Lead-In
Discuss with your partner.
- Do you watch cartoons? Why/Why not?
- What kinds of cartoons do you like?
- What was your favourite cartoon when you were a child?
- Have you ever watched The Simpsons? If so, what do you remember about it?
- If you created a cartoon, what would it be about?
Part I
Listen and read.
Imagine[explanation: imagine [ɪˈmædʒɪn] – kujuta ette] that you created a comic strip or a cartoon about your own family and that cartoon would go on to be[explanation: that cartoon would go on to be [ðæt kɑːˈtuːn wəd ɡəʊ ɒn tu biː] – sellest joonisfilmist saab] one of the most popular TV shows of all time! In fact, there is one person in the world who has managed to pull it off[explanation: who has managed to pull it off [huː həz ˈmænɪdʒd tu pʊl ɪt ɒf] – kel on õnnestunud seda teha]. That person is Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons, which is the longest-running[explanation: the longest-running [ðə ˈlɒŋəstˈrʌnɪŋ] – kõige kauem eetris olnud] prime-time series in the history of American television.
In 1985, Groening was asked to create[explanation: was asked to create [wəz ɑːskt tu kriˈeɪt] – paluti luua] an animated series for a comedy show, and he came up with the idea of a cartoon family that has many different kinds of adventures. The idea came pretty quickly, so Groening didn’t look far in naming[explanation: in naming [ɪn ˈneɪmɪŋ] – (tegelastele) nime andes] the characters. Groening’s own father is called Homer, his mother is Margaret, and he also has two younger sisters named Lisa and Margaret. Do any of those names sound familiar?
However, Groening didn’t want to name a character after himself, so for the name of the family’s misbehaving[explanation: misbehaving [ˌmɪsbɪˈheɪvɪŋ] – halvasti käituv] boy, he chose an anagram[explanation: anagram [ˈænəɡræm] – anagramm, tähemäng tähtede ümberpaigutamisega] of the word “brat[explanation: brat [bræt] – jõmpsikas, marakratt]”. Even though the names are the same, Groening says that his family was nothing like[explanation: was nothing like [wɒz ˈnʌθɪŋ laɪk] – polnud sugugi selline nagu] the Simpsons. His father doesn’t even like doughnuts! What they do have in common, though, is a love for ice cream.
- Matt Groening’s series has no link with reality.
- True
- False
- As a TV show, The Simpsons holds an important record.
- True
- False
- Groening created The Simpsons on his own initiative.
- True
- False
- Groening named the characters after his own family.
- True
- False
- The Simpsons and Groening’s family have a lot in common.
- True
- False
- to succeed in doing something difficult –
- to suggest/think of an idea –
- easy to recognise because of being well known –
- a word/phrase made by using the letters of another one –
- a misbehaving person, especially a child –
Part II
Listen and read.
If you take a look at Groening’s childhood[explanation: childhood [ˈtʃaɪldhʊd] – lapsepõlv] and home in Portland, Oregon, you can see that the town and the state may have had an influence[explanation: may have had an influence [meɪ həv hæd ən ˈɪnfluəns] – võisid mõjutada] on some things in the show. See if you can spot the similarities[explanation: similarities [ˌsɪmɪˈlærətiz] – sarnasused]!
- Springfield is the most common town name in the United States.
- In fact, you can find a Springfield in 22 different states! One of them is in Oregon, 100 miles south of Portland[explanation: south of Portland [saʊθ əv ˈpɔːtlænd] – Portlandist lõuna poole].
- The town right next to Oregon’s Springfield is called Eugene. There you can find, for example, a bar called Max’s Tavern, and a familiar-looking[explanation: familiar-looking [fəˈmɪliəˈlʊkɪŋ] – tuttavana tunduv] grocery store[explanation: grocery store (AmE) [ˈɡrəʊs(ə)ri ˌstɔː(r)] – toidupood] with a big parking lot and a “K” in the logo.
- On the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, there is a statue of a fur trapper carrying a rifle[explanation: fur trapper carrying a rifle [ˌfɜː ˈtræpə ˈkæriɪŋ ə ˈraɪf(ə)l] – karusloomakütt püssiga].
- The name of the founder[explanation: founder [ˈfaʊndə(r)] – asutaja, rajaja] of Eugene was Eugene Skinner. In downtown Eugene, there is a large park on a hill called Skinner Butte.
- The address of Groening’s childhood home in Portland was Southwest 742 Evergreen Terrace.
- Some streets in Portland have quite interesting names. And yes, these streets existed[explanation: existed [ɪɡˈzɪstɪd] – olid olemas] before the show!
Groening created The Simpsons over 30 years ago. I bet he didn’t guess that a cartoon based on[explanation: based on [beɪst ɒn] – põhinev; mis põhineb] what he saw around him would still be[explanation: would still be [wəd stɪl biː] – oleks senini] as popular as it is today. This only goes to show[explanation: goes to show [ɡəʊz tu ʃəʊ] – näitab] that sometimes the best ideas come from unexpected[explanation: unexpected [ˌʌnɪkˈspektɪd] – ootamatu] places!
If you wrote[explanation: if you wrote [ɪf juː rəʊt] – siin: kui sa looksid] a cartoon, book, TV show, or movie based on your own family and your own hometown, what would it look like[explanation: would it look like [wəd ɪt lʊk laɪk] – see välja näeks]?
- might have influenced The Simpsons.
- Springfield is an extremely town name in the US.
- Max’s Tavern is a
- Skinner Butte is located of Eugene.
- Compared to the past, The Simpsons is
- the time when you are a child –
- the effect that someone/something has on people or things –
- a shop where you can buy food and small household things –
- a person who establishes a community, an organisation, etc. –
- the place where you were born or lived as a child –
Follow-Up
Pairwork 1
How are the following items connected with the text? In turns, explain the connection to each other in English.
prime-time series
Groening’s parents
Groening’s sisters
Springfield
Max’s Tavern
statue
Eugene Skinner
Southwest 742 Evergreen Terrace
the names of the streets
Pairwork 2
In turns, ask and answer the questions below.
- What is your favourite cartoon/comic book? Why?
- Do you read any comics? If so, what are they about?
- What cartoons do you watch? What makes them particularly enjoyable?
- Who is your favourite character in The Simpsons? Why?
- If your family and friends were characters in The Simpsons, who would they be? Why?
- If you could be any cartoon character you wanted, who would you be? Why?
Some popular cartoons/comic books:
Spider-Man The Avengers Batman
Calvin and Hobbes Donald Duck
Adventure Time
Examples:
act → cat
silent → listen
night → thing
state → taste
- tea →
- vase →
- post →
- mean →
- race →
- arts →
- angle →
- dusty →
- earth →
- miles →
What is the title of the cartoon series? | |
Where is the series set? | |
Who are the main characters? | |
What is the series about? What happens in it? | |
Do you like this series? Why/Why not? | |
Why do you think people watch this series? | |
Would you recommend it to others? Why/Why not? |
