Spotlight In Love with London (Vorschau)

Spotlight 

11 2013 

Deutschland € 6,90|CH sfr 12,40|A·E· I·L·SK: € 7,50 

EINFACH ENGLISCH! 

IN WITH 

LONDON 

Death in Dallas: 

who was Lee 

Harvey Oswald? 

Ireland: 

great sporting 

traditions 

Debate special: 

where the next 

world leaders 

meet

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EDITORIAL | August November 2013 2013 

Langenscheidt 

A journey to 

the heart of London 

A few months ago, I took an early morning 

walk across Westminster Bridge and enjoyed 

the romantic atmosphere that is unique to 

London. Standing on the bridge, the grey neo- 

Inez Sharp, editor-in-chief 

Gothic Houses of Parliament rose up to meet 

a pale blue sky on my right, and ahead, the Thames curved gently away to the 

south along the Albert Embankment. That moment was the inspiration for our 

cover story, in which Eve Lucas has searched out the best romantic places to 

visit in London. And you don’t necessarily have to take a partner along — it’s 

enough just to be in love with that city. The journey begins on page 30. 

If sport is a topic close to your heart, “The Irish sporting tradition” is a 

must-read. Toby Skingsley travelled to southern Ireland for Spotlight to try out 

hurling and Gaelic football and to watch a game of road bowling. He even 

hopped into a lightweight boat known as a “currach” and attempted the ancient 

sport of currach rowing. How well did Toby do? Start reading on page 22. 

If you’re in love with good food, then you’ll enjoy a bowl of chowder. This 

creamy soup, which is often made with seafood, is a speciality of New England 

and the perfect dish for a cold, wintry day. Alex Kingsbury tells us about the 

international origins of the soup, and the popular New England cookery writer 

Kathy Gunst shares a recipe for lobster chowder with us. Turn to page 14 

to find out more — and you may want to have a pen and paper at the 

ready to write a 

shopping list. 

Lovely London: 

the view towards 

Westminster 

i.sharp@spotlight-verlag.de 

„Lernen, wann, 

wo und wie 

ich will.“ 

Titelfoto: plainpicture; Fotos Editorial: iStock 

Langenscheidt IQ 

Der intelligente 

Sprachkurs 

Jetzt testen! 

www.langenscheidt-iq.de 

Spotlight 11|13

CONTENTS | November 2013 

Sporting Ireland 

Want to try traditional sports like hurling and Gaelic 

football? Visit Ireland with us for fun and games. 

22 30 

In love with London 

Time to plan your weekend getaway. Eve Lucas gives 

top tips for a few romantic days in London. 

6 People 

Names and faces from around the world 

8 A Day in My Life 

A cruise director in the Caribbean 

10 World View 

What’s news and what’s hot 

13 Britain Today 

Colin Beaven on how foreigners are treated 

40 History 

Who killed John F. Kennedy 50 years ago? 

42 Press Gallery 

A look at the English-language media 

44 Arts 

Films, apps, books, culture and a short story 

66 The Lighter Side 

Jokes and cartoons 

14 Food 

Chowder, a New England winter tradition 

28 I Ask Myself 

Amy Argetsinger on famous faces 

36 Around Oz 

Peter Flynn on being the MC at a wedding 

38 Debate Special 

International youth leaders meet in New York to 

talk about making the world a better place 

67 American Life 

Ginger Kuenzel on a disastrous town meeting 

68 Feedback & Impressum 

Your letters to Spotlight — and our responses 

69 Next Month 

What’s coming next month in Spotlight 

70 My Life in English 

Silvia Furtwängler, champion dog-sled racer, 

on why she enjoys speaking English 

Fotos: Vario Images; Fuse; iStock; BrandX Pictures 

THE SPOTLIGHT FAMILY 

Spotlight plus 

Every month, you can explore 

and practise the language and 

grammar of Spotlight with the 

exercise booklet plus. 

Find out more at: 

www.spotlight-online.de/plus 

Spotlight Audio 

This monthly 60-minute CD/download 

brings the world of Spotlight 

to your ears. Enjoy interviews and 

travel stories and try the exercises. 

Find out more at: 

www.spotlight-online.de/audio 

4 Spotlight 11|13

16 

Learning new words 

Need fresh ideas on how to learn vocabulary? Take a 

look at our 10 tips to see what works best for you. 

37 

Easy English 

Get back to basics by reading Green Light, an eightpage 

booklet with the easy English you need. 

IN THIS MAGAZINE: 14 LANGUAGE PAGES 

50 Vocabulary 

Words for describing bad weather 

52 Travel Talk 

Going to a wine festival 

53 Language Cards 

Pull out and practise 

55 Everyday English 

Giving bad news and reacting to it 

57 The Grammar Page 

“Will” and “won’t” 

58 Peggy’s Place: The Soap 

The latest from a London pub 

59 English at Work 

Ken Taylor answers your questions 

60 Spoken English 

Expressions using the word “try” 

61 Word Builder 

A focus on the words in Spotlight 

62 Perfectionists Only! 

Nuances of English 

63 Crossword 

Find the words and win a prize 

IMPROVE YOUR ENGLISH WITH SPOTLIGHT PRODUCTS 

Spotlight Audio: hear texts and interviews on our CD or 

download. See www.spotlight-online.de/hoeren 

OUR LANGUAGE LEVELS 

The levels of difficulty in Spotlight magazine correspond roughly to 

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: 

A2 B1– B2 C1– C2 

To find your level, visit Sprachtest.de 

Spotlight plus: 24 pages of language exercises related 

to the magazine. See www.spotlight-online.de/ueben 

Spotlight in the classroom: free of charge to teachers who 

subscribe to Spotlight. See www.spotlight-online.de/teachers 

Readers’ service: abo@spotlight-verlag.de · www.spotlight-online.de 

Tel.: +49 (0)89 / 85681-16 · Fax: +49 (0)89 / 85681-159 

www.SprachenShop.de: order products 

from our online shop (see page 48). 


in the classroom 

Teachers: if you use Spotlight in 

your lessons, this six-page supplement 

will provide great ideas for 

classroom activities based on the 

magazine. Free for all teachers 

who subscribe to Spotlight. 

www.spotlight-online.de 

Spotlight Online will help you to improve 

your English every day. Try our language 

exercises or read about current events 

and fascinating places to visit. Subscribers 

will also find a list of all the glossed vocabulary 

from each issue of the magazine. 

11|13 Spotlight 

5

PEOPLE | Names and Faces 

The comedienne 

Who exactly is… 

Mindy 

Kaling? 

I’m not good at anything except 

writing jokes,” Mindy Kaling told 

The Independent earlier this year. 

But you shouldn’t believe everything 

you read. The 34-year-old is good at 

many things. Writing jokes is just one 

of them. 

Kaling is one of the funniest and 

most talented women on television 

today. She has acted in TV shows and 

films, written a book and been nominated 

for an Emmy. 

Vera Mindy Chokalingam was 

born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 

to Indian immigrants. She later 

changed her last name to Kaling because 

it was easier for people to pronounce. 

She told The New York Times 

boost [bu:st] 

Emmy [(emi] 

for free [fE (fri:] 

obstetrician-gynaecologist 

[QbstE)trIS&n )gaInI(kQlEdZIst] 

playwriting [(pleI)raItIN] 

put on hold: be ~ [)pUt Qn (hEUld] 

race riot [(reIs )raIEt] 

shallow [(SÄlEU] 

vast amount [vA:st E(maUnt] 

witness [(wItnEs] 

that she learned from 

American comedy shows 

like Saturday Night Live 

as a child. Later, she 

studied playwriting at 

Dartmouth College in 

New Hampshire. 

Television audiences 

first got to know — and 

love — Kaling in 2005, 

when she began playing 

Kelly Kapoor in the 

American version of the 

series The Office. Although 

she was playing a 

shallow, materialistic 

character, in real life 

Kaling impressed her 

colleagues with her intelligence, 

sense of humour 

and hard work. She 

wrote more than 20 

episodes of The Office, 

often working 18-hour 

days with both on- and 

off-camera work. 

Last year, she created a new TV 

show called The Mindy Project (the 

second series is now showing). As 

well as playing the title character, an 

obstetrician-gynaecologist partly inspired 

by her mother, Kaling also 

writes, produces and directs the show. 

Her autobiography, called Is 

Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? 

(And Other Concerns), was a New York 

Times bestseller in 2011. 

If you’d like a sample of Kaling’s 

writing, you can find her on Twitter 

(www.twitter.com/mindykaling), 

where she has more than 2.5 million 

followers. You will surely read something 

that makes you smile. 

ankurbeln, in die Höhe treiben 

Emmy Award: bedeutendster Fernsehpreis der USA 

kostenlos 

Gynäkologe/Gynäkologin und Geburtshelfer(in) 

literarisches szenisches Schreiben 

in die Warteschleife gestellt werden 

Rassenunruhe 

oberflächlich, geistlos 

enorm viel 

hier: erleben 

In the news 

Hercule Poirot retired in 1975, when 

Agatha Christie wrote her last 

book about the fictional Belgian detective. 

Now, nearly 40 years later, a bestselling 

crime writer has a new case for 

him. The Telegraph writes that 

Christie’s family has 

given author Sophie 

Hannah permission 

to write a new Poirot 

book. It does not yet 

have a title, but 

Hannah has planned 

the story, and it 

should appear in 

September 2014. 

Ben’s Chili Bowl, a restaurant in Washington, 

DC, has witnessed a lot of history 

since it opened 55 years ago. It 

was one of the few places not to close 

during the race riots in 1968. Today, 

Ben’s has a special meaning to many 

who live in DC — and it’s a must-see 

for visitors. Bill Cosby is a fan of the 

restaurant. A sign inside says that 

Cosby — and the 

Obamas — can eat 

for free. Cosby 

even recorded the 

message that people 

hear when 

they call Ben’s and 

are put on hold. 

Artist Tracey Emin is one of a 

group of well-known women starring 

in an advertising campaign for the 

British shop Marks & Spencer. Clothing 

sales at M&S have been falling for the 

past two years, and the store 

hopes that famous faces will 

boost sales. Emin told The 

Independent that she was 

pleased to be asked to take 

part in the shoot, along with 

women like Helen Mirren 

and Laura Mvula 

(see Spotlight 3/13). 

“I shop a vast amount 

at Marks & Spencer, 

and I spend half my 

life in its pyjamas,” 

she said. 


Out of the ordinary 

One Canadian family has chosen to go back a generation in time. As 

Blair McMillan explained to CBC News, he became concerned 

that his children, two and five years old, used technology more 

often than they went outside to play. So McMillan and his partner 

decided to return to a simpler way of life, like the one they had 

known when they were children. This April, they packed away their 

computers, smartphones, DVD player and anything else developed 

after 1986. McMillan says the experiment has made the family 

closer: “We’re just always actively doing something.” 

Catherine Whitty has made headlines for having a serious firstworld 

problem: champagne was spilled on her Prada skirt, and her 

dry cleaner was unable to remove 

the marks. Whitty, a 40-year-old 

physiotherapist from Melbourne, 

Australia, sued Prada. She said no 

one had told her that the skirt, 

which cost nearly €1,200, could be 

permanently stained by any liquid, 

even water. The court agreed with 

her and ordered the company to 

refund the price of the skirt. 

Whitty: a skirt that was not 

worth the money 

Simon Berry noticed something strange when he was working 

in Zambia. Even in the most isolated parts of the country, 

he could buy a bottle of Coke. And yet, as he tells New Scientist, 

“one in five children didn’t make it to their fifth birthday, because 

there were no medicines for them”. Dehydration caused 

by diarrhoea was one of the biggest killers. So Berry designed 

an inexpensive “kit of life” to treat dehydration, and he began 

to copy Coca-Cola’s marketing and distribution methods. He 

estimates that in the first six months of testing the kit, the lives 

of 60 children have been saved. 

The newcomers 

• Name: The Strypes 

• Who they are: Josh McClorey (17), Pete O’Hanlon 

(17), Evan Walsh (16) and Ross Farrelly (15), friends 

from a small Irish town called Cavan 

• Their music is: blues-rock — and surprisingly good. 

• Inspired by: Dr. Feelgood, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley. 

• First album: Snapshot, released in September 2013. 

• They practise: in the drummer’s bedroom. 

• The media say: they are the future of rock and roll 

— but how did kids this young get the blues? 

• They’re on tour: in Germany in November (support - 

ing The Arctic Monkeys): www.thestrypes.com/gigs 

Internationale 

Sprachschulen 

Fotos: dpa/picture-alliance (2); Getty Images; action press (2); PR 

and yet [End (jet] 

concerned [kEn(s§:nd] 

court [kO:t] 

dehydration [)di:haI(dreIS&n] 

diarrhoea [)daIE(rIE] 

distribution [)dIstrI(bju:S&n] 

dry cleaner [(draI )kli:nE] 

first-world problem 

[)f§:st )w§:ld (prQblEm] 

isolated part 

[)aIsEleItId (pA:t] 

kit of life [)kIt Ev (laIf] 

liquid [(lIkwId] 

make it [(meIk It] 

order: ~ sb. to do sth. [(O:dE] 

refund [ri(fVnd] 

release [ri(li:s] 

spill [spIl] 

stain [steIn] 

sue [sju:] 

hier: und trotzdem 

besorgt 

Gericht 

Austrocknung 

Durchfall 

hier: Vertrieb 

chemische Reinigung 

Luxusproblem 

hier: abgelegener Teil 

Überlebenspaket 

Flüssigkeit 

es schaffen 

jmdm. etw. auferlegen 

zurückerstatten 

herausgeben, veröffentlichen 

verschütten 

Flecken bekommen 

verklagen 

Texts by RITA FORBES 

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Informiere Dich jetzt und entdecke die Welt mit EF! 

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A DAY IN MY LIFE | United States 

Cruising in the waters 

of the Caribbean 

Working 

at sea 

Vom Klassenclown zum Kreuzfahrtdirektor – 

DOUGLAS A. BOLDUC berichtet über eine 

außergewöhnliche Karriere auf hoher See. 

8 

My name is Stephen Cassel. I am 57 years old 

and spend most of my time at sea as cruise director 

of the Carnival Paradise, one of the Carnival 

Cruise Lines’ ships. 

The cruise leaves from Tampa, Florida. When we are 

at sea, my typical morning starts between eight and nine. 

For breakfast, I’ll have some coffee and then get to work. 

I start with our early announcements to let the passengers 

know about all the different things happening on board 

on that particular day. 

At 10:30, I give the Fun Ashore & Fun Aboard presentation: 

that’s my chance to explain to passengers the different 

aspects of the ship, talk about life on board, and 

introduce people such as the art auctioneer, spa manager, 

and the shopping expert. I give a real simple summary of 

what each person does. Then I provide everyone with the 

details of our shore excursion program and talk about the 

ports we will be visiting. 

After the presentation, I answer e-mails and meet with 

my staff: the musical director, dance captain, entertainment 

technical manager, and assistant cruise director. Then 

I walk around the ship, greeting people. 

Around noon I’ll have something to 

eat. It’s usually sausages or some 

chicken or fish. I eat with the passengers 

occasionally, but generally, I’ll 

have my lunch behind the scenes, because 

it has to be fairly quick. After 

lunch, I’ll visit the art auction to see 

how that is going, or I’ll host one of 

the events for that day: it might 

be the hairy-chest contest, 

the slot-machine tournament, 

or the cocktailmixing 

competition, 

which involves five 

people who try to create 

a special drink for 

the cruise. 

Spotlight 11|13 

aboard [E(bO:rd] 

an Bord 

art auctioneer [(A:rt O:kSE)nI&r] Kunstauktionator 

ashore [E(SO:r] an Land (➝ p. 61) 

behind the scenes 

hinter den Kulissen 

[bi)haInd DE (si:nz] 

Caribbean [)kÄrE(bi:En] 

karibisch; Karibikcruise 

director [(kru:z dE)rekt&r] Kreuzfahrtdirektor 

dance captain [(dÄns )kÄptEn] Chef der Tanztruppe 

early announcement 

morgendliche Programm- 

[)§:li E(naUnsmEnt] 

ansage 

entertainment technical 

Licht-, Ton- und Videomanager 

[ent&r)teInmEnt 

techniker 

)teknIk&l (mÄnIdZ&r] 

fairly [(ferli] 

hier: ziemlich 

hairy-chest contest 

Brusthaar-Wettbewerb 

[)heri (tSest )kA:ntest] 

host [hoUst] 

hier: moderieren 

port of call [)pO:rt Ev (kO:l] 

Anlaufhafen 

shore excursion [(SO:r Ik)sk§:Z&n] Landausflug 

slot-machine tournament 

Spielautomaten-Turnier 

[(slA:t mE)Si:n )tUrnEmEnt] 

spa [spA:] 

hier: Wellness-Bereich 

staff [stÄf] 

Personal, Mitarbeiter 

time off [)taIm (O:f] 

Freizeit 

I do a lot of things behind the scenes. One is producing 

the Fun Times daily newsletter, which gives passengers 

a rundown of everything that’s happening in 

every department on the ship that day. We put the 

newsletters in the passengers’ cabins so they all know 

what’s going to happen next. 

We all work seven days a week. If we’re 

lucky, we can have some time off, but getting 

a full day off is rare, so we usually just take 

short periods off. I sometimes get a four- to 

five-hour block of time when I can relax 

and not do much. That tends to happen 

on the port days, which allows me to go 

out and explore the Caribbean island of 

Grand Cayman, or Cozumel, Mexico, 

or our other ports of call. 

He’s happiest when he’s on stage: 

cruise director Stephen Cassel

INFO TO GO 

Every night, I’m on stage either hosting or performing. 

We have two different types of show on the ship. One of 

them is our review show, with 12 dancers and two singers. 

They do two shows a night. The other is our comedy show, 

with four performances a night. 

I have been playing the violin in orchestras since I was 

a kid. I was also a class clown and got interested in juggling. 

I started juggling professionally at an amusement 

park before booking my own stage shows. 

After one show, illusionist David Copperfield came to 

me and gave me his card. Through David’s agent, I started 

doing bigger shows. After 11 years as a juggler, I sent a 

video of myself to Carnival Cruise Lines. Within a week, 

I had an offer to begin on a ship called the Tropicale. That 

was in 1986. A year later, I started working as a cruise director, 

but I have been able to continue performing. To 

me, being in front of a large group of people and feeling 

their reaction is just great — I’m in heaven. 

real simple 

In American English, you will commonly hear people 

describing something as “real simple.” The correct 

grammatical expression, however, is “really simple.” 

The difference between the two in everyday speech is 

one of nuance. For example, to say that a cake is “really 

simple” to bake is of course correct. To sound less formal, 

and possibly to connect with others in a more informal 

fashion, many people prefer to say “real simple.” 

In the US, there is even a popular magazine called Real 

Simple. The name indicates that the content of the 

magazine is simple, useful, and practical. 

rundown 

Stephen Cassel produces a newsletter that gives passengers 

a “rundown” of what activities are taking place 

on the ship each day. A rundown is a report that lists 

things point by point. Terms very similar to it include 

“run-down,” an adjective meaning tired, and “run 

down,” a verb which means to hit and knock down. All 

three of these expressions are frequently heard in US 

English. Try using them in the following sentences: 

a) Did you not sleep well? You seem a bit _____________. 

b) Could you give me a quick _____________ of what 

happened at the meeting? 

c) Please don’t ride your bike here. There are too many 

people. You could easily _____________ somebody 

_____________. 

A passenger takes part in the cocktail-mixing competition 

class clown 

When he describes how his career started, Stephen 

Cassel mentions that he was a “class clown.” A class 

clown is a child who plays tricks, tells jokes, or finds 

other ways of making his classmates laugh. Being a 

class clown can be a positive characteristic — but it can 

be a negative one, too. If a teacher describes a child to 

his or her parents as being “the class clown,” it may 

mean that the child is spending too much time trying 

to get attention, and is thus causing a lot of trouble in 

class. Which of the famous people below is said to have 

been a class clown? 

Fotos: Carnival Cruise Lines 

A view of the ship from the port of Cozumel, Mexico 

amusement park [E(mju:zmEnt )pA:rk] Freizeitpark 

illusionist [I(lu:ZEnIst] 

Zauberkünstler(in) 

juggling [(dZVg&lIN] 

Jonglieren 

a) comedian Jerry Lewis 

b) actress Sandra Bullock 

c) Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft 

Answers: rundown: a) run-down; b) rundown; c) run ... down 

class clown: All three are said to have been class clowns. 

classmate [(klÄsmeIt] 

knock down [)nA:k (daUn] 

Klassenkamerad 

anfahren, umfahren

WORLD VIEW | News in Brief 

Bad guides: 

Jesse Herron (left) 

and Mike Silva 

It’s a good month for a... 

UNITED STATES Tired of the bad 

weather? Then plan a visit to Albuquerque, New Mexico, 

for sun and pop-culture fun. Fans of the TV hit Breaking 

Bad are snapping up tickets for special tours of the big 

Southwestern city to see where this cult series is filmed. 

Popular in several countries around the world, the 

show is about the ups and downs of a friendly science 

teacher named Walter White. Diagnosed with advanced 

lung cancer, he decides on an unorthodox plan: to manufacture 

huge amounts of crystal meth. The idea is to “cook” 

Albuquerque [(ÄlbEk§:ki] 

CEO (chief executive officer) [)si: i: (EU] 

chemist [(kemIst] 

drug lord [US (drVg lO:rd] 

financial district [faI(nÄnS&l )dIstrIkt] 

litter bin [(lItE bIn] 

Geschäftsführer(in) 

Chemiker(in) 

Drogenboss 

Banken- und Börsenviertel 

Abfallbehälter 

Somebody’s watching you 

BRITAIN Were you in London’s financial district 

this summer? Hopefully, your visit wasn’t meant to be a secret. 

Someone else may know you were there. 

In June, says The Guardian, a marketing firm called Renew 

began using “smart” litter bins to collect information about people 

walking by. With tracking technology, the bins were able to read the 

unique identification numbers of smartphones. And by watching 

the phones’ Wi-Fi signals, they could see how long people — or their 

phones, to be more exact — stopped at places along the street. 

In theory, the data could be helpful for advertising. Imagine that 

a smart bin recorded someone going to a McDonald’s in a certain 

street. Marketing firms could use the information, for example, to 

send that person advertisements for other fast-food chains. 

Breaking Bad tour 

a very pure form of the street drug and sell it to dealers so 

that he can leave enough money for his wife and children. 

As a chemist, he has all the right skills. 

Guides Jesse Herron and Mike Silva are hoping that 

the popularity of the award-winning show about the unlikely 

meth cook will keep visitors coming to Albuquerque 

— even after the series has ended. Their three-hour driving 

tour includes well-known places like Walter’s house and 

the drug lord’s fast-food restaurant. For more details, see 

www.abqtrolley.com 

snap up [(snÄp Vp] 

tracking technology 

[(trÄkIN tek)nQlEdZi] 

unique [ju(ni:k] 

unlikely [Vn(laIkli] 

Wi-Fi [(waI faI] 

aufkaufen 

GPS-, Lokalisierungstechnik 

eindeutig, spezifisch 

merkwürdig, unwahrscheinlich 

WLAN 

In a statement on the company website, Renew CEO Kaveh 

Memari said the technology was only being tested. He said that no 

personal information had been collected. That wasn’t good enough 

for the City of London, though: it ordered Renew to turn off the 

bins’ tracking technology to stop the mass collection of data. 

10 Spotlight 11|13 

Your phone has a 

life of its own

Exporting British 

butlers 

New clients: 

butlers go to the 

Middle East 

DUBAI An excellent, tax-free salary; two months’ holiday 

in summer; travel by private jet; your own luxury flat: working conditions 

like these are convincing some butlers to leave London for the skyscrapers 

of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). As the BBC reports, having a British butler 

is becoming a must in places like Dubai. 

Dillon, a former soldier who has now trained as a butler, works for an 

Emirati family in Dubai. He says that while the pay is good, the work demands 

an unusually high degree of commitment. “I am expected to be on 

call 24/7, caring for my principal’s personal things like clothes, travel bookings, 

reservations and shopping,” he said. “I also have to make sure he’s always 

looking good and that he stays hydrated in the heat.” 

Sara Vestin Rahmani, who runs an elite London academy for household 

workers, says she recently sent a butler to the UAE on a yearly salary of 

£100,000 (€119,000). “The new rich — and the rest of the world — are fascinated 

by the protocol that comes with these specific British traditions,” she 

explained. To be recognized as belonging to the wealthy class, “they show 

off with these exceptional British workers”. 

WTF? 

CANADA Kids these days! They don’t read, and they won’t go 

outside to play. Instead, they live on their phones and tablet computers. So how 

can a city get its little citizens to put down their gadgets and visit a museum? 

This autumn, Toronto found a creative way of getting their attention. In a 

cheeky advertising campaign, bus stops were decorated with posters showing 

“WTF” in huge letters. Above the popular 

acronym was an unusual object from one of 

the city’s many museums and historic sites. 

Instead of the usual meaning associated 

with WTF, the campaign came up with its 

own version: “What the fact?” People were 

asked to photograph the posters with their 

mobile phones, put the pictures online, guess 

what the artefact on the poster was and list the 

answer online, too. Those who guessed correctly 

won free passes to museums. 

“We wanted to find a way we could reach out to the general public and ideally a 

New ways of solving an old problem: 

a poster campaign for teenagers 

younger audience,” said Ilena Aldini-Messina, a museum programme designer. “We 

find that social media are a great way to contact that audience.” 

Fotos: L. Green; ABQ Trolley Co; PR; Comstock 

24/7 rund um die Uhr (24 Stunden-Tag 

[)twenti fO: (sev&n] an 7 Tagen die Woche) 

artefact [(A:tIfÄkt] Artefakt (ein vom Menschen 

geschaffener Gegenstand) 

cheeky [(tSi:ki] 

frech 

gadget [(gÄdZIt] Gerät, technische Spielerei 

on call [Qn (kO:l] in Rufbereitschaft 

principal [(prInsEp&l] Chef 

protocol [(prEUtEUkQl] hier: Etikette 

reach out to sb. 

jmdn. zu erreichen versuchen 

[ri:tS (aUt tE] 

show off [SEU (Qf] 

angeben, prahlen 

stay hydrated 

einen gesunden Wasserhaushalt 

[steI haI(dreItId] 

aufrechterhalten, genug trinken 

UAE (United Arab Emirates) VAE (Vereinigte Arabische 

[)ju: ei (i:] 

Emirate) 

WTF (what the fuck) was verdammt noch mal ... 

[)dVb&l ju: ti: (ef] vulg. 


11

WORLD VIEW | News in Brief 

Seeing the details 

UNITED STATES Telescopic vision is beginning to look 

like reality. When contact lenses of a new kind are combined with a special 

pair of glasses, they can make things look 2.8 times bigger. 

Each contact lens has a telescopic ring in which light is reflected four 

times before it reaches the retina. Wearers can switch back and forth between 

normal and telescopic vision by changing the filter on the glasses. 

As the lenses are about a millimeter thick, one of the biggest challenges 

was finding a way to make them comfortable to wear, said lens developer 

Dr. Eric Tremblay. “If you want to 

wear the lens for more than 30 minutes, 

you need to make it breathable,” 

he told the BBC. 

The goal is to help people who suffer 

from age-related macular degene - 

ration, a condition that makes it 

difficult to see details. Over time, this 

loss of function makes it impossible to 

drive a car or read a book. Tremblay 

said that clinical testing would begin 

this month. 

See more: a new contact-lens technology 

NEW ZEALAND Two years ago, a new law required 

taxi companies in New Zealand to put security cameras in all 

of their cars. Too many drivers had been attacked — even killed — 

while working. 

Cameras in cars: wonder if they’re working? 

With the cameras on 

board, violence against 

taxi drivers decreased. 

