WORD FORMATION

Put the words in brackets into their correct form. Number 0 is an example.

Which Books Make the Best Films?

taken and adapted from

Some books are such an outstanding read that a savvy (0) reader (read) may decide to

(1) ______(adaptation) the book into afilm, only to find, that although the book was an incredible read, on film, it simply does not work. Thousands of books have been made into films. Some, such as the Harry Potter series make it big, others, like the Watchmen, flounder and fall into the discount bins of the local DVD rental stores. Here, then, we ask, what books make great films.

Do these movie to film transitions fail because the nature of the book just cannot be translated into film, are the two mediums so (2) ______(diversity) that there are sometimes no bridges that will allow the story to travel through both mediums(3) ______(easy). On the other hand, is it a problem with the film’s director, do they simply not have the vision to convey the author’s true intent. Or, is it a problem with the author, do they not take instruction from the experts, who understand how films work, are they (4) ______(reluctance) to cut parts that will not work on film. What are the factors that (5) ______(separation) the wheat from the chaff in the transitions from books to films?

The book to film transition is certainly more than simply the content of the book. The book may be a literary piece of art, a novel that defines a generation, but when put on the big screen the (6) ______(essential) is just lost. The book may keep to the storyline, the characters may be (7) ______(equal) developed, but something is lacking. True, the film may still be decent, but to say it defines a generation can be far from the (8)______(true). Alternatively, the film may divert so far from the storyline as to warrant a completely different plot line, and yet still be a fantastic film, for instance, The Shining.

Some people read books while others do not. Readers seem to have a distinct dislike for films that divert from books. For instance, I personally much prefer the Harry Potter series of books to the films. However, non-book readers will love a film, (9) ______(regard) of the level to which the film stays true to the books, hence the love of the Harry Potter films by people who have not read the books. The films are great, but they reach nowhere near the level of (10) ______(imagine) invoked by the reading of the books. Without a doubt though, this series of books has managed what many others (11) ______(failure) to do: produce a great film and remain sufficiently true to the books.

The only conclusion to draw from this is that a good book to film transition is achieved when the producer manages to understand which aspects of the book are most salient, which(12) ______(feel) that are invoked by reading can be translated into film, and how to do this in a manner that elicits strong emotions (as you would get through reading). In short, a good director knows how to magnify the right emotions in the watcher, by choosing the right scenes from the books.

KEY:

  1. adapt
  2. diverse
  3. easily
  4. reluctant
  5. separate
  6. essence
  7. equally
  8. truth
  9. regardless
  10. imagination
  11. fail
  12. feelings

WORD FORMATION

Put the words in brackets into their correct form. Number 0 is an example.

Book Review: GIRL IN THE ARENA

taken and adapted from:

Eighteen-year-old Lyn has lived her entire life in the world of gladiators, and this modern-day version of the sport has risen in (0) popularity (popular) to rival that of football. Men or women can compete, although the men’s division has higher priority. Matches aren’t necessarily to the death, but the crowds do enjoy that aspect. (1)______(enter) into the association is voluntary; many train for years to compete, while some inmates on death row (2) ______(voluntary) to compete as well.

Lyn was born into this lifestyle. Her mother is a gladiator’s wife with her first husband being Lyn’s father. After he was killed in the arena, her mother married another, soon becoming a widow again. In total, Lyn has had seven gladiator fathers. She knows every rule issued by the Gladiator Sports Association, and there are quite a few. If a person chooses to participate in the gladiator sports or become part of a gladiator’s family, it’s almost like joining an (3) ______(entire) different culture.

Lyn and her special needs brother adore their stepfather, Tommy. But in front of their eyes and the entire world, a (4) ______(compete) named Uber extinguishes Tommy’s life in the arena. The Gladiator Sports Association has about a million laws, one of which states that a woman can’t marry more than seven gladiators; Lyn’s mother, who has suffered emotional problems in the past, drops into a (5) ______(depth) depression. Another law states that when a gladiator steals a girl’s dowry bracelet, the girl is forced to marry him. Lyn had just happened to give her bracelet to Tommy before the match for good luck, and Uber picked it up in the arena.

It doesn’t take long for the gladiator-hungry press to figure out to whom the bracelet belonged. Lyn must now marry Uber, but she refuses to wed her father’s murderer. Instead, she proposes an alternate (6) ______(solve): she will meet Uber in the arena and fight him to the death.

The storyline moves quickly with a few clever surprises slipped in to give it an extra kick. Lise Haines offers a unique look at today’s society and its blood-thirsty cravings for violent entertainment. She has an (7) ______(exception) talent for writing interesting and well-developed characters, especially the strong, (8) ______(dependence) and family-devoted Lyn. She also embraces the character of Lyn’s little brother, who is a special needs child, with patience, understanding and (9) ______(warm). In addition, Haines implements a technique of using the hyphen to (10) ______(indication) conversation instead of quotes. I found it a bit (11) ______(distract) at first, but soon became accustomed to it and realized it to be unique and fresh.Although this is Haines’s first book for young adults, her new fans will be (12) ______(anxious) hoping that she is inspired to write many more.

KEY:

  1. Entry
  2. volunteer
  3. entirely
  4. competitor
  5. deep
  6. solution
  7. exceptional
  8. independent
  9. warmth
  10. indicate
  11. distracting
  12. anxiously

WORD FORMATION

Put the words in brackets into their correct form. Number 0 is an example.

