HEAAADERLOGORIGHT

GENERAL ENGLISH · ENGLISH IN VIDEO · ADVANCED (C1-C2)

WHO ARE
YOU?
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1 Warm up

Answer the questions.

1. Are you, or is someone in your family, interested in genealogy?

2. Do you know where your forebears, or ancestors, used to live?
3. What other information do you have about the people you are descended from?
4. What’s the oldest photo that you have seen of someone in your family?

2 Watch for main idea

Watch a short report about a new technology related to family history and answer the questions.

1. What does the new technology do?

2. What sort of reactions have people had when they used this tool?
3. Are there any downsides to this technology?

After you watch the video, answer these questions.

1. What’s your reaction to using this technology for old photos?

2. The company that produced this technology, MyHeritage, also offers other genealogical services.
What do you think these are?

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3 Reading

Quickly read the article (on page 4) about the company MyHeritage and answer the questions in your
own words.

What other genealogical services does this article discuss?

From your first reading of this article, what’s your impression of the answers to the two questions that
the sub-title poses:

1. Can we ever answer our questions about the past?

2. And why do we want to know?

4 Vocabulary

Work in A/B pairs. Find words/phrases in the text which have these meanings, using the notes on
paragraph numbers and grammar information to help you. Get ready to explain your words to your
partner, including pronunciation.

Student A

1. Paragraph 1, started to exist suddenly (phrasal verb):

2. Paragraph 2, the fact that people do not live forever (noun):
3. Paragraph 4, a more formal way of saying provides or produces (verb):
4. Paragraph 4, relating to the fact that there are not enough of one type of people in a group
(adjective):
5. Paragraph 6, involvement, interest and attention (noun):
6. Paragraph 6, the legal right to be considered in a certain way (noun):
7. Paragraph 9, people with high social status and a title that is passed down through the family:

8. Paragraph 9, a phrase which describes a classic story of a poor person working hard to become
wealthy (adjective):

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Student B

1. Paragraph 1, an investment or share in a business (noun):

2. Paragraph 3, a historical group of people from Scandinavia who travelled to different parts of
Europe by sea to fight, trade and settle (noun):
3. Paragraph 4, providing information about slight differences between similar things (adjective):

4. Paragraph 5, growing at a rate that increases more and more quickly as a calculation proceeds
(adverb):
5. Paragraph 6, formally constructed stories, or accounts of true events (noun):
6. Paragraph 7, make something officially acceptable (verb):
7. Paragraph 9, cause something to be more certain or stronger (verb):
8. Paragraph 10, friendly relationships between groups of countries who have agreed to work together
(noun):

In pairs, answer these:

• Which of these items are new for you?
• Did you increase your understanding of any items you have seen before?

5 Comprehension

Answer the questions about the information in the article in your own words.

1. What are the two main problems that users experience when they use DNA ancestry tests?
2. Explain why Vikings are mentioned twice in the article.
3. What two problems do African Americans face when they want to research their genealogy?
4. Why is it meaningless for Europeans to trace their ancestors into the distant past?
5. How do the animated photos fit into our interest in genealogy?
6. How has the purpose of researching family trees changed over time?

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WHO ARE YOU?
Our obsession with genealogy
Can we ever answer our questions about the past? And why do we want to know?
1.
The Deep Nostalgia photo app has been produced
by the company MyHeritage, one of many that have
sprung up in recent years to provide genealogical
services including DNA ancestry testing and online
access to records and documents. These companies
are big business – one investment group recently
purchased a majority stake in Ancestry.com for $4.7
billion.
2.
Millions of people, mainly Americans, are using DNA
tests to find out more about their heritage. These
cheap and easy kits have been popular as gifts. This
explosion of interest may be linked to the pandemic,
either because people have more time on their hands
for family research projects, or because of a growing
awareness of mortality.
3.
However, many users may not understand how the
tests work or how to interpret the results. Results
are obtained by comparing users’ DNA with the
location of other users with similar DNA who are
already on the database. If someone receives
results that include, for example, Scandinavia, this
means that they share DNA with living Swedes,
Norwegians and Danes. It does not mean that they
are descended from Vikings, although many test
users would interpret the results this way.
4.
Furthermore, the test results are not stable.
more and more people take the tests, databases
expand. Taking the test with the same company at
different times, or using two different companies,
yields different results. Also, because the databases
are heavily based on test-takers of European descent,
they don’t give nuanced information about other
parts of the world. In fact, the tests are of little
interest to under-represented groups such as African
Americans, who also find there are few helpful
records and documents detailing their family history.
5.
What’s more, the statistics are even against
Europeans gaining useful insights about their roots.
When you go back through the generations, the
number of ancestors you have grows exponentially.
Mathematical models suggest that every person
who lived in Europe 1,000 years ago, who had
descendants, is the ancestor of every European alive
today.
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HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
6.
So, if the results of ancestry tests are so imperfect,
what do they really mean to people? Psychologists
and sociologists emphasize that there is a strong
element of storytelling in people’s engagement with
their ancestry research. People want to build
narratives about themselves and their families, to find
that they look or move like an ancestor, have similar
talents and interests, or use the results to prove the
status or legitimacy of their family in certain social
contexts.
7.
Even if these tests provided accurate information
about our ancestry, using the results to guide or
validate our lifestyle choices seems to indicate that
we have little control over our lives. Someone who
believes they have discovered Viking ancestry may
use this information to explain or excuse violent
tendencies.
8.
Serious questions are also emerging about who owns
the data that your DNA sample generates, and
whether the police or pharmaceutical companies can
gain access to it.
9.
MyHeritage also offers online access to records and
documents so people can complete their family trees.
In the past, this sort of information was compiled by
aristocrats who sought to consolidate political and
As economic power. Today, people seek confirmation
of the opposite sort of heritage. TV shows like
"Who do you think you are?" are most engaging when
they reveal rags-to-riches stories. Sometimes people
are disappointed by the results of their research,
discovering that their forebears led very ordinary
lives. People may also uncover family secrets or find
out that an ancestor was involved in the slave trade.
10.
So, when we give a DNA kit as a gift, research the
family tree, or animate our old photos, is it just a
bit of fun, or are we saying that we are defined by
our family’s past, rather than by our own choices,
achievements and character? Perhaps the real story
is that we’re having an identity crisis in a world
of mass migration, changing alliances and family
breakdown.
Sources: theconversation.com; psychologytoday.com;
theguardian.com
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6 Talking point

Answer these questions in pairs or small groups.

1. Why do you think DNA ancestry tests are mainly used by Americans? Is there much interest in
this sort of thing in your country?
2. Do you think that DNA testing kits make a good gift for someone? Who would you give one to?
3. Why do you think there are so few documents about African Americans who are researching their
family history?
4. What sort of family secrets might come out when people research their family history? Would
this be entirely negative?
5. Are you concerned that the police or pharmaceutical companies can gain access to the data that
people’s genetic testing generates? Why/not?

7 Optional extension

Review and activate vocabulary from the lesson by thinking of examples of these things:

1. an example of a political alliance

2. something that engages your attention in English class
3. another area where new companies have sprung up recently
4. something that grows exponentially
5. an official historical narrative about your country
6. someone who is famous for their rags-to-riches life story
7. some groups who are under-represented at high levels of business or government
8. how people use social media to validate their lifestyle choices

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