TEXT 5- THE SIMPSONS

The Simpsons is an American animated television sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a parody of a middle class American family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in the fictional city of Springfield. The series itself mocks the American culture, society and television, and many aspects of the human condition.

Since its debut on 17^th December 1989 the show has broadcasted 441 episodes and the twentieth season began airing on 28^th September 2008. Also The Simpsons Movie was released in cinemas worldwide on 26^th July 2007.

The Simpsons has won dozens of awards since it debuted as a series, including 24 Primetime Emmy Awards, 26 Annie Awards and a Peabody Award. Finally, on 14^th January 2000 the Simpson family was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Simpsons is the longest-running American sitcom.

PROFILES

Homer Simpson

Family member: father

Job: Safety Inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant

Physical appearance: overweight and bald

Personal qualities: lazy and low intelligence

Marge Simpson

Family member: Homer’s wife

Job: Housewife

Physical appearance: tall blue bun

Personal qualities: Good humour; she suffers with her family problems

Bart Simpson

Family member: Oldest Son

Job: Student at Springfield Primary School

Physical appearance: Slim, attractive

Personal qualities: restless, naughty, hooligan; he doesn’t like school

Lisa Simpson

Family member: middle daughter

Job: Student at Springfield Primary School

Physical appearance: Good looking; medium height

Personal qualities: very intelligent, tidy, creative

Maggie Simpson

Family member: youngest daughter

Job: none; she is a baby

Physical appearance: she is always wearing her dummy

Personal qualities: nice, not talkative

TEXT 5-SIMPSONS-EXERCISES

1- Answer the following questions

a) What does Bart look like?

b) What is Lisa like?

2- The two previous questions are in the ...

1. Present Continuous
2. Present Simple
3. Present
4. Past Simple

3- Complete the definitions with the appropriate word

a) The man who is married to a woman is her ______________

b) Marge is Homer´s _____________

4- Translate the following words and expressions

according to their use in the text:

-Youngest daughter

-Middle daughter

-Oldest brother

-Since

-Finally

-Season

5- The adjectives “youngest” and “oldest” are in the....

a) Superlative

b) Comparative

6- Find words in the text meaning

a. Prize

b. Laughs at

c. Non real

d. First appearance

e. To transmit by TV

f. Was first shown

g. In the whole world

h. Started

i. Someone who cannot stay quiet

j. The opposite of hardworking

k. A person who has no hair on his/her head.

j. A synonym of fat

7- Find the words in the text corresponding to the phonetic transcriptions

a) /waɪf/

b) /'sɪstər /

c) /slɪm/

d) /naɪs/

e) /stɑ:r /

f) /'fæmɪli/

g) /'fɪzɪkəl/

h) /ə'merɪkən/

8- Write the correct date next to the sentence

a) The Simpsons appear on TV for the first time: ___________________________

b) The 20^th season started to be broadcasted: _______________________________

9- What is a "sitcom"? Look up a definition of the word in English on wordreference and write it down.

WRITING EXERCISE

WRITE A TEXT. IT MUST INCLUDE AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE.

-Name.
-Nationality.
-Age.
-Place of residence.
-Marital status (single or married?)
-Children?
-Physical appearance. Description. (Height, hair colour and length, looks, etc.)
-Clothes he/she is wearing in the picture.
-Profession
-Do you like this actor / actress?
-Any other information you can think of.

CHOOSE ONE PICTURE

TEXT 2- EVERYDAY CLOTHES

Everyday Clothes

I have two teenage children who love shopping for clothes. They go to the mall with their friends every Saturday.

On school days, my son, Stan, likes to wear blue jeans and T-shirts. He only wears a suit on formal occassions like weddings or funerals. He feels comfortable wearing a jacket but not a tie. My daughter, Lily, likes to wear tight pants. She wears a dress or a skirt and blouse for parties or dinners. She doesn't feel comfortable in high heeled shoes and loves wearing casual and sporty clothes. When Lily visited her aunt in Texas, she bought cowboy boots, tight blue jeans and a cowboy hat.

In Winter, my children wear coats, hats and gloves on cold days. When they go skiing, they put on toques and mittens. Mittens are warmer than gloves. My son doesn't like rainy days because he has to wear a raincoat and carry an umbrella. My daughter loves to wear the scarf that I bought for her Birthday.

In the summer, Lily and Stan usually wear shorts, tanktops and sandals to the beach. Sometimes on weekends, we go walking in the mountains so they wear hiking boots and thick woolen socks to protect their feet and toes.

Last Saturday, my children came home with a bag of clothes each. My son bought two sweaters, and a pair of leather shoes. My daughter bought a black belt to wear with her blue dress, a pair of grey pants and a matching jacket. She also bought a green blouse.

My children have no problem spending money. They think money grows on trees!

CLOTHES EXERCISES

http://pagesperso-orange.fr/annie.gwynn/clothes/clothes1.htm
http://a4esl.org/q/h/vc-clothes-lb.html
http://esl.vcc.ca/eslvoc/ESLWEB/clothjcl.htm
http://esl.vcc.ca/eslvoc/ESLWEB/readclth.htm

SIMPSONS FAMILY TREE

1-Look at the picture. Write sentences as in the example

e.g. Bart/ Lisa: Bart is Lisa´s brother.

a) Homer / Bart:
b) Maggie / Lisa:
c) Patty / Bart
d) Herb / Maggie:
e) Marge / Homer:
f) Homer / Marge:
f) Abraham / Lisa:
g) Ling / Lisa, Maggie and Bart:
h) Jackie / Ling
i) Homer and Marge/ Bart: