III. Analytical-synthesized search. Task 1. Read the following text.

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Task 1. Read the following text.

A. Be sure that you know all the highlighted words. Try to remember and use them in your speech.

B. While reading the text decide the author`s attitude toward movies.

MOVIES ARE TRULY AN ART OF OUR TIME

No other art form has had quite the impact on our lives that the motion pictures have. Indeed, the movies are truly an art of our time — they were born and have come of age in the twentieth century, and they now demand the serious consideration given to the other arts_.

Everybody loves a story. Children mesmerized for hours before a television set watching cartoons they are seeing for the fifth or sixth time, or long lines of shivering movie-goers outside a theater on a winter night, convincingly demonstrate that truth. And today the love of story as these examples suggest, is requited much more often than not with a narrative told in visual images.

There can be no question about the supremacy of the visual image in the realm of story. The fact that images and movies have many uses besides story-telling simply adds gratuitous evidence in support of the observation that life of the mind today receives its nourishment primarily from visual - rather than verbal sources.

Clearly, in terms of sheer quantity, visual narrative is the greatest aesthetic and educational force in the world today, and the movies, the visual narrative media — qualify unchallenged as the art of our time.

No one has ever seriously doubted that the movies are a powerful force in contemporary life. Quite the contrary. Their potential for propaganda purposes was immediately recognized and in some cases exploited. What has been questioned is the capacity of the movies for doing good. Youthful and perhaps too much a work horse in the cultural market-place, they have been vulnerable to the charge that they are unable to awaken and refresh the mind, that they cannot tap the deepest reaches of man's spiritual life and so, incapable of articulating anything of consequence, are at best a rudimentary art.

Yet the movies are not now as disturbing for intellectuals as they once were. One reason, no doubt, is that they are no longer, at least in the United States, the popular art; television has stolen the limelight.

At present suspended somewhere between the hell of mass culture and the heaven of high art, the movies are undergoing aesthetic purification.

Much remains to be accomplished, however. Since we have to live with the movies, we would prefer not to be embarrassed by them; we want the chance to exercise our humanity in and through the movies, and so we persist in demanding that the movies make more room for man within their aesthetic boundaries.

We would not, by any means take the fun off movies in order to fit them into the traditional earnestness associated with education... but the aim is, and should be, a higher hedonism which more profoundly entertains the heart and mind. With the existing film classics and the fifteen to twenty a year from around the world capable of captivating attention — there are enough good and great movies for us to grow by. The movies arouse the mind and soul when given undivided attention.

C. Discuss the following points..

· The extract is written by an American critic. Can you find evidence of this in the text?

· Why do you think movies are regarded as "truly an art of our time"? What do you know about this art?

· Why in your opinion do some people regard movies as a rudimentary art?

· What is the place of cinema, as the author sees it among the other arts? Do you agree with him?

· What kind of entertainment is nowadays rivaling cinema?

· What facts given in the extract prove the idea that nowadays people prefer a narrative told in visual images? Do you agree with this opinion? Support whatever you say.

· How can you account for the fact that the capacity of the movies for doing good has been questioned?

· Do you think movies possess the greatest aesthetic and educational force?

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Task 2. Read the following text.

A. Be sure that you know all the highlighted words. Try to remember and use them in your speech.

B. While reading the text try to define the notion “theatre”.

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE THEATRE

/From the book by J.B. Priestly/

What's Theatre? Why has it lasted so long? What does mean to us? We know that it offers amusement and pleasure, but then so do lots of other things. Is there something special to itself that it offers us? Clearly there is, otherwise the Theatre would not have gone on so long and in so many different places.

During the last thirty years the Theatre has had to meet three challenges — from radio, cinema, and television. All three produce drama of a sort, all possess important advantages.

As a rule it doesn't cost as much to see a film as it does to see a play, and films can be seen in a great many places that have never known a theatre. Radio and television can be enjoyed at home, with a minimum of effort, turning the living room into a playhouse.

And all three, because they are produced, for a mass audience, can offer casts of players that only the best theatres could afford.

Already many people tell us that with their television sets at home and an occasional visit to the movies, they no longer need the Theatre and do not care whether it lives or dies.

Such people do not understand that the Theatre is the parent of these new dramatic forms. Without a living Theatre where writers, directors, designers and actors could learn their jobs, movies and television plays would be very crude indeed.

