IELTS Expert User b1 Term 11 subject 1 lesson 2

A Read the article. What do the small screen and the big screen mean? 

Big screen or small screen? 

You sit down after a long day and open an app on your smartphone. What are you going to watch this time? Maybe an episode of your favorite game show or soap opera? Your roommates are on the couch, using a tablet to binge-watch episodes of a popular drama series. Your friend texts you about the documentary she’s watching on her laptop.  Many viewers think that personal devices are as good as TVs. We watch a lot of movies and TV shows on the “small screen” instead of the “big screen.” But is it the same? If you like science fiction, you probably love special effects the way monsters look or the way spaceships fly through the air. But on a phone, the effects aren’t as exciting as they are in the theater. Watching a horror movie at home isn’t as frightening as watching it in a dark theater, (Although maybe that’s a good thingli 

Do you like watching shows on your device as much as watching on a big screen? Maybe it depends on the genre. Nothing is as much fun as watching reality shows on one big screen with your friends and laughing together. 

game show science fiction 

B Read again. How does the article suggest watching shows and movies in different ways gives people a different experience? 

C Guess the meaning of these words from context. Match the words (1-5) to the definitions (a-e)

1 episode   

2 series 

3 binge-watch 

4 viewers 

5 genre 

a set of television broadcasts using the same characters but in different situations 

b a style of TV show or movie 

c people who watch TV or movies 

d one of the parts of a television or radio program 

e watches a lot of episodes in a short amount of time 

D PAIR WORK Do you like watching TV shows and movies on a small screen or a big screen?  Does it matter to you? What are the pros and cons of each option?