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World and Press October 2 2022

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Original Pressetexte aus britischen und US-amerikanischen Medien Sprachtraining, Landeskunde, Vokabelhilfen und Übungsmaterial für Fortgeschrittene Sprachniveau B2 - C2

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2 Opinion Page October 2 2022 | World and Press 0 – 1 FREE RETURNkostenlose Rücksendung — its days are numbered seine Tage sind gezählt — fitting room Ankleidekabine — retail giant Einzelhandelskonzern — retailer Einzelhändler — to deduct “dI"døkt‘ abziehen — to tackle in den Griff bekommen — cost of shipping Versandkosten — behemoth “bI"hi…mÅT‘ Gigant 2 bargain shopper “"bA…gIn‘ Schnäppchenjäger(in) — to sum up zus.fassen — to lament “l´"ment‘ beklagen — outlet Geschäft — sizing Größeneinteilung — erratic “I"rœtIk‘ unregelmäßig — confidently “"kÅnfId´ntli‘ bedenkenlos — brick-and-mortar store konventionelles Geschäft — to pop into schnell vorbeischauen — inconsistent “ÆInk´n"sIst´nt‘ uneinheitlich 3 – 4 to shift away from s.th. s. von etw. abwenden — to burst with … voll mit … sein — try-on haul “hO…l‘ Anprobe-Haulvideo — incredibly “In"kred´bli‘ unglaublich — cheeky dreist — glaring offenkundig — impact Auswirkung — to resell wiederverkaufen — landfill Mülldeponie — to generate erzeugen — carbon dioxide emissions “ÆkA…b´n daI"ÅksaId‘ CO 2 -Emissionen — annually jährlich 5 to process bearbeiten; abwickeln — time-consuming zeitaufwendig — costly kostspielig — to rebutton comment How the end of free returns will change the way we shop ONLINE SHOPPING Boohoo is now charging online shoppers for returns – this could be fast fashion’s plastic bag fee moment. By Sophie Benson 1 THE DAYSof the bedroom fitting room are numbered. Online retail giant Boohoo has become the latest in a string of retailers, including Next, Uniqlo, and Zara, to start charging shoppers for returns. Starting earlier this month, its customers face a £1.99 fee for each return, deducted from their refund. It’s all in the name of tackling the increased costs of shipping, the fast-fashion behemoth says. 2 Bargain shoppers aren’t very pleased about the news. One person on Twitter declared “the fun is actually over”, summing up the mood. Others lamented the fact that, as with many fastfashion outlets, the sizing is so erratic they can’t confidently buy just one size per order. Brands such as Zara have brick-andmortar stores that customers can pop into to try before they buy, but when an online outlet has some problems with inconsistent sizing, customers may feel as if they’re being punished for it. 3 By offering free returns in the first place, companies such as Boohoo helped shift consumers away from stores altogether, and created entirely new behaviour around shopping. YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok are bursting with try-on hauls where viewers are asked to comment on whether the buyer should keep or return the piles upon piles of items they’ve bought online. It’s Training | mündl. Prüfung a genre all of its own, fuelled by free returns. A 2018 study found that 9% of UK consumers order clothes to post on social media, only to return them straight after. Almost one in five 35- to 44-year-olds admit to doing it, and men, apparently, do it more than women. 4 It’s incredibly cheeky behaviour, but there’s also another glaring issue with the practice: returns have a terrible impact on the environment. When clothes A2 – B2 Cartoons interpretieren, Bilder beschreiben Cartoon & Co. Trainingsheft ¤ 14,90 [D] ISBN 978-3-7961-1062-7 www.sprachzeitungen.de are returned, they’re likely to be thrown away rather than resold. In the US, 2.6m tonnes of returned goods end up in landfill every year, generating 15m tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually. 5 Processing returns is timeconsuming and costly. Buttons need to be rebuttoned, cardboard inserts need to be put back in, labels need to be reattached, products need refolding and rebagging, and then they must be put back into stock on the system. It’s a complex process and sometimes the cheapest and easiest solution is simply cutting the loss and sending the whole lot to landfill. It’s a hideous waste of resources, not to mention an insult to the skilled people who put their time into making each product, but it’s the reality of modern fashion, and retail in general. 