G mag 2016 04

Magazine for English‑language students

A2–B1 level

04 December 2016 | Volume 05

Published by Bridge Publishing House www.bridge-online.cz www.bridgebooks.cz

CZK 22 | 0,8 EUR (31 copies or more) CZK 25 | 0,9 EUR (11–30 copies) CZK 30 | 1 EUR (1–10 copies)

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Stars New York or London?

Xmas in the City

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Task 1

role-play the following situation with your partner.

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Thank the shop assistant and leave.

Task 2 Look at picture 3 of a woman buying a new phone.

What question is she going s to ask the shop assistant (price, warranty, functions)?

+ cd + speaking card

Find a good

Task 3 What are the names of the shops in the pictures? What can you buy each of them? at What was the last thing that you bought?

34.indd 2

7.10.2016 10:29:12

Dle klíče na str. 3

What’s inside

8

Northern Ireland – a beautiful green land with a difficult history, but a bright future.

Come with us to Northern Ireland.

16

dear reader s ,

What's on the big screen? We look at two new films based on old stories that you might know.

The December issue once again brings you lots of fun and light-hearted articles to help cut the waiting time before the Christmas break. You can shake your head at some weird December traditions in the UK and the USA, read an interview with the new Czech pop singer Sebastian and meet some famous brothers and sisters who succeeded in show business. Actually, family is really important at Christmastime and being with the people you love and care about is the best part of this holiday. But we should also think about the less fortunate people who don’t have a home or money to celebrate Christmas. Buying an issue of Nový Prostor or supporting a charity project means a lot right now.

Have a wonderful Christmas, and a happy, successful 2017.

Zuzana

4 Issue

13 Interview

Sklenková

6 Literature

14 Profiles

Gate team

8

16 Films

Christmas Comes to Town

15 Minutes with Sebastian

A Wizard of Earthsea

and the

They Both Got Famous

UK Up Close

Northern Ireland – The Land of Giants

10 Listening

17 Sport

11 Music

18 Fun

Strange December Traditions Our Writers’ Favourites

Hockey’s Next Superstars Are Here

Snapchat: Gone in 10 Seconds

Teachers’ File ILE me

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Don’t forget to enter the Gate video competition for the best movie trailer “Coming Soon”. Your movie trailer should be in English, creative, and 3 minutes maximum. The deadline is February 2017. More information in the September issue of Gate.

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Winners from September and October issues Winner of the London Guidebook Tomáš Gratz, SŠ logistiky a chemie, Olomouc The following students will also receive little prizes from Bridge Publishing House.

Monika Skřehková, Prostějov Irena Burdová, ZŠ a MŠ Roudnice nad Labem Anna Novotná, Bory Tereza Hluštíková, Bělkovice Laštany Martin Kubeš, Gymnázium a SOŠPg Čáslav Zuzana Brabcová, Lipová lázně Klára Chmelová, ZŠ A MŠ Roudnice nad Labem Tereza Jedličková, Přerov

2

Gate December | 2016

And here are some interesting impressions of London.

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The people of London were the best because they were so friendly and nice. I was very surprised that people can be so friendly to strangers.

Monika Skřehková What I really love was not the great view or the Houses of Parliament, but the fantastic English food. Fish and chips is so good and toast with tuna and cucumber, I just love it.

I want to go there again and eat more great English food.

Tomáš Gratz London is a city with lots of interesting monuments. I can start with a lesser-known attraction, like the statue of Admiral Horatio Nelson at Trafalgar Square. Did you know that the statue is staring right at Buckingham Palace?

Tereza Hluštíková

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12 Social Media

December Bonuses for Subscribers of 11 or More Copies of the Magazine

Coming Soon

Pavla Kaňková, Gymnázium Opatov Gabriela Sovová, ZŠ Kanice Jan Menšík, ZŠ Kanice Calculations Winners Pavel Ondruš, Orlová-Lutyně Peter Žák, Bratislava Eva Bjelová, České Velenice Daniel Mencl, Mělník

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Registration in the CR MK ČR E 21026 Editor-in-chief Zuzana Sklenková phone: 244 401 397 sklenkova@bridge‑online.cz Editors Megan LeBoeuf, Helena Lee Šrůtková, Liam Peach, Zuzana Pernicová, Auburn Scallon, Josef Šorm redakce@bridge-online.cz Correspondents Paul Farrington-Douglas, Jackie Fox, Jo Molloy, Nathaniel Patton, Patrick Phillips

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Publication date 28. 11. 2016 The magazine does not accept advertisements.

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Více na www.bridgebooks.cz

Gate December | 2016

3

tradition

A2–B1

tf

New York City

Výchova k myšlení v evropských a globálních souvislostech

USA

Christmas Decorations The holiday season in Manhattan* is magical. The city and its businesses give Manhattan a festive* feel with beautiful displays1. The most famous Christmas tree is at Rockefeller Center. Thousands of people stand outside in freezing weather to watch the lights turn on for the first time and celebrities sing Christmas carols. New Yorkers also love ice-skating. The most famous rink2 is also at Rockefeller Center, and there are two in Central Park.

Christmas Comes to Town

Shopping, Trees and Fun

Only in New York City Another famous symbol of Christmas in New York is the Radio City Rockettes. This group of dancers has performed its Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall since 1932. There are between two and six shows a day in November and December, and more than two million people see the show each year. The Rockettes are famous for their kicklines* and for moving perfectly together.

Shopping Hundreds of thousands of people from around the world come to New York to go Christmas shopping. Department stores like Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s have beautiful Christmas scenes in their windows.

Auburn Scallon (USA)

Prague

Czech Republic

Christmas Decorations Glossary Manhattan is the most famous of New York City’s five boroughs (= areas).

The others are Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Staten Island. festive – fun and typical for a specific holiday or festival kickline – many dancers standing side by side and kicking high in the air

The Old Town Square is the centre of the city’s Christmas celebrations. A tall Christmas tree stands there every year, sparkling3 with thousands of lights.

There is a stage with live music and traditional folk4 dancing, and children from all over the Czech Republic come to sing carols5 there. The square also has the largest Christmas market in the country, where you can buy traditional gifts, decorations and sweets.

Only in Prague One very special thing in Prague is its nativity scenes6.

The Czech tradition of making nativity scenes is hundreds of years old, and there are many of them all over the city.

One of the best is the “large mechanical nativity scene” at the Church of Our Lady of the Snows (at Jungmannovo náměstí). Another special one is a lifesize7, 230-year-old nativity scene in the Church of the Angelic Virgin Mary (near Prague Castle).

Christmas Fish But the city has one more Christmas tradition that is a big surprise. In other countries, the Christmas turkey or ham comes from the supermarket. Not in the Czech Republic. Tourists are very surprised to see the Czech Christmas carp being killed right there on the street.

Paul Farrington-Douglas (UK)

London

United Kingdom

Christmas Decorations London is beautiful at Christmastime.

A special sight is the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square. Every year a tree is sent from Norway as a gift to the UK for its help in the Second World War. This spruce8 tree is usually over 20 metres high and between 50 and 60 years old. At the start of December, thousands of people come to Trafalgar Square to watch the tree lighting ceremony. A band plays, choirs 9 sing carols and people know that the festive period has really begun.

Sydney

Christmas Decorations

Shopping Famous London shopping streets like Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street put up thousands of coloured lights and beautiful window displays that often take weeks to prepare.

Only in Britain A very British tradition is the Christmas pantomime. Based on fairy tales like Cinderella and Aladdin, theatres all over London and the rest of the UK entertain10 children and adults too with a lot of silly jokes, funny songs and crazy costumes. There are always men dressed as (very ugly) women, girls dressed as boys and, of course, a villain11. A pantomime is nothing like a typical boring play that you watch in silence – the audience must boo12 and shout as much as possible.

Liam Peach (UK)

Vocabulary 1 display [I"splI] – výloha 2 ice rink – kluziště 3 to sparkle [sA@)l] – třpytit se 4 folk [@Uk] – lidový 5 carol [@)l] – koleda 6 nativity scene [@"IIt sn] – betlém 7 life-size – v životní velikosti 8 spruce [sprs] – smrk 9 choir ["kwaI@] – sbor 10 to entertain [en@"tIn] – bavit 11 villain ["I@n] – zloduch 12 to boo [b] – bučet, vyjadřovat nespokojenost 13 artificial [AI"IS@)l] – umělý 14 prawn [prOn] – kreveta

Discuss 1

Which city would you like to visit at Christmas?

2

Have you ever spent Christmas abroad? Where?

Task

Compare and Contrast London

Australia

In Sydney, the atmosphere during Christmas is relaxed. It is summertime and the end of the school year, so children are on holiday and people are enjoying time outdoors. Real Christmas trees are hard to find in Australia, so most people decorate their homes with an artificial13 Christmas tree. Just like any other major city, Sydney has a lot of Christmas concerts and decorations. Every year in Martin Place you will find a 20-metre interactive Christmas tree. Last year people could send SMS Christmas wishes which then showed up on the tree.

Only in Australia And what do people in Sydney do on Christmas Day? After a Christmas lunch of seafood (usually prawns14) and salad, they head down to Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach. It’s summer in the southern hemisphere.

