Tracks SF

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Rasma Haidri Sjøvoll • Silje Moen Helen Murray • Ellen Johanne Narum Fodnestøl Richard Burgess • Petter Fuhre

s k c Tra sF

Engelsk for studieforberedende utdanningsprogram • Vg1


© CAPPELEN DAMM AS, Oslo 2016 Materialet i denne publikasjonen er omfattet av åndsverklovens bestemmelser. Uten særskilt avtale med CAPPELEN DAMM AS er enhver eksemplarfremstilling og tilgjengeliggjøring bare tillatt i den utstrekning det er hjemlet i lov eller tillatt gjennom avtale med Kopinor, interesseorgan for rettighetshavere til åndsverk. Utnyttelse i strid med lov eller avtale kan medføre erstatningsansvar og inndragning, og kan straffes med bøter eller fengsel. Grafisk formgiver: Trude Gabrielsen / Nora Korvenkontio Omslagsdesign: André Martinsen Forlagsredaktør: Birger Nicolaysen Bilderedaktør: Birger Nicolaysen Repro: Renessanse Media Trykk: Livonia print, Latvia 2016 Utgave 1 Opplag 1 ISBN: 978-82-02-50171-6 www.tracks.cdu.no www.cdu.no

Dear Student, Welcome to English this year! In Tracks SF, we have put together a collection of texts and tasks that we hope will inspire and challenge you. The first component is the one you are holding right now, the textbook. It has five chapters: – Chapter 1 introduces you to the world of English and helps you understand exactly why you, and so many people around the world, are learning English. The chapter also includes an introductory sample of literary texts. Throughout the book you will find a variety of short stories, novel excerpts and poems that will give you a window into the lives and experiences of English-speaking characters, as will the films we have included. In the first chapter, the film Paper Towns starts you off. – Chapters 2, 3 and 4 deal with life, culture and society in English-speaking countries. Chapter 2 covers North America and Chapter 3 the British Isles. Chapter 4 deals with four other English-speaking countries: Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa. – In Chapter 5 we introduce some issues that are important in the world today. You will read a variety of texts that allow you to reflect over these issues in many ways, including how they may affect your future. The second component of Tracks SF is the website at tracks.cdu.no. Here you will find lots of interactive tasks for each of the texts in the book, as well as a large grammar section with explanations and tasks. You can also listen to many of the texts on the website. They are recorded by native speakers and will give you plenty of practice in understanding authentic language. In creating Tracks SF it has been important for us to think about how you learn best and how you can develop your skills. That is why we have included a wide variety of learning tasks. There are skill-focused Toolboxes throughout the book, and at the back there is a section called “Courses & Resources”. This includes four Talking Courses that will help increase your oral communication skills and four Writing Courses that aim to increase your skills in writing well-structured texts. Learning English is a process that requires a lot of exposure to and interaction with the language, as well as regular continued practice. Admittedly, this can sometimes seem like hard work. However, the payoff is clear: with every text you read and every task you solve, you will gain just a bit more knowledge and become a bit better at expressing yourself in English. After working with Tracks SF you will no doubt feel you have taken your English skills to a new level. We hope that Tracks SF will prove as inspiring and enjoyable for you to work with as it was for us to create. Good luck! The authors

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Contents Text Knowing Me, Knowing You

Page 6

Text type Board game

Chapter 1 – Back on Track Text First Day at School

Page 12

Text type Poem (Roger McGough)

Audio CD

Who Am I?

14

Listening: interviews

web

Global English

20

Factual

web

Sorry, But Norwegian Isn’t Dying

29

Blog (Aled Dilwyn Fisher)

CD

Raising the Mango

35

Short story (Angela M. Balcita)

Paper Towns

39

Novel excerpt (John Green)

CD

The Invasion from Outer Space

47

Short story (Steven Millhauser)

CD

The Day the Saucers Came

54

Poem (Neil Gaiman)

CD

Revision: Chapter 1

57

Self-evaluation / tasks

CD / Task 6: web

Chapter 2 – Life & Society: North America Text

Page

Text type

Audio

The USA: Facts & Figures

60

Map

Q&A: Myths and Facts about the USA

61

Dialogue

web

Two Sides of the American Dream

69

Poems (Anon. / Langston Hughes)

CD

Every Second Counts

76

Autobiography excerpt (Lance Armstrong / Sally Jenkins)

CD

Issues in American Society

82

Listening: Text 1: Dialogue Texts 2 & 3: Factual

web

Detroit and Silicon Valley

86

Factual

web

Who Owns the Land?

92

Lyrics (Woody Guthrie / Gary Davis AKA Litefoot)

Indian Education

96

Short story (Sherman Alexie)

The Thing Around Your Neck

105

Short story (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)

Canada: Facts & Figures

114

Map

CD CD / Task 11: web

Canada, Just Another USA?

115

Factual

web

Jokes: Canada vs. the USA

122

Jokes

web

A Country of Contrasts

124

Listening: Text 1: factual Text 2: personal narrative

web

Revision: Chapter 2

127

Self-evaluation / tasks

3


Chapter 3 – Life & Society: The British Isles Text

Page

Text type

Audio

The United Kingdom: Facts & Figures

130

Map

Bits of Britain

134

Factual

web

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: Believe It or Not!

137

Factual

web

Five Great British Inventions that Changed the World

142

Article

CD

Dora

148

Novel excerpt (Dawn French)

CD

My Sport

155

Listening: personal narratives

web

Visiting the Houses of Parliament

158

Dialogue

web web

No More Page Three

164

Article/Lyrics

Working with a Film: Pride

168

Film analysis

The British (serves 60 million)

172

Poem (Benjamin Zephaniah)

CD

Welcome to the UK?

175

Newspaper articles

CD

Ireland: Facts & Figures

181

Map

Who Are the Irish?

182

Text collage

First Confession

187

Short story (Frank O’Connor)

CD

The Sniper

196

Listening: short story (Liam O’Flaherty)

CD

Revision: Chapter 3

199

Self-evaluation / tasks

web / Task 3: web

Chapter 4 – Life & Society: The English-Speaking World Text

4

Page

Text type

Tuning in: See the World!

202

Board game

Empire to Independence: Australia and New Zealand

205

Factual

Facts & Figures: Australia

217

Map

Audio web

Australian National Holidays

218

Listening: radio interviews

What Does It Mean to Be Australian?

220

Text collage

web

Does My Head Look Big in This?

224

Novel excerpt (Randa Abdel-Fattah)

CD

Two Australian Poems

230

Poems (Kath Walker / Mary Gilmore)

CD

New Zealand: Facts & Figures

233

Map

The Mystique of the All Blacks

234

Factual/Blog

web / Task 5: web

Moko: Body Art in New Zealand

239

Factual

Transition

244

Short story (Patricia Grace)

web CD

Empire to Independence: India and South Africa

249

Factual

web

India: Key Facts

258

Factual

Bollywood: The Global Cinema

261

Factual

Shantaram

265

Novel excerpt (Gregory David Roberts)

South Africa: Key Facts

275

Factual

My Country

276

Listening: speech

web

South Africa Has It All!

278

Factual

web

The Ten Things that White People Should Know about Black People

282

Column (Lerato Tshabalala)

CD

Revision: Chapter 4

285

Self-evaluation / tasks

web CD / Task 6: web


Chapter 5 – Challenges & Choices Text

Page

Text type

Audio

Boiled Eggs and Jumping Fishes

289

Factual

web

My Family Values

297

Listening: personal narratives (David Weir / Nikki Sixx)

web

The Fear

299

Short story (Beth Thomas)

The Fear

304

Song lyrics (Lily Allen)

Cyberbullying: Two Stories

308

News articles

Focus on Rhetoric: Malala Yousafzai’s Nobel Peace Prize Speech

313

Speech

CD / Task 6: web CD

Child Labour

320

Factual

web

Work Ethics: Doing the Right Thing

325

Listening: interview

web

Tomorrow’s World

328

Articles

CD web

If

336

Poem (Rudyard Kipling)

Revision: Chapter 5

339

Self-evaluation / tasks

Courses & Resources Becoming a Strategic Reader (p. 341)

Writing Course 1: Informal and Formal English (p. 357)

Becoming a Strategic Listener (p. 343)

Writing Course 2: Planning Your Text (p. 360)

Reading Literature (p. 344)

Writing Course 3: Writing Clear, Logical Texts (p. 364)

Reading Poetry (p. 346)

Writing Course 4: The Flow of Good Writing (p. 368)

Talking Course 1: The Art of Small Talk (p. 347)

Writing Course 5: Using Sources (p. 371)

Talking Course 2: Giving Oral Presentations (p. 350)

Statistics – Tables, Charts and Graphs (p. 375)

Talking Course 3: Speaking on the Phone (p. 353)

Conversion Tables (p. 379)

Talking Course 4: Discussion and Debate (p. 355)

Mini-glossary of Literary Terms / Toolboxes (p. 381)

= challenging task

Interactive tasks for all texts, grammar explanations with numerous exercises, and lots more: tracks.cdu.no

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This scares me!

The aim of this game is to reach the end first, all the while speaking English. You need a dice and small markers, for example coins. You must give a good answer in English to be allowed to move on in the next round. If you can’t answer, or if you use Norwegian words, you must skip a turn. Remember: One word is never enough as an answer! If you land on a question mark, the other players will decide what you should talk about.

My future job

This makes me laugh

A recent film I have seen

a TV programme I dislike

My best holiday

Why I chose this education programme

My name spelled out in English 6

What I did yesterday

My best subject

The music I like best

A book I have read

My hobby

My family

My eco-friendly habits

My favourite food


This makes me cry

This makes me angry

My favourite film star A sport I dislike

A place I would like to visit

My idea of a perfect day

My favourite country

My dreamhouse

My day as a superhero

A foolish thing I did once

My social media habits

What I did last summer A dream I have for the future A person I look up to

What I think of England

A TV series I enjoy

What I will do tomorrow

My favourite app

An English or American song

A sport I enjoy

Myself in 10 years 7


Chapter 2

LIFE & SOCIETY:

North America

Look at the pictures with a partner. tell each other what you recognize. What clues can you find to indicate that these pictures are from north america?

