1. Theatre
2. Globalization
3. Bullfighting - A Big Attraction in Spain
4. Automakers Produce Cars of the Future
5. Andy Warhol - Icon of the Pop Art Movement
6. Agatha Christie - Books, Life and Characters
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1. Theatre
A theatre is a place where people go and see all kinds of performances. Most
people think of a theatre as a place to see a play, where a story that is acted
out in front of an audience. But there are other kinds of performances that
take place in a theatre too: musicals, ballets and operas.
The theatre building
Most theatres have three parts: the stage, the auditorium and the
backstage area.
The stage is the most important part of a theater. It is the place where actors
and actresses perform a play. Most plays are performed on a proscenium or
picture-frame stage. The audience can watch the play only from the front.
The action takes place under a large arch. A curtain opens and closes at the
beginning and end of each scene.
Sometimes the audience can sit on three sides of a stage. Some theatres
have a round stage in the middle of the auditorium with spectators sitting
around it. Actors get on and leave the stage through the audience.
The auditorium is where the audience sits. Modern theatres also have
lobbies, rest rooms, cafes and bars to offer people more comfort before
and after the performance, as well as between scenes.
The backstage area is the place where the scenes are prepared and actors and
actresses get dressed. There are also storage and office rooms for the staff
and theatre workers. There are rooms in which technicians control lighting
and sound.
People in a theatre
Many people work together in a theatre. Every production begins with a
producer – sometimes a man or a woman, sometimes a whole group of people
or a company. Producers have a lot of things to do. They have to collect
money for the play, get a story and a usable script. They must be able to
work with a good team.
The director decides how the play should be performed. He interprets the
script, works together with the people who make the scenery and costumes.
The director oversees rehearsals and tells actors how to play their part. In
modern plays a playwright writes the script.
Designers create the scenery that shows the time and place of the story.
Lighting experts have the job of moving actors or pieces of the stage into the
spotlight. Lighting effects help to create the atmosphere of a play.
A casting director takes over the job of selecting actors and actresses for the
play. They must choose a person with a suitable voice and character for every
role. Make-up artists and costume designers help make the actors look good.
Choreographers plan dance steps and other movements.
Actors and actresses are the main people in the play. They must study a
character’s appearance, speech, body movements and gestures.
Practicing this is not always easy. In order to play a role well the actor must
know a lot about emotions and the feelings that someone can have. They must
concentrate on their role and keep out everything that may distract them.
Scene design
Designers build the scenery on a stage. Sometimes they don’t have to change
it during the play. At other times sets have to be changed quickly during
performances. Modern theaters have stages that can revolve or stages that
can be raised or lowered.
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act out = perform
appearance = looks
arch = a curved structure above an opening
audience = the people who sit in the front and watch the play
auditorium = the part of the theatre where the people sit and watch the
play
backstage = behind the stage, where the actors and actresses get dressed
body movement = the way a person moves and the special things he does
casting director = a person who chooses the right performers for a play
choreographer = a person who shows the dancers the movements during a
performance
collect = get money from anywhere you can
comfort = to be relaxed, fell good
company = a business organization
concentrate = focus on
create = make
curtain = piece of cloth that hangs from the ceiling
distract = to take away your attention
gesture = when you move your hands or head to show what you mean or
feel
interpret = to show the play the way you understand it
lighting = the light in a room and how it shines on the stage and actors
lobby = a large hall near the entrance
lower = to move down
movement = to go from one place to another
offer = give
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oversee = supervise, watch over
perform = act
performance = when people act out a play or play music on a stage
piece = object
playwright = someone who writes the script of the play
proscenium = part of a stage that is front of the curtain
raise = to move up
rehearsal = the time when all the people of a play practice before the
performance
• rest room = toilet
• revolve = to go around in a circle
• scenery = the background and all the objects on a stage
• script = the written form of a play
• set = the scenery or objects that are used on a stage
• spectator = a person who watches an event
• speech = the language a person uses
• spotlight = a light which you can direct at someone on a stage
• staff = all the people who work in a theatre
• stage = the higher area of a theatre where the actors and actresses perform
or singers sing
• storage = place where you keep things that you do not need
• suitable = right, correct
• technicians = people who work on and control the technical parts
usable = something you can use
2. Globalization
Your shirt was made in Mexico and your shoes in China. Your CD player comes
from Japan. You can travel to Moscow and eat a Big Mac there and you can
watch an American film in Rome. Today goods are made and sold all over the
world, thanks to globalization.
