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 FROM THE EDITOR

Home is where the

(British) heart is

B
ritain may seem like a divided nation bricks and mortar
at the moment, but there is one topic [)brIks End (mO:tE]
everyone agrees on: the importance of , hier: Immobilien
(wörtlich: Ziegelsteine
owning a house or flat. The Brits are ob-
und Mörtel)
sessed with the subject. If your weather-
divided nation
related small talk has dried up, try the [dI)vaIdId (neIS&n]
subject of homeownership. Then sit back and enjoy , gespaltenes Land
stories of dodgy surveyors, rising damp and aggressive dodgy [(dQdZi] UK ifml.
gazumping. How did this fixation with bricks and mortar , zwielichtig
come about and how has it shaped Britain? We asked our gazumping [gE(zVmpIN]
author Lorraine Mallinder to investigate. “My home is UK ifml.
my castle” begins on page 14. , entgegen vorheriger
Zusage eine Immobilie
Not interested in homeownership? What about pets?
an einen Höherbietenden
Dogs are in the lead — if not always on the lead — when
Titelfoto: 1000 Words/Shutterstock.com; Fotos Editorial: the blue loft picture library/Alamy Stock Photo; Gert Krautbauer

verkaufen
it comes to popular pets in the UK. That’s why we’ve cho- lead: in the ~ [li:d]
sen a Fido, Finlay, to help explain the language of charts, , in Führung liegen; auch:
graphs and statistics in our language feature “A dog’s life (lead) Hundeleine
— in numbers” (pages 40–45). We’re sure that you’ll find rising damp
learning to talk about bar and pie charts in the company [)raIzIN (dÄmp] UK
, aufsteigende Feuchte
of Finlay as easy and enjoyable as a walk in the park — and
there’s no mess to clean up. surveyor [sE(veIE] UK
, Sachverständiger(in),
Finally, if you’re planning a holiday in an Eng-
Gutachter(in)
lish-speaking country anytime soon, be sure to take
along the travel-language booklet that comes free with
this issue of Spotlight. We’ve chosen all the most impor-
tant words and phrases you could need. Happy travels!

INEZ SHARP, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

i.sharp@spotlight-verlag.de

EDITORIAL 6/2019 Spotlight 3

 Contents
Issue 6, 2019 74 Feedback & Next Month E M A
Your letters to Spotlight
and upcoming topics
6 I n the Spotlight E M
News and views from 76 My Life in English M
around the world Actor Lukas Sauer

10 Peggy’s Place M
Visit Spotlight’s very own
London pub
16 Sprachseiten
47  nglish Explained M US
E
11 Britain Today E Chad Smith on colloquial
Colin Beaven on the word “not” expressions and The Beatles

12 A
 Day in My Life M + 48 Vocabulary E +
Meet a British woman who All about weekend activities
teaches sign language to babies
50 The Grammar Page M +
24 G
 rammar Tales M Using “most”, “some”, “all”,
A fairy tale for learners “both” and more

27 Press Gallery A 51 L
 anguage Cards E M A
Comment from the Pull out and practise
English-speaking world
53 Lost in Translation A
33 I Ask Myself A US A fun look at fascinating
Amy Argetsinger on blackface and words
racism
54 Everyday English M +
34 Artisans M Dialogues about finding a
Meet a scissor maker who lives new home
in Sheffield, England
56 The Basics E
36 The US in Germany M US +
A look at the fast-moving sport of
Easy English 40
lacrosse in Germany 58 Words that Go Together E
“Play” and “learn”:
How to
46 A
 rts M
Two films and a podcast
the collocation game
describe
63 Around Oz A
60 Spoken English M +
Using the phrase “out of” in things
Peter Flynn on great Australians conversational English
M
64  nd then I tried the Hals- und
A 61 English at Work M +
Rachentee M Ken Taylor answers
A humorous look at adjusting your questions
Collection/Alamy Stock Photo; N.Shanchuck/Shutterstock.com

to life in Germany
62 Crossword E M A
69 American Life M US + Find the words
Fotos: robertharding, Ian Dagnall Commercial

Ginger Kuenzel on the American and win a prize

South So what does your dog do all
day? With examples related
70 Short Story M US to our beloved dogs, cats and
“The better writer” other pets, we show you how to
describe things in English using
72 The Lighter Side E graphs, charts, tables and other
Jokes and cartoons infographics.

4 Spotlight 6/2019 CONTENTS

 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

14 this symbol PLUS there

are additional exercises
in plus.

My home is
my castle Spotlight Audio
Enjoy interviews and
travel stories and try
A
the exercises on the
The British are obsessed with owning their own 60-minute CD/download.
homes. We take a close look at the history, politics Look for this symbol
and culture of this phenomenon. AUDIO in the magazine.

Spotlight
in the classroom
Teachers: this six-page
supplement will
provide great ideas for
classroom activities
based on the magazine.
Free for all teachers who
subscribe to Spotlight.
28
Britain’s
Silicon Valley
M +

Correspondent Julian Earwaker takes us on a journey that mixes business

and pleasure. We visit places such as Swindon and Bristol along the M4
corridor, which belong to the UK’s own version of Silicon Valley.
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 6/2019 Spotlight 5

 IN THE SPOTLIGHT
NEWS AND VIEWS
On the hunt: lions in coastal Namibia
are changing their menu
NAMIBIA
Lions dining differently
EASY
Changing what you eat can save your life:
it’s a lesson Namibian lions are learning.
Scientists recently observed two prides
eating new prey: marine animals. The be-
haviour marks a significant change in the
hunting habits of the big cats in this beau-
tiful part of south-west Africa.
Deciding to make cormorants, flamingos
and Cape fur seals a regular part of their
menu comes of necessity: oryx and os-
triches are in short supply in the Skeleton
Coast National Park, where lion numbers
(now 130 –150 animals) have been growing
Cape fur seal cormorant [(kO:m&rEnt]
[keIp (f§: si:&l] , Kormoran
, Südafrikanischer Seebär
marine [mE(ri:n]
, Meeres-
6 Spotlight 6/2019
since 2002. Nature expert Flip Stander ex-
plained to The Guardian that, to get by, the
lions “have to be resourceful by hunting a
range of different prey species in a wide va-
riety of habitats in their home range”.
Since the cats are making a comeback
— thanks to tourism and the hard work of
local communities — and since other prey
is not easy to find, the lions have adapted
and begun hunting along the water’s edge.
This behaviour has been seen only very
rarely since the 1980s, when farmers killed
off nearly all lions in the area.
oryx [(QrIks] prey [preI]
, Oryx-Antilope , Beute(tier)
ostrich [(QstrItS] pride [praId]
, (Vogel)Strauß , hier: (Löwen)Rudel
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
 TANZANIA AUSTRALIA

Finally on My loyalty
Travel update
the map to Mr. Trump
EASY

“The more things change, the more they

MEDIUM
has cost me
Mapping countries helps us to navigate,
to know where resources are needed everything —
and where homes can be safely built.
Now, thanks to a project called Ramani
my family’s
Huria, Africans are using drones to map
places that haven’t been properly chart-
happiness,
ed. It all began in 2015 in Dar es Salaam, my law license,
Tanzania, one of the world’s fastest-
growing cities. Community leader Osiligi my company...
Losai told the BBC that people there are
dying because they’re building homes in
my reputation,
unsafe places — something that mapping and soon my
can help to stop.
freedom.
– Michael Cohen, former personal
lawyer to President Donald Trump,
earlier this year. Cohen is
facing three years in prison for
breaking campaign finance laws
and tax and bank fraud.
stay the same,” goes the old saying. Not
so with travel, writes Australian website
traveler.com. In an entertaining look back
in time, the site lists “21 things that no
longer really exist”. These include paper
tickets for air travel and internet cafes
for checking e-mail during a trip. Smart-
phones have replaced the above, as well as
the need for torches, maps, in-flight mov-
ies and, increasingly, guidebooks.
On the flip side, some things will “never
go away”: postcards, caravanning — “still a
wonderful way to get around, slowly and
steadily, meeting people and enjoying the
scenery” — as well as travel agents, which,
the site says, are “worth paying for”.
What things about travel do we ada-
mantly wish away? Immigration forms
(still used by Australia), carousel storm-
ing, which is the impatient press of trav-
ellers who insist on standing too close to
the baggage carousel
after a flight, and “in-
sta-fame”, when cer-
tain sights become
famous very quickly
due to their popular-
ity on social media.
adamantly [(ÄdEmEntli] on the flip side
, entschieden [Qn DE (flIp saId] ifml.
, hier: andererseits
caravanning
[(kÄrEvÄnIN] UK press [pres]
, Urlaub im Wohnwagen , Gedränge

fraud [frO:d] reputation carousel storming steadily [(stedIli]

, Betrug [)repju(teIS&n] [)kÄrE(sel )stO:mIN] , stetig, pausenlos
, Ruf , hier: das Gedränge am
chart [tSA:t] map [mÄp] torch [tO:tS] UK
Gepäckförderband
, kartographieren , kartographieren , Taschenlampe
Fotos: iStockphoto/iStock.com; onot/Shutterstock.com; facebook

THE NEWCOMER

Christine Welch
(or Ke Li Si Ding in Chinese) EASY

Age: 30 moved to Beijing and then to Taipei,

From: New Mexico, US
Lives in: Taipei, Taiwan
Background: Christine Welch started
learning Mandarin Chinese at univer-
sity. After she had finished in 2010, she
where she began writing songs in Chi-
nese and putting them on YouTube.
Famous because: Her song “A Million
Possibilities” went viral in China and
made Welch famous there.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT 6/2019 Spotlight 7

 WHO EXACTLY IS…

Elizabeth Olsen?
EASY US

If you ever meet Elizabeth Olsen, don’t ask her about her sisters.
Elizabeth is the younger sister of twins Mary-Kate and Ashley
Olsen, who became famous child actresses in the 1990s and are
now successful fashion designers. Although Elizabeth began
her career by acting in their films and TV shows, she has now
established her own Hollywood career, and she told Vanity Fair
that she’s sick of being asked about growing up with the twins:
“I’ve been doing this for five or six years now. Are we really still
talking about [my sisters]?”
Born in Sherman Oaks, California, Olsen, 30, began acting at the
age of four and studied in New York. She didn’t become famous in her UNITED STATES
own right until she was in her early twenties and starred in the 2011 film Martha Marcy
May Marlene, in which she played a woman who had escaped from a cult. Since then, Uncle Sam
she has been in many big movies, including the Captain America and Avengers series.
Olsen said privacy is very important to her, but you can follow her on Instagram — wants me, too
for now. The star told Harper’s Bazaar UK of her Instagram account: “Every day I think EASY US
I should delete it. I still don’t know why I’m on it. Then I think: ‘Well, I guess I want to
promote Avengers,’ and then I find myself putting something private up there, and I From the Uncle Sam campaigns of
think: ‘This is stupid. Why did I do that?’” the two World Wars, to the end of the
Vietnam-era draft in 1973, recruit-
delete [di(li:t] privacy [(prIvEsi] sick: be ~ of sth. [sIk] star [stA:r] ment to the US military has reflect-
, löschen , Privatsphäre , von etw. die Nase voll , die Hauptrolle spielen ed traditional gender roles. This may
haben
change, as a federal judge’s recent rul-
ing shows: in his opinion, the male-
SYRIA only draft violates “equal-protection”
principles of the Constitution.

Lost children Attorney Marc Angelucci, who

EASY
When Abebe Oboi Ferreira from Trini-
dad and Tobago joined the militant group
ISIS around 2014, he took his two sons
with him to Syria, leaving their mother
behind. A few years later, Ferreira was
killed, and his children were taken to a
camp for families of ISIS fighters. Now,
Roger Waters of the British rock band
Pink Floyd has helped bring the two boys
home. The 75-year-old musician flew the
boys’ mother and a human-rights law-
yer to Iraq in his private jet. There they
crossed the border to Syria and collected
the boys, now aged seven and 11.
There are reportedly more than 1,200
children of ISIS fighters from other coun-
tries in Syria, and Waters told the BBC he
hopes to help more of them.
sued the draft system on behalf of
a men’s-rights group, told National
Public Radio: “Our concern is that if
there is a requirement to register, and
women are allowed in combat, then
women should share the same respon-
sibilities as men...”
Senator Tammy Duckworth agrees.
She lost her legs in combat in Iraq, and
is the Senate’s most highly decorated
military veteran.
“As long as all of the positions are
open to women, then, yes, I think that
Fotos: imago/Apress, AFP/Getty Images, EdenExit/Shutterstock.com

collect [kE(lekt] reportedly [ri(pO:tIdli] both young men and women in this
, hier: abholen , Berichten zufolge nation should be given equal oppor-
tunity to serve,” Duckworth said. “And
that means everyone registers.”

attorney [E(t§:ni] concern [kEn(s§:n]

, Anwalt, Anwältin , Sorge
behalf: on ~ of sb. draft [drÄft]
[bi(hÄf] , Einberufung
, im Auftrag von
jmdm. sue sth. [su:]
, gegen etw. klagen
combat [(kA:mbÄt]
Wish you were here: the Ferreira boys on their way , Kampf
violate [(vaIEleIt]
home from Syria , verletzen

8 Spotlight 6/2019 Texts by Talitha Linehan and Claudine Weber-Hof IN THE SPOTLIGHT
S P R AC H R E I SEN MI T SP O T LIG H T
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Termin: 04.08. – 10.08.19

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N OC H P L ÄT Z E
SIC HER N und
dabei sein!

R EISEN IN S H E R Z I H R E R L I E B L I N G S S P R AC HE

Die neue Art von Sprachreisen von Spotlight und ZEIT Reisen. Genießen Sie mit anderen
sprachbegeisterten Reisenden die Kultur und raue Schönheit Südenglands. Wir geben der
Sprache Raum – ganz ungezwungen beim geführten Besuch prächtiger Landschaftsgärten
und bunter Fischerdörfer, beim Kochkurs eines Masterchefs oder bei der gemeinsamen
Entdeckungstour mit dem Spotlight-Kolumnisten Colin Beaven durch Exeter. Ohne jeden
Stundenplan genießen Sie Begegnungen und Gespräche und perfektionieren Ihre Sprach-
kenntnisse ganz nebenbei. SEIEN SIE DA BEI! Spotlight-Kolumnist Colin Beaven

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SP O T LIG H T- R E I S E N . D E
oder tel. +49 ( 0)40/ 637 996 58
 PEGGY’S PLACE

A new community spirit?

Die Krise, in der sich die britischen Pubs befinden, wird heftig diskutiert,
und zwar wieder einmal in Spotlights ganz eigenem Londoner Pub. Von INEZ SHARP
MEDIUM AUDIO

Sean Phil & Peggy Helen George Jane

George: I’ve been meaning to give you Sean: That’s true, of course. We lost a lot
this printout. Sorry, it’s a bit tatty. I’ve
been carrying it around in my pocket for
“I won’t go of well-heeled customers because of that.
George: There is still a core community,
a few weeks.
down without though.
Peggy: (reading) “The Independent, The a fight!” Peggy: Yes, but it’s made up of a lot of
Wonston Arms: Hampshire pub saved people whose traditions don’t include
from closure named best in the UK.” George: The way to keep pubs like this evenings at the pub.
Sean: I heard about this place, too. place going is by turning them into cen- George: Then we need to start some new
Peggy: (continues reading) “A pub in Hamp- tres for the community. traditions.
shire has been named the National Pub of Peggy: Isn’t that what we’ve been doing Sean: Peggy, what are you doing? Cover-
the Year, four years after it was left dere- for years? Think of all the projects we’ve ing your ears?
lict.” had: quiz nights, readings, a breakfast ser- Peggy: Don’t get me wrong. Yes, we’re
Sean: That’s really impressive, don’t you vice. None of it really came to much. struggling, despite the money I have put
think? George: Maybe we just haven’t been try- into this place, and I want to keep the
George: Let her finish reading. ing hard enough. It says here that pub open, but sometimes facts need to
Sean: But I could also sum it up Matt Todd was in marketing be faced.
for you, if you like, Peggy. before he took over the pub. Sean: I won’t go down without a fight.
Peggy: OK, go ahead. I can Listen to this dialogue Sean: George is right. We George: It’s time to start rethinking this
see that you both want me to on Spotlight Audio: need someone with exper- business. I’m in marketing. I’ll help you.
spotlight-online.de/
know about this pub. spotlight-audio tise to turn this into a project. Now, when can we begin?
Sean: Right, so this business- Peggy: Just a moment! Com-
man, Matt Todd, has turned paring this place — what’s it You’ll find an interview with Matt Todd on
Spotlight Audio.
around his local pub in Winchester… called, The Wonston Arms? — with
Peggy: I was in Winchester a couple of us, well, it’s like comparing apples and closure [(klEUZE] pear [peE]
weeks ago with Phil on our walking tour. pears. We may both be pubs, but a Lon- , Schließung , Birne
George: Never mind that. What’s really don pub and a country pub have a whole core [kO:] raise [reIz]
interesting is here. Look (reading): “Since different set of — what do we call prob- , Kern- , sammeln, zusammen-
kriegen
its reopening, The Wonston Arms has lems today? Ah, yes — challenges. derelict [(derElIkt]
raised more than £25,000 for charity and George: I don’t see the difference. We’re , heruntergekommen rural [(rUErEl]
, ländlich
become a centre for community events both part of a community. expertise [ekspE(ti:z]
such as darts matches, jazz sessions and Peggy: Yes, but our community changes , Expertenwissen tatty [(tÄti] ifml.
, schmuddelig,
a photography club.” much more quickly than a rural one. mind: never ~ that
zerfleddert
[maInd]
Sean: Exactly! Remember when that American bank
, Lass es gut damit sein! well-heeled
Peggy: Exactly what? What are you trying moved its headquarters to Frankfurt [)wel (hi:&ld] ifml.
to tell me? because of the Brexit referendum? , betucht

10 Spotlight 6/2019 PEGGY’S PLACE

 BRITAIN TODAY

That’s (not)
what I meant!
„Nicht“ ist ein kleines Wörtchen mit weitreichender
Bedeutung. Unser Kolumnist erinnert uns daran,
was alles passieren kann, wenn man es an wichtigen
Stellen vergisst.
EASY AUDIO

W
hat’s the worst mistake you can make? Perhaps it’s
to forget the word “not” in a sentence that needs it.
It can happen to anyone. It happened to Donald
Trump at his Helsinki press conference. He cleared
Russia of interfering with the US presidential elec-
tion. Afterwards, he said he’d meant to say the oppo-
site, but unfortunately he’d forgotten the word “not”.
It even happened in the Bible, or rather, in an un-
usual version from 1631 that was recently on show
at the British Museum. When you looked closely
at one of the Ten Commandments, this is what you
read: “Thou shalt commit adultery.” Just to be clear,
there’s a word missing: “not”. Was this an error? A
joke? Or even a special edition — one intended for
VIPs, perhaps?
Over the years since 1631, many have behaved as
if they were using this unconventional version of the
Commandments. Not just members of the British
royal family; even today, adultery’s the reason given
for about one in ten British divorces. The royal fami-
ly’s big, but not that big.
Still, only one in ten. It just shows how things have
changed. For much of the 20th century, your partner’s
Fotos: Stephen Coburn/Shutterstock.com; privat
those you could sell. They carry such a valuable warn-
ing, and in any case, we all need mugs. Married cou-
ples have to replace the ones they throw at each other
when they’re having a fight in the kitchen.
Ideally, you’d be able to identify the people you
want to divorce before they ask you to marry them.
As a rule of thumb, it pays to avoid celebrities, such
as politicians who speak and misspeak at press con-
ferences.
The same probably goes for the rich and famous
from other categories, too. One would leave out
many from the world of business. Plus the media,
entertainment and sport. Then there’s the boss, of
course, and the people next door. You end up with a
long list of individuals who’d make you go directly
to divorce court if ever you tied the knot with them.
That’s an alternative expression for “getting married”;
this time it’s “knot” with a “k”.
Never throw that list away. It’ll always cheer you
up to think of all the dreadful people you’re not mar-
ried to.

adultery, if you could prove it, was more or less the adultery [E(dVltEri] misspeak [)mIs(spi:k]
, Ehebruch , sich versprechen
only way to get a divorce. Nowadays, couples can just
agree to go their different ways. cheer: ~ sb. up [tSIE] mug [mVg]
, jmdn. aufheitern , Becher, Tasse
But agreement’s less common than you might
think. The number of divorces caused by unreason- commit [kE(mIt] rule of thumb [)ru:l Ev (TVm]
, begehen , Faustregel
able behaviour is almost twice the number agreed
by consent, and four times the number blamed on consent [kEn(sent] shalt [SÄlt] veralt.
, Einvernehmen , sollst
adultery. The trouble, of course, is that you hear a lot
of promises when you get married, but you just don’t divorce court [dI(vO:s kO:t] Ten Commandments
, Scheidungsgericht, Familien- [)ten kE(mA:ndmEnts]
COLIN BEAVEN
know whether they have a Trump-style silent “not” gericht , Zehn Gebote
is a freelance in them. And it’s hard to get objective external advice.
dreadful [(dredf&l] thou [DaU] veralt.
writer. He lives There are mugs on sale in gift shops with messages , furchtbar, entsetzlich , du
and works in
like “world’s best husband”, but you can’t really trust
Southampton on interfere [)IntE(fIE] tie the knot [)taI DE (nQt] ifml.
the south coast them. Nobody seems to make mugs that say “not the , Einfluss nehmen, sich , den Bund der Ehe schließen
of England. world’s best husband”. Just think of the number of einmischen

BRITAIN TODAY 6/2019 Spotlight 11

 A DAY IN MY LIFE
tummy’s rumbling. I have the toddlers in those classes. They’re
very lively, so I forget all about my hunger and have a really good

Baby talk time teaching. We’re much more active in our toddler signing
class and it’s more about talking.
When that finishes, I pack everything up. I tend to eat lunch
Claire Owen lebt in Stroud, Gloucestershire, im in the car whilst driving back down the motorway and then I
Südwesten Englands, wo sie Babys, Kleinkindern go to school to pick up my son. My husband works from home,
und ihren Familien Gebärdensprache beibringt. so I generally drop Albie off and take the dog, Willow, out for
an afternoon walk. I come home after that and collapse on the
Von WENDY JOHNSON
sofa with my son while my husband makes dinner, which is a
MEDIUM AUDIO PLUS relief.
We have dinner early because we’ve got a lengthy routine
with my son. He tends to get very active in the evenings and
needs lots of rough and tumble and activities to get all the pent-
up energy out from his day at school. So, we have rough play and
quiet play, we have Albie’s special time, where he can choose
whatever he wants — even if it’s a little bit naughty, like throw-
ing water all over me. If my husband’s doing all that, then I
unpack my stuff and have a look at the lesson plan for
the next day, restock my prop bags and clean all my
instruments and toys.

M
Listen to Claire Owen
on Spotlight Audio:
y name is Claire Owen spotlight-online.de/ I really love teaching TinyTalk, and I found sign-
and I’m 47 years old. In the spotlight-audio ing really beneficial for me and my son. Not only
mornings, me and my hus- because he could tell me what he needed, but because
band work together as a team to he could tell me things he noticed and enjoyed, like the
get my son, Albie, to school, and me birds singing outside the window while he was eating his
out to TinyTalk in time. He does the lunch food. Little things like that helped our connection and our bond,
and I get Albie up, then drop him off at and I find that with mums in class. When they tell me stories
his friend’s house. He loves having a little about when their child has signed, it’s usually in that kind of sit-
play date before school. Then I zoom off uation, which delights them so much. I really love that I bring
to Cheltenham, where I prepare my Tiny- joy to families, and that I help facilitate signing for those people
Talk class in a little place called The Hive, a who really take to it. The babies are lovely, the mums are happy
centre for baby and family activities. with their babies and it inspires me.

