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DON'T WORRY IF YOU DON'T SPEAK FRENCH!
Having no perspectives for safe and successful life, more and more people are leaving our country every year. There's nothing surprising in getting an e-mail from your neighbour, who suddenly went abroad to look for a new job, for a new life. Who are these people actually? Are they too weak to achieve what they need in their country? Is it beacuse they're lazy or maybe because of insufficient education? Obviously, not. But is going abroad really a key to success? Just pack your things, leave everything and start a new life? Does it really pay to put everything in risk? What can you get? Do you think you could work less for better money? And is Poland the only European country which is inpopular with its own citizens? Would it happen to England? Let's read an extract from a recent British article and see.
Milking the good life
Thursday December 14th 2006 Johnny Scott
Kevin and Ashley used to be dairy farmers near the village of East Coker in Somerset. They had a two-bedroom bungalow and three small children. In Kevin’s father’s day, a farm of that size would have made a decent income, but the small family farm of 50 years ago has all but disappeared. Farming in Britain today is all about economy of scale, as farmers struggle to compete in an international market against falling prices and rising overheads. The big gets bigger and the small gets swallowed up.
What are the alternatives for someone like Kevin when he can’t make ends meet or for those that want to farm but are unable to afford the escalating land prices?
Despite having never been to France nor speaking a word of French, he applied to an agency that specialised in finding farms there. Ashley took a three-week course of evening classes to learn French. Kevin sold the 50 acres and with the proceeds was able to buy a fully-equipped 260-acre dairy farm with 100 cows in the Haute Vienne district of the Limousin.
From Kevin’s perspective, he appears to have found Utopia: a viable farm in a beautiful rural area and grass that grows for 10 months of the year. His milk is bought by a cooperative at an acceptable guaranteed price and he receives all the political and moral support a farmer could want. More importantly, the family feels content and secure.
Ashley has replaced her cramped bungalow with a 5-bedroom French farmhouse, so the three little girls all have their own rooms and plenty of space to play in. As immigrants, they have been welcomed as a very important part in the future of the community. Everyone has been kind and helpful. The children are happy and popular at the primary school in the village. A bus collects them from the farmhouse and they get a proper cooked meal at school. The food might have taken a bit of getting used to but it was better than the school dinners in Somerset. They feel the standard of education is infinitely superior and in the year that the family has been in France, the children have become almost bilingual...
Then, how do you think now? On the one hand, it turns out that even in the west countries people do complain, they are also unhappy about their careers, their earnings, they also feeel the need to change something in their lives. On the other hand, it appears that it's worth it! It pays to look for a new chance and not to be afraid of risk. And maybe the real message to be read is just change the destination. Don't go to England so willingly, but find the way to start a new life in France! And don't worry if you don't speak French, Kevin doesn't too!
Make sure you understand the article. Go through Your Help Guide and read again!
Your Help Guide:
make a decent income - get, earn enough money
struggle to ... - try extremely hard to achieve something
compete in a market - try to be more successful than somebody else, especially in a
business
get swallowed up - disappear or become a part of a larger company
make ends meet - have enough money to buy what you need
afford (the escalating land prices) - have enough money to buy (land which gets more and
more expensive)
a fully-equipped dairy farm - a farm which specializes in milk products and has all the
buildings, things that are needed there
a viable farm - a farm which is able to develop and work successfully
a rural area - a viallge, farm area
receive support - get help, encouragement
replaced ... with ... - get something new and get rid of something else (change
something into something else)
infinitely superior - much better, much more effective
Reading Task:
Do you know the answers to these questions?
1. Is farming generally viable in Britain?
2. How did Kevin find a farm in Frnace?
3. Does Kevin have to struggle with the difficulties concerning selling his products in France?
4. Is the standard of education in French schools worse than in England?
5. Are the meals provided at French schools delicious according to Kevin's children?
Vocabulary Task:
Use the Help guide and the article to find the opposites to the words given below.
inferior - ...
earn insufficient money - ...
get no help - ...
a bit - ...
with no perspective for success or development - ...
do nothing to achieve something - ...
read more
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