Listening exercise
Two Songs by Tom Lehrer
National Brotherhood Week and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAOwYDlEQXo
When You Are Old and Gray
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NOZH0y7VxE
With lyrics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlpVdCzpvl4

Vocabulary:
1. National Brotherhood Week

for no apparent reason
to bore s.o.
audiences
to suspect
Communist plot
desperate attempt
to undermine
references
first thing
to ring up
embassy
suggestions
peculiar
custom
officially designated as
really quite a strain
white folks
old established rule
Cassius Clay
Mrs. Wallace
to dance cheek-to-cheek
to eulogize
to despise
American as apple pie
New Yorkers
Puerto Ricans
to be very chic
to tolerate s.o.
Protestants
Catholics
Hindus
Muslims
Jews
inferior
so have no fear
be grateful that
to last 		2. When You Are Old and Gray

years
ahead
to destroy
every vestige of
her already dubious charms
nonetheless
to shine on forever
pure realism
popular song
to appreciate s.o.
while we may
here and now
to make the most of s.t.
to trust
to disgust
to get fat
debility
lessened
utility
loss of mobility
strong possibility
virility
fertility
desirability
liability
social sterility
hostility
futility
agility
facility
senility
ability
to start to go
waist
to spread
20 years or so
I told you so

Questions:
1. What is Tom Lehrer famous for? (Check Wikipedia)
2. a. Who are Cassius Clay, and Mrs. Wallace? b. Why might they not get along well?
3. a. What is the political status of Puerto Rico? b. About how many Puerto Ricans are there in New York City?
4. Where are there Hindus and Muslims, and why do they often not get along well?
5. How do you say "Christian" in Chinese?
6. What do you think Lehrer's main message is regarding the significance of "National Brotherhood Week"?
7. a. List all of the triple rhymes you can find in the second song. b. What is special about triple rhymes as a literary device?
8. What do "May" and "December" symbolize in this song?
9. What is Lehrer's main message in the second song? Relate it to this quote: "One can promise actions, but not feelings, for the latter are involuntary. He who promises to love forever or hate forever or be forever faithful to someone is promising something that is not in his power." -Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, philosopher (1844-1900)
10. Why does Lehrer say the second song "somehow doesn't seem so funny anymore"?

Bonus songs by Tom Lehrer:
1. Learn phonics with "Silent E":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVC9TayQIh8
2. Learn English adverb formation with the "LY" song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4KybdSi1Fc

And a demonstration of how the "echo method" works:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNghp9tPXjo

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