Focus on vocabulary

1. Transcribe and read out these words.

inquisitor, present (v), arrogant, genuine, Dumas, Stendhal

2. Give synonyms.

1. splendid 5. vary

2. haughty 6. consider

3. position 7. suppose

4. trash

3. Say what you know about these writers.

J.B. Priestley, Alexandre Dumas, Henry James, Stendhal

4. Explain the meaning of the following.

1. to take a lofty stand

2. regard themselves as grand inquisitors of art

3. Nothing is gained, but much is lost, by this hoity-toity treatment.

4. ranging from shockingly bad to the good and glorious

5. a genuine artist of his own kind

5. Say it in English.

1. приносить больше вреда, чем пользы

2. занять надменную позицию

3. великий инквизитор

4. ерунда, на которую не стоит тратить время

5. ничего не достигнуть

6. высокомерное отношение

7. простираться от шокирующего до восхитительного

8. в своем роде

9. истинный писатель

10. визуальные искусства

Reading

Read the article below and sum it up. Answer these questions:

1. What three views on the new campaign to improve boys’ literacy are expressed in the article?

2. How does the article relate to J.B. Priestley’s ideas?

3. What’s your opinion of including trashy books in school reading lists?

Why Trashy Books Are So Good for Little Boys

Boys should read trashy novels and biographies of soccer stars in school, an education expert said.

Dr Nick Tate, head of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, ordered teachers to be more inventive about what they let boys read.

It should include horror stories and books on modern icons such as the Spice Girls, Oasis, Paul Gascoigne and Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Shakespeare, already compulsory in schools, could be made more popular among boys by emphasizing the bloodthirsty nature of plots, he said.

The shake-up is part of a campaign launched to help boys read as well as girls.

Dr Tate, who has overall responsibility for what schools teach, said: “We now know that from the age of 5 boys are doing worse that girls in English. The gap widens as they get older and from 14 to 16 years the gap is at its greatest and the girls are doing strikingly better. We can do something about the problem and schools can make a big difference. Reading trashy novels can get children into the habit of reading and thus move them on to something more valuable.”

Dr Tate recommended biographies of Gazza and Schwarzenegger along with political figures such as John F Kennedy, Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler and Gandhi. And he said that even boys at primary school should read action-packed classics, such as Homer’s The Iliad, to dispel the notion that poetry was “girly”.

But Labour MP Margaret Hodge said: “I’m not too sure about these new proposals. It might be OK for children with learning difficulties, but not for everyone. Children’s literature is overflowing with writing which grips kids.”

Inspector Dr Kate Seager said she thought the idea had merit, but warned: “The use of trashy books should be limited.”

(From “The Express”)