Table of contents for No 466 in Speak Up

CULTURE In an age of rapid, typed1 communication over digital devices2, there is something timeless and earnest3 about a fountain pen’s4 flow of ink5 words on paper. Combining elegance, simplicity and technical precision, the Parker pen is one of the most popular items of stationery6 in the world. Its founder was George Safford Parker, an American entrepreneur who dedicated his life to the design and production of exemplary pens. His mission statement, used successfully in advertising campaigns, was: “It will always be possible to make a better pen.” FAULTY PENS Born in 1863 in Shullsburg, Wisconsin, Parker worked as a telegraphy instructor and sold fountain pens part-time for the John Holland Pens Company, but he spent much of his spare time7 repairing the faults in those of his students. Frustrated…

TOP BRITS James Cook was an 18th-century British explorer, cartographer and navigator who mapped the Pacific, New Zealand and Australia on three famous voyages between 1768 and 1779, radically changing western perceptions of world geography. He determined the boundaries1 of the habitable world and opened up new lands to European trade2 and colonisation. Cook was born on 27 October 1728, in a small village in Yorkshire. His father was a farm worker. Cook joined the merchant navy as a teenager and then the Royal Navy in 1755. He served in North America in the Seven Years’ War, where he learnt to survey3 and chart4 coastal waters with great precision. TERRA INCOGNITA Cook’s mapping fame reached the Admiralty, the government department that administered the Royal Navy, and The Royal Society, Britain’s…

Rewilding is the large-scale restoration of ecosystems to the point where nature can take care of itself. It’s not about leaving nature to its own devices1, or releasing packs of real wolves2 into our cities, but about humans carefully intervening to recreate the conditions for nature to thrive3 in a healthy way for everyone. To find out more, Speak Up contacted expert Sara King. King is an ecologist who works as rewilding manager with the environmental charity4 Rewilding Britain. We began by asking her what exactly rewilding is and what it involves in practice. Sara King (English accent): It’s definitely not about closing the gate and walking away5. [Our] ecosystems and our natural processes are so out of balance that if you did that in a lot of places, you…

Marie Kondo became a global home-organising phenomenon when she wrote The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up1 more than a decade ago. The book was published in more than thirty countries and her trademarked2 KonMari Method of tidying by categorising, ordering and only retaining objects that “spark joy3” catapulted her on to Time magazine’s 100 most influential people list in 2015, inspired two Netflix shows — Tidying Up With Marie Kondo and Sparking Joy With Marie Kondo — and amassed the Osaka-born guru 4.1 million decluttering4 fans on Instagram. Three children later, the thirty-nineyear-old’s mindset has shifted radically. “As long as the living room floor is clean, then that is what the new tidying threshold5 becomes,” she says. Word of her embracing a “messy6” home emerged last year when she explained…

A quintessentially English novel about class and privilege, Howards End by E. M. Forster follows the fortunes of three contrasting but interconnected families. The novel is set in the early 20th century, a time of rapid industrialisation, mass urbanisation and the emergence of a capitalist class structure; a time when the old ruling classes1 were forced to yield2 power to the burgeoning3 middle classes. COUNTRY ESTATE The novel centres on Howards End, the country estate4 belonging to the wealthy Wilcox family. During their travels, the Wilcoxes meet and befriend sisters Helen and Margaret Schlegel, who are cultured, liberal and bohemian. However, one day, Helen mistakenly takes the umbrella of Leonard Bast, the young man sitting beside her at a concert, and their lives change. Leonard, an insurance clerk5 of working-class…

ARTÍCULOS POR NIVELES Todos nuestros artículos se presentan con un código de color para indicar el nivel de dificultad del inglés empleado de acuerdo con la Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. A2 PRE-INTERMEDIATEB1 LOWER INTERMEDIATEB2 UPPER INTERMEDIATEC1 ADVANCEDC2 PROFICIENCY GLOSARIO Encontrarás el vocabulario más relevante de cada artículo indicado con un número en el color correspondiente a su nivel de dificultad y su traducción en el glosario adjunto. A towering1 figure in British history, Queen Victoria was actually a diminutive figure, just one metre fifty GLOSSARY 1 towering: imponente 2 to rule: gobernar 3 to number: ascender, sumar EXPLAINS Los textos subrayados en amarillo indican que la frase requiere de una explicación más extensa, como referencias históricas o culturales, frases hechas, proverbios o argot. Encontrarás la explicación al…

SPEAK UP IN CLASS For a long time, the idea of humans speaking with animals has been confined to fiction, with children’s stories like Dr. Dolittle, The Jungle Book and The Chronicles of Narnia. In recent years, a special form of AI called machine learning has enabled1 apps such as Google Translate and Microsoft Translator to accurately2 and rapidly translate between different human languages. So far, nobody has been able to translate non-human communication — but that could be about to change! LANGUAGE TEACHING People have attempted to teach human words to animals for centuries, but with little success. Scientists have conducted studies on the signals, gestures and sounds of a wide range of different creatures, including parrots3, chimpanzees, dogs, dolphins, and even bees. Most of that work involved time-consuming4…

