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BBC-Cairo International Stadium
Callum: Hello, I'm Callum Robertson and this is entertainment. On Friday 20 Januarythe 2006 African Cup of Nations football tournament kicked off at the CairoInternational Stadium in Egypt.
Two days before I was lucky enough to take a guided tour behind the scenes tosome places the public don't normally get to see. This programme is therecording that I made at the stadium. There are comprehension questions on thewebsite and a quiz so you can check your understanding.
The tour started off at the office of one of the stadium chiefs before our guidetook us around the stadium. Here's my report.
Callum: Now to start off we're in the company of a very important man, a VIP. First canyou tell us, what's your name?
Ahmed: My name is Ahmed Adbulkhaliq.
Callum: And what is your position, what's your job?
Ahmed: I'm responsible for following up and planning for the Cairo Stadiuum andgeneral manager of the main office.
Callum: This is a very very nice stadium, when was it built?
Ahmed: It was built in 1960Callum: How many people can attend an event in the football stadium, what's thecapacity of the stadium?
Ahmed: 72,668, exactlyCallum: If I can ask you to predict the future. What teams do you think will be playingin the final. Do you think Egypt will be in the final?
Ahmed: Only God knows, but I hope Egypt.
Callum: And what other teams do you think are favourites for the tournament?
Ahmed: Cote D'Ivoire, big team, Cameroon, Ghana and EgyptCallum: How do you feel because this is your stadium and Africa Cup of Nations is inyour stadium in your city, how does that make you feel? Is it a very responsibleposition for you?
Ahmed: I'm very happy because of improvements we have made here in the stadium.
Callum: You must be very proudAhmed: Sure, very very proud.
Callum: Well we start our tour at a very special place. We are at the Royal Box, or whatwe would call the royal box in England. It's the place where very specialcelebrities and politicians sit when they are watching the game. And justbehind me now you can hear the noise as they are still completing it, is thepresidential box, as the president of Egypt, President Mohamed Hosni Mubarakwill be sitting just behind where I'm standing to watch the opening game onFriday.
Now it's a great position to watch the game from because from this positionyou can see the whole pitch. We're directly in line with the half-way line andstanding across from a replica of the Sphinx, one of the famous monumentswhich is also here in Egypt, though this is just a replica, it's not the real thing.
But this is a great viewpoint. You can see the whole pitch, the whole crowdand it's really going to be a fantastic experience to be here on Friday when thegame kicks off.
Callum: Well our tour has now taken us to the changing rooms and this is where theplayers will be getting ready before the game, before they step out onto thepitch and play for the honour of their country. And this is also where they'llhave their team talk. There's a whiteboard on the wall which has a footballpitch drawn on it and that's where their manger or coach will go over the
tacticsof the game. And it's a kind of a room as you might expect, there's a long rowof individual benches where each player can hang their kit when they getchanged and there's a massage table and showers and facilities as you couldexpect but what you probably can't imagine is the tension that will be in thisroom before a game, the nerves that the players will be feeling, before theyopen the door and step out onto the pitch. Come with us now as we take thatstep because here we go, we're going on to the pitch…Callum:So as you walk from the changing rooms, underneath the stands and out, thepitch opens up in front of you and you step out from underneath the stands andthere are maybe 75,000 people cheering and screaming at you. What anexperience it must be for all these players when they step out and I can'timagine what they'll be feeling, their nerves and excitement – and as and westep onto the pitch, as I'm doing now,wow, I'm standing on the pitch wherethey'll be playing the first match and the final of the 2006 Africa Cup ofNations and it looks like quite a small pitch, I have to say but nevertheless I'msure the players who will be playing on it will think it's quite big enough.
Now as we approach, here we are standing at the centre circle where the firstgame and last game will kick off.
Before we finish our tour I have to say a very big 'shukran' a very big thankyou to the man who gave us our tour – and your name?
Abdul: Abdul Atif MuktarCallum: Thank you very much for your tour.
Abdul: Thank you and welcome to Egypt!
Callum: And do you think Egypt can win the Cup of Nations?
Abdul: Sure!
(Laughter)Callum: Thank you!
BBC-Inside Out Festival
Callum: Hello, I'm Callum Robertson and this is Entertainment. This weekend, the 24th to 26 March a special cultural festival is being held in London. It's called theInside Out Festival and it is being held at a part of London called the SouthBank.
The South Bank is so called because it describes an area that is on the southernside, or bank of the River Thames. Since Shakespeare's time it has been an areaof public entertainment and culture and now there are many cultural centresthere.
Jude Woodward is the cultural advisor to the Mayor of London. She describessome of the places on the South Bank, what does she think of the area?
