Text 22 From librarian to political reporter
I. 1. Read the article and say in 2-3 sentences what it is about.
The Pretenders is a very successful and popular TV series. In each programme there is a contestant who has just four weeks to learn to do a completely new job. At the end of the month the contestant has to do a ‘test’, where he or she has to do the new job together with three other professionals. Three judges have to identify the one who pretends.
Jessica Winters is a 26- year- old librarian. She studied English Literature at the University of Bath before getting a job at the local library. She didn’t know that two of her friends sent her name to the TV company to take part in The Pretenders. ‘When someone from the company called me, I thought it was a joke,’ said Jessica. ‘First of all, I said ‘no’, in the end my friends and my family persuaded* me and I agreed.’
Jessica had four weeks to turn from a quiet, shy librarian into a confident TV reporter. At the end of the month she had to interview the Minister of Education. It was her test.
An experienced political journalist, Adam Bowles, had to transform Jessica into a professional. He wasn’t very optimistic when he met her. ‘Jessica needs to be a lot harder, even aggressive. She is much too sweet and shy’, said Adam. ‘Politicians will eat her alive.’ They had just 28 days to teach her how to interview people, how to be confident, how to speak clearly.
Jessica was terrified at the beginning. She watched a lot of live interviews with politicians. Adam made her read the political sections of all the newspapers. It was boring for her and she felt exhausted. Later as soon as she began making progress, she felt more relaxed.
During the interview Jessica felt nervous but well-prepared as she had done much research and had practised a lot. ‘When it was all over came the worst part, I had to wait while the judges decided which of us they thought wasn’t a professional’. The judges gave their verdict: they were all professional reporters.
For Jessica it was a great experience and she was pleased how she did it, but actually she doesn’t feel like changing her work.
____________________________________________
1. *to persuade [pəˈsweɪd] убедить
2. The Pretenders is a famous TV programme. Read aloud the extract about it.
3. How did Jessica make it into the programme?
4. Why was it an exciting and useful experience for Jessica?
The Pretenders is a very successful and popular TV series. In each programme there is a contestant who has just four weeks to learn to do a completely new job. At the end of the month the contestant has to do a ‘test’, where he or she has to do the new job together with three other professionals. Three judges have to identify the one who pretends.
Jessica Winters is a 26- year- old librarian. She studied English Literature at the University of Bath before getting a job at the local library. She didn’t know that two of her friends sent her name to the TV company to take part in The Pretenders. ‘When someone from the company called me, I thought it was a joke,’ said Jessica. ‘First of all, I said ‘no’, in the end my friends and my family persuaded* me and I agreed.’
Jessica had four weeks to turn from a quiet, shy librarian into a confident TV reporter. At the end of the month she had to interview the Minister of Education. It was her test.
An experienced political journalist, Adam Bowles, had to transform Jessica into a professional. He wasn’t very optimistic when he met her. ‘Jessica needs to be a lot harder, even aggressive. She is much too sweet and shy’, said Adam. ‘Politicians will eat her alive.’ They had just 28 days to teach her how to interview people, how to be confident, how to speak clearly.
Jessica was terrified at the beginning. She watched a lot of live interviews with politicians. Adam made her read the political sections of all the newspapers. It was boring for her and she felt exhausted. Later as soon as she began making progress, she felt more relaxed.
During the interview Jessica felt nervous but well-prepared as she had done much research and had practised a lot. ‘When it was all over came the worst part, I had to wait while the judges decided which of us they thought wasn’t a professional’. The judges gave their verdict: they were all professional reporters.
For Jessica it was a great experience and she was pleased how she did it, but actually she doesn’t feel like changing her work.
____________________________________________
1. *to persuade [pəˈsweɪd] убедить
2. The Pretenders is a famous TV programme. Read aloud the extract about it.
3. How did Jessica make it into the programme?
4. Why was it an exciting and useful experience for Jessica?
II. Listen to three people talking about their favourite countries and answer the questions below.(21)
1. What country does the first speaker like most?
2. What makes Italy a favourite place for the second speaker?
3. Why does the third speaker like Argentina?
1. What country does the first speaker like most?
2. What makes Italy a favourite place for the second speaker?
3. Why does the third speaker like Argentina?
fabulous - потрясающий
glaciers - ледники
glaciers - ледники
Script
Speaker 1: What’s my favourite place? Well, that’s a really difficult question! So many countries are fantastic in different ways. I enjoyed my visits to Spain and Germany. But I think China is my favourite country and it is a very interesting place — such a mixture!
Speaker 2: My favourite country is Italy It’s got the most wonderful mountains, coasts, beaches and lakes. Its towns are fabulous — everywhere has lots of history and, of course, there are delicious things to eat. The people are so lively and friendly, too. I love it. Unfortunately, though, some of the towns are very big with lots of factories, as Italy makes things like cars, shoes and canned food products. Those towns aren’t much fun to visit.
Speaker 3: Visit Argentina if you get a chance. That’s my favourite country and you’ll just love it, too. Everyone says that Argentinians are really friendly, and it’s true! Of course, there is fantastic music and dancing as well, especially the tango. The country itself is wonderful if you love the great outdoors — huge prairies*, mountain ranges, waterfalls and in the south, glaciers*. My favourite food was the beef. I’ve never eaten such good beef before. It’s just so fresh and natural. It has a different taste to beef in other countries.
Speaker 2: My favourite country is Italy It’s got the most wonderful mountains, coasts, beaches and lakes. Its towns are fabulous — everywhere has lots of history and, of course, there are delicious things to eat. The people are so lively and friendly, too. I love it. Unfortunately, though, some of the towns are very big with lots of factories, as Italy makes things like cars, shoes and canned food products. Those towns aren’t much fun to visit.
Speaker 3: Visit Argentina if you get a chance. That’s my favourite country and you’ll just love it, too. Everyone says that Argentinians are really friendly, and it’s true! Of course, there is fantastic music and dancing as well, especially the tango. The country itself is wonderful if you love the great outdoors — huge prairies*, mountain ranges, waterfalls and in the south, glaciers*. My favourite food was the beef. I’ve never eaten such good beef before. It’s just so fresh and natural. It has a different taste to beef in other countries.
III. Let’s talk about national character and stereotypes
- How will you describe a typical Englishman?
- Would you like to visit Britain? Why or why not?
- Ask a British teenager what the British are like.
- The British friend wants to discover Belarusian cuisine. What advice will you give him/her?
- You are to write a short article about the British and Belarusians for a newspaper. What do they have in common?
possible response
3.