TEXTS 7.

Happiness
I
I
Psychology Report C
Q
What makes people happy? Cl

S oap operas may be full of crime,

infidelity and rowing, but watching
them regularly might make you
happier, according to Dr Michael Argyle and
Apart from soap watchers, the team also
found that people who belong to a team ~r
a club tend to be happier for the same
reason; that they have a sense of
0
:a:
Dr Luo Lu from the Department of belonging to a community.
Experimental Psychology at Oxford
Dr Argyle said: 'We found that extroverts
University.
are happier than introverts because of
lt is not so much what you do as how you their leisure activities. Those who go to o;
feel about it that decides whether or not
you are happy, and soap addicts may get
more pleasure out of life because they feel
noisy dances and parties also tend to be
happy. I suppose they are too busy
enjoying themselves. '
=
they belong to the imaginary communities
But apparently introverts were also made
whose lives they follow day by day.
happier when they did the same things.
0::1
The psychologists questioned 131 people o::::11
on their leisure activities. 'Those who
watch a lot of TV are less happy.' said Dr
Argyle, 'In fact they are likely to be bored.

-
But those who watch a lot of soaps are an a:I
exception. The soaps show a cosy,
supportive world which they can join.'

--
'People who have been watching the same
d
soap opera· for 20 years often feel they
know the characters better than some of

--
their friends,' he said. 'l'm too busy to
watch soap operas and my wite likes
fi lms,' he added, 'but we are happy.'

--
--
p~
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-
O WUJ Forsyth I 996. PubUshed by Hdnanann English languagc Tcachlng. This shcct may be photocoplcd md used within the class,

......
,il'
 TEXTS 7.2

_ _ _Who is happy?
Fraends, fam1ly, exc1tement, a farmhouse in ltaly with olive trees, and being true
to oneself - all contribute to that most elusive of human emotions
Franco Zeffirelli, 66 Barry Hearn, 43
Film director Sports promoter
You know how it is when you're not happy, when something Yes, l'm happy. For me everything that's exciting makes me
torments you ... but God, the re are so many things that make happy - l'm even frightened to go to sleep in case I miss
me happy: being with friends, the innocence of children something. I also love to create excitement, like the big fight
reading a good book, making movies. Unhappiness mu~t be next Saturday, for example - the world super middle weight
fought when it creeps up on you early in the morning. But when championship. 1'11 have a good time. I carry this love of excite-
you leap. up and cross yourself, life unfolds itself and problems ment into my marriage, too which after 21 years is anything
go back mto the corner. I pray to God, le buone anime of my but stale, and in my children. Of course, there are moments of
parents and my sister. I get a feeling of comfort from the spirits unhappiness, but you've got to bounce back. You know what
of people no longer with us, who love us. we are on this universe? Just insignificant specks.
---D~vid Owen, 53 ------- ------- ------
Amanda de Cadenet, 19
MP TV presenter
Yes, I think that l'm basically a happy person, and l'm lucky to l've just asked my boyfriend , and he reckons happiness is
lead a happy life. I think happiness is usually, but not exclu- food, sex and Chanel. I think he's right. I guess the idea of
sively, associated with the people you love - especially your having a baby in April also makes me happy. But l'm not really
family. For me, it's also a sailing boat, with a stiff following content unless l'm working - I get bored, my brain's got to be
breeze, with all five of us together, and a line over the side active. A change of routine upsets me - like sleeping in
trying to catch mackerel. As for advice on achieving this state, different hotel rooms without all my familiar things around me.
But these are all superficial, things that merely
well, that's hard, isn't it? Perhaps Polonius's advice to Laertes
sums it up: ''This above all: to thine own self be true, / And it soothe. When things go wrong, I think: it could be worse. And,
must follow, as the night the day, I Thou canst not then be false sure enough, six months later you wonder why you thought it
was so bad.
-~o-~~-~!~:-__ --------------------- --------------- Peter Hobday, 54
Sernice Rubens, 63
Novelist Broadcaster
I consider myself contented rather than happy - but l've only For me, being happy is a bit of everything. For a widower
managed it late in life, in the last 10 to 15 years. lt's the result who's managed to bring up two children who stil! seem to like
of board meetings I hold with myself. You sit down and work speaking to me, that's a cause for great happiness. lf there
out the nature of your concern and what your priorities are. lt's were a sort of hierarchy of happiness, l'd say it's family, a job
also important to know whether you're living according to your that helps me pay the mortgage, and nature. I have a tiny little
values or other people's. The secret is to be true to yourself. farmhouse in ltaly, in Umbria. Weil, at the cost of sounding
women are less afraid than men to analyse themselves, even if whimsical l've never felt so happy as when I heard the news
the conclusion they come to is a difficult one to face up to. But this year, that my olive trees had survived a particularly cold
you can't avoid it if you're going to find any kind of peace. February- I like the idea of olio vergine Hobday.
-Tim waterstone~ 5-2---------------------------- -Ma-rgy Kinmo-n-tt1~-3s--------------------------
Bookseller TV director
In my young days I was fiercely competitiv_e and desperate to . At the moment l'm incredibly happy. I wasn't a few years ago,
make my mark in life. Now l'm much happ1er: l've had recogrn- but now l'm sure of myself - both at work and socially. lt's
tion and l've people I love - I certainly associate happiness partly recognition: l've had a couple of years of winning
with love. My personal relationships must be in good shape, awards, and l'm having wonderful job offers .. . yet the feeling
with any emotional muddles sorted out. l've six children of success comes so late after the event, and not when you
between the ages of 10 and 27, so that's import~nt. But a~ l've most need the support. Otherwise my idea of happiness is
been married three times l'v_e a!so known !he m1sery of thmgs painting by the sea. In contrast to doing a film, I don't have to
going wrong _ periods of bhndmg unhappmess._F~r ~e, the , delegate - it's an artistic activity which is entirely mine. lt's the
k to self-esteem is to face up to problems . Th1s 1sn t new; I ve equivalent of fishing - it's meditative. lt can be freezing cold,
k~~wn it since I was three years old, but l've only been putting but I don't notice. I get lost in the sheer pleasure of it; you're
it into practice lately. not aware of anything - it's like falling in love.

