English Vocabulary in Use Upper-intermediate » Unit 37: The press and the media

Word List
  • be set
  • broadcast
  • cartoon
  • catch-up TV
  • commercial
  • current affairs
  • detective
  • dish
  • documentary
  • drama
  • dub
  • episode
  • focus on
  • game show
  • in-depth
  • investigate
  • investigation
  • journalism
  • location
  • mass media
  • means
  • news
  • newspaper
  • on demand
  • pay (a subscription)
  • podcast
  • popular
  • presenter
  • programme
  • punishment
  • quality
  • receive
  • satellite
  • scandal
  • sensation
  • shoot
  • show
  • sitcom
  • soap
  • sports
  • steal
  • stream
  • subscribe
  • subtitles
  • tabloid
  • talk show
  • televise
  • the media
  • theft
  • tweet
  • weather forecast
Exercises

37.1 ‣ What sort of TV programmes from A opposite are these people talking about?

  1. 'It investigated how the banks had wasted billions of euros in bad loans.'
  2. 'Walt Disney made a lot of them. Mickey Mouse was probably his most famous.' _____
  3. 'The Minister of Education was on it, discussing the new schools policy.' _____
  4. 'It's so funny, especially when the old uncle appears. We can't stop laughing.' _____
  5. 'My mum watches it every day. She knows all the characters as if they were real.' _____
  6. 'We wanted to find out if it was going to rain tomorrow.' _____
  7. 'They always solve the murder in the end, but it's very exciting.' _____
  8. 'He interviewed that young star who just won an Oscar, oh, what's her name?' _____
  9. 'The prize is £500,000 this week. That's a lot of money!' _____
  10. 'They showed a repeat of the Manchester United versus Valencia match.' _____

37.2 ‣ Fill the gaps with words from B opposite.

  1. Which do you prefer if a film is in a foreign language, to read or to have the film d_____?
  2. I downloaded a great p_____ about bees. I listened to it on my MP3 player in bed last night.
  3. I hate it when c_____ interrupt a good film. I usually go and make a cup of tea while they're on.
  4. We've got a new s_____ d_____ on our roof. We can r_____. hundreds of channels now.
  5. I'd like a job in the m_____, perhaps in TV or radio.
  6. A lot of people use social networking sites as their main m._____ of communication with their friends.
  7. It's often possible to download b_____ from the Internet or to watch them again, so you don't need to watch them on the day they were transmitted.
  8. With a fast broadband connection, you can s_____ TV shows directly from the Internet.

37.3 ‣ Sort these words into two categories: 'tabloid' and 'quality' newspaper.

  1. celebrity news
    • tabloid
    • quality
  2. complex political debate
    • tabloid
    • quality
  3. scandals
    • tabloid
    • quality
  4. in-depth reviews of books
    • tabloid
    • quality
  5. competitions and prizes
    • tabloid
    • quality
  6. sensational crimes
    • tabloid
    • quality
  7. long articles
    • tabloid
    • quality
  8. huge headlines
    • tabloid
    • quality

37.4 ‣ Rewrite the words in bold using verbs from the opposite page.

  1. The documentary looked into the food industry and emphasised _____ school meals.
  2. The programme was filmed _____ / _____ in Northern Finland. (two answers)
  3. CNN sends _____ news programmes around the world.
  4. They're showing _____ the cup final next week. (give a more formal verb)
  5. The drama takes place _____ in Paris in the 1880s.
  6. Do you ever send those short messages over the Internet _____ about news events?

37.5 ‣

Over to you

Which types of media do you use most? Give your reasons.
Answer Key
A ‣ Radio and television

Read these extracts from TV listings.

4.00 pmJessica: talk show1 with Jessica Brown; today’s guest, Rona Fredale
5.00 pmCartoons2: crazy fun for kids of all ages
5.30 pmGolden Chance: game show3 with Bob Langley
6.00 pmNews and weather forecast
6.30 pmDidbury Street: the nation’s favourite soap4
7.00 pmDocumentary: Are we killing our kids?
Investigating5 the junk food industry
8.00 pmThe Happy Couple: sitcom6 about a pair of newly-weds
9.00 pmRoundup: sports programme with all the day’s top action - tonight: rugby final
10.00 pmThe Day in Politics: current affairs7 programme. Presenter8: James Hill
10.30 pmWikdal: detective drama set in Norway. Episode9 3: A second body is found

1 usually has a host and famous people who answer questions about themselves
2 film where the characters are drawn rather than real
3 show where people compete to win prizes
4 short for soap opera - a series of TV/radio programmes about the lives of a particular group of characters, continuing over a long period and broadcast (several times) every week
5 trying to find out the facts/truth about something
6 funny TV/ radio show where the same characters appear in a different story each week
7 news about political events happening now
8 person who introduces the show
9 one of the parts into which a story is divided

B ‣ Other expressions connected with TV and radio

The (mass) media refers to TV, radio, newspapers and the Internet, i.e. means of communication which reach very large numbers of people.

Subtitles enable people to read what the characters are saying (maybe in translation). If a film is dubbed, you hear the speech in your own language.

To receive a lot of TV channels, you may need a satellite dish on the roof or wall of your house.
Many channels depend on(TV) commercials to make money. You may be able to stream radio and TV broadcasts from the Internet and you may be able to watch catch-up TV, or TV on demand, which allow you to watch programmes whenever you like. A lot of radio and TV stations offer free podcasts which you can download.

Language help

The noun means (a way of doing something) always ends ins, even in the singular.

The Internet is an important means of communication.

C ‣ Newspapers

A popular or tabloid newspaper usually focuses on1 sensation2 rather than real news, whereas a quality newspaper is usually more interested in serious news. A tabloid often has stories about celebrities, sport, scandals4 and crime, while a quality paper focuses more on serious journalism4 with in-depth5 articles. To read newspapers on the Internet, you may have to subscribe / pay a subscription6.

1 emphasises / pays attention to
2 very exciting or interesting events
3 events which shock people in a moral way
4 the work of collecting, writing and publishing or broadcasting news and articles
5 done carefully and in great detail, explaining the reasons for events
6 pay a sum of money regularly (e.g. once a year)

D ‣ Verbs connected with the media

The BBC World Service broadcasts throughout the world. [transmits TV/radio programmes]

They’re televising the opening of Parliament tomorrow. (or, less formal: showing)

The film was shot / made on location in Australia. [filmed in a real place, not in a studio]

The series is set in London in the 1980s. [place/time where the drama happens]

Within minutes of the event, people were tweeting about it. [posting very short messages on the Internet]

Common mistakes

Remember that the noun news is uncountable and takes a singular verb.

I have some news for you. (NOT I have a news.)
The news is on TV at 7 pm. (NOT The news are on TV.)

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