English, baby!

Erin Brockovich

Date: Nov 09 2000

Intro

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

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

Plot: Erin is a single mother with three kids, who is out of work. She forces a lawyer to hire her, and while she works there, she learns that a large water company has been leaking dangerous chemicals into the ground. Many people get sick, and Erin makes it her goal to help them by suing the water company.
Clip: In this scene, Erin meets George, her new next door neighbor. Erin is very angry because it’s late at night and George has been making a lot of noise with his motorcycle.

Dialog

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

Erin

George

Erin: What are you doing making all that Goddamn noise?

George: Well, uh, I don’t know. We were just introducing ourselves to the neighborhood, I guess.

Erin: Well, I’m the neighbors. There, we’re introduced. So shut the fuck up.

(he laughs and she starts walking away)

George: Hey, hey! Hold on there. Let’s start over, ok? My name’s George. What’s yours?

Erin: Just think of me as the person next door who likes it quiet.

George: Hey, come on. Don’t be like that. Hell, we live next door to each other and I feel bad, I feel terrible. I’m sorry. Will you accept my apology? I mean hell, we’re livin’ right next door to each other. If you need a cup of sugar or some cream…

Erin: I don’t need sugar.

George: You don’t need any sugar. Well, why don’t I take you out to dinner to apologize for my rudeness. Huh? You give me your number, I mean I already got your address, you can’t get away. Huh? And I’ll call you up proper and I’ll ask you out and everything.

Erin: You want my number?

George: I do. I do want your number.

Erin: Which number do you want, George?

George: “George.” Now I like the way you say that. “George.” Uh, well, how many numbers you got?

Erin: Oh, I’ve got numbers coming out of my ears. For instance, “10.”

George: “10?”

Erin: Yeah. That’s how many months old my baby girl is.

George: You gotta little girl?

Erin: Yeah. Sexy, huh? How about this for a number – “6.” That’s how old my other daughter is. “8” is the age of my son, “2” is how many times I’ve been married and divorced, “16” is the number of dollars I have in my bank account. 850-3943, that’s my phone number, and with all the numbers I gave you, I’m guessing “0” is the number of times you’re going to call.

George: Hey. How the hell do you remember your bank balance right off the top of your head like that. See, that impresses me. You’re dead wrong about that “0” thing.

(she closes her door and leaves him)

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Discussion

This is a good conversation with lots of slang between a woman who is upset, and a man who is trying to be nice. He is also trying to get her to agree to a date with him, but she is not in the mood. She is too angry, but he keeps trying. Finally, her “numbers” speech at the end is too much for him, and he let’s her go. I thought this was a great movie, although I really like Julia Roberts, so maybe that makes my opinion stronger. She does a great job acting and the story is interesting. I give it an 8 out of 10. Have you seen Erin Brockovich? What did you think? Have seen another movie recently that you want to talk about? Well, come to the “Movie Madness” message board and tell us about it! From the front row, – John