Talking about unfamiliar topics; fact-checking ■■ Pick one of the following tasks that you don’t know much about: – “Compare and contrast companies’ real environmental efforts and green-washing” – “ Discuss whether some of the international environmental agreements of the last few decades (e.g. the Kyoto Protocol) have improved the environmental situation globally” – “Assess the efficiency of the EU Emissions Trading System and carbon credit markets in general” ■■ Talk about this topic for one minute, using some of the phrases and strategies from the above section. ■■ Then read up on the topic you talked about, as well as the other two, using an English search engine interface, e.g. the English version of Google (1 5.6). Check whether what you said was right or not. ■■ With the new information, talk about the same topic once more. ■■ Use one of the quotes below (1 6.10) in your short talk. To do [A] [E] [F] 6.8 Phrases to use when you don’t know the answer to a question Giving evasive answers ■■ Hmmm. That’s a great question. And it’s a question that has been asked many times before. Let’s see. ■■ I’m not sure this question can be answered in just a few sentences. It’s a very broad subject. One aspect that could be relevant in our context is the fact that … ■■ Funny you should ask that. This is closely related to another matter at hand. I was just thinking about the question of whether … ■■ Well, there’s more than one answer to that. Wouldn’t you agree? ■■ I think I can see what you’re driving at. However, I think there are some other aspects of this topic that we should address first … ■■ I can see why you’re asking that. But I’m not sure we should go there just yet. Perhaps we should first talk about the question whether … ■■ That’s a valid question. I don’t think we’ll be able to answer it conclusively1 here and now. Being honest ■■ Okay, I’ll be honest with you. You have really caught me off guard. I’m not sure I have a very good answer for that right now. But let me look it up for you, and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. ■■ Honestly, I don’t feel I can answer that question adequately. But you deserve a competent answer, so I’ll try to get this information immediately. ■■ Well, I’m afraid I’m not too familiar with this particular aspect of the issue. ■■ I wish you had asked me this question last week. I remember exactly that last week I had a great answer to that, but for some reason it has escaped my mind (or: memory) at the moment. ■■ That is a great question. However, it falls outside the scope of my research and expertise. ■■ I don’t have much knowledge of this subject, but I think … ■■ I’m not 100 percent sure, but if I had to name one thing, I would probably say … ■■ I don’t know the answer to that, but it’s something I should probably dig into, so I’ll do some research and get back to you. “Return to sender” ■■ What exactly do you mean by that? ■■ So, in other words, you are asking me whether … ■■ That’s a valid question. May I ask how you see this? ■■ Well, before I answer this question, could you tell me what’s your take on this matter? ■■ Am I right in assuming that you are referring to …? ■■ If I have understood you correctly, you are asking what I think we should … Phrases & structures [A] [E] [F] 6.7 JUST FOR FUN I’m tired of people telling me to turn off my lights to save the environment. I tried it once, and nearly killed a man on a bike. 1 conclusive: schlüssig, überzeugend, endgültig, eindeutig 61 Key aspects Strategies Sample task 6 Environment & sustainability Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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