R EAD I N G. a Read the text quickly and match each summary to the correct paragraph

a Read the text quickly and match each summary to the correct paragraph.

1 The stars of the show D

2 The success of the series D

3 The content of the programme D

4 The public's reaction to the series D

5 The opening words of each programme D

A These are the first words of the introduction to one of television's most popu lar space series ever: Star Trek. Set i n the 23rd centu ry, Star Trek follows the adventu res of the sta rshi p Enterprise and her crew, led by Ca pta i n Ja mes T. Kirk and his Fi rst Off icer

Mr Spock. The i ntrod uction goes on to'sta. Jhe ptf.rpose of the starshi p's jou rney:

Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly· go where no man has gone before.

B Created by Gene Rodden berry, the origi na l Star Trek series was broadcast from September 1966 to J u ne 1969. At first the show was not successf ul and it was cancelled by N BC after its third season. However, du ri ng reru ns of the series a cu l followi ng developed and fan cl u bs were set u p world-wide. Fa ns coined the.term 'Trekkies'

to describe themselves and an entire subcultu re grew u p around the show.

C I n the Star Trek u niverse ma nkind devel oped spaceships that cou ld travel faster tha n light. Late i n the 21st centu ry, hu ma ns joi ned with other species i n the galaxy to form the Un ited Federation of Pla nets. Star Trek stories usua lly depicted the adventu res of h u ma ns and alien bei ngs who served i n the Federation's Starf leet. Surprisi ngly, the show also reflected a n umber of cultu ra l issues of the period i n which it was made incl udi ng racism, huma n rights, sexism, and the role of tech nology.

D The three mai n characters were Kirk, Spock, and McCoy and in ma ny of the stories the three men dashe.- Kirk had a passionate and often aggressive character, Spock was cool ly logical, and McCoy was sarcastic but always compassionate. McCoy and Spock

ha rdly ever agreed on the solution to a problem, and their frequent arguments became very popu lar with viewers. The original actors, who had been largely uriknoyv' before the show, became celebrities, but after the episodes were broadcast, they found themselves type-cast beca use of their roles.

E Since the f i rst series of 80 episodes, now referred to as 'The Origina l Series', five more series of Star Trek have been broadcast and eleven featu re films have been made.

Despite '.a.shaky s?rt, Star Trek has become one of the longest-ru n n ing and most profita ble TV series ever shown on television, and phrases such as 'Beam me u p, Scotty' (transport me back to the ship, i.e get me out of here) have entered the Engl ish language.

b Read the text again and choose a, b, or c.

1 The mission of the Starship Enterprise in the series Star Trek was

a to protect the Earth. b to explore space.

c to colonize new planets.

2 During the first series of Star Trek

a fans became known as 'Trekkies'.

b a large number of fan clubs were set up. c the show had quite low audience ratings.

3 One of the unusual things about Star Trek is that a the spaceships were very unsophisticated.

b it looked at some real life problems.

c the humans and aliens relate together. 4 The three main characters in Star Trek

a tended to agree with each other.

b didn't get on at all. c often argued.

5 There have been... series of Star Trek in total. a six

b five

c eleven

c Look at the highlighted words and expressions.

What do you think they mean? Check with your dictionary.

Поиск по сайту: