Learn English with Tetris

• ☐ ☐ ☐ the Soviet Union [n] - a former country made up of Russia and several other nations, which existed until 1991
• ☐ ☐ ☐ Stone Age [adj] - very old and outdated
• ☐ ☐ ☐ a graphics card [n] - the part of a computer that produces images on screen
• ☐ ☐ ☐ parentheses [n] - curved ( ) or square [ ] brackets
• ☐ ☐ ☐ IBM-compatible [adj] - able to run on IBM personal computers, the standard at the time
• ☐ ☐ ☐ a floppy disk [n] - an old removable storage device used to save and transfer computer files [image]
• ☐ ☐ ☐ spread like wildfire [exp] - spread very quickly
• ☐ ☐ ☐ monetize [v] - make money from something
• ☐ ☐ ☐ an entrepreneur [n] - someone who starts and runs a business, often taking risks
• ☐ ☐ ☐ a one-man band [exp] - someone who does everything alone, without a team
• ☐ ☐ ☐ license [v] - get legal permission to use or sell something that belongs to someone else
• ☐ ☐ ☐ a tycoon [n] - a very powerful and wealthy businessperson
• ☐ ☐ ☐ is in order [exp] - is appropriate right now
• ☐ ☐ ☐ the Iron Curtain [n] - the political and military barrier that separated communist Eastern Europe from the West during the Cold War
• ☐ ☐ ☐ buy out [phv] - pay someone to take full ownership of something
• ☐ ☐ ☐ up-front costs [n] - money paid at the beginning, before any profit
• ☐ ☐ ☐ in-house [adj] - done within a company, not by outside partners
• ☐ ☐ ☐ make exceptions [exp] - do something differently from the usual rule
• ☐ ☐ ☐ a cartridge [n] - a game cartridge — a small plastic device that slots into a video game console [image]
• ☐ ☐ ☐ publish [v] - produce and distribute a product commercially

[n] - noun,  [v] - verb,  [phv] - phrasal verb,  [adj] - adjective,  [exp] - expression

---

Henk	Eddie	Stein	Maxwell

• Henk Rogers is a Dutch-American video game entrepreneur in the late 1980s.
• He is meeting with a banker named Eddie to pitch a business deal involving the game Tetris.
• The game was invented in the Soviet Union — a communist country where the government controlled everything, including intellectual property.

1. Alexey Pajitnov worked as a _______ for the Soviet government.
   game designer
   graphic artist
   programmer
   
   
2. Alexey's computer did not have _______.
   a motherboard
   a graphics card
   RAM
   
   
3. Alexey made the falling blocks using _______.
   letters and numbers
   dashes and dots
   parentheses
   pixels
   
   
4. Making the game IBM-compatible meant it now had ______ and ______.
   an internet connection
   color graphics
   faster loading
   8-bit music
   
   
5. Robert Stein licensed games in _______ and resold them to the West.
   the United Kingdom
   the Soviet Union
   Eastern Europe
   
   
6. Stein met Robert Maxwell in _______.
   Budapest
   Moscow
   London
   Tokyo
   
   
7. Maxwell described Tetris as the first computer game to leave _______.
   the United States
   the Iron Curtain
   Nintendo
   
   
8. Henk _______ the offer of $500,000 for the rights to Tetris.
   accepted
   rejected
   
   
9. Henk wants to _______ the game.
   publish
   remake
   sell
   
   
10. To convince Nintendo, Henk argues that even Mario _______.
    had to make exceptions
    started as an outsider
    had a partner
    
    
11. Nintendo wants Henk to make _______ cartridges.
    12,000
    120,000
    200,000
    2,000,000
    
    
12. At the end, Henk asks Eddie for a check for _______.
    $3000
    $30,000
    $3o0,000
    $3,000,000
    
    

Score:

---

Directions: What expressions from the video have the same meaning as the highlighted expressions in the sentences below?

Instrucciones: ¿Qué expresiones del video tienen el mismo significado que las expresiones destacadas en las oraciones siguientes?

Instruções: Quais expressões do vídeo têm o mesmo significado que as expressões destacadas nas frases abaixo?

지시 사항: 아래 문장에서 강조된 표현과 같은 의미를 가진 표현을 영상에서 찾아보세요.

Інструкції: Які вирази з відео мають те саме значення, що й виділені вирази в реченнях нижче?

1. His computer, a [ very old ] piece of [ garbage ] called an Electronika 60, didn't even have a [ chip that makes images ].

