The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

English, Reading

  • 2. Watch the first episode. You can find yourself other episodes on YouTube.
  1. Women in traditional versus nontraditional occupations, and feminism (kindness, forgiveness, etc)
  2. Way of life in southern Africa, including muti (traditional medicine), countryside, urbanity, and modernity
  3. Social relations in traditional African society
  4. Christianity and traditional belief systems in contemporary Africa
  5. AIDS and AIDS orphans in sub-Saharan Africa
  6. Clinical depression
  7. Emotional intelligence (эмоциональный интеллект), moral philosophy, and virtue ethics (этика добродетели)
  8. Craftsmanship (мастерство, тонкая работа) and mechanics
  9. Domestic violence
  10. Marital infidelity (супружеская неверность)
  11. What words did you learn in Setswana language (Southern Sotha)?

Exercise 1.  Attribute the following extracts from the text to a certain issue or issues listed above (11 of them). See an example.

[1] Women understand what is happening. They are the ones with eyes. – # 1. Women in traditional versus nontraditional occupations, and feminism (kindness, forgiveness, etc)

[2] Dusty road, blue hills. – #2. Way of life in southern Africa, including muti (traditional medicine), countryside, urbanity, and modernity

Extracts from the text: 

She was kind and warm-hearted.
Women too can be detectives.
Women has their own way to resolve problems.
Women can be successful as well.
She was a good detective and a good woman.
The people of Africa were her people, her brothers and sisters.
She became a private detective because she wanted to help people solve mysteries.
She loved to think under the tree.
A lot of mines there are in Africa.
She drank tea with clients.
Man comes and destroys woman's happiness.
To be happy it takes a lot of money and a house.
Men do nothing at home. They just give orders.

Ex. 2 Elaborate a plan for a story entitled “How I will make the world feminine”. Be ready to present shortly the plot of the story. 

 

For reference use some extracts and video episode from the book demonstrating how man and women manage their lives and businesses differently. 

Police are afraid of rich people.
Precious was alright to sometimes help clients without being paid.
Parents are used to hitting children.
Detectives are usually men.
Parents choose for their children.
Your happiness is where you are, so choose wisely.
A man and a woman should become friends before becoming a couple.
Many things are made of animal skins in Botswana.
There is so much suffering in Africa and other countries. Who will help it if not me?
You can’t walk away from the problem. You just can’t.
Everything can be repaired, even a broken heart.
It is a perfect time when the afternoon is changing into the evening. 
I am very happy just sitting with you.
The people of Africa were her people, her brothers, and sisters.
She wanted to help people to solve mysteries, so she became a private detective.
She loved to think under the tree.
To be happy takes a lot of money and a house.
Men do nothing at home. They just give orders.
Women have their own ways to resolve problems.
She was a good detective and a good woman.
Women understand what is happening. They are the ones with eyes.