Learn English with English, baby!

Join for FREE!

Social_nav_masthead_logged_in
 
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

简体
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
《不可能的任务:鬼影行动》

Date: Feb 01 2012

Themes: Pop Culture

Grammar: Present Perfect Tense

Intro

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

Go Super to Listen Go Super!

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

Go Super to Listen Go Super!

Of all the jobs you could have, none of them seem quite as cool as being a spy. You get to go undercover, test out the latest high-tech spy gadgets, take on different identities and maybe even go rogue. At least, that’s how the movies make it look.

In the new movie Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Tom Cruise is back as agent Ethan Hunt, the coolest spy of them all. But when Hunt and his team get blamed for a bombing, they have to go rogue in order to prove their innocence. Find out why the new Mission Impossible has Amy thinking about becoming a spy.

在所有工作中,再没有比间谍工作更酷更帅的了。你可以当卧底,测试最新的高科技间谍装备,冒充不同身份甚至可能违背训练准则。至少,这就是影片呈现的效果。
在新电影《不可能的任务:鬼影行动》中,汤姆·克鲁斯 (Tom Cruise) 依旧扮演探员伊森·亨特,他是间谍当中最冷酷的一个角色。但是当亨特和团队受到炸弹指控时,他们不得不违背训练准则以证明自己的清白。找出新电影《不可能的任务》令艾米想当间谍的原因。

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

Log in to Listen

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Amy

Amy

Mason

Mason

Amy:  Have you seen the new Mission Impossible, Mason?

Mason:  I haven’t yet. I kinda want to. I was a little surprised that they brought that one back after so long.

Amy:  I know. Tom Cruise, he just keeps on giving.

Mason:  It seems that people just never get tired of spy movies and that whole world of espionage.

Amy:  I think so, and I think…like, I just watched The Dark Knight, the Batman movie, and I think partly it’s the gadgets. Spy gadgets are so fun.

Mason:  For sure.

Amy:  And the crazy things they do in order to get information, or in order to break in to a place. Like in the new Mission Impossible, there’s a scene where Tom Cruise is on the outside of the tallest building in the world. And it just looks so crazy and fun. It kind of makes me want to be a spy.

Mason:  Oh really?

Amy:  Mm-hmm.

Mason:  I don’t know if I could cut it.

Amy:  Do you think…so you think it would be the physical stuff that would be hard, or do you think…

Mason:  Oh yeah. I could totally get down with all the betrayal and, like, double-secret-agent, triple-agent. No problem. Really the physical activity is what’s gonna keep me out of the profession.

Amy:  But, like, are you a good enough liar to be a spy?

Mason:  Well, how about this. I actually have seen Mission Impossible, and you believed me this whole time.

Amy:  Woah.

 

Grammar Point

Go Super to learn "Present Perfect Tense" from this lesson Go Super!

Quizzes

Go Super to take Quiz Go Super!

 

Lesson MP3

Go Super to download full lesson MP3 Go Super!

The iTEP® test

  • Schedule an iTEP® test and take the official English Practice Test.

    Take Now >

Discussion

Go Super to Listen Go Super!

Amy asks Mason if he has seen Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. He says he hasn’t seen it, but he would like to.

Mason says that people love spy movies. Amy thinks that is because of all the cool spy gadgets. She says the movies make it look really fun and exciting to be a spy.

Mason says he isn’t sure if he would be a good spy. He thinks it would be too physically challenging. But he wouldn’t have any trouble lying. In fact, he tells Amy that he was lying when he told her he hadn’t seen the Mission Impossible film. She believed him, so maybe he would make a good spy, after all.

Do you like spy movies? Do you think you would make a good spy?

 

Comments

Log in to Comment

kotlesya

kotlesya

Belarus

Anja, I’m not a leader myself. :( I like to follow leader. You have got the features of leader, so I will folllow you. Ok?

