THE LOCKED ROOM BY PAUL AUSTER

It seems to me now that Fanshawe was always there. He is the place where everything begins for me, and without him I would hardly know who 1 am. We met before we could talk, babies crawling through the grass in diapers, and by the time we were seven we had pricked our fingers with pins and made ourselves blood brothers for life. Whenever I think of my childhood now, I see Fanshawe. He was the one who was with me, the
one who shared my thoughts, the one I saw whenever I looked up from myself.
But that was a long time ago. We grew up, went off to different places, drifted apart. None of that is very strange, I think. Our lives carry us along in ways we cannot control, and almost nothing stays with us. It dies when we do, and death is something that happens to us every day.
Seven years ago this November, I received a letter from a woman named Sophie Fanshawe. "You don't know me, " the letter began, "and I apologize for writing to you like this out of the blue. But things have happened, and under the circumstances I don't have much choice. "It turned out that she was Fanshawe's wife. She knew that I had grown up with her husband, and she also knew that I lived in New York, since she had read many of the articles I had published in magazines.
The explanation came in the second paragraph, very bluntly, without any preamble. Fanshawe had disappeared, she wrote, and it was more than six months since she had last seen him. Not a word in all that time, not the slightest clue as to where he might be. The police had found no trace of him, and the private detective she hired to look for him had come up empty-handed. Nothing was sure, but the facts seemed to speak for
themselves: Fanshawe was probably dead; it was pointless to think he would be coming back. In the light of all this, there was something important she needed to discuss with me, and she wondered if I would agree to see her.
This letter caused a series of little shocks in me. There was too much information to absorb all at once; too many forces were pulling me in different directions. Out of nowhere, Fanshawe had suddenly reappeared in my life. But no sooner was his name mentioned than he had vanished again. He was married, he had been living in New York - and I knew nothing about him any more. Selfishly, I felt hurt that he had not bothered
to get in touch with me. A phone call, a post card, a drink to catch up on old times - it would not have been difficult to arrange. But the fault was equally my own. I knew where Fanshawe's mother lived, and if Ihad wanted to find him, I could easily have asked her. The fact was that I had let go of Fanshawe. His life had stopped the moment we went our separate ways, and he belonged to the past for me now, not to the present. He was a ghost I carried around inside me, a prehistoric figment, a thing that was no longer real. I tried to remember the last time I had seen him, but nothing was clear. My mind wandered for several minutes and then stopped short, fixing on the day his father died. We were in high
school then and could not have been more than seventeen years old.
I called Sophie Fanshawe and told her I would be glad to see her whenever it was convenient. We decided on the following day, and she sounded grateful, even though I explained to her that I had not heard from Fanshawe and had no idea where he was.

Breve esposizione in lingua

1 A. Imagine the conversation between the narrator and Sophie Fanshawe when they meet on the next day.
Breve risposta in lingua
1 B. Who is the narrator?
2 B. Why does his childhood friend's wife write him a letter?
3 B. Describe and explain the narrator's mixed feelings when he receives Sophie Fanshawe's letter. 4 B.
Quote the key sentences indicating the important place Fanshawe had in the narrator's childhood. 5 B.
Explain the following expression: 'out of the blue".
 

