ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE (1859-1930)
Arthur Conan Doyle was a great writer-He was born in Scotland in the family of Irish. He was a doctor. In 1882 he moved from Scotland to England to set up a practice. His medical knowledge was a great help to him in his detective stories.
Conan Doyle was one of the first, who started the fashion of detective story. Today the fashion goes on with the stories of other writers.
Conan Doyle created his famous character, Sherlock Holmes, in 1885. Six years later, when Conan Doyle wrote some stories about this detective, the name of Sherlock Holmes became a name that everybody knew. Holmes first appeared in a book called "Study in Scarlet". "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" made him famous all over the world.
Conan Doyle became popular because of his love for people. He died in 1930.
Mass media
─ What is the role of mass media in the life of contemporary society?
─ The role of mass media in the life of the present society is difficult to overestimate. They have become a daily and essential necessity with contemporary men. Mass media report about various aspects of life, form and affect public opinion.
─ What is implied under the term «mass media»?
─ Mass media comprise press, radio, TV and the Internet. In this or that form mass media come into every home. To understand the meaning of mass media for the people it is necessary to consider their every aspect separately.
─ What do you know about the Internet?
─ The Internet was created in 1983. Since that time it has grown beyond its largely academic origin into an increasingly commercial and popular medium. The Internet connects many computer net works. It is based on a common addressing system and communications protocol called TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). By the mid-1990s the Internet connected millions of computers throughout the world. Many commercial computer network and data services also provided at least indirect connection to the Internet. The World Wide Web, which enables simple and intuitive navigation of Internet sites through a graphical interface, expanded during the 1990s to become the most important component of the Internet.
─ What can you say about the press?
─ Newspaper are usually issued daily, weekly, or at other regular times. They provide news, views, features, and other information of public interest and often carry advertising
─ When did the first newspapers appear in England?
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─ Newspapers appeared in many European countries in the 17th century. The first English printed news book averaging twenty-two pages was the «Weekly News». It appeared in Lon don in 1621. By the 1640s the news book had taken the form of a newspaper. The first periodical was the «London Gazelle», a bi weekly court paper. It started as the «Oxford Gazette» in 1665 when the King and the court moved to Oxford because of London plague.
─ What was the first English daily?
─ The first English daily was «The Daily Courant» (1702-35). It was in 1771 that Parliament allowed journalists the right to report its proceedings. The «Times» was founded by John Walter in 1785, and «The Observer» was founded in 1791.
─ What role do newspapers play today?
─ Newspapers come out to provide their readers with fresh news. Today people have a chance to have full information about political, economic and cultural events in their own country and abroad.
─ Are British newspapers homogeneous?
─ No, they are not. In Great Britain there are no official government newspapers. British newspapers are proud of their individual styles. They can be classified into quality and popular editions.
─ In what way do quality newspapers differ from the popular ones?
─ Quality newspapers are serious daily issues. They appeal mainly to the upper and middle classes. Popular, tabloid newspapers are smaller in size and contain many photographs. Unlike quality newspapers popular newspapers are not so serious and their stories tend to be sensational.
─ What quality newspapers can you name?
─ Quality newspapers are: «Financial Times», «The Times», «The Guardian», «The Daily Telegraph».
─ What information do quality newspapers contain?
─ «Financial Times» contains a comprehensive coverage of industry, commerce and public affairs. «The Times» is the most famous newspaper. It represents the views of the establishment and is well-known for its correspondence column. «The Guardian» gives a wide coverage of news events and reports on social issues, the arts, education. «The Daily Telegraph» contains reports on national and international news, gives a full covering of sports and other topics.
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─ What are popular newspapers?
─ Popular newspapers are: «The Daily Express», «The Daily Mirror», «The Daily Mail», «The Daily Star», «The Sun». They have a national daily circulation and appeal mainly to the working and middle classes.
─ When did the first newspapers appear in America?
─ In the 17th century newspapers, magazines, almanacs were published in America. The oldest printing press in America was set up as early as 1639 at Cambridge, and its activity was never interrupted. The first newspaper in the United States came out in Boston in 1690. But it was suppressed by the colonial governor after one issue. The weekly «Boston News-letter» began publication in 1704. Independent newspaper publishing started with the «New- England Courant» in 1721. In 1776 on the eve of the Revolution Boston had five newspapers, and Philadelphia three. Freedom of the press was achieved the United States in 1791 by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
─ How can American newspapers be classified?
─ In the USA daily newspapers are of two kinds: quality and popular. «The Wall Street Journal» is a quality newspaper. It covers national and international news. «The Washington Post» contains full coverage of Congress.
─ Does a national press exist in the USA?
─ It is a very difficult question. On one hand it is possible to say that there is no national press in the US. because most daily papers are distributed locally. On the other hand one can say that there is a national US press. It is a very specific press as it comes from the sharing of news. I mean that some newspapers not only print, but collect and sell news, news features and photographs to other newspapers. For example, «The New York Times», «The Washington Post», the «Los Angeles Times» are the best news services of this kind.
─ What can you say about Russian newspapers?
─ Today Russia can be proud of the variety of newspapers circulating throughout the country. On the news stalls one can find newspapers of all kinds: national and local, official and private, quality and popular, newspapers issued for children, teenagers, people of different trends, for fans: sport-fans, car-fans, etc. Today there are a lot of local and professional newspapers in Russia.
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─ Is it possible to classify Russian newspapers into quality and popular?
─ Now it is almost impossible to classify all the Russian news papers into two big groups: quality and popular. It is possible to name the newspapers and the bodies responsible for the issue of this or that newspaper to illustrate the variety of the modern Russian press. «Moscovsky Komsomolets» is a social and political newspaper of the Russian youth; «Arguments and Facts» is an in dependent newspaper; «Evening Moscow» is an independent people's newspaper; «The Red Star» is the newspaper of the Defence Ministry.
