Sep 1, 2012

Angels & Demons: Passive Voice


I like both the movie and the book. The story is farfetched, but well told and interconnnected. The scene I selected is perfect for the students to practice the passive voice.





I. Read the sentences below and write them in the passive voice.



1. A cardenal must destroy the Ring of the Fisherman immediately following the Pope's death.

..................................................................

2. Someone seals the papal apartment for nine days of mourning.

.................................................................

3. People know this period as sede vacante.

................................................................

4. The preferiti are offering prayers.

...............................................................

5. A modern world threatens the ancient traditions.

..............................................................


II. Now watch the segment and check your answers:





Answer key:

1. The Ring of the Fisherman must be destroyed immediately following the Pope's death.
2. The papal apartment is sealed for nine says of mourning.
3. The period (is) known as sede vacante.
4. Prayers are being offered by the preferiti.
5. The ancient traditions (are) threatened by a modern world


III. Game:

Work in small groups to see who makes more correct guesses about how a new Pope is chosen. Decide if the following sentences are True or False. They are requirements to become a Pope.

1. ( ) One must be a Cardinal to be elected Pope.

2. ( ) Cardinals are RARELY appointed before age 50. Cardinals 80 and over cannot vote for Pope, and no one over 79 has EVER been elected Pope.

3. ( ) The person who would be Pope must speak at least 3 languages: Latin, Italian, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and German are especially good for a potential Pope to know.

4. ( ) 120 cardinals must participate in the selection.

5. ( ) The basic requirements are that no pope over 80 can be elected, and a two-thirds plus one majority must select the new pope.

6. ( ) If this majority cannot be reached, voting must occur for several days with two votes taking place in the morning and in the evening. If four days of voting does not result in the 67% majority, then the candidate with the majority of votes becomes the new pope.

7. ( ) When the old pope passes away, no autopsy is performed as this is considered desecration.

8. ( ) Official voting for the new pope is done in a process called conclave, from the Latin cum clavis. This means “with key,” and essentially means that the voting is secret.

9. ( ) Cardinals are locked into a room, specifically the Sistine Chapel. If the electoral process takes more than a day, the cardinals have lodging at St. Martha’s house and have no contact with the outside world.

10. ( ) All ballots are burned and if the vote has elected a new pope, this burning causes white smoke to float above the Vatican, signifying the world has a new pope. If the vote is unsuccessful, chemical is added to the burning ballots to cause gray smoke to appear. This signifies a vote without an election.


IV. Underline all the passive voice structures in exercise III.


Answer Key:


III.
All are true, except number 1. It is an informal requirement, but not official.


WORKSHEET


MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - ANGELS & DEMONS



A peer of mine said that he had used a slides presentation with links to my passive voice activities. I was sent the link and came across this really cool and thorough class on passive voice. I'm glad Simon Friend used my blog for his video activities. His slides are effective, fun and constructive. Thanks Simon Friend for these really cool slides. Thanks for linking my site to it.


No comments: