015

UNIT 15 1 An Impossible Love

(Love at First Sight) vista

Juan Pedro is an eighteen-year-old student. He

is good-looking and clever. He has very artistic

tastes. He loves music, art and poetry. But he is

very timid and he is not happy.

di bell’aspetto

poesia

Why isn’t he happy? Because he is poor and he

has no friends. He knows many other students, of

course, but they are not his friends. People with

little money have few friends. It is very sad, but it

is so.

naturalmente

Juan Pedro is from a little town near Granada,

but he is studying at the University of Seville. He

has got two brothers and two sisters. His father is

a schoolteacher and his mother is a housewife.

vicino

casalinga

They live in a simple, old house outside the

town. Behind the house, there is a large kitchen

garden, where they grow all kinds of vegetables

and some fruit trees: cherry trees, lemon trees,

orange trees, apple trees and fig trees.

semplice

orto

coltivano

ciliegi

fichi

The children help their parents to cultivate the

vegetables, too. Everybody in the house knows

that cultivating the kitchen garden is very

important, because it is not easy to bring up five

children on a schoolteacher’s salary.

coltivare

ognuno

allevare

stipendio

When Juan Pedro comes back from the university

to his little room, he prepares his lunch. And while

he eats he thinks about his parents, his brothers

and his sisters, his little town and his garden.

ritorna

mentre

His town is not very far from Seville, only two

hundred and seventy kilometres. So, at weekends

he could go to see his family; but he doesn’t want

to spend the money, so he goes home only once a

month.

lontano da

potrebbe

va a casa

>>>

UNIT 15 2 (continuation) An Impossible Love

In Juan Pedro’s class there are three students

who are always talking about night clubs and

discotheques. Juan Pedro never goes to night

clubs or discos. He never goes to the theatre or to

the cinema. He never goes to parties. He just

studies all the afternoon, all the evening, and very

often at night, too.

spesso

So he cannot talk to his companions about the

things that interest them. He can only listen to

their conversation.

His companions spend a lot of time talking about

football, too. But Juan Pedro hasn’t got a

television in his room, so he is not well informed

about football.

passano

informato

His only pastime is reading. He likes to read all

kinds of books, magazines and newspapers. He

also likes to study foreign languages. Now he is

learning Italian, because he loves art, and one

day he would like to visit Italy and see Rome,

Florence and Venice.

passatempo

Firenze

Venezia ***

It is a cold winter evening. Juan Pedro is in his

little room studying. After a few hours he begins

to feel tired and hungry. So he gets up and does

some stretching for about ten minutes. Then he

goes to his little fridge, and takes out a bottle of

milk. He puts some milk in a bowl and adds two

spoonfuls of sugar and some chocolate powder.

While he is drinking the milk, he begins to read

the newspaper. On one of the back pages there is

a beautiful colour picture of a famous flamenco

dancer: Maria Estrella Lopez. There is also a long

article about her. The article speaks about her last

tour in South America and in Mexico, and her

fantastic success. The article also says that she is

going to dance in a night club in Seville for three

nights.

a sentirsi

stiramenti

esce

scodella >

aggiunge >

polvere

tournée

successo

>>>

UNIT 15 3 (continuation) An Impossible Love

After drinking his chocolate milk, Juan Pedro

goes back to his little desk and begins studying.

But after only ten minutes he has to stop. He

cannot concentrate. So he takes the paper again

and begins to look at the picture of the beautiful

flamenco dancer. He goes on looking at the

picture for a long time. Then he lies down on his

bed, closes his eyes and begins to think about

dancing, music, poetry and his future trip to Italy.

ritorna

deve

continua

si sdraia

chiude

viaggio

It is already midnight, but Juan Pedro cannot

sleep. He keeps on thinking about Maria Estrella

Lopez, the dancer. He thinks and thinks for a long

time, then he gets up, goes to his desk, opens a

drawer and takes out a wallet where he keeps the

money to buy his food, to pay the rent for his

room, and to buy books and other school supplies.

