“Dear Guest, Welcome to the most beautiful and coveted network in the U.S.” This is the greeting you receive at a new, elite and exclusive Internet site that has just been launched in the U.S. BeautifulPeople.net follows similar, successful ventures in Denmark, Sweden and the U.K. Membership requirements are deliberately blunt – you must be very beautiful or handsome. If you don’t have the curves in the right places or your face isn’t quite Hollywood, you are rejected. The site’s introductory spiel says it: “introduces beautiful people to truly beautiful people. It is a meeting place which is reserved for people who, because of their attractive appearance and personal qualities, stand out from the majority.”

In essence, it is a social networking site where new members are accepted or given the boot by existing members based on the scores assigned to the online photos they submit. The site recommends the photos ooze sexiness without being pornographic. Aspiring, beautiful applicants can post their photo and details up to 50 times, giving wannabe beauties and hunks more than enough time to improve their looks. If accepted, you get the photo rating controls. Members also interact offline for friendship and dating. Greg Hodge, managing director in the U.S., said: “We unashamedly exist so that people who are sick of wasting time and money meeting unattractive people on the Net can meet others they deem aesthetically pleasing.”

WARM-UPS

1. INTERNET: In pairs / groups, talk about the sites you like visiting on the Internet. How often do you visit new sites? What kinds of sites have you bookmarked or added to your favorites? Do you regularly visit English language or learning sites?

2. QUICK DEBATE: Students A think beauty and looks are not important to be successful in life. Students B think being beautiful or handsome is essential to have a successful life. Change partners often.

3. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words are most interesting and which are most boring.

Guests / beautiful people / beauty / coveted things / networking / the elite / friendship / dating / Internet dating sites / model looks

Have a chat about the topics you liked. For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently.

4. BEAUTIFUL: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word “beautiful”. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

5. MY QUALITIES: In pairs / groups, tell each other what you think your good points are. Talk about your looks and personality. Say nice things about your partners’ looks and personalities.

6. SITES: Which of the following sites do you often use? What do you like or dislike about them?

1. Google
2. Yahoo
3. BBC
4. CNN
5. English studying sites
6. Fashion sites
7. Sports sites
8. Shopping / auction sites
9. Hobby sites
10. Other

Change partners and compare what you talked about.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

a.	An Internet site has started that only accepts beautiful people.	T / F
b.	The site started last year in Japan and is now in the U.S.	T / F
c.	Anyone who has an address in Hollywood can join the site.	T / F
d.	The site is a place where ordinary people can date beautiful people.	T / F
e.	Membership is based on scores your photo gets from members.	T / F
f.	Pornographic photos will make your entry into the elite site easier.	T / F
g.	You can try to join as many as 50 times before being barred.	T / F
h.	The site is for people fed up with meeting ugly people on the Net.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

a.	coveted	basically
b.	ventures	straightforward
c.	blunt	regard
d.	spiel	attract attention
e.	stand out	rejected
f.	In essence	desired
g.	given the boot	blatantly
h.	ooze	sales pitch
i.	unashamedly	exude
j.	deem	undertakings

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

a.	the most beautiful and	sexiness
b.	the greeting	deliberately blunt
c.	Membership requirements are	enough time
d.	the curves	the majority
e.	stand out from	of wasting time and money
f.	given the	coveted network in the US
g.	ooze	aesthetically pleasing
h.	more than	in the right places
i.	sick	you receive
j.	can meet others they deem	boot

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words in the column on the right into the correct spaces.

Site for beautiful people only
 

“Dear Guest, Welcome to the most beautiful and _______ network in the U.S.” This is the greeting you receive at a new, elite and exclusive Internet site that has just been _______ in the U.S. BeautifulPeople.net follows similar, successful _______ in Denmark, Sweden and the U.K. Membership requirements are deliberately _______ – you must be very beautiful or handsome. If you don’t have the _______ in the right places or your face isn’t quite Hollywood, you are rejected. The site’s introductory _______ says it: “introduces beautiful people to truly beautiful people. It is a meeting place which is _______ for people who, because of their attractive appearance and personal qualities, _______ out from the majority.”		spiel blunt stand coveted curves ventures reserved launched
In essence, it is a social _______ site where new members are accepted or given the _______ by existing members based on the scores assigned to the online photos they _______. The site recommends the photos _______ sexiness without being _______. Aspiring, beautiful applicants can post their photo and details up to 50 times, giving _______ beauties and hunks more than enough time to improve their looks. If accepted, you get the photo rating controls. Members also interact offline for friendship and dating. Greg Hodge, managing director in the U.S., said: “We unashamedly exist so that people who are _______ of wasting time and money meeting unattractive people on the Net can meet others they _______ aesthetically pleasing.”		sick submit wannabe boot deem ooze pornographic networking

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘body’ and ‘face’.

• Share your findings with your partners.
• Make questions using the words you found.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

• Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the gap fill. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. STUDENT “BEAUTY” SURVEY: In pairs / groups, write down questions about beauty and beautiful people.

