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EmeraldsThe Last GreatTroubadourA Century of TeaBags

MODERNENGLISH DIGESTMODERNENGLISH DIGESTTHE MAGAZINE HELPING STUDENTS LEARN ENGLISH

Here Be Dragons!The Allotment

Animal Mysteries

James McAvoyVol 6

/ Is

sue

1 £

4.25

James McAvoy

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abb – abbreviation, adj – adjective, adv – adverb, coll – colloquial, i – idiom,n – noun, np – noun phrase, ph.v – phrasal verb, prep – preposition,

pron – pronoun, q – question word, v – verb

Your guide to the graded English used in Modern English Digest

We have packed this latest issue of Modern English Digest with a wide rangeof features that make learning English interesting and fun! All the articles inthis magazine are carefully written in graded English to cater forelementary and intermediate level students of English.

We have a partnership with Macmillan Education. Each issue of the magazinefeatures an extract from Macmillan Education’s award-winning series ofsimplified readers.

The magazine has a great mix of interesting articles that help improvevocabulary and understanding in cultural and work-specific context. Please writein with your comments and visit our website www.ModernEnglishDigest.net.

Key to glossaryIE

• Simple passive forms• Infinitives of purpose: to, in order to• Modals – could (ability), can (permission)• Present perfect• -ing verb form after like, enjoy• be interested in• used to & wanted to + verb• Defining relative clauses• Modal will with future reference• Conditional sentences (1 & 2)• Present Progressive with future reference

• Comparative and superlative of adjectives• Reported commands in the past• Adverbs of frequency and manner• Constructions with it and until• Indefinite pronouns: everyone, everybody, etc.• had better, would rather• Phrasal verbs• Reported speech• say and tell• Verb -ing as subject or object• Conjunctions: although, so, but, because

• Modal should + Passive Perfect• Past Passive• Modal could, may, might + Perfect Progressive• Present Perfect Progressive• Future Perfect• Should have + Past Participle• Needn’t have + Past Participle• Relative clauses, defining and non-defining• Which, whose• Adjective as noun• Subordinators: wherever, whenever

• Reflexive pronouns• Be supposed to, be likely to + verb• Double object verbs• As if + clause• Participial phrases• Modal will, could, should + Passive infinitive• Phrasal verbs with give, come + in the Passive• Indirect commands• Indirect questions with if and wh- questions• Modal could + Perfect Conditional with Past• Perfect (Third Conditional)

Intermediate I

Elementary E

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LIFESTYLE

●I 20 A Century of Tea Bags

●E 24 The Last Great Troubadour

●E 28 Everyday Mysteries Solved

●E 36 From Hand to Mouth

●I 39 Emeralds

●I 42 What Long Fingers Say About You

BUSINESS

●I 50 No Need for Speed

●I 54 Moving Your Career Forward byManaging Upwards

ACTIVITIES

●E 56 Fruity Flower Pot

●I 58 Just for Fun

●E 60 Find a Word – Mysteries andPuzzles

●E 61 Know the Issue

63 Just for Fun – answers

FEATURES

4 ●I

Here Be Dragons!

8 ●I

The Allotment

12 ●I

Animal Mysteries

16 ●I

The IncredibleChessmen of Lewis

32 ●E

James McAvoy44 ●E

The PromiseBy R. L. Scott-Buccleuch published by

Macmillan Education

3

Photo © Richard Young/Rex Features

James McAvoy: page 32IntermediateElementaryE I

CONTENTSCONTENTS

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FEATURE

Here Be Dragons! BY RORY GEAR

Maps are wonderful things.Today, we simply take maps forgranted and expect them to be

easily available in our local shops. If weare going on holiday, for example, weare quite likely to buy a local map of thearea we will go to. If we are going on ajourney, we may simply log on to a freemap site on the internet to check out theroute before we set off. It was notalways so simple. The history ofmapmaking is long and full of surprises.The earliest maps survive today ascultural treasures that tell us about howvarious civilizations saw their world andmankind’s place in the universe!

We know for a fact that the scienceand art of making maps dates back atleast to Babylonia in 2300BC. TheBabylonians created maps on claytablets that marked out settlements, cropfields and irrigation sources. Thesemaps provided the authorities with aclear picture of the places that matteredto them. These maps also providedtraders, soldiers and administrators withthe information they needed to movefrom one place to another without fear ofgetting lost. Similarly, the maps ofMesopotamia that survive from around1600BC depict cities and the tracksconnecting fields to the built up areas.

Recording features of this kind is typicalto most early maps which show wherepeople lived, hunting grounds, watersources, land boundaries and significantlandscape features. Some maps evenshowed the location and appearance ofthe important individual buildings.

Not surprisingly, maps of this kindenjoyed a very high value. People lookedafter maps with great care. Maps holdenormous value to different kinds ofpeople. Anyone owning a map took verygood care to stop the map from falling into the wrong hands. At the same time,others did all they could to make copiesof maps that existed or to draw upreliable maps of their own. This hasalways been particularly true for soldiersand military commanders. A good maptells the reader exactly what they canexpect to find in the country the mapdescribes. This kind of knowledge iscritical to military success.Understanding the kind of terrain youmay need to fight in can make all thedifference between victory or defeat onthe battlefield. A good map is aninvaluable aid to any conquest orinvasion. For this reason, the makers ofthe earliest maps went to great lengthsto stop undesirable people from seeingor using them. In some cultures only

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priests and the highest nobility enjoyedthe right to look at maps.

Prehistoric finds from different parts ofthe world include bones carved with theimages of coastlines and importantlandmarks. The archaeological evidencesuggests that these kinds of maps playedan important role in ensuring thesuccessful migration of various peoplesover vast distances – both by land andsea. The sea-going peoples of Polynesiawove intricate palm leaf mats using twigsto show currents and prevailing windsand shells to depict islands. Canoescarried small maps of this kind on tripsbetween islands. Navigators learnedtheir craft from very large maps of thiskind based on shore. The Marshall

Islanders made stick charts fornavigation, pre-Columbian maps inMexico used footprints to representroads and early Eskimos carved ivorycoastal maps. The Incas in Peru builtrelief maps of stone and clay. Chineseliterature contains references to paintedmaps of one kind or another dating backto as early as the 7th century BC!Certainly the Chinese invented what wenow recognise as cartography (thescience of making maps that faithfullyrepresent all the features of alandscape). For centuries, maps fromChina were more accurate and detailedthan maps produced by any othercivilization anywhere else in the world.Some historians suggest that Chinese

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actually created the first maps showingthe correct relationship between all thedifferent continents of the world. If so, it

is likely that copies of these originalworld maps inspired the great Europeanvoyages of discovery of the 15th century.

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For there is no doubt whatsoever thatseafarers like Magellan and Columbushad a pretty good idea that the lands theyintended to discover did in fact exist.

However, the Chinese were not alonein advancing cartographic techniques.The ancient Greeks first understood thatthe earth was a sphere when themathematician Eratosthenes accuratelycalculated the circumference of theearth. Another Greek map from the 6thCentury BC shows the world as an islandwith Greece at its centre. By the time ofAristotle, around 350BC, no one of anynote argued the case for the Flat Earthconcept any more. Ptolemy was the firstto illustrate the earth as spherical on hisworld map. Ptolemy was also the firstcartographer to project the proportionsof the spherical earth in two dimensionsonto a square sheet of paper. Althoughhe maintained that the sun revolvedaround the earth, and calculated the

earth as being only 3/4 of its actual size,Ptolemy was far ahead of his time on interms of the scientific rigour of his map-making techniques. Ptolemy proposed asystem of grid references to locatecoordinates on the surface of the earththat mapmakers still use to this day.

So while many of the earliest maps fillin the blank spaces of uncharted landswith the immortal phrase “here bedragons!”, the basic principles forcharting the earth’s surface have notchanged since ancient times. Drawingon satellite-based equipment that viewsthe surface of the Earth with infiniteprecision from space, modern maps aretruly astounding in terms of theiraccuracy, detail and up-to-dateinformation. There is no place on thesemaps that we cannot scrutinise down tothe merest millimetre if we so wish. Howdifferent from the vast spaces full ofunknown territory on those more ancientmaps that so inspired our forefathers toset out and explore their world in searchof new lands full of opportunity, romanceand adventure. It is for this reason thatwe still refer to the continents ofAustralia and the Americas as being our“New World” in contrast to the “OldWorld” of Europe, Africa and Asia! Youonly have to look at one of the world’smore ancient maps to truly believe thathere be dragons indeed! ✪

Irrigation (n) bringing water to the land by means of pipes or channels.Reliable (adj) dependable and trustworthy.

Terrain (n) an area of land.Navigator (n) someone who plans the direction and route of a journey.

Cartographer (n) someone who makes maps.

Another Greek mapfrom the 6th CenturyBC shows the world asan island with Greeceat its centre.

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TV N8

LIFESTYLE

The AllotmentBY SARA HALL

Ilove gardening. I suppose I inheritedthe interest from both my parents. Mymother always smuggled exotic seeds

and plants back from holidays abroad.My father grew far more vegetables inthe family garden than we ever managedto eat. Love of gardening is perhapspeculiarly British and it comes to most ofus eventually...

Just over a year ago, I moved from acottage in a small village in theCotswolds to a house in the local markettown. My garden in town was muchsmaller than the one in the country. Ichose my new house because it wasonly 50 yards from a large area of thrivingallotments. I planned to get my ownallotment so I could continue to grow thevegetables I love along with plants likesweetcorn, pumpkins and potatoes thattake up a lot of space. Within a week ofmoving in I was pestering the man incharge of the allotments to put my nameon the waiting list. Five years ago thedemand for allotments was low andwaiting lists were rare. But nowallotment gardening is popular again andin some places it can take years to get aplot.

Allotments have been around in someform or another in Britain since Saxon

times when peasants were able to usecommon land for grazing and cultivation.The first records that mention allotmentsby name occur in the 1500s. This markedthe start of a long process by which thepoor lost the right to use common land.The General Enclosure Act of 1845required landowners to set aside “fieldgardens” up to quarter of an acre in sizefor use by “the landless poor”. Despitethis legislation, allotments accounted foronly about 2200 acres of land use by theturn of the 20th century. It took two worldwars to really get allotments up andworking on a large scale across Britain.

Blockades and food shortages in thefirst world war led to increased demandfor home-grown food. The governmentopened up land along the railway linesfor individuals to grow their own food.Most of these railway-based allotmentscontinue in operation to this day. In thesecond world war the governmentencouraged households to “dig forvictory” and turned many public parksover to the purpose of growing food.During the war the British publicproduced about a tonne of food perallotment plot. The number of allotmentspeaked at around 1.4 million in 1943. TheAllotment Act of 1950 recommended 1

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acre of allotments for every 250 people inthe population, but the demand for thiskind of allocation never materialized. Asmemories of war shortages and rationingfaded, the number of productive

allotments in use declined steeply, fallingto 500,000 plots in 1970 - and to an all-time low of 297,000 plots in 1996.