1

Learning targets in focus (selection): – Culture and society: to understand values and social, cultural and economic issues in North America, and to discuss and elaborate on texts by and about indigenous peoples in North America – Reading skills: to read and understand both the main content and details in different kinds of factual and fictional texts, and to evaluate and use reading strategies suited for the purpose and type of text – Oral skills: to listen to and understand the main content and details in various oral texts, and to be able to discuss these issues fluently and coherently – Writing skills: to write different types of text with structure and coherence suited to a given purpose and situation – Mathematical skills: to learn basic mathematical vocabulary, and to interpret and use statistics when discussing or writing about various issues For a full list of learning targets for this chapter, see the website.


2 3

4 5

Twenty chapter key words: melting pot – American Dream – freedom – obesity – success – opportunity – simile – alliteration – civil rights – to immigrate – to emigrate – issue – firearm – financial crisis – stereotype – multicultural – Native American – Hispanic – survey – celebrity

6


60

Chapter 2


What is a typical American like? What does he or she do? What do you think is important to a typical American? Make a mind map in pairs like the one below, and fill in key words for all your thoughts and ideas. (See page 361 for help on making mind maps.)

business and work

vacations

The American Way of Life

values and attitudes

sports

food and drink

entertainment

Q&A: Myths and Facts about the USA Here are some questions people asked about the USA on an online discussion forum. Try to answer the questions yourself before checking the answers on pages 62–64. Was it Christopher Columbus who discovered America? Felix, Australia

Is freedom still an important value to Americans? Chen, Taiwan

Have there always been 50 states? Luis, Argentina

Is religion losing ground in the United States? Tammy, Wales

Q&A = questions and answers vacation ferie value verdi to lose ground her: å bli mindre viktig

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I’ve heard that the USA is called a “melting pot”. Is this true? Sergej, Russia

Is it true that most of the immigrants who come to the USA are illegal immigrants? Mary, Scotland

Did the American Dream die with the latest financial crisis? Jason, Australia

Is it true that obesity is the most serious health threat in the US? Rob, England

My impression is that the American president has more power than other state leaders. Am I right about this? Anne, Norway

melting pot smeltedigel financial crisis finanskrise illegal ulovlig/ulovleg obesity fedme, overvekt / feitleik, overvekt Native American indianer/ indianar

62

Chapter 2

Josie Taylor from Mt. Rainier Senior High School in Seattle answered the questions on the forum: Hi, Felix! No, this isn’t true at all! The Vikings landed in America 500 years before Columbus, but the Native Americans came here thousands of years before the Vikings. (The first Viking was called Leiv, but the name hasn’t caught on here, ha-ha!)


Hi, Luis! Fifty is an easy number to remember, right? But the British established 13 colonies on the East Coast in the 1600s and 1700s. They became the first thirteen states after the new Americans had beaten the Brits in the War of Independence (1775–1783). Go USA!  Hello, Chen! Yeah, freedom is maybe our most important value. It was the search for freedom that brought the first immigrants to the USA, and this desire has been passed on through generations. However, many Americans talk about freedom in a way that may seem strange for people from other countries. For instance, many Americans strongly believe in the right to own and carry their own gun. According to them, gun control is a violation of their freedom to defend themselves. Hi, Tammy! You know, religion is still very important to many Americans. In many of our local communities, the church is the place where they do volunteer work and socialize at the same time. Most Americans identify themselves as Christians, but being a Christian in the USA can mean many things. In my hometown, there are Catholics, Mormons, Presbyterians, Methodists, Pentecostals and Baptists (I’m sure I’ve forgotten some). In addition, of course, there are quite a few Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and people who belong to other religions as well. However, according to a survey I read the other day, almost a quarter of the population does not belong to any religion at all. Hello, Sergej! Well, Americans wanted this to be true, but today we see that many immigrants try to keep their old traditions and ways of life. They don’t really “melt into” American culture. There’s a lot that binds us Americans together, but maybe it’s better to compare the USA to a giant pizza or a salad bowl? We could say that the different ethnic groups put different toppings on the pizza, or that these groups are the ingredients that make up a salad. G’day, Jason! No way – that’s not the case. The American Dream of starting with nothing, working hard, and ending with success is still very much alive today. This is what immigrants coming to the USA have always wanted. Still, most of us live ordinary lives, and many also live in poverty. The economic crisis that started a few years back made a record number of Americans lose their jobs, but the dream of success lives on – it’s part of the American spirit. Hi, Mary! No, that’s not true, but it is true that we have many illegal immigrants. We’ve just had a lecture about this in social studies. In the USA, there are more than 40 million immigrants. Some 11 million of these have settled down illegally. It is tough to be an illegal immigrant in the USA. Often, they

The War of Independence uavhengighetskrigen/ sjølvstendekrigen desire ønske, begjær violation krenking, brudd / krenking, brot volunteer frivillig survey oversikt, undersøkelse / oversikt, undersøking ordinary vanlig/vanleg poverty fattigdom spirit her: innstilling, sinnelag

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have to do the hardest and most hazardous work for extremely low wages. The employers don’t bother to follow laws that secure safe working conditions for these illegal immigrant workers. This way, the employers earn a lot of money. Hello, Rob! Well, I wish I could deny this, but obesity is a major health issue in the USA. It’s almost an epidemic. They say that more than two-thirds of the adult population is either obese or overweight. This is also a huge problem among children. These numbers are really scary, because obesity can lead to heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and cancer. Somehow it seems like we live in an ideal environment for gaining weight. After all, we’re the ones who have given the world the internet, the Big Mac, the remote control, soap operas and supersized soft drinks. And, of course, we do love our cars!

ols

ntr

ols

Co

ntr Co

ols

Controls

The Judicial Supreme Court Chief Justice and 8 judges

Senate House of (100 Senators) Representatives (435 Representatives)

The United States Capitol, often called Capitol Hill, is the seat of the US Congress

64

Chapter 2

ols

ntr

ntr

The Legislative Congress

Co

Co

See tracks.cdu.no to find the article Josie sent to Anne.

Controls

hazardous farlig/farleg wage lønn employer arbeidsgiver/ arbeidsgivar stroke slag cancer kreft checks and balances faktorer som holder hverandre i sjakk / faktorar som held kvarandre i sjakk branch grein to declare å erklære

Hi, Anne! Hmm … I can see why you would say that, because he’s on TV almost every day. I’ll try to explain this without making it too complicated. Basically, I think you are wrong. In the USA we have a system based on “checks and balances.” Political power is divided into three branches that control each other. The President and his cabinet is one such branch, while the other two branches are the Congress and the Supreme Court. This system is meant to limit the power of each branch. For example, the President is head of the armed forces, but only ConTHE THREE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT gress can declare war. I’ll send you a link if The Executive The President and his Cabinet you’d like to learn more. 


Tasks 3 Looking at language The language Josie uses is the type we use when we talk to our friends. This is typical of language used in online forums and social media. Go through her answers again, and see if you can spot at least four examples of informal language. (See page 357 for help on informal language.)

Toolbox

1 Understanding the text Some of the statements below are not correct. Can you find out which ones are not true and correct them? a Christopher Columbus discovered America. b The Vikings were the first people to inhabit America. c

There are fifty stars in the American flag.

d Carrying a gun is not allowed according to the American Constitution. e America is still the land of the free. f

There are many different Christian communities in the USA.

g The American Dream is dead. h No illegal immigrants get jobs in the USA. I

Overweight and obesity cause a number of diseases.

j

The American President can make most decisions completely on his own.

2 Reflection a Go back to the mind map you made before reading this text. Is there anything about the map that you would like to change now? Can you add or remove anything? b Which of Josie’s answers do you think is the best one? Which is the least informative one?

Stereotypes Five things you should know about stereotypes • Stereotypes are oversimplified attitudes and assumptions that many people have towards people who are different from themselves. • These stereotypes are then used to characterize a whole group, for example to claim that all Scottish people are greedy or that left-handed people are less intelligent than others. • We may find grains of truth in stereotypes. For example, it is not true that all Norwegians are born with skis on their feet, but, in general, we may still say that the average Norwegian is a better skier than the average Kenyan. • However, more often stereotypes are based on negative, biased and unfair attitudes concerning for example gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, age, occupation or nationality. Some examples of such stereotypes are: all girls are vain, all Americans are loud, all gay men love the Eurovision Song Contest. • We all have some stereotypical images that pop into our head when we think of a particular type of person or group of people – such as the eccentric and nerdy professor – but this does not necessarily have to be a problem as long as they don’t affect our attitude and behavior towards individuals. Brian Cox, for example, is not only a professor of quantum physics, but also the former keyboardist in in the rock band Dare and a broadcaster for the BBC.

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Tasks 4 Talking People from different countries have been asked they think aboutstatistics Norwegians. Here is what 4what Understanding they had to say: In 2008 the British magazine 4 Understanding statisticsThe Economist – “Norwegians are not easy to get to know.” did a poll in Britain and the USA see how ThetoEconomist In 2008 the British magazine – “Norwegians work hard enough while at work; values differed in the two countries. Below did a poll in Britain and the USA to long see howare the problem is they’re not at work enough.” some ofdiffered the results. values in the two countries. Below are – “Norwegians have no sense of humor.” some of the results. – “Norwegians are naïve.” Look at the statements below. Discuss whether a Discuss groups whether think these statethey can beinstatements supported by theyou statistics. If they Look at the below. Discuss whether ments give a correct picture of Norwegians. cannot, do the statistics they canwhat be supported by the show? statistics. If they Whatwhat otherdo (perhaps totallymore different) characterab Americans are generally religious than cannot, the statistics show? istics and attitudes would you say are typically the British. a Americans are generally more religious than Norwegian? the British. Respondents’ views, by country (percentages) Respondents’ views, by country (percentages)

Before reading the text, you were asked to make a mind map about Americans. Explain whether or not your ideas of Americans were b based The British are generally more old-fashioned on stereotypes (see Toolbox on p. 65). than Americans about sex. b The British are generally more old-fashioned dc Explain whether you think stereotyping MostAmericans American and British than about sex. people agree that may be dangerous. Use examples to support abortion shouldand usually be people legal. agree that c your Most American British opinion. d abortion The British are generally in favour of lower should usually be legal. taxes than the Americans. d The British are generally in favour of lower 5e Understanding statistics Most American and British people agree that taxes than the Americans. workers should lookBritish after themselves when Aefew years ago the British magazine The agree EconoMost American and people that mist workers did alose pollshould in Britain and the USAtotolook see how they their jobs and have for new look after themselves when values were different in the twohave countries. Here ones. they lose their jobs and to look for are new some of the results: ones.