05:36 PM Feb 01 2012 |

ola33

ola33

Japan


Would I like to be a spy? Well, if I could, I would, since this is a profession which, I would say, involves superhero skills. Sorry, Dwight Howard, you’re too visible for being a spy. A spy, first of all, should be hard to notice, hard to remember and at the same time to have some superman skills that will keep him alive. I haven’t watched the third part of Mission Impossible, and I’m not lying. But I remember the movie with Matt Damon, The Bourne Ultimatum, how he stepped in a café and because of some medical transformation done on his brain, he could hardly remember who he was, but his first reaction in that café was to check it out as for the safe place:  whether he got good cover and how many approaches  he could expect in that tight corner and that was done within seconds in his brain by leaving him with the idea of the safest escape, the exit door ,which he later successfully used. Normal person would never think that way. He would relax in a café with a cup of coffee and enjoy life. But a spy should be always on guard! He should have a good memory with observation skills as well to recognize a signpost at a glance and not only a signpost but the other suspicious objects, like a fake rock from Britain espionage found in a Moscow Park in 2006. A spy should be a good driver, look out for the landmarks and memorize them in order to find the way back when he’ll be chased by the other spies who’re not sleeping either and always tipped off and on guard as well. So he should outsmart them. Intelligence work is in full swing. A spy should be a good code breaker. Since time is at stake and the secrete message should be read within seconds to find out who’s a traitor before he killed everyone. So, no time on decoding the message which should be read within seconds!!!  And I didn’t mention about shaking off a tail, detecting disguises, able to accomplish a  secret mission without being spotted, being able to put on make-up, changing your walk, looking fat when you’re thin, looking old when you’re young and to go rouge in case of emergencies.


05:32 PM Feb 01 2012 |

kotlesya

kotlesya

Belarus

Don’t worry, Anja. It is a beginning of the detective story

05:30 PM Feb 01 2012 |

1 person likes this

snoopyboy

snoopyboy

Antarctica

Agent, I found your comment very daring  but also comical , so i’d like to see you try  :  )


Have you ever felt as if   you’rebeing observed? ...that’s me watching you.


 (hahaha)

05:30 PM Feb 01 2012 |

1 person likes this

kotlesya

kotlesya

Belarus

The part of my mission is to unmask you, Snoopyboy. To unmask your location in front of all people here.  You are wearing the secrecy. One day justice will win.

05:19 PM Feb 01 2012 |

snoopyboy

snoopyboy

Antarctica

Cow 007, we’ve got you cornered. We’ve gathered enough intelligence about you , it’s a matter of time before we put hands on you. All of the globe knows your real identity now, and you’re not allowed to make any purchase at any  local disguise store.


We’ve tracked down your every moves, at 10:00  you’ve been spotted at location X hidding behind some hedge with a mustache on a stick pressed over your lips, what lowly attempt.


I guess the remainder of your mission will be completed for you, we’ll send you tapes of it and popcorn while you enjoy the confort of the bars you’re going to be behind soon


:  )


 

05:08 PM Feb 01 2012 |

1 person likes this

kotlesya

kotlesya

Belarus

I’m not a mole ( crying and sobbing )........ ha-ha-ha


The whole mission has not been revealed yet Tongue out

05:06 PM Feb 01 2012 |

 julito

julito

Argentina

LESYA,  And still you made us believe that you were short-sighted ,HEHE. Is this also one of  your  disguises , playing out the part  of a poor girl bumping into others  ,therefore  covering your real identity  of a  smart spy agent. ?

05:01 PM Feb 01 2012 |

kotlesya

kotlesya

Belarus

I take my hat off in front of Pink Panther, because it helped me to do my spy work in the park this afternoon.


Snoopyboy, you have revealed only 1/4 of mission of agent Cow 007 ;) It is not the end yet Tongue out


04:47 PM Feb 01 2012 |

Mexican Curious

Mexico

I found boring this job… Spy has not family, has not girlfriend, lives alone, and must be hidden all of day.  Then, if you meet some one with no family, with no grilfriend and living alone, could be a spy…


I liked this lesson… Thank you for your comments.

04:16 PM Feb 01 2012 |

thegreentree

Germany

of course i like spy movies and i am be excited when i watched but i dont think i would make a good spy because this require a lot of work and dangerous and the ability to do this

03:46 PM Feb 01 2012 |

Nicte ha

Nicte ha

Mexico

snoopyboy:


hahaha Tongue out

03:19 PM Feb 01 2012 |

1 person likes this

snoopyboy

snoopyboy

Antarctica

Hey people watch out! I think there’s a mole among us, I think Kotlesya is a spy, I caught a glimpse of her in a park, reading a newspaper with peep holes in it, and she had a magnifying glass in her back pocket as well.


 Agent cow 007, you’ve blown your cover. Abort Mission NOW!


