Producer: 7A
Singer: “What number is this, John?”
Producer, annoyed: 7A!
Singer: Okay, don’t get excited. It’s because I’m short, I know.”
[from the Monkees, introduction to “Daydream Believer”]
When I first went to university, I remember being amazed by
how tall most of the other students were.
At my secondary school, most of the students came from an
ordinary background, rather than a wealthy one.
But at university, a much higher proportion of the students came
from a wealthy background.
And somehow these richer students were very tall! You could really see several inches of
height difference between them and my friends from back home. I suppose it must have been because of having
a better diet from an early age.
Appearances can be deceptive, of course. But these tall people seemed to have more advantages
than just money. They spoke confidently
in groups, sure that others would listen.
They were picked first by sports teams, running a little bit faster and
jumping a little bit higher than the short students.
Wouldn’t life be easier as a tall person? Don’t we say when we respect someone, “I look
up to him?”
The manager of the Scottish men’s football team seems to
agree. After failing to qualify
for the World Cup, he gave this excuse: “Genetically we are behind. In the last campaign we were the second
smallest, apart from Spain... Genetically we have to work at things. Maybe we get big men and women together and
see what we can do.”
So the short people get the blame again!
Of course, Spain, Brazil, Portugal, Argentina and Uruguay –
most of the best teams in the world - have shorter teams than Scotland. And Messi and Maradona – two of the best players
ever - are only 170cm tall and 165 cm tall.
So the manager’s excuse doesn’t make much sense.
Short people of the world, be proud. While the tall footballers were just using
their strength to win, you were learning to win through skill. When the tall university students were
talking confidently, sure that others would listen, you were learning to think. And to write blogs.
Vocabulary:
annoyed – slightly angry; irritated
secondary school – In Britain, the school pupils go to after
primary school (elementary school), usually from about age 12 to age 18
a higher proportion – a larger percentage
an inch – 2.54cm
“Appearances can be deceptive.” – a proverb, meaning that
things are not always the way they look
to qualify – for a sports tournament, to be allowed to compete
at the main tournament after doing well in pre-tournament competition
genetically – in a way that relates to genes (different
genes can decide a person’s hair colour, skin colour etc.)
to work at things – to try to change or improve things
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