SUMMERHILL BY A.S. NEILL

This is a story of a modern school - Summerhill. Summerhill began as an experimental school. It is no longer such; it is now a demonstration school, for it demonstrates that freedom works.
When my first wife and I began the school, we had one main idea: to make the school fit the child - instead of making the child fit the school.
Obviously, a school that makes active children sit at desks studying mostly useless subjects is a bad school. It is a good school only for those who believe in such a school, for those uncreative citizens who want docile, uncreative children who will fit into a civilization whose standard of success is money.
I had taught in ordinary schools for many years. I knew the other way well. I knew it was all wrong. It was wrong because it was based on an adult conception of what a child should be and of how a child should learn. Well, we set out to make a school in which we should allow children freedom to be themselves. In order to do this, we had to renounce all discipline, all direction, all suggestion, all moral training, all religious
instruction. We have been called brave, but it did not require courage. All it required was what we had - a complete belief in the child as a good, not an evil, being. My view is that a child is innately wise and realistic. If left to himself without adult suggestion of any kind, he will develop as far as he is capable of developing. Logically, Summerhill is a place in which people who have the innate ability and wish to be scholars will be scholars; while those who are only fit to sweep the streets will sweep the streets. But we have not produced a street cleaner so far. Nor do I write this snobbishly, for I would rather see a school produce a happy street cleaner than a neurotic scholar.
What is Summerhill like? ...... Well, for one thing, lessons are optional. Children can go to them or stay away from them - for years if
they want to. There is a timetable - but only for the teachers. The children have classes usually according to their age, but sometimes according to their interests. We have no new methods of teaching, because we do not consider that teaching in itself matters very much. Whether a school has or has not a special method for teaching long division is of no significance, for long division is of no importance except to those who want to learn it. And the child who wants to learn long division will learn it no matter how it is taught. Summerhill is possibly the happiest school in the world. We have no truants and seldom a case of homesickness. We very rarely have fights-quarrels, of course, but seldom have I seen a stand-up fight like
the ones we used to have as boys. I seldom hear a child cry, because children when free have much less hate to express than children who are downtrodden. Hate breeds hate, and love breeds love. Love means approving of children, and that is essential in any school. You can't be on the side of children if you pun¬ish them and storm at them. Summerhill is a school in which the child knows that he is approved of.
The function of the child is to live his own life - not the life that his anxious parents think he should live, nor a life according to the purpose of the educator who thinks he knows what is best. All this interference and guidance on the part of adults only produces a generation of robots.
In Summerhill, everyone has equal rights. No one is allowed to walk on my grand piano, and I am not allowed to borrow a boy's cycle without his permission. At a General School Meeting, the vote of a child of six counts for as much as my vote does.
But, says the knowing one, in practice of course the voices of the grownups count. Doesn't the child of six wait to see how you vote before he raises his hand? I wish he sometimes would, for too many of my proposals are beaten. Free children are not easily influenced; the absence of fear accounts for this phen¬omenon. Indeed, the absence of fear is the finest thing that can happen to a child.

Breve esposizione in lingua

1 A. Which of Neill's opinions do you agree with? Explain why.
Breve risposta in lingua

I B. What is the key word that lies at the basis of Neill's philosophy of education? 2 B. What is Neill's
opinion about traditional education? 3 B. Why can we define Summerhill the happiest school in the world? 4
B. Describe how decisions are made at Summerhill school. 5 B. Read the last sentence of the extract again
and explain what it means.
 

WORLD GOVERNMENTS SHOULD CONDUCT SERIOUS CAMPAIGNS AGAINST SMOKING

If you smoke and you still don't believe that there's a definite link between smoking and bronchial trou¬bles, heart disease and lung cancer, then you are certainly deceiving yourself. No one will accuse you of hypocrisy. Let us just say that you are suffering from a bad case of wishful thinking. This needn't make you too uncomfortable because you are in good company. Whenever the subject of smoking and health is raised, the government of most countries hear evil, see evil and smell evil. Admittedly, a few governments have taken timid measures. In Britain, for instance, cigarette advertising has been banned on television.
The conscience of the nation is appeased, while the population continues to puff its way to smoky, can¬cerous death. You don't have to look very far to find out why the official reactions to medical findings have been so luke-warm. The answer is simply money. Tobacco is a wonderful commodity to tax. It's almost like a tax revenue alone, the government of Britain collects enough from smokers to pay for its entire educational
facilities. This is surely the most short-sighted policy you could imagine. While money is eagerly collected in vast sums with one hand, it is paid out in increasingly vaster sums with the other. Enormous amounts are spent on cancer research and on efforts to cure people suffering from the disease. Countless valuable lives are lost. In the long run, there is no doubt that everybody would be much better-off if smoking were banned altogether.
Of course, we are not ready for such drastic action. But if the governments of the world were honestly concerned about the welfare of their peoples, you'd think they'd conduct aggressive anti-smoking campaigns. Far from it! The tobacco industry is allowed to spend staggering sums on advertising. Its advertising is as insidious as it's dishonest. We are never shown pictures of real smokers coughing up their lungs early in the morning. That would never do. The advertising always depict virile, clean-shaven young men. They suggest it's manly to smoke, even positively healthy! Smoking is associated with the great open-air life, with beautiful girls, true love and togetherness. What utter nonsense!
For start, governments could begin by banning all cigarette and tobacco advertising and should then conduct anti-smoking advertising campaigns of their own. Smoking should be banned in all public places like theatres, cinemas and restaurants. Great efforts should be made to inform young people especially of the dire consequences of taking up the habit. A horrific warning-say, a picture of a death's head-should be included in every packet of cigarettes that is sold. As individuals we are certainly weak, but if goverments acted honestly and courageously, they could protect us from ourselves.