History of Public Speaking

taken and adapted from

Public speakingis the process ofspeakingto a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to (0) inform (information), influence, or entertain the listeners. The first known work on the subjectwas written over 3000 years ago.In ancientGreeceandRome, oratory was studied as a component ofrhetoricand was an important skill in public and

(1) ______(privacy) life.AristotleandQuintiliandiscussed oratory, and the subject was emphasised as part of aliberal artseducation during theMiddle AgesandRenaissance.

The art of public speaking was first developed by the ancient Greeks. Greek orators spoke on their own behalf rather as representatives of either aclientor aconstituency, and so anycitizenwho wished to (2) ______(success) in court, in politics, or in social life had to learn techniques of public speaking. These skills were taught first by a group of self-styled "sophists" who were known to charge fees, to "make the weaker argument the stronger," and to make their students "better" through instruction in (3) ______(excellent).Plato,Aristotle, andIsocratesall developed theories of public speaking in opposition to the Sophists, and their ideas took on institutional form through the development of permanent schools where public speaking was taught. Though Greece eventually lost political sovereignty, the Greek culture of training in public speaking was adopted (4) ______(virtual) wholesale by the Romans.

After the ascension ofRome, Greek techniques of public speaking were copied and modified by the Romans. Under Roman influence, instruction in rhetoric developed into a full curriculum including instruction in grammar, preliminary exercises, and (5) ______(prepare) of public speeches. The Latin style was (6) ______(heavy) influenced byCicero, and involved a strong emphasis on a broad education in all areas of humanistic study, as well as on the use of wit and humour, on appeal to the listener's emotions, and on digressions, often used to (7) ______(exploration) general themes related to the specific topic of the speech. Oratory in the Roman Empire remained important in law, and became an important form of entertainment, with (8) ______(fame) orators or declaimers gaining great wealth and prestige for their skills.

This Latin style was the primary form of oration in the world until the (9) ______(begin) of the 20th century. AfterWorld War IIthere began a gradual deprecation of the Latin style of oration. With the rise of the (10) ______(science) method and the emphasis on a "plain" style of speaking and writing, even formal oratory has become less polished and ornate than in the Classical period.

These basic principles have undergone modification associeties, andcultureshave changed, yet remained surprisingly uniform. The technology and the methods of this form ofcommunicationhave traditionally been throughoratorystructure and rely on a large or sometimes somewhat small audience. However, new advancements in technology have allowed for more sophisticated communication to (11) ______(occurrence) for speakers and public orators. The technological and media sources that assist the public speaking atmosphere include bothvideoconferencingand telecommunications.Videoconferencing is among one of the more recent technologies that is in a way revolutionizing the way that public speakers (12)______(communication) to the masses.

KEY:

  1. private
  2. succeed
  3. excellence
  4. virtually
  5. preparation
  6. heavily
  7. explore
  8. famous
  9. beginning
  10. scientific
  11. occur
  12. communicate

WORD FORMATION

Put the words in brackets into their correct form. Number 0 is an example.

Reality television

taken and adapted from

Reality televisionis a genre oftelevision programmingthat presents purportedly unscripted (0) dramatic (drama) or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of (1) ______(profession)actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded.

The genre covers a wide range of television programming formats, fromgame shows or quiz shows which (2) ______(resemblance) the frantic, often demeaningJapanese variety shows produced in Japan in the 1980s and 1990s to surveillance- or voyeurism-focused productions.

Reality television (3) ______(frequent) portrays a modified and highly influenced form ofreality, utilizingsensationalismto (4) ______(attraction)audience viewers and so to generateadvertisingrevenue profits. Participants are often placed in exotic locations or (5) ______(normal) situations, and are sometimes coached to act in specificscriptedways.

Precedents for television that portrayed people in unscripted situations began in the 1940s. Debuting in 1948,Allen Funt'shidden cameraCandid Camerashow, broadcast unsuspecting ordinary people reacting to pranks. It has been called the "granddaddy of the reality TV genre".

First broadcast in the United Kingdom in 1964, theGranada TelevisionseriesSeven Up!, broadcast interviews with a dozen ordinary seven-year-olds from a broad cross section of society and inquired about their (6) ______(react) to everyday life. Every seven years, a film documented the life of the same individuals during the intervening period. The series was structured as a series of interviews with no element of plot. However, it did have the then-new effect of turning ordinary people into celebrities.

The seriesNummer 28, which aired on Dutch television in 1991, originated the concept of putting (7) ______(strange) together in the same environment for an extended period of time and recording the drama that ensued.Nummer 28also pioneered many of the

(8) ______(style) conventions that have since become standard in reality television shows, including a heavy use of soundtrack music and the interspersing of events on screen with after-the-fact "confessionals" recorded by cast members, that (9) ______(service) as narration.

According to television commentatorCharlie Brooker, this type of reality television was enabled by the advent of computer-basednon-linear editing systemsfor video in 1989. These systems made it easy to quickly (10) ______(edition) hours of video footage into a usable form.

The TV showExpedition Robinson, which first aired in 1997 in Sweden (and was later produced in a large number of other countries asSurvivor), added to theNummer 28/Real Worldtemplate the idea of competition and (11) ______(eliminate), in which cast members/contestants battled against each other and were removed from the show until only one winner remained.

Reality television saw an explosion of (12) ______(globe) popularity starting in the summer of 2000, with the successes ofBig BrotherandSurvivor.

KEY:

  1. professional
  2. resemble
  3. frequently
  4. attract
  5. abnormal
  6. reactions
  7. strangers
  8. stylistic
  9. serve
  10. edit
  11. elimination
  12. global