Listen and consider : Interpret an oral / written message

🔊 La maîtresse lit pour toi

Organic food, conventional food, genetically modified food: consumers choose — and the media tell them what to fear. On the radio, a journalist first imagines that GMFs will certainly disappear; then, because the Prime Minister has said that they « might be harmful », he supposes that their opponents will probably win the debate. A market researcher stops him: « Hold on a minute, the Prime Minister said might. » When you hear a message, how do you know exactly what the speaker claims — and what he does not?

🎓في نهاية هذا الدرس ستكون قادرا على:

فهم مقابلة عن الأغذية العضويّة والأغذية المعدّلة وراثيّا، واستخراج معلومات دقيقة منها
التمييز بين ما قيل في المسموع وما لم يُقل فيه ⁦(true · false · not mentioned)⁩، وتصحيح الخطأ بكلمات النصّ
تأويل الرسالة بدقّة: التفريق بين ما يقدّمه المتكلّم يقينا وما يقدّمه احتمالا
تلخيص المسموع شفهيّا في أربعة أسطر أو خمسة، وتحضير خطاب قصير عن تغيّر أنماط الحياة

🔑يفترض هذا الدرس أنّك تتقن:

الأفعال الناقصة للاحتمال ⁦may · might · could⁩
المستقبل بـ ⁦will⁩ وعبارة ⁦be likely to⁩
كلمات أساسيّة: ⁦food · safety · label · pesticide⁩

Before you listen

قبل الاستماع : أجب عن الأسئلة، ثمّ اضغط زرّ الاستماع أعلى الصفحة. لا تفتح النصّ إلّا بعد أن تجيب.

1. Do you usually read the labels on the packages of food before you buy them? If yes, is it in order to know about the ingredients, the expiry date or any other information? Explain. 2. Have you, or any of your friends, ever been a victim of food poisoning? If yes, tell your classmates about this experience. 3. Do you think that your fellow countrymen are, on the whole, mindful about food safety or not? Explain. 4. In the UK, Greenpeace protesters have attempted to destroy genetically modified crops at a test site. Do you approve or disapprove of what they are doing? Justify your answer. ⭐ On this page the recording is read aloud by the listening button, at the top. Listen once without opening anything — exactly as you would in class.

The recording

نصّ المسموع. ⛔ لا تفتحه قبل أن تستمع وتجيب.

An interview — a journalist asks a market researcher about organic food and genetically modified food Journalist: What types of food are available in the market today? Market researcher: Well, there are three types of food: organic products, conventional food, and GMFs, I mean genetically modified food. Journalist: And which type of food do consumers prefer buying? Market researcher: They prefer buying organic food, of course. Journalist: I imagine this preference must be due to the fact that unlike conventional food and GMFs, organic food contains no pesticide residues and no antibiotics. Market researcher: That's a good deduction. But that does not explain everything. Advertising also plays a role in this craze for eating organics. Journalist: What do you mean? Market researcher: How shall I put it? Advertising promotes the idea that organic foods are somewhat healthier and less damaging to the environment. This idea has sold well since the detection of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy), commonly known as mad cow disease. So the eating of organic food will certainly keep increasing as long as people are worried about food safety. As a matter of fact, more and more farmers are turning to organic farming these days. Journalist: Let's come back to the GMFs. I imagine they will certainly disappear partly because of the bad publicity given to them in recent years, and partly because of the scandal of the mad cow disease. Market researcher: Well, they may or they may not disappear. That depends on the conclusions of the debate engaged about them. Journalist: I suppose that those who are against the farming of GMFs will probably win the debate now that Prime Minister Tony Blair has said, I quote, « GMFs might be harmful to human health and the environment. » End of quote… Market researcher: Hold on a minute, the Prime Minister said « might »… So GMFs might have harmful effects on human health and the environment just as they might not. There is no strong evidence on either side of the question. Journalist: So I suppose the debate could continue for some time yet. Market researcher: That's right. It won't stop until one of the sides in the debate brings decisive evidence for or against the farming of GMFs.

First listening — true, false or not mentioned?

الاستماع الأوّل : قرّر لكلّ جملة هل هي صحيحة ⁦(T)⁩ أو خاطئة ⁦(F)⁩ أو غير مذكورة ⁦(NM)⁩، وصحّح الخاطئة.

Task 1 — Listen to the interview and mark the statements below as true (T), false (F) or not mentioned (NM). Correct the false ones.

A. As a result of the impact of advertising, consumers prefer buying organic food to purchasing conventional or genetically modified food. B. Owing to bad publicity, GMFs will certainly disappear. C. GMFs are harmful to both man's health and the environment. D. The debate about the farming of GMFs will possibly continue.

Task 1 — the answers, with the words that prove them

الإجابات، مع الكلمات التي تثبتها من المسموع.

A — T. « Advertising also plays a role in this craze for eating organics. » Notice also: advertising is one cause, next to the absence of pesticide residues and antibiotics.
B — F. The market researcher answers: « they may or they may not disappear. That depends on the conclusions of the debate. »
C — F. Nothing is proved: « GMFs might have harmful effects on human health and the environment just as they might not. There is no strong evidence on either side of the question. »
D — T. « It won't stop until one of the sides in the debate brings decisive evidence. »

B and C are false for the same reason: they turn a possibility of the interview into a certainty.

Interpret the message — what exactly was said?

تأويل الرسالة : انتبه إلى ما قاله المتكلّم، وإلى درجة يقينه ممّا قال.

