HIGH SOCIETY

High Society is a musical film made (1956) by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in VistaVision and Technicolor with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It was directed by Charles Walters and produced by Sol C. Siegel from a screenplay by John Patrick, based on the play The Philadelphia Story by Philip Barry. The cinematography was by Paul Vogel, the art direction by Cedric Gibbons and Hans Peters and the costume design by Helen Rose.The film stars Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Celeste Holm with Louis Armstrong, John Lund, Louis Calhern, Sidney Blackmer, and Margalo Gillmore.

High Society marked the final acting role for Grace Kelly before she became Princess of Monaco and the film was actually released three months after her marriage to Prince Rainier III of Monaco. At the time of the film's release, Sinatra and Holm were over forty and Crosby was fifty-three and Kelly, however, was only twenty-six. Enjoy Frank Sinatra & Celeste Holm singing "Who Wants to Be a Milionaire," H.C.

BREAKING NEWS: JULY 8TH:

AT 5 MINUTES AND 6 SECONDS AFTER 4 A.M., ON THE 8TH OF JULY, THIS YEAR, THE TIME AND DATE WILL BE:

04:05:06 07-08-09

THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN UNTIL THE YEAR 3009!!!

REASONS WHY NOT

Just imagine that some important changes should be performed in the company you work for. After a number of staff meetings everything seems to remain the same. Those sentences below were presented as good reasons for not changing anything at all. Your task is to study these sentences and give your personal opinion.

It has never been tried before.
We tried it before.
We’ve never done it before.
Another company tried it before.
We’ve been doing it this way for 25 years.
It won’t work in a small company.
It won’t work in a large company.
It won’t work in our company.
Why change, it’s working ok.
The boss will never buy it.
It needs further investigation.
Our competitors are not doing it.
It’s too much trouble to change.
Our company is different.
The Ad Dept. says it can’t be done.
The Sales Dept. says it can’t be sold.
The Service Dept. won’t like it.
The janitor says it won’t work.
It can’t be done. That’s it !
We don’t have the money.
We don’t have the personnel.
We don’t have the equipment.
The Union will scream.
It’s too visionary.
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

Word of The Day

UBIQUITOUS

Function: adjective

Comparative and superlative forms: more ubiquitous; most ubiquitous

Meaning: seeming to be seen everywhere

e.g. ubiquitous celebrities

The company’s advertisements are ubiquitous.

Derived forms: Ubiquitously adverb

ubiquitousness noun (noncount)

ubiquity noun (noncount)

Status: formal

e.g. The ubiquity of the company’s ads

Laughter's the Best Medicine

The Confessional Booth

After a heavy night of drinking at the local bar, a drunk stumbles into a Catholic church and slowly makes his way into the confessional booth. There, the priest patiently awaits the man to begin his confession.

After a few minutes of silence, the priest politely taps on the window… nothing. The priest taps again and this time clears his throat a bit… still nothing. At this point the priest begins to lose his patience and bangs on the window.

Finally the dunk yells out…

- “Ain’t no use knocking, there ain’t no paper over here either!”

Quote of The Day

"Life is a great big canvas; throw all the paint you can at it." Danny Kaye, American award-winning actor and comedian

Teaching Tips & Ideas

PREPOSITIONS

AMIDST - Indica a posição de objetos e pessoas no meio deoutros. Emprega-se também em sentido figurado com substantivos abstratos.

e.g.: - We saw her amidst the crowd.
The ship sank amidst the waves.
She found herself amidst the confusion.

AMONG - AMONGST - Entre. Indicam a posição de objetos misturados com outros. Raras vezes são empregados em sentido figurado.

e.g.: - They decided among themselves.
There never ought to be dissentions amongst friends.
I divided my books among them.

AROUND - Ao redor de. Em redor de. Por volta de.

e.g.: - She tied a yellow ribbon around the Ole Oak Tree.
We’ll be there around midnight.
Around the world in 80 days.

Singin' in the Rain

In Brazil, "Cantando na Chuva", in Portugal "Serenata à Chuva", is a 1952 comedy musical film starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds. Directed by Kelly and Stanley Donen, with Kelly also providing the choreography. Kelly's most remembered and most loved number seems to be the title dance.

To quote Will Friedwald: “It's not only the four most rapturous minutes in the history of cinema, but everything that dance should be, a glorious affirmation of everything that it means to be alive.” The movie is frequently described as one of the best musicals ever made. Enjoy the Video right under. H.C.

THE CHAUFFEUR

(To be read with your best British accent)

Mrs. Winterly was a very rich woman. Her husband was a multi-millionaire. She was quite young and he was quite old. She was twenty-eight and he was fifty-eight. They lived in a very large house in England. Mrs. Winterly never cooked or cleaned the house. She never worked and she never drove a car. When she wanted to go anywhere she would call Charles. Charles was her chauffeur. Mr. Winterly travelled a lot. He flew to many countries to do business. Mrs Winterly did not like to fly so she often stayed at home. Once Mr. Winterly went to America for a week. Mrs. Winterly decided to go shopping so she walked to the garage to find Charles. She found him in his room above the garage. Mrs Winterly looked at him and said in a whisper,

- “Charles, take off my hat”
- “Certainly, madam,” Charles replied.
Then he took off Mrs. Winterly’s hat.

- “Charles, take off my coat.”
- “Certainly, madam,” Charles replied.
Then he took off Mrs. Winterly’s coat.

- “Charles, take off my shoes.”
- “Certainly, madam,” Charles replied.
Then he took off Mrs. Winterly’s shoes.

- “Charles, take off my dress.”
- “Certainly, madam,” Charles replied.
Then he took off Mrs. Winterly’s dress.

Then, Mrs. Winterly looked deep into the eyes of the chauffeur and said,

- …“AND DON’T YOU DARE TO WEAR MY CLOTHES AGAIN!”…

(extracted from Lessons With Laughter – London 1996)

Word of The Day

PETRIFY

Function: verb

Inflected forms:
petrifies; petrified; petrifying

Meanings:

1 - (with object): to make (someone) very afraid

e.g.
It petrifies (terrifies) me to think of how close we came to dying.

2 - (technical): to slowly change (something, such as wood) into stone or a substance like stone over a very long period of time

e.g.
(with object) the processes that petrify wood
(no object) The dead tree petrified into stone.

Laughter's the Best Medicine

I’M THE BOSS

Nancy trains employees in proper dress codes and etiquette. One day as she was stepping onto the elevator, a man casually dressed in jeans and a golf shirt got on with her. Thinking of her responsibilities, she scolded,

- "Dressed a little casual today, aren't you ?”

The man replied…

- "That's one benefit of owning the company."

THE GOLDEN TWELVE

"Do you think you are earning enough to support a family?", the older man asked the suitor.

- Yes, sir, replied Richard, "I'm sure I am."
- Think carefully now," said Jane's father warningly.

-"There are twelve of us!"

Quote of The Day

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
William B. "Bill" Watterson II American cartoonist is the author of the comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes" cartoon series.

Teaching Tips & Ideas

PREPOSITION - THE UNPREDICTABLE WORD



INTO – Em. Dentro. Indica movimento para dentro de algum lugar.

e.g.: - She poured the tea into the teapot.
The babies got into the cradle.
They went into the garage.
She fell into the pool.

ON – Indica contato de superfície. Usa-se também para ruas e avenidas,
dias da semana e para especificar um dia ou uma data.
e.g.: - There is a painting on the wall.
He lives on Madison Avenue.
I always go to the beach on Sundays.
On Xmas Eve.
The invasion of Normandy started on the morning of June 4 1944.