4.3 Discussion club. (tv&reading)

1. Tv is one of the most popular hobbies. The following questions will help me to understand your likes and dislikes.

a. Discuss in-group:

• How long do you watch TV every day?

• Which programmes do you always watch, or never watch?

• What types of films do you like?

• What’s the best/worst film you have seen recently, either at the cinema or on TV?

b. And now let us look through a BBC programme for today.

BBC 1

7.50 Tom and Jerry (a cartoon)

8.00 Top of the Pops: the hits from the charts with DJ Clive Sawyer

8.30 Only Fools and Horses (a comedy)

9.00 News: weather

9.30 Film: “The Reptiles” (a science fiction thriller) Starring Elizabeth Mount and Doug Stanton

11.05 Sport: football; ski jumping

11.50 Late film: “They Call Me Trinity” (a western) Starring Bud Spenser and Terence Hill

1.30 Weather forecast

c. And now open a TV programme for tomorrow. Translate the names of morning programmes into English. What is your favourite TV programme? Is TV your hobby?

d. Try to guess what programmes are these extracts taken from?

A: Look at this oak tree, for example. The leaves should be green, but they are turning yellow.

B: The Prime Minister of Canada arrived in London today.

C: OK, blue eyes, you’re under arrest for the murder of Mrs. Kelly.

D: Tomorrow it will be cloudy in the South with rain spreading from the west later.

e. Ask your friend what he is going to watch on TV next week and why.

2. Reading is famous hobby too.

a. Learn the following statements. Do you agree with them? Comment on them.

Wear the old coat and buy a new book.

A room without books is a body without a soul.

A classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read. Mark Twain.

b. Practice reading the following words and word combinations. Learn them by heart.

1. first- rate literature	Первоклассная литература
2. cheap- stuff	Ерунда, макулатура
3. novels of everyday life	Бытовые романы
4. adventure stories	Приключенческие рассказы
5. love stories	Любовные романы
6. historical novels	Исторические романы
7. travel books	Книги о путешествиях
8. detective stories	Детективные романы
9. science fiction	Научная фантастика
10. fantasy	Фэнтэзи
11. reminiscences	Воспоминания, мемуары
12. social novels	Социальные романы
13. psychological drama	Психологическая драма
14. fiction	Художественная литература, беллетристика
15. I am fond of	Я очень люблю
16. to imagine	Воображать, представлять
17. to enjoy	Наслаждаться, получать большое удовольствие
18. anyway	Во всяком случае, как бы то ни было
19. recently	Недавно
20. contents	Содержание
21. briefly	Вкратце
22. to cut a long story short	Короче говоря
23. I have not mentioned	Я не упомянул
24. on the whole	В целом
25. humorous	Юмористический
26. funny	Смешной
27. sad	Печальный
28. tragic	Трагический
29. episodes	Эпизоды
30. I could not help smiling	Я не мог сдержать улыбки
31. I could not help laughing	Я не мог не смеяться
32. I could not help feeling sad	Я не мог не чувствовать грусти
33.my account is very incomplete	Мой отчет неполный
34. the scene is laid in	Действие происходит в
35. for a change	Для разнообразия
36. a plot	Сюжет
37. to prefer	Предпочитать
38. well- read	Начитанный
39. to my mind	По- моему
40. as to me	Что касается меня

c. Learn the following dialogue:

A: Do you like reading?

B: I enjoy reading! I simply cannot imagine my life without books.

A: And what kind of reading do you prefer?

B: Oh, I am fond of historical novels. I also like reading adventure stories and science fiction.

A: What about fantasy?

B: I don’t like fantasy. I find it boring.

A: Do you? How strange. To my mind, fantasy is exciting reading.

B: Well, I don’t find it exciting. And anyway, I prefer instructive reading.

d. Speak about a book or story you have read, using the following patterns:

-I am going to say a few words about a book (story) I’ve recently read.

-The book (story) is written by the well- known English (Russian…) writer of the …th century…(name of the writer).

-The title of the book is ….

-It’s a historical novel \an adventure story\ etc.

-The scene is laid in (place) in the (time).

-The plot of the book is interesting.

-The characters are well drawn.

-The book tells about a …who…(here the contents of the book must be given very briefly).

-There are some humorous\ tragic\ sad\ etc episodes in the book.

-I could not help smiling\ crying\ etc when I read about …

-To cut a long story short, …(here the end of the book must be given).

-My account is very incomplete, I haven’t mentioned, for instance, the …and the …, but\ because…

-On the whole, the book is good. It is worth reading.

-If you like historical novels\science fiction\ etc I advise you to read it.