Why the movie business is in trouble

Газета

(Link to the article on Variety's site, with all charts and graphics. Link to PDF version of article.)

This is a long text, and we suggest that you concentrate mostly on the first half of the article, before the author gets into details about the negotiations with specific companies and studios. The last couple of paragraphs are also important.

Here are some questions for discussion:

1. Overall, what does this article seek to provide the reader?
2. How does the author organize his analysis? What are the major elements, and how does he arrange them?
3. What are the two major challenges facing the film industry?
4. Who are the two “sides” mentioned on page two, second column (“At the very least the two sides are talking.”) Why are their interests supposedly in conflict?
5. Do you have personal experiences or observations concerning this analysis?
6. What argument or insight will you remember from this article after you have forgotten the details?
7. Who is the author’s intended audience?

Which of these words and expressions are new to you?

scared stiff to usher in to dazzle cavernous to scramble (intrans.) existential dread exhibitor to release debut to come to pass shakeup windfall to pull it off antiquated to choreograph “cover my ass” Zeitgeist underpinnings smart money to be put off to dry up slate financing player virtual reality box office mogul sprawling tax credit

to greenlight bottom line grand bargain to fade to prop up to condition impulse buy to tinker (with) to kibosh to wade (into) on demand, on-demand exhibition chain stiff spine to interface (with) screen count to hit to cannibalize thorny myriad to grandfather to invite to the table to differentiate gargantuan to reboot dicey diminishing returns tentpole to snap up

Sarah Robb O'Hagan: "I Learned to Win By Failing" (with test link)

Газета 401: Зачёт; 401V, 501V

(Link to full article and accompanying video. Link to PDF document.)

Group 401: This is the text for our online test.

Some of these words and phrases may be on the test....

extreme
to breathe new life into
to bring to light
to be vulnerable
edge, at the edge
to suck
the lead part
to push, to keep pushing
grit (noun)
yeah, so
to get going
pear-shaped, to go pear-shaped
over one's skis
to do one's own thing
learning (noun)
to crush it
to be (stay) in front of
on me (it's on me)
grind (noun)
to trigger
to screw up (trans. and intrans.)
wrong turn
to hone
to be well rounded

Good Grief for educators, part two

Warmest thanks to our colleagues for your great stories and dialogues, excellent questions, and helpful comments on the survey form. Here's a slide show based on the vocabulary presentation we gave at our last session:

Workshop on contemporary English: Evaluation form

Roll Over Beethoven

Газета

(Click here for original article with links to music. Download PDF version.)

For discussion:

1. Summarize this article—how does it go beyond a simple obituary?
2. How did the author organize his material? How does he develop his theme(s)?
3. For what audience is he writing?
4. What will you remember about this article after you have forgotten the details?
5. What should the author have included or left out?

Words and phrases:

opener
daunting
lede
iconic, iconically
scorched earth
to lay out the stakes
on deadline
to break through
to harness
unruly
mission statement
auteur
ennui
to double as
to reverberate
radio play (noun)
to fill in the blanks
folksy
to nag
precious few
tectonic shift
side
shuffle
currency
sensibility
to dispense with
to cover
riff
lucrative
ubiquitous
to relegate, be relegated
oldies
star was receding
dash (noun)

Tiny family-run newspaper wins American journalism's most important award

Газета

(Link to full article on Guardian site. Link to PDF file.)

Discussion:

1. Summarize this article in one or two sentences.
2. How is the article organized? (What elements of “story” do you see in this article?)
3. What will you remember from this article after you have forgotten the details?
4. What do you wish the writer had included or left out?
5. Who is the intended audience?
6. What is the role of journalism prizes such as the Pulitzer Prize?

Useful words and phrases:

to take on
to challenge assumptions
to hang out
fueled by
hard-hitting
crash (noun)
to pander
dogged (dogged coverage)
to covet, coveted
to draw
to disclose, undisclosed
gut (in his gut)
to vindicate, to feel vindicated

Good Grief for educators, part one

(Link to the excerpts in PDF format: part one, part two.)

Words and phrases drawn from today's workshop:

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Judy compiled some of the errors from last week's homework and summarized them using this slideshow:

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Finally, we watched this brief BBC Trending feature: Learn Jane Austen, 'thug' style.