Listening
Exercise:
Monologue by Ellen
DeGeneres
URL:
http://ellen.warnerbros.com/galleries/video/index.html?=mono/daily
Make sure you have QuickTime
or RealPlayer
installed on your computer
More videos are available on this page if you're
interested
If you have trouble linking to the right video,
try this link:
http://ellen.warnerbros.com/galleries/video.html
You can also try going to your browser's Tools
>'Internet options > General > Temporary Internet Files,
and clicking on 'Delete FIles...' to clear your cache of previously downloaded
files.
Dear
Students: The "daily monologue" available
on this site was changed after this assignment was prepared - a risk I was
aware of when choosing this material. The following is a new set of vocabulary
words and thought questions to go with the new monologue. Either monologue
will be acceptable for this assignment. Sorry for the inconvenience!
| good
mood crazy weekend out of control Christmas shopping record year what's going on parking spot mall regular day open spot by all means, please to drive away "because for all I know they may have a Nielsen box" (a box installed in some home televisions to record which television programs are watched on that set; these data are used to decide which TV shows should be continued and which canceled) |
desperate
to trail someone Secret Service next to the president jogging vulture wounded rabbit to swoop down on my windows are rolled up level ramp (of a parking ramp) bus stop true story they take their sweet-ass time (vulgar) to balance their checkbook |
"Hot
Topic" (name of a shop) "carry the four" (said when adding figures) to check all one's mirrors to adjust everything "Oh, I'm not leaving." to get all excited opening to take up two spots just over the white line a bad parker purposely kinda = kind of = somewhat diagonal "I'll get out and key 'em" |
Thought questions:
1. What aspect of human behavior is Ellen addressing in this monologue?
2. Why does Ellen compare herself to a vulture?
3. Why did Ellen once follow in her car a pedestrian to a bus stop?
4. Describe what has happened when a person in a car says, "Oh, I'm not
leaving."
5. What do you think the verb to key means in this context? What would
make Ellen 'key' someone's car? Why?
6. Which parts of the monologue do you find funny, if any, and why? Are there
parts where the audience laughs, but you don't understand what's funny? In
which parts does this happen?
7. Do you think this kind of humor would work if presented in Mandarin or
Southern Min to a Taiwan audience? Why or why not? How might it have to be
changed to adapt it to Taiwan audiences?
| wooing clapping a sure sign that I can sense read a face to judge how they're feeling executive producer rare if there's not a camera going to tell apart |
disapproving
of to furrow one's brow confused posse 'Are you with me here?' women's studies group to look beyond fighter pilot to hold onto |
frown to realize 'You hang in there, OK?' a party going on bouncer not everyone's allowed assume to stick one's tongue out at Nana, nana, nana |
Thought questions for previous monologue:
1. What is Ellen trying to communicate in this monologue?
2. Which parts of the monologue do you find funny, if any, and why? Are there
parts where the audience laughs, but you don't understand what's funny? In
which parts does this happen?
3. Do you think this kind of humor would work if presented in Mandarin or
Southern Min to a Taiwan audience? Why or why not?
4. What is a 'bouncer', and what does Ellen mean with her comment about it?
5. What does 'Nana, nana, nana' mean?
Oral
II Students: Choose three clips from the Ellen
DeGeneres page and write short summaries of each, along with your reactions.