Section III　Text B: From Fantasy to Reality—Beauty and the Beast

Part 1　Power of Words

Core Words

1 advent ['ædvent] n.

The advent of an important event, invention, or situation is the fact of it starting or coming into existence.

synonym　coming; arrival; start; beginning; dawn; initiation

antonym　departure

related phrase　the advent of sth.

Example 1 The advent of the computer has brought this sort of task within the bounds of possibility.

Example 2 When I met him in 2002, he seemed mostly depressed by the advent of the Web.

2 benevolent [bə'nevələnt] adj.

If you describe a person in authority as benevolent, you mean that they are kind and fair.

synonym　friendly; sweet; humane; benign; kind; caring; compassionate; generous

antonym　evil; malevolent

word family　benevolence; benevolently

Example 1 The company has proved to be a most benevolent employer.

Example 2 A benevolent uncle paid for her to have music lessons.

3 cherish ['tʃerɪʃ] vt. (cherished/cherished/cherishing)

If you cherish something, it is very important to you.

synonym　treasure; value; appreciate; prize; relish; imbosom

antonym　neglect

word family　cherished

related phrase　cherish a dream/a memory/a hope/an idea/time

Example 1 Thankfully, you were always there to help, and I will always cherish that.

Example 2 Cherish the people around, because you do not know what will happen the next second.

4 default [dɪ'fɔːlt] n.

failure to do something that must be done by law, especially paying a debt

synonym　avoidance; evasion; nonappearance; nonattendance

antonym　pay

word family　defaulting

related phrase　by default

Example 1 The corporation may be charged with default on its contract with the government.

Example 2 The bank can seize the asset in the event of a default in payment.

5 embody [ɪm'bɒdɪ] vt. (embodied/embodied/embodying)

To embody an idea or quality means to be a symbol or expression of that idea or quality.

synonym　exemplify; symbolize; represent; personify; express

word family　embodiment

Example 1 Jack Kennedy embodied all the hopes of the 1960s.

Example 2 She embodies everything I admire in a teacher.

6 innovative ['ɪnə9veɪtɪv] adj.

Something that is innovative is new and original; An innovative person introduces changes and new ideas.

synonym　groundbreaking; advanced; state-of-the-art; pioneering; inventive

antonym　outdated

word family　innovate; innovation; innovator

related phrase　innovative design/idea/thinking/method/work/business

Example 1 They sell products which are cheaper, more innovative and more reliable than those of their competitors.

Example 2 He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.

7 meditate ['medɪteɪt] vi. (meditated/meditated/meditating)

If you meditate on something, you think about it very carefully and deeply for a long time.

synonym　contemplate; ponder; think; consider; deliberate

word family　meditation; meditator

related phrase　mediate on

Example 1 She sat quietly, meditating on the day's events.

Example 2 On the day her son began school, she meditated on the uncertainties of his future.

8 predecessor ['priːdəsesə] n.

Your predecessor is the person who had your job before you.

synonym　precursor; forerunner; ancestor; antecedent; prototype

antonym　successor

Example 1 He maintained that he learned everything he knew from his predecessor.

Example 2 Kennedy's predecessor as President was the war hero Dwight Eisenhower.

9 safeguard ['seɪfɡɑːd] vt. (safeguarded/safeguarded/safeguarding)

To safeguard something or someone means to protect them from being harmed, lost, or badly treated.

synonym　protect; defense; take safety measure

antonym　endanger

related phrase　safeguard interest/security/peace/right/welfare

Example 1 They will press for international action to safeguard the ozone layer.

Example 2 Safeguard your passwords and change them frequently.

10 waive [weɪv] vt. (waived/waived/waiving)

If you waive your right to something such as legal representation, you choose not to have it or do it.

synonym　surrender; give up; yield; quit; relinquish; put aside; ignore

antonym　retain

word family　waiver

related phrase　waive right/requirement/rule/fee/claim

Example 1 He pleaded guilty to the murders of three boys and waived his right to appeal.

Example 2 You agree to waive the claim, which speaks well for your friendly attitude and close cooperation.

11 colossal [kə'lɒsl] adj.

If you describe something as colossal, you are emphasizing that it is very large.

synonym　huge; massive; immense; gigantic; oversize

antonym　tiny

word family　colossally

related phrase　colossal scale/mistake/task/statue

Example 1 Even by modern standards, the 46,000 ton Titanic was a colossal ship.

Example 2 There has been a colossal waste of public money.

12 lucrative ['luːkrətɪv] adj.

A lucrative activity, job, or business deal is very profitable.

synonym　profitable; well-paid; rewarding; worthwhile; money-spinning

antonym　unprofitable

word family　lucratively; lucre

related phrase　lucrative business/market/contract

Example 1 Thousands of ex-army officers have found lucrative jobs in private security firms.

Example 2 He inherited a lucrative business from his father.

13 acclaim [ə'kleɪm] n./vt.

Acclaim is public praise for someone or something.

synonym　applause; approbation; approval; commendation

antonym　disapproval

word family　acclaimed; acclamation related phrase　critical/great acclaim

Example 1 Angela Bassett has won critical acclaim for her excellent performance.

Example 2 He was acclaimed as China's greatest modern painter.

14 animated ['ænɪmeɪtɪd] adj.

An animated film is one in which puppets or drawings appear to move; Someone who is animated or who is having an animated conversation is lively and is showing their feelings.

synonym　living; alive; live; breathing; flesh and blood

antonym　inanimate

word family　animate; animation

related phrase　animated cartoon/film

Example 1 Disney has returned to what it does best: making full-length animated feature films.

Example 2 She was seen in animated conversation with the singer Yuri Marusin.

15 renown [rɪ'naʊn] n.

A person of renown is well-known, usually because they do or have done something good.

synonym　fame; celebrity; prestige; repute; prominence

antonym　obscurity; notoriety

word family　renowned

related phrase　great renown

Example 1 She used to be a singer of some renown.

Example 2 His renown has spread throughout the country.

16 narration [nə'reɪʃn] n.

a spoken description or explanation which is given during a film, or a play; the act of telling a story

synonym　telling; recitation; unfolding; tale; account

word family　narrate; narrator

Example 1 He gave a brief narration at the meeting about what happened that day.

Example 2 He made a clear narration of the incident.

17 aesthetics [es'θetɪks] n.

Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy concerned with the study of the idea of beauty.

synonym　esthetics

word family　aesthetic; aesthetical; aesthetically; aesthetician

Example 1 Improved housing has also contributed to a sharpened sense of aesthetics.

Example 2 Translation study is in a direction of combination of aesthetics and translation.

18 tickle ['tɪkl] n./vt. (tickled/tickled/tickling)

When you tickle someone, you move your fingers lightly over a sensitive part of their body, often in order to make them laugh; a feeling in your throat that makes you want to cough

synonym　please; glad; satisfy; content; scratch; itch; amuse

word family　tickler; tickling

related phrase　be tickled pink; tickle sb'.s fancy

Example 1 I was tickling him, and he was laughing and giggling.

Example 2 Wilson was feeling restless. There was a tickle in his throat.

19 guise [ɡaɪz] n.

You use guise to refer to the outward appearance or form of someone or something, which is often temporary or different from their real nature.

synonym　appearance; costume; disguise; dress; excuse

word family　disguise; guiser

related phrase　under the guise of; in the guise of

Example 1 He turned up at an Easter party in the guise of a white rabbit.

Example 2 They operated a drug-smuggling business under the guise of an employment agency.

20 endear oneself to

to become popular with, or be well liked by

Example 1 She endeared herself to all her friends.

Example 2 His kindness of heart endeared him to all.

21 in the midst of

during; at the moment of

Example 1 The students were in the midst of a lively discussion when the teacher came in.

Example 2 I never imagined I would be writing a book in the midst of an economic crisis unlike any we have seen in decades.

22 bring down the house

The audience claps, laughs, or shouts loudly because the performance or speech is very impressive or amusing.

Example 1 Whenever we have a family gathering, my father always tells jokes that bring down the house.

Example 2 John is a funny comedian. His jokes always bring down the house.

23 by default

If something happens by default, it happens because you did not do anything to change it.

Example 1 By default I have 30 seconds to do something with the message.

Example 2 Yet, Clinton's popularity is by default since many Chinese can't even name any other candidates.

24 battle it out

to take part in a fight or contest against each other until one of them wins or a definite result is reached

Example 1 Boxing, where two individuals battle it out in the ring, in Cuba is a team sport.

Example 2 We enjoy watching our favorite teams battle it out on the field for the championship title.

25 be my guest

to give somebody permission to do something

Example 1 Sue says, "Fine, be my guest," meaning okay, you go ahead and you plan the vacation.

Example 2 He will be my guest here for a live interview at 1:00 p.m. Eastern on Friday, May 17, 2017.

Words for Self-study

Please find and memorize the meanings and usages of the following words with the help of dictionaries, online resources and other references.

affiliation　　alas　　atrocious　　ballroom　　begrudge

bland　　bloat　　buddy　　casserole　　chatter

chubby　　commonplace　　crutch　　dissatisfactory　　dynamo

fable　　feminist　　flirtation　　fluorescent　　genre

gigantic　　hubby　　innocuous　　loony　　lush

Madame　　niche　　nonetheless　　orgy　　pastime

quaintly　　rejoiced　　rephrased　　reputable　　reputation

robust　　stalk　　substantive　　teapot　　transparent

ware　　wishful

Part 2　Text
From Fantasy to Reality—Beauty and the Beast

Hollywood, with colossal enthusiasm, has long been trying to endear itself to children. It thus looks upon fairy tales with profound favor, for, of all possible genres, fairy tales have been a substantive gold-mine as a lucrative source of themes for children's pastime. In the midst of various fairy tales the one originally written to prepare young girls in 18th century France for arranged marriages somehow becomes the fair-haired boy—"Beauty and the Beast", an European story that has been imported onto screen for six times and, with no exception, received universal critical acclaim.

Amongst these adaptations, Disney has produced two, one for animated, the other live-action, and both the "fantasy" in 1991 and the "reality" in 2017 attained substantial box office and wild welcome worldwide. Following are reviews upon the aforesaid films written by the renowned Roger Ebert and USA TODAY columnist Susan Wloszczyna. Let's take a closer look at how on earth the Disney captured its fans from "fantasy" to "reality".

Roger Ebert

Beauty and the Beast slipped around all my roadblocks and penetrated directly into my strongest childhood memories, in which animation looked more plausible than live-action features. Watching the movie, I found myself caught up in a transparent and rejoiced way. I wasn't reviewing an "animated film". I was being told a story, I was hearing terrific music, and I was having fun.

The film's reputation is as good as any Disney animated feature ever made—as magical as Pinocchio, Snow White, The Little Mermaid. And it's a reminder that animation is the ideal medium for fantasy, because all of its fears and dreams can be made literal. No Gothic castle in the history of horror films, for example, has ever approached the awesome, sinister towers of the castle where the Beast lives. And no real wolves could have fangs as sharp or eyes as fluorescent as the wolves that stalk in the castle woods.

The movie's story, somewhat altered from the original fable, involves a beauty named Belle, who lives in the worlds of her favorite library books and is repelled by the romantic advances of Gaston, the muscle-bound cretin in her little 18th century French village. Belle's father, a loony inventor, sets off on a journey through the forest, takes a wrong turn, and is imprisoned in the castle of the Beast. And Belle bravely sets off on a mission to rescue him.

We already know, from the film's opening narration, that the Beast is actually a handsome young prince who was transformed into a hideous monster as a punishment for being atrocious. And a beast he will be forever, unless he finds someone who will love him. When Belle arrives at the castle, that life-saving romance is set into motion—although not, of course, without grave adventures to be overcome.

Like all of the reputable Disney animated films, Beauty and the Beast surrounds its central characters with a large peanut gallery of gossipy, chattering supporting players. The Beast's haunted castle contains household objects that act as his serving staff, and so we meet Lumiere, a candlestick; Cogsworth, a clock; and Mrs. Potts, a teapot with a little son named Chip. These characters are all naturally on Belle's side, because they want to see the Beast freed from his magic spell.

There are some wonderful musical numbers in the movie, and animation sets their choreography free from the laws of gravity. A hilarious number celebrates the monstrous ego of Gaston, who boasts about his hairy chest and the antlers he uses for interior decoration. "Be Our Guest" is a rollicking invitation to Belle from the castle staff, choreographed like Busby Berkeley running amok. And there is the haunting title song, sung by Mrs. Potts in the voice of Angela Lansbury.