Breve esposizione in lingua

I A. Supposing you could decide how much tax to charge on a packet of cigarettes, what would you do? Why?


Breve risposta in lingua

I B. Why are most governments so reluctant to conduct anti-smoking campaigns?
2 B. What kind of measures against smoking has been taken so far?
3 B. What is meant by the sentence "This is surely the most short-sighted policy you could imagine"? 4 B.
List some of the drastic measures that are suggested in the article to fight smoking. 5 B. In what way is
cigarette advertising insidious and dishonest?

THE TRUTH ABOUT SPECTACLES

The human eye captures enormous quantity of information. Our eyes are more susceptible to disorders than any other sensory organ. Just think of all the things we wouldn’t be able to do if we didn’t have access to visual aids. In case a person suffers from refractive errors like Myopia (Shortsightedness), Hypermetropia (longsightedness), Astigmatism etc then the options with him are to either opt for: - spectacles , contact lenses or Laser Surgery/Refractive surgery.
Today 2.2 billion people worldwide wear spectacles. When it comes to correction of refractive errors, spectacles are the first and most popular option. Apart from many children and young people who are long or short sighted, the ability to see near objects in sharp focus starts to deteriorate with age. Roughly by the age of 40 years, many individuals need reading glasses (also known as Presbyopia). That means above 40 years, sooner or later every one will require visual aids to see clear for near vision.

Taking a closer look at the types of spectacles that are normally prescribed today we find that they have been broadly categorised into long distance glasses, reading glasses, combined ( bifocal or multi-focal glasses) & children’s glasses.
In children, the Eye tests or “refraction” tests (to determine the power of glasses) can be made right from birth. If child requires vision correction, there are options of being prescribed contact lenses or spectacles. Children’s glasses should never be tinted as they can distort the colors and allow less light to pass through. Simple coating is, however, sufficient. While choosing a frame for the children, it’s advisable to do so together with the child. The spectacle lenses should be made up of Polycarbonate instead of glass. Polycarbonate, though a plastic & prone to scratches but is very resistant to any impact or damage thus will prevent any injury to the eye.
Progressive spectacle lenses or commonly known as multifocal glasses. In these spectacles there is a gradual transition from upper section of glasses for distance viewing to close-up viewing at the bottom. While this makes vision clear at distance, middle distance and near viewing, it takes time to get used to these multi-focal lenses. Sometimes people may find it difficult to adapt to the multifocal lenses.

Thinner and more attractive lenses, lighter frames and better vision have been the goals that lens manufacturers have always strived to achieve. Frame styles have always been much more varied than lens types. Spectacles are made from materials like – wood, leather, bone, horn, tortoiseshell, rubber, ferrous metals, copper and its alloys, silver, gold, lead, tin, platinum etc. The shapes of the frames haven’t changed dramatically over the ages. People still rely on the conventional rounds, rectangles and ovals to which minor changes are made every now and then. Rimless eye wear along with colorful lenses in titanium metal is the latest trend around the world.

