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TOM CRUISE http://www.ToLearnEnglish.com - Resources to learn/teach English |
I) ANTICIPATING
Put these movies into the chronological order:
Mission: Impossible - Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles - Rain Man - Mission: Impossible II - Magnolia - Born on the Fourth of July - Top Gun - The Color of Money - Minority Report - The Firm - Days of Thunder - Eyes Wide Shut - Vanilla Sky - Cocktail - Jerry Maguire
II) READING COMPREHENSION
>> TEXT:
TOM CRUISE
Tom Cruise was on the cover of five major American magazines when his latest movie was released earlier this summer. It is called “Minority Report.” It is a science-fiction, mystery and action movie. It takes place in the year 2054. This is a time when special beings can see crimes like murder before they happen. Cruise plays a policeman who heads a group called Precrime. These police arrest would-be murderers before they can carry out their crime. Cruise is accused of a future murder and must hide from the other police and solve the mystery of the crime.
“Minority Report” has become Tom Cruise’s tenth movie out of twenty-four to make 100 million dollars or more. Like other top actors Harrison Ford and Tom Hanks, Cruise is considered a very safe investment in Hollywood.
But, he is an investment. Tom Cruise demands about 20 million dollars to star in a film. He also often gets a percentage of the movie’s profits. Two years ago, Cruise made about 75 million dollars from his movie “Mission: Impossible Two.”
Tom Cruise has received praise along with big earnings. The National Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated him two times for Best Actor and once for Best Supporting Actor. He has won two Golden Globe awards. People Magazine has included Cruise on its yearly list of the most beautiful people three times. The magazine also named him the sexiest man alive. And, last year, Forbes magazine named Tom Cruise number one on its list of the most powerful people in entertainment.
>> QUESTIONS:
1. What is "Minority Report?"
a) A book
b) A movie
c) A play
2. The story of "Minority Report" takes place...
a) In the past
b) In the present
c) In the future
3. What is "Precrime"?
a) A group of gangsters
b) A group of murderers
c) A group of policemen
4. In Minority Report, Tom Cruise has the role of a policeman
who is accused of having killed someone.
a) TRUE
b) FALSE
5. "Minority Report" was not a success.
a) TRUE
b) FALSE
6. What is Tom Cruise's approximate salary to star in a film?
a) About $20,000
b) About $200,000
c) About $20,000,000
7. Tom Cruise has never won any awards.
a) TRUE
b) FALSE
8. What are Golden Globe awards?
a) Awards given to the best actors
b) Awards given to the best singers
c) Awards given to the best cartoonists
9. Why did Tom Cruise appear three times in "People
Magazine"?
a) Because he is a very good actor
b) Because he is one of the sexiest men on Earth
c) Because he is the richest man on Earth
10. Why was Tom Cruise in Forbes magazine last year?
a) Because the journalists thought he was sexy
b) Because the journalists thought he was very powerful in the world of entertainment
c) Because he got married with a model
III) ORAL COMPREHENSION
Here is the script of the tape. Fill in the gaps with the missing words:
acting, Catholic, Church, clergyman, Mission, movies, New York, old
Tom Cruise is forty years _________. He was born in Syracuse, _________, but moved around a lot growing up. Cruise was a member of the Roman _________ Church for most of his life. He had planned on becoming a _________. But, at age eighteen, he moved from New Jersey to New York to try _________ instead. Cruise now belongs to the _________ of Scientology.
Tom Cruise’s next two _________ are “The Last Samurai” and “_________: Impossible Three.”
IV) GRAMMAR: the modals CAN & MUST
This is a time when special beings can see crimes like murder before they happen. Cruise plays a policeman who heads a group called Precrime. These police arrest would-be murderers before they can carry out their crime. Cruise is accused of a future murder and must hide from the other police and solve the mystery of the crime.
> SYNTAX
After the modals...
1) there is the base form (that is to say the infinitive
without TO)
I/you/he/she/it/we/you/they can drive
2) Negation: use CAN'T
I CAN'T DRIVE
3) Questions: put CAN at the beginning
of the sentence
CAN she come?
> CAN
Special beings can see crimes before they happen.
> MUST
Use 'must' to express something that you or a person feels is necessary.
Cruise must hide from the other police and solve the mystery of the crime.
The negative form of 'must' expresses the idea that something is prohibited
Murderers mustn't kill.
to phone in the classroom
to do one's exercises
to have penpals
to read out a text in English
V) VOCABULARY
Find the correct definitions.
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A) a magazine B) a murder C) a policeman D) to carry out E) to hide F) to demand G) a praise H) powerful I) to arrest J) to move |
1) To prevent from being seen or discovered 2) A periodic paperback publication 3) To change residence, affiliation, or place of employment 4) Unlawful premeditated killing of a human being 5) To request urgently and forcefully 6) A member of a police force 7) Having great power or force or potency or effect 8) To Take into custody, as of suspected criminals, by the police 9) To bring to execution 10) An expression of approval and commendation |
VI) ANSWERS
> Anticipation: Minority Report (2002) .... Detective John Anderton | Vanilla Sky (2001) .... David Aames | Mission: Impossible II (2000) .... Ethan Hunt | Magnolia (1999) .... Frank T.J. Mackey | Eyes Wide Shut (1999) .... Dr. William 'Bill' Harford | Jerry Maguire (1996) .... Jerry Maguire | Mission: Impossible (1996) .... Ethan Hunt | Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) .... Lestat de Lioncourt | Firm, The (1993) .... Mitch McDeere | Days of Thunder (1990) .... Cole Trickle | Born on the Fourth of July (1989) .... Ron Kovic | Rain Man (1988) .... Charlie Babbitt | Cocktail (1988) .... Brian Flanagan | Color of Money, The (1986) .... Vincent | Top Gun (1986) .... Lieutenant Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell
> Reading Comprehension: 1. (b) 2. (c) 3. (c) 4. (a) 5. (b) 6. (c) 7. (b) 8. (a) 9. (b) 10. (b)
> Oral Comprehension: Tom Cruise is forty years old. He was born in Syracuse, New York, but moved around a lot growing up. Cruise was a member of the Roman Catholic Church for most of his life. He had planned on becoming a clergyman. But, at age eighteen, he moved from New Jersey to New York to try acting instead. Cruise now belongs to the Church of Scientology. Tom Cruise’s next two movies are “The Last Samurai” and “Mission: Impossible Three.”
>
Grammar: