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     Volume 4 Issue 23 | December 3, 2004 |


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Education


             

John Peel died recently while on holiday in Peru. He was a very well known and liked figure in Britain.
Below is an obituary for him, unfortunately the prepositions have been removed. Put one preposition from the box into each gap.

John Peel was an icon [...........] Britain. He championed many music groups, bringing them [...........] the attention [...........] many people and almost guaranteeing them success. He may have looked [...........] a middle aged, balding bank manager, maybe your favourite quiet uncle. In reality he was a music lover who has helped transform the music scene [...........] Britain [...........] the 1960s.

John Robert Parker Ravenscroft was born [...........] an affluent family [...........] Liverpool, [...........] 1939. He had a formal upbringing, raised [...........] a nanny. He went [...........] Shrewsbury public school. He did not [...........] the school. The only good thing he remembered [...........] it was that it was there that he first heard Elvis Presley, singing Heartbreak Hotel.

"Everything changed when I heard Elvis," he said. "Where there had been nothing there was suddenly something."

In 1960 he left [...........] America. Beatlemania was [...........] its height and Peel's Liverpool accent helped get him a job [...........] a [...........] a radio station [...........] Dallas. At this point he changed his name [...........] Peel, and stuck [...........] it. "They'd got this idea that if you lived [...........] the UK there were probably only a couple [...........] hundred people and they were all bound [...........] know each other," Peel commented.

He eventually returned [...........] England [...........] 1967, where he joined Radio London. He stayed there [...........] the BBC launched its new pop music radio station, Radio 1. Initially given a 6 week contract, Peel stayed there [...........] the rest [...........] his life.

He became very popular [...........] listeners because [...........] his varied and unusual choice [...........] songs, and [...........] his peers he played each song [...........] full and didn't speak [...........] the songs making it much easier [...........] tape the music.

He introduced Britain [...........] the likes [...........] Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa, music he'd heard while living [...........] the States. He also helped make people [...........] Marc Bolan and David Bowie popular. He would give a group studio time which he would then broadcast [...........] full, these Peel sessions became the 'must do' [...........] any self respecting group.

Peel had an eclectic taste [...........] music, you might hear a German industrial punk band, followed [...........] a rockabilly record [...........] his show. In the 1970's he showed this [...........] promoting many new bands [...........] the new sound Punk. He helped discover bands [...........] Joy Division. He certainly launched the career [...........] the Undertones, whose song Teenage Kicks was his all-time favourite. His incessant playing [...........] the song forced the band [...........] the public eye.

John Peel was also famous [...........] being a devoted fan [...........] the Archers radio soap opera, [...........] being a Liverpool football club supporter and [...........] referring [...........] his wife [...........] The Pig-- due [...........] her laugh! Although John Peel has died, he still has an effect [...........] today's music scene.

Some of the words from the text are in the box below. All these words have more than one meaning. Can you match the words in the box to their alternate meanings below?
Before you look at the answers you should check your decisions with a dictionary.

1. The ........................... of a fruit such as a lemon or an apple is its skin.
2. An ........................... is a picture of Christ, his mother, or a saint painted on a wooden panel.
3. A ........................... of ground is a raised area of it with a flat top and one or two sloping sides.
4. In Britain, a ........................... is a private school that provides secondary education which parents have to pay for. The pupils often live at the school during the school term.
5. In the United States, Australia, and many other countries, a ........................... is a school that is supported financially by the government and usually provides free education.
6. If there is a certain amount of something ..........................., it remains when the rest has gone or been used.
7. If you put the ........................... on a particular feature of something, you emphasize it or give it special importance.
8. If you get ........................... when you are trying to do something, you are unable to continue doing it because it is too difficult.
9. You can refer to fizzy drinks such as lemonade as ............................
10. If you ........................... at something, you look at it very hard, usually because it is difficult to see clearly.
11. If you describe someone's ideas as ..........................., you mean that you approve of them and think they are correct.
12. A ........................... is a photograph taken from a cinema film which is used for publicity purposes.

Can you think of a famous Bangladeshi person who you admire? Write their obituary. Or maybe think of what an obituary of your life would say. Write your own obituary and show it to a friend, do they agree?

Complete text: John Peel was an icon in Britain. He championed many music groups, bringing them to the attention of many people and almost guaranteeing them success. He may have looked like a middle aged, balding bank manager, maybe your favourite quiet uncle. In reality he was a music lover who has helped transform the music scene in Britain since the 1960s. John Robert Parker Ravenscroft was born into an affluent family near Liverpool, in 1939. He had a formal upbringing, raised by a nanny. He went to Shrewsbury public school. He did not like the school. The only good thing he remembered about it was that it was there that he first heard Elvis Presley, singing Heartbreak Hotel." Everything changed when I heard Elvis," he said. "Where there had been nothing there was suddenly something." In 1960 he left for America. Beatlemania was at its height and Peel's Liverpool accent helped get him a job as a for a radio station in Dallas. At this point he changed his name to Peel, and stuck with it. "They'd got this idea that if you lived in the UK there were probably only a couple of hundred people and they were all bound to know each other," Peel commented. He eventually returned to England in 1967, where he joined Radio London. He stayed there until the BBC launched its new pop music radio station, Radio 1. Initially given a 6 week contract, Peel stayed there for the rest of his life. He became very popular with listeners because of his varied and unusual choice of songs, and unlike his peers he played each song in full and didn't speak over the songs making it much easier to tape the music. He introduced Britain to the likes of Captain Beef heart and Frank Zappa, music he'd heard while living in the States. He also helped make people like Marc Bolin and David Bowie popular. He would give a group studio time which he would then broadcast in full, these Peel sessions became the 'must do' for any self respecting group. Peel had an eclectic taste in music, you might hear a German industrial punk band, followed by a rockabilly record on his show. In the 1970's he showed this by promoting many new bands with the new sound Punk. He helped discover bands like Joy Division. He certainly launched the career of the Undertones, whose song Teenage Kicks was his all-time favourite. His incessant playing of the song forced the band into the public eye. John Peel was also famous for being a devoted fan of the Archers radio soap opera, for being a Liverpool football club supporter and for referring to his wife as The Pig due to her laugh! Although John Peel has died, he still has an effect on today's music scene.

Answers
1-f, 2-d, 3-c, 4-h, 5-i, 6-e, 7-b, 8-l, 9-a, 10-g, 11-j, 12-k

 

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