In this reading, there are three primary objectives:
1—You will develop your awareness of the use of articles.
2You will increase your reading comprehension.
3You will expand your working vocabulary.

These objectives are facilitated by the following activities:
1—Reading the following part of the radio broadcast script.
2Seeing photographs from the movie that illustrate the story.
3Noticing required articles by interactively revealing articles after the "mouseover" of highlighted spaces.
4Accessing short vocabulary definitions of selected words and phrases (those underlined in blue).
5Getting vocabulary definitions from the internet for words you choose.
6Checking your reading comprehension by doing the interactive quiz at the end (self-testing).

And, I hope you have some fun too!   —Skip Reske

Move mouse cursor over blank highlights to show correct article (a/an or the) and over words in blue to show definition

It's A Wonderful Life

End of last part:

GEORGE: Now, please! Now, now, please, folks! Now, justaminute! Justaminute, now, please!

CHARLIE: Tell us about our money, George? Where's our money?

GEORGE: Now, please! Now, waitaminute! Listen to me! Now, you're thinking aboutabuilding and loan all wrong. Your money's not here!

PEOPLE INTHECROWD: What?


Act 2 - Part 1 continued

GEORGE: Waitaminute, now, let me tell you. Let me tell you. Your money's in people's houses! IntheKennedy house, andtheMacClaren house, and in your house, andahundred others. You all put your savings in here and then we make loans to people to buy homes and cars and other things. Now, what are you going to do? Take their homes and cars and things from them?!

George explains how their Building and Loan works

CHARLIE: I got two hundred and forty dollars in shares. Now lemme have it!

GEORGE: All right, all right, Charlie. Now, you'll get your money in sixty days.

CHARLIE: Sixty days?!

GEORGE: Well, now, look, that's what you - that's what you agreed on when you bought your shares.

RANDALL: I got my money!

PEOPLE INTHECROWD: Where?

RANDALL: Old Man Potter has taken overthebank! He'll pay you fifty cents on a dollar

CHARLIE: (to crowd) Then let's take our shares to Potter! Half is better than nothing!

GEORGE: Waitaminute, waitaminute, please, folks! I please don't do that. If Potter gets hold of your shares, he'll own this building and loan. And he's gotthebank. He's gotthebus line. He's gotthedepartment stores. And now he's after us because he wants to keep you living inthehouses and apartments he owns and payingthekind of rent he decides to charge. Now, we can get through this thing all right, but we have to work together and help each other! We've got to have faith in each other!

MRS. THOMPSON: My husband's out of work. We need money.

ANGRY MAN: I have doctor bills to pay!

WORRIED WOMAN: I can't feed my kids on faith!

PEOPLE INTHECROWD: Me, too! What about that, George?!

MARY: How much do you need? We've still got some money!

GEORGE: Hey, Mary!

MARY: Here is our money, George! You told me to take care of it. It would have paid foranice honeymoon -- and bought furniture, too!

Mary offers their honeymoon money

GEORGE: Hey, now, waitaminute, folks! Listen, I got two thousand dollars! All right, Charlie, how much do you need?

CHARLIE: Two hundred and forty dollars.

GEORGE: Please, Charlie, now, listen -- just enough to tide you over!

CHARLIE: I said, two hundred and forty dollars!

GEORGE: Okay, okay. Uncle Billy give Charlie two hundred and forty dollars. All right, Ed, now, how much just to get by?

ED: Twenty dollars, I suppose.

GEORGE: Now you're talking! Mrs. Thompson, how about you?

MRS. THOMPSON: Twenty dollars will do me.

GEORGE: Good, good, twenty dollars. All right, all right, who's next?


[HOURS LATER]

UNCLE BILLY: Look attheclock! Look!

George and Uncle Billy watch the clock

GEORGE: (counts) Five seconds... four seconds... three... two... one... Six o'clock, we made it! Lock that door, quick!

[SOUND: DOOR SLAMS SHUT ... PHONE RINGS]

GEORGE: Boy! We're still in business, Uncle Billy! We even got two bucks left!

TILLY: George, there'sacall for you! Mrs. Bailey's ontheline.

GEORGE: I don't want Mrs. Bailey, I want my wife. Mrs. Bailey. Mrs. Bail-- Tha-- That's my wife! Give methephone, will you? Hey, Mary? Listen, Mary, I'm sorry, I - I - Hm? Come home? Well, what home? Well, Three-twenty-three Sycamore? Well, whose home is that? What? Well, Mary, how can I--? Well, sure, all right, sure, I'll - I'll be there.


JOSEPH: Clarence? Guess what Three-twenty-three Sycamore was?

CLARENCE: His mother-in-law's house, huh?

JOSEPH: Oh, no. Number Three-twenty-three Sycamore wastheold Granville house,theone George threw rocks at and made wishes. Yes, sir, that's where they spent their honeymoon.

Mary welcomes George to their home

JOSEPH: That's where they started their home. They were still living there two years later when old man Potter asked George to stop over at his office...


POTTER: Sit down, George, sit down. Uh, haveacigar.

GEORGE: Well! Thank you, sir, but no thank you.

POTTER: Now, George, you'reayoung man -- married, making, say, forty dollarsaweek attheBuilding and Loan--

GEORGE: Forty-five.

Potter offers work to George

POTTER: Forty-five. Now, if you were some ordinary man, I'd say you were doing fine. But George Bailey is intelligent, ambitious. He hatestheBuilding and Loan almost as much as I do. He's been wanting to get out of town ever since he was born. But he is trapped. Trapped and wasting his life taking care ofalot of lazy working class people. Do I describeacorrect picture, George, or do I exaggerate?

GEORGE: Well, what's your point, Mr. Potter?

POTTER: My point is that you'retheonly man in town who can fight and win against me. I don't like that. George, I want to hire you. Manage my businesses. I'll start you off at twenty thousand dollarsayear.

GEORGE: Twenty thou--? Twenty thousand dollarsayear? Are you sure you're talking to me? I'm George Bailey. Don't you remember me? TheBuilding and Loan, remember?

POTTER: Yes, George Bailey. Whose has been offeredachance ofalifetime...if he is smart enough to take it.

GEORGE: Well, but - but - what abouttheBuilding and Loan?

POTTER: (angry) What is wrong with you! I'm offering youathree-year contract at twenty thousand dollarsayear! Are you gonna accepttheoffer or not?

GEORGE: No! No!theanswer's "no"! If you offered meamillion dollars to stay around this town and be your stooge,theanswer would still be " no"! Now, lemme alone! Don't bother me!

George refuses Potter's offer


MARY: George, what did Mr. Potter want?

GEORGE: (tired) Oh, it was nothing. He just-- talk, talk, I don't know, it was nothing ... Aw, Mary... Mary Hatch... Mary, why intheworld did you ever marryaguy like me, anyway?

MARY: (chuckles) To keep from being an anold maid.

GEORGE: I was gonna seetheworld. I was gonna build things. I was gonna give youthemoon. What have I given you, what have I given you? Not evenanew dress, not for months. I-- I feel awful.

MARY: So do I. Mornings especially.

GEORGE: You could have married Sam Wainwright, anybody else in town.

MARY: I didn't want to marry anybody else in town. I want my baby to look like you.

GEORGE: You didn't even haveahoneymoon, and I promised you... Your what?

MARY: My baby.

GEORGE: Your--? You mean-- Hey-- Mary-- Mary, you mean you're going to haveababy?

George and Mary hug


Watch a video clip from the movie. Speakers/headphones required.
   Slow internet connection (dial-up)
   Fast interner connection (DSL or cable)

Quiz button

Navigation bar

 

 

Back Home Next