Tuesday, August 25, 2009

GLITTER AND GLAMOR: ESL handout (edit) 2 Nov 2004

  Glitter and Glamor:
Hollywood Star Songs

You Made Me Love You
San Francisco
                    Candle in the Wind 
The Right Profile
Graceland
Johnny B Goode

           Discussion Questions

1. What subject fascinates you?  Why?
2.  What does it mean to fasten a paper clip, tie, or button?
3.  How would your credit status affect your life?
4.  Which artists would you call "highbrow"?  Which "lowbrow"?
5.  What does it mean "to burn the candle at both ends"?
6.  Which animal is usually stopped by crying, "Whoa!"?
7.  "Alcoholiday" is a comic blend word.  Where does its humor lie?
8.  If a check bounces, is that good or bad?
9.  At a star-studded occasion, there are (a) many stars out at night, (b) many famous people, (c) few stars out at night, (d) few famous people.
10.  Do a search and give a report on a religious cult you know about.
11.  What's the opposite of a Live album?  (Don't say dead album.)
12.  What is Celine Dion's signature song?
13.  What was Frank Sinatra's signature song?
14.  In what places are you likely to whisper?
15.  What things are you likely to whisper?
16.  What's a short temper?
17.  What does it mean to be short-changed?  To be short of change?
18.  How is a civil war different from other wars?
19.  Where are you likely to find a trampoline?
20.  What obligations do you think you have to your friends?  Family?
21.  What obligations do you think they have to you?
22.  What's another word for the funny papers?
23.  How would you describe a devoted husband or wife?
24.  What's a dedicated phone number?
25.  What causes turmoil in your life?
26.  How would a person feel if he's blown apart?
27.  "Guy" is one of many gendered words for men or women.  Make a list of these and discuss their proper use.
28.  How is a movie still different from a photograph of a movie star?
29.  What does it mean to hound someone over something?
30.  What's another name for a hound?
31.  Name some animals that crawl?  If a movie makes your flesh crawl it's a a)comedy, b)musical, c)western d)horror movie.
32.  Some movies use crawling credits.  Some Taiwan television shows use crawlers.  What are they?
33.  In the movies, what's another name for the leading man?
34.  A person can be tough.  What does that mean?  How can a steak be tough?  What's tough luck?  What does it mean "to tough it out"?  To toughen someone up?  When someone says, "If you don't like it, tough!" what are two words that are a synonym for "tough" in that sentence?
35.  "When the going gets tough, the tough get going."  Give your interpretation of that saying.
36. English has a way of turning adjectives into nouns.  For example, "musical" originally was an adjective in the form, "musical comedy."  Later the noun was dropped and now the adjective functions as a noun.  The same with "Western," which originally was an adjective in the form, "Western movie."  There are countless other examples.  A "short" originally meant "short feature" [movie].  This however is not consistent.  For example, one cannot say "a gangster" instead of "a gangster film" and mean the same thing.  We used to be asked to return
"empties" to the store in exchange for a few pennies.  So, what's an empty?
37.  Do you know of a gentrification program in Taiwan?
38.  What's a light dimmer?  What's a dimwit?
39.  What's a one-word synonym for "cut it out," as when someone
makes too much noise and a neighbor shouts, "Cut it out!"
40.  When one says, "He looks funny," does that mean he makes you
laugh?  What does it mean?
41.  Learn to use your dictionary (a big one!).  What is the "etymology" (word origin/source) of "companion"?  a) people who drink wine together, b) people who eat bread together, c) people who study together.
42.  Do a search and find out why movies were once called "the flicks."
43.  What do you put into an electrical socket?  What's another word for socket?
44.  How do you put a bulb into a light socket?
45.  What's a dim-witted person?
46.  Where is woodwork commonly found on a wall?
47.  We know what a funeral is.  What does it mean when something is funereal?  What are some common synonyms?
48.  Discuss the worst natural disaster you've experienced.  What were your feelings?
49.  What does it mean to ridicule someone?  What's a one-word
synonym for "risible"?
50.  What are special effects in a movie?
51.  Do you consider your friends loyal?  Which domestic pet is commonly considered loyal?
52.  Do a search and discuss a subculture in class.
53.  What's a flawless school paper?
54.  What's a one-word synonym for "in the nude"?
55.  How is "what does he like" different from "what is he like"?
56.  What are you likely to put into a gunnysack?
57.  What do you call it when the sun goes down?
58.  What do you call it when the sun comes up?
59.  A "shade" is an old-fashioned word for "ghost."  What word related
to "shade" is like a ghost and follows us everywhere we go?
60.  A "shady" person is a)honest, b)dishonest, c)dark, d)humble.
61.  Slim Shady is the nickname for a famous singer today.  Who is this singer?
62.  In Candle in the Wind, the "press" refers to a)journalists, b)fans, c)gossip, d)none of the above.

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