Idioms & Expressions:
15 minutes of fame (noun; refers to a short period of fame that a person achieves)
The firefighter got fifteen minutes of fame when he saved a child from a burning house.
claim to fame (noun; refers to the reason why someone is famous)
Her claim to fame is a detective novel that was published last year.
overnight celebrity (noun; a person who becomes famous very quickly)
Lady Gaga became an overnight celebrity when her song “Just Dance” came out.
brush with fame (noun; refers to a time when you encounter someone famous)
He had a brief brush with fame when he met President Obama last week.
has-been (noun; refers to a person who used to be famous or accomplished, but no longer is today)
The athlete won a basketball championship in 1986, but now he’s a has-been.
one-hit wonder (noun; an artist who only has one successful song)
“Gangnam Style” made Psy the most famous one-hit wonder of 2012.
multi-hyphenate (noun; this is a person who is famous for several reasons)
Every year, all the entertainment industry’s multi-hyphenates appear at the awards show.
idol (noun; refers to someone who is a role model or a hero to someone else)
Kanye West is an idol to many young hip-hop fans.
save up for (an expression that refers to saving money to buy something)
I’m trying to save up for a plane ticket to Europe.
splurge (verb; means to spend a lot of money on something/a few things)
I splurged on a TV and Xbox when I got my paycheck.
the best things in life are free (an expression that means that simple pleasures can be better than things you pay for)
set for life (an expression that means you have enough money to never have to work again)
After he starred in a few movies, he was set for life.
come into some money (verb, this expression means to gain money without working for it)
When my grandparents died, they left me an inheritance and I came into some money.
thrifty (an adjective that means you are careful with money, and don’t spend too much)
budget (both a noun and a verb, has to do with the planning and allocation of money)
I’m very thrifty with my money, and budget well.
Part I: Group Discussion
Do you like celebrities? Why?
I think some of them are interesting, but I don’t really follow the celebrity magazines or websites too closely.
Would you like to be a celebrity? Why?
I don’t think so. I used to be pretty recognizable, since I was a tall guy living in China, and I got followed around a lot. I thought that was annoying – so I wouldn’t want to be a celebrity.
Who are favourite or popular celebrities in your country?
I think reality show stars are probably the most popular people in the country. Them, and singers like Ariana Grande or Miley Cyrus. Some rappers are pretty popular too.
Did you meet any celebrities personally?
Once I got to meet Billy Crystal, who is a famous American actor. I also met a few other actors that night (I was working at an awards show), but no one who you would recognize in Vietnam.
Do you read the biographies of celebrities?
When I’m first curious about a famous person, I’ll read about them. But once I first read a little info about them, I won’t go online and look up any more details about them usually.
Part II: Individual Presentations
Describe things that you do to save money for a goal. Please say:
What is the goal?
How do you save money?
When do you do it?
How well does this work for you?
My approach to this is straightforward and similar to everyone else’s, I think. If I know I need money for something, I’ll simply start saving it. If I need more money than what I have, then I’ll try to pick up a few more hours at my job, or budget a little tighter so that I don’t spend so much money on frivolous things. Usually if I do this, I’ll be able to afford whatever I’m saving for. The things I’m usually saving up for are plane tickets, which are expensive and take a long time to save up for.
Part III: Class Discussion
- Have you shared your way of saving money with anyone?
Well not really – since the way I save is pretty much common sense. If you want to use money in the future, then you have to save it.
- Is it important to teach children to save money?
Yes of course – children need to know how expensive things are and how important it is to save money, and hard it is to work for the money you need to buy things.
- Who is responsible for teaching children about saving money?
I think that this is something that parents need to teach their children. It’s a good idea for parents to make their kids get a job so that they know what it’s like to work for money.
- What are the natural resources that you think we waste the most?
Water is definitely wasted much more than any resource I can think of. I think this is unavoidable, since we need to drink water every day and everything we eat requires water to grow.
- Do you think technology might help control this?
It’s possible to have technology that can help you save water. There are some toilets that use very little water per flush. This doesn’t save a whole lot of water, but I think it’s a step in the right direction.
- What will happen if people don’t change their habits of using natural
resources? Why do you think so?
Within the next few decades, we’ll see a huge crisis as nations start to run out of resources. Water, especially, will become more and more scarce and that might cause nations to go to war with each other over it.
