132 Unit 08 | Culture vulture Now make a list of the superstitions mentioned in the text and note down which ones have a logical explanation. For those with no explanation, make up reasons why they might exist. Example: mirrors: reflect light and cause problems Can you guess the origin of the following superstitions? Come up with an explanation with your partner, then research the superstitions online to see if you were right. 1 Never wear blue on stage. 2 Give the director a ‘Graveyard Bouquet’ (i.e. a bunch of flowers stolen from a grave) after the final performance of the play. 3 Don’t use real money or jewellery in a performance. What other superstitions do you know from different cultures? Tell a partner about two superstitions, then present your information to the class. Invent a new superstition and come up with a good explanation for it. Example: It’s bad luck to step on cracks in the pavement. Reason: You could trip on the uneven surface. WRITING + SPEAKING 23 a b 24a b By the way: Tap your toes in Ireland Pubs and traditional music in Ireland are like Tarzan and Jane, cheese and onion or yin and yang. On their own they’re grand, but together … together, they create a magical partnership. Enter a pub playing live trad (traditional) music and it’s lively banter and foot-tapping entertainment that borders on iconic. It’s local culture and you’ll find it pretty much everywhere in Ireland. Traditional Irish music is a full-body experience: The beats compel you to dance a jig, clap your hands and join in. And that’s what trad music is all about, joining in and having the craic (pronounced ‘crack’), meaning fun. So where does this tradition come from? Back when music and storytelling were the only forms of entertainment on the island, villagers would crowd together into their local pub to share a warm fire, hear stories and listen to music played by the local musicians. Of course, there was usually dancing too, which is where traditional Irish dancing originates from. A trad music seisún (pronounced ‘seh-shoon’) can best be described as an informal gathering of musicians. Often, it’ll kick off with just a guitar, but before long you’ve got a whole group of musicians. It’s hard to predict just what instruments you might hear, but there’s usually at least one fiddle, often accompanied by guitar, banjo, mandolin, and if you’re extra lucky, flute, bodhrán (a special drum), uilleann pipes (the bagpipe of Ireland), or concertina (a small accordion-like instrument). Many musicians in Ireland are skilled on more than one instrument, sometimes as many as six or seven, so you’ll often see them passing instruments around or choosing a different one for each song. When it comes to trad music, few places offer a better selection than Dublin City. Many people head straight for Temple Bar in the city centre. This is the city’s cultural quarter, where the streets are lined with medieval cobble stones. It’s here that Dublin comes to party. The trad music begins in the early afternoon and doesn’t stop until closing. Many Irish pubs serve good, hearty Irish food, so you can tick two authentic Irish experiences off your list in one night. Get into groups of three. Each group member picks one of the following topics: a typical Irish musical instrument, the history of pubs, Irish dancing. Research it online and present your findings to the rest of the group in a few minutes. Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjU2NDQ5MQ==