Hibiscus Teach · Comedy extra

Learn English with South Park

Two clips. Twelve questions. Very questionable decisions.

Enjoy two funny South Park clips, pick up a few useful English expressions and see how closely you were watching. A quick optional extra for B1–B2 fans.

AdultsB1–B2 English2 short clips6 questions eachAnswers included

Created by Denis M., British English teacher.

Related lessons

C1Cleft Sentences 1: Put the Focus Where It Belongs
B1+–B2South Park: Lesson 5

01 · Cartmanland · 1:36 02 · And It’s Gone · 1:40

Press play on either clip, adjust the volume, then open its quiz. Replay as often as you like.

Cartmanland

The world’s least welcoming theme park advert.

Cartman has his own theme park and a very unusual rule for visitors. Watch his advert, then see what the TV experts make of it and how Kyle reacts.

A little vocabulary

theme park: A place with rides and attractions, often built around a theme.
rides: Attractions you travel on for fun, such as roller coasters.
get in: To enter a place.
get past: To move beyond a person, place or obstacle.

1:36 · YouTube upload: Christopher DavisWatch on YouTube ↗

Listen for Cartman’s repeated rule. The TV presenters speak faster.

Try the Cartmanland quiz · 6 questions

Watch first, then choose one answer for each question. Check your answers for your score and the explanation of each answer.

1. What is Cartman advertising? A new TV programme His own theme park A holiday hotel

He is promoting an amusement park that he owns.

2. Who does Cartman say can enjoy the park? Cartman alone Anyone who buys a ticket His classmates, except Kyle

The advert describes an attraction reserved entirely for its owner.

3. Why does Cartman mention Stan and Kyle by name? They helped build the park They have won free tickets He wants to annoy them personally

He singles them out when explaining who is excluded. The advert is a way of showing off.

4. What happens on the Tornado Twister ride? It stops for ice cream It splashes into water It travels through a school

Cartman describes a roller coaster with a splash at the end.

5. How far does the advert suggest other people can get? To the front of every queue Inside the park after dark As far as the parking area

People can arrive outside, but Cartman will not admit them to the attractions.

6. What do other businesses start doing? Refusing to let customers in too Giving everyone free tickets Asking Cartman to work for them

They copy his strange idea. Even a restaurant and a cinema start keeping customers out.

Automatic scoring needs JavaScript. You can still answer the questions and check the key below.

Answer key and explanations

His own theme park. He is promoting an amusement park that he owns.
Cartman alone. The advert describes an attraction reserved entirely for its owner.
He wants to annoy them personally. He singles them out when explaining who is excluded. The advert is a way of showing off.
It splashes into water. Cartman describes a roller coaster with a splash at the end.
As far as the parking area. People can arrive outside, but Cartman will not admit them to the attractions.
Refusing to let customers in too. They copy his strange idea. Even a restaurant and a cinema start keeping customers out.

1–2 minGrammar in a minuteC1 · A pseudo-cleft focusing the means

“the way he did it was with the brilliant You Can’t Come technique”

Clip 1, quotation excerpt

The way he did it identifies the method as the subject. With the technique supplies the focused means. A new it-cleft can foreground the prepositional phrase while retaining him as the agent.

New practice based on the quote: Choose the new it-cleft preserving the means and agent.It was with the “You Can’t Come” technique that he did it.It was he who prevented the technique from doing it.It was the technique that he did to everybody.

Grammar support

C1Cleft Sentences 1: Put the Focus Where It Belongs

After the quiz: keep talking · 3 questions

Pick one or two questions. Speak for 30–45 seconds on each, on your own or with a partner. Silly answers welcome.

What ridiculous rule would you introduce at your own theme park?
How would you persuade Cartman to let you into his park?
Would being told you cannot go somewhere make you want to go more? Why?

Need an idea? See one example

My park would have one rule: everyone must scream on the slowest ride. Even the staff.

