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Teaching
Cultural Literacy to Foreign-Language Students
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In my understanding of the process
of teaching and learning English as a foreign language I have
been greatly influenced by the ideas and observations of Professor
Eric Donald Hirsch, Jr., which he expressed in his book Cultural
Literacy, What Every American Needs to Know (Vintage Books,1988).
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The book was a bestseller in the United States,
and caused a nationwide debate on American educational standards.
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Professor Hirsch introduces
some important linguistic terms-- cultural literacy, shared
knowledge, background information --applying them to teaching
American students. He states that being taught to decode elementary
reading materials and specific, job-related texts cannot constitute
true literacy"(p. 11).
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According to Hirsch, cultural literacy is the
network of information that all competent readers possess. It is the background
information, stored in their minds, that enables them to take up a newspaper and read it
with an adequate level of comprehension, getting the point, grasping the implications,
relating what they read to the unstated context which alone gives meaning to what they
read" (p. 2).
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In one of the issues of the New Yorker
magazine, famous for its cartoons, I came across a picture of two ancient Greeks talking
on the street.
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"ACHILLES!" exclaimed one of them.
"How s the wife? The kids? The heel?"
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And in the London Times many years ago I
saw a witty cartoon concerning the Middle East events of the day with the following
caption:
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AN EYE FOR AN EYE FOR AN EYE
FOR AN EYE FOR AN EYE
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I am convinced that the idea of cultural
literacy can and must be applied to teaching foreign languages as well. Unfortunately, the
prevailing tendency now is to give a basic competence in the English language proper, with
a minimum of cultural references.
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In the course of teacher training in our
country, students are supplied with some basics of British and American history and
geography, but not enough for cultural literacy.
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I can t but agree with
Professor Hirsch that "to understand what somebody is saying,
we must understand more than the surface meanings of words; we
have to understand the context as well. . . . To grasp the words
on a page we have to know a lot of information that isn't set
down on the page" (p. 3).
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Once, in the course of teaching listening
comprehension, I was reading to my high-school students the following humorous story.
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When
my husband walks down the street, he is often stopped by people
who comment on his resemblance to Abraham Lincoln. One evening
a man leaned over and whispered the now familiar "Do you
realize how much you resemble Abraham Lincoln?" during a
play we were attending.
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My husband protested,
"Please, sir not in a theater!"
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In order to fully appreciate the humor of the
situation the listeners must know the circumstances of Lincoln s assassination and,
possibly, have some previous information about the assassin, John Wilkes Booth, and,
ideally, about the activities of the 16th president.
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Every good teacher supplements the textbook
materials with a lot of additional items, such as songs, poems, games, stories, and plays.
The big problem has always been what to choose. The most valuable and workable part of the
book Cultural Literacy for us teachers is the appendix, "What Literate
Americans Know."
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This long list includes 5,000 really essential
items. This "List" provided by Hirsch and his colleagues directs me as a teacher
to what is worth knowing and paying attention to. From the people and cultural phenomena
indicated in this appendix I made my own list of priorities. It contains the items I know
fairly well, and I introduce them to my students whenever the chance arises. Often I make
some additions to Dr. Hirsch s list, depending on what is worth knowing from my point of
view now, at this moment.
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Quite definitely on my list are the following
cultural figures:
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| Louis Armstrong |
Hello, Dolly
What a Wonderful World |
| Frank Sinatra |
My Way
Strangers in the Night
When I Was 17 |
| Ella Fitzgerald |
Lullaby of Birdland
Summertime
Let s Call the Whole Thing Off |
| George Gershwin |
Rhapsody in Blue
Porgy and Bess
It Ain't Necessarily So
Swanee |
| Bing Crosby |
Now Is the Hour
White Christmas |
| Walt Disney |
Mickey Mouse
Disneyland |
| Bob Dylan |
How Many Roads |
| Langston Hughes |
I, Too, Am American
Dreams |
Scott Joplin
Elvis Presley
Carl Sandburg
Dr. Seuss |
Ragtime |
| Simon & Garfunkel |
El Condor Pasa
Bridge Over Troubled Water |
| The Beatles |
Yesterday
Lady Madonna
Michelle |
Very good material for practising pronunciation is provided by the fragments of lyrics
sung by the Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, and Ella Fitzgerald. (All people from
the List!)
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My students each have a special notebook for
this purpose. It consists of numerous exercises based on well- known lines. This kind of
phonetic drill gives them enjoyment and the pleasure of recognition.
