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The Green Hornet

Learn about definite and indefinite articles.

Date: Mar 16 2011

Grammar: Definite & Indefinite Articles

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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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It takes a special kind of person to be a really good liar. You have to be creative. You have to be able to keep a straight face and think on your feet. In a way, you have to be smart.

The actor Seth Rogen isn’t known for being smart so much as being funny. He is a comedian who makes people laugh more than he makes people think. But in his new movie, he plays a superhero who is so good at lying, he makes criminals believe that he’s one of them. Find out if Ella and Jason think The Green Hornet is a good role for him.

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.

Ella

Jason

Ella: I can’t tell if Green Hornet’s supposed to be action or funny. It’s kinda confusing, you know?

Jason: Yeah, that’s true.

Ella: Seth Rogen’s in it, so I would just automatically assume comedy. But what I remember from the 1930s original is it’s kind of more of a serious storyline.

Jason: Totally. That’s kinda one of the flaws of it, is that the Green Hornet isn’t very cool in a way, you know? And, I mean, do you know what the Green Hornet does?

Ella: No.

Jason: Well he’s a superhero who pretends to be a criminal so that he can find real criminals.

Ella: Like undercover sort of.

Jason: Yeah, yeah, exactly. An undercover superhero. But it seems to me that in order to do that, you would have to have nerves of steel, in order to walk into these meetings with mob bosses and say, “Yeah, I’m a mob boss, too.” It’s like, could Seth Rogen really do that? It’s kind of not believable, he’s a little too goofy.

Ella: Yeah, I don’t know if I could see him as a criminal ever. Maybe like in a candy store. I mean, have you ever lied about who you were?

Jason: Yeah, I love doing that actually. I love to sneak into things and stuff, and…I mean, I guess I’ve never like, you know, claimed to be an astronaut and gotten into NASA or something. But I have claimed to know somebody or work somewhere in order to sneak into some sort of exclusive event.

Ella: Definitely. I mean, sometimes I pretend I can’t speak English in order to avoid people talking to me in the mall.

Jason: But yeah, you can’t break out laughing in the middle of your lie.

Ella: Yeah, nerves of steel.

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Discussion

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Ella is curious about the new action-comedy, The Green Hornet. Jason explains that the Green Hornet is a superhero who pretends to be a criminal so he can learn the real criminals’ secrets.

Ella and Jason talk about times when they pretended to be someone else. Jason likes to tell lies in order to get into exclusive places. Ella sometimes pretends she can’t speak English when she doesn’t want anyone to talk to her!

When you want to lie about who you are, you have to keep a straight face. It’s important not to start laughing, or nobody will believe you.

Have you ever pretended to be somebody else? Do you think you are a good liar?

Comments

INUK

Japan

i watched this movie in I max3D movie cheater.very excited.

praee

Turkey

it is not a successful movie my opinion..but can be watched..

Romio79

Russian Federation

I don't remember to have such experiance to act like somebody else. Am I a good liar? I guess good enough. But it's better to try to be honest. I appreciate it much in people.

aminian

Australia

I think I have nerves of steel and am able to keep a straight face if I want to lie about something or pretend to be someone else, but I always try to avoid having such a negative character. Having told that I don't want to say I have never said anything wrong or untrue. Sometimes we find ourselves in situations which saying lies or untrue things is unavoidable. I Know that some of you would say that you just bringing excuses to escape from being kept responsible but I am sure if you recall your past you would find some situations that you lied and then you justified your action. One of justification for example could be to avoid bigger problems to arise by telling the truce.

Yasminne_15

Venezuela

What a terrible movie! Just the cars are good there! Omg I was dying of boring!

Najwa Al-harthi

Saudi Arabia

i haven't seen this movie yet , but it seems interesting to watch .

no, because I'm not a good actress lol , and neither a good liar ..

dr.sheva

Egypt

What i liked about that movie…was the End…really good one

Fernandinha

Brazil

I'm not very good at pretending to be somebody else…I can't keep a straight face and I always start laughing. I am not a good liar. Definitely.

green_lea

Viet Nam

I definitely can't bear a liar or be good at acting. Everything wouldn't go as I plan, suddenly, if there are unexpected events happen, I might forget about the role I had to put on, then I couldn't make sure to keep a straight face till the end. That's why I fail in my play at the school contest early this week. The plot was quite good, but it's because of me that the whole things became a flop.