The songs have lyrics by the late Howard Ashman and music by Alan Menken, the same team who collaborated on The Little Mermaid, and they bubble with wit and energy ("Gaston" in particular brings down the house). Lansbury is one of a gifted cast on the soundtrack, which also includes Paige O'Hara as the plucky Belle; Robby Benson (his voice sounding electronically lowered) as Beast; Jerry Orbach as the candlestick who sounds uncannily like Maurice Chevalier; David Ogden Stiers as the cranky Cogsworth, and Richard White as the insufferable Gaston, who degenerates during the course of the film from a chauvinist pig to a sadistic monster.

Beauty and the Beast, like 1989's The Little Mermaid, embodies a new energy and creativity from the Disney animation people. They seem to have waived all notions that their feature-length cartoons are intended only for younger viewers, and these aren't children's movies but robust family entertainment.

Perhaps it is inevitable, in an age when even younger kids see high-voltage special effects films like Die Hard¹ or Terminator 2², that animation could no longer be content with bland and innocuous fairy tales. What a movie like Beauty and the Beast does, nonetheless, is to give respect to its audience.

A lot of "children's movies" seem to expect people to buy tickets by default, because of what the movie doesn't contain (no sex, vulgarity, etc.). Beauty and the Beast reaches back to an older and healthier Hollywood tradition in which the best writers, musicians and filmmakers are gathered for a project on the assumption that a family audience deserves great entertainment, too.

(Adapted from "Beauty and the Beast", http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/beauty-and-the-beast-1991, written by Roger Ebert)

Susan Wloszczyna

Once upon a time, before the acronyms VHS and DVD were commonplace, Disney would quaintly safeguard such animated classics as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio like priceless gems while benevolently re-issuing them every few years on the big screen before stashing them back in the studio vault.

But in the 1990s, with the advent of home entertainment, the studio started to meditate on new ways beyond revivals to cash in on the same beloved stories. First came Broadway productions, followed by direct-to-video sequels, TV series spinoffs and then, starting in 2010 with Tim Burton's effects-laden Alice in Wonderland³, digitally-enhanced live-action renditions.

It was therefore all but inevitable that a property as adored as 1991's Beauty and the Beast, the first animated film to not just compete in Oscar's Best Picture category but also top the $100 million box-office mark, would receive a 21st-century makeover after Cinderella and The Jungle Book⁴ followed the rousing $1 billion worldwide box-office reception for Alice in Wonderland.

The bottom line: This gloriously old-fashioned musical with gee-whiz trappings is a dazzling aesthetics to behold (with enough Rococo gold decor to gild all of Trump's properties) and is anything but a beastly re-interpretation of a fairy tale as old as time. Also welcome is the more inclusive display of love in its various forms, which go beyond the sweetly awkward courtship between brainy, brave and independent-minded bookworm Belle (Emma Watson, much cherished for her gutsy portrayal of Hermione Granger in the eight Harry Potter films) and the cursed prince in the ill-tempered guise of a ram-horned bison-faced creature (Dan Stevens of Downton Abbey, whose sensitive blue eyes serve him well amid (midst) all his CGI⁵ faux-fur trappings.).

As for that "exclusively gay moment" you have been hearing about, it appears near the conclusion when LeFou, a comic-relief character brought to life by Josh Gad (the voice of Olaf the snowman in Frozen⁶) who clearly has an unrequited man-crush on his bulky and boorish buddy Gaston (Luke Evans of The Girl on the Train), fleetingly dances with a male partner. That's it. If your kids aren't freaked out by Michael Keaton's coy in-the-closet Ken doll in Toy Story 3⁷, they will be fine here—especially considering the central relationship in this PG-rated fantasy basically promotes bestiality.

Still, this is a much denser—and longer, by a considerable 45 minutes—confection, one that doesn't always go down as easily as the less-adorned yet lighter-than-air angel food cake that was the original. It's true that my heart once again went pitty-pat during the ballroom waltz as Emma Thompson voicing Mrs. Potts honors her sublime teapot predecessor Angela Lansbury by warmly warbling the title theme. But I couldn't help but feel that the more-is-more philosophy that lurks behind many of these remakes weighs down not just the story but some key performances. This "Beauty" is too often beset by blockbuster bloat.

The familiar basics of the plot are the same as Maurice, Belle's father (Kevin Kline, whose sharp skills as a farceur are barely employed), is imprisoned by the Beast inside his forbidding castle for plucking a rose from his garden and Belle eventually offers to take her papa's place. Meanwhile, the enchanted household objects conspire to cause the odd couple to fall for each other and break the spell that allows both them and their master to return to human form again.

