Part 6
You are going to read an article about computer games. Six sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A-G the one which fits each gap (37-42). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.
Films and computer games
In just a few decades the gaming industry has become a lot bigger than the film business. In terms of turnover, what is rather grandly called ‘interactive entertainment’ makes twice as much money as Hollywood cinema. Which of course leaves people in the film business wondering if they can harvest any of this new income. Is there any way of making films more appealing to people who regularly like to play computer games?
Making a film out of a best-selling computer game can certainly guarantee a large audience. 37 __. New games have stunning action sequences that rely on fantasy effects, and now films are being released with similar scenes. Gravity is discarded as heroes leap across huge gaps, while slow-motion techniques show bullets moving through the rippling air.
A major segment of the gaming market comprises science-fiction games, and film-makers have started to realise that they could set films in similar sci-fi future worlds. 38 __. Any attempt to borrow more than the setting from a game is probably doomed.
There are many examples of successful film-game combinations. Rather than making a film using characters and stories from a computer game, the trick seems to be to make a film that has a fast-moving action sequence and then bring out a game based on that sequence. People who enjoyed the film will probably want to buy the game. This clearly creates a new market opportunity for the gaming industry.
Why do gamers feel disappointed by films based on their favourite games? 39 __. Computer games can show the action from a number of perspectives easily, because everything is computer-generated. But filming a sequence from 20 different cameras would cost a fortune, so it simply isn’t done in the film version – leaving the gamers feeling that the film didn’t look as real as the computer game.
Cameras matter in another sense, too. In a film the director shows you the action from certain perspectives but makes sure he doesn’t show you some things to keep you in suspense. Think of your favourite thriller. 40 __. In films you are not supposed to have access to all the information. Suspense and mystery are essential elements of film-making.
41 __. When you play a game, you have to do certain tasks to proceed to the next level. Therefore, you must be able to see everything in order to make your choices, to decide what to do next: which door to open, and so on. You must have access to all the information. You, as the player, are always in control. In the cinema you never control the action. You just sit and watch.
There can be some interaction between films and computer games on a number of different levels, but in the end they fulfil different needs. 42 __. For all the similarities between technologies and special effects, we shouldn’t forget that a story and a game are fundamentally different.
A We go to the cinema to let someone else tell us a story, knowing we can’t influence what happens at all.
B You wouldn’t be interested in watching the film if you knew the identity of the murderer, for instance.
C This is not true for computer games.
D Its success lies in the use of special effects.
E This usually means that the film has a good chance of being as commercially successful as the game on which it is based.
F One reason is technical.
G However, the difficulty for the producers of Hollywood appears to be knowing where and when to stop.
Part 7
You are going to read a magazine article in which four young people talk about how their parents’ careers have influenced them. For questions 43-52, choose from the options (A-D). The options may be chosen more than once.
Which person …
43. thinks their parent’s job is boring? __
44. was discouraged from following the same profession? __
45. changed their mind about a future career? __
46. experienced pressure to follow the same profession? __
47. feels they has not been influenced in choosing a career? __
48. comes from a long line of people in this profession? __
49. thinks the profession in question offers few opportunities? __
50. is concerned their choice will cause an argument? __
51. thinks that success in their parent’s profession is difficult? __
52. thinks their parent’s profession is rewarding? __
A chip off the old block
How much are children influenced in their choice of profession by their parents’ jobs? We asked four young people about their experience.
A Graham Button
My dad is a self-employed builder, like his father and his grandfather, and that means he was often out working in the evenings or at weekends when I was a child. I think he was proud of doing a ‘real’ job, something with his hands, which is perhaps why he always tried to push me into taking up the same profession. And of course he had his own business, which he wanted me to continue after he retired. When I was in high school, I decided that I really didn’t want to go into the family business, so at the moment I’m studying history. My father probably thinks I’m going to become a partner in his firm after I graduate, so I do worry that we might have a big fight about this some time in the future.
В Sue Smith
My mother’s a nuclear physicist, which sounds very exciting. The truth is it’s a pretty tough profession. And I just don’t think it’s a very interesting job. Of course it’s important, but as far as I can see, you spend most of the day at a desk doing hundreds of calculations, and then checking and rechecking them. My mother did try to motivate me to take an interest in science subjects when I was about 14 or 15, and I think she’d be secretly pleased if I wanted to be a scientist, but she’s never put any sort of pressure on me. But I know she also thinks – as I do – that there aren’t so many jobs available in pure research, which is what she does.
C Barry Porter
When people find out my mother’s an actress, they always ask what Hollywood films she’s been in, and I have to explain that she’s only ever worked in provincial theatres. She’s hardly ever been on television, which is why not many people know her. That’s one of the problems with the theatre: very few people get to the top of the profession, and you have to be extremely lucky just to make a living from it. Actors often worry about where the next job’s coming from. Even if I had any talent for acting, I’d be put off by that side of it. As you can gather, I really don’t think my future is in the theatre, and in any case my mother has always tried to steer me away from taking up the profession.
D Ruth Lawrence
My father teaches maths at high school, which definitely used to come in handy when we had a maths test the next day! I think in the back of his mind he expected me to be good at maths because he was always there to explain it. The truth is I’ve always been terrible at the subject. He also used to tell me about the satisfaction you can get from teaching, and I do think he’s right about that. I used to think I wanted to be a teacher, but then I began to think of the disadvantages. The profession’s changed and these days teachers have to work a lot in the holidays and prepare a lot at home, in the end I decided to go into accounting, and I don’t really think my dad’s job affected my decision at all.
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