Your English Supplement
Volume 1 10€
Discover the pleasure of learning
yes-mag.com | @yeszine
22
pages of exercises
More than 1 hour of audio to download
All about
You PSYCHOLOGY, YOUR BILINGUAL MIND, MULTIPLE YOUS, A BETTER YOU
Phrasal Verbs
Where do they come from?
Kruger National Park Time travel in South Africa
Robert De Niro The painters’ son
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Discover the pleasure of learning For more information visit
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General Contents
YES Issue No. 1
This page should help you to navigate the magazine in general. Notice that on pages 7, 23, 68, 89 and 111 there are more details for each section of the magazine.
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51
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56 Audio Download Code: To download the audio files for this issue, please go to the 'Downloads' page on www.yes-mag.com for instructions. You will need the code given above to access the files.
4 6
How to Use Your English Supplement Editor’s Comment
7 8 10 12 15 18 20
Current Affairs Contents News & Anecdotes Language News & Anecdotes Science News Economics Internet: Ageism Politics: Drones
23 24 25 30 35 44 47 51 56 58 60 62 66 67
Culture Contents Sports: Getting a Goose Egg Feature: All About You Travel: Kruger National Park, South Africa The London Underground Dossier Art: Victorian Fairy Painting The Supernatural: the Cottingley Fairies Poetry: Browning’s My Last Duchess Life: The Barnacle Goose & the Goose Barnacle Explorers & Adventurers: Margaret Fountaine Philosophy: Learned Leisure Cinema: Robert de Niro Food: Culinary Nationalism Song: Freak Mummy’s The Ray
68 69 70 72 73 74 76 78 79 82
Grammar Contents Grammar Focus: Surely English in Context: Tubespeak Pronunciation: Explaining ‘Spain’ & ‘Britain’ Confusing Words: oblige vs. obligate The origins of Phrasal Verbs US vs. UK: you (plural) False Friends: Dead Bodies Goose Idioms Wordplay: Bahuvrihi
84 85 86
Visualizing Vocabulary Subscription Information Picture Description
89 88
Audio Scripts Contents Audio Scripts
111 112
Exercises Contents Exercises
134 135
Staff and contact addresses In the next issue
www.yes-mag.com // facebook.com/YesZine // @yeszine YES 1 | 3
of the Dead
The Tube can also be macabre...
How to Use Your English Supplement
Death on the Tracks
Metro systems the world over1 attract the suicidal. Underground workers use the euphemism ‘a one-under’ to refer to someone who has thrown himself or herself under a Tube train. 2 King’s Cross and Victoria stations attract the most suicides.
There was in North L ging4 unde – hundred Black Deat
Symbols
Each page-long article in the magazine has been created to be used more or less independently so that you can learn and practise even if you only have five or ten minutes free. At the same time, the symbols below allow you to develop a theme you are interested in more extensively. Teachers can use these symbols to instantly prepare a class or classes around a common theme.
Spectral
Photo by Tzortzis
Exercise (at the end of the magazine). Test and consolidate what you have learned.
The Grea
Speaking extension. A question aimed at provoking a group discussion of the topic in question.
Meanwhil ghosts. Th at Farringd pieces by h Sarah Whi Philip, was searching said to vis death11 in a noisy –bu
Follow
the world the world in New Yo macabre; ‘track pizz 3 to be mea posed to b 4 to dig (dig 5 to run into – encounter 6 plague pi 1
2
Downloadable audio file (see also audio scripts). There are recommendations on how best to use the audio files on p. 87.
This arrow directs you to other related articles in the magazine.
Photo by Sunil060902
69-70
23
6
Abbreviations Key Listening extension (Internet). Once you’ve learned the basic vocabulary of a topic, why not listen to further discussions? 4 | YES 1
These are the only abbreviations you have to know to use this magazine: sb. = somebody sth. = something swh. = somewhere [U] = uncountable noun [C] = countable noun
Metro systems the world over attract the suicidal. Underground workers use the euphemism ‘a one-under’ to refer to someone who has thrown himself or herself under a Tube train. 2 King’s Cross and Victoria stations attract the most suicides.
Footnotes
Photo by Fish Gravy
The Great Pestilence There was meant to be3 a Tube station at Muswell Hill in North London. Unfortunately, when they started digging4 underground they ran into5 a massive plague pit6 – hundreds of skeletons of people who had died of the Black Death.
