59876623-Spotlight-on-Britain

Asking the way is easy. Understandingthe answer is much more difficult1 Here are some replies. Can you say what the question was? One of you should readthe replies while your partner looks a t the map.

1You are standing outside Christ Church College.

'Turnrighttowards Carfax. Continue in the same direction until you get to the Randolph Hotel. Then turn left and it is immediately on your right.'

2You are in Broad Street outside the SheldonianTheatre.

'Turnright and walkto the crossroads.

Keep straight on into Holywell Street and continue down Longwall Streetto the High Street. Turn right and then first left into Merton Street. Followthis and you

will find it on your left.'

3You are in front of theTown Hall. 'Turnright at Carfax, and walk all the way down High Street. You'llsee it just before the bridge, opposite Magdalen College. It'sabout a ten-minute walk.'

4You are on Magdalen Bridge. 'FollowHigh Street in the direction of Carfax. Turn right intoTurl Street, and then left into Market Street. Then it'llbe on your left.'

Now describe howto get to these places: the hotel from the Cathedral, theTown Hall from the Sheldonian,the Botanic Garden from Jesus College, the deer park from Blue Boar Street. Try and practise the expressions you havejust used.

TALKING POINT

Britain has over 2,000 miles of canals, and some of the most interesting can befound in this area of England. In recentyears, canal boat holidays have become more and more popularbecausethey offer an opportunity to see the countrysideaway from the noise of busy roads.

Here is an advertisementfor a canal cruiser holiday. Discusswhat you will needfor such a holiday and who you would like to go with!

On Wednesday 24th October 1962,Love Me DO,entered the British Top Thirty. It was the f i s t single by an unknown group from Liverpool called the Beatles. It was the f i s t of a number of big hits that would make John Lennon, Paul McCarmey, George Harrison and Ringo Starr the most successfulpop group the world has ever known.

The early years

However, the road to successwas not always easy. John and Paul had spent many afternoons listening to American stars like Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley before they were able to write the famous Lennon and McCarmey songs.

Although the long evenings spent playing in hot nightclubs in Liverpool and Hamburg in Germany had not earned them much money, they found the experience very useful when playing to huge audiences later on.

Not only was their style of singing new and exciting but their unusual haircuts-Beatle 'mops'l -and crazy sense of humour immediately became the latest fashion.

Influences

One of the most important people at the start of their careers was Brian Epstein, a Liverpudlian record-dealer. He managed to change four ordinary working-classlads into international superstars. George Martin, their record producer, encouraged them to introduce all kinds of unusual instruments on their records and combined popular and classical styles in a new and original way.

The 1960s

During the 1960s the Beatles were always in the news headlines; films, world tours and sometimes scandal. John once suggested that the Beatles were better known than Jesus Christ. This caused hundreds of young Americans to burn their Beatle records. In addition some people thought there were hidden messages about drugs in some of the songs.

ASKAND ANSWER

Look atthe hit parade then askand answer questions like the following examples.

Whatwas number one? Telstar

Me Do by the Beatles.

Bring this week's TopThirIy to class and asksimilarauestions.

Break-up

After a decade of successfulmusic and films, the B e a h finally decided to break up in the early seventies, after public disagreements about money and personalities.

Althou~hmany fans h o ~ e dthere would be a reunion ihro;ghour &e 1970s, this became impossible with the tragic murder of John Lennon in New York in 1980.

The sur\vi\ring Beatles are still deeply in\wliredin musical and film projects, but many fans srill long for the music of the 60s.

LOOK AND PRACTISE

Someone from Liverpoo is ca leo a Liverpudt~anf. yo, come from rhe Ln'reo Stares yol are ca .ed an Arnerkan.

Wnar do you ca. tne people wno come from these rowns ano co~ntries?

10 Tne LSSR.

(Youwill find the answers on page 138.)

ASKAND ANSWER

Afriend of yours is writing an article about the history of pop music for a new rock magazine. Helshe wants some information on the Beatles. See if you can help himlher.

altar a special table at the front of a church architecture art of designing buildings bowler hats a roundish black hat with a

short brim

break up to separate

charity an organisation which helps people, without making a profit

county an adminisuative area of the UK cruiser a small pleasure boat with an

engine which has room for sleeping. decade ten years

decline (n)a decrease dramatist writer of plays fans enthusiastic supporters

forgiveness willingness to pardon, not to want to punish someone

get together to join, unite

headlines the most important pieces of news in the newspaper or on TV or radio

hidden messages secret information hit a successful record

lad a young man leading most important

long (adv) for a long time madness insanity

navigating steering a boat in the right direction

paeol(v) to go round the streets to make sure that everything is all right

plague a deadly disease carried by rats pole a long rounded piece of wood or metal run awayfrom the law to run away from

the police

single a record with one song on each side skius knowledge and experience; abilities staff a group of assistants who work under

a manager

superstars extremely famous people in entertainment

top thirty the 30 most popular songs based on the sales of records in the shops

wealthy very rich

wharf a place to tie up boats and ships working class belonging to the class of

people who work in manual labour eg in factories

This northernmost region of England conrains some of the wildest and loneliest parts in the country, but also some of the busiest industrial centres. The Ice Age formed many deep valleys in the counties of

Cumbria and North Yorkshire, made rivers into waterfalls and left behind hills and mountains. Beneath the earth is coal-the foundation of the region's industry.

5,000 years of industry

There are four counties in the region of Northumbria. They are Tyne and Wear, Cleveland, Durham and Northumberland. This is a region of great natural beauty although industry of some kind has existed here for thousands of years.

Industry and the sea

There has been a fishing industry in Northumbria probably since the middle of the 13th century. Wooden ships were built for fishing and for trading and this industry grew and grew, particularly during the 18th cennuy. By 1850the building of iron steamships became a major industry on the rivers Tyne, Wear and Tees. One hundred years ago a quarter of the world's ships were built in Northumbria. Today,

sadly, this industry is disappearing.

Above is a picture of H.M.S. Warrior, the world's first iron battleship. It is over 130 years old. Now it lies in Portsmouth harbour, where it is open to visitors.

The Industrial Revolution

About 200 years ago a period of great industrial growth began in Britain. This growth was fed by coal and steam power.

During the 19th century the Northeast of England led the world in many types of heavy industry. You have already read about iron steamships. In addition, there were railway engineering, bridge building, industrial machinery, and for the making of allthis -iron and steel production.

There was also an important textile industry. Both Yorkshire with its wool and Lancashire with its cotton were major textile-producing areas at this time.

You can learn a lot about this period by visiting an indusuial museum like the one at Beamish.

TALKING POINTS

Would vou like to visit a museum like this? Why?

a What would interest you most? *Are museums generally boring?

How can they be made interesting?

Work with a partner and take it in turns to make similar sentences using the map and the key opposite. Then write down all the sentences you have made.

LOOK IT UP

1Use the map on page 62 to label the major rivers on this map.

2Write in the names of the four counties.

3Work with a partner. Askand answer

questions on your maps beginning with: Where.. .7 What's the name of.. .?

Industrialmisery

During the Industrial Revolution, many people moved from the country to the towns, where they usually lived in dirty and overcrowded conditions. They worked long hours for very little money. Even small children had to work in the factories and mines. Many writers, in particular Charles Dickens, have written about their misery. He wrote this description of one of the new industrial towns:

'It was a town of red brick, or of brick that would have been red if the smoke and ashes had allowed it. It was a town of machinery and tall chimneys out of which smoke came for ever and ever. It had a black canal in it and a river that ran purple with bad-smelling dye.'

Today the noise and smoke of factories from the time of Dickens have been replaced by modem industry, and the 19th century slums have been cleared. But this regionlike many others - has been badly aEected by the post-industrial recession. Unemployment is very high, as it was in the 1930swhen economic depression forced men and women on to the dole queues, and things became so bad that a hunger march was organized from Jarrow to London. The 1980s have also seen dole queues and unemployment marches from the North towards London. Many of the traditional heavy industries are disappearing, and the region is developingnew technological industries to help it overcome its difficulties. These include electrical engineering, plastics, fine chemicals, computers, and North Sea oil and gas.

The Lake District is the central mountainous area of Cumbria in the Northwest and has some of England's most beautiful scenery. Severalother names are used to describe this area, for example Lakeland, and the English Lakes. Since the Lake District is a National Park, there is special control over building, to make sure that the beauty of the countryside is not spoiled. Nearly one quarter of the Lake District National Park is owned by the National Trust.

The National Trust is a charity, which means it is financed by ordinary people who pay to become members. It is not financed or run by the government.

The Trust was set up in 1895 by three people who thought a a t industrialization could spoil the countryside and ancient buildings of England and Wales.

Today the Trust is the third largest landowner in $e country. It owns about 586,000 acres (almost 2,400 sq. km.)of land. Its properties include famous gardens, whole villages, farms, windand water-mills, lakes and hills, abbeys, prehistoric and Roman antiquities (including part of Hadrian's Wall), important bird sanctuaries such as Lindisfarne Island in Northumberland, and examples of industrial archaeology.

The aim of the Trust is to conserve allthese things for our enjoyment.

TALKING POINTS

a Is there an organization in your country that is similarto the National Trust?

a How important is it to conserve areas and buildings?

a Can conservation stop progress?

The BrontEs of Haworth

In one of the loneliest parts of the wild Yorkshire moors lies the village of Haworth.

People say the parsonage at Haworth is haunted by the ghosts of the brilliant, tragic Brontes. Along ancient streets, the ghosts of the three sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne w a k among the crowds. Branwell, their brother, still sits silentlyin the comer of the old pub.

Imagination perhaps, but this is a place of dreams. Lost in a world of windswept loneliness, the Brontes wrote those 19th cennuy stories that we still love to read:

Jane Eyre, WutheringHeights, The Tenant of WildfellHall, are as dramatic today as ever. And for miles around the moors, the grim, grey stones remind us of their novels, which take place in this wild countryside.

But fame came to them late, and this talented family all died young: Branwell, a ruined man; solitary Emily; gentle Anne within months of her success. Charlotte was the only one of the family to get married. Tragically, she died before giving birth to her 6rst child.

In spite of the sadness of their lives, the Brontes have passed on their experience of beauty and passion. In their novels, you can breathe the atmosphere of the moors and feel the powerful personalities of these famous novelists.

Theparsonage at Haworth is haunted. .

COMPLETE

Emily. Charlotteand Anne are the names of three ...and Branwell was their brother. Their ...was Bronte.They lived in a ...in Haworth some time between the year ...

and the year 1900,and they are famous for the ...which they ....Jane Eyre, Wuthering

Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hallare

...of their ....Their own story is sad becausethey were all ...when they died and only oneofthem was ever ....

(Youwill find the answers on page 139.)

LOOKAND READ

1The author writes about the 'tragic' Brontes. What words and phrases can you find which give the idea of sadness and tragedy? Example: 'loneliness'.

2Notice the poetic effect of combining the real, physical world with the world of innerfeelings as in 'a place of dreams'. Can you find another example?

3Repetition of certain sounds can create an atmosphere. Notice the repetition of 'I' and 'w' in 'lost in a world of windswept loneliness'. Can you find another example of alliteration (sound repetition)?