JUDE WOODW ARDI think that it's quite unique, particularly that combination around the South Bank that youhave a music venue, the Hayward Gallery which is an art gallery, you have the National FilmTheatre, which is film, you have the National Theatre, then moving along you've got TateModern which has got one of the best collections of modern art, you've got the Globe whichgives you authentic Shakespeare productions. Where else in the world can you find such anincredible range of artistic and cultural things on offer. Nowhere else in the world has that andparticularly not on such a fantastic riverside setting.
Callum: That was Jude Woodward. She says that there are art galleries, theatres andmusic venues. A venue is a place where something is held, where something isperformed. Jude thinks the area is unique – there is nowhere like it in the world– there are many cultural centres in one place with an attractive river location.
Listen again.
JUDE WOODW ARDI think that it's quite unique, particularly that combination around the South Bank that youhave a music venue, the Hayward Gallery which is an art gallery, you have the National FilmTheatre, which is film, you have the National Theatre, then moving along you've got TateModern which has got one of the best collections of modern art, you've got the Globe whichgives you authentic Shakespeare productions. Where else in the world can you find such anincredible range of artistic and cultural things on offer. Nowhere else in the world has that andparticularly not on such a fantastic riverside setting.
Callum: This weekend the Inside Out festival is being held on the South Bank. What isit and why the name? Here's Jude Woodward again.
JUDE WOODWARDThe festival's called Inside Out because all sorts of things which normally happen inside thebuildings are happening outside or we're being encouraged to see them outside or in differentplaces.
Callum: Quite simply, what usually happens inside, will be happening outside. Listenagain: JUDE WOODWARDThe festival's called Inside Out because all sorts of things which normally happen inside thebuildings are happening outside or we're being encouraged to see them outside or in differentplaces.
Callum: So what are some of the things that will be happening? Let's go back to JudeWoodward.
JUDE WOODW ARDBorough Market is putting on some stalls down near Tower Bridge, we'll have an orchestralperformance outdoors, there'll incredible things going on all the way along the South Bankwith all those amazing cultural institutions that exist starting from the London Eye, to theSouth Bank Centre, the National Theatre, the film theatre, the Tate Modern, Coin Streetrunning down to Borough Market, the Globe Theatre, the Design Festival will all beparticipating to draw attention to just what a fantastic set of things there are to do everyweekend in that area of the city.
Callum: She says that one of the local markets, called Borough Market will be puttingsome stalls up near Tower Bridge. A stall is a shop in a market. There will alsobe orchestras playing outside, or outdoors. However it's not just on land thatthere will be performances as Jude Woodward explains.
JUDE WOODW ARDOne of the things which I love is the performances which are going to take place on the TateBoat which ferries you backwards and forwards across the river between Tate Britain andTate Modern. There'll be different bands and different boats all day, so if you buy a ticket togo on the boat you'll get a performance thrown in for free.
Callum: So performances are even being held on water, on one of the water ferriesbetween the two Tate museums, Tate modern and Tate Britain.
So this weekend it looks as if the South Bank is the place to go for freeentertainment –though I just hope the weather will be a little warmer.
Although spring technically began this week and the clocks change to BritishSummer Time this Sunday, it's still very very cold and more like winter. Well,I guess the cold weather can't last much longer, can it?
That's all from this edition of Entertainment.
BBC-Describing sounds
Callum: Hello, I'm Callum Robertson and this is entertainment. In the programme todayI'm going to be looking at sounds and talking about sounds we like.
Sounds and noises are all around us – from the sounds of nature such as thewind in the trees to man made sounds like traffic. Often we don't notice sounds,they are just there but we all have sounds we love to hear – like Carrie, whatsound does she like?
CarrieMy really really favourite sound is the sound of waves. I just love the sound of wavescrashing on the beach because it just reminds me of being on holiday, being at the seaside,relaxing. I just find waves really really relaxing and the sound of crashing waves is just reallysoothing.
Callum: Carrie likes the sound of waves, she loves the sound of waves crashing on thebeach.
Describing sounds like this is very easy – you can say the phrase 'the sound of'
followed by a noun.
Carriethe sound of waves, the sound of wavesCallum: Instead of using a single noun, like the word 'waves' you can also use a groupof words together which make what we call a noun phrase. With a single nounyou describe the sound of something. With a noun phrase you describe thesound of something happening, which is usually more descriptive. Thesephrases will often use -ing forms of verbs.
Carriethe sound of waves crashing on the beach, the sound of waves crashing on the beachCallum: Here now are some other people describing the sounds they like, listencarefully and you will hear that they use the same structure.
FA VOURITE SOUNDSI've always liked the sound of champagne corks popping and the sound of laughter and alsovery recently the sound of my little baby boy cooing I find particularly nice.
A sound that I like is the sound of a cat purring.
