Table of contents for N. 490 in Speak Up Italia

EXERCISES IN Work It Out! Nature is essential for our physical and mental wellbeing1. What's more, research shows that without a physical connection to the natural world, we're less likely2 to care about it or act to protect it. Across Europe, especially Northern Europe, many countries have a legal ‘freedom to roam3'; this means that the public have the right to wander around4 their countryside and can freely enjoy their natural environment, as long as their activities are non-commercial. NOT ALLOWED But in Britain the public has a very limited right to access land. Only about eight per cent of England and Wales, much of it remote and very little of it around urban areas, are open access. In the southeastern county of Kent, for example, only 0.6 per cent…

“I always had a repulsive sort of need to be something more than human. I felt very, very puny12 as a human. I thought, ‘Fuck that. I want to be a superman'” David Bowie is one of the most influential figures in the history of modern music, famous for his constantly-changing image and musical style. Known as the Chameleon of Rock, he astonished1 Britain in the 1970s, his most important decade, with his theatrical character Ziggy Stardust2, one of the most iconic creations in pop history, and the vehicle for some of his most famous songs. MAKING MUSICAL HISTORY Born David Robert Jones in Brixton, South London in 1947, David Bowie's career began in 1969, with the hit single Space Oddity3, about an astronaut, Major Tom, marooned4 in space. He…

Whiskey is one of Ireland's primary exports, with an estimated value of over €1 billion per year. Since its creation in the 12th century, this amber-coloured liquor has been a prominent player in Irish life and culture, but recently, it has been experiencing a renaissance. RISE AND DECLINE Irish whiskey experienced its golden era between the 18th and 19th centuries, when it became one of the best-known distilled spirits in the world. Ireland was then part of the British Empire, and Irish whiskey was sold throughout its dominions, especially across the ocean to the young nation of the United States, which became one of its biggest markets. However, two events dealt a major blow1 to Irish whiskey sales globally: the rise of blended2 Scotch whisky in the late 19th century,…

SCAN, READ & LISTEN 12 UPPER INTERMEDIATE B2 GLOSSARY 1 to rearrange: riorganizzare 2 cannot fail to be noticed: è impossibile non accorgersene 3 gilded: dorato 4 mantlepiece: mensola del camino 5 gold trim: rifiniture dorate 6 gold-framed portraits: ritratti con cornici dorate 7 gaudy: pacchiano 8 makeover: ristrutturazione, riforma 9 twenty-four-carat: di 24 carati 10 decals: motivi ornamentali 11 to drape: drappeggiare 12 to deck out: adornare 13 against a marble backdrop: su uno sfondo di marmo 14 to pave over: pavimentare 15 lawn furniture: mobili da giardino 16 striped parasols: ombrelloni a righe 17 lawmakers: legislatori 18 ballroom: sala da ballo 19 to tear down: demolire 20 despite: nonostante 21 to raise concerns: suscitare preoccupazioni 22 to draw criticism: sollevare critiche 23 spokesperson: portavoce 24 issue: problema 25 cramped space: spazio ristretto 26 term: mandato EXERCISES IN Work It Out! The White House changes with each administration. The decoration and use of the…

Lucy Sante is a Belgian-born American writer and photographer who emigrated to New Jersey in the early 1960s. As a child, she only spoke French, but ended up excelling in English to the point that she taught essay writing1 at New York's Bard College for nearly twenty-five years. A frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books, Sante's own publications include a biography of New York City from the early 19th to the 20th century called Low Life: Lures2 and Snares3 of Old New York (1991); a collection of photographs of suicides and homicide victims from 1914 to 1918 called Evidence (1992) and a book of essays called Kill All Your Darlings4: Pieces 1990-2005 (2007). In 2002, the writer worked as a historical consultant on Martin Scorsese's film Gangs of New…

Good morning! I'm here for my appraisal. Hi, Tom. Please sit down while I review your self-assessment form. Hmmm. You've had a busy1 year! Yes, I have. My line manager has told you all about it, right? She has. She also said our policy2 of continuous feedback has helped to keep your progress on track. It's been really useful with my personal development goals, especially time management3. Ah, yes. She says you've really done well organising your schedule4. Thanks! I also did some training to boost my negotiation techniques. And look what happened! You closed the biggest deal in our history. Well, it was a team effort5. I'm really proud of how we worked together on that. Teamwork is a critical soft skill, not only for you, but also for…