(materiale scolastico)

continua a >

pensare

cassetto >

portafoglio

affitto

He counts his money, thinks for a moment, then

he says, “I must see her! This is my only chance.

But how can I go to that night club? People say

that night clubs are very expensive...” “Well,” he

says, “I could have just a glass of milk for

breakfast and only a sandwich for lunch. For

dinner I will have only an apple. I could also go to

University on foot, instead of taking a bus. So I

can save money. Eating isn’t so important. But I

must see Maria Estrella!”.

opportunità

potrei

mangerò

di prendere

risparmiare

He spends the night thinking and dreaming about

the dancer. The next morning, when he has to get

up to go to classes, he is very sleepy.

sognando

deve

assonnato

During the lessons, instead of listening to the

teachers, he keeps thinking about the night club,

about flamenco and, of course, about the dancer.

invece di

>>>

UNIT 15 4

(continuation) An Impossible Love

In the evening he puts on his best clothes,

combs his hair carefully, polishes his shoes, and

goes to the night club. After buying the entrance

ticket he feels more relaxed, because it isn’t so

expensive after all.

migliori attentamente > lucida rilassato

The night club is a really splendid place, full of

fashionable people. There are happy couples

sitting at all the tables: good-looking men and

pretty women in elegant, expensive clothes and

with beautiful jewellery. Some people are drinking

whisky; others are drinking wine, champagne or

cocktails. Some women are drinking soft drinks.

There are women with dark hair, women with

blonde hair, women with red hair...

coppie

gioielli

altri

Some of the couples are married. Some are

engaged. Some are only friends. Only Juan Pedro

is alone.

solo

When a waiter comes near his table, Juan Pedro

tells him to bring him a brandy. He doesn’t like

hard drinks, but for one night he wants to be like

the other men in the night club.

come

For a few minutes, sitting alone at his little table

in a corner of the big splendid room, Juan Pedro

feels very unhappy. Then Maria Estrella’s first

dance begins... and he forgets that he is alone...

he forgets that he has no friends... he forgets that

he is poor... he forgets all the smiling couples

sitting at the other tables. He sees only the

dancer, with her beautiful black hair, her big black

eyes, her sweet pale face, her wonderful art.

si sente

dimentica

sorridenti

pallida

There is a big red rose in her hair. The rose and

her lips are the same colour. >>>

labbra - stesso

UNIT 15 5

(continuation) An Impossible Love

“I love her!” thinks poor Juan Pedro. “I love her

so much! She must be sweet and affectionate. And

she is so young! She must be only eighteen or

nineteen. How is it possible that a woman so

young can already be a famous artist?”

While Maria Estrella dances, a tall gypsy, with

long dark hair, plays the guitar. He is very young

too, but he plays like a professional guitarist.

alto gitano

chitarrista

Maria Estrella dances three times. When her

third dance is over, and she sits down to rest,

Juan Pedro thinks, “I must meet her. I must know

her; I want to tell her what I feel for her. But how

could I begin? She will not believe me when I tell

her that I really love her. I cannot go to her hotel

and visit her. I cannot invite her to visit me. I live

in a small, modest room. I would like to buy her

some beautiful jewellery, but I have no money.

Well, I can offer her some flowers.”

per riposare

conoscerla

quello che

non mi crederà

offrirle

*** There is a little flower shop in the night club.

Juan Pedro goes in. He sees hundreds of beautiful

flowers of every colour.

entra

“What can I do for you, sir?” asks a pretty young woman.

All the flowers are terribly expensive. It seems

impossible that flowers can cost so much.

sembra

costare

Juan Pedro can buy only six red roses. “Are six

roses enough?” he thinks. He would like to buy

twelve, but that is impossible. So he buys six

roses and returns to his table.

>>>

UNIT 15 6

(continuation) An Impossible Love

A tall blonde woman is now singing a popular

song. The title of the song is: “Under the Orange

Trees of Seville.” It is a very nice song and the

singer has a very sweet voice. But Juan Pedro

hears nothing. He is thinking of Maria Estrella...

that sweet, sad face, those beautiful black eyes...

her wonderful art...

alta

ode

He has got a pencil, but he hasn’t got any paper

or envelope, so he writes on the programme,

under her sweet name: “For the wonderful dancer

with beautiful, sad eyes.”

