[文學/英語教學] 英語聽力訓練教案/The Daily Show with Trevor Noah/新聞/社會/喜劇

Type: News

Title of the program: The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

Source of the program: Comedy Central UK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icISjXNdBx4&list=PLbuSWuGYz-LwXJXruLDtvotaVkGQHe8qH&index=2

 

Comprehension Questions:

A.   Short answer:

(1) Which state is worrying about the school might stop teaching the “important stuff”? What is the “important stuff” suggested?

New Jersey is the state worrying about the school might stop teaching the “important stuff.” The “important stuff” is suggested in cursive writing.

 

(2) Who claims that the students should learn the “important stuff”  by the end of the third grade?

State lawmakers in New Jersey claim that the students should learn the “important stuff” by the end of the third grade.

 

(3) What will happen if the state passes the bill next year?

Cursive writing will be required by the next full school year.

 

(4) What’s the host standpoint on that bill?

The host’s standpoint on that bill is extreme sarcasm. He thinks the bill is outdated with exaggerated further actions such as driving wagons and turning their own butter for their lunch. He even quoted from one the lawmakers that cursive writing is necessary because that is how Constitution is written to show that the outdated mindset are actualized and spoken at the same time.

 

(5) How did the host describe the cursive capital G?

The host described the cursive capital G as a “drunk ass music note.”

 

(6) How did the TV host make fun of the first news? What examples did he mention? (Please give at least three examples.)

The TV host made fun of the first news by giving further outdated plans for the lawmaker, mocking the hilarious way a cursive letter is, and spitting out his final shot on President D. Trump because he never reads the Constitution, the book written by cursive writing. 

B.   Fill in

People are always searching for new ways to express the human ___condition______. Also, to find cool ways to take people’s money. And this the next exhibition from Art Basel Miami maybe a greatest __scam___ for all time.  

 

C.   Short answer:

(7)What are the number “150000” and “120000” stand for? 

The number 150000 stands for the price in US dollars of a banana taped on the wall that is sold as an art piece at a Miami Art Festival. The number 120000 stands for the same piece that is titled Comedian to earlier editions.

   

(8)Which masterpiece did the host mention to mock the banana?

The host mentioned Michelangelo’s David to mock the banana.

 

(9)Whom is the person that the host has pity for?

The person that the host has pity for is the guy in a grocery store selling the artist those bananas.

 

(10)What’s the problem did Donald Trump want to deal with in the last video?

Donald Trump wanted to deal with his dump in the Oval Office that didn’t flush and he was trying to blame it on America’s water system in the last video.

Critique

I think The Daily Show with Trevor Noah is a great piece for listening practice for several reasons. First, this is excellent elementary-level learning material for the British accent. Trevor Noah has a slight British accent because born and raised in South Africa but has his career in the U.S., which means that he mixes the two kinds of accents together and the material eliminates the difficulties to understand the British accent for a student learning English as a foreign language in Taiwan. Second, the clear, multiple pauses. To make people laugh, making pauses to show that the person is speechless is a common approach in comedy. Third, the run-on, long sentences are often not that important and don't contain a message. Learners have time to think and review the information with such material. They are usually a means to exaggerate. The learner wouldn’t feel frustrated compared to some real news.  However, I think this kind of video is too colloquial with words such as “fucking,” “is it just me,” and so on. The word choices would not help people to build on their academic or formal writing and greeting for an advanced level listener.

I personally think that the designed questions are too easy to predict because they are closed questions and do not require thinking progress at all. I suggest more “how” questions, summary questions, comparison questions, and T/F questions to test a more comprehensive ability in different ways. However, I still appreciate the various kinds of questions designed to make me feel fun in writing this assignment because I have never thought to design some fill-in questions to effectively make my student understand and remember the use of certain words and collocation.