snake
In the word snake below, we have hidden eight words to do with the supernatural. In between the
words, you can find letters that can be rearranged to form the name of a legendary Irish ghost.

Word snake solution:

“banshee”.

ee
The hidden name is

pparitionsph
Illustration: vable/Shutterstock.com

rie
esp sp ectreaa ant
vampire

iritn malb om
phantom
hvam
poltergeistepa ranor pire
apparition
spectre
paranormal
poltergeist
spirit

A legendary Irish ghost is called the .

eerie

56  Spotlight 7/2020 THE PUZZLE PAGES

 ENGLISH AT WORK

Dear Ken KEN TAYLOR

is a communication
Communication expert KEN TAYLOR answers your consultant and
author of 50 Ways
questions about business English. Here, he looks at an to Improve Your
interesting point of grammar and has advice on how to Business English
(Lulu Publishing).
deal with an inconvenient phone call. Contact:
ktaylor868@aol.com
MEDIUM  AUDIO  PLUS

Send your questions

about business English
by e-mail with “Dear
Ken” in the subject line
to: language@
Dear Ken Dear Alfred spotlight-verlag.de
I would like to tell you how much I like your Your qualms about this sentence are probably due Each month, I answer
column, which gives me and my students a lot of to the fact that you are a native German speaker. two questions Spotlight
readers have sent in.
inspiration and food for thought. German uses the plural if either the subject or the If one of them is your
I have also been an avid reader of Business Spotlight object of the sentence is plural (Die Grundlage für question, you’ll receive
a copy of my book: Dear
for many years. The other day, in an old issue ihre Entscheidung sind die Kritiken). In English, how- Ken... 101 answers to
of Business Spotlight, I noticed a wording which ever, it is always the subject of the verb “be” that your questions about
suggests that I interpret English grammar too determines the number. In the sentence “The business English. So
don’t forget to add your
pedantically: “The whole basis for your decision whole basis for your decision is the reviews”, the postal address.
is the reviews.” singular word “basis” is the subject and, therefore,
Would it not be better to write: “The whole basis the verb is in the singular.
for your decision are the reviews”, as in “The re- If you invert the sentence (“The reviews are the
views are the whole basis for your decision”? whole basis for your decision”), the word “re-
How do you see this? I would be glad to hear your views” becomes the subject, so the verb is in the
opinion. plural.
Many thanks and best regards All the best
Alfred H. Ken

⋅⋅
Dear Ken You can also add the reason why you are busy:
What do I say when the phone rings and I am in I have to get this report done by ten o’clock.

⋅⋅
the middle of doing something important? How 2. Offer an alternative time to talk:
do I get rid of the caller quickly but politely? Can you ring back after lunch? I’m free all

⋅⋅
Thanks in advance for your reply. afternoon.
Regards Can I call you back after lunch? I’ll be free to
acquaintance 

⋅⋅
Heiner M. talk then. , Bekannte(r)
If you drop me an e-mail, I’ll get back to you
assume 
Dear Heiner after lunch. , annehmen

⋅⋅⋅⋅
It partly depends on how well you know the call- 3. Signal that you want the call to end:
avid 
er. If it’s a friend or a colleague, you can tell them Is that OK / all right? ,  eifrig, begeistert
politely that their timing is really inconvenient. Talk to you later. column 
If you don’t know the caller well, there are three If this doesn’t work, you can always tell a “white ,  hier: Kolumne
things you can do. lie”. It’s better to save the caller’s feelings than to inconvenient 

⋅⋅
Let’s assume the caller is a business acquaintance show that you just don’t want to talk to them: , ungünstig
and you are working on a report that needs to be Sorry, I have to rush. / I’m afraid I really have qualms 
completed in an hour’s time: to go. My boss wants to check the report ,  Skrupel, Bedenken

