Table of contents for No 460 in Speak Up

TOP BRITS John Joseph Lydon, better known as Johnny Rotten1, was the lead singer of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols from 1975 to 1978. He was the co-author of iconic punk singles such as Anarchy in the U.K. and God Save the Queen, and his group were one of the most influential in the history of pop music, scandalising the media and much of society. In recent years he has been called a “national treasure” – to his horror. FROM COMA TO SHOP SEX A nervous child, at age seven he contracted spinal meningitis, and spent seven months in a coma. He lost his memory for four years and did not recognise his parents. The meningitis gave him his famous, intimidating ‘Lydon stare2. The original members of the…

SPEAK UP IN CLASS Gabrielle Chanel was born into poverty in the Loire Valley in central France in 1883. She grew up in an orphanage, where she was taught to sew1, iron2 and embroider3. As a young adult she worked as a shop assistant and a café singer, where she was called Coco by soldiers in the audience. There she met wealthy men, including an Englishman called Arthur Capel. Chanel made her own hats, and Capel helped her open a millinery4 in Paris. WHAT’S IN A NAME In 1913 Chanel opened her first boutique in the French seaside resort of Deauville. She sold hats and simple sportswear for women, such as jersey sweaters. This poor girl look attracted the attention of wealthy women who wanted relief5 from the corseted styles…

PLACES Asixteen-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage in connection with the felling1 of the three-hundredyear-old Sycamore Gap tree in the north of England. Officers arrested the teenager amid an outpouring2 of sadness over the destruction of the landmark3, which has been a feature4 of the site at Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland for hundreds of years. The boy is in custody and assisting officers with their inquiries5, Northumbria police said on Thursday. Locals and national park authorities said they were “struggling to see the logic” in the destruction of a sycamore which had long become “part of this area’s DNA” and had gone through thousands of changes of seasons. The tree, believed to have been about three hundred years old, was made famous when it appeared…

PEOPLEINTERVIEW Maria Callas is one of the most famous names in opera and many biographies have covered aspects of her life. In 2020, Lyndsy Spence began investigating Callas through recently available letters, many of which she found in archives in the US. In her biography Cast1 a Diva: The Hidden Life of Maria Callas, Spence depicts2 a woman trapped in a restrictive society, constantly struggling to maintain her independence. To find out more, we contacted Spence. We began by asking her what her intentions were in writing the book. Lyndsy Spence (Northern Irish accent): My goal with Callas was not scandals and love affairs, it was to really just put everything to bed that people say about her. There’s no great mystery surrounding Maria Callas. People get angry, they say: “Leave…

My father-in-law never liked me much, even before I married his only daughter. After the marriage his dislike turned to hatred, which increased over time. Nothing I could do was right for him or could ever make me good enough for his daughter, his adored Rose. At every family dinner he would tell long anecdotes about what a wonderful husband he himself had been to Rose’s mother; how he’d treated her like a queen and ferried1 her to and from the hospital every day during her last illness. Rose’s mother gazed2 mournfully3 down from photographs hung4 on every wall and placed on every shelf in the house. He was present in all of them, his arm protectively even controllingly hooked5 around his wife’s shoulders. The wardrobe was still full of his…

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-INTERMEDIATE B1 LOWER INTERMEDIATE B2 UPPER INTERMEDIATE C1 ADVANCED C2 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 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 final del artículo. SPEAK UP IN CLASS SPEAK UP…

Coco Chanel is known for her haute couture and ready-towear1 outfits, but few people can afford to buy them. What brought her fame on a global scale was the perfume Chanel No. 5. Introduced in 1921 and bottled in 1922, the perfume was so revered 2 that in 1925 it was exhibited at the Art Deco Exhibition in Paris as an aromatic work of modernist art. In the 1950s, celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe helped establish its reputation as a brand that would bring women autonomy over their bodies. Ironically, Chanel herself spent decades fighting the perfume that still defines her. She called it “the monster”, after Dr. Frankenstein’s creature, who took over3 his life and, for some, his very identity. To find out more, we spoke to Canadian-American cultural historian…

SPEAK UP IN CLASS The first known Christmas celebration was in the Roman Empire, on 25 December 336 AD1. Since then, Christmas has become a global celebration, but it has evolved in different ways in different parts of the world, including in the US, a country that is synonymous today with elaborate and highly-commercial festivities. OUTLAWED Long before Christmas became popular in the US, it was celebrated for hundreds of years in England. However, in 1647, the Puritans, led by Oliver Cromwell, outlawed2 Christmas there. Likewise, the English separatists — Protestants who separated from the Church of England – who lived in the early British colonies in the US were opposed to celebrating Christmas, and the holiday was outlawed in the Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1659 to 1681. REVOLUTION Nevertheless3,…

