Learn about comparatives and superlatives.

Intro

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

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• tug at the heartstrings
• choked up
• underdog
• jockey

• derby
• make a killing
• gambling
• Triple Crown

• more power to you
• against all odds

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

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It may not be as American as baseball, but horse racing is a sport with a long history in the US. The first racetrack was built in 1665, long before baseball was even invented.

These days, there are two different stereotypes of horse racing. One involves rich people in fancy hats and expensive summer clothes sipping iced tea while they watch a derby. The other image of horse racing involves desperate people hoping to make a killing by gambling on the races.

The new movie Secretariat shows a different side of horse racing altogether. It’s the true story of the horse that won the Triple Crown in 1973 against all odds. Find out if Amy and Mason will be racing to see this movie.

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.

Amy

Mason

Amy:  I have to say, I love stories about athletes of any kind winning against all odds.

Mason:  Oh, yeah.

Amy:  You know, that classic Bad News Bears, come from behind…

Mason:  Yeah. It’s moving. That tugs at the heartstrings for sure.

Amy:  So I’m even thinking about going to see Secretariat. I mean, I just see the preview for it and there’s horses, and it’s very emotional. They’re at the derby, it’s atmospheric. And I get a little choked up just watching the commercial.

Mason:  Well, I mean, an underdog story is interesting.

Amy:  It is, and I sort of like the whole atmosphere of being at the derby. Women in hats.

Mason:  It’s got a classic feel to it.

Amy:  It does, yeah.

Mason:  To be honest though, the weird thing about horse racing to me is the jockey population. They’re like the smallest people on earth. It’s like the more petite you are, you’re just born to be a jockey.

Amy:  Tiny.

Mason:  They are kind of fighting humanity’s slow upward progression of like taller and taller people.

Amy:  And more power to them for not letting their height become a disadvantage, in fact turning it into an advantage.

Mason:  Right.

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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