The superscript numbers in the text refer to the footnotes at the bottom or at the side of the same page. The footnotes explain the difficult vocabulary as determined by our non-native Spectral Stations proofreaders. Like you, these proofMeanwhile7, four stations are all said to be haunted8 by readers are learners so they are able ghosts. The ‘Screaming Spectre’ of Anne Naylor appears to identify the exact words you need at Farringdon Station. She was murdered and cut into to know to understand the sentence. pieces by her mistress9 in 1758. Bank Station is home to Definitions are given in English, so that Sarah Whitehead’s ghost. She was a nun10 whose brother, you learn to think in English and these Philip, was executed in 1811. Her phantom is supposedly definitions are then checked by the Photo by Tzortzis searching for him. The spirit of actor William Terriss is non-native proofreaders to ensure that said to visit Convent Garden Tube. He was stabbed to you will understand them. Some words death11 in 1897. Finally, Elephant & Castle is said to have are defined by pictures: we use these a noisy –but invisible– ghost. visual stimuli when that is the best way to fix an idea in your memory. Read Follow-on: www.underground-history.co.uk the definition or look at the illustration and then re-read the sentence in question. By working with English-language 1 the world over – all around for victims of the Bubonic footnotes you will rapidly increase the world Plague 2 7 your vocabulary and learn how Engin New York they are more meanwhile – at the same time 8 to haunt – (of ghosts) frequent macabre; the term there is lish words relate to each other, all of 9 mistress – (in this case) ‘track pizza’! which will have a dramatic impact on 3 to be meant to be – be supfemale boss, lady in whose 1 your fluency and self-confidence . posed to be house one works as a servant 4 10 Some readers find it useful to put to dig (dig-dug-dug) – excavate nun – religious woman who 5 to run into (run-ran-run) typically lives in a convent their finger next to the word in the 11 to stab sb. to death – kill sb. – encounter article that they are looking for in the 6 plague pit – common grave with a dagger/knife footnotes to make it easier to return Photo by Sunil060902 to the text afterwards. Either way, it YES 1 | 37 be6 difficult to find your place 69-70 shouldn’t 23 because the footnotes are numbered and the words are highlighted in bold. Notice that the syllables and words that should be stressed2 are underlined. Red footnotes give extra cultural (rather than linguistic) information, 1 self-confidence – self-assurance (opposite of ‘self-doubt’, ‘hesitancy’) 2 or they refer you to other articles. to stress sth. – emphasize, underline
Phonemic Symbols Here are the phonemic symbols that we use which might cause you problems.
Consonants
/ʧ/ as in church, watch /ʃ/ as in wash, sure, action /ʤ/ as in judge, gesture /ʒ/ as in measure, vision /j/ as in yes /θ/ as in thick, path /ð/ as in this, breathe /ŋ/ as in sing
Pure Vowels
/æ/ as in cat /ʌ/ as in cut /ə/ as in occur, supply, aroma /ɜ:/ as in first, turn, earn /ɔ:/ as in court, warn
Dipthongs
/iə/ as in ear, here /eə/ as in air, there
YES 1 | 5
Editor’s Note
Improvements
The slogan we have been using during the launch of this new project has been “discover the pleasure of learning”. This is not an empty3 marketing catchphrase4. If you are reading this you have already spent several years learning English and you know that the process of acquiring a language, any second language, is never easy and rarely fun. We avoid5 these glib6 words. What we can promise, or at least strive for7, is to offer material that is rewarding8. Too much EFL9 material is anodyne. Our goal10 is to offer you texts to read, and audio files to listen to, which would be interesting for someone who already knew English and was just11 reading for pleasure; in other words material that we would find interesting. Our experience has taught us that you will only make the effort to read and listen in English – arduous activities in themselves – if what you are reading offers more than just words in context.
Nicholas Franklin
Your English Supplement
leisure /ˈleʒə/ (UK English), /ˈli:ʒər/ (US English) – personal time, (as opposed to ‘work’) 2 burial /’beriəl/ – inhumation, sepulture, interment 3 empty – meaningless, void, insubstantial 4 catchphrase – slogan 5 to avoid – try not to use 6 glib – (in this case) easy to use but insincere 7 to strive for (strive-strovestriven) – try to achieve 8 rewarding – gratifying, enriching, that 1
Leisure without literature is death and burial for a living man 6 | YES 1
Seneca the Younger
Editor // nick@yes-mag.com
ISSUE No. 01
Discover the Difference
Some of you will be aware of12 our previous magazine. Over 14 years we have assembled a formidable team of hard-working professionals who are passionate about English and Anglo culture. There is a vast amount of13 experience that we bring to Your English Supplement. However, this magazine is more than just a continuation. We have made some fundamental conceptual changes. The first is concision. Each page of the magazine is selfcontained, so it can be read separately, though consecutive pages may elaborate on14 the same theme. Similarly, the audio files are shorter than previously. The idea is to present the material in ‘bite-sized’ 15 chunks16, so you can take advantage of free moments in the day to practise your English without having to dedicate long periods of concentration. If reading and listening require less effort, you should be willing to17 do them more often. Finally, we have come to the conclusion that there is no point producing an excellent magazine unless the customer-service is also of the highest quality. We hope you will notice the difference in this area too.
