1. No category

CONTENTS | February 2015
14
Meet chimpanzees and gorillas on a tour of the
tropical national parks in this East African country.
40History
8 A Day in My Life
42 Press Gallery
10 World View
44Arts
13 Britain Today
66 The Lighter Side
24Society
67 American Life
26 I Ask Myself
68Feedback
36 Around Oz
69 Next Month
38Debate
70 My Life in English
A musician in Canada’s capital city
What’s news and what’s hot
Colin Beaven on the fruits of technology
Are artificial sweeteners linked to diabetes?
Amy Argetsinger on the fall of Bill Cosby
Peter Flynn on Jamie Oliver’s empire
Does Ireland manage its asylum seekers well?
Spotlight plus
Every month, you can explore
and practise the language and
grammar of Spotlight with the
exercise booklet plus.
Find out more at:
www.spotlight-online.de/plus
Spotlight 2|15
22
Meet the entertaining people and enjoy the delicious
creations of TV’s The Great British Bake Off.
6 People
Names and faces from around the world
4
Baking, British style
The birth of New Zealand 175 years ago
A look at the English-language media
Films, apps, books, culture and a short story
Jokes and cartoons
Ginger Kuenzel on the need for more doctors
Your letters to Spotlight — and our responses
What’s coming next month in Spotlight
TV producer Karin Holly on English
Spotlight Audio
This monthly 60-minute CD/download brings the world of Spotlight
to your ears. Enjoy interviews and
travel stories and try the exercises.
Find out more on page 64 and at:
www.spotlight-online.de/audio
Fotos: David John Weber; iStock; Wavebreak Media
Fascinating Uganda
30
IELTS speaking test
If you enjoy news stories from around the world and
easy vocabulary and grammar, then try Green Light. 50Vocabulary
59 English at Work
52 Travel Talk
60 Spoken English
53 Language Cards
61 Word Builder
55 Everyday English
62 Perfectionists Only!
57 The Grammar Page
63Crossword
Talking about disability
Ken Taylor answers your questions
Going to a trade fair
How to use the word “get”
Pull out and practise
A focus on the words in Spotlight
At the hairdresser’s
Nuances of English
Using forms of “should”
Find the words and win a prize
58 Peggy’s Place: The Soap
IMPROVE YOUR ENGLISH WITH SPOTLIGHT PRODUCTS
Spotlight Audio: hear texts and interviews on our CD or
download. See www.spotlight-online.de/hoeren
Visit Spotlight’s very own London pub
Spotlight plus: 24 pages of language exercises related to the
OUR LANGUAGE LEVELS
magazine. See www.spotlight-online.de/ueben
The levels of difficulty in Spotlight magazine correspond roughly to
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages:
B1 – B2
Spotlight in the classroom: free of charge to teachers who
subscribe to Spotlight. See www.spotlight-online.de/teachers
Readers’ service: abo@spotlight-verlag.de · www.spotlight-online.de
C1 – C2
Tel.: +49 (0)89 / 85681-16 · Fax: +49 (0)89 / 85681-159
To find your level, visit Sprachtest.de
www.SprachenShop.de: order products
from our online shop (see page 48).
Teachers: if you use Spotlight in
your lessons, this six-page supplement will provide great ideas
for classroom activities based on
the magazine. Free for all teachers
who subscribe to Spotlight.
Spotlight
www.spotlight-online.de
IN THE CLASSROOM
2 | 2015
Ideen und Konzepte für den Englischunterricht
A Happy New Year…
…and welcome back to Spotlight in the classroom! We hope you
enjoyed the winter break and that your classes have had a great
start. In this issue, we usher in 2015 with some fun-filled activities;
for example, a jazz chant to liven up grammar (page 2), a listening
gap-fill (see online copy file) and a London quiz game (page 3). Our
reviews section introduces a brand-new Klett title that helps students survive the language barrier during holidays; another is designed for those who are about to or who already work for foreign
or multinational companies, who deal with overseas customers or travel on business.
Lastly, we are delighted to introduce our first interviewee of the year — Mo Riddiford.
Turn to page 5 to find out why he believes that “the joy between people inspires motivation, which inspires communication, which [in turn] inspires automatic natural language acquisition”. We’d be happy to hear your feedback!
Spotlight in the classroom ist ein
kostenloser Service für SpotlightAbonnenten in Lehrberufen. Er
erscheint monatlich und bezieht sich
auf die jeweils aktuelle Heft-Ausgabe.
Das nächste Spotlight in the
classroom erscheint am 28.
29. Januar
Oktober
(zur Februar-Ausgabe
November-Ausgabe
vonvon
Spotlight
Spotlight
). ).
