Listen Up: Bernd das Brot, a loaf of bread, toasts 25 years of laughs on German TV

2. What is Bernd famous for saying?
A. “Mist!”
B. “Bread!”
C. “Fine!”
D. “No!”

3. If you are “reluctant” to do something, you are ... to do it.
A. happy
B. unwilling
C. excited
D. none of the above

4. What do Bernd’s friends want him to do?
A. work in a cafe
B. work in a pizzeria
C. become a comedian
D. become an influencer

5. When did Bernd’s episodes start airing at night?
A. 2000
B. 2003
C. 2004
D. 2009

6. What can the audience learn from Bernd according to the podcast?
A. that it is OK to be yourself, even if you are not always happy
B. that complaining does not lead to success
C. that it is important to find joy in the simple things in life
D. that friendship can help us get through difficult times

7. What did Bernd fall in love with?
A. a sheep
B. a flower bush
C. a baguette
D. a multigrain loaf

8. Which word can replace “stale” in the podcast?
A. tedious
B. classic
C. spoiled
D. boring

9. What happened to Bernd’s statue in 2009?
A. It was vandalised.
B. It was stolen.
C. It was replaced.
D. It was destroyed.

10. What social media channel will Bernd launch in the coming series?
A. Better with Bernd
B. Bernd’s World
C. The Bernd Show
D. Daily Life of Bernd

11. Complete the following profile about Bernd. (6 marks)
Job: (i) ______
Type of bread: (ii) ______
Appearance: He has short (iii) ______ and always looks like he is (iv) ______.
Personality: He is (v) ______ and likes to (vi) ______ about everything.

1. C
2. A
3. B
4. D
5. B
6. A
7. C
8. D
9. B
10. A
11. (i) television presenter; (ii) sandwich loaf; (iii) arms; (iv) scowling; (v) grumpy; (vi) complain (accept all reasonable answers)

Adapted from Associated Press

Voice 1: Forget SpongeBob SquarePants, Sesame Street and the Muppets. A depressed German loaf of bread named Bernd das Brot is celebrating his 25th anniversary as the reluctant star of a children’s television programme that accidentally became equally popular with adults.

Voice 2: A cult classic in Germany, Bernd the Bread is a puppet renowned for his deep, gloomy voice, his perpetual pessimism and his signature expression, “Mist!” Bernd is a television presenter who wants nothing to do with TV and can’t wait to go home to stare at the wallpaper. This year, his friends – a sheep and a flower bush – are urging him to become a bread influencer.

Voice 1: The character was born as a sketch on the back of a napkin in a pizzeria. Bernd’s infamous grimace was drawn by Tommy Krappweis, who modelled it after his co-creator’s face. The duo had been asked to create mascots for Kika, a German children’s public television channel. Bernd was designed as a sandwich loaf with short arms and a permanent scowl. The character channels German stereotypes with his grumpy disposition, habit of complaining and dry sense of humour.

Voice 2: Bernd’s first episode aired on Kika in 2000 alongside his more optimistic pals, Chili the Sheep and Briegel the Bush. Because Kika is a children’s channel, there was typically dead air from 9pm to 6am. On January 1, 2003, the network put Bernd’s short episodes into the night loop for the first time. The move brought an adult audience into Bernd’s world and cemented his popularity as a German cult classic. In 2004, Bernd won the Adolf Grimme Prize, the German television equivalent of an Emmy. The jury said he represented “the right to be in a bad mood”.

Voice 1: According to Krappweis, Bernd’s creator, the character shows that it is completely fine to not feel well at times. Bernd is depressed for a multitude of reasons, including his failed attempt to be the mascot for a bakery’s advertising campaign. That is how he ended up as a TV presenter, as a last resort. But it’s in Episode 85 that the viewers learn about Bernd’s broken heart. He fell in love with a beautiful baguette, but she only had eyes for a run-of-the-mill multigrain bread with its 10 types of grain.

Voice 2: Despite Bernd’s best efforts – one of his catchphrases is “I would like to leave this show” – the episodes have never become stale. He sings and dances, and he’s been to space. He’s the star of merchandise, a video game and headlines like “Give Us Our Daily Bernd”. In 2009, his two-metre-tall statue was stolen from his usual spot outside the town hall in Erfurt, where Kika is based. Bernd was held hostage for nearly two weeks before being discovered unharmed in an abandoned barracks.

Voice 1: This year, Kika is honouring Bernd’s 25th anniversary with new episodes, an update to his hit song and online activities for kids and adults alike. The latest series will premiere in September as Bernd, Chili and Briegel try to make him a bread influencer by launching the social media channel Better with Bernd. The trio will present inventions to make school and life easier for viewers, but naturally, their concoctions backfire. Bernd instead becomes a “de-influencer” – and an involuntary trendsetter.