compensates an effort EFL – English as a foreign language 10 goal – objective 11 just – (in this case) simply 12 to be aware of – be conscious of 13 a vast amount of – a great deal of, a lot of 14 to elaborate on – expand on, develop 15 bite-sized – easily digestible 16 chunk – piece, section 17 to be willing to – be prepared to, be ready to
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Current Affairs
This section of the magazine offers...
20 21 22
Politics: Drones – killing with impunity - a new kind of warfare Politics: Hummingbirds, Predators and Reapers - the taxonomy of unmanned aerial vehicles4 Politics: Drones on the Home Front - how unmanned aerial vehicles4 will change your life Exercise 8
Speaking & Listening Extension
8 News - a couple of serious news stories associated with some of the themes developed later in the magazine. 9 Anecdotes - several humorous anecdotes that have appeared in the media over the last month or so. 10 Language News - news from the world of linguistics and language learning. 11 Language Anecdotes - a few humorous anecdotes relating to the world of language and literature. 12 Science News: Health - the results of the latest medical research 13 Science News: Animal Behaviour - the most recent discoveries from the world of animal psychology 14 Science News: Psychology - the news as regards1 human psychology Exercise 3 15 16 17 18 19
Behavioural Economics: Why Sales are irresistible - the psychology of bargain buys2 Economics: Volos – innovating against austerity - some good news from the frontline in Greece The Economics of Altruism - Want to be happy? Give some money away Exercise 5 Internet: Too Young for Facebook? - when should children start using social media? Internet: Will Social Media Alienate the Elderly? - a look at the ageism3 inherent in cyberspace
8
Try to think of reasons why crime in New York (and the USA) has fallen so much since the early 1990s. In Freakonomics [Penguin, 2006] Levitt & Dubner associate the fall in the crime rate with the legalization of abortion in the USA 20 years earlier. Do you accept this argument?
10
Are some names a disadvantage in your society? Which? Why – what are they associated with?
14
In your experience is it better to be an elder sibling, a younger sibling or an only child?
17
Do you agree that giving money away could make you happier? What are the economic and work-related keys to happiness?
18-19 The writer of the Internet articles suggests that the very young should be protected from the Internet, while the very old should be urged to use it – do you agree? 22 Group chat: elaborate a law (in everyday English) to control the use of drones for civilian and military purposes. If you had a drone, what would you use it for? TED Talk video: http://goo.gl/WS5B3
as regards – in terms of, in relation to bargain buy – discount, sales acquisition 3 ageism – prejudice against old people 4 unmanned aerial vehicle – drone 1
2
YES 1 | 7
Politics
Drones: Killing with Impunity “There is a danger of an incremental and involuntary journey towards1 a Terminator-like reality.”
I
f the statement 2 above came from some cable TV documentary it would be easy to dismiss3 it as scaremongering4. However, it actually5 comes from a report published by Britain’s Ministry of Defence. The comment refers to Unmanned 6 Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), popularly known as ‘drones’ /drounz/. Military UAVs serve two purposes: spying and killing – many do both. Drones come7 in all sizes: the smallest are the size of a laptop8, the largest9 has a wingspan10 of over 100 metres. This giant is designed to fly nonstop for five years! Most are fixed-wing aircraft11 but some of the small ones are more like helicopters and hover12. These ‘quadrotors’ are amazingly manoeuvrable being able to fly through or around almost any obstacle. towards – in the direction of, to statement – declaration, assertion 3 to dismiss sth. – reject sth., not take sth. seriously 4 scaremongering – alarmism 5 actually – (false friend) in fact, really 6 unmanned – with nobody onboard, remote-controlled 7 to come (come-came-come) – (in this case) exist 8 laptop – portable computer (similar to a tablet) 9 the largest – (false friend) the biggest
The Appeal of UAVs
Why have unmanned 6 planes been the great focus of military technology over the last decade? The reason is obvious and chilling 13 : drones offer total controlabillity, long-range impunity and deniability14 . Most importantly, UAVs avoid body bags15 being shipped16 home. The military PR17 people say that targets18 are pinpointed19 with incredible precision by highly trained professional remote pilots (who are thousands of kilometres away in a control centre in Nevada).
