Upper Intermediate Audio script Unit 10

UNIT 10 RECORDING 1

P = Presenter, M = Monica, E = Ewan, F = Fred, D = Damien, L = Lisa

P: And now it’s time for Quiz the Expert. Our expert this week is Monica Jessop. Monica

will be familiar to some of our listeners. She has worked at a number of top UK

universities. Good to have you on the programme Monica.

M: Thanks Doug.

P: So Monica, our first question comes from a caller in South Wales. Hello Ewan.

E: Yes, hello.

P: What’s your question for our expert, Ewan?

E: OK, well, a question I’ve always wanted to ask is: who actually controls the media?

M: Well Ewan, the simple answer is: it depends. In some countries the government

controls the media. In other countries it’s private individuals or companies who own it.

What we call mass media nowadays also includes the internet and you could argue

that we all own that because we can all set up a website. However there are certainly

some very large media corporations that own and control a lot of what we see and

hear. In the US around 25 years ago there were 50 major media corporations. Now

there are just six.

P: Does that answer your question Ewan?

E: Yes … I think it does, thanks.

P: Great stuff. Now on to Fred from Bristol.

F: Thanks Doug. Monica, I’m interested in your opinion. Does the media reflect what we

think or does the media control what we think? I mean, you know, do we just think

about the things that the media wants us to think about?

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 Upper Intermediate Audio script Unit 10

M: Ah, the eternal question, Fred. It used to be said that the most powerful person in the

country was the newspaper editor because he, and it always was a ‘he’, decided what

went on the front page and so decided what was important and what wasn’t. However,

the internet has had an impact. Now, anyone can create news. With the camera in our

smartphones we can record a high-definition video of an event, upload it to the internet

and hey presto, people all over the world can see. Big media corporations are being

cut out. Sites like globalvoicesonline.org are bringing the news directly from the people

who are experiencing it, inside war zones for example. So in answer to your question,

while the media does still control what we think to some extent, people are now able to

use the media to reflect what they think.

P: That’s a fascinating idea. I must check it out. Thanks for that question Fred.

P: Now we have Damian in Leeds. Hi Damian, What’s your question?

D: Oh, yes, er you mentioned how the internet has changed news, Monica. How else has

the internet changed things? How has it affected the world of media?

M: Well, of course it’s introduced a lot of new words to our language. Who had heard of

‘microblogging’ before the internet? But more importantly, I believe the internet has

made media more interactive. Media used to be a one-way process – they spoke and

we listened. Now its much more like a dialogue. Every article has reader comments

below it, every concert is reviewed and discussed on Twitter. Unfortunately, I think the

internet has also made us all more separate from each other. We’re all watching and

listening to different things. Young adults now probably don’t even remember the time

when everyone watched the same thing on television and then talked about it the next

day at work or college. In 1986 the top-rated TV show in the UK got 30 million viewers

– that’s half the population. Twenty-five years later the top-rated show got less than

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 Upper Intermediate Audio script Unit 10
half that number. As a society we just don’t share the same experiences any more. We

watch and listen to different things.

P: OK, thanks Monica, and thanks Damian for that question.

P: We’ve only got time for one more question, I think, which is from Lisa in Edinburgh.

L: Hi, Monica.

M: Hi Lisa. What’s your question?

L: Well, you mentioned newspapers earlier. They’re having a hard time of things. Will we

still read newspapers in the future?

M: Most countries have seen a drop in newspaper circulation in the last few years,

particularly broadsheets. They’re finding it much harder to survive and many have

gone out of business. It’s not just the loss of readers that is a problem. In the US

newspapers make almost 90% of their money from advertising. When circulation

drops, fewer people want to advertise in the newspaper and they won’t pay as much to

advertise.

P: OK, thanks Monica. Fascinating as always to talk to you and thanks for taking part in

Quiz the Expert. Now it’s time for travel news. Gary, over to you …

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 Upper Intermediate Audio script Unit 10

UNIT 10 RECORDING 2

A: … so I’m afraid Rachel isn’t here at the moment, Sheila.

B: Well, can you tell her to call me back as soon as she gets in. It’s something quite

important I need to discuss with her. You won’t forget, will you?

A: Of course, I won’t.

C: Zoë, have you borrowed any money from my purse? I thought I had a lot more than

£20.

D: No, I haven’t! I haven’t touched it! You always think everything’s my fault!

E: I want to go first!

F: OK, Alex, you can have the first turn, but only for about

ten minutes, then it’s Rosie’s turn. Is that clear?

E: OK.

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 Upper Intermediate Audio script Unit 10

UNIT 10 RECORDING 3

Debbie said she was feeling ill.

Debbie said she was feeling ill.

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 Upper Intermediate Audio script Unit 10

UNIT 10 RECORDING 4

The weather forecast said it was going to be nice today.

The police officer told us there was nothing to worry about.

Our teacher said the test was going to be easy.

Clare told me she was staying in tonight.

Jonnie said the money was his.

She said she couldn’t afford to come out for a meal with us.

Nick said he would be home early.

Alex told me she’d passed the exam.

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 Upper Intermediate Audio script Unit 10

UNIT 10 RECORDING 5

Richard Nixon

In 1977, young British reporter David Frost invited Richard Nixon to be interviewed on

television. Ex-US president Nixon was paid $600,000 plus 20% of the profits for his

involvement. It became perhaps the most famous TV interview of all time and was even made

into a film. Nixon had resigned the presidency in 1974 after being accused of committing

certain crimes. In the interview, Nixon denied committing the crimes and refused to accept he

had done anything criminal, however he accepted that he had let the American people down

and he confessed to making a lot of bad judgments. The interviews were hugely successful

and made Frost famous.

Diana, Princess of Wales

When Diana, Princess of Wales, was interviewed on television in November 1995, she was

still married to Prince Charles. Diana admitted being in love with someone else during her

marriage and admitted that the relationship had been more than a friendship. At the same

time she accused her husband of having a close relationship with another woman and

explained that the stress had led to an eating disorder. Coming from the future queen of

England, this was extraordinary.The hour-long interview caused a media storm. The following

year Diana and Charles divorced and two years later she died in a car crash in Paris.

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 Upper Intermediate Audio script Unit 10

UNIT 10 RECORDING 6

Actions speak louder than words’ means that what you do is more important than what you

say.

Someone who speaks their mind isn’t afraid to say exactly what they mean.

It’s rude for work colleagues to talk shop when outsiders are present.

He knows what he’s talking about: he’s an expert on gardening.

If you speak highly of someone, you say good things about them.

A talking point is a subject lots of people want to discuss.

Talk radio has phone-ins and interviews rather than music.

If your voice is very quiet, people may ask you to speak up.

Talking to yourself is often considered to be a sign of eccentricity.

10

Small talk is polite, friendly conversation about unimportant topics.

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 Upper Intermediate Audio script Unit 10
11

They had a huge argument. Since then they haven’t been on speaking terms.

12

Peace talks are negotiations between the two sides in a war.

13

A talk show features interviews with celebrity guests.

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