96. The Point! (II)

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The typical cloze test, invented long ago for institutions to check students’ or candidates’ knowledge, is about to change. It won’t take long to admit units that have been called form-meaning pairings, which make sense only when used together. On the contrary, insisting on the existence of slots for individual ‘words’ will only add to people’s fragmented knowledge – with a little luck, no one is doing things with this purpose in mind!

Obviously, such changes take time simply because it is a lot easier to make things stay as they are (see previous episode) than innovate.

Completing the cloze below will be easier indeed if and only if you have watched the previous episodes attentively. You’ll find the key after the page break.

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The national 1. _______ in the Land of Point was a game called Triangle Toss. And Triangle Toss was a game for people with pointed heads. The object of the game was to 2. _______ a triangle as far as you could and then run to the opposite end of a field and catch it on the point of your head. But 3. _______ Oblio had no point, he would throw a triangle and Arrow would jump up on his shoulders and the two of them would run to the opposite end of the field, Arrow making the 4. _______ on the point on the top of his head.

Now, most of the kids in the town thought that it was all right to allow Oblio and Arrow to compete as a team. But there was 5. _______ one kid who was the son of the evil Count, who was the 6. _______ to the King. And the Count’s kid insisted that, since Triangle Toss was for people with 7. _______ heads, and Oblio obviously did not fall into that category, he should not be allowed to play. Well, to settle the dispute, it was decided to have a contest – best two 8. _______ three tosses and catches. If Oblio won, he’d get to play; but if the Count’s kid won, Oblio wouldn’t be allowed to play.

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And that brings us to the game.

At the end of the game, Oblio had beaten the Count’s kid two out of three. And when the Count heard of his son’s disgraceful 9. _______ at the hands of this pointless Oblio, he was outraged. So he went to the King and reminded him of the Law of the Land, which was that all things and all people in the Land of Point was to have one. Since Oblio didn’t have one, he was 10. _______ violation of that law, which called for his banishment. Now, the King, who was a good king, was painfully aware of his duty, which was to convene the Tribunal and to conform to the Count’s 11. _______. And that’s what he did. 

And when the Tribunal reviewed the case, it could only arrive 12. _______ one conclusion: Oblio had no point; he was therefore guilty of being in violation of the law. And so it was decided that he and Arrow – for Arrow was found guilty of complicity – be banished from the Land of Point to the Pointless Forest.

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The next day, Oblio’s mother and father and all the townspeople gathered to bid a sad farewell to Oblio and Arrow. Now, everyone thought that banishment to the Pointless Forest was 13. _______ excessive, but the Law was the Law, and the people were good, law-abiding citizens, and –well – that was the first time anything like this had ever happened and no one knew quite what else to do. So Oblio and Arrow set 14. _______ for the Pointless Forest where all things are pointless and nothing is pointed.

By the way, the distance between the Land of Point and the Pointless Forest was directly proportional to the 15. _______ of time it takes to sing a song--

A BIT	A LITTLE	AMOUNT	ASSISTANCE	AT
CATCHES	DEFEAT	FEAT	HEIR	IN
INSISTENCE	OFF	OUT	OUT OF	PASTIME
POINTED	POINTLESS	SINCE	THIS	TOSS

Unforyunately, the episodes are not available on the free youtube application. The link is the same: The Land of Point

95. The Point! (I)

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Honest, how many of the lexical units based on point (noun) are you sure you know the meaning of? How many do you use in your active thematic vocabulary?

When you have consulted the examples attached in the previous post, it's time you watched the first part of a film that I hope you will enjoy: it's by courtesy of this as yet exceptionally generous World Wide Web, where information is - you'll have to admit it - at your fingertips!
The Point!

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There is no denying that language is symbolic. I take it to be the rule, for in fact we use the language to mean something, and we expect our interlocutors to see what we mean. If you have already watched the first part of this highly symbolic cartoon film, you have come to know something about Oblio, and the land he was born in. Now, being born somewhere should be a blessing for all those who actually realize that there's a lot to learn in a lifetime. To learn, that is, often the hard way. Only when you finished watching all the (eight) episodes will you grasp the underlying idea; for the time being, there's this stop-and-check of the first episode. Only then are you asked to go on watching Part Two.