He calls the waiter and gives him the flowers and

the programme saying, “Please give these flowers

to Maria Estrella Lopez.”

chiama

He cannot give the waiter a tip, because he now

has no more money. So the waiter goes away

thinking, “He has got enough money to buy

flowers for a woman who receives hundreds of

flowers every night, but he doesn’t give a tip to a

poor, honest waiter who works all night and half

the day too, because he has to keep a wife and six

children that never stop eating.”

mancia

più

riceve

deve mantenere

Juan Pedro leaves the club. The show is not over

yet. There are still many numbers on the

programme, but they don’t interest him. He wants

to be alone. He only wants to think about the

beautiful dancer.

solo

It is already very late, but he doesn’t want to go

back home yet, so he goes for a long walk along

the Guadalquivir river.

tardi

lungo

“I love her,” he says. “ I love her so much. She

is my first and only love. But I know that my love

is impossible, because she is rich and famous, and

I am only a poor, timid student.”

The End

<<< >>> <<< >>> <<< >>>

UNIT 15 7

Learning a Foreign Language

The word language comes from the Latin word “lingua”.

How many languages are spoken in the world

today? Scholars say that there are about 6,800.

There are also thousands of dialects. What is a

dialect? A dialect is a form of a language that is

used in a part of a country or by one group of

people. For example, Sicilian is a dialect of Italian.

parlate

gli studiosi

dialetti

gruppo

There are some languages that are spoken only

by a few hundred or a few thousand people. But

some languages like Mandarin, English, Hindi, and

Spanish are spoken by millions of people.

One area of high linguistic diversity is Papua-

New Guinea, where there are about 832 languages

spoken by a population of around 3.9 million.

Mandarin is the main language of China, and

about 874 million people speak it.

About 366 million people speak Hindi in India.

There are about 350 million Spanish-speaking

people that live in South America, in Spain and in

other parts of the world.

alta

circa

principale

English is a special language. It is used by more

than 450 million people in almost every part of

the world. We could say that English is an

international language. Most of the people that

speak English live in the United States, Great

Britain, Australia, Canada, Ireland, and South

Africa.

più di

quasi

la maggior parte di

Irlanda

English is an official language in 52 countries.

About one third of the people in the world

understand and speak some English. It is the most

useful language to learn for international travel.

English is a dominant language in diplomacy and

electronic communication. About 90% (ninety per

cent) of all Internet traffic is in English.

>>>

UNIT 15 8

(continuation) Learning a Foreign Language Are there easy languages and difficult

languages? Not at all. When children learn their

own language, by listening and imitating their

parents, and all the people around them, they

don’t find any difficulty. But when they are in

secondary school and they try to learn a foreign

language, that is very different from their mother

tongue, they find lots of difficulties.

affatto

propria

non trovano

cercano

lingua materna

For example, for an Italian pupil of ten or

eleven, to learn Chinese or Arabic, is quite

difficult, because these two languages are

completely different from the Italian language.

But if he wants to learn Spanish, French or

English, he will not find many difficulties, because

Spanish, French and English, belong to the same

language family: Indo-European.

alunno

arabo >

piuttosto

appartengono a

Which is the best age to start learning a foreign

language? Scholars say that children should start

learning foreign languages in kindergarten.

migliore

dovrebbero

asilo infantile

As English is a language spoken all over the

world, nowadays there are thousands of books,

cassettes and videos that teach English. So if one

wants to learn English, it is not difficult.

siccome

oggigiorno

There is, of course, something important that we

must remember: “There are no revolutionary or

miraculous methods for learning a foreign

language!” We can buy the best books, the best

study aids, and have the best teachers, but if we

don’t study, we will never learn.

metodi

materiale didattico

There are some strange people who come to a

teacher and say, “In how many weeks can I learn

to speak English?” That is just nonsense, of

course. A person cannot learn English in a few

weeks. He must study for many months... for a

year... or two years... or three years. But if he

studies enough he can begin to say many things in

English after only five or six lessons.

dopo

>>>

UNIT 15 9

(continuation) Learning a Foreign Language

But a student must not waste time watching TV

or playing silly videogames on his computer, and

then say, “I haven’t enough time to study.”

sprecare

When a student’s vocabulary is big enough, he

must begin to have little conversations in English

with his teacher. He must not say, “Oh, I can’t

talk. That is too difficult. I make so many

mistakes.” If he makes mistakes, the teacher can

correct him. Good teachers are always patient.

ciò

All things seem difficult when we begin to do

them, but things that seem difficult today can

seem very easy after a few days.

sembrano

The teacher can ask the student easy questions

about his name, his parents, his brothers and

sisters, his relatives, his studies, his favourite

sports or his favourite singers. The student must

answer all these questions, using all the words

that he can remember. He must never answer only

“Yes.” or “No.” That is not conversation!

Many people collect things, foreign stamps, for

example. Some collect postcards, with views of

interesting or beautiful places. If the student

collects things, he can talk about his collection.

If the student is a woman, and if fashions

interest her, she and the teacher can talk about

fashions. Some people like to talk about the

theatre, or the television and radio programmes

that interest them.

Yes, there are dozens of things that the student

can say. Of course, there are some days when a

person has no ideas in his head. We all know that.

So what can a student talk about on these days?

Well, he can talk about the weather. English

people love to talk about the weather. They talk

about it every day. So if the student talks about it,

his conversation will be very English.

tempo

sarà

<<< >>> <<< >>> <<< >>>

UNIT 15 10 Robert And Millie

As I am sure you all remember, Robert and Millie

are a married couple. She is married to him and

he is married to her. In other words, they are

husband and wife. Do you understand? I am sure

you do.

Come sono sicuro

coppia

Robert is not a very nice person. He is always

impatient or angry. He never speaks kindly to his

poor wife.

At breakfast time he says that there isn’t enough

sugar in his coffee, or that the coffee isn’t strong

enough. At dinnertime he says that the steak is

tough, or that there aren’t enough potatoes. When

he says that, Millie always gives him all her

potatoes, but he never thanks her. He just eats

them, with an angry face. When there is fish for

dinner, he always says that he hates fish. But

Millie is always patient and sweet. She is never

angry with him.

dura

ciò

odia

Why has Robert this nasty character? Why is he

always angry? Why is he always irritable? - One

of the reasons why he is always irritable is that he

has got a stomach ulcer. And as you know, ulcers

are very painful. (dolorose)

antipatico

ragioni

ulcera allo >

stomaco

But the main reason why he is in a nasty mood all

the time is that he doesn’t like his job. He thinks

that it is very boring, and that the car factory is too

far from his house. So he has to get up at six every

morning, drive for about an hour and for eight or

nine hours a day he has to do something that he

doesn’t like.

principale >

umore

fabbrica

lontano da

guidare

Robert is a very good mechanic, and he likes to

repair cars. He is also very good at repairing

every kind of electric appliance, but he doesn’t

like to work in the car factory. He would like to

open his own repair shop, but for now he can’t. He

needs some capital to begin.

meccanico

riparare

elettrodomestici

***

ha bisogno

*** la propria officina di riparazioni >>>

UNIT 15 11

(continuation) Robert And Millie

So, as you can understand, when he arrives

home he is very often in a nasty mood. Thank

God, Millie is a sweet and nice person.

come

Dio Why has Robert got an ulcer? He says that the

food at the car factory canteen is horrible. And at

lunchtime he has to eat there. - Millie says that

the reason why he has an ulcer, is that he drinks

too much beer and wine and he drinks a lot of

whisky, too. She also thinks that he has got

headaches because he never stops smoking. He

even smokes in bed. In fact, every night he likes

to read in bed for an hour or two. And while he

reads, he smokes and drinks whisky.

cibo - mensa

deve

mal di testa

persino

mentre

Robert’s doctor is always saying to him that he

must eat less and drink very little alcohol,

because alcohol is very bad for his stomach ulcer.

