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Intermediate
Reading Comprehension Texts
THE TITANIC: ANOTHER DISASTER MOVIE?
The
biggest gamble in movie making history has
received no fewer than fourteen Oscar nominations. And not only that: contrary
to what almost everyone said during the troubled course of its production, it
looks like the gamble is going to pay off. Titanic, James Cameron=s
$200 million epic about what he has called Athe
quintessential tragedy of the 20th century@
has been a great success across Europe and
America. Test screenings in America have been overwhelmingly positive. Daily
Variety, the most influential film newspaper in America, has no doubts. They
call it Aa
spectacular demonstration of what modern technology can contribute
to dramatic story-telling,@
and concludes that, unlike the liner which sank in the North Atlantic
eighty-five years ago, this Titanic Aarrives
at its destination.@
But
it hasn=t
been all that easy. Shot over eight months (about two months longer than
originally planned), Titanic saw its budget
spiral almost out of control. With such lavish
sets, huge casts and expensive, state-of-the-art computerized special effects,
the movie seemed set to become as big a disaster as the story on which it was
based.
The
perfectionist James Cameron went to extraordinary lengths to get his film
exactly right. The filmmakers built a perfect scale model of the ship, which at
236 metres was almost as big as the original, and mounted it on giant hydraulic
lifts to reproduce the effect of the vessel
sinking. The model stood in a tank filled with 77million litres of sea water.
Everything
in Cameron=s
movie is bigger, grander and more expensive than anything that has been done
before.
1.
Read each definition below and choose the word from the list that matches the
definition (2 points).
Gamble,
success, budget, lavish, vessel
a.
A large ship or boat:
b.
Extravagant, excessive:
c.
A risk taken in order to gain some advantage:
d.
The cost or estimated cost of something:
e.
A favourable, satisfactory result or accomplishment:
2.
Answer the following questions according to the text(1.5 points).
a.
What does the Daily Variety mean with Athis
Titanic arrives at its destination@?
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b.
How long did it take to shoot the Titanic?
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c.
Why is Cameron being described as a perfectionist?
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3.
Rewrite the following sentences maintaining the same meaning (1.5 points).
a.
The scale model of the ship was almost as big as the original.
The
original ship was...
b.
Unlike the liner which sank in the North Atlantic eighty-five years ago, this
Titanic Aarrives
at its destination@.
In
contrast to...
c.
Cameron wasn=t
content unless every detail of the film was as lifelike as possible.
If...
4.
Complete the following paragraph with the correct form of the verb in brackets
(2 points).
Negative
publicity (begin)_________________________ early on in production, when 50 crew
members, including Cameron himself, (eat) _________________________ a meal of
lobster soup which (poison) _________________________ with the drug PCP,
possibly by a discontented worker. Then other stories about terrible working
conditions (start) _________________________ to make the headlines.
5. Composition (80 words): Going to the movies is one kind of entertainment. Do you have any hobbies? How do you like to spend your free time? (3 points).