Fotos: Wendy Johnson; Cipariss, JoeDunckley, Rocky89, flubydust, LSOphoto, pamela_d_mcadams, Mr_POKPAK/iStock.com
TinyTalk is a baby signing programme I started signing with my son at home, actually, when he was
developed by a teacher who taught Brit- very little. There weren’t any programmes near me, but when he
ish Sign Language in schools. She de- was about three, I wanted to do something different in my work
cided she would try it with her babies life, and I thought about what was important to me. I really loved
and found that it was an amazing bridge signing with my baby, I wanted to support mums and children
between when babies know what they and I decided to teach baby sign language, so I looked into fran-
want and need, and when they’re able to chises and found TinyTalk, which is the best around.
communicate it in words. She was able
to teach them signs to fill in the gap, and back-to-back facilitate [fE(sIlEteIt] rough and tumble
they were then able to communicate with [)bÄk tE (bÄk] , erleichtern, ermög- [)rVf End (tVmb&l] ifml.
, nacheinander lichen wildes Herumtollen
their hands before they could speak. ,

My TinyTalk class is half an hour of beneficial [(benI(fIS&l]
, nützlich, förderlich
singing, signing and learning all the new
words on a theme. We have a bit of sen- bond [bQnd]
, hier: körperliche und
sory activity in there, some bubbles and emotionale Nähe
things like that, then we stop for a bit of a
bubbles [(bVb&lz]
chill-out and get the toys out. The mums , Seifenblasaen
have a nice hot cup of tea while their ba-
chill-out [(tSIl aUt] ifml.
bies play with the toys and interact with , Entspannung
the other babies.
delight [di(laIt]
, erfreuen
Some days, I run three classes back-to-
drop: ~ sb. off [drQp]
back with 15 minutes in between. The , jmdn. absetzen
last class is at 12.15, so by that time, my
naughty [(nO:ti] rumble [(rVmb&l]
, frech, unartig , hier: knurren
pent-up [)pent (Vp] signing [(saInIN]
, aufgestaut , hier: Gebärden-
play date [(pleI deIt] sign language
, Spieltreffen [(saIn )lÄNgwIdZ]
, Gebärdensprache,
prop bag [(prQp bÄg] Zeichensprache
, hier: Tasche mit
Lernmaterialien toddler [(tQd&lE]
, Kleinkind
relief [ri(li:f]
, Erleichterung, Hilfe tummy [(tVmi] ifml.
, Bauch
restock [)ri:(stQk]
, wiederauffüllen zoom off [zu:m (Qf] ifml.
, abdüsen

12 Spotlight 6/2019 A DAY IN MY LIFE

 Cup of tea, anyone?
Claire Owen offers mums a cup of
tea during their visits

The area
around Stroud
is lovely, green
and peaceful

Bubbles,
bubbles...
a wonderful
way to get the
babies’ attention

Magic bag:
Claire unpacks
and repacks
her work
things at
TinyTalk and
at home

On the road: Loves her

truck driver work: Carrie
Michelle Kitchin Goldberg

British Sign Language

is what Claire teaches to mothers
and their children

At dinnertime,
Claire often does
the cooking, and
may also continue to
work after the family
has eaten
14
East London
houses in Ilford,
rows of terraced
Home sweet home:

RUBRIKTITEL
Fotos: XXX
Foto: London Aerial Photo Library/Alamy Stock Photo; Stock Ninja Studio/Shutterstock.com
 SOCIETY

My home is
my castle
In Großbritannien dreht sich alles um Hausbesitz.
Man spricht darüber bei der Arbeit, beim Abendessen,
man schaut sich entsprechende Fernsehsendungen an
und beobachtet das Auf und Ab der Immobilienpreise
im ganzen Land. LORRAINE MALLINDER hat die
Daten für Sie zusammengefasst.
ADVANCED
Fotos: XXX

RUBRIKTITEL x/2019 Spotlight 15

 B
allude to sth. [E(lu:d tE] landlord [(lÄndlO:d]
, auf etw. anspielen , Vermieter
ack in the 1960s, foundation of a fulfilled life. This is in
asset [(Äset] obsession [Eb(seS&n]
builders renovat- sharp contrast to a country like Germany,
, Vermögenswert , Zwangsvorstellung,
ing an old house where more than half the households are Manie
beautification
in North London rented.
[)bju:tIfI(keIS&n] precarious [prI(keEriEs]
made a rather sur- In Britain, home is not only where the , Verschönerung , unsicher
prising discovery. heart is. It is who you are and what you candlestick [(kÄnd&lstIk] presumably
Hidden behind the might become. It is a marker of social , Kerzenhalter [prI(zju:mEbli]
fireplace, they found a basket with two status, separating the haves from the , vermutlich, wahr-
curl up [k§:l (Vp]
shoes, a candlestick and a drinking vessel, have-nots. Little wonder, therefore, that scheinlich
, es sich gemütlich
as well as the skeletons of four chickens. in the middle of today’s housing bubble, machen staked: be ~ on sth.
[steIkt]
This offering to the house gods, described in which house prices have increased by DIY (do-it-yourself) , sich auf etw. stützen
in The Making of Home by Judith Flanders, 50 per cent over the past decade, the con- [)di: aI (waI]
, Heimwerken substandard
dated back to the 16th century, making it cept of home has become controversial. [)sVb(stÄndEd]
a very early example of the close relation- Those who do not own their own homes drinking vessel , minderwertig
[(drINkIN )ves&l]
ship the British have with their homes. often find themselves renting substan- , Trinkgefäß telly [(teli] UK ifml.
Home is truly a national obsession in dard properties from private landlords , Flimmerkiste
housing bubble
Britain, even if we no longer make bloody under very precarious conditions. Get- [(haUzIN )bVb&l] tenant [(tenEnt]
offerings to the house gods. Instead, we ting on the housing ladder is impossible , Immobilienblase , Mieter(in)
watch endless hours of strangely addic- for young people, unless they can access keep [ki:p] trillion [(trIljEn]
tive television programmes devoted to “the bank of mum and dad”. , Burg; Bergfried , Billion(en)
buying and improving houses. We worry It’s not that Brits lack a soul connection
about the value of our houses, on which to their homes. After all, most of us still
our children’s studies and our future re- spend much of our leisure time watching
tirement plans are staked. We analyse telly, reading or listening to music, pre-
the market, fantasizing about selling our sumably curled up on a sofa. According
houses at a massive profit or investing in to researchers, we also spend 104 hours
new property that can be rented to some- every year on DIY and 493 hours cleaning
one else as a home. — that’s a lot of beautification. Our anxie-
If Britain has been transformed from ties today, though, are a long way from the
a nation of renters into one of owners, it warm nostalgia of “Our House”, the 1980s
is largely because of former Prime Min- hit by Madness. As the song, a tribute to
ister Margaret Thatcher’s “right-to-buy” everyday suburban life, put it: “Our house,
revolution in the 1980s, which enabled was our castle and our keep…”
tenants to buy their government-owned The “castle” alluded to in this song is a
properties at a discount. This policy, powerful symbol in British life. It goes all
which benefited a lot of working-class the way back to the 17th century, when
families, allowed them to move up the lawyer and politician Sir Edward Coke
social ladder and changed attitudes. established the legal right of citizens to do
Nowadays, for the majority of Brits, whatever they liked in their own homes,
owning your own home lies at the very declaring: “The house of every one is to

Homes in figures
Fotos: Kenny Williamson/Alamy Stock Photo; iconim/Shutterstock.com

In 1918, as the world emerged from the trauma of the First World War,
only 10 per cent of households in Britain owned their homes. These days,
it’s around 63 per cent, down from a high of 71 per cent in 2003.

At the end of 2018, the average house in the UK was worth £297,527
(€342,751), according to figures from the property website Rightmove.

The value of all homes in the UK is an enormous £7.14 trillion (€8.23 tn),
making it one of the country’s largest non-financial assets. If this bubble
bursts, it could be messy.

£
16 Spotlight 6/2019 SOCIETY
 The high life?
Blocks of flats
in Glasgow
Fotos: XXX

RUBRIKTITEL x/2019 Spotlight 17

 battered [(bÄtEd] porch [pO:tS]
, ramponiert , Windfang, Vorbau
him as his Castle” (homeowners were al-
Homes on the telly bay window pursue [pE(sju:]
ways male back then). Later, in 1763, this
[)beI (wIndEU] , verfolgen
maxim was extended by future Prime As the supply of affordable houses , Erkerfenster
quid [kwId] UK ifml.
Minister William Pitt the Elder, who fa- goes down, demand for TV shows
bid [bId] , ein britisches Pfund
mously said: “It may be frail, its roof may about property seems to go up. It , bieten
seems that people like to fantasize relocation
shake, the wind may blow through it. The brick [brIk] [)ri:lEU(keIS&n]
storm may enter. The rain may enter. But about what they would do if they , Backstein, Ziegelstein , Umzug
the King of England cannot enter.” could afford their dream home. burglar [(b§:glE] ring true [rIN (tru:]
Perhaps nobody has understood the , Einbrecher(in) , richtig klingen
Anglo-Saxon passion for domesticity Location, Location, Location compulsive [kEm(pVlsIv] row [raU]
more than Hermann Muthesius, a Ger- No floorboard is left unturned as , zwanghaft , hier: Streit
man architect, author and diplomat. In his two property experts take clueless cramped [krÄmpt] scale: on a large ~ [skeI&l]
1904 classic, The English House, he offered buyers shopping for their dream , beengt, überfüllt , in großem Umfang
an analysis of the psychology behind the home. Some accuse this show of derelict [(derElIkt] self-sufficient
English household: “The Englishman single-handedly being responsible , baufällig, herunter- [)self sE(fIS&nt]
sees the whole of life embodied in his for Britain’s property lunacy. gekommen , eigenständig, selbst-
Running since the millennium, it has genügsam
house. Here, in the heart of his family, self- disease-ridden
sufficient and feeling no great urge for produced a number of spin-offs. [dI(zi:z )rId&n] shedload [(SedlEUd] ifml.
Relocation, Relocation anyone? , von Krankheiten , Riesenmenge
sociability, pursuing his own interests in heimgesucht
virtual isolation, he finds his happiness single-handedly
Grand Designs domesticity [)sINg&l (hÄndIdli]
and his real spiritual comfort.” [)dEUme(stIsEti] , ganz allein
Times may have changed, but in a na- With a housing crisis in full swing, , Häuslichkeit
the idea of building your own home sociability [)sEUSE(bIlEti]
tion where the terrible weather drives us embody [Im(bQdi] , Geselligkeit
all to the comfort of our homes after work, has started to seem, well, possible. , verkörpern
spare [speE]
this phrase still rings true. There really is It’s a simple format, with cameras
floorboard [(flO:bO:d] , überschüssig
no place like home. following people risking all for , Holzdiele
spin-off [(spIn Qf]
the dream. Expect rows, divorces,
frail [freI&l] , Ablegersendung
History of an obsession bankruptcy and some incredible , morsch, klapprig
take hold [teIk (hEUld]
Housebuilding on a large scale really be- designs — a glass house on a Welsh
irrelevant factoid , sich etablieren
gan with the Georgians (1714–1830), who cliff being the one that most people N. Am.
terraced house
introduced hundreds of town planning remember. It’s compulsive viewing. [I)relEvEnt (fÄktOId]
[)terEst (haUs] UK
, irrelevante Tatsache
laws. Before then, if you wanted a house, , Reihenhaus
The £1 Houses: leafy [(li:fi]
you just bought a piece of land, made urge [§:dZ]
Britain’s Cheapest Street , begrünt, mit viel Grün
some bricks and got on with it. In the , Drang
If it sounds too good to be true, lunacy [(lu:nEsi]
18th century, however, rows of beautiful Wahnsinn
houses were erected, classic in design and
that’s because it is! In this 2018 ,

mini-series, Liverpool City Council makeover [(meIk)EUvE]

with big windows. , Verschönerungs-;
sells derelict houses for a quid to
The Victorian Age (1837–1901) hier: Renovierungs-
lucky buyers with spare cash to
brought the Industrial Revolution, with
spend on renovations; only they
millions of workers moving to the cities.
have to do it within a year or they
Generally, they lived in rows of cramped
lose the house and the investments.
buildings built back to back, which turned
Add burglars and guns and you
into disease-ridden slums. The wealthy
have the makeover show from hell.
lived in terraced houses, built in the re-
vived Gothic fashion of the day, with
Fotos: Peter Scholey/Alamy Stock Photo; Mark1987/Shutterstock.com

Homes Under the Hammer

porches and bay windows — still very
As house prices climb higher, why
popular with homebuyers.
not try bidding at auction? It’s
In the early 20th century, in answer to
never been easier — apparently. In
the dirt and misery of city life, the sub-
this show, TV cameras stalk buyers
urban dream took hold. It began with
from the auction house to their
Letchworth Garden City — the idea of
battered purchase, zooming in as
an Esperanto-speaking social reformer
they get stuck into some serious
called Ebenezer Howard — a model of
DIY, then zooming back out to see
“new town” living in leafy Hertfordshire,
if they’ve made shedloads of cash.
with bay windows, a place to park the car Irrelevant factoid: Meryl Streep
and morals as tidy as the gardens. once admitted to being a fan.
Howard’s ideas led to more new towns
up and down the country — some more

18 Spotlight 6/2019 SOCIETY

 Street smart:
Pelham Crescent
in London’s South
Kensington
Fotos: XXX

RUBRIKTITEL x/2019 Spotlight 19

 ballot box [(bÄlEt bQks] incessantly [In(ses&ntli]
, Wahlurne , unaufhörlich, ständig
successful than others. Milton Keynes, obsession with owning a home?
black spot [(blÄk spQt] mediocre [)mi:di(EUkE]
for example, is very des res. On the oth- “Unhealthy,” he says with a laugh. “Peo-
, Problemgebiet , mittelmäßig
er hand, Cumbernauld, near Glasgow, ple talk about it incessantly, in pubs and at
bland [blÄnd] outspoken
turned into an unemployment black spot. dinner parties.”
, nichtssagend, [aUt(spEUkEn]
After the First World War, the gov- Brits, he says, have a reputation for be- langweilig , offen, geradeheraus
ernment played a bigger role, building ing polite and quiet. But, when it comes to reckless [(reklEs]
council estate
homes fit for heroes — on leafy streets buying and selling property, their behav- [(kaUns&l I)steIt] UK , leichtsinnig
and with their own back gardens. After iour changes. “If you come to buy a house , Siedlung mit Sozial-
rock the boat
the Second World War, the age of the gov- in the UK,” he says, “don’t assume it’s all wohnungen
[)rQk DE (bEUt] ifml.
ernment-built council estate really saw a tea and cucumber sandwiches. It can get cucumber [(kju:kVmbE] , Staub aufwirbeln, für
, Gurken- Unruhe sorgen
boom. The post-war Labour government incredibly aggressive and emotions run
built more than a million houses to re- high. It’s every man for himself.” dead-end street self-harm [)self (hA:m]
[)ded end (stri:t] , selbstverletzendes
place those destroyed by bombing. Pryor believes that British govern-
, Sackgasse Verhalten
The boom in government building ments have encouraged homeowning
des res (desirable resi- stake: get a ~ in sth.
continued in the 1950s and 1960s, with for a reason. “If you help people to get a dence) [(dez rez] ifml. [steIk]
the rise of the tower block. Le Corbusi- stake in the economy, you can achieve all , attraktiver Wohnsitz , an etw. Anteil nehmen
er’s dream of “machines for living” later sorts of things. People are more forgiving dread [dred] tower block
turned bad, though the initial intention of fiscal ineptitude if they feel warmer in , große Angst [(taUE blQk] UK
was to free ordinary people from the their wallet,” he says. , Hochhaus, Wohnsilo
drifter [(drIftE]
cramped slums of the previous century. It also suits governments to have peo- , Herumtreiber(in) whirl: give sb. a ~
Today, many complain of the lack of in- ple creating their own safety net and [w§:l] ifml.
fiscal ineptitude , es mit jmdm. aus-
novation in housing, with builders either viewing their homes not just as places to [)fIsk&l I(neptItju:d]
probieren
creating bland designs to appeal to a mass live, but as investments that can be used , finanzpolitische
Inkompetenz
market or insisting on redundant features to buy products or to fund retirement.
like chimneys. Where British housing de- Homeowners are less likely to rock the
sign will go is anyone’s guess. boat. “People are less likely to a make a
reckless choice at the ballot box,” says Pry-
An expert’s view or. “They’re less likely to say: ‘Let’s give Mr
Henry Pryor, one of the UK’s most out- [Jeremy] Corbyn a whirl’.’’
spoken and influential property experts, All in all, the UK’s homeowning cul-
is frequently heard and seen on radio ture has created a very conservative way
and television, commenting on the state of thinking. Except, that is, when it comes
of the market. As a “high-end personal to Brexit. Many, including the governor of
shopper”, he can find himself purchasing the Bank of England, say that Brexit will
properties worth up to £50 million for bring about a crash in house prices. “It’s an
clients. So, how would he define Britain’s act of self-harm,” says Pryor.

Songs about home

The Kinks: “Dead End Street” (1966)

The troubles of renting on a dead-end street. Dread, debt, tea and toast. Fotos: Anna Stowe/Alamy Stock Photo; SVIATLANA SHEINA/Shutterstock.com

Manfred Mann: “Semi-Detached, Suburban Mr James” (1966)

So you finally named the day. But will you really be happy living in suburbia
with the very mediocre Mr James?

The Beatles: “She’s Leaving Home” (1967)

The most moving song ever? She left her parents for a man in the motor
trade. They are heartbroken. She is free.

Gerry Rafferty: “Baker Street” (1978)

Drifter in the big, bad city dreams of home — all to the
melancholy sound of a lone saxophone.

20 Spotlight 6/2019 SOCIETY

 Very “des res”:
a cottage
Fotos: XXX

in Wanborough,
Wiltshire

RUBRIKTITEL x/2019 Spotlight 21

 A common feature
of British towns
and villages: the
“for sale” sign

But he believes that British property envy [(envi] redress [ri(dres]

laws remain the envy of the world, imi- , Neid , Wiedergutmachung,
Homely expressions Abhilfe
tated far and wide. “Our housing market get ripped off
Home is a powerful symbol in
is much more transparent than in many [)get rIpt (Qf] ifml. relief [ri(li:f]
the Anglo-Saxon consciousness. über den Tisch Erleichterung
parts of Europe,” he says. “You can buy, , ,
It appears in many English gezogen werden
sell and let property with a huge amount
expressions. let [let] UK
of confidence that you’re not going to get
, hier: vermieten
ripped off. It’s all legally documented, and
if something goes wrong, there’s a system
“Bring home the bacon”
of redress you can rely on.”
Meaning: To earn a wage that
Still, it can be a rough ride. During his
allows you to put food on the table
and pay the bills.
35 years in the business, Pryor has wit-
nessed the extremes of the housing mar-
“Home is where the heart is”
ket up close. “[In Britain], property is not
Meaning: Your home is simply
just something you buy for a roof over
where you feel most comfortable
your head. It’s far more complicated and
and happiest.
exciting as a result.”
Fotos: Johnny Greig/iStock.com; Roman Sotola/Shutterstock.com; privat

“Home sweet home”

Meaning: An expression of relief at
finding yourself back at home.

“The lights are on, but

nobody’s home”
Meaning: Used to describe someone
who is not very clever, comparing
their mind to an empty home.

“Home truth”
Henry Pryor: A property expert and Meaning: An unpleasant fact about
commentator who understands the oneself that is difficult to accept.
British housing market

22 Spotlight 6/2019 SOCIETY

U NSE R E T O P - A N GE B O T E.
Von unseren Sprachexperten, exklusiv für Sie zusammengestellt.

Empfehlung der Spotlight-Redaktion:

Englisch im Handumdrehen
Owen Connors, audio editor, Spotlight magazine

“The most important words and phrases

for your trip to England.”

Are you planning a trip to England? Then you will certainly need to
speak a little English. Whether you are just beginning to learn the lan-
guage or looking to freshen up your skills, Englisch im Handumdrehen
from Pons will set you on the right path. Containing the most important
words and phrases for your trip to England, this book will help you
master typical situations and communicate with the locals. With this
collection of everyday English vocabulary, you can have a successful
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Buch mit 160 Seiten | Artikel-Nr. 1836985

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Erinnern Sie sich an das Märchen von Rapunzel? Hier stellen wir Ihnen eine moderne Version vor
– zum Schmunzeln und zum Englischlernen. Von DAGMAR TAYLOR
W
e all know at least a
few fairy tales: Han-
sel and Gretel, Little
Red Riding Hood or
Sleeping Beauty. The
structure of these tales is familiar to us.
They begin with the phrase “Once upon a
time…” and use repetitive language to cre-
ate drama: “Grandma, what big teeth you
have! Grandma, what big ears you have!”
We have rewritten 24 fairy tales for the
21st century. Each one includes examples
of a specific grammatical structure. This
structure is explained in the notes at the
end, where you will also find some related
exercises. Here, we present a new version
of Rapunzel.
Once upon a time...
a young lady with a short bob was intro-
ducing herself on a television show called
Reunited at Last. “My name’s Rapunzel and
I’m looking for my biological parents,”
she said.
“Welcome to the show, Rapunzel,” said
Lavinia, the presenter. “The story of your
adoption is really quite unusual, isn’t it?”
“You could say that,” replied Rapun-
zel. “I wasn’t adopted. When I was five
days old, my parents gave me away to an
old lady who lived next door. They didn’t
want to, but she had demanded it.” The
studio audience gasped. “The old wom-
an, whose name was Gothel, caught my
father stealing some herbs from her gar-
den,” Rapunzel continued. “My mother
had terrible morning sickness and these
herbs were the only thing that helped.
Thinking that the old woman would nev-
Illustration: Sami Viljanto
er follow through on the outrageous de-
mand, my father agreed to hand me over
when I was born.”
“And how do you know all this?” asked
the presenter.
GRAMMAR TALES
Listen to this story on
Spotlight Audio:
spotlight-online.de/
spotlight-audio
GRAMMAR TALES
Rapunzel
MEDIUM AUDIO
“Gothel told me. I always knew. And bob [bQb] presenter [pri(zentE]
because she had told me when I was very , Bubikopf , Moderator(in)
young, I thought it was normal, I sup- fairy tale [(feEri teI&l] prompt [prQmpt]
pose,” said Rapunzel. “I thought that one , Märchen , auffordern, ermuntern
day, my parents would come and get me. follow through on sth. reunited [)ri:ju(naItId]
But they never did.” Rapunzel wiped her [)fQlEU (Tru: Qn] , wiedervereint
, etw. durchziehen
eyes. Lavinia handed her a tissue. Sleeping Beauty
“This is such an upsetting story,” said gasp [grA:sp] [)sli:pIN (bju:ti]
, nach Luft schnappen, , Dornröschen
the presenter. “You were kept in a tower, scharf die Luft einziehen
weren’t you? You were completely cut off suppose [sE(pEUz]
herb [h§:b] , vermuten, annehmen
from the real world. Tell us about that.” , Kraut
“On my twelfth birthday,” Rapunzel tissue [(tISu:]
Little Red Riding Hood , Papiertaschentuch
said, “Gothel locked me up in a high tow- [)lIt&l red (raIdIN hUd]
er, to keep me safe, she said. The tower had , Rotkäppchen twinkle [(twINk&l]
, zwinkern
no stairs and I had to let down my long morning sickness
hair for her to climb up. It hurt so much!’” [(mO:nIN )sIknEs]
upsetting [Vp(setIN]
, bestürzend,
“That’s unbelievable,” said Lavinia. “It’s , Morgenübelkeit
erschütternd
like something out of a fairy tale!” outrageous [aUt(reIdZEs]
, ungeheuerlich
“I asked her if she would mind using
a ladder,” continued Rapunzel. “But she
said that anyone passing would be able
to climb up and it wouldn’t be safe. Every
morning and evening when she brought
me my food, she would shout up, ‘Rapun-
zel, Rapunzel, would you mind letting
down your long, golden hair?’”
“That sounds quite polite,” comment-
ed Lavinia.
“Yes,” Rapunzel laughed sadly. “If you
ignore the fact that Gothel stole me from
my parents and kept me locked up in a
tower, you could say she was quite a nice
person, really. But my therapist says that’s
the Stockholm syndrome talking.” Ra-
punzel’s eyes twinkled and the audience
laughed gently.
“Tell us how you escaped,” prompted
Lavinia.
“Well, one day, about an hour after
Gothel had brought me my dinner, a
voice shouted up again: ‘Rapunzel, Ra-
punzel, would you mind letting down
your long, golden hair?’ I was surprised
that she had come back, but I thought
6/2019 Spotlight 25
 she might have forgotten something, so
I let down my hair. When I looked down,
I was suddenly able to make out a man’s
face appearing through the dusk. I nearly
died of fright. When he got to the win-
dow, though, I could see that he had kind
eyes and that he didn’t want to harm me.
He told me that his name was Christian.
He was from the village and had been
walking in the woods with his dogs when
he heard Gothel call: ‘Rapunzel, Rapun-
zel, would you mind letting down your
long, golden hair?’ He watched her as she
climbed up my hair. He didn’t think it
was right to keep a young girl in a tower,
so he decided to see what was going on.
It didn’t take him long to persuade me to
escape with him. We cut off my hair with
his knife, tied it to the hook at the window
and we climbed down. And then we ran.
Christian and his father went back to the
tower the next day to try to find Gothel,
but there was no trace of her and, weirdly,
the tower had vanished.”
“That is strange,” said Lavinia. “Now,
since your escape, you’ve been staying
with Christian and his family and you’ve
been going to school.”
“Yes,” nodded Rapunzel, smiling.
“Christian and his family have been
amazing. I’m so grateful to them for all
their support.” Rapunzel looked into the
audience, and the camera swung round to
focus on Christian and his parents. They
smiled kindly. “I would love to find my
parents and let them know I’m OK,” con-
tinued Rapunzel. “I can’t imagine what
they must have gone through when they
had to give me away. I’ve tried to find
them, but it’s as though they vanished
into thin air.”
“Which is why you contacted us,” said
Lavinia, taking up the story. “Now, your
parents names are Ethel and Gordon
Zopf. Unfortunately, we found no trace
of any Zopfs in this country, so we had
to search internationally. We managed
to find out that your parents emigrated
about six months after you were taken. It
cheer [tSIE] eventually [I(ventSuEli]
, jubeln , schließlich
clap [klÄp] hook [hUk]
, klatschen , Haken
dusk [dVsk] sob [sQb]
Abenddämmerung , aufschluchzen
, ; F–
embrace [Im(breIs] trace [treIs]
, sich umarmen , Spur
26 Spotlight 6/2019
wasn’t easy, but we were eventually able
to track them down on the other side of
the world. Rapunzel, we’ve found your
parents.”
Rapunzel sobbed. “Really?” she man-
aged to ask, tears streaming down her
face. The presenter nodded.
“Are they OK?” asked Rapunzel.
“Yes, they are,” Lavinia said. “Life hasn’t
been easy for them, but they’re OK. Per-
haps you’d like to see for yourself.”
What did they say?
In the original fairy tale, the old wom-
an asks Rapunzel to let down her hair
⋅
using the command form:
“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down
your hair.”
In this version of the fairy tale, the old
woman is more polite. To ask someone
politely to do something for you, you
can use would you mind + -ing verb
form. Gothel and Christian politely
⋅
ask Rapunzel to let down her hair:
“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, would you
mind letting down your long,
golden hair?”
To ask someone politely not to do
something, you can say would you
⋅
mind not + -ing verb form:
“Would you mind not climbing up
my hair?”
Exercise 1
Change the commands below into po-
lite requests using “would you mind” +
“-ing” verb form.
A. Don’t steal my herbs!
_____________________________
track: ~ sb. down [trÄk] Answers
, aufspüren
vanish [(vÄnIS]
, verschwinden
weirdly [(wIEdli] ifml.
, seltsamerweise
; ; C–
“Do you have a photo of them?” asked
Rapunzel.
“Your parents are here!” The audience
clapped and cheered as Rapunzel’s par-
ents entered the studio. Rapunzel ran to-
wards them and the three embraced.
After the show, Ethel and Gordon de-
cided to move back to the village and
asked Rapunzel to live with them. Re-
united with her parents, Rapunzel lived
happily ever after.
B. Give me your baby!
_____________________________
C. Don’t take my baby away!
_____________________________
D. Use a ladder!
_____________________________
E. Don’t leave me here!
_____________________________
F. Help me find my parents!
_____________________________
Exercise 2
Which of the responses to the request
below are positive and which are
negative? Mark them with for
positive and for negative.
“Would you mind helping me?”
A. I’m sorry, I can’t. ___
B. Not at all. ___
C. I’m afraid I don’t have time. Sorry. ___
D. No. ___
E. Of course not. ___
F. Maybe later. ___
parents?
helping me find my taking my baby away?
F. Would you mind C. Would you mind not
leaving me here? me your baby?
E. Would you mind not B. Would you mind giving
; E– D– a ladder? stealing my herbs?
; B– A– D. Would you mind using A. Would you mind not
2. 1.
GRAMMAR TALES
 PRESS GALLERY

Sex education: the facts of life

are just the start
Pflichtunterricht zu Beziehungs- und Gesundheitsfragen an Schulen einzurichten, ist längst überfällig. Allerdings
reichen 6 Millionen Pfund bei weitem nicht aus, um Lehrer für einen adäquaten Unterricht auszubilden.

