| 
				 
				MASS MEDIA 
				We live in the world of information. It is everywhere and 
				sometimes it is even more valuable than money. Mass media, that 
				is the press, radio, television and the Internet, play an 
				important role in our society. They inform, educate, entertain 
				and give us any kinds of information. The press is one of the 
				most powerful kinds of mass media. Nowadays there are daily, 
				weekly and monthly newspapers and magazines. My family is 
				subscribed to Komsomolskaya Pravda which is one of the most 
				famous Russian daily newspapers. I read it every day to know 
				what is happening in the world. My mother buys women's magazines 
				and my father reads sports magazines. There are also a lot of 
				children's magazines. They are colourful and full of pictures. 
				Television plays a big role in our society, too. Most people 
				have several TV-sets at home. Television gives a great 
				opportunity for people to learn latest news. There are also a 
				lot of educational programmes, children's programmes, films and 
				soap operas on TV. Talk shows are also very popular with people 
				nowadays. I usually watch news and films on television. My 
				mother likes soap operas, my father prefers sports programmes 
				and political talk shows. My brother watches cartoons and 
				educational programmes. I think that it is impossible to live 
				without television now. 
				Radio is less popular than newspapers and television. People 
				listen to the radio in cars and at work. I usually listen to the 
				radio when I do my homework because it helps me think. There is 
				a lot of music on modern radio and very few conversations. Every 
				hour radio stations tell us news in brief. There are different 
				types of radio stations. They are divided according to the style 
				of music they play. There are radio stations where you can hear 
				only classical music, rock or pop music. There are radio 
				stations only with Russian music, for example, Russian Radio. 
				Some of the stations only have news and talk shows. Older people 
				like listening to them. 
				The Internet is the newest kind of mass media. More and more 
				people use it in Russia regularly, but it is very expensive and 
				not every place has the Internet connection. The Internet is the 
				greatest source of information. Almost everything can be found 
				there. If you have the Internet, you may not read newspapers or 
				listen to the radio. You may not watch television either. All 
				main newspapers and television companies have web¬sites, so you 
				can read news and watch television without turning on a TV-set. 
				I use the Internet very often. I chat with people all over the 
				world online and read news. I use the Internet to find important 
				information for my studies, too. E-mail has become a good way of 
				communication. You can send a letter to your friends from other 
				countries without buying an envelope and it will be delivered 
				within a few seconds. 
				There are advantages and disadvantages of mass media. The 
				advantages are the following: mass media educate and entertain 
				people. But you need to have a TV-set to watch television, a 
				radio set to listen to the radio. To look for information in the 
				Internet you will need a computer and the Internet connection 
				and they both cost a lot. Another disadvantage is that sometimes 
				this or that information is not reliable. The Internet is full 
				of sites with wrong information. 
				But in spite of all disadvantages, people still watch TV, listen 
				to the radio and browse the Internet. 
				 
				 
				Vocabulary: 
				browse the Internet ['brauzSa'intanat] «сидеть» в интернете 
				cartoon [ka:'tu:n] мультфильм 
				chat [tfaet] болтать 
				connection [кэ'пек[(э)п] связь 
				daily newspaper ['derii'njusperpa] ежедневная газета 
				e-mail ['i:meil] электронная почта 
				envelope ['envabup] конверт 
				in brief [bri:f] кратко 
				in spite of [m'spaitav] несмотря на 
				mass media [maes'media] СМИ (средства массовой информации) 
				opportunity [.upa'tjuiniti] возможность 
				powerful ['раиэгЫ] влиятельный 
				regularly ['reqjubh] регулярно 
				reliable [n'laiabl] надежный 
				soap opera ['saup'ttpra] мыльная опера 
				society [sa'saiati] общество 
				source of ['soisav^nfs- информационный 
				information 'meif(3)n] ресурс 
				style of music ['staibv'mjuzik] стиль музыки 
				subscribe [sab'skraib] подписываться, выписывать 
				valuable ['vaeljuabl] ценный 
				 
				 
				Questions: 
				1. What are mass media? 
				2. What is one of the most popular kinds of mass media? 
				3. Why is radio less popular than TV?  
				4. What TV programmes do you and your family watch? 
				5. What can you say about the Internet? Do you use it often? Why 
				(not)? 
				6. What are the advantages and disadvantages of mass media? 
  
				
				  
				
				   | 
			
			
				| 
				 
				
				Помощь: 
				1. Прослушать 
				произношение слова и перевод на 
				
				howjsay.com .  
				Направление перевода выберите один раз из списка, в дальнейшем 
				оно сохранится. Для многократного повторения подводите стрелку 
				мышки к выделенному слову в колонке слева. 
				2. Правила 
				чтения слов 
				
				смотрите здесь. 
				3. Подробный 
				перевод в словаре 
				
				Мультитран. (В часы 
				перегрузок Интернета работает медленно, но словарь хороший.)  |