Reading and comprehension

Winners and losers

UNIT

5

1 Read the quotation. Then discuss the questions below in pairs or small groups.

‘If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same …’

These words from the well-known poem If–, by Rudyard Kipling, appear above the players’ entrance to the Centre Court at Wimbledon Tennis Club.

1. Impostors are people who pretend to be something they are not. What do you think the poet means by saying that triumph and disaster (or victory and defeat) are impostors?
2. How could you respond to victory and defeat in the same way?
3. What message do you think the quotation is trying to give to the tennis players who play on the Wimbledon Centre Court?

2 Read this first verse of the poem If–. Then match the words and phrases with their meanings. (You will have a chance to read the whole poem in Period 3.)

WORDS AND PHRASES FROM THE POEM MEANINGS

1. keep your head
2. lose your head
3. blame
4. doubt
5. make allowance for
6. deal in
7. don’t give way to

a forgive

b not trust or believe

c get involved with

d resist, reject

e say a problem is someone’s fault

f panic

g stay calm

3 Discuss the questions in pairs or small groups.

1. Some of the advice in the first verse of Kipling’s If– is easy to agree with (‘Keep calm in difficult situations’, ‘Don’t tell lies’, ‘Don’t hate others’). But why do you think we are advised not to ‘look too good’ or ‘talk too wise’?
2. The poem is a list of If … sentences that are not completed until the last two lines of the poem. What do you think the conclusion might be?

If you can …, you’ll …

Make a note of your guesses. You will see the poem’s conclusion in Period 3.

If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise

1 Read the two texts. Then answer the questions below.

1 Which text

1. gives real-life examples to make a point? ___
2. explains the purpose of the poem? ___
3. examines the meaning of the poem? ___
4. is most critical of the poem? ___

2. Why was the poem written?

A to help the poet’s son grow up

B as an inspiration to people

C because the poet wanted to be popular

3. What does the writer of Text B suggest about people who like the poem?

A They are annoying.

B They don’t understand real life.

C They prefer easy poems.

4. What does the writer of Text B think football matches would be like if players followed Kipling’s advice?

A fairer

B less exciting

C more interesting

TEXT A

I’m sure I can’t be the only person who gets annoyed every time Rudyard Kipling’s If– is announced as ‘Britain’s favourite poem’. I suppose people like it because of its simple rhythm and rhyming pattern. It may be easy to read, but do they ever try to apply its advice to real life? When you look at its recommendations closely, they really are a lot of outdated nonsense.

Take for example the famous lines about treating triumph and disaster ‘just the same’. What does it actually mean? Is Kipling suggesting that we stay calm and not show our feelings, whether we win or lose? Imagine a World Cup Final where all the players and fans just nodded their heads and said ‘That was OK, but in the end it’s only a game’. Would that be exciting?

TEXT B

This week, Rudyard Kipling’s If– has been chosen yet again by the British public as their favourite poem. Originally written as advice to Kipling’s son about dealing with life and growing up to be a man, it has been an inspiration to thousands of people for over a century.

Of course, some people dismiss its advice as old-fashioned, belonging to a time that has passed. But when it is loved by so many people, how can it be bad?

2 Find words in the texts that have these meanings.

1. something that makes you feel hopeful (Text A, paragraph 1) ___
2. say that something is not worth considering (Text A, paragraph 2) ___
3. put into practice (Text B, paragraph 1)
4. pieces of advice (Text B, paragraph 1)
5. not useful any more (Text B, paragraph 1)
6. dealing with (Text B, paragraph 2) ___

3 Use the words in Activity ⁦2 to⁩ complete the sentences. (Make any necessary changes.)

1. We only saw the faults in the plan when we tried to ___ it.
2. There is some truth in his argument. It’s not easy to ___ .
3. His brave struggle against illness is an ___ to many people in the same situation.
4. Maybe we should try to look at this as an opportunity, instead of ___ it as a problem.
5. Communications technology has made writing letters seem ___ .
6. The in this report will help us to solve the problem.

4 Look at the examples. Then answer the questions below.

1. Which half of the sentence contains the point the writer wants to make?
2. What does Of course mean in the first example?

A It is clear that …

B I accept that …

3. What does may be easy mean in the second example?

A I agree that it’s easy

B I’m not sure if it’s easy

4. Why might accepting at least part of the opposite point of view make your own argument stronger? (You will be able to practise doing this yourself in Period 7.)

Examples

Of course, some people dismiss it …, but when it is loved by so many people, how can it be bad?

It may be easy to read …, but when you look at it closely, it really is a lot of outdated nonsense.