ADVANCED AUDIO

T
he introduction of compul-
sory health and relation-
ships education in English
primary schools should be
applauded. Children are
entitled to be informed
about themselves and the world, as part
of their schooling. As well as the facts
about bodies, minds, human differences
economic education) heading. It would carer [(keErE] UK FGM (female genital
have been preferable for the government , Betreuer(in) mutilation)
[)ef dZi: (em]
to [have made] PSHE compulsory. But the catching up [)kÄtSIN (Vp] , WGV (weibliche
new guidance from the Department for , Nachholbedarf
Genitalverstümmelung)
Education, which covers sex education in classmate [(klA:smeIt] nuts and bolts
secondary schools … is still a big step. , Klassenkamerad(in) [)nVts End (bEUlts] ifml.
Since official guidance on sex educa- compulsory , praktische Grundlagen
tion was last updated in 2000 there is … [kEm(pVls&ri]
paltry [(pO:ltri]
, verbindlich, Pflicht- kläglich, armselig
much catching up to do. ...[T]he role of ,

and similarities, they should be taught to technology requires urgent attention. … It crucial [(kru:S&l] peer group [(pIE gru:p]
, entscheidend, Gleichaltrigengruppe
think about their feelings for other peo- makes sense to instruct children in such wesentlich
,

ple. Parents, carers and wider networks
of friends and relatives have a crucial role
in socialising the next generation. But in-
put from teachers and classmates is also
essential. Schools are ... the place where
young people start to make their way in
the world as individuals, learn to manage
themselves in a peer group, and separate
from their families. The ideas that shape
such experiences are part of growing up.
Foto: bykovski/iStock.com
issues directly, and supply them with the tackle [(tÄk&l]
entitled: be ~ to sth. , angehen; hier: be-
tools to think about their behaviour… [In(taIt&ld]
handeln, besprechen
As with the sensible package an- , ein Recht auf etw.
nounced … [earlier this year] to address haben
teacher shortages … [n]one of what has
been promised will be delivered to the re-
quired standard unless the government
increases its paltry offer of £6m. Beyond
the nuts and bolts of the facts of life, these
are issues that require well-informed and

They deserve to be part of the curriculum. sensitive handling: sexual orientation,

In many classrooms across the country, gender identity, self-harm, FGM and
these kinds of lessons already happen, in abuse are deeply personal and difficult
both primary and secondary schools, un- subjects to tackle in a classroom. …
der the PSHE (personal, social, health, and © Guardian News & Media 2019

PRESS GALLERY 6/2019 Spotlight 27

 Oxford

Swindon

Bristol

Bath

TRAVEL
Fotos: ElenVD/iStock.com; Vector Stall, urban buzz/Shutterstock.com; pr

Start me up
JULIAN EARWAKER verbindet das Geschäftliche und das Vergnügen mit einem Besuch in
den Start-up-Städten Swindon und Bristol, die sich entlang des so genannten M4-Korridors
befinden – Großbritanniens Silicon Valley – mit einem Abstecher über Oxford, bekannt als
Universitätsstadt und technisches Forschungszentrum.
MEDIUM AUDIO PLUS

28 Spotlight 6/2019 TRAVEL

 abandoned [E(bÄndEnd] entrepreneurial
, verlassen, aufgegeben [)QntrEprE(n§:riEl]
, unternehmerisch
airy [(eEri]
, luftig, lässig fortunes [(fO:tSEnz]
, Schicksal
attract [E(trÄkt]
, anziehen, anlocken hub [hVb]
, Knotenpunkt, Zentrum
carriage works
[(kÄrIdZ w§:ks] occupant [(QkjUpEnt]
, Waggonwerk , Besitzer(in),
Nutzer(in)
CEO (chief executive
officer) [)si: i: (EU] picturesque
, Geschäftsführer(in) [)pIktSE(resk]
, malerisch
closure [(klEUZE]
, Schließung railway embankment
[(reI&lweI
demand [di(mA:nd] Im(bÄNkmEnt]
, Nachfrage, Forderung , Bahndamm

Bristol’s Harbourside quarter with the SS Great Britain and new waterfront flats

M
ore than 600,000
new business
start-ups are cre-
ated every year
in the UK. That
means around
70 “births” every hour. Many of these are
in London, but for new technology, it’s
best to look to the west — which is why
I find myself stepping off a train in the
Wiltshire town of Swindon. If you want
to understand innovation and entrepre-
neurial activity, it’s a good place to start.
Swindon: past is prologue
Some 120 kilometres from London, Swin-
don is a gateway to the South-West. In
1840, the engineer and railway pioneer Is-
ambard Kingdom Brunel chose to estab-
lish his Great Western Railway carriage
works here. The railway remained central
to the town’s fortunes until 1986, when
competition and the demand for land led
to the closure of the railway works.
Today, Swindon, population 182,000,
is part of the “M4 corridor”, also called
the UK’s Silicon Valley, which has been
driving technological development west-
wards along the M4 motorway from Lon-
don. It might lie within touching distance
of the Cotswolds, but there’s nothing
picturesque about the town. When I step
out of the railway station, the first thing I
notice is the ugly, abandoned office block
behind it. The redevelopment of Swindon
town centre is far from complete.
I follow the solid stone Victorian rail-
way embankment. Opposite is what’s left
of the Mechanics’ Institute, which spread
knowledge and culture to railway workers
when it opened in the 1850s. Soon, I’m at
the entrance to the Workshed, where
I meet Jolyon Rose, centre manager of
this exciting £2-million innovation hub.
Housed in part of Brunel’s original car-
riage works, the workspace for start-ups
is airy and stylish, with small offices and
150 co-working desk spaces.
“It’s a friendly place, where people can
share ideas, collaborate and work togeth-
er,” says Rose. He once lived in Berlin
and finds that innovators are attracted
to Swindon now just as they were to the
German capital 20 years ago. “I often say
Swindon is the Berlin of South-West Eng-
land,” he says. “It’s an exciting place to be.”
One of the Workshed’s earliest oc-
cupants is the Carto Group, which sells
geographic information systems to the
planning and construction industries.
“I’ve completely bought into the Work-
shed vision,” Tim Hughes, Carto’s CEO,
told the press during an open day here last
A centre for business inspiration: Workshed, an
innovation hub in Swindon

TRAVEL 6/2019 Spotlight 29


year. “Swindon needs this tech hub very
badly if we’re to stake our claim as being
part of the UK’s ‘Silicon Valley’.”
If Brunel were around today, I ask Rose,
what would he think of all this new tech-
nology? “Brunel would be excited. The
guy was an innovator,” he says. “He’d be
aware that railways are still important.
But he’d know that where the economy
and innovation is now is in the knowl-
edge economy. It’s in the digital world.”
The next morning, I walk from my
hotel past the restored Victorian stone
cottages of New Town, built for railway
workers. A pedestrian tunnel leads under-
neath the rail tracks. On the other side, I
find that buildings once filled by Brunel’s
engineering innovation are today home
to start-ups and organizations such as
English Heritage and the National Trust.
At STEAM, the Museum of the Great
Western Railway, I meet Chris, a volun-
teer, busy polishing brass on one of the
locomotives. “Sadly, a lot of people here
wouldn’t know we were ever a railway
town,” he says. Chris tells me that his
father came to Swindon to work in the
semiconductor industry. “That was new
technology then,” he says. “It’s constantly
evolving.”
Bristol: on the “power path”
While Swindon is fast growing as an in-
novation hub, Bristol is more advanced, as
I discover when I make the 65-kilometre
trip to the west. Half an hour out, we stop
at Bath Spa, famous for its Roman history.
These days, Bath partners with Bristol on
many business projects.
Soon, we pull into Bristol Temple
Meads station. Located on the River
Avon, with a population of over 450,000,
Bristol is the largest city in the South-
West. Famous for its engineering, aero-
nautical and aerospace industries, it has
long been a centre for innovation. After
its commercial docks moved to deeper
water, the city reinvented its Harbourside
quarter by adding museums and tourist
attractions.
As I walk from the station, I see cranes
everywhere. With the tech sector grow-
ing 2.6 times faster than the rest of the
UK economy, Bristol is in the middle
of a building boom. Last year, the web-
site siliconrepublic.com reported that
Bristol had 225 start-ups. Among those
founded in Bristol are Xmos, a leader in
30 Spotlight 6/2019
brass [brA:s] semiconductor
, Messing [)semikEn(dVktE]
voice-interface technology, and Ultra- , Halbleiter-
haptics, a firm focused on the virtual- crane [kreIn]
, (Bau)Kran stake: ~ one’s claim
reality sector, using ultrasound to create [steIk]
“three-dimensional shapes and textures density [(densEti] , seinen Anspruch auf
, Dichte
that can be felt, but not seen”. Haptics are etw. erheben
evolve [i(vQlv] turnover [(t§:n)EUvE]
used in holographic interfaces and ges-
, sich entwickeln
, Umsatz
ture control technology. Both firms were
partner [(pA:tnE] vibrancy [(vaibrEntsi]
winners at the 2018 Go:Tech Awards.
, hier: sich zusammen- Lebendigkeit
“Ultrahaptics was founded in 2013 tun
,
based on technology developed at Bris- voice interface
pedestrian [pE(destriEn] [vOIs (IntEfeIs]
tol University, so it was natural for us to , Fußgänger- , Stimm- und Sprach-
base the company here,” Tom Carter, chief rail track [(reI&l trÄk] schnittstelle
technology officer and co-founder of , Bahngleis volunteer [)vQlEn(tIE]
Ultrahaptics, tells me. “The city has a long scale (up) [skeI&l] , Ehrenamtliche(r)
heritage of innovation and technology , hier: sich vergrößern
and the quality of life here in the South-
West has also helped us to attract top tal-
ent from around the world.”
With 65 employees, a turnover of £10.5
million and expected growth of 50 per
cent in the next year, Xmos shares this vi-
sion, as Mark Lippett, its CEO, explains
to me: “Bristol has played a big part in
our ability to attract top talent and scale
rapidly. The city’s engineering heritage
has helped the evolution of a cluster of
forward-thinking companies — so, too,
does the city’s focus on networking and
collaboration,” he says. “Bristol has real
momentum in tech and it has a thriving
hub of companies working on artificial
intelligence that compete successfully
on the international stage. Here at Xmos,
we benefit from a consistent stream of
technical talent who settle in the area
due to the city’s vibrancy and appetite for
innovation.”
A 2018 report by Tech Nation — which
calls itself the “UK network for ambitious
tech entrepreneurs” — shows that the city
has the highest digital tech density in the
UK. As Bristol Business News reported, “Tech
Nation found a ‘productivity power path’
from London to the mouth of the River
Severn, running along the M4 corridor,
Fotos: Noam Galai/Getty Images; csfotoimages/iStock.com
Tom Carter of the Bristol start-up Ultrahaptics
speaking at a tech conference
TRAVEL
A place to meet, enjoy the sunshine and public art: Millennium Square in Bristol
which it said helped Bristol and Bath, in
particular, by connecting them to the es-
tablished tech firms of Reading and the
Thames Valley.”
The University of Bristol is very much
part of this picture. When research
showed that 30 per cent of its students
wanted to start their own business on
graduation, the university launched a
Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneur-
ship. Opened in 2016, it was the first such
centre in the UK to link traditional sub-
jects with the opportunity to learn how to
become an entrepreneur and innovator.
The university has received approval to
build a new £300-million city-centre “en-
terprise” campus next to Bristol Temple
Meads railway station, which is to open in
2021. Construction is expected to begin
later this year.
The UK’s first cycling city, Bristol was
named European Green Capital in 2015.
Many green businesses started here as a
result. I learn all of this and more from lo-
cal guide Liz Gamlin, who grew up here.
“Individualism is very much valued in
TRAVEL
Bristol, and quality of life, too. That’s why anchor [(ÄNkE] launch [lO:ntS]
a lot of young people are choosing to live , vor Anker gehen , gründen
here,” she tells me. “Bristol was home for approach [E(prEUtS] merchant [(m§:tSEnt]
centuries to many nonconformist reli- , näher rücken , Kaufmann, -frau
gions, while merchants were happy for approval [E(pru:v&l] suburb [(sVb§:b]
people to live their lives as they wished, , Genehmigung, , Vorort
providing they could make money.” Bewilligung
suspension [sE(spenS&n]
Some of those merchants made their artisan [)A:tI(zÄn] , Hänge-
, Kunsthandwerker(in)
money from slavery. The docks where
slave ships would once have anchored is graduation
[)grÄdZu(eIS&n]
now home to attractions such as the Be- , Abschluss(prüfung)
ing Brunel museum, the SS Great Britain
steamship and We The Curious science
centre, which has the UK’s only 3D Plan-
etarium.
As evening approaches, and real stars
and planets come out, I walk towards
Clifton Village, an inner suburb of Bristol.
I pass elegant Georgian terraces and arti-
san shops to reach the cliffs of the Avon
Gorge and the Clifton Suspension Bridge.
Designed by Brunel when he was just 23,
it’s a work of engineering beauty. The long
chains of the bridge are illuminated as
people cross in both directions above the
bright lights of the busy city.
6/2019 Spotlight 31
 acre [(eIkE]
, Morgen (4.047 m2)
affluent [(ÄfluEnt]
, wohlhabend, reich
AI (artificial intelligence)
[)eI (aI]
, KI (künstliche
Intelligenz)
assured [E(SO:d]
, hier: in sich ruhend
confident [(kQnfIdEnt]
, selbstsicher, selbst-
bewusst
disruptive [dIs(rVptIv]
, hier: innovativ
facility [fE(sIlEti]
, Einrichtung
landmark [(lÄndmA:k]
, hier: charakteristisch,
signifikant
propel: ~ forward
[prE(pel]
, vorwärtstreiben,
voranbringen
quirky [(kw§:ki]
, eigen, spleenig
R&D (research & de-
velopment) [)A:r En (di]
, Forschung und
Entwicklung
sleeves: roll up one’s ~
[sli:vz]
, die Ärmel hoch-
krempeln
spire [(spaIE]
, (Kirch)Turmspitze
volumes: speak ~
[(vQlju:mz]
, Bände sprechen

A view of Oxford’s historic spires from the city’s South Park

Oxford: a post-Brexit world I take time to visit the world-famous

The next day, I’m back at Swindon train
station to take the hour-long journey
north-east towards what the poet Mat-
thew Arnold called the “dreaming spires”
of Oxford. Its compact city centre is
framed by the college buildings of the
University of Oxford, the oldest universi-
ty in the English-speaking world. Accord-
ing to startups.co.uk, Oxford is also in a part
of the South-West that has the best five-
year business survival rates in the UK.
Morris Motors began the mass pro-
duction of cars in the suburb of Cowley
in the 1920s, starting an association with
innovation that continues to this day.
BMW makes Minis in both Swindon
and Oxford. The Mobile Robotics Group
at the University of Oxford — part of the
Oxford Robotics Institute in the Depart-
ment of Engineering Science — has been
leading autonomous vehicle research in
the UK for over a decade.
Founded in 1991 by Magdalen College,
the Oxford Science Park at Cowley has of-
ten been described as a place where “ideas
come to life”. Its 75-acre campus provides
Ashmolean Museum. Nearby, I find the
university’s Future of Humanity Insti-
tute, which uses science, mathematics
and social sciences to look at some of the
big topics facing humanity today, such as
AI, superintelligent systems and risk pre-
vention. There’s just time to visit the his-
toric Bodleian Library, with the spectacu-
lar Radcliffe Camera reading room at its
heart. In Oxford, links between learning,
innovation and start-ups are everywhere.
Looking ahead
Back at Swindon, I take a taxi from the
station to South Marston on the edge
of town. Looking like a giant hangar for
a spaceship, the Bodleian Book Storage
Facility opened in 2010. It’s home to nine
million books, part of the biggest book
move from Oxford in the Bodleian’s histo-
ry. The fact that Swindon was chosen for
a landmark building by one of the UK’s
leading universities speaks, well, volumes.
While Bristol is quirkier and more
confident, Bath more affluent and ele-
gant, Oxford more academic and assured,
Foto: robertharding/Alamy Stock Photo

a science, technology and business home
to more than 2,500 people in over 70 com-
panies. With government-led investment
in R&D increasing by a third over the
next decade as part of a post-Brexit strat-
egy, Oxford is well placed to support dis-
ruptive businesses and dynamic thinkers.
Swindon simply rolls up its sleeves and
gets on with quietly reinventing itself.
It happened in the 1840s during the rail-
way revolution. Today, Swindon lies at the
heart of a new revolution: the tech start-
ups that will help propel the UK economy
forward into the 21st century.

32 Spotlight 6/2019 TRAVEL

 I ASK MYSELF

Facing
ourselves
Erst seit Kurzem hat sich ein Bewusstsein entwickelt,
dass es verletzend ist, wenn Weiße Farbe auftragen
und Schwarze parodieren. In den 1980ern machte
sich da kaum jemand Gedanken.
ADVANCED US

T
he friendly e-mail sent to the entire newsroom filled
me with dread. “I am searching for a 1983 University
of Virginia yearbook,” my colleague wrote. “If you
have one, let me know!”
I entered the University of Virginia just a few years
after 1983, so this was my world. When a journalist
is looking for a yearbook, it usually means someone
within those pages is in trouble. Days earlier, the
governor of Virginia had been caught up in a scandal
over a bizarre photo on his page in a 1984 medical
school yearbook. It showed two men holding drinks
at a party — one wearing a black wig and black make-
up on his face, the other wearing the white pointed
hood of the racist Ku Klux Klan organization.
Governor Ralph Northam apologized at first. But
as calls for his resignation poured in, he said he was
not one of the men in the photo and didn’t know how
it ended up in the yearbook.
It almost seemed believable: Northam has a
long record of supporting civil rights and the black
community. Journalists have not found any oth-
er incidents of racist behavior in his past. But then
Northam explained that he did recall once wearing
Foto: oonal, WesAbrams/iStock.com
movie Silver Streak, a white character played by Gene
Wilder slaps on brown makeup to disguise himself as
a black man. I thought it was funny at the time. Many
people I knew thought it was funny at the time.
The culture was sending young people strange sig-
nals then. Perhaps Northam didn’t realize blackface
was offensive. But should he have realized? Black-
face, one of my colleagues explained, “negates the
idea that blackness is a part of a person’s humanity…
[and] reduces identity to a pot of grease paint, to a
joke.”
I quickly learned the reason for the 1983 yearbook
search: Another Virginia official, Mark Herring, ad-
mitted that he, too, had worn blackface in his college
days, when he dressed up as his favorite rapper for
Halloween. He seems to be moving past the scan-
dal, though. His apology showed that he put great
thought into why he had done this nearly 40 years
ago: “Because of our ignorance and glib attitudes,”
he explained, “and because we did not have an ap-
preciation for the experiences and perspectives of
others.”

blackface in that era, when he dressed as Michael dread [dred] mock [mA:k]
Jackson for a dance competition. He seemed to think , Furcht, Grauen , verhöhnen
that his admiration for Jackson meant that wearing glib [glIb] negate [nI(geIt]
black makeup was not racist. He didn’t connect it , oberflächlich, unbedacht , verleugnen
to the history of blackface going back to the 1800s, grease [gri:s] resignation [)rezIg(neIS&n]
when white actors in “minstrel” shows would darken , Fett- , Rücktritt
their faces to mock African Americans. incident [(InsIdEnt] scholarship [(skA:l&rSIp]
AMY ARGETSINGER Northam’s comments set off a period of soul- , Vorfall , Stipendium
is an editor at searching among people my age. When I was in col- minstrel [(mInstrEl] slap sth. on [slÄp (A:n] ifml.
The Washington
lege, a comedy film called Soul Man — about a white , Balladensänger; hier: als , hier: etw. dick auftragen
Post, a leading
teenager who masquerades as black to win a schol- Schwarzer geschminkter
daily newspaper yearbook [(jIEbUk]
Varietésänger
in the US. arship — was a box-office hit. Ten years earlier, in the , Universitäts-, Schuljahrbuch

I ASK MYSELF 6/2019 Spotlight 33

 1 2

5 6
4

Fotos: Eric Eggly/PointSeven Studios; Carl Whitman; SharpByCoop; privat; ivan-96/iStock.com

1 Tiny “Steel Cocoon”

folding knife
2 Tailor’s shears
designed by Horne
3 Iron lace scissors
4 Grace Horne in her
studio
5 Twisted seamstress
scissors designed by
Horne
6 Horne at her
workbench

34 Spotlight 6/2019 ARTISANS

 ARTISANS
The scissor maker
Auf diesen Seiten stellen wir Ihnen Handwerksmeister und Kunsthandwerker aus der
englischsprachigen Welt vor. Dieses Mal hat Spotlight sich mit der Scherenmacherin
Grace Horne unterhalten. Von DAGMAR TAYLOR
MEDIUM
I
’m basically a researcher,” Grace
Horne told Spotlight. “I love the
idea of taking historical infor-
mation and making it relevant
to my craft practice today.” With
a master’s in metalwork and jewellery and
a PhD in laminated steels, Horne began
making pocketknives in 1993.
About eight years ago, while she was
making little scissors to fit into her fold-
ing knives, Horne realized that although
they worked well, if they hadn’t worked,
she wouldn’t have known why.
She contacted Ernest Wright & Son,
a family company that has been making
hand-finished scissors in Sheffield since
1902. “It just had three old guys work-
ing in it and I decided that unless I went
down and learned to make scissors from
them, I would miss the opportunity,”
Horne explained. “And they were just
so generous with their knowledge and
their expertise. It was wonderful.” Horne
feels she is part of a tradition, using old
bodice [(bQdIs] driven: feel ~ [(drIv&n]
, Korsett, Mieder , hier: es ist mir ein
Anliegen
craft [krA:ft]
, Handwerks- folding knife
[(fEUldIN naIf]
dagger [(dÄgE] , Klappmesser
, Dolch
garter [(gA:tE]
, Strumpfband
ARTISANS
techniques and skills to make scissors
within the Sheffield community.
It takes her a few days to make a pair of
scissors — “sensible ones for using”, that
is. “The extravagant ones, they can take
months.” She makes scissors that chal-
lenge her technically. “It is something I
feel very driven to do,” she said.
One of Horne’s favourite pieces is a
pair of scissors that have been sharpened
to be a dagger. She explained that the in-
spiration came from a myth that “ladies
of the night” carried sharpened scissors
in their bodices or in their garters in or-
der to defend themselves. In Victorian
Britain, women from poorer areas may
have worked as seamstresses during the
day, but were often prostitutes at night. In
Britain, she said, people were not allowed
to carry knives for self-defence, but they
were allowed to carry tools of the trade:
“It’s my invention of what a fallen wom-
an would have had while she was out and
about at night. It was a really nice project.”
generous [(dZen&rEs] seamstress [(si:mstrEs]
, großzügig , Schneiderin, Näherin
laminated steel sensible [(sensEb&l]
[)lÄmIneItId (sti:&l] , sinnvoll, zweckmäßig
, beschichteter Stahl
unless [En(les]
relevant: make sth. , wenn nicht
~ to sth. [(relEvEnt]
, hier: etw. einer Sache
zugrunde legen
6/2019 Spotlight 35
 Fotos: XXX

36 Spotlight x/2019 RUBRIKTITEL

 Munich versus
Hanover in the
2014 German
Championships

THE US IN GERMANY

Pick up your
stick
Lacrosse ist ein flotter Teamsport, der an eine alte
spirituelle Tradition der amerikanischen Ureinwohner
erinnert – und den, wie PAUL WHEATLEY erklärt,
auch die Deutschen einfach lieben.

