Task 3: Now read this essay and complete the gaps with one of the words or expressions from Tasks 1 and 2. You may need to change the form of some of the words.

The media plays a valuable role in keeping us informed and entertained. However, many people believe it has too much power and freedom. Discuss your views on this, giving examples and presenting a balanced argument both in favour of, and against, the power and freedom of the media.'

Barely a hundred years ago, if we wanted to stay informed about what was going on in the world, we had to rely on word of mouth or, at best, newspapers. But because communication technology was very basic, the news we received was often days or weeks old.

We still have newspapers, of course, but they have changed almost beyond recognition. Whether we choose to read the …, with their quality … of news and other … by top … and articles by acclaimed …, or if we prefer the popular …, with their lively gossip and colourful stories, we are exposed to a wealth of information barely conceivable at the beginning of the last century.

We also have television and radio. News … let us know about world events practically as they happen, while sitcoms, chat shows and documentaries, etc. keep us entertained and informed. And there is also the …, where we can access information from millions of … around the world which we can then … onto our own computers.

However, these forms of … and … (or 'infotainment' as they are now sometimes collectively called) have their negative side. Famous personalities frequently accuse the … (and sometimes even respectable papers) of … by the … who are determined to get a story at any cost. Newspapers are often accused of … by angry politicians who dislike reading lies about themselves, and there are frequent accusations of …, with … reporters paying people to create stories for their newspapers or television programmes. Of course, it is not just the papers which are to blame. Sex and violence are increasing on the television. Undesirable people fill the … with equally undesirable material which can be accessed by anyone with a home computer. And the fear of … prevents many from … to the Internet.

Many argue that the government should impose stricter … to prevent such things happening. But others argue that … is the keystone of a free country.

Personally, I take the view that while the media may occasionally abuse its position of power, the benefits greatly outweigh the disadvantages. Our lives would be much emptier without the wealth of information available to us today, and we are better people as a result.

 

IV. Read the text. Use a dictionary if necessary. Then answer the questions.

The WORLD WIDE WEB

Until the appearance of the World Wide Web (WWW], the Internet was mainly used by people who had some computer expertise. File transfer protocol (FTP) was the standard method by which data could be stored on or removed from a server, and if a document that had been transmitted had references to other documents then it was not straightforward to access them. In other words, FTP does not link separate documents together. In 1992, Tim Berners-Lee, working at Europe's high-energy physics research centre in Switzerland, wrote the first browser program which used a protocol called hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP]. This operates as follows: When a client requests a Web server to send a document, the request is sent using HTTP (rather than FTP]. The Web server finds the document in its memory and transmits it along with extra information. It is this extra information that distinguishes a Web server from an Internet server. The extra information transmitted is composed of two main parts:

* control codes, using hypertext markup language (HTML], by which the client computer screen can display the document, i.e. the layout, headings, bordering, etc. Images can be transmitted as separate files and incorporated on the visible page by HTML code.

* links to other documents. These links are specific words or phrases in the text of the transmitted document that will allow related documents to be accessed.

When the mouse pointer of the client computer is moved over the document on the screen, the arrow changes to a hand with a pointing finger whenever it falls on any hypertext. If the user clicks on this link, the browser will automatically set up the link address and request the appropriate Web server to transmit the new document to the client. When this new document arrives, it is displayed on the screen.

A browser, therefore, is a program, stored in the client's computer, that is able to read hypertext. While the Internet is the huge collection of computer networks and databases connected by backbone cable and optic fibre, the WWW is essentially a browsing and searching system. It allows users with virtually no expertise to access the information stored at certain sites on the Internet.

 

1 From memory if you can, fill in the missing prepositions.

1 until the appearance … the World Wide Web

2 the method … which data could be stored

3 the data could be stored on or removed … a server

4 references … other documents

5 the server transmits the document … extra information

6 the information is composed … two parts

7 the extra information provides links … other documents

2 Use words and phrases from the text to rewrite the words in bold.

1 Accessing web pages is easy and simple, and people with almost no expertise use the web.

2 The browser contacts the right server to transmit the document.

3 The WWW is in its basic character a search system.

4 The information added to documents makes web servers different from Internet servers.

5 Years ago, the Internet was mostly used by experts.

 

V. Television and Newspapers

Television

1 Put each of the following words or phrases in its correct place in the passage below.

viewers subjective mass media quiz shows indoctrinate channels objective soap operas commercials switch

… is a phrase often used to describe ways of giving information and entertainment to very large numbers of people. It includes newspapers, advertising and radio and, of course, television.

