High Spirits 3: Culture Club

1
Culture club
The environment: Hurricane Katrina
1
Che cosa sai dell’uragano Katrina? Fai il quiz e scegli
la risposta corretta. Poi leggi il brano e controlla le
risposte.
1 When did it happen?
a 2005
b 2006
c 2007
2 Which state is New Orleans in?
a Texas
b California
c Louisiana
3 Where was the most damage?
a Mexico
b New Orleans
c Florida
How did it all start?
A hurricane is a very strong storm with winds faster
than 119 km per hour. These storms start over the
sea. When the storm hits the land, it can cause
serious damage from wind, floods and rain.
When the storm Katrina formed over the Caribbean on
23rd August 2005, people called it a tropical storm.
Two days later it was so powerful, that it officially
became a hurricane. It hit Florida, where nine people
died. On 29th August it hit the Gulf Coast of the USA.
By this time it was a Category 5 hurricane – the
strongest kind of hurricane. The hurricane went on for
nine days before it disappeared on 31st August.
Why did the city of New Orleans suffer
so badly?
New Orleans is just above the Gulf of Mexico in the
state of Louisiana. This area is famous for hurricanes.
The Mississippi river flows through the city, and there
is a big lake, Lake Pontchartrain, to the north. The
river and the lake are on higher ground than the city.
Because of this, the people of New Orleans built
high banks, called levees, to prevent the river and
lake flooding the city. But the levees weren’t strong
enough to resist a Category 5 hurricane, and they
broke. Water came flooding from the lake into the city.
It damaged buildings, and also the water, sewage and
power supplies.
What happened to the people of
New Orleans?
The people of New Orleans were expecting the
hurricane, and the authorities told them to leave the
city. But the authorities did not organise the departure
from the city very well. Many citizens did not have
cars, or enough money to leave. Many were old and
too weak to travel.
After the levees broke, 80% of the city was under water.
About 100,000 people couldn’t leave their homes.
2
There was no food and water, and people began to
steal from shops. About 25,000 people were living in
the Superdome Stadium, in very bad conditions. There
was a lot of crime there, and six people died.
After almost a week, and much criticism, the
government started sending food, water and
medicine. They also sent the police and the army
to keep control. Helicopters and rescue boats took
thousands of people away from the city.
At least 1,300 people died during the hurricane, but
there are still hundreds of people missing today.
What is New Orleans like today?
Before Hurricane Katrina, the city’s population was
about 450,000. Today around 150,000 people are
still living somewhere else, and have not returned to
their homes. Some may never return. Although things
are slowly improving in New Orleans, life in the city will
probably never be the same again.
“Hurricane Katrina
was one of the
most damaging
hurricanes in the
history of the USA.”
3
Ascolta e leggi una canzone sulla
grande Alluvione del Mississippi nel 1927.
3.16
1
The levee’s goin’ to break
If it keeps on raining the levee’s going to break.
If it keeps on raining the levee’s going to break
And the water goin’ to come in, I’ll have no
place to stay.
Well all last night I sat on the levee and moaned
Well all last night I sat on the levee and moaned
Thinkin’ ’bout my baby, and my happy home.
If it keeps on raining the levee’s going to break.
If it keeps on raining the levee’s going to break
And all these people have no place to stay.
Now look here mama, what am I to do?
Now look here mama, what am I to do?
I ain’t got nobody to tell my troubles to.
Glossary
damaging devastante
flood inondazione
tropical storm temporale
tropicale
lake lago
banks rive
levee argine
2
sewage rete fognaria
supply fornitura
authorities autorità
departure partenza
criticism critiche
army esercito
missing scomparso
Decidi se le frasi sono True (T) o False (F).
Correggi le frase false.
New Orleans was the first place that Hurricane
Katrina hit.
F – Florida was the first place it hit.
1 There are many hurricanes in the Gulf of
Mexico.
2 The levees weren’t strong enough for such a
powerful hurricane.
3 Nobody told the people of New Orleans that a
hurricane was coming.
4 Most people were able to leave the city before
the floods arrived.
5 The US government reacted to the emergency
immediately.
6 The population of New Orleans today is less
than 450,000.
I works on the levee, mama, both night and day.
I works on the levee, mama, both night and day
I ain’t got nobody to keep the water away
Presentazione orale
4 Project
Prepara una presentazione orale
su un disastro naturale avvenuto in Italia
o nel mondo. Prendi degli appunti usando
le seguenti domande per aiutarti. Parla per
circa 2 minuti. ES
t
t
t
t
t
When and where did it happen?
How did it start?
How many people died?
What damage did it cause?
How did it change the area, or people’s lives?
Look!
