新视野大学英语视听说 4 第六单元 MP3及文本

新视野大学英语视听说4 第六单元

Unit 6 Mass media: 24 / 7 coverage 

Listening to the world 

Sharing 

Scripts 

V = Val; W1 = Woman 1, etc.; M1 = Man 1, etc. 

Part 1 

V:  Hi.  I  start  work  quite  late,  so  in  the  mornings  I  normally  read  the  papers  or  go  on  news websites:  It’s  important  for  me  to  find  out  what’s  going  on  in  the  world.  Today,  I’m interviewing people about the media and the news. How do you usually get your news? 

Part 2 

W1: I read my news on the Internet mainly because I don’t have a television at the moment. 

M1: I usually get my news by watching the TV news when I get home. 

W2: I don’t actually live in Britain, so um, I like to read the news in English and I get it all on the Internet. 

M2: Well, I often listen to the radio: I find that actually much better than the television. 

W3: I watch the news every morning, um, and I read The Guardian newspaper. Um, maybe two or three times a week I buy the paper. 

M3: I usually get my news from the Internet, um, or from newspapers. 

Part 3 

V:     What kind of news stories interest you the most? 

W1: Well, I study conflict and development, so I’m interested in world affairs. 

M1: Er, a variety, really. Um, I like to read about politics, of course, and what’s happening in the country, but I also like to hear about what’s happening in other countries of the world. 

W2: Um, I like all sorts of news stories, um, about what’s going on, and I especially like things about new technology, um, but I also like a bit of trashy news–I like a bit of celebrity gossip, 

er, just to break up the day. 

M3: Well, I certainly don’t like celebrity news, but I do like sports. 

M2: I work as a doctor and, therefore, er, it’s very important to know what the health stories are. 

W3: I  don’t  enjoy,  er,  the  sort  of,  more  popular  culture  news  stories.  I  think  there’s  a  different place for that: I don’t think they should be included in the main news. 

Part 4 

V:     How has modern technology and new media changed our relationship with the news? 

M1: On my laptop I can go on the Internet and I can just see what the latest headlines are. I can see news developments as, as they happen, almost in real time. 

M2: There  are  many  different  sources,  and  therefore  you  often  compare  and  contrast  what different media are saying. 

M3: Er,  often  you  don’t  have  to  pay,  so  you  don’t  have  to,  er,  it  doesn’t  discriminate  against people who don’t have money. 

W2: We  used  to  rely  on,  um,  the  messages  from  TV,  from  different  outlets,  and  now  with  er, things like Twitter people can spread the news, but it does run the risk that it’s not always um, 

correct. 

Part 5 

V:     In your opinion, does the media use its power responsibly? 

M1: Er, I think, in general, yes, but I think there are occasions when I think it’s irresponsible. I think,  for  example,  um,  when,  er,  when  they  hound  er,  celebrities,  for  example,  I,  I  don’t think that’s very responsible news. I don’t even think it’s very good news. 

W1: I think the media has a lot of power and it doesn’t always appreciate er, the extent to which it can affect things. 

W2: I think in this country it does. I think it certainly doesn’t in some other countries. 

M2: In my area – I’m especially interested in the area of health–often you get these health sto … stories about immunization or about some latest scare about cancer, and this causes a great deal of anxiety, and yet when you go down to the real truth, it’s often based on very flimsy foundations. So, I think the media do have a, a duty to use their power responsibly. 

Listening 

Scripts 

M = Man; W = Woman 

M: Did you hear this story in the news about this guy that swapped a paper clip for a house? 

W: No. 

M: It sounds a bit out there, but apparently what happened was he started … He, he was at his desk looking for a job or, or phoning up about jobs … 

W: Yeah. 

M: … and, um, he saw a paper clip on his desk, and he thought, I wonder what I can do with this paper clip – whether I can swap it for something. 

W: Oh. 

M: Anyway, so he got onto the Internet and he made this website, er, I think it’s called the-red- paper-clip.com. 

W: Right. 

M: And he put this, this on the Internet, photographs (photographed) it, puts (put) it on, and sees (saw) if anyone wants (wanted) to swap something with him. 

W: And did, did anything happen? 

M: Er,  yeah,  so  er,  first  of  all,  I  don’t  remember  all  the  details,  but  as  I  recall  two  Vancouver women, um, took up the first challenge and they swapped the paper clip with, I think it was a pen shaped like a fish they had found … 

W: Random. 

