Table of contents for No 450 in Speak Up

AÑO XXXIX / N. 450 Deberán confiar en mi palabra: este texto lo ha escrito un humano. Sin embargo, este número incluye por primera vez un artículo escrito íntegramente por una máquina en la historia de Speak Up. Es probable que no sea el último. El artículo en cuestión escrito —¿o debería decir ‘producido’ o, mejor aún, ‘generado’— por una inteligencia artificial de nombre ChatGPT (siglas de Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer) resulta muy fácil de identificar: viene firmado por ella y no es más que una autopresentación de sí misma; una explicación de qué es y cómo funciona. Tras un puñado de interacciones con la máquina, esta devolvió un texto perfectamente correcto, gramatical y ortográficamente impecable, pertinente e informativo sin más. Resulta difícil criticar el trabajo de ChatGPT, por mucho…

TOP BRITS EXERCISES IN Work It Out! Henry VIII became king in 1509 at the age of eighteen. Before he died, in 1547, he had created a new Church, the Church of England, and made himself its head. He was England’s most majestic monarch, with fifty palaces, including Hampton Court, with its own bowling alley1 and tennis courts2. Henry VIII is the most famous — and notorious3 — monarch in English history. HEIR TO THE THRONE Henry became king after the death of his elder4 brother, Arthur, and quickly married his brother’s widow, Catherine of Aragon. Like all monarchs, he needed an heir5, and this became a problem. Catherine had three stillborn children and a miscarriage, although she finally had a daughter, but a female succession was problematic. After twenty-four…

We Found Love is Rihanna’s most successful song, and one of the bestselling singles of all time. A song about love and loss1, it is, nevertheless2, a party anthem3 in the electro house genre4. The song was written and produced by Scottish DJ Calvin Harris, who also features5. In 2011, Harris was one of the opening acts6 for a Rihanna tour, and suggested that the Barbadian megastar record the track. When she announced the collaboration on social media, her fans, who Rihanna calls her Navy7 after a line from another of her songs, inundated Harris with messages, warning8 him that the track “better not be9 rubbish10.” It became Rihanna’s eleventh US chart topper11 and Harris’ first hit, staying at number one for ten weeks. It is a very simple song…

Lauren Groff is now a well-known voice on the American literary scene. Her work has been translated into thirty languages, and her 2015 novel Fates1 and Furies was chosen by former president Barack Obama as his book of the year. But it was back before that literary success, when Groff was still at university, that she first encountered the narrative poems, known as ‘lais’, of a 12th-century woman called Marie de France. The twelve poems, written in Medieval French, are vivid and dramatic and immediately captured Groff’s imagination. When, years later, Groff attended a lecture about nuns2 in the Middle Ages, she recalled her earlier fascination with Marie de France, and formed the idea for Matrix. PAST AND PRESENT Unlike her previous work, set3 in the contemporary US, Matrix is…

ARTÍCULOS POR NIVELES DE DIFICULTAD 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 ADAPTADO 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. Gin and tonic is arguably1 Britain’s favourite drink ↘ GLOSSARY 1 arguably: posiblemente 2 to skyrocket: dispararse VERSIÓN DIGITAL Adicionalmente, puedes suscribirte a Speak Up Digital, la versión digital de la revista Speak Up. Con ella podrás acceder a todos los artículos, audios y ejercicios directamente en nuestra app, disponible para Android y iOS. Es una opción…

PEOPLE NOT ONLY HAS SHE BEEN AN OFFICIAL AMBASSADOR FOR CULTURE and youth in the country, the singer remains Barbados’ most famous citizen and she has never softened her Bajan accent. Rihanna’s designation as a national hero of Barbados, to coincide with the country’s transition to an independent republic, could not be more apt1. Not only has she been an official ambassador for culture and youth in the country since 2018, the singer remains the country’s most famous citizen and indeed2 advocate3. She has never softened4 her Bajan5 accent, and her music, while tapping into6 pop, R&B and dance music, has remained7 rich with her Caribbean heritage8. In her investiture ceremony, the country’s prime minister Mia Mottley addressed9 the pop singer, fashion icon and hugely successful entrepreneur as “ambassador…

