Practice 1

2025年09月26日

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Practice 1

Use the following key words to make up two sentences, one states fact and the other one opinion.“George Washington, president, United States.”

Fact:____________________________________________

Opinion:____________________________________________

Read the passage again and do the exercises that follow.

The Impact of Films

[1] Anthropologist Linton says, “The main reasons for going to see films have been to learn about the world of ideas and things, to forget and get away, to escape, to pass time, to relieve boredom, to impress others.” In the last fifty years, cinema has become not only a serious art form but a field of study by itself. Continuous advancement in film technology and high level of conceptualization of the film take viewer to the world outside his day-to-day world providing entertainment, which has made cinema a popular medium of masses.

[2] Many social scientists have shared their informal experiences and observation regarding the impact that films have created. Films have a hypnotic influence on most children and adults. They imitate the heroes and heroines. They indulge in day dreaming and fantasy and when it increases, children become unable to accept the hard realities of life. Apart from these, films create fear, terror, sorrow and pathos, love and passion, thrill, excitement and stimulation. People suffer from hang-over after watching a film. Thus, films have a dynamic influence on people which ultimately affects the society as a whole.

[3] Most films implicitly subscribe to the view that the highest goals in life are power, money, luxury,public adulation and one can use any means to achieve these goals. Thus, most of the films glorify false patterns of life. There have been few studies on effects of violence and sex in specific films on children and youth. When we want to know the impact of films, we have to look at how stories of cinema affect the actual life of people.

[4] In 1980s and early 1990s, there had been a decline in the movie going population due to the availability of VCR and Cable Television across all socio-economic groups. The increasing cost of going to the movies has made movie going a much more elitist activity, whereas, television absorbs the interest of those with lower socio-economic status. However, films as mass media continue to play an important role in leisure pattern of our society. Despite television, many people today go to the theatre to see the films to enjoy the photography and music and sound effects, whenever they have leisure time. Some enjoy it on television, whereas, some watch it on video at their own convenience, without being under the pressure of following the time schedule of a theatre or television.

[5] Many foreign films are also being shown in theatres as well as on television. Many feel that these films pose a threat to our cultural identity. Others believe these films help people know the culture, values,and people of the world. As a result, they are able to select their value system with more wisdom and maturity, because cultural openness also contributes to the development of mind.

New Words and Expressions

anthropologist / pagenumber_ebook=41,pagenumber_book=32 ænθrəpɒlədʒɪst/ n.人类学家