Conversational topic: MASS MEDIA.
Grammar topic: THE PRESENT SIMPLE TENSE.
Mass media.
The mass media play an important part in our life. Newspapers, radio and especially TV inform us of what is going on in this world and give us wonderful possibilities for education and entertainment. They also influence the way we see the world and shape our views.
Of course, not all newspapers and TV programmes report the events objectively, but serious journalists and TV reporters try to be fair and provide us with reliable information.
It is true that the world today is full of dramatic events and most news seems to be bad news. But people aren't interested in ordinary events. That is why there are so many programmes and articles about natural disasters, plane crashes, wars, murders and robberies. Good news doesn't usually make headlines. Bad news does.
Some people say that journalists are given too much freedom. They 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 main source of news for millions of people is television. People like TV news because they can see everything with their own eyes. And that's an important advantage. Seeing, as we know, is believing. Besides, it's much more difficult for politicians to lie in front of the cameras than on the pages of newspapers.
Still, many people prefer the radio. It's good to listen to in the car, or in the open air, or when you do something about the house.
Newspapers don't react to events as quickly as TV, but they usually provide us with extra detail, comment and background information. The Internet has recently become another important source of information. Its main advantage is that news appears on the screen as soon as things happen in real life and you don't have to wait for news time on TV.
Vocabulary:
| 1. wonderful | 1. |
| 2. possibility | 2. |
| 3. to shape | 3. |
| 4. view | 4. |
| 5. to intrude | 5. |
| 6. to influence | 6. |
| 7. event | 7. |
| 8. article | 8. |
| 9. disaster | 9. |
| 10. murder | 10. |
| 11. robbery | 11. |
| 12. objectively | 12. |
| 13. ordinary | 13. |
| 14. headline | 14. |
| 15. celebrity | 15. |
| 16. private | 16. |
| 17. source | 17. |
| 18. advantage | 18. |
| 19. To provide | 19. |
| 20. screen | 20. |
Conversational topic: TRADITIONS AND CUSTOMS OF THE ENGLISH.
Grammar topic: PAST SIMPLE TENSE.
What do we know about it?
Every country and every nation has it's own traditions and customs. It's very important to know traditions and customs of different people. It will help you to know more about the history and life of different nations and countries.
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Very often when speaking of English traditions, we think first of some curious theatrical ceremonies of the court or parliament procedure. But the word tradition does not mean only that. First and foremost tradition is the generally accepted way of living, acting, behaving of just doing things. There are many very good traditions of this kind in the everyday life of the English.
In England everything is the other way round.- On Sunday on the Continent even the poorest person puts on his best suit, tries to look respectable, and at the same time the life of the country becomes gay and cheerful; in England even the richest peer or motor-car manufacturer dresses in some peculiar rags, does not shave, and the country becomes dull and dreary. - On the Continent there is one topic, which should be avoided the weather; in England, if you do not repeat the phrase Lovely day, isnt it? at least two hundred times a day, you are considered a bit dull.- On the Continent Sunday papers appear on Monday; in England a country of exotic oddities they appear on Sunday. - On the Continental bus approaching a request stop the conductor rings the bell if he wants his bus to go on without stopping; in England you ring the bell if you want the bus to stop. - On the Continent people have good food; in England people have good table manners. - On the Continent public orators try to learn to speak fluently and smoothly; in England they take a special course in Oxonian stuttering. - On the Continent learned person love to quote Aristotle, Horace, Montaigne and show off their knowledge; in England only uneducated people show off their knowledge, nobody quotes Latin or Greek authors in the course of a conversation, unless he has never read them. - Continental people are sensitive and touchy; the English take everything with an exquisite sense of humour they are only offended if you tell them that they have no sense of humour. - People on the Continent either tell you the truth or lie; in England they hardly ever lie, but they would not dream of telling you the truth.- Many continentals think life is a game; the English think cricket is a game. Many foreigners are sometimes taken aback of English custom to have a lunch. Whatever one is doing, no matter how important it is, as soon as the clock strikes one everybody breaks for lunch. The time from one to two oclock is a sacred hour in England. Everybody knows that there is no use trying to get in touch with some official, business executive or firm representative at this time. They wont be in. it is no use no waste your time going from one shop to another at one oclock sharp they will open. For punctuality is also one of the English traditions. An English proverb say: So many countries, so many customs Vocabulary:| 1. custom | |
| 2. curious | |
| 3. court | , |
| 4. to mean | |
| 5. foremost | |
| 6. generally accepted | |
| 7. way of behaving | |
| 8. poor | |
| 9. respectable | |
| 10. gay and cheerful | |
| 11. peer | |
| 12. peculiar rag | |
| 13. dull and dreary | |
| 14. to avoid | |
| 15. oddity | |
| 16. smoothly | |
| 17. shuttering | |
| 18. sense of humour | |
| 19. to offend | |
| 20. truth or lie | |
| 21. sacred hour |
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