There are basically three general categories of lens material – glass, plastic (CR 39) and polycarbonate. Glass lenses are scratch resistant but are easily breakable while Polycarbonate lenses are strongest & lightest with high degree of protection. This makes polycarbonate lenses, the lens of choice for children. Hi-Index lens materials make the lenses to be lighter and thinner in high prescriptions producing better looking eyewear. And, as new brands and options enter the market there are more styles and options to choose from than ever before.

Dr. Mahipal S. Sachdev Chairman and Medical Director, Centre for Sight, New Delhi.

A) Multiple Choice Comprehension.

Which of the following statements is correct in the context of the passage?

(1) Today about 2.2 billion people worldwide wear spectacles in order to:

(a) correct some refractive errors.
(b) to protect themselves from the sun.
(c) have a better look.

(2) When it comes to correction of refractive errors, spectacles are:

(a) the most popular option.
(b) the most economical solution.
(c) the most effective remedy.

(3) In children, the Eye tests or “refraction” tests can be made:

(a) by the age of 3 years old.
(b) right from birth.
(c) by the age of 5 years old.

(4) Sometimes people may find difficult to:

(a) buy some glasses.
(b) wear contact lenses.
(c) adapt to multifocal lenses.

5) Polycarbonate lenses are usually more suitable for:

(a) old people.
(b) children in general.
(c) middle aged persons.


Score ……………../10

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS (MAX TEN LINES)

1) Can you explain what is the function of the eye and why it is so extremely important for our lives?

2) Can you describe what are the most common defects of the eye, their causes and their main remedies?

3) Can you describe what are the different materials used to make frames, and what are the various kind of lenses and contact lenses available on the market?

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

1) Can you explain what is the function of the eye and why it is so extremely important for our lives?

The eye is the photoreceptive sense organ through which people acquire knowledge of the world around themselves. Human beings get the information they need through their eyes and this process plays a basic role in the interpretation of the environment. In fact, seeing is also understanding and understanding depends on the way light sensitive receptive cells are connected with the central nervous system which is part of the brain. The ability to perceive objects, colours and distances is acquired by experience. We can compare the eye with a cinema screen because it doesn’t give continuous pictures but successive “stills” at intervals. Among the marvellous properties that the human body has, eyesight is certainly one of the most amazing and important, because without it we would be secluded in a world of darkness and isolation and in any case we should struggle a lot more to go on living in this competitive world.


2) Can you describe what are the most common defects of the eye, their causes and their main remedies?

An eye is said to be emmetrope when it works properly. Sometimes it has defects connected with focusing or diseases connected with the lens, the sensibility of receptors or the shape of the cornea. The most common defects are: nearsightedness or myopia that is due to the eye’s refractive power being too strong or to the eyeball being too long; farsightdness or hypermetropia that is caused by the eye’s refractive power being too weak or by the eyeball being too short; astigmatism means that a person cannot focus on the main meridians at the same time because the cornea doesn’t curve correctly; presbyopia, which is very common in old age, consists of a reduced ability to focus the eye on near objects because of a gradual loss of elasticity of the crystalline lens and finally daltonism that means colour blindness for some colours. Eyeglasses, contact lenses or surgical operations can correct the action of the defective part of the eye.


3) Can you describe what are the different materials used to make frames, and what are the various kind of lenses and contact lenses available on the market?

Spectacles or glasses are made from materials like – wood, leather, bone, horn, tortoiseshell, rubber, plastic, ferrous metals, copper and its alloys, silver, gold, lead, tin, platinum, titanium, etc. The shapes of the frames haven’t changed dramatically over the ages. Manufactured lenses are usually made of glass, but they can also be made by transparent plastic. Lenses are classified by the curvature of the two optical surfaces. We can have concave, biconcave, convex, biconvex, and convex concave lenses. Contact lenses are thin round disks made of plastic, placed on the surface of the eye. They require more care than glasses as they need to be cleaned and stored in a special fluid when not being worn, what's more some people can't wear them at all. Two types of contact lenses are available on the market, hard and soft. With regard to hard ones, they can be scleral (covering the visible part of the eye) and corneal (covering the central part of the eye).