Assicurati di saper dire correttamente i numeri in inglese:
100
Si dice: a hundred / one hundred
1,000
Si dice: a thousand / one thousand
1,304
Si dice: one thousand, three hundred and four
10,000
Si dice: ten thousand
1,000,000 Si dice: a million / one million
DVD 3 Puoi trovare ulteriori informazioni
sull’ambiente nel Culture 1 del DVD e
a pag. 30.
3
2
Culture club
The history of Australia
1
Leggi il brano. Scrivi i titoli dei paragrafi al posto corretto.
Emigration in the 19th century Australia becomes a federation
Britain and Australia in the 20th century British colonisation Early exploration
1 Early exploration
The native people of Australia are the Aborigines. They
have lived there for more than 60,000 years. From the
1st century other explorers from Asia visited the island.
In the early
1
17th century,
Europeans
E
arrived,
a
especially
from
f
Portugal
and
a Holland,
but
b Europeans
did
d not settle
in
i Australia
till
t around the
17
1 th and 18th
ccenturies.
2
In 1770 Captain James Cook from England landed on
the east coast of Australia. He named it ‘New South
Wales’. The area became part of the British Empire.
Life in Britain was very hard at that time. There was a
lot of crime and prisons weren’t big enough for all the
prisoners. The government started sending prisoners to
another country far away. In the 17th and 18th centuries,
this country was North America. When America became
independent in 1783, the British government had to
find another country for convicts. Australia was the
perfect solution. In 1787, eleven ships sailed to Australia
from Portsmouth. Half of the people on the ships were
convicts. They arrived in New South Wales on 20th
January 1788. They found the perfect place to start a
colony, and named it Sydney, after the British Home
Secretary. It is now Australia’s largest city.
4
3
Convicts were not the only people to go to Australia.
From the 1800s, many Britons, and later Europeans,
left their home country to start a new life there. Sheep
farming became an important industry and, in 1851,
when they discovered gold, immigration increased.
From 1850 to 1860 the population grew from 400,000 to
1.2 million.
4
There were six colonies in Australia: New South Wales,
Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria, Queensland, and
Western Australia. On 1st January 1901, the six colonies
became a federation of states called the Commonwealth
of Australia.
5
After World War II, the Australian government
encouraged immigration, to help build up the economy.
In the twenty years after the end of the war, more than
2 million people moved to Australia from Europe, mostly
from Britain. During the 20th century, Australia became
more independent from Britain. The Australia Act of
1986 meant that the Australian government, not Britain,
made all the laws in Australia. However, the Queen is still
Australia’s monarch.
Glossary
native nativo
explorer esploratore
settle insediarsi
fertile fertile
crime delinquenza
prison prigione
prisoner prigioniero
convict detenuto
colony colonia
increase aumentare
encourage favorire
monarch monarca
2
Abbina le date agli eventi.
1st century 1770 1783 1788 1851
1901 1940s to 1960s 1986
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
3
1783
America becomes independent
from Britain
Australia, not Britain, begins to
make its laws
Captain Cook lands in Australia
explorers from Asia come to
Australia
more than 2 million immigrants
arrive in Australia
the Australian ‘gold rush’
begins
the colonies of Australia
become a federation
the first British convict ships
arrive in Australia
2
Presentazione orale
5 Project
Prepara una presentazione orale
sulla storia dell’emigrazione italiana. Leggi
il brano e prendi degli appunti usando
le domande per aiutarti. Parla per circa 2
minuti. ES
Between 1870 and 1900, more than 7 million
Italians emigrated. Most were from the north of
Italy, and emigrated to other European countries.
Between 1900 and 1913, more than 9 million
emigrated. Most were from the south, and
emigrated to North and South America.
Rispondi alle domande. ES
1 Why did Britain send so many convicts to
other countries in the 18th century?
2 Why did convicts stop going to America?
3 Why did people who were not convicts come
to Australia in the 19th century?
4 Why did the Australian government want to
attract immigrants after World War II?
4
Ascolta e leggi questo inno australiano
non ufficiale.
3.17
Waltzing Matilda
Once a jolly swagman camped
by a billabong,
Under the shade of a Coolibah
tree,
And he sang as he watched and
waited till his billy boiled,
You’ll come a Waltzing Matilda
with me.
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda,
You’ll come a Waltzing Matilda
with me,
And he sang as he watched and
waited till his billy boiled,
You’ll come a Waltzing Matilda
with me.
t What were the main reasons for this mass
emigration?
t What role did the unification of Italy play?
t What other reasons for emigration – health,
poverty, social and religious differences – had a
part to play in Italy’s history? How?
Look!
