Unit4_The art of mine

 

Mimes use movements, gestures, and facial expressions to portray a character or an emotion or to tell a story all without words.

What does "portray" mean?

• to improve,  perfect

• to result in, end with

• to appear, develop

• to represent, act out

Over the centuries, the art of miming grew to include acrobatics, props, and costumes, culminating in the fine-tuned art form that people recognize  today.

What does "prop" mean?

• an object used by actors

• a movement to express a feeling or idea

• a great deal, noticeably

• important, major

Miming can be abstract, literal, or a combination of the two.

What does "abstract" mean?

• to improve,  perfect

• not concrete, related to ideas or feelings

• appearance of being real, false impression

• to result in, end with

Miming can be abstract, literal, or a combination of the two.

What does "literal" mean?

• important, major

• an object used by actors

• following the exact meaning

• a great deal, noticeably

Literal miming, on the other hand, tells a story and is often comedic, using body gestures and facial expressions to present a main character facing some type of conflict in a humorous way, for example, acting out a tug-of-war without the aid of rope or other props.

What does "gesture" mean?

• weakness and lack of strength

• a movement to express a feeling or idea

• an object used by actors

• the feeling of a place

Literal miming, on the other hand, tells a story and is often comedic, using body gestures and facial expressions to present a main character facing some type of conflict in a humorous way, for example, acting out a tug-of-war without the aid of rope or other props.

What does "conflict" mean?

• a great deal, noticeably

• a movement to express a feeling or idea

• the feeling of a place

• difficulty, opposition

Literal miming, on the other hand, tells a story and is often comedic, using body gestures and facial expressions to present a main character facing some type of conflict in a humorous way, for example, acting out a tug-of-war without the aid of rope or other props.

What does "humorous" mean?

• important, major

• well, successfully

• similar to, reminding of something

• funny, entertaining

The twentieth-century style of miming reflects outside influences of the period, most notably silent films, in which actors relied on their ability to communicate thoughts and stories through facial expressions and­ exaggerated gestures.

What does "exaggerated" mean?

• the feeling of a place

• to result in, end with

• following the exact meaning

• made to seem more or bigger

Two superstars of the silent movie era, Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, sharpened their miming skills in the theater before using them in movies.

What does "sharpen" mean?

• not concrete, related to ideas or feelings

• similar to, reminding of something

• to combine

• to  improve,  perfect

People still consider Chaplin a master of the miming technique, in par­ticular, his tragicomic "little tramp" character, who so effectively portrays human frailty through physical comedy, also known as slapstick.

What does "effectively" mean?

• well, successfully

• funny, entertaining

• important, major

• famous