Reading and language use

Walt Disney (1901–1966).

W. Disney was born in Chicago on December 5, 1901 in a poor Irish family. He was the

youngest of four sons. Already in his childhood, he showed a gift for drawing and he dreamed of becoming an artist. His father sent him to high school in Chicago and in 1918

to the Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied cartoon technique under Gosset, a cartoonist on a Chicago periodical.

Disney started his film career with an advertising company. In 1920 the Kansas City Film Company took him on as a cartoonist. He began working with cartoon animation. He liked it so much that he worked on his films even at night. He made some animated advertisements and sold them to the owner of three Kansas City theatres.

His first big film was “Alice in Cartoonland” where he put a real person in a cartoon.

But he could not sell it in Kansas City. So he decided to go to Hollywood where he arrived in July, 1923. There he managed to sell “Alice in Cartoonland” in a deal calling for 12 more cartoons. The first six didn’t do well, but the seventh was a great hit. It brought Disney recognition and popularity.

When “Alice” series lost its appeal, Walt Disney created a new character – Oswald the Rabbit. Then he produced a new silent series - about Mickey Mouse (1928). Some biographers wrote that Mickey reminded of Disney himself. He had the same eyes, the pointed face and the same gift for pantomime. It is interesting to note that when Mickey Mouse started talking, he did so with Disney’s own voice. From that time on, Disney used the profits from one film to finance a new one. It was not always easy to find a distributor for his innovations.

In 1935 Disney got his first Oscar for creating Mickey Mouse. In 1936 Disney conceived a feature-length cartoon “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”. It took two years to make. It cost 1,5mln. But its success was unique. It was a real triumph. The film grossed 8 million dollars in the first year of its run. After the war Disney discovered that the cartoon shorts were no longer profitable. So he introduced another kind of short-length films: the “True Life Adventure” series. But Disney had a hard time getting a producer for the first film of the series. That is why he began to produce films himself.

Soon he became one of the USA major producers and founded his own studio called “Disney Productions”. Besides filmmaking Walt Disney tried other activities – TV and Disneyland (1935), a children’s park in California, where he tested his new ideas and attractionshimself. Disney died in 1966 at the age of 65. In his lifetime, he received 32 Oscars. Most of his films are masterpieces of world film art.

Exercise 27. Translate into English.

1. родился в бедной семье

проявил способности к рисованию

послал в среднюю школу

учился под руководством Н.

начал творческий путь в кино

взял на работу в качестве (карикатуриста) работал над фильмом

прибыл в Голливуд

сумел продать

имел большой успех

принес признание и популярность

использовал прибыль фильма

получил Оскара

задумал полнометражный мультфильм

собрал 8 млн. долларов

терял свою привлекательность

испытывал собственные идеи

основал собственную студию

имел трудности в поисках продюсера

принадлежат к шедеврам мирового киноискусства

умер в возрасте 65 лет

	b) рекламная компания
большинство его фильмов
при жизни
немой фильм
полнометражный фильм
короткометражный фильм
один из крупных продюсеров
с этого времени
помимо работы в кино
его собственный голос
настоящий триумф
успех был уникален
вот почему
тот же прокатчик
интересно отметить
выгодная сделка
свыше $1,5 млн.
на его производство ушло два года

Exercise 28. Look through the article again to find answers to the questions below.

1. When and where was Disney born?

2. Where did he study drawing?

3. Who taught him cartoon drawing at the Academy?

4. When and where did he start his film career?

5. What was the name of his first big film?

6. Why did he decide to go to Hollywood?

7. What film brought him popularity and recognition?

8. Why did Disney decide to create a new character – Oswald the Rabbit?

9. Why did Mickey Mouse remind Disney himself?

10. When did Disney get his first Oscar?

11. When did Disney die?

12. What age did Disney die at?

13. How many Oscars did Disney receive in his lifetime?

14. Which of his films are masterpieces of world film art?

Exercise 29. Read the phrases and translate the conjunctions in brackets into English.

that–что; which (неодуш.) –который; who (одуш.) –который; where–где, куда;

because –потому что; when –когда; that is why–поэтому; so–поэтому; but –но;

than –чем

1. His father sent him to the Academy of Fine Arts (где) he studied cartoon technique under Gosset, (который) was a cartoonist on a Chicago periodical. 2. He decided to go to Hollywood, (куда) he came in July 1923. 3. Some biographers wrote, (что) Mickey Mouse reminded of Disney himself, (потому что) he had the same eyes and a gift for pantomime. 4. (Когда) Mickey Mouse started talking, he did so with Disney’s own voice, (который) soon became familiar to film audiences all over the world. 5. It was not easy to find a producer to his film, (поэтому) he began to produce films himself. 6. He couldn’t sell “Alice” in Kansas, (поэтому) he decided to go to Hollywood. 7. (Но) after the war Disney discovered, (что) cartoon stories were no longer profitable, (поэтому) he introduced a new kind of short-length films “True Life Adventures”. 8. Mickey Mouse was much more popular with filmgoers, (чем) Oswald the Rabbit.

Exercise 30. Translate the summary of the article into English.

Дисней родился в Чикаго в 1901 году. Он учился в Академии изящных искусств под руководством Госсэ. Дисней начал свой творческий путь в кино с работы в рекламной компании города Канзас в 1920 году. Его первой большой картиной была “Алиса в стране мультипликации”. Дисней решил поехать в Голливуд, потому что не мог продать “Алису” в Канзасе. “Алиса” принесла популярность и признание своему автору. Затем Дисней решил создать новых персонажей – кролика Освальда и Микки Мауса, потому что “Алиса” стала терять привлекательность для зрителей. Говорят (Theysay), что Микки Маус напоминал самого Диснея – у него были такие же глаза и дар пантомимы. В 1935 году Дисней получил первого Оскара за создание Микки Мауса. Дисней умер в 1966 году в возрасте 65 лет. При жизни он получил 32 Оскара. Большинство его фильмов принадлежат к шедеврам мирового киноискусства.