Pre-Reading Activities

A: Discussion

These statements are paraphrases about a famous person. Read them and answer the questions that follow:

1. Now she's rich, she can't forget other people who are poor and she feels she can do something to help people. She doesn't believe poverty happens to people who aren't clever enough to avoid it.

2. She's started an organization that can help all kinds of people in lots of different ways.

3. Music is fun and she really enjoys it and makes a lot of money from it. But when she's old she doesn't believe that she can say she did things to help people through music alone.

4. Love is becoming very important to her.

5. Her life has been hard but she's still alive and she feels grateful .

Questions

What job does the person have?

What does she want to do?

What kind of person is she?

 

Reading Activities

Divide into three groups, A, B and C. Each group is going to read a different section of the article and answer some questions. After this, members of the different groups will work together to answer some other questions.

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Group A Worksheet

A: Comprehension

You are going to divide into three groups and each group will read one part of today's article. As you read your part of the article, answer the comprehension and vocabulary questions. (They will help you understand the article.) You are reading the first section of the article.

Comprehension Questions

Read this part of the article and answer the questions:

1. What kind of musician is she?
   
   Suggested answer folk pop
   
   
2. When did Jewel become famous?
   
   Suggested answer In 1995
   
   
3. How many copies has Pieces of You sold?
   
   Suggested answer More than 10 million copies
   
   
4. What is one thing she wants to do?
   
   Suggested answer Make a difference to other people
   
   
5. What is one job she had before she became a musician?
   
   Suggested answer Waitressing
   
   
6. What did she used to live in?
   
   Suggested answer A van
   
   
7. What has she done with her mother?
   
   Suggested answer Set up Higher Ground for Humanity (HGH), a non-profit, humanitarian foundation
   
   

Jewel Wants More Spirit In Life Than Music By Jacqueline Wong SINGAPORE Friday April 9 (Reuters) - She has dug her way out of poverty and now top-selling Alaskan singer Jewel wants to help those who have not. "When you've lived with poverty, it bites your heart and changes how you see the world forever. It changes the course for the rest of your life,'' says the folk-pop singer whose home used to be a van. Jewel, 24, surfaced worldwide in 1995 with her hauntingly sparse acoustic debut album Pieces of You. The album has since sold more than 10 million copies. Despite her success, Jewel regards herself an ordinary person yet feels the burning need to make a difference to other people. Music is fun but it doesn't change the world, she says. "I'm now in a position where I can do something about it, and I can't just turn my back on it...can't just pretend that (poverty) doesn't happen to many, many other people that didn't have a talent to get them out of it.'' Born Jewel Kilcher, she rose from waitressing in coffee houses and playing gigs in San Diego, California, to become an international star who has graced the covers of Time magazine, Rolling Stone and Vogue. "I get paid to be who I am and that's really fun, a great position to be in,'' mused the young musician on the Southeast Asian leg of the Jewel Spirit Tour. But her child-like nature seems to belie a serious intention to make things other than her career happen. "All over the world there is tremendous need. We have set up an organization that can be limitless in its ability over time to do many, many different types of projects,'' she says. The organization, Higher Ground for Humanity (HGH), a non-profit, humanitarian foundation set up with her mother, Nedra Carroll, was launched about five years ago. Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited.

B: Vocabulary

Match these words from the article with their meanings (the tense used in the meanings may not match the tense of the word):

Words	Meanings
1. poverty	A. to say something to yourself in a thoughtful way
2. belie	B. aim
3. intention	C. improving the lives of people
4. mused	D. to give a false idea of something
5. humanitarian	E. being poor

Suggested answer 1. E., 2. D., 3. B., 4. A., 5. C.

End of Group A Worksheet

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Group B Worksheet

 

A: Comprehension

You are going to divide into three groups and each group will read one part of today's article. As you read your part of the article, answer the comprehension and vocabulary questions. (They will help you understand the article.) You are reading the middle section of the article.

Comprehension Questions

Read this part of the article and answer the questions:

1. Who did she dedicate her album Spirit to?
   
   Suggested answer To her mother
   
   
2. Jewel has set up an organization called Higher Ground for Humanity. Where is it working to produce clean water?
   
   Suggested answer Asia, Peru and Mexico
   
   
3. How does she feel about music?
   
   Suggested answer She enjoys it and makes a good living from it but she thinks it doesn't change the world
   
   
4. How is Higher Ground for Humanity funded?
   
   Suggested answer By Jewel (through sales of a book of poetry, merchandise and concert tickets), her mother, other individuals and organizations
   
   
5. Where can you find information about it?
   
   Suggested answer On its Web site
   
   
6. What are some groups that it has helped?  
   
   Suggested answer Youth, research, the arts, community building, spiritual development and alternative health care
   
