Try the online quiz, reading, listening, and activities on grammar, spelling and vocabulary for this lesson on Margot Fonteyn. Click on the links above or see the activities below this article:
READ
Margot Fonteyn was born as Margaret Hookham in England in 1919. Many consider her to be the greatest English ballerina of all time. She received the title of Dame when she was 35 from Britain’s Queen. Fonteyn had a sparkling career and encouraged artists of all kinds to share their ideas to find deeper meaning in their work.
The young Margaret signed up for ballet classes when she was very young. She joined Britain’s Royal Ballet while still a teenager. Her exceptional talent was clear to see and by 1939, she was the star of her ballet company. She wowed TV audiences with her role as Aurora in Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty. Her breathtaking grace helped bring ballet to new audiences.
In 1949, she toured the United States and became an instant celebrity. Her status as a ballet great arrived at the time most of her peers thought she would retire. In 1961 she danced with the great Rudolf Nureyev. Their partnership lasted until her retirement in 1979 and is still the greatest the ballet world has witnessed. They became lifelong friends.
Fonteyn was, incredibly, 59 years old when she retired. She spent her final years living with her diplomat husband in Panama. She summed up her life by saying: "The one important thing I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one's work seriously and taking one's self seriously. The first is imperative and the second is disastrous." Fonteyn died of cancer in 1979.
247 words
Sources: http://www.wikipedia.org/ and assorted biographies.
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SYNONYM MATCH
Match the words from the article on the left with their synonyms on the right. Are your answers the same as other students’?
Paragraphs 1 and 2
1.
consider
a.
glittering
2
of all time
b.
elegance
3.
sparkling
c.
ever
4.
exceptional
d.
believe
5.
wowed
e.
special
6.
grace
f.
amazed
Paragraphs 3 and 4
7.
instant
g.
seen
8.
retire
h.
immediate
9.
witnessed
i.
terrible
10.
incredibly
j.
very important
11
imperative
k
stop working
12
disastrous
l
amazingly
PHRASE MATCH
Match the following phrases from the article:
1.
the greatest English ballerina
a.
learned over the years
2
share their ideas to find deeper
b.
ballet to new audiences
3.
Her exceptional talent was
c.
celebrity
4.
She wowed
d.
lifelong friends
5.
Her breathtaking grace helped bring
e.
meaning in their work
6.
became an instant
f.
seriously
7.
most of her peers thought
g.
clear to see
8.
They became
h.
of all time
9.
The one important thing I have
i.
TV audiences with her role
10.
taking one's work
j.
she would retire
LISTENING GAP FILL
Margot Fonteyn ____________ Margaret Hookham in England in 1919. Many consider ____________ greatest English ballerina of all time. She received ____________ Dame when she was 35 from Britain’s Queen. Fonteyn had a sparkling career and encouraged artists of all kinds to share their ____________ deeper meaning in their work.
The young Margaret signed up for ballet classes ______________ very young. She joined Britain’s Royal Ballet while still a teenager. Her exceptional talent ______________ and by 1939, she was the star of her ballet company. She wowed TV audiences ______________ Aurora in Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty. Her breathtaking _______________ ballet to new audiences.
In 1949, she toured the United States and ________________ celebrity. Her ______________ ballet great arrived at the time most of her peers thought ______________. In 1961 she danced with the great Rudolf Nureyev. Their partnership lasted until her retirement in 1979 ______________ greatest the ballet world has witnessed. They became lifelong friends.
Fonteyn was, incredibly, 59 years old ______________. She spent her final years living with her diplomat husband in Panama. She ______________ life by saying: "The one important thing I have learned ______________ is the difference between taking one's work seriously and taking one's self seriously. The first is imperative and the second is disastrous." Fonteyn ________________ 1979.
CHOOSE THE CORRECT WORD
Delete the wrong word in each of the pairs in italics.
Margot Fonteyn was born as Margaret Hookham in England in 1919. Many consider / considering her to be the greatest English ballet / ballerina of all time. She received the title of Dame when she was 35 from Britain’s Queen. Fonteyn had a sparkle / sparkling career and encouraged artists of / for all kinds to share their ideas to find deeper meaning in their work.
The young Margaret signed down / up for ballet classes when she was very young. She joined Britain’s Royal Ballet while still a teenager. Her exceptional talent was clear / clearly to see and by 1939, she was the star of her ballet company. She bowed / wowed TV audiences with her role was / as Aurora in Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty. Her breathtaking grace helped bring ballet to new audiences.
In 1949, she toured the United States and became an instantly / instant celebrity. Her status / statue as a ballet great arrived at the time most of her peers thought she would retire. In 1961 she danced with the great Rudolf Nureyev. Their partnership lasting / lasted until her retirement in 1979 and is still the greatest the ballet world has witnessed. They became lifelong / long life friends.
