Academy Award

Academy Award – VOA Speacial English
http://www.manythings.org/voa/03/030317ta_t.htm
On March twenty-third, ………….., ……………… and other ………….. will gather in Los Angeles, California, for the seventy-fifth Academy Awards ceremony. It is a night of …………….. for people who make movies and for people who watch them. I'm Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Phoebe Zimmermann. The Academy Awards is our report today on the VOA Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.
(MUSIC FROM "CHICAGO")
VOICE ONE:
Sunday will be the most important day of the year for hundreds of people in the movie industry. Filmmakers will receive Academy Awards for the best ……………, …………………., writing, editing, ……………….. and other work on movies released last year.
The winners will receive an ………………… called an Oscar. It is shaped like a man. It is made of several metals covered with ………………….. The statue is only about thirty-four centimeters…... It weighs less than ………. kilograms. But the award can be ……………… to the person who receives it.
Winning an Oscar can mean becoming much more famous. It can mean getting offers to work in the best ……………………. It also can mean earning much more money.
VOICE TWO:
Movies from the United States and several other countries are competing to win Academy Awards. Five movies were ……………………….. as Best Foreign Language Film. They are from Mexico, China, Finland, ………………. and the Netherlands.
For the first time, actors and filmmakers from Spanish-speaking ……………… received several Academy Award nominations. Filmmakers from Mexico and Spain received …….. nominations, including Best Actress, Best Director and Best …………………….
VOICE ONE:
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The movie musical "Chicago" received the most Academy Award nominations. "Chicago" received ……………….. nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Director.
"Chicago" is a version of a Broadway …………… play of the same name. It takes place in that city during the nineteen-twenties. It is about two female …………………. who are sent to prison for murder. But it is not a ………………… movie. It has lots of exciting music, singing and dancing.
VOICE TWO:
The movie "Gangs of New York" is also competing for Best Picture. It received ten nominations. It is a ………………. story about ethnic …………….. in New York City during the eighteen-sixties.
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From left: Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Nicole Kidman in ''The Hours.''
A film called "The Hours" received nine nominations, including Best Picture. It is based on a book about one day in the lives of three women during different ………………. of the twentieth century. Two American women deal with illness and the ……………. of family and friends. Their lives are linked with the life and work of the famous British writer Virginia Woolf.
VOICE ONE:
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"The Pianist" is the fourth movie nominated for Best Picture. It received six other Academy Award nominations. The film tells the true story of the …………………. of a Jewish musician in Warsaw, Poland, under Nazi ……………………. during World War Two.
The last movie nominated for Best Picture is "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers." It is a story about a …………………… to save the world from the forces of ………….. It is the second of three movies in the "Lord of the Rings" series. These are based on the books by British writer J-R-R Tolkien about an ………… Middle-earth. The movie is competing for six Academy Awards.
VOICE TWO:
A small movie studio called Miramax Films was ………………. successful last year. Miramax is based in New York City, unlike the ……………… studios that are based in Hollywood. Miramax produced or co-produced ……………… of the top movies last year. These include "Chicago," "The Hours," and "…………… of New York."
Films produced by Miramax received a total of forty Academy Award nominations. This is the most for any film studio since nineteen-forty.
(MUSIC FROM "THE HOURS")