way2go! 6, Schulbuch

49 17  tink: Klang 18  papoose: Babytragetuch 19  backward-looking: sichtlich „geistig zurückgeblieben“ ( in der geistigen Entwicklung nicht der Norm entsprechend ) I don’t believe I have ever been so eager to accept an invitation. We ascended in an elevator to a floor I didn’t even know Younkers had. The Tea Room was the most elegant place I had ever been – like a stateroom from Buckingham Palace magically transported to the Middle West of America. Everything about it was starched and classy and calm. There was light music of a refined nature and the tink 17 of cutlery on china and of ice water carefully poured. I cared nothing for the food, of course. I was waiting only for the moment when I was invited to step up to the toy box and make a selection. What is the idea of the Tea Room? What does it represent? What kind of restaurants are in your area that might fulfill the idea of the Tea Room as portrayed in the extract? When that moment came, it took me forever to decide. Every little package looked so perfect and white, so ready to be enjoyed. Eventually, I chose an item of middling size and weight, which I dared to shake lightly. Something inside rattled and sounded as if it might be die-cast. I took it to my seat and carefully unwrapped it. It was a miniature doll – an Indian baby in a papoose 18 , beautifully made but patently for a girl. I returned with it and its disturbed packaging to the slightly backward-looking 19 fellow who was in charge of the toy box. “I seem to have got a doll ,” I said, with something approaching an ironic chuckle. He looked at it carefully. “That’s surely a shame because you only git one try at the gift box.” “Yes, but it’s a doll ,” I said. “For a girl.” “Then you’ll just have to git you a little girlfriend to give it to, won’tcha?” he answered and gave me a toothy grin and an unfortunate wink. Sadly, those were the last words the poor man ever spoke. A moment later he was just a small muffled shriek and a smoldering spot on the carpet. Too late he had learned an important lesson. You really should never fuck with the Thunderbolt Kid. Can you explain why the poor man was just “a small muffled shriek and a smoldering spot on the carpet”? Why was the boy so furious with the man? Choose one of these activities to do in class or at home. 1 Design a test for your classmates. Make up some true/ false questions and some multiple choice questions. Provide answers for your test. 2 Make up an interview with Bill Bryson discussing the extracts. 3 Change the setting of the extracts. Imagine the events take place in your hometown today. How would everything be different? 4 6 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv