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, which is connected to the rest of Dorset by a causeway, warned that the adverts should not appear there because they could offend local people.

Stone from Portland's quarries is world famous and was used to build St Paul's Cathedral as well as many other London landmarks.

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

A crane operator was killed 100 years ago when the ground gave way because of rabbit burrows and his crane tipped over.

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

Mayor Tim Woodcock said: "There certainly is a feeling against the word ‘rabbit', especially from the older residents. "It is a local superstition, but like any superstition, people take it seriously."


• 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. Euphemisms
A euphemism is a less direct name for something thought to be unpleasant. Match the euphemisms to the definitions.

Please ensure the Java Virtual Machine is installed and enabled

 

2. More exercises
You will find more exercises relating to this text in the Intermediate section:

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

 


English courses in Barcelona | Online English courses

Top | About IH Barcelona | Privacy