Griffith and American Films - IELTS Reading Sample with Explanation
The IELTS reading section tests the proficiency of candidates through a passage and 40 questions. IELTS reading tests the understanding abilities of the candidate. This IELTS reading - Griffith and American Films sample answer consists of three question types:
- Choose the correct heading for each question
- Choose the correct answer
- Choose the correct letter
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Section 1
Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions
Griffith and American Films IELTS Reading Sample
- Many films of the early silent era dealt with gender relations. Before 1905, as Kathy Peiss has argued, movie screens were filled with salacious sexual imagery and risque humor, drawn from burlesque halls and vaudeville theatres. Early films offered many glimpses of women disrobing or of passionate kisses. As the movies’ female audience grew, sexual titillation and voyeurism persisted. But an ever increasing number of film dealt with the changing work and sexual roles of women in a more sophisticated manner. While D.w. Griffith’s films presented an idealized picture of the frail Victorian child-woman, and showed an almost obsessive preoccupation with female honor and chastity, other silent movies presented quite different images of femininity. These ranged from the exotic, sexually aggressive vamp to the athletic, energetic “serial queen”; the street smart urban working gal, who repels the sexual advances of her lascivious boss; and cigarette-smoking, alcohol drinking chorus girls or burlesque queens.
- In early 1910, director D.w. Griffith was sent by the Biograph Company to the west coast with his acting troupe, consisting of actors Blanche Sweet, Lillian Gish, Mary Pickford, Lionel Barrymore, and others. While there, the company decided to explore new territories, traveling several miles north to Hollywood, a little village that was friendly and enjoyed the movie company filming there. By focusing the camera on particular actors and actresses, Griffith inadvertently encouraged the development of the star system. As early as 1910, newspapers were deluged with requests for actors’ names. But most studios refused to divulge their identities, fearing the salary demands of popular performers. As one industry observer put it, “In the ‘star’ your producer gets not only a ‘production’ value…but a ‘trademark’ value, and an ‘insurance’ value which are…very potent in guaranteeing the sale of this product.” As the star system emerged, salaries soared. In the course of just two years, the salary of actress Mary Pickford rose from less than $400 a week in 1914 to $10,000 a week in 1916. This action made Griffith believe in the big potential in the movie industry. Thus many competitors completely copy the same system as Griffith used, for the considerable profits. Additionally, they also study the theory and methods which Griffith suggested.
- From the moment America entered the war, Hollywood feared that the industry would be subject to heavy-handed government censorship. But the government itself wanted no repeat of World War I, when the Committee on Public Information had whipped up anti-German hysteria and oversold the war as “a Crusade not merely to re-win the tomb of Christ, but to bring back to earth the rule of right, the peace, goodwill to men and gentleness he taught.”
- The formation of the movie trust ushered in a period of rationalization within the film industry. Camera and projecting equipment was standardized; film rental fees were fixed; theaters were upgraded; which improved the quality of movies by removing damaged prints from circulation. This was also a period of intense artistic and technical innovation, as pioneering directors like David Wark Griffith and others created a new language of film and revolutionized screen narrative.
- With just six months of film experience, Griffith, a former stage actor, was hired as a director by the Biograph Company and promised $50 a week and one-twentieth of a cent for every foot of film sold to a rental exchange. Each week, Griffith turned out two or three one-reelers. While earlier directors had used such cinematic devices as close ups, slow motion, fade-ins and fade-outs, lighting effects, and editing before, Griffith’s great contribution to the movie industry was to show how these techniques could be used to create a wholly new style of storytelling, distinct from the theater. Griffith’s approach to movie storytelling has been aptly called “photographic realism. “This is not to say that he merely wished to record a story accurately; rather he sought to convey the illusion of realism. He demanded that his performers act less in a more lifelike manner, avoiding the broad, exaggerated gestures and pantomiming of emotions that characterized the nineteenth century stage. He wanted his performers to take on a role rather than directly addressing the camera. Above all, he used close-ups, lighting, editing, and other cinematic techniques to convey suspense and other emotions and to focus the audience’s attention on individual performers.
