Edith Piaf

Edith Piaf (1915-1963) was a French singer and one of her country’s best-known cultural icons. She is probably France’s greatest ever singer and sang classics such as ‘La vie en rose’. She was so popular that 100,000 people attended her funeral in Paris and traffic came to a standstill. There is a museum in Paris dedicated to her memory.

She was born Edith Gassion in a poor suburb of Paris. Piaf’s parents abandoned her when she was a child and she lived with her grandmother. When she was 14, she teamed up with her acrobat father. She toured France with him and sang in public for the first time. Aged 16, she went her own way and became a street singer.

In 1935, Piaf was discovered by a nightclub owner, who asked her to sing in his club. He gave her the nickname Little Sparrow because she was so small. She was an instant success and began to mix with the rich and famous of Paris. During World War II, she frequently performed for German officers and many considered her a traitor.

Piaf became famous worldwide after the war. However, her personal life hit many low points. Her lover died in a plane crash in 1949 and in the 1950s she had three near-fatal car crashes and became addicted to morphine and alcohol. In 1961, she recorded her famous song "Non, je ne regrette rien". It was one of the last songs she sang.

244 words

Аудио

 

 

 

SYNONYM MATCH: Match the words from the article on the left with their synonyms on the right.

Paragraphs 1 and 2
1.	icons	a.	stop
2	standstill	b.	deserted
3.	dedicated	c.	traveled around
4.	suburb	d.	given
5.	abandoned	e.	symbols
6.	toured	f.	residential area
Paragraphs 3 and 4
7.	discovered	g.	deadly
8.	instant	h.	regularly
9.	frequently	i.	globally
10.	worldwide	j.	hooked on
11	fatal	k	immediate
12	addicted to	l	found

 

PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article.

1.	one of her country’s best-known	a.	dedicated to her memory
2	traffic came	b.	many low points
3.	There is a museum in Paris	c.	Little Sparrow
4.	Piaf’s parents abandoned her	d.	her own way
5.	she went	e.	songs she sang
6.	he gave her the nickname	f.	cultural icons
7.	she frequently performed	g.	when she was a child
8.	her personal life hit	h.	morphine and alcohol
9.	addicted to	i.	to a standstill
10.	It was one of the last	j.	for German officers

 

LISTENING GAP FILL:

Edith Piaf (1915-1963) was a French singer _____________ country’s best-known cultural icons. She is probably France’s _____________ singer and sang ______________ ‘La vie en rose’. She was so popular that 100,000 people attended her funeral in Paris and traffic came to a standstill. There is a museum in Paris _______________ memory.

She was born Edith Gassion _______________ of Paris. Piaf’s parents abandoned her when she was a child and she lived with her grandmother. When she was 14, she teamed _______________ acrobat father. She toured France _______________ in public for the first time. Aged 16, she went _______________ became a street singer.

In 1935, Piaf was discovered by a nightclub owner, _______________ sing in his club. He gave her the nickname Little Sparrow because she was so small. ________________ success and _______________ the rich and famous of Paris. During World War II, she frequently performed for German officers and many considered _______________.

Piaf became famous worldwide after the war. However, her personal ________________ points. Her lover died in a plane crash in 1949 and in the 1950s she had _______________ car crashes and became _______________ morphine and alcohol. In 1961, she recorded her famous song "Non, je ne regrette rien". It was one _______________ she sang.

 

CHOOSE THE CORRECT WORD:

Delete the wrong word in each of the pairs in italics.

Edith Piaf (1915-1963) was a French / France singer and one of her country’s best-known cultural / culturally icons. She is probably France’s greatest ever singer and sang classics such as ‘La vie en rose’. She was so / too popular that 100,000 people attended her funeral in Paris and traffic came to a standstill. There is a museum in Paris dedicated to / by her memory.

She was born Edith Gassion in a poverty / poor suburb of Paris. Piaf’s parents abandoned / abandoning her when she was a child and she lived with her grandmother. When she was 14, she teamed down / up with her acrobat father. She toured France with him and sang out / in public for the first time. Aged 16, she went her own way and became a street singer.

In 1935, Piaf was discovery / discovered by a nightclub owner, who asked her to sing in his club. He gave her the nickname Little Sparrow because she was so / too small. She was an instantly / instant success and began to mix / mixture with the rich and famous of Paris. During World War II, she frequently performed for German officers and many considered her a traitor.

