Active Skills for Reading Intro (Unit 9: That's Entertainment)


CHAPTER 1 - Artists in Two Languages

Vocabulary Skill - Feelings

This chapter's passage tells us that both Jay Chou and Shakira felt uneasy when they first acted or sang in English. There are many adjectives in English to describe how a person feels.

A. Put the adjectives in the correct place in the chart. You already know some of the adjectives. Use your dictionary to understand the new words.

afraid
happy
bored
hopeful 		calm
inspired
confused
lazy		 energized
nervous
grumpy
scared

Positive feelings Negative feelings
afraid/scared

B. Add one more positive and one more negative· feeling to the list. Use your dictionary to help you find the words in English.

Answer

positive feelings: relaxed, satisfied, proud;
negative feelings: anxious, worried, angry, jealous

C. Discuss the questions below with a partner.

  1. When you feel nervous, what do you do to feel calmer?
  2. When you wake up in the morning, are you grumpy?
  3. How do you feel today? Choose a word from A or B. If your feeling is negative, how can you change it to feel better?

Reading helps you learn. A famous American writer, David McCullough, has said, "A good way to learn is to read books." When we read, we learn about ideas that others have. It is important to read widely so that we learn about a variety of opinions on a single topic. You will learn more as you read more!

ARTISTS IN TWO LANGUAGES

Shakira

First album in English: Laundry Service

How she learned English: Many people wanted to translate Shakira’s songs from Spanish to English. Shakira agreed, but she felt nervous about losing control of her music. So she decided to write her own songs in English.

Shakira studied grammar and common expressions. She started reading newspapers and poetry because she wanted to know how people use English to express their feelings.

Biggest challenge: Writing her first songs in English. Today, Shakira writes and performs her music in Spanish and English for fans around the world. In the summer of 2010, Shakira was selected to record and perform the theme song for the World Cup in South Africa, called "Waka Weka (l' his Time for Africa)."

Jay Chou

First film in English: The Green Hornet

How he learned English: Jay spoke very little English before he got his role in The Green Hornet. He practiced every day for more than a month. At first he said all of his lines phonetically,1 but soon, Jay's English improved. He was able to speak English and talk with his costars. His English was not perfect, but he got compliments from the other actors.

Language exchange: As they shot2 the movie, Jay and his costar Seth Hogan took tums teaching each other Chinese and English.

Language crossover: Jay is an award-winning singer but all of his current songs are Chinese. He hopes that in the future he can write songs in English as well.

1 If you say something phonetically, you say it by making its sounds, without necessarily knowing the meaning.
2 When you shoot a movie, you make one, using a camera.

Chapter - 1: Vocabulary Comprehension - Definitions Chapter - 2: Before You Read - What a great show!

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