Actress with the Royal Shakespeare Company
I went to The Park School from the age of five to eighteen. I’ve avoided any school reunions mainly because I was such a monster at school.
My misic teacher, Irene Di Ciacca, went some way to teaching me to calm down a little. She also taught me that you can persevere with somethingyou might not be naturally great at and you can take pleasure in it for its own sake. She didn’t seem much older than us, she was good fun and also very patient with me, as I really didn’t think I was gifted in the slightest. Music is the one thing I’d be terrified to perform now as I know I wouldn’t be able to get it right.
Irene also encouraged me to sing. I loved it – I didn’t have a wonderful voice but I could sing with feeling. In my last year I was presented with a prize for music. I’ve benefited from the advice of a lot of wise people. But under Irene’s instruction I learned some of the most important lessons of my life.
C Rory Bremner
Comedian and impersonator
My best teacher was my French teacher Derek Swift. What suck out instantly was that he was unconventional – the type of teacher you didn’t expect to see in a school like ours in the south. He was a Northerner with a strong northern accent.
One of his responsibilities was looking after the school library. I read such things as Pushkin’s love poems and it was inspiring stuff. We were mad keen on Russia and he said he would teach us Russian in our spare time, which he did brilliantly. He was a genius at languages – he spoke about 10 or 12. Mr Swift was also different from every other teacher. There was always a twinkle in his eye and he had a sense of humour. He used to put his feet on the desk and cover the blackboard with words during his lessons. You can tell how good he was because there were 24 in our class and in the French exam 21 got top grades.
Even at school, if I was inspired by someone, I would imitate them. He was the first person I did an impression of in public. We met again, years later, when he turned up at one of my shows. I was thrilled to bits.
D Darcus Howe
Journalist
I went to school in Trinidad. I was in the top stream of the school in my first year and I was more or less average in terms of achievement,but I used to be very rebellious. I was often kept behind after class. At the end of the year they had decided to expel me. However, one teacher, Ralph Laltoo, said, ‘Howe can come into my class. I’ll take responsibility for him.’ I only learned that long afterwards.
He was a Trinidadian Indian. He used to wear a white linen suit, white shirt and black tie. On the fist day I was set to continue in my own ways but he made me come and sit at the front of the class and then began to teach us English literature. From then on, it was wonderful. I was good at writing essays and he inspired me to do even better. To this day I am mad about English literature.
Later, when I was 21, I was back in Trinidad on holiday and found Laltoo had become principal of the school. He told me what he had done to defend me. He was a remarkable man.
[A]For questions 1-6, choose from the students A-D. Some students may be chosen more than once.
ABenedict Allaen CRory Bremner
BSiobhan Redmond DDarcus Howe
Which statement refers to which student?
1. I was pleased to see my teacher again.
2. I still love the teacher’s subject.
3. I had no talent for the teacher’s subject.
4. I won something at school.
5. I behaved badly at school.
6. I was not a talkative child at school.
[B]For questions 7-13, choose from the teachers A-D. Some of the teachers may be chosen more than once.
ASam Hunt CDerek Swift
BIrene Di Ciacca DRalph Laltoo
Which of the teachers:
1. looked a similar age to the students?
2. used to make the students laugh?
3. was worried about one of the students?
4. believed you can enjoy things you aren’t good at?
5. was prepared to give a student an opportunity?
6. encouraged a student to achieve an ambition?
7. came from a different part of the country?
[C]Which of the four students do you think was the most difficult to teach?
Which of the four teachers do you think was the most inspiring?
Task 15.Writing an Essay
Comment on the following statements:
“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires”.
(William Arthur Ward)
“Who dares to teach must never cease to learn”.
(John Cotton Dance)
“If the child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn”.
(Ignacio Estrada)
“Education is not a process of transmitting information; it is a matter of transmitting inspiration, not of instructing, but of awakening and, ultimately, of transforming”.
(Page Smith, American historian and educator (1917 – 1995))
MASS MEDIA
The Press (Print Media)
VOCABULARY
Types of publication: a daily (newspaper) a quality (newspaper)
a weekly a tabloid
a monthly a broadsheet
colour supplement a glossy magazine
periodical a listings magazine
Sections: home news TV-guide
international news comic strips
finance (business) news arts
advertisements, classified ads obituaries
book (film, music, play) review horoscope
weather report
an editorial (an article in a newspaper which gives the opinion of the editor or publisher on a topic or item of news)
a leader (the main article expressing the editor’s opinion on the most important news items of the day)
a feature (a special article in a newspaper or magazine)
a front-page article (appears on the front page of a newspaper because it is very important or interesting)
gossip column
agony column (Br.) = advice column (Am.) *** It’s the part where letters from
readers about their personal problems are printed and where advice about these problems is given.
personal column (contains messages for individual people and advertisements of a private nature)
Staff: editor journalist
sub-editor critic
picture editor contributor
correspondent columnist
reporter photographer (free-lance photographer)
Some more useful expressions: to give instant coverage of events
photographically-illustrated articles
to be featured in the press
to aim at mass circulation
to be aimed at (e.g. an educated audience,
an older age-group)
to hit (grab) the headlines
invasion of privacy
to launch a newspaper
to attract media attention
to sensationalize events readership to be hyped up by the media
sensationalist headlines censorship media exposure
Note the use of some “news” words:
– news agency;
– newsagent’s (a shop where newspapers and magazines are sold);
– newsman (a reporter for a newspaper) = newspaperman;
– news-sheet (a small newspaper that is usually printed and distributed in
small quantities by a local political or social organization);
– newsstand;
– newsworthy (If an event, fact, or person is newsworthy it’s considered
to be reported in newspapers or on the radio or TV).
Task 1.A large number of people, doing different jobs, are employed in producing and selling newspapers every day. Match the name of the job in the left-hand column to the correct definition of the work people do. Write the appropriate number to match the letter.
