Reading skills practice: Films and entertainment – exercises

Look at the magazine article and do the exercises to improve your reading skills.

Preparation
Match the words with the definitions and write a–h next to the number 1–8.

1…b…. an actress a. a famous person

2…a…. a celebrity b. a woman who plays the part of a character in a film or play
a person whose job is to wear clothes, shoes, hairstyles, etc. for
3…f….. an award c. fashions shows and photographs

4…c…. a model d. a poster, picture, short film or song, etc. that helps to sell a product
5…d…. an advertisement e. to suggest someone for an award
6…h.. to star f. a prize given to someone for something they have done
one of the awards given every year for the best film, best actress,
7…e…. to nominate g. best actor, etc. in the film industry

8…g…. an Oscar h. to be the most important actor in a film, play, etc.

 1. Check your understanding: ordering
Write a number (1–7) to put these sentences about Jennifer Lawrence’s life in the correct order.

……5……. She moved to Los Angeles.

……3……. She moved to New York.

……4……. She appeared on TV for the first time.

……2……. At school she played basketball for a boys’ team.

……6……. She was nominated for an Oscar.

……1……. Jennifer was born in Kentucky.

……7……. She played Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games.

2. Check your understanding: true or false

Circle True or False for these sentences.

1. Jennifer is American. True False

2. Jennifer was born in July. True False

3. She has two brothers. True False

4. Jennifer took acting classes at school. True False

5. Jennifer has done some modelling. True False

6. Jennifer was nominated for an Oscar in 2010. True False

7. She likes playing the piano. True False

8. Jennifer's family supported her dreams to be an actress. True False

3. Check your understanding: multiple choice

Circle all the answers to these questions.
1. What sports did Jennifer play at school? basketball / surfing / hockey / tennis

2. What films has Jennifer Lawrence starred in? Titanic / Transformers / Winter’s Bone /
The Hunger Games
3. What cities has she lived in? London / Los Angeles / Miami / New York
4. What jobs has she done? actress / model / fashion designer / waitress

5. What does Jennifer do in her free time? play hockey / painting / surfing / play the guitar

6. What are her two brothers called? Karen / Ben / Gary / Blaine

Discussion

Who is your favourite film star?

Are you a fan of The Hunger Games?
 When we go and watch a movie in the cinema, we see real people moving and talking on a big screen in front
of us. But how are movies filmed and shown to us? In actual fact, movies do not really `move' like we think they
do. It is our eyes that play tricks on us and make the movies look as if they are moving.

A movie is filmed using a camera which takes pictures at a very fast speed. The camera can take 24 pictures in
one second! If it is taking pictures of somebody walking, the pictures will show the different movements of the
person in that one second. Since the pictures are taken so quickly, the difference between each picture is very
slight.

The pictures are developed into long strips of film which are then shown, using a film projector. As we watch,
24 pictures flash before our eyes every second. The pictures go by so fast that we cannot see each one by itself.
What we see is just one picture that seems to move. Our eyes play a part by blending the pictures with each
other.

The same method applies to cartoons. In a cartoon, instead of taking pictures of real people, the camera takes
pictures of drawings. Many drawings have to be made just to show a simple action. Each drawing is again made
only slightly different from the others. The drawings are then photographed orderly. When everything is complete
and the cartoon is shown, it also looks as though the characters are really moving.
1. What do we often think we see in the cinema ?
(A) Photographs of people
(B) People moving in a picture
(C) A big screen
(D) Camera tricks

2. If a person is acting in a movie, he ______.

(A) has to move in slow motion
(B) has to move on a big screen
(C) gets many pictures of him taken
(D) moves 24 times in one second

3. What is the difference between each of the 24 pictures ?

(A) Very rough
(B) Very small
(C) Very large
(D) Very unusual

4. What do our eyes do when we watch a movie ?

(A) They join many pictures into one.
(B) They move with the pictures.
(C) They mix the pictures up.
(D) They take pictures of the movie.

5. To film a cartoon, ______ have to be photographed.

(A) people
(B) actions
(C) drawings
(D) characters