Books and Films
Part 1-style questions
Examiner: Do you like to read books?
Marie: Yes … I love reading … I like nothing more than to be engrossed in a good book
… I regularly take out books from the library and usually read them from cover to
cover in no time … and I can’t go to sleep at night without some good bedtime
reading …
to be engrossed in: to be completely focused on one thing
bedtime reading: something to read in bed before you go to sleep
to take out (a book from the library): to borrow a book from the library
to read something from cover to cover: read a book from the first page to the last
Examiner: How often do you go to the cinema?
Jemma: Unfortunately we don’t have a cinema near us so we have to go into the nearest
town to catch the latest movie … I usually avoid seeing popular box-office hits which
I’m not always keen on seeing … I prefer low-budget films … sci-fi especially … and
there’s a great cinema I go to that has frequent showings of films like these …
showings: performances of a film
a low budget film: a film made with a small amount of money
a box office hit: a financially successful film
sci-fi: science fiction
to catch the latest movie: to see a film that has just come out
Examiner: Do you prefer reading books or watching films?
Louisa: I’m not really a big reader … I find books quite heavy-going … so I much
prefer to see a film … perhaps it’s the special effects or the soundtrack … I don’t know
… I just prefer a film …
to be a big reader: someone who reads a lot
to be heavy-going: difficult to read
special effects: the visuals or sounds that are added to a film which are difficult to
produce naturally
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soundtrack: the music that accompanies a film
Part 2-style task
Describe a book you have read or a film you have seen. You should say:
what this book or film was
when you read or saw it
why you decided to see the film or read the book
and say if you enjoyed it and why.
Pauline I like reading … especially English novels … it’s a great way to improve your
vocabulary and there are so many fantastic authors to choose from … one book that came
highly recommended by my teacher was The Mayor of Casterbridge … I was studying
at a school in The UK at the time and she said it would give me a picture of what life was
like years ago in the area I was living … well I have to say I absolutely loved it … it
was a real page-turner … it’s a historical novel and the setting was a fictional town
called Casterbridge … but actually it was based on a town near where I was studying
called Dorchester … it had such a great plot … to cut a long story short it tells the story
of the downfall of a man called Henchard the central character who lives during a
period of great social change around the time of the industrial revolution … the reason I
enjoyed it so much … apart from the great story … it gave me a picture of what life had
been like in the place I was studying at the time … I really couldn’t put it down … a
fantastic story …
a historical novel: a story set in the past
a page turner: a book that you want to keep reading
to come highly recommended: to be praised by another person
to be based on: to use as a modal
plot: the main events in a film or book
the setting: where the action takes place
couldn’t put it down: wasn’t able to stop reading a book
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the central character: the main person in a film or book
to tell the story of: to outline the details of someone’s life or an event
Part 3-style questions
Examiner: Is reading as pleasurable in digital format?
Alise: Personally I prefer reading a paperback or hardback … especially if I’m
reading a classic which I don’t think feels right as an e-book … but I can see it can be
good for others … my grandmother has an e-reader and she loves the way you can
enlarge the text …
an e-book: a digital book
an e-reader: a device for reading e-books
paperback: a book with a flexible cover (see ‘hardback’ above)
hardback: a book with a rigid cover (see ‘paperback’ below)
Examiner: Do you think bookshops will survive the digital revolution?
Thomas: I think so … at least I hope so … I love flicking through books in a bookshop
… online shopping is useful … finding out on Amazon if a book you want has got a
good review … maybe getting one that is difficult to find … but I still love the
experience of being in a bookshop …
to flick through: to look quickly through a book
to get a good/bad review: to receive positive or negative feedback
Examiner: Statistics show that visits to the cinema are up despite the availability of
DVDs and online downloads. Why do you think this might be?
Jamie: I think it’s the whole experience that the cinema offers … going out to see a
film when it goes on general release … and seeing it on the big screen is more exciting
than watching the film at home on TV … especially if it’s an action movie … and
watching it with others makes it even more special …
to go on general release: when a film can be seen by the general public
on the big screen: at the cinema
an action movie: a film with fast moving scenes, often containing violence
to see a film: to see a film at the cinema (see ‘watch a film’ below)
to watch a film: to watch a film on TV (see ‘to see a film’ above)
Addition:
a blockbuster: a film that is a big commercial success
a classic: of the highest quality
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