The disturbed relationship of
the Italians to politics
A people without political conscience, shameless, corrupt politicians competing with would-be politicians without future plans
von Martina Lehner – 01.03.2013
Sunset near Milan by C. K Turolla
An era fading away or a new edition of a never-ending nightmare? The dice
is cast; once again Italy’s desire for stability and normality has not been
strong enough to make the Italians disengage themselves from the
illusions prospected by Berlusconi and the newcomer Beppe Grillo?
Titel:
The disturbed relationship of the Italians to politics
Bestellnummer:
Kurzvorstellung:

Eine Analyse der Italiener und ihrer schwierigen Beziehung zur
Politik. Ein kompliziertes, absurdes Wahlsystem hat wieder
einmal dazu geführt, dass das Land regierungsunfähig ist und
die einzelnen Parteien seit Wochen gegen- statt miteinander
arbeiten. In der Zwischenzeit wird die Krise im Land immer
schärfer. Während ganz Europa mit grosser Besorgnis auf
diese kritische Situation blickt, gehen die Italiener mit immer
gedrückterer Stimmung ihren täglichen Aufgaben nach,
Selbstmorde häufen sich, der ehemalige Ministerpräsident
Berlusconi wird zu einer Haftstrafe in einem Abhörprozess
verurteilt und ist in weitere Prozesse verwickelt, die Reichen
werden immer reicher, die Einkaufswagen der Normalbürger
werden immer leerer und trotz allem scheinen der Durchschnittsbürger der Situation apathisch gegenüber zu stehen.
Resignation, Gleichgültigkeit, stumme Verzweiflung, ein Rätsel,
dass Aussenstehenden unfassbar erscheint.
Inhaltsübersicht:

Analyse des schwierigen Verhältnisses der Italiener zur Politik

Die Kandidaten der Parlamentswahlen 2013

Das italienische Wahlsystem „Porcellum“

Übungen: 1) Lückentext:Vokabelerweiterung
2) Prefixe und Suffixe von Adjektiven und Substantiven
3) Phrasal Verbs
4) Adjektive: Synonyme, Antonyme, Kombinationen
mit Substantiven
5) Lückentext: Konjunktionen
6) Interdisziplinärer Ansatz: Anregungen zur Gruppenarbeit – Detaillierte Analyse des Textes (italienisches vs. deutsches Wahlsystem, Tangentopoli,
American Freedom House, Conflict of Interest usw.)
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The disturbed relationship of the Italians to politics:
people without political conscience, shameless, corrupt politicians
competing with would-be politicians without future plans
In Italy, the term politics has always provoked a wide range of emotions and reactions from indifference to paradox. Very rarely you will find Italians ready to discuss about the political situation in
their country. Most young people don’t even read the newspaper. When you ask them about their
political attitude, most likely the answer will be „Actually, I’m not interested in politics“ or, even worse
some may make statements like „no matter what politicians enter parliament or what party they are
affiliated, they all just “line their pockets.“ A theory that has effectively proved correct in many cases
as revealed by “Tangentopoli” in the Nineties up to the latest corruption scandal which involved
Lega Nord. The leaders of this party, who have always openly pronounced their hostility towards
strangers and foreigners, have always considered the South of Italy and the capital Rome a stronghold of corruption and dishonesty. Some weeks ago, however, they were tossed by a huge wave of
revelations that brought forward large-scale misappropriation of funds and other obscure transactions by important members of the party.
So why should we wonder that the Italians are fed up with politics or handle political matters with
great indifference. They prefer to talk about the national sport “football” which is undoubtedly a
much more appreciated subject of debate that launches lively discussions, not only in bars but also
on TV.
The situation becomes even more Kafkaesque when you peer at Italy‘s political landscape. No
other European country has “invented” so many parties as Italy, where voters had the possibility to
choose among 215 registered political logos ranging from “Bunga-Bunga Party”, “Forza Tax
Evaders” to the “Movement of Young Poets”, names that once again acknowledge the well-known
Italian creativity but are beyond comprehension for the Germans and probably large part of the
Italian population, too. They are, however, a clear indication of political immaturity and instability.
