Keep Calm and Carry On

Jon Porter

‘Keep calm and carry on’

a. You can see this message written on many T-shirts and other tourist souvenirs in London and the UK. It has become so famous that there are many versions of it： ‘keep calm and drink tea’; ‘keep calm and love dogs’; ‘keep calm and learn English’. As you can see， you can substitute the ‘carry on’ part for anything you want， really！

b. But where does the original phrase come from？ Well， it comes from the Second World War. It was the message used for a poster created by the British government to calm people down and encourage them during the war， when London was being attacked. ‘Keep calm and carry on’ with your life as normal， as if there is no war.

c. Keeping calm when you have problems is known as a very British thing to do. In the past， British people were famous for keeping a ‘stiff upper lip’. This means your lips don’t shake when you are excited or frightened： you stay calm and don’t show people how you are really feeling.

d. Are the British still like this today？ Do they still keep a ‘stiff upper lip’？ Modern Britain is very different from how it was 60 years ago， and British people probably show their emotions more than they used to， but if ‘keep calm and carry on’ is still so famous today， then it must be something the British people still think and care about， and something they are still famous for. So next time you are frightened or in danger， just keep calm and carry on！

Activity 2

The text has four paragraphs， （a-d）. Which title （1-4） below matches which paragraph （a-d）？

1. Hard times

2. Keep it inside

3. Different messages for different situations

4. These days

Activity 3.1

‘Keep calm’ is a verb and an adjective. Which three other verbs below are usually used with ‘calm’？

be; do; feel; give; have; stay

Activity 3.2

Which two of these adjectives are usually used with ‘keep’？

angry; happy; old; quiet; still; tired

Activity 3.3

Complete the orders/recommendations （1-5） with a sentence （a-e）：

1. Just accept that you’re getting old.

2. Keep quiet！

3. Keep still！

4. Stay calm.

5. Try not to be so angry all the time.

a. Everything will be OK.

b. Or they’ll hear us and know we’re here.

c. You can’t fight the whole world.

d. You can’t stay young forever.

e. You never stop moving！

Activity 4

‘Carry’ is a verb. ‘Carry on’ is a verb and a preposition. Together they make a new verb with a different meaning.

Complete the spaces in 1-10 below with either just one verb， or a verb and a preposition. Use the verbs carry， give， go， put and take， and use each one twice. Use the prepositions on， off （x2） and up.

1. Don’t stop！ Carry on！

2. He couldn’t walk， so we had to carry him.

3. Be nice. ____ her a kiss！

4. Don’t ____ now！ You’re nearly there！ （= stop）

5. Don’t ____ until tomorrow what you can do today. （= delay）

6. ____ to bed. You’re very tired.

7. I’ll ____ a sleeping pill so I can sleep on the plane.

8. ____ it there， please， next to the others.

9. The plane will ____ when the captain is ready.

10. The show must ____.

Activity 5

Do you keep calm when you have a problem？ What about other people you know？

Answers

Activity 1

1. e; 2. c; 3. d; 4. a; 5.b

Activity 2

1. b; 2. c; 3. a; 4. d

Activity 3.1

be; stay; feel

Activity 3.2

quiet; still

Activity 3.3

1. d; 2. b; 3. e; 4. a; 5.c

Activity 4

3. Give; 4. give up; 5. put off; 6. Go; 7. take; 8. Put; 9. take off; 10. go on