Ice breakers
- Do you like to read newspapers?
- Do you read printed or electronical press?
- Do you read one EVERY day? Why or why not?
- Can you believe what you read in newspapers?
- Do you think being a journalist is a good job?
- Do you think it's hard for a journalist to write the truth? What pressures get in the way? (eg Newspaper owner? Society? Politicians? Laws?)
- When you see the words Breaking News or News Flash in the middle of a TV programme, are you interested?
- What news would be more interesting for you to watch: a) a scandal about a famous celebrity or b) a report on how the World Bank fails to help developing countries?
- Can you describe recent good piece of news?
Language corner: newspapers
- Circulation means the 'number of papers sold'. The UK popular newspapers have significantly larger circulations than the quality ones. (For the difference between quality and popular see Cultural notes: UK newspapers below.) For example, in January 2005, The Times was reported to have sold 688,000 copies. The Sun, in contrast, sells over 3,000,000 every day.
- An article is any piece of writing longer than a brief news item. An article usually includes opinion as well as facts.
- A feature is a longer article (or even a number of articles) on a subject, probably lasting more than a single page, typically with photos, different viewpoints, etc. Common collocations include special feature; double-page feature.
- Newspaper headlines use some special language (often to convey a compley message in a small space). They often include many short nouns used as if they are adjectives, eg UK WAR CASH BAN. Some common headline words, eg mar, curb, oust, plea, rift, vow, slam, bid, etc. are much less commonly used in everyday spoken English.
Other newspaper vocabulary is: cartoon, editorial, classfied ads (small ads), horoscope.
Cultural note: UK newspapers
- In the UK, and some other English-speaking countries, there has been a tradition of two kinds of national newspaper. One kind is known as quality newspapers, because they contain a lot of intelligent writing and deal with important issues such as politics, society, arts, etc. This term contrast with the popular newspapers (also known as tabloid newspapers, ie small) which deal mainly with scandals, TV starts, celebrity gossip, soap operas, sport, etc.
- The major quality newspapers in the UK include: The Times (founded 1785); The Guardian (founded 1821); The Daily Telegraph (founded 1855); The Independent (founded 1986) and the Financial Times (printed on pink paper - founded 1888).
- The most popular tabloids include: The Sun; The Daily Mirror and the Daily Star.
- Sunday newspapers are differetn, though they are often related to weekday ones, eg The Sunday Times, the Sunday Mirror, etc.
- Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own newspapers as well as the UK ones. There are also many regional and local newspapers in the UK with smaller circulations.
- Until recently, quality newspapers were also known as broadsheets, ie big newspapers, because they were very large! They were so big and wide that it was almost impossible to open them and read them on a train or a bus, because you would annoy the person sitting next to you. In the last few years, many boradsheet newspapers have started printing in a smaller, tabloid format - though these newspapers prefer to call it compact to avoid the negative associations connected with tabloid.
- Many newspapers have become very fat. Especially at the weekends, newspapers can have many sections. Saturday and Sunday newspapers often have glossy colour magazines and TV guides for the following week.
- In recent years, UK newspapers have often given away free gifts, eg films on DVD, or run big prize competitions, eg Lotto, to attract more readers.
- Newspapers tend to have a political bias. For example, the Daily Express has been known for many years as a right-wing paper, with more conservative, traditional opinions, especially believing in private business, low taxes and limited help for poorer members of society. The Guardian has been known as a left-wing paper, generally believing that the state has responsibilities for supporting members of society. Newspapers' political leanings may change over the years, especially depending on who the owner is.
Activity: newspapers
Imagine you work for a new publishing company. What kind of newspaper would you publish (national/local, target circulation, quality/popular, etc.).
Listening vocabulary:
1. If you have a good nose for something, you are able to find things that other people can't find, eg a good news story. When people say this they imagine the speaker sniffing and trying to smell something. (This is similar to You need to be able to smell a story.)
2. If you work to a tight schedule, you have to finish your work by certain agreed times - which are very difficult to keep to. If you are waiting for the right opportunity to come along, you are confident that something good will happen in the future and are happy to wait until that time comes. Often you don't want to do something too soon and possibly spoil your chances.
3. If you keep at something you continue to do it even if it is difficult or unsuccessful or you would prefer to stop.
Breaking news! Flying penguins!
Breaking news! Flying penguins!
April Fools' Day is on the first of April every year. It is a day when people can play tricks, practical jokes and hoaxes on each other. No one really knows the exact origin of this day.
The writer Mark Twain famously said: “This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three-hundred and sixty-four days.”
In some countries, you have until noon to play your jokes. If you play a trick on someone after midday, you are the April Fool. In other countries, April Fools' Day lasts the whole day. On this day, you never know what or who to believe.
Even newspapers and television stations play April Fools' jokes on their readers and viewers. Sometimes people actually think the real news is an April Fools' joke.
QUESTIONS:
- What are some tricks people play on April Fool's Day?
- Do you have the same tradition in your country?
- What sort of tricks do you play?
- Are you mad if someone play tricks on you?
- Did someone play a trick on you? What was it?
A Fool’s Debate?
Discuss what makes a practical joke appropriate or inappropriate? Where should they be played? What lines should never be crossed? When does good old-fashioned fun become a painful embarrassment?
Further listening practice
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