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Directions: You are expected to study this section in class. Don’t preview.
- Word Pretest
For each italicized word or expression, choose the best meaning below.
1. Let’s go to the movies tonight.
A. move B. the film C. movement D. exhibition
2. The plane crashed shortly after take-off.
Ａ．speeded up Ｂ．slowed down
Ｃ．had an accident and broke in pieces
Ｄ．had an accident and changed its direction
3. The town was destroyed by the floods after the storm.
A. fire B. overflow of water
C. lightning D. earthquake
4. Apply some medicine to his wound.
A. Put…in B. Put…off C. Put…on D. Put…out
5. It’s difficult to cross the desert by car, but not absolutely impossible.
A. nearly B. often C. always D. completely
6. The whole building was in flames.
A. in confusion B. on fire C. in struggle D. under control
7. The police came to my help instantly.
A. immediately B. closely C. happily D. kindly
8. My car has a device which opens the garage doors.
A. a brake B. a design C. a plan D. an instrument
Key
Text
Cultural Background:
Special effects (also called SPFX or SFX) are used in the film, television, and entertainment industry to realize scenes that cannot be achieved by live action or normal means.
How Do The Movies Do It?
Have you ever seen a movie in which a building was burned down or a bridge was destroyed? Have you seen films in which a train crashed or a ship sank into the ocean? If so, you may have wondered how these things could happen without harming the people in the film.
The man who knows the answer is the “special-effects” man. He has one of the most important jobs in the film industry. He may be ordered to create a flood or to make a battlefield explode. But he may also be asked to create a special effect which is much less exciting, though just as important to the success of the film.
In a scene for one movie there was a big glass bowl filled with water in which small fish were swimming. The director of the movie wanted the fish to stop swimming suddenly while they seemed to stare at an actor. Then the director wanted the fish to stop staring and swim away. But fish can’t be ordered to do anything. It was quite a problem.
The special-effects man thought about this problem for a long time. The result was an idea for controlling the fish with a harmless use of electricity. First he applied electricity to the fish bowl, causing the fish to be absolutely still. Then he rapidly reduced the amount of electricity, allowing the fish to swim away. Thus he got the humorous effect that the director wanted.
As in other parts of movie making, there are those who have developed particular skill in creating certain kinds of effects. Jim White, who has been a special-effects man for thirty-two years. Is best known for work with ships and airplanes.
Calmly he builds and crashes airplanes or sends tiny models of ships on dangerous voyages. For a movie about World War Two he built a boat which was a copy of a real ship. The copy was made of wood and was 165 feet long. As it sailed along at a speed of seven sea miles an hour in the Pacific Ocean, it seemed so real that a United States. Military airplane flew down near it, trying to discover which country owned it.
For fires the special-effects man does not trust the normal burning process of wood or other materials. He does not have time to wait until large flames appear. Usually he places metal pipes in the area that is to be burned. Gas flowing through the pipes burns instantly but can be kept under control easily by opening or closing the pipes.
When explosives are used, as in battlefield scenes, special-effects men usually receive extra pay. There is danger, and sometimes there are accidents. For a large battlefield scene the special-effects man talks with the director, examines the area, and plans the effect several days before the filming is to begin. He then places his explosives. They must not be too powerful in the areas where actors will pass. But there must be enough power so that with sound effects added later the explosions seem real.
The special-effects man may cover two acres of ground with explosives, each connected individually by wire to a special device for controlling the course of an electric current. When the scene begins, he causes explosions in the air by sending up large bags filled with explosives. The bags float in the air and are held by wires. At the right time he makes them explode. If a church tower, for example, must seem to be hit by guns, he puts explosives in several places in the tower. He usually cuts through some of the supports of the tower first so that he can be sure they will fall.
All this requires training, skill, and experience. It also adds a great deal to the expense of producing the film. It helps explain why so many movies are very expensive to make.
Total words: 600
Total reading time: minutes seconds
The text is based on A Reading Spectrum, Book 5, by Virginia French Allen. Washington, D.C., 1985.
Reading Skill: Context Clues to Word Meaning
With the help of the context clues, decide the meaning of he italicized word in each of the following sentences.
1. Disney was not sure people would like it, and the uncertainty worried him.
2. When he made Mickey Mouse talk on the movie screen, audiences — people who saw the movie — sere delighted.
3. Cartoon movies are produced by taking pictures of thousands of drawings. This kind of movie is called an animation.
4. In those days Hollywood was like a magnet, drawing ambitious young men and women from all over the world.
Reading Comprehension
Circle the letter of the best answer.