Britain America Britain America Religion

Is sex between unmarried people a sin?

Do you believe there is a God? Religion

Yes

Is sex between unmarried people a sin?

Do you believe there is a God?

Yes No Yes

0

20

40

60

80

0

20

40

60

80

No, but not desirable Yes

0

20

40

60

80

0

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40

60

80

perfectly acceptable No, but not desirable No, perfectly acceptable

No

Do you regard homosexuality a sin?

Do you believe there is a hell?

Do you regard homosexuality a sin?

Do you believe there is a hell?

Yes No Yes

0

20

40

60

80

0

20

40

60

80

No

Yes No, but not desirable Yes

20

40

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80

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0

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50

0

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No, perfectly acceptable

Ideology

would you feel: If the prime minister / president were an atheist,

The government should: Ideology

would you feel:

The government should:

indifferent delighted

0

0

perfectly acceptable No, but not desirable

If the prime minister / president were an atheist,

delighted

0

20

40

60

80

0

20

40

60

80

sorry indifferent

have a bigger role and raise taxes if necessary have a bigger role and raise taxes necessary have aif smaller role and

angry

reduce taxes have a smaller role and reduce taxes keep the present balance

Values

keep the present balance

angry sorry

When do you think abortion should be legal? Values

If workers are laid off, who should support

When do you think abortion should be legal?

them whileare they look new jobs?support If workers laid off,for who should

Always

them while they look for new jobs?

Usually, but exceptions Always

66

c

0

20

40

60

80

0

20

40

60

80

The company

In special circumstances Usually, but exceptions

government The company

Never In special circumstances

workers themselves The government

Never

The workers themselves

Chapter 2

0

10

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50

0

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193 193


Look at the statements below. Discuss whether they can be supported by the statistics. If they cannot, what do the statistics show? a Americans are generally more religious than the British. b The British are generally more old-fashioned than Americans about sex.

c

Most American and British people agree that abortion should usually be legal.

d The British are generally in favor of lower taxes than the Americans. e Most American and British people agree that workers should look after themselves when they lose their jobs.

Web teaser: FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA Josie has quite a bit of information about the United States to give the people in the online discussion forum, but she doesn’t say much about the geography of her country. To learn more about American geography, read the article “From Sea to Shining Sea” at tracks.cdu.no. Get into groups of four, and decide who will cover the Northeast, the South, the Midwest and the West. When everybody has finished reading and writing key words about their region, share the information you found with the other group members. Make sure everyone takes notes on what you have to tell them.

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Facts THE AMERICAN DREAM In “Q&A: Myths and Facts about the USA” (p. 61), Josie explains to Jason from Australia that the American Dream is about starting with nothing, working hard, and ending with success. Actually, the idea of an American dream is older than the USA itself, dating to the 1600s, when European colonists began to have all sorts of hopes and dreams for what life on a brand new continent might bring them. Two centuries later millions of emigrants left Europe and sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in pursuit of their own dream. For some it was to escape tyranny and persecution. For others it was to escape poverty, to make a better life for themselves and their families, and perhaps even to strike it rich. We find the roots of the American Dream in the US Declaration of Independence (1776), where it says that “all men are created equal,” and that they have the right to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” At the time, this was quite a revolutionary idea: that each person had the right to pursue happiness and to strive for a better life through hard work and ambition. However, the term itself was not very well known until 1931, when historian James T. Adams popularized the phrase “the American Dream”: “But there has been also the American dream – that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement.” The meaning of the American Dream has changed over time, and today the majority of Americans believe that it is more difficult to achieve this dream than it was a decade or two ago, due primarily to the high costs of education and healthcare. Nonetheless, when asked what they consider to be very or extremely important in their vision of the American Dream, most Americans will still say that having personal freedom ranks as number one, closely followed by achieving one’s potential.


a There are many famous Americans today who have lived the American Dream. Below are some examples. Pick one American from the list and research how this person has managed to come so far. Oprah Winfrey – Bill Gates – Sean “Diddy” Combs – Dolly Parton – Jay-Z – Sergey Brin – Serena Williams – Arnold Schwarzenegger b Find three or four classmates who have all chosen different celebrities. Form a group, and tell each other what you found out about these famous Americans.

p. 68: to pursue å jage, å strebe etter / å jage, å streve etter persecution forfølgelse/ forfølging The Declaration of Independence uavhengighetserklæringen/ sjølvstendefråsegna equal lik, jevnbyrdig / lik, jambyrdig liberty frihet/fridom to strive å streve, å kjempe to achieve å oppnå

Two Sides of the American Dream The first poem on the next page is a well-known attempt at defining success, a vital ingredient in the American Dream. It has often been attributed to the famous writer and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882), but it is most likely not by him, since it is not found anywhere in Emerson’s writing. Still, it provides some thoughtful reminders and considerations for how we define success and how we set and pursue our goals.

reminder påminnelse/ påminning consideration betraktning to define å definere

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affection hengivenhet/ godhug to earn å fortjene / å fortene appreciation anerkjennelse, verdsettelse / anerkjenning, verdsetting critic kritiker/kritikar to endure å holde ut / å halde ut betrayal forræderi whether her: enten patch flekk to redeem å gjøre bedre, å rette opp / å gjere betre, å rette opp condition her: forhold on hold utsatt/utsett deferred utsatt/utsett raisin rosin to fester å bli betent to run å renne to crust å danne skorpe to sag å henge ned load bør

What is success? To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty; To find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. However, not all dreams come true. Some dreams are put on hold – maybe just for the time being, or maybe indefinitely. This is what the American poet Langston Hughes (1902–1967) was wondering about such dreams: What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore – And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over – like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode?

The Ferguson riots: Police stand guard in front of a smouldering squad car after it was set on fire by demonstrators during a protest in 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. Protesting turned into rioting following the grand jury announcement to not charge officer Darren Wilson in the Michael Brown case. Brown, an 18-year-old black man, was killed by Wilson, a white police officer.

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Tasks 1 Understanding the texts a How many different definitions of success does the first poem offer? b Explain which definition you liked the most, and why. c

Which definition meant the least to you?

d The first poem was probably written several decades before the term “the American Dream” was coined. How is it still possible to relate the message in this poem to the American Dream? e Look at the consequences that Langston Hughes lists in his poem. Which ones of these is it possible to see? Which ones can your hear? Is it possible to touch or to smell any of them? Are there any of the consequences that it would be possible to taste? f

What are the possible consequences of putting a dream on hold, according to Langston Hughes’s poem?

3 Looking at language a A simile is when we compare one thing with a different thing, using “like” or “as”. What similes can you find in Langston Hughes’s poem? b What do the similes have in common?

2 Talking Discuss the following questions with a partner. Then share your answers with the rest of the class. a The first poem says it’s important to “laugh often and much.” Why is laughter important? Are there times and places where we should not laugh? b Have you ever had a dream that didn’t come true? How did that make you feel? Which one of Langston Hughes’s comparisons comes the closest to describing how you felt? c

Would the meaning of Langston Hughes’s poem change if you found out that the poet was Jewish? Or Native American? Or that he was in fact a she? Explain your opinion.

d Actually, Langston Hughes was the first black writer in America to make a living from writing. He published this poem in 1951 and called it “Harlem.” Find out what Harlem is. Then explain how the meaning of the poem changes when you know when and where it was written and who the author was.

c

An alliteration is when the same letter or sound at the beginning of words that are close to each other is repeated. What examples of alliteration can you find in Hughes’s poem? Why do you think he chose to include these alliterations?

d A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase meaning one thing is used in place of another to suggest a likeness between them, but without the use of “like” or “as.” Langston Hughes uses a metaphor when he asks if a dream that is put on hold will “explode.” How can a dream “explode”? Why is this metaphor used in the poem? e When Barack Obama was re-elected as President of the USA in 2012, he said the following in his victory speech: “I believe we can keep the promise of our founders, the idea that if you’re willing to work hard, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or who you love. It doesn’t matter whether you’re black or white or Hispanic or Asian or Native American or young or old or rich or poor, able, disabled, gay or straight, you can make it here in America if you’re willing to try.”

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p. 92: dignity verdighet, (selv) respekt / verdigheit, (sjølv)respekt national anthem nasjonalsang/nasjonalsong lyrics sangtekst/songtekst ribbon of highway smal vei, vei som slynger seg som et bånd / smal veg, veg som slynger seg som eit band to roam å streife omkring to ramble å virre rundt to stroll å rusle to chant å synge no trespassing adgang forbudt / ikkje tilgjenge steeple kirkespir, (tårn med) spir / kyrkjespir, (tårn med) spir relief office sosialkontor p. 93: musket gevær, muskett treaty avtale, traktat to acknowledge å anerkjenne tis of thee: it is of you concrete betong ID legitimasjon Colonel Custer: Military leader of the American troops at the Battle of Little Big Horn (1876), where he died together with all of his 225 soldiers. tomahawk: Native American axe Cherokee: Native American tribe cavalry kavaleri, rytteravdeling i det militære / kavaleri, ryttaravdeling i det militære deficit underskudd/underskot property eiendom(srett)/ eigedom(srett) to degrade å ydmyke, å fornedre / å audmjuke, å fornedre

horn-rimmed glasses hornbriller recess friminutt weakling svekling, pyse to torment å plage knuckle knoke bruise blåmerke principal rektor

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A little while ago, you started a new phase in your life, at a new school with new classmates and teachers. Discuss in pairs or small groups: a How would you sum up your first ten years at school? What have been the high and low points? b What are your expectations for the three years you are going to spend in upper secondary school? Sherman Alexie is an American author whose writing draws on his experiences as a Native American growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. In his short story “Indian Education,” we follow the narrator, a Native American boy called Victor, from the first grade through high school.

