Magazine_2004-1 by Cappelen Damm

C a p p e l e n s Illustrasjon: Inger Dale

nr01-2004

t i d s s k r i f t

f o r

e n g e l s k l ĂŚ r e r e

innhold

Leder 03

Slough Grammar School by Siri Hunstadbråten

Kjære leser I år feirer Cappelen sitt 175-års jubileum! J.W. Cappelens Forlag ble grunnlagt i 1829 og er Norges eldste forlag. I mer enn 130 år har vi hatt engasjerte og velrenommerte forfattere som har gitt ut lærebøker i fremmedspråk, blant annet engelsk. Visste du at Jacob Løkke (som for noen av oss tilårskomne filologer er synonym med ’Lille Løkke’ og pugging av tysk grammatikk) i samarbeid med D.F. Knudsen allerede tidlig på 1870-tallet gav ut bl.a. Nogle Stil- og Taleøvelser i Engelsk, Engelsk Elementarbog og Engelsk Grammatik? Disse to filologene var banebrytende i sitt arbeid for å fremme undervisning i moderne språk, og begge gav ut lærebøker i både engelsk, tysk og fransk. Deres innsats som språkpedagoger er imponerende, også fordi det faktisk ikke var mulig å ta noe vitenskapelig studium av moderne språk ved Universitetet før Johan Storm ble professor i 1873!

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08

Løkke og Knudsen la grunnlaget for en lang tradisjon hos Cappelen med anerkjente og dyktige lærebokforfattere i engelsk. Lærere som har vært opptatt av forbedring av pedagogikk, og som har bidratt til utvikling og innføring av nye læringsmetoder. Vi som nå arbeider med læremidler i engelsk, kjenner en forankring i denne tradisjonen. Vi er opptatt av faglig kompetanse og kontinuitet, men også av nytenkning og utvikling. Og vi akter å holde tradisjonen som leverandører av gode, tidsriktige læremidler ved like.

The Things They Carried by Karin Hals

On the Rainy River by Tim O’Brien

Genetically Modified Food: for or against? by Richard Peel

Nåvel, det var et lite tilbakeblikk, og det blir et langt hopp i tid fram til dette nummeret av ['mægə'zi:n], men forhåpentligvis kan sammenhengen anes? Vi presenterer vårens nye engelskbøker: Freeways (nytt engelskverk for påbygningskurset), The Things They Carried (ny roman i serien av tilrettelagte skoleutgaver), Troubleshooter (revisjon) og ny Engelsk-norsk/norsk-engelsk ordbok (revisjon).

09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

I tillegg til dette vil du forhåpentligvis finne stoff som kan være engasjerende for deg, og kanskje også for elevene dine? Blant annet har Richard Peel skrevet en artikkel om genmanipulert mat og laget mange oppgaver til innholdet, et opplegg som du enkelt kan ta med deg inn i klasserommet. Du vil også finne en interessant artikkel om ”Slough Grammar School” skrevet av Siri Hunstadbråten, dette er et godt supplement hvis du skal undervise om skolesystemet i UK. Jeg håper du får en hyggelig stund med ['mægə'zi:n] og la den gjerne kulminere med tanken: ”nei, nå skal jeg jammen sende inn et bidrag til bladet!”

15 [ mægə zi:n]

CAPPELEN UNDERVISNING

Ansvarlig redaktør: Kirsten Aadahl

videregående skole, Postboks 350 Sentrum,

God lesning!

FREEways – nytt læreverk for engelsk påbygning! av Jorun Grønset Løvoll

0101 Oslo

Redaksjon: Birger Nicolaysen

Telefon: 22 36 51 77/5195 E-post: kirsten.aadahl@cappelen.no

Produksjon: PrePress as

For the past three years my school, Eiker videregående skole, has been fortunate

Slough Grammar School and the community Slough is situated west of London – only a 20 minute train journey from Paddington Station in Central London. Since the 1960s

enough to have Slough Grammar School in

Slough’s employment opportunities and location have encour-

the UK as a partner school in a Comenius

aged a steady stream of people from other countries and regions

project. For anyone teaching English (and

to settle in the borough. Many of these people work in industry or at Heathrow Airport, which is close by. Slough has 119,000

the British educational system) it is

inhabitants, and the population is multi-ethnic.

particularly interesting to get acquainted

01 02

Compared to Windsor, its far more prestigious and picturesque

neighbour, Slough has, at first sight, very little to offer visitors.

If you have seen the BBC sitcom “The Office”, in which a bleak

have been able to visit the school, as well

cityscape with a roundabout signposted to “Slough Trading

as receive teachers from Slough at our

Estate” appears at the very beginning, you will know what I

mean. John Betjeman’s poem entitled “Slough”, whose famous

introductory lines “Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough! It

isn’t fit for humans now,” has certainly contributed to the

town’s rather dowdy reputation, as well. However, despite its

evident lack of tourist appeal much can, in fact, be said for

Slough. The town in many ways embodies a more vivid and

authentic version of 21st century Britain than the somewhat

archaic Windsor.

with an English school. Thanks to the funding from the Comenius project, we

school on several occasions.

by Siri Hunstadbråten Eiker videregående skole

16 Selection based upon ability

On its website the school presents itself in the following manner:

“Slough Grammar School is an 11-18 mixed Foundation school

which has traditionally served the towns of Slough and Windsor.

We are an academic and caring school.”

21 22 23 24

This is all very well, but aren’t grammar

secondary modern schools, clearly a second-

There are also many pupils from other minori-

schools a thing of the past? It is true that

class alternative, or if the parents can afford

ty groups such as Jews, Sikhs and Hindus. So

since 1965 most grammar schools have actu-

it, are educated privately.

despite being academically successful the

ally been absorbed into the comprehensive

pupils at Slough Grammar School are not privi-

spel it rite. spel it rite. spel it rite. spel it rite. spel it rite. spel it rite. spel it rite. spel it rite. spel it rite. spel it rite.

02 03

school system. There are, however exceptions.

For anyone used to the comprehensiveness of

leged in terms of family background. In this

A handful of boroughs, Slough being a case in

the Norwegian educational system the selec-

respect the school lives up to the meritocratic

point, still practise the pre-1965 system of

tion procedures may come across as unfair.

ideal of the grammar school system. For aca-

secondary education based on testing and

The age of 11 seems a very early age to have

demically able pupils the state provides a

selection.

one’s future set out. This was also the main

first-class education, irrespective of social

argument for introducing comprehensive

background. The other side of the coin, however,

08 09

In the school’s promotional material no secret

schools in the 1960s. Still, it is important to

is that the rest of the pupils will have to

is made about the selection procedures:

note that the 11+ is not make or break in

make do with secondary modern schools,

“Pupils will be admitted to the school at the

terms of securing a place at SGS, or other

clearly a second best.

age of 11 by reference to their ability and

grammar schools for that matter. Pupils are

aptitude, which will be determined by their

also admitted directly into the Sixth Form (at

Excellence

performance in entrance examinations con-

the age of 16), subject to their results in the

There is absolutely no doubt about the aim of

sisting of verbal reasoning, non verbal rea-

GCSE examinations.