Jackie Fox (Aus& NZ)

Read the article about Christmastime in the cities around the world and fill in the table. Use the internet to find more information.

Prague

New York City

Sydney

Weather Christmas Tree Location Special Activity Christmas Food Day Christmas Is Celebrated → Solutions in tf Gate December | 2016

5

literature

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Gate  December | 2016

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Episode 2, P1

death [de] – smrt to save [seIv] – zachránit

to protect [pr@tekt] – ochránit to promise / a promise [prQmIs] – slíbit, slib

to wonder [wVnd@] – přemýšlet weapon [wep(@)n] – zbraň Gate December | 2016

7

A2–B1

Výchova k myšlení v evropských a globálních souvislostech

Northern Ireland: The Land Of Giants Keith Berry (Northern Ireland)

Task

Try to answer these questions before you read the article.

1

Which is bigger: Northern Ireland or Wales?

2

What is an Ulster Fry?

3

What does the flag of Northern Ireland look like?

4

Who was St Patrick?

5

Where was the Titanic built?

6

Which famous television show is made in Northern Ireland?

Giant’s Causeway

Did you know that Northern Ireland is the smallest of the four countries in the UK? Its area is only 14,000 km2 and it has just over 1.8 million people. Located in the north of the island of Ireland, the country gets a lot of rain and wind. However, all this rain makes the land very green and the beautiful countryside and clean air make the people very relaxed and friendly. You should definitely go and see it.

northern ireland

of republic ireland

Did you know that the flag of Northern Ireland is not actually the country’s official flag? However, most sporting organisations (including FIFA, the Commonwealth Games* etc.) use it to represent Northern Ireland. The flag has a red cross with a red hand in the middle. This hand is sitting in the middle of a white star and has a crown1 above it. The crown shows loyalty2 to the British royal family and the star has six points3 because Northern Ireland has six counties4.

Did you know that a lot of Game of Thrones is filmed in Northern Ireland? The countryside is full of places that you might know from this amazing television show. If you want to see Winterfell or the Haunted Forest, then Northern Ireland is the place to go. Keep your eyes open for Jon Snow!

Did you know that Saint Patrick is the patron saint (= svatý patron) of all of Ireland (Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland)? In the fifth century he brought Christianity to the island. He did a lot of good work and started many churches around the country. St Patrick is celebrated every year on March 17th – St Patrick’s Day.

Did you know that the Titanic was built in Northern Ireland? In the early 20th century, the capital city of Northern Ireland, Belfast, was one of the main ship-building cities in the world.

The Harland and Wolff shipyard5 is still making ships, and you can still see its two giant cranes6 (Samson and Goliath) from almost anywhere in the city.

Did you know what an Ulster Fry is? This is a traditional Northern Irish breakfast of bacon, sausages, eggs, potato bread, mushrooms and baked beans11, and it must be served with a hot cup of tea.

This meal was traditionally for farmers who spent the early morning working with their cows in the fields and came home hungry for their breakfast.

It’s very, very tasty, but not very healthy.

Glossary

Did you know that Belfast was a really violent7 place in the 1970s and 1980s because of the conflict between Irish nationalists and unionists*? Fortunately, thanks to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, those days have gone and the city (and country) is peaceful again.

Did you know that a giant lived in Northern Ireland? Legend has it that Finn McCool lived on the north coast, and when fighting with a Scottish giant he made a road (or causeway) to Scotland by pulling rocks from the cliffs8 and throwing them into the sea. This natural wonder9 is now known as the Giant’s Causeway. It is one of the most popular places for tourists in all of Ireland. At the new visitor centre you can also find out how this magical place was made.

Spoiler alert10: it wasn’t really made by a giant!

Commonwealth Games – a sporting competition between member countries of the Commonwealth Irish nationalists and unionists – Irish nationalists wanted Northern Ireland to unite with Ireland, Unionists wanted to stay in the United Kingdom; the period of the 1970s and 1980s is called “the Troubles” because of the violence; about 3,500 people died.

Vocabulary 1 crown [kraUn] – koruna 2 loyalty [lOI@lti] – věrnost 3 point [pOInt] – cíp (hvězdy) 4 county [kaUnti] – hrabství 5 shipyard [SIpjAd] – loděnice 6 crane [kreIn] – jeřáb 7 violent [vaI@l(@)nt] – násilný 8 cliff [klIf] – útes 9 natural wonder [ntS(@)r(@)l wVnd@] – přírodní div 10 spoiler alert [spOIl@ @l3t] – pozor na prozrazení 11 baked beans [beIkt binz] – fazole v rajské omáčce

Gate December | 2016

9

A2–B1

Part

ing

Liam Peach (UK)

te

n

l

is

r e b m e c e D e g n Stra Traditions

United Kingdom

one

2

Speaker 1

Listen to three speakers talking about strange December traditions and put the beginnings and the endings of the sentences together.