6 When clothes don’t become rubbish, there’s still the impact of the extra shipping to consider, as well as the packaging waste. About 180bn plastic poly bags are produced every year to store, protect, and transport clothes and footwear, and less than 15% of them are collected for recycling. Everyone knows it’s nearimpossible to open one without tearing a huge hole in it, so every return requires yet another new bag. 7 The impact of returns is a fairly well-kept secret, likely to Knöpfe wieder annähen — cardboard insert Kartoneinlage — label Etikett — to reattach “Æri…´"tœtS‘ erneut befestigen — to refold erneut falten — to rebag erneut verpacken — to put into stock verfügbar machen (s. Vorrat) — to cut the loss den Verlust in Kauf nehmen — hideous “"hIdi´s‘ abscheulich — not to mention ganz zu schweigen von — insult Beleidigung 6 – 7 packaging waste “"pœkIdZIN‘ Verpackungsmüll — bn = billion Milliarde — poly bag Polybeutel — to store lagern — well-kept gut gehütet — guilt-free ohne schlechtes Gewissen — flippantly “"flIp´ntli‘ leichtfertig — to thrive “TraIv‘ florieren — convenience “k´n"vi…ni´ns‘ Bequemlichkeit — to trump übertrumpfen — sustainability “s´ÆsteIn´"bIl´ti‘ Nachhaltigkeit — on behalf of seitens 8 – 9 approach Ansatz — plastic carrier bag Plastiktüte — take-up Inanspruchnahme — to refer to s.th. “rI"f‰…‘ etw. bezeichnen — bracketing Bracketing — purely “"pjU´li‘ rein — threat “Tret‘ Gefahr — to loom s. drohend abzeichnen — appealing verlockend 10 – 11 to put effort into s.th. s. bei etw. anstrengen — AR = augmented reality “O…g"mentId‘ erweiterte Realität — consistent einheitlich — fit Sitz keep people shopping guilt-free. But even if it was widely known, it wouldn’t guarantee people would stop treating returns so flippantly. After all, other environmental and human impacts of fast fashion are out there for all to see, and yet the sector continues to thrive. Cost and convenience trump sustainability more often than not when it comes to purchasing decisions, so sometimes it takes a radical move on behalf of the brand, or government, to change behaviour. 8 We know this approach can work. Between 2015 (when the 5p plastic bag charge was introduced) and 2020, plastic carrier bag take-up dropped by more than 95% in England’s main supermarkets. It turns out we just didn’t want to pay for something that we already had a cupboard full of at home. 9 While the move is financially, rather than environmentally, motivated, charging for returns World and Press erscheint 2 × monatlich (Juli und Dezember als Doppelausgabe) in der Carl Ed. Schünemann kg · Die Sprachzeitung · Schünemann-Haus 28174 Bremen Telefon: +49(0)421.36903-76 Fax: +49(0)421.36903-48 www.sprachzeitungen.de info@sprachzeitungen.de Verantwortliche Redakteurin Katrin Günther Redaktionsleitung Sprach zeitungen Melanie Helmers Redaktion Siobhan Bruns Sebastian Stumpf Franziska Lange Aletta Rochau Carol Richards Jessica Stuart Gestalterische Konzeption www.bmalx.de Layout & Umbruch Christoph Lück, Britta Leuchtmann, Jens Buchholtz Druck Druckzentrum Nordsee GmbH could well have the same effect. Without free returns on the table, shoppers may think twice about buying ten items when they know they’ll only keep five (sometimes referred to as “bracketing”) or buying clothes purely for social media content. With the threat of a charge looming, the clothes in our wardrobes might start to look a little more appealing. 10 We could also see retailers putting more effort into sizing, with virtual AR try-ons, better size guides, more representative models, and improved, consistent fits. Knowing your size will always be the same could stop the need to buy two or even three of one item, a win for shoppers and the environment. 11 After years of free returns, charges will be frustrating, but if they lead to less waste and better fits, they’ll be worth every penny. © 2022 Guardian News and Media Ltd mit Interpretation US Women’s Soccer equal pay. | Cartoon: Dave Granlund, PoliticalCartoons.com impressum ISSN 0509-1632 Die in World and Press veröffent lichten Artikel bringen Meinungen der zitierten Zeitungen, aber nicht in jedem Fall die der Redaktion zum Ausdruck. Textkürzungen vorbehalten. | By special arrangement with proprietors of copyrights. Copyright strictly reserved under the Berne Convention © 2022 Kündigungs bedingungen Nach Ablauf des ersten Bezugsjahres ist das Jahresabo monatlich kündbar. Das Schnupper abo geht über in ein Jahresabo, wenn es nicht spätestens einen Monat vor Ablauf gekündigt wird. | Es gelten unsere aktuellen AGB. Datenschutz Die personenbezogenen Daten werden auf der Basis der geltenden Datenschutzgesetze, insbesondere der EU-Datenschutzgrundverordnung (DSGVO) sowie des Bundesdatenschutzgesetzes (BDSG), zweckgebunden erhoben und verarbeitet. Wir geben Ihre Daten nur weiter, soweit ein Gesetz dies vorschreibt oder wir Ihre Einwilligung eingeholt haben. Die personenbezogenen Daten sind für die Lieferung Ihrer Sprachzeitung erforderlich. Unsere Informationen zum Datenschutz nach Art. 13 und Art. 14 der EU-DSGVO können Sie über unsere Kontaktdaten einsehen oder anfordern.