M: Yeah – they had found on a camping trip, yeah random. But he meets (met) up with all these     people. He doesn’t (didn’t) just send the things. And so then from that, I believe, this guy in Seattle wanted the pen and, swapped it for a door knob. And the door knob was swapped for something to do with camping. 

W: Oh, so he kept trading up each time. 

M: Yeah, yeah, he kept trading, trading up so, and then that was swapped for a beer keg I think. 

Apparently what happened was all these people were … the same sort of thought patterns as him and they wanted to sort of meet up and it was about a social event as well. 

W: Ah. 

M: Anyway, the next thing he got was a snow globe and, according to the report, it said a film 

director wanted it and said he’d swap it for a part in his film. And then this town decided, they had this house in this town, and that they would swap the house for a part in this film. 

W: No! So he went all the way from the red paper clip to getting a house. 

M: … a house. And my impression was that he, he was just crazy at the beginning, but he ended up having this–well, I’m not sure how good the house was but, well, yeah. 

W: Well, better than a paper clip. 

M: Yeah, I know basically that’s what happened. 

W: Wow! 

Viewing 

Scripts 

M1 = Man 1, etc.; W1 = Woman 1, etc.; R1 = Rob; R2 = Riz; CA = Clive Anderson;   

NO = Nicholas Owen; I1 = Interviewer 1, etc.; WG1 = Wrong guest 1, etc.;   

GG = Guy Goma; KB = Kevin Bakhurst 

M1:     Good evening. If the autocue was working, I could now read you something, but as it isn’t, 

I can’t.   

W1:     And there’ll be live coverage on the BBC of the Democratic convention in New York in just in … under 10 minutes, that’s in about, 10 minutes. 

R1:       And that is all the business news for the moment. Riz. 

R2:      Thank  you  very  much,  Rob.  I’m  back  with  a  look  at  the,  ah,  headweather  …  with  the headlines after a look at the weather with Rob McElweather. 

CA:     News. Everybody’s got an opinion about it: There’s too  much of it; it’s on at the wrong time; it’s too serious; it’s too fluffy; it’s too short; it’s too tall. 

NO:     It’s one of the few things on television these days that really is live. So if it starts going wrong, you’re gonna see it, and probably enjoy it at the same time. 

M2:     And  finally,  my  thanks  to  Hugh  Smith  of  Holt  and  Kay  Coulson  of  Fordham  Heath, Colchester  for  sending  me  these  little  and  large  bottles  with,  ah,  impossible  nails  and screws through pieces of wood to further tantalize my brain on how they did it … oh … ah! 

W2:     The thing about rolling news is that you have to fill an awful lot of time, and things are changing around you and you won’t necessarily be that clear about, you know, you know you’ve got to interview about three or four guests, the order of them might change, you’re not quite sure who it’s gonna be … 

CA:     And 24-hour rolling news has created a new category. The right interview with the wrong guest. 

I1:       … higher quality. Managing Director of Internet at NTL, Jerry Rust joins me now. What’s gone wrong? What’s gone wrong in, ah, in your offer? 

WG1:   I’m afraid this is not what I’m talking about, I’m not … 

I1:        I’m afraid we obviously have the wrong guest here. That’s, ah, deeply embarrassing for us. 

I2:        The Head of the NUT’s Education Department is John Bangs. He’s in our … 

WG2:   Ah you’ve got the wrong … 

I2:       … Central London Studio … he was in our Central London Studio, but he seems to have disappeared, so hopefully we shall go back to him later on? 

CA:     But the undisputed champion of the Wrong Guest division is the BBC News 24 incident involving the charming but inappropriate Guy Goma. 

I3:        So what does this all mean for the industry and the growth of music online? 

Well Guy Kewney is the editor of the technology website, ah, NewsWireless. Hello, good morning to you. 

GG:     Good morning. 

I3:        Were you surprised by this, ah, verdict today? 

GG:     I’m very surprised to see this verdict to … to come on, on me, because I wasn’t expecting that. 

KB:     It was an item in one of the business slots on News 24, and the Business Producer went downstairs to reception and said, ah … “Is Guy here for BBC News?”, and Guy Goma put his hand up … there were two Guys there, ah, but the wrong Guy put his hand up first and came  upstairs,  and  as  you  know  he  was  here  for  a,  he  was  here  for  an  interview,  but  it wasn’t for an interview for News 24, it was an interview for a job. 

I4:       The Sun headline is “Big Bluffer”. We find the Beeb news … Beeb news show’s accidental “expert”. Yeah, … 

CA:     And  for  a  while,  Guy  Goma  found  himself  living  the  celebrity  lifestyle.  But  anyway,  it goes to show just how much the public love a good news blunder. 

