TV Vocabulary & Reality Shows Guide
TV Vocabulary & Reality Shows Guide
1 Vocabulary
07 In the spotlight
TV • reality shows • modifiers with base and extreme adjectives • word families
SHOW WHAT YOU KNOW 2 Reality shows. Complete the text with the correct
forms of one of the words in brackets.
1 Match the types of TV programmes with the extracts
A–E. There are more programmes than extracts.
1 editor edit
entertainment 2 entertain
performance 3 perform
presentation presenter 4
5 producer produce
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4 Complete the sentences. The number of letters is given 6 Choose the correct modifier.
in brackets.
Here’s Jill, the first of our six competitors (11) on today’s
show. Telly-Addicts: last night on the box
1 Nicholas, you (7) on stage regularly, but this
Here at Telly-Addicts we thought last night’s television highlight
is your first film.
was definitely the 1absolutely / rather fascinating BBC2
2 Here at Granada Studios we (7) two sitcoms
documentary Icemen about the lives of Iceland’s fishermen.
and a soap opera.
Some of the fishermen’s stories were 2rather / absolutely
3 And now, (13) for all the family in
sad, but 3very / absolutely interesting, and the shots of the
our afternoon film Ice Age 4.
Icelandic coastline were 4very / absolutely gorgeous.
4 After filming has finished, the (6) begins the
complicated job of putting the various scenes together. Also worth watching was Channel 4’s new quiz What’s
5 Natalie desperately wants to become a TV (9) Up? which was presented by the 5 extremely / absolutely
one day. talented Rosie Perks and her 6very / absolutely funny
6 Last night’s X Factor saw a stunning (11) partner Richard Bond. Though many of the questions on the
from 20 year old Tom Olive who could well become the show are 7quite / absolutely impossible to answer, we still
Elvis of our time. found it 8 really / absolutely entertaining from start to finish.
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7.2 Grammar
Reported Speech • statements
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7.3 Grammar
Reported Speech • questions and imperatives
1 3
If your mum or dad were lucky When your parents were young, ‘channel surfing’ actually
enough to have a television in required physical effort because to change the channel you
their bedroom when they were had to stand up, walk across the room and press a button on
your age, they probably felt pretty the television. C Eventually, remote controls were invented,
cool, even if it was black and but the first ones actually had a wire that stretched across
white, weighed about 20kg and the room from the remote to the television. Later more boxes
had an antenna that looked like appeared – video recorders, satellite tuners and so on – and
a metal coat hanger. A The with those came additional remote controls. Eventually, when
technology of televisions has it became impossible to open the living room door because
changed so quickly that it’s not of all the different remotes, universal controllers became
surprising some of the most sophisticated features of the TV popular and one small device could finally control all the
sets of the past seem rather silly these days. In this week’s different boxes in your living room! Now, with the help of the
article, check out these old TV technologies, but while you are right app, it is becoming more and more common to use a
laughing, remember that mobile phone or tablet to control all the various
many modern gadgets will media devices in your house, though some homes
seem just as ridiculous to still have more remote controls than hands to
the youngsters of tomorrow. operate them.
2 4
Stay tuned! is something Not so many years ago, viewers had no choice but
you still occasionally hear to wait a week for the next episode of their favourite
people on television say TV programmes to be shown. D It was not
when they are really asking unusual for people to plan their week around the
you not to switch off or TV schedule and, if they were busy at the time of
change the channel. The their favourite show, they either missed it or found
phrase has lost its original space on a video tape, set the video recorder for
meaning, which referred to ‘tuning’ early analogue televisions the right time and hoped the tape didn’t run out before the
(adjusting them to get the best quality picture) by turning a programme had finished. These days, TV schedules are still
big dial, or wheel, on the front. Later televisions had individual printed in magazines and some newspapers. However, they
channel buttons, but for each button there was still a tuning are much less significant because of ‘catch-up’ TV channels,
dial located behind a little plastic door on the front of the on-demand Internet TV services such as Netflix or I-player,
set. These dials were often tiny and tricky to turn, so some and of course legal and illegal downloading.
manufacturers used to sell their sets with a little plastic stick
that you would put into a hole and turn until the picture was 5
clear enough to watch. B Nowadays, thank goodness, Television and the technology associated with it are changing
televisions ‘tune’ themselves automatically. constantly and if you have children, by the time they are your
age, flat screen, HD and 3D will probably seem as silly and
old-fashioned as black and white, two channels only, and a
coat hanger for an aerial.
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2 Find words in the text to match these definitions and 5 Match the underlined adjectives in the text to these
synonyms. synonyms. Use a dictionary if necessary.
1 something you hang clothes on (paragraph 1) fortunate = lucky
1 important =
2 stupid, ridiculous, absurd (paragraph 1) 2 advanced =
3 more =
3 fortunately (paragraph 2) 4 single =
5 instant =
4 fashionable (paragraph 3) 6 contemporary =
7 difficult =
5 used up or finished (paragraph 4)
6 Complete each group of three sentences with an
6 happening all the time or repeatedly (paragraph 5) underlined adjective from the text.
And the alucky winner of tonight’s lottery is ticket
number 459!
