Name and Surname: ……………………………………………………………………………… Date:

Group:

Reading /10

Matt Groening

The Simpsons first appeared on TV screens in the USA in 1989. Twenty years later, it’s one of the most
popular cartoons in the world. But what do you know about the programme’s designer, Matt
Groening?
On his first day at school, Matt started drawing in class. He often didn’t listen in class because he was
drawing and his teachers were cross with him. After he left school, Matt worked for a newspaper in Los
Angeles, but he drew cartoons in his free time. In 1988, a TV company contacted him and his career
as an animator began. When he was developing his first ideas for cartoon characters, Matt drew
animals, like rabbits. He started drawing humans later and found that he could draw them more
quickly. Matt made his characters yellow so that people could find the programme quickly when they
were changing channels. And why do they always wear the same clothes? Because that way, it’s
quicker and easier to draw them.
1 Read the article. Answer the questions using long sentences. (10 marks)

1 In what year did The Simpsons begin? _______________________________________

2 Why was Matt’s drawing sometimes a problem at school? _____________________________________
3 Why did Matt decide that yellow was a good colour for the Simpsons? ________________________
4 Why do the Simpsons always wear the same clothes? _______________________________________
5 What aspect of his job does Matt think is amazing? _______________________________________

Writing /10
Write an informal email about your favourite holiday. Say where you went, who you went
with and why you liked it. Say where you are going to go on your next holiday. Write
approximately 80 words. (10 marks)