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15. A dial tone is the sound you hear when you pick up a
telephone.
16. It was approaching 3 o’clock, the time when they could all go
home.
17. Let us approach the subject from a different direction.
18. Rose is due to start school in January.
19. After due consideration, we have decided to appoint Mr. Davis
to the job.
20. A bus shuttles passengers back and forth from the station to the
terminal.
II. Paraphrase using the active vocabulary:
1. She is in the habit of speaking angrily to her child.
2. Vacation time was about to come.
3. I was told that it would be safer to put money into a bank
account rather than keep it home.
4. We were shocked by the way New Yorkers treat the strangers.
5. It was impossible for me to make contact with him by
telephone. The line was busy all the time.
6. Don’t put my patience to a test! Enough is enough.
7. Please, don’t put down the receiver! I have something
important to tell you.
8. We passed through the airport security following the proper
procedures.
9. I was interrupted by the broken connection in the middle of the
conversation.
10. I was annoyed and put down the receiver while Dan was still
talking.
III. Translate from Russian into English paying attention to
the active vocabulary:
1. Я бы хотел спросить его мнение, но к нему трудно найти
подход.
2. Рабочим заплатили деньги, которые им положены?
3. Гости могут оставить свои ценности в сейфе отеля.
4. У меня только 100-долларовые купюры. Мне надо
разменять их.
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5. Очень часто справочная телефонная служба бывает
недоступна. Так что если хотите дозвониться, наберите
номер несколько раз.
6. Сегодня мы внесли 100 долларов за новый автомобиль.
7. Предполагается начать работу по строительству нового
моста в начале сентября.
8. Вчера я пришла домой поздно, и мама меня отругала.
9. Ваш самолет улетает от т
10. «Как мне позвонить в Париж?» — «Сначала вам надо
положить монеты в прорезь, а затем набрать номер».
11. Музыка из соседней квартиры начинает испытывать мое
терпение.
12. Я был несколько ошарашен его грубостью.
13. Это плохая линия, так что повесь трубку, а я тебе
перезвоню.
14. Услышав гудок, можешь набирать но
15. Я был так сердит на нее, что бросил трубку.
IV. Describe the author’s feelings about the situation described
in the text using the active vocabulary from the previous units. In
other words, retell the story creatively.
V. Describe in detail the process of making a short-distance
and a long-distance telephone call.
ерминала 3.
мер.
VI. Make up a dialogue imitating a phone conversation
between: mother and daughter; boss and secretary; boss and
employee; teacher and parent; close friends; husband and wife.
DISCUSSION
1. What would you do if you were in Mr. Bryson’s shoes?
2. Does the author exaggerate the problems with the American
telephone service or does it is really leave much to be desired?
3. What can you say about the author’s attitude towards the
service? Do you think this attitude is typical of Americans in
general?
4. Do you think that Americans’ obsession with ingenious
gadgets and useful technologies is a big part of their living?
222
Unit 11
MASS MEDIA
PREREADING
Answer the questions:
1. Do you often watch TV?
2. What kind of TV programs do you prefer?
3. What movie genres are especially attractive for most people?
4. What other forms of entertainment are you interested in?
THE WASTELAND
You cannot believe — you really cannot believe — the awfulness
of American television. Oh, I know that British TV can be pretty
appalling. But British TV cannot begin to touch American television
for the capacity to make you want to go out and lie down on a
motorway.
We get about fifty channels in our house — it is possible on some
systems now to get up to 200, I believe — so you think at first that
you are going to be spoiled for choice, but you gradually realize that
the idea of TV here is simply to fill up the air with any old sludge.
There is almost no concept that TV might, just sometimes, be
innovative and good. On this very evening, under the category of
‘Drama’, my cable channel magazine lists as its most sublime and
compelling offerings
Tomorrow it recommends
Dallas
24-hour cartoon network. That there are people out there who wish to
watch cartoons through the night is remarkable enough, but what is
truly astounding to me is that the channel carries commercials. What
could you possibly sell to people who voluntarily watch Deputy
Dawg at 2.30 a.m.? Bibs?
television is that the same programs are shown over and over at the
same times each night. Tonight at 9.30 p.m. on Channel 20 we can
again and
You begin to wonder who watches it all. One of our channels is a
But perhaps the most mind-numbing feature of American
Matlock
Murder,
and
The Waltons
She Wrote.
Little House on the Prairie.
and
Dallas.
The next day it is
223
watch the
Munsters.
did you guess correctly? — the
preceded by an episode of
the
Munsters.
Last night at 9.30 p.m. on Channel 20 it was the
Tomorrow night at 9.30 p.m. on Channel 20 it will be —
Happy Days
Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Munsters.
Each
Munsters
showing is
and followed by an episode of
It has been like this for years, as far as I
can tell, and will stay like this for ever.