SCIENCE Robert Kolker’s non-fiction book Hidden Valley Road tells the story of Don and Mimi Galvin, whose large American family was torn apart1 by schizophrenia. Published in 2020, it was an instant best-seller and Kolker has received thousands of messages from all over the world from those impacted by the illness and wanting to share their own stories. To find out more, Speak Up met with Kolker. He began by explaining that the Galvins’ background2 was not what he’d expected. Robert Kolker (American accent): This was an upwardly-mobile3 aspirational family. The twelve children were born during the American Baby Boom, 1945 to 1965. In the 60s, Colorado Springs was a groovy4 town; with enlightened5 parents, everybody there was highly educated, most [were] liberals, and because the Air Force academy was…

TECHNOLOGY Originating in idealist anarcho-capitalist and libertarian communities with a vision of a cyber-utopia free from government and corporate controls, cryptocurrencies have since descended into a dystopian wild west status: they now flourish amongst speculation, scams1, hacks2 and spectacular market crashes3. Despite high-profile proponents, notably Elon Musk, investing in crypto has always been risky, and the last eighteen months have been a rollercoster ride4 for investors. Last year, FTX, one of the big three cryptocurrency exchanges5, dramatically collapsed taking at least $1 billion of customer funds6 with it. VOLATILITY While they might seem fun, some catchy7 additions to the crypto roster8 are highly risky investments: shitcoins are cryptocurrencies with no utility or purpose that typically have very short lifespans9; memecoins refers to a whole range10 of cryptocurrencies derived from internet…

Good morning, neighbour! Lovely day, isn’t it? Yes, we’re due a bit of sunshine1 after all that rain. It was rough last night, wasn’t it? Yes, that thunderstorm woke me up in a fright! It sounded like the world was ending. That stormfront is all over Europe. My sister in Spain said they had spectacular thunder and lightning2 last night, too. Well, I prefer dramatic weather to that dull drizzle that we’ve been having. Grey skies and drizzle, that’s British weather for you! I know. I’m out for a jog3 — got to make the most of it while it lasts4! Good for you. It won’t, you know. There’s more rain predicted later today. Oh, I hadn’t looked at the forecast yet. They get it wrong5 more often than not6.…

Atonement1 is a contemporary classic about class, unrealised love and guilt2. The novel is regarded3 as one of author Ian McEwan’s best, and considered by Time magazine as one of the finest of the last century. It focuses on a single day in the summer of 1935. On this day, Briony Tallis, a wealthy, creative teenage girl, witnesses a series of interactions between her older sister Cecilia and the family’s cleaning lady’s son, Robbie Turner. Briony interprets these interactions as abuse on the part of the young man, but the reality is that Robbie and Cecilia are just realising they have romantic feelings for each other, which they have been harbouring4 unknowingly5 for years. “Initially, a simple phrase chased round and round in Cecilia’s thoughts: Of course, of course. How…

THIS MONTH EXERCISES IN Work It Out! Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday1, is a special day celebrated in English-speaking countries around the world. While2 it is not a public holiday, it is widely3 celebrated in countries such as the UK, Ireland, Australia and Canada. In France, the US and other countries, the same day is called Mardi Gras4 or Fat Tuesday. On Pancake Day many people eat pancakes. In the UK, they are thin5, flat6 and unleavened7, resembling a French crêpe. The batter8 is fried9 and the pancake is tossed10 in the air. Ideally, it is caught11 flat in the same pan12 and fried on the other side. UK pancakes are usually eaten rolled up13 with a sweet or savoury14filling15 inside. In the US and Canada, pancakes are a popular…

PLACES EXERCISES IN Work It Out! A century ago, on 24 February 1923, a new steam locomotive1 was unveiled2 that changed British railway history. The Flying Scotsman, so called after the daily3 10am London to Edinburgh rail service which began in 1862, was designed by railway engineer Sir Nigel Gresley, and built in Doncaster in Yorkshire. By 1928, the train was travelling non-stop, completing the 534-kilometre route in just eight hours. The following year, it was the star of British cinema’s first talkie4, a dramatic love story in which a fireman5 saves the train from a malicious attempt6 at wrecking7 it. SPEED AND STYLE In 1934, the Flying Scotsman became the first locomotive in the UK to reach8 100mph (160.93 kmph). During the pre-war years, the locomotive matched9 speed with…

