Module 4_10th grade – THE MASS MEDIA
1 Translate the following words
TV programmes: chat show, documentary, game show, reality show, soap opera, the news
Newspapers: local newspaper, popular newspaper, quality newspaper
Internet: chatroom, newsletter, website
Mobile phones: text updates, text voting
2 Read the questions and write the answers about yourself:
- Which things in the key words have you seen, read or used?
- Do you listen to the radio much? Which programmes?
- How many hours of TV do you watch every week?
- What are your favourite TV programmes?
- What magazines do you read regularly?
- Do you read a newspaper regularly? Which one?
- What do you use the Internet for? How much time do you spend on the Internet each week?
- Do you use a mobile phone for information or entertainment? What kind of information would you like to get on your mobile phone?
Reading
3 Read the text below and underline the correct answer, a, b or c.
1 ITN is particularly interesting for Greg because
a it is a modern museum of technology.
b it is the centre of world journalism.
c everything is broadcast live there.
2 ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 are
a radio channels.
b TV channels.
c British branches of ITN.
3 When he first worked at ITN, Greg covered
a political news.
b economic news.
c news about celebrities.
4 Chancery Lane is the name of
a the street where ITN is located.
b an underground line in London.
c a tube station in London.
5 If you are a very curious ITN visitor you can
a see live broadcasts of TV news programmes.
b report a debate in Parliament yourself.
c do your own survey among famous presenters and journalists.
Working for the news centre in London
A report by Greg Hudson
Visitors to London are always impressed by this exciting city, with its numerous attractions of all kinds. For me, London’s most interesting place is a huge building at 200 Gray’s Inn Road, the home of ITN – Independent Television News. This was my London for the past year. Once you get into the glass and steel giant, you cannot resist the feeling that you have come to the centre of the world. Hundreds of journalists and the most famous presenters are rushing around with reports of the latest world news – all just around you.
ITN is a huge news organisation providing bulletins, scripts and pictures to independent radio and television stations around the UK. Whether you are watching ITV, Channel 4 or Channel 5, you will see the news that is broadcast from Gray’s Inn Road in London. For those who are more curious, it is worth coming to see the building itself. If you are lucky you can even see Channel 5 Newsbroadcast live.
When I first came to ITN, I was a student of radio and television journalism. Working as a young journalist in England, I had the chance to see the things ordinary people cannot see. I never thought that I would be sitting at a journalist’s desk in Parliament listening to the live reports of debates. I took part in many press conferences of top ministers and government secretaries. I was doing my own surveys in the streets of London.
One of the strangest things was the way most of the journalists did their editing work. They did not use computers, but rather they cut up the tapes and then put them together with some sticky tape. I felt I was in a museum of technology.
If you happen to be in London, remember, the centre of the world is at 200 Gray’s Inn Road. Just take the Central Line of the underground to Chancery Lane station. It is only a five-minute walk to ITN. Stand there and try to imagine what wonderful things are going on inside.
(adapted from The World of English)
Grammar
Passive Voice
4 Learn the rules, do the exercises and check yourself with the keys
5 Rewrite the sentences in the Passive beginning with the words given. Leave out the doer of the action if not necessary.
0 The director has cancelled the meeting.
The meeting has been cancelled (by the director) .