And it is like this on virtually every channel for every time slot. If
you turn on the Discovery channel and find a program on Hollywood
stunts (and you will), you can be certain that the next time you turn to
the Discovery channel at the same hour, it will be a program on
Hollywood stunts. Probably it will be the same episode.
With so many channels to choose from, you don’t actually watch
anything. And that is the scary part of all this. Although American
television is totally imbecilic, although it makes you weep and rend
your hair and throw soft foods at the screen, it is also strangely
irresistible. As a friend once explained to me, you don’t watch
television here to see what is on, you watch it to see what else is on.
And the one thing to be said for American TV is that
there is always
something else on. By the time you have reached the fiftieth channel
you have forgotten what was on the first, so you start the cycle again
in the pathetically optimistic hope that you might find something
absorbing this time through.
NOTE
Pay attention to the difference in the following British and
American terms:
AmE
freeway
cf. BrE motorway — автомагистраль
CULTURAL ASSOSIATIONS
Dallas
cartoon
commercial
Discovery channel
Hollywood
224
COMPREHENSION CHECK
1. Why does the author consider American television to be
awful? What adjectives does he use to create the atmosphere of
direness and dismay?
2. Which television — British or American — does Mr. Bryson
find more appalling?
3. What is the most mind-numbing feature of American
television, according to the author?
4. Comment on the following phrase: “As a friend once
explained to me, you don’t watch television here to see what is
on, you watch it to see what else is on.”
5. Explain the title of the story. Do you think it is suitable?
Why/why not??
ACTIVE VOCABULARY
channel n — a frequency band used by a radio or television station:
television channel, TV channel.
to change channels — to replace one channel with another.
highlight n — an important or conspicuous event, scene, etc.
slot n — 1. a long, narrow opening, esp. one for receiving something,
as a letter or coins. 2. a place or position, esp. in a sequence or
series:
to scare
alone in the building.
moment.
irresistible
tempting:
mediocre
the play was only mediocre.
time slot — a period of time.
scary
v — 1. to
adj.
adj
frighten somebody:
— frightening:
adj — incapable or being resisted or withstood; enticing;
irresistible proof. His argument was irresistible.
—
not very good; of only average standard: I thought
It scared me to think I was
2. to be frightened:
a scary movie. It was a very scary
He doesn’t scare easily.
225
I. Translate the following sentences into Russian paying
attention to the active vocabulary:
1. We can receive up to 500 cable channels.
2. I felt an irresistible urge to laugh.
3. I’ve highlighted the important passages in yellow.
4. To tell the truth, he is a mediocre musician.
5. Joe’s arguments were irresistible.
6. The report highlights the major problems facing society today.
7. He felt an irresistible impulse to sneeze.
8. The introduction highlighted the speaker's distinguished career
in linguistics.
9. The highlight of the tour was our visit to Illinois.
10. Her beauty was irresistible, and I fell in love with her at first
sight.
11. Scary details of the murder were in all the news programs.
II. Translate the following sentences into English paying
attention to the active vocabulary:
1. Моим неудержимым желанием было сказать ему правду.
2. Это было весьма посредственное представление, ничем не
отличающееся от других.
3. Правда страшный фильм?
4. Его неотразимое чувство юмора позволяет людям часами
находиться в его компании.
5. Сегодняшн
6. Не переключай каналы — я хочу посмотреть кино.
7. Ты напугал меня — я думал, что один в доме.
8. Заурядные люди стараются принизить великих.
9. Запись самых ярких моментов футбольного матча будет
показана после новостей.
10. Он просто посредст
заслуг.
яя лекция — самая яркая во всем курсе.
венный актер без всяких особых
226
GROUP WORK
I. Read the following comments on the positive and negative
influences of television. Which arguments would you support?
Add your own points, then discuss the topic in small groups
POSITIVE NEGATIVE
TV opens up the world to the
people with limited real world
experiences.
TV allows people to watch
shows, musicals, and sporting
events that they would be
unable to watch otherwise.
TV brings the family together
in a shared activity
TV is so appealing to children
that parents don’t have to be
taking care of them all the time.
Educational programs provide a
lot of useful information to the
viewers.
YOUR IDEAS:
There is so much violence on TV
that it encourages people to
become violent.
Advertising on TV turns people
into compulsive shoppers.
TV interferes with family life and
communication. It’s an intruder
in the house.
Children develop a low attention
span because they are
overstimulated by TV.
Children see many negative role
models on TV, such as adults
smoking or men mistreating
women.
YOUR IDEAS:
.
