IGCSE/O LEVEL SUPERSTITIONS

Compiled by Ms Ewana Yusop/2012

Speaking: New o level oral format (16% of your total mark)

Procedure: 1) Candidates enter the exam room. Greet the examiner politely. 2) Examiner will give a card 3) Candidates will be given 2-3 minutes to prepare. Candidates are allowed to ask questions but may not take notes. If you are ready, you may indicate to the examiner you want to start. 4) Examiner starts the oral exam.

CULTURE AND SUPERSTITONS

1. Talk for 1-2 minutes about some of the superstitions in your culture

2. Then discuss the following three points with the Examiner to help you develop a conservation - why do superstitions exist in cultures - is it always foolish to believe in superstitions - the belief that superstition should be preserved as it is part of culture

Superstitions Cloze passage Fill in each blank with a suitable word Write each answer in the space provided in the passage

Are you superstitious? Your parents might have (1) __________ with you some beliefs, which are normally based on any reason or knowledge. For example, one common superstition is that it is bad luck to walk under a ladder. A leaning ladder (2) __________ a shape of a triangle with the wall and the ground. Triangles represent the Holy Trinity, and breaking the Trinity by walking through it would put you in league with the devil himself. It is not surprising that leaning ladders were avoided at all (3) __________

Have you (4) __________ preople say Bless you! when someone sneezes? The blessing of those who sneezed started when a great plague fell over Europe. Sufferers would sneeze violently which was a sign that they would (5) __________ die. Indeed not long after, these sufferers would die mysteriously. As a result, The Pope passed a law requiring people to bless the person who sneezes. Also, people who sneezed were expected to (6) __________ their mouths with a cloth or their hand to stop the (7) __________ of the disease but many believed that it was to keep their soul within them. Sneezing into the air would allow the soul to (8) __________ and would lead to death. But when the plague happened, those who sneezed were congratulated in getting (9) __________ of the evil from their bodies. Once the evil had escaped from the sneeze, they would soon get well.

Or have you been told that you should knock on wood for good luck? It was believe that good spirits lived in trees and that by knocking on anything (10) __________ of wood, we could call on these spirits for (11) __________ against bad luck.

For centuries, black cats were associated with bad luck. Perhaps this is because cats have been said to have nine (12) __________ and witches particularly love having black cats with them when creating black magic. Thus, having one cross your path was a (13) __________ of evil spirits.

A less common superstition is that if you drop a (14) __________ such as a knife, spoon, or fork, someone would visit you. This is probably because in the past, travel was dangerous, and it was important to invite travelling strangers into the house and make them feel (15) __________. It is during mealtimes that utensils were most likely to be dropped under the table.

Speaking activity

LOGIC: Look at these superstitions. Decide which are real and which are made up. With your partner(s), try to find the logic behind them. Switch partners and explain your reasons. Vote on the most likely reasons behind the superstitions. Never cut your nails after dark Study English before breakfast Touching wood brings luck Walking under a ladder is unlucky Never eat KFC fries in McDonalds A broken mirror brings bad luck Carrying a rabbits foot for luck Singing in the shower is lucky NOT ME!!: Are you superstitious? Are there numbers you do not like? Are there small routines or rituals you have when taking exams? Do you have lucky charms? Write down your superstitions and discuss them with your partner(s). _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________

Reading Superstition forces airline logo change Predict what the article will be about based on the title 1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the articles headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F): a. An airline changed its logo because it had a big, red 13 in it. T/F b. The airline received a flood of emails from complaining passengers. T / F c. Airline officials were not surprised at how many emails they got. T/F d. Thirteen is the number of African destinations the airline flies to. T / F e. Airline officials have decided to paint 14 dots on their airplanes. T/F f. The number 14 is lucky everywhere in the world. T/F g. A frequent business flyer said superstitions are very logical. T/F h. Brussels Airlines is the result of a merger with Virgin Express. T/F Article Superstition has forced a European airline to change its logo. New Belgian carrier Brussels Airlines had to change its 13-red-dot logo on the tail of all its planes because of a flood of complaints from passengers about the combination of thirteen red balls representing bad luck. This number is unlucky in Western culture and many would-be passengers thought it just

wouldnt do on an airplane. Airline officials were taken aback by the volume of disapproving mail they received. Particularly upset was the original logos designer Ronane Holt. She said the thirteen dots looked just right and had extra significance because the number of dots matched the destinations it flew to in Africa. The design, in the shape of a b, also resembled the pattern of lights on an airport runway as planes taxied before take off. All of the airlines planes now have to go back to their hangars for a paint job. A fourteenth red dot will be added to the top of the b. However, this may not go down well in China, where the number fourteen is unlucky. One-four in Mandarin sounds like the phrase "to want to die". Passengers at Brussels airport were in two minds as to whether or not they thought the fourteen-dot logo would bring better luck. Frequent business flyer Rene Charles said: In this day and age, superstitions are a little silly. There is no logic behind them. However, she did admit that she shared the concerns of other passengers and was happier that the newer logo has an extra dot. Brussels Airlines is the result of a merger between SN Brussels Airlines and Virgin Express. It begins flying, with the fourteen dots, on March 25.

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article: a. flood meaning b. would-be be liked c. taken aback union d. significance potential e. resembled confess f. go down well deluge g. in two minds looked like h. logic undecided i. admit shocked j. merger reason

Listen to this conversation between Lori and Michael.

1. What did Michael say when Lori said her hand was itchy?

2. What do Michael and Lori consult when they wanted to find out more about this superstition?

3. What did Michael find out from Google about the idiom itchy palms?

4. What did Michael find out about the superstition itchy palms?

5. What is Lori planning to do when she goes on vacation?

Vocabulary: From the context of the conversation, what do these words/phrases below mean:

Old Wives Tales

Porter

Acting up

Windfall

Listening Life by Des'ree

Im afraid of the ____, specially when Im in a ____ And theres no-one else around, Ooh, I get the ____. I dont want to see a ___, Its a ____ that I fear most. Id rather have a piece of ___ and watch the _____ news. Life, oh life, oh life, oh life doo, doot doot dooo. Life, oh life, oh life doo, doot dooo. Im a ________ girl, Im the ____ in the world. Never walk under ____, I keep a rabbits tail. Ill take you up on a ____, anytime, anywhere. Name the place Ill be there, ___________, I dont care! Life, oh life, oh life, oh life doo, doot doot dooo. Life, oh life, oh life doo, doot dooo. So after alls ____ and done I know Im not the only one. Life indeed can be fun, if you really want to. Sometimes ______________, Aint as easy as it seems. You wanna _____________, ___________________. Life, oh life, oh life, oh life doo, doot doot dooo. Life, oh life, oh life doo, doot dooo. Life, oh life, oh life, oh life doo, doot doot dooo. Life, oh life, oh life, oh life doo, doot dooo. Doo doot doot dooo. Oh life, oh life.