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				Mass Media 
				 
				Modern world is full of information of various kinds which 
				sometimes is even more valuable than money. Mass media (the 
				press, radio, television and Internet) have a very big impact on 
				modern society. They serve to inform people of different events 
				that take place or may happen, educate, entertain and give us 
				any kinds of information. Complete and accurate information is 
				very important to get nowadays. 
				The press still remains one of the most powerful kinds of mass 
				media, even more powerful than the Internet. One can find daily, 
				weekly and monthly newspapers and magazines on different topics. 
				My family is subscribed to Moskovsky Komsomolets which is one of 
				the most popular daily newspapers in Russia. However, I do not 
				read it since I prefer getting news from the Internet. My mother 
				also buys monthly fashion magazines like Vogue or Cosmopolitan 
				and my father prefers sports newspapers and magazines. There are 
				also a lot of newspapers and magazines for children which are 
				colourful and full of pictures. 
				Television plays a big role in our society too and a lot of 
				people prefer watching television to reading a newspaper. 
				Television provides a great opportunity for people to learn 
				latest news, watch educational programmes, children's 
				programmes, old and new films and soap operas on TV. TV-series 
				have also become very popular with the Russians nowadays. 
				As for me, I usually watch documentaries and game shows on 
				television. My mother prefers sitcoms and educational 
				programmes; my father watches sports programmes and political 
				talk shows. I think that it is impossible to live without 
				television, even though the Internet, I am sure, will replace it 
				one day in future. 
				Radio is less popular than newspapers and television, but still 
				people listen to it in cars or at work. I usually listen to 
				online radio stations while I am doing my homework. Every hour 
				radio stations tell latest news in brief. There are also 
				different types of radio stations and one can find any radio 
				station to their liking. 
				The Internet is the newest kind of mass media, but which has 
				become the most popular and greatest source of information and 
				entertainment. If you have the internet access, you may read 
				newspapers online, watch films, listen to music, listen to the 
				radio and even watch television online! 
				I use the Internet every day for various purposes: I chat with 
				friends all over the world, read news and browse the Net to find 
				necessary information for my studies. E-mail has become the 
				greatest way of communication. One can send a letter to their 
				friends (even from the most distant countries and places) 
				without the need of buying an envelope, and the letter will be 
				delivered in a few seconds. I also like social media sites, like 
				Facebook or Vkontakte. I have my profiles there and they help me 
				stay in touch with all my friends both from Russia and abroad. 
				Surely, there are advantages and disadvantages of mass media. 
				Some of the advantages are education and entertainment. However, 
				one needs to have special equipment, like a TV-set to watch 
				television, a radio-set to listen to the radio, or a computer 
				withthe internet access to surf the Net and buying all of these 
				may be hard if one does not have enough money. Another 
				disadvantage is that sometimes the information which is provided 
				on the Internet is unreliable and may even be harmful to people. 
				In spite of all disadvantages, people still read newspapers, 
				watch TV, listen to the radio and browse the Net. 
				 
				 
				ПЛАН-ОТВЕТ. MASS MEDIA 
				1. Вступление (the world of information, the importance of it, 
				what mass media are, what mass media do). 
				2. Рассказать о каждом типе СМИ с примерами из своей жизни (the 
				press: powerful kind, newspapers/magazines, if your family is 
				subscribed to any newspaper/magazine, what your family members 
				read, etc.; television: latest news, educational programmes/talk 
				shows/soap operas/cartoons, etc.; radio: less popular, a lot of 
				music/news/talk shows; the Internet: chat/news, good way of 
				communication, email, etc.). 
				3. Рассказать о достоинствах и недостатках СМИ (educate and 
				entertain, necessary equipment, expensive, unreliable 
				information). 
				4. Заключение (In spite of all disadvantages, people still watch 
				TV, listen to the radio and surf the Internet.). 
				 
				 
				QUESTIONS 
				1. What do mass media include? 
				2. What is one of the most popular types of mass media? 
				3. Why is reliable information important nowadays? 
				4. Is your family subscribed to a newspaper or magazine? 
				5. Do you watch television? 
				6. What are your favourite channels and programmes on TV? 
				7. Why is radio less popular than television? 
				8. Do you listen to the radio? What are your favourite radio 
				stations? 
				9. What TV programmes do you and your family watch? 
				10. Do you think it is possible to live without television? 
				11. Do you often surf the Internet? 
				12. What kind of information do you usually look for in the 
				Internet? 
				13. Do you have a profile on a social media site? 
				14. Do you think that life is impossible without the Internet 
				now? Why (not)? 
				15. What are the advantages and disadvantages of mass media? 
				 
				 
				USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES 
				Types of the press Виды печатной продукции 
				book книга 
				daily/weekly/monthly newspaper ежедневная/еженедельная/ежемесячная 
				газета 
				flyer флаер 
				journal специализированный журнал 
				leaflet листовка (рекламная) 
				magazine журнал 
				Types of TV programmes Виды телевизионных программ 
				cartoon мультфильм 
				children's programme детская программа 
				documentary документальный фильм 
				educational programme образовательная программа 
				news programme новости 
				quiz/game show -телевикторина 
				sitcom комедия положений 
				soap opera мыльная опера 
				sports programme спортивная программа 
				talk show ток-шоу 
				TV show/series сериал 
				weather forecast прогноз погоды 
				The Internet Интернет 
				blog блог (онлайн-дневник) 
				browse/surf the Internet/Net «лазить» по Интернету 
				browser браузер 
				chat болтать 
				connection связь 
				download скачивать 
				e-mail электронная почта 
				link ссылка 
				online в сети, онлайн 
				post публиковать комментарий/пост 
				social media site социальная сеть 
				upload загружать в Интернет (информацию/фото/видео) 
  
				
				  
				
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