I
MEDIUM US PLUS

’m on the field,” recalls Jakob Großehagenbrock,

“all the players are lined up, and then the na-
tional anthems start.” There’s excitement in his
voice years after his first game refereeing at the
2014 Lacrosse World Championships in Denver,
Colorado: “I was nervous, so I tried to tell myself that
I’d made it to here, and the players expect my best per-
formance.”
Lacrosse is a niche sport in Germany, but as one of the country’s
top referees, Großehagenbrock knew how important it was for him
to do well. “I remember thinking: ‘OK, calm down. Just get out there
and try to perform as well as possible.’” How did he do? “I got the
opportunity to officiate more games at the World Championships,
so it can’t have been too bad,” he jokes.
Großehagenbrock wasn’t the only German who did well at
those championships: The German men’s team won the group
stage, beating Belgium, Austria, and Hong Kong. They then beat
the Czech Republic, before losing to Israel. They finished ninth out
of 38 countries, a remarkable achievement considering that just 25
years ago, no one in Germany even played lacrosse.
Foto: imago/foto2press

Up and coming
The popularity of lacrosse is growing in Germany, attracting players
and fans with its ferocious pace and hint of danger: Nobody wants
to get smashed with a lacrosse stick or hit by a ball propelled at 90
miles per hour (145 kph). The fastest ever recorded was 119.9 miles
per hour (193 kph). Historians trace the origins of the modern sport
to North America in the 17th century, when Europeans watched

ferocious [fE(roUSEs] national anthem propel [prE(pel]

, wild, extrem [)nÄS&nEl (ÄnTEm] , antreiben
, Nationalhymne
group stage recall [ri(kO:l]
[)gru:p (steIdZ] officiate [E(fISieIt] , sich erinnern
, Gruppenphase , hier: als Schiedsrichter
arbeiten referee [)refE(ri:]
hint [hInt] , Schiedsrichter sein
, Andeutung, Spur pace [peIs]
, Tempo, Geschwindigkeit trace [treIs]
, zurückverfolgen

RUBRIKTITEL 6/2019 Spotlight 37


Native Americans playing it (a French Je-
suit named it la crosse after the stick used).
The game predates European settlement
of the continent by seven or eight centu-
ries. As the only Native American team
competing internationally, the Iroquois
Nationals provide a degree of continui-
ty with these origins. At the 2014 World
Championships, they finished third, be-
hind the US and the winner, Canada.
Rather than a game in the modern
sense of the word, lacrosse was played by
Native Americans to thank the gods; it
was a martial sport with a highly spiritual
function. Lacrosse was originally played
by hundreds of people across huge areas
of land, with goals miles apart. A game
might last many hours, even days. By the
early 19th century, European colonists
started playing, forming clubs, and codify-
ing the sport. Montrealer William George
Beers was instrumental in this, becoming
known as the “father of modern lacrosse.”
The game was introduced in Britain as
early as 1867, when 18 Iroquois players
toured London, showing off their lacrosse
skills. Queen Victoria watched them play
at Windsor Castle and admired the game.
In 1868, at the Cathedral Hotel, St
Paul’s Churchyard, devotees of the sport
formed the La Crosse Association. The fu-
ture King Edward VII watched a game in
1883, and it expanded to Manchester, plus
Scotland and Ireland, though it couldn’t
compete with the likes of cricket and as-
sociation football. Instead, lacrosse was
a game for the affluent, played in schools
and at universities. It took another cen-
tury for it to gain wider popularity in Eu-
rope, including Germany.
Nuts and bolts
Field lacrosse seasons in North America
and Europe are divided between autumn
and spring, separated by a winter break.
The predominant forms of the game in
Europe are indoor lacrosse, also known as
“box lacrosse,” popular in some Eastern
European countries, and field lacrosse,
which is played outdoors and is the pre-
ferred type of lacrosse in Western Europe.
Field lacrosse started to be played in Ger-
many in the late 1980s and early 1990s,
when students who had played at North
American schools and universities re-
turned home with a passion for the game.
Around 25 years ago, players in Ber-
lin and Munich created Germany’s first
38 Spotlight 6/2019
admire [Ed(maI&r] determined [di(t§:mInd]
, bewundern , entschlossen
clubs. Großehagenbrock, a former player
and also the vice president of the Ger- affluent: the ~ [(ÄfluEnt] devotee [)devE(ti:]
, die Wohlhabenden , Anhänger(in)
man Lacrosse Association (Deutscher
appreciate [E(pri:SieIt] Iroquois [(IrEkwOIz]
Lacrosse Verband, DLaxV), says there
, schätzen , (wegen Aussprache)
are now more than “5,000 DLaxV mem-
association football likes: the ~ of [laIks] ifml.
bers actively involved in lacrosse all over
[E)soUsi)eIS&n (fUtbO:l] , so etwas wie
Germany. And these numbers continue UK
martial [(mA:rS&l]
to grow every year.” The German league , Fußball
, kriegerisch, Kampf-
is divided into four regions — north, east, awakening [E(weIkEnIN]
Erwachen predate [pri:(deIt]
south, and west — with their best four ,
, zeitlich vorangehen
teams coming together in June to play in churchyard [(tS§:tSjA:rd]
, Friedhof
testify to sth.
the German Championships. Munich’s [(testIfaI tE]
women’s and men’s teams have won the codify [(kA:dIfaI] , etw. belegen,
national championships four times each , hier: die Spielregeln etw. bezeugen
festlegen
in the past decade, with Cologne, Berlin, trajectory [trE(dZektEri]
and Hamburg also tasting success. continuity , Entwicklungsverlauf
[)kA:nt&n(u:Eti]
The career of four-time national cham- , Kontinuität
pion Laura Koschorek reflects lacrosse’s
recent trajectory. She says she knew little
about the game when growing up. Born in
1985, she was in her early twenties when
she says she “became interested in it after
seeing it on television.” She was attract-
ed by its dynamic, fast pace, so — while
studying sports science in Munich — she
headed over to Rot-Weiß München to
check out its team. “I got to the club,” she
says, “and after my first practice session, it
had got me. I started playing.”
Koschorek’s teammate Jaclyn Klaus
testifies to the huge improvement in
skills over the past decade. “The level of
play is definitely higher now,” she says.
Born in Boston (US) in 1983, she played
field hockey in college, then switched to
lacrosse. In 2010, she got a job coaching in
Cologne, later moving to Munich, where
she combines playing and coaching (her
husband, Florian Klaus, is a former Ger-
man national player). She loves being
part of a sporting culture determined to
improve each year. “People here really ap-
preciate your coaching and want to share
knowledge,” she says. “There has been an
awakening in what it takes to be good.”
Choctaw, Sioux, and Ojibwa men in Ball Players, 1861, by
American painter and traveler George Catlin
THE US IN GERMANY
 Japan versus Germany in the World Lacrosse Championships in Manchester, England, in 2010

Growing the sport and the familiar poles topped with framed catch up: play ~ passing [(pÄsIN]
But Germany is still playing catch up, netting for passing and scoring goals. [kÄtS (Vp] N. Am. ifml. , Passen, Passspiel
says Koschorek. When playing for Ger- Despite its increasing professionaliza- , hinterher hinken
physical education
many against England, such was the pace tion, even in North America (where some circumference [)fIzIk&l )edZE(keIS&n]
and skill of the opponent that “I thought players are paid), lacrosse players need a [s&r(kVmf&rEns] , Turn-, Sport-
, Umfang
it was a different sport,” she laughs. The day job to pay the bills. Großehagen- plainly [(pleInli]
US and Canada are another level up. brock is in the military, and Koschorek is courtesy of [(k§:tEsi Ev] , deutlich
, mit freundlicher
“The problem for Germany is that we in marketing. Klaus is in global communi- Genehmigung score: ~ a goal [skO:r]
start playing in our early twenties rather cations — and she’s a coach. DLaxV is run , ein Tor schießen
differ [(dIf&r]
than around ten — in the UK, it’s a school by volunteers, and players buy everything , sich unterscheiden soccer field
[(sA:k&r fi:&ld] N. Am.
sport,” Koschorek explains. themselves, from sticks to shirts. Players
goalkeeper [(goUl)ki:p&r] , Fußballfeld
Großehagenbrock agrees: “Starting to also pay for travel, including to interna- , Torhüter(in)
volunteer [)vA:lEn(tI&r]
play in your early twenties is a huge disad- tional competitions and training camps.
netting [(netIN] , Freiwillige(r)
vantage. And getting children to pick up a For lacrosse to become a mainstream , Netz
Fotos: INTERFOTO/Granger, NYC; mauritius images/JohnFryer/Alamy Stock Photo

lacrosse stick earlier is one of our biggest
challenges. … But local clubs now organ-
ize school leagues in different towns, and
some clubs train PE [physical education]
teachers in lacrosse.”
Across the world, the women’s game
differs slightly from the men’s, highlight-
ed most plainly by the huge amount of
contact (blocking, for example) permitted
in men’s lacrosse. But the games are much
closer now than a few decades ago: Both
have ten players on a team, one of which
is a goalkeeper; both make use of similar-
sized playing areas (about the size of a
soccer field); and both use a rubber ball of
around 20 centimeters in circumference
sport in Germany, the league would need
a major sponsor. But even without it, the
sport has an exciting future: more clubs,
more players, exciting talent, and rising
interest among the public. Fans can even
watch the national finals from the com-
fort of their homes, streamed courtesy
of DLaxV. This positivity allows Große-
hagenbrock to look optimistically ahead
nearly a decade: It’s 2028, lacrosse has
made it into the Summer Olympics, and
the German women’s and men’s teams
are there. And Großehagenbrock is once
again representing Germany, set to refer-
ee a big game, with all the players lined up,
and the national anthems about to start.

THE US IN GERMANY 6/2019 Spotlight 39

 What does Finlay do all day?

0.5 hours

1.5 hours

4 hours

10 hours

8 hours

Sleeping (night) Hanging out at home Sleeping (day) Walking Eating

THE LANGUAGE OF DESCRIPTION

Illustrationen: majiveka, Maria Gaman, yunro/Shutterstock.com

A dog’s life — in numbers

Infografiken, Diagramme und Tabellen sind im Idealfall selbsterklärend. Aber wie übersetzt man
die dargestellten Zahlen in Sprache? Könnten Sie auf Englisch beschreiben, was Sie da sehen?
VANESSA CLARK hilft Ihnen dabei.
MEDIUM

40 Spotlight 6/2019 LANGUAGE

I
f a picture is worth a thou- A doughnut chart: another typical day for Finlay
sand words, what about a The same information can also be presented in a ring shape. Our pie becomes a
graph? Graphs, charts and doughnut, but the statistics remain the same.
other infographics can
show complex statistics in
a simple form. They can tell
a whole story, if we know What Finlay does all day (in %*)
how to read them, and if we know the
right words to describe them properly.
The ability to talk about statistics in 2%
6%
English is a key skill in many jobs. The
ability to describe a graph, chart or table
is also required in the academic option
of the International English Language
17%
Testing System (IELTS) test.
On the following pages, you can find
out how to talk about various types of
infographics and practise your skills as 42%
you go along.

A pie chart: a typical day for Finlay

A pie chart is a good way to show propor-
tions, or shares. The information always
adds up to a complete whole, such as 24
hours or 100 per cent. The name comes
from the sort of pie that we eat in slices.
The pie chart on page 40 shows what 33%
Finlay, a very good doggy friend of mine,
does in the course of a typical day.

1. Finlay’s day
Look at the pie chart on the left and Sleeping (night) Hanging out at home Sleeping (day) Walking Eating
decide whether the statements below * How to say it: % = per cent [pE (sent]
are true (T) or false (F).

T F
A. Overall, Finlay spends more
than half his time asleep.
B. He spends a third of his time
hanging out at home.
C. He gets two and a half hours of
“walkies” every day.
D. A quarter of his time is spent
sleeping during the day.
E. He spends a quarter of an hour
eating.

2. Fractions Answers
chart [tSA:t] pie chart [(paI tSA:t]
Look at the sentences in exercise 1 , Grafik, Diagramm , Kuchendiagramm
again and find the names for the frac- an hour eating.)
doggy [(dQgi] ifml. share [SeE]
tions below.
E. false (He spends half
, Hunde- , Anteil day.)

doughnut chart slice [slaIs]

sleeping during the
A. ¼ ____________________
a sixth of his time
[(dEUnVt )tSA:t] , hier: Stück(chen)
B. ⅓ ____________________
D. false (He spends
, Ringdiagramm Kuchen “walkies”.)
C. ½ ____________________ fraction [(frÄkS&n] table [(teIb&l]
D. two and a half one and a half hours of

D. 2½ ____________________ Bruch(zahl)
C. (a) half C. false (He gets only
, , Tabelle B. a third B. true
graph [grA:f]
A. a quarter A. true
, Diagramm, Kurve
2. Fractions 1. Finlay’s day

LANGUAGE 6/2019 Spotlight 41

 Popular pets
26%
30%

25%

18%
20%

15%

10%

2%
5%

1% 1% 1%
0.8%

0%

Dogs Cats Rabbits Birds Guinea pigs Hamsters Tortoises and turtles

Source: www.statista.com

A bar chart: popular pets

A bar chart shows the popularity of dif- C. This animal is twice as popular as the bar chart [(bA: tSA:t] rabbit [(rÄbIt]
ferent categories, so that it is easy to see guinea pig. , Säulendiagramm , Kaninchen
their ranking (i.e. their relative positions, ___________________________ guinea pig [(gIni pIg] respondent
from first to last). The numbers don’t , Meerschweinchen [ri(spQndEnt]
have to add up to 100 per cent, as some D. Taken together, these two animals , befragte Person
i.e. (id est) [)aI (i:]

Illustrationen: majiveka, Dos GatosStudio, Ellika, chipmunk, Airin..dizain, DnBr, oleksya k /Shutterstock.com
respondents may appear in more than represent 20 per cent of the total. , d. h. tortoise [(tO:tEs]
one category (for example, people with ___________________________ and , Landschildkröte
margin [(mA:dZIn]
more than one pet), or in no categories ___________________________ , Differenz, Vorsprung turtle [(t§:t&l]
at all (people with no pets). The bar chart , Wasserschildkröte

above shows what percentage of people
in the UK own what kind of pet.
3. Popularity
Look at the bar chart at the top of this
page again. To which animals do the
following sentences refer?
A. It’s the second-most popular animal.
___________________________
B. These three animals are equally
E. This is the most popular pet in the
UK by a margin of 8 per cent.
___________________________
4. Ranking
Look at the sentences in exercise 3
again. Then translate the following
phrases from German into English.
A. gemeinsam an erster Stelle Answers
B. die drittbeliebteste Kategorie E. equally popular
C. dreimal so beliebt wie
cent

popular as pets — in joint fourth D. mit einem Vorsprung von 10 Prozent

D. by a margin of 10 per E. dog
as D. cats, rabbits
place. E. gleichermaßen beliebt C. three times as popular C. rabbit

___________________________,
category hamsters
B. the third most popular B. birds, guinea pigs,
___________________________ and A. in joint first place A. cat
___________________________
4. Ranking 3. Popularity

42 Spotlight 6/2019 LANGUAGE

 Answers
“Number” or “amount”?
E. While

⋅
A double bar chart: cats and dogs D. regarded D. An equal number of

Sometimes, it is necessary to compare the number of people

C. seen C. Significantly more
B. express B. Slightly more

⋅
two sets of data in a single graphic image; (countable nouns) A. agree A. Compared to
for example, to compare the opinions the amount of money
6. Opinions 5. Comparing

of men and women, or to compare data (uncountable nouns)

for two different years. In these cases,
a double bar chart can be used, such as
the one at the bottom of the page, which
compares opinions about cats and dogs
among ten of my pet-owning friends.
5. Comparing
The following statements are all based
on the double bar chart below. Choose
the correct phrases from the list to
complete them.
Opinion polls
Our chart comparing cats and dogs
represents the results of a small
opinion poll. When talking about
this kind of data, it’s helpful to
know some key verbs for reporting
opinions (see exercise 6 below).

An equal number of | Compared to | 6. Opinions

Significantly more | Slightly more | While
A. ____________ dogs, cats are easier to
look after.
B. ____________ people think that cats
are intelligent.
C. ____________ dog owners find their
pets to be loving.
D. ____________ people think that cats
and dogs are good for their mental
health.
E. ____________ both pets are thought to
be important for one’s mental health,
only dogs are good for physical health.
Rearrange the highlighted letters to
form the correct verbs.
A. Eight cat owners ____________ greae
with the statement that their pets are
intelligent.
B. Dog owners and cat owners
____________ prexess the same
opinion.
C. Dogs are ____________ nees as being
more loving.
D. Cats and dogs are both ____________
rgareded as being good for their own-
ers’ mental health.

Cats and dogs: what my friends say about their pets

12

10 10 10
10

8 8 8
8
7

4
3

2
2

0
0
“My pet is “My pet is easy to “My pet is good for “My pet is good for
intelligent.” look after.” “My pet loves me.” my physical health.” my mental health.”

Cat owners Dog owners

LANGUAGE 6/2019 Spotlight 43

 How many pets?
80

70

60
Estimated population in millions

50

40

30

20

10

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Source: www.statista.com

A graph showing change over a Large and small changes exercise [(eksEsaIz]
period of time: how many pets? In exercise 7, you practised how to , hier: Bewegung
A graph like the one at the top of this describe a direction of growth (up or vet [vet]
page allows us to see the changes that down). It’s also useful to have some , Tierarzt, -ärztin
take place over a period of time. The adjectives (and their partner adverbs)
curve shows upward and downward to describe the degree of change (large
trends, high points and low points. or small) and the speed of change (fast
or slow). You can practise these in
7. Up and down exercise 8.
Read the following statements about
the graph above and choose the right 8. Large and small changes
synonym (1–5) for each of the high- Read the statements below from my
lighted verbs. pet-owning friends and decide if the
changes they describe are large or
A. From 2009 to 2012, the number of small, fast or slow.
pets fluctuated around the 65-million
Illustrationen: Pink Puebllo, chipmunk, N. Shanchuck/Shutterstock.com

mark. A. Our puppy grew significantly during

B. From 2012 to 2013, the pet popula- the first weeks of his life.
tion grew. B. Our vet’s bills have risen considera-
C. The population peaked in 2013. bly recently.
D. Overall, the number of pets has de- C. The cost of our pet insurance rose
clined since 2013. negligibly year.
E. The number of pets remained stable D. I am doing noticeably more exercise
in 2015 and 2016. than before. Answers
E. My husband is gradually starting to
F. fast change

1. stayed more or less the same like the cat.

E. slow change
D. large change E–1
2. reached a high point F. Our kids’ interest in the dog dropped C. small change D–5

3. went up and down sharply after the first few weeks.

B. large change C–2
A. large change B–4
4. increased changes A–3
5. decreased
8. Large and small 7. Up and down

44 Spotlight 6/2019 LANGUAGE

 Answers

Compare and contrast: parents and

L. six times as long F. dropped dramatically
K. gradually E. an equal amount of
children J. less sharply D. compared to
Now, let’s bring together some of the The graph shows (A) _______________
I. decreased C. significantly
H. remained stable B. spent caring
different words and phrases from these the children and the parents have G. low point A. how much time
pages, and you can test yourself on what (B) _______________ for their new dog.
9. Test yourself

you’ve learned. One of the first things we notice is

Maria and her family got their dog
last June. The graph at the bottom of
this page shows how much time and
effort her teenage children have put into
looking after the family pet, compared to
the parents.
9. Test yourself
What does the graph tell you? Com-
plete the text on the right with the
words and phrases you have just
learned, which are also contained in
the following list.
an equal amount of | compared to | decreased
| dropped dramatically | gradually | how
much time | less sharply | low point | remained
stable | significantly | six times as long | spent
caring
that, overall, the parents have spent
(C) _______________ more time with the
dog (D) _______________ the children.
At the start, all the members of the
family spent (E) _______________ time
with the dog (120 minutes per day).
The children’s interest in their pet
(F) _______________ over the next few
months, however, until it reached a
(G) _______________ of 15 minutes.
It has (H) _______________ since then.
The time the parents spent with
the dog also (I) _______________, but
(J) _______________. The amount of time
declined more (K) _______________, until
it reached 90 minutes. Now, the parents
spend (L) _______________ with the dog
as the children do (90 minutes compared Author Vanessa Clark would like to thank her
to 15 minutes). pet-owning friends for their help with this article.

Time spent with the dog

140

120 115
120
110
105
99
100 96 95
90 92 90
93 91
80
72
Minutes per day

65
60
50
43
40
30

20 15 17 16 15

0
06/18 07/18 08/18 09/18 10/18 11/18 12/18 01/19 02/19 03/19 04/19

Children Parents

LANGUAGE 6/2019 Spotlight 45

 Justin Salinger and
Ella Smith as Ray and Liz in
the film of the same name

ARTS FILM PREVIEW | BIOGRAPHY

Timing is everything for comedi-

Poverty, performers ans: in their performances and in

the management of their careers.

and pioneers
Ein Film über ein Leben in Armut, einer über das
Komiker-Duo schlechthin und ein Podcast über
Unternehmensgründer mit Talent. Von EVE LUCAS
MEDIUM
FILM PREVIEW | DRAMA
The work of British photographer Richard Billingham became
known when it was included in Charles Saatchi’s 1997 Sensation
exhibition of Young British Artists, which also brought artists
such as Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin to the attention of a
broader public. Billingham’s work in that exhibition consisted
of a series of photographs of his parents, Ray and Liz, and his
younger brother, Jason.
In his first feature film, Ray & Liz, Billingham reworks that
material, turning it into a three-part chronicle of working-class
life in Britain in the 1990s. Like the photographs before it,
Billingham’s film is brutal in the way it shows people on the
edges of society. Escape from the hard realities of low income
and bad housing is almost impossible. Instead, the pillars of fami-
ly life are smoking, drinking, watching TV and eating ready-made
meals. From the start, it is clear that these are shaky structures,
and we are not surprised when the family collapses. Yet Billing-
ham’s film finds poetry in hopelessness — in the lighting at a
Set in 1953, the film Stan & Ollie fol-
lows the legendary Laurel (Steve
Coogan) and Hardy (John C. Reilly)
on a music-hall tour of the UK and
Ireland. The tour was meant to revitalize the fortunes of the two
comedians at a time when television was beginning to keep au-
diences at home with sitcom humour. In those days, it was their
deep knowledge of and fondness for each other that guaranteed
the renewed success of Laurel and Hardy. And as in the work of
all great comedians, it was the relationship between strength
and weakness that lay at the heart of this understanding. In re-
creating this combination, the movie relives the magic that we
have been treasuring for nearly 100 years. Starts 9 May.
fondness [(fQndnEs] treasure sth. [(treZE]
, Zuneigung , etw. hoch schätzen,
in Erinnerung behalten
PODCAST | BUSINESS
Produced by National Public Radio (NPR)
in the US, the podcast How I Built This is
a weekly exploration of a certain kind of
success: the kind that begins as an idea and
requires a large amount of dedication and
at least a moderate portion of luck to make it work. From Insta-
gram to LinkedIn, and from Richard Branson’s Virgin company
to Airbnb — podcast host Guy Raz talks to the people who have
had ideas and turned them into a business reality. Its intimate
one-to-one format as well as its length (about one hour) allows
Fotos: Kinofreund; SquareOne Entertainment; pr

table or the raindrops that hang from an open window — and How I Built This to get to the heart of the innovators’ personali-
his view is coloured with a shot of admiration. This might not ties and reveal the combination of character and circumstance
be an easy film to watch, but it brings precious gifts: honesty and that shaped these people and the way they have shaped our own
artistic integrity. Starts 9 May. lives. Listen here: www.npr.org/programs
admiration edges of society: on the ~ feature film
[)ÄdmE(reIS&n] [)edZIz Ev sE(saIEti] [(fi:tSE fIlm] circumstance dedication [)dedI(keIS&n] one-to-one
, Bewunderung , am Rand der Gesell- , Spielfilm [(s§:kEmstÄns] , Engagement, Hingabe [)wVn tE (wVn]
schaft , Umstand , Einzel-, persönlich
pillar [(pIlE] moderate [(mQdErEt]
, Säule ,bescheiden

46 Spotlight 6/2019 ARTS

 THE LANGUAGE PAGES

Welcome to the language pages

Over the next dozen or more pages, we give you the opportunity to practise
grammar and vocabulary in an up-to-date context. We start off here with
a column that takes a light-hearted look at English in popular culture.

ENGLISH EXPLAINED

Colloquial,
yeah, yeah, yeah
Die Beatles haben uns nicht nur großartige Musik hinterlassen,
sondern auch jede Menge Beispiele für umgangssprachliches
Englisch. Unser Kolumnist schaut sich einige davon näher an.
MEDIUM US

There are many interesting anecdotes about The
Beatles. For example, the melody to “Yesterday” came
to Paul McCartney in a dream, and Yoko Ono once
had a bed wheeled into the studio so she could be
closer to John Lennon when she was sick.
One of my favorite anecdotes about The Beatles
has to do with the band’s second number one hit in
the US, “She Loves You.”
According to Paul McCartney, he and John Lennon
were tooling around with the song one day in the
living room of McCartney’s house when Paul’s dad,
Jim, walked into the room. Jim was a jazz musician,
but more of a formal guy. Upon hearing “She Loves
You,” he asked the boys if they might consider chang-
ing the refrain to “She loves you, yes, yes, yes.” He
thought that “yeah” was too informal.
Paul and John just laughed at that. But why did the
songwriting duo choose “yeah” instead of “yes”?
The reason is probably because lyrics to pop songs
are usually the most effective when they are collo-
quial — that is, when they are written in the type of
language that’s actually spoken by the people.
So, what are some other colloquial usages? The
cool thing is we don’t have to look further than other
Beatles songs for answers.
Fotos: privat; ZargonDesign/iStock.com
they will shorten “going to” to “gonna.” But be care-
ful — it’s OK to say “gonna,” but we don’t use it in
written English.
And since we’re talking about “gonna,” why not
look at “wanna”? The Beatles certainly did, in their
1963 song “I Wanna Be Your Man.” And guess what,
“wanna” follows the same principle. Instead of saying
“I want to,” sometimes we combine two words into
one: “I wanna.”
And we can go on. “Ain’t She Sweet” (1961): we use
“ain’t” very informally to mean “am not” (as well as “is
not” and “are not”); “Till There Was You” (1963): we
sometimes say “till” instead of “until,” just because it
saves us a syllable; and “Searchin’” (1962): we some-
times drop the “g” of words that end in “-ing.”
Keep in mind, however, that context is key with
these colloquial usages. So, it’s perfectly fine to say to
your friend, “I ain’t gonna do that,” but you shouldn’t
say it to your professor. Still, these colloquial usages
are cool because they make us sound much more nat-
ural. Could you imagine if Paul McCartney’s dad had
gotten his way and the song turned out to be “She
loves you, yes, yes, yes”?
casually [(kÄZuEli]

, zwanglos, informell
Let’s start with “You’re Going to Lose That Girl,”
lyrics [(lIrIks]
the 1965 Beatles hit about a young man who warns , Songtext
another man that if he doesn’t attend to his love, she
tool around
is going to go away. Though the words “going to” are [tu:l E(raUnd]
CHAD SMITH
in the title, when John Lennon actually sings the , hier: herumprobieren
Originally from New York City, Chad Smith is a
song, he says, “You’re gonna lose that girl.” Often, freelance journalist and English teacher who now wheel sth. [wi:&l]
when native English speakers are speaking casually, lives in Hamburg. , etw. schieben

ENGLISH EXPLAINED 6/2019 Spotlight 47

 1
5 1. take a nap
[)teIk E (nÄp]
2 2. go hiking
[gEU (haIkIN]
3. go running
4 [gEU (rVnIN]
3
4. go clubbing
[gEU (klVbIN]
5. do the chores
[)du: DE (tSO:z]
11 6. eat out
[i:t (aUt]
7. walk your dog
[)wO:k jO: (dQg]
8. mow the lawn
[)mEU DE (lO:n]
6
9. wash the car
[)wQS DE (kA:]
7 10. go window-shopping
10
[gEU (wIndEU )SQpIN]
11. visit relatives
[)vIzIt (relEtIvz]

9
8

Unter www.spotlight-online.de/
teachers/picture-it finden Sie
Übersetzungen und das gesamte
Vocabulary-Archiv.