Spotlight erhalten Sie im Sammelbezug für Ihre Unterrichtsteilnehmer
mit einem besonders attraktiven
Mengenrabatt.
Nähere Informationen erhältlich bei:
Spotlight Verlag GmbH
Abteilung Key Account
Postfach 1565 · D–82144 Planegg
Tel. +49 (0)89/85681-150
Fax +49 (0)89/85681-119
E-Mail: lehrer@spotlight-verlag.de
Short warm-up activity
Spotlight Audio
www.spotlight-online.de
Spotlight plus
Cheryl Khan-Stock
teachers@spotlight-verlag.de
Green Light
Title
Language work
Spy qualities
Asking questions, recreating a text
Level
Time
15
Based on
World View (p. 12)
Black and white
Speaking about photography
15, hw
Various photos (pp. 8–11)
Text trackers
Scanning, formulating questions, research
45, hw
Various articles
Good doing grammar
Infinitive forms, jazz chant
Hw, 45
The Grammar Page (p. 57)
Facts and figures
Gap-fill, listening, speaking
15
World View (p. 6)
Discount London*
Quiz game, reading, writing bullet points
60
Travel (pp. 16–23)
To win or two loos
Listening, vocabulary
60
Britain Today (p. 15)
Copy file
Spotlight Online will help you to improve
your English every day. Try our language
exercises or read about current events
and fascinating places to visit.
Subscribers will also find a list of all the
glossed vocabulary from each issue of
the magazine.
*Photocopiable material for the exercise “Discount London”
Interview
Mo Riddiford
Reviews
Great! Survival English, Small Talk
Service
Vocabulary website
IMPRESSUM
Spotlight
in the classroom
CONTENTS | February 2015
IN THIS MAGAZINE: 14 LANGUAGE PAGES
Find out how well you speak English with help from
the International English Language Testing System.
A2
29
Making English fun
Herausgeber und Verlagsleiter: Dr. Wolfgang Stock
Chefredakteurin: Inez Sharp
Stellvertretende Chefredakteurin: Claudine Weber-Hof
Chefin vom Dienst: Susanne Pfeifer
Fachredaktion: Cheryl Khan-Stock, Rita Forbes,
Forbes Peter Green
Onlineredakteur: Michael Pilewski
Gestaltung: Susanne
Sabine Hübner-Pesce
Pfeifer
© 2015
2014 Spotlight Verlag, auch für alle genannten Autoren, Fotografen und Mitarbeiter.
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LANGUAGE | IELTS Test
Speaking up for
Hier konzentriert sich VANESSA CLARK auf den mündlichen Teil
des IELTS-Tests. Mit vielen Beispielen beschreibt sie, wie man sich
am besten darauf vorbereitet.
W
hen did you last have to show how well you can
speak English? Was it in a school test, in a meeting or presentation at work or at a job interview?
The skills that you need in such situations and in everyday
life in an English-speaking country are those that you can
test very effectively.
Over the past couple of years, we’ve looked at three
parts of the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) test, in Spotlight 2/13, 9/13 and 2/14. This
month, we turn to the fourth element — the speaking
test. This is the same for both the Academic and the General Training modules and takes the form of a one-to-one
30
Spotlight 2|15
conversation with an experienced examiner. The test is
divided into three parts to allow you to demonstrate different speaking skills in the best possible way.
Of all the sections of the IELTS test, the speaking test
is the one that candidates often feel most nervous about,
even though it lasts less than 15 minutes. On the following pages, we help you to prepare for this test — and any
other situation in which your oral English skills are being
evaluated — so that you can keep calm and give your best
possible performance on the day.
evaluate [i(vÄljueIt]
bewerten, einschätzen
IELTS is jointly managed by the British Council, IDP: IELTS
Australia and Cambridge English Language Assessment. IELTS
results are recognized by more than 9,000 educational institutions, government agencies and professional organizations in
more than 135 countries, including 3,300 institutions in the USA,
and all British universities and colleges. In Germany, as more
courses are offered in English, the number of institutions recognizing IELTS results continues to grow.
http://takeielts.britishcouncil.org
The British Council is the UK’s cultural-relations organization. It works in the fields of the arts, education and society in
more than 100 countries worldwide. In addition to the IELTS test,
the British Council provides resources for teachers and learners
of English. It has been in Germany since 1959, initiating projects
and holding events across the country. The British Council offers
the IELTS test up to 36 times a year in 14 test locations around
Germany, as well as in Austria and Switzerland.
For more information, visit www.britishcouncil.de or .at or .ch
What’s in the test?
Fotos: iStock; Wavebreak Media
First, we’ll talk you through what will happen on the day.
Let’s follow Karl, a student who’s been doing an IELTS
course, as he takes the speaking test.