Slough Grammar School. Ever since the fore-

soning and mathematics tests set by the

National Foundation for Educational

As a result of these selection procedures SGS

1912, the Latin motto on the school crest has

Research.” This test is not particular to SGS.

is able to cream off the top 25% of the pupils

been “Ad Astra”, or “to the stars”.

The same test is used for entrance into any of

in its intake area, as far as academic ability

Prospective pupils and their parents are told

the grammar schools in Slough. According to

is concerned. The social and ethnic make up of

that SGS is “a selective school and we expect

the statistics of the school authorities

the town, however, is reflected in the pupil

the highest standards of our pupils in work

approximately 25 % of the pupils who sit the

population. The pupils speak some 30 differ-

and behaviour. Pupils will be courteous and

test will pass. The rest of the pupils attend

ent languages and 50 % of them are Muslims.

considerate at all times.” If a pupil is caught

runner to the present school was founded in

smoking while in school uniform, for example,

the overwhelming majority of their sixth-form-

tus of “language college”, which entails addi-

he or she will be in serious trouble.

ers obtain university places and that some

tional funding as well as other advantages.

make it to Oxford and Cambridge.

SGS has been a language college since 1999,

Pupils are expected to make the most of their

and all students will learn 2 or 3 languages,

abilities and are monitored on an individual

Preparing for life – personal and social

basis. There is a course in Critical Thinking

education – careers

Skills for pupils who do so well in tests that

It is worth noticing that excellence by no

The languages taught range from French,

they are in the top 5-10% of their year. These

means applies to academic standards only.

German, Italian and Spanish to Mandarin

pupils are designated as “gifted and talent-

Students are expected to leave the school

Chinese, Portuguese, Russian and various

ed” and are encouraged to develop further by

with good practical and social skills as well

community languages such as Punjabi and

means of special teaching materials.

as with good examination results , so that

Urdu. There is a considerable emphasis on

Coordinators are appointed in each depart-

they are prepared for full participation in

international relations – from Comenius proj-

ment whose responsibility it is to monitor the

society. Comprehensive programmes in per-

ects to school exchanges, and last year pupils

achievements of these high flyers. Last but

sonal and social education, as well as careers

put their languages into practice in Paris,

not least, pupils who have done well are per-

guidance programmes, are integrated into the

Lyon, Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Nuremberg,

sonally praised by the principal. All in all,

teaching programmes.

Barcelona and China! Moreover, foreign lan-

the stars may not be entirely within reach,

which by UK standards is highly commendable.

guage assistants from several countries, who

but there is no doubt that opting to reach

Teaching is not all talk and chalk but includes

work with the students in a variety of small

them is a duty.

project work, problem solving, group work and

group activities, play an important role in

role play, to mention some of the most popular

ensuring a high quality in the teaching of for-

Like all British schools, Slough Grammar

methods. During my visit to the school I got to

eign languages.

School is subjected to regular inspections by

see the pupils in year 9 (14-year-olds) take

Ofsted (the Office for Standards in

part in a one-week interdisciplinary project

As can be seen, many aspects of SGS are very

Education). Such an inspection is a qualita-

which involved organizing the production and

different from a typical Norwegian secondary

tive study normally lasting a week and is not

marketing of cookies. Each group had to set up

school. At the same time, there are some

exactly looked forward to by the staff. This

a company, create a company profile and

striking similarities between educational pol-

year SGS had expected an inspection to take

divide the work between the group members.

icy in Britain and some of the proposals made

place in the spring, only to be told that it was

Some pupils carried out the actual production

by the Committee for Quality in Education

spel it rite. spel it rite. spel it rite. spel it rite. spel it rite. spel it rite. spel it rite. spel it rite. spel it rite. spel it rite.

01 02

going to take place in February instead. This

whereas others were busy designing packaging

last year, not least when it comes to the pub-

news was followed by some urgent messages

and devising marketing strategies. I had the

lication of results and the focusing upon

in my mailbox, explaining how this would

chance to sit in on a presentation of a radio

developing certain basic skills. What I find

mean that practically everything (the

commercial in French for one particular cookie

most impressive about SGS, however, is the

Comenius project included) would have to be

brand, and was struck by the enthusiasm and

teachers’ evident pride in what they do. At a

put aside until the inspection was finished. So

the dedication reflected in the pupils’ work.

Comenius meeting involving teachers from

four countries the principal invited us all to

much depends upon the results in these inspections that no expense is spared to

All students are offered a wide range of extra-

meet her foreign language teachers, who were

ensure the school does well.

curricular activities – sports, arts, outdoor

all specialists, teaching one language only.

activities and music. So it can safely be said

The principal said: “Here are my language

School ratings based upon examination

that the school aims at catering to the inter-

teachers!” and then they paraded before us.

results have been a regular feature in Britain

ests and needs of the students in a truly com-

She was clearly proud of them and they, in

for some time now. Pass rates for the various

prehensive way.

turn, were proud professionals. I sincerely

doubt whether anything similar could have

tests are listed in the material presented to prospective pupils and parents. This applies

Language College

happened in Norway, which in my opinion is

to GCSE examinations and A-levels as well as

British educational authorities have long

much to be regretted. As I see it, the way

national tests in English, Mathematics and

since recognized the need for young people to

teachers look at themselves and their job is a

Science for younger pupils introduced by the

learn more foreign languages. Schools that are

key element in the current debate about qual-

Labour government. For SGS it is naturally

able to make foreign languages a top priority

ity in education.

important to be able to assure parents that

and meet a certain standard are given the sta-

22 23 24

by Karin Hals, Kirkeparken videregående skole

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Tim O'Brien was born in Worthington, Minnesota

A short presentation of the book

What makes this book a good choice for

in 1946. He graduated from Macalester College

The Things They Carried is a story about a pla-

your VK2 students?

in 1968 with a BA in political science and at the

toon of American soldiers and all the burdens

The book deals with 18-23-year-olds spending

same time he received a draft notice for service

they carried while they were in Vietnam. Not

a crucial period in their lives in the military

in Vietnam. He was against the war, but report-

only did they carry equipment, weapons and

service. Many Norwegian students will have

ed for service and was in Vietnam in 1969-1970

supplies, they also carried their emotional

to make a choice whether or not to join the

as an infantry foot soldier.

burdens. The author wants to tell his readers

military. In addition the book gives a very

about the difficulties and challenges these

good description of the difficulties young peo-

After Vietnam he became a graduate student at

young Americans faced when serving in a coun-

ple encounter when they have to live so close-

Harvard, and later he started as a newspaper

try so far away from home. It deals with their

ly together. It depicts very well the restless-

reporter. His career as a reporter inspired him

fears, their friendships, their anger and their

ness which is typical of this age group.

to write about his experiences in Vietnam. His

frustration. It tells about the hopelessness of

first book from 1973 was called If I Die in a

war, but at the same time about the importance

The theme of war is prominent in much good

Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home.

of friendships. First and foremost, however, it

literature read during the third year. For

Another of his books about Vietnam was called

paints a picture of their parents’ generation and

example, many students will have read some

Going After Cacciato, and for this he received

their relationship to the 1960s and to the

Hemingway short stories dealing with soldiers

the National Book Award in 1979. He promised

Vietnam War. Some Norwegian students might

and their reactions to war, and First World

to himself that he would write books about why

have parents who took part in the numerous

War poems are often included in students’

the war was morally wrong, and many of his

demonstrations in the late 1960s against the

reading lists too. The Things They Carried is

books deal with this. He has said about his

war in Vietnam.