In a very good restaurant we have a dinner that is specially cooked for us: in a canteen we are merely served with standard portions of a standard meal. And this is the difference between the living Theatre and the mass entertainment of films, radio and television. In the Theatre the play is specially cooked for us. Those who have worked in the Theatre know that a production never takes its final shape until it has an audience.

With films, radio, television, the vast audience can only receive what is being offered. But in the Theatre the audience might be said to be creatively receptive, its very presence, and intensely living presence, heightens the drama.

The actors are not playing to microphones and cameras but to warmly responsive fellow-creatures. And they are never giving exactly the same performance, if the audience tends to be heavy, unresponsive — on a wet Monday, perhaps — the company slightly sharpens and heightens its performance to bring the audience to life, and vice versa if the audience is too enthusiastic. Film and television acting is much smaller and quieter than that of the Theatre. Nevertheless, with a very few exceptions the best performers of film and television are actors and actresses from the Theatre, which has taught them their art.

It is the ancient but ever-youthful parent of all entertainment in dramatic form. Much of its work, especially under commercial conditions, may often be trivial and tawdry; but this means that the Theatre should be rescued from such conditions. For in itself, as it has existed on and off for two-and-a-half thousand years, the Theatre is anything but trivial and tawdry. It is the magical place where man meets his image. It is the enduring home of "dramatic experience", which is surely one of the most searching, rewarding, enchanting of our many different kinds of experience.

C. Discuss the following points.

· What are the challenges that the Theatre has had to meet during the last thirty years?

· Do you think the theatre is dying?

· Why should people have an appetite for visiting the Theatre?

· Does our society care whether the Theatre lives or dies? Give your arguments.

· The parent of which new dramatic forms is the Theatre? Prove your point of view.

· What is the difference between the living Theatre and the mass entertainment of films?

· What's the difference between witching a movie at the cinema and a play at the theatre?

· What is more difficult: to be a theatre or a film actor / actress / director? Why? Give your arguments.

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Task 3. Read the following text.

A. Be sure that you know all the highlighted words. Try to remember and use them in your speech.

B. While reading the text decide the author`s attitude towards television. Prove your point of view.

TELEVISION IS DOING IRREPARABLE HARM

“Yes, but what did we use to do before there was television?” How often we hear statements like this! Television hasn't been with us all that long, but we are already beginning to forget what the world was like without it. Before we admitted the one-eyed monster into our homes, we never found it difficult to occupy our spare time. We used to enjoy civilised pleasures. For instance, we used to have hobbies, we used to entertain our friends and be entertained by them, we used to go outside for our amusements to theatres, cinemas, restaurants and sporting events. We even used to read books and listen to music and broadcast talks occasionally. All that belongs to the past. Now all our free time is regulated by the “ goggle box ”. We rush home or gulp down our meals to be in time for this or that programme. We have even given up sitting at table and having a leisurely evening meal, exchanging the news of the day. A sandwich and a glass of beer will do anything, providing it doesn't interfere with the programme. The monster demands and obtains absolute silence and attention. If any member of the family dares to open his mouth during a programme, he is quickly silenced.

Whole generations are growing up addicted to the telly. Food is left uneaten, homework undone and sleep is lost. The telly is a universal pacifier. It is now standard practice for mother to keep the children quiet by putting them in the living-room and turning on the set. It doesn't matter that the children will watch rubbishy commercials or spectacles of sadism and violence - so long as they are quiet.

There is a limit to the amount of creative talent available in the world. Every day, television consumes vast quantities of creative work. That is why most of the programmes are so bad: it is impossible to keep pace with the demand and maintain high standards as well. When millions watch the same programmes, the whole world becomes a village, and society is reduced to the conditions which obtain in pre-literate communities. We become utterly dependent on the two most primitive media of communication: pictures and the spoken word.

Television encourages passive enjoyment. We become content with second-hand experiences. It is so easy to sit in our armchairs watching others working. Little by little, television cuts us off from the real world. We get so lazy, we choose to spend a fine day in semi-darkness, glued to our sets, rather than go out into the world itself. Television may be a splendid medium of communication, but it prevents us from communicating with each other. We only become aware how totally irrelevant television is to real living when we spend a holiday by the sea or in the mountains, far away from civilisation. In quiet, natural surroundings, we quickly discover how little we miss the hypnotic tyranny of King Telly.

