Books and Films Vocabulary
Topic Vocabulary >> Lesson 9: Books and Films
Part 1
Examiner: Do you like to read books?
Marie: Yes … I love reading … I like nothing more than to be engrossed in a good book … I
regularly take out books from the library and usually read them from cover to cover in no time …
and I can’t go to sleep at night without some good bedtime reading …
Examiner: How often do you go to the cinema?
Jemma: Unfortunately we don’t have a cinema near us so we have to go into the nearest town to
catch the latest movie … I usually avoid seeing popular box-office hits which I’m not always keen
on seeing … I prefer low-budget films … sci-fi especially … and there’s a great cinema I go to that
has frequent showings of films like these …
Examiner: Do you prefer reading books or watching films?
Louisa: I’m not really a big reader … I find books quite heavy-going … so I much prefer to see a
film … perhaps it’s the special effects or the soundtrack … I don’t know … I just prefer a film …
Part 2
Describe a book you have read or a film you have seen. You should say:
what this book or film was
when you read or saw it
why you decided to see the film or read the book
and say if you enjoyed it and why.
Pauline I like reading … especially English novels … it’s a great way to improve your vocabulary
and there are so many fantastic authors to choose from … one book that came highly
recommended by my teacher was The Mayor of Casterbridge … I was studying at a school in The
UK at the time and she said it would give me a picture of what life was like years ago in the area I
was living … well I have to say I absolutely loved it … it was a real page-turner … it’s
a historical novel and the setting was a fictional town called Casterbridge … but actually it
was based on a town near where I was studying called Dorchester … it had such a great plot … to
cut a long story short it tells the story of the downfall of a man called Henchard the central
character who lives during a period of great social change around the time of the industrial
revolution … the reason I enjoyed it so much … apart from the great story … it gave me a picture
of what life had been like in the place I was studying at the time … I really couldn’t put it
down … a fantastic story …
Part 3-style questions
Examiner: Is reading as pleasurable in digital format?
Alise: Personally I prefer reading a paperback or hardback … especially if I’m reading a
classic which I don’t think feels right as an e-book … but I can see it can be good for others … my
grandmother has an e-reader and she loves the way you can enlarge the text …
Examiner: Do you think bookshops will survive the digital revolution?
Thomas: I think so … at least I hope so … I love flicking through books in a bookshop … online
shopping is useful … finding out on Amazon if a book you want has got a good review … maybe
getting one that is difficult to find … but I still love the experience of being in a bookshop …
Examiner: Statistics show that visits to the cinema are up despite the availability of DVDs and
online downloads. Why do you think this might be?
Jamie: I think it’s the whole experience that the cinema offers … going out to see a film when
it goes on general release … and seeing it on the big screen is more exciting than watching the
film at home on TV … especially if it’s an action movie … and watching it with others makes it
even more special …
Definitions
an action movie: a film with fast moving scenes, often containing violence
to be engrossed in: to be completely focused on one thing
bedtime reading: something to read in bed before you go to sleep
to be a big reader: someone who reads a lot
to be based on: to use as a model
a box office hit: a financially successful film
to be heavy-going: difficult to read
a blockbuster: a film that is a big commercial success
to catch the latest movie: to see a film that has just come out
the central character: the main person in a film or book
a classic: of the highest quality
to come highly recommended: to be praised by another person
couldn’t put it down: wasn’t able to stop reading a book
an e-book: a digital book
an e-reader: a device for reading e-books
to flick through: to look quickly through a book
to get a good/bad review: to receive positive or negative feedback
to go on general release: when a film can be seen by the general public
hardback: a book with a rigid cover (see ‘paperback’ below)
a historical novel: a story set in the past
a low budget film: a film made with a small amount of money
on the big screen: at the cinema
a page turner: a book that you want to keep reading
paperback: a book with a flexible cover (see ‘hardback’ above)
plot: the main events in a film or book
to read something from cover to cover: to read a book from the first page to the last
sci-fi: science fiction
to see a film: to see a film at the cinema (see ‘watch a film’ below)
the setting: where the action takes place
showings: performances of a film
soundtrack: the music that accompanies a film
special effects: the visuals or sounds that are added to a film which are difficult to produce
naturally
to take out (a book from the library): to borrow a book from the library
to tell the story of: to outline the details of someone’s life or an event
to watch a film: to watch a film on TV (see ‘to see a film’ above)