a contemporary rendering of this theme.

a general aimlessness, not just in the physical

The author has succeeded in capturing the

Although our students at this stage will have

sense, but beyond that in the moral and ethical

war's pulsating rhythms and its horror. He

some understanding of the historical events

sense.” This is something he has confronted in

makes you feel that you are out there with the

in this period, we have included in this edition

a very detailed way in The Things They Carried,

young American soldiers. You are invited into

an extensive article about the Vietnam War.

from 1990.

their private spheres, but more as an under-

writings on the war, "… In Vietnam there was

standing guest than an intruder. Not all his books deal exclusively with

The Things They Carried has won a chorus of critical acclaim, and is often mentioned by

Vietnam, e.g. In the Lake of the Woods from

The book represents a very special genre. It

American high school teachers answering the

1994 and Tomcat in Love from 1998. In 2002 he

consists of many interrelated stories and

question “What modern fiction would you

published the novel July, July.

vignettes, and the characters and the themes

recommend for my students in Norway?”

are presented from many different angles. The Tim O'Brien is now a visiting professor at

author is also the narrator, and from time to

After each text you will find a glossary and

Southwest Texas State University where he

time he is part of the stories as well. This is

some questions. At the back of the book you

teaches creative writing.

a very effective way of making you feel that

will find a glossary, questions to the texts,

these are true stories even though O’Brien

some activities for classroom practice and

tries to convince you that this is all fiction.

some test material.

I dette utdraget fra The

Things They Carried forteller Tim O’Brien om sommeren 1968, og om hvordan han som ung mann reagerte da han fikk innkallingen til militærtjeneste i Vietnam.

“

THIS IS ONE STORY I’ve never told before. Not to anyone. Not to my parents, not to my brother or sister, not even to my wife. To go into it, I’ve always thought, would only cause embarrassment for all of us, a sudden need to be elsewhere, which is the natural response to a confession. Even now, I’ll admit, the

Innledningen til kapitlet gir

story makes me squirm. For more than twenty years

oss en klar forestilling av at

I’ve had to live with it, feeling the shame, trying to

dette langt fra er noen enkel

push it away, and so by this act of remembrance, by

historie å fortelle:

putting the facts down on paper, I’m hoping to relieve at least some of the pressure on my dreams. Still, it’s a hard story to tell.

”

nieces and baby grandson? There should be a

kind of water gun. The machine was heavy,

law, I thought. If you support a war, if you

maybe eighty pounds, and was suspended from

think it’s worth the price, that’s fine, but you

the ceiling by a heavy rubber cord. There was

The draft notice arrived on June 17, 1968. It

have to put your own life on the line. You have

some bounce to it, an elastic up-and-down

was a humid afternoon, I remember, cloudy

to head for the front and hook up with an

give, and the trick was to maneuver the gun

and very quiet, and I’d just come in from a

infantry unit and help spill the blood. And you

with your whole body, not lifting with the

round of golf. My mother and father were hav-

have to bring along your wife, or your kids, or

arms, just letting the rubber cord do the work

ing lunch out in the kitchen. I remember open-

your lover. A law, I thought.

for you. At one end was a trigger; at the muz-

ON THE RAINY RIVER By Tim O’Brien

ing up the letter, scanning the first few lines,

I remember the rage in my stomach. Later

zle end was a small nozzle and a steel roller

feeling the blood go thick behind my eyes. I

it burned down to a smoldering self-pity, then

brush. As a carcass passed by, you’d lean for-

remember a sound in my head. It wasn’t think-

to numbness. At dinner that night my father

ward and swing the gun up against the clots

ing, it was just a silent howl. A million things

asked what my plans were.

and squeeze the trigger, all in one motion, and

all at once – I was too good for this war. Too

‘Nothing,’ I said. ‘Wait.’

the brush would whirl and water would come shooting out and you’d hear a quick splatter-

smart, too compassionate, too everything. It couldn’t happen. I was above it. I had the

I spent the summer of 1968 working in an

ing sound as the clots dissolved into a fine

world dicked – Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum

Armour meatpacking plant in my hometown of

red mist. It was not pleasant work. Goggles

laude and president of the student body and a

Worthington, Minnesota. The plant specialized

were a necessity, and a rubber apron, but even

full-ride scholarship for grad studies at

in pork products, and for eight hours a day I

so it was like standing for eight hours a day

Harvard. A mistake, maybe – a foul-up in the

stood on a quarter-mile assembly line – more

under a lukewarm blood-shower. At night I’d

paperwork. I was no soldier. I hated Boy

properly, a disassembly line – removing blood

go home smelling of pig. I couldn’t wash it

Scouts. I hated camping out. I hated dirt and

clots from the necks of dead pigs. My job

out. Even after a hot bath, scrubbing hard, the

tents and mosquitoes. The sight of blood

title, I believe, was Declotter. After slaugh-

stink was always there – like old bacon, or

made me queasy, and I couldn’t tolerate

ter, the hogs were decapitated, split down the

sausage, a dense greasy pig-stink that soaked

authority, and I didn’t know a rifle from a

length of the belly, pried open, eviscerated,

deep into my skin and hair. Among other

slingshot. I was a liberal, for Christ sake: if

and strung up by the hind hocks on a high con-

things, I remember, it was tough getting

they needed fresh bodies, why not draft some

veyer belt. Then gravity took over. By the time

dates that summer. I felt isolated; I spent a

back-to-the-stone-age hawk? Or some dumb

a carcass reached my spot on the line, the flu-

lot of time alone. And there was also that

jingo in his hard hat and Bomb Hanoi button?

ids had mostly drained out, everything except

draft notice tucked away in my wallet.

Or one of LBJ’s pretty daughters? Or

for thick clots of blood in the neck and upper

Westmoreland’s whole family – nephews and

chest cavity. To remove the stuff, I used a

In the evenings I’d sometimes borrow my father’s car and drive aimlessly around town,

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

feeling sorry for myself, thinking about the

of walking away from my own life, my friends

it was a physical rupture – a cracking-leaking-

war and the pig factory and how my life

and my family, my whole history, everything

popping feeling. I remember dropping my water

seemed to be collapsing toward slaughter.

that mattered to me. I feared losing the

gun. Quickly, almost without thought, I took off

I felt paralyzed. All around me the options

respect of my parents. I feared the law. I

my apron and walked out of the plant and drove

seemed to be narrowing, as if I were hurtling

feared ridicule and censure. My hometown

home. It was midmorning, I remember, and the

down a huge black funnel, the whole world

was a conservative little spot on the prairie,

house was empty. Down in my chest there was

squeezing in tight. There was no happy way

a place where tradition counted, and it was

still that leaking sensation, something very

out. The government had ended most graduate

easy to imagine people sitting around a table

warm and precious spilling out, and I was cov-

school deferments; the waiting lists for the

down at the old Gobbler Café on Main Street,

ered with blood and hog-stink, and for a long

National Guard and Reserves were impossibly

coffee cups poised, the conversation slowly

while I just concentrated on holding myself

long; my health was solid; I didn’t qualify for

zeroing in on the young O’Brien kid, how the

together. I remember taking a hot shower. I

CO status – no religious grounds, no history

damned sissy had taken off for Canada. At

remember packing a suitcase and carrying it

as a pacifist. Moreover, I could not claim to

night, when I couldn’t sleep, I’d sometimes

out to the kitchen, standing very still for a few

be opposed to war as a matter of general

carry on fierce arguments with those people.

