雅思阅读UNIT2Media.doc

UNIT 2 Media

Warm up-Thinking about the Topic

Look at the three images.

1 Where would you find creatures like these? Have you seen any of these creatures or similar creatures before?

1 Talk about them with your partner:

a. Do any of them look like real people?
b. How were these creatures made?
c. Think of some words to describe each picture.

2 Now, work together with a partner to make some sentences about the images. Speak, do not write.

"They all have ... "They look ...

Beginning to Read

Skinning to Identify the Writer’s Purpose
It is very important to gain an overall idea of the reading passage structure and the writer's purpose BEFORE you try to complete the IELTS reading exercises.

Computer Generation of Animated Characters
A
Ask any young person to tell you the names of some famous movies and the chances are that many of those mentioned will be popular because of computer-generated special effects. Movies such as ‘Star Wars ', 'the Matrix' and; Harry Potter' rely heavily on computers to create special fantasy and space effects. Others, such as the famous 'Lord of the Rings' movies, created surprisingly lifelike humanoid characters using sophisticated computer-generated techniques. The creative effort that lies behind these creatures is amazing. However, genuinely 'human' characters, indistinguishable from real actors, are still not quite possible, although we are getting very close to this elusive goal.

B
The process of imagining and developing a computer-generated character is complex, involving many stages. The first stage is to design the look of the character, and to create a three-dimensional model on the computer. The model must be able to move in a realistic manner and, most importantly, its face must mirror human faces when it laughs, frowns or talks. One way to achieve this is by building a real skeleton of the model. After using lasers to scan the real model into the computer, controls are added that allow the bones and muscles to be moved around.

C
This is where computer animation comes in. Because people are so conscious of how 'real' faces look, many detailed controls are needed on the computer to move the different features of the face. Up to a hundred may be needed to move the muscles of the face, so that the character's eyes, skin, mouth and other features all look natural to our eyes.

D
After designing all of the components of the face and body, and the computer controls, the character is ready to move, or be animated. One way of achieving this is called motion capture, where a person acts out the character, and his movements are captured by video camera and uploaded into the computer. Another way is key-frame animation, where, instead of modeling actions from a real person, the animators use the controls to move all of the parts of the body and face to create movement on the screen. These methods are often used together in creating an animated character; both of them are slow and painstaking, requiring hours of effort and planning.

E
Enormous computer power is needed to make animation look real. For the 'Lord of the Rings', thousands of processors and numerous workstations were used to create all of the characters and special effects. There were up to 160 people working on computer graphics for these three movies, which took approximately 4 million processing hours. It is estimated that the same process would have taken up to 200 years on a 4-gigahertz PC!

F
However, despite all of this extremely sophisticated and expensive technology, creating a real human face is still a challenge for our animators. People are very sensitive to facial expressions. We can immediately pick if a face is not human, and we often have a strong reaction to this. The closer the face is to looking truly human, the more negative this reaction can be; this effect has been christened the 'uncanny valley' by Japanese roboticist*Masahiro Mori. However, he also suggests that once the animation gets close enough to the real thing, we begin to feel positive about it once more. So, maybe future Tom Cruises or Lindsay Loans will be computer generated, and we will never know the difference.

* an expert on design, construction and use of robots

4 Read the first sentence ONLY of each paragraph in the reading passage and answer the question below. Take NO MORE THAN FIVE minutes to do this.

Does this reading passage:
a. Give a history of something?
b. Describe how something is done?
c. Compare and contrast two things?
d. Discuss a problem and give a solution?

Scanning for Specific Facts
Sometimes in IELTS readings you need to look quickly over the reading passage to find facts, dates, numbers or names. It is important to practice focussing your eyes ONLY on the information you need.

5 Look quickly at the passage and write down the letter of the paragraph which contains the following information. Take no more than THREE minutes to do this!

a.__________ Masahiro Mori

b. __________Key frame animation

c.___________160

d. ___________Star Wars

 e.____________ Three-dimensional

f. ____________ A hundred

6 Now, match the information above to the following. Write the letter of the paragraph where you will find this information beside each one.

a. ____________Movie name

b. ____________Name of a person who works with robots

c. ____________Number of people working on a project

d. ____________Computer technique

e. ____________Number of computer controls

f._____________ Computer model

Skimming to Summaries the Main Idea

7 Now, work with a partner to complete a brief summary of this reading passage. Speak, do not write.

This passage is about ... It describes ... It takes ... (final two paragraphs)

IELTS Type Questions: Reading for Details and for Main Ideas

Now, you should be able to read this passage quickly to find details and answer the following questions.

Locating Information
The passage has 6 paragraphs, A-F
Which paragraph contains the following information? Write the correct letter, A - F, beside the statements below.
Note: You may use any letter more than once. You may not need to use all the letters.

TIP
You will need
to use your scanning skills to answer this question.
1) ______________A description of motion capture

2) ______________Lindsay Loan of the future

3) _____________Negative response to human-like expressions

4) ______________Processing hours needed

5) ______________Special effects make films popular

6) _____________Creating a bone structure using lasers and adding controls

7) _____________100 muscle controls

Sentence Completion - Type A
Complete the sentences. choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS or a NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
TIP
Always read the instructions for this kind of question very carefully. This answer may require no more than ONE or TWO words. Hyphenated words count as one word
8) The 'Lord of the Rings' movies had a computer-generated character that was created using _______________techniques.

9) A three-dimensional model created on the computer needs to move in_________________________________________.

