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the characters, or we watch them to learn some new words and expressions. We often discuss what we have seen in English. We sometimes watch documentary films in Physics classes. They teach us different things. Our Natural Science teacher shows us documentaries about plants and animals, too. It's so exciting to watch how a plant grows, or a flower opens, or an animal runs in slow motion. We also have lots of slides in the Natural Science classroom and our teacher shows them to us on the screen.
TS 42
Film Star (after Piers Plowright)
Pauline wanted to be a film star. When she was twelve, she said to her parents, "I want to be a film star."
But it was not easy. She got into films — not as a star — she became an "extra" — one of the people in the crowd.
No director asked her to be a star, the telephone never rang for her to offer a big part.
One evening the man at the agency called her up and said, "There is a film for you tomorrow, Pauline. Come by eight o'clock. You are a telephonist." Pauline came to the studio by a quarter to eight. She had to wait three hours before they came to the scene where she was in.
The assistant director showed her where to sit — there were two other girls with her. "OK, Ben," said the director. "Are you ready?" "Yes, Mr K.," said the assistant.
It was very short: the star, a famous American actor, came to the girls and stopped in front of where Pauline was sitting. Mr K. did not like it. "That's bad," he said, "Very bad. Put some dialogue in there."
The two men talked for a moment and then Mr K. said, "Hey, you at the end of the row there!"
Pauline jumped. "Me?" she asked.
"Yes, you. I want a line from you here. I want you to look at Harry when he comes in and say, 'Mr Marlowe, there is a call for you!' Can you do that?"
Pauline said she could, and they ran the scene through. This time Mr K. was very pleased, and the star smiled at her. "That's great," Mr K. said, coming over to Pauline. "What's your name?" "Pauline Grant."
"I like that, Pauline," Mr K. said. "Thanks." Pauline was very happy that evening.
Some weeks later she bought two tickets for the premier and went to see her film with her boyfriend Michael.
Before the film started she saw Mr K., only a few feet away from her.
It was a good film but there was no Pauline in it. Her scene together with many other
unimportant scenes had been cut out.
TS 43
The word robot was first used in a play in the 1920s. The word comes from a Czech word meaning forced work. In the play, the robots were used for doing very boring work but at the end of the play the robots kill their human masters and take over the world.
Japan has the largest number of industrial robots in the world today. The robots are mainly used for boring repetitive jobs.
The future is more difficult to predict. Robots will become more mobile and we will see robots that do domestic jobs. But will they be all-purpose robots that do all the jobs like making drinks and cooking meals, or will we just have robotized vacuum cleaners?
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