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Pooh Bear. The Pooh books are favourites with old and young alike and have been translated into many languages.
Tapescript 4 (p.60) English Novels
English people in the 19th century loved novels. Some educated people, especially women, had lots of time to read. There were private libraries, public libraries and lots of bookshops. Long novels came out in cheap episodes, once a month. They were very popular.
The most popular novelist was Charles Dickens. His books were funny and exciting, but with a serious message. He described the hard lives of poor people. The rich read his books and began-to understand the terrible social problems which there were at that time in England. Among Dickens's books there is Oliver Twist. This book is about a little poor boy. He is hungry and asks for food. He gets into serious trouble and that is when his adventures begin.
One of his most famous stories is A Christmas Carol. Here we see a selfish and rich man, Scrooge by name. Even at Christmas he gives nothing extra to his workers. But this is a happy story. In the novel Scrooge meets some ghosts who make him change his ideas. He becomes loving and generous. Today, the name 'Scrooge' is a part of the English language: Englishmen often call a selfish and mean person a 'scrooge'.
Tapescript 5 (p.72)
Akiko Kato is fifteen and she lives in Vancouver, Canada. She is an ordinary girl in most ways, but there is something special in her life. She is a member of the National Youth Orchestra. Let's listen to her.
"I started playing the violin at the age of seven. I was always a good singer, and I could play in tune almost immediately. But it is a difficult instrument. After eight years, I'm still learning.
My Dad plays the guitar, and we often play together. Not classical music, but Scottish dances, American folk songs —
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that sort of things. Last Saturday we played dance music for my little brother's birthday party. Everybody joined in, and it was great.
I joined the National Youth Orchestra three years ago. Now it takes up a lot of my time: usually five hours a week and at least two weeks every summer.
Last year we did a tour of the country: Toronto, Montreal, Quebec, Winnipeg and back to Vancouver. There were 72 of us, and we really got to know each other. It was fantastic.
My favourite composer is Mozart. At the moment we are doing one of his violin concerts. Mozart wrote it when he was 19. And in fact the music is really young and energetic.
I like modern pop music, too. But I don't like rap or heavy metal."
Tapescript 6 (p.82) Life and Art
Volodymyr Hryshko is a well-known opera singer. He performed in operas and staged in the theatres of many foreign countries. He regularly takes part in international classical music festivals. Mr Hryshko performed on stage together with many great singers, Luciano Pavarotti and Montserrat Caballe included. He is the owner of many prizes and the winner of the Ukrainian national contest Lyudyna Roku — 2004 in the nomination 'Opera Singer of the Year'.
But one of the performances was very special for him. On the day when his daughter was born, he had to sing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In the evening he sang especially well. The Americans played the anthem of Ukraine in honour of the soloist who had a newborn daughter that day. And it was a real inspiration for the singer. He felt that it was the greatest achievement in his life!
Tapescript 7 (p.94) British Press
The papers in Britain are divided into two groups — the quality papers and the tabloids.
The quality papers are large in size and have detailed articles about national
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