I’m glad you suggested this walk1. I feel more relaxed already! Yes, there’s nothing like a hike through nature to unwind. Look, there are beavers2 over there! Oh, they’re adorable! And busy at work, building a dam3. What an amazing sight4. They reintroduced them recently, to restore5 the wetlands. Really? Were there not many left, then? No, they were hunted6 almost to extinction, for their fur7. Poor things! Well, I’m glad they’re back. I wonder what other creatures we’ll spot today. I think there are deer8 around here somewhere. Lots of birdlife, too. Cool! We’ll have to keep looking up. Let’s see if we can catch a glimpse of any birds. Haha, we’ll make a birdwatcher out of you yet! NOW LET’S REVIEW THE VOCABULARY! Glad indicates a feeling of…

BOOKS SPEAK UP IN CLASS Stephen King is one of the most prolific writers of modern literature. Known as the Master of Horror, the American author has published more than 250 novels and short stories, many of which have been adapted for film and television. His best-known stories have become cultural references, such as his debut novel Carrie, published half a century ago this year, and his first bestseller The Shining. His unique blend1 of horror, suspense, science fiction and psychological drama has terrified generations of fans and inspired authors and filmmakers the world over. A COMPLETE EXPLORATION An overview2 of his work reveals recurring themes, characters and places, building a literary universe that becomes frighteningly familiar. A new reference book by Canadian writer Bev Vincent puts it into detailed…

Bridgerton fans rejoice1: the fictional family returns to our television screens. The first season of the Netflix period drama was released on Christmas Day 2020, when the world was in need of some light relief2 — and Bridgerton delivered it in spades3. Set during the Regency period*, it followed the romantic trials and tribulations4 of London society, with luxurious settings and sumptuous costumes5, and classical renditions of pop music hits from the likes of Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish. A staggering6 eighty-two million households around the world watched the show. The second series was released in March 2022, and it surpassed the first in terms of the number of viewers. ONE CHILD AT A TIME Based on the best-selling books by American author Julia Quinn, each series tells the story of…

More renowned for its seven-note bass guitar riff than its lyrics, The White Stripes’ 2003 breakthrough1 single Seven Nation Army was composed as an angry reaction to gossip2. At the time the Detroit-based duo of guitarist and vocalist Jack White and drummer Meg White was the subject of media scrutiny, with speculation as to whether the pair were married or were siblings3 (they were, in fact, divorced, but deliberately misled4 journalists). Jack later told Rolling Stone magazine that inspiration for the song actually came from “a frustration of watching my friends spreading5 lies and the other person’s reaction to it.” But he also said that “It’s about me, Meg and the people we’re dating6.” The song’s protagonist has heard that there is someone spreading rumours about him, and plots7 his…

Long before marrying John Lennon in 1969 and becoming, in the public mind at least, the woman who broke up1 the Beatles, Yoko Ono was already a renowned artist. Born into privilege in Tokyo in 1933, Ono was the daughter of an international banker and a musician. Before the age of ten, she had attended2 elite schools in Japan, been taken to the finest concerts and spent time in the United States. In 1945, she and her family lived through two atomic bombs dropped3 on Japan, which ended World War Two. Her life was drastically affected when she and her family found themselves exiled to the Japanese countryside, where food was scarce4. These experiences proved pivotal5 in Ono’s life and would radically influence her life and art. ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT From early…

SPEAK UP IN CLASS Plots1 and settings are important to any story, but they need compelling2 characters to truly resonate with3 readers. As the master of horror, Stephen King has crafted4 some of the most terrifying villains that haunt5 our nightmares. Among them are paranormal entities, demons and ghosts, but also ordinary men, women and even children who slide into madness6. 1. Jack Torrance – The Shining (1977) Jack Torrance, a recovering alcoholic, takes a job as caretaker7 of the Overlook Hotel while it is closed for the winter. The hotel is cursed8 and Torrance becomes increasingly unstable and violent towards his wife and son. Torrance was immortalised by Jack Nicholson in the 1980 movie adaptation. He sent chills down your spine9 with a phrase that was not in the…

ENTERTAINMENT In the first two seasons of Bridgerton, fans watched Penelope Featherington, played by Nicola Coughlan, quietly pine for1 Colin Bridgerton, played by Luke Newton. In season three, we finally see how their friendship develops into something more. The cast and crew2 got together to talk about the show and what we can expect of Penelope and Colin, whose names have been combined into ‘Polin’ by fans. Executive producer Shonda Rhimes started by sharing what she is personally looking forward to. Shonda Rhimes (American accent): I think what I’m most excited about, for the fans and for everybody, is that, usually, we’re meeting a new person who’s falling in love with one of our regulars. This time, we know the people who are falling in love. We’re already rooting for3…

SHE HAD NEVER CHEATED ON HER HUSBAND AND SHE was certain he had never cheated on her. Their problem was… everything else. Marianne glanced1 at her phone. She’d put it on silent mode when she’d arrived at the villa on the Costa del Sol, anticipating the bombardment of texts and phone calls. It was just past 6pm. Seamus would have just arrived home and discovered the children alone, and his wife of fourteen years2 gone. She’d call him later, to let him know she was alive and well. But she’d make him suffer a little first. Let him prepare dinner for their two children. Let him help them with their homework. Let him intervene if they fought and counsel them if they got emotional and confiscate their phones if they…