minutes, looking carefully at the familiar

principle. There were occasions, I believed,

I’d be screaming at them, telling them how

objects all around me. The old chrome toaster,

when a nation was justified in using military

much I detested their blind, thoughtless,

the telephone, the pink and white Formica on

force to achieve its ends, to stop a Hitler or

automatic acquiescence to it all, their sim-

the kitchen counters. The room was full of

some comparable evil, and I told myself that

ple-minded patriotism, their prideful igno-

bright sunshine. Everything sparkled. My

in such circumstance I would’ve willingly

rance, their love-it-or-leave-it platitudes, how

house, I thought. My life. I’m not sure how long

marched off to the battle. The problem,

they were sending me off to fight a war they

I stood there, but later I scribbled out a short

though, was that a draft board did not let you

didn’t understand and didn’t want to under-

note to my parents.

choose your war.

stand. I held them responsible. By God, yes, I

What it said, exactly, I don’t recall now.

did. All of them – I held them personally and

Something vague. Taking off, will call, love Tim.

Beyond all this, or at the very center, was

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

the raw fact of terror. I did not want to die.

individually responsible – the polyestered

Not ever. But certainly not then, not there,

Kiwanis boys, the merchants and farmers, the

not in a wrong war. Driving up Main Street,

pious churchgoers, the chatty housewives, the

past the courthouse and the Ben Franklin

PTA and the Lions club and the Veterans of

remember is a sense of high velocity and the

store, I sometimes felt the fear spreading

Foreign Wars and the fine upstanding gentry

feel of the steering wheel in my hands. I was

inside me like weeds. I imagined myself dead.

out at the country club. They didn’t know Bao

riding on adrenaline. A giddy feeling, in a way,

I imagined myself doing things I could not do

Dai from the man in the moon. They didn’t

except there was the dreamy edge of impossi-

– charging an enemy position, taking aim at

know history. They didn’t know the first thing

bility to it – like running a dead-end maze –

another human being.

about Diem’s tyranny, or the nature of

no way out – it couldn’t come to a happy con-

Vietnamese nationalism, or the long colonial-

clusion and yet I was doing it anyway because

ing seriously about Canada. The border lay a

ism of the French – this was all too damned

it was all I could think of to do. It was pure

few hundred miles north, an eight-hour drive.

complicated, it required some reading – but

flight, fast and mindless. I had no plan. Just

Both my conscience and my instincts were

no matter, it was a war to stop the

hit the border at high speed and crash through

telling me to make a break for it, just take off

Communists, plain and simple, which was how

and keep on running. Near dusk I passed

and run like hell and never stop. In the begin-

they liked things, and you were a treasonous

through Bemidji, then turned northeast toward

ning the idea seemed purely abstract, the

pussy if you had second thoughts about

International Falls. I spent the night in the

word Canada printing itself out in my head;

killing or dying for plain and simple reasons.

car behind a closed-down gas station a half

I was bitter, sure. But it was so much

mile from the border. In the morning, after

At some point in mid-July I began think-

but after a time I could see particular shapes

I drove north. It’s a blur now, as it was then, and all I

and images, the sorry details of my own

more than that. The emotions went from out-

gassing up, I headed straight west along the

future – a hotel room in Winnipeg, a battered

rage to terror to bewilderment to guilt to sor-

Rainy River, which separates Minnesota from

old suitcase, my father’s eyes as I tried to

row and then back again to outrage. I felt a

Canada, and which for me separated one life

explain myself over the telephone. I could

sickness inside me. Real disease.

from another. The land was mostly wilderness.

almost hear his voice, and my mother’s. Run,

Most of this I’ve told before, or at least

I’d think. Then I’d think, Impossible. Then a

hinted at, but what I have never told is the full

but otherwise the country unfolded in great

second later I’d think, Run.

truth. How I cracked. How at work one morning,

sweeps of pine and birch and sumac. Though it

It was a kind of schizophrenia. A moral

standing on the pig line, I felt something break

was still August, the air already had the

split. I couldn’t make up my mind. I feared the

open in my chest. I don’t know what it was. I’ll

smell of October, football season, piles of

war, yes, but I also feared exile. I was afraid

never know. But it was real, I know that much,

yellow-red leaves, everything crisp and clean.

Here and there I passed a motel or bait shop,

I remember a huge blue sky. Off to my right

and dropped a key in my hand. I remember

was the Rainy River, wide as a lake in places,

smiling at him. I also remember wishing I

and beyond the Rainy River was Canada.

hadn’t. The old man shook his head as if to

It was loud now. Loud, hard crying.

tell me it wasn’t worth the bother.

Elroy Berdahl remained quiet. He kept

For a while I just drove, not aiming at anything, then in the late morning I began looking for a place to lie low for a day or two.

‘Dinner at five-thirty,’ he said. ‘You eat

That was the sad thing. And so I sat in the bow of the boat and cried.

fishing. He worked his line with the tips of his fingers, patiently, squinting out at his red and

fish?’

I was exhausted, and scared sick, and around

‘Anything,’ I said.

white bobber on the Rainy River. His eyes

noon I pulled into an old fishing resort called

Elroy grunted and said, ‘I’ll bet.’

were flat and impassive. He didn’t speak. He

the Tip Top Lodge. Actually it was not a lodge

was simply there, like the river and the late-

at all, just eight or nine tiny yellow cabins

Tim tilbringer seks dager sammen med Elroy

summer sun. And yet by his presence, his

clustered on a peninsula that jutted north-

Berdahl. De spiser og går lange turer sammen,

mute watchfulness, he made it real. He was

ward into the Rainy River. The place was in

og om kveldene spiller de scrabble, hører på

the true audience. He was a witness, like God,

sorry shape. There was a dangerous wooden

musikk og leser. Hele tiden kjemper Tim med

or like the gods, who look on in absolute

dock, an old minnow tank, a flimsy tar paper

sine indre demoner. Om og om igjen går han

silence as we live our lives, as we make our

boathouse along the shore. The main building,

gjennom alle argumenter for og imot å rømme

choices or fail to make them.

which stood in a cluster of pines on high

til Canada – redselen for å dø, sinnet over å

‘Ain’t biting,’ he said.

ground, seemed to lean heavily to one side,

måtte kjempe en kamp han ikke tror på, skam-

Then after a time the old man pulled in his

like a cripple, the roof sagging toward

men over å stille seg utenfor den verdenen

Canada. Briefly, I thought about turning

han kommer fra. Den gamle mannen forholder

around, just giving up, but then I got out of

seg rolig og stille gjennom det hele. Den

I don’t remember saying goodbye. That last

the car and walked up to the front porch.

sjette dagen tar Elroy med seg Tim for å fiske

night we had dinner together, and I went to bed

på den kanadiske siden av Rainy River. Her må

early, and in the morning Elroy fixed break-

Tim ta et endelig oppgjør med seg selv.

fast for me. When I told him I’d be leaving,

The man who opened the door that day is the hero of my life. How do I say this without sounding sappy? Blurt it out – the man saved

me. He offered exactly what I needed, without

The little aluminum boat rocked softly

questions, without any words at all. He took

beneath me. There was the wind and the sky.

line and turned the boat back toward Minnesota.

the old man nodded as if he already knew. He looked down at the table and smiled. At some point later in the morning it’s

me in. He was there at the critical time – a

I tried to will myself overboard.

possible that we shook hands – I just don’t

silent, watchful presence. Six days later,

I gripped the edge of the boat and leaned

remember – but I do know that by the time I’d

when it ended, I was unable to find a proper

forward and thought, Now.

finished packing the old man had disappeared.

way to thank him, and I never have, and so,

I did try. It just wasn’t possible.

