PRE-INTERMEDIATE

All the reasons why you should be watching

Atypical on Netflix (there's 10 FYI)
https://www.her.ie/entertainment/reasons-watching-atypical-netflix-theres-10-
fyi-424614
WARM UP
1) What is your favourite TV series? Why?

2) Have you ever binge-watched a series? Which one? Was it worth it?

3) Do you have Netflix or another streaming platform? What do you like/dislike about it?

VOCABULARY

4) Find the best definition for each expression:

a) Overcoming
b) Light-hearted
c) Woes
d) Path
e) Relatable
f) Grow on somebody
g) Portrayal
h) Remarkable
i) Commuter
j) Hooked

( ) you like somebody/something more and more than you did at first
( ) worthy of attention, extraordinary
( ) succeed in dealing with something
( ) a person who regularly travels between work and home
( ) happy and not serious
( ) big problems
( ) a thing designed to catch people's attention
( ) a description of someone, a representation
( ) a set of actions, especially ones that lead to a goal or result
( ) enabling a person to feel that they can identify with someone or something.

5) Complete the sentences using some expressions from the previous exercise. Make changes
if necessary.
a) The train was packed with ________________ .
b) The 20th century was ________________ for its inventions.
c) Living in a small town was tough at first, but the place ________________ you.
d) They wrote songs that they felt would be ________________. It worked! People can really
identify with their album.
e) The country has been hit by economic ________________ for the past decade.
f) Eventually she ________________ her shyness in class.
READING FOR THE MAIN INFORMATION
6) Read as fast as you can and choose the best title:

( ) Atypical has 10 important characters

( ) Why Netflix has so many series, including Atypical
( ) All the reasons why you should be watching Atypical on Netflix

READING FOR DETAIL

7) Read the text again and choose the best heading for each section.

a) It attempts to educate an audience on autism

b) Zahid will become your new obsession
c) The episodes are only 30 minutes long meaning not a major commitment
d) If you get very hooked you'll have the two seasons finished in two nights
e) Sam's facts on Antarctica
f) You'll be happy Elsa Gardner isn't your mom
g) You will relate to the show more than you think
h) Michael Rapaport as Doug Gardner steals the show
i) Evan and Casey's relationship
j) The show is directed by Seth Gordon

8) Are the statements true or false? Correct the false ones.

( ) The author presents ten reasons why you should not watch this series.
( ) Sam does not know much about Antarctica.
( ) You can watch this series while you are on the bus because the episodes are short.
( ) Evan and Casey have a strange relationship.
( ) The author says you should definitely binge-watch it.

TEXT

__________________________________________________________________

If you're not familiar with the show, let me give you a quick synopsis.

The series follows Sam, an 18-year-old with autism. And so, the whole show is basically centred
around him and his family in a sweet, coming-of-age tale which looks at finding love, losing love,
sex, the family dynamic and overcoming challenges.

The series is light-hearted and full of humour which will see you laughing and moving from
episode to episode in rapid time. I should know, I finished season two in one day.

So, if you want 10 reasons on why you should most definitely sit down to watch this series
tonight, I present you with these.

1. _____________________________________________________________
Seth is the man behind some of the most hilarious comedies to date including Horrible Bosses,
Identity Theif and Baywatch so, you know it's going to be a good one.
2. _____________________________________________________________
Endearing and equally hilarious. Sam finds a way to relate everything back to Antarctica and
we've never felt so informed.

3. _____________________________________________________________
Zahid (Nik Dodani) is Sam's neurotypical friend who he works with. Sam believes Zahid (a self-
confessed ladies man) holds the answer and solution to all his woes and so, makes for extremely
entertaining viewing.

4. _____________________________________________________________
Although the show focuses on Sam and his path through life trying to define what is "normal",
the show also focuses on some key family issues and breakdowns which are very relatable and a
reminder that nobody's perfect.

5. _____________________________________________________________
I hate to pick a "favourite" actor in the series because to be quite honest, they're all incredible
but, this one grew on me and by the end of the first series, I was firmly "Team Doug". The
sensitive yet tough exterior of his character will make you tear up at times and his portrayal of a
father, who too, is trying to figure everything out is remarkable.

6. _____________________________________________________________
I wish every series was like this. An hour an episode is far too much for the working week and so,
these episodes are commuter-friendly meaning you can fit one in anywhere. Ideal.

7. _____________________________________________________________
Although its portrayal of autism has been hit with mixed reviews. It does do one thing and that's
telling us how being on the spectrum affects daily life and not just the life of the person with
autism but the life of their friends and family too.

8. _____________________________________________________________
Evan isn't a central character to the show but he isn't one you'd miss either. His relationship with
Casey is one of the only strong relationships in season one (so binge watch it now).

9. _____________________________________________________________
She means well and we do love her but, I'll leave you to discover this fact on your own.

10. _____________________________________________________________
Coming back to point six, the 30-minute duration also means you'll be hitting "next episode"
until there is no more. Contagious.

We cannot wait to hear what you think.

Happy watching.
TALKING POINT
9) Let’s talk about your favourite series and movies

Use the language reference to help you when necessary:

Talking about likes and dislikes

Asking for preferences

What kind of movies do you like?

What kind of series do you binge-watch?
Is there any series that hooks you?

Strong likes

I really like...
I'm really into...
It was really good / absolutely brilliant.

Partial likes

I quite like...
It wasn't bad.

Dislikes

I'm not really into / keen on...

I don't really like...
I really don't like...
It wasn't very good.
It was really bad / absolutely terrible.

