Беликова Е.К., Саратовская Л.Б. - The United Kingdom and United States of America in Past and Present (1268141), страница 9
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Let sleeping dogs … a) sleep b) dream c) lie3. Translate into English: Англия и Россия -несравнимые культуры.Британия для иностранцев – это колоритный образ старой доброй Англии,страны нерушимых порядков, безупречной вежливости, законопочитания инезыблемых традиций, какой она стала в великий век королевы Виктории,когда английские традиции и закладывались. Прошли столетия. Все следытой эпохи, казалось бы, уже должны исчезнуть под воздействием времени.Однако, старая добрая Англия – ее принципы, ее идеалы, ее стиль, - никудане делась, просто скрылась под тонким слоем времени прогресса.4. Discussion problem: 1.
Why is it necessary to know customs and habits ofthe nations whose language you are going to learn? 2.Compare some Britishcustoms with the Russian ones? 3. What is a typical English home?CHAPTER YI. BRITISH MEDIATo evolve-развиватьсяCensorship restrictiоnsограничения цензуройInevitable-неизбежныйTo target at- нацеливатьBroadbandширокополоснаяDumb down – лишать речи,оглуплятьTobenefit-получатьвыгодуExpanded-расширенныйTo find a gap-найти нишуto merge- сливатьсяDispersal -зона рассредоточения allegedly - якобыVolatile -крылатыеgimmicks – трюки, уловкиAvailability - доступность ; Foreign Office –министерство иностранных делCirculation- тиражThe term “media” may include any communication system by whichpeople are informed, educated or entertained.
In Britain it generally refersto the print industries (newspapers and magazines) and broadcasting(terrestrial or earth-based television, cable and satellite television, radioand video). These systems overlap to some extent with each other andwith books, film and the Internet.The media have evolved from simple methods of production,distribution and communication to their present sophisticatedtechnologies.Their growth and variety have greatly improved information36dispersal, news availability and entertainment opportunities.
They coverhomes, places of business and leisure activities and their influence is verypowerful and en inevitable part of daily life.At the same time the media provoke debates about what is socially andmorally permissible in their content and methods. There are questionsabout the role of advertising and sponsorship, the quality of services, thedanger of the concentrated ownership of media resources, influence onpolitics, restraint from “free expression” and the ethical responsibility ofthe media to individuals and society.Newspapers and magazinesBritain’s first newspapers appeared over 300 years ago.
Initially, a widecirculation was hindered by transportation and distribution problems,illiteracy and government licensing or censorship restrictions. But overthe last two hundred years, an expended educational system, abolition ofgovernmental control, new print inventions and Britain’s small area haveeliminated these difficulties and created allegedly free print media.The growth of literacy after 1870 provided the owners of the print mediawith an increased market. Newspapers and magazines, which hadpreviously been limited to the middle and upper classes, werepopularized. They were used for news and information, but also for protand entertainment. Ownership, new types of print media and nanciallyrewarding advertising increased in the competitive atmosphere of the late19th and early 20th centuries.The rst British newspapers with a limited national circulationappeared in the early 18th century and were followed by others, such asthe Times (1785), the Observer (1791) and the Sunday Times (1822).They were so-called ‘quality’ papers, catering for a relatively small,educated market.
In the nineteenth century, the growth and compositionof the population conditioned the types of newspaper which wereproduced. The rst popular national papers were deliberately printed onSundays, such as the News of the World (1843) and the People (1881).They were inexpensive and aimed at the expanding and increasinglyliterate working class. In 1896, Alfred Harmsworth produced the DailyMail, which was targeted at the lower-middle class as an alternative tothe ‘quality’ dailies. Harmsworth then published the Daily Mirror in1903 for the working-class popular market. Both the Mail and theMirror were soon selling more than a million copies a day.37The early twentieth century was the era of mass-circulation papers and ofowners such as Harmsworth and Arthur Pearson. There was ercecompetition between them as they fought for bigger shares of the market.Pearson’s Morning Herald (later the Daily Express) was created in1900 to compete with the Daily Mail for lower-middle-class readers.The Daily Mirror was the largest-selling national daily in the earlytwentieth century.
