Question

All of the movies that were made until the late 1920s were "silent movies." The characters in these movies did not speak, and there was no music soundtrack either. The actors relied solely on facial expressions and body movements to express characters' emotions. Live music was played at the theater to accompany the action unfolding onscreen. Among the leading actors of the silent era in Hollywood were the comedic actors Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy. The Hollywood icon Greta Garbo began her acting career with the silent movie Torrent, which hit the screens in 1926.
The silent era ended in 1927 with the release of The Jazz Singer from the Warner Brothers Studio. This was the first full-length Hollywood movie to feature dialogue and music. The movie was a huge success, and Warner Brothers made a lot of money. Other studios joined the Warner Brothers bandwagon and began to produce what people came to call "talking movies." Audiences lined up at the theaters that showed talking movies and snubbed silent movies. Soon, all movie theaters were equipped to show talking movies. Talking movies triumphed over silent movies in the contest to capture the audiences' interest.
Some silent era movie stars, including Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, and Greta Garbo, made a successful switch to the talking era, and audiences flocked to see their new movies with soundtracks and dialogue. However, many stars of the silent era gradually faded from people's memories. By the end of the 1920s, the age of silent movies in Hollywood was over. Although silent movies were still being produced in other countries, the roaring success of the talking movies in Hollywood was evidence that this trend would soon catch on worldwide.
Why did silent movies lose out to the new talking movies? Advancements in the technical aspects of moviemaking led to this switch. Audiences were attracted to stories with dialogue and singing and music. It is similar to how consumers replaced typewriters with digital computers.
3
In what way does the author's observation about some silent movie actors' decisions to work in talking movies help the reader better understand the impact of talking movies?
A.
It shows that despite the popularity of silent movies, talking movies were more successful because they did not rely on the performing skills of actors.
B.
It shows that despite the popularity of silent movies, some silent movie actors switched to acting in talking movies because theaters only screened talking movies.
C.
It shows that although silent movies were popular in the beginning, talking movies appealed to the audience because they did not feature live music.
D.
It shows that although silent movies were popular in the beginning, talking movies became so successful that they took over the entire movie industry.

Answer 1

D

The passage notes that many silent-era stars successfully moved to talking pictures and audiences flocked to them, showing that talking movies became dominant and overtook the silent-movie industry.