Now The New Zealand 

Herald is reporting that 

only half of the cameras 

actually work. One factor 

contributing to the probage-related 

[US (eIdZ ri)leItEd] 

apply [E(plaI] 

assault [E(sO:lt] 

back and forth [US )bÄk End (fO:rT] 

breathable [(bri:DEb&l] 

by storm: take ~ [baI (stO:m] 

counterfeit [(kaUntEfIt] 

cuticle [(kju:tIk&l] 

fraud [frO:d] 

lens developer [US (lenz di)velEp&r] 

macular degeneration 

[US )mÄkjEl&r di)dZenE(reIS&n] 

manicure [(mÄnIkjUE] 

nail polish [(neI&l )pQlIS] 

play sth. up [pleI (Vp] 

retina [US (ret&nE] 

taxi federation [(tÄksi fedE)reIS&n] 

temporary tattoo [)temp&rEri tÄ(tu:] 

altersbedingt 

anwenden, auftragen 

Überfall 

hin und her 

sauerstoffdurchlässig 

im Sturm erobern 

falsch 

Nagelhaut 

Betrug 

Kontaktlinsenentwickler 

Makuladegeneration (Funktionsverslust 

des Netzhautgewebes) 

Maniküre 

Nagellack 

etw. unterstreichen, aufhübschen 

Netzhaut 

Taxivereinigung 

Abzieh-Tattoo 

WHAT’S HOT 

Nail tattoos 

BRITAIN If getting a 

manicure or experimenting with 

new nail polish is too boring for you, 

perhaps it’s time to get a tattoo — a 

cuticle tattoo. 

According to Britain’s Daily Mail, 

cuticle tattoos are “taking the 

beauty world by storm”. An American 

company called Rad Nails sells 

temporary tattoos that can be applied 

below the cuticle. The geometric 

designs for the base of the 

fingernail have names like “Another 

Round” and “Your Point?” 

When applied, they make the 

fingernail look longer. They can also 

be put on the nail itself, on top of 

colourful nail polish. They’re applied 

with water, just like a temporary tattoo 

for your skin. 

Rebecca Jade Wilson, who works 

on the nails of celebrities like Kate 

Hudson, says cuticle tattoos “are a 

great way to play up a basic polish 

and super simple to do”. 

Fashion trend: tattoos for your cuticles 

Taxi safety 

lem is fraud. Since having a camera in the car became the rule, hundreds 

of counterfeit cameras have been sold to taxi companies. 

Wayne Branks said his taxi company, Blue Star, had been unable 

to give police any recordings from security cameras after 

drivers had been attacked. “We have estimated the failure 

rate to be about 80 per cent,” he said. 

“Once the public becomes aware that cameras aren’t 

working in 50 per cent of the taxis, then the opportunities 

for crimes, assaults and attacks on taxi drivers open up 

again,” said Tim Reddish of the Taxi Federation. 

By RITA FORBES and CLAUDINE WEBER-HOF 

Fotos: iStock; PR; dpa/picture-alliance 

12 


Britain Today | COLIN BEAVEN 

Foto: Alamy 

“ 

The UK’s 

population 

has grown 

again 

” 

If you drive to Heathrow, the largest 

of Britain’s airports, you pass an 

enormous sculpture near the main 

entrance. It’s a model of an Airbus 

A380 that’s about to take off, with the 

name of the airline that sponsored it 

written on the side: Emirates. 

When I see the model, I’m 

tempted to stop the car and to go and 

add the missing “g”. I don’t normally 

write graffiti, but “Emigrates” seems 

the ideal label for a plane that’s taking 

off from an international airport. 

The government would also be 

pleased to hear that someone’s actually 

emigrating. Generally, it’s people 

travelling in the opposite direction 

who attract attention. Immigration’s 

always a hot potato here in Britain, 

with the government often criticized 

for letting in too many newcomers. 

So emigration would be welcome 

news. But not even the government 

would want us to cross the road at the 

entrance to one of the world’s busiest 

airports and write slogans on private 

property in the middle of a roundabout. 

We can’t be that desperate — 

or can we? Recent statistics have 

shown that the UK’s population has 

Notes from a full island 

board [bO:d] 

hier: Anzeigetafel 

car park [(kA: pA:k] UK 

Parkplatz, Parkhaus 

contradiction [)kQntrE(dIkS&n] Gegensatz, Widerspruch 

control [kEn(trEUl] 

überwachen, beherrschen, steuern 

cope with sth. [(kEUp )wID] 

mit etw. fertig werden, mit etw. zurechtkommen 

desperate [(despErEt] 

hoffnungslos, verzweifelt 

emigrate [(emIgreIt] 

auswandern 

hot potato [)hQt pE(teItEU] ifml. heißes Eisen 

manners [(mÄnEz] 

Manieren 

nasty [(nA:sti] 

ungut, scheußlich 

roundabout [(raUndE)baUt] UK Kreisverkehr (➝ p. 61) 

run [rVn] 

hier: führen, betreiben 

take off [)teIk (Qf] 

starten, abheben 

tempted: be ~ to do sth. [(temptId] versucht sein, etw. zu tun 

tempting [(temptIN] 

verlockend 

In Großbritannien steigt die Zahl der Einwanderer stetig. 

Ist das ein Fluch oder ein Segen für die Nation? 

grown again and has now reached 

more than 63 million. 

Why the rise? Well, there are 

three big reasons: there are lots more 

babies than there were; the older generation 

is becoming the very much 

older generation; and more people 

have come to live in Britain than 

have left. This, plus the fact that from 

the start of 2014, visitors from Romania 

and Bulgaria will be able to 

travel to Britain freely, is more than 

enough to restart the old debate: is 

immigration a good thing or not? 

Some people say that the islands 

here are small and full, and that they 

can’t cope with a bigger population. 

Others claim we need lots of immigrants 

to come and pay taxes so that 

there’s enough money to give those 

who already live here on a pension. 

These are two hopelessly opposing 

views, though I’m not sure that the 

second makes foreigners feel any 

more welcome than the first. 

Is there any way round the contradiction? 

Not unless Britain’s pensioners 

are told they simply have to 

emigrate to make room for younger, 

new arrivals. Many already have, of 

course, only too pleased to leave the 

UK when they retire in search of life 

in the sun. But the pound is weaker 

than it was, so this is no longer such 

a tempting option. 

Besides, you can’t run national 

borders like city-centre car parks, 

with electronic boards at passport 

control that show how many spaces 

are free, and queues that have to wait 

for someone to leave before the barrier 

goes up and lets the next person in. 

True, this is exactly the kind of 

system that might satisfy some of our 

more hysterical newspapers, like the 

Daily Express and the Daily Mail. And 

it’s no more bizarre than one of the 

Conservative Party’s recent ideas: they 

actually had vans driving round London 

with posters that told illegal immigrants 

to go home. 

I’m afraid we’ve become so desperate 

to control immigration that we 

sometimes forget our manners. 

Vans with posters telling immigrants 

to go home? I’ve got a nasty 

feeling that the sculpture of the plane 

with the word “Emirates” written on 

it might actually be part of the same 

government campaign. It’s probably 

meant to say “Emigrate”, and the person 

who did the writing couldn’t even 

spell. 

Colin Beaven is a freelance writer who lives 

and works in Southampton on the south 

coast of England. 


13

FOOD | United States 

Fishy business: a chowder 

often includes seafood 

The power of chowder 

Chowder ist eine traditionelle sämige Suppe aus Neuengland. Was es damit 

auf sich hat, berichtet ALEX KINGSBURY. 


tuguese — brought with them their own national dishes. 

Aboard ship, sailors would combine the ingredients that 

they had on hand — onions, salt pork, and hardtack in 

the collective cooking pots. From these maritime meals, 

the modern chowder was born, says Robert Cox, coauthor 

of A History of Chowder: Four Centuries of a New 

England Meal. “It was cooked by men for men and eaten 

in a communal setting,” he says, “and that communal tradition 

has stayed with the dish today.” 

In Herman Melville’s classic tale, Moby Dick, a chapter 

entitled “Chowder” describes the two main characters 

searching for the best chowder in Nantucket, Massachusetts. 

“Chowder for breakfast, and chowder for dinner, and chowder 

for supper, till you began to look for fish bones coming 

through your clothes,” he writes of one chowder house. 

Chowder is perhaps the most distinctive meal cooked 

across the six states of New England. A soup based 

on seafood, it has some regional variations, even if 

the basic elements of the recipe have remained unchanged 

for centuries. 

Clam chowder is the best-known of these regional variations. 

It’s made with clams, fish, potatoes, salt pork, and 

onions mixed in a milk or cream base. It is the chowder 

found in Boston, Maine, and the northern part of the 

region. 

The recipe changes as one travels south. Chowder 

served in New York does not include milk or cream. Instead, 

tomato is used with the same seafood and vegetable 

mixture to produce Manhattan chowder. “Like all basically 

honest things, [chowders] can be perverted and desecrated 

by human stupidity-cupidity, but it is hard to think of 

making a bad one on purpose,” writes M. F. K. Fisher, one 

of America’s most famous food writers. 

The history of chowder is as cloudy as the dish itself. It 

may have come from Wales; it may have come from 

France; or perhaps from Nova Scotia. The surest thing that 

can be said about chowder is that it was an early product 

of globalization. 

In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, as ships made 

their way along trading routes across the North Atlantic, 

their crews — a mix of British, French, Spanish, and Porclam 

[klÄm] 

desecrate [(desIkreIt] 

distinctive [dI(stINktIv] 

fish bone [(fIS boUn] 

hardtack [(hA:rdtÄk] 

main character [)meIn (kÄrEkt&r] 

pervert [p&r(v§:t] 

pork [pO:rk] 

seafood [(si:fu:d] 

stupidity-cupidity 

[stu(pIdEti kju(pIdEti] 

Venusmuschel 

entweihen, entheiligen 

charakteristisch 

Fischgräte 

Schiffszwieback 

Hauptfigur 

verdrehen, verderben 

Schweinefleisch 

Meeresfrüchte, Fisch- 

Dummheit und Gier 

Fotos: iStock; Alamy

Recipe: lobster and corn chowder 

from Notes from a Maine Kitchen by Kathy Gunst (Down East Books, 2011) 

Lunch anyone? 

A lobster fisherman 

and his boat 

From its roots on the high seas to kitchen pots around the United States, 

chowder has become a modern basic even in expensive restaurants. “Nowadays, 

you can find chowder in big urban restaurants in New York, in Boston, in Los 

Angeles that can cost $15 or $20 a portion and maybe has truffle oil and monkfish 

in it,” says Kathy Gunst, a chef and author of numerous books, including 

Notes from a Maine Kitchen. “Like any kind of dish that has peasant roots, it 

has transformed and become a soup or a stew for everyone.” 

Whatever its origins, present incarnations, or regional variations, 

chowder is a truly American dish. As one writer put it, chowder is 

“as patriotic as the national anthem.” 

In Maine, chowder is everywhere — from coffee shops to the state’s best 

restaurants. The following recipe is a winner. The lobsters are steamed, and 

the water in which they are cooked becomes the basis of a delicious broth. The corn adds 

a sweet flavor that brings out the very best in the lobster. 

• 3 lobsters (each around 650 g) 

• salt 

• 3 peppercorns 

• 1 carrot, chopped 

• 1 stalk celery, chopped 

• 1 bay leaf 

• 3 strips thick bacon 

• 1 large onion, finely chopped 

• 450 g potatoes 

• 560 g corn 

• 170 ml heavy cream 

• cayenne pepper 

Bring two liters of salted water to the boil. Place the lobsters in the water shell side down; 

cover and cook for about ten minutes. Remove the lobsters, but keep the cooking water. 

Take all the meat from the lobster tails and claws. Cut it into small pieces and set aside. 

Put all the lobster shells back into the pot and bring the water to the boil. Add the peppercorns, 

carrot, celery, and bay leaf. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 45 minutes, 

or until the broth is reduced. When you try it, it should taste of lobster. Keep cooking 

if it tastes weak. Strain the broth and throw away the shells. 

Fry the bacon until browned on both sides. Remove the bacon and cut into small pieces. 

Keep the bacon fat in the pot. Over low heat, add the onion to the bacon fat. Cook for four 

minutes. Add the potatoes (peeled and cut into small pieces) and cook for another four 

minutes. Add the corn and cook for one minute, stirring to absorb the flavors. Add seven 

cups of the lobster broth and bring to the boil. Cook gently for about ten minutes, until the 

potatoes are just tender. 

Add the cream and cook on a low heat for five minutes. 

Add a little cayenne pepper and cook for another minute. 

Add the lobster meat and cook for a further five 

minutes over low heat. Add salt and pepper 

as needed. Serve hot with a sprinkling of 

the bacon. Serves six, or four as a main course. 

Net or pot: 

both are used to 

catch lobster 

a sprinkling of [E (sprINklIN Ev] 

bay leaf [(beI li:f] 

broth [brO:T] 

claw [klO:] 

corn [kO:rn] N. Am. 

heavy cream 

[)hevi (kri:m] N. Am. 

lobster [(lA:bst&r] 

main course [)meIn (kO:rs] 

monkfish [(mVNkfIS] 

ein wenig 

Lorbeerblatt 

Brühe 

hier: Schere 

Mais 

Sahne mit mind. 35% Fettgehalt 

Hummer 

Hauptgericht 

Seeteufel 

national anthem [)nÄS&nEl (ÄnTEm] 

peasant [(pez&nt] 

peel [pi:&l] 

shell [Sel] 

stalk [stO:k] 

steam [sti:m] 

stew [stu:] 

strain [streIn] 

tender [(tend&r] 

truffle oil [(trVf&l )OI&l] 

Nationalhymne 

bäuerlich; hier: einfach 

schälen 

Schale 

Stange 

dampfgaren 

Eintopf 

durch ein Sieb gießen 

zart; hier: weich 

Trüffelöl 


15

LANGUAGE | Better Learning 

Ten effective ways 

to expand your 

vocabulary 

Vokabellernen muss nicht mühsam sein! 

VANESSA CLARK stellt Ihnen zehn Methoden 

vor, mit denen Sie sich auf unterhaltsame Weise 

Wortschatz dauerhaft einprägen können. 

Are you holding this issue of 

Spotlight, wondering how to 

learn and remember the new 

words you’ve found in our articles? 

We have what you need: 10 practical 

ideas for increasing your word power 

in a foreign language. If you learn 

your vocabulary using these tips, the 

more words and word combinations 

you’ll understand, and the better 

you’ll be able to speak and write English. 

Not only that, you can have 

some fun, too. 

To help you decide which ideas to 

try out, we’ve marked all 10 tips with 

the following symbols: 

You can do this alone. 

You can do this together with other people. 

You need a pencil and paper. 

You need no equipment, just your brain. 

You need a computer, tablet or smartphone. 

This works well for sets of words (e.g. fruit, types of sport). 

This is good if the words do not belong to a set.

1. Personalize it 

The best way to “internalize” or take in vocabulary is to 

personalize it — make it relevant to you. To do this, choose 

words from your vocabulary notes and make sentences that 

are true for you, or perhaps for family and friends. 

3. Write a story 

Choose a few words from your vocabulary notes and think 

up a very short story in which to include them all. The story 

can be as ridiculous as you like — the funnier, the better. 

The important thing is to find a context for the words. 

walnut 

moose 

2. Draw it 

Walnuss 

nordamerikanischer 

Elch 

I love 

eating 

walnut ice 

cream. 

I saw a 

moose 

when I 

was on 

holiday in 

Alaska. 

This game may be familiar to you: you choose a word and 

try to draw it. Your partner has to start guessing what it is. 

It is a great game to play with someone from your English 

class because you probably both know the same words. 

The popular app Draw Something Free is a similar game 

and is available for Apple devices and Android phones. 

This is a great way to practise vocabulary with a friend. 

swear in vereidigen 

furious wütend 

disappear verschwinden 

dress rehearsal Kostümprobe 

tie 

Krawatte 

greenhouse Gewächshaus 

The country was ready to 

swear in the new president. 

The night before the ceremony, 

there was a dress rehearsal. 

The new president was 

furious because he couldn’t 

find his favourite tie. It had 

disappeared. The gardener found 

it. It was in his greenhouse. 

bubbles? 

drink? 

fizzy? 

lemonade? 

straw? 

Fotos: Thinkstock 

device [di(vaIs] 

fizzy [(fIzi] 

ridiculous [rI(dIkjUlEs] 

Gerät 

kohlensäurehaltig 

lächerlich 

11|13 Spotlight 17

LANGUAGE | Better Learning 

4. Guess it 

You probably already know a few guessing games from 

your schooldays or your language lessons, such as “20 

questions” and “I spy”. Here is another one. 

The “Diddly-doo” game is a version of “20 Questions”. 

Player A chooses a word and says if it’s a noun, a verb or 

an adjective. Player B then asks questions, but uses the 

nonsense word “diddly-doo” in place of the mystery word. 

We’ve chosen a verb, and this is how the game goes: 

Can you diddly-doo indoors? 

No, you can’t. 

Can you diddly-doo in a park? 

Yes, you can. 

Do you need a ball to diddly-doo? 

No, you don’t. 

Can you diddly-doo with other people? 

You can, but you can also do it alone. 

Can you diddly-doo in the snow? 

No, you can’t. Definitely not. 

Can you diddly-doo in the sun? 

Yes. Good question! 

Is the word “sunbathe”? 

Yes, it is. 

6. Make lists 

Games using lists are effective for learning vocabulary; for 

example, “I packed my suitcase, and in it I put...”, where 

each player adds another thing to the list. 

In the game “Word Tennis”, two players choose a category 

like the weather and take it in turns to say relevant words, 

just like tennis players hitting a ball to each other. If one 

player “misses” because he or she can’t think of a word 

quickly enough, that player loses. Here is an example: 

Player 

sun 

rain 

clouds 

wind 

fog 

Mmm... 

You’re out! 

wins the point. 

7. Contrast and compare 

5. Make an acrostic 

An acrostic consists of a number of lines of text, the first 

letters of which form a word. You can make an acrostic for 

any theme — like the one 

below on the subject 

of “holidays”: 

H appy 

O utdoors 

L ong days 

I ce cream 

D estination 

A broad 

Y acht 

S un 

glossy paper [)glQsi (peIpE] 

I spy [aI (spaI] 

Hochglanzpapier 

Ich sehe was, was du nicht siehst... 

Choose a pair of words — perhaps two nouns to begin 

with — from a set of vocabulary. Then ask yourself: what 

do these two things have in common, and what are their 

differences? Let’s take “newspaper” and “magazine” as an 

example: 

Newspaper 

daily 

black and white 

a lot of text 

cheap 

low-quality paper 

made of paper 

photos and text 

written by journalists 

Magazine 

weekly or monthly 

colourful 

different themes; e.g. fashion, cars 

a lot of photos 

more expensive 

glossy paper 


continued on page 21

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Trainieren Sie Ihr Hörverständnis! Die CD umfasst rund eine Stunde Texte, 

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continued from page 18 

10. Make a mind map 

8. Make a puzzle 

There are many apps for playing games such as “Hangman”, 

for making anagrams and creating word searches. 

Most of the apps provide sets of words, but some of them 

allow you to enter your own words. One of these is Make 

My Own Puzzles, which allows you to create crosswords 

and word searches on Apple devices. These can be printed 

out or sent to a friend to complete. The app is available 

from iTunes for €1.79. 

Mind maps are a great way to bring together in an organized 

way all the words that you know about a topic. You 

can do this online with a free app, such as SimpleMind, or 

you can use a pen and paper. 

weather 

catastrophes 

melting 

ice caps 

polar bears dying out 

global warming 

carbon dioxide 

flooding 

9. Play bingo 

warmer summers 

climate change 

greenhouse gas 

This version of bingo uses words instead of numbers. The 

idea is to predict which words you will see or hear. For example, 

before you read the news online, write down nine 

words that you think will be in the headlines. 

president city accident 

transport war football 

economy crisis meeting 

Next, go to an English-language news website, such as 

www.bbc.co.uk/news and read the main headlines. Cross 

out the words on your bingo card that you guessed correctly 

— more than four is a good score. 

You can play the same game in other situations; for example, 

when you’re watching the weather forecast. Or why 

not try it now, using the History article “Who shot JFK?” 

on pages 40–41. What words would you expect to see? 

Make a bingo card for yourself, enter the words and then 

read the article. 

Don’t delay — learn today! 

We hope you have found a few attractive ideas on these 

pages that you feel can help you build your vocabulary. Did 

you try out any of the games and exercises 

while you were reading? Depending 

on your learning style, 

some may be more practical 

for you than others. Why not 

experiment a little more by 

taking the words in the 

glossaries of this article? 

We’d be happy to hear 

about your experiences. 

Write to us at 

language 

@spotlight 

-verlag.de 

Have fun! 


crossword [(krQsw§:d] 

forecast [(fO:kA:st] 

hangman [(hÄNmEn] 

predict [pri(dIkt] 

Kreuzworträtsel 

Vorhersage 

Henker; hier: Galgenmännchen 

voraussagen 

21

SOCIETY | Ireland 

The Irish 

Let the games begin: 

holding his hurley, this little 

Irishman is ready to play 

sporting tradition 

Gälischer Fußball und Hurling, Straßenboßeln und Currach-Rudern – TOBY SKINGSLEY hat 

traditionelle irische Sportarten unter die Lupe genommen. 

As I step off the boat and on to the island, I turn to 

see the mainland disappearing under a blanket of 

grey mist. I am on a tour to Great Blasket Island, 

two kilometres off the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland’s southwest. 

The island was once home to a small Irish-speaking 

community, who for centuries lived a simple, traditional 

way of life. The last of the islanders left in 1953, but the 

village remains. Today, visitors come to see Great Blasket’s 

beauty and learn how the Irish lived generations ago. 

Our guide, Tomás Ó Lúing, takes us up a grassy path 

towards the village, where lush green hills contrast with 

grey stone cottages. Many are ruins, battered 

by wet and windy Atlantic 

weather. Often cut off from the mainland, 

the islanders learned to fend 

for themselves, Ó Lúing 

explains. They burned 

turf for warmth and 

light and used dung 

and seaweed as fertilizer. They grew potatoes, kept cattle 

and fished up to 17 hours a day in canoes called currachs. 

Families with 11 or 12 children were common, often with 

two or three not making it to adulthood. It’s a fascinating 

look into the past, at a hard way of life for people who 

lived from the land and sea and dealt with whatever nature 

threw at them. 

adulthood [(ÄdVlthUd] 

battered [(bÄtEd] 

cattle [(kÄt&l] 

dung [dVN] 

fend for oneself 

[)fend fE wVn(self] 

fertilizer [(f§:tElaIzE] 

lush [lVS] 

off [Qf] 

peninsula [pE(nInsjUlE] 

seaweed [(si:wi:d] 

turf [t§:f] 

Erwachsenenalter 

arg mitgenommen 

Vieh, Rinder 

Dung, (Stall)Mist 

alleine auskommen, 

für sich selbst sorgen 

Dünger 

üppig (bewachsen), satt grün 

hier: vor 

Halbinsel 

Seetang 

Torf 

Fotos: Getty Images; Look; laif; images.de/Fotofinder 

22 


Times have changed. But as 

Ó Lúing tells us about Great Blasket, 

I realize there are still strong links between 

today’s Ireland and this Ireland 

of old: the islanders had their own 

style of music, playing the fiddle and 

dancing together. They had a great 

story telling tradition, too. Some islanders 

wrote about life on Great Blasket, 

and a few of these stories became 

books that are famous throughout 

Ireland. The people loved their traditional 

sports, as well. “The islanders 

were fit and were sportspeople,” 

A CLOSER LOOK 

Hurling and Gaelic football are played between two teams of 15 people. 

In each sport, the aim is to get a ball between the posts of an H-shaped 

goal: above the crossbar scores one point; below the crossbar scores 

three. In hurling, seen in the photo here at Dublin’s Croke Park, players 

use a stick called a hurley to move a small ball called a sliotar. In Gaelic 

football, players use their feet and hands to move a soccer-sized ball. 

Ó Lúing tells me. They enjoyed racing 

their currachs, and it was a Christmas 

tradition to play the ancient Irish 

game of hurling on the beach. 

These traditions are still strong 

today. But while Ireland is known 

around the world for its music, dance 

and literature, sport and its place in 

the community are often overlooked. 

I want to find out more. 

side the city of Cork. I’m here with a 

group to meet Georgina Caraher and 

Cormac Ó Donnchú from an organization 

called Experience Gaelic 

Games. They are going to introduce 

us to hurling and Gaelic football. 

“Today, Gaelic games are by far the 

most popular played and spectated 

games in Ireland,” Ó Donnchú tells us 

proudly. While the origins of the 

sports are unknown, they are hundreds 

of years old. The Book of Invasions, 

an 11th-century Irish manuscript, 

tells of a mythological hurling 

game around 1100 BC. Folklore heroes 

like Cú Chulainn played it, too. 

“These characters were warriors, but 

also athletes,” Ó Donnchú explains. 

The games — there are four main 

sports, including Gaelic handball and 

rounders — became organized at the 

end of the 19th century. Britain governed 

Ireland at the time, and many 

here feared that Irish culture was 

dying out. A major cultural revival 

followed, and it was during this period, 

in 1884, that the Gaelic Athletic 

Association (GAA) was founded to 

protect the “national” sports. 

Early the next day, I travel twoand-a-half 

hours east to Midleton 

Hurling and Football Club, just outcrossbar 

[(krQsbA:] 

fiddle [(fId&l] ifml. 

revival [ri(vaIv&l] 

rounders [(raUndEz] 

sliotar [(slItE] 

soccer [(sQkE] 

spectate [spek(teIt] 

warrior [(wQriE] 

Querlatte 

Geige, Fiedel 

Wiederaufleben 

Schlagball 

Ball aus Kork 

Fußball 

zuschauen 

Krieger 

A view of Great Blasket Island 

from the Dingle Peninsula


CROKE PARK 

Dublin’s Croke Park, pictured at the top of page 23, has been used primarily for Gaelic 

games since 1884. The stadium also has important historical connections to Ireland’s 

fight for independence from Britain. 

It is said that one of the stadium’s seating areas, Hill 16, was built using the rubble 

of Dublin from when the British destroyed part of the city in the 1916 Easter Rising. A 

Gaelic football game was being played at Croke Park in 1920 — on 21 November, the day 

that became known as Bloody Sunday — when British soldiers shot 14 people dead, 

including a player named Michael Hogan (1896–1920). One of the stadium’s stands, built 

there in 1924, was named after this Irish hero. Today, Croke Park is the fourth-largest 

stadium in Europe. 

At Croke Park, fans enjoy a visit to the 

pub as well as high-profile sport 

Tough and fast, today’s games are 

an Irish passion and a celebration of 

culture. Each September, the All- 

Ireland finals in hurling and Gaelic 

football take place at Croke Park in 

Dublin. The stadium fills with more 

than 80,000 fans — the biggest meetings 

of the season for 

each sport. Roughly 

a fifth of the population 

watches the 

matches on TV. 

I’m beginning 

to understand 

why 

Gaelic games are 

such an important 

part of the 

Irish identity. 

They play a role 

in the local 

identity, too. 

The top games 

are played between 

the 

counties, with 

the county of 

birth deter- 

allegiance [E(li:dZEns] 

congregate [(kQNgrIgeIt] 

Easter Rising [)i:stE (raIzIN] 

facilities [fE(sIlEtiz] 

give sth. a go [)gIv E (gEU] 

grass-roots level [)grA:s (ru:ts )lev&l] 

helmet [(helmIt] 

hurley [(h§:li] 

miserably [(mIzErEbli] 

parish [(pÄrIS] 

rubble [(rVb&l] 

socialize [(sEUSElaIz] 

mining the primary allegiance of fans 

and players. “In Gaelic sports, you 

don’t choose your team. You’re born 

to it,” Ó Donnchú says. “It’s all 

about where you’re from and about 

playing for your people.” 

This sense of 

pride partly explains 

why the 

games 

are still amateur. 

The players 

— some of the 

biggest sports stars in 

Ireland — aren’t paid a 

penny. Instead, most of the 

money from tickets and 

sponsorship goes back into the 

game at the grass-roots level. 

“The GAA’s vision was for every 

parish to have a Gaelic club, and 

there are now over 2,000 in Ireland,” 

Zugehörigkeit 

zusammenkommen 

Osteraufstand 

Anlage, Ausstattung 

etw. versuchen 

Basis 

Helm 

Hurlingschläger 

kläglich 

Gemeinde 

Schutt 

sich treffen, Kontakte knüpfen 

Caraher says. It means you can find 

small villages with phenomenal facilities 

and whose place in the community 

goes beyond just sport. “It’s 

where people congregate to play the 

games, but also to socialize,” she says. 