Around noon, when I took my suitcase out to

if nothing else, this story represents a small

All those eyes on me – the town, the whole

the car, I noticed that his old black pickup

gesture of gratitude twenty years overdue.

universe – and I couldn’t risk the embarrass-

truck was no longer parked in front of the

Even after two decades I can close my

02 03 04 05

eyes and return to that porch at the Tip Top

Lodge. I can see the old guy staring at me.

Elroy Berdahl: eighty-one years old, skinny

and shrunken and mostly bald. He wore a flan-

nel shirt and brown work pants. In one hand, I remember, he carried a green apple, a small

ment. It was as if there were an audience to

house. I went inside and waited for a while,

paring knife in the other. His eyes had the

my life, that swirl of faces along the river, and

but I felt a bone certainty that he wouldn’t be

bluish-gray color of a razor blade, the same

in my head I could hear people screaming at

back. In a way, I thought, it was appropriate. I

polished shine, and as he peered up at me

me. Traitor! they yelled. Turncoat! Pussy! I felt

washed up the breakfast dishes, left his two

I felt a strange sharpness, almost painful, a

myself blush. I couldn’t tolerate it. I couldn’t

hundred dollars on the kitchen counter, got

cutting sensation, as if his gaze were some-

endure the mockery, or the disgrace, or the

into the car, and drove south toward home.

how slicing me open. In part, no doubt, it was

patriotic ridicule. Even in my imagination, the

The day was cloudy. I passed through

my own sense of guilt, but even so I’m

shore just twenty yards away, I couldn’t make

towns with familiar names, through the pine

absolutely certain that the old man took one

myself be brave. It had nothing to do with

forests and down to the prairie, and then to

look that went right to the heart of things – a

morality. Embarrassment, that’s all it was.

Vietnam, where I was a soldier, and then home

kid in trouble. When I asked for a room, Elroy

And right then I submitted.

again. I survived, but it’s not a happy ending.

made a little clicking sound with his tongue.

I would go to the war – I would kill and

I was a coward. I went to the war.

He nodded, led me out to one of the cabins,

maybe die – because I was embarrassed not to.

(utdrag)

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Richard Peel, Kjell Richard Andersen, Marcie Madden Austad

Richard Peel, Trond Christian Anvik, Theresa Bowles Sørhus

TROUBLESHOOTER I NY UTGAVE!

FREEWAYS: NYTT ENGELSKVERK FOR YRKESFAGLIGE STUDIERETNINGER (MODUL 3)

Troubleshooter er en praktisk rettet aktivitetsgrammatikk i engelsk

Freeways er:

som tar for seg de vanligste problemområdene for norske elever.

>> et helt nytt læreverk for modul 3 (engelsk påbygging);

Hvert kapittel innledes med en forklaring av et problem og hvordan

>> en videreføring av serien American Ways / British Ways i

det kan løses. Deretter følger et bredt utvalg oppgaver, både tradisjonelle utfyllings- og oversettelsesoppgaver og aktiviserende og

engelsk for yrkesfagene; >> like nyttig for elever som har brukt andre læreverk tidligere.

kommunikative par- og gruppeoppgaver. Det er fasit bak i boka. KAPITLER Hva har skjedd med den nye utgaven? >> Forklaringene og øvingene er forbedret etter råd og forslag fra lærere og elever.

>> Åpningskapitlet Switch on har til hensikt å få elevene i gang med engelsken, og å motivere dem til å snakke og skrive engelsk. >> De tre påfølgende kapitlene omhandler USA, den engelskspråklige verden og Storbritannia. Vi har forsøkt å finne tekster som

>> Et nytt kapittel (“Fra ord til tekst”) tar for seg bl.a. avsnittsbygging og teksttyper. >> Nye Troubleshooter har fått glade farger, og morsomme og instruktive illustrasjoner.

elevene vil synes er interessante, og som samtidig dekker viktige mål i læreplanen. >> Boka rundes av med et kapittel kalt Tools. Her finner elevene “Toolbox” – en alfabetisk oppslagsdel over emner elevene vil ha nytte av – en sekvens om brevskriving og forslag til for-

>> Hvert av de seks hovedkapitlene avrundes med en

dypningsoppgaver.

“test-deg-selv”- oppgave. >> Det er stigende progresjon i øvingene som følger hver forklaring. Innfyllingsoppgavene kommer først. Hvert tema avsluttes med en eller flere samarbeidsoppgaver. >> Med den nye utgaven av Troubleshooter følger en selvinstruerende øvings-CD med bl.a. oppgaver fra boka som egner seg for PC og ekstraoppgaver. Ekstraoppgavene varierer fra innfyllingsoppgaver til kryssord og ”multiple choice”.

OPPGAVER >> Freeways har mange og varierte oppgaver som oppfordrer til aktiv deltakelse fra elevene. >> Det er lagt vekt på å ha med et bredt utvalg skriveoppgaver, da mange elever har stort behov for skrivetrening. >> Hvert kapittel tar for seg et språklig problemområde, og hver tekst i kapitlet har en eller flere oppgaver som gir elevene øving i å løse dette problemet.

KOMPONENTER >> Freeways CDs: Her er bokas lytteøvelser, litteraturen i boka samt et utvalg sakprosatekster lest inn. >> Freeways Teacher’s Resources er et hefte med bl.a. lyttemanus, løsningsforslag, kopieringsmateriale og ekstrastoff.

Richard Peel: born 1944. Senior teacher. Education: MA in history (Oxford), Certificate in Education (Bristol), Masters degree in English (Oslo). Has taught in Tromsø, Oppegård and for the last 27 years at Bjørkelangen upper secondary school (chiefly English and History). Enjoys working as a teacher and feels the students have lots to gain from good teaching; is a little sceptical if too much time is spent on organizing and administrating various forms of group work and projects. Has co-authored more than 15 books for Cappelen. Also works as a free-lancer, doing voice-overs for films, TV programmes and so on, in addition to some translation work. Is an amateur photographer and likes to listen to music, read poetry and write poems. In common with most Norwegians, he likes to walk and jog in the woods where he invariably reflects on life, the universe and everything. Does not like people who rush through doors without considering those behind them, and people who prattle during a film.

by Richard Peel

01 Customer: Waiter, there’s a fly in my soup!

– it did not bruise easily, and it lasted longer

“sick” gene removed or treated, and maybe

What’s it doing there?

in the supermarket or in your kitchen before

replaced by a “healthy” gene. It is quite like-

Waiter: It looks like the breast-stroke, madam.

going bad. How was it done? The tomato came

ly that this sort of gene therapy will soon be

from seeds that had been genetically modi-

technically possible, maybe on a child before

That’s the old joke. Here’s the new, modified

fied: they had been given a gene from some

it is born. Terrible diseases like Rett’s syn-

one:

other organism that stays fresh longer.

drome may become things of the past.

