Раздел 8. Средства массовой информации.
Текст 1. People, Government and communication
Communication is the process of transmitting information from one individual or group to another. Mass communication is the process by which individuals or groups transmit information to large, heterogeneous and widely dispersed audiences. The term mass media refers to the technical devices employed in mass communication. The mass media are usually divided into two types:
Print media communicate information through the publication of written words and pictures. Prime examples of print media are daily newspapers and popular weekly and monthly magazines.
Broadcast media communicate information electronically through sounds and sights. Prime examples of broadcast media are radio and television. Although the telephone also transmits sounds, it is usually used for more personal communication and is not typically included within the mass media.
In the United States, the mass media are in business to make money, which they make mostly by selling advertising. Most of the income that the American media collect comes directly from advertisers. Advertising directly supports newspapers, radio and television. (Subscribers pay only a small part of the cost of producing a newspaper.)
This means that most of the information and entertainment you receive from television, radio, newspapers and magazines is paid for by people who want to sell you products. You support the media industries directly by buying the products that advertisers sell.
Advertising pays most of the bills. A 30- second commercial in prime time (8 pm 11 pm) costs $120,000.
Though mass media are private businesses devoted to making a profit, there are specific functions they serve in the political system: covering the news, interpreting the news, setting the agenda for government action, influencing citizens , opinions and socializing citizens about politics 1.
Special focus must be made on the role of the mass media in promoting communication from the government to its citizens and from citizens to the governments. In totalitarian governments, information flows more freely in one direction (from government to people) than in the other. In democratic government, information must flow freely in both directions; a democratic government can be responsive to public opinion only if its citizens can make their opinions known. Moreover, the electorate can hold government officials accountable for their actions only if voters known what their government has done, is doing and plans to do. Because the mass media provide the major channels for this two-way flow of information, they have the dual capability of reflecting and shaping our political views.
(from Media Impact: An Introduction to Mass Media by S. Biagi)
Текст 2. Advertising.
Advertising is about creating images, and this is especially true when advertising food and drink. What the food looks like is more important than what it tastes like.
To sell food successfully, it must look appetizing. Milk must look cold, bread must look freshly-baked, fruit must look ripe and juicy. Television advertising of food often uses movement. Apparently, food looks especially appetizing if it moves. Chocolate sauce looks more delicious when you see it being poured over ice cream than if it is in a jug.
Sound effects - but not background music - also help to sell food: sausages sizzling in a frying pan are mouth-watering .A TV advertisement for a brand of coffee had the sound of coffee percolating in the background. The advertisement was so successful that it lasted five years.
The colour of food and the colour of packaging is also very important. If the colour of the food looks wrong, people won't eat it because they associate food with certain colours. Nobody would seriously eat blue bread or drink blue beer. Other unpopular food colours are purple, grey and in some cases, white.
How people expect something to taste often influences how it actually does taste. Researchers gave some mineral water to two groups of people. They told one group that the water was mineral water and asked: 'What does it taste like?' The answer was: 'It tastes nice.' Then the researchers told the other group that the mineral water was tap water. This second group said the water tasted a bit strange and not very nice. The word 'tap' created an unpleasant image of chlorine.
It is the same with packaging. A food manufacturer was trying to decide whether to sell his product in a glass jar or a can. He gave a group of people the same product in both a glass jar and a can, and asked them to taste it. They all claimed that the product in the glass jar tasted better.
So it seems to be true, image is everything.
Настоящее продолженное время Present continuous
(I am doing)
(a) Мы используем present continuous, когда мы говорим о чем-либо, что происходит во время разговора. Изучите следующие ситуации:
| The dog is playing with its tail. Мы видим, что собака играет со своим хвостом прямо сейчас во время разговора. |
| - Why are you crying? - I've broken my favourite vase. У Мэри разбилась ее любимая ваза. Tears are running down her cheeks. Она плачет (is crying) прямо сейчас (в момент разговора). |
| Cпряжение глаголов в present continuous: |
| I am (= I'm) he/she/(it)is (= he's etc.) we/they/you are (= we're etc.) | holding |
| Kate is in her car. She is on her way to market. - She is driving to the market. Это означает, что она ведет машину сейчас, во время разговора. |
- May I see your husband? Is he having a rest?
