14 News & Topics
14 News & Topics November 2 2022 | World and Press Learning an instrument early could boost brainpower for life SCIENCE Researchers have found a potential link between taking up an instrument early in life and improved cognitive skills in old age. mit -Vokabeltrainer By Jonathan Ames Die Nr.1 unter den Vokabeltrainern. 1 PARENTS wincing at the screech of their children’s violin strings can take comfort in suggestions that music lessons have longterm health benefits. Researchers have found a potential link between taking up an instrument early in life and improved cognitive skills in old age after studying a group of Scottish octogenarians. Children and teenagers with experience of playing a musical instrument showed greater lifetime improvements in thinking ability than those with no such background. 2 Researchers from the University of Edinburgh have found that benefits ensued even when accounting for socio-economic status, years of education, childhood cognitive ability, and health in older age. The team behind the research said that, while more study was required, the early signs were positive. “As we and others search for the many small effects that might contribute toward some people’s brains ageing more healthily than others, these results are worth following up,” | Photo: Lucia Macedo/Unsplash said Ian Deary, an emeritus professor and the former director of the university’s Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology. 3 The researchers found that of 366 study participants, 117 0 – 1 TO BOOSTstärken — brainpower Intelligenz; Denkvermögen — potential möglich — to take s.th. up mit etw. anfangen; h.: etw. erlernen — cognitive skills “"kÅgn´tIv‘ kognitive Fähigkeiten — to wince “wIns‘ zus.zucken — screech Krächzen — strings Saiten — to take comfort Trost finden — long-term langfristig — octogenarian “ÆÅkt´dZ´"ne´ri´n‘ über 80-Jährige(r) 2 Edinburgh “"edInb´r´‘ — to ensue “In"sju…‘ s. ergeben — to account for berücksichtigen — socio-economic “Æs´Usi´UÆek´"nÅmIk‘ sozioökonomisch — to age altern — to follow up h.: weiter untersuchen — emeritus professor “I"merIt´s‘ emeritierte(r) Professor(in) — director Leiter(in) — epidemiology “ÆepIÆdi…mi"Ål´dZi‘ 3 study participant “pA…"tIsIp´nt‘ Studienteilnehmer(in) — to report; s.w.u. to cite angeben — adolescence “Æœd´l"es´ns‘ Jugend — accordion “´"kO…di´n‘ — bagpipe Dudelsack 4 Lothian Birth Cohort “"l´UDi´n‘ Geburtskohorte von Lothian (L. Region in Schottland) — survey “"s‰…veI‘ Studie — periodically “ÆpI´ri"ÅdIkli‘; s.w.u. at intervals in regelmäßigen Abständen — to assess untersuchen — standardised standardisiert — verbal reasoning sprachlogisches Denken — spatial awareness “"speIS´l‘ räuml. Bewusstsein — numerical analysis “nju…"merIk´l‘ Zahlenverständnis — association Zus.hang 5 – 6 progeny “"prÅdZ´ni‘ Nachwuchs — conclusive “k´n"klu…sIv‘ abschließend; eindeutig — to emphasise “"emf´saIz‘ betonen — psychological “ÆsaIk´l"ÅdZIk´l‘ reported some experience of playing a musical instrument, mostly during early childhood and adolescence. They had most commonly played the piano, but other instruments cited included the accordion, bagpipes, guitar, and violin. 4 Participants were part of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936, whose members were born in 1936 and took part in the 1947 survey, in which physical and mental functions were periodically assessed. At intervals from the age of 11, they took a standardised cognitive ability test which covered verbal reasoning, spatial awareness, and numerical analysis. Those who retook the test at the age of 70 were questioned about their lifetime musical experiences. The researchers used statistical models to look for associations between an experience of playing a musical instrument and changes in thinking skills between the ages of 11 and 70. … 5 But before booking piano lessons for their progeny, parents should note that the findings were not conclusive. “We have to emphasise that the association we found between instrumentplaying and lifetime cognitive improvement was small, and that we cannot prove that the former caused the latter,” Deary said. 6 The study was funded by Age UK and the Economic and Social Research Council, and was published in the journal ‘Psychological Science’. © The Times, London/News Licensing This article originally appeared in The Times, London. Get the vocabulary trainer! www.phase6.de/wp/2222 Google to stop giving answers to silly questions INTERNET SEARCH Search engine updates ‘featured snippets’ to reduce the number of often comical errors it makes. mit Die Nr.1 unter den Vokabeltrainern. By Alex Hern -Vokabeltrainer 1 GOOGLE WILLstop giving snappy answers to stupid questions, the company has announced, as it seeks to improve its search engine’s “featured snippets” service. That means users should see fewer answers to questions such as “When did Snoopy assassinate Abraham Lincoln?”, to which the service would once merrily respond with “1865” – | Photo: Lauren Edvalson/Unsplash the right date, but very much the wrong assassin. 