News from the UK Roses are Red Today is Valentine`s day. I wonder

Transcription

News from the UK
Say it in English!
_
Roses are Red
5
Today is Valentine’s day. I wonder if Britney Spears has sent Prince William a Valentine card. Perhaps not, as Buckingham Palace has already told Britney’s music agent that she should stop sending
him so many e-mails. Well, I suppose 15 a day is quite a lot. But I’m sure that the future King of
England got lots of Valentine cards this year through the Royal Mail with verses written in them like
this one:
10
Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
Your lips are sweet.
Here’s a kiss for you!
15
20
25
30
It’s true. Most of us girls over here - and perhaps some of the boys, too - would like to give our shy
Prince Charming a kiss. But what about the other boys who aren’t handsome princes, pop or film
stars? There probably hasn’t been a worse time for teenage boys in Britain. Not only are boys getting overtaken by girl power at school - the girls are getting better exam results in all subjects - last
week the boys got another blow from the 15-year-old daughter of the US Ambassador, who complained that “British boys really suck”. American schools are full of athletic and tanned males. The
British equivalents, she says, “are thin, pale and look unhealthy.” Their clothes are terrible, their
trousers are too tight and they have no charm. At parties they ask girls one or two stupid questions
and then want to get as many snogs as possible instead of trying to have a conversation. In America,
dating is a "routine part" of adolescence. Young men are taught the rules of courtship, which helps
them be polite and confident. On the other hand, British teenagers can only talk as if they’ve got
more than one toffee in their mouths, or grunt like pigs and hope for the best.
And what do young British chaps think about all of this? They say that life isn’t easy for teenage
boys. Girls prefer older men, who have the money to wine and dine them. The boys feel that they
can’t compete and so they have stopped trying. They also feel terribly shy and that snogging at parties is “the easiest and best way to meet a girl”. And at least they can fit into tight trousers, unlike
“horrible fat American teenagers”. They may not be good at seducing but that’s because they are
sensitive little flowers. Really, girls, they “are just thinking of your feelings”.
I’m not so sure. I think I agree with the Ambassador’s daughter, who by the way, is so cute that she
would probably make Prince William’s head turn. Which reminds me, I haven’t read one of the Valentine cards that I got today. Here it is. It says:
35
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
When I see a marshmallow,
I think of you.
40
That’s sweet. I wonder who it’s from. Didn’t I read that our Prince Charming likes marshmallows or
is it his father ...?
Autorin: Jennifer Gallagher
© Cornelsen Verlag 2001
1
Weitere Materialien finden Sie unter
http://www.cornelsen-teachweb.de/co/newsfromtheuk
News from the UK
Say it in English!
_
New words
(8) violet - Veilchen
(16) blow - Schlag
(17) really suck – Slang für: schrecklich, furchtbar sein
(18) pale - blass
(19) tight - eng
(20) snog – umgangssprachlich für: Kuss
(21) to date somebody - mit jm. gehen (=fest befreundet sein)
(22) courtship – Regeln für den Umgang mit dem anderen Geschlecht; Regeln der Brautwerbung
(22) confident - selbstsicher
(24) grunt - grunzen
(26) chap - Kerl
(28) compete - jm. Konkurrenz machen
(30) seduce - verführen
(31) sensitive - empfindlich
(34) cute - niedlich, süß
Text questions:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Who did Buckingham Palace tell to stop sending Prince William so many e-mails?
a) Britney Spears b) Britney’s music agent c) Susie Sweet
Who is Prince Charming?
Who are doing better at school? The boys or the girls?
Who complained about British boys?
What do British boys want to do at parties? a) ask girls interesting questions b) eat sweets c) kiss
girls
Who do British boys have to compete with?
Do British boys think that American boys are athletic?
Language questions:
1
2
3
4
5
Can you describe in your own words how somebody is when they are ‘charming’?
What are the opposites of these words? a) thin b) polite c) confident d) best
What do you think ‘hope for the best’ means? Discuss.
What does ‘wine and dine’ mean?
To ‘make someone’s head turn’ is a well-known idiom. What does it mean? a) someone has noticed you because they think you’re beautiful b) someone is unhappy about something you have said
c) somebody is screaming at you because you have done something silly
Transfer questions:
1 How would you describe German boys?
2 Do you think sending Valentine cards is a good idea? If so, why?
3 What do you like to do at parties? Discuss.
2
News from the UK
Say it in English!
_
Teacher’s page
Roses are Red: Model answers to text and language questions
Text questions :
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
b) Britney’s music agent
Prince William
The girls. They are getting better exam results.
The US Ambassador’s daughter.
c) kiss girls
Older men who have money.
No. British boys think that American boys are fat and horrible.
Language questions:
1 Somebody is charming when they do something to please you because they want to make you like
them or do what they want you to do?
2 a) thin - fat b) polite - rude c) confident - shy d) best - worst
3 To hope that something will happen, especially when it probably won’t happen.
4 ‘Wine and dine’ means to take someone to an expensive meal with good wine.
5 a) someone has noticed you because they think you’re beautiful
3

News from the UK Roses are Red Today is Valentine`s day. I wonder

Transcription

Similar documents

The Flight to India

Thema: Jesu Nachfolger - seine Braut