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The Osbournes

Date: Jul 08 2002

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.

The Osbournes have taken America by storm. Their reality-based TV show was one of the most surprising hits of the past year. The Osbournes stars the members of the Osbourne family: Ozzy Osbourne, his wife Sharon, his daughter Kelly and his son Jack. Ozzy has been a rock star for over 20 years, but the rest of his family have just become huge stars in their own right.
Read on to learn more about The Osbournes.

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.

Ozzy Osbourne grew up in England, and started the band Black Sabbath with a few of his friends when he was about 20 years old. Black Sabbath became hugely popular, but the band members did not get along. The other members kicked Ozzy out of the group in 1978.
Soon after that, Ozzy met Sharon Arden, and the two were married. Sharon helped Ozzy overcome his problems with alcohol. He then became a very successful solo artist. Sharon and Ozzy have three children: Aimee, Kelly and Jack.
In 2001, MTV asked Ozzy and his family to star in their own TV show. The Osbournes debuted in March of 2002, and immediately became a hit. In fact, it became the most popular show in MTV’s history.
People love The Osbournes because the show is real. It shows the real life of the family, and includes many arguments and heated exchanges. Ozzy and Sharon are well known for their dirty mouths, and the kids cuss a lot too.
Here are two typical conversations from the show:
Sharon: Kelly just called from the pet shop.
Ozzy: No! No! Forget it! No!
Sharon: Aren’t you interested?
Ozzy: If it’s a living thing, no.
Ozzy doesn’t want Kelly to bring home any more pets. He hates the family dog and doesn’t want any more animals in the house.
Sharon: (About Kelly’s tatoo) Who did it?
Kelly: I’m not telling you.
Sharon: Why not?
Kelly: Because I know you’re going to go down there and sue them.
Kelly often causes trouble for her parents. In one episode she got a tattoo. She was worried that her parents were going to be angry about it – and they were!

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Discussion

There were only 13 episodes of The Osbournes this year, but that was enough to make people crazy for the show. Kelly and Jack have become huge celebrities. Kelly even has her own music video, in which she sings Madonna’s song “Papa Don’t Preach.”
What about you? Have you seen The Osbournes? Do you like it? Do you like Ozzy Osbourne’s music? Come to the Music Mix message board and let us know!
Rock on,
Migs