2 “This clearly isn’t the most helpful way to display this result,” said the company’s head of search, Pandu Nayak, in a blogpost announcing the changes. “We’ve trained our systems to get better at detecting these sorts of false premises, which are not very common, but there are cases where it’s not helpful to show a featured snippet. We’ve reduced the triggering of featured snip- pets in these cases by 40% with this update.” 3 Snippets, which sometimes show up as a featured response to direct questions asked of Google Search, have long been a cornerstone of the company’s AI strategy. The same technology powers its smart speakers and voice assistants, and lets the search engine satisfy search queries without visitors clicking away to other websites. 4 But the snippets, which are automatically generated from the contents of websites, have also been a thorn in Google’s side for just as long. In 2017, the company was accused of spreading “fake news” after a featured snippet for the query “Is Obama planning a coup?”, resulted in its voice assistant cheerily telling users: “Obama may in fact be planning a Die Nr.1 unter den Vokabeltrainern. communist coup d’état at the end of his term in 2016,” after it found the information on a conspiracy website. 5 Other errors have been more comical. The company would gamely tell users that stairs were invented in 1946 – after reading a website that attributed a particular US safety regulation to that date – or unknowingly repeat a Monty Python joke when asked: “Why are firetrucks red?” 6 In an effort to address the root cause of such mistakes, Google is also rolling out new warnings for times when a search term has hit a “data void” – a question where a good answer might simply not exist. “It looks like there aren’t many great results for this search,” the site now warns users who hit such a query. … © 2022 Guardian News and Media Ltd 0 – 2 SEARCH ENGINESuchmaschine — featured snippet hervorgehobenes Snippet (direkte, prägnante Antwort auf e-e Suchanfrage) — comical komisch — snappy schnell — to seek to do versuchen zu tun — to assassinate “´"sœsIneIt‘ ermorden; s.w.u. assassin Mörder(in) — merrily; s.w.u. cheerily fröhlich — head of search h.: Vorstand(-ständin) des Bereichs Internetsuche — to detect erkennen — false premises “"premIsIz‘ falsche Annahmen 3 – 4 cornerstone (fig) Grundpfeiler — AI = artificial intelligence “ÆA…tI"fIS´l‘ künstl. Intelligenz — smart speaker per Sprachbefehl steuerbarer intelligenter Lautsprecher — to satisfy h.: beantworten — search query “"kwI´ri‘ Suchanfrage — a thorn in one’s side “TO…n‘ (fig) ein Dorn im Auge — coup (d’état) Staatsstreich — term Amtszeit — conspiracy website “k´n"spIr´si‘ Website mit Verschwörungstheorien 5 – 6 gamely bereitwillig — to attribute s.th. to … “´"trIbju…t‘ etw. … zuordnen — safety regulation “Æregj´"leIS´n‘ Sicherheitsvorschrift — unknowingly “øn"n´UINli‘ unwissentlich — firetruck Feuerwehrauto — to address “´"dres‘ h.: beseitigen — root cause tiefere Ursache — to roll out einführen — void Lücke
World and Press | November 2 2022 Literature 15 By Hamilton Cain 1 MANY Awriter claims mastery of technique, but few deliver at the auspicious level of Colin Barrett, whose roving perspectives, lopped-off endings, and Kevin Barry-esque dialogue dazzle in his second collection, ‘Homesickness.’ Barrett harnesses his craft in service of his characters, mostly working- and middle-class folks from Ireland’s County Mayo, their dreams played out, or at least caught in a ditch along some ribbon of highway. 2 Readers may recognize a few of these stories from the ‘New Yorker.’ “A Shooting in Rathreedane” mimics a police procedural, as a world-weary policewoman – think Nicola Walker in one of her indelible television roles – investigates a bizarre crime-that-isn’t. In “The 10,” a former soccer prodigy returns from Manchester to a dissolute life, unable to connect with his family and girlfriend. 3 The most boisterous piece, book world ‘Homesickness’ by Colin Barrett “The Alps,” a cousin to Barry’s “Fjord of Killary,” features three brothers snagged in a weird incident at a pub; in the final paragraphs, Barrett pivots to his supporting cast, barflies all, revealing that the story’s actually about them. 4 He deftly conjures the ragged beaches and lonesome backroads along Ireland’s northern cause we hear and see them in perfect clarity. They’re not homesick so much as sick of home. 6 Several are aspiring writers determined to leave a mark. Barrett’s technique enhances their inner lives, their delusions, as in this adverbial trait: “Bobby Tallis possessed the drainpipe physique, knee-length mackintosh, and balefully frail demeanour of a poet ... as he pursued a lavishly wayward course ... One hand broodingly ensconced within a pocket, Bobby smoked as he walked.” 