Brush up your Vocabulary Worksheet DREAMS A. Complete the sentences using the following verbs: dream / wish / hope / wonder / sleep / wink / blink 1. I if I will become famous. 2. I can t, it s too hot. 3. People 4. I I didn t have as much homework. 5. When you you only use one eye. 6. I often about the same thing. 7. I I will be happy there. B. Now do the same with these nouns: wonder / wish / dream / nightmare / sleep / blink 1. A long time ago I made a and it has just come true. 2. My is to travel the world. 3. It s the seventh of the world. 4. I had a in the afternoon because I knew we would go to bed late. 5. It had all vanished in a. 6. It was a really scary. C. Match each proverb (1-6) with its meaning (a- f ) 1. Dream of a funeral and you hear of a marriage 2. Six hours sleep for a man, seven for a woman and eight for a fool 3. One hour s sleep before midnight is worth two after 4. Sleep is better than medicine 5. Sleep is the greatest thief, for it steals half one s life 6. There will be sleeping enough in the grave a) We should not waste too much time sleeping b) Sleep is good for your health c) You shouldn t sleep too long d) We waste a lot of time sleeping e) It is often the contrary of a dream that comes true f) If you are tired it is best to go to bed early 1
D. Fill in the blanks if necessary using one of the two prepositions: for / after 1. She longed a bike for Christmas. 2. I wished a good mark in English. 3. He wanted a scooter like his friends. 4. She hankered the dress for weeks. 5. She craved chocolate. 7. They yearned a holiday but couldn t afford it. Brush up your Grammar Veuillez vous reporter à la grammaire en ligne disponible sur votre Espace Membre Present perfect Le style indirect Les pronoms relatifs Listening Comprehension Lisez les questions, écoutez l'enregistrement et répondez. QUESTIONS & TASKS 1. Listen to the beginning of the interview and fill in the blanks: Barack Obama, in his Inaugural in 2008 said in America is my story possible. He was referring to the American Dream and here to talk to us the American Dream and its is the journalist Michael Heaney. 2. Who was the first to use the term The American Dream and when?..... 3. According to Adams what factor should determine whether an individual enjoys opportunity?... 4. In Adams opinion which two factors should not be determining factors for the enjoyment of opportunity?... 5. Pick out the expression used by the journalist to indicate that land in America was often not owned by anyone and was there for the taking.... 6. Pick out the two reasons mentioned in the text to explain why many Europeans emigrated to America before the 1930s....... 7. If Obama had grown up in another country, which factor, according to the journalist, might have been a handicap to him.... 7. How much did GDP fall in America over the final quarter of 2008?... 8. Pick out the adjective the journalist uses to describe how many Americans feel since the downturn in the economy.... 9. Pick out the expression which the journalist uses meaning to endure the crisis.... 2
Reading Comprehension A Midsummer Night s Dream One of the most well-known examples of dreams in literature is Shakespeare s A Midsummer Night s Dream. The story takes place as the title suggests during Midsummer s Night, already renowned as a night of sorcery and mysticism. The moon and nocturnal forces are at work and the audience soon loses track of reality as the lines between reality and illusion, truth and lies become blurred. The story takes place in Athens, where the Duke Theseus is to marry Queen Hippolyta. One of his subjects complains that his daughter, Hermia, refuses to marry Demetrius. Hermia loves Lysander who in turn points out that Demetrius loves Helena. Lysander and Hermia elope to the woods, followed by Demetrius and Helena. The King and Queen of the fairies, Oberon and Titania, have quarrelled and Oberon sends his helper, Robin Goodfellow or Puck, to punish Titania using a magic potion. Puck also uses the potion on the four young lovers but gets mixed up. Everyone ends up in love with the wrong person although everything is eventually put right and there is a happy ending. Dreams are the vehicle for the story-telling and the enduring theme. Shakespeare draws on dream-poetry common in traditional medieval literature where dreams were considered as premonitions, enabling a greater understanding of the world and it s meaning. In fact only Hermia dreams in the play but other characters believe they have been dreaming and indeed at the end of the play Puck asks the audience to consider whether the whole play has been a dream. Shakespeare s message seems to be to minimise the importance of reason in favour of imagination which of course is all important when trying to engage an audience in theatre. 1. When is the story set?... 2. Why do the audience lose track of reality during the play? 3. Where is the story set? (Give the city and the exact place) 4. Who was Hermia supposed to marry? 5. In Lysander s opinion why should Hermia and Demetrius not marry?... 6. When was dream-poetry particularly popular? 7. Find synonyms in the text for the following words: a) famous:... b) tale:... 3
c) unclear:... d) run away secretly with a lover:... e) argue:... f) entire:... g) spectators at the theatre:... 4