It supported the Labour Party and was designed forquick and easy reading by the industrial and increasingly politicizedworking class. The Daily Herald (1911) also supported the LabourParty, until it was sold in 1964, renamed the Sun and developed differentpolitical and news emphases. The competition between the Sun and theMirror continues today, with each aiming for a bigger share of the massdaily market. Battles are still fought between the owners, sincenewspaper-ownership is concentrated in a few large publishing groups,such as Rupert Murdoch’s News International (which has large mediaholdings in Britain, Australia and the USA) and Trinity Mirror. Thesuccess of the early popular press was due to growing literacy; a desirefor knowledge and information by the working class; and politicalawareness among workers caused by the rise of the Labour Party.
Theprice and content of mass papers reected the interests of lower andmiddle class readerships. The emphasis attracted large consumeradvertising, and owners were able to produce cheaply by using newmodern printing methods and a nationwide distribution network.The circulation of national papers rose rapidly, with 5.5 million dailysales by 1920. By 1973 these had increased to 17 million. Butnewspapers had to cope rst with the competition of radio and lms andlater with television. Although they have survived, since the 1970s, therehas been a decline in sales and in the number of national and othernewspapers.British people like reading newspapers.
They buy more papers than anyother Europeans. Some 50 % of people read a national daily paper and70% read a national Sunday newspaper. National newspapers have salesof 13.5 million on weekdays and 14.8 million on Sundays, but on averagetwo people read each paper. Many newspapers are delivered directly tothe home from local newsagents by newsboys and girls. The goodinternal distribution systems of a compact country enabled a nationalpress to develop, and Internet online copies now offer updated andimmediate availability.38The national press in Britain today consists of ten daily morningpapers and nine Sunday papers.
It is in effect London press, becausemost national newspapers have their bases and printing facilities in thecapital, although editions of some nationals are now published outsideLondon, in Europe and the USA as well. Most of the publishing housesused to be located in Fleet Street in central London. But because of highproperty rents all have now left the street and moved to other parts of thecapital. Newspapers and magazines have also had to face the expense ofnewsprint and rising production and heavy labour costs.
To survive theowners were forced to use new print technology into new ways ofincreasing productivity and cut the costs. New technology meant thatjournalists’ ‘copy’ could be printed directly through computers, withouthaving to use the intermediate ‘hotmetal’ typesetting by printers. Thisgave exibility in printing and cheaper production costs But it alsoresulted in job reductions, trade union opposition and bitter industrialaction such as picketing.There are two types of newspaper in Britain: broadsheet or qualitynewspapers and tabloids. The ‘quality’ national daily The Independentwas published in October 1986 and is surviving despite circulation losses.Sunday nationals, such as The Independent on Sunday (1990), havealso appeared.
The ‘qualities’, such as The Times, are broadsheets (largesheet format), report national and international news in depth and analyzecurrent events and the arts in editorials and articles. The photos and theheadlines are smaller than in tabloids. The tabloids, such as the Sun andthe Daily Mirror print lots of stories about famous people. Their photosare large, the headlines are big and there is not much text.
Tabloids sellmany more copies than broadsheets. So-called ‘Mid-market’ papers, suchas the Mail and Express, cater for intermediate groups. In general‘Qualities’ are more expensive than populars and in order to raise financethe broadsheet The Guardian now has a tabloid section. To attract morereaders some others publish stories about famous people.There is no state control or censorship of the British press, although it issubject to laws of publication and expression and there are forms of selfcensorship, by which it regulates its own conduct. The press is alsonancially independent on the political parties and receives no fundingfrom government (except for Welsh-language community papers).It is argued that most newspapers are politically right-of-centre andsympathize with the Conservative Party.
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