------------------------------------------------

&

----~~~~~=~==~~====-~=~=~~=----- ~~t-.~
<0 Will Forsyth 1996. Publishcd by Heinemann English wguagc Tcachlng.
Thls shcet may be pbotocopicd and uscd wlthin the c:Iass. /
/,,,~o
 _,_ .;J

TASK SHEET 7.1

'7J Happiness
Reading O Work in pairs. Ask your partner questio ns 1 and 2 -

1 Which of the followin g:

do you enjoy?
did you enjoy as a child? _ _ _ _ __

:r:
have you never enjoyed? _ _ __ __

a having family rows

b peaceful leisure activities such as fishing
1
c exciting leisure activities such as parachu ting
ci;:.
d watchin g soap on TV

=i=-
,.
e torment ing people you do not Wce
f
g
being supporti ve to friends in need
dreamin g about imaginar y things
=t=-
h being cosy and all alone at home

2 Choose ten of the followin g which are importa nt to your happine ss and
in order from the one you would most hate to lose down to the one you
hate to lose. You can group some together if need be.

money good food romantic relations hip(s) children family friends

put them
would least
i
et;a
marriage
having a routine work reading sport art self-know ledge self-este
em
religious or spiritual belief achievin g your ambition (s) success and recognit
ion
=r-
a;a
3 Compar e your answers . How similar are they?

O c;:a
••
Work in four groups and discuss.

I Are the followin g true? In Column 1, write T (true), F (false) or? (unsure)
. Do not
write in Column 2.

People tend to b e happy if they: Column 1 Column 2

a watch a lot of TV
c::11
b
c
watch a lot of soaps
fee! they belong to a commun ity
==-
c::tl
d are busy
e be long to a team
c::11
f belong to a club c::11
g go to noisy parties
c:i:I
h are extrover ted
are introver ted
What we do does not affect how w e fee!.
=-
c=I

--
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==a
TASK SHEET 7.2

;:::::a 2 Read Psychology Report: What makes people happy? Write T, F or ? in Column 2
according to the psychologists' survey and check your answers together.
;:;:a 3 Decide if you believe the article. Compare your opinion with the other group.
;;::a 0 Read about what makes two people happy, answer the questions 1-3
;::a below and check that you all agree.

Are these two people happy?

;;a 1

2 Tick the things they mention and remember what they say about it.
;;a money food sex children family friends marriage routine work reading
=a sport art self-knowledge self-esteem religious or spiritual belief ambition(s)
success and recognition
;;:a
3 Does happiness seem natura! and easy for each of them?

.
• If so, why do you think that is?

: • If not, how do they try/have they tried to become happy?

: 4J) Form new groups of students from each of the four groups. Compare the

C: •
. eight people you have read about. Find out:

2
Is there any one thing that makes all eight people happy?

What are the four most common causes of happiness?