I’m excited about giving the 

games a go. Everyone in my group 

puts on a helmet, picks up a hurley 

and ball, and sprints on to 

the field. We practise running 

with the ball on our 

hurleys — a key skill in the game 

— but fail miserably. It takes several 

tries to get even close to scoring a 

point. After 30 minutes, we try 

some Gaelic football moves. A 

cross between soccer and 

rugby, I find it a lot easier. 

Skilled: 

experienced players 

show how it’s done 

Fotos: laif; Alamy/Mauritius; Avenue Images/Fotofinder; T. Skingsley 

24

Road bowler Gary Daly 

is the man to beat 

Schoolboys 

playing Gaelic 

football 

County Cork has strong 

teams in both hurling and Gaelic 

football, but it is also a centre for 

another old Irish sport. I say 

goodbye to Ó Donnchú and 

Caraher and head 10 kilometres 

north to Ballincurrig, where 

there’s a game in the afternoon 

that I don’t want to miss. 

A large crowd is gathering in 

front of the village pub as I arrive. 

Already tired from the 

morning’s sport, I go in and 

order a pint of creamy Murphy’s 

stout. Outside, players are warming 

up for today’s “score” — the 

term for a game of road bowling. 

This game goes back at least 

to the 17th century. Today, it is 

particularly popular here in County Cork as well as in 

County Armagh, in Northern Ireland. Two players or 

teams take turns throwing a tennis-ball-sized metal “bowl” 

down a public road. Whichever side reaches the finish line 

with the fewest throws, wins. A throw isn’t just about distance, 

though. In Ballincurrig, the course is usually a long, 

challenging country road and players must correct with 

power and spin to navigate corners. 

I leave the pub to see the first player, David Murphy, 

running up to the starting line. He jumps up with both 

feet together and launches the bowl with a powerful un- 

Challenger David Murphy gives Gary Daly something to worry about 

derarm throw. It flies through the air and thuds on the 

road, and the fans — many standing in the street — run 

after it, shouting and cheering. Next is Murphy’s opponent, 

Gary Daly. His throw is a good one, too, and as his 

ball stops, his fans celebrate loudly. The crowd’s reaction 

is clearly a big part of this game. 

After about 20 throws, Murphy’s team wins. The result 

isn’t surprising, because Murphy is a former “King of the 

Roads”, Ireland’s most important championship, which 

takes place each autumn in front of thousands of fans. 

Here, road bowling is serious business. 

bowl [bEUl] = ball 

cheer [tSIE] 

head [hed] 

launch [lO:ntS] 

road bowling [(rEUd )bEUlIN] 

spin [spIn] 

stout [staUt] 

take turns [teIk (t§:nz] 

thud [TVd] 

jubeln 

sich aufmachen 

starten; hier: werfen 

Straßenboßeln, 

auch: Straßenbowling 

Drall 

Starkbier 

sich abwechseln 

dumpf auftreffen 

In Ballincurrig: 

a pint before the 

road bowling 


25


Rowing an old-fashioned currach off the west coast of Ireland; and modern currach sport at the Naomhóga Chorcaí club in Cork 

I wake up to a sunny autumn morning in Cork city. 

Called “the Rebel City” for its turbulent past, Cork’s 

colourful buildings, narrow streets and compact centre feel 

very Irish. It’s no surprise that locals also call it “the real 

capital of Ireland”. 

Water is a part of life here. Not only does Cork have 

one of the world’s largest natural harbours, but it also has 

an island at its centre, surrounded by 

separate branches of the 

River Lee. Ireland’s second city 

is perfect for sailing, 

canoeing and — 

something the Great Blasket 

Islanders would have 

loved — currach rowing. 

The currach is a long, lightweight 

boat similar to a canoe. It 

was used for centuries in Ireland for 

fishing and transportation. Currachbuilding 

is an ancient Irish craft — 

the wooden frame is covered in a 

“skin”, originally animal hide, 

but today canvas or nylon. Currachs 

are moved through the 

water with the help of long, 

narrow oars, and today, they 

are making a comeback as 

leisure boats. 

Cork’s Naomhóga Chorcaí 

rowing club offers lessons to the 

public each Saturday, so I walk 

down to the River Lee to try it out. 

I know I’m in the right place when 

I see currachs bobbing up and 

down on the river. I register, put 

on a thick life jacket and climb 

into a boat with Marie, Martin 

and Dobz from the rowing club. 

animal hide [(ÄnIm&l haId] 

bob [bQb] 

canoeing [kE(nu:IN] 

clash [klÄS] 

craft [krA:ft] 

current [(kVrEnt] 

leisure [(leZE] 

life jacket [(laIf )dZÄkIt] 

oar [O:] 

register [(redZIstE] 

rowing [(rEUIN] 

seaworthy [(si:)w§:Di] 

Tierhaut 

schaukeln 

Kanu fahren 

zusammentreffen 

Handwerk 

Strömung 

Freizeit 

Rettungsweste 

Ruder 

sich anmelden 

Rudern 

seetauglich 

The currach is lighter than I expect, and it rocks under 

our weight. But it is the lightness that makes it so sea - 

worthy. The currach sits on top of high waves, Martin explains, 

and the narrow oars are ideal for cutting through 

strong currents. We start rowing, and I can feel the 

river water below the boat’s thin exterior. 

Rowing is hard work, and I have trouble trying 

not to clash my oars with the others. After 

half an hour, I am extremely tired. How did 

the Great Blasket Islanders do this for 17 

hours a day? It’s not surprising that sport 

came so naturally to them. 

A young Gaelic football player; 

the city of Cork on the River Lee 


IF YOU GO... 

Looking out across the water, I realize that I’m glad to 

have seen a side of Ireland beyond its well-known music 

and literary traditions. At a time of globalization, I find it 

comforting that traditional sports and pastimes can still 

be followed with such passion, giving players and fans a 

sense of local and national pride. 

comforting [(kVmfEtIN] 

pastime [(pA:staIm] 

beruhigend 

Zeitvertreib 

Getting there 

Aer Lingus connects most German cities to Dublin and offers 

direct flights from Munich to Cork. www.aerlingus.com 

Dingle Peninsula and Great Blasket Island 

Stay at Dingle Benners Hotel, with double rooms from 

€100. Main Street, Dingle; tel. (00353) 66-915 1638. 

www.dinglebenners.com 

Eat at The Chart House, The Mall, Dingle; 

tel. (00353) 66-915 2255. www.thecharthousedingle.com 

Ferries from Dunquin to Great Blasket Island usually run 

from April to September. www.blasketislands.ie 

Visit the fascinating Blasket Centre in Dunquin. 

www.heritageireland.ie/en/blascaod 

N 

0 

50 km 

North Atlantic 

Great Blasket Island 

Dingle Peninsula 

Dunquin 

County 

Kerry 

County 

Cork 

Ireland 

Ballincurrig 

Cork 

Midleton 

North 

Atlantic 

Dublin 

Ireland 

Northern 

Ireland 

Irish 

Sea 

Fotos: Mauritius; T. Skingsley; Look; images.de/Fotofinder; Getty Images; Vario/Fotofinder. Karte: Nic Murphy 

Cork, Midleton and Ballincurrig 

Stay at the River Lee Hotel. Double rooms from €93. 

Western Road, Cork; tel. (00353) 21-425 2700. 

www.doylecollection.com 

Visit the Farmgate Country Store and Restaurant, 

Coolbawn, Midleton; tel. (00353) 21-463 2771. 

www.farmgate.ie 

Traditional sport 

Experience Gaelic Games offers sessions in Gaelic games 

all over Ireland; tel. (00353) 1-254 4292. 

www.experiencegaelicgames.com 

To see a hurling or Gaelic football game, check 

www.gaa.ie 

The Gaelic Athletic Association Museum at Dublin’s 

Croke Park explains the history of Gaelic games. 

www.crokepark.ie/gaa-museum 

For more on road bowling, see 

www.irishroadbowling.ie 

Cork’s Naomhóga Chorcaí rowing club runs currach 

sessions on Saturday mornings. For more information, 

see www.naomhogachorcai.com 

See also www.shandonboatclub.com 

Watch currachs racing at the Ocean to City Festival in 

May. There is also a programme of family entertainment; 

tel. (00353) 21-484 7673. www.oceantocity.com 

More information 

See www.tourismireland.com 


27

AMY ARGETSINGER | I Ask Myself 

Why change a 

famous face? 

Botox, Skalpell & Co. – seit einiger Zeit versuchen immer mehr 

Leute, ihre Karriere durch ewig jugendliches Aussehen zu fördern. 

Doch macht sie das wirklich erfolgreicher oder attraktiver? 

““Look!” 

they say. 

“She’s obviously 

had work 

done.” 

” 

What was the matter with 

John Kerry’s face? It was a 

frivolous question to be 

asking about the US secretary of state 

this autumn, and we knew we would 

be chastised for it. Certainly, there 

were much more important things 

going on for Kerry, from America’s 

diplomatic dilemma in Syria to the 

serious illness of his wife. 

Yet when Kerry — a distinguished 

politician and former candidate for 

president — appeared before the Senate 

to debate whether the US should 

use military force against the Assad 

regime for gassing its own citizens, we 

were distracted from 

his words by his appearance. 

He looked 

different. His famously 

craggy face 

seemed, from some 

angles, unnaturally 

smooth. From other 

angles, it looked uncomfortably 

puffy. 

Was he sick or just 

tired? Or had the na- 

Kerry: a man to watch 

anesthetize [E(nesTEtaIz] 

chastise [tSÄ(staIz] 

craggy [(krÄgi] 

crease [kri:s] 

distinguished [dI(stINgwISt] 

distract [dI(strÄkt] 

droop [dru:p] 

flawed [flO:d] 

forehead [(fO:rhed] 

frivolous [(frIvElEs] 

gas [gÄs] 

gritty [(grIti] 

matter [(mÄt&r] 

prickly [(prIkli] 

puffy [(pVfi] 

wrinkle [(rINk&l] 


tion’s top diplomat changed his appearance 

with Botox or cosmetic surgery? 

We published material asking that 

rude question, at the same time 

speaking with doctors who offered 

their theories. It was our most popular 

story for days. Why? Because hundreds 

of thousands of readers were 

busy Googling “What’s the matter 

with John Kerry’s face?” or simply 

“John Kerry Botox?” 

As common as cosmetic surgery 

has become in the US, it remains a 

prickly subject. Many famous women 

refuse to admit they’ve had “work 

done.” Perhaps, if they said that they 

had, it would ruin the illusion of 

being forever 34. Or maybe people 

don’t want to talk about how much 

effort they invest in their looks. And 

now, increasingly, men are undergoing 

these procedures, too — though 

men are even less likely to admit it. 

Should it matter? I’m not sure. 

Studies show that looking “too old” 

can damage your career. We often 

hear from readers who laugh at the 

fact that prominent female politicians, 

betäuben 

(ab)strafen 

zerfurcht, markant 

Falten bilden 

angesehen 

ablenken 

herunterhängen, schlaff werden 

mit Makeln versehen, beschädigt 

Stirn 

leichtfertig, albern 

einen Giftgasangriff verüben 

hart, mutig, draufgängerisch 

hier: wichtig sein, Bedeutung haben 

hier: heikel 

aufgedunsen 

hier: Falten bekommen 

such as Congresswoman Nancy 

Pelosi, have unnaturally smooth faces. 

“Look!” they say. “She’s obviously had 

work done.” And yet, I have no doubt 

that if Nancy Pelosi allowed her face 

to droop or her eyes to wrinkle, as 

happens naturally to a woman in her 

70s, those same critics would say that 

“she’s really let herself go.” 

Sometimes, I wonder what the hell 

we are doing to ourselves. In 2008, 

Vice President Joe Biden appeared on 

a televised debate clearly under the 

influence of Botox. He denied it, but 

it was obvious that his forehead was 

anesthetized in some manner. Perhaps 

he feared that the wrinkles between 

his eyebrows made him seem 

too serious or angry. Yet the effect was 

to take away his natural expressiveness: 

he could no longer look excited 

or angry when he clearly wanted to. 

A couple of years later, I attended 

an Academy Awards party in Hollywood. 

I noticed Sean Penn and Jeremy 

Renner having a conversation. 

I had never found them particularly 

good-looking, and yet now, they 

stood apart for me. Why? I looked 

around: every other man in the room, 

from the toughest action heroes to 

the grittiest character actors, had 

baby-smooth foreheads. I looked 

back at Renner and Penn, who had 

deep horizontal lines creasing their 

foreheads. It was nothing unusual for 

men their age, but it suddenly 

seemed exotic, sexy — flawed, certainly, 

but it made them the most attractive 

men in the room. 

Amy Argetsinger is a co-author of “The Reliable 

Source,” a column in The Washington 

Post about personalities. 

Foto: Getty Images

Täglich nonstop zur 

Lieblingssprache 

Dein Online- 

Sprachtraining! 

Sprachen online lernen: 

Videos mit Untertiteln und interaktiven Übungen 

Jetzt kostenlos testen: www.dalango.de 

Ein Produkt des

TRAVEL | Britain 

EVE LUCAS hat Tipps zu ihren 

Lieblingsecken in London zusammengestellt, 

die wie geschaffen dafür sind, 

ein perfektes romantisches Wochenende 

zu planen. 

London 

Romantic

River cruise: 

enjoy views of 

London from 

the Thames 

Fotos: F1 Online; Alamy/Mauritius (2); PR 

Earth has not anything 

to show 

more fair...” wrote 

William Wordsworth, as 

he looked out over Westminster 

Bridge. That was 

in 1802. More than 200 

years on, London has 

changed a lot, but stand 1 

on any bridge in this city 

and you’ll find it difficult, even today, not to give in to the 

feelings that inspired England’s great Romantic poet. I’ve 

spent a lot of time around the River Thames, and it still 

moves me. So it seems like a natural place to start exploring 

the London that I love, a romantic London — for 

lovers, and for all those who want to renew their affair with 

the great city itself. 

There’s only so much time you can spend on bridges. 

On the other hand, a Bateaux London cruise (1) on the 

Thames, from Waterloo Bridge to London’s Docklands 

and back, provides two hours of pure pleasure and a beautiful 

introduction to the city’s special architectural history. 

Combining views with food is an even better idea — one 

that several cruise companies have taken up. 

On this Friday afternoon, the sun is still reflecting on 

the water. I’m enjoying a cup of tea and some fine English 

sandwiches on the boat as it glides past the majestic 

Houses of Parliament, the neoclassical beauty of Somerset 

House and St Paul’s Cathedral, and the Norman fortress 

otherwise known as the Tower of London. More recent 

additions to London’s skyline such as The Shard and The 

Gherkin rise between the older buildings, creating a fascinating 

combination of past and present. Seeing the city 

from the river takes you to the very centre of London’s 

long history, bringing together all its parts in a fantastic 

panorama. 

A short ride on London Underground’s 

Circle Line from Embankment to Liverpool 

Street station takes me to a place with 

another great panoramic view. 

Sushisamba restaurant (2) is situated 

on the 38th and 39th floors of the 

Heron Tower in the middle of the 

City, London’s financial district. A 

fast lift takes me up to the cocktail 

bar, where I order a glass of wine 

and stand by the floor-to-ceiling 

windows. Lord Foster’s 

Gherkin building is just a 

couple of streets away. From 

this height, I can see into 

its offices, where tinycruise 

company 

[(kru:z )kVmpEni] 

docklands [(dQklEndz] 

drift [drIft] 

fair [feE] 

fairyland [(feErilÄnd] 

floor-to-ceiling window 

[)flO: tE )si:lIN (wIndEU] 

fortress [(fO:trEs] 

Gherkin: The ~ [(g§:kIn] 

give in to sth. [gIv (In tE] 

glide past [(glaId pA:st] 

hatbox [(hÄtbQks] 

inspire [In(spaIE] 

rooftop [(ru:ftQp] 

Shard: The ~ [SA:d] 

take up [teIk (Vp] 

twinkle [(twINk&l] 

Kreuzfahrtunternehmen 

Hafenviertel 

dahintreiben, ziehen 

hier: schön 

Feenreich 

raumhohes Panoramafenster 

Festung 

gläserner gurkenförmiger 

Wolkenkratzer 

einer Sache erliegen, sich einer Sache 

hingeben 

vorbeiziehen, vorbeigleiten 

Hutschachtel 

inspirieren 

Hausdach 

gläserner scherbenförmiger 

Wolkenkratzer 

aufnehmen, ergreifen 

funkeln, glitzern 

looking people are shutting down their computers and 

preparing for a Friday evening out. I feel a bit like Mary 

Poppins, drifting over the rooftops. St Paul’s Cathedral, to 

my right, looks like a hatbox with cream-coloured 

columns surrounded by a labyrinth of pinks and greys. All 

around, the lights of a fairyland city begin to twinkle. 

2 

For a dinner date high above the city: 

Sushisamba in the Heron Tower 


31

At the Globe: 

Shakespeare’s plays 

explore the spectrum 

of human emotions 

3 

cially designed to bring people together, physically and 

emotionally. I join the crowds as they settle down on 

benches or look for the best spot to stand in an area called 

the “pit”. Then the lights go down. The actors push their 

way through the audience and up on to the stage, and we 

are all transported 400 years into the past — far away, into 

a timeless place where the emotions that make us human 

are played out before our eyes. 

It’s dark by the time I leave the theatre. It’s been a long 

day, but I feel like a new person, crossing the millennium 

footbridge to catch a number 11 bus from St Paul’s Cathedral 

to Chelsea. I’m staying at the Lord Milner Hotel (4) 

near Sloane Square, a small place furnished mainly with 

antiques. Gratefully, I fall into my four-poster bed, the best 

place for the sweetest of dreams. 

Breakfast is served in bed at the Lord Milner, providing 

a smooth start to the day. I’ve made an appointment at the 

Floris perfumery (5), just a few doors away along Ebury 

Street. Opened nearly 300 years ago, Floris has a very loyal 

clientele. They typically wait an average of three months 

for an appointment. When I arrive, Shelagh Foyle greets 

me from behind her magician’s desk. She’s going to help 

me put together my personal perfume. 

Set in a fairyland all of its own, The Tempest 

is perhaps the Bard’s most wonderful play, and 

I have a ticket to see it in a famous theatre: 

Shakespeare’s Globe (3). I leave the Heron 

Tower and make my way through the City, 

crossing the river at Southwark Bridge. On the 

other side are streets that Shakespeare himself 

might have walked along as he considered 

Hamlet’s desperation, the madness of Lady 

Macbeth and the passion of Romeo and Juliet. 

Shakespeare was always writing about love, and 

watching his plays at the Globe is a wonderful 

way of experiencing just that. 

Built close to its original location as a reconstruction 

of the theatre used by Shakespeare 

and his actors, the Globe’s circular 

structure and open-air atmosphere seem spe- 

Looking for a romantic hotel? The Lord Milner is an excellent choice 

4 

A CLOSER LOOK 

Southwark is a very old area of Central London. Its 

name can be explained by the Old English words süth 

(south) and weorc (work), indicating a defensive work 

on the south side of the River Thames. The name 

Southwark is pronounced differently from how you 

would expect, though: not [(saUTwO:k], but [(sVDEk]. 

antique [Än(ti:k] 

Bard: the ~ [bA:d] 

footbridge [(fUtbrIdZ] 

four-poster bed [)fO: )pEUstE (bed] 

magician [mE(dZIS&n] 

perfume [(p§:fju:m] 

pit [pIt] 

The Tempest [DE (tempIst] 

Antiquität 

Beiname von William 

Shakespeare 

Fußgängerbrücke 

Himmelbett 

Zauberer, Zauberin 

Parfüm 

Parkett; hier: Stehplatz 

Der Sturm 

Fotos: iStock; Alamy; PR; E. Lucas; F. Wells 


5 

Floris will design a 

perfume just for you 

charity shop [(tSÄrEti SQp] UK 

courtyard [(kO:tjA:d] 

engaged [In(geIdZd] 

fountain [(faUntIn] 

ingredient [In(gri:diEnt] 

nod [nQd] 

pattern [(pÄt&n] 

sandalwood [(sÄnd&lwUd] 

scent [sent] 


Gebrauchtwarenladen, dessen 

Umsatz für wohltätige Zwecke 

eingesetzt wird 

Innenhof 

verlobt 

Springbrunnen 

Bestandteil 

nicken 

Muster 

Sandelholz 

Duft, Parfüm 

She starts by asking me what my 

favourite scent is, one that I feel comfortable 

wearing often. Within five 

minutes, she’s more or less recreated it 

using its three main ingredients: 

vanilla essence, white rose and sandalwood. 

Then we speak about the aromas 

I love or associate with happy 

memories, like that of freshly polished 

leather. Foyle pulls down bottles from 

the shelves, adding drops of this and 

that. I smell and nod, or shake my 

head. After half an hour, she’s created 

a wonderful perfume just for me. 

Stop for a glass 

of wine in the 

courtyard of 

Somerset House 

After moving 

on, I break my 

journey at Temple 

station. I walk up to the Strand 

and into the impressive courtyard of 

Somerset House. Built in 1776, this 

palace is now a major arts and cultural 

centre, home to parts of London 

University’s King’s College as well 

as the Courtauld Gallery of art. I go 

to the small, beautifully decorated 

Fernandez & Wells cafe bar (6), 

where I sit outside, watching the stupendous 

fountains make patterns on 

the ancient stones and enjoying a cup 

of coffee with some excellent, freshly 

made tapas. 

6 

From nearby Embankment station, 

I take the Northern Line to Belsize 

Park in Hampstead. Walking 

uphill along Hampstead High Street, 

I pass bakeries and charity shops. 

Soon I arrive at a street called Keats 

Grove, which is named after John 

Keats, another of England’s famous 

Romantic poets. He lived here in 

Wentworth Place, now called Keats 

House, from 1818 to 1820. At the 

time, Keats’s neighbours were the 

Brawne family. The poet fell in love 

with Fanny Brawne, and in December 

1818, probably against the wishes 

of her mother, the couple became secretly 

engaged.


Now a museum, Keats House (7) 

is a simple, white building surrounded 

by a charming English garden. 

The melancholy atmosphere of 

doomed romantic love fills the poet’s 

study, his bedroom and a salon in 

which he often lay, hoping for a 

glimpse of Fanny 

or an exchange of 

notes. Keats was 

obsessed with the 

“principle of beauty 

in all things”, as 

he once wrote to 

Fanny. She inspired 

some of the poet’s 

finest work — including 

a poem that 

was written here 

and dedicated “To 

Fanny”. In this 

work, he writes: 

“O! let me have thee 

whole, — all — all — be mine!” It 

was not to be, however. Keats died of 

tuberculosis in 1821 in Rome at the 

age of 25. 

I’m looking forward to some less 

dramatic evening entertainment. I 

take the Northern Line again from 

Hampstead, deep into South London, 

to Brixton, an area that suffered high 

unemployment and crime levels 

in the 1980s. Many of these 

troubles have been left behind, 

and Brixton 

became popular 

as 

Poet John Keats: wrote about love 

7 

Keats House: a place defined by a tragic story of romance 

auditorium [)O:dI(tO:riEm] 

bustle [(bVs&l] 

costume drama [(kQstju:m )drA:mE] 

dedicate sth. to sb. [(dedIkeIt tE] 

doomed [du:md] 

Zuschauerraum 

Betrieb, Hektik 

Kostümfilm 

jmdm. etw. widmen 

zum Scheitern verurteilt, 

todgeweiht 

kurzer Blick 

besessen von 

Räumlichkeiten 

Wohn- 

geräumig, großzügig 

(Verkaufs)Stand 

hier: Studier-, 

Arbeitszimmer 

glimpse [glImps] 

obsessed with [Eb(sest wID] 

premises [(premIsIz] 

residential [)rezI(denS&l] 

spacious [(speISEs] 

stall [stO:l] 

study [(stVdi] 

thee [Di] archaic = you 

velvet [(velvIt] 

vintage clothing [)vIntIdZ (klEUDIN] 

Samt 

Originalmodelle aus vergangenen 

Modeepochen 

an attractive, ethnically 

diverse 

district. For more 

than 100 years, 

through good 

times and bad, 

the Ritzy Cinema 

(8) at the 

heart of Brixton 

has been welcoming 

movie-lovers to its spacious premises. There’s live music on at the Upstairs 

bar, but I’ve made another choice: a fresh salad and sandwich followed by a 

bag of popcorn before I take my place in the main auditorium, a space of Edwardian 

elegance with red velvet seating and grand architectural design. This 

evening’s main film is a costume drama, which is good enough for me. 

On Sunday morning, the final point on my journey takes me into the heart 

of more romantic movie history: to the Notting Hill 

district (9), where I join a guided walk through elegant 

residential streets before turning suddenly 

into the noise and bustle of Portobello Road 

Market. African food stalls compete with 

sellers of old silver and vintage clothing 

for the attention of morning shoppers. 

It’s as if we’ve stepped right 

into the romantic comedy Notting 

Hill, where this colourful scene 

provided the perfect setting for a 

love story between people from dif- 

8 

A night out at the cinema: 

have a drink, and watch a 

film at the Ritzy in Brixton 


IF YOU GO... Kopfzeile fett | KOPFZEILE FETT 

Fotos: Alamy/Mauritius; Alamy (2); W. Hilton/NPG; E. Lucas. Karte: Nic Murphy 

ferent cultural backgrounds. The travel bookshop owned 

by Hugh Grant’s character in the film is situated round the 

corner on Blenheim Crescent, and it is full of people taking 

photos. After the tour finishes, I walk back uphill through 

quiet streets and past private, locked gardens like the one 

where Hugh Grant’s and Julia Roberts’s characters are 

shown living happily ever after. 

I’ve arrived at the highest part of Notting Hill. There 

are higher points in London, with better views, but this is 

the perfect place to stand and look around a London still 

dozing under a Sunday sun. There, I’m reminded why I 

adore this city. Again, I think of Wordsworth and the closing 

lines of his famous poem “Upon Westminster Bridge”: 

“the very houses seem asleep; and all that mighty heart is 

lying still!” It’s a perfect ending for a London love story. 

Shoppers at the Portobello Road Market in Notting Hill 

adore sth. / sb. [E(dO:] 

Blenheim [(blenIm] 

doze [dEUz] 

happily ever after 

[)hÄpIli )evE (A:ftE] 

mighty [(maIti] 

verrückt nach etw. / jmdm. sein 

dösen 

glücklich bis ans Ende ihrer Tage 

riesig, mächtig, gewaltig 

9 

Blooming lovely: 

looking out 

along the Thames 

Getting there 

Fly with EasyJet or Ryanair to Luton, Gatwick or 

Stansted airport. 

Stay and eat 

For a charming hotel, stay at the Lord Milner. 

Double rooms from £150. 111 Ebury Street near 

Sloane Square Underground station; 

tel. (0044) 20-7881 9880. www.lordmilner.com 

Eat at Sushisamba in the City; Heron Tower, 

110 Bishopsgate; tel. (0044) 20-3640 7330. 

www.sushisamba.com 

Fernandez & Wells have bar-restaurants at 

Somerset House in the Strand, tel. 0044 20-7734 

1546, and in four other London locations. 

www.fernandezandwells.com 

See and do 

Take in Central London from the Thames with tea 

and sandwiches or a full meal; 

tel. (0044) 20-7695 1800. www.bateauxlondon.com 

Take a wide variety of walks through London 

districts. Each walk costs £9; no bookings required; 

tel. (0044) 20-7624 3978. www.walks.com 

See a play at Shakespeare’s Globe. 

www.shakespearesglobe.com 

Contact Floris perfumery in Ebury Street; 

tel. (0044) 20-7747 3600. www.florislondon.com 

For more on Keats House, see “attractions” at 

www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do 

Read 

A. N. Wilson’s London: A History provides a compact 

introduction to the city; ISBN 978-0-8129-7556-7. 

For an easy read that includes the impressions of a 

foreigner visiting London, try Helene Hanff’s excellent 

book The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street; 

ISBN 978-1-55921-144-4. 

More information 

Visit London has information points at several 

locations in Central London. 