⋅⋅⋅⋅
1. Tell the caller you are busy: before the meeting. suggest 
I’m afraid I’m really busy at the moment. Is that OK, Heiner? Sorry I can’t go into more de- , nahelegen
Foto: Gert Krautbauer

Sorry, but you’ve caught me in the middle of tail, but I have to get to a meeting . white lie 

⋅⋅
something urgent. Kind regards , Notlüge
Actually, it’s a bit difficult to talk just now. Ken wording 
,  Formulierung, Wortlaut

ENGLISH AT WORK 7/2020 Spotlight 55 

Crossword
The words in this puzzle are taken from this issue’s Around Oz. You may find
it helpful to refer to the text on page 9.

Across
2. “You shouldn’t put your in a
man like that.”
1. 3.
4. Forbidden by law.
5. 2. 7. Financial help.
4. 8. Highly unsuccessful.
6.
9. Ridicule or contempt.
12. In Australia, the chief minister of a
7. state or province.
13. “A(n) meeting will decide the
government’s education policies.”
8. 15. “When he was upset, he would turn
to her for and support.”
10. 11.
16. To keep wages or prices at a fixed
9. level.
14. 12.
Down
13.
1. Quickly settling an issue.
3. “The budget could be used to
hire and train more nurses.”
15.
5. Like the end of the world.
16. 6. A disease that spreads over the whole
world.
10. “He will training as soon as the
injury is better.”
11. “You can get a(n) to learn a
trade.”
14. Political supporters.

Competition
Your chance to win Solution to crossword 6/20:
deception
Form a single word from the letters in the coloured squares. Send it on a
postcard to: T H R E A D
H A K B
Redaktion Spotlight
“Issue 7/20 Prize Puzzle” T H I R S T Y I E
Kistlerhofstraße 172 I E T W A D D L E
81379 München D A L L
G E N T L E B E R R Y
Or take part by visiting spotlight-online.de/crossword, where you can also O E L
find the list of winners of our crossword competition in issue 5/20.
A I N D I G E S T I O N

Ten winners will be chosen from the entries we receive by 23 June 2020. T A A
Each winner will be sent a copy of God Help the Child by courtesy of F E A S T P A W
Reclam. S O A
E O S C I S S O R S
W E L L N

THE PUZZLE PAGES 7/2020 Spotlight 57 

 THE BASICS

Easy English
Here, you’ll find a dialogue and interesting Show and tell
facts related to it — at the A2 level of English. Now, find out more about the history of tattoos.
By VANESSA CLARK
The practice of tattooing the skin with ink is over 4,000 years
EASY  PLUS old. Tattoos have been found on bodies in Egypt, China, Mon-
golia, Russia, Alaska, Greenland and the Philippines. Ötzi, the
Neo­lithic “iceman” found in the Alps in 1991, had as many as
61 tattoos.

The word “tattoo” probably comes from the Samoan word for
a tattoo: tatau.

In Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries, tattoos were popular

with soldiers and sailors. A tattoo of a turtle meant that a sailor
had crossed the equator, and a tattoo of a swallow symbolized a
journey of 5,000 miles.

These days, tattoos are done with an electric tattoo pen, original-
ly designed by Thomas Edison. Edison actually made his pen for
copying paper documents — but a New York tattooist, Samuel
t
, tattoo artis O’Reilly, saw the potential to use it on skin.
Kiera Moon

Cabinet of curiosities
Dialogue
Here, we present interesting lives from around the English-
speaking world. This time, we talk to Kiera Moon, a tattoo artist.

What do you do in your shop?

We do tattoos, piercings — all sorts of body art.

How do customers choose their design?

Some people come with a design they’ve found or drawn them-
selves. Some have a basic idea, but then I draw a more detailed

Fotos: donatas1205/Shutterstock.com; solidcolours/iStock.com; Illustrationen: Martin Haake

design for them. I specialize in geometric designs and mandalas,
but I’ll do any design the customer wants — as long as it’s not
racist or anything like that.