Indian Education By Sherman alexie First Grade My hair was too short and my U.S. Government glasses were horn-rimmed, ugly, and all that first winter in school, the other Indian boys chased me from one corner of the playground to the other. They pushed me down, buried me in the snow until I couldn’t breathe, thought I’d never breathe again. They stole my glasses and threw them over my head, around my outstretched hands, just beyond my reach, until someone tripped me and sent me falling again, facedown in the snow. I was always falling down; my Indian name was Junior Falls Down. Sometimes it was Bloody Nose or Steal-His-Lunch. Once it was Cries-Like-aWhite-Boy, even though none of us had seen a white boy cry. Then it was Friday morning recess and Frenchy SiJohn threw snowballs at me while the rest of the Indian boys tortured some other top-yogh-yaught kid, another weakling. But Frenchy was confident enough to torment me all by himself, and most days I would have let him. But the little warrior in me roared to life that day and knocked Frenchy to the ground, held his head against the snow, and punched him so hard my knuckles and the snow made symmetrical bruises on his face. He almost looked like he was wearing war paint. But he wasn’t the warrior. I was. And I chanted It’s a good day to die, it’s a good day to die, all the way down to the principal’s office.

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Betty Towle, missionary teacher, redheaded and so ugly that no one ever had a puppy crush on her, made me stay in for recess fourteen days straight. “Tell me you’re sorry,” she said. “Sorry for what?” I asked. “Everything,” she said and made me stand straight for fifteen minutes, eagle-armed with books in each hand. One was a math book; the other was English. But all I learned was that gravity can be painful. For Halloween I drew a picture of her riding a broom with a scrawny cat on the back. She said that her God would never forgive me for that. Once, she gave the class a spelling test but set me aside and gave me a test designed for junior high students. When I spelled all the words right, she crumpled up the paper and made me eat it. “You’ll learn respect,” she said. She sent a letter home with me that told my parents to either cut my braids or keep me home from class. My parents came in the next day and dragged their braids across Betty Towle’s desk. “Indians, indians, indians.” She said it without capitalization. She called me “indian, indian, indian.” And I said, Yes I am, I am Indian. Indian, I am.

puppy crush ungdomsforelskelse/ungdomsforelsking gravity tyngdekraft scrawny tynn, radmager braid (hår)flette capitalization med stor forbokstav

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Tasks 1 Talking

gives good reasons for his ways of describing contemporary Native American lives.

Discuss in the same pairs or small groups as on p. 96. Before reading the story, you talked about your own past school years (see task a on p. 96). Did you touch upon any of the points mentioned by Victor, or have your experiences been completely different from his?

“I write what I know and I don’t try to mythologize myself, which is what some seem to want, and which some Indian women and men writers are doing, this Earth Mother and Shaman Man thing, trying to create these ‘authentic, traditional’ Indians. We don’t live our lives that way. American Indian writers have a special responsibility to tell the truth. … But part of the danger in being an artist of whatever color is that you fall in love with your wrinkles. The danger is that if you fall in love with your wrinkles then you don’t want to get rid of them. You start to glorify them and perpetuate them. If you write about pain, you can end up searching for more pain to write about, that kind of thing, that self-destructive route. We need to get away from that. We can write about pain and anger without having it consume us.”

2 Summing up a Replace the episode headings (First grade, Second grade etc.) with headings that summarize the contents of these episodes. Example: Replace “First grade” with “Bullying and Revenge.” b Explain your new headings to a classmate. Also compare your headings, and if you ended up with different headings to the episodes, discuss why you chose to emphasize different aspects of the contents. c

As mentioned already, the story is organized in short episodes, almost like a list of events or scenes in play, in which Victors tells us about episodes from each school year. Why do you think the author chose this way of telling the story of Victor’s school years? How would a “normal” short story be different from this?

3 Discussion a Give your personal response to the story. Did you find it funny, sad, tragic, entertaining, dull? b When reading the story, you probably noted how Alexie mixes Victor’s positive and negative school experiences. Find at least three examples of this narrative technique. How does this way of telling the story influence your view of Victor? c

What is the overall picture Victor gives of life on the reservation? Point to examples from the text to justify your opinion.

d “Victor is a clearly a survivor who overcomes discrimination and social problems and who will go on to have a successful life outside the reservation.” Comment on this statement. Again, make use of examples form the story to support your claims. e Alexie has been criticized by fellow Native Americans for portraying reservation life as hopeless. Read what he has said about this himself, and comment on whether you think he

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f

Do you think Alexie manages to “write about pain and anger without having it consume us” in “Indian Education”? Explain your opinion.

g Compare “Indian Education” with Litefoot’s rap song “My Land” on page 93. Find similarities and differences in how these texts portray the Native American experience in the USA.

4 Close reading a Victor’s entries for some of the years are rounded off by a short sentence or two, which serve as “conclusions” or moral lessons. Explain how each of these sums up what Victor has experienced during the school year: – But he wasn’t the warrior. I was. – And I said, Yes, I am. I am Indian. Indian, I am. – I’m still waiting. – That was Randy, my soon-to-be first and best friend, who taught me the most valuable lesson about living in the white world: Always throw the first punch. – After that, no one spoke to me for another five hundred years.


– There is more than one way to starve. – Sharing dark skin doesn’t necessarily make two men brothers. – Believe me, everything looks like a noose if you stare at it long enough. b Find references to Victor’s hair. Why do you think his hair is mentioned in both the first and the twelfth grade? c

Why is the story called “Indian Education,” do you think?

8 Writing The five-paragraph essay model on page 364 is relevant for those of you who choose to answer topics b, c or d. a A journalist from the Spokane Daily Journal has come to interview Victor after his graduation as valedictorian of the school. Write the interview. b What is the overall picture Victor gives of life on the reservation? Point to examples from the text to justify your opinion. When working with this essay, use the work you did when answering discussion question 3c as a starting point for your essay.

5 Looking at language – humor Sherman Alexie writes about serious issues like poverty, discrimination and alcoholism in a witty and often highly ironic writing style. His characters use dark humor to survive in bleak or hostile surroundings. a Find at least five examples from the story that show how Victor makes use of humor to describe a difficult situation. Whom or what does he poke fun at? b Comment on the effect the use of humor has on the reader of the story.

6 Vocabulary Explain what the following phrases mean in the context they are used in the story: – flunked the driving – throw the first punch – grow skinny from self pity – pulled down thirteen rebounds

7 Role play Work in groups of three to four, depending on how many you are in your class. Each group is given two episodes to work with. a Use the episodes as starting points for writing scenes with dialogue. Also write stage directions that explain where the scenes take place, how people behave, props, etc.

c

“Victor is a clearly a survivor who overcomes discrimination and social problems and who will go on to have a successful life outside the reservation.” Comment on this statement. Again, make use of examples form the story to support your claims. When working with this essay, use the work you did when answering discussion question 3d as a starting point for your essay.

d Write an essay about how you think schools in Norway should be organized and run in order to give all students the possibility to achieve their potential. Call your essay “The School of the Future.”

9 Research and report writing Choose one of the tasks below, and write a short fact sheet about your findings. You will find resources on the website. a Find more information about Native Americans. Here are some suggestions for topics: tribes, religion, movies, life on the reservations today, Wounded Knee, famous chiefs (e.g. Sitting Bull, Geronimo, Red Cloud), the Pocahontas legend, Sacagawea b Find more information about the Alaska Natives. What are some important events in their history? What is typical of their culture? What is their situation like today?

b Rehearse the scenes, and then act out the scenes with your class as the audience. c

In groups, discuss how well the performances captured the contents of the various episodes.

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a Would you consider visiting Canada as a tourist? If so, where would you like to go? What would you like to see or do? b Look at the map with facts and figures about Canada to the left. Do you know more about the country than what is listed here? If so, what else do you know? c Before you do a closer reading of the following text about Canada, read only the subheadings and try to write a short paragraph about the country based on the information you get from these subheadings.

