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The listening exercises in Business Spotlight Plus (p.15) are based on the article “Leaving on a high note” (Names & News, p. 9). Here, we provide you with the audio file and transcript.
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Leaving on a high noteAbgang in großem StilLeaving on a high note
Aretha Franklin’s flashyauffälligflashy funeralBeerdigung, Beisetzungfuneral has breathed new life into the funeral business. The singer, who died in August of 2018, received a send-offVerabschiedungsend-off worthy of the Queen of Soul. Of course, few of us will make our final journey accompanied by 100 pink Cadillacs or wear a selection of cocktail dresses in our coffinSargcoffin. Yet American funeral directorBestatter(in)funeral directors say that Aretha’s funeral was inspiring. “Hopefully this gets people thinking about their own service a little more,” funeral-planning director Cassidy Iwersen told the Financial Times.
“We’re all ex-wedding-industry people,” explains Erin Furey, cofounderMitgründer(in)cofounder with Iwersen of Going Out in Style. The firm asks potential clients to fill out a questionnaire, answering questions such as whether they would like to have their funeral take place on a boat, or whether invitations should be sent via social media. Other suggestions involve turning the the deceasedder/die Verstorbene(n)deceased’s ashes into a diamond or giving funeral guests a printed magazine about the the dear departedder/die geliebte(n) Verstorbene(n)dear departed.
The funeral industry is worth an estimated $16 billion (€14 billion). Baby boomers especially are willing to pay for individually designed funerals. Meanwhile, Furey says that funerals deserve at least as much preparation as weddings do. “It’s a day you can’t do again,” she comments. “You never get a second chance to make a last impressionAnspielung auf „you never get a second chance to make a first impression“last impression.”