Arbeitsblatt: Pre-Inter Oral work

1 Benoit Lecomte: The man who swam across the Atlantic Ocean Benoît Lecomte (born in 1967) is French long distance swimmer who was the first man to swim across the Atlantic Ocean in 1998. Benoit did this to raise money for cancer research (1) as tribute to his father who had died from cancer. During his 3,716 mile journey in 73 days, he was followed by support boat that had an electromagnetic field for 25 feet to keep sharks away from the swimmer. He did, however, still encounter sea turtles, dolphins, and jellyfish (2). The journey took him 72 days, with 68 hours spent swimming each day in sessions of about two hours length. He was accompanied by some helpers in boat, where he could rest and eat between each swimming period. Ben swam from Massachusetts, USA to Quiberon, France. He stopped for 1 week in the Azores, Portuguese group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean. (1) Krebsforschung (2) Quallen wikipedia, verändert Sa 2 Nick Bourne: The man who ran all the way through Africa The Runaway report by Lisa Brinkworth photograph by David Dugmore He has left behind comfortable life and career as highflying international model. Now Nick Bourne is on an mission to be the first person to run the length of Africa. Hell need all his power to get there! Nick Bourne was running alone across the Kalahari desert, jogging through the sand in temperatures that were as high as 62C in the sun. He had just crossed the Zambian border into Chobe National Park when he came face to face with giant cobra. It stood up to waist height, just 10cm away from me, he recalls. If it hadnt flipped back into the sand, God knows what would have happened. Bourne also encountered lions and had to hang on to the wing mirror (1) of the Land Rover while running through herd of elephants. Elephants dont mind vehicles, but they do mind people. Fortunately they have poor eyesight, so they thought was part of the truck. (1) Seitenspiegel verändert sa 3 Brad Pitt Born December 18, 1963, in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Pitt grew up in Springfield, Missouri, the oldest of three children in very religious family. His father, Bill Pitt, owned trucking company and his mother, Jane Pitt, was family trainer. Pitt started studying journalism at the University of Missouri. However, the young college student had other quiet plans, the product of childhood love of movies. And then, one day he realized, I can leave. He dropped out of college, packed up his Datsun, and headed West to start an acting career in Los Angeles two months before he would have finished college. In L.A. Pitt took some different jobs. He worked as driver, delivered goods (1) and tried to break into the L.A. acting scene. He joined an acting class went to an audition and got an agent who could manage to organize acting work for him. Thats how his career started. (1) Güter verändert sa 4 Britney Spears Britney Spears was born on December 2nd, 1981 in Kentwood Louisiana. The daughter of Lynne, an elementary school teacher, and Jamie, construction contractor, Spears tried to get job for the Disney Channels Mickey Mouse Club at the age of 8. Producers for the show decided she was too young, but one was impressed enough to help her find an agent in New York. Together with her mother and younger sister, Spears lived in Manhattan for the next several summers, studying at the Professional Performing Arts School. In 1991, she landed part as demonic child in „Ruthless(1), an offBroadway production based on the 1956 horror film, The Bad Seed. At the age of 11, Spears got the job for the MMC and for two seasons, she lived in Orlando, Florida, where the show is filmed. After her run on the MMC, Spears attended high school at home in Louisiana for year, before heading back to New York at the age of 15 to get job Jive Records. That was the beginning of her career. (1) rücksichtslos 5 Marilyn Monroe Probably the most celebrated of all actresses, Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jean Mortenson on June 1st, 1926, in Los Angeles General Hospital. Before her birth, Marilyn father had bought motorcycle and headed north to San Francisco leaving the family in Los Angeles. Marilyn grew up not knowing for sure who her father really was. Her mother, Gladys, had entered into several relationships, further confusing her daughter as to who it was who fathered her. Afterward, Gladys gave Norma Jean (Marilyn) the name of Baker, boyfriend she had before Mortenson. Poverty was constant companion to Gladys and Norma. Gladys, who was extremely attractive and worked for RKO Studios as film cutter, suffered from mental illness and was in and out of mental institutions for the rest of her life, and because of that Norma Jean spent time in foster homes. When she was nine she was placed in an orphanage where she was to stay for the next two years. Upon