What's this video clip have to do with vocabulary?
Play the clip and read later.
Illusion -
1. something that deceives by producing a false or misleading impression of reality.
2. the state or condition of being deceived; misapprehension.
3.an instance of being deceived.
4.Psychology. a perception, as of visual stimuli (optical illusion), that represents what is perceived in a way different from the way it is in reality.
5. a very thin, delicate tulle of silk or nylon having a cobwebbed appearance, for trimmings, veilings, and the like.
6. Obsolete. the act of deceiving; deception; delusion.
Most students do not have problems understanding what "illusion" is.
"Allusion" however, has a different meaning -
1. a passing or casual reference; an incidental mention of something, either directly or by implication: an allusion to Shakespeare.
2. the act of alluding.
3. Obsolete. a metaphor; parable.
As an example, the video clip above is taken from the 1996 movie, "The Thing That You Do!" It is a fictional movie about a boy-band group set in the 1960s.
What is obvious is that the movie (and the boy-band group) is an allusion to the "Beatlemania era" of the sixties.
Beatlemania is a term that was used during the 1960s to describe the intense fan frenzy (particularly demonstrated by young teenaged girls) directed toward The Beatles, particularly during the early years of their success. A portmanteau of "Beatles" and "mania", it is claimed to have been coined in 1963 by Andi Lothian, a Scottish music promoter, although the first printed use of the word is in The Daily Mirror 2nd November 1963 in a news story about the previous day's Beatles concert in Cheltenham. Many fans across the world were known to have Beatlemania (and were thus known as "Beatlemaniacs") which hit the United States hard after The Beatles performed on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. 'Beatlemania' was characterised by intense levels of hysteria demonstrated by fans both during the actual concerts played by the band (during which the level of screaming was often so loud as to completely drown out the music) and during the band's arrivals and travels to and from locations. One can envision the dimensions of the original Beatlemania during its peak year in 1964 by looking at the unprecedented sales figures caused by it. During 1964, The Beatles sold over 30 million records in America alone, at one stage holding the top five positions in the singles chart.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Vocabulary - illusion ; allusion
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6 comments:
Dear Mr Song
Synthesis and Transformation
Q) My son wants to buy a new suit.This is despite the fact that it may be expensive.
Are the follwing sentences correct?
1)However expensive the new suit may be, my son wants to buy it.
2) My son wants to buy a new suit however expensive it may be.
3) However expensive it may be, my son wants to buy a new suit.
Any other alternatives, please
For synthesis, there is a word given in the answer sentence. Is the word “however” given?
Dear Mr Song,
Yes,using however, without changing the original meaning.
All 3 answers look OK. Can't think of any other way.
Where did you get the Q from? I felt that "however" itself does change the meaning a little. That's why I asked if the Q gave "however".
The Q states that the suitcase may be expensive but your son will buy it anyway. "However" gives the impression that your son doesn't care about the price. It can be argued that there is a subtle change in meaning.
Dear Mr Song
The question is from Longman Practice 5, Synthesis and Transformation
nervous: to help: fell. recall is a simple present.events happening before simple present is simple past.events happening before simple past is past perfect.you do not have a simple past in the sentence so it will be "fell" and not "had fallen"
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