VOCABULARY What do you do at the weekend? miss a match, be it at home or away.

Experiencing the atmosphere in the

Weekend
I travel a lot in my work, so I prefer stadium makes up for all the stress
to spend my weekends at home. My and boredom I suffer in my job.
wife and I love gardening, and we My friends and I go clubbing every

activities get some exercise that way. Walking

What do you do at the weekend?
Do you relax, go out and party,
or catch up on the housework?
ANNA HOCHSIEDER
presents useful language to talk
about weekend activities.
our dog keeps us fit, too. In winter,
we like to have friends over to play
board games.
I spend all week in a tiny office, so I
need to get out at the weekend to
blow away the cobwebs. I go on long
hikes with friends who share my love
of the outdoors. Sometimes, we cook
Saturday. I never get home until the
small hours. On Sundays, I have a
lie-in, and then it’s time to tackle the
chores. I often get the Sunday blues,
fretting about the week ahead and
wishing it was Friday.
Do I get out much at the weekend?
Not really. My boss makes me toil
and slave all week, so I need to rest.
Illustration: Martin Haake

over a campfire and sleep under the
EASY PLUS
stars.
My son and I are keen supporters
of our local football team. We never
And anyway, there’s nowhere to go:
the village pub closed last year. I take
long naps and play on my gaming
console.

48 Spotlight 6/2019 VOCABULARY

PRACTICE
Now, try the following exercises to practise
talking about weekend activities.

Exercise 1 E Exercise 2 M

Study the illustration on the opposite page. Then match Choose the correct verbs in the sentences below to com-
the activities to the explanations. plete the collocations.

A. If you “do the chores”,…
B. If you “eat out”,…
C. If you “go clubbing”,…
D. If you “go window-
shopping”,…
E. If you “mow the lawn”,…
1. you look at things in A. I try to keep fit, so I often do / go running at the weekend.
shop windows, but you
might not buy anything. B. My wife and I do / make the chores together.
2. you go to a nightspot to C. After Sunday lunch, I always make / take a nice long nap.
drink and dance.
D. We often get / have people over for drinks on a Saturday.
3. you cut the grass in your
garden using a machine.
4. you do things like the
laundry or the cleaning. Present simple or present continuous?
To talk about things that you do regularly or that are always true,
5. you have a meal in a remember to use the present simple, not the present continu-

⋅
restaurant. ous:
I usually clean the house on Saturday and meet friends on
Sunday.
To talk about your plans for a particular day or weekend, how-
ever, you can often use the present continuous, especially if the

⋅
Exercise 3 A planned activities have already been arranged:
I’m cleaning the house on Saturday and meeting friends on
Replace the expressions in bold below with idiomatic Sunday.
phrases from the text on the opposite page.

A. You should go for a long walk. That’ll help you feel

better and more alive.
bold [bEUld]
, Fettdruck
B. We invited some friends over on Saturday. They exhausted [Ig(zO:stId]
didn’t leave until early the next morning. , erschöpft
laundry [lO:ndri]
, Wäsche
C. I work very hard with little time to rest five days a
week. By the time the weekend arrives, I’m absolutely Answers
exhausted.
blow away the cobwebs
A–4; B–5; C–2; D–1; E–3

the small hours

toil and slave

D. On schooldays, our children have to get up at six, so

have a lie-in

we let them stay in bed longer at the weekend.

have
take
do
go
A.

A.
D.

D.
C.

C.
B.

B.
2.

3.
1.

VOCABULARY 6/2019 Spotlight 49

 THE GRAMMAR PAGE

Most, some,
all, both... Remember!
To talk in general, use quantity words (“most”, “many”, “a few”,

ADRIAN DOFF presents and explains a key
point of grammar with notes on a short dialogue.
MEDIUM PLUS
⋅⋅
etc.) followed by a noun (without “the”):
Most people fall in love at some time.
Only a few musicians become world famous.
To talk about a defined group, use quantity words followed by

⋅⋅
of + pronoun or of + the + noun:
Only a few of them still live here.
Most of the people I knew have moved away.

Beyond the basics

All and both…

⋅
1. …can come before a noun (without “of”):
Dialogue I still have all the books I read as a student.

⋅
Karl is 60, and he has decided to take up yoga. He’s telling 2. …can come after a pronoun (or you can say “all of”/“both of”):
a friend about it. I like them both (or “both of them”).

⋅
3. …can come before a main verb:
Anne: How’s the yoga class? We both enjoyed the trip to London.

⋅
Karl: It’s really good, but I’m the only man in the class. 4. …can come after an auxiliary verb:
Anne: Really? They can all come to the party.

⋅
Karl: Yes, it’s odd. I don’t know why so few1 men do 5. …can come after “be” when it is the main verb:
yoga. Most1 men seem to do sports or fitness We’re both the same age.
training instead.
Anne: And are most of the others2 your age?
Karl: All the others3 are younger — all of them4, even Exercise
the teacher.
Anne: Does that matter? Add the word(s) in brackets to each sentence, and add
Karl: No, not really, but they’re much younger than I “of” if necessary.
am. Most of them5 are in their thirties, and some
of them5 are probably around 20. None of them5 A. Sorry, I’ve eaten the cake. (all)
is anywhere near my age.
Anne: So are they all much fitter than you? B. These are my favourite things. (a few)
Karl: No, actually, we’re all6 about the same. We can
all6 do the same things and we all6 enjoy it. C. People enjoy eating chocolate. (most)
Anne: Well, that’s fine, then. It just shows you can do
yoga at any age. D. We’ve already spent our money. (most)

E. The people in this photo were in my class at school.

Explanations
1. Few and most are quantity
words. When talking in
general, they’re followed
directly by a noun (most
men = men in general).
2. To talk about a defined
(all)
others. But you can also
say all of the others. F. I don’t know which jumper to buy. I like them. (both)
4. Before a pronoun (them),
you must say all of.
Answers
5. Further examples of quan- auxiliary [O:g(zIliEri]
tity expressions with of:
people in this photo were all in my

, Hilfs-
A. Sorry, I’ve eaten all (of) the cake.

were in my class at school. / The

D. We’ve already spent most of our
B. These are a few of my favourite

E. All (of) the people in this photo

F. I like them both. / I like both of

group, add of + the + noun “most of”, “some of” and jumper [(dZVmpE] UK
after a quantity word “none of”. , Pullover
C. Most people enjoy eating

(most of the others = 6. The word all comes after matter [(mÄtE]
others in the yoga class, “be” when it is the main , wichtig sein
class at school.

not people in general). verb (we’re all); after an odd [Qd]

chocolate.

3. After the word all, you auxiliary verb (we can all , seltsam, merkwürdig
money.
things.

them.

can leave out “of” before do); or before a main verb take sth. up [teIk (Vp]
a noun and say all the (we all enjoy). , etw. anfangen

50 Spotlight 6/2019 THE GRAMMAR PAGE

 LANGUAGE CARDS EASY MEDIUM ADVANCED

New
Newwords
words — 07Spotlight
6/2019
Spotlight — 2016 Global English 6/2019 Spotlight

ghost hotel What would a speaker of British English say?

“With the number of ghost North American speaker:

hotels in the city centre increasing “We adults played blackjack in

by the month, rents for permanent the living room, while the children
housing are starting to rise.” played checkers in the kitchen.”

(In)Formal English 6/2019 Spotlight Translation 6/2019 Spotlight

Make this mini-dialogue sound less formal: Translate:

“Would you be so kind as to help me with my suitcase?” Grüßen Sie Ihren Chef unbekannterweise (von mir).

— “It would be my pleasure.”

Pronunciation 6/2019 Spotlight Idiom magic 6/2019 Spotlight

Read the following words aloud, paying particular atten-

tion to the stress patterns (Betonungsmuster):
Zeichnung: Ching Yee Smithback

addressee detainee
employee interviewee
licensee selectee
a backhanded compliment

False friends 6/2019 Spotlight Grammar 6/2019 Spotlight

stark / stark Complete the following sentences with “complain” or

“complaining”:
Translate the following sentences:
Austrennung an der Perforierung

1. I left the shop without to the owner.

1. I was fascinated by the stark outline of her head in that
drawing. 2. I did everything I could except to the
owner.
2. Wir brauchen zwei starke Männer für die vier Koffer.

7/2017 Spotlight 51
 LANGUAGE CARDS

Global English
New words 6/2019
Spotlight — 07Spotlight
— 2016 New words 6/2019 Spotlight

British speaker: A ghost hotel is a flat or house that is mostly — or even

“We adults played pontoon in the living room, while the exclusively — rented out to temporary visitors, most typ-
children played draughts in the kitchen.” ically through an online booking service such as Airbnb.

“Blackjack”, which is the American version of Siebzehnund-

vier, is also known in the UK by its French name,“vingt-et-
un” [)vÄnt eI (§:]. The board game “draughts” [drA:fts], or
“checkers”, is called Dame in German.

Translation 6/2019 Spotlight (In)Formal English 6/2019 Spotlight

Give my regards to your boss, although we’ve never met.
There is no single English word that corresponds to Ger-
man unbekannterweise. You need an entire (komplett) clause
to get the meaning across.
“I wonder if I can ask you to help me with my suitcase.”
— “Of course.”
There are many other possibilities, too; for example:
“Could you please…?” — “Sure, no problem.”

“Can I ask you to…?” — “I’d be happy to.”

Idiom magic 6/2019 Spotlight Pronunciation 6/2019 Spotlight

A “backhanded compliment” is a compliment that is ex- [)Ädres(i:] [)di:teI(ni:]

pressed indirectly or ambiguously (ein zweischneidiges/ [Im(plOIi:] [)IntEvju(i:]
zweifelhaftes Kompliment). [)laIs&n(si:] [sE)lek(ti:]

“After that backhanded compliment from James, I just
don’t know what to say.”
When the suffix “-ee” is added to a verbal root, the main
stress (Hauptbetonung) is shifted (verlagert) to the final syl-
lable (Silbe). The word “employee” is an exception. Note,
however, that a lot of native speakers pronounce the word
in accordance with the general pattern: [Im)plOI(i:].

Grammar 6/2019 Spotlight False friends 6/2019 Spotlight

1. I left the shop without complaining to the owner.
2. I did everything I could except complain to the owner.
When a preposition is followed by a verb, the verb nor-
mally takes the -ing form (as in sentence 1). “Except” is
an exception (Ausnahme): it is followed by the infinitive
(without “to”).
1. Ich war vom scharfen Umriss ihres Kopfs auf der Zeichnung
fasziniert.
2. We need two strong men for the four suitcases.
Depending on the context and/or collocation, “stark” can
also be translated as krass, schier or spröde.
LOST IN TRANSLATION

VANESSA CLARK turns her attention to a

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

stoked adjective [steUkt] N. Am. ifml.

Example Chicago Sun Times, 4 December 2018

This headline introduces an interview
“Ronnie Wood totally stoked for upcoming with Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood, in
Rolling Stones ‘No Filter’ Tour” which he talks about the US leg of the
band’s current tour.

Usage
“Stoked” means “excited”, “thrilled”, “enthusiastic” or “pleased”,
so Ronnie Wood is very much looking forward to the next part
of the tour.
The word originated in California in the 1960s as a slang term
among surfers and skateboarders. Now, it’s widely used across
the whole of the United States, particularly among younger peo-
ple. Americans may be “stoked”, “totally stoked” or even “super
stoked” when they’re looking forward to something — whether
it’s good waves for surfing, a road trip or a Rolling Stones con-
cert. You can also be “stoked” after an event. For example, at the
2018 Winter Olympics, Izzy Atkin, the first British skier ever to
win an Olympic medal, described herself as “stoked” — perhaps
showing that, despite her place on the British team, she was born
and raised in the US.
It’s not easy to find a German equivalent that sounds like au-
thentic street slang. Total heiß sein might just about fit the bill for
the expression as it is used in the above quote — and that is not
so far away from the English imagery of fire and heat.
Background
The adjective “stoked” comes from the verb “to stoke”. The
first meaning of “to stoke” is “to feed a fire”. If you stoke a fire,
you add more wood or coal to it, or you turn the coals to allow
more oxygen in, thus making the fire burn better and brighter.
A “stoker” is the person on board a steamship or steam train who
keeps the furnace burning.
From this literal meaning of “to stoke” comes the second,
figurative meaning: “to provoke a reaction, especially a strong
emotion”. You can stoke someone’s anger, passion, enthusiasm
or excitement — hence the modern meaning of “stoked”, namely
“excited”.
Exercise A
In which of these contexts would “stoked” make sense?

A. “We’re taking the kids to Disneyland on the weekend.

They’re totally .”
figurative [(fIgErEtIv] hence [hens] literal [(lIt&rEl]
, übertragen , daher , wörtlich B. “We’ve arranged some extra math coaching for the
fit the bill [)fIt DE (bIl] imagery [(ImIdZEri] kids. They’re totally .”
, gut passen , Bildsprache
furnace [(f§:nIs] leg [leg]
, Heizkessel , hier: Etappe Answer: A

LOST IN TRANSLATION 6/2019 Spotlight 53

 EVERYDAY ENGLISH
Finding a new
home
DAGMAR TAYLOR presents four dialogues about
house-hunting. Read them and try the exercises.
MEDIUM AUDIO PLUS
1. Our ideal location
Phil is talking to his colleague Kirsty about his family’s search for a new
home.
Kirsty: How’s the house-hunting
going, Phil? Have you found
anything yet?
Phil: I’m afraid not. There just
doesn’t seem to be anything
on the market at the mo-
ment — at least not in the
area we want to move to and
not in our price range.
Kirsty: That’s tough. Which area
would you like to move to?
Phil: Anywhere in the West End.
2. Are you interested?
Kirsty calls Phil to tell him about a flat she thinks he might be interested in.
Kirsty: Hi, Phil? This is Kirsty from
work.
Phil: Hi, Kirsty. How’s it going?
Kirsty: Good, thanks. Listen, I
might have a property for
you. There’s a three-bed
flat next door going on the
market soon. It belonged to
an elderly man and it’s been
empty for a while now. I
was speaking to Calum this
morning — he’s one of his
sons — and he said he and
his brothers have decided
54 Spotlight 6/2019
⋅
Tips
If a property is on the market, it is
⋅
available for sale.
Someone’s price range is the price
⋅
they can afford to pay for something.
A period property is a house or
And we’d prefer a period building that was built before the
⋅
property. First World War.
Kirsty: So, you’re not fussy whether If you say you’re not fussy, then you
it’s a flat or a house then? would be satisfied with most choices
⋅
Phil: Well, obviously, we’d prefer that you are offered.
a house, but we’re willing When someone says they’re willing
to compromise in order to to compromise, it usually means that
be close to the city centre. they have realized they are unlikely to
Where do you live? reach the standards that they have set.
Kirsty: Randolph Crescent.
Phil: Oh, very nice! That would be
our ideal location.
⋅
Tips
A three-bed flat is a flat (US apart-
⋅
ment) with three bedrooms.
The asking price is the price that
somebody wants to sell something
⋅
to sell. The asking price for.
sounded really reasonable If something you want to buy is
and I know that they’d like within your budget, it does not cost
a quick sale. Would you be more than you are able or willing to
⋅
interested? spend.
Phil: Yes! Of course. But I doubt Somewhere in the region of is used
that it’ll be within our when you are giving a number or
⋅
budget. price that is not exact.
Foto: Alex Segre/Shutterstock.com
Kirsty: If I understood correctly, Something that is too good to be true
Calum said they were hop- is so good that it is hard to believe it
ing for somewhere in the exists.
region of £450,000.
Phil: Really? That sounds too
good to be true for that area. elderly [(eldEli]
, älter, betagt
EVERYDAY ENGLISH
 ⋅
Tips
3. The viewing A basement flat is a flat in a building,
Phil and his wife, Rachel, are looking around the flat in Randolph Crescent. partly or completely below the level

Rachel: I actually like the fact that
this is a basement flat. You
can open the door and have
⋅
We’re going to have to get
a quote from an architect,
I think. If we’re going to
of the ground.
If you redo [)ri:(du:] a room or a
building, you paint it, put new
furniture in it, etc. to make it more

⋅
a coffee outside, or hang out make changes, we might as attractive or comfortable.
the washing. well do it properly. Jean’s an A quote (short for “quotation”) is
Phil: Don’t you think it’s a bit architect, isn’t she? a statement of how much money a

⋅
dark? Rachel: Yes. I’ll give her a ring later. particular piece of work will cost.
Rachel: Well, it is today, but it’s actu- Can you take some more To give someone a ring (UK ifml.) is to

⋅
ally east-facing, so we’ll get photos of the kitchen so that make a telephone call to somebody.
the sun in the morning and I can show her? When you want to encourage
most of the afternoon. Phil: Yes, OK. So, do you think we someone to do something, you can
Phil: We would have to redo the should go for it? say, Go for it!
bathrooms and the kitchen. Rachel: Absolutely!

⋅
Tips
4. How did it go? When you tell the owner the amount
Kirsty bumps into Phil at work. of money that you’re willing to pay
for a property, you “make” or “put in”
Kirsty: Hi, Phil! So? Are we going to start with renovations this an offer. If the owners want to sell
be neighbours? month and, if all goes well, their property for that amount, they

⋅
Phil: Yes! Our offer was accepted we should be able to move will accept your offer.
this morning. in at the end of next month If someone is over the moon (UK
Kirsty: Wow! Congratulations! Are already. ifml.), they are extremely happy and

⋅
you excited? Kirsty: What about your house? excited.
Phil: Excited? We’re over the Won’t you have to sell that Another way of saying “if everything

moon! And it’s all thanks to
you, Kirsty!
Kirsty: Oh, I’m so happy for you.
We’ll have to celebrate.
⋅
first? goes to plan” is if all goes well.
Phil: No, we were renting. If you rent a property, you regularly
We’ve already given notice. pay money (rent) to somebody so
(laughing nervously) So, there that you can use the property that

⋅
When do you think you’ll be is a chance that we might they own.
moving in? be homeless in a couple of When you give notice, you give
Phil: We’re hoping that we can months! someone information in advance of
something that is going to happen.

Exercise 1 Exercise 2

Fill in the spaces below using words from the dialogues. Add the missing prepositions.

A. Anywhere in the West End. And we’d prefer a A. There doesn’t seem to be anything the
p p . market at the moment.

B. The a p sounded really reasona- B. But I doubt that it’ll be our budget.
ble.
C. We’re going to have to get a quote an archi-
C. I actually like the fact that this is a b tect, I think.
f .
D. Excited? We’re the moon!
D. No, we were renting. We’ve already given n .

Answers
B. asking price
C. basement
property
A. period

D. notice

within
from
over

east-facing [(i:st )feIsIN]

flat

on

, nach Osten ausgerichtet

A.

D.
C.
B.
2.
1.

EVERYDAY ENGLISH 6/2019 Spotlight 55

 THE BASICS

Easy English
Here, you’ll find a dialogue, with facts and
exercises related to it, at the A2 level of English —
basic language points you may have forgotten or
missed before. By VANESSA CLARK
EASY
Show and tell
Now, find out more about a Cambridge tradition: punting.
A punt is a long, flat boat pushed with a pole. Punting on the
River Cam is a favourite activity for Cambridge students and
visitors.

The river flows along “The Backs” — the backs of the university
colleges — and under Cambridge’s famous bridges.

If you hire a punt, someone in your group will have to be the

“punter”. The punter stands at the back of the boat and uses the
long pole to push it forwards.

Punting can be difficult at first, so here’s a tip from Hannah: “If

your pole gets stuck, let go of it! If you hold on to the pole, you’ll
fall out of the boat and into the water. If you let go of the pole, it
will stay where it is, and you can go back to it later.”

Alternatively, you can hire a chauffeured punt and let an expert

do the hard work for you, while you enjoy the beautiful views
and a picnic.
nes,
Hannah Jo student
mb ridge University
Ca Cabinet of curiosities
Dialogue
Here, we present interesting lives from around the
English-speaking world. We’re talking to Hannah
Jones, a student at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Tell us about your college.

I’m at Trinity College, which was founded by Henry
VIII in 1546. It’s the biggest college in Cambridge,
with about 900 students.

Are you superclever?

No! I did well at school, but when you come to
Cambridge, you soon realize you’re nothing special.
Trinity has produced 33 Nobel Prize winners. I’m
not that clever.

Do you have lots of classes every week?

I have eight hours of lectures every week, and we
also have “supervisions”, when a group of students
meets with a “fellow” (teacher) for a discussion. You
have to read a lot to prepare for supervisions. It’s a
lot of work, but our terms are only eight weeks long.

What do you do when you’re not studying?

We have “formals” — formal dinners. We eat at long chauffeured [(SEUfEd] hall [hO:l] punt [pVnt]
, chauffiert , Speise- und Versamm- , Stechkahn fahren
tables in the hall — very Harry Potter! At the mo- lungsraum in College oder
ment, everyone is looking forward to May Week, found [faUnd] term [t§:m]
Universität
, gründen , Semester, Trimester
when we have the end-of-year balls, and to summer pole [pEUl]
activities like punting on the Cam. get stuck [get (stVk]
, Stakstange
, stecken bleiben

56 Spotlight 6/2019 THE BASICS

 Word fun

Exercise 1 E

Hannah is going for a punting picnic with some friends.

Read her list and look at the pictures. What has she for-
gotten? Which item on the list is not pictured?

blanket
bottle opener
cushions
cutlery
picnic basket
plates
wine glasses

Grammar
Now, take another look at Hannah’s tip for punting: Reading

⋅⋅ If you hold on to the pole, you’ll fall out of the boat.

If you let go of the pole, it will stay where it is.
Exercise 3 E

How carefully have you read this double page? Test

This structure is the first conditional. Use it to talk about future yourself here by deciding whether the sentences below
consequences. Use “if” with the present, and then the future are true (T) or false (F).
Fotos: donatas1205, Tatjana Rittner/Shutterstock.com; CaronB/iStock.com; Illustrationen: Martin Haake

(“will”) in the other clause.

T F
A. Trinity College is more than 450 years old.
Exercise 2 E
B. Trinity College has produced 33 Nobel Prize
Write the verbs in brackets below in the correct form winners.
(present or future).
C. “The Backs” are Cambridge’s famous bridges.
A. If you (visit) Cambridge, you
(see) the colleges. D. If your punting pole gets stuck, you should
hold on to it.
B. If Hannah (work) hard, she
(pass) her exams. Answers
Hanna has forgotten the

clause [klO:z]
university colleges.)
are the backs of the

C. If she (have) time, she

D. false (Let go of it!)
C. false (“The Backs”

, Satzglied, Teilsatz
(go) punting with her friends at the weekend.
works, will pass

feel, will stop

visit, will see
bottle opener.

item [(aItEm]
has, will go

, Gegenstand
D. If they (feel) hungry, they
A. true
B. true

(stop) for a picnic. pictured [(pIktSEd]

, abgebildet
A.

D.
C.
B.
2.

3.
1.

THE BASICS 6/2019 Spotlight 57

 WORDS THAT GO TOGETHER

The collocation game

Words that are often used together are called “collocations”.
Learning such word combinations will help you read and
speak more fluently. Here, we look at collocations with the
words “bag” and “sack”. By CLARE MAAS
EASY

sack

1. It’s in the bag!

In this issue, we take a look at
collocations with the words
bag and sack. Which words go
together to make collocations?
Read our tips on page 59 and
decide whether the words and
phrases in the list below collo-
1. handbag 2. 3.
cate with “bag” or “sack”. Then
match the collocations to the
pictures. We have done the
first one for you. When you’ve
finished, try the exercise on
the opposite page.

bag bin
body
cloth
4. doggy 5.
hand bag
Hoover
messenger
of chips
plastic
potato
race
refuse
sleeping

6. 7. issue [(ISu:] match [mÄtS] 8.

, hier: Ausgabe , zuordnen

58 Spotlight 6/2019 WORDS THAT GO TOGETHER

 Exercise 2 E Tips

⋅
What kind of bag or sack is needed by the people listed bag
below? The words used together with bag usually show what it is

⋅
A. someone spending the night in a tent
B. a policeman at a murder scene
made of — for example, a plastic bag — or what it is used for.
Handbag is a general term for a small bag used by a
woman to carry personal items. The word handbag is also
sometimes used when referring to a shoulder bag or a

⋅
C. a person who orders more food than he or she can eat
D. a farmer who needs to transport crops
clutch purse.
A bin bag (UK), also called a “bin liner” (UK), is a small plastic
bag you put inside a household rubbish bin; and a Hoover
bag (UK) is a small bag you put inside a Hoover (UK), or

⋅
vacuum cleaner, to collect dust and dirt.
E. people who want to empty all the bins in their house In German, the word Bodybag is often used to describe what
is called a messenger bag in English. Be careful: in English,
body bags are large plastic bags with a zip, designed for

⋅
transporting dead bodies.
Sleeping bags also have a zip, but they are made of thick
material to keep you warm when you sleep somewhere

⋅
other than in a bed; for example, when you are camping.
If you cannot finish your meal in a restaurant, you can ask
for a doggy bag, a small container in which the leftovers can

⋅
be taken home.
In Britain, a bag of chips is not a bag at all. When you buy
fresh chips from the fish-and-chip shop, they are often

⋅
wrapped in paper.
If you say something is in the bag (ifml.), you are confident
that you will achieve it.