   [ Stone Age ] [ crap ] [ graphics card ]

   Show Hide
   
   
2. People copied and shared floppy disks for free. It [ spread very fast ].

   [ spread like wildfire ]

   Show Hide
   
   
3. It would take an [ businessperson willing to take risks ] to actually go there and [ make it profitable ].

   [ entrepreneur ] [ monetize it ]

   Show Hide
   
   
4. A [ solo operator ] based in London, he would travel to Eastern Europe looking for licensed games cheaply.

   [ one-man band ]

   Show Hide
   
   
5. The Robert Maxwell? The billionaire media [ corporate leader, big shot ]?

   [ tycoon ]

   Show Hide
   
   
6. The first computer game to leave [ Soviet-controlled countries ].

   [ the Iron Curtain ]

   Show Hide
   
   
7. We'll [ buy all your ownership ] for 500,000.

   [ buy you out ]

   Show Hide
   
   
8. That is why I'm here. I'll publish it and [ pay for ] all [ initial ] costs.

   [ cover ] [ up-front ]

   Show Hide
   
   
9. We publish our games [ internally ]. We don't use outside partners.

   [ in-house ]

   Show Hide
   
   
10. You don't do it often, true. But you do [ make special cases ] because partners are what make us great.

    [ make exceptions ]

    Show Hide
    
    

Directions: Write sentences about the video clip using the words given. You can change the word form or add words, but you cannot change the word order.
Use a present time frame (tense).
( ) = optional   [ ] = necessary

Instrucciones: Escriba oraciones sobre el videoclip usando las palabras dadas. Puede cambiar la forma de la palabra o agregar palabras, pero no puede cambiar el orden de las palabras. Usa el tiempo presente.
( ) = opcional   [ ] = necesario

Instruções: Escribe oraciones sobre el videoclip usando las palabras dadas. Puede cambiar la forma de las palabras o agregar palabras, pero no puede cambiar el orden de las palabras. Usa tiempo presente.
( ) = opcional   [ ] = necessário

지시 : 주어진 단어를 사용하여 비디오 클립에 대한 문장을 씁니다. 어형을 변경하거나 단어를 추가할 수 있지만 어순은 변경할 수 없습니다. 현재 시제를 사용합니다.
( ) = 선택 사항   [ ] = 필수 사항

Інструкції: Напишіть речення про відеокліп, використовуючи подані слова. Ви можете змінювати форму слова або додавати слова, але не можете змінювати порядок слів.
Використовуйте теперішній час.
( ) = необов'язково   [ ] = обов'язково

Alexey / Pajitnov / work / programmer / Soviet / government / but / he / invent / games / night / fun

Alexey Pajitnov worked as a programmer for the Soviet government but invented games at night for fun.

computer / not / have / graphic / card / so / he / use / parentheses / represent / falling / block

His computer did not have a graphics card, so he used parentheses to represent the falling blocks.

after / Alexey / and / friend / make / game / IBM / compatible / it / spread / wildfire

After Alexey and his friends made the game IBM-compatible, it spread like wildfire.

however / that / time / nothing / leave / Soviet / union / easily

However, at that time, nothing [left/could leave] the Soviet Union easily.

Robert / Stein / regular / travel / east / Europe / license / game / resell / them / west

Robert Stein regularly traveled to Eastern Europe (in order) to license games and resell them [to/in] the West.

Stein / first / make / deal / Soviet / license / Tetris

Stein first made a deal with the Soviets to license Tetris.

he / then / meet / Robert / Maxwell / London / sell / game / publish / right

He then met (with) Robert Maxwell in London (in order) to sell (him) the game's publishing rights.

Nintendo / offer / Henk / 500,000 / dollar / but / he / turn / down

Nintendo offered Henk 500,000 dollars, but he turned it down.

Henk / want / publish / game / self

Henk wants to publish the game himself.

he / persuade / Nintendo / by / argue / partner / be / what / make / them / great

He tries to persuade Nintendo by arguing (that) partners are what make them great.

Nintendo / agree / and / ask / make / 200,000 / cartridge

Nintendo agrees and asks (him) to make 200,000 cartridges.

so / Henk / tell / Eddie / he / need / check / 3,000,000 / dollar

So, Henk tells Eddie (that) he needs a check for 3,000,000 dollars.

1. Alexey Pajitnov invented Tetris but didn't own it — the Soviet government did. Do you think that was fair? Why or why not?
2. Tetris spread because people copied and shared it for free. Do you think that helped or hurt the game's success? Explain.
3. Do you think people should be able to copy and share things like games, music, or movies for free? Why or why not?
4. Have you ever turned down an opportunity because you thought something better might come along? What happened?
5. Have you played Tetris? Why do you think it's still popular today? Why do you think some simple games last for decades while others are quickly forgotten?
6. If you could own the rights to any game, movie, or book, what would you choose and why?