   

MAKING A DIFFERENCE Jewel dedicated her second album Spirit to the one who inspired that outlook -- her mother and manager. "I don't have enough good words for her,'' she says. Carroll wrote that Higher Ground's vision was to help the ongoing discovery of what it meant to be human. The organization is involved in projects to produce clean water in Asia, Peru and Mexico. "My mother has always sought to understand what it means to be a human being in the highest sense and how to be that.'' About the wider purpose of her life, Jewel freely admits that music is kind of frivolous. "It's creative, it's a lot of fun and I make a really good living out of it, but it doesn't change the world.'' "When you're on your death bed looking back at your life, I don't think that's what's going to make me feel like I did a great deed.'' According to a mission statement on HGH's Web site, the foundation is funded by Jewel, her mother as well as other individuals and organizations. Jewel has donated money from sales of her book of poetry A Night Without Armour, merchandise and concert tickets. The foundation also takes gifts of expertise, time, ideas and prayer, because many projects involve promoting values in the family, workplace and community, the mission statement says. Groups that have received help include youth, research, the arts, community building, spiritual development and alternative health care. Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited.

B: Vocabulary

Match these words from the article with their meanings (the tense used in the meanings may not match the tense of the word):

Words	Meanings
1. inspired	A. not serious
2. outlook	B. attitude to life
3. frivolous	C. an act
4. deed	D. to provide a project with money
5. funded	E. to make someone feel something

Suggested answer 1. E., 2. B., 3. A., 4. C., 5. D.

End of Group B Worksheet

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Group C Worksheet

 

A: Comprehension

You are going to divide into three groups and each group will read one part of today's article. As you read your part of the article, answer the comprehension and vocabulary questions. (They will help you understand the article.) You are reading the final section of the article.

Comprehension Questions

Read this part of the article and answer the questions:

1. Who did she sing with when she was a child?
   
   Suggested answer Her father
   
   
2. What does she think women in Alaska are like?
   
   Suggested answer They are self-reliant, they live alone, build their own cabins and hunt by themselves.
   
   
3. After her parents' divorce who did she live with first?
   
   Suggested answer Her father
   
   
4. How did Jewel and her mother try to save money?
   
   Suggested answer By living in vans and eating cheaply
   
   
5. How many albums has she made?
   
   Suggested answer 2
   
   
6. Does she think that love is important?
   
   Suggested answer Yes she does
   
   

FROM RAGS TO RICHES Jewel used to work the bars as part of her family's trade of entertaining, but the singer-songwriter hasn't come away hard-edged. "The reason I was in bar rooms wasn't because my parents were neglectful. It was just our jobs,'' she says. Jewel performed with her father as a duo in local bars, hotels and Eskimo villages. She attributes her ability to stay above the fray of bohemia to a childhood in Alaska, which she calls a strong place of very self-reliant people "where women live alone, build their own cabins and hunt by themselves''. Jewel and her two brothers spent their early years in Anchorage, Alaska. When her parents divorced, she moved with her father Atz Kilcher to Homer,Alaska. They lived in a log cabin on an 800 acre family homestead with no electricity or running water. In 1992, she moved to San Diego to live with her mother and tried a variety of jobs, including waitressing. Mother and daughter attempted to cut down on living expenses by moving into separate vans. Part of their experience was to eat cheaply, mainly peanut butter and carrot sticks. "Nothing's killed me you know, so it's good ... Being alive and having a house is the best thing anyone has and I've always really felt thankful for that,'' she said. With two albums to her name, Jewel feels fortunate but says the responsibility to humanity becomes larger the more successful she becomes. Pieces of You has been described as a time capsule of where she was at 19 and her second album Spirit, the embodiment of the themes she now cherishes. Asked if she still believes everyone yearns for love, she says unequivocally: "I believe there are two places each action comes from in the world, and that's love and fear. That's the choice all the time...and you usually do both in a day.'' "I think I'm moving more and more toward love.'' Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited.

B: Vocabulary

Match these words from the article with their meanings (the tense used in the meanings may not match the tense of the word):

Words	Meanings
1. hard-edged	A. thinks something was caused by something
2. neglectful	B. independent
3. attributes	C. tough
4. self-reliant	D. to want something very strongly
5. yearns	E. not taking care of something properly

Suggested answer 1. C., 2. E., 3. A., 4. B., 5. D.

End of Group C Worksheet

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C: Sharing Information

Now work with people from other groups and answer the questions below. You should all try to contribute some information in order to give complete answers to the questions. (One student from Group A works with one from B and one from C.)

1. What kind of music does Jewel sing?
   
   Suggested answer 1. She is a folk pop-singer. Her first album was described in this article as "hauntingly sparse."
   
