intro


There is something special about every city. Many cities have nice parks. Others have interesting museums. Some cities are near the ocean, and others are near the mountains. The city of Portland, Oregon, is a very creative city. Portland is special because of its wacky events. Hordes of people ride their bikes in a naked bike ride every summer, for example. In 2016, more than 10,000 people came to this event!

Another Portland event that can boggle the mind is the Bowie versus Prince bike ride. For this bike ride, people dress up as David Bowie or as Prince. Then, they all ride around the city as they blast songs from those two musicians. People can’t help but have a great time! But sadly, both Prince and Bowie passed in 2016. Will the bike ride continue in 2017? Or is it the end of this epic event?

Marni and Jordin are talking about Portland’s wacky events. Listen to this English lesson to find out what they think.
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Dialogue
Marni: So, going to Portland…
Jordin:  Awesome.
Marni:  ...a city known for many things, among them, wacky bike rides.
Jordin:  Yes!
Marni:  You may be familiar with the naked bike ride.
Jordin:  I’ve heard of that one.
Marni:  It’s kind of hard not to hear about that.
Jordin:  Hordes of people on bikes with no clothes on.
Marni:  Right. It does kind of boggle the mind.
Jordin:  Yes.
Marni:  A lesser-known bike ride, and somewhat fascinating, considering the year that we’ve had… There’s an annual Prince versus Bowie bike ride. 
Jordin:  What?!
Marni:  I can’t help but think that this year that bike ride is going to be epic. 
Jordin:  Yes.
Marni:  People dress up as one or the other, or both if you’re very creative, and blast Prince and Bowie, and just ride through the streets of Portland.
Jordin:  Oh my gosh, that’s amazing. I want to go to Portland just for this event.

Marni:  I think that this year it’ll be particularly amazing. I’ll be there.


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Discussion.


Marni can’t help but be excited. She’s going to Portland, Oregon! Jordin already knows that Portland has some wacky events. For example, she knows about the naked bike ride. Hordes of people on bikes with no clothes on? Both Jordin and Marni think that this event must boggle the mind! But, that’s not why Marni is going in Portland.
Marni is going to Portland because of the annual Bowie versus Prince bike ride. She tells Jordin that people dress up in creative costumes. Then, they ride together through the streets of Portland as they blast the music of Bowie and Prince. Jordin is shocked. Now, she really wants to go on this bike ride with Marni. It’s going to be epic!
Do you like to dress up in creative costumes and go on bike rides? Or do you have a different kind of hobby?
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Grammar Point
The Prepositions
Marni is going to Portland soon. She describes Portland as “a city known for many things, among them, wacky bike rides.” Marni uses a preposition.
Prepositions are words that locate something in time and space. They tell us where something is in relation to the things around it. Here are some examples:
“The bird is singing in the tree.”
“She walked through the door at 6:00.”
“I climbed over the wall.”
“We are sitting between our brothers.”
Among is a preposition that means in a group. Among them means one thing from a group. Portland is “a city known for many things, among them, wacky bike rides.” The naked bike ride is one famous thing, but there are many other famous things in Portland.
Here are a few more examples. Hollywood is known for many movie stars, among them, Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. Our solar system has many planets, among them, Earth, Mars, and Jupiter. Her family has several pets, among them, two dogs and a cat. Can you think of another sentence with the preposition among?
Other common prepositions include: above, across, around, before, behind, below, by, down, during, for, from, in, inside, into, near, of, onto, off, over, to, under, up, with and without. There are many more!
Which is correct, “He is the smartest among all the students,” or, “He is the smartest among them all the students”?



Vocab
creative adj.
Definition
able to make new and original ideas or things
Example
Pablo Picasso was an incredibly creative person.
wacky adj.
Definition
crazy, ridiculous, weird, strange; silly
Example
Holly is such a wacky, funny girl.
horde n.
Definition
very large group
Example
Hordes of people go to Disneyworld every year. It’s a very popular vacation spot.
boggle the mind expr.
Definition
make a person feel shocked
Example
It really does boggle the mind to think about outer space. There are so, so many stars up there!
versus prep.
Definition
against another person or thing; in a competition
Example
Are you going to watch the fight tonight? It’s Mike Tyson versus The Rock!
dress up v.
Definition
wear nice clothing; wear a costume
Example
My sister dressed up as a princess for the costume party.
Monica loves to dress up and eat dinner at nice restaurants.
blast v.
Definition
play music at a loud volume
Example
My neighbor likes to blast rock music all day long.
can't help but expr.
Definition
have no other choice and must do something
Example
We can’t help but laugh at how silly that dog is. He’s running around with a bucket on his head!
epic adj.
Definition
beyond the ordinary, much bigger and broader than normal
Example
The show was really epic. There was smoke and lights and dancers. It was amazing.
annual adj.
Definition
happening once every year
Example
We are having our annual party on Sunday, July 22. Can you come?

From <http://www.englishbaby.com/lesson_vocab/list/7216?context=portable#19720>