Annales gratuites Bac ST2S : The influence of cinema - comprehension

(10 points)

I. General comprehension

Write down the correct answer.

A. This text is an extract from
    1. a newspaper.          2. a novel.           3. a screenplay.

B. The text deals with
    1. a student who works in a cinema.
    2. an adult who relates his childhood.
    3. a teenager who wants to be an actor.

C. America is where the narrator
    1. studies.           2. used to study.           3. wants to study.

II. Detailed comprehension

A. The following statements are RIGHT. Justify by quoting from the text

    1. The narrator's parents would not let him go to the cinema on his own.
    2. On one occasion the narrator went to the cinema instead of going to school.
    3. The narrator had a great time at the cinema that day.
    4. At home, the narrator did not play the same video cassettes as his parents.
    5. One film in particular had an influence on the narrator's plans for the future.

B. RIGHT or WRONG? Justify by quoting from the text.

    1. When Scott suggested they go to the cinema, the narrator first refused.
    2. The narrator was stressed about his father's reaction.
    3. The audience remained silent while watching Rocky IV.
    4. Craig thought The Breakfast Club was worth seeing.
    5. The narrator obtained information on American schools only by watching films.

C. Pick out from the text

    1. three elements symbolizing American High Schools for the narrator.
    2. one sentence showing that the narrator did not realise the importance of his skin
        colour.

D. Find who or what the following words refer to.

    1. l.2 "...in case it opened..."
    2. l.3 "...we skip class..."
    3. l.23 "You have to see..."
    4. l.24 "...to my house..."
    5. l.32 "...let me spend a term..."

E. Find in the text the synonym for each of the following words or expressions :

    1. impatient
    2. did not know (in 3 words)
    3. crowded
    4. exciting
    5. new
    6. persuaded

F. Pick out three words showing that the narrator's plans were not based on reality.

G. Quote the sentence showing what the narrator did in order to make his dream come
     true.

H. Write down the two reasons why his first experience at the cinema was exciting.

    1. He broke a rule.
    2. He was with his girlfriend.
    3. His parents did not know what he was doing.
    4. He was watching a Bollywood film.
    5. He was on a school trip.

.            The cinema had always been forbidden for our family; my parents were nervous about the
     consequences of allowing me to watch films alone in case it opened some moral floodgates
     they would be unable to block. It was Scott who suggested that we skip school one afternoon
     and go to the cinema. The plan was simple: we would go to school as usual in the morning but
 5  rather than returning for double English after lunch we would take the number 27 bus into
     town and go to the ABC. Eager to learn what it was that made my parents so nervous, I
     readily agreed.
             I was fourteen years old the first time I bought a cinema ticket, it was in 1985 and the film
     was Back to the Future. Even now I remember the feeling of wonder that surged through me
10  as I sat in the darkened theatre. The knowledge my parents were unaware of what I was up to
     made the experience even more special; it was so liberating not to have to worry what my
     father might say.
        After Back to the Future I went back to the cinema and saw Rocky IV. Even though I went to
     an afternoon screening the cinema was completely packed. Rocky IV was even more thrilling
15  than Back to the Future because during the fight scenes the entire cinema was cheering Rocky
     as if the fight was actually taking place in the cinema. For someone who had only ever
     watched films in silence at home this was an entirely novel experience.
             Meanwhile after years of hiring video players, my father finally bought a Panasonic VHS
     recorder which was used to watch Bollywood films⁽¹⁾ but when my parents were out and I had
20  the house to myself I would watch other films. One of the boys in my school had a father who
     ran a pirate video store out of the front room of his council flat. (...)
             My friend Craig accidentally influenced me more than he intended on the evening he came
     to my house with a video cassette, breathlessly urging me that 'You have to see that film,
     mate, you're gonna love it.' He did not live far but it was rare for Craig to come to my house
25  so this film had to be something extra special. 'It's called The Breakfast Club,' he told me.
             The Breakfast Club was unlike any other film I had seen; it was also the film that convinced
     me that nothing could be better than to be an American high-school student.
             I visualised having my own metal locker, imagined the pressure of prom night⁽²⁾ and
     speculated on what it might be like to date a cheerleader. In my daydreams, the possibility
30  that my high-school experience might differ on my account of not being white did not arise. I
     became so obsessed with the idea that on my weekend visits to Luton Library I began reading
     about exchange programmes that would let me spend a term at an American high school. It
     seems an absurd teenage fantasy but at the time I was deadly serious and truly believed that
     were it not for my obstructive parents I really could be an American high-school student.
35  

