English THCS Reading

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1. Read the following extracts and the table of “Do’s” and “Don’ts”. Find an example of each point in the extracts,and write this in the table.

“The mass media have an adverse effect on moral standards.”
Do you agree?

1. Newspapers in one form or another, have been in existence for centuries, their purpose being to spread news. Public radio and television services, on the other hand, have only been available in the UK since 1922 and 1932 respectively, and were introduced with the intention of informing, educating and entertaining. While radio seems to have largely maintained its standards, newspapers and TV have, in my opinion, totally abused their position of power, resulting in a serious decline in moral standards. As Richard Hoggart said, “They are full of a corrupt brightness, of improper appeals and moral evasions…”.

Perhaps the most serious offender is television, as today’s broadcasters seem to have completely abandoned the issue of ethics. This is more than apparent in the films and programmes which are intended to entertain, as they bombard the viewer with explicit language, sex and violence. Similarly, the news “informs” us using devastating images of grief, desperation and death. It is often felt that by exposing the public to such graphic depictions, television producers have contributed to our becoming immune to shocking behavior and events which, in the past, we would have been upset or offended by.
Furthermore, newspapers, especially the tabloids, have come to depend on overly-explicit articles and pictures in order to guarantee sales. It is commonplace nowadays to see, for instance, photographs of celebrities' most private moments or horrific scenes of death occupying the front pages of daily publications. The fact that these images are intended - and generally manage - to sell newspapers displays the craving for sensationalism which exists within society today.
In contrast, it must be admitted that the mass media have a lot to offer in the way of information and entertainment. The news and documentaries can be very informative and educational as long as the material is handled in a responsible manner. The problem is that, because people are willing victims of the media’s irresponsibility, the media continue to produce material which is unacceptable by all moral standards.
To conclude, it is clear that the public have a right to know and that producers should be allowed a certain degree of artistic licence, but should we not draw the line somewhere before we lose sight of our principles altogether?

1. I definitely agree with this statement, and there are many reasons why. The media include newspapers, magazines, radio, and television. All of these play an important role in society because they give us information and entertainment, and of course everybody is interested in them, so that makes them popular.

Every single day on the news, however, you can see horrible, bloody scenes with people screaming and crying. Perhaps there’s been a bomb or other disaster. We can see the injured people, and blood and of course it’s all real. I find this extremely appalling and disgusting. Of course, TV is interesting sometimes, especially documentaries and other real-life programmers. I also like comedies and cartoons, but nobody likes being shocked or horrified.
In my opinion, there are numerous examples. My little brother was watching a horror film one evening, and when he went to bed he had terrible nightmares. And there have been cases of children trying to do things their superheroes do, such as jumping off buildings. According to statistics, at least half of the young children have had such problems, which is pretty shocking.
A lot of stars have problems too. Reporters and photographers hound them everywhere and they never have a moments’ peace. But then, everything in life has its price. This of course is bad for moral standards because we shouldn’t know about these people’s private lives. I think this should be kept under control.
But the worst thing is when they show a private tragedy on TV for everyone to watch. I think this is terrible, and should be stopped
Do’s
formal style
………………………
introduction states topic clearly
………………………
clear topic sentences
……………………….
well-developed paragraphs
……………………….
linking words & phrases
……………………….
generalisation
……………………….
quotation
…………………………
examples
…………………………
Don’ts
informal style a) colloquial expressions
b) short forms
………………………………………………….
introduction fails to state topic clearly
………………………………………………….
unclear/irrelevant topic sentences
…………………………………………………..
emotive vocabulary
………………………………………………..
over-generalisation
…………………………………………………
blind use of statistics
…………………………………………………
personal examples
…………………………………………………
use of cliched expressions
……………………………………………….