Institutions
The Hollywood Sign
Lead-in questions:
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What do you think of when you here the word ‘Hollywood’? Do you know where the word comes from?
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Why is the word ‘Hollywood’ often used as a metonym for the American film industry? (A metonym is a word or expression used as a substitute for something more complex of which it is a part, or for something with which it is closely associated)
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The Hollywood Sign (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f8/Hollywood_sign.jpg) |
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The Hollywood Sign in the 1920s (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5a/Hollywoodland.jpg) |
Task 1
Complete this paragraph by writing the prepositions in the list below in the right place.
Prepositions: above, behind, by, off, in, with, atop, in, to, of.
The Hollywood Sign.
If there is one landmark that says “Hollywood to the world – literally – it is the famous Hollywood Sign, perched high Mount Lee, the tallest peak Los Angeles, California. This famous landmark dates back 1923. The sign originally read “HOLLYWOODLAND”, and it was built to advertise a new housing development in the hills the Hollywood district Los Angeles. Each letter of the sign was 30 feet (9m) wide and 50 feet (15m) high, and they were originally studded thousands of light bulbs. These were changed daily a caretaker who lived a small house one of the giant “L’s”. The sign was only intended to last a couple of years but it took on some notoriety when an actress called Peg Entwistle committed suicide by jumping the letter “H” in 1932.
Task 2
Complete the second paragraph below by filling in the missing parts of the words. (Note: the number of missing letters in each word is the same or one more than the number of letters at the beginning of the word.)
In 1939 official maintenance of the sign ended and its condition rapidly deteriorated. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce made an offer to remove the last four letters (“LAND”) and repair the others in 1949. How, the li bulbs we not repl to av a hu electricity bi. Unfortunately t wooden si continued t slowly deter with so letters grad breaking ap. In 1978 wea donors pa $27,000 to b replacement let made o Australian ste and guara to la for ma years. The new sign was unveiled on the 75th anniversary of Hollywood, 14 November, 1978, before a television audience of 60 million people. Now the sign is a registered trademark which cannot be used without the permission of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.