Brush up your Vocabulary A. Complete the sentences: CHECK YOUR ANSWERS 1. I wonder if I will become famous. 2. I can t sleep, it s too hot. 3. People blink 4. I wish I didn t have as much homework. 5. When you wink you only use one eye. 6. I often dream about the same thing. 7. I hope I will be happy there. B. Do the same with the nouns: wonder /wish /dream /nightmare /sleep /blink 1. A long time ago I made a wish and it has just come true. 2. My dream is to travel the world. 3. It s the seventh wonder of the world. 4. A had a sleep in the afternoon because I knew we would be going to bed late. 5. It had all vanished in a blink. 6. It was a really scary nightmare. C. Match each proverb (1-6) with its meaning (a- f ) 1 = e 2 = c 3 = f 4 = b 5 = d 6 = a D. Fill in the blanks if necessary using for or after: 1. She longed for a bike for Christmas. 2. I wished for a good mark in English. 3. He wanted ø a scooter like his friends. 4. She hankered after the dress for weeks. 5. She craved for chocolate. 7. They yearned for a holiday but couldn t afford it. 5
Listening Comprehension Worksheet A/ SCRIPT The American Dream ( A radio interview) Interviewer: Barack Obama, in his Inaugural Speech in 2008 said Only in America is my story possible. He was of course referring to the American Dream and here to talk to us about the American Dream and its legacy is the journalist Michael Heaney. Interviewer: When did the term American Dream first come into being? Journalist: James Truslow Adams was the first to coin the phrase the American Dream in 1931. He said Life should be richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability of achievement regardless of social class or circumstances of birth. Interviewer: We tend to associate The American Dream with the millions of European immigrants who arrived in America via Ellis Island before the 1930s. Journalist: Well yes, and of course Adams was writing at that time and of course America was the land of opportunity. You know, up until that time America had been a land full of possibilities, it was literally up for grabs and people who had fled persecution or poverty in their home countries found a land where they were accepted and where with hard work and ambition they could earn an honest living for themselves and that was still true for the millions of European immigrants in the 1930s. Not all of them succeeded of course but America was the place where they had a chance of succeeding. Interviewer: So how could we define the American Dream? Today we seem to think of it as making it big or striking it rich. Is that what Obama was referring to? Journalist: Well, I would say that Adams original message has been distorted somewhat over the years and it is true that we tend to think of it more in terms of financial success. In Adams writings there was no promise of extreme success; it was more the idea of a land of opportunity. And I think Obama s message is essentially the same. He is referring more to the fact that being black he might not have had the same chances to succeed in other countries. Of course we know all about the fight for black civil rights right up until the 1960s and Obama would have benefited from those gains in particular. Interviewer: You think the American Dream is still alive today then. 6
Journalist: Well it is ironic that at the same time as Obama brought new hope to many Americans and the living proof that the American Dream still exists, the country was hit by economic recession. GDP fell by 3.8% over the final quarter of 2008 and 600,000 jobs were lost in January 2009 alone. Many Americans feel disillusioned and feel the country has taken an unprecedented turn for the worst. There are also issues over immigration and most immigrants would probably feel they do not have the same opportunities as immigrants before them did. This is a testing time and it will be interesting to see how things develop and of course I hope Americans will rise to the challenge, weather the storm and the American Dream will live on. Interviewer: Right, well thank you, Michael, for coming in today and enlightening us on this fascinating subject. Journalist: Thank you B/ ANSWERS 1. Listen to the beginning of the interview and fill in the blanks: Barack Obama, in his Inaugural Speech in 2008 said Only in America is my story possible. He was of course referring to the American Dream and here to talk to us about the American Dream and its legacy is the journalist Michael Heaney. 2. The first to use the term The American Dream was James Truslow Adams in 1931. 3. According to Adams ability of achievement should determine whether an individual enjoys opportunity. 4. In Adams opinion social class and circumstances of birth should not be determining factors for the enjoyment of opportunity. 5. The expression used by the journalist to indicate that land in America was often not owned by anyone and was there to be claimed is up for grabs. 6. The two reasons mentioned in the text to explain why many Europeans immigrated to America before the 1930s are persecution and poverty. 7. If Obama had grown up in another country the factor which, according to the journalist, might have been a handicap to him was being black. 7. GDP fell by 3.8% in America over the final quarter of 2008. 8. The adjective the journalist uses to describe how many Americans feel since the downturn in the economy is disillusioned. 9. The expression which the journalist uses meaning to endure the crisis is to weather the storm. 7
Reading Comprehension 1. The story is set one Midsummer s Night. 2. The audience lose track of reality during the play because the lines between reality and illusion and between truth and lies become blurred 3. The story is set in Athens, in the woods. 4. Hermia was supposed to marry Demetrius 5. In Lysander s opinion Hermia and Demetrius should not marry because Hermia is in love with him, Lysander, and Demetrius is in love with Helena, not Hermia. 6. Dream-poetry was particularly popular during medieval times. 7. Find synonyms in the text for the following words: a) famous :well-known b) tale :story c) unclear :blurred d) run away secretly with a lover, in order to marry :elope e) argue: quarrel f) entire: whole g) spectators at the theatre: audience 8