SPOTLIG

HT

EINFACH BESSER ENGLISCHD

euts

chla

nd €

7,90

CH

sfr 1

3,00

A·E

·I ·L

·SK

: € 9

,00 Wild

LONDONExciting new green

spaces in the metropolis

SOCI

ETY

The

Com

mon

wea

lth

• T

RAV

EL W

ild L

ondo

n •

LA

NG

UA

GE

The

wor

ds y

ou n

eed

now

3 / 2

017

3 —17

THE COMMONWEALTH A new role in 2017?

Jetzt NEU! Direkter Streaming-Zugriff mit einem Klick

Inhalte hören und mitlesen

Optimal für die mobile Nutzung geeignet

Bestellen Sie jetzt: spotlight-verlag.de/audiomini

Der neue

Spotlight-Audio-Trainer –

jetzt im Mini-Abo testen.

Zwei Ausgaben

für € 17,20

document3601516297806423222.indd 6 12.12.16 14:07

INEZ SHARP, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF i.sharp@spotlight-verlag.de

Tite

l: Bo

mbo

land

; iSt

ock;

Edi

toria

l: G

ert K

raut

baue

r

EDITORIAL

he British capital is not a place you would necessarily associate with peaceful green spaces, but in fact, new parks are being developed all over the metropolis. Take a five-minute stroll north from King’s Cross station, and you will find yourself in Camley Street Natural Park, a quiet oasis along Regent’s Canal that is home to ducks, bees and bats. And this is just a small space. Bigger proj-ects covering many hectares are being developed in Hackney and Walthamstow. Find out why London is going wild by reading our feature that begins on page 14.

What do you really know about the Commonwealth of Nations? Who is the head of this organization? How many member countries are there? And what are its aims? As Commonwealth Day comes round — every year on the second Monday in March — we take a look at this institution, at its history, where it finds itself now and, as Britain prepares for Brexit, its role in the future. Get an overview first by looking at the World Map on pages 22–23, where you can see which countries belong to the Commonwealth. Then join us on a tour of the facts in “The Commonwealth: common sense?” which begins on page 24. Finally, find out what Philip Murphy, director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies and professor of British and Commonwealth history at the University of London, has to say about this institution in an interview that begins on page 31.

T

FROM THE EDITOR

Wild for London

Reclam

London in Geschichten und Gedichten

www.reclam.de

978-

3-15

-009

106-

7 · €

5,8

0

978-

3-15

-009

104-

3 · €

4,8

0

Reclams Rote ReiheEnglische und amerikanische

Literatur im Original, mit praktischen Übersetzungshilfen.

Über 180 Bände lieferbar!

978-

3-15

-009

229-

3 · €

3,4

0

4  Spotlight 3/2017

ContentsMarch 2017 6 People E

Names and faces from around the world

8 World View E M A What’s news and what’s hot

10 Britain Today E + Colin Beaven on bad banks

12 A Day in My Life M + A reporter with the BBC

21 Peggy’s Place M Visit Spotlight’s very own London pub

22 World Map M

The 52 nations of the Common-wealth: see the feature on pages 24–32.

33 American Life M US + Ginger Kuenzel on the joys

(and problems) of flying

34 Food M

Mouth-watering vegetarian cuisine in Britain

37 I Ask Myself A US Amy Argetsinger on the silence of

modern newspaper offices

62 The US in Germany M US Who needs Amerikahäuser today?

66 Short story M

“The unhappy bride” Ms Winslow investigates

(Chapter 1) 68 Material World M

The Taylors try to lose weight

70 Arts M

Films, apps, music

71 Around Oz A Peter Flynn on taxing backpackers

72 The Lighter Side E

Jokes and cartoons

73 102 English Things to Do M

“Sorry!” The English habit of apologizing

74 Feedback & Next Month E M A

Your letters to Spotlight and upcoming topics

76 My Life in English E

Actor Oliver Wnuk

15 Sprachseiten 44 Vocabulary M + Talking about art

46 Everyday English M + A car accident

48 Green Light E Easy English

50 The Grammar Page M + A look at stative verbs

51 Language Cards E M A

Pull out and practise

53 Lost in Translation A

A fun look at interesting words

54 Spoken English M +

Talking about time

55 English at Work M +

Ken Taylor answers your questions

56 Words that Go Together E +

Play and learn: the collocations game

58 Crossword E M A

Find the words and win a prize

4o

Words you need nowM

Modern words and expressions you can use to speak about events in the news. Spotlight brings you up to date.

Foto

s: G

etty

Imag

es; S

hutt

erst

ock;

Illu

stra

tion:

Bom

bola

nd

5 

14

Wild LondonM +

The British capital needs wild open spaces, and the London Wildlife Trust is ensuring that nature remains part of the urban fabric.

