II. Answer these questions and discuss them with your classmates

1. Why is sport so important in our life?

2. Why do people go in for sport?

3. Do you go to any keep-fit centres?

4. Do you go in for sports or do you prefer to watch other people playing?

5. Do you keep a diet?

6. What are the ways of keeping fit?

 

 

Mass Media

 

Mass media play an important role in our life. They are usually de­fined by encyclopedias as any of the means of communication, such as radio, television, newspapers, magazines, etc. that reach and influence a very large audience, at least as large as the whole population of a nation. The term was coined in 1920s with emerging of nationwide radio networks and of mass-circulation newspapers and magazines. Mass media are so influential because they can be used for various purposes: popularisation, for business or social concerns (advertising, marketing, public relations, and political communication), education, entertainment, video and computer games, journalism, public service announcements. Media include radio and television, films, various types of discs or tapes used for music and computer, Internet, publishing on paper (books, magazines, and newspapers).

Mass media play a crucial role in forming public opinion. They do it in a number of ways: first, they communicate the world to individuals. Much of the news media is made up of newsgathering by large organizations. Just four main news agencies. — AP, UPI, Reuters and Agence France Presse — claim together to provide 90 % of the total news output of the world’s press, radio and television.

Second, they reproduce modern society’s self-image by forcing attention to certain issues. They build up public images of political figures. They are constantly presenting objects suggesting what individuals in the mass should think about, know about, and have feelings about. Because some of the media produce material which often is good, impartial, and serious, they have respect and authority.

If we look into the reasons why the mass media shape public opinion, we will see, first of all, that in practice the ethics of the press and television provides a vital support for the existing order. Second, many of the mass media in practice cater for the tastes of some social group. Shaping the public opinion inside this group, they create the audience which supports them financially by buying the newspaper or watching the TV channel.

But how much do the media influence the modern society? Early critiques suggested that the media destroys the individual’s capacity to act autonomously.

Later studies, however, suggest a more complex interaction between the media and society. People actively interpret and evaluate the media and the information it provides

 

Task 2

II. Answer these questions and discuss them with your classmates.

1. What do we read every day?

2. Why do we have to be very selective nowadays?

3. What do the newspapers contain and give?

4. Where do you buy newspapers?

5. Which programs do you prefer to watch?

6. What do radio programs broadcast?

Computers

Computers came into wide use about 20 years ago and they are playing an important role in our life. The modern world of high technology could not be possible without computers. Different types and sizes of computers find uses throughout our society. Computers are installed everywhere: in most companies, hotels, railways stations, airports, hospitals, schools, universities etc. They perform a wide variety of activities reliable, accurately, and quickly. People use computers in many ways. Computers are widely used in scientific research to solve mathematical problems or investigate complicated data. Computers help us to study and to entertain.

The Internet is a huge network of computers spanning this planet and is now started to bring in the surrounding area like space. The Internet is very helpful, because it’s a huge database of knowledge, from the pictures of family trips to an analysis of quantum mechanics. Everyone should have the Internet because of its near instantaneous communication and huge wealth of knowledge. The Internet helps to communicate with the world and provides us with information about everything.

But the introduction of the computer brought into existence a lot of problems. Firstly, the computer tells on our health: eyesight, sleep, mood and so on. People spending hours at the computer see worse, often feel exhausted and sleep less. Secondly, a lot of people, especially young ones, have become dependent on the computer. They cannot imagine their lives without games or chats in the Internet. And, finally, the computer brought into our lives other forms of crime. Hackers can break your security system and steal databases or even money from your bank account.

Computer is an important invention, but as any other sophisticated device, it should be handled with care.

Task 2