Since then demand for allotments hasincreased slowly but steadily. However,

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working an allotment is a real labour oflove. Most average allotments are aquaint “ten poles” in size. Thismeasurement means nothing to mostBritish people who long ago lost the artof measuring land in units of rods, polesand perches! Speaking for myself, I cansay that my allotment is about six metreswide and 25 metres long. I think this issomewhat larger than ten poles, but byhow much I truly cannot say. I do knowthat this size allotment takes a lot ofcareful planning, hard work and regulareffort to keep going. And I was lucky toget a strip of land that was previouslywell looked after. This meant that the soil

was not too hard for me to dig up andfork over for planting. It also meant Iinherited the last of a crop of heartybrassicas that supplied me with greensfor my first two months’ start up on theallotment. Like most of the gardeners onthe allotments around me, I wasdetermined to cultivate the ground in theold fashioned way. Mainly this meansdigging and weeding by hand. Myallotment was covered in bindweed, aplant I have come to hate. Leave even alittle inch of bindweed root in the groundand it will quickly spread and grow.

I am fortunate to work in a schoolwhich means I have low pay but long

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holidays. I first set to work in myallotment in the Easter holidays. I startedby turning the soil with a fork. The soilwas lovely - light, deep and easy to work.However, four two-hour sessions ofdigging later and I was physicallyexhausted. Despite all my labour, I hadturned less than ten square metres of soilin total! Another allotment owner cameto my rescue with a rotivator – a smallmechanical digger that turns soil up totwo spade heads’ deep! My rotivator-owning friend advised me to rotivate theplot twice in the first year. This helps killoff the bindwind without too muchproblem. In four hours I managed torotivate about two thirds of my total plot,ready for a good spring planting. Theremaining area I plan to set up aspermanent beds for soft fruit - raspberrycanes, blackberries, gooseberries andcurrant bushes which I will plant in theautumn.

Allotments are places where peoplediscover the importance of sharingknowledge, advice and resources. I havebought a share in my neighbour’srotivator and, thanks to this, I am about toenjoy a good crop of potatoes, broadbeans, runner beans, french beans,brussel sprouts, red kale, celery,broccoli, courgettes, onions, garlic andshallots. I have a permanent bed ofasparagus (a long term investment, but

something I’ve always wanted) and astrawberry bed. In late spring I plantedcarrots, turnips, parsnips, cauliflowers,squash and sweetcorn. Because I havethe space, I will also put in some flowersas well to encourage the bees and birds.So far I plan on growing sweet peas,sunflowers and marigolds.

The allotment has had other, social,benefits for me. Since moving in to mynew home, I have barely spoken to myneighbours. This is a quietneighbourhood and it is hard to get toknow people. But in the few months that Ihave had my allotment, I have met manynew people from all walks of life. Peoplegenerally are helpful and only too glad topass on surplus plants (and advice!) toget you started. Some individuals areonly too happy to tell you their life story ifyou are willing to stop and listen. Mychildren tell me I have become a bit of anallotment bore myself. I plan my holidaysaround the work I need to do at eachseason of the year. I anxiously scan theweather forecasts to know which days Ican best spend working outdoors on myplot. I happily show off my progress toanyone willing to come and have a look!And I now work contentedly on my ownin silence for hours at a time – full ofquiet enjoyment at my connection withthe land, the food I eat and the place Ilive. It’s grand! ✪

Inherit (v) to receive a gift from someone who has died.Smuggle (v) to take something secretly or illegally.

Allotment (n) a small area of land in a town that is rented out to people so that they can grow fruit and vegetables.Pester (v) to keep annoying someone especially by asking them for something.

Blockade (n) an official action that prevents people or goods from moving from one place to another.Surplus (n) more of something than is actually needed or necessary

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FEATURE

Animal MysteriesBY MARY HUBER

In June 2008 more than 70 commondolphins got into difficulties in shallowwaters off the Cornish coast in the

south of England. The plight of thedolphins captured the British public’simagination and was widely reported innewspapers, radio and television. Sadly,despite all the media attention, 26dolphins suffocated. However, despite agreat deal of investigation, no one reallyknew why the dolphins died. Massstrandings of dolphins are unusual.Typically, post mortems of individualanimals show that the dolphins involvedwere essentially healthy and capable ofliving many years longer. The untimelydeath of such popular mammals causesa public uproar in most countries of theworld. So why do large numbers ofdolphins die each year in this way?

Some scientists suggest that dolphinsdie en masse when a predator causesthem to panic or when they take a wrongturn while hunting for fish. Anotheralternative theory is that dolphins aresensitive to the sonar frequencies usedby warships or by naval exercisesinvolving the firing of live ammunition.Several conservationists believe thatnaval exercises using active sonarcauses acoustic exposure which, in

extreme cases, can lead to the death ofmarine animals within earshot. In 2005NATO published a report on marinemammals and active sonar whichsuggested a correlation between sonaruse and mass whale deaths in NorthCarolina and to dolphin deaths in Florida.However, in the 2008 UK case history, theRoyal Navy denied any possible linkbetween the use of sonar or liveammunition and the dolphins’ deaths inCornwall.

Sadly the death of so many dolphinsoff the English coast is not an isolatedtragedy. All over the world a wide varietyof animals die in seemingly inexplicablecircumstances. Others seem to behavein unexplained and unfathomable ways.These unexplained deaths and strangebehaviours haunt animal lovers, conser-vationists and environmentalists alike.Here are a just few of the unsolvedmysteries of the animal world.

Like a lemming The myth of lemmings’ mass suicidesfirst started as a way of explaining thesudden severe falls in lemmingpopulations during times of migration.Most naturalists now discredit the ideaof lemming mass suicides. However,

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there is no doubt that lemmings do die asa result of jumping over cliffs duringmass migration activity. Naturalistsobserve that lemmings migrate inmassive numbers on a four year cycle.At the height of this migration, the sheernumbers involved mean that lemmings atthe rear of the column force those at thefront to run headlong into a risk that theyavoid at other times. Every four years orso, lemming numbers build up to a pointwhere the front runners of a migrationplunge over a cliff and fall into the seafor a crossing that kills all but thestrongest few. Although scientists stillpuzzle over the conditions that create

this four yearly migration mystery, thereis no doubt that lemmings as a wholeprosper because of it. Naturalists arenow focusing on the complex set ofrelationships between changes in foodsupply, habitat and the rise in thenumbers of predators to explain whylemmings self-destructive behaviour inone year seems to predict their long-term survival in the years that follow.

Going battyNature lovers the world over mourn thedeath of thousands of bats that appearto lose the will to live at the foot of windturbines every year. No one has a clear

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idea about why these otherwiseseemingly healthy bats seem to die at all!The dead bats are usually unmarked andunblemished. Clearly, they are not thevictims of some kind of strike from theblades of the wind turbines near whichthey died. In an attempting to explainthese deaths some scientists suggest thatmigrant bats turn off their echo-locationto conserve their energy. Despite the lackof damage to the dead bodies, thesenaturalists suggest the bats literally bumpinto the turbines and die as a result of the

impact. However, sceptics dispute thisexplanation. The lack of any evidence ofphysical damage to the bats’ bodies saysthat some other cause of death is atwork, they claim. Until now, the death ofsome many bats in the vicinity of windturbines remains a mystery.

Bee wareHive Collapse Disorder (HCD) is a newphenomenon among bees. Apiarists, orbee keepers, warn that this unusualbehaviour is threatening bee populations

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from the US through Europe and intoAsia. This matters because beespollinate many of the major crops thatfeed human populations. Without bees,crop yields collapse and peopleeventually go hungry. While no one issure why bees are abandoning theirhives, one theory suggests that mobilephone technology disrupts the ways inwhich bees work together to find foodand sustain a hive. This is an area thenaturalists and scientists will focus agreat deal of attention in the futurebecause the potentially catastrophiccosts to the economy if bees fail topollinate crops in the future.

A whale of a taleThe reason why so many whales arefound stranded on beaches or in shallowwater near coasts also continues tobaffle conservationists. Some expertsthink that sometimes a leader of a schoolof whales can panic in shallow waterand lead the others into ultimately fataldanger. Another theory is that since onlyelderly whales become stranded it maybe that old whales do not take intoaccount changes in land mass in theirnavigational systems and becomestranded more easily than their younger

counterparts. Naturalists areinvestigating the specific characteristicsof mass whale strandings to try to drawconclusions about why these eventshappen and what they indicate in termsof the long term impacts on whalepopulations as a whole.

Elephant graveyardsScientists still do not understand theinner compasses that aid animalmigration. While some researchersconsider that many animals have a sixthsense, a number of experts now attributeseasonal migration to a uniquesensitivity to the Earth’s magnetic field.Many naturalists now believe thatelephants have an especially highdegree of sensitivity to magnetic fields inthe Earth’s core. Before the 2003 AsianTsunami dozens of elephants trumpetedand fled for higher ground. However, thelocal mythology of many areas subject toearthquakes and other similar disasterssuggest that birds always know whentrouble is coming. While the ways inwhich animals can predict such naturaldisasters remain a mystery, there is nodoubt that understanding the behaviourof animals holds important lessons thatcan affect the wellbeing of us all. ✪

Shallow (adj) with a short distance from top to bottom. Suffocate (v) to die because of lack of air.Predator (n) an animal that hunts, kills and eats other animals.

Sonar (n) equipment on a ship that measures the depth of the water.Inexplicable (adj) impossible to explain. Suicide (n) the act of intentionally killing oneself.

Migration (n) the process of moving from one part of the world to another.Unblemished (adj) without fault.

Sceptics (n) people who have doubts about things that others believe to be true.Compass (n) equipment used to help find the way.

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FEATURE

The IncredibleChessmen of Lewis

BY JOE ST CLAIR

T here is an old saying that “fact isstranger than fiction”. Every nowand then a story comes along that

shows life can be more surprising thanthe most exciting of thrillers. This isnowhere more evident than in the story ofsome old chess pieces found on the Isleof Lewis in the Outer Hebrides and nowon display in the Royal Museum inEdinburgh and the British Museum inLondon. Although the passing of timemeans we cannot be sure of all thedetails, there is no doubting the basicevidence for the following incrediblestory…

About three hundred years ago a fierceAtlantic gale threatened to sink a ship offthe west coast of Lewis in the OuterHebrides in Scotland. The ship escapedthe worst of the storm by anchoring in asheltered inlet called Loch Resort wherethe crew decided to stay until the stormsubsided. One of the crew was a cabinboy. Possibly the victim of bullying fromthe Captain and the crew, this cabin boydecided to escape from the ship while itwas so close to land. During the nightwhile the crew were sleeping the cabin

boy swam to the shore. On his back theboy carried a sack loaded with a hundredor so ivory chess pieces stolen from theCaptain’s cabin.

Despite the weight of the stolen goodsin his sack, the cabin boy managed toswim safely to the shore. However, a localcowherd spotted the boy as he made hisway on to the shore. The cowherdguessed that the boy’s sack probablycontained valuable treasure of some kind.The cowherd demanded that the boy handthe sack over to him. The boy refused. Aviolent argument followed. The cowherdoverpowered and killed the cabin boy. Heburied the boy’s body and made off withthe sack of treasure.

