Sitcom English Modern Family, Season 1, Episode 7

Phil and Claire, married 16 years 2 daughters, 1 son (Haley, Alex, Luke)

Jay and Gloria, married 6 months (Jay’s stepson, Manny)

Mitchell and Cameron, together for 5 years adopted daughter Lily

Warmup 1. Do you enjoy competition? 2. Do you play sports? Did you do sports when you were younger? 3. Did you parents ever pressure you to be the best at something?

Manny

fencing / to fence

Zorro – a Spanish swordfighter

Listening i. JAY: I’m proud of our little Zorro, I mean I worked with him a little but the kid’s got skills. ii. ALEX: Do you know that this pension is made in the 12 th Century? iii. LUKE: I don’t think that you’re a nerd, Alex. ALEX: Shut up, dork. iv. ALEX: It means that you can charge it with static electricity. Just rub it on your hair. v. JAY: Yes! You know, I used to go to the homes of my friends, I see their kids’ medals and it used to bug me, you know? Because…there was never a medal in my house. Not until I found one. vi. PHIL: You know Alex is great at everything she tries, so, she’ll find her specialty. i. JAY: He’s a loud little Zorro, I mean I worked with him a little but the kid could kill. ii. ALEX: Do you know that fencing goes back to the 12 th Century? iii. LUKE: I don’t see the need, Alex. ALEX: Shut up, Luke. iv. ALEX: It means that you rub it while charging it with your hair through static electricity. v. JAY: Yes! You know, I used to go to the houses of my friends, I see their kids’ trophies and it used to bug me, you know? Because…there was never a trophy in my house. Not until this one. vi. PHIL: You know Alex is smart at everything she studies, so, she’ll find her university.

Vocabulary i. He keeps tripping over his feet and falling down. He can’t catch a ball; he’s really uncoordinated. ii. Weapons like guns, swords, knives are lethal because they can kill people. iii. Kim Jong-un is violent like his father and grandfather. It’s in his blood. iv. The characters on the Big Bang Theory are nerds (also known as dorks, geeks, dweebs) because they are really smart but not socially cool. v. The crib is where the baby sleeps. It’s similar to a cradle but it doesn’t move. vi. My phone died so I’ll have to call you when I get home and can charge it again. vii. His many trophies were from all the events he won in various sports. Most of them looked like gold cups. viii. He has a strong grip when he shakes your hand. It feels like he is crushing my hand. ix. We dropped the ball during our presentation and should have worked harder to make fewer mistakes and not mishandle it as much as we did.

Who said it? i. uncoordinated ii. lethal iii. in his blood iv. dork v. crib vi. died vii. trophy viii. grip ix. drop the ball i. Jay ii. Jay iii. Gloria iv. Alex v. Cameron vi. Haley vii. Jay viii. Phil ix. Phil

a trophy wife

Discussion 7. Did you get any awards when you were younger? Any trophies? 8. Do you think Jay is being too inconsiderate of the other grandkids and kids when he focuses all his attention on Manny? 9. How do you think Phil/Claire will react to Phil’s praise of Manny?

Vocabulary i. to excel at something ii. to rule out something iii. to take back something iv. a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step v. a cannon (slang) vi. to burn one in there vii. a cup (slang) viii. to toss a. (slang) a jockstrap; a piece of sports equipment designed to protect male athletes b. to do well at something c. (for pitchers) to throw a fastball d. a large gun; (slang) your pitching arm e. to disqualify something; to exclude; to eliminate f. to wish you had not said something g. a Chinese proverb meaning that all long journeys have a beginning to them h. to throw

Comprehension 11. How long does Phil think it will take to master a new skill? 12. How long does Luke think he has already practiced baseball? 13. Why does Claire think it’s a good thing they ruled out math? 14. What sport did Phil and Luke practice last year? 15. How well does Luke do?

Discussion 16. Do you think that after 10,000 hours of practice you will master a subject/skill? 17. Most champions have parents who pressured them to excel at something (usually a sport); should parents pressure their kids to become champions? Is that a form of child abuse? 18. Do Korean children face too much pressure to excel in school and get a good score on the university entrance exam?