The Simpsons is an American sitcom that shows middle class lifestyle in cartoonform. The half-hour episodes take place in and around the fictional town of Springfield and make fun out of American

The Simpsons

The Simpsons is an American sitcom that shows middle class lifestyle in cartoon form. The half-hour episodes take place in and around the fictional town of Springfield and make fun out of American culture and society.

Since the show started in 1989 the Simpsons have been broadcast over 500 times. This makes it the longest running sitcom in American television history. In 2007 a full-length movie, The Simpsons Movie, made over half a billion dollars. The Simpsons has won many prizes, concluding the Emmy Awards. In the year 2000 Time magazine named it the best television series of the century and the cartoon characters of The Simpsons received their own star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

The Simpson family consists of 5 main characters. Homer is the rather clumsy, beer-drinking father. He works at a nuclear power plant in Springfield and is married to Marge Simpson, a typical American middle class housewife. The couple has three children. Bart is a ten-year old who constantly gets into trouble. Lisa is a highly intelligent eight-year old who has become a vegetarian and a Buddhist. Maggie, the family’s baby, is often shown with a pacifier. The Simpsons have two pets, a dog named Santa’s Little Helper and Snowball, a cat.

Even though the series focuses around animated characters, many human celebrities have starred on The Simpsons in the past, for example, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Tom Jones or Mel Gibson.

The comedy centers on a few major themes. Homer’s work in a nuclear power plant opens up the topic of our environment for discussion. Bart and Lisa are often shown in their school life where educational problems arise. Homer and Marge try to raise their children as best as they can but, as in many typical families, do not always succeed. The series also makes political comments and criticizes how the government and large corporationsexploit the normal worker.

The program has been very successful around the world. It is watched by millions of people in over a hundred countries. The Simpsons have triggered a merchandising industry revolving around T-shirts, DVDs, video games, a theme park and books.

· clumsy = to do something in a very funny way

• celebrity = a famous person
• constantly = always
• Emmy Awards = prize awarded for the best television shows
• environment = the world around us
• even though = while
• exploit = to treat someone in an unfair way, or to do something that will give you profits
• fictional = not real; it does not exist
• focus = center
• full-length = the normal length of a movie
• merchandising = products that are about the topic
• nuclear power plant = building that uses produces electricity by splitting atoms
• pacifier = a small rubber that a baby puts into its mouth and sucks
• raise = educate; to help them grow up
• receive = get
• revolve = here: to center on
• theme park = large park that focuses on a certain topic; people go there, enjoy themselves and have fun
• trigger = set off, start

A Canadian family has decided to spend a year living as if it was 1986. Blair McMillan was concerned that his kids spent too much time indoors with technology. He wanted them to experience what it was like when he was growing up. That means no I-pods, mobile phones or Internet. If they need information, they have to go to the library and look up an encyclopedia. For entertainment, they have a VHS player to watch movies and cassette tapes to listen to. When travelling, they use only paper maps and have to wait to have their photos developed. The family dress in vintage clothes, have 80’s hairdos and the dad has a trueMagnum PI moustache. So far, Blair says his family talk more and are much closer.

concerned- worried indoors- in the house growing up- becoming an adult look up- consult hairdos- hairstyles moustache- facial hair between the nose and the top lip closer- more intimate

Weddings are usually expensive, but a couple from Scotland has proven that you can get married on a tight budget. Georgina Porteous and Sid Innes spent only £1 on their big day. They didn’t have to pay for the venue, a barn behind their house. An aunt made the cake and the guests brought their own picnic. The groom wore a suit he had bought years before and the bride bought her second-hand vintage dress online for a pound. Even the rings were free: they were hand-made from antlers found in the garden. The couple chose this type of wedding as part of a self-sufficient life-style. It was a huge saving if you consider that the average wedding in Britain costs £20,000.

