Working in the Movies - IELTS Reading Answers with Location

In IELTS Reading, distinguishing between facts and opinions is crucial, especially in questions that ask whether a statement is True, False, or Not Given. Many candidates lose marks because they confuse what the passage says with what the writer believes. So, this passage, ‘Working in the Movies IELTS Reading Answers’ provides you with an opportunity to rectify your mistakes and prepare better for the IELTS Academic Reading exam.

This blog helps you to check your answers against the provided Working in the Movies Reading Answers with explanations and tips to improve your performance in the reading module. 

Passage for Working in the Movies IELTS Reading Answers

Now go through the passage for ‘Working in the Movies’ Reading Answers given below, and be prepared to solve similar IELTS Reading topics for General and Academic for the reading section.

Working in the Movies

Subtitling is an exciting part of the translation profession. Melanie Leyshon talks to Virginie Verdler of London translation company VSI about the glamour and the grind.

A When people ask French translator Virginie Verdier what she does for a living, it must be tempting to say enigmatically: ‘Oh me? I’m in the movies’. It’s strictly true, but her starring role is behind the scenes. As translating goes, it doesn’t get more entertaining or glamorous than subtitling films. If you’re very lucky, you get to work on the new blockbuster films before they’re in the cinema, and if you’re just plain lucky, you get to work on the blockbuster movies that are going to video or DVD.

B Virginie is quick to point out that this is as exciting as any translating job. 'You work had. It's not all entertainment as you are doing the translating. You need all the skills of a good translator and a top-notch editor. You have to be precise and. of course, much more concise than in traditional translation work.'

C The process starts when you get the original script and a tape. ‘We would start with translating and adapting the film script. The next step is what we call ‘timing’, which means synchronising the subtitles to the dialogue and pictures.’ This task requires discipline. You play the film, listen to the voice and the subtitles are up on your screen ready to be timed. You insert your subtitle when you hear the corresponding dialogue and delete .it when the dialogue finishes. The video tape carries a time code which runs in hours, minutes, seconds and frames. Think of it as a clock. The subtitling unit has an insert key to capture the time code where you want the subtitle to appear. When you press the delete key, it captures the time code where you want the subtitle to disappear. So each subtitle would ‘have an ‘in’ point and an ‘out’ point which represent the exact time when the subtitle comes in and goes out. This process is then followed by a manual review, subtitle by subtitle, and time- codes are adjusted to improve synchronisation and respect shot changes. This process involves playing the film literally frame by frame as it is essential the subtitles respect the visual rhythm of the film.’

D Different subtitlers use different techniques. ‘I would go through the film and do the whole translation and then go right back from the beginning and start the timing process. But you could do it in different stages, translate let’s say 20 minutes of the film, then time this section and translate the next 20 minutes, and so on. It’s just a different method.’

E For multi-lingual projects, the timing is done first to create what is called a ‘spotting list’, a subtitle template, which is in effect a list of English subtitles pre-timed and edited for translation purposes. This is then translated and the timing is adapted to the target language with the help of the translator for quality control.

F Like any translation work, you can’t hurry subtitling,’ says Virginie. ‘If subtitles are translated and timed in a rush, the quality will be affected and it will show.’ Mistakes usually occur when the translator does not master the source language and misunderstands the original dialogue. ‘Our work also involves checking and reworking subtitles when the translation is not up to standard. However, the reason for redoing subtitles is not just because of poor quality translation. We may need to adapt subtitles to a new version of the film: the time code may be different. The film may have been edited or the subtitles may have been created for the cinema rather than video. If subtitles were done for cinema on 35mm, we would need to reformat the timing for video, as subtitles could be out of synch or too fast. If the translation is good, we would obviously respect the work of the original translator.’

G On a more practical level, there are general subtitling rules to follow, says Virginie. ‘Subtitles should appear at the bottom of the screen and usually in the centre.’ She says that different countries use different standards and rules. In Scandinavian countries and Holland, for example, subtitles are traditionally left justified. Characters usually appear in white with a thin black border for easy reading against a white or light background. We can also use different colours for each speaker when subtitling for the hearing impaired. Subtitles should have a maximum of two lines and the maximum number of characters on each line should be between 32 and 39. Our company standard is 37 (different companies and countries have different standards).’

H Translators often have a favourite genre, whether it’s war films, musicals, comedies (one of the most difficult because of the subtleties and nuances of comedy in different countries), drama or corporate programmes. Each requires a certain tone and style. ‘VSI employs American subtitlers, which is incredibly useful as many of the films we subtitle are American,’ says Virginie. ‘For an English person, it would not be so easy to understand the meaning behind typically American expressions, and vice-versa.’