In most countries people can … to any of three or four different …. Do television programmes influence our minds? Do they … us? Is the news completely... (neutral) or is it … (considered from one particular point of view)? Don't the … for alcohol, food and other goods condition our minds?

Even the … going on week after week telling the story of one family or group of people sometimes make us want to copy the life style we see on the screen. Also … which give people big prizes for answering simple questions can make us greedy. Some programmes are watched by tens of millions of ….

Newspapers

2 Instructions as above.

cartoons editorials circulation censorship sensational views advertising gossip columns news agencies reviews headlines entertainment correspondents

A newspaper makes its money from the price people pay for it and also from the … it carries. A popular newspaper with a … of over five million daily makes a lot of money. Less serious newspapers are probably read just for ….They have big … above the news stories, funny … to look at and … photos of violence. The … are full of stories of the private lives of famous people. No one takes the political … of such papers very seriously. On the other hand, in a free country where there is no …, serious newspapers are read principally for their news, sent to them by their … round the world and by the big …. People also read these newspapers for their … of new books, films and plays and for their …, which represent the opinion of the newspaper itself about the important events and issues of the moment.

3 Explain the difference between

a) viewers and listeners

b) mass circulation and small circulation

c) editor, reporter and critic

4 Put one of the following words in each of the sentences below.

in on over for to

a) This programme is boring. Switch … another channel.

b) It's a commercial … beer.

c) That actor's … a soap opera every Friday.

d) What's … television tonight?

e) If you don't like this quiz show, you can switch ….

 

MINI-TEXTS FOR TRANSLATION

 

1. Angolan Social Communication Ministry has taken the commitment to continue paying a special attention to the extension of radio and television signals in the country, including professional training to personnel in specific subjects.

This was announced Friday in Luanda by the Social Communication minister's office chief, Bartolomeu Sacramento, while appraising the work done by the sector and outlining tasks for 2008. The official was speaking at the ceremony of yearend compliments.

 

2. A member of Somalia's parliament has warned against the imposition of restrictions on press freedom in the country.

MP Amir Ahmed Shaketi, who sits on parliament's media subcommittee, told reporters Friday in the southwestern town of Baidoa that Somalia now has a national Media Law.

He appealed to the transitional federal government and to regional governors not to sidestep the national law, which was recently ratified by parliament

 

3. The media have demanded the Government's unconditional withdrawal of the order suspending live broadcasts.

Media Council of Kenya chairman Wachira Waruru during a Press conference at Nation Centre yesterday. He criticised the Government's suspension of live coverage and asked the Government to review the order.

They have described the decision as "retrogressive" and an attempt to curtail press freedom.

 

4. RSF condemns the 26 December 2007 arbitrary closure of the privately-owned radio station Somaliweyn by the government of Banadir, the province that includes the capital Mogadishu, after the station broadcast an interview in which an exile politician explained why he was joining the radical, armed wing of the opposition. The closure is the latest in a series of coercive measures for which there has been no legal authority, RSF said.

 

5. Local media houses have vowed to defy an order barring all live TV and radio broadcasts.

The Media Council of Kenya and the Media Owners Association termed the order "draconian, impractical and an affront to the press freedom in the country."

Council chairman, Mr Wachira Waruru, said the order by Internal Security minister, Mr John Michuki, targeted coverage of the opposition and was unacceptable.

 

Тайна гибели Беназир Бхутто

В Пакистане глава полиции города Равалпинди, где несколько дней назад была убита Беназир Бхутто, отказался дать разрешение на эксгумацию ее тела. Этого добивались врачи больницы, в которой скончалась лидер оппозиции. Таким образом медики хотят отмежеваться от официальной точки зрения о том, что Бхутто погибла, ударившись при взрыве головой о край люка в крыше бронированной автомашины, через который она приветствовала своих соратников.