However, when the cowherd opened upthe sack and saw the chessmen inside, hegrew afraid. He knew that he could neversell or show the chessmen to anyonewithout risking discovery of the cabinboy’s murder. So he carried the sack full ofchessmen ten miles away from theanchored ship to a place called UigMachair, or the Mains of Uig. There thecowherd buried the sack beneath asandbank. We know about this sequence

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of events because many years later theauthorities on the island sentenced thecowherd to hang in the town ofStornoway as punishment for anothercrime. Just before he was hung howeverthe cowherd confessed to killing the cabinboy. He also described the location wherethe sack of chessmen lay buried.

The authorities searched Uig Machairto find the stolen goods but to no avail.Local people also tried their luck.However, no one succeeded in finding anytrace of the sack or the chessmen.Gradually people lost hope of ever findinganything. Over the decades people gave

up the search. And the brutal story of thestolen chess pieces passed into the folkmemory as just one more local legend.Some hundred years later in 1830 thestory came back when a grazing cowbelonging to Calumnan Sprot (who wentto his grave under the more respectablename of Malcolm Macleod) hooked acreamy white object out of a sandbankwith her horns. Puzzled, Macleod rescuedthe object from the cow’s tramplinghooves. As he brushed away the sand,Macleod realised he held one of thefabled stolen chessmen in his hands.Macleod immediately started to scrabble

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around in the sand trampled by his cow.Digging frantically with his bare hands,Macleod quickly uncovered what he tookto be the entire hoard of amazingchessmen.

Macleod took all the chessmen that hefound home. However, he found thepresence of the chessmen verydisturbing. A man of strong religiousconviction, Macleod found it hard to lookat the chessmen as being anything otherthan “pagan idols”. Macleod found itparticularly unnerving to look at thechessmen carved to resemble Christianpriests or bishops. For this reasonMacleod decided to hand over the wholecollection to a friend of his called CaptainRyrie, who also conducted business underthe name of Roderick Pirie. Pirie realisedthat the chess pieces were potentiallyvaluable. Pirie travelled all the way toEdinburgh to sell the chess pieces at thehighest price possible. In Edinburgh hefound a buyer in the person of an antiquesdealer called TA Forrest. Forrest paid Piriethe handsome price of £30 for the pieces.

While we do not know how Pirie splitthis £30 with Macleod, it is a matter ofrecord that Forrest sold 82 chessmen on

for a profitable 80 Guineas to FrederickMadden, the assistant keeper ofmanuscripts at the British museum with apassion for chess. Madden realised thatthe chessmen were important culturalartefacts and negotiated hard to acquirethem for the national collection. What hedid not know, however, was that Forrestsecretly held back a total of ten pieceswhich he intended for later sale.

Forrest eventually sold these tenremaining chessmen to a Scottishgenealogist called Charles KirkpatrickSharpe. Mysteriously, Sharpe latermanaged to add another chessman in theshape of a bishop to his collection. Thereis no record of how Sharpe came by thisfinal chess piece. But it is clear thatsomeone found this last item of thetreasure trove in the same sandbank thatMalcolm Macleod’s cows once disturbed.To this day you may find people scouringthe sands at the Uig Machair in the hopethat a few further figures may yet come tolight!

The Society of Antiquaries of Scotlandbought Sharpe’s collection of 11 Lewischessmen at auction at Christie’s in 1888and donated them to the NationalMuseum of Scotland. This explains whysome of the chess pieces are on displayin London and some in Edinburgh.However, the story of the 93 amazingchessmen of Lewis does not end here.

The entire collection seems to includepieces from at least four and possibly fivedifferent chess sets. In total there areeight Kings, eight Queens, 16 Bishops, 15Knights, 12 Rooks and 19 Pawns. Eachpiece is carved as a distinct individual.Some pieces show traces of dye,

The entire collectionseems to includepieces from at leastfour and possibly fivedifferent chess sets.

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indicating that the pieces represent boththe White and the Black sides of a chessset. The Kings, Queens, Knights and Rooksdisplay a distinct warrior style thatresearchers at the British Museumconcluded did not belong to the Isle ofLewis or any part of the Scottishmainland. After much investigation, theexperts now suggest that the chessmenstarted life in 12th Century Norway. Carvedfrom what seems to be ivory from theteeth of walruses and whales, the chesspieces probably come from theNorwegian fishing port of Trondheim. TheArchbishop of Trondheim received taxesin the form of walrus and whale ivory fromthe church’s holdings in Greenland andthe Arctic islands off northern Norway.So what, you may ask?

For scholars, this is an interestingquestion. If the chessmen arrived in Lewisin the 12th century, this may indicate thatthe islanders were strongly allied toNorway rather than Scotland. There is agreat deal of evidence that the ScottishIslanders are more closely related to thepeoples of Scandinavia than to the Scotsof the mainland. More intriguingly, otherchess pieces have come to light inNorway and Sweden suggesting that theauthorities in Trondheim held power and

influence in a great many places. It maybe that chess sets represented anespecially important kind of gift betweenhigh ranking people. Certainly, only themost elite people in Europe played chessat this time. Having a chess set was animportant way for the ruling class to tellothers that they were rich, important andinformed about the use of power. Somescholars speculate that the chess pieceson Lewis were possibly part of a cargointended for Ireland and the mostimportant nobles at the court in Dublin.

No matter how the chess pieces cameto find their way to Lewis, it is clear thatthey are connected with the fate ofnations. England, Scotland, Ireland,Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the Isle ofMan all share traditions dating back overa thousand years and more. If the chesspieces from Lewis do indeed come from atotal of four or five different sets, then thepossibility exists that a further 35 to 67pieces lie somewhere waiting to be found.Medieval scholars everywhere hope thatthis may be the case. For there is no doubtthat every time a chess piece comes tolight its discovery helps us discover a littlebit more about the trade, culture and livesof people living in northern Europe eightor nine hundred years ago. ✪

Gale (n) a very strong wind.Anchor (v) to drop a heavy object into the water to stop a boat from moving.

Ivory (n) the creamy white bone of an elephant’s tusk.Confess (v) to admit to a crime. Brutal (adj) extremely violent.

Hoard (n) a large quantity of hidden objects. Pagan (adj) relating to an ancient religion.Artefacts (n) an object that was made a very long time ago.

Genealogist (n) someone who studies the history of families.Treasure Trove (n) a collection of valuable, interesting or original things.

Elite (n) a small group of influential and rich people.Medieval (adj) relating to a period of European history between 1000 AD and 1500 AD.

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LIFESTYLE

A Century of Tea Bags

BY MARY HUBER

L ook in any kitchen cupboard in theUK and you will find a supply oftea bags. Indeed, many British

people are unable to imagine lifewithout this basic food staple. Tea bagstake all the fuss out of making a cup of

tea. Without the convenience of a teabag, you have to measure out, thenbrew, strain and clear away the tealeaves before you can settle down toenjoy your cuppa. Nowadays that is alljust too much like hard work to be

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worthwhile! Tea drinkers everywhereagree that tea bags are an essentialinvention that we now all take too muchfor granted. This has not always beenso. This year tea drinkers have a realreason to celebrate. Tea bags are 100years old.

While the British like to think that theyset the world standard in terms of allthings to do with tea, they cannot claimcredit for the tea bag. This claimbelongs to an American tea merchantcalled Thomas Sullivan who made hisname in New York City. In June 1908Sullivan began to send samples of tealeaves to potential customers in smallsilk pouches. His reason for this wassimple – he wanted to cut costs byreducing the amount of tea he sent outfor individuals to sample. However,Sullivan failed to explain this to hiscustomers. Most received the silksachets with a great deal of puzzlement.Some cut the sachets open to inspectthe tea inside. The majority, however,simply dropped the sachets into hotwater to discover if they liked the tasteof the tea inside. Some then wrote toSullivan to complain that the silkmaterial of the sachets was too fine tolet the tea taste out. Spotting his chanceto build on this show of interest, Sullivanexperimented with different types ofmaterial. He soon hit on a gauze-likesachet that delighted his mostdemanding customers. Sullivan’s salesboomed. More importantly, Sullivan setthe foundations for a market inconvenience tea preparation andinvented what we now call the tea bagalong the way!

While tea merchants responded verypositively to Sullivan’s sample sachets, ittook a great deal longer for ordinary teadrinkers to lose their loyalty to brewingup with loose tea. A major reason forthis was cost and taste. Tea in a sachetcosts more than loose tea. And mostsachets impaired the pure flavour of thetea. As a result, serious tea lovers inAmerica dismissed tea bags as anexpensive and inferior product whencompared to traditional loose tea. But amajor breakthrough came in 1930 whenWilliam Hermanson, one of the foundersof the Boston-based Technical PapersCorporation, patented the heat-sealedpaper fibre tea bag.

However, despite the growing demandfor tea bags in America, the Britishcontinued to resist any changes to theirtraditional brew. Finally, in 1953 theBritish packager Tetley spotted thepotential for the convenience of theAmerican invention to take off in the UK.However, Tetley knew that persuadingthe British public to change their teadrinking habits was not going to beeasy. In an attempt to win over theircustomers, the company began bylaunching a set of nationwide and highprofile adverts suggesting that tea bagswere the new, quick and easy way tomake a good cup of tea. Aimed at theUK’s emerging national TV audience, theTetley adverts captured the popularimagination with their wit and humour.Tetley’s successful tea bag campaignhelped define a whole new way ofadvertising convenience foods thatinspires major supermarket adcampaigns to this day.

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While Tetley enjoyed a lot of successin persuading consumers to experimentwith tea bags, many tea drinkerscomplained that Tetley’s tea bagstainted the taste of the tea that theyloved. Convinced that tea bags provideda quality-assured way to guarantee thetaste of a cup of tea, Tetley persistedwith perfecting a tea bag that allowedmaximum infusion with minimumcontamination to the final taste. Afteryears of testing, Tetley finally developeda highly perforated bag in 1964 thatintroduced no foreign flavours to thetaste of the tea. In 1989 Tetley switchedfrom the standard square bag to a roundone. Soon after the company introduceda pyramid-shaped tea bag that helpedinfuse the tea even faster.

The company’s efforts paid off.Nowadays Tetley can expect to sell 200million tea bags in the UK every week.Many tea experts are convinced thatTetley’s mass marketing of the tea bageffectively saved the global tea industry.As the Chairman of the UK’s Tea Councilexplains, people are simply too busynowadays to “make tea in the old way”.

Today, tea bags are big business.Researchers and scientists continue tostrive to improve and enhance the basicdesign. Amazingly, hundreds of patentsnow exist to protect tea bag designs,materials and manufacturing processes.An average tea bag has over 2,000perforations. Tea experts argue over therelative merits of various differentshapes. Different manufacturers arguepassionately about the effectiveness oftheir own patented designs which comein round, square, rectangular, cylindrical

and pyramidal formats. Tea bags evencome in different sizes to appeal toindividual tea drinkers and those wholike to share a pot with their friends!There are even differences between theBritish tea bag and those sold in Europeand elsewhere. The average British teabag contains 3.125 grams of tea while aEuropean tea bag typically contains apaltry 2.5 grams!

And for tea lovers the charm andusefulness of the common tea bag is notconfined to the tea pot. Since 2000 thehobby of tea bag folding has spread fromThe Netherlands to Britain and the US.Tea bag folding is a form of origami inwhich small squares of paper, cut fromthe front of a tea bag, are folded andarranged in decorative rosettes. Whosaid that tea bags exist only becausethey save you time? With tea, ritual andstyle will always be important. Tea bagswill continue to evolve as the way inwhich we drink tea changes to expressthe way in which we experience amoment of shared togetherness!