Karl arrives at the test venue in good time. He has
his identity documents and his IELTS registration papers
with him. He is greeted by an IELTS official, who checks
his papers and asks him to turn off his phone and take a
seat in the waiting area. Karl uses the time to read Spotlight magazine so that he will start thinking in English.
This also helps to calm his nerves.
When it’s time, Karl is called into the exam room. The
examiner introduces herself and asks Karl to do the same
and to confirm his identity. The examiner then asks Karl
a few general questions about his studies and interests (see
page 32). Karl is already feeling less nervous.
The examiner then moves on to part 2 of the test (see
pages 32–34). She gives Karl a card on which a topic is
written. This is: something you own that is important to
you. The examiner offers the candidate some paper and
a pencil. Karl uses the one-minute preparation time to
make a few notes. He decides to talk about his bicycle
and writes down a few key words on the subject. The examiner then asks him to talk for one to two minutes. Karl
starts well and, because he is speaking about something he
likes, he finds he can do so with confidence. After about a
minute and a half, he can’t think of anything more to say
about his bike. But the examiner asks a follow-up question, which helps Karl to speak for a bit longer.
The examiner then continues to part 3 of the test (see
pages 34–35). This is a two-way discussion, in which she
asks some further open questions on the same topic. The
conversation moves on to more abstract ideas, such as the
importance of possessions and status symbols. Karl has
to think hard and explain his opinions as well as he can.
At the end of the test, the examiner thanks Karl for
coming. He is exhausted and can’t believe that it is all over
so quickly.
Over the next four pages, we look at the three separate
parts of the test in more detail, and give you a chance to
try out the tasks yourself.
exhausted [Ig(zO:stId]
in good time [In (gUd taIm]
venue [(venju:]
erschöpft
beizeiten, frühzeitig
Veranstaltungsort
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31
TRAVEL | Uganda
Top: Queen Elizabeth National Park;
below: Silverback Lodge at
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Visiting family
in Uganda
Bekannt als Heimat der Berggorillas und
Schimpansen, erfährt Uganda eine
Renaissance als Reiseland und lockt
Besucher mit spektakulären Nationalparks.
Von CLAUDINE WEBER-HOF
14
Spotlight 2|15
Topi antelope;
a fish eagle;
a baby gorilla in
Bwindi
2|15 Spotlight
15
The chimp named Totti:
the next alpha male?
canopy [(kÄnEpi]
chatter [(tSÄtE]
chimp [tSImp] ifml.
conceive [kEn(si:v]
fern [f§:n]
great ape [)greIt (eIp]
habituated [hE(bItSueItId]
mature [mE(tSUE]
offspring [(QfsprIN]
self-proclaimed
[)self prEU(kleImd]
sotto voce [)sQtEU (vEUtSi]
sway [sweI]
Ready for adventure: a ranger with
visitors to Kibale National Park
The chimps of Kibale
It’s 8 a.m. in the self-proclaimed primate
capital of the world. Ranger Jeffrey Tazenya counts the great apes before him:
five Canadians, two Germans, three Italians, one South African, a Brit and an
American. We completely fill the small
visitor centre in Kibale National Park in
western Uganda. Our goal is to track
other great apes — some of our closest
cousins, the chimpanzees.
People visit Kibale to see its large population of chimps: more than 1,400 of them
live here. Rangers of the Uganda Wildlife
Authority practically guarantee that we will
see the animals, but as we start to walk
through the tropical forest, I’m sceptical.
Uganda is where the savannah of East Africa
meets the jungle at Africa’s heart. Stepping
over ferns and fallen trees, it’s clear we’ve left
the open grassland; above us, tall palms block
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Spotlight 2|15
Baumkronendach
Geplapper, Geschnatter
Schimpanse
empfangen
Farn
Menschenaffe
gewöhnt
erwachsen, ausgewachsen
Junge, Nachwuchs
selbst ernannt
mit gedämpftem Ton
schwanken, hin- und
herbewegen
the sky. With all this vegetation, how can anyone
see the chimps?
Ranger Tazenya leads us further into the jungle, stopping to listen for chimp chatter. Of the
11 chimpanzee communities in Kibale, he says,
five are habituated — that is, five of the groups
are somewhat used to seeing people. Roughly
120 chimps get regular visits from tourists,
while another 200 of them are being studied
by Kampala’s Makerere University. It takes a
full five years to habituate a community,
which can split into smaller groups of five, ten
or twenty chimps at any time.
“Females can cross into any group, and
they will be welcomed,” Tazenya explains, sotto voce. “But a male cannot cross. If he makes
that mistake, he will be killed.” Even females
with male young must be careful; adult males
see the babies as a threat. “But within the
same community,” Tazenya says, “the chimpanzees are peaceful.”