⋅
sack
A sack is a large bag usually made of plastic or rough,
woven material called sackcloth. You can also criticize an
unshapely item of clothing made of poor-quality material

⋅
by saying it looks like sackcloth.
Fotos: Beo88, NAKphotos, Andrey Eremin, iStockphoto, Nastco/iStock.com; CHAIWATPHOTOS, Seregam/Shutterstock.com

9.
The words used with sack usually show what it is used for;

⋅
for example, a potato sack or a “sack of flour”.
A refuse sack, or “garbage sack” (N. Am.), is most often made
of thin plastic. It is used to put household rubbish out for

⋅
collection by the “dustcart” (UK), or “garbage truck” (N. Am.).
A sack race is a fun competition: people stand in sacks and
try to win a race by jumping instead of running.

chips [tʃɪps] UK item [(aItEm] unshapely [)Vn(SeIpli]

, Pommes , Artikel, Gegenstand , unförmig
clutch purse [(klVtS p§:s] leftovers [(left)EUvEz] woven [(wEUv&n]
10. 11.
, Unterarmtasche, , Reste , gewebt, gewoben
Clutch
murder scene wrapped [rÄpt]
crop [krQp] [(m§:dE si:n] , eingewickelt
, Ernte , Tatort eines Mordes
zip [zIp]
flour [(flaUE] refuse [(refju:s] , Reißverschluss
, Mehl , hier: Abfall

Answers
messenger bag
It’s in the bag!

sleeping bag

sleeping bag
bag of chips
Hoover bag
potato sack

potato sack
refuse sack

refuse sack
plastic bag
doggy bag

doggy bag
body bag

body bag
sackcloth

sack race
handbag
bin bag

12. 13.
10.

12.
13.
11.

A.

D.
C.
B.

E.
4.

8.
6.
2.

2.
5.
3.

9.
7.
1.
1.

WORDS THAT GO TOGETHER 6/2019 Spotlight 59

 SPOKEN ENGLISH

⋅
out of touch (the opposite of “in touch”)

It’s out of the

I’ve been living abroad for the past two years, so I’m a bit
out of touch. (= I don’t know what’s been happening here.)

question ⋅
out of the blue
She told us out of the blue that she was getting married.
(= It was a complete surprise.)

⋅
How do we use the phrase “out of” in conversational out of this world
English? Read the explanations and try the exercise. You must try the strawberry cheesecake. It’s out of this
world! (= extremely good)
By ADRIAN DOFF

⋅
out of it
MEDIUM PLUS Sorry, I wasn’t listening. I’m feeling completely out of it this
morning. (= unable to think clearly)

Verbs
Out of is often used in multi-word verbs:

⋅⋅
If you run out of something, there isn’t any of it left:
We’ve run out of orange juice. Could you buy some more?
We’re running out of time. (= We don’t have much time left.)

⋅
If you get out of doing something, you avoid doing it:
I’ll try to get out of the meeting. I’ll think of some excuse.
Here are some common expressions in English conversa- If you talk someone out of doing something, you persuade that

⋅
tion. What do you think they mean? person not to do it:

⋅⋅
He wanted to spend all his money on a new BMW, but I
The news came out of the blue. talked him out of it.

⋅⋅
We’re running out of money. If you stay (or keep) out of something, you avoid getting in-

⋅
I’ll try to talk them out of it. volved:
It’s out of this world! My whole family is arguing about whether to sell the house,
but I’m staying well out of it.

The phrase “out of” is often used as a preposition. It is also used Exercise
in many idiomatic expressions in spoken English and in multi-
word verbs. Complete the sentences below with words from the list.

Basic meanings blue | get | keep | question | touch | world

The basic meaning of out of is the opposite of “into”: you get
out of bed; you go out of the house; you come out of the super- A. He never reads a newspaper. He’s completely out of
market; you get out of your car; and you take your shopping out with what’s happening.
of the bag.
Out of can also mean “not in”, however, and is used in many B. She decided out of the to go to India.
different expressions: if you live out of town, it means you live
in the country; if a photo is out of focus, it’s not sharp; if your C. I can’t possibly take a week off work. It’s out of the
dog is out of control, it means you can’t control it; if you lose .
your job, you’ll be out of work; if a lift isn’t working, it’s out of
order; and if your clothes are out of fashion, maybe it’s time to D. I don’t want to get involved in their divorce. I’d rather
buy some new ones. well out of it.

Idiomatic expressions E. I promised to go to their party, so I don’t think I can

Here are some more expressions with out of: out of it now.

⋅
out of date (the opposite of “up to date”)
I have a guidebook to Spain, but it’s completely out of date. F. You should try Antonio’s Pizzeria. His pizzas are out
(= no longer accurate) of this !

⋅
out of breath
I need to lose weight. I get quickly out of breath when I
walk up the stairs. Answers
multi-word persuade

⋅
out of the question
question

[(mVlti w§:d] [pE(sweId]

touch

world
keep

I can’t lend you any money. I’m afraid it’s out of the
blue

Mehrwort-, aus mehre- überzeugen,

get

, ,
question. (= completely impossible) ren Wörtern bestehend überreden
A.

D.
C.
B.

E.
F.

60 Spotlight 6/2019 SPOKEN ENGLISH

 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. In this issue, he looks to Improve Your
at tricky superlatives and compares “native-speaker Business English
(Lulu Publishing).
English” to “international English”. 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@
spotlight-verlag.de
Each month, I answer
two questions Spotlight
readers have sent in.
Dear Ken Dear Ira If one of them is your
At the moment, we are struggling with a certain There can indeed be more than one most beauti- question, you’ll receive
a copy of my book: Dear
kind of expression in my class. The grammar is not ful place — all you need to do is think in groups of Ken... 101 answers to
our problem, but we are wondering about the log- places. your questions about
ic of an expression like “one of the most beautiful Imagine there is a group of places that are beauti- business English. So
don’t forget to add your
places”. ful. Then there is another group of places that are postal address.
“Most” is the superlative and, in our view, there more beautiful. And then there is a third group of
can only be one most beautiful place. All other places that are the most beautiful.
places are beautiful, very beautiful, etc. But the Now, you want to single out just one place from
most beautiful? Can there really be more than this last group. So you say, “This is one of the most
one? beautiful places...”
We are looking forward to your reply. Regards
Ira G. Ken

Dear Ken ⋅ They are inclined to speak too quickly for

adjust [E(dZVst]

⋅
My English teacher says that I should try to model second-language speakers to follow.
, anpassen
my English on that of an educated native speaker. They may use vocabulary that is not always
colloquial expression

⋅
I find this very difficult to do. I live in Hamburg,
not New York or London, and most of my pro-
fessional contacts in English are also second-
understood by second-language speakers.
[kE)lEUkwiEl Ik(spreS&n]
They often use idioms and colloquial , umgangssprachlicher
expressions that are not familiar to second- Ausdruck

⋅
language speakers. language speakers. culture-bound
Do you have some other model that is less de- Their sentence construction can be too [(kVltSE baUnd]
manding but still lets me communicate clearly complex, so that the meaning does not come , kulturabhängig

⋅
with both native and non-native speakers? across clearly. demanding [di(mA:ndIN]
, anspruchsvoll
Regards Their language can be strongly culture-
Tomas M. bound — with references that you cannot familiar [fE(mIliE]
, bekannt, geläufig
understand unless you are part of that culture.
Dear Tomas I always suggest to my students that they should inclined: be ~ to do sth.
[In(klaInd]
Your English teacher is probably trying to mo- aim to become good speakers of “international , zu etw. tendieren
tivate you to continue to improve your English English” — and communicate in short, clear sen-
model [(mQd&l]
skills. But I can see how this can be frustrating tences, thus avoiding the problems native speak- ,formen, gestalten
— and I’m also not sure that native speakers are ers can cause.
single out [)sINg&l (aUt]
always the best models for second-language In order to avoid further frustration, maybe you , herausheben
speakers. can discuss this idea with your teacher and try to
Foto: Gert Krautbauer

thus [DVs]
Native speakers have several disadvantages they adjust the goals for your learning. , und somit, und auf
have to overcome when using their English in an All the best diese Weise
international environment. For example: Ken unless [En(les]
, außer, ausgenommen

ENGLISH AT WORK 6/2019 Spotlight 61

 CROSSWORD
Solution to puzzle 5/19:

A daring rescue
publicity
W A M O U N T N
E C G R A D E
The words in this puzzle are taken from this issue’s Around Oz. A R T I C L E U A
R U M A N L Y R
You may find it helpful to refer to the text on page 63. R P B
W O O D S L A U N D R Y
EASY MEDIUM ADVANCED A I O
R V Y H
D I F F E R E N T S U
R R E E T N
O F F I C E S T A R T
B E T T E
E D E E R Y E A R

Across
1. The opposite of proud.
1. 2. 3. 4. 6. A group of players in a game.
7. A small narrow stream or river.
1. 5. 8. “We finally came to a on the
matter.”
10. “The girl’s parents now for her
6. 7. safety.”
12. The ability to recover quickly.
7. 15. Expert knowledge or skill.
16. “Alan started to when he
8. 9. 11.
couldn’t find his car key.”
8. 10. 17. To repeat an idea, opinion or remark.

13. 14. Down

12. 1. To gather closely together.
2. A friend.
3. “If you , I’ll follow.”
4. Equipment or clothing needed for a
15.
certain activity.
5. The subject or main idea.
7. “Rebecca felt she was doing well in
16. the test and her began to grow.”
8. A special wall built across a river or
17.
stream to stop the water from flow-
ing.
9. “The opening of the Olym-
pic Games is always an incredible
Competition event.”
11. Opposed to doing something.
Mitmachen und gewinnen! How to take part
13. A formal talk.
Form a single word from the letters in the coloured squares. 14. To mention something.
Send it on a postcard to:

Redaktion Spotlight
“Issue 6/19 Prize Puzzle”
Kistlerhofstraße 172
81379 Deutschland

Or go to www.spotlight-online.de/crossword, where you can

also find the list of winners of our crossword competition in
issue 4/19.

Five winners will be chosen from the entries we receive by

28 May 2019. Each winner will be sent a copy of Englisch –
alles drin! by courtesy of Langenscheidt.

62 Spotlight 6/2019 CROSSWORD

 AROUND OZ

Risking it all
Risiken im Leben sollten sich lohnen und womöglich das
eigene Leben und das von anderen verbessern – sagen
zwei bemerkenswerte Australier.
ADVANCED

T
ogether, they became “Australians of the Year”, the
diving mates who were pivotal in the cave rescue
of a young Thai soccer team last July. Amazingly,
they say they want boys and girls to take more risks.
In his acceptance speech, Adelaide anaesthetist
Dr Richard Harris surprised some when he said: “I do
fear for kids today who, living in a risk-averse society,
will not learn to challenge themselves.”
He also noted the irony of those words as the big
screens at the ceremony showed a dimly lit vision of
kids huddled on a ledge who had maybe gone a little
too far. His long-time diving friend, retired veteri-
narian Dr Craig Challen from Perth, echoed those
remarks by saying that he thought kids should spend
much less time in front of computer and phone
screens.
Both veteran cave divers have, in the past decade,
received the Australian Technical Diver of the Year
award, and have been involved in many complex div-
ing rescues. The incredibly humble men immediately
answered the call to go to the flooded cave in Chiang
Rai, where the Wild Boars team and their coach were
trapped kilometres underground.
Harris, the anaesthetist, wants kids to be more ad-
Fotos: ahmetemre, OSTILL/iStock.com; privat
cave. Harris sat each of the boys in full diving gear on
his knee in the water. He injected a sedative into their
leg to stop them panicking, then took them under-
water to the next cavity, where his mate Challen gave
them another sedative before leading them under-
water through the next section to other rescuers.
One by one, they repeated the procedure 13 times,
with Harris and Challen being the last men to leave
the cave. That was when they learned that all the boys
and their coach had survived. They later said that,
while it was essentially their rescue plan, neither
one of them had given it more than a 50:50 chance
of success.
Harris had apparently used his international div-
ing reputation and medical expertise to put a stop to
another plan for the boys and their coach to be fully
anaesthetized and pulled out in scuba gear. “You’ll kill
them all,” he said simply.
anaesthetist [E(ni:sTEtIst] mate [meIt]
, Narkosearzt, -ärztin , Kumpel
cavity [(kÄvEti] pivotal [(pIvEt&l]

, Hohlraum, Höhle , von zentraler Bedeutung

venturous outdoors and “to earn the grazed knees creek [kri:k] resilience [ri(zIliEns]
and stubbed toes that really are necessary to build , Bach , Widerstandsfähigkeit,
resilience and confidence”. Belastbarkeit
dam [dÄm]
“Get out and explore, dam a creek and catch tad- , aufstauen risk-averse [(rIsk E)v§:s]
poles,” he said in what is likely to be the theme of the , risikoscheu
dimly lit [(dImli lIt]
many speeches he will make across Australia this , schwach beleuchtet scuba gear [(sku:bE gIE]
year as part of his award duties. Challen saw his re- , Tauchausrüstung
graze [greIz]
sponse to the call from Thai authorities last year as , aufschürfen sedative [(sedEtIv]
a must: “Make the most of every opportunity that , Beruhigungsmittel
PETER FLYNN is a huddle [(hVd&l]
public-relations presents itself,” he said, “and in every decision you , kauern stub [stVb]
consultant and make, ask yourself, does this help me to be the best , verstauchen
humble [)hVmb&l]
social commenta-
person I can be?” , bescheiden tadpole [(tÄdpEUl]
tor who lives in
In leading the international mission, the two Aus- , Kaulquappe
Perth, Western ledge [ledZ]
Australia. tralian rescue medics were in the deepest parts of the , Felsvorsprung

AROUND OZ 6/2019 Spotlight 63

 CULTURE

…and then I tried the

Hals- und Rachentee
DAGMAR TAYLOR lebt sehr gerne in Deutschland. Wenn da nicht die unzähligen merkwürdigen
und überhaupt nicht logischen Dinge wären, über die sie immer wieder stolpert.
MEDIUM

64 Spotlight 6/2019 CULTURE

 T
he linguistic and
cultural misunder-
standings between
German and Eng-
lish are an endless
source of amuse-
ment. After almost
20 years in Germany, I have come across
plenty. Join me now as I explore another
four everyday topics that have created op-
portunities for confusion and embarrass-
ment for English speakers in Germany.
Teatime
Walk into a German kitchen and you’ll
find a utensil that you wouldn’t find in
any British kitchen: it looks like a short,
dirty sock strung on to a wire. It’s usually
drying close to the sink. And it’s obvious
that the sock used to be white, but is now
brown. This is a “tea sock” — a cotton filter
used for making tea. You might also find a
“tea egg” if you’re lucky.
Now, Germans like tea just as much as
the Brits, but they drink much more herb-
al tea. Tea in Britain is usually black, but
we don’t call it “black tea”, we just call it
“tea”. Black tea with milk still isn’t popular
in Germany. If you ask for tea with milk,
you’ll often get a little container of Kaffee-
sahne (coffee cream), unless you specific-
ally ask for fresh milk.
When you watch a Brit making a cup
of tea, it seems very unceremonious, care-
less even. They put the kettle on, get out a
mug, throw in a teabag and get the milk
out of the fridge, ready to pour it into the
mug once the teabag has been removed.
The teabag is then left to drain in or near
the sink. What you can’t tell from the
process alone is just how important the
brand of tea is, how long the teabag must
be left in the mug and how much milk
should be added. These personal pref-
erences are adhered to religiously and
respected by others. Attention is always
given to this when making tea for some-
one else. Which is why, after 25 years in
Germany, I’m still offended when some-
one offers me Kaffeesahne for my tea. Don’t
they know by now how I like my tea?
While whole supermarket aisles in the
UK are filled with simple black tea of vari-
Illustration: Mick Marston
ous brands, in Germany, there are speciali-
ty tea shops, where you can buy loose-leaf
tea and tea-making accessories, such as
eggs and socks. You can buy all the usual
sorts of tea by the gram — from Assam
CULTURE
adhere to sth. [Ed(hIE tu] kettle [(ket&l]
, etw. einhalten , Wasserkocher
and lapsang souchong to black teas with
ailment [(eI&lmEnt] mug [mVg]
flavours like caramel or apple strudel.
, Erkrankung, Leiden , Tasse, Becher
Supermarkets and chemists also sell row
aisle [aI&l] nasty [(nA:sti]
upon row of boxes of tea, but there are far
, Gang , gemein, fies
more types of herbal tea than “black tea”.
bowel [(baUEl] offend [E(fend]
Many relaxation teas are also available, Darm-
, , verletzen, kränken
which makes me think that Germans are
brand [brÄnd] pastime [(pA:staIm]
super stressed. There’s Kopfentspannungs- , Marke , Freizeitbeschäftigung,
tee (head relaxation tea). Does that make Zeitvertreib
chemist [(kemIst] UK
your head floppy but not the rest of you? , Apotheke, Drogerie pee [pi:] ifml.
And Einschlaftee (tea for falling asleep), , pinkeln
cucumber [(kju:kVmbE]
Antistresstee and Beruhigungstee (calming , Gurken- rude [ru:d]
tea), to name just a few. You’ll also find , unhöflich, grob
drain [dreIn]
teas for all sorts of minor ailments — from , abtropfen sink [sINk]
Hals- und Rachentee (neck and throat tea) , Spülbecken
embarrassment
to Magen- und Darmtee (stomach and bow- [Im(bÄrEsmEnt] source [sO:s]
el tea). This sort of tea is very personal, it , Verlegenheit, Pein- , Quelle
seems, and not the sort you serve up with lichkeit
strung [strVN]
a plate of cucumber sandwiches at five floppy [(flQpi] , geschnürt, aufgezogen
, schlapp, energielos
o’clock. thrilled: be ~ about sth.
frown upon sth. [TrIld]
No place for wusses [(fraUn E)pQn] , von etw. begeistert sein
, etw. missbilligen
Wussy behaviour is generally frowned utensil [ju(tens&l]
herbal [(h§:b&l] , Gerät
upon in Germany and it seems to be a
, Kräuter-
national pastime to come up with nasty wussy [(wUsi] ifml.
insult [(InsVlt] , Weichei-
words for people who don’t exactly live , Beleidigung
life on the wild side. The best known are
Warmduscher (someone who takes only
warm showers), Sitzpinkler (a man who
sits down to pee), Frauenversteher (a man
who understands women) and Schatten-
parker (someone who parks in the shade).
There are many more of these terms. On
one website, I found 600 terms! Here’s a
sample: Beutelreiskocher (someone who
cooks boil-in-the-bag rice), Blasentee-
trinker (someone who drinks bladder
tea — see above), Handbuchleser (some-
one who reads the instructions) and
Wunschkennzeichenfahrer (someone whose
car has personalized number plates).
More traditional terms for a man who
isn’t considered to fit into the traditional
testosterone-fuelled image of mascu-
linity is a Weichei (a soft-boiled egg) or a
Pantoffelheld (literally “a hero in slippers”).
In English, we would call him a “wuss”.
In German, there’s also Schlappschwanz,
which sounds really rude. It just goes to
show how flexible the German language
is and how specific the insults can be.
Spießer, short for Spießbürger, is an-
other German word with no adequate
equivalent in English. If you describe
a neighbour or a colleague as a Spießer,
anyone will understand that you’re not
thrilled about their company. In Eng-
lish, you might say that they’re boring or
6/2019 Spotlight 65
 adopt [E(dQpt] received pronunciation
, annehmen [ri)si:vd prE)nVnsi(eIS&n]
narrow-minded. But that doesn’t really — unless they’ve picked up a different ac- , britische Standardaus-
credit: give sb. ~ [(kredIt]
get across exactly what makes this per- cent on their travels — speak English with sprache
, jmdm. etw. zugute-
son boring. A Spießer is someone who is a this accent. And obviously, I don’t because halten relieved [ri(li:vd]
conformist, is set in their ways, who sticks I’m neither English nor did I learn English , erleichtert
loanword [(lEUnw§:d]
to the rules, doesn’t think outside the box, in Germany. Only around two per cent of , Fremdwort, Lehnwort run-in [(rVn In]
lets routine rule their life and believes the UK population have an RP accent, merely [(mIEli]
, Auseinandersetzung,
there is one way of doing things. but nevertheless, it’s necessary to have a Wortwechsel
, lediglich, bloß
I recently had a run-in with a Spießer standard, even if it has become somewhat set [set]
narrow-minded
, hier: festgefahren
in the village I live in. He was wondering outdated. [)nÄrEU (maIndId]
about the number plates on our cars. In Growing up in Scotland, I didn’t even , engstirnig, borniert supposed: be ~ to do sth.
[sE(pEUst]
Germany, it’s quite common to have per- know that received pronunciation exist- posh [pQS] UK ifml.
, etw. tun sollen
sonalized number plates — they’re called ed, until I did a teacher-training course , vornehm, piekfein
wrapper [(rÄpE]
Wunschkennzeichen. (See above.) in Edinburgh. I was in a phonetics class, pun [pVn]
, Verpackung
Mr Spießer: Don’t you have your initials trying to understand why the phonetic , Wortspiel
on your license plate? transcription of the sen- random [(rÄndEm]
Me: No. tence the teacher had , zufällig
Mr Spießer: Normally,
people have their initials “Spießer dictated to us didn’t look
anything like the way I
on their number plates.
Me: Yes, I know. But we is a word was pronouncing it. And
I wasn’t the only one
don’t.
Mr Spießer: Don’t the
with no who was confused. After
the teacher suggested
letters stand for anything
then?
equiva- we try pronouncing the
sentence as if we were
Me: Yes, they do. When
the cars are parked side
lent in the queen, the symbols
suddenly made sense.
by side, the letters spell
the name of our dog. English” For the next four weeks,
every time we had a pho-
Mr Spießer: (silence) netics class, eight Scots
To give the guy credit, and a guy from Northern
he seemed satisfied with the explanation Ireland would sit in class putting on posh
because now he knew what the letters English accents as they tried to learn the
stood for and was probably relieved that phonetic symbols.
they weren’t merely some crazy, random In the Lindt chocolate range “Nice to
selection. sweet you”, some of the English seems
a little strange to me, not quite English.
“Berry me” or “bury me”? There’s “Every bit makes crum, crum,
What still worries me a little after all crum”, for example. Do they mean, “Every
this time in Germany is what German bit is yum, yum, yum”? I don’t really know.
sometimes does to my English. I find And how about, “Just say yes and berry
myself changing the way I pronounce me”. When I read this, I understand, “Just
English words when I use them in a say yes and bury me,” which is rather
German sentence. Let’s say I want to macabre. I’m guessing this is a pun and
meet someone at a camping site, then I’ll is supposed to remind the person who’s
say: “Treffen wir uns am Campingplatz?” Only looking at the chocolate wrapper of “mar-
I won’t say “camping” the way I would say ry me” rather than “bury me”. But when
it in English, I say it like this: “cämping”. I speak English, “marry” doesn’t rhyme
Or if I’m ordering a sandwich, I might with “berry”, so in order to get the point, I
say: “Ein vegetarisches Grill-Sandwich bitte,” have to pretend I’m back in my phonetics
but instead of saying “sandwich”, I say class and speak like the queen.
“sändwich”.
Why do I do this? I say the words like English and German mixed up
my German friends say them and that’s English is everywhere in Germany — in
because of received pronunciation (RP), advertising, on products and in pop songs.
which is the standard accent of English as The German language has also adopted a
spoken in the south of England. Received lot of English words, called loanwords,
pronunciation is the accent that is taught such as party, baby, cocktail, pullover and
in German schools, so most Germans hobby, to name a few. But some of the

66 Spotlight 6/2019 CULTURE


loanwords, although they may sound
English, aren’t used in the same way that
English native speakers would use them.
These are called pseudo-Anglicisms.
Let’s have a look at some German and
then see how we would say it in English:
“Ich gehe heute Abend zum Training ins Fitness-
studio. Ich mag den Trainer, weil er ein richtiger
Sunnyboy ist. Danach gehe ich zum Wellness —
ich lass mir ein Peeling machen, denn morgen
habe ich ein Fotoshooting.”
An English native speaker would say:
“I’m going to work out at the gym tonight.
I like the trainer because he’s always in a
good mood. Afterwards, I’m going to the
spa to have my skin exfoliated, because I
have a photo shoot tomorrow.”
Almost the same, really.
I can’t help wonder what a strange ex-
perience it must be for people living in
Germany who know very little English,
Illustration: Mick Marston
or even for those who do know a bit of
English. They are constantly confronted
with English in the language of market-
ing. If marketers started emblazoning
German on British products, there would
CULTURE
counter [(kaUntE] moist [mOIst]
, Ladentisch ,feucht
dick [dIk] vulg. riot [(raIEt]
, Schwanz, Penis , Aufruhr, Aufstand
emblazon [Im(bleIz&n] soothe [su:D]
, schmücken , beruhigen
how now brown cow stroll [strEUl]
[haU naU braUn kaU] , bummeln
, Wortfolge zum Üben
gepflegter Aussprache the latter [DE (lÄtE]
, Letztere(r, s)
loads of [(lEUdz Ev] ifml.
, massenhaft
be loads of letters to The Times, and riots,
and everything! You just have to visit
your local Drogeriemarkt — which is like a
chemist’s without the chemist’s counter
— to see what I mean. As you stroll down
the personal hygiene aisles, you notice all
the English — it’s all “active energy”, “lux-
urious volume”, “inner power”, “ultra soft”
and “cotton feel”. This isn’t beginner’s
English, either. I’d say it was at least B1 or
B2 according to the Common European
Framework of Reference for Languages.
There’s often a mixture of languages
on the packaging, for example: “Wake-Up
Sofort-Effekt Gel”. Is this a super-strength
coffee gel? Smelling salts? What?
With such a mix of languages on prod-
ucts, it’s easy to get confused. What is “Af-
ter Shave Balsam”? Is this the English “af-
ter” or is it the German After? Could this
be a cream to soothe the irritation caused
by shaving your anus or is it for your
face? Probably the latter. You might be
surprised to read “extra dick” on a packet
of moist toilet paper. Don’t worry, it’s just
German for “extra thick”, not a free gift.
6/2019 Spotlight 67
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 AMERICAN LIFE

