Additional Language Exercises

18. Match the idioms with their meanings.

    	bread and circuses	sb feels very frightened or shocked;
    	in the can	a person or thing whose name is known by everyone;
    	a shaggy dog story	coll. finished, agreed, or decided upon; If a film is in the can, it is made.
    	a household name	to finish your job, career, or your time of performing in public or playing a sport, by doing something very successful that everyone admires.
    	be rolling in the aisles	be laughing a lot and not be able to stop while watching a film, a play, etc.
    	not be (exactly) a barrel of laughs.	mass entertainment produced to amuse the population of a country, esp. to prevent them from causing trouble;
    	go out in a blaze of glory	humorous. someone or something is not very funny or enjoyable.
    	sb's blood runs cold	a very long joke with a pointless end;

19. Fill in the gaps in the sentences with the idioms from the exercise above.

1. I want to make sure I've got my grant _________ before I accept the place at college. 2. A joke is a good way to start a meeting – you don't want them to _________, but it creates a good atmosphere. 3. "What did you think of Huskins' wife?" "Well, she is _________, is she? 4. In a film like this, you just know the young pilot is going to lead a raid on the bridge, crash his plane, and _________. 5. The very first scene of "Saving Private Ryan" makes your _____________. 6. Research suggests that men prefer _________, while women prefer witty comments or anecdotes. 7. The wide spread of Hollywood films made a number of American actors and actresses _________ across the world.

Unit 2 Cinema Part 2 Action & Adventure Lead-in

20. As we mature our likes and preferences in movies change. When a kid you might have gone in for animation. Then, you might have taken an interest in another genre. This exercise suggests looking back to how your interest in artistic cinema developed and what shape it is now. (The rough list of genres is given below.)

• What kind of films did you look for at the indicated ages?

• What prompted changes in your interest?

• What was new in the films you started to watch?

Aged 5	Aged 10	Aged 15	Around 20

Action & Adventure	Documentary	Military & War	Westerns
Animation	Drama	Musicals	Science Fiction & Fantasy
Classics	Hong Kong Action	Mystery & Suspense	Kids & Family
Comedy	Horror	Romantic Comedies	Cult Movies

21. How would you react if somebody suggested seeing a few films from previous decades? Use some of the expressions below to describe your attitude and explain your reaction.

    I'm keen on …	I'm dying/anxious/ to ...
    I would force myself to …	I would turn my back on a ...
    I could do with …	I'm longing for ...
    I wouldn't say no to a …	I couldn't face going to/seeing …
    I wouldn't mind going to/seeing …	I suppose I am just drawn to …, attracted to it like a magnet.
    I am a bit reluctant to …	For two pins, I'd leave … and see/go to …
    At times I would give my right arm for …	I'm in the mood for something completely different like …
    I dread having to see …	I'm undecided as to whether to …or …
    I'd be more than happy just to …	I really have no strong preference any more.

22. To consolidate what has been said, let’s imagine that a friend has spotted a cinema that shows old classics – something that you watched when a kid. He/she is going to a film and is seeking someone to join them. The friend is your desk-mate. They invite you and you are expected to respond to the invitation. While doing this, express your attitude to old classics in fine language with extensive use of the vocabulary above and materials from Part 1 of this Unit.

23. The categories of films listed in Ex.1 break into a lot more varieties. Group all the listed sub-genres below under the two categories to which they belong.

Action & Adventure

Drama

Addiction & Alcoholism, Alien Invasion, Artists & Writers, Biography, Blackmail, Brothers & Sisters, Buddies, Caper, Chase Movies, Class Differences, Comic Action, Costume Adventures, Crime, Culture Clash, Disaster Films, Doctors & Patients, Domestic Violence, Dying Young, Escape Films, Espionage, Fighting the System, Futuristic, Gangster Films, Generation Gap, Haunted by the Past, Historical Epic, Holocaust, Horror, Innocence Lost, James Bond, Jungle Action, Kids in Trouble, Living with AIDS, Martial Arts, Melodrama, Miscarriage of Justice, Monster Movies, Murder & Mayhem, On the Road, Parenthood, Parody & Spoof, Police & Detective Films, Political Drama, Political Thriller, Prison Films, Prostitution, Psychological Thriller, Race Relations, Romantic Adventures, Rural Life, School Days, Science Fiction, Sea Adventures, Slapstick, Small Town Life, Social Injustice, Superheroes, Swashbucklers, Sword & Sorcery, Teen Drama, Thrillers, Treasure Hunts, Underdogs, Urban Life, Women's Friendship.