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05.09.2024, 22:56 Ready for C2 Proficiency Student's Book Classroom Presentation

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it’s quite another to hear about it from When it comes to travelling in the desert,
1.1
someone first-hand. In their own voice. In there’s a lot to be said for layers. Bring like
W = Woman M = Man
their own words. 20, I’d say. You begin piling them on in the
Extract 1 evening, when temperatures drop quickly,
You see, at the end of the day, history
and then start stripping them off at dawn. Oh,
W: It’s true that clothing is a basic need, like consists of stories, and what stories get
food or water. But I think we can all agree told and who gets to tell them is important. and don’t forget a waterproof – night-time can
it’s become so much more than that. In Traditional history courses usually only get quite damp from the heavy dew.
today’s world, the clothing we wear is a
touch on major events – on the whos, One thing I didn’t see much of in the Sahara
mirror that reflects who we think we are whens and whats. Oral history brings was wildlife – apart from camels, of course.
and who we want to be. depth to our understanding of the past, This is because most desert animals like
giving apparently peripheral characters beetles, hedgehogs and owls are nocturnal.
M: But is that really new?
a starring role. Through the exploration On the last day of my trip, though, I did see
W: Well, yes and no. Of course, clothing has
of their identities, we are drawn closer to a scorpion. I almost stepped on it – and it
always been meaningful. Traditionally, the
their reality. And this tends to complicate scared the life out of me!
clothes people wore symbolised cultural
the story a bit. It helps avoid the sort of
There is one kind of desert animal that I
affiliations and values, age and ethnicity.
sweeping generalisations that reinforce
But these days our wardrobe choices love – a rare antelope called the addax.
prejudice, stereotype people and overlook
Their heads are marked with black patches,
encompass all that plus a sense of fashion
key variables in the historical context.
forming an ‘X’ over their noses, and they have
and personal style. Not to stray too much
scraggly beards and prominent red nostrils.
into jargon, but this is why we behaviour
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Their spiral horns are strikingly beautiful. I’d
theorists call clothing an ‘artefact of
What made me want to write about travelling
extended self’. love to see an addax on the trip I’m currently
in the desert? I guess the short answer is
planning to the southern Sahara, but I may
M: And that’s where brands come in, which I
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that, after years of travel writing, I’d walked
not get the chance. It is estimated that the
know is a particular focus of yours.
along so many tropical beaches and looked
current population living in the wild could be
W: Exactly. Thanks to globalisation and the
out at so many mountain views, and I was
in the low hundreds, or possibly even less.
internet, most of us, in our own way, are
getting a bit tired of it all. Deserts sort of felt
Time will tell whether or not they can be
becoming brand conscious consumers.
like the last frontier, you know? Over the past
saved.
We splurge on certain clothing brands
few years, I’ve been visiting and writing about
Unfortunately, it’s not just desert animals
because of their association with
deserts and today I’ll share a bit about what
that are in danger these days but desert
celebrities, subcultures or leisure activities
I’ve learned.
landscapes themselves. Recently I’ve been
– or, more often than not, as much as we
Deserts are such special places. Where
looking into ‘desert greening,’ where great
are loath to admit it, to project a sense of
else can you see land so dry that it cracks?
swathes of land are irrigated intensely with
having arrived, mixed with a certain vibe of
Or rock formations, formed by centuries of
the goal of growing crops, supposedly in the
aspiration.
weathering and erosion, that are every bit, if
name of saving mankind from the climate
Extract 2
not more, beautiful than the sculptures you
crisis. This I don’t like one bit. If there is
W: Are you saying your job defines you?
find in art museums? For me, photos never do
one thing I’ve learned in my travels, it’s that
M: I’m not sure I’d go that far, but I would justice to a desert. You need to experience it https://english0905.com/private/
deserts are not barren wastelands, but rather
say that jobs in general tend to reinforce for yourself. In the desert, even the sound of
places worth saving in their own right.
certain traits. For example, as a news your own footsteps is different.
editor, I’m being trained every day to 3.1
There are actually four main types of desert.
prioritise what’s happening right now.
Subtropical deserts are very hot and dry all
Speaker 1
At this moment. And it’s not hard to see
year-round. Coastal deserts, on the other
Good training relies on objectivity. That’s why
how that mindset spills over into the rest
hand, have cool winters and warm summers.
baseball coaches like me were such early
of my life. If only I were a bit better at
While in cold winter deserts, summers are
adopters of video analysis way back in the
compartmentalising things.
long and dry and winters are extremely cold,
days of reel to reel. They came to depend on
W: Yeah, same here. Being a dentist, I’m so in polar deserts, it’s below freezing all year-
it in a big way. Review footage allowed them
much less trusting than I used to be. Day round.
to praise or correct without bias. These days
after day, people who are decent and
I must admit, before I started my research,
though it’s a whole new ball game. You can
upstanding in their everyday lives, well,
I didn’t know that the Arctic and Antarctica
create a database that accurately shows the
they cancel their appointments, saying
were deserts, but I now know that any place
progress your players have made – great for
something just came up. Sure it did. And
that receives less than 25 centimetres of
morale – and that’s what got me into video
when they do show up, they sit down and
precipitation a year counts as one – no matter
analysis initially. The tech has a long way to
start lying to me straight away about how
how cold it is!
go, though. There’s still way too much fiddling
much they’ve flossed. And the next time
My most recent trip was to the Sahara –
about, endlessly moving things between
I see them, what do you know? They’ve
the most legendary and expansive of the
different programmes and apps. And the
continued to neglect their teeth, despite
subtropical deserts. After flying to Marrakech,
ability to easily capture motion in 3D – now
their promises. Being in this particular
I took a scenic 10-hour car ride into the
that would really be something.
psychological environment for years,
desert. I had fallen asleep during the last leg
well, it’s definitely affected me. Instilled
Speaker 2
of the journey and woke up just outside the
particular habits of mind.
town of Merzouga to views of the towering I bet most of you out there in the audience
Extract 3
and majestic Erg Chebbi dunes. Soon I found have never worked without email, but I have.
M: Let me just read you a quotation from an myself on the back of a camel, walking slowly Back then we welcomed email as a way to
oral history interview. It’s from a man who into the sands of the Sahara. That night I slept
open up channels with business partners
as a child worked in the circus during the out in the open, under a sky full of stars.
in faraway places. And how many trees we
19th century: ended up saving when we reduced paper-
Before going into the Sahara, I was warned
‘Most children, their parents are proud based office correspondence, I can only
to prepare carefully. Sunglasses, sun cream,
when their kids grow. Not mine. One day imagine. But for most of us, the shine has
extra water – any sensible person will bring
thoroughly worn off. In the modern office, we
my dad’s measuring me for a new costume these. But you’ll also need specialised gear
and discovers I’ve sprouted up. Oh my, like wide-brimmed hats and hooded shirts take it for granted that a good chunk of our
does he curse. You see he’s hoping I stay that breathe well and provide UV protection. working day will be dedicated to emptying
small, so it’s easy to throw and catch me.’ Long trousers are a must. They protect you our inboxes, like people bailing out a leaky
lifeboat. Our very sanity is under attack,
from abrasion caused by camel fur, which is
Memorable, isn’t it? You see, it’s one thing
and every day the deluge continues with no
to read facts and figures about the lives quite rough, but above all from local shrub
brush that can easily pierce the skin. solution in sight. People today talk about
of working-class children a century ago;
‘techno-stress.’ I’d say, in all likelihood, email
is one of the main culprits.
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