The ranger’s radio comes to life, and we
hurry deeper into the jungle. I trip over
plants and struggle through mud. Tazenya
gives me a hand, pulling me across a
stream. Just then, chimp chatter echoes
through the air. We rush towards the
sound. Minutes later, we meet the Canadian group. Above them, high up in a
tree, is a large chimp eating leaves. Nearby, small monkeys jump about, making
the forest canopy sway.
The big chimp’s name is Totti — after
Francesco Totti, the Italian footballer. Tazenya explains that males typically live to become up to 55 years of age, females to 45.
Males are fully mature at six, while females
mature at 13, which is when they can conceive. Over her lifetime, a female chimp will
have between four and six offspring.
Follow me: park ranger
Jeffrey Tazenya
Alle Fotos: David John Weber
TRAVEL | Uganda
English at Work | LANGUAGE
Dear Ken: How can I reply
politely to complaints?
Dear Ken
I work at a tourist office in a mountain resort. We sometimes receive written complaints from our guests. Can
you please tell me how to reply politely to these?
Regards
Thea G.
Dear Thea
Research tells us that if we address the problem in the
correct way, 90 per cent of people who complain will stay
on as our customers. Here are seven rules for replying to
written complaints:
1. Reply immediately
Customers are more likely to stay loyal to you if you reply
straight away. Do this, and it makes clear that resolving
the problem is as important to you as it is to the customer.
2. Thank your customer for the feedback
We should be grateful for complaints. They help us find
out how to improve what we are doing. Here are a formal
and an informal way of replying:
•
Thank you very much for bringing this to our attention.
•
Thanks for letting us know about this. It helps us a lot.
3. Show that you understand
Empathy is a powerful way of showing that you genuinely
care about the inconvenience your customer has suffered:
•
I understand how frustrating that must have been.
4. Say you are sorry
An apology increases customer satisfaction immediately.
Apologize even when you are not to blame. It does not
have to be an admission of fault:
•
Please accept our apologies for the mistake.
•
I’m sorry for the misunderstanding.
5. Explain what you are going to do
Say clearly what you intend to do to resolve the problem:
•
I will contact the ski-lift people and ask them what
went wrong on the day in question. I will get back to
you as soon as I hear from the company.
6. Offer compensation
Sometimes it may be appropriate to offer some form of
compensation, such as a gift:
•
I enclose a small gift as a gesture of goodwill.
7. Invite the customer to contact you again
Encourage the customer to contact you again if necessary.
Give your e-mail address and direct telephone number:
•
Please contact me if you need further assistance.
By following these seven steps, you will help restore your
customer’s confidence and maintain his or her loyalty.
All the best
Ken
Send your questions
about business Engar
lish by e-mail with “De
to
line
t
jec
sub
the
in
Ken”
lag.de
ver
httlig
po
@s
age
gu
lan
questions
two
r
we
Each month, I ans
sent in. If one of
Spotlight readers have
, you’ll receive a
them is your question
Ways to Improve
copy of my book: Fifty
don’t forget to
So
Your Business English.
s!
res
add
g
add your mailin
Dear Ken
My first name is Michael. When I meet English speakers,
should I give my name with the German pronunciation,
or should I anglicize it to [(maIk&l] for people who do not
speak German to make it easier for them to pronounce?
Kind regards
Michael P.
Dear Michael
Your name is an important part of you. I suggest that you
introduce yourself with the pronunciation you normally
use. I’m lucky that my name is easy to pronounce wherever
I go, but if your name is any problem for your business
partners, you can even have a bit of fun teaching them
how to say it correctly.
Occasionally, unusual or foreign names prove impossible
for another person to pronounce correctly. Only then
would I suggest that you anglicize your name.
Best wishes
Ken
admission of fault [Ed)mIS&n Ev (fO:lt]
anglicize [(ÄNglIsaIz]
Schuldeingeständnis
verenglischen
appropriate [E(prEUpriEt]
genuinely [(dZenjuInli]
goodwill: as a gesture of ~ [)gUd(wIl]
inconvenience [)InkEn(vi:niEns]
likely: be ~ to do sth. [(laIkli]
maintain [meIn(teIn]
mountain resort [)maUntIn ri(zO:t]
angebracht
ernsthaft, wirklich
aus Kulanz
Unannehmlichkeit
wahrscheinlich etw. tun
aufrechterhalten
Höhenkurort,
Bergferienort
lösen
wiederherstellen
( p. 61)
sofort
resolve [ri(zQlv]
restore [ri(stO:]
straight away [)streIt E(weI]
Ken Taylor is a communication skills consultant. Follow his “Hot Tips”
on Twitter @DearKen101. You can buy his book Dear Ken... 101 answers
to your questions about business English from
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