1 Lawrence Ferlinghetii opened the oldest paperback book store in the United States in 1953.
The oldest paperback book store in the United States …
2 The police are interviewing him in connection with the armed robbery.
He …
3 More than a billion people all over the world speak English.
English …
4 They will officially announce their engagement tomorrow.
Their engagement …
5 Tom is not going to invite me to his party.
I …
6 Our physical education teacher can make a good basketball player of every pupil.
Every pupil …
7 The UN General Assembly appoints the Secretary General.
The Secretary General …
8 Next week German-Americans will organise ‘Octoberfests’ with German cuisine and music.
‘Octoberfests’ with German cuisine and music …
9 Nobody had informed them where they were supposed to stay.
They …
10 My boyfriend Robert is going to introduce me to his parents.
I …
11 The travel agency can’t confirm the exact time of our flight yet.
The exact time of our flight …
12 The policemen were interrogating the suspect for two hours.
The suspect …
6 Rewrite the sentences. Start with the words given.
0 She had her portrait painted by Pablo Picasso.
Her portrait _____was painted by Pablo Picasso._____
1 I paid the plumber to repair my shower.
My shower ______
2 I’ll get my friend George to translate this letter.
This letter ______
3 The mechanic is checking the brakes on my car.
The brakes on my car ______
4 She had her wedding dress made by a top designer.
Her wedding dress ______
5 Mrs Lawson usually collects Sheila’s children from school.
Sheila’s children ______
7 Active or Passive? Which sentence is more natural? Tick a, b or both.
0a There is gold in her wedding ring. _____
0b Her wedding ring is made of gold. ____
1a Somebody built the Pyramids 3,000 years ago. _____
1b The Pyramids were built 3,000 years ago. _____
2a The people of France gave the Statue of Liberty to America in 1876. _____
2b The Statue of Liberty was given to America by the people of Francein 1876. ___
3a Somebody used silver to make this bracelet. _____
3b This bracelet is made of silver. _____
4a Samuel Pepys described the 1665 Great Fire of London in his diary. _____
4b The 1665 Great Fire of London was described by Samuel Pepys in his diary. ____
5a A person in the eighteenth century made this chair. _____
5b This chair was made in the eighteenth century. _____
6a Some people in Turkey made this shirt. _____
6b This shirt was made in Turkey. _____
7a Dr Christian Barnard did the first heart transplant operation. _____
7b The first heart transplant operation was done by Dr Christian Barnard. _____
8a I’m sorry, I can’t drive you home. A mechanic is repairing my car. _____
8b I’m sorry I can’t drive you home. My car is being repaired. _____
9a I’ve won £23,000 in the state lottery. _____
9b £23,000 has been won by me in the state lottery. _____
10a One uses Durum wheat to make spaghetti. _____
10b Spaghetti is made from Durum wheat. _____
Have/get something done (3rd form of the verb)
1 To show that someone arranges for someone else to do something for them
Compare:
Lisa repaired the roof. (= she repaired it herself)
Lisa had the roof repaired. (= she arranged for somebody else to repair it)
- I have my groceries delivered by the supermarket once a week.
- We are having a new cooker put in tomorrow.
- We had a large wedding cake made.
- Have you had your kitchen decorated?
- We are going to have the food for the party made by a catering company.
2 Using the verb get is usually more informal than using have.
- Can you go and get this recipe photocopied for me?
8 Rewrite the sentences. Start with the words given.
0 Her portrait was painted by Pablo Picasso.
She _____had her portrait painted by Pablo Picasso._____
1 My teeth were cleaned by the dentist.
I _____
2 The tailor is going to lengthen my skirt.
I _____
3 Robbie’s photograph was taken by a professional photographer.
Robbie ______
4 The engineer is repairing her washing machine.
She ____
5 The gardener cuts the grass in my mother’s garden.
My mother _____
9Complete the sentences using have or get with the verbs from the box.
Redecorate, do, service, shorten, pierce, install0 She didn’t like her hair so she went to the hairdresser’s to ___have it done.
1 My car isn’t working very well. I’ll have to ______.
2 Our new apartment is very nice and clean except for the kitchen. We are going to ______.
3 I like your ears the way they are. Please, don’t ______.
4 We don’t have a telephone yet. I think we will ______next week.
5 I’m afraid these jeans are a bad fit for you. You will need to ______.
10 Complete the text below with one word in each gap.
My elder brother Tom is a TV addict. He spends hours in front of a TV switching the (1) _______ . He watches the news to be informed about (2) ______affairs and (3) ______shows to test his knowledge and intelligence. He claims that every TV programme has educational value. For Tom even a (4) ______show, in which an interviewer talks to a well-known personality, provides a lot of useful information. Well, I think that he just loves gossip about the lives of (5) ______like Ronaldo or Claudia Schiffer.
My younger sister Barbara is obsessed with (6) _____ media. In the mornings she listens to the radio all the time and in the evenings sits with her eyes glued to the TV screen. Once she starts watching a programme, it’s extremely difficult to make her turn (7) ______to another channel. Apart from the radio and television, the (8) ______seems to be another of Barbara’s addictions. She is not very selective though and reads both good (9) ______papers and (10) ______newspapers with a lot of sensational stories and photographs.
11 Rewrite these sentences with the correct punctuation.
0 last summer mrrossi gave us lessons in Italian
Last summer Mr Rossi gave us lessons in Italian.
