Никоненко Тамара Петрівна

   Academy Awards is the name for prizes given annually in the United States by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for excellence in the crea­tion and production of motion pictures. First presented in 1929 for films shown in 1927 and 1928, the Academy Awards, commonly known as Oscars, are among the film industry’s most coveted prizes.

   The entire academy membership participates in voting for the annual awards. In most award categories, a maximum of five entrants are first nominated by the academy members who work in that particular field (that is, actors select actors, directors select directors, and so on). From among these nominees all academy members select the winners by secret ballot. The winners are publicly announced at a formal ceremony each spring. One hour of the 1929 awards ceremony was broadcast on the radio, and from 1944 through 1969 the entire ceremony was broadcast. Television broadcasts began in 1953 and today attract a worldwide audience. Various people claim to have given the name Oscar to the symbolic Statuette presented to winners, but the origin of the name has never been defini­tively determined. The gold-plated bronze human figure, which is 34.3 cm high and weighs 3.9 kg , was created by American sculptor George Stanley based on sketches made by American motion-picture art director Cedric Gibbons.

   Awards are given for best motion picture; foreign-language film; performances by male and female actors in both leading and supporting roles; achievement in direction; screenplays, both original and adapted from previously produced or pub­lished material; and scores and songs composed for films. Other award categories include live-action short subject, animated short subject, documentary feature, and documentary short feature. Excellence in technical disciplines is also recognized, including art direction, cinematography, costume design, makeup, film editing, sound and sound effects editing, and visual effects. In addition, special or honorary (awards are given for distinguished careers or humanitarian achievement.

 Choose the correct answer

1.The ceremony described in the passage is about:

a)   1929 years old;

b)   as old as three quarters of a century;

c)   giving prizes to the members of the Academy;

d)  to die out.

2.    The word “coveted” in line 5 may best be replaced with:
a)   excellent;                                     b)   desired;

c)   distributed;                                 d)   useless.

3.   It may be inferred from the text that the awards are given for:

a)    the movies made in the current year;

b)    the movies made in the two years before the ceremony;

c)     the movies made in the following year;

d)     the movies made in the previous year.

4.   The decision on giving an award is made by:

a)      the Academy’s rector;

b)     all the members of the Academy;

c)      a few selected academicians;

d)     the public.

5. It may be inferred that the Academy is:

a) an educational establishment;

b) a scientific organization;

c) a research institution;

d) a public organization.

6. Each nominee has a … percent probability to become a winner:

a) twenty;                                      b)   fifty;

c) five;                                            d)   twenty-five.

7. The official ceremony is closest in time to:

a)Christmas;                       b) Thanksgiving day;

c)Independence Day;        d) April Fool’s Day;

8. The word “scores” in line 23 most probably means:

a) music;                         b) marks;

c) subjects;                      d) topics;

9. It is stated that Oscars are made of:

a)      bronze covered with gold

b)     gold covered with bronze;

c)      an alloy of bronze and gold;

d)     golden plates.

10. One can make a conclusion that this category will NOT be awarded:

a) a 30-minute thriller;

b) a 60-minute documentary about Saddam Hussein;

c) a 5-minute cartoon about Mickey Mouse;

d) a 100-series Santa Barbara TV soap opera.