07 08

Customer: Waiter, there’s a fly in my soup! Waiter: Yes, madam, but at least it’s not a

Turning to a completely different field, crime

Genetic engineering can, in theory, be car-

genetically modified one.

detection, we see that genetics is already

ried out on any organism: that is, on any ani-

making astonishing new advances, as anyone

mal, any plant or any micro-organism.

Why is there so much fuss (serious fuss, very

who follows real-life or fictitious crime sto-

Interesting research in genetics is going on

few jokes) about genetically modified food?

ries knows. DNA evidence can identify a crimi-

in several fields; medicine and crime detec-

What is the debate about? Who’s winning?

nal even more precisely than finger-print

tion are just two of them. In this article we

Should they be winning? This article looks,

evidence, a development which would have

concentrate on agriculture – more particu-

without too much scientific language, at

been impossible without genetics technology.

larly on genetically modified food.

This is just a modest start to a wonderfully

Genetically modified food

Genetic technology can do astonishing

exciting range of applications of genetic mod-

The first thing to be clear about is that

things. In 1994 a new “flavor saver” tomato

ification, or so the GM lobby argues, saying

genetic modification is revolutionary. It is

appeared on the shelves of US supermarkets.

that people will be able to be saved from

different from traditional genetic selection.

This tomato had spectacular “advantages”

inherited diseases by having the “guilty” or

The oldest form of genetic selection is, of

these questions.

23 24

LANGUAGE BOX biotechnology – the genetic manipulation of micro-organisms, especially when an industrial product is being made. characteristic – characteristics are traits like long toes, lovely green eyes, foul tempers. Our at-birth characteristics are delivered to us in the genes we get from our parents. The heredity “content” of each gene is determined by its DNA make-up. DNA – deoxyribonucleic acid, a material which can make exact copies of itself. gene – the genetic code defines the particular characteristics of an organism (this is sometimes called the genetic blueprint). This

course, carried out by nature itself and is

the environment. It has, they say, dam-

called evolution, which began with the

aged the environment in one way or anoth-

first living organisms on the planet Earth,

er right from the beginning when the first

and which has been going on for millions

farmers starting cutting down trees with

of years. For a much shorter time, some

their stone axes, up to today, when most

thousands of years, humans have them-

farmers use pesticides that damage the

selves carried out selective breeding and

land and pollute rivers. What’s more, they

cross-breeding of animals and plants.

go on, some GM food developments should

An example of selective breeding is the

help the environment rather than damage

Viking farmer who selected his best cow

it. If the biotech companies can sell us

and his best bull and put them together to

seed that gives us crops that are resist-

mate; an example of cross-breeding is the

ant to weeds and insects, then all the

mating or hybridizing of two different

spraying that farmers do now, which is

varieties of a species of animal or plant

extremely environmentally unfriendly,

– look at the dogs and apples around us

can stop. The land and the rivers will be

today.

cleaner. In addition, claims the pro-GM

genetic code is the information carried by DNA. genetic engineering – the modification by scientists of the characteristics of an organism by manipulating its genetic material, for example by transferring genes from one organism to another. These two organisms can belong to completely different species (for example a species of fish and a species of fruit). genetic manipulation – another term for genetic modification. genetically modified food – any food that contains parts of genetically modified plants, animals or micro-organisms (usually called 01

GM food, or GM foods, and sometimes GMF).

modify – change, alter

It is important to note that, in these tra-

food better-tasting, longer-lasting and

ditional forms of breeding, single genes

more nourishing. It can even make it

are not isolated and transferred.

better-looking and better-smelling!

Moreover, the animals or plants are of the

same species or of closely related

Well, you can find plenty of GM food in US

species. It is, moreover, a slow process,

foodstores. It often has fanciful names like

since it uses the species’s own reproduc-

“flavor saver” and “Endless Summer” toma-

tive system (even if the implantation is

toes. They are “fresh” even though they

carried out artificially). We live with the

have slept on the shelf in the store for a

results and accept them unfussily: cows

month. “They taste great, too!” said one

that give far more milk than cows a few

store manager I talked to. “What have you

hundred years ago, apples that are larger

got against them? Consumers love them,

and tastier than wild apples, and so on.

and I guess this is the way to give everyone in the world enough to eat! And no one here

The new science of genetic modification

04 05

food lobby, genetic engineering can make

wants special labels for this sort of food.”

does something else. It isolates a single

“

In addition, claims the pro-GM

gene in an organism and transfers it to

As late as in 1990 there were hardly any GM

food lobby, genetic engineering

another organism: often to a completely

crops being commercially grown in the

can make food better-tasting,

different species.

western world, but then things moved fast.

09 10

“

longer-lasting and more nourishing.

The great debate about food

quick to change their ways: in the four years

– the first round

after 1996, 55% of the USA’s soybeans, 50 %

There is a great debate going on. The bio-

of its cotton, and 40 % of its maize were

technology companies that produce GM

grown from genetically modified seeds. It is

seeds have argued clearly and strongly

not surprising that so many American farm-

that this is the way to increase the

ers jumped on the bandwagon. GM soybeans

FACT BOX

world’s food supply, and that it would be

are, as a result of genetic engineering,

The scientific principles of genetic selection

unethical not to travel down this road. If

resistant to weed-killers. Farmers say this

were only discovered in the 19th century

we don’t do this, they say, famine will

means they can eliminate weeds without

(first by Gregor Mendel) and the exact way in

strike more and more often.

eliminating any beans. They grow more

It can even make it better-looking

and better-smelling!

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

In the USA, farmers have been particularly

which genetic information is carried in living

beans and contribute in greater measure to

organisms was only discovered in the 20th

They see no real environmental or health

the world’s food supply. Of course, they also

century (primarily by Francis Crick and

dangers. They point out that traditional

make more money.

