Prime Time 5, Transition, Coursebook mit Audio-CD

4 Writing: A new sport On holiday you have tried out a new sport. Write an e-mail to your Canadian friend telling him/her about your new interest. In your e-mail you should: • describe your new sport • say when, where and with whom you practise it • tell him/her why you like it Write around 200 words . 1 Can write personal letters describing experiences, feelings and events in some detail. (B1) Reading: Bicycles carry the beat Read the text about a bicycle gang of teenagers in New York, then choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D) for questions 1–4. Put a cross ( ✘ ) in the correct box. The first one (0) has been done for you. 2 A new bicycle gang of teenagers can be found in the streets of Richmond Hill in Queens, New York. e bikes roar, but the sound has nothing to do with engines – because there are no engines. ey are normal bicycles, not motorcycles, although these machines look and sound more like DJ workstations. ey are bicycles with loud music systems. “ is one puts out 5,000 watts and costs about $4,000,” said Nick Ragbir, 18, working on his sound system with four speakers. It plays music from his MP3 player and is powered by car batteries. e riders are immigrants from Guyana and Trinidad, where turning bicycles into rolling outdoor sound systems is a popular hobby. “It’s really big where I come from in Trinidad,” Mr Ragbir said. “When I “rst came to New York, I started with two little speakers. People here thought I was crazy because no one here has really ever seen it, maybe only some Spanish dudes with a radio on their handlebars.” Mr Ragbir and his friends say they pay for their hobby by doing work like installing car stereos. ey 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 ride on warmer days and spend other days in the garage working on their bikes. ey make boxes of wood or plastic for the systems. Most bikes have decorative lights and some even have DVD screens. e bikers said they had heard no complaints about the noise they make in the street. Although there is a city law about noise from personal audio equipment which can be heard from eight metres away, the bikers’ stereos are less likely to attract attention because the noise does not stay in one place very long. e group rides together, everyone taking turns to play their music. Mohan Samaroo, 19, has adapted his bicycle to support not only a heavy system but also an extra rider standing on the back. When the bike goes down the street with Mohan standing, he said, he looks like a DJ at a nightclub. Together with Mohan Samaroo, Nick Ragbir has formed a business to install stereos on bikes. “Some guy hired me to build them for his kids,” he said. “Now a lot of people want them.” ( The New York Times, 29 November 2007; adapted) 56 Hobbies Check-out Now you can • Talk about hobbies, sports and spare time activities. • Give a short presentation. • Make posters and pass on information. • Use comparatives and superlatives. • Modify comparatives and superlatives. Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv