Listen to the recording and answer the questions below
1. What does Sara want to become?
2. How did she find out about the audition?
3. Why was this performance special for Sara?
Sara has always wanted to be famous. When she was only four years old, she said to her parents "I'm going to be a star when I grow up." Her parents laughed. Sara's dreams were just dreams for years, but now those dreams are coming true, thanks to the power of television.
Sara is lucky: she is an attractive young woman, and she can sing. She has taken singing and dancing lessons since she could walk. When she was seventeen, Sara's big chance came. She saw an advertisement in a national newspaper: "Singers wanted for a new musical band. This is going to be bigger than the Spice Girls!" Sara rang the number straight away. The first audition (прослушивание) was in London, and she was there at six o'clock in the morning, practising her song. She had been to auditions before but this one was different — it was on TV! People all over the country watched Sara singing. She didn't mind the cameras — she was too excited about being on TV. Sara was the viewers' favourite.
Some people think that the band will never be successful. "It's not a real band," they say. But Sara isn't worried about her future. "I'm famous now, and it doesn't matter how I got here. I'm here to stay!"
16. Listen to the interview with Roy Tomlinson, who invented the sign @ and email, and answer the questions below.
1. How do people call the sign @ in different countries?
2. How did Roy Tomlinson invent email?
3. Does it trouble him that he is not very famous?
Presenter:Today we talk to Roy Tomlinson, the man who invented the sign @ and email. In English this sign is called simply 'at' but what about other countries?
Roy:Other languages have more interesting names. In South Africa it is ‘monkey's tail'; inGreece 'little duck': in Poland 'little trunk': in Russia'little dog'; in Sweden it is 'elephant's trunk' and Turkish e-mailers call it simply 'ear'.
Presenter:When and why did you invent email?
Roy:It was in 1971 and I am not sure there was a real reason for inventing it. It was a fun thing to try out and it took three to six hours to do. I can't remember exactly how long it took.
Presenter:How did you feel about spam and viruses?
Roy:I get annoyed when I get spam or viruses. It is a hard problem but we are going to solve it. So far our actions are not working — they either filter too much or not enough. We must find a better way to stop spam or viruses.
Presenter:Does it bother you that you are not a household name?
Roy:No, it doesn't bother me. Computer fans know what I have done. I get letters from people who say: "It's great, what you did." It is not the centre ofmy life.