Sarfraz Manzoon, The Promised Land, 2007

(1) Bollywood films : films made in India
(2) prom night : school party

I. General comprehension

A. This text is an extract from
    2. a novel
B. The text deals with
    2. an adult who relates his childhood
C. America is where the narrator
    3. wants to study.

II . Detailed comprehension

A. The following statements are RIGHT. Justify by quoting from the text
    1. The narrator's parents would not let him go to the cinema on his own.
ll. 1-2: "The cinema had always been forbidden for our family; my parents were nervous about the consequences of allowing me to watch films alone in case it opened some moral floodgates".
    2. On one occasion the narrator went to the cinema instead of going to school.
ll. 4-7: "The plan was simple: we would go to school as usual in the morning but rather than returning for double English after lunch we would take the number 27 bus into town and go to the ABC. Eager to learn what it was that made my parents so nervous, I readily agreed."
    3. The narrator had a great time at the cinema that day.
l. 9: "Even now I remember the feeling of wonder that surged through me [...]"
    4. At home, the narrator did not play the same video cassettes as his parents.
ll. 19-20: "[...]When my parents were out and I had the house to myself I would watch other films"
    5. One film in particular had an influence on the narrator's plans for the future.
ll. 26-27: "The Breakfast Club was unlike any other film I had seen; it was also the film that convinced me that nothing could be better than to be an American high-school student [...]" OU ll. 22-23: "My friend Craig accidentally influenced me more than he intended on the evening he came to my house with a video cassette [...]"

B. RIGHT or WRONG? Justify by quoting from the text.
    1. When Scott suggested they go to the cinema, the narrator first refused.
WRONG. ll. 6/7 :"I readily agreed".
    2. The narrator was stressed about his father's reaction.
WRONG. l.11 : "[...] it was so liberating not to have to worry what my father might say."
    3. The audience remained silent while watching Rocky IV.
WRONG. l.15 : "[...] because during the fight scenes the entire cinema was cheering Rocky[...]"
    4. Craig thought The Breakfast Club was worth seeing.
RIGHT ll.23/24 :" 'You have to see that film mate, you're gonna love it'".
    5. The narrator obtained information on American schools only by watching films.
WRONG. ll. 31/32 :" I began reading about exchange programmes that would let me spend a term at an American high school."

C. Pick out from the text
    1. three elements symbolizing American High Schools for the narrator.
- Having my own metal locker.
- The pressure of prom night
- Date a cheerleader.
    2. one sentence showing that the narrator did not realise the importance of his skin
        colour.
- ll. 29/30 : "In my daydreams, the possibility that my high-school experience might differ on my account of not being white did not arise".

D. Find who or what the following words refer to.
    1. l.2 "...in case it opened..."
"it" refers to the cinema or watching films.
    2. l.3 "...we skip class..."
"we" refers to Scott and the narrator.
    3. l.23 "You have to see..."
"You" refers to the narrator.
    4. l.24 "...to my house..."
"My" refers to the narrator.
    5. l.32 "...let me spend a term..."
"Me" refers to the narrator.

E. Find in the text the synonym for each of the following words or expressions :
    1. impatient : "eager" l.6
    2. did not know (in 3 words) : "were unaware of" l.10
    3. crowded : "packed" l.14
    4. exciting : "thrilling" l.14
    5. new : "novel" l.17
    6. persuaded : "convinced" l.26

F. Pick out three words showing that the narrator's plans were not based on reality.
l.. 28 : "imagined"
l. 29 : "daydreams"
l. 33 : "fantasy".

G. Quote the sentence showing what the narrator did in order to make his dream come
     true.
ll. 31.32 : "I began reading about exchange programmes that would let me spend a term at an American high school."

H. Write down the two reasons why his first experience at the cinema was exciting.
    1. He broke a rule.
    3. His parents did not know what he was doing.