And finally if you think that a tea bag isonly useful in the way in which it helpsyou make and enjoy a cup of tea, thenthink again! It is a little known beautyfact that a used tea bag can helpincrease facial attractiveness for menand women alike. To see this foryourself, simply place a used tea bag inthe fridge and allow to cool fully. Placethe cold, damp tea bag on your eyes.Relax for at least five minutes. Removethe tea bag. The skin around your eyeswill be less puffy and more relaxed. Youreyes will appear more piercing as aresult. Tea-riffic! ✪

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Invention (n) a new machine or system that a person has made or designed for the first time.Pouch (n) a small bag. Boom (v) to have a big economic increase.

Patent (v) to make an official and legal document that allows a person to be the only one to make or sell an invention for a set period of time.

Infusion (n) a drink made from putting leaves or herbs into hot water.Origami (n) the Japanese art of folding paper to make models.

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FEATURE

The Last GreatTroubadour

BY JOE ST CLAIR

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T here is something timeless andunmistakable about Irish music.Usually played on fiddles, guitars,

tin whistles, concertinas and goat skinhand drums called ‘bodhrans’, Irishmusic is full of energy and foot-tappingtempos. Irish music dances, interweavesand tumbles over itself like the gurglingmountain streams of its island of origin.The roots of traditional Irish music goway back into its Celtic past and havemuch in common with the folk music ofBrittany and Scotland. Emigrants from allthese places took their Celtic music withthem to the colonies of North America.The greatest number of emigrants fledthe potato famines of Ireland in the 1840sto find a new life in the US. Celtic musicis now enjoying a resurgence rightacross North America. In Canada therenaissance started in French-speakingQuebec. In the US the influence of Irishmusic has moved far beyond thetraditionally “Irish” cities of New York,Boston and Chicago to take in everylarge metropolis in the north, south, eastand west.

It is impossible to say with anycertainty where and when Irish Musicfirst found its unique voice. However, thehistorical record shows that Irishsingers, poets and composers travelledacross Ireland playing music to earn aliving hundreds of years ago. Known as“troubadours” or “wandering minstrels”,the names of most of these colourfulcharacters are lost to us forever.Fortunately the stories of a few selecttroubadours have survived the passageof time. Perhaps the greatest of thesetroubadours was the enigmatic blind

harpist called Turlough O’Carolan.O’Carolan’s life is a mixture of recordedfact and much loved folklore myth.O’Carolan’s music stands in a class of itsown and comprises a vast body of jigs,reels and airs that people instantlyrecognize as defining the heart and soulof Irish music.

Turlough O’Carolan was born in CountyMeath in 1670, the son of a blacksmith.Little is known about his early life but weknow that the family relocated toBallyfarnon in County Sligo where hisfather found work in a local ironworks.Sadly, at the age of eighteen, Turloughlost his sight when he contractedsmallpox. Turlough’s blindness meant hecould no longer follow his father’sfootsteps in the iron trade. Instead,Turlough took apprenticeship with alocal harp player called MaryMacDermott. He quickly realised that hehad a natural aptitude for music and wassoon writing his own compositions. Hemade swift progress. Within three yearsO’Carolan surpassed his teacher. At thispoint, despite his blindness, O’Carolanset off on horseback to seek his fortune

The roots of traditionalIrish music go way backinto its Celtic past andhave much in commonwith the folk music ofBrittany and Scotland.

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as a wandering minstrel, a vocation thatwas to last for the rest of his life. At theturn of the eighteenth century we knowthat O’Carolan was travelling extensively,stopping anywhere that he could findpatronage for his music. With a deepknowledge of ancient rhythms andpoetry, O’Carolan found demand for hisservices at many of the great Irishcountry estates where he stayed a whileto compose and play music for payingclients. Over the years O’Carolancomposed countless pieces of musicwhich he called “planxties”, a term no-one ever uses today. The names ofO’Carolan’s patrons do survive, however,in the various thanks and dedicationsrecorded with the titles of each planxty.

Thanks to his immense talent,O’Carolan’s fame as a composer andmusician spread quickly. Before long theblind harpist found himself in Dublinplaying for the elite of Irish society.Although handicapped by his blindness,it seems that O’Carolan was quite able tostand up for himself. There is no doubtthat O’Carolan enjoyed the company of awide variety of friends, many of whomliked to play practical jokes on him.There are many stories aboutO’Carolan’s colourful escapades.However, it is hard to say which arebased on fact and which are total fiction.What is very clear is that O’Carolan usedhis music to get out of lots of difficultsituations. O’Carolan also oftencomposed pieces of music as paymentwhen his purse was empty. O’Carolan’sbest friend was the famous harpist,Charles McCabe. One day McCabe metO’Carolan in the street and took the

chance to trick his friend into believinghim to be a total stranger. WhenO’Carolan asked for news of the world,McCabe replied in a disguised voice that“sadly the musician Charles McCabe hasjust now died and is no more”!Distraught at this news, O’Carolan askedthe man to lead him to McCabe’sgraveside. This he did. In grief, O’Carolansat down beside what he believed to bethe grave of his dearest friend andcomposed a lament full of sorrow. Whenhe had finished O’Carolan asked thestranger what he thought of the tune.McCabe then answered him in hisnormal voice to say that the tune was sogood it had brought him back to life fromthe grave! History does not record whatO’Carolan then said to his pranksterfriend. But many stories of this typeshow that O'Carolan and McCabeenjoyed playing these kinds of jokes oneach other all the time!

O’Carolan married a lady called MaryMaguire and they set up home in Mohillin County Leitrim. They had six daughtersand a son. O’Carolan’s son later made ithis life’s work to write down most of hisfather’s compositions. It is thanks to thiswork that most of O’Carolan’s musicsurvives to this day. While the NationalLibrary of Ireland attributes some twohundred compositions to O’Carolan,many Irish musicians say his legacycomprises many more. What is not indoubt is that O’Carolan carried oncreating music right up to the moment ofhis death. The records show that evenas he lay dying, O’Carolan played a final,moving slow air that he called“O’Carolan’s farewell to music”. An

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account of his funeral tells of a hugegathering of friends and musicians whoassembled for a final “wake” or farewellcelebration that lasted five days. Suchwas O’Carolan’s fame and popularity thatpeople also travelled from all overIreland to pay their last respects to thetalent of this most amazing of Ireland’s

troubadours. And O’Carolan’s voicecontinues to haunt Irish music to thisday. Wherever you hear Irish musicbeing played, one of O’Carolan’s uniquecompositions is likely to take pride ofplace. No one before or since has hadsuch impact on the musical heart of anation! ✪

Tempo (n) the speed at which music is played.Emigrant (n) someone who leaves their country to live in another one.

Metropolis (n) a busy city. Enigmatic (adj) mysterious and difficult to understand.Aptitude (n) natural talent and ability to do something.

Patronage (n) help or money given to a person or an organisation.Elite (n) a small group of powerful people. Lament (n) a sad song or poem.

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LIFESTYLE

Everyday Mysteries Solved

BY KESTA ALLEN

W hy do we do some of thethings that we do withoutthinking about them? Why do

we continue to do some things eventhough there are clearly better, moresensible alternatives to hand? Why dowe persist with these behaviours evenwhen they perplex or annoy us? Whilewe cannot answer all of life’sconundrums, we can offer insight into afew areas of interest to many!

Why do women wear high heels?Ask most women who wear high healsand they will tell you that wearing highheels is uncomfortable and makeswalking difficult. Extremely high heelscause permanent injury to the feet whileexerting extreme levels of stress to theback. Many famous women are victimsto this kind of damage. Fashion icon,Victoria Beckham, is a typical case. Afteryears of wearing high heels, the formerSpice Girl suffers from painful andunsightly bunions on her feet. However,despite the damage and discomfort,Posh Spice and posh girls everywhere

still insist on wearing painfully highheels. Why?

The answer has its roots in what menfind attractive in women and what wetend to define as being beautiful in awoman. Women who are above averageheight tend to receive more favourablenotice from men who are moresuccessful than the average. As a result,women who are taller than average tendto marry more advantageously thanothers. This is not a new thing. JaneAusten’s classic 18th century novel,Sense and Sensibility, describes andcontrasts the relative attraction of twoyoung sisters, Marianne and Elinor. JaneAusten describes the taller of the two asbeing the prettier, declaring that“Marianne is, still handsomer. Her form,though not as correct as her sister’s, inhaving the advantage of height is morestriking”.

Whether we like it or not, JaneAusten’s views about attractiveness andheight still hold true for many peopletoday. Until these kinds of opinionschange fundamentally, each new

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generation of young women willcontinue to want to wear alluring shoeswith uncomfortably high heels.

Why do women’s clothes button from theleft while men’s button from the right?As a general rule, clothingmanufacturers stick to a uniformconvention for the garments they sell toa particular group of people. When itcomes to the way buttons fasten there isa clear difference in the conventionalapproach for women as distinct frommen. So exactly why is it that women’sclothes button from the left while thosefor men button from the right?

Once again, the answer lies in thehistory books. Buttons became an itemof fashion in European clothing in the

seventeenth century. At this time,buttons were expensive. Only the bestclothes worn by the rich and wealthyfeatured buttons. During this period, arich man typically dressed himself. Thesame was not true for rich ladies.Typically, a maidservant helped awealthy woman to put on her bestclothes. This process could take a verylong time as the fashionable lady stoodand waited for her maidservants topainstakingly carry out her toilette anddressing. Most people are right handed.A person dressing someone else finds iteasier to button from the left.

For the men, the etiquette was muchsimpler. As the men dressed themselvesit made sense for their buttons to do upfrom the right. Despite the centuries and

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the fact that most people dressthemselves these days, the buttonconvention remains in strict force amongclothes designers and clothes makersaround the world!

Why do some cars have petrol caps onthe driver’s side while others have themon the passenger’s side?Most drivers experience a sense offrustration when they arrive at a petrolpump only to find that their car’s petrolcap is on the other side to the petrolpump! Often this means that the petrolhose is too short to reach around to thetank and the driver needs to repositionthe car. At such moments, many drivershave asked themselves why carmanufacturers continue to locate thepetrol cap on different sides of a car.

Despite the everyday irritation offorgetting which side of a car the petrol

cap is on, there are good reasons for carmanufacturers to continue with thisseemingly random approach. This policyof placing the fuel cap on different sidesof the car means that at any givengarage, about half the cars approach tofill up at a pump from the right while therest approach from the left. This ensuresoptimum use of the space to either sideof a pump. This reduces the likelihood ofdrivers having to queue on the same sideof a pump to get their fuel.