What’s “in” at the moment?

A lot of younger customers are interested in Korean-style
tattoos. They’re quite small and fun — nice for a first tattoo.

Do people often regret having a tattoo?

We see some terrible old tattoos. They can be a reminder of bad
times — or just the ex’s name! We can do laser removal, or we can
cover it with a bigger, better tattoo.

What about your own tattoos?

I love them all. They’re part of my identity. I’m thinking of hav-
ing one on the back of my knee, but that’s a very painful place for swallow  turtle 
a tattoo. Not as painful as some places, but still bad! We’ll see… , Schwalbe , (Wasser)Schildkröte

58  Spotlight 7/2020 THE BASICS

 LITTLE LIGHTS
The kids’ page
LYNDA HUEBNER stellt einfache englische Wörter
und Wendungen für Grundschüler vor – zum Austrennen
und Sammeln. So entsteht Ausgabe für Ausgabe ein
eigenes kleines Spotlight-Heft für junge Leser.
Months of the year
Lass dir die Namen der Monate vorlesen und
kreuze den Monat an, in dem du Geburtstag
hast. Hier kannst du dir die Wörter auch an-
hören: www.spotlight-online.de/kids-page
Illustrationen: Denys, runeer/iStock.com; nan peng, Nada Sadreddin, SofiaV/Shutterstock.com
LITTLE LIGHTS
It’s Mina’s
birthday
today!
Ein Hund namens Winston (Teil 10)
Mina, 10, hat Geburtstag. Leider sind fast
alle ihre Freundinnen im Urlaub, aber Mina
möchte sowieso nur einen Gast einladen.
Heute ist der 9. August und ich habe Geburts­tag!
Weil alle meine Freundinnen im Urlaub sind,
hatte Mama eine Überraschung für mich. Ich darf
den ganzen Tag mit Winston, dem Hund unser-
er englischen Nachbarn, Herr und Frau Morris,
verbringen! Heute morgen kam Frau Morris mit
Winston zum Geburtstagsfrühstück. Mama und
Papa haben mit ihr Englisch gesprochen. Das war
richtig cool. Und mein Bruder Tom hat gefragt:
„When is Winston’s birthday?“ Frau Winston
sagte: „His birthday is on the 18th of March.“ Das
ist der 18. März. „That’s my birthday, too“, sagte
Papa und wir haben alle gelacht.
Am Nachmittag war ich mit Winston (und Herrn
und Frau Morris) in der Eisdiele. Auf dem Weg
dahin habe ich Herrn Morris gefragt: „When is
your birthday?“ „On the 24th of December“, sagte
er. Herr Morris hat an Heiligabend Geburtstag!
„That’s right“, sagte Frau Morris, „John’s birthday
is on Christmas Eve and my birthday is on the
30th of April.“
Happy
birthday,
Mina!
7/2020 Spotlight 59 
 J F M A M J

J A S O N D

Make a birthday calendar

 ervollständige die Namen der Monate im

V
Kalender oben . Dann frag deine Freunde und Song time
Familie: „When is your birthday?“ und schreib
ihre Namen unter den richtigen Monat.  ieses Lied kannst du sicher schon lesen. Oder hör es dir auf
D
www.spotlight-online.de/kids-page an und sing mit!

Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you, I’ve a present for you,
Happy birthday, dear Mina, Happy birthday, dear Mina,
Happy birthday to you. It’s a ball and a shoe.

About me

Vervollständige die Sätze unten und versuche, sie laut vorzulesen.

My birthday is in .

My mother’s birthday is in .

My best friend’s birthday is in .

Illustrationen: Reinekke, R.Vasikova/Shutterstock.com; Tigatelu/iStock.com

And again!
Hier noch einmal zum Wiederholen:

My birthday is in June. Ich habe im Juni Geburtstag.

When is your birthday? Wann hast du Geburtstag?