─ Are there a lot of magazines in Russia today?
─ As for the magazines, today they are numerous. They cover all topics and interests, from painting and architecture to tennis, from aviation and gardening to computers and literary criticism.
─ When did radio appear?
─ Radio appeared earlier then TV.
─ Did it take radio long to be a reality?
─ Radio first became a possibility when the English physicist Michael Faraday demonstrated that an electrical current could produce a magnetic field. In 1864 James Clerk Maxwell, a professor of experimental physics at Cambridge, proved mathematically that these electrical disturbances could be detected at considerable distances. Maxwell predicted that this electromagnetic energy could move outward in waves travelling at the speed of light. In 1888 Heinrich Hertz demonstrated that Maxwell's prediction was true for transmissions over short distances. In 1901 an Italian physicist named Guglielrno Marconi received wireless telegraphic messages sent from Cornwall to Newfoundland. It was hailed as a triumph, but few discerned its full meaning: the birth of a communications revolution. Rather, it was another welcome convenience. Radio underwent rapid improvement in the period before World War II.
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─ Has radio lost its importance with the appearance of TV and the Internet?
─ Radio has not lost its importance with the appearances of TV and the Internet. Today there are a lot of radio stations of many different types and so much variety. Talk shows and music programmes with disc jockeys are very popular.
─ When was TV invented?
─ TV experiments to create a workable television system began in the late 19th century by Paul Nipkow, a German scientist. Today almost every family in the civilized world has a TV set. Television plays an important role in our society, not only as an entertainer and informant, but also because of the grip it has on many people. Television channels easily go into people's home taking in their time and life.
─ What British and American radio and TV networks do you know?
─ In the USA the National Public Radio network (NPR) is known for its quality news and discussion programmes. Another public radio network, American Public Radio (APR), with its commentary and entertainment programmes is very popular too. In the USA PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) with its 280 stations is the largest network. The cable networks such as CNN carries news and news stories, SPN covers all sports events, and MTV is famous for its music videos.
─ What do you know about the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)?
─ The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was established in 1936 by the government. It provides five radio stations. The BBC also runs thirty seven local radio stations, providing material of local importance. There are seventy independent local radio stations in Britain. They provide news, information, music, coverage of local events, sports commentaries and the like. External service of the BBC is a very important part of the BBC's work. The BBC World Service broadcasts in thirty five vernacular languages. The British have four main channels to choose, from: BBC-1 and BBC-2, ITV (Independent Television) and Channel Four. It is a well established fact that the high quality of British television is upheld by the BBC.
Newspapers
There are many kinds of newspapers in our country. It is possible to buy them almost everywhere. But we can't read all the newspapers. We know that it is necessary to read newspapers. Reading them we can learn a lot of interesting and useful things. I think that everyone must read newspapers every day. I read many newspapers and magazines.
Everyone has its favourite newspapers. I like "Vechernaya Moskva" best of all. This newspaper was published on the 6th of December, 1923 for the first time. It usually has 8 pages. You can read some news on the 1st page. You can't know a lot about these events, you read only some facts, which are usually short, but interesting. If you turn the second page, you can read about our life. You can read about events abroad and about your favourite artists and singers, too. You can see some advertisements on each page of the newspaper and use them. You can learn about the weather from the pages of this newspaper.
If you are fond of football, basket-ball or tennis, you read articles about sport events in our country and about our famous sportsmen. If you want to buy something you have to read the last page.
There are some humorous stories in this newspaper.
Magazines
It is interesting to look through some magazines or read them. It is possible to subscribe to some of them or buy them. We usually subscribe to the magazine "At the wheel". As we have a car it is useful for us to read it. My mother Prefer to read the magazine "Liza". She says that it even helps her in some cases.
Television and radio
I think that they are very popular means of information. They are popular among young people in our country. We can know a lot of news watching TV or listening to the radio set. All members of our family watch TV very regularly. We like such programme as "My family". I prefer to discuss some problems with my parents after it. I have many favourite TV programmes but I haven't enough time to watch all of them.
Free time. Hobbies
Leisure time
─ What do you usually do in your leisure time?
─ Unfortunately, as I have not had much free time this year, I have done my best to spend it wisely. It is known, that people can do all kinds of things in their spare time. They go shopping, play football, collect records or stamps. Of course, some of the time activities, like visiting relatives or taking driving lessons, may not be fun. In big cities people spend their free time by going to the theatre, cinema, museums, art galleries, concert hall, fitness or disco clubs. When I have some free time I can choose any of them. But when the weather is fine, I like to go for a walk along the boulevards and streets of the city with my friends, enjoying its architecture.
─ A re you fond of collecting anything?
─ No, I am not. I have not enough time to collect anything. My friend collects coins. His collection is rather rich. Coins of different countries are gathered there. Moreover, he has a lot of books devoted to numismatics and albums picturing the coin collections of different museums.
─ What do you think about it?
─ Everyone has the right to collect various, even the most unusual things, if it gives sense to his or her life. People collect paintings, stamps, match boxes, bottles, cans, buttons, books, etc. I know that girls are fond of collecting dolls. Some of them do not give it up even when they are of age. In their spare time people can read books, listen to their favourite music, invite their friends to a cafe or a park, or watch TV. Watching TV is also a popular leisure activity. Sometimes it is pleasant to be entertained without leaving the apartment. But excessive TV watching deprives a person of his initiative. Very often TV addicts are governed by television.
─ Do you have the same problems?
─ No, I don't. We turn on our television to watch only selected programmes. In my leisure time I read books, go to the theatre or cinema.
─ Do you like to go to the theatre?
─ Yes, I do.
─ Do you often go to the theatre?
