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.
Hello Isabelle.
RépondreSupprimerWe Can t listen Andy talking🤔
Hello Unknown,
RépondreSupprimerIt's updated!
Sorry for inconvenience!
See you tomorrow!
Do not take into account the lines numbers in exercise III - 1. It depends on your computer screen. Just read the text and you'll find the missing words!
RépondreSupprimerJ was the unknown. Sorry . Martine
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