With a partner or tutor: ask “Why?” or “What happens next?” and keep the conversation going.

And It’s Gone

A very short relationship with your savings.

Randy takes Stan to the bank to show him why saving is a good idea. The visit does not go quite as planned.

A little vocabulary

savings: Money you keep to use in the future.
account: An arrangement with a bank for keeping and managing your money.
invest: To put money into something hoping it will increase in value.
step aside: To move out of the way so another person can go next.

1:40 · YouTube upload: Hubert FarnsworthWatch on YouTube ↗

The banker speaks quickly. Follow the situation; you do not need to understand every banking term.

Try the And It’s Gone quiz · 6 questions

Watch first, then choose one answer for each question. Check your answers for your score and the explanation of each answer.

1. How much money does Stan bring to the bank? $10 $100 $1,000

His cheque is worth one hundred dollars.

2. Who gave Stan the money? His grandmother His teacher Cartman

It is a gift from his grandmother.

3. What does Randy want Stan to learn? How to get a job at a bank How to buy a theme park Why saving money matters

Randy expects this visit to encourage a sensible saving habit.

4. What happens just after the banker explains his investment plan? Stan gets a free toaster Stan’s money disappears The bank doubles Stan’s money

The confident explanation ends with an immediate loss.

5. What happens when Randy tries to sort things out? He gets Stan’s money back He becomes the bank manager His own money disappears too

The banker proposes combining their funds, with the same disastrous result.

6. What makes the banker’s response especially ridiculous? He loses their money, then dismisses them for having none He refuses to speak to anyone wearing a hat He asks Stan to explain how banking works

He treats the customers as the inconvenience after causing their problem.

Automatic scoring needs JavaScript. You can still answer the questions and check the key below.

Answer key and explanations

$100. His cheque is worth one hundred dollars.
His grandmother. It is a gift from his grandmother.
Why saving money matters. Randy expects this visit to encourage a sensible saving habit.
Stan’s money disappears. The confident explanation ends with an immediate loss.
His own money disappears too. The banker proposes combining their funds, with the same disastrous result.
He loses their money, then dismisses them for having none. He treats the customers as the inconvenience after causing their problem.

1–2 minGrammar in a minuteC1 · A fused relative as an unrestricted object

“buy whatever I want”

Clip 2, quotation excerpt

Whatever I want means anything that I want. The clause is the object of buy; whatever does not introduce a separate concession meaning regardless of what happens.

Which full expansion preserves the unrestricted object and the original chooser?buy one fixed item, whatever anyone else wantsbuy whoever wants to purchase mebuy anything that I choose to buy

Grammar support

C1–C2Advanced Noun Clauses

After the quiz: keep talking · 3 questions

Pick one or two questions. Speak for 30–45 seconds on each, on your own or with a partner. Silly answers welcome.

You are Stan. What would you say to the banker after your money disappears?
You are the bank manager. Invent the worst possible excuse for losing a customer’s money.
Make a funny advert for this terrible bank. What would its slogan be?

Need an idea? See one example

Welcome to our bank! We save you time by losing your money immediately.

With a partner or tutor: ask “Why?” or “What happens next?” and keep the conversation going.

1–2 minGrammar masteryB2 · An ongoing passive to active

“this technique is already being applied by businesses all over the country”

Clip 1, quotation excerpt

Is being applied is present continuous passive. The active version makes businesses the subject and keeps are applying.

Which active version preserves both the agent and the ongoing present?Businesses all over the country are already applying this technique.Businesses all over the country have already applied this technique.Businesses all over the country were already applying this technique.

Grammar support

B1–B2The Passive Voice

More practice

Try another lesson with film or television clips.

B1–B2South Park: Lesson 2
B2South Park: Lesson 6

Fancy another clip? Explore more English video activities in Vids.

South Park clips hosted on YouTube. Vocabulary and quizzes: Hibiscus Teach. This independent fan activity is not affiliated with South Park.