One of the most important and influential figures in the history of motion pictures, Charlie Chaplin was perhaps the greatest comedian to have ever lived. He made his reputation in 1914 when, in his second film, Kid Auto Races at Venice, he introduced the world to the helpless “little tramp.” With his smudge moustache, baggy trousers and bowler hat, and twirling his cane, the tramp soon had cinema audiences entranced. It was a fantastic creation, stirring up emotions, both happy and sad, and Chaplin played that classic role in more than 70 films during his career, earning him both a fortune and international fame.

Chaplin’s beginnings never promised such success. Though born into a wealthy London family, the good times quickly disappeared. His father deserted when Charlie was an infant (and later died of alcoholism) and his mother, a successful music hall star, had a nervous breakdown and was sent to an asylum. Charlie thus found himself in an orphanage. It was the theatre that gave Chaplin his first release from the pressures of troubled life. He made his debut in 1894, appearing on stage with his mother. Later he became part of Fred Karno’s music hall troupe and went with them on their American tour of 1912. It was while the company was in the United States that the young Chaplin was spotted by the film director Mack Sennett and signed to Keystone Films at 150 dollars a week. Over the next few months Chaplin made dozens of films for Keystone many of which featured his newly created “little tramp” character.

From: Speak Up. Agosto 1999 – no 147 (adapted).

 

Chaplin’s subsequent films, like The Tramp and Shanghaied, firmly established his reputation and, as his fame rose, so too did his salary and his power. By 1917 Chaplin was able to demand a million dollars for eight pictures. By now Chaplin was taking an increasing amount of control over his work: writing, directing, producing and even composing the music for many of the films in which he starred. In 1919 that control became complete with Chaplin, along with Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D. W. Griffith, forming United Artists as an independent company to distribute their films.

The introduction of sound to the cinema, however, brought an end to Chaplin’s greatness. His style of performance, derived from the circus clown and from mime, no longer seemed to work its magic. He avoided using the new technology for his films City Lights and Modern Times but embraced it in his 1936 movie, The Great Dictator. Though Chaplin continued to make the occasional film, and also wrote two books, his glory days were over. His leftist politics brought him in for a good deal of criticism (as did an affair with a young woman) and investigation by the Un-American Affairs Commission. As a result, Chaplin left the U.S. in 1952 and, having been refused re-entry, made his home in Switzerland. In 1972 he returned to the United States to receive several tributes, among them a special Academy Award for his contributions to the film industry. Three years later he was knighted. Chaplin died on December 25th 1977. Among his obituaries was a quote from the actor in 1960: “I remain one thing and one thing only, and that is a clown. It places me on a far higher plane than any politician.”

From: Speak Up. Agosto 1999 – no 147 (adapted)

 

Awards and medals are usually given throughout the world to outstanding people in several areas of knowledge. One of the most famous awards is the Nobel Prize. There are other well-known premiums in the United States.

PULITZER PRIZES – they were endowed by Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911), publisher of the New York World, in a bequest to Columbia University. They are awarded annually since 1917 for work done during the preceding year. All prizes are $3,000 in each category (Journalism, Literature and Music), except Meritorious Public Service for which a gold medal is given.

OSCAR – a gold-plated statuette awarded by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for outstanding contributions to motion-picture industry since 1928. The first movie to get an Oscar was Wings and the first director was Frank Borzage with Seventh Heaven. There are many versions about the origin of the name “Oscar”, which has been used since 1931. The most common one is that the statuette was named after Oscar Pierce, the uncle of Margaret Herrick, a librarian of the Academy.

GRAMMY – A statuette awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for outstanding achievement in almost 70 categories in the recording industry. The first Grammy was delivered in 1958 to Domenico Modugno for his song Volare. The word Grammy comes from GRAM (ophone).

From: LIBERATO, Wilson Antônio. Compact English Book. FTD, 1998.

 

If we want to learn about other societies, it is not always necessary to travel. We can discover what happens in other parts of the world by watching movies. It is difficult to imagine an easier method of learning about other countries. Nowadays movies not only tell stories or record important historical happenings. They also record for us the actions and habits of ordinary people. Much of our present knowledge of living forms and of objects in distant space, too, is obtained from movies and photographs.

From: TOTIS, Verônica. Língua Inglesa: Leitura. Cortez, 1991.

Which proposition(s) shows(show) the MAIN IDEA of all the texts, according to their sequence?

01. Text 1 – Chaplin’s beginnings and how he achieved success.

Text 2 – Chaplin’s glory, how he lost his fame and what happened in his life until he died.

Text 3 – Awards and medals that people receive all over the world.

Text 4 – The importance of movies and photographs.

02. Text 1 – Chaplin’s life.

Text 2 – The decline of silent films and Chaplin’s death.

Text 3 – The Nobel Prize – one of the most important awards.

Text 4 – The importance of photographs in representing knowledge.

04. Text 1 – The positive responses of cinema audiences to Chaplin’s new character.

Text 2 – The tributes received by Chaplin close to the end of his life.

Text 3 – People’s opinion about the different rewards for talents.

Text 4 – The facility of learning about other countries.

08. Text 1 – An account of Chaplin’s career and some other biographical notes about him.

Text 2 – Chaplin’s fame and decline and what happened to him up to his death.

Text 3 – Premiums given to people in different fields of activity.

Text 4 – Movies and photographs in our lives.

16. Text 1 – A description of Chaplin’s most important character.

Text 2 – Chaplin’s death.

Text 3 – The origin of some of the very wellknown statuettes awarded every year.

Text 4 – The autonomy man has in choosing what he wants to see.