Teen-01-022-Sample

Welcome

N. 1 September - October 2022 G

Common European Framework Intermediate Level (B2–C1)

Hi, I’m Grammy. This month we’ll learn about:

- mixed past tenses –simple and continuous

- mixed passive tenses

- adjectives and adverbs

- adjectival phrases

- relative clauses with which

- statistics and quantities

- language of nature, geography, the environment

Downloadable Audio FIles

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Teacher’s Notes

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Contents

Hello and welcome to the start of a new year together – we’re looking forward to it, and we hope you are too! In this first issue we meet an American actor who makes us laugh but who can also play convincing heroes. We find some positive news about nature – yes, we can solve problems when we choose to – and we visit some amazing national parks. In the digital world, we look at how apps are transforming the way we learn, find out how social media is shaping digital marketing, and… since we’re approaching Hallowe’en, we celebrate a scary* anniversary! As always there are lots of games and activities to help us on our way. Shall we get started?

Around the World

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Glossary

scary: frightening was held: happened, took place disarmament: the removal or reduction of weapons abolish: stop, put an end to

International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

The Sixty-Eighth Session of the United Nations General Assembly was held* in September 2013. The main focus of this session was nuclear disarmament* – and how important working towards disarmament is for international peace and stability. Nuclear disarmament has been one of the main objectives of the United Nations since it was founded in 1946. Most members of the international community agree on the need to abolish* nuclear weapons, but there is no agreement on how and when that might be achieved – and that’s a real source of frustration, after all, the survival of the entire planet is at stake! This international day reminds us of the importance of, and the urgency for, nuclear disarmament.

True or false

1. The International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons was established in 1946.

2. The main topic of discussion at the first session of the United Nations General Assembly was nuclear disarmament.

3. Almost all countries in the world agree on the need for total disarmament.

4. The deadline and methods for decommissioning have not been agreed.

5. Our system of government is at stake if we don’t disarm.

He’s back in our cinemas with the latest (and probably the last) Jurassic movie. Chris is tall and well built, and has great abs*! But he’s not just about strength, he also has a big heart especially when it comes to family. Let’s go and meet him.

Chris Pratt

Passport

Name: Christopher Michael Pratt

Place and date of birth: Virginia, Minnesota, USA; June 21, 1979

Profession: actor

Distinguishing features: since 2015

Chris has been Owen Grady, the leading man in Jurassic World and its sequels

Family Background

Chris comes from a fairly ordinary family. His father worked in the mining industry and his mother had a job in a supermarket. Chris has a brother, Cully, and a sister, Angie. Chris was very popular at school and his biggest role model was his father – who he really admired*. Unfortunately, his father was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis* while Chris was in high school. Chris says: “My father refused to accept any kind of help, he didn’t do anything about his symptoms, and for years he didn’t even say anything about what was happening to him. Every now and then* he would wear an eye patch, and would tell us that he’d got something in his eye at work, but actually he wore the patch because he was seeing double.”

Change Comes From an Unexpected Source*

Chris dropped out* of college and took various jobs to support himself. It was when he was working as a waiter that he had an encounter* that would change his life: he met actress Rae Dawn Chong. “I wasn’t even supposed to be working that day,” he says, “but I was always changing shifts* because I didn’t have other plans, and I lived in a camper at the time. It was like I’d had a premonition*. I’d always wanted to get to Hollywood, I just didn’t have a plan for how I’d do that.” Rae Dawn Chong offered him a script for a comedy, Cursed

Part 3, and from there his career took off. Among many subsequent roles, his stand-out performance was as Andy Dwyer in the hit NBC comedy series, Parks and Recreation a part he played until 2015. Other memorable roles were baseball legend Scott Hatteberg in the 2011 film Moneyball and Star-Lord, in the Marvel Universe film Guardians of the Galaxy released in 2014. He had to lose 27 pounds for that part and spent a lot of time in the gym to get his muscles looking just right. His real breakthrough came in 2018, though, when he was cast as Owen Grady, star of Jurassic World, a role he took up again in the 2018 sequel.

