Intro
1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.
2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.
People often think that their vote won’t make a difference. But many elections are decided by surprisingly few votes. If 600 people had voted differently in 2000, Al Gore would have been president of the US.
But what if the election came down to just one vote? It would probably be an average person who could make the difference.
The average person, or Joe Six-Pack, has been a big topic of discussion in the US Presidential election this year. And a real average guy named Joe, who lives in Ohio and is a plumber, has become a living symbol of the average person. In the last debate, both candidates spoke directly to Joe the Plumber and each believes his plan for the US will be better for Joe and people like him.
In the new movie called Swing Vote, a guy like Joe the Plumber finds himself at the center of American politics. Listen to Marni and Jason talk about it.
Dialog
1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.
2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.
Jason: Before Joe Plumber was mentioned in these debates, there was already this movie in the works for years, you know, because it takes years to get a movie made…
Marni: Right.
Jason: ...called Swing Vote.
Marni: Oh yeah, Kevin Costner.
Jason: Yeah. It’s basically about Joe Plumber and if the entire election were decided by Joe Plumber.
Marni: So, essentially the plot is that it comes down to one person, right?
Jason: It’s, like, a guy who lives in a swing state.
Marni: OK.
Jason: And he votes, but there’s some sort of error in his vote and so they come and they say, “Oh, you get to revote because your vote wasn’t counted.”
Marni: So he’s, like, the tie breaker, essentially.
Jason: Yeah. But it’s really funny because the candidates just totally flip flop over the issues to win his vote.
Marni: Oh yeah.
Jason: Like, suddenly the Republican is pro-choice and, you know, worrying about the environment, and the Democrat’s like all about, you know, guns and stuff.
Marni: So there’s a lot of pandering.
Jason: Yeah. In a way, that’s how elections go…
Marni: Yeah…
Jason: ...anyway. I feel like people will essentially do anything to get elected.
Marni: Huh, that’s interesting. So I guess that’s kind of an interesting premise then that just this one person could sort of make or break an election.
Jason: It’s sort of every voter’s fantasy….
Marni: Yeah.
Jason: ...that it’s going to be a dead heat and it all comes down to you.
Marni: Yeah, I guess so. Yeah, good argument for voting.
Jason: Yeah.
Quizzes
Lesson MP3
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Discussion
Production on Swing Vote had begun well before anyone had heard of Joe the Plumber. The opinion of the common person is certainly central to this election!
In the movie, the candidates change their minds about important issues to try to please Kevin Costner’s character. Jason thinks real elections can be somewhat similar, with politicians saying whatever they have to to get elected. Do you agree? When you vote, do you like to feel like the whole election is up to you?
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