1 Cartoonist a) comments on new books
2 City Editor b) commissions special articles
3 Our Own Correspondent c) does humorous drawings
4 Critic d) edits articles sent in by reporters
5 Editor e) is responsible for the content and policy
of the newspaper
6 Features Editor f) is responsible for financial news
7 Freelance journalist g) is sent to report on events
8 Gossip columnist h) owns the newspaper
9 Leader writer i) sells newspapers in a shop
10 Newsagent j) sells newspapers in the street
11 News vendor k) represents a particular newspaper in one place
12 Proprietor l) submits articles to different newspapers
13 Reporter m) writes editorials
14 Reviewer n) writes about new films, plays, etc.
15 Subeditor o) writes about the social life of
well-known people
Task 2.The subeditor is responsible for writing the headlines for articles. On which pages of the newspaper would you expect to find the following headlines?
the front page (main news) the editorial page the fashion page
the gossip column the travel page the City page
the situations vacant column the features page the review page
WELCOME TO THE ISLE OF WHITE
PRIME MINISTER RESIGNS
O’TOOLE MURDERS MACBETH
COE BREAKS WORLD RECORD
SOFT COLOURS THIS SUMMER
POPE TO MEET FALCON CREST STAR
HOW I SAVED THE OLYMPIC GAMES
WILL DISTILLERS TAKE-OVER BID SUCCEED?
THE PRESIDENT AND HIS CRITICS
CALLING ALL GRADUATES
TASK 3.Colin Hunter is a young reporter on a local newspaper, The Farley Argus. Read this account of his experience after working there for a few months. Complete the passage, using the correct word or phrase from those you have seen above. To help you, the first letter of each word is given.
The life of a young r………… on a local newspaper is not easy. When you start, you imagine yourself as a l…….. w……….., commenting on world affairs so intelligently that the paper receives hundreds of r…………s’ letters congratulating you on the e……….. . In fact, you have to be everything, without being anyone. On Wednesdays, I do the h…………..s, usually saying something nice about my sign and my girlfriend’s. On Thursdays, I write the g………… c…………, though in my case it only concerns the Mayor and his friends. On Fridays, I am book r…………, even though most of our readers only read the s………….. pages of the Argus, and on Saturdays, I write those, too. I watch football matches in the pouring rain and think of wonderful h…………s, but the s………….. changes them, and often changes the result, too. I am also film c………… but I can’t criticise the films because the p………… of the Argus also owns the local cinema. If I could draw, I expect they would make me the c………….! The only other j…………. on our staff is Sally. She does the woman’s page, and also the f………… page, which she copies out of the colour supplements in the national Sunday papers. The most important person in the office is Jack, the advertising manager. As he says: ’All these classified a…………..s, the a…………s of births and marriages and the situations v………… c………. for people looking for jobs and so on, pay for the rubbish you write.’ I hope that one day I will be able to write his o…… .
TASK 4. Supply the following text about the British and American press with the prepositions.
In Britain, the newspaper industry, often called Fleet Street, has a major influence …… public opinion and is a strong force …… political life. The freedom …… the press to publish whatever it wants, …… the government interfering, is considered important. The tabloids often rely …… cheque-book journalism (paying people large amounts …… money …… their story) in order to be the first to publish a human-interest story. Many people do not like this approach. Recently, there has been concern …… people’s rights …… privacy and now a voluntary press code gives guidelines …… , amongst other things, photographing famous people.
In the USA journalists try to be objective and report facts, but financial pressures can work …… this. Most …… a paper’s profits come …… advertising, and if a company is offended …… something the paper writes, it may decide not to advertise there again.
Newspapers get material …… several sources. Staff reporters write …… national or local news. Major newspapers also have their own foreign correspondents …… the world. Others get foreign news …… press agencies or wire services, such as Associated Press or Reuters. Some papers have their own features writers. In the USA features are usually syndicated, which means that one newspaper …… each area can buy the right to print them. The editor decides what stories to include each day but the publisher or owner has control …… general policy. Newspaper owners are very powerful and are sometimes called press barons. The most famous …… recent years have been Robert Maxwell and Rupert Murdoch.
(The Oxford Guide to British and American Culture)
Task 5.Translate into English.
Возможно, Англия – единственная страна в мире, где есть такая разнообразная пресса. Центральные ежедневные газеты отличаются характером сообщаемой информации. С одной стороны, существуют газеты полного формата «quality»: The Times, The Independent, The Financial Times, The Guardian. Они сообщают читателям важные политические и другие новости в стране и за рубежом.
С другой стороны, существуют газеты для широкой публики и бульварная пресса. Бульварная пресса, среди которой самыми читаемыми являются The Daily Mail, The Daily Mirror, The Sun, ориентируется на эмоциональную подачу материала. Часто говорят, что бульварная пресса скорее развлекает, чем информирует. В ней обычно используются крупные заголовки, и чаще всего освещаются события, которые обычно называют новостями первой полосы. Много места отводится светской хронике: частной жизни королевской семьи и кинозвезд, криминальной хронике, рекламе и т.п.
Кроме 12 центральных ежедневных газет, которые не выходят по воскресеньям, есть воскресные газеты. Они содержат больше материала для чтения, чем ежедневные издания. Некоторые из них имеют цветные приложения – отдельные цветные журналы, содержащие большие статьи, сопровождаемые фотографиями.
Британские газеты принадлежат как частным лицам, так и издательствам. Редакторы газет имеют право абсолютной свободы слова. В Англии есть ряд газет с политическим уклоном.
Task 6.Read the text and discuss it according to the items suggested.
NEWS AND NEWSPAPER PUBLISHING
News is everywhere and serves many different functions. The news gives instant coverage of important events. News also provides facts and information. In addition, news is business: a way to make money by selling advertising and/or newspapers and magazines. Sometimes news is propaganda or disinformation: a way to control a population. But whatever news is, it is all around us. You can't escape it. Every day we are bombarded by information: newspapers, magazines, television, and the Internet.
«News» does not always mean something that is unquestionably true. Although the news seems to be based on facts, these facts are interpreted and reported the way the media chooses to report them. For example, some information that appears as news is really only speculation or theories formed by the reporters. Furthermore, many journalists and reporters sensationalize or dramatize a news event in order to make a story more interesting. Unfortunately, sensationalism often bends the truth and causes anguish to the people it victimizes. Therefore, as consumers of news we must learn to think critically about the news, the media, and what the truth is.
