A) Mr Willison and his wife about boxing

B) Mr Willison and his son about the school boxing team

1. Do you think the problems touched upon in the story are serious?

BUILDING WRITING SKILLS:

1. Write a “for and against” essay on the topic “Boxing”.

Remember that an essay should contain an introduction, a main body (in which the points for and the points against appear in two separate paragraphs) and a conclusion. Use the following:

-to introduce points: one major advantage/disadvantage of, a further advantage, one point of view in favour of/against;

-to list points: in the first place, first of all, secondly, thirdly, finally, last but not least;

-to add more points: what is more, moreover, in addition to this, besides, apart from this;

-to make contrasting points: on the other hand, however, in spite of, despite, nevertheless, although;

-to conclude: to sum up, all in all, all things considered, on the whole, taking everything into account.

Before you write arrange a group discussion about such vicious, violent and dangerous sports as boxing, hunting, car racing etc. Should boxing be banned? Why do boxing matches attract such universal interest? Why are millions of people disappointed if a big fight is over in two rounds instead of two? Why are spectators willing to pay vast sums of money to see violence? Why do we still allow hunting and bull-fighting? Why are we ready to see one or a number of racing cars crashing and bursting into flames? Is it just “sporting spirit”? Or is it due to high rewards these sports bring? Or…?

CULTURE CORNER:

Did you know thatJohn Barrington Wain (1925 – 1994) was a talented and versatile English man of letters, associated with the literary groups “The Movement” and “The Angry Young Men”? For most of his life, Wain worked as a freelance journalist and author, writing and reviewing for newspapers and the radio. Не was a well-known novelist and a distinguished poet, a short-story writer and a literary critic. Do some research and tell your group-mates about John Wain and the literary trends in England in the 50ies mentioned above.

1. Look through the story again. How tall was Rob? Change his height t into our measuring system.

1. Mr Willison looked up all the Grangers in the telephone book, the abbreviation M.A. after the name helped him.Do you know what it stands for? Are there any other types of postgraduate academic master degrees? To answer the question you may find the following link helpful: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_master%27s_degrees.

1. Mr Granger was the master in charge of the boxing tournament.Is the meaning of the word “master” the same as in ex.37? Look up the word in an English-English dictionary.

1. Do you remember where Rob studied? Read the following information to find out more about this type of school. Do some research in order to find some facts about the present state and history of the system of secondary education in the UK. Can you name the types of schools in Russia?

A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom . It is an academically-oriented type of secondary school attended by pupils aged 11 to 18, entry is controlled by means of a selective process which sometimes consists of a written examination. After leaving a grammar school a student may go into further education or to university. Originally these schools taught classical languages.

1. Rob was not selected for the school rugby team. Rugby is a type of football played with an oval ball that you can catch and carry in your hands. Some of the sports terms referred to in the story are: scrum (an arrangement of players in a game of rugby when they all push together to try and get the ball) and pack (the group of forwards (attacking players) in a rugby team, especially in a scrum).Did you know that one of the most famous British public schools (Rugby school) gave its name to the game? This school developed its own variant of playing the game which led to its codification.Are there any other sports and games associated with the UK?

1. In the argument with her husband Mrs Willison brought up Baroness Summerskill. Why? Read the following bit of information and come up with your ideas.

Edith Clara Summerskill, Baroness Summerskill (1901 –1980) was a British physician, feminist, Labour politician and writer. Summerskill was educated at King's College London and trained as a doctor at Charing Cross Hospital. She was one of the founders of the Socialist Medical Association which spearheaded the National Health Service. She pressed for equal rights for women and initiated the Married Women's Association to promote equality in marriage and became its first president. She became a Member of Parliament for Fulham West thanks to the working women's vote. She left the House of Commons in 1961 and was made a life peer as Baroness Summerskill of Kenwood.