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- Many times I've been alone, and many times I've cried.
- I've seen that road before.
- You left me standing here a long, long time ago. (The Beatles, The Long and Winding
Road )
- These are words that go together well.
- I will say the only words I know that you'll understand. (The Beatles, Michelle )
- Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away.
- Suddenly I m not half the man I used to be.
- There s a shadow hanging over me.
- Why she had to go I don t know, she wouldn't say.
- I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday.
- Now I need a place to hide away. (The Beatles, Yesterday )
- Is there anybody going to listen to my story? (The Beatles, Girl )
- I did it my way. (Frank Sinatra, My Way )
- Strangers in the night exchanging glances. (Frank Sinatra, Strangers in the Night
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As is obvious from each of the fragments, they
contain the difficult English sounds and sound combinations that are daily practised in
enjoyable and familiar contexts.
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An essential part of the List is Proverbs. There
are approximately 100 common ideas like:
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YOU CAN'T TEACH AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS
WHEN IN ROME DO AS THE ROMANS DO
WHO PAYS THE PIPER CALLS THE TUNE
TIME AND TIDE WAIT FOR NO MAN
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In the introductory article to the section
"Proverbs" in The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy (p. 46), Hirsch writes,
"On many occasions when people invoke proverbs in speech and writing, they simply
allude to them, rather than complete them."
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If someone offers you a fruit and says, "An
apple a day," the communication will fail if you don t know the relevant proverb; you
will be an outsider.
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This division of English-speaking people into
outsiders and insiders helps us understand the importance of cultural literacy for
successful communication. Let me tell you a couple of my linguistic observations.
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They say that in a California physician s
waiting room hangs the notice
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AN APPLE A DAY DOESN'T DO IT
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Only the "insider" will be able to
enjoy the humor of the warning.
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Let's take another English proverb from the List
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WHERE THERE'S SMOKE, THERE'S
FIRE
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I read somewhere about a Minneapolis printing
company that did not want its employees to smoke on the premises. So it issued the
following dictum
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WHERE THERE'S SMOKE, THERE'S
FIRED
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If you haven t heard the original proverb, you
will hardly appreciate the fun of the pun.
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The "outsiders" (people lacking
target- culture literacy) who are not aware of English proverbs and sayings often feel
confused when they come across fairly common humorous versions like,
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A STITCH IN TIME SAVES
EMBARRASSMENT
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IF AT FIRST
YOU DON'T SUCCEED, THINK HOW MANY PEOPLE YOU'VE MADE HAPPY
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A NEW GROOM SWEEPS CLEAN AND
ALSO WASHES DISHES
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TOO MANY COOKS SPOIL THE FIGURE
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These proverbs provide material for
linguistically minded jokesters who keep finding room for improvement in them.
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For example, we all know the
saying TO MAKE ENDS MEET , meaning "to earn what it costs
to live." Have you heard the new version: YOU
CAN MAKE ENDS MEET, BUT YOU CAN'T MAKE THEM LIKE EACH OTHER?
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Take another proverb from the List,
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LAUGH, AND THE WORLD LAUGHS WITH
YOU; WEEP, AND YOU WEEP ALONE
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The revised version goes like this:
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LAUGH, AND THE WORLD LAUGHS WITH
YOU; SNORE, AND YOU SLEEP ALONE
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Or, HONESTY
IS THE BEST POLICY transforms into HONESTY
IS THE BEST POLICY, ALTHOUGH SOMETIMES KEEPING YOUR MOUTH SHUT
IS EVEN BETTER.
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There are many more graceful alterations of the
proverbs that we are supposed to know so well:
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EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY, FOR
TOMORROW YOU MAY DIET
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PEOPLE WHO LIVE
IN GLASS HOUSES SHOULD BREATHE ON THE WINDOWS BEFORE TAKING A
BATH
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FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTEMPT (AND
CHILDREN)
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At the end of the term I usually arrange a
special quiz, "Who Knows More English Proverbs?" where I ask the students to do
two things: (1) complete a proverb, and (2) recollect a proverb according to the
definition given.
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Complete the following proverbs:
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- Absence makes the heart . . . (grow fonder)
- You can t have your cake and . . . (eat it, too)
- If you can t stand the heat . . . (get out of the kitchen)
- Make hay while . . . (the sun shines)
- Marry in haste . . . (repent at leisure)
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What English proverb can be used here meaning
. . . ?
