READING WHAT’S A FILM WITHOUT POPCORN
Popcorn has been associated with cinemas and films for as long as we can remember. But where did this connection begin and will it carry on into the future?
Popcorn became a popular snack food in North America in the 19th century and was sold at circuses and fairs. No kitchen was needed to prepare it and once the mobile steam owered popcorn maker was invented, it became possible to mass produce the snack. Popcorn had an appealing smell when popped and this attracted many people to buy it.
In the 1930s, people began flocking to the cinema but at first, popcorn was not sold inside the cinemas. Cinema owners wanted to protect the costly carpets that they had put in their cinemas. They were also concerned that the sound of people eating snacks would disturb the other people watching the film. So, enterprising salesmen set up popcorn machines outside the buildings. As lots of people began buying popcorn on their way into the cinema, cinema owners understood that they could make money from the popular snack. Thus, they decided to allow the salesmen to sell popcorn in the cinema lobby for a daily fee. Eventually, cinemas began selling snacks themselves. This decision helped save many of the cinema owners from going out of business.
Today, popcorn is still economically important to cinemas. Because popcorn is so cheap to make, cinemas make a lot of profits on every box they sell. Yet, there are those that suggest that popcorn in cinemas may be on its way out. In recent years, luxury cinemas have become increasingly popular. These cinemas try to give people a more “exclusive” experience by serving gourmet food in addition to traditional popcorn.
Yet despite this development, it is unlikely that popcorn will vanish completely from cinemas.
For many of us, eating popcorn is an integral part of the experience of watching a film. Even when we watch a film on TV at home, we often make ourselves some microwave popcorn. Old habits, it seems, are hard to break!
Task. Paraphrase the given sentences so it has similar meaning. Use the given beginnings of sentences.
Example, No kitchen was needed to prepare popcorn.
Preparation .
Answer, Preparation of popcorn did not need any kitchen.
1. Enterprising salesmen set up popcorn machines outside the building.
Popcorn machines . [1]
2. Selling snacks themselves helped save many of the cinema owners from going out of business. Many cinema .[1]
3. In recent years, luxury cinemas have become increasingly popular.
Popularity . [1]
4. When we watch a film on TV at home, we often make ourselves some microwave popcorn.
Home made . [1]
Task. Answer the questions.
5. Why have cinemas sold popcorn since the 19th century? [1]
6. Why cannot popcorn be dissapperead from cinemas? [1]
Los Angeles
I am going to tell you about Los Angeles. Los Angeles spans a widely diverse geographic area. Primarily a desert basin, the area is surrounded by the San Gabriel Mountain range and divided by the Santa Monica Mountains. Los Angeles County has 81 miles of coastline. There are such rivers as the Los Angeles, the Rio Hondo, the San Gabriel and the Ventura rivers.
The climate of Los Angeles as the climate of Southern California has often been described as «perfect» and with good reason. Mostly it is sunny and warm with gentle ocean breezes in the summer. The humidity is low with little rain. In fact, there are no unpleasant seasons in Los Angeles.
The name Los Angeles is Spanish for the Angels. In the late 18th century, Felipe de Neve, Spanish Governor of California, saw the need to establish a settlement along the River Los Angeles, The primary purpose for the pueblo was to reaffirm Spain's claim over the territory in the face of encroachments by Russia in the north and Britain from the sea. The settlement would also help to keep Spain's California military garrisons supplied and fed. Los Angeles was officially established by Governor Felipe de Neve on September 4,1781.
Governor de Neve's statue stands today at the Plaza of Olvera Street in downtown Los Angeles. Later, when Mexico became an independent state, California with Los Angeles was governed by Mexicans.
In August of 1846, American soldiers entered Los Angeles and the Stars and Stripes flag has flown over the city since January 1847. On February, 1848 the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed and the Mexican-American War was finished, California was ceded to the United States. In 1851 the first Los Angeles City police force was organized.
Nowadays the city of Los Angeles holds many distinctions. Los Angeles is the entertainment capital of the world, a cultural centre which has more than 300 museums and a paradise of good weather.
It is the only city in the world to host the Summer Olympics twice. Downtown of Los Angeles is the largest government centre outside of Washington, D.C.
Los Angeles has the only remaining wooden lighthouse in the world. It is located in Fermin Park in San Pedro. Los Angeles has the largest historical theatre district, located in Downtown on Broadway.
Los Angeles is on the leading edge of the growth industries. The Los Angeles area * Digital Coast» has more multimedia jobs than Silicon Valley and New York City combined. The Los Angeles metropolitan area, with more than 122,000 jobs in the fashion industry, has surpassed New York's fashion district work force.
The population of Los Angeles is about four million people. Los Angeles ranks as the second largest city in the nation behind New York City, In Los Angeles there are people from about 140 countries^speaking approximately 86 different languages and currently call Los Angeles home.