being released from the orphanage, she went to yet another foster home. In 1942, at the age of 16, Norma Jean married 21yearold aircraft plant worker James Dougherty. The marriage only lasted four years, and they divorced in 1946. By this time Marilyn began to model swimsuits and bleached her hair blonde. Various shots made their way into the public eye, where some were eventually seen by RKO Pictures head Howard Hughes. He offered Marilyn screen test, but an agent suggested that 20th CenturyFox would be the better choice for her, since it was much bigger and more prestigious studio. She was signed to contract at $125 per week for sixmonth period and that was increased by $25 per week at the end of that time when her contract was lengthened. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia changed by T. Sager 6 Miley Cyrus From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia changed by T. Sager Miley Ray Cyrus (born Destiny Hope Cyrus; November 23, 1992) is an American singersongwriter, actress, musician, comedian and author. Cyrus is best known for starring (to be the star of) as the title character in the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana. Following the success of Hannah Montana, she brought out two CDs. Both albums debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200. In 2008, she appeared in the Hannah Montana Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert film. Forbes magazine ranked her #35 on the Celebrity 100 list with earnings of $25 million in 2008. Her rank improved to #29 in 2009. Cyrus was born in Nashville, Tennessee on November 23, 1992 to Leticia Tish (née Finley) and country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. Cyrus has got five brothers and sisters: Trace and Brandi Cyrus who are older than her are Tish children from previous relationship, whom Billy Ray adopted when they were very young. Trace is vocalist and guitarist in an electronic rock band while Brandi has played the guitar for Cyrus concerts. Cyrus also has an older halfbrother, Christopher Cody, from her father previous relationship. And then there are her younger brother, Braison, and her younger sister, Noah, who is also an actress. Cyrus parents named her Destiny Hope because they believed that she would do great things. She was nicknamed Smiley, later shortened to Miley, because she kept smiling as baby. She is of part Cherokee descent. Cyrus attended Heritage Middle School, where she was cheerleader. She currently attends school at Options For Youth and studies with private tutor on the set of her TV show. Cyrus grew up on her parents farm outside of Nashville where she regularly attended The People Church. changed by Sager 7 Zac Sunderland May 30, 2008 California teen Zac Sunderland sets off next month on big adventure. The 16yearold hopes to set record as the youngest person to sail alone around the globe. Sunderland comes from sailing family. His father manages yachts. The family, which includes seven children, spent many long months on cruises, and since he was child, Sunderland has dreamed of sailing around the world, by himself. He bought his boat, The Intrepid, for $6,500. But with the help of his family and some sponsors, he spent much, much more rigging it with sophisticated equipment, including stateoftheart navigation system and satellite phone. Zac intended to set sail out of Marina Del Rey in Los Angeles on Saturday; however, his boat developed engine trouble and the launch has been postponed until June 14. From California, hell head to the Marshall Islands, some 2,000 miles west of Hawaii. That leg of the trip will take him about month. From there, hell keep going, and going. He hopes to return to Marina Del Rey within year and half. Most mothers worry about their teenagers when they go to the mall. But Sunderland mom, Maryanne Sunderland, says she confident her son has good boat, excellent sailing skills and the maturity to stay out of trouble. He better sailor than he is driver, she told NPR Alex Chadwick. I feel safer with him in boat than driving in our car. For his part, Sunderland says he living out dream. Hell selftutor to finish his senior year in high school during the trip, and when he gets back, he says he hopes he can make career as an adventurer. Ill have plenty of time to think about it during my trip, he says. Well see how it works out. You never know where life going to take you. You can follow Sunderland sailing adventure at his Web site, Zac Sunderland.com. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia changed by T. Sager and Zac Sunderland.com 8 Nelson Mandela Nelson Mandela was born on 18 July 1918. While he was studying at university Nelson Mandela was realizing more and more that the South African Society was an unjust system. The majority of Black South Africans had little opportunities either Economic or Political. Mandela started working as politician at university. He and his friend Oliver Tambo organised student strike. But in 1952 he passed his exams and became lawyer (Rechtsanwalt). And later he and Tambo opened the first law office for black people. He was member of the African National Congress and believed in actions to make better world for black people. Actions could be illegal too – he thought that for example sabotage was good thing to do. In 1960 the South African Police massacred 63 black protestors. And from that date on everything was changing. The world started to be against the South African regime. Mandela and the ANC were forbidden and Mandela said that guns were also possible way to fight for your right. So in 1962 Mandela got arrested and put into prison where he always stood straight for his principles and didnt give in when the authorities offered him deal. He should say South Africa was okay the way it was and in return he would get release ticket. Anyway – the world was watching South Africa very closely at that time and in 1990 there came the day of Mandela freedom. It was an emotional moment watched by millions of people around the globe. On 10th May 1994 Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as the first democratically elected State President of South Africa and he was President until June 1999. He won the trust (das Vertrauen) of the White African population. The ANC had problems to improve the living standards of the black population. This was made more difficult by the HIV epidemic, which continues to cause big problems. (Nelson Mandela recently lost his eldest son to this disease and Mandela has worked hard to campaign on this issue.) In 1993 Nelson Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with F.W. De Klerk (simplified by Sager) 9 Frederik Willem de Klerk Frederik Willem de Klerk was born in Johannesburg on March 18, 1936. He is the son of Senator Jan de Klerk, leading politician, who became minister in the South African government. His brother Willem is liberal newspaperman and one of the founders of the Democratic Party. F.W. de Klerk finished his exams in 1958 and from that year on he was lawyer (Rechtsanwalt). In 1969, he married Marike Willemse, with whom he has two sons and daughter. De Klerk was offered professorship of administrative law at Potchefstroom in 1972 but he didnt want to work as professor because he had been elected to Parliament. In 1978, F.W. de Klerk became Minister of Posts and Telecommunications and Social Welfare and Pensions. Under Prime Minister P.W. Botha, he got lots of different ministerial posts. On December 1, 1986, he became the leader of the House of Assembly. As Minister of National Education, F.W. de Klerk was supporter of segregated ( Befürworter für rassengetrennte Universitäten) universities, and as leader of the National Party in Transvaal, he was not known to advocate reform. In February 1989, de Klerk was elected leader of the National Party and in September 1989 he was elected State President. In his first speech after assuming the party leadership he called for nonracist South Africa and for negotiations (Verhandlungen) about the country future. He lifted the ban on the ANC and released Nelson Mandela. He brought apartheid to an end and opened the way for the drafting (Entwurf) of new constitution (Verfassung) for the country based on the principle of one person, one vote. simplified by Sager 10 Roger Federer Birthdate: August 8, 1981 Roger Federer The Beginning Roger Federer began playing tennis when he was eight years old. By the time he was ten, people were already talking about Roger sweet touch with the racket and his competitive attitude. Roger would sometimes beat other kids his age so badly they would start crying and Roger would often cry and smash rackets himself if he ever lost match. Roger left home when he was 13 to train at toprated tennis academy in Switzerland and was the number one ranked junior player in the world by the time he was 16. Roger Federer The Swiss Master In 1998, Roger Federer began playing on the professional tennis circuit. He won his first ATP tournament in Milan in 2001 and quickly worked his way up the men world tennis rankings. In 2003, he won six tournments including his first Grand Slam tournament by defeating Mark Philippoussis at Wimbledon. By 2004, Federer was the number one ranked tennis player on the planet and won three of the four Grand Slam tournaments that year including Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open. Federer has since gone onto win twelve more Grand Slam titles, bringing his grand total up to 13. Roger has won the US Open five times and the Aussie Open, three times. The only major tournament that he has not won is the French Open in Paris. Roger Federer The Best Ever? Roger Federer professional tennis career is still quite young, but some are predicting he could beat Pete Sampras