Answer:
Alex Garland’s 2015 science fiction film Ex Machina follows a young programmer’s attempts to determine whether or not an android possesses a consciousness complicated enough to pass as human. The film is celebrated for its thought-provoking depiction of the anxiety over whether a nonhuman entity could mimic or exceed human abilities, but analyzing the early sections of the film, before artificial intelligence is even introduced, reveals a compelling examination of humans’ inability to articulate their thoughts and feelings. In its opening sequence, Ex Machina establishes that it’s not only about the difficulty of creating a machine that can effectively talk to humans, but about human beings who struggle to find ways to communicate with each other in an increasingly digital world.
The piece's opening introduces the film with a plot summary that doesn't give away too much and a brief summary of the critical conversation that has centered around the film. Then, however, it deviates from this conversation by suggesting that Ex Machina has things to say about humanity before non-human characters even appear. Off to a great start.
The film’s first establishing shots set the action in a busy modern office. A woman sits at a computer, absorbed in her screen. The camera looks at her through a glass wall, one of many in the shot. The reflections of passersby reflected in the glass and the workspace’s dim blue light make it difficult to determine how many rooms are depicted. The camera cuts to a few different young men typing on their phones, their bodies partially concealed both by people walking between them and the camera and by the stylized modern furniture that surrounds them. The fourth shot peeks over a computer monitor at a blonde man working with headphones in. A slight zoom toward his face suggests that this is an important character, and the cut to a point-of-view shot looking at his computer screen confirms this. We later learn that this is Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson), a young programmer whose perspective the film follows.
The rest of the sequence cuts between shots from Caleb’s P.O.V. and reaction shots of his face, as he receives and processes the news that he has won first prize in a staff competition. Shocked, Caleb dives for his cellphone and texts several people the news. Several people immediately respond with congratulatory messages, and after a moment the woman from the opening shot runs in to give him a hug. At this point, the other people in the room look up, smile, and start clapping, while Caleb smiles disbelievingly—perhaps even anxiously—and the camera subtly zooms in a bit closer. Throughout the entire sequence, there is no sound other than ambient electronic music that gets slightly louder and more textured as the sequence progresses. A jump cut to an aerial view of a glacial landscape ends the sequence and indicates that Caleb is very quickly transported into a very unfamiliar setting, implying that he will have difficulty adjusting to this sudden change in circumstances.
These paragraphs are mostly descriptive. They give readers the information they will need to understand the argument the piece is about to offer. While passages like this can risk becoming boring if they dwell on unimportant details, the author wisely limits herself to two paragraphs and maintains a driving pace through her prose style choices (like an almost exclusive reliance on active verbs).
Answer:
Explanation:
Notice that each answer choice has a common theme of violence.
However, choices B (violence in popular music), C (violence in video games), and D (violence on television shows) are concentrated on one area/place where violence is prevalent. They are not very broad.
On the other hand, choice A (violence in society) is probably too broad for a 10 minute speech. There is all sorts of violence in society as a whole and there are too many things to touch in a ten minute time period.
<h2><u>Answers:</u></h2><h3>
<u>Question 1: </u></h3>
Answer: The correct option is A (Tom seems to be a white supremacist who is afraid of losing his livelihood to minority groups.)
<h3><u>Question 5:</u></h3>
Answer: The correct option is B (Tom has a mistress.)
<h3><u>Question 6:</u></h3>
Answer: The correct statement is 4 (‘She might have the decency not to telephone him at dinner-time. Don’t you think?’)
<h3><u>
Question 7:</u></h3>
Answer: The correct option is D (Owner of a run-down auto shop)
<h3><u>
Question 8:</u></h3>
Answer: The correct option is C (informed about something secret or not generally known)
<h3><u>
Question 9:</u></h3>
Answer: The correct option is C (An ancient eye doctor whose advertisement still stands in the Valley of Ashes)
<h3><u>
Question 10:</u></h3>
Answer: The correct option is A (God staring down upon and judging American society as a moral wasteland)
<h3><u>
Question 11:</u></h3>
Answer: The correct option is A (a mild rebuke or criticism)
Answer:
D. A prententious suburban neighborhood
Explanation: The space was a kind of meadow, framed by two mansions, each so abundant with backyard paraphernalia, Nathan felt as if he’d entered the prop closet of a studio dedicated to making movies <u>about suburban American excess.</u>