   
2. How successful is she?
   
   Suggested answer Very successful. Her first album sold more than 10 million copies. Her photos has appeared on Time, Rolling Stone and Vogue.
   
   
3. What kind of childhood did Jewel have?
   
   Suggested answer Quite difficult. She used to sing with her father in different public places such as bars and hotels in Alaska. She says the people there are very independent. After the divorce of her parents she lived with her father and brothers in Homer, Alaska in a cabin with no electricity or running water.
   
   
4. Has her life been easy or difficult? Why?
   
   Suggested answer She has not always been a successful singer. She has done a variety of jobs including waitressing and playing gigs. When she moved to San Diego to be with her mother, they didn't have much money and couldn't afford to spend much on accommodation or food.
   
   
5. How does she feel about the past?
   
   Suggested answer She doesn't appear bitter. She acknowledges that living with poverty has changed her forever. She says her parents didn't neglect her and she is not hard-edged. She is thankful for still being alive.
   
   
6. Who is very important to her? Why?
   
   Suggested answer Her mother. She inspired her outlook on life and she doesn't have enough good words to say about her. They set up HGH together.
   
   
7. What ideal or aims does she have?
   
   Suggested answer She wants to help people who are poor. She hopes her organization HGH has helped and will help lots of people.
   
   
8. How important is music to her?
   
   Suggested answer Music is fun and she gets paid for it but it doesn't change the world. She doesn't think that when she dies, music will make her feel she did some great act for the world.
   
   
9. What does Higher Ground for Humanity do?
   
   Suggested answer It's a non-profit humanitarian foundation. It is involved in projects producing clean water. It has helped such groups as youth, research, the arts....
   
   
10. How is Higher Ground for Humanity funded?
    
    Suggested answer From sales of her book of poetry, merchandise, concert tickets. It is funded by Jewel and her mother. (It also accepts gifts of expertise, time etc. from other people.)
    
    
11. Which of these adjectives would you use to describe Jewel: selfish, greedy, innocent, independent, hardworking, caring, carefree, uncomplaining, committed
    
    Suggested answer The first part of the article describes her as having a child-like (or innocent) nature but she is also serious in her aims. She may be seen as carefree in playing her music. Her childhood may have made her independent and hardworking and she doesn't complain about her difficult past life. She is also committed to helping other people.
    
    
    
    

D: True or False?

Stay in your groups of three to answer these true [ T ] or false [ F ] questions:

1. Jewel first performed in public in 1995 singing songs from her Pieces of You Album.
2. Her family life wasn't very stable or settled.
3. She says her parents didn't take care of her.
4. The most important thing in her life is her music.
5. Her mother has taught her a lot about life.
6. She has only worked as a musician.
7. Singing is hard work for her.
8. Profits from her music fund Higher Ground for Humanity .
   Suggested answer 1. False (She first performed in public with her father when she was a child.) 2. True, 3. False, 4. False, 5. True, 6. False, 7. False, 8.True

E: Matching Statements

Scan the article and match the paraphrases in Activity A of the Pre-Reading Activities with the direct quotations from Jewel in the article.

Suggested answer 1 : "I'm now in a position where I can do something about it, and I can't just turn my back on it...can't just pretend that (poverty) doesn't happen to many, many other people that didn't have a talent to get them out of it.'' 2 : "All over the world there is tremendous need. We have set up an organization that can be limitless in its ability over time to do many, many different types of projects,'' she says. 3: "It's creative, it's a lot of fun and I make a really good living out of it, but it doesn't change the world.'' "When you're on your death bed looking back at your life, I don't think that's what's going to make me feel like I did a great deed.'' 4: "I think I'm moving more and more toward love.'' 5: "Nothing's killed me you know, so it's good ... Being alive and having a house is the best thing anyone has and I've always really felt thankful for that,'' she said.

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Post-Reading Activities

A: Language Work

Today's article contained some words to do with music and some idioms. Find each word or phrase in the article and then using your understanding of the article, match these words and phrases with their meanings:

Words and Phrases	Meanings
1. gig	A. from being very poor to becoming very wealthy
2. album	B. a musical instrument (not electric)
3. acoustic	C. to escape something through your own achievements
4. duo	D. a live performance of music
5. folk	E. a record, tape or CD with at least several songs by the same musician
6. to dig your way out of something	F. music originally sung or made by ordinary people
7. to turn your back on something	G. a pair of performers
8. to be on your deathbed	H. ignoring something
9. to go from rags to riches	I. to be dying

item one 1. D., 2. E. , 3. B., 4. G., 5. F., 6. C., 7. H., 8. I., 9. A.