Proven - demonstrated On a tight budget - at a low cost Big day - important event Venue - location Groom - the man who is getting married Second-hand - not new, used Antlers - the horns of a deer Self-sufficient - not needing to buy things Huge - very big

If you can’t stand ironing, there’s great news you. Wool&Prince have invented a shirt that you can wear 100 times before it needs to be washed and ironed. It is made of a type of wool that doesn’t wrinkle and fights off nasty odours too. The company used a group of testers who wore the shirt while backpacking, clubbing and working out. However, it always stayed fresh and clean, even after one tester crumpled his up and left it in his rucksack all day. At just under 100 dollars, it’s not exactly cheap, but just think about the time you will save, not to mention the reduction in your laundry expenses.

can’t stand- strongly dislike wrinkle - to crease, become full of folds fights off nasty odours - prevents bad smells backpacking- travelling around with a large backpack clubbing- going to dance clubs working out- doing physical exercise crumpled up- rolled into a messy ball not to mention- in addition to

A new Twitter App, launching in March will allow you to communicate with your friends and relatives after you die. The tagline of the new service, called Liveson, is “When your heart stops beating, you’ll keep tweeting ”. It allows you to plan in advance the tweets that will be published after you pass away. A similar facebook app, called Ifidie has been around for some time. It allows you to leave a video message for your loved ones. Some people might find this new trend a little morbid. Perhaps, in the near future, social media will be populated by digital ghosts.

Launching - starting Tagline - slogan, promotional message Beating - pumping blood Keep tweeting - continue to send twitter messages In advance - before Pass away - die Been around - existed Loved ones - people you love Morbid - macabre In the near future - soon Ghosts - spirits

The hottest new trend for fashionable men is male leggings or meggings. Although not all men will want to wear them, plenty of designers are selling them, from Prada to Nike to Armani. While they are surely comfortable, they may not be flattering for all body types. It could also take guts to wear them about town. According to Will Welch at GQ, this trend is only for the most severe of fashion victims. However, meggings are not entirely new. Throughout history, men have worn leggings of various styles. They were all the rage in the renaissance era and Henry VIII wore them to show off his toned calf muscles. Fashions tend to come back, whether we like them or not.

Hottest - most talked about Although - while Plenty - a lot of Flattering - make you look good Guts - courage Severe - serious Fashion victims - people who wear the latest fashion at all costs Entirely - completely Throughout - during Various - different All the rage - very fashionable Toned - in good shape Calf muscles - the muscles behind the lower part of the leg Whether - if

Around the world, people celebrate the new year in some strange ways. In Scotland, the first person to visit your home after the midnight bells is called the first foot. If it’s a tall, dark man, you will be very lucky. Traditionally, he should bring a piece of coal, but nowadays a bottle of whisky is usually more appreciated. In Denmark, people throw old plates at their friends’ front doors. The more broken dishes you find outside, the more friends you have. Many traditions are about ensuring good luck for the coming year. In south America, they wear brightly coloured underwear, in Italy they eat lentils and apparently, in Ireland they bang bread against the walls. Wherever you are and however you choose to celebrate, have a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Midnight bells - the church bells that ring at 12pm. Coal - black rock used for burning Nowadays - in present times Appreciated - valued Dishes - plates Ensuring - making certain Coming - future Underwear - pants, bra etc Lentils - a type of pulse Apparently - it seems that Bang - hit Wherever - anywhere However - in any way

According to a recent report, British women admit that they are no good atparking. Nearly a third change their driving plans to avoid parking in a tight space. Only one in ten men admit todoing so. Women also took 20 seconds longer than men to park an expensive Audi during an experiment at a German university. While some studies suggest that men are better at spatial tasksbecause of the way their brains work, it could also be true that women lack confidence rather than ability. There is some promising news, however: the 2012 national parking championship in Germany was won by a woman.

No good at - do not have a high level of ability Tight - small Admit to – confess to Took – needed a certain time Spatial tasks - activities that involve 3 dimensional space Lack - don’t have enough Rather than - instead of Promising - hopeful

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