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No other European state chooses a comedian as forerunner, a man who labelled his election
campaign with the ominous name Tsunami and who swam across the Strait of Messina in order to
demonstrate the inhabitants of the biggest Italian island his solidarity, well aware of the fact that
Sicily has always played an important role in terms of votes for the Senate. Beppe Grillo’s
vociferous stage performances may remind you of some bizarre speaker at Speakers‘ Corner in
London’s Hyde Park with the sole difference that he does not use a wooden case for his speeches
but prefers to run nervously from one side of the stage to the other.
Foreign observers might as well wonder about the fact that ex-prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is still
highly esteemed by a large part of the population despite his sex scandals and numerous ongoing
legal proceedings against him. Incredible though it may appear to outsiders, a lot of people still
believe in the egomaniac‘s promises and devoutly listen to the lyrics of the anthem „Thank Goodness for Silvio“ created for him personally. Without batting an eye lash, he turns to his entourage,
who is fervently swinging the party flags chanting approval of every word pronounced by their charismatic leader. Without hesitation and with a self-satisfied smile in his face, he promises whatever
his audience wants to hear: tax reduction, reimbursement of the property tax IMU, amnesty for tax
evaders, in short the land of plenty which is in stark contrast with the extreme diet plan prescribed
the Italian population after Berlusconi’s resignation on 12 November 2011 in order to save the
critically ill patient from an impending coma. If, in addition to that, you consider the existing conflict
of interest due to Berlusconi’s extensive control over the media, it is a mere child’s play to outshine
his successor, the economist Mario Monti. By the way, the American organization Freedom House
downgraded Italy’s ranking with regard to Freedom of the Press from “free” to “partly free”, an
important factor which a lot of Italians ignore.
The Cabinet of experts headed by Monti made the largely unsuccessful attempt to reduce the
Italian mountain of debt by introducing harsh austerity measures. Although these reforms were
highly appreciated by his European colleagues, making Italy gain back respect and confidence, they
contributed to the growing impoverishment of the Italians and did not make him very popular with
people, who had never fancied the antiseptic ex-president of Milan’s elite university for economics
Bocconi.
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The frontrunner of these elections, which all European governments had their anxious sights on was
Pier Luigi Bersani, the Secretary of the Democratic Party and the undoubted winner of the primary
elections of his party in November last year. Coming from Emilia Romagna, the political stronghold of the Communist Party, a fervent communist in his young years, Bersani now considers
himself a social democrat. Without doubt, this politician who graduated in philosophy approach his
voters in a very conservative way. Considered reserved and timid by some, characterless or even
mousy by others, the competent pragmatic certainly surely lacks in charisma compared with his
exotic, clamorous antagonists but he does not believe in vague promises, he has no intention of
leading the Italians to believe in a future without sacrifices. His first act as prime minister will be
abolish the clientele effect, to come to terms with fraud and corruption and with the widespread
indifference and disinterest of the Italians for social and political affairs which in his opinion is one of
the main factors for the decay of his country.
Bersani was among the founders of the Democratic Party (PD) in 2007, which united the moderate
wing of both the Communist Party and the Christian Democrats. Under the Prodi Government
Bersani was minister for transport and economic development. He is a man of principle. When
asked to comment on Berlusconi’s fantastical election pledges, he laconically and with a touch of
irony replied „The great crisis can neither be fought with a shady business nor with stupid slogans.”
As expected, Bersani has obtained the majority in the House of Deputies but his party only disposes
of 123 seats in the Senate, and even in case of a coalition with Monti he will not reach the majority,
which means that Italy will be ungovernable unless Bersani goes for a large coalition either with the
Beppe Grillo’s Five-Star Movement or with Berlusconi. Both alternatives seem unlikely, so what’s
going to happen?
European economists defined the result of the Italian elections 2013 the worst possible outcome
with great losers and a winner called ungovernability. Given Italy’s political calendar new elections
cannot be announced before May, and the country will have to face the deadlock trying to break it
in the next few months.
The reaction of the financial markets does not prefigure anything positive. Sharp falls on all stock
markets caused a financial turmoil and dealt the euro zone’s already fragile state a further blow.