EXERCISES IN Work It Out! SCAN, READ & LISTEN 01 LOWER INTERMEDIATE B1 GLOSSARY 1 kind: gentile 2 flattering: lusinghiero 3 at all: per niente, affatto 4 unaware: inconsapevole 5 root: radice 6 senseless: insensata 7 foolish: sciocco 8 the late 1300s: fine del XIV secolo 9 finely dressed: elegante, ben vestito 10 fussy: esigente 11 behaviour: comportamento 12 range: gamma, varietà 13 wanton: dissoluto 14 looks: aspetto 15 to take on: acquisire 16 compliment: complimento 17 to mock: burlarsi 18 overuse: abuso 19 indeed: davvero 20 it does for everything: va bene per tutto 21 commendation: elogio 22 to comprise: comprendere The word ‘nice’ has a surprising history and it's a perfect example of how words can dramatically change meaning over time. Today we use ‘nice’ to mean that something or someone is ‘pleasant', ‘attractive', ‘pretty’ or ‘kind1', but its original meanings weren't flattering2 at all3. NOT KNOWING It all…

Zohran Kwame Mamdani, the new mayor of New York City, is a living example of the American dream. Born in Uganda to Indian parents, the family lived in South Africa for three years before moving to New York City when Zohran was seven. On 1 January 2026 he will not only become the mayor of arguably1 the most iconic and globally significant city in the world but, at the age of thirty-five, he will be its youngest mayor since 1889. He will also be the first Muslim and first African-born American to hold the post2. FAMILY TIES Mamdani's mother, Mira Nair, is an Academy Award-nominated3 film director. His father, Mahmood, is a college professor and author who moved to the Ugandan capital Kampala with his family as a child, as…

Among the most influential musicians ever, English singer David Bowie was a musical magpie1, taking inspiration from a wide range2 of genres. His eclectic career spanned3 five decades and incorporated everything from folk, glam rock, R&B, disco and pop to drum'n'bass and jazz. He was an avid reader and explored many recurring themes in his lyrics, creating multiple personas4. Outer Space was an early motif with his first hit Space Oddity and his alter ego Ziggy Stardust, and later again in 1980's Ashes to Ashes5. Bowie's half-brother Terry suffered from schizophrenia and therefore many of Bowie's songs deal with isolation and alienation. 1. Space Oddity (1969) Bowie's first chart success coincided with the 1969 Moon landings6. A psychedelic folk tale of an ill-fated7 astronaut, it begins with a countdown while…

EXERCISES IN Work It Out! Prince Andrew is to be stripped1 of his royal titles and will move out2 of his home at the Royal Lodge3 in Windsor, Buckingham Palace has announced. King Charles has initiated a “formal process to remove4 the style5, titles and honours of Prince Andrew,” who will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, the Palace said. It is understood the King had the support of the Prince of Wales in the decision and Andrew did not object to the process. The decision follows anxiety within the royal household6 about the reputational risk to the monarchy caused by continual headlines concerning Andrew's friendship with the late7 child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and allegations8 of sexual assault against him by one of Epstein's victims, Virginia Giuffre. In October,…

Born in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1940, John Maxwell Coetzee is one of the world's most acclaimed English-language authors. Novelist, essayist, linguist and translator, his work explores social, political and moral issues. Waiting for the Barbarians was published in 1980 during Apartheid. It is set in a distant outpost1 of an unnamed empire where citizens live in fear of an invasion by “barbarians.” This land represents South Africa in a state of emergency due to2 widespread internal unrest3 and popular resistance. JUSTICE The story is protagonised and narrated by the ageing Magistrate, who lives a comfortable life dispensing justice in a hot, dusty4 frontier settlement5. One day, Colonel Joll and his men arrive from the empire's dreaded6 Third Bureau7. The Magistrate fears Joll, who believes in the efficacy of…

EXERCISES IN Work It Out! HOW DO YOU SAY…? As phony as a three-dollar bill. Falso come una banconota da due euro. In a sense, Tilly Norwood is like many other aspiring actors. She is young, beautiful, and the star of a new comedy sketch that has gone viral on YouTube. She has, however, one distinctive characteristic: she isn't human. Tilly is an AI-generated character and now she is at the centre of controversy in Hollywood, where many fear AI actors will soon replace1 humans in the film and TV industry. HALF A MILLION VIEWS “You'll either get it or pretend2 you don't. I'm a creation.” This is the tagline3 on Tilly Norwood's Instagram account, which has over sixty thousand followers. Of course, the tagline wasn't written by Tilly but…