The Case Against Drones
However, critics say that drones appeal to20 the ‘Prince Harry generation’ raised on21 videogames who avoid taking any moral responsibility
Drone mock-up by Mike Young
wingspan – fixed-wing aircraft – aeroplanes (a opposed to helicopters) 12 to hover – be floating in the air but not moving 13 chilling – alarming, terrifying 14 deniability – the possibility to say that one is not responsible for sth. 15 body bag – big bag in which the cadaver of a soldier is transported 16 to ship sth. – transport sth., carry sth.
Photo by TSgt Russell E. Cooley IV
for their actions because they are in no danger. This impression is strengthened by the fact that the “drone pilots call the moment of the kill a ‘bug splat’22 because of the way it looks on their screens23”24 . It is no surprise that the world’s great warmonger25 nations – the USA, the UK and Israel – are the countries at the bleeding edge26 of drone technology. However, some 40 countries are believed to be trying to buy or develop their own drones. PR (adj.) – public-relations target – (false friend/in this case) victim 19 to pinpoint – locate, detect, identify 20 to appeal to – be attractive for 21 to raise sb. on – rear sb. on, bring sth. up to be accustomed to 22 bug splat – the fragmentation of an insects body on a windscreen of a moving car 23 screen – monitor 24 The Independent of Sunday 29/04/2012 25 warmonger (adj.) – belligerent, bellicose 26 at the bleeding edge – at the cutting edge, at the forefront, in the vanguard
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p. 7
p. 5
Culture
Speaking & Listening Extension 25
“The only normal people are the ones you don’t know very well.” (Joe Ancis) – Do you agree?
26
Does self-quantifying sound attractive to you?
27
Are people that speak more than one language generally wiser and more tolerant than monolinguals?
28
Would you describe the cohort born between 1980 and 2000 in your country as ‘Generation Me’ or ‘Generation generous’?
29
Would you like you if you met yourself?
30-34
Plan a trip to show a foreigner the wildlife in your country. Where would you go? What would you hope to see?
35-37
Do you know any interesting history, myths or urban legends related to the metro system nearest to where you live?
44-46
“Fairy pictures became popular because photography had robbed realism from painting” – do you think this is a reasonable explanation of the Victorian genre?
47-50
Is belief in fairies any less respectable than belief in ghosts or other supernatural beings?
51-54
The text describes the dramatic monologue, My Last Duchess, as a mini-play? Do you think it would make a good short film? Video: recital of the poem on YouTube at: http://goo.gl/B6oZh
This section of the magazine offers...
24 Sports: Goose Eggs Exercise 30 25-29 Feature: All about You You’re so special; a better you; your two minds; Generation Me; Multiple Yous Exercise 7 30-34 Travel: Kruger National Park, South Africa Exercises 26, 31 35-43 Dossier: Everything You Need to Know about the London Underground Tube history; the etymology of station names; pronouncing station names; cooling the Tube Exercises 6, 14, 24 | Track 8 44-46 Art: Victorian Fairy Painting Exercise 21 47-50
The Supernatural: The Cottingley Fairies Exercise 27
51-55 Poetry: Browning’s My Last Duchess Exercise 25 56-57
Barnacle Geese & Goose Barnacles Exercise 2
58-59 Explorers: Margaret Fountaine – the Butterfly Collector
60-61
Do you agree that there is a crisis of ideas alongside the World Financial Crisis?
60-61 Philosophy: Learned Leisure
62-65
“Robert De Niro has wasted a large part of his considerable talent first doing too many mafia movies and secondly trying to do comedy” – do you agree?
62-65 Cinema: Robert de Niro Exercise 18 66 Food: Culinary Nationalism 67 Song: Freak Mummy’s The Ray Exercise 23 | Track 14
YES 1 | 23
History
The Tube in the 20th Century
A Tubular Belle1 A hundred years ago a woman gave birth to a baby girl on the Bakerloo Line. Not only did she ask Henry Stanley, the owner of the line, to be her daughter’s godfather but she christened2 the child Thelma Ursula Beatrice Eleanor, so that she would never forget that she had been born on the Tube.
