Bridge 8, April 2009, volume 12
TEACHERS’
FILE
Teachers’ File comes with Bridge magazine. It contains
ideas for activities and exercises for students to use in your
classes after reading the articles.
Activity Tips
TF is available at www.bridge-online.cz in the section
“Přístup učitelé”, password ACTIVITY.
Bald chicken (p. 4)
Newspaper headlines often use
wordplay. When The Daily Express
reported Buffy’s story, it used the
headline: ‘Woolly jumper for the bald
chicken plucked to safety’. Can you
explain the pun?
ANSWER: It is a play on the word
‘plucked’. The expression ‘to pluck to
safety’ means to remove someone
quickly from a dangerous situation,
but the verb ‘to pluck’ also means to
pull feathers out of a bird.
Handout
for students
Tips for
teachers
UNESCO sites in the uk (p. 5) USA (pp. 6-7)
Knowing when to use articles in English can be very tricky, especially when you’re
talking about a particular place. For example, English speakers say Buckingham
Palace but the White House. Read the examples below and decide if they need an
article or not.
1. The world’s first national park was ..... Yellowstone National Park, which is
famous for its geysers and hot springs.
2. The Normans built ..... Durham Castle to protect Durham from attack.
3. One of Arizona’s main attractions is ..... Grand Canyon. It’s so big it can be
seen from space.
4. The Frontier of ..... Roman Empire is a very long UNESCO site. In Britain, it
includes ..... Hadrian’s Wall.
5. Utah is famous for hosting ..... 2002 Winter Olympics in its capital ..... Salt
Lake City.
6. Winston Churchill was born in ..... Blenheim Palace.
Solution: 1. (-), 2. (-), 3. the, 4. the, (-), 5. the, (-), 6. (-)
Jude the Obscure (pp. 8-9)
The second excerpt shows how Jude
and Sue’s way of life shocked people
around them. Jude and his family are
looking for a place to stay, but no one
is willing to accommodate them.
At Christminster again
There was one other house, and they
tried a third time. The woman here was
more amiable; but she had little room
to spare, and could only agree to take
in Sue and the children if her husband
could go elsewhere. This arrangement
they perforce adopted, in the stress
from delaying their search till so late.
They came to terms with her, though her
price was rather high for their pocket........
Jude stayed and had a cup of tea; and
was pleased to find that the window
commanded the back of another of the
colleges. Kissing all four he went to get
a few necessaries and look for lodgings
for himself.
When he was gone the landlady came
up to talk a little with Sue, and gather
something of the circumstances of the
family she had taken in. Sue had not the
art of prevarication, and, after admitting
several facts as to their late difficulties
and wanderings, she was startled by the
landlady saying suddenly:
“Are you really a married woman?”
Sue hesitated; and then impulsively
told the woman that her husband and
herself had each been unhappy in their
first marriages, after which, terrified at
the thought of a second irrevocable
union, and lest the conditions of the
contract should kill their love, yet wishing
to be together, they had literally not
found the courage to repeat it, though
they had attempted it two or three times.
Therefore, though in her own sense of
the words she was a married woman, in
the landlady’s sense she was not.
The housewife looked embarrassed,
and went downstairs. Sue sat by the
window in a reverie, watching the rain.
Her quiet was broken by the noise of
someone entering the house, and then
the voices of a man and woman in
conversation in the passage below. The
landlady’s husband had arrived, and she
was explaining to him the incoming of
the lodgers during his absence.
His voice rose in sudden anger. “Now
who wants such a woman here? And
perhaps a confinement! … Besides,
didn’t I say I wouldn’t have children? The
hall and stairs fresh painted, to be kicked
about by them! You must have known
all was not straight with ’em–coming
like that. Taking in a family when I said
a single man.”
The wife expostulated, but, as it
seemed, the husband insisted on his
point; for presently a tap came to Sue’s
door, and the woman appeared.
“I am sorry to tell you, ma’am,” she
said, “that I can’t let you have the room
for the week after all. My husband
objects; and therefore I must ask you
to go. I don’t mind your staying over
to-night, as it is getting late in the
afternoon; but I shall be glad if you can
leave early in the morning.”
Having read the excerpt, you can see
that language in the 19th century was
different from modern English. Try
to match the highlighted vocabulary
with more common words.
