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.
Everyone has a different way to relax. Some people might exercise, and others might watch a lot of TV. There are people who relax by learning about the celebrities they love. These fans follow the personal lives of famous people by reading tabloids.
But tabloids often write things that aren’t true about celebrities. This means that a lot of people have negative feelings about celebrity gossip. Reading about celebrity gossip can be considered a guilty pleasure since some people think it’s useless.
Jessica tells Marni that she is obsessed with tabloids. Find out more in today’s English lesson about a guilty pleasure.
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.
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Jessica: Marni?
Marni: Yes?
Jessica: I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, but I have a really odd guilty pleasure.
Marni: What is it?
Jessica: I am obsessed with tabloids.
Marni: What?
Jessica: I just love celebrity gossip. I know it’s probably trash to a lot of people. But I just love it.
Marni: It just seems so mindless. I just don’t understand why you’d be so interested in the lives of people you don’t know. There are so many more important issues in the world today like famine, and war, and climate change. Really, celebrity gossip, Jessica?
Jessica: I know. It’s a strange obsession with pop culture. I am obsessed with the news, too. But I do like the mindless celebrity gossip now and then.
Marni: Well, I guess we all need our little mental breaks.
Jessica: Yes, exactly. Thanks for understanding.
Marni: Sure.
Grammar Point
Go Super to learn "Comparatives and Superlatives" from this lesson
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Discussion
Jessica is embarrassed to tell Marni about something she likes to do. She likes reading tabloids and learning about the personal lives of celebrities. Even though she knows that some people feel that tabloids are trash, Jessica thinks it’s a fun, mindless thing to enjoy.
Marni doesn’t understand why Jessica would waste her time following tabloids. Since there are so many more important things to think about, Marni feels that Jessica can spend her time better. In the end, Marni says that she understands that everyone needs their own kind of mental breaks.
Do you follow celebrity gossip? Why or why not?
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