17. The haves and have-nots around us (II)

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Looking back at the photo which opens the first part of this topic, I somehow feel that most of you decoded the be-have-do triad in terms of notions rather than tools for constructing utterances; yet their uses are by far more numerous as modal, and auxiliary verbs than notional verbs. This is indeed tricky business, and – of course – we are taken back to our attempt at getting verbal, at least in order to make sure we’re on the right track.

Grammaring again!

Let’s get notional now for just a little while, and look for answers to such questions as:

What comes first to our mind when we say I am? Do we really decode it as existence?

What do we first think of when we take in I do? Is it action, or else some echo of a previous question?

How many times does I have evoke by itself something which ‘doesn’t mean anything’?

What is needed in order for us to understand them as tools?

While waiting for your answers, I am about to become a bit philosophical: what seems to be more important, being (that is to say, existing), having (that is, possessing), or else doing (visually, taking a course of action)?

At the end of the day, what does it take for one to enjoy the ‘simple thing’ of reading these lines?                               

Aaron and Candy Spelling's mansion

A study in contrasts 

[adapted from New Success at First Certificate,

by Robert O’Neill, Michael Duckworth & Kathy Gude]

   Aaron Spelling is said to have been the richest and most successful television producer in Hollywood and, in a city famous for its wealth, his wife, Candy, has been known as the biggest spender. A few years ago they paid more than $10 million for the huge house Bing Crosby used to live in. Then they had it torn down so that an even bigger, more wonderful mansion could be built. Not only does it have a more luxurious swimming-pool but an indoor ice-skating rink and a private zoo, as well. The final bill came to more than $25 million.

They say that a few years ago – surely before 2006 (the year Aaron Spelling passed away) – on a typically warm Californian Christmas Eve, Candy had a huge amount of real snow delivered to the Spelling mansion and spread all over the green lawns so that their children could enjoy 'a white Christmas'.

Not so long ago Candy decided she needed a few more clothes. She had a whole fashion show flown out to her from New York, along with the designer and three models. Not only did she buy the entire collection but - so the story goes at least - the bags and hats the models travelled with, as well. A lot of people in Hollywood wonder what she is going to buy next.

'What more can she possibly want?' others ask.

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    Martin and Rebecca Granger used to teach in a tough secondary school in London. A few years ago, they moved to a small cottage in Cornwall, in the extreme south-west of England. ‘We got tired of trying to make kids learn things they had no interest in’ Martin says. Martin's mother had died, leaving the cottage to them. 'It was in a terrible state when we came. There were leaks in the roof. There wasn't even an indoor loo. * Rebecca and I have rebuilt the place with our own hands.’

 It is a pleasant, small place by the sea. In their large garden they grow most of their own vegetables and keep a goat. They also make all their own clothes. ‘Money is still a problem, but we've learned to get by on very little,’ Rebecca says. She does some part-time teaching in a school in the village nearby. Martin paints water-colours of the wild Atlantic and the brilliant sunsets they see almost every day. He has sold a few recently.

 They both say that what they value most is their freedom from the rat race and the pressures of life in a big city. Only one thing really bothers them, and that is the invasion of tourists every summer.

‘We've been very happy here, but we might emigrate to New Zealand, where we'd be even further away from it all,’ Rebecca says.

* lavatory.

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Choose the best answer.

1  Aaron and Candy Spelling were living in

A the house that belonged to Bing Crosby.

B a house that they paid more than $ 10 million for.

C a more luxurious house than the one they bought.

D a house that needed a lot of repairs.

2   The real snow Candy wanted for Christmas was

A brought to her home from elsewhere.

B placed on the edge of the lawns.

C manufactured at her own home.

D more than she needed to cover her property.

3   Some time ago, Candy decided to

A fly to New York to buy some clothes.

B run a clothing company herself.

C employ a fashion designer and models permanently.

D purchase every single item in a fashion show.

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4   Martin and Rebecca Granger moved to a small cottage in Cornwall because they

A couldn't find a teaching job in London.

B wanted to teach outside London.

C found teaching salaries too low in London.

D wanted a change from their life in London.

5   The cottage they moved to in Cornwall

A had belonged to a distant relative.

B was bought for them by Martin's mother.

C was in a dreadful condition.

D was in a small village.

6   After Martin and Rebecca had moved to the cottage, they spent some time

A creating a large garden.

B renovating the building themselves.

C looking for suitable work.

D finding help to make the place habitable.

7   They are thinking of emigrating to New Zealand because

A they are seeking freedom from the rat race.

B they cannot manage on what they earn.

C they are no longer happy where they are.

D they want to live in an even more remote place.