James Watson).

non-GM agriculture is itself harmful to

By the mid-1990s the huge US biotechnology

do with genetic modification, nonetheless cre-

need pesticide treatment – this is the oppo-

companies, Monsanto and DuPont, had already

ated a climate of scepticism towards any sort

site of what the GM lobby has said, and, if

conquered America. They had lobbied hard, per-

of risk-taking in farming. People are worried

correct, would remove one of the GM lobby’s

suading science journalists, farmers, politi-

about the long-term effects of GM foods. What

strongest arguments.

cians and the public that there could come no

about pollen from these crops that gets blown

harm from GM food. The complaints of serious

all over the landscape? What will the impact

In the first few years of the 21st century con-

ecological groups, like Greenpeace and Friends

be on birds and insects, and on biological

siderable attention has been paid to geneti-

of the Earth, seemed hopelessly weak and

diversity? Critics of GM food also say that

cally modified rice. A new rice has been engi-

almost cranky. The respected US Food and Drug

the companies that carry out the research and

neered using a gene from a flower, the daf-

Administration (FDA) had given its approval to

development of GM food have been given a

fodil, to produce a nutrient called beta-

the marketing of GM crops, while US environ-

free hand by governments, and are only really

carotene, that the body can convert into vita-

mental groups had to admit that they could not

interested in one thing: their own profits. The

min A. This vitamin is essential for healthy

prove that genetically engineered food was at

whole programme, they say, is a get-rich-

eyes. So advertisements for this new rice,

all harmful. In 1996, the European Union

quick and don’t-ask-questions gamble. The

alluringly called Golden Rice, imply that it

approved the import of GM foods, and there

market for this food is enormous, they point

can save thousands of children in rice-eating

were no rules for mandatory labelling. It

out, and huge profits can certainly be made.

regions of the world, such as Asia, from blindness. In 2000 President Clinton put his pres-

looked as if scepticism against the new technology was a non-starter. The first round of the

So while the years from 1990 to 1995 were full

tige behind a huge research programme, aimed

great debate had been won by the GM lobby.

of progress for GM food, the years between

at persuading Asia’s farmers to grow, and its

1996 and 2001 saw the sceptics fighting back.

vast populations to eat, this rice. In China, GM

The second round

Supermarkets began their own policy of strict

rice also has an enhanced iron content.

Then things began to change. The attack on the

labelling of GM foods, and of offering plenty

Opponents are made to look as if they disre-

biotech industry was strongest in Europe and

of shelf space to organic food. The big ques-

gard health gains. Until, that is, these same

came from three main quarters: science jour-

tion in Europe was: would politicians respond

opponents point out that conventional brown

nalists, environmental groups, and the public.

to the new mood of scepticism? In June 2000

rice contains as much Vitamin A as the new

there was a meeting of European Union envi-

GM Golden Rice, and that a ten-year-old child

In America many science correspondents had

ronment ministers in Brussels. Intensive lob-

would have to eat nearly 7 kilos of Golden

been persuaded to take a soft line by biotech

bying went on, both from the biotech industry,

Rice a day to meet the daily Vitamin A

lobbyists, but in Europe science journalists

and from environmental groups. At the meet-

requirement. Even the Rockefeller Foundation,

have been far less respectful towards the big

ing it was decided that no new import

which is funding much of the research, has

boys in the industry. The European press cov-

licences for GM food would be given until new

admitted that the advertisements had gone

erage of the development of GM food varied

and stricter regulations were in place, and

overboard in their implication that this new

from cautious questioning to downright panic

labelling of all GM food was made mandatory.

rice could dramatically reduce the number of

over what were seen as “Frankenstein Foods”.

Similar restrictions followed in other parts of

people suffering from blindness. Many people

the world. In America, confidence in geneti-

asked if it was not more sensible to encourage

Secondly, environmental groups in Europe

cally modified food began to crack. “We want

people to eat brown rice. Why not advertise to

have been more successful than their

labels!” became a popular slogan

encourage people to eat a normal mixed diet,

American counterparts in convincing the pub-

which would include enough Vitamin A? The

lic that they have a case. Here, of course, they

Many farming experts have also begun to

answer, says the anti-GM lobby, is that no

are helped by favourable news coverage. When

question the claim that GM food is the only

money is to be made that way.

some radical environmental groups used

way to increase food production. Some recent

direct action to damage research projects on

studies in the USA and in China suggest that

The sceptics, then, seem to have won round

GM foods actually in the fields, they received

fairly small farms growing a wide variety of

two of the great debate.

a far more tolerant press coverage than envi-

crops without using genetic engineering can

So, what sort of food do we want on our menus,

ronmental activists in America had done.

greatly increase productivity, and that mono-

at home and at the local restaurant or burger

culture, where a single crop is grown on huge

bar? Have we any real cause to be more fright-

Thirdly, and most important, European con-

areas of land – the type of farming preferred

ened of a genetically modified filler in a sand-

sumers have been much more sceptical about

by the same big companies that produce GM

wich than your favourite brand of ice-cream?

GM foods than American consumers, especial-

seeds – is a barrier to bigger harvests. Some

Do you, when it comes down to it, really know

ly after a series of food scares in Europe

recent research, published in early 2004, also

what’s in that ice-cream?

which, although they had nothing directly to

suggests that GM crops do, after a few years,

The debate goes on.

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

1 Focus on the text Write brief answers to the following questions: a) Why did GM food become so popular with farmers and producers in the USA in the

E: every insurance company with whom the

toms of the syndrome when born, but

18) is insured

develop symptoms after they are 6

F: any employer of the tested child/adult

c) Why is the role of journalists important?

2 Going deeper into the text The following topics or items have a place in the article. Why has the author brought them into the article? Discuss in pairs. a) Traditional forms of breeding

iii) Who should not be told the results of a

d) World population growth e

Profits

f) The environment

3 Talking Gene therapy is mentioned in the article. In a few years’ time it will be possible for every unborn child to be gene tested while in his/her mother’s uterus. This gene test will show what handicaps or diseases or future diseases the child will be born with (it will not, of course,

reveal that the disorder will develop,

A: the tested child

and that gene therapy has a good chance

B: the parents

of repairing the defective gene.)

C: the child’s school D: insurance companies

4 Playing it out

E: employers

In groups of four, prepare a role-play. One of

F: anyone else?

you is a farmer who is not quite sure whether to sow genetically modified seed or not. One

iv) What about gene therapy? A: it is wrong to interfere with the genes any person inherits

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09

some questions for you to answer. Go through these questions and think about them, selecting the answers you support, and thinking about why you support them. (The answers suggested here do not necessarily exclude each other.) Then have group discussions or a class debate in which each question is discussed. i) Who should have a gene test?

A: all unborn children

B: no one

C: the parents should decide

D: the mother should decide alone

14 15

ii) Which of these persons or groups should

of you is a salesman for GM seed. One of you is a member of a group determined to stop the sowing of GM seed, and one of you has spent

B: everything possible should be done to

five years in parts of the world where people

use gene therapy to give people a life

die of hunger. Spend some time preparing the

free of inherited diseases or inherited

sorts of things you will say, and the questions

handicaps

you will want to ask. Then play out a conver-

C: doctors should decide what should be done

sation between these four people.

D: doctors should simply give medical advice; the parents should decide E: the mother should decide (after being given medical advice)

5 Writing a) Write a letter to a newspaper expressing your views on genetically modified food. b) Write a dialogue in which two people discuss

show what diseases the child might get as a result of infection from outside). Here are

Research indicates that a gene test can

gene test?

b) Tomatoes c) Rice

months old. They lose the ability to move their limbs properly and to speak.

mid-1990s? b) What arguments do critics of GM food use?

with this disorder usually have no symp-

tested child (or adult after the age of

v) Which of the following scenarios do you

an aspect of genetics technology. Choose the

think is acceptable?

aspect yourself. (You do not have to choose

A: Sports associations sponsor research

an aspect mentioned in this article.)

into genes which determine particular

c) Write a short story in which genetics tech-

characteristics that are important in

nology has a place. Begin: “It was a Sunday

sport (for example, balance and supple-

in September. It started like any other day.”

ness in gymnasts) and ask for parents to volunteer to have the genes of their

6 The Internet

unborn children manipulated so as to

The Internet can supply you with thousands of

give them a better chance of winning

pages about genetically modified food. The

Olympic gold medals.