There are efforts by screenwriters by Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) and Evan Spiliotopoulos (The Huntsman: Winter's War) to provide emotional affiliation between Belle and her Beast involving their mutual absent mothers that don't add much substance. And, in an ineffectual attempt to embolden her feminist cred, Belle invents a primitive version of a washing machine. Such additions don't hold a candelabra to tried and true sequences as when the Beast, in a wooing mood, reveals his vast library of books to Belle. One can only describe the reaction on Watson's face as she takes in this leather-bound orgy of reading material as a biblio-gasm.

That is not to say there isn't much to begrudge, especially with director Bill Condon's dedication to injecting the lushness and scope of tune-filled spectacles of yore into the world of IMAX 3-D. His reputation, which includes penning the rephrased screenplay for Chicago and calling the shots behind the camera for Dreamgirls and the final two FX-propelled Twilight films, shows he knows his way around both musicals and special effects. Watson might be at her best right out of the gate while performing the song Belle, which begins with her whinging her provincial existence in a small town and ends with her singing on high amid lush green hilltops dotted with yellow wild flowers while channeling Maria in The Sound of Music. That the camera lingers upon the freckles on her pert nose is an added aesthetic bonus.

Alas, once she is ensconced in the gigantic gothic castle, Watson is more reactive than proactive as her slightness causes her to be swallowed up by the ornate scenery and upstaged by the chatty servants in the guise of furniture and knickknacks. I was a little nervous about how the voice cast including Ewan McGregor as the urbane French-accented candle man Lumiere and Ian McKellen as the chubby nervous mantel clock Cogsworth would fare. But they all do a bang-up job with the stand-out number Be Our Guest, the so-called "culinary cabaret" where plates, platters—casseroles and wares turn into performers in a Busby Berkeley-style spectacular. Condon wisely takes the choreography to the next level with nods to everything from West Side Story and Les Miserables. In conjunction with this, Gad and Evans—both musical theater veterans—pull off the humorous pub number Gaston with playful aplomb.

Less successful are the action sequences where the Beast and Gaston battle it out The Hunchback of Notre-Dame⁸-style among rooftop turrets, crumbling crutches and gargoyles. But most dissatisfactory are the not-so-memorable innovative songs that pop up in the second half whose melodies are once again written by composer Alan Menken but with lyrics by Tim Rice (The Lion King). They just cannot compete with the old favorites that never fail to tickle the ears with their irresistible wordplay supplied by the late great Howard Ashman. But with its racially diverse cast (at one point, I wished that Broadway dynamo Audra MacDonald as the niche Madame Garderobe and the sprightly Stanley Tucci as her harpsichord hubby Maestro Cadenza could have done their own duet) and wink at same-sex flirtation, this "Beauty" presents a far more inclusive view of the world. One that is awash with a sense of hope and connection that we desperately need right now. If you desire a wishful entertaining escape from reality right about now, be my guest.

(Adapted from "Beauty and the Beast", http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/beauty-and-the-beast-2017, written by Susan Wloszczyna)

Notes

1 Die Hard

Die Hard is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan and written by Steven E. de Souza and Jeb Stuart. It follows off-duty New York City Police Department officer John McClane (Bruce Willis) as he takes on a group of highly organized criminals led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), who performs a heist in a Los Angeles skyscraper under the guise of a terrorist attack using hostages, including McClane's wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia), to keep the police at bay.

2 Terminator 2

Terminator 2 (also referred to as Terminator 2: Judgment Day) is a 1991 American science-fiction action film co-written, produced and directed by James Cameron. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick and Edward Furlong. It is the sequel to the 1984 film The Terminator, and the second installment in the Terminator franchise. Terminator 2 follows Sarah Connor (Hamilton) and her ten-year-old son John (Furlong) as they are pursued by a new, more advanced Terminator, the liquid metal, shapeshifting T-1000 (Patrick), sent back in time to kill John Connor and prevent him from becoming the leader of the human resistance. A second, less advanced Terminator (Schwarzenegger) is also sent back in time to protect John.

