I. Read the text about a famous film. Fill in each gap with ONE suitable word.

The film ‗Pirates of the Caribbean‘ had a wonderful story, (1) ______________really great special effects. The best (2) _____________in the film was Johnny Depp, who played the pirate Jack Sparrow. Jack was a clever sailor but he lost his ship, the Black Pearl, to (3) _____________very bad pirate called Captain Barbossa.

Barbossa sailed into the town of Port Royal and took a beautiful young girl called Elizabeth away as his prisoner. Jack Sparrow agreed (4) ___________help find Elizabeth because he (5) _____________ to get his ship back. Of course, (6) __________is lots of adventure in this film; it is also very funny.

IX. Read the film review, and decide whether the statements are true (T), or false (F), and tick the correct box.

Have you ever read Alice In Wonderland, by Lewis Carol? I did and I really like it. It’s an adventure story full of magic and danger. Yesterday I saw Tim Burton’s version of the film at the cinema.

This story is about Alice, who is now a teenager. A man wants to marry her, but she runs away and falls downa rabbit hole. She travels to Wonderland, which she has visited before as a child, and meets a lot of amazing characters on her adventures.

There are a lot of good special effects in the film. The Red Queen, played by Helena Bonham Carter, is very scary, and Johnny Depp is brilliant as the Mad Hatter. He has acted in a lot of films before but this is my favourite one. Mia Waslkowska is good as Alice; this is her first big film and I think she’s going to become a big star!

Overall, I think this is a good film for teenagers, but it’s a bit long. You should see it if you like fantasy and adventure, but don’t go if you like romances: it’s not a love story.

Charlie, Manchester, UK

True False

61. Wonderland was directed by Lewis Carol.

62. The film is both an adventure story and a love story.

63. Alice is still in her childhood.

64. Alice has never been to Wonderland before.

65. She meets a lot of amazing people in Wonderland.

66. The special effects in the films are good.

67. The Red Queen is very friendly.

68. The Mad Hatter is played by Johnny Depp

69. Johnny Depp played his first role in this film.

70. The writer of the report thinks that the film is a good film for teenagers.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

THE ILLUSION OF FILM

Film is an illusion because the  moving pictures seen on the screen are not moving at all. A film is actually a series of tiny still pictures, or frames. They appear to be moving because the retina of the  human eye retains the impression of an object for a split second  after  that object has actually disappeared. This principle is known as the persistence of vision. When we look at a single frame of film, the image persists in the brain’s visual center for a fraction of a second. Then, the next frame comes along and the brain has to catch up with the new image. Thus, our eyes and  brain trick us into thinking that we see a smoothly moving image rather than a series of still ones.

Another  illusion of film is known collectively as special effects, the tricks and techniques that filmmakers use when makeup, costume, and stunts are still not enough to make a scene convincing. Special-effects artists apply science to filmmaking, showing us things that no plain camera could ever photograph. Even since the introduction of computer graphics in recent decades, the films of today still rely on some special effects that have existed since the early years of cinema.

The author primarily defines special effects as ________.

A. phenomena that cannot be explained logically

B. techniques and devices to create illusions in film

C. sounds and images that cause an emotional response

D. methods used by filmmakers of the silent film era

III.Complete the sentences, using although, despite/in spite of. Sometimes, two answers are possible.

1._____ the story of the film was good, I didn’t like the acting.

2. I went to see the film _____ feeling really tired.

3.I really enjoyed the Water War_____ most of my friends said it wasn’t a very good film.

4. ______ careful preparation, they had a lot of difficulties in making the film.

5. ______ the film was gripping, Tom slept from beginning to end.

I. Complete the sentences, using although, despite/in spite of. Sometimes, two answers are possible.

1. ___ the story of the film was good, I didn't like the acting.

2. Iwent to see the film ___ feeling really tired.

3. Ireally enjoyed the Water War ___ most of my friends said it wasn't a very good film.

4. ___ careful preparation, they had a lot of difficulties in making the film.

5. ___ the film was gripping, Tom slept from beginning to end.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

THE ILLUSION OF FILM

  Film is an illusion because the moving pictures seen on the screen are not moving at all. A film is actually a series of tiny still pictures, or flames. They appear to be moving because the retina of the human eye retains the impression of an object for a split second after that object has actually disappeared. This principle is known as the persistence of vision. When we look at a single frame of film, the image persists in the brain's visual center for a fraction of a second. Then, the next frame comes along and the brain has to catch up with the new image. Thus, our eyes and brain trick US into thinking that we see a smoothly moving image rather than a series of still ones.