- But Robert never listens to him.

meno

Robert’s alarm clock wakes him up at six o’clock

every morning. But does he get up when he hears

the clock? Oh, no! He only calls: “Millie! Bring me

my coffee!”

When he calls, Millie is already in the kitchen,

because she always gets up at half past five to

prepare breakfast for Robert. So she patiently

brings him his first cup of coffee in bed. But when

she brings him the coffee, he then says that he

wants many other things too: his slippers, the

morning newspaper, his cigarettes, his matches...

and he also says, “Why are you always so slow?

Why don’t you hurry up? Don’t you know that I am

in a hurry?”

già

per preparare

ciabatte

fiammiferi

lenta

ho fretta >>>

UNIT 15 12

(continuation) Robert And Millie

***

It is a beautiful Sunday morning. It is ten

o’clock. Millie would like to go for a walk in the

park with Robert. She likes to walk in the park

looking at the flowers, at the trees, and she likes

to hear the birds singing. She finds it very

relaxing. But when she asks Robert if he wants to

go, he only answers, “Rubbish! The park doesn’t

interest me, and you know very well that I hate

birds.”

uccelli

rilassante

odio

So poor Millie takes a book and sits down in her

little front garden and starts reading. From an

apple tree she hears the singing of a little bird.

Millie looks at it and smiles sweetly. Then she

looks at some pretty pink roses that are starting

to blossom and she thinks; “Life is not so bad,

after all.”

prende

melo

rose color rosa

sbocciare

dopotutto

<<< >>> <<< >>> <<< >>>

UNIT 15 13

The English Alphabet

a b c d e ei bi: si: di: i:

f g h i j ef dgi: eitS ai dgei

k l m n o kei el em en ou

p q r s t pi: kju: a: es ti:

u v w ju: vi: dúblju

x y z eks wai zed

<<< >>> <<< >>> <<< >>>

UNIT 15 14

La soluzione di questi esercizi si trova dalla pag. 20 a 26. Rispondi alle seguenti domande:

1. How old is Juan Pedro?

2. Why is Juan Pedro unhappy?

3. Have people with little money got a lot of friends, or few

friends?

4. Where is Juan Pedro from?

5. Where is he studying?

6. How many brothers and sisters has he got?

7. What is Juan Pedro’s mother, a teacher or a housewife?

8. Where does his family live?

9. What do they grow in their kitchen garden?

10. Why is the kitchen garden important for his family?

11. How far is his town from Seville?

12. At weekends, why doesn’t he go to see his family? 13. What does Juan Pedro do instead of going to the cinema

or to discos?

14. Why can’t he talk about football?

15. What is his only pastime?

16. Why is he learning Italian?

17. Who is Maria Estrella Lopez?

18. Where is she going to dance?

19. Why can’t Juan Pedro concentrate?

20. Where does he keep his money?

21. What does he think about eating?

22. What does he think about, instead of listening to his teachers?

23. After buying the ticket, he feels more relaxed. Why?

24. Describe the night club.

25. What does Juan Pedro tell the waiter to bring him?

26. According to him, how old is Maria Estrella?

27. What is the gypsy playing in the night club?

28. What does Juan Pedro want to tell Maria Estrella?

29. What would he like to buy her?

30. Why does he buy only six flowers?

31. Why doesn’t he give the waiter a tip?

32. What does the waiter think?

33. What does Juan Pedro do after leaving the club?

<<< >>> <<< >>> <<< >>>

UNIT 15 15

La soluzione di questi esercizi si trova dalla pag. 20 a 26. Rispondi alle seguenti domande:

1. Where does the word “language” come from?

2. How many languages are there in the world?

3. And how many dialects?

4. What is a dialect?

5. What is Mandarin? Is it a fruit?

6. How many Spanish-speaking people are there in the world?

7. Write something about the English language.

8. How do children learn their own language?

9. Do children have any difficulty learning their own

language?