Bringing it up to Date*

The most recent Jurassic World film with Chris as the star was released in June this year. It’s called Jurassic World – Dominion and was directed by Colin Trevorrow. Filming began in February 2020 but was halted* for several months due to the pandemic. Chris announced in a recent interview that this will be the last film in the Jurassic series, which has been running for 30 years. “It’s like closing a circle. Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum all starred in Spielberg’s original epic Jurassic Park. Now they are back for the grand finale... working with them was insane*! All three of them have been heroes of mine since I first saw the movie when I was 13.”

Chris At Home…

Chris Pratt has had his share of ups and downs* in life. Chris met his first wife, Anna Faris, on the set of 2011 romantic comedy Take Me Home Tonight. They were engaged for two years, married in 2009, and had a son, Jack, in 2012. Life as a Hollywood actor is not always easy and in 2017, after 8 years together, Chris and his wife separated. They continue to have a great relationship even though both have since remarried. Chris’s second wife is Katherine Schwarzenegger, writer and daughter of famous Hollywood star Arnold! In 2019, they had a daughter, Lyla Maria. Chris says: “Having children is the most beautiful thing in the world. No matter how tired or grumpy you feel, seeing your kids always makes you smile!”

Coincidence or Fate?

“I grew up in the 80s and 90s – the high point of American action cinema – with actors like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. I’ve always loved those movies. In fact, I loved them so much that as a child I used to pretend I was an action hero. I dressed like Rambo and had a survival kit that I carried around with me. I used to go out into the woods dressed in camouflage*. I’d be out all day having adventures and playing soldiers, crawling through the bushes.” Was it a coincidence or could it have been fate that Chris ended up marrying the daughter of Arnold Schwarzenegger, one of his biggest heroes?

Glossary

abs: (abbreviation)

abdominal muscles admired: looked up to, had positive feelings about multiple sclerosis:

neurological disorder every now and then: (idiom) occasionally source: origin, starting point dropped out: (idiom) stopped studying (before the end of the course)

encounter: meeting shifts: period of work during a 24-hour cycle (e.g. nurses,

waiters; different from normal 9-5 office hours) premonition: strong feeling that something is going to happen up to date: up to the present time halted: suddenly stopped insane: (here fig.) amazing, extraordinary ups and downs: (idiom) good and bad experiences camouflage: clothes with green and brown patches that help you hide in nature

We’re going through a difficult time on the planet, there’s pollution, the climate crisis, wars and the pandemic. It’s important to acknowledge the tough times, but there is sometimes good news. And that’s what this series of articles – Positive News – will be focussing on this year. In this issue we look at some good news from the natural world.

Making Space for Nature

Networks for Nature

We’ve started to develop a better understanding of what nature needs from us in order to thrive*. We now understand the importance of wildlife corridors, belts of trees, and ensuring there’s enough food for pollinators. One interesting new project from the south-west of the UK is the Somerset Wetlands* National Nature Reserve. This “super reserve” announced earlier this year, will bring together six existing reserves into one larger one, adding 56% more land to the original six reserves. It’s a joint initiative* between national government, in the form of the Environment Agency, the UK’s official body* responsible for “the protection and enhancement of the environment”, and charities such as the RSPB* and the National Trust.

This part of Somerset is made up of saltmarsh, heathland* and wetlands and is home to amazing creatures, such as the Raft Spider and the Hairy Dragonfly. The UK has lost more biodiversity than many countries. Much of the land is intensively* farmed and the country has been the home

of heavy industry. This super reserve is a positive change in the imbalance between human activity and nature that has been underway* for several centuries and is part of a trend to try and return land to nature.

Brought Back from Extinction

We have heard a lot over the last few years about how human activity is forcing many species into extinction. The alarm started to be rung with a campaign to save whales

in the second half of the twentieth century. That campaign has helped reverse the decline*, and showed that you could turn a terrible situation into a more hopeful one. The population of Humpback Whales went down to around 10,000 at its lowest level but thanks to protections and conservation efforts, it is now estimated to be around 80,000. However, whales and other cetaceans are not out of danger, which is why the Marine Conservation Society is working towards protecting 30% of our

Part of the change is financially driven – there is money to be made from conservation. This is particularly welcome as a source of income for local communities and indigenous peoples. Genuinely sustainable tourism and better management of resources is making a difference on many levels.

