Spotlight_Audio_2011-08_Booklet_2.pdf

Spotlight Audio

Das Hörmagazin für Englisch

LANGUAGE

Test your

listening skills

8/11 www.spotlight-online.de

Spotlight Audio 8/2011

Introduction

[1] Anne: Welcome to the August 2011 edition

of Spotlight Audio. I’m Anne Alexander Sieder

from the United States...

David: ...and I’m David Creedon from Britain.

Join us now for a 60-minute expedition around

the English-speaking world — with stories, lan-

guage tips and exercises.

Anne: Are you a good listener? You can find out

this month in our listening comprehension

section.

David: Take a trip back in time in our travel

section: we’re walking along Hadrian’s Wall in

Britain. Built nearly 2,000 years ago by the

Romans, the wall stretches 122 kilometres

across England.

Anne: You can read along with all the texts, dia-

logues and exercises in your audio booklet.

Anne: And here’s our first listening compre-

hension question: How many pyramids do the

archeologists believe they have discovered?

So finden Sie sich in jeder Metropole zurecht.

A team of US archeologists is searching for hid-

den Egyptian treasures, but without setting

foot in the desert sands. Instead, they’ve turned

to outer space to help them in their hunt.

Dr. Sarah Parcak and her NASA-sponsored team

from the University of Alabama think they have

found 17 undiscovered pyramids in Egypt — as

well as more than 1,000 tombs and 3,000 set-

tlements — using infrared satellite images to

see what is buried underground. According to

MSNBC, local excavations have confirmed the

existence of two of the pyramids.

Researchers are excited about using this high-

tech method to survey extremely large areas of

land before needing to start on-the-ground work.

“It gives us a much bigger perspective on

archeological sites. We have to think bigger,

and that’s what the satellites allow us to do,”

Parcak said. “Indiana Jones is old school. We’ve

moved on from Indy. ... Sorry, Harrison Ford!”

Source: Spotlight 8/11, page 11

Schnell und einfach fit

in Englisch!

Mit dem Sprachmagazin Spotlight

verbessern Sie Ihr Englisch für

Urlaub, Alltag oder Job.

Testen Sie jetzt die aktuelle

Ausgabe kostenlos!

www.spotlight-online.de/probe

World View

[2] Hidden treasure

David: Let’s begin with a short text from Spot-

light ’s World View section. In “Hidden treasure”,

we’ll learn about an unusual new method that

archeologists are using in Egypt.

excavation

Ausgrabung

outer space

Weltall

tomb

Grabmahl

Anne: Did you find the answer to the question?

How many pyramids do the archeologists

believe they have discovered? … Seventeen.

feed on dung beetles and they’re quite close to

where we have the cattle grazing, so therefore

it means that [during] their first flight, they’re

picking up a food source very quickly.

Dung, OK? So we have water, we have trays,

we have gloves and a spade. You’re picking up

the dung on the spade and laying it in the

water, letting it float, and all the dung beetles

come out. [We’re] collecting them up and

showing the public, in fact, actually that. And

we actually get the people to do that. So

they’re in fact exploring the dung to be able to

find the dung beetles.

And you see some of the reactions from some

of the people: “Ooh! No way am I gonna do

that! Ugh!” Once we’ve done that, we then tidy

up all the stuff, and then carry on walking to an

area where the bats come and fly. And what we

do there is we get everybody prepared as the

sun sets and it becomes dark and the bats then

start to move. And we have bat detectors, so

you can actually hear all the noises that they

are making. And where we stand, the bats are

flying up over you, through you, across, past

you, brushing against your face — things like

that — and giving people a dynamic experience

and understanding [of] the bats and what’s

happening and what’s going on and what

they’ve been doing and where they’re going.

It synchronizes the sound that the bats are

making and then actually brings them — low-

ers them down — into an audible sound so you

can actually hear them. So they’re making won-

derful clicking and clucking-type noises, but

also they’re making noises like if a bat’s catch-

ing something, they blow a raspberry, and

they’re catching a beetle... and you get people

hearing that and they just think it’s absolutely

sensational. You know, it’s great fun —

absolutely great fun.