1. perforce A) argued / opposed
2. commanded B) unchangeable
3. lodgings C) in case
4. prevarication D) faced
5. irrevocable E) lying
6. lest
F) place to stay
7. reverie G) pregnancy
8. passage H) dreaming
9. confinement I) by necessity
10. expostulated J) hall
Solution: 1I, 2D, 3F, 4E, 5B, 6C, 7H, 8J, 9G, 10A
1
Jude the Obscure (pp. 8-9)
You can start a discussion about the
end of the story. What do you think was
the tragic end?
Answer: Their children die because
of the terrible conditions (they are killed
by the oldest brother who thinks there is
not enough room for them and that their
parents will be better off without them), Sue
returns to her lawful husband thinking the
children’s death was God’s punishment for
her sinful life and Jude dies.
You can talk about the serious topics
that Thomas Hardy opened in the
novel Jude the Obscure: infidelity, the
right to live with a person you love and
prejudice against the unconventional
lifestyles of different people.
Do you think the theme of the novel is still
relevant for modern people?
Is divorce or an unmarried couple living
together something that shocks people
nowadays?
Warnings to keep us safe and sound (p. 17)
The article about warning labels
uses the expression “safe and
sound”. Can you explain its
meaning as well as the meaning of
other expressions with the word
“safe”? What situations would you
use these expressions in?
Solution:
1) completely safe and without injury
or damage (They arrived home safe
and sound after the dangerous trip.),
2) said when you think it is best not
to take risks even when it seems unnecessary to be careful (Do I really
have to have my car checked before
the journey? It seems perfectly OK
- Yes, do it. Better safe than sorry.)
1) safe and sound
2) Better safe than sorry.
3) in safe hands
4) to be on the safe side
3) said when something is cared for
by someone skilled (He is the best
doctor in the hospital, so you are in
safe hands.)
4) being very careful in order to avoid
something unpleasant (It will not
get too cold, but I will take an extra
sweater just to be on the safe side.)
Warnings to keep us safe and sound (p. 17)
Choose the most suitable modal verb (sometimes you can use more than one).
1. All books … be returned on time.
A) must
B) shouldn’t C) may
6. We advise our customers not to leave
anything in their cars. Things left in your cars
… be stolen.
A) might
B) may
C) should
2. Our patients … leave their personal
belongings unattended. We take no
responsibility for any damage or theft in the
hall, toilets and waiting rooms.
A) shouldn’t B) mustn’t C) needn’t
7. All lights … be switched off before you leave
the office.
A) are allowed to
B) must
C) can
3. Passengers are not … to smoke on this train.
A) able
B) allowed
C) had to
8. Magazines … not be taken from this room.
A) ought
B) shouldn’t C) must
4. Bicycles … be taken beyond this point.
A) needn’t
B) mustn’t
C) aren’t able to 9. Mobile phones … be used in the surgery.
A) should
B) shouldn’t C) mustn’t
5. This room … be kept tidy at all times.
A) should
B) must
C) can
10. If you are dissatisfied with our service, you …
contact the canteen manager Mr Lee.
A) must
B) should
C) can
Solution: 1A, 2A, 3B, 4B, 5A/B , 6A/B, 7B, 8C, 9B/C, 10B/C
Business English (p. 19)
Read about things that can go wrong in the office. Try to
complete the sentences by filling in the missing words.
6. Oh, no! It always happens when I’m in a real
hurry – there is a piece of paper ............. in
the printer!
A) deleted B) work
C) crashed D) jammed E) stuck F) spill G) run out H) file I) taken J) flat
7. Look at this. There’s a staple ............... in
the photocopier.
1. I’m sure it’s because it’s Friday 13th!
We’ve ................. of toner in the copier again!
2. The computer has ............... . That’s the second
time this week.
3. I forgot to recharge my phone. The battery
is completely ............... .
4. Heck! You did it again, Sam! You always come to
have a chat and ............. coffee all over my desk!
5. The hard disk is corrupted. This computer
won’t ............ anymore!
8. Oh, oh, I know how you feel. I did the same
thing last week. I ............... two days’ computer
work by mistake!
9. God! Someone has ............. my coat. It must’ve
been someone from the office next door.
10. You’re a messy girl, Joan. You don’t ...............
anything in alphabetical order.
2
Solution: 1G, 2C, 3J, 4F, 5B, 6D, 7E, 8A, 9I, 10H