1

Listen again and complete the sentences with the correct words.

Britain is an 1 _____________________ nation, which of course means we are surrounded by1 sea. […] So I'm sure you can imagine that on Christmas Day, it's not very 2 _____________________ .

1 On New Year’s Day

Scottish people near

Aberdeen

2 People all over Sco

tland

3 According to tra dit

ion, the person who

4 On Christmas Da y 5 On Christmas Da y 6 To bring good luck,

[…] But it doesn’t 3 _____________________ to the brave men and women who jump right in for a swim.

Speaker 2

brings bad luck

in Brighton people

There are many traditions connected with Hogmanay, like first footing. Traditionally, the first person who 4 _____________________ your house on January 1st brings you luck for the whole year. […] Other traditions are a bit

in Covent Garden pe

ople

5 _____________________ . In Stonehaven, near Aberdeen,

the first person in yo

there is fireball swinging2. […] Seems like a good way to spend

ur house

January 1st in 6 _____________________ .

rk and tall.

A must be da B walk around C dress up as

Speaker 3 Another British Christmas tradition is the Christmas pudding.

e.

with balls of fir

ing in the sea.

d go swimm Santa Claus an gs and collect

with puddin D run around w E celebrate Ne

Year’s Eve

ity.

money for char

anay. and call it Hogm .

or blond man F is a woman

Of course, these weird, 7 _____________________ cakes are too horrible to eat. […] Competitors in the Great Christmas Pudding Race put on fancy dress and 8 _____________________ their Christmas puddings around an obstacle course3. They try to be the fastest without dropping4 their puddings on the floor or on their 9 _____________________ . All of the money made from this race goes to charity, and nobody has to 10 _____________________ eat the puddings, so everybody wins!

Part

two 1

USA

The speakers talk about three different traditions.

Can you fill in the table with the information?

Tradition

Place in the US

What happens

1 to be surrounded by – být obklopený → Solutions in tf

10

Gate December | 2016

2 swinging – točení, máchání 3 obstacle course – překážková dráha 4 to drop – upustit

tf

Our Writers’

Christmas

Favourites

a2

Are the Gate writers full of happy holiday feelings, or do they think Christmas is a time to forget? What music will they listen to when they are opening their presents this year?

Auburn Scallon (USA)

Megan LeBoeuf (USA)

Paul Farrington-Douglas (UK)

Liam Peach (UK)

Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

i Won’t Be Home For Christmas

White Wine in the Sun

The Carol of the Bells

John lennon & Yoko ono / Plastic Ono Band

Blink-182

Tim Minchin

I’m not a big fan of Christmas. I don’t like most of the traditions, and the music drives me crazy3.

That‘s why I like this song from Blink-182. It‘s about Christmas carolers4 coming to your house. You try to smile and be happy, until you can‘t take it anymore5.

Of course, I would never really chase them away6 like they do in the song, but sometimes it‘s nice to imagine.

My favourite song doesn’t sound very Christmassy, does it? It’s by an Australian, and of course in Australia, Christmas is in the middle of summer. The song is about what Christmas means to the singer, Tim Minchin. Like me, Tim is an atheist7. The song says that he doesn’t like the whole “Christmas thing” – the religion8, the shopping, and so on. But he still looks forward to9 Christmas, because it means being together with family.

Mykola Leontovych / Peter J. Wilhousky

When I was young, my parents always played music by the Beatles, John Lennon, and his wife, Yoko Ono, around our house, so this song makes me think of my family. I also like that the song is about peace1, not presents. During the Christmas season, it’s easy to worry about not having enough time or money.

This song reminds2 us to enjoy the good things in our lives and think about other people.

Discuss What’s your favourite Christmas song in English?

Hum (= zabroukej) a tune of a Christmas song and let your classmates guess what song it is.

BrE vs AmE carol singers / carollers (BrE) × carolers (AmE) any more (BrE) × anymore (AmE) favourite (BrE) × favorite (AmE)

Music

Every Christmas, my sisters and I watched the classic Christmas film Home Alone, about Kevin fighting with burglars10. And that is where I first noticed this song. I loved its fast tune11, choir singing and the ding, dong, ding, dong of the bells. Interestingly, the song was originally Ukrainian and not about Christmas at all, but about the New Year.

The song was later played in New York, another musician wrote Christmas lyrics for it and “The Carol of the Bells” was born. Now, when I hear it, I think of happy childhood12 Christmases and, of course, Kevin.