My favourite sound at the moment is the sounds coming from my garden. There's a lot ofbirdsong out there and particularly in the mornings I find that a really peaceful and nice andpleasant way to wake up, birds singing and even children playing out there.
A sound that I really love is the sound of traditional Scottish or Irish music and the thing Ireally love is the sound of a really bass drum beating away and you can feel it in your heart.
That's a sound that I love.
Callum: The sounds we heard described using a noun phrase were: champagne corkspopping, a little baby cooing, a cat purring, birds singing, children playing anda bass drum beating. Listen againFAVOURITE SOUNDS REPEATI've always liked the sound of champagne corks popping and the sound of laughter and alsovery recently the sound of my little baby boy cooing I find particularly nice.
A sound that I like is the sound of a cat purring.
My favourite sound at the moment is the sounds coming from my garden. There's a lot ofbirdsong out there and particularly in the mornings I find that a really peaceful and nice andpleasant way to wake up, birds singing and even children playing out there.
A sound that I really love is the sound of traditional Scottish or Irish music and the thing Ireally love is the sound of a really bass drum beating away and you can feel it in your heart.
That's a sound that I love.
Callum: That's all from this edition of entertainment, don't forget to try the quiz on thistopic on the web page where you can also download the script and an audioversion of this programme.
BBC-The Da Vinci Code
Anna: Hello I'm Anna Jones and this is Entertainment.
And today we're going hear what some people are saying about the recentlyreleased film of the bestselling novel 'The Da Vinci Code.' Now the film hascaused quite a lot of controversy – if something causes 'controversy' or is'controversial then it means that there is public discussion and argument aboutsomething that some people feel strongly about. The Da Vinci code has causedcontroversy because of its plot - A murder inside the Louvre and clues inLeonardo Da Vinci paintings lead to the discovery of a religious mysteryprotected by a secret society for two thousand years -- which could shake thefoundations of Christianity. The film is directed by Ron Howard and starsTom Hanks as the professor who gets drawn into trying to solve the Da Vincicode. Well, as I said earlier the film has caused controversy and some Churchleaders want it to be censored because it suggests that Mary Magdalen had achild whose father was Jesus Christ. If you 'censor' something then youremove the parts that are considered offensive or politically dangerous.
Now the film has met with mixed reviews. The film critic Jason Solomon sawit at the recent Cannes Film Festival and he explained how the audience reactedto it. Listen out for several expressions he uses to describe this reaction. Doyou think the audience liked the film?
Well the reaction here was rather flat, it was met with no applause and normally the first nightaudiences at Cannes applaud wildly if they like something or boo vigorously if they don't.
There was kind of hushed silence that met the whole proceeding – I think in the end it has tohave gone down as a bit of a failure here on the Croisette.
Anna: Well according to Jason Solomon the audience at Cannes did not like the film.
He uses the following expressions to describe their reaction: 'flat' whichmeans to lack interest or enthusiasm. He says that the film was met with 'noapplause.' – they did not applaud or clap their hands together at the end of thefilm. Instead there was a kind of 'hushed silence' - throughout the film theaudience was very quiet and said nothing. Jason says that the film was 'abit of a failure' in Cannes –He uses the noun 'failure' which means that thefilm did not succeed or was not popular in Cannes. Listen out for thoseexpressions again.
Well the reaction here was rather flat, it was met with no applause and normally the first nightaudiences at Cannes applaud wildly if they like something or boo vigorously if they don't.
There was kind of hushed silence that met the whole proceeding – I think in the end it has tohave gone down as a bit of a failure here on the Croisette.
Anna: And that was film critic, Jason Solomon.
The historical novelist, Sarah Dunant, has also seen the film –does she thinkthe film is similar to the book?
It's a slavishly faithful film of the book and I think there lies its problem. Like it or not thefirst half of this book is indeed a page turner –Dan Brown hooks you on adrenalin and keepsyou going on adrenalin. Now the problem is, actually the devices he uses are quite clichéd butthe speed at which he throws them at you means you don't notice it.
Anna: She says the film is ”slavishly faithful“ – it's a very true and accurate reflectionof the book. If something is dscribed as doing something ”slavishly then itmeans it follows or copies someone or something exactly. Sarah uses theword “slavishly” to emphasise how closely the film
resembles the book .
She says that 'like it or not' – whether you like the book or not – it is a 'pageturner,' it's a very exciting read and makes you want to carry on reading it.
She says that the author 'hooks you on adrenalin' he keeps the readersinterest by getting their 'adrenalin' going –the plot is designed to keep thereader's interest and excitement. Does Sarah think that the devices that theauthor uses to do this work? Listen againIt's a slavishly faithful film of the book and I think there lies its problem. Like it or not thefirst half of this book is indeed a page turner – Dan Brown hooks you on adrenalin and keepsyou going on adrenalin. Now the problem is, actually the devices he uses are quite clichéd butthe speed at which he throws them at you means you don't notice it.