─ No, I do not. I do not often go to the theatre. If I have a chance, I prefer to go to the Bolshoi Theatre, Mali Theatre or Art Theatre. I like conventional rendering of the classical ballets, op eras and plays. The tradition of Russian realist theatre was exemplified in the work of Konstantin Stanislavsky of the Moscow Art Theatre. The leading theatre companies of ballet are the Bolshoi in Moscow and Mariinsky in St. Petersburg. Russian ballet had a formative role in Western dance through a number of figures, such as Sergey Diaghilev and Vaslav Nijinsky.
─ Do you like ballet?
─ Yes, I do. Once saw a ballet «Giselle». The performance with its beautiful music, designs and cast was perfect. My concentration and enjoyment were intense. I also saw some new ballets with music from «outerspace», with dancers resembling mysteriously lit sculptural images, and severely geometrical de signs, and I can not say that I delighted in them. I prefer classical performances.
─ What do you expect when you go to the theatre?
─ When I go to the theatre I expect more than just fun of it. I want to see some actors I've heard of or a new version of the classical play. Recently I've seen the theatrical adaptation of Oscar Wilde's «Picture of Dorian Gray». It is excellent. If you want a thought provoking evening at the theatre, that's the one you want to see. But most of all like to go to the cinema.
─ Is it your hobby?
─ Yes. It is one of my hobbies.
─ What kind of films do you like to see?
─ I delight in seeing all kinds of films: comedies, love-stories, thrillers, westerns, war films, and cartoons. I like films if they are exciting. I do not like horror films because of their frightening moments even if they are superbly made and the acting is marvellous.
─ What are your favourite films?
─ One time I liked films directed by James Cameron. When I was younger I saw his heavy-metal Sci-Fi «Terminator» and «Terminator 2» several times. The special effects were wonderful and important to the success of the films. I took pleasure in ferociously exciting «Aliens». I liked his «Titanic» too. «Titanic» was no mere disaster movie. It was an epic love story. Cameron's 'Romeo and Juliet' on a sinking ship became an international sensation.
─ What other films have impressed you?
─ I was really impressed by two movies - «Gladiator» and «Pearl Harbour». «Gladiator» is a very amazing movie. Well photographed and directed it is really the best movie of the past decade. It is really magnificent. The fight scenes were great, and the characters were well developed. The screenplay is excellent. It is a sweeping story of courage and revenge. Russell Crowe is fabulous as Maximus. His portrayal of the major character is superb. His leadership, confidence, skill and heart are persuasive. In the first minutes, I completely realized the utter devotion that Maximus secured from his men, and his Caesar. I am actually keen to see it again, just to catch those things I missed while trying to keep up with it all. I would love to see all those sweeping views of Rome and the wonderful statues through the city. As for «Pearl Harbour», unfortunately it tried to be a war movie and a love story at the same time, and whilst «Titanic» knew when to stop with the love story and focus on the tragedy, «Pearl Harbour» was not capable of achieving the same distinction. It does not mean that I did not enjoy «Pearl Harbour». I want to say that the movie had the potential to be so much more than it actually was.
─ Do you like to read books?
─ Yes, I do. I am fond of reading books.
─ What books do you like to read?
─ I am fond of science fiction.
─ When did this form of fiction develop?
─ This form of fiction developed in the 20th century. It deals with the impact of actual or imagined science upon society or individuals. This term is used to refer to any literary fantasy that includes a scientific factor as an essential orienting component.
─ What does such literature consist of?
─ It consists of an extrapolation of scientific facts and principles, or it incorporates absolutely contradictory facts and principles. In either case, likelihood based on science is a requisite.
─ Who were the precursors of the genre?
─ In the 18th century they were Voltaire with his «Micromegas», Jonathan Swift with «Gulliver's Travels». In the 19th century the precursors of the genre were Mary Shelley with her Gothic novel «Frankenstein», Robert Louis Stevenson's with his «Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde».
─ When did science fiction begin?
─ Science fiction began at the end of the 19th century with the scientific romances of Jules Verne, whose science was rather on the level of invention, as well as with the science-oriented novels of social criticism of H.G. Wells. They pioneered what may be properly termed science fiction.
─ When did science fiction emerge as a mode of serious fiction?
─ With the publication of stories and novels of such writers as Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Robert A. Heinlein, science fiction emerged as a mode of serious fiction. Such writers as Aldous Huxley, C.S. Lewis, and Kurt Vonnegut, who were not de voted exclusively to science fiction, also added much to it.
─ Whose works became paperback best-sellers during the postwar period?
─ The works of such science-fiction writers of notable merit in the postwar period as A.E. Van Vogt, J.G. Ballard, Ray Bradbury, Frank Herbert, Harlan Ellison, Poul Anderson, Samuel R. Delany, Ursula K. LeGuin, Frederik Pohl, Octavia E. Butler, and Brian Aldiss became paperback best-sellers. These writers' approaches included predictions of future societies on the Earth, analyses of the consequences of interstellar travel, and imaginative explorations of forms of intelligent life and their societies in other worlds. Radio, television, and motion pictures have reinforced the popularity of the genre.
─ What were the aims of the science fiction writers?
─ Since the days of Wells's «Time Machine» and «Invisible Man», the aims of science fiction were didactic. The works of contemporary writers opposed the utopianism that Wells built on the potentialities of socialism and technology. Aldous Huxley's «Brave New World» showed how dangerous utopianism could be, since the desire for social stability might overlook techniques that would destroy the fundamental human right to make free choices. Toward the end of his life Huxley produced a cautious Utopian vision in «Island», but the dystopian horrors of his earlier novel and of his «Ape and Essence» remain more convincing. Orwell's «Nineteen Eighty-four» showed a world in which a tyrannic unity is imposed by a collective solipsism, and contradictions are liquidated through the constant revision of history that the controlling party decrees. Anthony Burgess' «Clockwork Orange» and «Wanting Seed» portray ghastly futures that extrapolate, respectively, philosophies of crime control and population control out of present-day tendencies that are only potentially dangerous.