«A community needs news», said the British author Dame Rebecca West, «for the same reason that a man needs eyes. It has to see where it is going». For William Randolph Hearst, one of America’s most important newspaper publishers, news was «what someone wants to stop you printing: all the rest is ads». Both idealistic and mercenary motives have contributed to the development of modern newspapers, which continue to attract millions of regular readers throughout the world despite stern competition from radio and television. Modern electronics, which has put a television set in almost every home in the Western world, has also revolutionized the newspaper publishing process, allowing many more newspapers to be born. An increasing number of these new newspapers are given away free, their production costs being borne entirely by the revenue from advertisements, which are of much greater importance than they were in Hearst’s days.
Newspapers can be published daily or weekly, in the morning or in the afternoon; they may be published for the few hundred inhabitants of a small town, for a whole country, or even for an international market. A newspaper differs from other types of publication by its immediacy, characteristic headlines, and coverage of a miscellany of topical issues and events. According to the Royal Commission on the Press in Great Britain, to qualify as news «an event must first be interesting to the public, and the public for this purpose means for each paper the people who read that paper». But the importance of newspapers stretches far beyond a passing human interest in events. In the 19th century the first independent newspapers contributed significantly to the spread of literacy and of the concepts of human rights and democratic freedoms. Newspapers continue to shape opinions in the «global village» of the 20th century, where international preoccupations are frequently of concern to the individual, and where individual tragedies are often played out on an international stage. Since it is commonly held that individuals have a right to know enough about what is happening to be able to participate in public life, the newspaper journalist is deemed to have a duty to inform. Whenever this public right to know comes under attack, a heavy responsibility fails on the journalist.
Discussion
1. The news functions in different ways. In your experience, can you recall the news functioning in any of the following ways:
– to give instant coverage of important events;
– to provide facts;
– to make money for the newspaper or radio / television station;
– to spread propaganda or disinformation;
– to sensationalize events?
2. Comment on Dame Rebecca West’s quotation describing news. Read the following quotations. What do you think they mean? Choose the most appropriate interpretation for quote I. Then give your own interpretations of quotes II, III and IV. Do you agree with any of these quotations? Why or why not?
I. «When a dog bites a man, that is not news; but when a man bites a dog,
that is news».
(Leo Rosten, political scientist and author)
a. News is only about exciting or unusual events.
b. News is only interesting when an animal is involved.
II. «A dog fight in Brooklyn [New York] is bigger than a revolution in China».
(Brooklyn Eagle – newspaper)
III. «Good news isn’t news. Bad news is news».
(Henry Luce, founder of Time Magazine)
IV. «People everywhere confuse what they read in newspapers with news».
(A.J.Liebling)
Task 7. Translate the text into English.
Репортаж начинается со сбора информации для газеты. Этим, однако, журналистика не исчерпывается. В газетах и журналах печатаются все возможные материалы, помимо информационных сообщений или политических статей, например, юмористические очерки и т. д. Такого рода статьи можно отнести к разделу «статей для всех». Кроме того, в газетах печатается много статей на спортивные темы, о современниках, а также статьи о науке, искусстве и технике.
«Статьи для всех» часто пишутся в форме интервью или, как принято говорить в журналистике, в них дается «портрет» современника. Всем известно, что разные публикации в газетах по-разному воздействуют на читателя, что зависит как от личного мастерства журналиста, так и от характера избранной им темы.
Статьи, в которых раскрываются черты современника, можно отнести к своего рода «статьям-зарисовкам», из которых читатель узнает о многих интересных фактах из чьей-нибудь жизни. Другие каждодневные темы газет – сообщения о совершенных преступлениях, статьи по вопросам медицины и права. Те органы прессы, в которых упор делается на сообщения «развлекательной информации», преступления и просто сплетни, по праву заслуживают названия «коммерческих» газет. Такие газеты в основном издаются в целях наживы. Как правило, у них широкий круг читателей.
Task 8.Newspaper Headlines
1. HEADLINES VOCABULARY
Headlines make use of a number of particular words that have a special meaning in the newspaper context. Match the word underlined in the headline to the explanation given on the list on the right.
1 AID FOR FAMINE VICTIMS INCREASED a) surprise
2 FREE SCHOOL MEALS AXED b) connected
3 BAN ON FOOTBALL HOOLIGANS c) bad experience
4 TAKEOVER BID FOR BP d) reduction
5 BOMB BLAST KILLS 9 e) question
6 HIGH STREET SPENDING BOOM f) caused to suffer
adverse effects
7 MPS CLASH ON GREEN POLICY g) increase
8 CUT IN ARMS SPENDING h) extreme danger
9 FUGITIVES FLEE FIGHTING i) attempts to persuade
10 DRUGS HAUL AT AIRPORT j) something seized or stolen
11 TEST MATCH HIT BY PROTEST k) marries
12 DRINKING WATER LINKED TO DISEASE l) try / attempt
13 RAIL STRIKE LOOMS m) leaves
14 KIDKNAP VICTIMS ORDEAL n) fall sharply
15 PERIL ON OILRIG o) run away
16 PM’S PLEDGE ON POLLUTION p) number of people killed
17 SHARES PLUNGE q) assistance
18 FOOTBALL MANAGER QUITS r) stopped
19 POLICE QUIZ STAR s) approaches in a
threatening way
20 POLICE SEEK RAPIST t) disagree
21 PUBLIC SPENDING SHOCK u) explosion
22 THREAT TO CUP FINAL v) potential danger
23 DEATH TOLL NOW 28 w) look for
24 MP WEDS ACTRESS x) prohibition
25 CANDIDATE WOOS VOTERS y) undertaking / commitment
2. GRAMMAR IN HEADLINES
а) Here is a brief guide to the ‘rules’ by which English newspaper headlines are written:
– The article and the verb to be are omitted.
– The present tenses are used to describe something which has happened,
is happening, or happens repeatedly.
– To refer to the future, the infinitive with to is used.
– Passive sentences are written without their auxiliary verbs.
b) Look at the headlines below and write them out in full.
