Reading.

Read the texts and choose all possible answers.

It was lunch break and my friends and I were all hanging out. Near us was a group of girls from a few years above me. They were really popular girls who everyone wanted to be friends with. Suddenly one of the girls started waving at me and smiling. I couldn’t believe she wanted to talk to me. I waved back and walked over to her with a big smile on my face. When I arrived, she gave me a strange look and said ‘Can I help you?’ so I said, ‘...you waved at me to come over.’ She laughed and said ‘I wasn’t waving at you! I was waving at Susan!’, and at that point, a girl arrived from behind me and they all started giggling. I wanted to run away and hide, but instead I just smiled and pretended I wasn’t embarrassed. I walked back to my friends feeling like such a fool.

Penny, Rochester

Read the texts and choose all possible answers.

Last year I took part in the school dance contest. I love breaking and I was really excited about performing. Every single student from school was there on that night. I was a bit nervous but I thought to myself ‘If I remember my moves, I will win this contest!’ I went onto the stage and the music started. I was sure of myself and I started to relax, so I decided to try to introduce some new and more difficult moves. For a moment, I forgot where I was and the next thing I knew, I fell off the stage in front of everyone. The music stopped and a teacher ran over to see if I was OK. I was fine, but I was so disappointed that I wasn’t paying attention to the others laughing around me. My friends made fun of me for weeks. Thankfully, in the end, I saw the funny side too.

Jack, Farringdon

Read the texts and choose all possible answers.

I was at the shopping centre with my friends and we were waiting to go to the cinema. Some kids from my school were there, as well as the new guy from my Science class. As we were heading towards the cinema, I decided I would try to get his attention and wave at him. He saw me and smiled. I felt great and smiled back at him, but then suddenly there was a loud bang as I walked straight into a glass door. My friends started laughing, and the new guy shouted out ‘If I were you, I’d look where I was going!’ I was so embarrassed and I was also pretty annoyed with my friends.

Diana, Stratford

Find the correct response for each phrase.

Find the correct response for each phrase.

Find the correct response for each phrase.

Find the correct response for each phrase.

Read the text and answer the questions. Choose a, b or c.

STUNT PERFORMERS

A stunt performer, also called stuntman or stuntwoman, is the person who does the dangerous stunts when making a film or TV programme. Stunt performers have to jump out of cars, set themselves on fire, fall out of helicopters, anything that is considered too dangerous for actors.

In the early days, cinema actors such as Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin did most of their own stunts. These were often very dangerous and the actors weren’t as fit and strong as actors today. However, filmmakers quickly realised how dangerous this was and began using stunt performers so that nothing happened to their leading actors.

Often, it is important for the stunt performer and the actor of the scene to look alike. These are called stunt doubles and they can work with actors for decades on a variety of films. Most action film actors use stunt doubles, though some are known to do a few of their own stunts. Tom Cruise performed many stunts in Mission: Impossible films and Viggo Mortenson who played Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings films played all of his own action scenes, including fighting with a sword. He was injured a few times but luckily not too seriously.

There are some stars who are famous for being both actors and stunt performers. Jackie Chan has made over 100 films performing some incredible stunts. He is famous for making sure scenes are perfect and once it took 2900 takes to get one scene just right. Over the years Chan has had many injuries and broken most of his bones on various occasions. Other stunt performers are not as lucky. The Indian action film actor Jayan was a legend in India and was also famous for performing all of his own stunts. In 1980 he died during a stunt where he was hanging from a helicopter that crashed.

Surprisingly, stunt performing is as popular as ever with many people wanting to get into it. However, with the development of computer graphics or CGI, filmmakers can produce virtual scenes by using computers. CGI appears in almost all films nowadays and it is becoming easier to create and cheaper, meaning the demand for stunt performers is less. Many filmmakers disagree with this and believe there will always be a place for stunt performers. People will always react better when they see an actual person performing stunts.

Why did filmmakers start using stunt performers?

Read the text and answer the questions. Choose a, b or c.

STUNT PERFORMERS

A stunt performer, also called stuntman or stuntwoman, is the person who does the dangerous stunts when making a film or TV programme. Stunt performers have to jump out of cars, set themselves on fire, fall out of helicopters, anything that is considered too dangerous for actors.

In the early days, cinema actors such as Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin did most of their own stunts. These were often very dangerous and the actors weren’t as fit and strong as actors today. However, filmmakers quickly realised how dangerous this was and began using stunt performers so that nothing happened to their leading actors.

Often, it is important for the stunt performer and the actor of the scene to look alike. These are called stunt doubles and they can work with actors for decades on a variety of films. Most action film actors use stunt doubles, though some are known to do a few of their own stunts. Tom Cruise performed many stunts in Mission: Impossible films and Viggo Mortenson who played Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings films played all of his own action scenes, including fighting with a sword. He was injured a few times but luckily not too seriously.