Globalization lets countries move closer to each other. People, companies and
organizations in different countries can live and work together. We can
exchange goods , money and ideas faster and cheaper than ever before.
Modern communication and technology, like the Internet, cell phones or
satellite TV help us in our daily lives.
Globalization is growing quickly. A German company can produce cars in
Argentina and then sell them in the United States. A businessman in Great
Britain can buy a part of a company in Indonesia on one day and sell parts of
History of Globalization
Globalization is not new. For thousands of years people have been trading
goods and travelling across great distances. During the Middle Ages,
merchants travelled along the Silk Road , which connected Europe and
China.
The modern age of globalization started with the Industrial Revolution at the
end of the 18th century. New machines were able to produce cheaper goods.
Trains and steam-powered boats transported products farther and faster.
Since 1980, globalization has been moving at a faster pace. Today it is easier
for companies to work in other countries. The Internet gives them the chance
of reaching more customers around the world. Teleworkers work for firms
that may be far away.
However , there is a growing debate over globalization. Governments are
in favour of globalization because the economy can grow. Other people are
not so sure that there are only advantages. Here are some arguments from
both sides:
Good sides
• Globalization lets countries do what they can do best. If, for example, you
buy cheap steel from another country you don’t have to make your own
steel. You can focus on computers or other things.
• Globalization gives you a larger market. You can sell more goods and make
more money. You can create more jobs.
• Consumers also profit from globalization. Products become cheaper and you
can get new goods more quickly.
Bad sides
• Globalization causes unemployment in industrialized countries because
firms move their factories to places where they can get cheaper
workers.
• Globalization may lead to more environmental problems. A company may
want to build factories in other countries because environmental laws
are not as strict as they are at home. Poor countries in the Third World
may have to cut down more trees so that they can sell wood to richer
countries.
• Globalization can lead to financial problems . In the 1970s and 80s countries
like Mexico, Thailand, Indonesia or Brazil got a lot of money from
investors who hoped they could build up new businesses there. These
new companies often didn’t work, so they had to close down and
investors pulled out their money.
• Some of the poorest countries in the world, especially in Africa, may get
even poorer. Their population is not as educated as in developed
countries and they don’t have the new technology that we do.
• Human, animal and plant diseases can spread more quickly through
globalization.
Many experts say that we need a different kind of globalization in our world
today. There must be ways to make sure that all countries profit from the
good sides of globalization. We should help poorer countries by giving them
better education and showing them how new technology works.
Every year, leaders of the world’s biggest industrial countries get together to
discuss economic problems. This meeting is called the G8 summit. In the
last few years groups against globalization have organized protest marches
and demonstrations to point out that not everyone is happy with how the
world’s economy is developing.another business in China the next, thanks
to globalization. Fast food companies open shops around the world almost
every day.
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advantage = the good side of something
age = period of history
argument =reasons
business = company
cause =lead to
cell phone = a mobile telephone
close down = to stop producing goods
connect = to link together
create = make
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customer = a person who buys something
debate = discussion
develop =grow
developed countries = rich , industrialized countries
disease = illness
distance =space
economic =about the economy
economy =the system of producing goods and products in a country and
selling them
• educated = if you have gone to school and learned a lot
• environmental = everything that is about the air, water or land around us
• especially =above all, more than others
• exchange = to give someone something and get something else in return
• factory = building in which you produce goods
• farther =here: over greater distances
• firm = company
• focus on = concentrate on
• G8 = Group of 8 = the most important industrialized countries in the world
• goods = things that you produce and sell
• government =the people who rule a country
• however =but
• in favour of = for something
• investor = a person who gives money to a company and expects to get
more money in return
• law = rules that a country has
• lead to =cause
• leader = the most powerful person of a country
• make sure = to check that something has been done
• merchant = someone who buys and sells goods
• pace = speed
• point out = to show
• produce = make
• pull out = take out
• reach = get to
• Silk Road = an old route on which silk was carried from Europe to Central
Asia
• spread =to move from one place to another
• steam—powered =run by a steam engine ; power is produced by making
water hot so that it turns into a gas
• steel = a strong metal that you can form
• strict =exact
• summit = meeting for powerful leaders of a country
• teleworker = someone who works from home and uses a computer,
telephone etc..