: )

02:58 PM Feb 01 2012 |

snoopyboy

snoopyboy

Antarctica

   Really! A lesson about spies and nobody cared to mention the most prominent spying series of all? The Pink Panther show, of course! ... I used to hum the theme song when I used to play hide and seek, to really get into character you know  : )


      Now, regarding the Mission Impossible saga, I’m not keen to go see the latest one. I don’t really like when Hollywood producers try to stretch out a saga too much. I think they should have stopped making M.Is.  after the second one, the third one didn’t do the series any justice, even though I only watched bits and pieces of it, but that was enough for me to spot the damage they’ve done to such a decent franchise. But I think once a title has already been engrained into so many fans heads, the producers can always count on  them to gross  millions with a follow up title, regardless to quality or fans expectations. For instance, I know a lot of people who are James Bond die-hard fans, and they’ve admitted that the series have lost its magical touch without Sean Connery as the protagonist; yet they remained faithful to the “James Bond” name; they’re first in line whenever a new James Bond movie’s out.


    About Spy movies in general, I can say they are thrilling to watch, I love the suspense, the mole, all the secretive lifestyle etc. But I have a preference for the older spy movies and series, the likes of Charlie’s Angel, Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, and anything as late as the 90’s. The most contemporary ones tend to drag too much on showing and relying on electronic gadgets, and sleek fast cars, the main actor rarely gets caught and always knows perfect martial arts. I don’t really like that. I like old fashioned spy movies, where the main character is exposed to teeth –cringing situations like, being tied on a chair and relying on the paper clip under his tongue to set himself free, or the old-fashioned shoot out that used to last for minutes. Now the actors can dodge and curve bullets, how more fictional can it gets.  I miss me some blood-soaked Bruce Willis, an exhausted Jean-Claude Vandamme, a bad-ass Schwarzenegger bullet-scratched from head to toe. I need my spy actor to really drag himself out of his tomb at the end of the movie. I don’t want him to be using the radar from his cellphone, or toying with a remote-controlled gadget to get through his mission. 


Hollywood go back to making movies not commercials for the latest technologies. I think your mission to deliver good merchandises is still possible.


:)


I don’t need 3D glasses and mouth-dropping special effects to enjoy my movies. Keep it real Hollywood!

02:41 PM Feb 01 2012 |

CatcheR

CatcheR

Iceland

WOW, seems spy movies just for LIAR hah ? I actually like to watch spy movies, it’s kind of interesting and looks challenging , I think being a spy doesn’t mean they like to lie in real life, it’s just part of the job and we need to be profesional in doing our job right? and I agree with i love life, James Bond really cool, he was the best spy ever Cool

02:07 PM Feb 01 2012 |

i love life

Palestinian Territory, Occupied

I dont think the spy movies would be useful for us .


I have been seen a lot of mission are not normal.


As we remember the greatest spy was james bond , I think he was wonderful spy .


If someone wants to be a good spy he needs a lot of qualification .


We had many movies talk about the treason  specially  when the cold war happened between the western camp and eastern camp during the period( 1930- 1945)

specifically betwen Russia and United state of america .


If I want to be spy I need special specification , I dont like to be a good spy .


I want to talk about our experience here , The Israel occupation always try to find a lot of spy inside our homes In order to get information .


We should confess these day the treason became a part in our lives. 

01:13 PM Feb 01 2012 |

 julito

julito

Argentina

 Sean Connery , portraying  James  Bond   was my favourite spy  agent.  I think  that the movie Gold Finger  was his best performance . Several Bonds    came along to replace him  but I stuck  to  Sean Connery  .He was very convincing  as a spy 

12:11 PM Feb 01 2012 |

SantD.

SantD.

Brazil

Finally a lesson about MI4! Was I the only one who missed a lesson about it? :P


This was the first movie I saw in 2012 and was worth every penny I spent! This is the best movie of the franchise. There’re a lot of scenes that take you breath away, and the plot is smart, there is also intelligent jokes and a lot of explosions! I love it! :D 


I like spy movies, but recently I’ve seen Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy and I gotta say the movie is horrible and I got disappointed. The cast was awesome but wasn’t well-explored in the movie. Too bad, ‘cause I do like Colin Firth. 


But I don’t think I’d be a good spy. I don’t have a eye for details and I’m kinda clumsy. Probably I’d be caught easily :(

10:48 AM Feb 01 2012 |

kukuka

kukuka

Ukraine

I actually liked the Bourne series but I’ve never seen a single movie about James Bond and Ethan Hunt. Today’s lesson made me think that it might be fun watching Mission Impossible. I guess I will do it this saturday. I’ll download all parts and watch them in a row!

10:22 AM Feb 01 2012 |

1 person likes this

Anna :)

Anna :)

Taiwan

Mason lol

09:20 AM Feb 01 2012 |

Likes (13):

See all >

Share this lesson:

  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Bebo
  • Share on Myspace
  • Share on Twitter
  • Email this to a friend
  • Share on Sina

Post Ebaby! lessons on your blog:

Ebaby! Cast