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- People are attracted to others who are like themselves. (BIRDS OF A
FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER)
- Misfortune does not occur twice in the same way to the same person. (LIGHTNING
NEVER STRIKES TWICE IN THE SAME PLACE)
- Large undertakings take time. (ROME WASN'T
BUILT IN A DAY)
- Take advantage of favorable circumstances while they last. (STRIKE WHILE
THE IRON IS HOT)
- A visual image can convey an idea or an emotion more effectively than words. (ONE PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS)
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To show how much can be done in the direction of
cultural literacy in the course of teaching English as a foreign language, let me show
what particular entries in the List we have managed to cover, item by item.
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Homonyms. While teaching listening
comprehension at the early stages I find it useful to dictate specially composed sentences
containing homonyms. Students are required to write these sentences on the chalkboard and
in their notebooks:
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This man has a big nose and he knows it.
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The book was new and everybody knew it.
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I often see his son at school. I see the sun in
the sky.
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He told me an interesting tale about a mouse
with a long tail.
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Our clock has no hour hand.
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Their books are over there.
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I read that red book last year.
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These two exercises are too simple for me to do.
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Puns. At
later stages of learning English I introduce puns. I begin by
giving students the definition from The Dictionary of Cultural
Literacy: "[A pun] is a humorous substitution of words
that are alike in sound but different in meaning."
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Puns are very common in English, and I give my
students lots of examples. The most enjoyable has always been this one:
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On a British street a policeman stops a car. In
the car there is a visitor from another country.
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Policeman : (holding up his hand) Stop!
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Visitor : (in car) What s the matter?
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Policeman : Why are you driving on the
right side of the road?
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Visitor : Do you want me to drive on the
wrong side?
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Policeman : You *are* driving on the
wrong side.
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Visitor : But you said I was driving on
the right side.
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Policeman : That s right. You re on the
right, and that s wrong.
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Visitor : A strange country! If right is
wrong, I m right when I m on the wrong side. So why did you stop me?
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Policeman : My dear sir, you must keep to
the left. The right side is the left.
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Visitor : It s like a looking-glass! I ll
try to remember. Well, I want to go to Bellwood. Will you kindly tell me the way?
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Policeman : Certainly. At the end of this
road turn left.
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Visitor : Now let me think. Turn left! In
England left is right, and right is wrong. Am I right?
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Policeman : You ll be right if you turn
left. But if you turn right, you ll be wrong.
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Visitor : Thank you. It s as clear as
daylight.
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Limericks. Another way to instill
cultural literacy in the students minds is to introduce limericks.
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A limerick is a sort of humorous five-line
verse. I begin with the most famous limerick in Russia:
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There was a young lady of Niger,
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Who smiled as she rode on a tiger.
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They returned from the ride
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and the smile on the face of the tiger.
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Then I explain the structure of its rhyming
parts, and after that I give the students a word and see if they can produce other words
that rhyme with it; for example,
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now, cow, how, wow, plough France, dance, glance
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Later I invite the students to compose a
limerick using the first given line:
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There was an old lady from Slough. . . .
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Soon the first limerick was ready:
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There was an old lady from Slough
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Who flew to the moon (don t ask how)!
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How her cow laughed: Bow-wow-wow!
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Of course, to compose limericks requires some
special talent or skill, so usually we just learn by heart as many classical limericks as
we can.
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Nursery rhymes. Every student
learning English as a foreign language should go through nursery rhymes, included in the
List. We try to master them all in elementary classes. Our choice coincides with that of
Professor Hirsch:
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- Baa, Baa, Black Sheep
- Hey Diddle Diddle
- Hickory, Dickory, Dock
- Jack, Be Nimble
- Jack and Jill
- Jack Sprat
- Little Bo-Peep
- Humpty Dumpty
- Little Miss Muffet
- London Bridge Is Falling Down
- Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary
- Mary Had a Little Lamb
- Old King Cole
- Old Mother Hubbard
- Peter Piper
- Rock-a-bye, Baby
- Simple Simon
- Three Blind Mice
- Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
- There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe
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(By the way, they say ironically that perhaps
the old woman who lived in a shoe "who had so many children she didn't know what to
do" hadn't known what not to do!)
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Simile. I also introduce simile to
the high-school students and give them numerous examples, such as
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AS BUSY AS A BEE ( a
husband who is always as busy as a bee may one day find his honey missing! )
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AS MISCHIEVOUS AS A SACKFUL OF
MONKEYS
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AS SNUG AS A BUG IN A RUG
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AS PLEASED AS A DOG WITH TWO
TAILS
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Idioms, sayings,
and clichés. Along the same lines I work with the contents
of the List dealing with idioms, sayings and clichés. There
are about 100 of the most common expressions of this kind on the
List.