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One of the main causes for the disastrous outcome of the Italian elections is the complicated and
destabilizing electoral system. The two parliamentary chambers, The Chamber of Deputies and the
Senate have equal powers but are elected in different ways.
The Chamber of Deputies is composed of 630 members who are elected by all Italian citizens older
than 18. An elected Parliament lasts five years but as it happened quite often in the past, Parliament
may be dissolved when there is no possibility of guaranteeing a stable government.
In 2005 the electoral system was revised with the result of making it even more complex and difficult
to understand which induced some scientists to give it the meaningful name “porcellum”, which
means piglet. Its complexity lies in the fact that it is a kind of proportional representation system
which automatically grants the party or coalition the largest number of votes the majority of seats in
the Chamber of Deputies.
The Senate instead has 315 members who are elected by Italian citizens older than 25. In order to
promulgate a new law, the draft must be voted both by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.
This is why Italy is currently ungovernable, with the Democratic Party having the majority in the
Chamber of Deputies but not in the Senate where Bersani only obtained 113 seats. In order to
reach the majority he needs at least 158 seats which he cannot even reach entering a coalition with
Mario Monti whose party would only add 18 seats for a total of 131.
So, what now? In the last twenty years Italians have got used to dealing with an ex-prime minister
found guilty for tax fraud and for being involved in underage prostitution. The centre-left party has
been able to silence upcoming voices claiming the party’s responsibility in the banking scandal of
Monte dei Paschi. A large part of the Italian voters have put their hopes in a charismatic comedian
without any political experience. So, while Europe remains deeply shocked and worried by the
outcome of the elections, Italy metaphorically seems to be as detached from civilian life as the worn
out soldiers in Erich Maria Remarque’s novel “All Quiet at the Western Front.
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Exercise 1 - Fill in the missing words in the following sentences (it may be synonyms,
antonyms or definitions of the words written in bold in the text you have just
read)
1. A ________________ is a statement that contradicts itself; "`I always lie' is a paradox
because
if it is true it must be false").
2. Before you can publish an article you may have to write various ________________ which will
be read by a proof reader whose job it is to find any mistakes and correct them.
3. ________________ is a synonym of poverty, it’s the state of having less and less money. The
verb is used as an antonym for ‘to enrich’ .
4. ________________ is the act of a government of an authority to grant pardon to people staying
in prisons.
5. The result of the Italian elections 2013 had a very negative impact on most ________________
like Frankfurt, Wall Street, which means investors are in fear of a period of instability.
6. A __________________________is a Council of Ministers chosen by the Prime Minister of a
country because of their excellent skills and expertise in sciences, engineering and
technolo-
gies of politicians or economists.
7. Only if you keep the receipt, you can ask for the ________________ which means you
return
the article and get your money back.
8. In the papers we often find its synonym ‘stalemate’ that describes a situation where two opposing
parts cannot reach a common agreement or a compromise to work together as one force. The
word we are looking for is ________________.
9. When a prime minister or a chancellor do not have the majority to make decisions, they have to
submit their ________________.
10. A ________________is a contestant that is likely to win a competition or election.
11. The ________________is a utopian country which is perfect in every way and offers man whatever he desires.
12. A synonym for ________________is campaign promises.
13. ________________ is the opposite of tranquility, peace and calm.
14. Montessori schools are named after their ____________________, the Italian educator Maria
Montessori.
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15. With reference to politics, a ________________ is a place or an area where a particular
party is predominant, in Italy for example Tuscany has always been known to be the
________________ of the Communist Party. (you need the same word twice)
16. If you ________________somebody, you manage to defeat him or to gain advantage over
him.
17. When a country is in an economic crisis, ________________must be taken; these imply
asking the population for sacrifices. Austere leaders cannot be indulgent and often appear
hard-hearted and pitiless as they do not accept compromises.
18. ________________are a typical American Procedure where the two parties, the Democrats
and the Republicans choose their candidate for the Presidential Elections.
19. ________________is a very unfriendly attitude versus other people, in general foreigners.
