Make Your Way 6, Schulbuch mit Audio-CD und CD-ROM

A word game. How many words can you form from the letters of the word Victorian ? Here are two words to start you off tin , van … — can you find another ten ? 19 B: Contrasting DIFFERENT opinions • Think of two Victorian inventions (see pp. 44–46) and then write a composition with this title: Technology has not necessarily made our lives better Try to use some of the techniques mentioned above. Write about 200 words. What we need is a return to Victorian values 1 Some people say that we should be more like our Victorian ancestors. They were upright, respectable and had a strong sense of morality. Families worked hard and took responsibility for their children’s behaviour. If you were in trouble you could rely on your neighbour to help you out. Age and authority were respected. If only we could be more like them today, they say. 2 Yet the fact remains that this was a society in which children spent hours knee-deep in the mud of the Thames searching for pieces of coal; in which teenage girls looked for business on the streets, and penniless widows did hours of needlework to earn just enough to keep them from starvation or the workhouse. 3 Admittedly there were many loving, hard-working families among the poor. But you only have to read Charles Dickens’ novels to know that alcoholism, violent relationships and neglected children were as common then as they are now. Fagin’s gang of young pickpockets was based on the world Dickens knew. 4 So what did Victorian values do for us? The answer is a lot. They brought in better housing for the poor, through charities and local government. They introduced the trade union movement, conditions in factories and workplaces improved, and public education and health measures were brought in. 5 But would we really want a return to their values? Consider how the Victorians dealt with crime. Would we really want to re-introduce beatings, the death penalty or transportation to Australia? In my opinion we wouldn’t. And would our children tolerate being seen and not heard? I doubt it! 1 What does the writer describe in the first paragraph? 2 In which paragraphs does the writer put forward arguments in favour of the statement and in which paragraphs does the writer make points against the statement? 3 How many examples does the writer give in each paragraph? 4 What conclusion does the writer come to? 5 Look at the questions in the last paragraph. These are ‘rhetorical questions’, i.e. questions which do not require an answer. What effect do they have? • Read the following composition. • In a composition like this one you discuss a topic and come to a conclusion, typically considering BOTH sides of a statement. 43 2 Extensive unit 2: Victorian times Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv