Penguin Readers Factsheets
level
E
T e a c h e r’s n o t e s
1
2
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas
3
4
5
by Ellen Miles
6
ELEMENTARY
S U M M A R Y
ack in the Stone Age, an alien from another planet,
Gazoo, is sent to Earth to observe humans and find
out about ‘love’.
Near the town of Bedrock, Wilma Slaghoople lives with
her rich parents in a huge house, but she is bored with her
life and the man she is going to marry, the fabulously rich
Chip Rockefeller, and wants to find out about life in
Bedrock. She leaves home and meets Betty O’Shale, a
waitress. Betty takes Wilma in and gets her a job as a
waitress, thinking that she is penniless and living on the
streets.
Meanwhile Gazoo has met Fred Flintstone and Barney
Rubble who have just gotten jobs in the local quarry and
takes them to Bronto King, the restaurant where Wilma
and Betty work. Fred and Barney arrange a date with the
girls at the Bedrock Party in the Park, where they all have
a good time and Fred and Wilma, and Barney and Betty
fall in love. Chip invites the four friends to have a vacation
at his casino in Rock Vegas.
Chip is secretly planning to win back Wilma. He pays for
Fred to start gambling and lets him win a lot of money.
Gazoo tries to stop Fred from gambling all his winnings,
but fails. Then Fred wins again.
Chip changes the machines from ‘win’ to ‘lose’ and Fred
starts to lose. Chip plans another trick. He persuades
Wilma to give him her expensive pearls, then announces
that they have been stolen. Fred and Barney are arrested
and put in prison. Gazoo arrives and shows Fred that Chip
doesn’t really have any money and needs to marry Wilma
to get her money so that he can pay his debts. Barney
tells Betty that he loves her. Finally, Fred goes on stage
and proposes to Wilma who says yes.
‘Yabba Dabba Doo’!
But how will Gazoo get home?
BACKGROUND AND THEMES
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas is the second movie
to come from the long-running TV series, ‘The Flintstones’.
The TV series is one of the longest running cartoon series
on TV and owes its success to the fact that the way of life
© Pearson Education 2001
in the Stone Age accurately reflects modern life but
without the benefits that electricity provides. Vacuum
cleaners, cars and all the other luxuries of today’s world
exist, but they are driven by dinosaurs or the characters
themselves. The first movie spin-off from the TV series
came out in 1994 (The Flintstones), and The Flintstones in
Viva Rock Vegas appeared a few years later.
In The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas we are taken back
in time to before the characters are married to see where
they came from and how they met and eventually married.
They come from very different backgrounds – Wilma is a
bored rich girl, Betty is a waitress in a fast food restaurant,
Fred and Barney just want to get jobs working in a quarry.
The two worlds of the rich and the working class collide
when they meet.
The story of the movie and the book is the choice
between money and happiness.
Wilma is rich and going to be married to Chip, who
owns a lot of hotels and casinos.
Betty is the kind-hearted waitress in the fast-food
restaurant. She falls in love with Barney .
Fred and Barney are working-class men who want good
jobs, which they get at the local quarry. But they also want
to meet girls, so Gazoo helps them to meet Wilma and
Betty. Fred finally realizes that Wilma loves him, not
money. Barney loves Betty. Chip is only interested in
money. He is badly in debt. He tries every trick to win
Wilma, knowing that her money will save him, but he is
found out and he loses.
In the end, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas is an
attempt to translate a cartoon into real life, and shouldn’t
be taken too seriously. It’s a lot of fun.
THE FLINTSTONES IN VIVA ROCK VEGAS
B
Penguin Readers Factsheets
T e a c h e r’s n o t e s
THE FLINTSTONES IN VIVA ROCK VEGAS
Communicative activities
The following teacher-led activities cover the same sections
of text as the exercises at the back of the Reader and
supplement those exercises. For supplementary exercises
covering shorter sections of the book, see the photocopiable
Student's Activities pages of this Factsheet. These are
primarily for use with class readers but, with the exception of
the discussion and pair/groupwork activities, can also be
used by students working alone in a self-access center.
ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK
1 Put students into groups. Ask them if they have ever
seen ‘The Flintstones’ on TV. If they have, how many of
the characters can they remember? Which group can
remember the most names?
2 Ask students to look at the cover of the book and
answer these questions.
(a) When do you think that the story is set?
(b) What do you think life would have been like at that
time?
(c) Where do you think that ‘Rock Vegas’ really is?
What do you know about it?
ACTIVITIES AFTER READING A SECTION
Chapters 1 & 2
1 In pairs or small groups, students imagine that they
have been sent to a strange planet as ‘Observers’.
They decide which planet they will visit. What will they
look for? What do they think they will they find?
2 Put students into groups. Ask them to write definitions
of the following words without using the words
themselves. Then they give the definitions to another
group and this group has to say which words they are
describing.
stupid rich intelligent beautiful expensive wonderful
Chapters 3–5
1 In pairs or small groups, students choose another title
for each chapter. Each title must be an actual sentence
from the chapter. The group must also give reasons
why they chose the sentences.
ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK
Put students into small groups. They discuss the following
question.
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas is a story about
relationships between people. What do you learn from it
about people and their relationships?
Glossary
It will be useful for your students to know the following new words. They
are practiced in the ‘Before You Read’ sections of exercises at the back of
the book. (Definitions are based on those in the Longman Active Study
Dictionary.)
Chapters 1 & 2
alien (n) a creature from another world
casino (n) a place where people try to win money by playing card
games, etc
cousin (n) the child of your uncle or aunt
Earth (n) the world that we live in
guy (n) a man
observe (v) to watch someone or something carefully
quarry (n) a place where large amounts of stone, sand, etc are dug
out of the ground
rock (n) stone that forms part of the earth’s surface
spaceship (n) a vehicle for carrying people through space
trouble (n) problems that make something difficult, make you worry,
etc
Chapters 3–5
clam (n) a shellfish that you can eat. It has two shells that open and
close
date (n) an occasion when you arrange to meet someone that you like
in a romantic way
kiss (v) to touch someone with your lips to show them love
pearl (n) a small hard round white object that is formed inside the
shell of an oyster and is very valuable
pocket (n) a small bag sewn into a coat, pants, etc that you can put
money or keys into
thief (n) someone who steals things
Chapters 6–8
alarm (n) something such as a bell or light that warns people of
danger
jail (n) a place where criminals are kept as part of their punishment
key (n) a small specially shaped piece of metal which you use to lock
or unlock a door
2 Put students into small groups and ask them to answer
the following questions.
(a) At the end of Chapter 3, how did Wilma, Betty, Fred,
and Barney feel? Give reasons for your answers.
(b) How did Chip and Fred feel at the end of Chapter 4?
Do you think that Chip is being honest?
(c) What do you think that Chip will do next?
(d) What do you think Betty will do now?
Chapters 6–8
Put students into pairs. They should make up a
conversation between either Fred and Wilma or Barney
and Betty at the end of the book. They should discuss
what has happened and what will happen in the future.
© Pearson Education 2001
Published and distributed by Pearson Education
Factsheet written by David Francis
Factsheet series developed by Louise James
level
2
Penguin Readers Factsheets
level
E
Student’s activities
1
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas
2
3
Photocopiable
4
Students can do these exercises alone or with one or more
other students. Pair/group-only activities are marked.
5
Activities before reading the book
6
1 Read the Introduction. Then answer these questions.
Activities while reading the book
Chapters 1 & 2
1 Describe Gazoo’s reaction when he hears that he is
being sent to Earth. Why does he feel like this?
2 Match these people’s first names to their surnames
(a) Barney
(b) Wilma
(c) Pearl
(d) Fred
(e) Chip
(f) Betty
(i) Rubble
(ii) O’Shale
(iii Flintstone
(iv) Slaghoople
(v) Slaghoople
(vi) Rockefeller
3 Who said these things? Who were they talking to?
(a) My legs are really ugly!
(b) The only trouble is – the test is today.
(c) You want a job. Now do it right.
(d) But I’m talking about a girl.