See www.visitlondon.com 

Hyde 

Park 

9 Notting Hill 

Mayfair 

7 

Piccadilly 

Green 

Park 

Ebury Street 

Keats House 

Oxford Street 

Soho 

Belgravia 

4 Lord Milner Hotel 

5 Floris perfumery 

Covent 

Garden 

Fernandez & Wells cafe bar 6 

Bateaux London cruise 

St James’s 

Westminster 

1 

Waterloo Bridge 

Westminster Bridge 

Strand 

Kennington 

8 Ritzy 

Cinema 

Fleet Street 

River Thames 

Shakespeare’s Globe 3 

Road 

Southwark 

0 

Southwark Bridge 

Sushisamba 2 

City 

London Bridge 

1 km 

N

PETER FLYNN | Around Oz 

There’s a lot to do 

Bei einer Hochzeit hat der Zeremonienmeister alle Hände 

voll zu tun, vor allem damit, Ärger zu vermeiden. 

“ 

Our job is 

to make sure 

things run 

smoothly 

” 

I’m looking forward to attending 

the wedding of my niece next 

month — mainly because there is 

nothing official for me to do there. 

You see, I’m normally a rent-amouth: 

I have a great memory, can 

talk about almost anything, can entertain 

a little and am organized. My 

public-speaking career seems to have 

begun at the age of two. My tongue 

became sharpened through school debates 

and academic arguments with 

university professors. If I weren’t so 

fundamentally honest, I could probably 

have been a good politician. 

At weddings, though, we rent-amouths 

are often asked to be the master 

of ceremonies (MC), whose job is 

to make sure the bride and groom’s 

special day runs smoothly. That 

means you have to be on full alert for 

hours. Even if the couple have paid a 

wedding organizer, the responsibility 

for everything other than the actual 

wedding ceremony falls to the MC. 

The first rule is that the MC 

should not drink. There is probably 

nothing worse at a wedding than a 

drunken MC attracting all attention 

to him- or herself with bad or offensive 

jokes. It is also a good idea to remind 

important speakers, such as the 

bride’s father and the best man, that 

they are not comedians. 

At the wedding reception, the first 

job is to announce the arrival of the 

bridal party, one person at a time. 

That means giving a big welcome — 

by individual name — to flower girls, 

page boys, bridesmaids and, lastly, the 

new couple as they make their way to 

the high table. Of course, they are always 

late from having the official 

photographs taken, so you are already 

behind schedule. 

I usually remind the couple that 

the rest of us have been waiting: 

they’re late, and we’re hungry. I also 

tell them that, only because it’s their 

special day, we’ll follow tradition and 

allow their meals to be served first. 

Then the house rules and etiquette 

are announced: mobile phones 

to be in silent mode, and no texting 

under the tables, for example. It’s explained 

to the guests what will happen 

and in what order. By this time, 

they know who is in charge. 

The musicians and caterers are the 

next people you have to whack into 

line for being too loud or too slow. 

All speakers are to be reminded that 

we are on a schedule, so they 

alert: be on full ~ [E(l§:t] 

argument [(A:gjumEnt] 

best man [)best (mÄn] 

bridal party [(braId&l )pA:ti] 

bride [braId] 

bridesmaid [(braIdzmeId] 

groom [gru:m] 

high table [)haI (teIb&l] Aus.,UK 

in charge: be ~ [In (tSA:dZ] 

key speaker [)ki: (spi:kE] 

master of ceremonies (MC) 

[)mA:stE Ev (serEmEniz] 

offensive [E(fensIv] 

page boy [(peIdZ bOI] 

rent-a-mouth [(rent E )maUT] ifml. 

silent mode [(saIlEnt mEUd] 

texting [(tekstIN] 

wedding reception [(wedIN ri)sepS&n] 

whack sb. into line 

[)wÄk )IntE (laIn] ifml. 

shouldn’t wander off to the bar or go 

out for a smoke. Sadly, at about this 

time, you might need to call an ambulance 

for Great-Aunt Agnes, who 

has suddenly become most unwell, or 

for the 10-year-old nephews who 

have been sharing too much champagne 

with Great-Aunt Agnes. 

Of course, there is much joy and 

emotion at weddings, and the commentary 

by the key speakers is often 

entertaining. I especially like the remarks 

and tributes a much-in-love 

couple make to each other in front of 

the guests. 

That usually marks the end of the 

speeches. The MC’s final job is to call 

the couple to the dance floor for the 

bridal waltz. 

Next month for my niece, however, 

I’ll be doing none of that. I 

won’t be the master of ceremonies — 

if only because I did that job 35 years 

ago at her parents’ wedding. 

in voller Alarmbereitschaft sein 

hier: Diskussion, Streit 

Trauzeuge (des Bräutigams) 

Hochzeitsgesellschaft 

Braut 

Brautjungfer 

Bräutigam 

Festtafel 

etw. leiten, der Boss sein 

Hauptredner 

Zeremonienmeister 

beleidigend, anstößig 

Brautführer 

Mietmaul 

Stummschaltung 

SMS schreiben 

Hochzeitsempfang 

jmdn. auf seinen Platz verweisen; 

hier: ermahnen 

Peter Flynn is a public-relations consultant and social commentator who lives in Perth, 

Western Australia. 

Foto: iStock 

36 


GET STARTED NOW! 

Spotlight’s easy-English 

booklet 

Einfaches Englisch 

für Alltagssituationen 

Green Light

DEBATE SPECIAL | United States 

Voices of the future 

In einem Sonderbeitrag berichtet LAURA MONTGOMERY über ein Forum, in dem 

junge Menschen aus aller Welt die Möglichkeit haben, wichtige Fragen zu diskutieren. 

Eine bemerkenswerte junge Frau aus Deutschland war auch dabei. 

Debating for change 

at the summer school 

Christina Veldhoen feels humbled. Across the table 

from her sits Mamoun, a political-science student 

from Syria, who founded a charity that supports 

war refugees. Nearby, she sees 25-year-old Angela from 

Kenya, who runs an organization that educates young 

Kenyans on their rights and responsibilities as citizens. 

Also present are 95 other young people from around the 

world, each with an equally impressive biography. 

It is day one of the week-long UNAOC-EF Summer 

School, and this group of global youth leaders is gathered 

together on a former college campus 30 miles north of 

New York City. Aged between 18 and 35, and from 92 

countries, they are here to build a better world by bridging 

cultural differences. The group will receive direct mentorship 

from UN and other international experts. They will 

visit the headquarters of the United Nations in New York 

cofounder [(koUfaUnd&r] 

humbled: feel ~ [(hVmb&ld] 

innovator [(InEveIt&r] 

mentorship [(mentO:rSIp] 

participant [p&r(tIsIpEnt] 

political science 

[pE)lItIk&l (saIEns] 

Mitbegründer(in) 

Demut empfinden 

Erneuerer, Wegbereiter 

persönliche Betreuung, Begleitung 

Teilnehmer(in) 

Politikwissenschaft 

City and take part in workshops and team 

exercises. Through this, the participants 

will learn to promote peace and cooperation, 

to use social media for social change, 

and to support social entrepreneurship in 

their home countries. 

Starting in 2010, the first three summer 

schools were held in Portugal, with a 

regional school in Malta in 2012. These 

events were run by the United Nations Alliance 

of Civilizations (UNAOC) alone, a 

special program of the UN secretarygeneral 

that supports intercultural debate 

to help resolve social conflict. This year, the 

UNAOC brought a partner on board: 

Education First (EF), a private company 

that specializes in language training, educational 

travel, and cultural exchange programs. 

The new cooperation with EF 

meant that it was possible to hold the 

school on the large EF campus in the village 

of Tarrytown, New York. 

The group that gathered in New York represents a 

global elite: more than 22,000 people from around the 

world applied for the 100 places in the summer school. In 

his welcoming speech to the participants, Nassir Abdulaziz 

Al-Nasser, the UN High Representative for the UNAOC, 

said, “You are not the leaders of tomorrow; you are the 

leaders of today. You are the innovators in social entre - 

preneurship, experts in social networking, creators of 

e-businesses, and inventors of popular culture.” 

Christina Veldhoen, originally from Hamburg, was the 

only participant from Germany chosen to join the group 

this year. There were good reasons for this choice: as a cofounder 

of the company Rock Your Life!, the 30-year-old 

has already shown herself to be a leader in creating positive 

social change in her home country. Christina started Rock 

Your Life! at Zeppelin University in Friedrichshafen in 

resolve [ri(zA:lv] 

social entrepreneurship 

[)soUS&l )A:ntrEprE(n§:SIp] 

social networking 

[)soUS&l (netw§:kIN] 

UN secretary-general 

[ju: )en )sekrEteri (dZen&rEl] 

überwinden 

sozial denkendes Unternehmertum 

soziale Kontakte knüpfen 

und pflegen 

UNO-Generalsekretär 

Fotos: L. Montgomery; C. Veldhoen; EF 


Christina Veldhoen: 

learning to build a 

better world 

2008. Working with 

a fellow graduate 

student, her aim was 

to help socially disadvantaged 

school 

pupils improve their 

educational chances 

and prepare for successful careers. They do this by bringing 

together German secondary-school students and universitystudent 

mentors, who coach the pupils for around two 

years. What began as a local student project has now become 

a nationwide network with 28 local offices, 1,000 

school pupils, and 2,500 university student volunteers. 

At the summer school, Christina met people from 

backgrounds very different to her own. “In Germany, we 

generally have enough to eat, an education, and low unemployment. 

One of our biggest challenges is the low 

birth rate,” she said. “We don’t have the same kinds of fundamental 

problems the other people here are dealing with 

in their home countries. I hope to learn from them and to 

get inspiration for bringing my own efforts to an international 

level.” 

The overall purpose of the event is not just to offer a 

week of training and learning, but also to plant the seeds 

for sustainable social change in the participants’ home countries. 

“The impact of what happens here cannot be judged 

after one week,” said 29-year-old Ahmad Alhendawi, the 

UN secretary-general’s envoy on youth. “It’s about the lasting 

connections that are formed, the shared ideals and principles 

that go beyond personal stories and situations.” 

At the end of the summer school, Christina reflected 

on all she had learned. “It made me realize how we all represent 

different aspects of life — pieces of a puzzle. Only 

by coming together can we do something that really has 

far-reaching effects.” Just a few weeks before the summer 

school, Christina decided to leave Rock Your Life! to start 

something new. Thanks to what she learned in New York, 

Christina has been inspired to deal with global issues. “After 

completing the summer school, I’m now even more motivated 

to tackle challenges that go beyond Germany.” 

The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Summer 

School is an ongoing project. The hope is that the event 

will take place again on the EF Tarrytown campus next 

year. For more information on the summer school, see 

www.unaocefsummerschool.org 

beyond [bi(A:nd] 

chairperson [(tSer)p§:s&n] 

displace [dIs(pleIs] 

graduate student 

[)grÄdZuEt (stu:d&nt] 

darüber hinaus 

Vorsitzende(r) 

vertreiben 

Student(in) nach dem ersten 

Hochschulabschluss 

Faces of change 

Find out more about some of the inspiring 

participants of the 2013 UNAOC-EF Summer School. 

Dina Baidildayeva, 23, 

Kazakhstan 

Abdoulie Badjie, 19, Gambia 

host [hoUst] 

impact [(ImpÄkt] 

ongoing [(A:n)goUIN] 

slam poetry group 

[slÄm (poUEtri )gru:p] 

sustainable [sE(steInEb&l] 

tackle sth. [(tÄk&l] 

UN secretary-general’s 

envoy on youth [ju: )en )sekrEteri 

(dZen&rElz )envOI A:n (ju:T] 

volunteer [)vA:lEn(tI&r] 

warrior [(wO:ri&r] 

Mamoun Mahayni, 21, 

Syria 

Yukta Bajracharya, 21, Nepal 

moderieren 

Auswirkungen, Einfluss 

fortdauernd 

Autorengruppe, die an 

Dichterwettstreit- 

Veranstaltungen teilnimmt 

nachhaltig 

etw. angehen 

Gesandter des UN- 

Generalsekretärs für 

die Jugend 

Freiwillige(r), Ehrenamtliche(r) 

Krieger(in) 


39

HISTORY | 50 Years Ago 

Who shot JFK? 

Silenced: Oswald was 

killed with this revolver 

Lee Harvey Oswald soll John F. Kennedy erschossen haben. Doch wer 

war Oswald eigentlich? MIKE PILEWSKI hat nachgeforscht. 

The date was November 22, 1963 — 50 years ago. 

President John F. Kennedy was in Dallas, Texas, on 

his way to lunch with local political and business 

leaders. More than 150,000 people lined the streets as 

Kennedy waved to them from an open limousine. Nellie 

Connally, the wife of the Texas governor, turned to 

Kennedy, who was in the back seat. “Mr. President, you 

can’t say Dallas doesn’t love you,” she said. 

A minute later, as the car passed Dealey Plaza, three 

shots were heard. Kennedy was hit in the head; the governor 

in the front seat was hit in the chest. The limousine 

rushed to Parkland Hospital, arriving within four minutes. 

Connally survived; the president was not so lucky. 

Witnesses said they’d seen a man with a rifle in a sixthfloor 

window of the Texas School Book Depository, which 

faced onto Dealey Plaza. Police found the rifle and three 

spent cartridges there. By 2 p.m., across town, a man 

matching the witnesses’ description was arrested in a movie 

theater after he’d shot a policeman. 

The gunman was Lee Harvey Oswald, a 24-year-old former 

Marine sharpshooter; he worked at the book deposi- 

tory. He told reporters he’d been in 

the building at the time the president was shot. 

“Did you shoot the president?” a reporter asked. 

“No,” Oswald said. “They’ve taken me in because 

of the fact that I lived in the Soviet Union. I’m just a patsy.” 

For two days, Oswald denied that he’d shot the president. 

Then detectives started to move him from police 

headquarters to jail. From among a crowd of reporters, 

Jack Ruby, a Dallas strip-club owner, stepped forward and 

shot him in the chest. The detective accompanying Oswald 

later asked Ruby why he had shot the suspect. “I just 

wanted to be a hero,” Ruby replied. “It looks like I screwed 

things up good.” 

With no further questioning possible, and with only 

partial fingerprints found on the murder weapon, the police 

couldn’t prove definitively that Oswald was their man. 

Although President Kennedy was popular, his willingness 

for reform made him unpopular with certain institutions 

and individuals. As with the characters in Agatha 

Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, motives have been 

ascribed to anybody and everybody: the Mafia, the CIA, 

the FBI, the Secret Service, the “military industrial complex,” 

Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, oil company 

president George H. W. Bush, Cuba, the Soviet Union, 

and combinations of the above. 

However, the commission led by Supreme Court Chief 

Justice Earl Warren right after Kennedy’s death, an inquiry 

by the House of Representatives in the 1970s, and separate 

investigations by the FBI and the Dallas police all concluded 

that Oswald — whether or not he had acted alone 

— was the only identifiable suspect and the likely assassin. 

ascribe sth. to sb. [E(skraIb tE] jmdm. etw. zuschreiben 

assassin [E(sÄsIn] 

Mörder 

movie theater [(mu:vi )Ti:Et&r] N. Am. Kino 

partial [(pA:rS&l] 

unvollständig 

patsy [(pÄtsi] N. Am. ifml. 

Sündenbock 

rifle [(raIf&l] 

Gewehr 

school book depository 

(Schul)Buchlager 

[)sku:l bUk di(pA:zEtO:ri] 

screw things up good 

ordentlich Mist bauen 

[)skru: TINz Vp (gUd] ifml. 

sharpshooter [(SA:rp)Su:t&r] Scharfschütze 

sixth-floor [(sIksT flO:r] N. Am. im fünften Stockwerk 

spent cartridge [spent (kA:rtrIdZ] gebrauchte Patrone 

Supreme Court chief justice Vorsitzender Oberster Richter 

[su)pri:m )kO:rt )tSi:f (dZVstIs] am Obersten Bundesgericht 

suspect [(sVspekt] 

mutmaßliche(r) Täter(in) 

take sb. in [teIk (In] 

jmdn. festnehmen 

Fotos: Corbis (2); AKG Images; Keystone 

Innocent? Oswald claimed 

he hadn’t shot the president

Oswald’s biography was certainly 

unusual. In 1959, just before his 

20th birthday, the young Marxist had 

left the US Marine Corps and flown 

to Moscow on a one-week tourist visa 

to request Soviet citizenship. According 

to Oswald, the Soviet officials 

could not understand why he would 

want to live there. But Oswald was 

serious; he went to the US embassy 

and gave up his US passport. “I have 

made up my mind,” he said. “I’m 

through.” 

Oswald had hoped to study at 

Moscow University, but because the 

Soviet authorities didn’t trust him, 

they gave him a job at an electronics 

factory in Minsk. After a year and a 

half, Oswald wrote in his diary: “I am 

starting to reconsider my desire about 

staying. The work is drab. The money 

I get has nowhere to be spent. No 

nightclubs or bowling alleys, no 

places of recreation except the trade 

union dances. I have had enough.” 

He went back to the US embassy and 

had his passport returned. 

Still in Minsk, he met a pharmacology 

student, Marina Prussakova, 

whom he married in April 1961. The 

Shot: Kennedy in his limousine in Dallas 

Identified: Oswald 

had been in the 

US military 

couple and their baby 

daughter emigrated to the 

US the following year, 

settling in the Dallas 

area. There, Oswald 

found only jobs that 

required no skills. A 

lack of motivation 

turned into frustration. 

Everyone and 

everything seemed 

to be against him. 

Using a pseudonym, Oswald ordered 

a rifle by mail. In April 1963, he used it to shoot at a 

retired general — an outspoken opponent of communism — 

through the window of the general’s home. Oswald’s wife said that her husband 

saw the general as the leader of a fascist organization. “I told him that he 

had no right to kill people in peacetime; he had no right to take their life, because 

not everybody has the same ideas as he has,” she explained to the Warren 

Commission. “He said if someone had killed Hitler in time, it would have saved 

many lives. I told him that this is no method to prove your ideas, by means of 

a rifle.” 

The rifle was the same one with which Kennedy was shot. 

The conspiracy theorists who say Oswald could not possibly have shot 

Kennedy overlook the fact that Oswald was the biggest conspiracy theorist of 

all. Priscilla Johnson McMillan, who had interviewed him in Moscow and who 

wrote the 1977 biography Marina and Lee about Oswald and his wife, told 

Publishers Weekly in 2013: “Lying and keeping secrets were a way of life [for 

Oswald], independent of what the lies or the secrets were about. They made 

him feel important. But I could never find any associates; it was a conspiracy 

of one. The Russians concluded that he was not 

conspiracy material — because he was basically 

crazy.” 

Today, an X on Elm Street in Dallas marks 

the spot where Kennedy was shot. The Texas 

School Book Depository is now a government 

office building; its sixth floor is a museum of 

JFK’s life, presidency, and death. A webcam at 

www.earthcam.com looks out the window at 

Dealey Plaza, giving internet users a live view 

from the assassin’s perspective. 

Kennedy was the fourth and last US president 

to be assassinated, but Oswald was not the 

last of his kind. Attempts have been made on the 

lives of another 13 presidents, including every 

president since JFK. 

associate [E(soUSiEt] 

bowling alley [(boUlIN )Äli] 

by means of [baI (mi:nz Ev] 

citizenship [(sItIzEnSIp] 

conspiracy theorist 

[kEn(spIrEsi )Ti:ErEst] 

drab [drÄb] 

Verbündete(r) 

Bowlingbahn 

mittels, durch 

Staatsbürgerschaft 

Verschwörungstheoretiker(in) 

eintönig 

fascist [(fÄSIst] 

in time [In (taIm] 

outspoken [aUt(spoUkEn] 

through: be ~ with sth. 

[Tru:] ifml. 

trade union [)treId (ju:njEn] 

US Marine Corps [)ju: es mE(ri:n kO:r] 

faschistisch 

rechtzeitig 

ausgesprochen 

fertig mit etw. sein, 

genug von etw. haben 

Gewerkschaft 

Marineinfanteriekorps 


41

PRESS GALLERY | Comment 

The 

tragedy 

of Syria 

Während die UN Syrien als schwerste Krise des 21. Jahrhunderts 

bezeichnet, kommen Hilfsmaßnahmen nur zögernd in Gang. 

Destruction everywhere: 

in homes (left) 

and in refugee camps 

The civil war in Syria is a tragedy. It is a tragedy for 

its people, whose lives and homes have been damaged 

in many cases beyond repair, and for millions 

of children who have endured terrible events and whose 

futures are now unimaginably bleak. It is a tragedy for a 

country that for hundreds of generations accommodated 

such diversity of faith and whose towns and cities reflected 

a long and distinguished history. And in a different 

way, it is a global tragedy, for much of the world 

seems indifferent to the suffering, paralysed by its intractability 

and reluctant to confront the urgent need for 

action. ... 

acutely [E(kju:tli] 

backer [(bÄkE] 

beyond repair [bi)jQnd ri(peE] 

bleak [bli:k] 

burden [(b§:d&n] 

civil war [)sIv&l (wO:] 

displace [dIs(pleIs] 

diversity [daI(v§:sEti] 

emergency relief [i)m§:dZEnsi ri(li:f] 

endure [In(djUE] 

impasse [Äm(pA:s] 

indifferent [In(dIfrEnt] 

intractability [In)trÄktE(bIlEti] 

NGO (non-governmental organization) 

[)en dZi: (EU] 

paralyse [(pÄrElaIz] 

reluctant: be ~ to do sth. [ri(lVktEnt] 

äußerst 

Unterstützer(in) 

irreparabel 

trostlos 

Last, Belastung 

Bürgerkrieg 

vertreiben 

Vielfalt 

Not-, Soforthilfe 

ertragen 

ausweglose Situation 

gleichgültig 

Ausweglosigkeit 

regierungsunabhängige Organisation 

lähmen 

widerwillig sein, etw. zu tun 

The bitterly cold Middle Eastern winter is approaching 

and ... the UN, as the number of refugees passed the 2 million 

mark, declared Syria the 21st century’s worst crisis. ... 

In the context of a civil war, emergency relief is always 

tough to deliver. In Syria, aid workers face even more than 

the usual obstacles. ... On the ground, it is acutely dangerous 

for the NGO personnel, and reaching the 4 million 

displaced people — a tenth of the population — who are 

still in Syria but not in their own homes is often almost 

impossible. ... 

There is also a real danger that the burden of refugees 

could destabilise Jordan and Lebanon, economically and 

politically, the way the great exodus of 

Rwandan refugees after the genocide in 

1994 destabilised the Democratic Republic 

of the Congo. 

[T]he only real answer is to get the 

diplomatic process moving... One way 

of breaking the impasse might be a 

Syrian contact group, representing all 

the countries with an interest in the region. 

Bringing together all the participants’ 

external sponsors would mean ... 

including the Assad regime’s main 

backers, Iran as well as Russia. Not an 

easy option, but even some ... privately 

agree that the scale of the tragedy could 

make it necessary. ... 

© Guardian News & Media 2013 

Fotos: Reuters (2) 


INFO TO GO 

bitterly cold 

You may have noticed the focus on bad weather in 

Vocabulary (pages 50–51). When it comes to the adjective 

“cold”, adverbs are used in particular to describe 

its intensity. One such collocation — a group of 

words commonly used together — appears in the article 

on the opposite page: “the bitterly cold Middle 

Eastern winter”. Seeing the word “bitter” gives you an 

idea of exactly how unpleasant and intense that winter 

usually is. Cold weather can also be described as 

“freezing cold”, “icy cold”, “terribly cold” or “extremely 

cold”. In a more literary text, you may read of the 

weather being “numbingly cold” or “excruciatingly 

cold”. “Cold” is also a noun and the opposite of the 

word “heat”. It is intensified in the same way as the 

adjective; for example: “He stood outside, shivering 

in the freezing cold.” 

Listen to more news 

items in Replay 

IN THE HEADLINES 

Spilt milk The Economist 

In 2008, the Chinese dairy company Sanlu caused a worldwide 

scandal when it added the chemical melamine to 

milk powder, killing six babies and making thousands of 

others sick. This summer, the head of a New Zealand dairy 

company, Fonterra, which had a large stake in Sanlu, apologized 

to customers in China, but for a different reason. 

Some of Fonterra’s whey powder was contaminated with 

bacteria that cause food poisoning. The full idiom referred 

to in this headline is: “It’s no use crying over spilt milk.” 

That means one should not worry about something that 

has already happened. Chinese parents see this differently; 

many are still angry about the contaminated milk. 

There is another word that is often used to 

describe “the cold”. Which is it? 

a) strong b) biting c) driving 

dairy company [(deEri )kVmpEni] 

food poisoning [(fu:d )pOIz&nIN] 

it’s no use [)Its nEU (ju:s] 

stake [steIk] 

whey [weI] 

Molkereiunternehmen 

Lebensmittelvergiftung 

es bringt nichts 

Anteil, Beteiligung 

Molke 

Answer: b) biting (“strong” is often used with “wind(s)”, and “driving” may be used with “rain”) 

Get Spotlight plus for free 

+ 

This offer is valid only during November 2013. If you subscribe to 

Spotlight magazine now, you’ll get the exercise booklet plus as a free 

add-on for a whole year. You can choose between the print version 

or the booklet as e-paper. 

We want to help you get your English really up to scratch, and 

the best way to do that is with plus. This 24-page booklet is packed 

with essential exercises and language tips related to topics in 

Spotlight as well as additional grammar and vocabulary and a test. 

Combined with Spotlight magazine, plus will give you a full-on language 

workout. 

add-on [(Äd Qn] 

full-on [)fUl (Qn] ifml. 

subscribe to sth. [sEb(skraIb tE] 

up to scratch [)Vp tE (skrÄtS] ifml. 

valid [(vÄlId] 

workout [(w§:kaUt] 

Zusatzprodukt 

voll, hundertprozentig 

etw. abonnieren 

auf dem neuesten Stand 

gültig 

Training 

Aktion: 

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*Angebot für Neu-Abonnenten: Jahresabo Print oder E-Paper mit kostenlosem Übungsheft für ein Jahr zum Preis 

von ¤74,40 /SFR 111,60 (Business Spotlight | ¤69,00 / SFR 103,50). Das Aktionsangebot gilt bis zum 30.11.2013.

ARTS | What’s New 

| Comedy 

Holiday from hell 

Teen movies are usually films about vampires, zombies 

or young people trying to become successful dancers 

or skateboarders. Happily, there are exceptions that 

prove the rule. The Way Way Back is one of them. 

Fourteen-year-old Duncan (Liam James) is on holiday with 

his mother, Pam (Toni Collette), her new boyfriend, Trent 

(Steve Carell), and Trent’s teenage daughter. Trent believes 

in authority, discipline and getting things done. His idea 

of holiday fun is to work on becoming a family. Duncan 

doesn’t like these new additions to his partnership with 

Mum, but he wants her to be happy. 

| Drama 

In Hebrew, Zaytoun means “olive”, but Israeli director Eran 

Riklis’s film of this name is more than a tale of reconciliation. 

Yoni (Stephen Dorff), an Israeli pilot, was shot down in a raid 

over Lebanon in 1982 and taken prisoner by the Palestinians. 

One of these is 12-year-old Fahed (Abdallah El Akal), who is already 

training as a liberation fighter. Fahed’s father died in Israeli 

raids, so Yoni is the enemy. But he 

is also the only person who can take 

Fahed to Israel to plant his father’s 

olive tree. A road trip begins across 

man-made borders towards forgiveness 

and amity. Starts 14 November. 

When enemies become friends: 

boy fighter Fahed and pilot Yoni 

All in all, it’s a difficult place to be: stuck in Trent’s beach 

house in a small town, and with adults who start behaving 

like teenagers as they drink, smoke and flirt their way 

through summer parties. At first, Duncan struggles with 

the changes around him and the loss of control in his life. 

Then he makes his escape, getting a job at a local water park 

and finding a replacement family amongst its employees. 

One of these is Owen — brilliantly played by Sam Rockwell 

— whose cool wisdom shows Duncan that growing 

up is about accepting yourself, not accepting bad compromises. 

Starts 14 November. 

| Classic series 

Since November 1963, people across 

Britain have been enjoying the adventures 

of a humanoid alien called the 

Doctor. In the TV series Doctor Who, 

the hero travels through time and space 

to fight evil robots and killer plants. 

Many of these shows are available on 

DVD, including the first black-and-white 

episodes from 1963. To mark the show’s 

50th anniversary, BBC One in Britain, 

BBC America and the Space channel in 

Life lessons: Liam 

James is Duncan 

Classic TV: timetravel 

adventures 

Canada will show a special 75-minute episode on 23 November. 