- During the 1920s and 1930s, a small group of film companies consolidated their control. Known as the “Big Five” – Paramount, Warner Brothers, RKO, 20th Century-Fox, and Lowe’s (MGM) and the “Little Three” – Universal, Columbia, and United Artists, they formed fully integrated companies. The old film company’s opposition was shocked by new tycoons. The confusion of tongues in the foreign version of American films deepened when American directors themselves embarked on the shooting of the new version. They did not usually speak Spanish (or the given target language) and, at that time, there were only a few translators at the studio’s disposal. For this reason, it was more general to contract Spanish directors, actors, and screenwriters to produce American films in Spanish for Latin American audiences and for the public in the Iberian Peninsula. Hollywood had depended on overseas markets for as much as 40 percent of its revenue. But in an effort to nurture their own film industries and prevent an excessive outflow of dollars, Britain, France, and Italy imposed stiff import tariffs and restrictive quotas on imported American movies.
- A basic problem facing today’s Hollywood is the rapidly rising cost of making and marketing a movie: an average of $40 million today. The immense cost of producing movies has led the studios to seek guaranteed hits: blockbusters loaded with high-tech special effects, sequels, and remakes of earlier movies, foreign films, and even old TV shows. Hollywood has also sought to cope with rising costs by focusing ever more intently on its core audiences. Since the mid-1980s, the movie going audience has continued to decrease in size. Ticket sales fell from 1.2 billion in 1983 to 950 million in 1992, with the biggest drop occurring among adults. And since over half of Hollywood’s profits are earned overseas, the target market has to be changed due to the increasing costs and salary of making a film. The industry has concentrated much of its energy on crude action films easily understood by an international audience, featuring stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone.
Section 2
Solution and Explanation
Questions 14-19
Reading passage 2 has six paragraphs, A-F.
Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below. Write the correct number, i-x, in boxes 14-20 on your answer sheet.
List of Headings
- Detailed description for a film system
- Griffith’s contribution to American films
- The gender in the development of American film
- Change the view of the American movie
- People’s reaction to making movies in the war period
- The increasing market of film in society
- Griffith improved gender recognition in society
Question14: Paragraph A
Answer: iii
Supporting Statement: Many films of the early silent era dealt with gender relations.
Keyword: Gender
Keyword Location: Para A, line 1
Explanation: The development of female characters in the film from Victorian child-women obsessive preoccupation with female honor and chastity.
Question 15: Paragraph B
Answer: i
Supporting Statement: In early 1910, director D.w. Griffith was sent by the Biograph Company to the west coast with his acting troupe, consisting of actors Blanche Sweet, Lillian Gish, Mary Pickford, Lionel Barrymore, and others.
Keyword: Biograph Company, with his acting troupe
Keyword Location: Para B, line 1
Explanation: In 1910, director D.W Griffith had to go to the west coast along with his acting troupe Blanche Sweet, Lillian Gish, Mary Pickford, Lionel Barrymore, and others. There they explored new places and enjoyed filming there. With the introduction of the star system, the salaries for the actors and actresses increased. Griffith understood from this the big potential in the movie industry.
Read More IELTS Reading Related Samples
Question 16: Paragraph C
Answer: v
Supporting Statement: From the moment America entered the war, Hollywood feared that the industry would be subject to heavy-handed government censorship.
Keyword: America entered the war
Keyword Location: Para C, line 1
Explanation: This paragraph describes the reaction of the Hollywood industry when America had entered the war. The government did not want a repeat telecast of WWI and wanted to hold back the rule of law on earth and the peace and goodwill to men and gentleness taught by Lord Jesus.
Question 17: Paragraph D
Answer: iv
Supporting Statement: The formation of the movie trust ushered in a period of rationalization within the film industry.”
Keyword: rationalization
Keyword Location: Para D, line 1
Explanation: The American film industry underwent several changes like the film rental fees were fixed, movies of quality was improved by removing damaged prints from circulation.
