SPECIAL FEATURE
AROUND THE WORLD
Praxis Englisch 6/2008
UK
30
AUTORIN:
(beide Texte) Miriam
Hils aus Atlanta,
USA arbeitet als
Journalistin und
Übersetzerin in
Berlin. Sie hat in
Edinburgh gelebt
und war Korrespondentin für den
Scotsman.
Heute schreibt sie
für mehrere
Publikationen.
Snooker: A New Craze Among Young People?
The game is receiving increased attention in the UK
A
type of billiards, snooker is a
game that has traditionally
been played by older men in smoky
British drinking establishments.
But the times are changing. First, a
smoking ban has cleared the haze
in pubs across the United Kingdom, making it easier to hit those
colorful balls. And, according to the
pros, televised snooker competitions
– sometimes mocked as slow and
dull – now appear to be catching on
with a younger generation.
In an effort to promote the
sport among young Britons, World
Snooker, the sport’s governing body,
has launched a ‘Hotshots’ scheme,
which aims to show that there are
still personalities in the game. The
POSSIBLE TASKS
➜➜ What are the basic rules of snooker?
➜➜ Do you think snooker should be promoted in
schools? Why or why not?
➜➜ Are there other types of games you think should
be more promoted among younger players?
What about the other way around – what games,
normally played by young people, should be
more available to an older crowd?
An outdoor screen is set up for kids to watch the World Championship in Sheffield (2007).
Photo: Willem Stuursma /http://flickr.com/photos/willemstuursma/471596977/
association is staging events like
an “all-comers” game in Glasgow,
in which members of the snookerplaying public are invited to test
their skills against 27-year-old Scottish champion Stephen Maguire.
To drum up interest in the sport
among Britain’s youngest, World
Snooker has established a World
Snooker Academy in Sheffield, England. Recently, the association announced it is staging a competition
that will invite players between the
ages of 11 and 16 to attend sessions
at the academy with professional
coaches, developing their skills in
preparation to compete in a championship tournament in 2009.
“This event is the first of its kind in
the country so we are really looking
forward to seeing if we uncover any
hidden snooker talent,” said John
Timms, Director at Montgomery
Leisure Services, which has helped
develop the championship. “We
are hoping to run it as an annual,
national event so schools across the
whole country can take part.” y
USA
The Last American Frontier
Alaska is a country of extremes
J
Since the completion of Trans-Alaska Pipeline in 1977, oil and gas industries have been central to the Alaskan economy.
Photo: flickr.com/photos/urbanraven/367414024/
POSSIBLE TASKS
➜➜ What interests you most about Alaska: people,
sports, politics, animals? Do research on your
favorite Alaska subject and present your findings in class.
➜➜ Draw a map of Alaska. Include all major cities,
major bodies of water, and mountain regions.
➜➜ What do you think it would be like growing up
in Alaska? Make up a story about a day in your
life there.
utting out from the far northwestern corner of North America,
Alaska occupies the outer edges of
the United States, both geographically and psychologically. But when
Sarah Palin was announced as US
vice-presidential candidate in August 2008, all eyes turned to her,
and her home state. What is Alaska
known for?
Purchased by the U.S. government from the Russian Empire in
1867 and first made a state in 1959,
Alaska is, together with Hawaii, one
of two states that are not a part of
the contiguous United States. A distance of just 85 kilometers across
the Bering Strait separates Alaska
from the eastern coast of Russia.
Bigger than all of Scandinavia
and the United Kingdom combined, Alaska is by far the largest of the United States; but, with
around 683,500 residents, it is the
least densely populated. Because of
its size and harsh conditions, many
towns and villages in Alaska can
only be accessed by plane, boat,
all-terrain vehicle, snowmobile, or
dogsled.
While around 70 % of Alaska
residents are of European descent,
the state has the highest proportion
of Native Americans, at nearly 16 %.
Proud of their rugged individualism,
Alaskans tend to vote for Republican
or Libertarian political candidates. y