7 After a sexual encounter, one man asks another, “What I need to know about is the sentences. I just want to know if they are doing something interesting or not” – a question the author is posing to himself, and us. The answer is ‘Homesickness,’ with its wrenchingly beautiful scenes, its lush evocation of place, prayers for a people doing their best to just get by. © 2022 StarTribune. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. ‘Homesickness’ by Colin Barrett, 224 pages, is published by Jonathan Cape, ISBN 978-1787333819. Special World and Press: • Original englischsprachige Pressetexte auf Abiturniveau • Niveau B2 – C2, gymnasiale Oberstufe • Inkl. Infografiken und Fotos Black Lives Matter Themenheft 56 Seiten, DIN A4, Softcover ¤ 16,90 [D] ISBN 978-3-7961-1077-1 www.sprachzeitungen.de 0 – 1 HOMESICKNESSdt. Titel: Heimweh; s.w.u. homesick — to claim s.th. etw. für s. beanspruchen — mastery meisterhafte Beherrschung — auspicious “O…"spIS´s‘ vielversprechend — roving umherschweifend — lopped-off abgehackt — to dazzle (fig) beeindrucken — to harness s.th. in service of s.o. etw. in jds. Dienst stellen — played out (coll) zerschlagen — ditch Graben — ribbon Abschnitt 2 – 3 to mimic ähneln — police procedural “pr´"si…dZ´r´l‘ Polizei-Krimi — world-weary “"-ÆwI´ri‘ weltverdrossen — indelible “In"del´b´l‘ unvergesslich — prodigy “"prÅdIdZi‘ Wunderkind — dissolute “"dIs´lu…t‘ ausschweifend — to connect with s.o. e-e Beziehung zu jdm. aufbauen — boisterous “"bOIst´r´s‘ ausgelassen — snagged in verwickelt in — to pivot “"pIv´t‘ schwenken — supporting cast Nebendarsteller(innen) — barfly (coll) regelmäßige(r) Kneipenbesucher(in) 4 deftly geschickt — to conjure “"køndZ´‘ heraufbeschwören — ragged “"rœgId‘ zerklüftet — lonesome einsam — to plumb “pløm‘ (fig) ausloten — residue “"rezIdZu…‘ Rest — stout Starkbier — in murderous spate in mörderischer Flut — coat rack Kleiderständer — to cup h.: legen — mizzle Sprühregen — resolve Entschlossenheit 5 late verstorben — doyen “"dOIen‘ Meister — bullwhip Peitsche — clarity Klarheit 6 aspiring aufstrebend — to leave a mark (fig) die Welt nach haltig prägen — to enhance “In"hA…ns‘ hervorheben — delusion “dI"lu…Z´n‘ Irrglaube; Selbsttäuschung — adverbial trait adverbialer Stil — to possess “p´"zes‘ besitzen — drainpipe physique “fI"zi…k‘ Körperbau e-s Abflussrohrs — balefully unheilvoll — frail gebrechlich — demeanour “dI"mi…n´‘ Erscheinungsbild — to pursue a lavishly wayward course “p´"sju…; "lœvISli‘ e-m reichlich eigensinnigen Weg folgen — broodingly grüblerisch — ensconced “In"skÅnst‘ versteckt 7 wrenchingly “"rentSINli‘ schmerzlich — lush intensiv — evocation “Æi…v´"keIS´n‘ Beschwörung — to get by (fig) über die Runden kommen coast; not a word is out of place, as in this scene from “Whoever Is There, Come on Through,” which plumbs a co-dependent friendship: “Eileen and Murt were walking the path by the river in the Belleek Woods. It was only gone two in the afternoon, but the sky was already so gray it was like being on the moon, the light a kind of exhausted residue. To their right coursed the Moy, dark as stout and in murderous spate; to their left high conifers stood like rows of coats on coat racks. Eileen was smoking, a sheltering hand cupped over her mouth, mizzle prickling her face; Murt was in a woolen hat and gloves borrowed from his uncle ... it would have taken more resolve to abandon the walk than to keep going.” 5 Like other leading Irish stylists – Barry, Roddy Doyle, Edna O’Brien, and the late William Trevor among them – Barrett is a doyen of the sentence; each cracks and snaps like a bullwhip. We know these characters becrossword puzzle | By Katrin Günther All the words are in the articles on pages 14 and 15. Solution on page 16. Across 2 Ability to think (Instrument) 18 A remainder (Book world) 2 3 4 1 4 Noisy and energetic (Book world) 5 To improve or to increase (Instrument) 7 A killer (Google) 9 To cringe (Instrument) 19 Merrily (Google) Down 1 Lonely; deserted (Book world) 3 Youth (Instrument) 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 11 To bring to mind (Book world) 12 To stress s.th. (Instrument) 13 A gap (Google) 14 Funny; silly (Google) 16 A person who is between 80 and 89 years old (Instrument) 17 Skillfully (Book world) 4 A person who spends much time in bars (Book world) 6 Quick and to the point (Google) 8 At regular intervals (Instrument) 10 Promising (Book world) 15 To spot; to recognise (Google) 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