The United Nations issued a challenge – to make the 2020s the decade of Ecosystem Restoration. This was a call to the countries of the world to restore 1 billion hectares of degraded* land. There is much work to be done, but we are making a positive start.

oceans and seas by 2030. What can you do to help? If you do eat fish, then make sure it has been sourced* sustainably – it will make a difference.

Changing Attitudes

It’s not just our cousins in the ocean (ok, so we last shared an ancestor with whales 95 million years ago so we are very distant cousins!) that are benefitting from these

Grow your Vocabulary

Find the right adjective or adverb used as an adjective for each noun. Then write your own sentence using the two words.

small changes in our relationship with the natural world. Iconic* species such as the European Chamois, an agile mountain goat, are bouncing back* (read more about where you can see this beautiful creature on page 10). The chamois population has grown 500% since a low point during the 1960s. There are now estimated to be around 70,000 individuals climbing over the steep mountainsides of Europe. It’s a similar story for other mountain species such as the Ibex, as well as the Wolverine, in Europe, and there is positive news about the snow leopard in the Himalayas. The changes are remarkable, but we can’t relax just yet – there is still plenty of work to be done.

Cleaning up our Mess

The great city of Rio has seen a big effort in turning waste ground into productive and relaxing green spaces. Take, for example, the Manguinhos Garden. This used to be a rubbish dump but it has been transformed into a local community garden, and now produces tonnes of fresh fruit and vegetables for the residents of the area, as well as being a lovely space. This is one of over 50 gardens being created in Rio as part of the Hortas Cariocas (Urban Green Gardens) project. While the gardens and gardeners currently receive some government funding, the aim is to make them self-sustaining*, with produce being sold by this new generation of urban farmers. Another place that looked hopeless was a toxic* waste ground in Ohio. This area used to be filled with old rusting cars and barrels* of chemicals. In fact, the place was so contaminated you could set fire to the earth and the water! But between 2002 and 2012, it was cleared of all the pollutants and this part of Ohio, known as the Cuyahoga National Recreation Area, has been coaxed* back into life. This old chemical wasteland is now the home of woods and ponds that provide a healthy habitat for insects, birds and mammals that could not have survived there until recently.

Glossary

Find in the article...

1. the name of the 50 new gardens

2. the percentage of extra land added to the 6 reserves

3. a species that has grown 500% in the last 50 years

4. the percentage of oceans that campaigners want protected by 2030 .....................................................

5. the number of years it took to clear Ohio’s toxic wasteland

6. the estimated number of humpback whales now living in the world .............................................

thrive: grow/develop in a good and strong way wetlands: area of land covered in shallow fresh water for much of the year initiative: new solution to a problem body: (here) official organisation saltmarsh, heathland: different types of habitat (wet and dry respectively) intensively: (here) used in a way that will produce as much food as possible underway: being done, in

progress decline: decrease, become less/fewer sourced: got/obtained from iconic: famous and popular bouncing back: (here; figurative) return quickly to what it was before self-sustaining: continue without external help toxic: poisonous barrels: round containers for storing liquids coaxed: gently persuaded degraded: (here) spoiled, destroyed

mixed tenses; adjectival phrases; language of statistics, the environment

In this series of articles over the coming year we’ll be covering a variety of topical stories. Lucky Dip is the name of a game where you put your hand into a pot of prizes and pick one out – you don’t know what you’re going to get!

Bram Stoker and Dracula

This year we celebrate the 125th anniversary of the publication of the most famous vampire story – Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Let’s find out about this scary* creation and its creator. Don’t worry though, it’s not all about the fear, there’s a fun Guinness World Record, and we even find something to laugh about!

The Origins of Fear

Dracula, the vampire, cuts right through to our darkest fears! A good horror story is thrilling*, it can make the hair stand up on the back of your neck, holding your attention so well that you might even forget where you are – and we love them. There is good evidence that human beings have loved telling scary stories since we developed language. There are many ancient folk tales from all over the world that belong to this tradition, and the idea of the vampire is an old one, but Dracula himself is a more recent invention. So, where did he come from?

