W 22 - Pre - Int

Pre – Intermediate – Week 22 – Geisha

I)            Reading :

1)   You  are  going to  read about a trainee geisha.  Before you read, look at  the sentences below and decide if you  think they are  True or False

a)  A lot of women in Japan  today want to become geishas.

b)  A geisha has to have a different kimono for every month of the year.

c)  To become a geisha you have to study for many years.

d)  A geisha has to sing and  dance for her customers.

e)  A geisha can't speak to her customers.

f)  A trainee geisha can go to high school.

g)  A geisha doesn't have to stay single.

2)   Read the article and check your ideas: Training to be a Geisha

The white face, the dark eyes and hair, the blood red lips - both the Japanese and foreigners are fascinated by these beautiful and mysterious women. Makiko is training to be a geisha. Not many girls want to become geisha in Japan today. Makiko’s parents wanted her to go to university, study medicine and become a doctor. But Makiko's grandfather paid for her training and bought the kimonos she needed. It's very   expensive to become a geisha. You have to have a different kimono for each month of the year, and today a kimono can cost three million yen, that's about $25,000.

It's a hard life for a trainee geisha. She has to leave her family and move into a special boarding house called a 'maiko house'. Here, she has to learn traditional Japanese arts such as playing instruments, the tea ceremony, flower arranging, singing and dancing. She has to take a lot of difficult tests and exams. Only the best will pass all the tests and become geishas many years later.

We asked Makiko to describe exactly what a geisha does.

'A geisha has to serve customers and also entertain them. She has to sing and dance, and make conversation.’

Does she enjoy her life as a trainee geisha?

‘I love it, but it's hard work. Sometimes I get tired of wearing the kimonos and I want

to put on a pair of jeans and go to high school like a normal teenager. But I can’t have a normal life now. I don't mind. I feel very lucky.'

And what about later - can she have a family?

'Of course.  A geisha can have relationships like anybody else and she can get married when she chooses.'

In Japan today there are fewer than a thousand geishas, but they play an important role in preserving Japanese culture and history.

3)   What did your parents/grandparents want you to study at school? Did you follow their advice?

II)         Listening:

1) Listen to the extract from a radio programme and tick the best summary of the talk.

a)  Becoming a foreign geisha

b)  Learning to walk in a kimono

c)  Training to be a geisha in four weeks

2) Listen again. Put the topics below in the order in which they are mentioned.

a)  language problems 

b)  singing and serving tea 

c)  playing the shamisen 

d)  standing up and sitting down

e)  the length of the training course

f)  walking with a kimono 

g)  the teacher 

4)   Listen again. Are the statements True or False?

a)  The actors were preparing for a Hollywood movie.   

b)  The actors began their lesson at six in the morning. 

e)  The teacher's name was Ziyj Zhang. 

d)  They had to keep their knees together when they walked. 

e)  They had to repeat the exercises many times.

f)  The two most important actors in the film are Chinese.

g)  Learning English pronunciation was not difficult.

h)  The training was successful.

III)       Vocabulary:

1) Complete the following statements using words from the text above.

a)  More and more people are ___________________ to be computer programmers. 

b)  Not many people want to ______________ teachers  nowadays. 

c)  lf you _____________ medicine, it  takes seven years before you qualify as a doctor.  

d)  lt can _______________ a lot of money to go to university.  

e)  When they go to university, most students  leave home and ______________ into student accommodation. 

f)  If you  fail your end of year exams, you can usually ___________ them again a  few months later.  

g)  You  have to _________________ an entrance exam if you want to go to university. 

h)  University students play an important _____________in the future of the country. 

2) Are the statements true for you?

3) Complete the sentences with the following words:

college                       nursery                        place                       primary   

secondary                 subject                    university                  vocational

a)  I only went to ____________  school for  one year and I can’t remember anything about it.

b)      I learnt to read and write at _______________ school.

c)       I started _____________  school when I was 11 and left when I was 18.

d)      My favourite _____________was Music but I wasn't very good at it.

e)      I couldn't go to  because I didn't pass my school-leaving exams.

f)       I did a ________course in  secretarial studies for two years.

g)      When I was older, I studied Economics at a ________________ in the evenings.

h)      I passed my exam  and got a _________________at university.

IV)        Homework:     anecdote

1)   Listen to Andy talking about his favourite school subject. 

Underline the answers he gives.

a)  'What was your favourite subject at school?' 'Maths /  Art.'

b)  'Why did you particularly like this subject?' 'It was easy /  I was good at it.'

e)  'What was the  teacher's name?' 'Miss Lewis  /  Mr Lewis.'

d)  'What did she look like?'  'She had long black hair and wore bright colours /

looked like a teacher.'

e)  'Why were her lessons special?' 'They were fun  /  interesting and varied.'

f)  'How many hours did you have a week?' 'We had three / six hours a week.'

g)      'Did you learn anything which is useful to you today?' 'Yes,  I still love taking

photos / make a living as a photographer.'

2)   Ask yourself the questions in the exercise above.