1. GOVERNMENT TO AXE AID TO DISABLED
2. SMOKING BANNED ON LONDON UNDERGROUND
3. POP STAR WEDS IN SECRET
4. RAPE VICTIM SEEKS COMPENSATION
5. BEER CANS TO CARRY HEALTH WARNING
6. BABY’S TOES AND EAR BITTEN OFF BY SISTER
7. CD PRICES ATTACKED BY DIRE STRAITS
8. POLICE FOUND DRUNK IN SHOP WINDOW
9. BODY IN GARDEN WAS A PLANT, SAYS WIFE
10. LEAVE US ALONE, SAY ROYAL FAMILY
c) Look at the examples of news headlines given above and predict what you think is the likely story.
Task 9.Style in the tabloids
The language of the tabloid newspapers is unlike any encountered in other contexts (e. g. conversation or other forms of writing). Look at this example and see what features of tabloid style reporting you can identify. Rewrite the piece in your own words to indicate what the story was.
Shapely starlet and fun-loving former convent girl Diane Fox, 19, dropped a bombshell yesterday. Her whirlwind romance with lean, bronzed lorry-driver, Bert Ford, 26, is off. In an exclusive interview at her hideaway love-nest, Diane said, ‘He vowed to wed me, but we were living a lie.’
Unsung hero of the M6 motorway madness pile-up, Bert swept Diane off her feet during a long, hot summer on the sun-kissed beaches of the island paradise of San Serife, where she had fled amid mounting speculation that her film career had reached rock-bottom. ‘My anguish turned to joy. It was like a dream come true. He made me feel like a princess,’ said Diane, fighting back the tears.
But the dream soon turned into a nightmare when Bert moved into Diane’s luxury mansion in leafy Surrey. ‘He quaffed all my whisky and spent all my crisp banknotes,’ she said. She knew the writing was on the wall when Bert’s mother, battling granny Ena Ford, 61, moved in too. That set the alarm bells ringing. It was a recipe for disaster and soon the feathers were really flying.
The moment of truth came when Bert’s credit card bill dropped with a sickening thud through Diane’s letterbox. After a lovers’ tiff, Bert stormed out. ‘I’ll never be the same again,’ sobbed Diane. The rest is history.
Speaking from his sleazy, suburban home in Catford, with a mystery girl by his side, Bert was tight-lipped and ashen-faced. «I’m as sick as a parrot», was his exclusive comment to this newspaper.
Task 10.Study the text and do the tasks that follow it.
PEEPING TOM * JOURNALISM
By Nancy Day
(from Sensational TV – Trash or Journalism)
Reporters constantly struggle with what and how much to tell. Sometimes the facts are clear. Other times, journalists must rely on their own judgement.
A retired minister* in a small town does not return from a fishing trip. Police find his car parked about halfway to the lake. It is locked and undamaged. In it they find a half-eaten ham sandwich, fishing tackle, a gun with one shell fired, and a copy of Penthouse (a magazine that contains pictures of naked women). The minister is missing. You’re the reporter and your story is due.
What do you report? Suppose the minister just went for a walk? Do you risk embarrassment and mention the magazine? Is the gun important? Should you propose any theories about what might have happened?
The reporter who actually faced these decisions decided to mention the gun, the sandwich, the fishing tackle, and the condition of the car, but not the magazine or any speculation. The minister’s body was later found. He had been killed by the hitchhiker, who had left the magazine in the minister’s car.
In the old days, reporters knew politicians (including presidents) who slept around, movie stars who were gay, and public figures who used drugs or abused alcohol. They just kept it to themselves. Now, at least in part because the public seems to have an endless hunger for it, reporters sometimes cover these aspects of celebrities’ lives more than any other.
Some of the interest can be justified on the basis that character affects how people perform their jobs. But what if the information isn’t relevant? For example, does the public need to know that a senator is gay? When a famous person dies, does the public have a right to all the details? Should the public know which public figures are unfaithful to their spouses? Are these things we need to know or just things we want to know?
When Jennifer Flowers alleged a twelve-year affair with President Bill Clinton, she first sold the story to the tabloid Star. CNN reported the story and so did the networks and the major newspapers and news magazines. Peter Jennings, anchor for ABC’s «World News Tonight», was against broadcasting the Flowers story without further reporting by ABC correspondents, but says, «it was made clear to me … that if you didn’t go with the story, every [ABC] affiliate in the country would look up and say, ‘What the hell’s going on in this place? Don’t they know a story when they see it?’»
Some stories receive such wide visibility that to ignore them is to «play ostrich man», says Shelby Coffey, editor of The Los Angeles Times. «You have to give your readers some perspective on the information they are getting».
Scrutiny may be the price one pays for fame. But what about relatives of celebrities? Are they fair game too? And what about the average person?
When Sara Jane Moore pointed a gun at President Ford, a man in the crowd knocked her hand, deflecting the shot. The man, Oliver W.Sipple, became an instant hero. He was thirty-three years old and a marine veteran. What else did the public want or need to know about him? Initial reports did not mention Sipple’s sexual orientation. But when a San Francisco news columnist said that local gay leaders were proud of Sipple’s actions, other papers began to report it. Sipple sued the columnist and several newspapers for invading his privacy. He said that he suffered «great mental anguish, embarrassment and humiliation». Lawyers argued that becoming involved in an event of worldwide importance, Sipple had given up his right to privacy because the public has a legitimate interest in his activity.
Rosa Lopez was a maid working quietly and anonymously until she became a key witness in the O. J. Simpson* trial. Suddenly, she was the focus of intense scrutiny. Lopez was hounded by cameras and reporters everywhere she went. Her every move was analysed. She eventually returned to her native country to escape the pressure, only to find that the media followed her there.
How many witnesses will come forward in the future, knowing what kind of treatment awaits them? Do people who accidentally find themselves involved in such high-profile cases have rights, or do we deserve to know everything about them?
• Peeping Tom is a person who secretly watches others.
• A minister is a person who performs religious functions in a Protestant church.
• O.J.Simpson is a famous former football player, actor, and sportscaster who was accused of killing his ex-wife and a male friend of hers. His trial was followed closely by the media. He eventually was found not guilty in criminal court but guilty in civil court.
Discussion
1. The extract can be divided into four main ideas. What does the reading say about each idea? Find examples or details the author uses to support each of the four main ideas:
– reporting of facts;
– reporting about famous people;
– choosing to report all stories;
– right to privacy.