20. Another term for ________________ is tax evasion.
21. An ________________ is a person who is extremely focused on his ego.
22. A group of people following an important person is called ________________.
23. When a situation is distorted in a surreal way and you can sense impending danger, you
are talking about a ________________ atmosphere.
24. If someone takes legal action against another person, ________________are started.
25. People who misuse funds or property entrusted to them are guilty of ________________.
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26. Exercise 2 - The English language uses a lot of prefixes and suffixes which often help
guess the meaning of a word
27.
28.
PREFIX/SUFFIX
MEANING
EXAMPLES
-able, -ible
adjective: worth, ability
-al
noun: action, result of action
-al, -ial, -ical
adjective: quality, relation
-ance, -ence
noun: action, state, quality or process
-ar, -ary
adjective: resembling, related to
de-
from, down, away, to do the opposite,
reverse, against
dis-
not, opposite of, reverse, separate,
deprive of, away
down-
At/ towards the end/the worse part
-er, -or
person or thing that does something
-ful
noun:full of , characterized by
-ian
noun: related to, one that is
in-, im-
into, on, near, towards
in-, im-, il- ir-
not
-ion
noun: condition or action
-ity, -ty
noun: state or quality
-less
adjective: without, missing
-let
diminutive
mis-
noun, adjective: wrong, incorrect
-ment
noun: condition or result
out-
surpassing, exceeding
pre-
before
pro-
for, forward
un-
not, against, opposite
under-
not enough or not done as well or as
much as is necessary
up-
higher or improved
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Exercise 3 - Match the definitions or synonyms with the right phrasal verb (1-24) and
then fill the phrasal into the missing spaces in the following sentences
Phrasal Verbs are all those verbs which being combined with different prepositions assume
completely different meaning from the word. Example: to run = rennen, to run out of sth. =
etwas nicht mehr haben, to run into so. = jemanden zufällig treffen usw.
PHRASAL VERB
MEANING
1. to compete with
a)
2. to be composed of
b)
3. to be fed up with
c)
4. to be found guilty for
d)
5. to be interested in
e)
6. to be involved in
f)
7. to be tossed by
g)
8. to be worried by
h)
9. to believe in
i)
10. to bring forward
j)
11. to comment on
k)
12. to deal someone a blow
l)
13. to disengage from
m)
14. to dispose of
n)
15. to get used to (+ing)
o)
16. to go for sth
p)
17. to graduate in
q)
18. to have no intention of
r)
19. to have your sights on
s)
20. to induce someone to do sth
t)
21. to lack in
u)
22. to peer at
v)
23. to wonder about
w)
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Definitions for the phrasal verbs in the list:
to think or speculate curiously - to be annoyed by something that has lasted too long - to be
moved up and down - to be short of - to be considered guilty for sth - to get rid of - to be
mixed up with - to look searchingly, carefully at something - to be made of - to persuade so. to
do sth. - to make someone’s plan fail - to be bothered, to be concerned - to accept as true - to
show, to exhibit - to give your attention to sth. - to clarify, to explain - to try to be more successful than others - to become separated from - to have no desire to do sth - to get familiar
with - to prefer, to choose - to become the object of someone’s attention - to receive a degree
or diploma
Exercise 4 – a) Which of these adjectives refer to people, which to objects of use of language, which to both.