• trade = to buy and sell goods
unemployment = if you don’t have a job
3. Bullfighting - A Big Attraction in Spain
Bullfighting is a great event that attracts many tourists to Spain and Spanish
speaking countries. There it is an important element of culture and has a great
tradition. Modern bullfighting goes back to the 1700s when the first bullrings
were built in Spain.
A bullfight takes place in bullring. The matador, or bullfighter, has special
training and is often a national hero in his homeland. The bulls used for
bullfighting are very powerful, wild animals that are bred to attack. They
weigh up to 500 kg or even more. Today many animal activists are against
bullfighting because bulls are treated in a cruel way and have to suffer pain
in the arena. Bullfights can also end with a matador’s death or injury if he is
pierced by a bull’s horns.
A bullfight usually consists of six fights. Three matadors with their teams fight
two bulls each. A bullfight has three acts. After the trumpets sound at the
beginning, the bull is let into the ring. The bullfighter waves a colorful cape at
the bull and tries to make it attack. During this part he studies the
movements of the bull. A picador enters the arena on horseback. He makes
the bull weaker by piercing his neck with sharp spikes.
In the second act, the assistants of the matador, called banderilleros, come
into the ring on foot, run around and throw barbed darts into the animal’s
neck to make it even madder.
In the final act the bullfighter is in the ring alone with the bull. He uses a small
cape, waves at the bull and lures it into attacking him. He tries to be as close
to the bull as possible. Finally, he thrusts his sword into the bull’s neck and
kills it. If he succeeds in pushing the sword into the bull’s shoulder blades it
dies at once. After the successful performance of the matador the
spectators get up and applaud. The bullfighter gets one or maybe even two of
the bull’s ears as a reward.
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attack = to hit someone in a violent way
attract = to pull towards; bring to
barbed = with one or more curved points
breed – bred = to bring animals together so that they can have babies that
are very good or strong
cape = a piece of cloth that a bullfighter waves
close = near
consist of = is made up of
cruel = brutal
injury = to damage a part of your body
lure = to make someone do something you want
madder = angrier
movement = how it moves from one place to another
performance = act, show
picador = man in a bullfight who rides a horse and weakens a bull by
throwing small spears into it
pierce = to make a small hole into something with a sharp object
reward = prize
shoulder blade = one of the two flat bones on each side of your back
• spectator = a person who watches a fight
• spike = sharp, metal points
• succeed = to do well
• suffer = undergo
• sword = a weapon with a long pointed blade
• thrust = push, force
weigh = how heavy something is
4. Automakers Produce Cars of the Future
Automakers around the world are planning to make cars that are smaller, use
up less fuel and do not damage our environment. At auto shows around the
globe car producers are presenting what they have in mind.
General Motors has already showed one of its prototypes .It is called P.U.M.A.
, which means Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility Vehicle. It looks
like a cart, has two batteries and seats for two people.
While GM’s car may never be produced other car makers have already made
mini-cars that you can buy. Mercedes’ Smart car has been popular in Europe
for some time. Chrysler’s GEM Peapod and Toyota’s IQ are two small cars that
have been specially designed for city traffic.
Man people want to buy small cars because they save fuel. That means saving
money on petrol plus being able to find parking spaces more easily in
crowded cities.
Carmakers are also spending money on research to make alternative-fuel
cars. Maybe one day, most of us will drive biodiesel, hydrogen, or solarpowered cars.
Hybrids are cars that are already on the market today. Toyota and GM already
produce hybrid cars, trucks and SUV’s that run on petrol and electricity. Other
companies, like BMW, have made cars that use hydrogen and electricity.
Although such cars are still too expensive to produce in great numbers
carmakers are continuing to improve them and make them cheaper.
