The Amish don’t pollute the Earth

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Track 26

Read the text once and do the exercise below. Which paragraph talks about

1. what technology the Amish use? 2. when the Amish moved to North America? 3. what they sell to tourists? 4. how they dress? 5. what their way of life is based on?

READING

A Can you imagine life without cars, TVs, computers, the Internet or cinemas and night clubs? If you happen to travel through Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA, you will meet people who live without all these things. They don’t have electricity and they use horses instead of cars. This is the way that the Amish, as they call themselves, have chosen to live.

B The Amish are a religious group that was started in the 1720s in Europe. They are united by their beliefs. As a result of persecution, the Amish began to immigrate to North America in the 18th century. Three quarters of all Amish are located in just three states: Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. Most of them live in rural areas.

C

The Bible is the sacred book of the Amish people. In addition to the Bible, there are unwritten rules on which Amish people base their morals and way of life. Traditions have been passed down from generation to generation and have kept the Amish lifestyle stable. An Amish is taught to be reserved, modest, calm, quiet, and to respect others in the community. They are taught a modest way of acting, talking, dressing, and walking. There are regulations about customs such as dress. Men wear black suits, plain shirts and black hats and look like they are from the eighteenth century. Women don’t follow fashion trends and are not allowed to cut their hair, or wear jewellery or make-up.

D Amish people keep the outside world out of their lives and they live independently in their own communities. Amish parents don’t like their children going to large schools away from their farming community. They even have their own schools, which usually have only one classroom with an

old stove in the middle of it to heat it in the winter. Children learn nothing about the world outside their community and they do not continue their education beyond the eighth grade of junior school.

E They don’t want to modernise themselves, but no matter how hard they try to avoid it, technology is slowly creeping into their way of life. Most Amish communities now have one telephone box for emergencies and perhaps one tractor for very hard work, but they still don’t use electricity. However, they welcome tourists, although they don’t like people taking photographs of them. In summer, Lancaster, which has become the centre of Amish tourism, is visited by millions of people. They sell things to tourists that they have made by hand (they are famous for their furniture, quilts and homemade food).

Glossary

persecution – suffering because of one’s political or religious beliefs rural – connected with the countryside sacred – something that is believed to be holy community – a group of people of the same religion, race, occupation or interests stove – an apparatus for heating rooms emergency – a sudden situation asking for immediate reaction quilt – a thick covering for a bed to creep – to go very slowly, so as to be almost unnoticed

COMPREHENSION

In the text, find the sentences that give the following information: 1. The way the Amish live differs from the way of life of the average American family. 2. The recognizable characteristics of the Amish. 3. The importance of tradition in their lives. 4. The way they dress. 5. They don’t teach their children about life in other communities. 6. They use some of the inventions of the modern world. 7. They are good at making things by hand.

VOCABULARY

a cb

1 Complete the sentences by using the highlighted words in the text.

1. She is far from a ______________ girl. She uses make-up a lot, and wears very attractive dresses and shoes with high heels. 2. I knew that he was a __________ person, but I didn’t know which religion he belonged to.

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3. ‘His family moved to a ____________ area.’ – ‘Ah, I knew that they loved the countryside.’ 4. The room is cold. Why don’t you ________________ it more? 5. Only break the window in ________________.

2 Look at this example from the text. Then study the expressions you can make with the words from the box. • They sell things to tourists they made by hand.

at

hand in shake

get out of free luggage change

HAND(S)

on the other second

3 Complete the sentences by using one of the expressions in the box.

1. Stella has bought a very nice dress in a ____________________________ shop. 2. When I meet Cameron we don’t kiss, we only ____________________________. 3. They are deeply in love; they always walk ________________________. 4. You can only take ______________________onto the plane. 5. I have been given a_______________________ to redecorate his room.

PHRASAL VERBS with HAND

Study the meanings of the phrasal verbs (1-3) and complete the sentences below using the correct preposition.

1. hand over 2. hand out 3. hand in a. to give up control or possession of something to someone b. distribute; give (something) to several or many people c. give (something) to a person in authority

1. The teacher handed ______ the exam papers to the students. 2. The robbers told the clerk to hand __________ all the money. 3. Students should hand their papers _________ on Thursday. 4. It’s my job to hand ________ the flyers advertising the new supermarket. 5. They formally hand _________ power to the new government next week.

Useful language

Study the following phrases:

Not only … but also – She isn’t only a clever girl, but also a very beautiful one. In addition to… – In addition to my homework, I have a project in biology. No matter how… – No matter how hard he worked, the results were the same.