─ Are there any science-fiction books without prophetic or warning intent?
─ The fantasist who fantasizes without prophetic or warning intent is rarer, but works such as Nabokov's «Ada», Tolkien's «Lord of the Rings» cycle, and «Christine Brooke-Rose's Out» rep resent legitimate and heartening stretching of the imagination, assurances that the novelist has the right to create secondary worlds, as well as characters, of his own.
─ Who created secondary worlds?
─ Only three masters became architects of a complete secondary world. The vast Middle Earth trilogy «The Lord of the Rings», by J.R.R. Tolkien, was not written for children. It reworks many of the motives of traditional romance and fantasy. It is essentially a structure of sheer invention. Tolkien's fellow scholar, C.S. Lewis, created his own otherworld of Narnia. It is more clearly Christian- allegorical, more carefully adapted to the tastes of children. The seven volumes of the cycle are exciting. And the final scenes of «The Last Battle» are deeply moving. The third of these classic secondary worlds is in a sense not a creation of fantasy. The four volumes about the «Borrowers», with their brief pendant, «Poor Stainless», ask the reader to accept only a single impossibility, that in a quiet country house, under the grandfather clock, live the tiny Clock family: Pod, Homily, and their daughter Arrietty. All that follows from this premise is logical, precisely pictured, and carries absolute conviction. Many critics believe that this miniature world so lovingly, so patiently fashioned by Mary Norton will last as long as those located at the bottom of the rabbit hole and through the looking glass.
─ Is it difficult for a person to have a hobby?
─ No, I don't think so. I can say that there are a lot of ways of spending one's free time. I always have a lot to do in my leisure time. It is great to have some free time and do what is really pleasant.
MY HOBBY
What is a hobby? It is what you can and like to do, when you have free time. We choose a hobby according to our character and taste. When we have a hobby our life becomes more interesting.
Very often our hobby helps us to choose our future profession because we learn a lot of new things.
Many people are interested in music. They collect records. Others like to read and collect books. People living in cities and towns like to be closer to nature and they spend their free time in the country.
Some of us go on hikes, some like to Work in their gardens, take photographs or knit.
For example, gardening and growing roses is the most common hobby among Englishmen.
Both grown-ups and children are fond of playing different computer games. It has become one of the numerous hobbies.
I have got a hobby too.
My name is Nastya. Sometimes I have got some free time. As my hobby is cooking I like to make cakes and pies. My cakes are very tasty, but I like pies best of all. I'll tell you how I make pies with cabbage.
First of all I take a head of cabbage, cut and put it into a frying-pan. Then I take carrot and peel it. By the way I have a very comfortable grater at home. I like to use it when I make my pies. I usually grate carrot, onion using my favourite grater. I put grated carrot into the frying-pan, then I salt cabbage and carrot to my taste, mix them and add some water. Then I stew these vegetables in the frying-pan. I usually buy some paste for my pies.
I cut up paste, roll it and make small pies. Then I put pies with stewed cabbage into the oven. It takes twenty minutes to bake them. My parents and friends like to eat my pies. I advise you to make such pies and I hope that you'll like them too.
My school
At the age of 6 or 7 all boys and girls go to school. I go to school too. The number of my school is 338. Our school is large and light. It is neither old nor new. There is a school yard around it. It is a pity, but there are no flowers near the school. You can see a sports ground behind the school. Sometimes we have physical training lessons there.
Our school has got three floors. There is a workshop on the ground floor. It is big. There are all kinds of tools and machines there. The boys of our school have a wood-work room too. They learn to make things of wood in this room. There is a room for manual work for girls. It is not on the ground floor, it is on the second floor.
There are some computer classes, and pupils like such school subjects as Computing.
If you enter the school and go to the left you see a dining-room. Here pupils and teachers have their breakfast and dinner.
The dining-room is a clean one. There are many nice pictures on the walls.
There is a gymnasium near the dining-room. All pupils like to go there, because they like physical training lessons.
Our school has got a library. It is on the ground floor too. There are a lot of interesting new and old books in it. But our library has no reading-room.
Our school has got many classrooms. We have got two English classrooms, History, Geography and Physics classrooms and others. They are big and light and each of them has got two large windows with green curtains, flowers on the window-sills, a bookcase near the door, the blackboard on the wall.
The teacher's table with many books on it is situated not far from the blackboard. There are twenty desks and some comfortable chairs in the classrooms. There is a TV set in each classroom. Sometimes it is used during the lessons.
There is a school hall on the second floor where meetings and conferences take place.
We organize concerts, parties when we celebrate our holidays. Pupils of our school sing songs and dance modern and folk dances and perform some plays there. The last bell is organized at our school in a proper way. It is a very remarkable day in the life of all the pupils. The pupils of the first form and the pupils of the eleventh one are preparing for this day with great pleasure.
The teachers' room is on the second floor. There are tables and chairs for teachers, a TV set and a telephone there. It is a comfortable and cosy room and the teachers like to spend their free time in it. I like my school. I go there and get knowledge.
Pupils have school uniforms in En-gland. It is an old tradition in the country. A boy's uniform consists of a special suit, a school cap, a tie and a blazer. A girl's uniform consists of a hat a coat, a skirt and a blouse. As usual their uniform is dark.
Arts
─ Are you fond of arts?
─ Yes, I am. I am fond of arts. I really enjoy everything that is aesthetically beautiful. I like painting, sculpture, and architecture. I am also fond of music, ballet, opera, and theatre. Masterpieces have always inspired people. The twentieth century has given the world one more variety of arts - cinema.