10. To which language family do English and Italian belong?

11. Which is the best age to learn a foreign language?

12. How many years are needed to learn English well?

13. How do students generally waste their time?

14. How do you waste your time?

15. How many hours a day do you spend in front of your

television?

16. What do English people like to talk about?

17. What do you like to talk about?

*** 1. When there is fish for dinner, what does Robert say?

2. Why has Robert a nasty character?

3. Why is he always in a nasty mood?

4. Why has Robert got an ulcer?

5. Why has he always got headaches?

6. For how long does Robert like to read in bed? 7. At what time does Robert’s alarm clock wake him up in

the morning?

8. Does Millie get up before or after Robert?

9. Where does Robert like to have his first cup of coffee?

10. What does Millie bring him besides (oltre) his coffee?

11. Why does Robert say to Millie, “Hurry up!”?

12. Why does Millie want to go to the park?

13. Does Robert like birds?

14. What does Millie think about life?

<<< >>> <<< >>> <<< >>>

UNIT 15 16

Vocabulary

to add t u Ad aggiungere

after all a : f t E r Ø : l dopotutto

aid e id aiuto

almost Ø : lmous t quasi

alone E loun solo

along E lØN lungo

Arabic ArEb ik arabo

around E raund attorno

as Az siccome

Australia Øs t r e i l j E Australia

to believe t u b i l i : v credere

to belong t u b i l ØN appartenere a

best bes t migliore

bird bE :d uccello

to blossom t u b l Ø sEm sbocciare

bowl bou l scodella

branch bra :n tS ramo

to call t u kØ : l chiamare

Canada kAnEdE Canada

canteen kAnt i :n mensa

carefully keE fu l i attentamente

chance t Sa :ns opportunità

cherry t Se r i ciliegia

to close t u k louz chiudere

to communicate t u kEmju :n ike i t comunicare

to cost t u kØs t costare

couple kúp l coppia

to cultivate t u kú l t i ve i t coltivare

dialect da iE l ek t dialetto

drawer drØ : E cassetto

to dream t u d r i :m sognare

>>>

UNIT 15 17

(continuation) Vocabulary

to drive t u d ra iv guidare

electric appliance i l ek t r ik Ep la i Ens elettrodomestico

even i vEn persino

everybody evr ibØd i ognuno

factory fAk tE r i fabbrica

to feel t u f i : l sentire; sentirsi

fig f ig fico

to find t u f a ind trovare

Florence f l Ø r Ens Firenze

form f Ø :m forma; tipo

fridge f r idZ frigorifero

to go back t u gou bAk tornare

to go home t u gou houm andare a casa

to go in t u gou in entrare

God gØd Dio

group gru :p gruppo

to grow t u g rou coltivare

guitarist g i t a : r i s t chitarrista

gypsy dZ ips i gitano

to hate t u he i t odiare

to hop t u hØp saltellare

housewife hauswa i f casalinga

to inform t u i n fØ :m informare

Ireland a iE l End Irlanda

jewellery dZu :E l r i gioielli

job dZØb lavoro

to keep on t u k i :p Øn continuare

kilometre k i loumi : t E chilometro

kindergarten k indEga : tn asilo infantile

less l e s meno

like l a ik come

>>>

UNIT 15 18

(continuation) Vocabulary

main mein principale

mechanic mikAnik meccanico

method me†Ed metodo

mood mu:d umore

more mØE più

nasty nAs t i antipatico

nowadays nauEde iz oggigiorno

to offer t u Ø f E offrire

often Ø fn spesso

own oun proprio

pastime pa : s t a im passatempo

poetry pou i t r i poesia

to polish t u pØ l iS lucidare

powder paudE polvere

to prepare t u p r ipeE preparare

pupil p ju :p l alunno

reason r i : zn ragione

to receive t u r i s i : v ricevere

to relax t u r i lAks rilassare; rilassarsi

rent r en t affitto

to repair t u r i peE riparare

to rest t u r e s t riposare

salary sAlE r i stipendio

to save t u s e iv risparmiare

scholar skØ lE studioso (sostantivo)

