Tag: C2

Idiocracy: A Prophetic Look at America’s Future

Idiocracy if often described as a movie that became a documentary. With many current events, the movie has again become relevant despite being released in 2006. Will this really be the future of our world? You decide.

Watch the video and then do the accompanying English language exercises on our website.

The news is a consistent source of entertainment, knowledge and discovery that never ceases to exist and always comes out with more and more material each day. Because it plays such a vital part in our lives and is so important to keep up with, it is without a doubt a piece of your everyday routine that can’t go ignored.

Whether it is to understand the ramifications of recent legislation passed, to hear about recent events and grasp the potential consequences to your country, or simply hear about what is happening in other countries in order to compare them to what’s happening in yours, the news is certainly a staple in our lives and the most consistent way to get information.

This is why Scrambled Eggs has decided to unite two of your biggest worlds: learning English and keeping up with what is happening in the world. We hope our challenging daily exercises, composed of listening, vocabulary and comprehension exercises in English, will satisfy both of those above worlds in a satisfactory and also entertaining way.

So enough about introductions, let’s get to today’s Learn English with the News topic:

Adapted from this article.

Idiocracy: A Prophetic Look at America’s Future | Definition Match

Put the following words to the correct definitions.

Idiocracy: A Prophetic Look at America’s Future | Fill in the Blank

Fill out the text below with the correct answers.

Idiocracy: A Prophetic Look at America’s Future | True or False

Indicate which sentences are true and which ones are false.

 

And that’s it for today’s English lesson, where you can improve your English with the news and current events. Do you have any comments or special requests for us for the next edition of Learn English with the News? Be sure to leave any feedback you have in the comments section below, as we would love to help you on your quest to learn the English language!

For other Learn English with the News segments, be sure to check out the rest of our posts:

https://scrambledeggsinglese.it/tag/learn-english-with-the-news/

Full text:

Are we living in the age of stupid? The era of the idiot? The answer, according to the film, Idiocracy, is yes, with examples of monstrous moronicism everywhere: climate deniers, the “plandemic” crowd. On the other hand, human beings have always been illogical creatures. The question is whether we are, as a species, becoming dumberer.

Suggesting that morons rather than nerds will inherit the earth, and that the results will be catastrophic, the film begins with a context-setting interview. The director cuts between an intelligent adult couple discussing why they won’t be having children right now and an opposite couple having lots.

Observing that “evolution does not necessarily reward intelligence,” the narrator explains that “with no natural predators to thin the herd, it began to simply reward those who reproduced the most – and left the intelligent to become an endangered species.”

The story follows everyman Joe Bauers, who is selected by the US army to participate in an experiment to test cryogenic hibernation. He’s chosen because he’s average in every possible way. The experiment goes awry and Joe emerges 500 years later in the year 2505 and he’s now the smartest person on earth.

The environment has crumbled and garbage is stacked in huge mounds. A marijuana-smoking doctor at the hospital is shocked that Joe doesn’t have a barcode on his arm, like everybody else, and asks, “Why come you no have a tattoo?” He’s one of the more eloquent people; most speak a dialect combining groans, grunts, insults and slang words.

This disturbingly hilarious film is as horrifying as 1984 or Brave New World, but takes a different route – emphasising the dangers of collective incompetence rather than oppressiveness of the state. The jokes flow thick and fast. The underlying message of course is that humans ought to take such things as science, research and knowledge seriously, lest we create our own Idiocracy.

DC’s Batman and Superman Remain Strong in the Face of Marvel

DC and Marvel have a long and competitive history. Perhaps you prefer one over the other, but what remains clear is that Batman and Superman are still forces to be reckoned with. Should superheroes change? We think so. Change is good. It makes them endure.

Watch the video and then do the accompanying English language exercises.

The news is a consistent source of entertainment, knowledge and discovery that never ceases to exist and always comes out with more and more material each day. Because it plays such a vital part in our lives and is so important to keep up with, it is without a doubt a piece of your everyday routine that can’t go ignored.

Whether it is to understand the ramifications of recent legislation passed, to hear about recent events and grasp the potential consequences to your country, or simply hear about what is happening in other countries in order to compare them to what’s happening in yours, the news is certainly a staple in our lives and the most consistent way to get information.