60  Spotlight 7/2020 LITTLE LIGHTS

 New
PHONETIC FUN in Spo
tlig
ht

How do you say that?

Here are the phonetic transcriptions of words taken from this issue of Spotlight that may be difficult to pronounce.
EASY  MEDIUM  ADVANCED

squirrel [(skwIrEl] procreate [(prEUkrieIt] tranquil [(trÄNkwIl] scholarly [(skQlEli]

Eichhörnchen sich fortpflanzen ruhig, friedlich wissenschaftlich
p. 6 p. 15 p. 29 p. 44

ancient [(eInSEnt] fiancé [fi(QnseI] physician [fI(zIS&n] frivolous [(frIvElEs]

alt, antik Verlobter Arzt, Ärztin trivial, unseriös
p. 8 p. 16 p. 32 p. 44

ineligible [In(elIdZEb&l] lure [ljUE] haemophilia [)hi:mE(fIliE] petulant [(petjUlEnt]

unzulässig locken Bluterkrankheit launisch, gereizt
p. 9 p. 17 p. 33 p. 53

scathing [(skeIDIN] adjudicate on [E(dZu:dIkeIt Qn] incontrovertible clause [klO:z]

vernichtend über etw. urteilen [)In)kQntrE(v§:tEb&l] Satz, Teilsatz
p. 9 p. 21 unbestreitbar, unwiderlegbar p. 54
p. 33
ogle [(EUg&l] fragility [frE(dZIlEti] prejudicial [)predZu(dIS&l] sieve [sIv]
anglotzen, angaffen Anfälligkeit, Zerbrechlichkeit nachteilig; hier: benachteiligend Sieb
p. 10 p. 21 p. 33 p. 54
Cluedo [(klu:dEU] bourgeois [(bUEZwA:] conceited [kEn(si:tId] acquaintance [E(kweIntEns]
Detektivspiel bürgerlich eingebildet Bekannte(r)
p. 11 p. 22 p. 36 p. 55

plumber [(plVmE] reign [reIn] beleaguered [bi(li:gEd] peninsula [pE(nInsjUlE]

Installateur(in) regieren angeschlagen Halbinsel
p. 11 p. 22 p. 37 p. 62

alliance [E(laIEns] endemic species non-refundable versatile [(v§:sEtaI&l]

Verbindung; hier: Heiratsbund [en)demIk (spi:Si:z] [)nQn ri(fVndEb&l] vielseitig
p. 13 einheimische Tier- und nicht erstattungsfähig p. 66
Pflanzenarten, p. 28 p. 39
humiliation [hju)mIli(eIS&n] feud [fju:d] tuition [tju(IS&n] UK heiress [(eEres]
Demütigung, Erniedrigung Fehde Unterricht Erbin
p. 14 p. 28 p. 40 p. 68

Vowels Consonants
Symbol Example words Symbol Example words
Just in case there
e red, head, said ɔ: war, law, more tʃ church, chat, match
are some phonetic
symbols that you æ mad, sad, add u: two, through, do dʒ page, edge, stage
are unfamiliar with,
ʌ love, but, sun ɑ: mask, hard, start θ thing, faith, path
we have provided
this table, which ʊ good, foot, wood ɪə here, near, beer ð that, other, smooth
lists the most useful
symbols — with ɒ wash, body, hot eə fair, mayor, rare ʃ shape, sugar, action
example words ə about, again, occur eɪ day, awake, take ʒ leisure, vision, treasure
that include those
sounds in British I hit, inform, myth ɔɪ boy, boil, loyal ŋ sing, long, thanks
English. i happy, genius, city aɪ high, tie, why
i: sea, machine, me əʊ no, toe, low
ɜ: nurse, hurt, worse aʊ now, cow, mouth