2. The reading raises some interesting questions about one’s right to privacy. Would the author agree or disagree with each of the following statements? (Notice that the author addresses each of these issues but does not actually state her opinion. Nevertheless, through careful reading it is possible to infer what her opinion is.)
– The public has the right to know about the sexual preferences of politicians.
– When a famous person dies, the public has a right to know all the details of the person’s life and death.
– The public should know which public figures are unfaithful to their spouses.
– An average person who suddenly becomes the focus of unwanted media attention has no right to privacy.
– It was easier to be a reporter in “the old days”.
– The Jennifer Flowers story should not have been covered by CNN and the other major networks.
Task 11.Study the text and do the tasks that follow it.
The Power of the Paparazzi
(1) In the celebrity fishpond the paparazzi are the killer sharks-quite distinctfrom the bottom feeding ‘smudgers’ who lurk outside popular nightclub at unpopular hours. Distrustful by nature, solitary by inclination, and impervious to conventional discipline, they approach their work like surgeons preparing for an operation.
(2) Like opera singers and waiters, many of the best paparazzi come from Italy. The term was invented by Federico Fellini for his film La Dolce Vita, and is a mixture of papatacci (a uniquely irritating Italian gnat) and razzi (the popping of flash bulbs).
(3) Anyone who doubts the seriousness with which the paparazzi go about their work should take a look at Sestini's Florence based operation. He employs four stop-at-nothing photographers, each equipped with a high-speed inflatable dinghy, diving equipment, underwater cameras, portable telephones, binoculars and a motorbike. All of them must be able to swim, scuba-dive, drive like Ayrton Senna, resist lie-detector tests and climb trees. None earns less than £50,000 a year. Most burn out after a year.
(4) It is Sestini himself who pulls off the most memorable coups. Two years ago he smuggled himself inside Monte Carlo's cathedral for the funeral of Princess Caroline's husband, Stefano Casiraghi. Using a tiny buttonhole camera and an infra-red remote control he photographed weeping relatives kneeling at Stefano’s coffin.
(5) Well, no one ever said it was a profession for do-gooders. Sestini made £20 000 for his day's work. The smudgers standing outside made maybe £100 each.
(6) It was one of Sestini's Italians who I ran into outside Bill Wyman's house near Vence in the South of France a few years back. At the time the middle-aged Rolling Stone's relationship with 16-year-old Mandy Smith was being studied by Scotland Yard, and referred to in highly incriminating terms by most of the popular press.
(7) Stone-faced Wyman was looking even stonier than usual on the rare occasions he was glimpsed through the barred and guarded gates of his villa. After two days of fruitless waiting Sestini's man decided to try something different.
(8) Overlooking the estate was a huge pine tree, up which the Italian shinned with cat-like dexterity. He took up position on a high branch offering a view not just over Wyman's place but over most of Provence, and waited confidently for his chickens to come home to roost.
(9) But home to roost instead came a gigantic Mediterranean eagle, already deeply miffed at failing to catch anything for its supper, and about to be made more so by the discovery of an uninvited Italian paparazzo squatting next to its nest. Those of us on the ground were wearily getting ready to give up for another night when the terrible commotion began.
(10) Clouds of feather pine needles, shreds of Armani trousers, squawks, oaths and screams for mercy were followed by the fastest tree descent in history. The next day Sestini's man wrapped in more bandages than anyone since Tutankhamen, was dutifully back in position. Instead of a camera he was carrying a shotgun.
(11) Serious paparazzi take such hazards in their stride. Ron Galella (yet another of those names that ends in a vowel), the much feared New York celebrity photographer started wearing an American football helmet after his jaw was broken by Marlon Brando. When Jackie Onassis obtained an injunction prohibiting Galella from coming within 100 feet of her, Galella successfully counter-sued for restraint of trade.
(12) How can the paparazzi be thwarted?
(13) Sir James Goldsmith has tried citizen's arrest, and Madonna, mob violence. But the paparazzi are not kept at bay for long.
(14) With magazines happy to pay £50 000 for candid pictures of celebrities, the lure is nearly always stronger than the deterrent. In any case many paparazzi say that, like romance, the real thrill is the pursuit. ‘When I get someone in the viewfinder it is the most exhilarating experience you can imagine,’ says Jean-Claude Ratteuil, a wily Frenchman who works the French Riviera, specialising in the Monacan royal family.
(15) He once spent 53 hours on a floatingLilo waiting for Princess Stephanie and actor Rob Lowe to appear together on an isolated beach. Paddling with his hands back towards the shore a storm blew up, swamped the Lilo, ruined his best rolls of film and nearly spent several days in hospital suffering from sunburn and exposure. ‘I still count it as a great coup,’ he says, cheerfully.
(16) Faced with this sort of determination, many celebrities have accepted that, short of taking up residence in bank vaults, complete privacy isn't possible and, sooner or later, the paparazzi will get them.
(17) The paparazzi - fed by a public whose curiosity is matched only by its sense of disapproval - have changed the nature of fame. Instead of vainly trying to hide, most sensible targets now take their cue from Dudley Moore’s nonchalant billionaire in the movie Arthur:
Dudley Moore: ‘I think I’ll take a bath.’
John Gielgud: 'I shall alert the media, sir.'
ASSIGNMENTS
[A]. Vocabulary comprehension Find the words on the left in the text and match them to the synonyms and definitions on the right.
1 Para. 1 smudgers a annoyed
2 Para. 2 gnat b attraction
3Para. 3 stop-at-nothing c photographers
4 Para. 5 do-gooders d prevented from doing something
5 Para. 7 glimpsed e well-meaning but interfering people
6 Para. 9 miffed f kept at a safe distance
7Para.11 take in g small flying insect
8 Para. 12 thwarted h risk-taking
9 Para. 13 kept at bay i caught sight of
10 Para. 14 lure j accept calmly without considering to be
a problem
[B].Which paragraphs do the following sentences summarize?
А) The qualities of a good paparazzo.
В) Incidents which illustrate the dangers of the profession.
С) The difference between photographers and paparazzi.
D) How some people have tried to deal with paparazzi.
E) The author’s view of the best attitude to them.
