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SMALL CAN BE JUST BEAUTIFUL

The smallest European country participating in Atlanta has never won a summer Olympic medal and can fit¹ its entire² team in one room in the athletes' village. The tiny principality³ Liechtenstein ['lihtǝnʃtain] whose 31,000 inhabitants are squeezed⁴ between Austria ['ͻ:striǝ] and Switzerland ['switsǝlǝnd] had just two athletes taking part.

can fit — може помістити

entire [in'taiǝ] — весь

principality [prinsǝ'pæliti] — князівство

to squeeze [skwi:z] — затискати

LESSON 5.

THE MASS MEDIA

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The mass media or mass communications are the press, radio and television.

Every day we read newspapers and magazines, listen to radio and watch TV. Nowadays there are so many newspapers and magazines, radio stations and TV channels that we have to be very selective and give preference to some of them.

Which newspapers and magazines do I prefer to read? I like to read newspapers containing attractive and interesting news and information. I should admit that now we have many and various newspapers and new and new newspapers appear almost every day. The Ukrainian press is free from dirgct government control, but there aress state-owned dailies: Holos Ukrainy (The Voice of Ukraine), Hreshchatyk, Uryadovy Courier (Govern­ment Courier) and independent: Vechirny Kyiv (Evening Kyiv), Klevskse Vedomosts (Kiev Information Newspaper) and others. We have several English periodicals including bilingual ones. For example, newspaper "News from Ukraine" and magazine "Ukraine" are available in English and journal "Political Tho­ught" is avalable both in Ukrainian and English. As far as news­papers are concerned they may be daily, or weekly. Magazines may be weekly, monthly or quarterly.

The newspapers and magazines I read are the most readable ones with a large readership or circulation. The newspapers cover local, home and foreign affairs, they deal with the burning questions of our history, the latest events and forecasts of the future. They also touch upon cultural and sports news. I like the way they present different points of view, and different appro­aches to problems. My parents and I subscribe to some peri­odicals, thus we are subscribers. We buy some newspapers and magazines from kiosks.

I often listen to the radio, especially in the morning before I leave for school. I prefer to listen to musical programmes and brief news. I like to listen to weekend programmes, some of these are very amusing and entertaining.

As for TV, we have a number of channels. Many people like to watch programmes on UT-1, UT-2 and UT-3 (Ukrainian TV channels 1, 2 and 3), the Moscow-run Ostankino channel, ICTV, Tete-a-Tete, Super Channel, UTAR. I prefer to watch CNN news in English, educational programmes for youth and some entertaining and cognitive programmes. In addition I like to watch interesting films. These might be features, adventures, cartoons, horror films, scientific films, or others. I enjoy watc­hing Walt Disney's cartoons. Now and then I like to watch new programmes. Some of them are very enjoyabe and entertaining.

You can't do without this vocabulary:

the mass media ['mæs'mi:diǝ], mass communications — засоби масової інформації

channel (on 2) ['tʃænǝl] — канал (по другому каналу)

to be selective — бути вибірковим

to give preference to — віддавати перевагу

a periodical — періодичне видання, часопис

to be available — бути наявним, можна дістати

daily —щоденний

weekly — щотижневий, щотижневик

monthly — щомісячний, щомісячник

quarterly —щоквартальний, щоквартальник

readable — цікавий

readership — читачі, читацький загал

circulation—тираж

to contain — вміщувати

to cover — висвітлювати

local affairs — місцеві поди

home (national, domestic, internal) affairs (events) —внут­рішні події, події в країні

foreign (international, world, external) affairs (events) — зарубіжні події, події за рубежем

to deal with — розглядати

a burning question — актуальна проблема

the letest events (news) — останні події (новини)

a forecast — прогноз

to touch upon — торкатися

tо present — подавати

a point of view (viewpoint, standpoint) — точка зору

an approach — підхід

to subscribe to — передплачувати

a subscriber — передплатник

to broadcast — передавати по радіо

amusing — потішний

entertaining — розважальний, цікавий

to enjoy doing something — подобатися (щось робити)

enjoyable [in'dʒͻiǝbl] що приносить насолоду

to be devoted to — бути присвяченим

the main gist (idea) of the article — головна думка статті

MASS MEDIA

Mark Twain once said: "There are only two forces that can carry light to all corners of the globe — the sun in the heavens and the Associated Press". A message can be sent to a mass audience by many means of mass communications (mass media): by the press, by the radio and by television.

