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Zde je první část textu ve spojení se
a) slovní zásobou, která podle mě volá po vysvětlení
b) krátkou osnovou pro snazší vybavení obsahu a
c) soupisem toho nejpodstatnějšího, co by se studenti z textu měli naučit

A YUPPIE IN GIULIANI’S NEW YORK /1/ RUDY’S CRACKDOWN

A few weeks ago my mother called to say there was a warrant out for my arrest. She received the news from Gladys, her 85-year-old landlady, who barricaded herself inside her Brooklyn apartment and refused to come out and speak with the two policemen knocking on the door.

I was confused. I’d like to think of myself as being dangerous. But in fact, I’m just a journalist who leads a pretty dull life. I don’t have a criminal record, though the address on my driver’s license is my mother’s—which is why the “raid” took place where it did. I hadn’t robbed any convenience stores lately, either, so the warrant didn’t make any sense to me.

Vytučněné pasáže by vám měly usnadnit orientaci v textu, každá z nich označuje klíčovou osobu nebo událost, o níž se v tom či onom odstavci pojednává.

But this is Mayor Rudolph Guiliani’s New York, where it doesn’t take much to draw the attention of cops. New Yorkers are used to this by now. They know that Rudy has been trying to stop homeless men from approaching drivers and offering to clean their windshields. He’s cracked down on street vendors and sent police into neighborhoods to make sure that there is no jaywalking or tree climbing.

While the crackdown has been controversial, I can’t say I haven’t benefitted. There has been much less crime lately than there used to be only a few years ago. I don’t worry about getting mugged. Fewer people hassle you on the subway. And there are no small-time drug dealers in Washington Square Park anymore.

vocab

warrant
arrest
landlady
refuse
———
confused
I think of myself as…
lead a dull life
criminal record
raid
take place
rob a convenience store
make sense

Naskýtá se samozřejmě otázka: proč jsou zvýrazněna právě tahle slovíčka a ostatní ne? Bez mučení připouštím, že výběr je silně subjektivní a napodruhé bych možná volil trochu jinak. Jakýsi řád v mém výběru nicméně existuje. Studentům se poměrně jednoduše (ačkoli budou zarputile tvrdit opak) pamatují konkrétní podstatná jména označující předměty a lidi: zde windshield, landlady, raid, criminal record, subway. Úplně nejlíp se jim pak pamatují bizarní slova, která nebudou potřebovat nikdy (jaywalking).

Nezvýrazněnou slovní zásobu bych po studentech ani nevyžadoval, za předpokladu, že budou schopni totéž opsat solidní angličtinou (namísto crack down on třeba deal with, namísto approach kupříkladu come up to a namísto there was a warrant for my arrest mohou jednoduše říci the police were looking for me. Mimochodem, budu víc než spokojený, když student, který si nevzpomene na slovo landlady bude s to tuto funkci popsat třeba slovy:

a person who’s in charge of an apartment house, who basically runs it, makes sure that everyone pays the rent and if there are any leaks or other problems it’s their job to have them fixed…

mayor
draw sb’s attention
approach sb
windshield
crack down on st
street vendors
neighborhoods
jaywalking
———
benefit from st
mug sb
hassle sb
subway
small-time

guide

1.WARRANT
2.DANGEROUS?
3.RUDY
4.BENEFITS

point-out

SHE CALLED TO SAY THAT THERE’S A WARRANT
&#187 she called that there’s…
&#187 called to say / and said / to tell me / and told me
&#187 she called to ask me if… X she called if I would go

…, WHICH IS WHY
&#187 = and that is why, a právě proto
&#187 which jako české což, vztahuje se na celou větu
&#187 vztažné věty spíše takto: the car I saw, the car that overtook me

I HAVEN’T ROBBED…, EITHER
&#187 I didn’t rob, too
&#187 I have robbed, too
&#187 x either of you could win, either you believe me or you don’t

THEY ARE USED TO THIS BY NOW
&#187 they are used to seeing things like this (are used to see things)
&#187 x they used to see a lot of this
&#187 get used to seeing things like this

RUDY HAS BEEN TRYING TO…
&#187 česky přítomný čas, žádný indikátor oproti Rudy is trying to
&#187 možná “poslední dobou” nebo “už nějakou dobu”

STOP THEM FROM APPROACHING
&#187 podobně keep them from approaching
&#187 from není po stop nutné: stop him talking about me
&#187 jedná se o hovorovější alternativy slovesa prevent, české zabránit
&#187 pozor na ing tvar slovesa

MAKE SURE THERE IS NO
&#187 dej pozor ať (attention, careful)
&#187 postarej se o to aby (care, look after)
&#187 pozor také: watch your wallet, look out! There’s a bus… watch out for bears, pay attention to what she’s saying…

THERE HAS BEEN MUCH LESS CRIME
&#187 there is jako české docházet k, nastat
&#187 podobně: there hasn’t been another murder since then
&#187 much less, podobně much more (viz níže), české daleko míň

THERE USED TO BE MUCH MORE CRIME
&#187 there used to be jako bývalo, často následuje but not anymore
&#187 much more, také v much more interesting, much nicer (more nicer)

LATELY
&#187 poslední dobou, x last time (naposledy)
&#187 většinou logicky s předpřítomným časem
&#187 x recently – nedávno (jednorázové)

DON’T WORRY ABOUT GETTING MUGGED
&#187 worry about (bát se o) x be afraid of (bát se něčeho)
&#187 about getting (předložka, proto ing tvar … about that he will get mugged)
&#187 getting mugged = being mugged, ale: were you mugged? x did you get mugged?

ON THE SUBWAY
&#187 on the subway, on the train, on the plane, on the bus
&#187 se všemi mimochodem často sloveso take (take a train to… lepší než go by)

THERE ARE NO DRUG DEALERS ANYMORE
&#187 not… anymore (už ne) není ani yet, ani already, ani still
&#187 zdůrazněte not anymore jako protějšek not yet