F) An example of why a good paparazzo earns more than the average
photographer.
[C]. What is the connection between these people and paparazzi? (Where more than one answer is possible, the number of answers required is given after each name.)
Federico Fellini Jackie Onassis (2)
Massimo Sestini (2) Dudley Moore
Ayrton Senna Princess Stephanie
Princess Caroline Madonna (2)
Mandy Smith
A) someone who has reacted to paparazzi
B) no connection with paparazzi
C) driving style required by Sestini
D) inventor of the term ‘paparazzi’
E) victim of paparazzi
F) owner of a photo agency
G) famous paparazzo
[D]. Answer the questions and support your answers by referring to the text.
1. What evidence is there in the text to suggest that the writer is, or was, a paparazzo?
2. Do you think the writer admires paparazzi?
3. Which are the most important qualities of a paparazzo?
4. On which occasion do you get the impression that the writer disapproves of them?
5. What are the author’s conclusions about paparazzi and the famous?
6. What is the public’s attitude to paparazzi, according to the writer?
[E]. Imagine that you are a well-known person. How would you feel if you were being constantly followed by a paparazzo? Write a letter to the editor of the Daily Sun, complaining about harassment by photographers.
Well-organised letters are written in paragraphs. In a letter of complaint you could write a paragraph for each of the following:
– an introduction giving information about yourself;
– details of the incident(s) you are complaining about;
– any other relevant information;
– the action that you would like the person to take.
Task 12.Supply the following text about the variety of British and American magazines with the prepositions where necessary.
Many magazines are …… general interest. Some of these are aimed specifically …… women, men, or young people, while others cover a hobby or leisure interest, e.g. sailing. Other magazines are …… specialists …… a particular field.
Most magazines contain news items, features, colour pictures, reviews and stories which establish an identity …… the magazine. They also carry …… advertisements. Some have a page …… readers’ letters commenting …… articles …… a previous issue or asking …… advice.
General-interest magazines, also called consumer magazines, concentrate …… subjects …… interest …… many people. In Britain these include Ideal Home, Garden News, BBC Good Food Magazine, Mother and Baby. There are also magazines …… DIY, cars, sport, travel, films, and music.
(The Oxford Guide to British and American Culture)
Task 13.Listen to the BBC programme on the role of women’s magazines in Britain and discuss it («Women Today» (Programme 7) – tape # 37)
[A].Before you listen to the programme study and discuss the following:
Women’s magazines frequently reflect the changing view of women’s role in society. In the 18th century, when women were expected to participate in social and political life, those magazines aimed primarily at women were relatively robust and stimulating in content; in the 19th century, when domesticity became the ideal, they were inclined to be insipid and humourless. After about 1880, magazines began to widen their horizons again.
British magazines for women first became popular in the 1930s. They were full of articles about cooking and fashion. They also gave advice on how to ‘catch’ and keep a man.
• Are women’s magazines in Russia very different today?
• What are the main elements of most women’s magazines?
Magazines for women sell hundreds of thousands of copies every month in the UK. Here are some names: Options, Woman’s Own, She, Vogue, Elle, Company, Brides, Working Woman.
• Do you know any of these names?
• What do these names suggest?
• Why do you think women’s magazines so successful?
Most men’s magazines in Britain are specialist magazines – about motorbikes or sailing, for example – or they feature pictures of naked women. But recently there have been a small number of new glossy magazines for men, which have a similar format to women’s magazines. On the tape you will hear Dylan Jones, editor of Arena, Britain’s best selling magazine for men, talk about the problems of producing this kind of magazine.
• What sort of articles do you think Arena has?
• Do you think it includes fashion pictures of women, like other
magazines do?
• What sort of man do you think reads a magazine like Arena?
[B]. Study the vocabulary from the tape and then play the cassette.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
an image of femininity slimming diseases exploitative
unattainable to undermine women scantily clad
to scrub oneself clean to be geared towards smth too near the mark
in the know tongue-in-the-cheek
the summit of ambitions to be adept at doing smth
spurious conceit
to be loosely bracketed
[C].Listen to the cassette and try to answer the following questions:
Part 1
• What is the ‘terrible’ message of glossy magazines, according to Barbara?
• Why did Johnny enjoy reading women’s magazines when she was a teenager?
• What challenges does Cosmopolitan encourage women to try today?
Part 2
• According to Jenny, what kind of diets does Marie Claire include?
• Why does Barbara think that most women’s magazines include articles about fashion, beauty and looking after a home?
Part 3
• Why can Arena sometimes not publish pictures of ‘sexy’ girls?
• In Dylan’s view, why are women better at writing about emotional issues?
• What is the ‘new man’, according to Dylan? Think of some adjectives that could be used to describe a ‘new man’.
[D]. Complete the sentences using the words given below.
| bracketed | spurious | insipid | robust | exploitative |
| femininity | geared | adept | format | domesticity |
1. He has the keen eye and ………. approach needed.
2. It was a small rebellion against routine and cosy ………. .
3. They gave an ………. opening performance in a nil-nil draw with Peru.
4. I wonder if there isn’t a streak of ………. in him, a kind of sweetness.
5. The expansion of Western capitalism incorporated the Third World War into an ………. world system.
6. He was arrested in 1979 on ………. corruption charges.
7. I had met with him to explain the ………. of the programme and what we had in mind.
8. He’s usually ………. at keeping his private life out of the media.
9. Colleges are not always ………. to the needs of mature students.
10. The Magi, Brahmins, and Druids were ………. together as men of wisdom.
Task 14. Study the text and do the assignmentst.
[A].Before reading the text discuss the following questions:
– How popular is newspaper reading in our country?
– What different types of newspapers are there?
– Has TV had any influence on reading habits?
THE UNPOPULAR PRESS
(Roy Greenslade, The Guardian)
The Decline of the British Newspaper Empire
Fewer British people today read papers than five years ago; far fewer buy papers than at any time over the past 30 years. This phenomenon, though more evident in the mass market dailies, can also be witnessed in regional, evening and weekly papers, where sales have been dropping alarmingly over the past decade. Nor is Britain alone: readership of newspapers in the US has been decreasing for several years, particularly among that most vital of groups, the young.
