Germany zookeeper

A Zookeeper in Leipzig

 
 
 

Vocabulary

zoo level out country (2)
arid abroad landscape
semi harmony harmoniously
crisis produce at the moment
globe at least globalization
real finance one moment
keep keep up fascinating
profit thing (2) manufacture
unite currency mean (2)
divide part of in terms of
expect federal individual
state achieve prosperous
level income throughout
awful leisure zookeeper
desert variety leisure time
drastic my thing

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Video

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

My name is Marco Mehner, I’m 46 years old and I live near Leipzig.

What do you do for a living?

I’ve been a zookeeper for 25 years.

What country would you like to visit?

I’d like to visit Namibia. I’ve always been more interested in arid landscapes; deserts and semi-deserts. I also think Namibia would be interesting because Black and White people live harmoniously together there.

At the moment, that seems to be working well, and that fascinates me.

What does globalization mean to you?

First it means that companies make bigger profits, at least before the financial crisis. But people’s real income hasn’t kept up. And that’s because the companies don’t produce here, but where manufacturing is cheaper.

I mean I don’t know if you can call a united Europe the same as globalization. But you can now travel in Europe without problems and you can pay with one currency. Maybe that’s part of globalization.

What are your expectations for the future?

In terms of the future of Europe, I expect to see the same thing happen as in Germany: this federalism with individual states. Things mostly work very well. Germany is a prosperous country.

So I think we’ll achieve that sometime throughout the European Union. That things will level out. There won’t be such a drastic difference between rich and poor countries in the EU. That would be a good thing.

What’s your favorite food?

I like to eat brown bread. It’s awful when I’m abroad and I can’t get any brown bread. Germany has the greatest variety of breads in the world. That’s something isn’t it?

How do you spend your leisure time?

I like to go walking in the mountains. That’s my thing.
 

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Questions

1. Who is this person? What’s his name? How old is he? Where is he from?

2. What is his job or profession?

3. What is Marco’s hobby?

4. He likes to eat steak and lobster in high-class restaurants. True or false?

5. Does he want to visit New York, London and Paris? He would like to travel to . . . . . because . . . . .

6. Does Marco have mixed feelings about globalization? What are positive and negative aspects of globalization to him?

 
 

A. Is there a big zoo in your city?

B. Are you optimistic or pessimistic about globalization or both?

C. Are you from Germany? Do you live in Germany? Have you ever been to Germany?

D. Have you met anyone from Germany? Who were they? What were they doing?

E. Describe the climate and geography of Germany.

F. Describe the economy of Germany. What does it import and export?

G. Does Germany have any problems or challenges?

H. What is the food of Germany like? Describe German cuisine.

I. What are some tourists attractions (cultural, historical, natural)?

J. What comes to mind when you think of Germany? What do you associate with Germany?

 
 
 
 

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