Geniuses

Geniuses

Table of contents
The Human Camera..................................................................... 3

The Human Computer ................................................................ 5

Ability ............................................................................................ 7

Grammar Present and Past Abilities ................................... 8

Writing a Summary ................................................................... 11

Young Geniuses ...........................................................................15

Geniuses

THE HUMAN CAMERA

1. Sit in pairs and look at the following drawings of cities. Discuss the questions about them: Which cities are they? Are there any landmarks or famous buildings you recognise? What do you know about the city? Have you ever been to this city?

Geniuses

What preparations did the artist make? What kind of person do you think the artist is?

2. Watch the video. Whats so special about Stephen Wilthsire? 3. What did Stephen say at the end of the film? 4. This seems to be Stephen's personal philosophy on life. Do you like this philosophy? 5. Sit in pairs and discuss the following questions: What do you know about autism? Have you seen any films which have featured an autistic character?

6. You are going to watch a short video about the daily life of Stephen Wiltshire. As you watch it you should answer the following questions: In what ways does Stephen behave in an autistic manner?

What does Annette, Stephen's sister, say about his behaviour?

What are Stephen's interests?

What does Annette think about her brother?

Homework Go to Stephen's website (http://www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk/) and read his biography. Write down five pieces of information about Stephen which you find interesting.

Geniuses

THE HUMAN COMPUTER

The human computer

Daniel Tammet says he was born on a blue day, 31st January 1979. He knows it was blue because Wednesdays are always blue, like the number nine or the sound of people arguing. As a child, Daniel was diagnosed as autistic. He couldnt make friends. He was too different from the other children. Aged eight, he was able to calculate 82 x 82 x 82 x 82 in his head, but he couldnt tie his own shoe laces, or ride a bicycle. The thing that makes Daniel special is that he has an incredible ability with number. He imagines them as shapes and colours (289 is an ugly number, he says) and is able to do extremely difficult mathematical calculations. On the TV programme that made him famous in the UK, he managed to recite 22,514 numbers from pi perfectly. If you tell Daniel your birth day, he can tell you what day of the week you were born on, and what day of the week it will be on your 65th birthday. Daniel counts everything. He eats exactly forty-five grams of porridge for breakfast each morning and he brushes his teeth for exactly two minutes. He doesnt like walking on the beach near his home because there are too many pebbles to count. Daniels other great love, besides numbers (which he calls his friends), is learning languages. He speaks ten, and he managed to learn Icelandic in a week for a TV programme in Iceland. He now runs a language teaching business on the internet and in 2007 published a book, Born on a Blue Day.

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7. Answer the questions about the text. 1. How was his behaviour different to the other childrens?

2. What special talents does he have?

3. How did the public learn about his special talents?

4. What country/countries has he been to and what did he do there?

5. What has he published?

6. What is his job now?

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ABILITY
1. Work in pairs. Take turns to ask and answer as many questions as you can about the things you are good/bad at.

When did you start playing the drums? How often do you play? Do you
2. What do the phrases in bold mean? Hes an expert in Italian art. Hes written several books about it. Hes gifted at painting. He had his first exhibition when he was sixteen. She has a lot of ability as a dancer. I think she could become a professional. Shes the most skilful footballer Ive ever seen. She can play in any position. He has an aptitude for maths. He learns new formulas very quickly. He is a really talented musician. He can play six instruments. Im hopeless at geography. I failed my exam three times. Im useless at ball sports. I cant play any.

3. Write the name of: an expert in your own area of interest. someone in the class who is talented. a gifted musician. something you are useless at. something you have an aptitude for.

4. Work in groups. Ask each other to explain what they wrote and why.

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GRAMMAR PRESENT AND PAST ABILITY

1. Read sentences 1-9. Which describe present ability and which describe past ability? Which three sentences are negative? 1. If you tell Daniel your birth date, he can tell you what day of the week you were born on. 2. He could see a building just once and remember everything about it. 3. As a child, he couldnt make friends. 4. He is able to do extremely difficult mathematical calculations. 5. He was able to calculate 82 x 82 x 82 x 82. 6. He wasnt able to sit still. 7. He always manages to draw everything in the right place. 8. He managed to learn Icelandic in a week. 9. He didnt manage to pass his exams. MODAL VERBS TO TALK ABOUT ABILITY PRESENT + ? I can cook. I cant drive. Can you speak Spanish? PAST I could run fast. He couldnt do maths. Could you cook when you were younger?