Speaking for communication 

Role-play 

Scripts 

Conversation 1 

A:  Can you believe those people who won the lottery? 

B:   Sorry? 

A:  Those people who won 43 million euros each. 

B:   Huh. Lucky them! That must be one of the biggest prizes ever. 

A:  Yeah, but the amazing thing is the two winners are from the same town. 

B:   So? 

A:  And they’ve won separately. 

B:   What, you mean they didn’t do it together? 

A:  No, they don’t know each other. 

B:   You’re kidding. That’s absolutely incredible! I mean … 

A:  Yeah, it’s such an amazing coincidence. They’re saying that they’re going to ... 

Conversation 2 

A:  Hi. 

B:   Hi. Have you seen this picture? Look. 

A:  No. 

B:   What do you think it is? 

A:  It’s difficult to say, but I gather it’s some sort of painting. It’s quite pretty. It looks like one of those done by a child, or I guess it could be a computer image. 

B:   Wrong! It’s actually a photo of some bacteria they found on the moon. 

A:  Really? There’s no way I would have guessed that. Let me see again. I suppose it does look like bacteria now I come to think about it. 

B:   Mind you, I don’t believe it. I think it's a tabloid ... 

Conversation 3 

A:  Did you see that story about the kid in Ethiopia? 

B:   No. 

A:  It  was  on  the  breakfast  news  this  morning.  It  was  about  this  girl  who  was  being  chased  by some men. And three lions came out and chased away the men and then stayed and protected her. 

B:   That is incredible. Why on earth would they do that? 

A:  What, the lions? 

B:   Yeah. 

A:  Maybe they heard her crying. You know, and thought she was a cub. 

B:   Um, perhaps … but it sounds a bit weird. Why didn’t they just eat her? 

A:  Good question. Er, maybe ... 

B:   That reminds me of a story that I heard ... 

Conversation 4 

A:  He looks in a bad mood. 

B:   Let’s look. What happened? 

A:  He’s got to pay a fine. Apparently he left his car in the wrong place. 

B:   He’s got to pay a fine! 

A:  Yeah. 

B:   And he’s the one who’s always talking about reducing car use and taking public transport. 

A:  Yeah. That’s so hypocritical. 

B:   I thought you liked him. 

A:  Yeah, well, sometimes he can be such an idiot, but he’s actually all right, you know ... 

Further practice in listening 

Short conversations 

Scripts 

Conversation 1 

M: There  is  not  much  worth  in  reading  the  newspapers  these  days.  They  have  more  pages  but fewer words that really matter. 

W: You said it! All you find in them are advertisements and celebrity gossip. I wish they could direct more attention to issues that are more important to society. 

Q:  What does the man think of today’s newspapers? 

Conversation 2 

W: Hello. Today on Business Focus I am talking about knowledge management with Mr. Adam Johnson, the Human Resources Manager of a multinational company. Mr. Johnson, how has knowledge management changed the way your company works? 

M: In lots of ways. The most significant change occurs in how we manage the process of our project development … 

Q:  What is the woman probably doing? 

Conversation 3 

W: Recently,  reality  television has  swept  across  almost  all  channels:  matchmaking, job hunting, and talent shows. I don’t know why people are so crazy about it! 

M: In  my  view,  some  people  watch  reality  TV  because  it  makes  them  feel  they’re  better  than others. They may also enjoy seeing other people get embarrassed. 

Q:  What does the man say about reality TV? 

Conversation 4 

W: I think teenagers today experience a different social reality from what we had before. 

M: Exactly. When we were kids, we would hang out with friends, chatting, or going to movies. 

That’s our experience, but what we see now is that young people are choosing to live online. 

Q:  How do young people socialize today according to the man? 

Conversation 5 

W: Much has been said about how anti-social the Internet and mobile phones are, but I think communications technology is bringing people closer. 

M: Yes, I’d go along with you on that. With these modern tools, there’s a new kind of connection being built within families. 

Q:  What does the man think of modern communications technology? 

Long conversation 

Scripts 

W: Hey Billy! It’s 7:30 p.m.! Turn off your TV and computer. Come down to dinner. It seems your father is finishing his conference call with his team in China. 

M: OK Mom. Coming. But why is Dad on his computer while I can’t be on mine! 

W: Billy, your father is working. But you are chatting with your friends about celebrities! 

So your father needs to be on his computer. And you don’t! 

M: OK. Sorry, Mom. What are we having for dinner? Pizza? 