In August 1992, the total daily sales of the six tabloid titles available in Britain stood at just over 11 million, representing almost a 25 per cent loss of more than 3.5 million newspaper sales over 33 years. This decline cannot be accounted for by suggesting there has been a significant switch by tabloid readers to the serious broadsheets. We ought to note the very different trend of magazine readership. New magazines tend to aim for smaller specialist audiences. This trend might appear healthy but it also suggests that people are defining the narrowest of targets in their reading, setting limits on their intake of knowledge about the world.
So the problem remains one of dramatically decreased interest in the reading of newspapers by an increasing number of people who were formerly buyers of tabloid newspapers. But what is the reason? In a developed society with a growing population and with supposedly better educational standards, why are fewer people reading newspapers?
The Lost Readers
Work is closely bound up with the newspaper-reading habit; many people read on their way to the factory or office, or, traditionally, during their breaks. Once they stop working then newspaper buying, if not reading, gradually ceases too. The contents of a newspaper once formed part of the common currency of everyday talk and everyone needed to know what a newspaper was saying to take an active part. But old-style working patterns with tea breaks taken in groups at regular intervals have broken down and where they remain, television has become people’s major discussion topic. Over the past 20 years the numbers of people in work have fallen as a proportion of the population. Significantly, more young people are unemployed so they do not start the newspaper habit.
Retirement and unemployment also mean there is little money for newspaper buying, a serious matter when considering another factor: cover price inflation. Since 1969, the four leading tabloids sell mostly to those who tend to be worst off, it is strange that managements have increased prices with little regard for their buyers. There are two more effects of high prices: firstly, cost discourages people from buying more than one title. Many newsagents report a decline in multiple purchase over the past couple of years. Secondly, cost has played a part in breaking the six-day-a week buying habit. Readers often buy a paper on only three days, and some sellers claim more people are now likely to swap titles. However, most people asked to explain why fewer and fewer people are reading tabloid newspapers offer the same single reason: television.
It is the simple answer which is difficult to fault. Indeed, it may be such a truism that there is a danger in believing it to be the only factor worth considering. Certainly, newspapers defied predictions of a quick death after the birth of national television. Instead, it has been a gradual strangulation. TV viewing in Britain is already the heaviest in Europe. Virtually every home has at least one set, and, on average, everyone watches television for about 24 hours a week. Significantly, the audience is drawn mainly from those below the age of 35, in the social groups that form the readership base of tabloids. Television, in its various forms, is therefore the dominant leisure activity, providing millions with their only form of entertainment. More significantly, it is now considered by most people to be their main news source. By last year 70 percent regarded television as their main source of world news. By ‘most people’ I mean, of course, that mass of the mass market which have been the traditional buyers of tabloid newspapers.
Tabloids depend not only on certain social classes for their readerships. Their other preoccupation is with attracting the young, since the creation of habit is extremely important to building future sales. Yet children are drawn to television rather than newspapers for leisure and information. From all these statistics it is clear that tabloid newspapers are facing powerful competition for the attentions of their traditional audience. However, TV may be having a more sinister effect than merely stealing readers. It is not too farfetched to suggest it may be helping to deprive the potential tabloid readership of the enthusiasm to read newspapers. A TV viewer does not need to read. Yet there is no sign of any positive action among national tabloids to build the reading habit among potential new readers. They depend instead on games and promotional gimmicks to boost circulation. Most games are played only by older readers so the gimmicks have not so far attracted that crucial audience of young readers.
[B] Answer the following questions
1. What does the text say has happened to newspaper sales in the last 30 years?
2. Describe developments in newspaper and magazine publishing.
3. What two factors make the change in newspaper reading habits surprising?
4. What explanation is given for the popularity of newspapers twenty years ago?
5. What three factors are put forward to explain the fall in newspaper sales?
6. Apart from the effect on newspaper sales, what danger is referred to following the dominance of TV?
Television and Radio
VOCABULARY
TV programmes: documentary chat show = talk show
news broadcast (Br.) = newscast (Am.) game show
newsreel = newsmagazine quiz show
soap (soap opera) commercials
sitcom TV series (e.g. crime
/ drama series)
docudrama TV serial
Occupations: newsreader = newscaster
announcer = presenter
anchorman, anchorwoman, anchorperson
newsman
broadcaster
editor (a radio or television journalist who reports on a
particular type of news)
compere (BrE) – a person who introduces the various acts in a
television stage show or other presentation
programmes with a mass appeal to subscribe to satellite / cable TV
audience-participation programmes live show
broadcasting hours to interrupt a show for a newsflash
prime-time to play music round-the-clock
peak-listening (viewing) times a signature tune for a show
viewing hours a jingle
to host (front, anchor) a programme
Vocabulary Exercises
Task 15. Study the programmes on the two channels below. Decide which programmes you would like to see. Make sure that you understand what each programme consists of, and what sort of job the different people mentioned do.
VIEWERS’ GUIDE FOR EVENING TV
| Channel 5 | Southward |
| 6.00Newsreel. 6.20The weather with Bert Spratt. 6.30 ‘Peoples of the World’. The fourth in the series. Script: Janet Pearce. 7.30 ‘Paradise Street’ Long-running serial. 8.15 ‘Next Question’, a quiz show, presented by Alan Grundy. 9.00News and weather. 9.30 Interview. Jill Long interviews theMinister of Health. 10.30Sports Hour. Highlights of the England V Spain game: commentator, Peter Grovas 11.30Late-night news. | 6.00South News, read by Paul Drake. Followed be regional weather forecast. 6.15‘Goofy’. Cartoons. 6.30‘Guess the Tune’ the popular panel game. Chairman: Hugh Duffy. 7.30‘Night of the Stars’ Musical show, Compered by Brian Langley (repeat) 9.00‘War and Peace’ (Episode 4) with Michael Everett, Natasha Brown. Adapted by June Clough. 10.00News Desk, presented by Jason Bartlett and Fiona Hill. 10.30‘The Changing Landscape’. Documentary. 11.15The late-night film. ‘M’ introduced by Phyllis Dell. 1.00Close down. |
Task 16.Complete the text using the words and phrases you have seen above, but note that in some cases the word may be a little different – for example, ‘interviewer’ instead of ‘interview’. To help you, the first letter of each word is given.