We can also use be able to talk about ability. PRESENT + ? Shes able to write well. Hes not able to drive. Is he able to speak French? PAST Aged three, I was able to read. Aged two, he wasnt able to walk. Were you able to get a job?

EXPRESSIONS TO TALK ABOUT ABILITY AT A PARTICULAR MOMENT We can use be able to talk about one particular situation. We are able to offer you a special discount on the fridge today. She didnt answer her phone so I wasnt able to speak to her. Use manage to to show that an action is/was difficult.

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PRESENT +

PAST

I usually manage to finish my work on We managed to book a great hotel. time.

I dont always manage to speak to my She didnt manage to pass the exam. parents every week.

Do

you

manage

to

see

the Did you manage to finish washing the dishes?

grandchildren regularly?

2. Find and correct the mistakes. There are five mistakes in the text. Johnny isnt able make full sentences but he can to say several words such as Mama and Dada, which he couldnt a month ago. He able to understand various commands like No! and Come here and he recognizes his name. Hes becoming more mobile: yesterday he managed crawl from the living room to the kitchen. Hes also getting better with his hands. He can hold a pen and he sometimes manages to drawing simple pictures. 3. Complete the text with the words in the box. can isnt cant managed could to couldnt able

When four-year-old Derek Paravacini heard the sound of the piano, he ran towards it. Although he was blind, he ______________ to reach the instrument. He pushed the piano player a small girl off her stool, and started to play. Adam Ockleford, a piano teacher, said, It was extraordinary. He was hitting the notes with his hands, his feet, his nose, even his elbows. Paravacini was ______________ to play the tune he had just heard and at that moment Ockleford realized the boy was a genius. Paravacini was born blind and autistic and had great learning difficulties. As a child, he ______________ do many things that ordinary children do. Even today, as an adult, he ______________ count to ten, and he ______________ able to dress or feed himself. But Paravacini has one incredible gift: music. Like Mozart, he ______________ remember every piece of music he hears. It started when his parents gave him a plastic organ when he was eighteen months old. He couldnt see the notes, but he managed ______________ play tunes on it. By the time he Geniuses

was four, he ______________ play many pieces on the piano. With Ocklefords help. Paravacini developed his technique and played his first major concert at the Barbican Hall in London, aged nine. He has performed all over Europe and the US and in 2006 recorded his first CD. 4. Look at the activities below and read the instructions. Put one tick next to the things you can do now. Put two ticks next to the things you could do when you were a child. Put three ticks next to the activities you are very good at.

5. Work in groups. Compare your abilities. Say how often you do these things, and which ones you enjoy(ed). Describe any special experiences you have had while doing these things.

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WRITING A SUMMARY
1. Read the summary and answer questions 1-3.

1. Does the summary explain the main idea of the text(s) (who, what, where and why)? 2. Is the summary shorter or longer than the original text(s)? 3. Does the writer of the summary copy sentences from the original text(s) or does he/she use his/her own words? 2. Read the notes and find examples of 1-6 on the next page.

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1. An abbreviation 2. Symbol for: a) and b) resulted in

3. A number to represent a word that sounds the same 4. A heading 5. A subheading 6. Highlighted information 3. Pictures A F show moments in the life of a genius. What do you think is happening in each picture?

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4. Listen to William Sidis story and check your answers. Answer the questions. 1. Where were his parents from originally, and where did they move to?

2. What was Williams first word?

3. How old was William when he could speak Russian, French, German and Hebrew?

4. What did he do at Harvard University when he was nine?

5. What did he do two years later?

6. Who followed him around?

7. What two things did his sister say about his ability to learn languages?

8. For most of his adult life, what was Sidis running away from?

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5. Listen again and make notes for a summary of the story.

THE LIFE OF WILLIAM SIDIS

Background Childhood Adulthood Myths Conclusion
6. Write a summary of the story (120-150 words) using the notes. Geniuses

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YOUNG GENIUSES
1. Quickly read about a boy and his special talent and decide on a good title. ___________________________________________________________ 2. Read the article again and match a heading below with a paragraph.

His background

His views

His talent

His experience

3. Now answer the following questions: What is his name? What is special about him? How old was he when he first started? What is his nationality? What do we know about his parents? What do you find most interesting about him?

4. Now invent a girl who has a special talent. What is her name? What is special about her? Has she won any awards or competitions? How old was she when she first started? What is her nationality? What do we know about her parents? What are her views?

5. You are a journalist. Write about the girl for your local newspaper using the answers to the questions above. Use the same paragraphs as for the boy: Her talent / Her experience / Her background / Her views

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