Reading Comprehension from Q-Skills: John Williams, King of Movie Music
Music and movies go together. Even when movies didn’t
have sound, someone played a piano during the movie. Now, people create special
music, called soundtracks, for each movie. One of the most famous movie
composers is John Williams. People all over the world know his musical
compositions and the movies they are from.
John Williams was born in 1932 in Long Island, New
York. Because his father was a jazz drummer, Williams grew up around music. His
family moved to Los Angeles, so Williams became familiar with Hollywood and the
movies. He studied music in high school and college. In the Air Force, Williams
conducted music for the Air Force Band.
After the Air Force, Williams attended the Julliard
School of Music in New York City, one of the most famous music schools in the
world. He played piano in jazz clubs in New York. Then he worked with Henry
Mancini, a famous movie composer, and he started writing movie soundtracks.
Williams played piano for the soundtracks of some very important films,
including Peter Gunn. He also composed for television programs, including the
famous TV shows Gilligan's Island and Lost in Space. He wrote the music for
famous movies, like the Valley of the Dolls and The Poseidon Adventure.
Today, John Williams is very famous for his work. He
wrote music for more than 100 films and television shows. He won many awards,
including five Academy Awards. In 2005, The American Film Institute chose his
music as the best movie soundtrack of all time. And, his career is still going.
John Williams is still writing music for many exciting movies.
Task: Present a soundtrack of a movie that has good or
matching music and explain why you like it.
Try These! make sb do, make sb adj, can’t
help –ing, remind sb of ~, remember –ing, match, suit
particularly, especially, sound/special effects, sound
track, composer, director