bizarre - charismatic – clamorous – detached - disastrous - fantastical – harsh - impending laconic(ally) – lively - metaphoric(ally) – ominous - self-satisfied – shady - shameless – stable underage - utopian - vague – vociferous - worn out
PEOPLE
OBJECTS/LANGUAGE
BOTH
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b) Find the correct synonym or definition for the adjectives in the table:
1) brief, concise, monosyllabic, short
=
_____________________
2) having a too high opinion of oneself, complacent
=
_____________________
3) magnetic, attractive, influential, charming
=
_____________________
4) noisy, strident, vehement
=
_____________________
5) approaching, upcoming, threatening
=
_____________________
6) extremely bad/terrible/fatal
=
_____________________
7) not feeling embarrassed of ashamed
=
_____________________
8) unchangeable/constant
=
_____________________
9) below the required or standard age
=
_____________________
10) symbolic, figurative
=
_____________________
11) odd, queer, extraordinary, comical
=
_____________________
12) questionable, suspicious, dubious
=
_____________________
13) drastic, rough, unpleasant
=
_____________________
14) broken-down, used-up, useless
=
_____________________
15) fanciful, idealistic, imaginary
=
_____________________
16) dark, threatening, premonitory
=
_____________________
17) disinterested, divided, separate
=
____________________
18) active, brisk, cheerful
=
_____________________
19) imprecise, unclear, uncertain, unspecified
=
_____________________
20) absurd, incredible, visionary, illusionary
=
_____________________
c) Create suitable word pairs with some of the adjectives listed in exercise a)
__________________ figure
_____________ behaviour __________________ price
__________________ answer
_____________ mind
__________________ deals
__________________ winter
_____________ situation
__________________
_____________ silence
__________________
house
__________________ disaster
clothes
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Exercise 5 – Fill in the missing linkers
1. ________________ we do not have this model in stock but we expect it to
despite
arrive by the end of the week.
currently
2. ________________of going on holidays, he preferred to save his money in
actually
order to buy a car.
however
3. The food smelled weird but when I tasted it, it was ________________ very
though
good.
instead
4. The recipe says that we can _____________ use butter _____ margarine.
either…or
5. ________________having good language skills you are require to travel a
in addition to
moreover
lot.
6. She has made a lot of progress, ________________, as to her pronunciation,
she still mispronounces a lot of words.
7. ________________ the news appears incredible now, there might soon been scientific
proof.
Exercise 6 – Let’s have a closer look at the underlined words and phrases (For this exercise the class should be divided into groups and each group should be asked to research on one or two of the mentioned catchwords)
1. What is the “Porcellum” and why has it been given this strange name (german translation
for porcellum – Ferkel, Schweinchen). A lot of Italians are asking for a revision of the porcellum as they see in it one of the main obstacles to a stable government. Why?For your
answer read the text once again and research further information on the Internet.
2. Tangentopoli was one of the biggest Italian scandals. This judicial investigation started in
the year 1992 and revealed the widespread corruption of the Italian state. It’s also called
“Mani pulite”. Give an overview of this scandal and outline the consequences for Italy.
3. Both Italy and Germany adopt the “proportional representation system”. Why does German have stable governments whereas Italy is always at risk of instability. Find out the differences between the two systems. What other electoral systems are there? Name some
states who vote in a different way from ours?
4. Conflict of interest and Berlusconi have been associated for almost 20 years. Explain what
this conflict consists in and what measures can be taken to abolish this problem.
5. What is the American Freedom house and why does the text refer to this institution?
The American Freedom House is an independent watchdog organization dedicated to the
expansion of freedom around the world.
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6. Speakers’ Corner is a unique and famous corner in the north east of Hyde Park in London. Why is this place famous? What happens there?
7. “All Quiet at the Western Front” is the title of a novel by Erich Remarque. Give a short
summary of the book and explain the famous phrase “All quiet of the Western Front?”
8. Who pronounced the famous words “The dice is cast” and when? In what way do we
nowadays use this expression.
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Exercise 1 - Fill in the missing words in the following sentences (it may be synonyms,
antonyms or definitions of the words written in bold in the text you have
just read)
1. A paradox is a statement that contradicts itself; "`I always lie' is a paradox because if it is
true it must be false")
2. Before you can publish an article you may have to write various drafts which will be read by
a proof reader whose job it is to find any mistakes and correct them.
3. Impoverishment is a synonym of poverty, it’s the state of having less and less money. The
verb is used as an antonym for ‘to enrich’
4. Amnesty is the act of a government of an authority to grant pardon to people staying in
prisons.
5. The result of the Italian elections 2013 had a very negative impact on most stock markets
like Frankfurt, Wall Street, which means investors are in fear of a period of instability.
6. A Cabinet of experts is a Council of Ministers chosen by the Prime Minister of a country
because of their excellent skills and expertise in sciences, engineering and technologies of
politicians or economists.
7. Only if you keep the receipt, you can ask for the reimbursement which means you return
the article and get your money back.