3 Do these eight people's answers support any of the findings or speculations of the
psychology report?

Speaking Q In your group, make up your own questionna ire to find out what brings
happiness.

1 Write up to five questions which you think the interviewer, Giuliana Ashford, may
have asked these eight people.

2 Add questions of your own up to a total of ten questions.

3 Everyone must have their own copy of the questionnaire; make sure they are the
same!

O Interview the people in your class.

1 Split up and interview people from another group.

2 Form the groups that wrote the questionnaire again and compare your answers.
Prepare a short statement to present to the class saying what, according to your survey,
brings most happiness.

0 Present your results to the class.

l
C li i

1.
I:
I,
I
I
,-
I: "li
'.
&
-~~~~~=====:=~=~~~~~---------===~
© Will Forsyth 1996. Published by Heinemann English l.2nguagc Tcaching. This shect may be photocoplcd and
uscd within the class. 00
o~
 WORDS AND PHRASES

Happiness
G Are these definitions correct? Write T (true) ifthe definition is correct
I
and F (false) if it is not. Correct the false definitions.

1 If you creep up on someone, you approach them noisily and obviously.

I
2 'He's anything but stupid' means he is not stupid. I
3 If bread or a friendship is stale, it is old, unpleasant and without interest. I
4 If you bounce back from a disaster, you recover from it with energy. I
5 If the piane is a speck in the sky, it looks enormous.
I
6 A breeze is sttjf, if it is weak.
I
7 If you have a line over the side, you are probab.ly fishing.

8 Alicia said 'He's merely 45' because she thinks he is stili young.
I
9 A priorlty is something which is important. r
1O If music or a poem is wbimsical, it is pretty and sad and sweet all at the same t
time.
E
11 If your health, your house, your work, your life or your personal relationships
are in good sbape, they are fine. Il
12 Your self-esteem is your respect for yourself. Il
13 Ifyouface up to your problems, you try to solve them.
El
14 You delegate a piece ofwork when you get someone to do it in your place.
Il
O Fili the space in each sentence with an adjective formed from the verb or C
noun on the left.
1%
1 meditate I'm just feeling quiet and

2 imagine Your problems aren't real; they're

3 compete You have to be to be successful. I

4 support He worked hard and his parents were very , but he m
wasn't successful.

5 fidelity I think it's important to be

IC
6 misery He's been feeling all day.

7 innocence Young children always look so

a=
8 excitement We've bad a really day! IC
9 recognition She's a authority on our local history. C
IC
C
Ct
c, Will Forsyth 1996. Publl.shcd by Heinemann English L2ngu2gc Teachlng. This shcct may be phOlocopicd :lfld uscd w ithin the cb.ss.

I
 TEXTS 10.1

Life Stories
1l®
sure of fraud and financial scandal,
N az~u Virani, his wite and their
ch1ld arrived in Britain from
Uganda in 1972 as refugees from the
London, for f.2.7 million, followed by
eight former British hotels and a
stake in the Belhaven Group, a Scottish
rocked the financial world. BCCI
collapsed owing between f,1.3 and
repression and atrocities of ldi Amin brewing and hotel chain. They went on f.3 .8 million to Control Securities
the then president of Uganda. They had to buy and run in the region of 800 which had been using BCCl's banking
$20 between them. public houses and , in partnership with facilities for some time and was the
Mr Virani worked as an assistant in a a Dr Pharoan, another Saudi Arabian, landlord of the bank's London offices
supermarke t in South London and eleven Spanish holiday hotels in the and UK head office. BCCI held a 5.4
despite not having credit references, he Costa Almeria, Costa del Sol and the percent sharehold ing in Control
eventually managed to persuade a Balearics. Securities. Unfortunately for Control
landlord to sell him the lease on a By 1991, Control Securities had Securities it also emerged that Dr
shop. Nazmu sent him a bottle of become one of the top 20 property Pharoan, of Control Securities' Spanish
champagne and stili sends him one companies with accounts showing connection, turned out to be a key
every Christmas. assets of f.269 million. Virani was figure in BCCI and was under investiga-
Having a talent for spotting under- elected Asian of the Year in 1990 and is tion in the USA for a number of irregu-
valued assets, Virani was able to set up an enthusiastic fund-raiser for a wide larities associated with the bank.
Virani Group UK Ltd with his two range of charities including the Prince The scandal led to the investigation
younger brothers, Alnasir and Zulfikar. of Wales's Youth Business Trust. At the by the Serious Fraud Squad of Control
They bought and successfully ran shop beginning of the year he returned to Securities and raids on their offices
after shop, eventually establishing a Uganda for the first time since his and the homes of the three brothers. lt
chain of 17 supermarkets after which escape. He was given a hero's welcome transpired that, without declaring the
they bought the Hansel and Gretel and the new President, Mr Museveni, debts, the company owed a total of
hotel in the West End. said 'Mr Virani is very important for more than il 10 mi Ilion to their
In the mid 1980s, in partnership with us.' bankers; Barclays (f,50m), Sumitomo
a Saudi Arabian businessman , Dr Control Securities was closely (i35m), Hill Samuel (over f,20m) and
Samuil Malik, the three brothers involved with BCCI, the Bank of Credit the Bank of Scotland (more than Urn)
bought into Control Securities. They and Commerce International, whose and trading was suspended.
became joint managing directors and collapse, brought about by the expo·
to:n; H:ot:e:I ~in~V~i:c:to:r~ia~,
~ b:o:u~g:ht:_:th:e~E:c:c~le:s: 1,---_,_..,.___\,________-.,_