3 Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland is a 2010 American fantasy adventure film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay written by Linda Woolverton. Based on Lewis Carroll's fantasy novels, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, and inspired by Walt Disney's 1951 animated film of the same name, the film tells the story of a nineteen-year-old Alice Kingsleigh, who is told that she can restore the White Queen to her throne, with the help of the Mad Hatter. She is the only one who can slay the Jabberwocky a dragon-like creature that is controlled by the Red Queen and terrorizes Underland's inhabitants.

The film was produced by Walt Disney Pictures and shot in the United Kingdom and the United States. It received mixed reviews upon release; although praised for its visual style and special effects, the film was criticized for its lack of narrative coherence and overuse of computer-generated imagery. At the 83rd Academy Awards, Alice in Wonderland won Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design, and was also nominated for Best Visual Effects. The film generated over $1 billion in ticket sales and became the fifth-highest-grossing film of all time during its theatrical run.

4 The Jungle Book

The Jungle Book is a 2016 American adventure film, directed and co-produced by Jon Favreau, produced by Walt Disney Pictures, and written by Justin Marks. Based on Rudyard Kipling's eponymous collective works and inspired by Walt Disney's 1967 animated film of the same name, The Jungle Book is a live-action film that tells the story of Mowgli, an orphaned human boy who, guided by his animal guardians, sets out on a journey of self-discovery while evading the threatening Shere Khan.

5 CGI

The abbreviation CGI refers to computer-generated imagery, a technology widely used nowadays in animated production.

6 Frozen

Frozen is a 2013 American 3D computer-animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 53rd Disney animated feature film. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Snow Queen", the film tells the story of a fearless princess who sets off on a journey alongside a rugged iceman, his loyal pet reindeer, and a naive snowman to find her estranged sister, whose icy powers have inadvertently trapped the kingdom in eternal winter.

7 Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3 is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy-drama film, the third installment in the Toy Story series, and the sequel to Toy Story 2 (1999). It was produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Lee Unkrich, the editor of Toy Story (1995) and co-director of Toy Story 2, written by Michael Arndt, while Unkrich wrote the story along with John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton, respectively director and co-writer of the first two films. The film was released in theaters on June 18, 2010, and played worldwide from June through October in the Disney Digital 3-D, Real D, and IMAX 3D formats. Toy Story 3 was the first film to be released theatrically with Dolby Surround 7.1 sound. The plot focuses on the toys Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and their friends dealing with an uncertain future as their owner, Andy, prepares to leave for college.

8 The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (French: Notre-Dame de Paris) is a French Romantic/Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. The original French title refers to Notre Dame Cathedral, on which the story is centered. English translator Frederic Shoberl named the novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1833 because at the time, Gothic novels were more popular than Romance novels in England. The story is set in Paris, France in the late Middle Ages, during the reign of Louis XI.

Part 3　Exercises

I. Reading Comprehension

1. Directions: Read through the passage and answer the questions based on your understanding.

1) Do you like movies? What kind of movies do you like best? Why?

2) A great many movie makers are fond of animating fairy stories and giving them a kind of magic which live action movies could not have. What are the differences between animated movies and live action ones?

3) It's a common trend to combine live action movie footage with "3D" animation. Given the amount of computer-generated imagery in live action movies, what are the advantages of combining "3D" technology with movies?

4) Some animated movies with the strong Chinese theme, like Kung Fu Panda, have achieved great popularity worldwide. How could Chinese filmmakers present more brilliant Chinese flavor animated movies to the world? Please give some suggestions.

5) There have been many comments and feedback to the movie Beauty and the Beast, which has delighted audiences worldwide. What do you know about this movie?

2. Directions: Read the passage and decide whether the following statements are true or false. Choose T (ture) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage, F (false) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage and NG (not given) if it is not mentioned in the passage.

1) ________ Beauty and the Beast is better than The Little Mermaid.

2) ________ Howard Ashman composed both the songs in this film and in The Little Mermaid.

3) ________ All the participants on the creation of this film are confident that the family audience deserves great entertainment.

4) ________ The film presents a homosexual topic and receives scathing attacks from the mass media.

5) ________ The screenwriter will be changed from the next series.

3. Directions: Read aloud and listen to the audio of the text for full understanding.

4. Directions: Practice subvocal reading at fast speed (200 words per minute).

5. Directions: Try to suppress subvocal to achieve faster reading speed.

II. Blank Filling

Directions: Please choose an appropriate word from the following box for each blank. Make changes if necessary.

