8 The Guardian Weekly 23.11.
07
Learning English
Advanced≥ Scottish fisherman spoils Trump’s dream development
Severin Carrell
1 For 40 years, Michael Forbes has
lived a quiet life netting salmon
every summer like his father and
grandfather before him. His ram-
bling old farm nestles behind a ram-
part of vast sand dunes that protect
his rusting tractors and ­ramshackle
sheds from the North Sea winds.
2 But those dunes are coveted by
the billionaire property developer
­Donald Trump, as the centrepiece of
his plans to create the “world’s great-
est golf course” — a $1bn project to
plant an eight-storey five-star ­hotel,
two championship golf courses and
950 timeshare holiday flats on the
coast of northeast Scotland.
3 In the middle of Trump’s dream sits
Forbes’ weather-stained house, his
mother’s neatly kept mobile home
and their roaming tribes of geese,
cats and hens.
4 And Trump is far from pleased. Dur-
ing a press conference called to bol-
ster his attempt to build the Trump
International resort, he singled out
Forbes for attack, describing the
Questions
Materials prepared by
Janet Hardy-Gould
Before reading
1 Discuss the questions below with a
partner.
a Do you know any cases in your country
where an individual person has decided
to fight against a large company or
­powerful organisation?
b What happened to this person in the
end? Did they win or lose their fight?
Tell the rest of the class about the person
that you discussed.
2 Look at the headline, photo and
­caption. Choose the correct words in
the paragraph below.
Michael Forbes is a (a) fisherman/­
property developer who lives on the
northeast coast of (b) the USA/Scotland.
The (c) 25-year-old/55-year-old Forbes
is currently (d) helping/spoiling the
­billionaire Donald Trump’s plans for a
new (e) fishing lake/golf development.
While reading
1 Look at the sentences below about
Michael Forbes and Donald Trump.
Then read the whole article and
put yes (Y) or no (N) next to the
­sentences.
Michael Forbes . . .
a □ has lived and worked in the same
place for 40 years.
b □ keeps his farm tidy and in good
­repair.
c □ has refused only one low offer from
Michael Forbes holding out against Trump  Angus Blackburn/Newsline
fisherman’s property as a “disgrace”
which damaged his scheme for an
award-winning resort.
5 Trump told the assembled report-
ers: “Take a look and see how badly
maintained that piece of property is.
It’s disgusting. There are rusty trac-
tors, rusty oil cans. I actually asked
him, ‘Are you doing this on purpose
to try and make me look bad, so I
Trump to buy the farm.
d □ is the last in his family line to live
and work on the farm.
e □ is considering working on the new
golf resort.
Donald Trump . . .
f □ is planning to build a large and
­luxurious golf resort in Scotland.
g □ admires the farm that Forbes has
created.
h □ wants to buy the farm because it is in
the middle of the planned development.
i □ believes that Forbes is trying to
force him into paying a higher price.
j □ has recently agreed with Forbes a
price of $750,000 for the farm.
2 Read the article again. Use the words
below to complete the questions and
then find the answers.
How, How many, How much, What,
Where
a _____ is situated between the farm and
the North Sea?
b _____ holiday apartments does Trump
plan to build?
c _____ will the whole project cost?
d _____ does Forbes’ mother live?
e _____ does Trump describe the farm?
f _____ does Forbes look like?
g _____ hectares of land does Forbes own?
h _____ does George Sorial describe Forbes?
3 Choose five adjectives from the list
below that you think best describe
Michael Forbes. Check unknown words
in a dictionary. Make brief notes to ex-
plain your choices. With a partner
­negotiate a list of five words that you
both agree on. Repeat the process as a
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have to pay some more money?’”
6 Forbes, a stocky, grey-haired and
ruddy-faced 55-year-old, is unre-
pentant. On his lawn flutters a blue
and white Scottish flag. He is in no
doubt that Trump is unhappy: he
has refused several offers from the
billionaire’s lawyers to buy his nine
hectares of land, offers that have
slowly edged up to $750,000.
class to produce a final list.
□ crafty □ foolish □ greedy □ heroic
□ ineffective □ naïve □ patriotic
□ persistent □ powerful □ principled
□ selfish □ shrewd □ strong-minded
□ stubborn
After reading
1 Look at the verbs in bold below.
Choose the correct meaning.
­Paragraph numbers are in brackets.
1 Michael Forbes has lived a quiet life
­netting salmon . . . (paragraph 1)
a killing b farming c catching
­d preparing
2 But those dunes are coveted by Donald
Trump . . . (paragraph 2)
a desired b admired c detested d owned
3 . . . and their roaming tribes of geese,
cats and hens. (paragraph 3)
a constantly feeding b freely moving
c loudly calling d often sleeping
4 During a press conference called to
­bolster his attempt . . . (paragraph 4)
a announce b discuss c describe
d strengthen
5 On his lawn flutters a blue and white
Scottish flag . . . (paragraph 6)
a hangs heavily b moves quickly and
lightly c moves slowly d moves loudly
6 . . . the Trump organisation had tried to
negotiate with Forbes, including offering
to relocate him . . . (paragraph 8)
a help b pay c move d employ
7 “To me, you can’t put a price on it. I
just won’t sell, and he knows that,”
Forbes said. “All my family came
from here. My grandfather fished
down here and my father, and I’m
last in line and will see it out.”
8 George Sorial, Trump’s managing
director for international develop-
ment, said the Trump organisation
had tried to negotiate with Forbes,
including offering him a job at the
resort and to relocate him and his
mother. But he claimed Forbes was
trying to force Trump into paying a
higher price. “He has become very
greedy. He wants huge numbers.”
Glossary
hold out against someone (phrasal
verb) when a person refuses to surrender
to an enemy or opponent
ramshackle (adjective) when buildings
are in a very bad condition
single out (phrasal verb) choose some-
one from a group for special attention
a disgrace (noun) a thing that is so bad
that it makes people feel ashamed
Activity — role play
Imagine that Trump makes a final
­attempt to persuade Forbes to sell
his land. Role play with a partner
a ­meeting between the two men.
Choose a role then follow the steps
below. Visit trumpgolfscotland.com
for more information on the proposed
development.
a Look back at the article. Make notes on
the key arguments that your ­character
would put forward about ­selling the
land. Add more arguments of your own —
for example, Forbes might wish to keep
his farm to protect the environment.
b Note some useful phrases to help you
express your arguments/opinions.
c Conduct the negotiation and come to a
conclusion.
d Do the role play again, this time in
front of the class. Ask the class to decide
which person makes the most convincing
Forbes or Trump?
Answers
Before reading
2 a fisherman b Scotland c 55-year-old
d spoiling e golf development
While reading
1aY bN cNdYeN fY gN hY iY jN
2 a What. The sand dunes. b How many.
950. c How much. $1bn. d Where. On
a mobile home on the farm. e How. A
­disgrace. f What. He is stocky with grey
hair and a ruddy face. g How many. Nine.
h How. Very greedy.
3 Students’ own answers.
After reading
1c 2a 3b 4d 5b 6c