Questioos 2 Write T (true), F (false) or? (not elear) for each

1 Pot these events in chronological order: sentence:
a BCCI collapsed due to corruption. a Nazmu Vuani was the key figure in Vuani Group.

b Control Securities became one of the biggest property b Control Securities was closely involved with financial
criminals.
companies in the UK.
c Control Securities was stopped from trading. c Control Securities owed BCCI money.

d Control Securities was found to owe far more money than d Control Securities acted dishonestly.
I
was believed. e Nazmu Vuani did a great deal of good for a lot of people
e It emerged that Control Securities was closely connected and was voted 'Asian of the Year'.
with BCCI.
f The Viran.is became managing directors of Control 3 Which of the following, in your opinion, would best
Securities. catch the popular appeal of the story?
g Virani bought a supermarket. a British-based company involved in intemational fraud.
h Virani Group bought the Hansel and Gretel. b Nazmu Virani; story of an immigrant in Britain.
i Vuani set up Vuani Group UK. c Temptation too much for self-made success; the man who
made good goes to the bad.
j Virani visited Uganda.

4 Write one or two sentences of your owo summing

up the essence and popular appeal of this story.

I © Wlll Forsyth 1 996. Publlshed by Heinemann English languagc Teaching. This s beet llllly b e p
ho1ocopicd and uscd within the class.
TEXTS 10.2

lee the Pole isn't Polish. He

comes from the Ukraine, but
that's what the people of
Grantown -on-Spey call bim.
In 1918 the Ukraine became a
Soviet Socialist Republic. The fanns
were collectivi zed under Stalin
between 1928 and 1934 and Alec
remember s the starvation that ensued:
'My father was lying beside the hot e
plate. He was moaning away and spit-
ting blood and the last thing I heard
bim asking my mother was of felling a tree to build the table,
" Starushka , (old girl) I would like a remote area, where even the towns-
which was then covered with sausage.
piece of bread and a bottle of milk". I people of nearby Aberdeen are
foreigners, the difference between When they saw bim his older sister
think Sergei 's grave was first, then
Poland and Ukraine is non-existent, Natalie cried out in Russian 'My baby
father, and Ivan was last.'
and as Poland was at least a familiar brother! ' and Uliana looked confused.
Between 1939 and 1945 waves of
name to the Grantowners, he was Alec asked her if she didn ' t know him
war flowed through their village, first
dubbed Alec the Pole. - 'Ask her if she disna know me ' he
the Red Anny, which Alec 's brother
Alec leamed the language and the said - in broad Scottish English 'I just
Nikolai joined, then the German,
customs. He kept a diary and wrote canna for to save my life speak to
which Alec joined. This, of course,
everything down in exercise books them properly somehow. They all
was defection and Alec never dared to
return home. After the war Alec's which he kept in a suitcase. He got seem to be speaking one language and
farnily made sure that both the married and had a daughter and lived I speak another.' Alec could not
brothers' names were written up on there for nearly 50 years before remember how to speak Russian.
the war for heroes of the deciding that he had to visit his old There was nothing much to see
Soviet Union as the whole farnily may home village, now that there was no from his past; his old home a ruin, his
have been slaughtere d for his crime. more fear of reprisals for his ancient mother's grave merely weeds, and
Alec's war brought him, in the early defection. Alec feU down and wept as his
1940s, to Grantown -on-Spey, a small His three sisters and brother were daughter tried to cornfort bim, not
town in north Scotland on the river among the 27 relations and friends knowing what to do. They left a week
Spey between Invemess and Aberdeen who welcomed him and his daughter earlier than planned and went back
and quite close to Loch Ness. In such at the station. They had prepared a home - to Grantown -on-Spey where
a misty, comparati vely mountaino us, feast for his return, even to the extent he is stili known as Alec the Pole.