Why do DVDs come in larger cases thanCDs, Even though the discs are exactlythe same size?It is a little known fact that CDs come incases that are 148mm wide and 125 mmhigh while DVDs come in cases that are135mm wide and 191mm high. So exactlywhy do manufacturers prefer to usesuch different packaging for discs that

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are basically the same size?Once again the answer lies in

historical fact. Before the invention ofthe CD, music came on a vinyl disccalled a record. Most records came in ahard cardboard sleeve measuring302mm square. Most record shopsdisplayed the records for sale oncustom-built shelving that exactly suitedthe dimensions of the record sleeves.But as CDs took over from records,shopkeepers faced a real dilemma. Wasit more cost-effective for them to reuseand recycle their old shelves to displaythe new CD products – or to totally refittheir shops to meet the new size specifi-cations? Not surprisingly CDmanufacturers and music retailers cameup with a solution of benefit to all. Musicmanufacturers designed the packagingfor the new CDs precisely to maximizethe shelving space in place for records.Two CDs fit neatly onto a shelf designedto hold a record sleeve.

Similar considerations applied whenDVDs came in to replace the older VHSvideotape format for playing movies andfilms at home. The old-style VHSvideotapes came in boxes measuring135mm wide by 191mm high. DVDmanufacturers kept to this format toallow video stores to simply phase in thenew products on the shelves already inplace to display the old. Now that storessell music and films together, the

anomaly in the case sizes between CDsand DVDs really stands out. Each onerepresents a kind of fossil from the olddays of retail that no-one now has realneed or interest to finally phase out.

Why don’t more people wear shoes withVelcro fasteners?Swiss inventor George de Mistral firstobtained a patent for Velcro in 1955.Before his invention, learning how tofasten a shoe lace was an importantlesson for any young child. But laces cancome undone and people can fall overand hurt themselves. Velcro offered asafer, easier and quicker way to fastenshoes.

And for a time it seemed that Velcrooffered a superior product to all otherkinds of fastenings – be they zips, hooksor buttons. But from the beginning mostdesigners aimed Velcro fastenings at anaudience of the very young, the elderlyor the infirm. For this reason, manyfashionistas and trend-setters refused tosee Velcro as a hot new fashion item ofinterest to them. As a result, the moststyle-conscious fashion houses refusedto incorporate Velcro in their mostprestigious designs. Unfortunately forus, until that perception changes Velcrowill not appear on the catwalks atfashion shows and many of us willcontinue to struggle with zips, hooks andbuttons for years to come. ✪

Conundrum (n) a difficult problem. Alluring (adj) attractive and exciting.Convention (n) a way of behaving that is generally considered to be acceptable.

Etiquette (n) a set of rules for behaving correctly. Frustration (n) annoyance and impatience.Prestigious (adj) admired and respected.

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James McAvoy was born on the 21st April 1979 inGlasgow, Scotland. But although still relativelyyoung, James McAvoy is not a novice when it

comes to his professional acting career. By starring insuch critically acclaimed films as The Last King ofScotland, Becoming Jane and Atonement, McAvoy hasalready shown fans and critics alike that he is a forceto be reckoned with. As well as being one of Scotland’sbest loved exports, McAvoy is much in demand inHollywood. While not conventionally good looking,there is something about the young Scot that seems toappeal to a very wide range of different audiences. Asone critic so aptly summed it up, “James has aneveryman quality about him that movie goers can relateto on a very real level”.

James McAvoy grew up in Glasgow, Scotland. As achild James showed no ambition to be an actor or anydesire to enter the theatrical world. Instead, he and hisfriends dreamt of playing in a rock band or joining theRoyal Navy. His mother, Elizabeth was a psychiatricnurse and his father, also called James, was a builder.His parents divorced when James was just seven yearsold and afterwards he went to live with his maternalgrandparents. Elizabeth joined her son at her parents’house from time to time in the years after. But Jamessoon lost contact with his father who he rarely sawagain during his childhood.

While living with his grandparents, James attendedSt Thomas Aquinas Secondary School in Glasgow andbriefly toyed with the idea of becoming a priest. But

James McAvoyCOVER FEATURE

James McAvoyBY SARA HALL

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James McAvoy in the film Atonement

yy

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James’ life plan changed forever whenthe actor and director David Haymancame to the school and spoke to thestudents about his theatrical career.Ignoring the taunts of his schoolmates,James approached David after the talkand begged him to give him a chance inone of his next projects. Hayman relentedand gave James a small part in hisproduction of The Next Room. Jamesnever looked back.

After leaving school, McAvoy attendedthe prestigious Royal Scottish Academyof Music and Drama. He worked hard atcollege and graduated in 2000, supportinghimself by working in a bakery in a localsupermarket. McAvoy also worked onseveral other projects. One of his firstroles was playing Anthony Balfour in the

1997 film adaptation of Pat Barker’s novelRegeneration. Later on McAvoy’s firstinternational appearance was in StevenSpielberg’s Band of Brothers. He alsoplayed Paul Bettany’s irritating but lovablebrother in the hit British comedyWimbledon.

In addition to the increasing number offilm offers, McAvoy also worked on stageand in television. In 2003, McAvoyappeared in the award-winning televisionseries Shameless. While filmingShameless, McAvoy met fellow actorAnne Marie Duffy whom he later marriedin 2006. Subsequently, McAvoy playedMacbeth in the BBC television’sShakespeare Retold. He also appeared onstage at London’s Royal Court Theatre ina production of Breathing Corpses.

As a consistently hard working andcommitted young actor, McAvoy’s nextfew roles showed his ability to play awide range of characters. Playing MrTummus, the Faun, in The Chronicles ofNarnia, McAvoy successfully managed toconvey a compelling mixture of MrTummus’s anguish at helping Lucy andthe prospect of terrible retribution for hisactions. In an entirely different role,McAvoy starred in The Last King ofScotland, an adaptation of Giles Foden’snovel of the same name. The film portraysthe difficult circumstances of life inUganda during the brutal regime of IdiAmin. McAvoy plays the role of DrGarrigan, a fictional character based onthe real life experiences of severalEnglishmen who actually advised Aminduring his years as dictator.

Following on from the success of TheLast King of Scotland McAvoy starred inStarter for 10, based on the novel byDavid Nicholls. The film followed theexploits of McAvoy’s rather nerdycharacter, Brian Jackson, as heexperiences his first term at BristolUniversity. McAvoy won the OrangeRising Star Award for his role in the film

In 2003, McAvoy appearedin the award-winningtelevision series Shameless.While filming Shameless,McAvoy met fellow actorAnne Marie Duffy whom helater married in 2006.

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in 2006. However, McAvoy’s next twofilms, Becoming Jane and Atonementfinally won the rising actor theinternational media attention he trulydeserved. Critics and fans adoredMcAvoy’s performances as ThomasLefory in Becoming Jane, an account ofJane Austen’s early life, and as RobbieTurner in Atonement. Indeed, McAvoy’srole in Atonement won him twonominations for a BAFTA Best Actoraward and Golden Globe Best Actoraward. Kiera Knightly, James co-star inAtonement, was full of praise for hisprofessionalism during filming, noting that“he has the rare ability to morph intowhatever character he is playing”.

More recently, McAvoy appeared inthe Hollywood blockbuster Wanted withAngelina Jolie. McAvoy plays a twenty-five year old office worker who turnsassassin to revenge his father’s death.McAvoy freely admits that working withAngelina Jolie, one of the most beautifulwomen in the world, was incrediblydaunting. Laughingly, in interviews afterthe film, he claimed that he enjoyed hisfight scenes with Angelina the most!

When he is not working McAvoyprefers a quiet domestic life. McAvoy isfamous for possessing a deeply moral,thoughtful and reflective side. Unlike

many of his contemporaries, McAvoyrefuses to benefit from his fame byadvertising products because he wantshis fans to focus solely on his acting.McAvoy relaxes by watching sports withhis friends. He enjoys science fictionnovels and is a committed fan of the1960s cult television show Star Trek.McAvoy supports Celtic Football club. Healso likes cooking at home. He sums all ofthis up simply by saying: “I’m probably abit like my grandparents. I like staying in”.

But while McAvoy enjoys a peacefulhome life, his future working life promisesto be ever more hectic and demanding.Many new challenges loom ahead andthe young Scot continues to be floodedby a wide variety of offers of film andstage work. However, McAvoy is underno illusions about his own physicalattributes, saying: “I’m 5 foot 7 and I’vegot pasty white skin. I don’t think I’m ugly,don’t get me wrong, but I’m not yourclassic leading man….. I’m no Brad Pitt!”

Whatever James McAvoy may sayabout his looks, there is no doubt that hehas plenty of talent, intelligence andenduring cinematic appeal. There is nodoubt that he deserves his place in theHollywood Hall of Fame as one of themost appealing leading men on the 21st

century Silver Screen. ✪

Novice (n) someone who is beginning to learn a trade or skill.Everyman (n) an ordinary person.

Ambition (n) something that you aim for and want to achieve.Psychiatric (adj) relating to the treatment of mental illness.

Taunts (n) rude and cruel remarks. Prestigious (adj) admired and respected.Anguish (n) a feeling of great pain. Brutal (adj) extremely violent.

Dictator (n) someone who uses force to stay in power and control. Morph (v) to gradually change.Assassin (n) someone who is paid to kill another person.

Contemporaries (n) people who are alive at the same time.

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LIFESTYLE

From Hand to MouthBY ASTRID GOWER

W hen you take a drink from aceramic cup take a momentto consider the nature of the

object you are holding in your hands.Whether made by hand or by machine,the cup is the end product of a complexset of processes that are thousands ofyears old. Most artisans use stonewareclay to make a pottery cup by hand.Stoneware clay is fairly dense in texture,relatively free of impurities and totallynon-porous. This means it is ideal formaking objects in which to hold or storewater or liquids of any kind. Stonewareclay is also smooth and easy to work byhand. This kind of clay is also fairlyrobust which means it does not crack or

break easily when made into a cup, mugor jug. Stoneware clay comes from thesubsoil of the earth which means it isquite clean and hygienic in its raw form.For this reason, potters like to usestoneware clay for cooking pots andtableware of every kind.

To make a cup, the potter must start bygetting all of the air out of the clay. Hedoes this by “hitting” the clay in a waywhich squeezes out any pockets of airthat may be trapped inside. This processrequires strength and patience tocomplete in full. An experienced potternever tries to skimp on this stage. Claywith air trapped inside it simply cracksor explodes as it bakes in the hightemperatures needed to turn it intochina. A single cup exploding in a tightlypacked kiln or oven can destroy everyother item baking alongside it. Havingprepared his clay, the potter is thenready to mould it. This is the mostsatisfying and creative part of the wholeprocess. Turning a lump of clay into amug, jug or other useful item oftableware is a true craft. The potterturns the clay on his “wheel”, a flatcircular surface that he can turn atvarying speeds using a foot treadle oranother source of power such as

Stoneware clay comesfrom the subsoil of theearth which means it isquite clean andhygienic in its rawform.

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electricity. The potter can shape the clayevenly as it rotates around under hishands on the wheel. This makes it easyfor the potter to create smooth, circularshapes for whatever kind of cups, mugsor plates he may be making. This is adecisive and quick process. When theclay is the right shape, the potterremoves it from the wheel and leavesthe object he has made to hardenovernight and become “leather dry”.