Vocabulary 1 peace [ps] – mír 2 to remind [I"maInd] – připomenout 3 it drives me crazy – přivádí mě to k šílenství 4 caroler ["@@] – koledník zpívající vánoční koledy 5 I can’t take it anymore – nevydržím to 6 to chase away [tSIs] – odehnat

7 atheist ["IIIst] – ateista, nevěřící 8 religion [I"IdZ@)n] – náboženství 9 to look forward to ["fO@d] – těšit se 10 burglar ["b3g@] – zloděj 11 tune [tjn] – melodie 12 childhood ["tSaIldhUd] – dětství

Gate December | 2016

11

Media

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Mediální Výchova

Snapchat: Gone in Seconds

What Can Snapchat Do? You can add a caption3, doodle4 or a funny filter on top of your photo and send it to a friend.

You can send and share photos and videos with your friends (like on Facebook and Instagram).

These “snaps” last1 between 1 and 10 seconds before they disappear2.

If you want your posts to last longer, you can use a new feature5 called a “story”. This lets you put lots of pictures and videos into one scene that you can watch for 24 hours.

This video will selfdestruct6 in 10 seconds!

This phone messaging app is already a teenage favourite, and is becoming more and more popular all over the world. Are you Snapchatting yet?

Jo Molloy (UK)

What’s Great About Snapchat?

Discuss

The main point is to have fun.

On Which Social Media Do You . . . ?

You can make the craziest and most horrible faces in your videos. Your snaps are shared and then go away.

(If you want to keep them, take a screenshot7).

You don’t have to worry about likes.

Vocabulary

Post Photos Post Messages

Post Videos Find Events

Follow Singers, Bands

You can create something rather than just read or watch things online.

1 to last [Ast] – trvat 2 to disappear [I@"I@] – zmizet 3 caption ["pS@)n] – popisek 4 doodle ["d@)l] – malůvka 5 feature ["ftS@] – funkce 6 self-destruct [selfdI"strVkt] – zničí samo sebe 7 screenshot ["skrnSQt] – fotografie obrazovky 8 brand [brnd] – značka 9 cute [kjt] – roztomilý

Famous Snapchatters

Snapchat Glasses

Cyrene Quiamco @cyreneq

Georgio Bassil @georgio.copter

Sophia Amoruso @sophiaamosuso

Doug @itsdougthepug

This 26-year-old woman makes beautiful, colourful snaps, and brands8 pay her lots of money to do so. She also illustrates her selfies with drawings of famous people.

Bassil takes photos and videos and changes them by adding little monsters.

Fashion and lifestyle: owner of the fashion brand Nasty Gal; lots of selfies and clothes.

Doug is a dog that wears costumes, eats ice-cream, and goes on trips.

He’s cute9.

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Gate December | 2016

And soon it will be possible to buy Snapchat Spectacles, or Specs for short. These are special sunglasses with a builtin camera that can take up to thirty seconds of video. Then you can transfer it to your Snapchat account via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Specs will cost US$130 (around 3,000 CZK) and will come in three colours.

Snapchat hopes this will be a fun new way to share videos.

What do you think – would you wear them?

A2–B1

Interview

15 Minutes with Sebastian

Sebastian’s first song, “Toulavá”, was a viral hit. Now he is trying to show his fans and the music industry that he can make even better music than that radio hit. This summer, Sebastian and his band went on tour around the Czech Republic. It was a big success, but playing 23 concerts per month turned out (= ukázalo se) to be too much. We met Sebastian just after his concert at the Hard Rock Cafe in Prague.

Zuzana Sklenková (CR)

How are you feeling after today’s concert?

I’m good. I took a little break and now I’m starting to perform (= vystupovat) again.

Actually, I collapsed after the tour and ended up in hospital on drips (= kapačky).

But today’s concert was great and I loved the atmosphere here.

Why do you think you are successful?

I think it’s connected to the team of people I work with. And I have a feeling for what tunes (= melodie) people like. And maybe I put positive energy into the music, so it shows. But there is still room to improve. It’s too soon to talk about success.

But you won the Slavík award (= cena) for the most streamed song on the internet last year…

Yeah, I have won Slavík and some other awards. I like the song “Toulavá”, I call it virál, but other songs mean more to me musically; there is more of me in them. We have to move on (= posunout se dál).

Who makes the music?

It’s teamwork. I am not great with notes and instruments, but I am trying to work on it. The first song, “Toulavá”, was the work of my friend Ondra Fiedler, who brought it to me. I sang on it and then we wrote the second verse together and it went from there. Sometimes I write the tune, or sometimes somebody else does, and sometimes I come up with the lyrics (= text písničky).

How did you get into music?

