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A woman will conduct an orchestra at the world's oldest and biggest music festival for the first time ever. The BBC Proms started 118 years ago, include 92 concerts over 8 weeks, but have never had a female conductor. American Marin Alsop will take charge of the orchestra for the final concert – the legendary Last Night of the Proms. This is a distinctly British occasion to celebrate the "pomp and circumstance" of Britain. Ms Alsop told the BBC: "I think the fact that I'm an American woman, conducting the last night of the Proms is really a statement." Talking of her achievement, she said: "I'm extraordinarily proud to be the first woman, but I'm also sad that it's 2013 and there still can be firsts for women."
The director of the Proms Roger Wright said he was happy to be part of changing the "man's world" of conducting. He said: "Marin hasn't been chosen because she is a woman conductor. She knows and loves the Proms." Ms Alsop said: "I always enjoy working with the British orchestral musicians and I'm particularly looking forward to interacting with the audience, who play such a crucial role in making this a night that is utterly unique and special. It is a great honour that I know will be a highlight for me." She added: "The whole world is watching you. You're addressing the biggest audience of your career. It's the nearest a classical musician gets to an acceptance speech at the Oscars." Sources: WARM-UPS 1. ORCHESTRAS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about orchestras. Change partners often and share your findings. 2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently. 3. WOMEN AT WORK: Are women better than men at these jobs? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.
4. THE SAME: Students A strongly believe men and women can do most jobs equally well; Students B strongly believe not. Change partners again and talk about your conversations. 5. MUSICIAN: Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the musician you would love to be at the top at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.
6. CONCERT: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word 'concert'. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories. BEFORE READING / LISTENING 1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F).
2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.
3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)
GAP FILL
LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.
LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps A woman will conduct an orchestra at the world's oldest and biggest music festival (1) _____________________. The BBC Proms started 118 years ago, include 92 concerts over 8 weeks, but have never had a female conductor. American Marin Alsop (2) _____________________ orchestra for the final concert – the legendary Last Night of the Proms. This is a distinctly British (3) _____________________ "pomp and circumstance" of Britain. Ms Alsop told the BBC: "I (4) _____________________ an American woman, conducting the last night of the Proms (5) ___________________." Talking of her achievement, she said: "I'm extraordinarily proud to be the first woman, but I'm also sad that it's 2013 and (6) ___________________ women." The director of the Proms Roger Wright said he was happy to be part of (7) _____________________ of conducting. He said: "Marin hasn't been chosen because she is a woman conductor. She knows and loves the Proms." Ms Alsop said: "I always enjoy working (8) ____________________ musicians and I'm (9) _____________________ to interacting with the audience, who (10) _____________________ making this a night that is utterly unique and special. It is a great honour that I know will be a highlight for me." She added: "The (11) _____________________ you. You're addressing the biggest audience of your career. It's the nearest a classical musician (12) _____________________ at the Oscars." COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ
ROLE PLAY
AFTER READING / LISTENING 1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words 'music' and 'festival'.
2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.
3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…? 4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings. 5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:
ORCHESTRAS SURVEY Write five GOOD questions about orchestras in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.
ORCHESTRAS DISCUSSION STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
DISCUSSION (Write your own questions)
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MULTIPLE CHOICE - LANGUAGE A woman will conduct an orchestra at the world's oldest and biggest music festival for the first time ever. The BBC Proms started 118 years ago, (1) ____ 92 concerts over 8 weeks, but have never had a female conductor. American Marin Alsop will (2) ____ charge of the orchestra for the final concert – the legendary Last Night of the Proms. This is a (3) ____ British occasion to celebrate the "pomp and circumstance" of Britain. Ms Alsop told the BBC: "I think the fact that I'm an American woman, conducting the last night of the Proms is really a (4) ____." Talking of her achievement, she said: "I'm (5) ____ proud to be the first woman, but I'm also sad that it's 2013 and there still can be (6) ____ for women." The director of the Proms Roger Wright said he was happy to be part of changing the "(7) ____ world" of conducting. He said: "Marin hasn't been chosen because she is a woman conductor. She knows and loves the Proms." Ms Alsop said: "I always enjoy working with the British (8) ____ musicians and I'm particularly looking forward to (9) ____ with the audience, who play such a crucial role in making this a night that is (10) ____ unique and special. It is a great honour that I know will be a highlight for me." She added: "The whole world is watching you. You're (11) ____ the biggest audience of your career. It's the nearest a classical musician gets to an (12) ____ speech at the Oscars." Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.
SPELLING
PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER Number these lines in the correct order.
PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER
CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS) A woman will conduct an orchestra at the world's oldest and biggest music festival for / in the first time ever. The BBC Proms started 118 years ago, inclusion / include 92 concerts over 8 weeks, but have never had a female conductor. American Marin Alsop will take / have charge of the orchestra for the final concert – the legend / legendary Last Night of the Proms. This is a distinctly / distinction British occasion to celebrate the "pump / pomp and circumstance" of Britain. Ms Alsop told the BBC: "I think the facts / fact that I'm an American woman, conducting the last night of the Proms is really / reality a statement." Talking of her achievement, she said: "I'm extraordinarily pride / proud to be the first woman, but I'm also sad that it's 2013 and there still can be firsts / first for women." The director of the Proms Roger Wright said he was happy to be part of changing / charging the "man's world" of conducting. He said: "Marin hasn't been chosen because she is a woman conductor / conductress. She knows and loves the Proms." Ms Alsop said: "I always enjoy working with the British orchestral / orchestrate musicians and I'm peculiarly / particularly looking forward to interacting with / on the audience, who play / match such a cruciate / crucial role in making this a night that is utterly / utter unique and special. It is a great honour that I know will be a highlight for me." She added: "The whole world is watching you. You're redressing / addressing the biggest audience of your career. It's the nearest a classical musician gets to an acceptance / acceptable speech at the Oscars." Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct. INSERT THE VOWELS (a, e, i, o, u) _ w_m_n w_ll c_nd_ct _n _rch_str_ _t th_ w_rld's _ld_st _nd b_gg_st m_s_c f_st_v_l f_r th_ f_rst t_m_ _v_r. Th_ BBC Pr_ms st_rt_d 118 y__rs _g_, _ncl_d_ 92 c_nc_rts _v_r 8 w__ks, b_t h_v_ n_v_r h_d _ f_m_l_ c_nd_ct_r. _m_r_c_n M_r_n _ls_p w_ll t_k_ ch_rg_ _f th_ _rch_str_ f_r th_ f_n_l c_nc_rt – th_ l_g_nd_ry L_st N_ght _f th_ Pr_ms. Th_s _s _ d_st_nctly Br_t_sh _cc_s__n t_ c_l_br_t_ th_ "p_mp _nd c_rc_mst_nc_" _f Br_t__n. Ms _ls_p t_ld th_ BBC: "_ th_nk th_ f_ct th_t _'m _n _m_r_c_n w_m_n, c_nd_ct_ng th_ l_st n_ght _f th_ Pr_ms _s r__lly _ st_t_m_nt." T_lk_ng _f h_r _ch__v_m_nt, sh_ s__d: "_'m _xtr__rd_n_r_ly pr__d t_ b_ th_ f_rst w_m_n, b_t _'m _ls_ s_d th_t _t's 2013 _nd th_r_ st_ll c_n b_ f_rsts f_r w_m_n." Th_ d_r_ct_r _f th_ Pr_ms R_g_r Wr_ght s__d h_ w_s h_ppy t_ b_ p_rt _f ch_ng_ng th_ "m_n's w_rld" _f c_nd_ct_ng. H_ s__d: "M_r_n h_sn't b__n ch_s_n b_c__s_ sh_ _s _ w_m_n c_nd_ct_r. Sh_ kn_ws _nd l_v_s th_ Pr_ms." Ms _ls_p s__d: "_ _lw_ys _nj_y w_rk_ng w_th th_ Br_t_sh _rch_str_l m_s_c__ns _nd _'m p_rt_c_l_rly l__k_ng f_rw_rd t_ _nt_r_ct_ng w_th th_ __d__nc_, wh_ pl_y s_ch _ cr_c__l r_l_ _n m_k_ng th_s _ n_ght th_t _s _tt_rly _n_q__ _nd sp_c__l. _t _s _ gr__t h_n__r th_t _ kn_w w_ll b_ _ h_ghl_ght f_r m_." Sh_ _dd_d: "Th_ wh_l_ w_rld _s w_tch_ng y__. Y__'r_ _ddr_ss_ng th_ b_gg_st __d__nc_ _f y__r c_r__r. _t's th_ n__r_st _ cl_ss_c_l m_s_c__n g_ts t_ _n _cc_pt_nc_ sp__ch _t th_ _sc_rs." PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS a woman will conduct an orchestra at the world's oldest and biggest music festival for the first time ever the bbc proms started 118 years ago include 92 concerts over 8 weeks but have never had a female conductor american marin alsop will take charge of the orchestra for the final concert – the legendary last night of the proms this is a distinctly british occasion to celebrate the "pomp and circumstance" of britain ms alsop told the bbc "i think the fact that i'm an american woman conducting the last night of the proms is really a statement" talking of her achievement she said "i'm extraordinarily proud to be the first woman but i'm also sad that it's 2013 and there still can be firsts for women" the director of the proms roger wright said he was happy to be part of changing the "man's world" of conducting he said "marin hasn't been chosen because she is a woman conductor she knows and loves the proms" ms alsop said "i always enjoy working with the british orchestral musicians and i'm particularly looking forward to interacting with the audience who play such a crucial role in making this a night that is utterly unique and special it is a great honour that i know will be a highlight for me" she added "the whole world is watching you you're addressing the biggest audience of your career it's the nearest a classical musician gets to an acceptance speech at the oscars" PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE
FREE WRITING Write about orchestras for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner's paper. _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ ACADEMIC WRITING Men have traditionally conducted orchestras. That tradition should not change. Discuss. _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ HOMEWORK 1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google's search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word. 2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about orchestras. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson. 3. ORCHESTRAS: Make a poster about orchestras. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things? 4. MARIN ALSOP: Write a magazine article about Marin Alsop and her appointment to be the first female conductor at the BBC Proms. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against that. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s). 5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles. 6. LETTER: Write a letter to Marin Alsop. Ask her three questions about getting to conduct at the BBC Proms. Give her three of your opinions on her appointment. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions. ANSWERS TRUE / FALSE (p.4)
SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)
MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)
ALL OTHER EXERCISES Please check for yourself by looking at the Article on page 2. Help Support This Web Site
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