The potter can add the base andhandle to the circular sides of the cup ormug only when the clay is hard enoughto take firm handling. Even so, the potterneeds to work carefully to ensure hedoes not squash or spoil the smoothsides of the cup he has made. The potteruses carving tools to cut the base of thecup to size. He rolls a piece of claybetween his fingers and thumb to formthe stem for the handle. The potterneeds to be precise in the way heapplies the handle to the sides of the cupor mug. Making a mistake here cantotally ruin the look of the finished item.The potter needs to smooth the ends ofthe handle into the sides of the cup sothat the join is both invisible andpleasing to the eye. Once again thepotter needs to leave the cup to dry andharden. The best place for this is in adraft-free place out of direct sunlight.This ensures that the clay dries slowly

and evenly. Clay that dries too quicklywill spoil and crack.

Once the clay dries to a consistentcolour the potter can give it an initialbaking or “bisque firing” in the kiln. Thisfirst firing makes the clay very brittle.The potter needs to handle the cup ormug very carefully at this stage. Thesurface of the clay is now ready toabsorb a layer of glaze. Glazing is a thinglass-like coating of colour that fusestogether with the surface of the clay inthe intense heat of a final firing in thekiln. The potter can make his own glazesfrom a wide variety of natural pigments.The colour combinations are endless.Creating the pattern for the surface ofthe cup can be a moment of pureinspiration in the potter’s day. Once hehas applied the glaze, the potter placesthe cup or mug in the kiln for its finalfiring. This firing subjects the cup or mugto extremely high temperatures. Thesetemperatures literally fuse the glaze intothe surface of the clay which bakes intohard china. This process takes at leasttwenty-four hours to complete. The kilnneeds to gradually heat up and thenslowly cool down again for china toachieve the perfect finish.

A good potter never rushes. The bestpottery lasts for ever. Drinking from ahand-made cup provides one of life’ssimplest but most satisfying pleasures. ✪

Artisan (n) a worker who has a special training or craft.Non-porous (adj) water or air cannot easily pass through.

Patience (n) being able to do something for a long time without getting cross or irritated.Rotate (v) to move around in a circle around a fixed point.

Brittle (adj) not strong, can easily break. Pigment (n) a natural colour.

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LIFESTYLE

EmeraldsBY ANGIE BROTHWELL

many of the kingdoms of Indochina. Theoldest known Emerald mines occur nearthe Red Sea in Egypt. Dubbed“Cleopatra’s Mines” in tribute to thefabled Queen of Egypt’s love of emeralds,these mines were long associated with

T he nameemerald comesfrom the Old

French “esmeralde”’, whichliterally means a “greengemstone”. But the aristocrats ofmedieval France were not the firstpeople to love and admire the rich greencolour of the emerald. The ancientcivilizations of Egypt, Greece and Romeall highly prized the green gemstone, asdid the Aztecs of Central America and

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the wealth and power of the Pharaohs,the rulers of ancient Egypt. However, themines ceased producing emeralds overtwo hundred years ago. Emeralds todaycome primarily from South America andIndochina.

The hue of an emerald can vary from adeep intensive green to a brighter,fresher shade. Imperfections in the stonecan add great lustre and mystery to thecolour. For this reason, flawed emeraldsare often more prized than flawlessstones. Many of the world’s best-lovedemeralds are in fact flawed stones. The

most interesting of these stones drawthe eye along the lines of their flaws,fractures or impurities in to whatjewellers poetically describe as “thegarden of the emerald”. The differentshades of green in such a complex stoneseem to refresh and clam the gaze,creating a sense of tranquillity and well-being in the beholder. This is why somany people admire and are so drawn tothe emerald as a gemstone of choice.

Not surprisingly, many culturesprovide a wealth of stories and legendsthat praise and extol the beauty and

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power of this green gem. The Vedas ofancient India proclaim that emeraldshave healing powers and restorativeproperties. In India today emeraldscontinue to symbolise good luck andwell-being. Other cultures associateemeralds with the green of springtime,the renewal of life and immortality. TheGreeks and Romans associatedemeralds with the goddess of love andlinked the giving of emeralds with theidea of romance.

Many of the world’s most famousemeralds are housed in museums andother collections open to the public. Thefamous Mogul Emerald in India is one ofthe largest such gemstones in the world.The Mogul Emerald is an astonishing217.80 carats in weight and tencentimetres in length. This venerable gemhas prayer texts engraved on one sideand elaborate decorations on the other.

However, despite the great artdisplayed in the cutting of the MogulEmerald, jewellers and gemstone cuttersoften face significant problems indrawing out the beauty of an emerald.Cutters need to respect the flaws thatgive an emerald so much of its beauty.This requires great insight, sensitivityand precision on the part of the cutter.For this reason cutters often use atechnique known as “the emerald cut”.The emerald cut involves a square orrectangular shape with bevelled corners.

This combination of straight lines andcurved edges helps reveal the beauty ofthis most precious gem while protectingthe innate value of stone at the sametime. Nowadays many jewellers treatemeralds with oils and resins in anattempt to enhance the surfaceappearance of the stone. However, theseoils and resins can reduce an emerald’sresilience to hard treatment, leading to adull and matt look over time. Contactwith soaps and detergents can damagethe lustre of an emerald over time. Toavoid this it is best to remove emeraldrings when washing in soapy water.

As emeralds are such valuable gemsthe question of fake jewels can be aproblem. There are very good imitations,and synthetic emeralds are widespread.Top quality emeralds come with a reportfrom a gemmological institute. Areputable institute will be able to confirmthat the emerald is genuine and to identifyany process that may damage or affectthe long-term value of the stone. The trulyremarkable emeralds are always large insize. These stones have the reflectiveinner lights to equal the brilliance of anydiamond. The best emerald jewellery isoften very striking in appearance as itseeks to highlight and display the specialqualities of a single large stone. It takes agreat deal of money and a certaincharisma to wear this kind of jewellery tobest advantage! ✪

Aristocrat (n) a member of the highest class. Hue (n) a colour.Lustre (n) shiny appearance. Flaw (n) a mistake or fault. Immortality (n) living forever.

Venerable (adj) very old, wise and respected.Charisma (n) a strong personal quality that is attractive to others.

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LIFESTYLE

What Long FingersSay About You

BY ILKA BRADSHAW

P rofessor John Manning, a universitylecturer in psychology, hasdeveloped a new and intriguing

theory about the length of a person’sfingers. The Professor claims that he canlook at any stranger’s hands, in particularthe index and ring fingers, andimmediately tell whether that person hasa natural aptitude for running or for sport.He also claims that he can assesswhether that person has a higher thanaverage risk of suffering early heartfailure or disease. While many scepticsdismiss Manning’s research is a kind ofpalmistry that does not deserve seriousattention, the Professor remainsundeterred. Manning points out that yearsof rigorous research back up his claims.

Professor Manning’s theories are fairlystraightforward and easy to understand.

He argues that in early stages ofpregnancy various hormones, includingtestosterone and oestrogen, bombard afoetus in the womb. These hormonesdirectly impact the way in which thefoetus develops. Manning believes that afoetus exposed to high levels oftestosterone goes on to develop high

sporting prowess. While no tests yet existto accurately measure levels oftestosterone present in the womb, acorrelation does appear to exist betweentestosterone and the comparative lengthof a person’s ring and index fingers. A ringfinger that is longer than the index fingerindicates high levels of testosterone in thewomb.

And it is these measurements and theresulting “finger ratios” that so exciteManning. The Professor argues that aperson’s finger ratio provides a literal“living fossil” from that person’s time inthe womb. Scientists calculate fingerratios by measuring the index and ringfingers of the right hand and by thendividing the former by the latter. Thosewith a longer ring finger have a ratio lessthan one. This provides what scientistscall the “Casanova pattern” – the highimpact indication of testosterone.Individuals with a low impact indication oftestosterone have a ratio greater thanone. The average finger ratio for a man is0.98. Manning claims that a finger ratiobelow this average indicates an aptitudefor sporting potential. The Professor

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suggests that finger ratio of 0.9 correlatesto high sporting potential.

While Manning is very clear about thelink between finger ratios and sportingaptitude, the Professor is quick to admitthat his research into correlations withaptitudes for heart disease and otherconditions is very sketchy indeed. Manyscientists believe that the levels oftestosterone and oestrogen present in thewomb have a profound impact on theformation of key organs in the humanbody. However, when speculating aboutany link between finger ratios anddiseases, Manning is circumspect andreluctant to draw any firm conclusions.However, Professor Manning believes thiswill prove an important area for researchin the future.

On the sporting front, the Professor ison firmer ground. Manning argues that forrunning, football and rugby masculinefinger ratios are an effective way ofmeasuring and assessing someone’snatural sporting talent. Indeed, Manning isconfident that his finger measurementsare the key to finding the sporting talent ofthe future. “I’m sure we can look at agroup of kids and see which ones havepotential to be middle-distance and longdistance runners” he says, by simplyobserving “where the correlation is verystrong”. To prove this thesis, Manning

plans to measure a group of 12 year oldboys and follow them through to the ageof eighteen and record their sportingachievements.

While the Professor’s studies are at anearly stage, support for Manning’stheories come from some surprisingplaces. One person, Lynn Davis, thepresident of UK Athletics is quite preparedto take Manning’s theories seriously,saying: “Why not? If it works it works. Ofcourse there are other factors involved,notably a desire to train and how quickly aperson matures”.

For the moment though talent spotterscontinue to rely on more traditionalmethods that involve use of a stopwatchand lots of practise sessions! But it maynot be long before calculating fingerratios becomes a regular part of the talentspotter’s routine in helping to predict thegreat sports performers of the future!

Find Your Finger RatioPlace your right hand palm upwards.

Measure the length of your index fingerfrom its tip to the joint with your palmMeasure your ring finger in the same way.

Divide the length of your index finger bythe length of your ring finger to calculateyour finger ratio

The average ratio for women is 1, whilethe average ratio for men is 0.98. ✪

Psychology (n) the study of the mind and behaviour.Aptitude (n) natural ability and talent that makes it easy to do something.

Sceptic (n) someone who has doubts about things that other people believe to be true.Hormones (n) important natural substances that are produced by the body and directly

affect the body’s development.Sketchy (adj) not complete or detailed. Thesis (n) an idea, opinion or theory.

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SHORT STORY

The PromiseBY R. L. SCOTT-BUCCLEUCH

Bahia is a state in Brazil. Many ofBrazil’s greatest poets andwriters were born in Bahia.

Tourists come to Bahia from all over theworld. They play on the sandy beachesand they swim in the water of theAtlantic.

More than a million people live inSalvador, the capital of Bahia. Some ofthem are very rich and live in largehouses. They have motor cars andservants. Others are not so rich, butthey have work and live in small houses.There are many more who are verypoor. They live in little wooden huts.

Pedro Moreira lived in a hut on ahillside. The hill was called Gloria.Pedro lived with his wife, Maria. Theirhut had only one small room which wasalmost empty. There was only an oldtable, a broken chair and a mattress.

Maria brought water from a springwhich was more than a kilometre away.

One day, Pedro was sitting on theground outside his hut. He was lookingvery unhappy. His wife was going tohave a baby. They had had three otherchildren before, but they had all died.Pedro wanted a son. But how could heget food for a new baby?

A woman passed by and spoke to

him. ‘Any news yet, Pedro?’ she asked. ‘Not yet, Teresa,’ replied Pedro. ‘It will be a boy this time,’ said Teresa.