The Blitz 3
West End London air raid shelter belle – beautiful young girl to christen – baptize, name 3 the Blitz – the intense bombing of London by the German air force between September 1940 and May 1941 4 one’s finest hour – one’s moment of greatest glory 5 to concede – capitulate 6 bomb shelter – refuge from explosions 7 lending library – institution that lets people borrow books 8 canteen – institution that offers hot food 9 first-aid post – place where sb. can receive immediate basic treatment for a lesion 1
2
36 | YES 1
bucket – pail (US English) 11 cramped – congested 12 to smell awful – have a terrible odour 13 death trap – (in this case) building in which people are especially vulnerable 14 when X suffered the same fate – when the same thing happened at X 15 lighted match – 16 to drop sth. – let sth. fall 17 to murder – kill 10
The London Underground’s ‘finest hour’4 was when it protected hundreds of thousands of Londoners from the Blitz23. The authorities originally tried to stop people from spending the night on the Tube platforms. However, it was impossible to stop people buying platform tickets and then refusing to leave, so in the end the authorities had to concede 5. 79 stations were used as bomb shelters6 by 117,000 people per night. Once the routine was established, people began organizing themselves into station committees, with their own lending libraries7, canteens 8 and first-aid posts9. However, some stations did not have public toilets, so the choice was to use a bucket10 or catch the Tube to the next station with a WC. Many people talk nostalgically about the Blitz spirit but the Underground stations were uncomfortable, cramped11 and smelt awful12 . The Tube undoubtedly saved tens of thousands of lives but it could also be a death trap13. In 1940 there was a direct hit on Balham Station and 68 people were killed. Another hundred or so died when Bank Station suffered the same fate14.
Hell Again The London Underground hasn’t escaped major tragedy in recent decades either. 31 people died on 18th November 1987 when a lighted match15 dropped16 by a smoker caused a fire at King’s Cross. 41 people were murdered17 by three suicide bombers on 7th July 2005 the day after London won the right to celebrate the 2012 Olympics. Half of the victims died at King’s Cross. 6
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70-71
Grammar
This section of the magazine offers...
69 Grammar Focus: Surely - It’s a favourite word with native English speakers but can you use ‘surely’ correctly? English in Context: ‘Mind the Gap’ and more Tube talk 71 Practical Info: how to use the Tube - Do you have the vocabulary and knowledge that are necessary to use the London Underground?
70
Word Building: Bahuvrihi – the god of compounds 83 Word Building: Bahuvrihis and euphony - It sounds like a spicy curry but in fact it’s a common way of making compound words. 82
84 Visualizing Vocabulary: bird words - 22 pictures to satisfy the dormant ornithologist in you!
72 Pronunciation: explaining ‘Spain’ and ‘Britain’ - What are the rules relating to the pronunciation of -ain? 73 Confusing Words: oblige or obligate? - What’s the difference between these two verbs for Anglos? 74 Phrasal Verbs: the origins of phrasal verbs 75 Phrasal Verbs: how new phrasal verbs appear - Where do phrasal verbs come from? 76 US vs. UK: using yous in the US 77 US vs. UK: a very British ‘you’ - British and American English have different strategies for ‘you’ (plural). 78 False Friends: over my dead body - Telling the difference between ‘copse’, ‘corpse’ and ‘corps’ isn’t always easy. 79 Idioms: take a gander at this 80 Idioms: on a wild goose chase 81 Idioms: geese and gooseberries - Honk if you1 can use these everyday expressions! 1
68 | YES 1
this is wordplay. In the USA protesters often hold up placards to drivers which say “Honk if you [agree with what they are protesting about]”. In that context ‘honk’ means “use your car horn/hooter”. However, ‘honk’ is also what geese do when they make a short loud cacophonous noise.
Phrasal Verbs
How New Phrasal Verbs Appear Emphatic Particles Many particles don’t actually1 change the meaning of the verb other than making it more emphatic. We can say, “The therapist’s sitting room doubled up as2 her office”. However, the sentence would not be fundamentally different if we leave out3 ‘up’4 . Similarly, in the phrase “The music drowned out 5 his words”, ‘out’ could be omitted. Often the emphatic particle is used to create a euphonic effect6 .
It's bucketing down.
Photo by Marina Carresi
Function Shift English happily turns7 nouns and adjectives into verbs without changing their form. Often the particle is added to help identify the word as a verb. e.g. It’s going to bucket down8 any minute. e.g. I bet she9 she buddies up to10 you. Of course, the particle doesn’t always help. Take the World War II headline11: FIFTH ARMY PUSH BOTTLES UP GERMANS. This was not an admission of British torture tactics. The headline means “the advance (= push) of the Fifth Army has bottled up (= restricted the movement of) the Weimar12”.
Extensions on Existing Phrasal Verbs Sometime in the 16th Century people started saying ‘to side with somebody’ 13 rather than14 ‘to take somebody’s side’ 15. Once this idea became established, ‘to side against’ naturally became the phrasal verb’s opposite. More recently, the adjective ‘dumb’ 16 became a phrasal verb as ‘to dumb down’ 17. Once we have the concept of dumbing down we almost inevitably need an antonym. This couldn’t be ‘to dumb up’ because the meaning of ‘dumb’ is too strong. So, the opposite of ‘dumb down’ emerged as ‘to brain up’ 18. e.g. We need to brain up the magazine; it’s getting too simplistic!
Fifth Army push bottles up Germans actually – (false friend) really, in fact 2 to double up as – be also used as 3 to leave out (leave-left-left) – omit 4 ‘up’ seems to play this emphatic role more than any other particle 5 to drown sth. (out) – not let sth. be heard 6 for example both ‘double up’ and ‘drown out’ offer 1
assonance to turn – (in this context) convert 8 to bucket down – rain heavily; ‘down’ doesn’t really add to the meaning – rain always falls! A bucket (= pail) 9 I bet she – (in this case) I’m sure/certain she will, I predict she will
7
to buddy up to sb. – try to befriend, ingratiate oneself with. The phrasal verb is formed from the informal noun ‘buddy’ (= friend) 11 headline – title of an article in a newspaper 12 the Weimar – the German army 13 to side with sb. – defend sb’s position, be in favour of sb. 14 rather than – as opposed to, instead of 10
to take sb’s side (take-tooktaken) – side with sb.13 16 dumb – (US English) stupid 17 to dumb sth. down – (excessively) simplify sth. so that anyone can understand it 18 to brain sth. up – make sth. more intellectually demanding and sophisticated. ‘Brain’ suggests intelligence; for example, ‘brainy’ means ‘clever’, ‘intelligent’ 15
YES 1 | 75
Audio Scripts
The following pages contain the transcriptions of what is spoken on the audio files.
Spoken-English Tips
Spoken English is significantly different from the written language: A more limited vocabulary is generally used and it is, by definition, more colloquial. Moreover1, spoken English uses many more incomplete or badly constructed sentences. On the other hand, intonation and stress can be used in speech.
How to Use the Audio Scripts
Follow our eight-step process to get the most out of the audio scripts:
1
2
3 4 5 6 7 8
Before you listen we recommend that you read through the relevant section of the footnotes2 (not the text itself). This should give you some idea of the subject3 and help you to understand the more difficult vocabulary as you listen.
Yes No. 1 Track List Mini-debates (13m37s) 1. Should 16-year-olds Get the Vote? (4m30s) 2. Should Homework be Banned? (4m35s) 3. Should the Scouts be Forced to Accept George Pratt? (4m31s) Monologues: Things I Find Hard to Do (19m21s) 4. Monologue 1 [US English] (4m31s) 5. Monologue 2 [Welsh English] (5m09s) 6. Monologue 3 [Scottish English] (4m48s) 7. Monologue 4 [British English] (4m50s) 8. Pronunciation: Pronouncing Tube Station Names (4m41s)
When you listen the first time, don’t expect to understand everything; listening practice should not be a painful4 process. Simply see how much meaning you can extract from the recording.
Dialogue Improvisations (16m33s) 9. The Eyewitness (2m36s) 10. The Creative Urge (5m38s) 11. The Prisoner’s Dilemma (4m01s) 12. The Haggler (4m16s)
Listen more times going back to the footnotes to integrate the information you have.
13. Interview with Freak Mummy’s Gisele Lau (7m01s) 14. Song: They Ray (4m55s)
Once you understand reasonably well, do the relevant exercise.
Finally, read the audio scripts as you listen again. 15. Pronunciation: Explaining Spain & Britain (4m09s) 16. Picture Description (3m57s) 17. Dictation (8m28s)
Stop each time you get lost or encounter a structure that interests or confuses you.
Total time: 1h22m46s
Repeat words or phrases whose pronunciation surprises you.
Two or three days later, listen to the text again without reading to see if your understanding has improved5.
This process is intense and time-consuming. However, it will eventually6 solve the problem most learners have of relating7 the spoken word to the written. Once you’ve done that, the rest is easy!
moreover – what’s more, furthermore footnotes – notes at the bottom of the page (in this box) 3 subject (n.) – (in this context) theme 4 painful – (in this context) arduous, unpleasant 5 to improve – get better 6 eventually – (false friend) in the end 7 to relate – associate, connect, link 1
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YES 1 | 87
Audio scripts
Mini-Debates
Listen to these people talking about things in the news.