Triangle Toss

'This is the town and these are the people

This is the town where the people all stay

This is the town and these are the people

That’s the way they wanted it

That’s the way it’s going to stay

"Everything’s got one

Everything needs one

Couldn’t be without one

Everyone has one

"Years ago, there was a place called The Land of Point. That was because everything in the Land of Point had one: the barns, the houses, the carts, everything – 1. _______ the people. Everyone in the Land of Point had a point on the top of his head. Everyone, 2. _______, with the exception of Oblio.

"Now, although Oblio was born 3. _______ a set of normally-pointed parents, and although he was born physically perfect in every 4. ________ respect, he was born without a point. He was round-headed. And as time passed, Oblio became increasingly 5. _______ his uniqueness. And so did everyone 6. _______, which made life in the Land of Point rather uncomfortable for him and his parents. You see, Oblio became 7. ________ an involuntary celebrity. And he was subject to the sometimes cruel and 8. _______ harassment of his schoolmates. He was 9. _______ being the only pointless person in the Land of Point and, in an effort 10. _______ make life easier, his mother knitted a pointed cap 11. _______ to wear, so as to conceal his pointless condition; but it didn’t do 12. _______ good because everyone knew he didn’t have a point, so it only managed to make Oblio a little 13. _______ . In fact the _______ real friend he had was his dog Arrow.

"Me and my Arrow

_______ than narrow

Wherever we go

Everyone knows

It’s me and my Arrow…"

ANY	AWARE OF	A SORT OF	ELSE	EVEN
FOR HIM	FROM	LONELIER	MANY	MUCH
ONLY	OTHER	STRAIGHTER	THAT IS	THAT WAS
TO	TO	UNEASY	UNUSUAL

  

57. Living in the Past

An hour-glass (or a sand-timer)

They say – and I believe it – that what gives Man his perception of Time is what makes him human. Having a memory of something (with all that this triggers, like short- vs. long-term memory, memory recall, memory gaps and loss of memory, and a host of other savoury topics) may range from things that we would like to remember to things that we would like to forget...Even our cells are said to have memory: this will send us quite soon back to health matters!

For the time being, let’s have a look at something easier to handle than the depths of memory – a cloze test which tells a story. Now, that’s the nice thing: not only do we remember stories easily but we build our lives around a story (i.e., the story of our life or, unfortunately for our self-actualization, the stories of other people’s lives).

Check how well you’ve done and then answer these questions:

1.      Is the story plausible?

2.    Has anything similar ever happened to you?

3.    Would having such experiences be a reasonable reason to forget about sharing flats?

4.   What advice would you give to someone who has to share a flat (rents are ever so high!)?

Read the text and complete each blank with ONE suitable word from the list supplied. Each word can be used only ONCE. Five of these words are not to be used.

A 2,500-year-old water clock

about	afford	denied	as	at
claimed	did	into	nearly	noticed
on	pay	pull	quite	realize
retrospect	ruined	straw	taste	throw
together	turn	turned	up	were

When I moved into a two-bedroom flat with Sophie, I imagined we’d get (1)_________ really well. I couldn’t (2)_________ the place by myself, but after meeting Sophie at a local wine bar, I thought she seemed (3)_________a nice person to join me.

I had my first doubts about her the day we went to choose paint to do (4)_________the flat. I wanted bright colours but she insisted on very plain shades and wasn’t prepared to compromise at all. I thought: “What am I getting myself (5)_________?’ Unfortunately we had already signed the contract by then, so it was too late to (6)_________out.

Initially, everything else seemed fine. Then (7)_________the weeks passed, things began to change. When I went out, she’d ask me why I was wearing so much make-up, or she’d want to know where I was going or where I’d been. Gradually, I began to (8)_________that she was jealous of me and my social life.

Modern water clock

However, when I bought a new white dress, things took a (9)_________for the worse. I was just (10)_________to put the dress in the washing machine when I (11)_________a speck of orange. I put my hand into the machine and a whole load of orange turmeric fell out. It would have (12)_________my dress. I suspected that Sophie had done it. When I confronted her, she denied it, but I was so angry I even threatened to call the police.

