A Writer, Editor, Translator

 
 
 
Emily talks about her life in Berlin.

Vocabulary

earn	freelance	specifically
editor	currently	translator
flexible	creative	have no say in
career	existence	each other
choice	exchange	positive side
size	in touch	minimize
touch	lifestyle	have a say in
stable	certainly	positive side
result	as such	at the expense of
lose	identity	accelerate
cost (2)	amazing	find/found/found
fear	afraid of	partner (2)
way	quickly	around the world
entire	lifelong	around (2)
culture	personal	dream (2)

 
 
 
 

Video

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

My name is Emily Sullivan Sanford. I come from the United States, New York State, specifically. I currently live and work in Berlin, Germany.

What do you do for a living?

I work as a freelance writer, editor, and translator. As such I do not earn as much to as I would like to because freelance is a very creative and flexible lifestyle and career choice. But it is also very uncertain and unstable.

What does globalization mean to you?

On the positive side it’s simply the minimization of the size of the world so that more cultures are in touch with each other, which can be a very positive thing — resulting in a lot of cultural exchange.

But on the more negative side, it’s an accelerated process that smaller cultures have no say in. And it is often at the expense of these smaller cultures, that lose their identity quite quickly.

What makes you happy?

Certainly my friends and family. And the amazing life that I have found for myself in Berlin with my partner, Franco.

What worries you?

I’m afraid of the power of fear around the world and the way in which has cost many people their lives and many cultures almost their entire existences.

What do you expect for your future?

A personal lifelong dream for me would be to see every country in the world by the end of my life.

 

Questions

1. Emily is German. True or false?

2. Is she is an English teacher at a school? What is her job?

3. Does she work for a company? Does she make a lot of money?

4. Is Emily positive, negative, neutral, or does she have mixed views about globalization?

5. Sports cars, discos and nightclubs makes her happy. Is this right or wrong? Is she happy with her life? Why is she happy?

6. Does she have any worries? What worries her?

7. Does she have a specific destination?
 
 
A. Do you live in Germany? Are you from Germany? Have you been to Germany?

B. Have you met people from Germany? What were they doing?

C. Describe the geography and climate of Germany.

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

E. Does Germany have any problems or difficulties?

F. What is Germany food or cuisine like?

G. What are some popular tourist destinations (cultural, historic, natural)?

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