Question 18: Paragraph E
Answer: ii
Supporting Statement: “ Griffith’s great contribution to the movie industry was to show how these techniques could be used to create a wholly new style of storytelling,”
Keyword: contribution
Keyword Location: Para E, line 5
Explanation: This para illustrated the contribution of Griffith to American movies. He showed the techniques of the new way of storytelling that is different from theater.
Question 19: Paragraph F
Answer: vi
Supporting Statement: “it was more general to contract Spanish directors, actors, and screenwriters to produce American films in Spanish for Latin American audiences and for the public in the Iberian Peninsula. Hollywood had depended on overseas markets for as much as 40 percent of its revenue.”
Keyword: depended on overseas markets, 40% of its revenue.
Keyword Location: Para F, line 13
Explanation: This paragraph states that the new tycoons of the film industries had shocked the others. There was an increase in the confusion of the language of the foreign version. There were only a few translators at the studio’s disposal.
Questions 20-23
Use the information in the passage to match the companies (listed A-C) with opinions or deeds below. Write the appropriate letters A, B, C, or D in boxes 20- 23 on your answer sheet
- old company’s opposite ion
- huge drop happens among adults
- the pressure to change its market
- completely copy his system
Question 20: Griffith’s success in the 1910s led his rivals
Answer: D
Supporting Statement: Thus many competitors completely copy the same system as Griffith used, for the considerable profits.
Keywords: competitors, copy the same systems
Keyword Location: Para B, line second last line.
Explanation: Seeing the policies of Griffith for the considerable profits, his competitors started following the system similar to that of Griffith.
Question 21: The growing costs and salary in Hollywood shows it has
Answer: C
Supporting Statement: This action made Griffith believe in the big potential in the movie industry.
Keyword: believe, big potential
Keyword Location: Para B, line 21
Explanation: The increase in the salary of the actresses and actors due to the emergence of the star system. This showed that this has a great influence on the film industry.
Question 22: The increasing new movie industries have a big impact on
Answer: A
Supporting Statement: The old film company’s opposition was shocked by new tycoons.
Keyword: an old film company
Keyword Location: Para F, line 6
Explanation: The new movie industry had a big impact on the old film company.
Question 23: In 1992, ticket sales declined dramatically, due to
Answer: B
Supporting Statement: In the mid-1980s, the movie-going audience has continued to decrease in size. Ticket sales fell from 1.2 billion in 1983 to 950 million in 1992, with the biggest drop occurring among adults.
Keyword: continued to decrease in size,
Keyword Location: para G, line 10
Explanation: In 1992, the sale of tickets had decreased due to the decrease in the movie-going audience.
Questions 24-26
Choose the correct letter. A, B, C or D. Write your answer in boxes 24-26 on your answer sheet
Question 24: Why does Griffith believe in the potential in making movies?
- The gender development in American films
- He used the star system successfully
- He prefers the advanced movie techniques
- He earns lots of money
Answer: B
Supporting Statement: This action made Griffith believe in the big potential in the movie industry.
Keyword: potential
Keyword Location: Para B, line 21
Explanation: Griffith had used the star system successfully therefore, he believed that the star system has potential in making movies.
Question 25: What are other competitors’ reactions to Griffith?
- Adopt Griffith’s theory and methods in making films
- Completely copy his theory and methods
- Try to catch up their innovations
- Find a new system against Griffith
Answer: A
Supporting Statement: Thus many competitors completely copy the same system as Griffith used, for the considerable profits. Additionally, they also study the theory and methods which Griffith suggested.
Keyword: Competitors, copy, methods
Keyword Location: para B, last line
Explanation: The competitors of Griffith copied his method and strategies in making films.
Question 26: What is the great change in the film industries during the 1920s and 1930s?
- Try to seek the high-tech special efforts
- Dismiss the needs of overseas audiences
- Changed its goal market
- Improved the foreign version of American movies
Answer: D
Supporting Statement: The confusion of tongues in the foreign version of American films deepened when American directors themselves embarked on the shooting of the new version.
Keyword: foreign version of American
Keyword Location: Para F, line 8
Explanation: In the 1920 and 1930s, there was an improvement of the foreign version of movies.
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