Episode 72

EPISODE 72
LEVEL A1.2/A2.1

 

  

READING COMPREHENSION

 

WOMEN’S PRESS 

My wife is not very interested in women’s magazines, but, whenever she travels by plane, she buys herself some glossy stuff (= magazines printed on shiny paper) to read carefully during the flight.
She reads them from cover to cover (= reads everything) and then studies them carefully one by one (= one after another) again for the next couple of hours. Apart from photos and ads (= pictures promoting a product) for cosmetics and clothes, she can read interesting interviews (= here: a meeting when someone asks a famous person some questions) and articles on topics of current interest (= interesting things happening now). After reading everything, she loves looking at the eye-catching (= attractive) shots (= photos) from fashion shows.

 

More contexts for the new words:

• I like colour supplements to newspapers. (= a magazine printed in colour that is given away with a newspaper)

 

 

EXERCISE 1

Complete each gap with one word.

 

1. This dress is so pretty! It’s really ……………………-catching.
2. I love reading articles on topics ………………… current interest.
3. I always read my favourite magazines from ………………… to cover.
4. Have you read that ………………… with Johnny Depp? I love the way he answered the reporter’s questions.
5. She folded the clothes carefully one by ………………… .
6. I think there are too many ………………… around us – all the billboards and TV commercials are driving me crazy.

 

 

EXERCISE 2

Add the missing vowels (a, e, I, o, u) and then answer the questions.

 

1. Which topics of current …………………………. NTRST do you like reading about?
2. Which magazines or newspapers do you read from …………………………. CVR to …………………………. CVR?
3. What interesting …………………………. SHTS have you seen recently on the Internet?

 

ENGLISH IN USE 

 

We have already talked about „even though” and „then,” and today we have another expression to look at. It is in this sentence:

Apart from photos and ads for cosmetics and clothes, she can read interesting interviews.

What does „apart from” mean here? Let’s look at some more examples first:

 

Apart from the salary, it is not a bad job. (the salary is bad, but everything else is ok in this job)
Apart from you and me, there are only people over 50 here. (We are below 50, everybody else is over 50)
Apart from this book, everything else he wrote was really successful. (Only this book wasn’t successful, all his other books were successful)
Apart from his brother, everybody is a doctor in his family. (His brother is the only person who is not a doctor)

 

In this way we show the difference between one thing and the others. We want to say that the thing after „apart from” is unique in some way.

 

 

 

IDIOM CLOSE-UP

 

A/ Did you know that Sue’s husband has cancer?

B/ Yes, but she does not. We still have to BREAK THE NEWS to her.

 

When you break the news to someone, you tell them some important news – usually bad news.

 

 

PHRASAL VERBS CLOSE-UP

 

 

1. When you POP IN (or INTO) a place, you go inside very quickly or for a short time.

 

I’ll just pop into the newsagent’s to see if there are any nice magazines.
A medieval church! Why don’t we pop in and take some pictures?!

 

2. When you POP OUT, you leave a place very quickly or for a short time.

 

‘Where’s Mum?’ ‘She’s just popped out to buy the newspaper.’
Why don’t we pop out for a beer?

 

 

 

EXERCISE 3

Match the conversation halves.

 

1. ‘We have no more sugar.’
2. ‘Has the doctor already told her that she has to go to hospital?’
3. ‘I’d like to visit you one day.’

a) ‘Why don’t you pop in tomorrow for a coffee?’
b)‘He has. I just hope he broke the news gently.’
c)‘I’ll pop out and buy some.’

 

 

NEWS

 

MEN’S PRESS

Given the extremely successful fate of women’s press, and the abundance of magazine titles directed at women, it is quite surprising that we have so few lifestyle titles aimed at men. And – even more surprisingly – those few magazines that do exist actually struggle to survive, instead of thriving in the seemingly ideal market niche. What are the reasons for such low circulation of men’s magazines? The chief cause of failure is the predominant belief that reading magazines is what women do, and that the only two types of press appropriate for a man are sports newspapers and porn magazines. Do you agree?

 

GLOSSARY

– fate – what happens to sth

– abundance – the fact that there is a lot of sth

– struggle – fight

– thriving – being successful

– circulation – the number of copies sold of each issue

 

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