‘I’m sure of that.’ ‘It doesn’t make any difference,’

replied Pedro. ‘What will he eat? I haveno work and no money.’

‘Things will be better tomorrow,’ saidTeresa. ‘Don’t lose hope.’

Pedro did not reply. He sat quietly formore than an hour.

Finally, there was a noise inside thehut. An old woman came out. She wascarrying a new-born baby. It was small,thin and ugly and it was crying loudly.

‘Here, Pedro,’ said the old woman.‘You have a son.’ The old woman put thebaby in Pedro’s arms. Pedro looked athis son for a long time.

‘Tell me something,’ he said at last tothe old woman. ‘Will the baby live!’

The old woman did not replyimmediately. She took the baby fromPedro. She closed her eyes and heldthe baby in her arms. Then she spoke.‘Yes,’ she said, ‘this boy will live.’

Pedro felt better. He believed this oldwoman. The old woman was nearly ahundred years old. She had come withher parents from Africa many yearsago. She was able to cure sick people.

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Some people said that she was able tosee into the future. She was alwayssent for when a baby was born.

‘Listen, Pedro,’ she said. ‘I have moreto tell you.’

Her face had a strange look andPedro listened in silence.

‘This boy will grow up and becomefamous,’ she continued. ‘He will bewell-known all over the world. He willgive happiness to many people.’

Some neighbours were standing near

Pedro’s hut. They were watching andlistening. The old woman held up thebaby and showed it to the neighbours.

‘This baby will become a great man,’she said. ‘One day, he will be rich. Hewill give happiness to many people andhe will help poor people like us.’

Pedro looked at the neighbours. Noneof them laughed. They all believed theold woman and they were afraid of her.

The old woman went back into thehut and gave the baby to Maria. The old

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woman came out again and spoke toPedro.

‘Perhaps you do not believe me,’ shesaid, ‘but I never make a mistake. Yourson will come near to death many times,but do not lose hope. Remember mywords and take good care of him. Be agood father to the boy. One day, he willbe a good son to you. That is mypromise.’

The Family Pedro and Maria often remembered thewords of the old woman. The baby wascalled Paulo. And after Paulo, they hadno more children.

Pedro was not able to find a job.Sometimes he found work for a fewdays. He worked as a porter or washeddishes in a restaurant. Maria made alittle money. She washed and mendedclothes. The work was hard and peopledid not pay her much money.

Food was expensive and Pedro andMaria were always hungry. Paulo washungry too. He cried all the time. Hewas small and thin and weak, but he didnot die.

For a long time, Paulo stayed insidethe hut. After three years, he was ableto go outside and play with otherchildren. His arms and legs were verythin. His legs were twisted. The otherchildren called him Palito – a thin stick.And he was called Palito for the rest ofhis life.

One day, Pedro came running home.‘Maria, Maria,’ he shouted. ‘I’ve got ajob.’

‘A job?’ asked Maria. ‘Where?’ ‘With the bus company,’ replied

Pedro. ‘I’m going to be a bus driver.Now we shall have enough money forfood.’

Pedro worked twelve hours a day asa bus driver. The wages were not good,but he was happy. He was paid hiswages every month and every pay dayhe came home with a large parcel offood. His family were never hungryagain.

One evening, Pedro came home late.He had two young girls with him.

‘Palito,’ he called. ‘Come and meetyour cousins.’

Palito ran to his father and looked atthe girls.

‘This is Fernanda,’ said Pedro. ‘Andthis is Odete. They’re your cousins andthey’re coming to live with us.’

Palito was nine years old now. Hewas pleased to meet the other children.They all shook hands and walked up thehill to the hut.

Fernanda was the same age as Palito,but she was much taller. She was a verypretty girl and walked proudly. Odete,her sister, was two years younger. Shewas pretty too, but she was shy. Shecried all the time and covered her facewith her hands.

The two girls had lived in anothertown with their parents. Their hut hadcaught fire and their parents weredead. Their mother was Pedro’s sister.Now they were coming to live withPedro and Maria and Palito. They weresoon like one family.

Pedro sent all the children to school.Palito was not a good student. He didnot like to study, but Fernanda andOdete helped him.

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He learnt to read and to write quitewell. Fernanda learnt very quickly, butshe soon forgot her lessons. The beststudent was Odete. She studied hardand remembered her lessons.

Every day after school, Palito playedfootball with the other boys. Theyusually played football for an hour. Afterthat, they swam in the sea and rested inthe sunshine. Then they played footballagain until dark. Palito’s legs were stilltwisted, but they grew thicker andstronger.

Palito enjoyed these games. At first,the other boys knocked him over. Butslowly he became more skilful. Helearnt to turn quickly and carry the ballpast the other boys. People oftenstopped and watched him playing.

Sometimes Fernanda and Odete wentto the beach with Palito. They watchedhim playing football. But usually the twogirls had to stay with Maria. Pedro hadbought an old sewing machine andMaria made clothes for rich ladies inthe town.

Odete helped her and became verygood at sewing. But Fernanda did notlike sewing and she was very careless.Fernanda took the clothes to the housesof rich people. Because she was verypretty, people gave her more work. Shetook the work back to Maria and Odete.They were always busy.

Pedro was now a happy man. He wasstill poor, but he had work and his familyhad enough to eat.

Palito grew bigger and theneighbours began to talk about him.

‘Look at Palito,’ they said. ‘He’s a man

now. Why isn’t he working?’ Pedro smiled, but he did not reply. He

went to the beach every Sunday andwatched his son playing football.

‘You know, Maria,’ he said to his wifeone Sunday evening, ‘I’ve beenwatching Palito carefully. He’s reallygood. He’s going to be a footballer.’ ✪

From The Promise by R. L. Scott-Buccleuch.Macmillan Readers first published 1977.Text © R. L. Scott-Buccleuch and MacmillanPublishers Limited 1977Design and Illustration © Macmillan PublishersLimited 1998

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BUSINESS

No Need For SpeedBY MARY HUBER

W hat happens to a countrywhen the cost of petrol, oil,gas, coal and other energy

sources doubles in a few months? If therecent experience of Britain is anythingto go by, the country literally starts toslow down. Before fuel prices rose,motorists in Britain rarely adhered to thenational speed limit of 70 mph (miles perhour) on the country’s motorways andintercity main roads. Traffic on themotorways typically travelled atsomething between 75 and 80 mph withsome cars going faster. But as fuel costsrise, the motorway traffic appreciablyslows. With petrol and diesel prices atdouble the long-term average, traffic inthe fast lane averages 60-65 mph withonly a very few cars going significantlyfaster. Individual motorists are eachkilling their speed in an effort to improvethe fuel efficiency of their cars. Driving at60 mph as opposed to 75 mph canimprove performance by anything from10% to 20%. And that adds up to a savingof several pounds on a long journey orover a week’s commuting. And driversare also cutting out any journey that theydo not absolutely have to make. Thismeans that fewer cars compete for road

space at peak times. So traffic is flowinga little more freely than usual and thisseems to make drivers less impatient oncity streets.

But it isn’t just Britain’s motorists thatare changing the speed at which theytravel. Across the UK planes, trains,busses, lorries, tractors, farm machinery,ships and ferries are all running slightlymore slowly than usual. Britain’s majorbudget airlines have reacted to risingaviation fuel costs by instructing theirpilots to cut average speeds by aminimum of 2% and more whereverfavourable wind conditions make thispractically possible. It seems that thesesmall reductions in air speed lead tomore significant reductions in fuelconsumption. And the major airlines arefollowing suit. The second largest carrierout of London’s Heathrow airport claimsto be flying 3 mph more slowly than usualacross all of its domestic andinternational routes. This small drop inspeed, it claims, will contribute tomaintaining overall profitability.

The story is pretty much the same onthe railways. Britain’s various railfranchise operators all confirm that newpolicies on train running speeds are in

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force. One of the UK’s largest railcompanies is retraining train drivers todrive more smoothly on short distancejourneys. The course helps drivers tofocus on the overall nature of the journeybetween two stations. This starts bybuilding up speed more slowly than usualto achieve the required top speed for themiddle of the journey and then allowingthe train to decelerate gently over alonger distance without the need for anysharp braking. The result is a muchsmoother ride for passengers and asignificant saving in the diesel orelectricity bill for the train company. The

train drivers say that they appreciate theart and thoughtfulness involved in thisnew way of driving. They say they cannotimagine going back to the old way ofdoing things even if energy prices fallback to what they used to be.

Other train operators are alsoexploring new ways to cut their energycosts. Trains running through hillycountry now routinely cut their enginesto coast down hill. Trains that typicallyused three engines to power theirjourney now use only two. Train doorsalso open and shut more quickly thanbefore. This helps stop the air

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temperature inside the train changing bytoo much while the train waits at astation. Again, passengers say that thishelps improve the quality of their journey.So the train companies are likely to keepthis policy in place even if the cost oftheir energy falls back over time.

Road haulage companies are followingthe lead of the railway operators. Manylorry companies now monitor theirdrivers’ performance to ensure theycomplete long distance journeys atoptimum speeds. The road transportoperators say that the improved flow oftraffic on the motorways means they areable to maintain the overall effectivenessof their usual delivery times while cuttingdown on high speeds.

At sea, shipping companies say theyare exploring ways to plan voyages sothat the prevailing wind, current and tidalconditions help rather than hinder thepassage of a boat, ship or ferry throughthe water. It seems that good logisticalplanning of this kind can cut a fewpercentage points off the fuel needed fora voyage. And ship operators areincreasingly interested in the idea ofadding computer-aided, high-tech sails totheir vessels to harness the wind’s powermore fully on every voyage. Equipping aship with a set of sails of this kind canreduce fuel consumption by up to a thirdwithout compromising on transit times.Fuel savings can rise much higher if a

ship’s captain can cut his engines to slowdown and cruise along under sail poweronly. Logistics experts are now chartinglong-distance sea voyages with exactlythis kind of power management in mind.The overall effect, they say, may be thatthis kind of sailing only adds a few hoursto a voyage that conventionally takesseveral days.

So while the rising cost of fuel createsa problem for each individual andorganisation, the overall effect seems tobenefit the movement of people andgoods everywhere in the transportsystem. The key to this is that eachindividual and organisation takes time tore-think the logistics of a way of doingthings they normally take utterly forgranted. The result is that everyone findsa way to make a small improvement thatmakes sense for them. All these smallactions build up to deliver an overallimprovement that is significant enoughfor everyone to sit up and notice.

So taking the time to plan out andchange the way in which you make ajourney seems to mean that you can takethat journey at less speed with morecomfort. Once again we are learningsomething that ancient wisdom tells us istrue. As the old saying so neatly puts it,“the less haste, the more speed”. Soremember, there is no need to speed.Plan well. Slow down. Relax a little.Everyone will notice the difference! ✪

Adhere (v) to stick to something.Peak (adj) a peak time is the period when the greatest number of people do something.

Consumption (n) the amount of something (such as fuel) that is used or consumed.Optimum (adj) the best or most suitable.

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BUSINESS

Moving Your Career Forward by

Managing UpwardsBY HENRY WALLWORK

HR professionals estimate that onaverage you will have more than20 managers during your career.