BOOKS Best-selling British author Ken Follett has just published The Armour of Light, the fifth and possibly the last in his series of novels known as the Kingsbridge series. The series began in 1989 with The Pillars of the Earth and spans1 around one thousand years of British history. Each novel is centred on the fictional town of Kingsbridge in a different time period and features2 characters from different generations. Themes of architecture, power struggles3, and societal change serve as backdrops4 to the stories. The series is renowned5 for its meticulous historical research and vivid storytelling, revealing the complexities of life during these eras. Follett has written thirty-six books that have sold around 180 million copies worldwide translated into forty languages. For this latest novel, he focuses on the late…

One of the best-selling singles of all time, Believe by the singer Cherilyn Sarkisian, better known as Cher, was a marked departure1 from her usual style. Written eight years earlier, the original songwriter, Brian Higgins, was not happy with the first demo2 and enlisted3 a further4 three writers to hone5 the song. When Cher’s record company heard it, they decided its theme of defiance6 in the face of heartbreak was perfect for her, but insisted on adding two more writers! A London-based production team was hired to make a dance record that would please7 long-time Cher fans. Although the entire team (apart from the singer) was male, the song is an expression of female empowerment. The lyrics of the song are in the present simple. The narrator has been left…

On 8 December 2023, the world-famous Hollywood Sign will be lit up1 once again to celebrate its centenary. Although it is no longer illuminated on a daily basis, the lights were first turned when it was inaugurated, as an advert to sell land, on 8 December 1923. The property sign was only meant to2 stay there for eighteen months. However, in 1929 the stock market crashed3, real estate4 stagnated5, and the sign was abandoned. Today, the sign is synonymous with the glamour and promise of Hollywood. It represents Los Angeles as a creative city and the US entertainment industry as a whole. As one of the most photographed icons in the world, its preservation is important and the donation-based Hollywood Sign Trust6 was formed in 1978 to maintain the sign. THE…

CURRENT AFFAIRS W hen Darren McGarvey’s Poverty Safari won the Orwell Prize in 2018, judges said it was exactly the book that writer George Orwell “would have wanted to win.” A vehement critique of the way in which those in power are blind to, or actively disregard1, the actual needs of the poor, its author is unusual in that he himself grew up in a deprived2 Scottish community and struggled with many of the issues associated with poverty – alcoholism, drugs, crime and homelessness. FIGHTING SPIRIT McGarvey was raised in Pollok, a large housing estate on the south side of Glasgow. His mother was an alcoholic who abandoned the family and died in her thirties. McGarvey, under the stage name3 Loki, found focus and an outlet4 for his creativity through…

There, the turkey’s stuffed and ready! How long will it take to cook? It’s a 12-pound bird, so about three hours. The oven1’s pre-heated. Will you pop it in? Sure. What’s next? Should I put the potatoes in for roasting? Not for another2 couple of hours. They’ll go in with the parsnips3 and carrots4. OK, I’ll prepare the Brussels sprouts5. When do we make the gravy? When the turkey is done. We need the juices. I’m using readymade6 cranberry7 sauce, so we’re pretty much done for now! What about dessert? Oh, Auntie May is bringing her traditional fruitcake! Oof, it’s always so heavy… She spends hours making it. Just pretend8 to like it, like the rest of us. I know, I know. Well, I guess we can take a break. How…

PEOPLE The life of American-Greek soprano Maria Callas, called “La Divina” by her legions of fans, reads like the plot1 of an opera. She was born Maria Anna Cecilia Sofia Kalogeropulu in New York on 2 December 1923, the daughter of Greek immigrants to the US. As a teenager, she returned to Athens, her voice already noted as unusual in its sound, versatility and expressive qualities. BEL CANTO Driven2 by unwavering3 commitment4, Callas’s career developed in Greece and then in Italy, where she performed in prestigious venues5 such as La Scala in Milan, rising to become prima donna, the leading woman in an opera. She is credited with reviving interest in the 19th-century bel canto operas of Vincenzo Bellini (Norma), Gaetano Donizetti (Lucia di Lammermoor) and Gioachino Rossini (The Barber of…

Nathaniel Hawthorne, a contemporary of Edgar Allan Poe, was an American novelist and short story writer in the dark romantic tradition. Born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1804, his ancestors had been influential members of the Puritan movement. Hawthorne used his family history to explore themes of morality, guilt1 and sin2 in his fiction. He’d achieved3 critical acclaim, but little financial success, until the publication of The Scarlet Letter. PRISON The novel explores the self-destructive power of love, and the judgement of others. The book is set in 17th-century Boston in a Puritan community into which young Hester Prynne is released4 from prison to begin a new life. First, however, she must stand in the marketplace and face the townsfolk5. In her arms she holds a small child, and the letter…