SCUOLA SUPERIORE MEDIATORI LINGUISTICI DI PADOVARIVIERA TITO LIVIO, 43 – PADOVA

COGNOME E NOME DEL CANDIDATO:

Esame di AmmissioneAnno Accademico …

USE OF ENGLISH / READING AND WRITING

(Time allowed: 80 minutes)

SECTION I

1. Read the text and answer the questions.Why Netflix’s ‘skip intro’ feature is bad news for classic films

If you arrive at the cinema a few minutes late, it doesn’t really matter. You avoid a few trailers you’ve probably already seen or you might miss the opening credits. But, for some people, everything about the film is important, including the opening credits and the introduction.Netflix recently introduced a feature that traditional film lovers may not like. It allows its viewers to skip the introduction of certain films. When you press “play”, a small “skip intro” box appears in the bottom right-hand corner. You don’t have to skip the credits but you might want to save a few minutes.Netflix began offering this feature for TV episodes in March. Nobody complained. Now, there will also be the same feature for films. For example, you can avoid watching a feather floating on the wind for three minutes at the beginning of Forrest Gump or skip the first thirty seconds of Pirates of the Caribbean. But you can’t skip the slow riverboat ride that begins The African Queen. Is Netflix only using this feature for its most popular films? Perhaps, but we don’t know.One thing is clear: when we lose intros, we lose something artistic. The intro has a unique and colourful history, and is also a kind of art. In the first half of the twentieth century, these intros were like the opening pages of a book. They were just a list of the actors and crew who worked on the film, with no reference to the content of the film that followed.In 1955, everything changed, when the graphic designer Saul Bass created the titles for The Man with the Golden Arm, a drama about a jazz musician with a heroin addiction. His introduction had white lines moving across a black screen during the opening credits. In the end, the lines came together as a deformed human arm.Hollywood started to use Bass’s idea. By the mid-1960s, studio movies were paying huge amounts of money for elaborate, animated intros, such as those featured in the Pink Panther films. These silly animated openings disappeared in the 1970s but came back in the early ‘90s in comedies such as City Slickers and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. These days, the spirit of Bass can be felt in some of Steven Spielberg’s more fun films, such as Catch Me If You Can and The Adventures of Tintin – they both have colourful, complex openings.A great intro often introduces a groundbreaking film. Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing started with three minutes of Rosie Perez dancing hip-hop. Audiences had never seen anything like it in a cinema. Stanley Kubrick’s Dr Strangelove opened with beautiful classical music and images of nuclear fighter pilots.If directors stop using artistic intros like these, Netflix’s feature is not the cause. For many years, the

1

COGNOME E NOME DEL CANDIDATO:

opening credits have become shorter and shorter, from the full cast and crew listthat opened films in the classical era to today, when most films go straight from the title to the action. Of the nine films nominated for best picture at 2017’s Oscars, only one – Lion – had opening credits that lasted beyond the film’s title. Moonlight, the winner, had no opening credits at all; the film started straight away.These days, our attention spans are becoming shorter and shorter. Films need more patience from their audience so they are already fighting a difficult battle. At least we can each play our part. Don’t use the “skip intro” box, watch the intro and save a little piece of history.

First published in The Guardian, 15/05/17

1.1. Match the beginning with the correct ending to make statements about the text

1.2 Fill the gaps in the sentences using these key words from thebox. The paragraph numbers are given to help you.

SECTION II

2

/06

/10

COGNOME E NOME DEL CANDIDATO:

a. Complete the questions below.

0. A: What was he doing when I called?B: He was talking to his mother.

1. A: __________ __________ at school?B: No, they were on holiday with their parents.

2. A: __________ __________ ________ to the library yet?B: No, I haven’t had time.

3.

4.

5.

b. Complete the sentence with the correct word formed from the word in brackets.

0. I visited Madrid on a rainy day in September. (RAIN)

6. My friends gave me a lot of_________________________ when I was worried about my driving test. (ENCOURAGE)

7. If you drink too much alcohol, it will impair your_________________________ . (JUDGE)

8.

9.

10.

/10

SECTION III

3.1 Complete the second sentence so that the meaning remains the same as the first. Use no more than three words.

0. We own this car. This car is ours.

1. I haven't been to a concert for a long time.It's a long time since _____________________________________________ a concert.

2. I've never been to this shop before.This is ........................................ I've been in this shop.

3

COGNOME E NOME DEL CANDIDATO:

3.

4.

5.

6. It’s a long time since our conversation.We _____________________________________________ in a long time.

7.

8.

9.

10.

/20

SECTION IV

4.1 Choose the correct alternative (A, B, C or D) to complete each sentence.0. Don't worry. I have already checked on the status of the flight. A. yet B. sinceC. already D. for

1. In general, he ________ about personal matters with strangers.A. isn’t speak B. isn’t speakingC. doesn’t speak D. wasn’t spoken

2. We _________ the gates to open at 7:00 yesterday, but the concert was cancelled.A. expect B. would expectC. were expected D. were expecting

3.A. B.C. D.

4.A. B.C. D.

5.A. B.C. D.

6.

4

COGNOME E NOME DEL CANDIDATO:

A. B.C. D.

7.A. B.C. D.

8.A. B.C. D.

9.A. B.C. D.

10.A. B.C. D.

/20

SECTION V

5.1 PART Questions 1 – 5Listen and complete the table below

5

COGNOME E NOME DEL CANDIDATO:

5.2 PART 25.2.1 Listen and choose the correct letter for questions 11-14

6

/10

COGNOME E NOME DEL CANDIDATO:

5.2.2 Listen and complete the table with the missing information. Use maximum 3 words.

SECTION VI

Write an essay answering one of the questions below in approximately 200 words.

(Time allowed: 40 minutes)

1) Some people believe that teaching children at home is best for a child’s development while others think that it is important for children to go to school. Discuss the advantages of both methods and give your own opinion.Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

2) A person’s worth nowadays seems to be judged according to social status and material possessions. Old-fashioned values, such as honour, kindness and trust, no longer seem important.To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

7

/10

/20