• Ask other classmates your questions and note down their answers.
• Go back to your original partner / group and compare your findings.
• Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

6. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:

coveted launched blunt curves spiel majority

essence scores ooze wannabe offline deem

DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

1. What were your initial thoughts on this headline?
2. Did the headline make you want to read the article?
3. Would you like to join BeautifulPeople.net?
4. What do you think of people who want to join this site?
5. Do you think this site is just for vain people?
6. What does this kind of site say about the world?
7. Do you worry about your looks and body?
8. Would you like to meet and date people from this site?
9. Do you think there is too much elitism in the world?
10. Do your “personal qualities” make you stand out from the majority?

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

1. Did you like reading this article?
2. What did you think about what you read?
3. What kind of social network do you have?
4. Would you like to give scores to the photos posted to the site?
5. Would you try to join the site 50 times?
6. Would you like to change your looks?
7. Have you ever considered any form of cosmetic surgery?
8. What are you sick of wasting time and money on?
9. Do you think the Internet is a good place to meet and date people?
10. Did you like this discussion?

AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.

1. What question would you like to ask about this topic?
2. What was the most interesting thing you heard?
3. Was there a question you didn’t like?
4. Was there something you totally disagreed with?
5. What did you like talking about?
6. Do you want to know how anyone else answered the questions?
7. Which was the most difficult question?

SPEAKING

LOOKS: You have been offered the chance to have free cosmetic surgery. Talk to your partner(s) about your opinion on various parts of your face and body and give them a score from 1 to 10. What would you like to change?

BODY PART	YOUR OPINION AND SCORE	CHANGES YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE
Hair
Wrinkles
Eyes
Nose
Ears
Mouth
Chest
Bottom
Legs
Other

Change partners and explain what you discussed with your previous partner(s).

LISTENING

Listen and fill in the spaces.

Site for beautiful people only

“Dear Guest, Welcome to the most beautiful and ________ network in the U.S.” This is the greeting you receive at a new, elite and ________ Internet site that has just been launched in the U.S. BeautifulPeople.net follows similar, successful ________ in Denmark, Sweden and the U.K. Membership requirements are deliberately ________ – you must be very beautiful or handsome. If you don’t have the curves in the right places or your face isn’t quite Hollywood, you are rejected. The site’s introductory ________ says it: “introduces beautiful people to truly beautiful people. It is a meeting place which is reserved for people who, because of their ________ appearance and personal qualities, stand out from the _________.”

In _________, it is a social networking site where new members are accepted or given the boot by existing members based on the scores _________ to the online photos they submit. The site recommends the photos _________ sexiness without being pornographic. Aspiring, beautiful applicants can post their photo and details up to 50 times, giving _________ beauties and _________ more than enough time to improve their looks. If accepted, you get the photo rating controls. Members also _________ offline for friendship and dating. Greg Hodge, managing director in the U.S., said: “We unashamedly exist so that people who are ______ ___ of wasting time and money meeting unattractive people on the Net can meet others they _______ aesthetically pleasing.”

HOMEWORK

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 on BeautifulPeople.net. Share your findings with your class in the next lesson.

3. X-People.Net: Create an idea for your own Internet site. You must replace the “X” in the heading with an adjective. Outline the aims of the site, the membership requirements and what members can do online and offline. Describe your sites to your classmates in your next lesson. Did you all want to join each other’s sites?

4. LETTER TO THE SITE: Write a letter to the head of BeautifulPeople.net. Tell him/her what you think of the site. Read your letter to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all write about similar things?

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. T

b. F

c. F

d. F

e. T

f. F

g. T

h. T

SYNONYM MATCH:

a.	coveted	desired
b.	ventures	undertakings
c.	blunt	straightforward
d.	spiel	sales pitch
e.	stand out	attract attention
f.	In essence	basically
g.	given the boot	rejected
h.	ooze	exude
i.	unashamedly	blatantly
j.	deem	regard

PHRASE MATCH:
 

a.	the most beautiful and	coveted network in the US
b.	the greeting	you receive
c.	Membership requirements are	deliberately blunt
d.	the curves	in the right places
e.	stand out from	the majority
f.	given the	boot
g.	ooze	sexiness
h.	more than	enough time
i.	sick	of wasting time and money
j.	can meet others they deem	aesthetically pleasing

GAP FILL:

Site for beautiful people only

“Dear Guest, Welcome to the most beautiful and coveted network in the U.S.” This is the greeting you receive at a new, elite and exclusive Internet site that has just been launched in the U.S. BeautifulPeople.net follows similar, successful ventures in Denmark, Sweden and the U.K. Membership requirements are deliberately blunt – you must be very beautiful or handsome. If you don’t have the curves in the right places or your face isn’t quite Hollywood, you are rejected. The site’s introductory spiel says it: “introduces beautiful people to truly beautiful people. It is a meeting place which is reserved for people who, because of their attractive appearance and personal qualities, stand out from the majority.”

In essence, it is a social networking site where new members are accepted or given the boot by existing members based on the scores assigned to the online photos they submit. The site recommends the photos ooze sexiness without being pornographic. Aspiring, beautiful applicants can post their photo and details up to 50 times, giving wannabe beauties and hunks more than enough time to improve their looks. If accepted, you get the photo rating controls. Members also interact offline for friendship and dating. Greg Hodge, managing director in the U.S., said: “We unashamedly exist so that people who are sick of wasting time and money meeting unattractive people on the Net can meet others they deem aesthetically pleasing.”

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