Activity 1. Vocabulary study - use a dictionary to define the following words.
cad (bad guy) wits (intelligence) woo (seduce) fleece (steel their money) desert (leaves them)drop names (inventing names, pretending to know someone, something) fabricate (inventing) pull off ( !?) seamstress ( sews hats) milliner ( hat shop) plain-looking (not especially pretty) feigns (pretend, fake) taken aback (surprised) reel in (to manipulate) blandishments (lies) blanch comsummate (make love) brooch ( a jewel)
Activity 2. Plot: put the events in the proper sequence.
PlotAct I __4__ A. Georgia and Adelaide talk in separate monologues - George describes his role as a gigolo and Adelaide talks about her inheritance._9_ B. The next day they meet in the park and things happen fast - Georgia declares his love, asks for her hand in marriage, and she accepts without much questioning._7___ C. The next day, George bumps into her by chance and invites her to lunch as he plays the perfect gentleman.___2_ D. He says that his suits are attractive to women.___6_ E. George enters the shop behind her and asks about the green hat in the window - the seduction of Adelaide has begun.___10_ F. They are married in a coastal resort, book into a hotel, play cards the whole night long but do not make love because Adelaide carries a lot of emotional baggage from the past.___8_ G. Adelaide is touched and accepts his invitation.___1_ H. We first meet George who tells us he wears expensive clothes, just like those worn by the upper class of England.____5 I. The action really starts with George walking down Edgeware Road and coming face to face with Adelaide outside the clothing shop.__3__ J. We meet Adelaide who tells us she works in the back room of a clothing store as a milliner.
Act II.__7__ A. She dreams about opening a clothing store together; it would be the perfect fit for them.___4_ B. George makes excuses and convinces Adelaide to take a bath.__2__ C. Saying he has a headache, George does not go to the post office with Adelaide, but returns to the room, hoping to escape with the money and brooch.__10__ D. Unfortunately for her George does the unthinkable.__8__ E. George hesitates, Adelaide prepares to leave, he tries to get her money back, and he becomes angry.__5__ F. Adelaide realizes her brooch is not there and confronts George about his lies, telling him to stop pretending.__6_ G. She takes on an assertive role: she wants to stay with him rather than her parents and proposes a plan to him.__3__ H. But for some unknown reason, George returns to the room to leave the brooch and as he is leaving a second time comes face-to-face with Adelaide.__9__ I. Adelaide decides to stay when she learns about George's troubled past.___1_J. After Adelaide wakes up, she and George head to the bank to withdraw her inheritance and she writes a letter to her family.
Activity 3. Writing and discussion: in small groups.
The elements of plot, theme, character, setting, point of view and style contribute to the overall effect of the play:
What is the writer's purpose? to entertain? to be thought provoking? to state an opinion? to play on the reader's emotions?
What is the writer's tone? Is the writer being ironic? sarcastic? humorous? serious? tongue in cheek?
How does the story begin? Does the writer establish setting or emphasise the background of the situation? Is the character given more emphasis than the setting? How much detail is supplied?
How does the story develop? Is it told through a series of blocks moving rapidly through time and space, like flash backs and flash forwards? Is it being told chronologically?
How does the story end? With a twist or surprise? With a build up to an inevitable climax or are you left hanging, being forced to supply your own ending based on your reading of the little blocks of action the writer supplied?
Who tells the story? Is the story being told through the eyes of a character involved in the action? Is the author standing outside of the action and observing? Is the author observing but within the action?Check the use of the pronoun... if it is I, me, my, our, we then the author is a character within the story. The story is being told in the first person.If the pronouns are: he, she, it, hers, his, they, them, their the author is outside of the action and observing as if he/she was God. This is known as the Eye of God technique.Another way of telling a story is as a series of thoughts, each thought block building up an impression or action. The thoughts can be told in a logical order or as they seemingly occur to the character... at random. This is known as the stream of consciousness technique.