Another night I came in and found a curry that Sophie had made, so I thought I’d (13)_________it. After one mouthful I realized it had washing-up liquid in it. It made me terribly ill.

Things went from bad to worse. I had a large collection of framed family photos which were very important to me. I came home one day and found all the pictures had been (14)_________upside down. When I asked Sophie who had done it, she (15)_________that it was nothing to do with her and just shouted abuse (16)_________me.

It was the last (17)_________, however, when she started spreading rumours; she told my friends, including my boyfriend, that I was going out with other boys, which just wasn’t true. But eventually, I began to lose confidence and after almost a year of this I had to move out. In (18)_________, I think she wanted to be like me, but when that proved impossible, she tried to make my life hell. She (19)_________did, too. I have never bumped into her again and, to be honest, I’d be horrified if I (20)_________.

Foucault's Pendulum under the Dome of the Pantheón, Paris - since 1995

Source: Google Images

56. Time on Our Hands

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‘What a difference a day makes

Twenty-four little hours

Brought the sun and the flowers

Where there used to be rain’

Dinah Washington’s 1987 song gently pours its sounds in my ear, her voice beating the time on the lyrics translated into English by Jamie Cullum from Maria Grever’s Spanish lyrics ‘Cuando vuelva a tu lado’ (When I Come Back by Your Side). But how little is an hour of those twenty-four?

Doubtless, the song is loveable: where there’s fusion, there’s value to be found. What about that one little hour that – we are told – we’ll be gaining for advancing the clock – or having advanced it by now? Is it a gain or a loss?

Google Images: Decimal Clock,
in Fritz Lang's Metropolis

This morning we all stepped into Daylight Saving Time again. Some did it mechanically, accepting, as it were, what has been decided for the general benefit. Others (like me) still question the usefulness of imposing rules on rhythms, and don’t see any positive changes – not as far as the individual is concerned.

Waste Not, Want Not

Ten words have been removed from the text below. They are to be found among the fifteen words written below the article. Five of those words are then extra – or, better to say, distractors. Find the good ones and complete the text:

[adapted from the Wikipedia article on DST]

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As modern societies operate on the basis of "standard time" 1. _ than solar time, most people's schedules are not governed by the movements of the earth in relation 2. _ the sun. For example, work, school and transport schedules will generally begin at exactly the 3. _ time at all times of the year regardless of the position of the sun. However, in non-equatorial regions the total number of hours of sunlight in a day will vary a 4. _ deal between autumn/winter and spring/summer. As a result, if "standard time" is applied year 5. _ , a significant portion of the longer sunlight hours will fall in the early morning while there 6. _ still be a significant period of darkness in the evening. Because many people will tend to sleep in the early morning hours, these hours of sunlight are "wasted" for them, 7. _ if they are shifted to the evening via DST, they can then be "used". People could simply wake up earlier to take advantage of the sunlight then, but this is impractical because of the inflexibility of clock-based schedules.

As days shorten again in autumn/winter, sunrises get later and later, meaning that people could then be 8. _ up and spending a significant portion of their mornings in the 9. _ so clocks are then returned to the "standard" time. The actual effects of DST can vary significantly by location depending on its latitude and position relative to the centre of its time zone. For example, DST is almost redundant in extremely northern/southern locations because the very long/short days mean that the artificial manipulation of time has little or 10. _ practical effect.

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Dark – darkness – great – getting – may – must – no – rather – round – same – to – waking – whereas – while – with

Why do we do it? Or why do we (here and now) have to do it?

Is it observed everywhere on the globe?

Whose hour is it, anyway?!

If it were just for that biological time of 60 minutes, maybe we wouldn’t mind. In favour of advancing the clock in October, and as homage to its promoter William Willett, Churchill said (in 1934) that “it enlarges the opportunities for the pursuit of health and happiness among the millions of people who live in this country”… This automatically sends our thought to DST for interests far above the individual’s own life span. But Man is made of subtle rhythms which belong to his ancestral heritage: not even five thousand years of evolution could make such important changes in human biology as to help an organism cope with all the changes triggered by shift in circadian rhythms. 

