Hans Zimmer asked partner big question on stage

An EFL and ESL English Lesson

Lesson Collection
A photo of a live orchestra.

Date: 26th June 2023

Level: B1 Intermediate

Grammar: Past simple positive

Topics: Celebrities & People, Music, Movies

Printables: 10-Page Lesson, Single-Page Lesson

Worksheets: Reading, Grammar, Vocabulary, Writing

Lesson

Text

Hans Zimmer asked partner big question on stage

Famous film music writer Hans Zimmer is reported to have asked for his partner’s hand in marriage during a recent performance. Towards the end of a two-night run of shows in London, Zimmer invited his partner, businesswoman Dina De Luca, on stage and asked her to marry him. Zimmer wrote the music to the 1994 movie The Lion King, which he is best known for.

Zimmer and his orchestra performed his scores from movies new and old, such as Dune, The Dark Knight, and Gladiator. There was more excitement in store for the audience when Zimmer requested De Luca to come up on stage briefly. He said, “I was going to ask you something really important”, before asking, “Did you lock the back door? Is the milk in the fridge?” Finally he managed to ask, “Will you marry me?” There was screaming and clapping from the crowd as the newly engaged couple hugged.

Before continuing the concert, Zimmer jokingly confirmed, “The back door’s locked. Everything’s good”. The show also starred players from the Ukrainian group Odessa Opera Orchestra. Zimmer announced that the musicians were enormously brave to handle playing live while they, “do not know what’s going on at home and everything is going on at home”.

Information sources (external links): nme.com, people.com

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Warm-up activities and vocabulary

Activities:

List what kinds of jobs there are in the movie industry.

Write a two-word subtitle for your favourite film. Each word has to start with the same letter.

What are the differences between audiences at concerts and audiences in cinemas?

Vocabulary:

1. Scan the text and find a word or phrase that means:

  • A. described (paragraph 1)r...
  • B. show (paragraph 1)p...
  • C. musical group (paragraph 2)o...
  • D. fun (paragraph 2)e...
  • E. loud shouting (paragraph 2)s...
  • F. two people (paragraph 2)c...
  • G. held each other (paragraph 2)h...
  • H. shut (paragraph 3)l...
  • I. strong (paragraph 3)b...
  • J. deal with (paragraph 3)h...
Answers
  • A. reported, B. performance, C. orchestra, D. excitement, E. screaming, F. couple, G. hugged, H. lock, I. brave, J. handle

2. What does the italicised phrase below mean — extremely, largely, or easily?

  • were enormously brave to handle playing live
Answer
  • extremely

3. Which word below doesn’t belong?

  • performance — orchestra — musician — manage
Answer
  • manage (the others describe music)

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Reading comprehension questions

  1. Hans Zimmer asked for what on stage?
  2. When did he ask the big question?
  3. What does Hans Zimmer write?
  4. What was played at the concert?
  5. What did he ask before the big question?
  6. How did the audience react?
  7. What did Zimmer and De Luca do after the question?
  8. What joke did Zimmer make?
  9. Who joined Hans Zimmer’s orchestra?
  10. How did Zimmer describe the guest musicians?
  1. Musicians from Ukraine.
  2. Near to the end of the second show.
  3. With celebration.
  4. Scores for movies.
  5. That the chores had been done.
  6. For his partner to marry him.
  7. They hugged.
  8. The music from films such as Gladiator.
  9. As being mentally very strong.
  10. If some chores had been done.
Answers
  • 1F, 2B, 3D, 4H, 5J, 6C, 7G, 8E, 9A, 10I

reading worksheet  |  interactive  |  top

Phrases, synonyms, and antonyms match-up

Match the words on the left to their endings to make phrases from the text.

  1. enormously
  2. in
  3. lock the
  4. on
  5. playing
  6. best
  7. starred
  8. two-night
  9. hand
  10. will you
  1. players
  2. live
  3. store
  4. in marriage
  5. marry me
  6. brave
  7. run
  8. known for
  9. back door
  10. stage
Answers
  • 1F, 2C, 3I, 4J, 5B, 6H, 7A, 8G, 9D, 10E

Match the words on the left from the text to their synonyms.

  1. perform
  2. star
  3. request
  4. score
  5. brief
  1. feature
  2. film music
  3. play
  4. ask
  5. quick
Answers
  • 1C, 2A, 3D, 4B, 5E

Match the words on the left from the text to their antonyms.

