ENGLISH IS FUN)

8Б

Monday, the eleventh of April

Topic:The Press in the USA

1. Warm-up

Answer the questions.

1. What rubrics in newspapers or magazines do you like reading most of all?

2. Do you like reading political news?

3. Where do you usually know political or cultural news from?

4. Have you ever written to a newspaper or to a magazine?

2.Listening and speaking Listen to the text about the American press and answer the questions.

American press

As we know the USA is a big country and that is why local newspapers are more important than national ones. A greater part of the country reads «The New York Times», «The Chicago Tribune», and «The Wall Street Journal». But such newspapers as «The Washington Post», «Daily News», «The Baltimore Sun», «The Philadelphia Inquirer», «The St Louis Post Dispatch» and «The San Francisco Examiner» are also very popular. Large monopolists control the most of US newspapers.

It's a well-known fact that in the 20th century newspapers have ranged from tabloids featuring pictures and sensational news to «responsible journals». Their pages include columns devoted to news, editorials, letters to the editor, business and finance, sports, entertainment, art, music, books, comics, fashion, food, society, television and radio. As the great number of news agencies grew, america's press lost its individualistic character.

Although there are no separate Sunday papers in America as there are in Great Britain, US daily papers have Sunday special editions. Many of them are remarkable in size: «The New York Times Sunday edition has over 200 pages. «The New York Times» sells more than two million copies each day.

Aside from a few notable exceptions like «The New York Times», «The St Louis Post Dispatch», «The Washington Post» are daily filled with crime . This press contains murders, divorces and gang fights. It also has gossip columns, horoscopes, comics, crossword puzzles.

Almost every American newspaper carries comic strips, usually at least a page of them.

In contrast to daily newspapers, many magazines in the USA are national and even international.

There is no doubt that US press plays an important part in the business of government; moreover the press conference is an American invention.

1.What US newspapers do you know?

2. What kinds of information do they show?

3. What US newspaper has more than 200 pages?

4.What is a special thing about US newspapers?

5.What is the part of press in the USA?

3.Mixed Tenses

ex.3 p.192