There are some stars who are famous for being both actors and stunt performers. Jackie Chan has made over 100 films performing some incredible stunts. He is famous for making sure scenes are perfect and once it took 2900 takes to get one scene just right. Over the years Chan has had many injuries and broken most of his bones on various occasions. Other stunt performers are not as lucky. The Indian action film actor Jayan was a legend in India and was also famous for performing all of his own stunts. In 1980 he died during a stunt where he was hanging from a helicopter that crashed.

Surprisingly, stunt performing is as popular as ever with many people wanting to get into it. However, with the development of computer graphics or CGI, filmmakers can produce virtual scenes by using computers. CGI appears in almost all films nowadays and it is becoming easier to create and cheaper, meaning the demand for stunt performers is less. Many filmmakers disagree with this and believe there will always be a place for stunt performers. People will always react better when they see an actual person performing stunts.

What did Viggo Mortenson do in the Lord of the Rings films?

Read the text and answer the questions. Choose a, b or c.

STUNT PERFORMERS

A stunt performer, also called stuntman or stuntwoman, is the person who does the dangerous stunts when making a film or TV programme. Stunt performers have to jump out of cars, set themselves on fire, fall out of helicopters, anything that is considered too dangerous for actors.

In the early days, cinema actors such as Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin did most of their own stunts. These were often very dangerous and the actors weren’t as fit and strong as actors today. However, filmmakers quickly realised how dangerous this was and began using stunt performers so that nothing happened to their leading actors.

Often, it is important for the stunt performer and the actor of the scene to look alike. These are called stunt doubles and they can work with actors for decades on a variety of films. Most action film actors use stunt doubles, though some are known to do a few of their own stunts. Tom Cruise performed many stunts in Mission: Impossible films and Viggo Mortenson who played Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings films played all of his own action scenes, including fighting with a sword. He was injured a few times but luckily not too seriously.

There are some stars who are famous for being both actors and stunt performers. Jackie Chan has made over 100 films performing some incredible stunts. He is famous for making sure scenes are perfect and once it took 2900 takes to get one scene just right. Over the years Chan has had many injuries and broken most of his bones on various occasions. Other stunt performers are not as lucky. The Indian action film actor Jayan was a legend in India and was also famous for performing all of his own stunts. In 1980 he died during a stunt where he was hanging from a helicopter that crashed.

Surprisingly, stunt performing is as popular as ever with many people wanting to get into it. However, with the development of computer graphics or CGI, filmmakers can produce virtual scenes by using computers. CGI appears in almost all films nowadays and it is becoming easier to create and cheaper, meaning the demand for stunt performers is less. Many filmmakers disagree with this and believe there will always be a place for stunt performers. People will always react better when they see an actual person performing stunts.

What is true about Jackie Chan?

Read the text and answer the questions. Choose a, b or c.

STUNT PERFORMERS

A stunt performer, also called stuntman or stuntwoman, is the person who does the dangerous stunts when making a film or TV programme. Stunt performers have to jump out of cars, set themselves on fire, fall out of helicopters, anything that is considered too dangerous for actors.

In the early days, cinema actors such as Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin did most of their own stunts. These were often very dangerous and the actors weren’t as fit and strong as actors today. However, filmmakers quickly realised how dangerous this was and began using stunt performers so that nothing happened to their leading actors.

Often, it is important for the stunt performer and the actor of the scene to look alike. These are called stunt doubles and they can work with actors for decades on a variety of films. Most action film actors use stunt doubles, though some are known to do a few of their own stunts. Tom Cruise performed many stunts in Mission: Impossible films and Viggo Mortenson who played Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings films played all of his own action scenes, including fighting with a sword. He was injured a few times but luckily not too seriously.

There are some stars who are famous for being both actors and stunt performers. Jackie Chan has made over 100 films performing some incredible stunts. He is famous for making sure scenes are perfect and once it took 2900 takes to get one scene just right. Over the years Chan has had many injuries and broken most of his bones on various occasions. Other stunt performers are not as lucky. The Indian action film actor Jayan was a legend in India and was also famous for performing all of his own stunts. In 1980 he died during a stunt where he was hanging from a helicopter that crashed.

Surprisingly, stunt performing is as popular as ever with many people wanting to get into it. However, with the development of computer graphics or CGI, filmmakers can produce virtual scenes by using computers. CGI appears in almost all films nowadays and it is becoming easier to create and cheaper, meaning the demand for stunt performers is less. Many filmmakers disagree with this and believe there will always be a place for stunt performers. People will always react better when they see an actual person performing stunts.

Why do filmmakers use CGI instead of stunt performers?