1. Study the words and phrases.

The poem you are going to read contains some words and phrases that are not used very often nowadays. Knowing the meanings will help you to understand the poem, but it is not very important to remember them.

knaves (line 14) = worthless people stoop (line 16) = bend down pitch-and-toss (line 18) = a simple game of luck sinew (line 21) = body tissue that joins muscles to bones virtue (line 25) = goodness the common touch (line 26) = the ability to speak to ordinary people foes (line 27) = enemies

2. Read the poem.

Remember the question about the conclusion that you answered in Period 1. How close were your guesses?

If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise: If you can dream – and not make dreams your master; If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools: If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’ If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings – nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!

3 Study the rhyming pattern.

1. Read the first four lines of the poem aloud. Notice which words at the end of the lines sound the same.
2. Underline all the rhyming words.
3. The rhyming pattern of the first verse is sometimes described as A B A B C D C D. Can you see why? Does this rhyming pattern also continue in the other verses?

4 Find the lines that give the following advice. (The pieces of advice are in the same order as in the poem.)

1. Keep calm, don’t panic.
2. Don’t be impatient.
3. Don’t give up when things go wrong.
4. Don’t be afraid of taking risks.
5. Don’t complain about your problems.
6. Be determined and keep trying.
7. Treat all people the same way.
8. Don’t waste your time.

5 Discuss the questions in pairs or small groups.

1. Do you think all the advice in the poem is good, or is there anything you disagree with?
2. The poem was written over ⁦100 years⁩ ago, at a time when most people believed men should be ‘strong and silent’, not showing their feelings. Do you think this idea of ‘real men’ has changed nowadays? If so, in what ways has it changed?

I think it’s more usual nowadays for men to say how they feel.

Men are still expected to be the strong ones in a difficult situation, but strong women are more common now.

1 Discuss the question in small groups.

How true are these statements about being successful?

Whenever I see Hollywood films or read those ‘self-help’ books that say you can achieve anything if you want it enough, I recall a story I read in Nick Hornby’s book Fever Pitch. It’s about a young footballer in the late ⁦1980s⁩ (I don’t know his name, and that’s partly the point of the story, because not many people do). Hornby imagines how his career developed.

In his school team, he was obviously far better than any of his teammates. Later, in his local team, it would have been the same story – still much better than everyone else. He was then picked for a famous First Division team, and even here it doesn’t end, because, as Hornby points out, most members of First Division youth teams never get any further.

But this one did. He even got into the England Under ⁦21 team⁩, and everyone agreed that he had the potential to be one of the best young footballers in the country. But Hornby remembers seeing him play in a vital semi-final around that time, when it was clear to everyone watching that he simply couldn’t keep up with the top players.

He stayed in football for another four years.

He ended up moving to smaller and smaller clubs, and then disappeared. As Hornby says, this man ‘clearly had more talent than nearly everyone of his generation (the rest of us can only dream about having his kind of skill) and it still wasn’t quite enough’.

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P10

2. Read the text. Then complete the activities on page 77.

If you are lucky enough to have skill or talent, success will come in the end.

You need to be determined and never give up trying.

The most important thing is to believe in yourself.

If you want something enough, you can achieve it.

Some people are born winners, and some are born losers.

A lot of it is luck – just being in the right place at the right time.

3 Decide whether the statements below are TRUE or FALSE according to the text. If there isn’t enough information to decide, choose DOESN’T SAY.

1. The writer suggests that Hollywood films give an unrealistic view of success.

TRUE FALSE DOESN’T SAY

2. Nick Hornby’s book is about football.

3. The player is remembered by many football fans today.

4. Most players in the youth teams of big football clubs don’t succeed.

5. The young player only played one match for a First Division team.

6. Nick Hornby concludes that the player wasn’t very good after all.

4 Replace the underlined parts of the sentences below with words or phrases from the text. (The words and phrases are in the same order as in the text.)

1. Every time I think the work is finished, I find something else to do. ___
2. You have to work hard if you want to get success. ___
3. Can you remember the title of that book he mentioned? ___
4. Which one have you chosen? ___
5. It’s very good for a first book and the writer shows great possibilities for the future.
6. It’s very important to have a plan if you want to succeed. ___
7. To reach the top in any field, you need to have a lot of natural ability. ___

5 The following words, highlighted in the text, all refer back to something in the same sentence or the sentence before. What do they refer to?

1. It (line 5)
2. do (line 8)
3. his (line 9)
4. did ((line 19)
5. the country (line 22) ___
6. it (line 34)

6 Discuss the questions in pairs or small groups.

Have you achieved something that you really wanted? If not, is there something that you would like to achieve?