Words
• accessibility = user friendly
• alternative-fuel = not powered by petrol but other environment-friendly
kinds of energy
• although =while
• cart = here: an object that has a small, round form and a motor
• crowded = full
• damage = destroy
• design = make, plan
• environment = the world around us
• fuel = here: petrol; the liquid for of energy that a car needs to drive
• globe = world
• have in mind = what they are thinking of
• hydrogen = the lightest gas that forms water when you mix it with oxygen;
it is also a source of energy;
• popular = liked by many people
• prototype = the first form of something new
• research = to study a topic and find out new and interesting things about it
• solar-powered = energy from the sun
• SUV = sport-utility vehicle= car that larger than a normal car and is used to
travel over rough ground
• urban = city
vehicle = car
5. Andy Warhol - Icon of the Pop Art Movement
Andy Warhol was the most popular figure in the pop art movement that
came up in the 1950s in the United States and Great Britain. During his career
he produced paintings, films, commercials, print ads and other works of art.
Andy Warhol’s parents came to America from Czechoslovakia at the beginning
of the 20th century. As a boy Andy liked to draw and cut up pictures. The
family lived in Pittsburgh, where Warhol’s father worked in a coal mine.
While in high school Warhol took art classes and drew sketches at the
Carnegie Museum. He liked to go to the movies and started collecting fan
articles of famous movies and stars. These objects appeared later on in
Warhol’s works.
Warhol studied art in Pittsburgh and after moving to New York in 1949 he
began work as an illustrator for magazines such as the New Yorker or Vogue.
During this time he started using a special technique to draw images for ads.
Andy Warhol became unsatisfied with this job and wanted to have his
pictures shown in art galleries.
During the 1960s Andy Warhol concentrated on painting realistic pictures of
everyday items. This style became known as pop art. Among his most famous
paintings were comic strips, images of Marylyn Monroe, Muhammad Ali, Coca
Cola bottles and the electric chair. His probably best known painting was the
famous Campbell soup can. In his drawings Warhol simplified objects and
portraits and painted them in many different colors.
The center of Warhol’s life was his art studio, called the Factory. There he met
many other famous artists and celebrities. The Factory was also used as a
film studio in which Andy Warhol produced many of his famous underground
films. They usually had no special plot but were very long. In one of them he
shows a man sleeping for five hours.
In 1968 a frustrated actress, Valerie Solanas, walked into Warhol’s studio and
shot the artist. Although he had already been pronounced dead, doctors
managed to reanimate him and save his life. Warhol never fully recovered
from this incident.
During the 1970s and 80s Warhol continued to paint with the same silk
screen technique that had made him popular but, in some way, his career
was declining. In 1987 Warhol died at the age of 58 during a routine gall
bladder operation.
Andy Warhol had a unique personality. He was a declared homosexual who
liked to be famous and stand in the spotlights. He liked to be surrounded by
flashy characters like Mick Jagger and Jim Morrison.
The Andy Warhol Museum, in Pittsburgh is the largest art museum dedicated
to one single artist. It holds more than 12,000 works of the icon of pop art.
The highest-priced painting is Eight Elvises , images of Elvis Presley, which was
sold for over 100 million dollars.
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although = while
appear = show
art = painting and drawing pictures
art gallery = building in which paintings and pictures are shown to the
public
can = metal container that has soup, food or something to drink in it
celebrity = a famous person who is still alive
century = a hundred years
coal mine = place where workers dig coal out of the earth
comic strip = a series of pictures drawn inside boxes that tell a story
commercial = advertisement on television or radio
declared = something that is official or has been said in public
decline = to go down
dedicated = here: for only one person
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electric chair = chair used in the United States to execute criminals
figure = person
flashy = here: person who wears expensive clothes and likes to be famous
frustrated =angry
fully = completely
gall bladder = organ in your body which stores a green material that your
liver produces
• homosexual = to be sexually attracted to the same sex; gay
• icon = idol
• illustrator = someone who draws pictures for books and magazines
• image = picture
• incident = event
• item = object
• movement = group of people who believe in or do the same things
• pop art = type of art that was popular in the 1950s and 60s; it showed
everyday items as colorful paintings
• popular = liked; well – known
• pronounce = declare ; to say officially
• reanimate = here: to try to make a person’s heart beat again
• recover = to become healthy again
• silk screen = drawing technique, in which ink is forced onto a surface
through a piece of cloth
• simplify = to make simpler; without so much detail
• sketch = a simple drawing that does not show much detail
• spotlight = to get a lot of attention
• surrounded = here: he is in the company of many people
• technique = method of drawing
• underground = here: strange and sometimes shocking films that are only
seen by a small number of people
• unique = single; there is nothing else like it
• unsatisfied = not happy
work = here: painting
6. Agatha Christie - Books, Life and Characters
Agatha Christie was one of England’s most famous writers. Her crime and
detective stores became famous for their clever plots. Agatha Christie was
often called the queen of crime.