This is why Scrambled Eggs has decided to unite two of your biggest worlds: learning English and keeping up with what is happening in the world. We hope our challenging daily exercises, composed of listening, vocabulary and comprehension exercises in English, will satisfy both of those above worlds in a satisfactory and also entertaining way.

So enough about introductions, let’s get to today’s Learn English with the News topic:

Adapted from this article

Now that you’ve had a listen, let’s put your knowledge to the test with some of our vocabulary and comprehension exercises:

DC’s Batman and Superman Remain Strong in the Face of Marvel| Definition Match

Put the following words to the correct definitions.

DC’s Batman and Superman Remain Strong in the Face of Marvel| Fill in the Blank

Fill out the text below with the correct answers.

DC’s Batman and Superman Remain Strong in the Face of Marvel| True or False

Indicate which sentences are true and which ones are false.

And that’s it for today’s English lesson, where you can improve your English with the news and current events. Do you have any comments or special requests for us for the next edition of Learn English with the News? Be sure to leave any feedback you have in the comments section below, as we would love to help you on your quest to learn the English language!

For other Learn English with the News segments, be sure to check out the rest of our posts:

https://scrambledeggsinglese.it/tag/learn-english-with-the-news/

Full Text:

While Marvel might be ahead of DC at the box office, DC still possesses the two most iconic superhero franchises: Batman and Superman. It turns out that this can be both a blessing and a curse. The Batman, an upcoming movie starring Robert Pattinson (of Twilight fame), is set to be released in March 2022.

Excitement over new films featuring these characters is often met with mixed emotions: joy on one side, angst on the other. Because Batman and Superman have been around since the 1930s, a lot of people have preconceived notions of what the characters represent, which is something that makes rebooting them difficult.

However, reshaping the characters is part of what makes them so durable. In the 1960s, Adam West starred in the campy Batman TV series. Tim Burton gave us a darker version of Batman in 1989. Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight was one of the best movies in DC’s history, if not in all of superhero movie history.

Superman, too, has gone through a lot of experimentation phases. In 2003, DC released “Superman: Red Son” which is an alternate history where Superman lands in the Soviet Union instead of the United States. Still, the place that Superman and Batman occupy in pop culture creates a unique set of challenges, and opportunities as well. While it’s hard to tell whether any superhero movie can live up to the hype, it’s a safe prediction that when The Batman releases in March, it won’t suffer a lack of critics.

Cockney Rhyming Slang

When you visit London, you might overhear people talking like this and feel extremely confused. However, don’t despair! You haven’t lost your ability to understand the English language. Yes, we did teach you real English at Scrambled Eggs!

This is ‘Cockney rhyming slang’, an English dialect that originated in the capital city during the early 19thcentury. Although it is rarely used day-to-day in contemporary times but it remains a unique part of London’s history and culture.

The word ‘Cockney’ originated as a pejorative term for Londoners in the 14thcentury but nowadays generally refers to a native or long-time resident of the city. Traditionally this has been defined as someone who was born within earshot (three to six miles distance) of the bells at the St. Mary-le-Bow church in London’s East-End.

‘Cockney rhyming slang’ developed in the slums of London and was used by the poorest social classes as a flamboyant form of expression and to converse in code. It was also a useful mode of communication for criminals wanting to evade the law! It has since come to be viewed as a language of the people and a symbol of the city of London.

The dialect combines common words and cultural references into rhymes and non-sensical phrases to form a new vocabulary. Often the second word in a rhyme will sound like the word it intends to mean. Perhaps one of the most famous is ‘apples and pears’, which means ‘stairs’. Sometimes, a part of the phrase is used to convey meaning. For example, ‘butcher’s hook’, which means ‘look’ can be used as ‘have a butcher’s’, which means to inspect something.

So how does a listener understand what a speaker is saying? Well, you have to learn the definitions of Cockney phrases and rhymes by heart. With that in mind, ‘let’s have a butcher’s’ at some useful Cockney rhyming slang for your next trip to London.


Cockney Rhyming Slang | Match

Match the Cockney phrases with their definitions.

So how did you score?

0-2 correct – ‘Please sir, can I take the test again?’

3-4 correct – ‘Pretty Polly’

5 correct – ‘Cor, blimey guv’nor!’

Cockney Rhyming Slang | True or False

Decide if the statement is true or false.