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We suffer from SAD (Syndrome of Autumn Depression) and we project our suffering on people around us. We feel like eating without stop and we blame ourselves for every ounce of food because we think we lack strong will to shed the extra kilos: in fact it has to do with leptin, serotonin, cortisol, and other hormones that regulate the chains of chemical reactions taking place in our body while awake vs. while we are asleep.

No, definitely, I won’t buy this – unless someone shows me the real advantages of changing the clock and consuming more power both early in the morning and late at night! 

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50. Keeping a Watchful Eye

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[adapted from New Success at First Certificate Workbook by  Michael Duckworth and Kathy Gude]

 

The ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ scheme all started a few years ago in the village of Mollington after a number of burglaries in the village and surrounding area. The residents in the village came up with the idea that maybe they themselves could keep an eye on their neighbours’ property while they were away on holiday. Since then, and with the support of the government and police, more than 50,000 ‘Neigh­bourhood Watch’ schemes have been set up all over the country.

The object of each ‘Watch’ group is to reduce the opportunities that criminals have in any particular street or area. Each resident who is a member of the scheme agrees to call the police whenever they see something suspicious. Everything is done calmly and discreetly – it is the police who actually check out each report and investigate what is happening. Residents who are part of the watch are not supposed to act as police or put themselves in any danger.

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When a new neighbourhood watch scheme is set up in an area, the first thing people notice is the large, brightly coloured ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ sign. This is a great deterrent to any burglars or vandals, because very few of them will take a chance of breaking into a house if they know that there is a high risk of being seen by caring neighbours keeping a lookout. Burglars also know that people who are part of ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ schemes are probably more likely to have fitted good locks to their doors and windows.

There’s another benefit too. In the comparatively short time ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ schemes have been in existence, there is growing evidence of a new community spirit. It is bringing people together as never before, and encouraging people to care for one another. New friendships are made, and contact is often established with old people living on their own, who are often the most frightened and the most at risk.

Find a word or phrase in the passage which means:

1.      strange, not quite right                 

2.    carefully and without people noticing

3.    people who live in a place

4.    something which stops you doing something

5.     people who destroy or damage things for no reason

6.    watching carefully                                  

Read the passage again and choose the best answer.

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1                     The ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ scheme in Mollington was started

 A because the police could not protect people.

 B before any others in the country.

 C after 50,000 burglaries in the area.

 D because some residents wanted to go away for holidays.

2                    When members of a ‘Watch’ group see suspicious individuals, they

A try and frighten them away.

B contact the police.

C try and arrest them.

D call the other members of the ‘Watch’ group.

3                    When a ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ group starts in an area,

A people fit new locks to their door and windows.

B the police send fewer officers to the area.

C burglars are less likely to break into houses.

D residents put signs on their doors.

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4                   One other benefit of ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ schemes is that

A people get to know each other better.

B members of the ‘Watch’ look after old people.

C different kinds of people are attracted to live in the area.

D old people are no longer frightened of crime.

Reported Speech: Questions

Peter Jackson has been stopped by a customs officer at the airport. Complete the dialogue by writing the customs officer's questions.

Officer: Good afternoon, sir. (1)...?

Peter: Jackson, Peter Jackson. It's on the passport, if you'd care to look.

Officer: No need to be like that, sir. Now, (2)...?

Peter: From Switzerland

Officer: (3)...?

Peter: I'm British. Actually, it says that on the passport, too.

Officer: (4)...?

Peter: No, nothing to declare. Just the 200 cigarettes and a bottle of gin.

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Officer: (5)...?

Peter: Yes, I packed everything myself.

Officer: (6)...?

Peter: Yes, of course you can, but you won't find anything.

Officer: (7)...?

Peter: In those bottles? Um ... er... I think those six bottles have got er ... a little bit of brandy in them. Sorry.

Officer: (8)...?

Peter: I didn't declare them because I'd completely forgotten about them. I really am most terribly sorry.

Now write out the customs officer's questions in reported speech. The first one has been done for you.

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Remember: the word order usually changes, use if or whether when there is no question word

a The officer asked him what his name was.

b He wanted to know...       

c Then he asked...       

d He asked...      

e He wondered...         

f He asked...                

g He wanted to know...        

h He demanded...