Passage 1
2 Work in pairs. Look at some extracts from Passage 1 about a British writer's childhood as a prisoner of war. What do you think the passage is about?
... born in 1930, in Shanghai...
... a semi-autobiographical novel called Empire of the Sun...
... made into a movie by Hollywood director, Steven Spidlberg.
... the boy becomes separated from them (his parents) and finds himself all alone.
... then he's sent to a prison camp.
... a child who discovers the depths of human cruelty.
3 Listen to Passage 1 again and complete the sentences.
1 He was born in 1930, in Shanghai, where his father was a ________, and he was only _________ when the city was occupied during World War II.
2 Empire of the Sun tells the story of how a young boy, Jim Graham, survies the Japanese occupation. interestingly, Jim is J G Ballard's ___________ and _________ is Graham.
3 Also, Jim is ___________ Ballard - 11 - when the occupation begins.
4 Inevitably, he's found and then he's sent to a prison camp. It's a _____________, but the boy somehow_______________.
5 Is there a happy ending? Yes and no. Jim sees many people die; ___________ is killed by the Americans.
6 But he learns also about the _____________ and ____________ that is possible, even inthese circumstances.
4 Listen to Passage 1 and choose the best way to complete the sentences.
1. Empire of the Sun is an unusual war novel because __________.
(a) it was written when the author was very young
(b) it's told from a child's point of view
(c) it's about children
(d) it was written a long time after the author's war experiences
2. Empire of the Sun was published in __________.
(a) 1987
(b) 1994
(c) 1998
(d) 1984
3. When the invasion begins, many of Shanghai's inhabitants flee from the city __________.
(a) and Jim's parents leave too, but Jim gets separated from them
(b) but Jim's parents move to the other part of the city
(c) but Jim's parents stay
(d) and Jim leaves the city with his parents
4. Jim is sent to a prison camp __________.
(a) but manages to escape
(b) and survives by stealing things
(c) and sees all his friends die
(d) and makes friends with some Americans and a Japanese boy
5. The novel is very powerful because __________.
(a) it's all true
(b) it's about Ballard's own experiences
(c) it's about the strength and courage that's possible in war
(d) we learn so much about human cruelty
5 Work in pairs and discuss the questions.
1 How do you think a child's experience of war might differ from that of adults?
2 Is it easy to write about personal experiences ? Why / Why not?
3 Is t easy to write about war? Why / Why not?