1. The special-effects men are those who can .
Ａ．burn houses quickly
Ｂ．make a train crash without harming the people
Ｃ．create special effects in the films
Ｄ．have the most important jobs in the film industry
2. In order to control the fish’s swimming in one film, the special-effects man .
Ａ．gave the fish something special to eat
Ｂ．used some fish which were not real
Ｃ．used special cameras
Ｄ．used electricity to control the fish
3. A United States military airplane flew down near the copy of a real ship because .
Ａ．the copy was too big
Ｂ．the copy was so real that the U.S. plane felt suspicious
Ｃ．the U.S. plane wanted to see the film being produced
Ｄ．the film was not allowed to be produced on the public sea
4. The special-effects man liked to use metal pipes in making fires for the following reasons except .
Ａ．the burning of wood cannot have large flames at once
Ｂ．the gas fire can be easily controlled
Ｃ．wood was more expensive
Ｄ．the burning of other materials cannot be trusted
5. When explosives are used, special-effects men usually receive extra pay because .
Ａ．there is danger Ｂ．there will be some accident
Ｃ．it takes a longer time Ｄ．all of the above
6. The special-effects man cause explosions in the air by .
Ａ．using plane to drop explosives
Ｂ．sending up bags full of explosives
Ｃ．using gas pipes to control the explosion
Ｄ．using wires to control the electricity
7. If a church tower must seem to be hit by guns, the special-effects man .
Ａ．uses the model of a church
Ｂ．uses explosives and put them on the roof of the church
Ｃ．puts explosives in some places in the tower
Ｄ．destroys the church first
8. Many films are very expensive to make because .
Ａ． the special-effects add a great deal to the expense
Ｂ．the special-effects men sometimes ask for extra pay
Ｃ．the burning of house, churches, bridges, and ships costs a great deal
Ｄ．the crushing of planes and trains is costly
Vocabulary Building
① Match the following words with their definitions.
accompany look at for a long time
create go with
stare decrease, make less
reduce unchanging
constant make, invent
impress stay on the surface of the water
expense fill someone with admiration
studio distrust
float a place where movies are made
cynicism cost
dwarf female main character in the story
heroine the highest point
grateful scratch away
scrape very short person
peak thankful
Complete the following sentences by using the words listed above. Change the forms if necessary.
1. Since Christmas is coming, we want to redecorate our room, so we
off the old paint on the wall.
2. This man was so to the police who has found his lost child for him
that he wanted to give the police a large amount of money.
3. She asked me to her to the church.
4. All of her are being paid by her company during her visit in the U.S.A.
5. This machine can copies of the original page to half size.
6. She sat there quietly, out of the window.
7. I was greatly by their new house.
8. Oil on water.
②Suffixes
Mary nouns end in suffixes –ence and –ance. Study the examples, and then list some nouns that end in these suffixes in the space provided. Add more if you can.
suffixes examples
-ence existence, independence
-ance disturbance, acceptance
-ence 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
-ance 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Many adjectives end in the suffix –ish. Study the examples, and then list some adjectives that end in this suffix in the space provided. Add more if you can.
suffixes examples
-ish foolish, reddish
-ish 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Fill in each of the blanks with a given word in its proper form.
1. You will be able to overcome the difficulties if you do not lose in yourself. (confident)
2. In zoos, we should keep our from the animals such as bears, tigers, and lions. (distant)
3. They made a plot to kidnap the little girl and then kill her when they got the money. (devil)
4. We shall be very glad to have your at the annual meeting. (present)
5. Now more and more people are realizing the of clean air. (important)
6. It’s a idea that you can travel across the desert alone. (child)
7. It takes a lot of to learn to type. (patient)
8. The sudden of the fairy made the children in the cinema break into cheers. (appear)
- Cloze
Fill in each of the blanks with a word given below.
stars drawings love pictures store
remember collect well-known serious kinds
Almost everyone around the world knows Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny, Snow White, Batman and Charlie Brown. They are famous cartoon . They appear in movies, television programs, newspapers and comic books. Now, people are buying some artists’ made for the famous cartoon movies.
Cartoon movies are produced by taking of thousands of drawings. This kind of movie is called an animation. In the past few years, the drawings for the cartoon movies have been offered for sale.
Jack Solomon owns several stores that deal in animation drawings. He says people
The drawings because they are pictures of the people and animals they knew when they were growing up.
Mr. Solomon says people look at the drawings and the laughter and joy they felt as a child watching a funny cartoon. And they want to buy them.
Jim Young works for a Warner Brothers store in the eastern state of Virginia. He says several of animation drawings are for sale.
Mr. Solomon and Mr. Young think that animation drawings are art. They say famous animators like Walt Disney and Fritz Freleng are as as any famous artist. But one expert says people should not animation art as an investment. She says people should buy them because they like to look at them and want to see them hanging one their walls.
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