Outside View

Part 1

Viewer 1: So, what do you guys want to watch?

Viewer 2: Uh, I don't know. What's on?

Viewer 3: How about a documentary on the History Channel? I like watching history programmes.

Viewer 2: I don't really like watching the History Channel.\

Viewer 1: How about a baseball game? From 1973?

Viewer 3: No thanks! How about a cooking show?

Viewer 1: Yeah, I love watching cooking shows.

Viewer 2: What?

Viewer 1: I do!

Viewer 2: Uh, I don't like cooking shows. Uh, let's watch some music videos.

Viewer 1: This is awful!

Viewer 3: Can you see what's on another channel?

Viewer 1: Yeah, sure. What channel?

Viewer 3: Uh, anything but this.

Voice-over: These television viewers are trying to decide on a programme to watch, by clicking on channels, and seeing what's on. This practice is known as channel surfing. In the past, it was not difficult to decide what to watch on TV. There were only three channels to choose from. Cable television has changed all that. There are so many channels, and so many different kinds of programmes to watch. Many viewers find it difficult to decide what to watch, even when they are watching by themselves. This business traveller doesn't like anything. Many people like a particular type of programme.

Speaker 1: TV programmes I like watching are cooking shows, um, comedy shows.

Speaker 2: I usually watch dramas, murder mystery programmes, quizzes, comedies.

Speaker 3: I like watching talk shows.

Speaker 4: I guess of all my favourite TV shows I'd like news programmes.

Speaker 5: I like to watch soap operas and news.

Speaker 6: I like to watch um, comedy shows.

Speaker 7: Well, I like good drama, I like a lot of the cop shows, um ... I like a lot of the science fiction shows and good history.

Speaker 8: TV programmes I like to watch are like sports, automotive, Discovery, that type of thing.

Answers

3 Watch Part 1 of the video clip and look at the table in Activity 1. Match the speakers interviewed with the programs they mention.

                               Speakers

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
1								√
2	√	√				√
3	√
4							√
5							√	√
6		√
7
8		√
9
10				√	√
11		√
12							√
13				√
14								√
15			√

4 Watch Part 1 again and answer the questions.

Answers

  1 They are deciding what to watch.

  2 Channel surfing.

  3 Three.

  4 There are so many channels and so any different kinds of programs to watch.

  5 The business traveller.

6 Watch Part 2 of the video clip and answer the questions.

Answers

  1 He hates it.

  2 There's a basketball game the following night and he wants to ask his friends over to watch it.

  3 They decide to go out and get some pizza.

  4 Because he has watched Pretty Woman together with the woman.

  5 Because the woman is going to visit her sister the following day.

  6 A program that puts him to sleep.

7 Watch Part 2 of the video clip again and complete the sentences.

Answers

  (1) careful negotiation

  (2) it's my favorite movie

  (3) You're so sweet

  (4) too many times

  (5) there's nothing on

  (6) putting up with it again

  (7) watch the basketball game

  (8) what he was looking for