PAU VIOLENCE AND ENTERTAINMENT

VIOLENCE AND ENTERTAINMENT

Most people think that instinct disappeared out of the human lifestyle as civilization began.  This, however, is not in accordance with our natural tendency to violence.  Violence could be associated with instinct, so there is no reason in a “civilized world” for violence.  In order to compensate for this lack of violence, people become involved in dangerous activities.  They watch action films, they read adventure books, etc. But what are the effects of violence in entertainment?

                It is commonly thought that people watching violent films get excited and might want to perform violent acts in real life.  The results of a test on two groups of children was that those who had played “Street Fighter” behaved more aggressively than the ones playing a peaceful video game.  In this respect one could say that the influence is negative.

                But there is another, less common explanation regarding the “lost” human instinct of violence: we have to find a way to express this need.  In this sense, the influence of violence in films would be positive, because it would satisfy our need for violence.  Watching them gives viewers satisfaction, and so they do not have to express their urge for violence in real life.

(A) COMPREHENSION (4 points)

a)       ANSWER QUESTIONS 1-2 ACCORDING TO THE INFORMATION GIVEN IN THE TEXT. USE YOUR OWN WORDS.                                                                                 (1 point per answer)

1)    Has civilization suppressed instinct in the human being?  Why?

2)       Why did one group of children behave more aggressively than the other?

b)      ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS WITH WORDS OR PHRASES FROM THE TEXT.                                                                                       (0.5 points per answer)

3)    It is a natural thing to feel the need for violence.

4)    A civilized society offers non-violent ways of satisfying violent instincts.

5)   Experiments show that the influence of violent video games is not significant.

6)    Violent films cannot have a positive influence.

               

(B)  USE OF ENGLISH (3 points)

7) Find in the text one synonym for “GENERALLY” (adverb).                                                             (0.25 points)

8) Give a noun with the same root as THINK (verb) and a noun with the same root as BEHAVE (verb).                                                                                                                                                (0.5 points)

9) Complete the series with another word of the same semantic group:

                FILM, ACTOR, DIRECTOR, …                                                                                     (0.25 points)

10)Turn the following sentence into the active voice.                                                            (0.5 points)

Children are easily influenced by violent games.                                                     

11) Complete  the following sentences:                                                                                     (1 point)

If films were less violent…

Drinking is dangerous for you when…

12) Join the following sentences using an appropriate linker (do not use AND or BUT). Make changes if necessary.                                                                                                                                        (0.5 points)

He was reading a book.  Its characters were zombies.

(C) PRODUCTION (3 points)

13) WRITE A COMPOSITION (80-100 WORDS). CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS. SPECIFY YOUR OPTION.

                      a.- Do you think young people are very violent nowadays? Why?

                b.- Write about an action film you have recently watched.