II. Listen to Tom speaking about his day off and answer the questions below
1. How did Tom spend his day off?
2. What went wrong?
3. What made Tom feel frightened?
III. Let’s talk about Belarus.
№ 21
I. 1. Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.
Technology
Technology is everywhere. We see it any place we go to and, in fact, almost all of us carry some piece of technology with us every time we leave the house. We can’t imagine our life without them. But what we always forget, though, is just how useful and powerful technology can be when we want to help others.
There is not a single room in my house that does not have some gadget lying around in it. Whenever I am at home, providing that I am not sleeping, I am almost always using at least one electronic device. If you walked into my living room on any given day, you would find that, first, I have the television on (along with the other related appliances, such as the DVD player or my current favourite game console)1. At the same time, even though multitasking is definitely not my strong point, I usually have my laptop resting on my knee, or I will be using my tablet or mobile phone. In the background, the technology that I am not using will most likely be on charge somewhere in the house. Even when I’m not at home I am constantly using my phone. At work or in cafés, I sit down and connect to the local wireless network on my laptop. I must admit that I waste a lot of time on the computer. Instead I could spend it doing some online volunteering.
The technology we carry about everywhere can have a great power to do good for the world and to help others and recently I discovered just how much online volunteering there is to do in the world. From using your language skills to do translations, to developing and managing projects and helping with IT work, there is so much that so many people can do to help people in their own countries and across the world. The United Nations, in fact, has a huge page on its website designed for recruiting volunteers.
This work can support the poor and help charities who otherwise would not have the funding to pay for staff. Many organisations only require you to work an hour a week — some even less. And the support provided by online volunteers can really help make a difference to those in need.
1 gameconsole [ˈɡeɪm kənˈsəʊl] игроваяприставка
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2. The author disapproves of the way people use electronic devices. Find this extract and read it aloud.
3. What electronic devices does the author use?
4. How can online volunteering help people?
II. Listen to the conversation and answer the questions below.
1. What are the speakers doing?
2. What didn’t impress the speakers very much?
3. What did they decide in the end?
III. Let’s talk about Great Britain.
№ 22
I. 1. Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.
From librarian to political reporter
The Pretenders is a very successful and popular TV series. In each programme there is a contestant who has just four weeks to learn to do a completely new job. At the end of the month the contestant has to do a ‘test’, where he or she has to do the new job together with three other professionals. Three judges have to identify the one who pretends.
Jessica Winters is a 26yearold librarian. She studied English Literature at the University of Bath before getting a job at the local library. She didn’t know that two of her friends sent her name to the TV company to take part in The Pretenders. ‘When someone from the company called me, I thought it was a joke,’ said Jessica. ‘First of all, I said ‘no’, in the end my friends and my family persuaded1 me and I agreed.’
Jessica had four weeks to turn from a quiet, shy librarian into a confident TV reporter. At the end of the month she had to interview the Minister of Education. It was her test.
An experienced political journalist, Adam Bowles, had to transform Jessica into a professional. He wasn’t very optimistic when he met her. ‘Jessica needs to be a lot harder, even aggressive. She is much too sweet and shy’, said Adam. ‘Politicians will eat her alive.’ They had just 28 days to teach her how to interview people, how to be confident, how to speak clearly.
Jessica was terrified at the beginning. She watched a lot of live interviews with politicians. Adam made her read the political sections of all the newspapers. It was boring for her and she felt exhausted. Later as soon as she began making progress, she felt more relaxed.
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During the interview Jessica felt nervous but wellprepared as she had done much research and had practised a lot. ‘When it was all over came the worst part, I had to wait while the judges decided which of us they thought wasn’t a professional’. The judges gave their verdict: they were all professional reporters.
For Jessica it was a great experience and she was pleased how she did it, but actually she doesn’t feel like changing her work.
1 topersuade [pəˈsweɪd] убедить
2. The Pretenders is a famous TV programme. Read aloud the extract about it.
3. How did Jessica get to the programme?
4. Was it an exciting and useful experience for Jessica? Why (not)?
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