By Ajarn Helen Jandamit
Photos courtesy of Bangkok Post,
Walt Disney and Pixar
University Tips is here to help you prepare for the English exams and tests that are coming your way. It gives you practise answering questions similar to those you may have at school and also on the University Entrance Examination.
Read the following announcement and look at the event listing from the Bangkok Post. Then, answer the questions that follow.
At the D23 Expo in Anaheim, Rapunzel met Darth Vader, Minnie made friends with Captain America, and Angelina Jolie swooped down as a witch. Every two years, fans of Walt Disney go to the D23 fan gathering, which is named after the year that Walt Disney set up his studio in Hollywood.
The meeting was the third and biggest D23. In the past seven years Disney has grown in size and ambition. It has bought Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel and Lucasfilm, which includes the Star Wars franchise.
Disney’s pop-culture influence to the world has been huge. During the three-day D23, Disney re-affirmed a cultural experience, based on its long history of storytelling and optimistic characters.
A highlight of D23 was the announcement of new projects. Disney began as an animation studio, and everybody was talking about the man who is the current creative-in-chief of Disney’s three animation studios, John Lasseter.
On stage, Lasseter was greeted like a rock star. He showed clips from the film The Good Dinosaur, along with clips showing the animation process, half-finished scenes and sequences, and black and white drawings.
At D23, Lasseter also presented a new short featuring Mickey Mouse in a combination of 1920s black and white 2-D drawing and newer 3-D techniques. To this writer, the exhilarating three-minute short film was the best thing at the event. Called Mickey Mouse: Get A Horse, the film also featured the voice of Walt Disney himself.
Exercises
Section 1
Read the story. Then, answer the following multiple choice questions.
1. What is D23 named after?
a. It is named after 23 Disney films.
b. It is named after the year that Walt Disney set up his studio in Hollywood.
c. It is named after Pixar Animation Studios.
2. Whose voice is featured in Mickey Mouse: Get A Horse?
a. Angelina Jolie’s voice.
b. John Lasseter’s voice.
c. Walt Disney’s voice.
3. How many D23 meetings have there been so far?
a. The story does not say.
b. 23.
c. Three.
4. When is Mickey Mouse: Get A Horse going to be released?
a. In December 2013.
b. In December 2014.
c. In October 2015.
5. What does the writer think about Disney's pop-culture influence in the world?
a. The writer thinks that Disney has had no influence.
b. The writer thinks that Disney’s influence is getting smaller.
c. The writer thinks that Disney’s influence has been huge.
Section 2
Read the story again. Then, decide whether the following statements are true or false.
6. Mickey Mouse: Get A Horse is a feature length film.
……………………
7. Maleficent is a film that will star Angelina Jolie.
……………………
8. Mickey Mouse: Get A Horse was made in the 1920s.
……………………
9. Frozen is an animated film.
……………………
10. Walt Disney was a real person.
……………………
Section 3
Underline the grammatically correct tense form in each sentence from the choices given.
11. Imagine what would have happened/what never happened/happens if the dinosaurs had not become extinct.
…………………………
12. The crowd showed how much they appreciates/appreciated/appreciating/ Lasseter.
…………………………
13. Walt Disney began/beginning/are beginning the business that still has his name by starting an animation studio.
…………………………
14. The Good Dinosaur will be released/releasing/is released in 2014.
…………………………
15. The writer of this feature felt that the best thing at D23 is/was/were the short film, Mickey Mouse: Get A Horse.
…………………………
Section 4
Mach each of the following words with the definitions that best fit the way the words are used in the story.
16. character
a. somebody considered in terms of personality, behaviour or appearance
b. one of the people in a book, play or movie
c. a letter or symbol
17. short
a. not long
b. not tall
c. a movie that is only a few minutes long
18. clip
a. a short piece from a movie.
b. a piece of jewelry with a gripping device that attaches to clothing
c. to cut
19. black and white
a. in writing or in print
b. having no colours except black, white and shades of grey
c. in a way that makes things or people seem completely right or wrong, or completely good or bad
Section 5
Read the following passage. Then, fill in the blanks with the correct words from the choices given.
Tomorrowland is a sci-fi saga that will …..20….. George Clooney. Director Brad Bird said that Tomorrowland began with a …..21….. photograph of Walt Disney and Amelia Earhart found in …..22….. dusty old box in the basement archive …..23….. the Disney Company. Tomorrowland will be ……. 14 …… next year.
20.
a. star
b. starred
c. starring
21.
a. mysterious
b. mysteriously
c. mystery
22.
a. these
b. an
c. a
23.
a. on
b. of
d. into
24.
a. release
b. released
c. releasing
Vocabulary
- ambition (n): the desire or determination to be successful, rich, powerful, etc.
optimistic (adj): expecting good things to happen or something to be successful
exhilarating (adj): very exciting and enjoyable