This makes The Day of the Doctor the biggest-ever global 

simulcast of a drama. Find out more at www.bbc.co.uk 

amity [(ÄmEti] 

director [daI&(rektE] 

exceptions prove the rule 

[Ik)sepS&nz )pru:v De (ru:l] 

Hebrew [(hi:bru:] 

humanoid alien 

[(hju:mEnOId )eIliEn] 

Freundschaft 

hier: Regisseur(in) 

Ausnahmen bestätigen 

die Regel 

Hebräisch 

menschenähnliche(r) 

Außerirdische(r) 

liberation fighter [)lIbE(reIS&n )faItE] 

man-made [)mÄn (meId] 

raid [reId] 

reconciliation [)rekEnsIli(eIS&n] 

simulcast [(sIm&lkA:st] 

stuck: be ~ [stVk] 

wisdom [(wIzdEm] 

Freiheitskämpfer 

künstlich geschaffen 

Angriff, Überfall 

Versöhnung 

gleichzeitige Ausstrahlung 

festsitzen 

Klugheit, (Lebens)Weisheit 

Fotos: 20C Fox; Senator; PR; T.Stampfer 


| Science 

| Language 

Apps for all: 

from the famous 

V. & A. Museum 

London’s Victoria and Albert Museum has thousands 

of exhibits on the topics of the arts and design and is known 

for its innovative presentation. Many areas of the museum 

have interactive elements, such as costumes for dressing up. 

The digital products are just as imaginative. The museum’s 

apps include virtual tours of current exhibitions and a story for 

children that takes place within the V. & A. called “Clara’s Button”. 

Other apps, like Hollywood Camera, give you the chance 

to “try on” famous film costumes. The apps are fun, whether 

you are planning a trip to London soon (see pp. 30–35) or just 

enjoy finding out about the decorative arts. For the complete 

V. & A. apps, see www.vam.ac.uk/page/v/apps 

How effectively can you improve your English — in just five 

minutes a day? Very effectively if you use the Langenscheidt 

Sprachkalender 2014 Englisch. Each day, 

you are presented with a new and interesting piece of information 

on the cultures and language 

of the English-speaking 

world. On 6 January, you can 

find out about homonyms; on 

16 May, there’s a recipe for 

watermelon smoothies; and on 

14 October, you can test your 

knowledge of British and American 

English. Every day, there is 

a single word to learn, and 

there’s a German translation of 

longer texts. Enjoy a year’s 

worth of information, exercises, 

jokes and fun historical Learning English: 

facts with this calendar — or vocabulary and facts, 

one day at a time 

give it to a friend for Christmas. 

Langenscheidt, ISBN 978-3-468-44842-3, €9.99. 

| Exhibition 

Imagine her in it: one of the 

pieces of clothing in the show 

Ted Stampfer 

collects Marilyn 

Monroe 

With Private Marilyn, 

memorabilia 

the Spielzeug Welten Museum 

in Basle presents a 

special treat — an exhibition 

of more than 700 objects 

that belonged to the 

Hollywood star. It’s the 

largest collection of its 

kind, and it’s owned by 

German private collector 

Ted Stampfer, who has spent years searching for and buying Marilyn Monroe memorabilia. 

The exhibition features objects from the star’s private life and professional 

career — from leopard-print scarves and angora sweaters to plane tickets, screenplays 

and contracts. In the 50 years since Monroe died, media attention has given 

many of us the feeling that we knew her well. This exhibition helps to make that 

impression seem real. For details, see www.spielzeug-welten-museum-basel.ch/de 

a year’s worth of 

[E (jIEz w§:T Ev] 

exhibit [Ig(zIbIt] 

homonyms [(hQmEnImz] 

imaginative [I(mÄdZInEtIv] 

hier: ein ganzes Jahr lang 

Exponat, Ausstellungsstück 

Homonyme (Wörter, die ähnlich 

klingen, aber unterschiedliche 

Bedeutung haben) 

einfallsreich, fantasievoll 

Leopardenmuster- 

Erinnerungsstücke 

seiner Art 

(Koch)Rezept 

Schal 

Drehbuch 

besonderer Leckerbissen 

leopard-print [(lepEd prInt] 

memorabilia [)memErE(bIliE] 

of its kind [Ev Its (kaInd] 

recipe [(resEpi] 

scarf (pl. scarves) [skA:f] 

screenplay [(skri:npleI] 

special treat [)speS&l (tri:t] 

Reviews by EVE LUCAS 


45

ARTS | Short Story and Books 

Hungry 

Träume haben Joel nach London getrieben. Dann treibt ihn der Hunger zum Ladendiebstahl. 

Doch er wird erwischt. VANESSA CLARK erzählt. 

Joel had been living in London for six months. He had 

come to the city to follow his dream of working in the 

music industry. He couldn’t sit around in his mum’s 

home in quiet Cornwall, waiting for a music producer to 

knock on the door. So he had gone to the capital. But his 

money had run out, and he had ended up on the streets. 

His music career was limited to playing his guitar outside 

Underground stations. 

He usually made enough money for a hamburger or a 

bag of crisps, but he hadn’t eaten fresh food for weeks. He 

was losing weight, and his skin and hair had lost the 

healthy look of a boy from a village by the sea. 

Early one morning, he walked past a small shop that 

was just opening for the day. It was one of those small 

wholefood supermarkets where the middle classes came to 

buy their muesli. As the metal shutters went up, Joel saw 

a window full of fresh fruit and vegetables that seemed to 

shine in the morning light. Without really thinking what 

he was doing, he entered the shop. 

He took a basket and started to fill it with food: 

a small loaf of wholemeal bread, two organic apples, 

four tomatoes on the vine. He asked the girl at the 

delicatessen counter for some French cheese, some 

Italian ham and four fresh sardines. They were sardines 

from Cornwall, from a fishing port not far 

along the coast from his home. 

The young woman put the food in a brown 

paper bag for him. He added a lemon to the basket, 

to go with the fish — though how he was going to 

grill them, he had no idea. 

There was only one checkout in this small store, 

and no one was serving there yet. The way was 

open. Joel quickly threw the things from his basket 

into his rucksack and walked past the empty checkout 

desk with confidence. He could feel the adrenalin 

flooding through his body. He didn’t look back. 

He was out. But before he could run, he felt a hand 

on his arm. “Excuse me. May I ask you to come back inside?” 

It was the girl from the delicatessen counter. She 

must have been watching him. 

Joel followed the girl. His mind was racing, searching 

for a believable explanation. But there was none. She led 

him to the manager’s office and asked him to wait for a 

minute. The manager would be here very soon. She 

seemed uncomfortable. He smiled and told her that it was 

fine; he didn’t mind waiting. She left him alone. 

Joel felt sick. How could he have got himself into such 

trouble? There was nothing to do but to wait for the punishment 

that he deserved. It was a shame, though. All that 

lovely food. He opened his rucksack and pulled out an 

apple. 

He took an enormous bite, then another and another. 

He swallowed the rest, pips and all. He stuffed the goat’s 

cheese into his mouth and chewed it quickly before swallowing 

it down in a large gulp. Next the tomatoes, including 

the stalks. Then the salty ham, and even the fat around 

checkout [(tSekaUt] 

Kasse 

delicatessen counter 

Feinkosttheke 

[)delIkE(tes&n )kaUntE] 

gulp: swallow in a large ~ [gVlp] hinunterschlingen 

(gulp 

Schluck) 

loaf [lEUf] 

(Brot)Laib 

pip [pIp] 

(Frucht)Kern 

run out [rVn (aUt] zu Ende gehen (➝ p. 61) 

shutter [(SVtE] 

stalk [stO:k] 

tomato on the vine 

[tE)mA:tEU Qn DE (vaIn] 

wholefood supermarket 

[)hEUlfu:d (su:pE)mA:kIt] 

(wholefood 

wholemeal bread [)hEUlmi:&l (bred] 

Rollladen 

Stängel 

Strauch-, Rispentomate 

Bio-Supermarkt 

Vollwertkost) 

Vollkornbrot 

Fotos: Fuse; iStock 


Short Story 

the edge. Down it went. The sardines were more of a problem 

with their tiny scratchy bones and the bloody rawness 

of the fish. He flinched as he crunched on the heads, but 

he didn’t stop eating. The bread was heavy and gave him 

hiccups, but he knew his only hope was to eat every last 

bite. He bit into the lemon as if it were another apple and 

forced it down, even though it made his eyes water. Surely 

the manager must be here soon. He kept chewing and 

swallowing, although he felt he couldn’t eat another thing. 

The food was now all gone — but the packaging remained. 

Luckily, the store insisted on wrapping everything 

in paper. Joel took one shoe off, pushed the packaging into 

it and started a small fire with his cigarette lighter. Within 

seconds, only a small pile of ash was left. He put his shoe 

back on, just as he heard footsteps outside the door. 

When the manager came in, his tone with Joel was at 

first confrontational, then confused and finally apologetic. 

He had no option but to say he was very sorry and let 

Joel go. 

Safely round the corner in the next street, Joel had to 

hold his stomach — not only because it was so painfully 

full, but because he was laughing so much. 

Later that day, he phoned his mum and asked her to 

lend him the money to come home as soon as possible. 

And please, could they have sardines for dinner? With 

lemon — and cooked, preferably. 

Novel 

British writer Jim Crace has 

said that Harvest will be 

his last novel. This wonderful 

story is based on an 

English village and deals 

with changes in landscape 

use, so that one can only 

hope that Crace will 

change his mind and not 

stop writing. The tale is told from the perspective of middleaged 

Walter Thirsk, who describes life in a small village at some 

time in the past. It is a time that is full of insecurities: weather 

that could threaten the harvest, illness that might threaten humans 

and the arrival of a quartet of outsiders, whose presence 

seems to turn uncertain coincidence into certain danger. Reflecting 

on the delicate structures that rule our lives, Crace has 

put his finger on the thin line between progress, change and 

destruction. Picador, ISBN 978-0-330-44566-5, €18.40. 

Short stories 

The hero of the story “Mid-Autumn” 

is a teacher at a school in Singapore. 

Every year, she celebrates the Mid- 

Autumn Festival. She makes a red 

lantern for her daughter and bakes 

her a traditional cake. But this time, 

the mother eats the cake herself and 

hangs up the lantern alone. For 

years, she has saved to give her 

daughter the best possible education. Now, though, the child 

has grown up and has decided on a lifestyle that her mother 

finds hard to understand. “Mid-Autumn” is one of ten tales in 

Gazing at Stars: Stories from Asia. Writers from 

India, China, Singapore and Malaysia are featured in the collection. 

The advanced-level stories are varied and colourful. The 

glossary at the back of the book contains around 60 words, 

and there are two pages of activities. Oxford University Press, 

ISBN 978-0-19-479420-6, €7.99. 

apologetic [E)pQlE(dZetIk] 

bone [bEUn] 

coincidence [kEU(InsIdEns] 

confrontational 

[)kQnfrVn(teIS&nEl] 

crunch on [(krVntS Qn] 

delicate [(delIkEt] 

flinch [(flIntS] 

entschuldigend 

hier: Gräte 

Zufall 

provokativ, herausfordernd 

geräuschvoll in etw. beißen 

anfällig, fein, empfindlich 

zusammenzucken 

force down [fO:s (daUn] 

gaze [geIz] 

hiccups [(hIkVps] 

lantern [(lÄntEn] 

lighter [(laItE] 

pile [paI&l] 

preferably [(pref&rEbli] 

wrap [rÄp] 

hier: hinunterwürgen 

(an)starren, bestaunen 

Schluckauf 

Laterne 

Anzünder, Feuerzeug 

Haufen 

bevorzugt, vorzugsweise 

einwickeln 

Reviews by EVE LUCAS 


47

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SPRACHSPIEL 

A WEEKEND IN LONDON 

Das erfolgreiche Spiel A Weekend in 

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LANGUAGE | Vocabulary 

Bad weather 

We like to complain about it, and it’s a popular topic for small talk: ANNA HOCHSIEDER 

presents language to talk about ice, rain and snow. 

5 

1 

6 

7 

11 

2 

9 

3 

12 

8 

4 

10 

1. dark clouds 

4. floods / flooding 

7. a blizzard [(blIzEd] 

10. ice 

2. lightning 

5. an overcast sky 

8. a snowdrift 

11. hail(stones) 

3. heavy rain 

6. snow(flakes) 

9. (freezing) fog 

12. strong (gusts of) wind 

Stormy weather 

My goodness! What a downpour! 

Yes, it’s coming down hard, isn’t it? 

And it’s been pouring with rain all week. I got absolutely 

drenched yesterday. 

Remember the torrential rainfall we had in spring? 

Oh, that was terrible, wasn’t it? Compared to that, 

this is just drizzle. 

What’s the weather like where you are? 

Pretty miserable. We had lots of sleet at the beginning 

of the month, followed by a cold spell with lots 

of snow. Then there was a thaw, and it all turned to 

slush. How about you? 

Oh, it’s rotten: freezing cold with a biting wind. 

Be sure to wrap up warm, won’t you? 

Did you hear the thunder last night? 

Yes. Scary, wasn’t it? I thought we were going to 

be struck by lightning. 

The wind was so strong it nearly blew the roof off our 

garage. 

...and now the weather forecast. Heavy snowfall is 

expected across the country, with temperatures 

below zero at night. Drivers should beware of icy 

roads and sudden gusts of wind. Friday will remain 

bitterly cold, but dry with sunny spells. 

Illustration: Bernhard Förth 

50 


Möchten Sie noch mehr Tipps und Übungen? 

Practice 

Now try some exercises to practise expressions 

describing the weather. 

Abonnieren Sie Spotlight plus! www.spotlight-online.de/ueben 

1. Complete the definitions below with words from the opposite page. 

a) A _______________ is a snowstorm with very strong winds. 

b) _______________ is a mixture of snow and rain. 

c) _______________ is very light rain. 

d) _______________ is the loud noise that you hear after a flash of lightning. 

e) A _______________ of wind is a sudden strong blast of air. 

f) _______________ is a thick cloud close to the ground that is difficult to see through. 

g) A _______________ is a large amount of water covering an area that is usually dry. 

h) _______________ are very small balls of ice that fall like rain. 

Answers 

1. a) blizzard; b) Sleet; c) Drizzle; d) Thunder; 

e) gust; f) Fog; g) flood; h) Hailstones 

2. a) slushy (matschig) (torrential: sintflutartig); 

b) pouring (strömend); c) foggy; d) miserable 

(gusty: böig) 

3. a–4 (thaw: Tauwetter, Schneeschmelze; 

slush: Schneematsch); b–3 (pour with rain: 

in Strömen regnen; drench: durchnässen); 

c–5 (thunderstorm: Gewitter; be struck by 

lightning: vom Blitz getroffen werden); 

d–1 (wrap up warm: sich warm einpacken); 

e–2 (cold spell: Kälteperiode) 

4. a) icy; b) foggy; c) rainy (not mind sth.: nichts 

gegen etw. haben); d) windy; e) drizzling 

(nieseln); f) snowing; g) rained; h) thawed 

(tauen), flooded 

2. Cross out one adjective in each line that is not 

normally used with the noun on the right. 

a) heavy | slushy | torrential rain 

b) melting | pouring | thick snow 

c) bitter | foggy | freezing cold 

d) biting | gusty | miserable wind 

It is common to start a conversation by commenting 

on the weather. Often, the first speaker asks a rhetorical 

question, and the second speaker agrees by saying the 

same thing, but using different words, for example: 

• “It’s cold, isn’t it?” — “Yes, freezing.” 

• “Isn’t it miserable outside?” — “Absolutely terrible.” 

• “A bit chilly today, isn’t it?” — “Yes, it could be 

warmer.” 

Tips 

3. Match the following sentence halves to make comments about weather conditions. 

a) There was a thaw, and... 

b) It was pouring with rain, and... 

c) Don’t stand under a tree in a thunderstorm, or... 

d) They’re forecasting below-zero temperatures, so... 

e) We had a cold spell last week, but... 

a ➯ 

b ➯ 

c ➯ 

d ➯ 

e ➯ 

1. ...make sure you wrap up warm. 

2. ...temperatures are rising again. 

3. ...we got drenched to the skin. 

4. ...the snow turned to slush. 

5. ...you might be struck by lightning. 

4. English speakers often use adjectives or verbs instead of nouns to describe weather 

conditions. Make adjectives (a–d) or verbs (e–h) from the nouns in brackets. 

a) Be careful when driving in winter. The roads can get very _______________ (ice). 

b) It was too _______________ (fog) to see much of the landscape. 

c) I don’t mind _______________ (rain) weather. I always have an umbrella with me. 

d) It was so _______________ (wind) on the beach that my hat blew off. 

e) You won’t need an umbrella. It’s just _______________ (drizzle). 

f) Look, it’s _______________ (snow) at last. Can we go skiing? 

g) It hasn’t _______________ (rain) for days. I’d better water the garden. 

h) When the snow _______________ (thaw), the river rose, and our garden was _______________ (flood). 


51

LANGUAGE | Travel Talk 

A wine 

festival 

Try some world-class 

wines from New Zealand 

with RITA FORBES. 

Starting out 

Good morning! Welcome to Martinborough! Do 

you have a ticket? 

Yes, here it is. 

Great! Here’s your tasting glass, programme and 

wristband. Would you like to buy some festival 

francs? 

Yes, $80 worth, please. 

If you don’t use them all at the festival, you can exchange 

them for vouchers to buy wine from the different 

wineries another time. 

At the first vineyard 

Shall we start with a white — a Sauvignon Blanc 

or a Chardonnay? 

This vineyard is famous for its Chardonnay. Look 

at the tasting notes: medium-bodied, buttery, 

with soft citrus flavours. Smooth and lively, with 

bright acidity... and a light finish. 

Mmm! What’s the vintage? 

It’s 2011. I really like the label. I’ve got a good feeling 

about this one. 

All right, let’s give it a try. 

Tasting a red wine 

What are the “five Ss of wine tasting” again? See, 

swirl... 

...smell, sip and swallow. 

Right. See. It’s a clear, bright red. Perfect for a Pinot 

Noir. And swirl: look at those legs! 

Smell: the bouquet is wonderful — fruity and a 

little spicy, too. Cinnamon maybe? 

Ready for a sip? Here’s to the rest of the day. 

Cheers! 

Cheers! (swallows) 

cinnamon [(sInEmEn] Zimt 

smooth [smu:D] hier: samtig, weich, geschmeidig 

spicy [(spaIsi] 

würzig 

voucher [(vaUtSE] Gutschein (➝ p. 61) 

wristband [(rIstbÄnd] Armband 

• The town of Martinborough [(mA:tIn)bErE], 

65 kilometres from Wellington, the capital, is home to 

one of New Zealand’s most popular wine and food 

festivals. Toast Martinborough is held every year on 

the third Sunday in November — this year, on the 

17th. Martinborough is in the Wairarapa wine region, 

which is especially well known for its Pinot Noir. For 

more information, see www.toastmartinborough.co.nz 

• A ticket to Toast Martinborough costs NZ$ 70 (€40). 

It allows you to use the shuttle buses and to enjoy the 

live music that is performed at each location. Only 

10,000 tickets are available each year, and they are 

often sold out (ausverkauft) within a few hours. 

• At Martinborough, visitors are given a tasting glass 

that they can hang around their neck. 

• You can’t pay with cash or a credit card. Instead, you 

convert money into festival francs, which you use 

to pay for the wine tastings and food. 

• A winery is a place where wine is produced. Eleven 

wineries take part in the Martinborough festival. 

• A vineyard [(vInjEd] is a farm that grows grapes used 

to make wine. Many vineyards are also wineries — 

where the grapes are grown and wine is made, too. 

• Many vineyards provide tasting notes at the festival 

to describe their wines. 

• Wines can be light-bodied, medium-bodied or 

full-bodied. A light-bodied wine has more delicate 

(zart, fein) flavours, while a full-bodied wine is heavier 

and richer in flavour. 

• Acidity gives wine a crisp (frisch) taste. If there is too 

much acidity, though, the wine will taste sour. 

• Finish is the flavour that stays in your mouth after 

you’ve had a drink of wine. 

• Here, vintage is a noun. It refers to the year in which 

a wine was made. 

• To swirl something is to move it quickly in small 

circles. Swirling a glass of wine exposes (aussetzen) it 

to the air and brings out the aroma. 

• To sip something is to drink a small quantity of it. At a 

tasting, wine is held in the mouth to experience all the 

flavours before swallowing. 

• Wine legs are the long lines that are left on the sides 

of the glass after you swirl it. Full-bodied wines have 

more or thicker legs. 

• The smell of a wine is its bouquet [bu(keI]. 

Tips 

Fotos: iStock 


Cards | LANGUAGE 

NEW WORDS 

zero-hour(s) contract 

I can’t tell you when I’ll be working next week. I’m 

on one of those zero-hours contracts you hear 

so much about these days. 

GLOBAL ENGLISH 

What would a speaker of British 

English say? 

North American: “Stones from the road hit 

the hood and the windshield, damaging both.” 



(IN)FORMAL ENGLISH 

Make these formal statements sound 

less formal: 

1. My father loved watching his children grow, 

with all the concomitant joys and worries. 

2. I’d love to be wealthy and successful, but 

without the concomitant of hard work. 

TRANSLATION 

Translate the following sentences: 

1. An dem Tag sind wir weiter gelaufen als je 

zuvor. 

2. Das ist eine der weiteren Folgen dieses Vorfalls. 

Spotlight 11|13 Spotlight 11|13 

PRONUNCIATION 

IDIOM MAGIC 

Read the following words aloud: 

bath 

bathe 

Ching Yee Smithback 

breath 

teeth 

breathe 

teethe (zahnen) 

be (as) high as a kite 


FALSE FRIENDS 

blame / blamieren 

Translate the following sentences: 

1. He blamed his brother for the accident. 

2. Der Lehrer blamierte mich vor der ganzen 

Klasse. 

GRAMMAR 

What are the superlative forms of the 

adjectives below? 

1. an upper level the __________ level 

2. an outer layer the __________ layer 

3. his inner feelings his __________ feelings 

Spotlight 11|13 Spotlight 11|13

LANGUAGE | Cards 

GLOBAL ENGLISH 

British speaker: “Stones from the road hit the 

bonnet [(bQnIt] (Motorhaube) and the 

windscreen (Windschutzscheibe), damaging 

both.” 

Like German Haube, both words for the part of the 

car that covers the engine (“hood” and “bonnet”) 

can also be used for things you wear on your 

head. 

NEW WORDS 

In these hard economic times, more and 

more workers in the UK have controversial 

zero-hour(s) contracts. With such a contract, a 

company gives you work when it needs you, but 

no guarantee of regular hours. Many workers on 

such contracts don’t get holidays or sick pay. 



TRANSLATION 

1. That day, we walked farther / further than 

ever before. 

2. That is one of the further consequences of 

this incident. 

With regard to physical distances, “farther” and 

“further” are synonyms. (They both have the same 

root.) “Further” is also used in several abstract, 

non-spatial (nicht räumlich gemeint) contexts. 

(IN)FORMAL ENGLISH 

1. ...with all the joys and worries that went with it. 

2. ...but without the accompanying hard work. 

Used as both an adjective and a noun, 

“concomitant” [kEn(kQmItEnt] refers to 

something that naturally accompanies something 

else. German translations might typically include 

einhergehen mit or Begleit-. 


IDIOM MAGIC 

A “kite” (Drachen) is an object you can fly on windy 

days. When someone is (as) high as a kite, he or 

she is under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 

[bA:T] 

[breT] 

[ti:T] 

PRONUNCIATION 

[beID] 

[bri:D] 

[ti:D] 

“Tom won’t remember his promise: he was as 

high as a kite when he made it.” 

This expression can also be used to talk about a 

person who is very excited or happy. 

When occurring at the end of a word, “-th” is 

nearly always pronounced [T]. (Two exceptions 

are “smooth” and, in British English, “with”.) When 

a word ends in “-the”, as in the verbs on this card, 

the pronunciation is usually [D]. 


1. the uppermost level 

2. the outermost layer 

GRAMMAR 

3. his innermost feelings 

These adjectives belong to a small group that is 

intensified by adding the suffix -most. Others 

include “easternmost”, “lowermost”, “foremost”. 

FALSE FRIENDS 

1. Er gab seinem Bruder die Schuld am Unfall. 

2. The teacher made a fool of me in front of the 

whole class. 

The verb “blame” is also used in the structure 

“blame sth. on sb.”: “He blamed the accident on 

his brother.” Other translations of blamieren 

include “disgrace” and “embarrass”. 

Spotlight 11|13 Spotlight 11|13

Bad news 

Listen to dialogues 1 and 2 

This month, DAGMAR TAYLOR focuses on the 

words and phrases people use when they give 

or react to bad news. 

Everyday English | LANGUAGE 

Fotos: iStock 

1. There’s been an accident 

Elaine calls her husband, Sandy, to tell him about an 

accident involving their son. 

Elaine: (crying) Sandy? 

Sandy: Elaine? What’s wrong? What’s the matter? 

Elaine: It’s Archie. He’s had an accident. 

Sandy: Is he OK? What’s happened? Where are you? 

Elaine: He’ll be all right. I’m at the hospital. He was 

knocked down by a car on his way to school. 

He was unconscious, but he’s come round now. 

Sandy: Oh, God! Poor Archie! How did it happen? 

Elaine: He was mucking around with his friends as 

usual and ran out on to the road without looking. 

It was Archie’s fault. The poor driver of 

the car that hit him — she was beside herself. 

Sandy: I can imagine. I’ll come over right away. Where 

are you? A & E? 

Elaine: Yes. See you in a bit. 

• You can ask What’s wrong? or What’s the 

matter? when you notice that someone is worried 

or unhappy. 

• He’s had an accident: news about a recent event is 

given in the present perfect tense when times and 

details are not mentioned. 

• When Elaine says he’ll be all right, she means that 

her son’s condition is not critical. 

• The adjective poor to describe a person expresses 

that the speaker is sad to hear that this person is 

injured or has experienced something bad. 

• To muck around (UK ifml.) is to behave in a silly way. 

• If a person is responsible for something bad that has 

happened, it is his or her fault. 

• If you are beside yourself, you are not able to 

control the strong emotions that you are feeling. 

• Sandy shows that he can understand the driver’s 

feelings by saying: I can imagine. 

• A & E is the abbreviation for the accident and 

emergency department (UK) of a hospital. 

• See you in a bit (UK ifml.) means: “See you soon.” 

come round [)kVm (raUnd] UK ifml. wieder zu sich kommen 

knock sb. down [)nQk (daUn] jmdn. anfahren, umfahren 

unconscious [Vn(kQnSEs] bewusstlos (➝ p. 61) 

Tips 

2. An understanding colleague 

Sandy tells his colleague about Archie’s accident. 

Sandy: Jim, I’m going to have to go out for a while. 

Jim: Oh! OK. Is it something serious? 

Sandy: Archie’s been knocked down by a car — this 

morning, on the way to school. 

Jim: That’s terrible, Sandy. Is he OK? Has he been 

badly hurt? 

Sandy: I don’t really know. Elaine told me he was unconscious, 

but he has come round now. 

Jim: Of course, you’ve got to go. Listen, if there’s 

anything I can do, just let me know. 

Sandy: Thanks, Jim. Elaine sounded really upset on 

the phone. 

Jim: Oh, she must be. What a terrible shock. 

Sandy: Yes. Well, I’d better get going. 

Jim: Give me a ring when you get a chance and 

let me know how Archie is, OK? 

Sandy: Yes. Will do. See you later, Jim. 

• When Sandy says he’s going to have to go out, 

he uses the verb “have to” to make it clear that 

he has no option. 

• Instead of asking “Why?”, Jim is more tactful and asks: 

Is it something serious? 

• People can show their shock with expressions such as 

that’s terrible, “that’s awful” or “Oh, my God!” 

• Hurt is a synonym for “injured”. 

• When Jim says: If there’s anything I can do..., he is 

showing empathy (Mitgefühl) by offering his help. 

• Upset is a word commonly used to describe a person 

who is unhappy, sad or worried about something. 

• When Sandy says: I’d better, he is saying what he 

thinks he should do. 

• If you want someone to inform you, you can ask him 

or her to let you know. 

• Will do (ifml.) means: “Yes, I will.” 

Tips 


55

LANGUAGE | Everyday English 

3. At the hospital 4. Telling Archie 

Sandy and Elaine are at the hospital, waiting to talk 

to a doctor. 