I have always wanted to be famous. I have tried doing lots of sports in my life: ice hockey, floorball, basketball. I was quite successful at snowboarding. And then I started making music. I never studied music; I just learnt by doing it with my first band, Let’s Try. And I sang a lot, too.

Photo © David Turecký

What are your plans for the future?

I am 25 years old, so I am not a guy who just wants to be liked by all the girls any more. I want to make a good record and move our band to the B category; the A category is Chinaski or Kryštof for me. I want to show that my music has something to it and it’s not just for kids.

Are you planning to have a family?

Family? Yes, I like kids. Maybe when I am sure I am with the right partner, but I am not rushing (= nespěchám) it. Maybe when I am 29 years old.

When is the new record going to be ready?

It’s almost ready. We’re postponing the release (= odkládáme vydání) until February. (Sebastian is going to release a new single, “Hvězdy” soon.)

Who do you like from the Czech music scene?

Richard Krajčo, who is my friend and who supports me a lot.

What are you most proud of?

Passing the maturita exam, and the record when it comes out.

Sebastian will be touring in November and December with UDG band. Check out his Facebook page for dates: @Sebastian.Navratil.Music Thanks to the students from ZŠ Kanice for their questions, and for inspiring us to do this interview.

Gate December | 2016

13

Profiles

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liam

Acting

Chris and Liam Hemsworth Thirty-three-year-old Chris and 26-year-old Liam look very similar1. They are both tall, handsome Australian actors.

Chris

How did they get famous?

They both got roles on Australian television as teenagers. Later they got their first Hollywood roles. Liam was in The Last Song in 2010, and Chris was in Star Trek in 2009. Then they got really big roles in Hollywood blockbusters2. Liam was in The Hunger Games and Chris was in Thor.

Celebrity Siblings

Their Relationship* They have a good relationship, even when trying for the same role. In fact, Liam and Chris both auditioned for3 Thor. But Liam says “It pushes us and we are always happy whenever someone books (= získá) something.“

There are a lot of siblings* who are famous. How many do you know?

Jackie Fox (NZ)

gigi

Fashion

Gigi and Bella Hadid

Famous People

Twenty-one-year-old Gigi and 20-year-old Bella are both models.

Kate and Pippa Middleton How did they get famous?

Kate is the Duchess4 of Cambridge. She got famous when she became Prince William’s girlfriend. Her little sister Pippa is one year younger and she only became famous when Kate and William got married. Pippa was the maid of honour5.

Before the wedding she worked in event management6. Afterwards she wrote a book about party planning (and got paid around £400,000 for it – that’s more than 11 million Czech crowns).

Their Relationship Their lives are very different, but the sisters are close. Pippa says “We support each other and understand each other.” And soon they will have something new in common* – a title7. Pippa is engaged* to the heir8 of a laird9. So one day she will be Lady Glen Affric. pippa

How did they get famous?

Their mother Yolanda was also a model, so they have the right genes10. Gigi started modelling when she was only two and Bella at sixteen.

bella

Task

Their Relationship The two girls are very close. Bella says “When people ask me who my best friend is, I always tell them it’s my sister”. They also look similar. And the sisters have something else in common – celebrity boyfriends. Gigi is dating Zayn Malik and Bella dated the singer The Weeknd.

Answer these questions from the text:

Which sibling / siblings…

kate

1

had a parent who had the same career in the past?

2

became popular after appearing on TV shows?

3

changed careers after becoming famous?

4

don’t talk about their work?

5

calls the other one his or her closest friend?

6

have a better relationship now than in the past? → Solutions in tf

Music

The Jonas Brothers Brothers Nick, Kevin and Joe signed a record deal13 in 2005 when they were only teenagers. dakota

How did they get famous?

They became popular after getting their own TV show called Jonas Brothers: Living the Dream. Later they appeared in movies like Camp Rock. But the group broke up* in 2013.

elle

Their Relationship They actually broke up to save14 their relationship. As Nick said “There were probably some family issues that needed to be sorted out*.”

After the break-up they worked on solo projects. This time apart helped them to solve their problems. As Kevin said “I think that’s why we’re close now […] we chose to be a family, not a band.”

Acting

Dakota and Elle Fanning Acting sisters Dakota and Elle Fanning were born four years apart11 and are both successful in Hollywood.

How did they get famous?

They were both child actors.

Older sister Dakota was five years old when she was on the TV series ER. Elle was only two when she appeared12 in the movie I Am Sam.

nick

kevin

Their Relationship The sisters are close but sometimes have conflicts.

As Elle says “Dakota is a nice older sister. But it’s not like we always get along*.”Dakota sometimes feels like she has to look after Elle. But surprisingly, they never talk about their careers. Elle says “We never talk about films, ever.’’