1) He is a responsible and kind boss who never ________ the employee's pay.

2) The thieves sneak into the school in the ________ of students because they do not want to be exposed.

3) The opening of Beauty and the Beast is the best ________ that I have ever listened to since my college.

4) As advocates of the sharing economy like to put it, access ________ ownership.

5) I live in a ________ villa, which is very luxurious and attractive.

6) At first I thought he was rather ordinary-looking, a little ________, not my type.

7) She is a ________ who wants to liberate women from male supremacy.

8) The birds which ________ their tails are the most beautiful ones.

9) Piracy is a ________, albeit dangerous business.

10) The problem, then, is not the government itself, but inefficiency and ________.

III. Translation

Directions: Please translate the following sentences into Chinese.

1) The movie's story, somewhat altered from the original fable, involves a beauty named Belle, who lives in the worlds of her favorite library books and is repelled by the romantic advances of Gaston, the muscle-bound cretin in her little 18th century French village.

2) ... the Beast is actually a handsome young prince who was transformed into a hideous monster as a punishment for being atrocious.

3) The bottom line: This gloriously old-fashioned musical with gee-whiz trappings is a dazzling aesthetics to behold ... and is anything but a beastly re-interpretation of a fairy tale as old as time.

4) Such additions don't hold a candelabra to tried and true sequences as when the Beast, in a wooing mood, reveals his vast library of books to Belle.

5) ... Watson is more reactive than pro-active as her slightness causes her to be swallowed up by the ornate scenery and upstaged by the chatty servants in the guise of furniture and knickknacks.

IV. Writing

Directions: Please use your imagination and write a paragraph about a topic you like, including at least five of the words given below.

V. Additional Vocabulary Fun

1. Directions: Match the words in the left column with their corresponding explanations in the right column.

1) ding　　a. a large mounted weapon that fires heavy projectiles

2) bannister　　b. a self-service laundry

3) cannon　　c. a machine in which materials are ground and blended or crushed

4) mortar　　d. a dog of any of various typically small, active breeds originally developed for driving game from burrows

5) impeccable　　e. having no flaws; perfect

6) launderette　　f. to speak persistently and repetitiously

7) terrier　　g. a handrail, especially on a staircase

8) bairn　　h. one of the parts or spaces into which an area is subdivided

9) biro　　i. the darker stage of twilight, especially in the evening

10) compartment　　j. the curved edge at the junction of two intersecting vaults

11) gobble　　k. a newspaper

12) groin　　l. a smooth, often silk fabric that is woven with a glossy face and a dull back

13) gazette　　m. a kind of ballpoint

14) satin　　n. to devour in greedy gulps

15) dusk　　o. a child

2. Directions: Complete the summary of Cupid and Psyche using the list of words and change the form if necessary.

A ________ beautiful girl, Psyche, is born after two older sisters. People throughout the land worship her beauty so deeply that they forget about the goddess Venus. Venus becomes angry that her temples are falling to ruin, so she ________ to ruin Psyche. She ________ her son, Cupid, to pierce the girl with an arrow and make her fall in love with the most ________, hideous man alive. But when Cupid sees Psyche in her radiant ________, he shoots himself with the arrow instead.

Meanwhile, Psyche and her family become worried that she will never find a husband, for although men ________ on her beauty, they do not always seem ________ to marry someone else. Psyche's father prays to Apollo for help, and Apollo instructs her to go to the top of a hill, where she will marry not a man but a serpent. Psyche bravely follows the instructions and falls asleep on the hill. When she wakes up, she discovers a stunning ________. Going inside, she relaxes and enjoys fine food and luxurious treatment. At night, in the dark, she meets and falls in love with her husband.

She lives happily with him, never seeing him, until one day he tells her that her sisters have been ________ for her. She begs to see them, but her husband ________ her to do so. Psyche insists that they visit, and when they do, they become extremely jealous of Psyche's beautiful mansion and lush quarters. They ________ that Psyche has never seen her husband, and they ________ her that she must sneak a look. ________ and ________, Psyche turns on a lamp one night as her husband lies next to her.

When she sees the beautiful Cupid asleep on her bed, she weeps for her lack of faith. Cupid awakens and deserts her because love cannot live where there is no trust. Cupid returns to his mother, Venus, who again decides to ________ revenge on the beautiful girl.