Questions for Working in the Movies Reading Answers

The passage, Working in the Movies Reading Answers, consists of 14 questions, which showcase three different IELTS Reading question types. They are:

• IELTS Reading Flowchart Completion (Q. 1-5)
• IELTS Reading True/False/Not Given (Q. 6-10)
• IELTS Reading Sentence Completion (Q. 11-14)

Questions 1-5

The Subtitling Process

Questions 6-10

6 For translators, all subtitling work on films is desirable.

7 Subtitling work involves a requirement that does not apply to other translation work.

8 Some subtitling techniques work better than others.

9 Few people are completely successful at subtitling comedies.

10 Every single movie has the same tone and style.

Questions 11-14

11 Poor subtitling can be a result of the subtitler not being excellent at ………….………......

12 To create subtitles for a video version of a film, it may be necessary to ………….………......

13 Subtitles usually have a ………….………...... around them.

14Speakers can be distinguished from each other for the benefit of ………….………......

Answers and Explanations of Working in the Movies IELTS Reading Passage

You should now compare your answers with the answer key below to check your work for the Working in the Movies IELTS Reading Answers. It is important to remember to formulate strategies that are based on the feedback from this practice session, and also to master different IELTS Reading question types with examples.

Tips for Answering the Question Types in the Working in the Movies Reading Passage

Now, let us check out some quick IELTS exam preparation tips for band score of 8+ to answer the passage question types in the Working in the Movies IELTS Reading Answer to help you create your own strategy.

Flowchart Completion

• Understand the process before answering: Quickly read the flowchart from start to end. Identify inputs, steps, results, and conditions (if/when). You must know what is happening to predict what kind of word will fit.
• Follow the order strictly: Flowcharts always follow exact order in the passage.
  Locate the starting point and move forward step-by-step.
• Predict the type of word before searching: Decide if the gap needs a noun (most common), a verb, a time reference, a condition, or a measurement. Prediction reduces wrong matches.
• Use the word limit carefully: If the instruction says ‘NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS’, do NOT exceed it. Hyphenated words (e.g., “long-term”) count as one word. 
• Match the grammatical structure: If the flowchart says, ‘The machine is cleaned using…’, the answer must be a noun/noun phrase, not a verb.
• Scan for sequence markers: Look for words like ‘first’, ‘next’, ‘after that’, ‘subsequently’, ‘finally’, etc. These help locate each step in the passage.
• Look for paraphrasing, not word matching: Flowcharts rarely repeat exact words. For example, ‘heated’ might be given as ‘raised to a high temperature’. 
• Check if the answer keeps the flow logical: Insert your answer into the flowchart.
  Does the process still make sense? If not, adjust.
• Move on quickly if stuck: Flowcharts are sequential. So, find the next step and come back later.

True/False/Not Given (Q. 6–10)

• Read the whole statement: Every part matters, as a single changed detail can turn a statement from True to False.
• Never use your own knowledge: Only the text matters, even if you know the topic.
• Paraphrasing traps are common: Do not copy keywords, as examiners often change. For example: Quantities (some → many), Time (recently → historically), Opinions (important → essential).
• Statements are in order: Q.6 appears before Q.7 in the passage. As a result, this helps scan efficiently. 
• If two options seem possible, choose NOT GIVEN: Most students overthink and wrongly choose True/False. So, if evidence is not explicit, the answer is NOT GIVEN.
• Read slowly but mark quickly: Do not spend more than 70–90 seconds per item. This question type can be a time trap.

 Sentence Completion (Q. 11–14)

• Identify the sentence structure before searching: Check what type of word the blank needs noun, adjective, verb, or adverb. This narrows your search.
• Pay attention to articles and prepositions: If the sentence says, ‘the cause of _____’, the answer should be a noun, not a phrase starting with a preposition.
• Stick to the word limit strictly: If the limit is ONE WORD ONLY, strictly follow it. Extra words would lead to a loss of marks.
• The answer must come directly from the passage: Do not change word forms. For example, ‘innovation’ should not become ‘innovative’ or ‘reduction’ should not be written as ‘reduced’.
• Sentence completion answers are paraphrased heavily: Questions may use different words than the passage. But the final answer must be exact words from the text.
• Sentences follow the order of the passage: The answer to Q.11 appears before Q.12. This saves time.
• Read before and after the gap: Meaning changes drastically based on what follows the blank. Also, check grammar and meaning.

Well done on completing the passage ‘Working in the Movies’! Now, with the help of the feedback and IELTS Reading tips and techniques to increase your reading speed and find the correct answers, keep solving more of the IELTS reading recent tests, work on your comprehension skills, and create your own reading success strategy. 

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