C. Discuss the following questions.

· Did people find it difficult to occupy their spare time before they admitted a TV-set into their homes? Why?

· Do you support the author`s opinion that now all our free time is regulated by the “goggle box”? Give your arguments.

· The author says that the telly is a universal pacifier? How do you understand this expression. Illustrate it.

· Why do we have a lot of bad films and programmes on TV?

· Does our television keep pace with the demand of its audience and maintain high standards? Prove your point of view.

· Do you support the author`s opinion that nowadays people become utterly dependent on the two most primitive media of communication?

· Does television encourage passive enjoyment? Give arguements.

· Does television cut people off from the real world? If yes, find a way out in solving this problem.

D. What are the positive and negative sides of television? Fill in the following chart using the information from the text. Be ready to discuss.

Television
Positive Features	Negative Features

Task 4. What do you prefer: cinema, theatre or TV? Express your thoughts. You may use the following logical-syntactic scheme.

First of all	Mercifully	On the one / other hand	To sum up
TV / cinema / theatre is (not) so popular among people because it is…	- informative; - broad-minded; - relaxing; - biased; - educational; - available; - shallow; - trivial; - mindless; - distractive; - mind-numbing; - chewing gum for the eyes.
TV is a means of family communication with the world that is why it is…	- convenient; - attractive; - useful; - helpful; - eventful; - informative.
Cinema is the most…	- available - amusing - instructive means of art. - effective - contrived
Theatre differs from cinema as it…	- unites actors and spectators; - moves our feelings; - establishes close relations b/n people; - creates the atmosphere for thinking; - enriches our inner world.
I prefer TV / cinema / theatre. With the help of it I can…	- widen my outlook; - educate myself; - enrich my knowledge of life; - entertain myself; - find my way in life.

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Task 5. Listen to the interview “A Couch Potato”on a cassetteand be ready to fulfill the following:

A. While listening to the recording decide:

- whether this picture describes it content;

- what is the most important time for couch potatoes?

B. Listen to the interview again. The interview has been divided into four parts, each expressing a main idea. You will hear a beep at the end of each part. As you listen, circle the answer that best expresses the main idea in that part.

Part 1 What did Robert Armstrong do?

a) He founded a club for people who like to watch TV.

b) He started a club for cartoonists.

c) He created a T-shirt company.

Part 2 Why are the holidays important for couch potatoes?

a) Families go to football games together.

b) Families turn off the TV.

c) Families spend time together.

Part 3 Why is there a need for a club like the Couch Potatoes?

a) People suffer from watching TV.

b) People eat too many potatoes.

с) People feel guilty about how much TV they watch.

Part 4 What kinds of TV program do couch potatoes watch?

a) only the most popular TV shows.

b) programmes on member stations.
с) anything on TV.

C. Listen to the interview again. and be ready to understand it in details.

Part 1

1. Robert Armstrong lives in California.

2. He coined the phrase "couch potato" in 1966.

3. The phrase seems old to the interviewer.

4. There are 8,500 couch potato clubs.

5. Members receive handbooks, newsletters, and T-shirts.

Part 2

According to Robert Armstrong

6. Men and women watch football games on TV during the holidays.

7. Families get along better if they watch TV.

8. Family members can never agree on a TV program to watch.

Part 3

9. Most people agree that watching TV is an intellectual activity.

10. Some people lie about how much TV they watch.

11. Robert Armstrong thinks couch potatoes should put their TVs in the closet.

12. The potato is the icon for couch potatoes.

13. Some couch potatoes get a potato shape from watching so much TV.

14. Robert Armstrong says couch potatoes roll off the couch easily.

Part 4

15. Love Boat is one of the favorite TV shows of couch potatoes.

16. Couch potatoes think that "if it's on TV, it must be good."

D. In groups, discuss your answers to the following questions.

· Do you agree with Robert Armstrong that watching TV helps "keep the peace" among family members? Does your family have difficulty deciding what to watch on TV? How does your family decide what to watch?

· Do you agree that "if it's on TV, it must be good"? Do you agree that most TV programming is good? In your opinion, are there any shows that should not be on television? Or would you censor any programmes in your own home? If so, which ones?

Дата добавления: 2015-10-31