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Unit 2
DIALOGUE I
Friday Evening or Not
A: We're going to put on an English play on Hong Kong's return to the motherland. Would you like to have a role in the play?
B: Me?
A: Yes. Won't you work with us?
B: I'd love to. But what's this play about?
A: It's a four-act play adapted from the novel Good Morning, Hong Kong!
B: Oh, I know the story. I've read it twice. It's a very moving and uplifting novel about how Hong Kong people have been working together to build a new and prosperous community under the principle of "one country, two systems" since China resumed sovereignty over this former British colony in 1997. I'd certainly feel honoured to have a role in the play.
A: I'm glad you like it. Yes, our play has as its theme how Hong Kong people successfully govern Hong Kong as a special administrative region that enjoys a high degree of autonomy.
B: It's a full-length play, I suppose.
A: Yeah, it is. And it's the first time in the history of our college to stage such a grand performance.
B: I'm very excited about it. When do we start rehearsing?
A: What about this Friday? And every Friday evening until the dress rehearsal?
B: Friday evening? Don't count me in then. I don't like to work on Friday evenings. Besides, everyone'll be homeward-bound, or else they'll have some kind of personal engagement.
A: But that's the only time available when we have no classes. I hope it won't trouble you too much.
B: All right, all right, I'll try. But I'm worried about the others.
A: I've talked to the people of the College Drama Society and those who will play major roles in the cast. They're very cooperative and promise to save Friday evenings for this play. No parties, no TV and, of course, no games. As for the stand-ins, they don't have to come to the rehearsal every Friday evening.
B: That's fine. What I'm concerned about is that it's a very important play for the college as well as for us personally. I can't help worrying about its outcome. If we don't rehearse often enough, we'll get catcalls from the audience, or worse! None of us wants the performance to flop.
A: That's right. I really appreciate your concern, but don't worry. Everything will come out all right. We'll do it and do it well.
DIALOGUE II
Dialogue:
Joan is from Scotland and has just started a new job in London. This is her first weekend in London and she's had no shortage of invitations from her new colleagues to take her out. Friday night the telephone rings.
Joan: Hello, 438 0043.
Bob: Hello, Joan, this is Bob. How are you?
Joan: Fine, thank you. I'm trying to get everything sorted out in the flat.
Bob: Oh, I see. Well, I was wondering if you'd like to go to a concert on Saturday night. I think it'll be good, and if I remember correctly, you did say you like classical music.
Joan: Yes, that's right, I do. It's nice of you to ask. Bob, but I don't think I can. Margaret has already asked me to go to the theatre with her tomorrow night and she's getting the tickets this evening.
Bob: Oh, well, never mind. What about next weekend? This concert is still on then, I think, if you're free next Saturday.
Joan: Oh, I'd like to very much, but what time exactly?
Bob: It starts at 7:30, I think.
Joan: Oh, good. That'll be fine. The tennis match will be over by 5 o'clock, I'm sure.
Bob: How about Sunday, Joan? Do you feel like going for a ride in the countryside by bike?
Joan: Oh, yes. That sounds marvellous, but what time exactly?
Bob: I thought, perhaps, about 9:30. If we leave early we can cycle to Greenwich.
Joan: I can't, I'm afraid, not at 9:30. I've already arranged to go somewhere at 8 o'clock. Can you make it a little later?
Bob: Yes, of course. What about 10:30?
Joan: Oh yes, that's fine.
Bob: Good, I'll come and pick you up at 10:30 then, all right?
Joan: Yes, surely. I look forward to it. See you on Sunday, Bob. Bye!
READING I
Stunts in the Cinema
Have you ever wondered how action scenes are made in films? The people you see fighting, crashing cars or jumping from buildings are not actors, of course. They are experts called stuntmen.
In fights, stuntmen don't even touch each other. They work out their movements before the scene is filmed and they mime the fights. Cameras are placed at an angle so that you can't tell that the stuntmen are only pretending to hit each other. Sound effects help to make the scene seem real. Did you know that someone stands near a microphone and punches a leg of lamb or a cabbage? This sounds just as if someone is being punched.
