И.Ю. Коваленко - Тематические тексты для развития навыков устной речи (Уровень А1-А2), страница 5

If they want they can also get the news from the television or the radio.Nobody knows what will happen to newspapers in the future, but for themoment they are very much still part of our lives.1) Do you like to read newspapers?2) If so, what information is the most interesting for you? What sections do youread (the main news, business, travel, arts etc.)?3) What is your favourite newspaper and why?4) Do you prefer to read newspapers at home or when you are travelling to andfrom work?Задание 2.

Прочитайте мини-тексты и составьте небольшой рассказ отом, какие газеты вы читаете.1. I usually get The Daily Mirror on my way to work. As it‟s a tabloid, it‟s easy toread on the train, and the articles are nice and short. I like reading all the latestgossip about my favourite TV stars.After glancing at the headlines on the front page, the first thing I usually read ismy horoscope. I know it‟s not really true, but it‟s still fun to read. I also look atthe TV guide, to see if there‟s anything good on television that evening.

If Ihave time, I try to do the crossword.2. I usually read The Wall Street Journal. I need to keep up with what‟s happeningin the business world for my job. The first page I usually turn to is the shareprices, to find out the latest news about the stock market.I don‟t just read the business pages. Often I look at the arts section to see ifthere are any reviews of plays or concerts, and there‟s always somethinginteresting on the letters page. Today, there were lots of letters about the effectsof cell phones on people‟s health.Задание 3.

Прочитайте текст и ответьте на вопросы.RadioSome people still prefer to listen to the radio. To switch on the radio is thefirst thing to do in the morning. Nowadays, there are dozens of radio stations inRussia and you can always choose a station to your liking. Most of the stationsbroadcast music of different styles. You can also listen to weather forecasts, sportsnews, radio theatre, talk shows, advice of lawyers and doctors, news, dailyhoroscope, political and economic programmes and so on.

You can even take part19in an intellectual quiz and win a prize. I like such channels as Radio Maximum,Radio Hit, Europa+, Relax FM and so on.1) Do you listen to the radio?2) If so, what programmes do you usually listen to?3) What is your favourite radio station?Задание 4. Прочитайте текст и ответьте на вопросы.TelevisionTelevision clearly plays an important part in most people‟s lives, but is this agood or a bad thing?On the positive side, people use television as a way of entertainingthemselves, especially in the evenings after work. After watching a soap opera orreality TV show, people often like to talk about it with their friends the next day.Television also provides an opportunity to keep up to date with the news, andpeople can increase their knowledge by watching documentaries and programmeson practical subjects such as cooking.Unfortunately, television also has many negative effects.

It is not healthy forpeople to spend several hours on the sofa watching the screen. Sometimes peopleseem more interested in watching the TV than talking to their family. A lot of theprogrammes which are broadcast are of very poor quality.Although television can entertain and educate us, we must not let it take overour lives.1) What role does television play in your life?2) What are your favourite TV programmes?3) Is television a good thing or a bad thing?Задание 5. Прочитайте текст и расскажите, что можно посмотретьпо телевизору сегодня вечером.There are lots of good programmes on the television this evening. At 7.30,there‟s „Coronation Street‟ on ITV, followed by „Eastenders‟ on BBC1 at 8o‟clock. These two programmes are the most popular soap operas on Britishtelevision.

Later on at 8.30 there‟s „Ground Force‟ on BBC1. „Ground Force‟ is agarden makeover show, in which a team of gardeners secretly create a new gardenfor someone while they are away from home. After that, at 9 o‟clock, „Big Brother‟is on. „Big Brother‟ is a reality TV show, in which a group of people are filmedliving together 24 hours a day. Lastly „Newsnight‟ is on at 10.30 on BBC2.„Newsnight‟ is a news programme that deals with the main items of the day‟s newsand has interviews with leading politicians.20Задание 6.

