Objective Proficiency p 26. Conditionals.Rudyard Kipling's If . Extra Listening

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make 1_____________ for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't 2___________ lies,
Or being hated, don't 3______________________ hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with 4____________________
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by 5______________ to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And 6_____________ and build 'em up with 7____________ tools:

If you can make one 8_____________ of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of  9__________________,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never 10__________________ about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and 11_____________
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common 12____________,
if neither 13___________ nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the 14_______________ minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!


KEY

1. allowance

make allowance(s) for something

to consider something, for example when you are making a decision or planning something. E.g.

The budget made allowance for inflation. The plan makes no allowance for people working at different rates.

make allowances (for somebody)

to allow somebody to behave in a way that you would not usually accept, because of a problem or because there is a special reason. E.g. You have to make allowances for him because he's tired.

2. deal in
to accept something as a basis for your decisions, attitudes or actions. E.g. We don't deal in rumours or guesswork.



3. give way to

give way to something

to allow yourself to be very strongly affected by something, especially an emotion. E.g. Flinging (throwing) herself on the bed, she gave way to helpless misery. She gave way to a burst of weeping



4. Triumph and Disaster  victory, and an event that causes great damage 
  

 

 5. knaves  
knave /neɪv/ an old-fashioned word for a dishonest man.

 

 6. stoop
stoop (down) to bend your body forwards and downwards. E.g. She stooped down to pick up the child. The doorway was so low that he had to stoop.



7. worn-out
worn out: badly damaged and/or no longer useful because it has been used a lot. E.g. These shoes are worn out. The gradual replacement of worn-out equipment. A speech full of worn-out old clichés.



8. heap
heap (of something) an untidy pile of something. E.g. The building was reduced to a heap of rubble. A compost heap. His clothes lay in a heap on the floor. Worn-out car tyres were stacked in heaps. 



9. pitch-and-toss
 a game in which the player who throws a coin closest to a mark gets to throw all the coins, winning those that land with the head facing up. 
pitch: throw 



10. breathe a word
not breathe a word: remain silent about something secret: E.g.  they would never breathe a word of anything that happened on that fateful night.



11. sinew /ˈsɪnjuː/ a strong band of tissue in the body that joins a muscle to a bone. Sp. tendón



12. touch
the common touch the ability to get on with or appeal to ordinary people: E.g. he was an intimate of Lord Beaverbrook yet kept the common touch.



13. foes
foe /fəʊ/ an enemy.



14. unforgiving /ˌʌnfəˈɡɪvɪŋ/ 


 
IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Analysis

The first section of the poem, in my opinion, is about being true to oneself. There are always going to be people who think differently than you, or misjudge you for one reason or another. I think the poem is saying that we need to rise above this, and do what we know is right and just. Don’t let others provoke you into actions you know are wrong. Know the value of your self worth, but don’t become conceited.
The second section is about overcoming obstacles that get in your path, whether by others, or of your own making. Follow your dreams, but be realistic in the approach. I believe this section is teaching perseverance, to keep going, even when things get rough.
I believe the most important lesson in the third section is to never give up! It is truly hard to get back up after life has beaten you into the ground. It can be done though, if we always believe in ourselves and know that we did it once so we can do it again! This is a very important lesson, and one that we all should take to heart. Kipling knew how hard life can sometimes be, and I think this section of the poem is full of hope for all of us.
The last section has two important lessons. First, that we are all equal. Don’t put yourself above anyone else, but know that you are just as good as everyone else. There are things to be admired in almost everyone if you look hard enough. The second lesson I take from this section, is to never waste time. Make every minute of every day count!


Paraphrase 
 If you can
1) remain calm when everyone near you is not calm, and they are holding you responsible for the problem; have confidence that you are acting correctly when everyone thinks you are wrong, and at the same time, understand their doubts;
2) be patient, and can tolerate lies being told about you (you don’t lie) and being hated; not hate anybody yourself; not try to look or sound too good;
3) dream but not just dream; instead, be realistic and be goal-oriented; function in both good situations and bad and realize that you will have both throughout your life;
4) tolerate the fact that people have twisted your words or wrecked your projects; rebuild your projects and rebuild your life again when necessary;
5) risk everything you have, lose it and then start all over again (without complaint);
6) not give up when you feel weakened physically and mentally; hang in there;
7) resist being corrupted by ordinary people or by people in high positions; not be hurt by either enemies or friends, value everyone, but not any one person too much;
8) make the most of every minute of life; then you will be an honourable and trustworthy human being.


If you want to read more about this poem, you can go here