What the Americans call pants, we in Britain call

trousers. Here in the UK, pants are underpants.

So, Americans, be warned: don’t be too sympa-

thetic if British visitors get caught in the rain. If

you tell them to take their wet pants off, they

might get a bit too enthusiastic.

Then again, words that usually have different

meanings can sometimes mean the same

thing. Example: subway. In Britain, a subway is

a passage under the road. It stops you from

getting run over. In the US, it’s an underground

railway — what we call the Tube in London. But

on both sides of the Atlantic, it’s also the word

A Day in My Life

[3] Nigel Smallbones

Anne: Nigel Smallbones is the manager at Berry

Head National Nature Reserve in southern Eng-

land. He spoke to Spotlight ’s deputy editor,

Claudine Weber-Hof, for our A Day in My Life

section. In our excerpt from his interview, Nigel

talks about giving bat tours in the evenings.

David: He explains why cow dung, or waste

from cows, is so important to Berry Head’s bat

population.

See Spotlight 8/11, pages 8–9

Britain Today

[4] Our understanding with America

above all vor allem

audible hörbar

bat Fledermaus

blow a raspberry ein Pupsgeräusch machen

carry on doing sth. etw. weiter tun

cattle Vieh

cluck glucken

conservation features besondere Bedingungen für

den Artenschutz

David: Our British columnist, Colin Beaven,

recently visited the United States. Although

having the same language should make travel-

ling easier, Colin found that the simplest words

— like “pants”, “subway” and “republican” —

can cause confusion.

Basically what we do is we collect up everybody

together — [it] can be up to 40 people. And

what we do then is to explain exactly what we’re

going to be looking at, where we’re going to be

going, but also the fact that there are important

conservation features on Berry Head for the

bats: the fact that we have cows here. We need

cow dung, because within the cow dung are

dung beetles. The cows need to be organic

cows because [there are] no chemicals; there-

fore, you’re getting the dung beetles. Chemi-

cals: no dung beetles. Crucially important. Why

dung beetles? Because the young bats in fact

crucially

äußerst

deputy editor

stellvertretende(r) Chefredak-

teur(in)

dung beetle

Mistkäfer

America is the ideal place for British tourists to

spend their holidays, with beautiful country-

side, friendly people and, above all, no lan-

guage problems.

Well, not many, at least. Certainly, American

English sounds a bit different, and some words

have other meanings in the US. Example: pants.

excerpt

Auszug

get run over

überfahren werden

gonna = going to

graze

grasen

spade

Spaten

sympathetic

mitfühlend

Anne: Now listen as Nigel explains what a bat

detector does.

tray

Schale, Wanne

Ugh!

Igitt!

for a place where the sandwiches don’t taste as

nice as you had hoped.

In any case, a misunderstanding isn’t always a

bad thing. When President Obama visited

Britain for the first time back in May, he seemed

to get on well with the queen. Why? No doubt

he had said to her: “Ma’am, I want you to know

that I’m not a Republican.”

“And I can assure you, Mr President, that I’m not

a republican either,” she no doubt replied. “So

we seem to have something in common.”

The word “republican” means different things

on opposite sides of the Atlantic — to us, you

see, a republican is someone who thinks we

should get rid of the monarchy and have a

president instead.

Who cares, though? Britain needs to think it

has a special relationship with the US. If a little

misunderstanding helps to create the illusion,

that’s fine. And the Americans are so friendly

that they’re not going to worry about a few

misunderstandings.

They’re keen to start a conversation. They want

to know your name, where you’re from and

everything about you. The people you meet at

passport control when you arrive also want to

know all about you. They not only ask where

you’re from; they also want to know where

you’re going.

