STORIES FRONT THE NORTH

NAME: Alexander Palate

DATE: Friday, August 20th, 2021
1. READ AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS

Nordic noir_______________________________________________
A different kind of crime drama___________________
Crime shows from Scandinavia (Sweden, Denmark, and Norway) have become very
popular in recent years. These countries may seem like very pleasant and open
places to live, but according to these series, there are terrible.

things happening underneath the surface, and people sometimes commit shocking
crimes. There is always a very strong woman detective in one of the leading roles in
Nordic noir. These women are never glamorous; they look very ordinary. And they
aren't perfect either. They sometimes make mistakes. They often have a lot of
personal problems, and they find it hard to have good relationships with people. They
tend to wear interesting sweaters, too!

Another feature of this genre is that the action usually takes place in cold, dark, lonely settings: in foggy, gray
forests, or empty roads, or abandoned buildings. And we hardly ever see the sun. It is always snowing or
raining or nighttime, but they are still fascinating, and they're hard to stop watching.

1. Why do you think these series are called Nordic Noir? In what two ways are they “noir” or “black”?
One of the main characteristics of this genre is that the action usually takes place in cold, dark and
lonely environments: in gray forests, with fog, empty roads or abandoned buildings
2. What do the main characters have in common? What do you think about representing women in this
way?
There is always a very strong detective in one of the leading roles in Nordic film noir. These women are
never glamorous; they look very ordinary.

GRAMMAR
2. ANSWER THE QUESTIONS.
1. How many adverbs of frequency can you find in the article? Write them down.
sometimes always usually
never often hardly ever

2. Do these words go before or after the verb be? What about other verbs?
The adverbs come after the verb be
They come before other verbs.
3. What follows the verb tend in the text?

The infinitive with to follows the word tend.

LISTENING
3. HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN? WHICH ONE OF THESE SENTENCES IS
FALSE? LISTEN AND CHECK.

True False
1. He was born in Denmark in 1805, the only child in a very poor family.
2. His father was a lawyer, and his mother was a writer.
3. His father used to read him legends and stories as a child.
4. His mother didn’t use to read to him at all!

4. COMPLETE THE SENTENCES IN THE TABLE.

USED TO
We use used to + infinitive to talk about something
we often did in the past but, that we don´t do now.
Did you use to read Andersen’s fairy
tales when you were a child?
Yes, I use to read them quite often.
No, I didn’t use to read them at all.