SPEECH SCAN, READ & LISTEN 05 ADVANCED C1 GLOSSARY 1 to shake the foundations: scuotere le fondamenta 2 at the forefront: in prima linea 3 to hail: acclamare, elogiare 4 shift: cambiamento, svolta 5 rebuke: rimprovero 6 to keep running: mantenere in funzione 7 bruised: malridotte, contuse 8 calloused: callosi 9 handlebars: manubri 10 knuckles: nocche 11 scarred: con cicatrici 12 to dare: osare 13 against all odds: contro ogni previsione 14 to grasp: afferrare 15 to topple: spodestare 16 to usher in: inaugurare 17 bodega: negozio di alimentari (termine tipico di New York) 18 line cooks: aiuto cuochi 19 rule: dominio 20 tryst: incontro 21 eve: vigilia 22 to step out: uscire 23 utterance: voce, parola 24 bold: audace 25 to tackle: contrastare 26 tenants: inquilini 27 pointed: pungente 28 to vow: giurare 29 to flee: fuggire 30 to crave: desiderare 31 to give rise to: dare origine a 32 tax breaks: agevolazioni fiscali 33 to stand alongside: stare accanto a 34…

EXERCISES IN Work It Out! On a recent morning, I knocked on the front door of a handsome two-story home in Redwood City, California. Within seconds, the door was opened by a faceless robot dressed in a beige bodysuit that clung tight1 to its trim waist2 and long legs. This svelte humanoid greeted me with what seemed to be a Scandinavian accent, and I offered to shake hands. As our palms met, it said: “I have a firm grip3.” When the home's owner, a Norwegian engineer named Bernt Børnich, asked for some bottled water, the robot turned, walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator with one hand. Artificial intelligence is already driving cars, writing essays and writing computer code. Now humanoids, machines built to look like humans and powered…

SCAN, READ & LISTEN 11 UPPER INTERMEDIATE B2 GLOSSARY 1 to conceal: nascondere 2 shaped: a forma di 3 seal: sigillo 4 to oversee: supervisionare 5 convenience: comodità 6 layout: disposizione 7 to craft: realizzare 8 timbers: travi di legno 9 HMS: nave di Sua Maestà (Her/His Majesty's Ship) 10 rumour has it: si dice che 11 to gather: riunirsi 12 to greet: salutare 13 seascape: paesaggi marini 14 to display: esporre 15 to blend: mischiare 16 gilded: dorati 17 cherubs: cherubini 18 gold-plated: placcati in oro We've seen it countless times in films and on television, but how much do we really know about the Oval Office, the US president's official place of work? This elliptical room in the White House has a rich history and conceals1 some surprising secrets. Although a US president has resided in the White House since 1800, the Oval Office wasn't…

Major world events always change the language we use. The digital revolution provided many new words related to technology. In the near future, confronting the challenges of climate change marks a huge transformation in our societies, as we transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies. Meanwhile, social or cultural transition looks forward to more open and fairer1 societies. In all cases, while various forces of transition are under way2, a flood3 of new terminology accompanies them. SIMPLY SUSTAINABLE ‘Sustainable’ is an adjective that originally meant “[something] that can be maintained at a certain rate4 or level”. Nowadays, we associate the word with the environment and sustainable development, meaning economic or industrial development that does not deplete5 natural resources. Similarly, in the past a person described as ‘green’ was considered ‘ingenuous’…

SCAN, READ & LISTEN 17 LOWER INTERMEDIATE B1 GLOSSARY 1 to face: affrontare 2 CEO: amministratrice delegata (chief executive officer) 3 to roll your eyes: alzare gli occhi al cielo 4 self-aware: consapevoli di sé 5 Gran: nonna 6 sentient beings: esseri senzienti 7 to dispose: disfarsi 8 to dump: buttare 9 landfills: discariche 10 grand: splendida 11 to improve: migliorare 12 to rebound: riprendersi 13 confident: sicura 14 in the guise of: nei panni di 15 to release: lanciare 16 closure: voltare pagina 17 whatever: vabbè, come vuoi 18 argument: litigio 19 empty milk carton: cartone del latte vuoto 20 what's the big deal?: qual è il problema? 21 to argue: discutere 22 amusing: divertente 23 besides: inoltre 24 past tense: tempo passato 25 flaw: difetto 26 to harm: fare male 27 fault: colpa Lexy watched as ten thousand new DomBots V27 came to life on the factory floor of XpertAI. They were facing1 ten…