The last time I went to the US, a lot of people in

the immigration service wanted to get to know

me. They chose me for a special search on the

way in and on the way back. It’s enough to

make you feel paranoid. You start wondering

why the people you meet in the subway —

whether it’s a crossing, a train, or a restaurant

— want to start a conversation.

“Hi! What’s your name?”

“Colin.”

“Carlin?”

“Um, yes. This is my wife, Dawn.”

“Don?”

“Well, almost. Dawn. It rhymes with born, like

‘Born in the USA’.”

“You were born in the USA? You sound like you

come from England.”

“No, I meant that it’s a bit like the name of that

Bruce Springsteen song; or like Bourne in the

Matt Damon films — the films about Jason

Bourne and conspiracies at the CIA.”

“So you’re interested in conspiracies, huh?”

“Well, a bit. I wonder why those men over there

have suddenly started using their mobile

phones.”

“Cell.”

“What? They’re going to put me in a cell for

using the word ‘conspiracy’?”

“Relax! I mean we call a mobile phone a cell

phone. No one’s going to put you in jail just

because you’re from England and you can’t

speak English properly.”

Source: Spotlight 8/11, page 13

Travel: Hadrian’s Wall

[5] Introduction

go back to the beginning of the track and listen

again before you try to answer them. Ready?

First, how many Roman soldiers were involved

in building the wall? … About 15,000. And sec-

ond, where is the wall located? In southern or

northern England? … In northern England.

David: Let’s go back in time now, to the Roman

occupation of Britain from about AD 43 to 410.

Anne: The most spectacular reminder of this

time is Hadrian’s Wall, which was begun by the

emperor Hadrian in AD 122. Around 15,000

Roman soldiers were involved in building the

wall.

David: Hadrian’s Wall stretches 120 kilometres

across northern England. Much of it is still

intact today, and visitors can explore it along a

national trail called Hadrian’s Wall Path.

Anne: For Spotlight ’s Travelogs booklet, corre-

spondent Julian Earwaker spent four days

walking along the wall. He discovered historic

villages, traditional pubs, tourist centres and

museums along the way — but he says the

biggest attraction of Hadrian’s Wall is walking

through 2,000 years of history.

David: In the next two tracks, we can experi-

ence the wall for ourselves. First, we’ll hear an

excerpt from this month’s Travelogs booklet.

Then we’ll go to Vindolanda, about midway

along the wall, for an interview with Andrew

Birley. He’s the director of excavations. To exca-

vate something is to dig it up.

Anne: Before we get started, though, how well

have you been listening? I have two questions

for you about Hadrian’s Wall. You might want to

[6] Taking a walk with Hadrian (excerpt)

Anne: Let’s join correspondent Julian Earwaker

at Hadrian’s Wall now. David will read us an

excerpt from this month’s Travelogs booklet.

Travelogs is an eight-page booklet included for

free in each issue of Spotlight magazine. We’ll

join Julian on day three of his journey through

Roman Britain.

It’s a beautiful day for tired legs. After 22 kilo-

metres yesterday, I’m taking it easy today with

only 14.

My first stop is Vindolanda, site of the most

exciting archaeological finds anywhere on the

wall. Visitors can watch excavations in progress

AD (Anno Domini) n. Chr.

assure garantieren, versichern

cell (phone) US Mobiltelefon; auch: Zelle

conspiracy Verschwörung

get on well sich gut verstehen

get rid of sth. etw. abschaffen

keen: be ~ to do sth. etw. gern tun wollen

trail

Wanderweg

and speak with the archaeologists or volunteers.

This was once home to as many as 7,000

Romans. The excavations show their business

affairs, military records and private correspon-

dence. Writing tablets include a birthday invita-

tion, details of a parcel to a soldier that con-

tained shoes, socks and underpants, and a

complaint about a shortage of beer. Inscrip-

tions, stones and graffiti tell us something

about the people who lived here.

Finds of fabric and leather are made possible

by the anaerobic conditions created when the

Roman army buried its old forts before con-

structing new ones on top. “We’ve got nine

forts on top of each other going down about

seven or eight metres,” explains Andrew Birley,

director of excavations. “It’s a site where our

input has a direct bearing on the history of

Roman Britain and on the history of the world.”

After a cup of tea, I’m back on the wall with a

view across an enormous, almost empty land-

scape to the Cheviot Hills far in the distance.

They say that Britain is a crowded island, but up

here it’s all big skies, hills and farmland with

sheep and wildflowers. The horizon seems to

be endless.

Hadrian’s Wall is built on the high point of sev-

eral natural ridges. Looking across the land-

scape here is like watching waves on the sur-

face of the earth. Stretched across them is the

stone serpent of the wall.

Source: Spotlight Travelogs 8/2011, pages 5–6

[7] Interview with Andrew Birley

lier buildings, you know, irritating their lives,

so they covered it up pretty thoroughly, as

you would, and by doing so created this fan-

tastic archaeological environment.

Here we’re very, very fortunate [because of]

Vindolanda’s relative isolation, you know,

within the country environment that it sits in.

It’s not near any large urban centres and as a

consequence of this, the site is relatively

undamaged. You know, it has been damaged

by farming but not to the extent that some of

the Hadrian’s Wall sites have been damaged

by later road builders, like military road

builders — things like this. And so things

more or less, within reason, sit where they left

them, which is wonderful.

In this edition:

● A cloud of volcanic ash stops air travel in

Australia and New Zealand;

● Barack Obama starts to remove US troops

from Afghanistan; and

● Michelle Obama gives words of encourage-

ment to young African women.

Remember, if you don’t understand some-

thing, you can always go back and listen to it

again.

David: Now listen to an interview with Andrew

Birley, director of excavations at the Vindolan-

da site. He explains why it’s possible to find so

many historical items in such good condition at

the site.

Basically, the conditions are created by the

Roman army themselves: they come, they

build forts, they cycle out, they knock the fort

down, they come, they build a new fort — and

every time they do that they push the archae-

ology deeper down, further away from the air

that we breathe; and as a consequence, you

get no oxygen, what we call an anaerobic envi-

ronment: oxygen-free. There’s no air down

there. Of course you need oxygen to have

rust, for things to decay, but also for bacteria

to survive and break things down. And so any-

thing they drop in the first, oh, I don’t know,

50, 60 years that they’ve been here, if it’s

sealed properly, it survives in more or less the

same condition [in which] it was dropped,

which is fantastic. Now this of course goes for

the wonderful things, like writing tablets, but

it also goes for the less wonderful things, like

their waste. All the nasty stuff is there, and of

course if you’re looking for a reason why they

sealed the site, that’s the reason why they

sealed it: they didn’t want the terrible stench

of all the rotting stuff that was left in the ear-

anaerobic

sauerstofffrei

bearing

Einfluss

break sth. down

etw. zersetzen

cycle out

hier etwa: turnusmäßig

abziehen

decay

verfallen, verrotten

fabric

Stoff

Replay

[8] A look at recent news events

inscription

Inschrift

irritate

stören

isolation

Abgeschiedenheit

knock sth. down

etw. abreißen

nasty

eklig

oxygen

Sauerstoff

Anne: Listening to the news in English is an

excellent way to improve your language skills.

Each month our Replay section takes a look at

current events, with explanations of difficult

and idiomatic language.

parcel

Päckchen

ridge

Bergrücken

rot

(ver)faulen

rust

Rost

seal

versiegeln, abdichten

serpent

Schlange

shortage

Mangel, Knappheit

stench

Gestank

Inez Sharp: Welcome to Replay, the listening

exercise with the voices of people who’ve been

in the news. I’m Inez Sharp.

thoroughly

gründlich, sorgfältig

volunteer

ehrenamtliche(r) Helfer(in)

writing tablet

Schrifttafel

within reason

soweit im Rahmen

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