Canada, Just Another USA? Don’t feel bad if you don’t know much about Canada, because that’s the case for most people. Over a hundred years ago, a book called The Unknown Country tried to identify the distinct culture of Canada. Today the debate about “Just what is Canada?” continues in blogs, magazine stories, news articles, social media videos and academic research. Canadians enjoy the sport of turning differences between themselves and Americans into lists of “The Best Reasons to Live in Canada and Not the USA.” If you ask Canadians to tell you about their country, they may laugh and say, “We are not the USA!” It is only partly a joke. Canada may easily be overlooked in the shadow of its mighty superpower neighbour to the south. At first glance, the USA and Canada may not seem very different. Both are former colonies of the British Empire and both have English as a native language. Canada and the United States are both multicultural nations, home to immigrants from around the world. Americans and Canadians even have a similar accent. In addition, Canada also has its share of aboriginal people: the Inuit, in the northern coastal regions, the First Nations, consisting of about six hundred different tribes, and the Métis, who are of mixed backgrounds. So what do you think? Is Canada just another USA? A closer look at things Canadian will help you decide!

to identify å identifisere, å bestemme, å definere distinct typisk research forskning/forsking aboriginal innfødt, urinnvåner / innfødd, urinnbyggar

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Victoria Memorial in Kolkata, India. Completed in 1921, it is dedicated to the memory of Queen Victoria (1819–1901) who was crowned Empress of India in 1877. At her death, it was said, Britain had a worldwide empire on which the sun never set.

spice krydder to claim å gjøre krav på / å gjere krav på to settle å bosette seg, å kolonisere / å busette seg, å kolonisere to automate å automatisere, å gjøre automatisk / å automatisere, å gjere automatisk goods varer at a profit med overskudd, med fortjeneste / med overskot, med forteneste to harvest å høste (inn), å tjene på / å hauste (inn), å tene på Commonwealth of Nations Samveldet av nasjoner / Samveldet av nasjonar voluntary frivillig relation relasjon, forbindelse / relasjon, samband heritage (kultur)arv vestige spor, levning / spor, leivning

Facts THE COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS In the late 16th century Britain began exploring the world in search of spices and gold, a hundred years after the French and Spanish claimed North America and the Portuguese settled in India. Likewise, the Dutch had already discovered Australia and settled in South Africa. Each of these European countries built a colonial empire, ruling over groups of other countries. How did the latecomer Britain become the greatest colonial power of all, controlling a quarter of the world’s landmass and population by the early 1900s? The answer is the 18th-century Industrial Revolution. British inventions automated the production of goods, giving Britain a stable, growing economy. Britain sailed the world in search of raw materials that could be made into finished products in British factories. These products were then sold to other countries at a profit. Britain established colonies for different purposes. Some countries had raw materials the British wanted to harvest, while others had strategic locations that served British interests. All the colonies became marketplaces for British-made products. The British controlled some colonies through mass settlement, sending thousands of Britons at a time to live there. In other colonies the locals were managed by just a few Britons running the government. Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa were four of the most important colonies in the British Empire. Today, they are among the 53 countries – all former British colonies – that belong to an organisation called the Commonwealth of Nations. Commonwealth countries are found in all corners of the world. They have a wide variety of cultures, social structures and forms of government. The British monarch is head of the Commonwealth and has a ceremonial role as head of state in sixteen of the countries. Membership in the Commonwealth is voluntary. Some former colonies, such as Ireland, have chosen to withdraw. Other colonies have been forced out for political reasons. The nations have good trade and political relations, even though some member nations are industrialised while others are among the world’s poorest countries. What Commonwealth nations have in common is their British heritage. Not least, there is evidence of British influence in the educational systems and in the use of the English language. Mass settlement countries like Canada, Australia and New Zealand have a majority of native English speakers. Others, like India and South Africa, use English as an official language. Perhaps the most lasting vestige of British culture is sports, in particular the uniquely British games of cricket and rugby (read more about the latter on page 234). The Commonwealth Games are held every four years. Although this sporting event does not include big nations like the USA and Russia, the countries that do participate make up about 30% of the world’s population. 204

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You are about to work with a comprehensive textbook article. A text of such length requires good strategies in reading for information. In the article on page 341 you can learn about different reading strategies for different types of texts. Follow steps a–d below carefully. They will help you practise the strategies skimming, close reading, note taking and reviewing. a Skim the entire text. Spend two to five minutes doing this. Look at sub-headings, captions and illustrations. The title, “Empire to Independence: Australia and New Zealand” tells you the main topic. Think of what you already know about this topic as you skim. Also think about what you expect to learn from the reading. b Close read a section. Get into pairs. Each student chooses one section of the text to work with: 1) Australia 2) New Zealand On your own, do a close reading of your part of the text. British recruitment poster from World The questions in the margin of the page will help you War I: An old lion (the UK) stands on a reflect over key words and the main idea in the section. rock, with four young lions (Australia, Canada, India and New Zealand) c Review and discuss. Now it’s time for pair work. Tell your around him, 1915 partner about the section you have read (in your own words, do not read from your notes!). Partners should ask each other questions. Remember, the goal is to make sure you have learned and understood the text. d Individual close reading. You should now have a pretty good mind set for understanding the entire textbook article. Do a close reading of the part of the text your partner told you about. Be sure to answer the questions in the margin as you go along.

Empire to Independence: Australia and New Zealand Australia In 1770, British Captain James Cook explored Australia. He mapped the eastern part of Terra Australis Incognita (the unknown southern land) and named it New South Wales. Cook told the British king that Australia seemed an ideal place to send the hundreds of criminals who could no longer be sent to the American colonies. Australia was far away and no other Europeans had settled there. Britain saw a chance to kill two birds with one stone. They could get rid of the hundreds of criminals that were living in offshore jail boats called “hulks” and settle the new continent at the same time. In 1788 the “First Fleet” arrived at Botany Bay. It was a group of eleven ships carrying about seven hundred and forty convicts, plus a few hundred

comprehensive omfattende, innholdsrik / omfattande, innhaldsrik caption bildetekst mind set idé, tanke(sett) convict straffange, forbryter / straffange, forbrytar, lovbrytar

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Caged prisoners below deck on a transport ship bound for Australia, 19th century

claim krav silversmith sølvsmed craftsman håndverker, fagarbeider / handverkar, fagarbeidar amnesty ettergivelse av straff, benådning / ettergiving av straff, benåding

soldiers and enough cows, chickens and horses to establish a colony. This settlement served as a prison, a so-called “penal colony”. Over the next ninety years the British shipped about 163,000 convicts to penal colonies in Australia.

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a) Why did the British start sending prisoners to Australia? b) What was the name of the first group of ships to arrive? c) What was a penal colony? d) About how many prisoners in total settled in Australia?

Penal colonies

a) Why did the penal colony at Botany Bay succeed? b) Why were some convicts set free? c) Who were the “free settlers”?

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Britain wanted to make a permanent claim to the Australian continent and needed its prisoners to become settlers. Therefore the prisoners who were sent on the First Fleet were not dangerous types. They were petty criminals guilty of such crimes as stealing snuff, a piece of ribbon or a wheel of cheese. Many were skilled as silversmiths or leather craftsmen. Australia’s first governor believed the success of the penal colony depended on fair treatment. He gave soldiers and convicts equal rations of food. He let the convicts work their trades and gave some positions of authority. Those who wanted to could get married and have a family. Female convicts were given amnesty for their crimes if they agreed to marry and become mothers. Within a few years some male convicts were given freedom in exchange for farming the land. Some prisoners, still in chains, worked as farmhands and lived on the homesteads of the free settlers who began arriving from Britain around 1800. It can be said that the family tree of white Australians grew from the convict roots planted in the penal colony in Botany Bay.

The wild untamed Australian land known as the “bush” was unlike any landscape the Europeans had ever seen. For the ex-convicts, life in the bush was not much easier than life in chains in the penal colonies. Some men actually complained about being set free.


Survival in the bush required rugged individualism and a strength of will that came to define the Australian spirit. Some ex-convicts and their descendants became “bushrangers”. These were nomadic outlaws who lived off the land and robbed the homesteads of free settlers. The Australian bush gave rise to folk heroes like Ned Kelley, the most famous bushranger who evaded capture for years, and folk tunes like “Waltzing Matilda”, which is also about survival in the bush and escaping the law. This mythology of survival was central to the development of an Australian self-identity that was no longer British. From the bush came the free spirit, resourcefulness and defiance of authority that defines Australians today.

First peoples When Captain Cook arrived on the scene, about 750,000 people belonging to hundreds of different cultures already lived on the Australian continent and surrounding islands. In fact, people had been living there for at least forty thousand years. Today, descendants of these first Australians are referred to as Aboriginal people, from the Latin ab origine, meaning “from the beginning”. Aboriginal people identified themselves by the name of the language they spoke or the area they lived in. Common to all Aboriginal cultures was a strong spiritual attachment to the land as a place that had existed since the origin of the world – what they called Dreamtime. They saw the land as a “second skin” they were born into, like a body. They did not feel they owned the land. Rather, they felt that the land owned them. It nourished them and gave them a sense of identity. To lose touch with the land was like death. The Aboriginal people tolerated the strange white newcomers, whom they called Djanga, or “spirits of the dead from beneath the sea”. They traded goods with the British and helped them find food and water. They also

a) What is meant by the Australian bush? b) What was a bushranger? c) How did the bush contribute to the development of a non-British Australian spirit?

survival overlevelse/ overleving rugged robust, hardfør descendant etterkommer/ etterkommar to evade å unngå, å (prøve å) slippe unna / å unngå, å (prøve å) sleppe unna capture tilfangetagelse, det å bli tatt til fange / det å bli tatt til fange resourcefulness snarrådighet, oppfinnsomhet / snarrådigskap, oppfinnsemd defiance trass spiritual attachment åndelig tilknytning / åndeleg tilknyting origin opprinnelse, tilblivelse, begynnelse / opphav, tilbliing, begynning, byrjing to nourish å nære, å fø

“Hunting the Kangaroo”, painting by John Heaviside Clark

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Tasks e Look at the basic arithmetic Toolbox on page 83. For each of the tasks above discuss with a classmate which arithmetical operation you needed to use: addition, subtraction, multiplication or division. Read your calculations out loud using the correct vocabulary: plus, minus, divided by, times, equals.

as many of the words as possible. See Writing Course 3, page 364 about writing paragraphs. penal, prison, imprison, penitentiary, punishment, jail, convict, conviction, acquit, acquittal, sentence, prisoner, criminal, petty crime, amnesty, felony, misdemeanour

10 Looking at language – figures of speech

11 Research

a Explain to a classmate what is meant by these figures of speech that are used in the article about Australia.

a In recent years, nearly twenty per cent of Australia has been returned to the hands of different Aboriginal groups. Go to tracks.cdu.no to find tasks about this.

– Britain saw a chance to kill two birds with one stone. – To the Aboriginals losing touch with the land was like death. – The family tree of white Australians grew from convict roots. b All the words below relate to crime. Use a dictionary to find out what they mean and what word class (adjective, noun or verb) they belong to. Write a paragraph about crime using

b Captain James Cook was one of the great navigators who enabled the British Empire to grow. Go to the website and find out more about him by working with the tasks there. c

Cook’s voyages were during the period called the Enlightenment or the Age of Reason, a time of new inventions and scientific discovery. On the website, you can read about some of the great scientific discoveries that were made possible because of his voyages.

