For all the importance of movies in shaping modern culture, the impact of radio has been just as great. For the first time free entertainment reached into the average American parlour for nothing but the cost of the set. An early radio might have come to $100, and the minimum price of sets has since steadily fallen.
Morning and afternoon entertainment programs were devoted to the housewife. During the 1930s some 50 soap operas chronicled the daily woes of a host of characters. The longest running daytime serial was “The Romance of Helen Trent”, broadcast five times a week from October 1933 through June 1960.
Late afternoons were for children, who put aside their homework to follow the exploits of different heroes.
Evenings offered more varied fare: news commentators, dance bands, programs of classical and semi-classical music, comedies.
The skilled radio dramatists’ power to persuade was awesome. In 1938 Herbert G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds” was broadcast. Thousands of listeners panicked and fled from their homes, fully convinced that Martians had actually landed and were laying New Jersey to waste.
Television has proved its ability not only to educate, uplift, and inform, but also to entertain. It has brought brilliant drama, superb music, sharp satire, and incisive documentaries to countless millions of viewers.
Thanks to television, American entertainers have appeared in every major country and are well known all over the world.
Write an annotation translation of the text
II Grammar
1. She never thinks ______ herself
at
about
on
2. _______ come to our party on Tuesday?
you can
can you
can you to
3. I _____ a nice statuette last week.
buy
bought
buyed
4. Would you like ______ water?
an
some
a
5. Life is getting ______ every day.
better
good
best
6.Is Father busy now? Yes, he _______ to the postman.
is talking
talks
talk
7. ___________ a webmaster when I grow up.
am going to be
am going to
am going be
8. I _________ to France.
has never been
never was
have never been
9. What did you _____ him?
tell to
said to
tell
10. I'm looking ____ a job.
for
of
with
III Essay Writing
Why do we learn English?
Signature of the examiner_______________
EXAM CARD II
I Reading
Magazines
Magazine is one of the major mass media. Magazine is a collection of articles and stories. Usually magazines also contain illustrations.
The earliest magazines developed from newspapers and booksellers catalogs. Such catalogs first appeared during the 1600's in France. In the 1700's pamphlets published at regular intervals appeared in England and America. They were literary publications. One of the first British magazines «The Gentleman's Magazine» was published from 1731 to 1914. The first American magazine was called the «American Magazine », or «A Monthly View».
Magazines provide information on a wide range of topics such as business, culture, hobbies, medicine, religion, science, and sports. Some magazines entertain their readers with fiction, poetry, photography or articles about TV, or movie stars.
Magazines are designed to be kept for a longer time in comparison to newspapers and that is "why they are printed on better paper and have covers. Magazines, unlike newspapers, do not focus on daily, rapidly changing events.
There are specialized magazines intended for special business, industrial and professional groups, and consumer magazines intended for general public. There are several kinds of consumer magazines.
Children's magazines contain stories, jokes, articles on subjects especially interesting for children and instructions for making games or useful items.
Hobby magazines are intended for collectors of coins, stamps, and other items; people interested in certain sports or games; photography enthusiasts. Intellectual magazines provide analysis of current cultural and political events. Many of them publish fiction and poetry as well.
Men's magazines focus on such topics as adventure, entertainment, men's fashion and sports.
Women's magazines deal with child-raising, fashion trends, romance. They offer ideas on cooking and home decorating. Many of the monthlies with big circulations are women's magazines.
Write an annotation translation of the text
II Grammar
1. There's plenty of room for cars in the yard; much better ..... parking in the village street.
than
then
there
it
2. Your boss really likes you. He said ..... the best manager in his department.
then
there
your
you're
3. Thanks for taking me out, it's much better ..... listening to my grandma all day long.
than
then
there
it
4. He went through to his kitchen, ..... returned with a bottle of wine and two glasses.
than
then
there
it
5. Music is my life. ..... all I want to do.
Its
It's
There
Their
6 Is he ......... arrested as we speak?
(a) be
(b) been
(c) being
(d) will be
7. I wonder if there is any use _____ _____ the results.
trying, improving
trying, to improve
to try, to improve
to try, improving
8 If I _____ more time, I _____ to play the guitar.
have; will learn
had; would learn
has; would have learnt
9 Hillary told me she ..... in New-York all that year, and she had no wish to leave the city.
lived
had lived
was living
10. Nina said Lucy complained that her friends never ..... any attention to what she told them.
would pay
paid
had paid
III Essay Writing
My university
Signature of the examiner______________
EXAM CARD III
I Reading
FILM INDUSTRY
The first American 2-minute movies were shown as bonus attractions in vaudeville houses until the early 1900s, when thousands of small theaters devoted solely to films, and called nickelodeons because they charged a nickel, opened across the country.
In 1903 "The Great Train Robbery" — the first American film to spin a coherent story — was made. Though this primitive horse opera lasted only about 8 minutes and seems embarrassingly crude to the modern eye, it would be hard to exaggerate its impact on contemporary audiences.
Within a few years the center of motion picture production had shifted to Hollywood, California, and shrewd entrepreneurs such as Louis B. Mayer and Samuel Goldwyn had built the movies into a national industry that grossed even more than any other expert agriculture, steel, and transportation.
By 1925 motion pictures were more a necessity than a luxury for many Americans. More than 130 million people went to the movies each week. There were 20000 motion picture theaters, some seating 7000 persons.
The first sound cartoon was introduced to the public in 1928. It was Walt Disney's best creation "Mickey Mouse".
Much of the prestige and profit of movies depended both on great actors and the genius of the directors. The most sought-after award in the movie business is the Oscar, annually presented since 1929 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Five nominees in each of some 25 categories are picked by their fellow craftsmen. Winners are chosen by secret ballot cast by the Academy's more than 2800 members.