L'ultimo cinema del paese (The last cinema in town)
QCER B1225 parole
The cinema in our town opened in 1954 and closed twice. The first time was in 2009, when the big shopping centre opened by the motorway. The second time was last winter, and this time nobody expected it to open again.
It has one screen, two hundred and forty seats and a projectionist called Emilio, who is seventy-one. When the cinema closed the first time, Emilio kept the keys. He went in once a week for four years, turned on the machines and let them run for twenty minutes with no film and no audience.
'A machine that stops working dies,' he says. 'And people are the same.'
In 2013 a group of neighbours bought the building. They had no money for new equipment, so for a long time the cinema showed films that other cinemas had finished with, three or four months late. Nobody complained. The tickets cost four euros and a family could still afford a Saturday.
Last winter the roof failed after a storm and the cinema closed again. Since February, four hundred people have paid ten euros a month to repair it. That is not enough for a new roof, but it is enough to keep Emilio's machines running.
He still goes in every week. The screen is still empty. He says he is not waiting: he is keeping something warm.
Parole che forse non conosci
- screenschermo, sala
- projectionistproiezionista
- audiencepubblico
- equipmentattrezzatura
- to affordpotersi permettere
- rooftetto
- to keep something warmtenere qualcosa al caldo, non lasciarlo raffreddare
Domande
Si risponde con il testo davanti. Non è memoria: è capire.
How many times has the cinema closed?
Twice: in 2009 and last winter — Il primo paragrafo lo dice e dà le due date: il 2009, quando ha aperto il centro commerciale, e l'inverno scorso.
During the first closure, Emilio went into the cinema once a ___.
week — He went in once a week for four years: una volta a settimana per quattro anni.
During those four years Emilio showed films to a small audience.
False — Falso, ed è la cosa strana del testo: with NO film and NO audience. Accendeva le macchine per nessuno.
Why did the cinema show films three or four months late?
Because the neighbours could not pay for modern equipment — They had no money for new equipment, SO… Il ritardo non è una scelta artistica: è quello che può proiettare un cinema con macchine vecchie.
How much money do the four hundred people give every month?
Four thousand euros — Il testo non dà la cifra: bisogna moltiplicare. Quattrocento persone a dieci euro al mese fanno quattromila euro al mese.
What does Emilio mean when he says he is 'keeping something warm'?
That he is looking after the cinema so that it can come back to life — Si capisce da quello che ha detto prima: una macchina che smette di funzionare muore, e le persone uguale. E lui stesso lo distingue dall'aspettare: non aspetta, custodisce.