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A-Team

Date: Aug 25 2010

Themes: Pop Culture

Grammar: Passive Voice

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Intro

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

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

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Have you ever been accused of something you didn’t do? It’s a hard situation to be in. Of course you want to convince everyone you’re innocent. But if you react too strongly, it may make you seem more likely to be guilty.

If you’re accused of something you didn’t do, it can make you feel isolated. Luckily, the four members of the A-Team have each other. The A-Team is a new movie based on an ‘80s TV show about a team of highly trained soldiers who are unjustly convicted of a crime. They have to go out on their own and try to prove their innocence.

The film updates the setting of the story from the Vietnam War to Iraq, but the character B. A. Baracus still has his famous mohawk. Marni was a big fan of the TV show. Listen to her discuss the new movie with Amy.

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.

Marni

Amy

Marni: I am super excited about the new A-Team movie. Are you?

Amy: Um…I don’t know. I don’t know too much about it.

Marni: Really?

Amy: I know that Mr. T was in the original TV show. He can’t be in the movie, right?

Marni: No, he’s not, and none of the original actors are in the remake. I guess I’m dating myself. I was really young when it came out. But it was a show in the early ‘80s and it was all about this elite band of soldiers who were wrongly accused of a crime and set out to clear their name and also they fought crime along the way.

Amy: Right. That reminds me of another movie that I really love, The Fugitive, which I saw on TV the other night. So that’s kind of a good theme, I guess, for a movie. You know, innocent, wrongly accused, trying to clear your name…

Marni: Exactly. You have to break out of jail. It’s very dramatic. But the new film…Liam Neeson is in it and Bradley Cooper.

Amy: Is it supposed to be good?

Marni: You know, I’m just curious. I’m willing to see it. I’m willing to set aside an evening and just go with an open mind.

Amy: Yeah. Well, it’s fun to have a great action, blockbuster, sort of mindless thing in the summer.

Marni: Exactly. That’s what I love about summers: big blockbusters, lots of things blowing up. You know there’s gonna be no shortage of that.

Amy: Yeah.

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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Discussion

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Amy’s first question about the new A-Team movie is if Mr. T is in it. He played B. A. Baracus in the TV series and was famous for his mohawk, his muscles and his large jewelry. Marni informs her that Mr. T is not in the film. But there are some other actors she’s excited about, like Liam Neeson.

The plot of the film reminds Amy of The Fugitive, another movie about someone who has to clear his name. In both cases, the heroes of the story seem to need a lot of explosions, gun shots and stunts to prove their innocence, and that is just fine with Amy and Marni.

Have you ever been accused of doing something you didn’t do? How did you clear your name?