Fonteyn was, incredible / incredibly, 59 years old when she retired. She spent her final / finale years living with her diplomat husband in Panama. She added / summed up her life by saying: "The one important thing I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one's work seriously and taking one's self seriously. The first is imperative and the second is disaster / disastrous." Fonteyn died of cancer in 1979.
SPELLING
The underlined, jumbled words are from the text. Spell them correctly.
Paragraph 1
1.
the ertegsat English ballerina of all time
2.
She cedervie the title of Dame
3.
Fonteyn had a sagrlipkn career
4.
find dpeere meaning in their work
Paragraph 2
5.
The young Margaret eisdng up for ballet classes
6.
Her exceptional ettanl was clear to see
7.
She wodwe TV
8.
helped bring ballet to new anusedeic
Paragraph 3
9.
she trdoue the United States
10.
Her satuts as a ballet great
11.
her peers thought she would tieerr
12.
They became ngolefil friends
Paragraph 4
13.
She msumed up her life
14.
The one inmtaptro thing I have learned
15.
taking one's work luoseyrsi
16.
Fonteyn died of aencrc in 1979
PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER
Number these lines in the correct order.
( )
a teenager. Her exceptional talent was clear to see and by 1939, she was the star of her ballet company. She wowed
( )
English ballerina of all time. She received the title of Dame when she was 35 from Britain’s Queen. Fonteyn had a sparkling
( )
Fonteyn was, incredibly, 59 years old when she retired. She spent her final years living with her diplomat
( )
husband in Panama. She summed up her life by saying: "The one important thing I have learned over
( )
In 1949, she toured the United States and became an instant celebrity. Her status as a ballet great arrived at the time
( )
The young Margaret signed up for ballet classes when she was very young. She joined Britain’s Royal Ballet while still
( )
most of her peers thought she would retire. In 1961 she danced with the great Rudolf Nureyev. Their partnership lasted
( )
grace helped bring ballet to new audiences.
( )
until her retirement in 1979 and is still the greatest the ballet world has witnessed. They became lifelong friends.
( )
the years is the difference between taking one's work seriously and taking one's self seriously.
( )
TV audiences with her role as Aurora in Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty. Her breathtaking
( )
The first is imperative and the second is disastrous." Fonteyn died of cancer in 1979.
( 1 )
Margot Fonteyn was born as Margaret Hookham in England in 1919. Many consider her to be the greatest
( )
career and encouraged artists of all kinds to share their ideas to find deeper meaning in their work.
SCRAMBLED SENTENCES
With your partner, put the words back into the correct order.
1.
the consider greatest her English to ballerina be Many
2.
ideas kind encouraged to artists share of their all
3.
to Her talent clear see exceptional was
4.
audiences her She TV with role wowed
5.
breathtaking to grace new helped audiences bring Her ballet
6.
peers her of most retire would she thought
7.
partnership Their retirement her until lasted
8.
59 years old she retired Fonteyn when was , incredibly ,
9.
diplomat spent years her She final with husband her living
10.
the one I over The thing learned years important have
MARGOT FONTEYN DISCUSSION
STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
1.
What do you know about Margot Fonteyn?
2.
Would you like to have met Margot Fonteyn?
3.
What would you like to know about Margot Fonteyn and why?
1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find more information about Margot Fonteyn. Talk about what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
3. MARGOT FONTEYN POSTER: Make a poster showing the different stages of the life of Margot Fonteyn. Show your poster to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all find out similar things?
4. MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Write a magazine article about Margot Fonteyn. Include an imaginary interview with her. Write about what she did every day and what she thought about.
Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
5. LETTER: Write a letter to Margot Fonteyn. Ask her three questions about her life. Tell her how important she is in today’s world. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your “Margot Fonteyn expert” partner(s) will try and answer your questions.
ANSWERS
SYNONYM MATCH:
Paragraphs 1 and 2
1.
consider
a.
believe
2
of all time
b.
ever
3.
sparkling
c.
glittering
4.
exceptional
d.
special
5.
wowed
e.
amazed
6.
grace
f.
elegance
Paragraphs 3 and 4
7.
instant
g.
immediate
8.
retire
h.
stop working
9.
witnessed
i.
seen
10.
incredibly
j.
amazingly
11
imperative
k
very important
12
disastrous
l
terrible
PHRASE MATCH:
1.
the greatest English ballerina
a.
of all time
2
share their ideas to find deeper
b.
meaning in their work
3.
Her exceptional talent was
c.
clear to see
4.
She wowed
d.
TV audiences with her role
5.
Her breathtaking grace helped bring
e.
ballet to new audiences
6.
became an instant
f.
celebrity
7.
most of her peers thought
g.
she would retire
8.
They became
h.
lifelong friends
9.
The one important thing I have
i.
learned over the years
10.
taking one's work
j.
seriously
ALL OTHER EXERCISES:
Look at the text in "THE READING / TAPESCRIPT" section at the top of this page.
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