9th grade 

: Unit 3. An audition for the Voice US! Worksheet 3.1

An Open Letter to NyC

(from the album “To the 5 Boroughs” (2004) by Beastie Boys)

Listen all you New Yorkers

Put the lines in order:

(…) Asian, Middle-Eastern and Latin
(…) Black, White, New York you make it happen
(…) Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten
(…) From the Battery to the top of Manhattan

Circle the correct word:

Brownstones, water towers, teas/trees, skyscrapers
Writers, prize fighters and Wall Street traders/graders
We come together on the subway cars
Diversity unoccupied/unified, whoever you are
We're doing fine on the One and Nine line
On the L we're doin' swell
On the number Ten bus we fight/light and fuss
You know we're borrow/thorough in the boroughs ‘cause that's a must
I remember when the Duece was all porno flicks
Running home after school to play PIXXX
At lunch/brunch I'd go to Blimpies down on Montague Street
And hit the Fulton Street Mall for the sneakers/speakers on my feet
Dear New York I hope you're doing well
I know/now a lot's happen and you've been through hell
So, we give thanks for providing a tome/home
Through your dates/gates at Ellis Island we passed in droves

Put the lines in order:

(…) From the Battery to the top of Manhattan
(…) Black, White, New York you make it happen
(…) Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten
(…) Asian, Middle-Eastern and Latin

Fill in the gaps with the words you hear: electric, everybody, Dianna Ross, Hippies, Manhattan, New York,
together

The L.I.E. the B.Q.E

❶ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- at the band shell with the
L.S.D.
Get my BVD's from VIM
You know I'm reppin' ❷ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- the best I
can
Stopped off at Bleeker Bob's got thrown out
Sneakin' in at 4:00 am after going out
You didn't rob me in the park at Diana Ross
But ❸ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- started looting when the light went
off
From the South South Bronx on out to Queens Bridge
From Hollis Queens right down to Bay Ridge
From Castle Hill to the Lower East Side
From 1010 WINS to Live At Five
Dear ❹ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- this is a love letter
To you and how you brought us ❺ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We can't say enough about all you do
'Cause in the city were ourselves and ❻ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- too

Put the lines in order:

(…) Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten
(…) From the Battery to the top of Manhattan
(…) Black, White, New York you make it happen
(…) Asian, Middle-Eastern and Latin

Circle the correct word:

Shout out the South Bronx where my mom/calm hails from
Right next to High Bridge across from Harlem
To the Grand Concourse where my mom/calm and dad met
Before they moved on down to the Upper West
I see you're still wrong/strong after all that's gone on
Wife/Life long we dedicate this song
Just a little something to show some respect
To the city that blends and mends and tests
Since 911 we're still livin'
And lovin' life we've been given
Ain't nothing gonna take that away from us
Were lookin' pretty and gritty 'cause in the city we trust
Dear New York I know a lot has changed
2 towers down but you're still in the game/fame
Home to the many rejecting know one
Accepting peoples of all places, wherever they're from

Put the lines in order:

(…) From the Battery to the top of Manhattan
(…) Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten
(…) Black, White, New York you make it happen
(…) Asian, Middle-Eastern and Latin

Put the lines in order:

(…) From the Battery to the top of Manhattan
(…) Black, White, New York you make it happen
(…) Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten
(…) Asian, Middle-Eastern and Latin
 9th grade : Unit 3. An audition for the Voice US! Worksheet 3.2

An Open Letter to NyC

(from the album “To the 5 Boroughs” (2004) by Beastie Boys)

How well did you understand the lyrics?

1. What does the extract “Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten” refer to?
a. Four of New York’s five boroughs.
b. Four of the members of the Beastie Boys.
c. Four friends of the Beastie Boys who passed away during the 9/11 attacks.

2. In “From the Battery to the top of Manhattan”, the Beastie Boys refer to …
a. a musical instrument.
b. the southern part of the island of Manhattan.
c. the power in their cellphones.

3. In “We come together on the subway cars”, subway cars refer to…
a. A typical sandwich from New York City
b. The underground railway in New York City
c. The model of a car that you can only see in New York

4. “We're doing fine on the One and Nine line” is …

a. a train line running from lower Manhattan up to the Bronx.
b. a train that comes into New York City at 1 a.m., 1 p.m., 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.

5. “You know we're thorough in the boroughs ‘cause that's a must” means
a. that it’s safe to live in NYC.
b. living in NYC is like living in any other city of the world.
c. living in NYC requires to be tough.

6. The kids were “running home after school to play PIXXX” because…
a. PIXXX is a game that can only be played on cellphones.
b. PIXXX is a game that can only be played on TV.
c. PIXXX is a game that can only be played on the radio.

7. “At lunch I'd go to Blimpies down on Montague Street

And hit the Fulton Street Mall for the sneakers on my feet”
a. refers to the writers of the song who used to go a store to buy shoes.
b. refers to the writers of the song who used to hit other classmates when they were kids.
c. refers to the writers of the song who used to eat their lunch out in the streets of New York.

8. “So, we give thanks for providing a home

Through your gates at Ellis Island we passed in droves” means that…
a. The writers were illegal immigrants so they had to climb over the gates
b. The writers were, like most immigrants, coming into the USA through Ellis Island.

9. Why do the writers of the song hope New York is “doing well”? Justify your answer with two extracts
from the song.