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After introducing this picturesque side of the
English language to my classes, I perform the exercise that I call "In Other
Words" or "Figuratively Speaking," where the students are required to take
the hint and complete the situation with the idiom in question. For example,
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Tom likes to boast. People who know him well
usually take the stories of his fantastic achievements skeptically, or in other words, WITH A GRAIN OF SALT.
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Our neighbors bought an expensive microwave
oven. Hard as it was for our budget, we bought one, too. The reason was purely
psychological we wanted, figuratively speaking, to KEEP UP WITH THE
JONESES.
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I m going to walk to my office. On the way I ll
drop into the post office to send a telegram to my mother. In other words, I m going to KILL TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE.
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The great Italian singer Pavarotti is on tour in
our city. Difficult as it is, I ll try to get tickets for his performance. I ll do
everything possible and use all my connections. In other words, I will LEAVE
NO STONE UNTURNED.
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When my friend went to
live in the United States, he didn't feel comfortable there. As
he didn't know English very well, he didn't understand the customs.
In other words, he felt like A FISH OUT OF WATER.
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If you want to buy a new
car, you'll have to work hard. Figuratively speaking, you'll have
to KEEP YOUR NOSE TO THE GRINDSTONE.
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I rarely go to the theater. In other words, I go
ONCE IN A BLUE MOON.
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We decided to buy our teacher a present. We
purchased a nice tie and planned to give it to him on his birthday. Somehow, he found out
about it because one of us LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG by asking him
about his taste in ties.
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You have a good voice; please sing something for
us. Don t be too modest. In other words, DON T HIDE YOUR LIGHT UNDER A
BUSHEL.
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John won a high-school chess competition once,
but always lost after that. So his victory was purely accidental. It was just A FLASH IN THE PAN.
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Jack got up in the morning in an angry mood. In
other words, HE GOT UP ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE BED.
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George was very selfish. He always put his own
interests first. In other words, he was constantly LOOKING OUT FOR NUMBER
ONE.
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Little Sam stole his friend s bicycle. Then he
had pricks of conscience and decided to confess. He wanted to MAKE A CLEAN
BREAST OF IT.
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My old aunt always exaggerated the seriousness
of her illnesses. Whenever she had a cold, she thought she was dying. In other words, she MADE A MOUNTAIN OUT OF A MOLEHILL.
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When John was guilty of something, he always
blamed others. He never took the responsibility on himself. In other words, he was always PASSING THE BUCK.
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Elliot is very active in all kinds of clubs and
societies in his high school. His mother often reproaches him for that. "You are
participating in too many activities," she said. In other words, YOU'RE
SPREADING YOURSELF TOO THIN.
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When the criminal was released from prison, he
decided to start a new, honest life. In other words, he wanted to TURN
OVER A NEW LEAF.
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When I asked Grant to tell me the truth, no
matter how shocking it was, he avoided getting to the point and started to speak about
irrelevant things. In other words, he was BEATING AROUND THE BUSH.
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Prince Charles is a wealthy person because he
was born into a wealthy family. In other words, HE WAS BORN WITH A SILVER
SPOON IN HIS MOUTH.
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Brian was a workaholic; he worked too long and
overextended himself. In other words, HE BURNT THE CANDLE AT BOTH ENDS.
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Let s talk frankly, calling things by their real
names. In other words, LET'S CALL A SPADE A SPADE.
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Jane and I used to be madly in love with each
other. Recently when we met she seemed not to notice me at all. In other words, SHE GAVE ME THE COLD SHOULDER.
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And, of course, a good way to sum up your work
on cultural literacy is to hold quiz-like competitions with questions on the most
troublesome items of the List.
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I think that the authors of future textbooks of
English for Russian students should take a look at the List in order to make their books
more true to life and literate in the general sense of the word.
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P.S. I have just received the latest issue of Newsweek
magazine. On the last page there is an interview with Egypt s Boutros Boutros-Ghali,
Secretary General of the United Nations. The interview is entitled "An Ounce of
Prevention." From my memory I extract the whole proverb-- An ounce of prevention
is worth a pound of cure --and realize for the umpteenth time the importance of being
culturally literate.
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Alexander
Bessmertnyi is in charge of English language teaching in Moscow School No. 45. In
1989 he visited and taught in an American high school through the US-USSR High School
Academic Partnership Program. |
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