Từ vựng – Topic 9: Books and Films

Một trong những thói quen phổ biến nhất của mọi người chính là đọc sách hoặc xem phim, vậy nếu bạn phải nói về sở thích của mình trong bài IELTS Speaking, thì tại sao lại không tận dụng một lĩnh vực rất thân quen và gần gũi với chúng mình nhỉ?

Part 1

Giám khảo: Do you like to read books?
Marie: Yes … I love reading … I like nothing more than to be engrossed in a good book … I regularly take out books from the library and usually read them from cover to cover in no time … and I can’t go to sleep at night without some good bedtime reading …

Giám khảo: How often do you go to the cinema?
Jemma: Unfortunately we don’t have a cinema near us so we have to go into the nearest town to catch the latest movie … I usually avoid seeing popular box-office hits which I’m not always keen on seeing … I prefer low-budget films … sci-fi especially … and there’s a great cinema I go to that has frequent showings of films like these …

Giám khảo: Do you prefer reading books or watching films?
Louisa: I’m not really a big reader … I find books quite heavy-going … so I much prefer to see a film … perhaps it’s the special effects or the soundtrack … I don’t know … I just prefer a film …

Part 2

Describe a book you have read or a film you have seen.

You should say:

• what this book or film was
• when you read or saw it
• why you decided to see the film or read the book
• if you enjoyed it and why.

Sample:

I like reading … especially English novels … it’s a great way to improve your vocabulary and there are so many fantastic authors to choose from … one book that came highly recommended by my teacher was The Mayor of Casterbridge … I was studying at a school in The UK at the time and she said it would give me a picture of what life was like years ago in the area I was living … well I have to say I absolutely loved it  … it was a real page-turner … it’s a historical novel and the setting was a fictional town called Casterbridge … but actually it was based on a town near where I was studying called Dorchester … it had such a great plot … to cut a long story short it tells the story of the downfall of a man called Henchard the central character who lives during a period of great social change around the time of the industrial revolution … the reason I enjoyed it so much … apart from the great story … it gave me a picture of what life had been like in the place I was studying at the time … I really couldn’t put it down … a fantastic story …

Part 3

Giám khảo: Is reading as pleasurable in digital format?
Alise: Personally I prefer reading a paperback or hardback … especially if I’m reading a classic which I don’t think feels right as an e-book … but I can see it can be good for others … my grandmother has an e-reader and she loves the way you can enlarge the text …

Giám khảo: Do you think bookshops will survive the digital revolution?
Thomas: I think so … at least I hope so … I love flicking through books in a bookshop … online shopping is useful … finding out on Amazon if a book you want has got a good review … maybe getting one that is difficult to find … but I still love the experience of being in a bookshop  …

Giám khảo: Statistics show that visits to the cinema are up despite the availability of DVDs and online downloads. Why do you think this might be?
Jamie: I think it’s the whole experience that the cinema offers … going out to see a film when it goes on general release … and seeing it on the big screen is more exciting than watching the filmat home on TV … especially if it’s an action movie … and watching it with others makes it even more special …

Glossary

• an action movie: phim hành động
• to be engrossed in: say mê với gì đó
• bedtime reading: đọc sách trước khi đi ngủ
• to be a big reader: người đọc nhiều
• to be based on: dựa trên
• a box office hit: phim thành công về mặt doanh thu
• to be heavy-going: kén người đọc
• a blockbuster: bom tấn phòng vé
• to catch the latest movie: xem phim vừa ra rạp
• the central character:nhân vật chính
• a classic: (phim, sách) kinh điển
• to come highly recommended: được ca ngợi rất nhiều
• couldn’t put it down: không thể ngừng đọc
• an e-book: sách điện tử
• an e-reader: máy đọc sách điện tử
• to flick through: nghía sơ qua quyển sách
• to get a good/bad review: nhận phản hồi tích cực/tiêu cực
• to go on general release: được công chiếu rộng rãi
• hardback: sách bìa cứng
• a historical novel: tiểu thuyết lịch sử
• a low budget film: phim có kinh phí thấp
• on the big screen: trong rạp
• a page turner: một quyển sách hấp dẫn
• paperback: sách bìa mềm
• plot: cốt truyện
• to read something from cover to cover: đọc toàn bộ từ đầu đến cuối
• sci-fi: khoa học viễn tưởng
• to see a film: xem phim tại rạp
• the setting: bối cảnh
• showings: buổi chiếu phim
• soundtrack: nhạc phim
• special effects: hiệu ứng đặc biệt
• to take out (a book from the library): mượn sách thư viện
• to tell the story of: tóm tắt cuộc đời/câu chuyện của ai đó
• to watch a film: xem phim ở nhà

(Nguồn: ieltsspeaking.co.uk)