school supplies sku : l s Ep la i z materiale scolastico

to seem t u s i :m sembrare

I should a i Sud dovrei

sight sa i t vista

simply s impl i semplicemente

>>>

UNIT 15 19

(continuation) Vocabulary

sparrow spArou passerotto

to spend t u spend passare; spendere

stomach s túmEk stomaco

to stretch t u s t r e tS stirare; stirarsi

stretching s t r e tS iN stiramento

success sEkses successo

sure SuE sicuro

to take out t u t e ik au t uscire

tall t Ø : l alto

tongue t úN lingua

tough t ú f duro

tour t uE tournée

trip t r i p escursione; gita

to try t u t r a i provare

ulcer ú l sE ulcera

Venice ven i s Venezia

videotape v id iou te ip videocassetta

wallet wØl i t portafoglio

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UNIT 15 20

Soluzione Esercizi

Rispondi alle seguenti domande:

1. How old is Juan Pedro?

Juan Pedro is eighteen years old. 2. Why is Juan Pedro unhappy? Juan Pedro is unhappy because he is poor and he has no

friends. 3. Have people with little money got a lot of friends, or few

friends?

People with little money usually have few friends. 4. Where is Juan Pedro from?

Juan Pedro is from a little town near Granada. 5. Where is he studying?

He is studying at the University of Seville. 6. How many brothers and sisters has he got?

He has got two brothers and two sisters. 7. What is Juan Pedro’s mother, a teacher or a housewife?

Juan Pedro’s mother is a housewife. 8. Where does his family live?

They live in a simple, old house outside the town. 9. What do they grow in their kitchen garden?

In their kitchen garden they grow all kinds of vegetables

and some fruit trees: cherry trees, lemon trees, orange

trees, apple trees and fig trees.

10. Why is the kitchen garden important for his family?

Cultivating the kitchen garden is very important, because it

is not easy to bring up five children on a schoolteacher’s

salary.

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UNIT 15 21

Soluzione Esercizi

11. How far is his town from Seville?

His town is two hundred and seventy kilometres from

Seville.

12. At weekends, why doesn’t he go to see his family?

At weekends he doesn’t go to see his family because he

doesn’t want to spend money.

13. What does Juan Pedro do instead of going to the cinema

or to discos?

Instead of going to the cinema or to discos he spends his

time studying.

14. Why can’t he talk about football?

Juan Pedro cannot talk about football because he hasn’t

got a television in his room.

15. What is his only pastime?

His only pastime is reading.

16. Why is he learning Italian?

He is learning Italian, because he loves art, and one day

he would like to visit Italy and see Rome, Florence and

Venice.

17. Who is Maria Estrella Lopez?

Maria Estrella Lopez is a famous flamenco dancer.

18. Where is she going to dance?

She is going to dance in a night club in Seville for three

nights.

19. Why can’t Juan Pedro concentrate?

Juan Pedro cannot concentrate because he is thinking

about the flamenco dancer.

20. Where does he keep his money?

He keeps his money in a wallet.

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UNIT 15 22

Soluzione Esercizi

21. What does he think about eating?

He thinks that eating isn’t very important.

22. What does he think about, instead of listening to his

teachers?

Instead of listening to his teachers he keeps thinking about

the night club, about flamenco and, of course, about the

dancer.

23. After buying the ticket, he feels more relaxed. Why?

After buying the entrance ticket he feels more relaxed,

because it isn’t so expensive after all.

24. Describe the night club.

The night club is a really splendid place, full of fashionable

people.

25. What does Juan Pedro tell the waiter to bring him?

When a waiter comes near his table, Juan Pedro tells him to

bring him a brandy.

26. According to him, how old is Maria Estrella?

According to him she must be only eighteen or nineteen.

27. What is the gypsy playing in the night club?

The gypsy is playing the guitar.

28. What does Juan Pedro want to tell Maria Estrella?

He wants to tell her what he feels for her.

