IELTS|Upper-Intermediate|Revise and Check 2

Read the grammar rules

Use of articles

The indefinite article a/an is used to:

• stress the idea of being general/non-specific: Can I borrow a pen? (= any pen)
• refer to someone’s job or function: She’s a physiotherapist.
• mean one: The flat has a sitting room and two bedrooms.

The definite article the is used:

• to refer to something specific or unique: The university is holding the seminar next Wednesday. (= the university we study at, the seminar we have already mentioned)
• with plural countable nouns to refer to something known, something specific or to something that has been mentioned before: An experiment was carried out on 500 school children. The children were divided into two groups.
• with superlative and other similar adjectives: The most surprising result was also the most significant.
• in the … the comparative structures: The harder you study, the more you’ll learn.
  with the following names:

1. some countries, especially consisting of several parts: the United States, the Netherlands;

2. rivers, seas and oceans, island groups, mountain ranges and deserts: the Amazon, the Black Sea, the Pacific, the Bahamas, the Alps, the Sahara.

We use no article:

• with plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns with a general meaning or when we are generalising: Behaviour is very influenced by colour. People generally react unconsciously to it.
• in certain expressions connected with places, institutions or situations: Did you go to university? (= Were you a student?) What did you do in class today? (= What did you learn?).
• with the majority of countries: China, England.
• with individual islands and mountains have no article: Majorca, Everest.

Revise the exam format

Reading Part 2

Listening Section 2

Writing Task 2

Speaking Part 2

You will be able to:

• check your skills of dealing with table completion and pick from the list tasks in Listening Section 2 IELTS Exam;
• check your skills of dealing with matching headings, summary completion, pick from the list tasks in Reading Part 2 IELTS Exam;
• check your speaking skills while talking about a thing and an event in Speaking Part 2 IELTS Exam;
• revise the cases of use of articles;
• revise vocabulary on the topics «Conducting a research», «A must attend event», «Expressing opinion and doubt», «Describing an object».

Read the passage and do the tasks below

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-26, which are based on Reading Passage 2 below.

Three dimensional films

A. In the theatre of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, on the evening of 27 September 1922, a new form of film-making made its commercial debut: 3D. The film, The Power of Love, was then shown in New York City to exhibitors and press, but was subsequently not picked up for distribution and is now believed to be lost. The following three decades were a period of quiet experimentation for 3D pioneers, as they adapted to new technologies and steadily improved the viewing experience. In 1952 the «golden era» of 3D is considered to have begun with the release of Bwana Devil, and over the next several years audiences met with a string of films that used the technology. Over the following decades it waxed and waned within filmmaking circles, peaking in the 1970s and again in the 1990s when IMAX gained traction, but it is only in the last few years that 3D appears to have firmly entered mainstream production.

B. Released worldwide in December 2009, the fantasy film Avatar quickly became the highest-grossing film ever made, knocking Titanic from the top slot. Avatar, set in 2154 on a planet in a distant solar system, went on to become the only film to have earned US$2 billion world-wide, and is now approaching the $3 billion mark. The main reason for its runaway popularity appears to be its visual splendour. Though most critics praised the film, it was mostly on account of its ground-breaking special effects. Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times praised Avatar’s ‘powerful’ visual accomplishments, but suggested the dialogue was ‘flat’ and the characterisations ‘obvious’. A film analyst at Exhibitor Relations has agreed, noting that Avatar has cemented the use of 3D as a production and promotional tool for blockbuster films, rather than as a mere niche or novelty experiment. «This is why all these 3D venues were built», he said. «This is the one. The behemoth… The holy grail of 3D has finally arrived».

C. Those who embrace 3D note that it spices up a trip to the cinema by adding a more active «embodied» layer of experience instead of the viewer passively receiving the film through eyes and ears only. A blogger on Animation Ideas writes, «… when 3-D is done well, like in the flying scenes in Up, How to Train Your Dragon and Avatar, there is an added feeling of vertigo. If you have any fear of heights, the 3D really adds to this element …» Kevin Carr argues that the backlash against 3D is similar to that which occurred against CGI several years ago, and points out that CGI is now widely regarded as part of the film-maker’s artistic toolkit. He also notes that new technology is frequently seen to be a «gimmick» in its early days, pointing out that many commentators slapped the first «talkie» films of the early 1920s with this same label.