  1. brave
  2. lock
  3. marriage
  1. divorce
  2. open
  3. scared
Answers
  • 1C, 2B, 3A

interactive  |  top

Grammar gap-fill cloze: past simple positive

Change the verbs into their past simple positive forms before putting them in the correct spaces.

  1. invite
  2. report
  3. confirm
  4. perform
  5. announce
  1. hug
  2. manage
  3. write
  4. star
  5. request

Famous film music writer Hans Zimmer is 1._______________ to have asked for his partner’s hand in marriage during a recent performance. Towards the end of a two-night run of shows in London, Zimmer 2._______________ his partner, businesswoman Dina De Luca, on stage and asked her to marry him. Zimmer 3._______________ the music to the 1994 movie The Lion King, which he is best known for.

Zimmer and his orchestra 4._______________ his scores from movies new and old, such as Dune, The Dark Knight, and Gladiator. There was more excitement in store for the audience when Zimmer 5._______________ De Luca to come up on stage briefly. He said, “I was going to ask you something really important”, before asking, “Did you lock the back door? Is the milk in the fridge?” Finally he 6._______________ to ask, “Will you marry me?” There was screaming and clapping from the crowd as the newly engaged couple 7._______________.

Before continuing the concert, Zimmer jokingly 8._______________, “The back door’s locked. Everything’s good”. The show also 9._______________ players from the Ukrainian group Odessa Opera Orchestra. Zimmer 10._______________ that the musicians were enormously brave to handle playing live while they, “do not know what’s going on at home and everything is going on at home”.

Answers
  1. 1B reported, 2A invited, 3H wrote, 4D performed, 5J requested, 6G managed, 7F hugged, 8C confirmed, 9I starred, 10E announced

grammar worksheet  |  interactive  |  top

Vocabulary gap-fill cloze

  1. orchestra
  2. starred
  3. musicians
  4. engaged
  5. scores
  1. brave
  2. marriage
  3. requested
  4. managed
  5. performance

Famous film music writer Hans Zimmer is reported to have asked for his partner’s hand in 1._______________ during a recent 2._______________. Towards the end of a two-night run of shows in London, Zimmer invited his partner, businesswoman Dina De Luca, on stage and asked her to marry him. Zimmer wrote the music to the 1994 movie The Lion King, which he is best known for.

Zimmer and his 3._______________ performed his 4._______________ from movies new and old, such as Dune, The Dark Knight, and Gladiator. There was more excitement in store for the audience when Zimmer 5._______________ De Luca to come up on stage briefly. He said, “I was going to ask you something really important”, before asking, “Did you lock the back door? Is the milk in the fridge?” Finally he 6._______________ to ask, “Will you marry me?” There was screaming and clapping from the crowd as the newly 7._______________ couple hugged.

Before continuing the concert, Zimmer jokingly confirmed, “The back door’s locked. Everything’s good”. The show also 8._______________ players from the Ukrainian group Odessa Opera Orchestra. Zimmer announced that the 9._______________ were enormously 10._______________ to handle playing live while they, “do not know what’s going on at home and everything is going on at home”.

Answers
  1. 1G, 2J, 3A, 4E, 5H, 6I, 7D, 8B, 9C, 10F

vocabulary worksheet  |  interactive  |  top

Writing cloze

Spell the missing words correctly.

  1. p e r e r d t o
  2. g r e a m r a i
  3. f p e o a e c n r m r
  4. r a r y m
  5. s c r t o a r e h
  1. o e s c r s
  2. i e m c e t x t n e
  3. u e d q e s e r t
  4. k o c l
  5. a g m d n e a
  1. d e g a g e n
  2. o n i d r e f m c
  3. t r e a r s d
  4. i s i a u c m s n
  5. v a e r b

Famous film music writer Hans Zimmer is 1._______________ to have asked for his partner’s hand in 2._______________ during a recent 3._______________. Towards the end of a two-night run of shows in London, Zimmer invited his partner, businesswoman Dina De Luca, on stage and asked her to 4._______________ him. Zimmer wrote the music to the 1994 movie The Lion King, which he is best known for.

