Spotlight - 13.2019

58 Spotlight 13/2019 THE BASICS

THE BASICS

Easy English

Here, you’ll find a dialogue and interesting

facts related to it — at the A2 level of English.

By VANESSA CLARK

EASY PLUS

Dialogue

Here, we present interesting lives from around the English-

speaking world. This time, we talk to Megan Dunnett, who

works in a cinema.

What do you do in your job?

I sell tickets as well as food and drink, and I check people’s tickets

as they go in. Sometimes, under-18s try to get into adult films, so

we watch out for that. We have to know all the information for

customers, so that people can enjoy their visit.

Can you watch the films while you’re working?

Not while I’m working, but we get free tickets to use on other

days.

When are you busiest?

Friday and Saturday nights, especially when a big new movie

comes out. We have special offers for over-60s during the day,

when it’s quiet, and we have a kids’ club on Saturday and Sun-

day mornings. Then we often have live-streaming events on

We d n e s d a y s.

What are live-streaming events?

Some of the big theatres, like the National Theatre, the Royal

Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House, stream

their shows to cinemas, so you can watch a live event in your

local cinema.

What kind of films do you like?

I love a bit of horror!

Show and tell

Now, find out more about a favourite cinema snack: popcorn.

Popcorn was popular at American carnivals in the mid-1800s,

but the new movie theatres didn’t want to sell it because it was

a cheap carnival snack — too noisy, too messy and not smart

enough for their new theatres.

During the Great Depression, in the 1930s, Americans wanted

cheap entertainment. Movies were cheap and fun, and so was

popcorn. Popcorn sellers sold it outside movie theatres — until

the theatre owners saw their chance and began to sell it them-

selves.

During the Second World War,

with little sugar for sweet snacks,

the sales of popcorn grew.

Today, the average American

eats about 43 quarts of popcorn

ever y year. With all the new

flavours available, such as

cheese or chocolate, the most

popular option is still the classic:

butter and salt.

movie theatre

[(mu:vi )TIEtE] N. Am.

, Filmtheater, Kino

quart [kwO:t] N. Am.

, 1,10 l

watch out [wQtS (aUt]

, aufpassen, Ausschau

halten

Cabinet of curiosities

Megan Dunnett,

cinema assistant

At least as entertaining as a

night out at the cinema:

our exercises in Spotlight plus:

spotlight-online.de/

spotlight-plus

Illustrationen: Martin Haake; donatas 1205/Shutterstock.com