Episode 70

EPISODE 70
LEVEL A1.2/A2.1

 

READING COMPREHENSION

 

THE PRESS

 

Even though many people think newspapers are getting less popular because of the Internet, I don’t believe they are already a thing of the past. I often buy magazines (= published every week or month, often on shiny paper) and papers (= newspapers). I prefer quality newspapers (= with ambitious articles). Somehow I’m not interested in all these gossip stories (= stories about the private lives of famous people, often untrue) printed in tabloids (= popular newspapers, with simple reports). They have a lot of big photos with short captions below (= short sentences which describe pictures), so there is not much information to read. I really don’t understand how journalists (= people who write articles) and reporters (= people who look for new interesting stories) can work on stories about ghosts, UFOs etc. But, they seem to be exciting because there are many people who like reading them.

 

More contexts for the new words:

• All journalists and reporters are looking for a scoop. (= interesting news which they can print before other newspapers)
• He works as a columnist. (= someone who writes a regular article for a newspaper or magazine)

 

 

EXERCISE 1

Match words and expressions to their definitions.

 

1. journalists
2. reporters
3. magazines
4. papers
5. quality newspapers
6. tabloids
7. gossip stories
8. captions

 

a) newspapers
b) people who look for new interesting stories
c) people who write articles
d) popular newspapers, with simple reports
e) press published every week or month, often on shiny paper
f) press with ambitious articles
g) short sentences which describe pictures
h) stories about the private lives of famous people

 

 

EXERCISE 2

Add the missing vowels (A, E, I, O, U), then answer the questions.

 

1. Do you prefer ……………………………….. TBLDS or ……………………………….. QLTY newspapers? Why?
2. Which ……………………………….. MGZNS do you read regularly? Why?
3. Do you have your favourite ……………………………….. JRNLSTS and ……………………………….. RPRTRS? Who are they? Why do you like them?

 

ENGLISH IN USE 

 

Even though many people think newspapers are getting less popular …

Let’s look at the expression which starts this sentence: even though.
It links two contrasting ideas in one sentence and its meaning is similar to „but”, we just put it at the beginning of the sentence.

Here are some more examples:

 

Even though he likes playing football, he never watches it on TV. ( He likes football, but he never watches it on TV)
Even though he earns little money, he spends too much. (He earns little money, but he spends too much)
Even though she doesn’t think her job is interesting, she will not resign because the salary is good. (She doesn’t think her job is interesting, but she will not resign because the salary is good)

 

 

IDIOM CLOSE-UP

 

 

A/ How did you know I’ve lost my job?

B/ BAD NEWS TRAVELS FAST.

 

Bad news travels fast is a saying which means that information about trouble spreads faster than good news.

 

 

PHRASAL VERBS CLOSE-UP

 

1. When news LEAKS OUT, it becomes known by the public.

News leaked out that he was leaving the show.
Someone leaked out the news about pay cuts.

 

2. When something BREAKS OUT, it starts suddenly.

Panic broke out after the news of the flu.
When the newspapers reported that the president had died, civil war broke out.

 

 

 

EXERCISE 3

Complete each gap with one word.

 

1. We got married a month before the war broke ……………………………… .
2. This information is confidential – be sure not to leak it ………………………. .
3. I am really sorry about your aunt’s death. Bad …………………….. travels fast.

 

 

NEWS

 

A NEW TABLOID

 

If you think you’ve seen it all when it comes to tabloids – think again! A new tabloid has just entered the market. The title is ‘Hot wheels’ and – you’ve guessed it! – it is dedicated to celebrity cars. It will show you your fav singers and actors getting in their cars, driving their cars, getting out of them, and – yes, of course – making love in the back seat! It will also feature some technical data, so if you want to know who drives a four-by-four, and who has an automatic gear box – the paper is just for you!

 

GLOSSARY

– when it comes to sth – as far as sth is concerned

– fav – favourite

– a four-by-four – a car where all four wheels are powered by the engine

– an automatic gear box – a system in which the gears of a car change by themselves without any action by the driver

 

 

download lesson (pdf)