record of 14 Grand Slam tennis titles in 2009. Federer is an extremely intelligent tennis player who known for his dominating forehand and rarely making mistakes on the court. He has already won 13 Grand Slam titles and his smart, consistent play means hell be favorite to win several more before his career is over. Roger Federer Did You Know? Roger Federer speaks three languages English, German and French. Roger Federer is one of the few professional tennis players in the world that does not have fulltime coach. Roger Federer favorite music is anything by AC/DC or Lenny Kravitz. In 2007, Roger Federer became the first living Swiss person to be featured on Swiss stamp. The postage picture features Roger holding the Wimbledon trophy. 11 Ray Charles Short Biography of Ray Charles Brought up with rough childhood, Ray Charles was blinded at the age of seven because of an accident while trying to save his brother from drowning. While this may have not been the cause of his blindness, the unfortunate event plagued Ray for the rest of his life. However, being most gifted musician and singer, even while attending the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, Ray was able to practice music all the time and even composed music for his classmates. His parents both died tragically, when Ray was young. In his latter teens, he decided to leave Florida and head to Seattle, where he wanted to secure musical gigs to make living. While there, he was able to get some recording sessions with Swingtime Records, where he recorded his hits, Confession Blues. In 1952, he followed by signing with the much larger Atlantic Records, who would market his talent across the full U.S. In the mid1950s, Ray Charles saw boundless success while recording singles. Here, he recorded such hits as Got Woman and Lonely Avenue. His fame grew even more when he began to perform live, offering the audience new takes on old favorites and even singing songs prior to their actual release date. He soon topped the charts with The Night Time is the Right Time. Wanting artistic control over his music, Ray Charles moved to ABC records and performed an enchanting America the Beautiful. In his latter career, Charles saw the advantages of hopping onto the pop music arena and from thereon became internationally known for his appearances in both TV and film. biography of Ray Charles referred to as biopic was released in 2004. Actor Jamie Foxx depicts Ray Charles remarkable life and career. His portrayal won him an Academy Award for his role. Ray Charles was taken into Police custody in 1965 after investigators found heroin in his possession. While that was repeated offense, he made deal that he would join rehabilitation clinic. Upon his release, he had kicked the habit. Following, his career was both up and down, but he remained in the publics eye by performing concerts all over the U.S. In The Blues Brothers, Ray Charles makes cameo and sings on film. With the films popularity, people began searching for more types of soul music. Although he had personal life that was up and down, along with musical career that spanned decades, Ray Charles became an iconic representative of American mainstream music 12 Rihanna [ɹi: ɑ nə] Biography Rihanna was born on February 20, 1988, in county in Barbados called St. Michael. She lived the life of normal island girl going to Combermere, top school like the Hellamatt in Wildegg. Rihanna won beauty contest and performed Mariah Carey Hero in school talent show. Her life changed forever when one of her friends introduced her to Evan Rodgers, producer from New York who was in Barbados on holiday with his wife, who is native. Rodgers arranged to go to New York for her to meet JayZ, CEO of Def Jam Records. JayZ heard her sing and knew she was going to be big and for more than just one song. She was 16 when she was signed to Def Jam. The Chris Brown Case Rihanna told the police that her boyfriend and fellow R&B star Chris Brown had said he was going to kill her. He had taken her by the throat and pressed until she got unconscious. That what a source close to the investigation is telling at least. The same source said Rihanna had black eye and hand prints on her arms when she was discovered by the police in Brown car Sunday night. The Chris Brown case brought up big discussion about violence between men and women. Sources: IMDb Mini Biography By: Changed by T. Sager 13 Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; born 21 April 1926) is the queen over sixteen independent states known as the Commonwealth: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. Elizabeth became Queen after the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952. Public opinion and character Because Elizabeth rarely gives interviews, her personal feelings and her character stay distant. As monarch, Elizabeth has never given her personal political opinions