best movies do.I began by declaring that America's long-running romance with Hollywood is over.It is a romance,however,that can be rekindled,if this appalling, amazing industry can once again create movies that are worthy of love and that merit the ardent affection of its audience. Cultural Notes: 1.Michael Medved(1948-):an American radio show host,author,political commentator and film critic.His Seattle-based nationally syndicated talk show,The Michael Medved Show,airs throughout the U.S.on Salem Radio Network.This article first appeared in Imprimis,a publication of Hillsdale College,in November 1992.The text is from Elements of Argument:A Text and Reader (4th edition,Boston:Bedford Books of St.Martin's Press,1994),edited by Annette T.Rottenberg 2.Pentecostal church:Church of Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism with the Holy Spirit.The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost,the Greek name for the Jewish Feast of Weeks. 3.G-rated:G stands for general audiences.The Motion Picture Association of America's(MPAA) film-rating system uses G-rated to mean that the movie contains little or no content that would offend parents or children. Background Research Questions: 1.At least 20 Hollywood movies are mentioned in the essay to argue for the opinion that Hollywood movies are detrimental to the viewers,but Medved also ranked Beauty and the Beast as the best movie of 1991.Choose one out of those harmful movies and compare it with Beauty and Beast,and illustrate how the latter convey constructive messages. 2.Do prime-time TV shows in China reflect“dreams'”or“poison'”or both?Examine one popular show in China to prove that TV is like or unlike Hollywood in its presentation of values. Comprehension Exercises: Answer the following questions based on the text. 1.The title suggests the author's attitude toward Hollywood movies today.Explain the terms poison and dream as indicative of values that Medved wants to promote. 2.What is people's general attitude towards the popular culture as represented by the Hollywood film industry? 3.According to Medved,what is the fundamental problem that made the Hollywood movies no longer a source of enchantment,and uplift? 4.How do the Hollywood movies attack religion and traditional family values? 5.How can Hollywood be the dream factory again? Paraphrase: Paraphrase the following sentences,paying special attention to the underlined parts. 1.America's long-running romance with Hollywood is over.(from paragraph 1)best movies do. I began by declaring that America’s long-running romance with Hollywood is over. It is a romance, however, that can be rekindled, if this appalling, amazing industry can once again create movies that are worthy of love and that merit the ardent affection of its audience. Cultural Notes: 1. Michael Medved (1948- ): an American radio show host, author, political commentator and film critic. His Seattle-based nationally syndicated talk show, The Michael Medved Show, airs throughout the U.S. on Salem Radio Network. This article first appeared in Imprimis, a publication of Hillsdale College, in November 1992. The text is from Elements of Argument: A Text and Reader (4 th edition, Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin’s Press, 1994), edited by Annette T. Rottenberg. 2. Pentecostal church: Church of Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism with the Holy Spirit. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek name for the Jewish Feast of Weeks. 3. G-rated: G stands for general audiences. The Motion Picture Association of America’s (MPAA) film-rating system uses G-rated to mean that the movie contains little or no content that would offend parents or children. Background Research Questions: 1. At least 20 Hollywood movies are mentioned in the essay to argue for the opinion that Hollywood movies are detrimental to the viewers, but Medved also ranked Beauty and the Beast as the best movie of 1991. Choose one out of those harmful movies and compare it with Beauty and Beast, and illustrate how the latter convey constructive messages. 2. Do prime-time TV shows in China reflect “dreams” or “poison” or both? Examine one popular show in China to prove that TV is like or unlike Hollywood in its presentation of values. Comprehension Exercises: Answer the following questions based on the text. 1. The title suggests the author’s attitude toward Hollywood movies today. Explain the terms poison and dream as indicative of values that Medved wants to promote. 2. What is people’s general attitude towards the popular culture as represented by the Hollywood film industry? 3. According to Medved, what is the fundamental problem that made the Hollywood movies no longer a source of enchantment, and uplift? 4. How do the Hollywood movies attack religion and traditional family values? 5. How can Hollywood be the dream factory again? Paraphrase: Paraphrase the following sentences, paying special attention to the underlined parts. 1. America’s long-running romance with Hollywood is over. (from paragraph 1) ____________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________