3 Read the text again and complete gaps A–D with these That was a blucky escape. If we hadn’t been late, we
missing sentences. There is one extra sentence. would’ve been on the train that crashed.
1 If you lost this little tool, the entire set became Did you really know the answer or was it a clucky
useless. guess?
2 These first colour television sets were extremely 1 Jolanta thought number 7 was a particularly a
expensive. question.
3 People would check the weekly TV schedule It’s a bit of a b situation. If I go to the party,
in a magazine or newspaper and highlight I’ll have to talk to my ex-boyfriend, but if I don’t go,
the shows they really wanted to watch. I won’t see any of my friends.
4 Now, just a decade or two later most of us carry For many young people, love can be a very c
small, powerful, high-definition, full-colour, subject to discuss with parents.
multi media devices in our bags and pockets. 2 There has been a a increase in the price of
5 Actually, this wasn't such a big problem, because tropical fruit recently.
for a long time there were only two or three Obviously, there is a b difference in the quality
channels to choose from. of the picture on a television which costs €1,000 and
one which costs €100.
4 Say whether the statements are true (T) or false (F). Environmentalists have noted c changes in the
Quote from the text to support your answers. temperature of sea water in this area.
1 Fortunate adolescents used to have TV set in their 3 In the a world most people have access to
wardrobes. television.
Computers are an essential part of b life.
Have you been to the Museum of c Art in
2 Modern TVs will seem absurd to the youth of future Cuenca?
generations.
7 Write a summary of the last paragraph of the article.
Write no more than 50 words.
3 People had to adjust analogue TVs in order to get
a good picture.
4 Until the invention of the remote control you had to
use more physical energy to manage your TV.
5 Magazine and newspaper TV listings are more
important in an age where there is a lot of different
technology.
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7.5 Writing
An reviewing an event
9
a f
E By midday, everyone from the area was there • I have made my descriptions interesting by
describing what I saw, heard, smelled and tasted.
enjoying the 6nice sunshine. All around the
ruins, there were colourful market stalls and people • I have included personal opinions and suggestions.
selling 7nice local food. There were some • I have finished with a recommendation for the
great live bands and a(n) 8really fabulous reader.
play which told the story of the village. • I have written at least 200 words.
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7.6 Self check
1 Choose the correct word to complete the sentences. 3 Correct the mistakes in the Reported Speech statements.
We are proud to announce that the new judge on The TV presenter: ‘Your show is the best I’ve ever seen.’
X Factor viewer / panel / broadcast is … The TV presenter said the star that his show was the
1 Some of the scenes in that new Jim Carrey’s comedy best he’d ever seen. told
are absolutely / extremely / very hilarious. 1 Natalie: ‘I am watching a film, Caroline.’
2 Miley Cyrus’ new website received 4 million hits / Natalie told Caroline I was watching a film.
shares / links in the first hour it was online. 2 Sophia: ‘I haven’t been to the cinema yet.’
3 The director tells the actors what to do and the editor / Sophia added she didn’t go the cinema yet.
performer / producer is responsible for actually getting 3 Tim: ‘I missed the show yesterday.’
the film made. Tim said he had missed the show yesterday.
4 Contestants in the new series will view / compete / 4 Mollie: ‘We’ll meet here at six o’clock.’
audition for the chance to go into space on a commercial Mollie said we’ll meet there at six o’clock.
space flight. 5 Ben: ‘It can’t be the same actor.’
5 I thought the final episode was quite / absolutely / Ben pointed out that it can’t be the same actor.
extremely disappointing. Not terrible, but not as good
/5
as the rest of the series.
/5 4 Read the conversation between Phil, the head of
a drama school, and Ruby. Use Reported Speech.
2 Complete the sentences with the words in the box. P: Do you really want to be an actress?
There are two extra words.
He asked me if I really wanted to be an actress.
auditions edit link present R: Yes, I do.
post rehearsal share viral P: Are you sure? Most actresses don’t become successful.
He asked me whether 1 and said
Click on the link to find out more about next week’s
that most actresses didn’t become successful.
episode of Game of Thrones.
R: I’m sure.
1 If you would like to be in the school play,
P: Have you ever studied drama?
will be held on Friday at 15:30 in the school hall.
He asked me if 2 .
2 OK, look into the camera and tell us what happened.
R: No, I haven’t.
Don’t worry if you go wrong. We can the
I said no, I 3 .
film later.
P: Can you act?
3 Snoop Dogg and Steve Carell will both
He asked me whether 4 .
awards at this year’s MTV Movie Awards.
R: Yes, I can.
4 viddyvue.com is the place to find all the latest
P: Show me.
videos watched by millions across the web.
He asked me 5 .
5 Today’s showed that there is still a lot of
work to do before we are ready to perform this play. /5
/5
I took Grandma to buy a new TV last weekend. The shop assistant asked us
what kind of TV we A interested in and Grandma 1 a black and white TV
that was square and had at least four channels. The assistant told Grandma
2
colour TVs these days and that they all 3 more than four channels.
She said she wanted an absolutely 4 one to the old one that broke.
In the end, we persuaded her to buy a little colour TV. Altogether it came
5
£79.99 which I thought was good value, but Grandma thought was
‘ridiculous!’. Now she loves her little TV and says it was worth every penny .
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