Spirit, atmosphere, mood, feeling

e.g. In a little while I forgot what the book was about, but the spirit (of it) stayed with me for a long time.

The spirit of the book has been lost in translation/in the film.

The book is written in the spirit of James Joyce/optimism.

The book has something of the spirit of James Joyce.

Atmosphere is less serious, more superficial.

Mood and feeling can sometimes be used in the similar way to atmosphere.

e.g. The atmosphere/mood of the book is one of hope and faith in the future.

The author creates an atmosphere/feeling of mystery and suspense right from the very first page.

The gay, light-hearted atmosphere/mood of the book makes it ideal holiday reading.

FOCUS ON VOCABULARY

Transcribe and read out the given words.

despicable, subtle, superficial, admirable, obscure, ornate, dispassionate, monotonous, atmosphere, abrupt, heroine

Define the meaning of the following words.

1. prolific 6. hilarious

2. pretentious 7. riveting

3. intricate 8. despicable

4. plausible 9. ornate

5. credible 10. lucid

Give synonyms.

1. gripping 6. funny

2. realistic 7. dull

3. amusing 8. complex

4. lucid 9. poorly-drawn

5. skillfully developed 10. credible

4. Make compound adjectives matching the stems on the left with the stems on the right. Can you explain their meaning?

1. heavy a. fact

2. fast b. drawn

3. far c. earth

4. true-to d. packed

5. up-and e. provoking

6. down-to f. life

7. vividly g. moving

8. long h. flown

9. action i. going

10. well j. drawn-out

11. slow k. fetched

12. thought l. coming

13. poorly m. written

14. matter-of

15. high

Give the opposites of these words.

1. virtuous 6. readable

2. original 7. complex

3. superficial 8. amusing

4. convincing 9. imaginative

5. fast-moving 10. realistic

Read through the following list of adjectives and classify them as positive or negative.

long-drawn-out, impressive, ingenious, superficial, unputdownable, powerful, readable, primitive, despicable, vivid, pretentious, original, polished, artificial, flowery, crude, repetitive, stirring

In each set, find the odd-one-out, explain your choice.

1.a. prolific b. famous c. celebrated d. well-known

2.a. virtuous b. selfish c. honest d. admirable

3.a. mood b. atmosphere c. spirit d. setting

4.a. storyline b. events c. plot d. action

Choose the best word to fill in the blanks.

1. __________ characterizations

a. vivid b. complex c. sentimental d. restrained

2. __________ style

a. credible b. polished c. action-packed d. true-to-life

3. __________ characters from life.

a. create b. portray c. draw d. depict

4. __________ characters

a. clumsy b. obscure c. sympathetic d. lucid

5. __________ plot

a. plausible b. depressing c. well-drawn d. jerky