(e) Is there any intelligent life around here?
(f) They’re people. Maybe we’re richer than them,
but we aren’t better.
(g) Let’s go to Bedrock! We can have a good time
there.
(h) I really want to see inside an apartment.
© Pearson Education 2001
CHAPTERS 3–5
Chapter 3
1 Put these events in the correct order.
(a) Barney looked at Betty. Betty looked at Barney.
(b) Fred and Wilma went on the Love Train.
(c) Betty saw her boyfriend kissing another girl.
(d) Fred kissed the baby dinosaur.
(e) Fred kissed Wilma.
(f) Fred shot three rocks and won a dinosaur egg.
(g) Pearl thinks that Betty is Wilma’s cleaner
(h) Wilma agrees to go to the party.
(i) Pearl arrived at Wilma’s house.
2 Answer these questions.
(a) Who can see Gazoo and who cannot?
(b) What did Betty do to her boyfriend?
(c) Where did Fred and Barney take Wilma and
Betty on their first date?
(d) How did Dino help Fred kiss Wilma?
(e) What do you think Pearl thinks about Betty? Do
you think that she likes her?
Chapter 4
Are these sentences true or false? Correct the false ones.
(a) Fred was going to give Wilma a pearl.
(b) Wilma wore blue and Betty wore white.
(c) Betty was happy that Wilma lived in a big house.
(d) Wilma is happy that Chip is at the party.
(e) Wilma’s father gave her a small string of pearls.
(f) Fred is pleased when Dino arrives.
(g) Chip is pleased that Wilma and Fred are in love.
Chapter 5
Who does these these things? Put in the right name.
(a) ………. says that Chip has to pay the money he
owes.
(b) ………. gambles all his money on the number
seven.
(c) ……….warns Fred that something is wrong in the
casino.
(d) ………. paid for the hotel rooms and the tickets.
(e) ………. thought that Fred wasn’t interested in
money.
(f) ………. saw Barney with another girl.
ELEMENTARY
THE FLINTSTONES IN VIVA ROCK VEGAS
(a) Who are the four main characters in
‘The Flintstones?’
(b) Who is Gazoo?
(c) Where does he come from?
(d) What does he have to do on Earth
(e) What was the first Flintstones movie?
(f) Where was Viva Rock Vegas filmed?
2 Read the Introduction again. Do you think Fred and
Wilma and Barney and Betty will fall in love?
Why/Why not?
Penguin Readers Factsheets
Student’s activities
THE FLINTSTONES IN VIVA ROCK VEGAS
CHAPTERS 6–8
1 Match the beginnings (a–j) and endings (i–x) of these
sentences.
(a) Why does he want another girl
(b) The new casino, the Rocks,
(c) In front of them,
(d) Chip carefully put Wilma’s pearls in Fred’s
pocket.
(e) So you took the pearls
(f) A Neanderthal sat outside
(g) Dino jumped to the ground
(h) Back at the hotel,
(i) They went into a small room
(j) So I came up behind him
(i) Fred didn’t feel anything.
(ii) and gave them to Flintstone.
(iii) when he’s got you?
(iv) and watched them.
(v) and now a thief in the hotel.
(vi) Wilma and Betty were in their room.
(vii) and gave him a good kick.
(viii) and ran out of the jail.
(ix) and closed the door behind them.
(x) two Neanderthals fought with their hands.
Activities after reading the book
1 What do you think will happen to these people after
the story ends?
(a) Wilma and Fred
(b) Chip
(c) Gazoo
2 Which parts of the book do you like the best?
Explain why.
2 Answer these questions.
(a) What happens when Chip pulls the dinosaur leg
in the casino?
(b) How does Chip plan to make Wilma marry him?
(c) How do Dino and Gazoo help Fred and Barney
escape from jail?
(d) How do Fred and Barney get back into the
theatre?
(e) Why does Chip say to Wilma, “I can’t live without
you.”
(f) What do you think happens to Chip at the end of
the story?
© Pearson Education 2001
Published and distributed by Pearson Education
Factsheet written by David Francis
Factsheet series developed by Louise James
level
2