Love him tender: Elvis fans mourn their gorgeous and immortal hero 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 Wrapped in leopard-skin blankets and sporting some of the most frozen quiffs in the history of rock‘n’roll, thousands braved a frigid Memphis morning to celebrate the 75th birthday of Elvis Presley outside his Graceland home. They had arrived from the four corners of the Earth, bringing with them handwritten birthday tributes, floral wreathes as kitsch as Graceland’s interior — a shrine to Elvis that has been frozen in time since his death in 1977 — and an undying love for the King. Graceland receives 700,000 visitors a year but the crowd that gathered yesterday to see his former wife Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie, their daughter, and her children Riley and Benjamin cut a four-tier cake had a particular intensity. “Wow, this is absolutely amazing,” declared Priscilla Presley. “To see all of you really touches my heart.” Here at Graceland, where tours and souvenirs help to earn Elvis Presley Enterprises $55 million (£35 million) a year, the more tawdry aspects of the King’s life are nowhere to be seen. Inside the mansion, where he was found dead in a bathroom aged 42, bloated and addicted to food suppressants and tranquillisers, all the photographs depict the young, lithe and handsome legend. For the fans, too, Elvis will always be young and gorgeous — and immortal. They cannot imagine him aged 75, which is probably a good thing, given the infamous grilled peanut butter and banana sandwiches that he gorged on in the months before his death. Bending over and touching his grave next to the mansion is Yoko Hika, from Tokyo. She has visited Graceland in January and August — the anniversaries of Elvis’s birth and death — every year since 1983. “When he sings, he is in my heart, my soul,” said Mrs Hika, who is staying at the Heartbreak Hotel a few hundred yards away. “He is still young. He is always young in my heart.” Elvis’s grave is covered with flowers, teddy bears and birthday cards from all over the world. There are wreaths from the Netherlands, England, Belgium and Australia, and one declaring: “Denmark’s Love of Elvis is Unlimited”. Jenny Parry, from Essex, stands next to the cake holding a pink, guitar-shaped handbag and Elvis badges. She moved to Memphis three years ago to open an Elvis-themed bed and breakfast, called Gracepines. It has four bedrooms, called Love Me Tender, Jailhouse Rock, Blue Hawaii and GI Blue, and a 1950’s diner. Such establishments are considered normal here. Interviewed by a Memphis newspaper, Priscilla Presley said that her former husband “had such a young spirit” that she could not imagine him as a 75-year-old. She said it was “mindboggling” that the singer she married in 1967 was still a global attraction. “Never would he have thought that there would still be that level of interest in him.” Books, TV programmes and websites have documented the theory that Elvis is not dead, fuelled by the misspelling of his middle name on his tombstone. In 1979 the country and western singer Waylon Jennings recorded a song that included the line, “Elvis may still be alive,” and The Weekly World News, a US supermarket tabloid, finally announced “Elvis Presley Dead!” in 1994. In the 15 years since Elvis’s original death the paper had reported him alive several times, allegedly snapped in locations such as Burger King and a cinema. It had also, however, published news of the Loch Ness Monster and the continued life of Marilyn Monroe, John F. Kennedy and Adolf Hitler. In 1994, President Clinton was sent a 300-page document called The Presley Report which concluded that Elvis had faked his own death. Its head author, Philip Aitchison, said he had documentary proof that Elvis was living in a secret location as part of a witness protection programme. The film-maker Adam Muskiewicz is offering a reward of $3 million (£1.9 million) for proof that Elvis is still alive. READING AND LEXIS 1. Always keep the same grammatical function Word brave (2) tawdry (11) bloated (13) mind-boggling (32) fuelled (36) Synonym Word kitsch (4) gorgeous (16) bending over (19) former (31) interest (34) Antonym 2. Word grid NOUN ADJECTIVE VERB addicted record death publish proof 3. Make it passive: Books, TV programmes and websites have documented the theory that Elvis is not dead, fuelled by the misspelling of his middle name on his tombstone ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4. Quote an example of a simple sentence 5. Quote an example of a complex sentence, if any 6. Quote an example of a compound-complex sentence, if any FREE WRITING Who are the myths of the 20th centuries? Explain in about 350 words which personalities deeply influenced our culture and society, how and why (singers, actors, famous people or even politicians). CLOZE TEST Michael Jackson has died aged 50 after __________ a heart attack at his Los Angeles home. He was rushed to hospital, where doctors _____________ over an hour trying to ___________ him. His brother Germaine told reporters: “The family request that the media please respect our _________ during this tough time.” Jackson was __________ the greatest singer and dancer the world has ever seen. He transformed the music ___________ forever. The pop icon _____________ influenced generations of singers with his unrivalled professionalism. Michael was ___________ as the king of pop and there is perhaps no one close to challenging his legendary ___________. He will be remembered forever for his talent, his __________ songs, and his Moonwalk dance. Tributes to Michael Jackson have ___________ in from all over the world. Pop star Madonna said: “The world has lost one of its greats, but his music will live on forever.” Jackson’s ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley said she was “so sad and confused”. She added: "This is such a massive _________ on so many levels, words _________ me." Pop star Justin Timberlake wrote online: “We have lost a ___________ and a true ambassador of not only pop music, but of all _______.” Jackson began his career as a child in his family group The Jackson 5. He went on to become globally ___________ as a solo artist with ________ hits such as “Billie Jean” and “Bad”. His album “Thriller”, _____________ in 1982, is the biggest-selling album of _________ time. It has sold 65 million _________ worldwide.