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Intermediate
Text: "Wallace and Gromit posters banned" (left)
Reading comprehension (below)
Language quiz: rabbits, geology and people
Modal verbs: could, should and would
What do you think?
Advanced
Reading comprehension
Vocabulary: Euphemisms

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"Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom".

— Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)

If you have a mouse in your hand you may be lead to strange web sites...

While we're at it we might as well lead you to the A to Z of superstitions. For example did you know that "If you drop scissors, it means your lover is being unfaithful to you"?

If you have nothing better to do we suggest that you read yourself into a state of panic with some more scary (ahem!) facts...

Learn English #6 •Intermediate | Advanced

Read the newspaper story below, and then answer the questions that follow it.

Wallace and Gromit posters banned

Posters advertising the new Wallace and Gromit movie have been banned from one superstitious corner of Britain.

Posters for "The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" have been banned from the Isle of Portland in Dorset, reports Sky News.

For more than 100 years the word "rabbit" has been considered bad luck there because burrowing caused by rabbits has caused land slips in the area's famous quarries.

Locals refer instead to "underground mutton" or, more prosaically, "furry things".

The unofficial ban came to light when publicists tried to put up posters for the new film featuring the clay duo.

Authorities on Portland warned that the adverts should not appear there because they could offend local people.

In the past, quarry workers were so superstitious that if they saw a rabbit they would stop work and go home for the day.

The only poster for the film on Portland is on the road off the island and says: "Something bunny is going on".

• Text from Ananova.com

Reading comprehension

True or false...?

		true	false
1.	Posters have been banned from the Isle of Portland for more than 100 years.
2.	Rabbits cause the ground to be unstable.
3.	People on the Isle of Portland are superstitious about animals.
4.	People are more superstitious now than before.
5.	There is one poster on Portland for the new film.

Exercises

1. Language quiz: rabbits, geology and people

Sort the words into three groups - rabbits, geology or people. There are four words in each group.

		rabbits	geology	people
1.	authorities
2.	bunny
3.	burrow
4.	clay
5.	furry
6.	land slip
7.	locals
8.	publicists
9.	quarry
10.	tail
11.	underground
12.	workers

2. Modality
Look at the examples. Then complete the sentences with 'should', 'could' or 'would'.

Examples:

They should not smoke here (obligation)
The posters could offend people (probability)
The holes could have been caused by rabbits (deduction)
If they saw a rabbit, they would go home (condition)

Please ensure a Java Virtual Machine is installed and enabled

3. More exercises
You will find more exercises relating to this text in the Advanced section:

Euphemisms

What do you think?

Do you think it's strange to be superstitious about a word? Are there any local superstitions where you live? Are you superstitious about anything? This superstition was a reaction to a real situation. Do you think other superstitions have their origin in real situations?

More exercises

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