Web teaser: STRINE Australian English is called “Strine”, from the way Australians say “Austrine” (Australian). In 2009 a poll found that Strine was the fifth sexiest accent in the world, right behind French. Go to tracks.cdu.no to learn more about Strine.

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ethnicity etnisitet divided atskilt/åtskild distinct tydelig/tydeleg property eiendom/eigedom puzzled forvirra velvet fløyel hatred hat mankind menneskehet/ menneskeslekt deed gjerning rape voldtekt/valdtekt to entwine å tvinne seg sammen / å tvinne seg saman

“Son of Mine” was written by Kath Walker (Oodgeroo Noonuccal, 1920–93), the first Aboriginal poet to gain recognition in Australia and internationally. Because her mother was one of the “stolen children” (see p. 208) who never learned to read, Kath studied hard at school and became a teacher. She wrote “Son of Mine” when her firstborn son was thirteen years old. At that time in Australia, Aboriginals did not yet have the right to own property or vote.

Cultural or national identity comes from having things in common with a certain group of people, for example language, ethnicity and nationality. These things can also make people feel divided from others who are different from themselves. In the poems “Son of Mine” and “Nationality”, we can read the thoughts of two Australian poets about racism and national identity. Before reading the poems, think about these points: a How much influence do parents have on their children’s attitudes toward ethnicity? b How does war affect people’s attitudes toward nationality? c As the world becomes more multicultural, do you think having a distinct cultural identity is important? Or do ethnicity and culture matter less in a multicultural world?

Two Australian Poems Son of Mine (To Denis) My son, your troubled eyes search mine, Puzzled and hurt by colour line. Your black skin soft as velvet shine. What can I tell you, son of mine? I could tell you of heartbreak, of hatred blind. I could tell of crimes that shame mankind, of brutal deeds and wrongs maligned, of rape and murder, son of mine. But I’ll tell instead of brave and fine when lives of black and white entwine, and men in brotherhood combine. This would I tell you, son of mine.

Actor Brandon Walters in the film Australia (2008)


Mary Gilmore (1865– 1962) wrote “Nationality” during World War II. At age eighteen, she got a job teaching in a mining town where she grew interested in socialism and workers’ rights. As a lifelong activist, her poems advocated the rights of workers, children and Aboriginals.

Nationality I have grown past hate and bitterness, I see the world as one; But though I can no longer hate, My son is still my son. All men at God’s round table sit, And all men must be fed; But this loaf in my hand, This loaf is my son’s bread.

union fagforening/ fagforeining to advocate å forsvare, å kjempe for to feed (fed, fed) å fø, å mate

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1 Understanding “Son of Mine” a In the first stanza, the boy’s eyes are described as “troubled, puzzled, hurt by colour line”. What might have happened to make him feel this way? b What might be meant by “colour line”? c

What negative things could the parent tell the son about in the second stanza? Based on what you know of Australian history, what might the poem be referring to?

d In the third stanza, the word “but” indicates a change of mind. The speaker of the poem says, “I could do X but I will do Z.” Fill in your own words for what X and Z might stand for.

three-stanza poem using the following formula. Start each stanza with the prompt given, then add three to four lines of your own. Your eyes … I could … But I will …

5 Talking – “Nationality”

a “Nationality” was written more than seventy years ago. Do you think it reflects today’s world as well, or is it out-dated? b Do you think the title “Nationality” helps you understand what the poem is about? Explain. c

2 Talking – “Son of Mine” a Do you think it is a good choice not to tell the son about wrongs that have been done to his people? Explain your opinion. b The theme of literature can often be summed up in one word. Choose one of the themes from this list to complete the sentence below. Explain your choice. The poem is about … history, racism, raising children, love, nationality, honesty, hope, forgiveness, unity

3 Looking at literature

6 Looking at literature a The first two lines of each stanza express a relationship to the larger world. Summarise the message of these four lines using some of these words: generosity, brotherhood, love, unity, racism, nationality, forgiveness, care. b The word “but” indicates a change of attitude. The last two lines of each stanza start with this word. What is the change in the speaker’s attitude or opinion? c

b Work in groups of three to visualize the poem. Each person makes a visual presentation of one of the poem’s stanzas, using pictures or drawings. Present and explain your visual poem to the class.

7 Comparing the poems

Find these features in the poem: a rhetorical question (p. 312), an image, a metaphor (p. 71).

4 Writing A poem expresses experiences, ideas or emotions about a social or personal issue. Write your own

232

Try reading the poem with these changes: Replace the words “I” and “my” with “Norway”. Replace “son” with “citizens”. Does the poem have the same meaning?

a Work with a classmate. One person lists all the positive words in the poem. The other person lists all the negative words. Show your partner your list and explain what makes each word positive or negative.

c

Chapter 4

Mar y Gi lmor e

Tasks

The image “God’s table” is a metaphor (p. 71, task 3). What do you think it means?

d The image “this loaf in my hand” is a very specific metaphor. What does it mean?

a What do these two poems have in common? Which poem do you identify most closely with, or like best? b To what extent are these poems about the same idea? How are they different? c

Find photographs or other graphics to illustrate the two poems. Make a composite text that includes the poems and at least one picture or illustration for each. Create a classroom display to show the different visual interpretations.


the eNgLish-speaKiNg WOrLD

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population growth befolkningsvekst blessing velsignelse/velsigning curse forbannelse/forbanning clue spor, ledetråd / spor, leietråd to fathom å fatte, å forstå crowded overbefolket/ over(be)folka teeming myldrende, yrende / myldrande, yrande to hustle å forsere, å jage to cram å stue, å stappe to induce å forårsake, å framkalle to predict å forutsi / å føreseie estimate kalkyle

In pairs, discuss the following questions before you read the newspaper articles about two major challenges of the future. – In your future life, where would you want to live? In a city? In a village or small town? In the countryside? Explain your choice. – What do you think will be the effects of a continuing population growth? – Which technological inventions are the most important ones in your everyday life? – Do you think that further technological development will be a blessing or a curse? Continue to work in pairs. Choose one text each, either “Is the World Running Out of Space?” or “Should Humans Fear the Rise of the Machine?” Have a look at the text “Becoming a Strategic Reader” on page 341 before you start reading. a Skim read the text, looking for clues about the general topic or main idea b Close read the text and answer the questions in the margin while reading c Write a summary of the text (see page 79). d Find 8–10 important key words from your text and write a definition for each of these key words.

Tomorrow’s World TEXT 1: Is the World Running Out of Space? By rachel nuwer Sometimes it’s difficult to fathom that the world could actually become even more crowded than it is today – especially when elbowing through a teeming Delhi market, hustling across a frenetic Tokyo street crossing or sharing breathing space with sweaty strangers crammed into a London Tube train. Yet our claustrophobia­induc­ ing numbers are only set to grow. While it is impossible to precisely predict popula­ tion levels for the coming decades, researchers are certain of one thing: the world is going to become an increasingly crowded place. New estimates issued by the United Nations in July 2015 predict that, by 2030, our current 7.3 billion will have increased to more than 8 billion. That figure will rise to 9.7 billion by 2050, and to well over 10 billion by 2100.

328

ChAPter 5


Yet even today, it’s difficult enough to get away from one another. Drive a few hours outside of New York City or San Francisco, into the Catskill Mountains or Point Reyes National Seashore, and you’ll find crowds of city­ dwellers clogging trails and beaches. Even more remote and supposedly idyl­ lic spaces are feeling the crush, too. This begs the question: as the world becomes even more crowded, will it become practically impossible to find a patch of land free from human settle­ ment or presence? Will we eventually overtake all remaining habitable space? Taking a stab at answering these questions requires examining what we know about where people will likely base themselves in the future, and what life will be like then. For starters, experts predict that an increasing number of us will live out our lives in cities. As agriculture becomes more efficient, people abandon jobs in that shrinking and difficult sector and instead take up jobs in urban manufacturing or service. This has been going on for some decades. In 1930, just 30% of the world’s population lived in cities, compared to about 55% today. By 2050, however, about two­thirds will be based in urban areas. “Virtually all population growth between now and the end of the century will be in cities,” says Joel Cohen, head of the Laboratory of Populations at Rockefeller University and Columbia University, and author of a book called How Many People Can the Earth Support? “It boils down to more than one mil­ lion additional people living in cities every five to six days from now until 2100.”

Manhattan, New York City

to clog å tette igjen crush trengsel presence nærvær, tilstedeværelse / nærvær habitable beboelig / der det kan bu folk agriculture jordbruk efficient effektiv manufacturing produksjon, fabrikasjon virtually praktisk talt, så godt som additional ytterligere, mer-, ekstra / ytterlegare, meir-, ekstra

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a) What do recent UN estimates predict about population growth in the decades to come? b) Why will more and more people live in cities? c) Where in the world will there be so-called megacities? to harbour å huse to emerge å vokse fram / å vekse fram opportunity mulighet/ moglegheit regulation forskrift, regulering, vedtekt infrastructure infrastruktur, elementer som skal til for at samfunnet skal fungere / infrastruktur, element som skal til for at samfunnet skal fungere amenities trivselsskapende faktorer / trivselsskapande faktorar sanitation helse, renhold, hygiene / helse, reinhald, hygiene waste disposal renovasjon projections her: utsikter recipe oppskrift influx tilstrømming/ tilstrøyming street vendor gateselger/ gateseljar human waste ekskrement three-fold trippel, trefoldig (som i mangfoldig) / trippel, trefaldig (som i mangfaldig) median middels income inntekt to budge å rikke (seg), å røre seg av flekken natural disaster naturkatastrofe

a) What is it like to live in Manhattan, according to John Wilmoth? b) What do Joel Cohen and John Bongaarts worry about? c) What kind of challenges do we see in Lagos, Dhaka and Mumbai? d) Why is it possible that living standards in developed countries won’t continue to improve at the same rate as before?