─ What kind of music do you like?
─ I like both serious and pop music. I want to say that the striking changes in musical style occurred about 1900. After World War II avant-garde music began to employ the electronics techniques. The dehumanizing of music has been carried further by the use of computers to determine the nature of sound materials and even to create musical pieces.
─ Was popular music wide spread in the 20th century?
─ Yes, it was.
─ What brought about the tremendous growth of popular music during the 20th century?
─ The tremendous growth of popular music during the 20th century was the result of advances in electronics. New techniques have made possible high-fidelity reproduction of sound and its widespread and rapid dissemination through radio, phonograph, tape recorder, and television. In addition, some of the instruments used in popular music have incorporated electronic amplification as well as sound production.
─ When did popular music originate?
─ Popular music in the modern sense originated in the late 18th century, when ballads made popular in ballad operas and dance music received wide circulation.
─ What prompted a new direction in popular music in the 20th century?
─ In the 20th century a new direction in popular music was prompted by the emergence of jazz among blacks in the southern United States. After the original ragtime came jazz proper, swing, bebop, and rock in its numerous manifestations - punk, new wave, etc. Early in the century, the novelty of jazz rhythms and dominance of brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments over strings attracted some serious composers who occasionally incorporated suitable jazz idioms into their works. Since about 1930 popular music has gradually adopted techniques that originated in serious music. Regardless of the interaction of popular and serious music, the popularity of the former is one of the most significant musical developments of the 20th century.
─ Who is your favourite composer?
─ My favourite composer is Sergey Rachmaninoff. He was the last great figure of the tradition of Russian Romanticism and a leading piano virtuoso of his time. He is especially known for his piano concerti and the piece for piano and orchestra entitled «Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini». At the age of 19 he graduated from the conservatory, winning a gold medal for his one-act opera «Aleko» (after Aleksandr Pushkin's poem «The Gypsies»). His fame and popularity, both as composer and concert pianist, were launched by two compositions: the «Prelude», and his «Piano Concerto No. 2». Rachmaninoff’s music, although produced mostly in the 20th century, re mains firmly entrenched in the 19th-century music. He was the final to express the tradition embodied by P. Tchaikovsky.
─ Do you like the music of other Russian composers?
─ Yes, of course. I also enjoy Mikhail Glinka's music. He was me first Russian composer to win international recognition, and the acknowledged founder of the Russian nationalist school. The opera that first won him fame was «Life for the Tsar». It was produced at St. Petersburg in 1836.
─ What else did Glinka create?
─ In 1842 Glinka created his second opera «Ruslan and Lyudmila». The composer Franz Listz was fascinated by the novelty of Glinka's music.
─ Did Glinka's music influence the composers of succeeding generations?
─ It should be said that Glinka's work, although small in bulk, is the basis of practically all later Russian music. «Ruslan and Lyudmila» provided models of lyrical melody and colourful orchestration on which Mily Balakirev, Aleksandr Borodin, and Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov formed their styles. Glinka's orchestral composition «Kamarinskaya», of 1848, according to Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, became the foundation of later Russian symphonic music.
─ Do you like the music of modern composers?
─ As for modern composers I am fond of experimental works of Igor Stravinsky. He heralded a new epoch in music. Stravinsky's revolutionary style, labelled «dynamism,» «barbarism,» or «primitivism,» concentrated on metric imbalance and dissonance. Following the leadership of Stravinsky, Bela Bartok, and Sergey Prokofiev, entered a Neo-classical period characterized by restraint of emotional content.
─ Do you like opera?
─ Yes, I do. Especially I like the operas created by Mozart, Verdi, and Tchaikovsky.
─ Do you known anything about the history of opera?
─ It is generally accepted that opera began in 1600 when the Florentine composer Jacopo Peri produced his «Euridice», which is considered to be the first opera, at the wedding of the King of France Henry IV and Maria de Medici. Later a group of Italian musicians, poets, and noblemen called «Camerata» revived the style of musical story that had been used in Greek tragedy. By the late 1600s operas spread throughout Europe. Composers produced complicated arias, recitatives, duets to demonstrate the splendid voices of the singers.
─ Do you like pop music?
─ Yes, I do. I prefer the «Beatles» to all recent pop groups.
─ Who were the members of the group?
─ The four members of the group, all born in Liverpool, were Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. They came from a working-class background, and ail had worked in various rock groups before they started performing together.
─ When was the name of the group adopted?
─ The name the «Beatles» was adopted in 1960. They were per forming at clubs in Liverpool and in Hamburg, which served as a proving ground for popular musicians of the period.
─ What songs made them the most popular rock group in Eng land!
─ Such songs as «Love Me Do,» «Please Please Me,» «She Loves You,» and «I Want To Hold Your Hand» made them the most popular rock group in England. Early in 1964 what soon came to be called «Beatlemania» struck the United States with the release there of the two last-named records and their first U.S. television appearance on the «Ed Sullivan Show.»
─ Who was inspired by the music of the «Beatles»!
─ Such U.S. performers as Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, and Bill Haley were inspired by the music of the «Beatles». The «Beatles'» long hair and tastes in dress proved influential throughout the world.
─ What kept the «Beatles» at the top of popularity charts for several years?
─ The freshness and excitement of the earliest days of rock and roll and, in combination with the simple but engaging lyrics of Lennon and McCartney, kept the group at the top of popularity charts for several years. They won recognition from the music industry in the form of awards for performances and songs. With a solid financial basis they could experiment with new musical forms and arrangements. The result was a variety of songs ranging from ballads such as «Yesterday» to complex rhythm tunes like «Paperback Writer,» from children's songs such as «Yellow Submarine» to songs of social comment, including «Eleanor Rigby.»
