Thought Questions

THE TEN MOST MEMORABLE BORES

Margot Mifflin

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1		Cosmopolitan Magazine This article originally appeared in Cosmopolitan magazine. Visit the website for the magazine. Look around the site for a while, and try to draw some conclusions about the magazine's target audience. What kind of people is Cosmopolitan hoping to attract? Are they people like yourself? If not, how are they different? How does this knowledge affect your reading of Mifflin's piece? Do you think most people who enjoyed her article would also enjoy the magazine? Why or why not?



2		Your List The Boring Institute describes itself as "a clearinghouse for information about both the serious and humorous aspects of boredom around the world." If you visit their website, you will find a link to the list of the "Most Boring Celebrities of the Year." Clearly, there are numerous ways to divide boring people! Look at the list on the site, and then look again at Mifflin's list. Now, make your own list of boring people. How did you categorize them? What S.O.P. did you use? Did you include bores in your private life, or bores in the public realm?

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