Text 14 VIDEO BLOGGER
I. 1. Read the article and say in 2-3 sentences what it is about.
In April 2007, a 16-year-old English boy named Charlie McDonnell was studying for his exams. But he was bored, so he turned on his computer and started surfing the web. He soon found a website called YouTube and within minutes he was watching a video of another teenager sitting in his bedroom and talking to his computer about how bored he was. ‘I could do better than that!’ thought Charlie. So, using a cheap computer and webcam, he made his first video blog and posted it on YouTube under the name Charlie is so cool like.
A few days after the first video Charlie found that he had 150 subscribers. Encouraged by this, he went on to make more videos. A month later Charlie’s audience grew and he started to get hundreds of video messages from his fans. “It was really strange,” says Charlie. “I’d been talking to my computer for a month and suddenly my computer started talking back to me!”
His next big success came a few months later when Oprah Winfrey, the famous American TV host, showed one of Charlie’s comedy videos called How to be English on her programme, which made him popular in the USA too.
Charlie also realised he could use his fame to help people less fortunate than himself. To celebrate his 18th birthday, he raised £5,000 for cancer research. He raised more than four times as much when he copresented a live show on the Internet. He stayed awake for 24 hours performing challenges from viewers. All the money went to the children’s charity UNICEF*.
But what is the secret of his popularity? “I just make videos that I would want to watch,” he says, “and I’m not trying to sell anything. I’m just trying to talk with people and that’s it for me.” His honesty and modesty are perhaps the main reasons why Charlie is so well liked. And of course, he is a talented song writer, camera man, actor and singer.
And if you were wondering how Charlie did in his exams back in 2007...well, he passed with nine A grades and one B! He says that he wants to go on to study at university in the future but decided to try and make a career on YouTube before that.
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1. *UNICEF [ˈjuːnɪsef] Фонд ООН помощи детям
2. Charlie says how the idea of making a video crossed his mind. Find this extract and read it aloud.
3. How did he become popular?
4. Why do people like Charlie?
In April 2007, a 16-year-old English boy named Charlie McDonnell was studying for his exams. But he was bored, so he turned on his computer and started surfing the web. He soon found a website called YouTube and within minutes he was watching a video of another teenager sitting in his bedroom and talking to his computer about how bored he was. ‘I could do better than that!’ thought Charlie. So, using a cheap computer and webcam, he made his first video blog and posted it on YouTube under the name Charlie is so cool like.
A few days after the first video Charlie found that he had 150 subscribers. Encouraged by this, he went on to make more videos. A month later Charlie’s audience grew and he started to get hundreds of video messages from his fans. “It was really strange,” says Charlie. “I’d been talking to my computer for a month and suddenly my computer started talking back to me!”
His next big success came a few months later when Oprah Winfrey, the famous American TV host, showed one of Charlie’s comedy videos called How to be English on her programme, which made him popular in the USA too.
Charlie also realised he could use his fame to help people less fortunate than himself. To celebrate his 18th birthday, he raised £5,000 for cancer research. He raised more than four times as much when he copresented a live show on the Internet. He stayed awake for 24 hours performing challenges from viewers. All the money went to the children’s charity UNICEF*.
But what is the secret of his popularity? “I just make videos that I would want to watch,” he says, “and I’m not trying to sell anything. I’m just trying to talk with people and that’s it for me.” His honesty and modesty are perhaps the main reasons why Charlie is so well liked. And of course, he is a talented song writer, camera man, actor and singer.
And if you were wondering how Charlie did in his exams back in 2007...well, he passed with nine A grades and one B! He says that he wants to go on to study at university in the future but decided to try and make a career on YouTube before that.
________________________________________________________
1. *UNICEF [ˈjuːnɪsef] Фонд ООН помощи детям
2. Charlie says how the idea of making a video crossed his mind. Find this extract and read it aloud.
3. How did he become popular?
4. Why do people like Charlie?
II. Listen to Huan, a Chinese man, speaking about moving out and answer the questions below. (35)
1. Why do young people prefer to live with their parents in Hong Kong?
2. How did Huan’s parents react to his decision?
3. What are the advantages of living on your own?
1. Why do young people prefer to live with their parents in Hong Kong?
2. How did Huan’s parents react to his decision?
3. What are the advantages of living on your own?
Script
I want to talk about my experience of moving out and living on my own. Living on your own is not very common in Hong Kong. Many people still choose to live with their parents even though they have a good job and they’re already in their thirties.
There are several reasons behind — firstly, it’s expensive to rent a flat in Hong Kong. Secondly, the Chinese traditional value of family is that the parents are the ones who brought you up. When you become an adult, you should also take good care of your parents and you should spend more time to be with them. When I told my people about the idea of moving out, they supported my decision. They thought it was a good idea; it would give me time to understand how good it was to live with my parents.
I really like being on my own. First of all, I save the travelling time to work. It used to take me one hour fifteen minutes to travel to work. It also saves two- thirds of my travelling cost. In addition, I gain my personal space and freedom. I make my own decisions all the time, I can invite my friends to come up and stay late. I would say that as you get older, it is probably better to live on your own.
It is still a new experience for me but it has been worth doing.
There are several reasons behind — firstly, it’s expensive to rent a flat in Hong Kong. Secondly, the Chinese traditional value of family is that the parents are the ones who brought you up. When you become an adult, you should also take good care of your parents and you should spend more time to be with them. When I told my people about the idea of moving out, they supported my decision. They thought it was a good idea; it would give me time to understand how good it was to live with my parents.
I really like being on my own. First of all, I save the travelling time to work. It used to take me one hour fifteen minutes to travel to work. It also saves two- thirds of my travelling cost. In addition, I gain my personal space and freedom. I make my own decisions all the time, I can invite my friends to come up and stay late. I would say that as you get older, it is probably better to live on your own.
It is still a new experience for me but it has been worth doing.
III. Let’s talk about national character and stereotypes
1. How will you describe a typical Belarusian?
2. Is it true that Belarusians eat potatoes in all meals?
3. What questions will you ask you British friend to find out his opinion about our country?
4. Give me a piece of advice on how to avoid stereotypes.
5. People say: “When in Rome do as Romans do”. What do you think about it?
2. Is it true that Belarusians eat potatoes in all meals?
3. What questions will you ask you British friend to find out his opinion about our country?
4. Give me a piece of advice on how to avoid stereotypes.
5. People say: “When in Rome do as Romans do”. What do you think about it?
possible response
3.