2012

Intro

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

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• told through the eyes
• against the odds
• eye candy
• spectacle

• disaster movie
• apocalyptic
• myth
• doomsday

• wipe out
• conspiracy theory

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

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Nothing says the holidays like a good old fashioned disaster movie. With Christmas coming up, you may be wondering what a fun movie would be to see with your family. Well, how about one that features the entire state of California falling into the ocean? If that sounds like a good time to you, then you might want to check out 2012.

The film 2012 is inspired by the “2012 phenomenon,” or the idea that a series of apocalyptic events, from mega-earthquakes to super-tsunamis, will take place on December 21, 2012. The special effects in the movie are sure to be impressive, but will this latest film about the end of the world be more than just eye candy? Find out what Marni and Beren think.

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.

Beren

Marni

Beren:  Three years from now it’ll be 2012.

Marni:  Ah, are you referring to the Mayan myth that the world might potentially end in 2012?

Beren:  Yes, the doomsday myth that…I’ve heard different things about 2012, like the aliens will come back and harvest us or spaceships will come out of the pyramids…

Marni:  Well there’s a new movie out called 2012, and it’s loosely based on the idea that the world is gonna end in 2012. What it is is that the Mayan calendar is actually ending in 2012. It’s like a little over a 5,000 year old calendar that’s ending. And so people have interpreted that to mean the end of the world, like you said, aliens are gonna come, floods…

Beren:  There’s all these different conspiracy theories.

Marni:  Exactly. And the film certainly is basically just a big disaster movie, and it’s of course, like all good disaster movies, it’s told through the eyes of a family, a family that’s struggling to get together and reconnect and survive against all the odds.

Beren:  I just don’t understand how they could make a movie out of that.

Marni:  It’s pretty…I mean, it’s definitely an eye candy movie.

Beren:  It’s a spectacle.

Marni:  You go in and you know you’re gonna see lots of explosions. The entire West Coast is wiped out and yet your cell phone is still working.

Beren:  It’s Hollywood.

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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