THE WRITTEN WORD – THE PRESS

Britain has one of the largest publishing industries in the world. There are ten morning daily newspapers and nine Sunday papers published nationally. In addition, about 1,400 regional and local newspapers and more than 6,500 periodicals are published in the United Kingdom. Britain has one of the highest newspaper readership of any developed nation. Britain is home to some of the oldest newspapers in the world. The Observerand The Timeshave both been published since the late 18^th century. In the past newspaper publishing was concentrated in Fleet Street in London, but the national papers have moved out of Fleet Street. Some went to new sites in the London Docklands or somewhere else.

Britain’s newspapers look at life from rather different points of view. The Times, The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraphare known as “quality” newspapers. They have more writing than pictures, and they report in detail on serious news, both in Britain and abroad. “Tabloid” newspapers often intrude on people’s private lives. They follow celebrities and print sensational stories about them which are untrue or half-true. They take photos of them in their most intimate moments. The question is – should this be allowed? The Daily Express, The Daily Mail, The Sunand The Daily Mirrorhave less to say and more to show in pictures. They choose stories with strong “human interest”, and are not so interested in foreign news. Some of them, especially The Daily Expressand The Sun,spend a lot of time and money trying to get new stories and photographs of the Royal Family. Sometimes they go too far. The Queen has had to ask them several times to give her and her children a bit of peace.

The sad truth is that most radio and television news stories are about Britain, not about the rest of the world. British people often seem to be interested only in themselves. They are, on the whole, not very good at learning foreign languages, and few people seem to know very much what goes on abroad. It’s all the fault of that narrow strip of sea that separates England from France. British people can’t forget that they live on an island. Sometimes the rest of the world seems a long, long way away.

*BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) – Би-Би-Си, Британскаятеле- ирадиовещательнаякорпорация.

Ex. 2. Answer the questions:

1. Do you think that the media influence our life?

2. Millions of people get most of their news from television. What about you?

3. Do you read newspapers? If yes, what is your favourite one?

4. When do you usually listen to the radio?

5. Do you agree that most news we get from the media is bad news?

6. Do you think that journalists are given too much freedom?

7. How do paparazzi earn their living?

8. Are you interested in politics? Don’t you think that some politicians use the media to influence their voters?

9. What is the main advantage of the Internet?

10. Can you name some British newspapers with long history?

11. What is the name of the street, famous for publishing newspapers?

12. What is the difference between quality and tabloid newspapers?

13. Do the media intrude on private life of the Queen and her family?

14. Why do the British know little about the world around them?

Ex. 3. Look through the texts and find sentences that give information about:

a) traditions of mass media in Britain;

b) how many organizations are responsible for television and radio service in Britain;

c) the number of British households with colourTVsets;

d) how the BBC makes money;

e) the number of TV channels in Great Britain;

f) satellite television services;

g) national and local radio services;

h) the importance of the Internet;

i) some old British newspapers;

j) the difference between quality and tabloid newspapers.

Ex. 4. Write about 100 words about any local newspaper, you like to read. Explain what sort of information it usually publishes, if it is a quality or tabloid newspaper, what articles you like to read about most of all, etc.

Ex. 5. Translate into English:

1. Британцы много смотрят телевизор. Также сообщается, что они больше всех в мире пользуются домашним видео. Но это не значит, что они отказались от чтения. Они третьи в мире по величине покупатели газет; только японцы и шведы покупают больше.

2. Большинство местных газет не выходят по воскресеньям. Это единственный день, когда полностью преобладает национальная пресса. Воскресные газеты толще, чем ежедневные, а некоторые из них достигают 200 страниц.

3. Некоторые британские подростки, которые хотят заработать дополнительные деньги на карманные расходы, доставляют утренние газеты прямо к двери читателей. Чтобы не опоздать в школу, им приходится вставать каждый день примерно в половине шестого утра.

4. Точно так же, как британский парламент имеет репутацию «матери всех парламентов», так и Би-Би-Си можно назвать «матерью информационных услуг». Би-Би-Си по праву гордится своим независимым и беспристрастным освещением основных событий, которые происходят в мире.

Ex. 6. Read and translate the following article, then answer the questions.

Compared with Russian papers, British quality newspapers are very thick. They usually consist of separate sections such as * politics * economics * business and finance * science and technology * patterns * culture * home news * foreign (international news) * cooking * current affairs * reviews * sports news * readers’ letters * entertainment * fashion and dress * children’s page * gardening * weather forecast * radio and TV programmes. Another helpful device for finding information is headlines. It’s not uncommon for a British newsreader to use only one or two sections and throw the others away. Newspapers readers can buy their favourite papers from newsagent’s, newspaper stands and street sellers. They can subscribe to their favourite editions or go to public libraries and read them.