─ When did their public performances end?
─ Their public performances ended in 1966.
─ Do you know any other long-lived and popular rock band?
─ The «Rolling Stones», English musical group, was one of the most long-lived and popular of all rock bands.
─ What can you tell us about this rock band?
─ The name «Rolling Stones» was adopted from a song by the American blues musician Muddy Waters. The «Rolling Stones» began to perform in England in 1963, and a series of outstanding songs had made the band second in popularity only to the «Beatles» among rock and roll audiences by 1966.
─ What albums made the «Rolling Stones» popular?
─ The group reached the height of its popularity in the late 1960s and early '70s with such albums as «Beggar's Banquet», «Let It Bleed», «Sticky Fingers», and «Exile On Main Street».
─ When were the «Rolling Stones» performing?
─ The «Rolling Stones» were still performing in the late 20th century, long after the «Beatles» and other classic rock bands of the 1960s had disbanded.
─ What was the «Rolling Stones» music marked by?
─ The «Rolling Stones'» music was marked by a driving back- beat, biting and satirical lyrics, simple but expressive instrumental accompaniments, and Jagger's blues-influenced singing.
─ Well, now let us talk about painting. Are you fond of painting?
─ To me painting is second only to music. I take a special liking to masters' masterpieces. I have several albums with the greatest Russian and West European paintings.
─ Which painting do you prefer Russian or West European?
─ It is almost impossible to say which painting I prefer Russian or West European. Each of them has its own peculiarities. I like the colour of Andrew Rublev's masterpieces and I enjoy the Impressionists works of art. I am also fond of the «Little masters'» works of art. But most of all I admire Giotto. He is regarded the founder of modern painting. Giotto introduced perspective, three dimensional forms, landscape background, one scale for the people and another for the surroundings, light without indication of source and foreshortening in perspective. 1 also like the art works created by the Russian painters - members of the «World of Art» group, such as Aleksandr Benois, Yevgeny Lansere, Konstantin Somov, Bakst.
─ What was the goal of the painters of the «World of Art» group?
─ They strove to achieve a synthesis of new western European trends and certain elements of traditional Russian folk art. They attacked the artistic standards of the realist painters, the deadening influence of the Russian Academy of Arts, and emphasized individualism and artistic personality.
─ Whose works of art of the painters of the «World of An» group do you like most?
─ I like the works created by Konstantin Somov. He was a painter and graphic artist. Somov attended the St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Art from 1888 to 1897, then he went to Paris to attend the studios of Filippo Colarossi and Whistler. Neither the Realism of the Russian teachers nor the fleeting quality of Whistler's art was reflected for long in Somov's work. Somov was associated with the «World of Art» Journal from 1898. He concentrated on the subjects from the eighteenth century. In the «Lady in Blue», of 1897-1900, an oil portrait of the artist Yelizaveta Martynova, the outmoded dress of the figure in the foreground, and the park-like setting creates the atmosphere of a reverie. Somov's paintings are characterized by a melancholy nostalgia in line with the gallant age of Watteau. The artist shared his moods with the symbolism.
─ Do you like the works of art of other Russian painters?
─ Yes, do. I like Karl Bryullov's works of art.
─ What can you tell us about Karl Bryullov's paintings?
─ Karl Bryullov is celebrated for the unusual breadth of his artistic talent. He was a perfect historical painter, portraitist, and genre painter. He made the most notable contribution to the Ro mantic spirit having combined technical proficiency and classical academic training with a Romantic impulsiveness to produce some of the liveliest examples of Russian art of the period.
─ Where did Karl Bryullov study?
─ Bryullov was educated at the St Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts. He studied in Italy from 1823.
─ What is Bryullov's greatest work?
─ Bryullov's monumental painting the «Last Day of Pompeii» is his greatest work. It brought him an international reputation. Russia greeted him as a hero who had glorified the Motherland. Alexander Pushkin, Vassily Zhukovsky and Nikolay Gogol all warmly welcomed the artist.
─ Were Bryullov's other paintings also popular?
─ Though he painted other monumental historical canvases, none was as successful as the «Last Day of Pompeii». Much of his reputation rests on his more intimate portraits, water-colours, and travel sketches. Bryullov succeeded in asserting something new in everything he created. During his long stay in Italy he was charmed by the life and customs of the Italians, their humour and lyricism. In Italy Bryullov created a series of small genre paintings.
─ Is Karl Bryullov your favourite Russian painter?
─ Karl Bryullov is one of my favourite Russian painters.
─ Whose works art do you also admire?
─ I am fond of genre scenes. I like Pavel Fedotov's works of art very much. He was a great master of genre painting. The painter elevated the household theme to the level of drama. He understood his task in raising the moral standards of the people by unmasking the vices of the society in his art. Fedotov was a prolific painter. For nine years he created a great number of perfect works of art, such as «A Newly Awarded Officer», «The Fastidious Bride», «The Aristocrat's Breakfast», two versions of the «Mayor's Proposal», three versions of «The Young Widow», «Encore, Once more Encore», «The Gamblers». The movement initiated by Fedotov soon became known as Critical Realism. It laid the foundation for the democratic painting of the «Wanderers» in the second half of the 19-th century.
─ What do you know about the «Wanderers»?