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ChAPter 5

Around half of the world’s population will live in smaller cities of half­a­ million to three million residents. The rest will live in megacities, or those that harbour 10 million or more, which will mostly be located in developing and emerging economies such as China, India and Nigeria. “People can live at much higher population densities – it is possible,” says John Wilmoth, director of the Population Division of the United Nations. “As someone who lives in Manhattan, I have to say that it’s not awful.” Manhattan’s educational, cultural and employment opportunities – as well as its health care options, safety regulations and relatively efficient infra­ structure – all contribute to the high quality of life its residents enjoy. How­ ever, these things do not necessarily develop organically as a city or country grows. It takes capable governments and institutions to organise basic amen­ ities such as fresh water, sanitation and waste disposal. Worryingly, the places that are most in need of such oversight today are also the ones where most of humanity’s growth will occur. Much of the future population increase will come from Africa, which will shoot up from its current one billion people to over four billion by 2100. “The Africa projec­ tions are really scary,” says John Bongaarts, vice president at a non­profit research organisation based in New York City. “A large proportion will end up in urban slums, which is not a recipe for happy living.” The problem, he continues, is that Africa’s large cities – and, to some extent, Asia’s as well – are not equipped to absorb all of that population influx. Indeed, places like Lagos, Dhaka and Mumbai already face tremen­ dous challenges at current levels. “People buy water at high prices from street vendors, human waste is all over the place and garbage is just abandoned,” Cohen says. Even in developed countries, however, standards of living will probably not continue to improve at the same rate as in recent years. “We’ve had a few decades of extraordinarily rapid economic growth, with poverty declining in both rich and poor countries,” Bongaarts says. “But this will become much more difficult in the future.” The reasons are three­fold. Wealthy countries are ageing, meaning their rate of growth and innovation will begin to slow. Secondly, we have already used up the most productive land, dammed the most energetically profitable rivers and tapped into the easiest­to­reach groundwater. Finally, inequality is becoming an increasing problem. While the average American’s median income has not budged much in the past few decades, the top 1% is doing increasingly well. Climate change could also have a significant impact on how both devel­ oped and developing urban centres play out in the future. Around 60% of all cities that currently have a million residents or more are at risk of at least one type of major natural disaster, many of them climate­related. While the impact of many of these issues could lessen with proper planning, there is not much evidence that that is occurring. “No doubt the problems will work themselves out, one way or another,” Cohen says. “But likely at a cost of tre­ mendous and avoidable human suffering.”


None of this, however, means that we will run out of actual space to live. Around half of the world’s land currently holds around 2% of the planet’s population, whereas only about 3% of total land supports more than half of humanity. But a growing population does mean that the number of relatively pristine places will also likely decrease, thanks to an ever­increasing demand for resources needed to support urban lives. “I’d say there’s no threat of the world’s rainforests all being taken over by cities,” says Karen Seto, a professor of geography and urbanisation at Yale University. “The bigger threat is the indirect impact of urbanisation on those landscapes.” Indeed, cities require wood for creating buildings and furniture, agricultural land for growing food, space to dispose of tonnes of rubbish produced on a daily basis – and much more. Eventually, world population will likely level off. Even with our numbers skyrocketing into the billions, growth throughout this century is actually already slowing, and is projected to continue to do so. Many decades from now, human population might even begin to decline. For the foreseeable future, however, we are headed toward an increasingly crowded Earth – although the conditions of that world are still uncertain. (Shortened and adapted)

pristine uberørt, ufordervet / urørt, uforderva to require å behøve, å trenge to dispose of å kaste, å kvitte seg med to level off å stabilisere seg

a) How can climate change have an impact on city life in the future? b) What kind of indirect impact will urbanisation have on rural areas? c) Why is it likely that the world population will level off in the future?

Floodwaters surrounding houses in Dhaka, Bangladesh

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revision: Chapter 5 Learning targets: self-evaluation a Work with a partner. Go to page 286 and read the learning targets given there. Make “I can” statements for each target – for example “I can read and understand the article ‘Should Humans Fear the Rise of the Machine?’” Then tell your partner if you can do this … – very well – quite well – not very well Also discuss: What can you do to improve your skills? b Go to the website to find a full list of learning targets for the chapter as well as tasks for self-evaluation.

Vocabulary a Go through the chapter key words for each chapter in this book (pp. 9, 59, 129, 201 and 287). Make a list of the 20 words you feel are essential to know. Be prepared to say why you think so. b Compare lists with a partner. Agree on a joint list of the 25 most important words in the book.

Writing a Choose a topic from this chapter and write a personal text on why you think this is an important challenge to tackle in the 21st century. b Choose a character from one of the literary texts in this book and write a character description of him or her. Include examples from the text. Round off by explaining why you chose this person to write about. c Choose a country presented in this book and write a text giving some of the reasons why you find this country fascinating. The purpose of your text is to get other people interested in visiting the country. Use information from this book as well as from at least two other sources. d Of all the literary texts in this book (short stories, novel excerpts, poems, song lyrics),

choose one text that in some way has made an impact on you. It may have been moving, challenging, encouraging, intriguing, annoying, surprising, funny or boring. Briefly present what the text deals with. Then explain the impact this text made on you and why. Finally, use the internet to find an illustration for this text. Explain why you have chosen this illustration. e Literary texts tend to deal with social issues. Choose two literary texts from this book. Present examples and extracts from them that show social issues in the English-speaking world.

Working with illustrations Look at the illustrations in this book and work with these tasks: a Find a picture with a social or political message. What do you think the painter or photographer wants to say with this picture? Do you agree or disagree with what it says? Give reasons for your answer. b Find a picture which expresses a strong mood (happiness, worry, anger, determination, etc.). What has aroused the mood in it? What has the artist or photographer done to enhance this mood? c Find a dramatic picture. Why have you chosen it? What is going on? What special techniques has the artist or photographer used to emphasise the dramatic situation? d Which is your favourite picture? Explain why you like it. e Find a picture which you think would make a good poster for å film or a TV series. What sort of film or series could it be used for? f Choose a picture of a person and put yourself in his or her shoes. Answer the following questions in writing. – Who am I and why am I here? – What have I just done? – What am I doing now? Describe yourself to a classmate, then see if he or she can find the picture that shows the person you are.

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Courses & Resources

340

ChAPter 5


Becoming a Strategic Reader Reading is a skill you can improve. You become a better reader if you know why you are reading a text and use the reading strategy that fits the purpose. Before you get started Reading strategies begin before you start read­ ing a text. It is important to get your brain tuned into what you will be reading. First of all, look at the title. What does it tell you about what you are going to read? What do you already know about the subject? Skimming In textbooks there are a lot of factual texts. Skimming is a strategy you can use to find out what the topic or main idea of the text is. Once you identify the main idea, you will be able to understand the text better as you read. Also, you might find out you don’t need to read the text at all. If, for example, you are doing research on an American president, you could quickly find out which articles contain the kind of information you need if you skim them first. When you skim a text, do not stop to read every word. First of all, look at illustrations and captions under pictures. They are a strong hint at what the text is going to be about. Are there any pre-reading tasks? What do these tell you about the text you are going to read? If the arti­ cle has sub­headings, read each one and ask yourself what the text might tell you about it. Take a look at the tasks that follow the text. They also give you an idea of what you will be reading about. As you skim, look for the topic sentence of each paragraph that tells you the main idea of the paragraph (see page 364).

were killed in office, you would quickly scan the articles until you found the words killed or assassinated. You would know that the information you are looking for is going to be nearby. Scan­ ning is a strategy you already use several times a day. Say you want to see a film. You scan when you look over the titles of all the films in the newspaper to find out where the film you want to see is showing and at what time. Close reading Yet another way of reading is close reading. Let’s say you have found an article to use in a report. Or say your teacher gives you a 500­word article about Native Americans that you will be tested

Scanning Scanning is a type of reading we use when we are looking for specific information. If you need to find out the names of American presidents who

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on next week. These reading situations require close reading, a strategy that will help you under­ stand a text fully. Close reading: context clues At first glance, a textbook article can seem over­ whelming. There are so many new words! Don’t worry. There are strategies to help you under­ stand new vocabulary. Checking with a dictio­ nary is one. Looking for context clues is another. Take a look at the following sentence where a word is missing. Human beings have two … . Cats and dogs have four. We already understand all the words, and we have all seen cats and dogs, not to mention other human beings. So which word is missing? If we only look at the first sentence, we might guess the words, arms, eyes or elbows. It is the context created by the next sentence that limits our choices so that we guess the word legs. We understand the information because of the con­ text in which it appears. Take a look at the fol­ lowing words. Do you know what they mean? assume, relish, indispensable These are quite difficult words. In a sentence, however, there will always be some other famil­ iar words which give the difficult word a con­ text. Use the familiar words in the sentences below to figure out what the new words mean: 1 2

3

Frank is not at school today, so we must assume he is sick. You could see that he relished the meal. He ate and ate, with a smile on his face the whole time. A dictionary is indispensable when you need to look up a new word.

Use the context clue strategy with the texts you are going to read in this book. It will soon become a timesaving habit. Sometimes, of course, you will need to check that you have understood the word by looking it up in the

342

dictionary. This is especially true if there are other unfamiliar words in the context. Read, recite, review: a strategy for remembering facts When you read textbooks, newspapers, sched­ ules, etc. you are finding information and ideas that you will need to remember. As you read, information goes into the “short­term memory” part of your brain. In order to remember the information, you must move it to the “long­term memory”. One strategy to do this is to recite the information. Either say it out loud or write notes to review later. Recite and review will help you learn and remember the material you read. Recipe for reading textbook articles 1 Start off by skimming the article to get the main idea. Read the title and sub­headings. Connect them to what you already know about the topic. 2 Then close read the text under each subhead­ ing. Stop to recite: say or write down import­ ant vocabulary and ideas. 3 After close reading the entire article, quickly look over your notes to review what you have read. Review your notes for just a few min­ utes once or twice a week following your reading. Then you will be able to understand and remember the material.