1. Where do you usually get your newspaper?

2. Do you subscribe to some papers?

3. What in your opinion are the functions of a newspaper?

4. Why do people read newspapers?

5. In what order would you read various sections of a newspaper?

6. What are the characteristics of a headline?

7. Why do some articles begin on the front page and continue on the next?

8. Do you like doing crossword puzzles? Why?

9. What are the characteristics of a good advertisement?

10. Why do people write letters to the editor?

Ex. 7. Television has become an everyday part of our lives. It’s omnipresent, always on. But is this a good thing or a bad one? Don’t we spend too much of our precious time in front of the “box”? Haven’t we become lazier of it? Is TV dangerous? Here is what different people say about television. Who do you agree with?

Max: Some people say that television is dangerous. I don’t think so. After all, it keeps you informed about what is happening in the world. You can also see films and plays, or you can watch documentaries and learn something new.

Sam:In spite of all defects, television can teach us a lot of things. The trick is to learn to control it and use it intelligently. The ideal is to turn on the TV only when there is a programme which is really amusing and interesting.

John:A lot of rubbish has been written about television. I think, it’s a wonderful invention. It’s a cheap form of entertainment, which gives pleasure to millions of people, especially those who live alone. It’s also a wonderful way of escaping from our dull reality.

William:TV is just part of life. It involves us in strong emotions: love, hate, passion. Even the silliest of “soaps” help me solve my own problems by showing me what might happen if I do certain things. Sometimes they show me what not to do.

Jane:Television is a terrible waste of time. I know a lot of people who just sit down in front of the “box” and watch whatever is on. They spend hours watching silly Mexican soap operas and second-rate American films when perhaps they should do something useful.

Harry:In my opinion, television makes us lazier. We stay at home instead of going out. We read less. We think less. We even talk less. It cuts us off from reality. But isn’t real life much better than this passive enjoyment?

Diana:Television is like a drug: we get addicted to certain TV series and simply can’t switch it off. Most programmes are filled with silly commercials. What I hate most about TV is that it often uses strong language. It has a terrible influence on children and young people.

omnipresent [‘ mni’preznt]– вездесущий

precious [‘pre əs]– драгоценный

rubbish [‘r bi ]– ерунда, чепуха

to escape [is’keip] from reality[ri’æliti]– уходитьотреальности

to involve[in’v lv] – вовлекать

to get addicted [ə’diktid] to – привыкать, пристраститься

commercial [kə’mə: l] – радио, тлв.реклама

Ex. 8. Match sentences in A with sentences in B:

Note:George Mikes [‘miki ] – ДжорджМикеш, известныйписатель, авторкниги «Какбытьчужеземцем» (“How to be an alien”). Это самая забавная книга, когда-либо написанной об Англии. Родился в Венгрии, но Англия стала его второй родиной.

A

   1. Not all newspapers and TV programmes

         2. It is true that the world today

   3. Violence on TV is another problem

   4. As George Mikes once said, TV teaches us

   5. It’s the window on the world which gives us

B

a) an opportunity to travel all over the world without leaving home

b) that worries people

c) how to kill, to rob, to shoot and to poison

d) report the events objectively

e) is full of dramatic news

Ex.9. It’s natural to wonder what our future will be like. Some things are hard to guess, others are very easy to foresee. Here is an article from the newspaper where futurologists express some ideas concerning the future. Read the article and:

a) say “agree” or “disagree” to show your own attitude to the problem;

b) look through the ideas and join some of them together using and, but, besides, because.

e.g.People will live much longer because many dangerous diseases will disappear and, besides, no one will die from hunger.

We shall all live in skyscrapers. There won’t be any cars in the streets. We shall use helicopters instead of cars. We shan’t have to walk much. There will be too many people in the cities. We’ll be able to control the weather. People will learn to synthesize food. No one will die from hunger. There won’t be any ethnic conflicts. There will be no more wars, no more criminals and no more terrorists. People will learn to live in peace. They will understand each other. People will colonize the Moon and some other planets. We’ll be able to travel in space and – who knows? – one day we’ll be able to spend our holidays on Mars. We shall run out of natural fuel. There will be new sources of energy. We shall cut down all our forests. People will live much longer. Many dangerous diseases will disappear. Scientists (or probably computers?) will find solutions to our most urgent problems. People will stop dying from cancer and AIDS*. They will live to be 150 years old. We’ll have computers that we’ll wear on our wrists or even in our glasses and earrings. The next generation of computers will be able to talk. Of course, computers will be still a lot simpler than human brains, but it will be a great step forward. Such computers will help find minerals. They will control the world’s money markets. They will identify criminals and control space travel.

*AIDS(acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) – СПИД (синдромприобретенногоиммуно- дефицита)