PRUEBAS DE ACCESO A LA UNIVERSIDAD
JUNIO. CURSO 1998/99.

MICHELLE PFEIFFER

Michelle Pfeiffer seems to have come out of a Botticelli painting. Her beauty is ethereal. She has the perfectly oval face with clear blue eyes and golden blonde hair that the Italian Renaissance master loved to depict. She is almost too beautiful for the movies since nowadays all the real beauties end up on television.

Pfeiffer may be blonde and work in Hollywood, but she is no "Hollywood blonde". She has resisted all the temptations of becoming plastic in a city famous for disposable personalities. She doesn't hide behind fake smiles, worn-out gestures and prefabricated glances. She does not posses that air of self-importance often found in celebrities. Rather, her most attractive feature is an insecurity expressed in her countenance. On top of that, she can act. People didn't notice that at first -partly because of the movies she decorated: Charfy Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Lady and Grease II. But then she appeared in Brian De Palma's Scarface and amazed everyone in her role as the companion to gangster Al Pacino. Her next film was Into the Night. It was not a great success at the box office, but Pfeiffer's performance as the perfect "dream girl" showed that she was a talent who deserved recognition. Then came Ladyhawke, Sweet Liberty and a role as one of the witches in The Witches of Eastwick, an allegory of the war between the sexes (with Jack Nicholson, Cher and Susan Sarandon).

The following year was an explosive one in the career of Michelle Pfeiffer. Three big films, Married to the Mob, Dangerous Liaisons and Tequila Sunrise catapulted her to superstar status. In Dangerous Liaisons she played Madame de Tourvel with a grace and elegance that won her an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress. Though she didn't win the Oscar, Pfeiffer nonetheless proved that her acting could be as rich and classic as her looks. She has also displayed her talent as a singer/dancer in The Fabulous Baker Boys with Jeff and Beau Bridges. Her other films include The Russia House with Sean Connery, Frankie and Johnny, with Al Pacino, Love Field, Batman Returns and Age of Innocence.

1.- ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TEXT IN YOUR OWN WORDS (4 points) (1 each)

a) Which are Michelle Pfeiffer's memories of her teenager days?

b) How is Michelle Pfeiffer's personality described in the text?

c) Why was' the film "Into the night" a hit in her acting Iife?

d) Why does the author compare Michelle Pfeiffer with a Boticelli painting?

2.- ARE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWER WIHT EVIDENCE FROM THE TEXT. (2 points) (1 each)

a) Pfeiffer is a very bad singer/dancer.

b) She didn't win an Academy Award nomination in her film "Scarface".

3.- VOCABULARY (1 point) (0,25 each) - Find words in the text or expressions that have the following meanings:

a) Designed to be used once and then thrown away.

b) The expression on a face, especially as an indication of emotion or character.

e) Manufactured in advance in order to be assembled later, artificial.

d) A pleasing and graceful appearance, manner or style.

4.- WRITE A SHORT COMPOSITION OF ABOUT 100 WORDS. CHOOSE ONE OF THE TOPICS. (3 points):

a) What kind of films do you Iike? If your watched it, write about a Pfeiffer's film.

b) Write about a film that you have recently watched.