IELTS Expert User b1 Term 11 subject 1 lesson 4

PART 1

Passagino

Read the article. What is its main argument?

a No one knows why adults like animated movies.

b Adults and kids like animated movies for many reasons.

c Adults don’t like animated movies.

Read the article again. What details explain why these things help adult enjoy animated movies?

1 technology

2 real-life topics

3 humor

4 famous actors

5 endings

Animation for All Ages

Animation used to be just for kids, but today, a growing number of animated movie audiences are adults without children. What makes people of all ages enjoy animated movies these days?

Hi-tech actions Today’s animated characters often look very realistic thanks to technology. The characters can walk, talk, dance, and sing almost as realistically as people can. They are also better able to show their feelings through their facial expressions, so audiences of all ages feel the characters’ emotions are real and important.

Real-life situations These days, animated characters deal with real-life topics, such as moving to a new place, failure and success, friendship, growing up, and growing old. These are topics that adults can understand-even if the story is about a cat, dog, robot, or dinosaur.

Adult humor Writers include humor that both children and adults enjoy, and there are often “secret jokes” that only adults find amusing.

Well-known actors Many famous actors record the voices for animated movies nowadays. This gives star power to animated movies. Adults enjoy hearing their favorite actors bring animated characters to life.

Happy endings The biggest reason people of all ages enjoy animated movies just might be the endings They usually end in a positive way, and everyone loves a happy ending.

We all like to laugh and have an adventure with the characters in a movie, and animated movies make that possible in a colorful and magical way .

GROUP WORE THINK CRITICAL

Do you think it’s a good idea for writers to use adult humor in animated movies? Why or why not?

PART 2

Write it

A Read Mateo’s review of Toy Story. Is everything in the review positive? Why or why not?

MOVIE CLASSICS

One of my favorite movies ever

Author: AnimationFanMateo

I didn’t use to like animated movies. But after I saw Toy Story, became a fan. It’s one of my favorite movies ever. The story is interesting from beginning to end. “If you haven’t seen it, it’s about toys that come alive when they’re alone. Six-year-old Andy’s favorite toy is Woody, a cowboy. Woody is also the leader of the other toys. But then a cool, new toy arrives -a space action figure named Buzz Lightyear. He has a lot of fancy features, and Andy is fascinated. Woody hates Buzz and tries to get rid of him, but after some adventures together, the two toys became friends. “Toy Story is as dramatic as a movie with real actors, and Woody and Buzz have the same feelings as ordinary people. Their voices are perfect, especially Tom Hanks as the voice of Woody. The story has a lot of jokes for adults, so it’s fun for the whole family. My only complaint is that the animation looks a little old now. Animation technology has improved a lot since 1995. “But it will always be a great movie!

B WRITING SKILLS Read about organizing ideas in a movie review. Match parts 1-4 in Mateo’s review with the sections below.

Give a brief description of the story.

Give a final statement with your opinion and٫ or a recommendation.

Introduce the movie and give your feeling or opinion about it.

Describe positive and/ or negative things about the movie.

WRITE IT

C Write a review of a movie you have seen. Organize your ideas in the same order Mateo used in his review.

D PAIR WORK Exchange reviews with a partner.

Have you seen the movie your partner describes? Do you agree with his/her opinions? If you haven’t seen it, would you like to?

PART 3

Practicino 1

A Read the article and complete the sentences with information from the text.

Why Do We Binge-Watch TV Shows?

How do you watch shows? Do you watch one episode a week? One a day? Or do you sometimes watch entire seasons in a weekend? If you like watching episode after episode of a series, you’re not alone.

Binge-watching has become more and more popular in the past few years. But why?

STRESS RELIEF When we binge-watch, we escape from our real lives for a few hours. While we’re watching, we don’t think about our problems or responsibilities. That can help us relieve stress.

HAPPINESS According to experts, when we binge-watch, our brains produce dopamine a chemical that makes us feel happy. As soon as one episode is over, we start the next one because we want to keep feeling good.

CARING Psychologists say that our brains can experience things we watch on TV almost the same way that they experience real events. So, we often become attached to stories and characters and really care about what happens to them. Because our brains aren’t always good at separating episodes on TV from real life events, we have a strong desire to keep watching to find out what happens next.

Based on this information, it seems like binge-watching is a good thing – at least in the short term. However, over time, experts say that it can cause depression. When we finish binge-watching a series, we can feel a sense of loss. We can also feel sad because our brains stop producing dopamine.

1 When we binge-watch, we can forget about our ………….and ………….

2 Binge-watching helps us get rid of………….

3 Binge-watching makes us feel ………….

4 When we see something happen in a TV show, our brains think we’re experiencing it ………….

5 We can get really attached to the …………. and ………….in a show.

B Do you think it’s a good idea to binge-watch shows? Why or why not?