Unit 4: The World of TV

Quick Check

A. Vocabulary. Complete each sentence with a word from the box.

1. The Lion King is an example of a(n) animated film.

2. The Nobel Prize is the most prestigious award a scientist can win.

3. The police uncovered a(n) conspiracy to kill the president. Thankfully, the criminals were caught and punished before they could cause any harm.

4. A young actor’s capture death in an accident usually gets wide media coverage.

5. A cameraman’s job is to untimely the scenes on film.

6. Chris O’Donnell played the part of Hemingway, a prominent American writer.

7. The abrupt ending of the film surprised us.

8. delusions can sometimes be a symptom of mental instability.

B. Comprehension. Answer the questions.

1. Which TV film talks about growing up and assuming an adult’s responsibilities?

Lion cubs' journey.

2. Which TV films are set in places that don’t exist in real life?

Sonic.

3. In which film does a character have superpowers?

Sonic film.

4. Which two TV films are biographical?

Lion cubs journey and Sonic film.

3 Grammar

A. Complete each sentence with the correct paired conjunction and an idea of your own.

1. We like neither fast food nor pizza.

2. The university is both prestigious and expensive.

3. He not only plays basketball well, but also football.

4. We’re either going to eat pizza or Chinese food.

5. I neither watch TV nor listen to the radio.

6. The policeman not only stopped the crime, but also saved the victime.

7. In the morning, she drinks either coffee or tea.

8. Jack has neither called us nor emailed us.

9. Bruno has both a sore throat and a fever.

10. You can either look for a new job or stay at the job you have.

B. Combine each pair of sentences using a paired conjunction.

1. The Statue of Liberty is in New York. The Empire State Building is in New York.

Both the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building are in New York.

2. She broke her leg. She dislocated her shoulder.

She didn't break only break her leg. but she also dislocated her shoulder.

3. Bill James didn’t succeed in climbing Mount Everest. Charlie Bower didn’t succeed in climbing Mount Everest.

Neither Bill James nor Charlie Bower succeed in climbing Mount Everest.

4. I’ll call you later. I’ll email you later.

I'll either call you or email you later.

5. We’re not angry. We’re not disappointed.

We are neither angry nor disappointed.

6. Ice is a state of water. Vapor is a state of water.

Both ice and vapor are states of water.

C. First, match the independent clauses. Then rewrite them as one sentence using a coordinating conjunction and correct punctuation.

1. You can admit your mistake. c

2. I told them I’d come over for dinner. f

3. He’s a vegetarian. e

4. She’s lied to her more than once. a

5. One of their children lives in Japan. b

6. He’s very comfortable in the U.S. d

4 Conversation

About the Conversation

1. What did Adel like about the game?

He thought it was exciting.

2. What did Fahd dislike about the players?

He thought the bull's key player didn't play well and Bull's cowhide tops were ridiculous.

5 Listening
Listen to the interview from the TV show
Special Places for Special People and complete the chart.

7 Vocabulary Building

A. You will see the following words in the reading on pages 60 and 61. Match the words with their meanings.

1. f altered

2. d captivates

3. i confronts

4. b crucial

5. c defects

6. e enduring

7. a exotic

8. h ironically

9. g phenomenal

8 Reading

After Reading

Answer true or false. Rewrite the false statements to make them true.

1. false Detective stories are only popular on TV.

2. true the success of detective stories is due to a combination of elements.

3. true Many elements of a detective story are predictable.

4. false All detective stories have an intelligent and charming hero.

5. false the formula of detective stories is likely to change in the future.

10 Writing

4. Read the text and find out.

What are genres? How are they defined?

Categories of films based on the theme, setting, plots stories, characters, and other specific features such as special effects, computer enhancement, animation, etc. There are major genres and sub genres.

How easy is it to classify TV films?

it is not always easy to classify films as they often combine elements of different genres.

Are there distinct and permanent categories? Why? Why not?

No there aren't because film genres evolve according to appeal. For example, action films with superhuman heroes used to be popular over a decade ago. They're not so popular any longer.

5. What are the distinguishing characteristics of different genres? Underline/highlight words/phrases or sentences that provide the answer.

action: material arts, superhuman heroes.

adventure: topical setting (unusual setting)

comedy: Toy story (also animated)

animation: Toy story (cartoon design)

drama: serious, realistic life situations, character development, interaction, melodramas, biographies, biopics.

epics: costume dreams, historical dramas, war dramas, extravagant settings, lavish costumers, spectacular version of biopic film.

biopics: The last Emperor (a film based on a true story).

detective: criminal action, mystery, suspense.

horror: frighten audiences, combined with science fiction, earth invaded by alien monster.

war: horror and destruction of war, documentary excepts, paired with other genres.

western: oldest genres, recognizable plots, elements and characters, horses, dusty towns, Indians and cowboy, good and bad guys sheriff and deputies, common formula, modified, revisited.

science fiction: earth invaded by alien monster, visionary, futuristic technology, extraordinary creature, outer space, ET.

11 Form, Meaning and Function

B. Imagine you are a contestant on a TV Quiz show. Work with a partner. Ask and answer the questions.

1. What’s the most widely spoken language?

Chinese Mandarin (number of speakers is 1 billion+)

2. What’s the tallest mountain?

Mount Everest (8.850m).

3. What’s the largest desert?

Sahara, North Africa (3.320.000 sq. miles)

4. What’s the deepest ocean?

Pacific Ocean (10,924m).

5. What’s the most populated city?

Shanghai, China (13,3 million)

6. What’s the largest lake (by size)?

Caspian Sea, Asia-Europe (371,00 sq m)

7. What’s the hottest place?

Dalol, Ethiopia (annual average temperature is 93,2F, 34C)

8. What’s the driest place?

Aswan, Egypt (0.02 inches of rainfall a year)

C. Use the chart above to find information about the planets. Choose the correct word to make true facts about our solar system.

Some planets are much bigger and farther away from the sun than others. Jupiter is by far the (1. biggest / hottest) and Mercury is the (2. smallest / coldest) in our solar system.

Mars is (3. closer / farther) from the sun than Earth. Mercury is the (4. closest/ farthest) planet to the sun.

It is so (5. close / far) to the sun that if you stood on the surface of the planet, the sun would appear at least three times (6. larger / smaller) than it does on Earth.

Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are all rocky planets, but Earth is the only one that is (7. inhabitable / uninhabitable), which means that people, animals and plants live on it.

Venus is only (8. slightly / almost) smaller than Earth and has many high mountains and volcanoes.

Venus is so (9. close / far) to the sun that the land is (10. hotter/ colder) than boiling water. Mars is a (11. rocky / icy) planet and is known as the Red Planet because of the
red color of the planet’s surface.

Mars is (12. almost / considerably) half the size of Earth.

The four planets (13. farthest / closest) away from the sun are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

They are very (14. hot / cold) and (15. green / icy) places. Jupiter has the (16. least / most) number of known moons.

Jupiter’s four (17. largest / smallest) moons were observed in 1610 by an Italian astronomer called Galileo Galilei.

Saturn has the (18. least / most) spectacular ring system of all the planets.

There are 7 rings made up of dust, rocks and ice. (19. Most / More) than 40 spacecraft have explored Saturn, but only one has visited Uranus and Neptune.

Neptune is the (20. farthest / closest) from the sun and makes a complete orbit around the sun in about 165 Earth years.