Раздел 9. Индустрия развлечений (The Industry of entertainment)

Раздел 9. Индустрия развлечений.

Текст 1. The Use of Television.

The first TV set appeared at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City. Today, there’s a TV set in nearly every home. People watch TV every day, and some people watch it about hours a week.

In its short history, television has had enormous impact on the way people think, feel and live. Elections, wars and tennis matches can be seen as they occur. The boundaries of time and space have vanished.

Obviously, television had both advantages and disadvantages, and different people have different opinions on TV. Here are some of them. Find at least one point in each of the arguments below you agree with.

Sebastian Mohl, student, 19:

“Television is a window of the world. It brings news from all corners of the globe into people’s homes. The most distant countries and the strangest customs are brought right into the sitting-room. TV works wonders. Everything is possible with TV. It’s the cheapest way to see the world.”

Patrick Steppleton, clerk, 34:

“Television is an important part of my life. It keeps me informed about current events. It offers a lot of programmes which are both instructive and stimulating.”

Robert Smith, doctor, 38:

“People don’t get any exercise these days. They just sit glued to the box and become ‘couch-potatoes.’ The ‘armchair’ activities take up most of people’s leisure time. I’d rather be out doing something than watching the telly.”

Susan Kelly, teacher, 43:

“People don’t read any more. It’s easier to watch TV. They just want entertainment. They don’t want to think. It’s too bad. It may give us a generation of thoughtless and passive telly-addicts.”

Patricia Saunders, housewife, 29:

“I’m a TV fan. The box is my main source of entertainment. I especially love soap operas. They are a great comfort to me. They help me relax after a long day.”

Lynn Miles, secretary,21:

“I’m fed up with television. It’s all adverts, violence, sex, and bad language. It’s like chewing gum for eyes. I hate in!”

Douglas Peters, social worker, 39:

“There’s a lot of crime and violence on TV today-killings, shooting, fighting. The programmes are terrible! They arouse a warlike feeling in a person. Children watch them and may get the idea that violence is fun and exciting. It’s a dangerous thing.”

Pattie Peters, programme director, 35:

“I think television is useful. The problem is not the television, but the programmes we choose to watch. We must learn how to choose the programmes that are best for us. We have learnt how to do this with newspapers, books and magazines. Now we must learn to do this with television programmes, too. After all, it’s out choice.”

Rosemary McTeer, mother of 3 children, 40:

“Television is a very dangerous thing. You get addicted to it so easily, and it begins to dominate your life. I remember once when the TV set broke down in our house, my family and I suddenly found that we had far more time to do things and we actually began to talk to each other again! It makes you think, doesn’t it?”

Текст 2. Theatres and Entertainment in England

There are a lot of places of entertainment in England. Almost every city and large town has a museum of arts, archaeology, natural history, and a theatre. In London most places of entertainment are concentrated in the West End and Soho, where you can find many concert halls, theatres, and international (Greek, Italian, Indian) restaurants. All this information can be found in the magazine ‘Time out’, newspaper ‘evening Standard’, and many other publications.

To visit some London night clubs, such as Annabell’s or Tramp’s, one need to be a member, or to go with a member, but for others, such as Stringfellow’s or Wag Club, Madame JoJo’s and Heven, membership is not necessary. There are some large dancing halls, e.g. Hippodrome in Leicester Square, and many small ones.

London has the British Museum, with its vast collection of artistic and ethnographic material from all over the world, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, including extensive collections of works of fine and applied arts. London has 400 art galleries, ranging from historic public collections to small public and commercial galleries. The national collections are housed at the National Gallery, the Tate Gallery, and the Portrait Gallery, while among the city’s many permanent collections, the Courtauld Institute Galleries can boast many famous names, including many of the most important Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works, For those in search of the avant-garde, the Saatchi Gallery is a must, also the Serpentine Gallery continues to draw crowds to its Kensington Gardens setting with innovative contemporary exhibitions.

But what are London theatres now? They are a bit of everything. Theatreland lies between Covent Garden and Haymarket. This is where most of London’s major theatres cluster. The Covent Garden Theatre is famous for opera and ballet performances. The best English singers, ballerinas and ballet dancers are playing there. The National Theatre shows drama. Some theatres put on modern plays and at others you can sometimes enjoy good musicals, folk songs or concert of “pop” music. The Aldwych Theatre is famous for its dramatic performances.

In provincial towns the systems is different. They have a repertory theatre which changes its play about every three weeks, whether it is successful or not. The National and the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (which is situated in Stratford-on-Avon, the place where William Shakespeare was born), also present three or four plays in rotation for several weeks. In 1960 the Royal Shakespeare Company began to perform at the Aldwych Theatre. There is always a full house there, but the government has to support this type of theatre financially.

There is a system of “Club” theatres where you can see both well-known and financially risky experimental plays. A performance is produced both by professionals and amateurs for the next production. Money problems are not important since the actors are paid little or nothing.

Numerous festivals are held all over Great Britain. The most famous among them is the Edinburgh International Festivals which was established in 1947 and is an annual event.

When you are going to the theatre to see a popular play, you have to book the tickets in advance either by phone or personally at the booking-office. You can also turn to much cheaper “Half Price Ticket Booths” on Leicester Square. The best seats are in the first rows of the stalls or in the dress circle. Even nowadays the British are great theatergoers and have a wide choice of entertainment at their disposal.

Грамматический материал

Настоящее Совершенное время Present Perfect (I have done)

(a) Present Perfect относится к настоящему времени и не употребляется в повествовании, где описываются действия в прошлом!

 Present Perfect употребляется для выражения законченного действия, но результат этого действия непосредственно связан с настоящим, причём в этом случае для нас важно совершение этого действия.

- She has gone off to the woods. (= She is in the woods now.)

- Have you washed your hands? (= Are they clean now?)

 Present Perfect образуется при помощи

have/has + the past participle.

Past Participle обычно имеет окончание –ed (opened, decided), но много и неправильных глаголов (broken,lost, written, done и т.д.).

 (b) C этим временем могут употребляться слова just (небольшой отрезок времени тому назад) и already (действие случилось быстрее, чем ожидалось):

- What’s the matter? Why are you so sad?

- I have just received a letter from my friend. She is ill.

- Do you know that Tom...?

- We have already heard about that!

- May I go for a walk?

- You must do your homework.

- I have already done it.

- Let’s water the plants! - I have just done it.

- Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat,

Where have you been?

- I have been to London

To look at the Queen.

 Это означает, что кошка была в Лондоне, но уже вернулась назад.

 - Don’t look for the cat. It has gone to the garden. (= The cat is not

here, it is either in the garden или on its way to the garden.)

Прошедшее Совершенное время Past perfect (I have done) - (I had done)

(a) Past Perfect Tense образуется при помощи had + past participle (seen, gone, opened, written, looked, и т.д.).

Мы используем Past Perfect для того, чтобы показать:

1.что действие было завершено до определенного момента в прошлом:

 - I had written a letter by two o'clock.

 2.что одно действие было завершено перед другим действием в прошлом:

- She had already left when I came.

- I didn't know what I should write. I had never written letters before.

 (b) Past Perfect (I had done) - это прошедшее время от Present Perfect (I have done).

Cравните:

(c) Сравните Past Perfect и Past Simple:

 - Was Mary ready to go to the cinema when you came to her?

- Yes, she had been ready by the moment.

- Jack wasn't in when I phoned him. He was in his office.

- Jack had just got home when I phoned him. He had been in his office.