Medieval Europe. In Europe, the impetus for regular publications of news was lacking for several centuries after the break up of the Roman Empire. The increased output of books and pamphlets made possible by the development of the printing press in the 16th century did not include any newspapers, properly defined. The neatest form was the newssheet, which was not printed but handwritten by official scribes and read aloud by town criers. News was also contained in the news pamphlet, which flourished in the 16th century as a means of disseminating information on particular topics of interest. One such pamphlet, printed in England by Richard Fawkes, and dated September 1513, was a description of the Battle of Flodden Field. Titled "Trew Encountre", this four-leaved pamphlet gave an eyewitness account of the battle together with a list of the English heroes involved. By the final decade of the 15th century, publication of newsbooks was running at more than 20 a year in England alone, matching a regular supply on the Continent. Authors und printers escaped official censorship or penalty by remaining anonymous or cultivating a certain obscurity for it took a long time before the pamphlets came to the attention of the authorities. In any case the topics most frequently chosen for coverage – scandals, feats or heroism or marvelous occurrences – were mainly nonpolitical and could not be regarded as a threat to the powerful. Governments in various Countries were already in the vanguard of news publishing for propaganda purposes. The Venetian republic set a precedent by charging an admission fee of one gazeta (3/4 – three fourths of a penny) to public readings of the latest news concerning the war with Turkey (1563), this recognizing a commercial demand for news, even on the part of the illiterate. The term gazette was to become common among latest newspapers sold commercially. Another popular title was to be Mercury (the messenger of the gods). The Mercurius Gallobelgicus (1588 – 1638) was among the earliest of a number of periodical summaries of the news that began to appear in Europe in the late 16th century. Newspaper names like Mercury, Herald and Express have always been popular, suggesting the immediacy of freshness of the reading matter. Other names, such as Observer, Guardian, Standard and Argus stress the social role played by the newspapers in a democratic society. Newspaper development can be seen in three phases: first, the sporadic forerunners, gradually moving towards regular publications; second, more or less regular journals but liable to suppression and subject to censorship and licensing, and, third, a phase in which direct censorship is abandoned but attempts at Control continue through taxation, bribery and prosecution. Thereafter, some degree of independence has followed.
3 . Translate and transcribe the following words and expressions, learn them by heart. Find the sentences where they were used and write them out.
Pronouncement, handwritten copy, to restrict, proclamation, appointment, to compliment, development, printing press, newssheet, to disseminate, eyewitness account, final decade, to escape censorship, to remain anonymous, a threat to the powerful, to be in the vanguard of news, to set a precedent, to charge an admission fee, to recognize a commercial demand for news, illiterate, title, periodical, regular publication, to abandon, bribery.
4 . Fill in the gaps using the words from the given below. Change the form if necessary.
Development, eyewitness, to compliment, bribery, to remain anonymous, proclamation, final decade, to set a precedent, illiterate, periodical.
1. The readers could meet with an …account of the battle in “Trew Encountre”.
2. The news about the war with Turkey …: the gazette was charged an admission fee for reading the news.
3. The Acta Diurna accepted … and also published the news about the political decisions in the Roman Senate.
4. The 16
th
5. Even the … people in Venice had a great desire to know the latest news.
6. In the 16
th
7. The usual news … the information about the births and deaths, notable marriages and public appointments.
8. The control over the newspapers was taken by means of taxation, … and prosecution.
9. Many authors remained … in order to avoid punishment and pursuit.
5 . Find the English equivalents for the following phrases:
Ежедневная газета, значимые места, четкое намерение, политические решения, поединки гладиаторов, распад Римской империи, городские глашатаи, процветал в 16 веке, свидетельства очевидца, избегать цензуры и наказания, чудесное событие, угроза властьимущим, коммерческий спрос на новости, свежесть и актуальность материала для чтения.
6. Match the definitions with the words.
7 . Answer the questions.
1. What is the country where the first press appeared?
2. What was the first handwritten journal?
3. Which news was described in the Acta Diurna?
4. Did the Acta Diurna describe only social news or military news as well?
5. What was the reason of the break up of the news regular publication?
6. Was the newssheet a written or printed copy?
7. What was a news pamphlet?
8. What was “Trew Encountre”?
9. How did most authors escape censorship in the Middle Ages?
10. What gazette did the Venetian republic charge a fee for?
11. What were most popular titles for the gazettes?
12. Why was the term “gazette” used instead of a “newspaper”?
13. What are the three phases of newspaper development?
8 . Translate the following phrases. Pay attention to the use of prepositions. Find the sentences where they were used in the text and read them out. To date from (59 BC) To attribute in origin to smb To contain news of contests The impetus for smth A means of disseminating information On particular topics of interest An account of the battle In any case A degree of independence.