II. Look at the following types of popular TV programs. Match
each program with its description:
1. animated cartoon __
2. documentary __
3. drama series __
4. quiz show __
5. sitcom __
6. soap opera __
7. talk show __
227
a. a continuing series, broadcast in some countries as often as
five days a week, about the lives of a group of characters, often
centering on their romantic lives
b. a program that gives biographical information about an
interesting person, or factual information about a subject such
as history, science, nature, or a social issue
c. a continuing series involving the same characters in various
amusing situations
d. a show in which guests (sometimes celebrities or ordinary
people involved in bizarre situations) are interviewed
informally
e. a series, often shown weekly and frequently set in a hospital,
police station, or law office, in which the same characters deal
with frightening, emotional, or tragic situations
f. a film based on animated drawings, usually about a comical or
adventurous situation
g. a program in which participants compete for money or prizes
by answering questions, making guesses, or performing other
tasks
DISCUSSION
Suppose that the following four programs were all on American
television at the same time. Put them in order of the size of audience
you think would watch them:
1 = the program with the biggest audience;
4 = the one with the smallest audience.
Compare your answers with those of the other students and discuss
the results.
“The Building of a New Submarine” (report).
“President Obama’s Visit to Russia” (news story).
Christian service from Travis road Baptist Church, with Dr.
Gregory.
“A Child between Parents” — the story of a husband’s battle with
his wife to keep his child after the marriage has broken up.
228
TEXT 2
COMMERCIALS, COMMERCIALS, COMMERCIALS
The problem with American commercials is that they are so
constant. Most channels have a commercial break about every five or
six minutes. CNN, as far as I can tell, has nothing but commercial
breaks.
It occurred to me that this is rather a sweeping statement, so I have
just taken a half-hour, at no extra cost to you, to monitor a typical
CNN program, and here are my findings. In a single 30-minute period,
CNN interrupted its program five times to show twenty commercials.
Altogether it showed 10 minutes of commercials in a 30-minute slot.
Apart from a 7-minute span at the start of the program, the longest
period without commercials was 4 minutes and 59 seconds. The
shortest interval between commercials was 2 minutes. For the benefit
of people who suffered a serious brain injury during the program,
three of the commercials were repeated.
This, I hasten to add, is completely typical. Last night, one of the
networks showed the movie The Fugitive, and I did a similar exercise.
In order to watch about 100 minutes of movie, it was necessary to sit
through almost 50 minutes of commercials, spread over about twenty
interruptions. (One every 7 minutes, on average.)
According to Neil Postman in his book Amusing Ourselves to Death,
the average American is exposed to 1,000 television commercials a
week. By the time he is eighteen, the typical American child has sat
goggle-eyed through no fewer than 350,000 television adverts.
Increasingly nowadays even when you are not watching commercials
you are watching commercials, so to speak. For example, the ABC
network recently aired a special on the making of the Disney movie The
Hunchback of Notre Dame. According to the New York Times, several
АBС stations also devoted a portion of their evening news broadcasts to
‘a gala celebration that Disney threw for the movie in New Orleans.’ It
just happens as that ABC owns the Disney Company.
Meanwhile, the History Channel unveiled plans to run a series
called The Spirit of Enterprise celebrating the history and
achievements of corporations like Boeing, DuPont and General
Motors. The programmes were to be made by — yup — the
corporations themselves. The History Channel later cancelled the
229
series when it was brought to its attention that the whole undertaking
was just too, too tacky.
In short, commercials are inescapable here — and not just at home.
I am appalled to report that many thousands of schools across
America now rely, at least in part, on educational materials provided
by corporations, so that pupils are learning about nutrition from
McDonald’s and conservation and the environment from Exxon,
among others. Since 1989, a company called Channel One has been
beaming educational programs to schools via a closed-circuit system.
The programs are free but they are interspersed with commercials
aimed specifically at young audiences. Now I would call that
obviously, palpably unacceptable and exploitative, but this is
evidently a minority view. Channel One has been a big hit; its sets are
in 350,000 classrooms.
Even Sesame Street programs — this is truly heartbreaking —
have become, in the words of the Boston Globe, ‘uninterrupted 30minute commercials.’ As the Globe points out, Sesame Street products
generate over $800 million in retail sales every year, and its
executives enjoy salaries of up to $200,000 a year. Yet because the
program is aired on public television here, it receives an annual
government subsidy of $7 million.
I was about to say think what would happen if that $7 million were
spent instead on inner-city schools, but then it occurred to me that
what would happen is that they would go out and buy more TVs to
hook more classrooms into Channel One.
Inevitably, this has made my brain throb, so I’m off to take a
Tylenol. I understand that in a survey it was preferred over other
brands by two to one. Or maybe I’m thinking of Pepsi.
NOTES
1. Pay attention to the difference in the following British and
American terms:
ad
AmE
cf. BrE advert, ad — реклама
2. Pay attention to the difference in the following British and
American spellings:
AmE
program
cf. BrE programme
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