29. What would he like to buy her?

He would like to buy her some beautiful jewellery, but he

has no money.

30. Why does he buy only six flowers?

He buys only six flowers because they are terribly

expensive.

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UNIT 15 23

Soluzione Esercizi

31. Why doesn’t he give the waiter a tip?

He cannot give the waiter a tip, because he now has no

more money.

32. What does the waiter think?

The waiter thinks that Juan Pedro has got enough money to

buy flowers for a woman who receives hundreds of flowers

every night, but he doesn’t give a tip to a poor, honest

waiter who works all night and half the day too.

33. What does Juan Pedro do after leaving the club?

After leaving the club he doesn’t want to go back home yet,

so he goes for a long walk along the Guadalquivir river.

Rispondi alle seguenti domande:

1. Where does the word “language” come from?

The word language comes from the Latin word “lingua”. 2. How many languages are there in the world?

Scholars say that there are about 6,800 in the world. 3. And how many dialects?

There are thousands of dialects in the world. 4. What is a dialect?

A dialect is a form of a language that is used in a part of

a country or by one group of people. 5. What is Mandarin? Is it a fruit?

Mandarin is not a fruit, it is the main language of China. 6. How many Spanish-speaking people are there in the

world?

There are about 350 million Spanish-speaking people in

the world.

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UNIT 15 24

Soluzione Esercizi

7. Write something about the English language.

English is a special language. It is used by more than 450

million people in almost every part of the world. 8. How do children learn their own language?

Children learn their own language, by listening and

imitating their parents, and all the people around them. 9. Do children have any difficulty learning their own

language?

Children have no difficulty in learning their own language.

10. To which language family do English and Italian belong?

English and Italian belong to the Indo-European language

family.

11. Which is the best age to learn a foreign language?

Scholars say that children should start learning foreign

languages in kindergarten.

12. How many years are needed to learn English well?

Many years of study are needed to learn English well.

13. How do students generally waste their time?

Students waste their time watching TV or playing silly

videogames on their computers.

14. How do you waste your time?

I waste my time watching TV and....

15. How many hours a day do you spend in front of your

television?

I usually spend two/four... hours watching television.

16. What do English people like to talk about?

English people like to talk about the weather.

17. What do you like to talk about?

I like to talk about sports/politics...

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UNIT 15 25

Soluzione Esercizi

1. When there is fish for dinner, what does Robert say?

When there is fish for dinner, he always says that he

hates fish. 2. Why has Robert a nasty character?

One of the reasons why he is always irritable is that he

has got a stomach ulcer. And as we know, ulcers are very

painful. 3. Why is he always in a nasty mood?

The main reason why he is in a nasty mood all the time is

that he doesn’t like his job. 4. Why has Robert got an ulcer?

He says that he has an ulcer because the food at the car

factory canteen is horrible. But Millie says that the reason

why he has an ulcer, is that he drinks too much beer and

wine. And, he drinks a lot of whisky, too. 5. Why has he always got headaches?

He has always headaches because he smokes too much. 6. For how long (per quanto tempo) does Robert like to read

in bed?

He likes to read in bed for an hour or two. 7. At what time does Robert’s alarm clock wake him up in

the morning?

Robert’s alarm clock wakes him up at six o’clock. 8. Does Millie get up before or after Robert?

Millie gets up before Robert. 9. Where does Robert like to have his first cup of coffee?

He likes to have his first cup of coffee in bed.

10. What does Millie bring him besides (oltre) his coffee?

Besides the coffee she brings him the morning newspaper

and the cigarettes.

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UNIT 15 26

Soluzione Esercizi

11. Why does Robert say to Millie, “Hurry up!”?

He says to her, “Hurry up!” because he is in a hurry.

12. Why does Millie want to go to the park?

She likes to walk in the park looking at the flowers, at the

trees, and she likes to hear the birds singing.

13. Does Robert like birds?

No, he doesn’t. He hates them.

14. What does Millie think about life?

She thinks that life is not so bad, after all.

Carmelo Mangano – http://www.englishforitalians.com

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