8. In the papers we often find its synonym ‘stalemate’ that describes a situation where two
opposing parts cannot reach a common agreement or a compromise to work together as
one force. The word we are looking for is deadlock.
9. When a prime minister or a chancellor do not have the majority to make decisions, they
have to submit their resignation.
10. A front-runner is a contestant that is likely to win a competition or election.
11. The land of plenty is a utopian country which is perfect in every way and offers man whatever he desires.
12. A synonym for election pledges is campaign promises
13. Turmoil is the opposite of tranquility, peace and calm.
14. Montessori schools are named after their founder, the Italian educator Maria Montessori.
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15. With reference to politics, a stronghold is a place or an area where a particular party is
predominant, in Italy for example Tuscany has always been known to be the stronghold of
the Communist Party.
16. If you outshine somebody, you manage to defeat him or to gain advantage over him.
17. When a country is in an economic crisis, austerity measures must be taken; these imply
asking the population for sacrifices. Austere leaders cannot be indulgent and often appear
hard-hearted and pitiless as they do not accept compromises.
18. Primary elections are a typical American Procedure where the two parties, the Democrats
and the Republicans choose their candidate for the Presidential Elections.
19. Hostility is a very unfriendly attitude versus other people, in general foreigners
20. Another term for tax fraud is tax evasion
21. An egomaniac is a person who is extremely focused on his ego
22. A group of people following an important person is called entourage
23. When a situation is distorted in a surreal way and you can sense impending danger, you
are talking about a Kafkaesque atmosphere
24. If someone takes legal action against another person, legal proceedings are started
25. People who misuse funds or property entrusted to them are guilty of misappropriation of
funds.
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Exercise 2 - The English language uses a lot of prefixes and suffixes which often help
guess the meaning of a word
PREFIX/SUFFIX
MEANING
EXAMPLES
-able, -ible
adjective: worth, ability
ungovernable
-al
noun: action, result of action
approval
-al, -ial, -ical
adjective: quality, relation
political,
-ance, -ence
noun: action, state, quality or process
indifference
-ar, -ary
adjective: resembling, related to
primary, parliamentary
de-
from, down, away, to do the opposite,
destabilizing
reverse, against
dis-
not, opposite of, reverse, separate,
disinterest, dissolved, dishonesty
deprive of, away
down-
at/ towards the end/the worse part
downgraded
-er, -or
person or thing that does something
observer, voter, stranger
-ful
noun:full of , characterized by
meaningful
-ian
noun: related to, one that is
politician
in-, im-
into, on, near, towards
impoverishment, indifference
in-, im-, il- ir-
not
incredible, impending, immaturity
-ion
noun: condition or action
reaction, corruption
-ity, -ty
noun: state or quality
creativity, hostility, amnesty
-less
adjective: without, missing
characterless
-let
diminutive
piglet
-ment
noun: condition or result
statement, reimbursement
mis-
noun, adjective: wrong, incorrect
misappropriation
out-
surpassing, exceeding
outshine,
pre-
before
prescribed, prefigure
pro-
for, forward
proceedings, promulgate
un-
not, against, opposite
undoubted
under-
not enough or not done as well or as
underage
much as is necessary
up-
higher or improved
upcoming
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Exercise 3 - Match the definitions or synonyms with the right phrasal verb (1-24) and
then fill the phrasal verb into the missing spaces in the following sentences
Phrasal Verbs are all those verbs which being combined with different prepositions assume
completely different meaning from the word. Example: to run = rennen, to run out of sth. =
etwas nicht mehr haben, to run into so. = jemanden zufällig treffen usw.
PHRASAL VERB
MEANING
1. to compete with
a) to try to be more successful than others
2. to be composed of
b) to be made of
3. to be fed up with
c) to be annoyed by something that has lasted too long
4. to be found guilty for
d) to be considered guilty for sth.
5. to be interested in
e) to give your attention to sth.