World and Press | October 2 2022 Everyone loves e-bikes – except some who have to share roads with them E-BIKES Some people think e-bikes point toward a utopian future. Others wish they’d go away. mit Übungen | Sprechen By Ashley Fetters Maloy 1 IN ALL HER 36 years of living in Brooklyn’s historic neighborhood of Fort Greene, Maria Ferrari has encountered few things this unsettling. Ferrari, 69, raised a family here; before she “semiretired” in 2020, she breathed a sigh of relief coming home to peaceful Fort Greene after grinding, grueling days in the soap opera industry. “I think of Fort Greene as a village,” she says of her tree-lined, brownstone-dense haven. “We have everything we need, right here.” But twice now, she says, she’s narrowly avoided being struck down by cyclists ripping through on electric bikes. 2 The first time, the e-bike rider was going the wrong way on a one-way street, Ferrari says. The second time, “I swear to God, he was in my face as he passed,” Ferrari adds, her hand six inches from her face. “And he went, ‘Sorry!’ as he zipped by. It’s like” – Ferrari scoffs – “‘You’re lucky I wasn’t even faster stepping into the street!’” 3 In the grander catalogue of neighborhood dangers, getting hit by an e-bike is far from the deadliest. Nor is the threat presented by e-bikes anywhere near the gravest one facing Americans when inflation is costing people their homes, children are in peril at school, and – oh, right – the planet is also melting. Still, there are concerned Maria Ferraris in every Fort Greene in North America. … 4 While early pandemic-era hot commodities like pocket hand sanitizers and cloth masks have fallen by the wayside, e-bikes seem to be here to stay. They enjoyed a 145% sales boost during the long desperate-for-outdooractivities months of 2020 and, according to the ‘New York Times,’ outsold electric cars during that A man rides an e-bike from Smafo, a German start-up. | Photo: Wolfram Bölte/ Unsplash year at a rate of two to one. As of November, e-bikes made up 20% of New York’s Citi Bike rental fleet – but accounted for 35% of the rides. 5 Not everyone, though, is thrilled about this, and it’s not just the speed of e-bikers whizzing by – it’s the absence of lawfollowing, law enforcement, even lawmaking regarding e-bike usage in their neighborhoods. For inventions that so convincingly point toward a utopian future, they’re sure getting a lot of people riled up. 6 The idea of bicycles powered by electricity dates back all the way to the 1890s, though some of the first ones recognizable as ancestors of today’s e-bikes emerged in the late 1980s. The term refers to bikes with pedals and any kind of electric motorization – ranging from a mild power boost that kicks in when pedaling to a battery pack and a throttle, the kind commonly used by delivery workers. Some can travel at speeds nearing 30 mph, and as a result, many riders consider them a cheaper, more environmentally friendly alternative to cars – plus they’re faster and less sweaty than regular bikes. The exercise benefits are a draw for many, especially those who may be unable to pedal a conventional bicycle but still want to get some cardio in. 7 E-bikes have also offered a greener – and faster – option for thriving food-delivery services. Jon Orcutt, advocacy director for Bike New York, started to see e- bikes proliferate in the city in the mid-2010s, “and it was because the delivery industry sort of led the way.” And if more drivers would just switch to e-bikes, the logic goes, streets would be less clogged with automobiles and many big cities would become more livable. 8 Still, the push forward into a two-wheeled future has inevitably met resistance – especially from those who just want their cherished peaceful places to remain unbefouled. For eight years, John Love, 77, was on the city council of Cherry Hills Village, Colo. – a stately suburb south of Denver. Now, he runs the town soup kitchen, as he has for 29 years. One evening a week, Love goes walking on a crushed-gravel pedestrian and horse trail a halfmile from his home. It winds through meadows and some forested areas and “has a little pastoral quality to it,” Love says. But lately, e-bikes have been zooming past him, despite the fact that they aren’t allowed on the Cherry Hills