Zimmer and his 5._______________ performed his 6._______________ from movies new and old, such as Dune, The Dark Knight, and Gladiator. There was more 7._______________ in store for the audience when Zimmer 8._______________ De Luca to come up on stage briefly. He said, “I was going to ask you something really important”, before asking, “Did you 9._______________ the back door? Is the milk in the fridge?” Finally he 10._______________ to ask, “Will you marry me?” There was screaming and clapping from the crowd as the newly 11._______________ couple hugged.

Before continuing the concert, Zimmer jokingly 12._______________, “The back door’s locked. Everything’s good”. The show also 13._______________ players from the Ukrainian group Odessa Opera Orchestra. Zimmer announced that the 14._______________ were enormously 15._______________ to handle playing live while they, “do not know what’s going on at home and everything is going on at home”.

Answers
  • 1. reported, 2. marriage, 3. performance, 4. marry, 5. orchestra, 6. scores, 7. excitement, 8. requested, 9. lock, 10. managed, 11. engaged, 12. confirmed, 13. starred, 14. musicians, 15. brave

writing worksheet  |  interactive  |  top

Fill-in punctuation

Fill-in the missing punctuation: capital letters, commas, and full stops. The text also includes 4 apostrophes, 1 hyphenated word, 5 quotations, and 3 question marks.

famous film music writer hans zimmer is reported to have asked for his partners hand in marriage during a recent performance towards the end of a two night run of shows in london zimmer invited his partner businesswoman dina de luca on stage and asked her to marry him zimmer wrote the music to the 1994 movie the lion king which he is best known for

zimmer and his orchestra performed his scores from movies new and old such as dune the dark knight and gladiator there was more excitement in store for the audience when zimmer requested de luca to come up on stage briefly he said i was going to ask you something really important before asking did you lock the back door is the milk in the fridge finally he managed to ask will you marry me there was screaming and clapping from the crowd as the newly engaged couple hugged

before continuing the concert zimmer jokingly confirmed the back doors locked everythings good the show also starred players from the ukrainian group odessa opera orchestra zimmer announced that the musicians were enormously brave to handle playing live while they do not know whats going on at home and everything is going on at home

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Cool-down discussion, keywords, and game

Discussion questions:

  • Where is a good place to ask someone to marry you?
  • Why do movies rarely show characters doing everyday chores?
  • Do you prefer newer or older films?
  • Can you read and write music?
  • What personal qualities are needed to play music or make a presentation in front of a large audience?

CEFR B1 10 lesson keywords:

(a = adjective / n = noun / v = verb)

  • brave (a/v)
  • engaged (a)
  • manage (v)
  • marriage (n)
  • musician (n)
  • orchestra (n)
  • performance (n)
  • request (n/v)
  • score (n/v)
  • star (n/v)

Language game:

In the table below, add one word to each box that matches both the category and the beginning letter, e.g. a movie beginning with F is Forrest Gump.

F I L M
A movie
An instrument
A daily chore
Something you buy a ticket for
Somewhere to get married

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Interactive exercises

Reading comprehension interactive questions

Select the correct answers from the dropdown menus

Hans Zimmer asked partner big question on stage

Famous film music writer Hans Zimmer is reported to have asked for his partner’s hand in marriage during a recent performance. Towards the end of a two-night run of shows in London, Zimmer invited his partner, businesswoman Dina De Luca, on stage and asked her to marry him. Zimmer wrote the music to the 1994 movie The Lion King, which he is best known for.

Zimmer and his orchestra performed his scores from movies new and old, such as Dune, The Dark Knight, and Gladiator. There was more excitement in store for the audience when Zimmer requested De Luca to come up on stage briefly. He said, “I was going to ask you something really important”, before asking, “Did you lock the back door? Is the milk in the fridge?” Finally he managed to ask, “Will you marry me?” There was screaming and clapping from the crowd as the newly engaged couple hugged.

Before continuing the concert, Zimmer jokingly confirmed, “The back door’s locked. Everything’s good”. The show also starred players from the Ukrainian group Odessa Opera Orchestra. Zimmer announced that the musicians were enormously brave to handle playing live while they, “do not know what’s going on at home and everything is going on at home”.

