COURSE 9

Lifestyles
Introduction 1 Read the title of the article below. What do you think it could be about? 2 Skim read the article and see if your prediction was correct. What view of the travelling way of life is expressed? Do you agree with it? These children are taught to survive1 The criticism generally levelled at New Age travellers who do not send their children to school every day is that somehow we are unfit to teach our own children. That we are depriving them of a proper education and a normal life. In fact, while some of us have been made homeless or unemployed and taken to the road as a survival tactic, many have made a conscious and positive decision to live in this way, not because the system has failed us personally (many of us are well-qualified) but because it is clearly misguided and is failing so many. It would be foolish to disregard everything taught in schools. Our children need to know how to read and write, handle numbers, and experience music, sports, art and craft work. But I cannot agree that all children should know certain prescribed facts and acquire certain prescribed skills at certain ages. Our way of education is a kind of insurance. If we accept that adult life may involve having at least some periods with very little money, with a lot of time on our hands, perhaps without a secure place to live, that skills have to be adapted and developed to compete in the job market, then our children are equipped better than most. They may not all know what happened in 1066 by the age of eight and threequarters, but most understand how to light a fire, build a tarpaulin shelter, find cheap food and clothing, saw and chop wood, handle and care for animals and deal with other children and adults in a variety of real situations. Visitors unused to life on site are often struck by the adultness of our young children. Threeand four-year- olds mix freely with adults, pay social calls without their parents, might get involved in feeding chickens, milking goats, mending engines, making pastry, jewellery and wood burners. As well as learning skills and information, they learn to accept a lot of peop1e and their different behaviour.
1

Tricia Aspinall, Anette Capel, Advanced Masterclasss CAE Students Book, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 62

The feeling of common shared humanity, that we are all part of one family, is important in the travelling community, and instead of striving to conform to a norm or compete for position, children are encouraged to accept that we are all different but all due respect in our own way. 3 The phrases below have been taken from the article. In pairs, discuss what you think they mean. 1 unfit to teach 2 taken to the road 3 the system has failed us 4 compete in the job market 5 equipped better than most 4 Which of these phrases describe the lifestyle of the travellers? English in Use2 1 Look a t the extract from a radio interview below. It is with a policewoman who has been involved in an incident with some New Age travellers formal and wri tten st yle. Read both texts and then look at the two examples which have be en done for you in t he newspaper report. As you can see, you onl y need to use a few words (never more than two) to fill the gap meaning should remain as close as possible to what the policewoman said, al use should not be the sam e as the ones that appear in the these firs t two gaps without us ing the actual words from t he interview. Interview with a Policewoman 'It was absolute chaos , they really messed things up! It was about 8.30 last night when it was decided we had to try and mo ve the convo y off the motor way. It was taking up all four lanes of the motorwa station near junction 11 .
2

6 mix freely 7 common shared humanity 8 striving to conform 9 compete for position

. Following this is a newspa per report about

the incident. Th e interview is in informal , spoken English, while the newspaper report is in a more

. The

though the words you

first text. Think of oth er ways of filling

y, including the hard shoulder , right up to the service

idem, p. 65

About 50 officers set off towards the discuss things with the different directions. In the meantime, of course, there were north-bound lanes, just in case.

10 vehicles but they just started throwing stones and rocks.

Fortunately , we didn't get hurt but we had to go back and get our riot shields. We then managed to travellers who eventually agreed to break up and go off in three delays to traffic in both directions so we had to shut off the

What we are trying to do is to keep an eye on these convoys and prevent them from camping illegally on common land this holiday weekend.' Police pelted with stones by travellers blocking M5 Police were pelted with stones last night after they (1) blocking the M5 motorway. The convoy (2) was blocking all four lanes of the motorway, including the hard shoulder, as far as the service station at junction 11. As 50 officers (3) ________________the vehicles, stones and rocks (4) ________________. (5) ________________was injured, and after retreating to obtain riot shields, officers (6) ________________with the travellers, who agreed, after nearly four hours, to break up the convoy into groups and (7) ________________in three different directions. During the delay, heavy traffic built up on the south-bound side, and the north- bound lanes (8) ________________near the service station as a precaution. The flare-up was the latest in a cat-and-mouse game, with the police (9) ________________ the convoys in an operation which aims to prevent illegal camps on common land (10) ________________ the holiday weekend. Grammar Present Perfect3 Present perfect simple Present perfect simple refers to: Recent events, without a definite time given . The recentness may be indicated by just. . We've missed the turning. I've just seen a ghost! Indefinite events, which happened at an unknown time in the past. No definite time is given
3