Nowadays they don’t see each other as often because Elle lives in Los Angeles and Dakota in New York.

Discuss 1

Do you have any siblings?

2

What does your sister/brother look like?

3

What do you have in common with your sibling?

4

Do you get along with them?

5

Do you know any other famous siblings?

joe

Family Glossary sibling – a brother or sister relationship – the way two or more people behave (= chovat se) toward each other to have something in common – to share something to be engaged – to promise that you will get married to get along with sb. – to have a good relationship with sb. to break up – to end a relationship, business, etc. family issues – family problems to sort out – to fix problems

Vocabulary 1 similar ["II@] – podobný 2 blockbuster ["blQkbVs@] – trhák 3 to audition for [OIS@)n] – zúčastnit se konkurzu na 4 duchess ["dVtSIs] – vévodkyně 5 maid of honour [mI "Q@] – hlavní družička 6 event management [Iven "IdZ@)nt] – plánovaní akcí 7 title [taI@)l] – šlechtický titul 8 heir [e] – dědic 9 laird [le@d] – vlastník velkého pozemku 10 gene [dZn] – gen 11 apart [@At] – od sebe 12 to appear [@I@] – objevit se 13 record deal ["rekO dl] – smlouva na album 14 to save [sIv] – zachránit

Gate December | 2016

15

Films

n o o S g Comin

Boeuf (U

SA)

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Megan Le

New Stories from Worlds We Know

These two films, coming to Czech cinemas this December, might look very familiar1. But they bring completely new stories.

ne Rogue* O Story

d e e r C

s ’ n i s s Assa

A Star Wars

The new Star Wars film, coming out on December 15th, won’t have Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, or Rey. It’s part of a new series of stories called the Star Wars Anthology2 which have different characters than the ones we know. The film looks very dark and is focused on3 war and fighting.

The Story It takes place in between Star Wars Episodes III and IV. The Empire is building their first Death Star, and the Rebellion is trying to stop them. A new group of characters is going to try to steal the plans for the space station. This group includes Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), and Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen).

It looks like there will be at least one familiar character though: Darth Vader is in one of the trailers.

Glossary

Task 1

rogue – it’s not part of the Star Wars saga, stands alone free running – a discipline similar to parkour, using acrobatic movements such as flips (= salta)

Read the article and tick which film(s) have each thing.

1

characters we already know

2

time travel

3

a plan to steal something

4

fighting

Have you ever watched a film based on a video game?

Assassin’s Creed is a series of video games that are mostly about free running* and fighting. It’s a fight between the Assassins, who believe4 in finding peace through freedom, and the Templars, who believe in creating peace by controlling5 people.

The Story The film will have some of the same characters and story as the games, but much of it will be new and original. The main character, Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender), is a criminal in the modern world. He is kidnapped6 by Abstergo Industries (the modern-day Templars), which uses the Animus machine to send his mind back in time. He should use his assassin ancestor’s7 memories8 to find something for them. But in the past, he learns skills9 that he can use to fight back. The film comes to Czech cinemas on December 29th.

Vocabulary Rogue One

Assassin’s Creed

→ Solutions in tf

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Gate December | 2016

1 familiar [f@mIlI@] – povědomý 2 anthology [nQl@dZi] – soubor 3 is focused on [f@Uk@st] – zaměřuje se na 4 to believe [bIliv] – věřit 5 to control [k@ntr@Ul] – ovládat 6 to kidnap [kIdnp] – unést 7 ancestor [nsest@] – předek 8 memories [memrz] – vzpomínky 9 skill [skIl] – dovednost

tf

Nathaniel Patton (USA)

Hockey’s Next Superstars Are Here It’s a long road to the NHL for young hockey players, and the next stop is the 2017 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship in Canada. The tournament1 starts on December 26th and ends in early 2017. It’s a fast tournament where the best hockey players under 20 years old can show off 2 their skills3.

The Start of Everything Hockey’s biggest stars played in the World Juniors before their NHL careers. Wayne Gretzky played in 1978, Dominik Hašek in 1983, Alex Ovechkin from 2003–2005, Sidney Crosby from 2004–2005 and Jaromír Jágr, who scored 18 points in only seven games, in 1990. Gretzky and Crosby both played for Canada when they were only 16 years old.

Growing Up with Hockey Most pro4 hockey players start playing when they are really, really young. Jaromír Jágr started skating when he was only three. Wayne Gretzky’s father built an ice rink5 in their backyard, and Wayne practiced for hours and hours every day. Many hockey clubs, like Slavia Praha, have teams for kids who are only five or six years old.

Here are some of the best players on the Czech Junior Team Jakub Zbořil is the top prospect8 for the Boston Bruins. He is playing defense for the St John Sea Dogs junior team, and will be an important player for the Bruins in a few years.

