Sunday, September 22, 2013

Great Actors and Actresses

Tonight is the 65th Emmy Awards broadcast. I have been thinking about what makes a great actor or actress, but I am not sure of the answer except that it is something intangible and indelible. When you watch a great actor, you cannot forget his/her performance.

Who can forget the performances of Humphrey Bogart in "The African Queen" or "Casablanca"? He was not a handsome man. He didn't have a great, resonant voice. He didn't study methods. Yet his greatness has seldom been equaled in American film. And  who can forget the inimitable Ingrid Bergman, the winner of Oscars, Emmies, and a Tony? They are both now long gone, but who are the great actors and actresses of television and film today? The Emmy Awards will try to answer that question tonight.

My answers will be different, I think. For example, in my opinion, Michelle Dockery, who plays Lady Mary Crawley on Downton Abbey, is probably the best actress on American television, but her performance is so understated and nuanced that she will not win. In fact, as I have been typing this, the Emmy show has been continuing, and she has not won. The award went to Clare Danes, who is certainly deserving but just not transcendent the way Michelle is. With the solitary movement of a lip or eyelid, Michelle Dockery shows a world of emotion. Well, she lost, but her performance lives on. And when she is done at Downton, perhaps she can star in a film and win an Oscar.

So who are your favorite actors and actresses? What makes them great?

Vocabulary with  Definitions
intangible -- hard to understand or to describe in concrete words
indelible -- hard to forget
resonant -- deep, clear
inimitable -- impossible to imitate
understated -- subtle and effective, fine
nuanced -- expressed delicately (subtly)
transcendent -- far better than usual, beyond normal barriers
solitary -- alone, only

Vocabulary Exercise
Fill in the blank with the correct word:
1. He was the ___________ survivor of the plane crash. Everyone else died.
2. Her performance wan not rough or  ineffective; it was ________________ and  ______________.
3. The _____________ play took me beyond the normal barriers of theater.
4. The memory of the 9-11 terrorist acts is cannot be wiped out. It is ____________.
5. James Earl Jones has a _______________  voice.
6. Her paintings were __________________ because they seemed to be abstract and difficult to describe.
7.I think that it is impossible to act like Ingrid Bergman because her acting is _____________________ .

Grammar Point: Punctuation basics: For statements, always use a period (.). For questions, use a question mark (?). For exclamations, use an exclamation point (!).

Write a statement, a question, and an exclamation. Be sure to use the correct punctuation.








Michelle Dockery

Sunday, January 20, 2013

A New Spring Semester, A New Season of Downton Abbey

January brings with it the promise of a new year, a fresh start, new classes, and a new season of my favorite television series Downton Abbey. Many of my students have never heard of it, which is a little surprising since last year it was the most watched show on Super Bowl Sunday other than the Super Bowl. I suppose that Downton is for those of us who don't watch the Super Bowl, a small minority of Americans indeed (though we do number in the millions).

So what is the attraction of Downton Abbey? Is it the amazingly talented cast? Is it the compelling writing? Is it the impeccable costumes and set? Is it the castle itself? All of these questions can be answered in the affirmative, and together all of these make for fabulous viewing. The show is about rich and poor, love and hate, selfishness and selflessness, nobility and ignominy, life and death. So every Sunday when it is on PBS I am glued to my TV set with a cup of tea and a heart full of hope that the characters I love will find love and happiness, and that the characters I dislike will receive some just punishment for their dastardly deeds.

Won't you tune in too at 9 PM on Sunday nights?

Vocabulary
promise (noun) -- expectation
compelling (adjective) -- very interesting
impeccable (adjective) -- perfect
fabulous (adjective) -- excellent
nobility (noun) -- honor
ignominy (noun) -- shame, no honor
dastardly (adjective) -- evil, bad
To be glued to the TV (idiom) -- to be so interested in the TV that you do not want to stop watching it


Vocabulary Exercise
1. When a man behaves in an honorable way, he is showing ______________.
2. Her dress did not have even one mistake in the way it was made. It was _____________________.
3. Downton Abbey is a ___________________ (excellent)  and _______________ (very interesting) story.
4. He stole money from his friend. Such _____________ (bad) behavior is an example of _______________.
5. On Sunday evenings, I can't stop watching Downton. My mother laughs when she sees that I am __________________    __________    ________  _______.
6. Birthdays and New  Year always bring a _____________ of a better year ahead.

Grammar Point: Adjectives are words that describe nouns. There are four adjectives above on the new vocabulary list. Make a list of five other adjectives that you know and use them in sentences.

For the new vocabulary words, draw a picture and copy the definitions and the sentences with the words. Try to write a sentence of your own for each new adjective.