Present Progressive

Intro

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

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• nerd
• superhuman
• churn out
• hit the mark

• threat
• deity
• mythology
• resume

• humanize
• step up

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

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If someone was threatening you, who would you want on your side, a superhero or a deity? Thor is both of those things combined. He’s one of the heroes of the Avengers comic books series, alongside Iron Man and Captain America. He’s also the god of thunder from ancient mythology. That’s not a bad resume!

A new movie brings Thor’s story to the big screen. In the movie, Thor is a god who is sent to live on Earth as punishment for disobeying his father. When Earth is threatened with destruction, Thor has to step up and save the day.

Find out why Mason and Marni are excited about Thor.

Dialog

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

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

Marni

Mason

Marni:  I have to tell you, Mason, I’m really excited to go see Thor.

Mason:  Really? I’m kind of surprised. But so am I. So, that’s awesome.

Marni:  I love a big, you know, action film, superhero…

Mason:  Mostly you love the dudes who play the big action heros?

Marni:  It’s probably true. There is some of that. But, you know, I think Thor is kind of an interesting story.

Mason:  I mean, I’m a big comics nerd, what’s interesting to me about Thor is the fact that he’s an actual deity from the Norse mythology, and he’s not just some guy who got bit by something radioactive. He’s a god.

Marni:  Right, right. And he has superhuman strength, and superhuman looks. You know there’s so many films these days, though, that are, you know, just comic book films. They seem like there’s just one after another, they’re just churning them out. What do you think is gonna stand apart from the rest that’ve come out recently?

Mason:  Well I don’t know that Thor‘ll hit the mark, but you know, what I think you’re really hoping for at this point is that… The spectacle of making a superhero comic book real on the screen, they’ve done that, they’ve succeeded at it a lot of times, so that’s not enough. They need to make it about the characters and tap into that aspect of it, because the opportunity to humanize the heroes is something that the movie version has a better opportunity for than the comic books.

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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