Sandy and Elaine are with Archie, 

explaining his injuries to him. 

Dr Kujefi: Good morning. Are you the parents of 

Archie Ferguson? 

Sandy: Yes, we are. 

Dr Kujefi: Come in and take a seat, please. 

Elaine: Is Archie OK? When can we see him? 

Dr Kujefi: He’s fine. I wanted to bring you up to date 

first, and then I’ll take you through to see 

him. Archie has concussion, so we need to 

keep him here overnight, for observation. 

He’s also broken his collarbone, but we 

won’t need to operate. 

Elaine: Oh, I can’t tell you how glad I am to hear 

that. What a relief! 

Dr Kujefi: Yes. He’s a very lucky boy. 

• If you bring someone up to date, you give him or 

her the latest information. A similar phrase is to 

“update someone on something”: “Have you updated 

Charles on the project changes?” 

• When patients are kept in hospital for observation, 

they are watched carefully to make sure their 

condition doesn’t become worse. 

• I can’t tell you is used here for emphasis. 

• What a relief! expresses how happy a person is that 

something unpleasant has stopped or hasn’t happened: 

“What a relief we didn’t have to wait for hours.” 

• If you have (had) good luck, you are lucky 

(Glück haben). 

Tips 

Sandy: Hey, Archie! How are you doing? 

Archie: I’m OK. Why have I got this on my arm? 

Elaine: It’s a sling. You’ve broken your collarbone, 

sweetie. 

Sandy: Yes. The doctor says you have to stay in hospital 

until tomorrow. 

Archie: But I don’t want to stay in hospital. I want to 

Elaine: 

go home. 

Oh, I know. But it’s just for one night, Archie. 

You were unconscious for a while, and the 

doctor needs to make sure you’re OK. 

Sandy: And I’m afraid there’s some more bad news. 

You can’t go to school for two weeks. 

Archie: That’s not bad news, Dad. That’s good news. 

Sandy: See, Elaine? I told you he’d be devastated. 

• If someone has been ill or injured, you can ask: 

How are you doing? 

• Sweetie is used to address (anreden) someone in a 

way that shows affection (Zuneigung) or empathy. 

• To show that you understand what someone is 

feeling, you can simply say: Oh, I know. 

• Elaine tells Archie that it’s just one night to make it 

seem less frightening. 

• I’m afraid is used as a gentle, polite (here, ironic) way 

of introducing unpleasant or disappointing news. 

• If someone is devastated, he or she is extremely 

shocked and upset. 

Tips 

collarbone [(kQlEbEUn] 

concussion [kEn(kVS&n] 

overnight [)EUvE(naIt] 

take a seat [)teIk E (si:t] 

Schlüsselbein 

Gehirnerschütterung 

über Nacht 

Platz nehmen 

sling [slIN] 

hier: Armschlinge 

3. Replace the words in bold with those used in 

the dialogues. 

EXERCISES 

1. Choose the correct word. 

a) The driver was beside / besides herself. 

b) He’ll be all OK / right. 

c) Elaine sounded really set up / upset on the phone. 

d) I told you he’d be devastated / devastating. 

2. True or false? 

a) Archie was knocked down on his way home. ________ 

b) Jim is very understanding. ________ 

c) Archie has broken his arm. ________ 

d) Sandy tells Archie he has to stay in hospital. ________ 

a) He was fooling around with his friends. 

______________ 

b) Has he been badly injured? ______________ 

c) I wanted to update you first. ______________ 

d) Unfortunately, there’s some more bad news. 

______________ 

4. Complete the words from the scenes. 

a) I can i _ _ _ _ _ _. 

b) Is it something s _ _ _ _ _ _? 

c) What a r _ _ _ _ _! 

d) That’s good n _ _ _. 


Answers: 1. a) beside; b) right; c) upset; d) devastated; 2. a) false (on his way to school); b) true; c) false (he has broken his collarbone); 

d) true; 3. a) mucking; b) hurt; c) bring you up to date; d) I’m afraid; 4. a) imagine; b) serious; c) relief; d) news

The Grammar Page | LANGUAGE 

Using “will” and “won’t” to 

talk about the future 

ADRIAN DOFF writes notes on a short dialogue to present and 

explain a key point of grammar. 

Jane is with her friend Ina. Jane is reading the newspaper. 

Jane: There’s an article here about the world in 50 years 

from now. 

Ina: Oh, yes. What does it say? 

Jane: It says the internet will change 1 everything we do. 

Ina: Well, it already has. 

Jane: Yes, but even more so. It says we’ll buy 1 everything 

online, so we won’t 2 go to shops any more. 

Ina: I don’t believe that. People like shopping. They’ll 

probably 3 do it just for fun. 

Jane: And children won’t 2 go to school. In fact, schools 

probably won’t 3 exist any more. 

Ina: What will children do 4 , then? 

Jane: They’ll be taught 5 at home, and they’ll be connected 

5 to their teachers online. 

Ina: What about the teachers? 

Jane: They’ll be at home, too. 

Ina: That sounds terrible. I love my kids, but I don’t want 

them here all the time. Maybe I could go for long 

walks. 

Jane: Well, no. It says here the weather will be much hotter, 

so you won’t be able to 6 go out. You’ll have to 6 

watch aerobics DVDs on your computer instead. 

Remember! 

Will is not used to talk about what you have already 

decided or planned to do: 

• I’m going to the cinema this evening. 

(NOT will go) 

• Are you working tomorrow? 

(NOT will you work) 

Beyond the basics 

Will is also used when we... 

promise to do (or not to do) something: 

• Don’t worry. I’ll be there. I won’t be late. 

threaten to do something: 

• Turn that music down, or I’ll call the police! 

decide to do something: 

• I think I’ll have a pizza. 

offer to do something: 

• I’ll carry those bags for you (if you like). 

1 To make predictions (Vorhersagen) about the future, the 

form will + infinitive is used. After pronouns (“I”, “we”, 

“you”, “she / he”), “will” is often shortened to ’ll. 

2 The negative of “will” is won’t (a short form of “will not”). 

3 Adverbs like “probably” and “maybe” come after “will”, but 

before “won’t” (probably won’t). 

4 To form a question, the subject and “will” are changed 

round. (Children will... Will children...?) 

5 We can also use “will” with passive verbs: will be + past 

participle. (People will teach them... ...they’ll be 

taught) 

6 The future forms of the modal verbs “can” and “must” 

are will / won’t be able to and will / won’t have to. 

Correct the mistakes in these sentences. 

a) Don’t worry. She be fine. 

___________________________________________ 

b) I willn’t tell anyone. 

___________________________________________ 

c) I think I have a glass of white wine. 

___________________________________________ 

d) I’ll come probably a bit later to the party. 

___________________________________________ 

e) I won’t maybe have time to go shopping. 

___________________________________________ 

f) A letter will be send to everyone next week. 

___________________________________________ 

g) Will I able to go online at the airport? 

___________________________________________ 

h) I stay and help you if you like. 

___________________________________________ 

i) Clean your room now, or I stop your pocket 

money. 

___________________________________________ 

Answers 

a) She’ll be fine; b) I won’t; c) I’ll have; d) I’ll probably come; e) Maybe I won’t / 

I maybe won’t; f) will be sent; g) Will I be able to; h) I’ll stay; i) I’ll stop 

EXERCISE 


57

LANGUAGE | The Soap 

Helen 

Phil 

Peggy 

Saving Eddy 

Join us at Peggy’s Place — Spotlight ’s very 

own London pub. By INEZ SHARP 

George 

Sean 

FOCUS 

Phil: (loudly and slowly) Aamir, can you take the vegetables 

through to the kitchen? 

Peggy: There’s no need to shout, Phil. He speaks perfectly 

good English. 

Phil: (very quietly) Well, when I offered him a snort of 

whisky after his first shift, he just looked confused, like 

he didn’t understand. 

Peggy: That’s because he’s a Muslim, dear. He doesn’t 

drink alcohol. 

Phil: That explains it. Hi, Helen! What can I get you? 

Helen: The usual. How’s your new kitchen help getting 

along, then? 

Peggy: Fantastic! He’s a really hard worker. 

Phil: To be honest, I would’ve preferred someone local — 

if you know what I mean. 

Helen: Sean said there weren’t any “local” applicants. 

Peggy: That’s right. We had only one British guy, but he 

arrived an hour late and — how shall I put it? — he 

had some personal hygiene issues. 

Phil: Nothing that a shower wouldn’t have sorted. 

Peggy: Phil! I could smell him from across the room. 

Helen: Where’s Aamir from, then? 

Phil: Somewhere in the Hindu Kush. 

Peggy: He comes from Afghanistan, but we had people 

from all over: Poland, the Czech Republic, Iraq, Syria. 

Phil: Yeah, on the day of the interviews, this place looked 

like the UN Refugee Agency. 

Helen: We have a lot of immigrants working at the clinic, 

and I’m with Jamie Oliver on this one: most of them 

have a good work ethic. 

Jane: Hi, Mum! How’s Eddy? 

Helen: What’s wrong with Eddy? 

Phil: Haven’t you heard? She collapsed outside here yesterday. 

Suspected heart attack. 

Helen: Is she going to be OK? Why didn’t anyone tell me? 

Peggy: Sean and Aamir were the only ones here. 

Jane: Yeah, and the ambulanceman said if Aamir hadn’t 

been there, she’d have been a goner. 

Phil: I didn’t know that. 

Peggy describes one of the interviewees as having some 

personal hygiene issues. She is saying that the man 

hadn’t washed for a while. This kind of euphemism 

(beschönigende Beschreibung) is popular in English, where 

being too direct or indiscreet can be rude. Many euphemisms 

are humorous, such as “a few sandwiches short 

of a picnic” (not very clever) or “chronologically challenged” 

(late). 


Eddy 

“ ” 

We had applicants from all over 

Jane 

Peggy: Aamir said his grandmother died of a heart attack 

at home. The place they lived in was really remote, so 

they couldn’t get her to a hospital in time. 

Helen: How old was he when that happened? 

Peggy: I don’t know, but he said the first things he did 

when he came here were to learn the emergency numbers 

off by heart and do a first-aid course. 

Helen: Having someone around with those skills can be 

the difference between life and death. 

Jane: That’s shut you up, hasn’t it Phil? 

Phil: I was just thinking: if Aamir is a devout Muslim, that 

means he can’t handle pork. 

Helen: I think some Muslims refuse to eat it, but are OK 

sharing a kitchen with someone who cooks pork. 

Peggy: It’s OK. Sean’s talked to Aamir about that. 

Phil: And what about praying? Doesn’t he have to roll out 

his prayer mat a couple of times a day? 

Peggy: Phil, stop it! I don’t want to hear any more of that 

kind of talk. 

Helen: You should be pleased that he saved Eddy. 

Jane: Here comes George. He’s just been to see her. 

Peggy: Oh, dear! He doesn’t look very happy, does he? 

George: Hi, everyone! Get me a double whisky, Phil. You 

are not going to believe what just happened. 

ambulanceman [(ÄmbjElEnsmÄn] Sanitäter(in) 

applicant [(ÄplIkEnt] 

Bewerber(in) 

collapse [kE(lÄps] zusammenbrechen (➝ p. 61) 

devout [di(vaUt] 

gläubig 

first aid [)f§:st (eId] 

Erste Hilfe 

goner [(gQnE] ifml. 

Todeskandidat(in) 

heart attack [(hA:t E)tÄk] 

Herzinfarkt 

in time [In (taIm] 

rechtzeitig 

(off) by heart [)Qf baI (hA:t] auswendig 

pork [pO:k] 

Schweinefleisch 

prayer mat [(preE mÄt] 

Gebetsteppich 

remote [ri(mEUt] 

abgelegen 

shut sb. up [SVt (Vp] 

jmdn. zum Schweigen bringen 

snort [snO:t] ifml. 

hier: kleiner Drink 

sort (out) [sO:t] 

in Ordnung bringen 

suspected [sE(spektId] 

Verdacht auf 

UN Refugee Agency 

Flüchtlingshilfswerk 

[ju: )en )refju(dZi: )eIdZEnsi] der UNO 

work ethic [(w§:k )eTIk] 

Arbeitsmoral 

Have a look at all the characters from Peggy’s Place at 

www.spotlight-online.de/peggy

English at Work | LANGUAGE 

Dear Ken: How do I translate a 

menu for my guests? 

Dear Ken 

When someone has a PhD, is it used in the salutation of 

a letter, or would you simply write, for example, “Dear 

Dr Smith”? Also, can someone who has received a PhD in 

the UK call him- or herself “Dr” in Germany? 

I’d be glad if you could recommend an internet address 

where I could read about this subject. 

Best wishes 

Helga K. 

Send your questions 

about business English 

by e-mail with “Dear 

Ken” in the subject line to 

language@spotlight-verlag.de. 

Each month, I answer two questions 

Spotlight readers have sent in. If one of 

them is your question, you’ll receive a 

copy of my book: Fifty Ways to Improve 

Your Business English. So don’t forget 

to add your mailing address! 

Dear Helga 

The abbreviation PhD means “Doctor of Philosophy”. A 

PhD, or doctorate, is a postgraduate academic degree offered 

by many universities. 

In the medical world, the title Dr is more commonly used 

in correspondence and in speaking. In the Englishspeaking 

business world, however, this is not as common. 

Many business people with a PhD don’t introduce themselves 

with their title, preferring Mr, Mrs or Ms, or their 

first name. You sometimes don’t find out that a person has 

a PhD until you see the letters after his or her name in official 

documentation or on a business card. 

However, if you receive an e-mail or a letter signed “Lena 

Green, PhD”, for example, you should address her as “Dr 

Green” in your reply. You should also call her “Dr Green” 

if you phone her. 

The Bologna Process exists partly to standardize academic 

qualifications in Europe. This process proposes three levels 

of academic degree: bachelor, master and doctor. Germany 

has already carried out some changes. Still, the title PhD 

is usually equivalent to the German Doktor. 

You can read more information about this subject at 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_degree_abbreviations 

Regards 

Ken 

abbreviation [E)bri:vi(eIS&n] 

address [E(dres] 

business card [(bIznEs kA:d] 

carry out [)kÄri (aUt] 

cured [kjUEd] 

dish [dIS] 

freshwater fish [)freSwO:tE (fIS] 

mustard [(mVstEd] 

PhD: have a ~ [)pi: eItS (di:] 

postgraduate [pEUst(grÄdjuEt] 

propose [prE(pEUz] 

salmon [(sÄmEn] 

salutation [)sÄlju(teIS&n] 

sticky [(stIki] 

Abkürzung 

anreden 

Visitenkarte 

ausführen, durchführen 

gepökelt 

Gericht 

Süßwasserfisch 

Senf 

promoviert sein 

nach dem Hochschulabschluss 

vorschlagen 

Lachs 

Anrede, Gruß 

klebrig 

Dear Ken 

I often take English-speaking business partners to local 

restaurants. Many of these restaurants do not have menus 

in English, so I have to translate the dishes for my guests. 

I find this very difficult. What is Zander in English, for example? 

Do you have any tips on what I can do? 

Regards 

Heinrich G. 

Dear Heinrich 

I agree. Menus can be very hard to translate, which is why 

a lot of restaurants don’t even try. Many years ago in Sweden, 

I asked what gravadlax was. I was told: “It’s raw, pink 

fish with a sticky, sour sauce with bits of green in it.” As 

you can imagine, I chose another dish that day. 

Many dishes may be well known in one place, but not so 

common elsewhere. Zander is also “zander” in English, but 

this may not help your English-speaking guests. The important 

thing is to describe what the food is and, at the 

same time, to make it sound good. For example, you could 

describe Zander as “a delicious, white, freshwater fish”. 

Gravadlax sounds more attractive if it is described as 

“thinly cut raw salmon cured in salt, sugar and dill, served 

with a mustard and dill sauce”. 

My advice is to learn the cooking vocabulary that you typically 

find on your local restaurant menus. Look up the 

words you don’t know in a dictionary and use the ideas on 

pages 16–21 of this magazine to fix them in your memory. 

In my experience, even the English translations in many 

restaurants are not accurate, and you still have to help your 

guests make the right choices. 

Bon appétit! 

Ken 

Ken Taylor is an international communication skills consultant 

based in London. Follow his “Hot Tips” on Twitter @DearKen101. 


59

LANGUAGE | Spoken English 

Give it a try! 

This month, ADRIAN DOFF looks at the way 

we talk about trying things in spoken 

English. 

Advice to someone who can’t fall asleep 

• Try to relax. 

• Try counting backwards from 100. 

try to, try + -ing 

We try to do something that is not easy. In the examples 

above, the speaker can try to relax and try to go to sleep, 

but both are difficult for him or her. Other examples: 

• I tried to open the window, but it was stuck. 

(= I couldn’t do it.) 

• I’m only trying to help you. 

(= You don’t want help, so it’s difficult.) 

After try, the adverb hard is often used: 

I can’t do this maths exercise. 

Well, you’re not trying very hard. 

You can try doing something because it might help to 

solve a problem. In the example above, counting backwards 

could be one way to get to sleep. Other examples: 

• She isn’t at home. Let’s try phoning her on her mobile. 

(= to find out where she is) 

My computer isn’t reacting. 

Have you tried turning it off and then back on again? 

try, try on, try out 

Try, try on and try out are used with the meaning “see if 

it’s good or not”. For example, you can try food: 

• I’ve made a Thai curry. Do you want to try it? (= taste it) 

You try on clothes or shoes: 

• That’s a nice coat. Why don’t you try it on? 

You can try out equipment (to see if it works): 

• I like that bike over there. Can I try it out? (= ride it) 

In British English, try it on can also mean to try to trick 

someone: 

• He wanted to sell me the car for £5,000, but he was 

just trying it on. (= He hoped I would say “yes”.) 

try as a noun 

Try is also a noun, used in several common expressions: 

• He decided to have a try at making a soufflé. 

• I’ve never been windsurfing, but I’d like to give it a try. 

• The ball just missed the hole, but it was a good try. 

• I’ve got an interview. I don’t think I’ll get the job, but 

it’s worth a try. 

try these 

Other informal words and expressions can be used instead 

of try. You can have a crack / go / shot / stab at something, 

or give something a go / shot: 

• Is the key still stuck? Do you want me to have a go? 

• I’m going to have a stab at making a chocolate mousse. 

• I don’t think phoning will help, but we can give it a 

shot. 

effort 

If you try hard over a long period to do something, you 

make an effort or put a lot of effort into it: 

• She made a real effort to make their marriage work, but 

he just wasn’t interested. 

• I’m not surprised the concert was a success. They put a 

lot of effort into it. 

Here are some more expressions with a similar meaning: 

• It’s not important to win. Just do your best. 

• Go on! Give it all you’ve got! You know you can do it. 

• They pulled out all the stops to be ready on time. 

• The agency always bends over backwards to help. 

• I feel I’ve moved heaven and earth to be here today. 

• I don’t think Jane will come, but I’ll try as hard as I can 

to persuade her. 

Choose the correct word in each sentence. 

a) Try to press / pressing Alt + F3 on the keyboard. 

That might work. 

b) I’d like to try on / try out this shirt, please. 

c) Do you want to try / try on some of this pasta? It’s 

absolutely delicious. 

d) It’s his own fault he failed his exam. He didn’t 

do / make any effort at all. 

e) Don’t believe anything she says. She’s just trying it 

out / on. 

f) Skiing is quite easy when you know how. Why don’t 

you give it a stab / go? 

g) She did her most / best in the interview, but she 

didn’t get the job. 

h) Jack is so ungrateful, even though I’ve bent over 

backwards / forwards to help him. 

Answers: a) pressing; b) try on; c) try; d) make; e) on; f) go; g) best; h) backwards 

EXERCISE 

Foto: iStockphoto 

60 


Word Builder | LANGUAGE 

Build your vocabulary 

JOANNA WESTCOMBE presents useful words and phrases from this issue of Spotlight and their 

collocations. The words may also have other meanings that are not listed here. 

roundabout [(raUndE)baUt] UK noun p. 13 

voucher [(vaUtSE] noun p. 52 

a place that forms a circle where roads meet 

Kreisverkehr 

a piece of paper that can be used instead of money 

Gutschein 

For foreign visitors, British roundabouts can 

be scary, but they do keep the traffic flowing. 

I was given a £50 gift voucher for a back 

massage for my birthday. Lucky me! 

Before you enter a roundabout, make sure you know 

which exit you need. 

In Britain, a voucher to buy books is usually called a 

book token. 

collapse [kE(lÄps] verb p. 58 

run out [rVn (aUt] verb p. 46 

fall (and become unconscious) because of illness 

be finished or used up 

zusammenbrechen 

zu Ende gehen 

She collapsed at home yesterday and was taken 

to hospital by ambulance. 

Could you lend me something to write with? 

The ink in my pen’s just run out. 

See the extra notes below on how to use this word. 

An alternative: to run out of sth.: “We’ve run out of milk.” 

ashore [E(SO:] adverb p. 8 

unconscious [Vn(kQnSEs] adjective p. 55 

on to or on land 

in a condition like sleeping, e.g. due to injury, illness 

an Land 

bewusstlos 

Several dead seabirds have been washed ashore 

since the disaster. 

Learn some related adverbs, such as aboard and afloat, 

and the verb run aground (auflaufen, auffahren). 

The man was found on the path in the wood. 

A falling branch must have knocked him unconscious. 

Contrast with subconscious (unterbewusst). 

Foto: iStock 

How to use the verb collapse 

The verb collapse is found in many contexts. It has 

different synonyms in each case, many of which are 

phrasal verbs. A person who collapses may fall down. 

When a building or a structure such as a roof collapses, 

it may fall down, fall in or give way. If a debate or 

opposition to an idea collapses, it breaks down or 

fails. A table that is made especially to collapse in 

order to be stored easily is a collapsible table — a 

synonym for collapse in this sense is fold up. 

Informally, if you talk about collapsing on the sofa after 

a long day, you can use the verb crash out. 

Collapse as a noun is used in the same contexts as 

the verb. Of the phrasal verbs above, however, only 

break down is used frequently as a (one-word) noun: 

There has been another breakdown in talks with the 

railway workers. 

Complete the following sentences with words 

from this page in their correct form. 

a) The new shopping centre is giving away ___________ 

today — 10 per cent off everything. 

b) It was so hot at the rock concert that several young 

people ____________. 

c) Shall we stay on board today or go ____________? 

d) Time has run ____________ for the protesters blocking 

the factory entrance. 

e) Keep on down this road, and take the second exit at 

the mini-____________. 

f) They found her lying in her bathroom, ____________, 

but still breathing. 

g) Do you need any more chairs for the party? We’ve 

got some ____________ ones we could bring. 

OVER TO YOU! 

Answers: a) vouchers; b) collapsed; c) ashore; d) out; e) roundabout; f) unconscious; g) collapsible 


61

LANGUAGE | Perfectionists Only! 

WILL O’RYAN explains developments in the English language and examines 

some of the finer points of grammar. 

EU English 

EU institutions have developed their 

own form of English, and not everyone 

is pleased about it. The European 

Commission publishes guidelines on 

its website entitled “A brief list of misused 

English terms in EU publications”. 

The list includes “planification” 

as opposed to “planning” and “informatics” 

instead of “information technology”, 

as well as the adjective 

“precise” and the noun “visa” used as 

verbs (“...to precise the objectives...” / 

“...to visa all transactions...”). Some of 

the misuses change the meaning radically; 

for example, the use of “in case 

of” (im Falle von) instead of “in the 

case of” (bezüglich). 

Back to the roots 

Thanksgiving in the US is the fourth 

Thursday in November. The day afterwards 

is commonly called “Black 

Friday” by retailers and consumers 

alike. This is surprising, given the 

usual references of “black”: there have 

been many Black Thursdays, for example, 

several of them involving bank 

failures. The most famous of all was 

probably 24 October 1929, which 

marked the start of the US stockmarket 

crash and the Great Depression 

that followed. Black Friday is the 

“official” start of the Christmas shopping 

season and probably the busiest 

shopping day of the year. The traffic 

jams have always been a headache for 

the police. That is why police officers 

in Philadelphia started calling this day 

Black Friday back in the 1960s. 


Universal quantifiers and negation 

In which sentence is the meaning ambiguous? 

Grammar 

Sentences that contain both a universal quantifier and negation can be 

hard to interpret when the quantifier (such as “all”, “both”, “every”) comes 

before the element that marks the negation (like a negative verb form): 

a) All of the people I know didn’t agree with me. 

The meaning of this sentence is not immediately clear without a context. 

The problem is that, usually, both quantifiers and negation have (logical) 

scope (Anwendungs-, Geltungsbereich) over other elements in a sentence. 

A listener or reader assumes that the quantifier or negative marker that 

comes first has scope over a later quantifier or negative marker. This would 

make sentence (a) synonymous with those of (b): 

b) None of the people I know agreed with me. 

All of the people I know disagreed with me. 

Some language commentators would claim that this is the only possible 

reading. However, this is not always the case in actual usage, where sentence 

(a) is more often used to mean the following: 

c) Not all of the people I know agreed with me. 

Even though “didn’t” follows “all” in (a), the negation is interpreted as having 

scope over the quantifier. Sentences such as (a) intended in the sense 

of (c) are increasingly heard in modern spoken English, particularly British 

English. This construction is most common with “all”, but is also found with 

other universal quantifiers: 

d) Both of them weren’t there that evening. (= One of them wasn’t.) 

Everyone didn’t join in the game. (= But presumably some / many 

people did.) 

Even though sentences such as (a) and those in (d) occur often in spoken 

English, they are in principle ambiguous (zweideutig) and sound awkward. 

To make their message clear, speakers need to use a formulation in which 

the negation precedes the universal quantifier or in which there is no negation. 

So why do people use sentences like the one in (a) at all? The reason 

may have something to do with the fact that sentences starting with a negative 

marker can sound somewhat formal. Here is a famous example of 

the usage we have discussed, from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great 

Gatsby. It is the second sentence of the book: 

e) “Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,” he told me, “just remember 

that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that 

you’ve had.” 

The narrator’s father (“he”) is not implying that his son is the most privileged 

young man alive. If he hadn’t been quoting direct speech, Fitzgerald 

would surely have written: “Not all the people in this world have had the 

advantages that you’ve had.” 

1. All of the guests didn’t arrive on time. 

2. Not all of the guests arrived on time. 

Answers: Sentence 1 is ambiguous (= not all of them did / none of them did). Sentence 2 is clear. 

Foto: Getty Images

Crossword | LANGUAGE 

1 2 3 4 5 

6 7 

8 9 10 

12 13 14 15 

18 

20 21 22 

24 25 26 

11 

16 17 

The words in this puzzle are taken from the article “Who shot JFK?” 

You may find it helpful to refer to the text on pages 40–41. 

Competition! 

Form a single word from the letters in the coloured squares. 

Send it on a postcard to: Redaktion Spotlight, “November Prize 

Puzzle”, Postfach 1565, 82144 Planegg, Deutsch land. Ten winners 

will be chosen from the entries we receive by 14 November 

2013. Each winner will be sent a copy of 

London Underground by courtesy of Reclam. 

The answer to our September puzzle was 

anthology. Congratulations to: Roland Hagl 

(St. Pölten, Austria), Iris Simon (Wangen), 

Radka Ketnerova (Pilsen, Czech Republic), 

Sigrid Natterer (Ismaning), Franz Regginger 

(Odenthal), Inge Staebe (Baunatal), Marlene 

Brinkmann (Bad Berleburg), Andreas Breit 

(Saarbrücken), Wiebke Hein (Baden-Baden) 

and Brigitte Rem (Radevormwald). 

19 

23 

Mike Pilewski 

Mind of a gunman 

Across 

1. Fifty per cent of something. 

3. Permission to enter or live in a country. 

8. Noticed: “Have you ______ this man?” 

9. First-person singular form of “to be”. 

10. An individual. 

12. Taken away by the police on suspicion of a 

crime: “Lee Harvey Oswald was ______ in a 

movie theater.” 

15. Towards, or towards the top of, something. 

16. A strong wish: “Oswald had a ______ to live in 

the Soviet Union.” 

18. Objects. 

19. Towards the sky. 

20. Something on which to sit. 

21. From a particular moment in time. 

23. As (used in comparisons): “He was not ______ 

lucky.” 

24. Which person? 

25. Is in possession of. 

26. A statement that can be proved. 

Down 

1. “It’s not mine. It’s ______.” 

2. Patterns left by the oil on one’s fingers. 

4. Whether. 

5. The events described in this article happened 

50 years ______. 

6. Containers that hold something, such as a 

bullet: “Police found the rifle and three spent 

______.” 

7. At an earlier time than something else. 

11. Able to be done: “No further questioning of 

Oswald was ______.” 

13. Correct. 

14. Performed an action. 

17. To ask for something. 

20. Past-tense form of 

8 across: “I ______ 

him earlier today.” 

22. Belonging to it. 

Solution to 

puzzle 10/13: 

EXHIBIT 

C O M I C F R A M E G 

I I I 

R O A D S D L R 

C C E L L 

L O W U C U R I O U S 

E H L O O S 

S E X P E R I E N C E 

N T A X U 

D S U B T R A C T E D 

I R I M V 

P A T T E R N P E 

R W G A L L E R Y 

B E F O R E E 

Jetzt erhältlich! 

Der Jahrgang 2012. 

Ihnen fehlt noch ein Jahrgang Ihres Magazins, Ihres Übungsheftes oder Ihrer 

Audio-CD? Bestellen Sie ihn doch direkt bei uns in Kombination mit dem 

praktischen Sammelordner. 

Schön, wenn endlich alles komplett ist! 

+ Die Jahrgänge: Bestellen Sie den Jahrgang Ihrer Wahl. Wir liefern gerne, solange der 

Vorrat reicht. 

+ Der Sammelordner: Die ideale Aufbewahrung für einen Jahrgang. Die Hefte werden 

in zwölf Me tallstäbe eingehängt und können dann wie ein Buch gelesen werden. 

Bestellen Sie am besten gleich unter www.spotlight-online.de/extras

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THE LIGHTER SIDE | Wit and Wisdom 

“ 

If an expert says it can’t be done, 

get another expert. 

” 

David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973), first prime minister of Israel 

People are stupid 

• Sometimes, the first step to forgiving someone is 

understanding that he or she is a complete idiot. 

• Most computer problems are caused by a loose nut 

between the chair and the keyboard. 

• Why do people ask, “What were you thinking?” 

Obviously, I was thinking I was going to get away with it 

and not have to explain myself afterwards. 

© Bulls 

That’s not what I meant 

“When I die, I’m going to leave everything to you,” Joe tells 

his wife one day. She looks over at him sitting on the sofa and 

says, “You do anyway, you lazy pig!” 

chase [tSeIs] 

drive off [)draIv (Qf] 

get away with sth. 

[)get E(weI wID] 

make sth. up [)meIk (Vp] 

matter: what’s the ~? [(mÄtE] 

nut [nVt] 

rock-paper-scissors 

[)rQk )peIpE (sIzEz] 

tissue [(tISu:] 

THE ARGYLE SWEATER 

Funny physics 

Don’t trust atoms. They make up everything. 

jagen 

davonfahren 

mit etw. davonkommen 

sich etw. ausdenken, erfinden; 

auch: etw. ausmachen 

Was ist los? 

Schraubenmutter; auch: Spinner 

Schere, Stein, Papier 

(Knobelspiel) 

hier: Kosmetiktuch 

Rock-paper-scissors 

A policeman stopped me as I was driving down the road and 

said, “Papers!” 

I replied, “Scissors. I win,” and I drove off. He must want another 

match. He’s been chasing me for quite a while now. 

Daddy’s girl 

Tom’s teenage daughter is angry when she comes home 

from school. 

“I’ve just had my first sex-education lesson, Dad. You lied to 

me! You told me that if I had sex before my 16th birthday, my 

boyfriend would die.” 

Tom puts down his newspaper and says, “Oh, he will die, 

honey, he will.” 

Mummy’s boy 

Johnny watches, fascinated, as his mother puts cream on her 

face. “Why are you doing that, Mummy?” he asks. 

“To make myself beautiful,” says his mother, who then begins 

to remove the cream with a tissue. 

“What’s the matter?” asks Johnny. “Are you giving up?” 

PEANUTS 


American Life | GINGER KUENZEL 

Foto: iStock 

“ 

I happen 

to think all 

rocks are 

beautiful 

Eight years ago, with town ap-” 

proval, my mother had a tree 

planted in our town park to 

honor my dad. He had served on the 

town board for many years before he 

died in 1982, and the town of Hague 

felt that this was a good tribute. They 

agreed to order a plaque to put on a 

stone beside the tree — but that 

never happened. So, recently, I took 

matters into my own hands. 

I asked Steve, the town board 

member who heads the park committee, 

for approval to put a stone by the 

tree and have a plaque put on it. “No 

problem,” he told me. “Just do it.” 

And so I did. But the next day, a visitor 

complained about the rock. 

“Someone could trip over it, fall, and 

between a rock and a hard place: be ~ 

[bi)twi:n E )rA:k End E )hA:rd (pleIs] ifml. 

board [bO:rd] 

boulder [(boUld&r] 

drown [draUn] 

leave no stone unturned 

[)li:v noU )stoUn Vn(t§:nd] 

lifeguard [(laIfgA:rd] 

litter [(lIt&r] 

memorial [mE(mO:riEl] 

plaque [plÄk] 

pun [pVn] 

sue [su:] 

town approval [)taUn E(pru:v&l] 

town clerk [)taUn (kl§:k] 

town supervisor 

[)taUn (su:p&rvaIz&r] 

unsightly [Vn(saItli] 

A rocky town meeting 

Es kann ein steiniger Weg sein, die Stadtverwaltung zum 

Anbringen einer Gedenktafel im Stadtpark zu überreden – 

außer man hilft mit einer Spende nach. 

sue the town,” he said. I told them 

that it was right next to the tree. If a 

person wasn’t able to see the rock or 

the tree, he shouldn’t be walking in 

the park, which is on a lake. He could 

fall in the lake and drown. Steve 

agreed and said we could leave the 

rock where it was. 

The next day, however, our town 

supervisor sent me an e-mail that 

said: “Remove the boulder in the 

park immediately.” Suddenly, the 

rock had become a boulder. Although 

the supervisor admitted that she 

wasn’t worried about the town being 

sued, she wanted my rock to be identical 

to a rock that had been placed 

beside another tree. Soon, a futher 

town board member called me to tell 

me that the rock was “unsightly.” 

“Unsightly?” I asked. “In my opinion, 

all rocks are beautiful.” 

That didn’t help. I was again told 

to remove the rock immediately, and 

to appear before the town board to 

explain myself. At the meeting, a long 

discussion began among the board 

members, with one complaining 

about how “our park is becoming littered 

with trees and rocks.” I said that 

sich in einer Zwickmühle befinden 

Verwaltungsbehörde, Ausschuss 

Felsbrocken 

ertrinken 

nichts unversucht lassen 

Rettungsdienst 

verschmutzen 

Gedenkstätte 

Gedenktafel 

Wortspiel 

verklagen 

Genehmigung der Stadtverwaltung 

Stadtschreiber(in) 

Leiter(in) der städtischen 

Bauaufsichtsbehörde 

unansehnlich 

I had visited many parks around the 

country — and around the world — 

and that most have trees and rocks. 

But my argument didn’t seem to help. 

One of the board members took 

control of the discussion by proposing 

a resolution that there could be 

no new trees, rocks, or plaques placed 

in the park ever again. This was 

quickly approved, after which an audience 

member stood up and asked, 

quite rightly, “What if a tree dies and 

needs to be replaced?” Naturally, this 

was a problem for the board. They 

hadn’t thought of this situation. Their 

solution was simply to move on to 

other business. 

An hour later, as the meeting was 

about to end, Steve raised another 

issue: a service organization wanted to 

give the town $750 to buy a new lifeguard 

chair for the park. The board 

agreed that this was a good thing. 

Without delay, they voted to accept 

the money. The only thing that the 

organization wanted in return, Steve 

said, was a plaque on the chair stating 

that it was a gift from them. 

I then immediately reminded the 

board that, according to the resolution, 

no new plaques could be put up 

in the park. The town clerk held up 

the paper with her notes from the 

meeting. “She’s right,” she said. So 

now the board is between a rock and 

a hard place — pun intended. Let’s 

see if they can find their way out of 

this one. They’ll be seeing me at the 

next town meeting, too, because I’ve 

not finished working on my dad’s 

memorial. Only now, I’ve got a great 

new motto to keep me motivated: 

“Leave no stone unturned.” 

Ginger Kuenzel is a freelance writer who 

lived in Munich for 20 years. She now calls 

a small town in upstate New York home. 


67

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December 2013 | NEXT MONTH 

Features 

A helping hand 

Planning a sabbatical? Spotlight 

author Robert Parr took a break from 

his routine to work in a school in 

India. With his teaching and management 

skills, he found ways of helping 

some of India’s poorest children. 

Maasai on 

the move 

Join us on a journey 

to meet the Maasai, 

a semi-nomadic 

people who live on 

the border between 

Kenya and 

Tanzania. A lot is 

changing for this 

proud, traditional 

society. Eve Lucas 

reports. 

Are there 

any gentlemen 

left? 

Chivalry — another 

word for polite behaviour, 

especially that of 

a man towards a woman 

— is disappearing. But is 

it going too far to say 

that chivalry is dead? 

We ask the charming 

people of Dublin, Ireland, 

what they think. 

Language 

Vocabulary 

Patterned or plain? Woolly or 

silky? We illustrate the words you 

need to describe cloth, clothing 

and curtains. 

Travel Talk 

Everyone’s a winner: join us for 

fun and games at a casino. Make 

sure you play your cards right 

with our tips and dialogues. 

Grammar 

As the year comes to a close, we’ll 

be taking a look at the language 

you’ll need to talk about your 

hopes and plans. 

Fotos: M. Parr; Mauritius; Universität Heidelberg; iStock; Hemera 

Spotlight 12/13 is on sale from 

27 November 


69

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | My Life in English 

Silvia 

Furtwängler 

Silvia Furtwängler ist Hundeschlitten- 

Rennfahrerin und die einzige Deutsche, die 

jemals das berühmte Yukon Quest-Rennen 

von Anfang bis Ende mitgefahren ist. 

What makes English important to you? 

As a professional musher (dog-sled driver), I need 

to speak English. It’s the official language for the races I 

take part in all over the world. What’s more, most dogs 

are trained in English, so when I buy a dog, I don’t have 

to teach him the commands in German. 

When was your first English lesson, and what do you 

remember about it? 

In 1972. I can still remember my English books in great 

detail; they were made like comic books. Later, I had an 

English examiner who looked exactly like one of the 

comic-book figures from my schoolbook. I’ll never 

forget this examiner nor my books. 

Who is your favourite English-language actor? 

Meryl Streep. She makes every role believable, as if she 

actually were the person she’s portraying. For me, she’s 

one of the finest actresses there is. 

Which English song could you sing a few lines of? 

“The Sound of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel. 

What is your favourite English word and why? 

“Doggies”, because that’s what I call my dogs when we’re 

on the move. 

Which phrase do you use the most when you talk in 

English? 

“Whatever.” I have no idea why I say that so often. 

Which English word was the hardest for you to learn to 

pronounce? 

Refrigerator. 

Do you practise English, and if so, how? 

Yes, I speak English every day with my neighbour. And I 

listen to lots of English music, and I watch movies and 

read books in English. 

If you suddenly found yourself with a free afternoon in 

New York, what would you do? 

Go to Central Park. 

What is your favourite food from the English-speaking 

world? 

Pancakes with maple syrup and bacon. 

Which person from the English-speaking world (living or 

dead) would you most like to meet? 

The Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott, who lived 

from 1868 to 1912. I’d like to ask him why he thought 

that reaching the South Pole with sled dogs would be 

less significant than getting there by manpower alone. 

In the end, this attitude cost him and his fellow 

explorers their lives. 

When did you last use English (before answering this 

questionnaire)? 

Just half an hour ago with my neighbour. She’s 

Norwegian, but she loves the English language. So do I. 

So we speak only English with each other. 

Do you have anything in your home from the Englishspeaking 

world? 

Books, CDs, photos and, most importantly, my start 

numbers for the Yukon Quest — number 17 from 2003 

and number 12 from 2001. 

What would be your motto in English? 

Behind every successful woman is herself. 

bacon [(beIkEn] 

by manpower [baI (mÄn)paUE] 

dog sled [(dQg sled] N. Am. 

maple syrup [)meIp&l (sIrEp] 

move: be on the ~ [mu:v] 

whatever [wQt(evE] 

Yukon Quest [(ju:kQn )kwest] 

(Frühstücks)Speck 

aus eigener Kraft 

Hundeschlitten 

Ahornsirup 

unterwegs sein 

was auch immer 

Hundeschlittenrennen von 

Fairbanks, Alaska, nach Whitehorse, 

Kanada (über 1600 km) 

Foto: S. Furtwängler 


Gut für 

den Kopf! 

Besser mit Sprachen. Land und Leute 

verstehen – und nebenbei die Sprache 

lernen. Jeden Monat neu. 

4 

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(€ 18,60 / SFR 27,90 – Business Spotlight € 34,50 / SFR 51,75).

Green Light 

11 2013 

ENGLISCH LEICHT GEMACHT! 

Meet 

actor Robert 

Downey, Jr. 

Practise 

using “the” 

Learn how to 

ask for help 

online

GREEN LIGHT | News 

This month… 

Was beschäftigt die englischsprachige 

Welt im November? VANESSA CLARK 

spürt die heißen Storys für Sie auf. 

It’s summer down under 

Sport November is a big month for Australian sport, and Melbourne is the place to be. 

First, on 5 November, there’s the Melbourne Cup, the most important and the richest horse 

race in Australia. It’s known as “the race that stops a nation”, and Melbourne Cup Day is a 

public holiday in the state of Victoria. 

After the horses comes golf: the Australian Masters will be held at the Royal Melbourne 

Golf Club from 14 to 17 November. Who will win the famous gold jacket this year? After 

his win at the US Masters in April, Australian Adam Scott must be the locals’ favourite. 

It’s all in the detail 

Books American crime writer Patricia Cornwell began her career 

as a crime reporter. Then she worked as a technical writer 

in the office of the chief medical examiner of Virginia. 

She also worked with the Richmond Police Department. 

Those years gave her the insider information she needed 

to create the character of Dr Kay Scarpetta, a medical 

examiner. Fans love the technical detail in the books. 

The latest Scarpetta book, Blut (English title: Red Mist) comes 

out in German in paperback this month, and Cornwell has said that 

she is talking to producers in Hollywood 

about a Scarpetta film. 

character [(kÄrEktE] 

chief medical examiner 

[tSi:f )medIk&l Ig(zÄmInE] 

create [kri(eIt] 

crime writer [(kraIm )raItE] 

(crime 

destroy [di(strOI] 

local [(lEUk&l] 

natural disaster 

[)nÄtS&rEl dI(zA:stE] 

paperback [(peIpEbÄk] 

police department 

[pE(li:s di)pA:tmEnt] 

public holiday [)pVblIk (hQlEdeI] 

reporter [ri(pO:tE] 

wave [weIv] 

hier: Romanfigur 

leitende(r) 

Gerichtsmediziner(in) 

erschaffen, ins Leben rufen 

Krimiautor(in) 

Verbrechen) 

zerstören 

Einheimische(r) 

Naturkatastrophe 

Taschenbuch 

Polizei(behörde) 

Feiertag 

Berichterstatter(in) 

Welle 

100 years ago 

1913 

North America The Great Lakes 

Storm of 1913 was the worst natural 

disaster ever to hit the famous lakes 

between Canada and the USA. With 

winds of up to 145 km/h and waves 

11 m high, 19 ships were destroyed 

and more than 250 people died. 

2 


Jobs in building 

8 pictures | GREEN LIGHT 

STEPHANIE SHELLABEAR presents the job titles of people who 

work on buildings. 

1 

8 

2 

7 

3 

6 

4 

Write the words below 

next to the pictures. 

5 

Titel: iStock; Fotos Doppelseite: spdmedia.com; PR; Illustrationen: B. Förth 

1. builder [(bIldE] 

2. bricklayer 

3. plasterer [(plA:stErE] 

4. joiner UK 

5. roofer 

6. plumber [(plVmE] 

7. painter [(peIntE] 

8. electrician [i)lek(trIS&n] 

What’s the job? 

Answers: a) bricklayer; b) electrician; c) painter; d) joiner; e) plumber 

a) This person builds walls. _________ 

b) This person lays electric cables. _________ 

c) This person changes the colour of walls. _________ 

d) This person makes things out of wood. _________ 

e) This person makes sure buildings have hot and 

cold water. _________ 

The people we ask to come to our house to build or repair things are called Handwerker 

in German. In English, their job title is used, for example: 

• The plumber’s coming today to repair our boiler. 

Tips 


3

GREEN LIGHT | Grammar elements 

“The” 

STEPHANIE SHELLABEAR presents basic grammar. 

When do you use the definite article the? 

In Green Light 10/13, we explained when to use “a” and “an”, meaning one of something. 

This month, we compare (vergleichen) these with the. Here are the basic rules (Grundregeln) 

of when to use this word, the definite article (bestimmter Artikel): 

If the other person knows what you are talking about, use the: 

• Did you enjoy the concert yesterday? • Did you meet the band? 

If the other person cannot know which thing or person you mean, use a / an: 

• I’ve bought a mountain bike. • She’s going out with an actor. 

To say that you are thinking of something specific (etwas Spezielles), use the: 

• I really like the people in my office. 

• I’ve tried two different cakes. I preferred the chocolate one. 

If you mean something general (etwas Allgemeines) and it’s uncountable (unzählbar) or 

plural, you don’t need the: 

• He hates classical music. 

• I like optimistic people. 

If you mean “the place I always go to”, use the in everyday conversation: 

• I need to go to the post office this afternoon. 

• She’s gone to get some money from the bank. 

If you are not familiar with a specific place, use a / an: 

• Is there a post office near here? 

• Have you met her brother? He works for a bank. 

In Britain, when talking about playing a musical instrument, “the” is always used: 

• My father plays the violin. • I played the clarinet when I was young. 

Tips 

Complete the sentences below with “the”, “a / an” or no article at all. 

a) We need _____ holiday. Where shall we go? 

b) I don’t know. Have you got _____ travel brochure? 

c) No. Let’s go to _____ travel agent’s we normally use. 

d) Good idea. They often have _____ special offers. 

e) I can see _____ sea already. 

f) Aha! You want _______ beach holiday, right? 

Fotos: iStockphoto 

4 


Answers: a) a; b) a; c) the; d) no article; e) the; f) a

Having breakfast 

The Greens | GREEN LIGHT 

Andrew and Donna are talking about the dinner they had with the family 

of their daughter’s boyfriend. By DAGMAR TAYLOR 

Andrew: Could you pass the butter, please? 

Donna: Here you are. The food was fantastic 

last night. Matt’s mother is a great 

cook. 

Andrew: It was good, I agree, but I prefer 

your cooking. 

Donna: (smiles) Is there any strawberry jam 

left? 

Andrew: I think there’s some in the fridge. 

I’ll get it. What did you think of Matt’s 

father? What was his name, again? 

Donna: Honestly, Andrew! His name’s 

Quentin. I thought he was nice. A teeny 

bit arrogant, perhaps. 

Andrew: Yes, I know what you mean. — 

I’m afraid we’ve only got raspberry jam. 

Donna: That’ll do. I suppose it’s quite serious 

then — between Paula and Matt. 

Andrew: Well, they seem very happy. More 

coffee? 

raspberry [(rA:zbEri] 

seem [si:m] 

serious [(sIEriEs] 

strawberry [(strO:bEri] 

suppose [sE(pEUz] 

Himbeere 

scheinen 

ernst 

Erdbeere 

annehmen 

• When you’re sitting at the table and 

can’t reach (erreichen) something, you 

can ask someone to pass it (to you). 

• You say Here you are (ifml.) when you 

give something to someone. 

• If something is left, it means there is 

still something to be eaten, used, etc. 

• To ask someone’s opinion (Meinung) of 

someone or something, you can say: 

What did / do you think of...? 

• Donna says Honestly, Andrew! to 

show that she is irritated (genervt) that 

he can’t remember names. 

• Teeny (ifml.) is a synonym for “tiny” 

or “very little”. 

• When you agree with someone, you 

can say: I know what you mean. 

• I’m afraid is used before or after 

telling a person something 

disappointing (enttäuschend) or 

unpleasant (unerfreulich). 

• Donna says That’ll do to let Andrew 

know that she would like some 

raspberry jam. 

Tips 

Complete the sentences below with 

words from the dialogue. 

a) Could you _ _ _ _ the butter, please? 

b) _ _ _ _ you are. 

c) Is there any strawberry jam _ _ _ _? 

d) I’m _ _ _ _ _ _ there’s only raspberry jam. 

Donna 

Andrew 

Listen to the dialogue at 

www.spotlight-online.de/products/green-light 

Answers: a) pass; b) Here; c) left; d) afraid

GREEN LIGHT | Get writing 

Asking for help on 

an online forum 

VANESSA CLARK helps you to write letters, e-mails and more in English. 

This month: how to get and give help on an online forum. 

pixiechick 01.11.2013, 4:46 PM # 1 

Join date: Jan 2013 

Posts: 5 

Views: 34 

Replies: 1 

? ERROR CODE 

Can anyone help? My BritElectrix washing machine (model number 

BE1398XW) has stopped working, and I can’t find the instruction book. 

It has error code S5. I’ve cleaned the filter, but that hasn’t helped. 

Any ideas? 

Thanks in advance for your help. 

REPORT 

kwatt 02.11.2013, 12:07 PM # 2 

Join date: Mar 2013 

Posts: 11 

Views: 28 

Replies: 0 

Error code S5 on that model means “pump not working”. Have you 

checked the pump? You can clean it yourself. It’s an easy job. I had 

the same problem last month. 

Hope that helps! 

REPORT 

error code [(erE )kEUd] 

in advance [)In Ed(vA:ns] 

instruction book 

[In(strVkS&n bUk] 

Use 

it! 

Highlight 

the key words and 

phrases that you 

would use if you 

wanted to write on 

a forum like this 

yourself. 

Fehlercode 

im Voraus 

Gebrauchsanleitung 

• If you want help with technology, 

it’s a good idea to give basic 

information, like the make 

(hier: Fabrikat), the model number 

and an error code if you have one. 

• Say what you’ve already tried, such as 

“I’ve checked the...”, I’ve cleaned 

the..., “I’ve bought a new...” and “I’ve 

turned it off and on again.” 

• When you offer help, you can make 

suggestions (Vorschläge); for example, 

Have you checked the...?, “Have you 

tried the...?”, “It could be a problem 

with the...” 

Tips 

Fotos: iStock; action press; PR; G. Krautbauer 


I like… 

Culture corner | GREEN LIGHT 

Robert Downey, Jr. 

Jeden Monat stellt ein Redakteur etwas Besonderes aus 

der englischsprachigen Welt vor. Diesmal präsentiert 

stellvertretende Chefredakteurin CLAUDINE WEBER-HOF 

ihren Lieblingsschauspieler. 

Who he is 

Robert Downey, Jr., is a lucky man. Fifteen 

years ago, the press was laying bets on 

when the popular American actor would 

overdose on drugs. With earnings from the 

Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes films in the 

bank, he is now being called Hollywood’s 

best-paid star. 

Downey was born in New York City in 

1965 and began his career in film — and 

drugs — at a very early age. He appeared in 

his first movie, directed by his dad, as a boy 

of five. A year later, his father let him smoke 

marijuana, something the older Mr. Downey 

says he will always be sorry about. 

Why I like him 

I grew up with Downey’s antics: he was part 

of the “Brat Pack,” a group of funny, cool actors 

and actresses who were in ’80s movies 

like Weird Science (German title: L.I.S.A. Der 

helle Wahnsinn) and Less than Zero (German 

title: Unter Null ). In their films, as in their 

personal lives, they loved to break the rules. 

Only that didn’t go so well for Downey. He 

started taking drugs such as heroin 

and cocaine, and he spent time 

in jail. But by 2004, he had 

cleaned up his act. Some 

say his marriage in 2005 

to Susan Downey, a hardworking 

movie producer, 

has been the key to his 

new-found happiness 

and success. 

Downey told 

Success magazine: “There’s nothing I like 

more than someone who rises, crashes and 

burns, and rises again.” Americans love 

tales of redemption, of overcoming failure 

and afterwards experiencing great success. 

That’s this actor’s story in a nutshell. 

antics [(ÄntIks] 

bets: lay ~ on sb./sth. 

[bets] 

clean up one’s act 

[)kli:n Vp wVnz (Äkt] ifml. 

crash [krÄS] 

direct [dE(rekt] 

failure [(feIlj&r] 

in a nutshell [)In E (nVtSel] 

jail [dZeI&l] 

overcome [)oUv&r(kVm] 

overdose on drugs 

[oUv&r)doUs A:n (drVgz] 

redemption [ri(dempS&n] 

rise [raIz] 

rule [ru:l] 

success [sEk(ses] 

Possen, Streiche 

auf jmdn./etw. 

Wetten abschließen 

Ordnung ins eigene 

Leben bringen 

abstürzen, 

zusammenbrechen 

Regie führen 

Misserfolg, 

Scheitern 

in wenigen Worten 

Gefängnis 

überwinden 

eine Überdosis 

Drogen einnehmen 

Erlösung 

aufsteigen 

Regel 

Erfolg 

Cultural 

fact 


7

GREEN LIGHT | Notes and numbers 

Twenty-fourhour 

clock 

The twenty-four-hour clock is used for train 

and bus timetables (Fahrplan) in Britain. 

The times are given in a special way over the 

loudspeaker. 

08.00 = oh eight hundred 

09.15 = oh nine fifteen 

20.05 = twenty oh five 

• The next train on platform two is the oh 

eight hundred (08.00) to Inverness. 

Your notes 

Use this space for your own notes. 

Write the following times as you 

might hear them at a station. 

oh six forty-five 

a) 06.45 _______________________________ 

b) 17.30 _______________________________ 

c) 18.00 _______________________________ 

d) 21.05 _______________________________ 

e) 22.55 _______________________________ 

Make good time 

If you make good time, you end a 

journey quickly: 

• They made good time and arrived in 

London hours before the concert 

began. 

Answers: b) seventeen thirty; c) eighteen hundred; 

d) twenty-one oh five; e) twenty-two fifty-five 

Fotos: iStockphoto 

IMPRESSUM 

Herausgeber und Verlagsleiter: Dr. Wolfgang Stock 

Chefredakteurin: Inez Sharp 

Stellvertretende Chefredakteurin: Claudine Weber-Hof 

Chefin vom Dienst: Susanne Pfeifer 

Autoren: Vanessa Clark, Dagmar Taylor, 

Stephanie Shellabear 

Redaktion: Owen Connors, Elisabeth Erpf, Anja Giese, 

Peter Green, Reinhild Luk, Michael Pilewski (Online), 

Michele Tilgner, Joanna Westcombe 

Bildredaktion: Sarah Gough (Leitung), Thorsten Mansch 

Gestaltung: Marion Sauer/Johannes Reiner 

www.vor-zeichen.de 

Anzeigenleitung: Axel Zettler 

Marketingleitung: Holger Hofmann 

Produktionsleitung: Ingrid Sturm 

Vertriebsleitung: Monika Wohlgemuth 

Verlag und Redaktion: Spotlight Verlag GmbH 

Postanschrift: Postfach 1565, 82144 Planegg, Deutschland 

Telefon +49(0)89/8 56 81-0, Fax +49(0)89/8 56 81-105 

Internet: www.spotlight-online.de 

Litho: HWM GmbH, 82152 Planegg 

Druck: Medienhaus Ortmeier, 48369 Saerbeck 

© 2013 Spotlight Verlag, auch für alle genannten Autoren, 

Fotografen und Mitarbeiter. 

UNSER SPRACHNIVEAU: Das Sprachniveau in Green Light entspricht ungefähr Stufe A2 des 

Gemeinsamen Europäischen Referenzrahmens für Sprachen.

ENGLISH 

FOR 

TRAVELLERS 

Vocabulary 

Phrases 

Cultural tips 

Language tips

ENGLISCH LERNEN 

IST EIN WITZ? 

