Celebrities and heroes ENGLISH COLLOCATIONS IN USE (ADVANCED)

 

ENGLISH COLLOCATIONS IN USE (ADVANCED)

UNIT 42

Celebrities and heroes

A	Contents of a celebrity magazine Page CONTENTS 23 AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH PAOLA SIMONE. Paola lets us in on the secrets of her fairytale wedding and the lavish lifestyle1 she now leads. 27 JOEY WINTER HOSPITAL SHOCK. Sources close to Joey tell us their concerns about the singer’s recent operation. 30 ACTRESS PHILADELPHIA MARRIOTT reveals the truth about her prenuptial agreement2 with footballer Tyrone Finton. 34 A ROYAL ROMANCE. Melissa, the new girlfriend of Prince Henrik of Glosvatt is ready to sell her story to the highest bidder3. Who will buy it? 41 COURT SCANDAL. Tennis ace Bach Handar in the second of two in-depth interviews. Handar reveals some of the secrets about match fixing that kept him in the full glare of publicity for much of last year. 1 rich and extravagant way of life 2 legal agreement made before marriage dealing with the distribution of money and property in the event of a divorce 3 person who is prepared to pay most in an auction
B	Speech at an awards ceremony We are here today to celebrate the achievements of Monty Sharpe, a remarkable film director. Monty’s first full-length feature film, Lincoln’s Boyhood, about the life of Abraham Lincoln, was highly praised by the critics and received nominations for a number of prestigious awards. Monty’s film-making goes back a long way. He made several short films at university which received rave reviews in the student press. After university he soon realised his ambition of working in cinema when he got his first job at Sheepton Studios. Monty soon began directing and enjoyed a meteoric rise1 to fame. Critics have heaped praise on all his work, highlighting his unique approach to film. It is my great honour today to be presenting this award to him. The Director’s Star is the highest accolade2 which can be offered to anyone in his profession. We offer Monty this award not only because of his own achievements but also because his work has had a significant impact3 on all of our leading young directors and will do so for many years to come. Let me share with you some of the glowing tributes4 which we have received from other directors … 1 rapid rise 2 top symbol of praise and approval 3 NOT strong impact 4 (journalistic) extremely positive comments
	Common mistakes Be careful with the word success. We say The song enjoyed or had great success all over the world, NOT made great success. You can, however, make a success of something. For example: She made a success of her new job and was promoted after a short time.

EXERCISES

42.1	Look at A. Are these sentences true or false? 1 ‘Sources close to the Prime Minister’ means ‘members of the Prime Minister’s family’. 2 A lavish lifestyle is one that occasionally breaks the law. 3 The highest bidder is the most important person asking for something. 4 A fairytale wedding is likely to cost a lot of money. 5 If someone lets you in on a secret, they tell you something not generally known. 6 A prenuptial agreement is an agreement made just after a couple marry. 7 The ‘full glare of publicity’ is a metaphor based on the idea of a bright light shining on someone or something. 8 An exclusive interview suggests that the interview does not include much information about the interviewee’s private life.
42.2	Complete each sentence using a word from the opposite page. 1 Shelly Winter enjoyed a meteoric _____________ to fame in Hollywood in the 1990s. 2 Carlos never realised his _____________ of becoming a top footballer and played for his local team for 20 years. 3 The critics have _____________ praise on De Suta’s latest film and it has been nominated for an Oscar. 4 In 2016, his latest novel received a _____________ for an award but it did not win the prize. 5 The film was _____________ praised by some critics but it received some negative reviews too. 6 Imelda Fry gave an interview to Celeb magazine but she didn’t _____________ many secrets. 7 The film _____________ great success on both sides of the Atlantic. 8 He _____________ a success of his career in music and travelled the world.
42.3	Match each question with its answer. 1 What kind of lifestyle did they have? 2 What kind of interview did you get? 3 What kind of impact did he have? 4 What are we here to celebrate? 5 What does she want to sell? 6 What have you got to present? 7 What sort of agreement did they sign? 8 What sort of accolade did she get? 9 What kind of wedding did they have? 10 What kinds of tributes were paid to him? a) An exclusive one. b) The highest. c) A fairytale one. d) Glowing ones. e) A prenuptial one. f) A very significant one. g) Her achievements. h) An award. i ) Her story. j ) A lavish one.
42.4	Which collocations from this unit are the opposites of these expressions? 1 a superficial interview 2 a gradual rise to fame 3 a minor impact 4 a simple lifestyle
	Over to you Read an article from a current issue of a celebrity magazine. You will find one at www.hellomagazine.com. How many collocations from this unit can you find? Highlight any interesting new collocations that you find in it.

ANSWER KEY

42.1 1 False. It could include members of his/her family, but it also includes his/her immediate colleagues and/or friends. 2 False. A lavish lifestyle is one that is very extravagant and luxurious, but it is not necessarily one that occasionally breaks the law. 3 False. The highest bidder is the person who is prepared to pay most for something. 4 True 5 True 6 False. A prenuptial agreement is made before a couple marry. 7 True 8 False. It suggests that the interviewee spoke only to one journalist or newspaper.   42.2 1 rise                                                      5 highly 2 ambition (could also be dream)        6 reveal 3 heaped                                                7 enjoyed/had 4 nomination                                         8 made   42.3 1 j 2 a 3 f 4 g 5 i 6 h 7 e 8 b 9 c 10 d   42.4 1 an in-depth interview 2 a meteoric rise to fame 3 a significant impact 4 a lavish lifestyle