English, baby!

Hollywood Baby Boom

Date: Jul 05 2006

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

It seems Hollywood celebrities are churning out babies as fast as they’re making new movies. Old pals Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have recently been welcomed into fatherhood, and major and minor stars such as Angelina Jolie, Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani and Heidi Klume have all given birth in the past few weeks. And, rumors are flying that Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Aniston are pregnant.

Listen to Kevin and Amanda talk about the Hollywood baby boom.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Kevin

Amanda

Kevin: There’s been a, ah, baby boom, if you will, in Hollywood recently. Have you noticed?

Amanda: I’ve noticed.

Kevin: Unbelievable.

Amanda: They’re making babies as much as they’re making films right now. Isn’t that true?

Kevin: Maybe more.

Amanda: And the crazy thing is they’re making it look all easy because they have nannies.

Kevin: Of course, they have nannies.

Amanda: Trainers.

Kevin: They have it all.

Amanda: Yeah.

Kevin: They pop out three kids and stay thin as a rail.

Amanda: And still have a career and a summer blockbuster. No problem, right! And then they’re rail thin two weeks postpartum, right?

Kevin: It’s fabulous.

Amanda: Yes!

Kevin: And you know what I love about Hollywood kids…

Amanda: What?

Kevin: ...is they get the craziest names.

Amanda: Oh yeah.

Kevin: Like, you can name your kid – I mean, you wouldn’t ever name your kid John or Kevin, right?

Amanda: No! God forbid something common, right?

Kevin: No, got to be “Apple” or “Watermelon.” Fruit seems to be popular, you know.

Amanda: What about Julia Roberts’ twins? Do you remember those names? Boy and a girl.

Kevin: Is it Finneus?

Amanda: Finneus and Hazel.

Kevin: And Hazel.

Amanda: Oh, how beautiful.

Kevin: Yeah, Hazel is like an old school name. Hazel is an old school name.

Amanda: They won’t have a hard time in school at all. Not at all.

Kevin: Well, no, not when you’re sitting next to Apple and Watermelon. It’s okay.

Amanda: That’s true. That’s a perfect point. No doubt.

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Discussion

Stars are notorious for giving their children unique, often strange, names. The recent boom of babies in Hollywood has shown just how far some celebrities are willing to go to make their children stand out from the crowd.

Gwyneth Paltrow and her husband, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, named their first daughter Apple and their new son Moses. David Beckham’s daughter is named Brooklyn. Magician Penn Gillette, from the Penn & Teller Show, named his daughter Moxie.

Some psychologists say that celebrities are constantly driven to be unique. This need to stand out from the crowd spills over into their family lives, causing them to make their children unique as well.

However, Penn Gillette writes:

“Everyone I know with an unusual name loves it. It’s only the losers named Dave that think having an unusual name is bad, and who cares what they think. They’re named Dave.”

Since my name is Dave, I guess I’ll sit down and be quiet. But what do you think about the unusual names celebrities give to their children?