English, baby!

Fur Real

Date: Jul 03 2006

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.

On a Thursday night two weeks ago at Nobu, a swanky restaurant in New York City, Beyonce was cornered at the dinner table by animal rights activists. The activists were from a well-known animal rights group called PETA, or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. They wanted to know why Beyonce wears clothing made from animal fur.

Listen to Erin and Amanda talk about Beyonce and her fur clothing.

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.

Erin

Amanda

Erin: Okay, weird tangent. Did you hear about Beyonce and how, um, PETA basically cornered her? And, like, they went to this charity thing, and they won this opportunity to have dinner with her, and instead they showed up with a video camera. And they cornered her, and they started bashing her about wearing fur because they’re all like, you know, ‘Think of the animals!’ and blah blah blah.

Amanda: So, why do you think they targeted Beyonce?

Erin: Well, I think Beyonce has worn fur either to, like, the MTV shows or in some of her music videos and stuff. ‘Cause, I mean, fur looks glamorous, and she wears the real thing.

Amanda: And you know who else does?

Erin: J. Lo.?

Amanda: It’s her boyfriend.

Erin: Oh, well, yeah. Jay-Z.

Amanda: Jay-Z! He wears it all the time in his videos, you’re right.

Erin: Yeah, bling bling.

Amanda: Yeah, they’re a fur-wearing couple.

Erin: But, um, so PETA has some qualms with that, and they’re not very happy about that.

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Discussion

Beyonce and her boyfriend, Jay-Z, are known for wearing fancy fur clothing around town and in their music videos. Other celebrities who love their fur-lined coats and clothing include J.Lo, Gwen Stefani, P. Diddy and Britney Spears.

However, other celebrities, such as Pamela Anderson, Fiona Apple and Prince decry the killing of animals for their fur.

Fur clothing has had a controversial history. Animal rights groups such as PETA argue that it is unethical to torture and kill animals for their fur. People who like fur clothing argue that real fur is better than fake fur because it looks glamorous and does not harm the environment.

The anti-fur movement peaked in the 1980s when animal rights activits would spray paint the fur coats of women walking along the streets in New York City. Since then, fur has been making a slow comeback.

Do you think it’s okay to wear fur clothing?