What is the language and style like? The impression the writer wants in the story will be affected by the language he/she tells the story in or has the characters use. The language is important to develop the character and action. The realism of the dialogue will influence our reading of the story and our attitudes to the characters involved.
What images are used? In order to rapidly develop a story the writer relies on the reader recognising particular symbols and references and understanding what he/she intends them to mean, eg. in Maurice Gee's story Schooldays (Maurice Gee - Collected Stories. Penguin Books) the lead character's red hair becomes a symbol for rebellion, challenge and freedom.
What are the characters like? The characters don't have to be fully developed. They need not have a name. They can be identified simply as "the boy", "the girl". "the mother." In other stories it is essential that the characters have fully developed personalities and motivations.
How important is the setting in conveying the ideas and mood of the story? Activity 4. Work in groups of three and write a different ending to the play lasting approximatey 3 minutes.
lundi 30 mars 2009
lundi 16 mars 2009
Questions LEAP p.56-58
1. Factors are : Culture, Subculture, Social class,
Reference group, Family, Roles and Status, Age and life cycle stage, Occupation, Economic situation, Lifetsyle, Personality and self-concept, Motivation, Perception, Learning, Beliefs and attitudes
2. Culture is a set of basic values, perceptions, wants and behaviors, learned by a member of society from family and other important institutions.
3. A strong sens of our history, our flag, achievment of our artists and scientists, climate, geogrpahy, social safety net, etc.
4. To discovers new products.
5. Group of people with shared value systems based on common life experiences and situations.
6. Native Canadians, Ethnic Consumers, Internet Users.
7. Three on-reserves branches, 24 Aboriginal banking centers. Importance of public relations trougth sponsorship and scholarship.
8. Because it's some of the fastest-growing markets in Canada.
9. They believe they have been neglected ou misrepresented.
10. Because of the compelling demographic characteristics of users. They're above-average spenders and highly educated with high incomes.
11. People are worried about providing their credit card numbers. They don't like being unable to touch or see a product and they are concerned about their privacy.
12. Relatively permanent and ordered divisions in a society whose members share similar values, interests and behavior.
Reference group, Family, Roles and Status, Age and life cycle stage, Occupation, Economic situation, Lifetsyle, Personality and self-concept, Motivation, Perception, Learning, Beliefs and attitudes
2. Culture is a set of basic values, perceptions, wants and behaviors, learned by a member of society from family and other important institutions.
3. A strong sens of our history, our flag, achievment of our artists and scientists, climate, geogrpahy, social safety net, etc.
4. To discovers new products.
5. Group of people with shared value systems based on common life experiences and situations.
6. Native Canadians, Ethnic Consumers, Internet Users.
7. Three on-reserves branches, 24 Aboriginal banking centers. Importance of public relations trougth sponsorship and scholarship.
8. Because it's some of the fastest-growing markets in Canada.
9. They believe they have been neglected ou misrepresented.
10. Because of the compelling demographic characteristics of users. They're above-average spenders and highly educated with high incomes.
11. People are worried about providing their credit card numbers. They don't like being unable to touch or see a product and they are concerned about their privacy.
12. Relatively permanent and ordered divisions in a society whose members share similar values, interests and behavior.
lundi 2 mars 2009
LEL
All the four courses weren't really interesting, but still okay. The level was pretty much the same: intermediate. Some questions were harder to answer though, especially in the literature section. I should read more poems, so I would understand them more easily. I would rate the four tests 8 on 10. I learned that I have facility to understand narrative and explicative texts, but I should take more time to read them. I also learned that I should read more poetry and pay attention to unknown vocabulary words. My score for the first was 72, the second was 75, the third was 73 and the fourth was 81.
Mid-Term Writing Test
And the oscar should have went to ...