  Another illusion of film is known collectively as special effects, the tricks and techniques that filmmakers use when makeup, costume, and stunts are still not enough to make a scene convincing. Special effects artists apply science to filmmaking, showing US things that no plain camera could ever photograph. Even since the introduction of computer graphics in recent decades, the films of today still rely on some special effects that have existed since the early years of cinema.

  One category of special effects is called optical or visual effects, tricks made with the camera. One of the pioneers of optical effects was the French filmmaker Georges Méliès, who invented a technique called stop-motion photography. With this technique, a scene is filmed, the camera is stopped, the scene is changed in some way, and then the camera rolls again. Stop motion photography can create the illusion of an actor disappearing on screen. In one short film, an actor's clothes keep returning to his body as he tries to get undressed. Méfiés also invented a technique known as split screen. By putting a card over the camera lens, he prevented half of the frame of film from being exposed. He filmed a scene on the uncovered half of the frame and then backed up the same strip of film in his camera. For the second shot, he covered the exposed half and took another series of pictures on the half that had been covered the first time. With the technique of split screen, it is possible to achieve illusions such as having the same actor play twins.

  Mechanical effects are another category of special effects. Mechanical effects are objects or devices used during the filming to create an illusion, such as feathers or plastic chips to simulate snow, and wires to create the illusion that people are flying. Many sound effects are mechanical effects. Wood blocks create a horse's hoof beats, and a vibrating sheet of metal sounds like thunder. During the silent film era, the music machine called the Kinematophone was popular because it could produce the sounds of sirens, sleigh bells, gunfire, baby cries, and kisses-all at the press of a key.

  Other mechanical effects are puppets, robots of all sizes, and tiny copies of buildings or cities. To reduce the cost of studio sets or location photography, special-effects technicians create painted or projected backgrounds, which replace the set or add to it. For example, in a long shot of a town, the set might be only a few feet high, and the remainder of the town is painted onto a sheet of glass positioned in front of the camera during filming. In a 1916 silent film called The Flying Torpedo, mechanical effects created the appearance of an enemy invasion of the California seacoast. Technicians threw small contact-rigged explosives into toy cities, scattering the tiny buildings into the air. An artist painted a row of battleships on a board that was only six feet long. Carpenters drilled small holes in the ships, which were filled with small charges of flash powder to simulate guns. An electrician wired the charges so they could be fired on cue from a small battery. For audiences of the time, the effect was of a real fleet of ships firing on the California coast.

          Sometimes optical and mechanical effects are used together. For the original 1933 version of King Kong, the filmmakers wanted to show the giant ape climbing the Empire State Building in New York City. To show Kong's climb, the special-effects technicians built a tiny movable model of the ape and a proportionately small model of the Empire State Building. Then, stop-motion photography was used to create the illusion that Kong was moving up the building.

The author primarily defines special effects as _____________.

A. phenomena that cannot be explained logically

B. techniques and devices to create illusions in film

C. sounds and images that cause an emotional response

D. methods used by filmmakers of the silent film era

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

THE ILLUSION OF FILM

Film is an illusion because the  moving pictures seen on the screen are not moving at all. A film is actually a series of tiny still pictures, or frames. They appear to be moving because the retina of the  human eye retains the impression of an object for a split second  after  that object has actually disappeared. This principle is known as the persistence of vision. When we look at a single frame of film, the image persists in the brain’s visual center for a fraction of a second. Then, the next frame comes along and the brain has to catch up with the new image. Thus, our eyes and  brain trick us into thinking that we see a smoothly moving image rather than a series of still ones.

Another  illusion of film is known collectively as special effects, the tricks and techniques that filmmakers use when makeup, costume, and stunts are still not enough to make a scene convincing. Special-effects artists apply science to filmmaking, showing us things that no plain camera could ever photograph. Even since the introduction of computer graphics in recent decades, the films of today still rely on some special effects that have existed since the early years of cinema.

All of the following would necessarily involve mechanical effects EXCEPT ________.

A. using wires to make objects fly

B. filming each half of a frame separately

C. hitting a sheet of metal to create thunder

D. building a small model of a town