PHONETIC FUN 7/2020 Spotlight 61 

 A DAY IN MY LIFE
The perfect
picture
Der Fotograf Norman McCloskey gewinnt seine
Inspiration aus der Landschaft, die ihn umgibt.
Er sprach mit JOHN STANLEY über sein Leben
und seine Karriere.
MEDIUM  AUDIO  PLUS
M
y name is Norman McCloskey and I’m
48 years old. I’m a landscape photogra-
pher and run my own gallery here in the
pretty little town of Kenmare, on Ireland’s
south-west coast.
Initially self-taught, I went on to study
photography in Dublin and then worked
in commercial photography, and with a
sports photography agency. But my pas-
sion was always landscape photography,
and it kept drawing me back to Kerry. Ten
years ago, I had the idea of producing a
book on Killarney National Park, which
had never been done before, and this led
me to become a full-time landscape pho-
tographer.
The gallery is busy in the summer and,
fortunately, I have the support of my wife,
Lorraine, who works in it with me. There
are mornings when I’d like to be out tak-
ing photographs, but that has to take a
back seat until things quieten down.
Lorraine often opens up while I’m in
the workshop at home preparing pieces,
either for the gallery or to be shipped
out. Then, we might do a “changing of
the guard” at around two o’clock and
62  Spotlight 7/2020
I sometimes stay on until 7 or 8 p.m., depending on the weath-
er and how busy the town is with visitors. Over the summer
months, we’re usually open seven days a week, with a constant
stream of people coming in. Some days, we’re lucky if we can
grab 10 minutes for a bite of lunch.
We put a lot of emphasis on taking time to talk to visitors
and customers, because it’s not just about people coming in and
looking at the pictures on the walls. Most of my work is of the
local area. I’m very proud of where we live and keen to show it
off. So, I could easily be chatting to someone here for an hour
or more.
In the autumn and winter, I can focus on my real passion of
photographing the landscape. On a winter’s morning, I often
leave home at 6 a.m. with a packed lunch and literally get lost in
the mountains for the day, before coming home at 10 p.m. Those
days are amazing and I love them.
I’ve spent 28 years working in the relatively small geographic
area of the Iveragh and Beara Peninsulas, to the south of the
better-known Dingle Peninsula. For most landscape photogra-
phers, that’s the equivalent of choosing to work on the back of a
postage stamp. Many of them are flying off to Iceland, Norway
or Alaska to look for big, dramatic landscapes. I’ve done that in
the past, but I have this little patch of amazing landscape right
here on my doorstep and I’ve spent most of my time getting to
know it intimately. I see something new every time I go back to
a location. Although the locations stay the same, I’m growing as
a photographer, and that’s been really important.
When I started off, I spent a lot of time wandering around
Fotos: Norman McCloskey; Design Pics Inc/Alamy Stock Photo; no_limit_pictures, ARTYuSTUDIO, xfotostudio/iStock.com
fields, getting lost, ending up covered in mud and coming home
with nothing. But this experience is useful to me now. People
think I must be very patient, but actually, I’m not. I already know
the locations I choose to visit on any particular day, and if I get
there and it’s not working — maybe the light isn’t right — I don’t
wait around. I just know at this stage that it’s for another day, so
I go elsewhere to make good use of my time.
Everyone’s a photographer today, with a smartphone in their
pocket. But the way you distinguish yourself from that, I think,
is to produce good, meaningful work that has some truth to it.
It’s so much more than just capturing sharp images of places
with good light. In my photographs, I really want to show a bit of
how I see things, my vision of this place and, maybe, even of how
I see the world.
back seat: have to take a ~  emphasis  literally 
,  hintanstehen, warten , Schwerpunkt , buchstäblich
müssen
grab sth. ifml.  patch 
changing of the guard  ,  sich etw. schnappen, ,  Stück, Flecken
, Wachablösung abzwacken
peninsula 
chat  initially  , Halbinsel
, plaudern ,  ursprünglich, anfangs
show sth. off  ifml.
distinguish  keen  UK ,  etw. präsentieren,
,  sich unterscheiden , begeistert zeigen
A DAY IN MY LIFE
 A DSLR camera McCloskey has
is an essential published
part of two books of his
McCloskey’s photographs of
gear Kerry

