NAME: _______________________________ DATE: __________________________________ GROUP: ____________

READING

LOUIS AND AUGUSTE LUMIÈRE

‘The Lumière Cinematograph’ allowed large audiences to watch ‘moving
pictures’. Its début took place on 28 December 1895 in a Paris café. That day the
Lumière showed several short films. They were all documentaries and one of them was
called ‘Arrival of Train Station’. Afterwards, Auguste Lumière talked to reporters about
his invention. ‘It can be exploited for certain time,’ he said, ‘but apart from that it has
no commercial value at all.’
Well, he was completely wrong. In less than a year, cinemas had started to
open in Europe and America. The public’s appetite for films was instant and enormous – which
meant that more and more had to be made. By 1905 movie-making wasn’t just an interesting
idea – it was a successful new industry. And by 1915 it was an industry with a capital –
Hollywood, USA.

THE SILENT ERA

Hollywood was established in 1912. That’s when a group of New York film producers decided to
open a new studio in California. Why California? Because the climate was good, labour was cheap and
there were lots of beautiful locations nearby.
As a result of their decision, Hollywood soon attracted film actors and technicians from all over
the country. While World War One was fought in Europe, and for several years after, these cinema
pioneers made thousands of black and white films – comedies, tragedies, fantasies, romances and
historical dramas. This was ‘the silent era’ – the era of Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino, Clara Bow,
Douglas Fairbanks and Buster Keaton. It was called ‘silent’ because there was no recorded sound.
Instead, the actors’ dialogue appeared on cards shown every 15 or 20 seconds. At the time it
seemed perfectly normal. That’s simply how films were. In fact, even as late as 1924, director D W
Griffith declared ‘There will never be speaking pictures’. But Griffith, like Auguste Lumière 29 years
before, was wrong. A revolution was coming, and its name was…

A. Read the text and put the correct subheading for each paragraph. There is an EXTRA
one.
1. REVOLUTION HAS BEGUN
2. CASTING FOR SUCCESS
3. MASSIVE SUCCESS
4. FIRST STARS
5. CRADLE OF EMERGING INDUSTRY
6. NO EXPECTATIONS

B. Read the text and match the words in bold with the following definitions:
1. A person or group that originates an activity or a new method.

2. To make something possible; permit.

3. The state of being mistaken or incorrect.

4. Everywhere.

5. A person who supervises or finances a work for exhibition or dissemination to the public.

Prof. Patricia Terzaghi Martirena

 C. Read the text again and answer the questions about it.

1. What types of films were shown at the beginning?

2. Was Auguste Lumiére positive about the future of their invention?

3. What was people’s reaction to motion pictures?

4. Why were film actors and technicians attracted to Hollywood?

5. Why do you think Lumière and D W Griffith were wrong?

LANGUAGE

D. Read the rest of the article and choose the correct form of the words in brackets.
THE TALKIES

Recorded sound (has ended/ended/ends) the silent

era in 1927. That’s when Al Jonson both
(spoke/speaking/has spoken) and sang in ‘The Jazz
Singer’. His first words (have been/was/were) ‘Wait
a minute, wait a minute folks. You ain’t*
(hear/heard/hearing) nothing yet!’) The impact on
cinema goers was enormous. They loved ‘The Jazz
Singer’ and (demanded/demands/have demanded)
more and more talking pictures. The studio quickly
obliged and by 1930, audiences were up from 57
million a week (1926) to 110 million a week. Only 31
years after the Lumières’ first film-show, modern
movies had arrived.

* ain’t = haven’t

LANGUAGE

E. Read the text and choose the best word for each blank.
Moving images have always ______ popular. In China, for example, there were ‘shadow plays’ 5.000 years ______.
These used firelight to project images ______ puppets onto screens. So projection is a very old idea. But cinema only
became possible ______ this old Asian idea met a new European one – photography.

The two came together ______ the middle of the 19th century. That’s when photos were first used in ‘magic
lanterns’. Before then, these early projectors had used glass slides. The pictures on these slides were painted by
hand and very expensive. In comparison, photos ______ cheap and easy to produce.

So – by 1850 projection and photography had come together. But the result still wasn’t ‘cinema’. How could it be
when the pictures ______ move? The solution to that problem came in several stages.
 1) a. be b. been c. being
2) a. ago b. before c. after
3) a. of b. from c. of
4) a. where b. when c. Prof.while
Patricia Terzaghi Martirena
5) a. on b. in c. of
6) a. were b. was c. are
7) a. doesn’t b. don’t c. didn’t

F. Rewrite the following sentences so the meaning stays the same.

1. When I was a child I usually watched science fiction films. I don’t do it anymore

I used __________________________________________________________________________________.

2. It’s very likely they win an Oscar for this film.

They could ______________________________________________________________________________.

3. Their plans are to film in Ankara.

They ___________________________________________________________________________________.

4. I highly recommend you this film.

You should ______________________________________________________________________________.

5. I don’t go to the cinema because I don’t have free time.

If I _____________________________________________________________________________________.

WRITING

G. Choose one of the following compositions:

1. When was the last time you went to the cinema? Write a short composition about your experience.

2. Which is your favourite movie? Write a short review of it.

3. Who is your favourite actor? Describe him/her and his/her career.

Prof. Patricia Terzaghi Martirena