wrzesień 2009 - What are we marching for this time

What are we marching for this time?

When did you last see a protest march or political demonstration? There was one in the town centre recently. I first thought there was an international football match because of all the police in riot gear, but it turned out to be because of the number of counter-demonstrators the original gathering attracted. As far as I can tell, the whole thing was generally peaceful (I saw some participants being escorted away by the police but nothing violent happened) and, if it is like most demos, generally pointless.

The next time you have nothing better to do, you can join a march as well. That is the impression I got from this and most occasions when people turn out it large numbers for some cause or other. Alternatively you can play my observation game with your friends and see who racks up the most points.

For everyone on the list you see, add the appropriate number to your score. A bonus of fifty points goes to the first person to find everything on the list. Score one point for every banner with the word 'fascist' in it, and for every demonstrator with facial piercings that make them look as if they are recovering from reconstructive surgery. Two points are scored for each drum or whistle. You can give yourself ten points for someone wearing a tie, and the same for someone who clearly looks over fifty (do not count this last one if the march is about the rights of the elderly. Instead give yourself ten points for everyone under this age that you see).

Subtract one point for every pram, pushchair or primary-school-age child in the crowd, and you lose two points for every participant handing out leaflets for a completely different issue from the one everyone is marching for. Obviously this has to be done on the honour system, so you can't just pretend you did not notice them.

Every now and then you do in fact see people who act as if they are marching for something important. They are in amongst the people in their late teens and early twenties who come across as though they are on their way back from a music festival or all-night party, and think that a bit of demonstrating will be a good way to round off the occasion. However, I'm not sure how many politicians would take them all that seriously, when writing a letter to an MP does so much more to put your opinion across.

When people attend funerals or military memorials, they usually dress as if the occasion is important for them. When people attend parties (of the birthday, not political, variety), you can tell just by looking at them that it's just for the sheer fun of it. I know which one yesterday's march looked like.

Vocabulary

The following five phrasal verbs appeared in the article. See if you can work out what they mean, and put them into the right sentences below.

a) turn out    b) hand out    c) come across    d) round off    e) put across

1.    There was no money for textbooks when I was at school, so the teacher always ____________ ____________ photocopies to all the students.

2.    She ____________ ____________ as bossy at times, but she's a nice person when you get to know her.

3.    You would be better at ____________ ____________ your opinions if you spoke a bit slower and didn't keep shouting all the time.

4.    We used to ____________ ____________ a good dinner like this with a fine cigar, but we've all become non-smokers now.

5.    When we booked the holiday, the brochure said our rooms would have a view of the sea. However, when we got there it ____________ ____________ that they had a view of the town rubbish dump.

KEY:
1b 2c 3e 4d 5a

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