Agatha Christie was born in Devon, England in 1890 as the daughter of a
British army captain. During the First World War she worked in a hospital as a
nurse. Later on she got a job in a pharmacy. This influenced many of her
crime stories because some of her victims were poisoned.
Agatha Christie was married twice and especially her second husband
travelled a lot with her. Some of her novels, like “Death on the Nile” were set
in the Middle East. “Murder on the Orient Express” was written in Istanbul.
At the beginning of the 1970s Agatha Christie became ill, but she went on
writing. When she died in 1976 she had written over 60 novels, 150 short
stories and 16 plays. Her stage play “The Mousetrap” is the longest running
play in history. It was first performed in 1952 and after a record 23,000
performances it is still running today.
Many of Christie’s books and short stories have been turned into successful
movies.
Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple
In her works Agatha Christie created two great characters. Hercule Poirot is a
Belgian detective who appeared in 33 of Agatha Christie’s novels. He his best
known for his moustache. Poirot thinks logically and likes order. He
examines the crime scene in detail and claims that every crime can be
solved.
David Suchet as Hercule Poirot
As time went on Agatha Christie became tired of her Belgian detective and
wanted to get rid of him. But he was very popular among her readers. When
he died in “Curtain” in 1978 he became the only fictional character to get an
obituary in the New York Times.
Agatha Christie’s other well-known character was Miss Marple, an old woman
who wants to be an amateur detective. She likes knitting, walking around
the neighbourhood and she observes things very carefully. She became
famous for solving cases where the police failed. In contrast to Hercule
Poirot, Christie was very fond of Miss Marple.
Plots of Christie Novels
Almost all of Agatha Christie’s novels are whodunits. They focus on English
people of the middle and upper classes.
Usually the detective comes across a murder scene by chance or is called by
a friend who may be involved. He or she questions the suspects, examines
the crime scene carefully and gives the reader clues so that they may have a
chance to solve the crime themselves. In the course of the story one, or
even a few, of the suspects usually die.
Finally the detective gets all the suspects together and gives away
information that not everyone knows, until the real murderer is revealed.
In some of Agatha Christie’s stories the murderer escapes justice;
sometimes they get killed. Twice the murderer turns out to be the narrator of
the story.
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amateur = not professional
appear = here: to be a part of
by chance = without planning, luckily
case = crime
claim = to say that something is true even if it has not been proved
clever = intelligent
clue = a piece of information that helps you solve a crime
come across = gets to
create = make
crime scene = place where the crime took place
escape = to get away from
especially = above all
examine = to look at carefully
fail = not succeed
fictional = something or someone that does not exist in the real world
focus = concentrate
fond = if you like someone
get rid of = to do away with
in contrast to = as a difference to
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in the course of = as the story goes on
influence = to have an effect on
justice = here: to be sentenced for the crime
knit = to make cloth out of wool using two needles
moustache = hair that grows on a man’s upper lip
narrator = the person who tells the story
novel = a long written story with unreal characters
nurse = a woman who helps people in a hospital
obituary = article in a newspaper about the life of someone who has just
died
observe = watch
order = everything is in the right place
perform = act on a stage
pharmacy = a shop where medicine is prepared and sold
plot = story
poison = to put something in a person’s food or drink in order to kill them
popular = liked by many people
record = highest, best-ever
reveal = to make known, show
solve = to find an answer
successful = here: to make a lot of money and become famous
suspect = a person who is thought to have committed a crime
victim = someone who dies in the story
whodunit = a book or a film about a crime in which you do not find out who
killed the person until the end