─ A truly national realistic tradition began with the appearance of the «Wanderers». Kramskoy organized a protest against prescribed mythological themes in the competition for the Great Gold Medal that gave a six-year scholarship to study abroad. This action marked a break with the Academy's outdated form of Neoclassicism patterned on Western models which lost popularity with the educated public but continued to be taught and favoured at the official level. After the break with the Academy Kramskoy sustained a group of thirteen independent painters both organizationally and intellectually in keeping with the spirit of the reform and renovation that swept Russia during the 1860s after the emancipation of the serfs. He set up a communal workshop (artel), the «Wanderers». At the same time Kramskoy defined ideological underpinnings of the new art: a combination of civic, moral and national goals, which infused Russian realism with its crystal-clear ideal of service. He asserted that as painters in Russia were not free they had to take the most urgent problems of the day as the subjects of their works of art. The most prominent Russian artists of the 1870s and '80s, including Ivan Kramskoy, Il'ya Repin, Vassily Surikov, Vassily Perov, and Vassily Vereshchagin, belonged to this group. The «Wanderers» attached much importance to the moral and literary aspects of art than to aesthetics. Their artistic creed was realism, national feeling, and social consciousness. The influence of the «Wanderers» spread throughout Russia. This group was dominant for nearly 30 years.
─ Can you tell us about one of the painters who sympathized with the «Wanderers»?
─ I shall tell you about Vassily Vereshchagin. He was a naval officer, and on board the frigate «Kamchatka» he sailed to Den mark, France and Egypt. In 1860 having abandoned his naval officer career, Vereshchagin entered the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. But dissatisfied with the conservatism and idealistic conventions of the academic system, he left the Academy in 1863. The critical realism of the «Wanderers» always evoke Vereshchagin's sympathy. He participated in some of their exhibitions.
─ What is Vereshchagin's best-known work of art?
─ The best-known work of Vereshchagin's Turkish series is the «Apotheosis of War». It shows a pile of skulls against the devastated city. On the frame there is an inscription: «Dedicated to all great conqueror: past, present, future.» The subject of the painting, distinguished for anti-war symbolism, was repeated numerously in the 20th century anti-war poster. Vereshchagin appealed for pacifism and his social concern attracted the sympathy of the liberally minded circles.
─ What other Vereshchagin's works of art were are popular?
─ Vereshchagin's anti-Napoleonic series were very popular. The huge paintings of the series are not entirely free from the theatrical effects and the pomposity, but certain images are memorable because of their dramatism. «Keep away I'll Take Care of Him», of 1888-95, depicts the Russian partisans in an ambush, surrounded by the branches of a snow-covered forest.
─ Are you fond of portraiture?
─ Yes, I do. I like the portraits created by the Russian painters of the 18th century such as Vladimir Borovikovsky, Fyodor Rokotov, and Vladimir Dmitry Levitsky. The painters tried to render the richness of the spiritual life of their models. They endowed them with the nobility of the human countenance and form. Karl Bryullov was an excellent portraitist too. Even in the ceremonial portraits he managed to attach something new and turn the piece into a genre painting. Bryullov's supreme achievements in portraiture are intimate, small-scale portraits, in which the artist was not restricted by academic tradition. Bryullov's self-portrait is one of his best works of art. The members of the «World of Art» group also produced remarkable portraits of renowned Russian writers and artists. For example, Somov made a number of portraits of out standing Russian people, including Alexander Blok.
─ What English painters can you name?
─ William Hogarth, Thomas Gainsborough, Joshua Reynolds, John Constable are outstanding English painters. One of the greatest painters of Britain is Joseph Mallord William Turner. He often painted historical subjects, involving violence as well as shipwrecks and conflagrations, in which the individual figures appear as scarcely more than spots in a seething tide of humanity. He liked to accompany his works with the labels with quotations from poetry, often his own. Turner was fond of painting the pure movement of masses of colour - a kind of colour music, strikingly relevant to Abstract Expressionism of the 1950s. Turner's masterpieces are «The Slave Ship» and the «Rain, Steam and Speed». In the former the painter represented an incident common in the days of slavery, when entire human cargoes were thrown into the sea, either because of epidemics or to avoid arrest. The latter is one of the first paintings of a railway train, and its Romantic idealization of «progress» - man conquering nature by utilizing its force. It should be said that Turner's colour sense provided a revelation to the French Impressionists.
─ Is the English school of painting proud of its portraitists?
─ Yes, certainly. The greatest of them are Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough. They created the portraits of celebrated lords and ladies. Their works are full of charm and elegance. Throughout the 18th century, portraiture was the most important genre of British painting. In portraiture an interest in extremes of mood found most eloquent expression in the work of Sir Thomas Lawrence. In the portraits «Richard Payne Knight» and «Pope Pius VII» the artist combined brilliant freedom of handling with dramatic expression and setting.
─ Do you like American art?
─ Yes, I do.
─ How did it develop in the 20th century?
─ At the beginning of the twentieth century American Art was still traditional. But artistic currents from Europe continued to flow. They resulted in the neorealist «Ash Gan» group, and in the modernist group of «291». An absolutely original American painter was Georgia O'Keffe. Throughout her long creative life, O'Keffe's imagery was derived from the great variety of objects surrounding her. In her «Blue and Green Music» the brushwork moved like visual music. After World War I some American artists turned to new forms of realism, focusing on the banality of American urban and rural life. One of the best of these American scene painters was Edward Hopper, He presents us with a bleak world made up of dirty streets, gloomy houses, comfortless rooms such as in the «Automate».
─ What can you tell us about American cultural life?
─ American culture has produced many outstanding writers, filmmakers, and musicians. The country's 19th-century literature was dominated by such names as Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Рое, Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, and Henry James. Among the great American writers of the 20th century were Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. The dramatists Eugene O'Neill and Tennessee Williams. The poets Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, and Robert Frost were popular too.
─ What is one of the USA most popular and internationally influential art forms?
─ One of the country's most popular and internationally influential art forms has been the motion picture. American filmmakers such as Charlie Chaplin, Howard Hawks, Orson Welles, Frank Capra, John Ford, John Huston, Martin Scorsese, and Steven Spielberg gained world fame for cinematic artistry.
─ What music types have been developed in the USA?
