New Total English: Upper Intermediate Workbook Study Guide

CONNECT: FIRST IMPRESSIONS AND SURVIVAL MECHANISMS

Reading: Susan Boyle and the Psychology of Judgement

• The Survival Mechanism Concept:

  • Scientists argue that judging by appearances is a survival mechanism dating from humanity's early history.
  • In a world full of danger, it was necessary for early humans to make instant life-or-death decisions.
  • The Reality: While few follow the advice of the saying "don't judge a book by its cover," brains are programmed to make immediate judgements based almost solely on first impressions.

• Case Study: Susan Boyle:

  • Background: An unemployed Scottish woman from a small village near Glasgow. She was $47$ years old when she appeared on Britain's Got Talent.
  • Initial Impression: She appeared plain, middle-aged, with an unflattering hairstyle and an old-fashioned dress. The audience looked bemused, expecting an embarrassing display from a "self-deluded wannabe."
  • The Turning Point: Upon singing, her "powerful soaring voice" created a massive contrast with her "homely appearance." This dichotomy led to a standing ovation.
  • Impact: Her debut CD sold more than $9,000,000$ copies within six weeks of release. Her YouTube clip was watched over $200,000,000$ times.

Verbatim Vocabulary Definitions

• solely: only, exclusively.
• instant: immediate.
• tendency: likelihood, something which often happens.
• bemused: slightly confused, unable to understand.
• self-deluded: having a false impression of one's own talent.
• wannabe: somebody who would like to be a star.
• gasp: a short sudden noise when you breathe in.
• homely: ordinary-looking, not very attractive.
• soaring: rising, getting higher and higher.
• standing ovation: showing approval of a performance by standing up and applauding.
• dichotomy: difference between two things or ideas.
• prodigious: rare, unusual, very talented.

GRAMMAR OVERVIEW: UNIT 1

Present and Future Tenses

• Present Simple: Used for facts or permanent situations (e.g., "Some form of life exists even in the deepest parts of the ocean").
• Present Continuous: Used for temporary actions or things happening around now (e.g., "I am using my husband's car this week").
• Future with 'will': Used for predictions or definite plans (e.g., "The wedding will definitely be sometime in the spring").
• Future with 'going to': Used for intentions or predictions based on evidence (e.g., "Look at those dark clouds, I think there is going to be a storm").

The Past

• Past Simple: Completed actions in the past (e.g., "I finally passed my driving test").
• Past Continuous: Actions in progress at a specific time in the past (e.g., "David was eating an apple when he broke a tooth").
• Past Perfect Simple: An action that happened before another action in the past (e.g., "I found that my flatmate had drunk all the milk").

Obligation and Ability

• mustn't: Used for prohibition (e.g., "You mustn't smoke in here").
• don't have to: Lack of obligation (e.g., "You don't have to bring any money").
• should have + [past participle]: Used for past regrets or advice not taken (e.g., "You should have tried harder!").
• was able to / could: 'Could' is for general ability; 'was able to' is often used for a specific success in the past (e.g., "I was able to persuade her to let me in").

EXPLORE: TRAVEL AND ENVIRONMENTS

Speed Tourists: The German Autobahn

• Concept: Travel companies attract Chinese tourists to Germany specifically for the "thrill of driving" on motorways without speed limits.
• Numerical Data:
  • Number of expected Chinese tourists: $120,000$.
  • Kilometres of German motorways with no speed limit: Over $8,000\,\text{km}$.
  • Cost of a six-day "autobahn tour": $€3,000$.
  • Potential vehicle speeds: Up to $240\,\text{km/h}$.
  • China road fatality statistic: Over $600$ people die on Chinese roads every day.

The Ice Hotel: Jukkasjärvi, Sweden

• Location: Situated in the village of Jukkasjärvi, $200\,\text{km}$ north of the Arctic Circle in Saamiland.
• Construction Process:
  • The $5,000\,\text{square metre}$ building is rebuilt every winter starting in late October.
  • Snow cannons shoot snow onto steel sections; after two days, the sections are removed to leave solid snow arches ($5\,\text{m}$ to $6\,\text{m}$ wide).
  • Materials: Approximately $30,000\,\text{tons}$ of snow and $10,000\,\text{tons}$ of ice blocks carved from the Torneälven river.
• Living Conditions:
  • Outside temperatures can reach $-40^{\circ}\text{C}$.
  • Inside the hotel, the temperature is usually around $-4^{\circ}\text{C}$.
  • Beds are lined with reindeer skins and guests use thick sleeping bags.