Questions c Alec carne to Scotland by chance, possibly as a prisoner

1 Put these events in chronolog ical order. of war.
a Alec joined the army and left Ukraine. d Alec was able to communk ate with his Ukrainian
b Alec settled in Scotland. relatives.
c Alec's futher died. e Alec probably becarne fumous because of his diaries.
d He found that he had completely forgotten his native
language. 3 Which of the following , in your opinion, would
best catch the popular appeal of the story?
e He bad a daughter.
a Scots believe Ukrainian is from Poland.
f He visited his home village.
g The second world war carne. b The history man; one man 's joumey from Stalinist Russia,
through the Second World War to the collapse of the
h l}kraine becarne collectivized under communism . Berlin Wall.
2 Write T (true), F (false) or? (not elear) for each c Homecoming. Fifty years on, the refugee returns to find
sentence. Sttangers, no home and no native tongue.
a Alec was Polish. 4 Write one or two sentences of your own summing
b Life under communism was hard for Alec's fumily. up the essence and popular appeal of this story.

_
© wm Forsyth 1996. Publishcd by Heinemann English langua 8c Tcachln and uscd w ithin the
g . 11lis shcct m ay be
 TEXTS 10.3

n
11!.1
ACKIE Kay is adopted, which became obvious
at an early age since she and her adoptive
carne from ... that if they had not been chosen for
adoption they would be rotting in some terrible insti-
brother, Maxie, are both black while her parents tution somewhere in the Third World. That does not
are white Glaswegians. do much for your self-esteem.'
Since the age of 12 she has been recording both her Like all adopted children Kay wondered who her
own experience of adoption and that of the two real mother might be and as a child she fantasized
mothers in poems which, collected and published in that she might be the daughter of Shirley Bassey. It
October 1991 as The Adoption Papers, have attracted was only after becoming pregnant with her son,
considerable attention for their sensitivity and refusal Matthew, in 1988, that she began a genuine search
to simplify a subject which is frequently misrepre- and found her.
sented by sentimentality or an excess of guilt. She, her birth mother, had had an affair at 19 with a
'I wanted to write about adoption in a serious way, Nigerian student, which at that time was entirely
because it is a subject that is so rarely examined in art unacceptable and so, when the liaison led to the birth
or literature,' Kay explained to Lisa O'Kelly in a 1991 of a daughter and the father left, the child had to be
interview for the Observer newspaper. 'It comes up given away, the altemative being ostracism. 'When I
in soaps and movies, but only in a silly way. It is got home,' Kay writes on behalf of her real mother, 'I
usually treated like a fairy story which ends happily went out in the garden ... and dug a hole the size of
when the child meets its birth mother and they find my baby.'
they share the same characteristics and mannerisms Now living in London with her son and a woman
and have plenty to talk about. Life isn' t like that. friend, Kay is stili uncertain about meeting her birth
'On the whole, I think black children are better off mother. 'She is white and a nurse from Edinburgh.
in black families,' says Kay, but her own taught her We have been in touch by telephone and letter since I
to live easily with the fact that she had first contacted her but we have not
been adopted. 'There used to be an met. Not because I don't want to, but
attitude that I was the lucky one to because it's such a delicate, painhtl,
have been chosen by my parents. My· difficult situation.'
mother used to tell me not to !et The cycle of poems ends, not with a
anyone make me feel that way.' meeting, but with a description of
She feels that many black children herself lying in bed waiting for a

C
·•,.
C: J
adopted into white families 'were
made to fee! bad about where they
/
letter, for 'the soft thud of her words
on the mat.'

cl
• Questions

•
1 Put these events in chronological order. f People outside Kay's adoptive f.unily thought that Kay
C: ' a The Adoption Papers was published. should fee! indebted to her parents for rescuing her.

•
b Kay contacted her birth mother. g Kay blames her birth mother for giving her away.
Cl c She moved to London. h Kay's poems describe not on1y her own feelings and exper-
d She became pregnant with her son. ience, but also, imaginatively, those of her two mothers.
C.' e She started writing poems.

•
c:: f She was adopted. 3 Which of the following, in your opinion, wou.ld best
catch the popu.lar appeal of the story?

=·•
g Kay's son was bom.

