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.
In the US, there are two types of people: Those who do crossword puzzles and those who don’t.
What is a crossword puzzle? It’s a grid of intersecting vertical and horizontal rows of squares. You read clues, and spell the one-word answers to the clues, one letter in each square, until the grid is filled. Horizontal and vertical words intersect on letters that go in both words, hence the term “crossword.”
Crosswords can be very difficult to finish. There are usually one or two clues that can be impossible to figure out.
The most famous crossword puzzle in the US is in The New York Times newspaper. The easiest one of the week is in the Monday paper; the most difficult is in the Sunday paper. Recently, there was a documentary made about it, called Wordplay. The film chronicles a competitive crossword tournament.
Listen to Kevin and Mason talk about it!
3. Watch - Watch the video without reading the dialog.
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 |
Kevin: I saw the movie, um, Wordplay the other night.
Mason: Wordplay? The crossword puzzle one, right?
Kevin: Yeah. New York Times.
Mason: I do the crossword, like, every day. I love it, so…
Kevin: See, I’ve never gotten into crosswords, but, having seen that movie, I’m gonna start doing the New York Times crossword.
Mason: The people are phenom… Well, and it made me ashamed ‘cause, like, I never finish it. I don’t, I don’t pay… I don’t try and learn.
Kevin: You don’t time yourself.
Mason: And these people… these people are crazy! They can do the whole thing with, like, you know, 20-letter words…
Kevin: And so smart.
Mason: ... in like, five minutes.
Kevin: Amazing.
Mason: Wasn’t the guy who won… the kid… it was, like, some kid.
Kevin: I think he was, like, 22 years old, yeah.
Mason: Like, two years ago at the national thing. Right. They were all saying how amazing that was because the, the references that you have to know, the vocabulary you have to have. Really impressive for someone of that age.
Kevin: And I found it to be one of those sort of movies that, it made my heart, like, it made me feel good. Like, it showed that people kind…. the good side of people.
Mason: Mm hmm.
Kevin: And the people who were in this tournament were genuinely friends, cared about each other and were just enjoying themselves.
Mason: I’m gonna tell you what’s important though, ‘cause I saw the Scrabble movie, and those people were, like, too… it was the dark side of it.
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Discussion
Mason and Kevin were both amazed by the skill and speed of the crossword puzzlers in Wordplay.
Kevin says that even though the puzzlers were competing, they still cared about each other and had fun.
Mason says the people in the Scrabble movie are much different from the folks in the crossword movie.
Do you do crosswords or other word games?
What kind of word games are popular in your country?
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