Rollercoaster Comparisons

• Steel Dragon 2000 (Nagashima Spa Land, Tokyo, Japan):
  • Length: Over $1.5\,\text{miles}$.
  • Duration: $4\,\text{minutes}$.
  • Drop: $68\,\text{degree}$.
  • Speeds: Up to $95\,\text{mph}$.
  • Building Cost: $55,000,000$.
• Kingda Ka (Six Flags Great Adventure, New Jersey, USA):
  • Speed: Fastest on Earth at $128\,\text{mph}$ ($206\,\text{km/h}$).
  • Height: Tallest at $456\,\text{feet}$ ($139\,\text{m}$).
  • Duration: Less than $1\,\text{minute}$.

WORK AND ELECTRONIC WASTE

The "Weee Man" Sculpture

• Creation: A terrifying metal and plastic sculpture by Paul Bonomini, commissioned by the Royal Society of Arts (RSA).
• Height: $24\,\text{feet}$ ($7\,\text{metres}$).
• Materials: Composed of discarded electronic waste:
  • $3$ washing machines, $5$ fridges, $7$ vacuum cleaners.
  • $35$ mobile phones, $12$ kettles.
  • Anatomy: Teeth made of computer mice, eyes from washing machine doors, and ears from satellite dishes.
• Significance of Weight: The sculpture weighs $3.3\,\text{tonnes}$, representing the average amount of electrical equipment one person throws away in a lifetime.
• Broader Context: Citizens of the European Union produce $6.5\,\text{million tonnes}$ of electronic waste annually; only $10\%$ is recycled.

Uniforms in Organizations

• Functions of Uniforms:
  • Authority: Exercised by security guards, police, and flight attendants.
  • Hygiene: Crucial in hospitals for nursing staff and doctors (the "white coat" symbol).
  • Identification: Military uniforms (battledress and dress uniform) indicate precise rank and role.
  • Brand Projection: Corporate clothing for banks and supermarket chains.
  • Financial Income: Sale of sports "kits" or "strips" to supporters.

RISK: MEDIA AND HEROES

Matt Drudge and The Drudge Report

• History: Founded the first successful online 'newspaper' in $1995$.
• Blogging vs. Journalism: Drudge rejects the label of "blogger," considering his site a proper newspaper.
• Key Achievement: Became the first to publicize the Monica Lewinsky scandal in $1998$.
• Numerical Data: Annual turnover of over $1,000,000$. Named one of the $100$ most influential people by Time magazine in $2006$.

Action Heroes and Stunts

• Stunt Evolution: In early films, stars like Sean Connery did not do their own stunts due to the risk of injury. Pierce Brosnan used stuntman Gary Powell.
• Modern Actors: Daniel Craig (trained for $3\,\text{months}$ for Bond) and Matt Damon (trained for $12\,\text{weeks}$ in martial arts for The Bourne Ultimatum) perform many of their own stunts.
• Terminology:
  • maimed: so seriously injured that part of the body is permanently damaged.
  • CGI: Computer-Generated Imaging, used to create soldiers, horses, and arenas without extras or large sets.

QUESTIONS & DISCUSSION

Dialogue: Meet the Author (David Stourton on Juggling)

• Interviewer: "Could you tell us what you mean by 'juggling'?"
• David Stourton: "The dictionary calls it 'keeping two or more objects in the air at one time by alternately tossing and catching them.' In the profession, we call that 'toss juggling.'"
• Interviewer: "Has juggling been around for a long time?"
• David Stourton: "Yes… Egyptian tomb paintings… an ancient Egyptian statue in the Staatliche museum in Berlin. The earliest written record is from ancient China (3rd or 4th century BC) describing a juggler throwing seven swords… In Rome, Tagatus Ursus juggled glass balls."

Dialogue: American Melting Pot (Joe Grendal)

• Interviewer: "How many films have you made here?"
• Joe Grendal: "Three films over here now."
• Interviewer: "How does film-making here compare to Britain?"
• Joe Grendal: "There's a lot more money involved. Back in the UK we didn't have much contact with the accountants. But here they're on top of you all the time!"
• Interviewer: "The weather, surely that's very different?"
• Joe Grendal: "In southern California… we can do a lot of location work. In England we couldn't do much outdoors because it was always so cloudy."