,,• 2 Write T (true), F (false) or? (not elear) for each

sentence.
a Kay's poems simplify the difficult issues of adoption.
a A problem of colour; Jackie Kay exposes the prejudices
surrounding mixed race relationships and adoptions.
b The voice of Jackie Kay; Jackie, adopted daughter and
product of an illicit affair, makes good as publishing

=~.•
sensation of the year.
I:· . • b Kay believes that her first meeting with her birth mother
I c No fairy story; how it really feels being an adopted daughter
will be like coming home. wondering who your real mother is; or the adoptive mother
c Her birth mother is black. trying to bring her up; or the birth mother, who never
I d Kay thinks her adoptive parents brought her up badly. forgets.

'=·· e Kay thinks that black children should be brought up by

black parents.
4 Write one or two sentences of your own summing up
the essence and popu.lar appeal of this story.

w-:-
I ::li ~~~~=~==:-:::::-:::~=~=::-::-:~:-::::==~~~~~~---------~
' : WW Fo~ 1996. Publlshed by HelnelDJlf\ll English Language Teaching. This sheet may be p hotocopled and uscd within the class. A~
~V
Oc.,O~

p 1111!1
TEXTS 10.4 --
•••••••••••••••••••••• •••••••••••••••••••••• •••••••••••••••••••••• •••••••••••••
LMOST d In 1951 Eileen saw her first badger and
.

A . everything we know
about E1leen Soper comes from
the researches of Duff Hart-
D~vis, published in her biography
Neither she nor her s1ster ever move
from the house and garden they were
bom in, indeed they hardly ever left it at
all. lt was a neighbour who told Hart-
. I became devoted to wild
in~tant Y
animals to an . unusual_ degr~e. She
aUowe~ great t1ts to bu1ld the1r ne~ts
W1/dings: the Secret Garden of Eileen Davis that they had been terrified of w,th hair pulled from her own head, w1th
Saper. lt was Duff Hart-Davis who cancer and thought it could be caught stuffing npped f rom sofas and card-
sorted through the collected Soper like a cold. Mr Soper, their father, board tor~ from book _covers. B~rds and
sisters ' debris and letters from a life- obsessed with disease and germs, had small animals_ ran _w,ld m
their hom~

=-
time of isolation and thereby discov- forbidden their nanny to allow anyone and from hos?1tal E1leen 1~structe~ v1s1-
ered its cause. near them and had even had the doct or tors not to d1sturb the mice nest1ng 1n

=-
Eileen Soper is best known in some remove Eileen's appendix on the her slippers.
circles as the illustrator of many of the kitchen table rather than allow her near As the sisters grew older so their hold
Famous Rve children's books written a hospital. He believed that everything on the h~use and _garden grew weaker.
by Enid Blyton. Others know her as the was contagious, including the 'Dread As one-t1m_e fam1I~ fnends and em-
daughter of George Soper, a distin- Disease' and the two sisters inherit ed ployees ret1red or d1ed they went unre-
guished painter of horses, and as an his obsession. Out of fear they stayed placed as a result of the sist ers' fear
artist in her own right whose post-
humous collection of drawings and
isolated and confined themselves to
the house and garden, even doing their
of cancer. Berett of a gardener the
garden took over, while inside, belong-
=w
ings and rubbish piled up as their isola-
water colours, mostly of wild animals,
went on sale at the Wildlife Art Gallery
shopping by post.
tion grew. c:t
in Lavenham, Suffolk in September r-'"'' -.--.~ In the spring of 1989 when , both in
1991. their eighties, they were finally taken
into hospital, they left behind them a
CAi
Eileen was bom in 1905 and hardly
went to school at all, but under her
father' s tutelage she exhibited two &~•;,st,;:;~
house overflowing with junk; boxes of
papers, bank statements and receipts,
c:a
etchings at the Royal Academy at the piles of old newspapers, plastic bags
age of 15, the youngest ever to have full of clothes, hundreds of carbon R
copies of letters she had sent since
done so. She passed from etching to
book illustration which led to her asso-
ciation with Enid Blyton in 1942 which
1942, and a collection of her own and
her father' s artwork estimated at
c:a
lasted more than 20 years. nearly f.1m.
c:I
et:11
lt:I