The oldest media are those of the printed word and picture which carry their message through the sense of sight: the weekly and daily newspapers, magazines, books, direct mail circulars and billboard. Radio is the mass communications medium aimed at the sense of sound, whereas television and motion pictures appeal both to the visual and auditory senses.

The press is generally called as "the fourth estate". In every period of its existence and depending on the political system, the mass communications have always maintained certain relations with those public and political structures which were actually in control of most spheres in the life of society. The essential features of every democratic community are freedom of the press, guarantees of the free activities of journalists and publishers and free public access to printed matter, radio, television, information agencies, press centres, services, government departments and agencies for contacts with the press. The evidence of this had been underlined by "the Father of American democracy" — T. Jefferson, who said: "Where the press is free and every man is able to read, all is safe".

The media in Ukraine today is a single public structure providing society with up-to-date detailed information concerning socio-political, economic, cultural aspects, etc.

Ukrainian media operate under Constitution, on the Laws of Ukraine "On Information", "On Means of Printed Information in Ukraine", "On Radio and Television", "On Copyright and Related Rights".

At present, Ukraine numbers 4,000 editions varying in forms of ownership, genre, type, and periodicity. Periodicals are independent and censorship free.

Among Ukraine's information agencies special popularity enjoy the UKRINFORM (Ukrainian national Information Agency, UNIAR (Ukrainian Independent Information Agency "Respublika"), and several others. These agencies have correspondents and reporters throughout the country and abroad and inseminate information both within and outside Ukraine.

2. Study the following:

PEOPLE ON TELEVISION: to be in television, announcer, i newsreader (newscaster, anchorman/woman, presenter), TV reporter/ correspondent, commentator, interviewer, speaker, quiz master, cameraman/operator, editor, producer, technician, soundman, a film/ program crew.

PROGRAMMES: show, daily, weekly, monthly, the news, current affairs programs, special report, factual, reportage, live footage, talk (chat) show, panel discussion, interview, documentary, magazine program, children's program, cartoon, educational program, wild/nature life program, sports program, the weather report/forecast, variety show, musical variety, game show, quiz program, feature film, television play/film, television version of a play (adapted for television), thriller, western, serial (a play broadcast in parts), instalment (a part of a serial), sitcom (situational comedy), "soap" opera, commercial, video clip, a regular character (feature) of the program.

TELEVISION TECHNIQUES: to broadcast, to telecast, a live broadcast/ show programme, to do a live broadcast, to be on the air, to go on the air, to broadcast speech/interview/discussion, to be on TV, to appear on the programme, to show on television, to cover something, news coverage, television coverage, to record/ tape/ videotape, to do a television show, sound track, sound effects, test card, picture, general view, close-up, caption, still, library film, microphone, mike, neck mike, monitor, screen time.

QUIZ PROGRAMME — program on which members of the audience are asked questions, in case of correct answer they receive prizes; sitcom (situational comedy) - short film providing entertainment;

"SOAP" OPERA-PLAY (an afternoon television regular feature) which originally appeared on the radio and was sponsored by soap advisers, continuing from day to day, presenting emotional and melodramatic situations like many operas of the 19th century (thus named "soap" operas);

VIDEO CLIP —mini film, about the length of a song, interpreting or dramatizing a song;

WESTERN — an American film presenting myths about pioneering, courageous Americans.