James Dean Mini-Biographies 11 James Dean 1. On September 30th, 1955, there was a highway accident near Paso Robles, California. The car was a silver Porsche Spyder. The driver was a 24-year-old Hollywood actor. His name was James Dean. 2. The young Hollywood actor had made three movies before he died: East of Eden in 1953, Rebel Without a Cause in 1954, and his last film, Giant, which was completed in 1955. James Dean died one day after he finished work on Giant. 3. In the 1950s, many young men wanted to be a cowboy, drive a sports car, or be a Hollywood actor. James Dean did all of these things. In his movies, James Dean played an angry young man. 4. In real life, too, James Dean was often an angry young man. He would fight with his friends and with the people he worked for. He was everything a good boy was not supposed to be. Many people liked him and many others disliked him. James Dean was creative, intelligent, curious, and sometimes mean and selfish. 5. Today, people from all over the world visit the small farm in Indiana where James Dean was born. There have been many books written about him, his lovers, and the movies he made. Like Marilyn Monroe, James Dean has become a Hollywood legend. Copyright 2012, Red River Press Inc. For use by members of ESL-library.com in accordance with membership terms. 1 James Dean Mini-Biographies 2 READING COMPREHENSION Answer the following questions using complete sentences. 1. When was there an accident near Paso Robles? ____________________________________________________________________________________ 2. What state was the accident in? ____________________________________________________________________________________ 3. What kind of car was in the accident? ____________________________________________________________________________________ 4. How old was the driver? ____________________________________________________________________________________ 5. What was the driver’s name? ____________________________________________________________________________________ 6. James Dean made three movies. Name two. ____________________________________________________________________________________ 7. James Dean died after finishing which movie? ____________________________________________________________________________________ 8. What kind of man did James Dean play in his movies? ____________________________________________________________________________________ 9. Was James Dean an angry young man in real life? ____________________________________________________________________________________ 10. Who did James Dean fight with? ____________________________________________________________________________________ 11. Was James Dean creative and selfish? ____________________________________________________________________________________ 12. Where was James Dean born? ____________________________________________________________________________________ 13. Do people visit the farm in Indiana? ____________________________________________________________________________________ 14. There have been many books written about James Dean. What are they about? ____________________________________________________________________________________ 15. James Dean is a Hollywood legend. Who else is a Hollywood legend? ____________________________________________________________________________________ Copyright 2012, Red River Press Inc. For use by members of ESL-library.com in accordance with membership terms. 2 James Dean Mini-Biographies 3 VOCABULARY REVIEW Unscramble the words below from the story. Then write one original sentence for each word. 1. cdaientc _________________________________________________________________ 2. ________________ obowyc _________________________________________________________________ 3. ________________ wighayh _________________________________________________________________ 4. ________________ llyoodhwo _________________________________________________________________ 5. ________________ hesoprc _________________________________________________________________ 6. ________________ etgniinetll _________________________________________________________________ 7. ________________ gelned ________________ _________________________________________________________________ 4 Find the words from above in the Word Search below. b b h f n a b i d p o m c o w o a a l c r e o v d o l a a g u e r e d r e e w f d c e c g o a o s r c b g d d c o e l a h c m a o p e n t i n h i g h w a y i n g g g d l a m e i h o Copyright 2012, Red River Press Inc. For use by members of ESL-library.com in accordance with membership terms. c g o i n t e l l i a a y s t s t s r m n r l r l a v e p t a d h e t i e o r e h o l l y w o o d i n n n i n t e l l i g e n t e 3 James Dean Mini-Biographies 2 READING COMPREHENSION A ANSWER KEY 1. There was an accident near Paso Robles on September 30th, 1955. 2. The accident was in California. 3. A silver Porsche Spyder was in the accident. 4. The driver was 24 years old. 5. The driver’s name was James Dean. 6. James Dean made East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, and Giant. 7. James Dean died after finishing Giant. 8. James Dean played an angry young man in his movies. 9. Yes, James Dean was an angry young man in real life. 10. James Dean fought with his friends and with the people he worked for. 11. Yes, James Dean was creative and selfish. 12. James Dean was born on a small farm in Indiana. 13. Yes, people from all over the world visit the farm in Indiana. 14. The books are about James Dean, his lovers, and the movies he made. 15. Marilyn Monroe is also a Hollywood legend. 3 VOCABULARY REVIEW 1. c d a i e n t c! ! = accident 2. o b o w y c! = cowboy 3. w i g h a y h! ! = highway 4. l l y o o d h w o! = hollywood 5. h e s o p r c! = porsche 6. e t g n i i n e t l l! = intelligent 7. g e l n e d! = legend ! ! ! 4 Find the words from above in the Word Search below. BOLFGPICSVEN BWADDENGTEHI HOACDNGOSPON FAGECTGITTLT NAUCOIGNSALE ALEGENDTRDYL BCROLHLEMHWL IREAAIALNEOI DEDOHGMLRTOG PORSCHEILIDE OVERMWIAREIN MDECAAHALONT COWBOYOYARNE Copyright 2012, Red River Press Inc. For use by members of ESL-library.com in accordance with membership terms. 4