-
Questions children's stories by Enid Blyton.
m:I
1 Put these events in chronological order. c Eileen was 84 when she died.
a Eileen saw her first badger and became devoted to wild d Eileen and her sister hardly ever left their home because I
ani.mais. they were terrified of catching cancer. 1::1
b The sisters went into hospital. e Eileen and her sister shared their home with wildlife.
c Eileen's paintings went on sale at the Wildlife Art Gallery. 3 Which of the following, in your opinion, would best 1:1
d Eileen exhibited two etchings at the Royal Academy. catch the popular appeal of the story?
e Employees and friends started to die or retire, leaving the a Misunderstanding of disease drives famous artist to life of =fi
-_.
sisters alone. isolation and squalor.
f The Sopers' artwork was valued at nearly ;i;lm. c Genius and eccentricity in one of Britain's best-loved
g Eileen began illustrating Enid Blyton's books. illustrators; the life of Eileen Soper.
h Duff Hart-Davis started to sort out the letters and mess of d In search of the Soper secrets; how the riddles of Eileen
Eileen's life. Soper's life carne to be answered; her isolation, her art,
and a hidden fortune.
2 Write T (true), F (false) or? (not elear) for each
sentence. 4 Write one or two sentences of your own summing
up the essence and popular appeal of this story.

-,,
a Eileen Soper, daughter of the painter George Soper, was
herself a famous artist.
b Eileen was best known as the illustrator of a series of

,o~
fP
on

~~:!?,.~ ----:=========~~ ~------

Oe-a
c, Will Forsyth 1996. PubU.hcd by Heinemann Engli.,b Languagc Tcaching
· This shcct may be pho tocopicd and u.sed withln the claS5.
 TEXTS 10.5

Presenting a Programme Design

Remember that it is not only the content of the programme that makes a successful
proposal, but also the treatment of the and the quality of your presentation to
the board. You may find it useful to follow these guidelines.

Remember: to give your proposal maximum impact, your presentation should be short
and memorable - five minutes maximum.

Say what kind of programme it is, e.g.

- drama; dramatic fiction based on a true story.

- a 'docudrama'; a true story presented as drama.

- a dramatized documentary; a documentary with dramatized sequences.

- a straight documentary.

2 Say what the main attraction of your programme is, e.g.

- 'This programme presents a revealing picture of (greed and crime?) in
modern/latter-day Britain ...'

- 'This is a charming portrait of a vanished world ...'

- 'This is a story of courage/love .. .'

- 'This is a simple story about one woman's/man's ...'

3 Give a precis of the story as you intend to present it.

Remember: the board already knows the story and only needs to hear how you intend
to present it.

The order of the main events as presented in the programme, e.g.

- 'lt is the story of X, told in chronological order, beginning with his/her

arrival in ...'

- 'lt is the story of X, told as an investigation by ... lt begins when a neighbour

notices that ...'

- 'lt is the story of X, told as a patchwork of different people's memories and

viewpoints, beginning with ...'

- 'The opening sequence shows the scene with X lying on ... and then the
programme shows how this carne about.'

4 Say how the programme ends.

S Say what effects of mood and atmosphere the programme will create,
e.g.
- 'The programme begins as a (wistful?) view of (old Scotland?) with the
sounds of ... As the events unfold and the location moves to X, the mood is
replaced by a (darker?) atmosphere using old news footage of Y and the sounds of
... The end comes in silence as ...'

---.....~~~~==~===~~~~~----~f,. '.F
o~
© Will Forsyth 1996. PubU.hed by Heinemann English unguagc Tcochlng. Tols shect may be photocoplcd and uscd Withln the class. ~0
TASK SHEET

Life Stories
Jl®
Reading O Here are four true stories. Individ ually, hnagin e how they might
end.

ians. As a
1 Jackie Kay is black. As a baby she was adopted by two white Glasweg
Bassey and
child she fantasiz ed that her birth mother might be the black singer Shirley
collecte d int~ a book called 'The
she started writing poems which she has now
for her
Adoptio n Papers.' It was not until 1988 that she began a genuine search
biologic al mother .. .
Russia and
2 During the Second World War, Alec the Pole escaped from commu nist
and had a daughte r. Fifty years later
settled in a small town in Scotland . He got married
Ukraine , whom he
he decided to visit his brother and three sisters back home in the
had not seen or contact ed since the early 1940s ...
career as a
3 The artist Eileen Soper was born in 1905. Althoug h she had a success ful
1989 when
painter and illustrat or, she and her sister hardly ever left their home until
full of old newspa-
they were taken into hospital. The house was found to be comple tely
and there was
pers and junk. Small animals such as mice and wild birds lived with them,
Hart-Davis
a collecti on of painting s worth nearly .f.l million. A researc her called Duff
investig ated her life to find out the reason for her strange isolatio n.

to Britain as
4 Nazmu Virani escaped from Idi Amin's repressi on in Uganda and carne
in London and
a refugee in 1972 with just $20. He borrow ed the money to buy a shop
They set up a compan y togethe r and estab-
went into busines s with his two brother s.
Arabian business man
lished a chain of 17 superma rkets. In the 1980s they joined a Saudi
the top 20 prop:
in a compan y called Control Securiti es which, in 1991 , became one of
erty compan ies in the UK.

