IELTS - Telenovelas

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Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro 
Instituto de Letras (ILE) 
Inglês para Fins Acadêmicos 
Prof. Flávio Souza 
 
 
Reading Practice – IELTS 
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-12. 
 
 
 
Racy telenovelas inspire social change 
 
Brazil's popular soap operas have done more than just entertain people - they have reduced the birth rate by 
three million and driven up the rate of divorce, a new report has found. Their colorful storylines of glamorous 
love triangles, paternity mysteries and rags-to-riches successes have long dominated Brazilian airwaves. Now 
the racy telenovelas that are the mainstays of the country's powerful TV Globo network are being credited with 
more than just their audience pulling-power. 
 
A study of population data stretching back to 1971has revealed that Brazil's popular and often fanciful soap 
operas have had a direct impact on the nation's divorce and birth rates, as the main channel that broadcast them 
gradually extended its reach across the country. According to the report, prepared for the Inter-American 
Development Bank, the rate of marriage break-up rose and the number of children born to each woman fell 
more quickly in areas receiving the TV Globo signal for the first time. 
 
Over the two decades that were studied, an estimated three million fewer Brazilian babies were born than 
would have been if telenovelas had never been broadcast, and 800,000 more couples separated or divorced. If 
the effect continued to the present day, the numbers would be even greater. ‘Exposure to modern lifestyles as 
portrayed on television, to emancipated women's roles, and to a critique of traditional values, was associated 
with increases in the share of separated and divorced woman across Brazil's municipal areas,' the report's 
authors said. 
 
Every Brazilian knows that what happens on TV Globo can affect the real world. Its schedules dictate kick-
off times for football matches, its costumes influence design and fashion and the telenovelas' plotlines have 
influenced the outcome of elections. However, the revelation that the cult of the telenovela has had such impact 
on the most intimate aspects of its viewers' lives will startle Brazilians. Maria Immacolata Lopes, the 
coordinator of the Telenovela Centre at USP, one of Brazil's leading universities, said it was the first time that 
research had been undertaken on such a wide scale. 
 
Alberto Chong, one of the study's authors, said the reason for the change was the 'aspirational ethos' of the 
country's soaps, which, unlike their grittier equivalents in Britain, tend to portray the upper levels of Brazilian 
society. That generally means characters are whiter, wealthier and better educated than most of Brazil's 190 
million people. They have fewer children and are more likely to be separated or divorced. Viewers instantly 
took to that image. 'If the leading female character of a telenovela was divorced or separated, the divorce rate 
rose, by an average of 0.1 percentage point', Mr. Chong said. 'At the same time, women in areas reached by 
the Globo signal had 0.6 per cent fewer children than those in areas with no signal.' This may appear to be a 
small impact, but equates to millions fewer babies born over two decades. 
 
TV Globo reacted with hostility to the study, saying that it underestimated the intelligence of the channel's 
viewers. A spokesman asserted that the soaps' portrayal of divorce and smaller families reflected the trends of 
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the time, rather than brought them about. 'Our dramas are attuned to the questions being asked in society. 
While we don't doubt the novelas make people think, we don't believe they actually influence their opinions 
or choices,' said Luis Erlanger, Globo's communications director. Mr Chong rejected the view, pointing out 
that the chances of a new-born baby being named after a soap star were significantly higher in areas where the 
soaps were broadcast. 
 
Other international studies have shown that television can influence behavior and transform social mores, 
especially where the population does not have constant access to mixed media. In India, the arrival of cable 
television in remote areas caused pregnancy rates to fall and enrolment in education among girls to rise. 
Inhabitants of Lutsaan, a village in northern India were passionate fans of the radio drama Tinka Tinka Sukh. 
The program is claimed to have promoted gender equality and encouraged renouncement of the local custom 
of demanding a bridal dowry. Enrolment of girls in the local school rose by 25 per cent. In other parts of the 
country, soap viewers were more likely to refute the commonly held view that a husband was justified in 
beating his wife. 
 
A Rwandan radio serial Musekeweya has had an even more notable impact. Devised and broadcast by Radio 
La Benevolendja, a partner of Oxfam, the story centers on the conflict between two fictional tribes and the 
doomed romance between two of its characters. The project has the high hope of mending ethnic tension and 
encouraging reconciliation. This may be fiction, but the backdrop is very evidently the period just before the 
horrendous events of 1994. 
 
One of the earliest program to have a far-reaching impact on audiences was the Peruvian telenovela 
Simplemente Maria first aired in the late 1960s. The central character was a rural girl who escaped to the city 
to find work as a maid. She learnt to read and, more importantly, to sew, enabling her to become a successful 
fashion designer. The show was so popular that when Maria married her literacy teacher, thousands of avid 
viewers collected outside the church to bestow gifts on the happy couple. Across the country, increased 
enrolment in literacy classes coincided with the storyline. 
 
Back in Brazil, although they have lost viewers to the internet, the influence of the novelas remains 
evident. The increased presence of slender blondes is credited with driving a shift away from what was once a 
nationwide preference for guitar-shaped brunettes. 'Novelas in Brazil take on a greater importance than a 
simple drama because they move people,' said Mauro Alencar, the author of several books about the genre. 
'But the novela is above all a reflection of society. It feeds off what is exposed in day to day life and recreates 
a fictional version.' 
 
[Adapted from: Gough, C., Hutchinson, S., Exam Essentials Practice Tests, IELTS 2 – National Geographic Learning/ 
Cengage Learning, 2015]. 
 
 
Questions 1-4 
 
Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D. 
 
1. According to the text, which of the following features is typical of Brazilian telenovelas? 
 
a. A There is a tendency to favor large families. 
b. B Relationships are often unstable. 
c. C Characters cannot escape their social class. 
d. D Storylines are generally realistic. 
 
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2. TV Globo soap operas 
 
a. are more popular than football matches. 
b. are frequently set in the fashion industry. 
c. have a degree of political content. 
d. frequently shock the viewing public. 
 
3. Viewers are attracted to Brazilian soap operas because 
 
a. they would like to be more like the characters in them. 
b. they reflect what happens in their own lives. 
c. the characters are excellent role models. 
d. they clearly show viewers how to behave. 
 
4. What is the point made in the sixth paragraph? 
 
a. TV networks deserve criticism for their irresponsible storylines. 
b. TV drama should be seen purely as entertainment. 
c. People are behaving just like the characters they see in the telenovelas. 
d. There is disagreement about how influential TV drama really is. 
 
Questions 5-11 
 
Classify the following ideas as referring to the country. 
a. Brazil 
b. India 
c. Peru 
d. Rwanda 
 
5. [ ] changes to wedding tradition 
6. [ ] a relationship destined to fail 
7. [ ] a desire to learn how to read 
8. [ ] a reflection of real life social and political unrest 
9. [ ] domestic violence being less tolerated 
10. [ ]changing perceptions of beauty 
11. [ ] an apparent inability to separate reality and fantasy 
 
 
Question 12 
 
Choose the correct letter A, B, C or D. 
 
12. What is the conclusion that should be drawn from reading this passage? 
a. In the future, soap operas will shape the way many people live. 
b. People being influenced by what they watch on TV has some obvious benefits. 
c. Soap opera writers should ensure that their characters behave responsibly. 
d. Average family size will continue to fall in countries where soap operas are very popular.