Internet is, of course, a godsend to pressure

B: A mother (who is in a good partnership,

groups, and both pro- and anti-groups use it

and wants a child) discovers through

enthusiastically. So you should find it interest-

gene tests that her unborn child will

ing to follow up some of them. Try, for example,

develop Alzheimer’s disease, when he is

printing some GM catchphrase (e.g. “flavor

40 and chooses to have an abortion.

savers” or “genetic modification”) on your

be told the results of a gene test of an

unborn child? Is there anyone else who

syndrom should be mandatory and free.

Possible Internet tasks could include (i) building up

should be told?

Any child shown to be genetically des-

a list of up-to-date arguments for and against

A: the child, at a certain age

tined to have such a disorder should be

genetically modified food, (ii) finding relevant sta-

B: both parents

given the latest form of gene therapy, at

tistics and news about GM food, and (iii) trying to

C: just the mother

no cost to the parents. (Rett’s syndrom

see if there are differences in attitudes from coun-

D: just the medical authorities, who could

is a neurodevelopmental disorder

try to country. Present your findings in class or

affecting one in 10,000 females. Girls

make a little project out of it.

22 23 24

then decide who to tell

C: Gene testing for disorders like Rett’s

favourite search engine and see what you find.

– nytt læreverk for engelsk påbygning! Av Jorun Grønset Løvoll, Elvebakken vgs.

Etter å ha undervist modul 3 på allmennfaglig påbygning i mange år, var det med blanda forventninger jeg åpnet Freeways. Blanda fordi jeg forventet en bok lik de andre vi har prøvd ut i faget og for lengst latt bli hyllefyll. Det har ført til at et lite kurs har blitt en ganske stor jobb å undervise fordi mangel på gode læreverk gjorde det lettere å basere seg på stensiler og internett. Stor er derfor gleden ved å sitte med utkastet til Freeways i hendene og se at verket på en helt annen måte enn tidligere imøtekommer behovene elevene på påbygningskurset har.

Erfaring har vist at elevene på påbygningskurset har hatt et stort behov for skrivetrening og hjelp til å luke ut de mest elementære grammatiske feilene. I tillegg kommer nødvendigheten av å friske opp det de har lært på GK og VK1, som for mange av dem kan være to til tre år siden. Det er derfor ikke nok slik det stod i en veiledning da jeg begynte å undervise dette kurset, at man for eksempel kunne lese en roman. Elevene trenger en full gjennomgang av hva de kan forventes å få til eksamen. Tidligere lærebøker har ikke ivaretatt dette godt nok, men derimot tilbudt en tilfeldig samling tekster og oppgaver som ikke har evnet å sette verken tekster eller språkoppgaver inn i en større sammenheng. Det har gjort at elevene ikke har fått den forberedelse de trenger frem mot en eksamen som forutsetter at læreplanens mål skal være dekket. Det som tiltaler meg aller mest ved dette læreverket, er den alt-i-ett tankegangen som vi kjenner fra Passage, som ivaretar behovet både for gode tekster og varierte oppgaver. Boken er delt inn i oversiktlige kapitler som på en ryddig måte samler tekstene tematisk inn i hovedområdene USA, den engelskspråklige verden og Storbritannia. Til slutt er det et Tools kapittel der elevene kan finne instruksjon i å skrive brev, bokrapport og essay, samt slå opp på fagtermer som de vil komme borti. Jeg synes forfatterne har klart å sette sammen tekster som til sammen dekker læreplanmålene på en lettfattelig og god måte. Jeg liker også den måten hvert kapittel tar for seg et språklig problemområde og etter hver tekst har oppgaver knyttet til dette. Elever

opplever ofte at språkoppgaver blir tilfeldige og løsrevet fra en større sammenheng. I denne boken er dette ivaretatt ved at de er samlet tematisk. Med den bredden og variasjon vi finner i typen oppgaver knyttet til disse problemområdene, får elevene på en variert måte mulighet til å løse disse. Boken åpner med kapittelet Switch on om engelsk som verdensspråk og om kommunikasjon på tvers av kulturer med artige eksempler på hvor galt det kan gå når man ikke kjenner den kulturen man skal operere i. Novellen Johanna, diktene Bloody Men og The Road Not Taken er tekster som fungerer i oppstarten av et skoleår. Uten å være for vanskelig tilgjengelige, tar de opp emner som er greie å snakke om, enten det handler om å skulle ta valg i livet, eller om dikt og novelle som sjanger. Kapitlene om Storbritannia og USA har begge faktabokser og tidslinjer over amerikansk og britisk historie. Tekstene som omhandler historie gir en grei innføring i viktige begivenheter i landenes historie. I kapittelet om USA stoppes det opp ved 11. september i form av oppgaver og en lyttetekst og videre Vietnamkrigen i form av Tim O’Briens “The Ambush”. I tillegg er America the Beautiful og Home of the Brave tekster som gir en grei innføring i geografi og kultur. Teksten 13 Questions about Politics in the USA gir en kort og grei oversikt over det viktigste elevene bør ha fått med seg om amerikansk politikk Kapittelet om Storbritannia er bygd opp etter samme lest som det om USA: Fast Facts, sakprosatekster om historie, geografi og kul-

tur sammen med en tidslinje gir en grei innføring i det britiske samfunnet. Novellen “The Joker” gir et morsomt innblikk i britisk humor og væremåte. Kapittelet Ways of the World inneholder Fast Facts om Australia, Irland, India og Sør Afrika. Her er det med utvalget av tekster mye å gripe fatt i som jeg har erfaring for vil engasjere elevene. Det gjelder både den sterke novellen The Sniper av Liam O’Flaherty og Abel Phelps’ Head Work som på en litt underfundig måte tar for seg raseskilleproblematikken i Sør Afrika, og som sammen med de andre tekstene i dette kapittelet gir en mulighet til å ta små dykk inn i de ulike kulturene.

01 02 03 04 05

Det er ikke mye man kan rekke på en time i uka. Noen skoler tilbyr riktignok elevene en ekstra time i faget for å slippe å gjøre det helt meningsgløst, men uansett blir det begrensa hva man kan komme gjennom. Det blir sjelden tid til noe særlig prosjektarbeid eller fordypning i emner av interesse. I teksten Search for Information ligger det allikevel forslag til emner man kan velge mellom for å gå litt dypere inn i sider ved kultur eller historie. Dette sammen med språkoppgaver, rollespill, essayoppgaver med mer, gjør at det blir spennende å prøve Freeways ut på egne elever. Jeg må innrømme at jeg har stjålet litt fra Passage tidligere og lurt på hvorfor ingen brydde seg med å lage et tilsvarende læreverk for påbygningselevene. Nå har vi fått det, og jeg ser fram til å bruke det.

06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

? Ja, takk! Jeg vil gjerne stå som mottaker av fagavisen (gratis!) for engelsklærere. Skolens navn: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Skolens adresse: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Faglærerens navn:

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E-post adresse: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CAPPELEN UNDERVISNING, Videregående skole, Postboks 350 Sentrum, 0101 Oslo. Faksnummer: 22 36 50 46