10) Once a real model has been scanned into the computer by using lasers, the animators add controls to move the ______________________________around.

11) Both motion capture and key-frame animation are described as being ___________________________ methods.

12) Not only thousands of processors, but also ___________________________ were required to make the characters and special effects in 'The Lord of the Rings' movies.

13) The animation for these movies required about ___________________________ processing hours.

14) Achieving a completely realistic human face is still a challenge for animators, as people are very conscious of __________________________________.

15) In general, people seem to have a more negative reaction to an animated face that is quite close to looking human; this has been called the ________________________ effect.

TIP
Read the beginning of each sentence and look for an ending which matches the grammar and the meaning.
Sentence Completion - Type B
Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-L, from the box below. There are more endings given than beginnings.
16)Among recent movies, many of the most successful...

17)There are many stages involved in imagining and developing…

18)In order to create a 3-D model on the computer, some people…

19)Once a laser has scanned this model into the computer, controls to...

20)Motion capture is a technique where an actor's movements are filmed and used to...

21)Key-frame animation is a technique where the animators use the controls to...
22)Whichever of these methods is used, it is necessary to...
A put in hours of slow; careful planning and work.
B get closer to this elusive goal.
C move all parts of the body and face to create each movement. D have used computers to create special fantasy effects.
E must mirror a human laugh, frown or smile.
F model the movements of the character.
G a complex computer-generated character.
H create all the characters and special effects.
I first build a real skeleton of the model.
J make the bones and muscles move can be added.
K is still a challenge for animators.
L have a strong reaction to a face that is not quite right.

TIP
In a classification type of question, it is important to be very clear about the categories that are specified. Read them carefully , and try to highlight the part of the text that is related to each one.
Classification
According to the information in paragraphs B, C and D of the reading passage, classify the following actions as occurring.
A in the design and creation stage
B in the animation stage - motion capture
C in the animation stage - key frame animation
Write the correct letter, A, B or C in the gaps.

23)___________to film someone moving

24)___________to recreate movement using computer controls

25)___________to make an actual model

Global Multi-Choice
Circle the letter for the correct answer.
26) The writer's main idea is that:
a. Computer animation is the best way to make movies.
b. Animators cannot quite yet make characters that truly seem to be human.
c. Animation requires too many computers and processors to be economic.
d. Robots are a form of animation.
TIP
Remember the brief summary you made in the “Beginning to Read” section of this unit. This summary will help you to answer this question.

After You Read
This section of the reading units will include some activities to help you to understand and practice reading and language skills that you will need for the IELTS test.
TIP
Notice the variety of endings (suffixes) of these adjectives.
Vocabulary - Adjectives
8 Answer these questions.
i. Which ending is common to the adjectives below? ______________
ii. Consider 'indistinguishable'. What does the '-able' ending mean______________ be done
iii. What does the 'in-' prefix mean? ________________________

Humanoid ...
sophisticated
creative
genuine
indistinguishable
elusive
complex
three-dimensional
realistic
painstaking
extreme
sensitive

9 Complete the sentences below using the adjectives in the list above.

a. ______________________ technology is very complex.

b. If something is _______________, it is difficult to find or achieve.

c. Something that is ______________ is similar to the real thing.

d. If something is ______________, they notice or are affected by slight changes.

e. _______________________________ means making new things.

f. If something is ______________________ , it is real rather than artificial.

g. A cube is ________________________; it has height, width and depth.

h. Something that is ________________________ is the opposite of simple.

i. A __________________________ character is like a human.

j. To do something in a ________________ way means that you take a lot of time and trouble.

k. Something ______________________ from someone else looks the same as that other person.

More Vocabulary
to mention ...
fantasy
techniques
skeleton
lasers
animation
features
to require…
processor
workstations
reaction
facial expressions
 10 Match the words above to the meanings below.

a. Ways of doing something ________________________
b. Desks set up with computers, screens and other necessary equipment
 __________________________
c. A central computing unit __________________________
d. The set of bones, joined together, that makes up a human or animal
__________________________
e. The parts of a face, such as eyes, mouth and nose_______________________
f. A magic or dream world __________________________
g. To need (something) __________________________
h. To talk about (something) __________________________
1. Special light beams __________________________
J. Ways of looking happy, sad etc ___________________________
k. A response to a statement or action ____________________________
1. A film with characters that seem to be alive _______________________

9 Complete the following sentences, using the same vocabulary. You will not need all of the words in the list above.

 a. Many ____________________films now rely on computer-generated effects.
b. Computer___________________ requires enormous computer power.
c. People who create computer-generated characters use very sophisticated animation ______________________
d. Thousands of ___________________may be necessary to make realistic animated characters.
e. ____________________can be used to scan a real model of a character into the computer.
f Many detailed computer controls are needed to animate the different ____________________ of a character's face.
 g. Even so, we can see that ___________________ ______________________are computer-generated ones rather than genuine human ones.

Passive Voice
Look up 'passive voice' in your grammar book if you are not sure of the meaning. Then do these exercises.

12 Classify the examples of passives listed below according to the following types, A-E. The first one has been done for you.
 A passive with modal - may, will, should, could, etc.
B passive with infinitive
C present simple passive
D past simple passive
E present perfect passive

a. __C__ ...many of those (that) are mentioned...
b. _____ ...the bones and muscles to be moved around
c. _____ ... many detailed controls are needed
d. _____ ... up to a hundred may be needed
e. ____