9 . Fill in the proper prepositions.
1. The archaeologists found a clay plate, dating … 30 BC, but concluded that it was a fake.
2. The earliest gazette attributed … origin … Julius Caesar.
3. An ancient gazette contained news … notable marriages, public appointments and trials.
4. The impetus … regular publications was lacking due to several reasons.
5. A gazette was a means …disseminating information written in a form of a pamphlet.
6. Only the news … particular topics … interest, such as politics, battles, marriages could appear in the medieval gazette.
7. “Trew Encountre” countained an account … the battle and the list of heroes involved.
8. …any case the topics for publications were more or less similar: scandals, heroism or marvelous occurrences.
9. In the Middle Ages the degree… independence in the press was high due to the fact that many authors were anonymous.
10 . Comment on the following quotations:
Albert Camus (1913-1960)
“A free press can of course be good or bad, but, most certainly, without freedom it can never be anything but bad… Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better, whereas enslavement is certainly of the worse”
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
“The press is the best instrument for enlightening the mind of man, and improving him as a rational, moral and social being”.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
“If in other lands the press and books and literature of all kinds are censored, we must redouble our efforts here to keep them free”.
3 Books
1 . Read and translate the text.
Books
Despite fears that the so-called electronic media – especially radio, television, and videos – might damage book publishing, the opposite seems to be true. Book sales since the introduction of television have increased considerably, well beyond the increase in population. In fact, the U.S. leads in the number of books read per capita. These books range from the most recent best seller or biography to histories, gardening and cookbooks, or technical volumes and encyclopedias. Several reasons have been offered to account for this fact. First, American schools have traditionally stressed and tried to develop a "love of reading", to make it a habit. This general educational emphasis has been successful. One notes how many people are reading hooks – not only newspapers or magazines – in city buses, airports, during: lunch breaks, or on the beach. Secondly, public libraries have always been very active in communities throughout the country. Here, too, the general policy has been to get books to people rather than to protect the books from people. A favorite way of raising money for libraries is to have thousands of used books donated by the community and then to have a book sale ("Any five for $11"). The money made in this fashion goes to buy new books for the library. Such popular community fund-raising activities also increase the feeling among people that the library is theirs. The third and probably most important reason is that there are no laws which protect book sellers or fix prices. Anyone can sell new and used books at discount and sale prices, and just about everyone does. Very early, books were sold every where, in drug stores and supermarkets, department stores and 24-hour shops, through book clubs and by colleges, as well as in regular book stores. Many university book stores are student-owned and run. They operate on a nonprofit basis, that is, all profits go towards keeping the prices of books down, for paying the student employees, and often to support student scholarships and other financial aid. Then, there are the large "paperback supermarkets* located in most shopping centers, which sell mainly paperback books on a variety of subjects. These, too, have done a great deal to keep the book trade healthy and growing. Nationwide radio and television shows, new movies, and filmed versions of books have often helped to create spectacular book sales.
2 . Transcribe and translate the words below.
Television, per capita, considerably, to range, biography, technical, encyclopedia, to account, emphasis, magazines, throughout, to increase, law, discount, to operate, nonprofit, employees, to support, scholarship, financial, aid, variety, trade, healthy, growing, nationwide, version, to create, spectacular.
3 . Find in the text the English equivalents of the following words and expressions and read them out.
Продажа книг, увеличение населения, на душу населения, биография, энциклопедия, традиционно, обращать особое внимание, книги со скидкой, супермаркеты, где продаются книги в бумажном переплете, эффективные распродажи книг.
4. Fill in the gaps using one of these words.
1. These books… from the most recent best seller or biography to histories.
2. Several reasons have been offered to … for this fact.
3. A favourite way of raising money for libraries is to have thousands of used books … by the community and then to have a book sale.
4. Anyone can sell new and used books … and sale prices.
5. Then there are the large … located in most shopping centers. (range, to account, donated, at discount, paperback supermarkets).
5 . Fill in the prepositions.
1. In fact the U.S. leads … the number of books per capita.
2. Several reasons have been offered to account … this fact.
3. A favourite way of raising money for libraries is to have thousands of used books donated … the community and then to have a book sale.
4. Then, there are the large “paperback supermarkets” located … most shopping centers, which sell mainly paperback books on a variety of subjects.
5. Secondly, public libraries have always been very active … communities … the country. (in (3), by, for, throughout).
6 . Read the definition and say it in one word
1. The people who live in an area.
2. To give something such as money or goods to an organization, esp. to a school, hospital, political party.
3. A reduction in the price of smth.
4. Money that you make by selling smth., or from your business especially the money that remains after you have paid all your business costs.
5. Someone who is paid regularly to work for a person or an organization.
6. Extremely impressive.
7. In all parts of a country.
A collection or number of people, things, ideas ets. that are all different from one another. (community, donate, discount, profit, employee, spectacular, nationwide, variety).
7 . Prepare 3 sentences in Russian with the words from ex.5 for your group mates to translate
8 . Answer the following questions
1. Why have the books sales increased considerably since the introduction of television?
2. What is the range of books which are read by people?
3. What are the principal reasons of the increase of reading?
4. What do you know about new American system of development of “love of reading”? Is it successful?
5. Do libraries take an active part in the development of “love of reading”?
6. What can you say about the laws which protect book sellers or fix prices? Are they necessary in your opinion?
7. What is the basic role of mass media in the books’ sale?
4 Magazines
1 . Read the proper names and titles and say what you know about them.
If they are unknown for you, find some information in the text.
National Geographic
Reader’s Digest
Cosmopolitan, Vogue
Time
Newsweek
Scientific American
Psychology Today
U.S. News and World Report
The Atlantic Monthly
Harvard Educational Review
Saturday Review
The New Republic
National Review
Foreign Affairs
Smithsonian
The New Yorker
2 . Read and translate the text
There are over 11,000 magazines and periodicals in the United States. More than 4,000 of them appear monthly, and over 1,300 are published each week. They cover all topics and interests, from art and architecture to tennis, from aviation and gardening to computers and literary criticism. Quite a few have international editions, are translated into other languages, or have "daughter" editions in other countries. Among the many internationals are National Geographic, Reader's Digest, Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Time, Newsweek, Scientific American, and Psychology Today.
The weekly newsmagazines – the best known are Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News & World Report – serve as a type of national press. They also have considerable international impact, above all Time. This newsmagazine appears each week in several international editions. There are some for various parts of the United States, for the Far East, for Australia, for Europe, and so on. Time claims that although the advertising changes in each edition, the content remains the same internationally. This is not quite true: in the U.S. editions, for instance, there is no section called "European Notes." In any case, no other single news publication is read so widely by so many people internationally as is Time.
There are two other reasons why Time has such international influence. First, several other newsmagazines were modeled on Time. Among these are the leading newsmagazines in France, Germany, and Italy. Secondly, Time also sells news, news features, interviews, photographs, graphics, and charts to other publications throughout the world. Feature stories that first appear in Time are therefore echoed in many other publications in many other countries.
The newsmagazines are all aimed at the average, educated reader. There are also many periodicals which treat serious educational, political, and cultural topics at length. The best known of these include The Atlantic Monthly, Harvard Educational Review, Saturday Review, The New Republic, National Review, Foreign Affairs, Smithsonian, and, of course, The New Yorker. Such widely read periodicals, along with the hundreds of professional journals, provide a broad and substantial forum for serious discussion. Again, a lot of what first appears in these publications is often reprint internationally or in book form. Many of the long The New Yorker essays, for example, have later appeared in shortened form in publications such as England's The Observer Magazine or Germany's Die Zeit.
There is a strong market for such serious publications. National Geographic has an average circulation of over 10 million, Consumer Reports some 3 million, Smithsonian (published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.) over 2 million copies, Scientific American (U.S. edition) over 700,000, and Saturday Review – and The New Yorker over half a million each. More popular and less demanding publications, such as Family Circle, Woman's Day, or National Enquirer, of course, have a huge readership and sell over 4.5 million copies of each issue. Altogether, there are about 60 magazines in the United States that sell over 1 million copies per issue each, and roughly the same number with more than 500,000 copies per issue.
3 . Translate and transcribe the following words and expressions, learn them by heart. Find the sentences where they were used and write them out.
Magazine, periodical, to publish, topic, criticism, edition, weekly, considerable, impact, various, to claim, content, for instance, single, reason, influence, leading, graphics, throughout, to echo, average, political, substantial, discussion, essay, to shorten, publication, circulation, to demand, readership, issue.
4 . Fill in the gaps using the words from the given below. Change the form if necessary.
Daughter edition, to claim, average, discussion, publication, issue, various, content, edition, criticism.
1. Many international newspapers and magazines have … in different countries of the world.