The Internet Movie Database (A2)

A – Before you start

Answer the questions with a partner.
1. Do you often go to the cinema?
2. What kind of films do you like?
3. Where do you look for information if you can’t remember the names of the actors or the director
of a film?
4. Have you ever used the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)?

B – Listen and answer

Read these statements. Then listen (without reading) and write T (true) or F (false).
1. The IMDb contains information about all the films that have ever been made.
2. The information on IMDb is nearly always accurate.
3. The website was first started in Hollywood.
4. Its founder, Col Needham, lives near Bristol.
5. Nick Park and Col Needham both moved to Bristol from the north of England.
6. Needham started the film database in his spare time.
7. He isn’t the boss of IMDb any more.
8. Needham saw his first film when he was a teenager.

C – Read and answer

Read the article and answer the questions.
1. Who uses the database, besides film fans?
2. What does the article say about the popularity of the IMDb website?
3. What kinds of films are the Wallace and Gromit films?
4. Where did Needham move to Bristol from?
5. Why did he move to Bristol?
6. Who did he sell the company to?
7. How does the website make money?
8. What effect did seeing the movie Jaws have on Needham?

D – Learn it! Use it!

Complete these sentences with words from the glossary. (You may have to adapt the expression in
some way; e.g. change the verb tense.)
1. At the job interview, they asked me if I had ________ worked while I was a student.
2. Sarah is a graphic designer who works for an ________ company.
3. A _______ _______ is a person who writes the script of a film.
4. Jack’s children are an embarrassment because they always ________ badly.
5. I have a ________ to my favourite newspaper so I can read it online.
6. I found Charlotte’s phone number in the telephone ________.
7. Thomas has never been to the USA because he’s ________ of flying.
8. Our dog looks ferocious but ________ he’s very friendly.
E – Ready for KET? (Paper 1, Part 5)
Choose the best word for each space.
Wallace and Gromit are characters in a series of animated films. They were created
1
________ (from/by/of) Nick Park of Ardman Animations. Wallace is 2_________ (an/a/one)
absent-minded inventor who is very fond 3________ (for/about/of) cheese. He has various jobs, but
in his 4________ (busy/open/spare) time, he builds complicated machines 5________
(who/that/they) often don’t work. Gromit is Wallace’s pet dog and his 6________
(best/better/worse) friend. He is generally more intelligent 7________ (of/than/that) his owner,
Wallace. Gromit doesn’t 8________ (never/rarely/usually) speak. Instead he communicates through
his facial expressions and body language.
The Wallace and Gromit films are popular all over the world and have been translated into
over 20 languages.

F – Check your pronunciation

Underline the stressed syllable in each of these words.
detailed industry industrial directory unique
engineer although headquarters figure newspaper

G – Write about it
Write about a cartoon character that you particularly like. Mention:
- who/what the character represents;
- the character’s personality;
- what he/she/it usually does;
- where the cartoons are popular;
- why you like this character.
Answers
B – Listen and answer
1. T 2. F – It’s always accurate. 3. F – It was first started in Bristol. 4. T 5. T 6. T 7. F –
He sold the company but he is still the boss. 8. F – He saw his first film when he was eight years
old.
C – Read and answer
1. Journalists and people in the film industry (actors, directors, etc.). 2. It’s one of the world’s 50
most visited websites. It has 160 million unique users per month. 3. They are animated films.
(They’re about life in the industrial north of England.) 4. From Manchester. 5. To work as an
engineer at Hewlett Packard. 6. He sold it to Amazon. 7. It makes money from advertising and
from its subscription service, IMDb Pro. 8. He was scared of both the sea and swimming pools.
D – Learn it! Use it!
1. ever 2. advertising 3. screenplay writer 4. behave 5. subscription 6. directory 7.
scared 8. actually
E – Ready for KET?
1. by 2. an 3. of 4. spare 5. that 6. best 7. than 8. usually
F – Check your pronunciation
detailed industry industrial directory unique
engineer although headquarters figure newspaper