Glossary: skill ferdighet/ferdigheit purpose hensikt subject emne skimming skumlesing to contain å inneholde / å innehalde caption bildetekst sub-heading underoverskrift assassinated (snik)myrdet/(snik)myrda Native American innfødt amerikaner, urinnvåner, «indianer» / innfødd amerikanar, urinnbyggar, «indianar» to require å kreve / å krevje context sammenheng/samanheng clue hint familiar kjent to recite å si høyt / å seie høgt to review å gå gjennom (på ny), å revidere recipe oppskrift


Talking Course 4:

Discussion and Debate When two or more people are talking together, we call it a conversation. A conversation may be about anything, and typically it may wander from topic to topic. If, however, the conversa­ tion becomes serious and focused on a particu­ lar topic, we call it a discussion. In a discussion people may agree or not agree. A debate is a dis­ cussion between opposing viewpoints that fol­ lows certain rules. For example, when politicians discuss issues in parliament, we call it debate. When we take part in a discussion or a debate, we have to be able to make suggestions, express opinions, agree or disagree. Below is a list of some language we can use to do this in English. Making suggestions Let’ s … / How about …? / Why don’t we …? / We could always … / Would you agree that ...? / What if we ... / Don’t you think that … More formal: I suggest that … / May I suggest that … / It is my proposal that …

favour of that. / That’s what I was thinking too. / That’s exactly my opinion. / I agree wholeheartedly. (very formal) Informal expressions: Dead right! / Spot on! / Sure enough / Sure! / I’m with you all the way on that one! / You bet! Expressing disagreement (I’m afraid) I don’t agree. / I’m not sure I agree with you there. / I don’t accept that. / That may be so, but … / Yes, but don’t you think that … / That’s not entirely true. / I simply can’t agree with you there. / I disagree entirely. Informal expressions: No way. Are you crazy? / Give me a break! Really? / Oh, come on! / That’s ridiculous! / What absolute nonsense! / Hey, can’t you see that …

Expressing an opinion I think … / I feel … / The way I see it … / I’d say that … / To my mind … / If you ask me … More formal: In my opinion/view … / I take the view that … / I’d like to point out that … / I’m absolutely convinced that … / I strongly believe that … / I have no doubt that … Important: Notice that I mean can’t be used in English to give your opinion. See page 26. Expressing agreement Yes, I (quite) agree. / That’s true. / I’d go along with that. / I see your point. / You’re absolutely right. / I totally agree. / I couldn’t agree more. / I’m all in

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TASKS 1 Writing responses Working individually, think through your answers to each of the following questions. Take notes that can be used in your discussion: – Your class has won 5000 kroner in a competition. What do you think the money should be spent on? – Which artist do you think has been most important for music in the last ten years? – Do you think people should be allowed to vote at the age of 16?

2 Discussing Now sit in groups of 3–5 and discuss your responses to these questions using the agreeing and disagreeing language on page 355. Discuss until you can come up with a response the group agrees on for each question.

Web teaser: HOLDING A CLASSROOM DEBATE On the website you will find instructions and tasks for holding a formal debate in your class. Here are suggestions for topics you can choose to debate: – Selling and using tobacco should be made illegal. – The parents of young criminal offenders should be fined. – Religion is the curse of mankind. – Girls are more intelligent than boys. Also, see p. 296 for a suggested classroom debate.

Glossary: conversation samtale topic (samtale)emne opposing motsatt/motsett viewpoint synspunkt suggestion forslag opinion mening, oppfatning / meining, oppfatning proposal forslag

356


Writing Course 2:

Planning Your Text What does it mean to plan your long text? These six steps will give you everything you need to get started writing a good essay. Pre-writing #1: Read the task carefully. Underline the key words that tell you what to do. Let’s find the key words in one of the exam tasks mentioned in Writing Course 1. Write an essay using “Love the Way You Lie” and other songs to discuss this statement: Do bands feel a duty to comment on social issues, or are they more interested in singing about themselves and their personal issues? Key words: Write ... essay ... use “Love the way” & other songs ... discuss: Do bands comment social issues ... or sing about themselves? Pre-writing #2: Find the purpose. In the example above, the key word “discuss” tells the purpose of the text. Here is a list of pur­ poses and what they mean. – discuss: explain different sides of an issue, give reasons why, recommend one – compare and contrast: point out what is the same and what is different between two topics – write a review: give a personal evaluation of a book or film – write a speech: inform, persuade or entertain an audience about a topic – analyse: show that you understand the ideas in a text or film – explain: present one topic or issue fully, all sides – summarise: give the main features of a topic, but leave out details

360

Pre-writing #3: Choose the style of writing (formal or informal) and text type or genre (essay, speech, letter, report, article). The task will usually tell you what type of text to write and what the situation is. In general, use a more formal rather than informal style on long written texts. See more on formal and informal style on page 357. Pre-writing #4: Choose some sources. An essay needs well­developed ideas. Use exam­ ples, facts, definitions and information from other texts to back up your ideas. (See “Writing Course 5: Using Sources” on p. 371.) Sometimes exam questions will tell you to use literature and film as sources. Other exam questions assume you will use factual texts from textbooks or other sources. Combine examples and infor­ mation from sources with your own opinions to make a solid and interesting discussion. Pre-writing #5: Brainstorm your ideas. Use five minutes to write down everything you can think of related to the topic. Write fast. Be messy. Don’t worry about spelling. Write a list, a mind map, or a free text. Force yourself to keep coming up with key words until the five minutes have passed. What you write during the brainstorming will be used in the final pre­writing step.


Pre-writing #6: Organise the key ideas into a plan. Read over the notes from your brainstorming session to pick out key words or ideas to put in the essay. Sort them into groups of related ideas. Then organise these groups into the structure of your essay. When you are done organising, you are ready to write! Here are three tools to help you organise the key ideas into a plan. 1) Mind Map Imagine you are going to write a text presenting Global English. Put the words “Global English” in a circle in the middle of the page. Connect these key words to the circle in the middle to make a mind map: popular culture

media

lingua franca UK

Global English USA

colonies

Draw a line to connect “UK” with “colonies”. Then connect “colonies” with “other Englishes” because other Englishes developed in the colo­ nies. Move “media” and “popular culture” to “USA” because they came from there. Keep add­ ing key words from your brainstorming. Is there anywhere to put “lingua franca”? Maybe you need to add a circle that says “foreign language” and connect it to “lingua franca”. Hmm, perhaps “native language” and “second language” should go in as circles somewhere … You see how working with organising your key words helps you think through the topic you will write about. 2) Timeline A timeline is used to show events in the correct order. It’s not just about dates. A timeline can be useful for planning a story, writing about his­ tory, or telling your reader what happens in a book or film. It’s a good idea to leave plenty of space between events, as you may want to fill in the gaps with new events when they come to you. Here is a timeline about African Americans that could be used for an essay about social issues in the USA:

other Englishes

Timeline: 1619

1865

1896

1957

Slavery started

Slavery ended

Jim Crow laws

Rosa Parks bus boycott

1963

1992

2008

Martin Luther Rodney King First black King’s “I Have a L.A. riots US President Dream” speech Barack Obama

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3) Venn diagram A Venn diagram is used to compare two topics. Draw two overlapping circles. Write the two topics you are going to compare in the outer cir­ cles. Then write similarities between the topics in the middle space (the overlap), and the differ­ ences in the outer circles.

Below is an example of a Venn diagram. The stu­ dent who has made it is going to write an article on the subject of “Soccer and Rugby in the UK”. The key words in the middle show what the sports have in common. The left circle shows what is true about soccer only. The right circle shows what is true about rugby only.

Venn diagram:

Rugby

Soccer Both

ers 11 play

goalkeeper and ne t

played outdoors

round ball men and women play players

goalposts like an H

team sport

international games

can ea rn mil lions

head and feet touch ball

362

15 players

all oval b mostly men's teams

hands on ball 5 million

alary cap on s


TASKS 1 Six steps to writing a long text

4 Venn diagram

The sheet of paper you took notes on was in the pocket of your jeans when they went in the wash. Now all you have is bits of paper with words written on them. Rewrite your notes based on these bits of paper. Be sure to put the steps in the right order.

Make a Venn diagram as part of your preparation for one of these essay topics. Don’t forget to brainstorm!

style organize

brainstorm

purpose

sources

read task

2 Mind map Make a mind map for one of these essay questions. Remember, do a five-minute brainstorming to get key ideas down first. – How good does a tourist’s English need to be? – Should Norwegian 16-year-olds be given the vote?

– Compare and contrast the book and film versions of Twilight or another story. – Compare a movie hero with a movie villain. – Compare and contrast the USA and the United Kingdom.

5 Finding sources Brainstorm a list of sources from literature, music or film that you could use for these essay topics: – What do film and literature teach us about courage? – Song lyrics paint a picture of the world we live in. – Friendship is an important value in any culture.

6 Determining style In tasks 2 to 5 above there are ten different possible essay topics. In small groups, talk about which of these essays you think would use a more formal style, and which would use a more informal style. Would any be quite informal? Would you use the personal pronouns “I” and “you” in any of them? Discuss your reasons.

7 Talking Look again at the “Six steps to success”. Discuss: a How do you normally plan for a writing task? b Why are the six steps useful? c Will you start using the six steps and the three tools (mind map, timeline, Venn diagram) when writing? Explain why or why not.

3 Timeline Make a timeline to help you plan one of the following essay topics. Brainstorm first! – Five inventions that changed the world. – The Norwegian educational system: how well does it prepare young people for the future?

Glossary: to recommend å anbefale to compare å sammenlikne / å samanlikne review anmeldelse / her: omtale, bokmelding to persuade å overbevise, å overtale / å overtyde, å overtale genre sjanger, teksttype source kilde/kjelde to assume å anta, å gå ut fra / å anta, å gå ut frå related beslektet, lik / i slekt, lik

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Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.