to the public. She has deep sense of religious and civic duty (Pflicht), and is seen as very serious person. She is known for her conservative fashions. She wears mostly solidcolour overcoats and decorative hats, which allow her to be seen easily in crowd. Her hobbies are horse racing, photography and dogs. In the 1950s, as young woman at the start of her reign, Elizabeth was seen as glamorous fairytale Queen (Märchenkönigin). After World War II, it was time of hope, period of progress new Elizabethan age. In the late 1960s, more modern image of monarchy was created by the television documentary Royal Family, and by televising the ceremony as Prince Charles became the Prince of Wales. In the 1980s public criticism of the royal family became stronger, as the personal and working lives of Elizabeth children were more and more criticized by the media. Elizabeth popularity sank to low point in the 1990s; under pressure from public opinion she began to pay income tax for the first time, and Buckingham Palace was opened to the public. The death of Diana, Princess of Wales marked the Royal Family worst point of popularity. But with her seriousness and her antiegoism she could repair the reputation. As her Golden Jubilee year began (2002), the media speculated whether it would be success or failure. The year began tragic with the death of Elizabeth sister and mother, but million people attended each day of the threeday main Jubilee celebration in London. The positive feelings shown by the public for Elizabeth were stronger than many journalists had predicted. Opinion Polls in 2006 showed strong support for Elizabeth; the majority of respondents wanted her to stay on the throne until her death, and many felt that she had become an institution in herself. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia changed by T. Sager 14 Lady Diana Lady Diana Frances Spencer, (Diana Frances MountbattenWindsor, née Spencer) (July 1, 1961– August 31, 1997) was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales. From her marriage in 1981 to her divorce in 1996 she was styled Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales Diana was often called Princess Diana by the media and the public, but she did not possess such title and was not personally princess, point Diana herself very often made to people who called her princess. Diana, Princess of Wales was number one public figure because she cared about people with problems. But this friendliness stood in opposite to her life as married woman. She had lot of problems with Charles. She told her friends about her problems and those friends told the press. She also had several love affairs which darkened her godlike picture in public bit. Although most of the people believed that Charles was the bad guy and Dianas reactions were just normal. From the time of her engagement to the Prince of Wales in 1981 until her death in car accident in 1997, the Princess was the most famous woman in the world: fashion icon, an image of feminine beauty, admired and imitated for her charity work. During her lifetime, she was often referred to as the most photographed person in the world. To her admirers, the Princess of Wales was role model after her death, there were even calls for her to be nominated for sainthood (Heiligsprechung). More critical voices saw her life as an example of how person need for public admiration can destroy her personality. Changed by T. Sager 15 Usain Bolt Bolt expresses love for dancing and his character is frequently described as laidback and relaxed. He is currently dating Mizicann Evans: the pair first became friends at track meet aged 13, and became couple in 2004. The first sport to interest him was cricket and he said if he was not sprinter he would be fast bowler instead. As child he was supporter of The Pakistani Cricket Team. Bolt has also expressed his love for football and is fan of Manchester United. Following race in Manchester, he met the team at their training ground and offered Portuguese national Cristiano Ronaldo some sprinting advice. After winning the 200m title in the 2002 World Junior Championships in Kingston, Jamaica, Bolt signed sponsorship deal with Puma. To promote Bolt chase for Olympic glory in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, Puma released series of videos including Bolt thenworldrecordsetting run in Icahn Stadium and his Olympic preparations. After his world record breaking run in New York City, which followed massive thunderstorm, the press, nicknamed him Lightning Bolt and the Bolt from the blue. During the Beijing 2008 100 final, Bolt wore golden Puma Complete Theseus spikes that had Beijing 100 Gold written across them. During the World Championships in Berlin he ran 100m in 9.58 seconds. He only needed 41 steps to run this fabulous time! – His 19.19 seconds for the 200m were an absolute sensation, too. Wikipedia – Changed by T.Sager 16 Serena Williams An Athlete, an Icon Serena Williams embodies style, power, beauty and courage. Like numerous Alist celebrities, Serena is recognized only if people hear her first name. Only 27, Serena has become one of the game greatest alltime players. Her remarkable tennis skills have skyrocketed her to fame, but only her unique charm and drive could explain her success outside of tennis in film, television, fashion and philanthropy. Serena has high hopes to continue her career in very successful manner. Her tennis ability combined with her off court activity makes her one of the most recognizable names and faces in the world an icon. Serena was born on September 26th, 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan, to Richard Williams and Oracene Price. While still child, the family moved to Compton, California where she began playing tennis at the age of four. At nine, Serena and her family moved to West Palm Beach, Florida. Since that time, she has become one of the most dominant figures in tennis. Her parents have always been very ambitious about their daughters. In fact they wanted Serena and Venus to be the best female tennis players in the world. So they pushed the two girls and made them work very hard. The work has brought fruit. Not only Serena is very powerful, her sister Venus is top ten player, too. In fact the two Williams sisters have won 18 grand slam titles by now and the prize money is going up towards 50 million. www.serenawilliams.com/bio.php changed by Sager 17 Neneh Cherry Cherry was born as Neneh Marianne Karlsson, to Sierra Leonean father, Amahdu Jah (a drummer) and an English artist mother, Monica Karlsson, known as Moki Cherry. Her best known brother is the singer EagleEye Cherry. Her stepfather Don Cherry world known trumpet player raised her since birth so Neneh took his name on. Cherry lived the first years of her life in the small English town Pudsey. Regarding her childhood, Cherry said: My mother is English and she an artist. She an amazing lady. When was baby and she was going to design school, she used to take me along in basket! Soon Mokie met Don and the family accompanied him on his tours through Europe and North America. In the early 1970s the Cherry family nestled into small apartment on East 9th Street in New York City. Moki still lives in New York Early days in London Cherry dropped out of school at 14 and moved to London, where she joined the punk rock band The Cherries. She was close friends/housemates with Ari Up and worked centre of punk culture. Cherry moved through several bands, she also worked as DJ, playing early rap music on pirate radio station. She had two smash hits: the album „raw like sushi and the song „seven seconds away. Wikipedia – worked out by Sager 18 Lady Gaga When Lady Gaga was little girl, she would sing along on her mini plastic tape recorder to Michael Jackson and Cyndi Lauper hits and get tumbled in the air in daddys arms to the sounds of the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. The child would dance around the table at fancy Upper West Side restaurants using the breadsticks as baton. Its no wonder that little girl from good Italian New York family, turned into the exhibitionist, multi talented singersongwriter with flair for theatrics that she is today: Lady Gaga. was always an entertainer. was ham as little girl and Im ham today, says Lady Gaga, 23, who made name for herself with the infectious dancepop party song Beautiful Dirty Rich, and wild, theatrical, and often tongueincheek shock art performances where Gaga – who designs and makes many of her stage outfits would strip down to her handcrafted hot pants and bikini top, light cans of hairspray on fire, and strike pose as disco ball lowered from the ceiling to the orchestral sounds of Clockwork Orange. always loved rock and pop and theater. When discovered Queen and David Bowie is when it really came together for me and realized could do all three, says Gaga, who nicked her name from Queens song Radio Gaga. Gaga is the girl who at age 4 learned piano by ear. By age 13, she had written her first piano ballad. At 14, she played open mike nights at clubs. At the age of 17, she was one of 20 kids in the world to get early admission to Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. Signed by her 20th birthday and writing songs for other artists (such as the Pussycat Dolls) before her debut album was even released, Lady Gaga has earned the right to reach for the sky. My goal as an artist is to funnel pop record to world in very interesting way, says Gaga, who wrote all of her lyrics, all of her melodies, and played most of the synth work on her album, The Fame. almost want to trick people into hanging with something that is really cool with pop song. Its almost like the spoonful of sugar and Im the medicine. www.ladygaga.com – simplified and cut down by T. Sager.