(13m37s)
1. Should 16-year-olds Get the Vote? (4m30s) Englishman (EM): There’s 1 a couple of2 interesting topics3 here. American man 1 (AM1): Yeah? EM: It says that in Scotland, I don’t know if this is going to be for their referendum, it’ll be interesting if it is. But they’re thinking of introducing votes for 16-year-olds. AM1: 16-year-olds! That’s pretty4 young, isn’t it? American man 2 (AM2): Well, the first thing that makes me think of5 is – it could be an opportunity that we don’t have with over-18s which is, because 6 they’re not legal adults, we could impose upon them to have – sort of7 – a bit of a course to educate them about candidates and about issues8 and things so that they can vote in an informed way. Something you can’t impose on adults but maybe you could impose on schoolaged children. EM: Well, most of them aren’t taxpayers, so they’re going to be voting – sort of7 – idealistically and voting according to the pop stars that tell them which way to vote and things like that, aren’t they? AM1: They’re not legally adults, are they? there’s – (in this case/informal) there are a couple of – several, various 3 topic – (false friend) theme, question, matter 4 pretty (adv.) – quite, rather, surprisingly 5 that makes me think of – of/about which that makes me think (formal)
English woman (EW): Well there are legal parents9. I mean10, there are a lot of 16-year-old parents in Scotland and England. EM: Well, I think… yeah this is the whole problem. The problem is: where does adulthood start? I mean 10, you can have sex when you’re 16. EW: Yeah, you can smoke. EM: You can smoke. AM1: Can you drink? EM: In some circumstances. EW: They do, especially in Scotland. It’s very cold over there. EM: Whether11 they can or not. EW: Yeah. EM: But – I mean10 – there’s… in Scotland I think there the age of… whatever it’s called… the age of responsibility or whatever, legally is eight years old. So – I mean10 – I think one of the problems is... is that you have this – sort of7 – slippery slope12 of responsibilities and rights and… AM2: I would say it’s – sort of7 – a tiered13 process, adulthood. I wouldn’t say that there is one age that is blanket14 cut-off for childhood. EW: It depends on the person, yeah. AM2: Yeah. because – (in this case) given that, since, as sort of – (pause filler) kind of, like, y’know, I mean 8 issue – (in this case) question, controversy 9 parents – (false friend) mothers and fathers 10 I mean – (pause filler) y’know, kind of, sort of, like
Photo by Juan Macua
whether – if (but ‘if’ cannot be used before ‘or’) slippery slope – (in this case) continuum on which it is difficult to define specific points 13 tiered /tiərd/ – graded, staggered, in stages 14 blanket (adj.) – indiscriminate, overall, general, all-inclusive, universal
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88 | YES 1
11
Exercises
Page 121 122
Page
Exercise
112
1. Illustrations round-up: see if you can identify all the objects and actions illustrated in the footnotes of this issue. 2. Barnacle goose reading comprehension: how well did you understand the articles on pp. 56-57?
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3. Title Tag: can you match these alternative titles to the news and science articles on pp. 8-14? 4. Bahuvrihi: find out what you’ve learned from pp. 82-83. 5. Economics: reading comprehension for the three articles on pp. 15-17.
125
19. False Friends: test how well you have understood p. 78 20. False Friends Round-Up: review the false friends identified in the footnotes. 21. Homophones: find the misused homophones in this extension of the article on Victorian fairy painting (pp. 44-46) 22. Internet Listening: test your listening comprehension of this fascinating talk. 23. Song: can you complete Freak Mummy’s song from p. 67? 24. Etymology: do you remember where these Tube-station names come from? This exercise revises pp. 38-40. 25. Poetry: complete this extract from Robert Browning’s great poem (pp. 52-53).
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26. Reading Comprehension: did you understand the article on Kruger National Park on pp. 30-34? 27. Wordplay: another word game relating to the article about fairies on pp. 47-50.
6. Word Search: find words relating to the London Underground. This exercise relates to pp. 35-43 and pp. 70-71.
115
7. Prepositions: fill the gaps in this text relating to the Sports article (p. 24) with prepositions 8. Reading comprehension: check your understanding of the articles on drones on pp. 20-22.
116
9. Crossword for general vocabulary revision.
117
10. Sentence transformation for general syntax revision.
118
11. Debates: listening comprehension for audio tracks 1-3.
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12. Visualizing Vocabulary: revise p. 84.
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13. Pronunciation: test your understanding of p. 72. 14. Pronunciation: can you correctly pronounce the Tube-station names from pp. 42-43 15. Pronunciation round-up: review the difficult words from the footnotes
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28. Idioms: complete these sentences containing goose-related idioms from pp. 79-81.
