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A. Previewing
Before watching a video about Kevin, the bird in Pixar’s movie Up, familiarize yourself with the following entries:
  1. cumulonimbus - a dense towering vertical cloud associated with thunderstorms and atmospheric instability. They may produce lightning and other dangerous severe weather, such as gusts and hail.
  2. twist – a bend; a distortion of the original or natural shape or form
  3. inherent – existing as a natural and basic part of something
  4. foil – something or someone that contrasts good or bad qualities and makes them more noticeable
  5. wacky – (slang) unusual in a pleasing and exciting or silly way
  6. derail – to cause something or someone to go off track, literally (e.g. a train or tram) or figuratively
  7. goofy – (informal) foolish; silly
  8. cocky – confident in an annoying way

B. Comprehension

Now watch the video and answer the following questions:

Click here to watch the video

Video ©DisneyPixar(Youtube.com)
  1. Carl Fredricksen wants to have
    a son an adventure a flying house
  2. “The story takes a lot of twists and turns and we wanted that, we wanted to throw different things at Carl on his adventure.”
    What does ‘twists and turns’ mean?
    frustrating or dangerous situations
    complicated and unexpected situations
    rough and rocky roads
  3. Carl: (to Kelvin) “Shoo! Shoo! Get out of here. Go on! Beat it!”
    ‘Beat it!’ means…
    ‘Be good!’ ‘Go away!’ ‘Defeat me!’
  4. Select the word that Pete used in the video:
    Pete: “ _________ for Carl, there is someone else who comes along on the journey - Russell.”
    Unfortunately Unexpectedly Unluckily
  5. Russel is an eight-year-old …
    wildlife explorer wild adventurer wilderness explorer
  6. This whole trip is derailed, which is part of the fun of Carl. Nothing really goes his way.
    What does ‘goes his way’ mean in this context?
    proceeds according to his wishes
    stays on the rail
    accompanies him
  7. The two main obstacles that Carl faces in the movie are…
    Russel and Kelvin weather and money birds and boys
  8. What makes Carl’s adventure unique?
    pretty characters wacky characters silly characters

C. Synonym
You can improve your memory of a word by associating it with its synonyms. A synonym is a word that has the same, or nearly the same meaning as another word.

In the exercise below, three synonyms are provided for each bolded word in the following sentences taken from the talk. Watch the video again and observe how these words are used in a larger context. Select the synonym that best fits that context. Consult a dictionary when necessary.
  1. Kevin the bird is just this fantastical creature that seems to be the prefect kind of foil for Carl to complete his journey.
    strange wacky unusual
  2. Get out of here! Ah! Go!
    leave evade fence
  3. Because of Kevin, they stumble into this big entry.
    shuffle into fall into collapse into
  4. And the journey that they go on becomes this great action adventure
    embark on act occur
  5. The film goes off in weird directions featuring things you’ve never really seen before.
    bizarre spooky fence

D. Using Vocabulary
Complete the sentences below with the words/ phrases provided in the box.
  • stumble
  • evade
  • weird
  • cocky
  • fantastical
  • come along
  • go on
  1. This famous painter draws fantastical animals with three wings and five arms.
  2. Please go on with what you're doing and don't let us interrupt you.
  3. We're going to the cinema. Do you want to come along ?
  4. Running along the beach, she stumbled on a log and fell on the sand.
  5. That's weird - I thought I'd left my keys on the table but they're not there.
  6. That cocky young actor thinks that he is God's gift to the theatre.
  7. The criminals have so far managed to evade the police.

E. Phrasal verbs that begin with go or come
A phrasal verb is a verb plus a preposition and/or an adverb which creates a meaning different from the original verb. For example in the video, go on means to happen, while come along means to go somewhere with someone.
Phrasal verbs are very common in spoken and written English, so you need them to understand natural English and to sound more natural when speaking English. Complete the tasks below to learn more about some common phrasal verbs that begin with go or come.
  1. Match the phrasal verbs with their definitions. Please note that some of the phrasal verbs may have more meanings than the one given in this exercise. Consult a dictionary when necessary.
  1. Complete the following sentences by selecting the appropriate phrasal verbs which fit the sentence contexts.
  1. I am still missing her, hardly a day when I don't think about her.
  2. This war has been going for years, I just hope it’s going to end soon.
  3. We need expert advice, and that's where you for years, I just hope it’s going to end soon.
  4. I watched the interview and felt he as quite arrogant.
  5. We went hell while working on this troublesome project.
  6. The charity will go unless a generous donor can be found within the next few months, otherwise it will have to be closed down.
  7. This wine goes particularly well
  8. He some of his old love letters in his wife's desk.
  9. I've never seen a baseball game – do you mind if I some of his old love letters in his wife's desk.

Transcription - Disney Pixar - Kevin (the bird) from Pixar’s Up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeJ38HE8Q7U

Pete: “Up” is the story of Carl Fredricksen who wants to go off on an adventure.
Bob: The story takes a lot of twists and turns and we wanted that, we wanted to throw different things at Carl on his adventure.
Carl: Ah~ what is that thing?
Jonas: Kevin the bird is just this fantastical creature that seems to be the prefect kind of foil for Carl to complete his journey.
Carl: Shoo! Shoo! Get out of here. Go on! Beat it! Ah~
Pete: Unfortunately for Carl, there is someone else who comes along on the journey -Russell.
Russell: Hi, Mr Fredricksen.
Pete: He’s an eight-year-old wilderness explorer.
Russell: Wow you going on a trip?
Bob: This whole trip is derailed, which is part of the fun of Carl. Nothing really goes his way.
Russell: See?! Cumulonimbus.
Pete: So the next obstacle that Carl faces is this Bird.
Carl: Get out of here! Ah! Go!
Russell: Kevin, it’s okay.
Carl: Kevin?
Russell: Ya! That’s his name I just gave him.
Pete: Kevin is this goofy cocky character.
Carl: You’re not allow up there!
Pete: You just never know what it gonna do next.
Jonas: There is just nothing more opposite of Carl on his journey and this big goofy bird.
Carl: I don’t want you here, and I don’t want you here.
Bob: We just love the way birds move. It just had this really inherent humour to them.
Carl: Careful, Russell.
Jonas: Because of Kevin, they stumble into this big entry.
Russell: Kevin!
Dog: Hey that is a bird!
Jonas: And the journey that they go on becomes this great action adventure…there is a lot of humour …
Carl: I told you no, N.O.
An adventure, some pretty wacky characters, that’s one of the things that makes this unique. The film goes off in weird directions featuring things you’ve never really seen before.
Carl: Hey that’s mine.
Which is what makes it fun!


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