While at school I changed my mind many times and couldn’t decide what to choose: psychology, history, law, languages… There are many opportunities and many interesting and useful professions. Finishing school is the beginning of the independent life for school leavers. And we must understand that choosing a profession or career for our future life is a serious problem. If it is difficult for you to make the right choice, then follow the advice of your parents.
As for me I’ve make my choice long ago. My dream is to become a lawyer and I hope that this profession will be my future occupation for a long time. Law is a very useful and important subject because it deals with people and their behaviour.
I’ll try to do my best to be helpful for people in trouble and for our society. To my mind the job shouldn’t be only a matter of future wealth but it should also be interesting and useful for society. I know that my interest in the chosen subject insufficient but if I am lucky, I’ll have a chance to study different aspects of law, listen to experienced lectures, attend seminars of practical lawyers, famous professors. I realize that it’s a difficult task and I have to work twice as hard as others. I took a prepatory course at Rostov State Economic University, where we were given lectures and seminars on social sciences, Russian and English languages. I’m looking forward to becoming a student. If I fail at the exams, I’ll make another attempt next year. Nevertheless if it were not for hope, the heart would break. I really want to be a student, it is so interesting! I want to take part in all student’s events and amateur activities.
Comprehension check
Why do you think this profession is important today?
Who helped you to choose your future profession?
What are your ambitions about your future career?
What is law for you?
Why do we need today a lot of law specialists?
IN THE USA: THE MEDIA
Warming-up questions
How often do you watch the news on television? Which channels do you watch?
What are the big stories at the moment?
WHAT’S ON TV?
On the average, American viewers watch TV four hours a day, and usually tune to one of the national commercial networks: ABC, NBC, CBS, or Fox Broadcasting Company. These stations attract about 98 percent of TV audiences. During a sixty-minute TV program, they show about twelve minutes of commercials.
The commercial networks broadcast a variety of shows: news, drama, soap operas, comedy, sports, music, movies, children’s programs, game shows, and talk shows. There is a lot of competition for viewers, especially during prime time, from 7 to 11 P.M.
PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) is the only noncommercial network. It is supported by government and private funding and broadcasts more serious drama, performing arts, science, public-affairs documentaries, and educational children’s programs. All five networks broadcast twenty-four hours a day.
Some viewers pay to receive a wider selection of programs on cable television. There are up to 500 cable stations. Two well-known ones are HBO (Home Box Office), which shows movies, and CNN, which specializes in news.
ON THE AIR
Across the United States there are more than nine thousand radio stations. Almost all of them are commercial, except for National Public Radio stations. Listeners can tune into all kinds of stations: pop or classical music, news, sports, or community radio. Talk radio shows are very popular. Listeners call in and ask the talk show host or guests questions about anything from cooking or car repair to politics or health.
IN THE NEWSPAPERS
Eight out of ten Americans read a tabloid or standard newspaper every day. There’s something for everyone to read, because there are 1,700 daily and 6,300 weekly newspapers. Often newspapers are delivered early in the morning so people can read them before leaving home for the day to go to work.
Standard newspapers have long articles about local, national, and international news, while tabloid newspapers include short news articles and a lot of photos, stories about famous people, comic strips, advice columns, and horoscopes.
Most newspapers are regional rather than national, although some are distributed all over America. The New York Times, for example, is available in New York and in most big cities.
The paper with the largest circulation (1.9 million copies a day) is The Wall Street Journal, which specializes in business news.
On Sundays The New York Times has fourteen sections, and weighs up to five pounds! The table of contents for a Sunday edition includes: Arts and Leisure; Automobiles; The City; Editorials and Op-Ed; Magazine; Money and Business; Real Estate; Regional Weeklies; SportsSunday; Television; Travel; Week in Review.
Comprehension check