Monday, June 14, 2010
Listening Lesson – “Sex and the City 2!”
Story: What happened when I went to see Sex and the City 2!
Pronunciation lesson: 7 French words in English!
Listen to the podcast:
*Try to listen at least once without looking at the words!
If you have trouble with your listening skills, here’s something that may help:
How to practice listening
Listening Comprehension
1. What day did I go to the movie?
2. Why did I have an hour to kill at the theatre?
3. How much does a small bag of popcorn cost?
4. What did I think of the movie?
Transcript
(*Click on the links to learn more about the grammar, vocabulary and expressions used in the story!)
I admit it – I shed a few tears during the first Sex and the City movie! Who wouldn’t? It’s every woman’s worst nightmare that her fiancé will stand her up at the altar. I love the Sex and the City TV show because I love New York City and I love all the clothes the girls wear.
So, I was really excited to see Sex and the City 2! Before we left my house last Monday, we quickly checked the newspaper to see what time the movie was playing. We decided to go to the 6:15 movie. We drove to the theatre and got in line to buy our tickets. We got there early to make sure we had time to get some treats before the movie. When we got to the cashier, I said “Two tickets for Sex & the City 2 at 6:15 please.”
There was no 6:15 show! When we checked the times in the paper, we were looking at the weekend paper – not the Monday paper. There was only a 6:15 show on the weekend, not on Monday! The next show wasn’t until at 7:00pm, so we had an hour to kill.
No problem! This theatre was so huge we could eat dinner there. We went to the concession stand, bought some slices of pizza and some drinks and sat down to read the free magazines.
Going to the movies in Canada is not cheap! Tickets are cheaper during the week, so the admission was $12 (including taxes) on Monday. That’s OK, but then they charge you even more money for food and drinks! Whenever I go to the movies, I love to eat popcorn with butter. Do you know how much a small bag of popcorn costs? Six dollars and twenty-six cents! For a small bag! That’s highway robbery! I should have made the popcorn at home and brought it with me.
Not many people go to the movies on a Monday, so we practically had the auditorium to ourselves! We had the best seats in the house right in the middle, with the best view of the screen. I think there were only 10 other people in the auditorium.
As for the movie, I thought it was terrible! The language they used and the jokes were so crude. At times it seemed like a bunch of frat boys wrote the script. It was not what I expected from Sex and the City! There was really no story, and there were so many product placements that the movie seemed like one big infomercial. I don’t think there will be a Sex and the City 3!
Discussion Questions:
Have you seen ‘Sex and the City 2’? What did you think of it?
Is it expensive to go to the movies in your country?
Let me know in the comments below!
Pronunciation: 7 French words used in English
In English, we use a lot of French words. The words are the same, but sometimes the pronunciation is different. Here are 7 French words that we use in English:
fiancé
chic
genre
encore
matinée
potpourri
protégé
More: Pronunciation – 30 French Words Used in English (video)
Vocabulary:
to stand [someone] up
It’s every woman’s worst nightmare that her fiancé will stand her up at the altar.
= when someone intentionally does not show up to a meeting or appointment– in this case, a wedding!
the altar
It’s every woman’s worst nightmare that her fiancé will stand her up at the altar.
= most North American weddings take place in a church; at the front of the church there is usually a platform or table.
If you ‘stand someone up at the altar’, you don’t show up to your own wedding!
to have time to kill
The next show wasn’t until at 7:00pm, so we had an hour to kill!
= to have nothing to do for a period of time
a concession stand
We went to the concession stand, bought some slices of pizza & some drinks …
= a place in a sports stadium, movie theatre or any public place where food and drinks are sold
the house
We had the best seats in the house!
= in any type of theatre, the ‘house’ is the people watching the show and the area where they are sitting.
frat boys
At times it seemed like a bunch of frat boys wrote the script.
= A fraternity is a male social organization common at American universities [the female equivalent is a ‘sorority’]
= frat boys are sometimes known for childish behaviour
crude
The language they used & the jokes were so crude.
= rude, offensive & makes people uncomfortable, particularly when talking about sex.
infomercial
…there were so many product placements that the movie seemed like one big infomercial
= a TV show / movie that is actually a very long commercial!
Hello, Melanie.
It was interesting to listen about going to the movies in Canada.
And I want to tell you about going to the movies in Ukraine. This kind of rest is really popular here. I believe that nowadays mostly everyone can afford it. The tickets usually cost from 20 to 50 hryvnas (3-7 dollars). If it’s a 3d movie, they will charhge you more – around 50-100 hryvnas (7-13 dollars). Our movie theaters are often multiplexes that have from 2 (minimum) to 6 auditoriums. What I like about our people is their creativity 🙂 In some multiplexes they name auditoriums not plainly 1, 2, 3, etc, but make some interesting names. The most common example is to use colors to make names for auditorium. Red and blue are the most popular, but you can also meet anthracite or wine-colored auditoriums (and the name doesn’t meen that the auditorium is painted in that color). But other multiplexes go even futher using last names of famous directors for their auditoriums. Or how would you like to see a movie in an auditorium “Sweet life”? 🙂
About the movie. I also didn’t like “Sex and the city”. But somehow I wasn’t disappointed. I really like going to the movies and so every time I try to find something interesting in every film. For example I liked how Miranda was learning the language of the coutry. I usually do the same. If I know that I am going to visit some country in the near future, I try to learn simply words in their language (hello, thank you, please) :).
I’m sorry for such a long comment.
Best wishes,
Olya.
p.s. A small bag of popcorn will cost you from 2 to 3 dollars in Ukraine 🙂
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Hello, Melanie!
I must say, it was really nice listening about the impression you got while watching the “Sex and the city”.
Here, in Serbia, people simply adore those girls.
well, women, actually, men are not so thrilled about the whole idea of a woman being smart, beautiful, sexy, educated and not depending on the them, if you know what I mean.. 😉
Personally, I love the show and the girls, but I must in a way, agree with you.
But, since I’ve been loving them for so long time period, I’m gonna forgive them some mistakes they’ve made while making this movie.. 🙂
Best wishes, Milica
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Hi, Milica!
Thank you for taking the time to leave such a nice comment! It’s interesting to hear what people think of the show in Serbia [Serbian men need to get with the times!] I really liked the TV show, but I think Sex & the City 2 is a really embarrassment to the show!
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Hi, Melanie!
I loved it! I bought a CD with this movie! I usually watching it again sometimes.
It’s expensive going to the movies in Brazil.
If you are student or have more than 65 years, you can pay half price. Or if you have any kind of plan commercial, for example me, I have one card of cellphone that give me discount in some movies, theathers and restaurants.
In the middle of week is cheaper than of the weekend.
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Hi, Monique!
Actually, you bought a DVD of this movie – a CD is for music! They look the same, but there are different names for them in English (don’t ask me why!)
You are very lucky that you can get a discount with your cellphone card! I wish we had that here, too.
Take care,
Melanie
= )
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