Saturday, September 22, 2012
Sunday, September 16, 2012
My Incongruous Tastes in TV Viewing
Usually on Sunday evening I watch the PBS show Masterpiece Theater, which presents three different types of series: mysteries, contemporary drama, and classics (usually based on the classics of 19th or early 20th century English literature, such as the works of Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Thomas Hardy, and so on. I have watched this show almost as long as it has been on the air and love Sunday evenings because of it. Last fall another show -- Once Upon a Time --attracted much attention and grew to be my favorite prelude to Masterpiece Theater. In that series, Snow White's stepmother, the Evil Queen, has put a curse on fairy tale land so that no one will ever have a happy ending again. As a result, everyone has been transported to a small town in Maine and cannot remember who they were in their fairy tales. These two series may have some similarities, but my two new favorites, one of which is also on Sunday, would seem to be cast from an entirely different metal: Breaking Bad and Sons of Anarchy. (Click on the links to see the show websites).
Both of these shows are about drugs, gangs, and the social underworld of people who live on the edge of society and the law. The main links between these four shows are the impeccable acting and compelling writing and the only outstanding actors to have appeared on both Masterpiece Theater and Sons of Anarchy (as far as I know) -- Charlie Hunnam and Zoe Boyle. And so I am addicted to these startlingly different shows, though perhaps they are not that incongruous after all.
Vocabulary
incongruous (adjective) -- not similar, not belonging together
contemporary (adjective) -- modern, belong to the current time
be on the air (idiom) -- be on television or radio
prelude (noun) -- an introduction, something that comes before something else
impeccable (adjective) -- without any mistakes, perfect
cast from a different metal (idiom) -- completely different
Vocabulary Cloze Exercise: Put the correct vocabulary word in the blanks.
1. My brother and I are very different despite the fact that we have the same mother and father. We are __________ _____________ _____________ ___________________ ________________.
2. The lamp is _______________, but the furniture is very traditional. 3. They are _______________ because they do no seem to belong in the same room.
4. At the concert, we first listened to the ______________ and then to the whole concert.
5.When you are done with grammar class, your English will be ____________________.
6. The television was working, so she watched all her favorite shows that were __________ ___________ ________________.
Grammar Point: The passage above includes many verbs that are in the present tense. List those verbs and any words that indicate the present time, such as now, on Sunday, and so on.
Grammar Exercise: Write a description of these two actors below using present tense verbs and any vocabulary words. (If you explore the Masterpiece Theater website, you can find out who these two guys are, if you don't know already.)
Both of these shows are about drugs, gangs, and the social underworld of people who live on the edge of society and the law. The main links between these four shows are the impeccable acting and compelling writing and the only outstanding actors to have appeared on both Masterpiece Theater and Sons of Anarchy (as far as I know) -- Charlie Hunnam and Zoe Boyle. And so I am addicted to these startlingly different shows, though perhaps they are not that incongruous after all.
Vocabulary
incongruous (adjective) -- not similar, not belonging together
contemporary (adjective) -- modern, belong to the current time
be on the air (idiom) -- be on television or radio
prelude (noun) -- an introduction, something that comes before something else
impeccable (adjective) -- without any mistakes, perfect
cast from a different metal (idiom) -- completely different
Vocabulary Cloze Exercise: Put the correct vocabulary word in the blanks.
1. My brother and I are very different despite the fact that we have the same mother and father. We are __________ _____________ _____________ ___________________ ________________.
2. The lamp is _______________, but the furniture is very traditional. 3. They are _______________ because they do no seem to belong in the same room.
4. At the concert, we first listened to the ______________ and then to the whole concert.
5.When you are done with grammar class, your English will be ____________________.
6. The television was working, so she watched all her favorite shows that were __________ ___________ ________________.
Grammar Point: The passage above includes many verbs that are in the present tense. List those verbs and any words that indicate the present time, such as now, on Sunday, and so on.
Grammar Exercise: Write a description of these two actors below using present tense verbs and any vocabulary words. (If you explore the Masterpiece Theater website, you can find out who these two guys are, if you don't know already.)
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Welcome to the Structure and Application of English! I hope that we will all learn more about grammar and how to teach it.
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