The Centenarian Blogger

 
 

Vocabulary

scan	curious	soon enough
ritual	miss out	here and now
active	modest	acquainted
device	century	manage (2)
abuse	pointless	make sense
boring	postage	get used to
dairy	sense (2)	passionate
topic	add (2)	centenarian
fan (2)	care (2)	generation
span	countless	gerontology
exist	celebrate	young at heart
prize	obviously	achievement
proud	rationale	spend time
polite	specific	complimentary
aware	strange	reservation (3)
clever	cool (2)

 
 

 
 

Video: Centenarian Blogger

 
 
 
 

Transcript

It’s the same ritual every morning — and it can’t start without coffee.

Dagny Carlsson is sure of that.

Dagny Carlsson, Blogger: “I’ve had this coffee machine since 1951. And I remember that exactly because I got married in 1951, for the second time.”

Scanning the newspaper over her morning coffee is another ritual Dagny doesn’t want to start her day without.

At a hundred-and-five years old, she’s still loving life. And she is still curious.

Dagny Carlsson, Blogger: “I live in the here and now; I don’t think about tomorrow, or that I could die tomorrow. I’ll die soon enough anyway.”

Dagny doesn’t want to miss out on anything that happens outside her modest Stockholm apartment.

So she spends a lot of time online.

Her friend, the computer, keeps her connected to the outside world.

Her family gave her their old PC. After that, Dagny gradually became acquainted with this strange device — after managing without one for almost a century.

Dagny Carlsson, Blogger: “I’ve had the computer since I was 99 or 100. When you’re over ninety, it doesn’t make sense to buy a computer.”

These days though, she just has to be online. Life without her computer would be possible, but pointless.

Dagny Carlsson, Blogger: “I got used to it. I can always talk to my friends, and I don’t even have to pay for the postage. I can read the news; I think that’s very good.”

But just reading would be too boring. That’s why Dagny also writes: the centenarian is a passionate blogger. She has her own digital diary called “Blog With Me”.

Dagny Carlsson, Blogger: “I’ve always wanted to be a writer when I was younger. But there were so many good books. It made no sense for me to add a badly written one to all of those.

When I blog, I don’t have to write about a specific topic — I do what I want.

But I don’t think anyone would care about it if I were a hundred and five.”

Dagny may have been alive for more than a century . . . but her countless fans span many generations.

Dagny Carlsson, Blogger: “Nine-year olds leave me comments and say, ‘We think you’re really cool.’ I’m really proud of that.”

These young at heart fans too want to celebrate her achievement. We’re at Lind University, five hours south of Stockholm.

Dagny is receiving a prize from the Gerontological Society.

Her blog has made her a role model for older people in Sweden.

“People are as young as they feel;” that’s their rationale.

Dagny obviously loves life, and loves telling people about hers.

Dagny Carlsson, Blogger: “If I go one day without writing anything on my blog, everyone immediately thinks I’m dead.”

But it’s spending time at home in front of her computer which is her favorite pastime.

The comments left on her blog are always polite, always complimentary. Dagny never receives abuse, although she is aware many have reservations about older people who are active online.

Dagny Carlsson, Blogger: “There are not many who think there are any clever old people out there. But they do exist.”

Computers keep you young, she says. And Dagny feels young — even at a hundred and five years old.

*     *     *     *     *     *     *

Questions

1. Dagny does a wide variety of things every day. Her schedule changes all the time. True or false? What is her daily routine?

2. “I’ve had this coffee machine since 1951.” What does this mean or imply?

3. She worries about her pension and health. Is this right or wrong? What is her philosophy or outlook on life?

4. “So she spends a lot of time online. Her friend is her computer . . . after managing without one for almost a century.” What can you say about this?

5. Is Dagny “obsessed” or “very passionate” about the internet? Why does she love the internet?

6. What is her main hobby? Are her fans only fellow centenarians? Does she only communicate with old people?

7. Is Dagny considered a “hero” or “celebrity”? Why is she considered a role model? Is there a theme or message from this story?

 
 

A. All old people are passionate about the internet. Is this entirely true, mostly true, partly true, largely false or completely false? Who is the oldest person you know that uses the internet?

B. The internet is the greatest invention in modern times. The internet is the most important aspect of modern life. Do you agree?

C. Can you remember when the internet wasn’t widespread or popular? Do you remember a time before the internet?

D. Does the theme and main idea of this video contradict modern notions of the internet or what your parents and teachers have said about the internet?

E. What will happen in the future? Is this good, bad, both or neither?

F. My friends and I have blogs, websites or social media accounts. Yes or no?