Florida, here
I come
Unsere Autorin zieht es Richtung Süden –
und dort stellt sie fest, dass ihr die Gegend
und die Leute besser gefallen, als sie dachte.
MEDIUM US AUDIO PLUS

T
his was the year that I decided to go to Florida for tiki huts with live music, a blues bar, music in the
a few months to escape the cold time of the year. park, and street festivals, it’s my kind of place. And
I didn’t actually consider it to be a scary thing to because it’s somewhat off the beaten path, it doesn’t
do, though friends kept telling me how brave they have the crowds that many other Florida towns have
thought I was. Brave? Well, I’ve parachuted out of an at this time of year. No traffic jams, just laid-back,
airplane, given birth in a VW bus, and gotten arrested friendly people taking life slow. I could definitely get
in East Germany. So, striking out on my own for parts used to this lifestyle.
unknown was not something that could scare me. I discovered that a great way to meet people when
No, I viewed this as just another adventure, you move to a new town and know nobody is
something to push me out of my comfort to walk around wearing a cap or sweatshirt
zone. Many friends offered advice — from your home region. At the beach,
most of which wasn’t all that useful. while shopping, at the gym, in the
Listen to this column
But perhaps the strangest advice came on Spotlight Audio: library — so many people have started a
from a woman I had recently met, who spotlight-online.de/ conversation with me about the area I’m
spotlight-audio
told me she had a lot of travel experience. from. I also sometimes wear my cap from
Her words of wisdom? Keep your guns Munich, which leads to people telling me
close and don’t hang any clothes in your car about their experiences at Munich’s “Hofbrau
window. I did neither. House” (as Americans call it), and even a few discus-
During my drive to Florida, I encountered a num- sions in German.
ber of real characters. There was the guy in the con-
venience store in southern Virginia who, out of the
blue, while I was filling my coffee cup, began to rant beaten path: off the ~ out of the blue
about people on welfare and how much tax he is [)bi:t&n (pÄT] [)aUt Ev DE (blu:] ifml.
, abgelegen, ab vom Schuss , aus heiterem Himmel
paying. Despite his rant, and his obvious disdain for
Northerners — I guess he had noticed my New York convenience store parachute [(pÄrESu:t]
Fotos: Stable007, 26ISO/iStock.com; privat

[kEn(vi:niEns stO:r] , mit dem Fallschirm springen

license plate — he did call me “ma’am” several times.
, Gemischtwarenladen
As I ventured deeper into the South, I became rant [rÄnt]
disdain [dis(deIn] , schimpfen
more impressed with the people I was meeting.
, Verachtung
I imagine this is because everyone was calling me recall [ri(kO:l]
encounter [In(kaUnt&r] , sich erinnern
“ma’am.” I liked that. I can’t recall anyone in my
, begegnen, treffen
northern town ever using that term with me. The strike out: ~ on one’s own
gym [dZIm] [straIk (aUt]
waitress in the breakfast room at the Quality Inn , Fitnessstudio , allein losziehen
near Savannah, Georgia, not only called me “ma’am,”
GINGER KUENZEL hospitality [)hA:spE(tÄlEti] take life slow [)teIk laIf (sloU]
is a freelance
but she also called me “sugar” (or more accurately, , Gastfreundlichkeit , das Leben langsam angehen
writer who lived shoogah). And “honey.” I was definitely feeling the lassen
laid-back [)leId (bÄk] ifml.
in Munich for 20 Southern hospitality. , locker, lässig venture [(ventS&r]
years. She now
Upon arriving in Florida, it didn’t take me long to , sich wagen
calls a small license plate
town in upstate find the perfect town to settle into as my temporary [(laIs&ns pleIt] N. Am. wisdom: words of ~ [(wIzdEm]
New York home. home. With miles of sandy Gulf Coast beaches and , Autokennzeichen , gute Ratschläge, weise Worte

AMERICAN LIFE 6/2019 Spotlight 69

 SHORT STORY

The better writer

Was ist das Geheimnis eines guten Schriftstellers? Die Antwort ist vielleicht seltsamer,
als man gedacht hätte. Von TALITHA LINEHAN
MEDIUM US AUDIO

M
issing author tops bestseller Now, Henry was certain that the story of Ambrose
list.” That was the headline Bierce’s disappearance had inspired Frederick’s pub-
on the front page of the news- licity stunt, which he wanted more than anything to
paper. The story described how expose to the world. So, later that day, he visited Fred-
the author Frederick Willen- erick’s family home.
heim disappeared from his family home almost a Frederick’s mother answered the door.
year ago and how his mother, Clarella, found his com- “Oh, it’s you,” said Aunt Clarella. “I thought maybe
pleted, handwritten manuscript and sent it to a liter- it was… Never mind. Come in.”
ary agent she had known from her university days. Henry followed his aunt inside, shocked by her
The manuscript was bought by a famous publishing appearance. She had always been so glamorous, but
house and was now the bestselling novel in the US. today she was wearing an old robe and looking sickly
Frederick’s cousin Henry felt sick as he read thin. He had thought she was in on the publicity
the story, not because his cousin was miss- stunt, but now he wasn’t so sure.
ing, but because he was certain his disap- “I’m sorry I didn’t come before,” he said.
pearance was a publicity stunt to sell his “I just kept thinking that Frederick would
Listen to this short story
novel. He, Henry, should be the bestsell- on Spotlight Audio: come home. Maybe if I go through his
ing author of the family, not Frederick. spotlight-online.de/ things, I can find some clue to what hap-
spotlight-audio
The two boys had always wanted to pened.”
become famous authors, but Henry had “You can try,” said his aunt, with a shrug.
been the better writer and got better marks “Most of his things are in his writer’s hut.”
in English. That all changed, however, when they “His writer’s hut?”
were 17, and Frederick wrote an article for a class “In the garden.”
project about an author called Ambrose Bierce, who, “Oh, right, of course.”
after writing more than a thousand short stories, had A writer’s hut, thought Henry, with his usual re-
disappeared in the early 1900s and was never seen sentment. Who did Frederick think he was?
again. On the desk, there were piles of paper with ideas
Frederick even visited some members of Bierce’s written all across them in pencil; Frederick was ap-
family, who he said were very helpful and gave him parently too good to use anything as common as a
some of the author’s old things. Their teacher loved pen.
the article, a fictional account of Bierce’s disappear-
clue [klu:] prolific [proU(lIfIk]
ance, so much that she sent it to a local newspaper,
, Hinweis , produktiv, erfolgreich
which published it.
expose [Ik(spoUz] publicity stunt [pVb(lIsEti stVnt]
And so Frederick’s writing career began. He was
, enthüllen, preisgeben , Werbegag
soon publishing short stories in national magazines
fictional account publishing house
and planning his first novel. Overnight, Frederick had [)fIkS&nEl E(kaUnt] [(pVblISIN haUs]
become a prolific and talented writer, and when Hen- , fiktiver Bericht , Buchverlag
ry asked him how he did it, Frederick told him simply hut [hVt] resentful [ri(zentf&l]
to put pen to paper and wait for the words to flow. , Hütte , verärgert, verbittert
But whenever Henry tried this, nothing happened. mark [mA:rk] robe [roUb]
Discouraged, he gave up on becoming a writer and, , hier: Note , Morgenrock
over the years, became more and more resentful of pile [paI&l] shrug [SrVg]
his cousin’s success. , Stapel, Haufen , Schulterzucken

70 Spotlight 6/2019 SHORT STORY


Henry was certain he would find proof of his cous-
in’s publicity stunt, but all he found were hundreds of
brilliant story ideas that he wished he could develop,
as Frederick so easily did. Frustrated, he threw the pa-
pers in the air, then took some of the things from his
desk, including a rough, old pencil; perhaps he could
sell them online and make some money. There were
lots of people who’d pay for things owned by a fa-
mous author.
The next day, before his weekly therapy session,
Henry sat down to write how he was feeling, which
was all he ever wrote about anymore. He used the
pencil he’d taken from Frederick’s desk to write about
how much he hated him: It felt like poetic justice.
As soon as he put pencil to paper, the words be-
gan flowing as they never had before, and he found
himself developing one of the story ideas he’d come
across in Frederick’s writing hut, and then another,
and then another. By the next day, he’d written doz-
ens of brilliant short stories, which he sent to his
cousin’s literary agent, boasting about his relation-
ship to Frederick. And a few months later, his stories
began appearing in national magazines.
“I’m a writing machine,” he told his therapist. He
didn’t need therapy any more, but it always felt good
to boast. “I put pen to paper and the story appears.”
“Go on then,” said his therapist, giving him a pen.
“What, now?” Henry shrugged and took the pen,
but when he tried to write, nothing happened.
“It’s the pencil,” he told his therapist a week later.
“Every time I try writing with anything but the pen-
cil, nothing comes.”
“So, what will you do when the lead runs out?”
It was then that Henry realized that the lead nev-
er ran out, that he’d never even had to sharpen it.
Alarmed, he decided never to use the pencil again.
But a newspaper story a few weeks later, about how
his cousin’s disappearance had inspired a new movie,
changed his mind. Henry had given up on exposing
his cousin; now, he only wanted to demonstrate to
the world that he was the better writer.
He picked up the pencil and, this time, he wrote
not a short story but a novel, about an author who
staged his disappearance to popularize his first book.
As his hand flew across the page, he poured out all
of his frustration, all of himself into the story, until
he disappeared into it and there was nothing left but
Fotos: amiloslava/iStock.com; pr; HuHu/Shutterstock.com
a completed manuscript and an old pencil that was
once owned by Ambrose Bierce and was now waiting
for the next would-be writer to pick it up.
boast [boUst] sharpen [(SA:rpEn]
, sich rühmen, prahlen , anspitzen
lead [led] would-be [(wUd bi:] ifml.
, Blei; hier: Bleistiftmine , Möchtegern-
pour out [pO:r (aUt]
, ausschütten
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ancestor [(ÄnsestE] inhabit [In(hÄbIt] narrative [(nÄrEtIv]
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debut [(deIbju:] judgement [(dZVdZmEnt] stunningly [(stVnINli]
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host [hEUst] modest [(mQdIst]
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car park [(kA: pA:k] UK narrator [nE(reItE] take [teIk]
, Parkplatz , Erzähler(in) , Version
fuss [fVs] remains [ri(meInz]
, Theater, Getue , sterbliche Überreste
6/2019 Spotlight 71
 THE LIGHTER SIDE
.........................................................................................
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......................................................................................... The Argyle Sweater
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.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
That sinking feeling
.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
Right from the beginning, my great-grand-
.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
father tried to warn everyone that the Titan-
.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
........................................................................................
ic was going to sink. When people ignored
.........................................................................................
........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
him, he ran around shouting about icebergs
.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
at the top of his voice. Eventually, everyone
......................................................................................... Changing times
.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
got irritated, and he was thrown out of the
......................................................................................... Do you
.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
cinema.
......................................................................................... remember when
.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
......................................................................................... cosmetic surgery
.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
.........................................................................................
......................................................................................... was a taboo sub-
.........................................................................................
ject? Nowadays,
you mention
Botox, and
nobody raises an
eyebrow.

by Scott Hilburn

“In history, the arrival of Getting to the other side
a small man in a big hat is Two giraffes are standing at
rarely good news.” the side of the road.
One asks the other,
Andrew Marr (born 1959), British television presenter “So, shall we cross?”
The other shakes his head.
“No way! Look at what
happened to the zebra.”
Cartoons: © 2019 Scott Hilburn/Distributed by Universal Uclick/Bulls Press; © 2019 PEANUTS Worldwide LLC, Dist. by Universal Uclick/Bulls Press; Illustration: wektorygrafika/istock.com
Weight-watcher
A woman catches her husband
standing on the scales, pulling
in his stomach.
“You know that won’t help,
don’t you, Joe?”
“Oh, it helps a lot,” says her
husband. “It’s the only way
I can see the numbers.”

cosmetic surgery
[kQz)metIk (s§:dZEri]
, Schönheitsoperation
eventually [I(ventSuEli]
, schließlich, irgendwann
italics: put sth. in ~ [I(tÄlIks]
, etw. kursiv setzen (kursiv
bedeutet hier schief)
Up or down?
An author dies, and St Peter offers him the choice between heaven and
raise an eyebrow hell. To give him a taste of both places, St Peter takes the author first
[)reIz En (aIbraU]
, eine Augenbraue hochziehen to hell, where he sees countless writers chained to desks and being
whipped by demons. However, when he is taken to heaven, the author
scales [skeI&lz]
, Waage is amazed to find that nothing is different: there are countless writers
chained to desks and being whipped by demons.
whip [wIp]
, peitschen “Hey!” says the author. “This is just as bad as hell.”
“No, it’s not,” replies St Peter. “Up here, you get published.”

Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz

72 Spotlight 6/2019 THE LIGHTER SIDE

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 FEEDBACK
Dear Spotlight Team
In Spotlight issue 9/18, I read the following
(on page 50):
“Nouns like ‘luggage’ and ‘information’
are uncountable in English and, therefore,
singular. You can’t say ‘luggages’ or ‘infor-
mations’; and you say ‘some/any informa-
tion’, not ‘an information’.” On the same
page, I read: “Many nouns in English are
uncountable and, therefore, singular:
– food and drink: water, bread, fruit, honey,
butter
– abstract nouns: information, research,
advice”.
On page 57, I read the following in an an-
swer by Ken Taylor: “Briefly describe his
or her skills/qualifications/strengths/
characteristics.”
These words are abstract words, too. Why
can they be used in the plural? Can one
say “informations centre”, for example?
Please be so kind and explain how to use
these words correctly.
Dr Michael Bankus, by e-mail
WORDPLAY
The last name of the famous tidying
expert Marie Kondo has been widely
adopted as a verb, as in to “Kondo
your closet”.
EASY
74 Spotlight 6/2019
Dear Dr Bankus of English would use “information” in
Thank you very much for your e-mail and the plural. “Informations” is, however, a
your interest in Spotlight. We’re always mistake commonly made by learners of
pleased to see how carefully readers study English.
the magazine. We hope you’ll continue to enjoy Spotlight.
I’m sorry that our examples of uncount- Best wishes
able nouns on page 50 caused you some
confusion. Maybe we should have made Petra Daniell, language editor
it clearer that words from the categories
listed are often uncountable — we didn’t
mean to imply that all nouns belonging
to these categories are uncountable. For
example, “apple” belongs in the category
“food”, but is clearly a countable noun.
“Dream” is an abstract noun, but you can
still have several different dreams in the EINFACH BESSER ENGLISCH
course of one night and count them. —
5
19
I’m afraid — as with so many things in EXCLUSIVE
The Gruffalo!
English — that there are no further rules
TEST
We talk to artist
Axel Scheffler
for determining which nouns are count-
able or uncountable. You’ll simply have
to learn and remember them as you go
along. I hope our examples on page 50 will YO U R V E R BS
Deutschland € 8,50
A·E ·I ·L · SK: € 9,60
CH sfr 13,90
Past, present and future: How well do you know your English tenses?
be of help with this. “Informations centre” .....................................................
....................................................
English at work .....
........................................................
........................................................
........................................................
........................................................
........................................................
Tips on how to run an
........................................................
........................................................
.....................................................
Music made in the USA .....
........................................................
....................................................
........................................................
........................................................
........................................................
........................................................
Who is listening to what
........................................................
........................................................
..........................................................
........................................................
....................................................
A camper road trip
........................................................
........................................................
........................................................
........................................................
Discover the beauty
........................................................
........................................................
is in any case incorrect; no native speaker
.... ...................................................
........................................................ .... ...................................................
........................................................ .... ...................................................
........................................................
....... ................................................
effective meeting
........................................................
........................................................ .......
in................................................
America today?
........................................................
........................................................ .......
of................................................
Nevada and Utah
........................................................
........................................................
........................................................
........................................................
........................................................ ........................................................
........................................................
........................................................ ........................................................
........................................................
........................................................
Kondo
Example: The Netflix reality series Tidying Up with
Marie Kondo has recently trained the
“Kondo-ing: A guru of organizing be- media spotlight on this already famous
comes a verb” Japanese tidying consultant. Kondo’s
— a headline in The Wall Street Journal philosophy is that you should keep only
those objects in your home that “spark
joy”. In an interview with CBC, Kondo
(through her interpreter) said her “Kon-
Mari” method lets people “reflect upon
their lives” and “hone their sensitivity”
to what makes them happy.
People describe “Kondo-ing” their sock
closet [(klQzIt] N. Am. sensitivity drawers, or how they “Marie Kondo’ed”
, Wandschrank [)sensE(tIvEti] the garage while their husband was away.
, Sensibilität; hier:
eponym [(epEnIm] Gefühl “‘Kondo’ is just the latest name to enter
, Eponym, aus einem the lexicon as an ‘eponym’,” wrote Ben
Namen abgeleitete spark [spA:k]
Bezeichnung , entfachen; hier: Zimmer of The Wall Street Journal. Other
bereiten examples Zimmer listed include “pasteur-
hone [hEUn]
, verfeinern tidying expert ize” from French scientist Louis Pasteur
[(taIdiIN )eksp§:t] (d. 1895), “boycott” from Irish land agent
interpreter [In(t§:prItE] Aufräumspezialist(in)
, Dolmetscher(in)
, Captain Charles C. Boycott (d. 1897) and
train: ~ sth. on sb. [treIn] “lynch” from an American, Captain Wil-
land agent , etw. auf jmdn. richten
[(lÄnd )eIdZEnt] liam Lynch (d. 1820).
, Grundstücksmakler(in) by Claudine Weber-Hof
FEEDBACK
 NEXT ISSUE

London walks
Education and entertainment take centre
stage in part two of our “London walks”
series of short tours in the British capital.
Join us while we visit the British Library,
the London Review Bookshop, The
Punch Tavern, Covent Garden and more.
Delightful illustrations by Martin Haake
make this a special visual experience.

Crime time with Ms Winslow

Dorothy Winslow, the amateur detec-
tive from Cambridge, is back in the small
German town of Heroldstein visiting her
niece, Lucy. One night, she discovers the
body of a man in Lucy’s living room. Will
Dorothy’s sleuthing skills be in demand
again?

Die n
äc
Ausga hste
be vo
Spotl n
ight
ersch
eint a
29. M m
ai 201
9.

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NEXT MONTH 6/2019 Spotlight 75


Lukas Sauer ist Schauspieler und Model. In diesem Jahr wird er in dem internationalen
Kinofilm „Waiting for Anya“ zu sehen sein. Bekannt wurde er durch die RTL-Serie „Unter Uns“.
Hier erzählt er uns von seinem Problem mit den Wörtern „dessert“ und „desert“.
When was your first English lesson and
what do you remember about it?
Hm… my first English lesson was in prima-
ry school — probably in the third or fourth
class, so around 1999. We had to colour in
a mandala of the Union Jack. The colours
we were supposed to use were written
in English in each space. I was complete-
ly stressed out and remember having to
copy from the boy next to me. Even now,
I wouldn’t be able to do it without him.
Who is your favourite English-language
author, actor or musician?
I love American comedy series — the
wordplays, the dry sense of humour and
the lovingly and multifaceted portrayal
of the characters. D’Arcy Carden as Janet
in The Good Place or Mark McKinney as
Glenn in Superstore are perfect examples
and my absolute favourites.
Which song could you sing at least a few
lines of in English?
I can sing along 100 per cent to “Lemon
Tree” by Fools Garden and “Country
Roads” by John Denver. Not lovely, but I
definitely know the words. And I can sing
the first verse of “Wonderwall” by Oasis,
but then who can’t? I’m also pretty much
word-perfect in the chorus of lots of hits
from the 1980s.
Which person from the English-
speaking world (living or dead) would
you most like to meet?
I’d like to take acting lessons from Meryl
Streep and Benedict Cumberbatch and
then meet Graham Norton for tea. That
would be the most informative and the
funniest day of my life.
Have you ever worked in an English-
speaking environment? If so, for how
long, and what was it like?
In April 2018, I acted in a British-Ameri-
can co-production (Waiting for Anya) being
76 Spotlight 6/2019
MY LIFE IN ENGLISH
Lukas Sauer
MEDIUM
filmed in the south of France. The team
was international and, because I speak
English, I quickly got to know people and
formed friendships that have lasted until
today.
What was your best or funniest
experience in English?
A good friend from America and I were
booked for a fashion show. He speaks
no German, so we communicate in Eng-
lish. I had a really painful gum infection
and wanted to tell him about it. I didn’t
know the English word for Zahnfleisch, so
I translated it literally. I laugh every time
I remember saying that my “tooth-meat”
hurt.
What is your favourite English word?
“Anticipation” — a lovely word, especially
the way Dr Frank N. Furter uses it in The
Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Which English word was the hardest for
you to learn to pronounce?
I still struggle with the difference be-
tween “dessert” and “desert”.
Which person from the English-
speaking world would you choose to be
stuck on a desert island with?
I’d probably have a fabulous time being
stuck on a desert island with the US ac-
tress Melissa McCarthy.
If you suddenly found yourself with a
anticipation multifaceted free afternoon in London or New York,
[Än)tIsI(peIS&n] [)mVlti(fÄsItId]
, (gespannte) Erwartung , facettenreich what would you do?
In New York, I’d definitely try and get
Fotos: Nico Stank; iStockphoto/iStock.com
desert [(dezEt] pretty much
, Wüste; einsam, [)prIti (mVtS] tickets to see a musical and then go to a
verlassen , so ziemlich bar for a drink. In London, you’d most
dessert [di(z§:t] supposed: be ~ to do sth. likely find me in one of the many fan-
, Nachtisch [sE(pEUst] tastic museums and then later in a good
, etw. tun sollen restaurant.
gum [gVm]
, Zahnfleisch- Union Jack
[)ju:niEn (dZÄk]
literally [(lIt&rEli] What would be your motto in English?
, britische Flagge
, wörtlich Enjoy the ride.
MY LIFE IN ENGLISH
EN GLISC H-T R AINER
FÜR UN T ER W EG S.
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 der kleine SprachFührer

ENGLISCH Für den Urlaub

t sch-Engl is
eu
ch
D

Am Flughafen
Im Restaurant
beim Einkaufen
im notfall

Stormy
weather ahead
Is the UK brea-
king apart?

The British at home

A week with
a real English
family

Essential Britain
The nation
from A to Z
Impressum
HERAUSGEBER: Jan Henrik Groß • CHEFREDAKTEURIN: Inez Sharp (V.i.S.d.P.) • STELLVER-
TRETENDE CHEFREDAKTEURIN: Claudine Weber-Hof • CHEFIN VOM DIENST: Petra Daniell •
AUTORIN: Dagmar Taylor • REDAKTION: Anja Giese (frei), Danko Szabo (frei), Michele Tilgner
(frei) • BILDREDAKTION: Sarah Gough (Leitung), Judith Rothenbusch • GESTALTUNG:
Georg Lechner (frei) • VERTRIEBSLEITUNG: Monika Wohlgemuth • PRODUKTIONSLEITUNG:
Ingrid Sturm • VERLAG & REDAKTION: Spotlight Verlag GmbH, Kistlerhofstraße 172,
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• LITHO: Mohn Media Mohndruck GmbH, 33311 Gütersloh • DRUCK: MedienSchiff Bruno,
22113 Hamburg • © 2019 Spotlight Verlag
 Ready for take-off
Holidays and travel are great ways to recharge your batteries and at
the same time broaden your horizons by getting to know new people
and different cultures. But they can also be stressful — especially if
things don’t go to plan. With English being the most widely spoken
language worldwide, having a good knowledge of English will be
helpful wherever you go.
In this pocket-size booklet, we’ve put together some of the most
important words and phrases to help you on your travels. You’ll find
dialogues for typical situations as well as tips on language and cul-
ture. There’s a glossary of the more difficult words on each double
page and a list of useful phrases on pages 12–13. Have a good trip!