- That's OK. He is not sleeping. Come in.
(b) Также мы используем present continuous, когда мы говорим о чем-либо , что происходит во время разговора, и не только непосредственно во время разговора:
- Who is that man at the bar?
- Oh, this is James Feather, a famous playwriter. They say, he is
writing a new play now.
The delegation is carrying on negotiations with our firm.
Today they are having an excursion to our plant.
Обратите внимание на форму are having. Как правило глагол to have не используется в Сontinuous Tense в значении "to possess" (обладать). В этом примере are having an excursion = are going sight-seeing.
(c) Мы часто используем present continuous, когда мы говорим об определенном периоде времени. Например: today, this season и т.д.:
- We are leaving tomorrow at six.
- They are playing with this team in a week.
(d) Мы используем present continuous, когда мы говорим об изменении ситуации:
- The population of the world is rising very fast. (а не `rises')
- Is your French getting better? (а не `does ... get')
Прошедшее продолженное время Past continuous (I was doing)
(a) Изучите данную ситуацию:
| | Yesterday at that time I was playing football. |
| was playing - означает, что он был в процессе игры в футбол. Он уже начал игру, но еще не закончил ее. Это время называется Past continuous |
Мы используем Past continuous, чтобы сказать,что действие началось или продолжается в какой-то момент в прошлом. Например:
- She was sitting comfortably on the floor.
- The boy was throwing stones at a kitten which was sitting on the fence across the street.
Past continuous не говорит нам что-либо об окончании действия. Возможно, оно потом закончилось, возможно - нет. Сравните:
- She was cooking the supper. (past continuous) = Она готовила ужин,
но мы не знаем, перестала ли она это делать.
- She cooked the supper. (past simple) = Она начала и закончила готовить ужин.
Определенный момент часто не выражен прямо,но понятен из ситуации. Например:
- Red Chief was sitting on Bill's chest holding him by hair with one hand.
He was trying to take Bill's scalp.
- He was standing in front of him ready to strike him with a big stone.
(b) Время Past continuous образуется при помощи прошедшего времени глагола to be и причастия настоящего времени. Например:
| I/he/she was we/they/you were | playing |
c) Мы часто используем Past continuous, чтобы сказать, что кто-то находился в процессе совершения какого-либо действия в определённый момент в прошлом. Действие или ситуация уже начались перед этим моментом, но еще не закончились.
- This time yesterday the Time Traveller was talking to a group of his
friends about the problem of travelling in time.
(d) Это время не говорит нам о том, закончилось ли действие:
- The Time Ttraveller was moving further and further into the future.
(e) Время Past continuous часто употребляют с Past simple,чтобы сказать, что что-то еще произошло во время совершения действия:
- Just at daybreak I woke up because Bill was screaming.
- When I came back to a cave I saw that Bill was standing with his
back to the wall.
Но чтобы сказать, что одно произошло после другого, используется past simple:
- Arthur gave the sailor his watch and money and the salor went away.
(f) Время Past continuous часто употребляется после таких фраз, как:
the whole day, all day long.
- The car was waiting for them at the stage door the whole day.
- All day long he was walking noiselessly, like a scout.
(g) Время Past continuous употребляется для выражения действия, рассматриваемого как постоянно продолжающийся процесс.
В этом случае используются такие наречия, как: always, ever, constantly.
- His photograph was always appearing in the illustrated papers.
- Ann was constantly complaining of being lonely.
Запомните: Существуют несколько глаголов (например know), которые обычно не используются в continuous tenses.
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