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Vera goes crazy when she sees a couple of people whom Rob doesn't even have a clue about. Then she tells him that they are 'celebs'. What is actually the definition of this word?
Is Justin Bieber a celeb?
The script for this programme
Vera: Rob, I'm so excited! Justin Bieber will be leaving the hotel at any minute now. I can hardly wait to see him coming through that door! I want his autograph to add to my collection!
Rob: I have to say though that his music is not to my taste, but it is fun to be in a place where things are happening, I suppose!
Vera: It's him! It's him! I'll take a picture, Rob.
Rob: Who's this, Vera? This isn't Justin Bieber. This guy is much taller and his hair is very dark and it's much longer too.
Vera: This is Forest Trunk.
Rob: Forest who? I've never heard of him! …
Vera: This is one of the eight members of the band 'Wild Boys'. He is a celeb!
Rob: A celeb?! That's not quite right, Vera. Celeb is an informal abbreviation of the word 'celebrity', which is used in English to refer to people who are actually famous. Let's listen to some examples:
- "Elizabeth Taylor was a celeb most of her life. She was taken to Los Angeles as a child and began her film career at the age of nine."
- "I've been taking singing lessons and one day I'll record a song with Justin Bieber and become a celeb like him!"
Vera: Ah, Justin Bieber! Okay Rob, a celebrity or, as we hear a lot nowadays, a celeb, is someone really famous, like … like her!
Rob: Her who?! Who is that woman?
Vera: This is another celeb! It's Margot Marigold!
Rob: Marigold? I've never heard of her.
Vera: She is Forest Trunk's girlfriend. She is a celeb!
Rob: Well, that's the trend nowadays. In our society everything is fast, the world is getting smaller and there is a tendency for people who are not really well-known to be called 'celebs'. So I wouldn't be surprised to find this word everywhere.
Vera: Don't be sad, Rob. For all of us in Learning English you are a celeb! At the last office Christmas party you sang lots of songs and became known even to the staff of other companies in the building.
Rob: Don't remind me of that. They are making fun of me to this day because I was so out of tune.
Vera: Everybody knows you now! You are a celeb, even if they don't like your singing very much.
Rob: I might ask Justin Bieber for some pointers. And, by the way, here he comes!
Vera: That's him! Justin Bieber is coming out of the hotel now. Justin, here! I'm here!
Rob: Justin, teach me to sing! Justin, teach me to sing, lah lah lah…
Vera: Bye.
Rob: Bye.