Real bullets aren't used in films. Generally, sound effects are all that is needed to make the shooting seem real. The actors, of course, must act as if they had been shot. Stuntmen are used if someone has to fall off a horse or tumble down a staircase in the scene. However, if bullet holes must appear in a door or wall, for example, it is more complicated. Before the scene is filmed, small holes have to be drilled where the bullets are to hit. Tiny explosives are placed inside the holes. Then the holes are covered up. At the right moment - when an actor pulls a trigger - someone sets off the explosives. The drilled holes suddenly appear again. On film they will look exactly like bullet holes.
Air rifles are sometimes loaded with "blood" pellets. When a pellet hits an actor, the red colouring makes him look as if he is wounded. If a bullet is supposed to go through a glass door or window, a pellet with jelly inside is used. When the jelly hits the glass, the glass looks as if it is broken. By the way, when you see actors crashing through doors or windows, they won't be hurt at all. The "glass" is very often just a thin sheet of toffee!
Other stunts with explosives are more dangerous. For example, dynamite is still used in war films for bombing scenes: In these scenes dynamite is placed in the ground. This is much safer of course than dropping real bombs. But people can still get hurt. Tricks are used too. One of them is to hide a trampoline below ground level. When an explosion is filmed, the stuntman jumps on the trampoline and bounces up into the air. In the film it will look as if he has been thrown backwards by the explosion.
Fire stunts can also be very dangerous. They have to be planned very carefully. Stuntmen wear asbestos suits under their clothes and they cover their skins with protective jelly. But they can still be badly injured if there is any delay in putting out the flames.
Some stunts have now been banned. They used to tie wire to horses' legs to make them fall over. As the horse galloped the wire was stretched and it tripped the horse and made it fall. This was very cruel. Most of the horses could never be ridden again because they were so terrified. Now stunts which are cruel to animals are not allowed. Horses must be specially trained to fall. It is still very difficult for the stuntman. He has to throw himself off a galloping horse and make sure that the horse doesn't fall on top of him.
High falls and high dives are very risky. Some stuntmen dive from forty, even fifty metres. They tie their legs together so that they will not break when they hit the water. When stuntmen fall to the ground, they land on specially prepared material. They usually fall with their arms and legs stretched out and they land on their backs. Some stuntmen have fallen from as high as thirty metres.
Some stuntmen have crashed aeroplanes without jumping out before the crash. In a lot of films stuntmen have climbed onto the wings of biplanes (those very old double-winged planes). Several stuntmen have even climbed from the wings of one aeroplane onto the wings of another aeroplane in mid-air.
Some of the most dangerous and exciting stunts have been done in motor cars, motor cycles and aeroplanes. One stuntman drove a car at full speed along a wharf and landed it on a ship 50 metres away! This stunt has never been repeated.
Would you like to be a stuntman or a stuntwoman? To be an all-rounder, you would have to learn boxing, judo, karate and wrestling. You would have to be an acrobat, a good swimmer and a good jumper. You would have to be a good horse-rider and an expert driver. Many stuntmen specialize - i.e., they do one type of stunt really well. They can earn a lot of money - up to $ 5,000 for one dangerous stunt. But of course they do risk their lives.
READING II
Soap Opera
Soap opera is for TV what the popular novel is for books. It's easy to understand, you know all the people in it, and it goes on for a long time.
All over the world, people watch soap operas ("soaps") on television.
Some soaps are shown in the afternoons. They are cheap productions because they are intended for a limited audience. Others are multi-million dollar productions, often with big stars. These are shown at peak times-weekend evenings. A successful prime-time soap can make unknown actors and actresses world-famous. It will also make a lot of money for the producer.
Some soaps run for years. Others flash across our screens for a year or two, and then vanish. Some viewers get so involved in a soap that they imagine the characters are real. A world-wide successful soap can start a fashion and hit the headlines.
How are they written?
Soaps are written to a formula. The main types are:
A. The rich and grand
Often, the main characters belong to one family, and they run a family business. Viewers watch them for the glamour of big houses, fast cars and huge business deals.
B. The professionals
These soaps take place in a workplace. Hospitals and hotels are popular. The main characters are doctors and nurses, managers and room staff. Patients / guests come and go, but there is plenty of opportunity for drama and crises. These are mixed in with complicated bits of the characters' private lives.
C. The neighbours
Another popular kind of soap is that which centres on the lives of people living in the same street or area. They are usually working class, and people watch them because they represent Ordinary People, just like You and Me.
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