(l) Work in four groups of equal size.

1 Compar e the ideas you had for Exercise A.

the
2 Read the story for your group, find out what actually happen ed and answer
question s.
events
3 Make notes which will help you to re-tell the most importa nt facts and
clearly.

Speaking O Form new groups of four with studen ts from each of the origina
mes which you then
l groups.
sell to TV
Each group is a televisio n compan y; you make program
to make
.channel s. At the momen t you are all compet ing to win a commis sion
program mes for a series called 'Real Lives' .
the beSt
1 Tell your stories to the group and decide togethe r which one will make
program me and is most likely to win the commis sion.
tion
2 Decide how the program me should be designe d and prepare a short presenta
entitled
for the board of the TV station. Include any ideas you wish from the memo
'Present ing a program me design' .

O Each group deliver s its presen tation to the class which, acting as
the
coounJs sioO-
board of the TV station, votes on which group should receive the
.,o~ You cannot vote for your own group!

~:-------:-:=:-::-::=~~~~--------~~~
O.r,
00
u.sed ,vithln 111< cl>"·
~<e
O.,o © Will Fo rsyth 1996. Publlshcd by Heinem
ann English l.anguagc Tcaching. Th.is shcc c may be pho coco picd and
 WORDS AND PHRASES

11® Life Stories

Q
gr•
Complete each space with one of the words or phrases from the paragraph
above it.
1 Laura Hitchin, journalist and fundraiser, today received a posthumo us award for her
bravery in reporting atrocities in the Balkan Wars and for her work collecting money for
g 1• refugees. Many thousands of lives were saved as the direct result of her determinat ion
and the contagious enthusiasm with which .. .

g. a ____ = actions of extreme evil, usually violent and sadistic.

b ____ = someone who raises money for others.
Qa C ____ = after death.
d ____ = spreads to other people.

2 Judge Alwyn today suspended the trial of the landlord Martin Hendworth . Mr
r, a Hendwort h clairns that his tenant, Ms Dewbury, had forged the reference she showed
him when she moved in and that since then she has upset the other tenants by filling
r, a the house with junk and by conducting liaisons with a number of suspicious men.
1
a _ _ _ _ = a person who owns and rents out property.
b _ ___ = a recommen dation of your character usually required by a new
Cl I employer or landlord.

0 1.• C ___ _ = worthless objects; things without value.

o
I
„ 3
d _ ___ = secret meetings, often with sexual or illegal purposes.

Ivan Petrovich, the Russian defector, died in hospital at six o 'clock this morning. Mr
Petrovich defected from the Soviet Union in 1979 and, in the diplomatic arguments that
ensued, became a familiar figure on British television. He was noted for his exaggerate d
I Russian mannerism s and for what his political opponents called his 'ex cessive sense of
self-esteem '.
I
a ____ = someone who leaves their country illegally for political or military

:r:
I reasons.
b _ _ _ _ = happened afterwards as a result.
C ____ = characteris tic ways of speaking and moving.
_ _ __ = pride, respect for oneself.
c,!. O
d

Complete the gaps with a noun formed from each verb.

~-~-
~!· I expose 2 refuse 3 adopt 4 ostracize
9 starve 1O defect
5 repress 6 delude 7 fantasize 8 obsess

After Jane's (1) _ ___ as an unmarried mother and her (2) _ _ _ _ to get rid of the
child or send it for (3) ____, she faced (4) ____ from he r village community .
She said they were the victirns of (5) ____ by a cruel and pointle ss morality and
:ii•
-- I that their virtues were a (6) _ _ _ _. She said that their religion was a (7) _ _ _ _
w hich had grown into a mass (8) _ ___ . Jane faced (9) _ _ _ _ by staying there, so
;lf" she Ieft and went to a nearby town. This was regarded as (1 O) _ _ _ _ and a crime
against the village and she was never able to return.

..

,,,,,,. ~-~~~~===::==~~~~~~-----~'<§-&
© Will Fo rsyth t 996. PubUshed by Heinemann English Langwge Tc:iching. This sheet m
ay pho tocopled and uscd within the class.
o<1.