The pretty
town of
Kenmare
attracts visitors
from around
the world

A packed
lunch
keeps the
photographer
going when
he is up in the
mountains Ireland’s
dramatic
landscape
is right on
McCloskey’s
doorstep

On the road: Loves her

truck driver work: Carrie
The best Michelle Kitchin Goldberg
place
to experience
McCloskey’s
work is at his
gallery
 THE LIGHTER SIDE
The Argyle Sweater

Smash!
A tourist calls a
hotel to ask its
location. “It’s
only a stone’s
“My therapist says I’m throw from
afraid of success. I guess the beach,” the
receptionist
I could understand that, answers.
because, after all, fulfilling “But how will
I recognize it?”
my potential would really cut asks the man.
into my sitting-around time.” The reception-
ist says, “It’s the
Maria Bamford (born 1970), American comedian
one with all
the broken
windows.”

by Scott Hilburn

Flags Another approach

What does your daddy do? A Dutchman explains the red, Being the human resources
Two small boys meet on their first day at white and blue Netherlands manager, I had to have a word

school. “My name’s Billy. What’s yours?”
asks the first boy.
“Tommy,” replies the second.
“My daddy’s an accountant. What does
your daddy do for a living?” asks Billy.
Tommy replies, “My daddy’s a politician.”
“Honest?” asks Billy.
“No, just the normal kind,” replies Tommy.
flag to an American.
“Our flag is symbolic of our
taxes. We get red when we talk
about them, white when we
get our tax bills and blue after
we pay them.”
The American nods. “It’s the
same in the US, only we see
stars, too!”
Cartoons: © 2020 PEANUTS Worldwide LLC, Dist. by Andrews McMeel Syndication/Bulls Press; © 2020 Scott Hilburn/Distributed by Universal Uclick/Bulls Press
with a new employee who never
arrives at work on time. I ex-
plained that this was unaccept-
able and that other employees
had noticed that she was coming
in late every day. After listening
to my complaints, she agreed
that this was a problem and even
offered a solution. She asked, “Is
there another door I could use?”

Compiled by Owen Connors

Goat for dinner
accountant  human resources stone’s throw  A young couple invite the local priest to their house for
, Buchprüfer(in); manager  , Steinwurf,
Steuerberater(in) ,  Leiter(in) der Katzensprung Sunday dinner. While they are in the kitchen preparing the
Personalabteilung meal, the priest asks their son what they are having.
goat 
, Ziege; hier: nod  “Goat,” the little boy replies.
Ziegenbock , nicken “Goat?” asks the surprised priest. “Are you sure about that?”
“Oh, yes,” answers the boy. “I heard Dad say that we might as
well have the old goat for dinner today as any other day.”

Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz

64  Spotlight 7/2020 THE LIGHTER SIDE

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 FEEDBACK
Guten Tag
ich lese zur Zeit den Spotlight Lernkrimi
Ms Winslow investigates und habe eine
Frage zur Grammatik. Auf Seite 80 steht
der Satz: „If Frau Moser were in charge,
Herr von Weiden would complain about
the changes being made to the architec-
ture of the church and say it was being
vandalized.“
Ist das erste „being“ ein Participle
Clause, weil man auch schreiben könnte
„the changes which were made“ und das
zweite „being“ Passive Voice? Die „ing“-
Form von „to be“ ist nicht immer leicht zu
verstehen.
Vielen Dank im Voraus für Ihre Hilfe.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Ingo Weiß, by e-mail
Sehr geehrter Herr Weiß
herzlichen Dank für Ihre Mail und Ihre
Frage zu Ms Winslow.
Sie haben völlig recht, die „ing“-Form
des Verbs im Englischen ist häufig ver-
wirrend, da sie unterschiedliche gramma-
tische Funktionen haben kann.
PROVERB
A watched pot
never boils
Peggy: “Why is the kettle
taking so long?”
George: “You know
what they say: a watched
kettle...”
Taken from Peggy’s Place, page 10
MEDIUM
omit   suggest   Das Gras wächst nicht schneller,
, weglassen , nahelegen
proverb   versatile  
, Sprichwort , vielseitig
66  Spotlight 7/2020
Das Present Participle wird verwendet,
um die Verlaufsformen einer Zeit zu Ballyfeckit Hall
bilden — in dem von Ihnen zitierten Satz The author of our story, Christine
die Verlaufsform der Vergangenheit, das Madden, was having some fun with Irish
„Past Continuous“ oder „Past Progres- swear words when she created the name
“Ballyfeckit Hall”. The word “bally” in
sive“ — und zwar, wie von Ihnen richtig Irish can mean homestead or settlement
vermutet, in der Passivform: „people were and is a common prefix for many towns.
making changes to the architecture of the Here, Christine combined it with “feck it”,
church“ → „changes were being made“; a milder Irish version of “fuck it”. What
is she trying to tell us? Perhaps that this
„people were vandalizing the church“ →
writers’ retreat is not such a great place
„it was being vandalized”. — at least not for Marius?
„He would complain about the chang-
es being made” ist ein verkürzter Relativ­
satz. Der ausgeschriebene Satz würde
lauten: „He would complain about the EINFACH BESSER ENGLISCH
changes that/which were being made.“
5 / 2020
5
—
Die „ing“-form „being“ bleibt als Indikator
20
EINFACH BESSER ENGLISCH Spiele-Spezial
POLITICS Understanding US elections • LANGUAGE Games for learning • TRAVEL Edinburgh
der passiven Verlaufsform hier erhalten.
6 / 2020
—
6
20
PLAY YOUR WAY TO
„The changes that/which were made“
BETTER ENGLISH
INTERVIEW Adam Kay • LANGUAGE Idioms with numbers • TRAVEL Wales
CRIME
Ms Winslow,
Spotlight’s
detective,
wäre die Passivform des Past Simple,
is back!
INDIA
World-class
lunch service
nicht des Past Progressive.
in Mumbai
Übrigens erscheint im August der Visit
zweite Band mit Kurz­geschichten um WALES
Deutschland € 8,50
A·E ·I ·L · SK: € 9,60
D
CH sfr 13,90
IDIOMS
SYNONYMS
... hip
U
GRATIS
smart
O Scottish style
extra Sprachspiel Shopping
from your armchair
Amateur-Detektivin Ms Winslow.
für alle Niveaus and eating
in Edinburgh
Food from
It’s almost as good as New Zealand
Deutschland € 8,50
A·E ·I ·L · SK: € 9,60
Mmm... it’s
being there yourself! a Maori meal
CH sfr 13,90
Viel Spaß damit und beste Grüße document6850121888260807926.indd 1 16.03.20 09:13
Petra Daniell, language editor
document1689351761579254043.indd 1 14.04.20 08:34
We all know that feeling of being hun- This is one of the many proverbs first
gry and waiting for our dinner to cook, written down by the great American sci-
or waiting for the toast to pop up. If you entist and writer Benjamin Franklin, who
stand and watch it, it will seem to take loved wise words of this sort. Ironically, of
a very long time. If you go away and do course, Franklin, as a scientist, would have
something else, your food will be ready known that watching a pot of water has
in no time. That’s the idea behind the pro­ absolutely no effect on the time or energy
verb “a watched pot never boils”. it takes for the water to reach 100 degrees!
It means that time seems to pass more In our example dialogue, George not
slowly when you’re waiting for some- only uses the word “kettle” instead of
thing to happen. It can also suggest that “pot”, but he also omits the second half of
you’re wasting your time if you’re just the proverb — demonstrating very nicely
waiting — go and do something more how versatile these kinds of phrases are in
productive instead. everyday conversation.
Nur keine Ungeduld
wenn man dran zieht
by Vanessa Clark
FEEDBACK – PROVERB
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7/2020 Spotlight 67 