To interpret a message is to understand what the speaker says — and how sure he is of it. In the interview, the journalist twice goes further than the facts. First he imagines that GMFs « will certainly disappear »; then he supposes that their opponents « will probably win the debate », because the Prime Minister has said that GMFs « might be harmful ». Each time, the market researcher brings him back to the exact words. « Might » does not say that GMFs are harmful: it says that they might be — « just as they might not ».

Task 2 — Why does the market researcher say « Hold on a minute »? What did the Prime Minister really say, and what did he not say?

لماذا يوقف الباحث الصحفيّ؟ ماذا قال الوزير الأوّل حقّا، وماذا لم يقل؟

Because the journalist has drawn a conclusion that the quotation does not allow. The Prime Minister said that GMFs « might be harmful to human health and the environment » — a possibility. He did not say that they are harmful. As the market researcher puts it, « there is no strong evidence on either side of the question », so no side can be sure of winning the debate.

Task 3 — Why do consumers prefer organic food? Give the two reasons of the interview, and say what will happen to the eating of organic food.

لماذا يفضّل المستهلكون الأغذية العضويّة؟ اذكر السببين، وما سيحدث لاستهلاكها.

First reason: unlike conventional food and GMFs, organic food contains no pesticide residues and no antibiotics — « a good deduction », says the market researcher.
Second reason: advertising promotes the idea that organic foods are healthier and less damaging to the environment, an idea that has sold well since the detection of mad cow disease.
What will happen: the eating of organic food « will certainly keep increasing as long as people are worried about food safety », and more and more farmers are turning to organic farming.

Here the market researcher himself says « certainly »: about organic food he is sure, about GMFs he is not. Interpreting the message means noticing that difference.

Speaking — sum up the interview

التعبير الشفهيّ : لخّص المقابلة بكلماتك في أربعة أسطر أو خمسة.

Task 4 — Compare your answers to Task 1 with a partner. Then make an oral summary of the interview in 4 to 5 lines, using your own words.

ملخّص نموذجيّ للمقابلة.

A journalist interviews a market researcher about the food we buy. There are three types of food on the market: organic, conventional and genetically modified. Consumers prefer organic food, because it contains no pesticide residues or antibiotics, and because advertising presents it as healthier, especially since mad cow disease. The future of GMFs, on the other hand, is uncertain: there is no strong evidence that they are harmful or safe, so the debate may go on for some time.

Making a speech — changes in our life styles

خطاب قصير : ما التغيّرات المحتملة في أنماط حياتنا؟ ابدأ بالكتابة الحرّة، ثمّ نظّم أفكارك وفق الخطّة.

Freewriting — the beginning

The next decades are likely to bring about radical changes in our life styles. The number of shopaholics, i.e. people addicted to shopping / to increase / tremendously. Online shopping / to become a norm. Robot shop assistant / to deliver goods / customers' homes. Soft drink companies / to place conduit systems in people's kitchens. Companies / to make foodstuffs out of petrol …

Your turn — think, pair, share. Prepare a speech about the possible changes that are likely to happen in our life styles. 1. Continue the freewriting above for about 10 minutes to generate ideas. Don't care about mistakes at this stage. 2. Select ideas from your freewriting. Then write your first draft, organising your ideas according to this plan: A. shopping habits · B. eating habits · C. entertainment and leisure. Use the gerund and modals where appropriate. 3. Correct your mistakes, exchange drafts with your partner for error checking, then read the corrected version of your speech aloud in class. ⭐ Alone at home? Write the draft yourself, read it aloud and record it on your phone. Listen back once and check one thing: do your modals say how sure you are?

دورك : حضّر خطابا قصيرا عن التغيّرات المحتملة في أنماط حياتنا، وفق الخطّة الثلاثيّة، ثمّ ألقه بصوت مرتفع.

A model speech

خطاب نموذجيّ : الأفعال الناقصة وصيغ المصدر بالخطّ الغليظ.

Ladies and gentlemen, The next decades are likely to bring about radical changes in our life styles. A. Shopping habits. The number of shopaholics, people addicted to shopping, is likely to increase tremendously, and online shopping may become the norm. Robot shop assistants could even deliver goods to customers' homes. B. Eating habits. Soft drink companies might place conduit systems in people's kitchens, and some companies could make foodstuffs out of petrol — not a very appetising idea! C. Entertainment and leisure. Spending hours in front of screens may replace going out with friends. Some of these changes may never happen, of course. But thinking about them today is better than being surprised by them tomorrow.

Check the model: every change is a possibility, never a certainty — is likely to, may, might, could; and the gerund (spending, going out, thinking, being) names an activity.

The written exam plays no recording: what this lesson brings to it is reading a message exactly as it is written — a text that says « might » does not say « will ». In the true-or-false questions, have three things ready: ① the exact words of the text to justify each answer; ② the difference between a fact and a possibility — will certainly, will probably, may, might; ③ the words of food safety — organic, pesticide residues, genetically modified, food poisoning, labels, expiry date. The frequent mistake: marking true a sentence that turns a possibility of the text into a certainty.

What I keep — In the interview, consumers prefer organic food: it contains no pesticide residues and no antibiotics, and advertising sells it as healthier, especially since mad cow disease. About GMFs, nothing is certain: they may or may not disappear, they might be harmful just as they might not, and the debate will go on until one side brings decisive evidence. To interpret a message, I listen to what is said — and to how sure the speaker is.

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