Part I  Before Listening

Cultural Notes:

Inside View

1 Samuel Beckett（1906-1989）---was an Irish writer, playwright and poet. His work includes Waiting for Godot, a play in which nothing much happens but which is intensely thought-provoking, although some people find it difficult to follow. Beckett won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969.

2 The House--- the area of a theatre or cinema where the audience sit is referred to as the house. A full house means all the seats have been sold. The front of house is the area open to the public.

3 Theater in Britain---theatre is popular in Britain. Many amateur groups put on plays, and all schools give regular performances. Larger towns have small theatrical companies. Street performers can also be found around busy shopping centers. London has a great many theaters where you can see classic dramas, political satires, the latest difficult modern plays, grand operas and the latest musicals.

Listening in

4 An Open Mic---(sometimes spelt open mike) evening is an occasion, usually in a pub or a club, where anyone can go onstage and tell jokes or perform music. It’s not like karaoke, which is much less common in the UK than in China, as the performance has to be completely original.