Under the Tuscan Sun

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

• chick flick
• unexpected
• writer's block
• depressed

• on a whim
• villa
• handsome
• cinematography

• sweet
• feel good movie
• mood
• blockbuster

• chick

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

In the new movie Under the Tuscan Sun, Frances Mayes Diane Lane is a 35-year-old San Francisco writer whose perfect life has just taken an unexpected turn. Her husband has left her for another woman, she has writer’s block and she is extremely depressed. Her best friend, Patti, is beginning to think that Frances might never recover, so she gives Frances an airline ticket to Tuscany. It’s there, on a whim, that Frances buys a villa.
As she begins her new life in Italy, Frances makes new friends among her neighbors and the men who are helping her fix up her new house. However, she is lonely and fearful that she’ll never find love again. Luckily, on a visit to Rome, she meets a handsome Italian man who makes her feel good about life again.
Both Beth and Miguel saw Under a Tuscan Sun. Listen to their conversation to learn more about the film.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Miguel

Beth

Miguel:  Hey Beth, did you see Under the Tuscan Sun?

Beth:  I did and I loved it. Did you see it?

Miguel:  Yeah, and I was interested what you were gonna think of it, ‘cause I thought it was a total chick flick.

Beth:  Well, I liked the story definitely, and most of all I really enjoyed the cinematography and all the shots of Italy and the beautiful villa and the Italian countryside. And, it made me want to go to Italy, and the sunflowers and the food and I don’t know. I guess it was more about the cinematography that did it for me.

Miguel:  But wasn’t it like, I don’t know – I just thought it was annoying how everything was so cute. I mean, I agree it was beautiful, but it was like way… You know, everything worked out just too well.

Beth:  OK. I’ll agree with that, but the story was really sweet, and I don’t know – it was just a feel good movie, so I enjoyed it. I think it was the mood I was in, and just – it was fun. I don’t know. I enjoyed it.

Miguel:  Did you think the Italian guy was cute?

Beth:  Oh yeah. I heard that he was, uh, that he is a really big actor in Italy, and this was like his first film that was a blockbuster in the U.S.. Do you know anything about him?

Miguel:  I don’t, but I did think he was a pretty cool character.

 

Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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