WORD FORMATION

1 The following word formation table shows some common prefixes and suffixes used to form verbs. suffix: prefix: en – (strengthen) en – (encourage) ate – (educate) de – (decentralize) ise/ize – (modernise /modernize = equally acceptable)

2 Make verbs from the following words, using a suffix or prefix from the table. wide ___________ national ___________ sympathy ___________ dark ___________ short ___________ large ___________ critic ___________ separable ___________

WRITING  An opinion essay

Your class has had a discussion on life in an Amish community. Your teacher wants you to write an essay giving your opinions on the topic. You need to state your opinion clearly and support it with examples and reasons. You should mention: – what you like / don’t like about their way of life. – whether you would like to live in such a community.

GRAMMAR

THE GERUND Look at the sentence. Which verb form are the words in italics?

They are taught a modest way of acting, talking, dressing, and walking. The gerund is a verb form that is used as a noun. It is formed by adding -ing to a verb.

1 The gerund can be a subject, object or complement of a verb.

Fishing is very popular here. I hate getting up early in the morning. My favourite activity is reading magazines.

2 We always use the -ing form after prepositions.

He’s talking about going on holiday. He apologized for arriving late. She went out without saying anything.

3. Some verbs and expressions are always followed by the gerund. Study the list in the box.

avoid, admit, consider, enjoy, finish, mind, risk, suggest, miss, imagine, deny, give up, delay, practise, hate, dislike, worth, can’t help, be/get used to, look forward to, it’s no use, there is no point

For more information, see the Grammar summary.

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1 Use 6 of the verbs from the grammar box to describe some of the things that have happened to you recently, that you like or hate doing. E.g. I considered going to the mountains this summer. I dislike getting up early in the morning. 2 Fill in the gaps with one of the verbs from the list in the correct form. be work get buy walk

1. I’m not used to _________________ up early. 2. When I lived in the country, I used to ________________ miles to my school. 3. I used to _____________ my clothes in this shop, but now I like different kinds of clothes. 4. The children are bored with the bad weather. They are used to ___________ outside. 5. I will never get used to ____________ on a computer.

3 Use an appropriate verb to complete the sentences.

1. I dislike ___________________to the movies by myself. 2. We started __________________dinner without you. 3. I am used to _________________ her in a bad mood. 4. I can’t imagine __________________my own house. 5. She suggested ___________________ for a change. 6. My grandmother prefers ________________science fiction books. 7. When do you practise ___________________the piano?

NUMBERS

Cardinal numbers denote quantity (one, two, three, etc.). Remember: 456 = four hundred and fifty-six. Ordinal numbers are formed from cardinal numbers. They tell us the position of something in a list, e.g. 10th (tenth).

Study the following sentences.

1. He was the sixth player on the list. 2. Henry was the first child in the family, Mary the second and Bill the third. 3. They do not continue their education beyond the eighth grade of junior school.

Which suffix do you add to a cardinal number to get an ordinal number? Which numbers do not take the suffix -th? Notice the irregular spelling of the following numbers: fifth, eighth, ninth, and twelfth. In cases when ordinal numbers are expressed in figures, the last two letters of the written word are added: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. The article the is normally used before ordinal numbers, e.g. the 8th century. We use ordinal numbers to express dates. Writing and saying dates: 20th April (the twentieth of April), June 12th (June the twelfth).

Fractions

Parts of numbers smaller than 1 are expressed as fractions, e.g. ¼ (one quarter), 3/6 (two sixths), or decimals, e.g. 10.6 (ten point six), 12.56 (twelve point five six). E.g. Three quarters (3/4) of all Amish are located in just three states. For mathematical operations, do the exercises in the Workbook, page 40.

KEY WORD TRANSFORMATIONS

Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the given word. 1. ‘Why don’t we buy a bigger house?’ said Michael. /suggested Michael ______________________ a bigger house. 2. Could you turn off the radio, please? /mind Would _________________________________ the radio? 3. It’s useless to call the bank now as it’s 8 p.m. /point There _______________________________ the bank now as it’s 8 pm. 4. It’s impossible for me not to cry when I see these photos. /help I can’t ________________________________ when I see these photos. 5. My friends have invited me to their wedding. /invited I _______________________________ to my friends’ wedding.

COMMUNICATION

Expressing likes, dislikes and preferences

Asking about likes/dislikes

How do you like...? Do you like/dislike...? What kind of ... do you like? What is your favourite... ?

Expressing likes

I’m fond of... It’s my favourite... I quite like/enjoy… The one I like most is...

Expressing dislikes

I don’t like... I hate... I’m not very keen on... I can’t stand...

Expressing preferences

I really prefer... I’d rather (not)… Which ... do you like better? Do you prefer ... to... ?

PRACTICE

1. Pair work – discussion Discuss with your partner whether you like or dislike the items below.

reading TV soaps exercise romantic movies going to classes eating pizza Your partner should ask questions to get more information. The expressions in the boxes will help you. Use the gerund where possible. Example: A: What kind of music do you like? B: I like pop and 50s and 60s rock and roll.

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