Piaf became famous / fame worldwide after the war. However, her personal life hit many low points. Her lover died in / on a plane crash in 1949 and in the 1950s she had three near-fatal car crashes and became addicted to / for morphine and alcohol. In 1961, she recording / recorded her famous song "Non, je ne regrette rien". It was one of the last songs she sang.

 

SPELLING:  

These jumbled words are from the text. Spell them correctly.

Paragraph 1
1.	cultural isonc
2.	sang sslciasc such as ‘La vie en rose’
3.	100,000 people attended her lnuefar
4.	There  is a museum in Paris dedicated to her remmyo
Paragraph 2
5.	a poor ubburs of Paris
6.	Piaf’s parents naodnedab her when she was a child
7.	she eemtad up with her acrobat father
8.	She ruoted France with him
Paragraph 3
9.	Piaf was eorvsdicde by a nightclub owner
10.	She was an aittnsn success
11.	she ytneeruqlf performed for German officers
12.	many considered her a rroiatt
Paragraph 4
13.	her rsneolpa life hit many low points
14.	Her leovr died in a plane crash
15.	three near-ltfaa car crashes
16.	addicted to morphine and chlaolo

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

(    )	In 1935, Piaf was discovered by a nightclub owner, who asked her to sing in his club. He gave her
( 1 )	Edith Piaf (1915-1963) was a French singer and one of her country’s best-known cultural
(    )	the name Little Sparrow because she was so small. She was an instant success and began to mix with the rich and
(    )	standstill. There is a museum in Paris dedicated to her memory.
(    )	morphine and alcohol. In 1961, she recorded her famous song "Non, je ne regrette rien". It was
(    )	She was born Edith Gassion in a poor suburb of Paris. Piaf’s parents abandoned her
(    )	when she was a child and she lived with her grandmother. When she was 14, she teamed up with her acrobat father. She
(    )	toured France with him and sang in public for the first time. Aged 16, she went her own way and became a street singer.
(    )	one of the last songs she sang.
(    )	Piaf became famous worldwide after the war. However, her personal life hit many low points. Her lover
(    )	famous of Paris. During World War II, she frequently performed for German
(    )	popular that 100,000 people attended her funeral in Paris and traffic came to a
(    )	officers and many considered her a traitor.
(    )	died in a plane crash in 1949 and in the 1950s she had three near-fatal car crashes and became addicted to
(    )	icons. She is probably France’s greatest ever singer and sang classics such as ‘La vie en rose’. She was so

 

SCRAMBLED SENTENCES

With your partner, put the words back into the correct order.

1.	-   of   known   her   cultural   country’s   icons   best   one
2.	She   funeral  her  attended   people  100,000   that   popular   so   was
3.	her   is   in   to   There   museum   dedicated   memory   a   Paris
4.	she   parents   was   abandoned   a   her   child   when   Piaf’s
5.	street   went   way   a   she   own   became   singer   her   and
6.	Piaf   by   owner   ,   discovered   nightclub   1935   was   a   In
7.	gave   the   Little   He   her   nickname   Sparrow
8.	low   her   life   many   points   personal   hit
9.	three   had   she   crashes   car   fatal   -   near
10.	was   songs   one   she   of   sang   the   It   last

ANSWERS

SYNONYM MATCH:

Paragraphs 1 and 2
1.	icons	a.	symbols
2	standstill	b.	stop
3.	dedicated	c.	given
4.	suburb	d.	residential area
5.	abandoned	e.	deserted
6.	toured	f.	traveled around
Paragraphs 3 and 4
7.	discovered	g.	found
8.	instant	h.	immediate
9.	frequently	i.	regularly
10.	worldwide	j.	globally
11	fatal	k	deadly
12	addicted to	l	hooked on

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	one of her country’s best-known	a.	cultural icons
2	traffic came	b.	to a standstill
3.	There is a museum in Paris	c.	dedicated to her memory
4.	Piaf’s parents abandoned her	d.	when she was a child
5.	she went	e.	her own way
6.	he gave her the nickname	f.	Little Sparrow
7.	she frequently performed	g.	for German officers
8.	her personal life hit	h.	many low points
9.	addicted to	i.	morphine and alcohol
10.	It was one of the last	j.	songs she sang