Television

Television, also called TV, is one of our most important means of communication. It
brings moving pictures and sounds from around the world into millions of homes.
The name “Television” comes from Greek word meaning “far”, and a Latin word
meaning “to see”, so the word “television” means “to see far”.
About three-fourths of the 1,500 TV stations in the US are commercial stations. They
sell advertising time to pay for their operating costs and to make profit. The rest are
public stations, which are nonprofit organizations.
Commercial TV stations broadcast mostly entertainment programs because they must
attract larger numbers of viewers in order to sell advertising time at high prices. These
programs include light dramas called situation comedies; action-packed drams about
life of detectives, police officers, lawyers and doctors; shows featuring comedians,
dancers and singers; movies; quiz shows; soap operas; cartoons. Commercial TV
broadcasts also documentaries and talk shows. Documentary is dramatic, but
nonfictional presentation of information. It can be programs about people, animals in
faraway places or programs on such issues as alcoholism, drug abuse, and racial
prejudice. On talk shows a host interviews politicians, TV and movie stars, athletes,
authors. There are also sport programs and brief summaries of local, national and
international news. Advertising is an important part of commercial TV. Commercials
appear between and during most programs. They urge viewers to buy different kinds of
products – from dog food to hair spray, and from cars to insurance policies.
Public television focuses mainly on education and culture. There are programs on wide
range of subjects – from physics and literature to cooking and yoga. Public TV also
broadcasts plays, ballets, symphonies as well as programs about art and history. Public
TV attracts less viewers than commercial TV.
A list of new words:
1. Moving pictures –[ ˈmuːvɪŋˈpɪk.tʃər ] – рухоме зображення
2. Greek –[ ɡriːk ] - грецький
3. Latin –[ ˈlæt.ɪn ] - латинський
4. commercial station –[ kəˈmɜːʃlˈsteɪʃn ] – комерційна станція
5. advertising time –[ ˈædvətaɪzɪŋ taɪm ] – рекламний ефірний час
6. operating costs –[ ˈɒp.ər.eɪtɪŋ kɒst ] - витрати
7. profit –[ ˈprɒfɪt ] - прибуток
8. public station –[ ˈpʌblɪkˈsteɪʃn ] – громадські станції
9. to broadcast –[ tə ˈbrɔːdkɑːst ] - передавати
10. entertainment – [ ˌentəˈteɪnmənt ] - розважальний
11. to attract – [ tə əˈtrækt ] - притягувати
12. viewer – [ ˈvjuː.ər ]- глядач
13. drama – [ ˈdrɑːmə ] - вистава
14. situation comedy – [ ˌsɪtʃuˈeɪʃn  ˈkɒmədi ] – комедія ситуацій
15. action-packed – [ ˌæk.ʃənˈpækt ] – повний подій
16. lawyer – [ ˈlɔːjə(r) ] - адвокат
17. comedian – [ kəˈmiː.di.ən ] – актор-комік
18. quiz show – [ kwɪz ʃəʊ ] - вікторина
19. cartoon – [ kɑːˈtuːn ] – мультиплікаційний фільм
20. documentary – [ ˌdɒk.jʊˈmen.tər.i ] – документальна передача
21. talk show – [ tɔːk ʃəʊ ] – ток-шоу
22. issue – [ ˈɪʃuː ] – проблема, питання

23. nonfictional – [ˌnɒnˈfɪkʃən(ə)l] - невигадані

24. drug abuse – [drʌg əˈbjuːs] - наркоманія
25. racial prejudice – [ˈreɪʃəl ˈprɛʤʊdɪs] – расові забобони
26. a host – [ə həʊst] - ведучий
27. to interview – [tə ˈɪntəvjuː] – брати інтерв’ю
28. an athlete – [ən ˈæθliːt] - спортсмен
29. an author – [ən ˈɔːθə] - автор
30. summary – [ˈsʌməri] - огляд
31. advertising – [ˈædvətaɪzɪŋ] - реклама
32. commercial – [kəˈmɜːʃəl] – рекламний ролик
33. to urge – [ tə ɜːʤ] - переконувати
34. to focus – [ tə ˈfəʊkəs] - зосереджуватись
35. a play – [ə pleɪ] - пєса
36. an art – [ən ɑːt] - мистецтво
37. yoga – [ˈjəʊgə] - йога
38. symphony –[ˈsɪmfəni] - симфонія
1. Answer the following questions:

1. What is one of the most important means of communication?

2. What does the television bring into millions of homes?
3. What does the word television mean?
4. What kind of stations are there in the US?
5. Why do commercial stations broadcast mostly entertainment programs?
6. What programs are broadcasted on commercial TV?
7. What is a talk show?
8. What is advertising?
9. When do commercials appear?
10. What programs does public TV broadcast?
11. Which kind of TV – commercial or public - attracts more viewers?