─ The country has developed several distinctive and highly influential types of popular music: jazz, the blues, country and western, and rock and roll. The most important performers have included Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, and John Coltrane in jazz; Muddy Waters in the blues, Hank Williams in country and western, and Elvis Presley in rock and roll.
MUSIC IN OUR LIFE
It is difficult to live without music. We hear music everywhere: in the streets, at home, over the radio and on TV, in the shops, in the parks and in the concert halls, at the seaside.
We can't live without music. We like to listen to music, we enjoy to dance to music, we play musical instruments.
A music lesson is one of the favourite subjects at school.
The teacher of music tells the pupils about famous composers and teaches them to sing songs. Pupils prepare concerts for school holidays, learn new songs, play different musical instruments.
Some people are interested in music very much. Children can learn at music schools if they are capable and fond of music. They study there for seven years
Music is a combination of many sounds. It reflects our mood and emotions.
There are numerous folk groups in our country. It is interesting to listen to their music and songs.
Last week my friends and I visited a concert of folk music. Artists danced folk dances and sang folk songs. This concert made a great impression on us.
Both classical and modern music are popular in our country. My friend Mike and I are fond of classical music. Sometimes we spend our free time, listening to music by Wolfgang Mozart and other composers. His "Fourth Symphony" and the "Sixth Symphony" by Shostakovich impressed us very much.
Nowadays young people prefer modern music. If you want to listen to modern music you can attend the music halls and the concerts of popular groups and singers.
I like to listen to the songs by our popular singers Julian, Alla Pugacheva and Valery Leontyev. They are talented and skilled singers and composers and I like to visit their concerts. My friends and I buy tickets beforehand and often take flowers for our favourite singers.
As to foreign songs I prefer to listen to Adriano Chelentano. He is an Italian ginger and actor. He is popular not only in his native land but also in other countries.
VISITING THEATRES Text I
There are many theatres in our country, but the most famous of them are in Moscow. If you want to visit a theatre you have to buy a ticket.
Now you have bought the ticket. You pass through an entrance and go to the cloak-room. Then you go to the hall. There are rows of seats there. You can see the pit near the stage. There are boxes on both sides of the pit.
A dress-circle is higher than the pit. The balconies are higher than the dress-circle. There is a beautiful chandelier in the hall.
I am a theatre-goer. I prefer to visit drama theatres and the Bolshoi Theatre.
As I like to sit in the pit, I try to buy a ticket beforehand. I usually look through a playbill before going to theatres.
Two months ago I saw "Three Sisters" by Chekhov in Moscow Art Theatre. The play was splendid. The main role was played by Tatyana Doronina. I like this actress. I think, she is talented. When the curtain rose, we saw a nice scenery and the spectators began to applaud. It was a storm of applause. I can say that during this performance all the actors and actresses were playing excellently. On the way home we discussed the performance with my friends.
I usually go to the theatre with my friends.
VISITING THEATRES Text II
There are many theatres in our country. If you want to see a performance or a play you must go to the theatre. You can see dramas, tragedies or comedies there. We have some famous theatres in Moscow. For example, the Bolshoi and the Maly Theatres are famous theatres all over the world.
All theatres differ from each other. They have their plays, their actors, actresses. But on the other hand all theatres have a box-office, a cloak-room and almost all theatre performances begin at the same time in all theatres.
There is a popular theatre for children in Moscow. It is the Children's Musical Theatre. Children, pupils and their parents like to go there. You can see many interesting plays in this theatre.
If I want to go to the theatre, first of all, I have to buy a ticket. If it is an interesting and popular performance it is difficult to buy a ticket at once. That's why I have to buy a ticket beforehand. Now I have a ticket. I go to the theatre, leave my coat in the cloak-room. Then I go to the foyer. It is interesting to see the photos of the famous and popular actors and actresses on the walls. I want to know who plays in this performance and I buy a programme. The performance begins at 7 o'clock in the evening after the third bell. My seat is near the stage. I like the performance and I applaud the actors and actresses. The performance has got two parts. During the interval I usually go to the cafe to have a cake and drink a cup of tea or a cup of coffee, or a glass of lemonade. I like to discuss the play if I see it with my friends.
There are many theatres in London, too. English people are theatre-lovers. Now there are more than fifty theatres in the West End of London.
There are some leading theatres in London. They are the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Old Vic (Old Victoria Theatre) and the National Theatre. It is a good tradition in England to visit theatres on a birthday or an anniversary.
THE CINEMA
The Lumiere brothers made their first film in 1895. This film was demonstrated in one famous cafe in Paris.
The first films were silent and short, but they were popular among people.
The USA was the leader in the production of films. The first sound film appeared in 1927. Soon coloured films appeared.
Cinematography has a long history in our country too.
Pioneers of the Russian cinema were Protozanov, Gardin, later Pudovkin and Dovzhenko. At that time films were silent and black-and-white.
Later films became sound and colourful.
Some years ago it was popular to go to the cinemas in Moscow. It was difficult to buy a ticket for a good film and we had to stand in a queue for hours.
But now we prefer to stay at home and watch TV and video films.
In England the cinema is usually called "the pictures". The prices of cinema seats in London are high. In the past cinemas were more popular than they are now. It is interesting that in some towns in Britain the cinemas are closed on Sundays.
I like to see documentary films best of all. Some of them are rather interesting, because they tell us the truth about the history of our country.
I like to see films about school life. As I study at school, such films are connected 0th me. It is interesting to see films about school life in England, France, Spain and in the USA. It is interesting to know about foreign education and to see their schools.
My favourite Russian film is "Moscow doesn't believe in tears". It is the true story about the girl. She leaves her village for Moscow. This film tells us about her difficulties, about her wish to live in the capital, about her friends. I am sure that it is a kind and a clever film.
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