CONTENTS 3/2017 Spotlight

For more information and exercises, see:www.spotlight-online.de

www.facebook.com/spotlightmagazine

ABOUT THE LANGUAGE LEVELSThe levels of difficulty in Spotlight magazine correspond roughly to The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages:

A2 B1–B2 C1–C2

Spotlight plusPractise the language and grammar of Spotlight with the exercise booklet plus. For the pages in the magazine marked with this symbol PLUS there are additional exercises in plus.

Spotlight AudioEnjoy interviews and travel stories and try the exercises on the monthly 60-minute CD/download. Look for this symbol AUDIO in the magazine.

Spotlight in the classroomTeachers: this six-page supplement will provide great ideas for classroom activities based on the magazine. Free for all teachers who subscribe to Spotlight.

Improve your English

24

Quo vadis Commonwealth?A

Everyone’s heard of the Commonwealth. But what is it and where is it going? We take a closer look at this successor to the British Empire.

4o

Words you need nowM

Modern words and expressions you can use to speak about events in the news. Spotlight brings you up to date.

6  PEOPLESpotlight 3/2017

Foto

s: Si

pa P

ress

/act

ion

pres

s; 36

0° E

dito

rial;

NA

SA; a

ctio

n pr

ess

PEOPLE EASY

Traditionally, the tasks of the vice president of the United States have kept that person out of the public eye. This may change under the Trump administration. The new vice presi-dent, Mike Pence, has said he will model himself on Richard “Dick” Cheney, who served under George W. Bush from 2001 until 2009 — the only recent vice president to take on a bigger and more public role.

Pence, 57, was born in Columbus, Indiana, into a Roman Catholic family. As a young person, he had strong religious be-liefs. He went to mass six or seven days a week and even thought about becoming a priest. He was also a Democrat and worked with the local Democratic Party.

However, Pence later changed his religion and his politics. He moved from Catholicism to evangelical Christianity and from the Democratic to the Republican Party.

He told the Christian Broadcasting Network that these steps were the result of beginning a personal relationship with Jesus Christ while at college. “I began to meet young men and wom-en who talked about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ,” said Pence. “That had not been a part of my experience.”

Pence also changed his career several times — from being a lawyer in the 1980s to a radio presenter in the 1990s and later turning to politics in the first decade of the 21st century, when he became the 50th governor of Indiana.

He is known for being religious and socially conservative, and is against abortion, gay marriage, the legalization of marijuana and amnesty for illegal immigrants in the US.

model: ~ oneself on sb. [(mQd&l] , sich jmdn. zum Vorbild nehmen

presenter [pri(zentE] , Moderator(in)

Never forget where you come from. This is something that Priyanka Chopra believes in, and it is something she has tried to communicate through her new film, Sarvann. Chopra, 34, a singer, actress and film producer, is one of India’s biggest stars. She is now becoming a Hollywood star, too. Sarvann is the third film she has produced. It’s about a young man living in Canada

who travels to India to discover his roots. Chopra, who is from Jharkhand in India’s east, told reporters at the film’s first screening, in Toronto, Canada, that it was difficult for her to become successful in Hollywood, but that “if you hold on to your roots, you always have a place in the world”. Chopra is the star of the US TV show Quantico and plays in the new film Baywatch, which is coming to cinemas later this year.

Look up into the sky. Somewhere out there, an astronaut named Peggy Whitson is making his-tory. Whitson, 57, be-

came the oldest woman in space in November 2016,

when she travelled to the In-ternational Space Station (ISS), 220 miles (350 km) above the Earth. Whitson, who comes from Iowa, began her career as an astronaut in 1996. She was the first woman ever to command the ISS and has spent more time in space than any other woman. By the time she leaves the ISS in May, she will also have spent more time in space than any other US astronaut — more than 534 days. This is Whitson’s third mission to the ISS, where she is living with five other astronauts. Before leaving the Earth, she told reporters, “The most important thing about the station is the friendships and the work we accomplish there.”

screening [(skri:nIN] , Vorführung accomplish [E(kVmplIS] , durchführen, ausführen

IN THE NEWS

Who exactly is… Mike Pence?

Texts by Talitha Linehan

Who exactly is… Mike Pence?

Many people would die to be fa-mous. But British singer Elton John almost died from being famous. He has said that he started taking drugs in the 1970s — in part to cope with being so well known — and that he didn’t have anything to live for. Now, though, he feels quite different.

John was born in London and began playing the piano when he was three. His life changed one day in 1967, when he answered an ad-

vertisement for a songwriter. He began writing songs, together with Bernie Taupin, for other singers. Later, Taupin wrote songs for John, and the two of them have worked together ever since.

Elton John has sold more than 300 million records and often gives more than 100 concerts a year. He told Rolling Stone, however, that he wants to do fewer concerts in the future so that he can spend more time with his husband, David Furnish, and their two children, Zachary, 6, and Elijah, 4.

“Years ago, I didn’t have anything,” said John. “I wanted to die on the stage. That’s all I had. Now ... I’ve got children. I want to come off the road. I want to be there. I want to take them to baseball. I want to take them to soccer games. My life is completely changed.” Elton John will be 70 on 25 March.

cope with sth. [(kEUp wID]

, mit etw. fertig werdenrecord [(rekO:d] , Schallplatte

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

PEOPLE

Englischhausen6 Tage lang in Englisch eintauchen

…ohne Deutschland zu verlassen!

Kostenloser Sprachtest und BeratungMontag bis Freitag von 9:00 – 18:00 Uhr

„One-to-One“-Gespräche mit „Anglos“ aus der ganzen Welt

Telefonkonferenzen, Präsentationen u.v.m.

70 Stunden intensives Training

Rundum-Sorglos-Paket

4 Partnerhotels in Deutschland

„maximale Effektivität... mit Spaß und Freude“

„eine tolle Woche, eine tolle Lebenserfahrung!“

„ein perfekt abgestimmtes Programm“

„straff, abwechslungsreich und humorvoll gestaltet“

Das sagen unsere Kunden:

Tel. 089 23 51 58 72

www.englischhausen.de

OUT OF THE ORDINARY

More than 20 years ago, Annalisa Flanagan opened her mouth and shouted as loud as she could. On that day in 1994 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Flanagan set a record that nobody has yet broken — for the loud-est shout in the world at 121.7 decibels. Flanagan, a primary-school teach-er, told the BBC that the reason she took part in the competition was to beat her twin sister, who had bested her in an earlier shouting competi-tion. But she had no specific technique. Flanagan said that her pupils love the fact that she holds the record, but she doesn’t use her talent to shout at them. “I’d much rather bribe the kids with sweets than shout. I want them to love me.”

bribe [braIb] , bestechen rather: I’d much ~ [(rA:DE] , ich würde viel lieber

A “mullet” is the name of a fish and a man’s hairstyle in which the hair is short at the front and sides and long at the back. It is also a slang word in Australia for a stupid person. In December of last year, Ali Ziggi Mosslmani, a teenager from Sydney, tried to bring a lawsuit against The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail in Australia for publishing memes to-gether with a photo of him with a mullet hairstyle. Mosslmani, who is 20 this year, says they portrayed him as stupid — partly because of the dou-ble meaning of the word “mullet” — and ugly. However, a judge has ques-tioned Ziggy’s decision to bring the lawsuit, and a Daily Telegraph repre-sentative called it “absurd”.lawsuit [(lO:su:t] , Klage, Gerichtsverfahren

meme [mi:m]

, Mem (ein einzelner Bewusstseinsinhalt); hier: sich wiederholender Bericht

mullet [(mVlIt]

, Vokuhila (vorne kurz, hinten lang)

question sth. [(kwestSEn]

, etw. in Frage stellen

8  Spotlight 3/2017 WORLD VIEW

CANADA Where to next? Will it be Chile’s Atacama Desert, or Gamsberg Mountain in Namibia? Should these destinations be too exotic for the amateur star-gazer, there’s another, perhaps more convenient loca-tion for viewing our galaxy: Canada’s Mont Mégantic National Park, named the first “dark-sky preserve” by the International Dark-Sky Association.

A national park since 1994, Mont Mégantic has become a magnet for those who like a bright, clear view of the Milky Way. Three hours from Montreal

and close to Québec’s border with Maine, its lo-cation puts admiring the planets and stars within reach of the average North American traveller. Vis-itors can tour the park’s Astrolab astronomy activity centre and the famous observatory. Situated on a 1,105-metre-high monadnock — or inselberg — the latter is used for research by three universities, and is considered to be the most important astronomic installation in Canada’s east. For more information, see astrolab-parc-national-mont-megantic.org/en

To the stars EASY

WORLD VIEW

admire [Ed(maIE]

, bewundern

convenient [kEn(vi:niEnt]

, leicht zu erreichen

latter: the ~ [(lÄtE]

, letztere, -r, -s

preserve [pri(z§:v]

, Reservat; hier: Licht-schutzgebiet

stargazer [(stA:)geIzE]

, ifml. Astrologe

The famous Mont Mégantic observatory

Foto

s: la

if; L

OC;

iSto

ck; G

etty

Imag

es