The more you can communicate withwhatever manager you report to at anystage of your career, the more likely it isthat you will get on and positively enjoyyour working relationship.

So where do you start?Really get to understand what yourmanager expects of you. The more youknow what motivates, drives, frustrates,annoys, disheartens and pleases yourmanager, the more you can remove thenegatives and play to the positives. Putyourself in your manager’s shoes and seethe world from their point of view. Whatare the key priorities that must bedelivered at all costs. What can you do tohelp deliver these more effectively? Whatdetailed information do you anticipateyour manager will need to check things

are on track? Give your manager top-lineinformation first, but be ready to digdown into the details when asked to.Having the right information to hand willalways impress those around you.

Do you know your own strengths andweaknesses?Everyone brings a different style to theway they work. You need to be clearabout how your own individual styleimpacts on others – and especially onyour manager. Are there any traits in youthat make it hard for you to worktogether? If so, what can you do to makethose traits less obvious or obstructive?Most importantly, do you listen well andreally get the point of what yourmanager asks you to do? If not, tryasking questions that clarify yourunderstanding and show that you reallycare about meeting or beating yourmanager’s expectations.

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How can you make your relationshipmore effective?If you want your manager to value yourinput, you need to think carefully abouttheir needs. Do they like to communicateby email, phone or face-to-face? What isdriving their agenda at the moment? Ifthey are totally busy preparing for a keymeeting, wait until after that meeting topresent new ideas. Use the times whenyour manager is overloaded to ask ifthere are any tasks or duties that youcan take on for them. The more you cantake away areas that your managerdislikes or finds hard to do, the morehelpful and productive you will appear intheir eyes. Always work to create anatmosphere of mutual respect. Thismeans you need to keep thecommunication between you as openand vibrant as possible. This will enableyou to stay aligned while maintaining anenjoyable working environment. Neverundermine your manager behind their

back. This creates mistrust andbitterness. Always be constructive inyour approach.

What are the most important skills youneed to develop?Communication is always going to be themost important skill in upwardmanagement. This starts with really goodlistening. The more you understand yourmanager’s point of view, the more youcan ask questions, present informationand offer new ideas in ways that achieveresults. Do not treat your managerdifferently from the way you treat theother people you work with. Alwaysshow appropriate consideration,sensitivity and empathy for others. Justas importantly, judge your timing so thatyou make suggestions when yourmanager is likely to be most receptive.Always be ready to present a solution,not just a problem. Be willing to beassertive and to stand your ground whenyou have to. But also be willing to let gowhen you need to. There is a fine linebetween being a bright spark and astubborn mule!In summary, the following pointers willalways serve to keep you on track:

1. Know your manager’s style andeveryday way of doing things

2. Listen well and communicateappropriately

3. Offer solutions, not just problems 4. Be ready with detail, but only when

this is asked for or needed5. Use your understanding of the Big

Picture to “read between the lines”and avoid falling in to office politics.

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Artists like to use fruit as decoration in their work to addwonderful shapes and colours to what they do. Thinkof the fruits you can use to decorate your projects –

oranges, apples, strawberries, lemons, grapes and many,many more! This project uses masking, sponging andstencilling techniques to change a plain terracotta pot into a fruit-filled plant container. Tear pieces off a cheapsponge to make your special effects.

1Use a large paintbrush to paint the pot in alight colour. Let the paint dry. Fix strips of

masking tape from the top to the bottom of thepot. Make the space between each strip oftape the same.

2 Pour some darker coloured paintinto a palette. Use a sponge to

colour in between the strips of tape.Remove the masking tape. Let thepaint dry.

3 Sponge the top of the rim and the bottomof the pot with a different colour.

YOU NEED• Terracotta pot

• Coloured acrylic paint • Large paintbrush • Palette • Thin card • Tracing paper • Transfer paper • Narrow

masking tape • Pencil • Sponge • Scissors

• Old cloth

ACTIVITY

Fruity Flower PotFrom ‘Decorative Painting’ by Fresh Minds Publishing

© Fresh Minds Publishing. For more information contact: +44 (0)1285 640045

MED5-6p44-64 22/8/08 12:47 Page 56

57

4 Draw a strawberry patternonto thin card. Cut out the

strawberry shape to make astencil.

5 Lay the pot down on an old cloth (tostop it rolling around). Fix the

stencil onto the pot with masking tape.

6Sponge paintthrough the stencil

onto the pot. Use twopieces of sponge tocolour the top of thestrawberry, then thefruit, with two goodcolours. Addstrawberries atdifferent angles allaround the pot.

MORE IDEASChoose other types of fruit and different

angles for your stripesto make new anddifferent designs

for your pots.

E

MED5-6p44-64 22/8/08 12:48 Page 57

58

A Write the answers to the questions inthe grid. The letters in the shaded

squares will spell the name of a preciousstone. Reading the articles in the magazinewill help you find the right answers.

1. A traditional British beverage.2. A sad song or poem.3. An animal that hunts, kills and eats

other animals.

4. The Japanese art of folding paper tomake models.

5. Another name for a bee-keeper.6. A strong wind.7. A large collection of hidden objects.8. Having more of something that is

actually needed or necessary.

LANGUAGE QUIZ

Just For FunTry our questions and puzzles – no prizes, just for fun!

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

MED5-6p44-64 22/8/08 12:48 Page 58

59

B Unscramble these words that appearin the magazine articles:

1. GERFIN2. TARIO3. SPROT 4. BUGRY5. XEIND6. TICLEATH7. WATHCPOST

C Find a letter that will complete thefirst word and the start of the second:

a. DOLHI ( ) EARLYb. SHALLO ( ) HALEc. TURBIN ( ) LEPHANTd. LEMMIN ( ) IRAFFEe. MIGRATIO ( ) AVIGATEf. COAS ( ) IDE

JUST FOR FUN SOLUTIONS ON PAGE 63

MED5-6p44-64 22/8/08 12:48 Page 59

60

sDetective

Unsolved

Victim

Puzzle

Missing

Clue

Hidden

Secret

Inspect

Tragedy

Speculate

Explain

1. Find and circle all words associated with things magical,mysterious and strange. The words lie along, up, downand diagonally across the columns. The words can runforwards or backwards.

2. Translate or explain the words for yourself.

FIND A WORD

Mysteries and Puzzles

Q D A S D F M H Z F L J U E G AW E W Y P I O I T T E L A X X LE T K E I E E P S M U G R P C ZR E X L R W C T K S Q E H L V IT C E C Z T T U L T I W A A B XY T R E V X Y D L Y J N S I N SO I T Q Z B C U S A H J G N T EU V I C T I M V I I T R F K Y CI E N O Q W E M R O E E G P S RZ H I N S P E C T P P Z O C V EK J N R I N E R S F P T F L Z TP O C L E U A A S S U O E U E HJ K P D I G E O D D Z H V E R UO X D W E T H R K F Z O I A T LC I Z D O C O D E V L O S N U IH A Y S L D F F H U E T F P U N

MED5-6p44-64 22/8/08 12:48 Page 60

61

sKNOW THE ISSUE

The ModernEnglish Digest Quiz

Find the answers to our quiz

1. Why were allotments so importantduring the first and second worldwars?

2. What type of foods is grown on anallotment?

3. What is Hive Collapse Disorder?

4. Is there evidence to support theview that elephants are highlysensitive and can sense impendingdanger?

5. Name three instruments that aretraditionally played in an Irish band.

6. What is a “planxty”?

7. What were the Chessmen of Lewismade from?

8. What is a genealogist?

9. Is it true that tea bags were firstused in Britain?

10. What is the difference between aBritish and European tea bag?

MED5-6p44-64 22/8/08 12:48 Page 61

62Photos © Dreamstime.com

11. In which country was the hobby oftea bag folding first invented?

12. Where did James McAvoy grow up?

13. Name the character James McAvoyplayed in The Chronicles of Narnia.

14. Which of James McAvoy’s rolesearned him nominations for aBAFTA Best Actor award and aGolden Globe Best Actor award?

15. Which football club does JamesMcAvoy support?

16. Why is stoneware clay ideal formaking a cup or jug?

17. When making a clay pot, what canhappen if the clay dries tooquickly?

18. Where are the oldest knownEmerald mines?

19. What do Emeralds symbolise inIndia today?

20. What is the “Finger Ratio”.

Send your answers with your name and address to:The EditorModern English DigestKeyways PublishingPO Box 100ChichesterWest Sussex, PO18 8HD, UK.

MED5-6p44-64 22/8/08 12:48 Page 62

63

Editor: SARA HALL

Contributing Editor: STAN POWELL

Design: GEORGIA DAVEY, www.taurus-graphics.net

Editorial Director: PETER COLLIN,peter.collin@keywayspublishing.com

Advertising Sales: SOPHIE MALONEMAINLINE MEDIA

Tel: +44 (0)1536 747333 Fax: +44 (0)1536 746565,

Writers KESTA ALLEN, ILKA BRADSHAW,

ANGIE BROTHWELL, RORY GEAR, ASTRID GOWER,SARA HALL, MARY HUBER, JOE ST CLAIR,

HENRY WALLWORK

Photographers/Illustrators STAN POWELL, GEORGIA DAVEY

PublishersKEYWAYS PUBLISHING

PO Box 100, Chichester, West Sussex PO18 8HDTel: +44 (0)1243 576444 Fax: +44 (0)1243 576456

KEYWAYS PUBLISHINGTitle & arrangement © 2008,

KEYWAYS PUBLISHING

Text and layout © 2008, SARA HALLImages and photographs © 2008, as noted above

PUBLISHED six times each yearISSN 1478-9019

VISIT OUR WEBSITE: www.ModernEnglishDigest.net

TO SUBSCRIBE:Use the form on the back cover

PUZ Z L E SOLUT IONFROM PAGE 60

A

Just for Fun Answers from page 58

B1. GERFIN (FINGER)2. TARIO (RATIO)3. SPROT (SPORT)4. BUGRY (RUGBY)5. XEIND (INDEX)6. TICLEATH (ATHLETIC)7. WATHCPOST(STOPWATCH)

Ca. DOLHI (N) EARLYb. SHALLO (W) HALEc. TURBIN (E) LEPHANTd. LEMMIN (G) IRAFFEe. MIGRATIO (N) AVIGATEf. COAS (T) IDE

Q D A S D F M H Z F L J U E G AW E W Y P I O I T T E L A X X LE T K E I E E P S M U G R P C ZR E X L R W C T K S Q E H L V IT C E C Z T T U L T I W A A B XY T R E V X Y D L Y J N S I N SO I T Q Z B C U S A H J G N T EU V I C T I M V I I T R F K Y CI E N O Q W E M R O E E G P S RZ H I N S P E C T P P Z O C V EK J N R I N E R S F P T F L Z TP O C L E U A A S S U O E U E HJ K P D I G E O D D Z H V E R UO X D W E T H R K F Z O I A T LC I Z D O C O D E V L O S N U IH A Y S L D F F H U E T F P U N

T E AL A M E N TP R E D A T O R

O R I G A M IA P I A R I S T

G A L EH O A R D

S U R P L U S

1.

2.

3.

4.

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6.

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MED5-6p44-64 22/8/08 12:48 Page 63

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MED5-6p44-64 22/8/08 12:48 Page 64