Anna: Sarah says Dan Brown uses devices that are quite 'cliched' – they have beenused so often that they are no longer interesting. Now let's take a look atsome of the language that we heard today:
Controversy - the book caused quite a controversyCensor –the theatre director tried to reverse the decision to censor her playFlat –the lecture sounded very flat and uninterestingFailure – he felt a failure because he could not pass his examslike it or not - like it or not you will have to work harder if you want to get abetter jobAnna: That's all from entertainment this week.
BBC-Tea and the English
Jackie: Hello, welcome to Entertainment! I'm Jackie Dalton. Many countries have aparticular type of food or drink which they become associated with. Swisschocolate, Cuban rum, American burgers. What are the English mostassociated with?
Well, for many, the English are seen first and foremost as a nation of tea-drinkers. Everything stops for a cup tea. How would the English cope withouttheir afternoon cup and all the social rituals and formalities that come with it?
But is this really true? Or is it just a stereotype? In this programme we're goingto find out. First of all, I asked some English people what role tea played intheir lives? How many say it's important? Listen to find out.
English peopleLady 1: On special occasions I do drink coffee, but most of the time I'm definitely a teadrinker.
Man: I have to one cup of tea, at least one cup of tea some time in the afternoon about 2o'clock generally – 2-3 o'clock.
Lady 2: I'm much more of a coffee drinker it really just sets me up for the day. I just have tohave my cup of coffee pretty well as soon as I'm out of bed.
Jackie: Well, the first two people are definitely tea lovers. The third says she's more ofa coffee drinker. She said coffee 'sets her up' for the day, which means it givesher energy and makes her feel full of life.
The tea drunk here in England is grown mostly in Asia and other parts of theworld, but there is a tea plantation in the UK: the Tregothnan tea estate inCornwall. We sent our reporter Tim there. As you listen to him try to answerthis question: How many cups of tea are drunk in the UK every day? Over toTim in Cornwall.
TimIt's absolutely beautiful here. Did you know in the UK we drink 165 million cups of tea a
day.
Isn't that a staggering amount? And 96% of that tea comes from teabags.
Jackie: Did you get that? 165 million! That's a lot of tea, or, as Tim put it, 'a staggeringamount', which means it's hard to believe we drink so much tea. Tim also said96% of tea comes from teabags. So most people make tea by putting a smallready-made paper bag in each cup they make instead of using a teapot. Ateapot is a container which you usually put loose leaves in and can use to makemore than one cup of tea at a time. A beautiful porcelain teapot, complete witha set of matching cups and saucers was traditionally a great source of pride tomany people –something they might want to show off to their friends. But if96 % of cups of tea are now made with teabags what does this mean for thefuture of teapots? Listen to find out.
TimThe sales of teapots are suffering as a result, they're down two-thirds in the last five years andit seems that most 18-40 year olds think that teapots are quaint and stuffy and old-fashionedand don't really want to buy them.
Jackie: Did you get the answer? Not so many people are buying teapots any more.
Most people aged 18-40 don't think much of tea pots. Let's look at the wordsthey used. 'Quaint' and 'old-fashioned' sort of mean the same thing. Ifsomething is quaint or old-fashioned, you associate it with the past, it's not verymodern. 'Quaint' can be quite a positive word. It can mean it's unusual and old-fashioned in an attractive way. But 'stuffy', the other word we heard is not at allpositive. It means something is too formal, too old-fashioned and serious.
Speaking of which, there has traditionally been a great deal of etiquette or rulessurrounding tea-drinking. Which direction should the teapot face on the table?
How should you hold your cup when you drink from it? One of the biggestdebates people have is if you're pouring tea from a teapot into a cup, shouldyou put the milk in before you pour the tea, or after?
Well Mark is a true English tea drinker and expert on tea etiquette. Listen tohim telling us what we should do and why.
MarkTraditionally, one should add milk to the cup first, and then hot tea the reason for that is thatfine bone china will crack if you add very hot liquids to it. Unfortunately, nowadays it is quitecommon for people to just use any old mugs, not of a particularly fine quality and tea willoften be added to the cup before the milk, which is quite incorrect.
Jackie: Mark says you should put milk in first so the cup doesn't crack from the heat.
But nowadays, people tend to drink tea from mugs, which are much simplerand stronger –than the delicate traditional fine bone china cups.
Sadly, tea-drinking in England today no longer seems to involve muchetiquette at all. It involves drinking it at pretty much any time of the day fromany old mug without any real sense of formality. But, as we've heard, tea-drinking is still a very popular activity here, in fact, I'm off for a cuppa now.。