Assicurati di saper dire correttamente le date in inglese:
1870 eighteen seventy
1900 nineteen hundred
1906 nineteen hundred and six / nineteen oh six
1913 nineteen thirteen
between 1870 and 1900 tra il 1870 e il 1900
in 1913 nel 1913
(in) the nineteen fifties (negli) anni Cinquanta
(in) the 19th century (nel) diciannovesimo secolo
on the first of May il primo maggio
DVD 3 Puoi trovare ulteriori informazioni
su Sydney, Australia nel Culture 2 del DVD e
a pag. 31.
5
3
Culture club
Famous authors: C.S. Lewis
1
Hai mai letto uno dei libri de Le Cronache di Narnia? Quale?
Che ne pensi? Leggi il brano sull’autore, C.S. Lewis.
Clive Staples Lewis, (who preferred to be called Jack), was born in
Belfast, Northern Ireland, on 29th November, 1898. He had a happy
childhood with his parents and brother Warren, playing in the long,
dark passages of their big family home, and reading books.
But when Lewis’s mother died of cancer in 1908, his father sent
the two brothers to a boarding school in England.
Lewis
In 1916 Lewis went to Oxford University, but he left in 1917, when he
joined the army in World War I. Lewis returned to Oxford in 1918 at
the end of the war, and lived there for 45 years.
While he was a lecturer at Oxford University, Lewis began writing
books. In 1926, he met another young lecturer, J.R.R. Tolkien.
The two men became good friends. After one long discussion, during a
walk one night in 1931, the world of literature changed forever. Their
discussion was about fantasy worlds and time travel. Each influenced
the other’s work. Lewis first had the idea to write a children’s book in
1939. At this time, the start of World War II, many children went to
live with families in the country because it was safer than being in the
cities. Some young children came to live in Lewis’s home. One child was
very interested in playing in a wardrobe in Lewis’s house, and he
began to write a story for the children to read. In 1950, his story
became the classic book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Lewis wrote six more Narnia books. They weren’t published
in the same order in which he wrote them, but people usually
read them in the published order.
The last one was The Last Battle, in 1956. At first reviewers
didn’t like the books, but they soon became very popular.
They have sold around 100 million copies.
Tolkien
In 1956, just after he finished the last Narnia book, he married
Joy Gresham. He continued to write, but spent most of his
time caring for Joy, who had cancer. She died in 1960.
Lewis died on 22nd November 1963.
Did you know?
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on
the same day that Lewis died – 22nd November
1963. The author of Brave New World, Aldous
Huxley, also died on the 22nd November.
6
Glossary
passage corridoio
cancer cancro
boarding school collegio
fantasy worlds mondi
fantastici
time travel viaggi nel
tempo
influence (v) influenzare
compare confrontare
publish pubblicare
assassinate assassinare
2
Numera correttamente gli eventi.
He finished the last Narnia book.
He got married.
He and his brother went to boarding school.
He joined the army.
He met J.R.R. Tolkien.
He wrote The Lion, the Witch and the
Wardrobe.
His wife died.
Lewis went to Oxford University to study.
1 Lewis’s mother died.
Some children from the city came to live in
his home in the country.
3
Leggi alcuni estratti del capitolo iniziale
di The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Rispondi alle domande. ES
3
3 Why did she leave the door open?
4 What was the ‘hard and rough and even
prickly’ thing she could feel?
5 What did she find, instead of the back of the
wardrobe?
Presentazione orale
4 Project
Prepara una presentazione orale su
un classico italiano della letteratura. Prendi
degli appunti usando le seguenti domande
per aiutarti. Parla per circa 2 minuti. ES
What is the book called?
Who wrote it, and when?
What is it about? Who are the characters?
What do you know about the writer’s life?
Did the writer’s life play a role in the story?
How?
t Did you like this book? Why, or why not?
t
t
t
t
t
Dante
L
ooking into the inside, she saw several
coats hanging up – mostly long fur coats.
There was nothing Lucy liked so much as the
smell and feel of fur. She immediately stepped
into the wardrobe and got in among the coats
and rubbed her face against them, leaving
the door open, of course, because she knew
that it is very foolish to shut oneself into any
wardrobe.
Next moment she found that what was
rubbing against her face and hands was no
longer soft fur but something hard and rough
and even prickly. “Why, it is just like branches
of trees!” exclaimed Lucy. And then she saw
that there was a light ahead of her; not a few
inches away where the back of the wardrobe
ought to have been, but a long way off.
Something cold and soft was falling on her. A
moment later she found that she was standing
in the middle of a wood at night-time with
snow under her feet and snowflakes falling
through the air.
1 What did Lucy see in the wardrobe?
2 Why did she get inside the wardrobe?
Look!
In inglese, le date di solito si scrivono così:
29 November / November 29 / 29th November /
November 29th.
Ma quando parliamo di una data, diciamo:
the twenty-ninth of November / on November the
twenty-ninth.