attempted

to move a convoy of travellers

Michael Vince, Peter Sunderland,

Advanced Language Practice , Oxford, Macmillan, 2003, p. 21-26

Jim has had three car accidents. (up to the present) Indefinite events which may have an obvious result in the present. I've twisted my ankle. (that's why I'm limping) With state verbs, a state which lasts up to the present. I've lived here for the past ten years. A habitual action in a period of time up to the present. I've been jogging every morning for the last month. Contrast with past simple Past simple is used with time expressions which refer to definite times. The time may be stated or understood. Compare: I've bought a new car. (indefinite) I bought the car after all. (implied definite: the car we talked about) Choice between past simple and present perfect for recent events may depend on the attitude of the speaker. This in turn may depend on whether the speaker feels distant in time or place from the event. I've left my wallet in the car. I'm going back to get it. Here the speaker may be about to return, and feels that the event is connected with the present. I left my wallet in the car. I'm going back to get it. The speaker may feel separated in time from the event Present perfect continuous Present perfect continuous (progressive) can refer to a range of meanings, depending on the time expression used and the context A state which lasts up to the present moment I've been waiting for you for three hours! An incomplete activity I've been cleaning the house but I still haven't finished. To emphasise duration I've been writing letters all morning. A recently finished activity I've been running. That's why I look hot. A repeated activity I've been taking French lessons this year. Contrasts with present perfect simple 4 . , or be further away.

There may be little contrast when some state verbs are used. How long have you lived here? How long have you been living here? Some verbs (especially sit, lie, wait and stay) prefer the continuous form. There may be a contrast between completion and incompletion, especially if the number of items completed is mentioned Completed: emphas is on achievement I've ironed five shirts this morning. Incomplete , or recentl y completed : emphasis on duration I've been iron ing my shirts this morni ng. Time expressions with present perfect Meaning with p resent perfect verb forms is associated with cert Contrast with past simple may depend on the choice of time e specific finished time. yesterday, last week, on Sunday Present perfect: with 'indefinite ' time expression s meaning 'up to now' . since 1968, already Many time expressions are not associ ated with a specific verb form, since they refer both to finished time or time up to the present , depending on the speaker's perspective. I haven't seen Helen recently. I saw Jim recently. Others include: for, never, before, all my life, for a long time, today, all day, every day These may be used with either past simple or present perfect. Practice 1 Underline the correct word or phrase in each sentence. a) I can't b elieve it, Insp ector. Y ou me an that Smith stole/has s tolen/has bee n stealing money fro m the till all thi s time! b) You three bo ys look very guil ty! What did you do/have you do ne/have you been doing since I left/have left the room? c) Why on earth didn't y ou tell/h aven't you tol d me about th at loo se fl oorboard? I tripped/have tripped over it just now an d hurt myself. ain time expression s. xpression. Past simple: referring to a .

d) It's a long time since I saw/have seen/have bee n seeing your brother Pa ul. What did he do/has he done/ has he been doing lately? e) I can't believe th at you ate/have eaten/have been eating three pi zzas already! I only brought/have o nly brough t them in fifteen minutes ago! f) Don 't for get that you didn't see/ haven't seen Mrs Da wson. She has waited/ has been waiting outside since 10 .30. g) What did you think/have you thought of Brighton ? Did you stay/Have you s tayed there long? h) I feel reall y tired. I weede d/have weede d/have been weeding the garden fo r the l ast three hours and I didn't rest/haven't rested for a single moment . i)
I'm ha ving problems with D av id. He

has ca lled/has been ca llin g

me up in th e

middle of the

night and told /telling me his troubl es. j) How lon g did you have/have you had /have you been havin g drivin g lessons? And did you take/have yo u taken/have y ou been taking your test yet? 2 Decide how many different endings (1-10) you can find for sentences (a-d) The sentences you make must be appropriate and meaningful. a) I haven't been feeling very well 5, 8.. b) I went to the dentist's .. c) I've lived here .. d) Don't worry. I haven't been waiting ... e) I've written two pages .. f) I waited outside your house .. g) I've warned you about this .. h) I haven't made a decision .. i) The repair worked ... j) I've decided to believe you .. a) So far we havent noticed (not/notice) 1 time and time again 2 all my life. 3 so far. 4 for the time being 5 for the past hour or two. 6 yet. 7 till half past eight. 8 for a while. 9 the other day. 10 long. anything un usual, but we