Filip Hronek was drafted in the second round by the Detroit Red Wings. He played for Hradec Králové in the Czech Extraliga when he was 17.

a2

Sport

Following the NHL dream When they are about 16 years old, the best players often join elite junior leagues (mostly in Canada). The players have to move away from their homes and families to follow their dream of playing in the NHL. Can you imagine living in a foreign city when you are only 16? It’s difficult, but many of them go because it gives them a better chance to play in the NHL.

The NHL Draft When a player is 18 years old, he can enter the NHL draft6.

This is where teams choose the best young players from all over the world. Crosby, Ovechkin and Patrick Kane are a few of the stars who were the number one pick7 in the NHL draft. If a junior player is good enough, he will be drafted to one of the NHL teams. Then he must continue training to play for the pro team.

National Talents The World Junior Ice Hockey Championship shows the young talents of each country.

Some of the Czech juniors play in the Extraliga, and some already play for foreign teams.

Vocabulary 1 tournament [tU@n@m(@)nt] – turnaj 2 to show off – předvést 3 skill [skIl] – dovednost 4 pro [pr@U] – profesionální 5 ice rink – kluziště 6 draft [drAft] – vybírání hráčů do teamu 7 pick [pIk] – výběr 8 top prospect [tQp prQspekt] – nadějný nováček

Gate December | 2016

17

Fun

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tf

Google Doodles What does the Google logo* look like2? Its colourful letters are famous all over the world, but sometimes they look a bit different.

Liam Peach (UK)

In 1998, Google founders3 Larry Page and Sergey Brin went to a festival called Burning Man. To show that they would be out of the office, they changed their company’s logo.

They drew a stick man behind one of the “o”s. It was very simple, but it gave them an idea. After that, the Google logo on their search page started changing more and more, usually on special days like Thanksgiving or Halloween. Nowadays, there is a whole team of people who have created more than 2,000 doodles.

1

5

2

6

3

7

4

Task

What events or celebrations do these Google doodles show? Listen to the solutions on the Gate CD. → Solutions in tf and on the Gate CD

Images © Google

Glossary

18

logo – a symbol used by a company

Gate December | 2016

Vocabulary 1 doodle ["d@)l] – kresba, malůvka 2 to look like – vypadat 3 founder ["faUn@] – zakladatel

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PUZZLES

Spin the Dreidel While their Christian friends are waiting for Santa, a group of Jewish2 friends are celebrating a smaller holiday: Hanukkah.

They celebrate the time a small group of Jews beat3 a huge army. They eat yummy fried foods, light candles, and of course, play dreidel (= hračka podobná káče). Read the rules4 and try to figure out who won the game.

Megan LeBoeuf (USA)

Dreidel Rules: zz

Everyone starts with 10 nuts.

zz

Before the start of each round,

zz

Each round, players take turns spinning the

put one nut into the pot.

dreidel. The letter they get tells them what to do:

‫נ‬ ‫ג‬ ‫ה‬ ‫ש‬ zz

Christmas Competition Crossword

(nun) – Nothing happens. (gimel) – Take everything in the pot.

Use the articles in this issue of Gate to fill in the crossword and complete the Christmas riddle. Send your answer to competition@bridge-online.cz, SUBJECT: Crossword, by December 31st and three lucky winners will get prizes from Bridge Publishing House.

1 a simple drawing (p. 12)

(he) – Take half of the pot.

2 a brother or a sister (p. 14) (shin) – Put one nut in the pot.

3 a type of traditional dancing in costumes (pp. 4–5) 4 Australian Christmas food (pp. 4–5)

Anytime the pot is empty, everyone puts one nut in the pot.

5 an angry sound an audience can make (pp. 4–5) 6 the opposite of war (p. 11)

Hannah goes first, Caleb second, Ava third and Eli fourth.

The dreidel spins for each round are: 1st

‫נ‬ ‫ש‬ ‫ג‬ ‫נ‬

2nd

‫ה‬ ‫ש‬ ‫ש‬ ‫נ‬

7 adjective for something small and nice (p. 12) What do Santa’s helpers learn in school? The…

3rd

1

‫ה‬ ‫ש‬ ‫ה‬ ‫ג‬

After the last turn, it’s time for dinner and everyone stops playing.

The winner is: ____________ .

2 3 4 5 6

Vocabulary 1 to spin [sIn] – točit 2 Jewish ["dZIS] – židovský

3 to beat [bt] – porazit 4 rule [rl] – pravidlo

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Gate December | 2016

19

Garfield

surveillance cameras – bezpečnostní kamery, preoccupied – zamyšlený