129
29. Listening comprehension for the monologues (audio tracks 4-7). 30. Sports jargon: related to the article on p. 24.
16. Word game: test your vocabulary and understanding of English morphology 17. Phrasal Verbs Round-up: how many new phrasal verbs have you learned this month? 18. Cinema: a general knowledge quiz about actor Robert de Niro (featured on pp. 62-65).
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Exercise
31. Map exercise: a bit of topography relating to the travel article (pp. 30-34). 32. Reading comprehension: train your ears with this exercise relating to the Dialogues (audio tracks 9-12).
131-133 ANSWERS
YES 1 | 111
Crossword
1
2
10
Test how well you have retained the vocabulary from this issue of Yes by doing the following crossword
If you find the crossword difficult, do the easy clues (in bold italic) first. This will make the rest of the words much easier to find.
0
1. a type of crustacean. Anagram of ‘balancer’ 10. indefinite article 11. if not. Anagram of ‘white rose’ 12. sagacious 15. evident 16. you and me 17. a male goose; a look. Anagram of ‘danger’ and ‘garden’ 21. skulk, loiter, hide 23. overseas. Anagram of ‘aboard’ 24. wide 25. thoroughfare. Homophone of ‘rode’ 26. advertisement (abbreviation) 27. other, more. Anagram of ‘eels’ 28. London School of Economics (initialsm) 30. Palestine Liberation Organization (initialism) 31. zero in some sports 33. rail networks for streetcars 34. methods, paths. Anagram of ‘sway’ 37. tuberculosis (abbreviation) 41. practical joke, prank, trick, imposture 42. chopping tool (US English) 43. ditty, track, number. Anagram of ‘snog’ 116 | YES 1
4
7
8
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14
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0
19
20
0
0
21
26
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27
28
23
24
29
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0
31
32
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33
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37
38
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0
41
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45
47
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11
18
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5
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17
40
Across
3
25
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16
30
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45. substantive, nominal word 46. exclamation 47. quantity 48. hill; get onto 49. explode, rupture 51. mesh, web 52. exhibit, show 53. spread, open 54. theatrical work; recreation 55. place, set; past of ‘lie’
Down 1. discount, sale 2. same as 10 ACROSS 3. negative adverb; homophone of ‘know’ 4. @ 5. combination of several musical notes. Homophone of ‘cord’ 6. London Electricity Board (initialism); Lebanon (abbreviation) 7. exercise radionuclide ventriculography (initialism)
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42
22
0 0
0
34
35
36
0
39
43
49
52
53
54
8. devout, saintly 9. writing table 12. type of tree; girl’s name 13. it must be the case that 14. enlist, join. Anagram of ‘loner’ 17. obtain, acquire 18. airbag; antibody (abbreviations) 19. auxiliary verb; musical note 20. going in an easterly direction 22. American 27. species of tree 28. depressed; opposite of ‘high’ 29. preposition – fashionable? 30. dad – annually (Latin initialism) 32. same as 29 DOWN 35. commotion, fuss 36. ability to see; monument. Homophone of ‘site’ 37. archaic ‘you’ 38. leap; tied up 39. same as 19 down. Together – extinct bird 40. sum of credit. Homophone of ‘lone’
0 44
0
48
51
13
15
0
9
46
50
55
0
42. prefix meaning ‘against’ 43. eternal spirit. Homophone of ‘sole’ 44. prying, inquisitive, intrusive 45. negative adverb. Homophone of ‘knot’ 47. same as 2 DOWN 48. object pronoun 49. British Petroleum (initialism) 50. Egyptian sun god
In the Next Issue of Your English Supplement
Food You Are What You Eat Health How to lose weight sensibly
Photo by Zeug
Politics Fat Tax – are the food corporations killing us?
Travel
Health
Myanmar-Burma – Asia’s best-kept secret
Food adulteration – hope it’s just horsemeat!
Sports Competitive eating competitions – death or glory
History A potted history of food – featuring Confucius, Genghis Khan, Cardinal Richelieu and Jamie Oliver
Meat Decision time
Art Still Life – the painted lunch
Photo by Belén Gutiérrez
Biography
also...
Mrs Beeton – the most influential Anglo woman ever
Poetry
+
Grammar for foodies
Wordsworth’s Daffodils
Cinema Ethnicity at the movies – from blacking up to colour-blind casting
Plus loads more stuff on economics, internet, science, news, language etc. which we haven’t decide yet!