LANGUAGE Barbados was a British colony from 1625 until 1966. Until around 1800, enslaved1 West Africans were taken there, and forced to work and learn English. Today, while English is still the official language used for formal occasions in Barbados, a unique language called Bajan is widely2 spoken. CREOLE The word ‘Bajan’ is a colloquial term for a Barbadian; that is, a person from Barbados. Bajan creole3 formed as different African languages mixed with simplified English. Its grammar is close to standard English, but there is no set4 written form and spellings5 can vary. Bajan developed as a way for African slaves to communicate. Slave masters6 couldn’t understand it, and it became a form of resistance connecting Barbadians to each other and their African heritage7. BAJAN HERO Rihanna is one…

PLACES Southall is known for its Indian restaurants and none is as iconic as the Brilliant. Now run1 by the third generation of the Anand family, it has been a local favourite since it opened in 1975. Today, it is managed by Dipna Anand and her brother Shanker. To find out more, Speak Up talked with Dipna, who is a celebrity chef in her own right. She began by telling us about the migratory route of the restaurant. Dipna Anand (Indian accent): My grandfather started the first Brilliant restaurant, nightclub and hotel in Kenya, Nairobi, in the 1950s, in a place called Ngara. But then, to cut a long story short2, there was a political issue with Idi Amin, and the family had to migrate to the UK. When people…

LANGUAGE This year, for the first time in history, the Oxford English Dictionary asked the public to help them decide on their Word of the Year. More than three hundred thousand people voted for their favourite of three options. The winner (by a landslide1) was ‘goblin2 mode’. The fact that the term was included in the top three at all surprised many people, who argued3 that the term was not widely4 known. However, the editors at Oxford Languages defended the public choice5, saying that it does reflect the ethos6 of 2022. ‘Goblin mode’ describes behaviour7 that’s self-indulgent8, lazy9 or greedy10. A person in goblin mode typically rejects11 social norms and doesn’t care what anyone thinks of them. An example of goblin mode behaviour is lying12 on the sofa in dirty…

TECHNOLOGY Born in the early 2000s, cryptocurrency’s origins lay1 in libertarian culture (anti-establishment and fiercely individualistic) that flourished2 on the internet. Those behind it called themselves Cypherpunks. Its ideas were mainly borrowed3 from the ultra-liberal school of thought of Friedrich Hayek or Milton Friedman, which championed4 free trade5, as well as low or inexistent taxes and regulations. DISRUPTING MONEY These cypherpunks pushed for6 a new economic model in which money could no longer be used as a political tool to benefit the private banking industry and the dominant elites. It was, in a way, a return to the roots of private economic relationships before they came under the control of political and corporate powers. Thus Bitcoin meant to be to the financial system what e-mail had been to the postal…

The recently-released1 second season of HBO’s dark comedy series The White Lotus has been more successful than the first. This clever2 social satire follows the fortunes of a number of guests3 of the White Lotus luxury hotel chain4, as well as the fates5 of the hotel staff members employed to make their guests’ dreams come true. Originally intended to be a six-episode limited series, the first season, set in Hawaii, was such a hit that creator Mike White was persuaded to continue the series. The second season is set in stunning6 Sicily. In both seasons, the focus is simultaneously placed on both the hotel guests and the hotel staff members, with guests of more humble7 origins arguably8 acting as audience surrogates9 who find themselves — sometimes quite literally — in…

Torrance and Hetty had a tradition. In fact, the couple1 had many traditions. That’s because they’d been married for a very long time. They were driving home from San Diego, where they’d visited the restaurant where they would celebrate their fortieth wedding anniversary later that month. It would be a nice celebration, with family and friends. However, Hetty wished they could celebrate in style2, do something extravagant, go on the cruise3 she’d always wanted to go on. But she knew they couldn’t afford4 that. Every time the couple drove home from San Diego, they stopped at an abandoned property that Torrance’s family owned to go for a walk5. And this time was no exception. As they walked around the property, Torrance stopped to pick6 an avocado7 from a tree. It…

In ancient Rome salt was a valuable commodity. Its high demand was due to its use in preserving food, especially meat and fish. The condiment gave rise to the word ‘salary’, referring to the money paid to a soldier for his service. In fact, some historians suggest that the Roman army was sometimes paid directly with salt instead of money. Today, a commonly-used idiom decribes someone being ‘worth his/her/their salt’. The meaning is that the person is valued and deserving of respect in what they do. It can refer to someone in paid employment, or in any kind of unpaid profession, from homemaking to charity work or volunteering. You can also say, of course, that someone is ‘not worth their salt’! Happily, though, the idiom is usually used in the…