1. 19. Tom hanks

Read the text and find the names of the films in which Tom Hanks starred.

FACT FILE

Born 9 July 1956, California. His parents divorced when he was five. He and his older brother and sister went to live with their father, a travelling cook who moved all over California.

As a child he wanted to be an astronaut.

His first job at 14 was selling peanuts at the Oakland Coliseum baseball ground in California.

In his teens Tom changed his name to Thorn because he thought it sounded more interesting. Thankfully he changed it back again when he left school. His first film role was as a morgue attendant in the horror spoof "He Knows You're Alone," made in 1980.

Since then Tom has starred in almost 30 movies, including "Sleepless in Seattle", "Apollo 13", "Big Splash", "Philadelphia" and "Forest Gump".

Tom has just finished filming "You've Got Mail", a romantic comedy with Meg Ryan. Look out for it early next year.

ТОМ HANKS AND HIS NEW FILMS

Tom Hanks stars in "Saving Private Ryan" (released in the USA in 1998), the most powerful film of his career. It's a bitterly realistic epic about World War II, directed by Steven Spilberg and can be a hard film to watch at times, though it may win Hanks a third Oscar.

Tom was totally unprepared for the effect that "Saving Private Ryan" would have on him. The film plot is simple but intense; three of the four Ryan's brothers have been killed in combat within 48 hours and their mother faces receiving the news on the same day. Her surviving son. Private James Ryan (Matt Damon), is trapped behind enemy lines. Hank's character, Captain John Miller, and his unit is ordered to find him back.

Here we see a very different Hanks to the one we're used to. This time he isn't playing an overgrown schoolboy ("Big"), a loveable romantic(" Sleepless in Seattle"), a sportsman ("A League of Their Own") or an astronaut ("Apol­lo 13"). His latest character reveals a completely new side to him.

. "I wanted to see it by myself," he says. "This is the first film I've been in where my character kills people or is badly hurt, I sobbed uncontrollable- not because of what happens to my character, but because the movie hit me in a way I wasn't prepared for".

I'm lucky that my success has come slowly. My first film was 18 years ago and there have been lots of flops. But I made my bad decisions away from the spotlights. Had success been overnight, I'd probably have had problems like some younger star's. Hanks recognises that his wealth and fame may still bring problems for his children. "I do try to be a common sense parent." he says.

Exercise

Answer the questions:

1. What jobs did Tom Hanks try before he became an actor?

2. How many movies did Tom star in?

3. What was unusual for Tom in his work for the film "Saving Private Ryan"?

4. What is the film about?

1. 20. Jazz – a new era in music

Read about the origin of jazz and find out what people can be considered the pioneers of jazz.

Like America's society, jazz evolved from a great variety of peoples and cultures. Its earliest elements could be heard all over the South - in cities, the backcountry and lumber camps. But the best jazz came out of New Or­leans, Louisiana, the bustling trade center in the Mississippi delta. Here was a cultural crossroads that by 1900 was host to a variety of musical styles, including African chants, work songs, marching brass bands, country blues and gospel. In some way this diversity of musical styles combined to create a unique American art form: jazz mu­sic.

No one person invented jazz, but two men stand out as pioneers. One was cornet player Buddy Bolden. He took the well-known slow, mournful blues and played them with a new vigor and passion. On fast numbers he would improvise, or make up, breathtaking solos, which soon became an expected part of jazz. The other pioneer was "Jelly Roll" Morton. He was the first great jazz composer. The "stomping" beat that Morton added to his piano-playing style became his trademark. He began writing lively tunes around this beat. Because of Morton, jazz was changed from piano-playing solos to big-band music.

By 1900 jazz had acquired the three key components that set it apart from other musical styles: its unique beat, its improvisational style and its distinctive blues qua­lity. These ingredients set the tone for a new era in music.

Exercise

Match the beginnigs and the endings:

Like America's society	a. but two men stand out as pioneers.
2. New Or­leans, Louisiana,	b. jazz evolved from a great variety of peoples and cultures
3. No one person invented jazz,	c. was a cultural crossroads that by 1900 was host to a variety of musical styles.
4. "Jelly Roll" Morton.	d. jazz was changed from piano-playing solos to big-band music.
5. Because of Morton,	e. was the first great jazz composer.