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Publicado: 15 de enero de 2013
GRAMMAR ACTIVITIES 46
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CHARLIE CHAPLIN, MOVIE STAR
When Charlie Chaplin traveled to New York from Hollywood in 1926, one of the city`s newspapers reported his arrival with a headline that read simply: “He`s Here!” Chaplin had become so famous by then that no further explanation was necessary. Since then, his films have entertained literally millions of people allover the world. Although the majority of Chaplin`s most popular movies were completed prior to 1940, it`s not unusual to come across theaters that continue to show his films on a regular basis. He was undoubtedly the first- and many would say the greatest- movie star of all time.
Born in London in 1889, Charlie Chaplin was the second son of two music hall performers. His parents taught him tosing and dance, and by the age of seven he was already appearing regularly on the stage. Neither he nor his parents earned much money, however, and his early years were spent in extreme poverty. Later, at the age of twenty-four, his luck improved dramatically when an American motion picture producer spotted him and offered him a film contract and the unbelievable salary of 150$ a week. At lastChaplin was comfortably in the black!
From the very beginning Chaplin`s films were so successful and in such demand that the movie company needed to make 200 or more copies of each one to distribute to theaters, compared to the usual 40 or 50 copies of other films. As his popularity grew, Chaplin`s salary continued to increase as well, rising to $ 1,250 a week by 1915. One year later, it had climbedto $ 10,000 a week. In the year 1917 Charlie Chaplin was being paid an astronomical $ 1,000,000 for eight movies, each of which ran approximately twenty minutes and was presented without sound. To put this in perspective, you should consider that in 1914 the average American worker earned a mere 22 cents an hour.
Interestingly, the absence of sound in the motion pictures of that period mayhave contributed to Chaplin`s worldwide popularity. Since he spoke no language on the screen, people from different countries could easily consider him “one of their own.” Furthermore, because the films were so short by today`s standards, the movie companies decided that it was inconvenient and unnecessary to include other major characters or stars. Each movie concentrated almost exclusively onChaplin.
By far the most significant factor in Chaplin`s unprecedented popularity was the character he portrayed on film. Called “The Tramp” or “The Little Fellow,” this touching character expressed the joy and sorrow, the dreams and frustrations that everyone experiences in life. Equally important, the character allowed Chaplin to express these things with a constant undercurrent of humor. “BeforeChaplin,” one movie critic has written, “people were content with a couple of jokes per movie. But he made them laugh nearly every second.”
Ironically, “The Tramp” was created quite by accident when the director of Chaplin`s second motion picture suggested that he come up with something that would make the movie funnier. “I thought I would dress in baggy pants, big shoes, a cane, and a derbyhat,” Chaplin explained later in his autobiography. “I wanted everything a contradiction: the pants baggy, the coat tight, and the hat small, the shoes large.” He topped the costume off with a comical false moustache, and one of the most famous characters in the history of motion pictures was born- Charlie Chaplin as “The Tramp.”
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
Indicate whether thefollowing statements are true (T) or false (F) according to the article.
1. _______ Chaplin arrived in Hollywood in 1926.
2. _______ Chaplin was very famous in 1926.
3. _______ Theaters no longer show Chaplin`s films.
4. _______ Chaplin was British.
5. _______ Chaplin became involved with the theater late in life.
6. _______ Chaplin earned enormous sums of...
[pic]
CHARLIE CHAPLIN, MOVIE STAR
When Charlie Chaplin traveled to New York from Hollywood in 1926, one of the city`s newspapers reported his arrival with a headline that read simply: “He`s Here!” Chaplin had become so famous by then that no further explanation was necessary. Since then, his films have entertained literally millions of people allover the world. Although the majority of Chaplin`s most popular movies were completed prior to 1940, it`s not unusual to come across theaters that continue to show his films on a regular basis. He was undoubtedly the first- and many would say the greatest- movie star of all time.
Born in London in 1889, Charlie Chaplin was the second son of two music hall performers. His parents taught him tosing and dance, and by the age of seven he was already appearing regularly on the stage. Neither he nor his parents earned much money, however, and his early years were spent in extreme poverty. Later, at the age of twenty-four, his luck improved dramatically when an American motion picture producer spotted him and offered him a film contract and the unbelievable salary of 150$ a week. At lastChaplin was comfortably in the black!
From the very beginning Chaplin`s films were so successful and in such demand that the movie company needed to make 200 or more copies of each one to distribute to theaters, compared to the usual 40 or 50 copies of other films. As his popularity grew, Chaplin`s salary continued to increase as well, rising to $ 1,250 a week by 1915. One year later, it had climbedto $ 10,000 a week. In the year 1917 Charlie Chaplin was being paid an astronomical $ 1,000,000 for eight movies, each of which ran approximately twenty minutes and was presented without sound. To put this in perspective, you should consider that in 1914 the average American worker earned a mere 22 cents an hour.
Interestingly, the absence of sound in the motion pictures of that period mayhave contributed to Chaplin`s worldwide popularity. Since he spoke no language on the screen, people from different countries could easily consider him “one of their own.” Furthermore, because the films were so short by today`s standards, the movie companies decided that it was inconvenient and unnecessary to include other major characters or stars. Each movie concentrated almost exclusively onChaplin.
By far the most significant factor in Chaplin`s unprecedented popularity was the character he portrayed on film. Called “The Tramp” or “The Little Fellow,” this touching character expressed the joy and sorrow, the dreams and frustrations that everyone experiences in life. Equally important, the character allowed Chaplin to express these things with a constant undercurrent of humor. “BeforeChaplin,” one movie critic has written, “people were content with a couple of jokes per movie. But he made them laugh nearly every second.”
Ironically, “The Tramp” was created quite by accident when the director of Chaplin`s second motion picture suggested that he come up with something that would make the movie funnier. “I thought I would dress in baggy pants, big shoes, a cane, and a derbyhat,” Chaplin explained later in his autobiography. “I wanted everything a contradiction: the pants baggy, the coat tight, and the hat small, the shoes large.” He topped the costume off with a comical false moustache, and one of the most famous characters in the history of motion pictures was born- Charlie Chaplin as “The Tramp.”
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
Indicate whether thefollowing statements are true (T) or false (F) according to the article.
1. _______ Chaplin arrived in Hollywood in 1926.
2. _______ Chaplin was very famous in 1926.
3. _______ Theaters no longer show Chaplin`s films.
4. _______ Chaplin was British.
5. _______ Chaplin became involved with the theater late in life.
6. _______ Chaplin earned enormous sums of...
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