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© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2010
US drug agency recruits speakers of ‘street slang’
Level 2
Intermediate
1. recruit (title)
verb / noun
2. demand (para 1)
verb / noun
3. attempt (para 1)
verb / noun
4. track (para 2)
verb / noun
5. deal (para 2)
verb / noun
6. cover (para 4)
verb / noun
7. offer (para 7)
verb / noun
8. surrender (para 8)
verb / noun
Verb or noun?
4
These words can all be verbs or nouns. Find them in the article. How are they used – as verbs or nouns?
Explain both meanings of the word by making example sentences.
Ebonics translation
5
In the US TV series, The Wire, Baltimore police spend hours listening to wiretaps. How good do you think
you would be at understanding what is being said? Match the Ebonic language on the left with the more
standard English translation on the right.
1.
We got to book
2. I need a re-up
3.
Word is bond
4. Got $10 I can hold?
5. Is he shook?
6. Well, later. I got to grind
a. Can I borrow $10?
b. Is he scared?
c. We’ve got to leave.
d. Bye. Got to get to work.
e. I mean it.
f.
I need a new supply (e.g. of drugs)
Discussion
6
Discuss one or more of these questions:
• Are there any expressions, or special ways of communicating, used by young people in your area that
older people may not understand?
• Is there a strong dialect used in your area? In which ways, and how much, does it differ from the
standard language of your country?
• How much has your language changed in the course of two generations? Do you use the same terms
as your grandparents do / would have done?