segments of the trail. “You’re there for peace and quiet and you don’t get it.” Plus, e-bikes “can be In Focus 3 more than a nuisance to horses. It can be upsetting and possibly dangerous.” … 9 Happily, many seem eager to alleviate the tensions between e-bikers and those who share the roads with them. The question is how. Perhaps it’s a matter of better signage. Or perhaps it’s a matter of better enforcement. As Orcutt notes, in many places, local laws haven’t kept up with the proliferation of different types of electric bike. So it’s understandable, he says, “for the police not to know all the nuances” quite yet. 10 Or it could be a matter of better education. Ferrari believes e- bike riders need more training in local bike and road laws, though she’s not sure how the city or state might practically implement such a thing: “I’m not gonna say all of them, but many of them just think they have the right of way all the time,” she says. … 11 Drivers and pedestrians have always squabbled over how to share the roads with two-wheelers. “As Americans, we’re conditioned to walk up to the curb and look for cars, and listen for cars,” Orcutt says. “Bikes don’t necessarily trigger that sixth sense.” E- bikes further complicate the situation: They’re bikes with a tiny bit of car in their DNA. In time, though, perhaps people will have honed that reflex, too. © 2022 The Washington Post m e s s e • Die Sprachzeitung • Besuchen Sie uns auf der Frankfurter Buchmesse und informieren Sie sich über unsere neuen Produkte! 19.10. – 23.10.2022 Halle 3.1, Stand C14 0 – 1 UTOPIAN “ju…"t´Upi´n‘ ideal — unsettling beunruhigend — to semi-retire “ÆsemirI"taI´‘ in den Ruhestand treten, aber weiter e-r Arbeit nachgehen — to breathe a sigh of relief erleichtert aufatmen — grinding zermürbend — grueling “"gru…´lIN‘ aufreibend — brownstone-dense voller Sandsteinhäuser — haven “"heIv´n‘ Oase — to strike s.o. down h.: jdn. umfahren — to rip through hindurchfegen 2 – 3 in one’s face direkt vor jdm. — 6 inches ca. 15,24 cm — to zip by; s.w.u. to whizz by; to zoom past (coll) vorbeiflitzen — to scoff “skÅf‘ spotten — in the grander catalogue of … (fig) relativ betrachtet — threat “Tret‘ Bedrohung — grave ernst — in peril “"per´l‘ in Gefahr — to melt schmelzen — concerned besorgt 4 hot angesagt — commodities Güter — pocket hand sanitizer “"sœnItaIz´‘ kleine Flasche Handdesinfektionsmittel — cloth mask Stoffmaske — to fall by the wayside auf der Strecke bleiben — to be here to stay von Dauer sein — sales boost Absatzplus — to be desperate for s.th. “"desp´r´t‘ etw. unbedingt wollen — to outsell s. besser verkaufen — rental fleet Mietfahrzeugpark — to account for s.th. etw. ausmachen 5 thrilled “TrIld‘ begeistert — law-following Befolgen der Gesetze — law enforcement “In"fO…sm´nt‘ Gesetzesvollzug — lawmaking Gesetzgebung — usage “"ju…sIdZ‘ Nutzung — convincingly “k´n"vInsINli‘ überzeugend — to rile s.o. up jdn. aufbringen 6 to power antreiben — recognizable “"rek´gnaIz´b´l‘ erkennbar — ancestor “"œnsest´‘ Vorläufer(in) — to kick in einsetzen — to pedal in die Pedale treten — battery pack Akku — throttle “"TrÅt´l‘ Gasgriff — delivery worker Zusteller(in) — 30 mph ca. 48,3 km/h — sweaty “"sweti‘ schweißtreibend — to get in einfügen — cardio Cardio-Training 7 to thrive “TraIv‘ florieren — advocacy director “"œdv´k´si‘ Leiter(in) des Bereichs Öffentlichkeitsarbeit — to proliferate “pr´"lIf´reIt‘ s. stark vermehren; s.w.u. proliferation — clogged verstopft — livable “"lIv´b´l‘ lebenswert 8 inevitably “I"nevIt´bli‘ unweigerlich — to meet resistance “rI"zIst´ns‘ auf Widerstand stoßen — to cherish “"tSerIS‘ lieben; schätzen — unbefouled “ønbI"faUld‘ unbeschmutzt — stately vornehm — soup kitchen Suppenküche — crushed-gravel trail Kiesweg — to wind through “waInd‘ s. hindurchschlängeln — meadow “"med´U‘ Wiese — pastoral “"pA…st´r´l‘ ländlich; idyllisch — nuisance “"nju…s´ns‘ Störung — upsetting aufregend; schlimm 9 – 11 to alleviate “´"li…vieIt‘ lindern — signage “"saInIdZ‘ Beschilderung — nuances “"nju…A…nsIz‘ Feinheiten — to implement umsetzen — to have the right of way Vorfahrt haben — to squabble “"skwÅb´l‘ s. zanken — two-wheeler Zweirad — to be conditioned konditioniert sein — curb “k‰…b‘ Bordstein — to hone verfeinern

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