The year 2008 was a good one for the cinema's world. All five movies nominated for the Oscars were excellent, but different. This year Best Picture winner, Slumdog Millionaire, tells the amazing story of a young man who's about the win the Indian version of«Who wants to be a millionaire». The Reader, with Best Actress Kate Winslet, shows us the love story of a Nazi woman during the holocaust. Milk, with Best Actor Sean Penn, represents the fight of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay politician. Frost/Nixon is an adaptation of the legendary interviews about the Watergate scandal. The last but not least, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, shows us the entire life of a man who was born old and grows younger. My opinion is that Benjamin Button should have won the prize for Best Picture. In the following text, I will tell you why.
First of all, I believe that Benjamin Button is a touching movie representing the whole set of humans emotions.
This amazing story gives great opportunities to a director and David Fincher did a really good job. All the actors were extremely true to their characters, especially Brad Pitt who had the hard job to plays Benjamin at every age. The movie opens with the birth of Benjamin and, already, you notice how important emotions are. The despair of the father, who chooses to abandon his child, is tangible. Because the movie is about the whole life of a man, the public follows Benjamin in his most interior reflections. All the scenes with his beautiful soul mate Daisy are moving and well thought. Fincher never let Benjamin’s story fall into a melting pot of clichés on the impossible love. When Benjamin and Daisy finally «meet in the middle» the movie reaches it climax.
Another interesting point of this film is that there is always a big contrast in the action. For example, during the tragic events following the birth of Benjamin, when Mr. Button is so lost and sad, the entire city is celebrating the end of the World War One. Different elements are put in opposition during the whole movie. Benjamin himself could be a second example: it is fascinating to see this young boy, looking like a senior, going through all the steps of childhood being considered like a fully grown man.
Because The Curious Case of Benjamin Button perfectly reflects the different feelings a man can live in an interesting story, opposing different things at all times, I believe it should have won the Oscar. In fact, the cinematography, the sets, the costumes and, of course the make up and special effects were impressive and of quality. I can’t understand why Fincher’s film didn’t won. Many people have enjoyed watching it and, I’m sure, many others will.
446 words
The year 2008 was a good one for the cinema's world. All five movies nominated for the Oscars were excellent, but different. This year Best Picture winner, Slumdog Millionaire, tells the amazing story of a young man who's about the win the Indian version of«Who wants to be a millionaire». The Reader, with Best Actress Kate Winslet, shows us the love story of a Nazi woman during the holocaust. Milk, with Best Actor Sean Penn, represents the fight of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay politician. Frost/Nixon is an adaptation of the legendary interviews about the Watergate scandal. The last but not least, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, shows us the entire life of a man who was born old and grows younger. My opinion is that Benjamin Button should have won the prize for Best Picture. In the following text, I will tell you why.
First of all, I believe that Benjamin Button is a touching movie representing the whole set of humans emotions.
This amazing story gives great opportunities to a director and David Fincher did a really good job. All the actors were extremely true to their characters, especially Brad Pitt who had the hard job to plays Benjamin at every age. The movie opens with the birth of Benjamin and, already, you notice how important emotions are. The despair of the father, who chooses to abandon his child, is tangible. Because the movie is about the whole life of a man, the public follows Benjamin in his most interior reflections. All the scenes with his beautiful soul mate Daisy are moving and well thought. Fincher never let Benjamin’s story fall into a melting pot of clichés on the impossible love. When Benjamin and Daisy finally «meet in the middle» the movie reaches it climax.
Another interesting point of this film is that there is always a big contrast in the action. For example, during the tragic events following the birth of Benjamin, when Mr. Button is so lost and sad, the entire city is celebrating the end of the World War One. Different elements are put in opposition during the whole movie. Benjamin himself could be a second example: it is fascinating to see this young boy, looking like a senior, going through all the steps of childhood being considered like a fully grown man.
Because The Curious Case of Benjamin Button perfectly reflects the different feelings a man can live in an interesting story, opposing different things at all times, I believe it should have won the Oscar. In fact, the cinematography, the sets, the costumes and, of course the make up and special effects were impressive and of quality. I can’t understand why Fincher’s film didn’t won. Many people have enjoyed watching it and, I’m sure, many others will.
446 words
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