全新版大学英语听说教程第三册 Unit 11

Unit 11

Part B

Text 1

Popcorn 1 and the British Cinema Industry

In the golden fields of Kansas, Britain's biggest cinema success is under production. There are no stars, no special effects, no publicity 2. And it is still a certain winner, guaranteed to make more money than all but the biggest hit movies. The coming attraction is popcorn. Last year, cinema popcorn sales in the UK and Ireland made ￡20 million plus, way ahead of most films. Only a handful of extremely successful movies could beat it.

If it was not for popcorn, soft drinks and ice cream, British cinema would be as dead as the music hall. A recent survey found that every single screen in the country needed another source of income just to keep operating. Perhaps three or four films a year make money at the box office. The other films just help cinemas tick over, and pull in people to buy popcorn and sweets.

Even when a cinema is showing a must-see film, the operator is working on paper-thin profits. He must fill every seat to cover the film company's costs. Film distributors regularly demand half the money taken at the box office; with big films they can charge between 69 percent and 89 percent of the takings. Cinemas still have to pay staff and running costs out of what's left. This is where popcorn and sweets come into the picture.

A carton of popcorn from a supermarket costs only a little over 3p. Cinemagoers, however, can pay almost ￡4 for one huge helping 3. At a very expensive cinema in London's West End, a huge carton may cost ￡3.95.

Eating popcorn while watching a movie is said to be a real pleasure. The difference between buying popcorn at a cinema and a supermarket is just like that between buying wine in a restaurant and at an ordinary shop. It costs 100 percent more.

Questions:

1. What is the main idea of the passage?

2. Why do cinemas in Britain need another source of income to keep operating?

3. What can you infer from the passage?

Text 2

Death of the Stunt 4 People

Hollywood's true heroes are losing their jobs. Stuntmen and stuntwomen who entertained cinemagoers by falling from the sky, swimming with sharks and driving fast cars have been replaced by technology. After surviving generations of street fights, high falls, and setting fire to themselves, the people behind top actors' most exciting scenes have had nearly all their work substituted by computers. The most dangerous and costly 5 stunts 6 can now be achieved by mixing computer graphics 7 with live action.

In the mid-1990s there were 12,000 registered stunt people, but more than half of them had difficulty finding work. Sometimes, six or seven teams would be working on a film. Then, after a few days, the producers would come in and say, 'You can go home.'

The reason was simple: cost. Computer technology made it possible to create stunts which would either be too expensive or too dangerous to attempt. One example was in 'Mission Impossible', starring Tom Cruise. In a scene Cruise was seen flying for 35 meters through the air from an exploding helicopter onto the back of a speeding train in the tunnel. In fact, the image of the actor was simply added onto the scene using computers.

A fall from 50 meters into water can now be achieved for a tenth of the cost. With the rise of digital technology, insurance companies became more reluctant to cover real stunts. 'If they know it can be done safely with visual effects, the companies will not insure real stunts,' said a veteran stunt coordinator 8.

Many in the industry believe stunt people should develop expertise 9 in the new technology, acting 10 as advisers 11 on the virtual stunts. Some, however, think that stunt people can survive in their traditional careers. They believe that audiences won't accept stunts produced by computers for too long.

Questions:

1. Which of the statements below best sums up the main idea of the passage?

2. What is the author's attitude toward stunt people?

3. What can you infer from the passage?

Part C

Dialogue 1

A: Betty, would you like to see a movie tonight?

B: That would be nice!

A: What would you like to see?

B: Anything but a thriller 12.

A: How about Star Wars Episode II ?

B: That's OK, but I'd prefer seeing a comedy.

A: Then let's go to see Spider Man.

B: That sounds good.

A: OK, Let's go!

B: Wait a minute, Adam. Let me get a coat.

Questions:

1. What will the two speakers probably do tonight?

2. What mood is the man probably in?

Dialogue 2

A: What are we going to do tonight, Barbara?

B: What about seeing a film at that new cinema in the mall?

A: I don't feel like going to the cinema. I prefer watching TV.

B: There is really nothing to watch.

A: We can watch videos we've bought but never seen.

B: Then, I think it's better to borrow some from my brother.

A: What's the difference?

B: There are a lot more choices in his videotape case.

A: But we can pick up the most interesting one we have. Then, we don't have to make a trip to your brother's.

B: Come on, Arthur. I know you are just too lazy to get up from the couch.

Questions:

1. What film are the two speakers going to see?

2. What kind of film does the woman dislike?

Dialogue 3

A: What kind of movie do you like best, Carol?

B: Comedy is my favorite. But I like drama and romance too.

A: Don't you like suspense 13 and horror?

B: Suspense is OK with me, but certainly not horror.

A: I don't fancy horror either. But suspense stories are exciting.

B: Yeah, they are really good, especially the ones directed by Hitchcock.

A: They are terrific.

B: What type of movie do you like best, Alan?

A: As a matter of fact, I like action and adventure best.

B: I like them as well.

A: Have you seen Mission Impossible, starring Tom Cruise?

B: No. He's certainly popular.

A: Shall we go and see it?

B: Why not?

Questions:

1. What types of film appeal to both the speakers?

Part D

From Rags to Riches

In the 1990s, Demi Moore was a major movie star and, as the wife of Bruce Wilis, one half of a Hollywood power couple. Life was good. She had a multimillion-dollar mansion 14 in Los Angeles, a 25-acre ranch 15 in Hailey, Idaho. Nothing about that glamorous 16 life had anything in common with her poor childhood.

She grew up in New Mexico. Her parents were hard drinkers who moved her and her half-brother 30 times before settling in Los Angeles when she was 14. Fiercely ambitious, Moore began modeling while at high school and dropped out at 16 to pursue an acting career. Soon after she turned 18, she got a part in a popular soap opera. But her big break came in 1985 when she starred as a drug addict 17 in a hit movie.

Moore met Bruce Wilis in 1987. It was love at first sight. They got married in Las Vegas four months later. The next year, Wilis starred in Die Hard, making him one of Hollywood's top-paid actors, while Moore's success in Ghost and A Few Good Men boosted her paycheck to more than $12 million per movie.

These were followed by three big-budget movies, one of which was The Scarlet 18 Letter. Then her career stalled. And in October 2000, her 13-year-old marriage ended in divorce. Later she moved out of Hollywood. Since then, she has been living a simpler life, residing full time in her ranch in Idaho. Her ambition is now focused not on stardom but on being a good mother to her daughters with Wilis. "My goal is to build a loving relationship so that my children, as adults, will want to share their lives with me," she said.

Questions:

1. How does the writer tell us about the huge difference between Demi Moore's rich life as a movie star and her poor childhood?

2. Which of the following had not been done by Demi Moore before her first major achievement in her movie career?

3. According to the passage, why did Demi Moore and Bruce Wilis marry?

4. Why did Moore's marriage end up in divorce?

5. What kind of life is Moore living now according to the passage?