BOOKS AND TV
Some people think that as more and more people have televisions in their homes; fewer and fewer people will buy books and newspapers. Why read an article in the newspaper, when the TV news can bring you the information in a few minutes and with pictures? Why read a novel, when a play on television can tell you same story with colour, picture and action?
Why read the biographies of famous men and women, when an hour-long television programs can tell you all that you want to know?
Television has not killed reading, however. Today, newspapers and magazines are sold in very large numbers. And books of every kind are sold more than ever before. Books are still a cheap way to get information and entertainment. Although some books with hard covers are expensive, many books are published today as paperback books, which are reasonably cheap. A paperback novel, for example, is almost always cheaper than an evening at the cinema or theatre, and you can keep a book forever and read it many times.
Books at home are a wonderful source of knowledge and pleasure and some types of books should be in every home. Every home should have a good dictionary. Every home should have an atlas of the world, with large clear maps. It might be expensive, but a good encyclopedia is useful, too, because you can find information on any subject. In addition, it is useful to have on your bookshelves other non-fiction books such as history books, science textbooks, cookery books, books about medicine and health, etc. It is equally important to have some fiction on your shelves, too. Then you can relax with a good story, or from time to time you can take a book of poems off your shelves and read the thoughts and feelings of your favourite poets.
8 КЛАС
READING COMPREHENSION TEST
I Match the words on the left with their definitions on the right
1. ...an articlea) a book that is used to study a school subject
2. ...an atlasb) a publication that comes out weekly or monthly
3. ...a biographyc) a book with maps of the world
4. ...a noveld) usually a cheap book with a soft cover
5. ...a textbooke) a story about a real person
6. ...a dictionary f) a piece of writing in a newspaper
7. ...a poem g) a book of word definitions
8. ...a paperback h) usually a short piece of writing expressing a deep
feeling or thought
9. ...a magazinei) a story about people who are not real
II Choose the best answer according to the information in the passage
1.Which is easier to get the news from?
a) a newspaper
b) the television
2.Which is usually quicker?
a) to read a biography of a famous person
b) to watch a television programme about a famous person
3.Which is usually cheaper?
a) a paperback
b) an evening at the cinema
4.Which is usually cheaper?
a) a paperback
b) a hardcover book
5.Which is it most important to have in your home?
a) non-fiction books, such as a dictionary and an encyclopedia
b) fiction, such as novels, short stories and books of poems
c) a mixture of both good non-fiction and your favourite fiction.
III Which of the following are non-fiction and which are fiction? Put the words into the two columns
Atlas, novel, short story, textbook, play, dictionary, encyclopedia, poem.
She hasn't eaten since three o'clock
They have been married since 1972
How long have you had your kitten?
I have had it since April 4th
He hasn't worked for three months
They have been at school since eight
o'clock
How long has she worked in Paris?
She has worked there for two years.
How long have you been in this team?
I have played for Arsenal since I was
a teenager.
It hasn't rained for a long time.
How long have they known each other?
They have known each other for ages.
My grandma's house is a place of family gatherings. On holidays it is always full of laughter and cheers. Uncle Jack can be heard from miles around with his deep, signature laugh. Aunt Beth never passes the opportunity to joke about his laughter. Everyone sitting down at the holiday dinners can be seen making jokes about one another or telling the newest joke he heard.
My grandma can always be seen sitting in her living room, next to the front door gazing out of her window. This is where she reads her daily newspaper and drinks her hot black coffee with no sugar and no cream, the old fashion way she calls it. She sometimes sits in her living room for hours upon end watching the birds swoop down to the bird feeder placed next to the window. My grandmother recognizes the same birds and has names for most of them. She never misses the opportunity to gaze at the squirrels whenever possible. She always describes them like people with their own different personalities. It is hysterical always listening to her stories about what the bird or the squirrel did that day.
In the cool summer days Grandma and whoever happens to be at the house will sit out on the back porch for hours and talk about anything and everything imaginable; she is known as the neighborhood gossip queen. The back porch is a place for everyone to sit and relax in the warm sunny breeze and just get out whatever they need to. My grandmother is a person I can talk to, and whenever I decided to talk to her about somethi