Ja, mit diesem Spiel, in dem die Spieler 

Witze, Reime, Zungenbrecher und lustige 

Zitate zum Besten geben. Ein witziges 

Familienspiel mit großem Lerneffekt: 

vorlesen, frei vortragen, übersetzen, 

hören, verstehen und Vokabeln lernen. 

Mit 400 Witzen, Reimen, Zungenbrechern , 

lustigen Zitaten und 504 Vokabelkärtchen, 

1 Spielanleitung, 1 Würfel, 1 Leinenbeutel. 

JETZT BESTELLEN! 

www.sprachenshop.de/spiele 

oder im Buch- und 

Spielwarenhandel 

5 19,95 (UVP) 

In Zusammenarbeit mit dem 

Erschienen bei: 

400 WITZE, 

REIME UND 

ZUNGEN- 

BRECHER 

Für 3 – 8 Spieler ab 12 Jahren, 

Spieldauer ca. 20 Minuten pro Runde.

ENGLISH FOR TRAVELLERS 

Whether your next trip takes you to Texas 

or to Timbuktu, you probably won’t get 

very far without English. In this pocket guide, 

we’ve put together some of the most important 

words and phrases to help you on your travels. 

You’ll find dialogues for typical situations, as 

well as tips on language and culture. Practise your English with our 

exercises before you leave home or while you’re on the bus, plane 

or train. You’ll find a glossary of the more difficult words on pages 

22–23. There’s a list of useful travel apps and websites, too. Ready 

for take-off? Have a good trip! 

IMPRESSUM 

HERAUSGEBER UND VERLAGSLEITER: 

Dr. Wolfgang Stock 

CHEFREDAKTEURIN: Inez Sharp 

STELLVERTRETENDE CHEFREDAKTEURIN: 

Claudine Weber-Hof 

CHEFIN VOM DIENST: Susanne Pfeifer 

TEXT: Dagmar Taylor 

REDAKTION: Elisabeth Erpf, Anja Giese, Peter Green, 

Reinhild Luk, Stephanie Shellabear, Michele Tilgner, 

Joanna Westcombe 

BILDREDAKTION: 

Sarah Gough (Leitung), Thorsten Mansch 

GESTALTUNG: Marion Sauer, Johannes Reiner 

www.vor-zeichen.de 

VERTRIEBSLEITUNG: Monika Wohlgemuth 

PRODUKTIONSLEITUNG: Ingrid Sturm 

VERLAG UND REDAKTION: 


Postanschrift: Postfach 1565, 82144 Planegg, Deutschland 

Hausanschrift: Fraunhoferstraße 22, 

82152 Planegg, Deutschland 

Telefon +49(0)89/8 56 81-0, Fax 8 56 81-105 

Internet: www.spotlight-online.de 

LITHO: HWM GmbH, 82152 Planegg 

DRUCK: te Neues Druckereigesellschaft, 47906 Kempen 

Language author, Spotlight 

CONTENTS 

Before you go ...................4 

At the airport ....................6 

Accommodation ...............8 

Public transport ..............10 

Sightseeing .....................12 

Eating out .......................14 

Typical situations ............16 

When things go wrong ....18 

Websites and apps ..........20 

Answers ..........................21 

Glossary ..........................22 

© 11/2013 Spotlight Verlag; 



3


Before you go 

Planning a trip often starts a long time before 

you leave home. First, you need to know what 

kind of holiday or trip you are going on. Later, 

you’ll need to start packing the right things. 

Types of holiday 

all-inclusive: a holiday, often at a resort, with 

everything booked and paid for in advance 

camping: a holiday in a tent 

city break: a short holiday in a city for only two or three days 

cruise: a holiday on a ship, visiting different places 

glamping: (from “glamorous” and “camping”) a luxury camping 

holiday where you might stay in a yurt, tepee, safari tent, etc. 

house swap: an arrangement in which two families exchange houses 

for a holiday 

package holiday: a holiday for a fixed price that includes transport 

and accommodation 

safari: a journey — in Africa, for example — to see wild animals 

self-catering holiday: a holiday where you shop for 

your food and cook your own meals 

staycation: a holiday in your own country or home 

Holidays 

A day or days when you are not at work or at school, or the time 

that you spend travelling or relaxing away from home is a holiday or 

holidays (hols for short) in Britain and a vacation in North America. 

A bank holiday or public holiday (N. Am.: holiday) is a day when 

government offices, schools and banks are closed. 

In the US, the time in December and January that includes Christmas, 

Hanukkah and the New Year is known as the holidays. 

CULTURE TIP 

4 


• You can book a room, a hotel, a trip, a car, etc. When a hotel has no 

rooms available, it is “booked up” or “fully booked”. Make sure the 

hotel confirms your booking. If you change your mind (sich etw. 

anders überlegen), you will have to change or cancel your booking. 

Tips 

1. Have I got everything? 

Match the words from the list to the pictures below of six travel 

essentials for your hand luggage. (Answers are on page 21.) 

currency | earplugs | medication | phone charger 

sleeping mask | travel pillow 

EXERCISE 

b) 

a) 

c) 

f) 

d) 

e) 

a) _________________________ 

b) _________________________ 

c) _________________________ 

d) _________________________ 

e) _________________________ 

f) _________________________ 


5


At the airport 

A holiday often starts when you 

arrive at the airport, with a visit to 

the check-in desk and a walk 

through security. 

At the check-in desk 

Hello! I’d like to check in 

for the flight to Dublin, please. 

Can I see your ticket and passport, please? 

Here they are. 

How many bags are you checking in? 

Just the one. It might be a bit heavy, though. 

It’s 18 kilos, but you’re allowed 22. Can I see your hand luggage? 

Yes. It’s just my handbag. 

OK. That’s fine. Here’s your boarding pass. We don’t have a gate 

number yet. Just wait in the departure lounge until your flight 

is called. Have a nice trip. 

Thank you. 

• On many flights, only one piece of hand luggage / 

hand baggage (N. Am.: carry-on bags) is allowed. The luggage 

you check in is called “checked luggage / baggage”. 

• A handbag is called a “purse” in North American English. 

• At the gate, passengers wait until the plane is ready for 

boarding (Einsteigen). Often, announcements are made 

such as: “Flight 564 to Kuala Lumpur is now boarding at 

gate number 12.” 

Tips 


Security information 

Heightened security measures mean that passing through security 

can take longer than in the past. You are advised to arrive at the 

airport in plenty of time. 

Long-haul flights — check in three hours prior to departure 

European flights — check in two hours prior to departure 

Domestic flights — check in one hour prior to departure 

Hand luggage — new security measures 

Passengers are requested to be patient while additional security 

measures are in place. Please allow extra time for your journey 

and be prepared for possible delays. 

• Security means “safety”, but it’s 

also short for “security area” — the 

place where you and your hand 

luggage are inspected. 

• Long-haul [)lQN (hO:l] flights 

transport passengers over long 

distances and typically take more 

than six hours. 

• Domestic flights take place within 

one particular country. 

• A delay is a situation in which 

something is slow or late to 

happen. You and your flight can 

be “delayed”: “Hi, Sarah! Sorry, my 

flight’s been delayed by an hour.” 

See Everyday English in Spotlight 10/13 

for more words and phrases used for 

talking about flights. 

Tips 

2. Where do we go now? 

Answer the questions with 

words from these pages. 

a) Where are your bags 

weighed? 

______________________ 

b) Where might you have 

to take your shoes off? 

__________________ 

c) Where do you wait 

until your flight is 

called? _______________ 

d) Where do you wait to 

board the plane? 

_______________________ 

EXERCISE 


7


Tips 

At reception 

Accommodation 

When you reach your destination, ask 

at the hotel reception whether there 

is a room for you. If you book hotel 

accommodation in advance, however, 

you can go online to look at other 

peoples’ recommendations. 

Hello, sir! How can I help you? 

Hello! We were wondering whether you have a room available 

for tonight. 

You haven’t got a reservation? 

No, I’m afraid not. 

Let me have a look. Ah, we haven’t any double rooms left, but 

we do have an executive suite. 

How much is it? 

That will be £150, including breakfast. 

Well, all right. Yes. We’ll take it. 

Thank you, sir. Can I have your name, please? 

• A hotel receptionist will tell you if a room is available. 

B & Bs (bed and breakfasts) often have a sign in the 

window which says “vacancies” (Zimmer frei) or “no vacancies”. 

• A suite [swi:t] is a group of rooms in a hotel. A suite usually consists 

of a living room, a bedroom and a bathroom. 

• Prices for rooms may or may not include breakfast. “Half board” 

(N. Am.: European plan) (Halbpension) includes breakfast and an 

evening meal. “Full board” (Vollpension) includes all meals. 

• When you accept a room, you can say I’ll / We’ll take it. 

8 


Online Review Photos (12) Forums (2) 

Vernon 

34 reviews 

19 helpful votes 

Kilmarnock Hotel 

“Great place to stay” 

New 

26 October 2013 

The Kilmarnock Hotel is a really nice place. I stayed for two nights. 

I arrived too early to check in, but the staff was helpful and friendly. 

They offered me coffee while I waited for the room to be made up, 

and I was even upgraded to an executive suite. The suite was clean, 

spacious and tastefully decorated — just what I wanted. 

The breakfast buffet was really good. There was plenty of fresh fruit, 

and I was pleasantly surprised at the variety of bread and rolls. 

The hotel is in an ideal position for shopping and visiting city 

attractions, and it’s still very quiet. I’d definitely stay there again. 

• Place can be used to mean a country, a town or a building. 

• When a bed or room is prepared for use, it is made up. 

• If you are given a better room than the one you have paid for, you 

are upgraded or “get an upgrade”. 

• A “continental breakfast” is a light breakfast of coffee or tea with 

toast or rolls (Brötchen) with butter, jam and marmalade (Marmelade 

aus Zitrusfrüchten). 

• An interesting place to go or thing to do is called an attraction. 

Tips 

3. Is that what you say? 

Choose the correct word to complete each sentence below. 

a) The sign in the window says “No vacancies / vacations”. 

b) I was uploaded / upgraded to a double room. 

c) The room was very spatial / spacious. 

d) I had the execution / executive suite. 

EXERCISE 


9


Public transport 

You can save time learning about 

the public transport system in a 

foreign country by asking the locals. 

Taking the bus 

Excuse me? Could you tell 

me which bus I should take 

to go to the city centre? 

Yes. You can take either the number 4 or the 44. But they go 

from the bus stop on the other side of the road. Buses on this 

side are going out of town. 

OK, thanks. Which would be the best stop to get off at? 

Probably Gallowgate or Union Street, I’d say. 

And how much does it cost? 

A single fare’s £1.50. But you could also get a day ticket — that’s 

about £3.50. You’ll need the exact fare. Do you have change? 

Yes, I do. Thank you. 

• The UK’s system of buses, trains, etc. is called public transport 

(N. Am.: public transportation or public transit system). 

• You get on and off a bus at a bus stop, where there is usually a 

shelter (Wartehäuschen) and a timetable (Fahrplan). 

• A single fare is the price of a “one-way ticket”, as North Americans call 

it (fare: Fahrpreis). If you want to travel back from your destination, 

a “return ticket” (N. Am.: round-trip ticket) may be cheaper. 

• Tickets such as a day ticket or “travelcard” save you money if you 

want to make a number of journeys in a day. 

• To buy bus tickets in Britain, you usually need coins — small change. 

Tips 

10 


Visitor Oyster Card 

From £23 

Buy now! 

The Visitor Oyster Card is a pay-as-you-go 

method of using all public transport in London. 

• Use it on all London public transport, including riverboats. 

• Enjoy a huge discount! A Tube journey in central London costs 

£4.50 in cash, but only £2.10 with an Oyster Card. 

• No need to queue at the ticket office — you’ll be ready to travel 

as soon as you arrive. 

• Travel as much as you like. You’ll never use more than £8.40 of 

credit per day in central London. 

• A plastic Visitor Oyster (Auster) Card is for use on public transport 

in London. You can order one from www.visitbritainshop.com 

• Passengers load their Oyster Cards with credit, then use the card to 

pay for each trip on a pay-as-you-go basis. 

• You can travel across the Thames [temz] by riverboat. There are 

regular services, as well as sightseeing trips with commentaries. 

• London’s underground (N. Am.: subway) railway system is also 

known as the Tube. 

• Tickets can be bought at a station ticket office or from a machine. 

Tips 

4. Getting around 

Add the missing word to each definition. 

a) The amount it costs to travel by bus, plane or train is the ___________. 

b) A schedule of bus or train arrivals and departures is a ____________. 

c) You wait for your bus at a ____________. 

d) A ticket that includes your journey back is a ____________ ticket. 

EXERCISE 


11


Sightseeing 

If you don’t find the tips 

you need in your guidebook, 

the tourist information office 

will help. There, you can find 

details about tours and places 

worth visiting. 

At the tourist information office 

Hello! Can you recommend any places to visit? 

Sure. How long are you here for? 

We’re staying for two nights. 

Would you be interested in whale watching? 

Yes. Absolutely! 

OK. Well, the cruise leaves every day at 1 p.m. from the harbour. 

You might see dolphins and sea lions, too. Here’s a leaflet 

with a voucher for a 10 per cent discount. 

Fantastic! Do you know how much it costs? 

Yes, it’s $100 for adults and $50 for children under 12. 

Tips 

• English speakers often ask questions 

or make suggestions indirectly. 

Instead of saying: “I suggest you go 

there” or “You should go there”, 

they may use polite, friendly phrases 

such as: Would you be interested in...? 

or “You might want to...” 

• A leaflet is a flyer or small brochure 

[(brEUSE] containing pictures and 

information. 

Entry and admission 

When reading about 

entrance fees or the price 

of a tour, you’ll often see 

the word concession. 

This means a reduction in 

price for a particular category 

of people, such as 

students, elderly or disabled 

people or children. 

CULTURE TIP 

12 


Phillip Island Tours 

only Aus$ 98 

Only 90 minutes from Melbourne, 

Phillip Island features spectacular 

coastal scenery, charming heritage 

sites and an abundance of Australian 

wildlife. Visit a wildlife park, the 

koala conservation centre, the 

chocolate factory and much more. 

Make sure you don’t miss the main 

event: the penguin parade. Watch the 

world’s smallest penguins in their 

natural habitat as they waddle up the 

beach to the sand dunes — a special 

treat that you’ll never forget. 

Departs: daily 10.30 a.m. 

Returns: 9 p.m. 

Morning tea and all 

entrance fees included. 

Tips 

• A tour may be a 

coach (Reisebus) tour, 

a sightseeing tour, a 

guided tour or a 

walking tour. 

• Words like spectacular 

and charming (entzü - 

ckend) are often used in 

advertising to make 

places sound more 

attractive. 

• A country’s heritage is its 

history and traditions: 

“This park is part of our 

national heritage.” 

• Animals that live in a 

natural environment are 

known as wildlife. 

• Conservation is the 

protection of the 

environment — the 

countryside and its 

wildlife. 

• Entrance fees are also 

called “admission”. 

5. Things to see and do 

Match the attractions (a–d) to the places you would find them (1–4). 

a) contemporary arts and crafts 

b) hundreds of local sea creatures 

c) hands-on interactive exhibits 

d) big wheel, three roller coasters 

a ➯ 

b ➯ 

c ➯ 

d ➯ 

1. Codona’s Theme Park 

2. St Andrews Aquarium 

3. Aberdeen Art Gallery 

4. National Museum of 

Scotland 

EXERCISE 


13


Eating out 

Choosing food and drink in a foreign language and culture is 

always an adventure. If the menu doesn’t give you all the help you 

need, you can always ask your waiter or waitress. 

Today’s specials 

Starters 

Spicy carrot soup £4.50 

Prawn cocktail £5.50 

Mains 

Pan-fried salmon with potato dauphinois £8.00 

Aberdeen Angus burger £8.00 

Pea and asparagus risotto £7.50 

Dessert 

Chocolate fondant £4.50 

Passion fruit crème brûlée £4.50 

• The menu [(menju:] (not: the card) lists the food available in a 

restaurant. 

• Specials are dishes that aren’t on the menu every day. 

• A starter (N. Am.: appetizer) is served before the main course 

(N. Am.: entrée [(A:ntreI]). 

• In the UK, dessert [di(z§:t] is sometimes called “sweet” or, more 

informally, “afters” or ”pudding”: “What’s for pudding?” 

Tips 

14 


At the table 

Are you ready to order? 

Almost. I have a question about the 

menu. What’s a prawn cocktail? 

It’s a cold dish of cooked prawns in a 

sauce made with cream, tomato sauce and 

lemon juice. 

Ah, OK. And what’s potato dauphinois? Is that how you say it? 

We say it the French way — dauphinois. It’s made of sliced 

potatoes, baked in the oven with cream and garlic. 

OK. Well, I’ll have the soup and then the salmon, please. 

Can I get you anything else? 

No, that’s all, thanks. 

• A dish is food prepared in a particular way as part of a meal: 

“What’s the dish of the day?” 

• When you order food, you can say: I’ll have the... 

• The waiting staff (N. Am.: waitstaff) may ask what they can get you, 

meaning “bring” you. 

Tips 

6. What’s on the menu? 

Complete the typical dishes below with four words from the list. 

pasta | pâté | pea | pie | pocket | pudding 

a) chicken liver ________________________ 

b) creamy leek-and-bacon ________________________ 

c) lemon-meringue ________________________ 

d) sticky toffee ________________________ 

EXERCISE 


15


Typical situations 

There are some things you’ll do wherever you are on holiday, such as 

buying stamps, taking photos, making small talk and going online. 

Buying stamps 

Just these postcards, or would you like anything else? 

Do you sell stamps? 

I’m afraid we don’t, but the post office is just across the road. 

And do you know how much the postage is for a small parcel 

to Germany? 

Oh, sorry, I don’t. But they’ll be able to help you at the post office. 

Photo opportunity 

Excuse me. Would you mind taking a photo of us 

in front of the castle? 

No, not at all. What do I have to do? 

You press this button here. And here’s the zoom. 

OK. Ready? Say “chilli”! 

Chilli! 

There you go. 

Thanks very much. 

• In many places in the UK, post office counters (Postschalter) can be 

found inside village shops. In the UK, (the) post (N. Am.: mail) consists 

of letters, parcels, etc. that are delivered to a house or office. 

• The postage is the cost of sending a letter, parcel, etc. 

• In English, you don’t “make a photo”, you take a photo of someone 

or something. Photos are also called “pictures” or “snaps”. 

• When you give something to someone, you can say: There you go or 

“Here you go”. 

Tips 

16 


Making small talk 

Are you here on holiday? 

Yes, we are. We’re going home tomorrow. 

Oh, where are you from? 

We’re from Berlin. 

Oh, lovely! My sister lived in Berlin for a while. 

She did? Really? Where? 

In the centre somewhere. She thought it was a great city. 

Going online 

Excuse me. You have free Wi-Fi, don’t you? Do I need a password 

or anything? 

No. All you have to do is open your web browser and go to 

www.btwifi.com — it should open automatically. Then just click 

on “connect”. 

Oh, OK. Thanks. 

You’re welcome. 

• Local people are often very interested to find out about you and 

your holiday. (Alternative question: “Are you on your holidays?”) 

It’s polite to offer some information about yourself and your trip. 

• Where are you from? can be a question about where someone lives 

or about where someone was born. If you’re not sure which is meant, 

give both answers. Alternatively, you can ask what the speaker 

means: “Do you mean where do we live?” 

• If you’re not sure how to respond, you can show interest by repeating 

the information in question form: She did? 

• Wi-Fi [(waI faI] (WLAN-Zugang) may be available in hotels and 

restaurants, but it’s not always free of charge (kostenlos). 

• When someone thanks you, it is polite to respond with phrases such 

as You’re welcome, “Don’t mention it” or “No problem”. 

Tips 


17


When things go wrong 

When you are away from home, accidents 

or illness, losing things or having them 

stolen can all be very stressful. 

Phoning the lost property office 

Lost property. How can I help you? 

Yes, hello! I left a camera in a brown leather case on the number 

44 bus this morning. I’m calling to ask if it’s been handed in. 

I’ll just check. Hold on a second, please... Yes. A camera bag like 

that was handed in about an hour ago. 

Oh, thank goodness! What do I have to do now? 

You can come down to the bus station to claim it. You’ll need 

proof of identity. 

How late are you open? 

Until four o’clock. 

OK. Thank you. 

Lost or stolen passports 

If a lost passport is handed in to a 

police station, a corner is cut off, 

and the passport is returned to the 

embassy of the country where it 

was issued. You cannot legally use a 

passport that has 

been formally 

reported lost or 

stolen. 

CULTURE TIP 

• If you lose something 

in a public 

place, you may find it 

again at the lost 

property office 

(N. Am.: lost and 

found) (Fundbüro). 

• If you hand sth. in, 

you give something 

that has been lost to 

a person of authority. 

• Proof of identity 

could be a passport, 

a driving licence 

(Führerschein) or an 

ID card (Personalausweis). 

Tips

Looking after your property 

British Transport Police are doing everything they can to reduce 

theft and pickpocketing. Follow this guide to make 

sure you have a safe journey. 

How to beat pickpockets 

• Keep purses secure, and carry wallets in an inside pocket. 

• Zip up hand and shoulder bags. 

• Carry bags in front of you with flaps against your body. 

• Keep straps short and bags tucked under your arm. 

• Don’t display jewellery or other valuables. 

• Don’t show your money. Keep it safely in your pocket. 

• To tell someone that you have been the victim of a theft, say: 

“My bag, wallet, etc. has been stolen.” To the police, you can say: 

“I’d like to report a theft.” 

• A person who steals money or other items from people, especially 

in crowded places, is a pickpocket. 

• Things that are worth a lot of money, especially small things such as 

jewellery, cameras, mobile phones, etc., are known as valuables. 

Tips 

7. Get it right when things go wrong 

Circle the correct words to complete the following sentences. 

a) I forgot / left a camera on the bus this morning. 

b) A camera was handed over / handed in about an hour ago. 

c) You’ll need check / proof of identity. 

d) I’d like to report a theft / thief. 

e) Keep money safely / securely in your pocket. 

EXERCISE 


19


Websites 

Here are some of our favourite websites for planning a holiday: 

www.airbnb.com 

This hugely successful online service provides a platform for hosts to rent 

out unoccupied living space and other short-term accommodation. 

www.campinmygarden.com 

As a member of this community, you can advertise your own private 

garden as a campsite and / or book accommodation in other community 

members’ gardens. 

www.couchsurfing.org 

Stay in someone’s home to have authentic travel experiences. 

www.guardianhomeexchange.co.uk 

Would you swap your home for someone else’s? Have a look at the 

website to see what’s on offer worldwide. 

www.holidaypad.net 

If you need some inspiration, this site has many weird and wonderful 

ideas — from a chic houseboat in Denmark to a tropical villa in Jamaica. 

Apps 

Many apps are available to help you while you are on holiday. 

The free PinPin ATM finder helps you find bank machines worldwide. 

Postagram allows you to create and send postcards with your own 

photos and text anywhere in the world. 

Foursquare: if you open the app when you arrive at your destination, 

you’ll find tips from travellers who have been there before you. 

Tipulator lets you calculate restaurant tips and split the bill on your 

smartphone. 

XE Currency is a free, simple currency calculator that uses up-to-theminute 

exchange rates. 

20 


Answers 

1. Have I got everything? (p. 5) 

a) currency; b) medication; 

c) sleeping mask; d) phone charger; 

e) travel pillow; f) earplugs 

2. Where do we go now? (p. 7) 

a) at the check-in desk 

b) at security 

c) in the departure lounge 

d) at the gate (board a plane: in ein 

Flugzeug einsteigen) 

3. Is that what you say? (p. 9) 

a) vacancies 

b) upgraded 

c) spacious (spatial: räumlich) 

d) executive (execution: Hinrichtung) 

4. Getting around (p. 11) 

a) fare 

b) timetable 

c) bus stop 

d) return 

5. Things to see and do (p. 13) 

a–3 (contemporary arts and crafts: 

zeitgenössiches Kunsthandwerk) 

b–2 (sea creature: Meerestier) 

c–4 (hands-on: aktiv, praktisch; exhibit: 

Ausstellungsstück) 

d–1 (big wheel: Riesenrad; roller 

coaster: Achterbahn) 

6. What’s on the menu? (p. 15) 

a) pâté (liver: Leber); b) pasta (creamy: 

in Sahne; leek: Lauch); c) pie (Kuchen, 

Torte; meringue: Baiser); d) pudding 

(sticky toffee pudding: warmer, saftigsüßer 

Kuchen mit Karamellsoße) 

7. Get it right when things go 

wrong (p. 19) 

a) left 

b) handed in 

c) proof 

d) theft 

e) safely 


21


Glossary 

The following words are underlined in the text. 

Aberdeen Angus [ÄbE)di:n (ÄNgEs] 

abundance [E(bVndEns] 

additional [E(dIS&nEl] 

asparagus [E(spÄrEgEs] 

ATM (automated teller machine) [)eI ti: (em] 

call [kO:l] 

check in [)tSek (In] 

claim [kleIm] 

coastal scenery [)kEUst&l (si:nEri] 

credit [(kredIt] 

cruise [kru:z] 

currency calculator [(kVrEnsi )kÄlkjuleItE] 

departure lounge [di(pA:tSE laUndZ] 

disabled [dIs(eIb&ld] 

dolphin [(dQlfIn] 

elderly [(eldEli] 

embassy [(embEsi] 

exchange rate [Iks(tSeIndZ reIt] 

executive [Ig(zekjUtIv] 

flap [flÄp] 

habitat [(hÄbItÄt] 

heightened security measures 

[)haIt&nd sI(kjUErEti )meZEz] 

host [hEUst] 

issue [(ISu:] 

mind: Would you ~? [maInd] 

not at all [)nQt Et (O:l] 

pan-fried [(pÄn fraId] 

parcel [(pA:s&l] 

Aberdeen-Rind 

Fülle, große Menge 

zusätzlich 

Spargel 

Bankautomat 

hier: aufrufen 

einchecken; (Gepäck) aufgeben 

hier: abholen 

Küstenlandschaft 

hier: Kartenguthaben 

Kreuzfahrt, Bootstour 

Währungsumrechner 

Abflughalle 

behindert 

Delfin 

älter, bejahrt 

Botschaft 

Wechselkurs 

für gehobene Ansprüche 

Lasche, Klappe 

Lebensraum 

erhöhte Sicherheitsmaßnahmen 

Gastgeber(in), Anbieter(in) 

hier: ausstellen 

Würde es Ihnen etw. ausmachen? 

überhaupt nicht 

in der Pfanne gebraten 

Päckchen 


password [(pA:sw§:d] 

patient [(peIS&nt] 

pea [pi:] 

prawn [prO:n] 

prior to [(praIE tE] 

purse [p§:s] UK 

rent out [rent (aUt] 

report [ri(pO:t] 

resort [ri(zO:t] 

salmon [(sÄmEn] 

sea lion [(si: )laIEn] 

sliced [slaIst] 

spacious [(speISEs] 

special treat [)speS&l (tri:t] 

spicy [(spaIsi] 

split [splIt] 

staff [stA:f] 

strap [strÄp] 

swap [swQp] 

tastefully [(teIstf&li] 

Thank goodness! [TÄNk (gUdnEs] 

tuck [tVk] 

unoccupied [Vn(QkjupaId] 

up-to-the-minute [)Vp tE DE (mInIt] 

voucher [(vaUtSE] 

waddle [(wQd&l] 

wallet [(wQlIt] 

weird [wIEd] 

whale watching [(weI&l )wQtSIN] 

yurt [jUEt] 

zip up [zIp (Vp] 

Kennwort 

geduldig 

Erbse 

Garnele, Krabbe 

vor 

Geldbeutel 

vermieten 

melden 

Ferienort 

Lachs 

Seelöwe 

in Scheiben geschnitten 

geräumig 

hier: besondere Attraktion 

pikant, würzig 

aufteilen 

Personal, Mitarbeiter 

Riemen 

tauschen 

geschmackvoll 

Gott sei Dank! 

klemmen, stecken 

nicht bewohnt 

tagesaktuell 

Gutschein 

watscheln 

Brieftasche 

komisch, seltsam 

Walbeobachtungstour 

Jurte, Rundzelt 

mit Reißverschluss verschließen 


23

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gibt’s geschenkt dazu. Ein Jahr lang! 

+ 

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gratis!* 

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