Hans Zimmer asked for what on stage?
When did he ask the big question?
What does Hans Zimmer write?
What was played at the concert?
What did he ask before the big question?
How did the audience react?
What did Zimmer and De Luca do after the question?
What joke did Zimmer make?
Who joined Hans Zimmer’s orchestra?
How did Zimmer describe the guest musicians?
  1. Musicians from Ukraine.
  2. Near to the end of the second show.
  3. With celebration.
  4. Scores for movies.
  5. That the chores had been done.
  6. For his partner to marry him.
  7. They hugged.
  8. The music from films such as Gladiator.
  9. As being mentally very strong.
  10. If some chores had been done.

reading worksheet  |  lesson  |  top

Phrases, synonyms, and antonyms interactive match-up

Select the correct matches from the dropdown menus

Phrases
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Synonyms
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
Antonyms
16.
17.
18.

lesson  |  top

Grammar gap-fill interactive cloze: past simple positive

Choose the correct options from the pairs

Famous film music writer Hans Zimmer is
1.
to have asked for his partner’s hand in marriage during a recent performance. Towards the end of a two-night run of shows in London, Zimmer
2.
his partner, businesswoman Dina De Luca, on stage and asked her to marry him. Zimmer
3.
the music to the 1994 movie The Lion King, which he is best known for.
Zimmer and his orchestra
4.
his scores from movies new and old, such as Dune, The Dark Knight, and Gladiator. There was more excitement in store for the audience when Zimmer
5.
De Luca to come up on stage briefly. He said, “I was going to ask you something really important”, before asking, “Did you lock the back door? Is the milk in the fridge?” Finally he
6.
to ask, “Will you marry me?” There was screaming and clapping from the crowd as the newly engaged couple
7.
.
Before continuing the concert, Zimmer jokingly
8.
,
“The back door’s locked. Everything’s good”. The show also
9.
players from the Ukrainian group Odessa Opera Orchestra. Zimmer
10.
that the musicians were enormously brave to handle playing live while they, “do not know what’s going on at home and everything is going on at home”.

grammar worksheet  |  lesson  |  top

Vocabulary gap-fill interactive cloze

Select the correct answers from the dropdown menus

Famous film music writer Hans Zimmer is reported to have asked for his partner’s hand in
1.
during a recent
2.
.
Towards the end of a two-night run of shows in London, Zimmer invited his partner, businesswoman Dina De Luca, on stage and asked her to marry him. Zimmer wrote the music to the 1994 movie The Lion King, which he is best known for.
Zimmer and his
3.
performed his
4.
from movies new and old, such as Dune, The Dark Knight, and Gladiator. There was more excitement in store for the audience when Zimmer
5.
De Luca to come up on stage briefly. He said, “I was going to ask you something really important”, before asking, “Did you lock the back door? Is the milk in the fridge?” Finally he
6.
to ask, “Will you marry me?” There was screaming and clapping from the crowd as the newly
7.
couple hugged.
Before continuing the concert, Zimmer jokingly confirmed, “The back door’s locked. Everything’s good”. The show also
8.
players from the Ukrainian group Odessa Opera Orchestra. Zimmer announced that the
9.
were enormously
10.
to handle playing live while they, “do not know what’s going on at home and everything is going on at home”.

vocabulary worksheet  |  lesson  |  top

Interactive writing cloze

Type the words correctly in the boxes

Famous film music writer Hans Zimmer is
1.
to have asked for his partner’s hand in
2.
during a recent
3.
.
Towards the end of a two-night run of shows in London, Zimmer invited his partner, businesswoman Dina De Luca, on stage and asked her to
4.
him. Zimmer wrote the music to the 1994 movie The Lion King, which he is best known for.
Zimmer and his
5.
performed his
6.
from movies new and old, such as Dune, The Dark Knight, and Gladiator. There was more
7.
in store for the audience when Zimmer
8.
De Luca to come up on stage briefly. He said, “I was going to ask you something really important”, before asking, “Did you
9.
the back door? Is the milk in the fridge?” Finally he
10.
to ask, “Will you marry me?” There was screaming and clapping from the crowd as the newly
11.
couple hugged.
Before continuing the concert, Zimmer jokingly
12.
,
“The back door’s locked. Everything’s good”. The show also
13.
players from the Ukrainian group Odessa Opera Orchestra. Zimmer announced that the
14.
were enormously
15.
to handle playing live while they, “do not know what’s going on at home and everything is going on at home”.

writing worksheet  |  lesson  |  top

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