Life Upper Intermediate Unit 2 Reading Test

1 In the first paragraph, the reviewer says she wants to find out

• why the director chose to make a film about Emily Dickinson.
• whether our view of Emily Dickinson is accurate.
• why we no longer remember Emily Dickinson for her poetry.
• how Emily Dickinson’s poetry influenced her life.

2 The reviewer says that poets are poor film characters because

• their lives lack the action of more typical film characters.
• they tend to have negative characteristics such as anger.
• it is difficult to ignore the poetry and focus on their personality.
• it is important to represent them in a precise way.

3 What do we learn about A Quiet Passion in the third paragraph?

• It contains flashbacks from Emily’s adult life back to her childhood.
• It is old-fashioned because it sets out events in order.
• It shows both scenes from Emily’s youth and her adult life.
• It begins when Emily is born and shows her life until her death.

4 What’s the reviewer’s attitude towards the actresses in the third paragraph?

• She is critical of one of them.
• She compares their performances.
• She dislikes both their performances.
• She compliments one of them more.

5 The reviewer says that Cynthia Nixon’s performance is

• very thought-provoking.
• totally convincing.
• extremely touching.
• not entirely accurate.

6 What do we learn about the film in the fourth paragraph?

• It becomes dull when it shows Emily’s daily life.
• It depicts some women’s daily life in the nineteenth century.
• It tries to capture the lives of most nineteenth-century women.
• It misrepresents Emily’s daily life.

7 What is the review critical of in the fifth paragraph?

• The way the film shows the contradictions of the main character.
• The settings, costumes and style of the film’s ‘period drama’ feel.
• The slow-moving nature of the later part of the film.
• Aspects of the film’s dialogue which may not be true.

8 In the film, Emily becomes increasingly isolated after

• she is rejected by someone she has feelings for.
• her father fails to show support for her ambition.
• her spirit is crushed by people in her family.
• she finds it difficult to write under pressure.

9 According to the reviewer, why is A Quiet Passion typical of Davies’s work?

• It reveals things about the interests and views of Davies himself.
• It adapts a major novel, which is something he often likes to do.
• It changes facts in the story and isn’t always true to life.
• It shows a greater interest in the writer’s genius than in her emotions.

10 What does ‘where it’s at’ mean in the last line of the review?

• The poetry makes A Quiet Passion a good film.
• Emily’s poems are what really matter.
• We can see the real Emily Dickinson in her poetry.
• Films about poets are becoming more popular.