PolyU Motto
Centre for Independent Language Learning

CILL Home
A - Z Index
Dictionary
Exercises
Grammar
Help
Listening
Pronunciation
Reading
Search CILL
Sitemap
Speaking
Vocabulary
What's New
Writing
ELC Home


Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, activist, businesswoman, fashion designer, actress and philanthropist.

Lady Gaga is recognized for her flamboyant, diverse and eccentric contributions to the music industry through her fashion, performances and music videos. Her achievements include 5 Grammy Awards and 13 MTV Video Music Awards.

 


Task A


Familiarize yourself with the following cultural/contextual notes to help you understand the clip better.
  1. gaga – slang for ‘crazy’
  2. hit all the right notes – musically means singing or playing correctly, but here it means ‘doing all the right things’
  3. soar even higher – achieve even more
  4. The Christmas Spectacular – an annual musical holiday stage show involving over 140 performers, lavish sets and original music score
  5. The Rockettes – a dance group that performs at the Radio City Music Hall regularly
  6. turned the music world upside down – heavily affected the music world
  7. debut album – first album
  8. Saturday Night Live – American comedy skit show
  9. “She was quite a lady, and not ‘gaga’ at all” – play on words with Lady Gaga’s name
  10. freak – slang for ‘strange person’
  11. New York City’s Upper West Side – a wealthy neighborhood in Manhattan, New York
  12. pluck – in this instance, means ‘choose’
  13. bluffing – pretending
  14. androgynous – genderless
  15. bizarre – strange
  16. scantily clad –not covered or not wearing very much in terms of clothing
  17. firmly in place – secure
  18. the sky is the limit – endless possibilities, usually referring to success
  19. articulate – eloquent, or gifted at speech and words



Task B


Read the following statements before watching the clip. Then select those that are correct.


Video ©BBC







Task C


Vocabulary: Match the following entries with their definitions.





Song: Born this way


Born This Way is written and produced by Lady Gaga and Jeppe Laursen. Inspired by the 1990s empowering music for women and the gay community, Gaga explained that Born This Way is her freedom song – it is meant to be a song about revolution, freedom and lack of prejudice. Having lived like an outcast and as a victim of bullying when she was young, Gaga hopes this song helps young people to be ‘themselves’.
Pre-viewing:

Before listening to the song, familiarize yourself with the cultural information and contextual phrases or vocabulary listed below.
  1. put your paws up – Gaga’s way of saying ‘put your hands up’ as she considers her fans little monsters
  2. boudoir – a woman’s dressing room, bedroom, or private sitting room
  3. drag – something or someone tedious and boring
  4. prudence – wisdom with regard to practical matters
  5. Mi amore vole fe yah – ‘my love needs faith’ in an older or regional dialect of Italian, possibly the dialect spoken by Lady Gaga’s own family
  6. beige – a very light grayish brown. In this context it means a mixed-race, part black and part white person
  7. chola – refers to individuals of Indian ancestry, or other racially mixed origin
  8. descent – properties attributable to your ancestry
  9. bi – the short form of bisexuality
  10. transgendered – involving a partial or full reversal of gender (e.g. part man part woman)
  11. orient – the countries of Asia, especially of eastern Asia



Listening comprehension


Listen to the song on http://youtu.be/xl0N7JM3wZk or http://youtu.be/2E8MhqiyLTA and answer the following questions according to the song lyrics (you may select more than one option in each question).







Vocabulary Round Up


Complete the following sentences with the words provided in the box below. Use the appropriate form of the words to make your choice grammatically correct.


  1. bluffed
  2. articulated
  3. plucked
  4. rejoiced
  5. bizarre
  6. prudence
  7. scanty


Hide answers.


Reference: wikipedia.org, thefreedictionary.com

Copyright© 2012-2013 UGC ICOSA Project, Hong Kong. All rights reserved.