3 Put each verb in brackets into the most appropriate perfect or past verb form. .............................................. (not/pay) very c lose at tention. b) I'm sorry I ..(not/come c) I .. ) to class latel y. (work) late in the e venings for the past fortn ight.

d) I

wonder

if

Mar y

..

( reach )

home

yet? o

She . ............................................. (leave) too late to catch the bu s. e) Here is the news. The Home Office .. (announce) that the tw prisoners w ho .. (escape) from Dartmoor prison earl morning.. (g ive themsel ves up ) to local police . f) .. (you/decide ) to do? g) Harry.. .......................... (leave ) home rather sudd enly and we .............................................. (not /hear) from him since . h) Recent research .. /discover) America, (show) but t hat that Vi kings Columbus..(not (you/make up ) your minds ? What .. ier this

.. ( land) there fi ve hundred years before him . i) I think that people.. (become j) .. ( something/happen ) to ) tired of the poor qual ity of (improve) lately. the phone lines? I television programm es, though they.. .. (try) to g about it ever since. 4 Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. e.g. This has been my home for thirty years. lived I have lived here .. for thirty years. a) Eating Chinese food is new to me. never I .... b) Tony hasn't been to Paris before. first It's .... c) We haven't been swimming for ages. since It's .... d) Mary started learning French five years ago. 7 swimming. to Paris. before.

et through to Glasgo w for the past h our. (complain)

k) Bill .. ........... .. ...........(get) that new job, but he ..

has Mary .... e) I am on the tenth page of this letter I am writing. ten So far I .... f) It's over twenty years since they got married. for They have .... g) The last time I saw Dick was in 1995. seen I haven't .... h) There is a definite improvement in your work. has Lately .... i) This is my second visit to Hungary visited This is the .... 5 Underline the correct phrase in each sentence. a) The price of petrol has r isen/ has been rising by 15% over the past year. b) No wonder you are o verweight! You have eaten/ You h ave been eat ing chocolates all day long! c) I've read/I've been reading a really good book this morning. d) Doesn 't this room look better ? I've put/I've been puttin g some posters up on the walls. e) Don't disappoint me! I've count ed/I've been countin g on you. t) Don't forget your pills toda y. Have you tak en them/Have you been taking them? g) Who has worn/ has been wearing my scarf? h) I think there 's something wrong with your moto rbike. It's made/It's been making some very funny noises. i) Jack has asked/ has been asking for a pa y-rise three time s this year. j) I've been phoning/I've phoned Ann all evening, but there's no reply. 6 Put each verb in brackets into either the past simple, present perfect simple or present perfect continuous. I (1) moved (move) to London three weeks ago to take up a new po st at my 8 Hungary . . improved. 1995. than twenty years. of this letter. five years.

company 's London office . Ever since then , I (2) (wonder ) if I (3 ) (make ) the right decision. I (4) (see) a lot of negative things about liVing in the capital, and I can't say London (5) (make) a very favourable imp ression on me. It 's (6) (grow up ) so polluted and e xpensi ve, and the people are so distant. You see, I

in a fairl y small town c alled Devizes and I (7) (spend) all of my life there. I (8 ) (always/want) to live in a big cit y and so when m y compan y (9) (offer ) me a job in London , I (10) (jump) at the chance. I think I'm not alone in my aversion to the big cit y. According to a programme I (11) (just/hear ) on the radio , more and more people (12) (stop) working in London recently, and a lot of l arge companies ( 13) ................ (choose) to mo ve away from the centre. Oh well , it's too late to change my mind now, because the job is up and runn ing, and I (14) (already/sell) my . house in Devizes . But I must admit, o ver the past few da ys, I (15) (secretly/hope) that the company would relocate me back to my old town