Dagmar Taylor
Language author, Spotlight

Contents
Titelfotos: lena_mart/Shutterstock.com; MicroStockHub/iStock.com

Getting ready to go ...........................................................................................................................................4

At the airport ...........................................................................................................................................................6
Accommodation ...................................................................................................................................................8
Public transport .................................................................................................................................................10
Useful phrases......................................................................................................................................................12
Sightseeing ..............................................................................................................................................................14
Shopping....................................................................................................................................................................16
Eating out..................................................................................................................................................................18
Useful food terms.............................................................................................................................................20
When things go wrong ...............................................................................................................................22

booklet [(bUklEt] broaden [(brO:d&n] recharge [)ri:(tSA:dZ]

, Büchlein, Bändchen , erweitern , wiederaufladen

Spotlight ENGLISCH FÜR DEN URLAUB 3

Getting ready to go
T here’s lots to do before you leave home on your travels. The
words, phrases and tips on this double page will help you get
into the holiday spirit.
Holiday plans
› I can’t stay long, I’m afraid. I’m
going on holiday tomorrow
and I haven’t packed yet.
‹ Where are you off to?
› The States. I’m going to visit
friends in San Francisco.
‹ Very nice! How long are you
staying?
› Two weeks. I’m going to stay
with my friends for a few days
and then I’m going to drive
down the coast to Los Angeles.
I’ve rented an RV.
‹ Sounds great. Have you been
to the States before or is this
your first time?
› I’ve been to New York, but this
is my first time to the West
Coast.
‹ I’m sure you’ll have an awe-
some time. What time is your
flight tomorrow?
› It’s quite early: 7 a.m., I think.
‹ That is early. You’d better get
packing!
4 ENGLISCH FÜR DEN URLAUB
Tips
I’m going on holiday to-
morrow is a sentence that
is about the present and the
future at the same time. We
use a present verb form be-
cause we are talking about a
future event, but also a situ-
ation in the present.
You can ask Where are you
off to? if someone is going
away and you would like to
know where to.
The US is often referred to as
the States.
When you pay money to use
a vehicle, especially in North
America, you rent it. In the
UK, the verb “hire” is used.
The North American term
RV (UK camper van) stands
for “recreational vehicle”.
Spotlight
What to pack

Carry-on essentials Toiletries

Bordkarte boarding card antiseptische antiseptic
Kopfhörer ear phones Wundsalbe cream
Kreditkarte credit card Deo deodorant
Ladekabel phone charger Feuchtigkeits- moisturizer
Pass passport creme
Reiseführer guidebook Haarbürste hairbrush
Reiseplan itinerary Kamm comb
Währung currency Make-up make-up
Pflaster plasters (N. Am.
Band-Aid)
Rasierer razor
Cultural tip Schmerzmittel painkillers
Holidays Zahnbürste toothbrush
Time spent travelling or Zahnpaste toothpaste
relaxing away from home
is called a holiday (or holi-
days) in British English and
a vacation in North Ameri-
can English.
A bank holiday, or public
holiday (N. Am. holiday), is
a day when government of-
fices, schools and banks are
closed. awesome
In the US, the time in De- [(O:sEm] ifml.
cember and January that , fantastisch, toll
includes Christmas, Ha- recreational vehicle
nukkah and the New Year is [)rekri)eIS&nEl
called the holidays. (vi:Ik&l] N. Am.
, Wohnmobil, Camper

Spotlight ENGLISCH FÜR DEN URLAUB 5

At the airport

F or many people, a holiday starts when they arrive at the

airport, with a visit to the check-in desk and a walk through
security.

At the check-in desk

› Morning. I’d like to check in for the flight to Heathrow, please.
‹ Can I see your passport, please?
› Here you are.
‹ How many bags are you checking in?
› Just the one. It might be a bit heavy.
‹ It’s 18 kilos, but you’re allowed 22. Can I see your hand luggage?
› Yes. It’s just my handbag.
‹ OK, that’s fine. Here’s your boarding pass. We don’t have a gate
number yet, so once you’re through security, just wait in the
departure lounge until your flight is called. Have a good flight.
› Thank you.

Tips
On many flights, you can take only one piece
of hand luggage or “baggage” (N. Am. carry-on).
The luggage you check in is called “hold lug-
gage / baggage”.
A handbag (UK) is called a “purse” in North
American English.
At the gate, passengers wait until the plane is
ready for boarding. Often, announcements are
made, such as: “Flight 955 to London Heath-
row is now boarding at gate number 12.”

6 ENGLISCH FÜR DEN URLAUB Spotlight

 Security information
Heightened security measures mean that
passing through security can take longer
than it used to. You are advised to be at check-in /
bag drop as follows:
Long-haul flights: three hours before scheduled
departure
European and domestic flights: two hours before
scheduled departure
If you have already checked in online, and don’t have
bags to drop, please follow your airline’s advice on
timing.
New security measures
Passengers are requested to be patient while addition-
al security measures are in place, allow extra time for
their journey and be prepared for possible delays.

Tips
Check security requirements before you start your trip.
Long-haul flights typically take more than six hours.
Domestic flights take place within one particular country.
A delay is a situation in which something is slow or late. You and
your flight can be delayed.

additional departure lounge heightened security here you are

[E(dIS&nEl] [di(pA:tSE laUndZ] measures [(hIE ju: )A:]
, zusätzlich , Abflughalle [)haIt&nd , bitte sehr
sI(kjUErEti )meZEz]
bag drop
, erhöhte Sicher-
[(bÄg drQp]
heitsmaßnahmen
, Gepäckabgabe

Spotlight ENGLISCH FÜR DEN URLAUB 7

Accommodation

A t your destination, you can walk into a hotel and ask at the ho-
tel reception if they have a room free. If you book in advance,
you can go online to look at other people’s recommendations.

At reception
› Hello, sir. How can I help you?
‹ Hello. Do you have a room available for tonight?
› You don’t have a reservation?
‹ No, I’m afraid not.
› There are no double rooms left, but we do have an executive suite.
‹ How much is it?
› £150, including breakfast.
‹ Well, OK. Yes. We’ll take it.
› Thank you, sir. I’ll just get the registration form for you to fill out.

Other places where you can stay on holiday

Campingplatz campsite Ferienhaus self-catering cottage
Pension guest house Skihütte ski chalet
Luxushotelanlage luxury resort Jugendherberge youth hostel

Tips
A hotel receptionist will tell you if a room is available.
B & Bs (bed and breakfasts) may have a sign in the win-
dow that says “vacancies”.
Prices are often per room, but may or may not in-
clude breakfast. “Half board” (N. Am. European plan)
includes breakfast and an evening meal. “Full board”
includes all meals.
When you accept a room, you can say I’ll / We’ll take it.

8 ENGLISCH FÜR DEN URLAUB Spotlight

 The Cunningham
“A great place to stay”
5 of 5 stars *****
Reviewed 26 May 2019 *NEW*

The Cunningham is a lovely place. My wife and I stayed here for two
nights. We arrived too early to check in, but the staff offered us coffee
while we waited for the room to be made up and we were upgraded
to an executive suite. It was clean, spacious and tastefully decorated.
The breakfast buffet was really good. There was plenty of fresh fruit and
the variety of bread and rolls was impressive.
The hotel is in an ideal location for shopping and visiting city attractions,
yet it’s very quiet. I’d definitely stay here again!

Tips
Place can be used to talk about a country, a town or a restaurant,
etc.: “What about going to that Italian place on the high street?”
When a bed or room is prepared for use, it is made up.
If you are given a better room than the one you have paid for, you
are upgraded, or you “get an upgrade”.
In a hotel in the UK, a breakfast of coffee or tea with toast or
rolls with butter, jam and marmalade is a “continental breakfast”.
An enjoyable place to go or thing to do is called an attraction.

buffet [(bUfeI] roll [rEUl] staff [stA:f] vacancy

, Büfett , Brötchen , Mitarbeiter, [(veIkEnsi]
Personal , hier: Zimmer
marmalade spacious
frei
[(mA:mEleId] [(speISEs] tastefully
, Zitrusmarme- , geräumig [(teIstf&li]
lade , geschmackvoll

Spotlight ENGLISCH FÜR DEN URLAUB 9

Public transport

S ave time working out how to use the public transport system
in a foreign country by asking the locals.

Asking for advice

› Excuse me, which bus should I take to get to the city centre?
‹ You can take the number 4 or the 44. They go from the bus stop on
the other side of the road. Buses on this side are going out of town.
› OK. Which would be the best stop to get off at?
‹ You could get off at Gallowgate or Union Street.
› And how much does it cost?
‹ A single fare’s £1.70. But you could also get a day ticket — I think
that costs £4. You’ll need the exact fare. Do you have change?
› Yes, I do. Thank you. Is this the end of the queue?

Tips
In the UK, the system of buses, trains, etc. is called public transport
(N. Am. public transportation system or public transit system).
You get on a bus at a bus stop, where there is usually a shelter and
a timetable. When you travel by rail, you wait on the platform.
A single fare (UK) is the price of a “one-way ticket”, as North
Americans call it. If you want to travel back from your destina-
tion, a return ticket (N. Am. round-trip ticket) may be cheaper.
Most bus companies in Britain ask passengers to have the exact
fare ready when they board the bus, so you’ll need small change.
Sometimes, you can save money by buying a day ticket.
People usually “queue” at bus stops. In the UK and in the US,
queuing (N. Am. waiting in line) is considered polite behaviour.
If you’re not sure where the end of the queue is, you can ask: Is
this the end of the queue?

10 ENGLISCH FÜR DEN URLAUB Spotlight

To use public transport in most big cities, you can buy plastic cards.
There’s the MetroCard in New York and the Oyster Card in London.

Visitor Oyster Card London

<
From £20 Add to basket

Forget about buying individual tickets every time

you travel — simply top up your card with credit and
you’re good to go!
Use it on all London public transport, including
riverboats. It’s 50 per cent cheaper — a Tube journey
in central London costs £4.90 in cash, but only £2.40
with an Oyster Card. No need to queue at the ticket
office — you’ll be ready to travel as soon as you arrive.
Travel as much as you like. You’ll never use more than
£7 of credit per day in central London.

Tips
Passengers buy a plastic Oyster Cards with credit and, when they
run out, they can top up (UK) their card at any station.
You’re good to go (ifml.) means that you are prepared and ready.
You can travel along the River Thames by riverboat. There are
regular services and sightseeing trips with commentaries.
London’s underground railway (N. Am. subway) is known as the
Tube.

commentary credit [(kredIt] platform return ticket

[(kQmEntEri] , hier: Guthaben [(plÄtfO:m] [ri(t§:n )tIkIt] UK
, Erläuterung, , Bahnsteig , Rückfahrkarte
fare [feE]
Kommentierung
, Fahrpreis shelter [(SeltE]
, Wartestand

Spotlight ENGLISCH FÜR DEN URLAUB 11

Useful phrases
H ere, we’ve put together a collection of phrases that will come
in handy in typical travel situations.
At security
Muss ich meine Schuhe ausziehen?
Do I have to take my shoes off?
Möchten Sie, dass ich meinen Koffer
in eine Schale lege?
Do you want me to put my
suitcase in a tray?
Entschuldigen Sie, ich glaube, das ist
meine Tasche.
Excuse me, I think that’s my bag.
Stört es Sie, wenn ich vorgehe? Mein
Gate schließt in einigen Minuten.
Do you mind if I go ahead? My
gate is closing in a few minutes.
In the hotel
Ich möchte einchecken. Ich heiße…
I’d like to check in. My name’s...
Wo kann ich parken?
Where can I park?
Um wie viel Uhr gibt es Frühstück?
What time do you serve
breakfast?
Ist es möglich, früher einzuchecken?
Would it be possible to check
in earlier?
12 ENGLISCH FÜR DEN URLAUB
Kann ich mein Gepäck erst einmal
hier lassen?
Could I leave my luggage here
until later?
Könnten Sie mir ein Taxi rufen?
Could you call me a taxi, please?
Asking directions
Entschuldigen Sie, wie komme ich
von hier zum Bahnhof?
Excuse me, how do I get to the
station from here?
Entschuldigung, können Sie mir
sagen, wo Barnaby Street ist?
Excuse me, do you know where
Barnaby Street is?
Tut mir leid, ich bin nicht von hier.
I’m sorry. I’m not from here.
Könnten Sie mir bitte weiterhelfen?
Could you help me, please?
Könnten Sie mir sagen, wo ich einen
Bankautomaten finde?
Could you tell me where I can
find an ATM?
Spotlight
Getting the bus
Von wo aus kann ich den Bus in die
Stadt nehmen?
Where can I catch the bus into
town?
An welcher Haltestelle muss ich
aussteigen?
Which stop should I get off at?
Was kostet eine Einzelfahrkarte?
How much is a single fare?
Entschuldigen Sie, ist das das Ende
der Schlange?
Excuse me, is this the end of the
queue?
In a restaurant
Ich möchte gerne für heute Abend
um sieben einen Tisch für vier Perso-
nen reservieren.
I’d like to reserve a table for
four this evening at seven.
Ich habe eine Tischreservierung auf
den Namen …
I have a reservation. My name’s...
Haben Sie einen Tisch für vier Perso-
nen? Wir haben nicht reserviert.
Do you have a table for four?
We don’t have a reservation.
Sind in diesem Gericht Zwiebeln?
Ich vertrage keine Zwiebeln.
Are there any onions in this
dish? They don’t agree with me.
Spotlight
Es war sehr lecker, vielen Dank.
It was delicious, thank you.
Es hat mir nicht ganz so gut
geschmeckt.
I didn’t enjoy it that much.
Es war zu viel.
It was too much.
Shopping
Ich schaue mich nur um, danke.
I’m just looking, thanks.
Könnten Sie mir helfen? Ich suche …
Could you help me, please?
I’m looking for...
Ich habe mich dagegen entschieden,
aber vielen Dank für Ihre Hilfe.
I’ve decided not to take it, but
thank you so much for your help.
Kann ich mit Kreditkarte bezahlen?
Can I pay by credit card?
When you have to go
Entschuldigung, dürfte ich vielleicht
die Toilette benutzen?
Excuse me, do you mind if I
use the toilet (N. Am. restroom/
bathroom)?
Entschuldigen Sie, wo sind die
Toiletten?
Excuse me, where are the
toilets (N. Am. restrooms/
bathrooms)?
ENGLISCH FÜR DEN URLAUB 13
Sightseeing

I f you don’t find what you need to know in your guidebook, the
tourist information office will help. There, you can find details
about tours and places worth visiting.

At the tourist information office

› Hello. Can you recommend any places to visit?
‹ Sure. How long are you here for?
› We’re staying for two nights.
‹ Would you be interested in whale watching?
› Yes. Absolutely!
‹ OK. Well, the cruise leaves every day at 1 p.m. from the harbour.
You might also see dolphins and sea lions. Here’s a leaflet, with a
voucher for a 10 per cent discount.
› Fantastic! Do you know how much it costs?
‹ Yes, it’s $100 for adults and $50 for children under 12.

Tips
When people ask questions
or make suggestions in Eng-
lish, they often do it indirectly.
Most English speakers use po-
lite but friendly phrases like:
Would you be interested in...?
or “You might want to...”
A leaflet is a flyer or small bro-
chure [(brEUSE] containing pic-
tures and information.
When reading about entrance
fees or the price of a tour, you’ll
often see the word “conces-
sion” (UK). This is a reduction
in price for students, elderly or
disabled people or children.
An arrangement you make
in advance to buy a ticket to
travel somewhere or do or see
something is a booking.
If places are limited, there are
only a certain number of peo-
ple allowed on the tour at one
time.

14 ENGLISCH FÜR DEN URLAUB Spotlight

 URS
ING MINE TO
VE RE IG N HILL’S AMAZ
SO n and ad-
y filled with fu
ign Hill is a da citement of
day at Sovere
A tio n an d ex
over all the ac gold
venture. Disc g the greatest
w as in 18 50 s Ballarat, durin
life as it .
has ever seen
rush the world m Mel-
inute drive fro
re ig n Hi ll is an easy 90-m ing.
Sove free park
ere’s plenty of
bourne and th the mine
mine and take
a gu id ed to ur, visit the gold ign Hi ll for a unique
For ep below Sove
re
jo ur ne y de
tram to
experience.
underground
Admission
Adults: $7.50
years: $4
Children 5–15 children): $20
m ily (2 adults and up to 4
Fa
arge
r 5 years: no ch
Children unde the mine
ust be made at
ings are es sential and m W e advise you to
Book d Sovereign Hill. ited.
ve en tere ar e lim
once you’ visit as places
the day of your
book early on

Tourist attractions
Freizeitpark amusement park
Kunstgalerie art gallery admission gold mine
[Ed(mIS&n] [(gEUld maIn]
botanischer Garten botanical garden , Eintritt , Goldmine
Burg castle
disabled gold rush
Dom; Kathedrale cathedral
[dIs(eIb&ld] [(gEUld rVS]
Verlies dungeon , behindert , Goldrausch
historische Stätte historic site
elderly [(eldEli] no charge
Markt market , Senioren [)nEU (tSA:dZ]
Aussichtsplattform observation deck , gratis
fee [fi:]
Palast; Schloss palace
, Gebühr unique [ju(ni:k]
Show; Vorstellung show , einzigartig,
Stadion stadium einmalig

Spotlight ENGLISCH FÜR DEN URLAUB 15

Shopping

W hether you’re buying essentials you forgot to pack or souve-

nirs to take home, shopping is part of the travel experience.

In a department store
› Excuse me, I’d like to try these on. Where are the changing rooms?
‹ They’re over there in the corner. Can you see them?
› Ah, yes. Now I can. I must have walked past them.
‹ Do you have the right sizes?
› Yes, I think so. But do you have this in a different colour?
‹ We only have that in beige, I’m afraid. Just let the assistant know
if you need another size and she’ll go and get it for you.
› OK. Thanks very much!
‹ You’re welcome.

Tips
Excuse me is a polite way to attract someone’s attention.
When someone thanks you, you can respond with you’re
welcome, “don’t mention it”, “no problem” or “no worries”.
In many stores, staff have been trained to make small talk with
customers. For example, they might ask you: “Have you had a
good day?” When someone tries to make conversation with you,
rather than answering with just “yes” or “no”, it’s polite to offer
some information about yourself.

changing room diarrhoea organic [O:(gÄnIk] relieve [ri(li:v]

[(tSeIndZIN ru:m] [)daIE(rIE] , Bio- , lindern
, Umkleidekabine , Durchfall
rather than staff [stA:f]
counter [(kaUntE] imply [Im(plaI] [(rA:DE DEn ] , Mitarbeiter
, Ladentheke , bedeuten , anstatt

16 ENGLISCH FÜR DEN URLAUB Spotlight

In a supermarket
‹ How can I help you?
› I’d like about half a pound of Stilton, please.
‹ Would you like the organic one? It’s £17 a kilo.
› Yes, please, that’s fine.
‹ Anything else I can get for you today?
› That’s all, thanks. Any idea where I can find crackers?
‹ They’re right here at the end of the counter.
› Oh, right. I didn’t see them there. Thanks very much.
‹ No worries.
Tips
To politely tell someone what you want, begin with I’d like...
That’s fine is used to tell someone that something is acceptable.
Here, Any idea...? is a more informal way to ask “Do you know...?”

At the chemist’s counter

‹ How can I help?
› I have an upset stomach. Do you have anything that could help?
‹ Yes, these tablets can relieve diarrhoea quickly and effectively.
› Oh, that’s good. I’ll take a packet, please.
‹ OK, that’ll be £9.95, please. If your symptoms haven’t cleared up
by tomorrow, you should see a doctor.
› Yes, I know. Thank you.
‹ I hope you feel better soon.
Culture tip
No need to spell it out
Most people won’t say that they are suffering from diarrhoea
specifically. If you say you have an upset stomach, most people
will understand what is implied. With people you know well, you
can also say that you have “the runs” (ifml.).

Spotlight ENGLISCH FÜR DEN URLAUB 17

Eating out

C hoosing food and drink

in a foreign language and
culture is always an adven-
ture. If the menu doesn’t give
Today’s specials
you all the help you need, you Starters
can always ask your server. • Crispy squid with
chilli & lime dip £8.50
• Heirloom tomato
crab [krÄb] heirloom tomato & coconut soup £5.50 (v)
, Krabben- [)eElu:m tE(mA:tEU]
Mains
, aus alten Toma-
crispy [(krIspi] • Chicken & leek pie served
tensorten with house salad £11.90
, knusprig
leek [li:k] • Hake & crab fishcake served
fishcake [(fISkeIk] with spinach & hollandaise £14.90
, Lauch
, Fischfrikadelle • Goat’s cheese ravioli with
lime [laIm] walnut pesto £10.80 (v)
goat [gEUt]
, Limetten- Desserts
, Ziege
• Bread & butter pudding
spinach [(spInIdZ]
hake [heIk] with marmalade £5.50
, Spinat • Passion fruit crème brûlée £4.50
, Seehecht-
squid [skwId]
, Tintenfisch

Tips
The menu [(menju:] (not: “the card”) lists the food available in a
restaurant.
Specials are dishes that aren’t on the menu every day.
A starter (N. Am. appetizer) is served before the main course
Foto: Maridav/iStock.com

(N. Am. entrée [(QntreI]).

In the UK, dessert [di(z§:t] is sometimes called a “sweet” or,
more informally, “afters” or “pudding”: “What’s for pudding?”
Next to certain dishes, you might see (v), which is short for
“vegetarian” or “vegan”.

18 ENGLISCH FÜR DEN URLAUB Spotlight

At the table
‹ Are you ready to order?
› Almost. I have a question about the menu. What’s an “heirloom
tomato”? Is that how you say it?
‹ An “heirloom tomato”? It’s an older variety of tomato. Their
flavour is sweeter and richer than normal tomatoes.
› Ah, OK. And what’s “hake”?
‹ It’s a type of white sea fish. It’s a bit like cod — it’s very good.
› OK. Well, I’ll have the soup and then the fishcake, please.
‹ Great choice! Can I get you anything else?
› No, thanks. That’s all.
Tips
To find out how to pronounce a word, ask: Is that how you say it?
When you order food, you can say I’ll have the...
If waiting staff ask what they can get you, it means “bring” you.

Cultural tip
Paying and tipping
When you have finished your meal and you are ready to leave,
ask for the “bill” (N. Am. check). In the UK, it is usual to leave 10
to 15 per cent of the bill. In the US, it’s customary to leave a tip of
between 15 and 20 per cent.
You can either leave cash on the table after you have been given
your change, or you can say “Keep the change” when you pay.
There’s no need to pay a tip in self-service restaurants or for take-
away (N. Am. takeout) meals.

cod [kQd] customary tip [tIp] waiting staff

, Kabeljau [(kVstEmEri] , Trinkgeld [(weItIN stA:f]
, üblich , Bedienpersonal

Spotlight ENGLISCH FÜR DEN URLAUB 19

 Useful food terms

H ere, we’ve put together a list of food and drink-related words

that will help you when you’re hungry.

Drinks Vegetables
Apfelwein cider Blumenkohl cauliflower
Helles (Bier) lager Bohnen beans
Leitungswasser tap water Erbsen peas
Mineralwasser sparkling Grünkohl kale
mit Kohlensäure water Knoblauch garlic
Pint (0,568 l) pint (UK) Kohl cabbage
Radler; Alsterwasser shandy (UK) Kopfsalat lettuce
stilles still water Lauch leeks
Mineralwasser Linsen lentils
Weinschorle wine spritzer Mais corn (N. Am.
maize)
Paprika peppers
(green ~, red ~ )
Rosenkohl Brussels sprouts
Spargel asparagus
Zucchini courgette (N. Am.
zucchini)

Meat
Fotos: Abenaa, igoriss/iStock.com

Hackfleisch mince (N. Am.

ground beef)
Lamm lamb
Rindfleisch beef
Schweinefleisch pork
Truthahn turkey

20 ENGLISCH FÜR DEN URLAUB Spotlight

Wild game How food is cooked
Wildfleisch; Reh venison Brat-; gebraten fried
(in der Pfanne)
Fish Brat-; gebraten roast
Forelle trout (im Ofen)
Garnele prawn frittiert deep-fried
Kabeljau cod gedämpft steamed
Lachs salmon gekocht boiled
Schellfisch haddock geräuchert smoked
Scholle plaice im Teigmantel battered
Seehecht hake paniert breaded
Seeteufel monkfish pochiert poached
Seezunge sole sautiert sautéed

Herbs and spices

Basilikum basil
Ingwer ginger
Kreuzkümmel cumin
Kurkuma turmeric
Minze mint
Petersilie parsley
Rosmarin rosemary
Salbei sage
Schnittlauch chives
Thymian thyme
Zimt cinnamon

Spotlight ENGLISCH FÜR DEN URLAUB 21

When things go wrong

W e hope that nothing goes wrong on your travels. However,

here’s some useful language to help you in an emergency.

On the telephone
‹ Lost property. How can I help you?
› Yes, hello. I left a camera in a brown leather case on the number 43
bus this morning. I’m calling to ask if it’s been handed in.
‹ I’ll just check. Just a second, please. (pause)
A camera bag like that was handed in about an hour ago.
› Oh, thank goodness! What do I have to do now?
‹ Come to the bus station to claim it. You’ll need proof of identity.

Tips
Items that have been found and handed in and are waiting to
be collected are lost property (N. Am. lost and found). Proof of
identity could be a passport, a driving licence or an ID card.

Cultural tip
Lost or stolen passports and emergency services
If a lost passport is handed in to a police station, then the corner
is cut off and it is immediately returned to the embassy of the
country where it was issued. You cannot legally use a passport
that has been formally reported as lost or stolen.
When dialling 999 or 112 in the UK, the operator will ask which
service is required: police, ambulance or fire service.
Emergency telephone numbers:
UK 999 or 112 Australia 000 Canada 911
USA 911 New Zealand 111

22 ENGLISCH FÜR DEN URLAUB Spotlight

Looking after your property
British Transport Police are working to reduce theft and pickpocket-
ing. Follow their guide to make sure you have a safe journey.

ETS
AT PICKPOCK
HOW TO BE
in
carr y wallets
gs secure and
Keep handba
et.
an inside pock gs.
nd an d shoulder ba
Zip up ha
w ith flaps against
front of you
Carry bags in
your body. m.
under your ar
raps shor t and bags tucked
Keep st
valuables.
Don’t display

Tips
A victim of theft might say: “My bag, wallet, etc. has been stolen.”
To the police, you can say: “I’d like to report a theft.”
A person who steals money, for example from other people’s
pockets, is a pickpocket.
Things that are worth a lot of money, especially small things such
as jewellery, cameras, mobile phones, etc., are called valuables.

case [keIs] embassy item [(aItEm] tuck [tVk]

, hier: Tasche [(embEsi] , Artikel, Gegen- , stecken,
, Botschaft stand klemmen
claim [kleIm]
, hier: zurück- flap [flÄp] strap [strÄp] wallet [(wQlIt]
fordern, abholen , Taschen- , Band, Riemen, , Brieftasche
überschlag Gurt
dial [(daIEl] zip up [zIp (Vp]
, (Telefon) issue [(ISu:] , den Reißver-
wählen , ausstellen schluss schließen

Spotlight ENGLISCH FÜR DEN URLAUB 23

 Meghan Markle ist
EIN H E LL E S KÖP FC HEN

or in English,
A SM A R T C OOK IE.

1 AU SG A B E BE S S E R E N GL ISC H
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