Peggy Guggenheim
Unsere Exzentrikerin des Monats entstammte der reichen Guggenheim-
Familie und liebte Kunst und Künstler. Von PAUL WHEATLEY
H
eiress, socialite
and art collector
extraordinaire:
these words
hardly do jus-
tice to the life of
Peggy Guggen-
heim. She knew
many of the 20th
century’s greatest names in art and lived
in New York, Paris and London before
settling in Venice.
And it is in Venice where the legacy
of Peggy Guggenheim can be seen most
clearly today. In 1948, three years after the
end of the Second World War, the Venice
Biennale, an art exhibition that had first
been held in 1895, was once again up and
running. In the years before, under fascist
rule, modern art had largely been banned.
This Biennale was a chance for artists to
show their innovations. Guggenheim had
spent decades putting together a collec-
tion and she — as much as her artworks
— was a star of the event.
Peggy Guggenheim was born in 1898
to a famously wealthy New York family.
Her father died in the 1912 Titanic disaster.
Her uncle was founder of the city’s Solo-
mon R. Guggenheim Museum. Fascinat-
ed by art, and after she inherited a huge
sum of money in 1919, she moved to Paris
and began to support artists and writers.
Guggenheim was passionate and im-
pulsive. In her autobiography, Confessions
of an Art Addict, she describes how, having
come into her inheritance, she decides
to have a nose job. During the operation,
done under a local anaesthetic, the doctor
68  Spotlight 7/2020
ECCENTRIC LIFE
MEDIUM  AUDIO
tells her that it has gone wrong. She needs
to choose a new shape for her nose —
quickly. She writes: “It was ugly, but after
the operation it was undoubtedly worse.”
Guggenheim lived out her passion for
cutting-edge modern art in her person-
al life, too. Her second husband was the
artist Max Ernst, and her lovers included
the painter Marcel Duchamp and writer
Samuel Beckett.
By 1938, she was in London and had
opened her Guggenheim Jeune Gallery,
where she showed work by Cocteau,
Picasso, Kandinsky and Miró. She re-
Born: turned to New York for the war years
26 August 1898, (sensible, given her Jewish heritage) and
New York City, USA
opened the Art of This Century Gallery.
Died: Along with Surrealists and Cubists, she
23 December 1979, also presented young American artists,
Camposampiero, Italy
including Jackson Pollock.
Nationality: In 1947, Guggenheim made her home
American
in Venice, and put her collection on dis-
play at the city’s 1948 Biennale. Later,
the art was moved to her Venetian
palazzo on the Grand Canal, which
opened to the public in 1951. She lived
alone in the palazzo, except for her dogs,
addict  heiress  
though not without friends and visitors.
, Süchtige(r) , Erbin In this home-cum-gallery, people could
ban  inherit  initially walk around freely, even wander-
, verbieten , erben ing in and out of bedrooms.
Guggenheim became a familiar sight
Foto: ARCHIVIO GRAZIANO ARICI/ddp
cum  legacy 
, mit , Vermächtnis in the city, travelling along its canals in
cutting-edge  nickname  a gondola, wearing extravagant outfits
,  innovativ, topaktuell ,  Spitzname, Kosename and her trademark square sunglasses,
dedication  sensible  and with dogs on her lap. Her museum
,  Engagement, Einsatz , vernünftig and her dedication to the city won her
fond  socialite   the fond nickname of l’ultima dogaressa,
, liebevoll ,  Salonlöwe, Salonlöwin Venice’s “last First Lady”.
ECCENTRIC LIFE
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