6. to be involved in
f) to be mixed up with
7. to be tossed by
g) to be moved up and down
8. to be worried by
h) to be bothered, to be concerned
9. to believe in
i) to accept as true
10. to bring forward
j) to show, to exhibit
11. to comment on
k) to clarify, to explain
12. to deal someone a blow
l) to make someone’s plan fail
13. to disengage from
m) to become separated from
14. to dispose of
n) to get rid of
15. to get used to (+ing)
o) to get familiar with
16. to go for sth
p) to prefer, to choose
17. to graduate in
q) to receive a degree or diploma
18. to have no intention of
r) to have no desire to do sth
19. to have your sights on
s) to become the object of someone’s attention
20. to induce someone to do sth
t) to persuade so. to do sth
21. to lack in
u) to be short of
22. to peer at
v) to look searchingly, carefully at something
23. to wonder about
w) to think or speculate curiously
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Exercise 4 – a) Which of these adjectives refer to people, which to objects of use of
language, which to both.
PEOPLE
OBJECTS/LANGUAGE
BOTH
self-satisfied
charismatic
shameless
underage
metaphoric(ally)
laconic (ally)
fantastical
ominous
harsh
impending
clamorous, vociferous
detached
vague
shady
disastrous
vociferous
stable
utopian
lively
bizarre
worn out
b) Find the correct synonym or definition for the adjectives in the table:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
brief, concise, monosyllabic, short
having a too high opinion of oneself, complacent
magnetic, attractive, influential, charming
noisy, strident, vehement
approaching, upcoming, threatening
extremely bad/terrible/fatal
not feeling embarrassed of ashamed
unchangeable/constant
strange/unusual
below the required or standard age
symbolic, figurative
odd, queer, extraordinary, comical
questionable, suspicious, dubious
drastic, rough, unpleasant
broken-down, used-up, useless
fanciful, idealistic, imaginary
dark, threatening, premonitory
disinterested, divided, separate
active, brisk, cheerful
imprecise, unclear, uncertain, unspecified
absurd, incredible, visionary, illusionary
= laconic (ally)
= self-satisfied
= charismatic
= clamorous, vociferous
= impending
= disastrous
= shameless
= stable
= bizarre
= underage
= metaphoric
= bizarre
= shady
= harsh
= worn out
= utopian
= ominous
= detached
= lively
= vague
= fantastical
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b) Find the correct synonym or definition for the adjectives in the table:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
brief, concise, monosyllabic, short
having a too high opinion of oneself, complacent
magnetic, attractive, influential, charming
noisy, strident, vehement
approaching, upcoming, threatening
extremely bad/terrible/fatal
not feeling embarrassed of ashamed
unchangeable/constant
below the required or standard age
symbolic, figurative
odd, queer, extraordinary, comical
questionable, suspicious, dubious
drastic, rough, unpleasant
broken-down, used-up, useless
fanciful, idealistic, imaginary
dark, threatening, premonitory
disinterested, divided, separate
active, brisk, cheerful
imprecise, unclear, uncertain, unspecified
absurd, incredible, visionary, illusionary
= laconic (ally)
= self-satisfied
= charismatic
= clamorous, vociferous
= impending
= disastrous
= shameless
= stable
= underage
= metaphoric
= bizarre
= shady
= harsh
= worn out
= utopian
= ominous
= detached
= lively
= vague
= fantastical
c) Create suitable word pairs with some of the adjectives listed in exercise a)
CHARISMATIC figure
BIZARRE behaviour
STABLE price
VAGUE answer
LIVELY mind
SHADY deals
HARSH winter
DISASTROUS situation
DETACHED house
IMPENDING disaster
OMINOUS silence
WORN OUT clothes
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Exercise 5 – Fill in the missing linkers
1. CURRENTLY we do not have this model in stock but we expect it to arrive by the end of the week.
2. INSTEAD of going on holidays, he preferred to save his money in order
to buy a car.
3. The food smelled weird but when I tasted it, it was ACTUALLY very
good.
4. The recipe says that we can EITHER use butter OR margarine.
5. IN ADDITION TO having good language skills you are required to travel
a lot.
6. She has made a lot of progress, HOWEVER, as to her pronunciation,
she still mispronounces a lot of words.
7. ALTHOUGH the news appears incredible now, there might soon been
scientific proof.
Exercise 6 – INDIVDUAL ANSWERS
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despite
currently
actually
however
although
instead
either…or
in addition to
moreover