Si usa on se parliamo di una data specifica:
on the twenty-second of November
ma si usa in se citiamo soltanto il mese o l’anno:
in November
in 1963
DVD 3 Puoi trovare ulteriori informazioni
su un altro scrittore inglese nel Culture 3 del
DVD e a pag. 32.
7
4
Culture club
A media giant
1
Leggi le seguenti affermazioni su Rupert Murdoch. Quale di
queste lo descrive meglio? Leggi il brano e controlla le risposte.
1
2
3
4
He owns MySpace.com.
He owns the satellite TV company Sky Italia.
He owns many newspapers and TV companies around the world.
He owns businesses worth £30 billion.
Rupert Murdoch was born in Australia in 1931.
His family was very rich and his father owned a
newspaper group there. When he was 22, his father
died and Murdoch became head of the family
business. He was very successful, and eventually
owned newspapers, magazines and TV stations all
over Australia. He then began to look for business
opportunities in other countries. A new British
daily newspaper, The Sun, started in 1964, but
it was not very successful. Murdoch bought it in
1969. By 2006 its sales were three million copies
per day. In 1981, he bought The Times (and The
Sunday Times) and in 1986, he bought The News
of the World, the most popular Sunday newspaper
in Britain.
Many people have criticised him for making
newspapers ‘less serious’. They also criticise him
for using the media he controls to spread his own
political opinions. During the 1980s and early
90s, Murdoch’s newpapers supported the British
Conservative party under Prime Minister Margaret
Thatcher. After the 1997 election, which Tony Blair
won, Murdoch supported the Labour party. This
support is very important for political parties and
governments because newspapers often influence
the way
y ppeople
p think.
During the
1980s and 1990s,
Murdoch’s business empire has grown to include
film (Twentieth Century Fox studios), print (his
many newspapers and HarperCollins Publishers),
the Internet (MySpace.com) and even sporting
organisations (he owns 50% of the National Rugby
League, and he also owns the rights to Premiership
football in the UK). In addition to this, News
Corporation, which Murdoch started in 1980, is now
the world’s biggest media company. It includes TV
networks, satellite TV, including Sky Italia, as well
as major newspapers around the world. In 1985 he
changed his nationality from Australian to American.
Although he is now in his 70s, Murdoch has not
retired, and is still in control of his empire. He has
appointed three of his children to run some of his
companies.
Glossary
daily (adj) quotidiano
criticise criticare
spread diffondere
support (v) essere un
sostenitore di
support (n) sostegno
election elezione
…The headlines of The
Sun in 1992, when the
n
Conservative party won
the election, and 1997,
when the Labour party
won…
8
influence influenzare
rights diritti
network rete
retire andare in pensione
appoint nominare
run (v) gestire
2
Rispondi alle domande. ES
3
Rispondi alle domande.
4
1 Where is Rupert Murdoch from?
2 When and how did he enter the world of
newspaper publishing?
Name: Rupert Murdoch
1 What nationality is Rupert Murdoch?
3 How do we know that he was successful from
the start?
4 When did he buy his first British newspaper?
5 How successful was this newspaper in 2006?
6 What two criticisms do many people make
about Murdoch’s business?
7 How old is the company, News Corporation?
8 When did Murdoch change his nationality?
2 When was he born?
3 How old was he when he took over his father’s
business?
4 When did he buy The Sun?
5 How many copies did The Sun sell in 2006?
6 When did he buy The Times and The Sunday
Times?
7 Which newspaper did he buy in 1986?
8 Which political party did he support in the 1980s
and the 1990s?
9 What year did the Labour party win the election
with Murdoch’s support?
10 Which Italian network does Murdoch own?
Presentazione orale
4 Project
Prepara una presentazione orale su
un gigante italiano dei media. Prendi degli
appunti usando le seguenti domande per
aiutarti. Parla per circa 2 minuti. ES
Did you know?
Rupert Murdoch owns Fox News and Fox
Broadcasting. These companies broadcast the
popular series, The Simpsons. Murdoch was
once a character in an episode of The Simpsons.
In the episode, Homer Simpson and some of his
friends break into a privately owned ‘skybox’
at the Superbowl stadium to watch a baseball
game. The owner of the skybox is Murdoch.
He arrives at his skybox and says, ‘I’m Rupert
Murdoch, the billionaire tyrant, and this is my
skybox.’ Murdoch wrote those words.
Who is Italy’s biggest media giant?
When and where was he born?
How did he start his media business?
What media in Italy or elsewhere does he
own?
t How does he influence the media?
t Are there any similarities or differences
between his business and Rupert Murdoch’s
business?
t
t
t
t
DVD 3 Puoi trovare ulteriori informazioni
su un gigante della tecnologia Internet nel
Culture 4 del DVD e a pag. 33.
9