Find me a show that woks

by our TV reviewer, Jeremy Platt

I’m sure there was a reason (1)……….. I became a TV reviewer. Maybe it was my love of classic shows (2)……….kept me entertained as a child. Or maybe it was the presenters (3)………..seemed to promise am exciting world of glamour and showbiz. To be honest, I’ve watched so many shows lately (4) ………..have bored me to tears that I’ve forgotten. Take Kid Swap, for example, the new show (5) …….Channel 7 hopes will revive their viewing figures. The show takes kids (6) …… parents have had enough and swaps them with kids from other families for two weeks. The problem with this show is that I’m just not sure at (7) ………it’s aimed – parents or teenagers. Parents (8) ……watch this show will find it childish, particularly at the moment (9) ……..one of the teenagers does nothing but complain. Teenage viewers (10) ……..watch more than the first five minutes will soon get bored of the parents, (11) …….blame anybody but themselves for the situation. This is definitely one idea (12) ……….should be put exactly where it belongs-in the bin!

Retelling tasks

By the moment you’ve done a lot. Prove us that you know some facts and details of the story quite well.

Task 1. Say if the given statements are true or false. Comment on them.

1. The storyteller’s hobby was gardening.

2. She had two dogs of her own.

3. The boxer was wagging its tail of excitement to meet the storyteller again.

4. It was a black boxer.

5. That day they met the fourth time.

6. It was impossible to identify the owners of the dog.

7. The husband was sure the boxer belonged to the Reynolds.

8. The first Mr. Reynolds denied ever having a boxer.

9. The Reynolds abused the dog and that’s why he left the family.

10. There was a familiar scar that helped recognize the boxer.

Task 2. Now try to give a detailed answer to the following questions.

1. What kind of a person was the storyteller?

2. What was the first thing the storyteller did when she saw the battered old dog?

3. What idea struck the woman?

4. Why didn’t her husband believe the boxer belonged to the Reynolds?

5. Who helped the woman find the owners?

6. How did the boxer behave in the backseat of the car?

7. Why did the Reynolds’ children examine the dog?

8. Why did all that had happened seem a miracle to the storyteller?

Task 3. In your point of view how many logical parts are there in the story? What are they?

Task 4. Right now try to retell the story to your partner or to your teacher. We believe that some phrases will be of great help to you. You can find them at the end of the grammar reference at p.117

And now enjoy reading our next story! Good luck!

Story 8. Uncle theo (from a modern English Course for foreign Students by c.E. Eckersley)

Before reading the story be sure you know how to pronounce these proper nouns well:

Theo Hobdell

Adams

Camford University

Why do you think the story is called like this? Have you got any ideas who Uncle Theo is?

Now you’re welcome to read the story “Uncle Theo”. Enjoy reading, please.

This is a story about Theo Hobdell. He was a quiet, gentle and absent-minded man whose thoughts were always on learning and nothing else. Well he applied for a post in Camford University, It was a very good post and there were hundreds of candidates who applied for it. The committee chose fifteen, including Theo, for an interview. Camford is a very small town; there is only one hotel in it, and this was so full that they had to put two of the candidates in a room. Theo was one of these, and the man who shared the room with him was a self-confident fellow called Adams, about twenty years younger than Theo, with a loud voice, and a laugh that you could hear all over the hotel. But he was a clever fellow all the same. The Dean, the head of the department at the University, and the committee interviewed all the candidates; and as a result of this interview only two men were left, Theo and Adams. The committee couldn't decide which of the two to take, so they decided to make their final choice after each сandidate had given a public lecture in a college lecture-hall. They were to give the lecture in three day's time.

For three days Theo never left his room. He worked day and night at the lecture, writing it out and memorizing it, Adams didn't do any preparation at all. You could hear his voice and his laughter in the bar where he had a crowd of people around him. He came to his room late at night, asked Theo how he was working at the lecture, and told him how he had spent the evening playing billiards, or at the theatre or music-hall. The day of the lecture arrived. They all went into the lecture-hall and Theo and Adams took their seats on the platform. And then, Theo discovered, that the copy of his speech had disappeared! The Dean said he would call on the candidates in the alphbetical order, Adam first. Adam took the stolen speech out of his pocket and read it to the professors who gathered to hear it. And how well he read it! When Adam finished there was a freat burst of applause. Now it was Theo’s turn. But what could he do? He could only repeat, word for word in a low, dull voice the lecture that Adan had spoken so well.

The Dean and the committee went out to decide who the successful candidate was, but everyone was sure what their decision would be. Soon the Dean and the committee came back. "Gentlemen," the Dean said, "the candidate we have chosen is Mr. Theo Hobdell.” Theo had won! The professors were greatly surprised, and the Dean continued, "I think I must tell you how we arrived at that decision. We were all fill with admiration at the learning and eloquence of Mr. Adams. We were impressed. But you remember, Mr. Adams read his lecture to us. When Mr. Hobdell's turn came, he repeated that speech word by word from memory. Now a fine memory is absolutely necessary for this post. That is why we decided that Mr, Hobdell was exactly the man we wanted.”

As they walked out of the room, the Dean came up to Theo, shook his hand and said "Congratulations, Mr. Hobdell! But my dear fellow, you must be more careful and not leave valuable papers lying about!"

Notes:

to apply for a post - подавать заявление о приеме на работу (претендовать на место)

a self-confident fellow - самоуверенный человек

a burst of applause - взрыв аплодисментов

to be filled with admiration - быть полным восхищения

Well, you’ve just read the story “Uncle Theo”. Were your suppositions about Uncle Theo right?

We hope you’ve enjoyed it very much. Now, let’see how well you know its content. Can you do all these exercises? Good luck!