Cover of the textbook Speakout Upper-Intermediate - Students' Book

The key answer of exercise 2

The key to exercise solutions in chapter 7.1 - TV Globetrotters for the textbook Speakout Upper-Intermediate - Students' Book with authors Frances Eales and Steve Oakes from Pearson Education

Question

  1. Work in pairs and look at the photos of five programmes produces in the UK. What type of programme is each one? Why do you think each one is a global hit?
  2. -
  3. Why are sentences 1-8 false? Underline the relevant phrase or sentence in the article.
  4. Find words in the article with similar meanings to the following. The numbers in brackets show the paragraph.

Answer

a)

  • Natural World → visual content / cross-cultural appeal
  • Top Gear → the jokey relationship between the presenters; the challenges that feature in the programme
  • The Office → the programme has a romantic relationship between the two main characters at the centre
  • Sherlock → the interesting ('intriguing) relationships between the main characters
  • Strictly Come Dancing / Dancing with the Stars → nothing is singled out as the reason but the article lists all its features as the things people like: great dancing, celebrities, beautiful dresses, the music, the host (who is popular) and lots of viewer participation

c)

  1. Costume dramas and historical mini-series also seem to survive the transition to a different culture.
  2. True, there are a large number of cars ...
  3. ... a race between a supercar and a bullet train was another huge hit. (This means the race was very popular; it doesn't mean there was a crash.)
  4. ... and many people predicted The Office would flop because of ... (flop = fail / be unsuccessful)
  5. ... because of its slightly strange British humour ... Since then, this 'mockumentary' has become an international sensation ... However, The Office is a sitcom with a heart ...
  6. ... when the BBC decided to give him a makeover, there was a real risk of alienating fans of the much-loved classic tales.
  7. ... the long-awaited first episode of the third season was viewed almost seven million times in China only a couple of hours after it was initially aired in the UK.
  8. Celebrity contestants with little or no experience of dancing pair up with professional dancers ...

d)

  1. successes; hit
  2. crazy; bizarre
  3. global phenomenon; international sensation
  4. pulled in; drawn in
  5. broadcast; aired
  6. resurrected; revitalised