TONIGHT’S VIEWING by Stephen Harris
Not a very inspiring evening for v…….s tonight, but Channel 5’s s……. on peoples of the world, immediately after the w……. f……., is worth watching, with an intelligent s……. by Janet Pearce. Music lovers, however, will t……. in to ‘Guess the Tune’, a p……. g……. with a first class c……. in Hugh Duffy that is always interesting. Only addicts can still face the interminable s……., ‘Paradise Street’, but c……. Brian Langley livens up the musical show on Southward, if you haven’t seen it already. ‘Next Question’ is the kind of silly q……. s……. I can’t stand, and Alan Grundy, the p……., always looks as if he felt the same way. Jill Long is the most aggressive i……. on TV and the Minister will no doubt be concerned about his own health, but I have been enchanted by Natasha Brown in previous e…….s of ‘War and Peace’, and June Clough’s skilful a……. deserves high praise. I will not watch ‘News Desk’, because clever p…….s, Jason Bartlett and Fiona Hill, are bound to tell me the result of the football match on the other c……. at 10.30 and spoil it and the recorded h……., but I will turn the sound off during the game so as not to hear c……. Peter Groves’ banal remarks and artificial excitement. Afterwards, I will watch ‘M’, the classic thriller, but unfortunately I will have to do without Phyllis Dell’s excellent i……. .
Task 17.Translate into English.
Около трех четвертей из 1500 телестанций в США являются коммерческими станциями. Они продают рекламное эфирное время, чтобы покрыть издержки и получить прибылью остальные – общественные станции, которые являются некоммерческими организациями.
Коммерческие телестанции передают, в основном, развлекательные передачи, так как они должны привлекать большое количество зрителей, чтобы продавать эфирное время по большим ценам. Эти программы включают легкие сериалы, называемые комедиями положений, полные событий сериалы о жизни детективов, полицейских, адвокатов и врачей, программы с участием актеров-комиков, танцоров и певцов, художественные фильмы, викторины, мыльные оперы, мультфильмы. Коммерческие телестанции транслируют также документальные передачи и ток-шоу. Также существуют спортивные программы и краткие обзоры местных, национальных и международных новостей. Реклама является важной частью коммерческого телевидения. Рекламные ролики появляются между и во время передач.
Task 18.Fill in the numbered gaps with the appropriate word from the column in the suitable form. Mind there are TWO extra words
| Television Tear-jerker Enraptures China S Some 95 per cent of the residents of Peking have been ..(1).. to their te-levision sets in recent weeks. They have been ..(2).. every episode of China’s first ..(3).. opera, Expectations, a tear-jerking saga of passion and betrayal, suffering and sacrifice. Its ..(4).. lies in its relatively honest ..(5).. of the problems of life during the Cultural Revolution and in its technical sophistication compared with the rubbish which fills China’s ..(6).. hours. The ..(7).. has more than fifty..(8).. and, by popular demand, several ..(9).. are ..(10).. it from the begin-ning. ..(11).. is always taken seriously in China, and academic forums have been held nationwide to discuss the drama. Politically, Expectations is terribly correct. It does not question the leadership, and it is the workers who are the ..(12).., the intellectuals who are untrustworthy. | Hero channel entertainment glue education depiction appeal broadcast follow soap episode series repeat prime |
Task 19. Read the following texts about the first broadcasts of soap operas and quiz shows. Make the summary of the facts obtained.
Quiz Show
The quiz show, also called game show, is broadcastshow designed to test the memory, knowledge, agility, or luck of persons selected from studio or broadcast audience or to contrive a competition among these people for merchandise or cash awards. The quiz show first gained popularity on US radio in the 1930s as an audience-participation program. One of its first successes featured a formidable Doctor I.Q. who hurled questions at individuals in a studio audience and rewarded them for correct answers with silver dollars. A later development was thequiz show style of Information, Please, which involved a panel answering questions on diverse subjects mailed in by listeners. Thisshow was such a success that it had several imitators, the most popular of which was TheQuiz Kids, which used precocious children on the studio panel.
U.S. television adopted thequiz show in the early 1950s and further increased its popularity. In place of the merchandise awards that outstanding radio contestants received, television used large cash awards. An indication of the quantum increase was the escalation of one radio program’s highest prize, the $64 Question, to a $64,000 Question on television. The era of television’s big-moneyquiz shows began in 1955.
Attempting to manipulate the outcome of theshow so that dull and uninteresting contestants lost and the amiable underdog (or the contestant favoured most by the audience) won,quiz show producers began secretly briefing the contestants chosen to win and thereby increased the shows’ popularity. In 1958 a defeated contestant accused the producers of Twenty-One of unfair practices. The accusation led to investigations by a New York grand jury and by a congressional subcommittee on legislative oversight, which proved the charges to be true. The scandal led to a quick demise of the big-moneyshows. In the mid-1960s the television networks revived thequiz show in game formats with lower stakes, and by the 1980s they were again extremely popular.
Soap Opera
Soap opera is a broadcast dramatic serial program, so called in the United States because most of its major sponsors for many years were manufacturers ofsoap and detergents. Thesoap opera is characterized by a permanent cast of actors, a continuing story, emphasis on dialogue instead of action, a slower-than-life pace, and a consistently sentimental or melodramatic treatment.
The soap opera began in the early 1930s with 15-minute daytime radio episodes and was inherited by television in the early 1950s and expanded to 30 minutes. By the mid-1950s soap operas dominated late morning and early afternoon weekday television programming as they had dominated a similar time frame in radio programming during the previous decade.
From the 1930s to the 1950s the classical American soap opera was typically a continuing play about a middle-class family living in a small town. Sin and violence, always offstage, frequently affected the daily lives of the family members, but good inevitably triumphed, or at least all wrongdoing was justly punished. Most settings were indoors, usually in an immaculate home or office. The reality of housework or business seldom intruded; conversation abounded with intensity and only occasional humour.
By the 1970s the style and content ofsoap operas had undergone a revolution. There was open discussion of such matters as abortion, drug abuse, wife abuse, and sexually transmitted diseases. Characters of various racial and