Прочитайте текст. Ответьте на вопросы и скажите, какиетелепередачи, по вашему мнению, являются наиболее интересными наотечественном телевидении и почему.Most people agree that the media has one key characteristic: it keepsgrowing and growing. These days, few people can remember life before television.And most of us have been influenced by the constant flow of words and imagesfrom screens or newspapers. Some of it is „complete rubbish‟ and some of it iswonderful. Here are some of the „firsts‟ and „bests‟ of the media world.The No.1 reality show: Big Brother.

Like it or not, Big Brother is the most popularshow of its kind. It was first shown in Holland in 1999 and it has been broadcast inover twenty countries.The No.1 film industry: the Indian film industry (nicknamed Bollywood). Morefilms are made in India than in any other country.The No.1 search engine: Google. Lots of information can be found by searchingGoogle.

In fact, it is used for over 250 million searches in 182 languages everyday. It was named after Googol, which is the number represented by one+onehundred zeros.The No.1 film: Citizen Kane. In lists of great films it usually comes first. It wasmade by Orson Welles in 1941 and tells the story of a media tycoon.The No.1 quiz show of recent years: Who wants to be a millionaire? It started inthe UK in 1998 but has been broadcast all over the world.The No.1 TV addicts: The US has 805 televisions per 1,000 people, the world‟shighest number, and in the US they watch TV the most. By the age of sixty-fivethe average US citizen has spent nine years in front of the TV.The No.1 selling newspaper: Yomiuri Shimbun.

It sells ten million copies a day inJapan.1) What is the world's most popular reality TV show? 2) Which country makes themost films? 3) Which search engine is the most popular? 4) Which film is oftenvoted the greatest ever? 5) Which quiz show is the most popular? 6) Whichcountry watches most TV? 7) Which newspaper sells the most copies?Задание 7. Прочитайте текст и ответьте на вопросы.ComputersThe advantages of computersIt is difficult to imagine a world without computers. We use them in almostevery area of our lives: at work, at school, and in our homes.Computers have brought many advantages. They make it possible to accesshuge amounts of information very quickly and do complicated tasks in a shorttime.

Instead of waiting inside a bank to get money from our bank accounts, wecan use machines in the street 24 hours a day. People can communicate with each21other instantly by email, and you can buy almost anything on the Internet withouthaving to leave your home. Many people now work from home using a computer,and use the computer in their leisure time for playing computer games or justsurfing the net. They think that life would be dull without computers.1)2)3)4)What are the advantages of computers?What role does the computer play in your life?What do you usually do on your computer?How often do you use it?Задание 8.

Прочитайте текст и расскажите о проблемах, которые у васиногда возникают во время работы на компьютере.This morning I went to the school library, switched on the computer, enteredmy password, and waited for the machine to start up! I clicked on an icon andopened the file that I wanted to work on. I spent two hours writing an essay. Just asI was about to save my data, the hard disc made a horrible noise, the screen froze,the machine crashed, and I lost all my work. The essay I had been writing wascalled “The benefits of modern technology”!ТЕМА 11.

ENVIRONMENTЗадание 1. Прочитайте тексты и ответьте на вопросы.Pollution and the envirinmentPeople are more worried about the environment (the air, water, and landaround us) as a result of the harmful effects of human activity. Some of theseactivities cause pollution (dirty air, land or water) and some are destroying theenvironment. Here are some of the problems:1) the ozone layer: a layer of gases which stop harmful radiation from the sunreaching the earth; recent researches show that there is now a hole in parts ofthe ozone layers;2) global warming: an increase in world temperature caused by an increase incarbon dioxide;3) acid rain: rain that contains dangerous chemicals; this is caused by smokefrom factories.Because of these problems, there are many groups of people whose aim isconservation (the protection of natural things, e.g.

plants and animals). They areoften referred to as greens, e.g. „Greenpeace‟ and „Friends of the Earth‟.Common causes of damage are smoke from factories, car exhaust fumes, dumping(throwing away) industrial waste in seas and rivers, aerosol cans (usually calledsprays), cutting down tropical rainforests (e.g. the Amazon) which increasescarbon dioxide in the atmosphere.22If we want to look after the environment, there are certain things we shoulddo.