1 english is one of the official languages of nato
__
2 drtomkins lives in guildford but works in london
__
3 the interview with michaeljackson was on itv at eight o’clock on wednesday
__
4 georgewashington was the first president of the usa
__
5 the river thames flows through london from west to east
__
12 Rewrite the phrases using compound adjectives.
0 a journey of five weeks –_a five-week journey
1 a composition of 200 words –______
2 a break that is fifteen minutes long –______
3 a woman with dark hair –______
4 a teacher who is thirty years old –______
5 a lesson that is sixty minutes long –______
6 a building of four storeys –______
7 a crew of nine men –______
4 a girl who is fifteen years old –______
13 Complete the following sentences with the correct multi-part verb with “turn”.
0 I am very disappointed that he didn’t ____turn up_____ at my party last night. We were all waiting for him.
1 It’s getting dark. ______the light, please.
2 When my sisters are in trouble, they always ______me for support and comfort.
3 Please, ______the radio a bit. I’m trying to read and loud music disturbs me.
4 The film was so violent that I had to ______. I couldn’t watch it any longer.
5 I need to call a plumber. I can’t ______the tap and there is water all over the floor.
14 Complete the multi-part verbs in these sentences.
down / with / from / backout / on / up / round
out / for / round/up
0 Turn ___down___ the television. I can’t hear the telephone.
1 Peter used to go ______with my girlfriend, Laura.
2 Are you going ______that job in the newsagents?
3 What time to do you have to turn ______for work?
4 I banged my head on the desk when I fell down. I didn’t come ______for half an hour.
5 Don’t let me interrupt you. Go ______with your meal.
6 Sorry, you can’t speak to my wife. She’s gone ______to the shops.
7 What time are you coming ______from the party?
8 When she turned ______, I saw the mark on her face.
9 Where do you come ______, Slovakia or the Czech Republic?
10 Take off that orange scarf! It doesn’t go ______your green dress.
15 Reading
Read the text below and put the sentences (A–F) in the gaps (1–5). There is one extra sentence.
A It was then that the Beetle in Wolfsburg was replaced
B Many people today are of the opinion that Volkswagens are
C The production of the ‘T’ model continued for 20 years
D There were vans and various sizes and types of trucks
E Over the years, there were many models of Volkswagens,
FThe War interrupted development of the Beetle
A legend on wheels
In the 1930s, the Wolfsburg car factory in Germany produced the first inexpensive car ‘for the people’ – the Beetle. Nobody really expected it to be such a great success. It was the idea of the well-known constructor, Ferdinand Porsche, and it immediately became even more popular than Ford’s ‘T’ model which was at that time the most modern and popular car.
1 _____ without interruption between 1908–1927. The Beetle had a production life of forty-eight years between 1935–1978. This model had not changed throughout the years, except for some modifications in the engine. It remained the same size, and was relatively cheap and simple in construction. Even today, the Volkswagen Beetle is still manufactured in Brazil under the original licence.
2 _____ and the factory was used for military production. However, as soon as the war ended, Beetle production restarted and by 1972 the total number of cars produced increased to over 15,000,000.
3 _____ by the new Golf model which actually had nothing in common with its older brother. The car designers decided to make a car completely different from their original model. In 1975, Volkswagen introduced this new Golf in the United States where it was called ‘Rabbit’.
4 _____ produced by using the Beetle and Golf as a starting point and including many other concepts and standards. The mass media advertised the entire family of Volkswagen cars: Passat, Jetta, Polo, Derby. They were manufactured in Emden, Osnabruck, Wolfsburg and other German cities.
5 _____ among the most comfortable and powerful cars in Europe. Although the Beetle is hardly ever seen in the streets any more, the owners of the few remaining Beetle models still make an effort to keep their small cars in the best possible condition. What is more, they are very proud of driving a car with a history behind it.
16 Writing: report
You have done some research on where the young people in your town spend their free time and how they go/travel there. You are not happy with the result. Write a report (200 words) to the local authorities.
- Describe the problem.
- Give reason for writing this report and the aim you want to achieve.
- Write both the positive and the negative sides of the result.
- Suggest possibilities to solve the problem.
17 Speaking
Look at the photograph and answer the questions.
1 How do the politicians feel towards each other?
2 Do politicians need to appear on TV? Why do you think so? (100 words)
Look at the photograph and answer the questions.
1 What are the people in the picture listening to? Why do you think so?
2 What role does the radio play in people’s lives? Why is it important? (100 words)
18 Writing: essay
Choose one of the topics below and write an essay about 200–250 words.
1 Write a review of a popular TV series. Briefly summarise the plot, describe its main characters, actors’ performance. Mention both the good and the bad sides of the series.
2 Write a review of a concert broadcast on TV. Briefly say when it was and where it took place. Give the names of the singers/ band and kind of music they played. Describe the reaction of the audience. State your own opinion.
19 Listening
1 Listen to video and write down the answers the interviewed people provided.
Podcast
1 How do you usually get the news?
- 1st speaker
- 2nd speaker
- 3rd speaker
- 4th speaker
- 5th speaker
- 6th speaker
2 What kind of news stories interest you the most?
- 1st speaker
- 2nd speaker
- 3rd speaker
- 4th speaker
- 5th speaker
- 6th speaker
3 How have media technology and new media changed the relationship with the news?
- 1st speaker
- 2nd speaker
- 3rd speaker
- 4th speaker
4 Does the media use its power responsibly?
- 1st speaker
- 2nd speaker
- 3rd speaker
- 4th speaker
2 Listen to the video and write down the answers to the questions.
- What did you find out about British newspapers and magazines?
- What are the two most popular tabloids?
- What kind of information can you find n tabloids?
- What are broadsheets or quality papers?
- Name the types of newspapers that exist in Great Britain?
- What does the BBC stand for?
- How does the BBC find money for making its programmes?
- What are others terrestrial channels?
- How many hours of television do British people watch on average?
- What are the favourite programmes of British children?
- What kind of videos do British children usually watch?