The Author

The creator of Dracula, Bram Stoker, didn’t start out as a writer. In fact he was much better known in his lifetime as a personal assistant and theatre manager for the most famous actor of the day, Sir Henry Irving. Bram (short for Abraham) Stoker was born in Dublin in 1847, studied at Trinity College

in Dublin, and began writing theatre reviews*. This is how he met Irving, and ended up moving to London with his new wife, Florence. Here, he knew all sorts of interesting writers, including the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Influences and Inspirations

One of the most famous places associated with Dracula is the ancient fishing village of Whitby, where several scenes from the novel are set. Why Whitby? Stoker went there on holiday and loved it. The novel draws on several folk tales from the area. For example, the novel begins with a shipwreck* based on real events that Stoker heard from local fishermen. According to legend, a great black dog escapes from the ship and runs up the 199 steps from the harbour* to the top of the town. It’s an important scene in the novel, and the steps are still there today! Whitby is a dramatic place, with steep cliffs* and most famously of all, the

ruins of an ancient abbey – where in the novel the great dog hides after running up the 199 steps. Dracula’s home was in Transylvania in Romania, but Stoker never went there. However, he did have a Hungarian friend who knew that area – was Dracula based on something his friend told him?

Dracula The Tourist Attraction

Dracula was published in 1897. Although not a big success at first, it has grown in popularity since. Today, the fishing town of Whitby, on the north-east coast of England, has a whole industry based on its links with this dark horror story. You can visit the ruined abbey and watch a fun live performance of a play based on the novel, as well as buy Dracula souvenirs in the shop. A local tearoom serves spooky* milkshakes, and local hotels and guest houses have Draculathemed rooms. You can visit the Dracula Experience, which is a great way to

understand the links between the town and the novel. You can also go to the annual Dracula weekend at the end of October, with ghost tours, candlelit dinners and lots of scary stories! Did you know that Whitby recently saw a new Guinness World Record? In May 2022, as part of the 125th anniversary celebrations, over 1,300 vampires gathered in Whitby and broke the world record for the number of people dressed as vampires in one place. Imagine lots of black capes* with red lining* and plenty of fake teeth!

Finding the Lighter Side of Fear

The first Dracula appeared on our cinema screens as Nosferatu in 1922, a

genuinely terrifying vision, with the evil count played by Max Schreck (schreck is the German for fright!). However, this was not an official adaptation, and the Stoker family had to fight a long legal battle to keep the rights to the novel. After Bela Lugosi in 1931, the first official film version, there have been Christopher Lee, Gary Oldman and, most recently, Gerard Butler. But, modern audiences are just as likely to see the funny side of this character, and there have been many Dracula parodies*.

One of the most popular is a mockumentary* called What We Do in The Shadows. This horror comedy follows the daily lives of a group of vampires who interact with the modern

Underline the words associated with Whitby.

In the first versions of the novel, Bram Stoker called Dracula Count Wampyr, which sounds silly, don’t you think?

True or false?

1. Human beings started telling scary stories when writing was developed.

2. Stoker was part of the Victorian London theatre scene.

3. The 1922 film Nosferatu was an illegal version of the novel.

4. Stoker got his inspiration from his travels in the USA and Romania.

5. Whitby hosts a Dracula weekend every year.

6. More people have dressed as vampires in Whitby than anywhere in the world.

Dracula is a popular character in our cinemas. There have been nearly 30 film versions since the first official one in 1931, which was very creepy and starred Hungarian-American actor Bela Lugosi.

world. The original 2014 film, set in a suburb of Wellington in New Zealand, was written by and starred Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement. From that was born a TV series, set on Staaten Island, New York, which has also been a big hit – season 4 aired in the US this year.

Glossary

scary: frightening thrilling: exciting (in a good way)

theatre review: expert opinions about a play that are published in the media shipwreck: when a ship is destroyed in a storm/on the coast harbour: port, safe place to keep a boat cliffs: tall, straight rocks, especially near the sea spooky: weird, strange

capes: (here) large coats with no sleeves lining: layer of different material on inside of coat etc. parodies: funny and exaggerated version of something mockumentary: a documentary that is actually a comedy (from mock = laugh at + documentary)