D. But not everyone greets the rise of 3D with open arms. Some ophthalmologists point out that 3D can have unsettling physical effects for many viewers. Dr. Michael Rosenberg, a professor at Northwestern University, has pointed out that many people go through life with minor eye disturbances — a slight muscular imbalance, for example, that does not interrupt day-to-day activities. In the experience of a 3D movie, however, this problem can be exacerbated through the viewer trying to concentrate on unusual visual phenomena. Dr. Deborah Friedman, from the University of Rochester Medical Center, notes that the perception of depth conjured through three dimensions does not complement the angles from which we take in the world. Eyestrains, headaches and nausea are, therefore, a problem for around 15% of a 3D film audience.

E. Film critic Roger Ebert warns that 3D is detrimental to good film-making. Firstly, he argues, the technology is simply unnecessary, 2D movies are «already» 3D, as far as our minds are concerned. Adding the extra dimension with technology, instead of letting our minds do the work, can actually be counter-purposeful and make the overall effect seem clumsy and contrived. Ebert also points out that the special glasses dim the effect by soaking up light from the screen, making 3D films a slightly duller experience than they might otherwise be. Finally, Ebert suggests that 3D encourages film-makers to undercut drama and narrative in favour of simply piling on more gimmicks and special effects. «Hollywood is racing headlong toward the kiddie market,» he says, pointing to Disney’s announcement that it will no longer make traditional films in favour of animation, franchises, and superheroes.

F. Whether or not 3D becomes a powerful force for the film-maker’s vision and the film-going experience, or goes down in history as an over-hyped, expensive novelty, the technology certainly shows no signs of fading in the popularity stakes at the moment. Clash of the Titans, Alice in Wonderland and How to Train Your Dragon have all recently benefited at the box office due to the added sales that 3D provides, and with Avatars record set to last some time as a totem of 3D’s commercial possibilities, studios are not prepared to back down.

Questions 14-19

Reading Passage 2 has six sections, A-F.

Choose the correct headings for sections A — F from the list of headings below.

Questions 20-26

Look at the following statements (Questions 20-26) and the list of people below.

Match each statement with the correct person, A-G.

Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes 20-26 on your answer sheet.

NB You may use any letter more than once.

NB Some options may not be used.

Practice doing exam section 2. Listen and do all the tasks

Questions 11-16

Complete the notes below.

Write no more than two words for each answer.

Read the task and prepare your 2-minute speech on the topic «The picture I remember well»

Part 2 Individual Long Turn

Before you talk, you’ll have one minute to think about what you’re going to say. You can make some notes if you wish.

IELTS Speaking Part 2

Describe a picture or photograph that you have seen which you remember clearly.

You should say:

• what the image was;
• where and when you saw it;
• what type of feelings you had when you saw it

and say why you think you remember it.

Exam tips

Speaking Part 2

1. Use appropriate phrases to introduce and end your talk and to help you keep going.

2. Paraphrase when you don’t know the word(s).

3. Use intonation to show how you feel.

4. Speak no longer than 2 minutes

5. Cover all of the points and provide a relevant answer:

Allow your browser access to your microphone, press the button «Record» and record the speech you have prepared

Read the task in the green box. Then plan your answer by writing the key notes that are true for you in the table below

Writing Task 2

Some people think that museums should be enjoyable places to entertain people, while others believe that the purpose of museums is to educate.

Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

Write a discursive essay making use of the notes above. You should write at least 250 words, and spend about 35 minutes on the task

Useful language

Exam tips

Writing Task 2

1. Analyse the task carefully first. You will lose marks if you misread the question or fail to deal with all parts of the task.

2. Brainstorm ideas, make a quick plan and write following your plan.

3. Provide some arguments in favour of your opinion. In a discursive essay, you should also give one or two counter-arguments that go against your opinion.

4. Use appropriate attitude adverbials to indicate your views in a clear and consistent way.

If you open the lesson plan you will be able to assign separate pages as homework or all the homework pages at once.