GRAMMAR TOPIC
10) Complete the blank with a word from the text:

4. You will relate to the show more than you think

Although the show focuses on Sam and his path through life trying to define what is "normal",
the show also focuses on some key family issues and breakdowns which are very ____________
and a reminder that nobody's perfect.

As you can see, the verb “relate” was transformed into an adjective. This transformation was
made by adding the suffix _______

The suffix “-able” means indicates something or someone is capable of or worthy of something.

This is considered a “fun” suffix because you can even use it to make unusual or unconventional
words.

Look at the ads:

 https://babygizmo.com/dunkable-fudge-brownie-sticks/ https://www.marketing360.in/coca-cola-drinkable/

Now, let’s form some adjectives with “able”. Some verbs will have to be modified.
a) break
b) read
c) calculate
d) navigate
e) negotiate
f) deny
g) like

11) Use one of the previous adjectives to create a short slogan campaign for “Atypical”.
 Answer Key
PRE-INTERMEDIATE
All the reasons why you should be watching
Atypical on Netflix (there's 10 FYI)

VOCABULARY

4) Find the best definition for each expression:

a) Overcoming
b) Light-hearted
c) Woes
d) Path
e) Relatable
f) Grow on somebody
g) Portrayal
h) Remarkable
i) Commuter
j) hooked

( f ) you like somebody more and more than you did at first
( h ) worthy of attention
( a ) succeed in dealing with something
( i ) a person who regularly travels between work and home
( b ) happy and not serious
( c ) big problems
( j ) a thing designed to catch people's attention
( g ) a description of someone, a representation
( d ) a set of actions, especially ones that lead to a goal or result
( e ) enabling a person to feel that they can identify with someone or something.

5)
a) commuters
b) remarkable
c) grows on
d) relatable
e) woes
f) overcame

READING FOR THE MAIN INFORMATION

6)

( ) Atypical has 10 important characters

( ) Why Netflix has so many series, including Atypical
( x ) All the reasons why you should be watching Atypical on Netflix
READING FOR DETAIL
7) See the complete text

8)

( F ) The author presents ten reasons why you should not watch this series.
( F ) Sam does not know much about Antarctica.
( T ) You can watch this series while you are on the bus because the episodes are short.
( F ) Evan and Casey have a strange relationship. (strong)
( T ) The author says you should definitely binge-watch it.

GRAMMAR TOPIC
10)

4. You will relate to the show more than you think

Although the show focuses on Sam and his path through life trying to define what is "normal",
the show also focuses on some key family issues and breakdowns which are very relatable and a
reminder that nobody's perfect.

As you can see, the verb “relate” was transformed into an adjective. This transformation was
made by adding the suffix -able.

The suffix “-able” means indicates something or someone is capable of or worthy of something.

11)
a) break - breakable
b) read - readable
c) calculate - calculatable
d) navigate - navigatable
e) negotiate - negotiable
f) deny - deniable
g) like - likeable
COMPLETE TEXT
All the reasons why you should be watching Atypical on Netflix (there's 10 FYI)

If you're not familiar with the show, let me give you a quick synopsis.

The series follows Sam, an 18-year-old with autism. And so, the whole show is basically centred around
him and his family in a sweet, coming-of-age tale which looks at finding love, losing love, sex, the family
dynamic and overcoming challenges.

The series is light-hearted and full of humour which will see you laughing and moving from episode to
episode in rapid time. I should know, I finished season two in one day.

So, if you want 10 reasons on why you should most definitely sit down to watch this series tonight, I
present you with these.

1. The show is directed by Seth Gordon

Seth is the man behind some of the most hilarious comedies to date including Horrible Bosses, Identity
Theif and Baywatch so, you know it's going to be a good one.

2. Sam's facts on Antarctica

Endearing and equally hilarious. Sam finds a way to relate everything back to Antarctica and we've never
felt so informed.

3. Zahid will become your new obsession

Zahid (Nik Dodani) is Sam's neurotypical friend who he works with. Sam believes Zahid (a self-confessed
ladies man) holds the answer and solution to all his woes and so, makes for extremely entertaining
viewing.

4. You will relate to the show more than you think

Although the show focuses on Sam and his path through life trying to define what is "normal", the show
also focuses on some key family issues and breakdowns which are very relatable and a reminder that
nobody's perfect.

5. Michael Rapaport as Doug Gardner steals the show

I hate to pick a "favourite" actor in the series because to be quite honest, they're all incredible but, this one
grew on me and by the end of the first series, I was firmly "Team Doug". The sensitive yet tough exterior
of his character will make you tear up at times and his portrayal of a father, who too, is trying to figure
everything out is remarkable.

6. The episodes are only 30 minutes long meaning not a major commitment
I wish every series was like this. An hour an episode is far too much for the working week and so, these
episodes are commuter-friendly meaning you can fit one in anywhere. Ideal.

7. It attempts to educate an audience on autism

Although its portrayal of autism has been hit with mixed reviews. It does do one thing and that's telling us
how being on the spectrum affects daily life and not just the life of the person with autism but the life of
their friends and family too.

8. Evan and Casey's relationship

Evan isn't a central character to the show but he isn't one you'd miss either. His relationship with Casey is
one of the only strong relationships in season one (so binge watch it now).

9. You'll be happy Elsa Gardner isn't your mom

She means well and we do love her but, I'll leave you to discover this fact on your own.

10. If you get very hooked you'll have the two seasons finished in two nights
Coming back to point six, the 30-minute duration also means you'll be hitting "next episode" until there is
no more. Contagious.

We cannot wait to hear what you think.

Happy watching.