W: Pizza?!  I’ve  made  us  a  nice  dinner  of  roast  chicken,  mushroom  soup  and  vegetable  salad.  I even made chocolate cake for dessert – and you want pizza! 

M: Just kidding Mom! I love your cooking! Mmm I’m hungry, and it smells delicious! 

W: Billy! I told you to shut down all electronics! 

M: Mom! This isn’t fair. You told me to turn off my computer and my TV – you didn’t say all electronics – and you didn’t mention my cell phone! I have to check the news! My favorite golf player just got in trouble for drunk driving! Please Mom! I have to find out! 

W: You can’t go five minutes without having your eyes on a screen! Hand me your phone. Now! I am turning it off so we can have a nice dinner. 

M: OK Mom. Fine! Here’s my phone. 

W: Now, where is your father? 

M: Will you make Dad do the same? We never have family dinner anymore without Dad being on electronics! 

W: Hmm,  you  know,  Billy,  you  have  a  very  good  point.  I  think  it’s  time  we  had  family  dinner without any electronics. Here’s our new rule: Just for 45 minutes over dinner, no electronics! 

Q1: Why is the son required to turn off his computer while his father is not? 

Q2: Why doesn’t the son want to turn off his cell phone? 

Q3: What rule does the mother decide to set for the family? 

Q4: What can we learn from the conversation? 

Passage 1 

Scripts 

        We as a society have intense interest in the celebrity news prevalent in our media. One of the key reasons is that in a world of constant death and disasters, celebrity news allows us to escape from  the  “real  news”.  After  all,  the  job  of  celebrities  is  to  entertain  us,  so  it’s  only  natural  that 

news about them would be a source of entertainment as well. 

        Of course the world isn’t always a depressing place filled with death, danger and sad events. 

But  the  media  presents  a  dominant  coverage  of  them.  Watching  hours  of  that  news  makes  you depressed  and  want  something  different.  This  is  why  celebrity  news  fills  that  need  for  “happy news” or “light news”. 

        Celebrities also tend to live life on the edge and overdo everything they are engaged in. They long for attention and will do whatever to get it. We watch them with fascination as they party, do drugs, escape the law, get caught by the law, get married or divorced, and so forth. 

        Many people became attracted by the lifestyle of celebrities because they more or less wish they  had  the  same  lives  as  the  stars.  Celebrity  news  fuels  people’s  desire  to  look  like  the  stars, 

dress like the stars, and even name children after the stars. It can be a source of making every life decision  for  some  people.  Although  this  may  not  be  a  healthy  thing  to  do,  it  does  boost  the celebrity news business. 

        In a word, celebrity news gives us a well-needed break from the depressing and harsh news stories that we are flooded with daily. But as viewers and readers we need to keep in mind that celebrities  are  still  common  people,  and  that  their  lives  are  in  many  ways  similar  to  ours,  not 

merely to be shown for entertainment only. 

Q1: Why is celebrity news prevalent in our media? 

Q2: What can we learn about celebrities from the conversation? 

Q3: Why are celebrities’ lifestyles attractive to people? 

Q4: What should we keep in mind when watching or reading celebrity news? 

Passage 2 

Scripts and answers 

        British tabloids provide their readers with an exciting mixture of gossip, entertainment and news.  They  1)  differentiate  themselves  from  mainstream  broadsheets  by  giving  prominence  to celebrities, sports and crime stories. 

        No matter how many people 2) frown upon tabloid newspapers, it is a fact that the tabloids are popular and successful. The public has a demand for 3) concise news dose with minimum text and eye-catching pictures, and the tabloids are giving the readers just that. Here are some of the reasons why the British tabloids continue to enjoy popularity and success. 

        First  of  all,  the  British  tabloids  4)  combat  the  new  media  wisely.  Print  media  all  over  the world is facing 5) severe competition from the new media, be it the Internet or television, and no one 6) is geared up for the competition better than the tabloids. Most of the British tabloids have 7) 

embraced  the  new  media  instead  of  competing  with  them  and  hence  have  created  e-versions  or online editions of their daily tabloid editions. 

        Second, the British tabloids are getting the format right. They have maintained a 8) compact format, which is rather convenient for the reader to pick up, read and carry. The text is short and 9) is supplemented with eye-catching pictures. The entire format stresses more on the visual appeal 

rather than the textual content. 

        The British tabloids are proud of being what they are and accept that they are profit driven and aim for good business. The readers want 10) sensational news, and the tabloids have it. They do not compete with the serious newspapers, but rather carve a special market for themselves. In this way, they have earned a readership segment that is large enough to keep them going in the business.