Vocabulary - JUNO


Juno is a 2007 comedy-drama film about Juno, a 16-year-old high-school junior, who discovers she's pregnant after one event in a chair with her best friend, Paulie Bleeker. In the waiting room of an abortion clinic, the quirky and whip-sharp Juno decides to give birth and to place the child with an adoptive couple. She finds one in the Penny Saver personals, contacts them, tells her dad and step-mother, and carries on with school. The chosen parents, upscale yuppies (one of whom is cool and laid back, the other meticulous and uptight), meet Juno, sign papers, and the year unfolds.

Task 1: Contextual Awareness and Understanding

Watch the video excerpt from the film in which Juno tries to tell her parents about her pregnancy and answer the following questions.
Click here to watch the video

Video ©Fox Searchlight




Task 2 Phrasal Verbs

A phrasal verb is a verb plus a preposition and/or an adverb which creates a meaning different from the original verb. For example in the video excerpt,

spit it out = to say it quickly

ask for = request to have or be given

give it up = stop doing it or stop trying.

figure out = find the answer to a problem

rip off = charge excessively or cheat

Phrasal verbs are very common in spoken and written English, so you need them to understand natural English and to sound more natural when speaking English.


  1. Match the phrasal verbs with their definitions. In some cases the phrasal word may have more meanings than the one given in this exercise.



  2. Complete the following sentences with the phrasal verbs provided in the box. Remember to use the correct grammatical form of the words.





Task 1: Contextual Awareness and Understanding

The unplanned pregnancy and the subsequent events put pressures of adult life onto young Juno. Watch another excerpt from the film which shows Juno’s conversation with her father after she learns about the marriage break-up of the couple who were to adopt her baby. Juno is now having doubts about relationships and the meaning of love.

Read the sentences from this clip below and replace the underlined parts by choosing the option with the closest meaning.
Click here to watch the video

Video ©Fox Searchlight




Task 2: Collocation

The following sentences are selected from the excerpt. Rearrange the words to make correct sentences.





Vocabulary Roundup

You can memorize a word more effectively by associating it with its antonyms. An antonym of a word is a word with an opposite meaning. For example, the word ‘wet’ is an antonym of the word ‘dry’ and vice versa.

The words in the left-hand column are selected from the clips/ tasks above. Match them with their antonyms in the right-hand column.




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